Introduction

• As Aegar entered, he was welcomed by a human cleric, probably 60 years old with dark brown eyes. Though he was nearly bald, he has no grey; a result of studious use of hair dye.
  • Cleric: “Hello. What omen brings you in to the house of Ilmater today?”
  • Aegar: “Good morning, Sufferer. I am not here because of omens, but to pray to The Crying one. It has been some months since I have communed. Please do not trouble yourself on account of me.”
  • C: “A true leader avails himself of the wisest counsel he can. And no one is wiser than the gods. I am Hamdi Mestan, and you are welcome here.”
    • He looked down at Aegar’s gauntlets. “It’s not often that we followers of Ilmater take up the shield and the sword… though that does follow our first tenet. Are you bound to an Order?”
  • A: “I- no, I am not. I move as best I can through the world trying to do right according to Ilmater. Though I fear that I may not be very good at it. It seems that destruction follows me where I go.”
  • The cleric squinted a little, and nodded to let Aegar continue.
  • A: “Ilmater tells me that I must ease the suffering of those in the world. But how am I to do that when those that suffer also are the cause of suffering? Where does evil live? In those that feel the yoke of oppression so much they turn to pulling each other apart? Is there no salvation for those who turn to evil when good has failed them?
    • “I am sorry, Sufferer. I gave my oaths willingly and with much pomp and zeal. However I find the work of keeping them quite confusing. I suppose I am here to ask guidance from Ilmater.”

Welcoming

• Hamdi opened his arms wide, “Well, this is as good a place as any.
  • “Ilmater punishes those who believe themselves beyond the reach of justice. But Ilmater shows his mercy to those who kneel before him. Come. Sit. Let us talk of your adventures.”
• He turned and walked to a cushioned alcove and sat down. Refreshments were in reach on a nearby table.
  • “Still, the third tenet is hard. What is innocence? For that, I look to the fifth tenet: Forgiveness is holy.”
  • “So, where have you faced this failed goodness? And, how did you come by this Oath? It is not every day I see a dragonborn in plate mail wearing the red rope.”

The Story

• Aegar (Persuasion 21) shared his story:
• “Forgive me, but trust is hard to come by. It is a long path that I have walked and is difficult to speak of. Let me start at the beginning. I was a noble once. My brood mother is a vicountess in my land. I was born to the military and, I mean this in the worst possible context but, I was good at it. I was known in my land for my tactic and ruthlessness. I have done things that… are unforgivable.
• “On one of our crusades against the wood elves, we captured some prisoners. One man had been going through the towns talking to soldiers and civilians, of both sides. I had him arrested and held captive. He was a Sufferer. Isil’drill Greenleaf was his name. He puzzled me. I had originally thought him a spy. I had him tortured.” Hamdi scowled at this.
• “He was an odd prisoner. He yelled and screamed and cried louder than any others. Most prisoners attempt to hide their pain and put on a brave face. Isil did no such thing. He screamed. And yet, after we were done with him each night, he rebounded. He seemed more calm than others.” About here, Hamdi started nodding, listening intently.
• As he continued, Aegar maintained a thousand-yard-stare, reliving the experience, “He was open to our questions as if he would have answered them without interrogation techniques. My questions soon turned from commands to inquisitive. He began to teach me of the ways of the Crying One. He taught me that evil is not always black and white but that it is usually misguided and at the hands of those with no care for others. They care for themselves, yes, but look at those underneath them as cogs. He showed me how ‘criminals’ are driven to crime because of desperation, not evil.”
• Hamdi nodded occasionally and let Aegar talk.
• “After the campaign, my mother chose to keep Isil as a trophy. He had gained a certain following among the thralls and was hated by the aristocracy. At this point I had been having nightly conversations with him. My talk was of escape. He had none of it. I think he knew what was in store much more than I did. As a reward of my successful campaign, the Viscountess allowed me to execute Isil’dril. I… performed my duty.”
• Aegar was silent for a time, Far away.
• Hamdi’s face went sad here, knowing suffering well.
• Aegar continued, “Ah, at the Feast that night I left. I have been making my way West ever since. I took my Oaths (no idea how long it has been) and have been a paladin of Ilmater ever since. Except…” He laughed. “Except” His belly shook and his eyes closed, though no laughter escaped his lips, “Except, I know not what I am supposed to do!”
• “I have been attempting to do what is right but I am not a good person. How do I know what is right?”
• Hamdi gave Aegar time to experience those feelings, keeping appropriate eye contact and staying present.
• After some time, Aegar continued, “We come from Greenest by way of accident. My companions and I have been roped into a sort of crusade/conspiracy where we chase those that seek to unleash a horrible dragon upon the world. They seek to birth evil into the world. And yet, those that I come into combat with are… poor folk who have turned to crime due to circumstance. They are bandits and ruffians to be sure, but are they evil? Am I doing good in the world by smiting them from it? Are they so far from the light that they cannot come back? If not… if they cannot come back, then what hope is there for me?”
• Hamdi: “That. Well, that is something I can help you with friend.”

