Session 108

As the group reeled from the revelation that one of them would need to die to obtain the moss that would save so many lives, they stood in silence as they contemplated what needed to be done. However, without much hesitation, Merrick stepped forward toward the altar. Perhaps out of a desire to be free of The Deep One, he took the bowl and filled it, then stepped over to the tree and sat on the grass, and drank the water. He waited for a moment, wondering if it would hurt, and many other things, but was confused when after a few moments, the Loksela stepped over and ushered him to stand. Confused, Merrick did so and stood, and noticed a form hidden in the shadows of the darkness that surrounded them. As it approached, the female form emerged into the light, revealing an Elf with blonde hair and blue eyes. Though Merrick had never seen her before, Dain and Summer certainly had, and called out to Lys, wondering what was going on. Lys explained that she was sorry for the silly little trials, and that they were mostly to keep away any riff-raff who managed to stumble their way into the grove, but that the final trial was one of faith, and was meant to ensure that the group was ready to, should the need arise, give their lives for their cause. Lys held forth her hand and conjured some moss, handing it to Merrick, saying that she trusted he would do the right thing with it. She also confirmed that Valdor indeed was the key to the Elves' salvation, though he would not be welcome within the grove due to the nature of his abilities. Lys beckoned Merrick to save her children. Dain then approached, and asked a few questions as well. Lys made a remark that their group had met several of the Seven Sisters now, and noted it was curious, as most mortals never get to meet one. Dain expressed disappointment that he had not encountered Aellor during his time in Reshyk, to which Lys replied that he had, though not in the form he might have expected, and cryptically commented that Aellor was "not herself" at the moment. She then went to take her leave of them, thanking them for their continued defense of the peoples of Arak, and walked off into the darkness. As she walked off, Dain asked the Loksela to direct them to the exit, and the Loksela cocked his head confused and said "Exit?", after which Dain noticed that they were once again in the grove where they began, having not even noticed the transition. The group bid the Loksela farewell and walked off into the treeline, quickly being enveloped by the mists.

As the mists gave way, the group found themselves at the edge of the forest looking out over the plains north of Valensir. Walking out onto the open road, they noticed Valdor emerge from the treeline looking frustrated and confused. He approached and seemed to be unaware of the passage of time the group had just experienced and believed they had gotten lost and ejected by the anomaly. However, Dain clarified that they had not and that Lys had said he was not welcome in the grove, which he immediately understood and accepted. Merrick then produced the moss, showing Valdor, who was relieved. He lamented that there was not time to rest, but that they would need to make their way to Thenaphor, and then the Axalrea Hinterlands as soon as possible, as every moment was important. The group agreed and set out for Thenaphor. Along the road as they were nearing Baltacanath, they witnessed a Forgeborn, apparently a former Render, being "harassed", or rather attacked, by three Elves brandishing blades. However, the Forgeborn simply danced around them, with them being unable to even come close to landing a single hit upon them. The Forgeborn made a quip about how if one of the Elves' lack of proficiency extended to other areas of his life, he was sorry for his wife, which greatly angered the man. They continued this dance until the Elves began to tire, at which point they took up their blades and stormed off, shouting that they would return, to which the Forgeborn said he was looking forward to it, and turned to move down the road in the party's direction. Dain approached the Forgeborn and asked how it was so well-spoken and proficient despite so many others being childlike and naïve, to which the Forgeborn remarked it was likely due to his level of exposure to society, as many Forgeborn unfortunately were thrown out of cities immediately and forced to fend for themselves in the wilderness, not being given the chance to learn about the world. However, this Forgeborn, who introduced himself as Grit, had apparently been taken in by kindly folk who taught him their language and about the world, giving him books to read. He had also had his bladed arms removed and replaced with primitive hands, which he lamented were very clumsy, though not nearly as clumsy as having blades for arms and nothing to grab things with. Dain told Grit of who he was and his role as the Forgeborn's creator, and offered to give him new hands, to which Grit graciously accepted. Dain used some of his spare parts from the Steel Defender to craft some new hands more suited to this Forgeborn's frame. Grit thanked Dain, and Dain asked what Grit was doing. Grit replied that he was searching for other Forgeborn who had been cast out in the hopes of establishing a Forgeborn colony where they could be safe from the wilderness and the "filthy goblins", and be given the chance to learn. Intrigued, Dain pointed him in the direction of Fort Elden, telling him that he believed he would get along well with Tamas due to their shared hatred of goblins. He also gave him a magical flail that he had no use for so that he could protect himself. Grit thanked him and marched off in the direction of Mythwell.

