Session 10 - Forest of Horrors

Continuing their trip towards Cassomir, the party finds itself skirting the edge of the Verduran forest. As the day began to draw to a close, the Group noticed an area of trees entombed in heavy spider webs. Deciding that they wanted no part of spiders, they put a few miles of grassland between themselves and the forest.

The afternoon waning, Lythar and Tylalaes went out to work on fighting skills, as well as attempt to track some dinner. An hour or so after they left, Tazjh set out on her own hunting trip. A short distance from camp, she spied some deer tracks, and leapt off in pursuit.

Meanwhile, Lythar and Tyl had a rather poor hunt, finding only a few grouse. Lythar brought one down with his bow, while Tyl managed to grab one herself. A few hours after dark, the two returned to camp, handing off their kill to Thistle to cook up. Kyle takes up practicing his harp, and manages to perform a few songs quite skillfully.

As the party turns in for the evening, setting watches, they notice with concern that Tazjh still hasn’t returned. Figuring she may just be running late in returning, the group spends an uneventful night.

As the sun rises the following morning, the group is very concerned that Tazjh is still not back. Breaking camp, Thistle adopts wolf form to aid in the search. Tylalaes decides he’s a rather handsome wolf, and much sniffing (and attempted sniffing) ensues. After sorting out the pair of wolves, Lythar picks up Tazjh’s tracks, which appear to be headed towards the treeline, and the party sets off in pursuit.

Reaching the edge of the trees, the horses are picketed outside the forest, and Lythar instructs Tyl to defend them. While Tyl doesn’t want to be left behind, she finally relents and takes up a watchful position near the animals. The group takes a moment to fortify themselves for a potential fight. Lythar works to make sure any poison will not affect him right away, Thistle casts magic to fortify himself, and Kyle grants Lythar additional strength.

Lythar slowly leads the way into the web-encrusted trees, carefully looking all around for anything out of the ordinary. Thistle moves on ahead, much faster on four legs than the slower humanoids. An odd shape near the top of a tree catches the elf’s eye, and he notices a mechanical trap that is set to entrap passers by. Calling forward to Thistle to hold position, Lythar, Kyle, and Gron carefully trace Thistle’s path across the forest floor, making their way carefully past large patches of sticky strands that crisscross the spaces between the trunks.

While waiting for the rest of the party, Thistle spies a Tazjh-shaped bundle of webs dangling from a very large web that has been constructed between a number of large trees. A quick discussion ensues, and Kyle is volunteered to fly up and free the velociraptor.

Carefully flying up to the top of the web, which is more than 30 feet in the air, Kyle begins to try and cut Tazjh free, only to be set upon by a very large spider. She sinks her fangs into him, sickening him with poison. Movement erupts all over the nearby forest as the commotion draws the attention of a half-dozen more large spiders, joined quickly by four Ettercaps. Two of the new spiders head straight for Kyle, the rest spread out amongst Gron, Lythar, and Thistle.

Lythar takes a moment to shoot a descending spider with his bow, following that up by shooting a thistle arrow into an approaching Ettercap. The nasty creatures close in, and soon Gron, Lythar, and Thistle all have a small collection of enemies surrounding them.

Reeling from the poison, Kyle uses his holy flask, calling on Cayden to cleanse the poison from his system. Instantly, all of the posion affecting him is turned into a very strong liquor, and feeling happier (and far more drunk), Kyle begins fight the creatures surrounding him. Lythar is also bitten by a spider and poisoned, however, his magic prevents it from affecting him.

Gron begins to take apart the ettercaps and spiders that are trying to harm him, and Lythar dispatches one spider with a single swing, carrying his blade through into an Ettercap, severely wounding it. Thistle strikes an Ettercap with lightning, starting a fire in the webbing surrounding them, which begins burning up the webs towards Tazjh and Kyle. Struck repeatedly, Kyle flies clear of the top of the web, taking a moment to catch his breath. The spiders that were attacking Kyle rush down the web towards Thistle.

Finding himself free of enemies for a moment, Lythar notices that a number of the creatures have decided that Thistle’s wolf form looks more tasty, and hustles over to assist. With Gron’s help, Thistle and Lythar kill the remaining spiders, and severely wound the remaining Ettercap, who flees towards the edge of the trees. Refusing to let it escape, Kyle flies over and finishes it off.

The fire has caught well in the webbing, and is rushing towards the incapacitated velociraptor. Lythar yells at Kyle to get up there and free her. Hurrying, Kyle manages to cut Tazjh’s cocooned form free, and brings her back down to the horses, where she’ll be safely guarded by Tyl. The group creates a firebreak and manages to prevent the fire from spreading too much farther past the webs.

