The Fourth Session

April 21, 2018, Campaign: Wildfire

We're on the road to Kingalore, a city relatively close to Honeyhand, to tell them about the Quasit invasions to Honeyhand. It's the Dwarven capital of the Elemental Collective.

Retroactively, Hayden decides that Theren has bought a breastplate in Honeyhand.

Belmac becomes accustomed to his gauntlets, and they're magical, so he's become attuned to them. They're Bear Hand Gauntlets. He gains +1 on tracking and survival checks. Their attack is basically claws with the same effectiveness as his swords. Like Sabretooth's claws.

At the end of last session, we were 4 days from Kingalore, and had just burned down the house near Timmy's Well.

Arriving at Kingalore

As we continue on the road, there are more traders, and a higher guard presence on the roads. The closer to Kingalore, the more guards.

As we crest the last foothill, we see the city of Kingalore: each half of the city on one mountain, with a huge bridge connecting them. Stretching between the two mountains, 50 feet wide, a mile long, made of mountain and stone and steel.

The road continues from where we are on the northwestern side of the city to a gate in the outer wall. We approach the gate. There are guards doing customs inspections, and we are approached by one such guard. (Theren has magically disguised himself magically to hide his armor and weapons.) He is the captain of the guard, and he'd received the original messanger from Honeyhand. He invites us inside to tell the full story.

Marnoc tells him the story, without much in the way of embellishment. The guard captain, a dwarf in a city of dwarves, wants to know what Skralaar's goals are, but we don't really know. Marnoc upsells us as a solution to demonic portals; the guard captain appreciates this marketing.

Theren asks the guard captain if his cousin Brarhead Oakbeard still runs the Bashful Walrus bar and pub. It is a big town; the guard captain doens't know if Brarhead still runs it. But he does know that the most-attractive options for adventurers in town are the Goofy Goblin and Salaar Balaar's Bazaar. The second-best tavern is the Bashful Walrus.

The city is split in 4 parts, two on each side of the bridge. We're in the trade quarter, which is on the same mountain as the temple quarter.

The guard captain tells us that the temple of Noidesop wants something done. And there's screeching noises in the sewers. Guards have gone to look, but none have returned. Cleaning out that problem is worth 500gp, he says.

To the Temple of Noidesop

We make our way to the Temple District, to find the Temple of Noidesop.

The city has bustling, cross-cultural airs. After all, it is one of the capitals of the Elemental Collective. The quarters are separated from each other by walls, and the guards of the walls of the Temple Quarter have religious symbols on their chests. There are fewer people in the Temple Quarter compared to the Trade Quarter, and most people on the street are priests or monks or paladins.

We come across a cathedral in the shape of a boat. It's pretty obviously the Temple of Noidesop.

Marnoc walks up to the temple door, exchanges blessings with the guard there, and says that we're here to solve the problem. And after some banter, we hear that the catacombs have been full of gutteral sounds. Earlier this day, they sent down two clerics and a paladin to investigate. It's the cataco,bs. Belmac is dumb as usual, but the temple is willing to give us 1000 gold for success with a bonus for live return of any clerics or paladins who have cone missing.

We decide to spend an hour preparing, buying stuff. Belmac runs over to the smithing district to buy a big new hammer. The rest of the party goes to the trade quarter to get healing potions. Marnoc goes into the temple to pray and chill.

At Salaar Balaar's Bazaar, Zoltar, Ship and Theren seek to buy potions. We walk buy it several times, eventually finding it with assistance. it's a small house on a street of big shops; looks out of place. But it's bigger on the inside. Insde, everything is made of cloud; with blue-skinned people walking around with plates of light food. Some offer us food and stuff, and in a hot tub just inside the door is a blue-skinned man sitting in a hot tub of swords, and Salaar Balaar welcomes us to his store, and the store is full of any items that he can imagine.

Theren recognizes that this store is in the Plane of Air.

Salaar Balaar's Bazaar has doors in any major city in the world, but we can't use it for teleportation.

• Zoltar got 4 healing potions
• Ship got 2 healing potions and 2 arrows of +1 lightning, and a bunch of oak bark for Barkskin
• Theren bought nothing
• Ship's Bear got a hat. Imagine Smokey Bear and you've got it.

We all return to the temple, but the guard at the front gate isn't letting us in without a believer's accompaniment. Ship's Bear walks in (the guard goes "what") and finds Marnoc, who comes out and relieves the guard. (Belmac says that the guard is a dick.)

In the Temple of Noidesop

We are lead to the catacombs, which are accessed through a locked trapdoor. Marnoc casts Light on his holy symbol, so he can see. The tunnel is made of dirt and stuff, about 15 feet wide. There are likely to be undead.

