Post by Dead Greyhawk on Dec 3, 2007 8:17:42 GMT -5
The Company of the Blue Sun regroups at the Great Tree of Rillifane, making their final plans. Arden Prindive and his men are in and out of the Great Tree, and each day the efforts of Eig and Herbert heal the Oytwood a little more. The pure water cascading into the heartwood of the Great Tree does wonders for it, and the slow rotting darkness that had infected the forest is being purged. The sky takes on a more normal hue, though, as one approaches the Great Tree, the sky is still dark and ominous, signs that all is not yet well.
While the Company goes about their business, the elves bake and make waybread to supply the Company with food and other basic needs. Herbert and Eig are exhausted, with Herbert barely summoning enough strength to bond with the giant owls nesting in the Great Tree. The eggs hatch, and the owlets, fluffy and white, crawl out of their shells. It will be months before the owlets are grown into owls, but Herbert sees the potential for making some animal friends here.
Adrienne and Dell combine their skills to systematically question the remains Bugrot's warriors about Castle Crag. Adrienne compels their spirits to speak and answer the questions posed to them, while Dell's magics translate her words and theirs. The combination of the two magics takes a certain amount of cooperation and coordination, but they are a formidable team and successful. The dead tell them that the castle is mainly garrisoned by bugbears, several bands led by hetmen weaker than Bugrot. Piecing together the names and symbols, the two of them estimate that the fortress is occupied by roughly sixty bugbears, a considerable force.
Hanuman rules Castle Crag, and, from the bugbears' descriptions, sounds like a spell-casting shape changer. Dell thinks Hanuman is likely an ogre mage, given the prevalence of them in the Dead God's plans. Hanuman is served by other humanoids, likely trolls and ogres, who act in support of the bugbears. Slaves captured from the Oytwood and other places appear to be being used to excavate beneath the castle, and a cabal of priests is ensconced somewhere below. The priests are vile humans avoided by all because of their disgusting nature.
Once it is clear that the Company will be traveling to Castle Crag, Arden offers to provide them with information that he has. Arden passed near the Castle when traveled south, on his way to the Earl of Sterich, previously. He gathers charcoal and vellum and sketches a perspective map for the Company. The castle is a four-story keep with a three-story tower. The map is the final straw in the Company's decision making. They agree to take on the priests and humanoids and free the slaves rather than try the might of the Bergheim mercenaries again.
Winthrop uses his magics to get Cedrus's attention, repeatedly sending short messages to him saying to be outside the Wheatfield at exactly noon. Through a combination of Winthrop viewing Cedrus clairvoyantly and sending to him such short missives, the Company is able to establish an odd form of communication. Cedrus sits outside the Wheatfield, a large piece of slate on his lap, and he writes on the slate with chalk, using very large letters.
The Company tells Cedrus of the rescue of the Great Tree and the freeing of the Oytwood. They tell him of the Company's search for the Druid of the Dreadwood. They ask whether Cedrus wishes to join with them in their search in the Jotens, how Longspear fares, what is the general situation, and what's left of the money Dell sent with Cedrus to the Knot? After a suitable pause, Cedrus writes his replies in chalk on the large slate.
* Happy to go looking for Druid
* Jotens are big - Where is the Druid in them?
* Longspear is ok. Rebuilding mainly.
* Temple to Ehlonna is coming right along. You should tithe. Many followers here.
* Flen is gone.
* Cryllor under siege. Clerics mostly holding line against undead.
* Undead in Dreadwood, norther border.
* Sterich is gone.
* Yeomanry collapsing. Keoish aid denied. Some big spat.
* Hole disgorged stuff, unclear what.
* Hold of Sea Princes declared war on Keoland. Shipping interdicted. Lord Morgan's men moved south.
* Rumors of Lizardfolk raiding out of Hool Marshes. Guess we should have helped.
* Haven't made any money recently. You should tithe ... more.
