WitW - Session 39
We open on Jeatz, who had just exploded in a ball of magical darkness. Odegaard entered, dispelling the darkness with powerful magic. He mentioned that Jordigan Duskweaver needed to be reeducated, as The Eclipse was becoming a problem. Jeatz was thrown into an anti-magic cell, completely cut off from the wild magic he once wielded.
Meanwhile, the party awoke in the green dragon's lair and began their journey toward Lightwatch. Along the way, Almyre realized she was now proficient in Common, and Glitter took another step toward mastering her new armor. Ty turned into a horse to hasten their travel.
As they pressed forward at a quick pace, they were ambushed by a Roc. The massive bird immediately knocked Ty out of her horse form. Leaping into action, Horace jumped onto the Roc's back while Ty cast danger-close magic. The Roc repeatedly flew high into the sky, attempting to drop Horace to his doom. Slowly but surely, the party chipped away at the creature, with Horace dealing incredible amounts of damage while Ty and Almyre served as distractions.
Almyre had a close call when the Roc held her unconscious body. Fortunately, the ever-bold Ty gave Almyre the kiss of life, using a mouthful of healing potion after skillfully dropping her eagle wild shape.
The battle ended with Horace landing the final blow, aided by Almyre’s Haste. The Roc was still airborne, but thanks to Almyre's Feather Fall, Horace appeared to use his halberd as a control stick in the Roc's brain, gliding the massive bird gently to the ground. (And, of course, Horace couldn’t help but utter his catchphrase: "Finally, I Dwyane'd the Roc’s health.")
Horace claimed the Roc's talons for his growing trophy collection, and the party resumed their journey. They were slightly delayed as Horace recovered from exhaustion after Haste dropped.
On the seventh day of travel, they reached Lightwatch, stopping to explore the small village beneath the towering 15,000-foot plateau that housed the massive Lightwatch Tower.
At Lou’s shop, they gathered some juicy intel. Odegaard's party had carried a dead Jeatz and another blindfolded man to the tower. Lou also explained that Solarians and clerics could teleport to the top of the plateau using special magic, but everyone else had to endure the full day’s walk up the spiral path. Lou mentioned a cavern halfway up the mountain with an inn and brewery, located just beneath the Deathspan—a mysterious bridge to nowhere on the plateau. After buying food and refreshments from Lou, the party ensured he wouldn’t tattle (Glitter confirmed that Lou fell asleep immediately).
As they climbed the mountain, they saw many downtrodden people trekking back down as the sun set. They stopped at the halfway house, an inn named The Dwarf’s Beard, to rest for the night.
Kerchek, the innkeeper, was very welcoming and allowed Horace to stay with him since the inn only had room for Almyre and Ty. The party lied, claiming that Almyre was interested in joining the Church of Melchior. They waited for two other patrons to leave—one on his own volition, the other after Horace won a chess match (despite being called a "silly boy" by his opponent). Ty observed the game and quickly picked it up, proceeding to absolutely wipe the floor with Horace in her first match.
Drunk and defeated, Horace was escorted to Kerchek's house for the night. This gave Almyre an opportunity to investigate the Dwarvish script behind the bar. The inscription hinted at a secret passage behind the stone, but the secret wasn’t in the inn itself.
Almyre snuck into Kerchek’s house and discovered a loose brick concealing a riddle. She woke Ty, who immediately solved it. A slightly larger brick emerged from the stone wall with Dwarvish script engraved on it. The larger brick fit perfectly into the hole left by the loose brick.
With a loud thud, the wall began to move—and Kerchek awoke.
