Forest of Wyrd Session #7 - Rivals and Rewards

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

Gnarl (Wood Gnome 1)
Jonesomon (Specialist 1)
Vergarious (Changeling 1)
Ranza (Changeling 1)
Hobbs (Hedgefey 1)
Thrax (Fighter 1)

A glance down the tunnel showed that things were not quite right. There were faint signs of torch light flickering further down the passage, from an opening on the right Gnarl had not seen when he looked a week ago. While everyone else covered him, Jonesomon cautiously moved down to investigate.  He didn't get far before a figure emerged from the opening, raised a bow with arrow nocked and said "Stay friend; don't make me shoot" The specialist listened and retreated, going back to discuss with the rest of the party. The new fighter Thrax decided to take his chances, and walked down the corridor towards the man. The two exchanged friendly but cautious banter, even breaking bread and sharing tea. But the man (Ofra) was adamant that Thrax not approach too close; as it turned out, he and his companions had stumbled into the now open tomb and were doing a little looting. When Thrax decided to push his luck, the man shot and narrowly missed with an arrow, after which the fighter took a likewise close swing at him with his axe and shoved past him into the far end the corridor (which ended a chamber with a hole in the ceiling and a mysterious mist on the floor.) 

With party members now to both sides, Ofra was ready to keep talking. They reached an agreement that the tomb robbers (of which there were five) would split their spoils with the party and the two groups would depart without bloodshed. From this deal the party gained a curious bone harp, a small bronze amphorae and a gilt bronze bangle. Ofra then his men to the end of the hallway, tossed a rope and grappling hook up to the hole in the ceiling, and they climbed hand over hand up the rope and out the hole. Questioned, Ofra was coy about the dangers of the mist and why they were avoiding it, but the party guessed it wasn't safe based on their behavior. Jonesomon meanwhile had gone out on top of the barrow, only to see the men leave through the main entrance. Apparently they'd missed some other way down to the tomb level in their previous exploration. 

With that done, the party turned to the now looted tomb, On the walls were images of domesticity; women cooking, caring the children, serving food and drink to the warriors, and so on.  The tomb itself was simply four stone slabs topped by two others, one of which had been pushed onto the floor. Inside were three skeletons dressed in tattered and rotten remnants of clothing; a fourth had already been pulled onto the floor. 

Leaving this now looted tomb behind, the party pried away the stone slab they'd passed in the corridor. This revealed another tomb of similar design, but with paintings depicting Guri Bin Gur riding off to war, boar hunting and other mounted pursuits. When they lifted off this tomb lid, they found inside the remains of a horse. On it's head was a rotted gilt bronze chamfron, and lying at it's side a saddle in still excellent condition. Removing these, the party then shifted the horse's skeleton aside. This uncovered a small hole, about 2 feet across, in the bottom. Jonesomon volunteered to  crawl in and see where it ended up, finding that the tunnel went down for a bit before angling up again. But he never made it to the end, as he nearly bumped right into a transparent mass. He backpedaled as quick as he could, followed by the thing. It exploded out into the horse tomb close on the specialist's heals, and lashed out at Vegarious who was standing nearby. The blob felled the changeling, who dropped unconscious to the floor. Everyone else lashed out at it, largely with torches and oil until it had become engulfed in flames, and sizzled and popped to a burned goo. Hobbs scrapped away the remains, and then he and Gnarl crawled through the tunnel. 

At the end, the diminutive duo found a third tomb. It was like the other two, but had no paintings on the wall. The two guided the rest of the party to where they suspected a door was hidden in the hallway, which Ranza found easily and with everyone elses help was able to pull down the stone slab and open up an easier way in and out. They then lifted off one of the tomb lids, expecting the worst. But instead simply found the remains of a man dressed and equip with a glittering array of gold and silver grave-goods; helmet with silver boar crest, sliver inlaid spear, ornate bronze shield, and many others. After admiring for a moment, they carefully and respectfully stripped the body of Guri Bin Gur of all it's glittering accouterments. When done that, Gnarl glanced out into the hallway and saw that the mystery mist was now drifting down the hallway towards them. Knowing that couldn't be good, they gathered their loot and fled the barrow. 

