The wasteland now known as the Mournland is a deadly place for even the most stalwart adventurer, as magic is twisted and normal healing fails. Their first expedition to Kalazart was a bloody affair, and the party was quite interested to see what they could do to avoid spilling their own blood, particularly as the cleric Francis has deserted.
The human wizard Kylar had some ideas, and before the party embarked on their next expedition, all agreed to try out these experiments. The fiery airship had pressed through the shroud of Dead Gray Mist that surrounded the Mournland, the new goblin deckhands and new halfling pilot Cora Scalesaddle learning the proverbial ropes of air travel by magical airship, now named “That’s Bullship.”
The ship ventured only a few hundred feet into the wasteland. The human wizard Kylar, gnome Barbarian(/Ranger) Gnofulk and the human monk Turnin descended to the ground, ready to test.
The warforged cook, Chef, had done up a lot of popcorn, which was being munched on by the NPC crew and the half-orc barbarian Ula and the tiefling sorceress Comfort, as they swapped inside jokes in Infernal.
After some preparation, the wizard was ready. He prepared Leomond’s Tiny Hut, and a small dome winked into existence. The Mournland twists the spell, and while it goes off, Kylar’s intelligence is swapped with his strength. His jaw goes slack, and a little drool droops out while his robes tighten with
Kylar needs a volunteer to get hurt, and Ula dutifully stumbles off the airship, suffering some bruises after the 20 foot drop from the deck to the hard barren ground. She and Turnin enter the spacious hut, and the monk tries to heal the barbarian with knowledge gain from all the way back dealing with the Sealers of the Stone Maw. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work.
Next up is Rope Trick, and buff Kylar opens a small pocket dimension, wish a rope leading up to it. The buff wizard recoils a bit as the spell bites back, inflicting some psychic damage. Gnofulk gleefully stabs himself, and climbs up. It’s then pointed out that because Ula didn’t heal in the Hut… well, the gnome didn’t need to hurt himself. Oh well. Ula climbs up too, and homebrew healing potions from Kaz are tossed up to the pair of barbarians, along with beer chasers. Surprisingly, the healing potions do take effect, and likewise-hit dice are able to be expended.
The final experiment is discarded. The wizard posited that someone may be able to fly high enough to break out of the Dead Grey Mist that entombs the Mournland… but that doesn’t seem like a practical way to heal.
The party lounge around, and the day is spent with the new crew practicing. Long rests are found to not recover hit dice in the Mournland. The party has some ways to heal, but the Mournland will still be plenty dangerous…
The airship departs the Mournland, and the party spend a final day in Breland, resting up. Their pilot Ruth, befriended (and bedded) during the Race of the Eight Winds preparation, has joined them in their expeditions with the fiery airship, and in her final resupply efforts, has procured two greater healing potions for the good of the expedition.
Fully rested, fully healed, and with all their various abilities recharged, the party decide they are ready to venture into the Mournland again.
Their goal is to keep to themselves; head northeast for around four days to explore the settlement of Ula’s (probably deceased) clan, and then head southeast for around four days to the former capitol of Metrol, which per rumors, has a teleportation circle that isn’t working, a vault filled with treasure, and who knows what else amount it’s seven plateaus and palaces…
The party does indeed keep to themselves, avoiding a handful of natural sights, and an unnatural one, with a monolith of flesh that appears to be fused screaming bodies.. best to avoid that. The Mournland... continues to be a wasteland. Dead trees are spotted here and here, and the once rolling, grassy fields and dry and barren. The Dead Gray Mist continues to form, writhe and eventually dissipate according to its own unknowable whims, and in short order captures the mist captures the attention of the goblin deck hands. They start to point it out to one another, and more often than not it looks like a fat snake. They… aren’t terribly creative. Occasionally, Kylar conjures his own mist, shaping it into other creatures, but still, the goblins call each conjuration out for looking like fat snakes.
The party is wary, and the trip starts to pass uneventfully as they keep watch. Along the trip, Ula opens up a little more about her clan. They settled down in Cyre, and served as scouts for the army of Cyre for two generations. Just prior to the cataclysmic Mourning, which devastated all life in the nation, and turned it into the desolate, mist-shrouded Mournland, her half brother killed their mutual father, asserting control of Clan Urza. Ula got drunk, stole the Clan’s magical shield, and woke up in Sharn.
In the afternoon of the second day, the sky is overcast, as always. Turnin is in his quarters, exercising his mind muscle by getting quizzed by the goblin deckhand Strudel with some flashcards. His results are…. well, Kylar is also studying below deck, researching this and that.
On deck, Captain Rhogar is at the helm, keeping a steady course. Ula is pacing nearby, now worried about what might have happened to her clan. Gnofulk is idly scritching Nutasha, his flying squirrel mount at the bow, and Comfort is swindling three of the goblin deck hands in games of dice.
The goblins continue to be distracted by the Mists, pointing out more and more fat snakes. One looks up and notices a raincloud passing out of a mist bank, and gets excited, poking his confederates. Being city goblins, they’ve never been this close to a cloud before! Look at how dark it is! Why is it so low? Wait.. are clouds supposed to have arms???
