Session 12 – Woe Below

Campaign II, session 12. Previous: Session 11. Next: Session 13.

• Party descends into the ravine and makes their way toward the hole

• Gets ambushed by giant centipedes. Jannis goes down, centipedes squashed. Jannis revived, but also has to have the centipede’s venom purged from his system before the party can continue.

• Party passes through the goblin territory – it looks like they’ve packed up and moved out, but we don’t know where.

• Party reaches the room with the giant hole – there are five potted twiggy plants. When Cresilde approaches to get a good look, they start attacking!

• The twiggy blights have a solid first round, landing several hits and stinging party members with their venomous sap.

• Vezkha goes into a rage and smashes three of them to pieces in the second round. Vierath comes close to falling. The party rallies to smash the last two in the third round.

• The party peers below, seeing a few more of the twiggy creatures soaking in a compost pile. They try to communicate, but don’t understand any of the sounds the twig blights make. While Cresilde uses her healing skills to patch up the group as best she can, Vaelor consults the omens to see “if what the group seeks will be found below.” The omens respond: “woe!”.

• Despite Vaelor’s insistence that this is a bad idea, the group makes use of a knotted rope and the viny growths to climb their way down to the compost heap, where they smash up the two twig blights as well as two skeletons.

• Examining the compost, they find it’s a mix of plant matter, fungus, bodies, and some odd metal limbs – the remains of Migs…

• As they are doing this, they are surprised by a bugbear and hits pet wolves - “Ahhh! Fresh meat!” The bugbear cleaves through Vezhka and Vierath and lands a blow on Fenmyra. The wolves charge in as well, but don’t score hits.

• Fenmyra lands a hit with her warhammer. Vaelor manages to scoot around behind the bugbear, but fails to strike a meaningful blow. The bugbear drops Fenmyra but fails to cleave into Vaelor. Meanwhile the wolves drop Jannis and Hedda. Cresilde stabilizes Vezhka. Vierath, then Fenmyra miraculously stabilizes themselves (with fate points).

• The party decides to withdraw, except Vaelor (who has been hiding for every fight up until now). Vaelor aims for the eyes, and seems to strike true! The bugbear’s next attack misses. The wolves chow down on the fallen henches.

• The bugbear smashes Vaelor down. Most of the survivors manage to climb out of the bugbear’s reach. Miyera lands a partying shot with one of her war-rings. But the bugbear manages to grab Vierath and hold him hostage. The group tries to bargain for his return but he tells them to simply run away!

• Vierath whispers something to the bugbear, and he withdraws along with his wolves. They party retreats up to the top. Cresilde drops a bag of apple seeds in hopes that it will somehow help Vierath negotiate better.

• The party sticks around the hole for a bit, and Cresilde decides to send her owl in with another pouch of coins to try to help. The bugbear is telling Vierath that “you might be lucky, I’ll be takin’ you to see da boss.”

• After hearing this, the group staggers out of the dungeon. They get surprised by a swarm of rats, but Mireya is able to scare them off with her torch.

• At the top of the ravine, Tiberros the Attendant of Talavosh spends his spells for the day healing Vezhka. The party stays the night (a herd of goats wander past) and plans to enter again the next day. Miyera hires Lirra, the peltmonger and caravanner who has been driving Lady Kerowyn’s cart for them, to join them on their return trip.