Skyfell - Lost in the Feywild : Session 40
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:
Tabbi (played by Jeff) - male tabaxi, Sorcerer monk (Divine Soul)
Drekzhar (played by Dan) - male minotaur, Bardic rogue (College of Swords, Swashbuckler)
Tauffae Twofeather Topshelf (played by Rodney) - male orc, Fighter (Champion)
Meribore Softwalker (played by Laura) - female fitbolg, Druid (Circle of the Moon)
Onyx (played by Leslie) - female tabaxi, Rogue (Swashbuckler)
Session 40 - Test of the Branches: A Star is Stoned
Hello. It's your friendly neighborhood Dungeon Master here. I just wanted to take a moment to address the Themberchaud in the room. You might have noticed that the Session 39 summary was posted back on May 14, 2023. It is now nearly Thanksgiving and Session 40 is only now appearing. Technically, though, Session 40 happened way back in the first half of June...right before the Kings of Chaos got together with the Fickle Fates in a conspiracy to turn many of our simple, humble, gamer lives sideways, upside-down, and inside-out before twisting them all into lemon-sour mobius strips with spikey bits that stick to one's uvula.
That said, we got much better. We all emerged more or less intact. It just took a while for all the dust to settle. Huzzah!
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| We're Not Dead Yet! Source: Monty Python, and the Holy Grail |
So, here I am, finally, after all this time, writing the summary for a session that took place five months ago. I'm only now getting around to this because we have only recently been able to schedule the next session. With Session 41 now on the horizon, I do feel some slight responsibility to document the previous shenanigans as is my usual habit.
All of this is a very long-winded way of justifying what is a summary that has many, many gaps in its details. I mean, I have a pretty good memory. And I have pictures. But, let's face it, my brain has been bombarded with tons of new (and exciting) activity over the last five months and the only way to survive such a stint was to clear my neural cache of what were (at the time) non-essential connections so that I could make new ones. Neural plasticity has its limits after all.
So, I humbly seek your forgiveness for the somewhat diminished experience that follows. It perhaps be only mildly satisfying. I promise to return to your regularly scheduled expectations moving forward.
Preparation
If I remember correctly, my biggest concern was finding just the right miniature for the boss monster of this session. I worked myself up into a minor panic until the most obvious of solutions hopped up and smacked me in the face. The result was quite perfect, to be honest.
Pre-game
Um. We talked. Then we played. Seriously, I simply don’t remember.
In-game
There stood our heroes as they took in both the grandeur and beauty that was the School of Cacophony, the legendary college that started the entire Bardic discipline (see the cultural note in Session 39 for details) and the terror of a transmogrified troupe of talented travelers turned to stone.
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| The School of Cacophony Source: Wikipedia page about Petra |
Drekzhar was less than excited to confront the cruelties of a creature that so clearly had it out for Bard folk and the Bard-folk-adjacent folk. Less appealing still was the thought of delving deep into the dark dwelling of such an anti-Bard devil.
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| The Adventurers Assess Their Surroundings |
Drekzhar hoped that perhaps his stoned collogues of yesteryear might offer up some clue as to the horrors that lie within the School of Cacophony's long abandoned halls. Better prepared than to go forth completely ignorant of what might lie ahead.
His friends joined in the investigation.
This extra attention only confirmed their suspicions. The "statues" were in pristine condition. They were obviously determined to remain so, recovering quite quickly from any superficial damage the party inflicted upon them to test their resilience. Our heroes decided that if they should have the time and means that they should attempt to free these Bards from their rocky fate. In preparation for this, Tauffae gathered up the statues and piled them as neatly as he could off to the side and out of the way.
With as much resignation as they could muster, the party took the first wary steps into the School of Cacophony. Tauffae and Meribore were in the lead with the tabaxi were in the rear. This left Drekzhar sandwiched between them for optimal protection.
