10.3 What Mysteries Does Emberhold

SESSION DATE: February 08, 2025
PRESENT: Rory, Freya, Lim Dul, Kemurial

Deep Dive

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Adventure Photos

Adventure Song & Lyrics

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World Anvil Journal

sooo... we wath abel to thweep jutht fien and wen we woke up we wint to tha captin to thee if evwything wath ok and it wath. dum dum wookd for thingth fowwowin uth but dint find n e thing tho he towd tha captin that ith pwobabwy a gud idea to thtawt fishin for food tho they thwu a net down in tha watr to cach thome fish. i towd the captin that i wud help with watevr they needed and thin wint and that with tha wayfindr guy thome mor. i akshuwy wern thomethin thith tiem but he towd me it wud take a wile to figur owt but im wiwwin to wern.

we can thee a buncha thity witeth popin up in tha dithtinthe and the wayfindr guy thaid thath emberhode tho we maid it finawy. we git off tha bote and thee a buncha teefwingth at the harber.

kimiweel wookth for a town cwier to thee if ther ith n e thing worth chekin owt. he doethnt find won but he doeth find a methage bord with a buncha thtuff on it tawking abowt thith and that but won of them cacheth are i. it tawkth abowt the n m e ith cwother than we think and to wach owt for thpyth and thtuff and were wike well thath kinda why we caim hear tho we gonna chek that owt. the naim on ith thayth captin wedwic vane and to wook owt for peepel athkin to many kwethchinth abowt thuppwieth and thtuff tho im wike ooh i betr go tel captin thawek abowt thith tho thath wat i do. kimiweel and dum dum thaid they r gonna twy to find owt thome mor info tho i hed off to the captin. kimiweel thaid to meat bak at a tavrin cald the emberwaik tavrin.

i maik shur to tell him to wach owt for that thinthe that thkavin twied to meth up are thuppieth on tha way ovr hear. he thankth me and thayth heth gona twy to git in with tha gardth and listen owt for thingth wike that.

thin i figur thinthe wer on thith twip the gwoop mite wike thome thoovenethrth... thoovenirith... thingth to wemembew thith pwathe tho i twy to find a shop that thellth thing wike that or won that can maik thtuff wike that but nuthin ith opin hear. i wint to anuther mawket awea and fownd won pwathe that that thome dithe with the emberhode thimbel on it tho i bot that and a powch with a bo to put them in.

i wath gonna giv it to dum dum thinthe he kinda theemth down on hith wuck but win i got bak to emberwaik tavrin i thaw fwaya and dady karl pwayin thome kinda dithe gaim tho ill pwobabwy giv the dithe to won of them inthted. they athk me if i wanna pway and i do but thin kimiweel and dum dum git bak and put a thtop to that. why cant we hav n e fun awownd hear ethpethiwy with dum dum awownd. ith wike he ith awergic to fun or thomethin.

n e way dum dum thaid he fownd thomewon that thaid wat hapind on tha ship ith awtho hapenin hear in emberhode. that doethnt thownd gud thinthe ther ith a invashin comin thoon. he thaid peepel r goin mithin ethpeshuwy peepel in tha gard and thtuff but they wanna keep that on tha downlo tho peepel dont thtawt fweekin owt. but im wike how doeth he no abowt it thin and why r they tewwin uth abowt it if ith thupothd to be a thecwet. eether thith guy jutht hapinth to no abowt it or mabee heth pawt of it who nothe.

kimiweel thaid he fownd owt that the invaderth r maid up of thome beetht men and bawbawienth wike me i gueth thath not gud. he dont no if ther r n e deeminth with them but at weetht we no a bit mowe abowt wat we mite be fitin thoon. he awtho minchind that the miwisha ith gettin thiner wike ther goin mithin jutht wike dum dum thaid. that theemth to be a comin thwed and ith vewy thuthpithith to me.

we wint bak to tha harber to tawk to the captin abowt thith but he thaid to come bak tomawow.

