Peril & Fame 2: Andoran Act 2

[Othniel]

Cassandra

Giving the fey creature her most polished curtsy, Cassandra decided that nothing short of complete honesty would do here. "I shall spare you the details, my lord Erlking; unless you would like them, that is. My purpose in seeking an audience with the Queen is twofold: I bring news regarding two subjects, and I seek a boon from Her Majesty." Well aware that the Erlking could end her life in a moment (though she didn't think he would unless he saw her as a threat), Cassandra continued on, intent on delivering the most important bit of news immediately. "First, I bring dire news of dark fey uprisings in the forest to the south and east. They have attacked both goodly fey and non-fey alike, and seem content to burn and murder their way across Verduran Forest and portions of Andoran. The Druid Devarre had meant to deliver the news, but alas, he has fallen. To the same menace, I fear, yet I cannot be entirely sure. My companions and I have slain many spriggans and several worgs in our travels since leaving Belhaim, most of them in the area of a waterfall where a ring of stones kept Rhoswen imprisoned in the Fellnight. There we found three stones missing, which allowed passage between the realms (I stepped inside to test it myself), and after the battle, we managed to move two back into place. Lord Stray has assured us that such action is enough for now, assuming she is still inside. We also aided the Unicorn Palomir and his dryad friend Fira, though we were too late to save Fira's sisters from the fires the spriggans set, and I still fear for Fira." Of all the destruction and murder they'd seen, that episode had effected Cassandra the most. She had always believed dryads to be among some of nature's most gentle creatures, and it deeply saddened her to know that they'd been only minutes or hours too late.

"After we journeyed to seek an audience with His Grace, Stray bid us seek information regarding the Nymph Ambrosia, specifically to determine whether she was responsible for the open passage to the Fellnight. He teleported us to New Falcon's Hollow where I spoke with her in the guise of a pixie, and concluded that she had nothing to do with it. Indeed, I believe she feared what would happen should Rhoswen be loosed. She may have been lying to me, of course, but I believed her. She warned me to stay away from the carnival she was traveling with come evening, but we resolved not to do so. I felt that she was a danger to the people there, and could not stand by if she intended violence against them. We returned to the carnival to find the attendees enchanted with a similar effect to an Aura of the Unremarkable, and then did battle with a pair of grimstalkers, a minotaur, three cold riders, and an emissary of Qadira to Ambrosia. With the aid of the Druid Jaeger and Lord Abarta of the Ether Court (whose service His Grace had obtained for us in the form of a magical token) we managed to mitigate the damage and death she could cause, though to my sorrow, the Qadiran woman escaped."

After pausing a moment to make sure the Erlking was still following her stream of information, she continued. "The other portion of news involves a man from my homeland of Taldor, though I believe it ties in with what I have already told you. My father is Prince Tybalt Vallas, Duke of the Fog Peaks. I am his eldest daughter, though I have not exactly behaved the way a Taldan noble should ever since I spent three years sojourning in the lands of Alistair when I was a child. But I digress. An acquaintance of my father, Duke Turel Meresin of Rothbourn, is believed by Stray - that is, His Grace - to have given Ambrosia an artifact that allowed her to ensorcell the carnival-goers. He may be in cahoots with Rhoswen, or other dark fey at the very least, with the intent to create a threat to Taldor, which would enable him to later swoop in and deliver the country from the peril...and into his own hands. I do not know the capabilities of Lord Alistair, but his realm may be in danger as well."

Cassandra stopped to wet her lips, and realized that she'd come to the end of the tale. "That is just about the sum total, my lord. Barring the details, that is. I would prefer to ask my boon of Her Majesty myself, however. It is...a personal matter." The druidess blushed slightly, feeling suddenly self-conscious.

[Nefarion Xid]

Droskar's Crag

Departing New Falcon's Hollow, Elias' party crossed the River Foam and made their way into the heart of the Darkmoon Vale. For two days they rode, unhindered, but surely watched by unseen eyes. Unlike the gloomy depths of the Arthfell, the Darkmoon woods were entirely pleasant. Even with Spring still a week away, the birds (especially cardinals) sang happily. Philip proudly noted that the warmth of the vale was due to the Five Kings Mountains taking the brunt of the northerly winds.

