Burning Witch Adventurers Sessions #s 52, 54, and 56- Lost in the Twilight Shores
A favorite storied adventure at the common tables of the Burning Witch since the end of last year has been a PakPak and Hate-led excursion to the nearby fey realm known the Twilight Shores. From the descriptions of the unearthly vibrant eternal sunset to the wonders of the bustling fairy market to the creepy campfire turn of the party's encounter of a strange undead fiend somehow composed of a swarm of crows all fire the imagination of the tavern's dungeon delving clientele. So, when PakPak said that he planned a return to those elfin lands as the first adventure of the new year to set out from the Witch, he found it easy to gather a group. At twilight and at the Wolves Den the follow party congregated in order to travel elf-held lands in aid of PakPak's quest to find a leather work of mythic skill lost some 200 years past:
- Abraxis (Level 3 Fighting-Mutant)
- Frim Frimmerson (Level 2 Fighter)
- No Legs (Level 1 Vat Spawn)
- Glow Pit (Level 1 Vat Spawn assistant)
- PakPak (Level 4 Kobold)
- Wolfgang (Level 3 Duelist)
While the mood around the Burning Witch about the return of the wayward adventurers was one of excitement and joy, the party members themselves carried sadness and confusion. A sadness for the loss of No Legs whom they bore back with them to the mortal world as the vat spawn former soldier of Valtropis was felled by a elfin flint knife. There was a sadness, too, from Wolfgang for the missing flaming sword known as Rillis atamar Kerym. The duelist and the magical weapon were spiritually intertwined making the blade's absence fill Wolfgang with a profound grief masked in anger. The confusion the party experienced derived from the the insistence on the residents of Orm that four weeks had passed since the groups departure as it had been by the groups' accounting slightly over a day since they left for the Twilight Shores.
Lost in the Twlight Shores- A Summary of Three Sessions of Play
When asked about where they had been this whole time, the quintet of adventurers produced a story about treating with Lady Blackmarsh herself before meandering through the fairy market before stumbling upon a hidden warehouse under the seaside wood on the way to the Cave Elves cavern compound. This storage space, called the Hidely-Hole, belong to a partnership of scrawny elf-like creatures including one called Gingy. Gingy sold the party some rope and an otherworldly flower called an Ether Lilly. The fey trader also provided the group directions to the dwelling of the Cave Elves.
The party resurfaced and followed Gingy's instructions. The group soon found themselves at the foot of a cliff with a hole scarring its face. They descended inside. After 50 or 60 feet of descending roughly hewn stairs, they found themselves in a perfectly circular ring-like room. The exterior and interior walls covered in a mosaic depicting an elf in a great crown summoning down a star to hunt elf and human alike.
As they opened a set of doors in the eastern wall, the party was set upon by a trio of rotting elfin dead that were reanimated by some unknown means. The elf cadavers seemed like they were filled with an uncontrollable hunger. A fight erupted. One made up of quick and desperate exchanges of blows. At the end of it, the three undead monsters were at rest again. The air was filled with the smell of rot and flesh burned by Wolfgang's blade. PakPak was wounded and paralyzed by the touch of these unliving things.
As the party waited for PakPak to recover, they looked at the room beyond. It contained four statues of a beautiful, numinous being: one falling, one covering its eyes, one wounded, and one clutching a medallion. A tunnel trailed out to the east. After regaining movement, PakPak investigated the statues and discovered a hollow in the base of the statue holding the medallion. As the kobold kneeled down to examine it further, the base popped open revealing a medallion, similar to the one in the sculpture, made of some strange material that looked like the night sky. Wolfgang attempted to follow suit with the statue covering its eyes and produced greatly different results.
As Wolfgang knelt, the doors the party had entered through slammed shut and locked. An image appeared on the back of the doors- showing a human sacrifice. PakPak stared at the doors, becoming temporarily entranced. When he snapped to, the kobold adventurer knew the only way to pass through the doors again was through the sacrifice of a sapient being while making an elfin recitation to the Oloth El'gg Ssusson. Frim attempted to kneel at one more statue for a reward but found his body racked with pain for a moment before the fighter shook it off. After this, the group decided they would head east.
The eastern corridor contained three ladders in the northern floor before the hall blunted to an end. Each of the ladders headed down to unknown tunnels. PakPak listened at each of them. The kobold couldn't make sense of what he heard in the first. In the second, he heard faint sounds of a liquid pool. In the last, he was confident no one was below. The party opted to climb down this third ladder and into the dark, north-facing tunnel below.
