Forest of Wyrd Session # 50 - The Autumn Maiden

 DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

Ranza (Changeling 5)

Gnarl (Wood Gnome 5)
Hobbs (Hedgefey 5) 

Thrax (Fighter 4)

The palace itself was small, with four towers set in the surrounding walls, and two  more rising above a covered portico where a set of wide marble stairs led up to a pair of massive doors. Curiously, a very narrow bridge or buttress connects the inner towers with the two front towers on the outer wall. The palace itself seemed to consist of just a few floors, topped by a translucent white dome. 

Hobbs and Gnarl lead the way into the ragged garden, heading forward to look into the scum covered pool. With a little poking about, Gnarl noted one interesting thing; when the green algae was cleared away, the reflection in the pool showed the palace intact and in pristine condition. Meanwhile, Thrax had emerged from the entrance gate and decided to head straight towards the palace stairs and doors. As he passed the overgrown garden however, there was a stirring among the branches and out popped a black, tangled mass of torn and bark. It lashed at Thrax, cutting a deep gouge into his arm, which immediately turned black and began to fester.  Gnarl and Hobbs rushed forward to help, while Ranza and the baby stayed behind and out of danger. The trio chopped the brambling to pieces, but were alerted to the presence of another when Ranza cried out. She (and luckily not the baby) received a horrible wound as well before this second creature was dispatched. They all stopped to bind their wounds, and Gnarl announced both wounds were pulsing with poison. But alas there was little he could do to help for now; they'd have to hang on until the morrow. 

Reassured(?) by the wood gnomes advice, the party headed now towards the stairs. They lay under an overhanging roof supported by a pair of pillars. The doors were covered in a geometric pattern and made of a silver, yet now tarnished, metal. Over the lintel was written "Strife comes only to those who bring strife with them". Suspicious, Thrax pulled out the quilt of augury, and asked if it was safe for him to enter the doors. The quilt  rearranged itself to show Thrax opening the door, and then disintegrating into a pile of dust. That was not reassuring. After a few attempts to use the reflection in the pool as a means to enter, Hobbs threw caution to the wind and dropped all his weapons to the ground. Pushing on the door, he found they swung opening easily and allowed him entry. But then closed quickly before anyone else could follow. Having seen no danger or disintegration, everyone else followed after dropping their weapons (even Thrax). It seemed the quilt had lied. 

They found themselves in a pristine and glittering, white marble entrance hall. In the middle were a couple of glass and metal tables, atop which sat decenters of wine, goblets and bowls of fruit. At the far end of the hall a delicate metal staircase circled upwards around a tall shooting column of water. Thrax went to examine the fountain, discovering that items thrown in do come back down. Except, curiously, the red wine he tossed in; it did seem to disappear. Meanwhile, the other three checked one of the doors that lead off the entrance chamber. Inside they found a room subdivided by blankets, tapestries and towels to form a number of small private bedchambers. They also heard the sounds of sobbing, and another voicing saying "There, there. It will be all right ..." Following the voices, they came upon a pair of woman sitting on one of the beds. The younger was the one weeping, and at her side an older woman was trying to comfort her. Curiously, the older woman was dressed quite anachronisticly, while the younger was in the current height of fashion. After some initial surprise, the older lady (Hilla) was happy to answer their questions. Explaining she and her companion (Erid) were nursemaids for the children of the Autumn Lady, Hilla explained Erid was upset as she was new here and just learning her life now was to remain in the palace forever. It seemed the Autumn Maiden would snatch woman, who has recently lost a newborn themselves,  from the realm of men and brought them here to care for the fey endangered babies she likewise pulled through her mirror. When asked, Hilla said she could not take the baby; the party would have to present the child to the Autumn Maiden herself, who dwelled at the top of the palace. 

Taking their leave, the party headed up the stairs. There they emerged into a hall filled with statues of strange beings. 