Finally arriving in Thenaphor after two months, the group took in the familiar surroundings, recalling hearing rumors of travelers being bitten on the road, spirits on the mountains, and the hunters that had gone missing in the hinterlands the last time they had been here. As they walked the streets, they took in the scent of Frostfire Berries from the local meadery and as a Human woman passed by the group with a toddler in tow, she did a double take and turned to call out to them. She relayed a story of her husband going missing in the forest years ago, which Dain remembered and confirmed that he was the one who had rescued her husband's hunting partner. He apologized for not being able to save her husband, but she thanked him for all he had done, and told him that the hunters had been avoiding the hinterlands for some time because the corruption which had blighted the trees and plant life around Aubron's tower, The Obelisk, had begun to spread to consume a large swath of the hinterlands. She said that there was also a strange group of Elves and Lynoxi taking up residence in the hinterlands, and that they occasionally came to town for supplies, and seemed like good folk, but thought she should warn them. Dain thanked her and the group made their way to an inn to rest for the night. The next day, they proceeded across the mountains into the Axalrea Hinterlands. There, amidst the snowy pine trees, they found devastation as numerous trees were left dead with rotted wood. They began to explore the region attempting to locate the Elthenbloom tree which would have the sap they needed to produce the cure. At some point, the group heard a sharp whistle, which most assumed was birdsong, but which Summer and Moonshadow realized was a signal. Before they had time to react, they were set upon by a group of Elves and Lynoxi with bows drawn. Then, two Lynoxi approached, with one wearing dark blue robes adorned with dead vines, holly, and crocus flowers. The Panteri introduced herself as Azizi.

Azizi demanded to know what the party was doing in the hinterlands, commenting that they were not hunters due to their weapons, and that the last man to make residence here was responsible for the blight they were fighting so hard to remedy, and they would not allow them to defile the land further. Dain quickly explained their purpose, honestly telling her that they were searching for the Elthenbloom tree so they could use its sap to create a cure for the plague afflicting the Elves. Azizi seemed placated and said that they had tended to the hinterlands for generations before Aubron drove them out, and that they would gladly provide the Elthenbloom's sap, but that it was unfortunately dying due to the corruption spreading throughout the hinterlands. She said that they had tried to cleanse the evil in Aubron's tower, but that an enormous creature stomping around the region had killed every single scouting party she had sent that way and they did not have the numbers to continue to fight it. She introduced her people as the Grove of Frost, a circle of Druids and Rangers responsible for tending the Elthenbloom and using its sap to cure locals of diseases. She said that if the party could take care of the creature defiling the hinterlands and they could purge the corruption from the tower, that she would be more than happy to give them as much sap as they required. With that in mind, the party bid their farewells and head off in the direction of The Obelisk.

As the group made their way in the direction of The Obelisk, they noticed that the dead vegetation and corruption began far earlier than it had the last time they were here, where it had begun only a few miles away from the tower. However, now the corruption seemed to begin more than 20 miles away from the tower. Dain inspected the corruption eating away at the trees and noticed that it appeared to be some manner of fungus. As the party continued along, they eventually came within view of The Obelisk. However, as it was growing dark, they decided to set up camp. However, that thought was abandoned as they heard a loud cracking sound as a tree off in the distance snapped in half, and they began to feel the ground quake beneath them. As the sounds and quaking grew in intensity, they looked around, unable to see the source due to the persistent darkness all around them. However, Merrick's enhanced sight allowed him an early glimpse at the horrifying creature, who stood 40 ft. tall and appeared to be composed of hundreds of corpses and skeletons piled together in a rough humanoid shape.

As the creature charged toward them, the party attempted to get off some early shots at them, which it shrugged off and went after Moonshadow, whom had hit it with a devastating blow from his bow. It slammed its fist down on Moonshadow, knocking the wind out of him, and grabbed him. It then pulled him up to his face and opened his mouth wide. The group noticed a thin stream of blue-ish energy flowing out of Moonshadow's mouth, and then with a start noticed a similar line coming from Dain, Dorin, and Merrick. They felt their very life force being pulled out of them and felt weakened as a result. As the party continued to fire off their most powerful abilities at it, it ripped off a chunk of corpses from its body and threw them at the group. The corpses then animated, moving in to attack the party. The Bonemass also then picked up some bones from the ground and attached them to itself, using them to "heal" itself. Valdor unfortunately appeared to be of no assistance, as the creature had no blood for him to corrupt or manipulate.