Lands of Kria - a D&D campaign

Session 1 - Aug. 27, 2022

The half-elven druid Aalnor entered the quiet trade town of Magevale from the north. He had been sent by Thavius, Grand Druid of Ildarach, to investigate the area around Herikyr's tower in response to the rising numbers of missing persons, animal attacks, and strange sightings. He decided to start his investigation at the Halfway There Inn.

At the south end of town, two monks—human Brother Garan and half-orc Aji-Tona Rhuusq—pulled a cart into town with supplies from the monastery at Turas Faen for delivery and trade with local shops. They worked their way up to the Halfway There Inn at the center of Magevale just as Aalnor arrived.

Not far away, on the nearby Raneros family farm, young Wil Raneros worked at coaxing a human barbarian named Skag out of his haystack hiding place. After bringing food to Skag for the past two days, Wil sought to convince the wild man that the townspeople wouldn't try to slay him on sight. Wil couldn't sneak much more food out of the house without arousing the suspicions of his parents, so instead he led Skag to lunchtime at the Halfway There Inn.

While unloading the deliveries for the inn, the two monks bumped into Nate Vance, a fellow brother from Turas Faen who left the monastery just after Timeturn to embark on his own personal journey (the details of which he generally keeps to himself). Nate explained that he was now putting his cooking skills to good use helping innkeepers Danilo and Mara Osgood in exchange for room and board.

Aalnor entered the inn, got a table, and ordered some food and drink. He watched the interactions between the (present and former) members of Turas Faen, the formidable human barbarian and his young companion who had entered the inn through the side door, and a curious group of travelers led by a human man of decidedly academic inclination.

At the end of his meal, Aalnor approached the bar making sure to catch the eye of fellow half-elf Nate Vance. The two struck up a conversation, and it wasn't long before they hatched a plan to join forces on Aalnor's investigation. Aji-Tona Rhuusq—who was helping Brother Garan on this particular trip but had also officially left Turas Faen and was about to bunk in with Nate at the inn—readily joined them. “There is good justice to be done,” he said.

To grow their ranks a bit more, Nate and Aalnor split recruitment duties.

Aalnor approached Skag and Wil's table. As he introduced himself and invited the barbarian to join the group, Wil's irate mother stormed into the inn. She marched across the common room with pure maternal bluster, reprimanded the boy, and dragged him off to the family farm. Skag suddenly found himself with an empty schedule and the need for help navigating this strange land. He agreed to join the group.

Nate approached the party of academic travelers and brought them a round of free drinks. Despite his best efforts, he wasn't able to get much beyond pleasantries and casual conversation. After he made a few attempts to break through, the group wrapped up their meal and left the inn. Their academic leader, who had introduced himself as Kavelodrius, thanked Nate for his gesture and seemed to take note of the half-elf's unusual skin markings as they parted company.

The party, now four members strong, gathered up their respective belongings, along with some extra foodstuffs and a parting gift from the Osgoods for Nate's help in recent months: a loaf of Mara Osgood's “wayfarer” bread.

They headed south out of town in the late afternoon and reached the edge of the woods just before sunset, then ventured into the forest until twilight.

It was comfortable enough to camp without needing to build a fire, and the group settled down to sleep. Aalnor climbed up into a tree to rest while the others made beds on the ground. Nate took the first watch.

Two hours later, a pained and possibly confused black bear wandered into the camp. Part of the snout, skull, and front flank on one side of the creature had lost its fur and was mottled with reddish veins. Aalnor attempted to heal it with a spell, but the animal wasn't suffering from normal injuries; some sort of magical corruption or curse was affecting it.

As Aalnor sought to look more closely at the bear's affliction and perhaps try more natural remedies, the beast became aggressive. Before it could attack the druid, Skag lunged with his sword and injured it. From across the camp, Nate quickly approached and shot the bear with his crossbow while Aji-Tona rushed to pull Aalnor out of the bear's striking range.

Within moments, the fight was over. The bear was slain and Skag's lower leg had been clawed. Luckily, the wound was not severe. The barbarian began to dress it and Aalnor helped, providing healing herbs and an exceptional bandage that brought considerable relief.

The rest of the night was quiet, but in the morning they noticed the bear's corpse was gone. The blood remained and the ground was still disturbed from the battle, but the body was gone. Strangely, upon closer inspection, Nate found his crossbow bolt deeply embedded in the soil. Only a glint of the metal was visible, almost as though it had been buried there.

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Session 2 - Oct. 22, 2022

While Skag and Aji-Tona ate breakfast by the campfire, Nate decided to forage for some herbs to make tea. Aalnor joined the half-elven sorcerer on his morning walkabout, and provided expert druidic guidance about which herbs could be used to make a pleasant tea (the leaves of the guavaberry bush) and which ones were better suited to spicy cooking (red dagger-leaf).

As they got further from the camp, Nate began to hear distant noises amidst the usual sounds of the forest. He and Aalnor paused to listen more closely and quickly realized the sounds were cries for help.

Aalnor raced back to camp to gather the others while Nate cautiously headed toward the source of the noise. He soon came upon a clearing with an overgrown stone cottage and a dilapidated well. Four small figures with spears and daggers stood threateningly over a huddled, wounded figure next to the well.

Back at the camp, Aalnor alerted the rest of the party. Skag grabbed the party's supply packs, Aji-Tona and Aalnor doused the campfire and the three of them raced into the forest after Nate.

It soon became clear that the huddled figure was a man and that he was the one calling for help. The gutteral, gibbering language of the small humanoids was foreign to Nate, but their intent to finish what they had started was clear. Trusting that his companions would arrive soon, Nate engaged the creatures before they could finish off their prey.

His bravery gave the wounded man a moment to act, and he hauled himself up and over the edge of the well — risking the depths below to escape the beasts surrounding him.

The rest of the party dashed through the trees to close the distance and help in the fight. The skirmish was over quickly, and the brave adventurers only suffered minor injuries.

Nate and Aji-Tona lowered a rope to the man in the well. Skag searched the bodies of the fallen before dragging one of them over and depositing it on the ground in front of the party with a one-word explanation: "Goblins."

Nate handed Skag the end of the rope, and the immense barbarian pulled the human up out of the well. Suspicious of any more surprises, Nate moved to pat down and search the man, who mistook the gesture as one of support and promptly slumped into the arms of his rescuer.

As Aalnor and Nate tended to the man's wounds they learned that his name was Jin Bryton and he was a budding historian and wanderer of the vale. Originally born in Magevale to a family of farmers, Jin felt a call to explore the world. Armed with only a few scribbled notes and a small dagger at his side, he readily admitted that he was in over his head. He had heard stories of unusual events, strange sightings, and mysterious disappearances happening in the lands around Herikyr's tower and as a history buff of the area he had come to investigate the rumors for himself.

Jin went on to explain that this cottage belonged to Gilius Redbeard, a dwarven hero who frequently adventured with Herikyr and also tended to the lands and gardens around the tower. While it clearly hadn't seen upkeep in hundreds of years, it didn't take Skag long to clear enough of the brush in front of the door so that the party could go inside.

Within the stone cottage were some chairs, a table, a bed, and a hearth with a cooking pot. Rummaging about the place in torchlight, the party also found a trio of casks that still held splashes of leftover ale from long ago. They combined the remaining drink into a single cask, which Aalnor magically purified. He also summoned fresh water to fill the other two casks so the group could refill their waterskins, cook a stew in the hearth, and clean their wounds. Skag brought in the largest armful of firewood any of them had ever seen and fired up the hearth.

Although it was just after noontime, the group considered resting here for the day to recover after the battle with the goblins. As they settled in, Jin—too restless and excited about the history of the place to sit still—noted how the stones used here were not local; they had been ported here from the mountain range to the east and certainly crafted by expert stonemasons. From the outside, it was a humble cottage, but the materials and structure were well beyond the ability of anyone but dwarven master crafters.

The plan to rest here for the day took an unexpected turn when Nate pulled the arm of the stone hearth cookpot outward to make a stew and the bottom layer of the hearth opened up to reveal a hidden shaft, dropping the fiery logs downward.

The light from the still-burning firewood made it easy for the group to see that there was a carved out room some 15' below. Nate handed his rope to Skag, who anchored it as Aji-Tona nimbly slid down to scout. Once he confirmed the area was clear, he signaled the rest of the group. Nate took hold of the rope and prepared to descend when Jin asked him if it was wise to venture into the unknown. Without missing a beat, Nate replied, "You can study history or you can make history." He slid down the rope, followed moments later by Aalnor.

By the time Aalnor landed in the lower chamber, Jin found his courage and—with a nod from Skag—slid down to join the others. Skag then securely tied the rope around several of the larger stones of the hearth and descended.

The chamber below showed signs of tooling and remnants of a ladder that once went up to the trap door above. A carved opening at one end of the room led to a twisting natural cave tunnel. With his half-orc Darkvision, Aji-Tona could see easily without need for torchlight, so he scouted ahead. Just beyond the next bend, the tunnel expanded into a cave where he could see two goblin sentries. He signaled to the party and then attacked.

Aji-Tona performed an unexpectedly awkward acrobatic sliding attack on the first goblin which sent it tumbling backward, cracking its skull against the stone floor. Then he immediately jumped up and stumbled leaped forward, catching the second goblin in the throat with the end of his quarterstaff and crushing its neck.

What Aji-Tona *didn't* see were the two additional goblins further across the cave sitting at a ramshackle table littered with bones and makeshift dice. Luckily, the party charged in just moments behind him. During the battle that followed, Skag cleaved one of the remaining goblins, while a shuriken from Aji-Tona and a spell from Nate finished off the other. Nate was struck by a crossbow bolt and Aji-Tona was stabbed in the foot with a javelin, but both were soon bandaged.

While searching the area after the fight, the group found traces of dripping water and some more refined digging and stonework in part of the cave's ceiling, which aligned with the well outside the cottage. Through a doorway beyond the guard table, a staircase of rough-hewn stone descended into darkness. The heroes cautiously moved down the steps—some fifty feet deeper underground—to another room that was empty, but led to a stone and timber bridge across a chasm.

As the group began to cross the bridge, a pair of goblin shortbow marksmen began volleying arrows at the party. Skag raced forward across the bridge with barbaric speed and began hacking apart the goblins' wooden barricade. Aji-Tona followed Skag's lead, then rounded the side of the barricade and demolished one of the goblins with his stunning fist. The second goblin met his end swallowing a bolt from Nate's crossbow.

Now, safely across the bridge and the deep crevasse, the party found themselves facing something that they had not yet seen before in the natural caves and tunnels of this place: a door.

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Session 3 - Nov. 19, 2022

Beyond the door, the group found themselves face-to-face with another trio of goblins in a medium-sized room with some basic furnishings — a table with some stools and a long bench, a wooden chest — and a door in the opposite wall. One end of the room led to a holding cell behind a heavy wooden door with a small barred window.

With spells, blades, and bolts the group charged into the area to do battle.

Haemond, human cleric and battle priest of Kord, awoke in near darkness to find his head throbbing and his nose filled with the fetid stench of prisoner quarters. His sword and armor were missing, and it was several minutes before his eyes could focus well enough to see hints of dim light beaming through the tiny window of the door to his cell. Between the stale, dank air and the hard stone of the walls, floor, and ceiling, he was almost certainly underground.

As he mustered the strength to stand up he heard the crash of a door somewhere outside being smashed open, followed by telltale battlecries and a flurry of clashing blades. The flicker of additional torchlight from the intruders told him all he needed to know: they were from the outside, possibly humans or elves who had ventured here. They could be bandits or mercenaries, but even being dragged back to the surface for ransom would be preferable to being trapped here with captors from the undergound.