• A darkly beautiful woman with no mouth, dressed in a red silk robe. 
• A woman of indeterminate age in a blue silk dress, but whose lower body (emerging from water) was obviously not human.
• A woman with dark skin and hair of autumn foliage, recognized by Hobbs (thanks to his vision) as the Autumn Maiden. 
• A woman of alabaster completion, wearing a white feathered headdress and white leather bodice and skirts. But with no legs, and holding a scepter of gold, crystal and pearls. 
• A woman with pale skin and hair of starlight, dressed in a fuligin robe. 
• A woman with bronze skin in a bronze robe, with a head formed of owls wings.
• A faceless pre-teen girl in a plain dress.
• The Green Man.

Not quite sure what to make of these, the party simply searched around  them, looking for hidden ways that may lead up to the dome, as there was no stairs or other means of access to be seen. They found nothing, and now tried the doors that lead out of the room to north and south. Through each they found a garden bower, guarded by a knight in full plate, and filled with babies, children playing, and nursemaids. (Curiously, the bowers and it's inhabitants changed each time they returned.) Speaking to one of the nursemaids, they learned again only that they would have to bring the baby to the Autumn Maiden, and they offered no hints as to how to reach her dome.

The party was now left to figure out how to get up to the top level and the dome. They tried searching for secret doors in likely places, and used detect invisibility to find anything that might be helpful. Hobbs even recklessly rode the fountain, hoping it would propel him to the dome. But all to no avail. In the end, Gnarl pulled out the greenstone of earthseeing so he could look deep into the walls. The wood gnome discovered stairs leading up the inner towers, and after rushing downstairs discovered a secret door leading into one of the outer towers where there was another set of stairs. By this they figured out the only way up was to climb the outer tower, cross the tiny narrow bridge to the inner tower, and then up those stairs to the dome. And so it was done, and the party was happy to find it was pretty much impossible to fall off the narrow filigree bridge that spanned the towers. 

Emerging onto the top of the palace, they passed a pair of rose beds, climbed a short flight of stairs and entered the dome. There they were shushed by a waiting nursemaid, and watched as the Autumn Maiden, sitting on a simple stone bench in the middle of the room, reached through  a large ornate mirror and hauled out a screaming baby. This she handed to the nursemaid, who immediately slipped out the door and left the party with her patron. 

The party started off by offering the child into the Autumn Maiden's care; she summoned another nursemaid and sent the baby on its way. They then started asking her some question. First, was whether she could do anything about their two diseased companions. This she could not, airily directing them to her sister Broann, the Wych of the High Moor [hex 06.06]. They then asked why she gathered in those babies at risk from the fey? She responded with a story of the Forest in the days of the arrival of the D'war, the first men. Her father, the Green Man, and his fellow wood gods, the Black Mother and Prince in Yellow,  resented the arrival of man and fought against them. But man was too strong, so the Green Man opened portals to Faerie to allow the dark fey into the forest to fight at his side. The war was terrible, and the Autumn Maiden was turned from her father and his allies by the horrors they inflicted on men. She dedicated herself to protecting those young mortals who risked being taken by the fey. Asked about her sisters, she said some remained loyal to the Green Man, some turned against him and some stayed neutral. And asked about the Green Man, she told them her eventually turned against the dark faerie as well, but the war had sapped his power and he (plus the Black Mother and Prince in Yellow) had fallen into a slumber. Their presence was still woven thought the forest, but less overt than it once had been. The party finally asked her what happened to the babies she saved? Once grown up and able to fend for themselves, she told them, the children would be sent back through the mirror to another place and time to rejoin the mortal realm. 

And for the last, they asked how to get back to the mortal realm. The Autumn Maiden offer them four gold necklaces, on each of which dangled a large teardrop of amber. Each contained a golden leaf; dog rose, shamrock, oak and mistletoe. They could use these to go back through the gate to the garden, and then out through the toadstool ring to the caverns. Each would also, once per month, allow to wearer to meld with that plant in the wild and be hidden from all sight and detection. 

