Skyfell - Rise of the Glutton : Session 25
Introduction
A little while back I started a once-per-month Dungeons and Dragons campaign in my Skyfell setting that I call The Rise of the Glutton. I wanted to provide my players with a log of their adventures and then realized that such a log might make for fun blog posts. See Rise of the Glutton in my Session Index for a complete listing.
The cast is:
Session 25 - The Heroes of Moss Creek : Moss Creek Memories
Preparation
The players wanted to take care of the evil presences in the passage at the back of the temple, to open up the sealed secret door they had found, and to return Marnib to Moss Creek. I figured the first two tasks would take the longest, with the former eating up time due to combat and the latter eating up time with discussion and roleplaying. At most, I thought that they might get themselves to Moss Creek but not much further past that.
I had already done all the planning for the remaining "encounters" on the islands (and had even worked out an idea to quickly cover any island-wide Investigations check if the group wanted to sweep the place for any remaining traps). So, I was good there. I simply needed to think through what would happen on Moss Creek should they get that far in-game. I already had some ideas in mind, including how to hook in the party for session 26. So, it was just a matter of working out some of the final details for that. I also had a very specific encounter in mind should the team actually get themselves into combat.
The morning of the game, I built out the temple map once again. I want to supply a "clean" map of the location to the players so that they have something for reference now that they will be occupying the location as a permanent base/home but I didn't get around to doing that just yet. It's on my list of tasks.
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| The Temple Map Built Out |
Pre-game
As is the custom, we ate and I did a recap of session 24. We then jumped right in!
In-game
Bronte and Meribore put together a plan for ridding the island of the evil presences in the hallway while the other members of the party were busy cleaning out and cleaning up the temple complex. They would use stone shape to open an area in the wall to expose what lie beyond and then deal with anything they might accidentally release in doing so. This, of course, meant, that everyone would need to be in the hallway and ready for a fight. After the evil was gone, they would then investigate the sealed secret door. They had some concerns that there was a connection between the two.
During the few days the group remained on the island, they became increasingly aware of just how pervasive the evil presences were. No matter where they went, they could always feel a bubbling anger and hatred prickling their feelings and making the hair on the back of their necks stand. While it was only a very subtle invasion now, it had been steadily growing during their stay and it was easy to imagine that it would only get worse over time.
After getting the right spells prepared, our heroes gathered in the hallway. Meribore used stone shape to peal back the wall in front of one of the presences. This revealed a nook about 10 inches wide and 6 inches tall that was shaped like a capital letter "T." A cylinder was nestled into the horizontal portion of the nook. A small, flat, brass bowl with bits of stone and wood chips rested at the bottom of the vertical portion of the nook. It was clear that the evil presence was locked inside the cylinder. With the wall open, its anger and hunger were even more oppressive.
Oma volunteered to take a closer look. The body of the cylinder was made from very dark smoky quartz. There was a gold cap on each of its ends with an intricate abstract design worked into the metal. Oma surmised that had the trap been triggered, the magic would have ignited the materials in the bowl. The heat would have then cracked open the cylinders to release the evil entity inside. He still could not discern what exactly was imprisoner inside the cylinder. He would have to purposefully shine a light behind it to see and no one wanted to handle the vessel that much.
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| The Cylinder Source: The Da Vinci Code and Pexels, With Digital Manipulation |
Rather than cracking the cylinder open and destroying the thing inside right then, the party decided to place the cylinder in a bag of holding until they could figure out a proper means of disposal. Oma used the bag of holding like a glove, scooping up the cylinder without actually touching it. Even so, he could feel the evil presence chilling his fingers so much that frost momentarily stung his fingertips and the anger contained within attempted to burrow itself deeper into his mind.
Satisfied with how they dealt with the first cylinder, our heroes followed the same procedure for the second. Once both were safely in the bag of holding, the oppressive hatred disappeared entirely from the island. (Though, whenever Oma opened the bag of holding he could feel that anger bubbling inside.)
Meribore would later use her druid craft to cause a few seeds to sprout in the midden outside the temple. She did this as test for whether new life could take hold now that the evil was gone. The plants sprouted just fine, but because the island was sterile, they would have no immediate nutrients to keep them alive for long. The health of the soil would need to be returned if it was going to sustain long-term and that would take some time. They would also likely want to bring some fertile soil and healthy flora to the island to kickstart the process.
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| Flora Can Grow Once Again Source: Pixabay |
Next, the group gathered around the sealed secret door. Using stone shape once again, Bronte opened it to reveal a large closet beyond. Against the back wall was a tall wardrobe made from a very dark wood. Intricate knotwork similar to the designs that could be found everywhere in the temple decorated its edges and sides. Its doors bore a fine, if not somewhat primitive, carving of Solonor Thelandira.
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| The Wardrobe Source: Pexels and D&D3e, Digitally Altered |
To the right of the wardrobe was a small table made from the same kind of wood and decorated in the same manner. Upon it was a small wooden box, a collection of books, and a silk pouch with delicate embroidery. It felt as though these items had been placed on the table with great care and purpose (as opposed to having been tossed onto the table). It slowly dawned on our heroes that they had found the vestments for this temple.
