Session 2025-12-13 — Age of Ashes

Narrative Summary

The party traveled through Dreamgate, the ethereal Desnan elf gate, leaving the Mwangi Expanse and arriving at the Dreamgate Waystation—a sacred site dedicated to Desna, goddess of dreams and stars, located deep within Ravounel's forests. The transition was disorienting, a moment of weightlessness between places, but they emerged into a chamber that felt fundamentally wrong.

The waystation's beauty had been systematically corrupted. Star-carvings adorned the walls, but the carved butterflies had been deliberately defaced, their wings torn and bodies gouged. At one end of the chamber, between two hallways, sat a stone dais bearing only a pair of bare stone feet—all that remained of what had once been a complete statue of Desna.

But the true horror hung above the dais: the preserved corpse of a gray-skinned, horned creature—a night hag—nailed to the wall with iron spikes through withered flesh. Its withered hand bore a tarnished ring, and around its neck hung a silver chain holding a dark stone. The elegant Elven script originally carved into the wall had been viciously scratched out, replaced with harsh, angular Abyssal runes that read "Praise to Abelstia, for Succulent Nightmares."

Falwan's expression hardened as she translated. Someone had desecrated the waystation in worship to something other than Desna. Theo's magical senses detected abjuration magic radiating from the ring on the corpse's withered finger, and the psychic scar of overwhelming magical trauma—the mark of a catastrophic mental backlash that had instantaneously obliterated the corpse's mind.

Falwan grimly identified the body as a night hag, likely killed by the same catastrophic force that had scarred her essence. She warned that night hags were solitary by nature but cruel—if they were here, they had had decades to corrupt everything the elves had built. She detailed their weaknesses: cold iron worked best against them; they could turn ethereal; they fed on nightmares and could invade sleeping victims' dreams; and they could shapeshift into human form.

Theo collected the ring and the dark stone from the corpse's necklace, sensing the stone might have significance. The party chose to explore the left hallway, moving with caution through a tight corridor carved with the same star-and-butterfly motifs, all showing signs of deliberate defacement.

The hallway opened into a larger chamber dominated by a tall statue of a willow tree carved from pale marble. Six oversized roots curved around the base like stone beds—clearly a place designed for travelers to rest and dream. But the tree was corrupted, its marble darkened and stained, the carved leaves appearing to writhe with shadow even in the dim starlight. Most significantly, a disc-shaped indentation in the trunk was conspicuously empty—a slot clearly meant to hold something.

The moment William crossed fully into the chamber, the stone tree came alive.

Branches that had seemed mere carved marble lashed downward like striking serpents, moving with terrifying fluidity and unnatural speed. The tree was a trap—a corrupted artifact of the waystation, twisted by malevolent power into a weapon.

Combat erupted. William was caught by a branch and grappled, his arms pinned and his glaive useless. Renali, caught by a branch that anticipated her dodge, took a critical hit and was slammed into the trunk, where another branch coiled around her hybrid limbs. Nadira was struck from an unexpected overhead angle, the scimitar knocked from her hand, and she was grappled with a critical hit, leaving her gasping and pinned.

As the three captives were held, visions began. William saw himself on a grassy hillside as the sun set blood-red, a devil wreathed in flames and shadow before him, his companions screaming. Renali saw cold, dark water rising in a stone quarry, trapping her as her spider legs scrabbled uselessly against slick walls. Nadira saw Breachill burning, the Temple of Sarenrae collapsed, and a twisted version of herself standing in the flames, wearing the chains of a tyrant.

Falwan fired her crossbow, but the stone didn't chip. She shouted for Frazzle or Theo to use magic, noting that physical damage couldn't harm it. She also mentioned the dreamstone from the corpse—if someone could get it into the disc-shaped slot in the trunk, it might break the spell.

Frazzle cast Sanctuary on Theo, creating a divine barrier that turned hostile attention away. Theo became harder to hit as a branch that was aimed at him simply wavered and struck empty air instead. Frazzle took cover and increased his AC with cosmic instinct.

