Sessions 46 & 47 - The One Where Mahtis Became A Bored Mastiff. Briefly.

23rd October 2023 & 28th October 2023

In-game timeline: DR1489 Marpenoth 5 - Marpenoth 29

We rejoin our "Heroes" after a long out-of-game break, finding them in Neverwinter having returned from Abbey Isle and all spending time and money levelling up. Kandi, having completely forgotten his reason for being on this adventure when he gave his memories of Starshine to the Wise Woman, left the party to head home. Carro sent him back with a message to his parents about his progress (and to ask for money!).

All have levelled up to Level 6 (Mahtis: level 1 fighter, level 5 druid). They did some shopping and some asking around about Moonfall, but not much information emerges - information on Moonfall seems mysteriously limited. Carro shows off his new, expensive outfit and braided hair, and then proceeds to borrow money from the rest of the group for the following week. Mahtis got a library card. 

The party travels overland to Waterdeep by getting employed as guards for a caravan. In Waterdeep they pay (50gp total) for passage from Waterdeep to Baldurs Gate, and get another caravan to Elturel, with Mahtis stopping off on the way to ask the local druids about Moonfall - they are aware of the place and say that it is a friendly town, though they do seem to be holding something back. 

Once in the town of Elturel, the party ask the townsfolk about Moonfall by explaining that they are looking for an elven friend who went to Moonfall (i.e. Starshine). Some people admit to have seen Starshine pass through on the way to Moonfall some months ago, but the people in Elturel seem a little protective of Moonfall and are somewhat suspicious of people going there.

They spend the night in Elturel and head out for Moonfall at first light - supposedly a 2-3 hour walk on a well-defined path.

Our "Heroes" reach the village of Moonfall a few hours later, in late morning. The place, from a distance, seems a well-kempt, tidy village, but is mysteriously quiet, and with no sign of anyone around. Getting closer, Mahtis turns into a mastiff to see if she could see and smell better as a dog. She picks up the faint scent of some burning vegetation from the north side of the village.

There then followed an extract from Scooby-Doo as Carro and TC try their best to understand what Mahtis, as a dog, is trying to tell them. The barking from Mahtis is the most lacklustre mastiff barking that has ever been heard. Eventually, frustrated by the seemingly random barking, they suggest Mahtis change back into a dragonborn to explain things better. Once she does this, the druid is able to explain what she smelt a little better.

The party proceed into the village cautiously, but not stealthily. They call out, but receive no answer. The small inn seems to be closed for the day, but they can all now both small and see a small bonfire of burning vegetation, looking like fresh and dried herbs and smelling faintly of blueberries, smouldering at the base of a relatively large building on stilts that seems to be the town hall.

Whilst Carro stays outside, Mahtis and TC head up the stairs to the town hall. The blood on the steps increases their caution. At the top, they peer in through a window to see a very macabre scene. Three or four bodies lie, apparently dead, on the floor within, and blood is splattered everywhere.

Heading in, TC looks in more detail at the horrific scene. The bodies seem to be torn apart, and there are children's books and toys scattered around. The bodies are adults - two male humans and a female elf, all dead.

TC heads through a door into a small back room to find another body - an elderly human female. The room is full of storage jars and chests, but most seem to be ransacked. TC hears a sniff from somewhere and warns Mahtis to be on her guard. At this point someone remembers to inform Carro of what they have found, and the elf makes his way up the steps to help, ensuring he doesn’t get any blood on his shoes on the way.

Carro recognises the dead elf in the main room as one from his home region and worries that this may be Starshine. TC discovers an alive half-elven child hiding in a chest in the rear room. He considerately ensures she is away from all of the dead bodies and horror scene of the town hall before he encourages her out of the chest. She introduces herself as Suriel and, with some kindly questions and reassuring encouragement the party find out a little about Moonfall and what has happened.

It seems Moonfall is a village that is a haven for lycanthropes, or were-folk. Each month they head to a cavern, leaving the children of the village, who do not yet change on a full moon, in the charge of some non0-lycanthropes known as Guardians. It seems Starshine was one of these Guardians, as were the other dead bodies in the town hall. Usually the adult townsfolk return from this cavern the following morning, but they down seem to have returned yet. What is equally worrying is that there is no sign of the other children in the village, other than Suriel, who managed to hide. It seems like the Guardians were killed by beasts of some kind, and the children taken.

Our "Heroes" are keen to head to the cavern to try to find the adults, but Suriel does not know exactly where it is - only the approximate location. It may also be a little difficult and dangerous to take a 10 year old child with them.

Carro spots a young gnome skipping through the town. She introduces herself as Charlotta, and Suriel rushes to greet her with open arms. Charlotta seems to be a teenage gnome who helps out around the village. She is surprised and worried to hear about what has happened, and offers to take care of Suriel whilst our "Heroes" head to the cavern. Charlotta gives them better directions to where the cavern is located.

Before they head off, they find out a little about the village of Moonfall - when it was founded, who founded it etc. They are shown the home of the village Elder - Eldred Greylock - and decide to break in and steal some random items that they find inside, on the pretence that a puzzle box and a poem will help them recover the adults from wherever they are.

And so we leave our heroes heading out towards a cavern where they hope to find the adults of the village and discover more about what is going on here…