The Troupe makes their way into another forest far to the east of the Sword Coast. Jet’Laya senses that she is close to her sister, but the trees hide many ghasts and ghouls, and wyverns roam the surrounding plains. There is no safety here, and the Troupe are far away from any and all civilisation.
9 Eleint 1368
Rain pelts down on us as thunder roars through the evening sky. We come across a couple of ghasts devouring a corpse beneath a tree. A wraith hovers over them, a dark soul borne out of pure evil. Kivan delivers the opening shot, striking one of the ghasts in the shoulder.
As they lumber toward us, the ghast is hit with more arrows and Thorfinn’s Throwing Axe. Kivan’s final shot pierces its skull and the creature returns to the land of the dead.
The shadow and the ghast run straight past me as I charge. They clearly don’t see me as the greatest threat. The shadow’s dark claws face off against Thorfinn’s sword, while Kivan is forced to use his Dragon Spear to keep the ghast at bay. Another ghast, summoned by the screams of the others, emerges from the forest to join the fight.
I join Kalid in his melee with the ghast. Meanwhile, Thorfinn is cautious in his attacks lest he become a wraith himself. He swings Khazid’s Death with such might it tears the incorporeal creature in half, and it vanishes from this realm. He turns to face the other ghast, only to see yet another wraith bearing down on us.
The second wraith manages to scratch a distracted Thorfinn with its claws. Thankfully the wound isn’t too deep so he is unaffected by it’s strength draining poison.
The same can’t be said for Kivan, who is paralysed after a ghast sticks its claws into his stomach. I cave in the skull of the ghast, while Aura sends an arrow through the other’s ear. The ghasts are dead, but Kivan can barely even move his eyes now.
Thorfinn manages to hurt the wraith, but it is another of Aura’s arrows that send it back to its evil plane of existence. The battle is won, but we have to wait for Kivan to gain motion again. I decide to search the corpse under the tree while we wait. Unfortunately, as lightning strikes in the distance, we draw the attention of another ghast.
The fight with this creature is short. As Thorfinn’s Axe delivers the killing blow, another round of thunder rolls across the sky as if the gods themselves were celebrating our victory.
The corpse under the tree has been heavily mutilated. Chunks of flesh and organs have been ripped from bone by these foul undead monsters. I search the remains of its possessions and find 104 coins, as well as a Scroll of Protection of Undead. There are also a couple of Potions, one of Extra Healing, and one Potion of Speed that looks a little unusual.
I’m not sure I trust this potion, so we stash this one into our Potion Belt. We have plenty of Speed potions that are more reliable than this one.
When Kivan is moving again, I take some time to heal him before we continue on.
We wander the forest despite the rainy storm and find another wraith wandering around. It attacks us, but Kivan is able to take it down with a few arrows.
We stop for a short rest and Garrick pulls out his journal. He talks as he jots down his thoughts.
Garrick: Kivan, an archer with aim true, driven by a desire for vengeance for his murdered love.
Kivan: Humans, and human bards in particular, have the most peculiar notion that they can tell others what and who they are.
Garrick: Uh, yeah. Was I talking out loud? I was just taking notes for my tales…
Kivan: I have no interest in seeing my name in tales, Garrick. I hope that you will respect my wish.
Garrick: You are a man of few words, aren’t you?
Kivan: Yes.
Garrick: I’m sorry, Kivan. I know you’ve had a hard time in life, and I hope in the future you’ll be able to smile again.
Kivan: Our life, Garrick, is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments which took our breath away. Remember that.
We continue our search and fight two more wraiths under a tree. The storm recedes as we send these creatures back into the void.
We are getting used to fighting the undead creatures infesting this place. We find more ghouls lead by a ghast. They aren’t feeding on a corpse this time, but they are looking to create one.
We encounter another ghast and a shadow, a lesser form of the wraith. We only give pause when we encounter a wolf, it’s fur matted with dried blood, cold dead eyes, and exposed bone in various places. An undead wolf! We are wary as we engage the beast.
Thankfully it is unable to put up a good fight against us, and we slay the creature easily. Thorfinn tells me that this battle has taught him a thing or two about battling the undead.
Gameplay Note
His Breath Weapon and Spell Saving Throws are improved by one point. His THAC0 is reduced by 1 and he gains 10 Hit Points.
Eventually we find a house, but before we can determine whether Jet’Laya’s sister is inside, another group of flesh-eating undead come around the side of the building.
Kivan kills one of the ghouls, but the accompanying ghast rushes forth and I’m forced to defend myself.
