Session 3: The Lair of Sunset is Nigh and the Death of Cholmondeley

Start-class article · First seen: s3 · Last seen: s3
Session 3
Session 3: The Lair of Sunset is Nigh and the Death of Cholmondeley
Session
In-fiction datesee in_game_dates block below
Recordedunknown
Party presentCholmondeley, Caelumn, Hugo, Vazquez, Harvo
LocationsWyrmbough Grove, Corrupted Redwood Grove, Edvan's Burial Mound, Sunset is Nigh's Lair, Shamil's Forge, Fergus's Grill

Session 3 opened the second day of party operations in Wyrmbough Grove and contained the campaign’s first player-character death. Guided by a vision Caelumn received while standing on the elven burial mound, the party crossed the poisoned stream into Sunset is Nigh’s Lair, talked down a band of broken elf cultists, and confronted the small green wyrmling Sunset is Nigh roosting inside Death-at-Sunset’s skeleton. Cholmondeley was killed by a yuan-ti woman’s double-bite during the fight; his last words were “I hate you all” [4]. The wyrmling was decapitated by Vazquez, the egg absorbed the dragon hoard’s essence and turned permanently green, and the party returned to Wyrmbough where a funeral was held and a telepathic message from Sevryn redirected them to Eldwythe. The session ended with the Owlin Earthwing joining the party as Chris’s replacement character.

Session 3: The Lair of Sunset is Nigh and the Death of Cholmondeley

Metadata

Recap heard at start of session

At session start the DM asked Chris to recap session 1; Chris ran through the previously-recorded summary. Nick noted “you did forget a few bits but yes” and confirmed Nancy had left in s2 [11].

Executive Summary

The party returned to the Corrupted Redwood Grove, where Caelumn entered a meditation on the burial mound and received a dream-vision of the elven battle against Death-at-Sunset and the location of her cave. They rescued the captive elf Armin Whisperwind, talked down a small band of cultist elves, and faced the wyrmling Sunset is Nigh in his mother’s skeleton. Cholmondeley was killed by a yuan-ti woman’s double-bite (last words: “I hate you all”); Vazquez decapitated Sunset is Nigh; The Egg absorbed the dragon hoard’s essence and turned permanently green, completing the first step of Sevryn’s quest. After a quiet funeral in the village green and a telepathic message from Sevryn pointing toward Eldwythe, the Owlin Earthwing arrived as Chris’s replacement character.

Narrative

The party began at the Wyrmbough Council Building, where Gwen Homora confirmed the corruption was driving elves out of town and identified the central dirt mound in the grove as the ceremonial burial mound of 34 elves who fell against Death-at-Sunset, sealed by their leader Edvan’s final blow with a long sword [12]. She suggested the visions some claimed to see at night might point to the dragon’s resting place.

Returning to the grove, Caelumn entered the central circle and stayed despite a wisdom save failure that left him unconscious. He dream-saw the original battle: Death-at-Sunset choking dozens of elves to death on her last poison breath in tunnels, and a final image of her enormous corpse resting in an underground cave whose entrance pointed across the poisoned stream [13]. Harvo eventually slapped him awake. The party drank Gwen Homora’s poison-resistance potions before crossing the stream — Cholmondeley slipped into the leech-infested water and took 2 necrotic damage; Caelumn burned leeches off Cholmondeley’s face with Control Flames and accidentally singed off half of Cholmondeley’s moustache, which he then pretended on a Deception roll had not happened.

At the cave mouth they were ambushed by an arrow that intentionally missed Caelumn: the shooter was the rescued elf hunter Armin Whisperwind. He had been tortured for “months” inside the lair and was now warning travellers away because attacking the lair would, he believed, make things worse. Caelumn’s 23 Persuasion convinced him to stand aside and to wait for an escort home; he revealed four other elves had been taken and were probably dead [3].

Inside the cave the party encountered four broken elf cultists who attacked once before being routed: Hugo decapitated one in a cleaving rage attack; Vazquez used unarmed strikes and a successful intimidation to drive the remaining three into retreat. They looted a vial of acid and a small ivory totem.

