Ashe C2 Episode 10 - The Wild Hunt
Previously on Liters of Tomorrow
Crashe, Archos, and Finnix watched as Wes darted into the woods to scout ahead. To find the Fallen tower and report back. An hour later Wes hadn't returned and the you all ventured ahead anyway to find out what happened and complete the mission.
After 45 minutes of traversing the forest you stumbled upon a human man in deadly combat with an animated tree creature. Wasting no time you leapt into battle and defeated the creature just in time. The man swore he was from Copenhaus and had literally fallen from the sky. Rather than sort through the details of the fanciful story you grouped up and headed to the Fallen tower.
Spotting a couple of wereravens clearly set up as sentries you took them down quickly and quietly. Finding a series of caves near a pond and a waterfall you noticed a couple of bugbears on patrol duty. Having the high ground you watched and waited to get a better idea of who was in the caves. Spying at least three adversaries you set into motion a complex plan involving Crashe throwing finnix into the pond.
Mausim added some magical obfuscation into the pond to confuse the enemy and used his falcon familiar to get eyes on more of the enemy. In a series of small scale combats you whittled down their numbers while making your way into the cave system.
You eventually captured the main conspirators who had captured Messendria Quail and her young elven paramour, Nicovar Thelypteris. After some negotiation with the female lead of the bandits she provided you with some magic items and several hundred gold worth of whiskey and wine. Despite holding up to her end of the bargain the strange human man Mausim, slit her throat and killed her.
Keeping Messendria and Nicovar trussed up you transported the two back up into the clearing to begin the trek back to Porsk. Unfortunately the strange advisor to Baroness Quail walked from the woods and with a glint of evil in his eye asked for his magical chest to be returned...
Plot points/Scenes
What Happened to Wes -
Wes the last thing you remember was sneaking through the forest and seeing the ruins of the fallen tower. Two ravens perched on the crumbling walls and you remember thinking "Wereravens, need to warn Crashe..." Then the world went black and you felt a falling sensation.
Now your eyes crack open but they feel heavy and tired. Roll a constitution saving throw. [DM Note: DC 14, Kormirra Thela has drugged him with an herbal recipe of her own concoction. If Wes fails he will be paralyzed and sleepy for the next 10 minutes.]
You take in your surroundings and find yourself in a small room filled with roots and vegetation. Moss studded rock walls and a mass of large tree roots that makes up your prison. Huge rough tendrils wrap around your arms and legs keeping you pressed against the trunk of the tree at a 60 degree angle.
Finally from your right side a green hand with long chitinous nails caresses your side. Almost from inside the tree itself a beautiful woman arises. Her hair is made up of purple and green leaves like those found on kale or eggplant. Her eyes are bright gold and almost glow as they stare up at you.
In a sultry voice she says "So she has marked you. I wonder what secret lies inside of you to make her take notice of you. Tell me human has she made you her pet?" Kormirra Thela may introduce herself if necessary and explain that she is a sister of sorts to Kormirra Gravca. [She says that sisters sometimes maintain a healthy competition with one another, but they also share their toys as well. At the end of the interrogation she expels Wes from her domain.]
Wes you sink into the tree and you feel rough bark brush past your face and warm wet soil cover you. Just as you are about to panic from not being able to breath in you fall through to the otherside. You tumble from the trunk of a wide tree in a familiar forest and fall flat on some tall grass. [If still poisoned he will be unable to move for several rounds.]
[DM Note - The team must decide what to do with Messendria and Nicovar. Currently they are bound and held by the team, they are tired and thirsty and afraid. Messendria hasn't lost her haughtiness though as she continues to bargain for their freedom.]
In the Retellis Forest -
As the team prepares to leave the area and decide where to go next they will be met with golf clap and the haughty laughter of Ionn Castaliogne. He emerges from the wood and grins at them maliciously. "Well done adventurers, all this time and you hero types are still the same. Save the girl, stop the thieves, and somehow get paid with money and power. A Little self serving at the end of the day don't you think?"
