Loose threads: Elemental Cores had formed themselves further than normal from the Elemental Portal Shrine. The one who hired the Fey gang remains unknown, with only sparse hints regarding their whereabouts and identity.
Participants: Thelison, Theta, Gangriel, Godzen Stonechewer.
Locations: Countryside, Greenside Farmstead.
Short summary:
The party was to aid Sister Vasilisa and escort a cart full of supplies to the Greenside Farmstead. Some hours after leaving, a blizzard appeared out of nowhere, created by three Elemental cores. Visibility reduced, they had found themselves under attack by tiny Elementals in the shape of snakes formed from ice. They focused on destroying the Elemental cores, which ended the blizzard and destroyed the snakes. The rest of the journey was uneventful.
Once at Greenside Farmstead, the party was invited to accompany Sister Vasilisa to a celebration, the coming-of-age of one called Orion, by a halfling called 'Ma'. While she went to retrieve her gift for the young man from her house, the party joined the celebration.
During it, 'Ma' was taken hostage in her home, and so the party left to deal with the situation. After a small amount of stealth, they dealt with the intruders; three Brownies, a type of Fey. Their leader, a humanoid rooster, was found upstairs along with the Inconnu. The party fell for its tricks at first, as he had placed himself and 'Ma' under an illusion spell, almost managing to slip away unnoticed. Luckily, the creature was in the end apprehended.
A parchment belonging to the rooster was retrieved, which detailed that he and his gang of Brownies were hired to find a recipe for an infertility cure, believing Ma was a witch in possession of such a thing.
Full Report
The Guild assigned us to aid Sister Vasilisa and to escort a cart full of supplies to Greenside Farmstead. We met with the aforementioned woman in First Landing, and, after introductions, we quickly set out with a man called Lev as our carter.
The trip was peaceful, until a blizzard arose out of nowhere, which had reduced visibility to a mere ten feet ahead. While we discussed whether we should press on or find shelter, I spotted blue lights in the distance. Shortly after, we were suddenly under attack by tiny Elementals in the shape of snakes formed from ice, and two more lights appeared; yellow and red.
A battle ensued, in which Sister Vasilisa and Lev were injured, along with several of us adventurers. However, it was nothing we couldn't handle. Soon, I got close enough to the yellow light to recognize it for what it was; a coalesced elemental force, creating an Elemental Core, taking on a crystalline form in the shape of a lotus flower. Resistant to energy-based attacks, yet very fragile to physical ones. These elemental cores were responsible for the sudden blizzard, as well as for the tiny elemental snakes attacking us.
With that in mind, we focused on destroying these elemental cores. With each lotus crystal ruined, the blizzard weakened, and the snakes connected to it shattered harmlessly. The battle ended immediately once the last elemental core fell, and with it, the blizzard went too.
The rest of the journey was uneventful, and we safely arrived at Greenside Farmstead There, our group was invited to accompany Sister Vasilisa to a celebration, the coming-of-age of one called Orion, by a Halfling called 'Ma'. While she went to retrieve her gift for the young man from her house, we joined the party. It was going splendidly well, until Murom the Reaper, an Inconnu and one of the villagers, came into the hall with a gaping wound in his chest and a bloodied shirt. My magic mended most of his wounds, but the unfortunate fellow still fainted, but not before sharing that Ma had been taken hostage in her house. Me, Thelison, Godzen Stonechewer and Gangriel left to rescue her while Sister Vasilisa stayed behind in the hall.
Arriving at the scene, we'd had a conversation with the kidnappers, which we had later found out were Brownies, a type of Fey. The exchange was meaningless; they threatened they'd hurt 'Ma' should we stay or approach the house. Thus, we did indeed leave, only to return moments later, hidden from sight.
Gangriel went ahead and sneaked in, surprising the Brownies wearing chicken cloaks dwelling within the household. There were three of them, and once our companion shouted, the rest of us rushed in. Regrettably, we caused some property damage - broken windows. We quickly disposed of the pesky Fey as a team, leaving but one of them alive. Moving upstairs, we've found the plump Halfling woman and the leader of the Brownies, another Fey - a humanoid rooster. We fell for its tricks at first, as he had placed himself and 'Ma' under an illusion spell and almost managed to run away, but we found out in time and apprehended him. The Halfling woman's injuries were not serious, luckily.
We've retrieved a parchment belonging to the rooster, containing the information as to why he and his gang assaulted and broke into the Halfling woman's house. They were, in fact, hired by someone who signed the paper as "H.H.H.H.". The Brownies and the rooster were there to find a recipe for an infertility cure, believing that 'Ma' is a witch in possession of such a thing. Below is the transcript of the letter translated from Sylvan, which concludes this report.
"Buck, what's up. Gotta new job for you. Should be simple. Big (and I mean BIG) buyer is looking for an infertility cure. I've heard the outsiders have established a village northwest of the Old Watcher. And they have a witch. Surely, she has a book of spells. Take your band and pay her a visit. Also, be gentle! In and out. Discretion advised. I'll be at the Springs. See you soon. XOXO. Signed: H.H.H.H."