Session 0039 : The Scent of Trouble

Summary

A missing companion, a trail cut short, necrotic horrors in the woods, river-tainted undead, and brutal injuries all set the stage for escalating danger around Oakhaven.  

A Canine Clue and a Looming Deadline

  Concerned for the missing Akiri, the party enlisted her loyal dog Tig to track her. Cathlynn and Dorian retrieved Akiri’s scent from her room, where Lilly used Speech of the Woods to communicate with Tig.   She instructed him: “We need to go find Ikiri. Good smell first, dinner after. Then we go on an Ikiri hunt.”   Tig responded, “I’d like an Ikiri. Where is Ikiri? She gives good scritches. I’ll find Ikiri.”   Using the scent-soaked handkerchief, Tig led the party behind the inn—where two of Queen’s enforcers confronted them. One stepped forward:   “Cathlynn, where’s our fucking money, bitch?”   Cathlynn replied, “Only people of low intelligence need to swear to make their point. I have 24 hours—8 or 9 left—so sit down and leave me alone. I’m in the middle of something.”   The woman shoved Cathlynn (5 bludgeoning), then added:   “Be here by 6 p.m. or this pretty little wooden, flammable inn burns. And tell Lilly we know who runs the place.”  

The Trail Goes Cold

  Tig resumed tracking but soon stopped at a spot where he uncovered Akiri’s bracelet.   "I don’t smell her anymore. She’s gone. Here."   He did smell four horses, two of which had eaten apples recently. Dorian attempted to follow hoofprints but failed—suggesting a planned abduction.   Before leaving for the caves from their prior vision, Cathlynn revealed:   “Before she disappeared… I believe Ikiri is pregnant.”   Dorian, drawing on his midwife past, confirmed this possibility:   “Then we aren’t searching for one person—but two.”  

The Twisted Woods and a Grisly Discovery

  An hour’s ride brought the group to the corrupted forest. With a Natural 20 (27 Nature), Dorian sensed a safer passage and led them along a stream, where the woodland returned to its healthy state.   A short distance later, Dorian spotted something wrong (22 Perception). They found:   A lumberjack pinned beneath a fallen tree   Three more men floating face-down in the shallow river   Tig suddenly growling and panicking   Further upriver, two hulking figures tore apart a deer carcass. Dorian identified them as Rot Trolls—necrotic variants known for decay, disease, and unpredictably high lethality.   Cathlynn stabilized the pinned man (18 Medicine). He gasped a warning before passing out:   “The dead… they got up…”  

The Riverbank Rescue & the Frantic Chase

  Lilly used Mold Earth to free the trapped man. Tig dragged him from the mud just as one troll locked onto the party.   Initiative Order:   Lilly (Nat 20)   Dorian   Troll 1   Tig   Troll 2   Cathlynn (3)   Highlights:   Lilly ran for the horses, directing Tig to keep dragging the unconscious man.   Dorian set a 2nd-level Cordon of Arrows as a trap.   Troll 1 hurled a deer carcass at Cathlynn—splattering against a rock. “Ew. That’s rude.”   Troll 2 threw a waterlogged corpse at her (7 bludgeoning).   Cathlynn failed an Athletics check and tumbled into the river (3 more damage). “When I begged the gods for a man on top of me, this is not what I meant.”   They escaped on horseback while the trolls thrashed against overgrown Plant Growth vines and Dorian’s arrow trap.  

The River Zombies Ambush

  Riding south along the river, the party spotted two figures clinging to rocks. Lilly checked one—her 24 Medicine revealed he was dead.   He snapped awake.   Across the river, the second corpse stirred as well.   "RUN!" Lilly shouted.   Initiative:   Lilly – 22   Tig (Cathlynn’s horse) – 13   Dorian – 5  

Round 1

  Lilly, shocked, Wild Shaped into an elk to flee.   Dorian repositioned and cast another Cordon of Arrows.   Zombie 1 unleashed a horrifying attack:   A tentacle burst from its chest, spraying a cone of black, human-feces-smelling ink.   Followed by a pulse of freezing necrotic cold.   Damage:   Lilly failed her save → 42 damage, elk form destroyed, 29 overflow to true form, then +10 cold. She was blinded and thrown unconscious.   Luriel (her horse) died instantly.   Cathlynn & Tig succeeded their saves → 21 ink damage + 8 cold to Tig.   Tig dragged the blinded Lilly 60 ft away, taking 13 damage from an opportunity attack.  

Round 2

  Cathlynn drank a Potion of Greater Healing (+13) and cast a 3rd-level Healing Word on Lilly (+27).   Lilly, still blind, created 10 Chocolate-Covered Goodberries.   Dorian fed all 10 berries to Tig (+10) and cast Cure Wounds (+6).   Both zombies closed in on Cathlynn and struck her with tentacles (12 total).   Tig guarded Lilly as she lay stunned and blind.   The panicked pony was calmed by Lilly’s player (14 Animal Handling).  

Round 3

  Cathlynn attempted a tactical retreat by Wild Shaping into a tiny scorpion.   A zombie passed an INT check (17 vs DC 12), saw through the disguise, and stomped her.   She reverted instantly, taking 5 excess damage.   “Well, that was thoroughly pointless.”   With blindness still active, Lilly turned into a Giant Crab, gaining 30 ft blindsight.   Dorian cast Hunter’s Mark and fired two arrows into Zombie 1 for 35 damage.   Zombie 1 pulsed cold again: 9 damage to Cathlynn, described as burning like dry ice.