Aegon and the Troupe continue their search for Jet’Laya’s sister, moving deeper into the Wood of Sharp Teeth. They tested their mettle against the orc tribes living on the edge of the forest. But they are unaware of the dangers laying in wait, and the true reason these woods earned its name.
9 Eleint 1368
Our orc friend tells us we are leaving orc territory, and that the woods ahead hold enemies it is afraid to fight. I know the glamour I have on it will wear off eventually, so I tell it to stay behind. We will go deeper into the woods alone.
The orc’s warning doesn’t seem to come to fruition at first. We travel for four hours without seeing anything other than birds and squirrels. When the sky darkens and the rain comes, even they disappear.
We press on, even when the thunder rolls in, determined to see our mission to the end. We come to a small valley between two rocky formations and notice a humanoid figure in the rain. It looks up and sniffs the air, before looking directly at us. Its eyes glow in its dead sockets. I lets out a raspy growl and starts running toward us.
As it gets closer we can see from its rotting flesh that it is a ghast. Thorfinn takes aim with his axe, and strikes the creature right between its eyes. Unfortunately two more of the creatures have appeared, running over the corpse of their friend so they can feed off ours.
I take advantage of the storm and ask the Weave to send a Lightning Bolt their way. One of the undead beasts is struck, lightning coursing through its rotten flesh. It is barely stunned by the attack, pausing only for a moment before it continues to close on Thorfinn.
The ghasts catch up to Thorfinn and he starts to retch at the stench of rotten flesh. As he is distracted, they slash at him with their claws. Their necrotic venom sinks into the berserker’s flesh and his joints stiffen, leaving him unable to move at all.
Aura immediately hurls a Potion of Explosions hoping to catch and kill the ghasts. Garrick strikes the electrocuted ghast through its skull and it falls back to the earth. As the Potion explodes, the remaining ghast rushes past Thorfinn, avoiding the flames that consume the other corpses. It hits Jet’Laya hard, but she seems more resistant to its paralysing poison.
Jet’Laya retreats and asks Lathander to bless her with a Spiritual Hammer. Kivan draws his Dragon Spear and thrusts it toward the ghast in an attempt to keep it at bay.
Kivan impales the ghast with the Dragon Spear, but it remains animated. It pulls itself along the shaft, attempting to reach Kivan with its claws. Jet’Laya’s Spiritual Hammer strikes the undead creature in its neck, sending it back to the realm of the dead where it belongs.
I heal Thorfinn of his wounds, but unfortunately it does nothing for the poison in his veins. Jet’Laya reminds me that we can just wait for the poison to run its course. So we set a rough lookout while we wait.
Undead creatures roam this part of the woods. There is necromancy at play here. This does not bode well. Though, given my experience with necromancers thus far, there is only one eventual outcome. We will kill whatever is causing these woods to be infested with these beasts.
After we move on we start to encounter more undead in our path. A sole ghast attacks us, but as it is alone we are able to kill it quickly.
Then a lone skeleton attacks us. There are definitely dark forces working in this forest.
Eventually we come across a small cabin, and perhaps a clue to where we can find the woman we seek. But it is covered in moss and vines, and the interior has collapsed into piles of broken wood. It is has been long abandoned, far longer than Jet’Laya’s sister has been missing.
Near this house we hear the sound of fighting. With weapons ready, we follow the sound to see who is engaged in combat. To our surprise we find four phantoms, echoes of life that once was. They swing their translucent weapons at each other, weapons phasing through the bodies. We try to talk to them, but they ignore us. All that seems to matter to them is their perpetual battle, one that can never end.
What cursed necromancy is infesting these trees? I walk away and the others follow. I don’t want to be near these undead creatures any more. We cannot escape, however, as we come across a shadow of life seeking to drain our souls. It is slowed down by our arrows, and Thorfinn’s axe strikes true, giving permanency to its death.
We encounter a group of ghouls, undead flesh-eaters like the ghasts we have encountered thus far. These beasts are weaker than their counterparts, and Thorfinn is able to hold them at bay with Khazid’s Death.
With a single swing of his sword, Thorfinn manages to cleave through the last two ghouls. One of them is struck so hard it falls to pieces, and the other is split in twain across its belly.
There are more undead here in the woods, but they are easily slain. Among them is another ghoul on its own.
A skeleton archer.
And we even take out another ghast.
Unfortunately that ghast was not alone. Two more of the creatures rush toward us. Thorfinn is taken by surprise and is paralysed by the beast’s rotten claws.
Aura hurls her second Potion of Explosions at the undead. This time she aims well, and both ghasts are consumed by the flames. Unfortunately neither are fully destroyed by the explosion.
The ghasts start tearing into Thorfinn, so Kivan tries to push them away with his Dragon Spear. The stench of these creatures is nauseating, and I find it hard not to lose focus and retch.
Kivan’s gambit pays off. He is hurt, but he resists their paralytic poison. Both ghasts find themselves on the wrong end of the Dragon Spear.
While we wait for the poison to run its course, Jet’Laya and I heal the two warriors.
We encounter more undead that are easily taken care of, including a zombie and another ghoul.
When we encounter a larger group of ghouls near a lake, Jet’Laya is able to turn the battle in our favour using Lathander’s holy symbol.
It’s easy to butcher the creatures as they attempt to escape.
Nearby we are spotted by a group of ghasts. I don’t want to risk Thorfinn again. I shout for everyone to stay back and hold their position.
This time I am the one who charges into the fray, Heart of the Dragon at the ready to block their attacks. Hopefully even if they manage to hurt me my elven constitution will help to resist their paralysis. Though their stench is unbearable I am able to keep them from hurting me while Kivan continues to prove his prowess with his Bow.
Kivan kills the last of them and we are able to continue moving.
A feeling of dread starts to overcome me. I can sense the source of necromancy nearby. I see heavily armoured skeletons summoning the Weave for their own purposes. I see lightning burst forth from them, slaying half of our Troupe. I see myself on their blade as they force it up to my heart. I feel myself die over and over.
I take one step backwards. “We have to get out of here,” I whisper, afraid the skeleton lords might here me. Thorfinn and Jet’Laya don’t understand, but Aura and Kivan understand. We walk away, unable to vanquish the source of this necromancy this day.
We move to the north, leaving behind the woods and coming into a plain. Jet’Laya doesn’t know how, but she senses that we are getting closer to her sister. We are safe from the undead and the orcs in these plains, but unfortunately we are spotted by a huge flying lizard. There are wyverns here as well, this far from the Cloakwood?
Thankfully with our experience fighting these flying monsters in the Cloakwood, we know how to keep ourselves safe. Despite Aura loosing her arrow in completely the wrong direction, Thorfinn is able to embed his Throwing Axe into its skull. The lizard falls to ground before the Axe teleports back to Thorfinn’s hand.
I heal myself while Thorfinn takes its head as a trophy. A little more warily, we continue on our way to the north. We find another forest, this one denser than the Wood of Sharp Teeth. “She’s in there,” Jet’Laya says, “I can feel it.”
I choose to trust in her vision, just as she trusted in mine. We cut our way through the undergrowth as we enter the forest.
