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"Is that a trick question?" Yrja demands, hands on her hips. "His name is Black Midnight. If you're asking about the name he bore before Baba Yaga chose him to be her Black Rider, that was Illarion Matveius. He wore a helmet with ram's horns, black armour, and rode on a black horse. Looked very fearsome and all - until he took off his helmet, and then he was just a skinny old man." Yrja crosses her arms, glaring at the witch tree. "I felt sorry for him, but I don't feel sorry for you, so you should let us pass."
"...very well, witchling. I see that Grandmother hasn't taught you your manners yet. Not that she has many of her own. Kekekeke!" The witch tree cackles and moves forward, faster than you can react, and caresses Yrja's cheek. "Such lovely flesh," she croons, "And all under the mantle of our dear Mother with the Iron Teeth."
In a flash the tree skips (!) back to the entranceway and contorts herself, twining into an arch of wood and leaves to allow passage into the depths of Artrosa. Flowers in the form of purple catkins bloom, leaving bits of fluff to wisp away into the wind.
"Pass through, children," says the willow. "Seek the Warden if you have need of her."
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Dez face twists in dismay at hearing another riddle -- his mind works on hard facts, not confusions of flowery words. But his expression turns to relief as Yrja steps forward and solves the riddle, and he shares in Yrja's memories as she evokes the scene when they met the Black Rider, and Dez reads the remembrances of old comrades in the subtle twitchings and muscle movements of her face. And Dez remembers when he first encountered Yrja, how young she seemed, and how much she has matured in the relatively short time they have traveled together. And he especially feels appreciation that her spirit, always lighter than his, has stayed intact in its essential nature after all their trials.
Dez proceeds forward and bows at the tree as he reaches the passage of her limbs. "I notice many items left behind in the twists of your trunk by past pilgrims who did not share the Grandmother's blessings on their voyage. Are there any such items that you would share with us to aid our efforts on the Grandmother's behalf in the dangerous journey before us? Please take no offense at the request, I am unsure whether your kind has any use for such items, and we all walk the Grandmother's path, so I thought it fair to ask."
"So kind of you to ask, red one. I shall answer." The witch tree's 'face' beams down from the apex of her living arch.
"..No. Touch not the baubles, lest ye join them. Now run along, run along."
Dez shrugs, says "Too bad. Farewell.", and proceeds through the entrance.
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Catkins rain down on you as you pass under the witch tree arch. You pass from cold windy sunlight into warmer, still darkness, with the chuckles of the witch willow echoing as you enter the depths of Artrosa. It's apparent to you that something happens as you pass into the dark corridor...the light and sound from outside fade in a way that doesn't seem quite natural.
Some sort of stepped planar or teleportation effect has moved you to an unknown location, perhaps deep within the Maiden's statue. If you look to where you came, it's a dead end of solid rock.
The passageway is hewn basalt and granite, perhaps thirty feet high. A faint glow permeates the place--witchlight. It's orange-yellow in hue.
After some shuffling in a completely nondescript passage of rock, you find an already open door, also made of rock. it leads to a long and twisting flight of stone stairs carved into a cramped passage of cold black basalt. The steps are made for something just slightly larger than human, causing you to descend carefully.
"This is essentially a centaur's nightmare," says Erdija, her voice quiet in the back. "Well, if it were flooding, even better." You can hear her swish her tail in agitation.
Ancient wall carvings on both sides of the passage depict wide fields filled with wildflowers and springing deer. It's not really reassuring.
You count steps, and count and count, and after a final turn, the stairs end some 500 feet below in
a large, rectangular chamber.
You can hear two rough voices arguing around the corner of the stairs, unseen.
"Gurra, she had the right to pass, you blithering ninny."
"Nonsense, Gurra, the rule is always check with Jadrenka. You blithe fool."
"Squirrel-faced ninny."
"Hen's-toothed fool."
You can see from around the corner that this chamber is also dark basal. The walls have been chiseled into an incredibly intricate display of thousands of wildflowers. You can't quite see the rest of the chamber, but two people are in here and the carvings continue.
As the group passes through the arch and the uncanny shift occurs, "Some sort of teleportation effect has moved us somewhere, perhaps deep within the Maiden's statue if I had to guess. Look behind us -- it's now a dead end of solid rock. I guess we're really committed now. Sorry, Erdija, I'm sure being SEALED in rock makes it even worse for you. But we'll find our way out again."
Yrja frowns at the mountain closing up behind them; now they had to see through whatever challenges lay ahead. As they descend the stairs, the young(er) witch complains and grumbles, and has to take frequent breaks to rest. "I didn't sign up for this kind of exercise! My legs hurt so much, ugh."
