FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19th - DAGGERHEART : SESSION 3
Having struck her unseen target, Topaz fire is another shot from her slingshot. With a critical success, she lands a killing blow, dropping her unseen enemy and the cover of the tree line. Snowshade, the snow leopard companion of the Faerie Holly stirs at the sounds of battle, awakening his smaller friend. Topaz lights, a torch and moves into the trees to investigate what it was she has downed. She discovered the body of a Goblin dressed in crude armor and clothing, carrying a short bow and a spear. Holly flies over to investigate while her leopard companion moves across the campsite to awaken Seventh
Fluttering over to her companion, Holly sees the body of the goblin. She looks around nervously, her instincts telling her that the creature is most likely not alone. She voices her concern to Topaz who replies, “It’s not alone?”
Almost as if her words, summon them a group of goblin’s springs from hiding and attacks the two companions. A battle erupts with the Seraph sprouting her divine wings and leaping up, she descends like a bolt of wrath striking a target her halberd. Holly flies into the cover of the nearby pine trees, using her bow to strike at their enemies. Seventh, awakened by the snow leopard charges into the trees, unleashing a blast of Druidic energy following a foe in its tracks.
The companions proved to be too much for the goblin war band, and the fight quickly ends with the three friends bandaging their minor wounds and looting the bodies of their fallen enemies. With only a couple of hours left before the rise of the sun the party decides it best to go ahead and break camp and continue on their way.
Over the next two days, the group makes their way higher into the mountains before finding a trail that diverges from the road higher into the mountain peaks. Taking this trail, they only travel a short distance before they find the path to steep and narrow for their horse and cart. They camouflage the cart the best they can with brambles and bushes take the horse out, leaving it with sufficient food for several days and then start to ascend the mountain.
After the better part of the day, the party reaches the peak, which appears to be a partially collapsed volcanic crater. After a bit of exploration, they find what appears to be a volcanic vent that descends into the volcano itself. Since night is upon them, they decide to camp before descending into the tunnels.
That night, while on watch Seventh hears strange noises like the escaping of a great blast of air and a stench like that of a decaying carcass coming from the tunnels. He moves in a short distance to investigate, but does not see anything. The next morning, the party descends, and the Ribbit wart his friends about what he saw and smelled the night before.
Making their way slow slowly and cautiously, the part soon discovers what appears to be a chamber formed from a magma bubble. The shiny black glass walls of the chamber, cause the light from their torch to flicker back at them from many different directions. It is then that they notice a mass near the center of the chamber that seems to undulate and move as if alive. Suddenly their torchlight is reflected from many dull, dead eyes as a pack of zombies moves to attack them.
Thinking quickly, Seventh unleashes his spell Entangle, in starring two of the undead assailants. The fight is quick and brutal with all three of the companion suffering, minor wounds, but the dice are in their favor, and they quickly dispatching the horrors. Fascinated by the black volcanic glass the party each collects a bit of it to take back with them before moving on further into the tunnels.
Descending down ancient magma flows that have formed into a rough set of stairs the party moves lower into the dead volcano. The air begins to cool and the party can start to see their breath as they exhale. They soon come to a large chamber that is filled across its with with brackish water that smells stagnant and putrid. A thin green algae like substance grows along much of the surface of the water. Being paranoid by nature, both Holly and Topaz use their wings to make their way across the chamber without touching the water.the Seraph carries the snow leopard so that it will not have to risk entering the water. Seventh being accustomed to water, and not being put off by the fact that the water has some algae growing on it, decides to swim across. When he has made his way roughly halfway across a Green Ooze rises from the surface and attacks.
Seventh is called unaware and quickly engulfed by the ooze. Holly and Topaz to strike at the creature who has captured their friend. The halberd slicing the creature cleanly into making two smaller oozes. Seventh is released as the creature is struck in two. Adding his own attacks to those of his friends, they quickly destroy the oozes.
Taking some time to bind their wounds and prepare for what May lay beyond the group steels themselves to move deeper into the tunnels. Gathering their resolved and lighting an additional torch. The group move through the next opening.
They descend further going deeper into the mountain. They soon come to a vast chamber. It’s walls floor and ceiling made of some strange green stone. The chamber ceiling is high in boasts many stalactites. Across from them approximately 100 pieces they can see their goal, the large carved Galapa shell of Yon’Ge Lightbringer.
Holly flies over to the shell to ensure that it is the one they seek. She sees it is carved with rooms and pictographs resembling the sketch that they were shown by Kal’am’Var. As she touches the shell, a mist of a vile purple hue starts to fill the room. Summoning her snow leopard to her. Holly tries to push the shell off of its resting place.
As Seventh and Topaz watch the missed coals into a swirling black and purple orb energy crackling from the walls and ceiling to touch the orb. A Chaos Elemental has appeared. Just as the creature materializes Holly and her feline companion push the shell off of its perch and it crashes to the ground with a loud noise. As this happens, the elemental uses its ability to change the environment, shifting the cold, frigid chamber to the extreme heat of an active magma flow. Each of the party suffers damage rocking them back on their heels.
Seventh ships into his coyote form and moves to attack the creature. Holly fires her bow, striking the creature, but the creature uses its ability to reflect part of that damage back to her. She shouts out a warning to her friends just as Topaz attacked with her halberd. Every time they strike the creature, it uses its reaction to reflect some of that damage back to its attackers. The Ribbet in his coyote form jumps up to grasp the creature in its jaws. The elemental lashes out at the ribbon, sending him sprawling to the ground in pain and near death.
As those of you who play Daggerheart know when a player character is near death, they are given three options on how to proceed. They can go into the light and embrace death, they can use a Hope point to instead go unconscious for the rest of the battle, or they can perform a move, entitled Blaze of Glory. The player opted to use Blaze of Glory.
Knowing that death was near, the Ribbet decided to sacrifice himself in order to save his companions. Dropping his coyote form he left into the air on powerful legs and grasped the elemental. Doing so brought unimaginable pain, but looking at his friends one last time he smiled, and then unleashed the pent up Druidic energy he had within him. In one last violent, vibrant green burst of nature, empowered energy, the blinding flash, cause both of his companions to look away and as it faded, and they looked back both Seventh and the elemental were gone.
The Faerie and Seraph wept at the loss of their friend, but they knew they could not stay here in the bowels of the mountain. Working together with the snow leopard they were able to carry the shell of Yon’Ge out of the tunnels and down the mountain. They started the long, quiet journey home. The two friends lost in their memories of their departed, comrade, uncertain of how they would proceed without him.
Returning to New Moon Harbor the party found Kal’am’Var waiting for them at The Busted Mug as he had promised. Noticing the absent of the Ribbet, the Galapa asked after him and Topaz told him how the druid had fallen. Kal’am’Var gave them his condolences, and they took him outside to the cart to show him the shell that they had found. Paying them the rest of their reward the Galapa took the shell and departed.
The two friends went back inside to have a drink in memory of their lost companion. Tears and shared memories carried them along into the night.
This is where we left off. As we packed up for the night, the group talked about whether or not they wish to continue with the Daggerheart campaign. It was decided by all of the players that while they enjoyed Daggerheart, they prefer Dungeons and Dragons more.
So our journey with Daggerheart ends for now. Perhaps one day we will come back to it, but for now we will go back to more familiar realms.
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