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chronicles-of-kats-dnd-game · 7 months

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Lost Mine & Abyss Session 9.5 - Thundertree

-In the past of the orc village of Thundertree, many years before the days of our current party, a wizard and his young apprentice perform a summoning ritual- one that goes horribly wrong. The young boy is sent to run to the nearby city of Neverwinter to get help, as an abyssal portal tears open in Thundertree's tower.

-Five 15th-level adventurers answer the emergency call: Valrus the Tiefling Sorcerer, Vremjol the Luxodon Cleric, Ylsirri the Wood Elf Druid, Duncan the Dwarf Cleric, and Alkoth the Crystal Dragonborn Paladin.

-The party makes their way up the hill, beholding the smoke-covered scene of Thundertree's destruction. The orc apprentice, a young Zoream, trails behind them, begging them for help. The party convinces him to hide behind a tree until its all over, the druid handing him a Goodberry.

-As they step into the burning village ready for an awful day of work, the party is greeted by a swarm of useless but very determined Quasits scrabbling at their armor. The party takes them out easily.

-One of the remaining Quasits gives a pitiful roar in defiance- followed by three much louder shrieks. Seeing the combat taking place, three of the vulture-like Vrock demons swoop in close behind. Each sets off a Stunning Screech, a powerful energy passing through the party- failing to take hold on all but the druid, as she falls to her knees paralyzed.

-Valrus calls out to the creatures in abyssal, demanding to know which lord they serve. They respond only that their lord is stronger than any of them- that once they finish with this place, they will move on to the many souls of the nearby city. They laugh as they circle over the party.

-Valrus pelts one of them down to the ground with rocks, the creature landing on a roof next to Ylsirri- happily turning to its new defenseless target. The two remaining quasits also pick on the druid, along with the third Vrock.

-One of the Vrocks lands in front of the rest of the party, viciously attacking with its beak and claws- and getting destroyed by the surrounding party in return.

-Ylsirri frees herself from the Vrock's paralysis, rising to face her attackers as the party rushes to her aid. Duncan summons his Spirit Guardians, golden hawks diving at the surrounding demons. Ylsirri critically smacks the attacking Vrock with a thorn whip. Vremjol summons a Spiritual Weapon. Alkoth finishes crushing the Quasits. Valrus insults the Vrocks from the back.

-Damaged and angry, scales cover Ylsirri as the druid Wild Shapes into a Brontosaurus, its gargantuan form crushing the nearby building and pushing everyone out onto the path. The surviving vrock freezes and stares upwards in shock, releasing poisonous spores- again failing to take hold on anyone. It's death quickly comes for it by Duncan's blade.

-At their defeat, young Zoream bounds after the party, congratulating them on their skill through coughs of smoke and admiring the dinosaur. The dinosaur pushes Zoream with her tail into one of the nearby ruined buildings as the party tells him he needs to stay and hide until they are done. Zoream turns around in the building beholding the corpse of his uncle as the party continues on through the village.

-The smoke thickens the deeper into the village they walk, as they pass through a path of statues. Eyes begin to appear in the smoke, as the haze starts to coalesce into shape- as something very large stalks behind them. Roll initiative!

-Seven Shadow Demons manifest from the smoke to attack the party- and proceed to have a very bad time at the hands of the Paladin's Holy Avenger, the crystal dragonborn sweeping through the shadows with his radiant sword. The Brontosaurus continues its rampage, stomping some of the shadowy creatures out of existence. Duncan, continuing to not get hit by anything, dances his way through the Shadow Demons' attacks.

-Leaping through the smoke from the top of one of the buildings, the apelike Barlgura lands at the base of the Brontosaurus's neck, punching at it with its massive fists and biting it in the throat with its tusks.

-Valrus gathers a spell and summons the strength of the wind to tear the Barlgura from the Brontosaurus, the demon taking a long fall to the ground, growling at the party now in its sight.

-Vremjol casts spells of radiant fire at the creature, burning it in light. Duncan continues dancing through the remaining Shadow Demons while the guardian hawks begin to finish them off. Alkoth, seeing a worthy challenge, charges at the Barlgura, bisecting it with his Holy Avenger. Ylsirri swipes the rest of the Shadow Demons out of existence with her massive tail.

-The Shadow Demons gone, the smoke somewhat thins, revealing the tower ahead above the haze. A winged gargoyle-like demon roars from its perch on the top of the tower, its wingbeats clearing the smoke in a path towards the party, destruction and corpses visible as the cover pulls away. The creature crawls lizard-like down its side to set its life-stealing gaze upon the intruders. The party resists the creature's pull, except for Alkoth- and the young Zoream, peeking out from his shelter at the scene of Thundertree's destruction revealed.

