Run Date: January 10th, 2023
PCs
Rebel: Lv4 Monk
Richard: Lv2 Fighter
Baldur: Lv2 Barbarian
Henches x5
Descent Into Blackwall
The OG crew returns. It felt like a couple months since I last had to write about these guys, and their desire to delve under Oldtown's Central Mausoleum meant I had to to a bit of updating. For this, I just acted like it was a new dungeon and tossed some percentiles to see the current state (Monster, Monster, Empty, Empty to get started).
The session itself started with the players talking about what their characters had been up to the past while and formulating their plan. After this, they headed over to Oldtown to check up on how things were going. Thanks to the efforts of Rebel, Henri, and Agatha, the hallowing of the graveyard was nearly finished with no hiccups. The central mausoleum, however, still stood as a wall of negativity and discussions were still taking place on just how to tackle it. Rebel, Richard, Baldur, and a handful of henches headed into the place to investigate.
The main level was clear, though still. Rebel used her newfound powers to light a Khairnite-style lantern and look for traces of spiritual residue, but found none. Given their previous experiences, this put them on edge. As they moved from the main chamber to the second, the party spotted a low glow coming from an old embalming room. This room was where they'd met the possessed Nüra months ago, and they were understandably concerned when they found someone had turned it into a study. Luckily, the group recognized the inhabitant as the boy Neeka (also Nüra). They questioned him about what had been going on since their last meeting and the apprentice explained that his master was forced back and their connection severed. Since then, Neeka has been diligently studying and practicing magic.
The group voiced some concerns and floated several theories before deciding to fall in line and march into the back tunnel. So the descent began. A stagnant funk wafted up the shaft as the party arrived at the first landing. They were immediately greeted with wall-to-wall black goo; strings of which connected floor to ceiling. As they discussed their plan of approach, some goo-monsters slopped their way into sight. The party prepped for a fight while the creatures dissolved into the surroundings.
The party fired arrows at the humps sliding up the tendrils and tried to set a defensive perimeter for the ones coming from the ground. There was a bit of chip damage, but overall the party was victorious. They discovered that each of the humps had a "heart" made of fused bone, and that they were fairly weak when struck. After the room settled, the party entered the sludge cavern proper. Dura, one of the henches, slipped and fell into it (a risk that could cause later issues).
As I said, it's been a while since the party visited. Thanks to the power of real time, they also barely remembered which paths lead where and hadn't drawn a map or sketch. This lead to some fun back and forth about what rooms were where and small references as they later progressed. Anyhow, the party, remembering they initially turned right, did so. They noticed the familiar pathway and niches, covered in slime and missing their iconic fungal flowers. As they progressed, the sludge seemed to fade as well.
The next room vibrated with intensity. The party's light spread across false, holed pillars made of a wax-like substance. A few of them spotted strange white nubs reaching out of the holes and slimily lapping up nearby goo. Baldur, the ever courageous, remembered the room as the "fish room" and went straight over to where the old underground stream and fish trap had been. He noticed that the waxy substance had dammed the stream and turned it into a forked river trap. At this point, he reached into the water and snatched up a silver-scaled fish. One of the nearby holes then attempted to snatch the fish from him. Shortly thereafter, the vibrations shifted to wild buzzing and the group was ambushed.
A slew of mandibled giant insects descended onto every rank of the party and began tearing away at them, fresh meat for their brood. Baldur and Richard did their damndest to protect their lines; Baldur even going so far as to Major Exploit: Improvised Fish and take down a few (the fish did not survive the encounter, RIP). The group came out victorious, albeit much more chewed than their last encounter. They took a few moments to rest and execute all the maggots before another long discussion about which direction to take.
The "fish room" had 3 exits, and the players were trying their hardest to remember which lead where. To their credit, they remembered the contents of the surrounding rooms better than the actual direction. Once their rest completed, the decision was made to head south. They passed down another hall with the familiar niches before arriving in another room of sludge. The group noticed a film of scum and grime floating atop a pool of water, then quickly noticed the pillars, table, and sitting area. "Is there anything on the table?"
"There used to be."
"Oh yeah, this is where we got those mugs we sold."
Realizing this, the party headed back to the "fish room" and worked their way east. This path lead to a "jello door." Unlike the black sludge they'd been moving through, this "door" appeared to be a clear gel. The party experimented with it, wondering if they could just waltz through. Baldur dove in head first to find out (literally). As his head burst to the other side, he spotted the underground city where they'd shattered the giant crystal.