we wath goin bak to tha tavrin win all a thuddin A MANTH BODY FELL OUTTA THA THKY AND WANDED ON FWAYA WIKE WAT THA HEK ITH GOIN ON tho i wook up and i thee a shado move bak behind tha woof. i popd my wingth owt and tuk off fwying toward it. thith perthon ith twyin to git away and ith wunnin vewy fatht tho i dwank anuther poshin of thpeed and tuk off after him fathter than he cud wun. i thtawted gettin cwothe and win i got cwothe enuff i shot him with my cwothbow and hit him but thin he jutht vanishd. i twy to fowwow hith bwud twale but ith nite tiem tho i cant thee it vewy gud and jutht giv up for now and go bak to tha gwoop to tel them wat i thaw.

i dint thee thim win i got bak tho i wint inthide the tavrin and fownd them ther. dady karl thaid he wath abel to bwing him bak and tho i that down and withend to them tawk abowt wat hapind.

wong thtowy showt tha guy ith a hi wank ofishel with tha gard and thaid he wath tawgetid by thith guy and wukiwy we wer their to wevive him jutht in tiem. at firtht the guy dint twutht uth and kept athkin who we r and who we wepowt to and thtuff but were wike man we jutht bwot u bak if we wath evil we wud hav jutht weft u waying there on tha gwownd for thomewon elthe to cween up tho cut uth thome thwack ok and he wath wike ya u rite. he towd uth a buncha thtuff abowt wat they no abowt the kaoth invashin and thtuff and he menchinth that thereth a cult in emberhode with a buncha hooded guyth goin into a pwathe dithgithed ath a thewwar neerby. we thank him for tha info and he gith up and weeveth with thome other gardth in cwoketh and hoodth. they wemind me of tha cultithth we jutht tawkd abowt tho thath awtho kinda thuthpithith to me.

kimiweel athkth wat we shud do nektht tho we come up with a pwan to thee who ith goin in thith pwathe. im wike we cud pwobabwy thcowt the awea awownd there hidin pwathe and maik are cwoketh wook wike thereth but thin dum dum cutth me off wile i wath tawkin and bathicwy thaiyth the thame thing and i jutht wook at dum dum and im wike ya dum dum gwate pwan you alwayth hav tha betht pwanth and nowon eltheth pwanth are evr betr than urth tho we shud do that. heth gettin on my watht nerv. fwaya thaid she cud maik herthelf invithibel or she cud maik herthelf a thpider or thomethin and go in and thee wat she can thee and were wike ya that thownd betr.

we maik r way jutht down tha thweet to a dwinkin pwathe and jutht wach. fwaya maikth herthelf a thpider and i uthe my beetht thenthe to thee wat she theeth and she goeth into the cewwar. we thee wong tunel and a pwathe that goeth down wike a thwide and a wadder and a bwokin cawt and thin a hyuge woom but we caint thee patht it and fwaya ith wike ya im not goin in ther if i cant thee whath in ther tho she headth bak to uth.

win she gith bak she turnth bak into fwaya and tellth uth all wat she thaw and akthth uth wat we wanna do nektht. i wook at dum dum and am wike all u thinthe u got onwy the betht ideath and im wike ill do wat he thayth i gueth. we tawk abowt thtayin hear and wachin thome mowe and im wike well how wong do peepel nowmawwy thtay in a pwathe wike thith and theyr wike well thome peepel thtay a wile and thome dont jutht dependth on how much they dwink. thereth no woomth to thtay in hear tho thin im wike well mabee won of uth cud thtay and dwink but thin u dont wanna get tho dwunk that u caint thee cwearwy and thtuff. and thin dum dum intewupth me agin and thayth we r gettin thidetwakd tho i think we shud jutht taik wacheth wear we dwink for a few ourth and then ith thomewon eltheth turn to wach and dwink and im wike O YA GWATE IDEA DUM DUM Y DINT I THINK OF THAT YOU ALWAYTH GOT THA BETHT IDEEATH AND IM THOOOOOO THOWY ABOWT GETIN THIDETWAKD CUZ I DEFNITWY WATHNT GETTIN AT THAT KINDA PWAN MYTHELF THO YE WETHT DO UR PWAN INTHTED and then i walk owt thaying COME GIT ME WIN ITH MY TURN TO WACH and hed bak to the tavrin and git thome thweep. dum dum ith thith cwothe to theein wat it feelth wike to be on tha other end of my gwatethord if he doethnt wet me jutht tawk thometimeth and keep thteewin my ideeath ath hith own wike that. i no im dum and thtoopid but i at weatht wanna feel wike wat i hav to tha ith vawid u no wat i meen.