In the deep chamber lay Death-at-Sunset’s skeleton, a pale-green poison fog hanging in the air above it. From within the skull came the voice of Sunset is Nigh — a small green wyrmling and Death-at-Sunset’s son — claiming to be his mother’s avatar of vengeance. Caelumn’s firebolt revealed the wyrmling was tiny [14]. The wyrmling unleashed a poison breath weapon (21 damage halved, dropping Caelumn and Hugo to single digits even with the resistance potions). A masked yuan-ti woman flanked the party from a side chamber, sending an army of small snakes including one called “Nagini”. Sunset is Nigh cast a Suggestion on Hugo ordering him to leave; Hugo (failed wisdom save) walked out of the cave, raging.

In the next round, with the party scattered, the yuan-ti woman struck Cholmondeley twice — the first attack a natural twenty critical, dealing 9 piercing + 21 poison damage. He failed his attempt to stabilise (broke his neck on the death save attempt; [15]. Cholmondeley spat blood and uttered:

“I hate you all.” — Cholmondeley, dying, [4]

Vazquez then took an opportunity attack as Sunset is Nigh tried to fly up; the swing landed a perfect crit and tore off the wyrmling’s tail and hind legs. Caelumn firebolted the yuan-ti woman, Vazquez decapitated Sunset is Nigh on his next turn [16], and Vazquez also slew the yuan-ti woman with a back-stab to end the encounter [17].

After the fight the party brought the egg to the corpse. The egg absorbed the lingering poison and the essence from the hoard, glowing a faint green that grew until it was fully green [18]. The treasure was thousands of mostly copper-and-silver coins and a magnificent elvish-runed sword, plus a corpse of a previous looter clutching a pistol. Caelumn attuned to the Dragonslayer Longsword that night after Detect Magic confirmed enchantment school; Vazquez preferred the pistol. The party also collected dragon teeth, Sunset is Nigh’s body for transport, and a small ivory totem.

A second short fight followed in a side passage — three small plant creatures (one twig, one vine, one small) erupted from vines as the party investigated; Hugo one-shot the small one (nat 20), Vazquez hacked the vine creature, and Caelumn burned the third with a 7-damage firebolt. Behind the door Caelumn found the yuan-ti woman’s living quarters: a card, a desk, a wardrobe, books — nothing of obvious value to a 12 Investigation.

Returning to Wyrmbough Grove dragging Sunset is Nigh’s corpse and Cholmondeley’s body, the party delivered Armin Whisperwind home and were received quietly. A funeral was held in the village green: Gwen Homora placed six sprigs of mosswort into the fire — one for each fallen soul and one more for Cholmondeley — and Selenor played the carved horn of the Grove Wars [8]. Cholmondeley’s holy symbol was passed to Nancy, who asked to stay with the party going forward.

In camp afterward, Sevryn’s voice arrived telepathically:

“I sense a dragon’s presence in the town of Eldwythe. but the sight blurs beyond that. I cannot fix its nature or lair. if you are near, go there, quickly. and be careful. if it is what we need, we must not lose it.” — Sevryn, telepathic, [19]

Caelumn attuned the Dragonslayer Longsword (rare, enchantment school) overnight. Vazquez commissioned the use of Shamil’s forge for the night and crafted his pistol and longsword into a custom gunblade on a d100 of 4 (no improvements but a clean execution; [20]. Harvo visited the burial mound at night and saw Edvan’s ghostly echo on a loop, recognised Edvan’s empty scabbard as one the Dragonslayer Longsword would fit, and noted (nat 20 Insight) the figures were echoes not interactive. Caelumn identified a recovered spell scroll as Web.

Hugo asked Fergus to butcher Sunset is Nigh for the village. Fergus fashioned the dragon’s skull into a clean-toothed crown for Hugo and prepared eight portions of dragon meat for the road. The party feasted on dragon steak. As they ate, an Owlin in a Vietnamese rice hat sat down and introduced himself as “Earthwing” (Chris’s replacement PC, [21]. The party tentatively accepted him into the group on the assumption Sevryn had sent him as he had Harvo; the session ended on this beat.

