Session 21: Reign of Winter, Mother, Maiden, Crone. Ravens, riddles and traps, death and clues. Iobaria! Artrosa beckons, friends with 4 hooves. Onward!!

"THE WITCHWILDS, THE PLAGUE LANDS, WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CALL IT!  GODS SPIT ON YOU FOOLS! ANYTHING EAST Of FANGARD WILL ONLY BRING YOU DEATH! EVERY YEAR I GET SOME IDIOT PETITIONING THE ELDERS' COUNCIL FOR MONEY TO FUND AN EXPEDITION EAST TO SEEK AND PLUNDER THE RUINS Of THE CYCLOPES.  EVERY DAMN YEAR! AND FOR SOME REASON, THIS COUNCIL ALWAYS SENDS THEM! YOU PEOPLE ALWAYS SEND THEM, BUT AIN'T A DAMN ONE Of THEM EVER COMES BACK!"

-OSHLAK, ELDER Of THE ORLOVISHNAYA LONGHOUSE, DENOUNCING AN EXPEDITION TO THE DVEZDA MARCHES 

The Diary of Zaaz Bloodfortune

When we saw the black vortex tearing away at the fabric of our world, I began to understand and question the nature of reality. Now, with more proof of the changing nature of it, the voices grow louder. My mind grows slippery and I begin to see through the smaller world and into the bigger. In one moment we stand in the hut, desperately trying to get it to move, then in the next the world goes blurry, the fabric of the world shifts, and we stand someplace else. A smaller room, a staircase that wasn’t there, a fireplace. Little differences are placed in a list, but similarities as well. Passing strange indeed, but we stand (stood?) in the very hut of Baba Yaga, so who knew what normal was. The keys we used to move the hut are gone and fireflies and moths dance around us.

Baba's Hut

Exploring a bit in the hut we came to a strange sight. An elf, unmoving as if stuck in time by a chessboard. By him was a small fay. Sadobras sat down opposite the elf and he began to move again. Tavum and his fay bodyguard had been guesting with Baba Yaga and it frozen mid game of chess about four months before. After questioning him a bit, we left him drinking heavily and moved on down the corridor. Dalomar took the lead and soon reported something that again made me question the nature of reality. Though to all of us the path seemed straight, Dalomar was certain that it was running a curved and twisted path.

When Baba's away, no one gets to play.

Baba's chess champion opponent Tavum- frozen in time with his little fey guard.

After a time we came to a room I shall never forget. The sadness I feel as I write this is like a knife to the heart. My companions and I have been through so much, yet we have always managed to make it through, till this. We came to a door with a strange symbol inscribed on it, an arrow pointing down from a half circle. Searching our memories we identified this as Iobarian script and a symbol of twilight. Cautiously entering we were greeted with a strange sight within. It was as if a darkening forest lay before us, dominated by a twisted tree. It's iron seeming branches lit by a glowing fist sized orb. A raven with an amulet flapped down to land on the tree and it spoke to us. This, one of the raven prophets of Baba takes our measure and inquires of our goals. When we tell the creature we are there to try to find Baba Yaga, he sets us a task, "Born twins, they live not, yet they grow until death. Their fates are often tied, ever crescent as the moon, symbols of the warriors pride." It tells us the answer does lay in the chamber beyond and that we should find the answer and bring it to him. Entering the chamber, I do already have inkling to the answer of this riddle. Entering, I quickly see I was correct in my guess and pride had I at my correct summation. A Fiendish boar with its mighty tusks was what awaited us. Massive and quick, it engaged us in battle. In a massive strike Sadobras was rendered unconscious. The rest of us came to his aid concentrating our attacks on the thing. Blow after blow we struck against it and just as we think we are gaining the upper hand, we are suddenly beset by another that had lain hidden. Those terrible tusks, those symbols to destroy our pride, sharp and crescent as the moon, and dripping red with Noname's fate. They tore through him and flung him down to the ground before my eyes. Within moments I was by his side and trying to call healing upon him, but there was no soul left with his corpse. Noname, who we had known for so long, was gone and Repent quickly faded from this realm. I cast slumber onto the beast and finish off the fight. Cut free the tusks to return to the raven I did, but there was no joy in battle won or adversity conquered. Only deep sadness and pain. A vow I did make to myself then. There are spells in this world to bring back those who have moved on. So long as some tiny piece of him remained we would have a chance. Cutting a lock of his hair I did braid and bind it. My power would grow and I would raise him some day or we would find another. If reality is slippery, then Noname would slip the ties of his fate and we would see each other again.

The raven oracles, The "Liar Seers"

Sadobras brought within inches of his life during the test of strength!

Noname killed!!!

Returning the tusks to the raven it thanks us and gives to us the amulet. Powerful in magic it has the rune Dragon writ upon it in that same Iobarian script. "Look for the key where time catches up to us all," the bird tells us and away from us it flew. As we exited the room we find that Tavum and Snory, the elf and fay, have decided to come with us. Tavum is hoping for some kind of bargain with Baba Yaga and has journeyed far. He hopes to find her with us.

