Fire and ice. That kind of sums a bit of the last few sessions. As the party was heading to Nenlast (to both check on the village and to inform the villagers of the loss of their friends previously abducted by gnolls), they came across scorched and charred ground. This got them involved with the activities of the Mages of Saruun and an introduction to the Seven-Pillared Hall, a settlement under Thunderspire where surface and Underdark individuals meet. An encounter with a Shadar-kai and then gnolls followed a couple of days after leaving the Hall. And then the ice. Winter had come preternaturally to the lands around Nenlast. Wintery enemies were fought and an ally was gained, the frost giant Drufi. Finally, the party made it to Nenlast.
We’ll pick things up with the party’s arrival at Nenlast.
The village is a wintery ruin. Icy goblins are cowering amongst the ruins. A striking woman is approaching the party down a main path. She is flanked by a couple of the snowy displacer beasts and a couple of furry ogre-like creatures. Drufi bows as the woman intoduces herself as Talavi.
- Gnolls had taken over the village. A young fisherman had rowed out onto Lake Nenlast to beseech the Prince of Thorns for aid (based on local legends of the boundaries between the Midrealm and Feywild being thin on the lake). Talavi answered that call. In exchange for her aid, the villager offered up all that he had worked for which, to this fey noble, was the village of Nenlast.
- Things got a little heated as the party simply couldn’t accept that this was a fair deal. It didn’t matter if the deal was fair, but it was binding. If it was not, Talavi could not have gained this foothold in the Midrealm.
- Drufi had grown more and more agitated and angry as this conversation went on. Her frustration got the best of her and she charged Talavi. Before going more than a few steps, Talavi froze the party’s new friend solid with but a wave. (Drufi was beholden and bound to Talavi so the fey has greater power over her.) Talavi approached closer, shattering the frozen Drufi into hundreds of pieces with but a touch, and calmly invited the party to tea.
- Talavi is a member of the Winter Court and owes her allegiance to the Winter Witch. She is here to, essentially, invade the Vale and seize it for her Lady. There is, of course, little that anyone can do to stop her now that she has this hold, granted by a mortal, on the Vale.
- Talavi pointedly asks Woody if enjoyed the tea and asks if the party knows a fey named Fiala (Woody has the tea that Auntie had given the party). A fey that is thoroughly despicable and despised. When they admit that they do, Talavi suggests that there might be something that they could do for her.
- It is said that her Lady can only be killed by a weapon called Sun’s Sliver. Fiala knows the location of Sun’s Sliver. In exchange for bringing her Sun’s Sliver, Talavi will relinquish her claim upon the Vale and return Nenlast and its villagers to their normal form…with one exception. The one who made the original agreement will remain hers. Despite significant reservations, the party agrees and are Talavi’s guests for the night.
- To speed things along, Talavi can provide the party the opportunity to travel through the Feywild to reach where they need to be to get to Auntie Fiala. The will have to travel through the domain of another fey lord, Naldaris, find an entrance to the Feydark guarded by a dragon, and exit to the Midrealm in a location parallel to Fiala’s lands. The eladrin offers one of her servants, one of the shaggy ogres, as a guide. She shrinks him so that the party can easily carry him. Needless to say, the ogre thing isn’t happy about this, but, meh, what’s he going to do.
- The party defeats the dragon guarding the Feydark entrance.
- They encounter a gorgon type creature (as in mythological medusa like gorgon). A magic ring is recovered from the gorgon. It is platinum with a brilliant sapphire with a snowflake design within the gem…a symbol of the Prince of Frost.
- Next they find a chamber with a rickety spiral stairway leading up into darkness and down into a pit of more darkness. Biggie Small, as shaggy ogre was dubbed, slipped away as the group started to explore the area, having completed his task. Creatures, best described spider lemur drow, swarm up out of the pit. The party fights their way up the staircase, exiting out of an old well in some woods.
- Looking around, they are on a hill overlooking the lumber camp…back in the Midrealm.
- Heading down into the camp, things are a little different. Half a human body lies on the steps of the main building. A horrible drow werewolf demon like creature attacks and loses. After a night’s sleep, the party drinks Fiala’s tea and return to her hut.
- When the party explains (a bit reluctantly) why they are back, Fiala bursts into laughter. Once she composes herself, she says that she does know the location of Son’s Sliver and is more than happy to share it in exchange for a token gift. Woody offers her a mortal apple and she accepts. (Fiona and Woody have a near limitless supply of apples which get shoved in Woody’s mouth when the rest of the party want him to shut up before he gets them into too much trouble.)