30 to 45 minutes into our trek into the catacombs, we hear clanging of metal: the sounds of someone in armor really booking it. These sounds are about 100 feet ahead. There's an intersecting hallway ahead.

Belmac makes some whistles. In response, some female voice ahead of us calls out, "Is someone there?" Belmac sprints towards the noise, and the rest of the party continues after.

Ship casts Ensnaring Strike, Theren cast Armor of Agathys at second level, Zoltar cast Mage Armor,

Actions:

1. Round 1
   1. Ship is 70 feet away, readies a normal arrow to shoot at anything that is seemingly hostile, and shouts "Who are you?"
   2. Ship's Bear, having rushed ahead, crosses the crossing hallway, and then shrinks into the hallway on the opposite side, with a Stealth roll of 18. Sneaky bear.
   3. Theren Double Dashes forward.
   4. Belmac advances, and can now see the paladin that's fleeing down the crosswise hallway. He sees a Paladin of Noidesop, with tall shield and sword. She asks, "You ready to fight?" He readies his magical Bear Hands, and together they try to indimidate the undead. There are horror tales of zombies; these don't look like those zombies. There are three regular ones and one bigger one.
   5. Zoltar prepares her action.
   6. Ghoul #1 claws at the Paladin as she starts to turn towards them, and barely even grazes her armor.
   7. Big Ghoul attacks the paladin, and rakes her armor for some damage through her armor. She shakes off some form of other effect.
   8. Ghoul #2 attacks Belmac, and doesn't succeed.
   9. The Paladin uses her longsword against the Thicc Ghoul, and does even more religious damage with Divine Smite.
   10. Ghoul #3 does some more damage towards the paladin.
2. Round 2
   1. Ship advances 60 feet, doesn't attack anything because they're still out of sightline. All the action is happening around a corner in the corridor.
   2. Ship's bear advances, but in the chaos of battle none of its strikes connect.
   3. Theren does 13 damage to Ghoul #3 with magic.
   4. Belmac kills Ghoul #3 with his claw gauntlets, and then follows through to do 1 damage to Ghoul #2.
   5. Marnoc casts Guiding Bolt against the Thicc Ghoul, fails, and moves back some.
   6. Ghoul #1 atatacks the Bear, and fails.
   7. Thicc Ghoul misses the Paladin.
   8. Ghoul #2 hits the Paladin, and does even more damage. Her joints lock up, and she just barely is able to bush that effect off.
   9. The Paladin uses Lay on Hands on herself to heal herself.
   10. Zoltar casts Magic Missile on the Thicc Ghoul.
3. Round 3
   1. Ship moves up some and shoots at the Thicc Ghoul for 1+3dex magical piercing, and coincidentally hits it with Ensnaring Strike, which succeeds at binding it with vines.
   2. Bear hits Ghoul #1
   3. Theren goes for the Big Ghoul with Eldritch Blast, and misses barely.
   4. Belmac does some stuff.
   5. Marnoc moves out of the way and starts relaxing.
   6. Gohul #1 attacks the bear, and fails.
   7. Big Ghoul fails at attacking and fails at escaping the thonry vines.
   8. Ghoul #2 attacks Belmac, and hits for once. The Dwarf takes 6 damage but succeeds his Constitution check, and is not paralyzed.
   9. The Paladin hits the Thicc Ghoul — which is revealed as a Ghast — does 19 damage and kills it.
   10. Zoltar hits Ghoul #1.
4. Round 4.
   1. Ship hits Ghoul #2 for 9 damage.
   2. Bear hits Ghoul #1 for 3 damage.
   3. Theren kills Ghoul #1.
   4. Belmac whiffs at Ghoul #2.
   5. Marnoc abides, spends some time flipping a knife.
   6. Ghoul #2 tries to hit Theren and fails.
   7. The Paladin does a little damage to the ghoul.
   8. Zoltar casts Friends on the ghoul, but it is immune to charm.

Ship kills the ghoul. "So, Paladin ma'am, what're you up to?"

"My name is Cassandra, and I was sent from the temple. I assume you were sent to help us. I don't know what happend to my friends; there was a big mosquito. I don't know what happened to them. The mosquito sent out some weird loud buzzing sound, and I covered my ears and ran, and behind me both of my clerics had died." The paladin is a 21 on a scale of 23 health, and wants to come with us to fight the mosquito. The paladin is blonde with short hair, wears splint mail, and looks a little less strong than Belmac. (Who flexes.) In every stat she's above 12.

How big was the mosquito, we ask? It's a Large Fiend.

Marnoc says, "Take us to the mosquito!"