The next door is again etched with symbol so we are greeted with the Iobarian symbol for Night. Again as we enter we are greeted by a raven prophet, this one an albino with red eyes. Thick columns stand forth and moonflower vines wind their way around, all lit by a glowing blood red orb. "You did well with the boars," it tells us. "Your strength is of no doubt, but as to your wits we shall see. I mark nights coming, I will mark your end. I run not in fear, I am not your friend." Another riddle to test us and we are directed to drink a silver cup in the grotto. Entering the grotto we find a table set with five cups, before a pool of water. Around the edge of the pool are niches. Each cup was marked with a symbol. They did be mirror, apple, hourglass, Athame, and key. Though my love of the Athame knife tempted me to recommend that cup, we did discuss it and it became clear the only cup that made sense was the hourglass. Sadobras bravely drunk that cup and as he touched it, the symbol from the cup became visible in front of one of the niches. Stone steps rose from the water and Sadobras made his way out. Beneath water dark as a white witches heart, he found a small cage he could not open. Strange magic struck Yoska and he was almost suffocated as we tried various things to find our way forward. Finally, Dalomar drank again from the hourglass cup and entered the water. Using his skill at opening locks he managed to retrieve what we sought and we brought it back to the bird. Again an amulet did we receive and we are told, "You have taken upon yourself a great burden. For what you desire, the changeling holds. You will find the crone only when the moon wanes." Inspecting the amulet we found this one to be inscribed with the symbol for Gold. The bird left us and our path lay clear, for three raven prophets Baba Yaga is known to have.

Drink from the proper cup and use the stepping stones or die!

After twilight comes night, after night comes dawn, and the symbol of Dawn is what we found on the next door. Within, another raven spoke to us and said, "You must first convince me of your resolve. Face what I, the herald of the coming day. Each night it visits, sometimes horror, sometimes wonder, sometimes profit. When the dawn wakes it flees. When you face this thing you shall know its desire. In its desire you shall face your own. Only by sharing this desire with me can I bind your fates. Once they are bound, I will be able to see your destiny." The voices in my head cry out at another riddle, but we have little choice. Entering the next room we find a bed and a pale candle. Upon the bed is an odd dark stain. Manifesting by the bed was a creature of nightmare, a ghostly apparition of the 13th daughter of Baba Yaga, Yelizaveta. We talk with this living dream and the rage and anger within it seethes. Striking at Dalomar he sees a vision of Yelizaveta being struck and killed by another older witch. Soon the unthinking and un-chainable fear did seep into Dalomar and he ran as fast as he could away. Through careful argument and manipulation of the thing we were able to soon see the strong desire for revenge. Revenge against Baba Yaga who killed the source of this thing. More though, Yoska was able to learn of its strong desire as well for freedom. Knowledge can be a dangerous thing. When Baba Yaga's children retire they are known to go off and retire to do 'Something else'. Now we know a secret that may be the death of us all. The way the children of Baba Yaga are retired may be a bit more permanent than most imagine. Taking the desires to the bird, we are told, "So be it. Seek now the sisters three who are one. Mother, Maiden, and Crone. Know that the maiden is elusive and may only be caught by the waxing moon." Another riddle to solve and one that is difficult. Are not all women born to be Mother, Maiden, and Crone?

A challenge of endurance.... She desires freedom and revenge!!

The Witchdaughter's nightmare

Sadobras just a little bit scared....Run Away!!!!

After more exploration we found the door to lead us towards the exit. Guarding the exit we found Ratabor the Bold, once king of these lands and now in long servitude to Baba Yaga. He did betray Baba Yaga to the Frost Giants years before and his bondage is his punishment. Strange his name was to us as his name was pronounced Rat-A-boar and our friend Noname was a rat bored by a boar. Perhaps my reality is becoming even more slippery? Ratobor tells us there is a Centaur city, Vernern, about 1-2 days to the east. Artrosia, a place dominated by a massive statue of a Mother, Maiden, and Crone is to the north. Ratobor also tells us that Baba Yaga keeps valuable secrets at Artrosia and begs us to use them to free him. Also, he does warn us that the climb to Artrosia is guarded by many Wil'o'Wisps.

Ratibor The Bold:  "Hey, how'd you get in here??"

Artrosia

The land of Iobaria is located east of the nation of Brevoy, north of the Castrovin Sea. It is considered part of the continent of Casmaron. Human settlers have united the land into an empire a few times, but right now the land is largely wilderness. It is subject to plagues, some of which have destroyed the aforementioned empires.

The Iobarian empire, at its height, stretched from the Icewall, Ice Steppes, and the Lake of Mists and Veils in the north to the Myrfrus River in the east, Mendev (past the Icerime Peaks and Hills of Nomen) to the west, and the Castrovin Sea to the south.

Iobaria is low-density and sparsely populated. About eight of every ten inhabitants live outside cities in settlements that are smaller than hamlets elsewhere. Other, non-human races live as nomads in packs that are smaller than that of an average village.

The Dvezda Marches are a frozen stretch of grassy steppes and untouched wilds that form the northeastern quarter of Iobaria. This unclaimed region is known by many names including the Wilds, the Witchwilds, the Plague Lands, and its old cyclopean name of Old Koloran. The region's current name comes from the Dvezda centaurs who claimed the marches as their territory and united the region's centaur clans before being wiped out by one of the region's many plagues.[1]

Centuars form the majority of the Dvezda Marches' inhabitants, and are divided into dozens of clans of several ethnicities. The Dvezda centaurs once ruled the Marches before being wiped out by a plague. The Rashalka centaurs, considered the most civilized, inhabit the Hoofwood and the surrounding lands. The stocky Azorva centaurs live in the western mountains, and the thick-furred Tsolniva centaurs inhabit the Eastern Ice Steppes.

Ruins of human and cyclopean settlements can be found, but the only humans encountered are usually treasure hunters, explorers, or bandits. Some Iobarian humans did not join in the mass exodus when the plagues struck, and their nomadic descendants continue to wander the eastern steppes in communities of fewer than 100 souls. These nomads, called plague folk by outsiders, refuse to settle in one place, and consider gathering in large groups a taboo for fear of catching a plague, instead following herd animals in their large, animal-skin tents, scrounging resources from the barren lands, and, on occasion, committing banditry upon unwary outsiders.

