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Current Situation
- Day 2 the Feywild: (1 long rest at Skabatha's house)
- Offering to help with the repairs of a balloon, the Trollmates learn a bit more about Lorna and her relationship with the Bullywugs of Downfall.
Session Summary
- While Dhann, Ely, Rascal, and Z stay in Downfall to speak with the king, Ander and Barrett head off to see if they can find any sign of the Rasa.
- Elyana properly introduces Rascal properly to the group as Aiden “Rascal” Windbreaker and it is revealed that this is actually her younger brother. While in the Fey, he is able to transform into his true, human self, while still maintaining the ability to turn into a raccoon. In the Material Plane, he can currently only appear as his familiar form, Rascal.
- It's decided that maybe a gift for receiving time from the king is in order, so a bit of a stock is taken and some things from the Bag identified:
- Red crystals from Screeching Sara Webwhistler's cave: When powdered, these will add +2 AC to an item of clothing imbued with the powder. Elyana asks Z to make and imbue a vest for Rascal's human form.
- Green glowing water from Sara's cave: if thrown on someone, has the same properties as the spell Faerie Fire. If close enough when the water is thrown, up to five creatures in a 20 ft cube can be dowsed.
- Jade box with gold filigree, with five sticks of incense, stolen off of a noble's body at Mirt's party-gone-panic: the box is a beautiful piece of work but mundane. The sticks of incense, when lit, cast Fog Cloud. Each stick has a different sent of cloud.
- Crossing a little bridge on the way to the island the king holds court on, they find a row of beheaded Bullywug heads on spikes. As the group passes them, they appear gross and wearing whatever headdress they had on while alive. Three look quite nobly dressed.
- Elyana takes a closer look at the first head remarks, "It's very rude to stare!" It turns out, even separated from their bodies, the heads (five of them) are very much alive. As an apology for being rude, she Prestidigitates them clean, and while some of the heads look miffed, the middle one thanks her kindly for the favor.
- Talking to the heads:
- All were kings, and when one is removed from the throne, they are beheaded and shown on display as a warning to the other Bullywugs.
- The middle head explains it's any time there's the need for a new king (and almost sounds like she's about to say "any time there's a coup")
- In the middle head's case, the gathering of supplies did not go as well as one would hope. Mistakes were made, and they aren't something that should be made.
- Yes, they do have an executioner Bullywug who does the action, but she does not say who made the ruling.
- Ely casts Fey Presence to try and convince any of the heads to tell her more. The head asks if Ely is alright, seeing Ely's pearl glow very brightly when she casts her magic.
- Ely leans over to a charmed head to the left and he clearly tries to bow to Ely, but it's difficult with being a head on a spike.
- He explains if anyone fails Lorna, death is the punishment. The beheading has become a self-imposed punishment for those who fail in their duties.
- The four of them bid the heads goodbye and continue on their way. Ely uses the Gem of Seeing to see if she can gauge if any scrying orbs are about. She sees spheres of varying size bobbing slowly in the air, and sees about 12-15 within 100'. They look similar to scrying orbs but are not identical to what those orbs should look like. She also doesn't see any illusions anywhere. With the gem, she can see into the Ethereal Plane, which is layered directly on top of the plane she's in.
- While this is happening, the others see the pearl in Ely's brow glow and emanate a dim fuchsia light, like it's offering its own light, almost, but not actively shining light onto anything. Everything but the group is in this "layered" state.
- Arriving at the court island, the group sees that there is a marble gazebo, mossy and a bit grubby, and sinking a little in the marsh. There are a number of shabby-to-nobly dressed Bullywugs. One particularly flabby Bullywug is wearing a crown, and the captain introduced originally as the king is standing behind him, writing into some sort of book. The captain calls, "Will you be announced?" And seems annoyed when the group doesn't say anything.
- He announces them as best he can, and then says they're here to see King Gollop XVIIII, and ushers them forward.
- The King proper welcomes the group to Downfall, as asks their business. Z thanks him for the making of acquaintance and says that Dhann may be best to explain their reasons for being there. Ely shoves him forward, saying as a noble he knows how to do these things. Dhann gives a small bow and formally takes out and activates all properties of the Sanctum (besides the fog), and states they ask audience with the king to discuss the matter of Lorna, and her control over the lands, and how to gain an audience with her next.
- The Sanctum fascinates the Bullywugs and so Dhann takes the time to explain to them as he activates its properties and it takes them a moment to pay attention to his words, but the mention of Lorna makes all of them nervous. There are about eight Bullywugs in attendance. Seeing them somewhat uncomfortable with Lorna being mentioned, Dhann gestures at the Sanctum and says, "Formal matters of discussion involve discretion. Anything we say here is private."
- The king glances at the captain, and while this is happening, Elyana uses the Gem of Seeing again. There are only about eight orbs now that she can see. Watching the Bullywugs, Dhann catches that while the captain says "They have brought with them no reputation, but have been true to their word as of yet," this seems to put the king a bit at ease.
