The forest greeted them with a sound before it revealed itself with sight: a low, persistent buzzing that seemed to vibrate in the bones as much as in the air. It was not the gentle hum of meadow bees or the idle drone of summer insects, but something heavier, thicker—an omen that set every nerve on edge. When the trees finally parted into a clearing, the source became clear: a massive carcass lay sprawled in the open, its shape half-lost beneath decay, and around it drifted shapes far too large to be dismissed as mere insects. The bees were monstrous, each the size of a hunting cat, their wings beating slow and deliberate as they ferried themselves to and from the corpse.
Elora felt the wrongness of it immediately. Nature spoke to her in absences as much as presences, and here it whispered unease. Still, she moved forward without hesitation, her form flowing into that of a great bear, fur rippling where elven skin had been. Smoke curled into the air as the party lit a small fire nearby, hoping the haze might calm the creatures. At first, it worked. The bees paid the bear little mind, continuing their grim labor. But when the others emerged from hiding, the air shifted. Wings beat harder. Heads turned. The clearing seemed to inhale.
The swarm came alive.
Maledurk did not wait to see if hesitation would spare them. He stepped forward, chest swelling as he drew in breath that burned even before it left his lungs. Fire poured from him in a roaring cone, washing over the advancing bees. The flames blackened wings and scorched chitin, yet still the creatures flew, stubborn and furious. Their resilience drew a sharp laugh from Tempest, who answered fire with fire, hurling an explosive blaze that blossomed around them. The world flashed white-hot for an instant. When the smoke thinned, the bees still hovered, wounded but unbroken—and worse, the carcass itself had begun to smolder.
Elora charged, massive jaws snapping shut on one of the beasts. Her teeth crushed into its body, and it sagged in the air, wings beating unevenly. But the victory was fleeting. Another bee struck back, its stinger piercing deep. Pain flared, sharp and immediate, followed by something colder, spreading through her veins. Poison. She felt it in the sluggish heaviness creeping into her limbs, the way the world tilted slightly off its axis.
Lightning split the air before the swarm could regroup. Thorn raised a hand, calm and precise even as chaos raged around him, and the spell leapt from bee to bee in a crackling chain. One by one they fell, smoking husks hitting the ground in rapid succession. For a heartbeat, the clearing was quiet again—until the buzzing swelled, louder than before.
More bees were crawling from within the carcass.
Elora, fighting through nausea and the creeping weakness of the venom, understood before anyone else what they were truly facing. This was no feeding ground. It was a hive. Worse, it was vast—burrowing into the earth beneath the corpse, alive with movement. They were not fighting guards so much as disturbing a city.
Maledurk pushed forward again, forcing fire deep into the opening, his flames illuminating a nightmarish interior of honeycomb slick with a dark, brown honey. Bees writhed and burned within, but even as they died, others fled outward, abandoning the doomed nest. Tempest answered with something more corrosive: a sphere of acid that burst across the hive’s mouth, dissolving bodies and eating into the structure itself. The forest filled with the stench of burning flesh and bitter chemicals, and still there was movement inside—slower now, but not gone.
Elora knew they did not have time. The poison gnawed at her strength, each breath heavier than the last. She felt, rather than saw, the shift in the hive’s behavior: the warning tremor of a colony on the brink of evacuation, the imminent flight of a queen. If that happened, the danger would multiply tenfold.
She did the only thing that mattered.
Ignoring the heat and the smoke, she reached into the burning carcass with a massive paw, claws scraping against bone and comb alike. Pain licked at her fur, but she found what she sought—a thick mass of honeycomb, heavy and dripping with dark, viscous honey. She wrenched it free and staggered back, the poison finally demanding its due. The world swayed. Each step felt like wading through deep water.
Thorn was there in an instant, steady hands transferring the prize into waiting containers. The others closed in around Elora, urgency sharp in every movement. The buzzing was rising again, swelling toward a furious crescendo. There would be no victory here—only escape.
Magic folded space like cloth, and in a blink they were gone.
The glen welcomed them with familiar calm, the air cool and green, a stark contrast to the inferno they had fled. Elora collapsed to one knee, the bear’s shape melting away as she returned to herself, skin pale and slick with sweat. The poison still coursed through her, relentless, until she summoned the last of her focus and drew on restorative magic, purging the venom from her blood. The relief was immediate, though exhaustion lingered like a shadow.
They laid the honey beside their other gathered relics, the dark sweetness glistening in the light. Another piece of the puzzle secured, bought at the cost of fire, pain, and near disaster. Weariness settled over the group, heavy but earned, and they allowed themselves the mercy of rest, letting wounds knit and strength return.
When they set out again, the world changed once more.
The teleportation left them beneath a wide, open sky, the land rolling gently in all directions beneath low grass that whispered in the wind. At first, it seemed peaceful—almost empty. But emptiness, Elora knew, could be a warning. As they walked, the signs became clearer. Fewer birds. No burrows. The subtle, creeping sense that life was withdrawing ahead of them.