n e way thomewon waikth me up and i go to wach. i dont thee n e thing and i tell them ath much. the otherth all thaw won or to peepel go in and thome were teefwingth and won wath anuther thkavin wat guy. we tawk abowt how we wanna do thith. r we gonna go in thwingin or r we gonna be quite and thtelthy. wile we wath dithcuthin it fwaya thendth a methage to the captin thanking him fow bein wiwwing to meat with uth today but thomethin caim up that we gotta deel with and we wish him well on hith jurny.

we dethide we r gonna twy to be thtelthy tho i by a poshin of invthibitwy... invithibwitwty... u can't thee me tho win we git in ther i can be mowe thtelthy.

we maik r way into tha cewwar. i dwink tha poshin and taik tha weed. evwybody fowwowth and we go down tha thwopd awea me and fwaya thaw befor. win we git to tha wadder the wallth thtawk to shaik and thome thtone fallth away. thereth a buncha nergwingth all of a thuddin and up at the top of tha wadder ther ith a thkavin in a makth that thwowth down a viel of gween poithon cwowdth and thin taikth off wunnin. dady karl thummind a gardien of fathe that helpd uth owt a wot with theeth thwarmth of nergwingth and we wath abel to taik them owt eethy enuff. tho much for that poshin of u cant thee me tho. that wath a big wathte of muny.

n e way we keep goin up tha wadder and we git to tha bwoken cawt we thaw befor. i find won buk that u can weed and ith all abowt the dawk thecweth of ditheetheth and pwageth and thtuff and a poshin of cwiming. i hand the poshin to dady karl and we keep goin.

we git to tha giant dawk woom we thaw befor and ith vewy hyuge. ther r thome thtawagmiteth and wockth all over tha pwathe and ther r a cuppla waithed aweath and their ith a minecawt and thome wood but other than that there ith nuthin hear tho we keep goin down a path on tha other thide of the woom.

thith path hath thome wike dwag mawkth all awong it. win we git to tha end we thee thome hyuge woodin dorth and we can here a thownd wike metel on metel. we thtawt to get cwother and withen cwother but thin the dorth thuddinwy thwing opin and there ith a HYUGE WOODIN WEEL WITH DETH THPIKETH AND WITENING THPEEDIN TORD UTH. i yell we gotta wun and turn awownd to wun.

dwaugnir if ur their we gonna need thome help and pweethe gwant me the pashinthe to deel with dum dum thankth.

