Session 20: The Wheel of Fortune, Follow the Leshy, The Well of Darkness, and The Old Woman's Cottage!

General Summary

The Wheel of Fortune

"As you all tuck in for the night with plans of getting a restful night’s sleep before the big day tomorrow, or perhaps a less restful night’s meditation with plans of sneaking away to investigate the cottage before anyone else… strange thoughts begin to creep along your hippocampus. A wheel, massive and burning, rotating up and around far in the distance. Its scale the size of mountains similarly silhouetted on the horizon. As it turns you feel yourself rising into the air with it. A fluid motion, pulled backwards and up, then forward and down. Over and over and over the highs in life are greeted without any hesitation by the lows.
You feel yourself easily going with this, going with the flow, anticipating the lower moments that come with each higher moment, anticipating yourself being pulled back, anticipating yourself getting pulled forward, and as you grow accustomed to this rhythm you can see the ghostly specters of different animals standing and walking in circles around you. Some of them have visible skeletons on their emaciated frames, some have skulls where their heads should be, some are missing conventional limbs and heads which are instead replaced with long projections of branches, roots and crown-like spikes, jagged and unnatural. The fire from the wheel far away from you grows brighter, blinding, hot despite its distance and spins faster becoming a ball of light. The changes you’ve grown to anticipate in this life suddenly…change. The spirits of the creatures around you stop moving, and they turn upside down while floating up into the air. Your own movement reverses, then stops, then reverses again, stops, backwards…and it keeps going down. You know you’re going around this circle again but there aren’t any rises anymore. You just go down, and backwards, and sometimes you stop completely with the anticipation that maybe you’ll get to go up again sometime soon only to be greeted once more with the disappointment and agony that you are dropping further and further in to the abyss that you can neither see nor interpret. And you wake up. Drenched in sweat, feverish and pale, any covers or bedrolls you may have had strewn about in the tent or in the open air depending on who you are. You swear for a moment that while you are awake you can still see the orb of light, the wheel that turned against you, but the vision fades and you begin to calm down." This strange omen seems to have imposed a string of bad luck upon you all, and you've noticed that normally easy feats have been slightly more challenging as the day goes by.

Follow the Leshy

In the morning, after this strange dream, some time was spent to wake-up, recuperate, and to learn of what Hysteria discovered at the The Old Woman's Cottage. Preparations were made and the lot of you eventually packed up and left your campsite behind. Kaswink took the lead along with Agave and Hysteria to help navigate and scout. While traveling towards the Old Woman's Cottage, those of you that were navigating and spending time keeping your eyes peeled for any dangers did pick up on something unusual compared to the already unusual spirit world environment. Away from the expected path scouted by Hysteria and planned by Agave, there was a wolf. It's fur was green, grass-like with little blades rather than tufts of hair and it had two pink flowers behind its ears. These flowers were the same shade of beige-pink as the clouds that constantly cover the sky. It simply stared at you all, tongue lazily hanging from one side of its mouth as it panted, and as Kaswink approached with curiosity it turned and began to walk away. Anytime she got too far behind it would stop and turn, waiting for someone to begin following it again.

Kaswink hypothesized that it might be leading you, possibly to the old woman, and threw some meat its way to see if it was hungry. The wolf ignored this offering. Namina's ability to see magical influences picked up on the fact that this wolf body was merely an illusion.

