"Hozs-- Galdor, Jaden and Raphel are right. We can come back for the fey. And we've got to hurry for the sake of the Hollow."
"We will come back? Uhmmm... OK." Hozs marks the tree so he can find it again. uhmmm I wonder if I should have been doing this the whole time.
The party travels for most of the day with no breaks except for meals and a quick brook-crossing that had some of the best tasting water any of you have ever had.
Towards twilight, the time when the eyes start to play tricks with people and nature takes on a surreal appearance, the sounds of the forest become suddenly distant and the trees seem to divide, opening into a small circular glade. The trees on the edge, pine and darkwood mostly, seem to twist away from the clearing as if trying to flee from the area.
At the center of the glade is a fat, ugly cottage formed of twigs, shoots, and ivy stacked on mud walls. Bundles of gnarled roots, old dried beastly carcasses, and bone windchimes all clatter together in gruesome song. Dozens of small fetishes -each shaped like a tiny man, imp or serpent, among other less discernible forms- stand propped up in the yard, keeping guard before the rickety plank door.
Hozs shudders. not gingerbread? "Uhmmm.... what did we need here?"
Hozs shudders. not gingerbread? "Uhmmm.... what did we need here?"
Effan sniffs, "Looks like my old Aunt Giveneive's place. Except hers was cleaner. Shall we call the old woman out?"
"You can call her if you want" Hozs steps behind one of the gnomes as if that would protect him from the witch. "Go ahead."
"You can call her if you want" Hozs steps behind one of the gnomes as if that would protect him from the witch. "Go ahead."
Effan is genuinely surprised "Me? I think one of the big men would make a more impressive emmissary. Besides I never cared much for that aunt."
"I can not be calling out old witches, or i will get killed when i get home. Raph, show us your women-wo power, call her out." Jaden gives Raph a smile and folds his arms.
"Bah! Very well, I'll do it."
Raphael takes a few steps towards the hut, peers around at all the effigies, then continues walking right up to the door. Tentatively, he knocks on the door.
"Ulizmia? Sorry to bother you, but we have come seeking a certain herb needed to cure an epidemic of Blackscour Taint. Please, open up so we may talk about the price."
"Keegan, Effan do ether of you feel or see anything. Last thing we need is an ambush. Jaden draws his axe and readys his shield and follows behind Raph keeping about 10 feet behind
"Keegan, Effan do ether of you feel or see anything. Last thing we need is an ambush. Jaden draws his axe and readys his shield and follows behind Raph keeping about 10 feet behind
"If I do, I'll let you know, Master Thorm." Effan cranes his neck looking around.
Raph-
As you get close to the door you can see that the door has rotted off of it's hinges in the frame. No sound answers your knock or call.
The rest of you guys don't see or hear anything out of place, however the foxes refuse to enter the circular glade and Miss Catharine seems reluctant also.
LOL
LOL
Hozs takes a closer look at one of the effigies, they are oddly familiar to the sticks he used for his 'natures secrets.'
Faldor walks up behind Raphael peering from behind him as they both reach the door.
"I'm thinking that no one is staying here any longer... When was the last time anyone heard from this woman?"
"This is most distressing... Perhaps we should just take a look inside to make sure?"
"Oh, all right. I'll go." Effan steps up to the door and knocks again. He calls out "Ulizmia!?" waits three beats then gingerly tries the door handle.
As you get close to the door you can see that the door has rotted off of it's hinges in the frame. No sound answers your knock or call. The handle is little more than an iron ring fastened to the outside of the door.
"Sir Dadarrin, this door looks flimsy on its hinges. Can you catch it if it falls when I open it?"
If he receives an affirmative answer, Effan will try to open the door by pulling the ring.
Hozs syrup deliciously takes one of the effigies and slips it in his bag (he has no idea how maple relates to being sneaky but all the talk of gingerbreads has made him think of sweets.) If he has any notice of the people getting closer to the hut, it is only that the next effigy he studies is a little farther away. If she is not here can we... ooh this one looks like the boss man.
Hozs syrup deliciously takes one of the effigies and slips it in his bag (he has no idea how maple relates to being sneaky but all the talk of gingerbreads has made him think of sweets.) If he has any notice of the people getting closer to the hut, it is only that the next effigy he studies is a little farther away. If she is not here can we... ooh this one looks like the boss man.