Towards evening, they arrived at their destination, the squat remains of a dwarven monastery built into the foot of the mountains. Despite the sound looking craftsmanship, the building was in the slow process of collapsing in several places -- fitting for a monument to the god of the lowest bidder. The arched double doors to the courtyard had fallen forward and rotted away into five separate pieces. The eastern wall had crumbled entirely.

Tracks were visible coming and going out the main gate and to the north-western tower. The prints that stood out appeared to belong to a huge (in the technical sense), barefooted humanoid, missing his left pinkie toe.

[Lord Of Mantas]

Hammerhead

Hammerhead listened attentively as Cassandra laid out their case to the winged fey man, then, hesitantly, spoke himself.

"We fear that, even though disaster was averted at the carnival, if Ambrosia, Turel, and the Dark Fey are left unchecked, they may try something similar again in the future - and this time, with no-one to stop them. We are in need of Her Majesty's help to avert a future crisis."

I'm not much one for speeches... hopefully that helps Cassandra a little.

Spoiler: Actions

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Aid Another on Diplomacy!

(1d20)[12] vs DC 10

[PepperP.]

Ellarie

Ellarie stood silently for a moment, squinting and tapping out a tune on her thigh with her fingertips as she pondered the tracks.

"So north-west tower first, eh?" She reached her arms over her head to stretch her road weary muscles.

[Nefarion Xid]

Droskar's Crag

Moving into the monastery courtyard, the party came into view of the double doors on the western complex, both ajar and on the verge of turning to dust. However, both were covered with all manner of languages (Taldane, Tien, Draconic, Infernal, Goblin, Abyssal, and of all things, Thassilonian) in white paint, repeating some variation of a lengthy. "Go away! No really, I will murder you. You will seriously ****ing die!" Crudely drawn pictures of skulls with Xs for eyes and some giant humanoid bashing two smaller figures to pulp drove the point home.

The doors appeared to be trapped, but the "trap" was merely a foul smelling bucket placed atop the doors (which opened outward).

In smaller text, at the bottom of the door, were the words, "I hope you get splinters!"

Almas

"Dern doesn't actually have a daughter," said Igneous. "It's his ingrate son who put him in the home. They wouldn't let us in, but they'll have to let in "family"."

Branda explains that Dern Fosimuth is a balding elderly man with tan skin and white hair. He has a scar on his cheek. Taergan Flinn is a half elven man (in his late 30s by human appearances) with red hair, freckles and blue eyes -- that shouldn't be too hard to find.

Darkmoon Vale

The Erlking stared through Cassandra as she rattled through the events of the last few weeks. He didn't look impressed, but his cold expression hadn't changed since the moment he laid eyes on Stray.

"I sense no falseness in you. Be warned, the Queen's senses surpass my own. All that you are will be laid bare in her countenance." He paused long enough to gesture beside him and command, "Disarm."

"It's been said my tongue is a ..." began Stray.

"All tongues are weapons, Stray. As an impetuous rake, your weapon is employed too readily and too often your opponents are undeserving and ill prepared for your barbs."

Stray was quiet.

[Othniel]

Cassandra

"As you command, my lord." Cassandra slowly (and deliberately) removed both her daggers and scimitar, wrapped her sling around the scabbards of the three weapons, and laid the bundle at the Erlking's feet. "I possess no other weapons, save my druidic spells and my friend Conall, a wolf currently inhabiting this crystal." She lifted the crystal from her chest so the Erlking could see it. "I can leave it here if you prefer."

[Jade_Tarem]

Kiyoko

Gazing at the doors and the... trap, the tiefling considered their options. Fighting something that big would be challenging, but not beyond them. "I'm getting the feeling that we're not welcome. I like ignoring that feeling."

