North of the Wind (Inactive)

Game Master dien

A long time ago, a number of elves from Kyonin, led by a mage named Rysthien, came to the lands surrounding Hofn on a research expedition to explore the rumors of the portals into the First World that were supposed to exist locally. There are a number of portals to the First World in the Lands of the Linnorm Kings, but the area surrounding Hofn (which was not yet Hofn, as there weren't any humans living there yet) was an area where the boundary between the world was especially thin. (There's actually a portal to the First World directly behind the waterfall that falls into the bay of Hofn, heh.)

Clearing out enough of the native inhabitants (trolls, etc) to make the area safe for them, the elves set up a base on the site that would later be Hofn. From there they began to catalog and index the local portals, and from there, to enter the First World.

Shortly after entering the First World, Rysthien and his fellow elves came across what appeared to them to be a nymph and her tree being attacked by poisonous snakes. As this seemed a clear-cut situation to them, they quickly intervened on behalf of the nymph. Afterwards the 'nymph' offered them her thanks and hospitality, which the elves wilingly accepted.

They didn't realize they'd essentially taken a side in the ongoing feuds between the various great powers of the First World. A long-standing rivalry exists between the Green Mother and Ragadahn, the Water Lord. The 'nymph' was a minor avatar of the Green Mother, and expertly played the good intentions of the elves with a narrative of her being a persecuted and helpless creature of nature, beset by overwhelming forces. She asked for defenders, and Rysthien pledged to assist.

By the time the elves realized that their damsel-in-distress was, in her way, as wicked as the force she was fighting, it was far too late. They had eaten of food she had offered, partaken of her hospitality, and several of their number had already sacrificed their lives in the fight against Ragadahn's minions. The First World was starting its warping effects on the souls of the elves, making them more like the First World-- more capricious and living-in-the-moment, less ethical and wise. Some-- such as Mav-- embraced the First World and their new mistress-- while others, such as Rysthien, struggled to fight against the corrupting influence of the Mother.

Once and only once did Rysthien try and flee, to return to Golarion and travel back to Kyonin in search of help. But he was already too much a part of the First World-- traveling on the Material Plane for any length of time became painful to him, and began to bleach the very will and life from him, resulting in the pale appearance of the elf the Hofnites know as 'Rys.' All the elves struggle with this to an extent (Halla noticed pale splotches on Mav), but those who embrace the First World and the cruelty and caprice their mistress asks of them have suffered the least, and remain relatively vibrant. Unable to travel more than a few days from the portal, Rys crawled back to the Mother.... though he did manage to dispatch his familiar to Kyonin with a request for aid (which Tassidar ultimately received).

Before this, however-- in the early phases of their service to the Mother-- the nymph convinced the elves that her tree could be strengthened and defended by the sacrifice of sentient creatures to help create a barrier wall against the attacks of the wyrm and his creatures. Nobly, several of the elves willingly gave themselves, their spirits becoming transformed into the great thorn wall and its crimson flowers that surround the nymph's tree (which has grown a lot from when Rysthien and the others first arrived). Of course, the sacrifice had a catch: the wall would need to be refreshed with ongoing sacrifice. The elves faced the dawning realization that their own numbers would eventually dwindle to nothing if they tried to keep pace with the wall's hungry needs, and, under the Mother's expert corruption and manipulations, began to consider options that they would previously have found unthinkable: to mate and to parent, with the pregnancies sped by the Mother's magics, and the children's lives offered to satisfy the wall.

Throughout this, the elves still retained their base in Hofn, though they rarely visited, unable to spend too much time out of the First World, but checking in on things to ensure that the other end of the portal was not wholly overrun by the evil northern spirits did not recapture the territory entirely. And so they were aware of when the first humans arrived, and Rys struck a deal: the land surrounding the waterfall would be given to the humans, to be their village, and some portion of the Mother's power would bless the region, to keep it prosperous-- crops would flourish, sickness would be rare, and the elves would, once a year, bring the bounty of the First World as a gift to the humans. In turn, the humans would hold the portal under their control... and once a year, the human men and the elven women would meet, because humans are a more vigorous race than elves and children result more frequently from such unions. And there were always more children needed, to keep the wall strong...

One such half-elf, half-human child was named Dalrin, Mav's own child. Though Mav had willingly offered many other lives to the Mother's wall, she felt a pang over Dalrin, and successfully pled with the Mother that he be allowed to grow to maturity. Dalrin grew to be an adept at magic... and also to resent the Mother and the hellish bargain his people had struck with her. Ultimately, once he became an adult, Dalrin struck out on his own... and sought out Ragadahn, willing to throw his lot in with the long-time enemy of his people.

Bargains were struck: Dalrin wanted the ability to travel in the material plane freely, and Ragadahn wanted the destruction of the Green Mother, or at least, this avatar of her, and her tree and wall. So Dalrin left the First World and began to seek allies in the material plane... meeting a half-orc named Neregh, a warlord and priest of Varg who had carved a name for himself in lands to the south but dreamed of greater things than merely siege engines. When Dalrin explained the nature of the First World and its portals-- opening to many places over the Material Plane-- Neregh dreamed of exploiting those portals for the quick transit of armies and war-bands, allowing him to raid and disappear at will.