"Do what you please with your gold you simpletons, I'm not here to interfere with your insignificant little tale. You just have to return my chest. No more subterfuge, no more playing your stupid little game you gnats. Return the box!"
[Most likely one of them will attempt to shoot at Ionn which will reveal that he is just an illusory image.]
"Did you really think I would dirty myself by traipsing into the woods physically?" [DM Note: the team can make perception checks to hear or see the Wild Hunt as it begins to close a loop around them.]
The image of Castaliogne fades out as he give you one last word of advice. "I have sent an emissary to deal with you, meet the wild hunt!"
Out from the trees steps a tall black clad lupine figure. From underneath his ragged black hood you see a hyena like snout. It seems to be covered in dried blood and the fur has a black and red tinge to it. Orange eyes flash from deep inside the hood as it barks something in a strange language. You hear the rushing of four legged creatures coming your way. The tall spindly creature raises a heavy black crossbow and nocks an arrow. Let's roll initiative!
Wes the last thing you remember was sneaking through the forest and seeing the ruins of the fallen tower. Two ravens perched on the crumbling walls and you remember thinking "Wereravens, need to warn Crashe..." Then the world went black and you felt a falling sensation.
Now your eyes crack open but they feel heavy and tired. Roll a constitution saving throw. [DM Note: DC 14, Kormirra Thela has drugged him with an herbal recipe of her own concoction. If Wes fails he will be paralyzed and sleepy for the next 10 minutes.]
You take in your surroundings and find yourself in a small room filled with roots and vegetation. Moss studded rock walls and a mass of large tree roots that makes up your prison. Huge rough tendrils wrap around your arms and legs keeping you pressed against the trunk of the tree at a 60 degree angle.
Finally from your right side a green hand with long chitinous nails caresses your side. Almost from inside the tree itself a beautiful woman arises. Her hair is made up of purple and green leaves like those found on kale or eggplant. Her eyes are bright gold and almost glow as they stare up at you.
In a sultry voice she says "So she has marked you. I wonder what secret lies inside of you to make her take notice of you. Tell me human has she made you her pet?" Kormirra Thela may introduce herself if necessary and explain that she is a sister of sorts to Kormirra Gravca. [She says that sisters sometimes maintain a healthy competition with one another, but they also share their toys as well. At the end of the interrogation she expels Wes from her domain.]
Wes you sink into the tree and you feel rough bark brush past your face and warm wet soil cover you. Just as you are about to panic from not being able to breath in you fall through to the otherside. You tumble from the trunk of a wide tree in a familiar forest and fall flat on some tall grass. [If still poisoned he will be unable to move for several rounds.]
[DM Note - The team must decide what to do with Messendria and Nicovar. Currently they are bound and held by the team, they are tired and thirsty and afraid. Messendria hasn't lost her haughtiness though as she continues to bargain for their freedom.]
In the Retellis Forest -
As the team prepares to leave the area and decide where to go next they will be met with golf clap and the haughty laughter of Ionn Castaliogne. He emerges from the wood and grins at them maliciously. "Well done adventurers, all this time and you hero types are still the same. Save the girl, stop the thieves, and somehow get paid with money and power. A Little self serving at the end of the day don't you think?"
"Do what you please with your gold you simpletons, I'm not here to interfere with your insignificant little tale. You just have to return my chest. No more subterfuge, no more playing your stupid little game you gnats. Return the box!"
[Most likely one of them will attempt to shoot at Ionn which will reveal that he is just an illusory image.]
"Did you really think I would dirty myself by traipsing into the woods physically?" [DM Note: the team can make perception checks to hear or see the Wild Hunt as it begins to close a loop around them.]
The image of Castaliogne fades out as he give you one last word of advice. "I have sent an emissary to deal with you, meet the wild hunt!"
