Session 7 — Deep into the Muck¶
Our heroes continue their desperate search through the corrupted swamp, hoping to uncover its source, destroy another anchor, and find a way home.
Leaving Bellhollow¶
With the monsters that had invaded the town destroyed, the mayor of Bellhollow — grateful but terrified — begged the party to go into the swamp and find the source of the corruption.
Fenro agreed, on one condition: he wanted the mayor's sash.
The mayor very begrudgingly surrendered it.
With a lead pointing toward Mirewick Village, the team set out into the swamp in search of answers, allies, and hopefully fewer exploding vegetables.
The travelers on the road¶
They came across a group of weary travelers, one of them injured. Niko offered help while carefully pretending not to waste any actual spells.
It earned them a few coins and a warning: an armed convoy was on the road ahead, transporting volatile thunder roots.
Chuk's Magk Shoppe¶
Further along they reached Chuk's shop, where the strange proprietor offered to craft magic items from monster remains.
While Arthas kept the bizarre shopkeeper talking, Fenro went through the shop and stole anything that wasn't nailed down.
Granny Spindlejaw¶
At Granny Spindlejaw's hut, the party got the answer they'd come into the swamp for.
Granny's own sister, Auntie Bloat, is behind the swamp's misery.
And Granny was willing to explain exactly how it works. Auntie Bloat keeps captive people and feeds them thunder roots. She then harvests and distills their flatulence to produce the poison fog.
Granny has a feud with her sister — though it should be said that she is not especially opposed to torturing villagers on principle. Her objection is to how Auntie Bloat is going about it.
She did not elaborate on what, specifically, she would do differently.
The thunder-root convoy¶
Soon after, they found the convoy the travelers had warned them about, and decided to ambush it — disrupting Auntie Bloat's thunder-root delivery.
There was a brief delay owing to Gerald's stomach emergency. He made a triumphant return and fired a flaming arrow directly into the volatile vegetables.
The cart went up. Nothing was recovered intact.
Mirewick Village¶
The party reached Mirewick and met its mayor, at which point Fenro proudly displayed his stolen sash and announced that he was now the mayor of Bellhollow.
After some discussion — and presumably some diplomatic recovery — Mirewick's mayor shared what he knew: a villager had gone looking for the Vault of Pallon the Pious, which held an artifact that could help heal the swamp.
The troll cave¶
On the way to the temple, the party found a cave occupied by a troll. The fight was brutal, but the monsters were destroyed — and the cave gave up its secret.
The filtering flowers
Strange flowers growing inside appeared to filter the swamp's toxins.
Brought back to Chuk, they became gas masks for the party.
The white frog¶
Back on the road, the team encountered an odd white frog.
It decided to follow them.
The Vault of Pallon the Pious¶
The vault required a blessing with holy water to enter.
Inside, the party learned Pallon's story: he began with a righteous cause, and eventually became the very monster he had set out to oppose.
Deeper in, they fought shadows that drained their strength.
The inner sanctum door¶
The final door demanded five offerings:
| Offering |
|---|
| Ash |
| Blood |
| Mud |
| Tears |
| Rot |
Gerald provided the tears, and the door opened.
Pallon¶
Within the sanctum, Pallon questioned the party's motives.
A fierce battle followed, and he was defeated.
The Saint's Splinter
The party recovered the Saint's Splinter — an artifact that promises aid against Auntie Bloat.
What changed¶
- Auntie Bloat named as the source of the swamp's corruption — and as Granny Spindlejaw's sister.
- The thunder-root convoy destroyed, cart and cargo both.
- Gas masks acquired, crafted by Chuk from the cave flowers.
- A white frog is following the party.
- Pallon the Pious is dead and the Saint's Splinter is in hand.
- Fenro is, by his own account, the mayor of Bellhollow.
- Fenro robbed Chuk, who noticed his till was light afterward but couldn't prove it.
Loose ends¶
- The anchor still hasn't been found. The party knows who's responsible for the swamp now, but not where the thing they came for is.
- A villager went looking for the vault and the party never found them.
- Granny Spindlejaw and Auntie Bloat are sisters, and Granny gave up the whole grisly process freely. She objects to her sister's methods, not to the cruelty — and she never said what she'd do instead.
- People are being held captive and fed thunder roots. Nobody has gone looking for them.
- The white frog hasn't said anything.
- Chuk's till was light after the party's visit. He noticed. He has not said anything about it yet.