The following report is penned in quickly-written, loopy cursive:
The Syndicate was contacted by a Goliath clan farther up north, in Icewind Dale to be exact, by the chiefess asking for assistance. Her clan had been attacked and menaced by a druid by the name of Feral Tongue, and his owlbear companion Frost Claw.
Upon arriving, we had been given more details of Feral Tongue's situation; she said that they had been corrupted by a certain stone, best described as some sort of purple obsidian, inlaid in their staff- one that infects the mind, draining them of sense and compassion. Being an old friend of the chiefess, she urged us to free Feral Tongue from the effects of the obsidian in a non-murderous way.
She also sent us with a few companions, most of which would later flee at the first sign of trouble, but one bravely stuck with us for the whole mission; Kaskur, a goliath deeply frustrated and willing to put a stop to all of this.
We soon made the trek to what was suspected to be Feral Tongue's current abode, and at the base of an impressive mountain, we encountered their owlbear. We had gotten to see the effects of the corrupting crystal firsthand, with horrific patches of obsidian growing out of its flesh and fur, spurring it into fiercely attacking us. It wasn't terribly difficult to put it down, although I did feel a sense of sadness for it- the corruption had simply gone too far, and we lacked any healer skilled enough to potentially free it of its infection.
(This is also the part where those few companions mentioned before fled.)
After the fight with Frost Claw, we came across an ancient door sealing a tunnel- and, I admit, our intellectual prowess was not enough to save us from many bites (yes, bites, as the door had gods-damned fangs). But I was able to ascertain many of the magical symbols that had been keeping the door locked, and after long discussions and good old trial and error, we got inside!
A rather plain and short tunnel, we didn't come across much besides a curious imp and his slime companions. I believe he had prior business with Dorris, and so urged us to merely have some drinks with him instead of... well, I presume having his friends melt us in their acidic interiors. The drinks had... interesting effects, my poor friend Ferris in particular having his mouth magically sealed shut, but it wasn't anything horribly debilitating otherwise.
Not long after taking a small rest, we went down to the icy basement that Feral Tongue dwelled in.
I'm thankful that my companions Aber and Jueinuma are among the toughest and most determined that I've seen from the Syndicate, because Feral Tongue was backed by not only two corrupted polar bears, but swathes of obsidian spires. Dorris, Ferris, and I did our best to support from the backlines, and after picking off the bears, we were able to knock out Feral Tongue and separate them from the corrupting staff. I'm unsure if we made it out wholly unscathed- Jue and Aber were acting a bit oddly after the obsidian spires exploded near them- but there were no casualties on the mission besides the corrupted animals.
Feral Tongue and Kaskur were escorted back to the clan, much to the delight of the chiefess, and we soon made our way back to the Syndicate. My teammates did wonderfully on the mission, in spite of how many dangers presented themselves (I did in fact have to spend my spellcasting reserves on Cure Wounds). I hope that I'll have the privilege to accompany them on more jobs in the future.
doorfish
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Adrean
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ShardRiver
