←

Session #28

→

Wed September 13, 1178 (12:00) - Thu September 14, 1178 (10:00)

Starting off, the party had a vicious fight with a massive white flower which attacked them on their way to Silt. It released a mist of confusion and flower bulbs that danced and tossed the party around, wreaking havoc on them. Their hunter guide, whose name Fang found out was Markinat, explained that this is a Dancing Lady, one of the many dangers of the Deepwoods forests. The party and the flower traded blows back and forth, each whittling the other down bit by bit. From blocking their attacks to fighting back with fury, it was the most difficulty foe the party had faced thus far. The major breakthrough was by Carnage, who cast a massive fireball and obliterated the flower (along with much of the vegetation around them). They barely made it out alive - or in the cases of Carnage and Astrid, they didn’t. Being brought to the brink of death, both were healed back up after the fight. But there was no time to rest and recuperate, as Markinat quickly got them out of the way as a mysterious forest guardian, appearing as a massive elk with a body of wood, came out to extinguish the flames. They watched from afar and fled before the guardian could find them and bring consequences for what they'd done. On a stroke of luck, they found a shortcut to Silt which the gnomish search party did not, and arrived just before nightfall in the small village. Silt was the very definition of a forest village - barely fifty residents, living in houses up in the trees with rope bridges between them. Candlelight shone from the windows as the residents went to sleep, safe from the dangers of the forest surrounding them on all sides. Here Markinat bid them farewell, going to stay at a friend's home, and the party went to locate Dirt. The first person they spoke to was the town carpenter, who told them that Dirt had actually come back to town just a few days ago, but had quickly gathered up his entire family and left. The carpenter also spotted something unbelievable - Dirt was not alone, but in fact led his family (including his grandmother) to a small group of gnomes in the forest, before departing all together. This immediately raised the party's suspicions - why would Dirt lead his family to their kidnappers? Clearly, some powerful magic or threats must have been used on him to cause this sudden change of heart. Worried for their safety, and searching for the knowledge they initially came here for, they convinced the carpenter to bring them to the home of Dirt VI (Dirt VII's grandmother) who was the village healer and the current holder of the ritual to defeat an archdruid. Unfortunately, her home was already emptied of tools, potions, and any useful information. Before sleeping, they talked with the carpenter, their gracious host in this village. They told him of a far off body of water they went to, called the Ocean. He didnt believe their claims but found their stories fascinating, and suggested they come back in 2 month's time for the village's "Bonfire Festival", where residents share grand stories and travellers from around the Deepwoods come visit to tell their own stories. After going to sleep, they woke up the next day to the sound of gnomes arriving in town. These announced themselves proudly, requesting the village's gnome guest home be prepared for a royal visit from House Rutred. These were the gnomes on the party's tail, who they'd previously revealed information to. As before, they were searching for Dirt, and coming up just as empty handed as the party did. Quickly, the party decided on their course of action: they needed to follow wherever Dirt and his family went to. For this, they needed a guide, or to somehow brave the forest themselves. They picked the former, and went to ask Markinat to help once more. They successfully persuaded him to join them in their search, by pulling on his compassion for fellow forest residents and anger at the gnomes. He would help them search for Dirt, so long as they paid 20gp to account for lost income and promised to be the ones to win this Beasting Contest, and come back to Silt to tell the tale of their victory. One final piece of information was needed before leaving - a general direction that Dirt and his captors went in. For this, they asked the carpenter once more, with Fang distracting the gnomes so they wouldn’t hear. Both gave useful information - the carpenter said the group went southeast, while the gnome mentioned that House Rutred is so interested in the Beasting Contest because they can prove their superiority over the Zemtyrs hosting the contest. He mentioned something about "seeing their shocked faces at the gala when the contest is over". Dodging the gnomes and successfully lying about their lack of knowledge about Dirt's whereabouts, the party then set off to the southeast, following Dirt's trail as best as they could.