Intrigued by the firepelt mountain lion’s behavior, the party agrees that it would be in their best interest to follow the animal, despite their urgency to learn the status of Fort Rannick. As they venture further into the woods, several primitive wooden fetishes stuffed with mud and hair hang from the trees, which Theo recognizes as territorial markers constructed by ogrekin. They approach cautiously, wanting to vet out the area before making any hasty moves.
They reach the outskirts of a clearing which opens up to a pair of ramshackle buildings – the first resembles a residence and the second is similar to a barn in appearance. Both are decrepit and falling apart at the joints, but several ogre tracks indicate that the buildings may still be in use. As they approach the porch, an ogre with a misshapen head wrought with tumors emerges from behind a tree and attacks. Focusing their efforts on the solitary creature, the party comes out of the battle mostly unscathed. Their attention turns towards the house, which is the direction that the mountain lion is indicating.
As Fobias listens in at the front door, his actions trigger a network of shoddy traps. Saw blades erupt from the porch and axes swing down from above, dealing a significant amount of damage to the half orc. Theo begins tending to the wounds when a pair of ogres, obviously alerted to Fobias’ shriek, erupt from the side door wielding ogre hooks. Although they appear to be rather young, they make up for their lack of strength with ferocity. Unfortunately for them, they are no match for our heroes!
The group drags the bodies out of sight to limit the possibility of being discovered, but their presence appears to be known at this point. They enter the house, Krask leading the way with a watchful eye for more traps. He is able to locate one on the doorframe and disarms it, but two other traps get the better of him. Luckily, they were of poor construction and they are mostly scrap by the time that they reach his wiry kobold frame.
Theo scans the house again, making note of the magical auras hidden by the rotting walls of the farmhouse. One of the magical signatures has grown in size, and that is where our party’s attentions lie. They proceed through the winding hallways, eventually arriving at a single door. Inside is a sight they won’t soon forget:
Three humanoid figures lean against coffin walls along the edges of a room filled with grime and filth. On a particularly nasty bedframe is a large female ogre with wild, stringy hair and half a full set of teeth. As the door opens, she starts talking about Southern hospitality and making their new guests feel at home. It is evident that the humanoid figures are under her thrall; they are undead servants of some kind, each with a different cause of death (none of which are natural). There is also the subtle suggestion that this ‘Mammy’ has several children, some of which the party may have already killed in their approach to the house.
As the battle begins, the zombies block off the entrance to the room and Mammy floats off the bed into the air. While Barnaby attempts to slip past the zombies into the room, Mammy summons a spectral severed hand that floats ominously in the air alongside her. As the zombies begin to fall, the hand delivers some catastrophic spells to the party; Barnaby gets hit hard with a curse which knocks down his Dexterity, and Theo has some of his lifeforce absorbed. The zombies are little more than cannon fodder, and once they’re down Mammy gets the group’s complete attack repertoire.
Fobias swings his falchion. Krask unleashes crossbow bolts. Theo hexes with Richard at his feet. Barnaby dashingly twirls his scimitar. But in the end, it is Theo’s sleep hex that finally ends puts Mammy to rest, and her head is lobbed off unceremoniously. Whew.
After rummaging through the belongings, the party ventures off into the basement. It’s dark and dank as they open one of the doors into a room filled with piles of skin. And they hear a voice behind them.
This room belongs to someone else.
How many children does Mammy have? What is the firepelt directing our heroes towards? Does anyone still have an appetite left?
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Art Source: https://bit.ly/2lAleWm