Chapter Six: The Muster of Caltlikrath

I'll roll for the possessed Leth...

Edit: Leth's body becomes rigid. His eyes bulge madly from his head as he stands stock still, straining against Fjorgyn's will.

Domarc, Zangua, you're up.

Yiss! Fjorgyn comes through finally.

I would like some details regarding what the Countercharm song sounds like and how it is performed.

As the demon continues to extricate itself from its cage of roots and branches, its eye becomes more mobile, bobbing out of the way of Zangua's first slash.

The second slash, however, lands with tremendous force, tilting it so that the pupil is pointed directly at Zangua. He levels the glaive, rears back, and drives the shaft into the eye with all the strength he has left.

The demon's eye bursts like an overripe tomato in the sun, spewing froth yellow slime and brown pulp. In a fraction of a second, the eye turns from a glistening orb to a flaccid, empty sack. The flailing pseudopods contract, becoming shriveled and brittle. Reddish-brown smoke starts issuing from the trunk as the demon's body disintegrates.

The demon hunter adapts to the changing situation without missing a beat, using his axe to hack off the withered appendages and cut the eye from the body. He tosses it at the base of the trunk and utters a quiet prayer in an unfamiliar language until nothing remains of the demon but a pile of dull brown ash. He takes a small fish-shaped copper container from his belt, kneels, and sprinkles something on the ashes, then stands up and stomps twice on them with his right foot.

The chamber is quiet.

Leth tumbles forward, catching himself on the ground with his hands, and remains there for a moment on his hands and knees, shaking his head. His memory is a blur; he can recall only the vaguest details of anything that happened after the party descended into this underground cavern.

"Thank you for your help," the demon hunter says. "My river runs clear for another day." He smiles. "Join me outside, if you will. I have food enough to share." He turns to leave.

I still want to hear about the Countercharm song.

I view the Countercharm song as being a very simple, rhythmic thing - a steady, repetitive drum beat and/or an ongoing monotone chant. The idea being to help keep the mind focused and clear, and not give any charm spell anything to "hook onto"; the mind is a still surface, and there is no way for mind-controlling effects to penetrate.

Either that, or it's an earworm - something like "I got you babe" or "It's a small world", which prevents the charm from working by closing the mind in a loop and frustrating the the spell with the repetition of the lyrics and notes (this is similar to the idea of how people on Babylon 5 could frustrate telepaths by repeating nursery rhymes in their head).

Either option should be simple to perform, potentially with voice alone if needed - if, for example, a bard was splayed out on the floor after trying & failing to shove a companion away from something hostile - they could still do the countercharm without need of instrument, or accompaniment.

I would've posted more about how Domarc was performing it earlier but was pressed for time and didn't want to miss an opportunity to act.

Zangua is correct.

Well done, Domarc. Have an Inspiration point.

There's not much in this chamber aside from the root/branch mass in the center, the remains of the cultists, the mangled mummy that spawned the wraith, and scattered patches of webbing and spider-beast offal.

You've explored most of the visible passages and chambers in this cave system, except for the southeastern doorway you encountered in the very first chamber you entered.

Zangua follows the demon hunter, tracing his steps back up to the outside world. Even under the shade of trees and an overcast sky, the brightness makes him wince and rub water from his eyes.

The hunter removes a heavy pack he had hung up on a nearby tree and sits on the ground. From the pack, he takes out a large waterskin and several cloth-wrapped packages. He gestures for Zangua to sit, and starts unwrapping the packages. The first contains several whole dried fish. The next, an assortment of dried fruits.

The hunter unwraps some nuts, some strips of dried beef, and some dark squares of hardtack. "Help yourself," he says, taking a dried fish and biting off the head. "Your friends won't find much to loot down there. An ascetic cult if ever I saw one. And very near to extinct when I first learned of it." He takes another bite. "But even the smallest ember only needs to touch a single blade of dead grass to birth an inferno. I strayed many leagues away from my path to come to this place, but I am glad I arrived when I did. Bahanzin makes the river to flow where the water is needed most!" He finishes off his fish and licks the salt from his fingers, side-eying Zangua. "You don't talk much."

"The northerner with the radiant spear? You are an eclectic company. I took you for mercenaries at first, but...you're not that, are you? Not quite, anyway. Some purpose unites you. That much is obvious." He throws back a handful of nuts and washes it down with water from the skin, then offers Zangua his hand to shake. "Garho is my name. I am no priest. I am a demon hunter, like my mother before me. Bahanzin does not speak to me as he did to her, but he has never left me in uncertainty as to where I must go or what I must do."