Session 13: King's Curse

General Summary

As soon as the destination was written on the sign, it spun around the post several times before finally coming to a stop. In the direction it points gloom gathers, creating a black pathway leading deep into the darkest valley ever seen. Small motes of purple-black light fade in and out along the path’s edges, only barely allowing one to discern the path from the dark surroundings.
The party presses through shrubs and boughs, roots snagging their feet as they feel your way through the dense wilderness. The air grows warm, the dappled light dimming, and earthy smells overtake their senses. There’s a writhing in their bellies, as if suddenly falling, and an inexorable call urges them forward. They break through the knotted branches and brambles and look upon a twilight lit forest unlike any you’ve seen before.
They followed the route provided and every hour that passed took them deeper into the gloom of Kryptgarden Forest and closer to King Witchthorn’s court. The further they go, the thicker and closer together the trees grow and soon a fog hangs in the air, tinged with the acrid smell of poison. A breeze weaves through the trees, becoming colder and more haunting as you travel. - The body of a hobgoblin lies bloody and unmoving, face down in the center of the path before them. Off to the side is half of a stone archway, choked in vines. On the other side of the ridge something is bouncing through the forest, running away; fast!
Upon inspection of the body, it looks as if it was killed by a blade that harnessed radiant energy. On guard, Betty, Tobias, Scraabbox, and Galreth continue down the path, following the trail of whatever or whomever was spying on them…

Elf & the Hare

Holgar and Athlaise have been traveling together through the Feywilds for some time. They met through a shared mission; both looking for their families that had mysteriously disappeared; Athlaise searching for his wife and family, Holgar looking for his parents. Both being Paladins of Light dedicated to Torm, they decided to team together.
Recently they found a lead on the whereabouts of Holgar’s family. After traveling for weeks, they discovered that Holgar’s family had been killed by agents of chaos. Shortly thereafter they came across a beautiful female dryad named Princess Ishaldra who claimed to be the daughter of King Witchtorn, Lord of the Shadowy Glade. She claims that her father has turned from the light and that the woods within her glade are beginning to rot and spoil.
Sensing that both paladins were pure of heart, the Princess urged them to confront her father, who may also know what happened to Holgar’s family. After agreeing to this quest, Princess Ishaldra escorted Holgar and Athlaise to her fathers kingdom known as the Shadowy Glade.
Stirring awake, tucked away in a nearby cave not far from our intrepid adventurers, Holgar and Athlaise woke up to find the Princess that had been guiding them disappeared. Both being very used to the customs of the Feywilds, they thought nothing of it initially… Until they heard the loud CRACK of a tree just outside their cave. Quietly they peered outside to see a hunched and twisted, hulking creature standing at a giant’s height. Tight muscles shift under pale purple skin, upon which pustules sprout with infectious abandon. One of its eyes bulges from the place on its head where an ear should be, and its mouth is a gaping cut along its neck. It wears nothing but a dirty loin cloth.
Holgar managed to emerge from the cave quietly, however the cavern wall was not so forgiving to Athlaise’s heavy armor…

Carefully following the path deeper into the shadowy glade, Scraabox caught the loud gurgling battle grumble of some creature akin to a giant. As they progressed forward they came upon the scene of an elf toe-to-toe with a 14-foot tall purple mutated giant. Nearly twenty feet away the elf’s companion, a human-sized rabbit, laid face down unconscious on the ground.
Without a second thought, the heroes entered the fray. Together the six of them easily overcame the threat of the fomorian.
After pleasantries and introductions the two separate parties discussed their shared mission: seek out King Witchthorn and learn more about the curse invading the lands and how to end it. During the battle, Tobias posted up on a rock ledge where a fox dressed in leather tack leisurely sat and watched the battle unfold before him.

Nole

The fox then spoke! He introduced himself as Ni’yorick-Burn Christensen or “Nole”, former resident of the Shadowy Glade. He claimed to have owned a wool store within the glade before the king had banished all Seelie creatures and welcomed the Unseelie Fey; the fox gave a dirty look to the dead fomorian on the ground nearby.
Nole off-handly admitted to luring the fomorian to this spot, with hopes you all would defeat it. He went on to confirm that the curse upon King Witchthorn’s lands was that of his own doing. He was once a beautiful and noble fey lord, but in recent months something had managed to corrupt him. With no sign nor trace of the dryad princess, together they followed the intelligent fox as they continued through Shadowy Glade, towards the King’s court.