Determined to escape, he positioned himself a step back from the door and began kicking it. "Hey!" he shouted. "Get me out of here!"

The party made quick work of the goblins while a voice in Common shouted for release from the holding cell. Once the area was clear, Aalnor approached the cell flanked by Skag and Aji-Tona. They removed the wooden bar and opened the door.

Although initially surprised at Aji-Tona's half-orc appearance, Haemond cautiously exited the cell. He shared his tale of being taken by surprise, captured, and brought down here from the outside. In response, Aalnor shared the story of his investigation and how the group's adventure led them here. Skag, meanwhile, dug through the chest and found Haemond's gear and returned it to him with a warrior's nod of acknowledgement. Upon hearing of their mission and wanting to repay the debt of his rescue, Haemond offered to join the group and we didn't have to send Jerry home early.

There were now two greatswords in the party.

The group decided to go deeper into this more deliberately carved out dungeon. They gathered around the unopened door out of the room, sending Aji-Tona through to stealthily scout ahead. He explored a long hallway beyond the door, which led to a T-shaped intersection with a single door in the middle. Short hallways on either side led to small alcoves with curious stone statues of dwarven guards.

What the group failed to notice at first was the tunnel overhead — until rocks and debris began raining down from more goblins above, triggering a vertical battle of spells, missiles, and various tactics including Skag racing back to the holding cell room to grab the table and hold it over his head against the tunnel opening as a barricade; Aji-Tona attempting to leap up into the tunnel shaft and climb but getting the wind knocked out of him instead when he stumbled and plummeted back down; and Aalnor going through the door at the intersection only to find himself on a platform at the edge of a very deep pit.

Ultimately, it took the combined efforts of the party standing on the table and boosting each other to get up. Aalnor and Skag were the first ones to scramble their way up the shaft into the room above where they encountered the goblin chief. A brute of a creature, he was both well-armed and armored but no match for Skag's greatsword skills. They traded a few parries before the hulking barbarian cut him down with a swift and mighty stroke.

With the pressure of battle removed, the group set about searching the goblin chief's room. The furniture and decor were clearly dwarven and the area had space for easily a dozen troops or more, yet there didn't seem to be a clear entrance or exit beyond the vertical tunnel — which showed signs of being dug out by the goblins in recent years; not the meticulous work of dwarven engineers. [Jin, in fact, pointed out that the uppermost part of the tunnel had almost certainly been a fire pit built by the dwarves.] Aji-Tona, Aalnor, and Skag investigated the area, where a stroke of luck and a suspicious reflection led to the discovery of a secret door along the back wall. Haemond and Jin, meanwhile, made their way back down to examine the unusual dwarven statues and the mysterious platform over the pit. Haemond dropped a coin off the platform. It fell for far too long before the distant clink of a landing drifted back up to them. Perhaps the secret door would be the better option.

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Session 4 - Dec. 10, 2022

The secret door led to a dark corridor, where an undisturbed coating of dust on the masterwork floor tiles made it clear: the goblins never found this place. Cautiously, the group proceeded until they found themselves in a circular room with a large, round, glass-like recess in the floor that was held in place with secure copper framing. Flanking this unusual observation port were three hybrid arcane-mechanical contraptions, each with a busy assortment of pipes and a large lever.

Upon closer inspection, the party realized that each of the three devices also had a recess for some kind of shaped key. It didn't take Aalnor long to realize that the gems he pocketed in the goblin chief's room were actually the keys for these strange machines, and it took even less time for Haemond to pull the first lever once it had been unlocked.

Uncertain of any effect the first lever had, Haemond, Aalnor, and Nate decided to place the matching gemstones into the other two devices and pull the levers. . .

Aji-Tona and Skag, mindfully keeping guard in the chamber of the recently deceased goblin chief, heard distant underground machinery and the racheting of enormous gears behind the walls. The two heroes were shocked to see a section of wall lift upward and out of sight. Amid a cloud of rocky dust, the opening revealed a stairway going downward. Moments later, another block on the opposite side of the room shifted as well when the final lever was activated.

The new stairways led back down to the hallway with the dwarven statues (and Skag's repurposed table). That was all just as they had left it, but the platform overlooking the pit was now a platform sticking out into. . . water. . . with a modest rowboat gently rocking just a few feet away.

Nate soon uncovered a pattern of mystic runes running along the outer edge of the platform. The symbols ended at another recess on the far end near the water, and the final gemstone key that Aalnor was carrying fit perfectly.

With the gemstone key in place, the runes lit up and the boat moved by itself over to the platform, as if inviting the party to embark—and they did. Once on board, Haemond found the coin he had dropped earlier, and the heroes found a pair of oars. Nate removed the gemstone key from the platform again, and the group explored the waters which led. . . nowhere. No matter which way they went, they only found walls of stone. The whole area was like some kind of giant cistern or underground water storage.

Since the waters had risen to get here, the party surmised that lowering the water again might be a way to delve deeper into the secrets of this mysterious outpost. Aji-Tona volunteered to go back up to the lever room to try and drop the water level. Aalnor secured a rope near the platform to provide an alternate way for him to descend in case the water level dropped too quickly. Luckily, Aji-Tona not only pulled the correct lever, he nimbly raced back through the upper rooms, down the stairs, and out to the platform where he gracefully leaped down into the boat before it dropped out of sight.

When the water settled, the party found themselves at a new platform, much like the one they had just departed from but now on the opposite wall and quite a way down from where they had been earlier. Nate secured the boat at this new platform with the gemstone key. Like the other platform, this one had a recess, runes, and a door. The door here was slightly different, though. it was constructed with a combination of dwarven engineering and magical energy acting in harmony to seal it tightly from the waters that had flooded this area minutes earlier.

Behind the door, the group went up a short stairway and entered a series of connected rooms that combined a larder, a brewery, and other storage. From the shadowy corners of the ceiling, a trio of giant spiders descended on the group and attacked.

The heroes defeated them, with Skag dramatically leaping up and over a massive ale keg to skewer the last of them. The party searched the area and—with a bit of help from his Detect Magic spell—Nate found two magical potions among the shelves of hops, spices, and assorted bits of broken glass and mugs. It was here than the party decided to rest.

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Session 5 - Jan. 28, 2023

The group rested for several hours, tended to their wounds, and dined on a combination of rations and Mara Osgood's healing bread.

Once they broke camp, the party split up to check the two remaining exits: Haemond, Skag, Jin, and Nate examined, opened, and entered the door at the end of the room. It led to a barracks with dwarven beds and a small armory cage that included a few pieces of equipment, some workbenches, and a small forge. They gave the area a cursory inspection and began a bed-by-bed and box-by-box search.

Aalnor and Aji-Tona, meanwhile, explored the last of the smaller rooms off the main kitchen/brewery where part of the stone wall had somehow collapsed. The druid felt a strange aura he could only describe as "angry earth energy" emanating from the area near the broken wall. Aji-Tona, though alert and focused, could not sense it. Still, he stayed close to help his friend in case of danger. Nate, who had taken up position outside the door to the barracks, saw this and summoned the others. Aalnor was still trying to focus and understand the magical aura when the rest of the party joined them.

When the group moved closer to investigate the suspicious area, a stunning blast of Earth energy erupted and knocked most of them off their feet. Rocks and dust from the collapsed wall rose up into a vaguely humanoid form and attacked. Despite strong positioning and tactics, the party found their physical hits ineffective. Each time they struck and knocked stones away from the creature, the debris would return to the growing body of the thing and continue attacking. Clearly, ordinary weapons were no match for it.

Luckily, they were able to defeat it through the combined effort of Nate's Magic Missiles, Aalnor's headlock-induced Produce Flame, and Haemond's Magic Weapon blessing and subsequent greatsword hand-off to Skag while Aji-Tona attempted to defensively parry incoming blows.

Some party members were surprised that the broken wall didn't lead to a secret door or passageway. Why trap an area that seems to lead nowhere? Why protect an area that showed no signs of treasure or magic items. Who or what could have caused this aura? And why?

The heroes regrouped in the barracks and continued their search. Skag found a shield—full-sized for a dwarf but more like a buckler for him—and a doused, ruined book with another gemstone key on a chain. This one had richer color than the others. (Ralph arrived and) Nate cast a Detect Magic. He noted the buckler shield that Skag picked up was magical, along with the gemstone key and suggested that it might be a master key that could help them go further into the outpost.

The group returned to the platform by the water and climbed into the boat. By concentrating and using the magic of the master key, Nate was able to lower the water. The boat (and the party) descended with the water until eventually another door was revealed some 80 or 90 feet below the one they had just left.

Carefully exiting the boat, the they headed through another waterproofed door and found themselves in some kind of dilapidated prison. Like the kitchen/brewery above, the primary room here was quite large. Unlike those rooms, however, this place was damp and the combination of time, neglect, and moisture had taken more of a toll over the past 900+ years. Unsure of what might be lurking in the darkness, the party was initially cautious. They split up partway into the space with Skag and Aji-Tona scouting along one side, Haemond and Aalnor on the other, and Nate and Jin further back near the entrance.

While many of the metal-bar doors had rusted or fallen to pieces over the centuries, Haemond and Aalnor discovered an intact, closed cell with a body inside laying on a cot. A ring on the corpse's hand caught Haemond's eye and he tried the door. The lock had long since given way and the door creaked open, allowing him to slip inside to take a closer look.

As Haemond leaned over to take the ring from the corpse's hand, Aalnor felt the rush of another growing aura but it was too late. Another elemental blast, this time of Life, knocked the two heroes off their feet. Whether it was a trap or a spontaneous event is anyone's guess, but the blast also imbued the corpse—and a dozen others in this area—with life energy.

In the brutal battle that followed, Aji-Tona duelled blow-for-blow with several of the abonimations. Haemond, after breaking free of the initial attack, turned several of the undead and then cut them down with bolts from his crossbow. Aalnor grappled on the floor with one until he got the upper hand and cut off its head. Nate used a combination of magics and his crossbow to keep the monsters at bay. Skag bathed in a veritable swimming pool of gore, raging to a bloodthirsty finale.

In the chaos of battle, Jin Bryton was all but eviscerated by a particularly bloodthirsty and determined member of the horde. It was only through the stabilizing healing magic of Aalnor and the added healing spells of Haemond that he survived.

Exhausted from this latest trial, the group rested briefly and debated whether to make camp back in the barracks above or push onward here. . .

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Session 6 - Feb. 25, 2023

Since Jin could barely move, the group decided to rest in the (formerly) haunted jail. His grave wounds from the battle with the zombie horde took time to heal, even with the help of divine and elemental spells from Haemond and Aalnor. As they gradually coaxed him back to health, they also tended to the lesser injuries among the rest of the group. A few party members ate, some slept, and others took time to regain their spells.

Poking through the mixed remains, it was clear that water had flooded this place at some point, perhaps rising up from the gaping hole at the west end. Many of the cell doors had fallen to the floor after their pins and hinges rusted away. Even more ravaged by time and flooding were the occasional bits of wood, scant evidence of furniture now long gone.

The bodies of the undead clearly showed signs of drowning. The waters receded decades—perhaps even centuries—ago, yet somehow the remains persisted rather than rotting away. Many of the dead still wore a shackle on an arm or leg. They were all prisoners when they died.

At the far end of the flooded jail was a well-sealed door, which Skag had no trouble opening with a bit of a flex. The corridor beyond led to another door, this time with a small, barred window in it. It was both sturdy and locked. Without a key, spell, or rogue to pick it, Skag and Aji-Tona smashed it open with only minor effort.

Beyond, the group heard the distant sound of rushing water. They traveled up a short flight of stairs to a dry, intact foyer where a nearby door led into the office of the warden. Within they found a desk, chair, and table, behind which hung a tapestry depicting the founding of Ambervein by Urist Battlebeard and his dwarven company. The party also found scrolls befitting a prison environment (Hold Person and Command), and a bit of parchment with the mysterious phrase, “Tis not the blade, but the heart that governs me.”

