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Keys from the Golden Vault Session 46
StarringChéri Powder, level 9 human Illusionist Wizard
Elowen Fernwhisper, level 9 wood elf Circle of the Moon Druid
Stayzie Diamondz, level 9 orc Champion Fighter
Taveen, level 9 aasimar Warrior of Mercy Monk
Varrow, level 9 gnome Thief Rogue/Gloomstalker Ranger
In the corridor outside the common room, Stayzie cleaves through the nearby ghouls as Varrow points his trusty wand of web, restraining all but the cult mage (C23, C17).
One of the cultists says they need the aid of the demons, and the mage, Algra, agrees. After throwing another fireball at the party (they all make the save!?), she reaches over and tugs on a book on a nearby bookshelf, revealing a hidden passage, and ducks inside.
Taveen rushes after her, slowing down a bit from the sticky webs, and into the hidden passage, throwing some punches at her C19).
But he’s unprepared at what the hidden passage has revealed: another room containing a hulking, ape-like demon — a barlgura! (only 1, since we had a reduced player count this session).
(This mission is taken from Chapter 1 of Vecna: Eve of Ruin. The alternate dungeon map is from Tessa Presents 56 Maps for Vecna: Eve of Ruin.)
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The creature roared at charged at Taveen, practically trampling the mage. It knocks the monk down and tears into him, getting a critical hit on its tormenting bite attack, dealing nearly 40 damage!
Taveen is almost torn apart. He’s forced to back off and quickly drink health potions and use his hand of healing.
Varrow throws a poisoned dagger the remaining cult fanatic, and Stayze finishes him off, then moves to help take Taveen’s place vs the demon with her second wind.
A shaken but alive Taveen rejoins the fight, but it’s Varrow’s clutch pipes of haunting that help turn the tide, rendering the mage and the barlgura frightened of the gnome rogue!
The creature doesn’t need to advance to tear into the orc or the aasimar, but the frightened condition helps weaken its attacks, giving the pair of frontline adventurers a chance to lay into it.
Meanwhile, Algra deals some ranged damage from afar, before she ducks further into the demon room, and out the main doors, re-emerging in the main corridor. She tires to cast invisibility, but Chéris’ faerie fire is still on her, and it lights her up, allowing Varrow to give chase.
As he rushes through the demon’s room, he sees a body has been brutally torn apart. He recognizes bits and pieces of the elven archer, Enna, another of Arlo’s crew.
The rogue reaches the corridor and flings a dagger at her back, and uses his wand of web to slow her down.
After Stayzie and Taveen take out the monstrous creature, she charges in after them, and puts an end to the mage. As she dies, the mage spits out that they’re all dead, and no match for the Whispered One.
Stayzie nearly stops in her tracks when she recognizes Arlo, standing calmly down the hallway (C23). But as she nears, she sees that his clothes are in tatters, his skin is a bit rotted, and his eyes are cloudy. Not quite a zombie, but clearly not all there, either. He appears completely comatose.
“Don’t bother,” a voice calls from a nearby cell, “He’s already gone.”
In the dark cell, they find the final member of the doomed crew, Tosh, the orc priest (C24).
Tosh explains what the party has gradually figured out: Arlo’s crew met a violent end here beneath the Neverdeath Cemetery. The last three of them were captured by cultists. Enna was fed to the demons, while Arlo was a test subject for a special ritual, done in a nearby chamber.
Tosh could hear the screams, then when they were done, they escorted Arlo out, and he looked like this.
The orc is despondent, but Varrow convinces him to shake it off and help them. Tosh admits that there’s still a job to do, and the party has still only found one of the kidnapped citizens. Tosh knows they recently took onto to the grand chamber to the south. But hopefully there’s enough time to find the rest of them, and a potential short rest, before they commit to another big battle.
Live post-session discussion:
Next session: The horrors of the Cult of the Whispered One!
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