Session 16 1/23/2022

Michael, Jeff, Tasha, Megan, Bill

Arden, Duriel, Elektrah, Lucia, Brottar

The party has just escaped from a harrowing experience with some bored hill giants and need to decide where to go next. There is some discussion and it is decided to head south in search of Evereska. Their path takes them past the Lonely Moor where they see a large castle shaped like a Gnoll as well as several sentry fires where they can hear a loud barking sound. The party, wisely, decides against approaching the moor and opts for the Forgotten Forest instead.

While camped in the plains, Brottar notices a large bat-like creature flying over them repeatedly. He wakes the party and we begin searching for it. They are able to see it has two bat-like wings, arms, legs, and a long scorpion tale. Arden correctly identifies it as an Imp. Duriel shoots it with an arrow, piercing it's wing, and it disappears while falling to the ground. The party goes to find it and hear a high pitched whining. Concerned about what it might be doing, the party tries to find it. They hear a loud POP sound and hear something scurrying though the grass. Lucia flicks out her rapier and skewers a large spider-like creature. She shakes it off of her sword and Brottar smashes it with his warhammer. The party moves camp and tries to rest for the rest of the night.

They make their way into the Forgotten Forest and immediately feel many eyes on them, but nothing overly menacing. It is a very old forest, the trees are impossibly tall and wide. A short while later, they hear some rustling in the underbrush. Lucia is hit by a large spike. Duriel is also hit by spike. The party is attacked by manticores! After some impressive fighting by Brottar and some damaging magic by Arden, the manticores are dispatched. The party decides to skin them (tail and all) to see if they can have magic cloaks made of them.

Venturing further into the forest, they find themselves in a mushroom grove. They hear a loud buzzing above their heads. A small voice asks, in Sylvan, why they're there. Arden and Elektrah speak with the Fey near them and try to get some information about the area. They are told about a Marsh to the west where the will-o-wisps play. They are told that Tall Folk live to the east and south and southeast. They were not able to get any more specific information than that. Arden gives the fey a few shiny coins to complete the transaction.

The group discusses where they should go next and should they trust the fey? It's decided that, while unable to lie, the fey are known tricksters. They decide to head East and if they find themselves approaching a dangerous situation, they can always go a different direction. After leaving the forest, they find a small village with an inn named the Halfway Inn. They were able to get a few rooms and a warm dinner while discussing current events with the server. She mentions that there are no children in the village at the moment. They've all grown up and left the village in search of a bigger/better/more exciting life than a small village in the middle of nowhere. She also mentions that traders will travel South/SouthWest to Hill's Edge which is a week's journey by wagon. It's probably 4-5 days if walking. The party opts to enjoy the hospitality of the inn and see what they can pick up from the villagers in the dining room. They hear complaints about the lack of growth of their crops and concerns about the sheep in the nearby hills. They also overhear someone complaining about how heavy his load is going to be since he can't use his wagon. This is of great interest to the party because why couldn't he use his wagon?

The party will stay in the village for a few days to rest and explore. Elektrah has plans to cast the Plant Growth ritual (8 hr casting time) to help their crops. The party is hoping to find information that may direct them to the Hidden City, Evereska.

1500xp

2 complete manticore hides.

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