Thanking her for the gift, the party at once retraced their steps, and without further adieu found themselves back in the caverns. Their first shock was Feedbag and the white stag , whom they'd left behind, were long dead. Gnarl figured, based on the remains,  they'd been dead for well over a year. That was their first clue that they were the victims once again of the weird time flow in Faerie. Hobbs recovered his saddle, and the party headed out of the caverns. And into a bright spring day, quite unlike the cold winter weather they'd been in just two days before. After a nights rest (and a few neutralize poison from Gnarl to cure Ranza and Thrax), the party headed back to the town of Upland. Once there, they learned about a year and a half had passed since they entered the Garden ... 

TOTAL XP 

4150 [shared]; plus 4800xp each  [Gnarl, Ranza, Hobbs, Thrax] 

GAINS

4 Amulets of Autumn 

KILLS/VICTORIES

2 Black Bramblings 

LOSSES

nil

Forest of Wyrd Session # 49 - One of Us! One of Us!

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

Jonesomon (Specialist 5)

Ranza (Changeling 5)

Gnarl (Wood Gnome 5)
Hobbs (Hedgefey 5) 

Thrax (Fighter 4)

Vegarious (Changeling 3) 

Finally catching their collective breath, the party was suddenly and unexpectedly joined by Jonesomon and Vegarious. Now full strength they were ready to keep moving towards their goal of finding the Autumn Maiden and turn over the orphan child to her care. They continued east along the trail through the woods, coming soon to a shallow ravine. At the bottom trickled a stream which disappeared into small cave. They descended the slope, and then moved towards the dark opening. Gnarl cast light into the entrance with his spear, then Thrax and Jonesomon headed in  to investigate. They immediately observed a pair of squat figures, giant frogs, barring the way. Jonesomon slipped into the shadows to move behind the pair, while Thrax walked bolding towards them. And was attacked by the creatures sticky tongues. He avoided any real hurt, thanks to Jonesomon stabbing the creatures from behind and the rest of the party rushing in to help from the front.   

With the frogs out of the way, Thrax and Jonesomon continued into the back of the cave, where the stream disappeared into a  narrow cleft of the rock. Jammed there was a bright and shiny kite-shield, which Thrax immediately claimed; and immediately became very possessive of. 

Done with the cave, the party moved further east down the ravine, which soon petered to an end. A trail climbed both east and north, and the party opted to go north in search of the 'Fountain of All Heal' the leprechauns had mentioned. Before doing so, Jonesomon checked the slope for any surprises. As he did so, he also noted a hidden cave entrance at the back of the ravine. Thickly overgrown with vine and brush, they'd walked within feet of it and not seen it. Going over to look closer, they were surprised to hear a tree, standing next to the opening, speak to them with a slow, sonorous voice. The tree, whose name they learned was Boomdulus, warned them off the cave, which he stated was his home.  The party complied, and took the opportunity to question Boomdulus above the garden. He was amendable to the questioning, through his answers were a bit vague and focused more on the plants of the garden than anything else. But they did learn they needed to use the Maze to find the Autumn Maiden, who dwelled in a magnificent palace of white in some hidden location accessible only viay the Maze. He also made some some wavy comments about 'the gardener', comments on which the treant did not elaborate. 

The party took their leave of Boomdulus, and climbed the north trail. It soon opened into a wide meadow of grass and flowers. The trial continued north, passing a pair of rose arbours, and a large square hedge to the east.  To the west was a large pond, in the centre of which stood a white open-air building. In spite of all the options, first order of business was to trace the stream they could see flowing into said lake, hoping it would lead to the 'Fountain of All Heal'. Avoiding an unfriendly looking pair of unicorn, the party did indeed find the fountain at the source of the stream. The crystal clear water poured out of a crack in a rocky outcrop, gathering in a stone basin marked with the words "Fountain of All Heal", before spilling over the edge and forming the stream. Everyone (except Vegarious and Ranza) immediately slacked their thirst. And everyone felt their hurts and harms healed; while Hobbs suddenly felt a new appreciation for the garden. He felt this was a place he could stay and end his wandering, adventurous ways. Jonesomon experienced a similar feeling when he drank again from the fountain a little later. But both were dragged along to finish their current quest; bring the baby to the Autumn Maidan.   