Bronte handed the books over to Drekzhar so that he could ritually cast comprehend languages to investigate their contents. He handed the pouch to Oma. He held onto the box so that he could investigate it. He then stepped out of the closet so that Meribore could take a look at the wardrobe.
Bronte found three rings inside the box. The bands were shaped like vines weaving around each other with small flowers blooming here and there. The flowers were tiny gemstones, including what looked to be diamonds, emeralds, and rubies. Both Oma and Drekzhar immediately recognized the street value of the jewelry but also understood the jewelry would be worth even more to someone who knew their origin. Later, the party would learn that these were not magical rings.
Oma found two vials inside the pouch. One was broken. The other contained a crimson liquid that gave of a soft, pulsing glow. Later, the party would learn that this was a potion of vitality.
Drekzhar spent an hour perusing the books and discovered that three of them collectively formed a biography of Thel-alessa. (The front cover of all of these were embossed with a beautiful rendering of an evermore tree in full bloom and health.) Thel-alessa was both the name of the tree and the name of the spirit that lived within it. In thumbing through these works, it became clear that they were recorded over a long period of time and in different hands. This implied that they were written as events occurred rather than after the fact, making the works more like a diary rather than a work of historical research. In the first section of these works, he noted a passage that described Solonor Thelandria traveling the vast expanse of the Pailunia Forest to bless wild places of extreme beauty. His blessing strengthened the local connection to the Feywild, which allowed the evermore trees to grow and thrive. Later in the works, Drekzhar found a section describing what was referred to as the Draconic War. In that time, a red dragon named Braekorathraxx had attempted to destroy all "the children of Corellon Larethia." Thel-alessa and her sister evermore trees helped to repel the chromatic dragons. Finally, at the end of the collection, there was a section regarding the rise of a being referred to as The Old One. It was a demon of endless hunger and anger. Its influence spread among the sons and daughters of Correlon, splitting the people into vitriolic factions that eventually went to war against each other. This civil war among the children of Correlon spread out to all of Skyfell. The histories ended with the following. "Thel-alessa remains faithful to Solonor Thelandira and Correlon Larethia. We will triumph." Several blank pages followed this.
Among the remaining books was a guide to caring for Thel-alessa the evermore tree; this was a mixture of practical horticultural techniques and stringent religious dogma. There was a guide for interacting with Thel-alessa the spirit. Here there were strict protocols that were meant to be followed closely, especially in a time of war. There was also a holy work about Solonor Thelandria.
While Drekzhar read, Meribore investigated the wardrobe. Inside, there were three shelves set back from the doors. On the left inner wall was an arrow carefully placed with cushioned guide pins. The arrow looked exactly like the holy symbol of Solonor. On the right inner wall was an unstrung longbow whose limbs were shaped to resemble the branches of a tree. On the top shelf was a set of priest clothes, all finely crafted with intricate designs. These looked exactly like the clothes depicted in the mosaics that decorated the room they were in. On the middle shelf was a fancy wood box and a set of bracers. On the bottom shelf was a cloak. Later, the party would learn that all items except the priest's clothing were magical: an Arrow of Solonor (+1 arrow), a Longbow of Solonor (+1 longbow), Hunter's Mess Kit (uncommon cooking set that cleans itself when the command word is spoken), Bracers of Solonor (Bracers of Archery), and Cloak of Solonor (while wearing with the hood up, the wearer gains advantage on all Survival and Nature checks). All of these items bore the holy symbol of Solonor.
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| The Holy Symbol of Solonor Source: D&D 3e |
The party agreed that Drekzhar, who was gaining a deep fascination for this long lost culture they kept encountering, should keep the magic items and that he should continue to use his comprehend languages ritual to read through all the books. It occurred to Drekzhar, too, that the history book they had found among Hungryfang's possessions contained, among other helpful information, a brief description of the script used by the ancient peoples of Piruna Fields. He and Meribore could use these as a starting point for learning the language. But the information it provided was more of an academic overview rather than a tutorial on how to read or speak it. For that, they would need an expert who could teach them. Such an expert would certainly be available at the Kalraka School of the Weave on Doraku (see my geography post about Doraku). In fact, it was likely the author of the book either had worked there or was working there given the nature of that institution. One might also be available at the Hall of Words and Songs in Highwater (see my geography post about the guilds of Highwater), though this would be less likely given the nature of that organization.
The adventurers then re-sealed the secret door, stone-crafting the same symbol of an evermore tree that was on the books they had found into the stone of the secret door. They also decided to attach the cylinders to a ballista bolt and fire the bolt out into the deep Open Sky, far away from any opportunity that it might end up hurting people. Give the utter lack of gravity out in the Open Sky, it would be possible for the bolt to travel all the way to The Tempest.
