Session 3x3

Session 3x3 occurred on 8 March 2021. The players were DrWreckage (Galen), jschlies8 (Esroh), Theos (Skarn), Ivy (Otsa) and yourGMJack (Marshall). Their goal was to return to Cragfall Cave.

## Summary

The party first went to Cragfall Cave and arrived with no issue. Outside, four restless dead dressed in Rust Brother attire had been lashed to poles. Galen knew that Jasna, the Death Knight entombed in the cave, was able to talk through the dead, so he and Skarn attempted to parley with her. Skarn offered to seal Jasna's tomb back up again and to help her with her "work", but declined to seal himself in with her. Jasna rejected this offer, claiming that a dwarf that was willing to work with other kin would be unable to help her. Galen noticed at this point that Jasna's power and coherence had waned significantly since they last spoke, and speculated that she didn't have much time left in this world.

Immediately, the mountain began to quake and crumble, presumably at Jasna's behest. The party took stock and realized they would either have to flee, or head into the Cave and risk being buried forever in order to stop Jasna from bringing the mountain down. They decided to head inside, defeating several of Jasna's restless dead servants to breach her tomb. There, she was found encircled by a massive serpent with a glowing tail. Galen moved to subdue her, casting a spell to drain her of her remaining life essence. It backfired, rending his soul and knocking him unconscious.

The party realized that a battle in their weakened state would be folly, so they took one last opportunity to convince Jasna to let them help her with her "work", or to at least give them time to flee the mountain. Jasna claimed that her goal was to ensure that no one gained control of the ancient power that lay within the cave, even if it meant burying it under the mountain's remains forever. She alluded to the fact that this was not her will, but that of something greater than herself. In the end, she relented slightly, holding back the mountain's collapse just long enough for the party to flee back to Dryvault, carrying Galen's body with them. Despite the devastation, the state of Cragfall Cave is currently unknown, as unblocked entrances to parts of the cave system that remained intact could still exist.

After a few days' rest, the party decided to try and cheer Skarn up by scouting out the "glass singer" found in the nearby city of glass. They arrived there without trouble, and were able to confirm much of what previous adventurers had learned from Glass-Singer Vera, the lone occupant of the city of glass. Marshall decided to investigate the antechamber that supposedly contained a vessel that would be able to control the Blood Mist. Inside, the party discovered that it was warm, humid, and in the shape of a large glass heart. The pearl in Galen's possession reacted very negatively to this area. Between that and the general sense of unease they were getting from Vera, the party decided to return to Dryvault.

## In-character tales

### Otsa's song

We Mountainkillers!

We brave and bloodied!

We return home full foul in our quest.

Ruin'd Cragfall now trembles upon the earth.

Rare jewels and untold glory now buried beneath the stone.

Righteous fellowship and heated battle which passed to lore and mercy.

Hear how we all came in wrath,

How four foul souls fell before we five.

Heated battle amid the clear mountain waters.

Cast your minds to Galen's guile, Skarn's song.

Care full flung in reckless abandon

Came we into her chamber.

Threads of life were pulled and spun,

Though Galen's body there was broken.

The matter of his brain spilled upon the stone.

But panic stricken though we were

Bold Skarn, in all his noble grace,

Bought time enough for us to flee the doom of wretched Cragfall.

Now when you turn your gaze to north

Know the tale of what befell

Noble Mountainkillers bold, the last to see her face.

### Esroh's journal

*Literally dusts off journal*

Where to begin, other than we set off in hopes of convincing a powerful awoken dwarven spirit to not entomb our friend Skarn alive. Maybe my most ambitious adventure, certainly my most doubtful one. Reasoning with an ancient spirit called Jasna the Unconquerable? We were mad for doing this. Skarn and Galen tried their best to reason with her but she appeared to be waning both physically and mentally. She was uncompromising and vengeful. Verging on insanity. Although, maybe we're the insane ones for thinking this would work. Anyways, it went about as well as you'd expect. She tried to collapse an entire freaking mountain upon us!! It was crumbling and rumbling around us so we did what any reasonably sane people would do, we ran into the mountain, not away, into this crumbling cavern in the hopes we could defeat Jasna and solve the puzzle of the forces that were more or less compelling her to destroy all that lies within the cave. Again, didn't go well. We defeated some restless undead and ran down the stonestairs until we were in short range of Jasna. Galen unleashed a hugely powerful spell of doom...onto himself...rendering him unconscious and nearly killing him. Skarn was able to reason with Jasna to let us leave the cave before she reduced it to a pile of rubble. We rushed back to Dryvault to save Galen, thankfully he pulled through.

Not having had enough adventure, we set out for the Glass City. Passed a cat, at a fully fledged campsite nonetheless, all alone. Seemed creepy so we left it alone and forged on to the Glass City. We had our eyes peeled and were able to make out the beginning of the maze the leads to the glass city. Following it in, we found Vera the lonely resident dwarf. Curious to find out more about this place, Marshall, Galen, and Skarn asked her many questions as to her reasoning and purpose here. Eventually Marshall grew curious enough about the kiln at the heart of the city to ask to inspect it further. Vera agreed to let them approach it. Marshall, Galen, Skarn, and Otsa all climbed up into the antechamber. I decided to stay down as I had enough of small spaces given our encounter with Jasna and nearly being buried alive. I could see them growing uncomfortable up there through the glass. From the dialogue I could hear, it was starting to grow quite warm in there. Everyone decided it was a good time to leave. On the way back to Dryvault, Skarn stopped and had a chat with the mountain. Quizzing it about the nature of the Glass City. He was able to gather some information related to the city, such that its been there for over a year and that Vera is not a demon. Which brings me back to that creepy cat, turns out it is a demon but possibly a friendly one. Another adventure through the Ravenlands, another story to tell, and another close brush with death.