When Mr Whiskers submerges the crown and the matryoshka doll, the pool starts bubbling, and the doll splits open once again with a crack, revealing a smaller doll within.
"Finally - I ..." The party hears an old crones voice in their heads, cutting in and out like a weak radio transmission. "speak."
"...Doll..Rest now. Dimitri...up....continue tomorrow."
Then Vigliv emerges once more again from the bole of the Mother Tree and speaks. "Your bravery has won through, but your quest is not yet done."
"You have recovered Baba Yaga’s fate and her power, but now you must seek out her death. As she rose in power from a mere mortal, Baba Yaga used great magic to ensure that death would not be able to swiftly find her through misfortune or betrayal. “Baba Yaga placed her death in an athame, a witch’s knife, which she then hid in a chest within a corpse, which she buried under an oak tree on the mystical island of Buyan. Even if Baba Yaga was slain, her death would still need to be recovered and released back into her body in order for her to truly die. And so Baba Yaga plucked the island from the ocean and stored it in one of the many hidden realms of her hut so that none could stumble across it, and her death, without first facing her power."
“Now, to free Baba Yaga from her prison, you must go to Buyan, find her death, and bring it back here to her cauldron. She is gaining greater awareness as you free her and will be able to guide you to some extent; heed her counsel. Now go; the death of Baba Yaga awaits you.”
"You know it always creeps me out when she pops out of the tree like that?" Igor comments.
Mr. Whiskers is not exactly pleased by Baba Yaga's orders.
Looking to Vigliv, he says "We would be in much better shape if we had another day. The additional time would enable us to better recover from the last battle."
"You know her better than I. Would she be amenable to us waiting another day?"
---
Seeing what the men have come up with, Mr. Whiskers says "I think you want smaller openings to shoot through. If the opening is less than a square foot, it will block many of the spell effects. I am also somewhat concerned about how such a structure would survive an earthquake. There are spells that can cause earthquakes."
"Let me do some calculations, see what works."
---
Mr. Whiskers approaches Einar. Holding out the feather token, he says "Do you think this would be best with you, Greta, or Dmitri? It isn't as strong as a flying spell, but it can be activated much easier."
"Baba Yaga used to be my student. She has now far outstripped me in power. She saw that our fates are tied, and did not dare to let me out of her power. She tore my entire abode from the fabric of planet Earth and used it as the foundation for her greatest creation, her fabled Dancing Hut. And I am now a prisoner in my own domain. Yet I cannot defy her, since our fates are still tied inextricably and will be for eternity."Vigliv explains.
"You would do well not to offend her. What she wants, she gets."
"I'm not sure how your make wall magic works," Pavel answers Mr Whiskers. "Or magic works, either. I'll defer to you on how small you can make the openings."
"Would wood fare better then stone for structures if there was an earthquake?" He asks Mr Whiskers. "There's plenty of trees, so we can chop them down to make wooden fortifications."
"Wait, let me grab some fish. I shouldn't be drinking on an empty stomach. Neither should you." Greta answers as she passes through the soldiers camp and cuts herself a large portion of roasted trout. "Want some?" She asks Einar.
Then she joins Einar at the other side of the pool and eats her trout. "Yes, now is a good time to get wasted. Pass the plum wine." She takes a swig out of it.
"It's your hangover, if you do get one. " Greta shrugs indifferently.
Now she has finished with her trout lunch, she takes a long drink out of the jug. "So wat it like on Pharasma's Road?" Greta's eyes are glassy, and her pupils constricted. "Ye never talked about it. 'Wnder if I'll get to see em soon..." Finding it too much effort to sit upright, she lays herself flat on the ground.
Greta doesn't answer you. Einar realises she has already passed out.
"Baba Yaga used to be my student. She has now far outstripped me in power. She saw that our fates are tied, and did not dare to let me out of her power. She tore my entire abode from the fabric of planet Earth and used it as the foundation for her greatest creation, her fabled Dancing Hut. And I am now a prisoner in my own domain. Yet I cannot defy her, since our fates are still tied inextricably and will be for eternity."Vigliv explains.
"You would do well not to offend her. What she wants, she gets."
Frowning a bit, Mr. Whiskers replies "I guess we will have to make it work then. It certainly would have been easier with a little more time."
