Session 83 - This is where a deal with Nashar gets me - 08/02/2025

TL;DR

We solve the puzzle in the church like room. Upon leaving, we are set upon by an abomination of rot and several footsoldiers. As we proceed, we encounter more rot, he calls himself Velko, he claims he can't die, cause he'll be revived by his god whenever he dies, we kill the rot. As we move on, we engage in battle with a rot infected giant.

Full notes

• Coby offers up a painting to the altar, a spike emerges, impaling the painting
• Coby inspects the altar
• April removes the painting, the spike retracts
• She puts a helmet in the place of the painting, it’s also impaled
• April removes the helmet, chucking it to the ground
• Coby tries the same with a spliff, same result
• April tries a different location on the altar, it doesn’t stab
• April pulls a tapestry from the wall, she puts it over the altar, centring the previous emblem on the spike
• Nothing happens, then it catches fire
• The flames spread quickly, enveloping the remnants of the oil painting, causing a massive smoke of black smoke
• Within the flames, we see something incredibly small emerge, Coby moves towards it, the flames part, he grabs a small golden ring with a claw like attachment
• The doors we came in from open, we move back through them
• We see the statue from before pointing to the sky, another statues hangs from the ceiling, mirroring it, surrounded by floating steps
• We see red dropping, the puddles form into rot figures, building a fortress of horror to prevent us from advancing. It’s horror is indescribable, April retches
• More figures emerge, serving as back up for their abomination
• The wall of rot approaches us, consuming one rot soldier
• Coby turns to Hope, asking her to hold- I mean hand him her weapon. Coby turns Hope’s weapon into an elemental weapon
• A rot soldier clambers off the platform towards April, attacking her, biting into her twice
• April brings her flametounge around, activating it mid-swing, slashing into the wall of rot before her, it screeches in agony. A chunk of red flies of, forming into new a rot footsoldier. It lashes out, missing her, but dealing acid damage
• Another one approaches April, smacking her. Another one charges her, striking her
• Hope runs in, not managing to seize her chance
• The rot moves forward, trapping April and Hope together. April escapes with minimal injuries, but Hope is engulfed
• A soldier attempts to hit Coby, but misses, Coby returns the gesture, some soldiers fall, the abomination screeches and wails
• April disengages, getting some distance, and looses a flame arrow into the abomination, it screams
• The abomination approaches Hope, but is not able to attack her. It embeds a spear in the ground, and removes a rot soldier in trying to remove it from the floor
• Hope retaliates with hellish rebuke, and follows up with more attacks
• A soldier lunges towards April, biting into her
• The abomination comes for Hope again as well as Synder, she reacts with hellish rebuke, the abomination is looking unwell now
• Coby bitch slaps the footsoldier next to him
• Another one comes at Coby, but is burned by the fire shield and falls
• April swings an axe, breaking the jaw of the footsoldier closet to her
• The abomination comes towards Coby Hope and Synder, dealing acid damage. Hope is engulfed
• Hope struggles a lot, but finally escapes
• Coby moves away, a footsoldier catches him, but is injured by the flame shield Coby is using
• April brings her flametounge out, slashing the rot, she tries twice but only hits once
• Another one lunges into Coby, biting into him, the flame-shield bites back
• Hope sprints at the abomination, landing two solid hits on it, she follows it up with several brutal strikes, it screeches as it falls apart over the floor
• A small creature rests where the abomination was, it shivers, Hope studies it, she looks back to the party for what to do
• She strikes it, it dies instantly
• The husks begin to slow, they freeze, remaining like statues
• Coby and Hope investigate it, it held a small doll, and a small red gemstone, not like the ones we got before from Aodh
• Upon closer inspection, there’s rot trapped within the gemstone
• Inscribed within the stone is “Vilhund of the Old Bay”
• Upon investigation of the other bodies, not much of value is found
  A holy book in poor, near-unreadable condition
  13 GP 5 SP 28 CP
  Gold band bracelet
  Silver necklace
  Brass ring
• We head up the stones we were previously blocked from
• We enter a room with a marble floor, a ceiling around 15 feet up, the room is a trident shape
• There are banners, they feature the divine order seal
• Coby explains the meaning of the divine order seal
• The path to the left contain the divine order symbol, the left the trinit, the centre we don’t know but we know we’ve seen it before
• We debate which one we should enter, we enter the order symbol path
• Coby gets the zoomies, does a backflip and tries to slap Hope but misses
• As we proceed further, there is six panels embossed with the symbol of the order
• Coby pulls some handles he sees on the walls
• We hear a chuckle, we get asked if we like “the turtle”
• We’re confused, we’re told a turtle is an animal with a shell, and not to get bogged down in the specifics
• A towering rot soldier emerges, it’s mouth unhinged as it’s body will allow
• They ask how we felt about the drow, as they offered the creature their skin
• They reveal themselves as Velko
• We tell Velko we are sent by Nashar
• He offers us the chance to be spared if we don’t stop him, we refuse
• He tells us his plan to destroy Verisil, as it’s the busiest time of year
• He tells us he won’t die, his god will revive him over and over
• He approaches us, Coby uses produce flame, he falls instantly
• We proceed through the door
• It’s a dim room, the room begins to light up as the door seals
• As the room brightens up, we can see a stage like place, with a giant’s body on it
• There are bookshelves round the room
• There is a piece of rot, burrowing into the giant’s chest slowly, April ignites her flametounge
• There is a glyph engraved in the giants chest, Coby knows it’s a glyph of warding, we can see some stacked on one another
• We get some distance of 60ft, Coby prepares to cast scorching ray at the rot
• Hope, somewhat worried about what might come, heals herself
• It’s a very large room, it seems to be a demonstration room in a university where they would demonstrate surgeries
  Walls lined with bookshelves filled with old books. Three tiers of seating with desks and chairs. Six sets of staircases leading up through the seating. Central raised stage on which giant lies, rot mounting atop it. Three entrance doors behind you and one exit before you - closed but not necessarily locked.
• We debate if to destroy the rot, we have no idea what those glyphs will do
• We try to go through different doors, but they all lead to the same room
• April gets as far away as possible, she fires a flame arrow, missing, she fires another, it thuds into the rot
• Instantly, a number of red beams fire out at April, she is knocked unconscious instantly, poisoned
• The giant’s body jerks, and then rises upwards into motion, looking at the party. It sprints towards the party
• Coby uses Synder to teleport them all away
• Coby uses cure wounds to wake April, she’s really going through it
• April and Hope prepare to attack the giant as he sprints towards them
• Coby casts scorching ray, Hope uses her flail, and April wields her flametounge
• The giant strikes back at Coby and Hope
• Hope gets knocked back into a railing and gets knocked prone
• After one more turn, the giant is dead. The rot falls flat
• Coby burns the corpse, a gold key is recovered
• Coby picks up the key, it’s scolding hot. He passed it to April, she passes it to Hope, this goes on for sometime
• We use this key to exit the room, there’s another corridor leading up to a door
• We decide to have a long rest
• Coby decides to study the gemstone during his watch
  Rot-Binding Stones were developed in order to contain the Rot when it first showed itself.

