Panning for Stygian Sediment

Once they've retrieved the tuning fork to Hades, Appius will send the party there to retrieve the sediment from the River Styx. But they'll need to be careful not to trade away too much...

## Learning of the Quest

Appius will tell them of this task at the same time he tells them to get the tuning fork for Find a Way to Hades. After they retrieve the fork, Appius will tell them to prepare and then contact him. Once he's arrived, he'll give them a Banishing Bead, a magic item that when cracked will return all creatures in a 5 foot radius to their home planes to the place they were the last time they were there. He'll also encourage them to bring supplies as it may take a while to find the River. Once they're ready, he'll Plane Shift them to the Asphodel Meadows in Hades, the highest layer of the Three Glooms, as that's the closest place in Hades to the River Styx that he knows of (he cannot transport them directly to the River Styx in Hades as it transcends the planes and thus the Plane Shift spell would fail to see it as a valid location in Hades).

## Details

* Before they leave, make sure to ask how many days of supplies they bring.
* After the spell is complete, the party will find themselves in a vast, gray plain that stretched seemingly in every direction as far as the eye could see. They'll see various forms walking around, some fairly lively but obviously afraid, others on the brink of collapse, and others with humanoid faces but the bodies of large maggots. They'll also immediately be attacked by sorrowsworn.
	+ Attempting to talk to anyone won't yield great results. The newcomers will be too afraid of them to help them, the exhausted ones will say nothing, and the larvae will attack. Any that are killed will revert back to humanoid form.
* After the battle with the sorrowsworn they'll see three beautiful and scantily clad (all in shades of gray) woman approaching them with picnic baskets and heart-shaped necklaces. One appears to be human, one elven, and one halfling. The trio will clap, congratulating them on defeating their foe, but poke fun at the damage they took. One will whisper in another's ear while pointing at a hurt character and they'll snicker.
	+ Human: "My oh my, are you adorable though!" Halfling: "Oh I could just eat y'all up!" Elf: "What are cute little things like you doing here still breathing?"
* Hopefully the group engages them. If the party is honest about what they're doing there, the women will offer to help. If they lie, try to twist it into some small deal. If they don't give much, ask for their help collecting larva, promise a favor. If the party completely rebuffs them, the trio will act like they're making a big mistake, wish them luck, and silently follow the party while they search for the River.
	+ If asked what they are, the women will reveal themselves to be Night Hags but figured this form would be less likely to scare them off. They'll also be open about being there to harvest larvae for their spells.
	+ If the party does ask for their help making their way to the River, have the hags offer to do so for some vitality from one of the party members for as long as they're around. Mechanically, this is a permanent level of Exhaustion, but don't tell them that. If they ask, the hags will tell them that it won't kill them, it might just make them a little more tired than normal, nothing they can't handle. Offer to give them time to discuss amongst themselves if they want it.
* While traveling, after each Long Rest, every member will need to make a DC 10 Wisdom saving throw against Vile Transformation. On a failure, they suffer one level of exhaustion that cannot be removed while still in Hades. If they reach 6 levels of exhaustion, instead of dying, they turn into a larvae like the others they've seen. At that point, they lose control of the character. If killed, they'll resort back to their normal form and can be revived.
* If the party does not have the women's help, they'll need to roll a Survival check to determine how long it takes them to find the River.
	+ The River is 3 days journey from where they start, but they don't know that. The party will not know the trip length even after their roll. After the Vile Transformation rolls each morning, give the party a chance to decide if they continue onward. The trip time will be based on the Survival check:
		- 25+ > The trip takes the normal 3 days.
			* "You manage to find some traces that lead you in what you believe to be the direction of the River".
		- 20-24 > The trip takes 5 days
			* Day 1: "You spend the day looking but don't come across any traces".
			* Day 2: "You think you might've found some signs that you begin to follow".
			* Day 3: "You believe you're now on the path to the River".
		- 15-19 > The trip takes 10 days
			* Day 1-5: "You spend the day looking but don't come across any traces".
			* Day 6: "You think you might've found some signs that you begin to follow".
			* Day 7: "You believe you're now on the path to the River".
		- Less than 15 > The trip takes 20 days
			* Day 1-15: "You spend the day looking but don't come across any traces".
			* Day 16: "You think you might've found some signs that you begin to follow".
			* Day 17: "You believe you're now on the path to the River".
	+ If at any point, they seem truly miserable or call out for the hags help, they'll appear again and once again offer to help. If any get to 3 levels of Exhaustion, have the hags reappear and re-offer their deal.
* If they accept the hags help, they'll say the trip is 3 days. They'll also say to be careful as sleep might not be as restful here as it may be back home.
* While travelling, roll a d20-10 to determine how many days they can travel before an encounter.
* Once the party arrives at the River, they'll see it is vast, stretching out so far, they can't see the other side. It's also moving swiftly. The ground has a steep drop-off to the river with a 2 foot drop. To see the bottom of the River, they'll need to make a DC 15 Perception check. On a success, they'll see it goes at least 20 feet down but it gets much too murky to see past that. If the hags are with them and are asked, they'll explain it's about 60ft deep at this point.
* If the hags are with the party, they'll say that they are free to hop in if they wish, but warn the River is not so kind to those of their kind. They'll offer for one of them to dive in themselves and retrieve the sediment for a price if they want. They'll say they can negotiate once they've returned with the sediment.
* If a non-fiend touches the water, they must make a DC 15 Intelligence saving throw. On a failure, they suffer the effects of the feeblemind spell (including taking 4d6 psychic damage immediately). Every turn they start touching the water, they must repeat the save (if they've already suffered the effects, they use the new modifier for their save, taking the damage again on a failure). Also, while in the River, you must succeed on a DC 15 Strength saving throw each round or be pushed 10 feet further down the river. If a party member dives in and successfully retrieves the sediment and returns to the surface, the hags will immediately attack, including if their help was not accepted. At any point during the battle, the party can use an action to shatter the Banishing Bead and return them to their home plane (the hags will be unaffected by this).
* If the party accepts the hags' help, they'll shift back into their hag forms and one of them will dive into the water. She'll return with the sediment in a small jar. Once the hag returns, both other hags will start casting a spell while looking at the wet hag and she'll dry out quickly.
	+ One of the hags is actually casting Detect Thoughts at this point. If a member of the party attempts to discern what spell is being cast, they can roll a DC 17 Arcana check. On a success they'll realize what's being cast.
* Once the Detect Thoughts spell is cast, the hag with the sediment will say "Now, time for the negotiation. Think hard about this: what is the last thing you would choose to give up for this?" Then ask the player's what is the thing that pops into the mind of each character. Make sure not to let them discuss too much with each other and hurry a response as it's meant to be the involuntary thought.
* The hag will use what's gleaned from this to determine what they want in return for the sediment. If someone from the party dives into the river at this point, the hags immediately attack. If the party stalls too long, have the hags attack.
* Whether they get the sediment through defeating the hags, trading with them, or retrieving it from the River floor themselves, they can now shatter the Banishing Bead and return home.
* Upon arriving and contacting Appius, he'll appear to them and tend to them as needed. He'll then explain the next quest they need to accomplish: A Bargain in Shadow