- There is a bit of discussion as to whether any reputation has been brought, and Z remarks he has his reputation of music and puts on a performance for the court, with acrobatics and scarf juggling. The king seems to quite enjoy this, and the other Bullywugs seem to take this as a cue that they have permission to enjoy it as well. They thank Z kindly for the performance.
- The king asks if they need assistance, and Z mentions they need to speak with Lorna. Dhann catches that at this, the captain winks at the king. Seeing this, but unable to read the expressions on their froggy faces, Dhann reaches forward under the guise of straightening Z's collar after his performance, and casts Tongues on the Bard, whispering in Undercommon, "They shared a wink at that question."
- Talking with the king about Lorna:
- Z explains she has something the group needs.
- The king whispers that this may be a good opportunity, and the captain returns it might be their only chance.
- The king asks the group for a favor: return an old book of Lorna's that they have in their possession. It was "borrowed" from Lorna, and they need it returned. In exchange, they will help get the group into Lorna's house.
- The group is allowed to look a bit closer at the book. It is a listing of grievances of against Lorna. It is titled: Big Book of Bad Blood and looks to be a very faded and worn blue. Names and offenses against Lorna are all listed, from "Did not notice when I entered a room" to "assassinated my second nephew." Some names have Xs next to them. Many of the names are obviously names not belonging to Bullywugs; it's a very old, large, long list.
- The king is quick to point out that none of the Bullywugs present were the ones who took the book. He insists that when the group return it, if they agree to return it, that the Bullywugs have held the book in safe keeping for her, to keep it safe from an impending fairy attack? War? It's a shallow fib. He's trying. The safekeeping part sounds very much like a lie and it's obvious the king isn't forthcoming about anything else.
- Z asks if this is to get in Lorna's favor and the king takes this to mean that the group will also go and bring back a favor from Lorna. The king expresses he does not want to do this himself.
- The king does not know if Lorna knows they have the book.
- Ely asks if they can't just drop the book in the house rather than properly return it in person, and the king replies they want her favor so they'd need to hand it to Lorna. Dhann asks if this is why they stole the book in the first place, to gain favor by returning it, and at this, the king clams up. "I assure you I - we, did not steal this book!"
- "One might want the book to see if one's name was in it," the king states. Dhann asks if one doesn't find their name, and returns the book, they might be assumed to be the ones who took it, and end up in the book anyway? And the king is befuddled. Dhann is polite but frustrated.
- There's a lot of wording gymnastics and confusion and attempts to clarify.
- The king doesn't know if Lorna knows the book is missing, and then Ely takes a turn with frustration.
- The king then points at Z and says that the bard said that he could get Lorna's favor and bring it to the court, and Z clarifies that he in fact did not say that, and then when the king clarifies Z's clarification on who said what, Z understands why Dhann and Ely are grimacing. Going crazy inside, Z exclaims, "Don't any of you people know how to make friends?!"
- Ely has Rascal think to Dhann and Z, "If all end terribly, we can just write 'favor' on a piece of paper and give it to them, we can just write 'Lorna's favor' on a piece of paper and give it to them,"
- Dhann asks what they'll get in return for giving them a favor from Lorna, and the king, after a solemn look and moment, says that they will help the group leave the swamp.
- Dhann asks if he and his companions can talk for a moment to decide on what they would like, and the king deems this fair. Z shows them the self-playing harp and the king is very excited about that.
- Talking among themselves, privately:
- Dhann apologizes to Z for casting magic on him without asking first, and Z doesn't seem too bothered, but it's known the Bard doesn't like this sort of thing too much so he'll do his best to warn Z next time, if he can.
- Z also shows off his half-chaps of invisibility.
- The group agrees that the Bullywugs are most likely only helping them because they've been waiting on a third party to agree to return the book so they don't have to.
- Z thinks the book should be returned and keep the deal simple. Ely agrees and says that the favor-getting should be left out as well.
- Ely also comments that intent doesn't seem to matter so much as the basic fulfillment of a deal. Rascal chimes in with this and calls it the "Rule of Reciprocity," If someone gives a gift, one must be given back. Even if the person is an enemy, if you offer them a gift, they're supposed to take it, and give some gift back in kind.
- Dhann looks through the book a bit and finds the names of both Endolyn and Skabatha Nightshade and their list of offenses is through the entire book (with several mentions of each of them trying to take Lorna's hourglass). He also finds the names of Kings XVIII (theivery), XVII (spying - whatever that means to Lorna), and XVI (a late delivery).
- They decide that it's best to go ahead and seal the deal of returning the book to Lorna, in exchange for being helped into Lorna's in the first place.
- Talking with the king and captain again:
- Their best plan to get the group into Lorna's is to store them in barrels as a part of the delivery and drop them down the substantial chimney of the house, where they always deliver goods.
- Lorna has flooded the swamp once before and can easily do this again. This is the main reason the Bullwugs fear her so greatly. The first flood was 19 kings ago so none of these present Bullywugs know what made Lorna flood it the first time.
- They do not have the head of the firs king, so no Speak with Dead can be used.
