Adventures in Everlund
The Legends Meet Leif
18th of Mirtul, 1492 DR
Faint rays of light are beginning to crest over the purple mountains behind the adventurers as they work to finish the task of sorting through a pile of collected loot. Nimly snorts in disgust at having found Sister Elara’s portrait in the hands of a bandit. There could be a tragic split between the temple priestess and a family member or friend that now lay dead amongst the scattered leaves of the forest floor. Shaking his head to try to clear the swirl of conjecture, Nimly turns back to the pile of scattered objects.
Valeria gets to her feet and steps forward to pick up a wooden carving of a wolf head from the loot. With the eyes of an amateur woodcarver, she admires the skilled craftsmanship. Running her fingers over the delicate grooves around the ears, she hears a faint click. Valeria rotates the carving and sees a small gap in the base; with gentle pressure, she slides a panel aside, revealing a small vial of green liquid and a bit of paper curled around it. The two fall into her hand and she unrolls the paper, showing a series of black lines that show a recognizable section of the Evermoor Way; a line in green leads to the south into the High Forest and to a spot marked with an intricately drawn wolf head. “Well, if that isn’t the long descent before the road turns due west… hey, there’s another grove to go find!”
Both Nimly and Yávië snap a look towards Valeria, and she holds up her hands in the picture of innocence. “What? I don’t mean now!” She holds the vial up to the light of the dawn, watching the cloudy green liquid swirl and shift in slight movements. As Valeria looks at the potion, a small pine needle swirls into view; she shrugs and tucks the items back into the carving, stowing the wolf head in her pack.
Beyond that protective glare she had just employed to keep her new friend safe, Yávië keeps her attention on the letter from the chest. “There is going to be a raid on Olostin’s Hold on the 25th of Mirtul, according to this. Red Viper was given command of intercepting Haggard’s shipment.” She chuckles quietly. “Though I don’t think he’ll have the energy for it now.” She folds the letter and tucks it away in her pack. “More information for Captain Anara to pour over when we get back.”
Nimly takes a seat next to her and near the loot. “Red Viper? Yeah, we have his journal from the abandoned watchtower. We must be dealing with the teams he put into place.” The gnome reaches for a rolled scroll, studying the magically-infused script on it. This particular scroll grants the Detect Magic spell to anyone who uses it. Though he has not yet taken the necessary steps, he has talked at length with Grahl about an untapped capability in his Book of Shadows, where it is possible to record any spell that can be cast as a ritual. This scroll is one such spell. As a step towards this future choice, Nimly tucks the scroll into his pack. “I think I can use this.”
Yávië examines the carved box found in the chest. With a glimmer in her eyes, she begins transferring her rations from her pack, tucking them neatly into the enchanted container. “I’ve seen boxes like this before. This will act to preserve anything put into it, like food we intend to eat or a finger we want to keep fresh!”
Nimly raises an eyebrow at Yávië and shakes his head. He dangles the locket between his fingers and sets it swinging in a gentle arc. “Hey, Valeria? Not that you want the Sister dangling around your neck, but the locket itself is magical; if my guess is right based on the inclusion and placement of moonstones, amethyst and black tourmaline, this bit of jewelry will help to keep you from being charmed.” Nimly winks up at the knight. “I fear the day you walk towards me, all charmed off your ass, swinging whatever giant lump of steel you currently fancy.”
Valeria laughs, taking the locket. "I appreciate it, my little friend… but you better believe I wouldn't want you coming at me either! Who knows what glowing energies would come flying at me? I've seen what you can do to the bandits!"
The party finishes dividing up the loot and makes ready to leave. Nimly peers both ways down the Evermoor Way and stops, looking at Valeria. “In the heat of battle and with the glimmer of fresh loot, I just recalled why we split up. How did it go with the stag?”
Valeria recounts the experience as they begin to walk to the west. She spins a tale on the test in the forest, the guidance of the small fluttering lights and the striking openness of the clearing once she cut her way into it. “I found a pendant with Mielikki’s symbol on it, a unicorn head made from some kind of stone. It was hanging from an old well. There was also an ancient tree that was odd to the touch. The only thing I took from the clearing was the well water that I filled my skin with, which has some healing properties to it.” She hefts the bag and can tell the container is nearly empty. “I don’t think I could have caught up to you three as well as I did without it.”
Nimly frowns. “Interesting. The silver stag led you to a symbol of Mielikki.” He pulls on a stray lock of hair. “This must be a group project by the gods. My patron, who serves Grumbar, has also directed me toward the stag.”