They are made from the highly-rare red diamonds, which form around a single cell of Rot. The Rot, as is its wont, seeks to bind to all things - reinforcing itself above all else. However, when it comes across this trapped cell, though, it becomes confused: it will try forever to bind with the cell, without success, for it cannot penetrate the red diamond casing.

It appears that this particular Binding Stone was used by the enemy to keep a mass of rot together, forming the Phalanx.

The art of such things is long lost, though there is yet hope for a name is inscribed in the rim of the diamond: Vilhund of the Old Bay. Who is this Vilhund, and does he yet persist? Perhaps there something more to learn, then.

As an action, one can throw this Binding Stone. It will attract all Rot and Rotblighted creatures in a 60 ft. radius to its location, where they will try - in vain - to penetrate it.

When taking damage, they may attempt a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw. On a success, they may break their focus on the Stone for long enough to dispose of any hostile creatures in their surroundings. They will be immune to the effects of the Stone for 24 hours, or until the next dawn, at which point they must re-attempt the saving throw.

• Coby flips through the book, it contains this table
  |The scribe | The ancient deity | The mad god
  |Heimdall, god of watchfulness and loyalty| Odin, god of knowledge and war | Hermod, god of luck|
  |Njord, god of sea and wind | Balder, god of beauty and poetry | Loki, god of thieves and trickery|
  |Surter, god of fire giants and war | Aegir, god of the sea and storms | Odur, god of light and the sun|
  |Tyr, god of courage and strategy | Forseti, god of justice and the law | Sif, goddess of war|
  | - | Frey, god of fertility and the sun | Thor, god of storms and thunder|
  | - | Freya, goddess of fertility and love | Uller, god of hunting and winter|
  | - | Frigga, goddess of birth and fertility | - |
  | - | Hel, goddess of underworld | - |
  | - | Skadi, god of earth and mountains | - |

and mentions

… These categories are imprecise and limiting, but they remain a founding principle ...

… assimilation of Gods ...