Discussions began regarding this wolf, and as you all debated on how to proceed, Hysteria provided some limited information about spirits from their folklore known as Leshy. Particularly that it could be a trick, something to lead you all astray, or perhaps it could just as likely be leading you towards treasures or information that might be needed. Despite any potential warnings, Kaswink continued following the wolf, however, Hysteria stopped her and informed her further that there is "Danger Ahead". They pointed out that the direction the wolf was leading you was in a completely different direction. Kaswink countered this argument suggesting that the wolf could be leading you all "away from danger". Namina looked over the wolf's aura and saw something rather unusual. It's aura had a few dark colors, a few normal/bright colors, and it was a combination of Indigo, Green, Dark green, and Dark cyan. Additionally, the aura that she was seeing was positioned just above the wolf. This would suggest that the wolf, or the spirit nearby, is empathetic, sensitive to the auras and energies of others, has unrealistic expectations, arrogance, yet is also peaceful, balanced, responsible while also being self critical or envious. A strange, unusual combination of traits reminiscent of the Leshy itself. Agave utilized his ability to speak with animals and was able to gain a bit of information from this animal, but the spirit wolf dialect seemed to be a bit different from normal wolf dialect and he was only able to understand every other word. "Alone...bones...unburied...belongings...rest."

Some amount of discussion later and Kaswink and Namina's interest was peaked by the mention of unburied bones, and they eventually took off after the wolf, running faster and faster as the wolf continued to remain at least 30 feet ahead of her regardless of how fast she ran. She kept this pace, along with the rest of you(except DAN cause they're slow). Namina utilized her ability to see the undead, and she discovered a second form running with the wolf. This second form had a ghostly appearance, a slight glow to it and minimal opacity. It had the shape of an old man with a long beard. Branches and flowers were stuck in his beard and the long hair on his head. He was thin, wearing only a cloth around his waist, and despite just being a ghost he did look “dirty” to an extent. After about 20 minutes you all stopped, out of breath, the wolf stopped as well. It turned to look at you, panting, and eventually lied down resting its head on its paws. Some more discussion was had attempting to determine this wolf's intent, and Namina communicated with the spectral man standing where it stands. Agave compared some notes, maps, the position of the sun with the direction traveled while running after this wolf and discovered that you had all been brought south, then west, and the wolf was about to turn to bring you north again...a potential circle.

When the old man spoke, his voice was strained, like each word was exhausting in itself, breath wheezing and unpleasant. His voice was quiet as well, like it was incredibly far away. When spoken to he said the following to Namina: “Doomed to walk, alone and ignored, my bones, my body, unburied without rites. Find me and my belongings and put me to rest.” Kaswink hypothesized that perhaps you should go to the center of this circle that was being formed, maybe the spirit was too afraid of where it died. When pressed for why it doesn't lead you to its bones instead of around them, it did not answer, just continued staring forward. It claimed to be unaware of where it was buried, and asked again to be found. When Agave spoke Druidic, Namina was able to observe that the old man was attempting to hide that he recognized the language. Agave eventually asked in common, after it was again ignored by the spirit when spoken in Druidic, if the spirit had any information on Tympi. "I have wandered, long and lost... I have seen her find others, I have seen her light paths, but I am still lost." AND, having arrived sometime ago, asked if maybe it just couldn't find its bones because something is preventing it from doing so. Namina made a connection between this and the "person we cannot speak of", which she suggested has "its talons deep within this place". A conviction was made at last to find the bones by heading into the center of where its perimeter had been formed while you were following it. This would lead you back towards the Old Woman's Cottage, and it may just help find the bones. Before leaving, Kaswink informed the spirit that "things that die, eventually go back to the earth, and it's been awhile for you, but we'll get you there."

The Well of Darkness

The wolf followed you northeast. The path through this new area was relatively the same. Signs of distinct wildlife like spiderwebs and so forth, but you were all able to find your way through with the help of your navigator and other survivalists. You were all constantly looking for these bones, and after some time the wolf eventually stopped, refusing to go further. Kaswink, thinking back to when she was listening to the land, the conversations of giants as it were, hoped to remember anything that she could about the place that you were all heading in to. The discussions had about nearby animal dens, as that is what Kaswink was listening for, had no mention of this area... there was a very distinct lack of information. Almost like any discussion of it was absent of knowledge. There certainly weren't any animals here, at least none that any giants can see or hear. Kaswink warned the group of this, perhaps whatever took Tympi was up ahead, and plans were made to be able to ward against any danger, and to escape as quickly as possible to avoid anyone else getting "taken".

