Wild Beyond the Witchlight

5 chapters, with 3-5 sessions per chapter
Eating and drinks are welcome, just don’t get drunk
Agency to describe one’s own background

Characters

Game master (Herbert)
Raven Cuckoo (Anderson), a Kenku bard who lost his imagination, in a band with…
Daphne (Jillian), a Satyr druid who lost her peace of mind
Suz (Connor), a changeling rogue who lost the key to a treasure chest of adamantine and owes a large sum of money to…
Kor’Kaana (Kadu), a goblin artificer who lost his mother’s rifle
Lor’themar Theron (Pedro), a high elf paladin, lost his faith, brother of…
Hero With No Name (Laura), a high elf warlock who lost their name

Prologue

You were but a child, or a child in heart and mind, when you visited the wondrous Witchlight Carnival. You dreamed of the rides, the attractions, and food but your heart sank when you arrived and realized you could not afford the ticket. Fortune favored you, however, and you made your way into the carnival regardless, giving you a day of delight that lifts your heart to this day.

Yet when you returned from your wondrous day at the carnival, you did not return whole. Something was taken from you. Something you have missed every day of your life.

As the years went by you met others like yourself, others who had lost something important at their own visit to the Witchlight Carnival. Like you, they have not been whole since.

Now, sixteen years later, you and your companions return to the Witchlight Carnival with the chance to recover what you lost and just maybe save the Feywild in the process.

I. Lost property

We meet at the ticket booth at the entrance of the carnival and introduce our characters. The goblin at the entrance hands us free tickets.

We first check the lost property stall where a large cat plays with a boy and a girl. The boy runs away with a mirror ball. The cat agrees to let us search the items if we find and return the boy. We find the boy at the popcorn stall. Suz finds a photo of the cat’s lost boy.

We head to the staff area to speak to the carnival’s owners Mr. Witch and Mr. Light (W&L). On the way, a tree bestows welcome gifts on us. A bugbear refuses us entry, and says W&L will be at the extravaganza and the crowning.

We continue to the gobling wrestling. Lor’themar wrestles first and wins a bag of pixie dust.

Suz is drawn to the mystery mine where we have to face our deepest fears. Suz fails 3 out of 4 checks and has nightmares for 2 days. He is so rattled he unwittingly shapeshifts into a halfling.

Hero With No Name tries the cyclops staring contest, fails.

II. Kenku on the run

We head to the snail racing. Raven feels like he’s being watched. The goblin organizing the race seems to recognize him as well.

Suz picks Jellymoon, the pink snail. The snails race at 80 ft every 6 seconds. Each round, we try different things to make our snails run faster – or slow down opponents: we make ourselves lighter, play the bird- or bagpipes, deceive others that the race is over, threaten violence, and feed treats to our snails. Raven wins the race ahead of Daphne, and both get a potion of advantage as the price. Suz comes in third. The goblin hands Raven a “Wanted” poster for another kenku: Kettlesteam.

We head to the bubble-pop teapot to look for the wanted kenku from a higher vantage point. We spot Kettlesteam by the Silversong Lake, where she scares away the mermaid. The party gives chase and catches up with her. During the confrontation, we learn (1) that she is trying to get the attention of W&L because she’s lost contact to her warlock patron, (2) that W&L have a pact with the hex and (3) that the lost things go to the Prismeer realm.

Kettlesteam stole a necklace from someone who wanted to propose to the mermaid. We decide to return the necklace to gain favor with the circus and head to the hall of illusions. On returning the necklace to Candlefoot, he regains his voice and asks for our help with a halfling who snuck into the attraction without punching his ticket.

The halfling had proposed to another halfling who laughed at him, at which point he ran off crying. Inside, tall mirrors reflect ourselves in the past, present, and future. We find the halfling just as he’s pulled into a mirror by a little girl in a pig mask, leaving behind an engagement ring. We head back outside to talk to the other halfling. When passing a Tasha of Iggwilv mannequin in a corner, Suz fails a wisdom saving throw and falls to the floor laughing uncontrollably for a minute.

Candlefoot leads us back to the Silversong Lake where he proposes to the mermaid while Raven, Daphne and Suz perform. The mermaid offers us free singing lesson as thanks for helping her fiance regain his voice. We head to the feasting orchard

We level up to level 2.

III. Extravaganza

At the feasting orchard, a female gnome is playing the lute. She looks familiar and greets us: “Finally you’re here! What took you so long?” Kor’Kaana recognizes her as Eloic Thumberstump, a planeswalker and seducer of a queen of dragons. She reveals that she paid for our tickets. The others participate in a cake eating contest, Lor’themar Theron wins a potion of invisibility.

At midnight, the extravaganza takes place at the big top tent. An owl appears in the spotlight on stage: Mr. Light. Two tightrope walkers embrace and kiss high up in the arena. The emotions turn sour, and one pushes the other off the rope. Kor’Kaana casts feather fall to save the person and earns as bottle of wine as thanks. Raven is invited/thrown onto the stage and collapses a pyramid of people.A spectacular show illustrates the rules of the fey wild:

Rule of hospitality
Rule of ownership
Rule of reciprocity

After the show, W&L call us to them to thank us for lifting the mood of the carnival. They refuse to help us in retrieving our lost things in return. We’re gifted balloon animals. The artist tells us to steal the watch or wand to force W&L to reveal more. We agree to come back later.

To pass the time, we head to the calliope. A small monkey in a costume is playing a music box, then goes around to collect spare buttons.

We continue to the pixie kingdom, a miniature wonderland. A pixie offers us a cookie that miniaturises us so we can enter. Inside, a lot of pixie play hide and seek and invite us to join. Daphne turns into a spider and hides in a cave behind a spiderweb. Lor’themar uses a potion of invisibility and jumps into the well. Suz hides in the stream under a bridge. Kor’Kaana hides in a bird’s nest. Hero With No Name goes into the smithy. Raven sneaks inside a hollow bunny statue. Raven is found last and wins pixie dust.

We head to the carousel where inanimate unicorns turn in concentric circles. Nearby, a centaur looks troubled: “It won’t stop!” The power source is located in the middle of the carousel. Suz throws a rope to the ceiling to swing across. After being hit by a unicorn in the center row, he makes it across. All but 4 unicorns have lost their horns, the ones with horns point to letters spelling out “Help save prmr stop hour glas covn” (prmr = Prismeer, covn = coven). The centaur reveals that the coven turned her into a centaur.

We finally head back to the big top tent for the heist. Suz shapeshifts into Taco, one of the guards. Daphne, Raven and Suz sneak into the staff area. Suz steals the watch from Mr. Light with ease and hands it off to Daphne. Kor’Kaana tries to break into a locked wagon, but fails loudly. Daphne enters W&L’s wagon and breaks open a chest. The real Taco is alerted by the noise and discovers Kor’Kaana. W&L run to the scene and Suz joins as well. Suz tries to convince Mr. Light that he’s the real Taco but is immediately found out. Raven puts the real Taco to sleep. Kor’Kaana convinces W&L that we’re just there to negotiate their help.

We gather around the fire and they finally open up:

Some time ago the 3 daughters of Baba Yaga (hour glass coven) captured Prismeer from Zybilna (arch fey who created Prismeer)
Lost things become very powerful (?)
W&L have made an agreement with the coven to allow them to steal things from people without a ticket
In the hall of mirrors there is a mirror that leads to the Prismeer

They offer us a deal: you return the watch, we take you to the Prismeer. We agree to the deal, but first: the crowning of the witchlight monarch. Raven receives the crown 👑 and the Charm of the Monarch 🦋. Fireworks and a party ensue.

Eventually, we head back to the hall of mirrors where W&L tell us to recite the following rhyme:

Hither, thither
Here and there
Wander yonder
Show me where

One by one we’re whisked away into the Feywild…

We level up to level 3.

IV. Augustus Flufflebutt

We’re stood by a stone causeway, crumbling and broken in parts, leading over a fog-shrouded swamp with the smell of rotting plants and the sounds of nature permeating the air. Raven spots a balloon of patchwork fabric in the distance. At the far end of the causeway lies a castle. To the right, in the direction of the balloon, lies a tower. To the left, tall mountains reach into the sky wrapped in dense clouds.

We first take a long rest atop the causeway before exploring the lands further. Lor’themar takes the first watch, during which he notices humanoid figures in the swamp riding giant snails. Suz avoids any nightmares. Hero With No Name is not so lucky and is haunted by nightmares, awaking exhausted. They take the second watch, but don’t perceive anything.

We decide to tie two ropes together to reach the swamp bottom. The ground is muddy and mushy, but walkable, interspersed with shallow lakes. Purple mushrooms cling to rotting logs. We head east, towards the balloon and tower.

