Sat 22nd Jun 2019 03:53

Path to Thundertree

by Nepheri

A brief recon with Ellywick and Eye taking point showed no signs of more orcs in the area and so we headed back to Phandalin for our reward. And a warm bed where it wasn't raining, I'm really starting to enjoy the village and its friendly people. My kind isn't always so welcome.
 
It seems Ellywick got caught up in a web of lies, pretending to have a crush on Sildar Hallwinter. Which, of course, is too amusing not to poke her about. And we found out a bit about Sildar's old friendship with a man called Daran Edermath who lives in Phandalin.
 
The mayor appreciated how we solved his orc problem of course. And realised the benefit of the village being in the Raven Queen's favour rather than the opposite and thus he welcomed the shrine I've had constructed. He was less interested in the Tresender family signet ring we found in the Redbrands hideout, despite it being platinum and part of local history. Not that he seemed to know or care that much about history in general. If this man is still alive when his time has come, I pray I'm nearby and can rectify the situation.
 
In any case, our task was to get to the druid Reidoth in Thundertree and so we headed north along the edge of Neverwinter Wood. And for the first day, everything went smooth. It wasn't until night that things started to go... Wrong? Sideways, at least.
 
During my watch, I saw a woman appear among the trees near the woods themselves. She was a stunning presence, naked, with golden hair, and certainly a spiritual air about her. Dryad is my best guess, but I can't be sure.
 
I woke up Ellywick, as I gather she and Rupert are the ones least likely to make a delicate situation worse. Getting Rupert up too, we spoke to the woman, who introduced herself as Niena. And she's very obviously some form of the fey. Apparently, her friend in the forest, Nanna, wanted a kiss. Maybe I should have suspected something from Rupert's friendliness at this point, but I didn't.
 
The friend looked like a beautiful elven woman, which really made me suspicious. Fey always have an ace up their sleeve, a way to manipulate or another angle. Having to kiss a beautiful woman didn't seem enough of a sacrifice. Rupert being immediately forthcoming gave away that they had influence over him and I was prepared to call on all the wrath of the Raven Queen that I could. But I didn't have time to stop the kiss from happening and the elven woman simply turned into a hideous and malformed creature and only by generous imagination resembled a human woman. Rupert seemed less than pleased after the kiss, but as the two beings returned to the forest, I drew a deep sigh of relief. Still, there's no telling what that kiss did to Rupert. A day later, he's still under the spell of Niena, so how long can the hag's influence stretch?
 
We kept our distance to the trees the next day, despite Rupert's reassurances that we weren't in danger. and eventually, we arrived at the ruins of what was once Thundertree. With a stroke of luck, the first house we knocked on was inhabited by none other than Reidoth - the druid we were looking for.
 
It appears that besides being able to give us the location of Cragmore Castle, Reidoth was able to give us quite an update on Thundertree itself. There were three things that he warned us against:

  1. A young, green, dragon has taken residence in what remains of the central tower. Ellywick immediately wanted to investigate, but I would prefer not to have to guide everyone's souls to the afterlife just yet.

  2. A group of people in black cloaks are lurking about. Sounds like some sort of cultists to me, but the danger here is that we know nothing about what we're dealing with.

  3. Lastly, there are a couple of locations haunted by the undead. This, of course, needs to be rectified and eliminating these unholy beings is now our highest priority.

Continue reading...

  1. Business...
    11th of Uktar, 1489
  2. I'm ready for you, Raven Queen
    2nd Uktar, 1489
  3. You killed my father, now prepare to die
    2nd Uktar, 1489
  4. Dust to Dust
    1st of Uktar, 1489 DR
  5. Redbrands I
  6. Arrival at Phandalin
  7. Daddy Dearest
    1st of Uktar
  8. Day after
    30 Marpenoth, 1489 DR
  9. Lawful Stupid
    29 Marpenoth, 1489 DR
  10. Saving private Rupert
    29 Marpenoth, 1489 DR
  11. Dead to me
    29 Marpenoth, 1489 DR
  12. Close to Harvest
    28 Marpenoth, 1489 DR
  13. Recovery
  14. Insane Plans
  15. By the Book
  16. Dead feelings
  17. Disposed
  18. Dead Necromancers are the Best Necromancers
  19. Catching up
  20. Shipping
  21. Friendly or Not
  22. Unexpected Meetings
  23. Worlds Collide
  24. A very different city
  25. Festive Thornhold
  26. Thank you, my Queen
  27. Friends. Right.
  28. This is awkward....
  29. Landslide
  30. Dangerous Gnoll-age (sorry... the puns are spreading...)
  31. Cenceptions
  32. Seduction
  33. Wave Echo Cave II
  34. Wave Echo Cave
  35. Return to Phandalin
  36. Rest in peace, Declan...
  37. Crisis of Faith
  38. Thundertree II
  39. Thundertree I
  40. Path to Thundertree
  41. Orc hunting
  42. Redbrands III
  43. Redbrands II
  44. Far From Home
    ?? ?? ???
  45. Cold
    Tal'dorei, day 2
  46. Life, interrupted
  47. Hot and Cold
  48. The Dragon's Lair
  49. In the afternoon, we plan!
  50. A Song of Ice and Fire
  51. Celebration
  52. Relief is one hell of a drug
  53. Flight and Flutter
  54. Freedom of Movement
  55. At dusk we... do something?
  56. Pray for a quick end to our deception
  57. Catching up
  58. Fall
  59. Lizards in a hole
  60. Not Today
  61. Released
  62. A broken soul
  63. Skyfall
  64. Acid Falls
  65. Roped in
  66. Faith in Friends
  67. Insight into Emon
  68. A Calling
  69. Hypothetical 1: Healer (Ginny Di video)
  70. Hypothetical 3: Matchmaker (Ginny Di video)
  71. Hypothetical 2: Villain (Ginny Di video)
  72. For my Beating Heart
  73. Hypothetical 4: Prison guard (Ginny Di video)
  74. Hypothetical 5: Bard (Ginny Di video)
  75. Plagued Possibilities
  76. Visits in the Cloudtops