The Effigies are around 3 feet tall, not something he is gonna stick in his bag, and made of leather, cloth, and rough pine and darkwood sticks.
Effan gives a mighty pull, 1d20=20 strength check, and yanks the entire door out of the frame. He sets it aside leaning against the hut. A smell assails his delicate nose, one of dankness, molding spices and a hint of decay. A moment of panic seizes Effan as his unadjusted eyes seem blind to the tiny hut's interior but passes quickly as his pupils dilate and the dusty room becomes clearer.
Poorly hung shelves line the walls of this 15' circular room, covered with all manner of clay jugs, cloudy bottles, oddly faceted rocks, rotted herb bunches and other manner of less easily identified items of an alchemist/herbalist's profession. A large rusty iron cauldron, with an opening of nearly 5 feet and a depth of roughly 3 feet dominates the center of the hut's floor, its ash-covered surface shaped with a relief of imps and other fiends capering and leering in lewd fashion.
Directly across from the door, against the far wall, stands a high-backed chair of made wicker and twig with the tusks of some monstrous beast and thousands of human teeth decorating its surface. Sitting in the chair is what looks to be a corpse wrapped in filthy burial linens with small bunches of herbs poking from between the bindings. The form is sprouting patches of a thick white mold.
Nothing moves within the cottage save the disturbed dust which catches the fading sunlight and makes the entire interior look almost like something from a dream......or a nightmare.
"Keep on guard, Raph if you see anything that might be a trap, let everyone know." Jaden turns to Faldor "You seem very quite old man, something on your mind?"
Effan stands in the doorway, peering into the gloom. The hut's interior disturbs him, especially the chair and corpse. "I think the wicked old witch is dead." He concentrates, looking for magical auras.
If there's no magic about, he'll walk in. If there is he'll tell the others about it.
Raph grins. "The hag's dead... Hmm... Just means there's more stuff for us to take, eh? Let's look for the rat's tail and anything else of value, I say."
Taking a step inside, Raph spares a glance at the wrapped corpse. "Anyone else find it a bit odd that she'd wrap herself up before dying?"
Faldor gives the young man an odd look, "Who are you calling old, Longshanks!?!"
After his small outburst Faldor again resumes his silence that he has held for the last day or so as he examines the rooms contents.
"If you only knew half of the tales that I do about witches and things in the thick woods you would be thinking a little more and talking a little less too," he says quitly but enough for all to hear him.
Turning to Rapheal, "And don't touch anything! You would cry if you knew the curses that some can make from there deaths." With a shudder Faldor looks around the room for the root.
Effan stands in the doorway, peering into the gloom. The hut's interior disturbs him, especially the chair and corpse. "I think the wicked old witch is dead." He concentrates, looking for magical auras.
If there's no magic about, he'll walk in. If there is he'll tell the others about it.
The cauldron radiates an aura of transmutation and their is an aura of magic(faint illusion) emanating from behind a couple of jars on a shelf across the room from you.
The shelves are stacked thick with objects and a quick glance doesn't show anything that looks to be Rat's Tail, although to really search you would have to move a lot of things around, with the shelves stacked sometimes three to four rows deep in jars, pots, bowls, and envelopes.
As you enter the room and get closer you can see that the 'body' is actually a bundle of branches, mud and linen wrapped up with bunches of pungent herbs and fashioned to look like a body.
The cauldron radiates an aura of transmutation and their is an aura of magic(faint illusion) emanating from behind a couple of jars on a shelf across the room from you.
Effan takes in the magical auras. "There's magic in the cauldron and an illusion of some sort near those jars over there." He points across the hut. "I don't sense anything else." He begins to move along the righthand wall searching it for "rat tails". He picks up and moves items to see in or behind them. "Can one of you humans check those shelves? I can't reach them."
The Effigies are around 3 feet tall, not something he is gonna stick in his bag, and made of leather, cloth, and rough pine and darkwood sticks.
Hozs takes the effigy shaped like a man and positions it to ride on one of the serpent effigies. A moment later--only after he has not been turned into a pig--he realizes he is alone in the glade and hurries to the hut to catch up with the rest of the party. He keeps a wary eye on the witches corpse as he does so. "OK," he answers and helps to search the taller shelves.
