Beginning Day: 11th of Lowsun
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After an hour or so of walking along the road to Fallcrest City, our adventurers realized they had failed to warn anyone in Newford about the dangers posed by the possessed demon cornbabies. Conscience getting the better of them, they returned to the small village to attempt to spread the warning. Damaia and Merla were met with incredulity at The Falconer inn, while Naivara, and Kyla failed to get past the red tape and extraordinarily bored young man staffing the front desk at Town Hall. Aelar, Damaia, and Merla did learn that the Woodleaf family, whose house had burned the previous evening, was now staying at the Millers's, and set off in that direction.
While Merla went inside to try to speak to the victims, Damaia and Aelar threw rocks into the river, the shore, and, in Aelar's case, his own head. Inside, Merla convinced Farien Miller to wake one of the Woodleafs, and a few minutes later, Borin Woodleaf came down to speak. While it was not clear that the man believed her story about the doll, he was more receptive than Sadon had been at the inn, and she further learned that the lockbox they had found nearly empty was meant to contain a small quantity of gold, and his wife's green-stoned necklace.
Back in town, Naivara and Kyla went to speak to the alchemist Elel, hoping he might have more insight into the arcane nature of the dolls. While he clearly believed them, he appeared to be far more interested in the story itself, than in any imminent danger. Nevertheless, when they suggested he too might become a part of the tale by warning the town, he immediately leapt into action and stationed himself on his roof, yelling for all to hear that the dolls were possessed, and calling on the town to drug their children and take the dolls while they slept.
Convinced they had done what they could, our adventurers set off again down the road to Fallcrest City. As they walked, a small contingent of the Radiant Guard passed them on the road, polished armor and blue cloaks flying, and accompanying a robed figure who rode with them. Their leader slowed just long enough to speak to our heroes, who informed him of the trouble ahead in Newford. The guard promised to send a man to speak with the village, before moving on, citing urgent business to the north in Garen's Well. He left with a warning to watch out for increased Suneye activity in the area.
As the day grew long, Aelar's watchful gaze spotted a well-used campsite a few hundred feet off the road, and the group settled in for the evening. Merla marked their passing by carving a well-equipped centaur into a nearby tree, while Kaladan finally opened the mysterious bag he had purchased from Elel, and found a single, mostly shriveled and dried purple mushroom with red spots.
Well past midnight, Naivara was alerted to a rustling sound within camp, as if someone was rummaging through their pack. Searching about, she spotted the cornbaby resting quietly near Damaia's bag. Rousing the rest of the camp to alertness, the cornbaby sprang to life and darted off into the woods with incredible speed.
Kyla and Aelar gave immediate chase, struggling to keep pace with the cornbaby. Kyla soon transformed into a graceful panther, and leapt at the doll, slashing through it with her claws, ripping through cornhusks that seemed to writhe and re-knit as the claws passed through. Pouncing on it, she attempted to hold it in place but it wriggled free and darted off into the woods again, but not before Aelar leapt into the fray, swinging down gracefully with his rapier to cleave one of the arms off. Before the creature could make it much further, a final swipe of claws from Kyla shredded the doll, whatever magic had been holding it together fading, and it fell still.
Back at camp, Naivara examined the remains once more, sensing the remnant magical traces, and the barest hint of something tying the doll to the northwest, in the direction of Newford. They divided the pieces of Horace's remains amongst themselves, Merla finding a tiny, cracked ruby among the husks, and took what rest could be found for the remainder of the evening.
In the morning, they continued on their way, but not before Damaia took time to be inspired by the centaur that Merla had inscribed the previous evening. Along the road, they noticed an increase in early morning traffic, and stopped a passing dwarf to ask about any peddlers that had come this way matching descriptions they had heard back in Newford. The dwarf remembered passing such a wagon several days back, headed in the direction of Fallcrest City.
Near midday they came upon a small hamlet, with a single two level inn run by an extremely friendly dwarf. Merla helped the dwarf invent drive-through ale, being served through a window she had, inexplicably, decided to attempt to stealthily peer through to scout out the inside. They heard once more of the peddler's passing, and Damaia procured a substantial quantity of ale to-go in a somewhat beat up waterskin.