Their cleanup operation complete, the adventurers returned to the Howling Wind II and set a course for Moss Creek. (They still had the original airmap that was used to guide to them to Moss Creek on their initial trip to the island.) It took little over a day and a half before they arrived at their destination. During this time, Drekzhar began perusing the history book. Though he focused primarily on the language section, the following passage in the introduction caught his attention:
Anyone who spends any length of time in the Piruna Fields will no doubt encounter at least one ancient remnant dating back to before The Cataclysm. These elegant stone works were once part of a civilized people which, if one relies upon the literal meaning of the logographemes used to render it, thought of themselves as "the children of Correlon." (Here the characters are drawn.) Of course, only the pretentiously romantic would insist upon wielding such a moniker in discourse rather than utilizing the reading that has been, mostly, settled upon: Elfey when referring to the people or Elfeyash in its adjectival form, as denoted by the adjectival marker yash (Here the character is also drawn.).
Before landing, they circumnavigated the island to determine whether the necromancer's ship was in the vicinity. They also wanted to get a sense of the state of the island. They found no sign of the ship and the island seemed, overall, in quite good health. There was an area in the center of the island (in the saddle between the three peaks that comprised the surface of the island), that was unusually dense with vegetation. The canopy in that area was too thick for any airship, including the adventurers' newly acquired runabout, to penetrate. They were also able to locate their original landing site, as well the lookout tree and even the Moss Creek burrow.
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| Moss Creek Island |
Satisfied that things were in as good a state as they could expect, our heroes landed the runabout near the lookout tree where they had first encountered Sil-t'sinia (see the Session 3 summary). As they approached the tree, a male feral gnome came running out to them, spear at the ready, demanding the group to identify themselves. Marnib greeted this gnome (who was named Woodteeth) and assured him that the group were not only friends but were the very same heroes as described in the song The Heroes of Moss Creek (see the Supplemental Materials section below for complete lyrics). This delighted the gnome and he quickly ushered them through the guard house down into the root system of the lookup tree to visit Sil-t'sinia.
As the party made their way through the passages and chambers that led to the heart of the tree, they noticed that the placed had been cleaned and new life had been restored. The blight that had been infesting the tree on their first visit was almost entirely gone. More interestingly, there was new growth and new life everywhere.
Among this flora were dozens of red-capped mushrooms scattered about in a rather haphazard manner. As our heroes traveled the passages, these mushrooms began to sing The Heroes of Moss Creek song. To be sure, none of them were on the same key, the same melody, or even the same volume (some were simply shouting at the top of their fungal lungs). And it soon became clear that not one of them new every word of the song. But collectively, they sung with gusto and excitement and pure enjoyment, like an unrehearsed kindergarten class doing their best at the talent show.
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| The Mushrooms Sing Source: Lee Dawn Art |
The singing continued until our heroes reached the heart of the tree and Sil-t'sinia emerged from the glowing seed at the center of the chamber.
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| Sil-t'sinia Source: Monster Manual, 5e |
She was thrilled to see the heroes, whom she counted as dear friends. Sil-t'sinia explained that the island was returning to health since the party had destroyed "that sinister gnome whom I shall not name." Sadly, only five dryads (including herself) had survived; 38 others had been destroyed. These survivors were busy encouraging the forest to return to full health and they were doing well. Even the chwinga (forest spirits) were coming out of hiding. But there was darker news to relate as well. There were five other dryads who had been overcome by evil. They had retreated into the saddle area of the island but there something must have happened because, as Sil-t'sinia put it, "the five seem to have become one." That is, before she could feel the sick dryad as five separate entities poisoning the island but once they were pushed back to the lake, she could only feel them as a single entity. This new...thing...was strong enough to not only halt the recovery into that region but also to start pushing back against it.
The party quickly offered to investigate and help out in any way they could. Sil-t'sinia was grateful, but wanted the group to come to the burrow first to rest, prepare, and see the outcome of all their hard work. In other words, the burrow would certainly throw a much-deserved party for them, and there was no better party than a feral gnome party.
The group was more than happy to go along with this plan. They also decided that Tauffae and Oma would take the runabout back to the Howling Wind II to bring some of the supplies they acquired from the Glutton followers as gifts for the burrow. Meanwhile, Sil-t'sinia, Marnib, and Woodteeth would accompany Meribore, Bronte, and Drekzhar by foot to the burrow.
Excited to see the burrow full of life, Tauffae and Oma worked quickly with Eldath and load up the runabout with any food stuffs that might be helpful and would likely spoil before the crew would ever get a chance to eat it. They then flew to the entrance of the burrow. As they approached, several gnomes came rushing out of the burrow with spears and bows drawn, and a pack of velociraptor ready to be unleashed.
"Halt, villainous intruders!" the leader of these defenders warned in broken Common.
End session 25
Experience earned:
Bronte - 5104 (50,919 total)
Drekzhar - 5080 (48,896 total)
Meribore - 5080 (48,449 total)
Omagoshno - 6064 (50,119 total)
Tauffae - 5080 (48,749 total)
Supplemental Materials
The Heroes of Moss Creek
Here’s the song that Dan (Drekzhar’s player) wrote way back in Session 7. Keep in mind that it's sung to the tune of Hero of Canton - The Man They Call Jayne from the television show Firefly:
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| Campestri Source: Dungeon Magazine, Issue 41 |
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