DARSHA LIVES!

Hell uproots itself

Previously: The Gang was here to rescue Stephania and Claudiu, members of the Martikov Clan. They had just fought a powerful Blood Druid and saved Stephania within the crumbling walls atop of Yester Hill. Thalion managed to retrieve a magical spear that was plunged into a vegetive evil-looking effigy of Strahd. The effigy pulsated with glowing red and black veins of magic. They also found the Magic Gem that belonged to the Martikov Clan. Now they looked down the south side of the hill and had two minutes and eighteen seconds (23 rounds) until “hell uprooted itself.”

[Moss and Smugly were unable to make it to this session. I inserted their appearance in this recap for the sake of game continuity.]

The Gang plus Darsha stood in the southern gap in the crowning ruined wall of Yester Hill. They looked down upon a grisly, horrific scene:

Half a dozen humans, smeared with blood and blue-gray clay, shouted a cacophonic chant of “He is the ancient, he is the land. Arise! Arise! Arise!” at a monstrous black tree coursing with the same evil black & red magic as the effigy. Their arms were locked, and they encircled it. Another half dozen axe-wielding berserkers danced around them, swinging their axes. Many half-buried bones could be seen scattered about the stand of trees.

Bound to this black tree was a human male, presumably Claudiu. He was held to the tree by dozens of thorn-like appendages sprouting from the monstrosity. He was covered in his own blood and obviously in pain. Strahd was no longer overhead but could be glimpsed flying low north of the hill’s peak, out of sight from the cultists. He was holding back for some reason.

The Gang took thirty seconds to decide what to do (irl, I started a twenty-minute timer and allowed them to discuss). Despite Thalion, Roos, and Skarther deeply depleted of powers and hit points; the Gang decided to sneak down on the cultists and ambush them. Yor, untouched because he was absent from the last fight, would take the lead.

The brave, brave fools snuck down the hillside. The cultists, caught up in their ecstatic ritual, failed to notice them. Yor and Skarther approached from the west side of the woods, while Roos, Thalion, and Darsha approached from the east. Darsha was forced to walk, since the branches overhead prevented her from flying.

 BERSERKER BLOOD BATH

Yor made the first move in the ambush by casting Enthrall, which distracted most of the cultists, allowing other members surprise. Skarther summoned his fiery spirit, which drew the attention of several berserkers. The Goblin then took out a druid with Scorching Ray. Roos managed to strike a berserker with a sneak attack, then retreated behind a tree. Thalion hucked a couple of javelins. Darsha engaged with her rapier.

Skarther burnt a couple of other Druids with Flaming Sphere. Yor cast Darkness around the Gulthias tree, having Devil’s Sight meant that he could see through this Darkness while no one else could.

Darsha was left exposed, and three berserkers cut her down. Although she was immune to their blows, the were-raven played dead and collapsed to the ground.

Two berserkers cut down the Fiery Spirit, then turned towards Yor and Skarther. The Goblin Druid continued to concentrate on his Flaming Sphere, which burnt two chanting druids to death. Yor was dropped, and his Darkness spell dropped with him. Skarther sped in, healed the Kenku, then raced northward away from the pursuing berserkers.

Thalion healed Roos, and the Drow was then promptly killed by berserkers.

Yor rushed in and smacked the druids with his glowing green blade, then he was dropped by berserkers. Skarther was pursued by berserkers who cut him down.

Thalion, the last one standing, handled the blood spear deftly. He managed to kill a berserker, but the overwhelming numbers was too much. He was cut down.

Epilogue

[DM’s note: We all forgot about Darsha’s immunity to normal weapons. I even pointed her ability out to a couple of players right before the session started, and we still managed to forget it. Oh well.]

Smugly and Moss, who had been waylaid by berserkers, stood at the southern gap in the crumbling walls. They watched Thalion get hacked to death by berserkers. Strahd flew over the mayhem as the ritual neared completion.

“The pain! My soul! Not my soul! It’s taking my soul!!!!” Screamed Claudiu. His mother, Stephania, was in a dissociative state. The pair led Stephania away. As they were on the downslope on the north end of Yester Hill. They heard twisting and breaking of hundreds of branches. The effigy had been given life and what emerged was a twisted cryptid thirty feet tall. The thing broke through the crumbling wall and wandered northeastward. Moss and Smugly didn’t wait any longer. They retreated to the winery with the catatonic Stephania in tow.

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Darsha waited. Just after Thalion was killed, the Gulthias tree began summoning blights. Also, the sickening fruit of the tree ripened and dropped to the ground filling the air near it with poisonous vapor. Luckily, she laid outside of its area of effect.

She waited. The druids succumbed to the poison and laid on the ground either unconscious or dead. The berserkers, exhausted from the ceremony, collapsed to the ground. Strahd touched ground with his Night-Mare and wandered around the carnage. He came to the Thalion.

“This’ll make a good gift for Volenta.” He said to himself, smiling. With unnatural strength, he hefted the corpse of Thalion over his shoulder. The Blood Spear dropped from the Paladin’s dead hand.

Darsha waited. When the blights wandered off, she peered around to make sure that no one else was around. She waited some more. It was mid-afternoon, nothing stirred any longer. First, she picked up the Blood Spear, then she found the magic gem on Skarther. The were-raven fled to the winery.

END SESSION