Forest of Wyrd Session #61 - Into the Temple

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

Ranza (Changeling 5)

Gnarl (Wood Gnome 6)
Hobbs (Hedgefey 6) and Wattles the Giant Swan 

Thrax (Fighter 5)

Vegarious (Changeling 4) 

Jonesomon (Specialist 5) 

Slugs MacKenzie (Hedgefey 3) [Henchman]

neo-Baihu Cerritulus (Magic User ?) [NPC]

Bagfeed and Cart 

Knowing they could not step into the clearing without attracting the wood woads attention, the party decided to line the edge of the trees and shoot them down with arrows. And hopefully they would not retaliate. Unfortunately for the party, the creatures were not dumb enough to sit there like fish in a barrel, and they advanced in a skirmish line.  Thrax gulped a potion of growth and then battle was joined. The party was able to slay quite a number of the woad before the last few fled back into the woods. The party suffered little damage. That said, Vegarious did end up wracked with pain and agony as her muscles twisted and knotted after one hit from a wood woad.  

Once the clearing was empty, Hobbs flew up onto the roof of the building to keep watch while the rest of the party crossed the field. They first climbed up the raised columnar platform  to an opening at the east end of the temple. Inside they found a pair of statues. One of a rustic looking young woman, obviously human; the second of  lord of Faerie. Jonesomon sized them up for a bit, and declared them to be Crindis the Hidden one and Liadan, daughter of the last High King of the D'war. These, he explained, were the parents of the Half Blood King and thence the grandparents of the Prince Who Would Be. Ranza and Gnarl joined the specialist in a search around and behind the statues, but found nothing of interest.  The still double sized Thrax then proceeded to rip them from their bases, but again nothing was found. 

The party now moved around the colonnade to the front where the main doors were found. These were of some untarnished silver metal, decorated with a carving of three trees with intertwined branches; one red, one black and one green.  After a search for traps, mega-Thrax tapped the doors open. Beyond it was a long narrow chamber, also surround by a raised colonnade. At the end was a black alter or stone overlooked by a tall statue. Details could not be seen in the low interior light. 

But before the party could enter, Hobbs called out a warning from above. Something or someone was rooting about their raft, so the hedgefey launched Wattles into the air to investigate. There he found a wood gnome poking about their supplies. When challenged, the fellow seemed unperturbed and likewise  appeared to know Hobbs. He was in fact Silnor, the wood gone they'd rescued while following the Twilight Path. He agreed to follow Hobbs back to the rest of the party to explain his presence. Silnor it seemed was carved by his father many years before to watch over this refuge of the Prince Who Would Be. He explained that when the Prince was taken away to safety after his fathers death, the three peoples of the wood agreed to each build a refuge for him. The temple was that built by his human followers. Silnor's father was to lead the construction of another refugee from the wood spirits, but something went wrong with both it and the one to be built by Faerie. And somehow through all this, the Prince disappeared. Pushed  for more info, Silnor would tell them little more, even when they professed their goal to bring the Prince back to rule the wood. The wood gnome said only they would need to prove themselves capable and worthy of that quest without further help from him; it was not for him to deliver the Prince into the hands of those who were not able to protect the Prince on their own. He did leave them with a hint to set them in the right direction, reciting a short rhyme:

·         "The Prince burns with the inner fire that drives man. His blood flows as the water that isn't, of which his mother is born. And his soul holds a hint of darkness made real from beyond the veil."

With that cryptic word, the wood gnome turned and headed back into the trees.

Better informed but still confused, the party once more turned back to the temple. Sparking up a light source, they entered the narrow hall and headed toward the stone and statue at the end. The stature was of the Half Blood King  and She Who Wore the Crown of Stars, holding a baby in their arms, presumably the Prince Who Would Be. The black stone on the other hand held a large bronze book stand, on which was the remnants of a large book. In fact just the covers and a few scarps of parchment. Ranza and Jonesomon had big-Thrax lift them up on the inside colonnade to search around the statue. First thing they saw was a trio of small bowls in front of the statue. They were carved of three large gems: blue lapis lazuli, red fire opal and black jet. And carved in the base of the statue was a single line: 

"Fire which is not fire; water which is not water; darkness which has form"

They guessed these bowls had to be filled (with what they didn't know) to let them find the Prince. But for now they turned to their search around the statue. They found nothing, but when Gnarl pulled out his greenstone to search he was able to direct them to a secret door behind the statue.  He could see it lead into a small room with another statue -like object and stairs going down. But before they could get in there, it took some searching to find the way to open the secret door; by twisting the two closest pillars on the inside colonnade. 

Passing into the secret room, they saw that the statute was actually an armorers dummy. Which was surround in the ghostly blue form of armor and a sword. Closer examination gave no other information, so down the stairs they went. Lead by Jonesomon looking for traps, the party shortly found themselves in a chamber lined with black slate. The stones seemed to emit a thin oily mist that drifted about their ankles.  They started to explore, first finding a patch of broken flagstones behind which was a mass of tiny tunnels just a few inches high. But they didn't get a chance to examine them any closer, for at this point a hideous creature of darkness, claws and tentacles emerged out of the wall behind them. It attacked in lashing of claws and tails, as well as a mental blast that alternately caused fear, confusion or paralysis. Luckily most of the party was able to shake off these feeling, although neo-Baihu did succumb and turned in confusion on the party, webbing several of them in place as the monster attacked.  Both she and Jonesomon were later driven into flight from fear as well. 

