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Dunmari Frontier - Session 28

The Wellspring Trap: in which the party defeats Agata and Samerki

Featuring: Kenzo, Wellby, Delwath, Seeker, Drikod
In Taelgar: May 27, 1748 DR to May 29, 1748 DR
On Earth: Monday Jul 19, 2021
Shakun’s Wellspring

The Dunmar Fellowship successfully ambushes and defeats Agata Dustmother and her servant Samerki by setting a trap at Shakun’s Wellspring.

Session Info

Summary

Timeline

Narrative

The session begins with the party still scattered across various hiding places, as the vaguely human creature known as Samerki seemingly disappears. However, Cintra warns the party to stay put, as this creature has, in the past, disappeared for some time to lull interlopers into complacency and then descended again with a blast of cold to freeze and kill them. Sure enough, after some time passes the creature returns, invisible, chasing Delwath’s shadow and seemingly not noticing anyone else. After a blast of cold air damages but does not kill the shadow, Samerki grapples it, and flies above the canyon floor to drop it to its death, and then continues to circle, invisible but audible to Wellby’s sharp ears. As he circles, he taunts Cintra, and makes it clear that he is a servant of Agata Dustmother.

While Drikod remains hidden in stone, and Wellby and Delwath plot a way to get across the 15 feet of bare rock to the canyon edge, Kenzo and Seeker watch as Shakun’s Wellspring fills with water, and Cintra retrieves the Heart of Shakun from its resting place within. Using the Heart, she begins to spin a web of illusion that expands to fill the canyon, creating an impenetrable mess of jumbled rocks and tangled rubble. Kenzo, drawn in by Heart of Shakun, lets it reach out and connect with him, and the added energy of his will contributing to Cintra’s allows the illusion to expand to encompass Wellby and Delwath hiding at the canyon’s edge. 

As Drikod descends and Wellby and Delwath fly down in turn, the party settles into camp to hear Cintra’s story. As she tells it, she did indeed come to the Wellspring because her daughter was ill, and she had dreams that she thought were from Shakun telling her to come here. However, when she arrived, she found Agata and Samerki waiting, and Agata charmed her. While she did not reveal the existence of the Heart, she couldn’t help but tell Agata that her daughter was strong in Shakun’s power. Believing Jumi to be the key, Agata took her, warning Cintra as the charm faded not to leave the Wellspring or her daughter would die. This was in February, and Samerki watched ever since, killing one group that came to attempt a rescue. 

While Cintra was not sure of Agata’s ultimate goals, she believed that Agata thought Jumi was the key to power over the Dunmari border, although exactly why Agata wanted such thing no one really knew, beyond speculation that she had made a bargain with someone or something. Cintra also believed that Agata was searching for something, a cloak or Cloak of Rainbows from divine influence, that would silence the gods and allow Agata to extract what power she could from Jumi, perhaps even turning her into a foul fey creature. At this, Seeker recalled that he had read of this cloak in a mostly-destroyed book on the ancient artifacts of the last ruler of Drankor, Apollyon, who sought to become as a god himself. The cloak, it is said, could create dead zones where gods could not reach and divine magic had no power.

With the story told, the discussion turned to how to get the Heart back to Karawa without endangering Cintra’s daughter, focusing on either luring Agata to the Wellspring with Jumi, or luring Agata away from her lair and sneaking in to rescue Jumi. After a long debate, ultimately the party decided to wait and ask Shakun whether Agata was coming with Jumi, and adjust tactics based on Shakun’s answer.

The next day around midday, the answer came: Agata was traveling with Jumi. So the party set their trap. Everyone would wait in the Wellspring until a signal, hopefully Jumi entering the Wellspring, and then would emerge and attack. Amazingly, the plan worked. As Jumi – or, apparently Jumi, for she looked like a toddler sized wooden puppet with a human, fleshy face – entered and said “now”, the party emerged to fight Agata and Samerki. 

The battle was tough, as Agata opened with a swarm of biting locusts emerging from her robes, and soon after healed herself with a swarm of fey wasps. Samerki, the oni, managed to catch Kenzo, Cintra, and Seeker in his blast of cold, knocking Kenzo and Seeker unconscious momentarily. But a key stun from Kenzo, consistent damage from Wellby and Delwath, and finally the killing blow from Wellby’s bow at point blank range turned the tide for the party.