Adventures in Everlund
Chapter 13 - Bury Your Burdens
18th of Mirtul, 1492 DR
The intersection off the Evermoor Way is covered in blood from the recent battle. Valeria stalks off into the night and retrieves her thrown handaxe from the dwarf’s back. She wipes off the blood and stows it away. “Filthy bandit.” She takes hold of a boot and starts to drag the body back to the cluster of corpses. On the way, she spies a large stash. “Hey, they have some things stored over here!” She drops the leg and starts poking around in the cache. “Woah, hey, come check this out! This thing is brimming with good stuff!”
Inside the cache, she finds:
1 Potion of Healing
2 Potions of Greater Healing
1 Set of Thieves Tools
50 feet of Hempen Rope
1 Small Sack of Dried Meats and Fruits
Gems: 2 small rubies, 3 small amethysts, 1 emerald, 2 garnets, 1 large diamond, 5 sapphires
1 Small Vial of Poison
1 Silver Necklace with a Jade Pendant
1 Scroll of Invisibility
1 Amulet of Bane (+1 to Intimidation checks, but imposes disadvantage on persuasion checks)
1 Set of Silk Clothes
1 Wand of Magic Missiles (7 charges)
1 Ring of Protection (requires attunement, +1 to AC and saving throws)
Yávië investigates the supply cache as Nimly checks the fallen bandits for any signs of life. None of the combatants fared the onslaught well and the spark of life has faded from them all. Valeria finishes dragging the dwarf back to the rest of her fallen comrades. They poke through the bodies, stripping them of anything useful or valuable and throwing it in a pile.
On the bodies, they find:
Signet Ring - non magical
Holy Symbol of Bane - radiates a faint magical aura
1 Light Crossbow with 15 bolts
Studded Leather Armor
1 Scimitar
1 +1 Scimitar
1 Shortsword
2 Sets of Leather Armor
1 Dagger
While they process the loot, Nimly uses Mold Earth and excavates a hole near the bodies. “I’ve been thinking.” He makes a pit that is fifteen feet long, four feet wide and ten feet deep where the bedrock allows. “We don’t want any bandits to be on our tail. Let’s keep them guessing. Pile those bodies in here and I’ll fill it back in.”
Valeria and Yávië toss the corpses into the large pit. Nimly begins to use Mold Earth to fill the hole back in. The dirt and rocks settle evenly back where they came from. Nimly does his best to smooth it over to keep it from looking too freshly disturbed.
The party takes the equipment from the bandits and heads back to inspect the stash. They divy it up amongst themselves, taking what they want and boggling over the amount left to carry back to Everlund. Yávië secures the bolts, the thieves’ tools, a vial of poison, the wand of magic missiles, the food and the studded leather armor. Nimly takes the potion of healing, the rope, the fine silk clothes, and the silver necklace. Valeria looks over the items and takes the holy symbol, the potions of greater healing and the signet ring. The knight grimaces as she looks at the holy symbol. “We’d best take this back to the Hall of the Moon. Bandits working with Bane? That can’t be good.”
Yávië tosses the damaged studded leather armor she’d taken from the previous battle into the pile of items, and starts to shove the better quality one in her pack. She glances at her half plate, then back at the party and shrugs, smiling. “I’m going to need this for sneaking when I get my feet wet with the Thieves Guild. My pack is a bit full. Could one of you carry this studded leather?” Nimly nods and stows it with his things.
“What are we going to do with the rest of this stuff?” Valeria exchanges a look with Yávië and they both smile at Nimly. The gnome rolls his eyes and begins to make another hole using Mold Earth. As the dirt begins to fly, Yávië slips off into the night to investigate any traps the bandits might have laid near the road. Once the hole is large enough, Nimly and Valeria place the lesser valuables into it. Valeria wipes her hands on her breeches. “We can collect it on the way back! It’ll be much easier to load it up and haul it back into Everlund on the merchant’s wagon.” With a few more uses of the spell, the hole is quickly filled over with dirt once again.