Leaving the hut we were beset by a band of Frost Giants. Angry at this assault and needing to take out frustration at the loss of our friend, we made quick work of them. The fact that many of them were kicked by a giant walking hut did help, but all of us managed to contribute. They seemed quite susceptible to slumber hexes and lightning. 

Giants ambush the party as they attempt to leave the hut!

Headed towards the Centaur city we met a group of them that keeps an eye on Baba's hut. There we were led to Korak Kaag, their leader, and learned they were scouts for the Reshalka tribe. Sadobras was highly enamored of the Centaurs as their power of charging is that of legends. Gifting the leader with a generous gift, Korak Kaag assigned us the services of Erdija to be our guide. She seems very capable and has begun teaching me the speech of the Iobarians. Additionally, Sadobras was gifted with a trained Warg, a powerful ally and possible mount.

Centaurs patrolling Hoofwood

Korak Kaag

Erdija, the new guide to Artrosia

Onward we journey towards Vernern. There we hope to restock our supplies and prepare for whatever we will encounter at Artrosia in the Deepren Crevasse. On and on this journey goes. My magic blossoms and my companions grow mighty in their strength, but the risks have become more clear. Death in pain and agony may visit any of us. I am trying not to obsess on what we might find at Atrosia, but it is a place of legend to those who know of Baba Yaga. The secrets within call to me and may provide a way to the power to bring Noname back. I just hope no more of us shall die in gathering it and I hope that I can keep my motives pure. To have the power of a mighty witch like Baba Yaga for myself though... Even the voices within me quake and quiver at that thought.

Tavum's Journal

Tavum

Twenty thousand nine hundred and fifty one bottles of wine. I finally reach a little hut; it stood in the open field turning on chicken legs. 

I open the door and enter the hut. “Fie, fie” says Baba Yaga the bony legged.

“Are you here of your own free will or by compulsion my good gray elf? You are very far from your Mordand spire.”

I was born on the spire. I have traveled the world and planes and then my brightness became clear. My brightness was to find you, my name is Tavum and this is my honor guard Snorri.

We would like to rent a room and I would like to play chess with you for 1 hour a day everyday.

Baba looked curious, so I presented my gifts:

Cured meats from a 1000 different creatures.

A sentient broom made from the branch of the first worlds first tree, with the bristles made from the beard of a baby storm giant.

A pestle carved from white oak from the plane of shadow, soaked in the blood of a creature from each outer plane. Abaddon, the Abyss, Elysium, Heaven, Hell, Limbo, Nirvana, Purgatory, and Utopia.

And finally ambrosia seasoned with a single tear of an eldest.

Baba quickly picked up the gifts to examine, and the room started spinning.  I drank more wine till the room calmed down. The room never calmed down, but I did wake up in a bed.

In a new room, ones with shelves of games and books. Clutched in my hand is a lease contract I signed, a 1 YEAR! Contract.  Traako! I only have 6 gallons of wine left.

Day 7 in the hut (plus 4 months)

I was playing Baba, and was having my best game yet. Then Baba vanished and a strange group of ”invited” thieves appeared. Seems Baba put me in some fort of time field, I wonder how many times she has done this.

So I think they are thieves as my shirt buttons suddenly became undone, my coin pouch on the floor my bags were riffled through and I have missing items. Now Baba is missing, taken by her 14th daughter the thieves claim.  30 years gone, now I have to find her again.

I got them to leave me alone in my room for a bit, I was able to send a message to Orsig.

The group soon came back with their ratfolk companion dead, the Azata was missing as well.

Oh and the tattoo man was wearing the little ratfolks tunic now! I best tread carefully, I will be as helpful as I can be if they are truly interested in finding Baba Yaga.  Hopefully these thieves do not kill, rape and rob me.  When I find out who took my arrow I am gonna drop them through the first portal to Abbadon I find.

Now time for wine Twenty thousand nine hundred and seventy five.

Day 8

Wine twenty thousand nine hundred and seventy six.

My fortune arrow still has not returned.

I have realize with great dread the humans are Varisians, some of the worst of human kind.  Thieves scoundrels and cutthroats, they see every living creature as a walking coin purse just waiting to be slit open and drained of whatever wealth they can scavenge from it.

They were bound by Baba Yaga's black rider on his last breath to find and help Baba Yaga.

Orsig, Snorri and I think this may be our advantage to staying alive.  They are bound to fin Baba, 

and I have actually met Baba.  I will use these Varisian moths to find Baba Yaga and hope their binding will prevent them from killing me.

We met with the hut's guardian, I was greatly surprised the Varisian moths did not kill and rob him.

They showed restraint today and actually seemed like they will help them. Probably a ploy to rob him injury to themselves.

Human babbling is so annoying, I opened the front door stepped onto the porch and was struck with a frost giants ax.  Luckily it was a glancing blow and only broke half my ribs. 

Snorri flew out of the hut to confront the giant, he saw 7 in total and yelled a challenge to all of them.

The hut animated and started squishing and eating the giants.  The consumed giants would appear inside the room and Varisians descended upon them like a pack of wild magical dogs.

Snorri told me he killed one giant so hard it rose as a zombie and nearly killed him. 

The witch keeps offering to touch and “heal” me.  I am certain she wishes to curse scar me then control me with her voodoo hair puppets.

We finally head north an run into a group of centaurs. Disgusting creatures nothing natural about them surely they were created as a joke by some mad god.  What idiot elf taught these creatures Elven, it should be a crime to teach the superior language to such addle minded creatures.  It will surely make them sterile if they keep speaking it.

Try to be nice Tavum, you do not want to get trampled.  

I spoke with the leader and it seems to accept us.  I gave him applejack cider. Snorri said horses love apples.  The leader looked confused about the cider, these primitives do not even know what alcohol is!  I tried to marry off the midget Varisian, but it failed.

