Boyd tries to comfort Failaas well. "It's been a long day with a lot of ups and downs. I think I'm on the verge of tears meself... Don't worry, we'll all get through this."He smiles at the girl comfortingly, also not reading the situation entirely correctly.
After blowing the whistle, Boyd quickly takes it away from his lips and watches the mote of light float away from the Feywild portal. "Well... at least that works." Boyd shakes his head sadly and wipes away few tears of his own that sprang unbidden to his eyes. He hands the whistle back to Nikita.
He turns back to the face the party and discuss finishing exploring the old manor when something about Ermasnietsz's tattoos catches his eye. Unsure if anyone else is seeing what he sees, he balks and looks around the room. "Ermasnietsz...what... what are you doing? Is that you?" He stammers out finally.
As Toska and Boyd notice her tears and offer words of comfort, Faila pulls her attention away from the longing in her mind with an effort. The hazy figures of her imagination, so compelling and clear just a moment ago, seem watered down just for a moment against the attention of two real flesh-and-blood friends. All these planes and portals... what's real... what's not real? I don't like it either, Toska. Except... well that's why it's so nice to have a guide, isn't it? Faila wipes her eyes as her mind goes back and forth. She is relieved that she's not alone. Sometimes the things in her head feel stronger than they should, and maybe they aren't real either. What is real? Who am I? Not that beast. I don't want to be the beast. Tentatively, she smiles at Toska and Boyd. I can be a person too, like these people.
Erma's shifting tattoo catches her eye, and she feels her mind confused and clouded once again. What's going on?Faila puts a hand to the side of her head, staring at the tattoo. Sahmyr Ami.... where did she get that tattoo? Something about the shifting tattoo reminds her of the whistle, the rainstick, the other items, and she clutches the grey cloak close to her chest.
Nikita strains to understand the Tree Knight in the context of what Asha has said before, to the point that she becomes somewhat oblivious to the emotional responses of the people around her. How in the world will we find these artefacts. How indeed...
"Boyd. You ask how we are going to find these things - where to even start looking. The seven artefacts of what I think are the seven courts of the Feyrealm, at least one of them dark. I think it may be that you hold the answer of how to find them in your hand. The whistle?"
Nikita tries to think through it aloud for both Asha and the Tree Knight (or anyone else) to comment (repeating in Elvish if necessary):
"I will commit myself to help make this right and welcome the help of any here who choose so as well. Let me make sure I understand. - The portal is unstable and deteriorating without the seven artefacts of the seven courts of the Feyrealm. - We must restore these artefacts to stabilize the portal. Rendering it safer and and preventing the fey incursion from spreading uncontrollably here. - But these seven artefacts are different than the artefact that you created, Asha? - You used your artefact to clear the way for yourself to the Feyrealm, but may have unwittingly destabilized the portal in the process. - That artefact - the one that Asha created - is that what we have been speaking of as the portal itself? - We can use the silver whistle to find the seven artefacts so we can restore them. This may mean going through the portal ourselves first. - I wonder if this is all as Sahmyr Ami intended, given the vision his tattoo on Ermasnietsz's neck shows now. A vision of Asha herself, lost and alone..."
Nikita accurately surmises the facts that the party were able to discern about the portal to date. Asha's responses when asked leave no doubt that the erosion of the barrier, which had been established to protect Saltmarsh many years ago, had been an unintended effect of the creation of her device. She is able to confirm that her device (a series of complicated arcane mechanisms designed to concentrate power in a single location where the veil between planes is thinnest) was created by herself and her assistants (Theodore Sedgewick & Reggie Clover).
After contemplation, you hear Asha's voice once more. "I believe that the device I made should be able to establish a portal stable enough to be utilised... that said, it seems undeniable that there have been some unintended effects. Destruction of the device, at this stage, could expedite the transition between planes... I would advise against it," her voice is coming through clearer now.
"In truth,"she pauses before continuing, "I worry that the destruction of the device -- given my current existence -- could have potentially dire consequences." Once more there is an elongated pause before she continues. "If, as I believe, I am trapped and neither fully exist in one plane or the other..."she lets the thought hang, "I am not sure what would happen to me if the device is destroyed."
Exploring
Resolving to explore more of the dilapidated house, the party set off southwards toward the front of the property. To the west, they pass by a large ballroom; many of the wooden floorboards are splintered and broken, and the signs of fresh plant growth are prevalent throughout. You could imagine that, in its day, the manor house was used to host lavish parties and host important dignitaries. Now, however, it stands as the perfect example of a potential fate that might await Saltmarsh and the surrounding area, should steps not be taken to contain the breach between planes.
