Session 7 — A Good Death

Belak was outraged by Kerath’s assault on the Gulthias Tree, and he and his thralls immediately attacked. The two beside Belak were Sharwyn Hucrele, daughter of Kerowyn, and Sir Braford, a knight who accompanied the other lost adventurers that the party had been sent to rescue. They were apparently under some spell to obey him.

Just then a third, unseen thrall stepped out from behind the tree: Thaddeus! The cleric who had just days earlier escorted Calcryx and Meepo away from the party had somehow been enslaved by Belak’s magic, and now he was attacking his former allies.

Belak had yet another ally in this fight: a giant frog leapt down from the boughs of the Gulthias Tree and attacked as well.

Throughout the battle, Sir Braford wielded his sword Shatterspike, which magically destroyed some of the party members’ weapons. Sharwyn and Belak cast spells, and the frog repeatedly swallowed Kavagal, who continuously struggled to escape its stomach.

Things got worse when the Gulthias Tree itself uprooted and attacked the party, swinging its branches violently at anyone near. Though the battle was difficult, Kerath eventually slew Belak with an arrow, Hugo killed Thaddeus, and Blumf incinerated the Gulthias Tree with a second shower of Alchemist’s Fire.

When the tree was finally felled, Sir Braford and Sharwyn were released from the spell that enthralled them and their bark-like skin returned to normal. Sadly, Thaddeus was already dead. As a result of this sudden release, Sir Braford and Sharwyn were afflicted with a deadly magical illness. The party offered to escort them back to town as quickly as possible so they could receive professional medical or magical aid, but the pair knew they would not survive long enough.

While returning to the surface through the laboratory, they found two flasks containing what appeared to be concentrated fruit juice. Using their knowledge of the Gulthias Tree, they surmised that one flask contained a life-restoring tonic and that the other contained a life-stealing poison. Sir Braford selflessly insisted that Sharwyn drink the vitality potion to cure her illness, which worked as expected. Someone produced the second unidentified potion obtained from the pedestal room and offered it to Sir Braford in the hopes that it might somehow help him. This turned out to be a love potion, and as soon as Sir Braford gulped it down he immediately became infatuated with Zin.

Everyone thought Sir Braford deserved a swifter death than that which awaited him if his illness was allowed to run its course. Though Hugo wanted to keep the Gulthias poison for his own purposes, the other members of the party insisted he hand it over so that Sir Braford could use it if he wanted to. The knight declared that he would willingly drink it since he was satisfied by having finally met his one true love, Zin. After bequeathing his sword Shatterspike to Blumf, he drank the poison and died peacefully.

With Sharwyn in tow, the party sorrowfully collected the bodies of Sir Braford and Sharwyn’s brother, Karakas, whom they discovered previously, and started towards the entrance of the citadel. When they were nearly out, they passed by a locked door they had previously skipped. Curiosity overtook them, and they found a way in.

In the sealed room they discovered a large sarcophagus. Argora and Blumf hastily lifted the lid, and they found within an undead troll that immediately awoke. Zin responded quickly by casting Turn Undead, which caused the troll to cower in fear in its own stone coffin. Emboldened, Kerath clutched his shortswords and foolishly drove them into the troll, unaware that this would end the fear spell and allow the troll to attack…