Jorgen and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

The battle opened with the two figures gazing at Santrel and Fanara.  The sight of the disfigured ghostly creatures caused both physical and Charisma damage to the elves.  Then the battle was joined by the rest of the party.

Milos cast Bless as Amadeo and Casia began their attacks.  Santrel thought that Magic Missiles would be the best as it would completely damage the ghosts.  All were of course hindered by not looking directly at the horrible enemies.

This led to many misses as the party flailed around trying to hit the creatures without really looking at them.  Amadeo even disregarded this plan and took damage from the gaze.

Entering the Maiden

"This tunnel quickly goes down into the mesa, at quite a steep slope.  There are stairs though," Jorgen informed the group.

"No where else to go?" Amadeo asked.

"I do not see any other openings or hallways," Jorgen reported.

The long and twisting flight of stone stairs were carved into a cramped passage of cold black basalt. At around 300 feet below the doorway the walls began to be covered with carvings.

Korak Kaag's Camp

With no other choice the party decided to head to the northeast.  Casia was encouraged to leave the hut even though she was still concerned about returning.

The small clearing was surrounded by tall trees and soon the party found themselves within the confines of many of those trees.  As they moved further in the woods became more dense, comprised of tall trees with long needle-like leaves clustered into spiral arrangements. High above, their branches locked together, blotting out the sunlight. Below the canopy, the tree branches were thin, losing their foliage from lack of sunlight, and jutted out from the vast maze of peeling trunks like skeletal arms. A blanket of fallen needles covered the ground. Locked in the gloom and cold, the forest floor seemed nearly barren, except for patches of lichen and moss that cling to the rocky soil and the lower trunks of the towering trees.

Where is the Hut?

The Animate Dream attacked with many fear type spells, Amadeo and Casia tried to run away from the creature but were blocked and began to cower.

 Fanara had a vision of a terrible monster but her will was enough to overcome the phantasmal killer.  Jorgen was staying out of the battle as he was still processing his previous death.

That left a large sized Fanara, Santrel and Milos to fight the monster.

Challenges

The party was inside or just outside a now dimly lit room.  An albino Raven was talking to them and they had just identified the symbology of the carvings on the doors.  Casia continued her conversation with the Raven.

"We are in search of Baba Yaga.  The rider in black armor tasked us with finding Baba Yaga and returning her to Irrisen," Casia said beseechingly. 

"I wondered who you were and why you were here," the Raven responded.

"Can you help us with our goal?" Casia asked.

Baba Yaga's Dancing Hut

The hut lowered the entry to the porch down to ground level, inviting the party to climb onto the porch.  Everyone moved on the porch with Fanara heading for the door.  Others looking in the windows saw a cozy room, with a cauldron bubbling away in the center.  The room seemed larger than the dimensions of the hut that they could walk around on the porch.  No additional doors or windows were seen.

Fanara pushed gently on the door and it opened easily, revealing the comfortable looking room. Bundles of dried herbs hung from the rafters, and along the walls were numerous shelves held a bewildering variety of glass jars, bottles, and vials containing all manner of strange magical components and alchemical ingredients. A massive cauldron sat in the middle of the room. No fire burned under the pot, but the liquid within it bubbled and churned, and white fumes rose and lapped over the brim. A large stove, writing desk, bookcase, and fireplace complete the room, along with a number of crates, barrels, and sacks. A short flight of steps led up to a set of double doors in the north wall, and a small ladder climbed to a trap door in the ceiling in the northeast corner.  A latticed ceiling was above the cauldron showing a second level that was not visible from outside.

Which Witch is Which

Safely back in the Shrine of the Everbloom the party settled in to examine the magic items and other goods they had recovered from Logrivich's Clocktower.  They did find it difficult to sell any more items in the city as there was unrest and fighting all over the streets. Casia was lucky to find some additional potions of fire breathing but the group decided longer exposure on the streets was not the best option.

Fanara had a proposal for the next day.  She would attempt Automatic Writing to try and glean some additional information about their upcoming quest into the Market Square and Baba Yaga's hut.  The party agreed to this as it was deemed advisable to know or at least try to know, some hints about what to prepare for.