In the end, the party prevailed, destroying the creature by their combined efforts. With the final blow, the  monster disappeared into mist, which then coalesced into the form of a large black  pearl sitting in  pool of thick oily black liquid. They recovered the pearl, and Gnarl also scooped some of the oily liquid into an empty vial, thinking it may be the darkness to which the rhyme on the alter was referring. He also grabbed a small chip of black stone for the same reason. 

The party then moved on to explore the rest of the greasy maze. They survived an attack by massed rats thanks to Thrax's gust of wind, and were distressed after passing though an area that dispelled all their magic (but thankfully only temporarily.) They then spent some time examining a trio of odd forges. These had no flue or chimney, but burned with a cold black flame. By trial and error they discovered when ashes or burned material was placed in the flame, it would 'burn' it back to into original form. Not sure what that meant in the bigger picture, the party opted to head back to the temple above. It now being late in the evening, there they prepared to set up camp to rest the night. 

TOTAL XP 

5750

GAINS

Giant Black "Pearl" [2000sp]

KILLS/VICTORIES

7 Wood Woad

The Form of Darkness 

LOSSES

none

Forest of Wyrd Session #60 - Rest, Resupply and Ranging North

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

Ranza (Changeling 5)

Gnarl (Wood Gnome 6)
Hobbs (Hedgefey 6) and Wattles the Giant Swan 

Thrax (Fighter 5)

Vegarious (Changeling 4) 

Jonesomon (Specialist 5) 

Slugs MacKenzie (Hedgefey 3) [Henchman]

neo-Baihu Cerritulus (Magic User ?) [NPC]

Bagfeed and Cart 

The party settled into the Moon and Mastiff Inn for a couple weeks recovery under the hands of Dafwyn, the matronly healer they'd hired to tend their wounds. Upon recovery, they set to work resupplying basic gear, food and healing potions. For they later they made a trip to the Monastery of the Seven Saints of Wisdom and were fortunate enough to catch them once more at a time when they were willing to speak with those outside their cloister.  They were about to abtain 3 potions of healing. 

Before heading north in search of the Prince Who Would Be, however, they had to take care of two more issues: Ranza's blindness and Thrax's inexplicable love for his crappy missile attracting shield. Asking about town and spending some silver in the taverns gave theme a few leads. There was always the seelie court of King Thorbus and Queen Botsum, where in spite of faerie fickleness they'd had good luck before. Another option they learned of was a manse west of town [02.05], home to the mercurial magician Maltros the Maleficent. And somewhat to their surprise, their old friend/foe neo-Baihu was in town. As a prisoner of the Thayn awaiting judgement on her brigandage. There were also rumors of the witch Luzza who wandered the wilderness north of town. And finally they recalled the Wych of the High Moor, another of the seven daughters of the Green Man, one who was renowned as a great healer and who dwelt relatively nearby in the forested hills to the east [06.06].  Ranza made it abundantly clear she would have nothing to do with any witches. And having just slaughtered her sister, they were not sure of the welcome they'd receive from the Wych of the High Moor. While the magician seemed hopeful as a 'one stop shop', he did constitute an unknown. So they decided to start with Queen Botsum, then move on to Baihu if necessary. 

As evening fell, the party crossed the great white bridge leading to the faerie shee on the north bank of the stream. No one was there to meet them, but a very long and elaborate scroll informed them the toll today was a loaf of fresh baked bread. Backtracking to the Moon and Mastiff, they returned with a steaming loaf and set it on the stone at the end of the bridge. Suddenly a half dozen pixies appeared, flittering about and riding the thermals rising from the bread. They then picked up the bread between them, and made to fly off before Hobbs interrupted and asked for an audience with the King and Queen. This required some convincing, and in the process the pixies managed to trick them out of the strand of Queen Botsum's hair they'd received as a gift. But in they end they were presented to the Seelie Court and once more made their case for help. This proved harder to get this time, and it took a few gifts of jewelry and a large goblet of strawberry cordial from Thrax's robes to convince the Queen to dispel Ranza's blindness.

Opting to not to push their luck and have Thrax's shield-love addressed by the Queen, the party withdrew and instead presented themselves before Thayn Godwin. There they made a case for the recalcitrant magic user neo-Baihu to be released into their custody. After some negations with her victims to determine an appropriate wergild, the Thayn agreed to release  her in return for 1500sp and a promise to keep her from further mischief. Ranza and Jonesomon then headed into the cells below the keep to present the chance at freedom to the magic user. neo-Baihu was quite happy to see Jonesomon again, thinking he was 'her' neo-Jonesomon. The specialist had to make up some story about a blow to the head and memory loss to make sure he didn't give away his true identify, but in the end neo-Baihu joined the party in return for a half share of treasure and the spell book the party had been logging about for ages (bit only at the end of their expedition to free the Prince Who Would Be). They learned quickly however, that  apart from Jonesomon,  she was not about to get too close or too cooperative with any of the party. And she gave Gnarl a wide berth, for in her eyes he ought to be dead. But she did follow through on the bargain, and a successful dispel magic separated Thrax from his shield, which Gnarl then encased in a rock with his ring of the stone to prevent anyone else from being tempted by it.

