Chapter 4 Session 10 Finale: The Hunt Begins
General Summary
Are you happy that you got your kicks now? Is that enough?Persicorum were thrust straight into the Hunt's games as the entity, clapping throughout, tasked them with destroying the four quarters of a heart in order to prove they could be more than prey in the face of danger. The party decided to split up with Fen, Olympia and Kodo going towards one target whilst Thordak, Mimsi, Grendel and Amrys chased another. Fen and Olympia reached their quarter heart exceptionally quickly through using dimension door whilst Kodo was forced to run towards it at speed, having to dodge groups of Bulettes digging up from the ground and striking him while he was vulnerable. Fen and Olympia reached the point to see it was guarded by swarms of snakes and an intimidating (and magical) spirit naga. They engaged the creature but quickly found themselves surrounded and continually badly damaged as the naga continued to counterspell them and approached to feed with it's poisonous progeny. Fen soon fell unconscious and Olympia was forced to work desperately to keep him alive as she continued to take damage, during this time, an already damaged Kodo arrived to assist in the fight and distract the Naga by climbing onto it and reminding the damaged casters that they needed to destroy the heart, not the guardian. With that, Fen rose from unconsciousness and grabbed Olympia to dimension door, choosing to kiss her in the process and declaring that he loved her. Olympia didn't know what to do in response to this and decided to stab the heart and quickly change the subject whilst Kodo continued to be confused and slightly embarrassed by Fen's proclamation. Upon killing the heart, the party watched the Naga get turned inside out by a pair of invisible hands in a horrific manner and the rumbling underground came to an end... believing they'd done enough, that half of the party made their way towards Mimsi, Thordak, Amrys and Grendel to assist them. Whilst Fen, Kodo and Olympia dealt with the Naga, team B were busy moving at full speed towards the Glabrezu whilst a crimson mist made up of insects that shot poisoned darts at them were in pursuit. Before long, the group realised that Grendel's exhaustion was slowing them down drastically and so Amrys and Thordak took turns carrying Grendel with them in a desperate attempt to keep up with Mimsi who stormed ahead with her superior movement as a monk. Mimsi reached the final point quickly enough and saw a Glabrezu, a large, crab like demonic monster that brazenly declared a 1v1 against Mimsi, citing her as a superior foe and worth fighting alone. The fight began and Mimsi didn't start well, missing against the incredibly confident creature. Combat between them started and Mimsi was still without allies as they continued to approach and so she opted to try and disengage from the creature and ran to the plinth in an attempt to destroy the heart, this underhanded tactic enraged the Glabrezu who responded by casting Power Word Stun on Mimsi and commanding his servant demons, pathetic creatures called Lemures, to kill her. As he continued to approach, Thordak finally entered the fray and joined Mimsi to offer support, challenging the Glabrezu to a one on one battle which seemed to temporarily placate the creature... this worked temporarily until Grendel and Amrys joined the fight and attacked the creature, enraging it once more with what it saw as underhanded tactics. Now fully enraged, the glabrezu took hold of both Thordak and Mimsi and set to trying to destroy the two of them, holding them each in his pincers and using his free hands to pummel them, as well as dragging them away from the heart they were trying to destroy. Though, as Amrys and Grendel continued to attack the Glabrezu and it's Lemures, Thordak managed to break out of the Glabrezu's grip and used the Harvest Maker to annihilate another heart and end the combat as they watched the Glabrezu get torn in half by a pair of invisible hands. After a moment, Fen, Olympia and Kodo managed to join their allies and they decided to face the remaining tasks together, seeing that as a safer option than their current plans had been and already citing that they were low on resources. However, as the party were discussing and preparing to take a long rest, Kodo and Amrys heard the sound of clapping once more and the beating of wings around them that seemed to be getting closer... The Hunt wasn't intending on giving Persicorum the chance to rest and recover until it's game was over. The party made the decision to move as a squad and stop following the Hunt's pre-set path... instead trying to cut down the time and gain a chance to stealth without encountering the Hunt's path defences. Little did the party know that The Hunt had prepared creatures in case it's prey wandered from the path... specifically, the creature the party encountered was a large Roc, an eagle with a massive wingspan and dangerous talons that would swoop down and dive for the party. Though they were lucky to avoid it's talons and dives as they reached the next heart point. Guarding the third piece of heart were mutated Drow demons that were twisted by the Chaos, Draegloths. These creatures landed several dangerous blows on the party but were soon put down when Fen used a 3rd level fireball to destroy the Hunt's heart piece and end the fight