Session 88: A Dance Among The Green Wood Report
General Summary
As a silence settled over the group, they began to discuss, quietly, what they might need to do next. The first concern was Roisin's request to retrieve the petrified ZCorthrin, make it somehow portable, and keep it with them so the thrice-damned wizard would not be inadvertently destroyed and possibly reborn via yet another Clone. Boris and Jeeves dragged the statue through the crystal, unavoidably encountering a lot of sharp crystals in the process, and breaking a great many more. The sharp crystal edges cut away at Jeeves and Boris, although Boris injuries turned out to be mere illusion. Jeeves used magical oil to cause the statue to shrink to a mere 6 inches then flatten into a familiar leather patch. As the statue transformed, there was a flash of light and Jeeves found himself holding a large metal key. Roisin opened her magical "purse"; suddenly experienced excruciating pain and as she opened her mouth to scream all of her teeth were forcibly torn from her jaws, falling to the floor, as Roisin herself dropped to her knees screaming in pain. It took a few minutes for the small princess to recover as her friends gathered close. They hauled out empty containers and began filling them with Greenwood Crystal fragments. Jeeves, meanwhile, suggested using Orwinia's Oil on a very large crystal, but asked for a rest before doing so. Roy suggested just having someone else do so, and Boris, after gathering Greenwood, took the oil out to find a large crystal. It took quite a while, but Boris did manage to find and shrink a massive, 2 ton, crystal down to a leather patch. A great many smaller crystals around that large one fed into a surge of raw magic and everyone found themselves frozen in place for the next half hour. Once the effect ended, Boris gathered the item and carried it back to the group. On arrival, Boris placed this patch in the box of similar items kept near the top of Roisin's purse. Near the end of their time while locked in place, Jeeves glowed briefly and found he had gained a limited boon(*).
After completing his tasks, Boris asked again about the Casting Form for the Iron Tone. Jeeves asked if anyone had looked around the dais, and nobody had. Boris and Jeeves immediately investigated the cleared area. Jeeves found a small keyhole in the center of the dais, placed his new key within, and with a bit of jiggling opened the lock. A very well concealed panel released to reveal a small vault beneath, and Jeeves found, within, a three-foot cube of machined star metal that could be separated into halves, with three holes in the top. Recognizing that this was some form of casting form, Jeeves tried to lift it, and realized it was far too heavy to move. With Boris help, and several minutes of struggle, the two managed to wrestle the abnormally heavy object out of the vault. As they did so, the greenwood crystal all around began to shake, and suddenly a storm of shards flooded at them. Most of them dodged the crystals, but Jeeves could not, suffering numerous cuts. The crystal shards formed into a massive creature of crystal in their midst.
Reacting quickly, as the crystals throughout the cavern continued to quiver, Roisin ordered Jeeves to attack, and the healer tried to shock the creature, but missed. Roy backed away, and attempted to blast the creature with eldritch force, but missed. Jeeves then conjured a tolling bell, which weakened the creature, but not by much. The creature followed Jeeves, slaming into him with a massive crystal fist, staggering the healer, as one of his minor magics was drained away to slightly heal the creature. Boris used his favorite cantrip and threw his hammer, using a boon obtained from the raw magic of the region, sacrificed nearly his entire strength to further empower the strike, causing the hammer to blast through the creature several times, utterly destroying it, leaving little more than small shards of Greenwood Crystal which the legendary weapon absorbed, exalting the weapon as Boris fell to his knees, bleeding from his ears and extremely pale, barely able to breathe from the strain and drain upon his strength and life energy.
Jeeves tried to heal the priest, but was unable to do so. Roy attempted to remove any curse that might be preventing healing, but was unable to help, and a surge of raw magic caused him to sink into the stone floor. Roy teleported a short distance, but appeared encased head-to-toe in a plaster cast. Jeeves spent about ten minutes to break Roy free, but there was no further effect. Roy then offered a new magic he had developed, to bring Boris, and himself, out of the normal flow of time for long enough to rest and recover. After some discussion, everyone agreed to try this new magic. Roy broke off a large chunk of Greenwood Crystal, and used that to empower the spell. Roy, Jeeves, and Boris all disappeared as the entire cavern was suddenly inundated with a shower of maggots that piled two feet deep. Roy, Boris, and Jeeves each, individually, found themselves standing alone in a windowless, doorless, room with a fine bed, a well appointed desk and chair, a small table set with utensils for a common meal, a modest basin for washing, a simple tub, and a pump spigot above the basin dispensing water when operated. Each in their isolated rooms so Boris read a new spell from his scroll that conjured some magical berries that satisfied hunger, then spent the day in prayer while Jeeves spent the next sixteen hours working on his puzzle box. After 16 hours all three chose to sleep in the comfortable bed, awakening still in the strange and mysterious room. Boris spent the second day in prayer as Jeeves again spent the day attempting to solve his exceedingly complex puzzle box, but made some mistakes and had to backtrack a good bit. Roy, fully aware of the effects of the spell, spent both days in contemplative study. After a second night's sleep, shortly after awakening, they found themselves standing where they had been, in the massive cavern, now six inches deep in maggots.
