The session started a bit late due to the map download - always going to happen with a new adventure. Maybe I can start bringing the server up early so people can download the map before start time.
The party headed into Whitebough Forest, and immediately found something unusual about it. The forest was shrouded in fog, a weather phenomenon that Nirreh & Elaureth, both residents of Whitebough, found anomalous for the area. They also felt themselves being watched as they moved through the forest...and eventually they discovered why, as they spotted a party of elves hidden among the trees, watching them, appearing to be waiting for something. When they outed the elves, they immediately went into combat. This didn't prove to be a very difficult encounter - the elves were routed, and the worst damage of the encounter was (again) levied upon Pieter, who wandered ahead of the party and was caught by a pair of elf scouts. Elaureth, Thomnall & Pieter were also hoisted up by snare traps the elves had placed. They had apparently been looking to rob the party.
Moving on, the party followed Elaureth's directions to Silvershade, where he was revealed to be an exile from the community by the eladrin guards who refused the party entry. They offered their help with Silvershade's problems, and were reluctantly allowed in - Elaureth, however, was made to wait outside. He asked Nirreh to show his raven's feather to the village's leader, Lady Wandalyssa Harpsong, and she agreed.
Heading into the village, the party met with Wandalyssa and the organizer of the village's guard patrols, Fruian Greensleeves. They found out from her that Whitebough Forest was under terror from a plague which specifically targeted fey creatures (as opposed to Cairnmoor's zombie plague, which could not affect beings of fey origin). She said that her people may have a way to cure Cairnmoor's plague, but would require the party's help first. When Nirreh showed her the raven's feather, Wandalyssa discovered that Elaureth had accompanied them - she seemed visibly shocked by the feather's state, and explained that the feather had turned blood-red when the village's founder, Princess Inastara Silvershade, had been killed. Elaureth had killed her, saying it had been for her own good, and he had been exiled for doing so. It was then that Elaureth entered the village, and Wandalyssa threatened to kill him if he did not leave immediately.
The tension was broken by the arrival of a heavy fog which greatly impaired the party's ability to see; Wandalyssa & Fruian left to attend to the village's defenses when this happened. From the fog, werewolves attacked the party, making sure to bite every fey-origin member of the party. After they had accomplished this, the werewolves used the fog to execute hit-and-run attacks: they would hide in the fog and regenerate while waiting for one of the party to become isolated, then focus their attacks on the isolated target, attempting to bring it down. This proved an effective and a daunting strategy, leaving the targeted party member nearly knocked out of the fight on several occasions.
Little by little, the party managed to isolate the werewolves and kill them off, winning the battle of attrition. Wandalyssa & Fruian then returned, impressed to see what the party had managed to accomplish. Unfortunately, the werewolves' attacks had infected Elaureth & Ilivarra with the moon frenzy plague; Ilivarra removed hers immediately, and managed to cure Elaureth of his plague during the party's extended rest at the end of the session. Wandalyssa explained that the fog was being created by Volaz, a former eladrin druid resident of Whitebough who had left on a journey, and only recently returned - his return had coincided with the return of the plague, curiously enough. She asked the party to find and eliminate Volaz's pack, then went off to attend to the people of the village. Fruian did the same, but not before asking the party to recover an ancient sword known as Moonclaw from the tomb of Princess Inastara - it was the weapon of one of her personal guards, and had been buried with that guard at the time of his death.
Elaureth, too, had a task to ask of the party - though he was hesitant to allow the party to enter Inastara's tomb, he permitted it on the condition they check what had happened to Inastara. His raven's feather indicated she was still alive, and he had to know why this was. The party agreed to do this, and we ended the session with an extended rest in Silvershade.
Though the werewolf encounter took up most of the session, it was probably the most detailed encounter strategically the party has gone up against so far - the werewolves used very effective tactics which put a significant stress on the party's ability to fight, forcing the party to develop a cohesive strategy: draw the werewolves out, then pick one and focus it down. With the heavy fog still shrouding the air, the party is sure to have more tactical encounters to follow.
Remember, guys - we are doing an extra session this week on Saturday, October 1st! We will start at 12 noon Pacific/2 PM Central and end at 3 PM Pacific/5 PM Central (or whenever you guys would like to stop). See you there! Additionally, I still need backstories from Baril & Pixie!
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