Out from the trees steps a tall black clad lupine figure. From underneath his ragged black hood you see a hyena like snout. It seems to be covered in dried blood and the fur has a black and red tinge to it. Orange eyes flash from deep inside the hood as it barks something in a strange language. You hear the rushing of four legged creatures coming your way. The tall spindly creature raises a heavy black crossbow and nocks an arrow. Let's roll initiative!
Themes
After dealing with the wild hunt the team now needs to take Messendria and Nicovar to either Porsk or somewhere else. Either way it is a day and a half travel back to Porsk. When they set up camp for the night we can introduce some dream elements.
Mausim - You finally fall into a restless sleep after battling all of the doubts and fears you have about the band of miscreants around you. You decide that the elf and the other two probably won't kill you since they can't make up their minds quickly on anything else. After a few moments you open your eyes to a dark grey sky and a massive battlefield. You stand atop an enormous stone wall that snakes as far as the eye can see to your left and right. You look down at your arms and legs and see bronze and maroon colored armor that looks expensive but well worn. Roll a history check [DC 18 to notice any interesting symbols or ancient armor types.] As you scan the battlefield your fighter instincts kick into gear and shake you out of your sleepiness. Below the wall, a good 200 ft. below, you see thousands of warriors engaged in battle. To your left 100 archers look to you for the signal to fire. A human man with dark brown hair glares at you "milord! do you give the order?!"
As you scan the battlefield give me a perception check DC 15 [On a success he notices that the line below is held by warriors at just the right distance to stay underneath the arrows path. The archers are firing over them to hit the enemy just beyond.] As you give the order, right or wrong you see a man leap over the wall. As you meet his eyes you see the eyes of an elven man, golden brown and filled with menace. He growls as he sees you and throws a dagger with lightning speed aimed at your head. Dexterity saving throw! As the dagger hits or misses you hear the brown haired lieutenant, your lieutenant, scream "No!" as you wake up with a start. The sky above is still dark, the fire burns low with red embers. The strange elven man known as crashe glances your way coming out of his trance.
Mausim - You finally fall into a restless sleep after battling all of the doubts and fears you have about the band of miscreants around you. You decide that the elf and the other two probably won't kill you since they can't make up their minds quickly on anything else. After a few moments you open your eyes to a dark grey sky and a massive battlefield. You stand atop an enormous stone wall that snakes as far as the eye can see to your left and right. You look down at your arms and legs and see bronze and maroon colored armor that looks expensive but well worn. Roll a history check [DC 18 to notice any interesting symbols or ancient armor types.] As you scan the battlefield your fighter instincts kick into gear and shake you out of your sleepiness. Below the wall, a good 200 ft. below, you see thousands of warriors engaged in battle. To your left 100 archers look to you for the signal to fire. A human man with dark brown hair glares at you "milord! do you give the order?!"
As you scan the battlefield give me a perception check DC 15 [On a success he notices that the line below is held by warriors at just the right distance to stay underneath the arrows path. The archers are firing over them to hit the enemy just beyond.] As you give the order, right or wrong you see a man leap over the wall. As you meet his eyes you see the eyes of an elven man, golden brown and filled with menace. He growls as he sees you and throws a dagger with lightning speed aimed at your head. Dexterity saving throw! As the dagger hits or misses you hear the brown haired lieutenant, your lieutenant, scream "No!" as you wake up with a start. The sky above is still dark, the fire burns low with red embers. The strange elven man known as crashe glances your way coming out of his trance.
Structure
Exposition
Gustellin's Traveling Troupe!
Traveling along the road to Porsk you see a long train of wagons taking up most of the road. Large dragonflies hover high in the air above as the brightly colored wagons trundle forward pulled by dozens of horses. The horses all have jackets on of gold and red with turquoise colored fancy G's painted upon them or embroidered in the center. The carriages have mirthful scenes painted on them of acrobats, dancers and strange beasts.
