Next morning, riding back (Bori walking), mayor tied up on the back of a horse. Party told villagers of Galveston mayor was under arrest.
See road blocked - 7 bandits, one holding a jar with something inside.
Gronk recognises object in jar as a brain.
Bandits run towards us, hit Gronk w. scimitar for 4.
Harold uses attack of opportunity to hit bandit for 7.
Next bandit attacks Harold, misses.
Next attacks Bori, hits for 4.
Next attacks Merrick, misses.
Next attacks Harold, misses,
Next misses Bori, fails and sword flies into road.
Merrick attacks with rapier, hits for 8.
Bori hits nearest with staff and hits, hits with fist and misses.
Harold hits the one he previously hit with halberd, and then again with the butt of the halberd and misses. First hit kills bandit, slicing down his back.
Gronk uses burning hands to melt three bandits in a row, tries to use shocking grasp on one of the remianing, misses.
Bandit hits Gronk for 4 damage
Bandit misses attack on Bori.
Merrick gives Bori Bardic Inspiration, thrusts rapier into bandit - misses twice.
Bori hits bandit, whacking him across the ear, knocks him out.
Bori hits last bandit, putting hand behind his head and elbows him in the face.
Bandit leader, holding brain in jar is left remaining.
Harold charges, attempting to trip. Bandit leader is tripped, jar, is left holding jar, some fluid splashes out.
Gronk runs up to bandit leader, punches bandit leader and grabs jar.
Some chilling affect comes from jar, Gronk and Merrick don't notice. Harold and Bori get 17 psychic damage and are stunned.
Captain (bandit leader) gets up, tries to stab Harold, misses.
Merrick casts Tasha's Hideous Laughter on brain - brain not affected.
Merrick gives Gronk Bardic inspiration.
Bori shakes out of stun, knocks brain out of Gronk's hands and hits it three times for 13. Jar shattters, brain down but not out.
Harald is still stunned.
Gronk casts Cone of Fire again, with an empowered hit. Hits both but doens't kill them - 13 damage.
Brain casts psychic damage, Gronk and Merrick pass, Harald and Bori stunned and badly hurt.
Bandit leader picks up the brain, starts stroking it.
Merrick casts Healing Word on Bori, heals him to 5HP.
Merrick attacks brain being held by bandit captain, hits for 3 and steps back.
Bori staggers to his feet, hits brain once for 7.
Harold wakes up, still downed. Crawls off a little way.
Gronk casts Bruing Hands again, triggering wild magic surge. 4 Flumphs appear, frightened of Gronk. The heat of the Burning Hands attack kills the brain.
Bandit attacks Gronk with scimitar. Gronk relies on his relenetless endurance to stay up.
Merrick casts Healing Word on Harald, healing him to 4. Merrick attacks the bandit leasder, misses.
Bori hits bandit twice, hitting him with staff and elbow, knocking him out cold.
Harald gets up slowly.
Party finds 17 pieces of gold. Gronk tries eating the brain.
After a short rest, party interrogates bandit captain. Merrick mimics accent of bandits, tells captain he knows about the hardships he's been through. Captain had a ship with his wife, ship got destroyed entering Lenthor, wife caught consumption. Captain made deal with someone to cause trouble around land in exchange for wife back - as brain. Blames Gronk for eating brain. Gronk offers him a bite.
Party kills captain as per his request.
Party takes captain and mayor to sheriff. Sheriff summons mayor to front of line. Sheriff asks
about mayor, hears accusation, gets evidence from Bori. Sheriff reads it, slaps mayor. Asks mayor about consorting with necromancy. In Lenthor, magic is no longer illegal, but necromancy is. Harald hits mayor on back intimidating him, tells him to tell the sheriff the truth. Mayor cracks, admits it. Harald takes him to cell, Sheriff quietly tells Harald that he can't just go and arrest Crowley. Proof must be found that Crowley is directly into the mage arts. Deputises party on matters investigating Crowley, but under the table.
Sheriff asks party to investigate case of temple of Mei being vandalised - last night, inside the temple instead of outside. Party realise it's probably a (fiendish?) cult. Gronk asks about warrant on bandit captain. Brings captain corpse inside to show, get 13 gold for that and 10 for Galveston job.
Party heads back to Queen's Crown for long rest.
