The Adventures of the Big HELP, Session 12

General Summary

• The Big HELP rested briefly before continuing through the puzzle door. There, they found Lemore Mondicrell and confirmed he was the necromancer. Larka had long suspected this.
• The HELP learned that Lemore was intermittenly unable to use his magic. Shortly after the crash of the Raziel, he was conducting experiments on the bodies of a vargar and Peacelover. The vargar reacted to Lemore's necromancy unexpectedly, a flash of light from its brain revived the vargar and neutralized Lemore's magic. It was several days before Lemore could use magic again and even then his ability comes and goes. This caused him to lose control of his undead thralls, which is why they started randomly attacking villages. Petrichor and Bigwig believed this vargar to be Windtooth.
• Larka asked why Lemore felt the need to resort to necromancy. He admitted his curious had simply been piqued. He had been given Eris's notebook in what he thought was a random giveaway by a bookseller in Ghispar. Petrichor feared this was Demensaix in disguise. He realized he could use this magic to defend the Freehold and presented a letter, which Petrichor then read. The letter was from a Pascatia scout and mentioned that Rusha Kingdom ships had been sighted off the coast of Pascatia. Lemore said that the troops the HELP had poisoned expected an update and reinforcements days ago. It was likely that Pascatia fell to the Rusha Kingdom already and Lemore was scared the Freehold was next.
• All the while, Lemore was drinking a special tea to restore his magical prowess. He offered the tea to the HELP but they refused to take it. Helena was furious at Lemore, believing he had betrayed the Catfolk Freehold's people, putting them at risk. The HELP, instead, wanted him to come quietly, confess, and ask for clemency since he did not intentionally cause harm. He didn't believe he would get clemency and asked instead for their help. His attempts at necromancy had created a banshee that was about to escape his dungeon. He offered to pay them for assistance in fighting the banshee and covering up for him. (He also suggested using Eris as a scapegoat in case they still wanted to bring a necromancer to Catchief Urthpaw.)
• Lemore eventually felt the conversation drifting away from his freedom and started running. He had recovered enough of his magic through the tea to bind the banshee temporarily, alongside three skeletons glowing different colors. Bigwig tried to fight the banshee, but found it shielded with a multicolor light. It seemed to resist all damage from the HELP's attacks. Larka saw that Lemore was having difficulty maintaining control over the banshee and attacked him. A few attacks broke his concentration, but that only unlocked more of the banshee's power. The party eventually realized that the three skeletons were generating the banshee's shield. Destroying the skeletons destroyed the shield.
• Lemore used Misty Step and started fleeing. In a rage, the banshee chased him down and possessed him. Larka snuck up and knocked out Lemore, hoping to take him alive, but the banshee still managed to puppet the unconscious necromancer and attack. Petrichor Wild Shaped into a snake and Bigwig cast Protection from Good and Evil. The spell forced the banshee from Lemore's body and Petrichor tied him up while Helena gave a finishing blow.
• On the banshee's destruction, Bigwig and Helena saw a vision. The banshee, when it was alive, was in a life or death struggle with a very scared aarakocra. The aarakocra managed to overpower and kill her attacker. To her shock and horror, the banshee's blood began seep from their body and was absorbed, unwillingly, by the aarakocra. Helena felt ill after his vision and sat down. Lemore began to regain consciousness.
• The HELP convinced Lemore to come quietly. Bigwig asked if he had seen the vision with her and Helena. He said no and asked if they had any magic in common. She showed him the mark and he gasped, surprised that they weren't sick. Lemore explained that a similar mark (smaller, though) had appeared on people in Ghispar. Most of them became feverish. He noted that Bigwig and Helena's looked like the Cult of Arazid's insignia and wondered if they were connected.