The party headed over the check the the large square hedge, which Boomdulus had told them was the maze that lead to the Autumn Maidan. They found it was just as the treant described, and plunged into the winding paths, leaving various means of  tracking their way behind them. Which was good, as the path seemed shift and contract as they moved, and it took many hours to reach the centre. Here they found a sundial, strangely stuck on noon regardless of the position of the sun in the sky overhead. Around the edge of the sundial were carved recesses of four different leaves; a dog-rose, oak, mistletoe and shamrock. They quickly surmised that this was some sort of gate or teleporter which could be activated by bringing samples of those plants and placing them on the sundial. So they retraced their steps out of the maze again, ready to search. The dog-rose they recalled seeing at the fountain, and it was claimed quickly. 

The others were not immediately obvious though, so the party decided to set up camp and rest, the sky increasingly getting dark. In the morning, they checked the two rose arbours to no effect, other than some strange weakness that overcame Jonesomon and Thrax. Unsure of what to do next, they headed for the lake. There they found a small punt tied to a neat little dock, and everyone climbed aboard to pole over the the building. But made it only halfway before they were accosted by a pair of giant otters, who splashed about the boat and did everything they could to stop the party from getting to the building. Gnarl cast speak with animals, and he and the wholly garden-enamored Hobbes questioned the two. The otters wouldn't tell them anything about the building, but offered to tell them where to find the missing leaves if they rowed back to shore. Which the party did, figuring they could come back latter. Once on dry land, the otters directed them to a hidden oak grove to the south to get mistletoe and oak, and back to the leprechauns for shamrock. 

The party decided to loop north around the lake to get back to the leprechauns, taking care to avoid the satyrs. They found the little men just beyond the toadstool circle, still glum and grumpy from loosing the riddle contest to the party the day before. But they brightened up when Jonesomon flashed his dozen Imperium gold coins in their faces, and offered them in return for a shamrock. And he quickly made them fully cooperative by making sure the split of gold was uneven; neither leprechaun wanted any of the others to end up with more gold then he. So in short order the party had it shamrock, and learned the reason for the otters defensiveness as well. It seemed their young laired in the building, and they would risk none to enter and harm them.  

Taking leave of the leprechauns again, the party looped back around to the location of the hidden grove. It was a dark hollow, dominated by twisted old oaks and hanging vines clustered with mistletoe. It looked downright unhealthy and unfriendly, so Hobbs was volunteered to enter under the cloak of an invisibility spell courtesy of Vegarious. The hedgefey was able to gather the leaf and mistletoe without harm, though several of the knurled burrs on the oaks seemed to 'eye' him warily. 

Now with all the leaves in hand, the party returned to the centre of the maze and placed them on the sundial. Suddenly the view shifted, and they found themselves standing inside a short entrance tunnel. Behind them the way was blocked by a meshed, wrought iron gate, through which they could be the lake and garden they'd just left. Ahead could be seen a many spired palace, but which was much worst for wear. The walls were stained, shutters broken, moss and wild vines climbed the towers. Between them and the palace, the courtyard was choked with a wild overgrown garden ... 

TOTAL XP 

100

GAINS

Shield -1, Missile Attractor 

KILLS/VICTORIES

2 Giant Frogs

LOSSES

nil

Forest of Wyrd Session #48 - Into the Garden Dome

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

Ranza (Changeling 5)

Gnarl (Wood Gnome 5)
Hobbs (Hedgefey 5) 

Thrax (Fighter 4)

Moving through the now safe mud pool, the party followed the small trickling stream through a winding passageway before coming to an intersection. Here they found a small pool of clear water into which the stream flowed from the northern passage, whereas the southern branch proved to be a dead end. Before continuing along the stream, Gnarl and Thrax  examined to pool. The bottom was filled with small round stones, of no particular note until Thrax used his shield to dig some out. When viwed outside the water, they could see a small handful of uncut gems amongst the plain river stones. These were scooped up immediately. 