On the desk was a ledger with detailed logs of prisoner transfers. It included “Arrivals” and “Returns” with references to cells. At least a hundred entries were spread over several pages. Some of the prisoners had names, such as “Lance Dougal, bandit leader”. Others appeared to be creatures: “Griffons (pair)”, “Hydra”, “Slaad”, “Crawler”, and even a few unexpected inmates such as “Violet Fungus”, “Death Shroom”, and “Pagan Tree”.

Carefully sorting through the records, Nate was able to discern that all of the prisoners had been “returned” (whatever that means) except for five entries:
“Lance Dougal” and his bandit troup, who merited a note in the margin: “Moved to lower prison”.
“Shadow” with a note saying, “Gone? Bruin can't find it!”
“Jelly Cube” with an underlined scribble next to it that read “Keep for cleaning!”
“Rast” to which Jin asked, “Is that a name or a creature?”
“Grimlocks (2)” with a hasty scrawl of “Deceased? Ask H.!” The latter part was underlined.

Skag and Aji-Tona, meanwhile were outside the warden's office at a rather impressive-looking barred metal gate leading to the next area. Confronted with a challenge of mind rather than brawn they found themselves at an impasse. Nate brought the collection of scrolls to Haemond, and the two soon discovered that the phrase on the scrap of paper was a command word to control the gate. Once it was open, the party cautiously and very slowly moved through into another cell block.

After the horde of zombies in the last one the heroes took their time here. This space, however, was untouched by flood waters. At the far end of the cell block was a guard post with a broom, two sturdy chairs, and a large square table.

Most of the cells here were empty, except for a broad one along the south wall that housed two beds upon which rested the bodies of two large, muscular humanoids. Their thick, gray, scaly skin was unmoving and their eyes appeared to be missing. Each wore a rotting, heavy leather kilt with a tattered cloak at the shoulder and a belt with a pouch. One had a significantly bigger bulge (of the pouch, that is) than the other. The party sneaked into the cell and—as the creatures began to stir—dispatched them quickly.

The other cells here were empty, and the party moved on past the cell block, up the hallway and around a bend where the rush of water they'd been hearing finally revealed itself to be a pipe delivering a countinuous stream of water down into a pool that ran southward beneath a series of narrow catwalks and a few larger cells.

While navigating the catwalks above the rushing water, the group nearly stumbled into a giant quivering mass of shiny protoplasm that was somehow moving and sliding across the floor on its own. Skag attacked the thing so aggressively that he was fully absorbed into the cube itself and paralyzed, after he nearly cut the thing in half with his blade. Luckily he was yanked out by Aji-Tona as the party finished the creature off.

As the group waited for Skag to recover from the cube's paralyzing goo, Nate began rifling through some nearby crates. They were loaded with a myriad of supplies: lengths of chain, manacles, spare pins and hinges, a can of oil, dozens of extra torches, a coil of hemp rope, and some hand tools. While he rummaged through the equipment, something crept along the wall where flickering torch light meets darkness. It reached out toward him and attacked. Nate was struck and weakened by the creature's draining touch.

The party leapt to his aid. Aalnor and Haemond joined Nate to fight the apparition. Across the catwalks, Aji-Tona and Skag moved in to help. But as they passed one of the large cells, a spider-like creature with far too many legs skittered forward and lashed at them through the bars. Almost the size of a large dog, its round body was almost all mouth, and its mouth was almost all teeth. A second melee ensued.

The shadowy, incorporeal form that attacked Nate was unaffected by Aalnor's weapons, but Hammond was able to turn it with his clerical prowess. Their help gave Nate enough time to refocus. He blasted the shadowy creature with his spells repeatedly until it disappeared.

Meanwhile, the battle continued between Aji-Tona, Skag, and the strange spidery beast in the cell. Aji-Tona delivered a series of masterful strikes that pushed it back away from the cell bars. Seemingly enraged, the monster began to take on a luminous red glow and rose up into the air, its eyes glowing menacingly. Skag and Aji-Tona resisted its gaze attacks, and Nate helped them finished it off with a Magic Missile strike.

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Session 7 - Apr. 29, 2023

The adventurers continued from the jail area to the portcullis that stood along the south wall. With determination and effort, the stronger members of the group combined their might to lift the gate as the others secured it in the upward position using the supply crates they found earlier.

Beyond the portcullis, the construction changed to white stone that led to a foyer with massive double doors flanked by intricately carved statues. Nate investigated with his magical detection skills and closely examined the statues and the doors. He could feel that the magic here was somehow tied to the magic ring the group had found earlier (which he was now wearing). After some conversations with the group, he reached out using the hand that wore the ring and opened the doors.

A hallway continued ahead, leading to a square room with some faintly glowing magic crystals. Four large chains lay on the floor, each with one end attached to a rune-covered wall support. After a brief inspection, Aji-Tona continued across the room and exited to the south to scout ahead. The party followed.

Further down, the hallway ended in a second pair of doors. Nate opened these just as he did with the earlier doors, and beyond them the group discovered a massive room with more glowing crystals, more rune-covered wall supports, a huge dwarven statue, a mysterious reflecting pool, and a watery moat that ran the full perimeter of the room.

The group did a thorough walkthrough and search of the area, but found no exits. No tools, levers, or devices were evident. Confounded, they retraced their steps until they returned to the chain room. After an unsuccessful experiment of pulling on the chains, Haemond swung one of them around in frustration and chipped away a piece of the stone wall, unexpectedly discovering a hidden door.

With careful searching, the group was able to activate the hidden door and found a short, narrow hallway beyond. Nate could feel the ring drawing him forward. It led him beyond the hallway into a dark room, where he raised his hand and the ring released a burst of energy that arced around the room igniting magic torches along the walls until the space was lit.

This was an underground loft of sorts, a combination of a study and sleeping area that clearly was not for a dwarf. There was a meeting table fit for royalty with over a half dozen regal-looking chairs; a sleeping area with an enormous comfortable bed, a large trunk, and nightstands, separated from the rest of the room by magical panels that depicted various scenes; a library and research desk with dozens of volumes spread across multiple bookcases; some kind of telescope-like device affixed to a stone dais; and an alchemy workstation with an assortment of books, ingredients, and devices for potion making.

It was here that the party found evidence that Herikyr and Gilius Redbeard had indeed built this place. It was not, in fact, an underground fort or a prison per se. It was a magical research outpost for extraplanar research, exploration, and extraction. Journal entries and notes revealed that Herikyr sought to bring more magical items and abilities into the lives of ordinary folk. Normally, the use of most magical items required special training and attunement. According to Nate's and Aalnor's review of her research notes, it seemed that Herikyr had a theory that the required magical skill and attunements could potentially be replaced with extraplanar forces brought to the Prime Material Plane and then carefully used in item enchantment.

She appeared to be in the exploration and collection phase of proving her theory. The mysterious pool in the massive chamber at the end of the hall was a magical gate. The contraption on the dais was a scrying device to view into other planes of existence. The room with the chains (described as the "Capture Room" in meeting notes found at the large table) was designed as a safety net to catch any extraplanar creatures that crossed over through the gate pool if it somehow got past her and the gate crew.

The "prison" was a holding area to house creatures of various sizes & forms from other planes of existence that came through the portal and would ultimately be returned (as indicated by the transfer records in the Warden's Log that had been found earlier).

With this new knowledge, it seemed to the adventurers that the portal was still transferring some disruptive energies from elsewhere into the area. Uncovering details of the process to control the gate, with help from the ring and a wand from the research library table brought them back to the gate room.

Aalnor donned the ring and wielded the wand, and used them to open the gate. Once it was open, however, the group seemed unsure of what to do. As they debated courses of action, a large wolf-like creature came through the portal and attacked. The party defeated it, but moments after the beast fell, a horde of pirates from another realm tumbled through the portal next. Before any meaningful dialog could begin, a fight broke out that escalated into a full-on battle.

It was only at the shouted urging of Haemond that Aalnor chose to use the wand and ring to close the portal, hopefully with a new and better seal than the one that had been holding for the past 1000 years. . .

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Session 8 - May 27, 2023

After closing the portal, the party moved back to the comfort of Herikyr's underground study to rest. They debated what to do next: search for information about where Herikyr may have gone (and perhaps try to re-open the gate to that location); research more about the magical forces at work in this place and maintain a watch to see if elemental effects continued to leak through the portal; or return to the Grand Druid of Ildarach, report the findings thus far, and seek his counsel.

A few other options came up as well: looting the study to sell the exceptional furnishings; re-opening and recklessly crossing through the portal; and even stealing taking the mysterious plane scope. Ultimately, it was decided to pack up the most relevant and magical books and bring them to Ildarach for the druids to review—possibly with help from the elves of Myrindel.

Once everyone was ready, they packed up the rest of their gear and made their way back to the surface, eventually stepping out from the diminutive stone cottage of Gilius Redbeard into into the open air of the forested land around Herikyr's Tower. The group headed north to resupply at Magevale before continuing on to Ildarach. At least, that was the plan.

While traveling, however, some party members heard a strange harmonic whistling that seemed to follow the group. They stopped for a short rest and it went away, but resumed again soon after they continued their march. As they considered how to deal with the unseen follower, they heard the sounds of wild animals and battle ahead of them. To avoid facing two challenges at once, they opted to divert eastward and take a semi-circular route to Magevale.

The sound continued to follow them and they split up to set an ambush among some rocky outcrops. To their surprise, the hunters became the hunted when Jin, Aalnor, and Nate each disappeared one after the other. Skag, Aji-Tona, and Haemond were then attacked by an incorporeal human-shaped form of red and black energy. As its spells blasted the party, they rallied to counter.

Amidst the mayhem, a second figure—this one of wispy fine-grain sand—appeared with a harmonic whoosh. It was humanoid-shaped like the other, but gold and light blue in color. Surprisingly, it helped the party and together they drove off the misty red-and-black phantom. The dark form took to the skies and escaped.

The wispy cloud of gold and blue settled and took on the material form of a tall, noble humanoid. Suspicious, Haemond turned to face him. Three members of the group were still missing. The being raised his hands gently. "I mean you no harm. I believe fate has brought us together." His voice echoed as if from a tomb or far-off stone hall.

He introduced himself as Destinaire, a Fatewalker, one of a race of beings who move through time and space walking the paths of what was and what could be. He seemed to already know the party, addressing Aji-Tona by name and describing him as "two in one realm", then naming Skag and describing him comparatively as "one in two realms". He also referred to "mighty Haemond, Lord of . . ." before catching himself and saying, "That's later, isn't it?"

He went on to explain that his realm was under constant threat from their nemesis the Chaosborn, wild entities that seek to disrupt time and ordered outcome. He encountered one in the Astral Plane and they were locked in a fierce battle when Herikyr opened a portal and they were drawn through the gate. "I was captured." He raised his arms to reveal glowing shackles. "I have been bound. I cannot leave this place, nor can I move through time. I can still see the flow, but I cannot enter it. The Chaosborn I was fighting not only freed itself from its bonds, but also escaped with The Timeless Tome."

Destinaire continued. "The Timeless Tome is a book that contains the knowledge of all events that have happened and will happen. The Chaosborn seek it to gain knowledge in order to disrupt the future in my realm. The one who stole the tome will test it here before attempting to bring it back across the planes. It will cause terrible destruction in your realm. Seek the place of most harmony. Of peace and calm. Where the quietest minds reside. A place of gentle order will draw the Chaosborn. It is there that he will test the Tome. If he can unlock its power in this realm, many will suffer and die in the ensuing chaos and calamity."

