Session Report 011: In Which the Heroes Save Wintermas

Wherein Exposition Occurs

  The heroes go back to the future to explore the ancient elven library but get sucked into on open book on the table and teleported to Newville, a small mountain village currently beset by Orcus' Claws and his Crueltide Elves.   All the metal of the town was stolen, down the very nails used to keep their houses together. Winter is coming and the small town won't survive it as Orcus' Claws promises more Slay Rides. Broken but unbowed, a homeless child maintains faith in Father Newvus and with a cough and a hobble, he donates his last scrap of bread to His shrine.   The heroes must ascend the mountain path covered in fresh snow, and more consistently on the way. The weather is not their only obstacle on their way Orcus' Claws lair, they spend hours speaking with Winter Bones, an undead scarecrow who is very curious about winter traditions. The heroes turn his curiosity against him by asking him a question he didn't know so he went to investigate it!   Rogue snowmen stabbing with their carrot nose but they were quickly dispatched and after a long trek up the mountains the heroes come upon Orcus' Claws lair and fight through waves of Crueltide Elves. The fairy Sugarplum was pinned to the floor with a metal spike, her minty freshness was to be a late night snack for the crueltide elves and their demonic reindeer but was set free!   Orcus' Claws a strange aspect of the Demon Prince Orcus is crafted in the deepest pits of the Abyss by taking a single shaving from one of the Prince of the Undead’s claws and freezing it in the coldest part of the under realm while enchanting it with vile magic.   The final showdown is brutal but when the night is darkest, the winter coldest, faith will overcome. Sugarplum and Verby come rushing in to stabilize the fallen heroes and allows for a final desperate attempt to end Orcus' Claws by collapsing the cave   The plan works! The fell demon is sent back to the Abyss but the injuries already sustained by Yawndell are too great and Father Newvus calls him home. Gru calls out in anger and performs a rare act for a cleric: Spellburn. Sacrificing his own magical energies he is able to stave off death but at the cost of having one less spell per day (taken from his highest available slot).   Carrying what they can of the villagers stolen items they return to Newville to recuperate, dreams of that warm elven library dancing in their dreams.