The Fey's Turn

August 28, 2014 

Fain wants to go to Palin's Cove.  He is sick of the smaller towns and wants to be around people.  That's surprising, given how much they smell.  And their towns smell worse!  Getting past that, which he can do, he does enjoy being around more.  The rest of the group indulge him, and with Adrasteia saying no more portals, they head out.  It takes them a week or so as they decide to go overland.  Well, it would have taken them a week, had not Adrasteia and Shar caught a cold.  Trogdor and Volgash didn't think much of the travel in the swamp but it caught up to the ladies, and left them in the next town for a bit.  Once that was done, though, they kept going.  

What they found in the other towns was much of the same.  Some noble, usually a count and countess, had arrived late in the fall to the town.  They spent some money and wanted to build a fountain in the town.  The bigger towns could afford to ignore them more, though, so the nobles were not having the luck that their brethren did.  Palin's Cove certainly wasn't allowing for a fountain!  They arrived in town and went to see what magical equipment they could find.  A few different shops selling magical gear was found and they bartered for some items.  Fain was very happy!  He was bouncing everywhere between all of them, wanting to see and do everything, even though he couldn't.  Fain was already planning the next day and what they would do.  

Ruzga of the Bloody Hammer came to Volgash in a dream.  Ruzga wanted to challenge Volgash and the group to a final fight.  If the group wins, with Ruzga dead, the orcs plans will be halted.  Certainly, another warlord might rise up, but it could be a while.  If they lose, though, it leaves the towns open to the orc invaders.  Volgash agrees.  

The party wakes up in their camp in the forest.  And then they wondered who moved the town of Palin's Cove on them.  They get up and are greeted by Ruzga and six of his orc brothers.  They are told that they can take as long as they like but as soon as they leave their camp, the battle has started.  The group starts to strategize and buff, ignoring whatever war chants the orcs are doing.  Then they attack.  

Jack is not happy with the orc ranger.  Jack manages to flurry arrow after arrow into him and drops him.  Only to see the shaman bring him back with healing!  Jack drops him again and again the shaman brings him back!  Finally, Jack is able to drop him and the shaman isn't able to help.  Ruzga charges forward and nearly takes down Volgash with the hammer.  If it weren't for his rage and huge form, Volgash thinks he might have died as well.  Shar holds off some of the orcs with an illusion of an ice wall but can only watch as Adrasteia, in elemental form, takes arrow after arrow from the risen ranger and then she drops.  Shar shouts to the others, who are able to clear the final orcs out of her way, so that she can get to Adrasteia and use the healing wand on her.  Trogdor had been hit a bit but hurt them a lot more.  Jack himself, covered in a veil from Shar, didn't get hit and wasn't seen.  Fain eventually used his cloak to go invisible but did get hit a few times before he could hide.  Fain gladly scooped up the fallen orcs treasures and the group divided what they could figure out among themselves.  Unfortunately, a lot of it was weapons and armor, which was proving to be no better than what they have.  However, it would still be something they could sell and perhaps find something else.  

Volgash says that Mab just charged him with bringing the hammer to her.  The group isn't sure how they are even going to do that when they remember the cave!  It had portals to several points in fae.  They go there and go through to Mab's ice palace, finding a table of ice.  Volgash puts the hammer on it and it hisses and melts into the block before being frozen again, the head covered in a nimbus of frozen blood.  They hastily leave Mab's palace and go back through the portal.  

That's when it hits them that they are weeks away from even Ilsurian, again finding themselves in the deep woods of Sanos.  They are headed back to the first clearing but camp for the night before they can arrive.   

The find the woods outside the cave to be warped in color and distance.  Jack goes to look around and finds gravity and flying to be working against him.  It seems that it was localized to a few hundred yards around the cave and is already retreating.  They soon run into another such area but find the gnome that caused it, along with the device he used.  They agree to let him go, and return most of what Fain took from him as Trogdor held him for questioning.  

Volgash is on watch when a quickling is suddenly in the camp, talking to him, well at him, as fast as the quickly can!  Volgash can't follow along with everything.  The quickling wants to talk about everything!  What the group has done, what he has done, how they are scouting for the fey and that it was Huni that caused the warping in the forest.  Well, if not Huni than one of the other groups.  The first quickly, Buzzzzzzzzzz, is joined by another, comeherecomherecomeherecomehere, and they reveal, without seeming to be able to help themselves, that the fey are coming to claim some areas of the world, starting here.  And that's when they know their journey is just beginning.  

GM Notes

• The session started slow but that was intentional.  First, I wanted to delay until Jack's player, Bob, could get there as he was going to be late.  Second, I wanted them to get to the other towns of the area and see that the same thing had happened there as had happened in Ilsurian.  It also let Fain take the lead for a bit and get to where he could pick pocket and carouse more.  
• The fight with the orcs was quite tough.  I had taken the time to write them up.  The players completely ignored or missed that they were chanting before combat, i.e. buffing, and were taken off guard at how tough the orcs were because of it!  A few said later they were thinking about how they were going to get away if things went bad, so they must have been a bit worried about the outcome of the fight.  
• I think I broke Brook's brain in playing the quicklings!  It was awesome!  He said it was as if I had slammed down five five hour energy drinks before playing them, so I at least got that right!  
• We are still trying the combat cards but I didn't work in the social cards.  I think we are agreed that we aren't going to use either long term but in the short term, I think the will give us some ideas about how to use some skills or the drama points.  Until then, we can use the cards.   

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