Looking to Vigliv, he says "I'm sorry you are trapped. Although I didn't like what little I saw of Earth, still it was your home. Let me know if there is some small comfort I might provide you."
---
Shrugging his shoulders. ”I think I’m too heavy for it, anyway, I can cast fly so Dimitri or Greta, depending on what shape she is in, may benefit from it the most.” He looks at Dimitri for a second and then asks, ”Why don’t we get some mitheral armor from Z for Dimitri here?”
"Oh right, the weight limit!" Mr. Whiskers is slightly annoyed with himself. "That doesn't tend to be a problem for my people."
Thinking a moment, he says "Given that, it should probably be given to Dmitri. We will have to warn him about the normal response to flyers is focused fire."
He then looks over at Dmitri's coat. "Einar, did you realize that the coat wasn't armor? I felt a little foolish when the soldiers explained it to me. I don't think Mithral will work -- restrict his movement too much -- but I can use the same spell I've provided to Greta without any problems."
He waves his hands and cleans the blood off the clothing and equipment. Then he sits beside the coat for about ten minutes, concentrating on his magic. When he finishes, the holes in the coat mend themselves.
He then puts the feather into the breast pocket of the coat. "Don't let me forget to tell him about it tomorrow."
He then wanders back to where the rest are camped.
---
"I'm not sure how your make wall magic works," Pavel answers Mr Whiskers. "Or magic works, either. I'll defer to you on how small you can make the openings."
"Would wood fare better then stone for structures if there was an earthquake?" He asks Mr Whiskers. "There's plenty of trees, so we can chop them down to make wooden fortifications."
"Let's avoid chopping down more trees than necessary. Perhaps I'm worrying too much, this place seems secure."
"I'll think it over tonight, and talk with you in the morning."
---
Mr. Whiskers approaches Anastasia and asks her if she thinks she can restore Greta tonight and then Dmitri tomorrow. If she can, he will provide the needed diamond dust for Greta's spell.
Vigliv gives Mr Whiskers a sad smile, ”There is nothing you can do for me. I have not been ill-treated here and I have my grove. Sometimes I wonder how the world I was once in has changed – I do not know how long it has been since she tore my abode from Earth. But perhaps this is for the best - I am but a relic of a past time to be forgotten.”
”Well, we chopped down a tree and it grew back instantly.” Pavel replies. ”That’s pretty remarkable, isn’t it? If we were on Earth we could probably start a furniture factory.” He gives a mirthless smile,” I mean we still could, but there’s a limited market here.”
Mr Whiskers leads Anastasia to where Greta and Einar are passed out on the ground and Dimitri’s corpse is laid out. Anatasia is grows very pale and leans on Mr Whiskers for support as she sees Dimitri’s body. ”Is that what happened to me when I died? What the hell got him?” She points at the visible arrow wounds. She then goes forward to touch the unconscious Greta – who doesn’t even stir as Anastasia restores her life energy.
"I don't know, Anastasia." he admits.
"As for what got him, it was several undead archers called baykoks focusing fire with their arrows made of bone. Quite deadly."
"Right. I'll stay away from ANYTHING that looks dead and uses a bow. In fact,I'm going to run for nearest cover."
"Oh - you owe me 100 gp worth of diamond dust. If I'm going to start the healing for money thing, I must as well get started now." Anastasia tells Mr Whiskers.
Mr. Whiskers hands her the diamond dust. Gesturing towards the main camp, he suggests "Best not to wake them. Let's head back to the main camp."
Anatasia also heals Mr Whiskers, Greta and Einar up.
Mr. Whiskers accepts the jug. "To fallen comrades, may they rise again." Hopefully this time we can prevent them from falling.
He then takes a healthy drink from the jug.
Einar shakes his head, finishing cleaning up Dimitri, pulling a blanket out and covering the body.
Crummock nods thoughtfully, as the soldiers comment about armor.
"Aye, we might be able to do somethin' to help a wee bit; I can make his skin as tough as ironwood, without impedin' his mobility..."
Away from the soldiers, Crummock concentrates on the Scroll of Resurrection, teasing out the words of power, and knitting them into a web, which he casts along the faint residue of the soul-trail that binds Dimitri's corporeal form with his recently-fled spirit.
"Come back to us!"