Hamdi and Ilmater’s Tenets

• Hamdi continued, “I am sorry for your loss. And for your pain. Ilmater often touches us in mysterious ways. You walk the path, but what do you know of our actual teachings?”
• Aegar shared that he knew the Tenets. And yet struggled. Inside his head, Aegar thought that he knew the tenets, but maybe didn’t understand them. Or better, he struggled with categorizing the things that happen in the world with the Tenets.
• Hamdi: “Well then, the first tenet, which you know well, even if you do not, is All injustice should be challenged, and the victims aided. You had your prior life. But have you done this since you left your family?”
• A: “I have tried. I have tried to leave a place better than I have found it. I try to think of those who others do not think of.”
• H: “Ilmater’s judgment is fierce, but also fair. That is all he asks.”
• H: “The second tenet then: If one casts aside wealth and luxury, Ilmater will provide. Have you cast aside wealth and luxury, and trusted in Ilmater to provide?” Hamdi said, as he glanced down at Aegar’s plate mail armor.
• A: “No, Sufferer. I have not. I have others that rely upon me to keep them safe,” he tapped his plate, “but I must confess. I am vain. The weapons I have are magnificent, and I cannot bring myself to let go of them. I have prayed that Ilmater forgives this trespass for the greater good: to protect those in need.”
• H: “The notion that we’re all equal in the eyes of the gods doesn’t sit well with some, so they belittle me. But that does not mean that I must live as a pauper. For you… do you live in a palace supported by the taxes of serfs, waited on by servants, while providing only hedonism to yourself? Or do you equip yourself with the tools to further serve Ilmater and do good in the world?”
• A: “I no longer live a life of hedonism. My possessions are used in the service of Ilmater.”
• H: “Then, friend. What are you talking about? Are you not questioning what Ilmater has provided? Who are you to ignore Ilmater’s gifts and find yourself vain for wanting them?”
• “I-” Aegar stammered, dumbfounded. “But I- your pardon, Sufferer. I had not considered this. My life before Ilmater was… selfish. I am not proud of that life and have attempted to rid myself of his sins.”
• Hamdi nodded. “His sins do not pardon your own. Nor are they yours to bare, I think.” He exhaled in a sigh. “I need a drink.”
• He reached for the simple pitcher on the table, and grabbed two cups from below.
• Aegar: “Would you like some Elven Battle Spirit?”
• “No, thank you,” Hamdi turned his head quizzically, “but I may ask you about that later.”
• Hamdi poured and then handed Aegar one of the cups. “Will you drink with me as we continue to talk?”
• Aegar accepted graciously, “Thank you, yes.”
• Hamdi took a drink: “The third tenet then. Innocent life is sacred. Do you recognize this? You said you had concerns about non-innocent life. But is this as straightforward to you as it is to me regarding the innocent?”
• A: “Is a woman who turns to crime to feed her family not innocent? Is a man who steals from those who oppress him not innocent? I am not blind to innocence, but there must be more innocence in the world than babes.”
• H: “Well, that is a question. But the scale works the other way. We agree that the babe is innocent. We must all judge for ourselves where our assignment of responsibility lies. There are some who know every verse of the sacred text, but don’t have a drop of Ilmater’s mercy in their blood. Others who know nothing of even Ilmater, yet fight suffering in their bones.
  • “The line between is complex. First, aim your heart in the right direction. And then second, well. I seldom feel so close to Ilmater as when I am being whipped for mine own wickedness, though my darkest sins are no wise near as black as those of others.
  • “We each must judge on our own. And never forget that Innocent life is sacred.”
• As Aegar drank, he (Con save 25) did not feel a thing.
• Hamdi scowled for a second, and then continued, “Suffering to preserve life is holy. That is our third tenet. You say you suffer the pains of your vanity and sin. But do you know what the tenet means?”
  • Aegar (Insight 22) got a twinge of a feeling that something was weird, but Hamdi seemed earnest, and the question hung in the air.
• A: “It is our duty to take the suffering from those that cannot handle it. We suffer so that others do not have to.”
• Hamdi: “That is… well said. But I think that you… do you suffer to preserve life, or for some other reason?”
• Hamdi raised his glass and they both drank.
• A: “I suffer because I am able. I suffer because I should. It is a lie to say I suffer for no other reason than to preserve life, though I choose to preserve life as well.”
• At that point, Aegar (Con save 14) started to feel the world slow. He blinked, and his eyelids closed slowly a moment later. Hamdi’s words began to echo. The last thing he heard before the dreams began, was Hamdi’s voice, “Forgiveness is holy.”

