11/20/2021

Character question: When was the last time you cried? Aurane is a stiff-upper-lip sort of chap, and likely would shed few tears. The exception would be in appreciation of true beauty of craftsmanship.
Start with INSP, +d6
 
We start the day, and crawl from the tent. I can hear the hustle and bustle of the city again, which calms my soul. After performing the morning's ablutions and rituals, we need to go pick up the animals from the stable at the Temple of Kuzco. First, there is a hangover buffet of which we partake. Very few others choose to eat in the common room, most too hungover to be out in public right now. PER check, I notice two older locals eating off to the side, and hear them discussing the old haunted mesa house, which has claimed another victim, the second one this year. It is located on the eastern side of the city at the outskirts, and is seated atop the mesa. I am compelled to convince the group to check it out, and maybe succeed? We go for the mounts, and Mittens has been groomed, killing none. Heading east, the mesa begins, and there is an estate on top. It's tall and narrow, not sprawling like the Ashforge Estate. It has entered repairs and been abandoned several times, leaving many unfinished projects around the property. Rorin leads the way in and knocks, to echoes and deep silence. He picks the lock to open the door, and the wood scrapes along the floor as it opens. Melfina says there were weird vibes but nothing overtly good/evil. The is a large unfinished mosaic being restored, up the grand staircase would lead to the main bedrooms. The hallway on the first floor would have the servants' quarters and such. We do a full sweep of the main estate, and I do a DC 25 INSI check, have to burn INSP and +d6. This building has asbestos, but like magic kind, causing severe coughs and asthma, violent outbursts in people with trauma, and vivid dreams that border on hallucinations. I spend some time to write up a report for HP Impartial, with detailed descriptions of the issues, how to deal with them, and where the house is. From the house, we head east towards the woods. We travel casually and camp on the outskirts of the forest as night falls. It's not dead quiet, but more than it should be. We pass two groups, each with heavily armed guards, coming from a post inside the forest. There is no other traffic. They're covered in scum and ooze, but otherwise undamaged. Marda and Melfina live out here, and are neighbors, so we don't need the lay of the land from these folks. The sun rotates backwards here, west to east. They live a bit further in, about a half day's ride from the main road for Marda and a full day's for Melfina. That is too far for us all to go to one of their houses, and they might not have the space or amenities. It is unnervingly quiet for me, less so for the others. Melfina senses that the ground in consecrated (hallowed, but not the Hallow spell) by someone who speaks for the earth. There is also a sense of great evil, and a sense of the undead. I am on third watch, so head to bed early. PER check, Marda doesn't like the forest, and spots a faint blue glow, hearing the shifting of the branches on this windless night. The light does not follow the shifting of branches, they are two separate things. The shifting sounds crept closer throughout the night, about 25 feet from the treeline at dawn.
 
Dream from asbestos: Dreams of isolation, darkness, things moving in the darkness. Things then fuckiung proceeded to move in the darkness while I was on 3rd watch.
 
We are ready to head into the forest. It is unsettling. Welcome to the Spooktacular Raven's Wood. At the rear of the group, Druss realizes a tree was the same tree we'd passed 30 minutes ago. Roll for initiative! This a twisted, blight-covered treant radiating malice and hate. I roll NAT and am sure this was a treant, but it's dead but alive and angry. Behind us, a humanoid form is shambling towards us, as Druss notices (about 50 feet away). Melfina makes the final blow on the treant. The zombie has a breath weapon and I got a 2 (for the horse). The horse I am riding is down to 1 HP. When these zombies die, they explode in spores, damaging those within 5 feet. Melfina and I perform a MED check on Druss, and see blistering inside his mouth. Lesser restoration fixes Druss and the horse, and the horse is up to 10 HP. Something bout these woods ain't right...
 
END SESSION, WITH NO INSP STUFF
 
Do short rest stuff before session...