Session 2 (09/10/2021)

## ***Day One, Evening***

**After** their evening meal, the adventurers discuss their next course of action. Swage picks up the coin purse and thinks about a pearl worth 100 gold pieces. He pulls out a lump of coal, shrugs, and puts it in his pocket. Pele studies the coin purse closely and concludes that it is a smaller version of a handy haversack. She knows that it contains an extra-dimensional holding space and flips the purse inside out, sending 3000 gold pieces flying out in all directions. The party collects all the pieces to put back in the purse along with the compass, the spyglass, and the sapphire. Dove holds on to the journal, as the journal won't let itself be put in the purse.

Gary suggests that the party returns to the great hall to investigate the bodies. Despite Gary seeming a little too excited to revisit the dead bodies, the adventurers agree to go along. As they leave Shasta's house, they can hear a faint, low humming noise as they approach the gate. The hum is nauseating and makes them all feel uneasy and sick, but the noise faded away as they got further away from the house.

Upon returning to the great hall, the adventurers notice the same guard for earlier in the evening is still on watch. He is terrified to see the group of formerly dead adventurers yet again. He allows the group to re-enter the hall and says "don't do anything weird" while looking at Gary. They walk past the door that's now just propped up against the door frame.

Kaz goes to check the contents of the various crates and barrels in the room and finds grains, dried meat, and other stored food stock. Gary investigates the body of an older humanoid woman. She is dressed in her sleeping clothes and doesn't seem to have any marks, abrasions, or scratches on her body. He uses a candle to peer into her mouth, and he can see a shimmery green substance coating the inside of her mouth and throat. Lastly, he opens her eye to reveal her pupil is fractured into a strange star-like pattern and her sclera has a yellowish hue. Holly digs a finger knuckle-deep into his nose, pulling out a large booger but no green substance. He puts the booger in his pocket.

Pele hands the spyglass to Holly, and Holly looks around the room. He sees the illusion of a flamboyant cheetah man turn into a very real firbolg, and a shiny, green hue gathered around the bodies of the dead. Gary puts a hand on the body and can feel death's presence like death is simply waiting to cut the thread of life. Swage attempts to cast a healing spell on the body of an elven-looking woman, but his spell dissipates before it can reach its intended target.

While Gary begins to cast a Detect Magic spell, the other adventurers continue to question the guard. The guard says that they had arrived in town about a week ago to investigate the mysterious flyer, despite all the posted warnings to not enter the town. The flyer started popping up about two months ago, and since then there have been three incidents of a deadly cloud rolling through town like fog. The first time killed only four or five people, the second time killed about fifteen, and the most recent cloud had the largest number of deaths, including the party. The guard explains that the town's bell is rung out as a warning of approaching danger, but after the last incident, many locals started to pack up and leave.

As the guard is speaking, Holly circles around him, peering up at him through the spyglass. The guard is unsettled and tells Holly that he's using the spyglass incorrectly. Holly hands him the spyglass and the guard extends it to its full length, explaining that the spyglass is used by explorers and sailors to view far-away things, not things nearby. He closes the spyglass and returns it to Holly, who then extends the spyglass and continues to peer at the guard.

Pele asks the guard how long the shaman has been in town, and he replies that the shaman arrived when Shasta came to town from the big city. When Pele asks when Shasta came to down, the guard points to Swage and says, "Why don't you just ask him yourself?" Swage is flustered and speaks to the guard, who notices his unusually deep voice. Swage says that he must be coming down with a cold and asks the guard to go retrieve his purple jacket.

Gary completes his ritual. He detects no magic from the poster, and while he can tell that the book is magic, he can't determine the type. The ritual also reveals a shimmery ring of alteration magic encircling the fire pit in the middle of the room. Gary runs his hand through the ring and feels a draft of air. Kaz lights the fire pit, and it's like the drafty air feeds the fire. In the firelight, the adventurers can see several rocks nearby and what looks like several cracks in the ground covered by sand. Swage drops his Shasta disguise as Holly looks at the magic ring through the spyglass.

Holly can see that the rocks near the fire pit are not truly rocks, as each one has a mechanism - one switch, one button, and one knob. As Holly flips the switch, the fire dies down and the party can begin to see stars and constellations appear on the ceiling. By pushing the button, the stars begin to move across the ceiling. When Holly turns the knob, the speed of the stars begins to change.