Aji-Tona quickly realized that the monastery of his brothers at Turas Faen would be most likely to draw the Chaosborn. The rest of the party agreed. Haemond suggested a double-time march to Magevale since they were already en route. There they could resupply and secure horses for the urgent ride to the monastery.

The group raced to town. Without Nate, Aalnor, and Jin, the party found themselves short of the gold needed for horses. Stableman Farek suggested they pay a visit to Aria Cobb. At her trading post, Cobb's Bits & Bobs, the heroes were able to resupply and obtain coins in exchange for one of Haemond's gemstones—a negotiation that faltered until Aji-Tona gently corrected Aria's attempt to rename Brother Garan. Aji-Tona's uniform and his familiarity with Brother Garan's name were proof enough to her of his affiliation. The monastery was well-respected in Magevale and she then offered to pay full price for the gem. Money and supplies in hand, the trio returned to the stables, obtained horses, and set out on the road to stop the Chaosborn and rescue their missing friends.

Arriving at the monastery some hours later, the group found the outer gates open and unmanned. Inside they found the monks and masters in a trance-like state, trapped by some sort of magic spell or effect. In the gardens behind the monastery, they found Brother Garan. He was wounded, and had been unable to stop the Chaosborn from embarking on the path to the summit. The sky above began to form an unnatural storm.

The heroes raced up the mountain trail. Rain poured down on them. Lightning crashed violently above and then blasted onto the trail ahead, breaking off a section and sending it tumbling down hundreds of feet. Beyond the broken, twisting path the group could see the Chaosborn attempting to wield the Tome and invoke its power. Haemond took position on a ledge opposite the dark phantom while nimble Aji-Tona and mighty Skag each made death-defying leaps across the gap in the mountain path to close-in on their foe.

On his way into battle, Aji-Tona channeled his spiritual energies and was able to summon The Glow focus his strikes to reach beyond normal physical limits. Skag, magically imbued with extra strength by Haemond, charged in so aggressively he nearly stumbled off the cliff. He recovered quickly and delivered what certainly would have been a death blow—if only his weapon could affect the misty being!

Haemond read one of the spell scrolls from Herikyr to hold the Chaosborn. It partly worked, rooting it in place although it repeatedly attempted to pop out of corporeal form to escape, and then back to a physical form to avoid dropping the book. Skag and Aji-Tona saw this and knocked the book free of its grasp, allowing Skag to scoop it up and race back down the path with it. Haemond summoned a spectral weapon and then began firing his crossbow while Aji-Tona continued his relentless barrage of hand-to-hand attacks.

The Chaosborn soon broke free of the holding spell, but Aji-Tona was determined and unwavering. He forced the phantom back, each strike bleeding more energy away from the creature until finally he sent it careening over the edge of the cliff. It attempted to surge upward and flee to the sky, but had become too splintered and burst apart in an explosion that sent a hail of meteors flying down on the party.

With the Chaosborn defeated, the monks' trance was broken. The disciples and masters were freed and offered thankful greetings as the party made their way back through the monastery. The heroes wasted no time, though, and continued out to the front gates—ready to head back to the forest and the site of their friends' disappearance.

After traveling just a short distance from Turas Faen back to the main road, they were surprised to find Destinaire waiting for them. He was in noble humanoid form again and greeted them warmly. He had recovered their friends once the Chaosborn had been defeated, then led them here to reunite with the group. The party gratefully handed over The Timeless Tome to him. He slipped it into the folds of his cloak and set out south on the road toward Oceangarde.

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Session 9 - June 23, 2023

After parting ways with Destinaire, the heroes followed the road northward through the valley. Aalnor needed to reach Ildarach to share the findings of his investigation with Grand Druid Thavius. The group would present their collective testimony of the adventure at Redbeard's Outpost, accompanied by Jin Bryton's notes and journals. Several volumes from Herikyr's secret library were also in their possession for evaluation and research, save for the Timeless Tome which had been reliquished to Destinaire.

The group decided they would first ride to Magevale, resupply, and then continue to Ildarach.

As they approached the stone bridge to cross the Bowsong River, they came upon a large band of orcs that had just raided a traveling merchant. Men and horses had been slaughtered and the orcs were celebrating their victory with a raucous bonfire feast. Skag and Haemond prepared for a careful and quiet approach, while Nate advised Jin to seek cover under the bridge and mind the party's horses.

Jin began to make his way down the riverbank, then noticed sentries and rushed back to warn his companions just as Aji-Tona—overcome by the need for "good justice"—charged across the bridge and into the camp. The orcs grabbed their nearby weapons and attacked.

Under a hail of javelins and crossbow bolts, the party scrambled to react. Aalnor and Haemond combined their spells to transform Skag into a giant with strength to match. Nate leaped down along the riverbank to deal with the sentries and help Jin.

Skag's giant strides quickly took him across the bridge into melee near Aji-Tona, where he dismembered the orcs both singularly and in groups. Haemond expertly mixed battle spells and crossbow bolts to disrupt the orcish crossbowmen. Nate's blazing magic missiles cut deeply into the orc ranks. Aji-Tona, wounded but relentless, held his own and defeated several of the raiders while somehow not being skewered to death. Aalnor, now 4th level yet still lacking an effective ranged weapon, fumbled his way across the bridge and into the melee, punishing the orcs in later rounds with intense druidic fire.

The orcs stood their ground until all but one had fallen. The lone survivor made his escape by sprinting just outside the range of Nate's spells and the party's missiles. When the exhausted heroes regrouped, they had all survived and the bodies of 16 orcs lay on the ground.

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Session 10 - July 29, 2023

After their rest and regroup, the party finished their journey up the road to Magevale and found a traveling carnival, Phalen's Fantastic Festival, had arrived.

Even from the outskirts of town, the heroes could hear, smell, and practically taste the festivities. Multi-colored banners and flags danced and snapped gently in the afternoon breeze. Brightly colored tents and stalls were sprawled across a field at the east end of town, some hosting games of chance and skill while others bore a dizzying collection of food and drink that tantalized the senses.

The group spent the rest of the day carousing with the townspeople playing carnival games of luck and skill; eating roasts, kebabs, sausages, and drumsticks; and drinking all manner of savory, sweet, and intermittently magical concoctions.

After receiving tokens for the (surprisingly few) games that they won, the party cashed in at the prize tables and took home some magical trinkets, including a Coinpurse of Jingling Fortune for Haemond and a Handy Spice Pouch for Nate.

As the day shifted to evening and evening to night, the party began to split up. Haemond and Nate retreated to the Halfway There Inn to get some rest. Aalnor, too, although he settled into the branches of a nearby tree.

Over the course of the day, each of the heroes had wandered into the wagon of the mysterious Fortune Teller. Most of the party received interesting, perhaps even prophetic readings from the mystical old gypsy and her magic crystal ball—but it was Skag and Aji-tona who got far more than they bargained for during their readings.

Skag received a vision that left him surprised and confused. Uneasy, he stepped outside to get some air and wandered the grounds of the carnival well into the night. While he was gone, Aji-tona opted to get his own fortune told, which brought on a vision so strong it caused him to collapse.

When the fallen half-orc monk opened his eyes sometime later, it was in one of the rooms at the inn with Skag and a half-naked Haemond standing over him. They were soon joined by Nate and Aalnor. No one was harmed, but they each were left with much to think about. . .

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Session 11 - Sept. 9, 2023

In the morning, the party gathered, purchased equipment and supplies for the journey to Ildarach, and were gifted a fresh loaf of Mara's enchanted bread for the next part of their journey. They left Magevale shortly after dawn and took the dirt road to the east. After a few hours, Aalnor turned north and led the party into the forest.

They trudged through the woods until midday when they came upon a creek. Figures could be seen moving on the far side. Aalnor forded the creek first and rode up to greet them. Strangely, by the time he got to them all but two of the figures had slipped out of sight.

The remaining pair introduced themselves as Ana and Yorg. Aalnor identified himself as a druidic protector of these woods just as Skag rode up beside him. Haemond moved to flank the strangers from a distance. Nate had spurred his horse forward as well, but it became stuck in the muddy creek. Aji-Tona leaped to take cover behind some rocks, but tripped and fell into the water instead.

Unimpressed by Aalnor's introduction [or perhaps by the fumbles of his companions], Ana and Yorg revealed themselves as bandits and demanded the party drop their weapons and hand over their gold. For motivation, they gestured to two of their companions who had surprised Jin and taken him hostage back on the far side of the creek.

Aalnor refused to give in to their demands. He began casting a spell, and a battle erupted. Ana signaled to her allies and they stabbed Jin, while Skag faced off against Yorg in a vicious clash—each unleashing barbarian rage.

Nate and Aji-Tona rushed quickly to Jin's aid. Nate's bright and furious spells blasted into the bandits while Aji leaped up and over the high rocks back across the creek into melee.

After repeatedly exchanging blows, Skag beheaded Yorg with a staggering attack. The party didn't know it at the time but Yorg's brother was one of the bandits at the creek. His rage at the loss of his kin was so intense that he was burned, shot, stabbed, magic missile'd, and blasted by lightning before he was finally slain.

Once the bandits were defeated, the party searched the bodies. Haemond found a map on one of them that showed a hidden cache in a nearby cave fissure. Nate searched for magic around the perimeter of the cave entrance, then lowered a rope down. He anchored it to the saddle of one of the horses. Unsure of his own strength to climb down and then back up, he left that exercise to the others and opted instead to build a small campfire and cook a meal for the group. Aji-Tona (using the rope) and Aalnor (using Spider Climb) took on spelunking duties and investigated the cave.

At the bottom they found freshly disturbed ground. A shovel was tossed down, which Aji-Tona deftly caught just as it was about to hit Aalnor in the face. They used it (the shovel, not Aalnor's face) to dig and found a small box that had been buried by the bandit gang.

After bringing it back to the surface, Nate used his magic to open the lock while Aalnor and Aji-Tona joined the others for the delicious campfire meal Nate had prepared. The box contained gold coins, a signet ring, and two potion bottles. Invoking his magic once again, Nate discovered both bottles contained Healing Potions. The ring was normal, although it had an interesting crest on it.

Fed and rested, the party broke down their makeshift camp and continued their journey through the forest. The sound of rushing water—from something much larger than the small creek they saw earlier—grew louder with each step until it filled the air. The trees parted to reveal a fast-flowing river with waters shimmering in the dappled afternoon sunlight. The banks strewn with large rocks worn smooth by the relentless flow of water. Demanding respect as well as caution, the powerful current and depth of the rushing water made it clear that crossing would not be a simple task. Wide and rushing with a powerful current, it blocked passage to the deeper reaches of the forest and the party's ultimate destination: Ildarach.

Channeling his will, Haemond's cast a divine alteration on the horses (and a few party members, just in case) allowing them to walk across the water with barely more than the splash of a rain puddle. And as awesome a sight as it would have certainly been to any onlookers, an equally arresting sight was the flowing shape of sentient water that beheld the group's traversal. A powerful elemental guardian made this river its home, Aalnor explained, and was one of the great protectors of the waters that ran around and through Ildarach and the surrounding woodlands.

After the party had crossed, Aalnor took a few moments to question the very foliage itself now that they were getting closer to their objective. The forest told him to proceed to The Whispering Grove ahead, but to beware of danger that had settled there.

Aji-Tona muttered to himself in disbelief. "Did he just talk to some plants?"

Jin, walking beside him, nodded. "He did. And I think they replied."

The Whispering Grove wasn't much further. As they approached, the trees and plants once again warned Aalnor of danger. Skag's keen ears caught the sounds of wild, four-legged creatures in the nearby thickets. He readied his sword.

