Skyfell - Lost in the Feywild : Session 41

 

Introduction

A few years ago, I started a regular Dungeons and Dragons campaign in my Skyfell setting that I called The Rise of the Glutton which has since been renamed to Lost in the Feywild. I wanted to provide my players with a log of their adventures and then realized that such a log might make for fun blog. See Rise of the Glutton/Lost in the Feywild 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 41 - Test of the Branches: Jealousy is in the Eye of the Beholder

Preparation

When we were finally able to schedule a session, the very first thing I did was write up the summary for Session 40. This proved very helpful as it reminded me of many things that had happened. It also forced me to consult my notes of the overall arc to make sure what I was writing was correct, accurate, and did not reveal any surprises that I had planned for the big encounter that the party would have with The Jealous Wind.

I had painted the mini for The Jealous Wind months ago and so I didn’t have to rush to get that done. I did, however want to reconsider some of the stat blocks I had built out and rethink some of the strategy just in case things went sideways and this session became an all-out brawl and potential TPK (that's Total Party Kill, if you are not aware).

I also rebuilt a portion of the map from the previous session so that we could get started right away. What was nice here is that I had been busy painting some of the set pieces from my all time favorite board game HeroQuest. As a result, the map looked pretty good. And, of course, the Dungeon Master action figure helped out a bit too.

I'm Ready to Play

Pre-game

While it had been months since we had all gotten together for this particular campaign, most of the same people are in another campaign in which I am a player. That campaign had also gone through some months on pause. It started back up the night before my Session 41 so we got a lot of the hugs, chat, and catch-up done then. Pre-game, then, went pretty quickly.

In-game

Our heroes gathered around the door that they had just unlocked through their simultaneous performances in each of the classrooms (see Session 40). A warm, ever so slightly humid breeze rolled out of the passage beyond, almost as though the hallway itself were the mouth of some great creature and the breeze its breath.

The Party Examines the Hallway Beyond

More disturbing, however, was the chorus of voices that filled each of our heroes minds, especially those that promised to destroy "the wicked Bard." Onyx was the first to move into the hallway, leveraging her experience as an archeologist, <cough>tomb robber</cough>, to check for traps and scout ahead for any other dangers. The others filed in behind her.

Onyx Scouts Ahead

She shortly came to a T-intersection where she spotted the remnants of doorframes and hinge wells carved out of the walls. There was also another intact door. Up and down one side of the hallway was a series of four bas reliefs depicting bards performing each of the four areas of study that the party had deciphered in each of the four classrooms (storytelling, dance, poetry, and music). Strangely, all of the faces had been scoured clean so that each of the bards could not be identified. The damage had been done long after the reliefs had been carved, was clearly deliberate as it only affected the faces of the bards, and had likely been done by wind-driven blasts of sand.

More of that strange language was carved just above each of the doorways. Again, Drekzhar recognized this as the old Bard's cant. The writing indicated that the doorway to the left led to the teacher dormitories, the doorway to the right led to the commons, and the intact doorway led to the theater. (He did not yet communicate this information to the rest of the party.) Onyx decided to check out the passage to her left first (the one that Drekzhar knew was the teacher dorms). Meribore and Drekzhar followed her. 

Onyx Finds the Teacher Dorms

This branch of the hall was quite short before it hooked to the right to reveal a longer passage lined with doorways. Another bas relief was here depicting a lone bard standing on a stage in front of hundreds of adoring fans. As with the other bards, the face on this one was also scoured away so that they could not be identified. The relief showed this performer pointing at one of their many spectators. The spectator was in the act of falling over backwards, clutching at the chest. Little "x" were where the spectator's eyes should have been. 

It occurred to Drekzhar that this relief likely showed that fateful moment when Goelz uttered the seven cursed words that killed his heckler. While he mulled over this historic moment in Bardic history (all while trying desperately to convince the voices in his head that he was not, in fact, a Bard at all), Meribore pointed out the subtle evidence that the relief was in actuality a door of some kind. Neither Drekzhar, Onyx, nor Meribore could find any physical mechanism to open the door. Pooling their common knowledge of secret doors and traps, they decided that this door must be triggered by something other than physical means, such as words or magic or both. 