Following the stream further, the party soon came to another large chamber. Here they encountered a heavenly music, tinkling soft and flowing. At the end of the cavern was an unusual sight; a waterfall and pool seemingly frozen in time and not moving. The surface of the pool was like that of tar, gradually getting harder as one approached the waterfall. Which itself was yielding, yet hard. Hobbs tossed a pebble which embedded itself into the waterfall; he also noted that it gradually 'flowed' down into the pool, taking several minutes to do so. Ranza, searching around the edges of the waterfall, spied something behind it. Maybe a room or chamber. But extensive search and experiments revealed no way to access it, though Gnarl used the greenstone to confirm the presence of a worked chamber and alcove. Anyone or anything that tried to pass through the 'water' was simply pushed down by the force of the flow before they could get through.  Somewhat stumped, the party backtracked to the question room to ask for help, and were told to 'be as the water should be'.  

Interpreting this as 'move fast', the party headed back to the waterfall and experimented a bit more. And they found the faster the object, the further it would penetrate into the water. So Thrax guzzled his potion of speed, stripped to his teddy-bear loincloth, and charged at the waterfall. And made it through!  Everyone else waited to see what happened next, but after some time started to wonder if the fighter would ever reappear. Figuring it was better to follow him than wait any longer, the party summoned the nightmare steed. Leaving Feedbag and the stag behind, they all climbed aboard and and used the summoned steed's enormous speed to  smash through the waterfall. On the other side was the chamber. A ruined couch and table sat at the centre, and a pile of broken glass littered the floor. Around both the main room and the alcove were mosaics of geometric patterns and woodland scenes. Observing no Thrax, they started searching around until Hobbs stepped into the alcove and disappeared! Seeing no other options, everyone else followed ...

... and found themselves with Thrax and Hobbs in a verdant wooded garden. Unlike the cool autumn world they'd left behind, this garden was at the blazing height of summer with tress in leaf, flowers in bloom, insects buzzing and birds singing.  They stood in a ring of large toadstools, atop which sat 5 diminutive figures with pointed hats, red cheeks and sickening grins. They immediately started to chant a series of rhymes:

"There's a fountain somewhere in this garden

Whose waters, we hear, sometimes harden,

But a drink now and then

Cures all in our ken,

And may even bring forth cries of "Pardon."

There's a lovely building just here

With turrets and domes far and near.

Tis a shame you can't spy it

As we urge you to try it.

Solve the puzzle and see it appear!

Some may think that our maze is a pest

But it shelters a haven of rest,

And ere anyone leaves

They must leave more that leaves

And then honour our master's request.

There are leaves in the garden to trace

and a maze with a clear central space

with a leaf in your hand

you could stand and stand

but to leave, leave the leaves in their place"

They continued to repeat this chant until interrupted by Hobbs. He asked about the Autumn Maiden, as they had a baby to bring into her protection. The creatures countenance immediately became foul, muttering something about babies having ruined the fun and the 'Summer Queen" never came to visit and play anymore because of the stupid babies. Some additional questioning revealed the Summer Queen and the Autumn Maiden were one and the same. In an effort to get more information, Hobbs offered the leprechauns a riddle. If they answered correctly, he'd give them  prize. If not, they would explain one of their riddles to the party. Hobbs asked: "When it's young it's tall, when it's old it's short. What am I?" After much puzzling, the leprechauns were unable to get the right answer: a candle. Now even more sour and glum, they explained the first riddle. There was a fountain in the garden to the east which, if drunk from, would cure all one's ill's and injuries. And then the five disappeared. 

