Thin Veil, Part 2

Played on August 6, 2011

Eleint 2, 1479, Year of the Ageless One (mid-afternoon)

As Fredara, Jobek, and Luthan explained to everyone in Longpine what they had discovered in the Reaching Woods, they were joined by Monro, Patch, and Vyn. The adventuring party was then asked to return to the forest, track down the owlbear, and slay it.
Luthan guided them into the forest, and after finding traces of the owlbear within a mile of the forest’s edge, the group heard a woman’s voice, weak, but still with enough volume to carry—from a large tree nearby.
Calling out first in Elven, then in Common, they heard the voice cry out, “Please help me! I’ve been in this tree for days, and I don’t know if I can make it much longer! Please!”.
Wondering if it may be a trap, the group drew closer to the voice and saw high in a tree on the edge of a desolate area, a small woman—a gnome—clutching desperately to some of the smallest branches at the very top of the tree. She looked thin, gaunt, and frightened, and she peered at the group with both fear and hope. As the party approached the frightened gnome, Luthan asked who she was and what she was doing in this part of the forest. She said her name was Orva and admitted that she passed through a portal from her home in the Feywild several days ago. She’s an arcanist by trade, and quickly realized what had happened. Unfortunately, she couldn’t find her way back to the portal, and instead wandered into the owlbear’s territory. She’s replayed her route in her mind several times, and she thinks she knows the way back to the portal from here now, however. They also spotted a nearby den large enough for an owlbear to lair in.
When asked to come down from the tree, she said, “No! No! I will not come down! Not until that thing is dead. I know it’s out there. I can smell it! Can’t you? With its horrid eyes! I know it’s there, waiting for me!”
She also warned the group that she had seen a kenku skulking along the forest nearby, yesterday. She was half asleep, and by the time she realized what she was seeing, the kenku was gone. She called out, but it didn’t return. The group then scanned the nearby woods and spotted, hiding within bowshot range, a kenku in some thick bushes. Patch took a shot at the kenku through the bushes using his Flaming Greatbow, which almost caused the dry bush to erupt in flames. The Kenku rushed out from hiding as three more kenkus emerged from hiding to surround the party.
Meanwhile, the massive owlbear emerged from the den and into view. It rushed to a nearby boulder in front of its lair and scraped its razor-sharp talons against the rocks, producing a dreadful, high-pitched sound that immediately put the adventurers on edge. The owlbear reared up on its hind legs and bellowed angrily; its full-throated roar reaching an awful, shrieking crescendo. After its display of dominance, everyone knew that an attack was imminent.
While Vyn, Luthan, and Monro dealt with the four kenkus, Fredara, Patch, and Jobek rushed to attack the owlbear. While fighting the owlbear, Fredara and Jobek heard over the din of battle, a strange sound, almost like a mixture of hissing and clucking. Quickly looking around, they spotted an angry chicken-like creature lurking behind some nearby rocks. It spread its scale-and-feathered wings and hissed at the combatants—owlbear, human, and dwarf alike—angry at the noise and intrusion near its nesting area.
The chicken—which the group determined later was a cockatrice—attacked. It pecked Jobek and caused his muscles to tense, slowing him down. The owlbear continued its onslaught and nearly killed Jobek when it caught the dwarf in a bear-hug and bit him. Vyn, having dispatched two kenkus, joined in the fight against the owlbear while Monroe and Luthan dealt with the remaining kenkus. After a few solid strikes from the adventurers, the owlbear was slain.
Jobek, unconscious under the owlbear’s weight, was saved by Fredara as she administered a Potion of Vitality upon the fallen dwarf. Jobek awoke, hurt but eager to fight again.
All of the kenkus slain, and the owlbear as well, the group focused its attacks on the angry cockatrice. Despite repeated strikes, the cockatrice survived the party’s onslaught, and ran back into it’s nest hidden deep within a rocky crevice. The nest was too small to crawl into, so the adventurers let the cockatrice go, feeling fortunate to have survived the encounter.
Feeling safe enough to climb down, the gnome, Orva thanked the group and asked them if they would help her find her way back to the portal. They agreed, but thought it best if they returned to Longpine to help her recover and rest. Vyn promised that they would all help Orva find her way back home the next day. She conceded and thanked them. Luthan then urged everyone to finish searching the kenkus and the area, including the owlbear’s lair. They found nothing but animal remains in the den and nothing of value on the kenkus.
After catching their breath, the group led by Luthan made their way back through the forest and to Longpine.

After an hour of hiking through the woods, the group realized that they were lost. Luthan thought he had been retracing their path, but admitted that he may have gotten them lost in the Reaching Woods. And to make matters worse, everyone realized that the forest looked very different. The forest had a verdant hue to it and the sweet scent of grass, leaves, and flowers were almost intoxicating. When the group asked if Orva recognized the area, she was happy to reply that they were all in the Feywild. They all realized that the group may have unknowingly walked through a portal in the Reaching Woods. They all agreed that finding their way back may be futile. Even Orva was not familiar with this area of the Feywild.
Patch then used a sending stone to contact Bear’s Head to report that they were lost in the Feywild, but because they were no longer on the same plane as Faerun, the sending stone didn’t function.
Pushing on, the group reconnoitered the area and found a river nearby. The crystal clear waters of the river wound its way towards what appeared to be buildings of some sort in the distance, perhaps a few miles away. They also spotted a boat beached nearby. The boat, seemingly of elven design with its swan figure-head and silken sails looked as if it had been abandoned for some time.
The adventurers decided to take the boat and make their way to the distant structures to see if they can find some means of getting back to Faerun.




Adventurers: Fredara, Jobek, Monro, Patch, and Vyn
NPCs: Luthan Graythicket (male half-elf ranger companion, from Elturgard), Orva (female gnome arcanist companion, from the Feywild)

Plot type

Chapter

Parent Plot

Tomb of Horrors