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| They Enter the School |
As the party crossed the threshold into the school, a thousand voices all speaking as one filled each of their minds with disjointed, paranoid ramblings. The voices spoke of Onxy's guilty actions, Meribore's tainted heart, and Tabbi's dangerous curiosity. Tauffae faired much better as the voices approved of his ondonti heritage. Drekzhar, on the other hand, received the most abusive monologues.
"Oh, it's not enough that the island taunts us," they said in unison. "Now it sends us more Bards to insults us. Why must we suffers so? Yes. We gets ignored or we gets teased. But we knows what to do. We starts with the Bard we does. Binds it. Bends it. Breaks it. That's what shows it. Nasty Bard. We'll shows it what Bards is goods for. Yes, what's the only thing Bards is goods for."
The threats chilled Drekzhar who found himself wishing very strongly to be anywhere else but here. Still, they pressed on into the school, each of his comrades promising to let know harm come to Drekzhar. After ascending a small flight of stairs, they discovered two largish rooms off of a small chamber. Both rooms were empty of debris save the thick coat of dust and dirt that betrayed no recent signs of disturbance. They did find set of indentations or grooves that implied wooden structures had once been affixed to the wall. The pattern of these markings suggested shelving or perhaps even bunkbeds. This turned the minds of our party to the thought that these front rooms might have once served as the dormitories for the school; students needed to sleep somewhere, right?
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| These Might be Dormitories? |
Another flight of stairs brought the party to a much larger room. Its walls were lined with stone benches. Near the far end of the room, behind a stone alter stood a large stone statue of a halfing decked out in an entertainer's finery. A broad, welcoming smile graced its clever features.
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| They Find a Statue |
It was easy enough to assume this to be a representation of Goelz, the founder of the Bardic tradition himself (see the cultural note in Session 39). As the party filed in, a few ghostly bars of a tune echoed about the room, repeating themselves over and over again. At the same time, the eyes on the statue of Goelz began to glow or fiery red. The thing stepped down from its altar (albeit quite slowly and clumsily) and attacked our intrepid adventurers. They fought back as best they could against their heavily armored foe (it was a stone statue after all). Meribore even wild shaped into a constrictor in an attempt to restrain the thing to make attacking it easier.
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| The Statue Attacks! |
Eventually, the party managed to subdue the statue despite the handful of brutal whacks the thing go in before losing the fight. The bars of music that played throughout the combat faded away as well. The voices, however, continued to rant, taunt, and bellyache, fixing their most vindictive and hateful speech upon Drekzhar and his dirty Bardic ways.
Licking their wounds, the group decided to continue with their exploration. The chamber had passages on either side of the altar. A quick survey showed that these were in fact a single hall that looped back on itself. It connected to four separate rooms. A different symbol was carved into the stone above the doorway of each room. (The doors themselves had long since rotted away. Only the markings of where the hardware had attached to the stone betrayed any hint of their previous existence.) There was also what looked like a fifth doorway carved into the wall some distance from the others. Each of the four symbols above the doorways also appeared above this door. Scrapes on the floor suggested that this might be a real door sealed by some kind of magic.
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| They Find Four Classrooms with Symbols |
The party decided to search each room more closely. While they did this, Tauffae took a quick peak back into the altar room. The statue coming to life had really unsettled him and he wanted to make sure the thing was really dead. To his fright, the statue had returned to its place behind the altar, looking wholly and completely recovered from their combat. This, of course, only unsettled him further. He retreated back to his friends making a mental note to remember this particular villainy and warn everyone on their way out.
Each room was just large enough for a small group of people to gather. Near the back of each was a small dais and on each back wall was carved the same symbol that appeared above its doorway. Engraved beneath each symbol in what Drekzhar recognized as the Bard's cant was a riddle.