- The Winter Witch and her minions like Talavi have sought to conquer the Vale for a long, long time. They almost always defeat themselves. Fiala cares little for that whole group of the Winter Court and so is tickled to see Talavi defeat herself yet again. As there was no specification of Sun’s Sliver (spelled with a u) versus Son’s Sliver (spelled with an o), returning the latter should fulfill the bargain.
- Son’s Sliver is an ancestral weapon of the Padraig family which has ruled Winterhaven, the westernmost settlement of the Vale, for generations. It is a slender spear and is in the Padraig family crypt in Winterhaven.
- Aljuzae’s eyes are given to Fiala (the exhange for the tea provided previously) and she gobbles them down, with a disturbing almost sensual shudder. Fiala shares that she now knows everything that Aljuzae was up to. As a different gift would be required for this knowledge, the party passes for now.
- Everyone’s favorite fey Auntie says that she can offer the party a route to Winterhaven that will significantly cut down their travel time. Woody offers to take one for the team–literally–and bed with Fiala for the night. Agreeing, Fiala provides a nice tea the next morning that causes the party to fall asleep and they awake on an east-west road, the King’s Road near Winterhaven if Fiala is true to her word and what fey isn’t true to their word). đŸ˜‰
- Heading west, the direction of Winterhaven, the party encounters a griffon with a leg caught in a bear trap sort of contraption. Giants and ogres attack the party for interfering with their trap. They are defeated and the griffon freed. (Totally random encounter that may have hinted at a future plot hook…maybe…can’t really say now can I.)
- As it is getting dark, the party spots a ruined farm and plans on camping in the building. However, as they approach, they hear a “psst” from a nearby hedge. A kobold engages Sulrinn (and not the non-scalies) in conversation.
- Her name is Kin. She is part of the Withered Arm clan that keep to themselves and try to avoid “fleshies.”
- There are at least eight big “gobbos” in the buildings.
- The gobbos are looking for her.
- The party camps past some hedges on the other side of the road within sight and a quick walk of the farmhouse and barn. During the night, the watch spots a flicker of movement coming from some trees on a hill opposite their camp from the farm. A humanoid is sprinting from the hill towards the road. It is a red, horned humanoid and throws some spikes at Aran (who was on watch) before disappearing. As the party rouses, armored hobgoblins attack their camp.
- After a pretty tough fight, the party examines their foes and their camp in the ruined farm. Typical adventuring gear is found. The hobgoblins are members of the Bloodreavers. An organization of slavers that operates all across Midrealm. Kin shares that the Bloodreavers came to the home of the Withered Arm and took half the clan as slaves. They’ve been put to work digging at a location about a half a day away from their home. Home being a bunch of caves hidden behind a waterfall. A bunch of hobgoblins stayed at their home, along with a human. There are also other humans at the dig site.
- After restign the remainder of the night, the party sets out for Kin’s home. Kin has become very attached, at times literally, to Sulrinn.
- There are some tents on the shore of the pool of the waterfall as well as some hobgoblin guards closer to the waterfall. The party dispatches the guards and enters the caves behind the waterfall.
- They encounter a bunch of hobgoblins as well was an ogre and some cowering kobolds. A handful of kobold warrior types fight with the hobgoblins against the party.
- After Woody defeats the ogre, the kobolds consider him their new chief. Kin suggests to Sulrinn that she should kill Woody and become chief…hooray…kobold politics!
- Being the new chief, the kobolds plead with Woody to go deal with the nasty evil human who desecrated their temple to Tiamat. Said human is deeper in the caves behind their temple where he had them dig through a wall, exposing an unknown–to the kobolds–tunnel. Said human is found at the end of said tunnel, standing in front of a closed door made of what looks to be the bones of children.
And that’s a wrap on sessions 23-25. Sure…it seems a bit railroady, but the party did not have to accept any bargains with any of the fey. It wouldn’t have been good for the Vale if they hadn’t and taken the campaign in very different direction…a war, likely futile, against the fey.
So, a little backstory on what happened at Nenlast. When the gnolls came through with Aljuzae originally and took their captives, they left a small force behind. These gnolls were tasked with keeping any of the villagers from leaving the area so no one could report on what had happened. After the party defeated Aljuzae and forces at Jheri’s Tomb and then escaped the roving gnoll warband, said warband returned to Nenlast. Made sense with what had happened in game.
The gnolls seized the town and without the “civilizing influence” of Aljuzae (i.e., keeping the villages alive for longer term goals), they killed, butchered and devourd a few villagers in front of the other villagers. A young man, Tyne (as well as yours truly), hit on the idea of seeking the aid of the Prince of Thorns. Instead, Tyne got Talavi. Yadda…yadda…yadda…we end up with gnoll popsicles and Nenlast being ground zero for the Winter Court’s invasion.
Maybe in the next recap we’ll find out if the party is successful in stopping this invasion.
