Summon Forth the Unicorn
This castle goes on and on. We only just killed Cyanwrath several missions too late.
The bullywugs try to charge into the shrine room, but Luke standing in the doorway prevents any of them from getting in.
Pharblex finishes his spell, and huge plants explode out of the shrine room's floors and walls, making movement difficult.
I misty step past from the hallway into the main part of the shrine room, so that I can get a good view of Pharblex and his minions, and I unleash a fireball upon them.
Pharblex casts another spell and the plant growth expands even more blocking our view of him completely, as will as growing massive thorns.
I go back over to the arrow slits, and misty step to the causeway below, to try to head him off if he flees. It looks like he would have a hard time heading this way though, as the vegetation blocks me from getting anywhere near where he was.
After several minutes the plant growth shrinks back down to a manageable level. We group back up and take care of the cultists in library area, before returning to the courtyard area.
We investigate several of the doorways. The first has a group of surprised lizardmen. We decide to let them be.
Alissa opens the next door, revealing a large group of bullywugs, who are briefly surprised, but charge Alissa. Shale shoves her out of harm's way, and I throw a fireball in the room, killing most of them.
More bullywugs come down the stairs, as well as Pharblex himself. Luke kills most of this group of bullywugs using some sort of sonic shatter spell, but Pharblex yet lives.
Pharblex leaps over Luke and Shale, and along with the few living bullywugs, knocks Luke and Alissa out cold. I throw a few firebolts at Pharblex, and glowing sword in hand, Shale finishes him off.
Shale deals with Luke and Alissa's wounds.
Inside the room, we find several chests of goods:
- A potion of healing
- An oil of etherealness
- A 500 pound chest full of copper coins
- Another chest with 500 silver
- Two chest of cheap jewelry
We also find another chest upstairs, which Alissa unlocks. Inside are silver and electrum jewelry of various types, which seem to be much more valuable. We fill our packs to bursting from this chest, but barely make a dent.
Alissa goes exploring again, and finds that there are 8 very large lizards in the next room over They seem very interested in some stalls of meat, so don't notice Alissa.
Next up, the opening that seems to lead to another area still has a trio of drakes.
Alissa also returns to the great hall area, and almost takes a spear to the face, barely closing the door in time.
We rest for a bit, and then decide we should take on the drakes, but we'll attack them for a distance and lure them towards us, taking pot shots at them before ducking into a building.
The plan succeeds handily.
We explore the area previously occupied by the drakes. unclouded by cataracts of hate
One point of interest is a rotted out tower, which has been turned into a garbage pit. There are some stairs leading up, so we decide to investigate.
Shale and Luke try to throw Alissa to the stairs, which are on the opposite of the garbage pit, but as they do, a tentacle bursts from the muck and grabs Alissa from the air. Alissa manages to break free from the tentacle, and make it to the edge, where Luke and Shale quickly fish Alissa out of the garbage again.
Alissa's wounds are rather nasty looking, but we patch her up best we can. We decide we should figure out what to do with the tower later.
We continue into a different tower, which is protected by a stout door. We break our way in.
This area seems to be barely used, with tables and benches. There's another door but we don't mention that door and a stairs leading up.
We go up the stairs, finding an office with a small hearth and a writing desk with a padded chair behind it.
Alissa takes a peak at the desk and finds some papers. They're written in draconic, which Shale can read.
It seems to be a list of materials, and seems pretty ordinary, except for a name. "Dralmorrer Borngray" There is also some papers with his name on it that seems to be legal papers dealing with the sale of the keep to a "Charter of Tiamat". It also mentions being sold from Waterdeep.
We go to the next floor, and see a strange magical device in the center of the room.
Before we have a chance to look closer, four gargoyles explode through the tower walls in a cloud of splinters and stone.
We defend ourselves aggressively. I put a shield up to protect myself against one of them, and a unicorn appears. It waves its unicorn at us as if trying to determine our intentions, and then vanishes.
Shortly later, we hear screams from downstairs which are abruptly silenced.
We manage to pierce the gargoyle's stony skin, and destroy them all.
With the gargoyle's vanquished, we get a chance to look at the device closer, but we have no idea what it is. The best we can tell, it is a weird telescopic device, but it has strange ruins and strange dials, and we decide its best left alone. This very room feels held up as if by magic.
Shale is interested in the "poop monster" tower, and suggests sending Alissa over to investigate. But after finally getting Alissa over, Shale has a bad feeling and has Alissa come back over.
Apparently there's some really rotten undead in there.
Chad also expresses annoyance at the length of this castle, and tells us the unicorn killed a few things for us.
We go back downstairs, and investigate the rooms we had gone past before. In the first one we find a slain elf, who seems to have died from multiple puncture wounds to the face and chest.
The elf has a sword, and Shale tries to pick it up, but it burns so she drops it, before wrapping it in a sheathe. However, the sword seems to be burning through the sheathe.
There's also a strongbox which Shale found on the elf, which is quickly unlocked. Inside is 200 gold, 200 silver and ten precious stones 100g each oh god I feel like an accountant.
There's two more treasure rooms, but we decide we need to take a long rest because it has been a long day...