Session 99 Report

General Summary

Haymin’s Heroes discussed plans to search the island for Rybierith’s lair. As they did so, Ladigo Farthon spotted a wolf at the southern edge of the swamp, nearing the green dragon’s remains. Titta Morco picked up Ladigo and flew towards the wolf. Ladigo began speaking to the wolf, trying to calm it down. Then Selia Roselyn Maxwell flew close and saw that the wolf was indeed a man polymorphed. She called it out aloud and the wolf backed up and transformed into a man bearing the holy symbol of Mundus, God of Nature. His said his name was Romulus. He and the party spoke and they learned that he was on the island looking for a friend named Artemis, a dire tiger. Rybierith had taken Artemis from him, by transforming it into a common cat then carrying it off. Romulus used his Wild Shape ability as a druid and flew after the dragon until he found this island. He had been here for over a day, searching the island. When he saw the dragon this morning, he followed it towards the swamp in the center of the island. After a brief discussion, Romulus joined Haymin’s Heroes to search the island for Rybierith’s lair and Artemis. Ladigo transformed into an eagle and flew around the island to locate any points of interest. When he returned, he told them what he had seen, confirming much of what Romulus had already told them about the island. There was a ruined keep to the north of the island on a cliff overlooking the water. There was a lagoon on the east side of the island where kuo-toas swam. Wooden totems lined the beach alongside a large horn on a stand. To the south within a heavily wooded area was a cliff with three caves. Lizard-like creatures inhabited the area. And to the west there was a waterfall with a small lake and river. They decided to go to the waterfall first, thinking the dragon might have hidden his lair behind it. The waterfall area was beautiful and serene, a lush landscape of greenery and flowers around a small lake fed by a large waterfall. From the lake a small river flowed to the southwest. Mogi Delvin and Traegandar went into the water first, cautiously. Auren Sylynn went along with them. They skirted the edge of the lake, going around towards the waterfall. Traegandar could sense creatures in the water, but nothing could yet be seen. Then suddenly he sensed three creatures swim towards them at rapid speeds. Within a moment, they were upon them and three huge water elementals rose out of the lake and attacked. With massive watery fists, they pounded Traegandar. The gold dragon was rocked, but still standing. The party rushed into the battle. The water elementals were strong and resilient. Traegandar retreated as his allies held the elementals’ attention. During the battle, Pyzar Zim was targeted by the elementals as he took a taunting stance that seemingly left himself open for their strikes. He suffered some great damage and appeared as if he would soon fall. Then Kyrie Eleison Thatcher-Stone run up to Pyzar and cast Heal to remove all his wounds. It took several spells and weapon strikes to bring down all three water elementals, but in the end, the party prevailed. After the battle, Kyrie used her Sacred Healing ability to heal the party. When they were ready to continue, Mogi and Traegandar went back into the water and swam to the waterfall. Behind it, they found a cave. The party lined up and they entered into a small cavern where two shambling mounds were waiting. When they engaged them a rune on the floor flared with magic and a Stinking Cloud spell filled the room. The shambling mounds were defeated easily and after a couple failed attempts by Selia, Ladigo managed to dispel the Stinking Cloud. Next they entered a large cavern with various plants and vines covering the ground. In this cavern were two of the draconic shapes made up of chlorine gas. Along side them was also a huge dragon made up of plant material, which the party dubbed a “plagon.” The ground cover was like a Briar Web spell, hindering the party’s movement and piercing their feet and lower legs with sharp thorns. They noticed that fire was particularly effective against both the plagon and the plants on the ground. The brought the plagon down, and then a Fire Storm spell by Ladigo cleared most of the ground, making it easier to move. The gas dragons fell soon after and the great cavern was cleared. At the back end of the cavern, they found a small treasure hoard. Several items radiated with magic when targeted by a Detect Magic spell from Mogi. But when Selia used Detect Magic, her True Seeing revealed that the magical auras on the items were illusionary. With the meager treasure they found and the worthless items, they realized that this must not be Rybierith’s true lair. Auren began searching around the cavern walls and eventually found a secret door to the north. Behind this door was Rybrierith’s true lair. Within this cavern sat a large cage and within this cage was a large dire tiger, Artemis. Auren unlocked the cage door and Artemis and Romulus were reunited. To one side of the cave was Rybierith’s nest and treasure hoard. This one was much more robust and contained actual magic items. The party spent some time identifying the items and counting the coins. Eventually, when they were done, they were considerably wealthier. They discussed what to do from here and they asked Romulus to continue adventuring with them. They explained some of the quests they had lined up and Romulus was intrigued and agreed to continue with them. Then they decided to visit the ruined keep to the north. A few members of the party found that intriguing while agreeing that they should probably ignore the lizard creatures and the kuo-toas. The found the ruined keep severely damaged. Many of the walls were down, the ceilings collapsed, stones and debris littered the area. There were no signs of tracks as Titta examined the inner courtyard while the rest of the party waited by the entrance. When she neared a pile of large stone in the center, the stones suddenly came to life, coming together to form a huge stone creature that towered above her menacingly.

Campaign

The Heart of Embril

Protagonists