Surrounded by 20 of the elven rangers, 🧌Gronk, 🐰Faefina, and 😎Bori debate how to approach the elves while 🧔♂️Harald acts on autopilot. The leader, in a welcoming voice, introduces himself as Boberic, and says that their seer would like a word with them.
Gronk is eager to eat and sleep, and the elves offer a loaf of Elven bread. Gronk eats it, and the elves quietly advise that that loaf constituted 6 months of eating on the trail.
Checking the elves out, Bori feels that the elves are safe, and their intentions are genuine. The party sets off with them, following three of them as the rest seem to evaporate into the woods.
Bori quizzes them on their skin routine, They tell Gronk that they have seen another army, snuck into the ranks and captured one of them, and the captive speaks in the same tongue as Harald. The army is putting great amounts of land under their control, but their King, the king of Kel-Genial La Gergio, far to the West is ready for them.
The druids have blocked intercontinental magical communications, and so the Elves have not been able to communicate with the Arcanum. They're also transforming all manner of creature into fighters, as well as Rocks from the mountains, and Krakens from the sea.
An hour later, the party arrives in a clearing. The leader walks through it and disappears. Gronk and Faefina are amazed, but Bori recognises it as an illusion. Bori taunts Gronk from behind the veil, before one of the elves takes pity on them and tells Gronk and Faefina to just walk through.
The camp is well organised and pretty despite it's impermanent nature. Set aside a river and near a few caves. Boberic asks if they would like some rest and to speak to their Seer. The party rest and recover, and notice that groups of two elves and/or humans together will approach the caves, as if in shifts.
Approaching a small tent later, the party enter to find a spacious interior. Inside is an elven man, hair tied up in a neat bun and in formal attire. The party sits facing him at his invitation, and he introduces himself as Cocamer, the Seer of the expedition. He asks the party their names, and tells them that they're excited to see him as they are in the employ of 🐲Judaxasis, and they have devided to side with the Arcanum. Faefina gasps at that but stays quiet. The Seer says that the Druids have blocked communication with the Arcanum, and they wish to contact Judaxasis so that he can relay their support to the Arcanum.
Faefina refuses as she supports the Druids, and Cocamer says that while much of the continent is siding with the Druids, and also that there are portions of the Lenthor army that may pose a greater threat still to everyone. He offers to demonstrate, and leads them into the caves. In the centre of a cave, is a man in half plate armour, praying and holding a rosary with an emblem of concentric circles in platinum, gold, and silver.
He is surrounded by multiple mages holding an antimagic field over him. 'This was a very difficult capture', says Cocamer, and there are many more like him. He says that that church is what is helping empower the Lenthor army. He asks what that symbol might mean.
Gronk recalls it as the symbol of Wren, and Cocamer says that the man won't speak much Common or Elvish, but does speak a dialect of Celestial that they do not recognise. Gronk offers Chain Lightning to make the man speak, but Cocamer prefers Faefina's suggestion of her casting Translate Languages on Cocamer.
Faefina performs the ritual, and Cocamer enters the anti-magic field to question the prisoner. Faefina picks up snatches, and hears the man praying to Mu-Wren, and asking for 'these people' to be shown their true place. She remembers that Mu is the god of order, and Wren is the god of capitalism.
Cocamer leaves the field, thanking Faefina, but says he got no further information from the prisoner. He offers his hospitality, and asks them to seek out Judaxasis for them. Pointing to a nearby cliff, he mentions that the view from the top if worth a visit.
Still energised from the morning's activities, Faefina heads to the top of the cliff. Far in the distance, she can see a large retinue of horses pulling a carriage with a robed and masked figure inside. It may be a trick of the light, but the small bit of hand she can see seems almost skeletal in nature. The guards also seem to have greying skin.
Hopping down the cliff, she screams: 'The undead are coming!' A guard says that they're been seen and are not coming near the camp, but they seem to be returning to the same arcane gate they emerged from a few days prior. Their magic, he says, is unfamiliar to them but is called Lichdom.