Nimly pulls out the map they had added to back at the watchtower. “Well, it looks like we need to follow the main road south another few miles or so. Not sure what we are looking for, but ‘narrow pass’ is what the note from the bandit map says.” The gnome looks down at the disturbed earth at his feet and takes out his pencil, making a quick notation on the map for ‘buried treasure’.
Valeria checks her gear and shoulders her pack. “Alright, let’s go find the rogue-in-training and get back on the road.” They find Yávië with a wide grin on her face, holding up two trip wires, a small pressure plate and a trigger. “I did it. Two of the three traps are disabled anyways. The third one was a bit tricky. I’ll leave that for someone else to figure out.” She puts away the components and the party steps back onto the Evermoor Way. It is a few hours until sunrise, the morning still dark, stars twinkling and the cool air of the night coming in brisk gusts through the trees.
Yávië takes the map as they walk, using a slender finger to judge the distance to the next marked location. “The bandits marked this as a ‘narrow pass’, so I expect that’s the next party to crash. Well, we have a bit to walk and speaking of parties, I’d like to lay out the situation I mentioned at the Silver Stag.” She pauses and looks at Valeria. “No, we won’t be attending. I was given the mission to sabotage the wedding of the Lady Arabella Silverleaf and the Lord Eamon Raveshade, without getting caught and in a way that no harm comes to the guests.” She looks up into the darkness of the morning sky. “Oh, and it’s tomorrow, I suppose. Starts around noon on the 19th.”
Nimly looks over at Yávië. “That soon, huh? I can see why you wouldn’t wish to be observed at the event, especially if your involvement is suspected after the fact. What do you have in mind?”
Yávië frowns and goes on to list out possible shenanigans. “We could mess up the grand entrance of the couple to the venue. Uh, we could ruin the food in some way. My contact told me that Sir Cedric, the father of the groom, has a legendary temper and is quite easy to anger; there’s an angle there. Perhaps the flower arrangements could be messed with?” She goes on to list more details on the minstrels, the ceremony and the reception. “The more we do though, the riskier it gets.”
Valeria nods seriously and interjects, “Drinks! Nothing spoils a party like bad drinks! I once went to a wedding where they only served… water.” The knight shudders.
Nimly manages some mental communication with Thorn as he talks. “Some disguises and vanishing could be helpful.” Thorn squeaks a few multisyllabic phrases. “Thorn says he’ll coordinate with some of the rats in the city. They might be able to handle the food angle.”
Yávië looks over at the big rat and frowns. “Thorn, do you remember the broken stick? If you get caught, it’ll point straight back to Nimly.” Thorn walks along for a few more paces before stepping into the bushes and disappearing from sight. Yávië wrinkles her nose and glances around. “Where did he go?” Thorn proudly pops out from a nearby bush, silent as a mouse.
Yávië laughs. “Well, alright then. Thorn can help too.” She reaches down and pats him on the head. The elf’s eyes light up with a new thought. “What if the Thieves Guild aren’t the only people the lord and lady have pissed off? I’ll ask around town to see if anyone else might want to aid in the sabotage. Hopefully, they’ve crossed someone we’ve had good dealings with, like Haggard or Darian. I’ll mention it to Lirael, too. She might want to contribute and earn more favor with the Guild.”
As they continue along the Evermoor Way discussing the finer points of the plan, something off the main road catches Valeria’s eye. Through a thin line of tees, she spots a flicker of movement. Valera turns her focus to the woods as they get closer to the unknown, peering intently. From one step to the next, the murky darkness of the woods at night resolves into the ethereal glow of a silver stag, standing amidst a dizzying number of faint shimmering lights. The small creatures twinkle like tiny stars in the underbrush and surrounding trees. The stag lowers its head to Valeria, acknowledging her presence before turning and walking deeper into the woods. The lights continue to dance and flit around the stag, following in its wake.
The rest of the party keeps walking down the road, leaving Valeria quietly staring off into the now dark forest. Yávië turns after several steps and speaks a quiet word to Nimly and Thorn, turning the group back to see what Valeria has noticed. The knight walks a few steps beyond the brush at the road’s edge and makes out a narrow path between two saplings, almost completely hidden by brush and foliage. Valeria points excitedly. “The stag, did you see it!? We gotta follow and see where it’s leading us!”
