Gate lands atop the tree he chose from memory.
Klaytal teleports to the edge of the pit and then moves away.
The Hunger!
Birne
Klaytal
Gate
Samen
With Klaytal free, Samen decides that scattering is the best bet and moves away, readying to attack the hole should it come near.
The hole flies up to Gate and tries to swallow him again!
From below, it looks like a colorless disc.
The Hunger!
Birne
Klaytal
Gate
Samen
As the branch he's teetering on vanishes, Gate reaches blindly above and grabs another branch just in time — his feet dangle a mere inch above the undead abyss.
The courtiers tumble downward, but at the last moment they mimic Gate's quick reflexes. A ghostly flatterer clutches the brawler's left boot at the last moment… a second courtier dangles from this one's belt, and so on down into the void.
The first courtier's ghostly pink peacock feather flutters slowly in the whirlpool of aetheric winds; his simpering cheers are quickly swallowed by the hunger below: Such grace, my liege! And you have seen fit to save your clumsy friends! A true hero! A noble soul! He dangles like a ballerina in the clouds!
The Hunger!
Birne
Klaytal
Gate
Samen
the Hunger is 25' up. Gate is 30' up.
"Hey, here's a thought: Let's get the hell out of here. Birne, can your magic help Gate get down?"
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Dangling from the branch, Gate shrugs off the bag of holding and drops it into the floating hole.
"Eat that!"
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The bag of holding drops inelegantly into the void, like a stone —
WHUMP
An explosion occurs. The two-dimensional disc below Gate expands into several more dimensions — wings of thought spray like a galaxy across the sky:
A wolf eats intestines.
A soldier in a noose.
A doll screams.
A mushroom in a quiet place.
The being that was attacking everyone seems to have been destroyed, but you are also harmed by the confluence of energy that surges in!
Below Gate's feet now hangs a hole into the astral plane. It looks like a window of fog, but somehow he knows it goes on forever, and that letting go now would be just as deadly as falling into the undead monstrosity he faced a few moments ago.
Caught up in visions, the boy screams as the astral storm rips at his flesh.
Status:
Gate: 3HP
Hucklepuck: 14HP
Klaytal: -5HP
Samen: 14HP
Klaytal is knocked unconscious; Gate is barely hanging on.
Heads ringing, you look around. Somehow, the firest trees are still standing, but they're leafless and withered for hundreds of yards out from the epicenter of the explosion. The grass below your feet is blackened and parched; it turns to ash under your feet.
This part of the forest may not support life for a long time to come… not to mention the astral gate silently looming above.
Gate manages to climb to the ground to the applause of his entourage, and the elf stabilizes.
A hidden path is exposed behind the skeletal pines — it heads straight as a plum-line towards the center of the forest, rather than the more circuitous path you were following.
Birne tends to his brother and then his other companions as he muses, "The shorter path may take us swift unto our doom. Fair wager, though, to reach our Miss post-haste."
The path becomes wider, and better trod. Gate recognizes several sets of small bootprints.
You come across an idyllic clearing, containing an idyllic stone cottage that seems altogether out of place in this dark and dangerous forest.
The picturesque house's chimney merrily puffs smoke. The gables, fancifully carved into whorling shapes, have been recently painted pearl blue. The white shutters are open, and every curtained window beams warmly into the cold evening. The front door is decorated with an evergreen wreath, and seven small homemade rocking chairs placed haphazardly upon an elevated wooden porch.
"This place is the worst. Given how awful everything else has been, I have no doubt this lovely cottage will turn out to be full of spiders or something."
Armed with complaints, you make your way forward.
True to form, Birne and Samen spot a pit trap at the foot of the steps — right before Gate steps onto it. There's something gargantuan, black, and pudding-like moving about in the cavern far below.
The steps leading up the porch are strange. The first three are small, as if designed for short folk. The next three are medium, and the last three are large. You notice nothing amiss as you approach.
Samen pauses suddenly, feeling that there is something odd about these stairs — namely, that together they form a complex trap.
There is a pressure plate on the small steps. It's attached to an disarming switch below the medium-sized steps. Finally, this disarming switch is connected to an armed pit trap below the large steps. That pit trap falls to another pit trap — this one seems to have strange metal doors that would likely snap closed after the victim falls inside. He suspects these metal doors are rather heavy and would block magical transport into and out of the pit — escaping would be quite difficult.
