Session 19
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Beginning XP | 1000 XP (Level 5) |
| Beginning gold | 2 platinum, 414 gold, 353 silver, 813 copper |
| Ending XP | 1160 XP (Level 5) |
| Ending gold | 2 platinum, 414 gold, 353 silver, 813 copper |
27-30 Erastus 4710
The campfire crackled softly as Djacques, Leonardo, and Kairos settled in for the evening, discussing their approach to the great Owlbear. The flames danced in the darkness, casting long shadows across their faces. Without warning, Kairos felt a familiar sensation: Tristan’s telekinetic presence, a whisper that materialized in her mind like frost on glass.
”Head east before confronting the beast,” came the message, clear and urgent.
Following Tristan’s counsel, the party made their way to the eastern approach of the mountain. There, waiting among the trees, they found Jubilost and Amiri, both having followed from Hexpan, drawn by rumors of the monstrous creature.
Amiri’s eyes gleamed with anticipation, her great blade resting across her shoulders. “A beast like this deserves an honorable kill,” she said, voice thick with battle-hunger.
Leonardo stepped forward, his tone measured and diplomatic. “What matters most is that we work together. The creature has already proven dangerous.”
Jubilost adjusted his spectacles, his expression pragmatic. “Without you lot, Amedalia would be out of coin anyway. Might as well make ourselves useful.”
Kairos smiled faintly at the gnome’s backhanded compliment. “How very caring of you, Jubilost.”
As they approached the cave entrance, strange sounds echoed from within: chittering and the rustle of something large moving in the darkness. Lizzy sent Ryu ahead to scout. The familiar glided silently into the shadows.
Then came a sudden, violent tug.
Through her bond with Ryu, Lizzy felt the terror: sticky strands wrapping around him, lifting him off the ground, constricting around his neck. Without hesitation, she bolted into the cave. Amiri and Leonardo charged after her, weapons drawn. Djacques, Jubilost, and Kairos followed a heartbeat later.
A massive spider skittered into view, its many eyes glinting in the dim light. Amiri’s blade sang through the air, cleaving into its carapace. Djacques raised his voice in song, the magic weaving around Ryu to Soothe his panic. Leonardo’s hands glowed with divine light as he summoned Shields of the Spirits, ghostly images of himself appearing around the party, weapons raised in phantom defense. He struck at the nearest spider with his longsword.
Jubilost strode in with academic curiosity, pausing to Recall Knowledge. “Spiders, arthropods, class Arachnida, though colloquially grouped with insects…”
Kairos’s eyes lit up despite the danger. “Entomologically speaking…"
"Later!” Djacques shouted.
Jubilost drew a Glow Rod, bathing the cave in harsh alchemical light. Kairos raised her staff and channeled Fear into the mass of spiders, her voice resonating with arcane authority. Several of the creatures recoiled, their legs clicking in agitation.
Lizzy reached Ryu and tore at the webbing, freeing him from the strangling threads. She spun and unleashed Hydraulic Push, a torrent of water slamming into the spiders and driving them back from Kairos. The spiders regrouped and surged forward, mandibles snapping. One lunged at Kairos, but Leonardo’s Shields of the Spirits intercepted the strike. Another pinned Leonardo to the cave wall, its weight pressing him into the stone.
Amiri roared and cut down another spider in a spray of ichor. Djacques’s melody swelled, bolstering the party’s resolve. Leonardo struggled against the spider restraining him, striking out with his blade but failing to land a killing blow. He renewed his Shields of the Spirits with a prayer. Jubilost hurled an alchemical bomb, but it struck the cave floor, dealing only minor splash damage.
Kairos stepped forward, staff crackling with arcane energy, and delivered a devastating Spellstrike that obliterated one of the creatures.
Lizzy raised her hands and summoned Chain Lightning, but the spell arced wide, missing both remaining spiders. Frustrated, she invoked her Wilding Word, and the nearest spider hesitated, its aggression faltering. The final spider lunged for Kairos and died mid-strike as Leonardo’s spectral shields tore through it. Amiri cleaved the last one restraining Leonardo in half.
As the echoes of battle faded, the party searched the cave. Wrapped in thick webbing were several cocoons, grim remnants of the spiders’ victims. Inside, they found healers gloves, a suit of leather armor, an amethyst worth forty gold pieces, and a decorative flask valued at ten.
Beyond the webs, the cave opened into a vast canyon, dropping twenty feet into shadow. From below came the sounds of labored breathing, pained and heavy, and the softer, uncertain sounds of something young. The great Owlbear was hurt. And it was not alone.
Lizzy sent Ryu down to investigate. The familiar descended cautiously, wings whispering against the stone. The air below was thick with the buzzing of flies. Two tunnels branched off to the west, and to the north lay the carcass of some massive beast, surrounded by half a dozen humanoid bodies in various states of decay.
