Criminal Quandaries - S2
The Scar’s Guard found themselves in the basement of his hideout. Gola voiced his displeasure with their handling of the situation on the path. He asked them to skip town and go steal an artifact from a reclusive druidic community. Kaige reached an agreement with Gola that if they executed the job well, they could get paid. Faruck Noir, the quartermaster, gave them some provisions to accomplish the mission. A speak with plants scroll and a driftglobe later, they were on the road to the community. They were, however, recognized by a pair of sisterly bounty hunters who just left their mother’s house. Kaige and Yeet worked together to take down the older sister, and with Yeet’s help, Bastle was able to deal some damage singing Eye of the Tiger, which Yeet made up on the spot. After whittling them down, Gus offered to save their mother. Gus kept his word, but the party killed older sister, after she murdered her own sibling. Gus was unable to save their mother and gave her last rites.
Scar’s Guard found the hidden path a little further down the road. An Icy wind from the mountain above came down and cleared the path ahead. Gus used his scroll to speak with plants and heard a screaming tree that ended up falling and impaling them. They finally reached the village to find no one there. Bastle and Kaige snuck around the side alley. Yeet rolled a perfect rendition of Wonderwall with an excellent crescendo. The Elder of the village came out to greet them. Through some convincing, Yeet was able to convince the Elder he had a curse that needs curing and the magic of the forest led him there.
Meanwhile, Kaige and Bastle subtly and expertly killed the halfling druids hiding around, though one was able to make a red flower grow on a nearby bush which warned the elder. The Elder used meld to stone. Suddenly his staff was thrown from a nearby bush and from it grew a huge vine Golemn. Scar’s Guard dispatched it without much trouble. It left behind the elder’s staff, which Bastle guided into the stone statue. Once done a huge magical pulse extended through the ground and the illusory forest behind the village disappeared to reveal a large temple.
They walked up the stairs receiving levels of exhaustion. Three names were carved into the sconces on top of the temple, and a mystery was to be solved. An ethereal voice guided them into the temple warning that many had died and none had succeeded.
They passed the first test with a clever use of Faerie fire from Yeetsham that showed the shadows attacking were only illusions. They proceeded to the second level and were cured of one level of their exhaustion. The second level was full of chests they told the story of the Lover after his dearest died. Kaige found a book of memories in the chest and has been cursed to carry it or die. The final level was a series of questions, which the party all got wrong in the first round. The voice compelled them to walk into the void in the center of the room.