Your journey did pay off in the end as some bones that were slightly buried just beneath the leaves, grime and other detritus was discovered beneath some overgrown plant life. This skeleton was excavated by Kaswink while Namina began to meditate to preserve and bless the body. Kaswink found that this skeleton was almost comically intact and belonged to what was definitely a human of some ancient persuasion. All it was missing was like a rib, some toes, a finger, nothing important for burial rites.

Kaswink performed her burial ritual, Agave excavated a grave with magical digging powers, Namina blessed the bones as planned, and Agave found some nearby flowers to symbolize death for the ceremony. Some silent thoughts and prayers were had about the deceased per Agave's customs, and a multicultural funeral was had as Kaswink tucked the flowers into the eyes of the skull. Namina used some of her religious, right-wing magic help channel the sound of Kaswink's bell so that it provides some guidance for the spirit to hear what is happening. After the bones were buried, a sign was looked for suggesting that the spirit might be moving on. A gust of wind pushed some autumn leaves along the forest floor in a direction which was eagerly followed. Was this just further trickery from the Leshy or a spirit moving on a providing a last bit of guidance in its departure? We may never know.

Following the guidance of the wind, you all soon came across another strange sight. Up ahead you saw a clearing. Normally not that big of a deal, but this one had a 300ft diameter (one football field in freedom units) and everything in the area was incredibly dark. No sign of any animals, the leaves on any plants were almost black and covered in a strange film of unknown purpose and composition. At the center of this clearing was a pit, about 5 ft wide, with the surrounding terrain going up and back down into this pit almost like a funnel. Agave looked around for anything else, perhaps any animals, and found that there weren't even any bugs crawling along the ground. Namina attempted to spot anything undead, anything that was an affront to the natural order, but she was also unable to find anything of that nature. Kaswink attempted to dig up some of the roots of these plants and saw them basically liquefy upon contact with the air. They were reduced to an inky blackness that was reminiscent of what was seen when Tympi was taken by The Unblinking Sein. The Page of Swords quickly drew the surrounding area and began taking notes on everything happening. Kaswink asked this borderline helpful follower if they had every seen anything like this before, to which they replied "This is unusual. There's places Tympi can't see, and this is probably one of them."

Plans were discussed very briefly on how to defend against whatever this is while learning as much as possible before Kaswink asked Namina for a talisman and walked towards the pit. While walking in this direction, the talisman attempted to break free and fall to the ground, but Kaswink held it steady and continued walking. Getting closer to the pit, Kaswink was able to see that it was basically a well. A stone, cylindrical wall going deep into the ground with a layer of liquid, inky black darkness. As it rose and fell, Kaswink was able to see some more details of the surrounding rim, including a set of obscured insect legs carved into the stone. Kaswink interpreted this to be "something to catch bugs" much to the chagrin of Namina and Agave. While informing them of these insect legs, Kaswink ended up feeling a bit of a headache which felt similar to previous knowledge-based distress. Namina grabbed the other Talisman she had handy and ran forward toward the well, joining Kaswink. Agave stopped the two of you from going in any deeper by claiming that he may be able to cleanse whatever is in the pit. He did so by bringing down a beam of moonlight directly onto the strange darkness within.

As the moonlight struck this pit, the darkness within began to shake violently before being condensed down deeper into the well. Kaswink reached in to begin destroying the carvings of centipedes now far more visible thanks to the receded darkness. Namina instructed Agave to drop the moonlight immediately, and this caused the inky darkness to rise back to the surface and partially submerge Kaswink up to her shoulder. Her entire arm was covered in this strange liquid, and she felt something tugging at her arm. She was able to pull herself free with the help of her curse, and as she did so she saw that her arm no longer had her red chord, or any hair, or anything at all for that matter, just some slightly bubbled flesh.

