Session3.2

Hardholme S3E2: East Temple Canar Forest Adventure — Part I
In attendance: Aurelae (Lauren), Nihilus (Caspar), Buckler (Luther), Fallynde (Elaine), Rael (Rick), Indigo (Shane).

DAY 1:

 * The day after the Arrival Festival.
 * In town, the group takes care of the things they need to take care of, preparation for the journey, tying up loose ends, good byes, etc. Rael tries to convince Jackson to come along on the “vacation”. Hahahhahahahahaha.
 * The group gathers together and heads out on their Striders. (Striders or Stryders lmao, imma just let it be both haha.) Nihilus borrows one of Aurelae’s Striders. (Stridey and Gust!) They pass by the Colosseum and it sounds like Archie is still partying and racing Striders. Good for him. They head out East along the cliff side, towards the mountains.
 * They make it to the Gold Mine and set up camp there. There’s a small shanty camp for the people tending to the mine. Nihilus casts Leomund’s Tiny Hut to protect them as they sleep.
 * Buckler catches a Wnga!

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DAY 2

 * The next morning Rael gives wine to the miners...he explains it with flourish but it is wasted on these gruff, blue-collar workers. They have no idea who the travelers are, nor do they care.

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 * Rael and Fallynde check on the miners to make sure they are being paid what they are supposed to be paid. Seems like they are.
 * They continue to head East. Hills to the left, to the right is a cliff and flat plains beyond that. Every now and then the odd Quakesnake can be seen leaping like happy whales in the far distance.
 * There is a big Batdusa Tree straight ahead. They debate whether to go around it (SMART) or OOOORRRR Rael suggests casting “Dark” to see if maybe they’ll go to sleep… They go around it. (To the North.) Aurelae and Buckler spot the Batdusa sentinels and successfully aid the group in avoiding them.
 * Then, suddenly — a screech and a swoop! OCTOBIRD DIVE BOMB!!! THREE OF THEM! Rael stares one of them down RIGHT IN THE EYES. The sky darkens and thunder rumbles. And Rael has to make a wisdom saving throw (for looking it in the eyes) and faaaaaiiiilllls.
 * They try to out run and out maneuver the Octobirds, but no go. Combat. The Octobirds are named Natalie, Rufus, and Billy (and they know this for some reason hahah).
 * Nihilus casts Slow on the Octobirds. Billy & Natalie fail and are slowed. Rufus saves.
 * Aurelae shoots Rufus for 18 damage.
 * Fallynde activates rage and hits Rufus for 44 damage.
 * Rufus swoops down and attacks Nihilus, and lucky for him, misses.
 * Rael uses Mantle of Inspiration on everyone’s striders but his and yells “Don’t turn around!” He casts Blind and hits Billy and Rufus are blinded.
 * Buckler raises his sword and smites Billy for 48 damage.
 * Poor dumb, blind Billy. He goes for Buckler in a blind rage, but luckily for Buckler Billy somehow misses.
 * Indy casts fear on Billy and he fucked off.
 * Natalie goes for Rael. Nihilus casts Cloud Fog at her to obscure her sight.
 * Aurelae shoots Rufus for a measly 14 damage.
 * Fallynde obliterates Rufus! (63 damage!)
 * They run away and leave Natalie in the fog cloud.
 * They set up camp at the base of the mountain.

DAY 3

 * They reach Grandl’s mine by mid afternoon. It's now called New Moira.
 * Quite a bit of progress has been made since the last time they were there. There are dwarven runes carved in an arch over the main entrance that says “Friends”.
 * Grand intros, happy times, aaaaaaand then the other 70th members recognize Rael…
 * Grandl, Gemma, Oras. It is… not the happiest reunion. Rael does his best though to try and convince them that he really has changed… no really… mostly...
 * Nihlus meets Grandl. They hit it off right away, especially when Nihilus tells Granbdl about his mushrooms and Stoneheart Mushroom Stew. Nilhus asks if there are any empty caves in New Moira where he could grow his mushrooms. Grandl is happy to give Nihilus some space. He is more than happy to have some mushrooms growing. Nihilus invests 90% of his mushroom stock into the mine and keeps 10% to grow elsewhere.
 * They take a tour of the mines. They’ve been working hard to carve out space for living, mining, etc. It is substantially bigger and more ornate than the last time they visited.
 * Rael proposes setting up a void cube to make transport between HH and NM instant and easy. Grandl agrees and makes them all citizens of New Moira.
 * They stay and talk and drink well into the night.