The loaded up Feedbag's cart with treasure and the unconscious Vergarious, then headed for the satyrs fountain to heal their fallen comrade. That done, they turned back towards Brakenrae to celebrate their success.   And this time they could afford to stay in the inn rather than the stable! They also started looking for a more permanent and private base of operations, thinking about buying or renting a place out of which they could stage their adventures. Thrax also took the bronze amphorae to Jaskin the alchemist, bargaining with the prickly man and getting a good price on identifying the contents; a potion of clairvoyance.  Hobbs meanwhile played with the saddle, and figured out that this Saddle of Domestication could be used to tame and ride almost any suitable wild mount. Jonesomon marched off to talk to the local antiquarian, a man named Timpanious to learn more about the legend of Guri Bin Gur and his companions. Timpanious explained the blue figure in the paintings was the Woad Chief, leader of the D'war people in Guri Bin Gur's time. The yellow figure was the Yellow Cloud Prophet,  likewise a noted figure from that time. The three had lived in the years just before the first invasion of the forest by the dark fey, which was only defeated by an alliance between the D'war people and the seelie faerie who arrived alongside their dark cousins.  

TOTAL XP
7038

GAINS

Gilt bronze bangle (10sp)
Bone harp, gold and silver inlay (200sp)
Gold Torc (250sp)
Decorated helmet with a silver boar crest (250sp)
Silver inlaid spear (50sp)
Sword belt with gold fittings [rotted] (25sp)
Sword with silver inlay (50sp)
Ornate bronze faced shield with a grinning sun (150sp)
Tattered remains of fine cloak with gold thread (25sp)
Moonstone cloak pin (150sp)
Two gold finger rings (25 & 75sp)
Gold arm ring (150sp)
Silver drinking cup, stag hunt (75sp)
Scattering of coins from Guri Bin Gur's Tomb (9gp, 234sp)
Platinum coins from gelatinous cube (8pp)
Potion of Clairvoyance 
Saddle of Domestication

KILLS/VICTORIES

1 Gelatinous Cube

LOSSES
none

Forest of Wyrd Session #6 - At the Root of the Matter

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

Baihu Cerrit (Magic User 1)
Gnarl (Wood Gnome 1)
Jonesomon (Specialist 1)
Ethanna Brightward (Wyrd Paladin 1)
Vergarious (Changeling 1)

Ethanna raised her torch and cautiously led everyone down the passage. Ahead it opened into a chamber. Glancing around the corner, Ethanna could see an exit at the far opposite corner. But of more immediate concern was the large mass hanging from the ceiling and taking up most of the room. It was a waxy and white woody shape, much like the roots they'd just chopped through in the passage above.  Knowing the troubles they experienced there, the party did not rush in but took time to contemplate their course of action. It had been immobile when Ethanna first looked in, but their presence seems to be stirring it, and now roots started to reach out and flail about the room.

The party first tried flaming oil, Baihu hurling a pair of fire bombs at the thing. The fire did not seem to have much effect, much as the roots above. Ethanna then borrowed Vergarious' bow and took a few shots, hitting deep with one. She was also surprised to see the thing shift over towards her and flail out with it's roots. So everyone retreated back up the corridor to plan further. Gnarl stuffed a pile of cloth and other combustibles in one of his many sacks and lit it on fire. But rather than throw it at the creature, it got tossed over into the far corner, hoping that it would sense the heat and be distracted. It did react, sending many of it's tendrils over to investigate.  This was the opportunity for which the party was waiting. Led by Ethanna, they rushed in to attack the main body of the beast. Things went pear shaped quickly though. The mass shifted and twisted away from their blows, and it wasn't long before both Ethanna and Baihu were grabbed by the roots and lifted into the air, helpless as their arms and legs were pinned.  The acidic sap, same as that on the roots above, also started to burn through their skin. Jonesomon and Vergarious soon joined them in the clutches of the creature, leaving only Gnarl free. Vergarious was able to free an arm and tried to lash out with his flail but to no avail. The wood gnome first cast entangle, causing the few remaining limbs to get twisted up together and unable to lash out at him. He then used his blowgun to fire a lucky shot right at the base of the root where it hung from the ceiling. This did the trick, and the creature went limp and released the four who'd been captured. 