We hear voices singing and a group of 6 haragons on 2 giant snails emerge. We’re greeted by the leader, Augustus Fluffbottom, who demands our belongings. Suz steps forward and tries to negotiate/intimidate them unsuccessfully. Augustus takes it badly and attacks.

Raven puts Augustus to sleep, but he’s awoken again by one of the other rabbits. The remaining rabbits focus their slingshot fire on Suz and inflict heavy damage. Suz tries to pierce Augustus before fleeing to cover behind a toppled-over column nearby. Lor’themar slashes Augustus with a long-sword. Kor’Kaana conjures an eldritch cannon, but misses the flamethrower attack. The two giant snails move closer, then hide inside their shells. Hero With No Name eldritch blasts Fluffbottom.

In the second round, the rabbits focus their fire on Raven. Suz cuts off Fluffbottom’s ear. Lor’themar hacks into Augustus and Kor’Kaana downs him. A snail crashes into Lor’themar in slow motion. Raven intimidates the remaining hares into fleeing.

We interrogate Augustus, who recites the song once more:

With sticks and stones, we’ll break your nose; We’ll beat you blind and steal your clothes. But none among us can compare To one wily, swift, and stand-up hare— Scarf that’s glorious, thief notorious, His deeds are truly meritorious!

With a wink and a grin, he’ll show his cunning; A flash of his scarf, he’ll take off running. Quick as a bolt, his long scarf trailing, Gasping, grasping, you’ll end up flailing. You’ll pout, you’ll moan, you’ll huff, you’ll sneer; Thanks to Agdon Longscarf, brigand prince of Prismeer!

He tells us that only Agdon knows Bavlorna’s (one of the hags) whereabouts. Agdon lives in the north of the tower at the brigand (a giant tree). Needs & Steeds, two giant snakes, live in the tower. The castle used to be Zybilna’s seat of power. The mountain range to the west is called Yon, reign of Endelyn. The swamp is called Hither, reign of Bavlorna. The Mist called Thither lies to the east, reign of Skabatha.

We let Flufflebutt go. Raven charms the snails and we follow them to a small inn nearby. We knock and the door opens with a creak. A kind, old human druid welcomes us inside and offers us refuge in return for a little trinket each.

V. Agdon’s scarf

In the morning, we are awoken by the druid and kicked out. We thank her for her help and head towards the tower at the brigand, which seems closer than the day before. The water has risen 5 feet overnight with few dry spots in between. We make our way through the swamp, avoiding patches of quick mud.

We come upon a well from which three small spirits emerge. “Who are you? What do are you doing in Prismeer? Who are you? What do you want here?” They appear afraid and sad. Bavlorna is the reason they are spirits. Many moons ago, when this realm was flooded, they died and are now stuck here. They ask us to kill Bavlorna. They pass through our bodies and we all gain a 4 that we can add to one roll in the next 24 hours.

We reach an old stone tower leaning over so much, it looks like it’s about to fall. “Psst! Psst! Come here!” Atop the tower, in a cage, a little purple fairy dragon with a mustache is locked up. He introduces himself as Sir Tellawar, knight of the summer queen. His companion, a bullywug, lies dead on the ground. Two giant snakes are sleeping near the tower. The dragon heard that the key to his cage is with a goblin to the east on a mountain with feet.

We decide to find the mountain. Upon reaching it, we smell sweet fruits and silvery moss. At the summit of the mountain, a keyhole-shaped cave looms. Three voices, all at the same time, speak: “Welcome to Telemy Hill. How long do you plan to stay?” The three trees let us pass and we head into the cave, down well-worn stone stairs. We reach a cavern covered with keys. Jingle Jangle, a goblin wearing chainmail made of keys and a weapon made of padlocks greets us. She doesn’t have the key we’re looking for anymore as it was stolen by some haragons.

There’s no way around it: we need to find and confront Agdon in his base. On the way there, the siblings, Lor’themar and Hero With No Name, get stuck in quick mud. Lor’themar pulls them both out. They’re covered in mud.

Wooden walkways rise like a web over a mist-shrouded landscape. Three hundred meters away, many of the footpaths meet by a 30 feet tall tree trunk. A hunched figure in a hood has joined our group. He reveals himself to be Agdon Longscarf. Suz deceives him that Augustus send us his way. Agdon steals Suz’s chest, but gives it back. Suz tries to convince Agdon to partner up and steal stuff together. Agdon pretends to accept, then attacks Suz with a branding iron twice. Suz can’t see Agdon anymore.

Lor’themar hits back with a divine smite, which Agdon can only partially dodge. Raven gives inspiration to the people around him. Daphne summons a wildfire spirit. Other haragons attack with slingshots, but miss because they are far away. Hero With No Name casts a sphere of darkness around the haragons. Suz fails to hide or to hit a haragon with his crossbow. Agdon jumps over to Daphne and brands her once. Kor’Kaana fails to hit Agdon. A haragon hits Daphne. Lor’themar tries to divine smite Agdon again but misses. Hero With No Name takes Agdon’s blue scarf. Her cat mutilates Fluffbottom. Suz stabs Fluffbottom.

Agdon wakes up, tries to pull his scarf back, but fails. He begs for mercy and orders his soldiers to stand down. He agrees to hand over the key, the truffles, more mud, parts of animals, and other random stuff.

Suz asks: “What’s up with your scarf?” Agdon recounts how he was stuck to the tree by his scarf and was freed by Bavlorna in return for the best pieces from their future heists. Bavlorna is in Downfall, the home of a bullywug tribe. Fluffbottom refuses to be disarmed and tries to flee. Suz, Lor’themar, Daphne and Hero With No Name rain down fury on him. As he dies, he turns to stone.

We head back to the mountain with feet to return the truffles to the goblin. She’s overjoyed and the 3 trees sing and dance in celebration. They gift us a key that promises to be helpful later. We take a short rest. Kor’Kaana fashions a wooden key as a gift for the goblin. During a short rest, Daphne finds a familiar: a white arctic fox.

Back at the tower, we free Sir Tellawar who offers us a rare dagger (+1) as thanks. Suz takes it. He offers us information: Bavlorna lives in a small cottage in the heart of Downfall, the bullywug settlement. They are a welcoming folk as long as one does not offend them. Two bullywug, Wigglewoggle and Margot, helped him escape. Bavlorna has an ability where she can conjure minions, tiny versions of herself.

We level up to level 4.

VI. Intrigue in Downfall

The wind is picking up, and it looks like a storm is brewing. We debate whether to use it as cover to sneak into the village, but decide to head back to Jingle Jangle instead to rest for the night.

However, we take a wrong turn and come upon a waterlogged battlefield, covered in corpses and rusted & broken armor. Daphne and Raven spot two merrows on the side of the field. As we contemplate what to do, they spot us and dive into the water. We spot multiple fins in the water heading our way. Kor’Kaana casts firebolt into the water.

A harpoon arcs out of the water and hits Kor’Kaana in the chest. He is pulled into the water. In response, he casts thunderwave, then misty steps out of the water and “hauls ass” inland, while shouting: “Run you fools!” Daphne is pissed at Kor’Kaana for getting us in danger.

Back at Jingle Jangle’s cave, we take a long rest. Suz takes the first watch and is plagued by nightmares the rest of the night. He wakes with one level of exhaustion.

We’re awoken by a heavy storm in the early morning. Kor’Kaana finds a familiar: a giant dragonfly. He then cooks us breakfast. There’s no end to the storm in sight, so we decide to brave it. As we venture outside, we find an abandoned raft. It should be able to carry us faster to Downfall. Kor’Kaana fashions a quarterstaff to use as a pole to push and steer the raft.

After a couple of hours – and a detour thanks to Kor’Kaana’s navigation skills, corrected by Daphne – we arrive in Downfall. Through the thick fog surrounding us, we see the river widen into a lake. We hear frog-like voices in the fog and two rowboats emerge. Two bullywugs greet us kindly and tell us that their king awaits us.

As we make our way through the village, we pass by giant frogs catching insects with their long tongues and a bullywug craftsman mending a hole in a balloon. Kor’Kaana offers help and mends a hole, but the bullywug seems non-plussed. We continue onwards over some stepping stones. Suz is in front and is shocked when the stone he just stepped on begins to move. A galeb duhr, a rock creature, rises from the water and mumbles angrily “ingratitude”.

Three merrows emerge from the water around us. They pull Suz and Daphne into the water. Hero With No Name casts bane. Raven frightens one of the merrows and conjures mirror images of himself. Hero With No Name misty steps across the water. Daphne shifts into a giant poisonous snake and swims over to Suz to support him. Suz frantically slashes at the merrow, manages to swim back to a rock but is immediately pulled back into the water and downed.