These backwards horsemen gave him a worg instead. I refuse to learn anymore about their marriage customs.  

The centaurs are sending a scout with us to the next city and then to the Baba Yaga colossus statues.

As for now, I am stuck in a communal tent with the moths.  

Jukkete.

Honor guard Snorri

A happy Baba with her new pestle carved from white oak from the plane of shadow and soaked in the blood of a creature from each outer plane. 

Session 20: Battle with Nazhena, inside the hut, Baba's housekeeper, weird bony golem. "Hey, let's take the hut for a spin!!"

Journal entry from Zaaz Bloodfortune:

I write these words in my journal sitting at a table in the fabled hut of Baba Yaga. It was a hard fight and none of us came through unscathed. I’m mostly recovered, but the damage to my mind still do be troubling me.

We came to the hut and it was just as described, standing proud on two chicken legs, but chained to one place. Before it was an Ice Golem, so Noname summoned four strange Hyena Sheep. They rushed in and quickly knocked the Golem down, but were then attacked by Mephits. Before I could do much to help, a hand flew out of the darkness and touched me. My brain slowed and my thoughts crawled. I recognized I had been hit by a touch of idiocy, but could not seem to figure out what to do about it. “Fight! There! up!” the voices told me. I looked up and saw the witch that had hit me. It was Nazena, flying above us. Gathering my strength I called upon the elements and throw a bolt of lightning at her, but she mostly shook it off. I gathered my strength again and tried to brush away the magic affecting me, but even with heroic effort it was no good.

Yoska flew up and began to battle with the bitch when she hit us with an Ice Storm. Noname lost his Hyenas and so summoned a giant bat. A Mephit attacked Yoska, but he ignored the creature and fought on. Noname cast a spell to enlarge Sadobras and fought to get a line of attack on the witch with his adamantine hammer. Dalomar finished off the Ice golem who has struggled back into the fight. When it fell, it explored and damaged him and almost got Sadobras as well.

Meanwhile Nazena summoned a mighty wall of ice to split the party. This left how of her Mephits free to attack Yoska and kept the rest of us from giving aid quickly. Noname cast a spider climb spell on me and I quickly moved up to the top of the wall. He then put Sadobras onto his summoned bat so he could get back into the fight. Flying on the bat he made quick work of one of the Mephits, but he and the bat were glitterdusted by Nazena, blinding them both. Dalomar moved over next to Noname so he could also get a spider climb spell and he began to scale the wall.

Yoska hit Nazena with a mighty blow of his flaming sword, doing her heavy damage. The remaining Mephit blasted him with cold, but was quickly struck in return. I wondered how we would finish off the flying Nazena when suddenly she was viciously attacked by the bat. It seems she forgot that bats don’t need their eyes to navigate and it smashed her to the ground. With a quick step, Baba Yaga’s hut stepped over and swallowed her down, then spit her out. The battle was done and the hut was ours.

I moved up to the hut with the others and greeted it warmly. Acknowledging out right to enter it opened its doors. Before I entered though I searched to see what held it in that place and examined the chain. When I touched it, I felt the power of the black rider’s mantle surge through me and into the chain, shattering it. I stood and walked towards the entrance, but we noticed two bodies tied to the fence surrounding the hut. The Red Rider and White Rider, known as the Red Son and Bright Morning, were displayed in their repose. Wanting to do well for them, we cut them down and took them inside the hut. We also searched Nazena and took her powerful sickle, emberchill.

When we entered the hut we discovered it was considerably larger on the inside than out and that it must be some sort of pocket dimension. I practically salivated when I saw the massive cauldron and spell components awaiting us there. Another room had five thrones and a huge map. The first room we found has a hidden door into a library, complete with spectacles of understanding and a fine index of contents. One strange book seemed to bend the reality inside the hut and allowed movement within the hut in odd ways.

A voice asked us why we were in the hut and when we explained we met Zorka the manager of the hut. Zorka was a Kikimora and explained the use of the map and what was necessary to move the hut. Dalomar soon discovered the trick to actually making it move.

Not all was welcoming there though, as Sadobras went into the map room he was attacked by a bone golem. Quickly Yoska was encased in a cage of bones, Dalomar raced to get there, Greta did good damage, but was quickly knocked down. I attacked, but still impacted by the damage to my brain earlier, I did little. Finally, Noname summoned more hyenas which finished the creature off.

The hut more fully explored, we decided it was time to move elsewhere. Noname tried to make it walk and had some luck. Then after a time experimenting managed to figure out the trick and the hut began moving smoothly. We then tossed the items we had as keys into the cauldron as we had been instructed and the land outside changed. Gone was the city park and fence. Gone was the town, replaced by an area of mountains and forest. So now I sit, and write in my journal, and wonder, gone we were, but to who knows where?

Interior of Baba's hut is much larger than expected!

Bone golum was nasty indeed!

Noname the dreamwalker

Every night I fall asleep with a new name.

Every morning I awake with no name.

I give myself a new name every day I can never remember.

I walk in dreams, I live in dreams, I was born from dreams.

For months I travel with Repent through the dreamscape (the plane of dreams) to find an oracle, perhaps they can find my name.

“What is my name?” I ask the oracle of Falling Revelations.

“It is gone along with every other name you have given yourself.  An ancient creature known as a Door Lord has stolen it.  Door Lords are beings not bound by distance or planes easily traveling through them stealing important treasures of sentient beings.  Great beings have tried to banish the Door Lords, but they are forever unbound.  As you are a creature reincarnated he found your name desirable. He stole your name and you will never remember your past life.  To catch this Door Lord you will need to improve the speed which you lucid dream so you can catch him.”

Every morning I fall awake slamming into the ground, sweating clutching my ring of slow fall.