A kitchen is located to the immediate south of the ballroom. An array of colours greet you when you open the large double doors leading to the room. Though the majority of the house appears to be unused and derelict, the kitchen shows some signs of recent use; likely by the Cabal. At the far end of the room sits a barrel containing rather murky-looking water; strange glowing fluorescent frogs jump around its base and swim within its waters, they seem harmless enough.
Moving to the east of the property, passed the bottom of the grand staircase, you find a locked door leading to the northeast. It appears that the door has not been opened in some time; rust is forming on the handle and cobwebs have formed in its corners. You wonder what secrets it keeps hidden.
Map of Prospect's Ground Floor (Explored to Date):
"Well, what do you reckon? If we'll be clearing this place out, we may as well start here. Asha... Er, I mean miss Asha, do you know if there's anything dangerous lurking about or if there's anything useful that could help us help you?"
As Boyd talks, he works on popping the lock of the door near him. Lockpicking: 13
After holding out Asha's documents, maps and equations out to Meresaa for a time with no response, Nikita takes a look herself and quickly becomes thoroughly lost in the intricacies. Planar travel is something I will likely always struggle to understand. I hope we have Asha and Meresaa to help.
NikitaInvestigation: 6 (2 on d20) or 11 (with help from Boyd per below).
Returning her mind to the here and now, she shakes her head and casts Mage Hand, attempting to hold the lockpicking tools out for Boyd as he needs them to help him. Meanwhile, Thumbtack, safely on Nikita's shoulder, watches and listens for enemies or threats around the house or past the door.
Boyd takes a second to look over the maps in Nikita's hands. He can't help with the equations, but he's handy with a map - and even though he had never heard of the feywild before yesterday, he reckons cartographers use the same tricks no matter what. (Help action for investigation, at least for the maps).
As he noodles with the lock, Boyd gets something off his chest that looks like it's been bothering him for a while.
"So, I know you all are of the, erm, magical folk... and maybe you see stuff like this all the time. But I'm not, and I think it's just sinking in that I have no idea what has happened over the last two days."He pauses his lockpicking and looks back at the group. "What in Procan's name are we up against? Sedgewick was supposed to be a person, right? Then we get here and he's some sort of -what? - blobby octopus demon??"
"And that name he mentioned what gave Nikita the creeps - that's his boss or something? He some sort of even bigger squid monster? Now we're talking of portals? Those are magic doors right? To some place with lots of plants and dream people? Just what... what is going on here? I feel like I'm going crazy!" He takes a big breath and sets back to work on the lock, but looks back over his shoulder for an answer.
Nikita looks chagrined as Boyd speaks he plain truth. Realizing that she has not been giving much thought to how all of her companions feel. More just thinking about the tactics of the situation obsessively. As if compensating for something...
"I... you are right Boyd. I can tell you, though, even speaking as a wizard, though I still prefer my rapier for the most part but... as a user of magic, this is not right as far as I know. None of it. All the outcomes from the unstable planar rift. The Sagacitas' young draining life from us humanoids rather than being back in their home plane, the ghosts at night, the boggles, the mad plant growth everywhere and Sedgwick..."
For a moment, Nikita tastes bile at the back of her throat. "And Sedgwick. I think the Tree Knight and the Sagacitas themselves would tell you he had become an abomination. A human attempting to gain immense power by feeding as the Sagacitas feeds. The Tree Knights were just as eager to end him and the Sagacitas to regain its stolen essence from him." Nikita pauses in case the Tree Knights or Sagacitas wish to contradict her.
She swallows and continues. "In Celene. Far to the north. I was the youngest of a coterie of spies. We identified and infiltrated a conspiracy by the one you have heard named. Sedgwick's master. Rosetta was right about one thing, I should not speak his name. But unlike Sedgwick, he is not a 'blobby octopus', and only half a demon, yet a terrible half that is. He is a lord of an entire land which bears his name, further yet to the north. A cambion - a child of a demon lord from the Abyss and a witch of unimaginable power. He uncovered our scheme and I witnessed his lackeys and demons kill or capture and turn all of my friends one by one as we fled. I was the youngest. The most junior member. Not even allowed to know the nature of the conspiracy we found. Perhaps that is the only reason I yet live, to flee here far to the south through Keoland to a sleepy fishing town. Where on arrival, what should I find but a delegation from the same cambion lord right inside the town. 'Faithful Quartermasters' of his name. And then his servant Sedgwick as the prime mover of the conspiracy right here in Saltmarsh. I... I am sorry that it has unhinged me so."