Bullywug soldiers arrive and scare away the merrows. Daphne revives and heals Suz. The soldiers introduce themselves and answer some of our questions. We learn that their current king came to power by boiling his predecessor in oil which is apparently a normal thing here.

We arrive at a thatched hut with smoke rising from the chimney. Past it, a bridge crosses the lake. Alongside it are five heads on stakes. They speak in a language we don’t understand. Nearby, a sad-looking figure sits. Hero With No Name asks whether we may cross the bridge. “Of course, we’re the ones with no legs” responds one of the heads. They tell us that the figure is Clapper Claw, a scarecrow. He’s sad because his head is a pumpkin. His real head was stolen by Agdon. Daphne shows him the animal parts we got from Agdon, but his head – a stag skull – is not among them.

After the bridge, we arrive at a white gazebo. “Have you no herald to announce your arrival to King Gulob the 20th?” demands the king from the throne. Raven introduces himself as the witchlight monarch. The king reveals that he’s been awaiting our arrival because he needs our help with a potential coup. Being a king in the soggy court is a complicated task. Bavlorna is angry with the bullywug because some of them helped Sir Tellawar to escape. When she’s unhappy, the soggy court is unhappy, and then the king gets replaced.

When the king hears that Raven and Daphne are musicians, he asks for a performance.¹ The king offers us a deal: we find the conspirators and in return he makes us members of the soggy court. Bavlorna only receives members of the soggy court.

We leave and Raven shares that he received a secret note from one of the king’s subordinates. It reads:

Find Illig, the Baron of Muchstump. The revolution lives!

We return to the balloon factory, knock on the door and enter. There are burning coals strewn across the floor and a burly bullywug is frantically running around trying to extinguish them. “Grab a bucket and help me!” he shouts. We take turns pouring buckets of water over the coals. The bullywug thanks us for our help and introduces himself as Duke Iggrid. He tells us that someone sabotaged the factory and tried to burn it down. We figure out that the workers play songs together, including the Baron we’re looking for.

Back with the talking heads, we ask Gustav if he saw where the arsonists ran to. He unhelpfully answers that many bullywugs passed by.

Past the royal gazebo, we come upon a prison. In one of the cells sits a small bullywug lady in rags. She’s Margot, a knight of the warts, who helped Sir Tellawar. She doesn’t recognize the dagger that Suz received from him, but is distraught to learn that her friend Wigglewoggle was killed. She is to fight the witchlight monarch in a trial by combat. We agree to help her in turn for her skills as a balloon pilot.

Next, we head to the store that sells various everyday items. Raven trades moonlight goggles that bestow dark vision in exchange for the color of his eyes.

VII. Bavlorna’s hut

A messenger from King Gulob the 20th reaches us to hand over a book that we’re to deliver to Bavlorna right away. He points us into the fog. Daphne inspects the book: it’s titled “Bavlorna’s Big Book of Bad Blood” and contains a list of offenses against Bavlorna and the exacted revenge.

Kor’Kaana’s giant dragonfly flies us across the pond into the mist in groups of two. We land on a wooden platform surrounding a stone well. Daphne jumps onto a lily pad and peers into the well. It emits a horrible smell. She drops a rock into the well, it hits an invisible wall after 10 feet and starts to melt.

A gelatinous cylinder rises from the well, hovering ominously in the air. Daphne attacks, but is struck with a devastating pseudopod attack in return. Raven casts vicious mockery and gives temporary hitpoints to Kor’Kaana, Lor’themar, and Suz. Kor’Kaana casts fireball and hex. Lor’themar swipes at it with a long sword but misses. Suz steadies himself and shoots the it with his hand crossbow at close range.

Daphne throws sacred flame at the gelatinous cylinder, then puts some distance between it and herself. The cylinder moves onto the platform, fully engulfing Lor’themar. Raven casts vicious mockery again. Suz hurries away, then shoots the gelatinous mass once more with his crossbow. Lor’themar’s eyes grow wide as the crossbow bolt enters the cube and stops short before his face.

Daphne casts sacred flame once more, hitting the cylinder this time. The gelatin is slowly devouring Lor’themar who is downed by the acid. Raven casts dissonant whispers. Kor’Kaana shoots the cylinder with his gun. It wobbles and dissolves, leaving an unconscious Lor’themar on the ground.

We take a short rest to recover. A frog person comes down the stairs in the corner, but turns around and hurries back when they see us. Kor’Kaana investigates a group of mannequins in the corner. One of their heads jumps at him, steals his glasses and scuttles away through a door leading to a balcony. Lor’themar checks another door that opens onto another balcony covered with frogs. The frogs start to croak in union. Daphne takes out her bagpipes and plays along with them.

Kor’Kaana and Suz open another door. A horse head looks at them with shiny eyes and sharp teeth. The head is attached to a big frame of mesh and wire. Flies buzz around the room, occasionally landing on dead animal carcasses scattered around the room. Some of them are taxidermied and assembled into frankensteinian creations.

The last room contains fabrics and yarn and two 1 foot pin cushions in humanoid forms. Raven and Daphne look into the mirror in the middle of the platform. It appears normal to them. Finally, we head up the spiral staircase. We arrive in a narrow hallway. Light shines through an open door.

Two figures are having tea in the middle of the large room. Food and dirty dishes are scattered around the room. Bavlorna greets us in a croaking voice. Daphne hands her the book we were meant to bring. We explain to Bavlorna that we’re in Hither to look for our lost things. She offers us a deal: a portrait of her older sister Skabatha within eight days in return for two lost things.

The other woman introduces herself as Charm, owner of a merchandise store. Everyone expect Suz notices that she has no shadow. The women offer us tea and Kor’Kaana drinks some. We ask Bavlorna for more details about our quest: the portrait is located in Skabatha’s lair, a hollowed out tree. She suggests we ask the scarecrow to be our guide.

Meanwhile, Suz strolls around the room and stops in front of a cabinet. Moss obscures a locked drawer. He stealthily picks the lock and takes three potions.² A taxidermied cat hidden inside the drawer swipes at his hand.

The commotion raises Bavlorna suspicion. She calls Suz over to herself and casts detect magic to discover the stolen potions in Suz’s pocket. Her minions slash at us, dealing heavy damage. Kor’Kaana’s attempt to misty step away is disrupted by Bavlorna, who commands him to land in front of her instead, incapacitated.

Bavlorna offers us a way out: hand over Suz’s magic dagger and accept her deal in return for letting us leaving without further harm. With no way out, Suz begrudgingly hands over his dagger. Kor’Kaana opens another door as we leave, it’s a walk-in freezer. Bavlorna asks him to bring her a piece of meat. She returns the dagger to Suz and instead asks us to bring her animal parts from one of the bullywug hunters in town.

VIII. Gifts and friends in Thither

Outside Bavlorna’s hut, we debate what to do next when we hear an amused chuckle behind us. Charm, the woman who was having tea with Bavlorna, offers to help us. Curiously, she has a shadow now. We ride a lily pad back to shore and head to Trinket, Baubles and Charms. There, she explains that she was able to steal something from Bavlorna while we unwittingly distracted her, so now she feels the need to reciprocate the favor.

For our quest, we need a pilot, a balloon, and a guide. We learn from Charm that there’s a repaired balloon at the balloon factory and that Margot is about to be judged. We head back to the king’s gazebo where a crowd of bullywugs is debating Margot’s fate. They seem intent on killing her and the king is keen to present her head to Bavlorna. Raven speaks up as the witchlight monarch and suggest to exile Margot instead so she can help us on our quest. The bullywugs are convinced when they hear that the quest is in Bavlorna’s name.

We hurry to the bridge with the talking heads to speak to Clapper Claw, the scarecrow. On the way, Suz tries unsuccessfully to pick Margot’s shackles. We offer the scarecrow a deal: guide us to Thither, and we’ll help him recover his head in return. He agrees.

We find that the balloon is guarded by giant frogs. We knock on the door of the factory and are greeted by Duke Iggrid. We’re unsuccessful in persuading him to allow us to take the balloon until Hero With No Name casts suggestion. Kor’Kaana unlocks Margot’s shackles but handcuffs himself in the process.

We depart for Thither.

We level up to level 5.

On our landing approach, Clapper Claw points us towards Nib’s cave, saying it could be helpful to us. Hero With No Name and Raven have a faint feeling that their lost things are nearby.

Daphne and Raven notice four dogs howling around a hole in the ground. Raven speaks to them in Elvish and approaches cautiously. The hole is a shallow grave for another dog, surrounded by gifts and offerings. Daphne plucks some flowers and adds them to the grave. We notice marks of combat on the body: blade cuts. Some other dogs also carry wounds.

Daphne casts speak with animals. The dogs share that the combat happened on a scouting mission to Loomlurch, a town in the north with a Goblin market, candy treats, and a nightshade garden. They warn us that sparrows spy for Skabatha.