On to the Big Blue Mosquito.

We follow Cassandra. 60 feet away from the area she's talking about, we hear a penetrating buzzing noise. Cassandra the Paladin says that we want to plug our ears. We use Theren's sealing wax to do so.

Ship prepares Ensnaring Strike. The ceiling is still 10 feet tall, and barely fits within the space. The mosquito is associated with two skeletons.

Combat, starting with the part 60 feet back from the entrance to the chamber:

1. Round 1
   1. Ghoul #1 advances to one side of the door.
   2. Ship advances stealthily to the door.
   3. Ship's Bear attacks that ghoul beside the door, taking the ghoul's body apart; it used to be a holy warrior who has been reanimated. It's one of the clerics.
   4. Theren moves 30 feet up, can't see the mosquito, and Hexes Ghoul #2 and fails at Eldritch Blasts on Ghoul #2.
   5. Zoltar advances does damage to Ghoul #2
   6. Cassandra Paladin double-advances.
   7. The Mosquito advances to in front of Ship, doesn't see Ship, and attacks the Paladin that is standing in the door of the room.
   8. Ghoul #2 paralyzes The Bear; it can make a saving throw at the end of each of tis turns.
   9. Belmac advances.
   10. Marnoc advances to the 30-foot line, and hits the mosquito with Guiding Bolt for 9 damage
2. Round 2
   1. Ghoul #1 attacks The Bear, but misses.
   2. Ship with a disadvantage attacks the Mosquito at melee range, with 11 + 3 dex + 2 proficiency + 2 Archer = 18 hits it for 7 magical plus 1 lightning.
   3. Bear hits Ghoul #1 for 5
   4. Theren advances to behind Cassandra, and Hexblade Curses the Mosquito, and then Eldritch Blasts the bug but misses.
   5. Zoltar uses Shatter in a spot that includes The Bear, both Ghouls, and THe Mosquito. Ghoul #2 and Bear take 7, Mosquito and Ghoul #1 take 14
   6. Cassandra comes next to Ghoul #2 and attacks it.
   7. Mosquit attacks Ship, but Cassandra aids with her shield to protect Ship. Ship taks 13 piercing and 12 necrotic. Ship is down.
   8. Ghoul #2 hits assandra
   9. belmac advances next to Ship and brings The Bug to Pound Town, with Action Surge and Second Wind and does 10 to it.
   10. Marnoc moves closer, and casts Bless on Theren, Belmac, and Paladin, to add 1d4 to their next attack roll.
3. Round 3
   1. Bear is down, thanks to Ghoul #1's attack. The ghoul moves the bear out of the way, and moves for ward.
   2. Ship fails a death saving throw.
   3. Bear fails a death saving throw.
   4. Theren pushes Ship out of the way, moved in front of the Mosquito, and attacks with a longsword to its face with a 27 to hit because of Bless.
   5. Zoltar uses Tide of Chaos and Scorching Ray. At a 19 and two critical hits, all hit the Mosquito, for 2d6 per hit, so actually it's 10d6 = 31 fire damage to the Mosquito. It doesn't die, but it is a demon, so it didn't take all that damage.
   6. Cassandra steps between the two Ghouls, and uses Lay On Hands to resurrect the Bear to 4 HP.
   7. The Mosquito attacks Belmac, but misses.
   8. Ghoul #2 does things.
   9. Belmac with one swipe cuts off its proboscis, and on the next cuts off its head. The Mosquito is dead. And then he continues with the Sweeping Attack to hit Ghoul #1.
   10. Marnoc uses Spare the Dying to resurrect Ship, but Ship's at 0 HP.
4. Round 4
   1. Ghoul #1 attacks Cassandra for 9 damage, but she shrugs off the paralysis.
   2. Ship is unconscious.
   3. Bear goes to attack Ghoul #1 and fails
   4. Theren hits Ghoul #2 and kills it.
   5. Zoltar does 12 damage to Ghoul #1, but it's not dead yet.
   6. Cassandra attacks Ghoul #1 and kills it. And then Cassandra gives Ship 1 HP of health.

Marnoc uses the spell Prayer of Healing to give everyone 7+3 HP. Cassandra thanks us for saving her, again.

The room is full of coffins and skeletons; but there's not really anything worth looting.

Belmac wants to loot the dead clerics' splint armor, but the presence of Cassandra causes him to think that he should do it in a better way. Marnoc hands Belmac the counterfeit symbol of Noidesop, intending that Belmac could use it to fake being a follower of Noidesop. Belmac hands the symbol back. Cassandra sees this. Belmac is apparently serious about converting in order to get some free splint armor. Cassandra wants to bring the clerics' corpses back to the Temple.

