The Session in Which Dan Makes Origami

journals/seventh/_posts/2025-07-21-beast-east-08.md

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+---
+title: The Beasts in the East, Session 8
+---
+
+## Current Objectives
+- Proceed to the Far Territories, and reclaim Fort Rather.
+    - Someday, we _may_ try to kill an Ogre King
+    - [COMPLETE!] ~~Revive (the real) Syrup, and return him to command~~
+    - [COMPLETE!] ~~Hunt-down the brother-in-law, Stanislaw, and bring him to justice~~
+
+## Events
+- The party, after barely surviving alien plant assault, divies up some sweet
+  loot! We continue through the pass, making our way to Tinsel Town. There, an ogre
+  standing in front of a closed wooden gate. Circling above are more of the
+  weird flying ant/dinosaur things, which Stackor identifies as byakhee. As we
+  approach, the ogre starts chuckling. COMBAT!!
+    - The byakhee dive from the skies, attacking Brother Basalt and Sir Beet.
+      Sir Tern dismounts and attacks one of them. Sir Beet repositions. Smokey
+      Blunt charges the ogre, skewering it. Stackor _magic missile_'s the
+      byakhee attacking Basalt.
+    - The byahkee above Basalt assaults him, but misses! Sir Tern eviscerates
+      the first byakhee, and Sir Beet shoots the other down. Combat over!
+
+- Smokey Blunt climbs up the wall, and surveys the region inside. He spots 2
+  buildings, many dead bodies, and a number of ogres now shuffling out of 1
+  building. Smokey goes over the wall, unbars the gate, and the ogres start
+  charging. COMBAT!!
+    - Stackor opens the gate. An ogre charges at Smokey, and smacks him. Sir
+      Beet launches a volley, taking down that ogre. Smokey moves back to and
+      mounts his horse. Another charges and smacks Smokey. The ogre leader
+      throws a javelin, but misses. Sir Tern answers with an arrow. The last
+      ogre throws a javelin, but misses. Ignatius Joe gives some fortune around.
+    - Stackor _magic missile_'s an ogre. Sir Beet shoots down another ogre.
+      Smokey charges the leader, stabbing it and continuing past. The leader
+      charges after Smokey, chopping him with his axe. Sir Tern shoots the
+      remaining non-leader ogre. Joe throws more fortune around.
+    - Stackor repositions and send a _lightning bolt_ at the lead ogre, who
+      displays unnatural grace and avoids it entirely. Sir Beet takes out the
+      remaining ogre, and Smokey Blunt super-charges the leader into a pile of
+      blood. Combat over!
+
+- We spend a bit of time healing. Stackor and Smokey head to the mine tunnel
+  entrance to attempt to _stone shape_ it closed. Joe, Beet, and Tern search the
+  town. In the large hall, we find a strange geometric pattern drawn in blood on
+  the ground. Joe identifies it as something tied to the Dark Tapestry. Sir Tern
+  disrupts the pattern, which triggers it, summoning a byakhee but tied to Sir
+  Tern, and so summoned as some kind of weird lion-butterfly-eagle chimera,
+  speaking in celestial, with ambitions of fighting the wicked. Smokey tries
+  mounting it several times, in what amounts to a very awkward situation. After
+  some amusing discussions, Stackor summons a _secure shelter_ for our rest for
+  the evening. Pale Root stands atop the _shelter_, offering a watch, while the
+  remainder of the party rests (but still taking watches).
+    - Stackor reads some books.
+    - Sir Beet makes some arrows.
+
+- While resting, we are notified by Pale Root that there are wicked approaching.
+  The ogres come knocking, breaking down the _stone shaped_ wall at the mine
+  entrance. We have time to prepare, and then the ogres arrive!
+    - Sir Tern gets embiggened!
+    - Stackor launches his _fire snake_ into the mine, incinerating many ogres!
+      A few additional ogres stumble out, and we dispatch them!
+    - Following, a Dark Tapestry-corrupted daemonic being, a "shatee",
+      approaches. We make surprisingly short work of it.
+    - The remaining ogre leader, shrouded in darkness, retreats. We try to wait
+      it out, but it doesn't emerge.
+    - Stackor moves up to seal the tunnel with another _shape stone_ spell, and
+      the ogre leader shoots him from behind the turn! He and Sir Tern engage
+      and move further into the tunnel, but the leader continues to evade us. We
+      eventually fall back, and Stackor successfully _stone shapes_ the tunnel
+      closed again.
+
+- We manage to rest for the remainder of the night. Next session, we pursue the
+  ogre leader and make for the Ogre King!
+
+
+## Player Characters
+- Sir Beet, a human paladin of Iomedae (Thans)
+- Sir Tern Ipswitch, a human paladin of Ragathiel (Bill)
+- Brother Basalt/Ignatius Joe, an oread shaman (Mike)
+- Burren "Smokey" Blunt, aka Bat-Man, but in the bat language, so like a bunch of "eee eee" and stuff (Dan)
+- Stackor, a dwarven wizard (James)
+
+
+## Locations
+- The path from Mine Town to Tinsel Town
+- Tinsel Town
+
+
+## NPCs and Notable Characters
+- Pale Root, a byakhee summoned unintentionally by Sir Tern under his will.
+
+
+## Upcoming Reminders!
+- _Lesser Restoration_ ALL THE THINGS!