S0E24 - To Grandmother's House We Go (concluded) Report

General Summary

... It must just be a trick of the dancing flames from the manse...that tree didn't just move did it? Of course not. Trees don't move. I didn't just see twig dolls come to life or a tree-thing cough up little living shrubs...oh FUCK! The undergrowth attacks as the party rests. Half a dozen or more of the shrub-like, vine-like things quickly surround the party on three sides. On the fourth side the boars that were so calmly munching on pumpkins are now charging the party. Battle is quickly joined. Trying not to become fully surrounded, the party maneuvers so that Verity is out front drawing attention while Kolja attempts to find cover from which to fire his bow. Sarwynn and Tyran take to the air and Info holds back behind the cover of a tree trunk in case anyone needs healing. Verity takes down a bush-thing, and a boar. Sarwynn lands a couple of blasts. Kolja looses some arrows. Then one of the charging boars shimmers and morphs into a half-orc and launches a lightning bolt. Then another. And another. Things look desperate as now Info and Kolja are getting surrounded by shrub-things. Sarwynn, thinking himself out of reach continues his Eldritch Blast but then learns that the vine-like things can shoot thorns! As they are want to do, our heroes eventually find themselves surrounded by the fallen bodies of their enemies. They reset watch and take a full night's rest. In the morning they leave for Falcon's Hunting Lodge. Falcon the Hunter is very happy at the news of their successes. He is good on his word and provides Kolja with a pair of elven boots. These will help him move silent as a cat...wait, what? Another fantastic feast (the companions had taken time during their full night's rest to butcher the dead boars this time and finally had their bacon), everyone retires for the night. At dawn, everyone rises for an early breakfast before hitting the road...but then the lodge is rocked by the loud booms of a battering ram at the gate. A large orc host is attacking in retaliation for the previous days' attacks. Kolja and Info head up the tower for a higher and more protected vantage point. The others rush out into the North Yard just as the orcs breach the gate. Initially, things looked grim for our heroes. Even Falcon joined the fray and was having difficulty with the sheer number of orcs. However, the natural bottleneck at the gatehouse slowed their advance just enough for the party to begin thinning the number of attackers before being completely overrun. In the end, they stood victorious again. Falcon was grateful for the help, but did not take lightly the attempts to extort further payment for "being rescued". The party decides to be on their way. They travel quickly to Phandalin where they seek payment for their completed tasks, as well as news of the dragon. More and more refugees have been arriving in town and a makeshift camp has now been set up amongst the northernmost ruins of the town. With all rumours pointing east for the dragon, the party decides to head west and follow the rumours of treasure at the lighthouse along coast. They convince themselves that this is because additional magic items could be found in that treasure and make them that much more capable of facing the dragon. In reality...they may just be increasingly afraid of what seems to be an inevitably dangerous confrontation. Another day's uneventful travel brings them to the lighthouse. They immediately see a strange sight upon arriving; a giant crab is on the beach below the causeway they find themselves on and it seems to be waving them over. Sarwynn flies down and Kolja climbs down and they find that the crab can actually speak! It tells them that its mistress has been cursed with undeath after being brutally murdered by the occupant of the lighthouse. It also warns that the strange pulsing light coming from the top has been attracting ships to their doom among the rocks rather than warning them away. It offers to retrieve a single magical item from the wrecks in exchange for the party freeing its mistress of her curse. The heroes agree and forge ahead, while the crab disappears into the surf in search of an item. They are conscious of its warnings about sharks in the waters, as well as Harpy's on the cliffs. The crab's mistress, it turns out, is another banshee. This one doesn't attack them on sight; rather it seems quite distraught and begs them to return a conch that belonged to the sea-elf in life. The conch was taken by the lighthouse's occupant it seems. The party forges ahead towards the cliffs, but as soon as they begin to ascend the winding path, they are beset by harpies...