Saralas: Session 56

5 Elient, Morning

• We are in Elodie's cabin
• Plan is to meet up with Wodna near the entrance to the underdark
• The box doesn't sound quite right, it probably wants another magical contribution
• I tell Elodie if something comes up she may be OK in Lonelywood, and about Sahas and Nimsy, and they may be able to help out in Goodmead as well.
• We head out on the dogsleds
• It's still early morning when we leave, following our map and memory towards the entrance to the underdark
• Along the way we meet a frost druid, who seems friendly. They seem surprised to find a party traveling out here in the lonely place, and wants to know where we are headed
• Resda says "to meet a friend". He seems suspicious
• He says he has spent the last several months studying the coldlight walkers
  • He's been able to identify some of them as having been villagers
  • Something is clearly turning them. Perhaps Auril?
  • Resda relays what she saw, a Roc dropping bodies and Auril turning them into coldlight walkers
  • He muses out loud, will killing Auril kill the coldlight walkers?
  • Resda describes who she saw, and that though she was invisible the woman looked at her
  • "Truesight" he says
  • He tells us that coldlight walkers can't swim, and he's killed a few by luring them into the water. "They go in and they don't come out"
  • His name is Karax (Cairax?)
  • He is a member of the Circle of Frost, and they draw power from the cold
  • They are often confused for allies of Auril, but he assures us that evil is not in his nature
  • He asks Resda to describe where she saw the coldlight walkers, then takes his leave
• We travel for a few more hours, and as we approach the entrance to the underdark we see hoot flying around. Wodna is sitting on a rock eating a fresh apple
• She doesn't like that Korag was in her head
• "Neirth is an absolute asshole", she said, but nevertheless she has gathered around 100 militia which may be able to help support with attack from above the fortress
• She has also hired some contractors with an excellent reputation for getting things done. Their objective is to make sure the dragon is not activated and to recover any materials related to it as quickly as possible.
• We discuss for a while our approach for the attack. It seems like maybe we should go first and secure the entrance. Can we approach without being seen?
• Wodna says the Deurgar don't usually have Truesight
• She asks where is the box. Leigh&Co makes them, or at least were going to be making them. But what I describe doesn't sound right. They don't eat magical objects.
• They are supposed to be powered with Black Ice charges
• She demands we take her to the box
• We decide to head back to the cabin, Wodna in tow
• With Hoot scouting ahead we are easily able to avoid a small group of coldlight walkers, with Wodna's help to avoid the undead
• We make our return to the cabin, Elodie opens the door and welcomes us in, she has been cooking
• I introduce Elodie to Wodna
• Wodna is very unhappy. She walks over to the box, frowning. She takes a small leather bound notebook and starts riffling through its pages, comparing notes with the writing on the side of the box.
• After a moment, she gets even paler than she was before "you all need to leave, right now", and vanishes
• Elodie absolutely refuses to leave, no amount of talking will seem to convince her. She starts getting angry.
• Korag Messages Wodna "what exactly is the danger?"
• "That box is on my desk back in Easthaven"
• Saralas is trying to drag Elodie out and she is angrily resisting
• Suddenly Saralas is a fox, Karthos lunches but he dances out of the way then tries to pull Elodie out of the door
• Now everyone is screaming. While everyone is screaming, Bun pops his head out. Chittering, almost laughing, he flies into the cabin door, and lands on the box
• The box begins to devour Bun in a magical light, he is glowing in magical energy in a bright white and pink light
• The box is glowing purple and red, the two items seem to be at war with each other
• Min runs back inside
• Bun is now levitating above the box, motes of light swirling everywhere
• Resda rushes in, invisible, and grabs the kids
• Elodie punches where Resda is
• While this happens, a magical light bursts, and Bun flies across the room
• Where the box was, is now a pink and purple egg, glued to the floor in a viscous slime
• Korag would believe this is an egg from an abysmal abomination that has no place on the material plane. It most likely belongs to a magical horror, and probably consumes magic in order to hatch
• We are probably in a nest, and from the scale of the egg the creatures would probably be quite large
• Saralas the fox is yipping loudly, he hears something coming.
• He's still trying to pull Elodie outside
• Outside, a large creature that was invisible becomes visible and grabs Min
• Saralas switches to trying to push Elodie away from the door
• Korag smashes the egg. From outside there is a terrible ungodly shriek
• Saralas turns back into himself and readies his bow for an attack, going to attack whatever monster he can see
• He hears screaming and crashing outside, tells Elodie to stay back and away from windows, and pokes his head out the door. He sees Resda's beholderkin but not her, and nothing else. He readies his bow, scanning for the monster
• Korag comes running around the corner
• Resda appears and runs for the dogsleds
• The creature appears next to Resda. Saralas looses his arrows into the monster for a total of 21 damage
• He sees Min and Resda trying to leave and goes back inside to try to get his family to come with, but they are too scared to move. He picks up Elodie but Mari and Willow are not moving. He calls for help.
• Resda kills the creature, and from somewhere behind the cabin we hear an awful screech. We see a second, smaller creature fly off and disappear.
• We watch warily but nothing seems to happen. The cabin is still there.
• The creature was a Balhannoth. It typically casts an illusion representing the victim's desires, but the illusions are typically crude and these were not.