Session 8 - Journey to Untold Blessings
General Summary
The party set out after the tracks leading out of the forest, Prince leading the group through the ruts in the mud. After several minutes of walking, the sounds of conflict drew their attention to a group of strange metal creatures squaring off against a pair of amorphous brown masses emerging from the treeline. A few moments of debate followed while the group watched the fight before deciding to join on the side of the constructs. Prince rushed forward, and the battle gained another group of combatants.
As the group moved in to attack, they watched as one of the monsters attacked a dog-shaped construct, forcing itself between the plates of armor and into the creature, taking over its motor functions and directing it to attack its master. In an attempt to save the construct from itself, Olut heated the armor plating of the dog-creature, boiling out the sap, where it was promptly torn apart by the constructs around it. After a hard-fought battle with the remaining creature, it was finally felled, and the sounds of combat faded.
As the group cautiously approached the constructs, they tried out a variety of languages to no effect, until Lerissa finally switched to Sylvan, and the lead construct began to respond. In a strained conversation, Lerissa drew out from the mechanical man that the group hailed from Untold Blessings, and were workers from the great city. Lerissa worked out rough directions from the construct, and at Olut's prompting, convinced the machine to send the damaged dog construct back to the city with them. At this, the groups parted ways as the automatons continued on their route and the party followed the dog back along their tracks.
The group walked for a while until the pain of their accumulated wounds caught up with them, and they decided to take a break near the edge of the forest. After a fair bit of debate, the group settled on taking a long rest to fully recharge, even though they weren't particularly tired, and their perception of time had been skewed by the unending twilight around them. Liber took the uneventful first watch, and as Prince took over for the second watch, he watched as the Tiefling disappeared into thin air, leaving nothing but his ring on the ground where he stood. Prince was distracted on his watch, trying to figure out what had happened to Liber, and as Lerissa rose for her shift, he asked her about it. Lerissa was unfamiliar with any particular magics that could cause Liber to disappear like that but decided that they shouldn't worry about it until morning.
As Prince set up his bedroll, he talked to Lerissa about their recent adventures, and particularly the difference between the midnight battle in the forest and that with the constructs just a few hours before. Prince confided that he wasn't quite sure how he was able to fly during that first battle, and how he had kept trying to replicate the results to no avail in the time since. Lerissa wasn't quite sure of the strange source of this power, but hoped that he would get it back soon. As Prince closed his eyes, Lerissa settled in for her watch. A few hours later, as she began to consider waking Olut, Liber appeared lying on the ground where his ring had sat, apparently still sleeping soundly. Lerissa shrugged off his appearance and woke Olut. During the final watch of the night, Olut saw another group of constructs moving from the city into the woods, paying the party no mind as they passed.
In the morning, the group awoke to find that the grass and plant growth around them had begun to cover very slightly themselves and their belongings. As they prepared to continue their trek across the strange lands, Prince asked Liber about his disappearance the night before, and Liber explained that it was a secret domicile that was contained within his ring, allowing himself an extra measure of quiet and safety during the nights. He had barely finished his explanation before they saw Lerissa rousing their construct companion and directing it to lead the way across the grassy field in front of them. As they hurriedly packed the rest of their camping supplies and followed her, they continued discussing Liber's mini-dimension within his ring.
As they made their way across the hilly landscape, Olut walked alongside Lerissa and asked her how she could feel so at ease in this alien landscape. Lerissa tried to explain that it was just a feeling of safety that possessed her as they entered the Fey, but couldn't manage to communicate its source. She promised Olut, however, that even her confidence would not go so far as to put the rest of the group in harm's way. Not entirely satisfied with the answer, Olut at least accepted that assurance and the group continued on.
The group continued on through the fey as the landscape changed around them from a gentle field into a marshy swamp. As they carefully navigated their tracks around areas of deeper mud, they found themselves passing by the bleached-white bones of a giant creature collapsed in the swamp, maybe twelve feet tall standing, each with runes carved along their length. Liber read the runes and explained that they were curses on one's family line to be enacted if the bones were disturbed. As he began slipping off his boots and rolling up his pant legs, the rest of the party admonished him for his recklessness and continued on away from the skeleton. Liber jammed his feet back into his shoes and took as detailed notes as possible on the bones before rushing back to join the group before they left his sight.
Continuing on through the marsh, the wet ground eventually gave way to grass and fields again, and a clear-running river cut through the landscape, burbling gently over a bed of pebbles. The air around the river was thick with rain standing still in midair, and dancing orbs of light casting reflections through thousands of raindrops in turn. Lerissa summoned a spectral hand to push the raindrops in front of her out of the way, and the party followed in her path through the mystically still plains.
On the other side of the river and rain, a great city of brass and stone rose up into the side of a mountain in front of the party, with fields and groves of fruit trees spanning the distance between it and the party. Haeni scanned the wall for guards, but couldn't make out any in particular. With the end of their long journey in sight, the group marched across the fields and through a grove of trees bearing a fruit unlike anything they had seen before. Olut pocketed half a dozen for later study and the party continued on toward the gates.
As they approached, the great brass gates set into the wall swung open accompanied by a mechanical clicking which stopped as they reached their fully open state, and in front of the group stood a city larger than most of them had ever seen. The streets of stone were laid out precisely, with a wide corridor leading up and into the heart of the city, and curved streets running concentric to the city walls. Shops and houses all around were perfectly clean, and dozens more automata walked the streets, some in guard uniforms, others lighting streetlamps, and yet more seeming to run errands across the city. As they stepped into the city, the great doors swung shut behind them, and the clockwork dog diverted from the main thoroughfare down a perpendicular road. After a brief moment of decision, the party followed the dog.
