Scarlet Citadel Session 55 – Face Off in the Blood Shrine

Here’s the write up from latest Scarlet Citadel session, in which the characters continued to explore the Black River as they searched for a way back to the upper levels of the dungeon.

You can read earlier posts here. This post contains spoilers for Scarlet Citadel.

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After discovering deep ones worshipping at the Frog Shrine, the characters moor their raft and advance onto the landing. Meanwhile, the mysterious Boatman is still waiting silently nearby.

Tricksy and Tunde use misty step and expeditious retreat to get behind the deep ones, while Maya and Clairmont attack from the front. The deep ones’ priest casts spirit guardians but soon loses concentration, and the fish-folk move forward to surround Maya. Once the priest and another deep one are killed, Tunde brandishes her rowdy club (a previously unused item from Vault of Magic) to intimidate the others and they flee into the water.

Tricsky has been eyeing up the gemstones in the frog statue’s eyes during the fight and pries one out, triggering a trap which zaps him with lightning, then drops him into a glass-lined pit filled with acid! He’s fished out by Tunde and Clairmont and retrieves the second gem.

Professor Yaffle flies up the steep stairs which head up for 100 feet before ending in a blank wall. The adventurers climb the steps to investigate but can’t find any secret doors. Clairmont realises Imortra’s prison cavern lies on the other side of the wall but there is no way to access it without the derro’s potions of augmented reality. The adventurers need to find another way back to Level 4. 

Next, Professor Yaffle flies west along the Black River where he finds a cave filled with mushrooms, a stone bridge across the river, and a shrine to a sea god, his statue in chains. Perhaps somewhere worth exploring in future sessions?

For now, the characters decide to investigate the Blood Shrine on the opposite bank. Professor Yaffle flies into the chamber, then east to Brutwer the blood hag’s gallery, its walls covered in the peeled-off faces of her victims. The familiar doesn’t get long to take in the scene before he is snuffed out by the hag. 

Tricksy takes over the scouting duties and flies towards the hag’s chamber. As he gets closer the skin faces start to flap on their hooks. He withdraws to the Blood Shrine where he is joined by the others. Soon afterwards, a crimson mist appears and attacks the group, then Brutwer the blood hag joins the battle. 

This encounter was quite tricky to run on Roll20 as you need to roll a d8 each round to determine which numbered squares in the room the mist occupies. Unfortunately the VTT map doesn’t have the numbers marked on, so I had to keep referring to the overlay image I had saved in my session notes. However, none of the PCs were engulfed for long and they were able to destroy the crimson mist with two fireballs and a flame strike!

Brutwer is a more fearsome opponent* and Clairmont needs his death ward to save him from her blood bolts. Meanwhile the three deep ones who had fled earlier return to attack the characters from the rear. Tricksy coats his sword with purple worm venom and takes the hag down with a massive sneak attack, and the others finish off the deep ones.

Their enemies dead, the adventurers advance into Brutwer’s gallery where the faces start flapping around the room like grotesque moths…

(* although I was disappointed she didn’t get to peel a PC’s face off!)

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Main image by David Auden Nash