Burning Witch Adventurers Session #49- Along the Twilight Shores

 The kobold adventurer PakPak wanted to travel to the Twilight Shores. His vat spawn compatriot and he were in the possession of the tanned hide of the Slithering Devil. PakPak had discovered from the local black smith's apprentice, Meag, a story about a legendary leather worker skilled enough to turn the leather into armor. The problem was, 200 years ago the leather worker was lurked to the fey realm of the Twilight Shores to enter into the service of that realm's elfin regent, Lady Blackmarsh. The idea of traveling to the Shores intrigued several fellow patrons gathered around the Burning Witch's common table.

The first trouble facing such an expedition was securing an invitation allowing a party of mortals to journey to the Twilight Shores. The Magician Scamandros suggested that try to arrange a visit to sell some of his black fruit wine to the Margrave Quinus rescued the week before. Scamandros' fellow Phasmo then remembered rumors of hobs drinking above the Drinking Crow which saw the group do something really seen: a party of Burning Witch regulars made the walk down passed the Monument of the Old Gods down to the harbor and into the Drinking Crow.

It is reported by several Drinking Crow patrons that a human, matching Phasmo's description was seen yelling up to the rafters of the tavern in a one sided conversation. This person roped a bipedal, dog-like companion into the display by communicating messages to him that he would then reiterate up to someone above. All the Drinking Crow regulars insist there was no one there in the rafters. Regardless, the stranger whom we will call 'Phasmo' produced from somewhere a slip of paper that he claimed was an invitation to a party in the Twilight Shores. Drinking Crow loyalists would later say that the whole incident confirmed what they all long suspected- those that frequent the Burning Witch were out of their mind.

Later that day, as the bloated red sun began to set out along the Cerulean Sea, the following party could be seen walking towards that copse of trees west of the Monument of the Old Gods:

• Betina (Level 3 Fighter)
• Armun Drum (Level 1 Cleric of the Watch hireling)
• Fancy Jean-Yves Beauvollier (Level 5 Bard)
• Elenore aka 'Peaches' (Level 1 Thief retainer)
• Forest (ghost hound)
• DT (dungeon terrier)
• Freedom (sapient cat)
• Smokey Proag (Level 2 Halfling hireling)
• Hate Pit (Level 3 Vat Spawn)
• PakPak (Level 4 Kobold)
• Phasmo (Level 4 Magic-User)
• Scamandros (Level 4 Magic-User)
• Kiddo (Level 2 Magic-User retainer)

A day later, the party returned smelling like a strange mixture of booze, the sea, and rot. Jakki, the bartender at the Burning Witch, would comment on a change in Phasmo saying the Magician was "...finally acting less like a nervous twit." The only other things the party had to show for their endeavor were a collection of what seemed to be romantic keep sakes. Scamandros took a few of the less valuable ones off to Dogmouth's psychometry stand. PakPak was overheard promising he would soon return to the Twilight Shores to find the "Liar's Hole" and rescue that leather worker from "those cave elves".

Armun Drum and Smokey Proag took their cut of the loot and spent it living high on the hog. As the pair drank their way through the last few days, they have spun a yarn that many in the Burning Witch find hard to believe. They talk about Phasmo getting an invitation to party from some hobs he claimed to talk to in the rafters of the Drinking Crow (neither Armin nor Smokey say they saw them). The group then took that invitation to the copse of trees west of the Monument of the Old Gods. Moving along a densely wooded footpath, they came across a fairy mound that they used to enter into the fey realm. They described witnessing elaborate parties, seeing brownies collect moon dew, visiting a market that definite description, and encountering an unnerving creature in a barren wood near a sea. Drum swears the creature was among the unliving but completely unlike anything he has seen. Before being able to find out any more about this trip to the realm of elves, the pair of hirelings became lost in their drinking. Word is that Smokey drunkenly married into the Biterleaf clan. Her husband, Tobi, is much younger and the word is that the Bitterleafs are just milking Smokey for her shares of Complex treasure. The venerable halfling was not the only one to find romance on their carousing tour of Orm. All signs point to Armun Drum becoming entangled in a romance as well but the cleric won't attempt to anything.

Below is an artist's rendition of the undead creature described by Smokey and Armun:  

Illustration by PakPak's player Rob A.

Dogmouth's Psychemtry of Three Romantic Trinkets

Scamandros left the party to finish dividing up treasure at the Burning Witch to trek across the plaza where the Monument of the Old Gods stood to the market just south of it. There, the adventuring thief Dogmouth had set up a stall with a roughly painted sign reading "Psychometry Services:"

The altar of Transmorgifah that bestowed on to Dogmouth this extra sensory ability granted it to the thief three times a day before his psychic reserves became expended. As a result, Scamandros is only able to uncover the secrets of three of the items:

All three items feed, at first, impressions of the sea. The smell of the salty air and the sound of waves rolling into the shore. All of this in pitch black and an overwhelming feeling of obsession to collect tokens denoting love. If Dogmouth sits with each item a little longer, he can get vaguer impressions like half-remember dreams:

• A locket of red hair fills Dogmouth with unbearable mourning, desperation, cold nights under the harbor boardwalk, and visions of red crystal turning to vapor over a hot piece of tin heated by a candle. Even deeper still, is a visions of being a part of a sea of similar red hair dancing in a bustling market place as fire moves on nearby torches.
• The second is a months old crown of cherry blossoms. Dogmouth can feel tears dropping onto the crown before it is throw of the boardwalk into the sea. He is hit with a mixture of longing and animosity for the very person who brought these items to him to be read: Scamandros.
• The last is a small key on a fading ribbon. It fills Dogmouth with shivers of fear and causes him to break out in a cold sweet. He is back under the boardwalk. He hears a voice call playfully, "Doctor! Come out now, Doooctor!" before rolling into a low, sinister laughter. He feels like he is running only to see to be running in place on top a moving, glowing disc. He feels himself turning and seeing the wild eyes of a young boy or woman with close cropped hair before there is a flash a steel then just the smell of death.

Loot 

• A assortment of romantic trinkets including two of financial value:
• A gold band with inlaid 2 carat amethyst worth 600gp
• A gold locket with a pearl cameo worth 1000gp

Experience Points

• 1600xp from treasure
• Reanimated shapeshifting conjoined flock of ravens defeated 1 x 1840xp
• Leprechaun warded off with a flask of Pernod 1 x 6xp

 Player Character Cut

• 228gp, 5sp, and 7cp ea. (114gp, 2sp, and 8cp to ea. retainer or hireling)
• 574xp ea. (287xp to ea. retainer or hireling)

Write-ups, drawing, or maps from the session are worth PC Level x 100 XP. Let me know of any downtime actions anyone would like to take. Everyone present from the session is free to use their downtime to Carouse Along the Twilight Shores.