Hawksmire Finale Part 2 - Players eye view

Dave who plays Threekay (3k) the dwarf cleric in our game posted these on our group page so here are last few sessions but he missed the assylum episode in Ealdwell.

This game started march 2026 and was nice to see several players want to run games and for a few was first whole campagn with an end. All run At Duellers Den on tapleys hill rd.

Im trying some new name suggestions for my classes now.

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Welcome Cal (Bard of the College of Whispers). Not as silly as the other members of the party but shows promise of being very silly indeed, as we will see later.

We continued from the crypt below the vampire's house. We found a haggard person worshipping in front of a portrait of an elegant vampire and killed them.

They were holding a jar of bugs and 4 CP. We also found three urns decorated with lillies and worth 100GP each. Ratrump decided they needed the tapestry and bed canopy.

We returned home to find a letter from Chrysoprasia listing two "chores" they have for us as part of the arrangement we made with them. We have to deal with a criminal trying to escape the island who is hiding in a monastery on an offshore island. This is one of the islands that 3k's people are based on. Also Chrysoprasia wants us to kill the vampire whose thralls we killed last night.

We decided to pursue the vampire first. Glumpglump went to the herbalist to get some garlic oil to put on his axe. Then we all went to the town clerks office to get more information about the vampire. There was a long queue but we managed to bribe our way to the front and then intimidate the portly clerk to find out who the owner of the property was. They told us the property was owned by Emma Wilderhorn a member of a family of hunting nobles. They also own a hunting lodge outside of town which we obtained directions to. On the way we met a group of hunters armed for werewolf (silver tipped arrows) who were not at all keen on helping us hunt a vampire.

We arrived at the hunting lodge and Glumpglump collects some glowing skulls decorating the eaves. Then they knock the front door down. Some of the party scale the wall and enter through an upstairs window.

The ground floor is a dining hall with skeletal corpses sprawled at the table. Glumpglump collects their heads ( I think they must not have been breast fed as a child?). They group upstairs find a harp which Cal plays, causing a secret door to slide open. There is ladder behind the door going in both directions.

Having not learned from previously splitting the party, we split the party.

The Tops enter a well sealed attic space containing a coffin with a screaming skeleton decoration on its lid. The Tops destroy the elderly vampire which emerges from this coffin.
Meanwhile the Bottoms find a basement crypt which doubles as a wine cellar. There is also a locked door bearing the face of a vampire bat. There are several tombstones leaning against a wall bearing the names of members of the Wilderhorn family and several crossed out death dates. One of the tombstones falls on Ratrump's grimalkin. Now they have four slightly smaller kitties.

Ratrump pops the lock on the door and we can see a silver coffin. The Bottoms do less well than the Tops at defeating their enemy and call out for help. The second vampire is finally defeated by Anel's Sunlight spell. We loot the charred corpse of a necklace worth 800GP and two bracelets worth 300GP each.

Feeling a bit smug at how relatively easily we defeated the boss we notice a chill breeze from a drain in the floor which it turns out comes from another secret crypt below this one. The actual chief vampire says Hi! We hear a sliding stone as a secret panel in the staircase (ladder?) behind us slides open and releases this new vampire. The party is doing a fair job on this enemy when 3k realises they are unlikely to hang around to be killed. He warns the party just as the vampire (Emma?) turns in to mist and drifts down the drain to the secret crypt. Ratrump Misty Steps into the crypt and nails the paralysed Emma to their coffin with their dagger. Anel drops another Sunlight spell down the drain, which finishes this chief vampire. (We know that this will cause all of the vampire's thralls to revert to humans)
The party is able to get into the secret crypt through the secret panel and loot the following items:

. a bag which produces badgers (an uncommon wonder worth 400GP)
. an arrow with the giant runes for "giant" and "death" etched in to it (worth tens of thousands of GPs)
. 1000 PP
. 300 GP
. a pair of green Boots of Elvenkind (worth 400GP) These bestow Silence (not sure what this means) and advantage on Stealth checks
. a necklace worth 800GP
. two bracelets worth 300GP each
. a Minor Deck of Many Things which would have been priceless until the party exceeded their normal silliness and proceeded to risk their lives, sanity and the stability of the Planes of Existence by drawing several cards.