[Lord Of Mantas]

Hammerhead

Dutifully, Hammerhead removed Last Word from his back and laid it at the Erlking's feet. "I would ask that you do take care with this - it is very precious to me. There is one other item I possess that might be considered a weapon - it is a mutagen that increases my strength and constitution when imbibed. I can also leave that if you prefer."

[zabbarot]

Margot

Margot just turns out her pockets to discover crumbs and a half eaten gingerbread man. She offers a weak smile, but stays silent.

[TheDarkDM]

Elias

Cracking his back after the long trek on horseback, Elias perused the collected warnings with no small curiosity. The sheer number of languages alone betrayed something unusual about the tower's inhabitants.

"It's strange though, isn't it? Most of the murderous giants I've read of would be only too happy to welcome more prey to their doom."

[PepperP.]

Ellarie

Ellarie looked askance at the strange writing on the door, then back to Elias and then back to the door.

"Shall we knock? I'm going to knock."

Ell slowly approached the door and called out,

"Hello! Is anybody home?"

[Nefarion Xid]

Darkmoon Vale

Ronan commanded the party to keep their crystal, potion and cookie respectively, then stepped aside without further comment. Behind him, a path lead through the arcing roots and then up in a spiral around the trunk of the great darkwood. There was no evenness stairs that had grown into the side of the tree, and in places they sloped away perilously. Stray paused at times to assist the climbers, often flying near them and offering his hands for footing.

"The tree is Lucairiun," he explained. "The Brilliant Shadow, or the Beautiful Shade." The exact translation failed in Sylvan, a language simultaneously more parsimonious than the common tongue, yet infinitely more nuanced. "She was a gift to Golarion, one of the Eternal Trees. The Eldest saw Earthfall and they mourned the world's fate, but for an age there was nothing to be done. When the dust finally began to clear, oh, ten thousand years ago, that's when they dispatched the Twelve Monarchs. They planted their trees with their roots in Golarion, but as plants grow towards the sun, the Eternal Trees grew towards the First World."

It was then they realized that after minutes of arduous climbing, the world around them was surely no longer northern Andoran. The rime covered silver mountain to the north soared beyond the clouds. In all other directions there was a sea of green. From an incalculable height they could see for thousands of miles around. The vast forest gave way to a shimmering ocean in the distance, or so they imagined it to be an ocean. Reconsidering the shape of it, they realized it to be a river, its headwaters beginning at a waterfall from the mountains before it encircled the globe, cascading down and apparently back up in places before finally emptying into a lake a jagged lake at the base of the mountain. From their, it rained up and returned to whatever lay beyond the mountain that fed the first waterfall.

Like the hands of a swiftly moving clock, the forest faded from green to gold to red, touched by an unseen force that stretched out from the branches of Lucairiun. The forest was bare. Then, the forest was covered with white. Then verdant once more and bursting with flowers. They stared for a moment, an hour, a century. The cycle repeated left to right, sweeping over the land and transforming the season. Following the line of transformation, the motion seemed to accelerate. Years passed in minutes. One season turned into another in a second. One season blurred into all seasons. It rained ice cold red blossoms and they began to think to bury themselves beneath the warmth of the snow and sleep til midnight when the air was honest like young love.

They were brought back to reality by a polite cough from Stray. Below, they once more saw only the valley whence they had arrived. He gave them a solemn, knowing look. It was plain to him what they'd seen. His emerald eyes stayed on Cassandra, condemning and loving at once, full of pain and mirth.

"The days are as water. The world will fall away beneath your feet and you will become as we are: joyously, rapturously lost."

[Othniel]

Cassandra

The druidess felt - a small part at least - of that same longing toward the First World that Stray described in the growth of the trees planted by the Eldest. She knew there were dangers involved, though she did not know how many nor the extent of each, but she felt it was something she had to strive for, and had had that feeling for most of her life, short though it was compared to the fey in whose realm she now traveled. A follower of Ng, the Eldest known as The Hooded, could do no other. Cassandra needed something to balance the two directions she had felt pulled in for nearly fifteen years. To make her into a new thing. She was silent until Stray spoke again, focusing on the experience and knowing it would be etched in her memory for all time.

