Session 34 - Silent Screams

80th of Summer

Packing Up Camp

Nôx wakes after having his vision of Majora and shares the information with Meera, who reacts with alarm to the name "Majora." Rushing to the rest of the group, they deduce that Majora must have been the "entity" living inside of Luna Majoris, and was released into the world after the moon impacted the planet. So that's not great. That's something will probably have to be addressed at some point, but there's no good path forward on that just now.   Meanwhile, during the discussion, Piers "sneaks" away into the hut where Meera and Nôx had been sleeping, and takes her Boots of Elvenkind -- which he had unceremoniously puked on after unleashing his celestial power in the previous fight. The others watch as she then heads off to the river. When he sneaks back in through the window, the entire party is there waiting in confusion.   "Hey, Piers."   "Oh. Hello."   He explains that he wanted to restore the boots to their prior condition, but didn't want to make a big deal about it. How kind. The group then packs up and heads out, eager to be free of the deeply traumatic Lost Woods.    

The Great Turtle

As the party nears the border of the Lost Woods, they see a hill gently.... moving?! This must be the giant turtle that Showsni told them about. Piers and Krud immediately go say hello while the rest of the group watches from a safe distance. They introduce themselves, and the turtle, Neterrak, is pleased to meet them. Quite a friendly old fellow.    He asks what they're doing so far north. Heading to the Hall of Heroes? Oh, Jaina brings him such nice gifts. Do say hello for him. He seems very out of date when it comes to world events. He thinks Jericho is still a gallant paladin, and that it wasn't that long ago when three women in red-and-black offered him some gifts in exchange for safe passage. Piers gets him up to date on things. Hegemony taking over everything? That's not great.   He recognizes that Krud is a weretortle and is sad to know that his mentor Nali has been captured. Without a guide, he can sense the Krud is very confused about his purpose and abilities. He reached out and unlocks some of Krud's potential -- establishing a deeper connection with the Great Cosmic Tortoise. Krud can now shapeshift at will!    He bids them a fond farewell. Do take care!    

Encountering the Blood Hunters

After a few hours of travel, the party reaches the forest's edge, where they see a team of warriors slaying undead legionnaires. Upon catching sight of the party, the mysterious warriors scatter and take cover, observing them from afar. Abbit calls out to them, stressing that they have no intention of violence -- they're just here to kill undead like them.    It's a team of four Blood Hunters from Helgeist, the headquarters of the Order of the Ghostslayer, dedicated to killing the undead. Their captain is a woman with wavy black hair and yellow cat-like eyes, who introduces herself as Alessandra. Accompany her is an air genasi named Cirrus, a wood elf named Taeveril, and a grizzled human man with an eyepatch named Jun-ki.    The villages in northern Sornaiid hired them to kill the undead since the government wasn't sending support. The party asks if they'd be willing to help at the Hall of Heroes. That's a little above their peasant pay-grade, says Alessandra. The party uses Sending to get Showsni's approval and guarantee of payment. At 500gp per hunter, they're willing to give them some aid.   They have some flares in their packs, used for emergency purposes, that they can use to distract the undead army -- they can make themselves feels more numerous than they actually are. Alessandra leads them to a ridge with a good view of the Hall; they can camp there for the night and make plans.     

Making Final Preparations for the Hall

The Hall of Heroes is surrounded by nearly a thousand undead legionnaires and associated allies. A ghostly dragon is perched atop the highest tower. Yikes.   The Hunters help by relaying information in addition to the good view. The western wing of the Hall has completely collapsed due to exposure and lack of maintenance. That used to be the barracks. Probably picked clean. There are some ruined buildings up front that could be used as cover. You could scale a cliff and get in via a gap in the partly ruined outer wall. Or go around the back via a ruined tower and sneak into the existing East Wing -- which contains various utility rooms.    The party decides to go around the back -- and scout what looks like a drainage system along the way. And from there? Sneak as long as possible, then go all-out once the element of surprise is lost.    Abbit scrys on Hoo'Ax'Dyuu after getting permission. His god willingly fails the save. Hoo'Ax'Dyuu is lodged in the back of a young (undead) blonde man, who stands idly while his superiors are in a meeting. Chrono Magus is a withered undead mage sitting in a chair. Jericho is a heavily armored terror. Both are speaking with a familiar woman.   Xer.   She has asked them to march their army west before doing anything else -- unearthing the guardians there will create a Blood Moon and revive Demise's ancient armies all at once, giving Jericho infinitely more power. He has agreed to do this, and they'll march as soon as more of the Ninth Legion arrives.    Chrono Magus is able to see the scrying orb, suggesting he has truesight, and he warns the others to be silent. Abbit pulls out of the scry as Xer teleports away. That bitch.  

81st of Summer

Splitting Up

After the group has a long rest, they get up bright and early in the morning. They anchor Farore's Wind a mile downriver as an emergency escape. The Hunters agree to meet up with them here after their operation is done. They'll head west and fire off the flares. When they do, the party storms the Hall. Nôx gives them Kuro to serve as the signal. When Kuro disappears, fire the flare.   Piers also gives them Moose. He'll be sure to talk to Moose to find out how they're doing later. The Hunters smile and nod. Okay, buddy. The Hunters then head off with all the pets, and the main party heads north to the Hall of Heroes.    They send Malikathar down the open drainage tunnel and find that it leads to a cesspit under the Hall -- and there are some grates up above they could pop open to get directly inside. They decide to risk the direct approach. Nôx brings Kuro back. They hear the flares go off in the distance. Many of the undead start marching away from the Hall. Likewise, the dragon pushes itself off the main tower and starts flying south. Go, go, go!   

The Murder Tower

The team is inside a privy within the southeast tower at the front of the Hall. Lots of storage for a siege in surrounding rooms. They rush upstairs. There are some legionnaires on patrol with some deathlock casters. Abbit casts Silence as they come around on a second patrol. Hart and others grapple them as the rest of team unleashes a surprising flurry of melee attacks. They are killed quite quickly. They decide to stash bodies in the tower.   They repeat the process with another patrol, then send Meera out disguised as an undead legionnaire -- she flags as undead according to spells, after all!    She mimes that something is happening behind her to their old friend, the Boneclaw, and his allies guarding the main tower.  He asks what is happening in Abyssal. Oh good. Meera speaks that. She says that someone is attacking that way! Send help! She rolls really good persuasion twice in a row. They all come into the zone of Silence... and are jumped like the others. Their bodies are soon added to the giant pile of undead corpses in the tower's back room.  

Only One Way to Go

With the second floor escorts dealt with, the only thing left to do.... is go up. Jericho, Chrono Magus, and Gabe await in the main tower. Steady yourselves. It's time for the real fight.