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Strong Start

• Francis runs into a force field trying to enter Vidrir’s grove Or is attacked by his ravens?

Scenes

• Vidrir’s grove debrief
• Try to find the fey crossing
• Ambushed by serenity’s lackeys at the fey crossing
  • Redcap
  • 5 x Shade minions
• Enter the feywild
• Three satyrs are having a contest using several musical instruments. The organize any watchers to help support them in a group round
• See a Bandersnatch tear a hole in reality and step through to our plane; wandered off into the forest
• Visit the winter court outpost

Secret and Clues

• There is another standing stone near the giant silver maple tree
• The stand stones can be used for rapid transit via the ley lines that connect them
• The veil between this world and the feywild is thinning, which is how the Bandersnatch got here
• The Bandersnatch poisioned a winter court member and they need a poision gland to craft an antidote.
• Serenity did cross into the feywild

Fantastic Locations

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Characters

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Characters

[[Tempus Campaign/Old Session Notes/Tempus Session 12 (2023-08-30)/Tempus Session 2 (2022-11-09)|Tempus Session 2 (2022-11-09)]]

Characters

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Characters

[[Tempus Campaign/Old Session Notes/Tempus Session 11 (2023-08-02)/Tempus Session 2 (2022-11-09)|Tempus Session 2 (2022-11-09)]]

Meeting in Tannis

The Raven’s Perch Tavern smelled like pinewood polish, stale ale, and secrets no one wanted to say out loud. The hearth crackled with half-burned oak logs, sending shadows flickering across a clientele that looked like they’d all seen better days – or at least better choices.

Shadicar lounged near the bar, silver-stringed lute in hand, half-elf ears peeking through a tousle of hair that probably took him an hour to make look artfully unkempt. His nimble fingers danced across the strings as he plucked out a slow, haunting tune that snared the room’s attention one cautious note at a time. He smiled faintly to himself, tasting the silence that followed each note like a sommelier tasting a fine wine.

Meeting in Tannis

• The party meets in the Raven’s Perch Tavern in the small village of Tannis, just south of the enchanted Elven forest.
  • Shadicar - Half-elf bard with a silver tongue, skill with the lute, and some magical talent
  • Skreet - Aarakocra paladin of Signus, awkward but always kind and well meaning
  • Slumpet - Gnome rogue, skilled man of few words always more comfortable from the shadows or a high perch
  • Toby - Half-elf blood hunter, a strong no nonsense woman that dabbles in blood magic to help take out her prey
• The village features an old windmill on the hill, a temple of the Dusk Lord, and a great oak tree in the town square that can be seen for miles away.
• At the tavern, the party meets some interesting folks, including:
  • Lerissa - a red-skinned female Tiefling and retired adventurer.
  • Duchess - Lerissa’s grey pet wolf
  • Serenity - a beautiful dark-haired human singer who performed that night
  • Hurmur Deeprest - a Dwarven archeologist searching for interesting artifacts
  • Jax - a member of the Night Talons thieves’ guild based in a nearby town. Slumpet caught his eye and said to look him up if he’s interested in work in the future.
• Lerissa agreed to let Shad earn a little coin playing his lute for the patrons before the singer Serenity arrived.
• After Serenity’s set, she flirted with her kindred spirit of musical talent: Shad.
• The group’s merriment is interrupted by the town’s blacksmith, Sig Rockwell, bursting in and proclaiming that his daughter has been kidnapped! Sig promises to help outfit the party with the wares from his shop if they can help rescue his daughter, Winry.