After just twenty feet of movement, the light of Wolfgang's blade revealed a door running northeast/southwest at the elbow of an eastern turn in the passageway. Abraxis attempted to force the door open but it was locked. As the group huddled around to discuss how to breach it, a quartet of elves approached from the eastern hall. Their skin were powder blues and pale pinks. Their clothes fur vests that left their chests bare and dark leather breeches or loin clothes. They hissed at the adventurers in an elfin tongue unknown to the group as they burnished flint daggers.
Unable to answer them, the party soon found themselves in combat once again. It was quick with the adventurers easily dispatching them. In a lull in the action, Glow Pit drags off a fallen elf so that No Legs can attempt to graft on their legs. As they are hauling the corpse up the ladder and back to the statue room a level up, the rest of the group finds their eflin foes joined by enforcements from the South. One of these foes, outfitted in a dark mail and wearing a medallion similar to the one found by PakPak unleashes a Sleep enchantment put the whole remaining party into slumber.
Glow Pit and No Legs, of course, are completely unaware about this development. Their attentions are completely focused on One Leg's attempts to graft a pair of elf legs (his previous pair taken by a trap on Level 1 of the Complex) in the center of the statue room. As he struggle to get the pair take hold, Glow Pit's watch was interrupted by an peculiar gnome that climb up of the central ladder into the hall adjacent to the statue room. The gnome seemed pale and carried the smell of death. Even though the gnome possessed a certain liveliness (pardon the pun), Glow Pit was convinced that the gnome ranked among the unliving. Glow Pit did their best to keep this unknown quantity from doing anything to disrupt No Legs' process and the gnomish being seemed amiable to it. All he seemed to care about is where his kin may be. Glow Pit directed him to explore the one tunnel remaining that was not either the one he just used nor the one their fellow adventurers was exploring. When it was all said and done, Glow Pit turned her attentions back towards No Legs only discover that the new legs did not take. Slinging their fellow vatspawn into the carrying harness, Glow Pit went to rejoin the others.
At the intersection where the party should have been, Glow Pit and No Legs found a trio of cave elves (introduced as Zeplith, Azaxxx, and Orpaz) wrapping their fallen kin in a funerial shroud. When Zeplith told thevat spawn about the intruders the elves had captured and inquired what the pair were doing here, No Legs shared with them his quest for a new pair of legs and denied having anything to do with a mortal raiding party. Zeplith offered that if they would assist the elves in baring their deceased to their resting place, that she would then take No Legs to the prisoners were he could make a selection of the legs he preferred. The humans would be sacrificed later, anyways. No Legs and Glow Pit both believe that these prisoners must be their missing allies. They agree to assist the elves, thinking this will grant opportunity to free them.
Glow Pit helped lift up a body and the pair of vat spawn adventurers followed the elves as the traveled through a series of tunnels. As they walked, Orpaz ranted about trying to bring eternal night and about "traitorous" elves that had peace with the "wretched" humans. Glow Pit quickly got out of the conversation. The group walked in awkward silence until the reached a large, scar-like cavern filled with some dark, undulating mass. The bodies were slid down the rocky face of the cavern wall before disappearing in the amorphous thing along the cave floor. Zeplith said a few elfin words and sang a heartbreaking lament.
After the Zeplith. Araxxx, and Orpaz recomposed themselves, Glow Pit was lead south, backtracking through a pillared hall whose walls depicted an amorphus, starry creature laying waste to all before it. Rather than continuing south like they previously had, though, Glow Pit was taken to some doors to the west. This lead to a series of staircases and doors that snaked to the east and the south as they led deeper into the network of caverns and worked rooms. No one else was encountered until the group came across a room where three robed elves were putting flowers in the hair of a glassy-eyed girl while another anointed her with a bundle of buring herbs. A dark liquid fell from a fountain in the north-side of the room, watched by another statue of an unearthly form. It was here the group turned to the north before terminating into the cave elves holding cell.
Both No Legs and Glow Pit were relieved for their fellow adventuring party members slept behind the other side of the cell bars (only in their undergarments with all other weapons and equipment missing). Four other humans, all in wretched shape, immediately begged the two vat spawn delvers to help them. Zeplith offered No Leg's his pick of legs. To which, he responded that he would need to examine them further to see which ones he wanted. Zeplith found such a request completely agreeable so she plucked a key from a hiding spot in her hair and unlocked the door. Glow Pit used this closer look as a cover for rousing their comrades to consciousness. Once all were awakened, No Legs blindsided Zeplith launching the party into combat.