Looking around carefully, the party discovers numerous dessicated corpses in the trees. Most are of animals, and a few are Gnolls, but a human form catches Kyle’s eye. Flying up and freeing it from the webs, they are horrified to discover the dead body of the Noblewoman they rescued from the Gnolls a week earlier. Removing her satchel and a pannier containing a fine tea set, Lythar notices an odd leather bound book. Curious about its nature, he foolishly reaches in and carefully nudges it to get a look at the cover. At his touch, energy flows through Lythar, severely weakening and wounding him. A quick glance as he is struck shows a set of scales on the front of the book, and proves to Lythar that they have found another one of the books of power that are being sought by numerous parties. Sealing the book back into its satchel, the party quickly resumes their trip towards Cassomir, there to hopefully find passage to Absolom.

Session 9 - Meet the Parents

Leaving Kaerishiel’s home, the entire party decides to accept Kyle’s offer of a place to stay during their visit to Iadara. Thistle, deciding that the Elves would be far more accepting of animals staying in an open garden versus a Gnome, changes himself into a squirrel. Lythar cautions Gron, telling him that squirrel is not on the menu for dinner. Thistle gives an indignant squeak.

Approaching Kyle’s parent’s home, the party is greeted by some rather brash Elves who are loitering around the front door. Kyle pushes through the crowd, gives a rather quiet knock, and walks straight into the house. The rest of the party, deciding that would be impolite, remain outside.

Kyle meets his mother, who is shocked to see him. While Kyle thinks it has been a long time since he’s seen her, to his mother and her fellow Elves, six months is but an eyeblink. After gaining her permission for his friends to use the home and gardens, the party is invited inside.

The party sits and makes polite conversation with Lady Elorins Starbreeze. Lythar is careful to keep the true nature of their mission secret, but makes enough allusions of Kyle’s involvement in a task that is being undertaken to save the realm and perhaps the world to provide the Lady with a very positive view of her child. Kyle makes an inaccurate insinuation that Lythar is Shin Rakorath, however, Lythar refuses to even admit that they exist. Thistle enjoys squeaking, shaking his bushy tail, and eyes a bowl of nuts on the table. When Kyle’s mother finds out about the rude Elves out front, she disappears for some time.

Before long, the group is joined by Lord Eli-Qua Starbreeze, who seems impressed that Kyle is keeping company with a military-Elf from Crying Leaf, and is apparently on a very important quest. Lythar again makes an effort to demonstrate to the Starbreezes that Kyle is a contributing member of a party on a very important task, but again fails to provide any real detail - referring questions that are too specific to Lord Kaerishiel or Queen Edasseril. Lady Starbreeze, returning from outside, shares a significant look with her husband when the ruffians are mentioned.

The next morning, Lythar takes Tyl out to the Garden to work on her skills, and the party settles in to their various hobbies. Thistle sets up an alchemy set in the kitchen, and Kyle begins to work on creating magical scrolls to assist the party. Kyle talks Thistle into cooking dinner for the Starbreezes and the party that evening.

After Tyl and Lythar finish their exercises, they wander off to the market area in Iadara to do a little bit of resupplying before they are called away. While out, Lythar is approached by two large Elves with the Shin Rakorath symbol on their cloaks, and is escorted before Kaerishiel and Queen Edasseril.

The Queen informs Lythar that they may have a way to take some time off of their journey. The Elves know of a gate that opens up on the Verduran Forest, near the ruins of Nazili in Taldor, from which they can travel a short distance to a port city, such as Cassomir, that will provide them with a ship to Absolom. Lythar agrees that that would be a good course, and is informed that they can leave the following day. In the meantime, Master Foss enters, and attempts to enchant the Book of the Sun in such a way as to make it harder to track.

Before leaving, Queen Edasseril grants Lythar an ancient curve blade of the Elves. Called Sysali, it was designed to be especially destructive to Demons, and has a pair of magical gems that can call forth light and shield the wielder from damage. The Verdant Queen also pulls a red crystal flower from her crown, and informs Lythar that at great need, he can shatter it to bring forth a fiery elemental to assist him.

Thanking her profusely, Lythar takes his leave, returning to the Starbreeze home.

Meanwhile, Thistle is cooking up a storm in the kitchen, preparing a Tilapia Souffle, and the Party sits down with the Starbreezes to a fine (by non-Elven standards) dinner. It is politely received by their Elven hosts, though the Party recognizes the amazing cooking that Thistle has provided.

Kyle goes back to creating scrolls as night falls, and when his mother joins him for a while, spills most aspects of their mission to her, holding back only their possession of the Book of the Sun. Asking some pointed questions about his true Father, Lady Starbreeze admits that she joined Kyle’s father on a hunt for an artifact in Osyria. While exploring some ruins, the pair came across a book that was exactly the opposite of the one carried by the party - its cover the deep blue of a moonless sky, traced in lightning bolts. When Kyle’s father opened it, lightning spewed forth and he was injured in such a way that he never truly recovered. When opened, the area around the book also grew extremely dark.

