62 - Don't Trust What You See

Goals

Awaken a tree into a trent as an ally for the fight against the coven. Dive into the Broken Bones Caves and confront the hags.

Setup 61 - Webbed Forest

The party previously met at the Schnitzerl Träger and devised a new pan. They informed Balthazar about the carriage in Konross and Bad Axweiler. The party travelled to Wildlingen, where Auron gave the horses to the halfling woman at the stables, leaving her with 2 gold. The party travelled into Winterwald, getting split from Lex and Levin. They fought a basilisk in a bed of poisonous red flowers, and met with an old spider-bear archdruid Elfrun who they defeated, freeing her of her bond to the land, gaining Wyllowblade in the process.

We find the party next to the cold river leading to Unterbergsee where the party believes the coven to hide. The party realise that Zook is gone, but Lex is with them again. Lex remembers very little other than following the party before crossing eyes with a child, and following it through the forest before being here.

Locations

• Winterwald
  • The hags have set up traps for the party to slow them down before finding them, forcing the party to be split into two sections.
  • The deeper they go, the more uneasy they feel with spider webs scattered around. The hags will try and weaken them before they appear to them.
  • Inspiration: Mad Mage Wyllowwood
    
    • Auron + Lex + Medb, Zook + Levin
  • Oldest Tree
    
    • Located surrounded by corrupted trees, a river surrounds it making travel to it difficult.
    • During the awakening ritual, many skeletal creatures (animals, humanoids) animated by blood-soaked wines will attack the party and try and stop the ritual.
    • By the time the ritual is finished, it's well in the night. A blood-moon night.
  • Unterwaldsee
    • The home of the hag coven. The river is emitting a lot of cold vapour. The coven village is visible further along the coast, as in Zook's vision. The trees around the village all have blood-soaked leafs on them.
      • When the party approaches, an explosion happens in the mountains nearby upstream, followed by a tsunami that will try and drown the party. Hrængugr will protect the party from drowning by holding tight. The hag village isn't damaged.
      • The trent won't approach the village, to much corruption.
      • At the centre of the village, they find the altar. The altar has three holes inside that can fit each a small skull. The party can find skulls around the village lying around / on pikes / as decoration. Activating it will make it overflow with blood and reveal they are actually in a cave.
      • The trent is at the entrance and tells the party to go and save the forest, it will keep guard (gnolls and other monsters are appearing from the lake, ground and forest and heading towards the entrance).
  • Unknown - inspired by
    • Bones and rotting corpses lying around the entrance, and a giant skull.
      • Investigation / Perception low: reveals that the mouth has no teeth. mid: through the nose a small creature could squeeze through to another room. high: where the teeth should be are black pits of worms that pull into unsuspecting pray. Marrow worms who enjoy bones, not flesh.

NPCS

• Hrængugr (awakened tree / trent, deep voice, slow pace, cryptic words)
  
  • Once of the last original trees, has been observing for thousands of years. Survived the fires in the skies reshape the lands, survived the orcs trying to burn down the forest for rituals, survived the arrival of men two thousand years ago, survived the wars of the ants, but was scared of not surviving the hags corruption, here since over two hundred years, slowly growing in power.
  • Will help the party fight the hags, even if not in the fight, to give them an advantage.

Encounters

• Survival: Locate the tree
• Fight: Awaken the tree and fight off lots of small attackers (both Auron and Lex can turn undead)
• Fing the hag village and enter the cave
• Fight: in the cave entrance against 2 Galeb Duhr ?

Next