He barely uttered a word of warning when two almost-man-sized dire wolves rushed out at them. The first was defeated before it even reached the group. The second, though, leaped at Aalnor, grabbing him in its jaws and knocking him from his horse. The battle finished with a messy ground brawl as the druid struggled to cast spells and free himself from the creature's bite. The other party members hacked away at its furry hide until Skag rushed forward, skewering the wolf on his sword and pushing it off and away from the wounded druid. . .

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Session 12 - Oct. 21, 2023

After resting and recovering from the dire wolf attack, the party continued and soon reached a glade with an archway formed by two ancient, gnarled trees with intertwined branches. Standing before the archway were 3 senior druids: Bernard (male human druid), Calthorn (male elf druid), and Aelana (female elf druid). They greeted the party and once Aalnor identified himself, they welcomed the group to Ildarach. Passing through the archway, the change in the air and energy of the forest was palpable. Powerful nature magic was at work here.

A short walk through the outskirts of Ildarach led to the Sanctuary of Renewal: a rocky clearing with several natural pools that contained water imbued with magical healing properties. The party drank and soaked in the rejuvenating waters, some going as far as to fill vials for later use.

It was also here that Aalnor met a wounded bear. It was nearly killed by poachers in the forest, and was untrusting of a young druid initiate who was eagerly but unsuccessfully coaxing it toward one of the healing pools. Aalnor chose a different tactic: he used his spells to communicate with the bear, led it to the pool by sharing some of his rations, and soon convinced the stubborn and pained animal to enter the waters. He stayed to comfort the creature as it healed and continued to give it food as it regained strength, eventually convincing it to join him on his adventures.

Aalnor named the bear Orson, and he stayed at the Sanctuary of Renewal to teach it some basic commands. Nate walked around the clearing with one of the druids to learn more about Ildarach. Aji-Tona, after speaking to one of the druids, eased into the waters of another pool to meditate. He was still troubled by the fortune teller's vision and Destinaire's cryptic statement about "two in one". Skag and Haemond, meanwhile, took the opportunity to rest comfortably in the gentle grass under the trees for a while.

Later the group was brought to a stony field called The Circle of Balance where they were invited to partake in a monthly ceremony to harmonize the elements of Air, Earth, Fire, Water, and Spirit. Each member of the party was given a stone token inscribed with an elemental symbol and took their place around a circle of large ritual stones.

The ritual was completed successfully, although Skag found the ceremony particularly frustrating and needed a bit of extra coaching from the Druids. He insisted his stone token wasn't working.

Next, the druidic hosts brought the party to the ancient Library of Leaves, where a building had been built around a unique magical tree covered in runes. Its leaves were seemingly etched with all manner of symbols and languages. Leaves that had fallen were gathered into stacks and bound together with strong, thin vines that hung readily from the tree's branches.

The spirit of a lorekeeper inhabited the tree for thousands of years and the library had been constructed by the druids to preserve, protect, and build upon the knowledge the ancient lorekeeper stored. Nate and Jin entered the place with awe, sensing the opportunity to expand their knowledge and perhaps get answers to lingering questions.

A short walk beyond the library brought them to The Heart of the Grove, the innermost sanctum of Ildarach. A reception area with tables, and a respectable spread of food and drink had been set up to celebrate the heroes' arrival. The group had a good meal here and rested peacefully for the night.

The next morning, they were given an audience with Thavius, who was grateful for the detailed report Aalnor and his companions provided. The investigation into the mysterious events around Herikyr's tower had begun and many interesting findings were unearthed, but it was clear from the state of the magic gate, Haemond's kidnapping, and the appearance of Destinaire and the Chaosborn that the true mystery was far from over.

When it came to handing over the books from Herikyr's library, however, the party was divided. Some of the group felt the books should be turned over to the druids for study. Nate disagreed and felt that the party's expedition to Redbeard's Outpost would be incomplete until the books were deciphered. After all they had seen, there were too many questions still to be answered and until then the threat to the valley was real, unknown, and possibly getting closer.

Ultimately, Nate and Thavius came to an agreement. Thavius would see to it that the druids would teach Nate the Sylvan language, allowing him to read many of the library's ancient tomes and make use of their knowledge. In return, Nate would attempt to crack the code that encrypted Herikyr's journals using the knowledge available in the Library of Leaves and share the results of his research with the Grand Druid.

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Session 13 - Nov. 18, 2023

At the first light of dawn, the party was summoned to the Heart of the Grove by senior druid Bernard. One of the five Spirit Trees—sacred guardians of the forest—had fallen victim to a dark corruption. He described it as neither a blight nor a disease and informed the group that Archdruid Thavius was currently in communion with the other Spirit Trees, seeking insight and hoping to find a solution before the corruption could spread.

Nate wondered aloud if the blight was arcane, perhaps a curse. Bernard nodded. “If it is, your experience with arcane and divine energies, and your group's spiritual attunement might give you the power to stop it. Please. . . will you journey to the afflicted Spirit Tree, discover the source of this corruption and, if possible, put an end to it?”

The group agreed to investigate. Skag, however, would remain here. His great strength could be channeled through a druidic ritual to bolster defenses for the rest of Ildarach in the meantime.

Before they departed, Bernard provided Aalnor with a small, luminescent seed. “Take this Seed of Light. It is a fragment of Spirit Tree essence. When you find and remove the source of the corruption, this seed may be key to restoring balance.”

The journey took several hours on horseback. The party moved at a careful pace. Aalnor led the way, and took several little-known shortcuts through the woods to hasten the journey enough to arrive shortly after midday. There was no mistaking the tree when they arrived. Once a symbol of nature’s enduring strength, it looked haggard and weary. Its towering trunk, normally a vibrant tapestry of browns and greens, was a sickly shade of red. The bark appeared almost oily, glistening unnaturally. The leaves, usually a canopy of life, were now withered and dark. They rustled mournfully in the wind. At the base of the tree was a dark hollow, almost obscured beneath a cluster of weak, sagging branches.

As the heroes approached, a palpable sense of dread grew intensely and eventually became so strong that Aji-Tona and Nate(?) couldn’t get close enough to touch the tree itself. Nate stayed back with crossbow and spells at the ready while Aji-Tona chose to explore the perimeter of the site via the circular stone path—pausing only briefly by a nearby reflecting pool that showed similar signs of corruption.

Aalnor and Haemond, meanwhile, investigated the dark hollow to find a large hole inside the tree that led underground. Their activity at the tree triggered an attack by a pair of vine blights—living masses of sinister vines with an insatiable taste for blood. One dropped from the branches above the hollow to attack Haemond, Aalnor, and Orson. The other sprung downward, out and away from the tree to attack Aji-Tona in the grasses along the fringes of the canopy.

Aalnor, Orson, and Haemond fought valiantly and nearly defeated the first one. Perhaps sensing defeat, the creature altered the grasses around the heroes feet and legs, entangling the druid and his bear, then managed a hasty retreat around the tree and up into the branches high above. Using his druidic powers, Aalnor transformed into a mongoose and leaped free of the entanglement to chase after it. He raced around the tree trunk and ran up along the bark on the far side.

At the same time, Aji-Tona deftly blocked incoming attacks from the other vine blight, using intermittent openings in the monster’s defenses to strike and wound it. While its attention was fully occupied by the half-orc monk, Nate took aim with his crossbow and fired a perfect shot that punctured the creature and passed through it, trailing a stream of ropey, slimy innards across the grass. As it staggered about, the two heroes quickly finished it off.

Aalnor’s race up the tree trunk took him past numerous large holes that turned out to be the homes of wood bark beetles. The hand-sized insects emerged just as he sped by and they rushed down the tree toward the party. . . right into a cone of flame that sprang forth from Nate’s hands just as he arrived by Haemond’s side. Only one of the rushing beetles escaped the flames and it was quickly skewered by Haemond’s sword.

Undeterred, Aalnor continued upward along the trunk until he came to a large hole. Slipping inside, he scurried about looking for the other vine creature or perhaps other clues about the tree when he began to hear an increasingly powerful buzzing sound noticed large shadows pulling away from the walls. It wasn’t just a hole; it was home to a trio of giant wasps.

Leaping from the hole in the tree, Aalnor used his druidic abilities again to transform into a hummingbird, and dove toward the ground with the stream of angry wasps following close behind.

As he reached the ground, he hovered for a brief moment, then transformed back to half-elven form and summoned a flame blade to do battle. The heroes battled the wasps and defeated them, after which Aalnor and Orson climbed to the top of the tree. There he found a wilting orchid with its roots clinging to a branch. As he moved to take a closer look, an aged dryad appeared in the treetop. She looked weak and sickly and pleaded with him to leave the tree and not make things worse, but Aalnor identified himself as a druid of Ildarach and told her the group would heal the tree and clear the corruption. Satisfied but not entirely optimistic, the dryad acquiesced and Aalnor climbed down with Orson to rejoin the group.

Haemond and Nate watched them as they climb down. “After all this,” said Haemon. “If he says we have to go into the hole I'm gonna kill him.”

Aalnor dropped the final few feet onto the ground beside them. He informed the group that he didn’t see the vine blight above, and told them of the strangely aged dryad. Afterward, he quickly strode toward the dark hollow of the tree. “Come on! What are we waiting for? We should go down into the hole!”

With courage bolstered from the recent battles, the whole party was now able to approach and enter the dark hollow of the tree. They dropped down through the hole inside to find themselves in a cavern where a gnarled ball of withered roots was exposed and covered in a blackish red sticky substance. Brown vines snaked all around the roots. Aalnor determined that the vines were slowly killing the tree. Haemond and Nate discerned that the red substance was an attempt at a salve to stop the spread of the vines. Slowly but surely the heroes carefully cleared away the vines from the roots until they saw the roots continued through an alcove into a small sub-chamber. Heading into the new space, they were attacked and Haemond—taken by surprise—was nearly strangled by an assassin vine. Fortunately, the other party members freed him. In a rage, he plunged his blade through the plant monster and killed it.

In the smaller chamber a pool of sap reflected the tree’s tap root. In the reflection, the heroes saw a dagger sticking out of the root. Sap oozed from the wound and ran down the length of the dagger, occasionally forming a droplet that fell and created ripples in the pool, yet when the heroes looked at the real tap root (not in the reflection) no dagger was visible. Aalnor impulsively reached into the pool and grabbed the knife, removing it from the tap root. The tree shuddered and groaned. Returning to the root chamber, the party could see the roots already beginning to heal. Aalnor took the Seed of Light from his pocket and placed it deep into the heart of the root cluster and a shining light filled the chamber as the tree broke free of the corruption. When the light faded, the dryad from the treetop emerged healthy and beautiful from the roots and thanked the heroes for saving the Spirit Tree.

Within minutes, however, Aalnor began to feel a strange sensation. He looked down and saw his hands thinning and wrinkling as he began to age rapidly. His hair grayed, his frame became weak and frail, and he felt himself leaning over. His half-elven blood slowed the process somewhat, but he could be seen visibly growing older quickly. The dagger was cursed! He quickly dropped the blade and it vanished before it hit the floor.

The group knew they had to act quickly. Thanks to some careful rope use, Nate rigged up a safe harness to get them all out of the hole. They scrambled to the horses where a very surprised Jin was waiting. There was only a moment to glance at the now restored and beautiful Spirit Tree as they raced back toward Ildarach with Orson leading the way.

Aalnor was almost skeletal and unable to walk when they entered the grove. Luckily, the forest itself had sent word ahead of the heroes, and the druids were ready and waiting to receive them. They took Aalnor to the healing pools and immersed him in their waters. Archdruid Thavius took Aalnor’s belongings—revealing that the dagger had somehow returned to Aalnor’s belongings—and knelt beside him at the pool, casting a long, powerful ritual enchantment before standing up and leaving with Aalnor’s pack (and the cursed dagger).