Roy, after the fact, explained to everyone that the spell was intended to shunt the recipient out of time for a two day respite, and could only be used very sparingly. Boris tossed one of his goodberries at Jeeves who caught it in his mouth, feeling instantly satiated. Having spent two days without food, Jeeves was somewhat exhausted, and grateful for the food. Roy and Jeeves used minor magic to clear away the live maggots from most of the area around the group as Boris used sacred flames to clear a larger area. Roy explained he could shrink the casting form to a more manageable size and, fortunately, did so without triggering the chaotic magic of the area. Boris, Roy, and Jeeves went searching for a much larger Greenwood Crystal, and found a truly massive crystal cluster. Roy attempted to shrink the crystal, but the raw magic of the region caused the crystal to be consumed, leaving three small diamonds where it had stood, which Boris picked up. Fortunately, Jeeves found an even better cluster above his head almost immediately. This time, when Roy began to conjure the magic, he grasped a chunk from a nearby cluster to power the magic, and the large crystal cluster above shrank down to a leather patch, which fluttered down to Roy's hand. Roy also found his skin to be blood-stained as he left bloody footprints everywhere he walked. Roy tried to clean the stains, but could not. The group picked their way out of the crystal forest, and assessed that they had obtained a full 325 tons of Greenwood Crystal worth over 810,000,000 gold coins in this single patch. They then discussed how to get out of this place most effectively, and the relative risk of magical transit versus several hours of chaotic magic traveling up the stair back to the top of the spire and then facing whatever dangerous creatures exist in the area. They chose to attempt magical transit, and Boris granted Roy a gift of luck, which resulted in another surge of raw magic affecting Boris. Roy chose to attempt transit to Triliobarn where the surroundings were more open.
Roy completed the magic, and a portal formed. As each person stepped through there was an additional surge of magic. Most stepped through without major difficulty. Roisin, unfortunately, found herself nearly an hundred feet above the ground, and fell with a dull thud into the soft earth of a grassy patch, which cushioned much of the impact. They discussed immediately transiting to Levron's Citadel, and the possible difficulties due to the siege and and defenses the citadel might have activated. Much discussion ensued, including considering a boon(**) Boris gained from chaotic magic to teleport a limited number of times. Realizing that even the best options required some additional support, support which wasn't yet prepared, they decided to cross the river and head into the city to, hopefully, rest at a proper inn for a change.
Approaching the city gate, they were stopped by guards who demanded an exhorbitant bribe simply to not charge them with fictitious crimes. Boris, to avoid trouble paid the bribe. Entering the city the group noticed a stark difference from the last time they had been in the city, a mere 3 months before. Where that had been a prosperous city with a bustling trade port and far-flung farms, now the city was filled with dark countanances, every alley and dark shadow seemed occupied by criminals. The guard seemed almost to be helping the criminals, rather than the citizens, and many walked the streets in chains, a condition of servitude strictly forbidden the last time they had visited. Something clearly had gone very very wrong. Jeeves, stepped up to someone nearby and asked "Who rules here?". The individual turned, clearly about to speak harshly and froze. "What's it to...uhhhhhh....uhhhhh, the Lady Corvyn, under the rule of Alathius I. Please don't crush me, you're big. I didn't know they let Ogres come here, now." They then hurried away. Jeeves then noticed someone attempting to steal his magic pouch, turned and kicked the thief, who fell to the ground with a shattered leg, screaming in pain "I wadn't doin nothin bad, just wanna take the fancy pouch!". Somewhere nearby, an arrow lanced out, striking Jeeves in the gut, piercing his flesh and delivering a powerful poison.
Rewards Granted
* Jeeves may instantly gain the benefits of a long rest. Once used this ability cannot be used again until the next dawn. Jeeves may use this ability a total of seven(7) times. After the seventh use Jeeves cannot benefit from any rest until he sleeps for 48 hours without interruption.
** Boris may Teleport, as the spell, three times.
Missions/Quests Completed
- Find the Casting Form for the Iron Tone
- Obtain no less than two tons of Greenwood Crystal for use as flux and admixture both to create the Star Metal/Mithril alloy, and enable the alloy to be melted and poured into the casting form
