- GM’s note: I think there are only another 2-3 sessions left in this story arc. We’re getting closer to the climax.
Grant is in the process of returning from Fort Ghost. He is carrying Rannik’s map of Tyland Mills and one of the lenses that will enable him to read the map and find Red Fox’s lost treasure.
Ethan is currently lost in the faerie realms.
And meanwhile, the Priestesses of the Crawler only need to complete one more sacrifice to bring back their god.
I’ve included a map of Tyland Woods and all of the locations at the bottom of this post.
Day 34 - Saintsday – 19th Day of Rainmoot (Spring)
- Grant is on his way back to Tyland Mill after a good night’s sleep when he runs across the tracks of a very large animal. Something larger than a bear. He has a bad feeling and decides to follow the tracks. Amongst the footprints are occasional splatters of blood. The further he goes, the more he feels that this might be the legendary Big One that is supposed to dwell in the forest. A terrible maneating bear of legendary size. Takk (the Tanner) has been talking about finding the beast – it is a dream of his.
- Grant tracks it over many miles and finds its den in a deep ravine choked with trees. The whole place smells of death and there are many carcasses strewn here and there. Animals don’t behave the way that the Big One behaves. This is a desecration.
- Grant stalks the monster and a battle against an enormous black bear is fought. The creature has a wicked looking silver spear lodged in its throat and it fights with unnatural fury. Grant strikes many blows to bring the creature down. He takes the silver spear and notes that it is a weapon of the Enemy dating from the Necromancer’s invasion. The wound it made had no doubt driven the creature mad. He leaves the area with a heavy heart. The creature was a crazed abomination, but he is still sorry to kill it.
- This hunt has taken him most of the day so in the afternoon he makes his way back to the road. He’s tired, and it is during this long slog that a small fey wearing a suit made of green leaves interrupts him.
- The faerie’s name is Whistlercow and he claims to be a personal envoy of Lord Wynterlyr. Whistlercow explains that he wants Lord Wynterlyr’s ring and he believes that Grant can get it for him. Whistlercow says that Lord Wynterlyr is prepared to be very generous. He offers a robin as a companion to relay messages back to him when Grant has made his decision, and Whistlercow implies that finding, or bring back Lady Sophia is within Lord Wynterlyr’s power. With a goodbye “Toodleloo”, Whistlercow vanishes. He has given Grant a lot to think about.
Lost in Faerie
- Ethan is lost in faerie mists. He wanders. Time passes but the mist does not lift. Occasionally there are shadows moving in the mist.
- Ethan has been in faerie before and he knows that time can be distorted here. Considerable time passes for Ethan as he wanders. He is unable to find a shadow path. He is not hungry but is occasionally thirsty.
- Days pass before Ethan can find the first break in the mists. He has wandered into a lush faerie land where the mountains are unnaturally shaped into narrow peaks.
- It is many weeks that Ethan is in the faerie realm but eventually he returns. (GM’s note – what happens to Ethan may be revealed in future writeups or in flashbacks)
Day 35 - Moonday – 20th Day of Rainmoot (Spring)
- Grant arrives back in Tyland Mill in the late morning. Ethan has not returned. His other deputies tell him that all is well, but there are some Steel Eagles waiting for him in the Good Omen Inn. Grant decides to let them wait. He makes sure that the evil spear that drove the Big One mad is locked away, then asks Tellurian about the six-holed flute that he found in the Old Oak cache (one of Red’s stashes). He knows the six-holed flute is a faerie artefact and he wonders if there are any local stories about it. He is in luck – Tellurian has heard of it – the six-holed flute is reputed to be able to tame and control insects, including Nyrathi Bees. Tellurian has no idea who the original faerie owner is but it could be Lady Beethania.
- Parth mentions that the Steel Eagles are looking for ‘Lord Korab’s woman’. Gareth spotted Acaratina and Twistle heading west towards Old Oaks but they didn’t tell the Steel Eagles this. Grant tells Parth that he has done well.
