Session 42: Southward Bound
The party loads up in the carriage they just bough and begins their journey south! It will take a bit over five days to get there.They do have two horses, and collectively decided not to give them names so as not to get attached. They got names anyway, Bud and Pal. (The Sprite would be uniquely offended by not naming someone so as not to get attached.)
How hex travel works:
For the next five days, just traveling. May stop at Restov to resupply, no big deal.
Every day, party can travel through one hex. With generic travel, you can travel a lot further.
Each day, the PCs decide how they want to travel, either learn about their hex or move on.
Party departs at 7am, the 17th of Calistril. They arrive on the 23rd. "It won't be as cold down there!" the DM says as the calendar says -50.
River Kingdoms eastern region! It's nameless. Some unlabeled small towns around here that do have names, but they're not major enough to be on maps.
First start is in the town of Northfork, which did not have a name on the party's maps. It has a small tavern, but not a lot seems to be going on otherwise.
Perception check! The whole party notices pretty quick that of the people in this town, a little under a quarter of them are wearing an orange, violet, or red flower somewhere on their body. Behind their ear, in their hair, upon their lapel. Looks rose-like, but has no thorns. The Sprite does not identify the breed of the flower, but notices it seems sensitive to mood. Can't determine what it is, but determines it to be related to fae magic.
Sartorii asks someone with one of the flowers. Young woman with long, black hair, who's super excited. A bard has been running a circuit around this region, town to town doing shows. If you're lucky, he passes out flowers to only his biggest fans. His name is Deacon Green!
The lady suggests the party stick around to see him, he'll be back in a couple days!
Sartorii asks further about the flower.
She holds the flower out for her to see. They bloom when he gives them to people because they're excited, some of them are just older than others, when he comes back he uses some of that folksy magic and they perk right up, you'll see!
She puts it back behind her ear and makes sure it's perfect.
What's he do? What doesn't he do! Fireworks, lights dance at his command, sing and dance, flower petals make design on the ground. Usually nothing interesting happens down here, it's a breath of fresh air for it to be good.
Sartorii thanks the lady, the lady welcomes her to the river kingdoms, waves and walks off.
Northfork Innkeeper, older portly fellow, late-fifties to mid-sixties. Very much a dad, some of his kids running around who have the flowers.
He's wiping down the counter when the party walks in. Sartorii greets him.
"I might have a slight question."
"I might have a slight answer. What can I do for you?"
Sartorii asks the man's thoughts about Deacon in general.
"Listen. I know a fairy when I see in, and I'm not talking about that kind." He points at the Sprite. "The girls love him. They go crazy. The young folks haven't seen much, get wanderlust, can't afford it. Or they head out east to the woods and something gets em. He came in, showed em a bit of magic, they seem a bit more satisfied hanging around town now. Look, I don't get it, back in my day you would get a bard every now and then. Hard to see this as a bad thing, the kids are happy, I get business when he's in town."
New rule!
This can be rolled when passing through towns. Could be hints to quest, could be nonsense, could be jokes. Majority will be actionable.
Next up is Biavon; it's bustling for this area, but it's barely a postage stamp compared to New Stetven. Decently populous, between 600 and 1,000 people. They rely on fishing and hunting, the houses adorned with bows and hunting and fishing iconography. Few farms, the water comes right up to the tow. On the edge of town a lot of houses have supplies for foraging. Fewer people here have Deacon's flowers, but there are still people talking about him.
In the town square is a woman in her late twenties with bobbed brown hair. She wears a soft leather vest over a brown tunic, and a red sash. On her hip is a kama scythe with a little dangly pearl charm. She looks around, trying to approach people to talk, but changing her mind at the last moment. Sartorii startles her.
"Oh! You don't look like you're from around here, either. I'm a little lost. Sorry. My name's Jade."
Sartorii introduces herself. Jade leans over to look at the rest of the party.
"Well, um, maybe you can help me. You don't look lost." She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a little wax seal that's been pulled off a letter. It's white wax with a little crown, the same as the letter the party received. Sartorii identifies it. "I was supposed to meet him somewhere."
Sartorii asks about the letter. Jade's said to burn the letter, the party's did not.
Sprite suggests she join them. She offers to cook on the way. She's not much of a fighter.; okay, but not as experienced as the party seems to be.