Winthrop faithfully copies Cedrus's words onto a piece of vellum before him, and then shares the information with the rest of the Company. The news sounds dire, especially the descriptions of a country and a city as being simply gone. As usual, events are overtaking the Company's efforts. They mull this news, and then Raven requests that Winthrop take a few days and explain both the situation with Thomas Louvain and the notes that they found here in the Great Tree regarding the mercenary support to Cedrus. "He'll love that," says Winthrop with a smile.
Several days later, with the communications going in bursts and spurts, Winthrop returns with Cedrus's comments written before him. "I don't think he's very pleased," opines Winthrop, having seen the look on Cedrus's face.
"What did he say?" asks Raven. Winthrop shows him a piece of paper with the following written on it:
* Tell Sir Highrider?
* Come by in ~ 1 month. Temple mostly done by then.
"I warned Cedrus to keep quiet," says Winthrop. "We have no idea how Sir Highrider and Thomas Louvain are connected. Plus, Coldheart must be involved somehow as well."
The Company prepares to depart for Castle Crag. Herbert and Eig have agreed to stay behind and aid with the handling of the Great Tree. The strain on them is tangible, and Herbert no longer even has time to visit the birds. Without the two druids spelling each other, the power of the Great Tree is too much for them, leaching their life force from them. Eats salmon and Arden's men will also remain to provide assistance and protection from those that might wish to retake the Great Tree.
Arden sees the Company off and gives them a large, unwieldy branch, festooned with white flowers. "This branch is a symbol of your friendship with the Oytwood elves," says Arden. "The blooms of the Oyt tree will fall from this branch if it is placed in the hands of the elves' enemies. Keep this with you at all times, and you will be marked as an ally and friend." Antonus thanks Arden and proudly carries the flowering branch, slinging his staff across his back. "We are unlikely, barring sudden reinforcements, to hold Castle Crag, " says Arden. "I care not if you raze it to the ground. Better to have no stronghold there than have an enemy occupy it."
Diego, who now styles himself a Lord, asks, "Antonus, you fancy a tower of your own?" Antonus laughs at Diego's joke, but it's not clear how serious Diego is.
The Company travels eastward, marching through the day and camping at night. The Oytwood is still unsafe, and while the forest is not weeping as many foul odors and ichors, it still contains hidden dangers. A giant asp slithers straight out of the underbrush towards Antonus. Raven is confident of his skills and sends three shafts at the giant snake, but his confidence is misplaced, as two arrows go straight into Antonus's back. Antonus, a surprised look on his face, keels over, clutching his flowering branch. The third arrow transfixes the asp's head, killing it, but it is only Hugh's quick action that keeps Antonus from bleeding to death. Antonus is pulled back from death's door and further healed. "Watch where you are shooting those things," gasps Antonus, once he can walk and talk again.
Two nights later, the Company camps in a fairly large clearing, seeing the stars in the sky rather than being rained upon by rotting vegetation. It proves to be a poor choice, as late at night, Al and Jasper see large winged creatures arrow across the moon and down towards them. Jasper shouts a warning and tosses a glowing stone to the ground, allowing the Company to see three large lizards with great wings and sharp, barbed tails swoop down out of the sky. The Company scrambles for their weapons while Al fends off all three of the lizards, which look like dragons missing their forelegs. Al dodges two of the creatures, but the third lashes out with its tail, stabbing Alouicious. A strange pallor comes across Al's face, and he staggers for a moment and then keels over, clutching his side. Diego and Raven run towards the flying lizards and fill one full of arrows while Dell and Winthrop both send long bolts of lightning through the other two. All three lizards fall out of the sky, one still thrashing, but unable to keep in the air. Diego and Raven send more arrows into this last beast, ending its life, while Hugh checks on Al. Al's body is mainly unharmed, but venom oozes from the wound in his side. Calling on Trithereon to neutralize the poison in Al's body, he restores Al to life.
