The chronicle record
Session recap
After several weeks at Torrentmoot, Ardax the White-Hair led the gathering to witness the Deluge.
Undead appeared in the distance as the party fought flood ghouls on the way back to camp.
Near the low mesa, more misshapen creatures emerged from the rain. Ardax the White-Hair and his remaining guards intercepted them and called for help; Kestrel, Guthrig, Dabor, and Solara joined the fight. An enemy wizard attacked as ghouls closed in. Vanna destroyed one ghoul, and Klein burned two with fire before destroying another with his sword. Gurnak treated his own wounds, then struck at the wizard with divine magic. Solara protected herself and used magic against the enemy, while Vanna placed and detonated a rune on the wizard. The Floodslain Wizard hurt Klein with water and flotsam, then blinded Vanna and stunned Gurnak. Vanna still invoked a rune against it, and Klein continued attacking. Gurnak’s attack caused the wizard to explode in a ball of light. After a minute, Apollo helped clear Vanna’s blindness, and Solara provided more healing before the march resumed.
At Torrentmoot, attendees had twenty minutes to pack, saddle mounts, and prepare two wagons. Gurnak tried to manage the camp’s many animals, and Solara joined him after helping organize the people. Vanna repaired and rigged equipment; Klein made two attempts to load supplies. Ardax the White-Hair announced that undead threatened the area and that returning to Urgir with so many people would be dangerous. He would go to Urgir to raise the alarm, while some of his warriors escorted the caravan to Cleft Head Hold. He asked the party to accompany the main group. After blessing their weapons, he departed. Apollo took up a position and barked orders. Solara knew the route and estimated the journey would take about four days if nothing stopped the caravan. The Party rested and recovered fully on the way. The next morning, the rain had passed, leaving mostly dry ground. A ravine ahead carried a rushing torrent, with debris and belongings in the water from earlier crossing attempts. Grothlyn Zor asked the party to find a safe ford. Vanna and Solara found a place that appeared passable, though Vanna had a bad feeling about it. Solara spotted what looked like humanoid skin underwater; it was unattached and moved differently from the current. Vanna threw a stone, revealing a second form. The creatures crawled toward the party and threw pieces of their own skin. Solara recognized them as skin slugs, undead formed from people skinned alive.
Klein hit both creatures with magical attacks, and Gurnak struck with Vitality Lash. Solara invoked Embodiment of Battle, with her and Apollo’s eyes glowing alike, then wielded sunlight against a slug. Vanna’s runes and the party’s attacks broke the creatures’ holds on Klein, but one slug grappled and struck Solara, covering her with skin and making her sick. Klein and Gurnak continued attacking, and Gurnak froze a slug to death. An underwater battle axe appeared where it fell. Solara went downstream to retch. Klein asked about taking the axe; Gurnak had no need for it, and Vanna said she could use it but would not often. Gurnak examined Solara’s wounds, and the party returned to guide the caravan toward the ford.
On the way, Segrek, a nervous guard, asked Gurnak for help finding his missing pendant. Segrek said it helped him resist the curse of the Stormblood Tiger and feared others would turn against him if they learned of it. Gurnak recognized the curse as one that could transform Segrek into a tiger, triggered by the smell of blood or the moon’s phase; some orcs sought the curse deliberately, though it could be difficult to control. The pendant was found beneath someone who had stepped on it. Its painted tiger stripes marked it as an aid to control, not a magical object. Segrek thanked the party and offered his help, saying he could transform at will. Gurnak suggested a tea of three harmless herbs if the pendant went missing again, and Solara supported his claim. The caravan is now at the ford.