Torwynn’s Tales 1

The party continue on through the forest. They hear a whisper in the winds to alert them that they are looking for a night blossom. As they ponder to what this even looks like, or where they heard it from, they are surprised by another round of spiders!
 
The surrounding cocoons erupt to reveal swarms of baby spiders!
Torwynn takes out the closest spider to her in her restrained brown bear form by biting and swiping at her claws.
Kragg takes a reckless swipe of his trusty axe and lands a critical hit! He takes a hefty amount of damage but the gross spider still looks great. How is this possible? He must be a big daddy! Some of his little buddies come in to defend their papa. The swarm closes in and attacks Thal. He takes a heavy hit!
Meanwhile, a large beastie attacks Kragg and shoots web to restrain him.
Thal casts an awesome spiritual weapon but misses miserably.
Another swarm of the pesky spider babies goes to attack Bort’s nifty mechanical cannon and climb into all the little nooks and crannies. Torwynn turns her head to bite and swipe at the swarm of babies behind her. She swallows them up like a whale guzzling plankton. Rynaar uses his staff to trip over a giant spider who has crept up behind him. The force of his blow leaves the spider with 4 broken spindly spider legs. Bort then offers support and sends a blow of fire at the giant spider. The party all smell the stench of barbequed Spider meat as it collapses to the floor. He then sends a signal to his cannon to also scorch another Spider who is with the baby spider swarm. Must be their mummy. In a reckless fit of rage, Kragg slices through the Ettacap he has been whittling down since the beginning. As it falls, Kragg grabs his head and grotesquely pulls out a bloody tooth. Guts and blood spill all over the clearing. Torwynn manages to free herself from the webs and makes a bolt towards the closest tree which she then climbs. Rynaar then advances towards Borts cannon to attack the spider’s mummy that is supervising the infesting swarm. He bludgeons it on the head with his staff and then hardboots it into the shrubbery. Bort then defends his cannon and shoots another round of fire blasts to thin the crowd surrounding it. He then whips out his slingshot and uses his JUST ONE of his new ball bearings to shoot with immense precision. The ball bearing is fired with such thought and consideration that it bounces off one spider at time until they are all knocked dead. Kragg swings another critical shot with his faithful axe to hit the closest spider. It takes a heck of a lot of damage but still remains standing. Thal takes a swing at the last giant spider remaining and slits through the plump abdomen. Kragg looks on in disappointment, the party swear they see a tear dribble down his cheek lamenting his stolen kill, but his sadness is promptly replaced by anger when Thal casts a healing potion to restore his health. Suddenly, Torwynn plunges down from the tree and as she does, opens her powerful jaws and lands on top of the spider below. Her teeth squeeze into the spiders abdomen and blood dribbles out of the puncture marks as the spider takes its last gasp. Hardly a hesitation, she then goes to swipe at the swarm of spiders also nearby. She thanks Thal who grants her some extra health. Kragg, in his reckless state, takes multiple swipes at the last remaining swarm of baby spiders. Thal looks around and sees the last remaining cocoon. He shoots a sacred flame in the general direction but without much precision so it misses. Perhaps he was too far away. Kragg then charges with speed at it with a crazed look in his eye. He swipes with his axe and the cocoon tumbles down. Luckily, this one must have been empty!
 
The air around the party becomes clearer and lighter. Bort whacks out his mysterious jug and runs his fingers slowly across the rim. Somehow it turns into honey! Torwynn comes bumbling up and quickly laps up the whole jug.
 
The party takes a short rest to restore health, and to pillage the webs. Torwynn finds an Amulet of the Brood Mother.
 
The party continue on. They stumble across a seemingly religious stone statue which exudes power. As they approach, the statue opens an eye and speaks in riddles about the balance of nature to allow them to pass. Being the druid she is, Torwynn immediately assumes the spotlight and answers almost instantaneously. Kragg jokes about her being a treehugger. The vines covering the wall dissipate into the Earth and allows access through. The party discover silvery blue mushrooms. Torwynn grabs a handful and Kragg without hesitation takes a bite. He tells us that his dark vision is extended. The party each takes one. The party also see sap oozing out of the ground. Torwynn recognises this as an ingredient with similar properties as a healing potion. She alerts Bort who collects this into his jug. Kragg spots some moss on the floor and again, without hesitation takes a bit. He feels more sneaky. Torwynn advances forward and pulls the tendrils out of a mysterious blossom in the center of the clearing, assuming this is what the party heard a whisper about earlier.
 