Realm of the Zartruss Fey

Purple and yellow motes float in and around black twisted trees, and the cold whispering wind chills you to the bone as you find yourself in King Witchthorn’s glade. As they crest a ridge the party sees a small fey village with hundreds of Unseelie fey creatures of all kinds and sizes, carrying about their day. Cast over the village is a pale green light that originates from the west, far beyond where a small amphitheater can be seen on the outskirts of the village.
Before descending into the King’s Glade, the party took a rest. When they broke camp and made their way back to the ridge, two Zartruss Fey guards awaited their arrival. One a small pale gnome with sharp jagged teeth and pale red cap. The other bore a dense mane—a mix of beard and hair—that forms a puffy ball that shrouds the entire torso and much of the small gray skinned face. Little more than a bulbous nose and two pale gray eyes are visible in the wall of locks. Below the mane, two thick goats legs end in cloven hooves that patter and bounce off the ground as the tiny creature begins to dance.
Without a word the, demented fey creatures escorted the party through the streets of the King’s Glade.
The buzz of fluttering insectoid wings precedes the sight of the Unseelie Court’s sprawling colosseum, a twilit structure of brambles and thorns built among the twisted trees. The dark spires rise, iridescent, refracting erie green light in all directions. Green lit candles flicker from within in strange and alluring shades. The entire structure seems to shift, and it’s impossible to fully reckon its shape or construction even as you actively perceive its immensity.
As the party entered the colosseum sinister, otherworldly creatures flit here and there in attendance on insect-like wings that evoke dragonflies or locusts. Massive deformed giants, like the one previously encountered sat in attendance as well.

Sitting upon a throne carved from bone and polished wood is a slender man, twice the height of any mortal. His torso resembles the likeness of a great stag, and thorny spikes protrude from his shoulders and arms. His dark and sinister head is nothing more than the bone white skull of a raven, framed by a mane of green leaves from which curl two large and bestial horns like those of an ancient ram.
Standing in the center of the colosseum, was a hobgoblin on his knees with two gnomes with pale red caps by his side. The king’s booming voice gave out a command in a language unknown to the party. Upon the declaration, the crowd erupted in cheer and the hobgoblin shifted uneasily.
Without hesitation, one of the gnome red caps pulled a sickle from a sheathed on his back and struck down across the hobgoblin’s neck and blood began to squirt out. Like a ravenous dog, the other bit down where the blood poured from. As the gnome consumed the blood, his eyes grew bright, and his cap became erect, and red. Satiated for the time being…
The body of the hobgoblin started to be pulled off. Athlaise felt something sharp in the small of his back as the red capped gnome behind him, ushering him and the party forward forward.
As the party approached, the King called out, “Welcome to the shade of my Glade! It is a gift, this day. So tell me what it is you have to say?”
One by one the King’s guards demanded that each member of the party introduce themselves. During introductions, the King’s hag could be seen taking close notes; just in case retaliation was necessary. Scanning the large audience, there was no sign of the dryad princess. The party learned the following through the conversation:

• Claims his daughter is missing; blames the Old Gnawbone and the Dusk Circle druids
• “Have you not heard? Gnawbones has even captured members of the Dusk Circle to make her own servants”
• Believes that Old Gnawbone that is in cahoots with the Hobgoblins; she wishes to claim the forest as her own and ravish everything living for her own delight.
• “The old worm has retreated into her lair to scheme a plan with her druids and crystal balls”
• King Witchthorn will leave the Feywilds for “fear” of Old Gnawbone’s wrath

