Session 277 - Yellow Musk Creeper
General Summary
7th to 9th of Peonu (Second Month of Spring) 726TR
The Story So far
The heroes have saved the life of Silan the Forger.
At his request, they have stealthfully removed a fraudulent Will from the Church Of St Amarab, a temple of Larani. This Will involves the transfer of a small parcel of wasteland called the Tuzmyr Embankment from a recently deceased noble to his bastard brother.
As payment Silan has offered the party an enchanted cloak; however, the current wearer of the magical garment has gone missing.
Also, the High Priest of the same temple has asked Rycon to investigate the same mysterious Tuzmyr Embankment. There is something untoward going on.
This is the continuation of Session 275 - The Ghost of Saint Amarab.
Location - The Fens over the river from Kiban in the Kingdom of Kaldor.
Part 1 - Big Lizards
Their assistant and forager, Robertus, has borrowed the magical cloak promised to the heroes; however, he has been missing for days. He went off in search of herbs growing around the Rude Fingers, a pair of oddly positioned monoliths but has yet to return. A search party was driven off by a pair of huge monitor lizards patrolling the area. The heroes rest for the night in the herbalist's hut and intend to search for him the following day.
That evening Silan takes Dryueh aside for a private chat before the party leaves. He asks whether he would be interested if the opportunity to arise doing a few discreet jobs for organizations he is associated with, i.e., the Thieves' Guild. Dryueh responds with an affirmative.
The lizard threat is real; the next morning, not long after the party heads out to find Robertus, two huge reptiles spot the heroes and viciously attack. Rycon barely survives a potentially lethal bite, and his shield is buckled and twisted, sacrificed to the lizard's strong poisonous jaws. However, the beasts are soon slaughtered.
Part 2 - The Yellow Musk Creeper
Further in the marsh, the characters are shocked to see several men shuffle forward through the muck. They are little more than corpses with twisting vines and yellow flowers protruding from rotting cavities over the bodies. The dead men attack, and as they close on the heroes, the vines attempt to wrap around them, drawing them towards the yellow rot-infested limbs of the corpses. The corpses are hacked to pieces.
Concerned, the characters stealthfully approach the small island with a pair of ivy-covered stone monoliths, the Rude Fingers, and two more of these plant-animated corpses attack. One of the dead is fresher than the others, matching the description of the forager Robertus, and despite being covered in mud and sticky vines, the characters note he is wearing a cloak crafted to look woven from leaves. This is the magical cloak Silan described. The Yellow Musk Thralls are more challenging than the ones battled previously, and when Dryueh stabs the dead Robertus, his cloak stiffens, and blades of razor-sharp leaves nearly cause a nasty gash. They are eventually dispatched; however, a more sinister adversary stealthfully moves closer to the heroes.
A Yellow Musk Creeper, a dangerous, intelligent plant, suddenly appears from the bog and emits a spray of yellow spores. It wants new slaves. Dryueh dodges; unfortunately, Rycon takes the blast full in his face and falls under the creature's control, passively approaching it and ignoring his friend's cries of alarm. The plant creature is resilient and does not seem troubled by Valeria's shadow magic and Dryueh's stabbing attacks. The evil plant's vines whip at Dryueh, and he is badly hurt. Things get so desperate Valeria joins the melee attempting to help Rycon snap out of his unnatural fascination with the plant monstrosity. At the last possible moment, Rycon regains his senses and cuts the creeper in two with a mighty slice of his katana.
With the danger over, the characters recover the magical cloak from Robertus's corpse and investigate the twin monoliths. On closer inspection, the Rude Fingers are decorated with swirling mystical symbols and have magical properties, something Valeria can employ to increase the power of her magic when nearby. Two more corpses are hidden under rotting vegetation. These have deteriorated so much that the plant monster could not animate them. They find some useful trinkets and a silver dagger.
Silan is saddened by the death of Robertus but is happy for the party to take possession of the Cloak of Gnawing Leaves. The heroes collected some yellow spores from the plant creature, and Gerolt and his wife craft them into primitive poison bombs. Silan travels to the river bank and waves a flaming torch summoning a local fisherman to return the heroes to the town of Kiban. The forger tells the characters if they need his services, he can usually be found in the City of Tashal.
Location - The Town of Kiban in the Kingdom of Kaldor.
Part 3 - The Tuzmyr Embankment
Rycon is now free to investigate the Tuzmyr Embankment. At Kiban, the team attempts to learn all they can about this mysterious location as discretely as possible. Dryueh meets with a wandering druid of Siem, the god of nature revered by the elves, and he tells the party that this wasteland has an ancient ruined tower. However, it is not often visited as the wildlife on the embankment is very aggressive.
Lord Wyant of Thadel Manor controls this small parcel of wasteland. However, when the previous lord Wyant died, a client paid Silan to forge a will giving that ground to his bastard younger Brother, Lord Falun of Nynte Manor. The client betrayed Silan, and the heroes pilfered the forgery, so the land still stays in Lord Wyant's possession.
Location - The Tuzmyr Embankment in the Kingdom of Kaldor.
Part 4 - Mad Goats
The heroes sneak onto the embankment without being noticed by locals, except the wildlife.
They quickly find the ruins of a tower overlooking a large gully but are attacked by aggressive goats. These nasty brutes have a purple stain over their mouths and ram the party, hitting hard and knocking the heroes back before being butchered. Their strength and ferocity seem unnatural.
To be continued.
NPC Interactions
Silan the Forger - Forger.
Gerolt of Mayer - Herbalist.
Challenges
3 x Giant Monitor Lizards.
6 x Yellow Musk Thralls and 1 x Yellow Musk Creeper.
4 x Angry Goats.
Rewards
Silver Dagger.
3 x Wolf Fang Talismans and 2 x Potency Crystals.
3 x Vials of acid
3 x Yellow Musk Bombs.
Cloak of Gnawing Leaves.
Created Content
Related Reports
Nothing this week.
Player Characters
Valeria - Human - L1 Shadow Sorcerer.
Rycon - Human - L1 Fighter.
Dryueh - 1/2 Elf - L1 Thief Rogue.