Greg Ma'Dah has lost a displacer beast kitten and a blink dog puppy that have run off into the forest. He is distraught with the loss of these precious little beasts. He is a 7'4" Half orc man with a bright aqua colored jacket on and a red vest underneath. He wears several pouches with different animal treat concoctions in them. He stands there with a strange dark skinned gnome who wears a heavy cloak to protect himself from the sun and an older halfling woman with platinum blond and white hair. She says to the half orc "But greg, the poor dears will have to find their own way. We will be late for the show in Westinox if we do not continue!" Almost on cue the wagons begin to roll again as Greg, torn on what to do, wipes away a tear that falls down his face.
The strange gnome man grumbles "This is on you beast wrangler! You should know better than to let them out when we are on the road."
If the party asks him what has happened he explains that his two favorite cubs have gotten loose and ran into the forest. A displacer beast kitten named Rangor the Conqueror and his blink dog pup named Sparky.
If Wes tracks them the cub and kitten will be hiding underneath a tree stump cornered by three Worgs. see stat block. The Worg's look as if they have broken away from a group of kobolds or goblins weeks ago. Leather strapping from broken saddles can be seen on one of them.
Survival Check
The DM might ask you to make a Wisdom (Survival) check to follow tracks, hunt wild game, guide your group through frozen wastelands, identify signs that owlbears live nearby, predict the weather, or avoid quicksand and other natural hazards.
Traveling along the road to Porsk you see a long train of wagons taking up most of the road. Large dragonflies hover high in the air above as the brightly colored wagons trundle forward pulled by dozens of horses. The horses all have jackets on of gold and red with turquoise colored fancy G's painted upon them or embroidered in the center. The carriages have mirthful scenes painted on them of acrobats, dancers and strange beasts.
Greg Ma'Dah has lost a displacer beast kitten and a blink dog puppy that have run off into the forest. He is distraught with the loss of these precious little beasts. He is a 7'4" Half orc man with a bright aqua colored jacket on and a red vest underneath. He wears several pouches with different animal treat concoctions in them. He stands there with a strange dark skinned gnome who wears a heavy cloak to protect himself from the sun and an older halfling woman with platinum blond and white hair. She says to the half orc "But greg, the poor dears will have to find their own way. We will be late for the show in Westinox if we do not continue!" Almost on cue the wagons begin to roll again as Greg, torn on what to do, wipes away a tear that falls down his face.
The strange gnome man grumbles "This is on you beast wrangler! You should know better than to let them out when we are on the road."
If the party asks him what has happened he explains that his two favorite cubs have gotten loose and ran into the forest. A displacer beast kitten named Rangor the Conqueror and his blink dog pup named Sparky.
If Wes tracks them the cub and kitten will be hiding underneath a tree stump cornered by three Worgs. see stat block. The Worg's look as if they have broken away from a group of kobolds or goblins weeks ago. Leather strapping from broken saddles can be seen on one of them.
Survival Check
The DM might ask you to make a Wisdom (Survival) check to follow tracks, hunt wild game, guide your group through frozen wastelands, identify signs that owlbears live nearby, predict the weather, or avoid quicksand and other natural hazards.
Conflict
Finnix - The stone in your pocket begins to vibrate. As you take it out to look at it you see a blue sigil on the center of the smooth side pulse as the stone vibrates. As you press your thumb on the sigil a voice emanates from it. You recognize it as the goblin you met at the Blue Jetsam just a few days ago. “The lead in Stoneport didn’t pan out. There is a rumor of an automaton of some sort running a tavern in Westinox. Need you to check it out. I’m heading to Allachi in the meantime."
Return to Porsk -
As you finish the day long ride to Porsk you arrive before the gates at twilight. The sun sits low along the horizon and chill autumn air has a dewy feel to it. As you wait for the two guards to descend their platforms you can smell cooking fires and you stomach’s rumble with the thought of roast duck and strong drink.
You recognize the first guard from your first visit to Porsk. A human man with a scar in his mustache.
“Oh, it’s you lot. Though I don’t recognize the rest of these ruffians. You vouch for ‘em then I’m holding you responsible if they get into trouble.”