Raven notices a wanted poster pinned to a tree for a Will of the Feywild.

The torchlight by the cave nearby draws us in. Inside, a blindfolded wise man sits surrounded by piles of gold that he is spinning into gold fibers. Daphne asks whether his name is Rumpelstiltskin, he answers that his name is Nib. He led a cruel and heartless existence, gaining his riches by exploiting his tenants. He was cursed to spin his gold into useful items for anyone who passes by. We each receive a magical item:

Suz: gloves of thievery
Daphne: cloak of protection
Kor’Kaana: all purpose tool
Raven: bag of holding
Hero With No Name: boots of elvenkind
Lor’themar: greatsword +1

While Nib works to craft these items, apparitions behind him look over his shoulder. A grubby child, an old woman tabbing her teary eyes with a handkerchief, and others remind him of his bad deeds and will stay as long as he hasn’t repaid his debt.

We settle down for the night inside the cave. Hero With No Name takes the first watch. She hears an animal screaming and upon investigation sees an owlbear pulling an empty chariot past the cave. She wakes Daphne. The owlbear seems in distress. Daphne casts speak with animals, and inquires from a distance: “You seem troubled. Can we help you?” “You seem like enemies of my former owner, a stupid elf who got killed by a jabberwock.” She wants food and Daphne tries to give her rations, then casts animal friendship. The owlbear elects Daphne as her new owner and introduces herself as Juniper. Daphne, having exhausted herself, collapses back onto her bedroll.

In the morning, Kor’Kaana heads out to forage for food for breakfast. Daphne introduces everyone to Juniper. Nib asks what we’re doing here. He explains that Granny Nightshade (aka Skabatha) is obsessed Will of the Feywild who helped a group of children escape. They live near the little oak in the north east.

Nib crafts a wagon for Juniper to carry us all. After a couple of hours, we reach little oak. Painted swings dangle from the leafy tree and a small group of children gather to meet us. Will, their leader, is standoffish: “Stand down or face merry hell.” Suz responds: “I will be honest with you: we are here to steal from Skabatha.” Upon hearing this, Will invites us inside. We climb up ladders into a tree house. The floor is covered with blankets and hay. A basket with apples, berries, sugarcane, and parchment sits in one corner, a rusty oilcan looks out of place in another. A displacer beast baby sits in the middle of the room. She’s the offspring of the cat at the lost & found booth. Raven hands her the mirror ball and she happily plays with it.

Will wants to free all the children from Loomlurch with our help. He uses a stick to draw a map into the dirt and begins to explain the plan:

The kids creep through the wood, past the scarecrows to the kitchen.
We head to the goblin market posing as travelers, purchase treats and arrange for a meeting with the hag.
The kids cause a commotion to lure the tin soldiers into the garden. We use the distraction to free the kids from the workshop.

First, Will asks us to talk to the unicorn Lamorna at Wayward Pool. Only unicorns can reach the shore, however, the magic protecting the lake can’t distinguish between a real and imaginary unicorn. On a small island in the middle of the lake, we’ll find an iron bowl filled with fresh coals. Summoning the unicorn can be accomplished by lighting a fire in that bowl.

Only unicorns can reach the shore of Wayward Pool, but the magic protecting the pool can’t tell the difference between a real unicorn and a make-believe one. To reach the lake themselves, the kids created a crude unicorn costume under which they can hide. (They keep the costume in their treehouse and can lend it to the characters, although it’s big enough to hold only two adults.) Tying a wooden horn to one’s head also bypasses the pool’s magical ward. On a small island in the middle of the lake, the characters can find an iron bowl filled with fresh coals. Summoning the unicorn can be accomplished by lighting a fire in that bowl.

A squad of tin soldiers defends Loomlurch, but they’re easily lured away by distractions. The children being held captive in the workshop are haunted by boggles—oily creatures that sprout from the children’s misery. Granny Nightshade imprisons her most hated enemies in a cell inside her kitchen.

IX. Waylard Pool to Loomlurch

As we’re contemplating our next steps, the odd-looking oil lamp jumps from its corner and asks us to bring back boggle oil from Loomlurch.

On our way to the lake, we come across a campfire in the forest. A frying pan with melted butter rests on nearby rock and a campestri is in the process of dipping his caps into the butter. Daphne inquires what he’s doing. He explains that a recent acquaintance suggested he do so and promised him a bath in the evening. A goblin appears from the brush and is surprised to find us with his dinner. He offers us candy, Hero With No Name eats hers right away. Fireflies swarm her and light the area around her. Raven and Suz follow her example; their heads swell to twice their usual size. Kor’Kaana eats the candy, seemingly to no affect. When he touches Lor’themar’s armor, he leaves indelible marks. He tries to touch Juniper who strikes a menacing pose toward him.

Kor’Kaana asks the goblin about his boss, granny nightshade. He shares that she puts him to work in her toy shop and has a large key sticking out her back as if she was wind-up toy herself.

We reach the lake shores. Among the mist drifting over the water, we make out a rocky island in the middle. Suz undresses, bundles his clothes atop his enlarged head and starts to swim. Kor’Kaana and Lor’themar fly over on the dragonfly. Daphne feeds some meat to Juniper, then swims after Suz. Hero With No Name and Raven stay behind.

We reach the island and Daphne casts create bonfire on the bowl of coals. The mist parts and a white unicorn emerges. Suz, still buttnaked, steps forward and calls out to Lamorna. He explains our quest and asks for her help. Lamorna tells us that the hags used her friend’s horn and other items to imprison Zybilna. There’s a library on the second floor of Zybilna’s palace, but she warns us of a jabberwock that prowls the forest and once it has laid its eyes on someone will never relent. She invites us to rest by the lake and use its magic properties.

Suddenly, white fangs and blades flash around Lamorna as two orcs attack. Initiative! Lamorna reacts instantly and disappears through a portal. One orc throws a smoke bomb between Daphne and Suz and closes with Daphne. He stabs her and throws a dagger at Hero With No Name, poisoning and thus downing her. Kor’Kaana casts faerie fire, illuminating the orc for all to see. Raven casts dissonant whispers and charms him. Lastly, Raven gives bardic inspiration to Daphne, Suz, and Kor’Kaana. The shadowy orc sneaks upon Lor’themar and deals necrotic damage. Daphne heals Hero With No Name and conjures a wildfire spirit behind the shadowy orc. The spirit teleports Lor’themar to the other side of the orc. The poisoned dagger flies at Kor’Kaana. Hero With No Name casts eldritch blast at the illuminated orc. Suz misses with the crossbow, but stabs the orc twice before disappearing back into the smoke. Lor’themar slashes the shadowy orc with his greatsword who disintegrates as the shining blade moves through him.

The remaining orc runs around the smoke and throws a dagger at Kor’Kaana, breaking his concentration. He drinks a potion of invisibility. Kor’Kaana casts thunderwave against the magic dagger, which is lobbed away from him. Raven calls out to the charmed orc: “Come here and show yourself.” The orc responds: “I want to kill the unicorn.” “The unicorn is gone, didn’t you see the portal?” “Then I’ll be gone as well.” “Wait, if you stay we have something for you.” “I want gold.” “Why are you here? What do you want?” “We are the league of malevolence. We are hired by the hourglass coven to help them against Zybilna. We need a unicorn horn to free our leaders.”

Daphne casts dispel magic to lift the orc’s invisibility. Hero With No Name eldritch blasts him. Suz emerges briefly from the smoke to shoot at the orc, but misses. Lor’themar misty steps next to the orc to slash at him. The orc throws another smoke bomb, concealing himself, Raven, and Lor’themar. He stabs Raven. Kor’Kaana casts faerie fire once more, but the orc passes the saving throw. Raven casts mirror image, but is hit anyway. Daphne has her wildfire spirit teleport her toward the orc. The magic dagger is destroyed by the ensuing fire blast. She casts thorn whip towards the orc and pulls him half out of the smoke. Suz emerges once more, misses with the crossbow and two daggers. Lor’themar swipes at the orc with the greatsword for a critical hit 20, taking off his head.

We loot his body and find a potion of greater healing, a cloak of displacement and glamoured studded leather armor.

We level up to level 6.

We return to shore to rest for the night with Juniper. Daphne and Kor’Kaana hunt for small animals in the morning.

Arriving in Loomlurch, we meet Will and the other kids near a massive fallen log. We go over the plan once more, then split up again. We head for the market, a smattering of little stalls watched over by the enormous trees.

Raven asks one of the shopkeepers what the coolest thing is he sells. He produces an orb of mud. Asked why it’s cool, he throws the ball in Raven’s face: “Hehehe, that’s why it’s fun.” Suz asks what the most expensive item is that he sells. The goblin shows off a vial of drow poison: “200 gold.” Suz feigns disinterest but gets a glimmer in his eyes. Kor’Kaana catches on and distracts the seller while Suz snags two poison vials.

