Session 5, Arc I

Entering Easthills

Played 10 July 2025 Watch the session (spoiler-free)

The party continued their harrowing cart chase from the previous session, with scouts in hot pursuit through the darkness. Combat erupted as Bones cast Entangle to restrain one scout while landing a critical hit with Chill Touch despite the penalty for casting multiple spells. Kailyn attempted similar tactics but struggled with the darkness due to her lack of darkvision. The scouts retaliated with longbow attacks, damaging both party members and the cart's wheel before Yomidrogo used mending to repair it. The battle concluded dramatically when Yomidrogo killed one scout with Witch Bolt, and Crezzida rolled a natural 20 to completely obliterate the remaining pursuer with doubled lightning damage.

As they traveled toward their destination at medium pace, the party discussed recent violent encounters while Crezzida demanded explanations for the chaos, expressing panic and confusion about their situation. During the journey, they experimented with combining the mysterious orb and bone staff they had acquired. The orb demonstrated strange magical properties, attracting spells cast at it but not fully absorbing them - instead taking in the magical essence before ejecting it out the other side. Both illusion and evocation cantrips behaved identically when cast at the orb, suggesting it could potentially store magical energy but required further investigation.

Bones tested the bone staff's effects by casting Charm Person on Crezzida multiple times. After failing the first attempt, the second casting succeeded, calming her panic attack for an hour until the charm wore off. His talking skull companion, revealed to be named Arraphesu (though he preferred being called Jack), provided advice about experimenting with their magical items.

The party arrived at the impressive city of Easthills as morning broke, marveling at the towering buildings and massive architecture unlike anything they had seen before. The city was built on hills with bridges, aqueducts, and impressive stonework stretching into the distance. At the gates, they encountered guards including an elven officer who cast Detect Magic on them - surprisingly, despite carrying magical items, they passed inspection and entered the city.

Easthills proved to be a magnificent metropolis with distinct districts connected by bridges and ramps. The Curling served as the main residential area, while the Marbled Basin in the center housed elite mansions and government buildings. The party noticed the distinctive Sundrium guards in bright yellow uniforms, learning they were a semi-religious force specific to this city that had been founded 50-60 years ago.

The group split up to explore different areas of the city. Fe, Bones, and Crezzida visited the grand library in the Marbled Basin, a massive cylindrical building with marble columns and impressive architecture. Fe researched tiefling heritage, learning about their devil lineage, distinctive features, and the historical context of their origins. Bones inquired about necromancy and bone staffs but was told such materials weren't available, with only historical accounts of magic's downfalls being permitted.

Meanwhile, Yomidrogo and Kailyn discovered a hidden magic shop concealed by illusion magic in the markets. The shop appeared to vanish when looked at directly, but Kailyn's keen perception allowed her to find the solid door. Inside, they met Darion, a cautious shopkeeper who initially denied selling magical items but was persuaded to reveal his true business when offered gold. The shop contained magical weapons and armor disguised as normal equipment, with a mysterious marble counter that had magical properties.

Darion offered various magical items including a lesser ring of spell storing for 1500 gold, and Yomidrogo successfully sold his ring of water walking for 900 gold. The shopkeeper also provided a note directing them to a mysterious location called "the club enchant" with the password "marble paradise." When asked about a deck of illusion, Darion lied about not knowing anything, though his deception was detected.

The party reconvened at a music shop where Crezzida and Fe discovered their shared musical talents. Crezzida hesitantly began playing a harpsichord piece from her past, and Fe joined her at the piano for a beautiful duet that moved everyone present. Bones danced to their music while the shop owner Greg watched appreciatively. During their performance, Fe inquired about music colleges, learning there was a local music hall but that formal education would require traveling to Valam or Luna.

While everyone was distracted by the music, Bones snuck away to search for a graveyard, driven by his obsession with finding buried skeletons. Fe noticed his departure and followed, trying unsuccessfully to stop him. Bones located a large graveyard on the edge of the markets and became fixated on the largest grave marked "Lord of the East." Despite Fe's attempts to drag him away, Bones became entranced and began digging up the grave with his hand axe.