I trained for months, traveling through the frigid tundra and crafting items for my friends which leaves me exhausted each night and falling each morning.  Each night I can lucid dream a little faster and fall a little slower.

I fall asleep with the stench of winter wolves and ice trolls in the air, and the thoughts of my reflection in the face of mirror men.

As I manifest into the dreamscape I finally see it, the Door Lord a yellow humanoid creature with the face of a snail lips sewn shut, and long multi jointed limbs that looked put together in a gut cringing fashion.  He throws my name of the day into his satchel, throws a key at the space in front of him causing a door made of clouds to appear and open allowing the Door Lord to rush through.

I summon Repent and we jump through the door, a chase through countless portals. Doors of crystal, lava, fear, hope, bacon. Through each portal the Door Lord steals another name from a dreamer.  We follow the Door Lord through a portal of Blue.

At last we arrive at the Door Lord's destination: a gray lake that borders the realm of dreams and death. A lake of nameless souls, mostly children who died before being named, but also those who have lost themselves in life.

The Door Lord empties the stolen names from his satchel, distributing the stolen names unto the nameless souls of children allowing the newly names souls to escape this purgatory and travel to the celestial planes.

The Yellow bodied snail face Door Lord throws a key manifesting a simple wooden door jumps through vanishing along with the portal.

I step up to the lake gazing into the countless souls lost in thought.

I wake up again with no name but at least I know why.

Session 19: Reign of Winter, The Shackled Hut: The Market square, Dawn Pipers, gremlins and Baba's hut!!

Diary of Zaaz Bloodfortune:

Some ask why witches seem to have such a love for the base elements, the seasons, the positions of the stars.   It is because they don’t understand the nature of the reality we live in.   Fire, water, air, and earth.   Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter.  These base elements are the fundamental building blocks of what is.   We can never truly understand any them to our core though, as we are not one of those things, but all of them.  The seasons are the time of those elements.   Spring is the season of water.  Showers that fall down upon our lands to give bounty.  Summer is the season where fire holds most influence, bringing the heat that warms.  Fall, the season of earth as the leaves fall to ground to nourish the next season.  Winter is a gale glowing in cold mercilessness.   The heavens bring the alignments to it all.  Good, evil, chaos and law.   This may be the influences of the various gods, but who can tell for sure.   All of this goes into making what we see, reality.  My learning of my craft has focused mostly on the simple surface of those influences, and seasons and elements, but I always understood well from the teachings of my mother and the voices of the spirits that what I was learning was only the smallest part.   The bending of our reality to what we wish it to be that we call hexes.   The redirection of energies that we call spells.  These things were just tools in my hands and the idea that we were changing the basis of reality was just a far off idea.  This did change and I begin a greater understanding….

The trolls being taken care of, deeper into this strange forest of the hut we did enter.   The path was wide in some places, narrow in others.  Obviously great effort had been taken to keep the path clear as the great dense thickets of thorn and branch that edged the trail were neigh impossible to traverse on foot.   Soon, we came to a clearing and could see off to one side a path leading towards a strange sight.  A lone fay, I knew only as a Dawn piper from my research on the folk, stood surrounded by a pool of silvery shimmering water.   A constant flow of water ran from the edge of the pool towards the center and streamed up into the sky.   Between the streams snow fell back down into the pool below.   Strange and strange a sight.  The creature did greet us with little enthusiasm, but no apparent malice as it warned us to stay clear of its pool.   It seemed to mean us no harm, so going back to our original path we continued in towards the center.  

Close to the center we found our target, but also a new obstacle.   The hut was amazing.   Standing tall and proud on two legs in a clearing, but chains on its leg holding it on short shrift.   One could understand the power of Baba Yaga if she was able to command such a majestic artifact.  Surrounding the clearing it was in was a vortex of black energy forming a circle of wind and a vortex of power.   Within me my heart began to hammer for some reason as I saw leaves, snow, and debris being sucked into this maelstrom of nothing.  A thrumming resonance in my blood called out.   The voices, so ever present, came to silence.  Yoska called out, “look its getting bigger slowly.”   Then I knew.   Then, all of my teachings about the nature of things came to roost.   This strange ritual magic was slowly eating away at the reality around it.   Reality was being ripped away piece by small piece and taken…. elsewhere…  The thrum in my heart was the resonance of reality calling to me in pain for a relief from this tearing.   I thought deep into my memories of all I had learned and knew that nothing I could do would be powerful enough to end this.  A Vortex like this would need energy on this side of the portal to power it until it got big enough to sustain itself though.  Desna help us if it was already there.  Still, it’s growth was slow so I thought, there do yet be time.

Tearing my eyes away from the madness before me, I found that Noname was looking for help.   While we had studied the hut and the vortex, he had taken his frogicorn around to scout a bit and had discovered what purported to be a family stuck in a tree.   Going over to look we saw that when the forest had suddenly burst forth, a tree had grown directly under one of the houses and carried it all the way up into the canopy.  Calling upon our ability to fly, Yoska and I flew up to help.   I tried to reason with the little girl who opened the door, but she being scared of the witches was loth to let me in.   Yoska quickly took charge and made clear their choice of accept help or not, choose one and do it quickly.   A bit intimidated by Yoska’s brief speech the little girl quickly opened the door.   Seeing it was indeed three small children with a father pained by a broken leg, I flew in and quickly gave healing to all four.   Noname had excellently had the idea to use a ring of feather fall for the father while Yoska and I ferried out the three children.   Seeing they were also quite thin and gaunt from their many days in the trees, I passed them the box of vegetables I had taken from the witches.   It makes sense it pass back to those they likely stole it from.  Crying in relief, the family was effusive in their thanks.   The farmer pressed into my hands a gift of magic protection.   Telling them the way out and warning them of the fighting going on, we wished them the best of luck and sent them on their way.

