Session 9: Squirrelly Business

20th & 21st Of Snowmelt

General Summary

With the curse lifted from Indra's body, she rejoins the rest of the LUKI Four. She also quickly checks the item Illis gave to her, which seems to shimmer red ever so slightly. She learns that one of the items she searches should be nearby, but she is unable to find it as of now. Exhausted after a long day, the party retires to their rooms in the Red Dragon Inn, and enjoys some well earned rest.
The next morning, Leaf wakes up to a dozen squirrels scavaging in her room. They bolt the moment they realise she has woken up, but leave behind a trail of acorns for her to follow. Confident that it sends the right message to the rest of the party, Leaf puts a pile of acorns on her bed and follows the squirrels. The squirrels lead her to a large tree in the Walk of Kings, next to the statue of the second to last king. Leaf turns into a squirrel herself and joins them inside their home in the tree. The squirrels, who turn out to be the elite task force known as the "Knights of the Great Acorn", humbly ask her to help them defend a powerful artifact from the forest. Apperently, one of only three golden acorns is kept within the city, with the other guarded by the government of Golden Oak Forest and the Feywilds. The squirrels have noticed a scent of undeath around it, which they fear might be an attempt to steal or harm the object. Leaf decides that she wants to help the squirrels and they discuss a plan. The Knights need half a day to prepare, after which they will be ready to ensure she and her companions can reach the area below where the "Eternal Soldier Sleeps", provided that Leaf knocks on their tree at least half an hour in advance.
With this new task, Leaf returns to the Red Dragon Inn. She does however forget that she is a squirrel when she starts waking up Indra, who screams in surprise of the furry creature on her chest. There is a little scuffle, but eventually the entire group is ready and able to start their day. They head out to go shopping, briefly stopping at Normas' candy stall to buy a Sprinkle Sparkle, a sort of candyfloss with magically applied sparkles. The next stop of the party is Madam Zoor's Curiocities, a shop that has the vibe of an old home of a hoarder with piles of items and books scattered about. It is ran by Madam Zoor, an old blind huncheback gnome that also bakes delicious thee. The group tries to find anything related to the Feaster, but none such items seem to be present. They look around the place for a while, finding a creepy unicycle doll and a Vampire bloodvial, before eventually settling on a Tiki Warlock Invocation Doll and a Sorcerrer's Hagmother's egg for Indra and Killian respectivaly.
Having spent most of their available money, the group heads over to the Tower Scholars to meet Spips, a Bullywug from the Floats who has specialized in Knuc's life. Despite his suposed expertise, the group only manages to learn that Knuc has researched sustained life through petrification, which means that he might still be alive somewhere. It is around this time that an old friend and mentor of Killian, Norfaed, recognizes him and the two have a short conversation about Killian's new life as an adventurer. He asks the group if he can do anything for them, and upon recognizing the symbol of the Feaster, tells the group that he will go talk with the head of the Tower of History, to see what he can do.
Unfortunately, Lady Valxi is still not present at this time, and Indra goes on a rant about having to wait for other people all the time. She starts demanding that she is allowed access into the towers, and when she learns this is done by enrolling, demands that she is enrolled at once. This turns into a discussion between Indra, Spips, Killian and an unknown member of the Tower of Mysteries, during which Lady Valxi arrives. The group is guided through the Tower of History to the office of Lady Valxi. The tower is a strange place to be, with only a large spiral staircase and several doors to different rooms at regular intervals. What is discomforting however, is that all living creatures above you looking older than they are, and all creatures below you looking younger than they are. At the same time, once someone start climbing the tower, the top of the tower seems to be less constructed, while the bottom of the tower seems to crumble.