As they return to Tom, they see him with a weary smile. Torwynn presents the tendrils to him. His voice is thick with emotion and gratitude. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a worn charm - shaped like an oak leaf on a leather strap, a gilded acorn and a gilded flower. Torywnn snatches the gilded items out of his hands, chuffed she has finally gotten her hands on what she traveled to Eldbury for. The spiders were worth it! Tom asks about the moss. The party looks confused. Who picked it up? Thal quickly changes to subject to remind Tom he also promised him some of the quote-unquote ‘’good shit’’. He and Tom have a lengthy chat about the properties. The party hands Torwynn the amulet from Tom as its more beneficial to her (being a druid). The party ask Tom to make greater healing potions with the sap. They will be ready the next day.
 
The party then return to their brewery to rest. Kragg and Thal discuss religion jargon. Thal and Rynaar then smoke ‘’the good shit’’. Torywnn looks at her collection of shit. Bort tinkers with his bits and bobs. Whilst the party sleeps, Kragg has a dream. He meets Danté. When he wakes he is holding his red crystal which is quickly stashed away. He looks a little nervous and quietly takes a guzzle from his tankard.
 
The party travell to Old Tom once more to collect their potions. Kragg hesitantly asks about Danté. Tom recalls he is an ancient Demi-God but offers no further useful information. Not even when the party explain that they are on their way to Riverspire.
 
A days walk to the river later, the party arrive at a dock. They are greeted by a dodgy old man. With a very poor Wiltshire accent. Fisher Roger. The party small talk about fish to try and warm the man up and convince him into lending them a boat. Thal and Rynaar take the lead in negotiating a better deal for the boat. Torywnn is unimpressed with Fisher Roger so walks out of the house and sets off into the wild. She shifts into a cat to hunt some delicious mice for dinner, does a long stretch, climbs a tree and loafs until dawn. She wakes up barely hanging onto the branch in her human form.
 
The party wake up and set off in the boat. The day's journey is uneventful. The party moor their boat into a ledge to rest. Thal and Torywynn take turns to keep watch. Nothing happens. What a leisurely travel it has been! Another day passes, however, the party approach a fog on their third day of travel. There is a sharp, unnatural chill and the party spot a quaint hamlet perched on the river’s edge. A sense of wrongness washes over the party. There is a vote on board the ship on whether to investigate or leave it. The ayes have it. Upon pulling up to a boat house, it is evident that something dark happened here. Everything seems to have been mysteriously abandoned mid-task without cause. There are no signs of life.
 
Thal casts a spell which lets him see into the Ethereal Plane. He discovers there is something dodgy going on in the well situated in the town center. He warns the party and Kragg throws one of his prized axes down but it does not return. So much for loyalty! Bort discovers childrens drawings of haunched creatures and villagers with their eyes crossed out. Rynaar and Thal discovers dream catchers. The party begin to feel drowsy. Kragg and Bort have a horrifying dream. They dream of a Severus Snape/Gollum/Trickster-like figure. Bort is frightened awake but Kragg is hit by psychic damage due to the trauma he is experiencing. Rynaar, Thal and Torwynn continue to investigate. Thal finds rituals that allow the caster to bind their spirits to the Ethereal Plane. It looks like some dark shit as it requires blood sacrifice. Bort shocks Kragg awake just as Thal returns to relay to the party what he found. He volunteers as tribute to perform the ritual. The party hear a terrifying sound nearby. It sounds like a hag. Thal decides to perform the ritual sooner rather than later. He is greeted by what looks like the hag. She is truly a grotesque sight to behold and sounds super creepy. Her grin seems incredibly predatory.
 
Why is TBC ‘to be confirmed’, not ‘to be continued’?