Taking one of the other paths out of the clearing we were in, we soon came to another Dawn piper, this one standing on a rock platform.   Surrounded by 6 large floating boulders, he almost immediately attacked us with a burst of rock and earth.  His voice rang out as well telling us that this reality would soon be gone.   He also cast grease upon the rock he stood on to make it most difficult to reach him.  I tried to slumber him, but it didn’t take hold.   Sadobras hit him with a sling stone, but found that stone doesn’t have much effect against a fay of the earth.  Noname tried to bull rush him with Frogicorn to some effect and Yoska flew in to go toe to toe.  Reaching into my pouch I pulled forth a wand of Icicles I had been hording there and hit him with a massive pointy pillar of ice.   Though he could not easily charge at one up on a platform of stone, Sadobras proved to have more than one trick up his sleeve.   On his sleeve, actually.   He pulled another patch off his cloak and threw it to the ground by the platform quickly providing a way up for Dalomar.  Dalomar went up and threatened the Dawn piper giving Yoska a chance to strike again.   His cold iron flaming scimitar came down to massive effect.   The fay dropped down and the six floating boulders shattered to dust.    I could feel in my heart we had lessoned the energy in the area and it became clear to us all that the source of power to the disruption of reality were these creatures.   One of the elements down, we knew now that the rest must be stopped as well.

Conniving a plan of great cunning Yoska and I led the attack on the water Dawn piper, but as with most plans it failed to live up to expectation.   The Dawn piper did throw off our attempted misfortune and slumber.  Striking back at us with a blast of sonic energy, the battle was joined.   Hiding off to the side as well, a pair of sprigging did move in to strike at us as well, and in particular at me.   Hit I was and so I went up a bit higher in the air with my fly and healed myself.  Yoska hit one with slumber taking it quickly down.   The other, Sadobras charge in on and with a mighty charge killed it quickly.   The Dawn piper wasn’t done yet though and hit the party with a strange blast of energy.   All within 30’ of the creature were struck and most found themselves suddenly blind and deaf.   Lucky for me I was over 30’ high and out of the range.  Knowing that most of the party was out of the fight I knew I had to make my next strike count.  Most major area of effect spells like that have a time before they can be called forth again, so, determined to make my attempt to slumber the creature count, I first flew in with an evil eye to reduce its willpower.  Success filled me with glee, but soon it turned to horror as the creature again struck with a blast of energy, this time blinding and deafening me.  Worse yet, the sprigging that was sleeping was awake again and attacking amongst my friends.  This I didn’t know till later as all I could do at the time was fly higher to get out of range.  Yoska again came to our rescue.   A tattoo flashed upon his arm and he flew down from the sky where he had been waiting for the blindness to wear off.   Empowering his blade to massive effect, in one strike he did destroy the dawn piper, teaching it to stick to friggin its spriggins.   The remaining spriggin was hit be Greta and her sword.  Soon after, when my vision came back, I slumbered it allowing a quick coup.  

After some healing and searching of the area we headed out to search for more of the elements.   Dalomar used bubu, his new owl to scout a bit.   Moving in the direction chosen after talking with the owl, Dalomar moved in front to be able to scout.   As he moved ahead, a stand of trees came crashing down, isolating him from the rest of the party.   Trap tripped, he was faced with a group of stinking nuglub gremlins.  Foul and trixy gremlins be, and worse for Dalomar were that these creatures could shock with the power of lightning.   I flew over and blasted the bunch of them with burning hands.   Sadobras slammed  one with a cold iron sling bullet.  Yoska killed another.   With a cry the remaining one went to run away, but made the mistake of getting its back turned to Yoska.   Taking the opportunity to strike, he quickly ended it.

Close by the gremlins we found a wagon filled with bodies and a chest.   Within the chest was some wealth and a wondrous pearl of power.   Generous to a fault, my companions pushed the pearl upon me to use to call back an already used basic spell.   I could think of many good uses for this.   Yes, yes, I know I could do that too.. quiet you.

Wanting to get more of a handle on what else was out there in these woods, Sadobras and Noname mounted a dire bat Noname had summoned and went to fly around and scout.   Minutes passed with no idea how they were when suddenly Noname was falling from the sky with his ring.   Following and passing him was the dire bat with Sadobras on it.   Leaping from its back while still 20’ into the sky Sadobras amazingly managed to tuck into a ball, roll, and pop back to his feat.   I was almost distracted by this amazing feat of agility when I suddenly remembered, oh they were likely running from something.   Scanning the skies I could see only that we were overflown by something strange.  Big as a man, with a stags body, hawks wings, wolfs head, and sharp antlers on its head, it was a fearsome and mangled beast.   Its very shadow seemed to mark us in some way.    I had enough of this though and quickly blasted one with glitterdust, blinding it.   Lets see you fly and fumble around in the dark eh you monster.   Yoska quickly slumbered the other so that it fell to the ground in a smash.   That woke it back up, but did splendidly damage it.  Dalomar made quick work of that one and Noname commanded the bat to attack the other Peryton.  Being not able to see due to the glitterdust I cast, the bat struck the Peryton again and again, finishing it.  

I hope that what we have done has slowed down the growth of that rent in reality.  Within me the voices continue to urge, hurry!   Can it be these northern witches have no understanding of what they do?   Truly, if this vortex expands too much, they will have nothing left of their kingdom.   They will have nothing left of this world.  Can they honestly think it will stop at sending the hut elsewhere?   Hurry… we must hurry… 

Dawn Piper

Spriggin

Nuglub gremlin

peryton

The Hut!!

Session #18, Clock tower's bell rung, rest and move on to the hut in the Market Square!

