Oni Troubles, Illusions, and a Whole Lot of Kicking
Welcome back to the continuing adventures of our intrepid (and often bewildered) heroes in the Hidden Shrine! Session 5 proved to be another rollercoaster of perilous encounters, bizarre discoveries, and moments that can only be described as uniquely their own.
Last week saw the party battling an aware tiger, discovering a stone of good luck (given to Vila), fleeing something in a hole in the ceiling, meeting a very angry roper tree, and Jorah summoning his hawk familiar. This week, the session kicked off with Jorah sending his hawk up that mysterious hole in the ceiling to investigate.
Through the hawk's eyes, Jorah described a chamber with decorations and, more importantly, a large creature. This creature was revealed to have blue and green skin, dark hair, a pair of short ivory horns, dark eyes with strikingly white pupils, and jet-black claws and teeth. A successful knowledge check revealed this to be an oni, a fearsome boogeyman with innate magical abilities and a love for human babies.
The party then debated how to get to the oni, with ideas ranging from shooting it with a wand of lightning bolts to using Vila as bait. However, their planning was cut short when the oni, as predicted, jumped down into the room with them.
A chaotic combat ensued. Algos cast silence on the oni, much to the annoyance of Good Morning who relied heavily on verbal spell components. Vila raged and attacked, while Good Morning also launched magical assaults. Despite the party's efforts and the oni's regeneration, they eventually managed to bring it down, with Vila delivering the final blow with toll the dead.
Searching the oni's chamber revealed a wooden cylinder holding a spell of detect magic, eight rich cat furs, two leather bags containing 2000 silver pieces, an intricately carved ivory cube containing a silver and aquamarine necklace, and a parchment packet with three pinches of dust of disappearance. They also discovered that a glowing liquid in a nearby well was dangerous, clinging to the body and potentially causing death.
Moving forward, the party encountered a hallway with a pit spanned by bronze bars and guarded by thorny bushes with glowing yellow blossoms. After some deliberation and detecting no poison on the plants, they used Good Morning's whistle (which grants flight) to safely cross.
They then entered an enormous chamber with humanoid remains and agitated baboons in a hole in the ceiling. Good Morning swiftly dispatched the baboons with magical blasts.
Next, they found a bizarre room decorated with a diorama depicting the land of the dead, complete with miniature figures and representations of various hellish layers. Staying on the cobblestone paths seemed advisable to avoid ending up in the “nine hells”.
Another room held a lumpy pile of earth and several shelves. Looting with mage hand revealed a dried potion of hill giant strength, a plus one rod of the pact keeper (deemed useless for the non-warlock members), and a dried heart in an urn. Eating the entire heart granted the permanent ability to understand the speech of snakes and yanti.
The party then encountered a small hill in another room that inexplicably pushed back anyone who tried to climb it. Vila, tied to a rope, managed to get to the top only to be surprised by a giant spider that emerged from a pipe. A frantic fight ensued, with Vila being poisoned and wielding a plus one rapier.
Meanwhile, Jorah also attempted to ascend the hill but was repeatedly pushed back, eventually landing in a “black torpid river” that was thankfully only an inch deep.
Returning to the hallway, the party investigated a pile of gold coins, which turned out to be yellow mold with a permanent illusion. They also discovered multiple secret doors.
Opening one of the secret doors led to a small room with a statue of a dragon that exhaled steam, catching Jorah and Vila in the blast.
Another secret door revealed a corridor with an ornate mirror. Looking into the mirror caused both Vila and Yuri to believe they were in deadly combat with feathered warriors, a purely mental illusion. What followed was a prolonged and comical sequence of them attacking empty air while Good Morning watched in bewildered amusement. Attempts to break the mirror had little effect.
The chaotic scene culminated with Yuri and Vila, still under the mirror's influence, physically assaulting the paralyzed Eye (who was held by a hold person spell cast by Algos) with kicks to the groin, seemingly snapping him out of his own mirrored delusion.
The session concluded with the awarding of experience points for the… unique… resolution of the mirror encounter. It's safe to say that Hidden Shrine continues to provide unexpected challenges and memorable moments for this group of adventurers. We eagerly await the next session to see what further dangers and oddities await them!