Session 62: On the Road Again Report
General Summary
The witch Cereniya is defeated, the crystal spire of The Worm That Walks destroyed, and the land returned to the faithful. The Roses even created a new, magnificent and divinely hallowed, temple dedicated to The Source Of Justice And Life. A place protected from horrors and evil, where quiet courage may be found, filled with the light of dawn at all times, and where all may understand one another. The Roses still have a quest to complete, however, and this detour took much longer than anticipated. It is a long journey North to the twin cities of Arenfell and Sudafell, through the undiminished dangers of the Sudarnen Badlands.
The Roses discussed, for a time, where to go next. Deciding, after quite a bit of discussion and debate, against taking a chance on magical transit to uncertain destination, the group chose to use other magic to travel rapidly north within the badlands, seeking to explore an ancient castle some fifteen hundred miles north. After using some powerful magic of both item and spell, the group raced north, fast and tireless. They traveled overland incredibly quickly, taking some care to ensure they were not surprised by unexpected encounters. Unfortunately, they did encounter a large troop of constructs who noticed the party rushing across the open terrain, and gave chase for over a day before the group finally, thanks to Cigfran , lost them in a mire where a very large frog-like creature with tentacles that tore the constructs apart. Eventually, arriving near the completely intact castle, with an inhabited town in the valley surrounding the castle. The group chose to take a day in a nearby box canyon where Roy conjured a hidden lodge where they could rest in relative safety, enabled when Cigfran found a live chameleon nearby. The next day, observing the castle and environs more closely, they realized, thanks to Jeeves ' Healer's Sight, this place was not where it appeared; it existed in another space and time as some form of prison for ancient evil. Merely approaching close enough to enter the valley could easily result in the party becoming trapped in this realm of dread and horror with no means of escape. Roy argued they could continue, confident they could somehow find a way out of this divine prison. The rest eventually determined it could not be risked. Roisin Marshfield finally decided that the group would go to Arenfell, and not risk this possible cosmic trap. The group took another day so that Roy could prepare this magic. Jeeves noticed the following morning that the castle and valley were gone, replaced by a rugged mountainous environment.
Roy conjured a teleportation circle, the group rushed through, and found themselves standing upon the yoke of an ancient petrified tree, a space fully 30 feet across and roughly an hundred twenty feet above the forest floor. Leaping down, they floated to the ground thanks to Roy 's magic. The group continued toward town from this landmark Cigfran described as "Stone Tree". About half way to town, however, the group encountered a few lovers wandering the forest, and also a herd of lycanthropic wereboars. A short, but savagely brutal, combat followed. Roy died in the fight, but Boris revived him once the lycanthropes were vanquished. Jeeves did his best to patch everyone up, and they made their way in to town where they stopped in a small park-like area to take a short rest among the immense trees of this green city.