Now ready to travel once more, the party struck out north under a leaden sky, headed for the banks of the River of Sorrows and the location Eya had given them to find the Prince Who Would Be. The four days they travelled were wet and miserable, but they reached an open bluff high above the river. Below them was a large forested island with several clearings. They could see a building in one, a pool or pond in the other, and at the southern end a small beach protected by a small clutter of rocks. Another cluster of rocks lay upstream, white water raging around them. On the opposite bank a shear cliff rose up from the water, on which there appeared to be large bulbous face. Though whether it was a natural trick of the rock or a poorly carved sculpture they could not tell. And finally, at the base of that cliff where a small stream entered the river, there stood what appeared to be a single pillar or buttress leaning over drunkenly in a patch of boggy ground.  Meanwhile the clearing in which they stood showed signs of a campsite. An old fire ring, a lean too, and so on. Gnarl searched about and figured just a single person had camped here sometime in the the last day or so, but could find no sign of who it was or where he or she had gone. 

Deciding to head straight for the island, the party started to descend the slope to the river's edge to build a raft. About halfway down, Vegarious noted movement to their right. As the party turned, a mixed band of wicked faeire emerged from the trees: buggleburr, hobs and bush imps. A flurry of spells stopped the attackers cold, and after slitting throats the party moved on. It took most of the day to build the raft, and as the sun started to dip low in the west, they had Hobbs' giant swan tow them across the swift current to the island. There they pulled the raft out of the water, tied Bagfeed the mule to a tree and left him there with their cart of worldly goods before headed a few dozen yards into the forest to the building clearing. 

The clearing contained a columned temple-like structure, hemmed in by the forest. The building itself was in perfect condition. But as the party stepped into the clearing to approach, there was a strange quivering of a dozen gnarled oaks around the permitter. From them emerged humanoid figures composed of twisted and burled wood, who raised knotted clubs and advanced on the party. The party retreated, and the figures stopped. They learned by trial and error that the figures would move towards anyone in the clearing, splitting up if necessary to deal with separate parties. So how could they approach the building safely ... ? 

TOTAL XP 

200

GAINS

none

KILLS/VICTORIES

5 Bush Imps

1 Hob

3 Buggleburr

LOSSES

none

Forest of Wyrd Session # 59 - Murder and Mayhem

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

Ranza (Changeling 5)

Gnarl (Wood Gnome 5)
Hobbs (Hedgefey 6) 

Thrax (Fighter 5)

[Slugs MacKenzie (Hedgefey 1)]

Still thinking the 'real' crown was somewhere in the garden, the party searched some more around the stone block. Using the nightmare to move the petrified guardian, they further searched under and all around where he'd been sitting. But found nothing. They even had Gnarl use his ring to turn the stone guardian inside-out with stone shape, thinking the Crown might be inside the creature. But no luck.  Finally giving up, the party settled in to rest for the remainder of the day and through the night, to be in a better position to face She Who Wore the Crown of Stars. Hobbs (with Slugs in tow) decided to go check the glowing green pool once more. The hedgefey played with the water, drank some, splashed it on his head, and finally reached down as far as possible with Slugs' spear to plumb the depths. He did not reach bottom, but as the spear was being pulled out, something grabbed onto it. And out of the fountain emerged one of the green men, a Jack-in-the-Green, who turned on the pair in a vicious attack. A short and bloody fight ensued, ended by the timely arrival of Gnarl and the insertion of his spear through the creatures back. 

Two other surprises arrived as the party settled back into the garden to rest. The first was an attack by 5 ranine, the frog-creatures crawling out of the depths of the pool. A well timed entangle caught three of them, while the other two splashed back into the pool once they realized the odds were against them. The second surprise came once night fell. The overhead dome, until now dark, opaque and impenetrable, faded away as darkness fell outside.  Hobbs hopped aboard the nightmare to fly up and investigate, finding the passage free and emerging under starlit skies for the first time in days. Quite a few days more than he thought it should be, for his giant swan mount and the donkey, left behind on the raft, were is terrible shape from near starvation. He brought the swan into the garden to feed and looked after the donkey, making sure the swan returned outside before sunrise before the dome (presumably) would reform. Which it did. This then was what the old man on the island was trying to tell them; that the dome disappeared in the dark. 

