RoT 16: "In Search of the Green Wymspeaker"
Discovery, Exploration
Now that you have an idea of where the Wyrmspeaker and his Green Dragon might be hiding in the Misty Forest, you make plans to seek him out.
You’ve spent a couple of days now in Altand village and have determined you have gotten as much information out of Galin and the villagers as possible. Concerned that your presence in the village has likely been reported to the Wyrmspeaker you leave and make your way to the location where Galin has been meeting with him where you camp out using Malice’s Tiny Hut spell to stay hidden. Alas, after three days there is no sign of the Green Dragon nor the Wymspeaker who commands it so you decide to track into the Misty Forest in the direction Galin reportedly saw the dragon fly toward.
About a half a day in, you hear a loud crack as though a tree has fallen and hear a female voice call out for help. You go to investigate and find an elderly elven woman trapped under a fallen tree – she calls out for help. You decide to try to lift the tree off of her.
It takes all your effort to lift the tree, knowing that you put yourselves at risk if it shifts against you. But then even as you are close to freeing the woman, the tree begins to rise on its own. Two other trees standing nearby shift back along the ground as the elf stands and smiles, showing no sign of injury.
“Heroes at last!” she says. “How many might fall back in fear at the sight of a stranger in the woods, or think first of their own safety before helping another? I grant you my blessing. May your hearts prove true where others fear to tread.”
The woman picks flowers from her hair that you swear were not there a moment ago, then twists her fingers to weave them into garlands as if by magic. She lays a garland around each of your necks, then suddenly transforms into an owl. Her awakened tree servants stomp after her into the forest.
After she is out of site, so as not to insult her, Malice uses Identify and discovers that the garlands effectively make you all invisible to being tracked or skryed upon while you wear them in the Misty Forest. Confident that there is now no way the Wyrmspeaker will be able to know you’re coming, you continue deeper into the forest.
You begin to come upon areas that clearly have been heavily traveled recently – large amounts of obvious booted tracks in and out of the area. Just a bit further you come upon a cliff face with a water fall that feeds a large pool below. Investigating the area reveals that there is a cave entrance forty feet above the pool, behind the waterfall. The pool itself has an emerald haze that obscures it but your best guess is that it’s about twenty feet deep.
You climb up the cliff face (except Malice who levitates the only mishap being Pubert’s trusted pet wolf, Taru, slipping and falling to the pool below and having to be retrieved by Malice.
As you enter the cave you note it is very dark – there are no light sources. As you round the corner you encounter a group of four elves who challenge you by asking who you are and stating they weren’t expecting anyone to arrive today. Malice, rather than attempting to pass you all off as cultists, flat out tells them you are The Iron Company and so the elves begin to call for help!
During the ensuing fight you all recognize that these elves may not be serving the cult willingly and so you use non-lethal attack to subdue them. You easily knock them all unconscious but before you can get them tied up a group of Ettins appear from a secret door and the battle continues. However, the Ettins prove to be no match for the might Iron Company and you dispatch them easily.
Taking advantage of their size, you go down the tunnel beyond the secret door using their bodies to block it from the inside. You make you way into what was obviously their lair where take a short rest and plan you next moves since you are now quite sure you’ve found the place you were looking for.
You’ve spent a couple of days now in Altand village and have determined you have gotten as much information out of Galin and the villagers as possible. Concerned that your presence in the village has likely been reported to the Wyrmspeaker you leave and make your way to the location where Galin has been meeting with him where you camp out using Malice’s Tiny Hut spell to stay hidden. Alas, after three days there is no sign of the Green Dragon nor the Wymspeaker who commands it so you decide to track into the Misty Forest in the direction Galin reportedly saw the dragon fly toward.
About a half a day in, you hear a loud crack as though a tree has fallen and hear a female voice call out for help. You go to investigate and find an elderly elven woman trapped under a fallen tree – she calls out for help. You decide to try to lift the tree off of her.
It takes all your effort to lift the tree, knowing that you put yourselves at risk if it shifts against you. But then even as you are close to freeing the woman, the tree begins to rise on its own. Two other trees standing nearby shift back along the ground as the elf stands and smiles, showing no sign of injury. “Heroes at last!” she says. “How many might fall back in fear at the sight of a stranger in the woods, or think first of their own safety before helping another? I grant you my blessing. May your hearts prove true where others fear to tread.”
The woman picks flowers from her hair that you swear were not there a moment ago, then twists her fingers to weave them into garlands as if by magic. She lays a garland around each of your necks, then suddenly transforms into an owl. Her awakened tree servants stomp after her into the forest. After she is out of site, so as not to insult her, Malice uses Identify and discovers that the garlands effectively make you all invisible to being tracked or skryed upon while you wear them in the Misty Forest. Confident that there is now no way the Wyrmspeaker will be able to know you’re coming, you continue deeper into the forest.
You begin to come upon areas that clearly have been heavily traveled recently – large amounts of obvious booted tracks in and out of the area. Just a bit further you come upon a cliff face with a water fall that feeds a large pool below. Investigating the area reveals that there is a cave entrance forty feet above the pool, behind the waterfall. The pool itself has an emerald haze that obscures it but your best guess is that it’s about twenty feet deep.
You climb up the cliff face (except Malice who levitates the only mishap being Pubert’s trusted pet wolf, Taru, slipping and falling to the pool below and having to be retrieved by Malice.
As you enter the cave you note it is very dark – there are no light sources. As you round the corner you encounter a group of four elves who challenge you by asking who you are and stating they weren’t expecting anyone to arrive today. Malice, rather than attempting to pass you all off as cultists, flat out tells them you are The Iron Company and so the elves begin to call for help!
During the ensuing fight you all recognize that these elves may not be serving the cult willingly and so you use non-lethal attack to subdue them. You easily knock them all unconscious but before you can get them tied up a group of Ettins appear from a secret door and the battle continues. However, the Ettins prove to be no match for the might Iron Company and you dispatch them easily.
Taking advantage of their size, you go down the tunnel beyond the secret door using their bodies to block it from the inside. You make you way into what was obviously their lair where take a short rest and plan you next moves since you are now quite sure you’ve found the place you were looking for.