This
post continues the series of brief play reports I have been posting on Discord.
This does not cover every single session (sometimes, recon and setup is what
happens), but it covers our ongoing games.
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| Death by Bonnacon |
12/12/2024
KASSADIA
News from the
fallen empire of Kassadia! Having won a victory over the orcs, the Lion
Pack rested a night, then decided to pursue the survivors. Jovial Faustulus
tracked them unerringly through wild lands to the sea-coast where they had
already lit a beacon. The orcs were defeated in battle, with Grilling Yagar
and an orc taken captive. Yagar alternately threatened his captors with the
wrath of the orc pirate, Ragluz Stormbringer (an enemy of both normal men and
Stormy Asmodeo), and negotiated for his life. He was finally released with a
message to Ragluz to join the Lion Pack’s fight against Asmodeo. The other orc,
Leggy Lugh, was pressganged into service, as the company set out for the
Blue Mausoleum! Entering the hill from the top, and avoiding giant ants, they
descended into the passages and found the burial chamber of Ansaldo Contrino
the Hunter, filled with fantastic, stuffed beasts standing on pedestals.
Prodding them, two animated: a giant serpent with a gem-studded skin (a
scitalis) that stunned some; and worse, a weird beast (a bonnacon) that turned
its rear on the company, expelling large amounts of burning excrement. Thus
died Leggy Lugh, while Careful Salvius, the mercenary, died in
the serpent’s constricting coils. The beast’s gem-studded skin was retrieved,
as well as an antique and very expensive bow. After exploring a little, the
company returned to the surface, retrieving the bodies and burying them outside
at the foot of the hill. Agesilago Torregrossa, the young Bard, sang a
sad traveller’s song in their honour – and promised he would not compose a song
about the bonnacon encounter if he received a share of the treasure. Alas, as
they were about to head back to town, phantoms of legionaries rose from the
ground, accusing the adventurers of taking the dead out of the Blue Mausoleum
where they belonged. So died Agesilago by their touch, never to sing of fine
girls and heroic exploits – and so they rode back to Pellagris.
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| The Horn of Alarus |
19/12/2022
KASSADIA
News from the
fallen empire of Kassadia! The Lion Pack decided to finally accomplish
their goal in the Blue Mausoleum. They climbed the mausoleum hill, and
descended into its upper level. They first went east, into an octagonal room
with a deep, dark shaft spanned by two bridges, on which perched many tiny,
ugly looking statuettes with bat wings. A gleam caught their eye from a broken
sarcophagus in one of the burial niches, and Diomedes Fulmino and Maximus
climbed over to retrieve it. However, nine statuettes animated to attack.
Individually weak, they nevertheless had several attacks, and caused bad damage
before using the jewelled hide of the scitalis blinded them momentarily,
allowing a fighting withdrawal with the treasures – a sack of gold, a crystal,
and a heavy golden cup. Exploring further, and avoiding a great cobwebbed pit
in a northern hall where rested the men of Legion VIII, they proceeded to
crumbling passages to the west. The SW end was buried, marked with a sign
reading "QUINTUS EXTENSION". Here somewhere was the secret entrance
Arden Oakbark had seen in his commune vision – and at one point, a
secret door entered into a tall burial vault, with a metal sarcophagus
suspended from brass chains. A mechanism was found to lower the sarcophagus,
marked with the name "PAVLVS GRATIVS ALARVS", their target. The heavy
sarcophagus was opened up, but alas: a valve creaked, gas hissed, and the
heroic archer Diomedes Fulmino died as rust grew in his lungs, while
Arden narrowly avoided a terrible curse. Jovial Faustulus survived temporarily
with a slow poison potion. But Paulus Gratius did hold the prize, the
Horn of Alarus. Next to him lie a golden canine figure with gemstone eyes,
and a splendid dagger studded with priceless sapphires (the dagger +1 of
shooting stars). They seized the valuables, and the hound started to bay
mournfully – they fled, returning outside to cure Faustulus, and return the
horn to their noble patron in Pellagris.
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| The Apes United |
22/12/2024
FOMALHAUT
News from ULTRAREALITY!