The room was dark, with only the faint glow of Glow Pit's eyes illuminating any of the space. This left the party at a great disadvantage as the two vat spawn and PakPak were the only members completely free to engage any target they liked. Still, with some clever distractions by PakPak, the party was able to dispatch the elves. As the looted what useful items they could from the cave elves, the four other prisoners begged for food and help from the adventurers. By the time the party had come to a consensus to help the prisoners, they had gathers a mildly helpful assortment of equipment: a pair of googles, a bottle identified by Abraxis as a dye or pigment, an assortment of tasteless cave elf clothing, and three flint daggers. Frim cut a pair of hands off a fallen cave elf for his "collection". As he worked, the eldest of the prisoners commented about there being something familiar and pleasing about the countenance of the noseless fighter--a rare compliment indeed.
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| No Leg (and Glow Pit)'s player Marie illustrates the darkest moment in three sessions of play for the vat spawn. |
As the party moved to head south and regain their equipment, the four freed prisoners continue to fuss about their hunger. To this, Abraxis quipped, "Maybe we should eat Glow Pit." The ever-hungry Frim's encouragement of this line of action quickly hit a harass rebuking from Glow Pit. Some of the prisoners also found this line of thought distasteful.
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| One of the rescued prisoner's by their name provider and Abraxis' player Sean |
The conversation quickly turned to how long the human prisoners had been hear. A non-binary youth named Alexis said they had been captive only a few days. The night before, they had been forced to work as a server at a strange party the cave elves had thrown. It was filled with drink, dissonant music, and some of the cave elves danced inside cages. Two others, Doja Cat and Rex, had been held only a few days longer. The elderly former prisoner, named Frimmer Frimson, said that he had been hear at least a week. In that time, he had been forced to create a pair of special leather trousers for the leader of the cave elves.
Upon hearing the name Frimmer Frimson, Frim exclaimed "Grandpa!?!" Frimmer seemed baffled but not quite off put by the outburst. As the conversation continued, the harsher Frimmer was with Frim, the more Frim was convinced that Frimer was indeed his grandfather.
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| PakPak's player Rob A. draws the kobold as he spent most of the last session of this long adventure- with nothing but his boxers. |
PakPak tried to wrestle away the focus from this possible family reunion to pursue his own theories. He asked Frimmer about his leatherworking skills and whether he had ever met the Lady Blackmarsh. When Frimmer replied affirmative, the kobld became certain that Frimmer Frimson was the fabled leather work lost to the Twilight Shores some 200 years ago. This belief that PakPak had finally met the person he had been searching for led him to drive the party once again towards leaving this cavern-ish compound.
The group headed south. After debating if they should turn east into the room Glow Pit had seen the four cave elves adorning a human girl, PakPak decides to at least recon further south down the tunnel. His discovery of a Y-intersection to the west and stairs to the east does not inspire confidence in either direction. To this, Wolfgang says, "That is fine. My honor cannot stand to leave that human child to whatever fate those cave elves are planning."
Before Wolfgang can recklessly bound into the room, Glow Pit takes the lead and decides to scope out the situation in the room. They are warmly greeted by the four cave elves who continue to make over the girl in some sort of ritual garb. It becomes apparent to Glow Pit that the child is drugged in some capacity. It is not long after that the elves mention something about offering the girl as sacrifice. The next moment, Wolfgang is charging into the room and combat is met once again. Wolfgang disarms one. Abraxis locks up another in a grapple. The rest of the party, with the still fully outfitted No Legs and Glow Pit leading the charge, cut through the cave elves before a spell can be cast (though not before some of the cave elves cry tears of disgust and sorrow over their kin being brought to an end by the hand of humans). The party collects a few more flint daggers and another key form the bodies along with four lit torches from the walls.
As some of the party tries to orient the girl, Glow Pit and No Legs debate investigating the fountain. Eventually, it is decided that just prying the pearl eyes from the statue in the south is a better idea. The party is able to get some directions to where their gear is from Abraxis' prisoner before they kill that elf one, too. The elf's directions leads the party winding up flights of stairs and through doors before, they come around a room with an eerie, pale blue glow. A pool can be seen in the center of the room. Some of the party wonders if this is the next turn they should take. It is eventually decided, though, that they can at least press a little further east before backtracking.