Rescue the blacksmith’s daughter

• The party tracks Winry and her assailants through the forest to the north, eventually crossing through the Shimmerwood and over the Misty Run river to Elven territory inside the Enchanted Forest.
• They eventually come to a clearing with an ancient tomb on a hill at its center. Outside the tomb, the party finds a strange standing stone made of obsidian. The stone had a hole near the top, like the eye of a needle. When Slumpet looked through the hole, he saw a huge silver maple tree to the northwest and a prominent mountain range to the southeast.
• The tomb is covered in a mix of vine/floral and raven motifs. The crest of the Knights is a blazing sun overlaid with the silhouette of a flying bird. A mural inside depicts men and elves battling undead and shadows. The oath of the order, inscribed on the mural, read: “We of the Order of Seasons, vow to fight darkness wherever it is found.”
• The party eventually gets to the deepest part of the tomb where they find a Winry being used in some kind of dark ritual. The ritual is interrupted when the party barges into the room “lute first” and slays all of the confused goblins, save for their leader. They interrogate the bugbear chief leading the enemy group and learn they are part of the Cult of the Eclipse. The bugbear reveals that they are led by “the Lady of the Eclipse”, who seems to have some vendetta against the Order of Seasons.
• The party takes the Eclipse medallion from the bugbear chief. Shad used his magic to read the inscription on the medallion: “Darkness will descend once again”
• After interrogating the bugbear chief, the party discovers a secret chamber containing five ornate sarcophagi. Each one seems to be the resting place of a knight dedicated to each of the four seasons. The fifth is more ornate than all the others and seems to contain the leader of the Order of Seasons. Near the leader’s sarcophagi, the party finds magic items including broken pieces of a magic longsword emblazoned with a blazing sun on one side of the hilt and a bird in flight on the other.
• Sig the blacksmith was very grateful after being reunited with Winry
  • Gave Slumpet a masterwork short sword
  • Gave Shadicar studded leather armor
  • Promised to craft a wrist blade for Toby
  • Gave a breastplate to Skreek
    • Mounted Skreek’s holy symbol to the breastplate
    • Will call in a favor from Skreek to recover crafting materials from a dangerous location

Tannis Cursed with Darkness

• The party shows the eclipse medallion and broken sword to Lerissa. She tells them there are folk tales about the Knight of Ravens, who led the Order of Seasons in heroic battles against the forces of darkness. She suggested they seek out more information from the local sage, Vidrir, who lives in a secluded grove in the Shimmerwood. She also asked them to bring a cask of ale to Vidrir as a sign of good faith, mentioning her ale is a favorite of his.
• Lerissa asked the party if they had noticed stars disappearing. The party wasn’t sure but didn’t think they had noticed anything like that the last few nights.
• Lerissa lets the party take a well deserved rest in the windmill that she uses as a storehouse for her ale and the occasional guest house. After the sun went down, the party noticed that although there were no clouds, only half the number of stars were visible compared to other nights.
• The party awakes to the screams and panic of the villagers. Complete darkness shrouded their entire village. No light could illuminate more than twenty feet in any direction and darkvision didn’t seem to help.
• The party carefully made their way to Lerissa’s tavern in hopes of finding allies. Along the way, they were attacked by large shadowy hands that emerged from the darkness and attempted to drag them away. Then ran into some dead villagers and encouraged the more fortunate to seek out refuge in Lerissa’s tavern.
• Along the way, they learn that a magical barrier has formed around the village, preventing anyone from leaving.
• After checking in with Lerissa, the party sought answers in the church of the Dusk Lord on the other side of town. The church seemed to be the only thing emitting light, but it was being attacked by the shadowy hands. Luckily the church seemed to be magically warded against the creatures, as their attacks seemed to continuously bounce off an unseen shield surrounding the building.
• Inside the church, they met Father Samael who tells the party he recently warded the church from attack. Unfortunately, some of his fellow priests were killed when the darkness descended before the ward could be erected. Samael told the party he was recently visited by a beautiful black-haired woman who was very interested in his holy relics. He remembered showing her his hold symbol, but after that his memory became fuzzy. He can’t seem to find his holy symbol and is concerned.
• He let the party down into the catacombs to see what they could find. The party encountered a very dangerous being of pure shadow that had recently killed several of the priests. The party avoided conflict with the creature, gathered holy symbols from the deceased priests, and eventually made their way down to a hidden level below the catacombs.
• In the dungeons below the church, the party eventually meets the Arbiter, Angel of Justice serving the Dusk Lord. The party convinces her to delay cleansing the town of all life after vowing to investigate the source of corruption plaguing the town and disrespecting her god. The party learns the Arbiter has erected the barrier around the town to prevent the corruption from spreading and to prepare for her cleansing ritual. She marks the party with a holy symbol that will allow them to pass through her barrier and commune with her. As a sign of good faith, the Arbiter then destroys the remaining shadow monsters in town but leaves her barrier in place until the source of corruption is dealt with.
• Skrek takes a Shield of the Dusk Lord from the crypt (+1 shield)