The Company continues onwards, heading eastward towards the Javan. As twilight approaches, two creatures, half-horse and half-man, bolt out of the thickets surrounding the Company, knocking Rhiannon to the ground. "We're friends! Friends!" shouts Winthrop and Antonus waves the blooming Oyt branch at them. The centaurs are not friendly, and they shake their weapons aggressively at the Company. "We head towards the castle near the Javan," says Winthrop. "Are we close? If not, we will camp here, but if we are close, we will happily continue on."
The centaurs are definitely unhappy, but, faced with Winthrop's words and the presence of the elven branch, they do not continue their hostilities. They tell the Company that Castle Crag warn the Company to continue onwards east in the morning. "Another full day, you must travel! Do not dally with your strange rituals," growls the smaller of the two centaurs. "This part of the Oytwood is not open to raiders and adventurers!" With that warning, the two centaurs ride off into the surrounding forests.
The Company is more than a little displeased by the treatment the centaurs gave them. They set up camp and discuss the different strange rituals they might use to dally in the morning. Late that night, almost as dawn approaches, the sky to the south turns red, deep red, and glows a hellish color. Diego, who is on watch, quickly wakes the rest of the Company. "A forest fire?" he asks worriedly, even though he doesn't feel any heat. The mages take to the air to spy out the cause of the strange color in the sky.
Winthrop, Dell, and Antonus rise up over the tree tops, the odor that once knocked Jasper to the ground now a mere annoyance and discomfort. Antonus, looking around through the trees, spots a cluster of seven centaur, only two of which wear barding, probably those met before. The centaurs converse and point animatedly to the south. Some agreement is reached among them, and they ride off to the northwest.
Antonus catches up to where Dell and Winthrop hover in the top of the trees. In the sky to the south is a great ball of fire sailing through the sky, turbulence stirring its wake. Antonus and Winthrop think that this might be some magical manifestation, like a fiery chariot caused by some high-level druidic magics. The ball of fire is preceded by a rumbling and whistling sound that gets louder and louder as the ball approaches. The distance to the horizon was deceiving, and, as the fiery ball approaches, its great size becomes apparent. Easily thousands of feet across, its turbulence and heat roils the clouds in the sky, disrupting them for miles around.
Dell eyes the path of the ball of fire and its wake, extrapolating its path forwards and backwards. The ball of fire will transit to the west of the Company, sailing over the Oytwood, and must have originated far to the south, perhaps over Sterich. The wind picks up, and the mages get back down to the earth. The whole Company huddles low to the ground as huge winds push through the forest, cracking and collapsing trees and limbs. The redness in the sky brightens and rotates from the south to the east and then to the north as it sails by on its northward course.
Once the winds die down, Antonus flies back up and sees that the fiery ball is dipping downwards as it sails towards the horizon. Looking backwards, he sees that it must have been higher up in the south than it is now, and that it has been consistently descending. In the morning light, Antonus looks eastward, into the sun, and can see Castle Crag, visible from the top of the forest. Raised up on a hillock, it no longer touches the forest, but instead has a ring of denuded land around it.
When Antonus reaches the ground, he finds the others in discussion about the fiery ball. Winthrop and Dell must have told the Company of the direction and descent of the object. "Where do you think it will land," asks Otto.
Perrin thinks hard for a moment. "Near the valley of the Mage," he says, with trepidation. "The Barrier Peaks, probably. They are very tall and the fiery ball might crash into the side of them. The Mage of the valley values his seclusion, but I doubt even he would be able to ignore such an event. Or the Duke, for that matter."
"We should mount an expedition to the barrier Peaks!" declares Raven, already distracted from his goal.
"I concur!" announces Antonus, his curiousity piqued.
"We can't be more than a few days from Castle Crag," chides Otto. "Let's finish our duty there before discussing heading off elsewhere."
Antonus tells the Company that he's seen Castle Crag and that the forest has been cut around it, leaving a ring of beaten land. The Company recalls that a similar technique was used around Nosnra's steading, but they were able to overcome it through magic.