- Grant cleans himself up and is about to head over to the Good Omen Inn when Sir Vance comes to see him. Vance is leaving town, heading for Scarlet (the capital) and wished to say goodbye. Grant wishes him well.
- Turning his attention to the Good Omen Inn, Grant finds that the inn is now operating in a much more orderly state and Salthia is far less frazzled. She seems to have a team of dwarves working with her now, and her fear of the Steel Eagles is much diminished. Grant meets the senior of the two Steel Eagles, a man named Nantor. Nantor says that Lord Korab ordered them to recover his lady. She’s travelling with her brother and a quantity of gold. Nantor gives the impression that Lord Korab has been robbed, but this surprises Grant as he thought that Korab was dead. Is it just a slip of the tongue or is Korab somehow still alive? Grant tells Nantor where Acatarina and Twistle were last seen and the two Steel Eagles depart, muttering complaints as to why Grant’s deputies didn’t tell them earlier.
- Grant settles down to a hearty meal in the Good Omen Inn and thinks about what to do next. He wonders about whether to deal with the goblins at the Hexenhoof Mine or to head to Stonebridge to recover the second lens (and possibly find the title to the Hexenhoof Mine that Ingmar has been searching for).
- It is very late in the day that Ethan arrives at the Good Omen Inn. He looks very tired, and very dazed. Food and drink are prepared and he asks dully what day it is. He has lost all track of time. Eating slowly, he tells Grant that he has recovered Lord Wynterlyr’s ring. Showing it to him (Ethan is wearing it), Grant realises that it has an insect-like motive. If Beethania was telling the truth, this was fashioned from a piece of the Crawler. Ethan explains that he’s been able to tap into some of the power of the ring – and it helped him to get out of the faerie realms – but he’s very tired now.
- Ethan tells him of his adventure to recover the segments of the ring, and of his run in with one of the Priestesses. Grant then explains what he has done and found, and he tells Ethan of Lord Wynterlyr’s offer. Ethan brightens at this and immediately offers Grant the ring if he believes that Lord Wynterlyr could return Lady Sophia. Grant says that he is suspicious of the offer and the fey can be tricky. He suggests that Ethan keep the ring until the current crisis is over.
- Despite Ethan’s fatigue, Grant asks if it is possible to find out whether Lord Korab is still alive. Ethan agrees to this. Returning to the Sheriff’s Tower, Ethan uses a farseeing spell to look at the Weeping Castle. There he finds Raktor Stoneface in charge. The Steel Eagles are still in control of the Weeping Castle and are showing no sign of departure. Grant processes this and thanks Ethan for confirming.
- They talk. Grant wants to head to the Hexenhoof Mines to fulfil his obligation to Ingmar, and he asks Ethan to head to Stonebridge and find Otto, the missing lens and also the deed to the Hexenhoof Mine if that is possible. Ethan points out that Stonebridge is under Steel Eagle control. Grant is still hopeful that they can find the treasure needed to buy the Steel Eagles’ loyalty but he understands if Ethan has to deal with some of the Steel Eagles to achieve the other goals.
- Grant returns to the Good Omen Inn, and Ethan tiredly heads to bed.
Day 36 - Towerday – 21st Day of Rainmoot (Spring)
- The rains start overnight. Ethan is feeling refreshed and is keen to get going. He warns Grant that he may be gone for up to a week. He takes Rannik’s map and lens with him.
- Grant watches Ethan go and then goes to talk with Ingmar. He wants to know whether Ingmar would consider negotiation with the goblins as they have been settled in the mines for a long time. Ingmar is initially unhappy with the suggestion but Grant points out that they are heavily outnumbered and the mines seem vast enough that an agreement may be possible. Ingmar is convinced to try to reason with the goblins.
- Grant and Ingmar head off on horseback for the Hexenhoof Mines. The journey is pleasant despite the rain and Grant notes that Whistlercow’s robin follows him at a distance. They meet a travelling merchant named Pender who is heading for Tyland Mills and they continue on.
