Sarenith 28, 4712
Returning from their latest trip to the Emerald Spire, the Coopers arrive in Fort Inevitable to find the town in uproar. The entire Hellknight guard has been deployed at the gates and on the walls as if an assault was expected. People entering the town as well as people leaving are being thoroughly searched, and traffic is backed up on both sides of the gates. Noticing this, and realizing that there is now a dwarf and a gnome among their party, the Coopers decide to avoid the questions and fees their appearance would receive at the gates and instead enter through the sewer tunnels. Instead of following her siblings, Daryle heads back into the woods. She will hunt for a few hours, then return through the Juliver Gate and see what information she can obtain from the guards.
The gnome Olifrit is the first one to enter the town, followed by the rest of the party through the sewers. They head directly to the secret door that leads into Dr. Mordel's basement. A few creatures are laying in clean beds, while in the corner the silver demon paces his cage relentlessly. They come up the stairs and meet Erynna, who greets them warmly. When questioned by Darelle as to what is happening, she informs them that two nights ago, Duke Mosley returned in a covered wagon. Deathly ill, he has taken residence on the top floor of the Citadel in Roscoe's old quarters. The few that have seen him report that he is bleeding heavily from a large gash on his shoulders. Magical healing has been unable to staunch the flow, and remove curses have all been ineffective. He is ghastly pale and shivers uncontrollably. Even though it is the height of summer, fires burn in all fireplaces of the Citadel. She further tells the Coopers that though Dr. Mordel's healing and alchemy skills are well known, his services have not been called for.
They then join Dr. Mordel himself in his small laboratory on the second floor. He also greets them warmly, and tells them that he suspects Duke Mosley is both dying and highly infectious, if the rumors and gossip reported by his network of informants are to be believed. Most people who can flee the town have already done so, but the Hellknights are ensuring that valuables are left behind. Hence the heavier security details at the gates. Darelle asks him what Mosley might be suffering from. Dr. Mordel replies that to the best of his knowledge the Duke was stabbed by a demon during a campaign in the World Wound, and Mosley has never recovered. He's not sure what it could be, but with magical healing not working, it has to be some seriously powerful demonic magic. Dr. Mordel might be able to analyze the sickness and prepare an antidote, but he would have to get a sample first. Concerned about herself, Olifrit interrupts the discussion and asks Dr. Mordel to restore her hands and her left foot to their proper nature. She confesses that she used to be Gerald. Dr. Mordel agrees to do so but it will require some time, extensive and very painful testing, and most of Dr. Mordel's patience, but it should be possible to at least address some of the issues currently plaguing Olifrit.
Pulling Darelle aside, Dr. Mordel also tells Darelle that her that Fort Inevitable's enemies are marshaling their forces against the town. Events are coming to a head and the fate of the town's citizens hang in the balance, he warns her. Armed with this newfound knowledge, Darelle and the remaining members of the party, minus Olifrit, head back out of town to avoid the contagion.
Thorne enters the town a little later through the same sewers wearing a disguise. He returns to his old shop, and finds it shuttered by Roscoe's orders, but it has not yet been repurposed. The rogue gathers gear, and he bids farewell to his place of commerce. He heads to Dr. Mordel's house, but Erynna turns him away and does not let him in the house. Dejected and sad that no one recognizes his role as a hero and savior of the town, he enters the sewers and heads out. Thorne manages to avoid two Hellknight patrols, but he runs into his siblings right outside Dr. Mordel's basement. As they leave, Darelle fills him on what has happened in town, but tells him flat out that she does not trust him. They emerge from the sewer outside the walls, but unfortunately Thorne is noticed by two guards and the alarm is raised. Thorne runs away, pursued by a Hellknight patrol but eventually manages to lose them.
Daryle comes in a little later with the produce of a hunt through the Juliver Gate. She encounters Bolgur, the Hellknight half-orc who leads the guard detachment. He seems very unhappy to see him, but he's generally unhappy so she's not too worried. She tells him she's been gone for four days, and she inquires as to what is happening in town. Bolgur reports that the Duke has returned with a small escort of four guards, and is now living atop the Citadel. He's real sick, and it is said he's taking it out on the staff. Bolgur then tells Daryle that Maralictor Wirt has left her a letter. He retrieves it and hands it to her. Daryle reads Wirt's message, which tells her not to enter the town but to send word she's back with a place to meet. Daryle tells Bolgur she forgot something at the farm she must get. Could he send Wirt a message? The half-orc replies that he can, but it will cost her. Daryle agrees to leave him the result of her hunt.
Half an hour later, Wirt meets Daryle outside in the shade of a grove by Mother Holworth's farm. The Hellknight reports on the event of the last three days. On top of the information already gathered by the other Coopers, Daryle learns that the Hellknight contingent that transits through Fort Inevitable every three months has disappeared. More than 600 troops have simply vanished. On top of everything else, quarterly taxes are due in three days, the merchants are stuck in Daggermark awaiting their Hellknight troops as escort, and the population is restless and panicky due to persistent rumors of infection. Wirt advises Daryle to avoid entering the town right now due to the possibility of contagion. She also tells the ranger that the Seven Foxes have all left the town. Daryle requests that a meeting be set up at the Hunters' Lodge with everyone to discuss the current situation. Wirt replies that she should be able to get them there in time for supper.
The necromancer Rowen, who has finally recovered from the betrayal of his cult, has spent the greater part of the last months rebuilding his evil forces. Having returned to Fort Inevitable, he decides to investigate Duke Mosley's claims to see if there's any way Mosley might be entreated to join him in his last days. Rowen contacts a highly placed servant in the Citadel, and that servant describes that the mental status of the Duke has deteriorated and he's been abusing his staff. The servant also reports that Duke Mosley is compiling a list of individuals he plans on executing before his death to settle old grudges. No one seems to know who's on the list, but speculations are rife among the Hellknights. Rowen wonders how he can capitalize on this situation. He decides to spread rumors through town and wipe up the hysteria that surrounds the fears of an epidemic. Throughout the day, more and more people gather to listen to speakers at the fountain boasting of the benefits of joining the Death Cult. Rowen rubs his hands in glee.
Daryle and Darelle connect at the Hunters' Lodge. There they are met by Shim Longbranch, who is very much out of breath. He has run all the way from Dimsdale to report that an army of emerald automatons has laid siege to the village. They are left by four different Geralds. Shim reports he barely managed to escape the siege. Gerald has threatened to burn the village down to the ground if a powerful object is not turned over to him before nightfall. Shim tells the Coopers that the inhabitants have fled across the bridge into the forest, but all fighters have remained behind to resist the invasion. The Dimsdalers have some experience with a siege, having suffered one only a few months back. The sisters agree to help Shim. Darelle summons her jar of cloud and they fly south, reaching Dimsdale a half hour later. Shim also mentions that his patrols have discovered that the giants have finally arrived and that they have setup a camp at the base of the Emerald Spire and could attack at any moment.
They spot from the sky four distinct forces arrayed against the village, all led by a different Gerald. They all appear to be collaborating together. Darelle and Daryle land beyond the village, connect with the refugees, and then enter the village. They meet Dunleaf Appletop, Dimsdale's mayor, who informs them of Gerald's demands. He doesn't know what Gerald wants, but he'll fight to protect his village. Daryle heads out and, under a flag of truce, meets with Gerald. He reveals that he has had a vision that the Hellknights have hidden a powerful weapon in Dimsdale. In his vision he has seen Duke Mosley use the weapon to destroy Fort Inevitable, and he wants to prevent that from happening. He's not sure what he is searching for, but he is convinced it is here in the village. If it is not turned over by nightfall, he will order an assault and burn everything to the ground. During this conversation, Gerald is joined by the other Geralds, who all agree that this is the proper course of action. All of them have had similar visions, and they all sincerely believe that they are saving the town from certain doom. Daryle informs the Geralds of the events that have transpired in Fort Inevitable over the last few days. Gerald is encouraged that his vision is coming true, and he threatens his sister with bodily harm if she remains in the village.
Daryle returns to the village and reports what she has discovered from Gerald. Darelle, meanwhile, searches the former Hellknight barrack and discovers a secret space behind a wall. In this small space she finds a lead chest. Even without any particular ability regarding the detection of evil, Darelle feels a faint trace of it emanating from the chest. The sisters remove the chest from Dimsdale and depart on their cloud. The Geralds sense that the object has been removed. One Gerald returns to Fort Inevitable to retrieve his wife and mother and save them from the destruction that's about to take place. One Gerald takes control of some automatons and heads back to the Emerald Spire. Another Gerald decides to search for the missing Hellknights, while the last Gerald launches an assault on Dimsdale with greatly diminished forces and is quickly wiped out. Darelle and Daryle head back to the Hunters' Lodge.
