RECAP
The group, after a couple weather related setbacks, continued on their journey to Ermaneo. We made it almost all the way without incident until we were roughly one day out. It was at this time that we were still on the road, but deep within the Gremlin Forest when we were suddenly overwhelmed by a potent stench the likes of which none of us had ever experienced.
Wafting from the forest bellowed a pungent odor that immediately felled Os, Oz, Jessie, and Iwakasi. They all became so sick that the only course of action was to lay them in the cart and hope for the best, essentially disabled. The others were overwhelmed with disgust, but managed to keep their wits about them and arm themselves. It was at that time that a swarm of Stirges came flying out of the woods and attacked us all. They hit us with beak-like stingers and numbed our limbs with poison. Most of us had one or two of them latched onto us as they leeched our bodily fluids and fed off us like vampiric mosquitos.
Those of us capable of fighting them off began to squish them one at a time, but more waves of them kept coming from the forest onto the road. Our camels freaked out and fled the scene except for the one attached to the cart. That one was also being drained by Stirges.
Just when things couldn't look bleaker, a 14 foot tall wave of debris rose from the forest and encroached the group. We were hit with another gust of putrid stench that sickened most of us. The wave of debris included all manner of waste and decay as it rose higher and eventually collapsed in a heap on top of Breach. Breach managed to bust out of the waste heap and ignited himself in Balor Nimbus flames.
The Stirge assault continued as another swarm of them entered the road and latched onto us. We continued to pummel away as Akrah grew large, Rano fired arrows, and everyone fought to the best of their abilities assuming they were still strong enough to fight.
Emerging from the forest shambled a large bulbous creature with a 6 foot wide toothy maw and eight tentacles. As it entered the melee, it released a breath weapon of sorts and hit us all with another wave of debilitating stench. After the breath attack, it forced another tidal wave of filth onto Breach. He managed to break loose again and engage the creature in a grapple. Once held, he ignited it with flame before his spell faded.
At this time, the Stirges were all but defeated or forced to flee and we all focused on the hideous monster from the forest. We hit it with all we could, but many of us were weakened and sick from the stench attacks. Only enlarged Akrah with her massive karmic strikes seemed to do any measurable damage. It is also of note that, had it not been for Figment flying around and healing us, many may not have survived the encounter.
While we were fighting, Esra turned invisible and snuck into the forest to see if anyone or anything was controlling this creature. He discovered a black skinned, green haired giant watching the scene unfold from a distance. He threw a bottle of alchemist fire on it and fled back to the group. The giant pursued and came upon the group just as we had damaged the creature enough to force it to flee the battle. As it rolled back into the forest, the giant presented himself to all of us and put his hands up in a show of peace.
He introduced himself as a scout from a neighboring town who was part of a hunting expedition designed to destroy the creature we were fighting. Apparently this creature had a lair far from here and was lured to us by something. The giant wasn't sure if it was one of us in the party or if one of us summoned it with dark magic. We assured him we didn't summon it and that it must've been alerted to our presence in some other way. He wished us luck on our journey and went to gather his companions to finish off the creature.
With that; tired, battered, sickened, and utterly repulsive with the stench of rot and decay, we made our way through the last leg of our journey to Ermaneo. Vechi scouted ahead and told of us of a festival the town was preparing for in three months called the "Festival of the Council" dedicated to celebrating the Council Deities. As luck would have it, we arrived early enough before the activities that there was plenty of lodging available for us to procure a place to stay. This place was none other than "The Low Bar" situated near a dock down by the port where we could charter a boat to Iott.
Upon entering the Low Bar, we were greeted at the door by the bouncer, a hulking and heavily armed and armored Bugbear named Zalthor. After presenting gold, the group was allowed to enter, although not before Figment was patted down with excessive force due to clear discrimination. All others were either barely acknowledged or scoffed at. We all bathed, ate, and composed ourselves after the harrowing experience on the road. That's where we left off.
