The Harvest Moons Affair: Part 2
In Part One...
...of The Harvest Moons Affair, we were introduced to the player characters, and the western half of the continent of Pax. Way out on the forested frontiers of The Impenetrable Forest of Birkwud, we paid a visit to the Hamlet of Hammingburg on a job for The High King's Seat. While there, the party took care of a murderous folk tale called The Owled Man Down the Road, and discovered one of the long-lost and mostly forgotten entryways into Hamish's Crypts. Finding and destroying a Dragon Shrine, and defeating Shayna's general V'peef Sujo in the process, the gang then made their way back to the port city of Greynor, where they met with Cass Elliot to receive their pay, and perhaps take on the mantle of special agents for the Kingdoms. We are going to start this next part of the story right there in Greynor where we left off.
This adventure is designed for four to six characters, starting at fifth level, and levelling up at certain points in the story. During playthrough, adjust the difficulty levels as you see fit with your other players. Some of the events, including the climax, will be very challenging for them.
Welcome to Part 2!
Read the following aloud, if you wish.
Ah, Greynor! Legendary city of pirates and rogues, built on the delta of the River Wutjörn, which is born at Lake Wutjorn a thousand and more miles Northward. It is a place of canals, and docks, and tall leather boots thudding on plank bridges that span tiny waterways. To the city's south lies open ocean, broken by a cleverly constructed sea wall that uses a limestone concrete that is best known for being able to heal itself. The concrete is actually made with sea water, so the Sea Wall, as the locals call it, has been around for quite a long time, now. Most of the dwellings and shops are post and lintel affairs, built of planks and marine carpentry offcasts, so there are a lot of graceful curves to many of the roofs and corner shops. Some even have large chunks of vessels embedded within them as a tourist draw. Others have less grandiose vision for their advertisement; the The Gilded Goose, for instance, simply has a life size statue of a golden goose placed on the porch outside of their main entrance, with a comfy chair and a sketch artist readily available. You have gathered at The Gilded Goose to indulge in some dharak, some fine ale, and even better company. That same red haired kid from last time you were here has already stolen someone's borscht and been chased out of the bar with an excited "whoop!", never spilling a drop of the beet red soup. Laughing off the interruption with the rest of the regulars, you turn back to each other over your own table, only to find Cass Elliot sitting there at the board with you. Eating a big old bowl of borscht, with a good sized glob of sour cream floating in it like a delicious iceberg with a generous sprinkling of chopped chives, she motions to a handful of spoons atop a pile of napkins and indicates to all of you that you should help yourselves. She does this with a complicated combination of body language, charades, and what sound suspiciously like yummy noises.
Structure
Exposition
The First Night, Juno 14, 5427NG
Cass Elliot, an envoy from The High King's Seat, will introduce the party to the fact that there are people disappearing out in Eastern Craysilt. Her intent is to hire them for a clandestine mission into the heart of the Kingdoms, to find out more about a shadowy figure called the Necrodruid, and thinks a fairly straightforward missing persons case would be a fantastic cover for them.
She is continuing to assess them for a particularly difficult mission she forsees some shadowy time down the road, and an Insight check of sixteen or higher will reveal that she is certainly sizing them up for something bigger in the future. Whatever her reasons, she seems to have a vested interest in the party's continued success.
The Job
Read the following aloud, if you wish.
"Adventurers, hello! Please, help yourself to some borscht; I'll never be able to finish it all, and Igle's is the best borscht this side of Birkwüd." She takes a few spoonfuls, and sips some of Igle's finest honeyed ale, before pushing the tureen toward the center of the table, and glaring at a red headed urchin until he slopes off toward the bar, looking to work for some food. Cass savors her meal for a moment, then opens her half-closed eyes and takes each of you in, in turn.
"My friends, The High King's Seat has seen fit to assign me a task that will be no mean feat." She pauses again, swirling the dregs of her honeyed ale around, thinking on how best to continue. "We, that is, the High King's Seat, need intelligence from out east. From the very heart of the Kingdoms, some would say, and therefore a subtle touch is needed, here.
"Out in Eastern Craysilt, on the border with Feynor, life has been pretty stable for many generations of humans. The roads are patrolled, there are inns and taverns aplently along travel routes, and the general affluence of the people living there makes even the unhoused luckier than many other people living in the world; although, their way of life and stockpiles of food are so normal to them, that they would see any disruption in it as a great hardship. Their feast days and holidays are celebrated with gusto, and the people are, generally, quite happy and content.
"So, when reports of entire disgruntled townships just up and disappearing, seemingly overnight, began to reach our ears, we were bemused to say the least. There are no reports of anything happening to them, or where they disappear to, just that they up and abandon their homes and businesses just like that!" Cass snaps her fingers loudly.
"I have so far sent two envoys to Eastern Craysilt; neither party has returned. It is time to send in the big guns, and with your reputations and former success stories, I think you may be just the right people for this job. You're outsiders, relatively unknown, and will be able to fit right in as you travel through the populated areas of the Kingdoms Heartlands.
"To be precise, I need someone to travel to Eastern Craysilt and find out what is going on, for me. I need to know what is really going on out there, if we are to respond appropriately. The only thing I have been able to dredge up is a general fear in the area about something, or someone, called The Necrodruid, although this means nothing to any of our scholars or analysts." Cass motions to the server, Igle's daughter Avo, for another round of drinks, and pays with a newly minted platinum piece, sporting High King Artemis Grey on its face on one side, and a domesticated turkey (the national bird of Craysilt) on the reverse.
Cass Continues; "Much as before, the job pays a gold piece per day, plus expenses, with bonuses upon completion and hazardous duty pay assessed at the end of the mission. Your badges will get you food and shelter most places, including private homesteads and small cottages, as well as fresh mounts should they be needful.
"Now then! What are your questions for me?
"Adventurers, hello! Please, help yourself to some borscht; I'll never be able to finish it all, and Igle's is the best borscht this side of Birkwüd." She takes a few spoonfuls, and sips some of Igle's finest honeyed ale, before pushing the tureen toward the center of the table, and glaring at a red headed urchin until he slopes off toward the bar, looking to work for some food. Cass savors her meal for a moment, then opens her half-closed eyes and takes each of you in, in turn.
"My friends, The High King's Seat has seen fit to assign me a task that will be no mean feat." She pauses again, swirling the dregs of her honeyed ale around, thinking on how best to continue. "We, that is, the High King's Seat, need intelligence from out east. From the very heart of the Kingdoms, some would say, and therefore a subtle touch is needed, here.
