We decided to avoid the advice of Argeise and not visit the Seer of the Temple first. Mercenaries apparently do value their independence, so we set off for the Frozen Hollow (Location #14).
Following the path we encountered a massive group of felled trees blocking our way (Road Event #27) We decided to clear the trees from the road instead of taking the time to hack through the dense shrubs and trees to either side.
Fortunately, Cymbidium made good use of her elemental powers and was able to sweep them aside with ease.
Returning to our travels, there were rumors of an Enchanter in this area so we set out to find her. Standing before an abandoned and decrepit tavern: The Crooked Bone we had some doubts this was the right place. Cymbidium reminded us that not all Enchanters live in ivory towers.
The inside looked just as bad with cobwebs, rotting furniture and broken glass scattered everywhere. Once our eyes adjusted to the dim light a translucent female appeared before us. "Why have you come to this place, Mercenaries? You are unwelcome and disrupting my research."
We explained that we meant no harm and had been told we might find information regarding a necromancer we were hunting.
"Oh, look at the Aesther woman. She knows everything and can fulfill all our wishes. All she has to do is wave her hands and our wildest dreams will come true." She sighs in frustration and actually does wave her hands. "Leave me in peace."
We stood there somewhat taken aback by her somewhat manic display. She stared back.
"Well, instead of disrupting, maybe you could help. Scratch my back and I 'll scratch yours. The woman turned and walked towards a dilapidated set of stairs, after a few steps she faded away entirely.
"I need an orb from the Frozen Hollow in the Copperneck Mountains." The woman's voice came from directly in front of us, as if she hadn't moved at all. "Bring it back to me and I may help you."
A map materialized and dropped out of thin air right at our feet. "My name is Hail by the way. Do not come back without the orb."
The map was easy to follow. Deep in the Copperneck Mountains, obscured by snow drifts, we found the opening to a dark narrow cave. There were a lot of wolf tracks around the entrance, so we got our weapons out and entered. It was cold and the floor was slippery with ice and snow (Special Rules: Add three -1 cards to our attack modifier deck.)
The entrance to the first cave was well defended by a pack of wolves and a couple Living Spirits deeper within. Groot showed no fear and with the support of Tabbax quickly dropped a couple of the Wolves. Then oddly and out of character, Groot stopped mid battle to pick up a bunch of coins. Tabbax continued deeper into the cave and smashed the leader of the Living Spirits for 10 damage with the help of her Horned Helmet. His minions did not take kindly to their leader dying so quickly and dealt Tabbax a critical hit for 8 damage - severely knocking her back.
Ktzlx took advantage of the distraction and scooped up a nice haul of 5 coins. Cymbidium sprinted across the long corridor deep into the cave and opened a door to a smaller room with several Frost Demons and another Living Spirit. Tabbax launched a few arrows into the new room and helped Cymbidium hold the door.
Groot came rushing up from behind, leaping over the weaker enemies to smash the Frost Demon hard. Cymbidium demanded the attentions of the Leader of the Living Spirits allowing Tabbax to backstab the Leader critically for 14 points of damage. The Blessings to the Elder Oak were paying off.
Tabbax was close to exhaustion and a final dash to disarm one of the traps left her exhausted on the floor and out of the rest of the fight. Disarming that trap was critical because it gave Ktzlx a clear path to the treasure chest (Treasure #26: Gain 20 Gold) after stunning one of the Living Spirits. Ktzlx also used his mind tricks on one of the Living Spirits causing it to attack and mortally wound it's brother.
By this time Cymbidium and Groot were almost exhausted. Groot managed to delve deep into his soul and with a loud warrior bellow smashed into the last opponent securing for us a victory.
With the last of our adversaries dead, we approached the back of the chamber, where a small blue sphere floated above the floor. The orb was almost unbearably cold, but Cymdidium managed to stash it in her pack for the return journey to The Crooked Bone.
The abandoned tavern was still a chaotic mess but at least it was warmer than the Frozen Hollow. Approaching the counter, Hail appeared before us, holding the orb.
"Very interesting" She didn't even bother to take notice of us at all. "A rift in our plane, somehow contained within a spherical barrier. Good thing you didn';t break it. You could have easily been sucked into a realm of pure frost and been frozen solid for eternity - or something worse could have happened."
"It's confounding, Who would have had the power to do this?" Hail took a step to the side and vanished.
We waited uncomfortably for her to return, it seemed like hours. We called out occasionally, but received no response.
"Oh, you're still here." Hail had appeared behind us in the middle of the room. "Good, I would like to experiment on you if it's alright." She reached out to us and we all stumbled backward, falling over the broken tables and chairs.
"Oh, don't be a bunch of babies, I am pretty sure it will end well."
Hail explains that she wants to try toi bring forth raw power from another plane and contain it within a small orb that could give enhanced powers to anyone possessing it. The containment process, however, requires a lot of gold metal.
Now, that you have helped me in my endeavors, I suppose I ought to return the favor." Hail sighs. "So what is it exactly that you wanted?" (Locations: Vibrant Grotto #7, Forgotten Crypt #19, Plane of Night #31 & Drake Nest #43)
Global Achievement: The Power of Enhancement
Returning to Gloomhaven we were approached by a Harrower dressed in crude robes and a mask. (City Event #11) It was clutching a piece of parchment and offered to sell it to us for five gold. It claimed it was "very powerful".
We recognized this Harrower and knew it was well known for trading in disreputable goods. If anyone saw us dealing with it, well, they might get the wrong idea. It was quite a discussion amongst us - but in the end Ktzlx cast the deciding vote to not take any chances. He shouted loudly, for the sake of any onlookers, his refusal and we just walked away.
Tabbax, Groot and Ktzlx all level up - Cymbidium is so very close...
To help decide on the next step we should take I will start listing the locations at the end of each blog that we have found but not yet explored and where we found it. I will also list a very short description of each location and where the "story" is taking us.
It seems Gloomhaven can be a "sandbox" game where we can just pick and choose scenarios more or less at random - but in doing so we will likely lose the thread of the story. Gloomhaven it would appear is more of a branching tree. It seems to be designed to do the quests somewhat following the story thread and branching off where we want to branch. But once we choose a branch it expects us to follow the story arc until the next branch.
The conclusion of the Gloomhaven Warehouse last time suggested we should go to the Temple and visit the Seer to see if she would help us track Jekserah. But it also gave us location options for just heading off into the wilderness after her and trying to track her ourselves. We decided to try to track her ourselves via the Frozen Hoillow, but much of the intro text made it obvious that we should have done the Temple Scenario first.
Now we are getting side quests to go find Gold and help Hail build an orb, when the main story suggested we were supposed to be tracking down Jekserah for the safety and security of Gloomhaven.
What kind of Gloomhaven game do we want to play?
Locations we have found but not yet completed:
#4 - Crypt of the Damned: (Scenario #2) Suggesting we find out more about the "Gloom".
#7 - Vibrant Grotto: (Scenario #8) Argeise suggesting we can track Jekserah in the wilds.
#9 - Diamond Mine: (Scenario #3) Jekserah wanted us to go find her a diamond.
#13 - Temple of the Seer: (Scenario #8) Argeise suggested the Seer could locate Jekserah.
#19 - Forgotten Crypt: (Scenario #14) Hail told us Jekserah might be here.
#31 - Plane of Night:(Scenario #14) Hail wants us to help her build an orb with gold metal
#43 - Drake Nest: (Scenario #14) Hail told us Jekserah might be here.
#63 - Magma Pit: (Scenario #1) Random Side Scenario treasure map
#68 - Toxic Moor:(Scenario #8) Random Side Scenario treasure map
Peace
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