Save or Die: Outcasts: Episode 10

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==Synopsis==
The party search Sigris Shadowhand's Tomb over several days. As Arachis learns more, the party must fight off the monsters within the tomb. The fight with a gloomwing moth knocks out Auguste and Grau, and it lays eggs inside grau. Renatus hires a healer to treat Grau.
==Recap==
===Entering Sigris Shadowhand's Tomb===
At dusk on 5 May 1523 the party descend down the stairs into Sigris Shadowhand's Tomb. At the bottom of the stairs is a large swarm of 9 young and a bullywug boss.
Grau kills 2 bullywugs straight away. Auguste kills three several young bullywugs in one stab. A bullywug boss attacks Auguste with their sword, knocking Auguste out. Renatus kills a bullywug and faces off against another bullywug. Grau kill 2 more. Arachis is almost knocked unconscious from a blow from a bullywug. The bullywug boss then wounds Grau badly. Renatus takes out the last regular bullywug, leaving only the bullywug boss.
Grau and Renatus attack the bullywug boss, who then tries to retreat from the room, attacking Arachis on their way out. Arachis attacks the bullywug boss with his kris. Renatus finishes off the bullywug boss.
With the fight over, Grau transforms into a human and heals up Auguste. Grau then transforms into Orc then Gnome to heal up more.
Arachis and Renatus investigate the writing on the walls. It tells the life story of Sigris Shadowhand.
* Born and raised in Holy City Emberstone.
* Begged the gods at a young age to be gifted with magic, and spend all his early youth on sacrifices to Malkis.
* Bloomed into magic at the late age of 28 years old.
* During his studies into magic, became facinated with the Shadow Plane, and made Shadow Magic his speciality.
* Choose the black robes.
* Worked closely with a friend, a red robed wizard dimensionalist named Norl. Together the 2 of them probed the secrets of the plane of shadow. Searching for secrets lost at the end of the last age.
* He rediscovered a long lost tower in the Devouring Marsh while searching the lay lines of the Devouring Marsh for the cause of its freezing over.
* Probed the theories of the planes. Attained the 7th circle of magic. Wrote extensively about his findings. Raised a few apprentices, many of which have died before him. 
* He wishes this tomb to be a place of peace and rest.
* Shared with the Tower in Palanthas all his great works, so there is no need to loot this tomb.
* A request: please pay your respects in peace before going your own way
The party decide to rest in this room before continuing. Renatus loots the dead bullywugs and finds 136 cp, 92 sp, 6 gp, 3 malachite gems. Arachis casts on his staff and tests with the party in creating shadows, but it doesn't reveal anything.
===Second Day in the Tomb===
In the morning Grau heals Arachis and Auguste as a gnome, as turns back into a bear.
The party then head though the doorway to the next room, with Renatus leading the way. The path is a narrow corridor that leads into a narrow junction. In one direction of the junction the party is attacked by an . Arachis shouts out to use fire against it.
Grau takes point with the fight and claws & bites at the ooze. Auguste attack the ooze with a torch while Renatus attacks with his normal weapons. The acid from the ooze burns Grau badly when he bites it and when it tries to envelop him. Auguste finishes off the ooze with a dagger.
Grau turns into a human then orc to heal himself up. Arachis searches the room, but it has already been looted and ransacked. 
The party continue in the tomb, with Orc Grau leading the group back to the intersection and back in another direction. It is another ransacked room, likely by Lord Sackmore.
The party continue in the last direction at the intersection, down a set of stairs to another stone door with a metal handle.
The last chamber is the sarcophagus of Sigris Shadowhand. The remains however are gone, despite Sigris's great great grandson having rearranged the bones after Lord Sackmore's last visit.
Arachis searches the burial chamber and finds no secrets. He reconstructs the broken sarcophagus lid, showing an image of Sigris himself. 
Arachis uses to cast shadows again to try to reveal secrets. It activates a spell on the wall behind the tomb itself:
: "Welcome Acolyte of Shadows. The room behind my tomb contains a backup of my findings. 3 strong men may push in the wall."
The party then work together to push the wall as instructed, activating a mechanism that recesses the wall, revealing a new passageway.
===The Secrets Chambers===
The passageways are covered in carvings and writings. The first section of writing that Arachis comes across is the history of the people who have come to the shadow plane. It was more common in ancient times, but not known to occur in Sigris Shadowhand's era. Much of the knowledge was lost at the end of the last age. Auguste interrupts the reading to say they need to clear out the tomb, then he can read.
In the first Chamber they come into a chamber with a silvered mirror in a box of sand. When the torchlight touches the mirror, it shines a light down a hallway, alerting the Chompers. The party fight off and kill the the flying creatures from the plane of shadows.