The party then crawled out of the ring, taking care to avoid touching the toadstools. There was a trail there, so they headed east. After passing over a small stream, they followed along a complex winding path through the open woodland, always taking the branch that led further east. They did take one side path which lead into a small clearing under a large elm tree. A keg sat below the tree, and four pallets of straw lay along the edge of the clearing among the flowering scrubs. On each pallet was an object: a dagger, javelin, and on two earthenware mugs. The party examined each in turn, but decided to not disturb any of it. Suddenly, as they prepared to leave the clearing, the sound of pipes rose from beyond the clearing. Thrax at once started to feel woozy, and fell asleep at their feet. Then into the clearing stepped a quartet of satyrs, looking foul and hostile. The party, remembering the stricture from the cavern to not molest the garden inhabitants, tried to talk. But the four advanced and started to club them viciously. The party tired to avoid fighting, retreating and parrying the creatures blows, and experimenting with various means to turn the satyrs away. They also tired planting the acorn found in Eya's manse, remembering the other stricture to climb an oak tree if attacked in the garden (there were no oak trees around).  When this resulted in no magical tree appearing, and with the club blows continuing, Ranza used colour spray to take down three of the satyrs, and the party used the flats of their swords to knock the last one unconscious. And then they fled, following the path south and east until well away before stopping to rest and bind wounds ...  

TOTAL XP 

640

GAINS

Uncut gems (2x10sp, 40sp, 25sp, 20sp, 15sp)

KILLS/VICTORIES

4 Satyrs [Defeated]

LOSSES

nil

Forest of Wyrd Session # 47 - The Entrance Caves

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

Ranza (Changeling 5)

Gnarl (Wood Gnome 5)
Hobbs (Hedgefey 5) 

Thrax (Fighter 4)

The party entered the caves, passing down a short passage and into a chamber with two exits. There was no obvious better choice, so Gnarl sparked up his light spear and everyone headed down the northern route. This led into another chamber with multiple exits; north, south and east. Scattered on the floor were bits of broken stone, obviously debris from the stalactites hanging overhead. Moving into the room, suddenly a number of the stones rose up from the floor. Thrax tried to brush these away with his shield, but with no success. And then the stones started to hurl themselves at the party, while at he same time ghostly voices could be heard chanting: "Molest not the garden creatures"; "Climb an oak tree if the garden creatures chase you". The stones started to impact, and on each hit a strange terror briefly washed over the victim. Then one hit The Dude, who bolted in terror for the northern exit. The party followed after it, only to find the poor mule dissolving in a pile of ochre jelly. Unable to save the creature, Thrax (still giant sized from the earlier potion) reached over to save his bone harp from the baggage, and then everyone followed Hobbs and his stag out through the rock room and into the eastern passage.

This led by twists and turns into another chamber, larger and with a pool of mud at the far side. Next to the mud were two strange pillars or piles, and a slow trickle of water entered the pool from a cavern entrance beyond it. On closer exemption, the pillars proved to be piles of dried mud. Gnarl started chipping away at these, while the giant Thrax waded into the pool to try and reach the exit on the other side. This provoked a response, as six vaguely humanoid shapes rose up and started to hurl balls of mud at the fighter. Several hits later and the fighter could feel his joints start to tighten up and his movement slow drastically from the clotting clay. He backed away out of the pool, and which point the six forms subsumed back into the mud. As Thrax scrapped off mud, Gnarl and the others had successfully deconstructed the two pillars. Each hid a human form, mummified by the mud. It appeared each had died as they were crawling away from the pool. Recovering a few bits of treasure and useful items from the corpses', the party then decided to turn around and look for another way into the secret garden.

Moving back through the twisted tunnel, Gnarl hauled out the Greenstone of Earthseeing to see what lurked at the end of some of the bypassed tunnels. He mostly observed dead ends, one of which contained a body. There was also a tall cylinder of a room back near the entrance, which suggested to the party it may be an elevator up to the garden. So they rushed back through the stone throwing room and, first, into the occupied dead end. It was full of a deadly mass of stalagmites and stalactites sticking out into the tunnel, on one of which was impaled the skeleton of a long dead adventurer. Once more they looted a bit of coin (and a magical amulet) from the body before moving back through the stone fusillade and back to the entrance cavern. From there they entered the cylindrical room. On the floor was written a single word: "Ask". So questions poured forth, most of which went unanswered. Ranza asked about getting into the garden, and did get a reply. And was told the entrance was deeper in the caverns beyond the mud pool, and they would need to use all their skills to get there. 

