Session: Out for Mushrooms

General Summary

An Unwelcome Search

Unrest has found it's first roots in the hamlet of Thédelin. A young man named Fanuiel has gone missing, last seen in the morning heading towards the northern forest to gather mushrooms. When he hadn't returned his father, the elder Theoden, went searching up the path towards the forest for his son.
Both father and son hadn't returned come nightfall, and Theoden's wife grew distraught. She sought out Raeth, the town's sole guardian, and implored him to go searching for her husband and son. He called for volunteers and the local eccentric Kyuzo and a roaming tiefling named Malak joined him in his task. After a hot meal courtesy of the town baker, the party traveled up the northern road towards the forest. Some tension had already grown between them, as the roamer had begged compensation, and taken a heirloom necklace from Theoden's wife of dwarvern make.

Theoden the Elder

And so the party traveled; Kyuzo bearing forth a torch as the eyes of men can not pierce the darkness as others may. Eventually they came across a small creek cutting across their path, and an upturned cart a short distance further along their trail. Tracks near the stream showed that the boy had come this way pulling the cart, along with the tracks of some canine. Approaching the cart, they herd the sounds of animals rustling about, and sprung about to find two wolves gnawing the corpse of a dog. Slaying the wolves, they inspected the cart and found indeed that it was the handcart of the boy, abandoned.
They traveled on, following a trail of blood to the forest's border. Passing in, they found the trail eventually turned off the path into the woods, and led to an older man who had hidden himself away behind the undergrowth. He was slain, gored in the chest by some beast. From his age, it was clear that this must be Theoden the Elder. Raeth hid him from scavengers under a shrub as they passed deeper into the forest; as he shifted the corpse it's head lolled, and a black Ichor issued from his gaping mouth.

Across the Bridge

Continuing deeper yet into the woods, they came across a river cutting through the forest in a deep ravine. A single rope bridge crossed there, leading deeper into wilder grounds. While crossing, a raven landed on a rope and eyed the party curiously. Malak extended a small morsel of jerky to it in a palm outstretched, and hopping to his arm it took it, then flew off.
They found on the far side of the bridge that their eyes had deceived them, for while on the town-side of the bridge the path seemed clear, the thorny thicket on the sides of the path in fact a solid wall blocking their path. It bore sharp thorns, with small violet flowers at their bases. After some contemplation, Raeth decided the best approach was to bushwhack ahead with his blade. As he cleaved the thorns they began to writhe and creak about. Malak prepared to attempt to burn a path over, casting a flask of oil over the vines, at which a spider-shaped knot of thorns formed out of the thicket behind them. It's petals burst open, releasing a cloud of toxic pollen. In quick retaliation it was fell by Malak and Raeth as Kyuzo watched on, who realized to his dismay that the thicket had now enclosed them, blocking the way back towards the bridge. Desperate for a way forward, Malak set fire to the thorns with his torch.
Immediately the thicket began to constrict around them. In their haste, as they were pressed tighter and tighter together, Raeth helped launch Kyuzo and Malak over the burning vines, the latter snagging a deep gash from an errant thorn. Left alone, Raeth scanned for a weak spot, and spotted that the thorns blocking the path back towards the bridge were quite thin, and cut his way back to the bridge as the thicket burned.

Thorns of Woe

Thwarted, the thicket let out a howl, and rent itself from the path, hurling out into the ravine and tumbling down into the river. From the bridge, Raeth noticed that some vines still led their way up the escarpment to the lip of the ravine. He called this out to the party, who agreed that they must be cautious on their return, ere they be snagged in another trap. And so they continued on.
A short distance further in the woods, they heard a sudden wooden creak, as if a tree fallen upon another shifted in it's weight. Cautiously, they investigated, but the side of the track was a dense underbrush of fallen boughs, leaves, and bramble. The forest was still in anticipation, and suddenly to Kyuzo's eye it seemed that the bramble was, in spots, badly scorched. Calling out in alarm he alerted the party and lept back as a great mass of thorns rose from the underbrush and lunged forward. It had the form of a great bear, and in long combat they met it. Eventually Raeth landed a deep blow, cleaving it through the shoulder and near to it's core, yet in furious retaliation it incapacitated both him and Kyuzo in a rush. Malak made a strike at it but failed, and he too was fallen.
And so the party lay, defeated. But, as he fainted from his injuries Malak saw a sudden impact rock the bear, piercing it through it's cleft shoulder and rocketing out the far side. As he fainted, he felt the earth shake as the beast fell.

Rewards Granted

• A necklace of dwarvern make, from Theoden's wife.

Character(s) interacted with

• The wife of Theoden (and mother of Fanuiel).
• The baker of Thedelin.

Created Content

• Thedelin
• Fanuiel
• Theoden
• Laenerin the Spirit
• Laenerin the Forest

Related Reports

Next

Tears of Elaine

Notes

• The townsfolk are quietly indignant about Malek demanding payment for helping in the search.

Campaign

The Dawn of Iahadin

Protagonists

Raeth

Report Date

19 Jun 2019

Primary Location

Thédelin

Secondary Location

Laenerin