Session Name: The Colour of Madness, Part 1 Summary: See below. APL: 4.16 Players: - @Philllllll as Sloth (4) - @Loric | William#6685 as Bolrim Frosthammer (3) - @Kathy as Kaori Miyazono (4) - @Luolang as Tetsuya Asahina (4) - @Mac as Adam Danger (6) - @Krunk as Try'ig'or Rreks (4) EXP: - Bolrim gained 640 XP - Sloth, Kaori, Tetsuya, and Try’ig’or Rreks gained 1,400 XP each - Adam gained 2,400 XP Gold: 100 GP each DTP: 20 DTP Inspiration: - Tetsuya earns 2 points of Azure Inspiration. Loot: (not yet distributed) The party acquired - A Crystal Shard - 7x Living Crystal Shards Items: - Crystal Shard - 7x Living Crystal Shards Resources Used: - Adam used a potion of healing - Tetsuya used 1x flask of oil - Sloth used 7x bullets - Try’ig’or Rreks used 10 GP to purchase components for the find familiar spell (and resummoned his familiar) DM Rewards: @Rexen as Velu Velu (20) gains 20 DTP, 2,300 GP, and a Moon Sickle +1
THE COLOUR OF MADNESS, PART 1 Over the past few weeks, things had been going well for each member of the party. Some were newer members of the Hawthorne Guild than others, but their most recent adventure found them resting in the city of Waterdeep. While they were within the City of Splendors, they came across a rumor that the village of Daggerford was in dire need of help. Lady Morwen Daggerford, duchess of Daggerford, had put out the call for adventurers. It seemed that some blazing malevolence from beyond the stars had crashed upon a miller’s farm in Daggerford. Lands that have, in past years, yielded rich harvests were now said to be sown with a new and terrifying seed—an unrelenting crystalline consumption that inches outward from the mill with each passing day… The opportunity for adventure awaited, and the party answered the call, making the trip from Waterdeep down to Daggerford to meet with the duchess and learn more of the task. As they traveled to Waterdeep, Bolrim and Rreks told the party of what he knew of Daggerford. It was a walled settlement, though a significant portion of the populace residing in nearby farms and hamlets. The Ducal Castle, otherwise known as Daggerford Castle, was the center of power and the ancestral seat of the Daggerford family. The castle predated the existence of the town itself, which had been built up around it. Lady Morwen Daggerford herself was an aged woman and duchess of the settlement, but she was also the master of arms and known to be a capable warrior. After some time, the party arrived in Daggerford, making their way through the town gates. After conferring with some of the town guards, the party headed towards Daggerford Castle. As they arrived at the castle, they came upon the sight of Lady Morwen Daggerford herself.
Lady Morwen Daggerford
As Bolrim and Rreks had told the rest of the party, she was indeed an aged woman but clearly no less the warrior for it. She was clad in full armor, with a flowing blue cloak and wielding an impressive looking longsword that she clearly knew how to wield, as she expertly beat her opponent in the sparring match. As it had seemed, the party had come across Lady Daggerford in the middle of training as part of her duties as the Master of Arms of Daggerford. The party was able to approach Lady Daggerford. After some awkward introductions, Lady Daggerford surmised that the party were adventurers that had come regarding the call for aid that she had sent out.
Lady Daggerford explained the situation as she and some of the town mages had discerned: some few weeks ago, a comet from the heavens had crashed into one of the nearby hamlets. Those that been at or near the location to witness the sight had been blinded by an intense, otherworldly light. In the time since, the location around where the comet had crashed had begun to alter the very landscape of the hamlet and beyond, with strange crystalline growths and crystal seeds sprouting from the ground.
Some of the town mages had collected samples to study the strange crystals, but it seemed that any samples they collected eventually vanished with trace or explanation. The stone walls around Daggerford were thought to be able to stop the spread of this strange Blasted Heath, but the rate of expansion and the strange phenomenon associated with the Heath was highly concerning to Lady Daggerford.
