Session A17 — Cragmaw Approach

Summary

Leaving the hag's territory, the party discovers glowing mushrooms at the cave entrance and recovers some for later. On the overgrown road toward Cragmaw Castle, they encounter a line of ancient black stones that deliver personalised magical messages to each party member — secrets, warnings, and psychological strikes targeting each character's deepest wounds. Haldak Tencloak identifies the stones as Magic Mouth combined with an unknown divination component, suggesting something far older or more prescient than a standard illusion. Before reaching the castle, they are ambushed by a bugbear and goblin scouting party in the woods — Roland takes a javelin clean through his abdomen and will carry the scar permanently. Kelvin scouts the castle garrison via wildshape, returning with a detailed account of what waits inside. The session ends with the party planning their assault but not yet making a move.

Key Events

Green Mushrooms — Hag Cave Exit

Leaving the cave where they had fought the hag and recovered Igwine's soul gem, the party found mushrooms growing at the entrance — small, glowing a soft green in the dim light. Three were clustered together near the entrance, five more a short distance away.

Kelvin harvested four of them. When he pulled them from the ground, the glow went out immediately — they stopped being luminescent the moment they left the soil. He pocketed them. The remaining four were left in place, still faintly glowing in the dark.

Their properties are unknown. The hag's cave was the source.

The Old Road — Black Stones

Moving away from the hag's territory and south toward Cragmaw Castle, the party picked up an overgrown road — ancient stonework largely swallowed by growth, but still traceable. Along the verge and at irregular intervals: stones of unusual, uniform black, roughly shaped but clearly not natural. Too deliberate to be debris. The party approached cautiously.

Magic Mouth Stones — The Personalised Messages

Each stone spoke when the correct party member drew near. The messages were specific — not generic warnings, but targeted, intimate, referencing things that should not be known to a stone in the middle of the Neverwinter Wood.

Haldak's stone:

"Your father didn't want to trade the artifact. He knew it was cursed. He wanted to destroy it."

Kavu's stone:

"Ignorax didn't see you as a servant. He saw you as a son."

Kelvin's stone (road):

"Reidoth is not who he seems. He is a servant of the Hourglass Coven."

Kelvin's stone (broken, investigated separately):

"Your powers are not a gift, but a curse. They will consume everyone you love."

The last stone had been cracked at some point. Kelvin examined it and it still delivered its message, suggesting the enchantment is embedded in the material rather than dependent on structural integrity.

Identifying the Magic — Haldak's Arcana

Haldak Tencloak investigated the stones. He rolled a 20 on Arcana — DC 19.

His assessment: the primary enchantment is Magic Mouth, an illusion ritual that can be set to trigger on specific creatures meeting a specific criterion. Magic Mouth lasts indefinitely until dispelled; there is nothing unusual about it surviving decades or longer in an isolated location. However, a second magical school was also present — and it was not a spell Haldak recognised. The aura read as divination, but not a known divination spell. Something older, or something outside the standard arcane lexicon.

The party's speculation: could these have been set by Sylphrena from the Netherese era? Could Haldak himself, at some future or past point, have planted them? The divination component implies foreknowledge — the stones knew who would come and what to say. Nobody in the party has a clean explanation.

Woodland Ambush — Bugbear and Goblin Patrol

A patrol from Cragmaw Castle — 2 bugbears and 3 goblins with torches — was moving along the road. The party spotted them and hid. Stealth checks ranged from 14 to 30 (Othorion, with Haldak's inspiration reroll). The patrol passed without noticing. An hour later, they returned and noticed signs of the party's camp.

Kelvin wild-shaped into a bear and rolled a natural 20 on Stealth. The DM's ruling:

"You rolled a nat 20 on your stealth, sir. Please do anything you do next with advantage, because not a single fucking thing sees you. You are the stealthiest bear in all of existence."

Kelvin emerged from the undergrowth like a raptor rising from tall grass. The surprise round opened in the party's favour.

Key combat actions:

• Haldak cast Darkness (15-foot radius) on the centre goblin, blinding the cluster
• Roland hit a bugbear with Talon for 19 damage (with Divine Smite); pursued a fleeing goblin through the woods and killed it with a holy javelin throw — "glowing, impaling it with earth cracking around him"
• Kavu cast Word of Radiance (15×15 AoE), disintegrating one goblin to ash; followed with Starry Wisp cantrip on a second goblin — "starry wisp orbited goblin's head, scraped off flesh faster and faster, left skull on neck"
• Othorion killed the bugbear with Silent Weaver — rapier through the neck, followed by a poisoned drow dagger between the eyes on backspin. 17 damage total with sneak attack
• Kelvin (bear form) used keen smell to detect creatures in the Darkness but missed his claw attacks

A goblin threw a javelin at Roland and rolled a natural 20. The hit: 22 damage.

