Forest of Wyrd Session #12- The Visions

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

Gnarl (Wood Gnome 2)
Ranza (Changeling 1)
Hobbs (Hedgefey 1)
Thrax (Fighter 1)

With their foe down and out, the party proceeded to search the chamber much more thoroughly, although Jonesomon and Vergarious opted to go check on Feedbag and their camp. Thrax went to check out the fallen Archon, who seemed to be made out of some type of blue wood. The inky pool was also stirred and poked to ensure there was no treasure (or additional cerulean plasmids). A small workbench against the the north wall was relived of a few items (jars of honey and mortar/pestle) by Ranza. But of most interest were the five bodies they found along one wall, preserved and sealed behind hardened dream honey. These they removed one by one by dissolving the honey. And they then relived each of their valuables, as the bodies rapidly decayed upon exposure to the air. The five were:

• A 3rd Imperium Officer, dressed in bronzed armor and purple/gold cloak. In one hand he held a finely made  spear;
• An old bearded hermit in a rough woolen shirt and leather kilt. Under the kilt they found a leather pouch full of herbs, which Gnarl and Hobbs identified as healing herbs; 
• A female hunter or ranger dressed in green, In her quiver were two arrows made of a strange black wood and with wicked barbed heads;  
• Green skinned female changeling wearing a massive ring with ruby, diamond and emerald; and a gilded bronze medallion of the green man; and
• Farm boy of about 12 years, dressed in homespun and with  rusty sword tied around his waist with an old rope. Tucked under his shirt was a page torn from a story book, about a brave knight who gave up his sword and honour for the love of a princess. Scribbled around the margins were notes suggesting the story, and the powerful sword described therein ,were real. There was also a sketch map showing the location of a tower just the the north of the barrow, where the sword supposedly lay.  

Based on the rate of decay once the bodies were freed from the wall, the party guessed the hermit had been there longest, followed by the officer and then the two woman. The boy was relatively 'fresh'. 

The looting complete, the party moved on to the terraced marble waterfall chamber. The chamber towered over a hundred feet high, for at the top of the terrace was an alter of sorts. And above that alter floated a massive gold thing; an object that seemed to be in constant swirling motion and made of fluid gold. Putting together some of the things the Archon said, the party figured this must be the gate the Faerie. They carefully avoiding touching it, but blissfully looted some offertory and ritual  items that lay to one side; a paint, gold chalice, garland of crystallized flowers, silver bowl, brass jug and ultramarine cluster broach. They also carefully searched behind and around the gold gate, looking for secret of hidden compartments and doors. But to no avail. Tossing a piece of the fallen Twilight Archon into the gate, they watched it disappear but with no other changes. 

Gnarl now became curious about the one room they'd bypassed; the one filled with deep turquoise water, misty with salts and suspended material. The wood gnome poked around at the water a bit to ensure himself it was safe tho touch. The party there tried various combinations of poles and mirrors to explore the bottom, looking for anything of interest or danger. At this point, however, a ghostly figure drifted into view. It began speaking to the party in old D'war (which Tharx could actually understand) telling them he was the One of Witness; what did the party wish to know about the tomb? They asked about the operation of the gate, and how it could be destroyed. The Ghost told them a mortal must pass through the gate to the Twilight realm, and then return through it once more. That would open it and allow the dark faerie of that realm to pour through. The passage for a mortal, however, was quite dangerous and only the strongest and most powerful were likely to survive. As to closing it, that would require great power beyond his keen. Having answered their question, the ghost now dissipated and disappeared.

With that episode over, they party turned back to the pool. Thrax decided to brave the waters, and waded in until almost neck deep. Within moments, his awareness of his immediate surroundings began to fade, and a vision appeared before his eyes. He saw the Yellow Cloud Prophet, lying on a brier under glass in a woodland glade, surrounded by seelie fey. The vision then faded, and he found himself mentally back with the rest of the party. Curious, the rest of the party now decided to try for a vision. They saw:

• A golden-skinned woman with hair of autumn foliage looks into a mirror. She pushes her hand into the mirror, and lifts out a human child, who is screaming.
• A giant sits in a ruined hall, feasting on sheep and goats. Crying children can be heard in the background. 
• A black dog stands next to an obsidian standing stone. It walks away to the NW, turning to look behind as if expecting the viewer to follow.

Thrax also tied putting on his stag mask, to see if it added any additional visions. He, like Gnarl with the wolf mask, ended up fighting a spirit animal, but nothing else occurred.

Heading back up to the tomb level, the party spent time searching the cairn room again, still not sure they'd found the actual tomb of the Woad Chief. But they uncovered nothing new, and decided it would be best to head back to civilization to regroup and rest before any further adventures. Gathering donkey and companions, they returned to the mainland to recover their hidden cart and treasure. Unfortunately, the cart and the 'red herring' treasure was gone; Gnarl determined men had followed them up the river and took both back the way they came. They immediately assumed it was the men from Farend they'd encountered a few days earlier. But at least they didn't find the copper, so they loaded poor Feedbag down with treasure (leaving behind any excess unnecessary goods) and headed home. They made the trip (with a stop at the satyrs fountain to heal up) without undue trouble and were back in Brakenrae in  number of days.

One there, they sold some treasure and stocked up on supplies and cold iron weapons. A trip to Jaskin identified their potion (true seeing) and provided no additional information on the dream honey and the waters from the barrow.  They also paid a visit to the  antiquarian, Timpanious, and hired him to search for more information on the Yellow Cloud Prophet. Asking around town for possible buyers/experts for some of their unusual treasure items, the party learned Clodwin, Thayn of Kreland's Ford, would be their best bet for selling the painting (and the now non-smoking animal masks). For information on the lanterna bush, Thorguld of Wickerwood would be their best bet. A glance at the map showed these were (of course) in opposite directions. So the party decided to first head for Kreland's Ford, then travel north  through the Forest to search for the sword and tower from the farm lads tale, then come back though Wickerwood. By the time they returned, hopefully Timpanious would have information to pass along regarding the Yellow Cloud Prophet. And so another great expedition began ...

TOTAL XP
6820

GAINS

Ring with ruby, diamond and emerald (1000sp)
Gilded bronze medallion of the green man (10sp)
Marble pestle and mortar (20sp)
2x wax-sealed glass jars of dream honey (100sp each)
Silver bowl (20sp)
Brass jug (10sp)
Ultramarine cluster brooch (100sp)
Painting by an Old Master (500sp)
Golden wine chalice (200sp)
Garland of crystallized spring flowers (250sp).
Lightbringer (Spear +1, light 3 times a day, shocking grasp 1d8+3 once per day)
2x Healing Herbs (as Potion of Healing)
2x Arrows of Burrowing (+1 to hit, continues to dig in for 3 rounds, doing 1d6 damage each round)

KILLS/VICTORIES

1 Spirit Stag

LOSSES
none