Now apparently having no choice but deal with the mud men, the party first choose to rest in this side tunnel for the night. Then next day headed back though the stone room again and into the mud chamber. After trying to think of an easy way to get over the pool without attracting the mud men, they finally decided brute force would have to do. Thrax and Hobbs (on his stag) stepped into the pool and once more the mud men emerged and starting flinging mud, and also hurling themselves bodily at their foes. Soon both Ranza and the baby she carried were suffocating beneath layers of caked mud, as was Hobb's stag. Gnarl rescued the baby and Ranza, wiping away the encasing mud from both, while Hobbs took a moment to help his mount the same way. And in the end, a steady rain of blows took out the mud men one by one and the party's path was clear ... 

TOTAL XP 

1703

GAINS

10cp

72 sp

3gp

gem (150sp)

gold ring (30sp)

Amulet of Weather Prediction

KILLS/VICTORIES

6 Mudmen

LOSSES

The Dude

Forest of Wyrd Session # 46 - Across the Witches' Fingers

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

Ranza (Changeling 5)

Gnarl (Wood Gnome 5)
Hobbs (Hedgefey 5) 

Thrax (Fighter 4)

Once on the other side of the gate, Hobbs was disappointed to see Hoppy the frog had not come with them; the frog steed must have munched his lunch in Faerie. At least Hobbs was able to retain the saddle. The party, resolved now to leave the valley and Fortress behind,  and to follow the paths laid by Eya, stopped first at the tower of the Queen of Ravens to recover their mules and say their goodbyes. She was somewhat unamused by their inability to recover her Ravensguard and from what little they'd accomplished under their alliance. But she let them go without molestation. 

The party headed back to Mikan and Allisan's cabin to rest a day before taking care of their final task in the valley; bringing the Book of Seven Souls to Ygrite and have her petition her Samnuha the Watcher on their behalf. The party headed out on cold windy day and reached the witch's tor by mid afternoon. She greeted them cordially and gladly accepted the gift of the book. She told them to return that night when the moon was high in the sky and she would call on Samnuha. This they did, and watched as the witch built a blazing bonfire on the bare hill. And then she stepped into the flames! Moments later, a deep masculine voice emerged to ask: "What would you ask to see of that which the Watcher has seen?" The party had three questions ready (after shouting down Thrax, who tried to ask about his sister):

• How to Free the Prince Who Would Be? Requires the Crown of the Forest, located in the tomb of the Half Blood King. 
• Was Eya Telling them the Truth About the Seals? Mainly yes. The dark fey do want the caverns to remain sealed and the shadow wyrm imprisoned; but could very well renege if the circumstances change to their advantage. 
• How Does One Close a Fairy Gate? Usually by destroying that which anchors it in the fey and mortal realms. This can be the same object, or different items. Destroying it on one side of the gate stops passage only from that direction; both must be destroyed to close the gate completely. There are exceptions to the rule; some gates are tied to a person or creature; so the person/creature must be killed to close the gate.  

Questioning complete, Ygrite stepped out of the fire unharmed and the party took their leave to settle in for the rest of the night in their forest camp. A heavy snow fell overnight, and the party trudged their way slowly back to the disappearing fey tower, which luckily was there this time. There they rested until the weather cleared and they could get back to Mikan and Allisan. There they recovered the mules and said their goodbyes, then headed back over the hills to where their raft was hidden on the banks of the River or Sorrows.  

The next day was a sunny one, and they loaded up the raft and pushed it out into midstream, headed downstream towards those lakes known as the Witches Fingers. Progress was swift and unimpeded on the river, and they turned north into the Western Finger before the sun was at high noon. Skirting the eastern shore, they were headed for the town of Upland for news and supplies when suddenly there was a disturbance on the nearby shore. A white stag burst out of the undergrowth and, charging into the water, swam towards the raft. Moments later, a trio of dire wolves followed, likewise diving into the lake to follow the panicked deer. The stag reached the raft, and all feared it would overturn them as it struggled to climb aboard. Gnarl cast a charm mammal and convinced it to swim around to the other side and let the party deal with the wolves. Hobbs meanwhile hauled out the saddle of domestication and slapped it on the animals back, thereby replacing his frog mount with a white stag. Meanwhile, on the landward side of the raft, Ranza had cast colour spray and momentarily took all three wolves out of the fight.  Two soon regained consciousness, but the third had drowned in the meantime. The two survivors, sensing they'd lost their easy prey, turned to swim back to the forest under a hail of arrows from the rest of the party. Both were able to escape, through each was struck by arrows multiple times. 

