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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Goonalan" data-source="post: 8328261" data-attributes="member: 16069">Dark Squad in the Secrets of SaltmarshSession #053 The Ancient Alchemist's Well?Dark Squad (in alphabetical order, no egos here).New Tricks (played by Bear) Male Tabaxi Warlock Lvl 7Ramshambo (played by Kev) Male Half-Elf Rogue Lvl 7Vincenzo (played by Haggis) Male Shifter (Wildhunt) Druid Lvl 7NPCsDaktari (played by Haggis) Male Human Uthgardt Sky Pony Barbarian Lvl 7<s>Garumn Male Mountain Dwarf Paladin of Moradin Lvl 5 </s>RIP*Tarbin Tul (played by goonalan) Male Human Bard*Trapped in the Land of the Bad Dead Ancestors.Servants/FamiliarsGerald (Bat/Giant Bat) servant/mount of New TricksOwly (Owl) Vinnie’s familiarThis is session 53, and it was a cracker.The Dark Squad are within an ancient and mostly ruined woodland manse- former home of Grannoc (RIP), a half-orc Talos worshipping boss, and a bunch of other bad things. This after the fifteen turn long combat last session, which involved the various N/PCs above and, wait for it... sixty two enemies in total.The adventurers, after a short breather- and having put Newt's fire out, are keen to take a look around, and also to investigate the well in the courtyard. The well, Newt has noted, opens into a large cavern chamber below- home to another Gulthias Tree which grows up and out of the aperture. Newt really wants to investigate this place.But first, the manse- the lower level is systematically searched, in truth there's nothing much to find here except in what were Grannoc's chambers, the rest of the place seems unused- a ruin. Grannoc's chamber however shows signs of an ongoing ritual- with lightning bolts scoured into the wooden floor, and annotated in blood. There's also a still burning brazier- something magical was going on in here. The half-orc's chamber also contains a swathe of (minor) treasures, including a few potions and a packet of dust of disappearance, and a slew of coin- although mostly copper.The Dark Squad after further investigation are of the opinion that the various low level treasures they find here constitute the former belongings of folk slaughtered by the Talos worshippers during their operations in the region.The PCs during their extensive search also find another item of note- an old portrait of a grumpy looking noble, possibly the original owner of the manse- Maximo De La Crane. But wait a minute, that name rings a bell. Vinnie, finally makes the connection- the De La Crane crypt back in the Saltmarsh cemetery was the location of the secret entrance that lead to the portal to the Pact of the Flame chamber.Who were the De La Crane's?[Searching the lower level of the manse 500 XP]That done the adventurers head upstairs, through a hole in the ceiling and into the former lair of the gnolls. The place is a stinking mess, and there's more evidence of the gnoll's predation, the adventurers find a backpack stuffed with beaver pelts, and alongside it the visceral half-eaten remains of a human trapper.[ATTACH=full]139703[/ATTACH]"Stirges!" The Dark Squad hate stirges.Investigations continue, and in an upstairs hallway- while failing to creep around quietly the Dark Squad disturb a flock of stirges, which were happily nesting in the attic above. A dozen of the pesky flying exsanguinators descend to feed on the adventurers, and remarkably my dice are on fire. At one point Newt decides to try to get the hell away from the cloud of stirges that are pestering him- in doing so he generates so many AoOs that he ends the turn with three stirges attached and syphoning his blood.[ATTACH=full]139704[/ATTACH]Newt has some new friends.And keep in mind the PCs at this point have not done any healing since the big fight last session, however the stirges are swiftly dealt with, and Ram sent into the attic to check the place out- no more stirges, just lots more junk.Time to move on, into the main bedroom of the manse, but this area is also a ruin, no-one has been in here for decades. Vinnie, with help from Ram and Daktari discovers that the mantelpiece over the fireplace here is hollow. The secret compartment is opened and a staff found within, later identified as a staff of birdcalls.Note, later in the session Vinnie uses his new staff in conjunction with his shillelagh spell, expending charges on the item when striking his foes to create various birdcalls- while hitting his enemies in the face. Nice. Jim, playing Vinnie, even does the sound effects.Ram makes another discovery, a secret chamber- within which the PCs find a chest which cannot be opened- it's arcane locked, and... a cloak of billowing, which the Dark Squad decide should be gifted to Tarbin Tul, the Bard is much impressed, and very grateful.So, next up- a bit of a discussion with regard to the well (with the Gulthias Tree in it) back down in the courtyard, the Dark Squad are searching for the ancient alchemist's well, it's one of the prophecies they received back in the Land of the Bad Dead Ancestors. There's enough evidence in the manse to convince the guys that someone in the De La Crane household had the magic needed to manufacture a few of the enchanted items discovered here, were they an alchemist?Is this the ancient alchemist's well?[Further investigations and discussions 500 XP]Time to find out, although not quite yet, the PCs are still pretty beat up- also it's already early evening, and therefore time for an extended rest. Newt conjures his Leomund's Tiny Hut in the main bedroom of the manse, a watch rota is sorted, and both Owly and Gerald are sent outside to keep an eye on the exterior of the building.Which proves to be a very good move, Gerald sends a mental call to Newt on second watch, there are more plant creatures approaching the manse from the woods hereabouts.[ATTACH=full]139705[/ATTACH]More blights on the way...