Plantmonth the 16th, 289 of the 29th age (202 years before our time). 10:30 at night. We were discussing our plans for tomorrow. We want to get to the Remembrance Overlook about 11ish, easily after the end of the last full manned shift, have all our stuff inside our portable Hut, and make sure that we were not seen. Everyone had about 2 days of travel rations on us – but the thought was that we should get at least 1 more.
But not to wander town and buy a pile of food, since the Speaker of the Sun let slip that he had people reporting to him about our general activities. We were flat out told no for the Crater, and the rebuke should have us leaving Tilani sooner rather than later. So we did not want to ask Cargalane to set us up with food stuffs. Instead a few of us would go and see Captain Twilick and see if the gnomish Captain could get us some more travel rations tomorrow.
We rested well and the next day we ate breakfast and then went through all of our gear, making sure that it was ready to load into the Hut. Captain Twilick had already been sort of approached by the Speaker’s people, wondering how much longer they’d be around since they might be leaving soon. The Gnomish Captain replied that it was up to the Kaiser’s people and he will not be leaving until they (your group) feel they are ready.
We had made some overtures that we might be travelling in the direction of Aysle (next town east of here on the way to Gorok) to throw off suspicion. Captain Twilick would support our play. And he gave us 18 days of trail rations from the Zephyr’s stores to help us on the way (he will use the Kaiser’s scrip later on to replenish it from Tilani, we paid him 2 gold per day for the food stuffs). We then made sure that all the animals were safely in the kennels – house cats and dog. Nathaniel was going to bring Frederico, commenting that he had big plans eventually for the rat.
We ate well and dinner was our last meal, going up to the room to rest and get a few hours sleep. A bit after 10 we got ourselves ready and Wilhelm did a final check with the Reflecting Pool – confirming that the Remembrance Overlook was down to 3 total guards again. The night was dark, the clouds were missing, and we were ready to go.
We snuck out of the room and used the servant’s stairs at the back of the hotel, descending from the 3rd to the 1st floor. A scullery maid was sweeping a nearby storeroom but the back door was propped open with a plant. We took our time and snuck out, one by one. We did make some noise and she stuck her head out of the pantry, calling twice, “Anyone there?” But the random dice were on your side and she went back to her sweeping so the last of us emerged to the night air.
We decided NOT to risk sneaking behind the Speaker’s Palace and instead went up the Cliffside stairs to the upper reaches of Tilani (Called the Canopy) and snuck from tree to tree, keeping in the deep shadows to get us westward. A patrol was maybe a block and a half north but we were quiet enough they did not come to investigate. Finally at the Cliffside stairs near the Overlook, we climbed down and made our way with slow but measured pacing across the northern walls of the Remembrance until by 11:45, we were by the Gift Shoppe, just up from the Crater.
We snuck down without issue and Wilhelm took the carefully made runes they had forged and pulled together on a single page, unrolled it, and placed it inside the recess on the massive stone circular door.
And nothing happened.
Um. Fuck. Ok. Lets try it again. He turned it completely around and pressed it in again. And again. Nothing. Shit. He tried saying Frey. Nothing. He tried twisting it – and the stone moved a moment and then stopped! Um Do that again! He twisted the paper like wheel or a steering yoke back and forth and again – the budged a bit and stopped!.
We were really pressing luck. The thought was to make sure the runes on the paper were the exact same orientation as the display stone. And that did it! The stone wheeled back and away almost silently, but a circle of soft light did come out from the opening.
“In! In!”
The group all filed inside and after 2 minutes, the wheel rolled back in place and at 12:10 on Plantmonth the 18th, we were inside the Crater of the Lifetree. The dome preventing light to pass out so Shim fired off a light spell on a coin and we explored the crater. It was at a slight angle, running towards the center of the pit. There were strange mounds of soil and clay piled high, 5, 6, 7’ tall. The entire feel of the place was glasslike. As if the dwarven explosion so long ago fused the ground into glass.
The smell of fresh mown grass and honey was in the air. And we could hear faint wind chimes. We used that to help guide us.
Eventually we did come to the center where the opening was 8’ wide and went down at a 60, 65 degree angle. We tied the coin to a thong (after notching it), and lowered it down, but it went further than the thong would show. Wilhelm, Rhygar, and Eoghan did check the entire thing out. There were many signs that the Most Beloved of Frey had come here many times. About 2, 3’ down the glass of the soil turned back to regular very hard packed soil and clay. Small holes had been drilled into the soil and they could verify hand and footprints going down at least 15’ feet, maybe 20’ The nearest glassine mound of soil had wear marks as if made by a rope many times along one end of it, more proof that he tied something here and went into the pit a bit.
Shim checked the Desmondian Diamond – one piece was very much pointing straight down here. So we tied two ropes together, tied it to the mound of soil, and Connal went down first, taking the coin with him for light. It was 80’ down. The passage went about 35', then dropped 9’, then went back the other way before coming to a much less sloped area. The wind chime continued on down here. Shim volunteered to go next. Before going down, him and Eoghan set up another light source using his hat and a light spell, 200’ of stonebiter wire cord and a hook to ferry light both up and down for everyone.
