An untamed frontier. Dark cults. Fickle fey gods. Ravenous fiends. Nothing black powder and sorcery won't fix... . Timberlands Campaign Diary
Battered and bleeding from two encounters with waning fey soldiers, the heroes took a few minutes to bind their wounds with bandages and spells. While the party wanted to take a longer rest, the daylight faded fast this deep into autumn. The last thing they wanted to do was face whatever otherworldly horrors awaited them at the top of the Pond Peaks. Once they felt confident to carry on, the champions trudged up to the bodies of water that gave the mountains their name.
It took little time to find the pool where the Ebon Court fey Lady Lichenclaw lived. It was the largest pond, ringed with boulders chiseled with sylvan runes, and had a carpet of toxic-orange algae growing on the top. It was also surrounded by patrols of Armillaria Dryads and Lesser Deadwoods
. At the four cardinal directions, banners made from stretches, human skin quivered with unlife while the still-attached zombie heads silently raved, their mad eyes rolling about in their sockets.
The heroes fell onto the fey fiends without delay, though they made enough noise to alert the verdant horrors. As before, the sticky fungus covering the dryads stole weapons from their hands, the rabbit folk artificer Freya losing her greatsword after the first swing and having to rely on her flintlock pistol and construct companion, Remington. Gwaedd, the otterfolk bard, locked-down one patrol with his go-to hypnotic pattern before throwing himself into melee. After the Skin Banners assailed the heroes with Eyebite spells, Nalyth the eladrian echo knight charged the nearest dark icons. His elven nature and echo made him ideal for taking out those horrors. Cedwyn, the otterfolk shadow sorcerer, didn’t wait for the patrols on the far side of the pond to get closer. Two well-placed fireballs obliterated the twisted plants. Through it all, glowing orange eyes watched them from the pool.
As one Skin Banner went down, the runes on the boulders near it glowed with intense, orange light. Nalyth smashed the second and the same happened to the symbols around him in that are too. The heroes paused. They’d been told by the dwarf Khandra Longnail that Lichenclaw had been behind Ser Silvercrown’s bewitchment (Session 31), but at the same time their Ebon Court ally, Baroness Moonseeker, had specifically asked them to rescue Lady Lichenclaw if she was in trouble (Session 30). Cedwyn and Gwaedd studied the runes while Freya contacted the other rabbit folk, the paladin Shianashe, to make sure there was nothing unusual on her patrol. The two otterfolk determined that the pond was actually an Ebon Circle, a portal to the night fey territories in the Feywild. It made sense that they were lighting up as the Skin Banners were dampening it. The heroes decided to destroy the last two.
After the last foul icon was smashed, the cascading light around the pond reached a crescendo and as it faded to a dull glow, the gateway opened back up. Still, Lady Lichenclaw didn’t surface. Naylth sent his echo into the water, found the river fey, and coaxed her back out. It turned out that Lichenclaw was not a hag as they expected, by a glastig of sorts. Her eyes glowed with the same toxic light as the algae, and her name came from her claws covered in the orange lichen. But, she was relieved that the heroes had rescued her. While Lady Lichenclaw was a bit timid at first, unused to talking to others, she eventually relaxed and filled in the heroes with what she could.
A Grinning Herald of the waning court, Sickle Smile, had harassed her some weeks ago when passing through the area, disguised as a mortal. Her description matched that of a nobleman who had nearly run down the heroes with his carriage in their first visit to the area. (Session 9) Sickle Smile had summoned up the Riven Gallant, a Brume. The local dryads were corrupted by fungus and trees by direflies. She soon found herself trapped in the pond and the Ebon Circle closed. It wasn’t long before Lady Lichenclaw asked after Ser Silvercrown. She was anxious to know if the paladin was alright and shyly giving off tell-tale signs of her affection for him.
The heroes explained that the paladin was bewitched and had been murdering anyone that tried to cross the Grim Faced Bridge. While Lady Lichenclaw was distressed, she suspected that she’d be able to unweave whatever fey bewitchment was set on him as she was quite adept at casting curses as well as removing them. However, Lichenclaw would have to get close and it would take some time. That meant one thing, the heroes would have to finally face off with the corrupted hero; a daunting prospect indeed. The party had seen the carnage Ser Silvercrown had wrought first hand.
Still, they were heroes, and facing terrible danger was what heroes did. They set off with Lady Lichenclaw for the Grim Faced Bridge.
Ser Silvercrown, still caked in gore, waited for them. Freya attempted to sneak ahead but Ser Silvecrown spotted her, let out a guttural howl, lifted his sizzling greatsword, and advanced. Her construct companion, Remington took the brunt of the paladin’s first attacks. Nalyth advanced into the battle and Gwaedd as well. Though the otterfolk bard afflicted Heat Metal on Ser Silvercrown first. The fallen paladin growled and kept a grip on his burning blade. Nalyth moved his echo in front of Lady Lichenclaw as she started to undo the curse.
Ser Silvercrown landed a smite into the heroes before summoning a Guardian Spirit. The roaring golden lion blasted the heroes with radiant damage before Gwaedd managed to dispel it. By then, Ser Silvercrown could no longer hold onto his greatsword and it fell from his hand. Freya swooped in and used her own heavy weapon to flip the blade into the nearby river. Even without it, Ser Silvercrown remained as dangerous foes. His gauntlet strikes were still fueled by corrupted magic and carried smites quite effectively. Through it all, Cedwyn the shadow sorceress whittled away at the paladin’s arcane defenses. She burned through her arcane power, again and again, attempting to polymorph Ser Silvercrown into something significantly less deadly. With each failure, more of her companions’ blood was spilled and bodies broken. Finally, though, Cedwyn’s persistence paid off. With a crackle of magic, a rabbit sat where Ser Silvercrown once was. Freya wasted no time scooping the still feisty mammal up. It wasn’t long before Lady Lichenclaw finished her work. The bewitched was undone and Ser Silvercrown’s sword retrieved from the waters.
Rather than risk further confrontation on the bridge, however, the party traveled back to the trampled fairgrounds where the Wrathyrst brothers and their companions were camped. The group of NPC heroes was wary of Lady Lichenclaw of course, so the shy fey hid behind the heroes. Cedwyn released her magical hold on the paladin.
Ser Silvercrown sank to his knees behind all of them, slung off his dirty helm, and sobbed. His face and hair were grimy from weeks of wretchedness and his soul broken by committing so much slaughter. His friends and fellow order mates, Toffa the elf archer and Landolf the human fighter knelt by their comrade to give support. Kaspar Wrathyrst thanked the heroes for freeing the paladin and returning him alive. Kaspar was also glad that the heroes survived as well, and once more offered the accommodations of their mobile inn. Being a dour fellow, Simon Wrathyrst watched the proceedings with disinterest.
When Kaspar asked after Lady Lichenclaw’s presence, the party pointed out it was she who had broken the curse on Ser Silvercrown. The paladin realized his paramour was present, tore from his friends, and rushed to the fey. He scooped Lady Lichenclaw up in his arms and showered her with relieved affection. Lady Lichenclaw wilted in his grim and allowed the public display of affection as she clearly felt the same. Kaspar smiled at the happy sight. On the other hand, Toffa and Landolf looked more disturbed than ever before.
As for the party, Freya was overjoyed to reunite the happy couple. Naylth nodded in satisfaction and Gwaedd was glad to see the good deed done. Cedwyn, as ever, was mysterious and kept her thoughts to herself. With the Grim Faced Bridge freed, the heroes could return to the nearby mountain pass and fulfill their promise to the two fey there. First, though, they were going to take a well-earned rest.
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