- At the Broken Bridge on the way to the Hexenhoof Mines they meet a three-headed ogre who will only let them pass if they solve a riddle. Even though Grant correctly answers, the ogre is still undecided as to whether to let them pass. The situation deteriorates and Grant is forced to slay the ogre and his many hounds. They then continue onto the mine itself and wait for nightfall.
- Meanwhile, Ethan runs into a Steel Eagle patrol that recognise his horse as one of theirs. There is a tense moment but the Steel Eagles choose to let him go.
Day 37 - Wineday – 22nd Day of Rainmoot (Spring)
- During the night, Grant goes to visit the Hexenhoof Mine. He takes Ingmar with him and they present themselves as envoys from Tyland Mill. The goblins don’t feel threatened by the two of them so they are escorted into the mine (just as Ethan was). They see firsthand the goblin village and get talking with a number of the goblins. The goblins seem eager to trade with them. One of the objects that is offered is a cap and goggles that Grant recognises as belonging to Jacob (an old friend and fellow Lord of Gossamer). Neither Ingmar nor Grant feels threatened by the goblins. They also note that the goblins seem interested in getting the dwarven mining equipment working. They are not stupid but they don’t seem to have the technical skills to operate some of the complex machines.
- At last they are taken to the corpulent king. Grant offers some gemstones as gifts and they talk. The goblin king isn’t interested in leaving the mines as this is his people’s home, but he has no interest in angering the people of Tyland Mill or the dwarves either. Grant gets the impression that the goblin king would be deposed if he were not seen to be strong, but also that the goblin king doesn’t care if the dwarves visit areas that are important to them. The king doesn’t seem to think that either of them is a threat but he is cool and cautious towards them.
* Image by JonasJensenArt, sourced from DeviantArt
- After a few minutes of conversation, the king tells them that there is a dwarf in the mine – but he is mad. Mad enough to think that the goblins are all dwarf children. Ingmar is keen to meet this mad dwarf and they are taken to meet ‘Hammer’. Hammer is quite insane and he keeps babbling on about the Crawler, the ring, and also about a creature that dwells on the level below which is Waka Nuka, the Great Mouth, and an offspring of the Crawler. Grant has been feeling that there is another Warden of the Stair here, somewhere below. He wonders if Jacob could be trapped here, but Hammer tells him that Jacob was devoured. This gives Grant the nasty feeling that this creature, the Waka Nuka, could have absorbed Jacob’s knowledge and abilities. An offspring of the Crawler that could open Doors and venture out onto the Stair could be very dangerous.
- Hammer is happy to take Grant and Ingmar ‘below’ but the king’s bodyguards refuse to let them descend via the ‘great bucket’. Leaving Ingmar to talk further with Hammer, Grant decides to go exploring. He finds a chamber with a Warden mark on it and discovers another Tower Warden tower which has been sealed off for many years. This tower rises well above the mountains and provides a commanding view over the surrounding lands.
- Meanwhile, Ethan runs into some trouble. A morning mist brings faerie hounds and he is forced to run for it. Unfortunately the creatures are fast – too fast for his poor horse. Ethan faces the hounds on foot and drives them off, but his horse is hurt. Ethan again uses Eidolon to gently heal the injuries but the horse remains spooked. He arrives at Stone Bridge late in the day and organises a room at Pete’s Tavern.
- Stone Bridge has buildings on both sides of the Dusker River, and the dwarven-made stone bridge crosses the waters in two large spans. Ethan notes that the Steel Eagles control the bridge and demand a tithe for anyone to cross it. They seem to have fortified one of the farmhouses on the edge of town. At Pete’s tavern, no one looks particularly happy except for the six Steel Eagles who enjoy ‘drinks on the house’. Despite this, Ethan minds his own business and simply observes.
* The current map of Tyland Woods, including what has been revealed to date.
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