TRS11 - Heart of Gold

Heart of Gold is the eleventh session in the campaign The Red Star. In it, the party continue exploring the dungeon, encountering more traps and more monsters.

Summary
The party, continuing to explore the dungeon, finds a giant ankheg. Using a pincer attack strategy, the party defeats it (during the battle, one of Iago's crossbow bolts is lost to a rift in time and space) and Eptol finds a treasure chest, opening to find the Hand of the Mage, an artifact that lets him move small objects at a distance using his mind. The party then finds a strange well, with a pool of solid gold treasures at the bottom. Resmi sarcastically remarks that jumping in there would be a fantastic idea. Edus plunges into the pool of water headfirst, and instantly turns to gold. The party are speechless at his sudden decision to jump into the pool. Flynn wants to jump in after him, but the rest of the party stops him, pointing out that it would be suicide. Flynn does not listen to reason, so Iago ties him up using the spell Animate Rope. Eptol pulls Edus' now golden hat out of the water, and after Flynn promises to not jump in after all, Iago unties him. Before moving on, the party has something of a makeshift memorial service, joining hands and closing their eyes. They then move on, having no way of retrieving Edus' now gold body.

The party meets a drow noble named Haeli who asks them for their assistance. He then runs off and disappears into a maze-like area. Walls appear again, and Flynn and Aranell are separated from the party. Resmi is suddenly hit by what Malachi identifie as a Hold Person spell. When the spell wears off, Resmi explains that she saw where the drow went. The party finds the drow, and Malachi throws a bomb at him. Soon after, Flynn turns a corner to find the drow and attacks him from behind. The party soon defeats the drow, but Malachi is knocked out by one of his poison darts in the process. Iago, who had wanted the chainmail Malachi found earlier, strips him of the chainmail and wears it himself. Yet another wall appears, separating Sarinak, Aranell, and Malachi from the rest of the party. Sarinak and Aranell abandon Malachi and fight a giant spider, while the rest find a manticore guarding treasure. The party defeats the manticore and are reunited with Sarinak and Aranell. Inside a chest, they find a corrosive trident, an Allarian Wish Stone, and the key they need to remove the barrier. Iago tells the party that the wish stone gives people a chance to have their wishes granted, and that they can use it once per day. Each member of the party makes a wish with no results.

Trivia

 * Introductions: This session introduced the character Haeli.
 * Deaths: In this session, Edus Illiard and Haeli died.
 * Notable Events: This session saw Edus' death, Iago's crossbow bolt entering a hole in spacetime, Iago stealing a set of chainmail from Malachi, and the party finding the Wish Stone.

Quotes
"Well, obviously jumping into this would be a fantastic idea..." - Resmi

''"Hey, that's a pretty magic necklace. It allows you to use Mage Hand. Just letting you guys in on my magic-y knowledge." ''- Iago

''"I shall go ahead. Wait. This may be a trap. And I don't think I'm ready for this." ''- Edus

''"I have a scarf." ''- Aranell

''"Well, Elven-lady, it seems it's just you, me, and an unconcious body." ''- Sarinak

''"Anyway, team. I sort of left Mal for dead." ''- Sarinak

''"I wish for the ability to become more powerful with the consumption of alcohol." ''- Iago