The adventurers look up and notice small holes in the ceiling. One cluster of holes resembles the bearded face of a dragon, one is the image of a large bird with outstretched wings, and a third cluster is the sigil of Tyr. Pele recognizes the shape of the constellation above them. It depicts two giants fighting, and Pele can feel their strength and their love of the earth. Kaz looks to the stars and recalls that the giant constellation is nearby in the sky to the dragon constellation. Holly turns the knob, and the constellations begin to move. The giants fade away, a crab appears and fades, strange blob scrolls by, and then the dragon appears. Holly can line the dragon constellation up with the holes in the ceiling. The bird constellation seems almost aligned with the ceiling holes, but not quite. Swage and Pele try to look around the room, but the bright light of the fire has made it difficult to see through the dark. Dove looks and can see a stone slab has moved, revealing another dial. Pele turns the dial and sees that the bird constellation moves while the dragon constellation remains in place. Holly and Pele work together on the mechanisms, and with an audible click, the far wall bearing a coat of arms begins to move. Kaz reaches behind the wall to find another dial. There is also a display area with artwork, table settings, and candlesticks.

Swage pulls the two decorative longswords out of the coat of arms to add to his scrap materials. He notices one of the plates in the table setting is a metal plate with the image of a dragon on a mountaintop engraved on it. It weighs about sixty pounds, but Swage easily picks it up to add to his scrap. Dove is horrified that Swage could even consider melting down such a treasure since there is undoubtedly a great story behind the artwork and the artist who created it. Swage shrugs and Dove grabs one of the copper candlesticks and protectively puts it in her bag.

Kaz, Holly, and Pele work together on the mechanisms and can line up all the symbols on the ceiling. As they click into place, the adventurers can hear gears turning as the floor in the magic ring splits open. The fire pit has been replaced a hole in the floor with a staircase leading down into the darkness.

Dove carefully descends the stairs and finds a floor and an arched doorway about 20 feet down into the darkness. She can see a plaque on the wall, but it has been smashed and damaged to the point it cannot be read. Dove smells the air and places an ear to the wall to listen. She can hear the faint pattering of small feet but can't tell how many creatures there may be. Dove climbs the stairs and returns to the party.

The adventurers note that it's now after midnight, and even though they've been "dead asleep" for two days, they are feeling tired. Dove doesn't recommend resting in the newly opened cavern, so the party agrees to release the mechanisms and return the fire pit to its original location and return to the mayor's house to rest. As they are on the way out, they run into the guard who has just returned. He says that he couldn't find the purple jacket and brought the red one instead, but he seems confused that Shasta is no longer there. Holly tells the guard that Shasta said no one can enter this hall except for the party and takes the red jacket.

As they get closer to the mayor's house, they can again hear a low hum that begins to make them feel sick. The sound and the feeling disappear once the group enters the house. They climb the stairs to their rooms. Pele, Gary, and Swage retire to the room on the right side of the hall. Swage realizes all the beds are too small for him and sets up his bedroll. Pele settles into a bed, while Gary shuffles over to an armoire, climbs inside, and shuts the door behind him. Kaz, Holly, and Dove head for the room on the left side of the hall. Kaz decides to sleep in the hallway instead, and Holly eyes all the unused mattresses. As Dove stretches and curls up on her bed, Holly drags the mattresses and stacks them in a big pile. Swage plays a rendition of "Gond Take the Wheel" on his dulcimer, and the group all comfortably falls asleep.

Swage is sleeping soundly when he hears a small voice telling him to wake up, and feels two tiny, cold hands shaking him. He wakes to see the translucent, star-patterned shape of a young girl. She has beautiful eyes that glow like a nebula. She chides Swage for breaking his promise to come back to talk to her. Swage can't remember her or what he promised her. She waves her hands and everything around them turns purple and hazy, with chunks of land floating through shimmering lights. It seems familiar to Swage, but he can't quite remember. He asks the girl if he knows why he dies. She exasperatedly tells him that of course, she knows, but she's not allowed to tell him. She says, "come with me" and Swage follows behind her until everything fades away.

## ***Day Two, Morning***

**Sunlight** shines faintly through the windows, waking Pele. She can smell breakfast cooking downstairs - bacon, eggs, and something sweet. She gets up, steps over a sleeping Kaz sprawled in the hallway, and enters Holly and Dove's room. Holly is fast asleep on a stack of mattresses taller than he is, and Pele wonders how he even got up there. Dove opens her eyes and stretches. Pele asks Dove if she might be able to get up onto the roof to investigate the bell and find out if it's the source of the sickening hum. Dove is thrilled with the idea of some intense climbing, but when she looks outside, she realizes it would be nearly impossible to safely reach the roof without falling. Holly stirs and rolls off the mattress stack, landing square on his butt. He looks at Pele and Dove, shakes his hands, and says "ta-daaaa."

The sweet smells of breakfast wake Swage, and he knocks on the armoire door to wake up Gary. The two head downstairs. Shasta is sitting at the table, filing his nails with a knife. Zertis brings in platters of breakfast foods. Shasta tells Gary and Swage that he will be out of the house today to take care of some mayoral duties, but he hopes that they enjoy being sacrificed. He says that to find the shaman, we'll need to leave by the town hall and follow the path until it splits in two at the stone tablet. Neither Swage nor Gary is sure if Shasta said they should go left or right at the stone tablet since he seemed to contradict himself. As he is leaving, Shasta mentions that he did enjoy the show the adventures put on when they arrived in town. Gary and Swage can't remember any performances, Shasta tells them that he was very impressed with "the fire one" and the "acrobatic dwarf."