Hearing of this book, Kyle admits to his Mother that they have a similar book to the one she told of, and presses her for details. His mother is not sure, but thinks that the Book of Storms was left in Osyria - she did not recall bringing it back with them. She does recall that the back of that book had an image that sounds suspiciously similar to the dog-headed creature that has plagued the party off and on since Uringen. Kyle’s mother recalls that the ruins lay several days outwards from the route from Sothis to Ito.

Deciding that her son and his allies may need some help, Lady Starbreeze grants Kyle her Harp to aid him in his newly found love of bardic performance, and a Handy Haversack to Thistle to help him carry his various herbs, potions, and alchemical accoutrement.

In the morning, Master Foss arrives, and the Party bids good-bye to their hosts. A quick stop by Greengold to recover their gear and horses, and then Master Foss guides them to a gate that lies near Iadara. Lythar and Tyl lead the way through the gate, followed by the rest of the Party. They find the other side bereft of threats, and begin their journey towards the river and a port.

After making camp, watches are set, and most of the party goes to sleep. Woken for his watch, Lythar climbs a tree and wraps his newly revitalized ghillie-cloak around him. Tyl quietly secrets herself amongst the roots and fallen leaves underneath the tree. Watching carefully, Lythar hears, then smells, a group of Gnolls as they attempt to creep up on the campsite. Taking careful aim, Lythar feathers the biggest Gnoll he sees, and then calls a warning to the camp, rousing his companions. Elven eyes are sharp, and Lythar is shaken when he notices the dog-headed creature that had bested the party in Uringen as he stalks the forest floor behind the Gnolls. Tyl looks to Lythar a moment for guidance, then springs forth to take on a nearby Gnoll.

Thistle awakes and lays down a tangling field of vines to disrupt the enemy formation, as Gron limbers up, ready to tear them limb from limb. Kyle befriends a Gnoll and sends him after his brethren.

Lythar, meanwhile, decides to stay in his tree, hoping to let the line of Gnolls pass by, allowing him to challenge the dog-headed demon with Sisily. Unfortunately, the tangle field forces DogHead in the opposite direction, causing Lythar to begin a scramble to close the distance. Rubbing the amber jewel on the pommel of his blade, Lythar attempts to blast DogHead with searing light, however, he is unfamiliar with its use, the bolt passes harmlessly by.

Tyl begins trying to chew on a Gnoll, tying the creature down as it does its best to dodge her snapping jaws and avoid being tripped, swinging with occasional success at the ducking and darting wolf. Gron finishes a couple of Gnolls off, however, Kyle’s charmed Gnoll is accidentally attacked and goes for Thistle. Another Gnoll decides that horsemeat sounds tasty, and heads for the picket line of horses, only to be intercepted by Tazjh, who proceeds to make mincemeat of any Gnoll that foolishly gets too close.

Lythar finally manages to close with DogHead when he stops to try and melt Thistle’s face. Having none of it, Thistle manages to land a spell or two, but Doghead is finally distracted by Sisily biting into his back. While Gron and Kyle begin to finish off the remaining Gnolls, Lythar and Thistle work together to defeat DogHead. With a final swing of Sisily, DogHead’s laughter rings throughout the battleground as he dissolves into a flurry of black motes, which settle to the ground and disappear.

Tazjh and Tyl finish off the last Gnoll, and the clearing is once again quiet. The Party begins the process of stripping their late enemies of useful gear and equipment. They are certain that they’ll see DogHead again.

Cursed - Part 4

She'd lost the trail. A steady stream of softly-spoken curses issued from Sharalae's mouth as she crouched on the river bank in the dark. Full night was upon her and a shroud of blackness lay heavily on the surrounding woods, otherwise she would never have dared to approach the river before her.

Gazing across, she stared at the woods of the Siavaedi homeland of Kyonin. She dared not trespass there. She was taking a great risk being on this side of the bank as it was, but she wanted to be sure her quarry had crossed, and they had.

Sighing, she melted back into the woods on the near side of the river and made her way along its bank downstream, pondering the situation. The strange group that she followed was beyond her reach, but did they still have the item? So far to her knowledge they had escaped two botched attempts by her former people to deprive them of it. She smirked, not displeased. For lesser beings, they were proving to be quite capable and resourceful. She fervently hoped both Sinafae and Raelona were both pulling their beautifully long and luxurious hair out in frustration.

But what to do? How to pick up the trail again? If they had the item and left it in Kyonin, there was little she could do, but that also meant there was little Raelona or her elder sister could do. She started to smile, then stopped. Or did it? Sharalae shook her head. Sinafae Sha'nul's power and influence did not stretch so far she would dare invade the Siavaedi's home ground.

She would have to try to pick up the trail again. Slipping a slender ebon hand into a leather pouch at her waist, Sharalae withdrew one of the many coins within with delicate fingers, staring at the scarab stamp on one side and the pyramid stamp on the other. Wherever you came from, she thought, is where I need to go.

To be continued...