Medium-sized creatures are naturally inclined to skip the short steps, thus leaving the trap at the top of the stairs armed. By first stepping on the small-sized steps, the trap is disarmed for a few seconds, allowing you to safely ascend the stairs.
As you ascend the stairs, you notice a pile of sacking behind the rocking chairs.
It begins snoring.
You look closer… fancy, red velvet crackow boots stick out from under a dirty old blanket. There's a bottle of Klavakian wine — nothing but the dregs left — laying next to a book of heroic tales titled Princess Mouseskin, and other tales.
Birne gazes on the snoring feet-and-blanket and softly murmurs a lullaby of roots. In his minds eye, the sleeper's memories of family branch out.
You can scan the thoughts of one individual and learn the names and locations of the target’s living relatives, as well as the attitude of the target toward those relatives (and vice versa). You learn about one relative per round you concentrate on the target. For example, you might learn the target’s father’s name, that the father lives on a nearby farm, and that the target and his father don’t get along. Since this spell reads the target’s mind, you can learn only what the target knows or believes.
Sister Suenevlunkuck lives far away in the mountains, where she farms glowing mushrooms in the dark.
Mother Puzluennen works on the albino beetle ranch. The herds silently crawl on the walls and the ceiling among the pillars of the cave system.
Father Rabnezum stays at home with a lichen-blanket draped over his legs. Since the Klavakians attacked, the old man no longer walks. He smokes his pipe, full of specially-harvested guano-mold, all day long.
Keeping one eye on the sleeping body, Gate knocks on the front door.
No one answers.
"He has no evil ogres as his kin. But reason that he may resist the rule of Klavak queen or king." The boy lightly shakes the pointy show as Samen knocks. "Hello, oh sleepy head."
The creature site up with a jolt. You see he is a rock gnome. He's wearing a sleeping-cap and pajamas. There are machanical parts near his hand, under the blanket. Samen recognizes these as the springs and wires you'd need to make traps.
Whaaaa!?
He rubs his eyes and blinks at you slowly… he may still be a little drunk.
A moment later his eyes widen and he tries to stand up but stumbles backwards in an awkward attempt at escape.
In Sylvan, Birne says, "What need have you to ‘scape, my friend!" He offers a hand. "We’re sworn to Lumi, not the Queen nor haughty prince."
When he speaks in Sylvan, Birne earns a close inspection from the sleepy gnome. He tries to stand up straight and with dignity, swaying a little.
Knights, here to save Lumi? But you're not… shiny! Knights are shining. And none speak Sylvan. He peers at you closely. Maybe Lumi's friends are as bad as the rest! But then again… you don't ally with the worst of the bunch, and you speak like a friend.
"The Queen would have us hand her back unto the Prince’s arms. But I am sworn to Lumi first, by True Name’s Oath. She gave me shelter as I fled the cruelties of the Rabbit Prince." He shifts to his more innate form. "She knows that fey can be a force for good or ill, like all the creatures of the worlds. But Lumi’s kindness is not for my humble self alone. Milady’s ever for the people of the realm. The Klavaks bring us only war. But what would you and yours intend instead, to keep her in this place?"
The gnome is so fascinated with Birne's transformation that he burps. Have you met Drona? Her glade's down a ways. We should play Kasta together.
He remembers himself, and stops babbling. Folk everywhere want this sleeping princess. That green huntswoman was riding off with Lumi on her horse — so we stole her — just like gallants saving a maiden! We don't want her hurt, but we want Klavek to stop hurting our people, too.. he looks at the humans in the party when he says this.
Iloinen will be so happy I've finally done something right — while napping to boot! HAHA! He'll be eating crow for dinner tonight! Anyway, you should talk to him.
The drunk gnome lurches over to the door and deftly disarms the poison needle trap, the shocking grasp trap, and the pit trap that are all attached to the door handle, which Gate was about to turn.
Can't be too careful. While he's not quite sober, the gnome seems to have disarmed these traps many times.
The gnome pauses before opening the door. Oh. Can you leave your weapons out here? He waits for you to disarm yourselves before opening the door.
As he leave his weapons outside, Gate gives Hesperance a wink. ”Don’t get yourself into any trouble out here.”
"Of course." The doll leaves his dagger outside and enters.
Samen removes his sheathed longsword from his hip and unslings his bow. "Of course. We mean you no harm."
Vasynyt leads you through a cozy entry hall; there are six short winter coats on the pegs, and six pairs of boots on the floor.
He takes off his boots and hangs his coat, then steps to the left— don't step there— then he weaves forward and back — or there — and finally, he hops over a small area rug — or there.
