Session 40: Another A(h)rm Lost

Cho struggles against the tree with inhuman endurance, but is ultimately choked out. The tree starts sinking its branches into his body to withdraw nutrients, ripping off his arm in the process. Its other branches reach out and snatch Nan out of the air, constricting her as well. On the ground, Arran notices the tree draining blood from the zombies to heal itself. While the zombies crowd around Grombrin and Vojta, he flanks them and rapidly cuts the connecting roots. He too is then entangled and pulled up into the tree.

To combat the horde, Grombrin magically animates several nearby crates. The crates charge the zombies and batter them into submission, while Vojta draws more blood from the tree. Grombrin destroys most of the zombies, but when he thinks the job is done, a final one attacks him from behind. As he is staggered by the attack, the tree smashes him into the ground, then pulls him up into the branches.

Vojta, the last standing with much of his magic exhausted, frantically throws bolts of flame at the damaged tree from outside the reach of its branches. It turns out to be just enough to drain its remaining blood, causing the tree to go inert and its captives to fall to the ground. Nan has survived the assault, but Arran and Cho are no longer breathing, and Grombrin’s fire has gone out, turning him into an inert bronze statue. Vojta, whose magic can only revive the very recently deceased, rushes to Grombrin and resurrects him just in time, rekindling his fire.

Grombrin has strength for one more spell, so they turn to Cho’s ravaged body. Grombrin uses his resurrection ritual, which heals the internal damage that the wounds have done, but fails to reattach his arm. A panicking Cho immediately tries to punch Grombrin when he awakens, but the others calm him down. He explains that he has never been dead for so long, and that he was trapped in a violent hellscape fighting demons. When he finds out that his arm is missing, he is bummed out that he can’t use his glaive anymore. Grombrin gives him a magic longsword that he can use for the time being, while Vojta vouches that he can restore Cho’s arm if given enough time to learn the right spell.

The group rests to regain their strength, before Grombrin resurrects Arran as well. The deathly Arran tells the others that he was back in Pha’uel’s domain, and that he searched for information during that time. The philter of shadows that they found back in Muntgard was originally created by alchemist Vulruth Kellahvraan as a weapon against the demon lord Varia, and may serve as a weapon for them as well. He also found information about several unclaimed legendary weapons and where they might be hidden. The group decides to consult Arran’s knowledge of this when they plan their next journey.

As the group searches for a way out of this room, they find a large pulsing crystal hidden between the roots of the tree. Vojta hears a spectral voice beckoning him closer, so he cautiously touches the crystal, which causes him to disappear into a puff of black dust. Arran and Nan do the same. Cho and Grombrin stay behind for a while, but then do it as well.

Vojta, Arran, and Nan find themselves in a pitch-black void. Even Nan, with her devil’s sight, only sees a black fog blocking her vision. Vojta creates fire in his hand, but only the flame is visible, not the light it should cast. Arran ties the three of them together with a rope so they won’t lose each other. They then follow the damp stone walls through the darkness. They hear a ragged voice saying “prey”, as Nan sees shadows forming around them. They speed up to escape it, but Nan silently disappears, the rope severed. Vojta holds Arran’s shoulder so that they can’t disappear from each other. They search further along the walls, but the voice comes back. Vojta tries to speak to it, announcing his servitude to Etreath, but gets no response. When he turns back, Arran is gone.

Vojta launches a blast of frost in the direction of the voice. He then sees the frost-covered outline of a huge ram-headed creature, the same one from the tunnel into Etreath’s temple. It approaches him, whispering that he abandoned his tribe to go on this insane quest. Vojta transforms and fights the creature, fangs against spectral claws. The monster screams at him that his family was reduced to ashes in his absence. This prompts Vojta to return to human form and retort that he did what was needed to save the world. The monster responds that his moral high ground is misguided and that he will fail anyways. Vojta fights defiantly, but he has exposed himself by ending his transformation, and his elemental magic is ineffective against its shadowy body. The creature’s dark claws drain his energy until he loses consciousness.