"Out in Eastern Craysilt, on the border with Feynor, life has been pretty stable for many generations of humans. The roads are patrolled, there are inns and taverns aplently along travel routes, and the general affluence of the people living there makes even the unhoused luckier than many other people living in the world; although, their way of life and stockpiles of food are so normal to them, that they would see any disruption in it as a great hardship. Their feast days and holidays are celebrated with gusto, and the people are, generally, quite happy and content.
"So, when reports of entire disgruntled townships just up and disappearing, seemingly overnight, began to reach our ears, we were bemused to say the least. There are no reports of anything happening to them, or where they disappear to, just that they up and abandon their homes and businesses just like that!" Cass snaps her fingers loudly.
"I have so far sent two envoys to Eastern Craysilt; neither party has returned. It is time to send in the big guns, and with your reputations and former success stories, I think you may be just the right people for this job. You're outsiders, relatively unknown, and will be able to fit right in as you travel through the populated areas of the Kingdoms Heartlands.
"To be precise, I need someone to travel to Eastern Craysilt and find out what is going on, for me. I need to know what is really going on out there, if we are to respond appropriately. The only thing I have been able to dredge up is a general fear in the area about something, or someone, called The Necrodruid, although this means nothing to any of our scholars or analysts." Cass motions to the server, Igle's daughter Avo, for another round of drinks, and pays with a newly minted platinum piece, sporting High King Artemis Grey on its face on one side, and a domesticated turkey (the national bird of Craysilt) on the reverse.
Cass Continues; "Much as before, the job pays a gold piece per day, plus expenses, with bonuses upon completion and hazardous duty pay assessed at the end of the mission. Your badges will get you food and shelter most places, including private homesteads and small cottages, as well as fresh mounts should they be needful.
"Now then! What are your questions for me?
Craysilt, and Lands East
Assuming, of course, that the characters accept Cass' job offer, they are bound for a short bit of Travel Adventuring. The party will be going to Eastern Craysilt, where hunting is a very serious and honored tradition, and a venerated profession. The people of these woods and mountainsides hunt and forage for their sustenance, rather than farming or animal husbandry. There always seems to be an inn when the sun starts going down, or a tavern when someone gets thirsty. There are cabins and cottages at many points within these woods, set off by themselves in a little copse for some privacy. The people build with the land, rather than destroy the land to build, which may be the influence of the Elves of Feynor, close by.
On the off chance that the party turns down the job, they are perfectly welcome to do anything they wish. Perhaps something as auspicious as Gong farming.
On the off chance that the party turns down the job, they are perfectly welcome to do anything they wish. Perhaps something as auspicious as Gong farming.
Traditional Hunting in Eastern Craysilt
At every tavern, inn, alehouse, trading post, and cottage in Eastern Craysilt, one will find talk of hunting. Legends of gifted hunters stalking and killing uncannily clever beasts and birds of these woods, such as panther and leopard. Wolf and coyote pelts are also in high demand, as are mink and beaver, but what the people of Eastern Craysilt truly revere are the White Harts of the Woodlands. Finding one such, and crafting an item of clothing from the pelt, is a mark of fame and high honor amongst the farmers and ken of the outlying villages. Very few have ever even seen a White Hart of the Woodlands; fewer still can rightfully lay claim to a white doeskin hood or cape. Every day, give the party an opportunity to hunt. The table below can help determine obstacles and challenges as they chase down their prey.Random Chase Complications Table
Bud Craddock, founder of Craddock's Landing.
Lore Tidbit: Greyson Craddock, better known as "Bud" to his friends and family, was a civil engineer in Greynor who helped develop the School of Civil Engineering at the world famous Bardic College Campus. He designed the bridges in Stilton Head and the newest fortifications surrounding the Old Keep in Craysilt. But he is most beloved for casting off the shackles of big city living, and founding a trading post in Eastern Craysilt. Originally called Micklevale, it was renamed to Craddock's Landing after Bud's death.The River
Juno 15th-17th
Travelling the River Wutjörn north for two days will bring the party to the High Road, heading east even deeper into the mountains. The players are free to travel the river however they wish! Roll 1d6 three times per day, rolling on the Random River Encounters Table anytime a 1 crops up.Travelling the River Wutjorn
The slow waters of the River Wutjorn are easily navigable, and can be traversed in a variety of ways. However they do it, there will be a two day journey to the party's first waypoint; Craddock's Landing, on the eastern bank of the Wutjorn. At the merchant camp, the adventurers can hire on horses and wagons, if they wish, or configure their two upcoming weeks of travel however they see fit. Roll 1d6 three times daily as they travel the river, and once for each overnight, to check for Random Encounters. On a 1, there is a possible encounter. Roll on the Random River Encounter Table to determine what that encounter entails.Random River Encounters Table
The High Road
Juno 18, 5427NG
Read the following aloud, if you wish.
The very first place you come across upon your arrival on the Mighty Wutjorn's eastern bank is Craddock's Landing, a trading outpost close to the banks of the river. It is a revolving cast of colorful characters that includes trappers, hunters, fly fishing fans and wild-eyed mountain men. Anything necessary for camping, or indeed any of the professions relevant hereabout, would be quite handy in Craddock's Landing. Items such as fishing line and carved balsa lures abound, as do the accoutrements of hunting and woodcraft. Pack animals and draft carts are available for purchase, as are smaller hand carts and sleds. Pemmican, wrapped in large maple leaves, is sold by the brick alongside water sterilization stones and crystallized honey snacks sized perfectly for the road. Craddock's Landing is a frequent target of bandit raids, and has recently raised a stockade fence in an attempt to protect itself. The Kingdoms has stationed two squads of fourteen soldiers, at a brand new barracks they built nearby, in response to the increased raider presence. These attacks seem to be driven by some shadow of unrest out eastward, although there is no clear picture of exactly what is happening. It is a more recent development, and part of why Cass hired your party. The camp is an organized affair of tent rows and hay-strewn streets, thoughtfully kept free of mud and animal waste by work crews staffed with last night's drunk-and-disorderly arrests. There are three peace officers, with one Guard Captain in charge of them, and that is the extent of the law enforcement here in Craddock's Landing.Interactive Map of Craddock's Landing
This is an interactive map, make sure to check each layer!