The party spends their time at the tavern, mostly hunters taking time off. Lots of beasts in the woods, talk about not seeing anyone from Greenwater to the northwest in a while. It's pretty far out of the way, would take two days' travel to get through the forest, no road for the carriage.
Jade would prefer to see the King in White first. Or are you the type of people to take on everyone else's problems? I'll never fault a hero, I'm just saying, I'm very poor.
Sartorii asks where she's from. Andaran, a kingdom to the far south. Society rolls! Every citizen has a voice in leadership, and it used to be a big kingdom, but now it's pretty chaotic. A bit hard to make sure everything runs smoothly. Long-standing go-fuck-yourself with Cheliax, not fond of diabolists.
The party continues traveling. Sartorii continues drilling Jade.
She used to be a farmer until some guy found her, taught her to wield a blade, and set her off into the world to earn her fortune. Hasn't really had any luck so far.
Party decides to continue south, get the King in White interviews out of the way, then continue the circuit afterward.
DM rolls the encounter table! Nothing happens.
Overnight, Jade makes herself useful by using a bunch of dried mushrooms, meats, and rice to make a basic, hearty stir fry.
Sprite's trail mix for dessert.
With Jade along, the party is well fed, and doesn't have to lose any of their own funds or rations.
The forest, however, is active at night. The party takes turns on watch.
Rutana first. Rolls 21. Nothing happens, per se, where she is. She definitely hears what sounds like a human scream deep in the woods. It could be a mountain lion. Maybe. But it is weird. She shares this when waking the next watch.
Clarence's turn. Nat 1. Super uneventful evening. He falls asleep. Wakes when it's time to change watch. Nothing happened, so it's fine.
Sartorii's turn. Nat 20. Nothing comes near enough to the camp to do anything. In the distance, Sartorii sees a light out on the lake. She reckons it must be one of the ferries between Biavon and Soquay. The schedule didn't line up, it was faster for the party to go around anyway. The light gets closer to the water, and closer, then disappears. It's very foggy on the lake. Sartorii shares what she saw when she wakes the next guard, plus what Clarence told her about Rutana's watch.
The Sprite's turn. Rolls 14. Pretty uneventful.
The party next travels to an inn south of Soquay, called Northcross Inn. Makes total sense being in the south of the region, but north of a bridge.
The party is the only traveler's staying there right now, welcomed rather warmly.
(Cost of initial travel was paid in session 41, will deduct money for staying at inns when exploration begins in earnest.)
Sartorii asks if that bard had been here. Innkeeper thinks the bard would be more likely to visit Soquay, rather than this little inn. The farthest south that guy gets is Biavon, just stays north of the like.
Sartorii rolls the rumor mill.
The party continues south.
Across the bridge north of Javvoc, a man at a campfire waves the party down. He's heating up a lizard tail on a stick. The tail's about two and a half feet long, about four to five inches thick at most. This man is bald, around his late twenties, and wearing a cloak in all white, with a staff leaning against his shoulder. He wears a circlet on his head with cool-coloured gemstones set in it. His nails are also painted white.
Rutana: Why would anyone we are meeting with be normal?
When the carriage draws closer, a young girl comes running out the woods with another large lizard held over her head. Early teens, light-gray skin, almost like a drow.
"I got one! King, I got one!"
He ruffles her hair, takes the lizard, and puts it by the fire for prepping. The girl sits in the second seat.
The party parks the carriage to the side of the road. Sartorii and the Sprite sit by the fire, Rutana stays standing.
"Mr. in White, I presume?"
"Titles are handy, but you can call me Mr. White, if you prefer. You, you are the heroes of Greenwatch— Greenwall! Your resume is fantastic. It's an honor to have you here, an honor that you answered my invitation. Did you pick up another member along the way?" He turns and looks at Jade.
"Did you happen to send out another invitation?"
He smiles. "Oh we'll worry about that in a moment. What I'm interested in is what a Red Mantis is doing here." Jade visibly pales.
Society rolls! Clarence gets a nat 20. The Sprite gets 28. Sartorii gets nat 1. Rutana rolls 26 esoterica.
The Red Mantis is a society of assassins that worships the god Achaekek, a giant red mantis. They have one rule; they cannot kill kings.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm a simple farm girl."