Unfortunately, both Ethanna and Baihu has succumbed to the acidic sap and were dead. Jonesomon and Vergarious were unconscious, but a little emergency aid from Gnarl keep them alive. While he waited for the pair to regain consciousness, the wood gnome explored the room. There was nothing of interest with the root creature, but along the north wall was a primitive painting. It was in poor condition, but seemed to depict the life of the hero Guri-Bin-Gur. It showed the hero and his companions hunting deer, wrestling cave bears, fighting in battle, and other legendary deeds. The far right panel depicted the death and burial of Guri-Bin-Gur. At this point the panel strangely started to emphasis one of his companions, a man who was now a bright blue colour. There was a third prominent figure coloured in yellow. At the end of the panel a pair of barrows were depicted; one was quite obviously the barrow of Guri-Bin-Gur while the other to the north seemed associated with the blue man. A piece of the painting was missing at this point, but hinted at the presence of a third barrow to the west,

Gnarl also glanced down the next passage to see a stone slab door to one side and a leather curtain further down on the opposite side. But he did not explore further, instead returning to the root chamber where he began to haul out the bodies of Ethanna and Baihu and placed them in the donkey cart. Luckily the roots barring the way had died along with the main root mass below. By this time Jonesomon and Vergarious had regained consciousness and crawled out on their own. Gnarl then led the donkey and and cart back towards the satyr's fountain where he hoped to gain healing for his companions.  They tossed silvers into the water and then Jonesomon and Vergarious lowered themselves in to soak. After about an hour the hurts from their near death experience were lifted, but both were still quite weak. During this time, the satyrs reappeared. Or rather, a different pair of satyrs, Rifus and Malock,  appeared out of the woods. After a short conversation, Gnarl and the others realized they were still back in the past around the time of the spring equinox. They had not 'yet' been to the fountain, and this pair of guardians were the ones on guard before the pair they'd meet on their other visit. All very confusing, and led to much discussion of what they could do. There was talk of using this as a second change to stop the kids Alish, Peta and Sim from being kidnapped and brought to Faerie. And maybe dealing with the irritating little s*&t who'd bedeviled them on that adventure. Even stranger than the fact their circumstances allowed such a wild plan was the fact this idea came from the hard nosed Jonesomon! There was some worry about space-time continuum and what happens if they meet their future (past?) selves. But for now they decided to 'stay' in this time frame, head back to Brackenrae to resupply, rest and recruit new companions before coming back and finishing the exploration of the barrow. But not before building a pair of funeral pyres for their fallen companions to send their souls to their ultimate rest in style.  Gnarl, deep into his cups, was inspired to say a few words for the dead:

Brightward and Baihu
We hardly knew ya
Before the pallid root creature
Reached out and slew ya
So we venture on in your name 
Seeking fortune and fame
Our cups raised in memory to ya

The party spent a week in Brackerae and loaded up the donkey cart with food, torches and other supplies. A number of cold iron weapons were commissioned as well. A pair of new companions were likewise brought on-board, a changeling named Ranza and a badger hedge-fey names Hobbs. They then headed back to the barrow of Guri-Bin-Gur. It appeared just as they'd left it, their dug entrance still there and inside much the same, dead root creature and all. And so they steeled themselves to proceed deeper into the barrow ....

TOTAL XP
100

GAINS

nil

KILLS/VICTORIES

1 Palid Root Creature

LOSSES
Ethanna Brightwand
Baihu Cerrit

Forest of Wyrd Session #5 - Below the Sepulchral Earth

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

Baihu Cerrit (Magic User 1)
Gnarl (Wood Gnome 1)
Jonesomon (Specialist 1)
Ethanna Brightward (Wyrd Paladin 1)
Vergarious (Changeling 1) [NPC]

The night passed without incident under the watchful eye of the fountain guardians. While the rest of the party gathered the last of their food for breakfast, Ethanna decided to challenge the satyr Latreus to an arm wrestling contest. He agreed, with the stakes being a 10sp offering to Pan should the paladin lose. Should she win, Latreus promised the help of his folk should she encounter them in a time of need. In the end, the satyr emerged the winner and Ethanna ended up 10sp poorer. 

