Session 60 - Yeenoghu

17 Ambyrmont 1010 - 18 Ambyrmont 1010

General Summary

The party searches the wreckage for anything of value, and comes up with some gold/silver/copper, and finds a magical amulet on the magic user - a Clockwork Amulet, which allows the wearer to make a "reliable" attack roll once per day. After some discussion, Elincia claims the prize. In addition, Leo finds a piece of cloth with strange script on it among the magic user's possessions, and sees if anyone can read it, which only Tork can. It appears to be some sort of chant of praise for a creature named Yeenoghu. This sounds ominous to the party, though they can't think of any significance to the name.
The party finds tracks from a group of gnolls headed Northeast from this camp, and the party decides to pursue them. They move a little away from the destroyed gnoll camp, and set up their own camp.
The next day they head out; by late in the day they notice some dark smoke on the horizon. Elincia, in eagle form, and Leo decide to scout it out from the air, and find it to be a large bonfire in the ancient ruins of a temple-like structure. Around the fire are 20 prone figures and a group of gnolls around them chanting. Scattered throughout the ruins are tents and other makings of a gnoll camp. This alarms Leo, and he suggests they gather the party quickly. The party decides to create a distraction on the far side of the ruins, to divert attention and hopefully minimize the number of gnolls to engage with. To do this, Elincia will carry Leo and Tork to toss their last remaining Flask of Fire. Once this is done, they will circle back around and join the charging Stavos and Seraphina, and airdrop Tork into the fray. With any luck they can disrupt whatever gnoll ceremony is going on, and prevent the "no good" that they are up to.
This portion of the plan goes without any major issues. The party tosses the flask into the distant portion of the Gnoll camp, and it sets one of the tents ablaze. Several Gnolls scattered throughout the ruins move to battle the blaze, creating an opening for the party to move without being spotted. Seraphina and Stavos are approaching the camp as Elincia, Leo, and Tork swoop in. Tork gets dropped right in front of what appears to be the lead chanter and he starts attacking. Stavos actually arrives first on the scene and engages with the closest chanter around the ring of captives around the fire. Now that they are in close proximity, it is clear that this is some sort of sacrifice, with several Orc prisoners around the fire already dead. Three of the Gnolls around the ring are killing the Orcs and the blood is channeling toward the fire in the center; the chanting keeps bringing up that name, Yeenoghu. The party knows interrupting whatever this ceremony is, and freeing the Orcs, is of highest priority.
Stavos quickly kills the first Gnoll by the victims and moves to the next Gnoll, while Seraphina rides in and tries to draw gnoll attention to her rather than the process of sacrificing as well. Elincia deposits Leo on top of a nearby arch and begins rescue maneuvers to pull surviving orcs away from the circle. The Gnolls however, seem absolutely focused on sacrificing the Orcs despite being attacked from all sides by the party, and the one that looks like he may be a warchief yells to finish the sacrifice. Paying no attention to their attackers, the ceremonial Gnolls slit the throats of another three Orcs.
Elincia elects to try to move the victims away from the ceremony, and swoops in to grab two Orcs, dropping them in a spot a bit away from the action.
During the fight, Tork notices that one of the sacrifices in the ring is his brother, and yells out "Bert!!" This alerts the party to the situation and escalates the tension as the Gnolls are still more focused on killing the victims, and not doing much to stop the party from killing the Gnolls!
By this point there are only a handful of living Orcs and Half-Orcs around the fire. Tork finally kills the lead chanter, but this does not stop the process. The Gnoll warchief moves to fight Tork, making menacing threats in a language that only Tork seems to understand. Stavos and Seraphina continue to work through the Gnoll sacrificers on the one side of the ceremony. Elincia, after hearing Tork call out his Brother's name, makes yet another rescue run. She is able to rescue who she believes is the Half-Orc on the opposite side of the fire from Tork, and brings him to the "safe area" with the other two Orcs she rescued.
Leo starts to get a sinking feeling that perhaps the ceremony works with Gnolls as well as Orcs and Half-Orcs, but has lost count of just how many total Gnolls plus Orcs have been killed.
In fact, as Tork slays the Warchief his last dying breath seems to be some sort of ominous laughing statement about bringing forth their own doom. As he dies the Fire erupts, catching everyone around it in a burst of burning embers. When they look back, an enormous, 15 foot tall, highly intimidating Gnoll-like Demon seems to have arrived, cackling in glee at the prospect of mass destruction. Naturally, it is carrying a giant three-headed flail and sets his sights on the closest living creatures, Stavos and Seraphina. Thankfully, the Gnoll sacrificers' single-minded focus on killing the Orcs in the ceremony left Stavos and Seraphina relatively unharmed, as this creature seems intent on smashing them. It moves to them, gnashing his vicious teeth in a frenzy at all of those around him, killing two of the last four Orcs in the circle, as well as one of the remaining Gnolls.
Elincia decides that it is time for her bow, and magic from a distance, and transforms back to her Elven form. She casts Heat Metal on the large plate chained to the shoulder of the demon, which definitely catches its attention. Leo pelts him with Eldritch Blast, and Stavos and Seraphina continue to engage in melee combat, absorbing the majority of the demon's rage.
Tork, meanwhile, has moved around the other side of the ceremony fire and killed the last Gnoll on his way to his brother. He frees Bert from his bindings, and gives him one of Seraphina's swords, and sends him off in the direction of Haish. Severely beaten and weak, Bert is rallied by the appearance of his brother, and leaves the area the best he can. Once this is done, Tork wades back into the melee, being sure to stay close enough to benefit from Seraphina's auras.
Elincia's Heat Metal has caused enough distraction that the Demon uses its action to disrupt the spell, so she decides to do it again. The respite from stomping is sufficient justification to repeat the process. This angers the Demon again, and it makes a move to close the gap between itself and Elincia, but Stavos stops it in its tracks, so it directs its ire at Stavos, swinging the terrible flail at Stavos, Seraphina, and Tork. Thankfully the distraction of the Heat Metal is enough that the party mostly can read the Demon's moves, and avoid the worst of the attacks.
Leo has a bright idea, and menacingly declares "You do not belong here!" at Yeenoghu, casting Banish, but for some reason nothing happens. Instead, Leo can only give Stavos another boost of health with Healing Light.
The combat proceeds; Seraphina, Stavos, and Tork frantically attacking the Demon from close quarters, and Elincia and Leo peppering it from afar. Tork lands two devastating blows with his spear, and draws the ire of Yeenoghu. However, the combat seems to be favoring the party, and Yeenoghu glares menacingly at Tork and says in that strange language that only Tork understands, "I know you now" before disappearing in a mist of foul ichor as his form dissolves.
The party is a little shaken, but begins the rescue of the few remaining Orcs and Half Orc survivors. They are a bit puzzled by the ominous threat from Yeenoghu. Did they defeat it, or did it simply retreat back to wherever it is from. And what does this demonic arrival mean? Is this a repeat of what happened in the time of Halav, Petra and Zirchev? Who can the party turn to for advice on the strange activities they have encountered in these foothills?

Report Date

11 Feb 2022

Primary Location

Cruth Lowlands