DM: DGM
Olli | Tor | Genasi Half-Elf| 2, Ranger 2
Roach | Oxalis | Half-Elf Halfling | 3, Warlock 3
SlyOkami | Don | Firbolg Half Elf | 3, Cleric 3
Rhiwaow | Cally | Halfling | 5, Rogue 3, Warlock 2
Nartzim | Ou-Kan | Goliath | 5, Sorcerer 5
Lone_Courier | Glen | Goblin | 5, Sorcerer 5
Lard | Yibble | Gnome | 3, Wizard 3
Objective: DRM exploration
Leader: Ou-Kan
Trailblazer: Cally
Scout: Tor
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———–Ou-Kan—————–Portal Location————–Tree Pond—————–Warped Mantis———–Giant fiery Worm
——–Adventurer—————-Moss Writing————Pixie/Sprite/Fairy————–Aberation—————-Natural creature
———-Goliath—————-Unknown swamp————Clear Water—————Spoke common———-Spits burning oil
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I joined a group of 6 other weirdlings, most of them new to me, but I’m always happy to show off in front of a good audience, while also seeing some new sights. We grabbed some stones and headed to check out the DRM location, hopefully figuring out where it is located in relation to White Moon Cove and our other settlements.
Checking out the portal location we found a bunch of scribbles written by manipulating the natural moss covering the stones. Appearently it was some sort of druidic language. It told of a stranger and friend who spoke the language written, as well as warn of dangerous predators. It also asked us to respect the natural ways of the swamp.
The last note hinted at a location saying “I wander in the garden and sleep in the lilypad fields where we met.”
Traveling south west toward the mountains, hoping a higher elevation might allow us to spot familiar landmarks, we stumbled upon a strange looking tree about 3 miles from the portal, it was surrounded by a clear pond of lilypads. Taking a closer look some of the others noticed a small creature, probably some sort of pixie or sprite, hiding between the lilypads. From the sounds of the others it seemed to be ready for attack, so we stepped away and left in peace. This might have been the one to leave messages by the portal.
We headed a bit further, but had to stop for the night. This is where our journey started to go wrong.
The hunters caught some sort of centipede, which had a delicious crunch to it, but told of a gigantic creature deeper in the swamp. We decided not to light a fire for the night, and instead slept in the dark. We were attacked twice that night.
The first was some sort of aberation capable of quite a nasty sting, which left its victims feeling more empty and disconnected from reality. When we had it surrounded it suddenly vanished. Spells were slung around and people darted around to find it without luck, but at least the firbolg lady managed to avoid its surprise attack, allowing us to take it down at last.
As it died it spoke three words to me. “I curse you”. Having limited experience with curses I do believe it was just the last words of a foe, but I’ll pay attention for any changes just in case. The body was left far away from camp before going back to sleep.
The second attack was worse. Maybe due to the exhaustion of the first fight, or maybe just bad luck. Before I even made it out the tent, the screaming had subsided and three people had already stopped breathing, bodies covered in burning oil. Don, Oxalis and Tor was no more.
I knew my role in this situation. Hit and get hit. So I ran up and had a nice close encounter with this worm at least 20 times my own mass. Lightning blasts and orbs of strange energies blasted around us, and if I ever hear someone say a goblin can’t serve the blasts I’ll simply refer them to Glen.
As we continued our onslaught, the worm kept regenerating from its fiery core. We brought it down three times before a blast of cold energies finally doused its flames and left it dead in a more permanent way.
Corpses were gathered, the worm was burried, and the ashes of my old tent was swept into the water, before we tracked back to the portal. In White Moon Cove we found no wills, so instead we talked with an adventurer names Thran, who helped us contact the dead. They all wished to come back, so with the pay from our outing, we paid for the three reincarnations.
The Mire is a dangerous place, and I’m looking forward to my next visit. Hopefully next time we’ll be more prepared and pay more attention during the night.
As a side note I’ll mention the whole area feels weird. It’s as if the ground itself stole away our greatest successes and left us with nothing but terrible failure. I might be overthinking this.