All that done, the rest of the night passed without incident, and the party arose to gird their loins before facing She Who Ware the Crown of Stars.  Their first plan was non-violent trickery. While the rest of the party waited nearby in support, Gnarl (under the cover of invisibility) would use the stone shape  power of his ring to pin her to the stone bench on which the Half Blood King lay, then swipe the true Crown. This unfortunately didn't work, as somehow the daughter of the Green Man sensed his presence and turned on the wood gnome. She raised her hand, and banished him to the distance space between the stars. The rest of the party moved in then, trying still to subdue her with a range of spells. But She shrugged it all off and fought back. Several more attempts at banishment failed, but she kept pulled star-stuff from her hair which animated and attacked the party, sticking on and draining their life-force. Eventually, out of non-violent options, Thrax lead the party in the old fashioned solution; swinging swords. But he also used the gust from his sword to hold her back, allowing Hobbs to sneak in and grab the Crown and Sword, thinking there might still be a way to trap her and escape with their loot. As the battle raged, Slugs fell with a near-mortal wound, saved only by quick ministrations from his employer. But after a hard fought battle, in the end She was cut down and now lay at rest near her husband. Curiously though, when Hobbs checked the body, he certainly got the impression She was not 'fully' dead, though he was uncertain what that boded. 

Gnarl returned from his sojourn among the stars just as the battle ended, and the party stared at the Crown in Hobbs hands. With a sudden impetuous movement, the hedgefey popped the artifact onto his head. And was immediately filled with rage, turning on Thrax and seeking to kill him and drink his blood. This battle royale proved to be bloodier than the fight against She Who Wore the Crown of Stars, with the rest of the party siding with Thrax and trying to either immobilize Hobbs or knock the Crown from his head. In the end, Gnarl was able to thrust his spear under the band of the crown and rip it (along with a significant portion of fur) from Hobbs head. At which point the murderous rage passed, and Gnarl pointedly wrapped the Crown in a burlap sack and his it away from Hobbs. 

After a last check throughout the upper tomb using the greenstone, the party waited for nightfall and exited through the once more open garden.  And then with little ceremony, made their way back towards Twitten's Hollow to rest, recover and plan the next stage of their quest: presenting the Crown of the Forest to The Prince Who Would Be. And probably explaining to him why they killed his mother. 

TOTAL XP 

14250

GAINS

Crown of the Forest [8000xp]

Starblade (Longsword +3, summon starfall 3x day, teleport 1/day)  [2000xp]

Golden Scale Armor of the Half Blood King (Chainmail +3) [2000xp]

Dagger of the Night (Dagger +1, blindness) [600xp]

KILLS/VICTORIES

1 Jack-in-the-Green

2 Ranine

She Who Wore the Crown of Stars 

LOSSES

Slugs MacKenzie (almost) 

Forest of Wyrd #58 - The Grieving Lady and the Gruesome Guardian

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

Jonesomon (Specialist 5)

Ranza (Changeling 4)

Gnarl (Wood Gnome 5)
Hobbs (Hedgefey 6) 

Thrax (Fighter 5)

[Slugs MacKenzie (Hedgefey 1)]

The three fey warriors advanced, swords raised, and the party deployed to meet them. There was immediate surprise when their opponents stated casting spells, and while Thrax and Hobbs shrugged off a number of magical attacks,  Ranza was blinded. In the end the trio were defeated, but it was a long drawn out fight. Taking just a few moments to loot the bodies of a bit of treasure, the party then moved on.   

They didn't get far before noticing an alcove to their right, and opted to investigate. Turning the corner, they observed an unexpected sight; a woman draped over a body lying on a raised stone bench. And the two looked just like the false pair the party had encountered in the room on the first level. Could this be the true Half Blood King and She Who Wore the Crown of Stars? The woman stirred to confront them, demanding to know why they were there. Hobbs tried to explain their quest, to gain the Crown of the Forest for her son, The Prince Who Would Be, so he could rule the Forest. She, however, would hear none of it. After much vigorous discussion, they learned she did not want to burden of kingship placed on her son. She cared nothing for the plight of the Forest or anything else but that her husband lay in peace and her son remain safe. Even trying to convince her that the decision should belong to the Prince didn't sway her, nor did suggestions that the Prince might be in danger or imprisoned against his will. Asked if bringing her husband back to life would change her mind, she replied that it was impossible. The Half Blood King lay under a powerful curse such that while the Green Man lived, the King could not. 

Unsure of how to proceed and still unsure if they'd found the 'true' King, She and Crown, the party took their leave and with She's permission, moved on down the corridor to find a place to rest and recuperate. They discovered the  chamber looped back around to another door where three more fey warriors lay in repose. These they did not disturb, retreating back to a chamber with three curious columns to set up camp. After settling in, they examined the three. Each was carved in a dense mass of images, each depicting a different age of the Forest. Jonesomon drew on his knowledge of history to examine them closely,  looking for clues to their current dilemma. He found hints that the Prince never took up the Crown when his father died due to interference from his mother. No surprise there. He also founds hints that the Prince was being held against his will, rather than safely under guard. Hobbs meanwhile poked around at all the fancy images of knights and Imperator on  the third column, and made a curious discovery. He found hints, when combined with what he already knew about to fall of the Imperator Vilorian II, that suggested the location of the Imperators long lost tomb in the Mountains of Twilight. 