Meet Vidrir

• After getting directions to the sage’s grove from Lerissa, the party uses the Arbiter’s marks to pass through her barrier. On the other side of the barrier, the party finally sees the light of day again and begins making their way through the Shimmerwood in search of the sage, Vidrir.
• The party meets Vidrir, who treats them warmly once he learns they are friends of Lerissa. He tells them they have gone on several adventures together and she is as good with a bow as she is brewing ale.
• The party learns that the large purple-winged ravens they have seen watching them in the forest recently had been Vidrir’s allies.
• Vidrir tells them the broken sword they have is called Summer’s Edge and confirms it was once wielded by the champion of the Summer Court of the Fey. The sword has become a symbol of hope and courage for the people of the Summer Court, and it is believed that as long as the sword remains in the hands of a true Guardian of the Summer Court, the realm will remain safe from the undead and other dark forces that threaten it. He believes it was broken during the last battle of the great war against the undead, an age ago. He said only the master smiths of the Elves would be capable of reforging the blade.
• Vidrir also examines the Eclipse medallion taken from the bugbear chief. He discovers it has a spell cast on it which allows it to be easily tracked. Virdir detected the tracking spell’s origin was deeper in the Enchanted Forest, to the north west.
• The party take a rest in Virdir’s grove after enjoying some tea and folk tales.
• Skreek asks Vidrir about his quest to find a stolen holy relic. Vidrir says he’s heard rumors of djinn in the desert to the south looking for elemental artifacts.
• Before the party leaves, Virdir asks to hold the broken sword. When he does, the sword lightly glows and his hair slightly stands on end as a warm smile washes over his face. He thanks the party and just says that sometimes weapons have “souls” that may react to other living things.

Find what’s been tracking the party and aid the pixies

• The party takes Vidrir’s advice and starts moving through the forest in the direction of the tracking spell related to the Eclipse medallion. Coincidentally, that was also taking them in the direction of the large silver tree Slumpet had seen through the hole in the standing stone next to the Order of Seasons temple.
• Along the way, Slumpet befriended a pixie, Fannie, who was practicing a prank using illusion magic. They bonded over making the other members of the party look foolish.
• Fannie told them the forest has been getting strange lately, especially an area to the northwest. When Skreek scouted the area from above, he noticed a desaturated section of the forest to the northwest. All color seemed to have been leeched from the forest. The effect seemed centered around a clearing about a day’s travel away.
• Fannie also asked the party to help her friends that had been captured by these “grey-skinned jerks”. She said that sometimes pixies are hunted for their dust, which some try to use for its unique magical properties.
• The party agreed to help Fannie rescue her friends. Fannie helped by turning Toby into a dinosaur to help them storm the camp. This plan was a great success as Toby made short work of quite a few of the enemies. The enemies turned out to be Darklings in service of the Cult of the Eclipse. They were attempting to use the pixies for a ritual. The party found religious texts in the camp that mentioned “the Great Shadow” gathering power against the allies of the light. It was unclear if this text was a prophesy, a historical event, or fiction.
• The party also found some magic weapons (2 x Dagger of Darkness) and a note from a mysterious “L” to one of the cultists. The note spoke of using a ritual to elevate one of their ranks to greater power in order to take advantage of the increased fear in the region.