In the east, they find a hall with an empty pedestal. PakPak examines it and finds that it moves easily. The party then slides it over to reveal a roughly hewn stair descending into darkness. It is then at Glow Pit and No Legs recognize the hall. If they open a pair of south facing doors, they will be headed towards the lair of the cave elves and the party's taken equipment.
The party approaches the door. Abraxis fails to throw open the doors. All the sudden a tunnel bursts open in the wall to reveal a group of gnomes. Even with a kobold in the party, the adventurers are able to arrange a parley with this burrowing hill dwarves. When the lead gnome, SaWoosh, mentions that they are a group from Soothill looking for some missing brethren; Glow Pit recalls their encounter with that lone unliving gnome back near the statue room. Glow Pit says that they can lead the gnomes to where they saw that gnome. a crew of seven gnomish tunnelers file out of their passage and fall in line with the growing crowd the party is leading through the these passageways.
After the door, the party has a choice of veering down a tunnel to the left and further south or trying a door on the right. Frim mentions something about always going right so the party tries the door. It is locked which inspires PakPak to try the other key they find. In a moment of unbeatable luck, the key works!
On the other side, the adventurers find a library brimming with scrolls and books. The group quickly descends into the cramped room and digs around hoping to find something noteworthy. Before they all know it, an hour has past. The only item of note is a tome found by Abraxis. When he opens it, though, the contents are too much for even him to handle. His eyes met with some dark secret best left unseen which throws the fighting mutant into shock. The rest of the party just randomly grabs an assortment of books and scrolls before carrying their ally out.
When the adventures finally reach the dwellings of the cave elves, PakPak gives the door a listen before they throw it open. He can hear the sounds of several of the elves on the otherside. As he thinks of the merge arms the party has, he turns to SaWoosh and asks if the gnome could help with some sort of illusionary magic or if that is only a "GaWoosh thing". SaWoosh claims to know some spells but that for taking on this risk, the adventurers must agree to come to Soot Hill to deal with some haints giving the gnomish community troubles. Glow Pit steps in to take up responsibility for this commitment.
The adventurers kick in the door to see a cave elf marching infront of in Frim's clothes, exciting "I am a huu-man!"
"Get that animal out of my clothes!" Frim excited. SaWoosh blasts a color spray into the room but only manages to catch one of the cave elves in the spell. One of the cave elves starts chanting a spell of their own. The party moves to engage while PakPak yips at the casting elf trying to disrupt the spell. An elf runs No Legs through with Frim's sword. The party clears the area so another gnome can cast color spray. Between attacks from the party and the gnomish magic, the cave elves are defeated. The party slays all elves made unconscious from color spray save one. As they collect their gear, they find that Wolfgang's flaming sword Rillis atamar Kerym and PakPak's magical golden axe are both missing. Wolfgang strongly wants to stay until he retrieves his weapon. The rest of the party wants a break from these caves and wants to get the freed prisoners they are helping back to Orm. Most of all, Glow Pit wants to place No Legs to rest. Wolfgang acquiesces when PakPak vows to return to retrieve his own magical weapon from the Cave Elves.
The group bids the gnomes ado and returns to the statue room. They lay the one cave elf they did not slay before the sealed doors and sacrifice them to Oloth El'gg Ssusson as the chant of the phrase imprinted on PakPak's mind. The doors open and the party made their way back to the mortal world.
Loot
- Googles (strange markings hinting at magical properties)
- Mauve pigment of unknown properties
- Star-field Medallion
- Pearls worth 300gp ea. x 2
- An assortment of flint daggers and elven torches
- Two keys (one to a library and one to a jail cell)
- A random assortment of books and scrolls in elfin script (worth XP if sold either to other players or through a Find the Right Buyer downtime)
Experience Points
- 600xp from treasure
- Ravenous undead elves 3 x 25xp
- Cave elves defeated 20 x 19xp ea.
- Cave elf prisoners saved (Alexus, Rex, Doja Cat, Frimer Frimson, and the Girl) 5 x 100xp ea.
Player Character Cut
- 120 gp ea.
- 311 xp ea.
Write-ups, drawings, and maps from the session are worth PC Level x 100xp. Let me know if anyone wants to perform any downtime actions. Remember that the downtime only picks up after the last session as times has just moved congruously from session to session even though in real life (and in Orm) weeks went by.
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