Travelling the High Road
The High Road is the main artery through Eastern Craysilt, and is maintained by the Kingdoms. There are spur roadways jutting off of the main path that lead to villages and camps, and hunting sites and fishing holes, but these paths and ways are not maintained unless it is by somebody local. Along the way, there are inns and cottages aplenty that would happily hire out rooms and sell meals to travellers as they make their way either direction along the meandering route. The people out in Eastern Craysilt are ruggedly individualistic, kind, and hard working, but not necessarily nice. Many of them lack imagination altogether, and have become very set in their ways. Still, a decent bard can make a very good living travelling the High Road, and many of Pax's most cherished musicians paid their dues along the line of taverns and homesteads that are set directly on, or just off, the main road. Roll 1d6 three times daily for travel, and once overnight if the party is camping. On a roll of 1, there could be an encounter! Roll on the Random Travel Encounters Table to determine the outcome of the roll.Random Travel Encounters Table
The six main population centers in Eastern Craysilt are not terribly big towns. Indeed, most of the population live in solitary cabins located in private copses, or atop privately owned hills, throughout the woodlands.
So far, the town of Corman has been completely and eerily abandoned. Rumors are spreading throughout The High Road and Eastern Craysilt that something called a Necrodruid is responsible. As the party travels through the area, they will meet people on the road, at inns and taverns, and often in unforseen circumstances. Use the chances provided to mention the Necrodruid in hushed tones, as if the people are terrified of just the name, but have no idea who of what it is. Consult the Rumors Table, when appropriate, to help determine what a given NPC knows. What they are willing to say, though? That is a different story we will leave entirely up to you.
Random Rumors Table
Read the following aloud, if you wish.
Here you all are, on the High Road leading east to Feynor! It is an easy journey, if one were to stay straight on and travel at a reasonable pace, but your fates lay in a different direction. You are here to discover what has happened to an entire town full of people, and to discover what in the world a "Necrodruid" is. You are doing this as deputies of The High King's Seat, who has hired you as a discreet investigative force. You all carry brass badges with the Seal of the High King's Seat engraved on the face, and as such, are entitled to room and board from anyone in the Kingdoms. You could, if necessary, use a family's home as a base of operations. All of the inns know the deal, and will bill the Kingdoms top dollar for your priveleges, but many of the common folk are not aware that they have the right to submit a bill for the food and shelter, or any damages caused by you or your actions. It is young summer out here in the sticks, and as you begin your slow pace down The High Road you note how remarkably beautiful the speckling sunlight is as the trees move around in the breeze. The air is fresh and untainted by that underlying odor of life that permeates everything in a city. An odor you all have grown used to, especially after a city as large and bustling as Greynor. This has you in a fine fettle this morning, and your steps feel light and springy. Where along the road would you like to go first?
Here you all are, on the High Road leading east to Feynor! It is an easy journey, if one were to stay straight on and travel at a reasonable pace, but your fates lay in a different direction. You are here to discover what has happened to an entire town full of people, and to discover what in the world a "Necrodruid" is. You are doing this as deputies of The High King's Seat, who has hired you as a discreet investigative force. You all carry brass badges with the Seal of the High King's Seat engraved on the face, and as such, are entitled to room and board from anyone in the Kingdoms. You could, if necessary, use a family's home as a base of operations. All of the inns know the deal, and will bill the Kingdoms top dollar for your priveleges, but many of the common folk are not aware that they have the right to submit a bill for the food and shelter, or any damages caused by you or your actions. It is young summer out here in the sticks, and as you begin your slow pace down The High Road you note how remarkably beautiful the speckling sunlight is as the trees move around in the breeze. The air is fresh and untainted by that underlying odor of life that permeates everything in a city. An odor you all have grown used to, especially after a city as large and bustling as Greynor. This has you in a fine fettle this morning, and your steps feel light and springy. Where along the road would you like to go first?
Interactive Map of The High Road
This is an interactive map, be sure to check each layer!
Right click, and Save Image, for full-sized battle maps!
Callaise
Prue
Tranton
Higsby
Conflict
If all goes relatively well, the party should arrive in Corman at the end of two weeks, on or around Juno
Galbrok based the abilities of his engineered spores upon an observation he made in the natural world; the reproductive cycle of the Emerald Roach Wasp.
Corman
Joolus 2, 5427NG
When the party gets to Corman, it should be on or around Joolus 2. They are going to almost immediately find evidence of the Necrodruid's nefarious work. The town is completely empty, except for some squatters planted there by the Necrodruid himself as he left the scene. The town square is filled with massive mushrooms. Each one is unique, but they all lead to the same fate: Charmed by the Necrodruid and hiking to his lair in Greendell Valley with smiles on their faces, unless a DC15 Constitution Saving Throw is made versus poison.
Tidbit of Lore:
Galbrok based the abilities of his engineered spores upon an observation he made in the natural world; the reproductive cycle of the Emerald Roach Wasp.
Read the following aloud, if you wish
You began feeling the dread hanging over Corman before you ever even get there. Something in the silence of the region, maybe the general lack of birdsong, or complete lack of recent animal activity, has you on edge and on full alert, hackles raised in a primal warning you normally would not ignore. But you continue on through the brush and silent hulks of trees, clearing the detritus from the path as you go. No one has walked this way in weeks, and it is obvious; the forest has already begun reclaiming the roadway. Your approach to the wide open gateway into the town of Corman is surreal. Doors and windows swing in the breeze. Cows, goats, and pigs have taken over the land hereabouts, having broken out of their enclosures long since. They eye you warily as you climb the last bit of foothill to get onto the slopes and into the village, then go back to eating grass, chewing cud, and just generally ignoring you entirely. With a final look around, feeling almost as if you are doing something naughty, you enter Corman's city limits. You are utterly alone. It is just you, your friends, and the spores. The thick and thickening blanket of spores covering everything serves to further silence your world, like some perverse snow day. Wandering just a little more deeply into the abandoned town reveals a copse of large mushrooms growing dead-center in the town square. It is they that are pumping out the clouds of spores in such copious quantities, and they show no signs of stopping.
You began feeling the dread hanging over Corman before you ever even get there. Something in the silence of the region, maybe the general lack of birdsong, or complete lack of recent animal activity, has you on edge and on full alert, hackles raised in a primal warning you normally would not ignore. But you continue on through the brush and silent hulks of trees, clearing the detritus from the path as you go. No one has walked this way in weeks, and it is obvious; the forest has already begun reclaiming the roadway. Your approach to the wide open gateway into the town of Corman is surreal. Doors and windows swing in the breeze. Cows, goats, and pigs have taken over the land hereabouts, having broken out of their enclosures long since. They eye you warily as you climb the last bit of foothill to get onto the slopes and into the village, then go back to eating grass, chewing cud, and just generally ignoring you entirely. With a final look around, feeling almost as if you are doing something naughty, you enter Corman's city limits. You are utterly alone. It is just you, your friends, and the spores. The thick and thickening blanket of spores covering everything serves to further silence your world, like some perverse snow day. Wandering just a little more deeply into the abandoned town reveals a copse of large mushrooms growing dead-center in the town square. It is they that are pumping out the clouds of spores in such copious quantities, and they show no signs of stopping.