Dreams

• Aegar had an enlightening experience in which the Tenets of the Church of Ilmater and the Commandments from Ilmater himself were reflected both in his life before and from his life after. Hamdi watched.

The Unhappy Deceiver - A House of Shame

• Outside an old tavern in Heapside, not far from the docks or the Steeps, hung a sign naming it The Unhappy Deceiver
  • Below the name, in smaller text, it read A House of Shame
  • And below the wording wass the image of a devil.
  • It looked like it had seen better days.
    
• The Looting Luters stopped a block away to plan, and then scoped out the building.
  • It was a relatively small single-story tavern as part of a row of buildings. There was space to walk between the buildings on both sides, and a back door that emptied out to an alley behind the building.
    
• Pliny (Stealth 19) stayed behind to watch the front door, and sent an Unseen Servant to the back door with orders to return if anyone left the building.

Guards

• Aegar and Zoyana went searching for Flaming Fist guards to help them.
  • A couple of blocks over, they saw one leisurely walking the beat, not particularly interested in anything. And behind him a couple others. Middle aged half-elf, little short, little round.
  • Aegar approached them, “Good evening constable. This might sound a little strange, but we have reason to believe that the Murkwater Maniac is located nearby in the Unhappy Deceiver tavern. We know at least that some evidence is there.”
  • At the mention of the Murkwater Maniac, the guard squinted at Aegar, showing some suspicion. He started looking around to see if anything weird was happening within sight.
  • Zoyana butted in, “Ulder Ravengard deputized us. We are the ones who are fixing this shit, and finding the Murkwater Maniac. We need your help to make sure that he doesn’t get away, do you think that you could do that? Here’s our token.”
  • The guard started looking down at Zoyana condescendingly, like who is this little person talking at me, and he saw the token, and audibly shrugged, “Oh”.
  • Zoyana: “Yeah. So come on, let’s fucking go so he doesn’t get the fuck away.”
  • As the guard waved over to the other two, Aegar turned to Zoyana, “Thank you, that was very well done Zoyana.”
  • Zoyana got all mushy, “You know, I am learning from you a little bit Aegar. ‘What would Aegar do?’ Probably not use the F word so many times. Nevertheless.”
• The three guards followed Zoyana and Aegar back to the Unhappy Deceiver: the middle-aged half-elf, a forty-something year old male human with rough black skin (a glance showed a little slave tattoo on his left hand), and a brand-new 17-18 year old guardsman.
• The lead human heard Zoyana and Aegar starting to make a plan and said, “We’ll guard the back.” And he proceeded to take the other two and started stationing them in the back.
  • The lead guard started berating the young one about “making smart decisions,” “You got to keep each other safe,” and “Make sure when you swing you don’t hit me.”

Entry

• In the front, Aegar turned to Pliny, “Pliny, would you like to lead? I know not what these folk look like.”
• The door was unlocked.
  
