In that case, Janus, instead of drawing your sword, would you draw your longbow? If I cast silence on the arrow, you can fire it through the hole in the shutter, to lodge in the wall in there. It might limit his options while he remains inside the 30' emanation radius of the spell.
It will limit ours as well. I won't be able to command the Elemental with the silence. I'll take invisibilities if they're being offered.
Ylera begins calling forth an earth elemental ...
What do you think I am, deaf?" Vinroot snaps at Thediar. "Yeah, I know what's going on. I'm trying to figure out how to stop Devarro without beating him to pulp!
Sarek casts divine favor and adds an enchantment of non-lethality to his sword ...
Thediar casts a spell of silence on one of Janus' arrows ...
Janus moves up to a window, peers inside and sees Devarro repeating the same arcane motions again and again. It is as if he's having trouble trying to cast a certain spell. The ranger shoots the enchanted arrow into the cabin, startling the druid.
Lilia keeps her powers in reserve ...
======================================
Round 2 begins
Initiative order:
Thediar
Ylera
Vinroot
Sarek
Janus
Lilia
Devarro
The earth elemental appears at the start of Ylera's turn.
Thediar will delay his action until after Ylera and her elemental have had their turn.
Rd. 2
Lilia moves roughly 10' back so she too was not silenced by the magical arrow and casts one of her favorite spells on the group, increasing all their abilities and speed.
And Thediar smiles at Vinroot. It's a good thing he's under the effects of my spell. If he takes that kind of offense when he's inclined to like me, he probably would haveknocked my little gnome head off into Galt otherwise!
"Please, take no offense, my deciduous friend. We animals sometimes act mysteriously, and it's hard for me to tell how much of our capers make sense to those with the wisdom of the wood."
Sarek rushes through the door and up to the druid...taking a mighty swing with his falchion.
Attack:
Damage:
Thediar watches on ...
Ylera commands the newly emerged elemental. It slips back into the earth as a fish would to water. A moment later the cabin door is burst open from the inside!
Vinroot watches on uneasily ...
Sarek rushes through the door and swings at the surprised druid. Were it not for the merciful magics he placed on the falchion, Sarek would have run the druid through (Sarek hits.)
Janus stays vigilant for other enemies ...
Lilia magically hastens all her friends and allies ...
Devarro swears soundlessly amidst the magical silence. He grabs a glowing scimitar and slashes at Sarek.
Attack - MISS
Sarak ducks as the scimitar passes over his head. Fighting soundlessly is a bit unnerving, but he presses on.
Attack 1:
Damage 1:
Attack 2:
Damage 2:
Attack 3:
Damage 3:
He steps a bit further away from the door to give his comrades better line of sight to the druid.
Extra Damage 1:
Extra Damage 2:
Extra Damage 3:
Thediar watches on ...
Ylera commands the newly emerged elemental. It slips back into the earth as a fish would to water. A moment later the cabin door is burst open from the inside!
Round Two Action --Thediar drops his delay and acts, moving to a spot from which he can see the druid, and casting doom upon the druid / doppelganger / whatever, DC 15, which, if successful, will make its future saves more difficult.
Round Three Action -- Thediar recalls seeing a raven watching our encounter at the wedding and flying off to the west. He's got his eye out for such a spy here.
Perception:
Lilia also moves to a spot in which she can see the druid and casts a targeted Dispel Magic on him.
Dispel check
Dispel check 1d20 + 6 = 26
Sarek's flurry of blows sends the druid crashing into the wall and flopping onto the bed limply. A ghostly aura shimmers around Devarro and a small blob of light rises from his back. It bobs gently in the air.
Sarek walks over to Devarro and drags him away from the "blob" as gently as he can. He keeps a close eye on the blob for any signs of movement.
He mouths a prayer to Iomedae as he gently touches Devarro's chest.
Yeah, okay. What is that?
"Vinroot!," Thediar calls, expecting that the treant can't see into the house. " We knocked Devarro out, but it looks like he'll be okay! A small blob of light has risen from his back!"
Knowledge (religion):
Knowledge (the planes):
Knowledge (nature):
Protection from evil, anyone?
