Eldermourne Episode 19: Blade Witch

**Blade Witch** is the nineteenth episode in campaign 2.

The Third Mates enter a tense stand-off with Quick Blast Cass Calloway! Zirk teeters on the edge, Henry roasts Shank, and Fia learns the fate of her mentor.

## Plot Synopsis

The Third Mates face Quick Blast Cass Calloway in a tense standoff, while Quick Blast holds Zirk over the edge of an abyss within the Temple of the Guardians. To try and negotiate Quick Blast off the ledge, Fia reveals that Zirk is the son of Stella Vervain, which then leads Cass to reveal her own connections to the Vervain family. Cass explains that Stella is sponsoring her trip, and is looking to cash in on Batilda’s bounty.

Once it becomes clear that diplomacy isn’t going to work, Fia attempts to send off Bukvar with damning information about Quick Blast, prompting the Gunslinger to shoot him out of the sky, deanimating the familiar. A battle ensues, during which Fia and Zirk are knocked out, but eventually Henry is able to use the Horn of the Deep, given to the Third Mates by Lord Braden Kenley. The blast from the horn summons deepfolk warriors, who quickly surround Quick Blast, and evening the odds. Henry is able to cut a deal to spare Cass’s life if she helps his friends, and she agrees, giving him health potions to bring Zirk and Fia back from unconsciousness.

The Third Mates then make Cass promise to not continue to pursue Batilda, and she leaves after the deepfolk liberate her of her loot. The group then chose to rest for the night while the deepfolk leader, Losgrar, helped them research the source of Henry's curse. Together, they are able to narrow it down to Henry’s curse originating with a spring fairy of the sea, leading to much speculation about the mollusk fairy, Moria.

The next morning Losgrar warns the party to be wary of the greater fairies because they work selfishly, only thinking of their own wants and whims. They separate from the deepfolk, and the Third Mates proceed through the sunken temple, using various forms of Alter Self spells to navigate the underwater challenge, some faring better than others. At the bottom of the stairs, they find Batilda, looking injured, presumably frozen by Olwen the Sullen before she could bleed out from a mortal wound.

Together they are able to thaw out and stabilize Batilda, and they begin making their way out of the temple through a secret exit. However, before they could leave, they are trapped by a wall of ice summoned by Olwen. He reveals his own ulterior motives: that he wishes to keep Batilda frozen in the temple to protect her forever, to preserve life, even if that means pausing it indefinitely. The Third Mates refuse to leave Batilda behind, leading Olwen to threaten to do the same to them. When Zirk pulls out his gun, Olwen begins gathering ice energy and the group braces for battle.

## Music and Sound Effects

* "A Wizard's Tournament" by Emily Axford.
* "Langston" by Emily Axford.
* "The Red Fen" by Emily Axford.
* "The Posse" by Emily Axford.
* "Buzzer's Cutters" by Emily Axford.
* "The Bronze Bastard" by Emily Axford.
* "A Memory" by Emily Axford.
* "The Lonely Autumn" by Emily Axford.
* "Gunvar" by Emily Axford.
* "The Multiverse" by Emily Axford.
* "The Ruins of Cragwater" by Emily Axford.
* "Faceless" by Emily Axford.
* "Eldermourne" by Emily Axford.
* "The Prodigal Sister" by Emily Axford.
* "Escape From Smuggler's Bounty" by Emily Axford.
* "Into the Planar Pool" by Emily Axford.
* "The Pact" by Emily Axford.
* "Cetacean Farewell" by Emily Axford.

## External Links

* Headgum
* Spotify
* NADDPOD Subreddit Thread