Private Notes

• TNGBU.
• We wake up and head to the captain to check in.
• The clouds on the horizon from yesterday have reached us this morning.
• Lim Dul watches for creatures following us as we sail on, but sees nothing out of the ordinary.
• Lim Dul suggests to the captain that he has his crew begin fishing. He says he's considered it, but it does sound like a good idea. They cast out nets that are dragged behind the ship as it sails.
• Rory offers his assistance to the captain for anything that needs doing now that the action seems to have calmed down from yesterday.
• Kemurial asks if we're there yet.
• Rory heads over to the navigator to shadow him some more now that he has some more time. He's honestly not trying to pester or irritate him, but rather just looking to see how things are done. After a week of long rests, spending one hour per long rest to study the stars, Rory can add +1 to any Nature or Survival check per Long Rest.
• As the clouds grow thicker, we see the lights of Emberhold growing on the horizon.
• We dock up.
• There are many tieflings here as expected. We disembark as the captain and crew work on getting fresh supplies.
• Lim Dul warns the captain to watch his back as he seems like a target. He appreciates his concern.
• There are plenty of insignias and iconography freely on display of various houses and organization, but nothing seemingly from the hells.
• Kemurial looks for a town crier or notice board for information about the area. Rory asks if he can see any notices about strange happenings in and around the city. Maybe this'll provide clues. Amongst the various postings are official decrees, government notices, ads, calls to arms, emergency notices, propaganda, hyperbolic posts, etc. "The enemy is closer than you think! Beware of traitors and spies lurking within our own walls!" This particular post is from Captain Rederic Vayne, captain of the city guard. There are increased patrols in town at the gates, random searches of homes suspected of harboring enemy spies, bounties for any citizens providing verifiable proof will receive 50s as a reward. Look out for strangers asking too many questions about supplies and defenses, messages left in weird locations such as under loose stones or market stalls, and sudden disappearances of longtime residents. Trust only those you have known, the enemy wears many faces.
• Lim Dul heads out to do some more info gathering similar to before in Meliora. Before he gets too far, Kemurial stops him and discusses a time to meet back up. We'll meet up at the Emberwake Tavern.
• Kemurial also heads out to gather some information.
• Rory will head out as well. Since the flyer mentioned looking out for strangers asking too many questions about supplies and defenses, he'll head back to The Brine Leviathan and see if there is anything he can do to assist in loading supplies onto the ship, all the while looking and listening for anyone loitering and asking questions about such things. The irony isn't lost on him. The captain makes a comment that sticks out, saying if everyone's that on edge and on high alert, we didn't receive that much treatment when we arrived. Rory agrees, saying that we haven't be stopped or questioned or anything like that. Nothing more than just being looked at as we walk by since we're such an odd group of people, but nothing out of the ordinary just yet. The captain thanks Rory for the info and says he'll try to ingratiate himself with the local guards and listen out for such things.
• Now that Rory's done with that, he'll find a souvenir shop and bring back some mementos of the journey for his friends. He looks around the Broad Docks area, but finds nothing but a boarded up souvenir shop. It seems that there aren't many such shops in times of a looming invasion. Makes sense. He heads out toward the Broad Market and is able to find a shop that has some pairs of bone dice embellished with the emblem of Emberhold on the corners. He tries to haggle the price down from 25g per pair, but is ultimately unable to do so. He settles with the 25g and buys one pair. Presuming there is no gift wrapping service here, Rory will source a small pouch and a bow. He'll place the dice into the pouch and wrap it closed with the bow. He'll gift them to Lim Dul since he seems a bit down on his luck lately.
• Rory heads back to the Emberwake Tavern to rejoin the rest of the group.
• There's a smoky glow with the scent of charred fish and sea in the air. Freya and Karl are on a balcony watching over the harbor. They both seem to be a few ales in as they play a dice game. Friar Karl is winning at the moment. They invite us to play. Rory is keen, but the others insist on sharing the information they gathered while scouting.
