Dolmenwood Session 46
The party concludes their journey by fairy barge, finding some interesting things along the way before running headlong into a dangerous situation. This is likely the last of the travelogue sessions for some time, as the barge has insulated the party from things pretty effectively and allowed them to map out a decent little chunk of the wood.
Dramatis Personae
Utrid (Human Fighter 5)
Sir Marrow Molossus (Human Knight 5)
Locke Darkshanks (Human Thief 6)
Karook (Human Cleric of St. Signis 6)
Gunkuss Wallerbog (Woodgrue Fighter 4)
Merwind (Human Wizard 1)
Leaving the Lake
Utrid swims back to the boat to collect the few mining implements the party happened to have on hand, then brings them back down to the boggin. The amphibious creature is pleased to receive the tools, trading Utrid some ore from the lakebed and a purple eel (described as very tasty). When the boggin asked again for miners, Utrid tried to clarify how long any such miners would need to work and got the response “the Miners may leave when the mining is done.” Utrid promises to bring some miners to the boggin in the future (suspicious that the mining will never be done) and swims back up to the boat, ready to continue on the barge trip.
Surprisingly eager to test the claim that the purple eel is delicious, Gunkuss and Utrid cook it up on the barge - and it is indeed quite delicious, with a muddy, umami taste that somehow works! Meanwhile, the fae barge continues along the shoreline. The passengers spy sheer underwater cliffs that sharply descend into the lake, eels darting around the kelp in the shallows before the drop-off. Soon, Sinkhole Creek is found and the boat leaves Lake Longmere for the final leg of the journey.
White Flames and Paranoia
A short way inland from the lake, a wall of ephemeral white flame cuts across the creek in an arc and continues in both directions overland for an undetermined distance. Captain Trick-of-the-Light notes that they have seen this phenomenon before, and in their experience the flames won’t cause physical harm to any being or object but will tug at the minds of those that pass through it (DM Note: it seemed reasonable to me that the captain of a fairy barge familiar with these waters would be familiar). Merwind once more feels the influence of a leyline, balmy hot and cold sensations warring throughout his body. At the party’s request, the barge stops just before the flame and the group steps ashore to investigate further.
Gunkuss ties a rope around his waist and is the first to pass through the wall of flame. Nothing much happens to him (saving throw passed), though the general malaise he has been feeling (a lesser version of what affects the true fairies in the crew) washes away. Marrows passes through with similar ease, though Utrid is the first to fail his saving throw. He feels as though he is being watched by a face, just seen at the edge of his vision but never fully visible. The rest of the party passes through, with Hog and Locke suffering a similar fate.
Not seeing any immediately dangerous effects from the flames, the party has the barge pass through with the rest of the crew (and about half of them fail their saves). All who fail have the same paranoid visions of being watched, and are flighty and distracted. Thankfully, the effect fades within a half hour, just before the barge stops for the night - just prior to entering the Groaning Loch.
The Groaning Loch
The party wakes up to the groaning sounds that give the loch its name - from water flowing in and out of the caves that riddle the tall granite cliffs that line the loch. The barge gets going and they skirt by a large island - Stirge Island - and hear the calls of the carnivorous stirge-owls that roost there. The barge passes by a part of the cliff face covered in vegetation and decides to investigate further, getting the impression that there may be a ledge hidden under the greenery. Locke puts his climbing skills to good use and scales the cliff, finding a concealed ledge with a hidden stairway carved into the rock that seems to head up to the top of the cliffs. Locke cuts away the thorn bushes that populate the ledge and lowers a rope so that the rest of the party can join him.
Set back into the cliff they find a grotto with a dilapidated shrine to St. Hollyhock (a lost shrine to one of the many saints of the Pluritine Church - the party is well aware at this point that many such shrines are lost and that the Church would like to see them found). For their companion Karook, the group spends some time clearing away the fungi and shrubbery that has overgrown the shrine. Karook, pleased to find another saint’s shrine, prays at it and is blessed with a casting of the Boldness of St. Hollyhock (Flame Ward).
Continuing through the loch after this find, they come across a few more interesting sites that they note for later:
Stairs carved into the cliffside that lead from Harrowmore Keep (seat of Lady Harrowmore, whose daughter the party rescued a few months ago) to a cove in the loch
A vast table of water weeds deep in the loch, filled with twinkling lights. The kelp forest below seems to mirror the shape of the Dolmenwood, with the lights seemingly corresponding to settlements they are aware of as well as other locations.
A small building on the edge of the cliffs and, further inland, a large manor perched on sandstone crags.
Shortly after leaving the moans of the Groaning Loch behind, the barge finally reaches its destination. The party and their wagon are dropped off at a bend in the creek, the fairy vessel eager to be free of its charge. Finally back on dry land more permanently, the group begins the last short leg of their journey to the village of Odd.
Ogre Surprise
The forest (and the random encounter die) is not done with them yet, though! Pushing through the trees into a small clearing, the party nearly runs straight into a group of five 10 foot tall warty, purple creatures (ogres) with crude wooden cages strapped to their backs. The party is dismayed to see that the cages are all filled with children. Both parties were surprised, but the ogres of the Dolmenwood have particularly acute senses…as we end the session, three of the ogres spring into action during the surprise round! The reaction roll for the ogres was very low, so they are eager to add some more meat to their cages.
Postscript
After a long journey mostly filled with exploration and sight-seeing, the party is thrown headlong into a dicey situation. Of course after finding myself so close to being caught up with my session reports, I fell behind once again. The next few sessions are pretty combat heavy, so I’m hopeful that I’ll be able to finally catch up!).