Session 23 - The Bellower

This is the 23rd session of the game Ashes

## Summary

The party continued down the Wearyword road into the small settlement around the Crossroads Inn. The group made their way into the famous inn, which sits at the crossroads between the Wearyword Road and the Gravel Path, and met the locales. The building was filled to the brim with farmhands drinking, dancing, and singing, as a 12-piece band crammed on the stage played music. The party found their way to the bar and began drinking, tired from the journey thus far. They met the leader of the band Barry the Bard, a rather famous singer from Veritas who lived mostly in Kruvalistad, and the owner of the bar Joren. Emeran and Acaelus swapped stories with Joren, who informed the party of three rumors. First, there was a shrine of a central figure within the Elven pantheon Cyrell the FIrst within Blackdale that was being safeguarded against people trying to enter. Second, there were terrible storms within the Clean Bay, which is the Bay that Rust Port sits. Finally, he echoed what the group had been hearing for a while that a roving group of bears have been terrorizing the roads between here and Kronstrad. Joren tells the group that the bears haven't made their way through these parts yet. Emeran asked about the many members of the Pharmacopeia and learned that his albino Tiefling friend came through around a few months back and headed northward to Falkswald.

As the night continued on Elias decided to head outside to provide some medical help for travelers, and while he was there he heard some commotion heading towards the bar. They discovered an elven man screaming for help, as he pushed a wheelbarrow carrying a deceased woman. Elias started to provide aid while the elven man went to inform the bartender. The joyous mood from within the bar ceased and people began streaming outside to see what was happening, including the party. They discovered that the dead woman was Kat, the sister of Joren, who broke down upon seeing his dead sibling. Elias discovered that the wounds on Kat were consistent with the necrotic bite of ghouls and that the three-pronged claw mark across her back indicated a demonic creature of some kind.

The party decided to go with Joren and some of the other townsfolk to go investigate the site where Kat was attacked. As the party approached they saw on the surrounding trees were many runic symbols which they had been seeing consistently within the town. Joren explains that each of these trees were familial and that the carvings on them were the names of each of the members of the many families who live within this region. At the place where Kats body was found the group concluded that the demonic creature was something with wings.

The group made their way to the local graveyard on a hunch from Joren and found that every grave had been dug up, and suddenly the party was attacked by a coordinated group of ghouls, ghasts, and an undead bear. Two of the villagers died in the skirmish, and Joren nearly died himself. After the battle was over the group gave Joren's body to the surviving villagers and sent them back. Within the graveyard, Elias was able to discover while looking over the ghoul corpses that the people who these ghouls had once been had had their souls removed from their body, indicating that the demon in question was most likely a Nabassu.

Acaelus was able to spot a location along a hillside where it seemed like there was some distant activity. On the approach, the party witnessed many of the ancestral trees of the area had been desecrated by the ghouls and the demon. Even farther along they witnessed many of these trees collapsed and torn down. Pushing on ahead the party entered a clearing where a ritual was taking place. Several Ghouls and Ghasts were awaiting commands as others approached an uncovered wooden slab covered in runic symbols. It seemed as though the slab was defending itself, but every time a ghoul successfully approached the barrier protecting it weakened. A large Nabassu approached the party, as their stealthy approach didn't seem to be effective. Astraea and Acaelus seemed to recognize the demon as the yellow-eyed one they encountered in the forst near Kronstrad. It flew up to Themus and said, "The Bellower calls, who is here to answer?" and it was pretty clear that the party was going to try and stop whatever was happening here, and a fight began.

The fight was a challenging one, and while the party was able to fight off the ghasts attempting to weaken the barrier protecting the slab The Bellower, in desperation, grabbed the slab and was able to uproot it, which seemed to take a large toll on his arm. Shortly after the Bellower was able to turn himself invisible and fly away with the slab to the forest north of the Crossroads Inn.