Session 59 Report

General Summary

As Haymin’s Heroes left the inn, they all felt a tingle in their minds, as if something attempted to intrude in some way. They continued walking, cautiously. Then they felt it again. Someone came out of the inn a short distance behind them. A few people watched them as they walked past on the street. They couldn’t be sure where it was coming from. They felt it a third time, all except Titta Morco and Pyzar Zim. The party discussed it and came to the conclusion that Titta and Pyzar’s minds must have been breached. As they left town and headed towards the river, the person who followed them out of the inn turned a different direction. No one else from town seemed to be pursuing them either. When they reached the river, they saw three men fishing. They greeted them and Ladigo Farthon asked them about the fishing and about the bait they were using. After a slight pause, on of them responded worms. Auren Sylynn got the impression that something was off with these men. That they might be hiding something. Haymin’s Heroes walked past them, up the river some distance and stopped to pretend to be fishing as well. When Titta looked back, there were only two of these men left. After a few more moments, there was only one. The party then started back down the river to confront this lone man. He began walking away. Selia Roselyn Maxwell cast Dimension Door and took Titta with her to cut him off. The rest of the party started hurrying towards them. Selia cast Detect Thoughts while she and Titta asked him questions. He tried to evade the questions and Selia could sense it in his surface thoughts. He tried to recite the details of the cover story that had been concocted for Bright River’s sake. Suddenly Titta punched him. This apparent farmer took the blow like an expert. Selia cast Grease and the man slipped and fell. He stood up carefully and walked off the slick ground beneath him and maneuvered to Titta’s other side, standing within reach of both her and Selia. The rest of the party surrounded him and tried to subdue him. He man changed his form and his body morphed into an exact replica of Titta. But before he could confuse the party enough, he was knocked unconscious. When he fell, his body turned into a strange-looking creature with grayish skin, large eyes, and elongated limbs. A doppelganger. They tied him up and blindfolded him. Kyrie Eleison Thatcher-Stone healed the doppelganger enough to make him conscious. Then he was questioned. Though he was evasive, they learned his allies had headed back to the compound at the Applewind farm. The Unseen used the compound as a field base and staging ground for the impending mission to Clades’ Wrath. He said there were many of them at the compound, but gave to accurate number. And he admitted to having killed Anakis, Mogi Delvin’s childhood guardian. During the course of the questioning, the doppelganger changed forms to match that of Mogi and Anakis to make his point. Twice, when he did not like the answers he received, Auren mutilated the doppelganger by removing a finger. In the end, the doppelganger was knocked out. The party retrieved the sword he had, which they learned was the sword that killed Anakis. Auren killed the doppelganger with this sword. An inconclusive discussion about the use of torture and stooping to evil methods followed. And the doppelganger’s body was put in a Bag of Holding so that he would not be found. Eventually, the party decided to continue to the Parrish house. They would take care of the haunting situation and then leave town, letting the locals know that they’d achieved what they came for as they did so. Then they would hide out in the woods for some days before returning. They knew the Unseen were aware of their presence and would be waiting for them at the compound. Haymin’s Heroes felt they needed several days to pass for the Unseen to lower their guard again. When the party reached the Parrish house, Titta called out to the ghosts of the family. Four spectres came out of the house by passing through the walls. Titta did not recognize these spectres. The party mostly began by using Protection from Evil from their Weather Eye Brooches. The spectres floated forward and attacked. Their icy cold touches seemed to reach into their souls and drain them of some of their life force. Rather quickly, the situation seemed dire. Auren and Pyzar were near death and Titta and Kyrie were wounded from the spectres’ draining touches. Then Kyrie raised her holy symbol and called upon the might of Viribus, God of Valor to destroy the undead. Three of the spectres exploded in holy light. There was only one left. Then another spectre came out of the house. This one Titta instantly recognized. Titta called her Marrila. Marrila commanded the other spectre to stop and it did so. She referred to Titta as Vanesala, her birth name, and told her that she could not rest, “not while he lives with what he stole.” Then she begged Vanesala to leave, citing that she did not wish to hurt her. Titta left a copy of her book, Living with the Land: Two Perspectives, on the ground in front of the house and then she and the party walked away. She told them that she believed Marrila was referring to her engagement ring, likely stolen by Torren of the Red Sashes when he dragged her inside and raped her the day they had attacked the farm. With the haunting at the house not resolved, it changed the party’s plan some. They could not claim they had finished their mission. Instead, they returned to town, turned in their room keys to the inn, retrieved their horses, and left Bright River somewhat quietly. Then they gave the town a wide berth and hid in the forest to the north. For the next several days, they hid in the forest, moving the location of their camp each night, and biding their time. They also hid the doppelganger’s body inside a large stone, using the Stone Shape spell. On November 5, 498 AV, Haymin’s Heroes returned to the Applewind farm and approached the walled compound from the northwest side. They spent the day doing reconnaissance by having Ladigo transform into a great horned owl and fly over the compound under he cover of an Invisibility spell from Selia while Pyzar connected with him via a Mindlink power. Ladigo saw what appeared to be a great dig site over the majority of the central portion of the land. Numerous and large holes dotted what was once farmland alongside great mounds of dirt. In the southeast side of the compound was a building, like a large house next to two smaller structures. Several men cold be seen outside in front of these buildings during the day. It appeared that there were a number of Red Sashes there, being trained by another man, not wearing a red sash. The house faced the direction of the only gate in the surrounding stone wall. Off to the east of this house by some distance was a large barn. Ladigo flew over the compound that same night and saw less men outside, seemingly just conversing. Haymin’s Heroes formulated a plan of attack. But to err on the side of caution, they resolved to watch the compound the next day to see if the Unseen’s routine remained largely the same. That night they rested. Tomorrow, Ladigo would fly over the compound again and observe.

Campaign

The Heart of Embril

Protagonists