"Of course you are. A simple farm girl knew how to find the people coming to see me, who proved she had a letter by killing the last person I enchanted."
Jade pulls the pearl off her scythe. The glamour drops, revealing a red sneak-suit.
Sartorii asks why she's here.
This man attempted regicide; the bomb that would have killed Surtova came from his hand.
Oh, we knew that.
And you came here anyway?!
Well that was to be one of the topics of discussion.
I don't control what people do with my product! Some weird little gnome bought it.
Oh we already handled that.
Then you see, miss Jade, you can leave then.
Sartorii asks how they knew about it.
Jade starts to say she's not at liberty to say. The King in White says Surtova hired her. He explains Surtova knew the party was traveling south, and had sent Jade to follow them straight to the King in White, because he would be lulled into a sense of security after already defeating two other assassins.
Jade again pales and asks what two others.
Two corpses bound in silk tumble from the trees behind the campfire. Another woman comes walking out of the trees to join them.
Rutana's shapechanger's intuition goes off for both ladies.
Ball's in Jade's court now. Jade is shaking, and drops her scythe.
The King offers for her to go home, but she hesitates. She looks to the party, expecting them to act.
"You all came her to kill him??" "Yes! He's the King in White! He's a criminal!"
The King in White: I am giving you the opportunity to leave. The Red Mantis might kill you, but I most certainly will.
Rutana: This is why you don't join cults.
Jade leaves with a smoke bomb exit.
Little girl: Wow, I really thought he was gonna try to kill you like an idiot!
No, sometimes people actually value their lives. Alright, A.J., are you full?
Yeah...
He places his hand on her head. She turns completely black, turns liquid, then turns into a tattoo on his hand. She's a familiar!
He offers to show Rutana how to do that with her familiar. Nah, Cortez is good as he is.
With that business concluded, he rented a small house in town to do business in. Less chances for someone to shoot arrows at you, he says while looking pointedly at the treeline.
He walks the party into town. It's fairly large, about the size of Biavon, and it's mostly gnomes. All the houses are painted different colors and built with different shapes, and all shorter than human cities.
They veer toward a group of buildings that are more normal sized. White produces a key and unlocks one; the house smells of sage and seems nice, but more in a vacation nice and not someplace you would want to live for long. One wall is completely covered in cryptic documents. Above a fireplace and in a holder, Segrid's sword Blacktide sits above the mantle. Rutana elbows Clarence. Clarence stares.
White notices. He thanks the party for his latest acquisition. Clarence crumbles.
White takes a seat in the biggest chair in the room, and gestures for the party to take their pick of sofa, rocking chair, and loveseat. Anabelle stands.
He holds his hand close to the floor and his familiar tattoo peels off in the form of a big, black spider. She crawls up into a web nest in the corner of the living room.
You're here to collect something for me, if you accept the job. It's not as simple as that. Tell me, I've never spent much time in Brevoy. Do children there play wizard war?
Sartorii responds, very rarely.
It goes 1, 2, 3, 4, I declare a wizard war. You then say something awful or childish until the group declares the winner, whatever the craziest thing is. Mend buttcrack was the trump card when he was a child. A true wizard war is something much more serious, and that is what we have on our hands. Unfortunately it is a wizard war surrounding an object I would very much like. Currently in the north there are three wizards searching for an object of power. The exact specifications are unknown, but its powers could range from mind control to summoning to transmutation. Regardless, everyone knows it is powerful, and all want it for different reasons. Each is searching their own territories for it, and none have found it. Soon they will erupt into all-out warfare to search other domains.
I am a neutral fourth party. I narrowed down where the item is. I want you to rid this area of these magi, and you will protect this area. That is something you are fond of doing to my understanding. I'm also aware you are quite the charismatic bunch, I find myself liking you already. I have sparse information on these magi, I don't know their names per se, but I do know their titles. Their domains lie above the river north of Javvoc.
First is known as the Bloomsinger. I don't know much about him. He seems pretty good at what he does. He has to date not harmed anyone in any way that I can deduce. However, he holds his domain fiercely as the other two have not been able to pierce it yet.
The other two are the Flesh Weaver and the Swamp Raiser.