Baldur needed a tug to get back, explained what he saw, and prepared to rush through. The party were hesitant, but decided they needed to know more. As they burst through the jello door, the group discovered an obstacle: the film residue leftover acted like shrink wrap or cellophane. They all desperately grasped and tore at the film before it could block their noses and mouth; and in the process tore free bits of hair and skin. Suffice it to say, nobody will need to get a professional wax anytime soon.
The group had zero time to rest as their panicked tearing and light summoned a nearby patrol. These goo-creatures were larger than the ones at the entrance. The party was happy to find that they were just as fragile. The party was hesitant to abandon ship despite their wounds. It would be difficult to formulate a solution if they couldn't at least figure something out as a problem. With this in mind, they headed down an old familiar road toward the site of the shattered crystal.
The underground stone city was awash in black sludge, and in the air was a pulsing vibration that made everything shudder. There were no more encounters in the streets, and the party found themselves at the heart of it all (again, literally). A massive, droplet shaped string of sludge hung above the old pavilion. The pathways that had collapsed were now glued together, the pieces of shattered crystals flowing in and out of the thing's surface. As the party stood agape, the thing began to pulse and vibrate again. It then gave birth to a small slime creature. Before it could get into the town, however, Richard took it down with an arrow.
With this, the party decided to unload a volley and try to harm the thing. Unfortunately, their weapons did nothing but anger it. As soon as the arrows and bolts penetrated the sludge, the droplet launched tendrils outward. A wave of black sludge crashed against the frontline of the party and attempted to drag them into it. Worse yet, the splashes animated into a swarm of tiny things with crystal and arrow stabbers.
The group decided now would be a good time to mount a retreat, but were bogged down in the swarm. Baldur and Rebel cut away the tendrils binding them and swept out a section of the swarm, punching a temporary opening. Unfortunately, others in the party were slow going. The retreat quickly became frantic wailing, but the party eventually broke free. As they fled, however, several wounds were delivered and one of the henches (Holly) fell (I think someone else did as well, but it isn't in my notes). Baldur grabbed her and fled with the rest.
The pulsing increased as the tendrils continued to grasp and pull. The sludge along the roads made it difficult to sprint, but the party managed to make it back to the "jello door." They covered their mouths and rushed through. The wave of black sludge splashed helplessly against the doorway, much to the party's relief. However, it didn't hesitate for a party shot and launched the bits of arrow and crystal through the door. More damage was divvied out, but the party was in no position to stop fleeing. They fled all the way back to Neeka's room, though the boy had disappeared.
Still on edge, the party hurried to check the fallen. It was at this point they realized Holly had suffered a gruesome end: not to the wounds, but the cellophane sealing her airways. Wounded and terrified, the party retired. Rebel took Holly's body out for a burial while the others set off to tend their wounds and plan their week.
Rewards
3 XP
Downtime
Per usual, the session itself ran pretty quick, resulting in a good hour or so of extra time. For this, we tended to various downtime requests and got things up to speed.
Rebel
Having gathered a sample of the sludge, Rebel decided to invest some time and money into the local alchemists to try and find a solution to the problem (geddit, solution?)
Richard
Richard planned to rest and return to work. He hasn't gotten a lot of opportunity to benefit from his new position as Lieutenant.
Fay
From the Crossroad Cavalry group, Fay collected some of the strange ice flowers the army discovered on their way home. She sold these off, earning a small chunk of change for herself, the CC, and the party.
Blackwater Cove Smugglers
Ranaran's death wasn't the end of this party. The remaining two characters continued their work as patrols, but ran into a several chimera (manbearpigs). The patrol was nearly decimated, the PCs surviving with several injuries. The Captain decided they'd proved their loyalty and plans to assign them to raid and smuggling operations for a while.
TAG
She's still weighing whether she wants to stay at the Red Water Sanctum. She earned a bit of money from the Gold Digger's Guild for her services as liaison to the Baranklaw, but the lady is itching for something more.
Baldur
I saved Baldur for last. He decided he wanted to spend some cash and go carousing. Unfortunately, Baldur isn't known for being a peaceful drunk. He said the wrong thing to the wrong person that landed him in a gentleman's duel... to the death. The noble, of course, had a retainer on hire for such things and Baldur had to face down Sir Edgar.
To his credit, Baldur held his own against the more-experienced fighter. He opened with a pair of solid blows and a crit, but his burst of energy left him too tired to push the advantage. A skilled blow from Edgar's mace forced the barbarian back, opening him up to the Knight's signature cleaving charge.
So it was that Baldur's life was ended. To his credit, Baldur had expected this to happen sooner or later and had bequeathed his legacy to Willow and Rebel (the former, however, died some time ago).
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