From the journal of Sadobras:

Weren’t good.  Nope.  Thought we’d don most o’ the work… slayin’ the dragon and all them trolls.  Already had us a fancy opera singer an’ a couple young’uns in tow for the rescue.  But that’s where it hit the fan!  The rescue.  Once we found the exit, we figured it’d be safer to get the squishies to safety before clearin’ out the rest of the clock tower.  But lo and b’hold… no sooner do Zaaz and Yoska walk them squishies the door, that some statues come to life and separate the party.  Dalomar moves in to help them two leavin’ me alone in the hall.  I guess that’s better than bein’ out there with the statues.  Wait!  No ‘taint!!  Not now that more trolls and a festerin’ dog start comin’ outta doors and tryin’ to make a Sadobras sandwich.  One hit from the big, ugly one (well I guess they’re all ugly) and my dog is done.  Daggit!  I’m laid out and I can’t get up without takin’ another punch from the troll.  Hell, even if I could git up… turn’s out a sprinter I ain’t.  I’m not likin’ the looks of things in here, but it ain’t no better out thar.  I guess Zaza was really taking a beatin’ cause I see her tryin’ to fly away up the stairs, but that troll got other plans and jest swats her down like a pesky bug.  She goes limp and starts bleedin’ bad on the floor over there.  I wanna go help her, but I’m about one swat away from ending up jes’ like her.  Anyhow, I gotta do sumpin' cause that mangey mutt is trying to use ol’ Bras like kibble so I pull a patch off my robe an’ make a winder to crawl through.  Thought I was gonna be safer away from the trolls, but the statue moves over and starts to swinging.  No way we can take on both them statues and both them trolls so I gotta think fast.  So’s I take another patch off my robe and drop a big ol’ pit underneath that statue.  One down!  Yoska and Dalomar are whoopin’ on the other one and he ‘splodes into little bits.  Back ’n forth through that winder a few times and slingin’ stones at them trolls when I can.  Once Yoska gets his big electric sword a’swingin’ things start to fall away real quick like.  When there’s a break in the action, I sneak over and pour a potion down Zaaz’s gullet.  It’s been too long I fear.  I hope she’s awright.  Shoo… she starts to breathin’ again.  She’s still with us thank the gods!  Once we’re feeling better we have look ‘round.  We loot what we can from the tower and make our escape.

The opera singer and the kids ain’t nowhere to be seen.  No s’prise there.  So, we head back to Temple.  Yoska a good un, but I fear he’s a gettin’ cunnywhooped cause he brought the wolf-girl into the secret temple.  I know he likes her, but I don’ truss her one bit.  Yoska won’t believe me, but I done asked to the priest to keep an eye on her an’ he confirmed… she’s evil!  Nevertheless, we ain’t never gon’ steal Baba Yaga’s Hut without Yoska so I just tell Dalomar, “We gotta keep a close eye on her.  She’s upta sumpin’.” 

So, now we gonna steal Baba Yaga’s hut from the market square.  Ain’t that a hoot.  Actually, yeah.  A hoot is exactly what it is cause we use Dalomar’s new magic owl to scout out the forest and he lets us know there’s a clearin’ in there.  Gotta be where the Hut is at!  We head in and see the path guarded by three more ice trolls.  Ain’t no end to them things ‘round here and frankly, I’m tired of lookin’ at ‘em so we jest go right at ‘em.  I charge right in and the gang (and one wolf bitch) come right behind blades a’swingin’.  I dun like her much, but that wolf bitch can swing an axe.  Helped us take them trolls out real quick like.  Now we gon’ head into the bush to steal a house.  Ain’t that a hoot.  No tellin’ what we gonna find in there…

Caryatid Column

Greta in human form

DM Bullet points:

•  The group continued downstairs in the clock tower looking for any children or other captives.

•  The party walked into a room with 3 doors and found the one door lead outside.  After leading Bella Belvorica (the opera singer) outside into the courtyard Zaaz entered back into the clock tower via the front doors and the two statues sprung to life attacking Zaaz and Yoska.

•  The others were trapped inside the room with 2 ice trolls now coming through the door attacking from both sides flanking the party.

•  After the battle the party explored the rest of the lower level finding the quarters for the female ice troll leader, the prison where the children were being kept and fattened up prior to their feeding to the Trolls, an armory, barracks, and other living quarters.

•  The party rested back at the Shrine of Everbloom and were healed in part by Solveig.

•  Yoska brought his new “girlfriend” Greta to the shrine while the party was prepping for the attack.  

•  The area surrounding Whitethrone's Market Square is now overgrown with a thick forest that erupted almost overnight around the Dancing Hut. Every day, the Winter Guard chops down the forest, only to see it regrow overnight. The streets around the square are a wreckage of stumps and fallen trees, and many of the traders residing in the Merchants' Quarter have been evacuated. The Market Square itself has almost entirely vanished save for a few buildings that are now completely out of place in this sylvan landscape.

•  The party scouted the area from the air using their new owl artifact and they saw that it was densely overrun with very dense thorny bushes and foliage that made it appear to be very difficult to enter except through an opening that was being guarded by 3 ice trolls.  The rest of the area was pretty much covered with the growth of vines and thorns, even pushing some houses and structures up into the treetops.  A huge dead tree was spotted in the northern quadrant, a large pool of water in the southern region as well as some interesting rock formations in another area in the southern region.

•  The center of the square the owl could see a giant hut, but there was some sort of shadowy “force” sphere that surrounded that portion of the market square and seemed to isolate the hut from the rest of the area.


•  The party made quick work of the Trolls and now stand at the entrance of what used to be the market square, but now looks like a dense forested area with open areas/paths within the growth.