Still phantoming what they are seeing, the group eventually arives at the office of Lady Valxi, where the figure from the Tower of Mysteries with whom Indra and Killian had a discussion is also present. The group learns that Lady Valxi had been on a expedition to Idirianoc to look at various archeological findings. She also informs the party that her expertise does not lie with things such as the Feaster, but that this is the expertise of Kithalme, the person from the Tower of Mysteries. Killian quickly notices something odd about Kithalme, and with the strange shimmer in his left eye recognizes Kithalme as Malekith, one of two figueres from Indra's vision at the Floats. The group confides in Kithalme and Lady Valxi, quickly informing them of the things they have seen in both Gildenwharf and the Floats. Dispite being pleased with the information given to him, Kithalme is still sceptical about the possible intentions of the group, and purposes they prove themselves with one of three tasks. Firstly, they can find a traitor within the Bloated Bounty, local crime syncicate, who works with the feaster. Secondly, they can find a magical object known as the Pallid mask of Truth, which should be hidden somehwhere below the city. Finally, they get a list of five names of people that might be involved with the feaster, which should be brought in for interrogation either alive or dead for less than 24 hours.
The group agrees to keep an eye out for each one of these tasks, though in the absence of solid leads on any of them, heads off to the Walk of Kings to do the errant for the Knights of the Great Acorn. Leaf knocks on the tree where the squirrels reside, and after a quick check by said squirrels, the party heads off towards the crypts to await the distraction of the Knights. Soon, chaos ensues in most of the area's surrounding the crypts, and guards leave their posts to investigate in bunches. The LUKI Four use this moment to sneak into the crypts, where two bewitched guards do not seem to notice them. A quick investigation allows them to access a hidden passage below the sarcophagus of Ruhiel, who the party quickly realize is the 'Eternal Soldier'.
The group descents down a long set of stairs, some of which break below them, sending Leaf to fall a dozen feet down. In order to prevent this from happening again, Leaf decides to walk on the roof using spider climb from then on. The long staircase eventually leads them to a sort of training room with dummies in a checkerboard formation. The group spots a few skeletons dead skeletons near a dummy, and with the improvised use of a shovel manage to avoid the obvious trap in the room. They also notice that aside from a path forwards, there is also a hidden path down under a trapdoor. The group decides to firstly investigate the trapdoor path, leading them to a room where a strange crow creature and numerous skeletons are investigating a glowing floating golden acorn, encased in a ball of thick barbes. Combat starts, and despite the fate altering abilities of the crow, the party makes quick work of the danger, succesfully defending the artifact of the Squirrels. With the intention of selling it for money, Uthal collects the strange bird, while Leaf makes sure the group leaves the room and does not touch the floating artifact.
Not able to hide their curiocity, the group than investigate the other hallway from the room with the dummies, passing by various statues of Ruhiel with weapons, only leaving a narrow gap. Indra goes first, and despite thinking it should be an obvious trap, she eventually steps through the sets of statues unharmed. Killian however attempts to sneak past the third set of statues, which lack a weapon, only to be hit by a surge of radiant energy, nearly killing her in the process. After the quick use of a healing potion by Indra, the group continues on to a large set of doors, guarded by a four armed four winged creature, telling the group to leave. Killian immediatly realizes this might be a Watcher, and despite the combined curiocity of the group, they eventually decide to not take the risk and leave. The group backtracks, finding different guards bewitched upon them leaving the tomb, with a winking squirrel up near the ceiling of the crypts. Leaf reports back to the squirrels, who tank her greatly and give her a tasty acorn as a reward. With that, their first mission in Brother's Crossing is fully complete and according to the squirrels the party has saved the world from a disaster. The group decides to head in for the night, but what dangers await them in the following days..?
Next session: Session 10: Old Homes and Old Enemies

(Noteworthy) Characters Interacted With:
Knights of the Great Acorn,
Madam Zoor,
Grann Norhal of the Hall of Heroes,
Norfaed Steelbeard,
Spips of the History Tower Scholars,
Lady Valxi of the History Tower Scholars,
Kithalme of the Mystery Tower Scholars
Uknown Watcher?

Report Date

28 Aug 2022

Primary Location

Brothers' Crossing

Lady Valxi