The party venture into the next room and a swarm of Chompers attack the party, the party easily kill the Chompers except one that gets stuck in Grau's throat. Arachis helps get the chomper out of Grau's mouth.
With the injuries from the fights, the party decide to retreat to rest before continuing. Arachis casts before leaving and gets distracted by the silvered mirror, but Auguste insisting that they leave. Arachis decides to follows the others out, while carrying a chomper corpse.
Arachis studies the chomper corpse but is unfamiliar with it and its origins. 
===Third Day in the Tomb===
After the party rest another night, Grau heals up Renatus and Auguste, then they venture back into the tomb.
They return to the crossroads behind the secret door in the tomb and take the screen-right path. They find chambers filled with text both in common and the language of magic.
Arachis reads the text on the walls of the chambers.
* It talks in more detail on the history of those who have gone to the shadow plane, the ancient wizards of the Age of Might. Much knowledge was lost at the end of the Age of Might/start of the Age of Iron. Many wizard towers were destroyed. It also speaks to the demiplane of shadow also being a difficult plane to access despite it being close to the Prime Material Plane.
* There is nothing of value in the shadow plane except those used as components for spells. A way the plane could be useful is to use it to travel anywhere in the world, as the plane of shadow is a reflection of the real world. Another use is to hide things that cannot be destroyed.
* Then it talks about the various types of shadow spells that can be created using the power of the plane. Another facet of the plane is that it is "magic quiet" and free from disturbances. For example the identify spell takes 8 hours in the PMP, but could take only half an hour to clear an area for it in the shadow plane. The plane is low in energy density and generally a poor source of magic.
* The text then talks about the creatures of the shadow plane. Chompers, Shadow Stalkers, and other named creatures.
Arachis finds out about the silvered mirror, it is called a "Sand Mirror". A demi-magical interface to the shadow plane. It sits in a box of sand facing up. Just above the mirror is a spot that Norl, Sigris's red robed friend, using a spell, thinned the barrier between the shadow plane and the prime material plane. It allows you to view the shadow plane when looking in the mirror. 
On learning this, Arachis takes a chomper corpse and looks at it in the mirror. This causes a nearby wall to move in an unusual way, making a come out of camouflage. 
Combat Begins: Party vs Gloomwing
 
Arachis casts to protect himself. The gloomwing moth confuses Renatus and Grau. Auguste attacks the moth. The confused Grau, in Orc form, attacks Auguste with his fists while Renatus stands there dazed.
The glooming poisons the air around it, sapping strength from Renatus and Auguste, and also attacking Auguste physically. Arachis casts .
The confused Renatus attacks Grau. The moth continues to attack Auguste as he fights the moth. Arachis uses his Spectral Hand to cast .
Arachis uses another . The confused Renatus wanders away from the fight. Auguste retreats from the fight. Grau stands stunned and is attacked by the moth.
Arachis uses another . The moth lands and attacks Grau again, knocking him out, turning him into a bear. Auguste attacks the moth with his bow.
The confusion wears off on Renatus. Arachis casts on the back wall to try to distract the gloomwing moth. Renatus attacks the moth from behind. Auguste shoots another bow shot. The moth crawls onto Grau and lays eggs into the wounds.
Auguste attacks with his glaive. Arachis uses another . Renatus lands some hits on the moth. The moth turns around and attacks Auguste, knocking him unconscious. 
The moth retreats and camouflages itself on the ceiling.
Combat Ends
Arachis stabilises Grau and thinks he gets all the eggs out. Arachis & Renatus drag Auguste and Garp out of the room and back to safe chamber. 
===Getting a healer===
Arachis and Renatus realise how made a shape Grau is in, so Renatus will go back to town and bring a cleric or healer to treat Grau.
Renatus gives a prayer to Nadinis, then rushes to the village of Wikish with no equipment or belonging at all, beyond some money.
Hours later Renatus arrives in wikish and finds there are no medics or healers in the village. He however does recruit a midwife for 20 gp. Ren buys some food and hires a horse, and travels back to the to the tomb with the midwife.
The midwife treats Grau's wounds. 
While unconscious Grau sees a vision of a bear turning into a woman. The woman, the goddess Voraci, taps her foot impatiently, then wags her finger as if to say "I'll be back for you". 
While resting Auguste realises that had been something metallic under the gloomwing when it had been on the wall. 
==Experience==
No experience given this episode.
Category:Save Or Die: Outcasts Episodes
Category:Save Or Die Episodes
Category:Save Or Die: Outcasts