[ooc]perception25 (20+5). Oooh that dust mote looks like Pa's shaving brush!.
As Effan touches the objects on the shelf the sound of rusted metal protesting sudden movement is heard from the center of the room. The cauldron, whose iron feet now are propelling the stone pot, moves forward slightly and attacks Effan,
1d20 2=21 attack, 1d8 1=4 damage, and attempts to grab him, 1d20 3=7 vs. CMB DC14, but fails to get a hold of him.
Roll initiative and post where you all are on the map.
Cauldron initiative-1d20=15
As Hozs plays around with the effigies he notices the one he is trying to place another onto turns and looks at him before slamming him in the groin with a wicked head-butt. 1d20 1=17, 1d4 1=5. Looking about trying to clear his vision of pain-spots he sees that three other effigies around the glade are heading towards him.
1d20 1=7Effigies Initiative.
The outside animated effigies are at E12, Q9, and V22, besides the one that Hozs is toe-to-toe with.
The Cauldron is at N14. All the squares in the hut are usable squares but anyone not in N14 that is medium sized takes a -2 to attacks due to the cramped conditions. Small characters take no penalty.
"This isn't good!"
"cough cough ughh."
Hozs swings back at the effigy, stepping a square closer to the hut.
initiative 8, staff atk with staff 8, damage 7. (1d20+2, 1d20+2, 1d6+2=[6, 2], [8, 2], [5, 2])"cough ughh cough."
The Effigies are around 3 feet tall, not something he is gonna stick in his bag, and made of leather, cloth, and rough pine and darkwood sticks.Hozs takes the effigy shaped like a man and positions it to ride on one of the serpent effigies. A moment later--only after he has not been turned into a pig--he realizes he is alone in the glade and hurries to the hut to catch up with the rest of the party. He keeps a wary eye on the witches corpse as he does so. "OK," he answers and helps to search the taller shelves.
[ooc]perception25 (20+5). Oooh that dust mote looks like Pa's shaving brush!.
Ya didn't make it inside...
Round 1! Fight!
BTW....
The Light-Green blob in the lower edge of the map is where the party originally entered the glade from.
Effan is in N13.
The cauldron, whose iron feet now are propelling the stone pot, moves forward slightly and attacks Effan,
and attempts to grab him, , but fails to get a hold of him.
"Ungh! " The breath is forced from Effan's lungs when the vicious ironmongery slams into him. Pain spears through his torso. He slaps and kicks away at the iron feet scrabbling at him.
Just need positions and initiative from Jaden, Keegan, and Faldor.
Jaden sees the Hors get slamed by the effge, and moves to help his freinds
It is able to bite with it's large opening. Ah, the wonders of magic!
Also there is the Effigy that Hozs got slammed by in J17.
"No one ever listens to the little guys!"
Faldor brings out his lute and begins strumming a strong loud tune,
"Our eyes have seen the fight and the launching of the sword,
We were searching for a cure to save our people back at home;
They hath loosed a frightful wrath upon us now that we are so close;
Woe to they who stand between us and a cure"
Rollin' Initiative and setting a location for Keegan-1d20 2=16initiative, He starts in N16.
Initiative----
Effan-25
Raphael-22
Jaden-20
Keegan-16
Cauldron-15
Faldor-13
Hozs-8
Effigies-7
Effan, Raph, Jaden and Keegan- you are up!
As the cauldron rears back to snap at Effan again, he sees his opportunity to escape. He makes a break for the door. "Lookout Dadarrin!"
"So it's up to me, eh? So be it."
Drawing his beloved sword--and knowing it won't be very useful against the thing--Raphael throws caution into the wind and lunges at the cauldron, hoping to buy the gnome some time.
"Have at you!"
Attack/damage:1d20-1=15, 1d6-1=2
The cauldron snaps at Effan's fleeing behind but misses, 1d20 2=7, 1d8 1=6, while Raph scores a direct hit on he petulant pot. His strike doesn't seem to do any harm to the stony surface of the cauldron, however.
Keegan charges the animate cauldron, skirting a bit to one side. Laughing madly, he lashes out with his morningstar.
Keegan charges the animate cauldron, skirting a bit to one side. Laughing madly, he lashes out with his morningstar.
Keegan's blow strikes the Cookware but hardly seems to nick the surface of the cauldron's stone surface.