Reign of Winter, Session 17, Shackled Hut: Assault on the clock tower in Whitethrone

The party moves forward with a plan for taking out the dragon Logrivich, rescuing the opera singer Bella from the clock tower, and creating a distraction to pull the winter guard away from Baba's hut..... oh, but things never go as planned....

Frogicorn

Logrivich

Bella

Ice Troll

From the Diary of Zaaz Bloodfortune:

Six days of preparations, six days of worries and fears.   Six days of careful scouting of the tower.   Six days of the press of the voices telling me to get at it already.   Six days in the end for crap.   Why is it that no matter what you plan, nothing ever seems to come of it?

We finished our preparations and journeyed to the clock tower.   High and of stone it was, with one of the clock faces removed for the white wyrm.  Late in the night we came to it ready to sneak in when it went on its patrol and realized we had forgotten something important.   No place to hide had we to be close enough to go quickly up and in to the tower.   Making do we hid in the alley near the tower and waited and watched.   Yoska and I, pretending to be Stilyagi decided to brazen it out when the dragon did fly, stealth not being our strong point.   I hiked up my skirts and held him close like a wanton couple playing in the dark.   Dalomar and Sadobras picked out good spots and vanished into the shadows.   The problem in the end was the Frogicorn.   There just isn’t that much you can do to adequately hide a frog the size of a horse.   Spotted by the dragon, the Frogicorn burst into motion, hopping a few hops then up into the air.   Off the dragon went chasing the Frogicorn and off we went to steal into the tower while its occupant was away.   Somehow we thought it would last longer and off we shot towards the tower.   Hiking my spear between my legs to keep a good grip on it, I called on the spirits of the wind and air and launched into the sky.   Zooming low across the streets and then popping up towards the tower I went.  In mere seconds Yoska and I had both made the top of the tower, he on the ledge and I headed towards the entrance with a load of oil I had brought with.  Before I could do anything though, a blast of freezing cold slammed into me.   The dragon had finished off the distraction and returned faster than I could believe.   Not huge in size, but awesome in appearance the dragon stood beside me.   White and bitterly cold, with fearsome and terrible expression.   Truly, in that moment I did understand why dragons were so feared, revered, and talked about.  Even the constant din of voices in my head did seem to stop.   Staring up at him I knew nothing, but a primal fear inside and knew I was about to become a midnight snack.   Pulling myself together I called on the most powerful spell I knew and cast a lightning bolt at him.   It seemed to hurt him, but in the same moment he used the opportunity to attack me back, draining my life greatly.   Almost contemptuously, he lashed out again at me, hitting with claw and bite and tail till finally I was again down and near death.  

After I was down, good Yoska, thinking that perhaps I was no longer with this world, flew into a frenzy and attacked the beast with a mighty and powerful blow.   Electricity and fire ran through his weapon and the dragon let out a scream of pain.   Dalomar and Sadobras soon came on the scene as Sadobras used a magic item that suddenly made a massive tree grow.   Within seconds they too fought the dragon as the tree carried them up to us.  Summoning two riding dogs, Sadobras attacked followed closely by Dalomar.   With a mighty strike, Dalomar put an end to the dragon.   

Moments later I was awake again as Sadobras poured a potion of healing into me.  Coming to, I was greeted back into wakefulness by the attack of one of the white witches climbing out of a trap door in the floor.   Old and gnarled she was, giving truth to the old witches saying, as within so without.   Ugly of soul and full of lust for power she was.   Still hurt and wounded I was, but here I was in my element.   Calling again on the powers Grr granted me I cast a spell of blindness on the hag.   She continued to fight, but without sight we made quick work of her.   I healed myself and those wounded fighting the dragon and we evaluated what we had found.   A huge horde of coins, magic items, and more were found and awaited claiming.   Now more awake and aware of my surroundings I also noticed the gear works and clock bits we were surrounded by.   Loud it was in the tower and we could hope those below didn’t hear us.

Soon Yoska took it upon himself to scout below to see where the Witch had come from.  On the floor below he found the Opera singer and freed her from captivity.   At about that time we learned that no, the gear-works noises had not sheltered us.   Ice troll after ice troll ascended the stairs and each one after another we did slay.   Having them come one at a time on the stairwell actually made it much easier to kill them than to take them all at once.  After a time no more came up and we made ready to leave.   The opera singer and I gathered up the treasure, but a shocking news she told us.   Below there were children that were kept as food for the Ice Trolls.   Finishing our gathering, I handed her a potion of invisibility and told her, “If it all goes wrong, drink this and run.”  With that we went down to the next level.  Dalomar, Sadobras, and Yoska were soon in battle with a huge attacking oven.   The construct was filled with flame and hungry to eat us whole.   Recognizing that this was perhaps not something my magics would be good for, I investigated a pile of crates and vegetables at the end of the hall.   One can rarely have too many vegetables so this looked like a good chance to stock up.   As I approached the pile though a new set of voices and crying came into my head as a strange creature rose up.   Made of bits of string and buttons and cloth, leftovers and scraps, it seemed to be another haunt or construct of some kind.   An attack on my will hit me and I was able to maintain control of my fears.  Backing up I brought forth a web to slow the creature down and made my way back to the fight with the malevolent oven.   Calmly strolling up to it, I told the others, “Ok, I don’t think I’ll be much use against that thing whatever the heck it is,“ and then channeled forth positive energy into my hands.   I slapped the oven and within moments it did fall to pieces.   Ha, Zaaz Bloodfortune, killer of ovens, conqueror of cutlery.   To be fair, perhaps my companions did indeed weaken the oven up quite a bit first.   Yoska, Sadobras, and Dalomar made quick work of the strange patchwork creature.   All we needed to do now was find the children and free them, set off some fireworks, and then we could get back on with the rest of our quest….