Know. (Arcana)
With Sarek's healing touch Devarro instantly regains consciousness.
"Aspen! Noooo! What did I do to you, my dearest friend?"
The druid weeps inconsolably.
With Sarek's healing touch Devarro instantly regains consciousness. "Aspen! Noooo! What did I do to you, my dearest friend?" The druid weeps inconsolably.
Thediar moves to get Devarro out of the house, so that Vinroot might succor him.
The blob is a will o' wisp.
Thediar covers up the part of the arrow shaft that held the silence effect with his hand, so we might speak. He addresses the creature. "What is your business here? Are you an agent of Her Fellnight Majesty Rhoswen?"
Diplomacy:
The wisp slowly stirs. It then turns invisible.
"Fine," says Thediar. "Make me call on the powers of my god again." Invisibility Purge..
"We'll kill you if we have to, and we'll dismantle Her Majesty's machinations in the forest. But maybe there's a way to come to accord, before the Bleachling betrays Her and all bets are off."
The wisp is drifting in the direction of the fireplace. Revealed, it stays where it is. The creature vibrates, creating buzzing noises that approximate humanoid speech.
"What do you have in mind?" it says.
"What do you have in mind?" it says.
"The Bleachling has committed acts for which there must be a reckoning. He'll need to be surrendered to us.
"But we have no quarrel with Her Majesty. If she has been wronged, there are those who might be sympathetic to her cause and help Her seek redress. But butchering innocents will not bring Her what She wants; that will only harden all the forces of the forest against Her.
"Even if She were to win, Her forces would be torn apart, weakened, and immediately confronted with the dominions of a wider world, and its magicks and its godly powers, all moving to avenge the defenders of the forest or to scavenge Her wounded forces and weakened lands.
"We seek parley. Let us meet with Her Fell Majesty on the morrow, and understand Her position and Her demands, and give us leave to present those to the forest elders, and craft an accord that affords Her what She seeks, with Her forces unbowed and at full power."
Diplomacy: .
"Queen Rhoswen demands her enemies suffer like she. Abandoned, trapped, left to fade away. Devarro leads the Wildwood Lodge, descendants of nature worshipers who hated Her Majesty. He now suffers, my task is done. Let me go and I will tell Her Majesty of your offer."
"Two things before you go.
"Her Fellnight Majesty may have honest 'plaints. But she is wise enough to know the difference between justice and ...Thediar was about to say "a tantrum", but caught himself ... the fury of a storm.
"The dead can no longer hurt Her. And, as Pharasma is a judge all must face, those who trapped Rhoswen out of malice or jealousy have begun a suffering far beyond any which Her Majesty might devise. Devarro might have watched his companion starve to death. But that's not even in the same league as being turned into a lemure on the plains of Gehenna.
"But Devarro, and the nymphs, are themselves innocent. Those who have wronged the Queen, if long lived and still active, will be judged. But She cannot harvest a good name or a successful campaign, by scattering woe about as seeds on a field. Descendants must not be held to answer for a deed of their ancient forebears on a matter they know not.
And second, out of our respect for you, we would know your name."
"Well spoken, sir gnome," says a regal female voice. The speaker cannot be seen and her voice comes from everywhere. However, Devarro and Vinroot do not seem to hear at all. "It would please me to meet you and your compatriots tomorrow at highsun, atop the hill behind you. Do not tell the treant or the druid or anyone else of my arrival, for they remain my eternal enemies. The wisp's name is Gossamer and you may do with her as you wish. I have no use for those who fail me."
The wisp flees towards the fireplace with what little speed it could muster.
"The treant," replies Thediar with what dignity a gnome can muster, "still remembers Your Majesty fondly. Vinroot is not Your servant, but neither is he Your enemy."
And Thediar waves at Gossamer as the wisp leaves, "May Gozreh keep you safe, and keep you far from here."
The party hears no more words from the voice. The wisp drifts into the fireplace and disappears.