efficiently. Satisfied, the party decided to move through the forest once more in the hope of saving their resources and more easily reach the final heart piece and the threat to be found there. However, despite Kodo confidently leading the party in tracking the final piece, disaster struck as the winged Roc managed to swoop down and strike Mimsi, dragging her away in it's talons and immediately rising over the canopy of trees. In the moment she was taken, Amrys, Kodo and Thordak tried to grab onto the creature to help their friend but only Amrys succeeded in clasping on and being dragged away to help Mimsi. The rest of the party split their forces at this point, Fen summoned Baralas and took flight in an attempt to chase down the Roc (despite the eagle being significantly faster than Baralas) and harass it, meanwhile Olympia started trying to track the roc from below the treeline in the hope that, if Mimsi or Amrys fell, she could try to catch them and save them... an unlikely hope, but one she was willing to try. Not seeing a way to help in the current emergency, and realising that they could end all of this if they complete the Hunt's challenge, Kodo and Thordak moved forward (with Grendel lagging VERY far behind) and towards the last heart piece, hoping that the two of them would be able to destroy it. As they approached the heart, Fen gave chase and used a variety of cantrips to harass and harm the eagle whilst Amrys and Mimsi continually attacked it's legs and wings in an attempt to either kill it or make it give up the chase. This was a constant battle that took a turn as the Roc crushed Mimsi to unconsciousness and started forcing Amrys to spend his turns healing her to stop her dying... though her necklace kept her stable despite the massive damage she was taking. Soon after this, Amrys decided to spend his turn attacking the Roc's talons and used his blade to pry Mimsi free in the hope she would survive the fall... something that seemed far more likely than if she remained gripped by the Roc, though, lacking feather fall, neither of them were able to stop Mimsi falling like a stone at rapid speed towards the earth, Fen and Amrys were unable to save her as she continued to fall headfirst. Luckily, despite everything, Olympia was stationed below Mimsi, directly beneath her and, PERHAPS, able to catch her friend. Using her final piece of divine power, Olympia managed to catch Mimsi and SIGNIFICANTLY reduce the damage the monk took... stopping her from being killed by the impact (BARELY), though this nearly destroyed one of Olympia's legs and Mimsi badly damaged her eye... losing it in the process and finding an Amethyst shard in it's place. Fen decided to go down to Mimsi and check on her, leaving Amrys to fight the Roc. He quickly, and in a deep panic, stabilised the two he found unconscious and cradled them for a time, unable to heal them to consciousness, as he heard the screams of the roc above them as it continued it's bloody battle. Amrys resolved that, no matter what happened to him, he would defeat this creature that attacked his friends and so, with swing after swing and refusing to be bucked off by the panicking bird, he swore to this creature that he would see it in hell and, finally, landed a lethal blow. Slamming his sword into it's neck and digging it in as the Roc flailed and went careening into the ground, causing a massive impact that left the creature dead and Amrys slammed against a tree and prepared to join the identity of The Thin Man. Kodo and Thordak were not aware of any of this however. They reached the space for the final heart piece and saw a large, muscular and VERY powerful Lycan standing guard that, upon seeing Thordak, began to despair by lowering it's weapons and begging the Hunt 'Please, anyone but him', to which in response the Hunt began to clap and commanded the wolven and hunt-possessed Nirya Moonbrook to fight them as the finale of her game, the entity then forced Nirya into a berserk state that made her fight with vigor and deadly commitment. Kodo acrobatically moved straight to the heart bowl and slammed down on it, only to find that the bowl was empty... at this moment the duo realised that Nirya's heart continued to beat with a loud thump and an ominous glow around it, a symbol from the Hunt that, this time, destroying the heart is going to be a slightly tougher affair... the entity wanted to watch Thordak kill his grandmother as a finale to their game. With that in mind, the duo started to battle, with Nirya notably doing her best to stop hitting Thordak and instead aggressively targeting and tearing into Kodo. Thordak tried his best to appeal to Nirya's humanity and her love for her family during the fight but found that whenever he revealed an aspect of her humanity the Hunt was quick to push it down and soon she was forced into a bloodthirsty rage that targeted the duo indiscriminately. Desperately the fight continued and Kodo and Thordak found that they were unable to fully kill the creature, bringing it to the brink several times before it's blood curdling rage would allow it to continue standing and fighting. Eventually though, Kodo managed to strike Nirya in her ribcage and forced her to puncture her own heart. Destroying the lycan and turning her back into Thordak's frail and elderly grandmother. As Thordak held her he did his best, through tears, to tell her to rest and that she