Well we know where one is. You've met him? What has he done? Accumulated fangirls.
The Flesh Weaver is a figure of some renown. Their other titles include Daughter of the Crawling Clan. The Crawling Clan is a monster up north of fused skin and bone, once an entire community and now a single creature.
The Swamp Raiser is very literal. Far to the west there was a bog beside a town. The bones in that bog rose with nothing to hold them together and wandered into town, and nothing is left of that town now.
I'm not saying go fight them. They are very strong. You are intelligent and charismatic. Go out there, get in contact. Get them to leave. I leave it to your discretion.
As a reward for this job... Money is often the simplest option, but once you reach a certain point, it becomes quite meaningless. I could help to fill your treasury back home if that is something you require...
Clarence staring at the sword.
...Unfortunately I have use for the sword, Clarence. But if things go well and that usefulness expires, I can bequeath it unto you. But Rutana, do you know much about menkai charms?
Esoterica roll! 21. Menkai charms are often simple things. They smolder when a creature of evil is near, or create a scent pleasant to humans but horrible to evil humans. Essentially, little protection charms.
White points to his door. A paper sits on the inside of the doorframe, singed. He offers help with a problem she might have. Anabelle says she smelled like wet dog. Rutana doesn't like it, but it would be helpful. White does have a decent mastery of spellcasting that could contend with certain curses. If the party performs exemplary, he would include it in the package.
He asks what the Sprite would like. He asks for a spellbook.
Sartorii? She folds her hands together. There's a project she'll be working on soon that she could probably use help with. She explains her homeless shelter project.
She rolls 30 on perception. White's expression visibly sours when she mentions a god's name, but he composes himself.
"Ah, a church. Well, if I must. Perhaps a cutting, some high-quality crop that would make excellent wine or mead. I'm sure I could find something."
And Clarence? Anything besides the sword that I can't give you?
He'll think about it.
White is a man of some means, and doesn't mind sharing those means when he can, especially for good work.
The Sprite asks for more information about this object White seeks.
He knows very little about it. Allegedly it's an object of power, something humble, that offers the user the ability to manipulate beings. White doesn't go in on mind control, it's very unreliable.
The Sprite asks more about White's involvement in the Surtova's assassination.
White was in town for an acquisition and staying at the Red Swallow. He was approached by some rude fellow working a local boss, then eventually contacted by the man himself after White offed a few minions. They talked about the history of the area and some diabolists, agreed that some chaos would be good for business. The man paid for a bomb to be made. To be honest, Brevoy was likely to descend into chaos anyway. So, I made the bomb and went on my merry way, never gave any thought to what it was meant for.
Sartorii asks if he's human.
Under protest. I know the type of people you are. You're adventurers, yes, but you aren't in it just for money. You want to help people. I can't say I have those same motives, but I know how to deal with them, and that is to be as honest as you can. If you have a question, and if I have an answer that doesn't impact me in any way, then I will answer to the best I can.
Sartorii asks if he knows a strix missing a finger named Cedric.
When White was a child, he moved from place to place learning the magical arts. He took everything he could with no regard to who it belonged to. Cedric took offense to this. He was a great teacher, but far too slow-paced for my tastes. One day he found me reading some forbidden tome about necromancy or some such, and tried to take it from me. Said I would be suspended for a week. So, I took the book, and when he tried to stop me, I took more. I haven't thought about that in years. Suffice it to say, not all circumstances allow for careful consideration.
Rutana: Yeah, sometimes you gotta melt a guy.
While he's not much on patience, and while he thinks he could take the three magi, he does not think he could do so without injury, and the time he spent laid low would outweigh the time spent waiting on the party.
The Sprite offers him trail mix. He passes it to Anabelle.
So the goal: find the three magi and convince them to leave. One may be in Greenwater, the town in the forest northwest of Biavon. One is hopping between towns north of the lake. The Silly Yum may be in Lofell.
Clarence rolls on the rumor mill. Those gay halflings have made it down to Javvoc.
The party starts roaming back north, intent on making it to Greenwater.
First day of travel, nothing happens. The party does sense something, almost like a charge in the air, the way one's hair stands on end before a lightning storm. They spend the night in the wilderness before continuing the next morning.
The party learns how to use their rations, and no encounters occur the next day, too.