Once the arguing voices become intelligible, she whispers very quietly to her companions. "Many people don't know this, but chickens actually do have teeth. Hee hee."
Orik doesn't have any commentary to provide, other than a resigned sigh.
He points, as if to say, and trudges along, until they meet the next pair of gabbing goons.
Pointing at the others, he whispers "someone talk to them and convince them to let us pass. Or solve the riddle or whatever."
Those are voices speaking in a pidgin of Jotun and Goblin with Taldane and Iobarian words thrown in. Perhaps giants? 'Jadrenka' is an Iobarian name, you think. Seems to refer to someone of authority.
You don't see skulls or bones on the flower carvings, but you know that flowers in Iobaria are meant as a seal against death--they are planted over a grave. You start to wonder what Artrosa really is...
Those voices sound like twins, almost. Siblings.
Dez shrugs at Orik's suggestion and whispers. "I doubt it will work, but I'll try."
Dez rounds the corner nonchalantly and greets whoever is around the corner in Jotun (which he speaks now). "Greetings!"
Dez appears from behind the staircase and catches a large two headed giant woman in the process of casting a spell.
She tries not to look too surprised, but her faces both snarl at the devil-like humanoid.
"We don't think so!" the heads say in unison. "Caigreal was an idiot and so are you! Now DIE!"
[spoiler=GM rolls]
Two Heads Are Worse Than One! R1
Yrja
Giant Lady(s)
Dez
Orik
Elbrynn
"Does that ever work? You tell someone to die and they just...do?" Yrja smiles sweetly at the two-headed giant. "Now let me try it!" She raises a clenched fist, then whips her arm forward with her index finger pointing at the woman.
"DIE!"
The giantess(es?) reels back from the force of the hex. "Traitor!" she or they shout/s. "Don't attack another WITTTTTTCCHHHHHH!!!"
There's a not inconsiderable amount of spittle when her heads say the final word, and then the giantess throws her own hexes--two of them.
The witch-giant-ess also pulls out a wand, causing a little oink to emanate from her satchel.
Rest of the party is up!
"Don't- YOU started it! You said 'DIE'!"
The hexes slide right off of Yrja, to the giantess' astonishment.
"B-but..." says one head...
"They started it..." says the other head.
Dez studies the giant to calculate his attacks more effectively and moves forward with his keen rapier in hand. His tail reaches under his coat to pull out a long arm extract.
Orik grumbles, ”finally, an enemy.” He moves a little bit closer and seems to be getting ready to do something as he watches the giant.
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Elbrynn botting!
Elbrynn snaps two arrows at the two headed witch (one for each head)
One arrow sprouts into the giantess'(es'?) arm and she angrily plucks it out. "Stupid bird-elf!" she snarls.
Round 2! Yrja is up1
Two Heads Are Worse Than One! R2
Yrja
Giant Lady(s) -6 HP, -4 to saves
Dez
Orik
Elbrynn
"Don't you dare do anything to my friends! We wanted to talk, but you had to get nasty. Just leave us alone and you won't get hurt."
Yrja traces a quick symbol in the air with the tip of one finger, then flicks it towards the giantess. "Your last warning."
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The giantess howls in impotent fury as another hex settles over her, making her easier to hit. "You are a very bad witch, and also mean!" says one head. "Those are the same thing!" says the second head to the first, grumpily.
She pulls out a wand, and begins to wave it...
and her spell is broken before it begins. Another arrow lodges in her leg.
"You are being extremely unfair!" bawls the first head. "And also unjust, and biased!" adds the second. Reluctantly, the giant-witch pulls out giant sickles, one in each hand.
Rest of the party is up!
"I think you wanted to say that I am a very good witch. After all, my magic is stronger than yours," retorts Yrja smugly.
The giantess howls in impotent fury as another hex settles over her, making her easier to hit. "You are a very bad witch, and also mean!" says one head. "Those are the same thing!" says the second head to the first, grumpily.
She pulls out a wand, and begins to wave it...
and her spell is broken before it begins. Another arrow lodges in her leg.
"You are being extremely unfair!" bawls the first head. "And also unjust, and biased!" adds the second. Reluctantly, the giant-witch pulls out giant sickles, one in each hand.
Rest of the party is up!
"Just to be clear ma'am, out in the rest of the world, it isn't exactly considered "unjust or biased" to want to live. Sorry, it's just not."
"I said hello, and you responded with aggression. You leave us no choice, but if you let us pass we will show you mercy." Dez moves in and attacks, ready to parry any attack from the giant as he approaches.
Multiple arrows now sprout from Orik and he unloads a volley towards the witch.