After resting, the party decided to go back and try reasoning with She Who Wore the Crown of Stars once more; and so Ranza could cast detect illusion and detect magic to try confirming they were the 'real' thing. Reasoning didn't work, and She threatened them with the Guardian, whatever or whoever that might be. But Ranza's magic did confirm She and the Half Blood King were real, not illusions again, and the Crown itself radiated magic.  But the party still took their leave, moving back to the north end of the tomb and the great bronze doors that seemed to lead into the central garden. They still weren't convinced they'd found the true King and Crown, having expected to find his royal self laying in repose in a much nicer place than  a half finished alcove. 

Taking a drink from the healing fountain first (which unfortunately did not bring back Ranza's sight), the party threw open the doors. They passed down a wide series of steps into a garden lit dimly by glowing faerie bulbs. A few groves of trees surrounded a large pool, in the centre of which was a small island. And on that island  sat a grotesque figure; a huge. bloated and sickly pale batrachian beast. As the party descended the stairs, it turned and started to sniff the air. It appeared blind, but was able to identify them by smell. And challenged their presence. This they learned was the guardian of which She spoke; although it seemed a curious place for a tomb guardian. While not immediately hostile, the party knew they'd have to fight the grotesque creature eventually, and opted for a preemptive strike. Gnarl used a charge from his new ring of the stone  to successfully turn the creature to stone. Confident in their quick victory, the party moved forward, only to be surprised by a half dozen of the smaller but similar ranine that leap out of the tree cover and into their midst. Very quickly Jonesomon was paralyzed and the others were torn by claw and jaw.  They retreated up the stairs, and Thrax tossed his obsidian steed to Ranza so she and Jonesomon could fly safely above the fray. Meanwhile the changeling also used her wand of bees to summon help, while Slugs hauled out the pipe and magical tobacco to cast a hypnotic cloud about the creatures heads. All this turned the tide, and the remaining creatures were soon cut down. 

After taking a few minutes for first aid, they party spread out to search. Little was found, except a small hollow under the moss covered stone in the lake. From there Thrax hauled a velvet bag with a few gems, jewelry and coin, as well as a curious timepiece, the hourglass of fairy time. But there was no sign of a crown, or another king. 

TOTAL XP 

5237

GAINS

17 shell coins

169sp

Jeweled sword hilt [300sp]

4 gems (100sp, 10sp, 10sp, 50sp)

Bracelet (600sp)

Hourglass of Faerie Time [1500xp] 

KILLS/VICTORIES

3 Dark Fey Warriors

5 Ranine

Dumaris the Vigilant 

LOSSES

Ranza's Sight

Jonesomon's Mobility

Forest of Wyrd Session #57 - Around and Up

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

Jonesomon (Specialist 5)

Ranza (Changeling 4)

Gnarl (Wood Gnome 5)
Hobbs (Hedgefey 6) 

Thrax (Fighter 5)

[Slugs MacKenzie (Hedgefey 1)]

While the rest of the party searched around the animal heads for more rings and things, Hobbs waded through the water towards the font at the far end of the room. Glancing in, he saw a strange scene of Faerie; a band of hideous hobs chasing a weird creature, half ram and half spider. As he watched, the creature turned to face him and moments latter it started to squeeze it's bulk out of the tiny font. Once fully emerged, it climbed up a wall and was followed from the font by the pursing hobs. As the party hesitated, it spoke "Whom do you serve?" After some attempt at evasion, in the end the party said they served the Prince Who Would Be. Which was not the answer the beast wanted to hear, and it and the hobs prepared to attack. But Ranza moved first, using her fear spell to drive it and and hobs back through the font. But not before two of the wicked faeries were slain. 

That done, the party pushed on into the next room, finding another set of stairs going up and two polished slabs of stone (one black and one white) standing on end just out of the water. Gnarl approached the black stone, and as he looked a face and pair of hands appeared inside it. And it once more asked the question "Whom Do You Serve?" Answering truthfully again, the hands moved within the stone and within moments had torn the slab in two from the inside. Leaving in the gap a key, similar in style to the two they already possessed. 

Deciding to once more ignore the stairs for now, they plucked up the key and headed towards the next door. This opened into a room with signs of fire and explosion; a layer of ash and bits of burnt wood floated on top of the now 3' of water. Before looking too closely though, the party headed for the opposite door, assuming beyond it they would finish the circle of the tomb  and be back to the entrance again. And they did indeed find one more room that seemed to connect to the entrance. And by judicious closing of other doors, they were able to drop the water level enough in both rooms to make it easier to explore. In the fire blackened room, they discovered four chests along the back wall, now just poking above the water level. One was open, and all signs pointed to the blast having emerged from it. And in fact, when Thrax looked closer he found the charred bones of whomever set off the trap in the first place. So while Ranza, Gnarl and Slugs huddled in a convenient alcove, Jonesomon, Thrax and Hobbs carefully examined and opened the remaining three chests. In the process, they unfortunately triggered a freezing trap that turned the water surface to ice, as well as a strange pair of hands that tried to drag them under water. But luckily all avoided harm and recovered a hoard of silver pennies from the time of the Half Blood King, a trio of begemmed necklaces, and the strange magical item Munzario's Mask of Moods. 

