Session 17

## Notable Events

* Funky spooky spider place discovered
* We ignore it (for now)
* Find evidence of paved roads and a town, in the middle of the forests??
* We go back into spooky spider place and find spiders (wow what a surprise) but skrellingtons fight us too (actually a surprise)
* We send cat down there, and then go down ourselves
* We **discover**

## Details

As Meadow steps into the building, she notes the stickiness of the floor and strange sacks in the corner. Pearl throws a rock and it goes through the building with no problem. Dimitri hears a sound from the roof. The party continues on past it, on a cobbled road. They notice the ground is loose - indicating it may have collapsed at some point. There's bits of rusted metal and old tools in a long-abandoned campground area.

Pearl voices his repulsion of the spiders in the building, so he stays back when the party go to take them down. Meadow and Dimitri are on the frontlines, with Nova and Justice standing behind trees close by. Justice takes down a spider in one shot and Meadow charges in to take the attention. Soon, the bulging sacks collapse/hatch, and out come contorted humanoid skeletons, necks snapped. In each of their throats are a glowing blue flower. When they bumble towards Dimitri, a spider attacks one, indicating they are not allies.

Once battle ceases, the party investigate. The skeletons are held together by roots that appear to be almost controlling them. The bones of the skeletons are covered in tiny serated cuts. They notice that the heartbeat from the building is still present. They decide to sent Cat ahead. It comes across a stinky room with crushed barrels, crates, a dismantled table, and a closed stone doorway. Pearl urges Cat to open the door, but it is very unsuccessful. Eventually the party clear the rubble and descend there themselves. In one of the crates, Justice discovers several ceremonial items: a goldien shield with the head of a deer, rusted brass sickles, and a ring with a dull-green gem. The floor is covered in vines, which twitch upon touch.

Meadow and Dimitri use their strength to open the door. They take the right door, which leads into a smaller room. There are lots of destroyed wood - seeming to be long rotted cots and beds. Past that room seems to be a prayer chamber of sorts. It has cushions and a pile of rotting flesh with a yellowing deer skull. Amongst the flesh is an oak leaf necklace. On the way back, Meadow uncovers a journal by the beds.

They continue towards the source of the root growth. As they walk, the corridors warp, almost as if 'something is trying to complete itself.' They approach a large door at the bottom of stairs. It has not been opened in a very long time, but they use a wheel lever to slowly open it. In the room pas it, there are four stone slab sarcophagus. Justice approaches invisible and takes out one of the ghosts that emerge. They shout in ghostly whispers: "no.." "you fools". The party take out three ghosts in total. When battle clears, they investigate.

There are four coffins:

1. Alune, high priestess of silvanus
2. Nolan, head mortician
3. \_\_\_\_er, he\_\_\_b\_\_\_\_ender
4. No name, overrun by vines.

The party hears strange scratching sounds from the 2nd coffin. When they open, a mummified person attacks them. Dimitri grapples it and the party pummel it down.

The party continues to the left passage and eventually arrive in a church of sorts. There are pews, an altar, and a statue. The statue is of a man with antlers and powerful human legs, arms outstretched. He holds a hammer in one hand, and has pixies and sprites on his shoulders. There are also depictions of unicorns and satyrs by his side. The party recognise this as a statue of Silvanus. The church is guarded by a small wooden soldier with glowing green eyes, who the party name Pino. It claims that the vines ruin this place, that they are a crime against nature. It has been stationed here by its master, who it does not know much about.

Stain glass windows depict six different scenes:

1. A mighty man (different to the statue) surrounded by worshippers
2. A mighty man reaching out to a deer shaped cloud
3. The man alone, heart at feet, with a stormy lightning background
4. An otherworldly scene, a man atop corpses, skull in one hand. He is collapsed on the ground and shouting.
5. Man's corpse, a blue bulb where the heart was, faces shifting behind the glass
6. A being of golden energy, darkness encasing him like armour, massive bright wings. A deer-headed man at his feet. A bright red moon in the sky

Justice investigates a cabinet behind the statue. There are several coins and a golden necklace on the offering plate within. It was trapped but Justice avoided the dart. He picks up the necklace and feels an uncanny urge to put it on. He throws it away before he does. While the party rests, he requests Dimitri help hold him away from it as he identifies it. Even with Dimitri trying to stop him, he puts it on, identifies it, then manages to take it off. It has no magical effect, but is cursed. He tells the rest of the party about it, then comments that it would make a great present for Augustine. As he says this, he feels his kids tug on his legs. Meadow seems confused.

> Justice: "You know who this would make a perfect present for? Augustine!"
> Meadow: "Wait - Aren't you on good terms?"
> Justice: "Yes, of course."
> Meadow: "Okay... if it were me I wouldn't give a cursed necklace to someone I was on good terms with."
>
>

Along the other corridor, they enter some offshoot rooms and discover a glyph on a table. It's identified as enchantment magic, but not much more can be gleaned. Dimitri holds back outside the room, but sees movement, and follows it. He finds a flower seeming to stare right back at him. When he touched it, it curled away from him. When he picked it, yellow sap dripped, and it had a long tendril root that extended (how much is in the binnnn!).

Continuing along, they hear a scratching, bloody sound that stops when they enter. Perhaps it is a sound illusion? The room is repulsive, a heavy smell of old dried blood, decay and death. There's stained blood on every surface. Justice and Dimitri find a long rusted dagger. Meadow finds an unopened note, as well as an opalescent half-gem with vines encasing it.

They continue back to the church. They discuss the clues they've found. Justice asks Pearl whether he thinks his patron could be related, but Pearl rejects the idea (Liar liar pants on fire)