Preparing to travel to Inkaran, an abandoned dwarven settlement, the party consider their resources. They ask Amelia for some snacks for the road, and realise they can detour via the city of Rutledge, which might be suitable to stock up on some other supplies. As they go to the carriage, they speak with Jhazaal and Yu Man, a short goblin who begins inspecting their pockets for something to steal. Thankfully, the party are alert enough to notice and he withdraws, leaving to find other work to do. Grae discusses a few more details about Inkaran with Roman. They depart on the road heading to Rutledge.
About a day and a half later, they arrive again back at Rutledge, searching for some supplies. Edolkar asks to speak with Dorqen, the wizard at the mage’s hall, seeking assistance with restoring spell slots. He offers such a potion that can help to recover used spell slots, which Edolkar purchases for a steep price. The party ask if he is selling any magical items, to which he rattles off on a few that he has currently. Upon hearing they have a Bag of Holding, the party enquire, but find it is too expensive. Dorqen offers them a deal; they can take the bag now (minus a deposit he will retain for now), as long as they collect the carapace of an animal known to inhabit the mountains they are intending to visit called a Bulette. They agree and take possession of the bag (for now). Grae detours via the port, and pulls out the pouch she identified as a Dust of Dryness pouch. She places a pinch into the sea, quickly capturing the compressed pellet that is created from the magic. Edolkar buys a faux coat to keep warm in the colder climate of the mountains. They meet back with Jhazaal and depart to Tenahmir mountains in search for Inkraran.
After a good most of the day, they eventually arrive via carriage to a rough, rugged part of the mountains. Jhazaal indicates that he will need to stop here, as he won’t be able to travel via horse any further. The party agree to travel by foot, relying on Grae’s book to find the ‘landmarks’ that indicate a path to Inkaran. Towards the late afternoon, they find what appears to be the outskirts of a dwarven city, embedded into the hillside. They walk in further, finding it abandoned. Edolkar surveys the area, and by cross-referencing the book, the party determine that the Bulettes may be nearby, having dug some large holes recently. They consider the deal they made with Dorqen, and elect to try to draw the attention of the creatures. Grae casts Firebolt, with Trix wafting the flames further into the burrows. Khorvus uses his Glove of the Aestarians, shooting more ball bearings into the ground. As expected, this draws the attention of two young Bulettes and the party enter into combat.
In round one, Grae lunges in after activating a blade song, striking with her rapier. One of the bulettes makes a reactive attack, making a strong swipe with its claws. Edolkar also runs it, swiping with his great sword. The bulette embeded with booming blade energy steps forward, taking damage, and attempts another bite which misses. Khorvus casts Compel Duel, which fails to succeed against one of the bulettes. Khorvus then steps forward, striking with his war hammer, and activating divine smite, killing one of the bulettes outright. Trix aims and throws an oil flask at the other bulette, which shatters against the ground.
Moving on to round two, Grae uses firebolt to set the oil alight, along with damaging the bulette itself. She casts Kinetic Jaunt to escape the proximity of the creature. Edolkar strikes with his great sword, hitting firmly, but is not enough to take it out. The bulette makes a bite attack against Edolkar in retaliation which lands. Khorvus makes another attack with his war hammer. Trix enters back into the fray and slashes with her rapier again. The creature, realising it should have taken fire damage, burns and succumbs, falling to the ground.
They exit combat and review the situation. Agreeing to the deal with Dorqen, they inspect the bodies of the bulettes and begin to dig at their hard carapace. Trix and Khorvus work in tandem to extract what they need from the corpses. Meanwhile, what appears to have been the parent to these two young bulettes, a parent bulette digs itself out of the ground and moves in to attack the party. Khorvus uses the glove again, this time shooting out corrosive ball bearings, that form a pool of acid.
Into combat (for the second time this episode), starting with round one, Trix casts True Strike, ensuring her next attack against the creature has advantage. Grae casts Scorching Ray, with one of the blasts hitting against the creature. Khorvus hurls a javellin at the bulette, which misses. As a bonus action, he casts Shield of Faith on Edolkar. Edolkar enters into a rage, with a bolt of light shooting from his chest. The bulette attempts to shield itself, but fails with a critical failure, becoming blinded temporarily. Edolkar continues his attack, swinging successfully to hit. The bulette blindly flails towards Edolkar in retaliation, but fails to strike him.
At the start of round two, Trix shoots with her bow. Grae approaches again, this time casting Firebolt, before using Misty Step to re-position herself. Khorvus strikes again with his war hammer, which lands easily. As Edolkar’s turn starts, he reapplies his blinding effect, with the creature failing the check with another critical failure. He strikes again, dealing another successful strike against the creature. The bulette tries to strike back, but fails. Still blinded, it attempts to move away, but doesn’t know the location it will go. Rolling randomly, it leaps, granting Edolkar and Khorvus an opportunity to make another attack. In combination of both their attacks, the creature is cut open as it leaps over them and collapses to the ground.