Session 26: Baba Yaga

General Summary

The All Mothers

17th of Wintercrest 22nd year of the Second Era.
Stepping into The Lord's Secret, The Regulators were greeted with surprise by Carric, who informed them it had been 10 days since they departed. A group matching their description had been seen entering Naiford Wood, and he wasn't sure they would make it back.
The party settled in for breakfast while Zuko went for a bath. During the meal, Kaylee was reading through the diary as best as she could. She showed the others a drawing in the diary that appeared to be The Rundensee before it had water. Another drawing showed a large pyramid shaped gem she found inside. According to [Nallula's writing, it was the stone that gave her the increasing powers that made her the famous healer she became. Kaylee pointed out that it could also be what allowed her to ascend to godhood. This theory had strong implications for all religions, as it possibly gave more insight into what is really required for such and ascension, and may help explain the difference between the gods and the demi-gods.
Feeling abit overwhelmed by what she was learning, Kaylee asked about the box that they had stolen form the halfling's coffin. The other's filled her in on Grandmother, Grandmother, and the walking hut that destroyed White Bluff. Kaylee made the case that the location given to them by the woman in the gorge very well could be the location of the hut, and they shouldn't ignore that possibility. The party agreed, and Malcolm contacted Tidgrud, telling him they believed they knew where the hut was now.
Gavin Searson replied, informing them that they could meet them in Bridhosle within a day. Malcolm made arrangements with Carric to have the rented horses returned to Haligham and presented a theory to Kaylee about the pyramid in the diary. He pointed out that the bottom edge was jagged and probably broke of a larger piece. He wondered if most of the gods found smaller pieces like that, and a larger central piece may be in the hands of a more powerful god. Something about this felt familiar to Kaylee, so she excused her self to go and do some research.
Malcolm went out to look for day work to pass the time and replenish his dwindling funds. Zuko found a woodwind shop to replace the flute he traded to get back the carpet of flying. Zuko also spent some of the day reading the book he had found; History of the Great Guild Wars. He learned several interesting things while reading it. First, he learned that the book had to have been dropped by a more recent traveler through the abandoned village, as it was written only 91 years prior. He also learned that the the second Great Guild War ended 93 years ago. The war is part of why people began migrating to Acreomond in the first place, and it was not common knowledge that the war had since ended. The last startling revelation was that The Serapis apparently disappeared without a trace during the second war. The two apparent members that kidnapped them in Palhas City may be the first time anyone has seen the guild since. That evening, Kaylee gathered the party in the room they were renting for the night and asked them if they were familiar with Cyuna, Gedia, Xaena, Ovelia. The others said they were only familiar with those names as being the names of the four moons.
Kaylee explained that they were also the names of the four goddesses of the Fyra , also known as the "All Mothers." They weren't observed much in modern society, but Wood Elf societies still held them in high regard. It was said that they are more powerful than even the Oryan and Valarcour gods, and shaped the world into what it was today, beginning the time period known as the "Era of Mortal Rule." She then pulled out a piece of paper with the symbol that represented the pantheon. At the center of this symbol, surrounded by the symbols of each of the goddesses, was the two dimensional representation of an icosahedron.
Kaylee then pulled out two small pieces of wood she had whittled; one into the icosahedron, the other to the three sided pyramid from the diary. She demonstrated how the pyramid fit onto on of the faces of the larger shape. She then pointed out that if their theories so far were correct; the Quenya controlled the larger center piece, and each of the Oryan and Valarcour had one of the pyramids, it was possible there were still four pieces unaccounted for. Malcolm agreed with the theory, and expressed concern that there were also four stone tablets they were looking for. It seemed to him to be too much of a coincidence.

Baba Yaga

18th of Wintercrest 22nd year of the Second Era.
The next morning, Tidgrud and Gavin arrived. The party noted that Gavin seemed much rougher and more confident, and was now accompanied by a Peregrine Falcon familiar. Tidgrud asked the party to fill them in on what they had learned. Gavin interrupted when they mentioned the box they believed to contain the witch's iron teeth asked to examine the box. He couldn't confirm if the teeth were in fact still in the box, but felt that the witch wouldn't be able to without opening it either. He proposed creating a decoy duplicate of the box to possibly draw her out. Gavin then filled them in on what they had learned about the creature. Her name was Baba Yaga She was an immortal Fae creature that last walked Firnormond nearly 5000 years before.
Though essentially immortal, her form in the Mortal Realm could be destroyed, sending her back to the Fae Realm. Without her sentient iron teeth, she would be less dangerous than with them, but she was still extremely formidable. Gavin then sent his familiar to the location given to them by the woman in the gorge, and once it had time to arrive, he looked through its eyes so he could confirm the hut was there and draw a map of the area. The party agreed on a plan and prepared to leave the following morning.

The Ambush

19th of Wintercrest 22nd year of the Second Era.

The following morning, they gathered the cart and headed south, with Tidgrud driving the cart. He told Malcolm he was happy that his gift continued to serve them for so long. Malcolm noticed for the second time that Tidgrud seemed distracted and sad. Tidgrud said it was perhaps simply because he was nearing the end of his quest and wasn't sure what he would do afterwards, but then admitted he was having a recurring dream that disturbed him. He kept seeing the image of a red dragon flying into a sunset. Always a little different, and seemingly peaceful, but he found it ominous. Malcolm admitted he didn't care for the symbolism, but if they succeeded in defeating Baba Yaga, Tidgrud was welcome to stay with hem on their new airship. Tidgrud said he wasn't sure if that was something he would want to do, but couldn't express enough appreciation for the offer.
As the party neared the dry ravine where the hut was located, Malcolm and Zuko left teh cart to take up firing positions on either high side of the ravine, while Gavin created a magic barrier that would keep the witch from fleeing the area, then did the same. Meara drove the cart part way into the ravine and turned it sideways, allowing Tidgrud and Kaylee to hide behind it, then approached the hut. She did her best to hide the features that gave her away as a Huntsman and knocked on the door. A very old woman with an impossibly long nose answered the door and warned that she wasn't worth robbing. Meara assured her that she wasn't there to rob the woman, but was told there was a reward being offered for a special box. The old woman was frustrated that the box had been left on the cart which was parked almost 100 feet away, but Meara convinced her to come out with her.
As Meara handed the old woman the decoy box, Malcolm fired three shots; the first two struck the woman and the third hit the box. Though there wasn't much in the way of physical transformation, the old woman suddenly ceased to appear as a natural humanoid, and whistled toward the hut. The hut shot up from the ground revealing two large bird like legs, and the party began their assault.
To be continued... Session 27: The Dragonborn, The Witch, and the Walking Hut 

Report Date

17 May 2020