Episode 80

## Summary

Inside the Beastlands, everyone (plus the swords in unconventional zombie animal form) try to find whereabouts as to where the Heart of the Forest lies. In order to do so, however, they have to win a game against a giant frog. Once victorious, he takes them to where the mansion is hidden away. The party faces off against Sara, the Death Knight. They’re eventually able to dispatch her, but only temporarily, as she’ll rise again.

## Recap

* We reconvene, Vahlka explains to the party that Deacon told her why he'd come to the Beastlands. His former partner, Sara Payne. Has risen as a Death Knight and he wants to put her to rest permanently. He however has no plan past relying on Divine Intervention for doing this. The party discusses the matter, but make little headway on what to do about it, so we move on.
* Brightmane escorts us into the Deep Green Bog and we travel on until we reach a sort of inn/casino owned by a massive frog named Morgrim. We play dice with him, and get some information regarding the other half of the Staff of Celestial Devouring. He says that a human woman and a half-elven man came by awhile ago; stole an object from him called a Dragonstone and left - he says he'll take us where they went if we win a dice game with him.
* We play again and win. We decide to stay at the tavern for the night, then journey onward in the morning. We attempt to scry on Crimson again in the morning but fail.
* Morgrim scoops us all up in his mouth without warning and hops away, taking us over to a big hole in the ground and leaving without much explanation. After some cautious poking around, Vahlka is ungainly pulled into the hole and the others follow after her.
* We arrive, naked and humanoid once more, in an autumnal forest full of the skeletons of long dead metallic dragons. In the distance is a massive mansion.We gather our things and move toward it.
* We arrive at the mansion as the sun is setting. Godfrey and Vahlka urge that we search around and scope out the location but Olivia and Barkley approach the big double front doors and spot a puzzle and ignore any and all input from the others. We solve the simple puzzle on the door and the doors pull open.
* When the doors open we encounter Crimson on the other side. She claims to have expected us, and suggests she's been scrying on us and mocks us a bit. Lucius immediately gets aggressive with her, Godfrey too - the conversation quickly goes south and Crimson animates a bunch of skeletons in the room and we are forced to fight her.
* During the fight - we pull back and use the doors to force the mindless undead through a narrow chokepoint, until Crimson enters the fray directly. She does some hefty damage to Godfrey, Vahlka, Andrith, Olivia, and Deacon. Deacon's Divine Intervention fails. Vahlka parries Crimson's blow, and when Sethokesh and Hazirawn clash there is a burst of necrotic and fire damage that repel the two paladins away from one another. The fight slogs on for awhile, and Crimson nearly kills both Shadowbane sisters. Deacon saves Vahlka's ass with a well-timed Death Ward before Lucius manages to finish Crimson off with a lightning bolt.
* Crimson's body disappears along with Hazirawn, but leaving behind her armor and other equipment.
* Barkley and Godfrey get into an argument. Barkley complains that we needed a better plan and Godfrey complains. Vahlka and Olivia interrupt the arguing and we decide to search the mansion farther. Vahlka follows her ears, kicks open a door, and miraculously we and Andy dispatch some skeletal half-dragons without alarming any other enemies despite the plate armored paladin smashing through doors like a moron.

## Recording

LINK.

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