Quickly becoming bored with a door that could not be opened, Onyx slinked off to investigate the doorways down the hall. Meanwhile, Tauffae made the executive decision to position himself near the still intact door (the one in the opposite direction from the bas relief) with the intention of standing guard just in case something, perhaps even the something to whom the voices belonged, decided to come through that door with malicious intent. Likewise, Tabbi remained at the T-intersection, making sure no one would sneak up on our heroes from that direction.

Tauffae Checks Out the Door

As Tauffae stood watch over the intact door, he felt a warm (and somewhat damp) rhythmic current of air drift across his feet. A quick look around confirmed that it was coming from a well-worn gap between the bottom of the door and the stone floor. As he considered what this might mean, the voices whispered into his mind temptations to turn against the Bard. Tauffae mulled over becoming the captain of The Howling Wind II (their ship) should some untoward violence happen upon the captain (ie, Drekzhar). The gap in command would have to be filled, after all. It seemed logical that if he were going to discuss this plot twist in more detail, then he should at least open the door to get a better idea of the thing with which he might be aligning. So he did. Beyond, a stairway sank deeper underground. At the very bottom, he saw the subtle hints of outside light. In that dim illumination, he could make out even more carvings on the walls. (These looked to be Bards "battling it out" with each other in arena-style competitions.) The voices grew more excited, continuing their "plans" to do in the Bard.

Onyx returned from her quick expedition. She confirmed that each of the doorways opened into small rooms, likely dorms of some sort. This tracked with her experiences with the various temples around Piruna Fields that she had explored. There was always a place where the members of the temple slept. Here, clearly, was where the teachers of this school slept.

It occurred to Drekzhar that perhaps the key to opening this secret door was to recite the seven cursed words. He was, however, none too thrilled at the prospect of doing so. There was no way to know what was behind that door. It might be the very thing that had made it clear that he would be ground up into dust. But the curiosity of what lie beyond the door was too great. With encouragement from his friends, Drekzhar said the seven cursed words. Upon saying them, the bas relief lifted to reveal a pristine bedchamber. 

The Door Opens

The room was much larger than the chambers Onyx had found. Here, there was a desk cluttered with writing utensils and other objects, a bureau, a foot locker, and bed. All were incredibly elegant and hinted at a style of halfling design that dated back to before the cataclysm. 

Tabbi was immediately drawn to his companions' excitement at finding the room and decided to join them. Onyx was the first to enter. She rifled through the desk, discovering a set of fine jewelry and a few rings that were definitely in need of a new home. Tabbi agreed.

Drekzhar was next. He was busy trying to process the fact that he was in the actual private space of a legendary figure. The person who slept in the bed and who sat at the desk was the very being who had founded the Bardic line itself, a whole branch of magic use. It would have been a spiritual experience if not for the voices in his head promising to end him the first chance they got.

Meribore, who was neither taunted by the voices nor fixated on the liberation of expensive objects, had the wits about her to notice another hidden door at the far end of the room.

A quick survey revealed this door's mechanism to be of a far more mundane nature. Onyx was eager to see what treasures were yet to be discovered. That eagerness led to a fumbling effort that ruined her tools. Despite his better judgement, Drekzhar provided his own tools to Onyx for another attempt, as well as a little inspiration and any other aid he could offer. This group attempt was enough, and the door slid open to reveal a closet. Inside was a single, ornate chest with intricate designs reminiscent of the Elfey objects the party had seen thus far in their adventures. 

Inside the Closet is a Chest
Source: Pixabay

Onyx practically threw herself at the chest, hastily checking for traps before flinging it open. Inside was a collection of well-worn diaries and loose sheets paper. 

Goelz's Notes
Source: Pixabay

Drekzhar's heart leapt into this throat as Onyx picked through the items. The pages were filled with jokes, lyrics, and poems, all scribbled in the Bard's cant. These were Goelz's notes; they were the diaries in which he kept is work. Their value was immeasurable, from a historical standpoint to be sure, but also from the viewpoint of the Bardic line. There was no telling what secrets might be hidden in the pages.

Upon opening the chest, however, a tidal wave of wind boiled up from the stairway over which Tauffae stood. It blasted its way into the bedchamber, tossing around anything that wasn't nailed down and nearly knocking over its occupants. The wind plunged into the chest and kicked, scattering the books and kicking up lose pages. It was obvious that the force wanted to destroy the treasure. Drekzhar hurriedly slammed shut the chest. 

The wind receded.

