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DM – Seph
PCs – Asterisk, Indrasul, Tsion, Till, Me’Slash, Birk

Yet another adventure was had today! We had a decently uneventful first day as we walked to the outpost South-West of town. The only thing that caught our eye was a set of footprints we found near the outpost. They were heading east toward the swamp, and it appeared to be 1 pair of Giant footprints (or maybe they were just really big feet?), 1 pair of boots, and a pair of rooster-like prints that left traces of molten stone as it melted the mud beneath it. Some members of the party studied it further and deduced it to belong to a Magma Mephit. We chose not to pursue that!

We had a nice chat with the guards at the outpost, where they told us more about the strange sounds coming from the mines nearby, as well as sharing how Ezekiel had brought them coffee cake. They also warned us about some Manticores that had built a nest just east of the outpost. We stayed the night, and decided to head for the Manticores in the morning.

Outside the Manticore cave were some bloodied cloaks (2 red ones, 1 purple), and some tattered jewelry. I was able to connect these cloaks to the resident Blood Cult. We went in to the cave, surprised by how we were able to understand the conversations that the 2 Manticores (who seemed like a nice couple before they attacked us). Looks like they speak common! In any case, Me’Slash hurled some insults at them, and one of them came for us.

The Manticores were very tactical, staying in flight and keeping their distance. I had turned into a Giant Toad in hopes of keeping them on the ground, but the other Manticore came and decided to pick me up! Thankfully as I grappled her we fell to the floor, and that allowed my friends to defeat the Manticores.

This was probably how I looked like fighting the Manticore!

We found that they were protecting 4 eggs in their nest. After searching through, we collected the eggs and decided to head to Ezekiel to deliver the eggs to him, since we knew that was what Sneks has been tasked to do.

Upon reaching Ezekiel’s farm, he used his silver doorknob to open a portal into what seems like his own storage space, and took out a chest which contained our rewards. He was quite generous, even giving us a potion of healing and a scroll of fire bolt! He told us how most adventurers don’t return to him after completing the tasks he set for them, and thus he is rarely able to hand out rewards to adventurers. Guess now we know!

We made the decision to bring our goods back to town before heading off to check the surround area again. On our way back however, we were ambushed by a group of cultists. I clearly wasn’t scouting well enough. They managed to surprise us, and were surprisingly effective in their fight. At one point, we had half the team down. The Giant Scorpion even threw Indrasul into the lake! Thankfully Will was relentless keeping people stable, and we managed to turn the tide. The cultists were clearly worried about being captured and interrogated, as they decided to kill themselves rather than risk being captured when they knew they were going down.

After the battle was over, we searched through their bodies and found a note with instructions written in Infernal. As none of us spoke the language, we went back to White Moon Cove. In the Axe & Thistle tavern, Will and I managed to find someone, Quil, who could speak Infernal, and the message translated as:

That gnome has meddled in our plans for the last time. Take care of his newest lackies and if you can find out information by bringing some back alive if you can. If not, take your life and burn this letter.

– Cultist’s Note (in Infernal)

It seems like whatever is happening with the Blood Cult, the Cultists and Ezekiel are on opposing sides – and with my understanding of some past tragedies, we might want to side with Ezekiel on this one. There’s definitely more to the story, and I am curious to see what we can uncover.