Martial games and breakfast complete, the party bade farewell and followed the satyrs directions back to the stream and pool, thence north to the barrow. While climbing a low rise about an hour later, they encountered a scurry of huge black squirrels moving through the trees along side them. Gnarl cast speak with animals and entered into conversation with a couple of the critters who had moved down onto the trail in front of them. He learned another group of men had passed this way the day before, armed with bows and weapons. Of the barrow the squirrels could tell little. The two groups parted ways amicably (though Baihu was miffed to find latter that the furry rats had stolen her coin purse.) Gnarl was able to find the trail of thearlier group, which led to the clearing with the stream and pool. That trail headed back east though, whereas the barrow was to the north. So north they went. 

Less than an hour later the party emerged into another clearing next to the stream. This was quite extensive, and featured at their end a dolmen and lintel gate facing east/west. Beyond it was a low hillock, obviously the barrow of Guri Bin Gur. It featured a tall willow tree growing on it's eastern side. Remembering the hint from the satyrs, everyone piled in the donkey cart and had Ethanna led them through the gate twice. Emerging the second time, they suddenly found themselves not under the noon sun, but at sunrise. In fact, looking at where the sun was rising they figured they were well away from their starting time. They were at the spring equinox, probably this springs' equinox as the rest of the barrow and foliage looked pretty much the same. They now climbed the barrow to look for the entrance, which based on the satyrs story should now be obvious. Well it wasn't, but after a while Baihu made note of the shadow cast by the willow tree. It should have been much longer thanks to the low angle of the sun, but in fact was truncated to end exactly at a point at the west side of the barrow. While Gnarl stood watch from atop, everyone else headed over to start digging, there being no obvious way in. They didn't get far before someone glanced up and noticed Gnarl was not alone; a ghostly looming humanoid figure, cloaked in rags with a stag skull and antler head and bony claws, stood at the top of the barrow watching them. As it started to move towards them, everyone stopped digging and prepared for battle. At which point the figure stopped again and stood there watching. They figured it was a guardian, placed there to prevent the barrow from being desecrated. No one really wanted to fight it, so Ethanna set a protection circle around the dig to protect them. The creature came right up to the edge of the circle but could not enter, instead standing there and watching eerily as they continued their digging.  

It took quite a few hours (since no one had a shovel), but eventually they broke through. Clearing away the last of the dirt, a narrow 5' passage could be seen leading into the hill. It was built of stone slabs but with large patches of loose soil and roots poking through. Still worried about the wraith, Ethanna elected to stay on the surface to maintain the circle, while Jonesomon led the rest of the party inside. Reaching a T-intersection, they turned left into a chamber that was empty except for some smashed stone slabs.  Turning back they stopped at an alcove with a rusty chain hanging from the ceiling, which Jonesomon carefully yanked at using his whip, bringing the whole ceiling crashing down. 

Worried now that they might get trapped underground by the wraith, the delvers headed back up to join Ethanna to discuss how to proceed. The wraith was now barely visible in the bright sun light, so best bet was to wait until almost dark. When they could see it clearly, they'd break the circle and try to overwhelm the spirit with a flurry of attacks. In particular, using their small supply of cold iron (Jonesomon's dagger lashed to Ethanna's spear, and his cold iron medallion which Baihu would use as a sling stone) to strike telling blows. And when the time came, the plan worked perfectly. The spirit was banished without even getting a chance to strike a blow, and the party could rest easy. And it being nightfall, they moved over into the woods to set up camp and rest for the night. 

Next morning was spent hunting, the party having run out of food the previous day. They had much success, obtaining enough food to get them through the next couple of days. That done, everyone headed back into the barrow, this time heading along the right hand corridor. They didn't get far before being brought to a halt by a thick mass of waxy white roots  blocking the way. Ethanna tried to push them aside, but they were solidly immobile and coated in a thick layer of acidic sap. The paladin hauled out her spear and started to hack away, but the roots would move out of the way making progress difficult. They also proceeded to wrap around her arms and legs, trying unsuccessfully to pin her in place. Baihu summoned an unseen servant to help hold the roots in place; thus assisted the paladin was able to hack through.  But as she reached the end of the roots, they had already started regrowing back at the start. So everyone rushed through behind her, finding themselves at a hairpin bend in the corridor, which now started to descend ...