A Circle of Spores druid will be aware of the fact, or a DC16 Nature check will reveal, that the air is full of fungus spores. So many, that all of the localized plants have been completely covered by a thin blanket of them, and the livestock that are grazing wherever the heck they please throughout the town are covered in them as well. One enterprising goat has gotten ahold of someone's underwear, and is busily eating it while staring at them from a roof across the street. It will jump nimbly down, bleat at the party amiably, and walk away toward the middle of town. A DC25 Nature check will reveal the spores to be of many different varieties, and that they are all exotic varieties. In fact, a DC20 Intelligence check would reveal to a druid, ranger, or artificer that these spores were genetically engineered, perhaps in an effort to create a more robust micelium ecostructure. Whatever they were created for originally, these particular spores are programmed to control Humans and Elves in very specific ways. Humans infected by these spores first lose the ability to fear anything, as well as any sense of self preservation. They are drawn toward high concentrations of the spores, the easier to be thoroughly colonized via their respiratory systems. Within hours, the spores will have completely destroyed the humans' executive functioning and any ability to string together a cohesive or coherent thought. The living human zombies are then led by the simple mechanism of the inner ear to Greendell Valley, and Galbrok's holding pens, where they will wait placidly until they are inserted into a pod in one of Galbrok's infamous Tamarind power generators. Elves have much the same thing happen to them, except that they are led to walk off the side of a high place, plummeting to their deaths, unable to muster any amount of self preservation. It is a particularly horrible death for both humans and elves, delving into primal fears that horrify both speceis equally.
The trail of villagers is easily picked up and followed; no one was trying to mask their passage. The entire population of Corman just up and shuffled out of town, and down the road to the south east. The trail leaves the road shortly thereafter, where the infected townsfolk took the shortest path to Greendell Valley, as opposed to the easiest route. Torn pieces of clothing and dropped jewelry litter the obvious path the villagers had taken. First, however, the characters are going to have to deal with Galbrok's Mutated Myconids! These creatures are no longer the Myconids we all know and love, and will fight savagely until death. Galbrok has tasked them with either dominating or killing and eating anyone who comes to investigate Corman. There are four of them, which have colonized a gazebo in the exact center of town. Waiting. Just...waiting.Adjust the encounter difficulty as you see fit for the party that you are playing with! Four insane myconids may be easy cheese for one party, but impossible for another. You be the judge!
Level Up!
Once the encounter in Corman is finished, it is time to level up to six!
Rising Action
Zuggtmoy
Following the villagers out of Corman to Greendell Valley is an easy task. It is a wide path of broken branches and trampled grass, punctuated by ragged pieces of torn clothing and dropped personal items, and the party should have no problem. This trail leads southest to a tunnel that dives under the foothills, emerging in Greendell Valley, the lair of the Necrodruid. Once victims arrive there, they would placidly wait their turns to board large, converted mining carts, which would then ferry them roughly to underground pens near the vast caverns full of Galbrok Tamarinds that they are meant to feed. As the party follows the trail left by the doomed townsfolk, they will come across Zuggtmoy. The Lady of Fungii, Rot, and Decay, Zuggtmoy is none too happy with the Necrodruid and has come to aid the party. She will do so by rendering them all permanently Resistant to Poison and Resistant to Disease. This is a divine blessing, and does not expire. It will come in handy, where they are going; the Necrodruid delights in poisons and diseases.
Read the following aloud, if you wish.
As the sad trail winds into the hills, wending your way past cast-off lockets and heirloom bracelets, you find the vegetation to be sickly. Slimy excretions and the stench of decay define the once lush and vibrant forests of ferns. The ancient broadleaf trees have taken on a sinister appearance and feel; as if they want your corpse dead and buried at their roots so that they may feast. The feeling is disturbing, and nearly as palpable as the weather. Your anxiety is at its peak when you come across an opening in the side of one of the many low hills the path has bulled straight through and across. The townsfolks' trail leads right into it, so with a look at each other, you plunge ahead into the darkness. It takes your eyes only a moment to adjust to the light, but you find within moments that the passage of the villagers through the tunnel is just as easy to follow as it was up top. Footprints in the sandy floor, and still all the cast off items. Personal belongings, dropped as the people who had once owned them lost the final shreds of their self identities, litter the way before and behind. Suddenly, a breeze blows up from somewhere, bringing the sickly-sweet scent of decaying barley with it. Racial memories of ergot poisoning and dank diseases make you uneasy, shifting your body around nervously, when a figure steps out of a shadow ahead of you. Skeletally thin, the figure paces forward with deliberate steps, regarding you with alien seeming eyes. A cloud of fungus spores surrounds her like a mist. Sheets of lichen and moss are draped over her in an approximation of clothing, and with a start you realize this creature has molded itself into the shape of a humanoid, perhaps out of myriad mushrooms and other fungii. Expecting some sort of growl to emerge from her mouth, the soft spoken female voice is yet another surprise for you. With an odd intake of breath, like she is unused to respiration, she speaks to you. Your attention is drawn to her like tunnel vision as she says, "Greetings, Weavewalkers! Ahead lies peril even I am not privvy to; I would bid you caution. I am Zuggtmoy, she whom some would call the Lady of Rot and Sorrow." She pauses a moment, as if gauging your reaction. Or, maybe, sizing you up? Her presence is so powerful and alien that it is hard for you to tell what she is thinking. When next she speaks, she is quite obviously talking to herself. "I am told, by one far greater than myself, that you are worthy of my gift. I believe with it, you might just survive the travails you are facing..." Her voice trails off in thought.
