Session 20: Piking with Mind Flayers

They were told not to pike. They did it anyway.

Summary

Abandoned Logging Camp

Tadpole Annihilation

The party chose caution, letting the intellect devourer flee while discussing illithid lore and Glenn's noble past. Smokescale gave a history lesson on the Gith and the Blood War and warned against piking with mind flayers. More importantly, Octavius admitted he's not a real doctor.

Tracking illithid blood to a ruined logging camp, they discovered a brine-filled saw pit swarming with tadpoles. A fire bolt ignited it, triggering a fiery explosion. Two mind flayers emerged, flanked by intellect devourers. Smokescale and Unit 137 were downed instantly, but the party retaliated: Octavius banished the uninjured one, and the party made short work of them both.

After picking off fleeing intellect devourers, the group scouted Phaulkon Manor--now a heavily fortified Zhentarim post. A sending stone in Finn's bag flared with an ominous voice demanding a passphrase. Glenn chucked it back in the bag as it began to smoke. Choosing discretion, the party melted back into the forest shadows.

XP Award

• 2075 XP for defeating the mind flayer cell
• Total: 2075 XP
• Current XP: 30513 XP -> 32588 XP (Level 7)
• (Required for next level: 34000 XP)

Things That Happened

A Walk In The Woods

• Date: 18th of Tarsakh (The Claw of the Storms, April), late afternoon, 1372 DR
• Deciding not to pursue the illithid intellect devourer, the party discussed a variety of topics.
• The party wondered if the illithid and zhentarim are working together.
• The party wondered what could have driven the illithid out of the Underdark.
• Learning that Glenn was nobility, both Unit 137 and Smokescale gave respective bows.
• The party reminisced about Uchu.
• Smokescale explained how the Blood War almost came to a temporary ceasefire when the illithid were a major threat.
  • He described how the Gith, a thrall of the illithid, slowly regained his consciousness and led his people to rebellion and tearing the illithid empire apart.
  • He explained how the gith split into the Githyanki, followers of gith, went to the Astral Plane, and the Githzerai, the "not followers of gith", went to Limbo.
  • He asserted the party should not pike with illithids.
• Octavius is asked how he got to Faerun, and he explains how his dual quill, a gift from an academic, was a portal key to Sigil from his home at Strixhaven.
  • He dramatically revealed that he is not a doctor. Unit 137 blared an alarm.
• Using Thistle's bat vision, Lilia sent him forward to scout.

The Sludgy Trail

• Thistle spotted a trail of illithid blood mixed with their healing ointment across some trees.
• Alaundo the mouse rode Thistle to follow the trail, leading to an abandoned logging camp.
• They could see a flooded sawing pit and a delapidated wooden structure with its roof caved in.
• The location was empty.

Mind Flayer Cell

• The party scouted the area up close, finding no valuable loot.
• However, they noticed the flooded saw pit smelled like brine, and had tadpole-like creatures swimming inside.
  • Octavius and Lilia recognized these as mind flayer tadpoles, capable of infecting a host and transforming them into a mind flayer.
• The party devised a plan to firebomb the volatile brine from their flying carpet at maximum speed.
• Octavius cast a fire bolt into the tadpole pool, causing it to erupt into a massive yellow-orange explosion, spraying burning tadpoles in all directions.
• Two mind flayers, including the injured one, rose to flank the party from Hullack Forest.
• Intellect devourers uselessly skittered up to the tops of the trees, out of range.

Encounter: Illithid Over Hullack

• Highlights:
  • The entire party resisting the Mind Blast from the illithid.
  • (Except for Smokescale and Unit 137. Both were KOed immediately, with Unit 137 spiralling out of control in flames until he exploded.)
  • Glenn leaping from the carpet on to the injured mind flayer.
  • Lilia resisting becoming a thrall of a mind flayer.
  • Octavius banishing the first mind flayer.
  • Lilia polymorphing the first mind flayer into a tadpole, the fall damage nearly killing it before the party finished it off.

Intellect Devourer Massacre

• On their flying carpet, the party hunted intellect devourers using ranged cantrips, slaying two.
• Another two disappeared into the woods. The party stopped their pursuit.

Scouting Phaulkon Manor

• Knowing that their battle over Hullack likely drew attention, the party cast Pass Without Trace and approached Glenn's original home.
• They sighted the manor grounds from the south, clearly on high alert.
• 20 foot tall stone walls enhanced by new wooden towers, topped with ballistas and patrolling spearmen and rangers.
• Seeing the southern gate was guarded heavily, the party crept eastward through the woods, noting that the collapsed eastern wall was reinforced with barricades and wooden spikes.
• Swinging to the northern wall, they watched patrols and studied the postern gate, overgrown with ivy but with a key in its keyhole. Its hinges also appeared oiled.

The Sending Stone

• A vibration from the Bag of Holding revealed that Finn's sending stone was receiving a message.
• A silky smooth voice asked for a status update.
• The party did their best halfling grunt impression.
• The voice, growing cold, demanded the passphrase.
• After receiving none, the sending stone began to grow hot.
• Glenn hastily threw it into the Bag of Holding, which shortly puffed smoke from its opening.

Retreat into the Woods

• Deciding the area had too high of a wanted level, the party retreated into woods, intending to return once the situation had cooled.
  • They intend to have Thistle and Alaundo surveil the manor.

Maps

• Nothing new

NPCs Encountered (or mentioned)

• No new named characters

Memes

• Dwarven suckhouse

DM Thoughts

• They can't keep getting away with this!