It was slow going, one by one going down, not wanting to stress the ropes, until finally by just shy of 2 PM, we were all down the bottom of the pit. We went south for a bit , the ground having the slightest of declines, wind chime noise still ahead of us. Eventually an oval chamber was before us. Damp, some puddles of water in the densely packed clay, and a huge mass of dried roots here.
We examined and went in and back a few times, making sure all was ok. Passage was difficult, swords and axes led the way cutting the worst aside. Eventually there were bones. Mostly animal (small) at first – and then larger ones. Humanoid. Arm bones, leg bone, rib. All bleached white, all from some time ago. The thought was they were not dwarven, but we could not tell anything else.
At the end of the chamber was a mass of busted glass on the floor, decent sized oval, 5’ x 8’. Just shattered there. We took our time and then swept it to the sides so we could pass. The passage beyond wound for a bit, never getting more than 5’ wide. It did split and we followed the direction with the chime noise. It widened a bit, then split again, and we again opted to follow the noise. It also narrowed ahead to about 3’ wide or less. A few of us were going to have to strip off backpacks to get through.
We tried a speak with animal with Frederico and the rat ran off ahead to check it out and see if it could find the chime noises. And he never came back. After 10 minutes we all drew up and stepped closer to the room. It was pretty big, more roots were everywhere, ceiling was 8’ up. 3 massive piles at least 2’ tall. Shim tried to speak with burrowing animals and when he called for the rat – he got something else.
Called itself Megs. Had 2 buddies in here. And did not sound friendly. We crept in and gave the first pile a big swing and a hit to scatter some of the roots and a 5’ long megalocentipede burst out and attacked us. We relied almost entirely on missile fire as it spit and hissed and tried to attack us. And even though it had a fairly thick carapace, it did eventually die – but not until we did over 20 hit points of damage to it.
To a damned bug!
2 others were in here and we did the same, cleared part of the nest aside while three of us engaged it up close, the rest took it out at a distance. We did find the remains of Frederico, and Nate was sad at his friend’s (?) passing.
“It’s just a damned rat,” muttered Wilhelm the druid, further exploring the chamber.
The roots were also tree roots, snarled and old and twisted. Mostly a testament we were on the right path. At the south end of the chamber was another section of glass on the floor, and hanging from a piton driven into the dense clay was a wind chime made of alternating wood and bone lengths (8 altogether). Wilhelm did a detect magic and could tell the chime was magic. As he went to take it down, the rest of the group intervened and advised him to hold off. It was there for a reason. Why?
Shim did a detect magic as well and the best he could say was the magic was defensive. We opted to leave it and look on. Beyond the chimes were more of a passage and then another hole going down down down into the gloom. Shim’s check of the diamond confirmed it was the right direction.
We set up the hut, went inside, and crashed at 3:45 in the morning after Shim did a prestidigitation to get the dirt off of us.
We awoke a bit before noon on Plantmonth the 18th and after breaking our fast and praying, we were ready to go by 1. Darius got out lantern lit and then checking our rope situation we were happy to have a bunch. There was little to mount it to and the ground was very very dense clay – but a spike was a foot long tops.
Nate took his fair (fine!) long sword, had shim cross tie the rope to the guard, and then Darius drove it at and oblique angle into the ground near the top of the hole. Rope went down and once again, it was Connal down the hole first. 60’ down to the base at a 60 degree angle. Passage went south, a bit wide. So we took our time, everyone took a turn on the rope and made their way down. Once there we redressed in armor and by ten to 2, were ready to go on. Lantern had about 2 hours of oil left to it so we went.
At the first split (3 way), we went center, left had a rose smell to it. Then another dozen paces had another split and we took south. Some sort of flower smell up ahead. Chamber was pretty big, a 15’ “D” shaped pool of water in the middle. Butterflies, flowers growing thick on the floor. 2 celestial looking 5’ tall, 12’ long lizards on either side of a ridiculously looking beautiful woman sitting on the edge of the water, wearing only a thin cotton robe held closed by a single tie.
She saw us and Godric was in the front of all this. She motioned him closer. They tried to talk but she seemed to be mute. She motioned him closer and Godric came. They talked about wanting to pass. She had her hand out to his and he took hers. And her beauty almost blinded him, blasting the color out of his eyes. Nate ran in to get Godric, and Connal and Darius were immediately beset by the lizards who attacked.
Shim summoned an Ogre and was just far enough into the room that it could reach the woman. She opened her top and the Ogre stopped – and then WALLOPED the fuck out of her. She crumpled and then looked out really pissed. Magical sling followed – but some of the shots just did nothing to her. Same with Eoghan’s bow. Magic missiles just failed. Wilhelm summoned a lion in and it too failed to hit.
Magic resistance- and pretty high. And the lizards were regenerating. The woman hit the pool and then sunk in. Screw this – the party faded back, retreating down the hall, leaving the lion and ogre to cover our retreat with the lizards.
Once safely away we discussed what we had seen as Asher cured Godric’s blindness (yep – it was permanent). Best guess? It was a Nymph. And pretty tough too. For a fairy/fey race most magic does nothing to them, water heals them, and if we catch her gaze wrong can blind us. Her bare body could actually kill someone as well. Only the most handsome of people can walk by unscathed – and we were not going to win any beauty contests. We talked about heading backwards to check out the Rose passage and see if we could get around the Nymph room that way.
Plantmonth the 18th, 2:20 PM, 289 of the 29th age.
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