Hardcore Heroes: Episode 29

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== Synopsis ==
In the early morning in Shirebrook, a group is summoned by Knight Kel Ashley Woodburn to Storybrook Inn. She explains that men linked to a murderous chambermaid fled to Black Pine Marsh, but she couldn't pursue them due to her duties. Seeking help after being rebuffed by Baroness Sella, she turns to the group. They discuss the swamp's dangers and plan to scout it. After arriving in the village and investigating, they find clues and decide to explore the swamp. Following tracks into the Tetherwilds, they encounter and fend off moldmen. The next day, they locate a sunken building and are ambushed by cultists. After a tense confrontation, the cultist leader reveals their chaotic motives before attempting to flee, only to be ensnared by Malakai's spell.
==Recap==
=== Thursday, 1509-09-22* ===
Very early in the morning in Shirebrook, all of the members of the party get awoken by foot soldiers and told that Kel Ashley Woodburn is expecting them in Storybrook inn. She is the knight in charge of Pinecone which is the village where the murderous chambermaid was from. 
Everyone meets up in the inn, the knight seems to be a proper soldier type- well armored, well armed and well maintained, but also obviously seen her fair share of action. 
She informs them that there have been sightings of men that apparently lived with the assassin woman's family who left the house just after Baroness had been successfully killed. The direction they were observed to go is into the Black Pine Marsh, but due to the knights duties of defending her village she hasn't been able to follow the tracks that lead into the swamp. Hence she has now come into town, first she asked Baroness Sella for help, but was rebuffed so now she turns to the party having heard of their capabilities. 
They question some of the details such as what creatures are there, how far have the villagers have mapped the swamp, what depth it is. Besides the hydra there doesn't seem to be anything particularly dangerous and it is mostly 1–5 feet deep. Malakai ponders whether he might just fly over it as a scout and look for a sunken tower. Kel Woodburn mentions that there are sprites in the swamp that they should be wary of due to their magic casting ability. 
Kain grumbles about being unable to continue crafting his bow. 
Keen on not wasting time the party accompany the knight and her footmen back to the village. 
7 hours later party arrives in the village in time for the sunrise. The knight leads them to the site of the killed family and then to where the cultists had been sighted. They ponder whether to go into the swamp invisible and what are the biggest dangers there. Hydra seems less of a threat than hugely poisonous Ettercaps. 
Kain meanwhile explores the house, finds a lot of biological matter and a old blood stain on the wall. 
Malakai goes to talk to the closest neighbor to that house. The man tells him that the family and the guests mostly stayed inside. Occasionally one person would go to get food or dump waste outside. One of the cultists apparently had blond hair, but they wore robes constantly so the man wasn't really able to get a look at them. He does mention that one of the family members was never found, a baby girl. Both Van and Malakai grimace cursing the cultists. When asked whether there is anyone in village who has ever explored the swamp he shakes his head and says he himself only ever went about 2 miles into it, people always stick to the edge of it apparently. 
Van ponders what could be the best item to magically search for that could lead them to the cultists and not the village. 
Kain manages to find a long blond hair that might belong to one of the cultists. 
After extensive debate party decides to make a cursory excursion into the swamp to see what they can find and then return to the village, then tomorrow with the information they found go back in with spells blazing.
With one of the villagers leading them where the cultists were last spotted they make their way inside the Black Pine Marsh. Questioning whether they know how old the marsh is or if there are any ruins in it rewards them nothing of worth so it's all up to them now. 
Kain manages to spot possible cultist tracks leading along the swamp, away from the village so on they trek. The tracks dip in and out of water, but somehow Kain manages to keep on them until the sun is beginning to set when they suddenly take a turn west out into the Tetherwilds. Malakai gets out his light stone and they continue tracking into the darkness on the edge of the swamp.
About 2 hours after nightfall they finally get down to sleep.
=== Friday, 1509-09-23* ===
Kain takes an 1-hour watch while Van uses his Nap spell and then the cleric takes rest of the night. A little while later Van starts hearing the sound of an approaching stirges scourge and wakes the other two up, they get out the light stone and once the giant mosquitoes get in range Malakai immediately Fireballs them. They end up having to put out the grass before it lights on fire, but otherwise the night passes uneventfully.