Having put a few things together, the party headed for where they now believed
they could find their answer to the location of the Doorless Arct – the highest
summit of the island, snowy and distant above the sweltering jungles, and
topped by mysterious ruins. The route took them through a barren plateau, among
pits of ancient dinosaur bones – a fortune in ivory. From here, ancient and
worn stairs rose. On the way, they were ambushed by a powerful two-headed lion,
which exhaled a frosty breath, but was slain in melee, and its precious golden
pelt taken. Further on, the earth shook, and two enormous fungal pods, the size
of a small cottage, rose into the air. The floating fungi attacked with sound
waves, but they were brought down under a barrage of laser fire. The way to the
high plateau lay clear. The ruins were enromous and alien, arranged around a
small dais of more recent make. Words engraved on its surface finally allowed
the characters to understand how the mysterious forces of the YAG and
the OLLX were arrayed in ULTRAREALITY: what they were seeking was
positioned somewhere along a circle drawn around their present position. Ion
also chose to meditate on the dais, dispelling his bad karma from a curse, and
gaining in wisdom (bringing his WIS up to... a kingly 5). They returned to the
City of the Ape-Men, and set their eyes on a new prize: the Crown of Power.
This was lost in a pool, and the ape-men were looking for it before the shrine
of GODDESS, but they figured it might be in a cistern in the SW corner of town.
Using a continual light, Lilith and Murat the Etunian swam down in the
murky water, finding a ziggurat with a flooded tunnel leading to an air pocket.
On one pedestal rested a pricy jade idol; on another, a splendid crown. With a
trick “learned from an old book”, they swapped these for bags of sand, and it
was well that they did – swimming back, they spotted a barely raised portcullis
in the tunnel.
Murat the
Etunian tried on the crown, and was filled with
power, gaining +1 level, and raising his CON and CHA to 18. Now there were two
godlike figures in the group (Lilith having another 18 CHA), so they decided to
settle the warfare among the ape-men groups ruling the ruins. Approaching the
two weaker leaders, Lon-Tarr the Champion and Lath-Orn the Mystical, they
quickly fell in line as Lilith declared herself as the physical manifestation
of GODDESS. But the third, ruled by mighty Lath-Lar, the High One, was more powerful
and more suspicious of trickery. At the head of a horde of the apes, they
approached the ruins where their horde resided. Here, Lilith called on Lath-Lar
to come forward and obey. The cunning ape did, but called on Lilith to offer
proof of her divinity. With the help of a potion of gaseous form, Lilith
indeed demonstrated “GODDESS is everywhere and nowhere”, and won Lath-Lar’s
support, thus becoming the gynarch of the City of the Ape-Men. Lilith gave new
laws to her subjects, forbidding them to fight (“Ape shall not kill ape!”),
and bidding them to be fair but tough with strangers to protect their island
and city. She commanded them to slay the spider creatures where they may be
found (as they have already been weakened). Finally, she promised she might
return one day. (“Everyone will love us if we teach them to build ships and
become conquerors!”) So they departed the city with an honour guard, to
return to the deck of the Viridian Star. Calculations were started to
chart a path to where the Doorless Arct may be found, and Hela al-Tyraxus,
the daughter of the expedition’s sponsor, got to work with her anomaly
device to pinpoint concentrations of the YAG and the OLLX to figure out a
more precise course to follow. However, as they would soon learn, things would
not be so easy...
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| Massacre in the Sacred Grove |
15/01/2025
THISIUM
News from the
doomed city of Thisium! Five adventurers landed in the city, and after some
time at the Pickled Carp inn, hired a guide to lead them to the Sacred Grove,
where the mysterious Wise Owl made his pronouncements about the city’s dooms.
