Episode 7 - Waythe is Back! Back Again! Look Who's Back! Tell a Friend!

Where we last left off, our intrepid party stumbled upon a large stone structure: a mausoleum of chiseled white rocks.  Entering, the air was as frigid as if it was on a glacial rift.  The air shimmered like this place existed on two different planes or realities.  Inside, a huge, closed-stone sarcophagus dominated the center of the tomb.  On pedestals stood the skulls of a hill, frost, fire, and cloud giant. A transparent image of a female frost giant stood above it.  Her eyes turned and watched the party as they examined the room.  Through her image, the party noticed a large, two-handed sword resting twenty feet above. 

After Ary retrieved the weapon, the party was greeted, as the sentient weapon said, “Dudes and Dudette! It’s about time someone came along to help me slay some disgusting giants!  Waythe is back, baby!”

Retrieving Waythe, the party continued, but under the constant reminder from Waythe that there are giants that need to be slain.

Coming upon a hunter’s shack, a woman named Fern exited and indicated, there is warmth and fire, and if the party wanted to warm themselves by her fire?

After ensuring the cabin was safe and not inhabited by some sorceress-witch, the party rested; Fern went to chop firewood and asked Nick for one of his battle axes.  After a collective party response from Nick of, “I’m not giving her anything.”   She left, and an hour passed, and she didn’t return, and the group, after some discussion, decided to go find her.  Using Batissimo, they went to her last known location.  They were greeted with a Barghest’s snarls, “I was only going to eat one of you, but now you will force me to eat all of you.”   She began casting, Suggestion on Nick to flee.  However, as he put it, “I don’t do suggestions.” And resisted the spell’s effect.  After a lengthy battle, the barghest learned the power of rock-and-roll, as Ahl d'Kukyz, cast Thunderwave and smashed the creature into cliffside rocks. 

Ensuring no additional hot dogs were in the cabin, the party continued down the hunter’s path to cut off the dark elves, rescue the Rybalka prisoners, and retrieve the Moonshard.  The tree line shifted within the range of the party’s vision, and they heard the sound of panicked birds taking flight from the shadowy canopy. A booming, grandfatherly, and slightly racist, voice shouted as if talking while inhaling at you in anger. “Brownbark has had enough of devils and dark elves! Flee Brownbark’s forest and tell your flesh slug ilk to take their black magic and warfare elsewhere!”

The source of the voice reveals itself as it speaks: a moving tree with an angry, moss-covered face emerged from the wood.