Hollows Last Hope

[Aaronmoze]

The creature is tied up about 10ft from the tree trunk.

[BigPo73]

Okay question the beast to see why he attacked us.

[Aaronmoze]

You can’t speak it’s language.

[BigPo73]

Examine the elder tree for the moss

[Aaronmoze]

You find a patch of eldermoss and easily remove and store it. Gemria says, “That creature came from the tree. I wonder if anything else is up there?”

[BigPo73]

Ask the paladin if these creatures have anything to do with the plague. If not, I don’t think we should waste another moment and begin looking for the other ingredients

[Aaronmoze]

” I don’t know anything about this creature.” She checks on the fox and then mounts her horse.
The two of you head off toward the old woman’s hut. It’s 1 pm on day two.


The sounds of the forest become suddenly distant as the trees part, opening into a small, almost perfectly circular glade. The nearest stands of pine, eyln, and darkwood—all typically sturdy woods—twist away from the clearing, as if bent by some impossibly strong wind or seemingly in an attempt to ee despite their paralyzed roots. At the glade’s center squats an ugly cottage, little more than a pile of twigs, shoots, and ivy stacked upon mud walls. From the thatched roof dangle bundles of gnarled roots, old dried beast carcasses, and knucklebone bangles, all clattering together like gruesome wind chimes. A dozen small thatched fetishes—each shaped like a tiny man, imp, or rearing serpent—stand propped in the yard, keeping guard before a rickety plank door. This clearing is roughly 120 feet in diameter, with a dilapidated, circular, 15-foot cottage at its center. Fourteen unnerving but harmless 3-foot-tall scarecrow-like effigies are propped-up throughout the glade.

[BigPo73]

Ask the paladin what or who could behind the plague as there seems to be forces working against us...slowly approach the cottage being mindful for traps

[Aaronmoze]

”I have not felt an evil intent focused on us specifically other than the normal pitfalls of adventuring. “

You slowly approach the house. You don’t see any traps or objects that seem overtly threatening. You stand before the rickety plank door.

Roll 1d20 to try to break open the door.

[BigPo73]

Rolled a 12

[Aaronmoze]

You easily push the door aside. Gemria steps through first. Inside, the cottage is dank, reeking, and filled with shadows. Haphazardly hung shelves line the walls, covered in all manner of clay jugs, clouded bottles, strangely cut rocks, rotted bunches of herbs, and a museum of other crude curios and rem nants of a bone grinder’s artifice. A rusted iron cauldron, with a mouth nearly 5 feet wide and a depth of at least 3 feet, domi- nates the hut’s single room, its ash-covered surface shaped with a relief of capering ends and leering devils. Across from the door, against the far walls, stands a highbacked chair made of wicker, the gigantic curved tusks of some monstrous beast, and thousands of human teeth. In the chair sits what looks like a corpse wrapped in lthy burial linens, its form padded with pungent herbs and sprouting patches of thick white mold.

[BigPo73]

Perception check 6+7

[Aaronmoze]

This ominous shape is actually only a bundle of branches, mud, and linen.

You jump a little as you hear a commotion behind you. As you wheel around you see a blur of steel and iron. It takes you a second to realize that Gemria is being attacked by the CAULDRON!

Initiative order:
Cauldron
John
Gemria

Cauldron misses Gemria

[BigPo73]

Cast true strike

[Aaronmoze]

Gemria swings, but her sword glances off the side. The cauldron is finding it hard to hit through her armor.

You feel your nails grow and become sharper and stronger, becoming claws. A guttural growl issues from your chest as you strike at the cauldron. Your attacks seem guided and hit true. -7hp.

Gemria and the cauldron both miss.

[BigPo73]

Attack with claws rolled a 3

[Aaronmoze]

The battle continues with each of you flailing at each other :)

[BigPo73]

Cast true strike

[Aaronmoze]

Gemria puts a huge dent in the side of the cauldron. -4hp

The cauldron misses Gemria.

You have 2 level one spells left.

-5 hp on cauldron

Through the battle you know the AC to hit is 14

[Aaronmoze]

The cauldron misses but Gemria hits for -7 hp

You miss and almost poke your own eye out. 3/6 rounds of claws left.

Gemria and cauldron both miss.

[Aaronmoze]

Gemria smashes the cauldron and it shatters to pieces at her feet.

[BigPo73]

Begin searching the hut for the ingredient needed for the cure (deleted the google doc app so forget what the exact name is)

[Aaronmoze]

After searching for 10 minutes you find the rat tail in a jar. After dealing with the cauldron, you feel there is probably more magic items here, so you cast detect magic. You see faint auras around the room, probably from past powerful spells or items. Following one of the faint auras you find a small shrunken head that looks like an amulet. You find nothing else of value.

You still need ironbloom mushrooms, a dwarven delicacy. It’s 8pm on the second day.

[BigPo73]

Work with the paladin to resecure the door as we’ll eat dinner and sleep on the cabin before making our way for the third ingredient at daylight

[Aaronmoze]

You are able to secure the door relatively well. Your sleep is not disturbed as nothing wants to approach the hut. However, you have strange dreams of a large wolf.

The next morning you wake. The Paladin prays and you enter your meditation trance to renew your spells.

It is 8am on the third day.

[BigPo73]

Mount up and begin our journey toward the dwarven monastery to acquire the third ingredient.

[Aaronmoze]

You travel through the darker parts of the forest heading toward the mountains. Sitting squat at the foot of an imposing moun- tain, a ruined monastery comes into view between ancient gnarled trees. Made of simple stone blocks, worn smooth with the passage of time, the stout building is falling apart. Sec- tions of the slanted shale roof have collapsed and portions of the outer wall have crumbled. Weeds and wild thorn plants run rampant across the eld leading up to the place, leaving only the slightest indication of a path that ends at the ruined front doors. Beyond, an overgrown yard sits in shadow.

[BigPo73]

We dismount and proceed to the front door where we knock

[Aaronmoze]

The old path that leads up to the ruins ends about 50 feet from the monastery. Before entering the yard, the path passes between a pair of old stone statues. While one of them is little more than rubble, the other is relatively intact. The 5-foot- tall statue is incredibly worn but it can still be made out as a dwarf holding aloft a great stone hammer. Moss and creeper vines cover most of its surface. Removing the vines around the base uncovers an old dwarven inscription that reads “All praise, [this part is defaced].” Unfortunately, the missing name was scratched off a long time ago and is no longer legible.

Tall grasses and chunks of stone debris have all but overtaken this small yard. Off to one side, a wooden stable has collapsed into a mound of rotting timbers and moldy straw. The outer wall on the east side has also collapsed, leaving a ragged hole. Three doors exit into this yard— a pair of double doors to the east, a single door to the north, and a lone door leading into the squat tower in the southeast corner.

[BigPo73]

Head towards and Closely examine the double doors (perception roll 2)