Dialogue Highlights

  1. Gwen Homora, on the burial mound: “34 elves gave up their lives, battling the ancient green dragon. and their leader, Edvan, was the one that finally struck the final blow against Death-at-Sunset with his mighty long sword.” [12]
  2. Armin Whisperwind, on rescue: “I’ll stay here and once you’re done would you mind escorting me back to the village?” [22]
  3. Sunset is Nigh, asserting identity: “My mother is Death-at-Sunset, and I am Sunset is Nigh.” [23]
  4. Sunset is Nigh, in pain: “Your meager attacks can’t hit me. I have my mother to protect me.” / “You wealth.” [final word, [24]]
  5. Cholmondeley, last words: “I hate you all.” [4]
  6. Cholmondeley’s eulogy (delivered by his player as Cholmondeley’s body lay before them): “Chumley, even though your life was long, I hope it was filled with experiences and your life burned like the platinum flame of Bahamut. and I hope that going forward, your soul will rest in his fiery grasp.” [25]
  7. Sevryn, telepathic: “I sense a dragon’s presence in the town of Eldwythe. … if it is what we need, we must not lose it.” [19]
  8. Earthwing, introducing himself: “Earthwing.” [26]

NPCs

  1. Armin Whisperwind: half-elf hunter; tortured for months in the lair; warns travellers away. Rescued and escorted home this session. New this session: yes (referenced from s1 recap as missing). Last seen: s3.
  2. Sunset is Nigh: small green wyrmling, son of Death-at-Sunset; impersonating his mother by hiding in her skull. Killed by Vazquez. Status: deceased. New this session: yes. Last seen: s3.
  3. The yuan-ti woman: snake-cultist; mother of “Nagini” (a baby snake Hugo killed); critical-hit double-bite that killed Cholmondeley; killed by Vazquez. Name unknown. Status: deceased. New this session: yes.
  4. Edvan: elven hero, leader of the original 34 elves who slew Death-at-Sunset; appears at the burial mound at night as a looped ghostly echo (no interaction). Status: long deceased; visible only as echo. New this session: yes.
  5. Gwen Homora: continues as quest-overseer; explains the burial mound; presides at the funeral. Last seen: s3.
  6. Selenor: elven council member, plays a carved war-horn at the funeral. New this session: yes.
  7. Shamil: red-headed elf blacksmith of Wyrmbough Grove with a constantly-shifting accent and a drippy nose. Lent his forge to Vazquez. New this session: yes.
  8. Fergus: butcher and grill-master; cooks the dragon meat, fashions the skull-crown for Hugo. Last seen: s3.
  9. Sevryn: silver-dragonborn chronurgy wizard quest-giver; sent telepathic message about Eldwythe. Not physically present but heard. New this session: no.
  10. Earthwing (the Owlin): replacement PC for Chris; arrives at the dragon-meat dinner. Disposition: laconic and edgy. New this session: yes.
  11. Cultist elves (4 known): tortured former hunters; three fled, one was killed by Hugo.
  12. Nancy: receives Cholmondeley’s holy symbol at the funeral; asks to stay with the party. Disposition shift: from fled-in-anger to attached. Last seen: s3.

Locations

  1. Wyrmbough Council Building: where Gwen Homora is generally found and where she explained the burial mound.
  2. Edvan’s Burial Mound: ~30ft tall feathery-grass dirt mound at the centre of the corrupted grove; uncorrupted because of the elves buried beneath; site of Caelumn’s vision and Edvan’s nightly echo.
  3. Sunset is Nigh’s Lair: cave system entered from across the poisoned stream; tunnels lined with claw marks; central chamber houses Death-at-Sunset’s skeleton and the dragon hoard; side chambers contain a snake pit and the yuan-ti woman’s living quarters. Status post-session: cleansed; opening “dark now, not evil, just empty.”
  4. Shamil’s forge (in Wyrmbough Grove): elven blacksmith. New this session: yes.
  5. The village green of Wyrmbough Grove: site of the funeral fire.