Listening to Nimly and nodding, Valeria comes to a sudden halt; she holds up her gauntleted fist and looks around carefully. Purple sunrise has given way to the beginnings of a blue sky, slowly revealed by the parting of dense clouds. Early morning mist still hangs across the valley in front of the party. The fog rolls softly down the hills on either side of the road ahead of them. “It’s too quiet. All I can hear is the squawk of some birds up ahead.” Her face wrinkles up. The faint acrid smell of a doused campfire greets their noses along with the eerie silence.
The members of the party share concerned looks as they continue cautiously up the road in silence. The road cuts straight through a cradle of rolling hills before abruptly turning to the left ahead of them. As they make their way around the bend, Yávië gasps. “Do you see that?” She points up the road ahead of them about 50 feet, where two figures are lying face down in the grass and dirt at the base of the steep hill to their left. Valeria draws her sword and raises her shield in a defensive stance. She nods to Yávië to continue on ahead, following and looking around for any danger. Nimly mentally tells Thorn to stay close to Valeria and moves toward the hill, choosing to get a better view from high ground; he uses Earth Glide to effortlessly scale the steep terrain.
It takes a moment before his feet once again settle on solid ground above. He now looks down about 80 feet where Yávië, Valeria and Thorn are slowly approaching the two bodies. Looking further down the valley, the road appears empty. The crown of the hill is mostly grassy, dotted here and there with various bushes. Across the narrow valley that is the roadbed at a distance of about 200 hundred feet, he can spot the source of the wet ash. Atop the hill across from him he can make out a camp with a half erect tent and an overturned table. Nimly cups his hands to his mouth and shouts down to the valley below, “No movement at all up here! Nothing to see along the road in both directions.”
The three below pick up the pace and approach the two prone figures. Nimly Glides back down to join them. The bodies are laying face down on the ground with their hands bound behind their backs. Yávië approaches, nudging one of them with her foot. “Definitely dead.” Valeria keeps her sword and shield at the ready, on alert and facing the road to the west. “Let’s make this quick.” Nimly grimaces slightly and looks up the hill to their right. “I’m going to move up there and check out the campsite.” Thorn chirps at the gnome as he leaves and stays near the road.
Yávië bends down and rolls the first body over. There is a clean cut across the woman’s throat. Streaks of crimson run across her pale neck to cling in sticky strands to her once blond hair. “She’s still a bit warm, and there’s a bit of blood trickling from this wound. These two were probably alive a few hours ago.” Valeria wrinkles her nose and turns her head slightly to look at the woman. There are obvious fecal stains where her bowels gave way in the last moments of her life. “Ugh.” She mutters a few words and waves her hands in the direction of the woman. With a bit of Prestidigitation, the mess clears itself up, and along with it the smell dissipates.
“Thanks for that.” Yávië begins running her hands along the woman’s body looking for any items that might have been left behind. She pulls a small leather pouch from the woman’s boot with a few coins and a folded note. “Shit. Clara and Jonas Alton. They were on an introductory mission from the Adventurer’s Guild to Olostin’s Hold. They were to meet up with someone named Greanza to find out some intel on a ‘moors monster’ that has been harassing the village.” Valeria frowns and begins the same cleanup process to Jonas’s body before Yávië turns him over and begins searching. She pulls Jonas’s boot off with a grunt and 5 gold pieces fall out. “Nothing else on him. Looks like they took anything that wasn’t concealed.”
Nimly alights atop the hill to the north and begins looking around. This camp looks hastily abandoned, where everything of value was packed up and hauled off. He pokes around and adds a map, two dull scimitars and a light crossbow to his pack. A glint catches his eye as the sun glitters on three small ornate bird cages. They are knocked over and the doors are open wide. Inside one of the cages is a tiny crumpled note. Nimly picks it up and begins reading; his eyebrows draw up in concern momentarily, before he chuckles and pockets the scrap of paper.
He turns and Earth Glides back down to where Yávië, Valeria and Thorn are waiting. Nimly puffs up his chest. “Fellow vigilantes, it appears we are Wanted by a notable bandit named…Red Viper. The abandoned camp up the hill was inhabited by a few bandits not long ago.” He pulls out the slip of paper and shows it to his friends. Yávië takes the note and reads it aloud. “Warning. Group of ‘adventurers’ freed the Thorne family. Need to be killed. Gnome with large rat; tall blond-haired knight; red haired elf with swirling eyes. ~R.V.” Yávië turns the note over. Scribbled on the back is ‘safehouse’, and next to that is a black dot circled in red. “Hmm, looks like the fellas might have gone here.” She holds up the paper to show the back.