As the group moved in to attack, they watched as one of the monsters attacked a dog-shaped construct, forcing itself between the plates of armor and into the creature, taking over its motor functions and directing it to attack its master. In an attempt to save the construct from itself, Olut heated the armor plating of the dog-creature, boiling out the sap, where it was promptly torn apart by the constructs around it. After a hard-fought battle with the remaining creature, it was finally felled, and the sounds of combat faded.
As the group cautiously approached the constructs, they tried out a variety of languages to no effect, until Lerissa finally switched to Sylvan, and the lead construct began to respond. In a strained conversation, Lerissa drew out from the mechanical man that the group hailed from Untold Blessings, and were workers from the great city. Lerissa worked out rough directions from the construct, and at Olut's prompting, convinced the machine to send the damaged dog construct back to the city with them. At this, the groups parted ways as the automatons continued on their route and the party followed the dog back along their tracks.
The group walked for a while until the pain of their accumulated wounds caught up with them, and they decided to take a break near the edge of the forest. After a fair bit of debate, the group settled on taking a long rest to fully recharge, even though they weren't particularly tired, and their perception of time had been skewed by the unending twilight around them. Liber took the uneventful first watch, and as Prince took over for the second watch, he watched as the Tiefling disappeared into thin air, leaving nothing but his ring on the ground where he stood. Prince was distracted on his watch, trying to figure out what had happened to Liber, and as Lerissa rose for her shift, he asked her about it. Lerissa was unfamiliar with any particular magics that could cause Liber to disappear like that but decided that they shouldn't worry about it until morning.
As Prince set up his bedroll, he talked to Lerissa about their recent adventures, and particularly the difference between the midnight battle in the forest and that with the constructs just a few hours before. Prince confided that he wasn't quite sure how he was able to fly during that first battle, and how he had kept trying to replicate the results to no avail in the time since. Lerissa wasn't quite sure of the strange source of this power, but hoped that he would get it back soon. As Prince closed his eyes, Lerissa settled in for her watch. A few hours later, as she began to consider waking Olut, Liber appeared lying on the ground where his ring had sat, apparently still sleeping soundly. Lerissa shrugged off his appearance and woke Olut. During the final watch of the night, Olut saw another group of constructs moving from the city into the woods, paying the party no mind as they passed.
In the morning, the group awoke to find that the grass and plant growth around them had begun to cover very slightly themselves and their belongings. As they prepared to continue their trek across the strange lands, Prince asked Liber about his disappearance the night before, and Liber explained that it was a secret domicile that was contained within his ring, allowing himself an extra measure of quiet and safety during the nights. He had barely finished his explanation before they saw Lerissa rousing their construct companion and directing it to lead the way across the grassy field in front of them. As they hurriedly packed the rest of their camping supplies and followed her, they continued discussing Liber's mini-dimension within his ring.
As they made their way across the hilly landscape, Olut walked alongside Lerissa and asked her how she could feel so at ease in this alien landscape. Lerissa tried to explain that it was just a feeling of safety that possessed her as they entered the Fey, but couldn't manage to communicate its source. She promised Olut, however, that even her confidence would not go so far as to put the rest of the group in harm's way. Not entirely satisfied with the answer, Olut at least accepted that assurance and the group continued on.
The group continued on through the fey as the landscape changed around them from a gentle field into a marshy swamp. As they carefully navigated their tracks around areas of deeper mud, they found themselves passing by the bleached-white bones of a giant creature collapsed in the swamp, maybe twelve feet tall standing, each with runes carved along their length. Liber read the runes and explained that they were curses on one's family line to be enacted if the bones were disturbed. As he began slipping off his boots and rolling up his pant legs, the rest of the party admonished him for his recklessness and continued on away from the skeleton. Liber jammed his feet back into his shoes and took as detailed notes as possible on the bones before rushing back to join the group before they left his sight.
Continuing on through the marsh, the wet ground eventually gave way to grass and fields again, and a clear-running river cut through the landscape, burbling gently over a bed of pebbles. The air around the river was thick with rain standing still in midair, and dancing orbs of light casting reflections through thousands of raindrops in turn. Lerissa summoned a spectral hand to push the raindrops in front of her out of the way, and the party followed in her path through the mystically still plains.
On the other side of the river and rain, a great city of brass and stone rose up into the side of a mountain in front of the party, with fields and groves of fruit trees spanning the distance between it and the party. Haeni scanned the wall for guards, but couldn't make out any in particular. With the end of their long journey in sight, the group marched across the fields and through a grove of trees bearing a fruit unlike anything they had seen before. Olut pocketed half a dozen for later study and the party continued on toward the gates.
As they approached, the great brass gates set into the wall swung open accompanied by a mechanical clicking which stopped as they reached their fully open state, and in front of the group stood a city larger than most of them had ever seen. The streets of stone were laid out precisely, with a wide corridor leading up and into the heart of the city, and curved streets running concentric to the city walls. Shops and houses all around were perfectly clean, and dozens more automata walked the streets, some in guard uniforms, others lighting streetlamps, and yet more seeming to run errands across the city. As they stepped into the city, the great doors swung shut behind them, and the clockwork dog diverted from the main thoroughfare down a perpendicular road. After a brief moment of decision, the party followed the dog.
Report Date
03 May 2021
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