After the Company regains its equilibrium, they travel east to the edge of the forest, where they carefully hide and set up camp. When he drew his map, Arden had said that a hidden entrance, an escape tunnel, was known to have been dug under the castle. He did not know where the tunnel was, but he suggested it might be a good way to bypass the fortifications. Winthrop opines the tunnel must feed into the Javan, as that is the best way to escape, by water.
While the Company goes about their business, the elves bake and make waybread to supply the Company with food and other basic needs. Herbert and Eig are exhausted, with Herbert barely summoning enough strength to bond with the giant owls nesting in the Great Tree. The eggs hatch, and the owlets, fluffy and white, crawl out of their shells. It will be months before the owlets are grown into owls, but Herbert sees the potential for making some animal friends here.
Adrienne and Dell combine their skills to systematically question the remains Bugrot's warriors about Castle Crag. Adrienne compels their spirits to speak and answer the questions posed to them, while Dell's magics translate her words and theirs. The combination of the two magics takes a certain amount of cooperation and coordination, but they are a formidable team and successful. The dead tell them that the castle is mainly garrisoned by bugbears, several bands led by hetmen weaker than Bugrot. Piecing together the names and symbols, the two of them estimate that the fortress is occupied by roughly sixty bugbears, a considerable force.
Hanuman rules Castle Crag, and, from the bugbears' descriptions, sounds like a spell-casting shape changer. Dell thinks Hanuman is likely an ogre mage, given the prevalence of them in the Dead God's plans. Hanuman is served by other humanoids, likely trolls and ogres, who act in support of the bugbears. Slaves captured from the Oytwood and other places appear to be being used to excavate beneath the castle, and a cabal of priests is ensconced somewhere below. The priests are vile humans avoided by all because of their disgusting nature.
Once it is clear that the Company will be traveling to Castle Crag, Arden offers to provide them with information that he has. Arden passed near the Castle when traveled south, on his way to the Earl of Sterich, previously. He gathers charcoal and vellum and sketches a perspective map for the Company. The castle is a four-story keep with a three-story tower. The map is the final straw in the Company's decision making. They agree to take on the priests and humanoids and free the slaves rather than try the might of the Bergheim mercenaries again.
Winthrop uses his magics to get Cedrus's attention, repeatedly sending short messages to him saying to be outside the Wheatfield at exactly noon. Through a combination of Winthrop viewing Cedrus clairvoyantly and sending to him such short missives, the Company is able to establish an odd form of communication. Cedrus sits outside the Wheatfield, a large piece of slate on his lap, and he writes on the slate with chalk, using very large letters.
The Company tells Cedrus of the rescue of the Great Tree and the freeing of the Oytwood. They tell him of the Company's search for the Druid of the Dreadwood. They ask whether Cedrus wishes to join with them in their search in the Jotens, how Longspear fares, what is the general situation, and what's left of the money Dell sent with Cedrus to the Knot? After a suitable pause, Cedrus writes his replies in chalk on the large slate.
* Happy to go looking for Druid
* Jotens are big - Where is the Druid in them?
* Longspear is ok. Rebuilding mainly.
* Temple to Ehlonna is coming right along. You should tithe. Many followers here.
* Flen is gone.
* Cryllor under siege. Clerics mostly holding line against undead.
* Undead in Dreadwood, norther border.
* Sterich is gone.
* Yeomanry collapsing. Keoish aid denied. Some big spat.
* Hole disgorged stuff, unclear what.
* Hold of Sea Princes declared war on Keoland. Shipping interdicted. Lord Morgan's men moved south.
* Rumors of Lizardfolk raiding out of Hool Marshes. Guess we should have helped.
* Haven't made any money recently. You should tithe ... more.
Winthrop faithfully copies Cedrus's words onto a piece of vellum before him, and then shares the information with the rest of the Company. The news sounds dire, especially the descriptions of a country and a city as being simply gone. As usual, events are overtaking the Company's efforts. They mull this news, and then Raven requests that Winthrop take a few days and explain both the situation with Thomas Louvain and the notes that they found here in the Great Tree regarding the mercenary support to Cedrus. "He'll love that," says Winthrop with a smile.
