D&D Campaign Journal

Session 22: The Gauth’s Bargain

Characters Present: Zoran, Luan, Brannor, Andy, Grusnarv

Recap

The party stands in Gluttony’s ballroom, ready for a cooking contest that will determine their freedom. But the sin has one more twist: a special ingredient awaits them in the depths below.

Narrative Summary

The Challenge Within the Challenge

Gluttony’s massive form swelled with anticipation as the cooking contest preparations began. The kobolds had set out ingredients, measured perfect table heights, and stood ready to serve. But before the first pan could heat, Gluttony proposed something more.

“There is something nearby that I would love to have in our dishes,” the sin announced, his hunger radiating through the room like waves of heat. “It’s very special. It’s very nice. It’s the best, actually.”

The catch: if they could retrieve this ingredient from the creature living in the caverns beneath the ballroom, it would give them a significant advantage. Gluttony admitted he’d come to an understanding with this creature when he took residence here — they left each other alone. But he’d love to have some of its essence through his food.

The party accepted. What choice did they have?

Gluttony’s throne slid aside, revealing a square shaft descending into darkness. He gave them each a portion of grotesque pocket meat — frickadelle mixed with tiramisu and other foods mashed together — and sent them down with a warning: “He will be watching you too.”

Into the Deep

The carved tunnel gave way to natural cavern as they descended. The smell of food faded, replaced by damp stone and something else — a wet, sour scent like a towel left on the ground for weeks. The stairs ended at a rope leading down into a vast cavern, easily 120 feet high and shrouded in complete darkness.

Luan shifted into a fey orangutan form — a large ape-like creature with long arms and green fur, built for climbing. The others followed more carefully, with Brannor struggling in his heavy armor.

The cavern floor was unnaturally smooth, worn down by something large moving across it repeatedly. They moved carefully, Luan casting Pass Without Trace to dampen their footsteps. Andy’s torch provided light for those who couldn’t see in the dark.

Then Brannor’s torch flared bright, filling the cavern with light.

Seventy feet away, an enormous eye stared back at them. A central eye the size of a wagon wheel, with a mouth full of pointed teeth below it. From the main body extended multiple tentacles, each tipped with its own smaller eye.

A gauth. A beholder’s lesser cousin, but no less deadly.

Battle in the Dark

The creature’s voice echoed in their minds: “INTRUDERS.”

Combat erupted. Eye rays shot from the tentacles — fire, force, telekinesis. One beam struck Zoran and Andy, hitting them with necrotic energy and a magical effect they resisted. Another tried to slow Brannor, reducing his speed.

Luan’s lightning bolt streaked down from the cavern ceiling, striking the floating aberration. Brannor charged forward despite his reduced movement, reaching the creature and slamming his axe into its hide with devastating force. His hill giant heritage manifested — the impact knocked the floating creature prone, sending it tumbling sideways in the air.

Zoran rushed in, his enhanced speed carrying him forward, but the creature’s anti-magic cone swept over him, nullifying his radiant sun bolt before he could strike. Even thirty feet in the air, it dominated the battlefield.

Andy tried shooting at its eyes but couldn’t land a solid hit through the creature’s natural defenses. The gauth retaliated, eye rays targeting multiple party members. Fire scorched flesh. Telekinetic beams pushed them back. The creature’s powers were formidable.

The gauth rose higher, now forty feet up, putting itself further from melee range.

Luan maintained his storm cloud, lightning continuing to strike. Brannor hurled a handaxe that embedded in the creature’s side. But the fight was turning difficult — half the party couldn’t reach it, and its anti-magic cone neutralized spells.

Then Andy got his opening.

He ran directly beneath the creature, his mage hand lifting his pistol at the perfect angle. From thirty feet below, he aimed at the central eye and fired.

Natural twenty.

The silver bullet punched through the creature’s massive eye. It reeled, blind for a moment. Andy fired again.

Another natural twenty.

The second silver bullet struck true, and the gauth’s movements became erratic. It hung in the air, wounded and vulnerable. In the silence that followed, its voice came again — but different this time.

“HE… is in my lair.”

The creature was talking about Gluttony.

An Unexpected Alliance

The gauth’s tone shifted from hostile to something else. It spoke of territory violated, of hunger, of desire for magic to feed upon. “You give me magic,” it said. “I kill gluttony.”

The party lowered their weapons. Negotiations began, tense and uncertain. The gauth could sense magic items, could feel their presence. It wanted to feed, to grow stronger. It had been starved here, forced into an uneasy truce with Gluttony.

They debated what to offer. Grusnarv suggested using one of the sin stones they’d collected — magical gems saturated with dark power. The party had taken them from defeated sins, planning to destroy them eventually.

Better to use them than die here.

Zoran retrieved one of the stones and placed it on the ground. The gauth descended, its tentacle grasping the gem. It placed the stone in its massive mouth, and before their eyes, the creature’s wounds began healing. Flesh knit together. The damaged eye recovered.

Then something new emerged: an additional tentacle sprouted from its body, tipped with a fresh eye. The sin stone had made it stronger.

“I will take out gluttony,” the gauth declared. “I will not harm you.”

The bargain was struck. Together, they would kill the sin upstairs. The gauth would get its lair back. The party would get their freedom. Everyone would get what they wanted — assuming Gluttony died.

The Holy Symbol

During the short rest that followed, Brannor attuned to the mysterious amulet they’d recovered from the wizard’s crypt. As he focused on it for an hour, its properties revealed themselves.

It was no mere trinket. This was the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind — a legendary platinum amulet shaped like a sun, with a large crystal embedded in its center. The symbol possessed remarkable powers:

It could hold vampires and their spawn paralyzed with divine force. It could amplify turn undead abilities, giving the wielder greater control over the undead. Most remarkably, it could create true sunlight — the bane of vampires — for ten minutes at a time.

This was a weapon specifically designed to fight Strahd.

The gauth seemed pleased with its arrangement, though it warned them about Gluttony: the sin could grow larger, possessed magic that was difficult to stop even for the gauth, and could not be easily killed. But with the power it had gained from consuming the sin stone, the gauth was ready.

They climbed back up through the caverns, the gauth floating alongside them. When they knocked on Gluttony’s door, it would be with an ally — and with divine power hanging around Brannor’s neck.

The cooking contest was forgotten. This had become something else entirely: a hunt.

Key Discoveries & Decisions

Open Threads

Notable Quotes

“You give me magic. I kill gluttony.”

“I will take out gluttony. I will not harm you.”

“Even I can barely kill him.”

“I will eat gluttony.”

“He is in my lair!” — The Gauth realizing Gluttony had invaded its territory

← Session 21: The Feast of Gluttony