WRITTEN RECAP
Eldoria — Episode 8: Journey To The Frozen Peak
With Fars slowly being drained by a corrupted shard of the destroyed moon Nairo, Episode Eight sends the Old Dudes away from Shade Karn on a race against the lunar calendar.
Melith of the Umbra Lysum knows how the shard might be cleansed. The rite must be performed beneath the full moon at an ancient open-air altar several days away. She and her scribe Nulan travel with the party to make certain that, for once, somebody in the group actually understands the ritual they are about to perform.
Before leaving, the Old Dudes shop for supplies and debate transportation. A boat is briefly proposed as a way to bypass the overland route.
Jay points out that he has prepared an overland journey.
The players graciously decide not to destroy the DM's preparation this time.
They walk.
The route takes them through dangerous country. Melith had warned them that orcs operate in the region, and the warning proves accurate.
An ambush develops along the road as hidden attackers use trees and terrain to their advantage. The party has to pick targets they cannot always see and close the distance without letting the spellcasters and researchers get overwhelmed.
Melith demonstrates that the scholar accompanying them is not helpless. A Wall of Force changes the battlefield, turning what should have been a straightforward orc attack into a tactical problem for the attackers. Nulan contributes where he can while the Old Dudes do what they do best.
Garth Maul moves toward the enemy.
Zayon and Wenende hold the front.
Zewor works from range.
Fars continues fighting despite carrying an artifact that is literally eating away at him.
The battle also gives the table plenty of time to discover spell interactions, argue about who is hidden, and learn once again that a carefully built encounter can become a comedy routine as soon as six friends begin clicking buttons.
The party eventually breaks through the ambush and continues toward the mountains.
As elevation increases, the terrain grows colder and harsher. The goal is no longer simply a point on Melith's map. The full moon is approaching, and the old lunar ruin begins to feel like the center of something that has been waiting for them.
When they reach the ritual site, Melith begins the cleansing process.
The shard cannot simply be removed from Fars. The corruption has to be confronted through the rite, and the ritual draws a guardian.
A Lunar Custodian appears.
The name immediately earns it the less dignified title of “space janitor,” but there is nothing funny about the creature itself. It is large, powerful and bound somehow to the corrupted lunar fragment.
The ritual comes with one particularly inconvenient requirement.
Fars must land the killing blow.
It is not enough for the party to defeat the custodian. If somebody else finishes it, the shard will not be truly freed.
That changes the entire battle.
The Old Dudes can weaken the enemy, control it, distract it and survive it, but eventually they must hand the final moment to the bard whose health has already been damaged by the curse.
Melith and Nulan support the fight while the party pounds away at the custodian. Illusions, force effects, weapons and spells carve into it as everyone tries to judge how much punishment it can still take without accidentally killing it too early.
That is where Episode Eight ends: on the frozen lunar ruin, beneath the coming full moon, with the cleansing ritual in progress and the Lunar Custodian still standing.
The Old Dudes reached the peak.
Now they have to defend it long enough for Fars to finish the job.