-The Nabassu breathes in their life force, Alkoth standing stoically against it, while the young Zoream is drained of nearly everything within him. The creature flexes its wings in renewed strength, pushing another energy through Thundertree- as the dead rise to meet it.

-The dead of Zoream's shelter raise behind him with arms outstretched towards him- but the young orc is focused on a separate ghoul, running across the battlefield towards what remains of his mother before being yanked back by Valrus.

-Valrus casts Animate Object upon one of the village's orc warrior statues, sending it forth to attack the undead with its enormous stone sword alongside the Brontosaurus's cratering stomps.

-Duncan, lit by the glow of his Spirit Guardians, holds up his holy talisman to the tower, attempting a Banishment upon the Nabassu. The demon shakes off its affects, turning its fury towards the dwarf.

-Vremjol runs up the tail of the Brontosaurus, holding out his symbol as well for another holy Banishment. The Nabassu raises from the tower and howls against him- and then goes silent, dust sweeping through the path as the demon vanishes from this realm. The party takes out the last of the ghouls, while Vremjol carefully maintains concentration on the Banishment spell safe upon the back of the Brontosaurus.

-The village is still and silent once more. The fires still burn and the smoke hangs over the air, but aside from the party, the village appears to be empty of life- but then the ground begins to tremble, and an energy begins to radiate from the tower, the air humming with abyssal power as pebbles start to break off from the tower. The party steps back from the tower cautiously as the portal is still very much alive.

-"Fuck it, we ball, lets go," says the paladin, charging into the tower and up the stairs to crush some demons in the name of holy Bahamut. The strongest abyssal energy he has ever felt washes over the scales of the crystal dragonborn as he climbs the crumbling stairs. Valrus leaves the young Zoream on Duncan's ram steed and follows in after, Duncan trailing from a distance behind. Vremjol on the back of the Brontosaurus remains behind, still holding their concentration.

-At the top of the tower in the wizard's study, pages of the fateful spellbook swirl around the portal still spasming with energy as something tries to come through. Alkoth unleashes his radiant breath upon it, its energy overtaking and weakening the portal as it slowly begins to close.

-Before they can claim their victory, the portal is suddenly ripped open as an even stronger opposite energy flows through it, pushing Alkoth and Valrus to the wall. Stepping out from the now-huge portal is the monstrous Balor, lashing its fiery whip through the study and tearing the portal wide with its sword of lightning. It spreads its wings and roars, its fiery aura catching the spellbook's pages ablaze in the air.

-Valrus, faced with the strongest creature he has ever seen, grabs Alkoth and launches the two of them out the window, hovering in the air as he yells a warning to the others to stay away. Duncan climbs back down the stairs.

-Alkoth, prepared for the duel of his life, commands Valrus to send him back. The sorcerer launches the dragonborn back through the window, landing in front of the fiend with the Holy Avenger drawn.

-The Balor roars, unleashing its weapons upon the paladin, his fiery whip and lightning sword lashing through his armor while its fiery aura begins to melt at the edges of the dragonborn's scales.

-Vremjol's concentration complete, Ylsirri drops back out of Wild Shape and into her Wood Elf form, dropping the Luxodon Cleric safely on the ground. The druid downs her healing potion and launches a spell of Sunburst into the tower's window, yelling an apology to Alkoth as its radiant fire washes over the two combatants.

-Alkoth, casting a determined glare upon the Balor through the aura of fire, pulls out his platinum scale pendant to Bahamut and calls the words to a spell of Banishment. The Balor strains against the spell- and then is no more, the fiery aura washing away. Alkoth stands still and silent, holding out his holy symbol as he maintains the spell.

-Silence continues. A few seconds pass. Then a minute. The portal grows smaller and smaller in front of the paladin, until finally, it seals shut. The swirling pages fall to the ground in a pile of ash, as the air is finally still. The paladin takes a breath, as it is finally over.

-The party reconvenes in the silent village. The fires still burn, but they have begun to subside, the smoke beginning to clear. Alkoth approaches the child Zoream, taking off his helmet, and pressing his platinum scale amulet into the young orc's hands, sending a prayer to Bahamut for his protection. Valrus gifts the young apprentice a spellbook. And from above, as the sun's light finally returns to the ruined land, a voice sounds through the party's mind.

-A being of light manifests before the party. Dema, the protector spirit of Thundertree, thanks the party for defending its last survivor and blesses their journeys. To Zoream, she offers a set of paints to the young orc, who begins to paint over the spellbook's first pages a child's rendition of the days events.

-The presence retreats, as the tree of the town's namesake, wrapped and withered around the tower, starts to heal with a soft glow.

-Duncan suggests the party go for drinks, and there, this demon-slaying oneshot ends!

#September 21 2023 #Lost Mine and Abyss #Session Recaps #dnd #dungeons and dragons

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