They met Olimpio, a painter who could not finish his masterwork, convincing him
to work with marble instead. Entering the labyrinthine grove, they met Assunta,
a beautiful woman at a gazebo, who lamented robbery by a group of brigands who
had stolen her inheritance, and had set up camp somewhere nearby. A group of
elves seeking the city’s mysteries were also met; here, Simaetha of Cos learned
a spell from a strange stone. Elsewhere, disembodied eyes drove Otho the
lantern-bearer to murderous fury, but he was subdued, and the eyes were
bypassed with blindfolds. At the grove’s centre stood a domed hall, but the
doors were closed, and bore indecipherable magical writing. Agathos, a cynical
philosopher, was consulted about the nature of the gods. For a fee, he revealed
the brigand camp was close by, and an ambush was set. The leader, Livius
Bellus, was slain with backstabs, but his ten berserkers fought with fury. Ninos
the bowman and Thestylis the light footwoman were killed, while Mungo
Maupater the Halfling Thief and Cyrillus the Thief received mortal
wounds. Those of Mungo were severe, and Adonis Gratianus carried him back to
the gazebo – its magical rest unable to save him, but Assunta’s kisses a fine
compensation for the fighting-man. The others looted the berserker camp for
silver and gold, but Agathos was struck down by the gods for helping them
without compensation. They returned Assunta’s inheritence, who, it turned out,
was a member of the noble Passeri family. Cyrillus was taken to Celeste Domino,
an apothecary: but her help could not save him, and he died in surgery. Four
dead bodies were thus taken to Thisium’s graveyard, and buried honourably. At
this time, the city had 45 days left...
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| The Stone Bird Falls |
16/01/2025
KASSADIA
News from the
fallen empire of Kassadia! The Lion Pack rode from Pellagris to explore
the abandoned hanging gardens they had seen along the coast. They passed
through the village of Taenarum, its poor peasant folk huddled in thatched
cottages built among the ruined walls of a palace to defend themselves from
slavers and brigands. Further, a homestead off the road offered refuge, but
they saw it had been ransacked, and its inhabitants kidnapped by a large
company. A scrawled message, “THE STONE BIRD DOES NOT FORGET!” was familiar –
this was the infamous brigand chief they had once wrangled with! Abandoning the
hanging gardens for a rescue, they rode on the brigands’ trail, finding an
abandoned temple with a belltower. They waited until dusk to approach, as the
bells rang thrice. From inside came the sounds of feasting, and sneaking close,
a familar voice rang out: “So, Guiscardo, we meet once again! When the water
of the clepsydra runs down, come and kill me – just try!” They moved in
towards the building, and Arden Oakbark released his stone goat exactly as they
came under fire from the belltower’s archers. The contraption rolled forward,
but failed to collapse the structure. There was a hue and cry, and armed
brigands rushed outside. A furious melee developed, but sleep and entangle
helped subdue many. The Stone Bird, or Heraclio the Vintner, emerged,
but he was no match for so many armed men. He turned to flee, but he was
stopped by a wind wall spell, and felled by a sling bullet. The brigands’
hideout was a ruin with dusty old pews, a clepsydra, and the badly beaten
Guiscardo, Heraclio’s former partner in crime. But it was the treasures, found
in a preacher’s pulpit, that were worth the price of admission: a statuette of
solid gold under clay coating, and the priceless antique sword of the tribune
Egidio Hanno – a relic of the old empire! Thus satisfied, the company rode to
sell off the loot in Borontium, while Guiscardo returned to his homestead...
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| "When the water of the clepsydra runs down, come and kill me – just try!" |
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| Beneath the Crypt of Vercato |
21/01/2025
THISIUM
News from the
doomed city of Thisium! Replenishing their ranks, the company explored more
of the city, finding a house where Chiaffredo, a minstrel had walled himself in
over his dead love, Lucia Tamburello; and visiting the baths to pick up rumours
– here, the opinion was that Lucia was a witch, and still haunted the city
after her stoning. They decided to check the graveyard for a possible
underworld entrance. On the way, at the city marketplace, Aufidia Corvina the
M-U tried to clean the much-dirtied statue of a man named “The Philanthropus”,
which angered the crowd. She was pulled out by a benevolent local woman, who
then suffered the gods’ punishment for helping a stranger without compensation,
crumbling into ashes and charred bones before Aufidia’s very eyes! Shaken, they
proceeded to the graveyard, convincing the hunchback groundskeeper, Carponio,
to allow them to explore the family mausoleums, and perhaps find a way deeper.
