Session 22
From 4th Edition
No Plot Element Left Behind
So now, the party is on a quest to find the Heart of the Beast.
| Introduction |
|---|
You awake from your restless slumber in cold panic, finding yourself in a strange bed and a strange room. Moments later, you calm down as you recognize the familiar walls of Beregost's tavern, though your feeling of unease clings to you as you dress and prepare your gear.
You've been flying high ever since you returned to a hero's welcome in your home town and began to be treated with the recognition and respect that you deserve, but over the course of last couple of days, it seems as though you've worn out your welcome. The townsfolk look at you now not with admiration but with suspicion, and even though nothing has overtly changed, you suddenly feel like strangers in a strange land, just as you did in the kingdoms of the South. Even your friends, the Laranga Brothers, had cooled to your presence after you returned from your visit with Wimpington Jr, eager to exchange cash for the worthless items you recovered as quickly as possible and see you on your way. Traveling merchants no longer greet you warmly as you make your way along the Coastal Road, instead going out of their way to avoid you on the road. The room you are in now was only bought after overcoming the innkeeper's initial reservations, which he inexplicably developed after a week of enthusiastically greeting your presence and in fact offering you a discount for your stay. You've been chalking it up to paranoia, but you feel as though everyone knows that you know about the heart of the beast, that simple red orb, and that you have become a pariah in your very homeland because of it. While hoping that this condition exists only in your imagination, you're eager, nonetheless to seek out the answer to what the heck is going on. |
After a certain amount of dicking around, the team headed down to the Underdark using the same path they had explored earlier. However, to their surprise, they empty canyon they had observed during their first visit had been replaced by an active plantation, where field upon field of a strange bush are growing. Spotting a compound on the far side, the party headed across and engaged in an exhausting fight to its center where the hostile workers had been carefully protecting a strange cave.
Several of the works appeared to be copies of the mysterious ranger who was doing business with Wimpington way back in Session 3 and the whole operation seemed to be governed by another ghost of the Githyanki. Crates marked with a golden 'W' implied that the party had at last found Wimpington's secret drug operation, though what exactly was going on was unclear.
After finally making it into the cave, the party found a bright room filled with more of the strange bushes. These, however, seemed to be in full bloom and held dozens of berries that looked identical to the one Wimpington Jr showed them. After collecting a sackful, the party beat a hasty exit.
Succumbing to temptation, Quang ate one of the berries. He felt very good inside afterward.