"Then you really should do it. I've been shot before, it was a nasty experience. I can't imagine how being killed felt like to Dimitri!" Anton snaps.
The party sees the blanket twitch, then Dimitri’s hand pulls off the blanket.”Hey, who put that blanket on me? And where are we?” He sputters indignantly, then sits up and takes a look around the surroundings. ”Oh, we’re back in the grotto. I died, didn’t I? I remember a loud howl…then I was in Axis, rather holey. After a while the holes filled up. Did you help me find my missing pieces?”
”And what happened to Einar and Greta?” He looks down at their prone forms, then sniffs the air, ”Oh, I see. An over indulgence plum wine.”
” So what happened while I was gone?”He asks anyone awake to answer his queries.
Crummock grins, and helps Dimitri back to his feet.
"Glad to have ye back!"
He then grows more solemn.
"As to what happened, well, those flying corpses filled you full o' arrows, and then one tried to eat yer soul. We annihilated them with extreme prejudice, then dispelled the magic ritual that was animatin' all o' the rest o' them. Their queen, another type o' undead beast, took umbrage at this, and we had to put her down, too. We then fought some slime demons, and several nasty wasp swarms. All in all, it was a tough fight."
Crummock looks thoughtful.
"We've had a think aboot it, and we can try to limit the chances that it will happen again, if ye get specifically targeted. Mr Whiskers will enhance ye each day with a layer o' force armor, and I will make yer skin as tough as ironwood (although that needs to be applied every few hours)."
He then raises a reassuring hand.
"None o' this will interfere with yer manual dexterity in the slightest. We know mobility is important to ye."
”Yes, I remember those arrows.” He winces. ”Well that explains why I was a little holey when I got to Axis. Thanks for getting it to split out the missing pieces.”
”Good riddance to a lot of bad rubbish.” Dimitri spits on the ground when he hears that the magic ritual animating the baykoks was dispelled. ”It sounded that you could have used help.” Dimitri sounds rather apologetic about the whole matter. ”Sorry for leaving you guys when you needed me.”
”Yes please – that is a most excellent idea.I'd wear a full suit of platemail, no matter how ridiculous it'd look if it'd stop me from being turned into a pincushion.” He heaves a sigh of relief. ”I don’t think I’m very much use to you if I’m bleeding out on the ground, or dead. Much as I’d like to return back to Axis – I don’t like leaving jobs half done. Though I must admit it’s a lot more peaceful in Axis. And there are really some sights to see...” Dimitri’s eyes briefly have a faraway look in them.
Then he touches his pocket where Mr Whiskers put the feather in, ”Hmm, how did I get a feather in my pocket? I don’t remember ever seeing it before or having anyone give it to me?”
"And who helped fixed my trench coat? It looks as good as new!" He exclaims delightfully.
Crummock nods.
"That would be Mr Whiskers. If ye ever have a pressing need to fly (for a short period), that feather will help ye."
He then smiles ruefully.
"I don't really think it was yer choice - they really seemed to have it in for ye."
”Mr Whiskers! Thanks for fixing my coat and giving me the feather. You’ll tell me what it does and show me how to use it, right?” He asks Mr Whiskers.
Dimitri contemplates about Crummock’s words for a while, ”Yeah, you’re right. I tried to stay conscious but it seems I succumbed to my wounds.”
”I’m feeling pretty hungry right now, and I smell roasted trout. Excuse me while I attend to dinner.” He returns to the soldiers just to assure them that he’s all right, while helping himself to a large serving of trout dinner, then returning to the party’s separate camp.
Crummock notices him contemplating the starry night sky for a while even after Mr Whiskers left to return to the soldier’s camp, before he finally gets into his bedroll and falls asleep.
The next morning , the party is woken up by an insistent old crone’s voice in their minds, ”Wake…many things…to do” They smell the smell of fried eggs, smoked bacon and pancakes coming from the soldiers camp. They also see Anton carrying a breakfast platter of eggs, bacon and pancakes to them. ”I’m sorry about yesterday. I let my emotions get better of me when I heard Dimitri got killed. At least you’re trying to stop that from happening again and I really shouldn’t have been that snappy yesterday.” He delivers the party breakfast, then turns to leave.
Crummock goes and sits with Dimitri, not saying a word, just providing him with company while he sorts through his thoughts.