Slowly, Aalnor returned to his normal appearance and age. He remained in the healing waters to rest with his companions by his side, including Skag now that he was no longer needed by the enclave.

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Session 14 - Dec. 16, 2023

After Aalnor had some time to rest and recover, Bernard and Aelana approached the group. “Thavius needs to speak with you. Will you walk with us?”

They returned to the Circle of Balance, where the heroes performed the Ritual of the Five Elements when they first arrived in Ildarach. Thavius stood near the base of the central stone obelisk. Gently, he pulled the ivy aside like a curtain to reveal a hidden recess containing Aalnor’s pack, and beside it, the dagger pulled from the Spirit Tree.

“This dagger has placed a curse upon Aalnor,” said Thavius. The Grand Druid had cast all manner of detection spells on the weapon in the hopes of learning its secrets. Nate had done the same, and would have used Identify as well. . . but that would require physically handling the dagger, which was far too risky. As Nate and Thavius compared their findings, it became clear that the curse took hold when Aalnor pulled the dagger from the root. The dagger appeared to be both a reservoir and conduit of sorts: its benefactor remains immune to the effects of aging. The years are somehow channeled and held in the dagger. When the dagger was plunged into the root, the cursed years flooded into the Spirit Tree and its symbiotic dryad. Both aged tremendously over just a few days and were overwhelmed. By freeing the dagger, Aalnor released the Spirit Tree and the dryad from the curse, but drew it upon himself.

Thavius could not fully release Aalnor from the curse. Instead, he used the obelisk to redistribute the reservoir of years across the entire forest of Ildarach. Hundreds of years were divided between thousands of animals and trees, a million leaves, and countless blades of grass. To Aalnor and all the life in Ildarach, the curse became just a single breath of time. But he would never be able to leave; stepping outside the bounds of the forest would be a death sentence as the redirected years would rush back into him.

Haemond listened intently to Thavius and the rest of the party. Then, after a thoughtful walk, he suggested that he might be able to channel divine powers to remove the curse—for the low, low price of several hundred gold donated to his church to honor the blessings of his diety. The druids of Ildarach readily agreed. The prospect of diplomatic relations to a church that could remove curses or be contracted for other services was compelling. With the terms agreed, Haemond would need to spend the day in prayer and preparation, and in the morning he would attempt to remove the curse.

When the time was right, Haemond began by casting several preparation and protection spells to aid in the ceremony. Then, by channeling divine power, he was able to see the corruption in Aalnor's aura as well as the binding tendrils that held him to the dagger. He spoke holy words, imbuing his greatsword with heavenly powers, then cut through the magical bindings to free Aalnor from the dagger's influence.

The group rejoiced and—together with the druids—decided that the dagger was best left here. Anyone who dared to possess the weapon would suffer the curse. In Ildarach, it could be hidden away and kept safe so that no one would be likely to stumble upon it again anytime soon. True to their word, the druids arranged for Palinoth to bring the gold to the church in Atandoth and meet with the priests there. Haemond was surprised by this. He expected to pocket the gold bring the gold to the church in Atandoth himself. He did not, however, protest their decision.

Aalnor's pack and the rest of its contents were returned to him. Now that he was free of the curse, the group dealt with some other less harrowing affairs. . .

Aji-Tona learned of a note in the Library of Leaves related to his investigation into the simultaneous “duality” of creatures. Realm of the Unexplained - Case 104 was part of a series of paranormal investigation files. It told of a woman named Elyra Twilaren who was certain that she had a connection to an earlier, wholly separate past life. It contained numerous resonant parallels with Aji's own situation. The story was in Sylvan. Aalnor read it to him, translating it on the fly, and later transcribed it (in Common) so that Aji could have a copy of his own.

Skag, meanwhile, had a bit of excitement when Calthorn asked him for help rescuing two acolytes from a close encounter with a pair of bears. Not wanting to draw the attention (or wrath) of Thavius or the other senior druids, Calthorn sought to recover the zealous youngsters from the situation without the use of magic or Druidic powers. Skag was all too happy to lend a hand—more of a fist and a shielded forearm in this case—and while he engaged in some beastly fisticuffs, the young pair of druids-in-training escaped back to the safety of the enclave.

Nate had three goals in mind: crack the code for Herikyr’s journals, research lore of silver dragons in the area, and finish learning the Sylvan language. After spending time in the Library of Leaves, he was becoming more convinced that the answer to his first goal was most likely to be found in Herikyr’s tower. He expressed this to the group and lobbied for it to be their next destination.

For his second goal, Nate’s research into Herikyr’s years of adventuring and protecting Magevale led him to a story involving a silver dragon. It wasn’t random chance, of course: “silver dragon” was the first phrase Nate learned in Sylvan, so that he would instantly recognize it if he saw it on a page during his studies. Imagine his surprise when he found "dragon" in the title of a Herikyr story and specific mention of a silver dragon in the second paragraph! Along the way to this unexpected stroke of luck, he also found a Dungeon Mushroom Chili recipe and field notes about herbs common to Ildarach and the surrounding area. He even managed to go out on a few walks with some of the senior druids to gather some ingredients firsthand.

For his third goal, Nate was also given copies of Elyra Twilaren’s story. Aalnor supplied it in both Sylvan and Common, to help Nate progress with his learning of the Sylvan language. Having such a keystone document could dramatically accelerate his learning.

Ultimately, Nate’s lobbying for a trek back to Herikyr’s tower was successful. The group hadn’t reached the tower the first time, diverted instead into Redbeard’s Outpost. They gave Aalnor an extra day to recover, during which they gathered supplies and packed for the journey before setting out.

The first day saw them out of Ildarach and the woods, and they camped just off the road still north-northwest of the tower. The quiet, starry night was kind and uneventful. The next morning was cool and a bit misty, growing foggier as the heroes entered the woods north of the tower. It was here they were ambushed by a large group of dire wolves and an intense melee erupted. Luckily, the party was victorious and killed all but one of the beasts. The last raced off through the underbrush in fear and escaped.

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Session 15 - Dec. 30, 2023

The fog persisted where the group had entered the woods, making everything misty and damp and filling the air with the fresh, earthy scent of moss and wet leaves. The heroes were quick to notice glistening, thick spider webs in the canopy of trees overhead. The webs grew thicker and more dense as the heroes continued into the woods. Forest, fog, and spiders. So many spiders. . .

The first attack came when Haemond was lifted from his saddle and drawn up into the canopy. It happened so quickly the party had just moments to react before he was yanked out of sight.

Aalnor quickly transformed into a hummingbird and flew up to aid him, transforming back into his normal half-elven form as he dropped onto the furry back of one of the spiders. Skag leaped from his horse and ran to scale one of the trees and face the ambushers on their own level while Nate unleashed spells from the ground. A wild and intense skirmish followed, culminating in a moment when Haemond nearly fell to his death—a fate narrowly averted when he used his divine powers to summon a Hippogriff just before the spider web holding him snapped.

After the spiders were defeated, Skag lowered a cocooned body to the ground from high up in the trees. The group cut it open hoping to save a hostage, but instead found a dead wizard inside carrying a scroll with of Sleep, Unseen Servant, Light, and Tenser's Floating Disc [all at 3rd level]. Nate pocketed the scroll for later use, and the party continued through the woods.

After the attack from above by giant spiders from the canopy, the group was ever-watchful for more attackers from the webbed canopy above. Much to their surprise, a second group of spiders ambushed them—this time from trap doors at ground level. Bursting from their earthen hideouts, their blindingly fast assualt led to another intense skirmish. The heroes once again prevailed, and found the body of a fallen warrior inside one of the ground level nests wearing full armor, a sword, shield, and carrying a mysterious bag Nate later identified as a Bag of Holding.

After defeating the second group of spiders, the adventurers continued and soon noticed several more large spiders converging and following the part’s progress, matching their movements from the canopy above.

Determined to rid themselves of the dangerous pests, it was the heroes who attacked first this time. Nate unleashed a series of Fireball spells that burned massive holes in the web canopy, sending hundreds, perhaps thousands of tiny spiders down onto the ground (and onto some of the group). Some of the larger spiders raced down to stop the powerful sorcerer, but were no match for the other heroes that protected him. The final melee was quick and the few smaller remaining creatures soon fled into the thick brush of the forest, no doubt to seek easier prey.

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Session 16 - Feb. 3, 2024

The canopy of spiderwebs grew more and more sparse as the party continued through the dark wood, providing the adventurers a sense of relief, if only for a short while.

Soon they came upon even more dense trees and brush and found themselves in a steep gully where fallen trees and treacherous slopes made forward travel precarious. For a short time, the group was blocked by a series of felled threes until they combined their strength through spells and raw strength to lift the obstacles and carefully lead the horses through. They soon found a flat, mostly clear area beyond where they could safely camp for the night.

The next day, the encountered a second natural blockade, and as they scouted to find a way through or around, they were attacked by bugbears—first on foot and then by stealth archers. In the first skirmish, the party held their own and quickly dispatched the attackers. In the second, volleying attacks eventually led to a foot chase through the thick forest until the ambushers were defeated.

A way around the second blockade was found, and the heroes continued. Soon the gully revealed itself to be some kind of ancient, lost road that led to a hilltop ruin. The forest around it was still so dense and the canopy overhead so full that it would be nearly impossible to find this place from more and a few hundred yards away.

The hilltop ruins seemed abandoned, and night was falling. The party climb the hilltop and explored the ruins where they found tracks and evidence of a campfire, but at night it was hard to tell much more. A staircase descended into the ruin and they climbed down to explore as a possible place to camp.

Inside they found the warriors of the bugbear tribe waiting for them and a sqaud of additional soldiers soon following in their footstape from above. The huge battle saw Skag throwing bugbears down the stairs and across the room, Nate casting fireballs up and back to the surface outside, and Aji-Tona facing off in a one-on-one battle with the bugbear chief when he got trapped inside one of the underground chambers—luckily defeating the monstrous opponent with some distracting help from Aalnor and Orson.

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Session 17 - Feb. 24, 2024

After defeating the bugbear tribe, Skag and Aalnor examined the tracks through, over, and around the hilltop ruin. The small footprints indicated that the females and young of the tribe retreated into the surrounding forest while the males had stayed behind to fight.

Weary and wounded from battle, the adventurers made camp for the night in the hilltop ruins.

Nate split from the rest of the party to go on his own for a while, finally being discovered when Aalnor and Skag found him beyond a secret door, prying gemstones off a 1600 year-old sarcophagus.

The next day, the group continued their journey and reached the Tower of Herikyr.

The once-proud wizard's spire was now neglected and deteriorating, even beginning to crumble in places. It loomed ominously over a landscape scarred by unsettling changes. Corruption was evident: nearby vegetation was withered, wildlife was scarce and disfigured, and the very air felt heavy with a sense of decay.

At the outskirts of the tower’s courtyard stood a wrought iron fence with a gate. Two ogre sentinels guarded the entrance. The heroes—with their powerful spells and missile weapons—defeated them so quickly that even the fleet-footed Aji-Tona barely closed the gap to melee before the monsters fell.

Moving beyond the gates, the adventurers came upon fresh graves sprawling across the courtyard like a deathly patchwork.

From these graves, a horde of zombies rose up and attacked. Aji-Tona, Orson, and Aalnor focused on defending the casters. Skag leaped headlong into the fray with his greatsword while Nate’s powerful magic spells and Hammond’s holy might annihilated the undead corpses once and for all.

In the aftermath of the battle, the party noticed several tombs beyond the disturbed graves of the horde—makeshift stone mausoleums as mysterious as they were foreboding. The heroes were still recovering from the skirmish with the horde when several gaunt humanoid forms shambled forth from the tombs, their mottled decaying flesh drawn tight across their bones. Their eyes burned like the hot coals of a forge, and when they saw the group their mouths opened with disturbing glee, revealing sharp carnivorous teeth.