Moving on to the next room, they discovered a large dual bronze brazier and an overwhelming smell of perfume. They discovered a small workbench in one cover, with multiple broken vials and jars that seemed to once contain scented oils. Finding  nothing further of interest, the party decided to have one more thorough look around this watery level before going up the stairs. In particular, they wanted to know what lay in the centre of this ring of rooms they'd been exploring. So Gnarl sparked up the Greenstone of Earthseeing to have a look. And he observed that in the middle there was a garden of sorts. With a pool of water, trees and grass, all lit by a faint glow. But he could see no way in from their vantage point. The party thus assumed this was their goal (it looked like a suitable resting place for a king) and that the only way in was to go up the stairs. Though going up proved difficult; each time they tried, the stairs would dump them back in the room from which they started. It was only after further investigation and some trial and error that they discovered the way up; one set of stairs required climbing on your hands, whereas the other required walking up backwards. 

Choosing to go up the backwards stairs, the party found themselves in a narrow hall. The ceiling was well beyond their lantern light, and it showed signs of being partly damaged and unfinished, with undressed stones lying about. At both ends were doors, one locked and one not. Next to the locked door was another font, which Hobbs once more could not resists staring into. It glowed from within with a strange green light, and even the curious hedgefey knew better then to disturb this one. Through the other door they found a small chamber. A small door lay opposite the one they'd entered, and a pair of large double doors lay to the right. Through the smaller one lay another unfinished/damaged room similar to the one they had just left.   The other doors were of verdigris covered bronze, covered in a motif of leaves nad stars. And based on the location, they guessed it led into the central garden Gnarl had observed. There was also another small font, this one of clear cool water. Hobbs once more had a look, and also decided to also quench his thirst. Which miraculously healed him of some of his hurts! So everyone else crowded around for a drink, and then started hauling out whatever containers they could find to fill with the wonderous liquid. Which caused Gnarl to uncover his vial of true water from the resting place of the Gloaming Lord. Which he remembered had anti-magic properties. Which he then, when the specialists back was turned, poured over Jonesomon's evil new sword, releasing him from it's grip.  

With all that done, the party decided to search a little further before passing the bronze doors and into the garden. Going back though the first hall, they discovered the door next to the green fountain was locked (they found a similar locked door at the end of the other long hall) . Luckily, the key they'd recovered from the false tomb fit the lock, and the door open easily. Into another lengthy, narrow room. But just beyond the doors were three bodies lying in repose on stone briers. When the party moved in to look closer, the three rose up, and the party found themselves facing three fey warriors, armed and ready ....

TOTAL XP 

6342

GAINS

546sp

Munzario's Mask of Moods [1000xp]

3x necklace and pendant (3x 700sp)

KILLS/VICTORIES

2 Hobs

LOSSES

none

Forest of Wyrd Session # 56 - Of Water and False Kings

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

Vegarious (Changeling 3)

Jonesomon (Specialist 5)

Ranza (Changeling 4)

Gnarl (Wood Gnome 5)
Hobbs (Hedgefey 6) 

[Slugs MacKenzie (Hedgefey 1)]

Reassured by the quilt that there was breathable air below, the rest of the party dove into the lake to join Ranza inside the Tomb. They accessed the interior without too much trouble, and Ranza lead them to the western door, which she proceeded to open to lower the water level. But they then realized a flaw in their plan for breathable air. Opening the outer door a second time had raised the water level overall, so even with the 2nd inside door open, the water was still 10 feet deep. Drowning became a real possibility, except for the person lucky enough to have the ring of water breathing. As people tried swimming, climbing walls and just plan holding their breath, each in turn attempted to open the closest door to further lower the water. Unfortunately it was both trapped by an electrical shock, and locked. In the end, and on the last try, Ranza was open to get the lock open. The door swung inward in a rush of water. This lowered the level just enough for everyone to get at least their head above the surface. 

The room they'd accessed was large, dominated by a trio of pillars down the centre. These were carved in the from a three woman in loose robes, glowing fainting yellow from inside, and each holding a candelabra. There were additional doors to the north and south. Jonesomon and Gnarl searched around the perimeter of the room below the water, followed by the rest of the party. The walls were jet black, yet the back wall crawled with scrolling type. After watching for a while, they realized it was telling the story of the Half Blood King and She Who Wore the Crown of Stars, a story they already knew well. As for the other doors, each was a slab of black stone, and on each was written a short epitaph the color of yellow starlight: "Here rests the Half Blood King, awaiting the time when they are called to be" on the north door, and a similar reference to She Who Wore the Crown of Stars to the south. The party was immediately suspicious; could the object of their quest be so easy to find? 