• The party learned they were under Lemore's mansion, roughly 4 days to the east of Ghispar. Helena realized she was technically AWOL and Lemore offered to use teleportation magic to return everyone to Ghispar rather than walking. Bigwig realized that Lemore was too exhausted to put up a fight at this point and agreed. He also seemed too intrigued by the mystery of the Arazid mark Everyone soon found themselves returned to his office in Ghispar.
• The HELP tried to turn Lemore over immediately but found that Catchief Urthpaw was in a meeting with the Cult of Arazid's leader, Fireblood. The guards they found said that Lemore had been missing and was required for this meeting. Not wanting Lemore to be judged before he could explain his story, the HELP said nothing. Lemore seemed to be glad and was beginning to wonder if he could escape judgement. The party left the Oaken Hall and Helena went her own way to figure things out. The HELP realized that Ghispar was quieter and less crowded than normal.
• Bigwig decided to stop by The Summoning Scroll, an enchanting shop, to see if they had any magic weapons. She couldn't find anything affordable but the shopkeeper, Clive, suggested he might be able to sell something that's been sitting for a while if she came back with 300GP. The party was eventually summoned by Cleric Citrinne to report on the necromancy activity. Urthpaw was still in conference with the Fireblood. After some prodding, the HELP convinced Lemore to confess. Lemore tries one last escape attempt, but realized that his magic has been drained for good. He broke down and confessed, apologizing for the suffering he caused unintentionally. Lemore was led away and the Big HELP received their reward.
• Before leaving, the HELP were able to get some details regarding the missing people in Ghispar. Citrinne explained that several members of the Cult of Arazid were able to heal the sick, similar to Bigwig. The Fireblood soon arrived and offered to heal everyone that bore the fever if they returned with her to cult's domain. The people, desperate for a cure and surprised that the Arazid cult might be able to do some good, agreed to let the sick go. Even some who bore the mark but were not sick, like Helena and Bigwig, chose to go and learn from the Fireblood. The cult started leading these people north while the Fireblood and her retinue stayed behind to talk with Urthpaw.
• On their way out, Petrichor noticed some of Lemore's belongings had been confiscated. She managed to grab them, a ring, a mantle, and a set of bracers. The HELP decided to return to the Cat's Paw Inn for the night. Amroth was there, singing and using illusory magic to supply pyrotechnics.Petrichor noticed Ivy in the corner and visited while Bigwig sought out Helena. Larka went to bed.
• Ivy told Petrichor she was on a mission to Moonvale Grove, a grove now contained in the Asbarl territory. She was passing through Ghispar, visions showing that they would reunite here. Ivy told Petrichor of a terrible threat, teeth and claws consuming everything. She knew that the grove was corrupted by this mysterious force and was on a spiritual journey to cleanse it. Ivy asked Petrichor, should the need arise, if Petrichor would be willing to answer her summons and help. Petrichor, fearing that this corruption was Windtooth and may threaten all of Udarich, agreed before saying farewell to Ivy.
• Helena and Bigwig drank together for a bit.
• Amroth stopped by after his final song and mentioned to Bigwig and Petrichor that he would be leaving the Freehold to continue his journey to heal his wife and free her. He wanted Hest to come with him, having found a lead in Valadris, the capital of the Varda Shiphaven. He believed that a wizard might be able to help both of their problems, but heard that this wizard would be leaving Udarich soon.
• Bigwig and Helena got a room together while Larka and Petrichor spent the night investigating and attuning to the items stolen from Lemore. The items ended up being a Ring of Evasion, Bracers of Defense, and a Mantle of Spell Resistance. Larka also used this time to meditate on her psychic abilities. She lost focus and her mind drifted to worrying about her family and wondering what King Hespiro could teach her about her abilities. She began to draft a presentation to convince the party to travel south and meet with Hespiro. Petrichor wondered about the grove corruption. Bigwig wanted to know more about how she was changing and feared Helena may be taken by the cult if she went to investigate it alone. In the morning, Petrichor, Bigwig, and Larka wondered which path to take next.

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Report Date

28 Jan 2024