After another internal struggle, Nikita finishes: "But despite all that, I think that these powers, be it the cambion lord to the far north with Sedgwick as his proxy, or the Scarlet Brotherhood's red tide to the south and east with the so-called 'Sanguine Cabal' as theirs, are here to use the power of the open portal to their own ends. From what I have understood from the Tree Knight Captain, not only must we return our new allies to their home in the feyrealm, we must properly close the portal to remove the threat. We cannot just smash it, just as smashing the door to a home would not secure the home. It does seem crazy but you are not the crazy one. We need you, Boyd. And Faila and the rest, to keep us grounded."
Boyd's hands work deftly as he works the lock. After a couple of minutes, he is able to open the door without much resistance. Thick cobwebs cling to the door and walls in the room beyond, obscuring a great deal of what lies beyond. Asha's warning comes as a hush. "Spiders,"her voice is followed by a gasp. "Take care Boyd,"the concern in her voice appears genuine. "This is, or was, my bedroom. I think there may be a couple of items you will find useful. Otherwise, I'd avoid the creepy crawlies."
Searching the documents it becomes abundantly clear that the relationship between Sahmyr and Asha has stemmed back years. You are struck that the relationship between the two was almost that of mentor/apprentice. Clearly, whoever Sahmyr was, he had an influence over the young, impressionable girl's mind. Even in your rudimentary understanding, you believe it likely that Asha would have never been able to create her Hawkes Device without direct interference from Sahmyr.
One of the maps, clearly the work of a child's hand, depicts the area around Prospect -- 'greenhouses', 'lake', and 'family crypt' are all listed. Bold and vibrant colours decorate the map.
Another drawing shows a sprawling forest, with a multitude of treehouses of all shapes and sizes scribbled among the trees, at the top, it is titled, "Senaliesse".
Yet another picture depicts a child's representation of a werewolf; it has large, gnashing teeth and thick brown fur. A note is scribbled at the top, "Brokenstone -- beware the wolves!"
As for the letters, many are addressed to Sahmyr and others to an Olivander; whether this was another pseudonym, you are unsure. They detail Asha's loneliness, her struggles with her parents, and her wishing to escape Prospect and visit the Feywild. Many of the letters are hard to read and fraught with emotion. It would appear that Asha led quite an isolated childhood.
Images flood your mind of the view beyond the door. It appears as though thick spider webs cling to the floor, walls, and ceiling. However, from its vantage point, Thumbtack is unable to find the creature that laid the webs.
For a moment, Nikita tastes bile at the back of her throat. "And Sedgwick. I think the Tree Knight and the Sagacitas themselves would tell you he had become an abomination. A human attempting to gain immense power by feeding as the Sagacitas feeds. The Tree Knights were just as eager to end him and the Sagacitas to regain its stolen essence from him." Nikita pauses in case the Tree Knights or Sagacitas wish to contradict her.
As Nikita attempts to make sense of recent events, she looks to the tree knights for confirmation/contradiction. The Tree Knight Captain slams its chest in agreement with Nikita's summation.
"Sedgewick -- the betrayer -- I had no clue of his allegiance Nikita,"Asha says by way of explanation. "I am sorry. The foul deeds he may have been able to commit should he have learnt the secrets of my device..." her voice trails off. "I am glad that you were able to end his treachery."
"Crazy?"Asha's chuckling echoes around the room. "I cannot tell you how many times I heard that word during my childhood. To deny that which is provably in front of you is crazy. Yet it was what I had to do for many years. Act as though the things I saw, the events I witnessed, and the people I met were not real. Though you have seen them, have you not?"
Suddenly a commotion comes from within the room; a crashing and the sound of movement from beyond the door."They come," Asha hisses. "I fear you may have to choose -- fight or flight... for they shall show you no mercy."
While still probing the lock, Boyd silently listens to Nikita's explanation and story. When she finishes he says, "I'm sorry. It sounds like you've had a rougher go of it than most. I thought demons were just fairy tales, but Sedgwick... it's just as bad as the worst stories. Worst we usually have to deal with down here are storms and pirates."
He pauses again in his lockpicking and turns again to the group. "I had been working for the Scarlet Brotherhood for the better part of a year - not by choice, mind you. I didn't know who they were at first, but I figured it out eventually. I always knew they'd try to get rid of me sooner or later, too. And my gut said it was after the manor job... Well, I was right and I made some preparations - glad I did, cuz they were the only thing what got me out of those sewers alive... that was only three days ago now. Feels like a lifetime."
