🚪29. knock knock
session 29 • 05/31/2022 • 1,646 words
🌞 DAY 8 • 📅 ELEINT 29
📌 Thundertree
Matters of Trust
The party hides away in the spider den as we panic over the dragon's message. Soren looks out of the window and sees the dragon resting atop its tower, staring in our general direction.
Soren questions if Reidoth is the sort of person to "covet treasure", as the dragon stated; Will reassures the party that Reidoth isn't. Will establishes that he doesn't trust the dragon's offer of peace.
Bc he's a petty bitch, Soren, having noticed Will's hesitation towards him, wonders idly what other kind of people Will doesn't trust. Will tells him frankly that he doesn't trust Soren -- that drow have generally proven themselves untrustworthy to him.
As expected, Hugh is Not the OK with this. He starts trying to chide Will for being a racist, but Soren stops Hugh and says that he understands -- and is glad that Will is finally being honest.
Hugh checks the body in the spider webs and finds it to be a dessicated high elf wearing studded armor. Hugh takes his belt. The party escapes out the other end of the shop (opposite the dragon), but Soren trips and drags Sildar down with him, making quite a noise.
The dragon taunts the party with "really, are we going to do this now?" but makes no move to pursue us.
The Blacksmith
We find a shop that looks to have once been a Blacksmith, though it's now in ruins. We attempt to enter in through a window, but Hugh, the first one through, is immediately assaulted by some crumbling zombies, who had been laying motionless in a corner.
We quickly learn that these zombies, which Will laters names as Ash Zombies, can explode into a noxious ash when hit, and adjust our strategy accordingly. Hugh makes use of his caltrops, stopping the zombies in their tracks.
The fight is quick with our combined combat abilities, though Sildar does trip on a table : ( we love him still.
We raid the blacksmith ruins to find 3 darts, 2 javelins and a spear to help us in equipping Hugh and Sildar for potential ranged combat with the dragon. Sildar takes the javelins and spear, while Hugh takes the darts.
During this time, Soren continues to imply distrust in Reidoth, fuelled by the dragon's statement that Reidoth was, in fact, after the treasure hoard. Will takes offence at this, and confronts Soren about his implications.
Sildar reminds Will that the party trusts Soren while Will has made it clear that he doesn't; pointing out that trust is a matter of perspective, and it's reasonable for the party to mistrust a stranger, much like Will has reason to mistrust Soren. Will acknowledges this.
The Moving Tree?
As we leave the blacksmith, Soren catches sight of a tree growing in another ruined house, which seems to move unnaturally. He points it out to the party, who stares at the tree for a while -- it does not move, and so the party dismisses it as an errant gust of wind or Soren's imagination.
Hugh offers to go touch it, but we decide against it to be safe.
Around here, we see another ruined building to the North, and a much more pristine house to the East. We check in with the ruined building, recalling the Dendrars' lost heirloom, which they said to have been lost in a ruined alchemist shop.
The ruined building is... ruined. Soren finds a hidden compartment behind a bookshelf, and slides it open to find a pendant that we assume to be the lost Dendrar heirloom.
Hugh tries to scan for magic, but finds that it's non-magical. Hugh, however, does find that Sildar's sword and cape -- which we retrieved from Cragmaw Castle -- is glowing with magic. He asks Sildar what they do; Sildar explains that the sword gives him a boost when charging towards enemies, while the cape can glow bright and disorient foes.
Weed Whacker
We decide that, after the blights and zombies, it might be best for us to go back and rest at Reidoth's cottage before confronting the dragon. Before that, however, Hugh badly wants to check out the pristine house to the east, and so we go!
We enter the house, which seems deserted for the moment, though there are signs of recent life. Hugh leaves a note behind warning about the dragon threat in the area. As we rifle through the house, we hear a knocking at the front door.
We collectively decide Fuck That Shit and leave through the side door, where we are immediately accosted by what looks like a mass of vines coagulated into a vaguely humanoid shape.