"Roland, the javelin pierces through your armor, through the side of your abdomen, and goes clean through, landing at Thorian's feet behind him. And you will now have a gnarled scar on your upper back."

The wound is permanent. Roland carries a through-and-through scar from abdomen to upper back — the javelin's full path is visible in raised tissue. A wounded goblin fled with a dagger wound and was not pursued. Bodies were dragged into bushes and hidden.

Castle Scouting — Kelvin's Wildshape Recon

Before committing to an approach, the party sent Kelvin ahead in wildshape for close reconnaissance. Rather than relying on sight, Kelvin's beast form used scent.

His report on the castle's garrison:

• Hobgoblins: Between 8 and 10 — well-organised, likely the command layer
• Goblins: Between 17 and 20 — standard infantry, variable discipline
• Non-humanoids: A bugbear (similar to the one just killed); a dwarf (smell distinct); a "really stinky wet dog" — almost certainly a dire wolf; one creature identified as a Grick based on its distinctive scent profile
• Gundren Rockseeker: Kelvin noted the smell of a dwarf — consistent with Gundren being held inside

Haldak Tencloak attempted to cross-reference the Grick in his Underdark survival guide. The relevant pages were stuck together. He could not extract useful tactical information on the creature this session.

Session End — Assault Planning

The party did not assault the castle this session. The session closed on discussion of approach options:

• The Silence + Fireball combination was raised — suppress sound in a section of the castle, then Kavu opens with a fireball to clear a room. The tactical value is obvious; the execution requires a clear entry point.
• The question of whether they needed to deal with Venomfang first or clear the castle per Reidoth's terms was briefly revisited — but the deal was already in place, and the castle is the objective.
• Entry method, timing, and which wing to hit first all remained open when the session ended.

NPCs Encountered

Loot / Discoveries

Party Notes

• Roland: Took 22 damage from a nat 20 javelin — permanent through-and-through scar from abdomen to upper back; killed a fleeing goblin with a holy javelin throw; led the assault planning discussion
• Kavu: Devastating spell damage — disintegrated one goblin with Word of Radiance, flayed another's skull with Starry Wisp; received the stone message that Ignorax saw him as a son; rallied the party before the castle approach: "We are awesome at this. We've got this."
• Kelvin Fairlight: Harvested 4 green mushrooms from the hag cave (lost their glow when picked); rolled nat 20 stealth as a bear; scouted Cragmaw Castle via wildshape, returning with a detailed garrison breakdown by scent
• Othorion: Killed the bugbear with Silent Weaver and a poisoned dagger combo; carrying Igwine's soul gem (attuned)
• Haldak Tencloak: Rolled 20 on Arcana to identify the Magic Mouth stones (DC 19); cast Darkness to open the patrol fight; attempted conversation with the spirit in Roland's lantern (awkward); cast Aid on Kavu, Roland, and Kelvin (+5 temp HP each)

Threads Opened / Advanced

• Cragmaw Castle Garrison: 8–10 hobgoblins, 17–20 goblins, bugbear, dwarf (likely Gundren Rockseeker), dire wolf, Grick confirmed via scent. No assault yet.
• Magic Mouth Stones: Four messages delivered; unknown divination component suggests prescient or ancient origin. Who planted them, and when, is unresolved. Kelvin has now received two messages (Reidoth warning; powers-as-curse).
• Reidoth / Hourglass Coven: Stone message accuses Reidoth of serving the Hourglass Coven. Party has no way to verify this yet. Their deal with Reidoth (clear Thundertree → get directions to Cragmaw) is already fulfilled.
• Haldak's Father and the Artifact: Stone implies his father knew the artifact was cursed and wanted to destroy it rather than trade it — contradicting or complicating whatever Haldak has been told.
• Kavu and Ignorax: Stone claims Ignorax saw Kavu as a son, not a servant. Whether this was genuine or manipulation (by the stones or by Ignorax) is unresolved.
• Roland's Scar: Permanent physical wound from the javelin — the scar from abdomen to upper back will not heal away.
• Igwine: Soul gem from A17 now attuned to Othorion; her voice and personality established. Still needs someone who can free her properly.
• Green Mushrooms: Origin in hag's cave territory; properties unknown.