• Inside, the air was stale with a musky smell and a slight hint of old sulfur.
• The tavern was small. The bar and stools took up the left side of the room, and 4 small booths filled the right.
• As their eyes adjusted, they saw that the place was covered in fiendish decor.
  • A series of demonic masks lined the shelf above the bar. They looked eerily familiar. They looked a whole lot like the masks worn by the charmed people the party saw on the boat.
  • Zoyana and Aegar whispered back-and-forth that the Murkwater Maniac’s writings mentioned fiends (and raising Tiamat).
• Along the back wall, to the left, there was a door that lead behind the barroom, presumably to the stockroom and kitchen. Covering the rest of the back wall was a mural. To the left and right were images of waterfalls flowing into pools.
  • 
  • Across and between the waterfalls, there were a number of Fiends, the largest of which, at the center, was a giant winged fiend sitting on a throne, wearing a belt of human heads. The label below identified this one as Bel, Archduke of Avernus
  • 
• Zoyana recognized that the waterfall iconography as the symbol of Eldath, goddess of Life and Nature, and remembered Eldath as a pacifist lake goddess of healing, and a common choice for healers and druids.
• At the same time, Aegar realized that the waterfalls and fiends did not match, and that the fiends were clearly painted over the waterfalls. Looking around the tavern, it was clear that the natural flowing wood that made up the bar and the comforting design of the booths made for an underlying nature design, and fiendish decor was added later.
• Between them it seemed clear that this tavern was once dedicated to Eldath and nature, and the fiendish desecration happened afterwards.
• Zoyana cast Find Traps, but saw no traps in the main room, nor in the storeroom when she stepped inside.
• The storeroom was surprisingly small, with another door in the back wall, presumably leading outside.
• As Zoyana stepped into the storeroom, both she and Pliny (Passive Perceptions 17) heard the floor creak. Which was a sharp departure from the hollow sound of the wood floor up to that point.
  • Looking down, they noticed a hinge on the ground and grouping of boards with a notch for a handle: a door in the floor to the basement.

The Basement

• Walking down the steps, Pliny led the way and prepared to cast Hypnotic Pattern at the first sign of trouble. Aegar took the rear and Zoyana, between the two, made a comment about, not wanting to be part of a “Paegar sandwich.”
  • Aegar replied, “I am not even hungry right now. I don’t understand. Why would you be thinking about food at a time like this?”
  • Z: “Pliny is always hungry.”
  • P: “I’m a thirsty gal.”
• At the bottom, they saw a large, nondescript ceremonial room. Straight ahead there was an iron door, and to the left were a pair of wooden doors. The room was lit with some kind of a perpetual light source.
• Zoyana cast Find Traps again, and the iron door across the room pinged like crazy.
• Pliny approached carefully, and could see a patchwork of little squares across the door’s face, but no handle or apparent lock. He called out “Ale.” as an attempt at a passphrase before coming close enough to read the wording.
  • 
  • Pliny was barely able to read the wording on the door before the wooden doors to the north slammed open and two hell hounds lunged through.

Hellhounds

• Pliny reacted first, casting Polymorph and turning Fang into a Giant Ape.
• Fang-the-Ape, alarmed by the situation, lunged forward.
  • As he tried to steady himself in his new form like Bambi on the ice, he smashed a fist down. And happened to reduce one hell hound (Crit, 55 hp damage) into a hell hound pancake.
  • He then brought his other fist across the opening and caught the other hell hound in the chest and legs (another Crit, 42 hp damage). It’s front legs broken, the hell hound let out a desperate whimper.
• Zoyana cast Produce Flame, but couldn’t catch the demonic canine alight, so went to hid behind Fang. She thwapped him on the side and said, “Good job buddy. Remember what we talked about.”
• Aegar stepped forward and with his first hit stuck his sword into the hell hound, putting it out of its misery.

Coffin Room

• Aegar then entered the next room. He saw a bunch of bones lying about, the sconces that would hold torches for light, and to one side a coffin, nicely crafted but made of wood. He called out, “Folks, there is a sitting coffin that is in here right now.”
  • He approached, checking for traps (Investigation 14).
• Aegar found no traps, but just as he approached the coffin lid started to lift, and hands reached out.
  • The first hand slashed out and caught Aegar off guard.
  • The second hand tried to grab Aegar, but he (Athletics 21) was able to pull away.
• At the same time, Pliny entered the room and immediately recognized the vampire spawn crawling out of the coffin as Tara Seleno from his old days in Baldur’s Gate and particularly his time showing in The Cat on the Hot Tin Roof.
  • Pliny cast Dissonant Whisper on her, causing discordant pain in her mind (15 hp) and causing her to immediately turn and run to the corner holding her head.
  • Aegar swung at her as she ran away, but missed.
• Fang-the-Ape called out “Farface!” in his booming voice and rushed into the room. He pushed Aegar out of the way and stepped closer.
  • He reached out with a giant hand and grappled the vampire spawn (Athletics 29).
    