Nadira, her eyes blazing with divine fury, attempted to dispel the tree's magic twice, burning a hero point to reroll when her first attempt failed. Though the tree's magic was too ancient and twisted to dispel completely, the second attempt weakened it enough that Nadira could break free by sheer strength, tearing herself away from the constricting branch.

Theo, protected by Sanctuary, walked calmly through the forest of grasping limbs. Each branch that quested toward him simply forgot he was there, sliding past as though he were invisible. He reached the tree's trunk and inserted the heartstone into the disc-shaped indentation.

The effect was instantaneous. The stone tree became just a stone tree again—all corruption and animation ceased. William and Renali were released, stumbling free. The heartstone glowed with soft silver light, seeming to wash the remaining corruption from the marble.

Falwan, catching her breath, noted dryly that she'd learned a new category of trap from her time with the Bellflower Network. Renali, recovering her composure, managed a shaky request that she never sleep under a magical tree again. Nadira sank against the wall, exhausted and furious with herself that her divine magic hadn't been sufficient.

The party took time to recover and heal from the battle. Nadira used her medical training to tend to wounds, though she rolled poorly treating Renali and would need to continue healing next session.

William, cautious and methodical, moved to the far exit of the chamber and peered into the adjacent room. What he saw made his blood run cold. In the next chamber, arranged around a silver cauldron and a wooden table covered in books, were three figures in deep conversation: two night hags—gray-skinned and horned, their features twisted mockeries of beauty, one with a broken horn ending in a jagged stump, the other larger and more muscular with rust-stained claws—and a bone devil. The insectoid, skeletal creature's pale exoskeleton gleamed in the dim starlight. Its mandibles clicked expressively as it negotiated with the hags.

William pulled back and returned to the party with a grim report: two night hags and a bone devil, apparently bargaining about something. They had not yet noticed the party's presence.

Session Notes

Key events:

Party arrived at Dreamgate Waystation, sacred site dedicated to Desna in Ravounel
Discovered waystation desecrated and corrupted by worship of "Abelstia" (darkness entity)
Found preserved corpse of night hag, collected ring and dark stone (heartstone)
Entered chamber containing Tree of Dreadful Dreams, a corrupted elf artifact
Tree attacked party, grappling William, Renali, and Nadira simultaneously
Grappled party members experienced horrific visions while held
Frazzle cast Sanctuary on Theo, enabling him to move safely through branches
Nadira broke free through sheer strength after failed dispel attempts
Theo inserted heartstone into tree's trunk, deactivating the corruption
Party took time to recover and heal wounds
William discovered two night hags and a bone devil in adjacent chamber, in negotiation

NPCs encountered:

Falwan (halfling seneschal)—provided tactical knowledge about night hags
Renali (anadi shapeshifter)—shifted to hybrid form for combat, assisted in recovery
Two Night Hags (unconfronted but observed)
Bone Devil (unconfronted but observed)

Combat:

Tree of Dreadful Dreams (corrupted elf artifact)
Initiative, single round of combat before Theo deactivated the threat
William grappled (22 damage taken before release)
Renali critically grabbed (58 damage taken before release)
Nadira critically grabbed (40 damage taken, escaped via strength)
Falwan attacked tree (bullets ineffective against stone/magic)
Frazzle cast Sanctuary (protected Theo from being targeted)
Theo moved and inserted heartstone (deactivated tree)
Outcome: Victory (tree neutralized, no casualties)

Party decisions:

Collected magical items from corpse (ring, heartstone)
Chose left hallway to explore
Attempted to gather tactical knowledge before exploring further
Burned hero points on failed dispel attempts to break grapples
Focused on healing after combat before proceeding deeper

Unresolved threads:

Purpose and nature of heartstone unknown (temporarily removed corruption)
Identity and purpose of night hags in waystation
Bone devil's presence and negotiation topic unknown
Sealed gate with rune-covered stone plug (appears intentionally blocked)
Books on table in adjacent chamber not yet examined
Reason for preserved corpse unknown
Other areas of waystation not yet explored
Connection between Scarlet Triad and waystation corruption unclear

Rewards/loot:

Ring of Lies or similar (abjuration magic, from corpse)
Dark stone/Heartstone (removed corruption from tree, stored in inventory)
Converts to 200 gp equivalent value