There they meet six members of the Seven Foxes. Dunleaf remained in Dimsdale. The Foxes advise they have about 80 fighters ready to seize key infrastructure areas of Fort Inevitable if an attack by giants and Greenhide leads the Hellknights to attempt a sortie. They are concerned, however, about the remaining civilian population still in the Fort. Darelle and Daryle agree that in case of an assault on the town, the Foxes' forces will need to remain hidden until needed to either turn the tide of battle or to remove weakened Hellknight forces. Abernard Royst identifies the object the Coopers retrieved from Dimsdale as the Octillio Crystal Sphere, a deadly weapon that could destroy a large section of the town.
In the late afternoon, feeling that the Death Cult has been sufficiently frenzied, Rowen leads a group of about 100 individuals out of Fort Inevitable. The Hellknights do not oppose this departure, correctly assuming that these discontented folks were better off beyond the wall, and possibly dead, in their quest to get rid of the powers that dwell in the Emerald Spire. Having taken refuge in a barn, Thorne spots the procession and follows it. The crowd walks down the road and passes in front of the Hunters' Lodge. Rowen senses the evil of the object newly acquired by the Cooper sisters, and he attempts to break into the Lodge. His attempts are repulsed none too gently by Daryle, and Rowen accepts for the time being to move his group away from the Lodge, bidding his time.
Omok, who also joined the Coopers at the Lodge, feels the pull of the object as well. Rowen attempts to convince Omok to join him and take the object by force, but reason prevails and Omok chooses not to align himself with Rowen at this time. Thorne, who has observed this whole exchange, also attempts to enter the Hunters' Lodge, but is turned away by Daryle. She vociferates a series of threats and advises him that he needs to step up. To prove his loyalty to the family, he must organize an evacuation of Fort Inevitable. If an assault does come, he must get as many inhabitants out as possible.
Thorne returns to town and, working with his remaining contacts, creates a plan that will safely see most of the remaining residents depart Fort Inevitable in the first minutes of the conflict. Darelle contacts Zoarth and delivers a message telling him about the alliance between hill and cloud giants and Greenhide, and request any possible assistance the cloud giant could provide. Worried about their new object, the sisters decide to hide it in the dimensional gate below the Hunters' Lodge. It's possible, but improbable, that a creature from that level of the Abyss would stumble upon it, and it would also remove its influence from the Material Plane. The sisters thus take into the basement, through the mine tunnels, and into the Abyss, before using the hand of banishment to block access again from the Abyss.
As night falls, the Coopers feel as ready as they ever will for what is surely to come on the following day.
Showing posts with label Shim Longbranch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shim Longbranch. Show all posts
Friday, September 8, 2017
Friday, June 23, 2017
The poisoned sausages investigation
Sarenith 22, 4712
Waking up from their really bad collective dream, the Coopers find themselves laying in very soft beds in separate rooms at the Juliver Arms. Doliver apologizes profusely for their predicament and mentions that others also suffered the same fate. The Coopers are puzzled. How did they all suffer the same dream, and why? A few questions reveal that all of the individuals around town who were affected had consumed Karlyle the Butcher's freshly made sausage. But why would Karlyle want to poison everyone?
The Coopers are also confused to find Gerald in their mists. Gerald reports that he'd been out from work yesterday and prepared a meal of sausage. Daryle gets angry that there are so many Geralds running around. Omok proposes that they start killing each Gerald they encounter until they stop encountering them. Then at last they will be free from the sorcerer's gaffes. Gerald agrees that he needs an identifying mark to distinguish him from the others so that his family members know that he's the real one. He goes to the blacksmith and gets him to carve a dragon design in his protuding horn. There! A unique design. What could possibly go wrong?
Meanwhile, Omok questions the orb of command "What being planned to put hallucinogenic drugs in our food that made us have a collective dream?" The orb indicates that Master Lobeck, one of the high ranking poisoners in Daggermark, has planned the poisoning operation. Omok is mad that the orb does not tell him why, but the orb only answers one question per day. Roscoe is vaguely familiar with that name. Master is Lobeck's first name, and not an honorific. He is described as bald with a tonsure haircut, and is supposedly the third highest ranking member of the poisoners' guild.
Roscoe reports to the Citadel and talks to the second in command. There are several reports that others in the town have experienced a similar food poisoning, but none of them seem to have experienced as vivid dreams as the Coopers. Seventeen individuals were arrested for disturbing the peace. In all likelihood they suffered from this poisoning. Daryle checks the Hunters' Lodge. Shim Longbranch has nothing to report. They did not eat any of Karlyle's sausage yesterday. Shim mentions that the new recruits' training is going well.
Gathered back at the Juliver Arms, the Coopers decide to postpone their trip to the Emerald Spire and instead investigate the sausage poisoning. The sausage was smoked and freshly made that day. Doliver brings his last sausage. Roscoe detects poison, and it comes back as clearly poisoned. Gerald identifies the sausages and discovers traces of evocation. The sausage is both poisoned and magical. Or is it a magical poison?
Daryle decides she will talk to Karlyle. The butcher is happy to describe his sausage-making process, and shows the Coopers his instruments. Daryle discovers that the spice blend that Karlyle puts together has been altered. Darelle pinpoints angel blue as the suspicious herb that has been added. This herb grows in the depths of the Mwangi jungle. It is used by shamans to inspire dreams and acquire visions, and is considered to have some evocative magical properties. Karlyle mentions that early yesterday morning Jeff, the baker's apprentice, had come by to deliver bread before dawn and he had pointed there was a man on the roof. Karlyle and his apprentices had left the shop for a few minutes and had scanned the roofline, finding nothing. Jeff swore that there had been a man up there. The butcher and his workers scoffed and returned to work. The alteration of the herb mix must have happened then.
The Coopers decide to find Jeff. He's a simpleton who has worked with the baker for over two decades. Darelle questions Jeff about the man on the roof, and Jeff swears there was a man up there yesterday at dawn, but he did not get a good look. The Coopers head back to Karlyle's neighborhood. On the roof they discover traces of footsteps. It last rained three days ago, so the footsteps are recent. Omok investigates the building on the other side of the street, and finds an old deaf woman. Omok removes deafness from the old woman. She had not heard anything. But her granddaughter reports that there were noises on the roof two nights ago. Omok returns to the roof and places a symbol of sleep on the weathervane. He hopes to affect the rogue if he returns in the night.
Daryle goes to tell Dr. Mordel about angel blue Erynna tells her she hasn't seen Mordel. He ate ome of the sausage for lunch yesterday. The ranger decides she will wait until sunset to see if the doctor will stir.
Roscoe returns to the Citadel and visits prisoners. All of them tell a similar story of eating sausages, then experiencing strange and uncomfortable dreams. Roscoe orders the prisoners released, and does not assess fines for their breach of peace. Roscoe then heads back to Karlyle and he orders the butcher to use entirely new spices and "beef" up his security.
At dusk, Dr. Mordel awakens with an incredibly powerful headache. Daryle explains what happened to many of the residents of Fort Inevitable. Mordel reports that he experienced heightened frustrations and angers and loosened inhibitions while under the sway of the sausage. Darelle brings a sample of angel blue to Dr. Mordel for further analysis.
Daryle notifies the rest of the seven and explains what has transpired in town the last two days. They agree to be on the lookout for strange events. The ranger also decides to camp outside the treasury, remembering that one time when someone broke in and stole all of the money under similarly strange circumstances. Omok, for his part, waits on the roof. Their fears are unfounded however, and the night passes quietly.
Sarenith 23, 4712
In the morning, a different Gerald appears in town, trailing strange sand under his boots. Daryle recognizes the sand as being the same one located in the old mine near Shadowborn Manor. This one gets a tiger carved in his horn. Darelle visits Falandra, and discovers that there's a third Gerald working there. Falandra and Darelle discuss the problem, and Falandra remembers reading a tome about what was called the "Cassandra Effect." A wizard had supposedly developed a spell that could summon a mirror image of a living person, with the same memories up to the summoning. This sort of spell could explain the presence of multiple Geralds that seem to appear then disappear at random.
Daryle and Roscoe devise a plan to tell every Gerald they meet to be at the Hunters' Lodge in a week's time at 4pm. When they all show up, they will be captured. Daryle then decide to explore the tunnels and goes to the mine. She discovers that it is still in operation, but there are no Hellknigths present. Further investigation by Roscoe at the Citadel reveal that Thorne had ordered the mine closed a few months back because the supply of iron ore had been depleted. Clearly, it had not been.
The Coopers and Omok go to the mine with 24 Hellknights. The miscreants turn out to be connected with the poisoners' guild, and despite heavy losses the Hellknights under the valiant leadership of Roscoe manage to regain control of the mine. Gerald sheds a tear for the loss of his turtle a year ago in this very spot under less pleasant circumstances.
Waking up from their really bad collective dream, the Coopers find themselves laying in very soft beds in separate rooms at the Juliver Arms. Doliver apologizes profusely for their predicament and mentions that others also suffered the same fate. The Coopers are puzzled. How did they all suffer the same dream, and why? A few questions reveal that all of the individuals around town who were affected had consumed Karlyle the Butcher's freshly made sausage. But why would Karlyle want to poison everyone?
