DND Blog

A place to keep DND session recaps, from various campaigns.

The Eighty-Fifth Session

June 10, 2023, Campaign: As the ground quakes, evil wakes

We go to Kerjes' tree, find Eta'el. The Sky Giant claims the hoard, and denies our claim, so we fight, and we win. Then we go to investigate the mysterious thing in the basement of the tree, which is …

Table of Contents

  1. Last session
  2. That morning
  3. Against the cloud giant
  4. Looting.
  5. A feeling
  6. Investigating the tree
  7. The morning
  8. Next session

Last session

We teleported to the Woven Council, read Ren's letter, and had an impromptu conversation with the leadership of All Elvenhood On Earth. We leveled up to 14. We did some shopping. We did some debauchery with local Elven youth.

That morning

Over breakfast, we decide to teleport to Kerjes' Lair. It's a "viewed once" location, so with a 1d100 = 71 we fall short of 74, and don't quite make it all the way.

We're in the forest outside the hedge maze. We got very close!

We try to determine whether the hedge maze will cooperate. Ryltar looks at it, and accidentally looks straight in the sun. Percival finds a swath, practically a road, carved traight through the hedge maze, where the hedges have rotted away. We conclude that the Mummy Lord attacked Kerjes.

We follow the rotten-branch road. There's evidence of battle there. Shattered bones, a two-headed bear littered with arrows. The Banyo Tree looms at the end of the road.

We come to the edge of the tree's root structure, which is deep and tall. We cross the roots, and at the top of the main trunk, we see a humanoid, holding a staff. Ryltar calls out, "Good to see that you got your staff!" It's Eta'el.

Eta'el leaps from the top and floats down. They're full Cloud Giant size now, with lilac skin and blue lips, a billowing red cape, and the Sky Staff.

Eta'el thanks us for giving them a new domain. We express our discontent, and the disagreement escalates, to the point where Ryltar claims the tree as his domain, since his claim is more legitimate than Eta'el's.

A deep, femininie voice floats in, saying, "Remove the usurper."

Eta'el is disconcerted by this.

Jerry asks, "Which one is the usurper?" Both Ryltar and Eta'el have claimed the domain. But there is no reply.

Percival focuses on his Armor of the Ancient wooden bracer, and it responds. It grabs his arm more tightly, becoming more attuned to him. And he casts Speak with Plants, unlocking stage two of his armor!

Stage II Friend of Foliage: You can cast the Speak with Plants once. You regain the use of this feature at the end of a short or long rest. Filter Impurities: You gain Advantage on saving throws against Poison.

Does he gain information from the Banyo Tree about the usurper comment? Yes! A great, reverberating voice replies, "Trickster." Percival relays this, and Ryltar says, "Well, I don't think I'm a trickster." He points at Eta'el. "You sound like one, though." Eta'el is flattered.

Eta'el says that we can leave; there is so much sorting for Eta'el to do and we're distracting them.

(Percival realizes that the voice we heard was not the voice of the Banyo Tree.)

Eta'el has been standing at a door, halfway up the tree. Ryltar and Vurguron shadow-step up. They see that the hollow of the tree is a vast bowl, filled with gold. Ryltar slides down and starts Scrooge McDuck-ing it up in the gold bowl. "Are you interrupting my counting?" asks Eta'el.

"No, we're here to claim what's ours."

Eta'el begins muttering. Ryltar counterspells, and sinks back into the gold as Eta'el's Telekinesis collapses.

"We're a lot less fun than you might expect," says Ryltar.

"I'm more fun than you can imagine," says Eta'el

Against the cloud giant

Salris begs Percival to jump him up to the door.

Eta'el says, "It's nice that you defeated Kerjes, but you're now interfering, and you need to go." They try to whip Ryltar with the Sky Staff and miss, twice!

Jerry rolls into the bowl and casts Web, which fails to bind Eta'el by one. She lets the spell drop, and Vanishes.

Eta'el's staff connects against Ryltar, for 18 bludgeoning.

Vurguron doesn't have radiant damage anymore, but he slides down the god, draws his sword, shouts a pithy slogan, crits and hits Eta'el in the legs for 53 damage. Eta'el laughs. With two legendary actions, he casts Confusion, and Ryltar Counterspells at fifth level. Eta'el curses.

Percival arrives with Salris.

Ryltar casts Psychic Lance; Eta'el's Intelligence roll sucks and so he uses a legendary resistance to pass the save. The Cloud Giant only takes 12 damage.