Items & Loot

  1. The Egg: now permanently glowing green after absorbing Death-at-Sunset’s residual essence [18]. 1/N dragons absorbed.
  2. Dragonslayer Longsword: rare, enchantment school; elvish runes; identified by Harvo [27]. Caelumn attunes overnight. (Likely the sword Edvan used to deliver the killing blow per Harvo’s scabbard observation.)
  3. Pistol (Indiana-Jones-corpse pistol): kept by Vazquez and used as a component in his gunblade.
  4. Vasquez’s gunblade: hand-crafted at Shamil’s forge by combining the looted pistol and Vazquez’s longsword; revolver-style chamber holding small glowing dynamite-like primer charges; bonus action to slam the hammer; deals weapon damage + 2d6 fire on a primer detonation [28], [29].
  5. Spell scroll of Web: identified by Caelumn [30].
  6. Onyx ivory totem: looted from the yuan-ti woman; carried by Caelumn.
  7. Vial of acid: looted from a cultist; carried by Harvo.
  8. Eight portions of dragon meat: prepared by Fergus for the road.
  9. Dragon-skull crown: crafted by Fergus for Hugo from Sunset is Nigh’s cleaned skull.
  10. Dragon teeth (4): one each for the surviving party members.

Currency: Dragon hoard split announced as “we’ll split everything evenly between four people”; specific division not enacted in transcript.

Combat Encounters

  • Encounter 1: Cultist elves at the cave mouth (~3 rounds). Party state at start: fresh. Party state at end: Hugo at -7 HP (one spear hit); fight ended via intimidation/retreat.
    • Monsters faced: 4 broken elf cultists with spears.
    • To-hit results: 1 hit (spear vs Hugo, 7 piercing). Saves: none required.
    • Damage types thrown: shillelagh (Cholmondeley), shocking grasp (Harvo, missed), unarmed (Vazquez), handaxe slashing (Hugo, decapitation).
    • Resources: Hugo’s first rage; Cholmondeley’s bonus-action shillelagh.
    • Notable rolls: Hugo nat-20-then-decapitation; Vazquez +1 intimidation succeeded at advantage to drive retreat.
  • Encounter 2: Sunset is Nigh + the yuan-ti woman + small snakes (~5 rounds). Party state at start: full HP. Party state at end: Cholmondeley dead; Caelumn at low HP; Hugo charm-suggested to leave the cave.
    • Monsters faced: 1 wyrmling (CR 2), 1 yuan-ti woman with two-bite multiattack (CR 1+ humanoid), 1+ small venomous snake, baby snake “Nagini”.
    • To-hit results against party: yuan-ti double-bite critical on Cholmondeley (9 + 21 = 30 effective with poison resistance halving); Sunset is Nigh’s bite on Vazquez (8 piercing + 3 poison ≈ 9.5); Sunset’s poison breath (con saves both made — half of 21 each).
    • Saving throws: Hugo failed Wisdom save vs Suggestion (“you should leave”, made him leave the cave). Both poison-breath con saves succeeded for half. Cholmondeley failed Wisdom vs poison-resistance check (passed con) but failed first death save (broke his neck stabilising attempt).
    • Damage types: party threw fire (firebolt, perfect-crit), thunder (Witch Bolt 3rd-level twin-quickened, 25 thunder!), bludgeoning (shillelagh + booming blade — Cholmondeley’s last attack), slashing (gunless longsword from Vazquez), holy bonus damage.
    • Resources: Caelumn’s Innate Sorcery + Font of Magic + 3rd-level Witch Bolt + multiple firebolts + Shield (twice); Cholmondeley’s Bless / Shillelagh / booming blade / death.
    • Notable rolls: Caelumn nat-20 firebolt at L892 revealing Sunset’s small size; Vazquez perfect-crit opportunity attack mutilating Sunset’s hindquarters; yuan-ti nat-20 first-bite critical killing Cholmondeley.
  • Encounter 3: Plant creatures in side passage (~1 round). Party state at start: post-fight, partly healed. Party state at end: full or near-full.
    • Monsters faced: 1 small twig creature, 1 vine creature, 1 unknown.
    • Notable rolls: Hugo nat-20 to one-shot the twig; Caelumn 7-damage fire firebolt finishing the vine creature.