The Coopers are also confused to find Gerald in their mists. Gerald reports that he'd been out from work yesterday and prepared a meal of sausage. Daryle gets angry that there are so many Geralds running around. Omok proposes that they start killing each Gerald they encounter until they stop encountering them. Then at last they will be free from the sorcerer's gaffes. Gerald agrees that he needs an identifying mark to distinguish him from the others so that his family members know that he's the real one. He goes to the blacksmith and gets him to carve a dragon design in his protuding horn. There! A unique design. What could possibly go wrong?
Meanwhile, Omok questions the orb of command "What being planned to put hallucinogenic drugs in our food that made us have a collective dream?" The orb indicates that Master Lobeck, one of the high ranking poisoners in Daggermark, has planned the poisoning operation. Omok is mad that the orb does not tell him why, but the orb only answers one question per day. Roscoe is vaguely familiar with that name. Master is Lobeck's first name, and not an honorific. He is described as bald with a tonsure haircut, and is supposedly the third highest ranking member of the poisoners' guild.
Roscoe reports to the Citadel and talks to the second in command. There are several reports that others in the town have experienced a similar food poisoning, but none of them seem to have experienced as vivid dreams as the Coopers. Seventeen individuals were arrested for disturbing the peace. In all likelihood they suffered from this poisoning. Daryle checks the Hunters' Lodge. Shim Longbranch has nothing to report. They did not eat any of Karlyle's sausage yesterday. Shim mentions that the new recruits' training is going well.
Gathered back at the Juliver Arms, the Coopers decide to postpone their trip to the Emerald Spire and instead investigate the sausage poisoning. The sausage was smoked and freshly made that day. Doliver brings his last sausage. Roscoe detects poison, and it comes back as clearly poisoned. Gerald identifies the sausages and discovers traces of evocation. The sausage is both poisoned and magical. Or is it a magical poison?
Daryle decides she will talk to Karlyle. The butcher is happy to describe his sausage-making process, and shows the Coopers his instruments. Daryle discovers that the spice blend that Karlyle puts together has been altered. Darelle pinpoints angel blue as the suspicious herb that has been added. This herb grows in the depths of the Mwangi jungle. It is used by shamans to inspire dreams and acquire visions, and is considered to have some evocative magical properties. Karlyle mentions that early yesterday morning Jeff, the baker's apprentice, had come by to deliver bread before dawn and he had pointed there was a man on the roof. Karlyle and his apprentices had left the shop for a few minutes and had scanned the roofline, finding nothing. Jeff swore that there had been a man up there. The butcher and his workers scoffed and returned to work. The alteration of the herb mix must have happened then.
The Coopers decide to find Jeff. He's a simpleton who has worked with the baker for over two decades. Darelle questions Jeff about the man on the roof, and Jeff swears there was a man up there yesterday at dawn, but he did not get a good look. The Coopers head back to Karlyle's neighborhood. On the roof they discover traces of footsteps. It last rained three days ago, so the footsteps are recent. Omok investigates the building on the other side of the street, and finds an old deaf woman. Omok removes deafness from the old woman. She had not heard anything. But her granddaughter reports that there were noises on the roof two nights ago. Omok returns to the roof and places a symbol of sleep on the weathervane. He hopes to affect the rogue if he returns in the night.
Daryle goes to tell Dr. Mordel about angel blue Erynna tells her she hasn't seen Mordel. He ate ome of the sausage for lunch yesterday. The ranger decides she will wait until sunset to see if the doctor will stir.
Roscoe returns to the Citadel and visits prisoners. All of them tell a similar story of eating sausages, then experiencing strange and uncomfortable dreams. Roscoe orders the prisoners released, and does not assess fines for their breach of peace. Roscoe then heads back to Karlyle and he orders the butcher to use entirely new spices and "beef" up his security.
At dusk, Dr. Mordel awakens with an incredibly powerful headache. Daryle explains what happened to many of the residents of Fort Inevitable. Mordel reports that he experienced heightened frustrations and angers and loosened inhibitions while under the sway of the sausage. Darelle brings a sample of angel blue to Dr. Mordel for further analysis.
Daryle notifies the rest of the seven and explains what has transpired in town the last two days. They agree to be on the lookout for strange events. The ranger also decides to camp outside the treasury, remembering that one time when someone broke in and stole all of the money under similarly strange circumstances. Omok, for his part, waits on the roof. Their fears are unfounded however, and the night passes quietly.
Sarenith 23, 4712
In the morning, a different Gerald appears in town, trailing strange sand under his boots. Daryle recognizes the sand as being the same one located in the old mine near Shadowborn Manor. This one gets a tiger carved in his horn. Darelle visits Falandra, and discovers that there's a third Gerald working there. Falandra and Darelle discuss the problem, and Falandra remembers reading a tome about what was called the "Cassandra Effect." A wizard had supposedly developed a spell that could summon a mirror image of a living person, with the same memories up to the summoning. This sort of spell could explain the presence of multiple Geralds that seem to appear then disappear at random.
Daryle and Roscoe devise a plan to tell every Gerald they meet to be at the Hunters' Lodge in a week's time at 4pm. When they all show up, they will be captured. Daryle then decide to explore the tunnels and goes to the mine. She discovers that it is still in operation, but there are no Hellknigths present. Further investigation by Roscoe at the Citadel reveal that Thorne had ordered the mine closed a few months back because the supply of iron ore had been depleted. Clearly, it had not been.
The Coopers and Omok go to the mine with 24 Hellknights. The miscreants turn out to be connected with the poisoners' guild, and despite heavy losses the Hellknights under the valiant leadership of Roscoe manage to regain control of the mine. Gerald sheds a tear for the loss of his turtle a year ago in this very spot under less pleasant circumstances.
Friday, May 19, 2017
The cloud giant's cats
Erastus 3, 4712
Following the green storm that affected the area two weeks ago, a flood of cats have appeared in Fort Inevitable and have made themselves a general nuisance with their incessant begging and meowing. Residents, fed up with the noise and the aggravations, have requested that measures be taken to rid the town of its unwanted cat residents. The only benefit seems to be that there are no rodents left anywhere within five miles of Fort Inevitable.
Plagued with so many cats, residents are asking that a solution be found. Roscoe asks his two ranger sisters to come up with ideas. Daryle can't come up with anything specific, but Darelle proposes that a cat recipe contest be held. This event, to be called the Purrfect Plate festival, could take place in one week, giving enough time to the area's best cooks to learn how to cook cats. Roscoe thinks it's a great idea, and he approves it. He orders that notices be posted and the town crier spread the news.
The sisters return to Daryle's place to continue working on their renovations. After a light lunch at the Shadowborn Manor, Daryle and Darelle receive a visitor. Shim Longbranch brings the sisters a wheelbarrow in which is a large burlap bag. He tells them that he and the recruits were out hunting in the woods west of the Emerald Spire yesterday when they ambushed a trio of goblins. They were heading west, away from the Spire, and were carrying this bag with them. Darelle inquires the direction in which they were heading, and Shim replies towards giants country. All three goblins bore the mark of Greenhide's Dark Blood tribe.
Shim wheels the wheelbarrow inside the courtyard, and Darelle takes it out of the bag. a large tome written in dwarvish. Using her Eastern Star ioun stone, she translates the title of the book for Shim and Daryle. Titled The Strength of the Mighty in dwarwish, Darelle is unable to open the book as it appears to be magically locked. Invited to remain for lunch, Shim shares a meal with the sisters and leaves to return to the Hunters' Lodge. Darelle sends a tree token message to Falandra asking her to come and examine the new book.
Falandra arrives a couple hours later, and after looking at the book and casting a few spells she informs the Cooper sisters that only a wizard with giant blood can counteract the magic lock placed on this book. Fortunately, she knows of a cloud giant wizard named Zoarth, who is a collector of books much like herself. She has met him a couple of times at intriguing book auctions held in learned cities, and is willing to travel with the sisters to go visit him. When Darelle tells her they will be employing her blue pegasus, Falandra decides a letter introducing the sisters to Zoarth would be much better.
Falandra also tells the sisters that Zoarth is not only a book collector but a lover of cats. He has hundreds of them in his keep. Thus, the recent appearance of both this book and of the cats in Fort Inevitable may be connected with the green storm. As to why the goblins were transporting the book, she can only speculate that Greenhide had figured out how it was locked and they were probably taking it to their giant allies so it could be opened.
If the cats in town are indeed Zoarth, they are about to be eaten. Darelle decides that Roscoe must be warned before the notices go up, but at the same moment they heard the town crier passing by, yelling out information about the new festival while hanging up a notice from a nearby tree.
