Episode 156 – Elf on Myself

Barnaby’s life stands on the edge of a knife. With the wendigo closing in for the kill, the party can do nothing except helplessly look on as their resident Swashbuckler becomes victim of the outsider’s fury.

The players, on the other hand, have more agency than that. They throw bottlecaps at the situation in a desperate attempt to make everything better. Couple that with a use of Divine Interference by Fobias, and the wendigo surely doesn’t stand a chance at killing Barnaby, right?

Between a gnarly bite and two vicious claw attacks, the wendigo only manages to connect with one blow. This leaves Barnaby floating in the air with single-digit hit points. But providence has decreed that his life will last at least another round.

Krask fires more arrows at the wendigo, but the beast’s supernatural hide is too thick to fully penetrate. Meanwhile, Barnaby weighs his options; should he withdraw and heal, or go on the offensive in a final act of heroism? He opts for the latter, managing to score a critical blow on the beast. But still, it stands.

That’s when Trace finishes his grand plan. Since the wendigo is an Evil Outsider, he’s hoping that his Dispel Evil will send it back to whatever Plane spawned its existence. Despite connecting with his attack, the wendigo is from these mountains, and cannot be sent away.

Fobias and Fyn do their part to help, with the half-orc dishing out a little flaming justice with his ranseur, and with the latter blasting away with a successful controlled Fireball of his own. It ends up being a substantial amount of damage, but the wendigo still stands.

And it’s their turn.

The party scrapes the bottom of the barrel with their bottlecaps as the creature lashes out. The wendigo bites Barnaby’s neck, pulling out a significant chunk, sending a lifeless halfling plummeting to the snowbank below. Still invisible.

There’s no time to grieve as the wendigo turns its attention to Trace. They score two MASSIVE hits on the paladin, practically killing him as well. However, it will take more than a couple scratches from a wendigo to kill Sarenrae’s instrument. Trace retaliates with a dazzling display of swings, smiting down his evil foe.

Picking Up the Pieces

The party rushes to the rapidly pooling blood in the snowbank. It’s clear that their friend is gone, but Fobias can bring him back. It will take a metric ton of essential oils, so the party retreats to Fyn’s demiplane to prepare the ritual.

Before they leave the Vekker cabin, the dwarven brothers end their ghostly quarrel. Karivek’s feet grow back as he dissolves to join the mountain in his final slumber. Against his better judgement, Silas upholds his end of the deal. As he disappears, the missing pages from his ledger float to the ground. Finally, the location of Xin-Shalast is revealed.

He’s a Wanderer

Barnaby awakens to a desolate plain, marred by scraggy grass bathed in a drab palette. He walks endlessly along a dirt path, moving but not making any progress towards anywhere. Eventually, a horseless carriage crosses his path from the other direction, and a woman steps out.

Although her face is badly burned, it’s clear that this is Adriella.

They talk about the night that she was killed, as Barnaby didn’t know all of the details. She invites Barnaby to join her in the carriage where they can finally be together and attend lavish balls without hiding in the shadows.

Despite her invitation, Barnaby is bent on vengeance and glory. His nemesis can’t be allowed to continue terrorizing people’s lives. Adriella returns to the carriage, and Barnaby is propelled backwards along the path until his eyes open.

A Brand New Man

Fobias directs everyone as they prepare the ritual in Fyn’s demiplane. They lay Barnaby’s body nestled between the tree roots and Fobias begins casting. In a non-morbid, geometrically-pleasing way, bits of Barnaby’s old body form into perfect, glowing spheres and begin forming a new body.

Each of the orbs sprouts strange characteristics, like tufts of orange hair, webbed membranes, and even patches of black feathers. As the body begins to reform and take shape, most of the stranger qualities dissolve away.

With a bright burst of golden light, Barnaby’s eyes open up. He looks quite similar to Fyn, but the trademark smirk and beautiful champagne locks are still present. He’s just taller and his ears come to slight point.

At least he sounds the same.

Welcome back to the party, Elf Barnaby!

How will Barnaby adjust to his new body? What information do the missing ledger pages contain? Has the bottlecap economy stabilized?