Belmac wants to dig around in the Mosquito to find Ship's blood and give it back to Ship. He scrapes off some chitin, finds the blood bag and tries to pull it out, but it explodes. Theren takes the proboscis. Ship takes the wings of the Mosquito. And then we walk the 45 minutes back to the temple, and are let out of the Catacombs.

Belmac's conversion

Belmac and Cassandra leave the bodies in a room meant for processing the bodies before burial. The priest asks us what happened; Cassandra explains that there was a fiend raising the dead down there. Belmac helpfully explains that it looked like a mosquito. The priests asks us for our names; we introduce ourselves. The priest offers payment; the guard who had been at the door gives us a giant bag of 1000 gold, for 200 gold each, and an extra 20 gold apiece for the safe return of Cassandra the Paladin.

Marnoc deceives the priest into giving him a suit of splint armor, for his own purposes. (He's going to give it to Belmac.) We move into the sanctuary, and they bring us the armor. Belmac gives a platinum to the collection bucket.

Belmac talks to that guard who we had talked to at the entrance, who Belmac had said was a dick, to see if he can convert. The guy isn't sure that he believes that Belmac knows how to sail a boat. Belmac is technically an experienced sailor, with his proficiency in warships, but with his low Intelligence score he doesn't have the words to convey what he wants to convey. So they step outside, and using the boat-cathedral as a guide, he describes what he knows and convinces the cleric into allowing him to convert to Noidesop. Cassandra is impressed.

Belmac goes to get baptised; the party witnesses. The Noidesopean priests say a rite, concluding with "And we bring this child into your grasp" and then they slam him into the water of the baptismal pool. He thinks to himself, "religion is weird", but succeeds in not drowning. He gets a steel holy symbol. Noidesop favors Strength and Constitution, Belmac's two best stats. (Coincidentally, Marnoc's worst. Marnoc has told the party that Noidesop as a god was foisted upon him; he didn't choose to follow Noidesop voluntarily.)

And with that, our business at the Temple of Noidesop is concluded. It's late evening, so we're now looking for a place to eat and rest.

Looking for Brarhead

"Let's go to my cousin's bar, the Bashful Walrus. We can go and stay with him, and i'm sure he'll help us out. I'm sure my cousin Brarhead will help us out. He brews great beer," says Belmac Oakbeard, and so we go there.

We wander around for a while, but can't find it. Finally Belmac asks a Human passerby, who doesn't know. Belmac picks a Dwarf and the Dwarf provides us with directions, because no humans would know where a Dwarf bar is. Ship now knows where we're going, because Ship saw it earlier in the day and with Natural Explorer, Ship cannot get lost.

We come across a small establishment with the correct sign. Belmac slams the door open and shouts "Brarhead!" Belmac is really enthusiastic. Brarhead is not enthused. Belmac introduces the Party; Brarhead is impressed by Ship's Bear, which he dubs "Very metal." Theren reveals that he speaks Dwarvish. Most of the party drinks Brarhead's Red Wood Ale, and the local favourite Goofy Goblin Ale. It has magical effects.

• Marnoc's skin and hair turn green. Bright green. Brarhead is pretty sure it's temporary.
• Theren grows one size category, to Large, with all his stuff. "Is that temporary?" "It is definitely temporary." He's now crouching, but it does taste like a really strong Maraschino cherry.
• Belmac and Zoltar feel like dancing, and start dancing. Their performance checks succeed automatically, they dance a traditional Dwarvish dance.
• Theren vanishes. But he's still there, invisible.

As everyone's dancing, The Bear starts walking around, eats one, two dwarves' food. It drinks a Goofy Goblin and becomes a Small sized creature. It continues eating. Because it's now Small, it's extra stealthy. It drinks another Goofy Goblin, and shrinks another size, down to about the size of a mouse. Ship can't find the bear. The bear is drunk.

Belmac drinks another Goofy Goblin, feels that his reaction time is quicker. Brarhead comps us the rooms, because Zoltar's dancing has livened the place up. The bar's atmosphere is good; word's got around, and the place is packed tonight. Because an Aasimar sorceress is dancing a Dwarven square dance.

Ship can hear the bear. They call it, it makes an appearance, and Ship is now carrying a pocket-size bear.

Belmac plays the five-fingered knife game with his enhanced reaction time, and the crowd goes wild. He has another round, and feels nothing immediate. (It was orange, tasted sweet.)

Theren, the invisible giant in the corner, asks how long the effects last. Brarhead says that it should wear off within the hour, and most size changes wear off.

Zoltar's dancing brings her 70 silver in tips.

Outstanding questions

• What's the deal with the screaming in the sewers?