Session 86: Snicker-Snack

We backtrack to the church in the abandoned village to bury the bones of Jesus. Industria consecrates the grounds beforehand, which earns us some brownie points with Big JC and the ability to turn water into wine. The next leg of our journey will take us into the caverns, but instead of going in blindly, we send Elathera’s magic eyes to check it out while we take a breather. Elathera conjures up a small cabin for us to relax in, but not even an hour later, wild magic mishaps have the cabin going up in flames. She wants to use even more magic to put it out, but we all scold her for her heavy dependency on it. The cabin is left to burn and we roast Elathera as bad as she nearly roasted the surrounding forest.     Only four of her twenty-six magic eyes return to us. The information they hold doesn’t give us much to work with, but it acts as a warning of what lies ahead. The caverns have a permanent ward over them, which would’ve left us stumbling around blindly in the literal sense, as well as fight our way through the creatures tasked with guarding this place. Elathera makes an attempt to dispel the ward, but Industria stops her before wild magic can dig its claws into her once more. Elathera’s offended at first, but with some successful bluffing on Industria’s part, she ends up believing that Industria wants to learn some tips about magic from her.     The ward is dispelled and Elathera feels flattered, so onward we go. We come across several stagnant bodies of water that house unknown undead beneath the surface. In the middle of one sits an island. A poor antelope is crying out in pain after its body was left mangled by these creatures, so Industria puts it out of its misery as there’s no safe way to get it outside. Much of the life inside these caverns is wilting, weak, and diseased. The only thing not mutated or diseased is the voice we hear calling out to us across a crystalline bridge.     It’s most definitely a trap, so while the others approach, me and Elathera slip into a nearby crevice to try and find a way to flank whatever it is. Instead, I’m treated to the sight of a vast expanse with a waterfall and several things moving through the dark. Without the grace of a catfolk, Elathera finds herself stuck in one of the passageways, so I head back in time to hear what sounds like a wind storm. The others have come face-to-face with some sort of fey dragon and after Industria convinces it to show her its room of treasure, it threatens her life. The others are pulled into battle with what turns out to be a jabberwock, so Elathera uses a spell to tear down the wall I direct her to so we can help out.     This thing proceeds to have a very bad day after Jordeira grows larger with mythic power and grapples it. No matter what it does, it can’t get out of his grip, leading it to be pinned down by him. Dandelion grabs the chains on his belt and wraps them around the jabberwock before bringing the ends to me to make sure they’re locked properly. Jordeira beats it to death with his bare hands and with it finally dead, we have a whole room of treasure to ourselves.