The Baroness is at a meeting taking place at Vulkellich Manor. The Assembly of the Weave is pressing her to implement more strident rules regarding the sale of enchanted items and want all shard rock in the town to be turned over to them. Baroness Quail and her advisor Ionn Castaliogne are listening politely but Ionn will advise her to think about such things. He aims to placate them but could care less about the assembly and their idiotic rules about magic.
[DM Note: Need a dark friend to attack someone here, most likely stabbing Crashe in the back.]
Behold a Dark friend
If Archos breaks off, scared of the Assembly he will approached by a Dark friend who will try to lure him off and get him killed. Maybe an attractive woman who tries to get his help to fend off a violent husband. She lures him into a tavern and then into an alleyway and tries to murder him.
An Attractive half elven woman who is dressed in a crimson and cream dress. It fits the style of the dresses you saw at Greykeep just a few nights ago. [DM Note: have one of them make a perception/passive perception check to notice that the dress is dyed wool and the stitching is cheap and haphazard.]
Her hair is dark and silky, pulled back in a loose bun. and her brown eyes glitter in the torchlight. "My lord, please I am need of help! My friend Hazel has been dragged off by a sailor and she gave me the signal that she is being pulled into the alley against her will. Please help, the guards are unwilling." Her name is Tertia and she claims to be from the Inorh Forest in the Oraheim.
Return to Porsk -
As you finish the day long ride to Porsk you arrive before the gates at twilight. The sun sits low along the horizon and chill autumn air has a dewy feel to it. As you wait for the two guards to descend their platforms you can smell cooking fires and you stomach’s rumble with the thought of roast duck and strong drink.
You recognize the first guard from your first visit to Porsk. A human man with a scar in his mustache.
“Oh, it’s you lot. Though I don’t recognize the rest of these ruffians. You vouch for ‘em then I’m holding you responsible if they get into trouble.”
The Baroness is at a meeting taking place at Vulkellich Manor. The Assembly of the Weave is pressing her to implement more strident rules regarding the sale of enchanted items and want all shard rock in the town to be turned over to them. Baroness Quail and her advisor Ionn Castaliogne are listening politely but Ionn will advise her to think about such things. He aims to placate them but could care less about the assembly and their idiotic rules about magic.
[DM Note: Need a dark friend to attack someone here, most likely stabbing Crashe in the back.]
Behold a Dark friend
If Archos breaks off, scared of the Assembly he will approached by a Dark friend who will try to lure him off and get him killed. Maybe an attractive woman who tries to get his help to fend off a violent husband. She lures him into a tavern and then into an alleyway and tries to murder him.
An Attractive half elven woman who is dressed in a crimson and cream dress. It fits the style of the dresses you saw at Greykeep just a few nights ago. [DM Note: have one of them make a perception/passive perception check to notice that the dress is dyed wool and the stitching is cheap and haphazard.]
Her hair is dark and silky, pulled back in a loose bun. and her brown eyes glitter in the torchlight. "My lord, please I am need of help! My friend Hazel has been dragged off by a sailor and she gave me the signal that she is being pulled into the alley against her will. Please help, the guards are unwilling." Her name is Tertia and she claims to be from the Inorh Forest in the Oraheim.
Rising Action
Message for Wes at the Blue Jetsam Inn / or courier
Have a message be left for Wes from Jaron Dartmoor.
"Wes, Zinjah Sheeth has been killed the murder weapon appears to be one of our arrows. Authorities are looking into it but you and I have become the prime suspects. I believe I am to be arrested soon. Be careful, I have my suspicions on who is framing us."
Have a message be left for Wes from Jaron Dartmoor.
"Wes, Zinjah Sheeth has been killed the murder weapon appears to be one of our arrows. Authorities are looking into it but you and I have become the prime suspects. I believe I am to be arrested soon. Be careful, I have my suspicions on who is framing us."
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