Session 53: The Realm of Rot

General Summary

The Gate Guardian: Zombie Mothling Painter

The session began with a decision to be made: some of you pressed through the wall behind Frode's wife while Bobcat kept watch. He felt something wrap around his ankle, however, and felt his leg begin to decay where he had been grasped. Thankfully, the rest of you made short work of the wall, and he was able to retreat towards the tunnels. These tunnels, however, were collapsing. Stone fell all around you along with slime and mold, an the stars were clearly visible. Darkness was consuming the cosmos, and those that fell behind felt the cold, frigid, airless void beyond. You broke through to a massive chamber covered in both life and death. Narrow rivers, or perhaps streams, of filth were flowing throughout the area. Rocks dotted the landscape along with large red mushrooms. Three large pools of mysterious sickly yellow-green ooze were visible. The ooze seemed to be glowing gently as the areas around each of the toxic looking ponds were illuminated. Long, hanging vines covered the walls along with brambles, and bushes. Tufts of grass grew from the stone brick floor and walls along with vibrant, colorful flowers. The room was filled with life and was a rather harsh contrast when compared to the horrible hallways that were recently escaped or even the streams, ponds or just the floor in general of the very room you’re in. The walls went up high enough that the light or your darkvision could not see, and it was unknown if there even was a roof to be found. As your eyes and necks strained to see up as high as you could, Kaswink was the first to see the vines and other plants right at the end of her darkvision begin to decay. They quickly rotted to nothingness as a humanoid …thing with moth wings flew into view, quickly approaching the ground. Those of you with slightly worse darkvision saw the rot that preceded her followed again by her form.

Kaswink, was able to see more details about her as she had been watching her longer, and she could see that her hands were brushing over the plants as they died. You saw her exposed limbs were all skeletal, and that her wings were filled with holes and rot. These wings also had designs on them that looked like they were once eyes, but that even these patterns had changed to match this environment and her undead status. Eyes that had green sclera, with eyelids partially covering them with agony, tears dripping from them that look like more of the ooze in all the rivers and ponds. At the center of her back was a skull that looked to just be a part of the markings on her wings and body. The top part of her wings were all muddy brown with faded white stripes and more of the murky yellow-green. She came into view of those of you without dark vision, and you could see the bushes at the base of the walls rot to nothingness. You also could finally see her face: the only part of her that still had flesh, but it was pale with bloated spots beneath leaking sores, and her lower jaw was just as skeletal as the rest of her body. Her dark, black and murky green eyes didn’t seem to be focussing on anything, and she began to raise a hand into the air, palm facing up, fingers half bent, with her other hand resting over a bag on her hip.

Combat against this person was rough for some of you, but nobody perished. Mushrooms would explode and attempt to drive you mad, ponds would overflow and splash on those of you that stood too close, and even touching any of the water seemed to incur a chance at rotting away. Bobcat flew around the battlefield as a giant dinosaur, attacking the mothling and retreating away without danger. Kaswink did what she could to get close and damage this guardian as much as possible, DAN attacked from a distance as she was a bit too fast for him. Hysteria remained hidden and burned the creature, and Frode ignited a spear that he would thrust into her whenever she got close enough. The guardian would attack you individually, cause vines to lash out from a distance, or even create massive clouds of black, rotting bubbling liquid that harmed you all at once. She was in the middle of channeling a far more powerful spell when Bobcat finally finished her off, and she slowly lowered to the ground while clapping. Kaswink didn't trust her though, and continued to attack while this guardian started to draw another glyph on the ground that slowly revealed a bottomless pit. You all jumped in, but Kaswink was still upset at this moth and decided to cut one of her wings off while tackling her into the depths.

The Realm of Rot

At the end of the pit was a world of fetid air, rot, mushrooms, goopy vines, slime, and everything else that you can read about in The Rotting Gate. Bobcat warned you all about avoiding the bodies of water as something seemed to be dwelling below, and the guardian flew away to parts unknown. The gate is now unguarded, anyone could just walk in I guess. Aeryn shrouded you in moonlights and shadows n such, and you were all able to rest for a moment. There was some unease about actually sleeping in such a place, especially since Namina is keeping the gate open, whatever that means. Her’aen offered to keep watch while you rested as well. Your guide, Her'aen, led you forward to the northwest. You encountered a zombie mage along the way that was being held up by his cane and seemed to be upset about something. He had been separated from his adventuring group, oh no! In their hubris, they had chosen to explore this gate, stop Božena, The Rotting Heirophant, and free the realm, but they became separated and each of them perished. He had yet to see his friends for some time, and said he would appreciate if they were returned to him.

Other zombie creatures that were roaming the land were avoided, and Bobcat had grown suspicious of your zombie guide. He started to interrogate her while DAN wandered off to juggle for an ogre and ask some more questions.

Dec 12, 2022 Recording