- They started spiking the heads of past kings, starting with King XI. The heads are spiked to remind the current king to do everything right.
- Deliveries guarantee a safe swamp. It's as simple as that.
- Lorna delivers her messages of what she requires on notes in bottles dropped from her house into the lake below.
- King Gollop XVIIII has only been king for a tenday.
- When Lorna does leave her house, it's only at night, in a shadowy guise. It does not sound like shadow magic. More like some kind of glamor to hide her; very flowy, like mist. She is usually gone for a night and returns in the morning.
- The captain has been captain for about two years. King XIII was ruling then.
- The captain is the one who tries to greet newcomers to Downfall to see if they are a threat or not. It's determined that he introduces himself as "king" so that if/when things go wrong, only one person needs to be dealt punishment, rather than multiple Bullywugs. Most dealings are made in the king's name so that he or she is the one to be beheaded when stuff goes south.
- During King XI's reign, one of Lorna's sisters tried to get the assistance of the Bullywugs but the captain doesn't know which one. Dhann then looks in the book for that king's name, and Skabatha is mentioned right after this (with "trespass" underlined twice).
- The Bullywugs are thrilled to make the deal of access to Lorna's in exchange for the book being returned by the Trollmates.
- Dhann looks at the delivery schedule, provided by the captain, and it's extremely detailed and well kept. Deliveries are made every seven or eight days. For this delivery, all they're waiting on is a "cat" and plan to drop the goods off tomorrow evening.
- A few wording loophole checks are made by each group but eventually, a deal is reached: the Trollmates will return the book if the Bullywugs will drop them down the chimney in barrels, or if another route is chosen by the Trollmates, the Bullywugs will get them as close to the house as possible.
- Dhann reminds the court of discretion and they agree, and Ely checks the Gem of Seeing again, and sees that some orbs have moved around again, all within the Sanctum.
- Ely asks the king about the orbs and he has no idea what she's talking about. He sees nothing, so nothing is there, obviously. Ely uses Prestidigitation to show him what one looks like and the court gasps in wonder at the show of magic.
- A celebration on the deal is made, with Ely pulling out a bottle of spirits from Mirt's and the Bullywugs present a sort of thick, greenish wine. Elyana and Z both partake, Dhann politely declining. The Bullywine is surprisingly delicious, with a sweet cantaloup flavor. Z and Ely both feel more charismatic than before, enjoying the drink quite a bit. While the rest of the group settles into a much more relaxed and joyous mood, Dhann secures lodgings for the group for the night before rejoining to watch the goings on.
- At this time, it's about two hours past sunset. Downfall also boasts a small general shop and other places to visit, so the group can restock their supplies if they need to, before attempting to infiltrate Lorna's residence.
-
At some point after the festivities around King Gollop's court have died down, Ely steps aside to send a message to Ander. She wanders away from the noise, towards the speared heads of royalty long since dead. Acutely aware that the youngest Blackwood might not respond back, whether from teenage rebelliousness or the circumstances of their hunt, Elyana keeps the update as short as possible. At least if he doesn't reply, he should remember enough to relay it to Barrett. She hopes. As frustrating as Ander was, she still believed him very competent.
Pacing back and forth on the bridge, in front of the isle of decapitated Bullywug heads, Ely starts with, "Hey Ander. It's Ely... obviously." She groans, pinching her nose. "Anyways. We've secured a way into Lorna's home, and will infiltrate by the evening next. We also have a book of Lorna's that might prove useful, though we do have to return it as part of the deal for passage."
Ely scrunches up her face considering how to reduce everything else into shorter sentences. "We discovered a few items I've been holding onto are actually quite useful to us. Also there are strange, colored orbs of light floating around on the Ethereal plane, not sure what that's about." Scratching her head, the Half-Elf considers how to end the missive. She stares intently at one of the heads, before finally breaking the gaze. "Let me know if you're free to receive more info. If not, that's all from our side. Be careful. Both of you."
After relaying their new findings to Ander and Barrett, Elyana keeps her distance for a moment, watching everyone around the King's Court. The exuberant beats of Z’s playing travel through the air as Dhann gazes from the side lines and Rascal claps along. So strange to be here in this place again. And if she let herself forget that they were in a swamp and she was standing next to a row of severed heads, she could almost relax and enjoy it. Almost.
Ely sighs, about to make her way back over, when the memory of a dream flashes across her mind. And before she can second guess herself, or change her mind, she’s already messaging Ander one more time. “This one’s for you, Blackwood. I want to know more about the rod. When you return, tell me everything you know. And if you can’t, tell me who can. It's important.”
Feys damn it! Was that too demanding? Hopefully not. She sighs again, mumbling to herself, “I’ll find out when they’re back, I guess,” before making the quick jaunt towards the group. And as she passes Rascal, she casts a quick magical cleaning of his hair with an affectionate pat on the head.
-
Next Time On...
Another deal sealed, the Trollmates prepare to return a long overdue book and get out with an hourglass in hand. Thankfully, there's about a full day to prepare plans and find supplies.