Pasture Bedtime

Job Board: The constabulary has sent for the guilds to help. A number of houses in the western fringes of Vollendorf have become unreachable, defended by magical nonsense and attacking monsters. The screams of help from the residents have slowly been fading. They require the help of those with more esoteric skills.   The party went to the outskirts of Vollendorf to investigate, and found several abandoned houses, and a small number of small, fishlike, rather squishy monsters, which exploded into goo after being killed. One house still had smoke coming from the chimney, and after breaking in, the party found a 6-year-old boy, Anthony, cowering in his bedroom, being threatened by several more squishy monsters, which the boy called "booger-kin," an entirely appropriate name.   The house was also bigger on the inside: The exterior was a typical farmhouse, but inside was a huge, multi-level mansion. After rescuing Anthony from the booger-kin, Ford suggested tying him to a chair while the party searched the rest of the house, but Anthony didn't like that suggestion and fled to another room. Aquelia used her powers to enlarge Anthony to giant size, and he helped the party dispatch another group of goo-creatures, which tasted like grape jelly after being reduced to goo. Anthony ran off to stomp on more things in the house, but Aquelia dropped the enlargement, which threw Anthony into a snit. He ran down to the basement of the house.   In the basement, there was a large, multi-armed, multi-mouthed purple demon, which Anthony called "Lord Chompy Bits." He commanded the demon to attack the party. In an astonishing coincidence, Aquelia recognized the demon as her long-missing father, Lord Bical. The demon showed a brief flash of recognition before Anthony's apparent control took effect, but once under that command, did not speak or do anything other than attack the party.   The combat was not going well for the party. Anthony used Suggestion to force Vassa to protect him, effectively removing the party's primary damage-dealer. The Lorekeeper was downed by a dog-creature summoned by Lord Chompy Bits. Ford was cornered behind the demon, another of his dogs, and one of the gelatinous snot-creatures which Anthony was apparently conjuring up. In an act of desperation, and with great reluctance, Ford blasted the child with a Guiding Bolt, knocking him out. This broke Anthony's control over both Vassa and Lord Bical, who immediately fled to a hole in an adjoining room.   Ford quickly stabilized Anthony so he wouldn't die, but left him unconscious. Most of the party ran after Lord Bical, while The Lorekeeper used the guild ring to return to the guild hall with Anthony. Ford followed everyone else into the hole, which turned out to be a portal to Bical's home plane. The demon easily took down Vassa, and (to Aquelia's disappointment) the party retreated to the guild with their magic rings.   Battered and feeling rather defeated, the party reported on what happened to the guild leadership. When it became clear that Anthony apparently had the ability to control a major demon, Sofia  drew her sword and ran the child through, saying "No one should have that kind of power in Etharis."