An untamed frontier. Dark cults. Fickle fey gods. Ravenous fiends. Nothing black powder and sorcery won't fix... . Timberlands Campaign Diary
The champion left the protective palisades of the mercenary compound early in the morning. The sellswords had been gracious hosts and showered the worn-down heroes with fresh baths, food, ale, and most of all a safe place to sleep. It was decided before they left that the mercenary commander, a bearfolk woman named Adelga, would lead her forces to the north-eastern crossroads leading into Hillsbrook Valley. They well knew that the waning cult built a portal to the feywild there and likely intended to empower it with an arcane tempest due the next afternoon. Likewise, the mercenary company was supposed to be receiving cannons over the last month, but they’d been stolen by the cult and set up in the small village at the crossroads. It was going to be a hard nut to crack.
To that point, the heroes decided to travel to a circle of the Golden Court fey to the northwest. They moved over the blunt mountains that bisected part of the valley toward the fairy enclave. On the other side they encountered a herd of wild horses changed into dreaded Corpseshoes. Instead of engaging the semi-undead equines, they skirted around and continued on their way. Time was of the essence, and they didn’t have time to waste.
A few hours later they came upon the Golden Court Circle. It was not the bastion they had let themselves believe. A simple one-story stone structure with no roof was surrounded by brilliant fauna and flitting butterflies. They encountered a fey knight in smoked-glass plate mail just outside. He identified himself as the Knight of Veins and after a brief conversation allowed the heroes within to the circle itself. He well knew the threat the waning court invasion presented and wanted to see it stopped.
The circle only had two other inhabitants; another golden court fey known as the Silent Knight who bore a chain-bound blade on his back and a wounded ebony court sorceress named Mistress Weaver. As the Silent Knight wasn’t much as a conversationalist it lay with Mistress Weaver to discuss matters with the nature cleric Eshkar and eladrin assassin Sykes. All the while Wild, on the run from another fey of the ebony court, tried his best to stay out of the way. Riley the dervish and Gwaedd the bard kept watch.
Mistress Weaver explained that she and the rest of her lady’s entourage would visit the Hillsbrook Apple Festival every year in mortal guise. This year, however, it was attacked by an overwhelming host of Lesionnaires, Bilge Cats, and Waning Cultists. The Rookery Crone riding a Boil cauldron attacked the disguised fey directly, slaying all but Mistress Weaver. The enchantress was severely wounded but escaped. She made her way to the golden circle and begged for protection, which was granted. During her conversation, it became evident that the fey’s leg was maimed. Eshkar provided healing magic to set it right, which earned the bear folk affectionate scratching. Eshkar was a bit put off.
Mistress Weaver offered to come with the party to aid them and offered her ability to enchant beasts and monstrosities that might be of help. The heroes recalled the rumors of a mated pair of Plated Meliuscores in the hills and planned to have her enthrall them. Likewise, the Knight of Veins decided to go with them, the Silent Knight would stay behind to keep the circle safe. First, though, the fey knights used the circle to call to another of their court at the request of the mortal heroes. Lady Lasthope for Spring, another fey knight, owed the champions a boon after they rescued her from the clutches of a cannibal cult. She arrived and being an honorable soul, Lady Lasthope lent them her sword. However, Lady Lasthope's disdain and concern for the presence of Mistress Weaver was quite evident.
The heroes also learned that the ebony and golden courts knew of the waning court of fey, and their lords the waning princes. Mistress Weaver explained that the villains hailed from a dismal, desolate frontier of the feywild. The waning court was an upstart faction that made trouble for the other two courts ever few hundred years, but were all but unheard of in the mortal plane as far as she knew. Lady Lasthope blanched when she learned Lord Fallowfields, the Duke of Autmn's End was behind the attack. She explained the lord wasn't even full-blooded fey, but the bastard product of a tryst between one of the waning 'princes' the Solemn Harvester and one of her infernal lovers.
The heroes decided to trail back to the corpseshoes to see if Mistress Weaver might be able to enchant them too. After luring one over, however, they discovered that while the equines were not undead, they were not beasts or monstrosities either. They did notice the supposedly wild horses had strange, thick, black iron horseshoes. However, time was of the essence so they headed off to the meliuscore den.
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