Session 128 - February 16th, 2023 Report
General Summary
Fey Wilde - Day 1
- After finishing up the meeting with Cpt Cody, he sends a scout out to the location of where you said the gate was, and then gives you a tour of the court yard and some public rooms of the castle. They see the foyer and a huge throne room. The ceilings are vastly tall ceiling, large windows with more light pouring through an expected from the twilight outside. A large ornate throne of small pieces of glass/crystal set atop a dais, 12 steps high, with a carpet of pale silk leading to the seat.
- Cpt Brody tells the party of Lady Sylvan, who is charge of the guards and outdoor garden areas, as well as some other items. When asked about unique items, Cpt Brody talks about the door, which have gems and small gem holders in them. As the gems can be moved, and each gem is a specific person's room or rooms. The higher the status, the better the position of the door and the more elaborate and fancy the carved gem. Example is the life sized rube carved as a partially open pomegranate, which belongs to Chancellor of Dining and Food. The stones are carved and created by the Chancellor of Chambers, Mage Shadowspell.
- Cpt Brody then gets interrupted by a small winged messenger, a winter sprite, a small creature in a silver tunic with a snowflake on the front, he moves away to speak with it, and the rest of the party takes in the room.
- Merry is entranced by the creature, Beartrum sits and looks around at the place, Alethra and Roth find the lighting odd, and Roth sees that underneath each window is a carved and faceted sapphire which is about 4-5 inches long, and a light glows within it, and that light is then directed up into the window. Roth can still see through the window, and it is still darker outside. Each window in this rooms seems to have a gem of this type. Roth takes notes on the gem in a book he borrowed from Alethra, and is delighted with this new magical item.
- Brody notices Alethra and Roth looking at a gem, and he mentions that they were created by Mage Shadowspell, and she is very good with light and illusion magics. He then tells the group that the scout reports the portal behaving oddly, and asks that they all go and observe it, to see what is happening.
- Roth notices that there was no moon visible in the sky from inside the throne room, and on the way to the gate area Alethra thinks they have been there 5-6 hours.
- The party and Brody travel to the area to meet the scout, Vendi. The oval, which before seemed to be a whiteout condition where there was nothing visible behind the gate, there is now less of that textures, and the Feywilde wood is partially visible in places through the oval.
- Roth tries to send Olly through the gate, but she does not succeed and kind of bounces back from the space. The scout takes a small twig and after a few tries is able to get a twig to pass, but is seems as if the portal is weaker, and unable to transport now due to Roth's 26 arcane roll.
- Brody says that to stay for any length of time in the area that the Winter Court controls, a person must have standing in the court, and while visitors may stay a short time. Discussion in the party as they are unsure of when or how to return, and Brody suggests sleep as it is the time of Rest, when there is no moon, and he has some ideas of how to get them standing at court.
- Accommodations are discussed as the scout, Vendi gets permission to get some polar bear meet for a meal, and gets enough for the party and a large cut for Beartrum. They head back to the guardhouse just inside the gate, and find a small kitchen, where the steak is prepared both in the manner of the Winter Fey and the Human lands, as many of the Fey call it. Roth summons a magical servant to do the cooking and cleaning while Brody shows him a wall where he can set up his version of the magical door. Brody then retires.
- The scout, Vendi, is delighted with the offerings, and Beartrum is delighted to have so much steak cooked for him. Not to be outdone, Merry then casts Tiny Servant on the knives and forks, who help to "clean" the kitchen.
- Roth sets up the mansion were suggested and in partial view of Shandy, who is on guard duty around guard hours/courtyard/gate house.
- Long rest in the mini mansion.
- Olly goes outside ever few hours to check for "guests", and after Roth has done a full trance and a little more time, Olly informs him that Cpt Brody is there and looking very fancy. He is in full dress uniform and carries a hat with large feather under one arm.
- Roth gets up and notices neither Alethra nor Merry are awake, so greets Brody outside the door. Roth uses minor illusion to create an appropriate outfit for himself to meet Lady Sylvan. Brody will go get some breakfast and send over Gwen to help Alethra and Merry be dressed appropriately. About an hour later, Roth has had breakfast, and both Merry and Alethra come downstairs. Merry, seeing Roth, also uses minor illusion to create a more fancy outfit.
- Olly then lets the party know Gwen is outside, and tries to help Alethra as best as she can, she just wears a long gray cloak, keeps in closed and some bracelets. It is good enough and Gwen heads back to sleep and will have Brody greet you presently.
- The group heads to the throne room, turning right down a hallway into a space with real rooms which seem to be offices of high status people. They go to the Chancellor of the Estate, and are introduced to Lady Sylvan. She is delighted and charmed by Roth, and casts a spell on Beartrum, with his permission, so that he can communicate and understand the party and Lady Sylvan.
- Lady Sylvan mentions a perpetual storm on the horizon which has not seemed to move or grow over the past few days. If they do that, they will be granted the position of scout at court and then can stay at court, or take other jobs, and work their way into new positions or meet with people.
- Lady Sylvan starts to speak with Beartrum and learns all about him and his adventures, seeming quite taken with him. Merry, who has realized that the gem in her vision seems to be very similar to the gems which create the light in the windows, slowly plays some background music which Lady Sylvan chats with Beartrum and the party. The sapphire in this window does not contain a bard in the stone.
- Merry, with a 15 performance check, gets a polite nod when she mentions being able to play, and Lady Sylvan suggests starting with the scouting job and working up to a musical audition.
- Roth talk about his skill with magical crafting, and Lady Sylvan seems interested in the spell storing ring, but not overly impressed.
- Lady Sylvan is very interested in Soot, a displacer kitten, as there are displacer cats in the Winter Fey, and she had a book from the Keeper of Lore, Vanan Elderbrook, which explain they hatch from eggs after 1-2 months, and in smaller sizes can teleport short distances, but as they get older, can blur their movement so quickly as to appear double.
- After the spell has ended, Lady Sylvan tells Cpt Brody, who looks a little bored at this time, to give the party provisions and show them how to get to the storm, and when they return they will be considered scouts, and she will expect a full report.
- Cpt Brody takes the group up on the the wall and shows them the storm in the distance, and from this height, the line of where the kept woodlands of the Fey Court and the wilds beyond is very clear.
- With his spyglass, Roth sees that the edges of the storm seem almost too crisp to be natural, and Brody makes some guesses as to the nature of the creatures that may be in or around the storm, dragons, ice giants, Yeti, Tree Guardians, etc. Roth asks what is the opposite of a Phoenix, and Brody suggests a large ice elemental.
- When going to show the party the storm, Brody says that the lands outside of the court are wilds and that they should be careful, and let him know or return if there is a problem too large for the party. Brody will try to send a Winter Messenger Sprite, and is delighted when Roth demonstrates a sending stone.
- Brody would very much like to have some of them, and will try to get Roth, who knows how to craft them, an audience with Mage Shadowspell on his return.
- Party leaves through a smaller gate, and heads down a wide boulevard lined with evergreen trees.
Comments