Cabin in the greyscale woods

• Having rescued the pixies, the party continued deeper into the greyscale woods. Eventually, they found a cabin being guarded by a Flameskull. After a long battle with the Flameskull, Slumpet pocked the crushed skull as a trophy and the party broke into the cabin.
• Inside, the party found a desk with notes and several spell scrolls. They also found a chest with bedding and clothing. Some of the clothes looked very similar to what the party last saw Serenity, the singer who visited Tannis, wearing when they last saw her.
• While investigating the cabin, the party was attacked by a Rug of Smothering that was guarding a trap door. In memoriam, the party would remember the rug as “Sassy Tassels”.
• After defeating the rug, the party descended below to discover an altar to a shadow dragon with a magical crystal orb sitting atop. Gazing into the orb reveal a swirling mist behind which a strange castle could be seen. When Shad touched the orb, he could feel something press against his mind, but he was able to resist.
• The room also contained a diorama of the town of Tannis. Near the model of the great oak tree at the center of town, they found a holy symbol of the Dusk Lord that had been magically cursed and defiled with blood. The party used their holy marks to summon the Arbiter, who confirmed that was the source of the curse that triggered the Dusk Lord’s ire. She cleansed the holy symbol and vowed to release her barrier from Tannis. After thanking the party, she opened a portal and returned to Tannis to begin her work.
• A Hag knocks on the door the following morning after the party took a long rest in the cabin. She speaks in a familiar manner to the group. When the party is confused, she applies an illusion to herself, transforming into the beautiful singer they met weeks back in the Ravens Perch Tavern in Tannis. She senses they stole her crystal sphere and demands the party returns it. The party denies the request and Slumpet throws the sphere out the window. When they try to leave. Serenity magically slams the doors shut and attacks the party.
• Shad tries to use the gate spell scroll to summon the Arbiter, but the spell fizzles as it seems to be beyond his current capability. Physical attacks are not proving to be very effective against the Hag, while her claws seem formidable. In an act of desperation, Shad casts charm person on Serenity. It succeeds!?! Serenity’s demeanor changes to that of a good friend. The party begins talking to Serenity as she apologizes and begins making the party tea and breakfast.
• During the exchange, the party acquires a journal Serenity dropped during the fight. Piecing things together between the journal and the conversation with the charmed Serenity, the party learns she has been working with a spell caster named the Weaver. The Weaver specializes in fear and illusion magic. Serenity used a curse developed by the Weaver to bring darkness upon the village of Tannis as a way of punishing the Dusk Lord and his followers. Serenity wished to gain favor with the shadow dragon named Nidhogg by making the Dusk Lord suffer. The dragon seemed to have a deep hatred for the Dusk Lord.
• The party also learns that the Weaver was behind the tragedy of Shad’s village, where the Weaver conjured an illusion of a shadow dragon so convincing and fearsome that the villagers literally died of fright… The Weaver also seems aligned with the shadow dragon Serenity has been communing with.
• The party slipped out, hoping to be miles away before the charm spell wears off. Slumpet takes the lead with the dark crystal in tow, trying to keep it away from serenity, and heads towards the safety of Vidrir’s grove. Along the way, Slumpet discovers that the flame skull corpse has revived itself. The party catches up and parlays with the skull named Francis. The skull agrees to form a pact with the party, agreeing to show him adventures and give him excuses to use his laser-eye beams in exchange for his arcane knowledge.

Learning of the Great Shadow, Nidhogg

• The party regrouped at Vidrir’s grove to rest, gather information, and decide the next steps.
• When they try to enter Vidrir’s grove, Francis is blocked from entering by a magical barrier that does not seem to hinder the rest of the party. They later learn that Vidrir erected wards against the undead to help protect his home.
• Vidrir guessed that Serenity’s dark crystal was a “seeing stone” used to communicate across great distances. It might also be used as a strong focus for divination magic and may have aided Serenity in tracking the party. When the party shares the contents of Serenity’s journal with Vidrir, he becomes very concerned about her contact with Nidhogg. According to Vidrir, Nidhogg was a formidable foe that the Order of Seasons could not defeat during the last great war against the undead hundreds of years ago. The Order was able to seal him away in the Shadowfell but could not kill him. If Nidhogg gains allies and attempts to escape the Shadowfell, that would be disastrous. The party catches Vidrir in some odd slips of the tongue, making them believe Vidrir is much older than he is letting on. It seemed he implied he was part of the last great war against the undead, culminating in sealing Nidhogg away.
• Vidrir suggested that the elves of the Winter Court to the north might have further insight into the orb, the shadow dragon Nidhogg, and how the pieces of Summer’s Edge might be reforged. He gives the party his medallion from his time in the Order of Seasons, saying that it should gain their favor, or at least an audience, with the Lady of Winter, who reigns over the Winter Court. Vidrir tells the party that the Winter Court’s embassy can be found to the northwest, near the great silver maple tree that Slumpet spotted earlier in their journey.