Clues & Foreshadowing

  1. The burial mound houses 34 elves and Edvan, who used a long sword to deliver the killing blow on Death-at-Sunset (Gwen Homora, [12]. The sword retrieved from the hoard appears to fit Edvan’s ghostly empty scabbard (Harvo observation, [31].
  2. Caelumn’s vision while standing on the burial mound showed Death-at-Sunset’s tunnel-suffocation of the elves and the cave entrance location [32]. Treated as canon information.
  3. Sunset is Nigh’s yuan-ti companion was named “Nagini” by the woman, suggesting the snakes were her children/familiars [33].
  4. Sevryn’s telepathic foresight is fallible: “the sight blurs beyond that. I cannot fix its nature or lair.” [19].) He admits the Eldwythe dragon’s nature is unknown.
  5. Sevryn knew Cholmondeley would die — implied by the timing of Earthwing’s arrival at the same dinner (Vazquez’s session 4 reasoning is anticipated here in player commentary at [34] but not yet voiced in-game).
  6. Earthwing is the second NPC sent by Sevryn (Caelumn’s observation, [35] — pattern of Sevryn dispatching backups recognised by the party.

Open Mysteries & Unanswered Questions

  1. Was the Dragonslayer Longsword originally Edvan’s? Best evidence: Harvo’s scabbard match [31]. Cares: Caelumn (now wielder), Harvo.
  2. What is Earthwing’s actual mission and connection to Sevryn? No answer given in-session.
  3. Did the four other captive elves die in the lair? Best evidence: Armin Whisperwind’s fear they did. Not confirmed.
  4. What is the yuan-ti woman’s faction or origin? Unidentified.
  5. What does the small ivory totem do? Caelumn picked it up; its purpose is unclear.
  6. Will Nancy travel with the party? She asked to; Caelumn voted no, others equivocal. Unresolved at session end (and contradicted in s4: she’s left at the village).

Quests

  1. [Status: completed] Absorb Death-at-Sunset’s essence with the egg — first dragon down [18].
  2. [Status: completed] Bark / corruption-source quest — corruption fades from the grove (Gwen Homora perception, [7].
  3. [Status: completed] Rescue Armin Whisperwind — escorted home alive.
  4. [Status: active] The Egg Quest continues; next dragon presumed to be in Eldwythe per Sevryn’s telepathic message.
  5. [Status: new/active] Travel to Eldwythe — find and absorb the dragon there.
  6. [Status: dormant] Find a home for Nancy — left unresolved at session end.

Faction & Relationship Changes

  • Cholmondeley dies (PC death; first of the campaign; soul goes uncertain); Chris retires the character.
  • Earthwing joins the party as Chris’s replacement PC.
  • Relations with Wyrmbough Grove improve significantly (corruption resolved; party are heroes).
  • The egg quest crosses a milestone: 1/N dragons absorbed, egg now glows green.
  • Nancy offered partial reattachment to the party; final disposition: left at Wyrmbough Grove (per s4).

Table Rulings

  1. Detect Magic does not require touch — confirmed [36].
  2. Twin Spell (2024 SRD): targets two creatures with a single-target spell at one slot higher; does NOT permit two casts at the same target. Caelumn re-casts at level 3 instead [37], [38].
  3. Witch Bolt scaling: each higher slot adds an extra d12; ritual damage on subsequent turns is 1d12; effect ends if target leaves spell range [39], [40].
  4. Restrained: speed 0, attacks against advantage, your attacks at disadvantage, dex saves at disadvantage (DM repeated from s2).
  5. Revivify: requires diamond components and is “harder the longer you take” — not available in Wyrmbough Grove (no caster), possibly available in Velkris or Umbrafall for a price [41].
  6. Tool-proficiency identification of items: utilise + ability check + proficiency, advantage with relevant skill (DM ruled in s2 referenced again here).