Three hid nothing or minor valuables, but in the crypt of VERCATO, a round hole
opened in the floor. However, giant shrews surprised the party, and Fax the
lantern-boy had his throat ripped out while other henchmen fled
ingloriously. After slaying the shrews, they lowered a lantern on a rope
through the hole, which opened into an enormous domed hall, with ledges on the
perimeter – an antique mass grave, with gates leading to further side-tombs.
With a rope ladder, a way was made down. The first to be explored was the tomb
of GREMULLO, where 8 skeletons were slain. Behind a shoddy fake wall was an
unlooted section, with six stone hands holding burnt-out torches. These were
switched for lit ones, and the hands eagerly grasped them. Thus, the tomb was
looted for some coinage and a potion. Further entrances were examined but
unexplored – the tomb of BADALAMENTI, a source of ethereal music, was a
promising mystery, but for now, the company retreated to the surface to plan a
follow-up evening expedition. At this time, the city had 44 days left...
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| The Hanging Gardens of Pasquino Babilonio |
23/01/2025
KASSADIA
News from the
fallen empire of Kassadia! From the city of Borontium, the Lion Pack
rode to the mysterious Hanging Gardens of Pasquino Babilonio. Losing a
horse to a wolf attack (repelled with a wall of fog and flaming oil),
they approached the overgrown gardens, a three-tiered ziggurat shape that now
looked like an overgrown hill. At first, an odd tower in the shape of a tree
was investigated, where a bulbous mass blocked one of the ways up. Using fire,
it blew apart, covering Trupo Gizmegas the gnome in green-grey, stinking
gunk that lingered with its dreadful stench (and drew random encounters).
Avoiding the rest, they climbed up to the second tier, past squawking
decorative birds, where stood a diorama from the gardens’ heydays, with its
landmarks displayed. Two human shapes approached from the top of the gardens –
men in rotting chainmail with burning eyes and sickle-swords, covered with
weed-like filaments, alternately laughing, crying or gibbering as they
attacked. They were defeated, although not easily. On top of the gardens, in an
overgrown inner garden stood a pavilion with the bust of Pasquino Babilonio,
and three stone bowls holding the burned residue of rare mineral soils.
Figuring this significant, the company explored further, and quickly found a
crevice with ochre soil with crystalline specks. Down yet one more tier was a
red mud pit, the second soil, but here, giant frogs ambushed the party. Some
were slept, the rest fled, and the red soil was collected. Further monuments of
the garden were found: a small garden with poisonous blooms and a pyramidal structure,
the statue of an owl surrounded by valuable hearing herbs and narcotics; an
orchard of luscious peaches. Another group of giant frogs were distracted with dancing
lights while the thief Publius Varro stole golden laurels from the hands of
a naiad statue. At last, not wishing to stay after sunset, the company left, to
return the next time – and they rode back to the city of Borontium.
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| Towards the Arct |
26/01/2025
FOMALHAUT
News from Ultrareality!
After spending time off in Linquar to spend ill-gotten loot (a temple to
Ishtar, various schools, and a personal monument were commissioned), the
Viridian Star was ready to sail for the Doorless Arct once the cosmic
forces of the YAG and OLLX were calculated to pinpoint its location. However,
the Anomaly Device used in this endeavour was found smashed up by Hela
al-Tyraxus, the envoy accompanying them. As a hue and cry was raised, assassins
concealed in the ship crew struck; and Yandaq Grentor, the ship’s
miliary attaché, also sprang into action, drinking a potion to grow to giant
size and gain terrible destructive power. The betrayers fought, men were
killed, but they were killed, and the enormous Yandaq was finished off with two
simultaneous lighnting bolts. The spiral amulet he wore was not only a
talisman against magical influence, it was a symbol of the Uttermost Masters,
whose secretive order the company was pursuing! Their target was to destroy the
navigation device, but there was a spare: a set of golden mirrors found in the
City of the Ape-Men could also be used in calculating the Arct’s location, and
thus, its location was identified accurately to the west. The Viridian Star
sailed out. A nice evening was spent among the hedonists of Pudeng, a fishing
village. The next island was barren, with the ruins of an unfinished fortress
and grottoes with the corpses of executed evildoers. But it was in the ruined
keep where the worst, the ghost of Htut Thawda, was met, as he possessed
the amazon Iotasca. The ghost spoke in glee of seeing her die; and
Lilith prayed to Ishtar, offering a sacrifice of her jewelled braceled she
received from an amazon princess as a token of friendship. By this token,
Ishtar also drove out the evil spirit, who was thus destroyed, and his resting
place looted for treasure, a broken magic spear, and a chaotic sword none could
wield with impunity.