The Elves of the Winter Court

• The next morning, the party leaves the safety of Vidrir’s grove and makes their way toward the great silver maple tree and, hopefully, the Elven Winter Court beyond.
• On their way, they are attacked by a Redcap, a bloodthirsty fae mercenary wielding a giant sickle and wearing heavy iron boots. The party was able to make quick work of the creature and learned that he was contracted to dispose of the party before they could reach the fae crossing Serenity told the party about the day before.
• On their journey to the silver tree, the party also saw a large cat-like creature with black claws and tree-like spines sprouting from its back, tearing a hole through reality and stepping through. The party hid from the creature, and it stalked off through the forest away from the party.
• A day’s travel later, the party arrived at the great silver maple, easily standing 100 feet tall. Its towering height, gleaming silver trunk, and large crystalline leaves were awe-inspiring. Slumpet scaled the tree to get a better view and spotted an equally impressive green and yellow tree to the northeast. On his way back down, he removed one of the large crystal leaves without harming the tree. Near the tree was another standing stone like the one they saw near the Order of Seasons temple. When looking through the large hole in the standing stone, Slumpet could see the impressive green and yellow to the northeast and a small lake to the southwest. A small group of elven rangers manned a nearby guard tower. After showing the rangers Vidrir’s medallion from the Order of Seasons, the rangers demeanors softened, and they gladly pointed the party toward the Winter Court’s embassy to the northwest.
• After another half day’s travel, the party arrived at the embassy. The embassy resided within a small town with a nice inn and several well-kept shops, including a blacksmith, general store, and an apothecary.
• Before finding a place to rest, the party did a bit of shopping. Slumpt bought a set of studded leather armor, and Skreek purchased two nets.
• The inn called the Restful Buck, was a sight for sore eyes as the party felt like they hadn’t gotten a solid night’s sleep in weeks. The bartender, Jared, was a well-informed and gracious host. Shad earned some free drinks and a bit of coin by putting on a show for the patrons. He later sat in on a game of poker, where he was able to win a nice pot off the blacksmith after catching his tell. While at the inn, the party learned some interesting things. Alora, the current Lady of Winter, leads the court. Alora’s daughter, Olivia, had recently been poisoned. The magical sound system in the inn’s great room, powered by blue crystals, also impressed the party.
• Around noon the next day, the party sought an audience with Alora. Alora was initially guarded but softened when the party showed her Vidrir’s medallion from the Order of Seasons. She was visibly distracted by her daughter’s illness and would focus on little else until her daughter was safe. Skreek used his lay-on hands ability to cleanse the poison from Olivia’s body. Alora was overjoyed and thanked the party, promising to discuss their topics of interest now that her daughter was safe. They learned that the creature had been a Bandersnatch from the feywild. Alora said it should not have been able to cross over as it did.

Hunting the Bandersnatch

• Alora, still concerned about the Bandersnatch that poisoned her daughter, offered the party a reward if they could slay the beast. The party agreed to track the Bandersnatch and try to retrieve some of its venom.
• The party gathered supplies to make traps to lure the creature, including meat scraps, hunting traps, and catnip. They successfully tracked the creature based on where Olivia had been hunting the day she was attacked. Slumpet employed his squirrel network again to help alert him to the creature’s approach. Shad set up traps with the bait they gathered (meat and catnip). The traps worked and attracted the creature. After a pitched battle, the party was able to kill it but struggled to deal with the creature’s poison claws and gas. They chopped off its head for good measure and brought it back to the Winter Embassy.
• When the party returned, Alora was better than her word and presented each party member with a magic item as a reward for their help. Slumpet was awarded a magic short bow named the Relentless Hunter that could cast Hunter’s Mark. Shad was gifted with an enchanted instrument of the bards called the Fochlucan Bandore that promised to enhance Shard’s magical abilities. Toby was granted the Blinkback Belt, which would make any weapons return to the belt after being thrown. Lastly, Skreek was given a magical Frostbrand Scimitar, which could inflict additional cold damage on his enemies.
• The party also learned from Alora that the elves employ a powerful magical barrier that holds the elemental energies at bay from the other planes and allows them to tap into the planes with some level of control. The original Elven Matriarch organized the ritual that created the barrier and lent much of her power to its formation. No one has been born with the Matriarch’s gift for barriers in two generations, and the barrier is beginning to weaken. She suspects this is why creatures from the feywild have been able to break through the barrier and enter our plane. Alora asked the party to investigate the nearby temple whose magic supports the barrier.
• While the party was meeting with Alora, her eldest daughter and paladin of the Winter Court, Trius entered to give a report to her mother. The beautiful and powerful Trius immediately caught the eye of Shadicar. Some of the other party members took notice of her elegant long sword, which they learned was a moonblade. Its power is said to rival even that of Summer’s Edge, which the party is still interested in reforging. The party tried to convince Trius to join them on their quest to investigate the Leyline Temple, but she said she had other pressing matters to attend to, although the offer was tempting.

Investigate the Winter Leyline Temple

• With some convincing by Alora, the party got their weapons silvered by the local blacksmith while taking a well earned rest at the Restful Buck. Slumpet’s slumber was interrupted by nightmares, where Serenity stole back her dark crystal orb.