So shit continues to happen. But on a more personal front, this company wants to publish my novels. I've been focusing on writing those, and I'll be focusing on them for a while. But this blog will continue. I already have some help.
So, we started exploring the undead infested portion of the forge. We managed to find a dwarven shrine containing Durgeddin's body, as well as a wight and some skeletons. Life drain sucks. Usually the life out of you. Ask Phox. Kyla seems to have the worst luck with these: first Tathora now Phox.
Then we found a ghostly dwarf when Hoggle peaked into a room. It used a feature called horrifying visage to age Hoggle and Phox 40 years. Hoggle, being a gnome, didn't care so much, but Phox is now 60. Then the ghost possessed Hoggle. And started attacked Hiro. We used some percussive exorcism to knock the ghost out of him. After we banished it, we took a short rest.
Most of the rest of this area contained smashed furniture and and dwarf skeletons. Rooms full of nightmares are best not gone into, so we left them alone. We came upon a nice, fancy bedroom with a suspiciously well described rug. Lydia nudged it with mage hand and of course it sprang to life. Hiro watched Aladdin too many times as a child (How is that possible? Reasons!) and tried to ride him. So it did what rugs of smothering do: wrapped him up and tried to smother him. We beat the rug and moved on.
The next interesting thing we came across was a library where a suspiciously beautiful woman was reading at a table. Phox talked to her, and learned her name was Idalla and that she was trapped in that room by a wizard living somewhere below us. She wanted us to go and kill the wizard and free her. In the meantime, Phox and Squiz examined a few books. Lydia, feeling a little deceptive, told Idalla we already had killed the wizard. Whether or not Idalla believed the lie, she chose that moment to reveal herself as a succubus and cast charm. Lydia was a little miffed at her friends hurting her new BFF, but she laid a deadly smooch on Lydia, knocking her out. Phox got a little miffed by this, and grappled the demon. The demon just charmed Hiro, instead. Hoggle handed out some bardic inspiration, then dropped silence to prevent Hiro from casting spells. But Phox finally dropped the demon.
After we recovered, we found a series of secret doors that ended at a natural cavern at the lip of chasm with a rope ladder leading down into it. We climbed down to a muddy waterfall pool. Lydia identified the tracks in the mud as belonging to a dragon.
We probably should have taken a long rest before continuing. But screw that, we're adventurers! Also, Alec let us level to 5 and granted us the benefit of a long rest for leveling. A narrow beach around an underground lake with an island heaped with treasure. Seems totally safe. We crossed a crumbly bridge, separating the party when it collapsed after Squiz crossed. Then the dragon, a black dragon, struck by sticking it's head out of the water and breathing it's line of acid. It dropped Vrinn and Hoggle on the first round.
Alec just made an unconsciounable number of recharge rolls on that breath weapon. It was able to use it almost every round.
Lydia used a scroll of spider climb to use the walls and ceiling to get around the bridge. Hiro made everyone invisible again after another wild magic surge. This included the dragon. It didn't last long, the dragon breathed again. The most beneficial effect we got, however, was when Hiro's surge cast fly on Squiz. He flew to the island and found a wand of magic missiles in the dragon's hoard. Then Hiro got breathed on and got dropped. Phox and Tog managed to use a Healer's Kit and potions to revive or stabilize people, getting Hoggle back on his feet, who was able to get Vrinn back on his feet. Then the dragon breathed again and killed Hoggle outright.
Lydia broke out a new spell hunger of Hadar, to create an area of icky, tentacly, whispery blackness that finally smoked the dragon out of the water. Tog finally got the killing blow, and Hiro stabilized on his own.
We hauled Hoggle back to town for resurrection, since we had the money now, thanks to the dragon's hoard.
Next week, Tomb of Annihilation begins. It's gonna be fun!
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