At the candy store, Kor’Kaana buys a bag of five random candies. The store owner points us to a goblin with an apple head sitting by a bonfire to arrange a meeting with the hag. We approach him and pretend to have information on Will to get a meeting. He asks us to check on Mishka in return for a favor.

He opens a door for us and leads us into a chamber nestled between roots. “Granny Nightshade will be with you soon.” Seven armchairs are set around a table on which tea has already been served. To the side is a painted wooden box with a crank on the side, like a jack-in-the-box. Daphne casts dispel magic on the box and out pops a green dragon wyrmling.

Granny Nightshade walks through the door. “Sit down children. Let’s have some tea.”

X. Granny Nightshade

Raven offers some information about Will to the hag, who makes us offers in exchange: buried to our necks in silver, 10 of our best years back, or one item from the workshop. Raven says he was hired by a client who wants his imagination back, and also his faith. The hag says for two items, she wants a second favour: either to disrupt a theatre play, or a unicorn horn. Raven asks to see the imagination and faith before, but she says she cannot show “imagination”. We learn items get transfigured into something physical. At this point, a commotion outside gets her attention and she leaves through the inside door.

We immediately follow her, and inside the next room find three children playing. Kor’Kaana runs to them and starts asking questions, but they’re afraid: goblins work for the hag. Raven convinces them everything is fine, and they say the hag left through the garden’s door. They give Lor’Themar the kitchen key. One of the kids asks the Hero With No Name to save their friend Oink, who is in the garden. She successfully calms them down. She also summons her familiar, and leaves it as a lookout, looking at the garden through a window.

We move to the next room, and get attacked by six tin soldiers. Combat

After the fight, Kor’Kaana goes up the stairs while the others go to the next room. Upstairs he finds two kids. He tells them to come down fast, but one is sick from something he ate, and cannot walk. The other one shushes them. Kor’Kaana summons Lor’Themar to help, and asks what the kid ate. He describes a mushroom which Kor’Kaana sucessfully identifies as poisonous. Lor’Themar lays hands to purify poison. Then he asks why the other one was shushing. That kid shily admits to being a snitch for the witch. They go down with the children in tow.

In the meantime, downstairs, Raven and Hero With No Name open another door, and find a sewing workshop. They see a giant doll, and two kids repairing it. The doll asks why they’re trespassing there. Hero With No Name successfully convinces her that Skabatha is requesting the children’s help. The children come along.

Past the last door is a hallway. Two side doors lead to rooms full of junk. Inside the third is Sowpig, a female ghoul in a pig’s mark. Raven and Hero With No Name convince her that we’re acting under Skabatha’s order, and ask her to pick some items in her bedroom. She says she cannot, though Skabatha’s is not magically protected, it’s locked and she doesn’t have the key.

Past the last door, they see another staircase, two more doors and five portraits. Two they immediately recognise as Bavlorna and Skabatha. After putting their heads together, they realise another is Tasha. Kor’kaana fails to recognise one, but he thinks she might be Baba Yaga, so the last one must be Endelyn. Thorns cover the bottom of the portraits. Raven opens his Bag of Holding, and Hero With No Name manages to put Skabatha’s painting inside without hurting herself.

Raven smells food, and opens the kitchen. They see a dwarf, a child in chains, and another one inside a locked trapdoor. Lor’Themar unsuccesfully tries to break the trapdoor, and the chained child says the kitchen key opens the chain. Using his all-purpose-tool, Kor’Kaana opens the trapdoor. The dwarf makes mention of using the oven to cook the hag.

Hero With No Name’s familiar warns that the commotion is starting to settle down outside. Hero With No Name goes past an ajar door at the end of the kitchen to find yet another staircase, and everyone follows her up the stairs to find the hag’s bedroom. One door leads to a balcony, and bird sounds come from another.

Everything is quite orderly, tidy and clean, except for a decrepit old dollhouse. Raven feels a pull toward it, and approaches it. While he looks, one of the children tugs at his sleeve and shily, quietly says: “Rumpleclump!”. “Rumpleclump?” repeats Raven, and the top of the dollhouse opens. He takes it in his hands and empties the contents onto the witch’s bed: a bird-faced hat and a longsword.

As Raven wears the hat (casting with CHA instead of INT), he’s overwhelmed by dozens of mental images, and falls down. He stands up, grabs a guitar and instantly composes a song: “Imagine all the people…”.

Lor’themar feels drawn to the longsword. As he grabs it, he instantly flashes back to his vows, but the words ring much more meaningful and true. The sword speaks to him about loyalty and devotion, and he feels it deeply inside him.

Kor’Kaana opens the balcony, ties a rope and starts sending the kids down. The dwarf goes along to protect them. In the meantime, Raven and Hero With No Name enter the aviary and start reading the hag’s correspondence.

Kor’Kaana and Lor’Themar run back to check the last tower, and find the last three kids. They start heading back to the bedroom. At this time, Hero With No Name’s familiar alerts her that the hag is coming back with Will. The last kids are evacuated, and everyone meets at the kitchen. Skabatha runs in pissed off. She says no matter what happened, this was worth it, because she remembered who Will is. She dispels a curse, prompting him to start crying: “I didn’t want this to happen, I didn’t want this, I didn’t want this”, as one of his arms starts becoming blue, muscular and disproportionately large.

Will turns into an Oni. Roll initiative.

XI. Oni no

Will writhes on the floor and cries: “Noooo, I don’t want this!” Skabatha laughs and says: “After stealing all my children, you now get to gather them again. But first, deal with these intruders!”

Kor’Kaana catapults a cast iron cauldron at the Oni dealing 30 damage, then runs and hides behind the oven. Raven casts slow on the area around Skabatha and the Oni, then gives bardic inspiration to Lor’themar, Kor’Kaana and Hero With No Name. Skabatha is angered by being slowed. The key in her back slows and slows and slows until it stops. Outside, a rustling gives away a [redcap] stomping towards the kitchen. The Oni has lost all recognition of us that it had as Will. He slowly casts cone of cold, blasting us with shards of ice and a deep cold. Raven loses his concentration, breaking his slow spell. Hero With No Name is instantly frozen and fails her first death saving throw. Suz slings a dagger into the Oni’s stomach, but misses with the crossbow. Skabatha says: “I’ve got business to deal with. Will, I expect you to deal with them and have the children round up once I return. Otherwise you’ll pay for it.” She disappears through the door behind her. Lor’themar casts cure wounds on Hero With No Name, reviving her to 28 hit points, then charges at the Oni, brandishing his blade that flashes with a bright light.

Kor’Kaana fires his gun at the Oni, then hides again. Raven takes off his hat and digs out the scroll of bestow curse. He approaches the Oni and touches it (not in a weird way), thus cursing it to have disadvantage on wisdom. He then casts mass healing word to heal Lor’themar, Kor’Kaana and himself. Hero With No Name hexes the Oni to disadvantage its constitution, then eldritch blasts him for 23 damage. Suz hits the Oni with the crossbow, then slings another dagger at him. Skabatha hops on her rocking horse and rides it into the sky. Lor’themar swings at the Oni with his great sword but misses twice.

Kor’Kaana hexes the Oni for disadvantage on dexterity and hits him with firebolt for 19 damage. Raven takes out his bird pipes to play a discorded melody at the Oni for 14 damage. The Oni backs away in agony. Raven casts command to force the Oni to drop its weapon on its next turn. The redcap enters through the sidedoor, spots Raven and kicks at him with his powerful iron feet. Hero With No Name eldritch blasts the Oni for 12 damage. She closes with the Oni, then dreadful steps away. Suz shoots his crossbow at the Oni, but barely misses. Lor’themar moves to the redcap and slashes it twice for 23 damage.

Kor’Kaana shoots the Oni with a 20 firebolt for 34 damage. His head is engulfed in flames and collapses to the ground. Raven laughs uncontrollably at the redcap’s tiny size, who looks back at him in confusion. Raven runs to finish … his turn behind Suz and Hero With No Name. The redcap cuts down Lor’themar with his sickle. Hero With No Name eldritch blasts the redcap dealing 18 damage with a 20. As the redcap gets hit and starts to bleed, he looks down and smiles creepily. Suz rips his dagger out of the Oni’s stomach before turning towards the redcap and violently stabbing it over and over, blood splattering everywhere. The redcap dies with a wicked grimace on his lips.