He shifts uncomfortably, "Like I said, I don't know much about them, really... but I know they ain't friends of anyone but themselves. Whatever they're doing here is bad business. Cavorting with demons sounds right up their alley, and I don't know what they want with this portal thing, but it's nothing good, that's for sure." He nods solemnly, but looks woefully tired. "I'm with you. Whatever we're doing here, I'm with you..."
He finishes popping the lock and then hears Asha's warning. "Don't worry, miss, ol' Boyd isn't afraid of a few little spid-" He hears the sound of skittering and furniture being knocked over and slams the door, using his bodyweight to hold it shut behind him. "COR, WHAT?! That's no spider, that's as big as a damn dog! What do we do?! They cant open doors, can they?!"
"Sounds as if the Brotherhood tried to use you until it no longer suited them, Boyd. I am glad you got out. Yes, we are in this together and..."
Nikita hesitates slightly as Asha mentions creepy crawlies, then tries to reassure the ghostly voice when she reacts to the word 'crazy'. "Only 'crazy' in the sense of seeming so to us who had no inkling of this just days ago, Asha. We are adjusting. And Boyd and I are from this world. The others..."
She stops entirely at the crashing sounds and Asha's urgent warning. "Boyd, yes, brace that door shut, but ready to jump back if no use. Tree knights, please help him if you would? Be ready to bottleneck whatever that is if it breaks through the door."
Nikita herself steps up, hopefully beside the Tree Knights, bladesong not yet started but ready. Attempting to collectively surround a 'kill zone' just on this side of the door in case the enemy crashes through. She looks for any furniture to jam against the door.
With urgency in her own voice, she calls. "Asha, what useful items are in there? Please remember if you can. And what merciless enemy comes? Giant fey spiders? If we try to all flee now, some of us will be caught. We must fight if it comes to that."
The scuttering of hundreds of tiny feet echoes from inside the room. Just beyond the door swarms of fluorescent blue spiders cast an eerie glow as they charge toward the party. More worrying still, a giant spider the size of a four-poster bed leers forward, its giant legs moving with unnatural speed as its frame phases in and out of existence.
The Tree Knights are quick to act. Faithfully following Nikita's orders, they spring to the door and attempt to slam the door shut. Their Captain moves to the door and, inspecting it briefly, raises its hands -- slowly but steadily, thick vines begin to cover the door, bolstering its strength.
"Something taints this room,"Asha says, enigmatically. "This was not how I left it."
She pauses to consider Nikita's question. "Why, there are many incredibly useful items in there. My mandolin for one. Candles, stunning candles that would twinkle like the stars. Oh, and my starglass, of course."
The Tree Knight Captain looks at Nikita as the rest of the knights stand ready by the door, swords drawn. It points at the door and thumps its chest.
Thumbtack quickly flies up a bit from her shoulder so as not to be bitten if a swarm crawls over it.
A stray thought encroaches into Nikita's mind before she puts it aside. A... a starglass? I do not know what that is but it sounds as if we may need it...
You quickly attempt to recall whether you might have heard of such spiders before. Unfortunately, you cannot remember hearing about such peculiar creatures.
However, if you were to hazard a guess, it appears that the spiders are phasing in and out of existence -- similar to the ants that were observed in the basement. Your assumption would be that the spiders are shifting between the plane you currently occupy and another (likely the feyrealm).
You note that the colouration of the animals does not appear natural, perhaps caused by their proximity to the portal or by another source. The smaller spiders seem to defer to the larger one.
Though you do not recall information about these specific spiders, you are aware that many species of spiders are able to deliver toxins to their prey via their bite. You see no reason why these spiders should be any different.
"The Tree Knight Captain has partially secured the door with vines. Boyd, others, step back. These spiders, including the biggest... something is wrong. They seem to be phasing in and out, to the feyrealm and back? As the ants were earlier. Aside from smashing through the door or the little ones crawling through the gaps, there is a chance their less than full existence in our world might allow them to... surprise us somehow. They may have pack intelligence, deferring to the big one, and their coloration is off. No doubt they still deliver venom through their bite as most spiders do. Stand ready!"
Nikita holds her rapier lightly with Thumbtack flying a few feet above her head, ready to start her bladesong, should the creatures come through.