[Spot the enemies approaching, good precautions 300 XP]The tabaxi rouses his comrades just in time as half-a-dozen needle blights climb in through the windows of the main bedroom, alas the fight is made much more difficult when Newt exits his Leomund's Tiny Hut- which causes the spell to end.[ATTACH=full]139706[/ATTACH]Blights in da 'ouse! Daktari is just about to take a bunch of hits.Daktari is quickly surrounded, and again my dice are on fire- the barbarian is clawed and shot full of needles, repeatedly- he's quickly bloodied. Tarbin Tul also suffers, as does Newt. In total ten needle blights attack the adventurers, but again... this is the Dark Squad, and they're seventh level now, so they beat their enemies down dead.[Needle blights from the woods 500 XP]Watches are reset and the remainder of an extended rest taken, undisturbed this time.Vinnie, with a fresh spell list, dispels the arcane lock on the chest Ram found, the rogue unlocks it and discovers an immovable rod- that's the second of these that the Dark Squad have found.Morning comes and the adventurers ready themselves and then- Ram first, and roped up, the Dark Squad descend the well- down the trunk of the burned tree, and into the dark. Fifteen feet of mortared stone and then through a hole in the ceiling of a large cavern chamber. Another thirty or forty feet scrambling through the branches of the great tree and the rogue touches down- all clear.Daktari begins his descent, with the other members of the Dark Squad following after.The cavern below is carpeted with straggly grasses- like the plant life back in the Sunless Citadel, the natural stone walls of the seem to have lots of markings on them- but not text, most odd. There's a pit or depression, and beyond it- to the west, ruined remains of mortared stone, most intriguing.[Down the well 500 XP]The DM, in the guise of the evil tree, waits until the Dark Squad are all clambering down before unleashing its attacks- snake-like vines unfurl and grasp hold of Daktari, the barbarian in the following turns is very quickly bloodied.Note, I incorporated an assassin vine (which does 6d6 ongoing poison damage) into the Gulthias Tree (and then gave the thing 500 HP), why- because I'm a bastard.Daktari eventually rages and escapes the clutches of the tree/vine, he then takes the quick way down- he lets go and plummets forty or so feet to the hard earth of the cavern.[ATTACH=full]139707[/ATTACH]Down the well.While the barbarian extracts himself from the grappling plant-life the rest of the Dark Squad make their way down into the cavern, although all of them take AoOs aplenty as a variety of other blights emerge from their hiding places within the evil tree.Vinnie is good enough to stop off on the way down to help Daktari extract himself from the snarling vegetation.[ATTACH=full]139708[/ATTACH]More hot Blight action.There are a dozen or so blights, mostly twiggies but a few others, and again- my dice are on fire- Newt is quickly bloodied, Tarbin Tul is badly wounded.[ATTACH=full]139709[/ATTACH]Newt takes a beating.Vinnie wildshapes into Vincen G Squeezy Snake, and then uses his reach to get at the blights that are hiding in the branches above, particularly the needle blights which are firing down into the adventurers.[ATTACH=full]139710[/ATTACH]Squeezy snakes his way back up the Gulthias Tree to rescue Tarbin Tul. But the Dark Squad struggling here, a bit, there are a lot of low rolls and therefore missing going on. In the course of this fight, and the last, Vinnie/Squeezy manages to roll a '1' four times.[ATTACH=full]139711[/ATTACH]Targeting the evil Gulthias Tree.Newt has seen enough, he conjures another Wall of Fire, but alas Squeezy is caught within the compass of the inferno- so big is the huge constrictor, he's impossible to avoid. The huge reptile is reduced in less than ten seconds to approx. 5 HP, soon after he's done- Vinnie's back, and now he's pissed too.But the huge tree has a massive reach, vines and roots emerge from the grasses in the cavern and grasp hold of Tarbin Tul, the bard is caught and clutched again.Note the Gulthias Tree/assassin vine delivers 6d6 ongoing poison damage to whoever it has in its clutches- Daktari suffered two turns of this, the bard- Tarbin Tul, just one.The fight rumbles on, the blights are eventually destroyed but the tree is made of sturdier stuff (500 HP, remember).At which point at least one of the inhabitants of the caverns below comes to see what all the noise is about, the creature in question is a meenlock- the creepy insect creature manages to catch Newt unawares. The tabaxi glimpses the beast but briefly, and then is left paralysed as the fey creature seems to fade and disappear.[ATTACH=full]139712[/ATTACH]Newt gets away from the violence, glugs down a potion of greater healing and then gets clawed and paralysed by the Meenlock six seconds later.Vinnie hits the evil tree with a maximum damage Blight spell attack, and the Wall of Fire continues to burn; Daktari, Ram and Tarbin Tull are making use of missile weapons, but... the Gulthias Tree still survives.Note, the Dark Squad's attacks on the evil are really bad, their dice- at times, are truly broken, they just kept on missing. Obviously I'm supplying the narrative as Ram with his bow (and an inspiration point) manages to fire high wide and handsome while attacking a fifty foot high tree from only twenty feet away.But the above took us until 11.30 PM, half-an-hour over time, the fight has been going on for eight turns and there's probably a bit more to it yet...That, however, is all we had time for this evening.The Dark Squad’s to-do list reads a little like this-1) Investigate the woodland manse/ancient alchemist's well.2) Track the other half-orcs/boars.3) DESTROY!4) Back to the Falcon?5) Goblins in the Dreadwood.6) Nightshade in the Dreadwood.7) To Blackedge, find the Goblin Stair.8) Return to Fallowstone Holy for answers- the Witch’s Tor & the Pact of the Flame.Stay safe and well you lovely people.Cheers the Dark Squad and goonalan.</blockquote>

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