Dampened Spirits
Session played on July 29, 2011
Scourge of the Sunset Vale Arc
Eleint 2, 1479, Year of the Ageless One
Deb Merryfoot, along with the others, spoke to Winslow Crestkeeper III to try and convince the paladin to reconsider his decision to leave the group and travel to Hluthvar alone.
After a lengthy discussion in which everyone sought shelter in an old hunting lodge to avoid getting drenched from an impending summer storm, the group decided to travel east. The decision was made to find out if the escaped prisoner from Hluthvar was speaking the truth about the Zhentarims having possibly abandoned Hluthvar. After, they would then return to their original mission of infiltrating the undead-infested town of Asbravn to the south. Deb also suggested that he guide the group east towards the Sunset Mountains. The halfling ranger added that they could then take the trail that ran north to Hluthvar once they reached the base of the mountains. Just as a heavy downpour began, everyone agreed to leave the lodge and travel for the remainder of the day, despite the heavy rain. With luck, they hoped to reach the trail before darkness settled in the Vale.
Several hours later, just before they reached the clearly visible trail, the group spotted the remains of three camping tents next to a murky pond. It looked as though the camp was fairly old judging how weatherworn the tents were and what else they saw. They noticed a dead figure lying on the ground sticking out from the largest of the three tents. The figure was clad fully in plate armor. The group also spotted the body of a large humanoid lying facedown in the thick bushes nearby. As the group moved forward to investigate, they noticed that the ground, thick and slick with mud made moving difficult.
Deb and Caldreas decided to stay within striking distance with range attacks, while the other three waded through the thick mud towards the campsite. Each step was difficult and slow, but eventually Ang and Lo-kag reached the campsite. Winslow, meanwhile, struggled to catch up with Ang and Lo-kag. As Ang reached the large tent, he noticed that the armored figure they saw earlier looked as if he had been dead for some time. Ang drew closer to inspect the figure and noticed a finely crafted longsword resting on top of the fallen fighter. Suddenly, the dead fighter moved, grabbed the longsword and began to rise. It also held a large shield emblazoned, along with its armor a symbol Lo-kag recognized as being the mark of Zhentarim soldier.
A battle ensued in which the large humanoid—an undead ogre ‘zombie’—also rose to attack. Ang quickly destroyed the undead fighter, while Lo-kag fought through the mud to get to the undead ogre. As he neared the pond, a movement suddenly caught his attention. A woman, her body shriveled as if from being immersed in water for far too long, suddenly rose from the pond and attacked the goliath. The woman wore tattered commoners’ clothes and had long, raven tresses that covered her face. As Ang joined in the battle against the new opponent, Deb launched a volley of deadly arrows at the undead ogre. Caldreas also launched powerful spells upon the undead ogre. He also entrapped the ogre zombie in a thick, sticky web.
Meanwhile, Ang and Lo-kag fought with the woman from the pond, which turned out to be a ghost since the strikes against her barely harmed her. Despite this, the two warriors destroyed the ghost in short-order just as Winslow finally reached them after struggling through the muck and mud. Together, Deb and Caldreas slew the zombie ogre as well.
After searching the remains and found that the Zhentarim soldier’s plate armor and sword were enchanted, Deb searched the nearby area along the trail and found a cave large enough to shelter the group for the night. Deb also discovered a partially covered earthen jug and several copper and silver coins littering the cave floor, although it looked as though the items had been there for some time—perhaps a few months.
The heroes settled inside the cave and out of the rain for the night.
Plot type
Chapter
Parent Plot
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