Everything happens within a blink of an eye. Nikita's concern is instantly validated as a blue flicker lights the darkened corridor. The next moment, a tiny spider is perched on one of the Tree Knight's wooden shoulders, then another, then another. Before long, multiple flickering lights start appearing around the party and their allies, the flashes are almost blinding and not too dissimilar to a firework display or a gunfight.
On closer inspection, it appears that the spiders have almost been supernaturally dyed. Each spider emanates a glowing blue aura. The party, however, is not given the time to contemplate such things, as they watch as the spiders begin to swarm and attack two nearest Tree Knights. Their little mouths going to work on the Knights' bark skin. Many of the little critters begin to bury themselves in the hapless Knights.
Alarmed at the ferocity of the attack, the Tree Knight Captain attempts to pull its troops away from the door, stamping and squishing as many of the spiders as it can in doing so. The momentary disorientation of the ordeal results in a loss of concentration for the Captain and the vines holding back the door wither and drop away.
A thunderous cracking sound rolls out, as the door is smashed off its hinges by two giant blue hairy legs. The phase spider emerges, its body squeezing through the entrance to the bedroom. The two Tree Knights that were standing at the door, now lie motionless on the ground, their wooden bodies bent and broken, their ancient armour dented. The Captain, dismayed at the loss of its troops, grips its thornsword in its right hand and approaches the giant spider.
ALL - Please roll initiative.
Nikita - You commence your bladesong as soon as you notice signs of trouble.
Boyd cover his face with his hands as the door blasts off its rickety hinges."What in the..." he murmurs before falling into an easy combat stance and drawing his knife.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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Boyd tries to comfort Faila as well. "It's been a long day with a lot of ups and downs. I think I'm on the verge of tears meself... Don't worry, we'll all get through this." He smiles at the girl comfortingly, also not reading the situation entirely correctly.
After blowing the whistle, Boyd quickly takes it away from his lips and watches the mote of light float away from the Feywild portal. "Well... at least that works." Boyd shakes his head sadly and wipes away few tears of his own that sprang unbidden to his eyes. He hands the whistle back to Nikita.
He turns back to the face the party and discuss finishing exploring the old manor when something about Ermasnietsz's tattoos catches his eye. Unsure if anyone else is seeing what he sees, he balks and looks around the room. "Ermasnietsz... what... what are you doing? Is that you?" He stammers out finally.
As Toska and Boyd notice her tears and offer words of comfort, Faila pulls her attention away from the longing in her mind with an effort. The hazy figures of her imagination, so compelling and clear just a moment ago, seem watered down just for a moment against the attention of two real flesh-and-blood friends. All these planes and portals... what's real... what's not real? I don't like it either, Toska. Except... well that's why it's so nice to have a guide, isn't it? Faila wipes her eyes as her mind goes back and forth. She is relieved that she's not alone. Sometimes the things in her head feel stronger than they should, and maybe they aren't real either. What is real? Who am I? Not that beast. I don't want to be the beast. Tentatively, she smiles at Toska and Boyd. I can be a person too, like these people.
Erma's shifting tattoo catches her eye, and she feels her mind confused and clouded once again. What's going on? Faila puts a hand to the side of her head, staring at the tattoo. Sahmyr Ami.... where did she get that tattoo? Something about the shifting tattoo reminds her of the whistle, the rainstick, the other items, and she clutches the grey cloak close to her chest.
Nikita strains to understand the Tree Knight in the context of what Asha has said before, to the point that she becomes somewhat oblivious to the emotional responses of the people around her. How in the world will we find these artefacts. How indeed...
"Boyd. You ask how we are going to find these things - where to even start looking. The seven artefacts of what I think are the seven courts of the Feyrealm, at least one of them dark. I think it may be that you hold the answer of how to find them in your hand. The whistle?"
Nikita tries to think through it aloud for both Asha and the Tree Knight (or anyone else) to comment (repeating in Elvish if necessary):
"I will commit myself to help make this right and welcome the help of any here who choose so as well. Let me make sure I understand.
- The portal is unstable and deteriorating without the seven artefacts of the seven courts of the Feyrealm.
- We must restore these artefacts to stabilize the portal. Rendering it safer and and preventing the fey incursion from spreading uncontrollably here.
- But these seven artefacts are different than the artefact that you created, Asha?
- You used your artefact to clear the way for yourself to the Feyrealm, but may have unwittingly destabilized the portal in the process.
- That artefact - the one that Asha created - is that what we have been speaking of as the portal itself?
- We can use the silver whistle to find the seven artefacts so we can restore them. This may mean going through the portal ourselves first.