The double headed giantess has clearly had enough. After Dez leaves her bleeding from multiple cuts and Orik threatens to knock her wand right out of her meaty palm, she crashes to one knee and bares both of her necks.
"I SURRENDER!" she bawls. "THIS WASN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN! JADRENKA SAID CAIGREAL WAS UP TO SOMETHING AND I DIDN'T LISTEN! I WAS SCAAAAAREDDDD!!!!...."
Pathetically, the giantess begins weeping steaming hot tears from four blinky eyeballs.
Combat...it's over.
A little piggy hops out of the giantesses' satchel and noses at her knee with a sympathetic oink. She pats the pig absently, continuing to sob.
Dez lowers his rapier and interrogates the giant, speaking sternly. "Tell us everything you know. Who are Jadrenka and Caigreal? Who are the ones who passed through here just before us and what did they tell you."
"Er..."
Yrja cannot find anything to say to the scene unfolding in front of them. The sight of the piglet puts her in mind of her own familiar, and she reaches under her cloak to stroke the soft fur of her bat. Pufos chirps contentedly under the touch.
"I almost feel bad for her," she whispers to Orik and Elbrynn as Dez begins to conduct his interrogation.
"...I shouldn't say," says one of the heads petulantly.
"...Jadrenka would say not to," agrees the other.
Orik shrugs, ”this is one stop of many on the way. I don’t mind leaving her alone.”
"Er..."
Yrja cannot find anything to say to the scene unfolding in front of them. The sight of the piglet puts her in mind of her own familiar, and she reaches under her cloak to stroke the soft fur of her bat. Pufos chirps contentedly under the touch.
"I almost feel bad for her," she whispers to Orik and Elbrynn as Dez begins to conduct his interrogation.
"I almost do too ... almost."
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"Come along now. We won't tell anyone that it was you who told us. And Jadrenka wasn't so nice to you, leaving you all alone here, with just each other and your piglet, so that anybody can come down the stairs and hurt you."
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"y-you promise?" says the ettin (you figured out it's an ettin, and for an ettin, a rather decent looking womanly one) from one head. The other just blows her nose and nods to the other head.
"His name is Bekkin," she says, and lets the pig climb into one meaty hand.
"I'm Gurra," says the left head.
"And I'm Gurra," says the right head. They peer at Dez a little nearsightedly. "You are a pretty man."
"Gurra, tell him about Jadrenka and Caigreal," says the left head.
"But they are intruders!" whines Gurra on the right.
"Listen, do you know anything about Caigreal? She's mean, and she let in some centaurs and giants. They weren't nice either, but she said it was official business. But I don't think it was official business!" concludes Gurra on the left somewhat breathlessly.
"Do you know anything about being nice? Your sword stung, but you look nice. Are you nice?" says Gurra to the right.
"Gurra," says the left head.
"And pretty?" says the right head.
"Oink," says Bekkin.
"Oh!" says Gurra on the right. "Caigreal is Jadrenka's mother. But Jadrenka is a human-kin and Caigreal is a nasty yucky hag."
Seeing the change in Gurra's demeanor, Dez puts his rapier away, turning it back into a belt with a quick word.
"Thank you for the compliments. Yes, I am nice to those who are nice to us. Can you tell us how many centaurs and giants came through? Were they the giants who like the cold? And where are Caigreal and Jadrenka now? We don't know anything about Caigreal. Can you tell us anything else about her or Jadrenka?"
Dez turns to his companions: "What else do we want to know? I don't have any idea what is happening here."
After a bit of back and forth with Gurra-Gurra (her name), you determine the following:
A big chestnut pelted centaur and two other subordinates came through with a small fireteam (frost team?) of frost giants--maybe four or five.
Caigreal is a nasty old hag, "the color of a fresh bruise" (though ettins are kind of yellowish-brown, you think this still means purplish), and is the mother of Jadrenka. She's upset with Jadrenka for some reason and doesn't like her much--Gurra-Gurra isn't sure why. Additionally, Caigreal led these centaurs and giants into Artrosa, so that's something...something kind of worrisome.
Jadrenka is Gurra-Gurra's "wonderful witch teacher" and from the description, is not a hag, but a human. She's been here for 'decades', says one head, and the other head disagrees and says 'tens of years'.
That means she's a changeling.
If it's decades and her mother is around and hasn't been able to turn her into a hag, Jadrenka has done something to shield herself from the Gift.
Gurra was arguing with Gurra about whether Caigreal should have been allowed to pass (a fruitless argument; Caigreal would have probably stunned her or killed her) but decided to attack you to make up it up to Jadrenka. As far as Gurra-Gurra know, Jadrenka doesn't know the centaurs and frost giants are here.
"Caigreal might have warded them," says Gurra-left. "Against scrying," says Gurra-right, very intelligently.
