Loose threads: Grey World, Grey Curse, Verse, Pranke, D&P Pizzeria and Saladeria
Participants: Syltorin Margaster, Sirxus, Dolen Harven
Locations: Millennium Forest, D&P Pizzeria and Saladeria, the Grey World, The Pines, Hygon
WORK IN PROGRESS--UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Short summary:
Syltorin Margaster has been appointed the new ruler of the Pines. However, there is trouble afoot, as the sons of the previous Duke Geyesh disagree with that decision. Travels must be had and hearts must be won before our intrepid adventurers will reach the Fey city of Hygon in the Pines.
Full Report - Dolen
Our adventure begins with a conversation in First Landing. Syltorin had a sovereign title to claim in the Pines, dealings that had been in the works for a while. It was time to claim what was his. We started our adventure by meeting the Tiefling Meinzer, tasked with assisting us by King Aseron's orders. All the better to our advantage, because he was a veritable font of knowledge: with the death of Geyesh, Meinzer informed us of the chaos in the Pines, and the various sons and loyal followers conspiring to put themselves on Prince Syltorin's rightful throne. So with a coin granting safe passage by King Aseron himself, we set off to make our first contact at a pizzeria in the Feylands: Merehiki Songheart. With the destination and the guide identified, we set off!
Along the way, we ran into a flitter of Fey, both Pixies and Sprites flitting here and there to enjoy the music and meet us, the strangers of the land. We managed to make a good impression upon them, though few sparked up conversation. One such Desconocido, Citristal, introduced herself and spoke of two others: her cousin Fenelope and the owner of the "D&P Pizzeria and Saladeria", Pranke. Fenelope is apparently being worked to the bone for little compensation, and Pranke is the impromptu community leader of Sprites and Pixies alike. Armed with this knowledge, off we went!
We reached Pranke's Pizzeria and Saladeria within the hour, and found our secluded table, meeting with our contact and King Aseron's spy, Merehiki. She offered up insider knowledge on the state of the court in the Pines: backstabbing, treachery, and politics. Lord Geyesh's goal for the city of Hygon was to turn it into a haven for Satyrs. And now in the power vacuum left in his absence, Geyesh's four sons, as well as Hygon's mayor all had their hands in exiling other potential courters of the Duke title. King Aseron passed them all over for taking the throne themselves, so the politics, tactics, and even assassinations began.
With such talk temporarily moving to the wonderous food coming fresh out the oven, the restaurant turned to even more chaos as a hooded ghostly figure floated in and to the stage. Apparently this monstrosity of some form of Spectre has been harassing this pizzeria for a while, challenging Fey and stealing dozens of souls. We decided that this would be yet another excellent way to get Prince Syltorin's elevated with the locals - this Spectre, Xylandras, had to go. We accepted the musical challenge and performed perhaps our best performance yet. In the process, we managed to steer Pranke away from trying to catch the Spectre - and likely the stage too - on fire. After summarily trouncing Xylandras in music, we hunted her down to make sure she would not continue to be someone else's problem. However, combat ended up not being necessary, as the Spectre simply asked us to return her to her resting place. We agreed; Xylandras became our temporary traveling frienemy. And everyone in the party (including my very own onyx dog figurine, Fluffymuffins) got their very own menu item as thanks from Pranke! Personally, I felt that Prince Syltorin earned the title Starsong from this feat, a title which I take upon myself to proclaim at every convenience.
Though the path to return Xylandras needed a slight detour, it still led us in the general right direction for Hygon. The Spectre spoke of hearing distant music to the south, so off we went. Dear reader, the ultimate result of our travels is that we found our way to Hygon after this minor detour, but the detour itself perhaps will be the most difficult description I have ever attempted. We drew closer and closer to the spot, but our very senses seemed to play tricks. Music was in the air, new unfamiliar mundane plants and trees replaced the known grasses and shrubs, and everything moved in a motion that suggested time itself slowed and swayed. Finally, we found a large arched gate that Xylandras needed to be carried through. So on we went.
Inside... inside was an experience. It was as if we were in a new dimension. The sun was gone, but there was light. The music was there, from a singular source that could not be found. And a fire, tended by one named Verse who claimed sadly that she would answer our questions except the answers would be lies. A creature named the Grey is a threat here, mortal bodies age one year for every hour here, and nothing made sense. Merehiki theorized we'd been in a place called the Grey World, with its ability to consume portions of the Material Plane's colour, a place where gods go to die and mortal souls stay stuck in a purgatory of sorts. The surreal visit felt like a fevered dream, except that as we left we found ourselves right at the threshold of Hygon. A parting gift from Verse, we theorized.
Either way, the new Duke of the lands had arrived.