Several days later, with the communications going in bursts and spurts, Winthrop returns with Cedrus's comments written before him. "I don't think he's very pleased," opines Winthrop, having seen the look on Cedrus's face.
"What did he say?" asks Raven. Winthrop shows him a piece of paper with the following written on it:
* Tell Sir Highrider?
* Come by in ~ 1 month. Temple mostly done by then.
"I warned Cedrus to keep quiet," says Winthrop. "We have no idea how Sir Highrider and Thomas Louvain are connected. Plus, Coldheart must be involved somehow as well."
The Company prepares to depart for Castle Crag. Herbert and Eig have agreed to stay behind and aid with the handling of the Great Tree. The strain on them is tangible, and Herbert no longer even has time to visit the birds. Without the two druids spelling each other, the power of the Great Tree is too much for them, leaching their life force from them. Eats salmon and Arden's men will also remain to provide assistance and protection from those that might wish to retake the Great Tree.
Arden sees the Company off and gives them a large, unwieldy branch, festooned with white flowers. "This branch is a symbol of your friendship with the Oytwood elves," says Arden. "The blooms of the Oyt tree will fall from this branch if it is placed in the hands of the elves' enemies. Keep this with you at all times, and you will be marked as an ally and friend." Antonus thanks Arden and proudly carries the flowering branch, slinging his staff across his back. "We are unlikely, barring sudden reinforcements, to hold Castle Crag, " says Arden. "I care not if you raze it to the ground. Better to have no stronghold there than have an enemy occupy it."
Diego, who now styles himself a Lord, asks, "Antonus, you fancy a tower of your own?" Antonus laughs at Diego's joke, but it's not clear how serious Diego is.
The Company travels eastward, marching through the day and camping at night. The Oytwood is still unsafe, and while the forest is not weeping as many foul odors and ichors, it still contains hidden dangers. A giant asp slithers straight out of the underbrush towards Antonus. Raven is confident of his skills and sends three shafts at the giant snake, but his confidence is misplaced, as two arrows go straight into Antonus's back. Antonus, a surprised look on his face, keels over, clutching his flowering branch. The third arrow transfixes the asp's head, killing it, but it is only Hugh's quick action that keeps Antonus from bleeding to death. Antonus is pulled back from death's door and further healed. "Watch where you are shooting those things," gasps Antonus, once he can walk and talk again.
Two nights later, the Company camps in a fairly large clearing, seeing the stars in the sky rather than being rained upon by rotting vegetation. It proves to be a poor choice, as late at night, Al and Jasper see large winged creatures arrow across the moon and down towards them. Jasper shouts a warning and tosses a glowing stone to the ground, allowing the Company to see three large lizards with great wings and sharp, barbed tails swoop down out of the sky. The Company scrambles for their weapons while Al fends off all three of the lizards, which look like dragons missing their forelegs. Al dodges two of the creatures, but the third lashes out with its tail, stabbing Alouicious. A strange pallor comes across Al's face, and he staggers for a moment and then keels over, clutching his side. Diego and Raven run towards the flying lizards and fill one full of arrows while Dell and Winthrop both send long bolts of lightning through the other two. All three lizards fall out of the sky, one still thrashing, but unable to keep in the air. Diego and Raven send more arrows into this last beast, ending its life, while Hugh checks on Al. Al's body is mainly unharmed, but venom oozes from the wound in his side. Calling on Trithereon to neutralize the poison in Al's body, he restores Al to life.
The Company continues onwards, heading eastward towards the Javan. As twilight approaches, two creatures, half-horse and half-man, bolt out of the thickets surrounding the Company, knocking Rhiannon to the ground. "We're friends! Friends!" shouts Winthrop and Antonus waves the blooming Oyt branch at them. The centaurs are not friendly, and they shake their weapons aggressively at the Company. "We head towards the castle near the Javan," says Winthrop. "Are we close? If not, we will camp here, but if we are close, we will happily continue on."
