Session 48 – Into the Woods

Written by KoshcheiBessmertnyi

General Summary

Glitterstem departs Toothymaw to commune with the spirits of the woods in order to become the Dire Wolf shaman. He intends to seek out the small, hidden place by the stream where he intends to found a settlement for gnomes. Before leaving, he casts a spell on the Dire Wolf gourd field, to ensure their crops grow and prosper. On route, he stops at Nugast’s old house to see if the old shaman left anything useful behind. He finds the house nearby the pentagonal mushroom growth. The house is now occupied by a pair of armed drow warriors, left behind by Lhingril to guard the gateway. All the accoutrements inside the house belong to the drow, so Glitterstem departs for his new digs.
After arriving, he finds a tree that could serve as a gnome home, and burrows out a series of tunnels below in badger form. Then, he sends animal messengers to Balint, informing him that he has taken residence in Neverwinter Wood. He also sends messengers to Ing, the Owlbear shaman, and to Enmul, proposing an alliance of three shamans. He also begins to commune with the plants of the Wood, looking initially to see if any of his companions have been seen in the vicinity. He learns that new fungal tubers similar to those that grow in Xibalba have sprung up in the woods. They are part of one single growth that originates underground courtesy of the “creators”, and are expanding. And there is a creature who is a sister to them, but also a creator, somewhere on the edge of the woods, but now it no longer exists.
The druid ends his sojourn in the woods by eating one of the purple mushrooms to elicit a vision. He sees the fungal growths springing up beneath the ground, and growing into vines with goblin, orc, human, elven, and gnome faces on the end. He also searches for a second spirit animal, and sees a vision of Urdlen the Mole – the betrayer of Baervan the Raccoon – burrowing underground, to claps a copper-colored ring. Feeling that the spirits have told him what he needs to know, Glitterstem returns to Toothymaw six days after leaving. He quizzes Chief D’kuger about his duties, and is told that shamans usually live apart from the village, and are sought out when required. They may also leave on mystical expeditions as the need arises.

* * *

Theobald and Brandon awake at the Dire Wolf encampment, and find Adrie gone. They search the compound, and the area outside, and find no trace of her. Miletus cannot locate her, either. Assuming she will return at some point, they leave Miletus behind to wait, and attempt another foray into Neverwinter Wood, to find the mushroom pentagram. They promptly get lost in the maze of goblin trails, and trek further into the woods than they intended. Double-backing, they finally emerge on the banks of a large river – presumably the Blackspear, upon which Toothymaw stands. Opting to go east, they locate the village in about an hour, and decide to enter it. They soon learn that Glitterstem has recently arrived there as well after an extended stay in the woods, and go to meet him and D’kuger in the longhouse.
After a small feast, they go outside the village for a private conversation. Glitterstem relates that he is now the Dire Wolf shaman, though with the tacit approval of Lhingril, and that the new growths in the forest seem somehow connected with Xibalba as well. Theobald tells of Predicant Lorenz’s desire to capture the ring Cemya from the drow, and of Miletus’ escape from Mt. Hotenow and subsequent capture by Lorenz’ people. He also reveals that Adrie is missing. It is decided that the following day, the companions will set out to collect Miletus from the encampment and to begin a search for Adrie.

* * *

Miletus waits out the day at the encampment, but his companions do not return before nightfall. At night, he hears a noise after having come out of his trance, and sees a humanoid creature in the compound, moving slowly toward the roundhouse where he rests. The creature is somehow reminiscent of the vine-people the company encountered outside the bijzweijn hive. Finding it hard to concentrate long enough to fire at the creature, Miletus slips out through a hole in the back of the roundhouse, and then finds a small gap in the fence to slip out the back. The creature apparently follows him for a while, but even in his weakened state, the elf is able to outpace it.
Figuring that his companions likely went to Talon’s Gate, where they have connections, he proceeds slowly along the edge of the forest, until he comes to the Neverwinter River. He sees the village and their vessel on the other side, but no obvious way to get there, and no obvious evidence that his companions are there. He makes a loop, and decides to delve deeper into the forest, looking to sweep by where he thinks Toothymaw might be, and then head toward Arame Pond – another known quantity. Like his companions, he promptly gets lost, and decides to rest for the night. A large burrowing creature growls and digs at the base of his tree, but eventually departs. After rousing himself, Miletus continues along his chosen trajectory, and is shortly taken captive by a group of goblins.

* * *

Theobald, Glitterstem and Brandon arrive at the hunting encampment in the afternoon of the next day. Miletus and Adrie are nowhere to be found. There are tracks of another creature – humanoid, but apparently with a spongy tread, are evident at the camp, and exiting through the fence. They follow the tracks for a while, but seeing no evidence of their companions, they return to the encampment to wait. No one appears, but at night, Glitterstem hears orc voices nearby, and given recent experiences with the orcs, the group decides to leave the camp. Glitterstem befriends several forest birds to look for his missing companions, and they soon locate Miletus being escorted by a goblin hunting party. The companions intercept them, and accompany them to Toothymaw.
Having finally reunited with Miletus, Theobald gives Miletus a coded key to his buried treasure, which the elf can partly read. Then they discuss a plan of action. Miletus explains that Lorenz has charged them to seek the ring, and despite not wishing to see a powerful item like that fall into his hands, the company finds no better agenda than to seek Cemya, as it seems to hold so many answers. At this point, Lorenz’s voice in Miletus’ head informs him that his scouts overheard that Adrie has been killed by the Brotherhood. The group debates recovering her body from the orcs. The companions recall that they gave Balint has a vial of horse- pelican blood to hide away, and that blood supposedly has the power to raise the dead. Miletus hears Lorenz’s voice again, querying about the existence of such an item. Glitterstem voices dismay about the fact that Lorenz is somehow able to track the group’s movements, and to send them messages, while Miletus tries to change the subject, saying that going after Adrie’s body is futile. There is no reply from Lorenz, but the Predicant has obviously gained a vital piece of information.

Report Date

16 Jun 2018