"The days are as water. The world will fall away beneath your feet and you will become as we are: joyously, rapturously lost."

"Lost, but ever seeking," she replied in Sylvan. But in the fey language, her meaning was deeper, like one who has discovered a path in the woods, and upon following that path, the traveler would find that it branched. And down every branch, there were even more splits, so that a wanderer could continue forever and her curiosity never be sated. Down each path was something new: perhaps delightful, perhaps dangerous, perhaps the twain. The traveler would only know by following the path. Those, such as Cassandra, who worshiped the Lord of Crossroads knew of such dangers; nevertheless they pressed onward, for there was so much of the planes to see and experience. Even the danger was to be savored. Full immersion into the Realm of the Fey could be both delightful and terrifying, but it would be an experience, a path, like no other. That was Cassandra's desire.

[Nefarion Xid]

Droskar's Crag

There was no reply to Ellarie's call. The "trap" consisting of a bucket of dead, soggy rats was easily removed and there seemed to be nothing magical about the entry way or hall beyond. A shrine to Torag dominated the space with rows of rotting darkwood pews arrayed around it. The stone anvil had been desecrated long ago with Torag's name chiseled away. The surface of the anvil/altar bore three shallow alcoves in the shape of a popular Dwarven gem cut, but the stones had been pried up. The rest of the chambers were equally disappointing with nothing of historical significance or value left. Bloody adventurers had likely picked over everything on multiple occasions. However, they did find stairs down to much larger dwarven complex where the walls were completely covered in intricate diamond-shaped patterns and scrolling with the names of those who built this place. In the center of the large rectangular chamber, there stood a shattered obsidian obelisk. Judging by the amount of rubble on the floor, it had once been nine feet high. Still, there was no sign of inhabitants or magic.

To the right, a short corridor lead to a long disused forge. Other passages lead left and straight ahead.

[Lord Of Mantas]

Hammerhead

It was beautiful. And, at the same time, utterly terrifying.

Hammerhead might have forsaken the stone for the surface world, and he might well have been toying with a couple of alterations to the mutagen that (if the notes he'd cribbed off that alchemist were correct) would give him wings, but he was still, at heart, a dwarf. And dwarves like nice, solid ground beneath their feet. And so, every beautiful sight, every wondrous moment, every feeling of joy, carried an undercurrent beneath it of apprehension.

you are not on solid ground get to solid ground get to stone

When Stray broke them from their reverie, he shook his head, wiping his brow. A little pale, he reverted to his native dwarven, muttering mostly to himself rather than to the others.

Spoiler: Dwarven

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"I'm no crazy tree-fighter, but it's times like this when I remember why my people are content with living under the ground."

[zabbarot]

Margot

Margot's eyes went wide as the seasons kaleidoscoped in front of her. This was beyond anything she'd ever conceived. Beyond even the secrets her patron had hinted at. She looked down to where Miette clung to the branches below her and couldn't help but imagine something malicious gleaming in his black candy glass eyes. A shiver of fear went down her spine as she realized how little she actually knew about her patron. Perhaps she shouldn't have brought him here.

[Jade_Tarem]

Kiyoko

"So... anyone have a favorite direction? I say right hand rule."

[TheDarkDM]

Elias

Taking the time to cast some preparatory spells, Elias eventually responded by gesturing towards the forge.

"We may as well ensure there is nothing to come after us."

[PepperP.]

Ellarie

Ellarie shrugged, looking at the old giant footprints pensively.

"The forge it is, then." She could see no reason for dissension from the other two so she cautiously made her way into the forge.

[Nefarion Xid]

Darkmoon Vale

At her word, Stray drew Cassandra towards him and kissed her forehead. He said no more and once again began the ascent up the winding wooden stairs. The passage had grown easier, by the party's reckoning, the stairs less physically perilous now, having passed through the veil. Soon, the stairs wrapped back into the tree and they climbed through an arch formed by the first branches.

