Gracklstugh

The Last Day

Bon hands 4 pistols to Stool, and begs Yvelia to enchant a circlet for him with mage hand
Bon purchases a circlet for Stool
Joaquin informs the partyrew that their official contract is complete, however a bonus will be provided if the Illithid colony is eliminated
no one in the partyrew wants to turn back
after some light convincing Cynlant casts remove curse on prince derendril
- he mutters something in a fine elvish
- it has no effect
he claims he was cursed by a wizard Crestor who stole his crown
- Oneshoe and Bon look into him, but he doesn’t seem to be lying

Oneshoe awakens, nearly smothered by a giant Yl-lib
While she’s lazing about, the Boyscouts go for their morning jog
on their return, they nudge Bon awake
upon entering the inn, Bon and the boyscouts see a giant orange cat
- Bon goes to pick it up, against Oneshoe’s suggestions
- Yl-lib jumps and scratches Bon
  - Yl-lib tells him to not try again
- Bon tries again, nimbly dodging out of the way

once on the road, Bon hands Yvelia the circlet to enchant
the path begins to slope and curve
Cynlant asks if Kyem, Yvelia’s imp is part of her warlock deal
- in an unsettlingly voice, he introduces himself to Cynalnt
Seeing Cynlant’s confusion, Bon pulls a bat out of a magic hat as a gift
- he puts his head down and walks ahead of the partyrew
Oneshoe makes small talk with Jim Jar
- she asks how he’s coping with the whole “death and resurrection” bit
- he doesn’t have any lingering symptoms, and can’t wait to go home
Bon talks with his baby Stool
- Stool is excited to finally be on the way home, back to his circle
- Bon asks how he needed up in jail
- he was enslaved for his spores
- Stool wants to be safe and home, and is tired of adventuring
Stool explains the politics of the Neverlight Grove
- he exposits that for the past two kings there have been 2 monarchs

On the third day the party hears a crazed cackling in the distance
- Oneshoe, Bon, and Yvelia recognize it as a hyena sound

in the distance someone is yelling No, no in dwarvish
multiple gnolls and hyenas are off in the distance, surrounding 3 bound dwarves and a 1 dead dwarf
- the gnolls are hacking at the dead dwarf’s body
while the party is deliberating, a gnoll eviscerates another duergar
the boyscouts clunk their way closer
Jim Jar stealths closer
the rest of the partyrew waits for a second before their attack
Bon growls at the hyena’s as Cynlant fires off two eldritch blasts
Cynlant and Droopy inch forwards after throwing ranged attacks
Jim Jar strikes from stealth, then hides again
Oneshoe’s casts Hypnotic Pattern, affecting only two Gnolls
Yl-lib runs forwards then with a woosh teleports next to a Gnoll
- he strikes, biting and clawing, leaving the gnoll bloodied
Bon taunts the horde, then dashes back
Eldeth and Joaquin strike from a distance, lightly damaging some gnolls
one of the Gnoll brutalizes Prince Derendril
- badly bloodying them
combat continues
a cornered Bon reverts into his “civilized form”, clicks his boots, and dashes between the hyenas
- one of them bites a small chunk of his flesh
the partyrew begins to massacre the Gnolls and hyenas
eventually, the partyrew finishes off the enemies

Cynlant and Onshoe investigate the hyenas, finding nothing of note
Yvelia walks down to a flat area of the cavern, throwing her coin purse against the wall
- a giant vault wall appears, adorned with with golden jackals
- she conjures a magic key to unlock the door
- the party’s hoard is inside
- Cynlant lifts Oneshoe and throws her into a pile of coin
  - Yl-lib “protests” this
Bon casts Speak with Dead on two dead duergar
- the duergar were captured by the Gnoll
- they were miners from a Gracklstugh outpost
- they mined iron ore
- oneshoe blurts out

do you know about the scary tubes in Gracklstugh

as the partyrew begins to make their way, they find a sprawling mess of roots and branches growing from a leafless tree
Cynlant detects a raw natural magic from the tree
as they continue down the tunnel, Bon tries to use his magic to make the tree grow
- extra roots sprout forth
deeper into the tunnel, the roots begin to cover nearly the entire tunnel walls
a squirrel runs past, ignoring the party
- Bon sends a squirrel to follow, it never returns
surface plants begin to populate the tunnel
the density of surface flora begins to sharply increase
eventually the tunnel opens up into a grotto, crowned with branches
- squirrels scurry about, tending to the tree’s branches
excited, Cynlant casts Disguise Self and morphs his armor into a speedo
a squirrel Aldi, speaks to Oneshoe
- Oneshoe asks how the tree got there
- the squirrels tend to the tree, which come from the astral plane
- it has branches into all planes, a world tree
Bon and Yvelia have heard of the world tree
Oneshoe and Cynlant recognize that the tree connects parts of the various planes
Aldi has detected Abyssal influence, but they did not enter through the tree
the squirrels begin to scatter as a bulge grows in the branches
- a huge claw tries to pull itself through, as a mushroom covered dragon-like head pokes through
a panicked Aldi says that a dragon is not normal

the enemy takes a stance, preparing to attack
Oneshoe casts Dissonant Whispers which causes it to flee into the thicket of roots, but does not damage it
the boyscouts advance towards it, but cannot hit the beast through the roots
Bon transforms into a starry archer, striking it with a bolt of radiant energy
after getting hit with some crossbow bolts, it moves forward and rears its head back
- a caustic blast of spores billows out from its mouth
the front and mid liners suffer serious damage, with Eldeth fainting and Bon barely clinging to consciousness
Jim Jar misses the entity with his human gun
Aldi begins to chant, and causes the dragon to posture more aggressively
after more ranged attacks, Cynlant and Ront eat mushrooms and grow to a larger size
- they flank the beast both striking it
soon after prince Derendril joins Cynlant and Ront in surrounding and the beast
- it begins to fall apart
Bon summons reflections of himself to attack the monster
- two of them strike, reducing the monster’s strength
the beast strains and tries to break free from the squirrel’s compulsion
the beast takes flight, downing Prince Derendril
as it takes off, Ront cleanly lops off its head, causing it to crash down in front of Eldeth
the body crumples, revealing its fungal nature