It immediately erupts into a mass of vines that entangle most of the party. As we struggle against it, we hear wood creaking as a literal fucking Awakened Tree vibes its way over around the corner and starts smashin'.
Soren attempts to keep the team safe with a barrage of defensive spells like Faerie Fire and Silvery Barbs, while Sildar and Hugh dumpster the vines under Soren's Bless effects as Will uses Produce Flame to burn the tree.
Though the fight goes relatively well, Soren saves Will from getting Thunked by the tree, which Will looks very surprised at. Soren also offers Will Bardic Inspirations as his Produce Flame attacks are most effective against the plants.
Eventually, we manage to finish whacking all of the weeds. Across the ruins, we hear the dragon's wings flapping; it calls out to us, pointing out that we are running like rats and taunting once again, this time threateningly.
Hugh slings Soren over his shoulder and starts BOOKING it back to Reidoth's cottage. Willow and Sildar follow, making quite a ruckus as we cut straight through the brambles and bushes.
Book Exchange
As we return to Reidoth's cottage, Reidoth greets us and asks if we killed the dragon. We admit that we have not, and Soren complains to him about "taking better care of the plants around him" as a druid.
We hear the dragon take flight and seemingly fly away from our direction.
Will reports back honestly about what we encountered, and lets Reidoth know that it might be best that we rest a night before confronting the dragon the next day. Reidoth concedes this point, but exapseratedly storms out of the the house. When asked where he was going, he says that he wants to see where the dragon has gone.
We make ourselves comfortable in the cottage after Reidoth leaves, and set about making dinner plans. Will offers to make a mushroom soup for everyone.
Soren peers at the various fungi in Will's house and attempts to make small talk with Will about their shared love for herbalism; however, Soren is uncomfortable and Will is unwilling to engage, making for a very awkward few minutes. They end up uneasily trading field journals LMAO.
As Will goes to retrieve his journal, Soren corners Will in his room and apologizes to Will: "For what it's worth, I am sorry for what my people did to you. I don't know what what exactly happened, but I know of their cruelty." Will is stunned in the moment, but nods.
Soren goes to sit by Sildar. Hugh lays down on the ground and offers Soren and Sildar to SIT ON HIM?? Soren declines, but Sildar shrugs and sits on Hugh's chest LMFAO????
Never to Lie Again
Eventually, Will addresses the group in his own attempt to make small talk, asking how the group met and why they're adventuring. Soren quickly recounts Sildar's employment of the party, how they had fought in a cellar. Sildar expresses pride at how far the party has come.
To answer Will's second question, Sildar speaks about being on Lord's Alliance business, and Hugh openly talks about how he has a demon roommate in his brain LMAO. The topic seems to shift, before Will comes back around to Soren and asks him, pointedly, why he's adventuring with the party.
Soren mulls over several cover stories and begins telling one, but pauses. Recalling Sildar's plea for him to stop hiding and lying, he admits the full truth to Will -- and by extension, to Gundren and Jharym, who are present as well -- that he was given orders from a drow noble to stop the party and kill Sildar, but had a change of mind. Hugh points out that it's more of a change of heart, which Soren agrees.
Soren assures everyone present that he is with the party until his last breath.
Gundren comments sharply on the fact that Soren had kept this from him, which Soren is sheepish about. However, he acknowledges that it's good that Soren is now on their side and that there are no more lies. .... Sildar, Hugh and Soren collectively remember that they are still keeping Gundren's brother's death from him....... ; ;
Will's Decision
Will mulls over this information, but regardless, thanks Soren for his help in the battle with the trees. Soren tells Will that it's the least he could do. Will expresses to the group that now that he knows the stakes: that the drow might have a real chance at world-domination after coming into possession of the Spellforge, he wants to come with the party to help stop Nezznar.
Soren delivers his usual warning: "if Nezznar manages to get ahold of us, death would be a mercy". Will acknowledges that he understands the stakes, and still wants to help regardless, because the alternative would be unthinkable.
We hear a soft, rhythmic knock on the door.
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