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Session 52, Cal's Conundrum and Middlesfeld

Paldegora

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Session 52 – 2025-05-17

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**Summary**

Eryn, Cassandra, Cal, Symon, X’or, and Angelique—journeyed south through a frostbitten landscape, exhausted from a brutal ambush at 3 a.m. that left X’or seriously wounded and their spell reserves drained. They healed using shared potions and a ring of regeneration. Angelique recalled a winter festival in Middlesfeld tied to Naa, goddess of balance, a memory stirred by a cataclysmic event they witnessed: a sky split by light from the west and darkness from the east.

Cal scouted ahead on foot, the others trailing. By late afternoon, they camped. X’or hunted but found nothing, so they ate rabbit and boar jerky. Cal took first watch, journaling and smoking by a rock. Eryn and X’or followed, the latter staying near the fire due to poor vision. The night passed without incident.

At dawn, Cal handed Symon a letter, which Symon read aloud. Cal expressed torment over their quest’s collateral damage—innocent deaths from caravans and villages. He recounted facing a woman with a necromantic weapon that unleashed undead, followed by Zantha and her daughters, Zora and Zara, who seemed to revel in the chaos. Cal had opposed joining Garrett’s caravan but relented, leading to deaths. He’d been killed for refusing to yield a vile artifact, revived by a necromancer, a taint he still carried. He criticized the group for accepting Zara’s amulet of non-detection for Angelique, suspecting it was a trap, and accused them of cowardice. Cal vowed to renounce his human heritage and fight bravely or die, demanding they reform or he’d leave.

Cassandra argued that attacking Zantha would’ve been suicidal, prioritizing their mission against dragons. Zantha was too powerful for now. Angelique admitted confusion about her role, while Symon suspected the amulet was a tracking device. They debated whether the amulet protected or would later be used to track or even endangered Angelique.

The group examined a black potion from Kalandra and a vial of powder. They suspecting the potion was Angelique’s blood for tracking, Eryn poured it out, crushed and buried the vial. The amulet glowed faintly under detect magic, but the vial and powder did not. Symon, weakened, delayed casting identify. Cal pushed to destroy the amulet, but Angelique stored it in the bag of holding. They pressed south.

By 11 a.m., five bandits—four with longswords, one with a battle axe, led by a crossbow-wielding thug in studded leather—demanded valuables. Cal offered 50 gold, but they demanded more. Eryn shot the leader, and Cal attacked the axe-wielder. X’or flanked the leader, Symon’s magic missiles killed the crossbowman, and Cassandra and Angelique joined in. The bandits were quickly defeated, one killed while fleeing. They looted 110 gold, two garnets (100 gold each), a heavy crossbow +1, a short sword +1, a battle axe +1, an amulet, and studded leather armor. Cal reclaimed his gold.

That evening, Angelique found a glowing lotus petal pulsing with her heartbeat. When she touched it, it glowed brighter, granting a cure light wounds spell. Symon noted its divine aura, distinct from arcane or draconic magic. Angelique felt a benevolent presence, not her grandfather’s, tied to the cosmic event, signaling hope.

The next morning, they reached Middlesfeld, vibrant with the Frostfire Revel for Naa. Cal, guilt-ridden over causing deaths, stayed outside of the town. Angelique secretly put on the amulet of non-detection. Lanterns and ice sculptures filled the square, where townsfolk sang and roasted chestnuts. Brynna Sunwhistle, a halfling priestess, recognized Angelique’s devotion to Naa, showed her own lotus petal, and invited her to help with the festival. Eryn and X’or overheard merchants discussing a raided caravan north of town, hit by cloaked figures with green dragon emblems, who took sulfur but left gold, heading to Port Ahn.

Angelique prayed briefly in an empty temple. In the square, Cassandra’s shield sculpture lost to a local’s deer, which won a cloak. Angelique bought glowstones, healing salves, winter cloaks, and sold the short sword +1 for 1500 gold. Symon smoked, enjoying the peace. A merchant noted the absence of frostfire powders, blaming Grim Alchemy, a missing alchemist whose potion shop was closed amid rumors of a dangerous project.

That night, Brynna announced a snowball fight. Eryn, X’or, and a commoner defeated three guards by targeting them one by one, earning 25 experience points each. The party gained 50 points for the ice contest, 50 for merchant inquiries, and 250 total for their efforts.

The mood shifted when Tobin, a boy, reported a dead woman with greenish skin in the woods. Brynna asked guards to investigate and retrieve the body with a wagon. 

The session ended there.

Please start the recording!

Exp: 250 + 25  = 275
Plus bonus XP as explained above. 


**Detail**

The adventuring party, weary from their travels, pressed southward through a frostbitten landscape. Eryn, Cassandra, Cal, Symon, X’or, and Angelique had endured a harrowing night, ambushed at three in the morning after barely an hour of rest. The battle left them battered—X’or nursing serious wounds, their spell reserves depleted. As they trudged on, healing each other with shared potions and a ring of regeneration, Angelique’s thoughts drifted to a snippet of lore: a winter festival in Middlesfeld, tied to the goddess Naa, goddess of balance. The memory, vague but persistent, surfaced amid the chaos of a cataclysmic event they’d witnessed—a sky torn by light from the west and darkness from the east, an unnatural spectacle that shook them all.

Cal, ever vigilant, scouted ahead on foot, his horse trailing the group. By late afternoon, with dusk creeping in, they paused to camp. X’or ventured into the woods to hunt but returned empty-handed, and the party settled for rabbit and boar jerky Symon had prepared from past kills. Cal took first watch, checking the horses and journaling by a rock, pipe smoke curling into the cold night. Eryn followed, scanning the darkness, then X’or, who stayed close to the fire’s glow, his vision limited. The night passed uneventfully, a rare mercy.