As the sad trail winds into the hills, wending your way past cast-off lockets and heirloom bracelets, you find the vegetation to be sickly. Slimy excretions and the stench of decay define the once lush and vibrant forests of ferns. The ancient broadleaf trees have taken on a sinister appearance and feel; as if they want your corpse dead and buried at their roots so that they may feast. The feeling is disturbing, and nearly as palpable as the weather. Your anxiety is at its peak when you come across an opening in the side of one of the many low hills the path has bulled straight through and across. The townsfolks' trail leads right into it, so with a look at each other, you plunge ahead into the darkness. It takes your eyes only a moment to adjust to the light, but you find within moments that the passage of the villagers through the tunnel is just as easy to follow as it was up top. Footprints in the sandy floor, and still all the cast off items. Personal belongings, dropped as the people who had once owned them lost the final shreds of their self identities, litter the way before and behind. Suddenly, a breeze blows up from somewhere, bringing the sickly-sweet scent of decaying barley with it. Racial memories of ergot poisoning and dank diseases make you uneasy, shifting your body around nervously, when a figure steps out of a shadow ahead of you. Skeletally thin, the figure paces forward with deliberate steps, regarding you with alien seeming eyes. A cloud of fungus spores surrounds her like a mist. Sheets of lichen and moss are draped over her in an approximation of clothing, and with a start you realize this creature has molded itself into the shape of a humanoid, perhaps out of myriad mushrooms and other fungii. Expecting some sort of growl to emerge from her mouth, the soft spoken female voice is yet another surprise for you. With an odd intake of breath, like she is unused to respiration, she speaks to you. Your attention is drawn to her like tunnel vision as she says, "Greetings, Weavewalkers! Ahead lies peril even I am not privvy to; I would bid you caution. I am Zuggtmoy, she whom some would call the Lady of Rot and Sorrow." She pauses a moment, as if gauging your reaction. Or, maybe, sizing you up? Her presence is so powerful and alien that it is hard for you to tell what she is thinking. When next she speaks, she is quite obviously talking to herself. "I am told, by one far greater than myself, that you are worthy of my gift. I believe with it, you might just survive the travails you are facing..." Her voice trails off in thought.
It is time for a bit of role play; and if the characters play their roles right, here, they can gain the permanent blessings of Zuggtmoy's Embrace as a story reward.
Greendell Valley
Interactive Map of Galbrok's Courtyard
This is an interactive map, be sure to check each layer!
Zuggtmoy has done away with Galbrok's spies in the tunnel, allowing the party to approach Greendell Valley stealthily if the so choose. The tunnel ends in a wide mouth leading onto an open plataeu between two of Mount Shasta's three peaks. In the western side of the plateau is the opening to an ancient Dwarvish mithril mine, delved, tunnelled and forgotten about long before Dwarvenholme, secreted away somewhat to the south of Greendell, was even founded. Galbrok discovered these abandoned works and turned them to his own purposes nearly a hundred years ago, now. He repaired the derelict cart system, and takes full advantage of the chemical lighting habitually used by the dwarves. In order to do so, however, he first had to evict a Crimson Drake named Gilroy. Gilroy is imprisoned in a pit, open to the weather, here on this plateau. Galbrok has been unable to Dominate him, so keeps him here, chained to the bottom of a twenty-foot square pit. Galbrok throws recalcitrant humans to Gilroy, every so often. For the most part, he just kills the poor souls out of pity, and incinerates their bodies. He manages to sate himself with errant Kobolds, which Galbrok uses as slave labor throughout his lair. Even so, Gilroy is slowly starving to death, and will be easily aroused to a famished rage if not dealt with quite carefully.
Read the following aloud, if you wish.
The approach to Galbrok's lair is guarded by kobolds, which are taking cover behind crudely built stone half-walls, set up on perches on the cliff face. They each have a light crossbow, and a dagger, and you sense that they will not hesitate to use them. Looking toward the opening of the ravine, you see a railway cart suddenly tilt sideways, and dump a steaming load of viscous material into a pit. With a tortured roar, a half starved drake rises out of the pit amidst a gout of flame, and grabs the kobold that is working the mining carts by the head. It is brought up short by a chain, which is welded to a steel ring, which in turn is welded around his left rear ankle, but it is too late for the kobold. There's a sickening crack, and the kobolds skull is crushed in the drakes jaws, then the drake sinks slowly back into the pit with its prize, throwing its head back to toss the dead dragon rat deeper down its throat. Growling and snarling with what is obviously a painful hunger, the drake eats the kobold whole, catching sight of you just before its eyes sink below the level of the rim of the pit it is chained in. It is obviously much more observant than Galbrok's guards. The kobolds manning the watch stations along the cliff and cliff face of the approach all laugh at their erstwhile companion's fate simultaneously. It sounds much like a troupe of sick hyenas choking. What's your next move?
The approach to Galbrok's lair is guarded by kobolds, which are taking cover behind crudely built stone half-walls, set up on perches on the cliff face. They each have a light crossbow, and a dagger, and you sense that they will not hesitate to use them. Looking toward the opening of the ravine, you see a railway cart suddenly tilt sideways, and dump a steaming load of viscous material into a pit. With a tortured roar, a half starved drake rises out of the pit amidst a gout of flame, and grabs the kobold that is working the mining carts by the head. It is brought up short by a chain, which is welded to a steel ring, which in turn is welded around his left rear ankle, but it is too late for the kobold. There's a sickening crack, and the kobolds skull is crushed in the drakes jaws, then the drake sinks slowly back into the pit with its prize, throwing its head back to toss the dead dragon rat deeper down its throat. Growling and snarling with what is obviously a painful hunger, the drake eats the kobold whole, catching sight of you just before its eyes sink below the level of the rim of the pit it is chained in. It is obviously much more observant than Galbrok's guards. The kobolds manning the watch stations along the cliff and cliff face of the approach all laugh at their erstwhile companion's fate simultaneously. It sounds much like a troupe of sick hyenas choking. What's your next move?
The party will be approaching Greendell Valley via the route used by the unfortunate townsfolk of Corman. This leads to what Galbrok calls his courtyard, and the only entrance to his lair that is available to the party.
This is via a railway that was first built to service the mine. The tracks and carts are of Dwarvish construction, so are perfectly serviceable even today, and the Necrodruid takes advantage of them every day. He uses the ancient railway to haul and dump refuse and slops left over from his Tamarind trees, as well as to transport new prisoners to their pens far below ground.
That being said, Galbrok's slaves' mastery of the rail system is very limited, and there are constant accidents and mechanical failures due to their poor attempts at "maintenance".
Ultimately, the goal here is to get the party to ride a cart down to the caverns below the open "courtyard". That is because it would be the most fun for the Game Master. The party is, of course, perfectly welcome to descend the tracks any way they wish. If they want to be safe and stolid, they could walk and climb their way down to the Tamarind caverns. They may also be interested in just working for an insurance company in Greynor.