When asked about the Blood Curse, the King acknowledged and replied “The darkness of my vale has indeed grown darker… But I believe there is a solution to cleansing this curse…” Here in the Feywilds the Blood Curse is referred to “O’lak Shada” or “Shadow of Dark Omens”
King Witchthorn stated that he would provide Betty with an antidote for her son in exchange for a vial of water from the Wellspring of Wisdom at the Dusk Circle. Claims that it could heal the forest in both the Feywilds and PMP and lift the curse.
Galreth’s heart began to race, as the waterskin at his side containing the water from the Wellspring felt as if it suddenly was as heavy as an ox’s head. Calmly the party “accepted” the King’s offer and fled the Glade as quickly as possible.
When the party returned to the outskirts of town, Nole lied in wait. Together they came to the conclusion that giving the Wellspring water to the King would surely be a terrible idea; instead they would seek out Old Gnawbones herself and hopefully get to the bottom of what’s going on.
After Athlaise and Holgar agreed to join them, Nole escorted the party east back to the sign post. After exiting the Feywilds, Nole was nowhere to be found.

Back in the Prime Material Plane

After turning back traveling west, this time through the Prime Material Plane, the landscape was much less interesting and more boring. Tree’s ceased to talk and mushrooms no longer grew to the size of carriages. As the party traveled closer and closer to Southkrypt, Gnawbone’s Lair, the foliage became much more interesting again as regular plants grew to towering heights. Remains of old dwarven ruins pockmarked the mountainside here and there.
The hour grew late and the sun began to set over the Sword Mountains when almost all of a sudden, the grass beneath their feet, once green and lush; vibrant with life, was not black and charred. Each step left a footprint of gray ash. By Betty’s estimation, they were now close to the King’s Glade but on the mirrored side in the Prime Material Plane.
Upon noticing this, suddenly a bright green beam of light shot up into the night sky from the mountains above. “That can’t be good”, Tobais sighed under his breath after realizing the green color was identical to that of the King’s Glade. With haste the party made their way up the mountain to further inspect the green ominous beam of light.

Upon arriving to the scene, the party found King Witchthorn, here in the Prime Material Plane, conducting a ritual that would sacrifice his daughter Princess Ishaldra. The party was able to defeat the Wendigo Fey Lord and rescue the princess but not before he was able to manifest the O'lak Shada into a massive ooze creature. 
Epic battle montage!

Reclaiming the Throne

Written by Richard Breitenfeldt, Holgar

The portal swirled with many colors and gave off a slight smell of sulfur, a stark contrast to the aroma of the mist coming off the falls behind it containing the purified waters of the Southkrypt.
The dryad princess extends her scorched arm towards Holgar. “Would you escort me back, Paladin? Help me claim my rightful place upon my father’s throne and correct the wrongs created during my father’s rule.”
The feminine voice was sweet with a light sound like wind blowing through the leaves. Her voice matched the beauty of a true princess. Although badly injured from the previous battle Princess Ishaldra remained resplendent in her leaves of green and gentle features.
Holgar looked back to his new friends, an interesting collection of beings. A tortle with a wonderful purple hat, a quite regal haregon paladin, a tall dark figure of an artificer, a dark drow-like figure dripping with magical power, and a small but powerful reptilian with spectacles. and a tall elvish Paladin.
Princess Ishaldra’s eyes narrowed and her voice grew firm as she was reminded of the carnage committed by her father as she spoke to the assembled group, “Trust that I am angered by the evils committed in my glade and I will fight to correct the balance and return the health back to the forest; on my side and yours.”
She smiled slightly and her voice regained its lighter tones as she continued, ”Thank you for your strength and compassion in saving me and I wish you all safe travels as you journey near and far.”
The dryad faced Betty, ”I wish healing for your son Betty and hope to hear great news of his recovery.” She then turned to the haregon, ”My dear brave Paladin Athlaise I promise that I will try and find out what occurred with your family. Any information and I will contact you with it.”
Addressing the whole group, “To all of you I wish you fair winds, good rain, beautiful sunshine and the joy of the elements.”
Princess Ishaldra moved to face the half elf paladin, Holgar and raised her hands out to him, “Well Holgar, will you consider escorting me… and perhaps tell me more of the tales of your adventures and travels? “
Holgar replied with a smile, ”Jeg ville gsa elske. I would love to.” He gently offered his arm and they both stepped through the portal and back to the Feywilds.

