60 - The String Trio
Previous session: 59 - The Price of Water
We banter on how to proceed, and decide to stealth in.
Persy casts [Invisibility] on himself and Gemini.
Axel casts [Pass Without Trace] on the group.
Nesvalyn enables the Psychic Whispers for 6 hours.
[Stealth] We manage to get in stealthy?
We find the barber room, but it contains only a circle of mushrooms in the middle.
Axel goes downstairs to check what's happening, and finds a fully functioning and working barbershop, and heads back to the team.
Nesvalyn turns invisible and goes investigate the lab.
↪ [Stealth - Pass ✔] Nesvalyn manages to sneak through the room unnoticed.
↪ [Perception - Pass ✔] There's a much deeper buzzing sound behind door.
↪ [Investigation] There isn't seem to be any trap on the door.
Upon touching the handle to check if it's locked, he hears a voice.
Nesvalyn realizes he's not invisible anymore.
She looks closer at Nesvalyn and observes him.
Nesvalyn notices it's a Warforged saleswoman for the barbershop. After the short interaction (and being called ugly), we learn that the Transmogrification is free and anyone can take an appointment. After this new information, Nesvalyn manages to leave without rising the suspicion and continues the stakeout from the outside of the shop.
✒Honestly being called ugly and not a crystal monster, I'll take that as a good thing.
Persy casts [Detect Magic] while being above the lab, but it doesn't work.
Nesvalyn turns invisible again and waits near the lab door this time.
Before going fully loudly, Gemini will be a bait to get attention while Nesvalyn would open it. Gemini lifts up an item and throws it by accident.
[Performance - Pass ✔] Gemini gives the performance of a lifetime with her accidents, while preventing some events which would reveal the party's position, leaving everybody somehow injured, dizzed or blinded at the same time?
[Sleight of Hand - Unlocked 🔓] Nesvalyn unlocks the door.
The whole group reaches the door.
Nesvalyn enters first and notices two tables, with one having a body and the other one having a Warforged. But mostly he sees this whole figure, almost triangular in shape, and barely noticing the tips on their fingers.
And by the moment Persy passes through the threshold:
And the lab explodes.
↪ [DEX Save] Gemini takes 60 30 Force damage, Persy takes 30 Force damage, Axel and Nesvalyn takes nothing as they dodge fully.
↪ [CON Save] Axel is throwing up.
When we're looking around, the lab is levelled, the roof has collapsed, showing that the whole barber shop blew up, except above the ruins a circle of wood, where the mushrooms are. The Warforged are injured, and the organics are sobbing and throwing up.
We see the triangle-looking entity corpse down, but there is no body inside it.
[Divine Sense] Nothing is detected.
Nesvalyn goes check that body while the other ones are healing the injured people.
↪ [Investigation] Nesvalyn finds the lab coat quite interesting. The torso appears empty, but when picked, it's heavy. When looking at the arms, there are two robotic arms with hands inside the lab coat. It's something with shorter arms operating this.
Persy finds nothing, but theorizes there's nothing and there's no tools to hold souls, thinking they are copies and not the original.
✒What if it was the case of Persy and there's two of them..? Could there be a "real" Persy out there?
After quickly bantering, we decide to climb up to that floating ground and step inside the Fey circle, where we're falling through planes, and finally arriving into this sprawling garden. Many mushrooms of different sizes and forms are present around us.
We recognize it as a Fey dimension place, as we have this similar feeling from Or's pocket dimension.
There are dozens of similar circles of mushrooms, leading to a central path in a garden, being our current destination.
Finally, we make it to a tree arch, as we step out at this giant tree sized mushroom, with built-in a treehouse. The ground around is built with gym equipment.
Sitting on some stools with backs turned from us is someone who seems to be crying, being consoled by two other figures.
Gemini let go a little cough as they didn't noticed us, and they turn to us, the three of them. They're all Fey in some kind, all similar looking, and similar to Or but with red hair.
As they're speaking, we're noticing that they're not speaking in unison, but they're bouncing the words around to each other.
Axel pulls out the logbook and points the names without the signature.
Persy goes to a sit in a corner nearby.
They consult between each other.
They taste the candies, and they spit it right away.
And they run away. Persy is about to chase them then gets back to the group.
We're about to leave, but we're interrupted.
One of them is standing in the way, blocking the exit.
[Sleight of Hand] Axel is trying to use a pseudopod look their head so this limb is cut.
↪ [CON Save] Axel takes 8 point of dmg.
They collapse to the ground, the head shows back and their normal head reappear and they stand up again. The one in front reacts to the head getting back and Axel getting up.
They make a pose, and with a flash of light, a very tall Fey is standing in front of us, with a massive buster Greatsword.
[Round 1]
Axel attacks the Barber (crits for 17 dmg)
The Barber leaps back (AoO miss), then attacks Axel (miss) and moves more away, and poses still.
Persy casts [Haste] on himself, activates the Eldritch Maul, gets into range but is hit (takes 34 slashing but resists being buried [STR Save - Pass ✔]) then attacks the Barber (hits for 18 dmg)
Nesvalyn attacks the Barber (crits for 83 dmg and for 9 dmg) then breaks formation.
Gemini casts [Hexblade Curse] on the Barber then attacks (miss)
[Round 2]
Axel tries to grapple the Barber (Contest lost ❌) and attacks him instead (hits for 18 dmg), closes the distance and does an unarmed strike (hits for 11 dmg)
A puff of smoke gets out and the three barbers float above, looking more enraged like Red Caps and have sharped limbs instead.
The Barbers attack...
↪ Nesvalyn (takes 7 dmg but doesn't bleed [CON Save - Pass ✔]),
↪ Persy is pushed inside a mushroom and is bouncing between these ([STR Save - Fail ❌]),
↪ Axel (hits for 20 dmg and doesn't bleed [CON Save - Pass ✔]).
Persy casts [Misty Step] to get out the bouncy mushrooms, and attacks the closest (crunchy crits for (at least 57 dmg and gives adv on the next attack)) then keeps going (hits twice for 52 dmg 💀)
Nesvalyn aims and attacks the one in front of him (hits for 39 dmg)
Gemini heals 7 hp from the death, then attacks the one near Axel (hits twice for 74 dmg)
[Round 3]
Axel attacks the one in front of them (hits once for 10 dmg)
The Barbers meet in midair and fuse, and seems shorter
↪[DEX Save] Axel takes 31 dmg (instead of Gemini)
Persy goes closer (AoO miss) then attacks him (hits thrice for 51 dmg)
Nesvalyn attack the Barber (hits twice for 39 dmg)
Gemini tries to hit the Barber (miss)
[Round 4]
Axel attacks the Barber (hits once for 6 dmg)
The Barber does a whirlwind as an attack.
↪[DEX Save] Gemini takes 33 dmg, Nesvalyn and Persy takes 16 dmg, Axel takes none. Gemini and Nesvalyn are knocked prone.
Persy raises his Defensive Field, then goes in melee range (AoO deals 30 dmg) then attacks (hits thrice for 53 dmg) who splits up and moves closer to a Barber.
Nesvalyn stands up and attacks the one near Persy (hits twice for 38 dmg 💀)
Gemini casts [Eldritch Blast] (hits four times for 34 dmg) and restrains the last Barber.
[Round 5]
Axel attacks the last one (hits for 11 dmg)
The Barber attacks Axel (hits for 27 dmg and doesn't bleed)
Persy attacks the last one (hits twice for 59 dmg 💀)
Next session: 61 - Killing Kings, Drying Dryads