Session 12 Report
General Summary
[session 12: 21.04.2024]
24th of Hammermoon / Deepwinter, 1489, Year of the warrior princess
the moon is in first quarter
Vilu dreams of a memory - the night alive with the dancing lights of the aurora borealis that the residents of Icewind Dale have come to associate with the Frostmaiden by now. There’s no moon, only the northern lights above them as the wind dances around them, carrying snow until all visibility is lost. Despite the freezing temperature, they feel warm and sluggish, and the world spins around them as they try to focus. In the dream, they cannot move, and yet there’s a sensation of someone or something watching them, their shadow stretching over them. The dream ends before they find out who the being is.
Next to Vilu, Viridian also dreams - she’s gotten a taste of what it feels like to run in the forest as a wolf, even more connected to nature than before. Each step carries her faster than before, the sheer power running through her veins is exhilarating. She tastes the blood of a fresh kill on her tongue, licking her lips. When she wakes up, it’s to herself and her own body, and it takes a moment longer than normally to orient herself to face the day as Viridian Underbough, halfling from the town of Lonelywood and not Viridian the wolf.
Primrose sleeps well - as she often does. The dream is of a childhood memory, back when she lived in Goodmead. The large bees buzzing around the colourful meadows, the scent of cornflowers and honeysuckles in the air, wheat ripening on fields that are about to turn golden come autumn. She’s playing with her brother, last rays of sunlight painting everything in vibrant reds and oranges. It’s a good dream, a peaceful one. Eventually the dream shifts to a memory of watching the moon rise in the shape of a crescent, and if she turns her head, it almost looks like her budding horns.
If Annie dreams, it’s of darkness that muffles all echoes, a perfect stillness of time and space. When she wakes up, nothing seems to be missing.
You spend some time in the morning eating breakfast and figuring out when to set out, tending to your weapons and preparing spells, if need be. You don’t know how long he’s been out, but you find Salvia meditating at the edge of your camp, practicing his morning rituals to honour Lathander. Vilu finally has time to update Morven on your plans, and sends out a message detailing the mysterious happenings of the House of the Amaunator, as well as leaving Bryn Shander. They get a message back fairly quickly, Morven asking them where are they headed next. Primrose goes to wake Dannika, and eventually, you set out on your way to Easthaven. It’s dark, but Viridian, despite her lack of darkvision, is a capable guide in the wilderness, as after you took your leave from the North Passage, it takes some time to find your way to the Eastway.
It’s a little after noon when you hear a man scream in agony somewhere ahead of you. Some of you are more willing to go look further, and so you walk ahead. There’s a small pond to the right, and what seems to be a cliffside looming right ahead. In the light of Viridian’s torch, you see a creature standing by the frozen pool - its eyes glittering fiery orange as they reflect the light. The shape of it is unusual - It seems to be some type of a deer, but its hindlegs are far more raptor-like and it has large, purplish wings on its back. Its antlers look large and sharp, but even more intimidating are the bared fangs and the intent in which it is staring at your group.
Both Viridian and Vilu decide it might be a good idea to try to intimidate this creature to leave you alone, instead of engaging in battle with it. Up above on the cliff, you hear a human-like scream once more, it leaves your blood curling. As you speak with the animal, you get the sense that it might understand speech even without a spell, but it doesn’t have the capability to respond to you - except with the aid of the spell, you gather that it is hungry for your hearts, and its mate requires a fresh kill. Annie recognises the creature as a peryton, a creature from what she thought were fairytales and old wives’ tales to scare children from venturing alone in the forest. They’re creatures that mate for life, but are known for eating the hearts of living creatures, especially favouring those of people during their mating season. Their shadows are peculiar, too, taking the form of the beast whose heart they’ve last consumed. They’re known for being tough to kill, the hide tough and durable which makes them valuable for hunters - they just happen to be fairly elusive and avoid human contact unless they’re preying for their next meal.
After telling the party that the peryton would gladly feast on their hearts, Vilu tells it that it will be delicious to eat its heart for a change.
Viridian takes initiative and much like in her dream, she transforms into a wolf - her coat auburn much like her own hair, tipped with white and grey of the wolves in this area. The peryton bows its head to gore her with its antlers. Before long, the snow around them is mixed with red, both of them injured and bleeding. Soon, another peryton swoops down from the cliff and tries to catch Coco in its talons. Luckily, Coco manages to burrow down into the snow. Dannika follows Coco’s example, and attempts to hide behind Primrose’s much larger form. Both Vilu and Salvia get injuries from the blade-sharp antlers, but eventually, Salvia manages to cleave one of the beasts with his halberd. The other one is soon felled as well, surprisingly Dannika’s spell stealing its last breath [dm note yes this was intentional let me have this one]. Primrose’s healing touch stops Vilu from bleeding. Exhausted, you all decide it might be for the best to take a short rest before continuing forward, just to have enough time to patch your wounds and gather your strength. Salvia’s hissing with pain as he moves, the antlers having done perhaps more serious damage than what he had anticipated.
As you rest, Viridian and Vilu take it upon themselves to skin the creatures, gathering their pelts as well as antlers and feathers. Annie is particularly interested in their bones, and Vilu ponders the possibility of filling their waterskin with the creature’s blood to sell it later, as it seems to be somewhat magical in nature. Perhaps you could even scrimshaw their skulls for extra profit?
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