Departing from
the cursed place, the voyage continued. A barren island was the site of several
steles engraved with spells, and guarded by a hermit, Maunnag. Bocephus
befriended the old man, and he allowed him to learn the steles’ wisdom,
speaking also of a talking well aligned with Law on the northern island.
Instead, they sailed west along a jungle-covered island. Canoes were seen
emerging from a stilt village, whom they desired no contact with; the canoes
watched from a distance, but kept distance. They reached the edge of a
sargasso, but skirted its edge instead of sailing deeper. A small, agile ship
appeared on the western horizon, the kind they had seen in the pirate-nest of
Linquar; several men were spotted on board. Neither ship could gain rapidly due
to a lull in the winds, but the ship drew a bit closer. All hands were called
on deck as a show of force, and the ship altered course, gaining distance and
disappearing. The voyage proceeded. The next island was covered with mangrove
swamps with waterways among the enormous trees. The only solid spot was a cliff
outcropping to the north, with a decapitated colossus sitting in a throne on
the top. This looked like a good survey point. The landing party continued by
boat in the waterways. Two lizard-ape hybrids watched them from high up in the
branches. One threw a boulder, breaking their boat, and melting back into the
trees as they dragged themselves ashore. Continuing on foot in sweltering heat,
they reached the cliffs, and climbed them. The swampy island was flat,
half-encircled by sargasso, and dotted with lakes among the mangroves. Here, at
last, was a rectangular structure, foreign to Ultrareality but familiar from
Fomalhaut – the Doorless Arct, transported to this plane by dimensional
magic... and their ultimate destination! A flying potion was used to
return one person to ship and send a second boat – and plans were developed on
board to explore the plane-shifted palace...
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The Grand Mausoleum
(With Newly Built M-U Transportation System) |
28/01/2025
THISIUM
News from the
doomed city of Thisium! At night, the adventurers returned through dark
streets to the graveyard. A band of revellers shared their wine with them, and
only later did they notice the lost purses. Descending through the crypt of
Vercato to the great domed mausoleum, they set up a block and tackle to haul
heavy equipment. They first explored the crypt of BADALAMENTI, from which came
beautiful music. Its source proved to be a splendid golden harp, and while
Aufidia Corvina entered unharmed with her ears plugged, Marcus Vorenius
fell into a deep slumber from which he could not be awakened for a full day!
The harp and much coinage were looted. Next up was the crypt of ADIMARI. An
entry corridor was lined with the corpses of servants, who animated on a failed
turning attempt, but were defeated. After much caution, the crypt yielded more
coinage and a potion. With these, the party withdrew, fighting off 8 skeletons
on the way up. A night was spent at rest, and with downtime activities. The
company then took a stroll, visiting the Temple of the City on the
southern hill. The place was deserted, but they found an outside altar with
golden chains and manacles, as well as an old shepherd who was the
disillusioned priest, Paphogenus. He spoke of the gods’ departure, and
the disappearance of a particularly splendid sacrificial calf before the coming
of the dooms. After visiting the empty temple, they returned to the city
proper, and descended back into the mausoleum. The crypt of BOZZA had a
decapitating trap they immobilised, but treasure was scarce; while the crypt of
FRUGILLO, a source of grinding stone noises, had a corridor of enormous mouths
that ended up eating everything thrown at them. They tried to poison them with
nightshade (save made), then placated them with lots of food. Alas, the metal
sarcophagi they found was padlocked, and too heavy to drag out – with this
information, they returned to the surface, and headed back to the Pickled Carp!