He then stands vigil over the party for most of the night, listening attentively for any more pronouncements from the doll.
Crummock smiles ruefully at Anton.
"Apology accepted. I appreciate that this all comes as a bit o' a shock, coming from a world where magic is not considered normal. For our part, as ye say, we will do our best to make sure that it doesnae happen again."
When Greta wakes up she looks quite surprised, at Einar, ”Hey, you know if your plum wine can really heal wounds and cure the effects of blightfire and the life draining powers of that ooze, I should have it more often! ”
"Yeah, I guess that's the best anyone can do." Anton replies, then turns to Dimitri, "You take care of yourself out there, all right? Don't end up coming back in a body bag again." He says in a voice rough with emotion, while clasping Dimitri's shoulder.
A flabbergasted Dimitri stammers, "Yeah, I'll try to stay living."
"...business" Baba Yaga then starts starts weaving another layer of protections over the party.
"Go North and east across the stream... climb the cliff to find the path...” Baba Yaga's telepathic voice commands.
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Crummock nods.
"Right then. We should get movin'!"
He then does just that.
Following her telepathic directions the party finds themselves atthe base of a broken cliff, where a successful DC 5 Climb check is sufficient to climb the broken and gradual slope. After ascending 50 feet, the party reaches a crude path carved into the face of the cliff. Baba Yaga’s guidance points the party to the right.
The canyon widens ahead, and the cliffside path climbs to pass between two spurs of rock above, opening onto a wide ledge with a high-ceilinged cave extending back into the cliff face. A large bonfire burns upon the ledge. The ribs and skulls of gigantic animals litter the ledge around it and are perched like totems in crevices and upon crags.
The path leading to the ledge is 100 feet above the canyon floor and rises an additional 20 feet to meet the ledge itself, 120 feet above the floor. The two rock pinnacles that flank the path stand an additional 35 feet high with flat tops that allow them to be used as lookout posts. Detritus and filth clutter the ledge and cave floor, and those areas are considered difficult terrain for any creature smaller than Large. Due to their steepness and the slickness of the filth coating them, the cliff faces here require successful DC 25 Climb checks to ascend. The rock pinnacles are not smeared with discarded garbage and require only successful DC 15 Climb checks to scale.
Baba Yaga's voice urges you go up the ledge, but there is a premonition of danger to it as well.
"I think drinking to my honor was nice, but maybe you shouldn't have drank to excess. " Dimitri chides Einar primly."And I'd rather not run for competitions on who's died the most number of times."
"I wouldn't say I'm quite fine, still a little tired from yesterday, that didn't go away despite getting a good night's sleep."
"Well if it wasn't the plum wine, what could it be? The trout? I was battered up and feeling like crap yesterday, and today I'm right fine. There's got to be an explanation for it!" Greta replies.
"Well, that doesnae like ominous, at all..."
Hugging the cliff and getting close to the ledge, the party hears bestiary voices and hoots of laughter coming from above. "Prathama amē yōjavuṁ anē pachī amē garamīthī pakavavuṁ. Āvatīkālē vadhu parvata bakarā amē lēvā paḍaśē"
First we brew and then we bake
Tomorrow more mountain goats we'll take
They peek up to see 5 towering menaces with a horrible, vertically aligned mouth each and arms that split at the elbows into twin clawed hands dancing a barbaric circuit around their bonfire, flailing bloody haunches of meat from recently slaughtered mountain goats. One of them is wearing a goat horn on its neck.
Greta recognizes them as Gugs except for the one wearing a goat horn on its neck, which is a Gug Savant - a gug with spell like abilities. Mr Whiskers can't remember what they are.
Gugs are inhuman monstrosities that dwell in the deep places of the world. Their senses are keen, however, and their joy in the bloody hunt is considerable and gugs who catch the scent of blood may stalk their prey for long days, even venturing at times beyond their caves to dare the bright lands of the surface in search of tasty meat to drag back for their horrific sacrifices.
They have surprising reach for their size due to their long arms.
”Mr Whiskers! Thanks for fixing my coat and giving me the feather. You’ll tell me what it does and show me how to use it, right?” He asks Mr Whiskers.
Dimitri contemplates about Crummock’s words for a while, ”Yeah, you’re right. I tried to stay conscious but it seems I succumbed to my wounds.”