Yávië frowns. “No, we do not! We can mark a spot on the map if you insist, but we don’t have time for this, Valeria!”
Nimly glances back and forth between his friends, feeling torn. “I’m excited to see what the stag wants from us, but I have a previous commitment and I will see this through. If you feel you must, Valeria, I will not fault you for answering this call.”
Yávië nods. “If you are quick to follow it, perhaps we can meet up at the next ambush point.”
Valeria looks between the road and the forest path. "I must follow the stag. It tears at me, for I wish to see an end to these bandits, but I must leave you both for now."
Nimly hugs Valeria’s leg. “Be safe. The bandits don’t stand a chance.” A green glow surrounds the embrace and the knight gains Guidance.
Valeria bids farewell to her companions and leaves the main road, following the minute trail through the saplings and further into the dense forest. The path is barely visible at her feet; vines and boughs constantly fall in front of her, blocking her vision and causing her to sweep them aside. The deeper the knight goes, the tighter nature’s effect. The thick canopy overhead chokes out the faint light of the moon. She absentmindedly touches the stone rune on her breastplate, granting her eyes the ability to pick out the rough details of the way ahead.
Valeria pushes on, determined to complete this trial to find the stag. The faint glow of the lights begin to appear and disappear quickly from view, just beyond the next bend or under an overhanging tree. The bushes get so thick the path fades out entirely, forcing the knight to follow the lights instead of any visual indicator of vegetation. Valeria pulls out her sword and begins to slash through the worst of the boughs and shrubs in her way. A solid wall of vines looms up in front of her and she makes several savage cuts from head height down to her knees. She then sets her shoulder against the wall of tangled nature and gives a mighty heave. The plants give way and she stumbles into a little clearing, open to the stars above and ringed by the ethereal lights.
Valeria watches as the glittering little creatures give a brief flash before their glow dissipates completely from view. The knight takes several deep breaths and looks around the clearing. A weathered well sits off to the side of an ancient gnarled tree that reaches far up, towering above the rest of the forest canopy. Dangling from the top of the well, Valeria notices a flash of silver.
Embracing her new faith, Valeria kneels at the edge of the clearing. “Lady Selûne, guide of the lost and keeper of the night, I thank you. Watch over my path until the dawn brings new hope and trials.” The knight calls on her Divine Senses ability as she stands. A high-pitched chime rolls across Valeria’s magical senses as she gets closer to the object hanging from the well. The pendant is shaped like a stag and it hangs from a long silver chain. A gust of wind swirls through the small clearing, causing the bit of jewelry to sway. Drawing on her memory of religion, she recognizes the shape of the pendant as the divine symbol of Mielikki.
Valeria leaves the pendant dangling where it is and takes slow steps closer to the trunk of the ancient tree. She runs her fingers down the rough bark. She can feel through her magical senses that the wood hums with an energy foreign to a simple forest tree. She slides her fingers down the wood and runs her hand along the long willowy branches. Nothing happens.
Sighing, she moves on to investigate the well itself, mostly intact with the stone lip crumbled in places. The water in it is visible a few feet down, glowing faintly with an emerald light. With the divine spell still in effect, she can tell that the well contains healing water blessed by Mielikki. Valeria gives her thanks again for the guidance from Selûne and fills her waterskin with the faintly glowing liquid.
Taking one last look around the grove, Valeria sets out to rejoin her party. She pushes her way back through the wall of vines, up through the hacked bushes and boughs, along the slight trail and finally back up onto the Evermoor Way. Setting her shoulders and looking to the west, she sets off in a double-time pace to catch up with Yávië and Nimly. After twenty minutes of this grueling march, she can hear snarling dogs and angry voices, with webs as the main theme of the yelling. With the bandit’s attention elsewhere and care for where she steps (stealth:nat 20), she moves forward undetected and arrives to see Yávië up on a rock outcrop next to the road, sending a stream of magic missiles at a heavily-armored dwarf.
Intrepid adventurers and DMs, I hope you enjoyed this tale!
May your rolls be critically high or dramatically low, adding flavor and excitement to your campaigns!