Hop As High

Part 1:
After vanquishing the Nothic that was stealing arcane texts from the library of the commons in the middle of the night, Cassia, Malik and Damien obtain a tattered leather spell book from its corpse. They return to the Shivering Ent, carrying the creature’s body between them (disguised by Cassia’s Cloak of Many Fashions).

Malik studies the body in his room and removes its single large eye as a trophy (with which he proceeds to frighten anyone he meets). Damien reads a fairy tale story from one of his books to Cassia as they settle in for the night.

The party wakes in the inn, with the exception of Blomf who spent the night in a grassy field. Blomf makes his way to the Slimy Toad to find Tatiana for a rematch with Leapwell Kor.

Worried about Blomf’s absence, the party head out to the Slimy Toad, reasoning he would return there, and encounter him emerging from the tavern having scheduled a fight. They notice Blomf’s tattoos have a magical glow to them. Though Blomf tries to brush them off, the party insist on aiding him during the fight.

Blomf heads back to the inn to wait until his fight and the party head to the library of the commons to notify the librarian that the burglar has been dealt with as well as do some more research. The party is rewarded for their aid.

Damien accepts a mission from the Order of the Arcane Eye to investigate strange occurrences at the college divination wing. They head to the college both in search of more books and magical knowledge and to investigate the occurrences. Blitz reveals his illiteracy from spending the majority of his time on the seas and with Damien’s help he starts researching the old gods. Alice’s search for a way to summon spirits is in vain though she and Damien have a discussion about her shape-changing abilities where she turns into Damien and then Celeste much to the party’s amazement. However the shadowy silhouettes that haunt Myria appear and force her to change back into Alice’s form. Malik tries to determine if Alice is cursed but cannot detect any magic of that kind.

With Blomf’s match coming up, he makes he way back to the catacombs beneath the Slimy Toad. Aware of the time passing, Alice and Blitz head over from the college to support Blomf. In the catacombs they meet Blomf who has earned a few gold betting on one of the standard fights.

In the fight with Leapwell Kor, Blomf slashes Kor with a small hand-axe he had stashed in his belt, under his shirt and the once civil unarmed fight devolves into a no-holds-barred battle (only allowed to continue due to the willingness of Kor to fight and break the rules himself). Blitz and Alice come to Blomf’s aid and join the fight with magic and weapons as Kor retaliates with poison and claws and healing abilities. The fight ends with Blomf cleaving Kor in half with his greatsword. In the shocked aftermath, Blitz intimidates a tear-struck Tatiana into paying them for their victory and they leave the catacombs.

Part 2
Bloodied, dirty and hungry after their fierce battle with Leapwell Kor, Blomf, Alice and Blitz decide to get some R&R with their newly earned gold. They go to a fancy bathhouse where they get pampered and manicured (Blomf gets a little bear cub symbol drawn on his now silver nails). They are also served fruit and cheese there. They then decide to search for a place for a meal and whilst asking for directions from a meat vendor, Blitz purchases some whale meat and they are directed to the The Spring Blossom where Blomf, Blitz and Alice have a hearty meal. Blitz, intrigued by Alice’s chocolate brownie, buys some chocolate from a vendor and develops a liking for it. They check out some weapon stores and shops for magical items before deciding to join the others at the college.

Meanwhile Malik, Damien and Cassia arrive at the divination ward of the college and meet with a Professor who they question about the strange occurrences reportedly going on there. They are directed to the groundskeeper, who takes care of the divination building, and he informs them that the college archives have got colder (despite it being the middle of spring) and he heard screeches of some sort of creature. Malik takes a piece of bread from the groundskeepers sandwich before they go to investigate and Damien displays some magical talent by casting prestidigitation.

Heading into the maze of shelves that is the archives, and leaving a trail of rope, breadcrumbs and ballbearings as they go, Malik, Damien and Cassia move in the direction of the temperature decrease. They encounter ice and snow as they venture deeper into the labyrinth as well as skittering noises.

Blomf, Alice and Blitz arrive at the college to meet up with them and are directed to the archives by the groundskeeper where they follow the trail left behind before catching up with them deeper in the archives.

The reunited party enter a room filled with snow where they encounter a Remorhaz and it’s babies that had burrowed under the snow. After a fierce fight where both fire and ice attacks from the casters are ineffective against the creature and the melee fighter take damage from the beast’s magma-like blood, Damien finishes off the adult creature with an arrow through the skull. Malik and Damien go get medical help from the college who help heal the downed party members.