Session #25 - February 21, 2011 - I Can Only Imagine the Honeymoon
notes: Grezz the boom-boom sorcerer finally behaved like a boom-boom sorcerer. Scorching Ray is a wonderful spell when, you know, you actually hit with it. Good group tactics helped make two difficult fights manageable and Trixie made some great decisions that both stymied the enemy and made us new friends. Everyone else made 7th level by the end of the night. I settled on Greater Fortitude for my bonus feat, Expanded Arcana for my level feat and Haste and Fireball for 3rd level spells. the group also spent the ridiculous amount of cash we'd earned. I grabbed a headband of mental superiority and a lesser rod of disruption. The rest of my money went to wedding gifts (goblin slaying arrows from me, and rings of shared thoughts from all of us).
Don't invite us to your celebrations, though. We may be big spenders, but all sorts of bad




happens around us.
From the journal of Grezzalik M'rethen:
Back in my Academica days (which seem so very long ago now) I was having lunch with Nortlan one day when he looked up from his meal and said, "You're going to be destruction personified, you know."
I'd stopped toying with my chicken stew and raised an eyebrow. "Uhm, what?"
"You were part of my seeing in my Oracle class this morning. I saw you swathed in electricity and fire, your skin covered with something that might have been mold, tossing balls of energy around with an angry look in your eyes. At least, that's what I thought I saw."
"Isn't that with Professor Tanthalas, where he gives you a hallucinogen?"
Nortlan shrugged. "Just telling you what I saw, Grezz. It doesn't make sense, because you're a pretty lousy wizard."
My powers hadn't manifested yet, so he was only being accurate. "Maybe I'm destined to be an alchemist instead."
"Just telling you what I saw. Are you going to eat that apple?"
I'd followed up on the alchemy part - in fact I'd spent the better part of a month locked away in the basement of our new cottage on Hidemarch Estate with my cauldron of brewing and a spell to aid me in creation. It had gone reasonably well, as i managed to produce several batches of silver weapon blanch and several doses of the hangover cure known as Alchemist's Friend. Not too shabby. But Nortlan's prediction, well, ever since the fight with the lamia I'd felt different - more powerful. Certain spells I'd never been able to get the handle on at school now seemed like things I'd be able to cast now with ease. This was all in theory, of course, because I didn't think it would be cool wandering around our new digs tossing fireballs.
Yeah, new digs. The last remaining Foxglove, the sister in Corvosa, had laid claim to the townhouse, but we'd been fortunate in timing as Hidemarch bestowed our probationary Pathfinder status on us, allowing us to move into a cottage. The month fairly flew by and suddenly it was time to head back near Sandport for Shalue and Belden's wedding.
We bought gifts and spent a lot of money on ourselves as well. I picked up a handy headband and fondly laid my longspear aside, opting instead for a staff that could give my spells a little something . . . disruptive. Trixie went out one morning muttering about buying a wand of fireballs and came back bouncing on her toes. I was elbow deep in blanch but she kept pestering me until I stopped and let her show me what she'd gotten.
"Here!" She handed me a rod. "It can make fireballs!" She was beyond excited.
"Yes, that's -" I stopped and used magical sight to look it over. I'm not as skilled as Londis at detecting the nature of things and people but the thing was practically dripping chaos. "is this . . . is this a rod of wonder?"
"Yes! You can't IMAGINE all the things it can do!"
"Oh, I can. We had one of these at the Academica in the 'Unpredictable Magic' lab." i was about to go on but saw how happy she was and instead said, "It's very nice. Please don't use it if I'm standing in front of you."
She gave me an affectionate swat on the head as she grabbed it back, humming as she bounced off. Well, she'd still be cute even if she turned herself purple.
----
The wedding was in a small town south of Sandport and promised to be a good time. Trixie and Tofa were bridesmaids, along with baker Alma and Lyssa of the Guard, and they had to make some sort of baked good for an auction during the reception. the real prize was getting to eat said item with the baker and the money went to the happy couple.
Tofa produced some decent looking cookies and of course Alma created masterpieces, but Trix, well, hers didn't come out so well. She was going for a souffle but it soufell and kinda sorta looked like a cowflop. I didn't doubt that it wasn't going to matter, as men would be happy to bid just for time with her.
There was quite a collection of people there. Some full elves, a lot of farmers, and a very pale gnome named Tenzechial. It was explained to me that some gnomes lost their coloration as they lost their creativity. Creepy. He seemed somewhat unpleasant as well, surly and irascible. I tried to talk to him for a bit, out of politeness, but it was like trying to juggle beehives.
The ceremony went well, presided over my Father Xanthis. The booze and food were both in ample supply at the reception and Trixie, flirting with the local guys, looked as if she was feeling no pain. I introduced myself to Cassaviel and Kenthema, two elven women, who were peering at a horseshoe pit with undisguised curiosity. I offered to teach them how to play and Firedrin joined us. They weren't very good and we whipped them twice before they thanked us and wandered away. After they left I felt a hand pat my back.
"Grezz, you just don't have a clue, do you?" It was Trixie. I handed her a dose of Alchemist's Friend and she fired it down.
"What? It takes time to learn horseshoes, I'm not surprised they weren't very good."
