A Downfall in Downfall

Zahala successfully charmed Zarak, obtaining valuable information about the situation at Zybilna’s palace. Zarak revealed that most of the palace’s inhabitants, including Zybilna herself, were trapped in a state of suspended animation, a magic wrought by the Hourglass Coven using an artifact called “Iggwilv’s Cauldron.”

While Zarak possessed limited knowledge about the cauldron’s mechanics, he divulged insights into the League of Malevolence. Their leader, a human sorcerer named Kelek, sought to obtain a magic staff from his rival, Ringlerun, who was among those frozen within the palace. The key to freeing Ringlerun lay in acquiring a unicorn’s horn. Zarak also revealed details about other members of the League: Zargash, an Orcish priest, and Skylla, a warlock drawing power from Baba Yaga, who held crucial knowledge about the Hourglass Coven and the cauldron. Skylla’s disappearance further complicated matters.

Zahala entrusted Will with the task of finding the unicorn’s horn, to which he readily agreed. Meanwhile, Filbert’s plea to Elkhorn for assistance in finding the horn and rescuing his companions was met with a refusal, as Elkhorn chose to remain with the children.

With Juniper pulling their cart, the party departed Little Oak. Along the way, they encountered another mushroom ring, where Zahala’s participation in the campestris’ dance, aided by a fortunate dice roll, bestowed upon her the gift of true seeing for over a day. Subsequently, they crossed paths with Morgort and her balloon, who, in exchange for their promise of aid if needed, agreed to transport them to Downfall. Acornagorn, utilizing his ability to communicate with animals, conversed with Juniper, who requested release from the cart to hunt while the party attended to their affairs. During the balloon journey, Zahala and Acornagorn took long rests, restoring their strength.

Upon their arrival in Downfall, they were met with news of a successful coup, with King Illig I, formerly the Baron of Muckstump, now ruling in place of the deposed Gullop XIX, whose head had joined the grim collection of heads on spikes. The bullywogs ferried them to Bavlorna’s cottage, where they strategized before their entrance. Inside, Zahala’s keen eye noticed a peculiar mirror that served as a hidden doorway. Unfazed by the mirror’s inability to reflect expressions, she smiled at her reflection, triggering the door’s opening. Accompanied by Acornagorn, she entered, discovering a corridor imbued with a shrinking effect lasting for a minute.

Zahala passed through a diminutive door, barred by a needle, finding herself in a study concealed beneath a cabinet. However, as the shrinking magic began to fade, she retreated to the hallway, restoring the effect. Meanwhile, Acornagorn and Filbert entered the study to return the painting. Bavlorna briefly ascended the stairs, returning with Filbert’s retrieved item, as promised. This act of restoration also restored Filbert’s ability to gain inspiration.

Filbert, in a strategic maneuver, distracted Bavlorna, creating an opportunity for Zahala to attempt a peculiar tactic. She sprinted into the room, running counterclockwise. While her initial efforts proved ineffective, she persisted, increasing the diameter of her circular path with each revolution until Bavlorna succumbed to a fit of uncontrollable sneezing, culminating in the expulsion of a bullywog she had seemingly swallowed earlier.

The encounter escalated into combat, with Filbert casting “blur” and ascending to the upper floor. There, he skillfully captured a luminous object within his bag of holding, attempted to unlock a chest (to no avail), and summoned a group of fairies before retreating downstairs. Meanwhile, Zahala and Acornagorn engaged Bavlorna in battle. Despite her inability to cast spells, her bite proved formidable, inflicting significant wounds upon both Zahala and Acornagorn.

Eventually, the fairies descended from the upper floor, drawing Bavlorna’s attention. In a last-ditch effort, she attempted to strike a fairy, but failed. Filbert, his form blurred, re-entered the fray, casting “ray of sickness” upon Bavlorna, ultimately ending her life.

With the battle won, the party took a short rest to recuperate before venturing upstairs to explore. Their efforts to unlock a chest yielded intriguing contents: a marionette with faces of the sun and moon, an unused ticket to the Witchlight Carnival bearing Isolde’s signature, and three scrolls of “Identify”. Behind a locked door, they discovered a room containing a peculiar assortment of objects:

• A mannequin adorned with a helmet, later identified by Filbert (with the aid of another fortunate dice roll) as a “Helm of Telepathy.” Attempts to remove the helmet triggered an aggressive response from the mannequin.
• A ceramic jar containing a fractured wishbone and chicken feet.
• A five-foot-tall bronze frog statue with a hollow in its mouth.
• A skull.

The party appropriated the skull and tied the “Helm of Telepathy” to the mannequin’s head before casually slinging it over their shoulder. They released the fairies, allowing them to return home.