Salris casts Eldritch Blast and hits thrice, for quite a bit of damage, as a saved ready action. Salris now crits with a poison weapon, so Eta'el takes 38 damage from a Hexblade attack. Eta'el looks like they took a bit of damage.

Eta'el swings with the Sky Staff, hitting Salris for 30 and Ryltar for a bit more. Eta'el tries to Misty Step and Percival Counterspells.

Jerry flanks, attacks twice, 36 + 15, casts Ensnaring Strike, and Vanishes.

The Staff ripples and the etchings come off of it. Eta'el slams the Sky Staff down, and Ryltar Counterspells at sixth level. Eta'el frowns. "You're all so annoying!"

Vurguron casts Shadowblade and attacks, hits, hits, crits, Action Surge, hits for 18 psychic, hits for 16 psychic, misses as Eta'el flips up and out.

Eta'el floats, now about 40 feet up in the air.

Percival checks to see if there's space around Eta'el to Fireball without burning down the tree. Investigation roll of 23: Possibly. He goes for it, dealing 14 fire damage to Eta'el. The Sky Giant waves the flames out. The tree didn't catch fire. Percival Inspires Vurguron for 1d10.

Ryltar casts Psychic Lance again, and with an 18 Eta'el meets Ryltar's spell save DC. Eta'el takes 33 halved to 16.

Salris casts Eldritch Blast again ("finger guns, and then the Final Gun!" "Keep that in the Underdark!") and deals a bit of damage.

Eta'el still floats, and flies up and back 40 feet, then casts Confusion again. Ryltar distantly Counterspells at fifth level, and the confusion fades.

Jerry shoots with her bow, twice, and hits with one Ensnaring Strike. She preps Lightning Arrow.

Eta'el bows, says, "It is yours", and goes Invisible.

Vurguron is 80' from where Eta'el last was. He can't do anything.

Percival does Dancing Lights. The gold glimmers.

Ryltar distantly casts Psychic Lance out to 240 feet, uttering the creature's name, letting the spell auto-target within the distant range. With a successful Intelligence saving throw, the invisible sky giant takes 24 damage halved to 12, and momentarily becomes visible.

"That's what I thought," says Ryltar. With sorcery points, he buys a fifth-level spell slot.

Salris can't do much.

Jerry Vanishes, maintains concentration on Lightning Arrow, and holds attack until Eta'el vanishes or we conclude that the combat is over.

Ryltar Shadow Steps in the direction Eta'el was last seen, lands on a tree branch, and re-casts Psychic Lance. Eta'el again maintains concentration. Ryltar calls the fight. Jerry lets Lightning Arrow lapse.

Looting.

Ryltar shadow-steps into the gold, and splashes merrily.

Percival goes looking for gems, and finds:

Ryltar Detects Magic and finds all the magic:

A perfect hemisphere filled with gold coins, estimated at a half-dollar size: 32,724 cubic feet times ~40,000 coins loosely stacked per cubic foot: 1.309 billion gold. But we don't get that much, because the bowl is shallower than a perfect hemisphere, and there are magic items mixed in, and coins and gems.

Coins in total: 327,000 gp worth

Vurguron jumps up to take the shield: "Honor's Last Stand", made from a platinum dragon's scale. It never tarnishes, it's always warm to the touch. Jerry jokes that this is a serving platter.

We discus how much to give to Lanthet, and as we're discussing, a warm dry breeze blows in.

Ryltar goes looking for a holy symbol of some sort; finds none. Ryltar swaps out 800 gold coins from his backpack for 800 platinum: increase 7200 gold.

Now that Ryltar's looked at the tree more carefully, teleports are up to "seen casually", but he begins to search for something that was Kerjes'. He gets a distinctive thingy, which lets him teleport here for the next six months.

There's 80 cubic feet of gold coins here; the Bag of Holding is limited to 50,000 gp of platinum per trip.

We take a short rest, and attune to things.

Percival draws one card from the Deck of Many Things. "You are a braver man than I," says Ryltar. Percival draws a card depicting The Sun, which burns with a golden light that solidifies in his hands in the shape of a beautiful golden lyre: The wondrous item Sli Lyre, an Instrument of the Bards. When casting a spell with somatic or material components, which inflicts Charmed, the target has disadvantage. Once per day, cast Fly, Levitate, and Protection from Good and Evil. Also Wall of Fire and Wind Wall. "I guess they can keep

Ryltar attunes to the Staff of Frost: d6 bludgeoning and versatile, resistance to cold, 10 charges: cone of cold with 5 charges, fog 1, cone of cold 4, ice wall 4.

