"The Bog House" (RTx02) is the second episode of The Re-Slayer's Take. The party is assailed by sinister snowmen in the forest. After one of their rank is taken, they must venture further into the ghostly light for answers.
Synopsis[]
Fan art of the "snowmen", by Elaine Tipping.[art 2]
The adventurers run, and although Timpani and Poogs are left behind, the other four manage to leave the snow behind or get out of the way of the avalanche. Poogs ends up buried, but an arrow tied to a rope shot by Heera helps him rise to the surface. The strange light in the distance remains, and shortly after some living snowmen with shiny backs approach the group; although at first the adventurers were hiding, when Timpani recommends attacking the monsters' backs, Idrin takes the initiative by casting Fire Bolt, and his friends follow him. Farah recognizes the shining vines in the backs of the snowmen as "marionettes", ghost-like entities that possess inanimate objects to use as weapons. The snowmen attack the adventurers, but one of them gets destroyed by Heera's Hellish Rebuke. After Farah confirms to the group that they need to harm the creatures with magic, Idrin gives her some casting Magic Weapon on her blade; they manage to destroy two more snowmen, after which the last one drops when the vine that sustains it retires.
As Poogs approaches, about to congratulate the adventurers, some roots grab him and drag him away, and after a brief shocked conversation, the rest of the group go rescue him, following the light until they find a strange green dome that repels physical contact (as Frog notices when she tries to touch it). Timpani then admits the truth: he isn't an actual member of the Slayer's Take, but a failed recruit who has been studying strange phenomena in the forest for a long time; he is convinced that the story he told them about Putridius Festerkin contains some truth, and that somehow the dark druid is bringing back old monsters slayed by his former guild. With the desire of rescuing Poogs and the possibility of using this mission to actually join the Slayer's Take, the four adventurers agree to help Timpani. They try to figure out a way to go through the dome, without success, but a brief argument between Idrin and Timpani gives the latter an idea. The firbolg guides his new friends to a willow tree, and opens a secret door guiding them to a swamp-like space with a hut. There they are greeted by a strange dwarf, Gurt, who suddenly identifies Idrin, Farah, Frog and Heera as the heroes of a prophecy, assuming they come because of an entity called the Spectral Hand, and gives them four magic items wrapped in a blanket with an image of the four of them. After attuning to their new treasures, designed to fight undead threats, the adventurers leave with Timpani and return to the dome, and this time, they are able to walk through the barrier.
Featured characters[]
"Re-Slayers"[]
- Idrin Shadowstep
- His hawk familiar
- Farah Vallari
- Heera Agneheart
- Frog
- Timpani Guff
- Poogs
Returning[]
New[]
Mentioned[]
Quotations[]
Trivia[]
References[]
Art:
- ↑ Re-Slayer's Take promotional art, by Elaine Tipping (source). Used with permission.
- ↑ Fan art of the "snowmen", by Elaine Tipping (source). Used with permission.
| |||||||||||