Lilia, while hearing the disembodied voice and Thediar's conversation, didn't listen particularly close. She had moved to the druid, and was attempting to console him somewhat. "It's okay, Devarro. You weren't in your right mind. We know you'd never try to hurt us or your wolf unless someone was forcing you to do so. Vinroot's here...you can talk to him. I know you two have known each other a long time. Fromt he druid's reaction, Lilia couldn't tell if she was helping the situation or not.
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Aproching Thediar and saying, "While I´m glad that a peacefull oportunity has presented itself, I am still wary of this queen." Bending on one knee, Janus places a hand on Thediars shoulder and looks him in the eye, "I hope you know what you are doing. Although I have seen you negotiate the most unbelvable deals, I have also seen simple ones blow in our faces Thediar". *sigh* "Leed on master diplomat, leed on."
Sarek sheaths his sword...crossing his arms he says, "I don't like the idea of this witch queen deciding the hour and place of our meeting. We have to be prepared for anything."
Thediar looks around and around. "Agreed," to Sarek, and turning to Janus, "and agreed!
"This woman is fae, which means she may very well bargain in good faith; they tend to be creatures of their word, if sometimes their 'word' is cunning wrought.
"But it would appear she's also mad as an upside-down mole, so wh's to say?
"In any case, we have made some sense out what she's doing. She's attacking the people who exiled her, or their descendants or heirs of any sort, and she's trying to torment them in response.
"We've relied on one another's good counsel before, my friends, and this situation needs all our resources like none before.
"My one suggestion: Before we do anything else, we should find out who else might be on her hit list," and he glances out at Vinroot and Ylera, "and put an end to any threats outstanding."
He looks out at Devarro. "Although Lilia may likely be the wisest of us all."
Lilia, while hearing the disembodied voice and Thediar's conversation, didn't listen particularly close. She had moved to the druid, and was attempting to console him somewhat. "It's okay, Devarro. You weren't in your right mind. We know you'd never try to hurt us or your wolf unless someone was forcing you to do so. Vinroot's here...you can talk to him. I know you two have known each other a long time. Fromt he druid's reaction, Lilia couldn't tell if she was helping the situation or not.
At the foot of the mournful Vinroot, Devarro sits beside the remains of his animal companion.
"Yes, my dear, I know it's not my doing ... but if I only fought harder against the wisp's control I could have saved Aspen. Now the only thing I can do is help free the forest of Queen Rhoswen's cruel clutches."
Walking over to Janus and Thediar, Sarek says, "This druid could be a powerful ally against the Queen. Even though he was controlled by that beast, I'm sure he feels a need to atone for Aspen's death."
A few moments after the wisp has left. Ylera sighs
"Good the little spy is gone."
"Now, I am free to share with you some of my meagre knowledge of this matter.
You have been working on the basis that you are dealing with the leader of a kingdom, the rightful queen of a realm. And you have been working with justified ignorance.
The First thing you must know is that the Fellnight Realm is not a kingdom. It is a prison."
She pauses to let those words sink in. "One way of trying to understand the fey is that they are of two courts, one court of light mood which is tied to Spring and Summer, and one of more dark and somber tied to Fall and Winter, while the light court is not neccessarily good, nor the dark one, neccessarily evil, mortals are in peril if they carlessley deal with either.
The other thing to note is that both courts have lines in which no fae may transgress. In Rhoswen's case she brought forth the magic of shadow and combined it with that of the fae in a manner which even the dark court would not approve of. Ultimately the courts and earliest druids united to seal her realm off from both the First and Second Worlds, until a more permanent solution was reached. As far as I know, that permanent solution was never found or never put into play and she and her subjects remained in thier prison realm, sealed until the present day.
Expect her to be clever, cruel, and manipulative. And mind that one who has broken with the compact of the fae can not be expected to be bound by any word she gives, nor any parchment she signs."
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Calmly and quietly, Janu says "Dire words indeed Ylera. Then what would you suggest as a more permanent solution if you hold no faith in her word? Shall we slay her outright?" Pausing to consider his own words, Janus looks up and sighs in resignation. "But if that is the only way to ensure the safety og Bellis and the surounding forest than that is what we must do, or die trying!"
Sarak pulls out a dull pearl from a pouch, closes his eyes and mumbles a small prayer to Iomedae...