Nimly’s eyes light up as he pulls the ongoing map and intel project out of his pack. “Might be this one; the marking is the same.” The map shows a marked location with a black dot circled in red. “Safehouse, huh? That’s an aspirational name for a hideout. Can we spare the time and live up to our legend?”
Yávië looks grimly at the bodies of the Altons. “Oh, I think we can take the time. I don’t wish them safety. This unlucky pair likely wandered into their doom in part due to us. A pity.”
Valeria glances up toward where the campsite is, hidden from the road and ideally placed to spy on or attack unsuspected travelers. “If that group of bandits is anywhere nearby, we’d better force a confrontation. Let’s bring the legend to them.”
Following hasty tracks from the campsite leading to the south, they make quick work navigating the forested hills as the land gets steeper. In less than an hour, they can make out a cabin a few hundred feet away.
Photo Credit - Dr4gonartz
The group quietly confers as they plan out their approach. Thorn makes a gruff cough and Nimly pauses, looking at the rat for a moment. “We need to try and stay upwind. Thorn smells more mastiffs somewhere nearby.” Yávië smiles brightly and shakes her head. “I know a spell for that; it will disguise our scents, the sounds of our steps and… She trails off as she looks at the tall knight in gleaming armor. “The spell helps, but I’m not sure I can dull the shine that you make, Valeria. I’ll go ahead and circle the house to see what we’re dealing with.” Yávië’s hands move in a complex pattern as she murmurs a few words in Sylvan, casting Pass Without Trace on those in her party.
Valeria looks down at her armor and looks for any smears or scuffs on the polished metal. “Why would she want to dull the shine on this? I work hard at this.” Nimly gazes off into the woods around them as the elf disappears, listening intently for any sounds of surprise or engagement. He cuts his eyes at the knight as she stands and turns, getting a look at every surface of her protective encasement. The morning sun dances and flashes off the armor in quite a pretty way, if reflective splendor had been the assignment. “Um? Let’s take a seat and try to stay hidden.” Thorn moves up ahead a little ways and his form disappears into several large bushes.
Yávië moves through the dense forest with an enchanted grace, catching occasional glimpses of the isolated cabin while she moves in a wide arc around it. At different times, she’s able to see three mastiffs that Thorn was able to smell, at rest or moving on a slow loop of the property. She finishes the scouting mission without any trouble and moves back to where her friends are gathered. Yávië sneaks up and taps Thorn on the rump as she moves by his bushes, causing him to snort and spin towards her. She raises both hands and gestures toward the others.
Nimly and Valeria can feel the magical effect of the Pass Without Trace spell settle back onto them as Yávië walks up .“I only see the one entrance facing east. There are three dogs around the house and some people inside. I think… if I can get close enough, I could use a few well-placed whistles to trick the dogs into going inside.” She points to the west side of the house where the edge of the forest gives adequate cover. Nimly peers toward the cleared area on the east side of the house. “If I can get close enough, I can cast a web into the doorway after you manage that! Thorn, let’s go!”
Valeria nods. “Alright, you lot can go off all sneaky like. I’ll stay here until I see the webs start flying, and I’ll come charging in.” Valeria watches her friends move off in separate directions, making herself comfortable again until her special skills are needed. Nimly and Thorn move off through the woods to the west while Yávië uses all of her wits and care to get close, in order to kick off the plan.
Using the aid from Pass Without Trace and the sparse cover of the foliage near the house, Yávië moves closer to an open window on that side of the building. She speaks the words of her Thaumaturgy spell and the magic travels in through the window. Two short whistles can be heard coming from inside the house.
Nimly watches as the dog's ears perk up and they obediently go to the front door to answer their master’ call. The first dog to approach scratches at the cabin door. The door opens outward and the three mastiffs stream inside. A gruff voice can be heard yelling back inside the cabin. “Which of yeh called the mutts inside?” Another voice responds, “No, Leif, I said it wasn’t me!” This is followed by a racket of denials and the stomping of boots moving around inside.
Nimly and Thorn rise from their cover and move up to take advantage of the swirling confusion. They can see the three dogs, as well as a dwarf, and two humans milling around the entry hallway. An elf towards the back is barking out orders. “Get the dogs back outside! You two, go out with them and look for trouble.” The dwarf in leather armor and the blond human woman share a glance, grumble and begin to move toward the door.
Nimly points his wand and a sticky web envelopes all three dogs and the doorway. Yávië sprints around the side of the house and skids to a halt, taking in the congealed mess. “Well done, no one will be coming out of there any time soon.” Valeria can be heard, armor clanking as she begins running up the path, sword and shield raised high. “For Selûne!”
Roll initiative.
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!