When they emerged, the midday sun had been replaced by a brilliant starry sky, bright enough to shed light as a full moon on Golarion. What had at first appeared to be a blank spot in the stars looked to be a midnight blue moon with a subdued, ethereal inner light that twinkled behind its faceted gem-like surface. All around, the branches of Lucairuin continued their skyward progression, forming a miniature forest in the air. Miniature was a relative concept, of course, as the true size realm in which they now stood could not easily be guessed and they felt at once comforted by its beauty and intimidated by its unfathomable wildness. In the middle of this celestial wood, there was a small meadow and its center a placid pond with still water like glass. On the far side, the nymph queen sat barefoot in the grass, garbed only in a gauzy blue gown. She idly traced her finger through the unmoving water, gazing deep and seeing something unseen beneath the surface.

Though her face was yet hidden beneath the cascade of wild auburn hair, previous concepts of beauty began to fade from the minds of the party. Twinges of lust and jealousy ebbed away to be replaced by a mute, loving acceptance.

Spoiler: Will Save

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Make one

Droskar's Crag

The forge was much as the rest of the complex, long ago despoiled of anything valuable or useful. Probably. The air was several degrees warmer here. In the center of the room there was a circular pit ten feet in diameter, still glowing with a dull red. Suspended above by black chains was an equally Brobdingnagian crucible. Taking in the controls, Elias guessed the slag filled blast furnace could be activated by pumping in super heated air through a series of vents which led from an deeper magma filled cavern. Even only partially open in their default position, the metal pellets below were still alight.

"What do you suppose the pellets are made of? If they're iron, they would have melted, wouldn't they?" Philip offered, gesturing down at the fist sized spheres of black metal.

[PepperP.]

Ellarie

Ellarie peered at the balls Philip pointed out.

"Are they adamantine Kiki? Like the problem solver?"

[Jade_Tarem]

Kiyoko

The tiefling stared into the furnace, wondering that herself. "Not sure. Do you want me to whack one to find out?"

[PepperP.]

Ellarie

Ellarie stood back a ways just in case.

"Yeah, would ya?"

[Othniel]

Cassandra

A momentary look of confusion passed over the face of the druidess at Stray's kiss, but she followed along wordlessly, senses drinking in the experience. Once they reached the glade, she stared at the seated figure, waiting for...something.

It took a moment and a great deal of willpower, but Cassandra managed to tear her eyes away from the sight before her and she looked to Stray for guidance.

[Jade_Tarem]

Kiyoko

"Welp, stabbin' time." She pointed her blade at the nearest ball and thrust at it experimentally.

Spoiler: OOC

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Damage: (1d10+7)[17]

[Nefarion Xid]

Drokar's Crag

Leaning over the pit and stabbing into the slag and pellets with her sword, Kiyoko felt a satisfying jolt in her arm. The metal made a distinct clack on impact. Whatever carbon and slag had formed around the balls over the years cracked away, but the material beneath bounced Kiyoko's blade away. Further inspection revealed each sphere to be an adamantine sphere, hollow in the middle given their weight. Still, all told, the party could estimate the value of the 12,000 gp, should they find a way to extract the balls, let them cool and clean away the residue of the forge.

Darkmoon Vale

Stray only glanced momentarily to Cassandra, only gesturing for her to wait before shuffling around to the far side of the pond to kneel by the queen. She looked up and gave him a kiss on the forehead, just as he'd done for Cassandra. They spoke for a time in hushed voices, surprisingly inaudible for the short distance. For a brief time, the party stood, but soon became compelled to sit in the grass and enjoy the stars. They felt the embrace of the ground, a sort of beanbag chair for the soul. Blades of grass twisted their way through their fingers like a sympathetic shag carpet. For a time, they contemplated their place in the world and their insignificance when compared to the oldest and most powerful beings, and their insignificance compared to the gods, and how small were the gods to creation if even they could be born and die. This crushing existential dread was soon replaced by the knowledge that cream cheese frosting was delicious and that a universe in which cream cheese frosting existed couldn't be completely devoid of meaning. Even Miette rolled around in the grass, his eyes completely glazed over and his tongue lolling out as he gazed dumbly upward. He occasionally gave out a contented chirp.