Armed with directions and Falandra's letter of introduction, Daryle and Darelle fly on the blue pegasus and arrive in the wizard's keep area about three hours later.A large storm blocks forward progress in the air, but the trees below are not completely bent, which suggests that the strength of the winds is much lower on the ground. The sisters decide to land and walk the remaining distance. The going is not difficult and soon they overtake a group of four hill giants accompanied by two ogres and four dire wolves, as well as a truly massive dire wolf leading the pack. They wisely decide to keep a distance between them and the giants' party. Eventually, they clear the storm and enter its eye. The winds die down, and they can see a truly magnificent keep floating on a cloud. A brass road spirals from the ground to the keep's main entrance. There are several giants on the path, and the party they were following begins the ascend.
Sensing combat in their future, Daryle hides the book, and they too begin to climb the ramp. After two complete loops, they arrive at the base of the keep. The doors are still fifty feet up from here and another quarter turn, but it looks like someone breached the basement of the keep and entered it through a large hole. From the hole a hill giant with hammers instead of hands steps out, and he gloats that the great wizard could only get such puny allies to help him. He then attacks the sisters. Shooting from a distance, they get two volley of arrows into him before he reaches them. He almost knocks Darelle off the ramp to her doom, but Daryle rescues her, and a well-placed arrow in his eye sends the giant to the edge. Darelle finishes him off with a well-placed sword hit to the knee which forces him over the edge. He crashes a hundred feet below and does not get up.
The Coopers glance inside the hole. They notice a large room, where five hill giants and a stone giant fight a huge air elemental. They join the fray and hurl arrows at the giants, who are too engaged with the elemental to notice the two humans taking cover behind a fallen giant. However a well placed arrow to the stone giant's rear end attracts his attention, and as the air elemental dies, the remaining three giants attack. Daryle and Darelle make quick work of them, but must pause to heal. They are approached by a cat who asks them to go to the base of keep, which is under attack and in danger of collapsing. The sisters can feel it vibrate and oscillate dangerously every minute or so. If the keep falls out of sky, all of its denizens will die on impact.
They quickly travel downstairs and come upon a frost giant and an insect-like creature from the outer planes. The creature is attacking the column with a spear, transforming the mist into ice and shattering it. Darelle summons a small fire elemental, and the situation becomes a stalemate. Daryle notices that the giant is controlling the creature, and the sisters attack the giant. Darelle casts entangle, and Daryle lights the entanglement on fire, causing significant damage. The planar creature does not react, but continues to fight the fire elemental. The Coopers fight the frost giant but nearly lose their lives in the process. They succeed in killing the giant, only to realize that it was the planar creature that controlled it, not the other way around. Sensing that its moment of glory has come, the planar creature jumps into the columnhoping to destroy it but Darelle communes with her deity and her small elemental intercepts the devil as it teleports, preventing it from reaching the column.
The Coopers ascend the stairs, again, and reach the great entry hall. Here, a cloud giant stands in the arms of an even bigger statue and fires lightning bolts at hill and stone giants. A giant meaner than most riding an armored triceratops charges the Coopers, and they fight savagely while all around them the giants continue to battle. The effort is staggering, but the sisters are eventually triumphant over the giant, and the triceratops in its fear and anger rushes out the hall and slips on the brass ramp, falling to its miserable end. At the same time Zoarth manages to kill the last giant, and soon all three of them meet at the base of the statue.
Zoarth introduces himself and thanks the Coopers profusely for coming to his aid. Hundreds of cats emerge from their hiding places and begin to swarm both the wizard and the Coopers. They give him Falandra's letter of introduction, and Zoarth tells them that any friend of Falandra is a friend of his. They explain the purpose of their visit, and soon they recuperate the book. Zoarth tells them what it does and explains that it can be read twice more before its magical powers are exhausted. Thanking them again, he gifts them the book. He then tells them he has a request. He's not sure why these giants have attacked his keep, but he's convinced there will be another assault. He wants to investigate who's behind the attack, but can't leave the keep. Could the sisters take it upon themselves to find out who sponsored this assault? He would reward them handsomely if they could. They agree to help. Zoarth tells them he will bring them back to Fort Inevitable and recuperate his cats. Darelle asks him how they will travel, and Zoarth proudly displays a cupboard filled with jars of cloud, one of his proudest inventions.
Darelle sends a tree token message to Roscoe to explain the misunderstanding about the cats and request the cancellation of the festival and their arrival. In Fort Inevitable Zoarth is reunited with his cats, and he tells the sisters that it shouldn't be too hard to follow the trail of destruction that brought the giants to his keep. He also warns the sisters about the dragon that dwells in the hills about a day's trip away from the hill giants' fort ...
Following the green storm that affected the area two weeks ago, a flood of cats have appeared in Fort Inevitable and have made themselves a general nuisance with their incessant begging and meowing. Residents, fed up with the noise and the aggravations, have requested that measures be taken to rid the town of its unwanted cat residents. The only benefit seems to be that there are no rodents left anywhere within five miles of Fort Inevitable.
Plagued with so many cats, residents are asking that a solution be found. Roscoe asks his two ranger sisters to come up with ideas. Daryle can't come up with anything specific, but Darelle proposes that a cat recipe contest be held. This event, to be called the Purrfect Plate festival, could take place in one week, giving enough time to the area's best cooks to learn how to cook cats. Roscoe thinks it's a great idea, and he approves it. He orders that notices be posted and the town crier spread the news.
The sisters return to Daryle's place to continue working on their renovations. After a light lunch at the Shadowborn Manor, Daryle and Darelle receive a visitor. Shim Longbranch brings the sisters a wheelbarrow in which is a large burlap bag. He tells them that he and the recruits were out hunting in the woods west of the Emerald Spire yesterday when they ambushed a trio of goblins. They were heading west, away from the Spire, and were carrying this bag with them. Darelle inquires the direction in which they were heading, and Shim replies towards giants country. All three goblins bore the mark of Greenhide's Dark Blood tribe.
Shim wheels the wheelbarrow inside the courtyard, and Darelle takes it out of the bag. a large tome written in dwarvish. Using her Eastern Star ioun stone, she translates the title of the book for Shim and Daryle. Titled The Strength of the Mighty in dwarwish, Darelle is unable to open the book as it appears to be magically locked. Invited to remain for lunch, Shim shares a meal with the sisters and leaves to return to the Hunters' Lodge. Darelle sends a tree token message to Falandra asking her to come and examine the new book.
Falandra arrives a couple hours later, and after looking at the book and casting a few spells she informs the Cooper sisters that only a wizard with giant blood can counteract the magic lock placed on this book. Fortunately, she knows of a cloud giant wizard named Zoarth, who is a collector of books much like herself. She has met him a couple of times at intriguing book auctions held in learned cities, and is willing to travel with the sisters to go visit him. When Darelle tells her they will be employing her blue pegasus, Falandra decides a letter introducing the sisters to Zoarth would be much better.
Falandra also tells the sisters that Zoarth is not only a book collector but a lover of cats. He has hundreds of them in his keep. Thus, the recent appearance of both this book and of the cats in Fort Inevitable may be connected with the green storm. As to why the goblins were transporting the book, she can only speculate that Greenhide had figured out how it was locked and they were probably taking it to their giant allies so it could be opened.
If the cats in town are indeed Zoarth, they are about to be eaten. Darelle decides that Roscoe must be warned before the notices go up, but at the same moment they heard the town crier passing by, yelling out information about the new festival while hanging up a notice from a nearby tree.
Armed with directions and Falandra's letter of introduction, Daryle and Darelle fly on the blue pegasus and arrive in the wizard's keep area about three hours later.A large storm blocks forward progress in the air, but the trees below are not completely bent, which suggests that the strength of the winds is much lower on the ground. The sisters decide to land and walk the remaining distance. The going is not difficult and soon they overtake a group of four hill giants accompanied by two ogres and four dire wolves, as well as a truly massive dire wolf leading the pack. They wisely decide to keep a distance between them and the giants' party. Eventually, they clear the storm and enter its eye. The winds die down, and they can see a truly magnificent keep floating on a cloud. A brass road spirals from the ground to the keep's main entrance. There are several giants on the path, and the party they were following begins the ascend.
Sensing combat in their future, Daryle hides the book, and they too begin to climb the ramp. After two complete loops, they arrive at the base of the keep. The doors are still fifty feet up from here and another quarter turn, but it looks like someone breached the basement of the keep and entered it through a large hole. From the hole a hill giant with hammers instead of hands steps out, and he gloats that the great wizard could only get such puny allies to help him. He then attacks the sisters. Shooting from a distance, they get two volley of arrows into him before he reaches them. He almost knocks Darelle off the ramp to her doom, but Daryle rescues her, and a well-placed arrow in his eye sends the giant to the edge. Darelle finishes him off with a well-placed sword hit to the knee which forces him over the edge. He crashes a hundred feet below and does not get up.
