Before we begin, I add a short recap:
When our heroes woke this morning, they heard news from the town criers of Nevriath. Dragons may have been spotted in the north. There are economic troubles in Stroud. A lake monster was slain in the Woldmere. It all seems so inconsequential compared to the resurrection of a dead god, which they're now seeing with their own eyes.
Aldus Patrox and the Feore faction seem to be winning their fight with the mind flayers. In fact, the party spots a magical doorway appear near them and they back into it one by one. The Casseval faction are also defeating their mind flayers, though with several casualties. The remaining mind flayers have fled the battle.
Eltheodir has (mostly) materialized and is moving towards the unsettling well.
Our heroes rush Eltheodir, buffing Kodrak with fly and enlarge spells as they do so. Kodrak reattaches Eltheodir's horn and greebles are summoned around him, which brings the god into the mortal realm and makes him vulnerable. Renn and Sentie keep everyone alive with temporary hit points and healing. Everyone gets in hits when they can, and summons additional greebles to block Eltheodir.
[DM comment: I'd like to say that the battle with a god was truly epic, but it was mostly straightforward. The party maximized outgoing damage and mitigated incoming damage, while locking down Eltheodir's movement. Every gaming session is a lesson learned.]
Raehendra shoots the final arrow and Eltheodir crumples before them. His dying form releases a wave of power that knocks everyone's spirits from their bodies—except for Barclay. It seems that there are penalties for killing gods.
However, Sister Vara is waiting for our heroes. She reassures them that death clerics and priests from Caddes Byr are coming to resurrect them. Meanwhile, the greebles devour Eltheodir's corpse.
As Raehendra dealt the final blow, Barclay's amulet of omens warned him of impending death. He activates the amulet and fades from existence, thus avoiding the wave of power. He reappears somewhere dark, though he eventually hears the sound of rushing water and feels air on his skin. He also sees a dim light, growing, and sees that it is a light spell approaching in a distant tunnel. Kodrak and Renn slide into view from that tunnel, and Barclay understands that he is across a wide underground river from his friends—and somehow in an earlier timeline, in Thyrre. Kodrak and Renn are struggling to rise on flagstones that Barclay now sees are crumbling beneath them. He spots a pile of treasure to their right and points to it, but they ignore him and climb back into the tunnel. Barclay fades again and reappears with our heroes, who are still being resurrected.
Liliani arrives and hugs Renn. Barclay casts sending to Rixiilliandrias, who appears and thanks everyone. Bartholomew messages Barclay and thanks everyone, then says he will likely have work for them in several months. (If they're interested, they can make their way to Fellsdare.) The party retires to a bar to recover.
In the next several months, our heroes are given 500 gold each from Fellsdare, Aceley, and Thannescombe for their help—and they are told that their actions will be disavowed by the nation of Loril.
In the near future:
- Barclay turns to magical study, and seeks out jobs to fund this.
- Kodrak writes letters to his family, but he still craves adventure.
- Raehendra writes books about greebles, with illustrations by Heyzzzel.
- Renn returns home with Liliani.
- Sentie seeks to become the understudy of Rixiilliandrias.
This is the end of Act I.
Soundtrack:
Michael Ghelfi Studios, The Master (Mix)
The Main Cast, our player characters:
- Barclay Stone (he/him), human bard (college of eloquence)
- Aevyr, his imp familiar
- Kodrak Kukkerlun (he/him), dwarven fighter (battle master)
- Raehendra Tiddlybumpkin (she/her), gnomish ranger (hunter)
- Renn Summerstar (he/him), elven cleric of Lioris (twilight domain)
- Sentie Rancis (they/them), human wizard (school of transmutation)
The Supporting Cast, non-player characters:
- Eltheodir, dead god
- Heyzzzel, gnome wererat, artist
- Liliani, elf, Renn’s sister
- Ooblex, greeble
- Rixiilliandrias of Pallistae Starling-on-Tinsley, wizard
- Sister Vara, death goddess
See the full cast list at Campaigns in Elsemorn—now with photos of the miniatures used in the game!
