Baba Yaga actually makes good food
General Summary
Apparently stepping through a giant portal means you get sent into brand new places. I really have no idea where we are, but we’re in the midst of a deep dark forest and surrounded by intricately placed mushrooms, that means fairy circle. I put an arm out and stop Devan from stepping on the mushrooms. I don’t know for sure what would happen if he did, but I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t be good.
“Greetings, Good Granny welcomes you to her home,” says a knight in shining red armor, who we later learn is called Brightest Day.
“We thank you for that hospitality,” says Devan. Brightest Day ignores Devan and turns to Milli.
“My Lady, it has long been since we have seen an emissary of the Andrimani in this area.”
“We thank you for the hospitality and accept it,” Milli says glancing back at us. Brightest Day waves his hands and the mushrooms melt away in front of us. He leads us through the forest, there’s no path, but he moves as if he is going over clear ground. After a few hours' walk, we come into a clearing.
At the edge of the clearing lies a small cottage, from the open door we smell the aroma of baking bread. Three large dogs lounge near the door, glance up at us, and see Brightest Day and drop their heads to sleep again. Out of the door comes a small woman, maybe 4’8″ with slate-gray hair pulled back into a tight bun. She wipes her hands on the ragged apron covering her skirt and says, “It has been a long
She wipes her hands on the ragged apron covering her skirt and says, “It has been a long time since one of your position came into my home,” speaking to Milli.
“You never know what the forest might bring you,” Milli responded, “Which forest are we in now?”
The Good Granny looks around, “It’s a bit of every forest, but where are my manners? Come in and enjoy a pleasant meal before you tell me of what is going on.”
We look around the room and it looks like the cottage of any housewife. There are herbs drying from hooks, a few simple dolls on the mantle, and simple rustic furniture carefully arranged. In the middle of the big room stands a table all laid out for breakfast.
“Sit down and partake of the oatmeal,” she says gesturing. We all sit down around the table and look nervously down at the plates.
“I don’t be eatin’ breakfast much milady. Do you have any rum I could drink?” Cap’n asks Baba Yaga. She brings over a rather dusty-looking bottle, and he twists the cap off and takes a hearty drink. “That be some good rum.”
“I’ll take some of that,” Milli says, and between the two of them, they make an impressive dent into the rum. As the rest of us start eating a commotion of horses is heard out in the clearing. Baba Yaga goes to the door and we see 20 or 30 riders dressed for the hunt with hounds milling about them.
Brightest Day stands sword at the ready as the Horned Leader waits at the edge of the clearing. He speaks in Sylvan to Baba Yaga, “My Lady has called for a fortnight of festivals as a celebration for the recovery of the Sword of the North.”
I search my brain frantically trying to remember a figure with Horned Head and vaguely remember a huntsman sworn to the Snow Queen in the North. I glance back at my friends and finger my mace worriedly.
Brightest Day accepted the scroll the Hunter held forth and brought it to Baba Yaga who glanced down at it negligently.
“I see you have brought prey for us?” inquired the Hunter of our host.
“You would hunt my guests?” She replied looking pointedly at him.
“Not at all my lady, but all mortals who come into this realm are my prey, would you deny me that?”
“I have need of them and they have been granted guest rites, would you violate that for a few hours of entertainment?”
“Very well, I will leave them be for 3 moons time, is that sufficient to your needs my Lady?”
“Indeed,” and she gestured for us to go sit back down.
As we finish our meal, she pulls out loaves of bread and fiddles with this and that. “I presume you are here to check on the item I am holding for you?”
“Yes,” Milli responded after a quick moment, “It may be time to recover the item.”
“Oh, then you no longer wish to watch over the item you are holding for me?” Baba Yaga asked with a hint of excitement in her voice.
“No my lady, we have only need to check on the item,” Milli says carefully.
“It is currently with Alan Riddle along with an item I asked him to keep for me,” she says carefully wrapping the loaves of bread. “To get the item you will first need to find Roan De Carville . He has a doll of an intriguing nature that I believe Allen Riddle will wish to gain. Trade the doll to Alan for the silver flute with a conch and seagull on it that he is holding for me. While there you can check on your own item.” She finished packing the bread as we finished our meal.
Baba Yaga walked to the door and a man entered, “Scarpe, You will lead these people and help them find Roan de Carville. When you bring them back with the items your service is done.”
We pack up our stuff and head off into the deep dark forest. “Move faster,” Scarpe said, “We need to get out of these woods before night falls. Dangerous things come out then.” We follow along behind him, but part of the way through the day both Milli and the Cap’n are really dragging. They’re starving, and really just want more to eat. Devan and I are doing fine, that oatmeal was incredibly filling. My starving friends split open one of the loaves of bread, and both eat half.
We hit the edge of the forest as the sun is starting to set. It takes a bit of a hike, but we get to the ferry and across before the sunsets.
“What is the news?” Devan asks the ferryman as he poles us across. “We’ve been traveling and it’s good to know from someone local what’s up.”
“Oh, it’s been terrible recently,” the ferryman said, “The orcs have been raiding up into the Wald and coming up within sight of Corazon. There’s been a lot of families that have lost someone.”
“Thank you for that news,” Devan says as we hop off the ferry.
We hike on for a bit more and get to the gate of Corazon as they prepare to close the doors for the night. The guards start to question us, but they see Scarpe and wave us through the door. The inn is serviceable, but nothing to write home about. However, we do get a bit of news that Roan de Carville was seen over at Stanishold a few days away from us.
So the next morning we pack up and head off to our next location, after a mostly calm journey we reach there and talk to the headman, William Bowden.
“Yes, you can stay here for the night, nothing much going on right now,” William says, then he sees Scarpe at the back of the group. “Scarpe, long time no see! Come talk with me and tell me the news of the area.”
Scarpe walks off a bit and we hear the two of them talk about the orc raids, Roan de Carville, and the general oddness of the season.
“We’re to stay in the house in the middle of the village. If you hear the bell, come help defend the walls,” Scarpe told us. “William says Roan came through here about a month ago and then left in search of some ruins on the Moors.”
“Hey, do you know much about the Snow Queen?” Devan asks, “The guy who came to Baba Yaga’s house mentioned her, but I don’t know the name.”
“She serves Queen Maab, don’t mess with her if you can help it,” Scarpe said as he prepared for bed.
That night we woke from a sound sleep to loud clanging. I grabbed my mace and headed to the walls. I don’t hear the usual sounds I would expect of a battle, but I do hear lots of whistles and clangs. I run up to the wall and a giant dog is biting the guard.
I climb up on the wall and whack the dog, but it felt like I hit a metal bell with my mace, not a dog, and a loud clang rang out through the night. Scarpe joins the fight and starts to hum. I notice the fight slowly turning in our favor.
Then I turn and see Devan running at me with a log held over his head, I duck and thankfully he hits the dog-thing. It was a little worrying for a moment.
Cap’n crushes the head of one of the dogs and notices a glowing crystal in the middle of the dog. He holds the crystal up, “Look it’s got such a pretty glow.”
“Hey Cap’n,” Milli said, “Not to worry you, but I can see through your hand and it’s glowing.”
“That be not good,” Cap’n said looking down at his hand. “I’ll just put this here stone in me bag, and we’ll see what we should be doing with it.”
Looking over the village I notice most of the dogs are down now, but there are a fair number of injured people in the town.
Report Date
21 Dec 2021
Primary Location
