Ep 39: "Ice Breakers"

The party was instructed by the book to meet up and go back to the Undermyst. They spent the morning preparing. Primeheart took Lash back to his camp and prayed to Quarra. Oisin geared up and got the party set up for later. Rosie finished up her costume for the party later. Cyl painted a flower on a park bench. GB picked up his costume from his job and deposited it at his place. He packed his armor and arcane focus in his bag, then headed to meet the others.

Nathan finished up customizing his tailored costume and geared up for the adventure. As he examined himself in the mirror, he chose not to cover up his markings and immediately noticed twigs/branches growing out of them. As he looked down, they weren’t there and as he looked back into the mirror, there was still nothing. He still did not wrap it. As he began to make breakfast, hundreds of pounds of leaves poured from his cabinets. He went up to check with Rosie, and her door came alive and grew into the wall, creating a solid wall.

The party gathered at the safehouse to meet with Zreet. Nathan’s showed the others his new tattoo: a triangle pointed at his thumb, middle finger, and wrist. He described it as a gift from his patron. Nathan looked Primeheart for answers to his leafy problems, but Primeheart didn’t know anything.

Zreet appeared, told them only kill those who attack, and gave the same rules as before:

Do not:

• Follow lights or sounds

• Go through overgrown areas in which you cannot see the other side

• Agree to anything said to you

• Take anything except what the hag has

• Leave anything behind.

Zreet instructed the group to bring back a redcap’s cap or two. Through speaking with Zreet, Nathan realized that the thing happening to him was caused by him drawing a creature when he was in the Undermyst.

Primeheart ritual cast Water Walk and the party headed to the cove inside the cliff line. As they did, Rosie and Oisin saw a dark shape go by in the water. The party began to climb the cliff, but Rosie fell back to the water. She had a bad time, but it was fine overall. It took the morning for the party to get up to the cave. As the party entered and traversed through it, the cave slowly disappeared around them into a mist that had light streaming through it from above. The air was fresh, like they were outside.

As the party walked through the Undermyst, some of them saw a small grey dog digging and cowering, looking for food. Oisin tried to talk to it and the others jumped in, but the dog just kept cowering and backing away. They decided to bypass the “dog”, though it followed them for a few dozen feet before losing interest.

As they continued, it began to snow. The snow grew deeper as they walked and when the snow was about 1’-2’ thick, it suddenly stopped at a thick sheet of ice. Before walking on it, Primeheart recast Water Walk and GB cast Unseen Servant so that “Sam” could help him get across.

Rosie began walking on the ice. Suddenly, a loud crack sounded out around them as the ice shifted. She kept going and the cracking sounds continued. Something appeared underneath the ice below her and she realized it was a body. Rosie knew how thin the ice was, but pushed on and persevered. As she continued to walk, more and more bodies thudded against the ice beneath her. Rosie passed over the ice safely, though with much stress.

Primeheart walked over next and more bodies thudded against the ice. Cyl followed him, but was compelled by something mysterious to break the ice. Rosie rushed back as she saw Cyl pull her hammer to smash the ice. Some members of the party understood what was happening and tried to stop her. GB ran across and noticed a set of eyes watching him.

GB realized that, whatever was below the ice, wanted to convince them to break the ice to free it. It realized that GB knew what it was trying to do and redoubled its efforts. Rosie compelled Cyl to help everyone go across the ice instead of breaking. Unfortunately, Oisin felt the same compulsion and made a small whole in the ice with his crowbar.

The creatures grabbed the crowbar through and created a larger hole, endangering the party. The party struggled to keep each other out of the hole and the freezing water. After successfully crossing, the party realized that the crowbar couldn’t be left inside the river. Water Walk continued to keep them from sinking and they couldn’t figure out how to get it back. They abandoned the river for the time being, leaving the ice cracked.

They continued on as the snow became deeper and deeper. Finally, after an hour or so of trudging through the snow, the party came upon a stream of red against the white of the snow. It continued, a dark gash against the intense white of the snow, until it became a large patch of blood. The party found many similar patches in that area, though they did not seem to lead anywhere. They merely dotted the landscape. They continued on until the snow finally let up and they found a hot spring, and a redcap.

Battle ensued. Multiple party members were hit and felled by the creature. Only to be brought back to consciousness by the healers. Several were knocked out multiple times, but they were able to defeat the and get two red caps off the corpses of the evil fae.

On the way back, they stopped at the frozen river again. Cyl removed her shoes and swam down for the crowbar. As she walked across the bottom of the river, she realized that it was a sheet of eirshale beneath the crystal clean water. Cyl had walked on the eirshale, as she picked up the crowbar, with her bare feet. Realizing what she had done, Cyl swam back up in a panic. The sheet of eirshale was the biggest raw piece that they had seen and she had walked on it with her infected feet, possibly infecting it.

The group made their way back to the city and gave the red caps to Zreet, before heading to Mo’s Tower for the costume party.

Nathan and Mari attended as a pirate captain and a lady pirate. Primeheart came as the pigtatoe, with the skull on and a bearskin. Oisin and Pinbol wore their King and Queen outfits as a couple’s costume. GB had rolled himself in flour at his work and went as Pip. Cyl wore a replica of Pinbol’s “Glitter Daddy” onesie and even had a fake glitter beard and hair. Rosie had dressed Agreeshk in a “Little Bo Peep” costume and wore a sheep costume herself. Lark went as Cyl and dressed Foster as GB and Dermitt as Stokes. Owen, having decided to do something different, used Disguise Self to cycle between all the different guest as his costume. Seldanna wore a pink and white dress with fairy wings. Saxi, having realized she would have a hard time disguising herself, wore a mask and cloak to dress-up as Yoth. Pesk came dressed as an egg tube and Mezri came with her dressed as a circus strongman

Mo, the host for the party, watched everything from above in his costume of full body glitter. He rotated above them all as a spinning glitter ball on the ceiling.