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| The Gardens Beyond |
30/01/2025
KASSADIA
News from the
fallen empire of Kassadia! The Lion Pack returned to the Hanging Gardens
of Pasquino Babilonio. They explored an odd little tower, finding it empty, but
discovering an outside window that wasn’t there on the inside, and led to a
small secret room with treasure. They headed towards an enormous statue of a
triton, which also proved to be an owlbear lair. The beast was slept,
and a treasure chest, dug out but never carried away by a hapless treasure
hunter, carried off. Next to the statue of a sphynx higher up the garden
ziggurat, they found mineral soil, the last one they needed. They climbed up to
the top of the hanging gardens, to the small pavilion where Pasquino’s bust
watched from a marble block. They offered three special soils as burnt
sacrifice. Purple smoke billowed to envelop the interior, then disappeared.
They were elsewhere... in a land of beautiful glades and golden sunshine,
surrounded by distant snow-capped mountains, and woodlands stretching as far as
the eye could see!
There were three
stone bowls here as well, but with different materials than previously.
Following an old, decaying stone road, they reached an enormous hemispherical
dome by sunset. It was decaying, with fallen ceramic ornament lying by its side;
six columned entrances led to an overgrown garden inside. It was night, and
they rested, noticing that they were under foreign stars. In the morning, speak
with plants was used on an old oak. The venerable tree could identify two
of the materials: one as the crystalline tears of “the Father of Treees”, and
the other as pollen. It also spoke of visitors in its own terms; and it seemed
men have not been coming to the dome in a long time. The dome interior was rich
with plant life. A central place was lush with roses, which proved vampiric,
but were defeated. The dome was climbed to survey the surroundings. An enormous
globular stone lay to the SW, which is where they now headed. Walking through
meadows and lush glades, and bypassing an old excavation, they found the
cracked monument towering above a field of varicoloured flowers. Figments of
light, the shapes of ancient patricians, danced on the top, but did not react
to communication attempts. Instead, they went east to a small circular hall.
This was a shrine to Rualgar, an imperial god known for obscurity and secrets,
raised by Pasquino Babilonio. The double doors were unlocked, revealing an
interior with a simple altar. Trupo Gizmegas went forward to examine it,
falling under a shaft of light which almost paralysed him. Something shifted,
barely visible: a glass statue, marching forward menacingly. They retreated
outside to meet it by the entrance. The guardian was very firm, and proved
impervious to non-magical weapons. A web spell trapped it, and reduce
shrunk it in size, but they could barely hit, let alone damage it. Thus they
retreated, continuing their explorations of this vast arboreal domain...
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| Ambush at the Wailwind |
03/02/2025
THISIUM
News from the
doomed city of Thisium! Aiming to obtain the ship mentioned in the
letter looted from the body of the slain berserker, Livius Bellus, the company
headed into the wilderness, to the seaside inn known as the Wailwind
across the Bay of Pearls. They followed an old imperial road to the bay, where
it disappeared below the waters, then a cart road around it. An eccentric
merchant, Trigulano Goi, offered to sell them a potion, or give it as a gift
in exchange for a task, but for now, they pressed on, and by night, were at the
foot of the hill where the Wailwind stood. The small ship was in port, with men
on deck. A plan was hatched to lure out and rob Randolf, the man mentioned in
the letter. Anaxagoras Balonius and Tarquinius Faustus entered
the inn while the others set up an ambush. Randolf and his four men were
amicable, and followed once they were told Livius Bellus was waiting for them just
by the road. However, the wily smuggler saw through the ambush, and after
Anaxagoras was taken hostage, a melee developed. With three of his men killed, Randolf
escaped to his ship, but was pursued and killed, his surviving crew given
quarter. The Comely Lass, a fast little vessel, was theirs! There was
some silver on board, and some really precious jewellery on Randolf (those
treasure tables were really kind). With the ship, they sailed to Thisium to
rest and re-equip; two extra men were also recruited.
