Session 12 - Misfortune Manifested

33/04/5-10

The owl-like creature descended upon Sapphira and Cassini, attempting to knock them off the bell tower. They both managed to avoid it's attack and the creature flew out into the air. After moving down to the lower level of the roof, Sapphira took a ashot at it attrackting its attention and causing it to bring down a flurry of attacks on her, knocking her unconscious. Cassini used Thunderwave destroying the edge of the roof and alerting the others the the fight. Now no longer blocked by the lip of the roof, Valeyo healed Sapphira, as Milivoj and Shiek started climbing their way us towards the roof. In the meantime Otto prepared his spiritual weapon and Valeyo threw out buffs. Shiek and Milivoj reached the roof just in time to see the creature climb to the upper level where Cassini still stood and throw him off the roof. Having taken a significant blow, he was healed by Otto, while Sapphira continued peppering the beast with arrows. Seeing it as the shorted path, Milivoj burst through the wall of the tower, which had been weakened by the Thunderwave, and charged up at the beast, with Shiek following closely behind. The two of them were hit with a burst of spores from the fiend's wings and Milivoj felt the disease enter his system. They did however injure the creature further, causing it to try and fly off, only to be finished off by one of Sapphira's arrows.

As it's body hit the ground, all of it's feathers fell of and the body transformed into that of a young boy, no more that 16 years in age. Otto tried to stabilize him, but even with magic, the damage from the creature possessing him was irreparable. When Milivoj made it into the sun he felt himself healing, the sun seemingly curing disease. The party spoke to Mikela and he identified the boy as Mivvek. Mikela said he knew him and wondered, whether he was still dangerous. Valeyo insisted that the boy was too weakened to be a threat anymore and asked for help bringing him around. After a bit the boy came to. His eyes were cloudy and he asked where he was. Last he remembered it was 4 days ago, the 29th. He and his friends had found a book. In it there was a spell to give them good luck and fortune. The boys gathered in the woods north-east of town, where they often hung out and performed the ritual. None of them died as far as Mikela knew. Valeyo asked where they found the book and they said it was at Alina's bookstore in the north end of town. It was an old magic book that Alina didn't recognize and let them take it. The location was 30-45m northeast in the woods.

Valeyo left the kid to the priest and the party prepared to check out the bookstore. Valeyo looked over the feathers left behind and saw that on the tips of them some ichor. He wondered if the blobs of ichor from before were Mivvek's friends.

At the bookstore the group was greeted by a tiny old halfling. Valeyo asked about the book and where she acquired it from. She couldn't remember how she got it, but in her sales ledger it was called "How to Manifest Luck" and she had had it for 130 years. It was apparently acquired from a travelling adventuring party who had perished and their property was given to the town.

Sapphira asked about books relating to Solar Steel, but the woman didn't have any. Valeyo wanted books about history of the region about Krum and Dragomir I. She sold his some journals from the time, including one from a high-ranking general of King Krum and a local apothecary. Cassini got a journal of a well-travelled Druid from olden time, written in old dwarvish. Alina then turned to Shiek and asked if he wanted something, addressing him as old man. He was surprised, but she then said that despite his looks, he smelled old. He asked if she knew many languages and showed her the journal he had read in the wagon before. Upon pulling it out, she exclaimed that it is very old. He asked her about the languages in it and she identified many of them, pointing out Ancient Almanati as the most notable. She then went in the back and grabbed a journal so old, it barely held itself together suggesting Shiek might like it and it was also written in Ancient Almanati. The paper was made of a thick papyrus and the cover was leather. When asked about price, she said no cost for him and Shiek remarked that she might know more than she let on.

Sapphira looked for books about vampire physiology, but Alina needed to know why. Valyo said it was to kill vampires and the woman said that she wouldn't help them, since the vampire she knows is an old friend. Valeyo then left and Sapphira told Alina that a vampire did something to her so she needed to speak to someone. The halfling pointed her to Skalenvru where someone similar to her could be found - The Baron of the Deep. When everyone left the store Valeyo asked about Shiek's Journal and he said once more that it isn't his, bur rather something that could be related to the spike in his chest. Before the group got in the wagon, Valeyo spoke to Sapphria telling her, that he was trying to cover for her in the store, in case she didn't want other to know about her condition.

The party headed to the north-east. After a while the group neared a grove and horses began acting uneasy. Sapphira felt the wind carry the smell of putrid swam water, something that didn't exist in this area. The smell began intensifying becoming almost wretched until about 40ft away a greenish glow could be seen. Sapphira heard a voice coming from there, the language sounding close to Abyssal, but nothing comprehensible. Upon approach, there was a ritual circle around which the ground seemed dead. Milivoj went ahead with his horse and from around a stone a hideous bulbous creature appeared, gibbering incomprehensible. On it's body was another mouth talking to itself. Near the circle were also two corpses. The party got into position an loosened arrows. As the fight went on, more fiends appeared. The first was a small green creature, which turned invisible and fled as soon as the tides turned against them - a Quasit. The other was a goat-like fiend, whose body emitted a toxic odor. As Milivoj defeated the weird Walking Flesh, the skin revealed a half-elven boy melded together with another body. When he killed the goat creature it turned into ichor.