By the way, I'm Vasynyt!
He opens the door to a common room with a long oaken table. It's merrily lit, and there's supper on the table — a roasted turkey!
A very tall, very academic-looking halfling sits at the head of the table. His round bifocals are so thick, his eyes seem to bulge like a frog’s.
To this person's left is a rotund halfling who wears a puffy toque blanche. He's holding a cleaver and smiling at the roasted turkey.
To the cook's left is a beardless dwarf whose holding a silver spoon in front of his nose, making faces.
On the other side of the table is a gnome wearing grizzly bear headdress — its too big for her and its oversized canines hang over her eyes. She wipes her runny nose on a crusty paw, and looks at you with watery eyes.
To the gnome's right is a beefy hill dwarf. He blushes and turns his handsome face quickly to the floor when you enter.
To the dwarf’s right is an albino cave dwarf with red eyes; she hefts her spear the moment you enter, and snarls.
Vasynyt trundles in and grabs a glass of wine at the last open seat.
Sleepy, did you finish the tra— the academic-looking halfling bolts upright up mid-sentence, and his glasses fall crookedly across his face. He doesn't seem to notice.
AHHHHH! You've bought visitors. Brought. He looks at your group. What do you want? We didn’t do it and we don’t know anything!
"We thank Vasynyt — brave and wise. Good eve."
"Ahem. I am the ward and guardian of Lumi, whom I’ve gi’en a true name oath. We wish to guard her from a love that’s false. A wedding to a crown that harms the common folk and fey alike."
And these humans and half-humans with you? Are they shorn to Lumi, or to the crown? Sworn.
”Alright, since you’re asking, let me add my two coppers here as well, which is to say that we have come all this way into the forest to find Lumi, and we haven’t had any chance to rest or eat, on account of our camp being attacked by a creature that I can only think to call a worm hole. Obviously we survived, thanks to my quick thinking and, unfortunately, the sacrifice of our handy haversack.”
”And that says nothing of the creatures we met on our round-about journey, the dungeon we fought through, the genie, the giant bat I rode. None of this would we have done if we didn’t care about Lumi. Believe me, I don’t just ride bats or blow up worm holes because I like to.”
”I’m sure we can all appreciate what you’ve done to help her, here in this nice warm cabin with the big roasted turkey, but I can assure you it’s nothing compared to what we’ve gone through just to find her and be here.”
”Now, I’d love to stand around like strangers, and keep breathing in the scents of this turkey, but wouldn’t you rather discuss things over dinner, like civilized folks?”
The happy chef squeals. Time to eat! Time to eat! Time to eat! His chef hat vibrates as he begins carving the turkey with gusto.
The halfling at the head of the table nods; his glasses fall even more crookedly. Yes… let's seat. Eat. He takes a seat. I watched your heroics during the fireworks show — quite regressive! Impressive! The bifocals fall into his soup.
While the leader — who introduces himself as Iloinen — fishes his eyewear out of the broth, stools are brought out. They're all too small for all of you but Birne, but you are welcomed to the table and can share the meal.
Iloinen peers at Samen. And you? Why are you here, chasing Lumi?
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"Indeed, I too am motivated to be here by my pure devotion to our princess."
So then. What can Lumi's guardians offer the small folk — not just us sever, but our entire nation — in return for your sleeping princess? I wonder if we'd be better off negotiating with the prince or mayor, who can offer help in an official capacity…
"The Prince? I find it like as not he’ll have you thrown into a gaol as deep as hell itself, or feed you to his hounds. And how would Lumi fare, returned into the clutches of the Queen?"
The doll pauses. "When you say sleeping, do you mean she’s eaten from the pomum fruit?"
Iloinen adjusts his glasses. She's asleep. That was how we found her. We never heard of this pomum fruit.
As for Lumi… the lands of the little folk are being stolen from us, by your country. If the cruel prince and Queen promised to end these hostilities or at least consider our plight, I would return the sleeping princess back to the family she was born to, and to the husband she agreed to marry. She is not property, and can make her own choices when she wakes.
We have no abdicates in Klavek. They consider us short folk to be something less than them. You do not seem to be anything more than protectors, so I'm not sure how you can help us. And Lumi sleeps, and who knows what she'll think when she wakes?
"What can we offer you? A fine and worthy question. First of all, we can offer you our faulty mortal memory. 'Where did we find her, my queen? Why, I simply can't remember.' I'm quite sure you'd rather we keep your name from her ears."