The centaurs are definitely unhappy, but, faced with Winthrop's words and the presence of the elven branch, they do not continue their hostilities. They tell the Company that Castle Crag warn the Company to continue onwards east in the morning. "Another full day, you must travel! Do not dally with your strange rituals," growls the smaller of the two centaurs. "This part of the Oytwood is not open to raiders and adventurers!" With that warning, the two centaurs ride off into the surrounding forests.
The Company is more than a little displeased by the treatment the centaurs gave them. They set up camp and discuss the different strange rituals they might use to dally in the morning. Late that night, almost as dawn approaches, the sky to the south turns red, deep red, and glows a hellish color. Diego, who is on watch, quickly wakes the rest of the Company. "A forest fire?" he asks worriedly, even though he doesn't feel any heat. The mages take to the air to spy out the cause of the strange color in the sky.
Winthrop, Dell, and Antonus rise up over the tree tops, the odor that once knocked Jasper to the ground now a mere annoyance and discomfort. Antonus, looking around through the trees, spots a cluster of seven centaur, only two of which wear barding, probably those met before. The centaurs converse and point animatedly to the south. Some agreement is reached among them, and they ride off to the northwest.
Antonus catches up to where Dell and Winthrop hover in the top of the trees. In the sky to the south is a great ball of fire sailing through the sky, turbulence stirring its wake. Antonus and Winthrop think that this might be some magical manifestation, like a fiery chariot caused by some high-level druidic magics. The ball of fire is preceded by a rumbling and whistling sound that gets louder and louder as the ball approaches. The distance to the horizon was deceiving, and, as the fiery ball approaches, its great size becomes apparent. Easily thousands of feet across, its turbulence and heat roils the clouds in the sky, disrupting them for miles around.
Dell eyes the path of the ball of fire and its wake, extrapolating its path forwards and backwards. The ball of fire will transit to the west of the Company, sailing over the Oytwood, and must have originated far to the south, perhaps over Sterich. The wind picks up, and the mages get back down to the earth. The whole Company huddles low to the ground as huge winds push through the forest, cracking and collapsing trees and limbs. The redness in the sky brightens and rotates from the south to the east and then to the north as it sails by on its northward course.
Once the winds die down, Antonus flies back up and sees that the fiery ball is dipping downwards as it sails towards the horizon. Looking backwards, he sees that it must have been higher up in the south than it is now, and that it has been consistently descending. In the morning light, Antonus looks eastward, into the sun, and can see Castle Crag, visible from the top of the forest. Raised up on a hillock, it no longer touches the forest, but instead has a ring of denuded land around it.
When Antonus reaches the ground, he finds the others in discussion about the fiery ball. Winthrop and Dell must have told the Company of the direction and descent of the object. "Where do you think it will land," asks Otto.
Perrin thinks hard for a moment. "Near the valley of the Mage," he says, with trepidation. "The Barrier Peaks, probably. They are very tall and the fiery ball might crash into the side of them. The Mage of the valley values his seclusion, but I doubt even he would be able to ignore such an event. Or the Duke, for that matter."
"We should mount an expedition to the barrier Peaks!" declares Raven, already distracted from his goal.
"I concur!" announces Antonus, his curiousity piqued.
"We can't be more than a few days from Castle Crag," chides Otto. "Let's finish our duty there before discussing heading off elsewhere."
Antonus tells the Company that he's seen Castle Crag and that the forest has been cut around it, leaving a ring of beaten land. The Company recalls that a similar technique was used around Nosnra's steading, but they were able to overcome it through magic.
After the Company regains its equilibrium, they travel east to the edge of the forest, where they carefully hide and set up camp. When he drew his map, Arden had said that a hidden entrance, an escape tunnel, was known to have been dug under the castle. He did not know where the tunnel was, but he suggested it might be a good way to bypass the fortifications. Winthrop opines the tunnel must feed into the Javan, as that is the best way to escape, by water.