Morning brought tension. Cal, brooding over their path, handed Symon a lengthy letter he’d written through the night. Symon read it aloud, his voice steady but heavy. Cal’s words laid bare his anguish: their quest to do good had left a trail of innocent deaths, from caravan folk to villagers, caught in their wake. He recounted their encounter with a woman wielding a necromantic weapon, unleashing undead horrors, and the subsequent arrival of Zantha and her two daughters, Zora much like mother and Zara, young still, unconcerned with the well being of others. Cal had opposed traveling with Garrett’s caravan, knowing the risk, yet relented—and death followed. He’d been slain for refusing to surrender a vile artifact, only to be revived by a necromancer’s touch, which still tainted him. Worse, his companions had parleyed with Zora, accepting her amulet of non-detection for Angelique, a gift Cal suspected was a trap. He accused them of cowardice, of enabling evil by inaction, and declared his intent to disavow his human heritage, to fight with courage or die trying. He offered a choice: mend their ways, or he’d leave.

Silence gripped the group. Cassandra spoke first, pragmatic but strained, arguing that attacking Zora would’ve meant instant death. Their focus, she insisted, was stopping the dragons—Pyretrix, Cobaltrix, Verdanatrix, Styxltrix, and Blizzartrix. Zantha was beyond them, for now. Angelique echoed her, admitting her own confusion about her role in this cosmic struggle. Symon, skeptical, suggested the amulet might be a tracking beacon, part of a larger manipulation by Zantha and her estranged ally, Aphobis, who sought Styxltrix’s power. The group debated the amulet’s purpose—would it shield Angelique or betray her? 

Their scrutiny turned to a black potion, recently acquired from Kalandra, and a vial of powder. Eryn opened the potion, revealing what looked like blood. Fearing it was Angelique’s, used for tracking, she poured it into a hole and buried it. The amulet, tested with detect magic, glowed faintly, but the vial and powder did not. Symon, wary of his weakened state, delayed casting identify, suspecting powerful magic could mask the amulet’s true nature. Cal, unconvinced of its value, urged destruction, but Angelique tucked it into the bag of holding, postponing a decision. The group, fractured but resolute, continued south.

By 11 a.m., trouble found them. Four bandits with longswords, another wielding a battle axe—emerged from the forest, led by a crossbow-wielding thug in studded leather. They demanded valuables, threatening death. Cal tossed 50 gold pieces. That didn't appease them as they demanded more. Eryn, unyielding, drew her bow and fired at the leader, striking true. Cal charged the axe-wielding brute, his sword biting deep. The fight was swift and brutal. X’or flanked the leader, landing a devastating blow. Symon’s magic missiles felled the crossbowman. Cassandra and Angelique joined the fray, their attacks precise. Within moments, the bandits lay dead or fleeing, one cut down as he ran. The party looted 110 gold pieces, two garnets worth 100 gold each, a heavy crossbow +1, a short sword +1, a battle axe +1, an amulet, and studded leather armor. Cal reclaimed his gold.

As they camped that evening, Angelique spotted a glowing lotus petal on the frost-dusted ground, pulsing with her heartbeat. She called Symon over; when she hovered her hand above it, the glow intensified, radiating warmth. Picking it up, she felt a surge of renewal and discovered an extra cure light wounds spell. Symon, intrigued, noted its divine aura, distinct from arcane or draconic magic. Angelique sensed a benevolent presence, not her grandfather’s, watching over her. They linked it to the cosmic event two days prior, a sign of hope amidst darkness.

The next morning, they reached Middlesfeld, a modest town aglow with the Frostfire Revel, a festival honoring Naa. Lanterns and ice sculptures adorned the square, where townsfolk sang hymns and roasted chestnuts. Cal did not enter the town. He was tired of being the cause of so much death. Angelique used the time apart as a chance to slip on the amulet meant to conceal her whereabouts, hiding it under her clothes. The party mingled, wary but drawn to the warmth. Brynna Sunwhistle, a petite halfling priestess, approached Angelique, recognizing her devotion to Naa. She revealed her own lotus petal, found after the sky burned, and invited Angelique to aid in the festival. Eryn and X'or, each, overheard merchants whispering of an abandoned caravan north of town, raided by cloaked figures with green dragon emblems who took sulfur but left gold, heading south to Port Ahn.

At the temple, Angelique found it empty but prayed briefly. Back at the square, an ice sculpture contest began. Cassandra carved a shield, but a local’s carving of a deer won a fine cloak. Angelique bought glowstones, healing salves, and winter cloaks, selling the short sword +1 for 1500 gold. Symon, relishing the rare peace, smoked and watched the revelry. A merchant lamented the absence of frostfire powders, a tradition spoiled by a missing alchemist, Grim, whose Potion shop was shuttered amid rumors of a dangerous project.

As night fell, Brynna announced a snowball fight. Eryn, X’or, and a commoner faced three guards, pelting each other with non-lethal snowballs. Strategy prevailed: they targeted one guard at a time, knocking them out systematically. Eryn’s final throw clinched victory, earning cheers and 25 experience points each. The party also gained 50 points for the ice contest and 50 for investigating the merchants, Everyone earning 250 for their efforts.

But the joy was short-lived. A boy, Tobin, ran up, breathless, reporting a dead woman with greenish skin in the woods, spotted while he snuck out. Brynna, concerned, asked the guards to investigate and retrieve the body with a wagon. 

That is where this session ended.

Please start the recording!

Exp: 250 + 25  = 275
Plus bonus XP as explained above.