Highlights:

• On our way to Phandalin to lay low
• Woke up bound
• Out the window
• Zombies, babbling, and green mist

TIBBOH’S DIARY

I’ve been outed. Sister Garaele and Sildar came to sneak me out but Darren had to stay behind. Managed to gather my things in time, but pipes still locked in the Attic…BLAST!

We were on our way to Phandalin to lay low and see what I might be able to do to assist since going back to the plantation is a no-go. Managed to get a day’s worth away from the plantation keeping our tracks covered. Stopped to make camp for the night. Was JUST settling down for the first time since the breakout when we were interrupted by an Elf, or at least I think he was an elf. Something was off about him, almost creepy. He spoke in a grave tone of warning that there were dangers in the area that our camp would attract and thus attract to his farm. He insisted that we stay at his residence for the night to keep everyone safe. We were outnumbered seven to three and decided a fight wasn’t worth it after the day we had. We followed the Elf and his cloaked followers to a windmill where we were told we could have the entire third floor. Even though there didn’t seem any danger in the tower, we decided to set watches just to be safe.

Woke up bound. Mind foggy and feel drained… the others appear the same. Not sure who failed their watch, but so help me… so tired… awoke some time later in the day, mid-afternoon maybe by the light, hear commotion on the lower floors. Windmill sounds like it’s grinding something that keeps catching the gears. Low incoherent mumbling traveling up from below too… Awoke again, much later in the day now, still light but not much. Sister Garaele nowhere to be found. The babble from downstairs unbearable! Feels like I am going insane! Sildar came to but wouldn’t respond to anything I said. Still bound, he forced himself up and lurched toward the stairs. I called out to warn him but he stumbled forward and fell hard and disappeared from view. Still no response or sound from him. Managed to get myself up to follow after him to make sure he was ok but the ropes on my ankles caught on a nail and without my hands to steady myself I ended up falling out the window…

Aside from the fall, my mind and body felt clear and amazing compared to when I was inside. Babble sounds distant now, possibly related? Cut the ropes and checked for anything broken. Heard commotion in the nearby field. Several individuals in the field, some look like the Elf’s cloaked minions, but others definitely do not. Is that a GIANT?! No, can’t be. One suddenly yelled “The wolf is Sister Garaele” to the non-giant and a grungy-looking sailor. That would explain where Garaele disappeared to. If they know Garaele, they must be on our side. First good news in a while.

Start hearing the Elf’s voice inside yelling and starting to chant something. Need to get back inside and find Sildar. Wolf Garaele has the same idea. We both head toward the door and leave the cloaked ones to the newcomers. Managed to cast Faerie Fire from the outside but doesn’t seem to have worked, something felt off. Need to shake out the cobwebs… There was a loud splash from the direction of the giant. Appears to have thrown one of the minions down a well. That water’s no good anymore. The sailor looks to have caught on and is running to where we are. Just in case the babbling was what was causing the insanity, I broke off pieces of soap and stuck them in my ears, to weird looks. Peeked in the door and saw what can only be described as a grotesque monstrosity; gnashing sets of teeth and tongues all over a red meaty mass. That must be the source of the babbling. The sailor conjured something that looked like a flaming spear that looked to hurt the creature. Garaele and I head straight for the stairs. On the way I managed a decent crossbow shot but before we were able to reach the second floor the creature shot out this bright goo that blinded me. Felt my way to the second floor but couldn’t see or hear anything. Luckily my sight returned shortly thereafter… only to find another horrific scene.

The floor was covered in dead bodies. One of the minions, clearly a reanimated corpse, was slowly feeding the bodies into the grinder. On the other side of the room the Elf was hunched over the still body of Sildar, chanting. Without looking up he yelled “Rise!” at which point several of the dead bodies rose and looked toward us. I was feeling back to myself and cast Hideous Laughter which should have worked but the Elf shrugged it off as if it were nothing! Garaele looked hurt after a zombie hit her. The Sailor threw sticks at me and mimed taking out the soap. I did so hesitantly, but found the babbling had stopped. Phew!

With the babbling gone, I was able to hear what was going on. No sound coming from downstairs, everyone seemed to follow us to the second floor. Right as things were looking up the Elf cast something and we were enveloped in utter darkness. Gain one sense back, lose another… Almost had a decent crossbow shot at the Elf too… In the dark felt two zombies nearby who landed a couple nasty bites… I panicked and cast Heroism on myself in an effort to keep death at bay. Yelled something foolish about being a hero and ran up to the third floor to hopefully recover some. Tried to meditate but too much commotion going on downstairs. Started to feel better after a few minutes, or at least I told myself that, and started to make my way back toward the stairs to see if I could pick off any of the zombies or the damned Elf.

Found my way back to the stairs and even though it was still dark, the others were communicating as if they could see. Readied myself in case another zombie came at me. Confused at first, I wasn’t sure what was going on until the room came back into view. It appeared the sailor’s flaming spear was staving off the dark. Lucky I was ready as a zombie was headed for me but I put a bolt through its shoulder. Gears sound broken. Wonder how that happened. However, the sailor was nowhere to be found but there was a second wolf. Sailor must be a shifter too. Sailor wolf, the archer, Garaele, and the giant were battling the zombies who seemed to refuse to stay down. Finally got a shot off at the Elf and it hit! Zombies started to fall and stay down, especially when the giant was involved. He seems to really enjoy smashing things…

With the zombies managed everyone started to focus on the Elf who threw up some sort of opaque magic shield, though it didn’t do him much good as the giant and I both were able to connect several times. He finally stopped chanting over Sildar and disappeared in a puff of greenish mist which escaped out the window. I ran back up to the third floor window and took another shot just in case and surprisingly seemed to hit…the mist…? It continued to “run” away, and I didn’t want to lose the chance to put him down for good so I jumped out the second story window, this time managing to land as expected. Took another shot but the distance was too great and the smoke Elf disappeared amongst the trees.

The others found their way back out the door and we regrouped. Sildar looking terrible, but alive. They asked what happened to Darren. Sildar and I explained he was held back at leadership. I explained that I had been working undercover on a plantation as a spy. They explain how they had ended up at the same windmill we were being held captive. Something about a rabbit? Sildar was confused about the wolf being Garaele. There’s been talk among elves about “The Druid” before but had mostly been myth. Sailor said something about wolves needing to reveal their own identity. Along with being hurt, wolf looks confused. Garaele or not, Sildar seemed comfortable with the wolf. Out of nowhere the giant just goes and picks up Sildar and starts to carry him away. I notice Sildar doesn’t have his staff. I run back inside and find it on the third floor.

Find Archer waiting at bottom of stairs. Start to follow Giant, ask Archer for name, her name is Enya. Introduced myself as well. Give basic background of plantation and my finding out I need out leave. Described how my pipes were left behind and how I long to retrieve them soon. The others seemed eager to help me retrieve them which I’ll take. Need to get them back as soon as possible. Started to head to Phandolin. About an hour out from Phandolin we hear shrieking call of a very large beast. Little Pocket (Sailor Wolf) tells us she sees 3 cloaked figures wearing greenish cloaks also wearing masks. Hag and I agreed the screech was from an owlbear. I gave Sildar his staff back with a wink.

See also: Episode 17