The Coopers glance inside the hole. They notice a large room, where five hill giants and a stone giant fight a huge air elemental. They join the fray and hurl arrows at the giants, who are too engaged with the elemental to notice the two humans taking cover behind a fallen giant. However a well placed arrow to the stone giant's rear end attracts his attention, and as the air elemental dies, the remaining three giants attack. Daryle and Darelle make quick work of them, but must pause to heal. They are approached by a cat who asks them to go to the base of keep, which is under attack and in danger of collapsing. The sisters can feel it vibrate and oscillate dangerously every minute or so. If the keep falls out of sky, all of its denizens will die on impact.
They quickly travel downstairs and come upon a frost giant and an insect-like creature from the outer planes. The creature is attacking the column with a spear, transforming the mist into ice and shattering it. Darelle summons a small fire elemental, and the situation becomes a stalemate. Daryle notices that the giant is controlling the creature, and the sisters attack the giant. Darelle casts entangle, and Daryle lights the entanglement on fire, causing significant damage. The planar creature does not react, but continues to fight the fire elemental. The Coopers fight the frost giant but nearly lose their lives in the process. They succeed in killing the giant, only to realize that it was the planar creature that controlled it, not the other way around. Sensing that its moment of glory has come, the planar creature jumps into the columnhoping to destroy it but Darelle communes with her deity and her small elemental intercepts the devil as it teleports, preventing it from reaching the column.
The Coopers ascend the stairs, again, and reach the great entry hall. Here, a cloud giant stands in the arms of an even bigger statue and fires lightning bolts at hill and stone giants. A giant meaner than most riding an armored triceratops charges the Coopers, and they fight savagely while all around them the giants continue to battle. The effort is staggering, but the sisters are eventually triumphant over the giant, and the triceratops in its fear and anger rushes out the hall and slips on the brass ramp, falling to its miserable end. At the same time Zoarth manages to kill the last giant, and soon all three of them meet at the base of the statue.
Zoarth introduces himself and thanks the Coopers profusely for coming to his aid. Hundreds of cats emerge from their hiding places and begin to swarm both the wizard and the Coopers. They give him Falandra's letter of introduction, and Zoarth tells them that any friend of Falandra is a friend of his. They explain the purpose of their visit, and soon they recuperate the book. Zoarth tells them what it does and explains that it can be read twice more before its magical powers are exhausted. Thanking them again, he gifts them the book. He then tells them he has a request. He's not sure why these giants have attacked his keep, but he's convinced there will be another assault. He wants to investigate who's behind the attack, but can't leave the keep. Could the sisters take it upon themselves to find out who sponsored this assault? He would reward them handsomely if they could. They agree to help. Zoarth tells them he will bring them back to Fort Inevitable and recuperate his cats. Darelle asks him how they will travel, and Zoarth proudly displays a cupboard filled with jars of cloud, one of his proudest inventions.
Darelle sends a tree token message to Roscoe to explain the misunderstanding about the cats and request the cancellation of the festival and their arrival. In Fort Inevitable Zoarth is reunited with his cats, and he tells the sisters that it shouldn't be too hard to follow the trail of destruction that brought the giants to his keep. He also warns the sisters about the dragon that dwells in the hills about a day's trip away from the hill giants' fort ...
Saturday, February 25, 2017
Seeing the forest for the trees
Gozran 28, 4712
The sisters are summoned to the Citadel early in the morning to meet with their brother Roscoe, commander of Fort Inevitable. Roscoe informs Darelle and Daryle that the halfling population of Dimsdale has risen up against their Hellknight protectors and are preventing any more felling of timber as required in his order of Calistril 28, 4712. Furthermore, they are holding seven Hellknights hostage. Roscoe wants them to head to Dimsdale to settle this dispute with the haflings, but there is neither money to be offered nor flexibility on the amount of wood that needs to be collected. The Hellknights originally estimated that over three million board feet were needed to renovate the town, and currently about 75% of the destroyed part of town has been rebuilt. Roscoe tells the sisters that the most recent estimates from Thorne indicate that another 750,000 board feet of wood is needed to complete the repairs.
Darelle uses her tree token and sends a messenger bird to notify Dunleaf Appletop, Dimsdale's mayor, that they are on their way. Daryle suggests that her sister talk to Mother Holworth about any known way to speed growth of trees. Mother Holworth reports that many decades ago, there was a fey named Eithne. She has met her several times as a small child in the small woods surrounding the pond in the back of the farm. She remembers her being very tall, with long hair stretching down to her feet. She once gave her a pouch of magic seeds. When planted, these seeds immediately grew to their adult size and bore fruit, which retained some of the magic. Over the course of a few years, Mother Holworth's garden grew so fertile and rich that it became the envy of the neighbors. She doesn't know of a way to attract Eithne, and she seems to simply appear and disappear without making a sound or leaving tracks. She also hasn't seen her in many decades.
On the way to Dimsdale, Darelle plays her golden flute in the hopes of attracting fey folks, but either there are none around at the moment or they do not wish to be contacted. She then decides to gathers some fresh healing herbs.
The sisters arrive in Dimsdale midday. A camp of roughly one hundred Hellknights has been erected a mile down the road from Dimsdale, out in the plain. The landscape around is entirely barren. They have cut down everything around the western portion of the village. Dimsdale itself is now protected by a stout stockade fence. Maralictor Gregg is the Hellknight officer in charge of the camp. Darelle introduces herself to the commander and presents her commission. Gregg explains that his orders have been to cut down all of the trees. He reports that the inhabitants of Dimsdale resisted the cuts when it got too close to the village, and there were several incidents that forced the Hellknights to destroy some homesteads. A week ago the halflings stole wood overnight and built a stockade around the village, capturing seven Hellknight soldiers in the process. These soldiers are now being held hostag within the village.
Daryle points out to Gregg, who is not from this area, that most of the mead drunk in Fort Inevitable comes from Dimsdale. More selective cutting would preserve the environment and allow for the necessary shade to protect the plants and flowers that the bees use to produce honey. Gregg admits that he did not know the village derives much of its wealth from alcohol, but he has his orders to enforce. Daryle tells Gregg that the sisters will head into the village and negotiate directly with the Mayer. Perhaps there is a simple way to resolve this issue.
The sisters then move to the village itself. They are refused access at first, but when they introduce themselves they are welcomed with open arms. Dunleaf Appletop is thrilled to see them. He tells them he got their message, and inquires if they have come to help them against the Hellknights. He informs them that he has sent several messages in the last two weeks requesting their assistance, but the sisters never received any of them.
Back at his house, Dunleaf Appletop tells the Coopers that Hellknights have cut trees near houses, and have demolished houses when the residents refused to allow the trees being cut on their properties. No one was killed, but a few people were hurt in the scuffle. He admits that they took the lumber to build the stockade, but only to protect themselves against a Hellknight assault. Appletop realizes that the village does not stand a chance against the large force outside the walls, but if they have to they will resist to the bitter end.
Daryle mentions that everyone has to pitch in to rebuild the damage Fort Inevitable suffered. Appletop replies that Shim Longbranch, local ranger and wood expert, has estimated that the Hellknights have already harvested over four million board feet in the last three months in this area alone, and that there are several other harvesting areas. Darelle sends her tree token to report the problem to Gerald so he can investigate where the wood has gone.
Darelle asks if there are any parts of the forest that are not protected by spirits. Appletop reports that a fey named Eithne, but the fey has not been seen in at least a year. Darelle and Daryle meet Shim, who tells them about the gnarled old man who has moved in to the forest across the river. He's left the path alone, but is protecting the forest with his wolverines. There has been fey folks all around the village, but with the clear cutting they have left, and without Eithne's protection it's not clear what the impact will be on the mead production in the fall.
The Coopers return to meet with Maralictor Gregg, and begin negotiations. They expected Gregg would not see reason, but he seems surprisingly malleable. Daryle examines a copy of the Maralictor's orders, and they do in fact specify clear-cutting all around the village. Gregg agrees that if the wood came from across the bridge, he would not have to cut the remaining trees on this side of the ravine. Darelle states that Appletop is opposed to that, due to the gnarled old man's presence and possible retribution against the village. Gregg replies that he must get the wood as ordered. Daryle asks him how the wood is transported. Gregg replies that every day the same team of oxens, carts, and teamsters arrive, load up the wood, and take it to Fort Inevitable. But according to Shim, most of it does not make it there. Gregg compares his notes with the quantities requested from the Fort and notices the glaring discrepancies. He agrees to escort the carts from now on to ensure their safe delivery. Daryle proposes a compromise. The sisters, Gregg, a couple of Hellknigths, and Appletop should cross the bridge and contact the gnarled old man, then negotiate the harvest of the best trees from the other side. Appletop agrees to this course of action, but only in exchange for the Hellknights leaving Dimsdale alone afterwards. Gregg agrees that if enough wood is harvested, the Hellknights will leave Dimsdale alone.