As Shasta leaves, Zertis approaches and offers Swage and Gary small cups of blackish-brown liquid. They take the cups, but don't understand what Zertis means when he says, "One lump, or two?" Zertis explains that the drink is made from a sweet and bitter bean and that the "lumps" are pieces of sweetener to add to the drink.

Gary and Swage excitedly ask for lots of sweeteners to add to their drinks. Zertis extends his pinky finger and delicately sips his cup, while Swage throws the whole cup back in one gulp. He gets no flavor except hot, burning bean damage. He is further convinced at all the food in this house must be bad. Gary sips from his cup, and he can taste a rich, chocolatey nutty flavor with a nice sweetness. Gary asks Zertis for more of those lumps and shoves all the remainder into his pockets.

Kaz wakens and decides he wants to search for more answers about Shasta. As he walks down the hallway, he can see more claw marks on the walls as he approaches Shasta's room. Kaz encounters a locked door, so he goes back down the hall to enlist Holly's help. Holly can pick the lock, but as Kaz opens the door, he is hit in the shoulder with a dart. Kaz pulls out the dart, but it seems like there aren't any more traps on the door. Looking around the room, they see a nice bed, a writing desk, a closet, and a dresser with photos, and a jewelry box sitting on top. The writing desk is covered in paperwork - purchase orders, vendor contracts, etc. Holly examines the papers, and he realizes that the information on the papers isn't quite legitimate. The numbers don't quite add up, and Holly can make out Tyr's sigil hidden on the papers.

Kaz checks the dresser draws and finds the bottom drawer is locked. Holly can open the drawer, and they find a scroll case. Kaz puts it in his pocket and goes to look in Shasta's closet. It's full of colorful clothing, but also contains a chest full of clothes belong to a person smaller and younger than Shasta. Some of the clothing in the chest includes a crest of a lion. Kaz and Holly leave Shasta's room, reset the trap, and return to Holly's room.

Kaz unrolls the scroll and sees illegible words written in what appears to be blood. Pele recognizes the language as her native Primordial. She reads over it and says this document is a contract for Shasta's soul, offering to keep the village safe for an unspecified time in exchange for his soul. The name is written in shimmery magical text and can't be read. Pele squints and sees the document contains some fine print - that any failure to comply will result in "unfavorable" consequences.

Swage bursts into the room with an armful of sweets with Gary trailing behind him, and excitedly presses pastries into everyone's hands. Pele explains the document to him, and Swage can tell that the blood on the document is probably a few weeks old. Pele wonders if this contract is a clue to what's happening in the town - that Shasta didn't hold up his end of the bargain and now the town is feeling the unfavorable consequences. Gary thinks that maybe Shasta entered this contract to save the town from whatever is causing the toxic cloud.

The party discusses what to do next. Some members want to return to the town hall, but since the party agreed in a Tyr town, they should keep their promise to see the shaman. As they leave the manor, they notice that the humming noise is now silent. People on the street avert their eyes from the party and avoid any contact, but the adventures can feel glares on their backs as they pass. They soon come to the stone tablet where the path to the mountain splits.

The adventurers can see five snowmen gathered around the tablet. Pele produces a fireball and throws it toward a snowman. All five snowmen turn to face the adventurers while grinning with their sharp, jagged teeth. They ready their snowballs and prepare to battle. Arrows, snowballs, and daggers fly. Pele is knocked down in battle, but Swage can revive her with a Healing Word spell. Dove managed to kill two snowmen with her arrows, Swage smashed a snowman with his mace, and Gary killed the last remaining snowman with a Chill Touch cantrip.

Pele searches through all the piles of formerly animated snow and finds 99 pieces of gold, a piece of rose quartz worth about 50 gold, a pair of bloody gloves, and a rope necklace that looks eerily like a noose. Gary picks up and pockets a carrot that was serving as a snowman nose, and Dove keeps a blue scarf she finds in the carnage.

Holly walks up to the stone tablet, which is an obelisk with writing on one side indicating the way to Mount Tyr, and the writing on the other side indicating the way to Mount Frost. Gary doesn't see any evidence of the tablet being able to move or rotate. Holly looks up both paths. He can see what looks like a cart track through the snow on the "Mount Tyr" side, and a treacherous-looking rockslide on the "Mount Frost" side.

Swage begins to talk to a nearby tree, asks it to tell them which route the group should take. The tree lightly shivers, and a handful of leaves drift down to the ground on the right side of the tree. The party isn't sure if the tree is trying to help, or if this is just the result of a coincidental breeze.

Battered, bruised, and frostbitten, the adventurers decide to take a short rest around the stone tablet.