A Sundrium guard spotted Bones desecrating the grave and attempted to arrest him. Bones claimed his friend was trapped inside and needed help, but when the guard tackled him, Bones wild shaped into a raven to escape. The guard called for backup to search for the escaped bird, while Bones hid in a nearby tree until dusk when his wild shape ended, leaving him as a skeleton in the branches.

Yomidrogo spent this time searching for the club enchant location, traveling through the city's districts and crossing the impressive bridges. He found the establishment in the Farmer's Pride district but discovered it was closed, only opening on God's night and dawn. He also passed the Old Tusk Inn that Fe's guardian Marco had mentioned.

The scattered party members eventually reunited and discussed the day's events, particularly Bones being caught by guards. They returned to the gravesite where Bones had successfully climbed down from his tree hiding spot. After distracting the remaining guard, they helped Bones understand the difference between his unique undead nature and regular buried skeletons, explaining that his magical animation was special and why he needed to remain hidden.

The party then made their way to the Old Tusk Inn, where they met the friendly elven innkeeper Sildan Carraro. He recognized Fe through her connection to Marco and offered them a family discount on rooms. Sildan provided local information and gave Fe gold to pass on to Marco, establishing their base of operations for the night.

In their private room, Yomidrogo shared a vision he'd experienced connecting the orb to Aureus, the god of light from the Unheit religion. The party made religion checks and learned about the pantheon structure, discussing plans to visit temples for more information about their mysterious artifact. They decided to investigate the club enchant the following day and visit a local church later when there would be fewer people around.

During her long rest, Kailyn experienced a disturbing prophetic vision of a man in red robes in a barren volcanic landscape. The figure appeared confused and teleported away before an impossibly loud screeching sound filled the space, causing immense pain and making her feel like she was fading away. She jolted awake and took a walk, visiting the nearby church and later the library where she researched religion, feeling a particular connection to Sehanine, the goddess of moons and planets.

The next morning, the party examined job postings at the city's bounty board and selected a high-paying investigation into water contamination affecting the city's aqueduct system. The job offered 1500 gold base reward with potential bonuses, requiring them to report to the Lord of the East upon completion. They visited the Guards Lock in the Marbled Basin where a half-elf guard provided details about the assignment.

During their tavern discussions, strangers mentioned the return of something called the Gnawing Plague, a legendary illness that killed hundreds of thousands and drove people insane. They learned it required being bitten to contract and wasn't airborne, potentially connecting to their water investigation. The party also clarified confusion about the Lord of the East, learning it was a position rather than a single person, with the previous holder having died 60 years ago.

Following the aqueduct system toward the Farmer's Pride district, the party traveled for about twenty minutes into a forested area where they discovered a goblin keep directly on their path. Kailyn spotted wooden spikes and movement in the dense trees, while Bones overheard goblins speaking about making batches of something. Yomidrogo cast invisibility and successfully infiltrated the keep, stealing a bottle of mysterious liquid from the goblins.

Using minor illusion to mimic a goblin's voice, Yomidrogo tricked one goblin into drinking the liquid by claiming a bet had been made, causing a fight between the creatures. A medicine check revealed the stolen liquid was badly made moonshine rather than a water contaminant. When Yomidrogo drank some of the potent alcohol, he became heavily intoxicated.

The party investigated the aqueduct water nearby, with Kailyn casting detect magic but finding no magical contamination. They decided to approach the goblins diplomatically, but the intoxicated Yomidrogo drunkenly entered the keep despite their attempts to stop him. The goblins drew swords and threatened violence when the party entered their territory.

The situation escalated when Bones cast Tasha's Hideous Laughter on one goblin, causing it to fall prone laughing uncontrollably. Yomidrogo's wild magic then triggered, creating a fog cloud centered on himself that obscured vision in the area. The remaining goblins rushed forward to attack as the session ended, with the party facing combat in the misty conditions of the goblin keep.