Raven and Hero With No Name hear muffled sounds coming from the trapdoor. Raven goes to investigate and finds a gaunt dwarf in chest deep water. He unties the gag and shackles, the dwarf thanks him profusely for freeing him. He introduces himself as Elkhorn, and explains that him and his companions, the league of valor, came to this realm to fight malevolence before he was captured. Kor’Kaana offers him some food, but accidentally hands him a goblin candy, which turns the dwarf into a goblin for a minute. Kor’Kaana chops off the Oni’s skull and takes it with him. The dwarf inquires about the children and is relieved to hear that we’ve freed them. He expresses the wish to reunite with them to thank them and care for them.

We leave the house to meet up with the children who are accompanied by Daphne and Juniper. Daphne is suuuuuper chill thanks to some weeds that the kids have given her. Raven, Daphne and Kor’Kaana do an impromptu celebratory performance. Daphne shares that she wants to return home to her family.

We hear the heavy footsteps of Little Oak, the tree ent, approaching. Out pops the little oilcan and asks for boggle oil, in return for leading us to yonder. Daphne instructs Kor’Kaana to feed Juniper, who snuggles up close to him. We take a long rest inside the tree ent’s belly.

Kor’Kaana crafts a piece of armor for Juniper out of the Oni’s head. Lor’themar attunes to his new unbreakable great sword, which introduces itself with a British accent. Kor’Kaana gifts Daphne a pipe of smoke monsters.

In the morning, Raven walks away from the group, feeling sad about Daphne’s impending departure. She joins him and they chat about their sadness but also their relief at having regained their imagination and chill.

Elkhorn already has his hands full with the children, who have accepted him as a parent.

We follow Squirt, the oilcan, into the roiling mists to head towards yonder.

Rocky peaks, thunderclouds, and howling winds. Storm clouds roil, shadows take on a life of their own, and the air is filled with a sense of dread. Lightning streaks across the sky, illuminating shining copper rods atop various peaks and plateaus, set there to harness nature’s power. We stand on a path that wends between rocky crags on a mountainside. By the irregular flashes of light across the otherwise darkened sky, we can just make out the outline of a distant pinnacle of rock and notice that an imposing castle has been carved from it.

Lor’themar and Raven notice a loan figure standing on an outcrop of rock not far from us; a slender female elf with a moon mask on her face. Suz runs towards her shouting: “Hey you, have you seen a key?” She looks frightened and denies having seen a key. Kor’Kaana asks her about the energy harnessing contraptions.

The elf introduces herself as Gleam, an acrobat from the Witchlight carnival. She explains that she’s been cursed by Endelyn, the ruler of the realm who snipped away her shadow and imprisoned her twin sister. She reveals that Endelyn can see the future and can only be killed when a total eclipse of the sun occurs. She might be distracted by an exceptional performance.

The korreds, the mountain folk, gather at a circular stone monument and dislike Endelyn. An elf prince is trapped near the circle of chimneys. When lit, the chimneys form a portal to other realms.

XII. Oh Yonder

We decide to head towards the stone monument to form an alliance with the mountain folk. As we’re wending our way through the mountain, we come upon three giant goats.

“When the moon obstructs the sun, Creeping Lyn will come undone.” “Play to her passions. Stay on script. A cat, a horn, or a shadow ripped.” “The fool’s scepter is the key.”

The goats look at us with expecting eyes. Kor’Kaana offers them some rations, which they accept and walk away.

8 monoliths hewn from as many types of stone checker board, ongoing game, Suz, survival 20, notices 2 pairs of hoof prints going to one of the monolith game called crowns shale can beat chalk in a single move, Suz does it the shale pillar starts to rumble, laughter, a small 75cm tall woman chalk pillar shakes, a small figure comes out grumbling

The lady thanks Suz for beating her cousin on her behalf and gifts him a star sapphire.

Kor’Kaana asks for a sapphire, she answers that this would require a favor in return

Endelyn stole hair from the mountain folk to power her ?

Suz introduces himself and asks for their names. Argantle, Yagu, elected queen of the mountain folk.

Suz suggests an alliance, but the korreds are weary since they’ve revolted before, with frightening results

the wind picks up slightly, carrying the faint sound of pick axes. Argantle and Yagu shout “death to the brigganocks” (the mining people) and throw boulders into the direction of the sound until it stops. They’re aligned with Endelyn who needs their precious gems to make her future predictions more accurate.

Argantle recommends disrupting the brigganocks first, to weaken and anger Endelyn.

Kor’Kaana asks whether they were born from this particular mountain or the entire mountain range. In response, the 6 other mountain folks step forward. “We’re from everywhere”.

we may learn to control the ropes like they do if we dance with them Raven takes out his bird pipes and begins to jam. Two korreds join in and the others begin to dance wildly. We join in. afterward, touches Kor’Kaana’s and Suz’s temple, they can now hairbend

Kor’Kaana makes a small rock float. Argantle gifts him a jade in return. Kor’Kaana: “Thank you miss queen” Suz: “is that miss or misses?” Argantle: “Deal with the brigganocks and come back” Suz: “it’s a date” 😉

shadow agents will have been attracted by the noise and are likely heading our way, so the mountain folk meld back into their monolith.

we head down the mountain towards the entrance of the mines young goblin standing at the edge of a rock, the wind whipping in her hair. she’s struggling to hold a kite in the storm. the kite appears to be alive, with a malicious grin stretched across its canvas and 5 bows:

insert poem from Jillian

if i let go of this string, creeping Lyn says I’ll become an old thing. The curse come from the blue bows, but they won’t come off while the wind blows

cursed by Endelyn for stealing from her theater

Hero With No Name asks her familiar to remove the bows but they can’t Kor’Kaana shoots a firebolt at the kite 20, laughing turns into shrieking as the kite burns into ash

The girl thanks Kor’Kaana, Kor’Kaana holds out a hand demandingly: “reciprocity”

“yes, of course!” she produces a ball in the cup toy. He rolls 20, getting the ball in the cup straight away. He offers her goblin candy, her head grows to twice its regular size

She’ll hide away in a cave for a while and live off the lizards. Raven recommends to cook them, which she finds strange as she prefers them squirming. “I’m a bird” :peck: :peck:

We arrive at the entrance of the mine. the sound of many pickaxes grows louder. Kor’Kaana feeds Juniper some rations and promises her some brigganocks to snack on.

Lor’themar casts light as we walk into the tunnel. The noise briefly pauses as we pass the threshold, then slowly resumes. The tunnel corkscrews deeper and deeper into the mountain. The sound is all around us but doesn’t seem to come closer.

Lor’themar suggests knocking against the walls to mimic the sound. he first tries a hammer, then a fork. the sounds pause briefly in response

Suddenly, Suz, Kor’Kaana and Raven fall into a magical slumber. Hero With No Name casts invisibility on herself and Lor’themar pretends to sleep. after a few minutes, a group of small creatures emerges from a tunnel nearby. size of a rat, pickaxes, wheelbarrows with a small light above their heads

they tap their pickaxes to the ground and within an instant the four sleeping ones are restrained, prone and unable to stand

in walks a regular sized, humanoid figure: Moliver

what are you doing here? Suz: “looking for shiny things” deception, removed the restrains

wishstones (echos of wishes that have found their way into the stone) yellow is good natured, purple is bad natured. brigganocks refuse to turn the bad natured ones into gemstones and throw them into a chasm instead.

the brigganocks are no friends of the hag, their chief architect is imprisoned by her. Ironically, they distrust the korreds as they “give” their hair to Endelyn

Endelyn has a room of machines and magic to calculate possible futures

Moliver reveals that there is a tunnel that goes straight into Endelyn’s palace. We must pass a test to be granted access to it: cross the chasm of bad natured wishes

Moliver used to be a rogue, a liberator of ill-gotten goods

Raven persuades Moliver that the korreds are in the same situation as the brigganocks, under the yolk of Endelyn. Moliver is surprised and hopeful, but cautions that this will need deliberation of the council of the brigganocks.

In the meantime, he invites us to brave the chasm. 100 foot gap spanned by a narrow wooden bridge. faint glows of purple at the bottom

3 skulls engulfed in green flames

roll initiative

Hero With No Name walks onto the bridge hesitantly then turns invisible. 2 skulls charge forward and attack HWNN for 24 fire damage. Raven and Lor’themar take the next hits. HWNN misty steps behind the third skull in reaction. Raven charges onto the bridge next using mirror image to confuse the skulls. He attempts to cast command, but the skeletons only stare back with lifeless eye sockets. Kor’Kaana casts hex to lower a skull’s wisdom, followed by a pair of eldritch blasts. Cracks appear in the bone above a skull’s eye socket.

Ike, Kor’Kaana’s giant dragonfly, picks him and Suz up and flies them to the middle of the bridge. Suz runs at the skull blocking the way and hacks it to pieces with his dagger. Lor’themar casts protection from evil & good and shield of faith, then walks onto the bridge to bring up the rear.