Two of the more unusual encounters possible on the mine cart run
Riding the Mine Carts
Read the following aloud, if you wish
The mine carts have brake levers built into them, meaning they were obviously meant to carry people as well as cargo, so you climb in and sit on cross braces that have obviously been used as seats for many years. Doing your best not to think about the sticky substance you encounter as you grasp the brake lever and ease it forward, you all have to jerk forward together to get the cart moving. The cart eases into the first descent, picking up speed alarmingly quickly, and you draw back on the brake, quickly realizing all is not as it should be.A DC 12 Investigation check will reveal that the kobolds, in their zest to keep everything working properly, have recently "oiled the brakes" on the cart that the party is in, and that there is no "stopping", per se, without some type of intervention. This part of the game is meant to be played fast, with the GM keeping the pace as breakneck as the cart that is careening through the tunnels underground.
Have the players Roll Initiative , and set the Lair initiative to 20. Go down the initiative order as per usual, rolling on the Complications table at initiative 20 each round. This will inform your gameplay for the encounter.Railway Chase Complications
The End of the Line
The tracks end at a levelled-off place in a massive cavern. Whether the party gets there via the mine carts, or climbs painstakingly down the entire way, the first thing they will see is a Galbrok Tamarind, which is a disturbing sight in and of itself. The realization that it is teeming with Nanites that have combined into a Swarm of Spiders so large it has broken off into specialized groups that are all working on their own tasks can also be intimidating. The spiders themselves are tiny, but can combine with one another to make a larger organism when necessary. There are also kobolds working furiously, loading up mine carts with the bones and slops left over as the tree discards its waste. Those carts leave via the southern end of the cavern, clanking away into the darkness as hooks and chains engage to force the fully laden carts up the steep slopes to the courtyard.
The Galbrok Tamarind
Read the following aloud if you wish
A tree the size of a large oak fills a massive cavern in the bedrock of the mountains. It is leafless, but it has pods hanging off of it like some absurd mockery of a mighty tamarind tree. As your eyes focus into the smaller details, you realize that the trunk seems to be...moving. It looks to be roiling around like a liquid skin, until with a start you recognize that it is a mighty swarm of tiny, grey-striped black spiders, that is busily removing waste material and cleaning the leathery bark of the massive tree. Kobolds with pitchforks and shovels are busily filling mine carts with the source of the stench that permeates the entire cavern, now revealed to be the waste offcast by the tree. The mine carts clack on out of the cavern to your right, propelled by chains and steam engines that will pull the fully laden vehicles up the steep slopes to the courtyard you so recently vacated.
There is a false floor leading from the roots of the tree to some sort of control panel straight ahead, to the north. At each of the other three sides of the immense cave, openings lead to mysterious places made all the more tantalizing to your curiosity because of the locked iron gates blocking entrance, or exit, to and from them, respectively.
You notice immediately that the kobolds have noticed you, but they seem far too busy to care very much. A large blob of the spider swarm breaks off from the tree, however, and starts heading your way to investigate, spreading out across the sandy floor like a living oil slick. They will be in your space in just ten or twelve seconds...what's your next move?
A tree the size of a large oak fills a massive cavern in the bedrock of the mountains. It is leafless, but it has pods hanging off of it like some absurd mockery of a mighty tamarind tree. As your eyes focus into the smaller details, you realize that the trunk seems to be...moving. It looks to be roiling around like a liquid skin, until with a start you recognize that it is a mighty swarm of tiny, grey-striped black spiders, that is busily removing waste material and cleaning the leathery bark of the massive tree. Kobolds with pitchforks and shovels are busily filling mine carts with the source of the stench that permeates the entire cavern, now revealed to be the waste offcast by the tree. The mine carts clack on out of the cavern to your right, propelled by chains and steam engines that will pull the fully laden vehicles up the steep slopes to the courtyard you so recently vacated.
There is a false floor leading from the roots of the tree to some sort of control panel straight ahead, to the north. At each of the other three sides of the immense cave, openings lead to mysterious places made all the more tantalizing to your curiosity because of the locked iron gates blocking entrance, or exit, to and from them, respectively.
You notice immediately that the kobolds have noticed you, but they seem far too busy to care very much. A large blob of the spider swarm breaks off from the tree, however, and starts heading your way to investigate, spreading out across the sandy floor like a living oil slick. They will be in your space in just ten or twelve seconds...what's your next move?
Interactive Map of the Tamarind Cavern
This tree and cavern are outliers of the main bulk of the cavern system, where the majority of the trees are housed in a cavern that dwarfs this one entirely. As such, the tree is considered immature, and not yet grown to what Galbrok calls "full capacitance". This means it cannot cast spells, and has no ranged attacks. It will not leave its power cradle unless forced to do so, either. When (if!) the tree dies, it will explode for 5d10 Necrotic damage; half that of what a fully matured tree would do. The tree will swing its limbs and attempt to bludgeon an attacker to death if an enemy comes within its branches' ten-foot reach. Otherwise, it will stay on its cradle and depend upon its arachnoid, and dragon-rat, defenders.
A DC20 Intelligence check, made at advantage if thieves' tools or artificers' tools are used, will reveal that the party can use the control panel to "safely" shut down the tree. The tree powering down will start the self-destruct sequence, giving the characters one hundred and eighty seconds to get at least a hundred feet from the tree, or around a sufficiently durable corner, or be forced to make a DC16 Dexterity Saving Throw. Success on the Savinig Throw means half of 5d10 Necrotic damage.
A DC25 Intelligence check will reveal the proper sequence to shut down the tree and its power grid without the tree exploding. Note that shutting down or destroying the tree is the only way to "turn off" the swarm of spiders. They can be defeated in combat, of course, but there is literally an "off" button on the control panel that can be used.
If a character does figure out the proper shut down sequence, they will gain the Story Reward Technophile, gaining advantage on all checks to figure out technological puzzles and quandries...such as finding and disarming mechanical traps, or figuring out which lever does what on a control panel, for example.
There is an obvious exit from this tunnel to the south, following the cart tracks. This part of the cavern has been designed like that to prevent Humans from escaping their pens. This leads to a massive cavern, wherein the tracks veer off, and the Necrodruid's plan becomes apparent...
Climax
Read the following aloud, if you wish
As the entirety of the cavern comes in to view, you see that the roof rolls back to show blue sky above for a very good reason, you have emerged into an ancient karst window. An enormous airship is undergoing its final lading and mission preparations, kobolds frantically loading barrels onto its deck with a crane and raw, sweaty-dragon-rat labor. Another airship, a dirigible, is "docked" close to the opposite wall, suspended mid-air over a metal platform that is awash in bright lights and has what looks to be yet another flying machine resting upon it. This one is smaller, only suitable for one person by its size. Overseer whips crack, and high pitched kobold grunts rebound around the circular geomorphic formation you find yourselves observing.