"But the problem is that Jadrenka is the warden of Artrosa, and she needs to know what's going on," say Gurra and Gurra, and she starts sniffling again.
"That long? That means... she's not quite human. Likely a changeling."
The young witch looks at Gurrra-Gurra. "Look, I'm sorry for earlier. You're not so bad, just... made some poor decisions. We can tell Jadrenka about Caigreal and the people she brought here, if you want."
"Agreed, she must be a changeling. And if she has been around for decades and her mother is around and hasn't been able to turn her into a hag, Jadrenka has done something to shield herself from the transformation."
"Yes, Gurra we can let Jadrenka know. Can you tell us where to find her?"
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Gurra-Gurra pauses in her sniffles. "You'd talk to Jadrenka?" She brightens.
"Ok, so we can tell Jadrenka also that bad people came in with Caigreal and to be careful, and then some...um..." says Lefty.
"Who are you all again? Can um you sign the Register?" says Righty.
The piggie trots over to an enormous book that looks about a thousand years old, illuminated by two eternal candles, and oinks helpfully.
"And um...where is Jadrenka..." says Lefty.
"She wanders," says Righty.
"She um, sets her own schedule, I guess." says Lefty.
"And she wears different faces. You know, Maiden, Mother, Crone..." says Righty.
"That's secret!" says Lefty.
"It is not! It's in the name!" says Righty.
"The name of what!" says Lefty.
"The name of the towers, the name of the poem, the name of the--"
"Oh, fine," says Lefty. "Just tell them everything."
"So there are many not nice people in The Maiden; you'll have to be careful. Also the corridors change. Also there are glowing pebbles you can use for light. And the pictures of the maidens and sunflowers are very pretty. Also I need to stay here. But maybe you'll come back and we can share some muffins?" says Righty, the last bit directed to Dez.
"And that's everything, you nitwit," says Lefty.
"Oh no, I could say mooooore," says Righty.
"I'm going to slap you, Gurra," says Lefty.
"The poem? Do you know it?" Yrja doesn't reveal that she also knows the magic to wear different faces like Gurra describes, instead walking over to the book and flipping a few pages.
"The not nice people, have they always been in the Maiden? Or are they all new? And if you stay here, you need to be careful, Gurra-Gurra. Maybe hide and don't let them see you."
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"Oh yes, we know the poem," says Righty. "I have a gentle cockerel/He croweth for me daily--"
"The OTHER poem, Gurra," says Lefty.
"ohhhh..." says Righty. "Right."
The harvest reaped,
The seeds are sown,
The Maiden dances
On the Slave's bones.
Though deathless he be,
He can but moan
As the Maiden smiles
And the flowers are grown.
"Ahem," says Lefty. "As for bad people, You-Know-Who Grandmama has placed them for their various purposes. They won't bother us. We have 'status'."
"I don't recall feeling ill," says Righty.
"...anyhow, we have 'status'. We won't be harmed. But you are correct. I'm...not sure what Caigreal is up to. Or the centaurs."
"Do muffins cure status?" says Righty.
"Statice is terrible in muffins, Gurra." says Lefty. "Use lavender. Ooh, I want to make lavender shortbread now."
The Slave's bones? Deathless?
Yrja thinks hard about the rhyme.
"Erm, right, thank you for that. We'll try to come back, will you make some lavender muffins for us, Gurra-Gurra?"
"That would be wonderful, and maybe you could show me how to make hexes stick a little better?" Gurra and Gurra rub their hands together in anticipation of witchcraft, or maybe muffins.
Kostschei, or Kostchtchie, is known as "The Deathless"; he's a twisted god of giants and cold. Legends say he was once a human, whose hatred for his own family, especially women, was only dwarfed by his utter fear of death.
You realize that the bas-relief of maidens dancing in the sunflowers may be a depiction of witches dancing on Kostschei's deathless bones. Perhaps Artrosa has some function in trapping him, reducing his power? You recall that Baba Yaga had some hand in cursing him...there are indeed fates worse than death.
Orik looks confused, but is sitting quietly and sipping some water from the canteen as he looks back and forth at the heads as they speak in turn. He then retrieves a lump of dried squash and starts to knew at it idly.
When there’s a pause, he asks, ”it’s a shame everyone is stuck here, but I guess nothing can be done, sorry. Is it a maze or anything, or just a straight line to the center?”
"Maze? No, not really, but not a straight line. Twisty, yeah?" says Gurra.
"We should get back to cook-I mean, guarding. Sign the register and maybe you can see what Caigreal is up to," says Gurra.
The piggie trots over to an enormous book that looks about a thousand years old, illuminated by two eternal candles, and oinks helpfully.