HWNN dashes across the second half of the bridge. One skull moves back and throws fire rays at Suz and Kor’Kaana, while the other attacks Lor’themar and Raven. Raven dashes across most of the bridge. Kor’Kaana returns fire at the skull that attacked him, blasted out big chunks of bone. Suz fires a crossbolt into a skull, misses with a dagger, then walks across. Lor’themar races and misty steps onto the other side.

We find ourselves inside a small grotto and are surprised to see a small pony towards the back. The pony is carrying a small wooden hut. Raven tries to pet the pony, but it steps away. We gently knock at the wooden door and a tiny old brigganock pokes his head out. We ask him for access to the secret tunnel and for a pause in mining until Moliver can convene the council.

He shares that the tunnel leads underneath the theater and that Endelyn’s spies are the shadows that she’s cut from folks who’ve crossed her. He waves at the rock wall at the back of the grotto and the minor disillusion disappears revealing the secret tunnel.

Another brigganock rounds the corner with a wheelbarrow. He hands Kar’Kaana and Suz a yellow wishstone and HWNN a purple one. Raven receives a blue wishstone, a completely neutral wish never found before. They did not find a stone for Lor’themar.

HWNN sends Biscuits, her familiar, to send a message to Gleam and Queen Argantle. We settle down to rest and await the decision of the brigganock council.

XIII. Bird stew

Biscuits returns with news from the korreds, they’re still weary but are willing to meet with the brigganocks. The brigganocks have finished their deliberations and decided to place their trust in us and speak to the korreds.

We leave the mines and head for neutral grounds by the lake with some brigganock representatives.

On our way, we see a wooden pageant wagon, a tall figure walking beside it. As it approaches, a curtain opens up revealing a puppet theater. The unfolding scene recounts our group’s journey through Yon so far. Once the play is over, the figure hands us scrolls looking like a ticket, then they and the wagon disappear into thin air.

We continue on and meet Argantle and Yuga. They demand an explanation and we share that the brigganocks are oppressed by Evelyn same as the korreds. Argantle agrees to make peace with the brigganocks on behalf of her people. We decide to retreat into the mines where Endelyn’s shadows can’t follow us to make a plan of attack.

We will accept Endelyn’s invitation and distract her with a performance.
Gleam will take the secret tunnel and meet Lor’themar and HWNN underneath the theater. Suz will shapeshift to fill their roles and disguise their absence. We will perform our journey through the feywild.
The others will find & destroy Endelyn’s machinery and free Gleam’s sister.
Finally, we’ll look for our lost things

We set off to the palace, stopping by the elven beacons. The spires ring a lake, where a lone figure rows a boat, climbs one of the spires and lights the torch on top. Eight perytons observe his actions with mocking laughter. As the elf climbs down and rows to the next beacon, the perytons extinguish the newly lit flame with the wind of their giant wings.

Kor’Kaana conjures a little canon and tasks the homunculus with carrying it atop one of the beacons. He climbs onto Ike, his dragonfly companion. Raven mimics the noises of the perytons to mock them. They notice Raven and clap back.

Kor’Kaana fires the canon at one beacon and firebolts at two others. It doesn’t work and it’s unclear why. We call out to the elf who explains that the beacons have to be lit by one person at a time since the portal can only carry one person at a time.

We threaten the perytons to stand down but they refuse.

Roll initiative

Kor’Kaana casts hex (wisdom) at one of the perytons, then shoots his musket but misses. We trade insults with the perytons and they reveal that they are a theater group that was turned into birds by Endelyn. This piques our interest and we try to convince them to join us. They challenge us to a performance and we nail it, so they agree to help us. However, they refuse to perform with us. When we question their abilities, they perform an hour long silent performance.

Kor’Kaana questions their skills thus offending them. They are PISSED and want to fight us after all.

Back to initiative

HWNN hexes (wisdom) one of the perytons, then eldritch blasts him. Suz shoots his crossbow at one of them. The perytons fly over to us and attack with their beaks and talons. Raven casts hypnotic pattern to charm and incapacitate half the perytons. Lor’themar slashes one of the perytons with his greatsword, severely injuring it.

Kor’Kaana casts hex (wisdom) and true strike. HWNN eldritch blasts and kills a peryton, who splashes into the water below. Suz shoots another peryton out of the sky and he joins his brethren floating in the water. One of the uncharmed perytons shakes the others out of it. Raven dissonant whispers at one peryton: “Your mother loved your brothers more than you”. He then gives bardic inspiration to Lor’themar. Lor’themar swings his greatsword, taking down a perython and hurting another.

Kor’Kaana casts shatter, injuring 3 perytons. HWNN eldritch blasts and kills another peryton. Suz stabs and downs a fifth peryton. One of the remaining perytons slashes at Raven with his talons. Another headbutts Kor’Kaana. Raven inspires Lor’themar once more, who skewers the sixth peryton to death.

Kor’Kaana flies over the lake and offs the seventh peryton from a distance. HWNN hexes (wisdom) the remaining peryton and blasts him. Suz finishes the job with his dagger.

Alagarthas, the person in the rowing boat, reaches us just as the fight is over. He is finely dressed like an elven prince. He thanks us for ridding him of the perytons who have been hounding him for years. He offers us information as thanks. He has come to this realm to seek help from Endelyn to fight a green dragon that is threatening his kingdom and people, but she denied him. Suz suggests that he join the sneaking party as a guide and recover his armor. He shares that Endelyn doesn’t like comedy or happy endings and prefers tragedies and dark humor.

Lor’themar lends his other greatsword to Alagarthas who agrees to go to the mines to join Gleam through the secret tunnel. Raven gives him his blue wishstone as proof that he should be trusted by the brigganocks.

XIV. A tragedy in the making

We track up one of the nearby hills to inspect one of the lightning rods. The rods are roughly 30 feet tall with a 10 feet copper symbol atop. Electricity arcs from the sky and hits the rods in the continously raging storm. Kor’Kaana throws a dagger at a rod but misses. Suz takes a shot at it and scratches the shaft. The dagger seems unaffected. Suz convinces Kor’Kaana to touch the rod and he receives a mild static shock.

Suz suggests overloading the system, but generating more electricity than the storm seems unlikely. We all try to push on the rod together which groans but doesn’t budge. Lor’themar tries to hack out a piece of copper with his greatsword with no success.

While the others settle down for the night, Suz uses his dagger to carve a heart with his name and Argantle’s name into the rod. He saves the copper shavings for Kor’Kaana. Kor’Kaana crafts some small wind-up figurines.

Raven proposes to Kor’Kaana but he declines. He proposes to HWNN instead who accepts. HWNN touches herself and Raven while she performs the wedding ritual. Their AC increases by 2 for 7 days as long as they are within 30 ft of eachother.

We wake up to the same stormy sky, pack up camp and hike toward the castle. We follow the winding path and then up a spiral staircase to reach the front door. Suz knocks and the doors swing open. A goblin in a jester’s costume greets us and beckons us to follow him. He leads us to the amphitheater where darklings fill the rows. A performance seems to have just concluded and the crowd claps politely. The performers, a handful of masked goblins, look wearily towards Endelyn in an alcove above for her reaction.

Endelyn turns to us and asks: “Will you perform for me today?” Raven promises a dramatic retelling of our journey through the feywild. Endelyn agrees and leaves so we can prepare. The stage fright gives us a tour of the stage ending at the prop room where we can pick out whatever we need. Raven finds studded armour.

The stage fright takes us to a circular room where a bugbear, Hurly, in a green dragon costume sits. He appears dejected. He wanted to be liked and made a deal with Endelyn. We convince him to join our performance. He leads us to an adjoining room where we meet the other resident performers, Diamanda, Elegy, Elemic, and Puff. We try to convert them to our cause, but are interupted by the stage fright who overheard our conversation and gets suspicious.

We follow the stage fright back to the stage where he introduces us to Endelyn. Raven uses some pixie dust to slowly float upwards and begins to play the bird pipes. We start by acting out how we each lost our things.

After their performance, Lor’themar and HWNN leave the stage back to the entrance to stand behind the stage fright. They surprise attack him and cut him down. Endelyn overhears the sounds of murder. Kor’Kaana is on stage acting out his backstory, opposite Suz as his mom. Suz, thinking quickly, slaps Kor’Kaana across the face and starts berating him as a parent would, snatching back Endelyn’s attention.

HWNN and Lor’themar drag the stage fright’s body to the back room with a wooden lever. They place the body on the platform and pull the lever. The platform lowers into the ground, they hear a “What the fuck?!” and then the elevator reappears with the body. While stashing the body in a corner, they find some paint buckets and use the different colors to disguise the trail of blood they left behind.

On stage, Suz is acting out his backstory, including how he met Kor’Kaana and their raiding days together.

