Session XXIX: The Whispers from the Wood Report
Rewards Granted
At the beginning of the session, the party was rewarded with the Brass Gem by Crafter, and more information about the Guardians of Greenfell. The party saw for themselves the powerful Colossus, hidden deep underground Crafter's laboratory. However, Heigolor drank the ignition fluid for the Guardian, making it unable to be restarted.
After healing the Conduit, a giant tree situtated at the crossroads of two magical ley lines, the party was able to convince the woodforged of the island to upgrade the Valtis, by transplanting its hull with livingwood—in order to strengthen it in preparation against the Captain. In addition to this, the party was also able to retrieve the Bronze Gem—and Lathtak Pakris with it—from the Heart of the Conduit.
Missions/Quests Completed
The party completed their primary mission of retrieving the Brass and Bronze Gems, and now only have the Silver Gem left to acquire—which rests somewhere on the Frozen Isles.
In addition to this, they also managed to upgrade the Valtis with livingwood, by gaining the favor and assistance of the woodforged. They did this by healing the Conduit, and defeating Pikvarn, an evil and manipulative Deep Crow.
Character(s) interacted with
Crafter
The first character the party interacted with during the session was Crafter, who gave them the Brass Gem. In addition to this, he also showed the party the Colossus Guardian, and revealed information about the origin and nature of the remaining two guardians—the Kraken and Dragon. He also revealed how Greenfell stayed hidden from the continent for so many years—using a series of illusion machines that created "the Veil" of illusions—which hid Greenfell. He also suggested that the party travel to Whisperwood Island, in an attempt to gain livingwood to upgrade their ship. Before the party left the Roaring Island, Crafter revealed to them his intention to hold a summit with the other provisional leaders of Greenfell—Beeker and Dreamer—on the Shimmering Isle, in an attempt to reunify the islands of the Archipelago in case of attacks from the continent, now that the Veil has fallen.Elandril
The party reconvened with Elandril for the first time in weeks, who—when questioned about his disappearance—said he "got lost" and "tripped on a twig," which he claimed knocked him out.Captain Riptide
The party then reunited with Captain Riptide and the crew of the Valtis. The party revealed their plan to upgarde the Valtis, which Riptide was originally unhappy with—as he doesn't want the party to ruin his ship. Riptide also jumped to the party's aid on Whisperwood Island shortly after their arrival, when woodforged approached with their arms shifted into spears. The conflict did not escalate however, and Riptide ended up following the party to the woodforged encampment, and overseeing the livingwood transplant to the Valtis.Adapter
Once on Whisperwood Island, the party interacted with Adapter, the leader of the woodforged. The party attempted to convince him to grant them enough livingwood to upgrade the Valtis, a suggestion that did not go over well with him. After Elandril's raven, Keturi, attacked his crow, Pikvarn, Adapter was extremely irritated with the party. However, his stubbornness subsided after the party demanded to know the cause of the magical shockwaves on the island—which appeared to cause effects similar to wild magic. Adapter revealed that the contamination of the Conduit was the cause of the magical shockwaves, and a huge problem for the animals of Whisperwood Island. Adapter offered them livingwood if they could cure the Conduit, and the party quickly accepted the challenge. Adapter later apologized to the party after the events that unfolded within the Conduit, and sent his woodforged to upgrade the Valtis. He then revealed his intention to attend Crafter's summit on the Shimmering Isle.Pikvarn
Pikvarn, a Deep Crow, was the main antagonist of the session. From the moment the party arrived in the woodforged encampment, Pikvarn was at odds with them. When they first arrived, Pikvarn squawked angrily at Micnik and Keturi, Elandril's raven.Keturi then attacked Pikvarn, and the two fought each other in the air around the party, until Elandril eventually got ahold of Keturi—whose runed leg band began to glow during the fight. Later, the party discovered that Pikvarn was behind the infection which was harming the Conduit, and that he had nested within the huge tree. The party fought Pikvarn, after the Copper Gem dispelled the illusion magic surrounding him, which revealed him to be a monstrous Deep Crow. He had six eyes, and a huge mandible instead of a beak. He was about as large as a giant eagle, and had two long tails that ran from his back. During the battle, he used his aerial capabilities to perform hit and run tactics on the party. He was able to down Micnik, Ukar, and Elandril, before he was eventually shot down by Heigolor. The party also destroyed his nest of eggs during the battle.The Riddling Lady
Within the entrance to the Conduit, the party met, who appeared to be, an old woodforged woman guarding the next layer of the Conduit. In order to pass, she made the party complete three tasks for her, which she called her "games." The games were as follows:First Task
"Find me a pair of twins who were not born at the same time, without changing your own apperances, deary."- To complete this task, Micnik used his channel divinity to invoke duplicity, creating an identical duplicate of himself and completing the task.
Second Task
"Play a game with me. Show me a danger that isn't real, then explain why I should squeal."- To complete this task, Micnik used illusion magic to create a pig, Ukar convinced the woman that it was part of a game called Hog Squeal, where you chase the hog around and squeal.
Third Task
"Answer me a final riddle and you may pass, even though your quest may be crass. When brightest, I am darkest. When darkest, I am gone. When I am gone forever, so are you. What am I?"- The answer to the riddle was shadow, after which the hag said to the party: "You can tell a lot about something from it's shadow, we are not all what we appear to be on the surface."
Heigolor's Doppleganger
The party also faced a doppleganger of Heigolor, born from the original Heigolor's blood. He chided the original Heigolor about not revealing his and Elandril's past to the rest of the party. He seemed to have access to all of Heigolor's memories, although Heigolor still refused to share them. Eventually, the doppleganger was killed, but not before the damage was done. This encounter caused friction between Ukar and Heigolor, with Ukar beginning to feel as though he was unable to trust Heigolor. The two came close to a fight, before they put their differences behind them to finish their task of saving the Conduit.The Inhabitors
The five Inhabitors of the Catalyst Gems spoke with the party towards the end of the session to plan their next move. Lathtak, AKA Admiral, shared some of his backstory as Captain of the Dragon's Breath. Once again, the Night Terror was mentioned as the Order's top priority. After a brief discussion however, the party and the Inhabitors decided to journey to the Frozen Isles in order to acquire the Silver Gem, and Nyem—the last Inhabitor—with it.Notes
Whisperwood Island
- The party learned that the woodforged of Whisperwood Island were able to resurrect the biological animals of Pre-Collapse Greenfell, which makes Whisperwood Island the only island in the Archipelago to be home to biotic creatures.
- The shadows of the animals on the island could be used to determine whether or not they were showing their true form, or whether they were shrouded in illusion magic.
Notable Quotes and Actions from Heigolor's Doppleganger
- (To Heigolor) "Why did you leave her? Why did you leave your special little lady?"
- (Bowing to Eladril) "My liege."
- (To Heigolor) "Tell them the truth! Don't they deserve to know?"
- (To Ukar, while dying) "He's lying! Make him tell you the truth!"
Elandril Laraethan
Ukar
Heigolor Goltorah
Report Date
03 Jun 2022
Primary Location
Secondary Location
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