Callbacks

  • Session 1: the Edvan backstory, the 34-elf battle, Death-at-Sunset returning as animated bones — all referenced and partly resolved this session via Gwen Homora’s explanation and the cave fight.
  • Session 2: the bark riddle (“It was bark. Tree bark.”) still rankling in OOC banter at [42]; Caelumn is vindicated by Nick’s admission that the child Nancy “rolled a 3 and was correct”.
  • Session 2: Nancy’s departure resolved with her reappearance and request to rejoin (declined effectively).
  • Session 2: the burial mound mystery resolved.

Next Steps

Entities in this session

People (15)

Locations (6)

Things (4)

References

  1. ^ Session 3, line 176-178 — Gwen Homora explains the burial mound; 34 elves + Edvan vs Death-at-Sunset.
  2. ^ Session 3, line 296-312 — Caelumn's vision on the burial mound reveals the cave entrance.
  3. ^ Session 3, line 502-580 — Armin Whisperwind encountered, talked down, asks for escort home.
  4. ^ Session 3, line 1260 — Cholmondeley dies; last words "I hate you all".
  5. ^ Session 3, line 1382-1388 — End-of-combat-round-2 break; Vazquez decapitates Sunset is Nigh.
  6. ^ Session 3, line 1526-1542 — Egg absorbs the dragon hoard's essence; turns green.
  7. ^ Session 3, line 1928 — DM narration on the cleansed grove; party levels up to 3.
  8. ^ Session 3, line 1972-1976 — Cholmondeley's funeral; Selenor plays the war-horn.
  9. ^ Session 3, line 2044-2048 — Sevryn's telepathic message: dragon presence sensed in Eldwythe.
  10. ^ Session 3, line 2222-2228 — Earthwing the Owlin sits down at the party's table.
  11. ^ Session 3, line 36 — Inline citation.
  12. ^ Session 3, line 176 — Inline citation.
  13. ^ Session 3, line 296 — Inline citation.
  14. ^ Session 3, line 900 — Inline citation.
  15. ^ Session 3, line 1252 — Inline citation.
  16. ^ Session 3, line 1290 — Inline citation.
  17. ^ Session 3, line 1376 — Inline citation.
  18. ^ Session 3, line 1532 — Inline citation.
  19. ^ Session 3, line 2046 — Inline citation.
  20. ^ Session 3, line 2110-2120 — Inline citation.
  21. ^ Session 3, line 2222-2240 — Inline citation.
  22. ^ Session 3, line 540 — Inline citation.
  23. ^ Session 3, line 912 — Inline citation.
  24. ^ Session 3, line 1380 — Inline citation.
  25. ^ Session 3, line 1456 — Inline citation.
  26. ^ Session 3, line 2226 — Inline citation.
  27. ^ Session 3, line 2066 — Inline citation.
  28. ^ Session 3, line 2110 — Inline citation.
  29. ^ Session 4, line 374-394 — Inline citation.
  30. ^ Session 3, line 2158 — Inline citation.
  31. ^ Session 3, line 2144 — Inline citation.
  32. ^ Session 3, line 298 — Inline citation.
  33. ^ Session 3, line 1102 — Inline citation.
  34. ^ Session 3, line 1378-1382 — Inline citation.
  35. ^ Session 3, line 2266 — Inline citation.
  36. ^ Session 3, line 1574-1580 — Inline citation.
  37. ^ Session 3, line 1196-1200 — Inline citation.
  38. ^ Session 4, line 506-528 — Inline citation.
  39. ^ Session 3, line 1004-1018 — Inline citation.
  40. ^ Session 3, line 1192-1198 — Inline citation.
  41. ^ Session 3, line 1468-1486 — Inline citation.
  42. ^ Session 3, line 62-76 — Inline citation.