The party crosses across the river. Darelle yields "We seek to parley," but no one answers. The party gets off the road, and heads into the woods. After ten minutes, they still haven't encountered anyone. Darelle uses her ranger's abilities and talks to a squirrel. The squirrel tells her that the gnarled old man is nearby. They reach a clearing near the river, with a large group of rocks piled together. Eight large wolverines lay on the rocks, sunning themselves in the late afternoon sun. They seemed unfazed to see the Coopers.
Suddenly, an overpowering smell of rot drifts through the clearing, and the gnarled old man comes around the rocks. The wolverines warily eye him. He tells them that they shouldn't have gotten off the road, and that now the village will pay for their temerity. Darelle asks him why he's doing this, and he reveals that he enjoys chaos. It turns out that the old man has only been around a few months. When Daryle reveals that they need to harvest wood from this side, the old man attacks. Six Twigjacks appear and join the fight. The wolverines do not. The battle goes poorly at first, with all members of the party suffering grievous wounds, but eventually the gnarled old man retreats by transporting through plants, leaving his twigjacks behind to die.
Exploring the pile of rocks, Darelle finds a cave. In the cave is a giant about 10 feet tall encased in amber. She has very long hair and fine features. She fits the description Mother Holworth gave of Eithne. The Coopers free the fey from the amber after much effort. Eithne reveals she had been targeted by a spell about a year ago that encased her in this magical cage. Darelle asks Eithne if she has any seeds that would help the Hellknights meet their quota while keeping the village forested. She provides the ranger with enough oak seeds to grow the wood needed.
Darelle plants the trees, then the harvest resumes. As trees are felled, more are planted and immediately grow back. By the end of the day, the Hellknigths have harvested enough wood to meet their quota, while enough seeds remain to replenish the forest around Dimsdale. The Coopers successfully negotiated a settlement between the two groups, much to Maralictor Gregg and Mayor Appletop's appreciation.
Gozran 29, 4712
Having received the message from Darelle, Gerald investigates the lumber's disappearance. The one caravan the Cooper sisters interacted with took the lumber to Fort Inevitable, but it was accompanied by a Hellknight patrol so there wouldn't have been the opportunity to divert the lumber. were not able to extract any meaningful information from the teamsters.
Gerald tracks a disgruntled teamster whose tongue gets loose when fueled with free alcohol at the Juliver Arms. After a few drinks, that teamster reveals that large quantities of lumber are being diverted to a water landing in the suburbs of the dead city of Mosswater. The wagons are unloaded there, then the caravan departs and returns to the harvesting site. When they return with another load a few days later the lumber has been removed. The teamster doesn't know who gets the lumber, and he and the rest of his team do not tarry in the area.
Further inquiries reveal that all caravans are now accompanied by Hellknight patrols, so all of the wood is now being delivered to Fort Inevitable.
Gozran 30, 4712
Despite Gerald's best efforts, he is unable to locate Eithne in the area of Dimsdale. On his way back he reflects that his membership in the Hellknights might have been a distraction for the fey. However, in talking to Abernard, the old wizard identifies a spell that might be of use. Called Discern location, this spell can find any object or creature anywhere. Due to the difficulty of performing this spell, however, he indicates that it probably will cost 1,800 gold pieces to acquire a one-use scroll. He can arrange to secure such a scroll, which will take 2d8 days, or Gerald can trek up to Starfall, capital of Numeria, which will take you about four days to get there. Either way, getting a load of lumber to Mosswater at the same time should provide enough time to locate its eventual destination. Now, if only Hellknights were not supervising all caravans of lumber...
The sisters are summoned to the Citadel early in the morning to meet with their brother Roscoe, commander of Fort Inevitable. Roscoe informs Darelle and Daryle that the halfling population of Dimsdale has risen up against their Hellknight protectors and are preventing any more felling of timber as required in his order of Calistril 28, 4712. Furthermore, they are holding seven Hellknights hostage. Roscoe wants them to head to Dimsdale to settle this dispute with the haflings, but there is neither money to be offered nor flexibility on the amount of wood that needs to be collected. The Hellknights originally estimated that over three million board feet were needed to renovate the town, and currently about 75% of the destroyed part of town has been rebuilt. Roscoe tells the sisters that the most recent estimates from Thorne indicate that another 750,000 board feet of wood is needed to complete the repairs.
Darelle uses her tree token and sends a messenger bird to notify Dunleaf Appletop, Dimsdale's mayor, that they are on their way. Daryle suggests that her sister talk to Mother Holworth about any known way to speed growth of trees. Mother Holworth reports that many decades ago, there was a fey named Eithne. She has met her several times as a small child in the small woods surrounding the pond in the back of the farm. She remembers her being very tall, with long hair stretching down to her feet. She once gave her a pouch of magic seeds. When planted, these seeds immediately grew to their adult size and bore fruit, which retained some of the magic. Over the course of a few years, Mother Holworth's garden grew so fertile and rich that it became the envy of the neighbors. She doesn't know of a way to attract Eithne, and she seems to simply appear and disappear without making a sound or leaving tracks. She also hasn't seen her in many decades.
On the way to Dimsdale, Darelle plays her golden flute in the hopes of attracting fey folks, but either there are none around at the moment or they do not wish to be contacted. She then decides to gathers some fresh healing herbs.
The sisters arrive in Dimsdale midday. A camp of roughly one hundred Hellknights has been erected a mile down the road from Dimsdale, out in the plain. The landscape around is entirely barren. They have cut down everything around the western portion of the village. Dimsdale itself is now protected by a stout stockade fence. Maralictor Gregg is the Hellknight officer in charge of the camp. Darelle introduces herself to the commander and presents her commission. Gregg explains that his orders have been to cut down all of the trees. He reports that the inhabitants of Dimsdale resisted the cuts when it got too close to the village, and there were several incidents that forced the Hellknights to destroy some homesteads. A week ago the halflings stole wood overnight and built a stockade around the village, capturing seven Hellknight soldiers in the process. These soldiers are now being held hostag within the village.
Daryle points out to Gregg, who is not from this area, that most of the mead drunk in Fort Inevitable comes from Dimsdale. More selective cutting would preserve the environment and allow for the necessary shade to protect the plants and flowers that the bees use to produce honey. Gregg admits that he did not know the village derives much of its wealth from alcohol, but he has his orders to enforce. Daryle tells Gregg that the sisters will head into the village and negotiate directly with the Mayer. Perhaps there is a simple way to resolve this issue.
The sisters then move to the village itself. They are refused access at first, but when they introduce themselves they are welcomed with open arms. Dunleaf Appletop is thrilled to see them. He tells them he got their message, and inquires if they have come to help them against the Hellknights. He informs them that he has sent several messages in the last two weeks requesting their assistance, but the sisters never received any of them.
Back at his house, Dunleaf Appletop tells the Coopers that Hellknights have cut trees near houses, and have demolished houses when the residents refused to allow the trees being cut on their properties. No one was killed, but a few people were hurt in the scuffle. He admits that they took the lumber to build the stockade, but only to protect themselves against a Hellknight assault. Appletop realizes that the village does not stand a chance against the large force outside the walls, but if they have to they will resist to the bitter end.
Daryle mentions that everyone has to pitch in to rebuild the damage Fort Inevitable suffered. Appletop replies that Shim Longbranch, local ranger and wood expert, has estimated that the Hellknights have already harvested over four million board feet in the last three months in this area alone, and that there are several other harvesting areas. Darelle sends her tree token to report the problem to Gerald so he can investigate where the wood has gone.
Darelle asks if there are any parts of the forest that are not protected by spirits. Appletop reports that a fey named Eithne, but the fey has not been seen in at least a year. Darelle and Daryle meet Shim, who tells them about the gnarled old man who has moved in to the forest across the river. He's left the path alone, but is protecting the forest with his wolverines. There has been fey folks all around the village, but with the clear cutting they have left, and without Eithne's protection it's not clear what the impact will be on the mead production in the fall.
The Coopers return to meet with Maralictor Gregg, and begin negotiations. They expected Gregg would not see reason, but he seems surprisingly malleable. Daryle examines a copy of the Maralictor's orders, and they do in fact specify clear-cutting all around the village. Gregg agrees that if the wood came from across the bridge, he would not have to cut the remaining trees on this side of the ravine. Darelle states that Appletop is opposed to that, due to the gnarled old man's presence and possible retribution against the village. Gregg replies that he must get the wood as ordered. Daryle asks him how the wood is transported. Gregg replies that every day the same team of oxens, carts, and teamsters arrive, load up the wood, and take it to Fort Inevitable. But according to Shim, most of it does not make it there. Gregg compares his notes with the quantities requested from the Fort and notices the glaring discrepancies. He agrees to escort the carts from now on to ensure their safe delivery. Daryle proposes a compromise. The sisters, Gregg, a couple of Hellknigths, and Appletop should cross the bridge and contact the gnarled old man, then negotiate the harvest of the best trees from the other side. Appletop agrees to this course of action, but only in exchange for the Hellknights leaving Dimsdale alone afterwards. Gregg agrees that if enough wood is harvested, the Hellknights will leave Dimsdale alone.