Anel acquired a knight who pledges to defend her until they die (Knight card)
Ratrump obtained two wishes (Moon card) and wished for Chrysoprasia's love and the ability to speak to all magical animals. they chose another card (Skull) and an avatar of Death appears in front of them.

Cal picked a card which bore a thief, until the image glared at them and then faded way. They choose another card (Ruin) and lose all portable property and any bastion they own. Clearly gaining no wisdom from this experience Cal draws again (Sun) and will now receive 10 temp hit points every morning and also gains a suit of blue dragonscale armour providing resistance to electricty.

Glumpglump chose the Throne card and received an image of a beautiful house and its location outside the city. Their second card bears an image of a devil (Flames) which glares at Glumpglump and fades away.

The remaining cards (about 14?) are probably worth about 50k GP but it is unlikely we will be able to find someone able to pay this.

In addition, Anel secures the deeds for all of Emma's properties.

TOTAL LOOT
4CP
300 GP
1000 PP
3 urns decorated with lillies (300GP ea)
a necklace worth 800GP
two bracelets worth 300GP each
Boots of Elvenkind (worth 400GP)
a bag which produces badgers (an uncommon wonder worth 400GP)
an arrow with the giant runes for "giant" and "death" etched in to it (worth tens of thousands of GPs)
a somewhat depleted Minor Deck of Many Things
a jar of bugs
lots of skulls, some glowing
some wine
I would like to suggest the following apportionment between the five adventurers
200 PP
640 GP in either specie or portable property. For example if someone wanted the Boots of Elvenkind (400 GP) they would only receive 240GP in coin.
The problematic booty could be kept in the Bag of Holding for use by the party as a whole at a later time

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Tonight Ratrump had to fight the Avatar of Death they summoned with the Deck of Many things. It was a close fight and none of the adventuring party was permitted to assist. Ratrump eventually prevailed.

Documents were forged which prove Anel is the owner of the mansion no longer needed by Emma Wilderhorn, the vampire we destroyed last week.
The Mists delivered a new adventurer, whose name may be Larfiset, a black dragonborn monk.

We headed off to Angler's Harbour to arrange transport to the offshore islands where Chrysoprasia's second task requires us to kill or recover a person they said were trying to escape Hawksmire. Unfortunately this person is a follower of 3k's deity, Chauntea. Will this cause conflict between the adventurers?

Glumpglump did not come on this adventure. It has not been confirmed that they consumed some vegetable products from the evil Empire of Trumpenstein and are currently becoming intimate with the contents of their colon.

The people of Angler's Harbour were pleased to see us once they established we hadn't become pretty enough to qualify as spouses for Lampgulp, but less so when they heard our request for transport to the islands. Lampgulp is not happy about people visiting these islands and has been known to eat people trying to get there. We finally found one brave soul, Handsome Jack, and their 14 year old son who were willing to take us there provided we paid them 120GP per day and did all the rowing.

Just as the shore of Firewatch Island began to show on the horizon, Handsome Jack noticed a glow in the water astern. Begging us to row faster did not save him and the back half of the boat ending up in Lampgulp's toothy maw. Anel's waterwalk spell allowed us and the distraught son to make our way to the island without further trouble. I don't recall anyone tried to comfort the newly orphaned lad.

Standing on the rocky intertidal shore we look at a large stone building nestled between hills and bluffs. 3K recognises the architecture as the style favoured by his coreligionists and goes to the nearest door and knocks and calls out. Even with tremorsense, 3K only hears scurrying rats.