The party digs through Helene's bag.
Nick finds a Manual of Quickness of Action, allowing a +2 increase to Dex on proper study, once per hundred years.
Harald gets Mithril.
Faefina gets a Necklace of Prayer Beads,
Gronk gets a Necklace of Fireball (1D6+3 beads 60ft range, 3rd level fireball).
The party wakens to a battle - some of the Mu-Wren priests are fighting the Elven Rangers. Bori recognises that the priests seem to be keeping the fighting in the camp and away from the caves.
Rushing into the caves, the party see two priests in full plate lifting the captured priest, looking pleased with themselves. One of them passes the newly freed priest a sword with ice coalescing upon it. Around them lie the still bodies of the guards.
Bori rushes up to the three priests, hitting the largest twice for 19Dmg.
Gronk casts Chain Lightning, dealing 41Dmg to the largest, chaining on to the other two. The largets seems to handle the shock better.
The two other priests pull out mauls, and one swings at Bori, missing him.
The other priest runs toward Gronk. Bori swings at him and misses, but Gronk takes 20 Blu Dmg from
The largest priest makes a gesture in the air. Faefina and Gronk notice a dark magic trying to crush their spirits but are unscathed, while Bori finds himself weakened in attack and defense.
'Bend to me' cries the largets priest.
Faefina pulls out her crossbow and seeking bolts, and fires on the priest in front of Gronk, dealing 14 Dmg. She calls then on Spiritual Weapon, though it misses it's first attack.
Bori attacks the priest in front of him with his staff, hitting him hard and stunning him. Bori feels his darkness lifting.
Gronk Misty Steps up to the largest priest, poison spraying him for 12Dmg. He grabs at the priest's emblem but misses.
The largest priest skewers Gronk with his icy sword for 42Dmg, leaving him on 1Hp.
The other two priests attack Faefina and Bori, but both miss.
Faefina uses Mass Healing Word and heals herself 'and these two idiots' for 14Hp.
Then she uses her crossbow, ansd Gronk uses Ring of Harmony to help her hit the largets priest, dealing 14Dmg.
Bori attacks the largest priest in a Flurry of Blows, hitting him three times and dealing 29Dmg.
Gronk tries to use Shocking Grasp on the largest priest but misses, and then uses his Astral Shard to Misty Step back.
The largest priest says to Bori 'Very few have brought me to this point'.
Gronk does not recognise what the priest is about to do, and a necrotic surge washes through Bori, dealing 41Dmg.
The other priest hits Gronk for 16 Dmg taking him back to 1HP, and the other hits Faefina for 8dmg.
Faefina uses Healing Word again, healing Gronk 13Hp. Her spiritual weapon watches and does nothing.
Faefina fires her crossbow at the largest priest, dealing 26Dmg.
Bori steps back, reeling from the blow he's just taken and bleeding from the eyes, nose, and ears.
Swinging at the priest, he hits 4 times, dealing 40Dmg and stunning him and almost toppling him.
Gronk casts Ring of Fire around the priest in front of him, cooking him inside his plate armour and killing him. 5 golden coins roll from his corpse.
The largest priest raises his emblem and shouts 'Yield to me!'. Gronk takes 29 Psy dmg, taking him back to 1HP, and charming him.
Bori and Faefina take 15Dmg.
The second priest puts his hands onto the largest priest, healing him with 12HP.
Faefina casts Insect Plague on the priests, dealing 18 Dmg to them and Bori (caught in the crossfire). The largest priest collapses, handing his emblem to the last priest as he drops.
Faefina's Spiritual Weapon does another 10 Dmg to the last priest.
Bori takes the symbol from him, wraps it around his staff, and in a final double blow, uses it to break open his skull.
The party heals up the Elven mages still alive. Finding the Seer supervising cleanup in aftermath of the battle, he states that he needs to know more about Mu-Wren. In a flash of insight, Faefina realises that Mu and Wren may be this new god.
Party gets 7700Xp ea.