As they were exiting town, they spotted in the distance a pair of farm boys playing with suspiciously familiar corn dolls. While Merla distracted the boys with a song, and Kyla played with them in the form of a small kitten, Kaladan scared the shit out of them and Aelar deftly snatched one of the dolls away, and the group made their exit. Naivara sensed the same magical presence coming from the dolls, although these seem tied to the small hamlet, rather than Newford. That evening, when they set up camp, they bound and hung the doll from a small tree, Naivara setting an alarm around it. As they settled down, Merla took the opportunity to carve a bat or cat-woman in a nearby pine that held several other drawings placed there by passersby over the long years.
Once more past midnight, they were awoken to activity, as the little doll deftly freed itself from its bonds, setting off Naivara's alarm in the process. A frantic chase through the woods, Aelar riding the massive war horse that Kyla had transformed into, ended with the cornbaby vanishing into a clearing where a peddler's wagon sat quietly. While the others hid, Kaladan strode up to the wagon and knocked loudly, awakening a sleeping man who stumbled out, asking the dragonborn to just leave him alone. As they talked, the man spotted more and more of the party hiding in the woods and became increasingly agitated.
Just as the exchange began to get heated, Aelar spotted one of the dolls leaping, screaming from the trees above them and the world went dark. One by one, eight pairs of glowing red eyes winked on in the darkness, and our team found themselves surrounded by cackling demon dolls who slashed and hacked at their ankles. Unfazed, Naivara unleashed a trio of magic missiles that obliterated three of the dolls in the blink of an eye, and shortly thereafter the darkness lifted, revealing the peddler slinking off into the trees.
Charging from cover, Damaia leapt at the man, swinging her greatsword clean through his neck, shattering the illusion and revealing a small, withered hag in the peddler's place. The hag reached out with burning hands, searing those closest to her, but shortly felt a whip of thorns and vine wrap around her neck, yanking her into the clearing. As she was pulled toward Kyla, Damaia swung out with her sword, carving a horrendous gash into the hag's leg. With almost casual ease, Naivara sent another trio of magic missiles flying at the hag, ending the creature's life, and causing all the nearby cornbabies to fall lifeless, their husk bodies unraveling in the night.
As they caught their breath, Merla searched the wagon, finding a trove of odds and ends that looked as if they had been gathered without purpose from a wide range of places, as well as a small handful of money and some useful items. A necklace with a small, green malachite stone stood out among the trinkets.
Searching the hag's corpse for a trophy, Damaia found a trio of rings, and noticed, burned into its forehead, a barely-healed brand:
While Merla went inside to try to speak to the victims, Damaia and Aelar threw rocks into the river, the shore, and, in Aelar's case, his own head. Inside, Merla convinced Farien Miller to wake one of the Woodleafs, and a few minutes later, Borin Woodleaf came down to speak. While it was not clear that the man believed her story about the doll, he was more receptive than Sadon had been at the inn, and she further learned that the lockbox they had found nearly empty was meant to contain a small quantity of gold, and his wife's green-stoned necklace.
Back in town, Naivara and Kyla went to speak to the alchemist Elel, hoping he might have more insight into the arcane nature of the dolls. While he clearly believed them, he appeared to be far more interested in the story itself, than in any imminent danger. Nevertheless, when they suggested he too might become a part of the tale by warning the town, he immediately leapt into action and stationed himself on his roof, yelling for all to hear that the dolls were possessed, and calling on the town to drug their children and take the dolls while they slept.
Convinced they had done what they could, our adventurers set off again down the road to Fallcrest City. As they walked, a small contingent of the Radiant Guard passed them on the road, polished armor and blue cloaks flying, and accompanying a robed figure who rode with them. Their leader slowed just long enough to speak to our heroes, who informed him of the trouble ahead in Newford. The guard promised to send a man to speak with the village, before moving on, citing urgent business to the north in Garen's Well. He left with a warning to watch out for increased Suneye activity in the area.
As the day grew long, Aelar's watchful gaze spotted a well-used campsite a few hundred feet off the road, and the group settled in for the evening. Merla marked their passing by carving a well-equipped centaur into a nearby tree, while Kaladan finally opened the mysterious bag he had purchased from Elel, and found a single, mostly shriveled and dried purple mushroom with red spots.
Well past midnight, Naivara was alerted to a rustling sound within camp, as if someone was rummaging through their pack. Searching about, she spotted the cornbaby resting quietly near Damaia's bag. Rousing the rest of the camp to alertness, the cornbaby sprang to life and darted off into the woods with incredible speed.