He puts the pearl back in his pouch and says, "We must also consider what or who released her from her prison. Was it the bleachling? Is there anyway that we can imprison her again with a more 'permanent' solution?"
"Otherwise, I fear that Janus may be right. If we can't imprison her, then her destruction may be the only way to preserve this region and its people."
"Thanks, Ylera. That's helpful, and jibes with what Vinroot was telling us.
"But help me out here," Thediar says, sitting on a cair and letting his legs swing carelessly. "You say she got in trouble for using 'shadow magic.' Now, the only 'shadow magic' I've heard of is stuff that illusionists use. I'm guessing that this is something different? How is it bad? Or is it just forbidden for fairies?
"(And whatever the intentions of her gaolers, whatever it was originally, the Fellnight Realm is now her demense. If the only difference between a rightful queen and a pretend one is whether she has a dominion and subjects, it would seem that Rhoswen now qualifies.)"
"Thanks, Ylera. That's helpful, and jibes with what Vinroot was telling us.
"But help me out here," Thediar says, sitting on a cair and letting his legs swing carelessly. "You say she got in trouble for using 'shadow magic.' Now, the only 'shadow magic' I've heard of is stuff that illusionists use. I'm guessing that this is something different? How is it bad? Or is it just forbidden for fairies?
"(And whatever the intentions of her gaolers, whatever it was originally, the Fellnight Realm is now her demense. If the only difference between a rightful queen and a pretend one is whether she has a dominion and subjects, it would seem that Rhoswen now qualifies.)"
"The mortal mages who use shadow magic for illusions are only touching lightly on shadow magic. Deep shadow magic is far more insidious and twisting on the user. Whatever she once was before she started using, it will have made her even more foul and twisted in the times between.
And would you be so sanguine about her rights to the Fellnight Realm once she adds Bellis to it? For if she does...they may find death a more preferable fate."
She thinks a bit more. "As to who might have released her... I believe it may have been Tenzekil the Bleachling himself. For when the fae make a locking or forbiddance they frequently make it so that none of thier own kind can undo or even touch it. It is more likely that she tempted a mortal with the key to breaching the Faengard, the wall which is but smoke and shadow to her yet bars her way, but solid to mortals like us. She may have well tempted him with the restoration of what he had lost. Yet I doubt that she would or even could make good on such an offer the way he may have thought.
Perhaps resealing the Faengard is the key to settling the matter. If the breach in the Faengard be closed or mended, her plans for Bellis will be thwarted for this age."
She straightens herself out. "I believe that finding her pawn is the key to keeping the queen in check."
Thediar frowns, an expression human children make when they pout, but he seems deep in thought. He decides to leave the subject of shadow magic, and its effects on its practicioners, aside for the moment.
"Simply closing the portal is nothing more than repeating the errors of the past. If she can lower them today, she'll be able to lower them again eventually, and if today serves as any example, she'll be attacking our children, grandchildren, apprentices, and followers.
"Which brings me back to those she's attacked this time around. We need to find out who else she may be tormenting, and put a stop to it. Then, I agree, finding Tenzekel is our next step. According to Lilia, he stopped by the wedding this morning, to try to reconcile with Lumi. That might be a place to start."
"Simply closing the portal is nothing more than repeating the errors of the past. If she can lower them today, she'll be able to lower them again eventually, and if today serves as any example, she'll be attacking our children, grandchildren, apprentices, and followers."
"She can not open it, nor could any fae. If we can find how Tenezkiel accessed the Faengard we may be able to prevent anyone else from repeating his mistake. For even if all we do is postpone the problem it would be better to succeed at that much than fail at something greater if our failure looses her upon the Second World."
"For now, I agree with your current plan. Lets start with Lumi."
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Janus interupts at this point. "I check the tracks by the wedding grounds, if you'll remember. His trail disapeared a way in the forest. I'm thinking that he may have been that crow we saw flying west."
"It might be that the forest elders can assist us in finding Tenzekil, they would know all the going-on's in their forest even if they are not inclined to interfear in anything that does'nt directly affect them."