In the distance, what they had taken for shrubs resolved into something far more unsettling. Thorny growths jutted from the earth, their branches interwoven with pale bones that gleamed dully in the sun. They stood in loose clusters, like grotesque gardens grown from death itself. And at the heart of some of them, half-hidden behind thorns and skeletal branches, pulsed a vivid red—gourd-shaped, visceral, almost like a heart still beating within a ribcage.
The land here felt dead, not barren but spent, as though it had given everything it could and been repaid only with decay. Elora felt the weight of it settle into her chest, a warning carried on the wind. Whatever awaited them among those bone-thickets would not be claimed easily.
And yet, with the honey secured and the path ahead laid bare, there was no turning back. They moved forward, toward the thorned shapes and their blood-red fruit, into a place where even the land itself seemed to recoil from what had taken root there.
Rules / character discussion before combat Tempest asked about the difference between a wizard and a sorcerer. The DM explained: Tempest decided to remain as a wizard for now, and the group returned focus to the immediate danger. Combat begins: initiative Round 1 Maledurk Tempest Bee attacks Elora (bear form) Elora located the bear-form sheet (“Bear Elora”) and used the bear’s multiattack options. She attempted bite and claw: Elora rolled bite damage (the transcript indicates a successful damage roll, but the exact number is not clearly stated in the audio). The DM described the bitten bee as still alive but flying poorly afterward (“flying funny”). Bee sting: Elora Another bee attacked Elora and hit, landing and stinging her. Elora took 8 damage from the sting. The DM required a Constitution saving throw (bear form) against poison. Elora failed the save. The bee’s poison effect: Bee sting: Tempest Thorn New development: the hive is revealed After Thorn’s Chain Lightning, Elora heard more buzzing. Elora saw more bees crawling out of the carcass. The DM indicated there were more bees inside, implying the threat was larger than the current attackers. Elora’s check to assess the situation The DM asked Elora for a Nature or Perception check (using Elora’s normal character sheet, not the bear sheet). Elora rolled successfully (the DM’s narration confirmed the result was enough to understand the scene). The DM described: Round 2 Maledurk Maledurk decided the carcass/hive was the priority and moved up to it. He wanted to use fire breath directly into the hive opening, choosing a line rather than a cone. Maledurk used his breath weapon again and rolled damage: 1, 1, 4. The DM described the fire entering the carcass and burning the interior; many bees inside were visibly on fire. The DM asked Maledurk for a Perception check. Maledurk rolled 17. With that result, Maledurk observed: Tempest The group discussed options to avoid starting a forest fire while still destroying the hive. Tempest considered Firestorm (massive fire, could protect allies from the initial blast), but the group preferred something less likely to ignite the forest. Tempest used Vitriolic Sphere (acid explosion), with the group noting she could protect allies from its impact. The spell dealt maximum damage (40) this turn. Effects described by the DM: Elora (still poisoned, bear form) At the start of Elora’s turn, the DM called for another Constitution saving throw (bear form) due to ongoing poison. Elora remained affected and took 16 damage. Elora initially wanted to multiattack again, but the DM clarified there were no immediate bee attackers in striking range; the remaining threat was inside the hive. Elora made a Perception check: Elora then made a Nature check and rolled 27. Collecting the Bone Marrow Honey Elora attempted to scoop honey from inside the burning hive while still in bear form. The DM called for a Dexterity check (bear form). Elora rolled 16. Elora successfully reached in with her paw, avoiding burning spots, and pulled out: Elora attempted to move away from the hive’s edge, but due to poison-induced wooziness, the DM limited her movement to a short stagger away. Thorn observed Elora (as a bear) staggering with a paw coated in thick brown honey and honeycomb. Retreat and return Thorn Elora: poison aftermath Depositing collected items The party placed the honey alongside previously collected items in the glen: Elora noted her backpack briefly “caught” at the clearing boundary again before popping fully into the glen, attributed to carrying the Crown of Nogbrooth (which had caused similar effects before). Rest and next objective The party discussed their remaining tasks: The party chose to take a long rest in the glen to fully recover, rather than pushing onward immediately. After resting, the party decided to pursue Blood Gourd next. Teleport to the bone thicket region The next day, the party asked Jareth to send them to the bone thickets. Jareth teleported them again. The party arrived in a wide, open region described as: The only notable feature visible on the horizon was a patch of shrubs a few hundred yards away. The group joked about whether they were in Nebraska or Kansas, based on the open plains. Approaching the shrubs The party decided to head toward the shrubs (they appeared to be to the northeast, based on the sun). Before moving too far, the party requested a perception check to ensure they weren’t missing something immediately around them. The DM described the surrounding environment: As the party continued toward the shrubs, Elora noticed a subtle but meaningful shift: As they neared within roughly 200 yards, the party began seeing: Small stones and bits of wood protruding from the ground that resembled grave markers from a distance. The shrubs themselves became more distinct: Thorny, sparse in leaves, and clustered in small groupings. Bones interleaved within the shrubs, giving them a “skeletal” appearance. Some of the larger shrubs contained a bright red, gourd-shaped growth inside. The shrubs did not appear arranged in a strict pattern, though they tended to appear as a larger shrub with one or more smaller shrubs nearby. Session endSession Notes