Namina used a familiar spell, one that provides a bit of guiding...light, and was fortunate enough to strike whatever was at the bottom of this well, providing a small amount of illumination. Kaswink tested the waters a bit more and found that any torch that she threw down the well was unable to be seen through the darkness. Agave redeployed the moonlight at the instruction of Kaswink, and Kaswink began her descent into the depths of this well. She destroyed any centipede carvings she saw along the way and discovered that, while she was taking damage from the moon, this centipede completely surrounded the interior of this well in a spiral pattern from the top to the bottom. At the depths, she discovered an Unusual Fragment. She was also damaged from her previous excursion with the goop, and refused any treatment from Namina as she needed a reminder of the missing red thread. Kaswink also claimed that if that's what took Tympi there's no way she's still alive. This fragment of...whatever it is, looked to possibly be made of some sort of stone material. It had a gradient of different greys from nearly black to nearly white and it seemed to be shifting these tones all over its surface, almost like a liquid or fiery substance. Its appearance was similar to the crown seen in The Maze, and connections were made between the two, though there was no sign of any flames flicking from this fragment like the crown had. It was theorized that this may be a piece of that crown and that whatever took Tympi could've taken this King, or perhaps an even more sinister plot is afoot. Theories that the owner of this crown might've taken Tympi, or commanded whatever took her, but was later taken by some other more powerful creature, perhaps the one that is causing the mental anguish some of you feel at times. Kaswink also theorized that perhaps this crown needs to be rebuilt to get Tympi back, maybe the king wants it rebuilt. Maybe using it as bait to lure the king in. Or maybe using it yourselves? It's all unknown, though.

The Page of Swords had little to provide in terms of information on this shard, or the crown. Apparently there aren't kings anymore, but there are folktales, tales of grandiose from bar patrons, and lots of other wild tales that may or may not be believable. He did hear of a throne once though in one of them that had a matching crown and was used to seal away the light. Tympi and the others never saw what helped them deal with the darkness or what caused the darkness the last time, but he did read something interesting in her journal once. An entry involving a vision, and the strange being that helped her. "The vision I saw was of a barely lit throne made of some matte, flat and smooth stone with an impressive gradient of greys throughout its surface. The light on this throne seemed to be coming from above and hardly providing any light at all, and I could barely recognize something within the vision before it faded to pitch black once more. I know I saw the roots of a tree, and--- We never saw what did it, I can barely remember what its voice sounded like, but I distinctly remember the phrase "Let me help, your victory will be payment enough."" The fragment itself was given to AND in the end, as they may have some new special interest in masonry and so forth.

The Old Woman's Cottage

After some more debates regarding the Old Woman, the supposed crown, and the unusual fragment, you all decided to get back on the road and get moving towards The Old Woman's Cottage. You did come across a hedge wall after a great deal of walking. This wall was made from different bushes, vines, mushrooms, flowers, and some more exotic plants that looked like they might take a bite out of you. The gate itself was expertly carved from some gorgeous wood, a plant that seemed to still be growing its own leaves and flowers. The cottage could be seen on the other side of this gate, and Kaswink called out to her for permission to enter. The slightest bit of movement was seen from inside the cottage before the gate unlatched itself and opened. Crossing the threshold into this property was incredible. The moment your feet stepped into this yard you were momentarily blinded as the sun is suddenly visible right in front of you and rising behind this house. It is larger than any sun you've ever seen on the material plane, and it framed this house perfectly. Memories of the field guide came to mind and a drawing of this small cottage with the sun behind it suddenly made a bit more sense. The temporary blindness from this light source passed and you could then see the gorgeous garden, yard, and adorable cottage in front of you. A catoblepas could also be seen, which Kaswink grunted at as it stared at you all.