• Lim Dul shares that much of what happened on the ship is happening here as well, including people going missing. Some of them appear to be in the armed forced here. The ranks aren't as fully staffed as they used to be. He's uncertain if they've abandoned their posts, if there is defection occurring, or if they're just part of the missing people in general. It seems all this is being kept on the down-low here. Why rile up the town on the verge of an invasion? Who knows. Considering this, how does Lim Dul's contact know about this? Are they just in the know, or could they possibly be part of it?
• Kemurial was asking about any details known about the incoming invasion. They're aware of some beast men, barbarian activity, and it's unknown if any demons are part of the forces. He also asked about resistance building, but there doesn't seem to be any mustering of an army or resistance forming. There is political turmoil stalling any responses. It could be that the important people in the city are abandoning the city, leaving those to defend themselves. Nobody is aware of any leonins living here.
• The common thread here seems to be the missing militia folk. Rory mentions again that the ship captain might try to get in with the guards, so perhaps that could be our way in to finding out more info about these missing people.
• We head back down to the harbor to have a chat with the captain about his ideas, and to tell him our ideas as well.
• One of the crew is sitting on a plank on the ship. He welcomes us back and asks what we need. Rory asks if we can speak with the captain. The crewmate says we'll need to wait until tomorrow to speak with him. Rory accepts this. We head back toward the Emberwake Tavern.
• As we're walking along the docks toward the tavern, a body suddenly falls from above and lands on Freya (!). She gets knocked prone. It's a male tiefling. Rory immediately looks up to see if he can catch anything out of the ordinary. He sees the outline of a humanoid shape slip back over the roof. Once Rory sees Freya is okay, he immediately takes off flying toward the figure. It darts away very quickly, and Rory can't keep up with him. Rory downs a Potion of Speed and can now catch up easily. Just as Rory catches up, he seems the figure motion in a way he's seen before. Rory knows he's about to go invisible. Just before he can do so, Rory fires his crossbow at the running figure, hitting him in the back just before he vanishes. Rory tries to follow any trail of blood the figure may be leaving. Unable to do so, he heads back to the tavern.
• Meanwhile, back at the tavern, Friar Karl casts Revivify on the body, raising it back from the dead. Freya stands up exclaiming that it hurt quite a lot when the body fell on her. The man says he's from the city watch. He's not sure what happened. Kemurial says he was assassinated and thrown from the building. Kemurial asks the man his name. "Veylin Rathos", he says. The last thing he remembers "is not something that should be discussed with all the eyes around." Guards have arrived to disperse the crowd. He says "Come with me. We'll discuss this over a drink. I owe you at least that much." Back into the tavern they go. He says "First, I'd like to know who I'm talking to. What are you doing here in Emberhold?" Lim Dul says "Saving your life.", for which he's grateful. He asks what brings us here. Kemurial explains how we're attempting to assist however we can with the emerging situation. Veylin says he appreciates the help, but needs to know more about us. "What brings you to Emberhold at this time?" Kemurial sits back and gives a look to Lim Dul, gesturing for him to take over. Lim Dul gives Veylin a look of consternation, looks up, and says "The activity to the north is of interest to the south. The nature of what you're preparing for is a threat to the whole region, not just to your town. We're here to scout and report back if we can." Veylin asks us who we're reporting to. "Are you just benevolent travelers looking to do good in the world? What's in it for you?" Kemurial tries to display a sign of the Gilded Iron slyly. The guy says "Nice cloak. So what are you guys doing here, really?" Lim Dul reiterates that the goings on are unnerving and concerning to the entire region, and that we're here to investigate what's going on and report back if able. Lim Dul says the fact Veylin is living and breathing once more is testament to our ability and willingness to help, and not for nefarious reasons. If it were for nefarious reasons, he'd have been left on the street watching as he lay dead. He says "Fair enough. So you say you'd like to help and gather information? What is it that you seek?" We need info about the attacking forces. Through our own investigations, we found out that people have gone missing, and it's likely not coincidental. Who are these missing people? Do they have anything in common? Are they of high stature and celebrity, or are they