  • With his other fist, he bashed her in the face (23 hp damage), which seemed to do dramatically less damage than expected.
• Zoyana cast Conjure Woodland Beings and brought forth eight pixies.
  • The party could swear that the first pixie cast Polymorph and turn the second pixie into a second Giant Ape.
    • Which stepped around Fang-the-Ape and pummeled the Tara the Vampire (24 hp), again doing less damage than might be expected.
• Aegar started freaking out, suddenly seeing eight pixies for in the room, and ran as far away from them as possible. Which took him right next to Tara.
  • Aegar added a Divine Smite to his first hit, releasing a radiant glow (25 hp) but then stumbled on his next swing.
  • As he came to his senses, he realized that he had been screeching a little-girl scream due to the pixies.
• Tara the Vampire, her wounds prevented from healing by Aegar’s smite, started grappling at Fang-the-Ape. In the following few seconds, she was able to grab him around the neck. (For the sake of her bite, he was grappled. For the sake of him wanting to move around, he was Huge and could still move wherever he wanted.)
• Pliny cast Dissonant Whisper on Tara, but this time she was able to shake much of it off (14 hp, halved to 7)
• Fang-the-Ape, not used to having a vampire spawn grab him by the neck, flailed about trying to pound her with his free fist.
• The Pixie-Ape screamed and pounded Tara with a mighty fist (Crit!)
• At the same time, Zoyana somehow found an opening between her huge compatriots, cast Produce Flame, and sent a small ball of fire straight into the vampire spawn’s chest.
• Pliny’s theater cast mate and friend shrieked a dying shriek as she lit up in fire and turned quickly to ash in Fang-the-Ape’s hands.
  • He hopped back quickly, “HotHotHotFire!”
  • Pliny felt an immediate bout of seething anger rise in his belly at the sight, and he said something quite colorful about Tarz.

The Iron Door

• Zoyana sent her pixies to swirl around Aegar’s head, snuggling close and hindering his movement.
• Aegar did his best to look unaffected and started to searc, “We should be looking for some kind of cure. Everybody look around please.”
  • Tara was wearing a tattered dress, and otherwise the room and coffin were unremarkable.
• Pliny then addressed the Iron Door.
  • 
  • It didn’t seem to be any different, even after Tara’s death.
• Pliny reached out to open the door with his Mage Hand. The door didn’t move, but that one spot did, and the room briefly lights up with a spark of lightning coming the door.
• The party looked closer. The door was inscribed with a message, each letter in it’s own iron square:
  • “A GREAT TREASURE LIES HERE UNDER A CURSE AND ONLY THOSE MAY ENTER WHO PROVIDE THE CURE.”
• Pliny started singing a Cure song.
• Aegar muttered to himself for a minute, then stepped up and pressed the “S” in “CURSE”.
  • The letter depressed with an audible click
  • And then stayed in a depressed position.
  • And then the door hissed and slide aside.

Blessing Pool

• The party entered a square room with a door in the middle of the far wall. + Above both doors, marking were etched. + On the sidewalls are sconces illuminating the room with magical light. + At its center was a well which encircled a button, like a moat. On the button was carved the symbol of a hand, and along the edges of the well were drawings of weapons. The water below sparkled and moved strangely.
• Aegar led the way, and Fang-the-Ape struggled to get through the door last.
• As Fang-the-Ape stepped back into the first room to adjust, the door shut, separating Fang-the-Ape from the others.
• The party heard “Bang! Bang! Bang!” on the door, followed by a very deep “Oww oww oww!”
• Aegar suggested Zoyana mentally message Fang-the-Ape to press the “S” in “CURSE”.
  • Zoyana: “Fang, use your big, fat ape fingers and press the ‘S’ in ‘CURSE’. if you can read.”
  • A bang and a moment later, the door opened and Fang joined the party.
• Pliny recognize that the marking above the door made the earthy shapes of the numbers 1-20 embossed in primordial.
• The door across the room was lacking a handle and did not move when pushed.
  • Pliny could find no place to use his famed mustache tools.
  • Fang-the-Ape bashed at the door, but nothing happened.
• Aegar pressed the button.
  • The numbers above the doors began counting down: 20…, 19…, 18…
  • When the countdown reached 10, the numbers turned red, 9…, 8…
  • They reached for the doors… no change.
  • 7…, the numbers turned orange, 6…
• Pliny pushed the button again.
  • 20…, 19…,
  • The party started discussing whether to let the time run out…
  • The numbers turned red, 9…, 8…, 7…
• Zoyana pressed the button again.
  • 20…, 19…,
  • Zoyana suggested they exit and leave a pixie to see what happened when it counted down. The exit door was locked too.
  • 12…, 11…, 10…,
  • The numbers turned red, 9…, 8…, 7…
  • Orange, 6…, 5…
  • Yellow, 4…, 3…,
  • The room turned black, 2…
  • The doors started to shake, 1…
  • The door opened a few inches…
• And then the room reset and the magical lights came back on. The doors opened.