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Session 18 - Mar. 23, 2024

The ghoulish and ghastly abominations that crept out of the tombs were more powerful than the horde of zombies and skeletons. But even with their poisonous stench of decay and paralyzing touch, they were no match for the heroes.

Several were turned by Haemond, while Nate’s well-placed fire spells and Aalnor’s lightning delivered heavy damage to the others that closed in for melee. The few that survived the barrage of spells were cut down quickly by Skag’s greatsword and Aji-Tona’s staff techniques.

Beyond the tombs, the party reached the rocky outcrop at the base of the tower, where stone steps led up to the entrance. The door was already open. Someone had unsealed Herikyr’s magic locks and gained access to the tower’s interior.

Across the doorway now, however, a faint shimmer could be seen—accompanied by a soft resonant ringing, like a finger tracing the edge of a half-filled wine glass. An impenetrable magic barrier had been conjured.

Aalnor and Skag scouted the rest of the tower base and the higher-level windows for other possible entrances, but each opening was shielded by the same magical force.

Nate and Haemond, meanwhile, studied and tested the magical field. The barrier seemed to cry out whenever it blocked any spells, items, or creatures from passing, leading Hammond to believe that it might be powered by souls of the necromancer’s victims.

Eventually, the battle-hardened war priest worked up the courage to perform last rites, offering passage for the lost souls and guiding them to rest in peace.

It worked.

With the souls freed, the wall vanished, and the heroes gained access to the tower. . . Once inside, they encountered Sedrix, Herikyr’s last apprentice. Locked in a cell, Sedrix told of how he had been imprisoned by a powerful necromancer who had come to take over the tower.

The heroes released Sedrix and joined forces. Together they climbed to the second floor of the tower, where they battled a fearsome pair of ghouls in a series of short maze-like hallways.

The cramped space gave the monsters an edge, and they began paralyzing the adventurers—until Haemond used his holy powers to turn them.

One ran into a dead end and cowered in the corner before being skewered by javelins from Aji-Tona and Skag. The other nearly escaped after running recklessly through an illusionary wall and into a series of additional corridors, but was soon chased down and mauled by Orson.

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Session 19 - May 4, 2024

Continuing through the maze, the adventurers found a gated, empty room with deep gouges in the walls. “Be glad it’s empty,” Sedrix told them. “For many years, Herikyr kept a minotaur housed there. . . I don’t know what became of it.”

He then warned the group that they would have to pass through the Hall of Living Statues, a trio of magical constructs. They were created to protect the upper levels. Each statue was built from a different material with unique properties: one was made of crystal, one of stone, and one of iron. They would have to be defeated in order to progress.

With careful tactics, the heroes bested each of them. Aji-Tona unleashed a devastating attack on the crystal statue, allowing the rest of the party to quickly smash it to bits. Skag hit the iron statue so hard his sword briefly melded with it and he had to resort to fisticuffs, destroying it with Aji-Tona in a bare-knuckled beatdown. The rock statue broke apart easily by comparison, but gushed out a pool of searing molten rock for blood.

At the end of the Hall of Living Statues, the party climbed a warped stairway to the next level where they entered a wizard’s bedroom study. It was quite similar to the one in the depths of Redbeard’s Outpost, undoubtedly belonging to Herikyr or one of her apprentices. But the group also found something quite unexpected here: another Sedrix!

Upon seeing each other, the two apprentices began arguing. Apparently they had met before. Each claimed the other was a shapeshifter, until the “new” Sedrix muttered a command phrase that triggered a nearby magic mirror. Skag and Aji-Tona were drawn into the mirror and imprisoned, while two creatures inside the mirror were ejected into the room.

The first was the minotaur that had been formerly housed in the maze. The other was a large, scaly, bug-like rust monster. “New” Sedrix was surprised, perhaps even embarrassed, when he saw the creatures burst forth from the mirror. As the remaining heroes engaged these unexpected foes, he cast a spell that pulled Aji-Tona and Skag back out of the mirror so they could help their friends.

The “first” Sedrix (from the holding cell) used this moment of confusion to escape back down the stairs. Haemond moved to follow, but was blocked by the approaching minotaur.

They clashed epically: the battle-priest landed a tremendous strike that knocked the creature partly down the staircase. The minotaur then rose up and charged full-force into Haemond and sent him flying across the room where he crashed into a desk and bookshelves. In the end, the massive beast was overwhelmed by the combined strength of Haemond, Orson, Aalnor and Nate.

The rust monster was drawn first to the abundant metal of Haemond’s armor and then to Skag’s greatsword. Racing back and forth through a burning flame strike from Aalnor, it turned both into wispy piles of powdery rust before it was slain -- cleaved to bits by Skag’s rage-filled chops of the Ambervein-forged magical ax, Waldrykor.

Wary of this new would-be apprentice, the party demanded an explanation. This “new” Sedrix proved his identity quickly, though: first, with a wave of his hand and some magic words he restored Skag’s greatsword to its original form. He then used his magical skills to un-ward and unlock a nearby chest, from which he produced a suit of magical chain mail to replace Haemond’s lost armor.

He offered it with sincere apologies. “I didn’t know it was full,” he admitted, gesturing to the mirror. “I only wanted to get that doppelganger locked up so that I can face this necromancer before it’s too late.”

Once the party felt more comfortable and certain they were now with the “real” Sedrix, they took just a short rest before he ushered them up the stairs to the next level: The Library.

Herikyr’s collection of books was quite extensive. Sedrix advised the group not to touch anything, and luckily, no one did. “Malagant the Shadeweaver is our foe,” he said as the heroes moved with him past shelves packed with books, scrolls, and tomes. “He’s crafty and smart, and—worst of all—vengeful.”

At the far end of the library, they reached The Shifting Sanctum and the heroic figures of Herikyr’s past adventuring companions.

Sedrix jumped up on the main central dais and waved everyone up to join him so he could use the magic lodestone here to mass teleport the party up to the next level.

With a whoosh and a crackle of arcane power, the party warped upward into a large, strange room and found themselves floating in the air with sinister apparitions all around. The booming voice of Malagant taunted them from somewhere above as the apparitions coalesced into ghoulish undead.

Floating in the open air proved challenging for battle but the heroes prevailed, particularly Haemond with his ability to turn undead and Aalnor with his wild shape transformation into a condor.

Once the undead were defeated, Sedrix helped the heroes reach the exit. It led outside to the top of the tower, where three turrets with stout wooden doors stood connected by low stone walls with battlements. Beyond them was a drop of at least a hundred feet. Looking outward, the blighted forest lands around the tower had somehow, incredibly, been replaced by a vast ocean.

Sedrix called out a warning of planar shifting and about the tower being drawn between two places at once, his voice all but lost in the damp and bone-chilling winds. As the party strained to hear him, the buffeting thump of massive wings and a blood-curdling roar nearly knocked the group off their feet.

Malagant the Shadeweaver was nowhere to be seen, but his massive enforcer–the reanimated corpse of a white dragon–was here to cover his escape. The heroes fought valiantly and were nearly defeated by the dragon’s powerful claws, vicious bite, and frigid breath weapon. Led by a combination of Nate’s powerful fireballs and Skag’s raging melee assault, the adventurers sent the enormous beast tumbling down from the tower to its doom.

Alas, Sedrix believed that victory here was merely a stopgap. While the party battled the dragon, he had confronted Malagant and tried to stop him, or at least contain him to this plane. But Malagant had escaped, and while the heroes had won the day, the necromancer’s true plan was yet to be revealed.

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Session 20 - June 22, 2024

[first draft - audio coming soon]

With the death of Malagant’s dragon enforcer, the planar shifting of the tower had stopped. Sedrix led the heroes back down from the roof to the study. He thanked the heroes for their help and gave each of them a special red Potion of Über Healing.

He then shared his plan to travel across the planes to stop Malagant the Shadeweaver from using Herikyr’s magic to draw creatures from other realms to turn them into an army of undead.

“You can either join me or be on your way with my thanks,” he said. He made it clear that it would be quite dangerous and he could not guarantee their survival. The party, perhaps feeling the need for some restraint or discretion after the battle with Malagant's dragon guardian, chose not to join him on the extraplanar adventure.

“I understand,” Sedrix replied. “Probably for the best. Before I go, please allow me to share some gifts as a token of my thanks for all your help.”

To Haemond, he gifted the suit of magical Chain Mail armor. “Keep it and wear it well. With my gratitude.”

Sedrix then complimented Aji-Tona on his martial prowess and offered him a pair of magical Gauntlets of Ogre Power. “If you plan on fighting more dragons with your bare hands, maybe these will help,” he said.

For Aalnor, Sedrix dug out a remarkable-looking Flaming Scimitar. “This was bestowed unto me by the Sultan of Derrygoth Moor after I cleared an invasion of giant scorpions from the grounds of his palace. It closely matches the form of your own weapon, and I think you will get far more use out of it than I will.”

Sedrix chatted with Nate at length (as spellcasters often seem to do). “The ciphers for Master Herikyr’s journals are only taught to her apprentices. I’m not allowed to share them,” he explained. “However, I can tell you that the contents are strictly of a wizardly nature and will be of no use to a sorcerer who’s magic comes from their natural being. . . from your special blood. Do you know of what I speak?”

Nate nodded. “Good,” replied Sedrix. “I’d like to give you something far more useful. . .”

He produced a small vial of sparkling blood from the folds of his robes and explained that it was a sample of blood from Sildremarr, a mighty dragon who reigned over the mountains far to the west of here. “She gave it to me as a gift a millenia ago,” he said. “Somehow she knew that one day would cross paths with one who was ‘worthy’ of the gift it brings. You have certainly proven that. I think you’re the one she meant for me to give it to. Maybe dragons can see the future? What do you think?”

Nate acknowledged the possibility and described how he had read about Sildremarr in the library at Ildarach. Sedrix nodded and replied, “Injecting this blood into you will enhance your sorcery. She described to me how to do it.” Using a syringe from the alchemy table, Sedrix administered the magically infused blood into Nate, granting him increased spellcasting ability.

To Skag, he gifted two Javelins of Lightning, weapons that could be thrown and would transform into bolts of lightning in mid-air, delivering a staggering blast of magic to an opponent. “You are mighty in close battle. These will grant you a chance to deliver that kind of savage energy to an enemy that is out of reach.”

Finally, to wide-eyed Jin Bryton, he gave a trio of books on the gods and lesser religions of the region.

After providing these gifts, Sedrix took his leave, heading back up through the tower and onto his next adventure.

The party rested briefly, then decided that they would leave the tower and go their separate ways for one week to pursue side activities and then reconvene at Halfway There in Magevale.

A week later the group reunited at the inn–with the exception of Jin Bryton, who chose to pursue a residency in the library at Ildarach. Over a round of drinks and a hearty meal, the adventurers heard rumors about a mysterious cave that was uncovered when recent flood waters of the southern Bowsong river receded. The site was not far from the bridge crossing near Turas Faen, so they decided to head south and investigate.

After the better part of a day's travel by horse, the heroes arrived at the bridge and found the cave quite easily with keen eyes from the air, thanks to Aalnor’s eagle form.

There was just enough of a gap at the cave entrance to slip inside. Carefully, the group slid one-by-one down a slope of mud-covered cave-in into an entry hall that was covered in ancient carvings and symbols.

While Aji-Tona scouted ahead, Nate, Aalnor, and Haemond studied the writings that were still visible. It seemed to be carved by scribes of an ancient religion and depicted people carrying various food and gifts, perhaps for the gods, led by a notable female figure in white robes. At the end of the entry hall, the party was attacked by several poisonous snakes. Their venom was not powerful enough to stop the heroes, though, and the reptiles were defeated.

