Strange Times Call for Strange Heroes

"**Strange Times Call for Strange Heroes**" (1x22) is the 22nd episode of Dun-Johns and Dragons.

## **Synopsis**

### **Previously on *Dun-Johns and Dragons***

After escaping false imprisonment, the group fled Westerhaven after a battle with an Ancient Black Dragon that destroyed a large portion of the city. They made their way north to the village of Whithall, where they agreed to stay for a while to help guard the town since the local Braven Fist contingent had been ordered back to Westerhaven. Their second night in the village, they battled a group of Clay Golems who may or may not have actually been protecting the town; Magpie also accidentally injured the mayor’s daughter, and although Father Buckitt was able to heal the little girl, the mayor thought it best that they leave town; they decided to travel on northward toward the capital.

### **Part I**

As they travel, Father Buckitt expounds at length on the properties of buckets to a very hungover Magpie, much to her frustration. Stone asks about Buckitt’s background and learns that “Father Buckitt” is in fact his name, not a title, which he adopted when he became the prophet of the Great Bucket; he declines to reveal (and possibly can’t remember) what his previous name was.

They reach the town of Scorross in the late afternoon; as they approach, they hear music and sounds of revelry. In the main square, they see a feast being laid out and musicians playing a jaunty tune. Father Buckitt approaches one of the townspeople and asks what the occasion is; he learns that it’s the first day of Albanspell, the day of their harvest festival. The villager points out the town Steward and says he will be excited to meet them, as it is good luck to have visitors on the first day of Albanspell. Most of the party heads toward him, though Zander takes a detour to scope out a table piled with fresh vegetables. The Steward, Maygen Wors, welcomes them warmly and tells them about the harvest festival; he invites them to the feast, also commenting how lucky it is to have visitors on this special day.

Father Buckitt gathers the others for a quick conference and suggests that they not mention Westerhaven or Whithall, given the events they were involved in, and also comments that they should be on their guard because these people seem *way* too nice and excited about visitors on this day in particular, and might be planning to kill them. Stone agrees. Zander, having snagged a carrot from the vegetable table, rejoins the party in the midst of this conversation and asks what’s wrong; Father Buckitt tells him of their suspicions and Zander says, “Oh! I say we kill them first.” Buckitt and Stone quickly shut down this idea, but everyone agrees they should be on their guard and not go off alone. (Magpie, meanwhile, has already wandered off; she finds a tree and sits under it, carving swear words in Infernal on the tree trunk.)

The party members variously chat with a few other townspeople, but don’t learn anything of particular interest before people begin taking their seats for the feast. Father Buckitt casts Detect Poison or Disease and takes a quick stroll among the tables, but finds nothing untoward. He joins the others, save for Magpie, who is still hiding behind the tree. At the head table, the Steward stands up to make a speech; he introduces the High Priest Lorentz, welcomes the guests, makes a toast to the gathered company, and the feast begins.

The group (save for Magpie) enjoys the feast very much. Dugluss comments approvingly that it reminds him of the dwarven feasts of his home. Zander ends up tipsily standing on a table and singing, accompanied by Father Buckitt on the pan pipes, then later falls asleep on said table. Buckitt joins in a card game; he doesn’t understand the rules and ends up losing, much to Stone’s amusement, but takes it in good stride. Yoolna goes off in search of Magpie, but cannot find her and in fact ends up a bit lost. Magpie, meanwhile, has constructed a rope swing in her tree and is sitting there swinging sadly.

As the evening wears on, the group members start feeling strangely dizzy and tired, even Yoolna, who didn’t drink any alcohol. One by one, they collapse to the floor, dead asleep. The only one unaffected is Magpie, still sitting on her swing; she notices a strange lack of noise from the festival, but as she gets up to investigate, several cloaked figures close in on her; she manages to fire off Burning Hands, but finally succumbs to one of several paralyzing spells they cast her way, then feels herself being picked up and carried away.

### **Part II**

The party finds themselves shackled: Magpie, Yoolna, and Stone to posts mounted on a wooden platform, and Dugluss, Zander, and Father Buckitt to wooden chairs in front of them. They are all still wearing their same clothes and armor, but their weapons are missing. As the sun sets, more hooded figures as well as townspeople begin filtering into the space. Then the Steward steps to the front of the platform and addresses the crowd. He makes a fashy speech about “purity” that essentially boils down to “non-humans are bad and we’re going to kill them.” Yoolna, still groggy but with her trunk free, blows a raspberry at him. Magpie, more in control of herself than the others since she was merely paralyzed, casts Bonfire under the Steward and starts yelling as terrifyingly as possible in Infernal. The Steward manages to sidestep the Bonfire and points at Magpie, saying to the crowd, “You see — even now they try to defile this holy ceremony! They must be purged from the land!” As he says this, he pulls a flaming torch and lights the piles of kindling under Magpie, Yoolna, and Stone. The party rolls initiative.

The cultists mostly attempt to cast paralyzing spells, and occasionally attack with daggers, but overall don’t initially seem to have much success.

Yoolna, Dugluss, and Father Buckitt focus most of their energy on trying to free themselves and their companions. Yoolna spends a couple turns trying to get out her lockpick set and use it, but to no avail; she does manage to blast Stone’s shackles with her Circlet of Blasting, however. Dugluss casts Shatter twice, destroying the chair to which he’s chained, and damaging two nearby cultists in the process. Father Buckitt, after sending a telepathic message to summon Sax Panther, Channels Divinity to augment his strength and thrashes around and destroys his chair by force. He also charges the post to which Magpie is chained and after a couple tries, succeeds in knocking it down; he tries to do a domino effect to topple all three posts but ends up landing it on Yoolna’s head instead, but it does knock her shackles free from their moorings.

Stone casts Spiritual Weapon, summoning a glowing purple shield, and makes a few attacks with it. They also cast a sphere of Silence to prevent at least some of the cultists from casting spells, and land an attack on the leader with Ball Lightning from the Ring of Shooting Stars. Though still shackled to their post, as dusk falls, they use Steps of Night to fly up out of the flames at the base.

Magpie, after adding to the fire at the base of her post in an attempt to weaken it, focuses her efforts on deception and manipulation; she uses Disguise Self to look like Tyr, the god the cultists are referencing, and yells at the cultists, “You have failed the test! I am displeased!” She also successfully Charms the high priest, who quickly grows very confused.

Zander, meanwhile, deals the most damage; he first summons Carrot and casts Hexblade’s Curse at one of the cultists, then knocks out a villager with Thunder Step. He jumps up on the platform and yells, “The master you serve is pathetic! Now feel the wrath of *my* dark bunny lord!” He casts Hunger of Hadar, catching the Steward and 5 cultists in a sphere of cold, tentacle-y darkness. The Steward, unseen in the darkness, falls over.

To be continued...

## **Featured Characters**

### **Player Characters**

* Dugluss Deep-Forge
* Father Buckitt
* Magpie
* Stone
* Yoolna
* Zander Brushspark