Session 3: The Curse of Mistbrook Manor Report

General Summary

The party set off from the remains of Ayerith and journey into The Forgotten Wealds. Wasting a lot of time, and getting really deep and philosophical about religion, the party seem to forget about the lycanthrope and Kairon situation, so after around an hour, they finally get a move on. Throughout their forest adventures, they helped a shy bard get a gold-digging girlfriend in exchange for a funny rock and set a forest alight after meeting André Calixis and his army. After a day of walking, they eventually made it closer into the heart of the wood and settled for the night, tying up Elric and Tony so they couldn't eat the party. When they woke up, they found Cenden, a sentient corpse who told them of an ancient legend in the forest. It explained that centuries ago, a curse befell the southern part of the Wealds when a weary traveler was tricked by a hag who turned him into a monster. It also tells them of an old manor deep in the woods that can aid them in their search for a cure. However, this part of the woods is notoriously haunted by the beast from the legend, turning it into an icy wasteland.    And so with a word of caution, the party sets off in search for Mistbrook Manor. Eventually, they find it in the middle of a clearing, seemingly with life inside. After rattling the iron gate multiple times with no answer (and Rostliem prancing around the outside of the manor casting Druidcraft), the party ingeniously figures out that nobody can hear them, so Averel, being the law-abiding citizen that he definitely is lockpicks the gate and walks to the front door with Rhogar. From there they realise that the front door is unlocked - a detail that they find quite suspicious. Once inside, most of the party decides to explore the right side of the house, whilst Averel wisely splits off and searches the left side (because of course he does). In the end, they find many books on lycanthropy and its cures, various potions and vials, what looks to be human remains, and foreboding journal entries about a beast lurking outside the manor, which the party eventually discover to be an Oni. Rostliem and Rhogar also get blown up by a door. The Oni, shapeshifted into the form of the Manor's owner, Zonin Holtz, succeeded in luring away Elric so he could use his blood as the final ingredient in a cure for his own curse. However, Averel tells the rest of the party that his story is absolutely terrible and so they bust down the door to the study and fight him. Throughout the fight, consisting of much grappling and bear hugging, the Oni uses its magic to freeze Rhogar, before threatening to kill him if the party didn't do what he told them. And to absolutely no surprise whatsoever, Averel immediately stabs it in the back of the neck, killing the Oni but also causing it to drop a frozen Rhogar, which then smashes into a million ice cubes. Sly Tony performs a makeshift funeral service, sending him off into the afterlife.