A fresh company of casters and priests banded together to return to the recently discovered compound.
In attendance:
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Imem – Elf Wizard level 2
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Kornor – Human Priest of Gede level 2
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Chomp – Kobold Witch level ?
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Everly – Halfling Witch level ?
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“Urma” – ?? Priest of St. Teragami level ?
10-5-2025
Travelled into the Weirnung woods, uneventful though I did find more angelica berries. Barely enough for the party, so I had rations, insisting our new allies enjoy the delights of the forest. Kornor has really become a master of these trails; not once did he hesitate when leading the way.
10-6-2025
Continuing toward the grounds of the solomont, we considered stopping by Hamdrel’s, but I will admit to some impatience to explore our quarry. We hastened to our destination, sleeping in the forest instead. I was able to find an ample cache of Mushrooms (Champion’s Jelly on the trunk of a citrus tree), such that we were all able to eat and store some for the following day. Kornor again proved an able guide. I had warned the others that evening around the fire about the risks of M. I sensed an excitement in Chomp at the prospect of infernal deals, which put me a bit off my guard.
10-7-2025
We are almost there, though the woods have become quiet as we venture closer to our destination. I found some food to forage, but it was of low quality and not suitable for consumption, so we ate our rations instead. Chill weather, I should have worn my long underwear.
10-8-2025
We awoke just outside the Solomont and headed directly to the courtyard. There was a large, spooky tree and a green house occupied by some demons. I approached the tree to inspect it, and a terrifying shadow creature emerged. It went directly to Urma (a strange choice given her clerical nature) and suggested she become a student. We cautiously followed the creature into the greenhouse and handily dispatched the minor fiends that were “tending garden” inside. Everly found an infernal trowel.
The creature asked if we were finished destroying school property and guided us into the administrator’s office. Dorgog, was his name, I believe? I made a snide remark about the talentless nature of administration as a profession, which he seemed to enjoy. I pressed him on giving us a tour of the school, to which he acquiesced. He then led us to a room where screaming was audible. I will not here pen the terrible thing we saw, but a man was being tortured. I threw up and we left, I think there was a soufflé, maybe I dreamed that.
We checked some of the other rooms around the courtyard (from the southernmost door around widdershins to the northernmost). An empty dormitory, a foul commode, a craft room (where an angry wasp had been trapped in a box), and a storage closet where several beetles and a giant spider had set up residence in the rubble and absence of maintenance. Inside the last, we found an axe. Once dispatched, we followed Kornor to the northernmost door. Inside, an Imp was telling us to “get out, it’s not ready”. It was at this time that my mouth went ahead without my better judgment.
“Hmmm, I’ll bet we could use that axe to cut down this tree, probably ending that strange accursed place”. Well, that was all it took. Chomp began whacking at the tree, which immediately drew the ire of the shadow creature. We cast spell after spell at it, and the party did a great heroic effort to defeat it, but we did find the better part of valour and retreated outside the courtyard, where it did not follow. Poor Urma had been picked up by the thing’s tentacles and thrown like a pile of dirty clothes out of the courtyard.
Kornor was able to heal them. We checked the well in the north; nothing of note was found, and we moved to return home. When leaving the area of the Solomont, we were beset by two Hell Hounds. One was named Mister Blister, and the other was Sparky. Unfortunately, due to the proximity of our travelling formation, the party was caught in an inferno spat out of the beast’s mouth. The battle was challenging, but for Gede’s blessing, we surely would have perished. Alas, the two witches did much to end them with their eye-darkening magics, and Everly even brought a bow to bear. I even saw Urma cast magic missile, which I had never seen a priest cast before.
We recovered two gold collars from them, from which we got their names and hastened to return home. Fortunately, the journey home was uneventful and quick due to our growing knowledge of the trail. I will not recount the last days of travel here, but 10-9-2025 and 10-10-2025 were spent on the road. We arrived in Schadengard in the evening, where we went to Dante’s Inn to seek out a purchaser for our infernal trowel. We caroused there and almost all of us lost a bit of money for our troubles, though the drink was good, and it seems Kornor may have learned even more about the diabolical entities plaguing the realm.
All told, we recovered 130 gp worth of treasure, 30 gp was spent on carousing, and the rest was split among the survivors. All five returned home.