just common folk? We need details about the forces and emerging resistances that are setting themselves against it. "So far, scouts report this is the largest invasion coming from the Chaos Wastes in 250 years." We ask about the races of the Chaos Wastes. "Mostly you would deal with beastmen or any other barbarian warlords. Imagine minotaurs, but on a smaller scale. Those who are lost to chaos and corruption that have become bestial. They tend to be on the frontlines, and usually roam in packs. The worst case scenario is dealing with harpies with sorcerous powers along with everything else. It's constant war and infighting. The gods and warlords are fighting amongst themselves." We ask about known leaders and strategies they employ. "It's dangerous to look too deeply into what they think. Most of what we see now and in the past is numbers. They have fel magic. They have all sorts of abysmal creatures, but this time they have the numbers to throw at you even if you have a mighty fortress or walled city such as this. I'm not sure how you can stop that. Most cities on these types of northern extremes are sealed with all sorts of magical barriers. It's hard for magic to penetrate the walls and affect the city within, but it doesn't stop a thousand ladders climbing over the walls, you know?" Lim Dul asks for any information on what force organized the lords of Chaos. "I don't think there's anything official. At least nothing I know of. But I've heard of a betrayal of a cult and its leaders that I believe have set up nearby. It's why I was here tonight." Lim Dul asks if he'd like assistance with this cult. He says "I don't know what god they serve, but I've been tracking rumors about one. Damn it, I'm in no condition to do this myself. Time is of the essence." We can help each other. "I've been trying to track down one called Valthor. I'd be happy to point it out if you guys would be willing to clear it." Lim Dul looks to Kemurial for a decision. Kemurial suggests he cover himself some if the cult believes this guy to be dead. They should be left to think that. "I hold too much of a high profile position to disappear, but maybe I can figure out something." We ask whether we should raid the cult hideout, or infiltrate it. "Kill or capture as many as you can. If you want info about the armies of Chaos, you have to walk into one of the largest armies in existence. Or you have to cut off one of its tendrils. Hopefully someone or something knows how we can deal with them. I've seen meetings, cloaked and hooded figures entering at odd times and leaving together. They don't exactly show force on the exterior." We ask for a description of the location so that we may approach. He describes which street it's on. It's in Emberhold. The basic entrance is disguised as a cellar entrance on private property. "You won't have any trouble with the guards getting into the place. We don't know the true owners of the property, but that's not your concern. It's more of mine." We thank him for the information. We'll discuss what to do next. Kemurial asks how we can get in touch with him again should it be necessary. "You can do so by asking the guards. They can point you to me." He finishes his drink, calls in some guards, and they escort him away in cloaks and hoods.
• Kemurial asks what we should do next. Rory begins to make a suggestion that we could try to make our Gilded Iron cloaks look like the cultists after scouting the area around their hideout and seeing what theirs look like, but Lim Dul cuts him off and suggests essentially what Rory would have suggested had he not have been interrupted. Rory says, sarcastically, "You're right Lim Dul. You always have the best ideas, and nobody else's ideas are ever better than yours." Freya can make herself invisible, and she can use Polymorph to turn someone into a beast to help blend in to the environment.
• We try to find a place near the hideout entrance. We're able to find a place where we wouldn't look out of place hanging out in view of the entrance. Lim Dul hangs back before joining us after about 10 minutes so it doesn't look so much like a group coming in at the same time.
