Session 57 (7 March 2018)
Note to readers: This is a session re-cap of an ongoing D&D 5th edition campaign set in a loosely adapted version of N. Robin Crossby's Hârn. A journal of sessions 1 through 54, beginning in February 2015, can be found here.
In-world date: 4 Ilvin 720 TR [first week of winter]
Moon: waxing crescent (full moon in 11 days)
As the pale winter sun climbs to its zenith, you sprint through the fresh snow toward the line of the forest, seeking cover before the flock of black birds reaches you. Slipping into the shadows of the tall conifers, you conceal yourselves well as the birds swoop amidst the trees. They are ravens! Cade the druid has hidden himself poorly, and soon the birds swirl about him, cawing menacingly. He listens to their speech: they are seeking the intruders spotted from the tower. Find them! Find them! Suddenly a great mass of spidery webs appears between the trees, netting more than a dozen of the birds: Gil'Doren has deployed his wand. As the trapped birds struggle to free themselves, the unrestrained ones seek to escape, but volleys of well-aimed missiles (loosed, thrown, and magical!) from Galindo, Juan, Dracul, and Gil'Doren bring them down. None of these ravens will report your existence to the tower.
(One of the ravens thus killed was in fact Cade, who had shapeshifted into a raven in an effort to insinuate himself into the group. Juan was so unnerved at having killed his comrade that he fumbled his next shot badly.)
Through Animal Friendship Cade coaxes one of the trapped ravens to stay by his side and share what it knows. The raven, Stiepan, and its fellows serve Queen Elvanna as messengers and spies. They live in an aerie atop the icy tower and are cared for by a human named Jairess. Stiepan remembers seeing an odd structure with bird's legs being carried into the tower a few days ago. Baba Yaga's hut, perhaps? He advises the party to submit to Queen Elvanna, for she is powerful and wont to cruelly punish those who thwart her, as the ravens know well.
Meanwhile, blasts of Dracul's fiery breath dispatches the other ravens still trapped in the webs.
While Galindo keeps watch from atop a tall spruce, others rest in Leomund's Tiny Hut. Galindo sees a massive winged shape emerge from the forest near the base of the tower — a white dragon spirals into the sky and begins a zigzag course over the forest and the plain, moving ever closer to the portal. Seeing your tracks in the snow, it follows them back to the treeline. From within the hut you hear the trees creaking as the dragon pushes its massive body between the close trunks, peering and sniffing for signs of your presence. Wary, it backs off and takes flight, returning to the tower.
From the treetops, you spotted several columns of smoke several miles to the east: a forest village, perhaps? You decide now to investigate further. Wind Walk-ing across the distance, you discover a frontier settlement, a score of dwellings at most. The inhabitants are human, hewers of wood and drawers of water. Their speech is strange to your ears. A fortified wooden storehouse dominates the western edge of the village, and a strange icy statue of an imperious queen towers over the village square. The villagers lower their heads and stop talking whenever they pass near it.
Pursuing your course, you follow a well-trodden trail leading south through the forest and back toward the plain. It is not long before you discover a strange sight: signs of a massive battle fought recently with sword, arrow, and spell. You stop to investigate.
In-world date: 4 Ilvin 720 TR [first week of winter]
Moon: waxing crescent (full moon in 11 days)
As the pale winter sun climbs to its zenith, you sprint through the fresh snow toward the line of the forest, seeking cover before the flock of black birds reaches you. Slipping into the shadows of the tall conifers, you conceal yourselves well as the birds swoop amidst the trees. They are ravens! Cade the druid has hidden himself poorly, and soon the birds swirl about him, cawing menacingly. He listens to their speech: they are seeking the intruders spotted from the tower. Find them! Find them! Suddenly a great mass of spidery webs appears between the trees, netting more than a dozen of the birds: Gil'Doren has deployed his wand. As the trapped birds struggle to free themselves, the unrestrained ones seek to escape, but volleys of well-aimed missiles (loosed, thrown, and magical!) from Galindo, Juan, Dracul, and Gil'Doren bring them down. None of these ravens will report your existence to the tower.
(One of the ravens thus killed was in fact Cade, who had shapeshifted into a raven in an effort to insinuate himself into the group. Juan was so unnerved at having killed his comrade that he fumbled his next shot badly.)
Meanwhile, blasts of Dracul's fiery breath dispatches the other ravens still trapped in the webs.
While Galindo keeps watch from atop a tall spruce, others rest in Leomund's Tiny Hut. Galindo sees a massive winged shape emerge from the forest near the base of the tower — a white dragon spirals into the sky and begins a zigzag course over the forest and the plain, moving ever closer to the portal. Seeing your tracks in the snow, it follows them back to the treeline. From within the hut you hear the trees creaking as the dragon pushes its massive body between the close trunks, peering and sniffing for signs of your presence. Wary, it backs off and takes flight, returning to the tower.
Pursuing your course, you follow a well-trodden trail leading south through the forest and back toward the plain. It is not long before you discover a strange sight: signs of a massive battle fought recently with sword, arrow, and spell. You stop to investigate.
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