Before looking behind those two doors, the party decided to explore further down the water logged corridor. It lead to  a couple of rooms, one of which had a flight of stairs going up. The other was lit by a pair of glowing balls. These were suspended in the air, and rotated randomly, lighting up patches of the flooded floor, or alternately casting them into deep darkness. Watching closely for awhile, the party found the water above the dark patches would bubble and become agitated, indicting something not quite right about those spots. 

The party turned about, deciding initially to deal with the first room,. Along the way they had a short fight with a pair of pale and sickly batrachian creatures who leap at them from the water. These were however quickly dispatched.  Now reaching the room, they went first to the north door. Opening the door, inside they found a small chamber with a stone platform.  On top of which lay the perfectly preserved body of a man. Handsome, with dark hair and blue tinged skin, he wore armor of golden scale and a cloak of green and gold. In his hands he grasped a blue steel sword, and on his head was a crown of intertwined bronze and alien green metal, surrounded by a band of emeralds and topaz. All of which matched exactly with the description they'd received of the Half Blood King and the Crown of the Forest. But could it really be him? Gnarl boldly walked up to the body, and reached over to unclasp the hands from the sword. As he did, the figure sat up with a start, and immediately asked who they were and what they wanted. The party answered with the purpose of their quest (to gain the Crown of the Forest and release the Prince Who Would Be). And then politely inquired of the Half Blood King: aren't you supposed to be dead? They were surprised when the answer came from behind; turning there they saw She Who Wore the Crown of Stars. A beautiful woman with alabaster skin and hair of black, highlighted with starlight, and dressed in a gown of the deepest fuligin. Between them, the regal pair explained the legends were not quite true. The Half Blood King had just been imprisoned and magically placed in stasis, waiting to be recalled to life when the time was right to return to rule of the Forest. Their son, The Prince Who Would Be, was likewise in stasis elsewhere, just a baby and not the one who would rule. 

This all sounded suspicious, and the party continued to poke at the story the pair unfolded. And they became even more wary as the two started pushing for the party to lead them out of the Tomb post-haste. Ranza serendipitously cast a detect illusion and to her own eyes revealed the truth. The two were cloaked in the illusionary form of the Half Blood King and  She Who Wore the Crown of Stars. Though some of the items they wore were real (sword, gown, the crown, and some jewelry), otherwise the creatures had the form of amorphous and featureless spongy humanoids. Touching Gnarl, she let him see the same, and the whispered warning of 'it's a trap' spread to the rest of the party.  With a shout, swords were drawn and spells prepared. the false pair lashed out in turn. The party found that when they touched another person, the strange creatures took on their targets form. So soon there were two Gnarls and two Vegarious'. Luckily Ranza was able to direct their attacks to the false pair, and after a short melee the two creatures were slain. And then stripped of loot, Ranza in particular taking the gown and Jonesomon the sword, Backbiter. With the occupants now slain, the two small sepulcher were searched. Hidden under the false-kings resting place, Jonesomon found a key. It was smaller than the one they used to enter the Tomb, but of similar style. 

That mystery solved, the party pressed on. They went back down the curing corridor, and quickly crossed the shadow/light room, avoiding the rapidly changing shadowed patches. On the opposite side there was a door, and off to one side another curved corridor that seems to loop back towards the main Tomb entrance. Choosing to first deal with the door, they opened it, allowing another gush of water to pour in ahead of them. Inside the long narrow room (now under 4 feet of water) there  was a row of stone plinths, atop which were carved animal visages; bear, eagle, mountain lion, wolf, boar. At the far end of the room, barely above water, was the curve of a font. Gnarl stepped in to look at the carvings, and noted the eagle held a ring precariously in it's beak. Ranza, coming behind, looked closely and noted the beak had a powerful hinge mechanism that would likely snap shut if at all disturbed. So Gnarl rammed a soggy torch into the maw, which as predicted immediately snapped shut with bone crushing force. That dislodged the ring, which started to tumble down inside the eagles head. Hobbs, Jonesomon and Gnarl all grabbed for it at once, the specialist successfully rescuing the piece of jewelry ahead of everyone else. The ring itself was magical, a ring of stone made of iron and gold, and set with three yellow gems ... 

TOTAL XP 

12100

GAINS

Circlet with ruby [1200sp]

Necklace with 3 black opals [800sp]

False Crown of the Forest [1800sp]

Backbiter (Sword -1, missed attacks must be rerolled on wielder) 

Gown of Displacement [3000xp]

Ring of the Stone [1200xp]

KILLS/VICTORIES

2 Ranine

The False King and Queen 

LOSSES

none

Forest of Wyrd Session #55 - Tomb of the Half Blood King

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

Vegarious (Changeling 3)

Jonesomon (Specialist 5)

Ranza (Changeling 4)

Gnarl (Wood Gnome 5)
Hobbs (Hedgefey 6) 

Thrax (Fighter 5)

[Slugs MacKenzie (Hedgefey 1)]

As the sun came up over the lake, heralding a fine spring day, the party discussed their dilemma. How to release Thrax from his geas while retaining the key to the Tomb? Various ideas were concocted, but none seemed foolproof. Then someone had the idea of sailing back over to the island to see the crazy man, Gnart. Maybe they could drag some useful information out of him.  So over they went, and once more went through the pantomime show. Unfortunately, it seemed the wild man could tell them nothing of the key or Sir Azra; but they did glean that, with his antics with hiding the stone, he was trying to tell them something about how to enter the Tomb. Which may be helpful down the road, but not right now. 