The door is unlocked and opens onto a hallway accessing about 15 monk's meditation cells. There is door at the end of the hall. 3K's tremorsense detects several metal masses in the next room but no creatures.

Investigating the monk's cells disturbs some rat swarms which are quickly dealt with. It also uncovers a hollowed out space containing the mumified corpse of a druid. A search of the body uncovers
. 2 flasks of wine
. a magic charm
. 2 golden orc teeth

The door leads to a balcony overlooking a kitchen. One single door and one double door open on to this balcony. The dregs of tremorsense indicate one room contains soft furnishings and the other appears to contain smashed furniture. This second room appears to have been the scene of a fight and t he window has a people sized hole in it.

The first room is a library. There are tapestries on the wall and carpets underfoot which bear a marine motif. There are bookshelves containing religious books relating to a farming deity (probably Chauntea in the circumstances) and a sea deity. there is also some handwritten poetry (bad) about the perils of the sea. 3K tips these into the Bag of Holding for later examination. There are four spell scrolls
. Gust of Wind
. Speak with Animals
. Speak with Plants
. Control Weather

On the ground floor are a double door, a single door and a hall which has a bend so the end can't be seen. The single door seems to be barricaded and Ratrump has to force it open. It opens into a small private kitchen which appears to be in current use. there is bread and soup on the table which are only slightly stale and still edible. Anel and Larf go about warming up the soup for a snack. Ratrunp discovers a second door which opens into a pantry containing among other things a string of sausages and some tubers.

There is a discussion about how a room can be empty and also barricaded from the inside. Ratrump suggests the chimney is a possible exit and proves this by climbing up it. Investigation also reveals a ladder to a secret cellar behind the tuber bins.

Meanwhile Ratrump emerges on a badly repaired slate roof. Looking around they can see a small guard tower, an enclosed garden containing trees and vines, a rocky outcrop just offshore bearing a recent shipwreck. The SW section of th curtain wall is collapsed. Their grimalkins tell them they can smell some smelly old men. Ratrump climbs (through a window?) in the guard tower into someone's private quarters. They find

. a ring
. a bottle of oil
. a wooden puzzle box
. a wooden rod carved with seascapes
. three potions
. a Bag of Holding containing some fishing nets and ropes and a metal rod with a flame that does not seem to go out.
a metal box containing six horse pills. (Pills FOR horses not pills OF horses).

Ratrump takes one of the pills. Ratrump is not a horse. They feel tingly and the air feels very light.

Returning to the other party members, Cal opens the double doors to find they open into a lobby for the front door. Around the front door are bloody drag marks and muddy footprints. Cal can see the trees and vines in the enclosed gardens. Cal casts speak with Plants and hears the vines muttering about wanting to grab the animals they can sense and how annoying it was that the last animals had stayed on the paths where the vines couldn't reach them. Cal stays on the path and follows the blood trails to the front gates where they continue down the road.

They return to the kitchen.
Ratrump climbs down the stairs and steps in a green slime which gives them acid damage. They find themselves in a scriptorium containing vellum and other scribal supplies. Also two brightly coloured and obviously poisonous snakes. Ratrump manages to put them in the Bag of Holding. They also find the prior's room. The door is weighted open with a mace head. There is a piece of mirror attached to the wall above a strange basin which is actually an upside down helmet with dolphin decorations. There is a chest holding
. a bronze razor
. 14 diamonds (100 GP each)
. 2 sticks of incense (50 GP each)
. a feather

Ratrump returns to the party with their booty. An examination of the magical items recovered reveals the details listed below.

We conclude that people were living here until about 24 hours ago. They unsuccessfully tried to hide from something and all that remains are the bloody tracks outside. we go outside and examine the muddy bloody tracks and discover a rotten toe.