And so: Neregh agreed to form a raiding band of northern orcs, and lead them against Hofn in a raid for a specific bounty-- children. Dalrin believed that a counter-sacrifice of innocent lives to fuel Ragadahn's power would enable Ragadahn to overcome the barrier wall. This is roughly the point at where the story started for the PCs-- with the raid and the abduction of the children.

I think the story in the intervening bit is clear enough-- the children were brought into the First World, with the PCs on their trail, passing through one of the old portals the elves had never known about.

From this point on, had I been able to continue the story, the PCs would have met with the avatar of the Green Mother-- possibly getting further hints of things not being entirely Right, here-- and she would have attempted to recruit them as she did the elves, playing up her image as a nurturing and loving and benevolent nature spirit. Ultimately the PCs would have taken the fight to Ragadahn and Dalrin to reclaim the children, with a degree of assistance from the elves dependent on the outcome of the meeting with the Green Mother.

(Though it would be pretty impossible for a bunch of 3rd/4th level PCs to actually kill one of the Eldest, things in the First World operate on a principle of symbolism, where small imitates large and vice versa, and symbolic victories are still victories. The avatar of Ragadahn the PCs would have encountered would probably have been along the lines of an immature blue dragon, for instance, and had they ever chosen to fight the Mother, her avatar would likely have been some variant on a nymph. Defeating either avatar would strike enough of a psychic blow to the actual Eldest that the opposing forces would be able to reshape reality for a short period of time to reflect the 'loss', etc.)

At some point in this, Rys would have tried to speak privately with the PCs and to appraise them of the Green Mother's true nature, and of the evil bargain behind Hofn's relative prosperity. Rys has long sought a way out for his people from the Mother's corruption (though has given himself up as damned for his failures as a leader), and has attempted many divinations to see if there is some avenue for their freedom. One such divination told him that mortals from Hofn might be the key to buy escape for the remaining elves, and accordingly, Rys has studied the humans and others at Jolfest for generations, wondering if each person he passes might have a part to play. Naturally, the PCs are these destined heroes.... or at least, they could be, if they choose to try and help the elves against the Mother. They're certainly also entitled to be like 'screw you, this is YOUR problem', haha.

Anyway, following the confrontation with Ragadahn and Dalrin, the PCs would have had a potential confrontation with the Mother-- contingent on how they felt about the bargain-- but ultimately a return to the Material Plane, most likely with the rescued children in tow. There would then be a showdown with Neregh himself-- Neregh and his orcs having returned to the material plane once the children had been delivered to Ragadahn-- and a second fight for Hofn, as Neregh is trying to seize control of Hofn and its portal. (Probably the PCs would have dramatically burst forth from the waterfall itself, very cinematic~.)

And following THAT, well, it would largely be a matter of explaining the situation to Hofn and its people-- to explaining the cost paid on the other side of the spirit world, for Hofn's comfort, and most likely ending up with a change of leadership in Hofn, though of course the exact outcome would depend on PC choices at that time. Individual plotlines would at that point be resolved-- such as things like Halla getting her freedom, and other things no longer relevant given the PC attrition over the campaign, heh.

Anyway. Sorry to dump a massive infospam on you all, I hope that knowing some of the backstory makes this a little more satisfying.

(Oh, and you would probably have also run into Dagny the transformed white spider at some point while in the First World.)

So was Dalrin the pale elf the ork-head told us about?

Was there any significance to the Harrow deck?

Yes, Dalrin was the 'pale elf', and the Harrow deck itself was actually one of the methods that Rys had tried divinations on-- Halla's dream of the Harrow reading was partially a memory of one of the attempted seer consultations he'd attempted-- the card forecast is one Rys had himself received, though served as a double reading in some ways for the PCs/Halla. Though there was nothing in specific further planned for the Harrow deck, it was one of the hooks I left dangling in case for something to be done with-- I like running with things PCs show an interest in, so for instance, Halla might have been able to do divinations with it at some point, or converseely it might have been traded to fairies at various points, etc.

(Probably the PCs would have dramatically burst forth from the waterfall itself, very cinematic~.)

So I presume enough time would have passed in the real world that it would be full summer in Hofn? Or would we explode the ice? How much time were you planning to have passed when we returned?

What was the connection with the caged raven? And who was accessing the PCs' memories as we entered the portal in the cave?

The complex with the raven was basically a long-abandoned fey temple to the Eldest-- each of the rooms was modeled after/dedicated to one of the Eldest-- so for instance, the room with the water serpent was a shrine to Ragadahn. The raven's "significance" is that he's a representative/sacred animal of the Lost Prince - as such the raven is an expository device vessel of memories and knowledge, there to provide a little history on the complex and a little heads-up as to the orcs and what's been going in the complex, if PCs can decipher his general crypticness. And, also, just there to sort of set the note of weirdness of 'welcome to First World stuff'.

The force responsible for poking at the PC's memories is yet another Eldest, Ng the Hooded. Since he's the god of travel and exploration, it made sense to have it be his power that actually fuels the many portals between the two planes, but he's also a god of secrets and knowledge, so his 'toll' for passing through his portal is, well, secrets.

.....basically most of this campaign came about because I find the Eldest a really fascinating, weird-o set of Golarion quasi-deities, and wanted to do a campaign that had something to do with them. Even though the primary focus as far as the PCs were concerned would be the Green Mother and the Water Lord, there'd be plenty of chances for cameos from the other Eldest/their representative forces.