Alastor Crossclaw – blogpost 14

I approach the tiny hut and hear someone call out, “Can you carry Farryn in, Cross?” I reply, “No. I cannot.” Mohan, who is gesturing a lot, steps forward and suggests he can carry Farryn in the bag of holding. The White Mage immediately rejects the idea, but Mohan clarifies that’s not what he meant.

We decide to take a short rest, and Farryn becomes reactive again. Furthermore, Mohan can talk once more. “Oh guys, you’re here. I thought people were gone,” Farryn says as Mohan pats him on the head. I feel awful, and the White Mage agrees, saying “Me too.”

Farryn is looking at his satchel. “Hmm… Difficult… difficult… difficult.”
He’s acting weirdly. I have the feeling he’s not telling us something. As the rest of the party starts asking questions, suddenly, Farryn reveals that he has been holding back something – a potion of vitality! However, the White Mage quickly informs us that it cannot help us. Farryn explains that it was difficult because he was thinking about the ways he could use it, and this is not a nice applicability. Still, I have the feeling he wouldn’t share it even though it would’ve been a nice way to help out. 

Mohan begins to massage the muscles in my shoulders and arms, and I feel myself getting stronger. I am puzzled as to what the bird is doing, but I also feel my wounds healing. “Wow,” I say in amazement.

After our short rest, the white mage notices a shadow disappear from his body, and his muscles return. Mohan sees and laments, “Too bad about my spell.” We discuss what to do next and decide to search for loot and check other rooms.

Exiting the tiny hut, we spot a table with valuable items. There are several items including bowls, daggers, a figurine, a harp, and a crystal dragon mask. The white mage tells us that the cultists wanted to infect/mage this place. We find the pins of the mages made of obsidian, and Farryn gives us an obsidian symbol from the dead cultists’ bodies. The cultists were wearing red robes, which are different from the gray ones we encountered earlier. When we’re done, we decide to check the way to the lost level.

As we enter a room, we find beds and a portal with silence on it, we know this portal, and leave it be. We continue our way, and although I try to be silent, I make some noise. The air is eerie here, so my armor is clattering and echoing. Suddenly, we discover a key, just like with the vampires where we also found one. 

In the background, we can hear whispers and screams, which makes the place even eerier. Maggots are eating on the walls around us. I listen at a door and hear a zooming/moaning sound, but we need to go south. However, it appears that mister coward gnome doesn’t want to go through, so we decide to turn around.

Suddenly, I notice that some shadows are not moving correctly, and I realize something is not right. I hit them with all my might, but nothing happens – I missed, so I use my roar. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to have any effect, and three shadows come for me, attacking only me and Grond, not Farryn. I am brought to my knees, again barely able to carry my armor and weapons. I ask for help from the manifest mind: “Please… help… me…”. I get teleported away. Falling to my knees in front of the White Mage and Mohan, I’m traumatized by those awful shadows.

The white mage uses Dimension Door to get Farryn to safety. He reports seeing Snitch on the ground while Farryn tries to get away, so he cannot reach him.

I have difficulty getting to my feet. I wonder what I can do to help Farryn. The white mage tells me that he can’t get Farryn out of there yet, but he’s working on it. The manifest mind first needs to touch Farryn. 

The white mage quickly makes an origami bird and lets it light up, writing “help via manifest mind” on it. We hope that Farryn will be able to retrieve it.