We also see three nasty green ladies about 60 feet away in the garden. Anel fireballs and does some damage. They also detect an invisible presence among the hags. Cal casts Fairy Fire which exposes the shape of the invisible entity. Larf does some dope monk shit which happened to fast to be recorded. The creature feels something like wind. During the subsequent melee the hags unsuccessfully attempt to Death Glare Ratrump who responds with a critical sneak attack causing 31points a damage and Cal explodes a hag with their mind.
Ratrump strings the net and rope from the Bag of Holding across the path so any intruders will have to walk past the vines and get throttled.

We all sleep and wake to find zombies staggering out of the sea. We can imagine one of them staggers extra due to lack of a toe. We make sure the doors to the building are closed and observe that several undead are trapped in the vines including an undead monk. After a short but vicious battle (during which Anel gets to Fireball) we clear the garden and close the gates. There are many zombies still wandering along the shoreline.

LOOT
. 2 flasks of wine
. a magic charm (Cal determined this to be a Charm of Plant Control with 3 charges allowing, Speak with Plants and Advantaged to Charisma based checks related to plants. Needs attunement.
. 2 golden orc teeth
. four spell scrolls
. Gust of Wind
. Speak with Animals
. Speak with Plants
. Control Weather
. a Ring of Free Action
. a bottle of Oil of Slipperiness
. a wooden puzzle box which unfolds into a boat
. a wooden Immoveable Rod carved with seascapes (claimed by Cal)
. three Potions of Water Breathing
. a Bag of Holding containing some fishing nets and ropes (claimed by Ratrump)
. a metal rod with a flame that does not seem to go out
. a metal box containing five horse pills.
. a Dolphin Helmet of Water Breathing
. a bronze razor
. 14 diamonds (100 GP each)
. 2 sticks of incense (50 GP each)
. a Quaal feather (uncommon or rare magic item)

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Your narrator was not part of last weeks events and is unable to report on them.
(Party killed all the islands bards who loved Chrysopasia because they hated Ratrump despite Ratrump mania running wild. Then reached Ealdwell and bought and sold magic stuff and killed a vampire running an Asylum)

Tonight finds our intrepid heroes in Ealdwell where they had killed the vampire in charge of the asylum and consequently became the new administrators.

Last wek the heroes had unsuccessfully attempted to gain access to the well in the centre of Ealdwell. they located several entrances but all were either caved in or barred.

We visited a frog shop where several interesting varieties of frogs were purchased including one which produced a stream of whiskey when squeezed and another which produced lemon juice. It seems likely that our future includes whiskey sours. Cal scored a frog that produces acid.

We then made our way to the well where Ratrump and Anel were able to squeeze through the bars and move down the well on Ratrump's magic broom. Cal uses his acid frog to cut through the bars and the rest of the party move down the well to a cave with a pool of opaque black water surrounded by a beach of broken bones stones and statues. There is a stream of methane bubbles coming from the centre of the pool. A ruined temple holds an inscription praising Byatis.

An influence in the cave causes all but Anel to lose their memories of all events in the last day. 3K casts Beacon of Hope thinking the wisdom buff might overcome the forgetfulness but this does not happen.

Some of the party throw their (quite expensive ) frogs into the pool hoping to entice any monsters in the pool to reveal themselves as we cannot fireball what we cannot see (amiright Anel?) One frog is blasted by some sort of necrotic energy (10d10) while a second makes its way safely back to shore. A third is caught in a vortex and is gobbled. Ratrump uses this indicator to cast Magic Missile. Other party members prepare various held actions in case Ratrump exposes our prey.

This causes a huge abberant toad to erupt from the water. It hs beardlike tendrils around its mouth and crab claws. The readied spells go off and cause various damage to the aberration. The party and toad exchange attacks, including some animated masonry courtesy of Cal. The party eventually defeats the monster which it turns out was an avatar of Byatis.

The memory spell ends with the avatar and the party regains their minds. The patients at the asylum also regain their memories. A party of thanksgiving ensues in which Ratrump gets far too much of the credit, Ratrump's paramour sends the obligatory chorus of ravens.
Somebody points out that the storm clouds on the horizon are looking particularly stormy and cloudy but this does not causer any particular concern.

