Session 12: Myrky Waters Report

The party lands in Nasswood, determined to make the 60 mile trip north and back as fast as they can manage, they've heard one too many bad rumors about The Myrk to be comfortable staying in it any longer than is absolutely necessary. They gather information from a passing member of the Firewatch who informs them that they should head about 60 miles north to find the Butcher Trees they seek. After a moment of looking, he recognizes Trevor, who came here with his daughter Vergo Belmont sometime before. Out of respect he informs Trevor that his daughter was suppsoed to return from a ranging north of the river two days ago, but has not. The party thanks him and they plan to make a journey north of the river to investigate.   The first days travel is relatively quiet. Krookk , scouting ahead, notices two Dire Crocodiles, which lay morosely in the muck awaiting their next meal. They scare them off with arrows and trigger a spell of concealment when they would not remove themselves from the parties path. At the end of that day they find a likely spot and begin to make camp. Ronn summons his magical shelter over himself, his allies, the cart, and the mule keeping all safely and warmly inside. However, Trevor, being very skilled in bushcraft and a disliker of magics, elects to rough it out tonight. He crafts a lean-to of fine and dry make, then sets to stacking firewood 7 feet tall. By the time that his bonfire is prepared, the sun has set and rain has started to weep down from the bloated skies above, but he manages to combust his tinder and the fire takes off.   As he settles in to his bed of grass and hay, the old soldier pulls out the frogs he slew earlier in the day, knowing their skins when smoked to have a hallucinatory effect. He consumes 4 skins, quadruple the necessary dosage, and slips into an intoxicated seizure. At the moment of his greatest panic, strange beasts emerge from the shadows which ring the firelight. Long-necked pigs of a terrible stance with horned, humanoid faces, expressions curled tightly in a display of cruel malice. They looked over the shaking and thrashing man with hunger, and poured onto him their hatred. The pure negative thought of the monsters ran out their eyes into Trevor's, and the energy was too much for him to bear, he died there on that hay bed with the evil beasts eyeing him over.   The party slew one in revenge, and scared off the other two who accomponied it. The strange beast was left outside the magic shelter, from which the party would not emerge for two days, while Krookk made a flight back to Nasswood for emergency supplies. Ronn raised the body of Trevor and set it to scouting the area for any more enemies. On the first night of their isolation in the hut, Ronn feels the tie between him and his zombie sever with the crack of a bolt of lightning. Then he suddenly realizes that he and Sesos were no longer alone. Outside the hut, three hags barely illuminated in the night danced and shrieked and smeared blood all over the magical shelter, before leaving with the body of the beast. They would return once more to harry them when Krookk had come back, but was still resting from his mad flight.   When ready to finally leave, Ronn sets the mule to running as if chased by the legions of hell itself. This dashed journey northwards made good time, but left the party blind to more Dire Crocodiles, which jumped out of the water besides the road and slew their pack animal. They killed the Crocodile, and abandoned their cart. The session ends as they took to the skies by magic to reach their destination.