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| The Skeleton Pit |
The next day,
they set sail again. The first visit was to a small isle overgrown with sick,
dying vegetation, the site of a decaying manor house. Its inhabitants, of the
noble Frugillo family (whose tomb they had discovered beneath Thisium), were a
sickly lot, haunted by some kind of nocturnal monster. They decided not to
pursue this for now, assuming it was above their paygrade. Instead, they sailed
to a smaller, rocky island with a domed structure. This proved to hold an
enormous cage with the skeletonised remains of a mega-parrot, but it was the
pedestal underneath that hid something: a pit of ancient skeletons and
treasures. The bones animated, and Bastian Spadón the heavy footman
and Kritios the bowman – who had lost his family, his faith in the gods,
and joined an adventuring company to forget – were slain before the skeletons
were killed. The pit contained ancient coinage, but also an antique magic
shield. With this find, they sailed back to Thisium. At this time, the city
had 40 days left...
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| The Madman |
07/02/2025
KASSADIA
News from the
fallen empire of Kassadia! Having been teleported from the Hanging
Gardens of Pasquino Babilonio, the Lion Pack continued exploring a strange
arboreal landscape beyond their world. They headed for a low hill with a stone
circle, meeting an old man absorbed in some kind of ritual. Negotiation soon
turned into confrontation, and while he almost killed two characters with a lightning
bolt, he was slain by missile fire. Finding a key and hidden treasure, the
company explored the woods more, meeting a band of hunters in ragged finery,
the inhabitants of this world. They were interested in fine clothing in
particular, and were convinced to help with information for the promise of
finding more across the gateway back to the Hanging Gardens. The next day, they
investigated a small cave near the standing stones, the dead magic-user’s home,
where his spellbook and potions were taken. Southwards, they eventually emerged
in a large open landscape dotted with vivid wildflowers, where stood a columned
hall built from colourful stones. The place contained a cornucopia producing
abundant food, and a small basin of intoxicating ambrosia. To the south, trees
around a dead-end path were thick with yellowish spores, and decaying bodies
lay in the thicket. The bodies, infected with yellow mould, were dragged out
and their golden jewellery taken. Back to the field, they could see a group of
finely dressed, beautiful men and women approach: they entered the hall and
began feasting and playing music. They proved friendly when approached, calling
themselves “Those Who Walk in Beauty”. Their clothes were worn or
ragged, and while it appeared they enjoyed a comfortable life given over to
hedonism, they received little in the way of clothing. They spoke of Pasquino
Babilonio as a revered founder, who had brought their ancestors here to this
land he had created. They also seemed very much opposed to those breaking group
consensus: the hunters and the madman were both outcasts from their village.
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| Those Who Walk in Beauty |
Visiting the
settlement with the hedonists, they crossed a marble bridge above a deep chasm,
and came to a village of beautiful but decaying buildings, strangely
depopulated. The company spent a pleasant evening and night there among the
welcoming locals, who were glad to see strangers in their midst. Not all was
well: frog-men, coming from the woods, were abducting (and presumably eating)
locals, but even mention of these raids was met with consternation and
accusations of trying to tear up old wounds and hurt feelings. However, the
adventurers learned of the source of two special materials they were seeking to
return to their world. The next morning, they headed into the woods to find
one, but instead, found four outcast men discussing a bride-napping. They were
unaware of being watched, and the Lion Pack followed them back to the village,
where they were caught in their misdeed, three killed, and one more hunted down
in the forest. Having done this, they travelled east through wilder woodlands,
until reaching a great oak tree. Enormous nests, known as a lair of giant owls,
were in the high branches, while the trunk was dotted with numerous large
"lumps" – suffering faces. Arden Oakbark approached, and was
attacked by insane, gibbering men emerging from the tree with burnt skin,
glowing eyes and chain armour, linked with long chains to the tree. They tried
to drag Arden into the tree, but he was freed; meanwhile, risking his life, Publius
Varro picked up a handful of crystal fragments from the tree’s base, the
faces’ tears – and one of the special materials they were seeking. With these
finds, they continued across the forest…