Return of the Rightful Heir

The land was still recovering from the darkness that had taken over under the reign of King Witchthorn as Princess Ishaldra and Holgar entered the Shadowy Glade, home of the once noble Zartruss Fey. The land was slowly becoming brighter, the colors and sounds more vibrant, more like what the Feywilds are known for. Small woodland creatures and dryads made their presence known and offered a wave and a smile to the soon to be queen entering back into her domain.
Along the way, several Seelie fey creatures joined in on the march back to the Shadowy Glade. One of which, Nole, an awakened fox creature that escorted everyone to the Shadowy Glade days prior. Princess Ishaldra, not recalling who this is, gave a smiling glance in return and accepted his patronage.
The sounds of a dryad’s giggle and Holgar singing a song drift along on the breeze. Softly Holgar sang, “Weiches Katchen, warmes Katchen, das nie und nimmer murrt. Liebes Katchen, mudes Katchen, schnurrt schnurrt schnurrt.“
Ishaldra laughed as she created the image of a small cat in her hands with leaves. “My Father taught me and my mother this song when I was very little and they sang it to me to help me sleep or when I was sick,” said Holgar. His accent, still thick but improving.
Ishaldra responded, “How wonderful to have that song and that memory.” She continued, “I am afraid my memories with my father were not as happy but there were amazing times that I do smile when I think of.” They walked in silence for a long while, each remembering family and happy times but also sadness at those lost.

The Kingslayer

By the time the Princess and Holgar reached the Shadowy Glade, they had amassed a small army of Seelie fey creatures, all in support of the princess taking the throne.
“Make way for the Princess, make way!!” shouted Nole. The large gathering of fey surrounded the Princess as she maneuvered through the Unseelie fey townsfolk of the glade and headed up the hill to the amphitheater surrounding her father’s throne at the top of the hill. Its thorns glistening white like bone in the afternoon sun. Several townsfolk from before the curse had joined in that previously stayed hidden and safe for these last few months. Shouts of joy and expressions of happiness carried through the increasing crowd.
As the gates opened a gasp arose from the princess’ entourage as the amphitheater was filled with many evil creatures including giant fomorians, Hags , and numerous Red Caps. These were the hammer and claws of the former king’s reign.
A terrifying Red Cap leader stepped in front of the throne and yelled out, “Be gone maiden you are not the power here!!” Holgar stepped to the front of the crowd and unwrapped the large object that had been strapped to his back since the waterfall.
The crowd murmured and the word “Kingslayer” began to be whispered as the head and antlers of the former King Witchthorn emerged in Holgar’s hands. “I beg to differ, foul creatures” as he laid the head down at his feet and drew his blade still covered in the dead King’s blood. “I say this entitles the new Queen to take her throne.”
The evil creatures looked to their Red Cap leader, “You are outnumbered here and have overplayed your hand. I will enjoy dipping my hat in both of your blood.” Before anything else happened, Holgar slowly pulled out a pouch and flicked a small white item from it. And another… and another.
Slowly the evil creatures in front of him saw him dropping tooth after tooth 5,10, 15, more. Some of the Hags slowly drifted back from the crowd to alternate exits. A few Red caps joined the Hags as well. For each tooth was from a Red Cap that had been killed.
The realization that this paladin was the one that has been hunting Unseelie agents of the King’s court in recent months. “What say you, have I over played my hand?” replied Holgar calmly.
Fear grew in some of the evil creature’s eyes and anger and fury in others.
Not a sound was uttered from the crowd of fey folk behind Ishaldra and Holgar nor the remaining evil creatures in front of them. A slight prayer was heard from Holgar and his crystalline greatsword began to glow.
Then it was war.

A Queen Takes Her Throne

The aftermath of the battle had been cleansed and many more teeth gathered. Sadly, there had been losses on the fey creatures in support of their soon to be Queen. Holgar had been epic in his fight but was surrounded many times but fought and smited the evil creatures time and time again.
It was Ishaldra that struck the final blow ending the battle and vanquishing the last of the evil horde.
It was exciting in the royal courtyard as everyone gathered for the official crowning of Queen Ishaldra. Slowly her procession entered, and she stood in front of the throne which was now covered in beautiful vines and greenery. Holgar stood by her side as Nole placed the ceremonial crown upon Ishaldra’s head.
A great roar went up from the crowd and the celebration party began.

Report Date

08 Nov 2022