Kaswink knocked at the door, and there was no response for an unusual length of time. The door eventually opened outwards, towards you all, and after bumping into Kaswink for a brief moment the interior of the cottage was finally visible. All sorts of oddities could be seen, and a great deal more were rendered invisible thanks to a tarp that covered a couple of shelves. A painting of a red, dilapidated barn on one of the walls could be seen, a strange wooden circle with some runes carved into it replaced the area where Hysteria saw a mannequin the previous night. A wooden foot could be seen poking out from underneath the tarp, and a drawer jam-packed full of some unknown items could be seen. If Hysteria's briefing was to be believed, the covered shelves were likely covered in jars of unusual bodily fluids, organs, limbs, moths, butterflies, darkness, and separated by a life-size wooden doll. The drawers probably were full of small, child-size shoes.

Kaswink helped in the kitchen, making tea and after some time the silence was broken. Agave stated that they are a group of explorers searching for things, particularly Tympi. The Old Woman sneered at this, asking what you all were looking for besides "long, lost butterflies". Kaswink interjected, explaining that you all were looking for darkness, stating that you would likely stomp it when it was found. Agave again spoke, explaining that he is looking for the cause of his blight, and Kaswink explained her spirit is on the line which peaked the old woman's interest. The Old Woman explained that "something owns Kaswink" and that it "will not let her go", she needs to "look inward" and "follow the leash". She instructed Kaswink to find Simol as she'll have a recipe and knowledge. It was also revealed that this Old Woman apparently was never in the hag village... she just "exists here". While trying to ask about the pit and show her the location on the map she spat on Agave's map and continued asking mostly inane questions, almost unaffected by the discussion of darkness, indeed a Well of Darkness, so close to her home. The Old Woman also gave Agave a book of Desert Spirits. Anytime she was asked what her name is she just grunted and spat on the ground.

The discussion at some point led to staying the night at her home, and offerings of chores were brought up. She seemed fine with this, if confused by the lack of space and where you all would stay, but she didn't object to some chores being done. Her mood suddenly shifted though. She wanted to know why you were here, and she was particularly interested in why Kaswink was there, not trusting the previously stated reasons, perhaps somehow aware that Kaswink didn't trust her. Kaswink came forward and explained that some people think that The Old Woman is somehow responsible for Tympi's disappearance. Explained that this is likely because of her appearance and other factors, but that she is nice so far. The old woman grunted and allowed you to look around the place unimpeded.

The stone was offered to the Old Woman for inspection. She licked it, sniffed it, hit it with a mallet, nothing seemed to happen unfortunately and she seemed confused by its existence. She explained that it is darkness. Though she was further confused by Kaswink's hypothesis that it is part of a crown, but she became incredibly intrigued when Kaswink stated she had seen who wears the crown. She kept repeating "you've seen who wears it? Well lit? Who wears it... you've seen who wears it." She asked you all if you knew his name, and Kaswink become concerned that she would be incapable of doing so. Agave asked the old woman if she were cursed, and she was still unsure what you were talking about. Namina suggested that the owner of the crown and the person you can't speak of are likely different people. In an attempt to explain who "you can't speak of", Namina offered some Centipede shells she had been carrying around, and the old woman promptly threw them into her cauldron without hesitation. Even with Kaswink explaining that it was like that but bigger the old woman was still of no help. Unfortunate.

The session concluded with you inspecting the jar-covered shelves. Kaswink attempted to converse with the Old Woman again, bringing up some small-talk about the weather and why she built her home there. The Old Woman explained its "A nice place to build a cabin. When you bring someone here, they've run out of hope, and they see the sun rising over a small cottage, it helps them get through the night." She insisted that helping people is a waste of time. There's always more to help, they always just get into more trouble. She tried to help a little kid long ago, and he ran away. She lamented the waste of time and stated he's probably dead now. The old woman's demeanor abruptly changed during this last conversation, saying "you're not going to find her. It's been too long. The one that has her won't let her go." Before she stopped moving as her face started to slowly lose features. Kaswink tried to slap her, but the slap just connected with the wood of a faceless mannequin. As this peculiar sight was being analyzed a knock was heard at the door...

Monday, March 14, 2022