The Murkwater Maniac

• In the next room, the party saw a startled Murkwater Maniac and a spined devil.
• Fang-the-Ape lunged for the door… and got his huge frame stuck in the medium sized door, blocking the passage for everyone.
• Aegar could not fit through, and so
  • Cast Compelled Duel at the Murkwater Maniac. But the Murkwater Maniac shrugged it off.
  • Launched a javelin through the space above Fang-the-Ape’s shoulder, scoring the first hit of the fight.
• Zoyana’s pixies flitted into the room, one after the other, trying to Polymorph the Murkwater Maniac.
  • The fifth one finally succeeded, Polymorphing the Murkwater Maniac into a frog.
• Zoyana then climbed around Fang-the-Ape (Acrobatics 16) and proceeded to cast Produce Flame on the frog
  • <Player: "She’s going to cast Produce Flame_ on the frog>
  • <DM: “Alright” 😬>
  • The frog died a fiery death, and the Murkwater Maniac reappeared.
• While Zoyana tried to understand what had gone wrong, the other pixies flitted into the room, each casting Confusion but failing.
• The Murkwater Maniac flicked his fingers out in a wiping-away motion, and Zoyana felt her concentration free as the pixies were Dispelled.
• Pliny snuggled up between Fang’s legs as if he had just been birthed, and tried to fire his crossbow at the spined devil. Instead, he slipped, fell ass-over-teakettle, and shot Fang in the ass with his errant bolt.
• Pliny then told Fang to get his “ass through the door.”, providing some Barding Inspiration.
• The spined devil flew at Zoyana, stabbed her with its fork, snapped at her with its jaws, and flew back to the other side of the room.
• Fang-the-Ape finally made it through the door and rushed the Murkwater Maniac, pummeling him with massive ape-fists (51 hp damage)
• Aegar went the other way, and laid a smite-filled slash across the spined devil’s chest, followed by a vertical strike that cleaved the fiend from head to toe and finished with a clang on the floor.
  • For a moment, it looked like the spined devil was about to say something, before a red line sprouted and its two halves peeled apart down the middle.
• Aegar followed with a Compelled Duel on the Murkwater Maniac.
• Zoyana dropped a Moonbeam on the top of the Murkwater Maniac’s head, catching Fang in the process, “Fang, there’s going to be a white light, you’re going to want to move out of it”.
  • And then she wildshaped into a cave bear.
• The Murkwater Maniac got scorched by the Moonbeam (10 hp), and then made a break for it: he skirted around Fang-the-Ape, Misty Stepped into the other room on the other side of the pool.
  • As he re-appeared, his Mage Hand shoved Pliny (Str Save 3) 5 feet and into the wall behind him, and he ducked just into the next room.
• Pliny wiggled his fingers and a glowing stick of incense appeared sending sparkles as he cast Hypnotic Pattern in the next room.
  • The Murkwater Maniac immediately stopped his run and lifted his gaze to the sparkles.
  • In the other room, Fang returned to his pseudodragon form.
  • Pliny called out to Zoyana, “We got this!” (bardic inspiration) and broke into a run and passed the Murkwater Maniac, attempting to block any escape.
• Fang-the-Ape turned to leap after him, but Zoyana called out, “Fang, wait!”
  • Fang: “What??? Why wait???”, but he waited.
• Aegar dashed to follow, and quickly caught on to the situation. He held on to wait until Fang attacked.
• Zoyana sent her Moonbeam to block the door, and then dashed to the far side of the Murkwater Maniac next to Aegar.
• Fang pulled up the rear, and prepared from within the pool room to help in what little way he could.
• Seeing Fang back in pseudodragon form, Aegar took a moment to Bless everyone in the party.
• And then Aegar brought Lady Constance to bear on the Murkwater Maniac’s neck, breaking him out of his magical incapacitation (via 29 hp damage), and then catching him again with a back-slice (10 hp more)
  • If the party could see inside his mask, they would have seen a face of fear.
• Pliny pulled his rapier and stabbed his old friend in the mask, cutting away a significant chunk.
• Zoyana-the-Cave-Bear picked up where Pliny left off, biting off his mask first and taking part of his nose and throwing it to the ground.
  • And then with both claws, she started at his shoulders and clawed down, so that his insides started gushing out of the channels.
• The session closed as Murkwater Maniac fell to his knees and then collapsed over in a lump.