HWNN and Lor’themar take the elevator down to the understage. They are immediately noticed by Skylla, a humanoid in a very tight dress. She shouts “Nocturna” and waves her wand, bringing to life several objects throughout the room. The few goblins around the room cover in fear and seek cover, clearly not wanting to be involved in what’s about to unfold. Skylla disappears.

HWNN can sense her familiar, Biscuit, nearby and conveys through her to Gleam and Alagarthas to reveal themselves.

The objects take swing at Lor’themar and HWNN, causing bludgeoning damage. Lor’themar hacks apart a wooden coffin. HWNN eldritch blasts an eagle statue. Golmo, a brigganock chained to a chair, also disappears.

Upstairs, Kor’Kaana, Raven and Suz are acting out the witchlight carnival, particularly the snail race. Every time Suz exits and re-enters the scene, he does so as a different person. Endelyn doesn’t appear to notice.

Under the stage, HWNN ices a statue of a woman which shatters. A piece of wall clonks HWNN. They all miss Lor’themar, who swipes at the eagle statue in turn. He whiffs too. Gleam and Alagarthas appear from an adjoining room with korreds and brigganocks streaming in behind them. They cast fairy fire, but it reveals no other person in the room. They quickly overpower the objects.

On stage, Suz and Kor’Kaana are re-enacting the mystery mine ride. Endelyn is enjoying Suz’s dispair when suddenly Skylla appears on the side stage and shouts: “Endelyn, there are intruders!” Endelyn jumps onto her ornothopter and flies down to the stage: “What’s the meaning of this?!”

XV. Things go batly

For the first time, we see Endelyn up close for the first time. She’s a small, emaciated form hidden under layers upon layers of custumes and mechanics. She gets off the ornithopter and turns to Skylla, who is holding the brigganock architect by the neck. Skylla explains what transpired downstairs without identifying the intruders.

HWNN takes the elevator back upstairs and sneaks to the entrance of the amphitheater. Endelyn spots her, same as Skylla who shouts: “There, that’s one of them there!” She smacks her staff on the ground and sparkling armour grows around her body. Skylla walks across the stage towards HWNN, handing off Golmo to a darkling on the way. Suz charges at Skylla, but despite catching her by surprise, fails to land the first hit. His second swing with the dagger catches her arm before he retreats towards HWNN. Kor’Kaana conjures an autocannon, then runs for Endelyn’s ornithopter which lies discarded on the floor. He jumps on it, shouts “Up we go!” and takes off.

Downstairs, our allies have finished cleaning up and turn to Lor’themar: “What do you need us to do?” “Follow me!”, he responds.

The darklings in the bleachers spring into action on Endelyn’s command. Some rush towards HWNN and throw their daggers. Some close with Kor’Kaana, who casts shield as a reaction. Six come for Suz, who dodges all but one. The others attack Raven. Raven casts mirror image and beguiling magic, targeting Endelyn. She withstands it and is more angered by it. Raven then uses command against Skylla, also without success.

Lor’themar directs the brigganocks to take the stairs and leads Gleam, Alagarthas, and the korreds to the elevator and to the amphitheater upstairs.

Endelyn’s mechanical hands whip away from her body towards Kor’Kaana and pull him towards her. HWNN uses eldritch blast to take out the darkling Vanessa and to injure Adam. Skylla bonks Suz with her staff. He smiles at her: “Let’s dance, honey” then shifts and moves around her to stab her twice. Kor’Kaana pulls out a Homunculus from his pocket, then casts web on a group of darklings and Skylla below. He directs his autocannon to set the net ablaze. The darklinks Paula Tejano and Paula Tejano Junior wither away into ash.

The brigganocks come rushing up the stairs and throw themselves into the fray alongside the korreds. The korreds hurl stones at Adam, Bob, Charlotte, Dennis, and Hector, killing most of them. Gleam attacks Hector but misses. Alagarthas runs at Hector and Iolanda, slashing them with his greatsword. They stab him in return. Two brigganocks are brought down by other darklings. Maria lobs a dagger at Kor’Kaana and crits. Omar attacks Raven and destroys a mirror image. Karina nicks Suz and Quasimodo injures HWNN. Raven tries to pull a fireball out of his hat of many spells, but instead a cloud of knoxious gas escapes, poisening the darkling in the vicinity. Lor’themar casts aid on Gleam, HWNN, and Alagarthas.

Endelyn throws a polymorph at Raven to try to turn him into a full bird. HWNN rushes down the stairs and misty-steps into a group of darklings, then eldritch blasts Karina do RH, a darkling. Skylla tries to bonk Suz again, but misses. Suz stabs her twice and she drops to the floor, dropping her staff. Suz snatches it and runs up the stairs towards HWNN. Kor’Kaana casts cure wounds on himself and uses his protectorcannon to regain additional hitpoints. The brigganocks swing their pickaxes to kill Bolsonaro and injure Uriel and Ronaldinho Gaúcho. The korreds knock out Maria and Giuzão. Gleam throws a moonray at Endelyn and turns her into a bat: “That’s for my sister!” 🦇

The darklings flee out of the stink cloud. Uriel throws a dagger at Kor’Kaana. Trump and Ronaldinho Gaúcho miss their attacks on the brigganocks. Raven opens his bag of holding and casts suggestion on Endelyn but she resists. Lor’themar cleaves Hector and Iolanda with his greatsword on a 20. He misty steps to Endelyn and pokes her with the sword. On taking damage, she turns back into herself.

Endelyn whips her puppeteer lashes at Lor’themar but can’t grab on. Then she turns and flees onto the platform behind the stage, yelling “Scab, I need your rocking horse!” She disappears from view. HWNN and Suz reach the top of the staircase and see into a large library beyond the amphitheater where a darkling elder is sitting in an armchair. HWNN runs at him and eldritch blasts him. Suz follows and stabs him in the heart. As the elder dies, a blinding flash of light erupts from his body. Kor’Kaana flies the ornithopter a bit higher and addresses the darklings: “We have no beef with you! Your master has left. Drop your weapons!” They comply and shuffle to the sides. The battle ends.

The korreds collect their rocks and the brigganocks wipe the blood off their pickaxes. We gather in the library to take a short rest. Kor’Kaana casts identify on Skylla’s staff. It’s an Eldritch Staff, a magic quarterstaff that grants a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with it. Suz attunes to it.

The library we find ourselves in contains thousands of thin black books with golden hourglass symbols. Each of them contains handwritten notes from Endelyn of possible horrible futures that she has gleamed. Two verses stand out in particular:

All I’ve wrought shall come undone When the moon blots out the sun.

The sweet treachery we three have wrought— Would Iggwilv forgive us? Ha! I think not.

We head out to explore. HWNN leads the way and knocks on a door at the end of a hallway. A darkling elder opens and seems unconcerned: “Yeah yeah, I’m very busy”. The room is lined with wooden masks. A goblin is locked in a cage to the side. In the middle of a room, a goblin is strapped to a chair between two metal rods. As the elder flips a lever, lightning arcs between the rods and turns the goblin into a wooden mask which clatters to the floor. “Binky!” exclaims the other goblin in horror.

Raven imitates Endelyn’s voice to call the elder over and casts sleep. We find the keys on his body and free Vig, the goblin, from the cage. Raven releases the elder from his sleep. Suz asks him for a way to reverse the mask effect, but despite threats to his life, he insists that he’s never seen it done. Suz drags him out of the cage and straps him to the chair. “Last chance. Tell us how to reverse it or you’ll be a mask forever.” He doesn’t budge and Suz pulls the lever. A new mask clatters to the floor. Suz pulls the lever again, but the mask remains unchanged.

Meanwhile, Lor’themar and Kor’Kaana enter a different door and find themselves in a corridor with paintings of a moonlit graveyard. At the end of the corridor, they stop in front of a door. The stone plate below them quivers, Kor’Kaana is quick enough to step off it, but Lor’themar falls into a deep pit filled with grave dirt. To the side leans a wooden grave stone prop with his name on it. Kor’Kaana fetches the ornithopter and throws it down to Lor’themar. They continue through the next door into a small theather. Rows of seats face a small stage with a small light hover above the stage. Kor’Kaana pokes the light and the shadows move, but not all: some shadows remain in their place in the shape of goblins, a bugbear, and an elf. Kor’Kaana shouts for Gleam, who promptly falls in the trapdoor again. She confirms that one of the shadows used to be hers. They try to align with each other, but the shadow doesn’t re-attach. Kor’Kaana asks the shadow to go down the trapdoor and casts firebolt. The shadow dissipates in the light and flame and when they look over, Gleam has her shadow again. Kor’Kaana vaporizes the shadow of the bugbear in a similar manner, and then the others.

We level up to level 8.