Kyla and Aelar gave immediate chase, struggling to keep pace with the cornbaby. Kyla soon transformed into a graceful panther, and leapt at the doll, slashing through it with her claws, ripping through cornhusks that seemed to writhe and re-knit as the claws passed through. Pouncing on it, she attempted to hold it in place but it wriggled free and darted off into the woods again, but not before Aelar leapt into the fray, swinging down gracefully with his rapier to cleave one of the arms off. Before the creature could make it much further, a final swipe of claws from Kyla shredded the doll, whatever magic had been holding it together fading, and it fell still.
Back at camp, Naivara examined the remains once more, sensing the remnant magical traces, and the barest hint of something tying the doll to the northwest, in the direction of Newford. They divided the pieces of Horace's remains amongst themselves, Merla finding a tiny, cracked ruby among the husks, and took what rest could be found for the remainder of the evening.
In the morning, they continued on their way, but not before Damaia took time to be inspired by the centaur that Merla had inscribed the previous evening. Along the road, they noticed an increase in early morning traffic, and stopped a passing dwarf to ask about any peddlers that had come this way matching descriptions they had heard back in Newford. The dwarf remembered passing such a wagon several days back, headed in the direction of Fallcrest City.
Near midday they came upon a small hamlet, with a single two level inn run by an extremely friendly dwarf. Merla helped the dwarf invent drive-through ale, being served through a window she had, inexplicably, decided to attempt to stealthily peer through to scout out the inside. They heard once more of the peddler's passing, and Damaia procured a substantial quantity of ale to-go in a somewhat beat up waterskin.
As they were exiting town, they spotted in the distance a pair of farm boys playing with suspiciously familiar corn dolls. While Merla distracted the boys with a song, and Kyla played with them in the form of a small kitten, Kaladan scared the shit out of them and Aelar deftly snatched one of the dolls away, and the group made their exit. Naivara sensed the same magical presence coming from the dolls, although these seem tied to the small hamlet, rather than Newford. That evening, when they set up camp, they bound and hung the doll from a small tree, Naivara setting an alarm around it. As they settled down, Merla took the opportunity to carve a bat or cat-woman in a nearby pine that held several other drawings placed there by passersby over the long years.
Once more past midnight, they were awoken to activity, as the little doll deftly freed itself from its bonds, setting off Naivara's alarm in the process. A frantic chase through the woods, Aelar riding the massive war horse that Kyla had transformed into, ended with the cornbaby vanishing into a clearing where a peddler's wagon sat quietly. While the others hid, Kaladan strode up to the wagon and knocked loudly, awakening a sleeping man who stumbled out, asking the dragonborn to just leave him alone. As they talked, the man spotted more and more of the party hiding in the woods and became increasingly agitated.
Just as the exchange began to get heated, Aelar spotted one of the dolls leaping, screaming from the trees above them and the world went dark. One by one, eight pairs of glowing red eyes winked on in the darkness, and our team found themselves surrounded by cackling demon dolls who slashed and hacked at their ankles. Unfazed, Naivara unleashed a trio of magic missiles that obliterated three of the dolls in the blink of an eye, and shortly thereafter the darkness lifted, revealing the peddler slinking off into the trees.
Charging from cover, Damaia leapt at the man, swinging her greatsword clean through his neck, shattering the illusion and revealing a small, withered hag in the peddler's place. The hag reached out with burning hands, searing those closest to her, but shortly felt a whip of thorns and vine wrap around her neck, yanking her into the clearing. As she was pulled toward Kyla, Damaia swung out with her sword, carving a horrendous gash into the hag's leg. With almost casual ease, Naivara sent another trio of magic missiles flying at the hag, ending the creature's life, and causing all the nearby cornbabies to fall lifeless, their husk bodies unraveling in the night.
As they caught their breath, Merla searched the wagon, finding a trove of odds and ends that looked as if they had been gathered without purpose from a wide range of places, as well as a small handful of money and some useful items. A necklace with a small, green malachite stone stood out among the trinkets.
Searching the hag's corpse for a trophy, Damaia found a trio of rings, and noticed, burned into its forehead, a barely-healed brand:
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Ending Day: 13th of Lowsun
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