Whatever water supply that had originally formed this well has dried up, or was diverted, long ago, and now a dry, sandy floor lies levelly below the floating sky machines. Scaffolding surrounds the biggest airship, which has a sinister looking machine on its bow. Made of iron and glowing red and blue, it spins around restlessly, as if it has a mind of its own but it cannot decide what to do first. On the stern, a cradle has been fabricated to hold massive barrels that are being fitted to it as you watch.
As the entirety of the cavern comes in to view, you see that the roof rolls back to show blue sky above for a very good reason, you have emerged into an ancient karst window. An enormous airship is undergoing its final lading and mission preparations, kobolds frantically loading barrels onto its deck with a crane and raw, sweaty-dragon-rat labor. Another airship, a dirigible, is "docked" close to the opposite wall, suspended mid-air over a metal platform that is awash in bright lights and has what looks to be yet another flying machine resting upon it. This one is smaller, only suitable for one person by its size. Overseer whips crack, and high pitched kobold grunts rebound around the circular geomorphic formation you find yourselves observing.
Whatever water supply that had originally formed this well has dried up, or was diverted, long ago, and now a dry, sandy floor lies levelly below the floating sky machines. Scaffolding surrounds the biggest airship, which has a sinister looking machine on its bow. Made of iron and glowing red and blue, it spins around restlessly, as if it has a mind of its own but it cannot decide what to do first. On the stern, a cradle has been fabricated to hold massive barrels that are being fitted to it as you watch.
A DC12 Insight check will reveal this as a barrel of Galbrok Myconid spores, just like the encounter in Corman!
Read the following aloud if someone in the party makes their Insight check.
With a start, you realize that with a fleet of these, The Necrodruid could infect all of Pax in less than two weeks. The implications for the Elven and Human populations are, simply, staggering. The Necrodruid means to take over the entire continent, killing every human and elf in the process. All of them.
With a start, you realize that with a fleet of these, The Necrodruid could infect all of Pax in less than two weeks. The implications for the Elven and Human populations are, simply, staggering. The Necrodruid means to take over the entire continent, killing every human and elf in the process. All of them.
With a DC18 Religion check, a character will notice, and recognize, the marks of Vekheteshaynaralax's Cult.
Read the following aloud if someone passes their Religion check.
Some of the barrels and crates apparent in the lading process have familiar marks branded into them...the five-fingered claw of the dastardly devil-dragon, Shayna! Of course! This has all the earmarks of something she would do...grandiose scale, overcomplicated plan, and using another creature until it is no longer useful. In this case; The Necrodruid.
Some of the barrels and crates apparent in the lading process have familiar marks branded into them...the five-fingered claw of the dastardly devil-dragon, Shayna! Of course! This has all the earmarks of something she would do...grandiose scale, overcomplicated plan, and using another creature until it is no longer useful. In this case; The Necrodruid.
Read the following aloud, if you wish.
Watching the kobolds work, it dawns on you that you may have an opportunity, here, to disrupt the Necrodruid's plans. It would be very dangerous, probably even fatal, but you may be able to sabotage this airship, somehow. Either before it takes off, or just after, before it begins to release its dastardly payload. There might be time enough for you to formulate a cogent plan and strike. The safest plan would be to retrace your steps, and ride west toward Craysilt, hard. With any luck, you could get to the river and back to the capital before this airship ever even launches. The simple fact of the matter is, you are entirely ignorant of the timeline, and without asking Galbrok himself, you can not see a way to verify when the sinister airship will launch, or where it will start its mission. There could be hundreds of paths, each to a hundred plans. What is your next move, heroes?
Watching the kobolds work, it dawns on you that you may have an opportunity, here, to disrupt the Necrodruid's plans. It would be very dangerous, probably even fatal, but you may be able to sabotage this airship, somehow. Either before it takes off, or just after, before it begins to release its dastardly payload. There might be time enough for you to formulate a cogent plan and strike. The safest plan would be to retrace your steps, and ride west toward Craysilt, hard. With any luck, you could get to the river and back to the capital before this airship ever even launches. The simple fact of the matter is, you are entirely ignorant of the timeline, and without asking Galbrok himself, you can not see a way to verify when the sinister airship will launch, or where it will start its mission. There could be hundreds of paths, each to a hundred plans. What is your next move, heroes?
If anyone remembers that they have a red Psi Crystal, that was given to them by Cass Elliot way back in the very beginning of this story, during The Harvest Moons Affair: Part 1, they will gain the History Buff Story Reward!
Using the red Psi Crystal to speak with Cass Elliot will reveal a great deal of surprise on her part. The High King's Seat is completely ignorant of The Necrodruid's activities, but Cass is a professional, and will start asking questions to ascertain the readiness of the airship. Things such as;
With these questions answered, Cass believes the airship is already fit to fly, and that it will most likely lift off within the next two days! The question, now, is; what will the party do next?
- Q: "Are most of the barrels that you can see already aboard?"
- A: Yes, with a DC12 Perception check, it is obvious that all but a few of the barrels are already on board
- Q: "Is there an obvious weapon on board? Does it look armed and ready to strike?"
- A: Yes, it is powered up, and spinning around at random intervals. A DC15 Insight check will allow a character to intuit that the weapon is being calibrated
- Q: "Have they begun to disassemble any scaffolding or heavy equipment they may have been using to arm the airship?"
- A: Yes, the kobolds have begun to disassemble the scaffolding surrounding the airship
- Q: "Are there lights, or other indications of power, to the airship?"
- A: Yes! There are obviously lights, and mechanical noises, emanating from the airship
- Q: "Do you see any support vehicles nearby? Perhaps a lighter-than-air ship, or a glider of some sort?"
- A: Yes, there is a dirigible, and a glider parked on a lit metal platform
With these questions answered, Cass believes the airship is already fit to fly, and that it will most likely lift off within the next two days! The question, now, is; what will the party do next?
Interactive Map of the Airship Dock
Read the following aloud, if you wish.
Your destructive potential, here, is entirely up to you. There is nothing stopping you from just stealing an airship, and escaping this entire dumpster fire of a mission. Maybe taking up leatherworking somewhere safe. You could each open a shop and marry a local, and live out your lives happily and far less dangerously than you are, right now. It does have a certain appeal to it. Or, you could try to foil The Necrodruid's plans to infect the entire continent of Pax with his insidious spores. How you do that is up to you, but you have a few moments to breathe and plan your next move. What will it be, heroes?