The party crosses across the river. Darelle yields "We seek to parley," but no one answers. The party gets off the road, and heads into the woods. After ten minutes, they still haven't encountered anyone. Darelle uses her ranger's abilities and talks to a squirrel. The squirrel tells her that the gnarled old man is nearby. They reach a clearing near the river, with a large group of rocks piled together. Eight large wolverines lay on the rocks, sunning themselves in the late afternoon sun. They seemed unfazed to see the Coopers.
Suddenly, an overpowering smell of rot drifts through the clearing, and the gnarled old man comes around the rocks. The wolverines warily eye him. He tells them that they shouldn't have gotten off the road, and that now the village will pay for their temerity. Darelle asks him why he's doing this, and he reveals that he enjoys chaos. It turns out that the old man has only been around a few months. When Daryle reveals that they need to harvest wood from this side, the old man attacks. Six Twigjacks appear and join the fight. The wolverines do not. The battle goes poorly at first, with all members of the party suffering grievous wounds, but eventually the gnarled old man retreats by transporting through plants, leaving his twigjacks behind to die.
Exploring the pile of rocks, Darelle finds a cave. In the cave is a giant about 10 feet tall encased in amber. She has very long hair and fine features. She fits the description Mother Holworth gave of Eithne. The Coopers free the fey from the amber after much effort. Eithne reveals she had been targeted by a spell about a year ago that encased her in this magical cage. Darelle asks Eithne if she has any seeds that would help the Hellknights meet their quota while keeping the village forested. She provides the ranger with enough oak seeds to grow the wood needed.
Darelle plants the trees, then the harvest resumes. As trees are felled, more are planted and immediately grow back. By the end of the day, the Hellknigths have harvested enough wood to meet their quota, while enough seeds remain to replenish the forest around Dimsdale. The Coopers successfully negotiated a settlement between the two groups, much to Maralictor Gregg and Mayor Appletop's appreciation.
Gozran 29, 4712
Having received the message from Darelle, Gerald investigates the lumber's disappearance. The one caravan the Cooper sisters interacted with took the lumber to Fort Inevitable, but it was accompanied by a Hellknight patrol so there wouldn't have been the opportunity to divert the lumber. were not able to extract any meaningful information from the teamsters.
Gerald tracks a disgruntled teamster whose tongue gets loose when fueled with free alcohol at the Juliver Arms. After a few drinks, that teamster reveals that large quantities of lumber are being diverted to a water landing in the suburbs of the dead city of Mosswater. The wagons are unloaded there, then the caravan departs and returns to the harvesting site. When they return with another load a few days later the lumber has been removed. The teamster doesn't know who gets the lumber, and he and the rest of his team do not tarry in the area.
Further inquiries reveal that all caravans are now accompanied by Hellknight patrols, so all of the wood is now being delivered to Fort Inevitable.
Gozran 30, 4712
Despite Gerald's best efforts, he is unable to locate Eithne in the area of Dimsdale. On his way back he reflects that his membership in the Hellknights might have been a distraction for the fey. However, in talking to Abernard, the old wizard identifies a spell that might be of use. Called Discern location, this spell can find any object or creature anywhere. Due to the difficulty of performing this spell, however, he indicates that it probably will cost 1,800 gold pieces to acquire a one-use scroll. He can arrange to secure such a scroll, which will take 2d8 days, or Gerald can trek up to Starfall, capital of Numeria, which will take you about four days to get there. Either way, getting a load of lumber to Mosswater at the same time should provide enough time to locate its eventual destination. Now, if only Hellknights were not supervising all caravans of lumber...
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
What happens when your water gets poisoned?
Erastus 12, 4711
Having poisoned the Splinter Cutthroat gang well the previous day, the Coopers head out to the Emerald Spire early in the morning, and arrive through the tunnel into the 3rd level of the Spire. The stench that floats throughout the level is foul, and there are piles of feces everywhere.
Thorne peaks in the temple room, and notices that Tarrin Dars is still at the altar, poring through
Words Behind the Mask by the god Norgurber. However, there are now three silver chalices on each corner of the altar. A strange dark liquid fills each chalice. Thorne carefully closes the door, and the Coopers move on.
In the first room they discover five sepulchers. Four of the tombs have portraits sculpted on their lids, while the fifth is bound by large iron chains. After opening each tomb, Gerald brags the skull of the skeleton laying in it. In the fourth tomb, that of an Azlant lady, Gerald discovers a small rosewood box which smells very nice. Inside he discovers one intact bottle of perfume, with another bottle that shattered a long time ago. On both the box and bottles is a crest of a dog sitting with a muffin on its nose. Gerald vaguely remembers reading somewhere that this crest was that of the Tyral family, a rebellious family who was part of a plot to assassinate the Azlant king 10,000 years ago. The Coopers decide at this time not to open the fifth tomb, especially since they can hear nails scratching the inside of the lid. Daryle discovers something intriguing, however. On both 2nd and 3rd levels, the Coopers have found ancient Azlant tombs from eons ago, in a place so removed from Azlant it might as well have been at the end of the world. Why would there be so many Azlant nobles buried here?
The Coopers move through the various room, killing the disabled thieves they find along the way. Darelle's poison was very effective and debilitated the entire gang. In the main corridor they come upon the thieves' stash of stolen goods. All in all, there are about 900 crowns' worth of textiles, spirits, fine tools, crafting woods, and iron ore. They plan on selling this cargo to the merchants when they return to Fort Inevitable at the end of the season.
In the thieves' dining room the Coopers fight and slay Dars' lieutenant. Darelle discovers 11 pieces of dishes belonging to eight prominent families in Fort Inevitable. The Coopers take the dishes and carefully pack them away. Gerald, continuing his creepy trend of collecting heads, also remove the lieutenant's head.
In a large cell block they attack and kill a human who was busy whipping a small hafling before being rudely interrupted. That hafling turns out to be Shim Longbranch, a ranger from Dimsdale the Coopers encountered a few months ago. Shim had been out on a hunt when he was captured by the thieves and brought back to the Spire, where he had been experimented upon by Dars' alchemist. But now that evil man laid dead on the floor. The Coopers invite Shim to follow them, which he does after freeing all of the animals inside the other cells.
In the lieutenant's room they discover two journals he had been keeping about his evil deeds around Fort Inevitable. They also discover the armory, so armed with blunt weapon they return to the tomb with the iron chains and, after opening it, they kill the wight that was prisoner. Only Tarrin Dars remains...
Upon returning to Fort Inevitable the Coopers return the stolen plates and the head of Dars' lieutenant to Maralictor Wirt, who thanks them for their dedication and award them 75 crowns for the lieutenant's head.
Having poisoned the Splinter Cutthroat gang well the previous day, the Coopers head out to the Emerald Spire early in the morning, and arrive through the tunnel into the 3rd level of the Spire. The stench that floats throughout the level is foul, and there are piles of feces everywhere.
Thorne peaks in the temple room, and notices that Tarrin Dars is still at the altar, poring through
Words Behind the Mask by the god Norgurber. However, there are now three silver chalices on each corner of the altar. A strange dark liquid fills each chalice. Thorne carefully closes the door, and the Coopers move on.
In the first room they discover five sepulchers. Four of the tombs have portraits sculpted on their lids, while the fifth is bound by large iron chains. After opening each tomb, Gerald brags the skull of the skeleton laying in it. In the fourth tomb, that of an Azlant lady, Gerald discovers a small rosewood box which smells very nice. Inside he discovers one intact bottle of perfume, with another bottle that shattered a long time ago. On both the box and bottles is a crest of a dog sitting with a muffin on its nose. Gerald vaguely remembers reading somewhere that this crest was that of the Tyral family, a rebellious family who was part of a plot to assassinate the Azlant king 10,000 years ago. The Coopers decide at this time not to open the fifth tomb, especially since they can hear nails scratching the inside of the lid. Daryle discovers something intriguing, however. On both 2nd and 3rd levels, the Coopers have found ancient Azlant tombs from eons ago, in a place so removed from Azlant it might as well have been at the end of the world. Why would there be so many Azlant nobles buried here?
The Coopers move through the various room, killing the disabled thieves they find along the way. Darelle's poison was very effective and debilitated the entire gang. In the main corridor they come upon the thieves' stash of stolen goods. All in all, there are about 900 crowns' worth of textiles, spirits, fine tools, crafting woods, and iron ore. They plan on selling this cargo to the merchants when they return to Fort Inevitable at the end of the season.
In the thieves' dining room the Coopers fight and slay Dars' lieutenant. Darelle discovers 11 pieces of dishes belonging to eight prominent families in Fort Inevitable. The Coopers take the dishes and carefully pack them away. Gerald, continuing his creepy trend of collecting heads, also remove the lieutenant's head.