The black dragon which granted the adventurers their dark gifts on another occasion arrives and offers to transport us to the capital. It seems Chrysoprasia is missing her nasty little hobbit (Ratrump). the dragon mentions in passing that Chrysoprasia is their mum. Some of the party have an animated discussion (with hand gestures) trying to guess at who did what to whom (and how) to cause this result.

The black dragon delivers us to the roof of the palace where a servant guides us into the throne room where Chrysoprasia is overjoyed to regain her Ratrump. She announces that they are to be married the following day and then whisks Ratrump away to celebrate their nuptials in advance.

Ratrump leaves us with some specific instructions regarding who is to be invited to the event. Anel is chosen as the celebrant as 3K is to be Ratrump's best man.

We receives reports that the weather is becoming increasingly nasty with strange black clouds, ferocious lightning bolts and earthquakes. The mists surrounding the island are disturbed and seem to be contracting. Anel and 3K seek auguries and divinations from their respective deities but only receive vague warnings about the mists and an assurance that the following day will be a good day for a (wight) wedding.

Anel is convinced that Chrysoprasia wants to marry Ratrump only because of their Wish and concludes (not unreasonably) that this is wrong. This appears to be the last reasonable thing that Anel does.

Anel knows that gods can grant Wish spells. Anel and Larfiset go to the cathedral priest to ask for help in summoning dark gods. The priest will not or cannot help them but does suggest that they might be able to summon or resuscitate a god with a littlr judicious sacrificing. Anel remembers and that we left the corpse of an avatar of a god in a well in Ealdwell.
They acquire some horses and make their way to Ealdwell where they plan to snatch some homeless people from an alley until some serious metagaming causes them to rethinking and sacrifice some rich people instead.

Meanwhile Cal is exploring the palace for locked rooms and Uranus warns us that Anel might have gone, just a little bit Bodmin.

Anel succeeds in summoning a phantom visage of the frog avatar who agrees he could provide them with a Wish spell but wants to know whats in it for them. They ask for Anel's permission to travel to their plane as this domain is about to cease to exist. Byatis explains that Hawksmire was created to torment Chrysoprasia. and now that they are happily in love with Ratrump the domain is no longer serving its purpose and will be destroyed by the Dark Powers. Consequently Byatis needs a new place to hang.

Anel tries to makes several counteroffers but is unsuccessful and gives up and returns to Hawksmire without her wish spell.

Meanwhile Cal has used a Knock spell to break in to a library containing Chrysoprasia's journals, describing how she was turned in to a dragon and cast in to the Shadowfell and Hawksmire because she was very vain and obsessed with their beauty and being adored. They also liked to punish and eat people who didn't worship them.

The day of the wedding breaks. The storm rages and the mists encroach ever closer on the palace. Kilometre sized rocks fly across the sky.

Ratrump staggers down from their nuptials and gratefully accepts a very large wodge of healing.

The wedding concludes at the same times as the mists close in and the last of the island ceases to exist.

The Dark Powers gather to decide the fate of all who called Hawksmire home, even if only for a short time.

Hawksmire is recreated and Chrysoprasia is returned to it, but all memory of prior events is taken from them and the people who remain there.

The remaining adventurers managed to stay nice enough that they are returned to their original homes in Faerun. (Anel is judged as torn between release and the domain curse as she did burn to death a bunch of cops and concealed the evidence and did that stuff with sacrificing ppl to talk to a demon but she did help some people and adopted a mental hospital as her own out of concern for others. Her player got to flip a coin and was trapped with Ratrump as her damnation).

Ratrump is a very naughty hobbit and will remain in the Shadowfell but is separated from their bride. They are located on another domain somewhere in the Shadowfell. As a Mist Walker there is a chance that Ratrump may rejoin with Chrysoprasia at some point in the future.

Next week a new party will be formed to explore all things Greek