Malakai casts Clairaudience into the shadow monster cave they saw with Van's scrying. He hears sounds of dripping water and of a distant inconsistent rumbling and then he has to make a save against death, which he succeeds and feels a presence trying to probe his mind, trying to listen back. Listening for the rest of the spells duration he also notices sound of something scraping against rock
With a new day ahead Kain finds the tracks once more and follows them, 3 hours later they curve around the north edge of the swamp and continue into the forest. At one point they come to the edge of Swampwash river where the tracks veer back into the swamp, they follow them for an hour until near a waterway they lose them. 
With the possibility that the entrance is underwater they first check out nearby vegetation for any marks, but upon not finding any only other option is to go along the waterway. A while into walking the party spot a small cluster of grey skinned small humanoids, one of which starts to hit its chest in a slow rhythmic manner. Kain tries to do the same and speak giant to them, but in reply they suddenly quicken the rhythm of their chest thumping and all of the moldmen attack. 
Still having Stoneskin on they take multiple attacks without hurting, except for Kain at least, and then spells go off burning, stunning many of them. Apparently not having a lot of HP most of them fall to a single sword attack and soon they start falling back with the ones on small island providing covering spear fire. Within a round the moldmen disappear into the bog and party is left to heal up and continue on into the swamp. 
They continue on until the waterway opens in a large shallow marshland-like lake with very few trees and very few places to hide. 
Kinda lost they decide maybe this is a good time to Locate object, but first they would need to sleep. Concern is finding their way back so they mark some trees and head slightly out of the swamp. 
=== Saturday, 1509-09-24* ===
During the night a stirges continuously buzz somewhere near, they come near then back off, then again pass somewhere close and again depart, eventually Van stabs some of the stirges to death. During the whole night multiple stirges come and battle Van, but they never pose a serious threat. 
Everyone memorizes their spells and Van casts Locate object while they walk towards the marshy lake. Before they even get to the spot where they were attacked by moldmen Van's spell goes off pointing towards a small island, pointing into ground. Van walks around the small lake that the island is located on and the spell keeps pointing at it so only thing left is try to see what exactly is there and if they can find the entrance.
They ponder a bit what spells and how they might use them, Malakai thinks on which monsters to summon with his Shadow monsters. 
They make their way across the water onto the small island. Now that they're closer suddenly party realizes that there are crumbled carved rocks here and this is actually roof of an old sunken building. Van immediately shushes everyone and makes them go back across to the side of the lake in fear that might be spotted. 
Just as they make their way across Van spots a hooded man coming out of a hole on the island and casts a spell on the party before any of them can make a counter move. Grasses and branches reach towards them and everyone but Malakai are held in place. Van and Kain take out their bows ready to shoot, at same time more people are seen coming out of the parapets two of which Malakai hits and downs with Magic missiles, however he gets hit by a Sleep spell which he manages to pass. Next round another robed person pops out and is immediately downed by 2 arrow hits, Malakai casts Mirror image.
Next round a voice rings out calling for end of the hostilities, the man says that the party is misplaces and shouldn't be here, that they have things to do elsewhere. Van asks to speak to their leader, but he gets back an somewhat cryptic “He only comes to me in bits and pieces.” The man says that they want what's best for the world, they want for the world to flourish and that he of all people should understand the beauty in chaos. Unconvinced Van demands to know their purpose in staying there, their aims to which the Malkis cleric responds that there are no more plans for now and they're simply waiting for more instructions even if they may never come. The man also says that they did this FOR the party, that there are great monsters in the world that need to be swept aside so that a new generation can bloom. He explains further that he doesn't necessarily mean monsters such as chimeras or giants, but queens, kings, generals and knights, people with great darkness in their hearts. Sourly Van asks where was the darkness in Baroness Valmont's heart to which the man sort of dodgily says that there is sickness in the kingdom and even if there are singular people pure of heart some innocent blood needs to be shed to shake up the world order. Van then asks why are there stars missing from Malkis constellation to which the man responds that he doesn't rightly know, but he hasn't heard from Malkis in a while. Kain asks whether the cleric knows what lurks in the Shadow Mountains, but the man denies any knowledge. 
When Malakai implies they're going to need to surrender the man starts shooing the party off implying they need to go do hero things and rebuild the world, but before he can retreat Malakai casts his cloak's Web spell. 
== Experience and changes ==
*Dates are extrapolated from a previous mention of an exact date.
Category:Hardcore Heroes Episodes