Session 10: Ben 10 Joke Report
General Summary
The session picked up right where the last one left off, with the party fresh out of combat. They promptly started more combat while exploring the upstairs of the house. They managed to easily defeat all the druids and blights upstairs, though they found the family's living quarters and dining room completely ransacked. Agueda took all of the money in the family's home with the intent to give it all back to the family once they got out. The party took a short rest so that Thera could cast Identify on the Fungal Staff, which they took off of a druid's body. Thera decided to take the staff and attune to it. With the entire upstairs of the house cleared out, the party elects to return to the glassblower's shop and check the basement.
The party found another druid ransacking the wine cellar, escorted by five corpse blights. It was a difficult fight, with Thera going down and Ireena almost dying. Ireena also fled the fight to wait upstairs, and managed to take out the blight that pursued her.
The party took a long rest, during which time Ireena attempted to search the house and was unable to find anything. Phi interrogated Faran about the blights and druids, and, based on Faran's answers, about Rane. Phi also recalled that Marta at one point mentioned bringing them to Vallaki so that someone (she didn't specify who) could give them more info about the situation about Barovia, specifically regarding the monsters and druids that plagued the woods. When Thera woke up, Phi warned her against using the staff too much. They also told her that Faran believes that Rane may be connected to the druids and the monsters in Barovia. Thera asked Faran if he and Rane are "people," to which Faran responded that both he and Rane are "greater than any mortal." Phi and Thera agreed to keep an eye on Rane, and potentially bring the topic up to Ireena later. Phi decided to keep an eye on all of them, as they also do not trust the staff that Thera is using.
Agueda managed to find the secret wall in the cellar, and the party entered the puzzle room, as detailed in the The Wizard of the Wines article. Thera was the player who could see the puzzle itself. Since both Agueda and Ireena could read Celestial, they were able to figure out that it was a cypher. The party first attempted to trace the runes and translations on a piece of paper and pass it back and forth in the hallway. Thera did not succeed in her attempt to trace the solution, however, so they tried something else: Agueda gave Thera an Eerie Token so that she could look at the puzzle itself. She was able to translate the phrase into Common, and figure that her symbol went last. Ireena figured out that hers went first. They figured out by process of elimination that Phi's goes in the third. They were all able to successful describe their runes to Thera, and the curio was opened. The party gained the Holy Symbol of Felis, which the party decided unanimously to give to Thera.
The party returned to the Martikovs to tell them their home was saved. Augeda returned all the money she found in the house, and Phi returned the gemstones and locket they found in the master bedroom. The patriarch asked if the party found anything else in his home. Phi admited they found "what the druids are looking for," and told him about the Holy Symbol. He asked what they intend to do with it, and Phi answered readily that they intend to kill Strahd. Inspired by this, he told them of the gem the druids took, and asked if they will fetch it back. He stated that if the party should fail, his family and their wine would be all that stand between Barovia and total despair. His youngest child also revealed that there are three missing gems: one was stolen by an unknown party, "the witch" took the second, and the druids took the third. They only asked for the third to be returned, since the druids are so close.
The party figured out based on the description of the druid's lair that it was likely the place where they would find their "weapon of vengeance." Phi asked Ireena if she would let them use the Sunbeam Dagger, but Ireena stated she wasn't comfortable enough giving the party, still effectively strangers, a weapon designed to hurt her.
The party traveled towards Yester Hill, and on the way encountered one traveler: an unarmed and un-armored man who was traveling in the same direction, but a distance behind. He caught up to the party while they were resting, and made to circle around them. Phi and Agueda realized that he was obviously watching them. They flagged him down, and he told them he was hunting. Agueda told him it wasn't safe in the woods, and to head back to Vallaki. Phi figured out that while he agreed readily to her suggestion, he had no intention of doing that. He insisted he was hunting, and had stashed his gear somewhere else while he scouted ahead. Once again, Phi and Agueda knew that while he wasn't lying, he was hiding something.
Ireena volunteered to follow the hunter through the woods. Her true intention are revealed soon enough when she unleashes a fog cloud, and drops behind him. She was able to easily overpower and kill the man, drinking his blood. She failed to resist her Unrelenting Hunger, and devoured his entire body. It was very dramatic, complete wiith creepy music (that no one else could hear cause I forgot to share my Spotify listening session.) In his clothes, she found a note written in Strahd's hand, though it is so bloodied and torn that only the words "Keep me informed" are legible.
Report Date
16 Apr 2022
Primary Location