She rolled her eyes. "No, you dope, they didn't want to learn how to play, they wanted you to show them how to play." At my blank expression she grabbed a horseshoe and got behind me, taking my hands in hers. "See, they wanted you to do this, to show them how like this, not like you were giving a lecture."
I was acutely aware of how her body felt firmly pressed up against mine as she 'showed' me how to toss a shoe. Ahem. At least my blush could be explained away by exertion.
The auction was . . . my friends make everything interesting. Tofa was won by Farmer Grump, survivor of the ghoul attacks, which disappointed several of the local boys who were quite taken by her. He cared nothing about the cookies and everything about her cleavage. Meltoria, the maid of honor, went to Firendrin but escaped unscathed, while Londis - yes, Londis - bid to win both Alma and Lyssa. He then proceeded to unleash a hellfire-type sermon about their wicked ways while I watched in slack-jawed amazement. of course.
There was a phalanx of young men who were hopped up to win Trixie's, uhm, baked thing, but the bidding quickly rose above their level. The gnome took an interest in Trixie and she made it obvious I wasn't to allow this to happen. I was in a tough spot here because if I bid on Trixie and didn't allow her to be won by someone she was interested in she'd lay into me yet again, but the gnome was clearly not an option. unfortunately he was well-heeled and the bidding was soon up in the high 20's - of gold! An elf named Galthieth joined in as well, and I figured she'd like that so I let him win.
The gnome was pissed and stormed off. I tried to go after him but he cursed at Dibbler - yeah, he was there too - and pretty much just vanished. he was ticked at C.M.O.T. over a business deal, but evidently he was just pissed in general because as Trixie took the stage to sing the wedding was suddenly under attack - by swarms of giants bees and creatures that appeared to be made of plants. The gnome's maniacal laughter rang out as he did some crazy talking promising retribution - turns out the runt wasn't even invited! Some people . . .
The plant things - spriggans - suddenly got a lot bigger as I webbed a swarm of bees (and Firendrin, unfortunately). Belden pulled the dwarf out as Londis smashed the captive bees with a flaming table - did I mention all our weapons and armor were in Tofa's bag of holding, since it was a wedding?
I tossed my first fireball at 3 huge spriggans, blasting two of them. Firedrin rose in the air and shot a burning spray, and behind me I heard trixie singing. the creatures didn't like fire so i hit them again, and then the bees and a spriggan hit me. Several times. I felt decidedly ill (OOC: failed a save, got poison that cost me 2 point of CON and thus 7 hits. i was at 4 hits when the fight ended, of course being too stupid to run). As we finished off the creatures it appeared that two guests had succumbed to death via bee stings, and Shalue was pissed. She stormed off to get her gear while Belden looked to us to stop her. "Please, she'll go off by herself. Can you take care of this for us?"
We could, but some wanted to wait a bit while Firendrin use d a magically sped up sleep pattern to regain his spells. We took off upriver into a thick, unnatural fog, looking for the gnome and a druid who might be able to help us. As we entered a clearing a naked woman ran from another direction and, seeing us, dropped to the ground.
'Help me," she said.
Firendrin healed her up as best as he could and we learned she was Bryna, a dryad of the 2nd world in bad shape. Creatures had attacked her grove and killed most of her sisters, and she begged us to try to save them. We agreed and headed off, carrying her but for naught as she died in the dwarf's arms.
We came into another clearing and found a nightmare - more spriggans burning trees and torturing a dryad and a horse. We rushed in, with me popping a Haste spell and smiling as my friends blurred into action. The creatures clearly intended to burn the captives alive but Trixie stunned them into inactivity with a song. Londis and Tofa charged into battle, and I finally managed to hit not one but two creatures with Scorching rays.
Then I saw the troll. I'd seem pictures in textbooks but nothing can prepare one for the actual size and hideousness of the creatures. I wasted no time in blasting him with a ray of his own (OOC: Crit, baby. Hello, Mr. troll, please have a quick 36 points of fire damage and oh, by the way, that spell was disruptive as well. Oh, and here's a fire elemental to keep you company). Firendrin did some zapping as well as Trixie freed the horse - I mean, the unicorn - and we poured it on. Somehow, it was quickly over and we tried to comfort a wounded dryad as Trixie summoned water elementals to save her tree. This wasn't okay. Our gnome friend had a lot to answer for.
Now we just had to find him.
more notes: we just blitzed the troll and it was never really able to get going against. Trixie's saving of the unicorn was a great move as it would have gotten pitched into the fire if she hadn't fascinated two spriggan just as combat started - her bard abilities are pretty impressive. Trixie and Tofa got their bridemaids presents before we left, a dwarven repeating crossbow and a silver elven dagger, respectively. Trixie rolled a 3 for her baking check and a 1 for her drinking at the wedding. i believe she actually fell off the stage the first time she climbed up. Grezz's CHA is now a 20 but I'm still playing him as having absolutely no idea he's attractive, as evidenced by his horseshoe debacle, although I can't be blamed for rolling 20, 18, 19, 17 for my throws.
Oh, and dryad trees are portals into the Fellnight. Can you see the noose tightening around Grezz's neck?