TOTAL XP
2100

GAINS

2 Glossy Black Gems [2x 500sp]

KILLS/VICTORIES

1 Antler Wraith

LOSSES
nil 

Forest of Wyrd Session #4 - Off to the Barrow

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

Jonesomon (Specialist 1)
Ethanna Brightward (Wyrd Paladin 1)
Baihu Cerrit (Magic User 1)
Gnarl (Wood Gnome 1)
Vergarious (Changeling 1) [NPC]

Safely though the gate, the battered group had only two thoughts; rest for them and returning Peta and Alish to their mother. They headed back into Brackenrae and knocked on Gwynna's door, and presented her two surviving children. This did not go as planned, for as soon as she learned the children had been in Faerie, she immediately rejected them as faerie-cursed and turned them out. No amount of argument and persuasion would change her mind; nor did the party have any luck finding another relative or kind soul to take them in. In the end, they bought the girls new clothes and bedding, and let them stay the night with the party in the stables of the "Nymph and Knight" Inn, that being all they could afford [Jonesomon correctly noted that their inaugural adventure cost then more silver than they made]. They spent several days in rest at the inn, receiving treatment from Fyn the Physician and wandering the market replacing lost gear. An attempt to sell  rotting mazegill mushrooms to the sniveling alchemist Jaskin was unsuccessful, but they had more luck with the goblyns at the still active fair.  

After a few days, they party was ready to move on and look for the barrow of Guri Bin Gur and it's supposed hoard of treasure free of the touch of fairy. As for the two girls, the owner of the inn, Cederic Aletower, was happy to take them on as indentured servants to help out around his establishment. He seemed above board, and with no other options, the party agreed. Peta and Alish were signed over for 12 years of servitude, with the understanding that they could have their contracts bought out in future [400sp / year each] if the party so desired.

Following the directions of the old man from the Gobyn Fair,  they followed the road west for a day before branching off to the north along the banks of a small stream. They followed a series of overgrown paths, unsure of where they would end up as thick woods didn't seem  a likely place for a barrow. After a few hours, Gnarl walking point overheard voices on the trail ahead. Everyone melted into the woods while the wood gnome slipped forward to investigate. He spied a man's body, hanging from a branch over the trail. It was cut open from crotch to throat, and below stood two little brown men, catching the blood in their hats and cackling madly. Gnarl stopped that with an entangle spell, and the rest of the party burst from the woods and finished off the pair. Cutting down the body, the party gave it a hasty burial next to the trail, then recovered the dead mans' donkey and wagon from just around the bend before moving on. 

A few more hours of wandering brought them to a 4-way intersection where stood a mos covered marker stone. Scrapping off the growth uncovered a image on the west side, of a stick figure standing on top of a dolman/lintal under a full moon or sun.  Jonesomon concluded this meant they should head west, and so they did. A few more hours brought them to a stream and pool, with more trails to the north-east and north-west. Following the one north east led after a couple of more hours to a small clearing, with trails exiting south and south-east. On the northern edge was a large fountain with a priapistic Pan-figure. The area around the fountain looked cared for, unlike the rest of the overgrown trails they'd traveled thus far. They led the donkey over for a drink, and noted the bottom of the fountain was covered in silver coins. One was fished out, but then tossed back in. Baihu in turned tossed one of her few silver penny's into the water and made a wish, followed by a few others in the party. This didn't grant any wish, but did draw a pair of satyrs [Hyalus and Latreus] from the woods beyond. They were guardians of the fountain, which was holy to their god Pan. The two thanked the party for the offering, and noted should they have hurts that needed healing, immersion in the waters of Pan would help them. Asked about the barrow, they replied it lay to the west. They knew little about it, but did tell the party that to find the entrance, they'd have to pass east twice through the dolman gate. 

It was getting late in the day, they party decided to rest in this clearing for the night, trusting the two satyrs to watch over them as they served their 101 days guarding the fountain of Pan. 

TOTAL XP
100

GAINS

1 Donkey and Cart

KILLS/VICTORIES

2 Redcaps

LOSSES
nil