Aji-Tona continued scouting ahead with his Darkvision and found that the cave opened up into a large area. Just before it, though, was an old, rotting wooden door in the right side wall. Haemond and Nate were convinced that the wall opposite the door hid a secret or sliding door and searched, but couldn’t find one.

Aalnor and Aji-Tona opened the wooden door and went inside, where they were attacked by hideous-wall crawling bugs with tentacled mouths. The long, bug-like creatures had made some kind of home in large piles of refuse around some kind of pool.

The skirmish required help from other party members, who mostly stayed back by the entrance (to keep clear from the creatures’ paralyzing tentacles). This proved to be a more beneficial tactic than they initially realized: After the fight ended, Aalnor kicked one of the corpses into the pool. Whether it triggered some kind of trap or divine fury is unclear, but an explosive burst of green slime erupted from the pool and nearly consumed Aalnor and Aji-Tona. As his flesh began to slough off into slime, Aalnor summoned a massive flame strike, annihilating the slime and flash-steaming much of the pool.

Both heroes were left with disfiguring, debilitating injuries, so the party hastily retreated from the caves to heal and recover.

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Session 21 - July 27, 2024

With their health and disfigurements restored, the group decided to re-enter the cave. They crept through the opening and worked their way back to the large cavern near the rotting door.

The near end of the cavern had a floor of stone blocks and carvings on the walls–much like the entry hall. Nearby, a half-circle of statues stood atop an ancient grime-covered dais, flanked by two large pillars. Beyond it was a massive pit that extended off into the distance. The only way ahead (apart from exploring the depths of the pit) was via a thin, stony ledge that ran along the north wall into darkness.

Aji-Tona moved out onto the ledge to scout ahead with his Darkvision while Nate examined the carvings and tried to decipher them. Skag walked along the perimeter of the dais and the edge of the pit. Aalnor examined the statues more closely. Haemond stood guard, keeping everyone in his line of sight.

As the half-orc monk got further out on the ledge, a trio of gargoyles attacked from above. One flew down and gored Haemond into the wall, another attacked Aji-Tona and attempted to knock him into the pit. The third went for Skag.

Nate saw the incoming attack. He shouted to Skag before firing his crossbow, giving the barbarian a chance to duck out of the way. The bolt hit the gargoyle, knocking chips off its stone-like body.

Aalnor cast Produce Flame and hurled it at the creature, lighting it up briefly with magical fire while Skag readied his blade. The barbarian hacked into the gargoyle and broke off half of one of its wings, but before he could finish off the beast, the backswing of his greatsword stuck the blade firmly between the stone blocks of one of the pillars. The gargoyle clawed at him, and Aalnor rushed in to help. The druid murmured a command word, drew his flaming scimitar, and slashed at the stony creature.

Aji-Tona, meanwhile, pivoted and pressed his back to the wall to engage with his attacker. After an initial exchange of blocks and blows, he leaped brazenly off the ledge to grapple the creature in midair. The nimble gargoyle dodged both of his attempts to grapple and Aji-Tona began to fall into the pit.

Heroically, Nate summoned a massive magical web that stretched from the dais to the ledge, extending out over the corner of the pit to catch Aji-Tona before he could plunge to his doom. The monk fell onto the sticky fibers of the web and was trapped, seemingly easy prey for the gargoyle that flew above the webbed area—until Aalnor leaped off the dais, transformed into a giant eagle, and flew over to lift Aji-Tona out of the web.

Haemond struggled to fight off the gargoyle that attacked him. He was unable to get a clean hit until Nate’s Magic Missiles blasted into the creature. As the gargoyle turned to face Nate, Haemond broke free and put it down with two chops of his greatsword.

Nearly defeated, the shot, burned, and battered gargoyle on the dais near Skag dropped away into the blackness of the pit, taking its chances with a damaged wing rather than face the party any longer.

Skag and Aji-tona prepared to hurl javelins at the remaining gargoyle, but the monster had already made up its mind. Facing five battle-ready heroes instead of one delicately balancing half-orc was too risky for the beast, and it, too, retreated down into the pit.

After catching their breath and tending to wounds, the party continued exploring the cave. Nate cast a light spell on a crossbow bolt and fired it across the massive pit to determine the scope of the room. It landed on a small, isolated stone ledge. Aalnor flew over in wild-shape owl form and looked around. The party had entered from the west. The south and east walls of the cavern offered no exits, but the narrow ledge Aji-Tona had been exploring led to a passageway in the north wall.

With some careful rope use and cooperation, the party made their way along the ledge and into the hall. Aji-Tona scouted ahead. Nate searched the passageway for secret doors but found none.

The group followed the hallway around a bend, where it opened into a room. A statue of a soldier stood near the entrance and further in the party could see the glint of treasure and a figure in white robes draped over a simple bed of furs. The light from the party’s torches and spells seemed to interact oddly with the walls, floor, and ceiling here.

They investigated the pile of treasure: gold and platinum coins, some gems, and, near the bottom, a painting of a mountain village. When the heroes checked the body on the bed, they found it was a sleeping human girl. At first, she was frightened by the party but they managed to calm her enough to talk. Her name was Aeris, and she explained that a high priest named Castius had brought her here as part of a life ceremony held by her village.

She described a pool of purification and a ritual that was expected but never occurred. Instead, Castius brought her to this chamber and told her to stay and wait, and that he would return for her. She then fell asleep and was unsure how much time passed. She said that she tried to leave at one point, but experienced terrible pain crossing the room and returned to the bed.

She also recalled Castius used a large gold ring with a red stone to cast some spells here and told her that she would not be able to leave the room until he returned with the ring. Nate and Haemond studied the room and realized that the strange behavior of the light was actually the spells that had been cast, and that they were quite powerful (of a higher level than Nate’s magic at least).

Some debate ensued about whether to try to physically carry or remove her from the room, or whether to use a Dispel Magic on the area and attempt to lead her out. But if the magic was dispelled, what if it was linked to her life/survival? Might she be harmed or even killed? What if the spells were keeping her alive for hundreds of years or more while this place had been buried?

The party asked about Castius and her village. She told them of his role as high priest of her tribe and that the village was in the mountains to the east. When asked about the painting, she confirmed that the place in the painting was her village.

The group decided to venture out to the site of the mountain village to see if Castius or his ring could be recovered. They traveled east and after two days they reached the slopes of the mountains and matched some of the peaks they could see to the mountains in the painting.

As they got closer to the site, Aalnor took to the skies and with eagle eyes he surveyed the area, then landed and brought the group close to the only “village” in the area. It appeared that the old buildings shown in the painting were now gone and replaced with tribal humanoid tents protected by heavy stockade walls. Figures walked around on guard patrols, and a cave entrance could be seen leading into the mountains at the far end.

The site was now home to a large warband of bugbears.

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Session 22 - August 24, 2024

The heroes engaged in an epic battle with the bugbear warband camp and slew more than thirty soldiers, along with a squad of skirmishers, a hunting pack of elites, several wolves, a warg, a shaman, and the chieftain and his two sub-chief sons. Several humanoid slaves were used as shields by the bugbears and consequently slain during the battle, collateral damage of some of the area effect spells.

At least one taskmaster and a beastmaster retreated into the caves near the back of the camp.

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Session 23 - September 28, 2024

It seems that the heroes aren’t the only ones seeking Castius and his magic ring.

A (mostly) burnt journal from the leader’s tent revealed the warband's shaman, Baral-tuk, had searched the area thoroughly with magical detection spells but found nothing. However, reports and evidence from the dig site made him believe that Castius escaped the original destruction of Mincreek and headed north, following the river. Baral-tuk also wrote about bringing only his most trusted allies from the warband when planning the expedition.

Although several bugbears were undoubtedly still hiding in the potentially extensive caves at the end of the camp, the party sought to avoid another battle (except for Aji-Tona, who wandered a little too close to one of the entrances and nearly took a hit from a crossbow for his trouble).

The party gathered an assortment of loot from the battle and loaded it onto a damaged cart. With some makeshift repairs they were able to haul the cart out of the main camp. They headed north, hoping to find signs of a trail that Castius may have followed.

A barely identifiable trail ran along the river’s edge and they followed it. A few hours later they encountered and defeated a bugbear patrol that was heading back toward the camp.

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Session 24 - October 26, 2024

The party continued along the mountain trail, hoping to find signs of Castius' passing. Eventually they came upon a fork. One path turned slightly west and continued through a low canyon. The other led east across a bridge to the other side of the river.

At least there used to be a bridge.

The bridge had been out for quite some time after being split or cut somewhere near the middle. The remnants of boards and ropes–still anchored to the far end–cascaded down some twenty feet and into the river, where it wriggled back and forth in the current like a giant snake. The remains of the bridge on the near side extended down to just a few feet above the rocks and water.

Investigating further, the party saw something underwater near the middle of the river. It was wedged between the rocks: maybe a body or some kind of man-sized object. Aalnor entered the water and swam down to investigate.

Aji-Tona and Skag worked their way across the rushing waters toward the remnants of the bridge on the far side. As they reached the halfway mark, two ogres began throwing watermelon-sized rocks at them.

(It was somewhere in the distraction of these moments that Nate found it convenient to help himself to a handful of gems from the chest Skag had been carrying.)

The underwater object was indeed a body. Was it Castius? Aalnor couldn't be sure, but he searched it and found a ring on the left hand. Just as he worked to loosen the ring, a cloudy form descended from the rocks above and plunged into the water, reforming next to Aalnor in the shape of a massive, blue-skinned ogre. It attacked and the two began fighting for the ring.

Aji-Tona and Skag made their way up the far side of the fallen bridge and managed to defeat one of the ogres with long-range help from Haemond and Nate. The remaining sentry disengaged and lumbered off through the rocks. After catching their breath for a moment, Skag and Aji-Tona gave chase, which led them to the entrance of a cave with more ogres stationed outside.

Nate levitated upward to see where the ogre had run and to get a better view of what was happening in the water. He saw more ogres preparing to ambush Skag and Aji-Tona. Nate hurled fireballs at the monsters, incinerating several of them and scorching the very stones of the mountain path. Unfortunately, his magic was less successful against the strange ogre grappling with Aalnor. After a barrage of Magic Missiles had no effect, Nate looked further downstream and summoned a field of black tentacles, hoping to trap the creature with a more indirect spell.

Aalnor struggled against his foe and transformed into an octopus as they slipped through the narrow rocks and were carried downstream by the current. Seeing the intensity of the battle, Haemond imbued himself with Righteous Might and leaped into the river to follow them. Now twelve-feet tall and only shoulder height in the waters, he pushed himself along with the current.

Skag and Aji-tona finished off the remaining ogres along the rocky path, and noticed the cave had been sealed shut from the inside. It was likely a den with other members of the ogre tribe, now barricaded against the invading heroes.

The current carried Aalnor and the ogre right into Nate's black tentacles. The crushing arcane limbs and the beating from the ogre nearly killed the half-elven druid. The monstrous humanoid had Aalnor in his grasp and was squeezing the life out of him. Only the cessation of Nate's spell and a last-moment transformation into a tiny fish allowed Aalnor to slip through the monsters fingers and escape.

Alas, he had to drop the ring to transform.

While Aalnor slipped away and raced toward the shore to avoid going over the waterfall, the ring tumbled amidst the currents and into the hand of the blue-skinned ogre. He slipped it into a pocket of his armor. A moment later, he transformed back into a billowing cloud, fizzing up out of the water and into the sky. Nate cast a parting fireball at it. When the blast of flame cleared, the gaseous cloud was gone.

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