The rest of the day passed without incident, and by late afternoon they pulled the raft out of the water at the base of one of the innumerable bluffs that lined the shore, just below the town of Upland. They climbed the steep hill via a faint path, reaching the top amidst flocks of sheep and scattered farms. Upland itself was a crude motte and baily structure of wooded walls and wooded buildings, while to the north of town they could see the image of a woman in robes carved out of the turf on the chalk hillside. Asking a passing shepherd for directions, they were directed to the Inn of the Tiny Moon where they took lodging for the night from the chipmunk hedgefey proprietor, Sqizzle.  Questioning the hyperactive fellow and, later that night, a few other patrons gleaned a little information about the area:

• The townsfolk were vaguely aware of the Autumn Maiden, and confirmed the information received from Eya. She dwelt in a garden hidden under a crystal dome some ways north of town, overlooking the Middle Finger. The dome sat on a hilltop, but could only be seen in the light of the setting sun. There was a cave at the base of the hill where the simple folks would sometimes go to ask a simple boon, which was often answered.  
• The figure on the hillside was St. Danu, the patron saint of mothers and children. Further questioning revealed forms of worship the Church would probably consider somewhat heretical, all led by a trio of women know as the Maiden, Mother and Crone. The party also gleaned  connections between St Danu and the Autumn Maiden, but decided to not point that out to their guests. 
• North towards the mountains was all boggins and bears.  Look out for the boggins of the hidden Lethean Well!
• Looking to change their coin into portable treasure, they learned their best bet was to seek audience with Thayn Thorfin Bluefeather. 

Thrax and Gnarl headed out to the other, seedier establishment in town, the Dagger and Mountain Tavern, for a few drinks and a burping contest. The rest of the party headed into town to try meeting with the Thayn's steward, Othland the Tall. They found the aptly named servant and were successful in getting an audience with Thayn Thorfin. But Othland suggested waiting for later in the day when his lordship would be better lubricated and hence in a better mood. This the party did, and dutifully presented themselves at the Thayn's manor that evening.  The burly, hirsute lord was much impressed by them, taking and especial likeness to Ranza.  They traded news back and forth, and the party was also able to turn their coin into jewelry and gems. 

Business in town complete, they stayed one more night and then headed back to the raft and points north, all under a light wet snowfall. They travelled quickly, reaching a point west of the cave/dome before noon. One more beaching the raft and climbing a hill, they found at the crest a faint path and a curious signpost labelled 'Court of the Warbelowe'. It pointed to the east, down an even fainter path. Curious, they none the less decided to ignore all side treks and headed along the path towards the location of the cave. As they searched the base of the hill, Gnarl noted there were some unusual tracks in the snow. And at about that same time, those that made the tracks emerged from the adjacent pines. Two strange writhing vine creatures, and Nibblewick, the annoyed little s**t who'd dogged their footsteps since the first Goblin Fair. The malicious fairy turned the vine things on the party, and soon Hobbs and Thrax were lashed tightly and immobile by the creatures. Gnarl tried using entangle to neutralize Nibblewick, but for some inexplicable reason the spell failed. He then used his plant control potion to have Thrax released, who in turn used his growth potion to turn into a massive killing machine. Hobbs also broke free and used Stonethorn to hurl boulders, while Ranza  blinded Nibblewick. One vine creature as cut down, and the second charmed monster was likewise neutralized. On the edge of defeat, the fairy disappeared, and an immediate search of the area could find no trace of him. So the party turned their attention back to the hill and soon uncovered a cave entrance ...

TOTAL XP 

300

GAINS

none

KILLS/VICTORIES

2 Vine-Stranglers

1 Dire Wolf

LOSSES

none