The ghast starts tearing into me, almost forcing me to the ground. I push its head away from mine, and Kivan takes the opportunity to put an arrow through it.
I use my last healing spell before the rest of the undead monsters can attack.
Three of the creatures assault me and I am unable to defend myself fully. Claws rip into my arms and one of them even manages to bite me. Luckily I am not paralysed and so I can reach for the Potion of Extra Healing in my belt.
Thorfinn’s Throwing Axe embeds itself in the ghast’s head and returns to his hand, where he is able to hurl it once again to kill a ghoul. Garrick hits the final ghoul through its nose socket, the bolt embedding itself in the back of its skull.
Garrick is excited by the kill, and expresses how much he will enjoy writing the tales of our battle with the undead.
Gameplay Note
He gets one addition Weapon Proficiency which I put into Crossbow. His Death, Wand, and Polymorph Saving Throws are improved by 1. His THAC0 is reduced by 1 and he gains 4 Hit Points.
The house looks abandoned, but we decide to search it anyway. For all we know Jet’Laya’s sister could be inside. Unfortunately we find nothing but shadows of past lives.
Kivan takes on one with his Dragon Spear, while I fight the other. Kivan is wounded, and his Spear feels harder to lift, harder to move and thrust. These shadows are sapping our strength!
As I kill the shadow I am fighting, the others move to the other room to help Kivan. The shadow sees an opportunity and slashes at Aura’s face. As blood pours down to her neck, she feels her strength draining as well.
Thorfinn kills the shadow with his Throwing Axe. Neither Jet’Laya nor I have any healing spells left, so Kivan drinks an Elixir of Health, and Thorfinn gives Aura a Potion of Healing. They are both still weaker, however, and we have no idea when the shadow’s poison will recede, or if it ever will.
Aura checks the room for traps, but can’t find any. We are probably safe here, ghouls and shadows are not known for their traps. One of the chests in this room is locked, but Aura is able to open it. Inside we find a scimitar, as well as a Potion of Superior Healing, a Potion of Magic Resistance, and two Elixirs of Health.
In a second, unlocked chest, we find over five-hundred gold pieces; around 80 arrows, half of which are enchanted, and some chain mail. We also find a ring suitable for a wizard’s apprentice that enhances their magical ability. Since I already wear the Ring of Wizardry, Garrick takes the ring for himself. It feels strange to no longer be the apprentice.
There are also a couple of scrolls here. One a Scroll of Control Undead, the other a Scroll of Phantom Blade. The summoned blade is created specifically to hurt the undead, especially those incorporeal. Given that these woods are infested with the dead, I decide to keep these scrolls close.
We continue our search of the area, encountering another vampiric wolf, a skeleton from which Aura takes some Arrows of Fire, and more shadows. It isn’t until we encounter a ghost-like being. Unlike the shadows, this one glows in the night, and we can see the features it once had when it was alive. It lets out a terrifying howl before it floats toward us, faded weapons ready to strike.
Jet’Laya confirms it isnt her sister, so we set out to defend ourselves. It proves to be no stronger than its kin, destroyed by a magical Throwing Axe.
We battle our way through more ghouls and shadows as we get near to the heart of the wood. With Aura’s flaming arrows we find them much easier to kill.
Eventually we come across another ghost, this one sitting on the ground crying. It looks up at us as we approach and an air of recognition flashes across its face.
Banshee: Who dares to cross my path? Aye, well look who it is. Always the good sister aren’t ye?
Jet’laya: Ferium….ls that you? What happened tae ye? It can’t be… Yer hate has all but consumed ye. Why sister? Why?
Banshee: If ye are here tae bring me back home, yer too late! I hate it there, I hate everything about it, especially that bastard Ken’lan! May he rot in the nine hells! I hope he meets a slow and painful end! Now leave me be Jet’Laya…this is were I’m stayin’.
Jet’laya: But, ye aren’t yerself we can get help tae ye. There has tae be a way tae..
Banshee: Enough! There is no way to do anything! Now go or I will be forced to do tae ye what has been done tae me!
Jet’laya: You leave me no choice my sister! If ye won’t let me help ye then…I will have to place your unquiet soul to rest. I never thought I would have tae… kill me own sister. But I can’t let you exists in this undead shell of yer former self. Friends, I know this is more than ye bargained for and if ye wish tae leave now – I – I will understand. This is just something that I have tae do.
Aegon: We’re behind you Jet’ Laya. It would not be the honourable thing to do to leave you to face this alone.
Banshee: Fools! You all shall die!
The banshee lets out a deathening scream…
