Looking out for the oldsters

General Summary

A week or so after the party destroyed the Horror in the sewers Eforhild aproches the party regarding two old dwarves who are staying at the Thirsty Dragon Inn she suggest that they have a talk with them, apparently they are old adventuerours.   Since Eforhild suggested it and having nothing better to do the party meets with the old dwarves in the tavern. After introductions are made and a few tails of ld adventures shared the old dwarves Verus Crandel & Branda Tulles get to mentioning that their two other friends are running late, apparently one of them has been put into a care home but the other being an elf is ageing rather more gracefully than the rest and should have been here. They ask the party if they wouldn't mind checking up on them, the elf Flinn has a home just three days down river, one of the dwarves offers to go with them while the other stays here incase their friend is just a bit late and arrives while the others are gone. in return for this help they offer to share some of the things they knew about but never got around to investigating themselves.   With that agreed they set off down the river to casomir. The trip passes without incedent and they arrive in town and head to Flinn's house.   When they arrive they find the front door locked and noone home. They speculate that perhaps they just missed him and he has indeed gone to Ardanyan. Hauflin looks around the windows of the first floor and finds that one of them has been broken, he also think he can see blood inside.   Reacting to this news Verus attempts to kick the door in but isn't as strong as he used to be. Ragnaros runs round the back and notices that someone seems to be in the servants house, but when he lets himself in they turn to look at him with dead eyes and shamble up to attack him. Giltris is shaken by the site of the two undead.   Hauflin gets into the room with the broken window and finds the furnature thrown about and that it is indeed a blood stain on the floor, seeing nothing else he heads downstairs and continues to poke around as Astra gets in through the front. They both hear strange noises in the house.   Ragnaros and Giltris manage to defeat the two undead, Ragnaros grabing one of them and hitting the other with it repetedly.   Inside Hauflin works out that their is space for another room even though he didn't see an entrance. He heads up their and gets inside through a window, unfortunatly there is something else in the room.   Hauflin casts Glitterdust revealing the outlines of four creatures. Astra, Ragnaros and Giltris head up the stairs at this news from hauflin.   Hauflin summons a maphit to assist fighting the monsters, one of which slips through the wall and attacks Ragnaros. Without thinking it through Astra casts grow on Ragnaros making him shoot up in size, smashing the celing and when he attempts to attack the monster smashing through the floor as well.   The fight runs one through the badly damaged house until the creatures are eventualy destroyed.   Searching the wreakage the party find a magic chalase and a ransom note for the dwarves elven friend. They are to bring a large sum of money to a house out in the forest. It is certainly a trap but someone is in need and they may have stolen a march on the kidnappers, finding the note as soon as they did. so it is decided to spring the trap.   As it is on the way to the forest and worring for their other friend the party stop at Mothers care home. Something doesn't seem quite right as they approch the home, there are no sounds inside and the entrance hall is empty. Exploring ferther they eventually bump into a nurse who demands to know who they are and what business they have. When told she tells them they need to leave and come back during visiting hours.   Hauflin meanwhile has been snooping as has Astra. Hauflin finds poison in the office and Astra detects some strange magics around.   When the nurse is pressed she starts to get angry, when Astra dispels the magic around the area the nurses true form is revealed as some kind of horror abomination. Ragnaros promptly smashes her with his greatsword. When the Nurse dies the true state of the care home is revealed, the hallways are derty, the rooms filled with the dead, the horrors having drained the last of their life and milked them for their suffering and hopelessnes.   The party do not find their friend and in disgust burn the place down as they leave.  

Vodun Forest

In the forest the part come apon the remains of an old village, searching the village they find an abandoned camp, left in some hurry, in the camp is a pack of rations a bow and arrows. They manage to find a trail leading north from the camp.   Some distance up the trail they come apon a bridge over a deep goarge and there seems to be a woman in a white dress walking out onto the bridge. as the party watch she throws herself to the rocky river below. Giltris grabbing a rope jumps over to try and catch her but her hand passes through the girls ankle as if she wasn't there. The others swiftly move to grab the rope and stop Giltris penduluming into the cliff. While she is hanging there Giltris spots several bodys on the rocks, it seems this place was a popular spot for suicides, one skelington has the remains of a white dress on.     Astra mentions that this seems like a huant, a soul doomed to repeat an action for the rest of time unless something releases it from those events.   The Woman appears again at the end of the bridge, the party attempt to comunicate with her but she doesn't notice them, except when Hauflin shows up having collected her engagement ring from her body. Realising that this might take more charisma than the windling posseses the party get him to give the ring to Ragnaros who proceeds to talk to the woman.   It seems she was left at the alter for another woman and now feals worthless and unwanted. Ragnaros convices her that she has worth and proposes to her which breaks the curse and her soul moves on.  

Dreams

One night Ragnaros is awoken by Primrose to find that the others are missing. Primrose is clearly trying to lead him somewhere so he follows.
 

Hauflin's dream

Hauflin finds himself in a fog shrouded woods, he sees a familiar figure through the mist, they are calling his name. As he approaches he discovers that it is Primrose the windling girl he met through the portal. She says she missed him and is confused were she is. Hauflin offers her another piggyback ride as they search the area for the others.

Astra's dream

Astra finds herself in a fog shrouded woods, she sees a familiar figure through the mist, they are calling her name. As she approaches she discovers that it is her old friend Ealdun. Ealdun seems confused where they are but is glad to see Astra, he offers her a smoke which she accepts as they catch up and reminisce.

Giltris dream

Giltris finds herself in a fog shrouded woods, she sees a familiar figure through the mist, they are calling her name. As she approaches she discovers that it is Jay the troll she met through the portal. Jay is confused but certain that the corporate goons are still after them, he leads Giltris off in search of the others.

The truth revealed

Ragnaros follows Primrose the spider through the woods eventauly emerging into a clearing near a stream. In the center of the clearing is a strange winged woman embracing the three others, Ragnaros bellows in rage and charges her intent on helping his friends. As he attacks her the others snap out of the transe they were in and see things for what they are. The fight doesn't last very long with the strange woman atemping to flee but being cut down by Ragnaros sword.   After the dust settles they find old Verus dead in a corner of the clearing, apparently his heart gave out. They dig a grave for him and give him an impromptu funeral.   The Party collect themselves and venture onward.  

The house in the Woods

Further into the woods the party come upon a hedge of thorns, they follow it round to a gate where they notice a house and garden behind the hedgerows.   Lurking just inside the gate is the altered Druid Rigzarreth, she has been posted as a guard but not willingly. the party talk to her and reveal that they intend to defeat the monster hiding in the house. She decides to assist them as the Horror was the thing holding her here and was responsible for her altered form.   They approach the house warily, checking for magic and traps. Deciding that the front door is too obvious they decide to summon an earth elemental to dig under the house and allow them to enter via the basement. This works quite well and they sneak down the new tunnel to the old basement wall. Stopping to listen at the wall they can hear chanting, deciding that there is nothing for it they smash through the wall. They are greeted by a horror in a large magic circle and the elf Flinn in a smaller circle.   Realising that Flinn is actually working with the Horror the party attack.   After a hard fight they defeat Flinn and the Horror, searching the house they find the dead body of Branda and several other people. The party hold a funeral for the deceased and feeling depressed by the way things ended they set off for home.