Operation Parameters
| Date |
1493 DR, 1 Hammer
(02/01/2023)
|
| Soldiers |
Valas, Ralla, Halar, Sketch |
| Status |
|
| Casualties |
N/A |
Objective
Work towards removing the black tar from the area by eliminating the creature that protected it.
Observations
The darkness no longer ebbed and flowed. It seemed to have retreated to near it's original position, but had gained more 'substance'. It had the look of a crystalline spiderweb with many, if not all of the schools of magic intertwined.
A pack was spied upon entering the area, which contained a few valuables (a good amount of gp and pp, a familiar music box which was subsequently gifted to Ralla, and a dozen wrapped candies which smelled of honey) along with 2x potions of superior healing. The crew "borrowed" the potions and subsequently returned one. The owner of said pack did return to retrieve it, albeit bloody and a little worse for wear. This white-haired enigma referred to herself as "the Captain".
Also, as the party crossed the river to get to the fallen structure two things stood out:
1) When anything fell into the water no sound was made.
2) A rose floated downstream.
The rats which appeared previously once again came around. A few did jump onto Halar (who had already been Polymorphed into a giant ape), but continued to make no attempt to attack. They seemed to be attracted most to stronger concentrations of magic.
Follow up
A follow up mission was approved to return and attempt to finish dealing with the entity (tar).
Preparation Details
A plan was laid out before the mission on how to deal with the creature. The priority was to use a combination of spells to keep the creature from returning to the tar, while fire with brute force would be used to finish the job.
Operation Details
With a plan worked out ahead of the mission the team quickly made their way to the Southern Outpost, and from there to the First Circle. It was slow going, but fortunately without any significant struggles.
They made it to the Druid ruins, peeked around for a moment, and did stumble upon the pack filled with goodies as they moved on. The magic-stealing rats did once again make an appearance and swarm around, but as with the previous mission made no move to attack.
The team worked out positioning as they neared the tar, and picked a fight with the big guy by tossing a large stone and a few cantrips into the pit. The creature emerged, along with a black tar version of a giant ape. The fight was on, and did last quite a while. Fire spells continued to prove effective for negating any possible healing, along with any radiant damage the creatures took. When each was finally defeated they melted back down into the black tar substance.
Afterwards, the team didn't have many options to attempt to finish dealing with the tar. Beaten, bloodied, and almost completely out of ability - a last ditch effort was made before they departed. Control Water was used to force the river into the pit, though ultimately seemed to have no effect beyond the river damming up a bit due to the change in direction of the water.
Returning to the Druid ruins, the party ran into the owner of the pack they came across. They gave the woman back the remaining potion, and she offered a few things in return. To Ralla she gifted the music box, and to Valas she gave the Codicil of White with the instruction to bring it to Rem. After that she went off in the direction of the black tar.
Everyone made it back to the fort in one piece, and after being given the Codex Rem returned it to Valas.
