Session XXIX - 16.09.2021

General Summary

• The session starts with the heroes meeting the Horned Devil Devoth at the Mirror of Mephistar which is the gate to Stygia (the heroes learned about this in a book they received from Mordenkainen). Their goal there is to find out what happened to the family and clansmen of Barakas. 
• Devoth wants to bargain with the group and it takes some haggling to get the price down to six soul coins total (the bargain entials bringing the group to the exact location in Stygia and bring them back together with anyone who is accompanying them).
• So the group ventures to Stygia and finds itself in an icy environment (as expected). It turns out that Stygia is as dangerous and Athanatos almost drowns in an icy sea after breaking through its surface ice. The group ventures forth and finds an old bridge which appears to be in a bad shape. They manage to overcome this obstacle with clever use of their abilities and so they eventually reach an ice dome on a mountain top that they had seen from the distance.
• The entrance of the icy dome is closed. Jo tries her breath weapon on the door as this has been succesful already in the temple of Tiamat. However, this time, this does not open the door but brings forth some Infernal Runes which read "Strength will open the way". So Jo manages to open the door by using her sheer strength, but it appears to not be enough. Darius then conjures the powers of Lathander, his god, and polymorophs himself and Athanatos into giant apes. Now, the door can be easily lifted and the group enters the dome.
• Interestingly, one can look through the ice from the inside and see the outside surrounding of the dome while one could not see through it from the outside. Within the dome, there are creatures roaming and flying, including what appears to be young Purple Worms.
• The group investigates the place and eventually finds an icy cave with an altar. Here, a strange creature hides which immediately recognizes Barakas: The creature is named Gurthog and it apparently was responsible for the kidnapping of all of Barakas' gnomen family and clan. Naturally, Gurthog wants to also kidnap Barakas as he is the last of his kind and so a battle erupts. Gurthog rides a young Purple Worm and is accompanied by a spell slinging Mephit. The fight is brutal and Jo gets swallowed whole by the Purple Worm. The others manage to slay Gurthog and the Mephit (after Gurthog heavily wounds Darius). However, this causes the Purple Worm to start fleeing (burrowing into the ground) with Jo still inside it! It is now up to the characters to defeat this creature before it gets away with Jo and devours her. 

Report Date

16 Sep 2021