A scouting party had been sent into the location, but they had not as of yet reported back. Lady Daggerford wished for the party to make their way towards the Blasted Heath in order to collect information on the location and potentially more samples to be studied, as well as to eventually find a means by which to remove the crystalline corruption and halt its advance once and for all. As the conversation continued, a few members of the party could sense that while Lady Daggerford had courage and strength of resolve in her words, she had some doubts of the party: perhaps she should have sought out more experienced adventurers to deal with the matter. In the end, the party agreed to the task, with Lady Daggerford promising a hefty purse of gold as prize should the party successfully return with something of import that could be followed up on. There was little by way of concrete information of the Blasted Heath, and it would be up to the party to discover what they could. Lady Daggerford informed the party that could receive transport from a “Darius,” one of the only coachmen in town willing to even approach the Blasted Heath. The party was already prepared to set out, and they went to meet with Darius as instructed. Darius proved to be a somewhat eccentric and taciturn individual, saying nothing as the party got into the stagecoach and with a tug of the reins, they were off. As the party traveled towards the Blasted Heath, they could see the sky subtly shifting and changing until it was unmistakably clear that something was different and wrong with the sky itself above the area. Tetsuya attempted to sketch an image of the night sky in his journal, but he failed to produce anything more than incoherent scribblings: it seemed that he had been on the verge of glimpsing something more than perhaps his mind was equipped to comprehend.
The stagecoach stopped off along the road beside the Blasted Heath, and the party exited. Darius let loose an unsettling cackle before he tugged the reins again to send his horse and stagecoach off and back towards Daggerford. The party was left alone now, right before the entry into the Blasted Heath itself. Strange crystalline formations could be seen in the area around, making it difficult to navigate forward. It was also quite dark at this point, forcing a few in the party to light torches or lanterns. Adam summoned his bonded quori, but the already strange creature appeared even stranger within the domain of the Blasted Heath, unsettling several in the party, as well as Adam himself. The party cautiously proceeded forward through a narrow pass, coming across a clearing where a closed well lay ahead. Nothing could immediately be seen in the area around the well, but that did not set the party’s suspicions at ease. Tetsuya summoned an unseen servant to open the well’s door with a crowbar, and as it did so, a deluge of blinding, blazing light emanated. Several in the party were mesmerized by the display, gazing at the multitudinous and maddening colors, stupefied and still where they stood. At the same time, a pair of creatures revealed themselves. They seemed to be as scarecrows as one might find on a farm, but these were encrusted all over with jutting crystalline growths: they were crystal scarecrows!
The scarecrows struck out at those still kept their wits about in the party, moving to rake at those within reach with their claws that threatened to send a thrill of terror through those they struck or horrifying their adversaries with but a single gaze, locking their foes still with fear. Additionally, they were adept as blending into the overgrowth and out of sight, making it difficult to pin them down. And worst of all, with the blazing light still pouring out of the well, most of the party was unable to even act!
The fight began as a desperate one with the party flat-footed, with only Adam, Bolrim, and Sloth able to act. As they fought off the scarecrows, Adam was able to fight his way to the well to slam it shut, closing off the eerie light and allowing the rest of the party to regain themselves, as they began to turn their full might on the scarecrows. Even so, the scarecrows proved elusive and having additional tricks up their sleeve, with one conjuring grasping crystal roots about itself to ensnare and slow down those within.
Tetsuya managed to entangle that same crystal scarecrow in turn, while the other crystal scarecrow continued to nimbly move about while Adam pursued it. Eventually, with the combined spellfire of Rreks and Tetsuya, Sloth’s expert gunplay, Kaori’s invigorating words and support, Bolrim’s hammer strikes, and with Adam and his quori working in concert, the party was able at last to dispatch the crystal scarecrows. However, even in defeat, the creatures had another nasty surprise left: as they fell, their body sprouted into a large crystalline formation that then exploded, sending mind-rending and maddening psychic echoes that horrified those nearby. Ultimately, the battle concluded, with the party victorious but more than a little injured from their initial encounter with resistance at the Blasted Heath. After discussing what they had seen and what to do, the party elected to head back from where they had come to set up a brief encampment to take respite before moving on. However, it seemed that nowhere in the corrupted domain was truly safe: the party had scarcely begun their rest when figures began to reveal themselves at the edge of their encampment. They seemed to be a pair of farmhands led by a foreman, as well as a plow horse: but each was overgrown with the same eerie crystalline growths.
Crystal Farmhand