The voices filled everyone's mind with curses for the evil Bard. 

Sensing the sudden gust had come from Tauffae's direction, and that Tauffae was all alone to face whatever force had caused the wind, he decided to join his friend.

They Find the Secret Door

But Tauffae was engaged in an entirely different kind of encounter than what Tabbi feared. The voices in the orc's head were now more angry. Their calls for him to betray Drekzhar were more desperate. Underlying all of it was a seething jealousy. It was a feeling that Tauffae knew all too well because it was how he had felt toward his family members whenever they had received praise from his father. His father had never approved of Tauffae. He had never praised him for any of his accomplishments because they were not how a "real orc" should behave. He was not ready for violence at the merest provocation. He didn't have a need to seek out war and crush his enemies. These were values he father had held dear to which Tauffae could not conform. For that, he had never and would never be praised by his father. He would get only ridicule and shame. 

So, yes, he understood how The Jealous Wind felt. And so, perhaps, just perhaps, The Jealous Wind might find comfort with a kindred spirit. And perhaps, just perhaps, this one Bard of all the Bards out there might not be so evil because Tauffae trusted him and loved him as a brother. They would need only talk to prove their good will.

The voices fell silent. A series of bluish light flickered into life along both walls of the stairway.

By now, the others had decided to join Tabbi and Tauffae. (They stuffed the chest into Tabbi's bag of holding for good measure.) Tauffae did his best to explain what was happening and then headed down the stairs. The rest of our heroes followed. As they descended, it became clear that this passage was decorated with a certain flair meant to impress and to entertain. It reminded Drekzhar of The Trust back on Doraku (see Skyfell Geography: Organizations of Highwater), with its lavish carvings and ornate fixtures. Though this awed him, he could not shake a not so unreasonable fear that he was descending into the belly of some hideous fate from which he could not escape.

The stairway fanned out into a half-circle to deposit our adventurers into a large, oval arena that was dug out of the rock. To either side of them, a set of bleachers rose up from a long, wide floor to the base of a domed ceiling high above them. Along the lowest portion of that base was a collection of alcoves housing statues of bards in various poses. As with the bas reliefs, their facial features had long ago been scoured away. Just above these were a set of tunnels that allowed for natural light from outside to pour into the arena. At the far end, on a raised dais, was a large, luxurious chair. Just behind that, in its own alcove, stood an enormous statue that was very similar to the one that had tried to kill our heroes just a little earlier. This faceless work of art was clearly Goelz. 

As the party took in all of this, whirlwinds blasted around them and around the arena, kicking up dirt and other debris. They converged on the chair, where they congealed into a large, green, spherical creature with a single giant eye and enormous mouth. A half-dozen stocks rose from the upper portion of the sphere, each ending with a blinking eye that glared at Drekzhar.

The Jealous Wind Appears

The Jealous Wind introduced itself as Fergus Florpiss. They explained that long ago, sorcerers and other magic users had grown jealous of the ease at which magic came to the Bards and they targeted the school (and Goelz himself) in a series of attacks meant to rid the world of the Bardic influence. Goelz summoned Fergus Florpiss to help protect the school from these dangers. Fergus' gift was the ability to summon air elementals to patrol the environs and take care of anyone who might try to reach the school uninvited. And, of course, if anyone breached those defenses, Fergus himself could turn them to stone, blast them into ash, or send them on to any number of other equally frightful fates.

It wasn't long before these jealous magic users learned that they could not defeat the school in an outright battle and so the attacks subsided. (They would wage war in other ways.) Goelz, his faculty, and his students took the credit for this victory over the establishment. Their self aggrandizing conveniently excluded all mention of Fergus. In fact, whenever any talk of Fergus did come up, they were quickly dismissed as an inconsequential denizen of the school. Something that just wandered in one day and was kept happy and alive by the gracious whims of the students and staff.

Over time, Fergus' resentment grew, fueled further by the poems and songs that reached their ears in praise of the school in general and Goelz in particular. It didn't help that the school's denizens were becoming increasingly cruel toward them. Eventually, Fergus snapped and turned on the school. With the help of the air elementals, they killed the faculty and students in pretty short order. Eventually, they also destroyed Goelz in single combat in the arena. From that point forward, Fergus was alone in the school, at first unable to leave but now unwilling to even try. It was the only home that they knew. 