would get better but he instead had to watch as she wiped a tear from his cheek and told him 'Don't cry Thordak, you're such a good boy' before passing away to the sound of the Hunt's fading claps. This prompted Kodo to angrily call the Hunt out, only for it to be silent. Thordak and Kodo agreed that Thordak would go back to Lakefort to bury his grandmother whilst Kodo would find the rest of Persicorum and ensure they were safe, Kodo chose to wait in the forest glade where the trial started. Meanwhile, Fen decided to have Baralas assist him in carrying Olympia and Mimsi as he heard a heavy crash and pained squawks in the distance and assumed Amrys would be in the direction. What greeted Fen was a large scar in the ground where the Roc had struck the ground and skidded before impacting several trees. It took Fen some time but he soon found Amrys tucked beneath the birds wings and unconscious but alive. Most worryingly however, Amrys' arm had nearly been snapped clean off from the impact of striking the ground whilst continuing to ensure the bird was dead, Fen realised very quickly that Amrys would likely never use his arm again and would need a prosthetic. With his allies all unconscious but stable, Fen used Baralas to help him bring them to the centre glade in the forest... specifically by having Baralas fly ahead whilst Fen walked to the centre in the hope that being airborne would keep the others safe from remaining predators in the area. When the three injured party members reached the centre glade Kodo immediately got to work healing them and found he could bring Olympia to consciousness with his medical kit but could not fix her major injuries. By bringing Olympia to consciousness, who immediately asked Kodo 'Did I get her??' though Kodo naturally wasn't certain about what she was asking about. She then healed the other party members with her remaining spell slots and they shared a moment of barely living ecstasy, finding that they could not move without assistance despite Amrys being desperate to bring that Roc back to Lakefort to act as several meals... Mimsi also congratulated Olympia for being kissed by Fen. Eventually the Elven mage returned and the party decided to get back to Lakefort and comfort Thordak after Kodo explained what had happened in the final combat for the heart. As the party approached, they found that Thordak had organised for Nirya to be burnt on a pyre in the same way Baralas and Gwydion were given funerals, in his hope that Nirya would be found and accepted by either Pelor or The Duskmother as opposed to being taken in her next life by The Hunt. He also brought in a cleric of the Duskmother to complete the arrangements (the cleric for their part was both shocked and confused by Thordak and his allies being heavily injured and covered in blood), as the cleric asked Thordak about the rest of Persicorum who came to check in on him, Thordak described them as his family and clan members, much to the joy of the other members of Persicorum. The rest of the party recovered in Moonbrook Wares and did their best to recover and avoided talking about the trial for now... seeing it all as too fresh for the time being. As they recovered, Thordak visited Momma in her store in an attempt to receive some consolation and sympathy but she responded with apathy... though she admitted it was unfortunate as she was a fan of Nirya, she then further explained that Thordak should be proud of who he was and who he is as Momma was certain Nirya was proud of him. Whilst resting, Fen and Olympia chose to not talk about the kiss and there was a clear awkwardness between them whilst Kodo prepared a meal and Mimsi drank with Amrys, despite their injuries, the party had survived and so they chose to enjoy the moment until they had to plan where they were going to go next... and taking into account the heavy injuries some members of the party experienced. With that, Thordak rejoined the party as they were resting and spoke to Fen for a time as the elf was watching the rest of the party as the slept. They watched Amrys grow a new limb, a gift from The Thin Man to replace his destroyed arm though it was shadowy and black in design and unsettled the others to look at it. As Thordak slept however, he had a dream, he dreamt that he stared upon a large metal gate, obsidian black, with six heavy locks set over it that were all unlocked and hanging across the door as it stood ajar. As Thordak approached the door, he saw a pale leg creep around it and then a figure moved through, a young, wild-looking girl with long blonde and dirty hair. She congratulated Thordak on his ferocity in killing Nirya before stepping close to him and piercing her nails into his chest as he felt his heartbeat change to match hers in a moment of excruciating pain. As the dream began to end, she whispered a single phrase into Thordak's ear as he became the Key of the Hunt.
- Kodo tires of The Hunt cruelly attacking Persicorum
'A gate lies open, the door lies ajar, they stare through... they step through, but where lie the keys? WHO lie the keys?'
Rewards Granted
Missions/Quests Completed
- The party survived the trial of The Hunt.
- The party found Nirya Moonbrook... though not as they intended...
Character(s) interacted with
- Nirya Moonbrook
- The Hunt
- Momma from Momma's Murkers
- The Cleric of The Duskmother
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