In the end, the party opted for a combination of subterfuge and violence. Rowing back to the headland, they untied Thrax and gave him the key. Then followed the fighter as he charged up the hill to the Blue Knight's camp, Jonesomon taking a somewhat circumspect route to get behind their foe. Reaching the camp, they found it much as before. Thrax called out, and the Blue Knight emerge from the pavilion and walked over to the fighter, hand out for the key. Which Thrax delivered, and was rewarded by the lifting of the heavy obligation he had been under. At which point, everyone else attacked. Jonesomon backstabbed, Hobbs charged in with swan and lance, Gnarl entangled , and everyone else laid in with various weaponry. Sir Azra, reveling his full might, put fear in their bones and caused Jonesomon and Vegarious to take off back to the raft and out onto the lake, But under the overall onslaught, the Blue Knight soon fell dead. They grabbed the key from his hand, stripped the armor to reveal a blue giant underneath, and likewise ransacked the camp to find nothing of interest beyond the warhorse (whom Gnarl engaged in conversation with speak with animal and learned his name was Quince).   They took the knights body and burnt it on a funeral pyre out a combination of respect for their opponent and fear of what might happen if they left him around. 

It getting late in the day, the party decided to stay in the camp and rest overnight, and then head the next day into the grey mist to search for the Tomb of the Half Blood King. The next morning under a leaden and misty sky, they rowed the raft to the fog for a closer look. It was visually very like the green mist, just a different colour. Hobbs took Waddle into the air to fly overhead, but could see nothing new. So they rowed the raft into the mist, and immediately all felt the same woozy, mentally light feeling as they did in the green mist. For most, the feeling passed quickly. Thrax and Vegarious, however, remained confused and had to be restrained on the raft to keep them from walking off the edge and drowning. Gnarl, relying on his well honed tracking skills, guided them by fits and starts through what he hoped was the centre of the mist, expecting the Tomb would be somewhere along that line. They wandered for an indeterminate time and in a vaguely planned fashion, until suddenly out the fog loomed an island. It was a strange island, almost perfectly circular, with a narrow band of grass and shrub around a massive translucent black glass dome that capped the centre. There was no sign of entrance, keyhole, or anything of help. 

Finding nothing above water, Ranza donned the ring of water breathing and dove into the lake to see what may lie below. She followed the strangely symmetrical island all the way down, reaching bottom about at about 100'. Circumnavigating, she at last found what they were looking for; a pair of massive stone doors, carved with a complex design of intertwined stars and leaves. And right in the middle, a keyhole that matched the key they'd gained. She inserted the key, and the doors began to open on their own. A large bubble of air emerged and rose to the surface, and the changeling was drawn inside by the inrush of water. She found herself in a large chamber, now filled to the roof with water. A pair of black marble slabs with bas reliefs of fey warriors stood on either side of the doors. She could see a larger room beyond, but as she started to move deeper, the doors behind her started to swing shut. Not wanting to be trapped, she rushed outside, barely squeezing through. Returning to the surface, Ranza described what she'd found to the rest of the party.

Now left the problem of how everyone else could get safely below without drowning. Consulting the quilt, they learned that it would be possible to breath once inside the Tomb, though it wasn't clear how long they'd have to hold breath underwater before reaching that point. So after much discussion, it was determined that Ranza would go below and explore a little more. But with an invisibility spell from Vegarious and a length of rope around he waist and tied to the surface for additional protection. 

Once more the changeling dove, entered the Tomb (leaving the key in the lock outside), and proceeded deeper into the room. The doors closed behind her, leaving Ranza trapped. Looking around, she found  one end of the room was a twisted mess of filigree metal; whatever it was originally, the in-rush of water had wrecked it. And there were doors. One to the left opened into the flooded chamber and could not be budged. One to the south opened outward easily, the water pressure forcing Ranza into a small storage room where she crashed into a collection of clay amphora, which smashed to pieces releasing their brightly coloured contents into the water. And one to the west, beyond the twisted metal, opened outward. Tying herself down on to avoid another battering from rushing water, Ranza opened the door. Again water rushed out, and when it died down she found herself staring down a long curved corridor. The water now stood about 5' deep, so here at least was the breathable air the quilt had promised. There was also a door about halfway down the corridor on the west wall. 

Raza opted against further solo exploration, and instead retraced her steps, planning to exit the doors and return to the surface. But reaching the doors, she could see on the inside a glowing green mass of slimy vines, writhing and flicking towards her menacingly. It would seem, that for now, she truly was trapped ... 

TOTAL XP 

1750

GAINS

Quince the Warhorse [500sp] 

KILLS/VICTORIES

Sir Azra, The Blue Knight 

LOSSES

none