XP gained: 40 (120 minus the 80 advanced in Session 18)
Lizzy paused at the edge of the canyon, her expression cautious. “There’s a baby down there,” she murmured. “We need to be careful.”
The party decided to circle back to the eastern entrance to approach more cautiously. Lizzy searched her memory for what she knew of Owlbears. She recalled rumors of a unique specimen, stronger and faster than others. Territorial, fiercely protective. Nothing about one with offspring.
Kairos added what she knew from her studies: Owlbears possessed darkvision, acute senses, and a form of echolocation. She advised against attempting to flank through the western tunnels. There might be other threats lurking in the dark.
Lizzy approached the canyon’s edge and cast Speak with Animals, the magic settling over her like a veil. She called down softly.
The Owlbear’s voice was a low, rumbling growl. “What do you want?"
"I can see you’re hurt,” Lizzy said gently. “Do you need healing?"
"The last time your kind came, they hurt me. I don’t trust visitors.”
Lizzy’s tone hardened slightly. “Those acorns. Did you get your revenge on them?”
The Owlbear’s growl deepened. “I haven’t attacked you yet. What do you think?"
"I’m not here to fight,” Lizzy said. “But you attacked my home, Hexpan. Can we make a deal? Can we cohabit without more bloodshed?”
There was a long silence. Then, cautiously, a smaller shape emerged from behind the great beast, a baby Owlbear, eyes wide and uncertain. The mother moved protectively over Lizzy, scooped the baby into her beak, and retreated.
Lizzy’s gaze fell on the remains scattered near the carcass. Among them was a humanoid in a chainshirt, a large sword resting beside the body. She recognized the markings: an icon from the werewolf’s ledger, a list of people marked for collection or elimination.
”I know this one,” Lizzy said quietly.
The Owlbear snarled. “Why do you know him?”
Lizzy raised her hands in a calming gesture. “Not as a friend. He was trouble. May we inspect the body?”
With a growl of annoyance, the Owlbear seized the corpse in her beak and hurled it toward Leonardo. It landed with a wet thud at his feet.
Leonardo knelt and examined the remains. He found a map of the Stolen Lands, with Hexpan and this very lair circled in ink. On the corpse’s hand was a magic ring, and beside him lay a +1 Striking Longsword. Leonardo focused on the ring and identified it as a Ring of Bestial Friendship.
”He probably tried to use the ring,” Lizzy said. “Didn’t work out for him.”
The Owlbear rumbled. “I killed them all. Ate most of them.”
Lizzy frowned. “They might come back. There could be more."
"That one said something before he died,” the Owlbear said. “A name. ‘Iza.‘”
Lizzy’s eyes narrowed. She had heard the name before, though she couldn’t quite place it.
”I’ve seen other things too,” the Owlbear continued. “Deep footprints. Heavy creatures, walking near your settlement.”
Lizzy’s breath caught. “Trolls,” she said quietly.
The Owlbear shifted uneasily. “Every time I go to the back of this cave, I relive the battle. The pain. I see them coming again.”
Lizzy nodded slowly. “We’ll leave you in peace. But if you need help, or if more of them come, send word.”
XP gained: 120
The party rode back to Hexpan in silence, the weight of the encounter settling over them. As they traveled, Kairos and Djacques exchanged a glance.
”Iza,” Kairos murmured. “Could that be… Nyrissa?”
Djacques nodded slowly. “It’s possible.”
Lizzy examined the Ring of Bestial Friendship more closely, wondering if it might serve as a means to contact Nyrissa. Kairos studied it with Detect Magic, searching for curses or hidden enchantments. It was clean. No curses, no traps. Just a failed tool in a dead man’s hand.
Lizzy turned to Ryu, asking silently if he could reach Nyrissa through their bond. The familiar’s discomfort was immediate and palpable. He turned away.
That night, Kairos studied her spellbook by candlelight, carefully inscribing the formula for See the Unseen. Her precision was rewarded. She completed the transcription using only half the materials she’d expected.
Summary:
- Joined by Jubilost and Amiri for the Owlbear hunt
- Cleared a spider-infested cave, rescuing Ryu from webbing
- Discovered the great Owlbear was wounded and protecting her baby
- Negotiated peace with the Owlbear through Lizzy’s Speak with Animals
- Found evidence of attackers targeting Hexpan and the lair
- Learned of “Iza” (possibly Nyrissa) from dying attacker’s words
- Discovered troll footprints near Hexpan
- Kairos successfully transcribed See the Unseen spell
Loot:
From spider cave cocoons:
- Healers gloves
- Suit of leather armor
- Amethyst (40 gold value)
- Decorative flask (10 gold value)
From dead attackers:
- Map of Stolen Lands with Hexpan and lair circled
- Ring of Bestial Friendship
- +1 Striking Longsword
XP Gained: +160 XP (40 from spiders in Session 18 + 120 from cave exploration and Owlbear encounter)