As Fergus told their story, they worked up themselves into a bit of a frenzy. Their eye stocks shot beams of energy in every direction, sending our heroes diving for cover. Once again, Tauffae saw in Fergus his own jealousies toward his kin and his anger toward his father. He approached Fergus with kind words, explaining that jealousy was a dark and dangerous place to live. Like Tauffae, Fergus must forgive in order to move beyond the rage that filled them both. Tauffae approached Fergus and hugged them.

Tauffae Hugs It Out

In that moment, Tauffae forgave his father.

Drekzhar knew the stories of Goelz quite well and he knew that there was no mention at all of a Fergus Florpiss in those legends. It seemed plausible, then, that they might be telling the truth. Taking the creature at their word, he promised Fergus that he would add their story to those legends. He would sing songs in praise of Fergus' bravery. He would go back to The Trust at the Hall of Words and Songs and make sure Fergus' story was added to their records. Fergus would get the praise he deserved.

This pleased Fergus. They promised that they would take the Ondonti's wise words to heart and try to live a different life here in the school. They also offered the party a present, which was in a chamber just beneath Goelz's chair. It was a set of bag pipes that, as Fergus explained it, could play the song of any island. It could also be used to influence an island's song (should the island be willing to entertain the change) or put into place a song where one did not yet exist. It was, in fact, the very instrument that set into motion the song the party had heard playing among the winds upon first arriving in the mountains (see Session 38).

Satisfied that they had accomplished their mission, our heroes prepared to leave. Recalling Sirocco's advice about escaping the Valley of the Jealous Wind (see Session 39), the adventurers joined hands and spoke the words that would return them to the mouth of the valley, "Meh-bacht hak?ytha."

A warm, dusty wind whirled up around them, blotting out their surroundings entirely. A moment later, the dust subsided to reveal the beginning of the path they had taken into the valley. Sirocco greeted them, pleased and not just a little surprised to see they had survived their adventure. The party recounted what had happened and asked Sirocco to spread the story among his acquaintances and to tell Fergus' story to anyone who might pass. He agreed, promising that every campestri on the island would soon sing of Fergus. 

Sirocco Promises to Spread the Word
Source: Monster Manual

The walk back to the Autumn Meadow (see Session 38) was uneventful, leaving plenty of time for Tauffae to think about his family and for Drekzhar to compose songs about Fergus. Meribore was hopeful that they might pass the other two tests just as ably and as a result become able to restore Dead Island to health. The promise of the bag pipes meant that they could breathe new life into their dead home. 

The adventurers became cheerful when they finally spied the Autumn Meadow. A few hours later, they were crossing the field to Zardoz's homestead. The ondonti and his family, along with Father Thistletwig and the crew of the Howling Wind II greeted them.

Zardoz and Mimzeef
Source: Monstrous Compendium

"I'm happy to see you, my friends," said Zardoz as he embraced Tauffae and the others. "It's been three months since you left. I was starting to wonder whether you were ever coming back."

End Session 41.

Experience earned:

Drekzhar - 780 (74,887 total)
Meribore - 780 (74,861 total)
Onyx - 810 (74,674 total)
Tabbi - 750 (74,804 total)
Tauffae - 750 (75,210 total)

Supplemental Material

The Seven Cursed Words

For some, this reference might be familiar. To others, it begs for explanation. Years ago a comedian named George Carlin did a bit about the seven dirty words you couldn't say on television. I will not repeat them here. If you have the time, inclination, and maturity just Google it. These, then, are the words that Goelz had let loose on his heckler, and they are the words that Drekzhar had to recite in order to open the secret door.

And now you know...

And knowing is half the battle.

Fergus Florpiss

I do enjoy painting miniatures, though I don't do it often. In this case, I had painted the Fergus Florpiss miniature several months ago. At that time I had posted pictures of them to my Instagram. When I was writing this summary, I realized I hadn't taken a good picture of them. I do so like the work I did with this mini, so I wanted to repost those images here. Forgive my momentary conceit. 

Fergus Florpiss

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:

The sky turtle plucks Dinguess from the ground as daintily as its massive jaws can allow. This snaps off the little creature's horn, leaving it buried in the ground. "Careful, you big galoot," Dinguess whinges, rubbing his head. "I really liked that horn and now I'll have to grow another." The strange, furry creature ponders this for a moment. "Mayhaps this time I shall grow two."

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