At some point, Stray came to retrieve Cassandra from her reverie. He led her by the hand around the pond to where Syntira still sat. Seeing her face for the first time Cassandra thought she must have resembled her own mother, or at least some idealized, infantile recollection of what a young mother should look like. She would later have trouble describing the queen at all beyond the words beautiful and kind. For a time she said nothing, but held Cassandra in her gaze. Her eyes seemed blue and green and grey and brown all at once.

"What do you suppose Ng likes best about you?" she asked suddenly.

[Lord Of Mantas]

Hammerhead

As the serenity of the place began to worm its way into Hammerhead's head, any fear he might once have had promptly vanished, and he allowed his frame to settle deep into the meadow. As the thoughts of the insignificance of man and the feeling of shag carpeting disappeared and gave way to the beanbag, Hammerhead's head was filled with images of reclining in his favorite seat, watching men wrestling while he laid back gormlessly and ate cream cheese frosting directly from the can.

Or, even better...

"So... like... I've always thought dwarven rock bread, was, like, the best thing ever. Never goes rotten, good solid crunch, you can use it as an improvised weapon. But, what if, like, you added cream cheese frosting to it? And, then, like, maybe raisins in the loaf itself. Made it a, like a, cake, with fruit in it, and whatnot?.."

[Othniel]

Cassandra

The druidess didn't respond immediately, though she did unconsciously touch her gloved left hand with her right. She'd taken to wearing the pair to show her reverence for Ng the Hooded, the Eldest whose quiet following she had been introduced to many years prior in a glade in a remote corner of Verduran Forest. Loath to waste an opportunity, she'd also enchanted them to be useful. Cassandra pondered the lessons she'd been given by a young Huldra named Rowan and considered what she knew of the mysterious entity she gave her veneration to. Ng was the most taciturn and mysterious of the Eldest, prone to wanderings and inscrutable questions, or so it was said by his worshipers. The Lord of Crossroads rarely acknowledged even the most faithful - though clerics of Ng still received their spells and abilities as normal - and Rowan had taught Cassandra the first lesson that all who worshiped Ng learned: Seeking after knowledge could be both physically and metaphysically dangerous. Doubly so for those who would worship a god of secrets. Sometimes you realized only too late that it would have been better not to seek an answer to something. She hadn't comprehended much at the time, but with age had come a portion of understanding.

What did Ng like best about Cassandra? The thought made her smile and brought a slight color to her cheeks. Likely he saw naught but a child playing at things she didn't understand, but earnest in spite of - or perhaps because of - her ignorance. "I would be presuming too much to know the mind of one of the Eldest, but it is my thirst for more knowledge of the world - not only the Material Plane or the First World, but the rest of the Planes as well - that has kept my feet wandering these years. I may have been set on the path by another, but it was my choice to keep walking it, knowing that at some point I may meet with peril and death, but continuing on in spite of that for the purpose of seeking understanding. This is what I believe the Lord of Crossroads would like best about me: my curiosity."

[Jade_Tarem]

Kiyoko

"Gyagh, ach, ach, kah!" The tiefling slapped her hands against her armor - the adamantine had been a little too hot for her to handle safely. As they sat on the ground, rapidly cooling, she looked at the other two. "Okay, I've finished grabbing all the dwarves' balls. Now what?"

[PepperP.]

Ellarie

Unable to keep the smirk from her lips, it was a moment or two before she could speak without an intruding giggle.

"Could we roll them straight into Elias's bank? Surprise Djinn, Dwarf balls!" She shrugged.

"Unless you meant what we should do in general, then I think we should check out the room the footprints don't lead into. That way will probably be less interesting so we may as well get it over with."