In a large cell block they attack and kill a human who was busy whipping a small hafling before being rudely interrupted. That hafling turns out to be Shim Longbranch, a ranger from Dimsdale the Coopers encountered a few months ago. Shim had been out on a hunt when he was captured by the thieves and brought back to the Spire, where he had been experimented upon by Dars' alchemist. But now that evil man laid dead on the floor. The Coopers invite Shim to follow them, which he does after freeing all of the animals inside the other cells.
In the lieutenant's room they discover two journals he had been keeping about his evil deeds around Fort Inevitable. They also discover the armory, so armed with blunt weapon they return to the tomb with the iron chains and, after opening it, they kill the wight that was prisoner. Only Tarrin Dars remains...
Upon returning to Fort Inevitable the Coopers return the stolen plates and the head of Dars' lieutenant to Maralictor Wirt, who thanks them for their dedication and award them 75 crowns for the lieutenant's head.
Friday, October 3, 2014
When haflings have a bee problem ... they call the Coopers
Gorzan 20, 4711
Daryle, meanwhile, heads down the river and comes up the other side, facing a similar wax wall with a guard. She returns to the village, and the Coopers begin hatching a plan. They will locate the fields in which the bees spend most of their days. There they will ambush them and kill them, thereby reducing the number of bees left at the hive. Once there, they will also build two large piles of wood and they will attempt to smoke out the bees.
Before they are able to put their plan into motion, however, the vineyard is attacked by the bees, which come and feed off the nectar in the large grape vats. Darelle is inspired by what she sees. What if she could somehow poison the bees?
Gorzan 21, 4711
Darelle heads into the woods, and discovers some longwart she can use. She spends the morning preparing her potion, and in the afternoon mixes it with the vats' contents. Meanwhile, Daryle follows the worker bees to a field a few miles away from the village, and eventually returns to the village by way of the vineyard's vats. That evening, Gerald notices something that chills his very soul. A hill giant comes down the river, and stops at the bridge. He takes off the roof, and collects honey in a large pot before replacing the roof and heading back up river. The Coopers now know who owns the hive.
Gorzan 22, 4711
In the morning the Coopers execute their plan. They follow the bees, who travel to the field with difficulties, and are quickly disabled. Nevertheless, the fighting is fierce and Gerald feels the sting of the giant bees several times before the battle is won and all bees are slaughtered.
They quickly return to the village, and cross the river to find the other bees. Daryle takes this opportunity to search the body of the Hellknight still left at the bottom of the bridge, and she discovers a healing potion which Gerald uses immediately. The Hellknight also has a wet map that shows another location where the bees were originally located.
Searching on the other side they are unable to find the working bees. They however discover the former site of the hive. It looks like it has been moved recently, and, strangely, the hive was smoked before it was moved, and some of the wood remains in good condition. Investigating the wood, the Coopers realize that the wood was originally Zelnaux Winery barrels. What would these barrels do all the way out here?
Darelle discovers the giant's tracks. These lead over the ridge and down a ravine. The Coopers follow the tracks all the way to the giant's underground lair. There they find a large distillery where the giant has been processing his bees' honey into mead. There is also further evidence here that links the giant to Zelnaux.
The Coopers immediately return to Dimsdale and inform mayor Appletop of their discoveries. They confront Zelnaux, who claims not to know how his barrels ended up in the giant's possession. Attacked once again by bees, the Coopers decide to return to Fort Inevitable and notify the Hellknights of their discoveries. Maralictor Wirt tells Daryle that she will send a detachment immediately to surprise the giant as he retrieves honey from his hives. If everything holds up, there should be a financial reward for them since both the winery and the giant are currently avoiding taxes on their operations.
Gorzan 24, 4711
The Coopers return to meet with Maralictor Wirt in the morning. She tells them that due to their dilligent efforts, the hill giant, who is named Byrsag, was "convinced" to work for the Hellknights, and will continue to provide the vineyard with his honey. For their efforts and as a reward for securing this deal, the Coopers are awarded 113 crowns, which have been deposited free of charge at the Chancellery.
On a bright and sunny morning, Darelle is woken up by her aunt Alina. She tells her that she has a visitor who wishes to see her, and it’s rather urgent. When she comes downstairs, she is greeted by a small Halfling wearing a green tunic and brown trousers. He introduces himself as Shim Longbranch, and tells her the tale of his small village of Dimsdale, about a half day away from Fort Inevitable. Giant bees have taken residence in the covered bridge, which is the only road link for miles around. This has stopped commerce and prevents the village’s residents from reaching their fields on the other side of the bridge. Having heard of Darelle’s abilities with animals, he’s been tasked by the village mayor to see if she would come and help them solve this stingy problem.
Dimsdale is known for the quality of its wines and its winery, Zelnaux Wines. These are traded throughout the northeast River Kingdoms and are appreciated even further afield. The lack of an accessible road is blocking the delivery of wine and other merchandises.
Accompanied by Daryle and Gerald, Darelle and Shim head back to the village, where they meet Dunleaf Appletop, the mayor. Another halfling, the mayor tells them that the small detachment of Hellknights charged the bridge two days ago and got themselves killed in the process, except for one survivor currently being cared for in the town hall. He is worried that if the plight of the village reaches Fort Inevitable, the Hellknights will be happy to intervene, but it will cost the villagers even more money than what is being raised in taxes at the moment. Appletop wishes to avoid this possibility at all costs.
The Coopers interview Alexus Longleaf, the only surviving Hellknight, but are unable to get much information from him. He has been stung repeatedly, however, and even his armor is punctured with two holes the size of a child’s fist.
Gerald and Darelle take a trip to the bridge just outside of town, and see that the entire inside of the bridge is covered in wax, with a small entry guarded by a giant bee about three feet tall. Gerald sketches the bridge and the bee, while Darelle senses that the bee is not hostile but will protect its home.
Daryle, meanwhile, heads down the river and comes up the other side, facing a similar wax wall with a guard. She returns to the village, and the Coopers begin hatching a plan. They will locate the fields in which the bees spend most of their days. There they will ambush them and kill them, thereby reducing the number of bees left at the hive. Once there, they will also build two large piles of wood and they will attempt to smoke out the bees.
Before they are able to put their plan into motion, however, the vineyard is attacked by the bees, which come and feed off the nectar in the large grape vats. Darelle is inspired by what she sees. What if she could somehow poison the bees?
Gorzan 21, 4711
Darelle heads into the woods, and discovers some longwart she can use. She spends the morning preparing her potion, and in the afternoon mixes it with the vats' contents. Meanwhile, Daryle follows the worker bees to a field a few miles away from the village, and eventually returns to the village by way of the vineyard's vats. That evening, Gerald notices something that chills his very soul. A hill giant comes down the river, and stops at the bridge. He takes off the roof, and collects honey in a large pot before replacing the roof and heading back up river. The Coopers now know who owns the hive.
Gorzan 22, 4711
In the morning the Coopers execute their plan. They follow the bees, who travel to the field with difficulties, and are quickly disabled. Nevertheless, the fighting is fierce and Gerald feels the sting of the giant bees several times before the battle is won and all bees are slaughtered.
They quickly return to the village, and cross the river to find the other bees. Daryle takes this opportunity to search the body of the Hellknight still left at the bottom of the bridge, and she discovers a healing potion which Gerald uses immediately. The Hellknight also has a wet map that shows another location where the bees were originally located.
Searching on the other side they are unable to find the working bees. They however discover the former site of the hive. It looks like it has been moved recently, and, strangely, the hive was smoked before it was moved, and some of the wood remains in good condition. Investigating the wood, the Coopers realize that the wood was originally Zelnaux Winery barrels. What would these barrels do all the way out here?
Darelle discovers the giant's tracks. These lead over the ridge and down a ravine. The Coopers follow the tracks all the way to the giant's underground lair. There they find a large distillery where the giant has been processing his bees' honey into mead. There is also further evidence here that links the giant to Zelnaux.
The Coopers immediately return to Dimsdale and inform mayor Appletop of their discoveries. They confront Zelnaux, who claims not to know how his barrels ended up in the giant's possession. Attacked once again by bees, the Coopers decide to return to Fort Inevitable and notify the Hellknights of their discoveries. Maralictor Wirt tells Daryle that she will send a detachment immediately to surprise the giant as he retrieves honey from his hives. If everything holds up, there should be a financial reward for them since both the winery and the giant are currently avoiding taxes on their operations.
Gorzan 24, 4711
The Coopers return to meet with Maralictor Wirt in the morning. She tells them that due to their dilligent efforts, the hill giant, who is named Byrsag, was "convinced" to work for the Hellknights, and will continue to provide the vineyard with his honey. For their efforts and as a reward for securing this deal, the Coopers are awarded 113 crowns, which have been deposited free of charge at the Chancellery.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)