Mr. Whiskers is a little startled at seeing Dmitri at first. Oh, right. He was using a scroll so there really was no reason for Crummock to wait.
"Sorry, I can't show you -- only tell you -- because the magic only works once. I am glad to see you alive."
He then explains that Dmitri only need put the Feather to a shoulder blade and say "Fly me away!" to activate it. It will cause wings to appear and he will then be able to fly for a short period of time. He then warns of how that can cause many to focus fire so he has to be careful of when he does it. He also makes sure to mention the weight limit since it is important with humans.
Then he gives Dmitri one of his smokesticks with the tindertwig tied in place. Since Dmitri saw him use it, this is a much quicker explanation.
Since he still has a couple of first level spells, he casts mage armor on Dmitri so he can experience what it is like. At this point, he apologizes for not having done it earlier and with a touch of embarrassment admits that he thought Dmitri's coat was some sort of armor.
He assures Dmitri that he will cast it again before the group leaves tomorrow morning.
"Any questions?"
"Well if it wasn't the plum wine, what could it be? The trout? I was battered up and feeling like crap yesterday, and today I'm right fine. There's got to be an explanation for it!" Greta replies.
Overhearing her comments, Mr. Whiskers comes over.
Nodding in the direction of the sleeping princess, he says "You can thank her, probably after we return since it appears she is going to sleep in. Last night she cast a restorative spell on you. Her magic is growing fast."
He then resumes eating his meal.
Dimitri nods as Mr Whiskers explains. "So it'll grow me wings like these? Right, weight limits. Not a problem, the only thing heavy I carry is Maggie, and the ammunition doesn't weigh much.
"I'm not sure if I'm glad that I'm alive or not." Dimitri admits honestly. "I'm glad to be back with my friends, but there's some appeal in being in a place away from worldly conflicts. And the longer you stay there, the further away everything else seems to be."
Dimitri taps the mage armor Mr Whiskers summons for him experimentally. "That's really cool, it's some kind of force field?" He asks. Then he tries moving about in it, and gives Mr Whiskers a thumbs up sign. "Heavy armor has been phased out on Earth. Doesn't stop bullets, afterall. Though Anton would tell you about the latest American armor inventions...he's an armor geek. I've honestly never heard about it before, but again, he's the sort of guy who reads the latest weapon magazines." Dimitri answers when Mr Whiskers admits that he thought that his coat was armor.
"Oh it wasn't the wine?" Greta sounds crestfallen. "And here I thought I had the perfect excuse to drink more..."
"I'll be sure to thank her when we get back."
Crummock casts windwalk on the party and the party follows Baba Yaga’s telepathic instructions into a cave on the ledge. There is a pool of water at the back of the cave. Piled about the cave among the gug’s filth are rough gold nuggets worth a total of 1,300 gp. Behind a hide screen separating one of the quarters in an alcove to the east form the rest of the cave is a badly flawed diamond the size of a human fist which is worth 15,000 gp and a large dirty white bear pelt which is worth 1,500 gp if cleaned. Finally a large mortar and pestle, covered in dust, sits in an alcove just south of the pool in the rear of the cave. Baba Yaga explains telepathically to the party that this is her Mortar and Pestle and how to use it. The party hears the gug’s returning to the cave after their feast, as they finish looting the place.”Pool!”They hear the old crone’s voice in their mind, and they make a run for the pool, then step into the icy cold waters of pool. The world shimmers, then they are somewhere else.
The party finds themselves standing in a warm tidal pool. A brilliant sun shines down from a cloudless azure sky, as flawless as a painting from a storybook. Ahead, the waves of a cerulean blue sea break against a sandy shore that stretches into the distance in either direction. The cry of gulls and the roll of the surf is all that breaks the silence of this empty seascape.
The party finds they are on a small, sandy islet no more than a quarter mile in diameter. All around them stretches an apparently endless blue sea.
"My, nice place for an island vacation," Greta remarks. "Anyone brought the beach mats for some sunbathing?"
The party also feels telepathic urges from the doll to go West, but it's all boundless sea!
Mr Whiskers also realises that this demiplane is dimensionally locked.
Mr. Whiskers pulls a rowboat out of his robe. "I brought the boat. Someone else gets to row." he says with a chuckle.