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| In the beginning The cast is unknown As the middle unfurls The truth is shown By the end The lesson is revealed And only then Is the weave unsealed |
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A turn and a twist A flick of the wrist Words are of no need When you bend like a reed For the weave you can sway
When you move in this way |
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Words from the heart Each tattered thread do pull apart
Of our deepest, hidden pain Til none of our fears remain
From that deconstructive art
Our inner selves can finally start
For hope and strength to receive
From the eternal love of the weave |
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| A babbling brook whose waters round Each errant stone plucked from the ground A click clack rhythm to accompany a breeze Whose gentle chorus calls the weave |
The party puzzled over these riddles, their meaning, and the relation between the symbols in each room and the symbols above the sealed door. It occurred to them pretty quickly that there was a connection between each room and its symbol. Somehow, the four symbols must come together to open the door. This being a school and each room being a classroom, they reasoned then that the symbols might be a subject taught in its class. As a bardic school, the subjects would likely be around entertainment of some sort. Taking a closer look at each riddle, they worked through their meanings to conclude that the first referred to storytelling, the second to dance, the third to poetry, and the forth to music. Given the door showed all four of these elements coming together, our heroes decided that they must perform each of the styles of entertainment at the same time. This should unlock the door.
And so they did. Onyx and Tabbi performed a traditional tabaxi dance together in the room marked for dancing. Meribore recited traditional furbolg poetry, Drekzhar played the music for the Heroes of Moss Creek, and Tauffae told the story of his childhood and why he left his family. Slowly, the four different threads of performance melted into a single rhythm that sent vibrations through the Weave. The symbols in each room began to glow. And then a chime sounded off somewhere near the sealed door.
The party reconvened around the sealed door. It was now hanging open. The symbols above it were glowing warmly. Beyond was another hallway. Stale, musty air rolled around them, pushed through by a gentle current.
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| The Door Opens |
As they clustered around the entry to get a better look and what lay in store for them, the thousand voices invaded their thoughts yet again.
"It's found the way," they said to itself. "There's nothing to fear. We'll snatches it. We'll crushes it. That's what will shows it. It doesn't gets all the attention. We gets attention too. We deserves it just as much. More so, we does. Yes we does. And we'll takes its love from it and keeps it for evers and evers."
End Session 40.
Experience earned:
Drekzhar - 750 (74,107 total)
Meribore - 810 (74,081 total)
Onyx - 870 (73,864 total)
Tabbi - 750 (74,054 total)
Tauffae - 810 (74,460 total)
Supplemental Material
The Sounds of the Feywild
If you've been following this blog over the years, you know that I use music extensively in session to establish mood and even hint at the character of a place. These I have all publicly available as playlists on Spotify. These recent Feywild adventures are no different. Have a listen into my take of the vibe of the Feywild. I think the interpretation might at first surprise but after a while my line of thinking (and feeling) about the relationship between the music I chose and the Feywild might become clear. Enjoy.
The Easter Egg
I wonder how many folks caught the Easter egg in this story arc. You long-time fans of Dungeons and Dragons might have caught it. Those who love a good song and dance in particular might have found a bit of inspiration in it. If you did find the Easter egg, I'd love to hear from you. If you didn't, that's okay too. I might reveal it at the end of this story arch. Like most Easter eggs, though, the fun is in the finding and not in the revealing.
Cheers.
Post-credit Scene
Ever since Bronte's and Oma's departure, I've been dropping in little hints of what has been happening to them as "post credit scenes." Here is this session's edition:
Bronte and Oma dive to the ground. The furry creature with floppy ears and a single horn (hasn't it given its name to them yet) tumbles from Bronte's massive shoulders to stick horn first into the ground. Better that fate than getting caught in the blast of boiling water that blasts over their heads. The rainbow-colored vegetation all around them briefly takes on a slightly more vibrant color as it's first steamed to a nicely al dente consistency before wilting into overcooked mush. The tiny butterfly turtles titter as the sky turtle drops to the ground and snorts with satisfaction. "You're next, Dinguess," it says in a sonorous yet musical voice.
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