Released

February 13, 2019

We start at the Lady Luck Tavern as Liam comes to ask why they went with Luc.  Liam is stunned when Jinn's response is that he was cheaper.  

"If I had known that, I would have done it cheaper as well," Liam holds up his hand to forestall Jinn saying something.  "It's not about the price, it's about doing it right.  What did you do with the evil, where was it contained?"  

"He put it in the staff," responds Jinn.

"The staff you showed me?"

"Yes," says Jinn.  

"And tell me you didn't store that staff next to the skull, two things of evil that could feed off of each other?"  

"Um . . ."

"We need to go there and check up on them right away."  

"Okay, I will get the rest," says Jinn, coming back to the table.  

Meanwhile, Nisha watches as Jinn steps away to talk with Liam.  "That appears intense.  Who is it?"

"That's the cleric of Lathandar," responds Tyrel.  "Would you like to meet him?"  

"Of course, that would be lovely!"  

Tyrel wasn't expecting a Red Wizard to want to meet a cleric of Lathandar and Nisha's answer surprised him.  A little bit more small talk happens before Jinn comes back and says that they need to go deal with something.  Nisha says she understands as they leave.  

Maldar says he will meet them out front as he doesn't want to be seen by Paine, and then slips out a different door.  

As the rest of the group leaves, Paine walks up and greets Tyrel.  "I would talk to you at some point about this?"  She holds up a familiar missive from Telinf, the one he gave to the Duke.  "I have a new trading partner in the north and would talk to you about it before I go too far.  Come to me at the House of Pleasure when you get a chance."  Tyrel says that he will and the group leaves.  

Liam is still agitated out front, waiting, and they gather up.  At that moment, Brianna and the rest of her group.  Quick introductions happen and then the group leaves for Maldar's house.  The Steel Eagles ask if they can come and the Danger Magnets agree.  

When they arrive at Maldar's, there is a pulsing portal above the house about a hundred feet.  As they get closer, the gate pulses, spewing green smoke and lightning and creatures appear to attack!  Both groups try and get to the house, splitting up but more and more creatures are thrown out from the portal.  As a wave of more than twenty of the creatures arrives, Jinn finally got close enough to the portal, that he sent a counterspell toward the portal, augmented by the robe.  The energy slams into the portal and seconds later, the portal closes.  They turn to finish the rest of the creatures when Durgha arrives!  A black cloud of necrotic energy seeps into the many bodies of creatures and turns them into undead.  Durgha himself then rises up to attack!  Several Steel Eagles go down but Tyrel is able to get to them with healing potions.  It is a combined attack of the groups that finally destroys Durgha!  

The groups limp to Maldar's house and collapse, catching their breath after the fight.  

2000 xp

GM Notes

• I wanted to have a big fight to user them to fifth level and think I achieved that.
• Fights are so interesting in how they play out.  Two characters didn't get hurt, two characters took some damage but were able to heal before going down, and one character went down several times!  I don't know if that makes it cinematic or not. 
• I did mess up with the description of the portal.  I saw the greenish blasts from it as bringing the creatures but didn't describe that well enough for it to be clear.  That's why it took so long for it to be closed. 
• The fight lasted several hours and while I think it held all of our attention, it wasn't my intent to have it go that long!  It worked out, though.   

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