The dark cloud billows speedily towards the fiery airship. Flashes deep within rupture out through the surface, and twin bolts of arcing lightning impact the deck, linger, and then coalesce into hovering semi-humanoid bodies made from cloud and lightning...
Nutasha is shooed back by Gnofulk, and Comfort does the same with the goblin deckhands as she simultaneously speedily pockets more winnings.
One of the stormspawn is the first to move, swooshing over a few more feet to Gnofulk at the bow and clawing at the gnome with an arm of twisted lightning. The gnome is zapped, but rebuttals heartily with his magical axe, Squirrelenbane.
The second stormspawn hovers back a few feet and caresses Comfort – and is Hellishly Rebuked by the tiefling for failing to get her consent in the encounter. Ula rages, non-distinct Ancestral Protectors springing up around her, and dashes down from the helm into the melee to help Comfort. Unfortunately, her mundane axe swishes right through the stormspawn, and the half orc curses. Loudly.
Comfort shouts down towards the aperture leading belowdecks, to try and alert Kylar and Turnin, and then twins a Firebolt. While she misses the one assailing her, the cantrip connects with the one battling Gnofulk, and it pops, dissipating into nothing.
The massive stormcloud hovers near the bow of the ship, and two more arcs of lighting hits the deck, up by Rhogar at the helm, and a bit behind Gnofulk.
Kylar heard both the rumbles and Comfort’s call. Thankfully the wizard had swapped out flowing robes for tighter-fighting adventuring robes long ago and is able to run up the stairs without tripping. The wizard reaches the aperture, surveys the situation, and tries to rattle the lightning beings with the Shatter spell.
The Mournland, as always, twists the spell. As the loud ringing noise emits from a point on the deck, Kylar winks out of existence. The stormspawn amidships are unaffected by the resounding thunder damage, and the one in the stern by Captain Rhogar, attacks the dragonborn. But the former battle master deftly sidesteps the aggression.
Turnin has also been summoned, having left Strudel and the flashcards safely below. He arrives at the aperture a moment after Kylar winks out of existence. The monk is fast, and he scampers up and with maximum effort unleashes a staggering number of blows against the stormspawn threatening Rhogar. The flurry of fists is enough the beat the lightning being into submission, though as it disburses, it pops, and both Rhogar and Turnin are subjected to a small Thunderwave, and then hops down to assist Ula and Comfort.
Gnofulk is aware of Ula’s predicament, and has the presence of mind to toss his magical axe in her direction. Unfortunately, the toss falls short, and the weapon skitters nearby. Still angry, the Gnome draws the Hordebreaker Scimitar, recovered from Zyn, and with the scimitar and a mundane hand axe, slices at the stormspawn near him at the bow.
The second stormspawn amidships is surrounded by Turnin, Comfort and Ula. It claws at Ula, its attention drawn to the half orc by her spectral protectors. Ula angrily reels, then recovers the magical axe, and slipping her tower shield behind her hacks mercilessly with a two-handed chop.
The brawl on deck continues, and while the party makes headway dealing with the waves of stormspawn, the mighty storm approaches, spilling over the bow of the ship that cleaves the stormspawn deep.
Turnin runs towards the big storm, and with his cool staff and handwraps, pounds some cloud bits away. Gnofulk deals with another stormspawn, and as the scimitar slices and dissipates, the ensuing small Thunderwave pushed Gnofulk into range of the menacing storm, as Ula hacks at it alongside the monk. The huge storm lashes out with its lightning body, but fails to connect with any of the adventurers.
With only one stormspawn around for now, the party focuses on the big storm. The cloud of angry lightning takes a beating from Turnin and Gnofulk, and a brutal, devastating cleave from Ula using Squirrelenbane. The storm is a shadow of itself, but not disbursed yet.
Kylar winks back into existence, at takes the time lapse like a champ. He casts Poison Spray. Again the Mournland twists the spell, though no immediate effects present themselves. Unfortunately, the poison is ineffective against a being made of clouds and lightning.
Still, the storm is quite diminished, and the monk is able to sneak the last blow in. The cloud bursts, and while the Thunderwave sound is gigantic, the party doesn’t seem to reel as much as they expected, and they turn to see Kylar with a faint aura; the Mournlant twist of his latest spell.
Turnin continues to be quick, and easily makes it the 15 or so feet back to engage the final, lingering stormspawn. Fists strike, and the monk channels his Ki to push the stormspawn off the deck.
It can hover though, and while inconvenienced, doesn’t seem too perturbed. Ula and Gnofulk both recognize the fight is as good as over. Comfort quickly makes it official with another Firebolt.
The party has taken some hit, but is not too bloodied. The raging barbarians tanked much of the damage. Still, with their new knowledge, several of Kaz the Kobold’s healing potions are procured, and Kylar summons his pocket dimension using Rope Trick. Unfortunately, yet again, the Mournland twists the spell, and while the hole materializes, the wizard recoils as his brain is burned with psychic feedback.
Even with some healing available, the Mournland continues to be a very dangerous place! What else could be in store for the party? Ula’s clan settlement should be only a day or so away…
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