Your destructive potential, here, is entirely up to you. There is nothing stopping you from just stealing an airship, and escaping this entire dumpster fire of a mission. Maybe taking up leatherworking somewhere safe. You could each open a shop and marry a local, and live out your lives happily and far less dangerously than you are, right now. It does have a certain appeal to it. Or, you could try to foil The Necrodruid's plans to infect the entire continent of Pax with his insidious spores. How you do that is up to you, but you have a few moments to breathe and plan your next move. What will it be, heroes?
Death of the Hyphae
However the players wish to move forward, encourage their nascent inner chaos goblins. Feel free to make suggestions, veiled as thinly as you deem necessary, and exaggerate explosive or destructive events. Place barrels of explosives in opportune places, or allow ropes to slip; anything you can think of that would aid in the destruction if necessary. The players' goal, here, should be to have the characters destroy the entire cavern if they can manage it, but at the very least they need to destroy The Hyphae, or disable it so entirely that it cannot fly. This will set up the "Successful" finale dialogue.
If all goes terribly south on them, give the party a chance to escape and fight another day...although, chances are likely that Galbrok will easily find and kill them once they have been colonized by the Necrodruid's fiendish spores. Either that, or killed in the greater battle to come. Whatever they do, fight to the death and lose, or break and run, if they do not destroy The Hyphae it will launch and start spreading Galbrok's spores. This will set up the "Unsuccessful" dialogue.
Falling Action
Read the following aloud, if you wish.
Successful!
As The Hyphae breaks apart, fires burst out amid spewing gouts of arcing sparks and an uncontrolled power discharge. Suddenly, time seems to slow for you as an enormous ball of orange flame and black eldritch energy erupts from the very center of the floating vessel, rupturing it into two main pieces, which each begin to collapse under the burden of their own weight.
You don't stick around to marvel at the scene. Even slowed as time seems to be, detritus and flaming shrapnel are already beginning to reach you. Shamelessly, you turn tail, and run like the wind to the surface. You want nothing more than to get out of these caverns, and leave the creepy spiders and man-eating trees behind. This shitty job seems to be reaching its end, but you need to be alive to be able to collect your pay. So wisely, perhaps for the first time in your life, you make the perfectly reasonable decision to flee.
Reaching the freedom of the open air above Galbrok's airship docks, you realize with a sudden, hopeless twist of your gut, that these hills are pockmarked with karst windows just like the cavern turning into a hellscape-like conflagration below the lip of the cavern you just escaped...and at least a dozen airships are launching as you stare, dumbfounded, at the extent of the Necrodruid's resourcefulness, simultaneously horrified at your own helplessness.
They rise quickly into the air, even though their size makes it seem more slowly than they are. But first one, then another, and another, go completely dark and plummet from the sky. In another breathless instant, every last one of them first lose their lights, then fall ponderously from the sky. The ground beneath you begins to quake, and landslides start to rearrange the landscape around you. Still, you find yourself in some sort of fugue state, wherein it seems as if time has slowed dramatically, and you run like none of you have ever run before.
It takes about ten minutes for the final rumbles to fade from the air around you. You have to take your bearings, having no real idea where you are at the moment, or even how exactly you got here. You are safe, for the moment, that much you know. And, your lungs are burning like fire. You are also aware of that. But you are much farther from Greendell Valley than you would have thought possible. Looking quickly around, you realize you are on the south side of the mountains forming Greendell Valley. Sheer cliff faces and treacherous switchback paths lead from your current position back to Greendell, and you have to wrench your mind away from that fact to fully take in the spectacle before you.
Perhaps appropriately, a mushroom cloud is rising from the remains of what used to be Greendell Valley. Soot and ash have been raining back down on you now for a full minute, and you cover your mouth and nose to protect your still complaining lungs. This is destruction on a scale you have never beheld and certainly did not actually mean. You know for a fact that that tree could not have survived, and by the signs you are seeing, Galbrok had many such monstrosities.
You watch for another half an hour before turning your backs on Greendell Valley. It is time to head back to Craysilt, to report all of this to Cass Elliot, and to collect your pay. It has been a real adventure, but this is one for the history books now. With wanderlust strong in your hearts, you set off for Craysilt with grins for each other. You've become one heck of a team!
Level up to 7!
Look for the thrilling conclusion to this adventure series in the forthcoming sequel, The Harvest Moons Affair: Part 3!
Read the following aloud, if you wish.
Unsuccessful!
A long shadow crosses over the sun as first The Hyphae, and then at least a dozen more skyships fitted out exactly the same as the Hyphae rise ponderously into the grey air of the gloaming Joolus evening. It is a surreal sight, even beautiful in a disturbing way. Their support vehicles flying and buzzing around them like gnats, the skyships take off westward, a fast-spreading cloud of spores following behind them, for all the world like some crazy man's idea of crop dusting. What, now, will happen to Pax?
The Necrodruid's forces have been set loose on the unsuspecting Kingdoms, and the humans and elves are in real danger of succumbing to his genocidal instincts. Hopefully the Unified Kingdoms can mount some sort of counter offensive, but they don't even know the extent of their threat.
It will have to be Someone Else's Problem, though. You gave it your best shot, but came up just short. Who knows, though...maybe your efforts are the ones that have slowed the Necrodruid down enough for the Kingdoms to mount an effective defense. In any case, no one on the entire continent of Pax is currently safe from the Necrodruid's machinations.
Let's see what happens next, in the forthcoming sequel, The Harvest Moons Affair: Part the Veil.
After all, endings are only new beginnings!
Read the following aloud, if you wish.
TPK!
As the last of you fall, in steps a too-large person, wearing rough and reeking furs, and a mask made of the skull of a moose. As he moves, it is perfectly level, as if he were levitating across the floor, and it becomes apparent why as his root system propels him over the corpses lying all around. He takes no notice of any of the death and destruction, and glides on down the scaffolding to his skyship.
With a wrenching screach of tearing metal and falling kobolds, the skyship rises into the air, destroying its dock in the process. With an ominous puff of black mist, the skyship takes off to the west, amongst at least a dozen more that have risen from other karst windows in the area.
No one will be safe for a very long time, unless someone does something! Let us see how we fare in the forthcoming sequel, The Harvest Moons Affair: Part the Veil. After all, endings are only new beginnings!
See you next chapter!
Created by Terrapin Lexiconia
This article has no secrets.
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