• Freya then Polymorphs into a spider. Rory casts Beast Sense on Spider Freya so he can see what she sees. She crawls her way across the street and toward the cellar. She telepathically communicates with Kemurial, telling us it's a 10' wide corridor with a steady downward slope. 50' in it widens and become slick. This goes 30 more feet before getting to a landing area with a ladder. She doesn't see anything else for now. She asks if she should go further. She says she sees footprints coming and going, but sees nobody yet. Kemurial instructs her to go as far as she is comfortably willing to go. She continues along a path to the left before it turns to the right. Halfway down this is a broken cart. There seems to be some books, but she's not sure what all is there. She keeps going, bending further to the right, finding a hall that opens into a cavernous room, easily over 100' in length. She says this room is huge and the ceiling is very tall. She doesn't see anyone, but she can't see the opposite side of the room. It's probably best I come back. I don't know what could be lurking in here. There is something that looks like it has been drug through here, maybe 8-10' wide, but she's unsure what it is. She makes her way back toward the entrance, asking what we'd like to do. We discuss it shortly. Rory hands it off to Lim Dul since he has the best ideas, and just blindly agrees to whatever he says. Freya comes back, reverts to her normal form, and walks into the tavern. We plan to post watches to keep an eye on the types of traffic going in and out of the cellar. Rory asks about how long a person normally stays in a watering hole like this. He starts formulating a plan about how we can stay as long as we're paying for drinks, but we can't go too long before getting too drunk to actually watch clearly, etc. But then, ol' Lim Dul once again cuts him off and says we should take turns, four hours on watch, then back to the tavern, etc., saying essentially what Rory was getting at on his own. Kemurial says he thinks Lim Dul has a great plan and agrees with him. A visibly and verbally annoyed Rory says something along the lines of "OH YEAH GREAT IDEA LIM DUL. YOU'VE YET AGAIN COME UP WITH A GREAT PLAN! THAT BIT YOU SAID WE GOT SIDETRACKED ON DEFINITELY NOT WAS I WAS GETTING AT TO BEGIN WITH. YES, LET'S DO THAT!" and immediately turns around and heads back to the tavern, saying "COME GET ME WHEN ITS MY WATCH!"
• During our watches, we see just a few folks entering, at least a couple tieflings and a skaven.
• We discuss how to approach this. Among all the ideas, including posing as exterminators responding to a call from someone on the inside that spiders have been sighted there, we eventually settle on being as stealthy as possible and just making our way through the hidden location.
• We retcon a bit and have Freya use Sending to send a message to the ship's captain thanking him for his willingness to meet with us, but there has been a development and more pressing matters require our attention.
• We make preparations. Rory purchases a Potion of Invisibility to help him stealthily move.
• We make our way into the cellar. Rory downs his Potion of Invisibility.
• As we make it to the ladder, we begin hearing the crumbling of stone to either side of us. The stone falls away, revealing dozes of tiny mutated creatures, and a skaven wearing a gas mask appears at the top of the ladder. It throws down a vial of green stuff down onto the landing, causing it to shatter right in between us all. A noxious green cloud erupts at our feet. INITIATIVE!!!
  • Friar Karl casts Guardian of Faith and places it near the southern swarm of nurglings.
  • One of the nurgling swarms envelops Freya in an attempt to attack, but Freya is able to shake it off by using Shield.
  • Lim Dul is the first to find out what this gas cloud is all about as he needs to make a save on his turn. It's a poisonous cloud.
  • One swarm attempts to attack Rory, but misses. Rory takes damage from the poisonous cloud. Rory makes his attacks, but the necrotic damage from his sword doesn't seem to have any effect, and they seem resistant to slashing damage. Good to know. Rory then proceeds to hold his breath in preparation for the cloud's expansion.
  • Kemurial does massive damage thanks to his Flame Blade. Nice!
  • The last of the nurglings are easily taken out. Combat over.
• Rory climbs the ladder before breathing again.
• We come across the cart we saw from before. Rory finds one legible book written in Abyssal. It's full of dark secrets of plagues and diseases. Rory also finds a Potion of Climbing.
• Rory takes the lead again, coming upon the huge cavern he and Freya saw from before. With Rory's extended darkvision, he points out a couple of raised platforms and stalagmites. This reminds Rory of the ropers we've seen before and warns the group about them even though things seem normal here. We venture deeper into the cavernous room. We don't see much of anything in here, so we continue.
• Ahead through the passage on the other side of the cavernous room, we come across a very large set of wooden doors. Behind them we hear the sound of clanking, like metal on metal. As we approach, the clanking gets louder. Suddenly, the doors burst open toward us. A giant wooden wheel with spikes and electricity begins speeding toward us. It's a Doomwheel. Good thing Rory's got these Potions of Speed!

That's it for this session!

Adventure Loot

• Book of secrets of diseases and plagues written in Abyssal
• Potion of Climbing (Friar Karl)