S01 E09 - The Filthy Claws of Sin Part 2

## Starring

Essie Hollman as Nevar Moor
Jen Vaughn as Riot Bonezerker
Meris Mullaley as Rose Lao
Kat Kruger as the Dungeon Master

## Synopsis

Join the Dames as they venture even further into the woods... to Grandmother's house they go... cackles.

### The Source of the Darkness

Rose Lao uses her *Wand of Conducting* to successfully calm Ephenia and Milack while Nevar Moor offers them some Banik Brothers gingerbread. The black crystal is still creating an unnatural darkness in the woods. Ephenia informs the Dames that there is a cottage down a path in the forest that was glowing with dark light. The children discovered it while trying to find a safe place but then heard screaming from inside. After looking in a window, they saw an elven woman in a cage with two other women who were talking in strange accents. The children believe that meeting the Dames was fated so they may save the elven woman. The Dames guide the children to a safer clearing and head for the cottage after resting.

### The Cottage in the Woods

On the way to the cottage, the Dames stop at the dark stone. Nevar uses *mage hand* to pick up the crystal and place it into some fabric Rose has. With some quick experimenting, they discover that the darkness was caused by the monstrosities rather than the stone. They head down the path and easily come upon a small cottage in the woods. The sound of cackles and shrieks emanate from within its thin walls. As they stand outside, Rose recalls information she learned from Carp Alderleaf about the Dark Sisterhood—they're hags and they don't like to be in debt—and wonders if that's who they may be up against.

The Dames start to devise a plan, which leads to Riot Bonezerker shooting an arrow at the roof that was ignited by Rose. As it hits the shingles, the fire immediately extinguishes and silence overcomes the cabin. As they think of other ideas, Riot reads the slip of paper she had from The Sleeping Giant in Phandalin. With no other ideas left, they decide to just stroll up to the cottage door and knock on it.

### Hag Hunting

Inside the cottage is Delshad locked in a cage surrounded by two other women, who are horrid-looking and shrieking at her. The Dames suddenly and inexplicably find themselves standing in the middle of the room and Delsy disappears from her cage. One of the other women scold the Dames for interrupting, noting that Delsy is a green hag. The other two hags, Auntie Bock (an annis hag) and Granny Wroog (a bheur hag), try to convince the Dames that Delsy is more trouble than she's worth and recruits them to locate her within their magic cottage. The Dames start searching the Cottage and begin to realize just how powerful Delsy's illusory magic is as the cottage becomes a labyrinth of magic.

They spot her in a room and Nevar attempts to use *chill touch* on her, but Delsy summons a blight and they enter combat. As soon as Rose moves into the room to attack the blight, she ends up in a room they were in before and winds up behind Riot and Nevar. Riot tries to get more information from the other two hags about why they don't want Delsy in their coven. They suggest that she wants to bring ruin to Phandalin and they just want to live out in the woods. After this, Delsy disappears through another door and the Dames decide to just shut the door to the room with the blight. They go down another hallway and try a different door; they find an empty room.

Granny Wroog and Auntie Bock disappear through a wall and let the Dames know they can only contain Delsy but they cannot defeat her. They find Delsy in the room Rose had gone into before, so Rose opens the door to the blight room, but finds herself in a different room. Nevar summons a mage hand to open a door, but Delsy is not in this room either. Rose tells Nevar to open the door and then she goes to open up the other doors near her, thinking that once the doors close that the rooms change. Nevar sends Quoth into the room ahead of her, but he ends up in the room that Rose is in. As Rose tries to leave the room with Quoth on her arm, she ends up in the room with Delsy.

## Featured Characters

### PCs

* Nevar Moor played by Essie Hollman
* Riot Bonezerker played by Jen Vaughn
* Rose Lao played by Meris Mullaley

### NPCs

* Auntie Bock, Annis Hag
* Delshad
* Ephenia
* Granny Wroog, Bheur Hag
* Milack

## Featured Locations

### Visited

* Neverwinter Wood
	+ The Hag Cottage

## Quotes

* "If something mauls them against the tree and they die, they're not going to know anyway." - Meris Mullaley (10:47)
* "I don't want to set fire to this house...yet." - Meris Mullaley (42:12)