• You started in Little Oak again, where Zahala charmed Zarak, who in his charmed state told you:
  • Most of the creatures in Zybilna’s palace, including Zybilna, are frozen in time. The hags of the Hourglass Coven used an artifact called Iggwilv’s Cauldron to accomplish this effect. Zarak doesn’t know exactly how the cauldron or its magic works.
  • The self-proclaimed leader of the League of Malevolence is a human sorcerer named Kelek. He wants to take custody of a magic staff belonging to his hated rival, the wizard Ringlerun, who is among those frozen in Zybilna’s palace. Apparently, a unicorn’s horn is needed to free Ringlerun from temporal stasis, which would then enable Kelek to seize Ringlerun’s staff.
  • Zargash, a human priest of Orcus, is another member of the League of Malevolence. Although he hopes to challenge Kelek’s leadership one day, Zargash won’t do anything about it as long as Kelek is protected by Warduke, a mercenary who has a flame tongue longsword.
  • A fifth member of the League of Malevolence, a human warlock named Skylla, gets her magic from an archfey named Baba Yaga. Skylla knows more about Iggwilv’s Cauldron and the hags of the Hourglass Coven than anyone else (as far as Zarak knows). But she has gone missing, and none of the other members of the league know where to find her.
• Zahala asked Will to look for the unicorn horn, which he told you he would willingly do.
• Filbert asked Elkhorn to look for the horn and to save his friends, but Elkhorn declined and said he was going to stay with the children.
• You all left Little Oak with Juniper pulling the cart.
• You found another ring of mushrooms with campestris dancing and singing, Zahala joined in and on a Nat 20 roll was given true seeing for more than 24 hours.
• You found Morgort sitting with her balloon. She happily took you back to Downfall in it, after you agreed to help her if she had to fight.
• Acornagorn cast speak with animals so he could talk with Juniper, who agreed to wait for you  and asked to be released from her carriage so she could hunt while you were away.
• Zahala and Acornagorn took long rests on the balloon journey.
• You arrived in Downfall to find that the overthrow of His Royal Majesty Gullop XIX was successful, and Illig, Baron of Muckstump is now King Illig I. Gullop is now just another head on a spike.
• The bullywogs happily ferried you to the base of Bavlona’s cottage, where you made plans.
• Entering the cottage, you made your way upstairs, where Zahala saw that a mirror was a secret door. She smiled at her reflection after noticing that no facial expressions showed in the mirror and it smiled back, opening the door. She entered with Acornagorn and learned that the hallway has the effect of shrinking a person for a minute.
• She stepped through a tiny door, barred with a needle, to find herself in the study underneath a cabinet. But 45 seconds into standing there, she felt like the magic was wearing off, and she went back into the hallway to reestablish the shrinking effect.
• Meanwhile, Acornagorn and Filbert went into the study to return the painting, which they did.
• Bavlorna went upstairs for a minute and came back down with Filbert’s item, at her word. Filbert is now able to gain inspiration again and he has been given inspiration for retrieving his item.
• Filbert decided to distract Bavlorna and while he did, Zahala came running into the room, running widdershins. It didn’t work at first, but once she was able to run in a 10 foot circle (increasing every time) Bavlorna started sneezing uncontrollably and she coughed up a bullywog she clearly had swallowed earlier.
• The group rolled initiative.
• Filbert cast blur and ran upstairs, where he captured a glowing object in his bag of holding, attempted to open a chest unsuccessfully, and then summoned some fairies. He eventually ran back downstairs.
• Meanwhile, Zahala and Acornagorn were fighting Bavlorna, who didn’t seem able to cast spells, though she was able to bite. She bit both Zahala and Acornagorn, hurting them a good bit, but they also were able to attack her and hurt her.
• Eventually, the fairies came downstairs and she tried to attack one, unsuccessfully.
• And finally, Filbert came blurring downstairs and cast ray of sickness on Bavlorna, finally killing her.
• Out of the fray of battle, players took a short rest to recover some health and then went upstairs to explore.
• A chest, when finally unlocked, contained a marionette with a moon and sun on opposite sides of its face, an unpunched ticket from the witch light carnival, signed by Isolde, and three spell scrolls of Identify.
• Unlocking the locked door, the party found a mannequin wearing a helmet (which Filbert on a Nat 20 learned is a helm of telepathy) which fights people who take the helmet from it, a ceramic jar with a broken wishbone in it and chicken feet, a 5-foot tall bronze statue of a frog with a void in its mouth, and a skull. You took the skull, tied the mannequin’s helmet to its head and threw it over your shoulder, and released the fairies to go home.
• You start in this room.

Spell scroll update: spell scrolls are only usable by classes who have the spell available to them: have Acornagorn read his spell scroll and it will be unintelligible. Zahala or Filbert should use it.