Session 3: Waking up with the feel of malice in the air Report

Rude Awakening   You are abruptly awakened by a sense of foreboding and an almost palpable chill. As your eyes adjust to the dim light, you notice the flickering shadows cast by the moonlight. The room seems eerily quiet, and a strange, unsettling feeling grips you. Suddenly, a faint, almost inaudible chanting reaches your ears, sending shivers down your spine. As you look up, you see it—a grotesque figure clinging to the ceiling, blending almost perfectly with the shadows. Its body, composed of fine spider-silk, glistens faintly in the moonlight. Four arms and four legs extend outward, giving it an otherworldly, nightmarish appearance.   The creature's faceless head turns slightly, and you feel its hatred radiating towards the elf in your party. It's a Lesser Lunarchidna, and it has found you. The room's atmosphere is thick with tension, the air cold and filled with the faint, unsettling sound of the Lunarchidna's chanting. Shadows flicker across the walls, creating an eerie, almost hypnotic effect as the players brace for the imminent attack.   At the same time as it lunges and bites into Ellyrian Starchaser shoulder, making Caoimhe go ballistic and try jump up to pull down the lunarchidna, you hear scuttering in the shadows and a door opening.   Cairn Macdui casts Inflict wounds after rushing up to the Lunarchidna, making it scream through a shapelesss mouth on a featureless face followed by Mozdemir  who grabs the creature pulling it away from Ellyrian Starchaser and the party and towards the hallway lit by a fire...   ... When the lesser lunarchidna sees/ fears the fire it panics and Mozdemir  gets an idea in his head.  

Thoran joins in

The door opening is Thoran Grimwood rushign out to see what the noise is only to be confronted with a wolf spider attacking him, both try and hit each other.. both missing.   Mozdemir  at this point slams the Lunarchidna into the fire, where its spider silken caccoon of a body sets aligt instantly causing it significant damage and howling, wriggling to escape but it fails against the grim grip of Mozdemir  each second causing him harm due to the flames burning his hand as well.    Cairn Macdui casts divine flame onto the wolf spider that is attacking Thoran Grimwood followed up by Ellyrian Starchaser casting Sheillelagh and thursting her quarterstaff through the Wolf Spider.   

"Thank the gods you're here! We must drive these abominations out before they destroy everything! This inn has secrets, dark ones, and I fear these creatures are drawn to them." - Thoran

  The Lesser Lunarchidna still in the flames finally dies. Ellyrian Starchaser pushes Thoran on what he meant by the dark secrets of the Inn and he agrees to tell them, over a drink downstairs. He clearly needs on and he does own a bar....  

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The Restless Spirit of The Shadowed Oaken Inn

  Thoran invites them down to the bar, pours himself a drink and opens up. Telling them he was a blacksmith, had lost his wife to elven raiders during his migration and how when he first got to the inn. There was little here in Mareford . Just soldiers building the tower and fortifying the portal, mentioning he was certain Hilda Thornberry was with them at that time.   And then opening up about Lyria Duskbane how she had started asking him to help around the inn, little tasks like creating nails and brackets for repairs. Then moving on to stranger items like shackles (for monsters coming through the portal she promised)   One night he heard screams, investigating he found out about the secrets under the inn and in a fight killed Lyria. With her dying breath, she cursed him and bound herself to the inn. He finishes by saying he hasn't been down since and that Mareford has sprung up around the inn. Hilda may know more about Lyria but if they want to investigate further they should rest from tonight's adventures before trying.   He ends by telling Cairn Macdui , I don't know what god you follow son, but no God would support what was happening down there. This flares a response for smiting and zealous energy from Cairn that makes Moz uncomfortable.