Shortly after, the other four find their way to the roof of the temple. They discuss what happened, and find out that they had all faced the ram-headed monster. It threatened them all with different disastrous prospects: the destruction of Moradhin, the archives, or the hometowns of Cho and Nan. Despite that, they defeated the monster, felt their way through the dark maze and ended up here. On the roof is a large stone bowl, so just like at the entrance, Cho spills some of his blood into it. This causes a wave of force that throws them all away from it.

A black creature then emerges from the bowl, similar to the ram but more robust. It introduces itself as Etreath and declares that its blessed one failed the challenge, before throwing a weakened Vojta on the ground before their feet. Vojta admits to them that he let the ram’s words undermine his ability to fight. Etreath withdraws his blessing from Vojta and says that the strongest one will receive it. He then creates a dome of force across the temple roof and invigorates the group with a wave of healing energy, bringing them back to full strength.

Vojta announces that he doesn’t want to fight the others, but that he will do it for the sake of the mission. Arran, Cho, and Grombrin don’t want this blessing, but they seem to have no choice. Grombrin sits down and starts playing his guitar. As the other three turn to take their places, Nan has beat them to it and casts a spell on Arran, imprisoning him in an illusion of a burning library.

Cho, suspicious of Nan’s lack of hesitation, charges and tackles her. She teleports away from his grasp and attacks him with a psychic assault. Cho fights through the pain and attacks again. After a frantic chase, the small arena turns out to be favourable for Cho, as he catches her again and delivers a knockout strike.

Cho attempts to negotiate with Etreath but gets no response. Vojta, who was backed off to make it a fair battle, approaches Cho in earth elemental form. They have a moment of silent agreement, then fight, exchanging a series of earth-shattering punches. Even unarmed, Cho breaks off chunks of rock with every punch, but his own stamina is wearing down faster. Arran, released from his mental prison, suddenly appears to stab Cho in his side. Vojta uses the opportunity to knock Cho out with an uppercut to the jaw.

Arran then shrugs at Vojta, implying that it’s his turn to get knocked out. Before Vojta can act, Grombrin suddenly shoots Arran in the back with a sunbeam. Arran shoots some magic missiles back at Grombrin, before Vojta knocks him out with a punch. Vojta then charges at Grombrin and rings his helmet like a bell. Grombrin shoots back with his sunbeam, creating scorch marks on Vojta’s stone body. They exchange several punches and sunbeams, until Grombrin falls down unconscious.

Vojta approaches Etreath and declares himself the winner. Etreath admits that he underestimated him, and grants his blessing back, more powerful than before, granting a power that is yet to be discovered. He also brings the others back to consciousness. Explaining that Morach isn’t very good at such matters, he empowers Grombrin’s blessing, making it just as powerful as Vojta’s.

Cho approaches Etreath and asks why “she” had to die. Etreath answers that he does not enjoy making people suffer, but that evil is necessary. Cho is taken aback for a moment by the humane answer, then asks where Aneareth is, being the true identity of his goddess Yane. Etreath says she is northwest of here. He then concentrates for a moment, and cryptically says that the way has been opened for him.

Grombrin asks whether Moradhin is really under attack, as the ram told him, but Etreath says that from his limited domain, he does not know. The group asks Etreath about the monsters in his temple. He says that his presence simply attracts them, but that he will look into purging the remaining ones.

He then teleports them back to the entrance, where they see that a white stone eagle head now floats above the blood bowl. Cho and Nan settle their differences regarding their earlier fight, acknowledging that she had no bad intentions but that he couldn’t know that. When Nan’s background comes up, she explains that she, like many of her people, left her town in exile and can only return if she finds “the truth”, which she thinks may be found in the quest against Cerebarieth.

The group discusses going west to get the blessing of Turagh from the Namos swamp. For that, they will first go to San’edhe to acquire items that protect against the Aboleth’s influence. Given the threats of the ram-headed monster, Vojta expresses that he will need a day or two to teleport back to his tribe, whenever there is an opening.