In morning, party heads over to temple to investigate. Graffiti scrawled on walls, inside priestesses crying, comforting others. Harald sees cupboards are thrown open, contents strewn around dais, with symbols scrawled in red ink or blood. Gronk thinks he recognises writing as infernal. Bori knows it is, and blasphemous, calling Mei a horrid whore birthed of humanity's hope.
The armour worn by a few priestesses seems to glow faintly. Harald speaks to one of them. Asks about defacement, guard calls it desecration. Thinks they got into the temple because they did not believe in Mei. They can't divine where this cult is but their texts (focii) have been desecrated and can't be used. Church of Romelia and Church of Love have offered to help.
Harald suggests staking out temple. Guards offer to help. Harald asks if other churches might be targeted - they think maybe Seasons of Church of Love. Suggestion raised to stake out other church while Guards watch Church of Mei, post runners to call if needed. Guard points up and moon appears through the roof - says Mei appears when most needed.
Armoured Dwarfs walk in - offer assistance from [Church of Leng].
Party buys health potions at church. Church offers potions at 1Sp each
[Kineeta] walks in, offers blessings of [Romelia]. Says she's been looking for party. Hisses at the infernal writings. Starts to cast spell, one symbol disappears. Realises cleaning will take a while. Says in two days she'll be leaving for lands of Ryshadium for wedding of Maui and Eluthreal. Says gold owed to party is at Queens Crown. Asks to speak to Gronk.
Tells Gronk he is a sorceror, a gift from the Fey Wild. Thinks Orcs crossed into this world from theirs through the Fey World. Bori shows Kineeta the Soul Gem from the mayor. She recognises it as dark magic, asks where we got it. We explain the story, connection with Crowley. Kineeta doesn't know him. She will look into it. Recognises it as a [Weathersvane] name. Says one can create undead with that gem, takes it.
Party stakes out church of Romelia that night. Moon is full, very bright. Three hours in, clerics are skittish but grateful for our presence. Also some guards from Mei and Leng present.
Harald realises someone in grey hood standing next to him. Cautions of hand of great undead is moving in city, then disappears into the shadows.
Bori checks out corner that has been left unguarded, sees Lenthori soldier running off, scared. Bori tackles soldier, gets him down. Soldier grabs him, tells him to leave the city, everyone is doomed. Soldier is terrified, said he was tasked to give message to officer of army camped outside city. He looked into the officer's helm, saw hell. What he saw wasn't human. Struggles out from under Bori, runs off.
Cleric of Romelia offers cup of cocoa. Gronk enjoys it, tops it up with tasty health potion. Harald asks about perversions, cleric can't be specific.
Harald sees a large group of cultists walking in.
Harald impales the first cultist with halberd.
Cultist hits Gronk with scimitar - 4Dmg
Next cultist hits Bori - 4Dmg
Two Cultists attack Harald, both miss.
One cultist starts to pray, drwing in energy.
Harald attacks culltist in front of Gronk, twice, killing him.
Bori hits cultist in front of him twice, missing both.
Bori disengages by sidling past cultists with excuses, quickens a cone of fire on circle of cultists. He then empowers the spell to hit the group with 14Dmg. They're still up, but barely.
Two cultists throw daggers at Gronk - 6Dmg.
Cultist hits Bori with Sacred Flame, but misses.
Cultist hits Harald with scimitar - 4Dmg.
Cultist hits Bori with scimitar - 4Dmg.
Harald hits cultist in front of him twice, killing him. He uses Action Surge to hit second one with halberd, hitting once for 4Dmg.
Bori tries picking up cultist in front of him, fails. Grabs his hair slamming his head down onto his knee and knocking him out.
Gronk casts Burning Hands on group of cultists, killing 4 but not leader. Gronk steps back.
Leader steps up to Gronk, touches him and hits for 7 necrotic damage.
Cultist throws dagger at Gronk, almost dropping him.
Cultist misses Bori.
Harald has attack of opportunity on leader, hitting for 10.
Harald hits leader with halberd for 12Dmg, impaling him in the back. Harald tries hitting other cultist, misses.
Bori hits cultist in front of him once, holding his staff in both hands and driving it into his forehead.
Gronk drinks a healing potion, heals +10, casts burning Hands on last two, dropping them in singed mounds on the floor.
Party gets 319XP each