Jerry attunes to the moon staff: +2 Moon Scythe, 1d10 slashing. +2 to spell attacks, damage, and spell save DCs with Druid and Ranger spells as long as you're holding. +1d4 for healing spells.

Vurguron and Honor's Last Stand: +1 AC, cannot be knocked prone.

Percival checks out the ring: ring of resistance to fire damage.

The gloves are Gloves of Missile Snaring, for grabbing missiles out of the air as long as you have a free hand. The Monk Hand.

Salris' ring of crashing waves is a Ring of Water Walking, which works for any fluid.

The potion is Supreme Healing, 10d4 + 20.

The lightning javelin is a Javelin of Lightning.

Vurguron's sword is illustriously crafted from platinum, but we don't know what exactly it is.

A feeling

There's a sinking feeling, as we rest. Percival casts Speak with Plants again, and goes to talk to the tree. "Hi dude. What's sup?"

There's a gutteral groan, sort of clearing its throat.

Percival asks what caused the damage to the tree. "Roaring, undeath, butcher."

"Were is he now?"

"Beyond Me."

"Was he slain?"

"Yes."

So we need to go to the pyramid and destroy the canopic jars.

"Who dwells here?"

"Ancient one, beneath." Ryltar really hates this answer.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Prisoner, beneath."

"Is that Kerjes' prisoner, or someone else's?"

"Kerjes."

Percival momentarily entertains the idea of letting this prisoner go, and is shot down by everyone else.

"What do you think of the giant?"

"Insignificant."

"Will you heal?"

"Time will pass."

"Who planted you here?"

"Ancient one."

"The one under you?"

"Yes."

"How far under?"

"Beneath my roots, under my trunk."

"Do you know the ancient one to be a killer or destroyer."

"They do what nature must."

"What crime led to their imprisonment?"

"No crime."

"Why were they imprisoned?"

"Power."

"Is your future guaranteed if you were to lack a guardian?"

It takes a while to respond, and then says, "I shall remain."

"What would happen if the ancient one was unleashed?"

No response.

"Who spoke, 'usurper'?"

"Ancient one."

We discuss the question of whether we should tell other people about this.

The tree says, "They call." A warm, biting wind wraps each of us.

Ryltar is deeply uncomfortable.

"Why wasn't the ancient one killed?"

"Power."

So the ancient one was too powerful to be killed? Or was tapped for power?

"So they can't be killed?"

"They remain."

The spell fades.

Investigating the tree

Jerry and Vurguron come down to join Salris, Ryltar and Percival. There's a depression on one side of the tree, and we carefully investigate. There's an illusion there. It wiggles when poked with a stick.

So we go back up to the top of the tree, and open up Bigby's Illustrious Mansion, and we learn a lot about Percival's preferences for maids with invisible arms and butlers with invisible legs, and feasts. We watch them do precision walking in the ballroom while we eat. One butler is a three-legged dog, and another butler carries around a shoe in the right place for the dog so it doesn't know that it's missing a leg.

Evening falls. We've moved all the gold into the mansion for the night. There's a small gold key at the bottom of the bowl, which goes to Percival.

(We think it's the key to release the thing beneath us.)

We go to our ridiculous rooms for the evening.

Ryltar prays to Denier for the demon hit to be payable and paid off.

The morning

We need to ask someone about the Banyo Tree and the things under it. So we message Bugfood:

Hi Bugfood. I'm Percival. Do you like to eat goose? Also, there is an Ancient One beneath the Banyo Tree. Do you know?

Reply:

Well hello new friend! I only goose if there's a nice butter spread with it. And I know nothing about an Ancient One.

When we get out of the mansion in the morning, there's a murder of crows sitting on the rim of the tree, staring at us. We ask, "Who goes there?" They caw and flap about, but nothing really goes on.

Percival asks the tree, "From what direction did these crows arrive?"

The tree shudders, and says, "The ancient one beckons."

So we jump off the top of the tree and Feather Fall down, but as we do so, we flash in and out of a rippling, cackling darkness. And down at the bottom of the tree, there are frogs. We go under the tree, into the deep pit, and pass through the illusion like it is a fog.

In the center of the room, there's a cauldron, recessed in the floor.

On the left wall is floor-to-ceiling vines and roots.

Sticking out from behind the roots, Ryltar sees first, is a grey-skinned face, gaunt and taut against the bones, with eyes sewn shut and well-kept black hair tied back, crooked teetha nd pointed nose, very long arms, grabbing the bar-like roots.

"Hello. You have come."

Next session