Bath Imaginable

Session 2 of the Gloaming opens on six Level 2 PCs marching through the mist-addled forest on their way to Bittermold Keep.

Leading the way is Yarknig, goblin priest of Shune the Vile. Shune whispers of a ruby gifted to the late Lord Bittermold by a powerful demon: the Cloven Heart. Behind her is the tree-faced, mutant warlock Ipshoom. He scans the forest, crossbow raised, looking for the source of the ululating cries mentioned by the hunters. Whatever is down there will soon fear the Willowman. The curious halfling wizard Hald Frogley stumbles over a gnarly root, tucks in his shirt, and jogs to join the others.

Three half-orcs watch the rear: Grant, warlock of Shune, once heard a fisher’s tale of a legged catfish that tore out its own hook; Trogrug, a traitorous Knight of St. Ydris, chose this expedition over the noose; and Auglud, a tuskless knave determined to stop Mugdulblub simply because she hates bullies.

The PCs search the dissolving masonry on the hill until they find a rusted trapdoor and a set of warped stairs into darkness. Below are two halfling barbarians with sharpened teeth: Howlers. They don’t want a fight. They’re glad the PCs aren’t sneaky Bittermolds.

“We don’t know why we’re here,” one begins. “Gordrock’s gone insane-”

His partner cuts him off with a backhand. “Do not insult Gordrock! He is the best of us!”

The Howlers point out a dark, wet hole in the cracked masonry in the south corner of the room. That’s where the Bittermolds crawl out. That’s what the Howlers are guarding. The players are suitably creeped out but opt to look around before meeting with Gordrock.

They find a body on a floor engraved with a compass rose, a dead Howler. No injuries, but there’s a silver dagger in his hand. The characters poke around a bit while Grant kneels down to pick up the knife. Grant suddenly drops dead.

Yarknig rushes to his side and whispers a prayer to Shune the Vile. Grant gasps. Life restored.

The dagger is called Wrath Bolt, Grant knows. A magic dagger that is deadly to anyone who tries to take it from its previous owner (dead or alive, apparently).

Auglud moves north, finding an inexplicably cold room and a bowl of frost-covered ash. The PCs throw the dead Howler onto the bowl, spilling ash but otherwise causing no effect. Trogrug inspects the walls and finds an iron key sewn into the crimson banners.

The PCs promptly move on to a chamber reeking of rot, its walls riddled with twenty pockmarked holes. Peering into one, they find the source of the stench: a sludgy ichor ooze that slurps out, drawn to the warmth of their torchlight. The characters sling spell and steel. Trogrug’s axe melts under the corrosive spray, but the creature is reduced to a bubbling puddle. When another ooze begins to emerge, the party bolts for the next room and slams the door behind them. Not worth it.

The next chamber holds two fountains: one of pearl, pouring clear water where a five-limbed catfish floats dead; the other of obsidian, spewing milky, acidic runoff. Above them, a warped bas-relief shows a many-fingered man dropping a heart-shaped gem into his mouth. Trogrug deciphers the diabolic script beneath: Lord Bittermold tricks the Demon Tzakoru into handing him the Cloven Heart. Lord Bittermold consumes the Cloven Heart so that even in Death Tzakoru cannot reclaim that which he so desires.

Ahead, the PCs hear hushed, snarly voices on the other side of the door. There’s flickering torchlight through the crack beneath. Howlers, no doubt.

The characters decide it’s time to finally meet with Gordrock. They convince the halflings beyond the door to show them the way.

Ten halflings voraciously eat raw catfish around a campfire. One stands taller than the others with a greatsword on his back. It’s Gordrock Breeg, warlock of Kytheros, here to ensure that Mugdulblub dissolves the Gloaming without interference.

He explains that the Archdemon Almazzat intends to wrest the Sands of Time from Kytheros. That’s why it sends its minions through the cursed black marrow trees. The Gloaming must be dissolved before Almazzat succeeds.

Trogrug notices diabolic inscriptions in the pillars throughout the room. The smell of brimstone rises as he reads–summoning ritual, he averts his eyes.

“I was betrayed once by your kind,” Gordrock says, “crawlers looking for treasure. They led the Bittermolds into our camp.”

Gordrock points to a handcart with the bodies of four slain adventurers wrapped in cloth. “Take these to Mugdulblub, you must not go empty handed. Mugdulblub will grant you boons, then we can talk alliances.”

As the Howlers dismantle their barricade the PCs show Gordrock the diabolical inscriptions. He slurps algae from his pocket. His veins bulge; his eyes go milky white.

“Demons… from there.” He points to the shadowed alcoves at the south end of the hall. He orders his Howlers to destroy the inscriptions.

Yarknig casts light on the handcart, revealing quicksand ahead. Auglud steers it through the narrow corridor to the right, skirting the danger. From ahead come splashing sounds, and something glints in the crystal pool beyond.

The Gold One, a golden mutant catfish, splashes merrily in the water. He knows everything about Bittermold Keep; he’s been here this whole time…

In a flashback we see a normal catfish swimming upriver against the current, Bittermold Keep is visible on a hilltop in the distance, its turrets not-yet-dissolved and its crimson banners not-yet-torn. The catfish continues upriver until it disappears into a cave beneath the castle.

The catfish enters a pool where something dark bubbles up from the earth below. A starry void grows larger in the reflection of the catfish’s eye as it’s bathed in golden light.

“I was the first to witness Mugdulblub, you see,” says the Gold One smiling. He strokes at his long shimmering beard tendrils.

The Gold One isn’t scared, he knows a way into the Feywild Kingdom and plans to escape with his many mates before the Gloaming is dissolved. For now he answers questions about Bittermold Keep for 5gp each. He splashes back and forth over a pile of shimmering coins, a growing offering for Titania, Queen of the Fey, who he thanks for his cruel, wonderful existence.

The PCs ask where to find the Cloven Heart; swallowed by Lord Reginald Bittermold and entombed with his corpse. How to get there? The stairs to the crypts have collapsed, but there’s an illusory wall somewhere in the natural caves that lead directly to the crypts. How can Mugdulblub be stopped?

“I’m not sure you can,” the Gold One frowns, “but maybe a demon could, a big one like the one that wants the Cloven Heart.“

Now the PCs are set on breaking into the Bittermold tomb and recovering the Cloven Heart. After taking a moment to lay the previous expedition members to rest in the quicksand they are on their way to the caves to find this illusory wall.

Pushing west into Bittermold territory, the PCs encounter rubbery, lank-haired figures stabbing prisoners in a dark jail. They almost look human, but they’ve adapted to the dark and laugh with a wet, guttural glee.

The PCs lay caltrops for an ambush and surprise the Bittermolds. The manacled halflings hoot and howl and cheer as the PCs cut down the rubbery, slime-filled figures. Ipshoom eats a fistful of hallucinogenic mushrooms and saves against a bad trip; his senses heightened, he declares his name henceforth to be Ipshroom.

We ended the session after the characters slaughtered the Bittermolds. They found treasure taken from various prisoners over the years, enough to level up.

Next week they come face to face with Mugdulblub.