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DAY 4

 * They head North towards the temple. It is now completely covered in slime and creep. There is no forest anymore, just gross slime and creep. It stops right at the edge of the forest. Not on the mountain at all, just took over the forest. The creep is something we can walk on, like a dense algae. The trees don’t look like trees anymore. More like creep covered rods jutting up out of the ground here and there that are moving slightly, pulsating. This stretches as far as they can see. Griefer (Nihilus’ raven familiar) flies around and doesn’t see anything additional. The mountains are clean and the temple seems to be clean from here. Doesn’t seem to be sentient, just organic growth that took over the forest.
 * They debate whether to bring the striders past this point or not. They take the striders up to the pyramid. But there is no pyramid anymore. Just a giant pulsating tentacle mass of creepy organic matter.
 * Indigo’s pseudo-dragon, Archimicarus, senses life within the pulsating pyramid. No consciousness. No intelligence.
 * Rael uses Stoneshape and sculpts a safe ledge on the mountain for the striders to rest on, and they park them there and continue on to the temple.
 * They camp. Tiny hut. Rael casts Hallucinatory Terrain and creates the illusion of a beautiful meadow inside the hut.
 * There are no wngas.

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DAY 5

 * Aurelae climbs as high as she can to see what her elf eyes can see. The creep has taken over the ENTIRE forest. The mountains to the East form a horseshoe around the forest. She sees about 30-50 Wild Creep Canar in a dense circle surrounding a lone, non-mutated Canar in the center. (A little bulldog Canar.) He is clearly very scared and bravely striking out with his sword at the Wild Mutated Canar as they slowly close in on him. Aurelae’s heart breaks as she watches them wash over the lone Canar and he is gone.
 * They proceed forwards into the temple. The rotten flesh of whatever we killed last time (Morgizzon) is piled up about a couple feet off the floor. It. SMELLS. BADLY.
 * They discuss where they should go, and Aurelae pulls out a detailed map she drew after the last time they were here, complete with the track of where they explored last time. The smell of death rot is reaaalllyyy overwhelming. It’s hard to ignore.
 * Rael blasts away the crumbled debris by the door they have not explored yet, it reveals a 20-foot-wide hall with ornate carvings of Kazzaran on the walls.
 * On the right hand wall is a locked door with a place for a blue orb key. They open it.  There’s a small hallway and it opens up to a large hall with Kazzaran statues in the little alcoves. Then there is a ditch and after that up on a pedestal, just like the last two, is an ornate sarcophagus. The whole hallway is only about 40-60 feet long, Aurelae and Nihilus are just gonna chill in the hallway, they can hit from there.
 * There is 100% a trap door in the middle that they avoid. Fallynde and Buckler go up to the sarcophagus to open it. Buckler opens the tomb.
 * Hands grab the sides of the sarcophagus and a Dog Headed Mummy pulls itself up.
 * Nihilus casts Slow on the mummy. Now it’s extra slow.
 * Aurelae (shock) shoots it (28 damage).
 * Fallynde slams it for 41 damage.
 * Rael casts Mantle of Inspiration on everyone but Aurelae. Then casts Bane on the mummy. It saved.
 * Buckler smashes the fuuuuuuck out of the mummy (75 damage).
 * Dust starts to swirl up around the mummy, anyone within 5 feet of it must do a saving throw. Both Buckler and Fallynde are blinded now.
 * The mummy breaks free of Nihilus’ slow spell.
 * Indigo flies over the ditch gap and absorbs the mummy into THE BOOK.
 * Once the third mummy is dead they can sense that something is...changed. They don’t know what. They don’t know where. But something is off. Greeeeeeeaaaaaaatttttt…

TO BE CONTINUED...