- I wonder if this is all as Sahmyr Ami intended, given the vision his tattoo on Ermasnietsz's neck shows now. A vision of Asha herself, lost and alone..."
Tanis(Ranger1): Shiverquill's Tempest City | Xarian(Fighter2): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(TwilightCleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(ShepherdDruid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Ophelia(WildMagicSorcerer4): Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(EchoKnightFighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Sabetha(MercyMonk3): Bedlymn's Murder Court | Seri(NatureCleric3/DivineSoulSorcerer1): Bartjeebus' Greyhawk
Night - Day 3 - Exploring Prospect
Asha
Nikita accurately surmises the facts that the party were able to discern about the portal to date. Asha's responses when asked leave no doubt that the erosion of the barrier, which had been established to protect Saltmarsh many years ago, had been an unintended effect of the creation of her device. She is able to confirm that her device (a series of complicated arcane mechanisms designed to concentrate power in a single location where the veil between planes is thinnest) was created by herself and her assistants (Theodore Sedgewick & Reggie Clover).
After contemplation, you hear Asha's voice once more. "I believe that the device I made should be able to establish a portal stable enough to be utilised... that said, it seems undeniable that there have been some unintended effects. Destruction of the device, at this stage, could expedite the transition between planes... I would advise against it," her voice is coming through clearer now.
"In truth," she pauses before continuing, "I worry that the destruction of the device -- given my current existence -- could have potentially dire consequences." Once more there is an elongated pause before she continues. "If, as I believe, I am trapped and neither fully exist in one plane or the other..." she lets the thought hang, "I am not sure what would happen to me if the device is destroyed."
Exploring
Resolving to explore more of the dilapidated house, the party set off southwards toward the front of the property. To the west, they pass by a large ballroom; many of the wooden floorboards are splintered and broken, and the signs of fresh plant growth are prevalent throughout. You could imagine that, in its day, the manor house was used to host lavish parties and host important dignitaries. Now, however, it stands as the perfect example of a potential fate that might await Saltmarsh and the surrounding area, should steps not be taken to contain the breach between planes.
A kitchen is located to the immediate south of the ballroom. An array of colours greet you when you open the large double doors leading to the room. Though the majority of the house appears to be unused and derelict, the kitchen shows some signs of recent use; likely by the Cabal. At the far end of the room sits a barrel containing rather murky-looking water; strange glowing fluorescent frogs jump around its base and swim within its waters, they seem harmless enough.
Moving to the east of the property, passed the bottom of the grand staircase, you find a locked door leading to the northeast. It appears that the door has not been opened in some time; rust is forming on the handle and cobwebs have formed in its corners. You wonder what secrets it keeps hidden.
Map of Prospect's Ground Floor (Explored to Date):
DM - The Call of Strahd (CoS); Feyrealm Campaign, Chapter 0 - Bleak Prospect (BP), Chapter 1 - Destination Unknown (DU)
"Well, what do you reckon? If we'll be clearing this place out, we may as well start here. Asha... Er, I mean miss Asha, do you know if there's anything dangerous lurking about or if there's anything useful that could help us help you?"
As Boyd talks, he works on popping the lock of the door near him. Lockpicking: 13
23 in game log
After holding out Asha's documents, maps and equations out to Meresaa for a time with no response, Nikita takes a look herself and quickly becomes thoroughly lost in the intricacies. Planar travel is something I will likely always struggle to understand. I hope we have Asha and Meresaa to help.
Nikita Investigation: 6 (2 on d20) or 11 (with help from Boyd per below).
Returning her mind to the here and now, she shakes her head and casts Mage Hand, attempting to hold the lockpicking tools out for Boyd as he needs them to help him. Meanwhile, Thumbtack, safely on Nikita's shoulder, watches and listens for enemies or threats around the house or past the door.
Thumbtack Perception: 14
Tanis(Ranger1): Shiverquill's Tempest City | Xarian(Fighter2): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(TwilightCleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(ShepherdDruid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Ophelia(WildMagicSorcerer4): Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(EchoKnightFighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Sabetha(MercyMonk3): Bedlymn's Murder Court | Seri(NatureCleric3/DivineSoulSorcerer1): Bartjeebus' Greyhawk
Boyd takes a second to look over the maps in Nikita's hands. He can't help with the equations, but he's handy with a map - and even though he had never heard of the feywild before yesterday, he reckons cartographers use the same tricks no matter what. (Help action for investigation, at least for the maps).
As he noodles with the lock, Boyd gets something off his chest that looks like it's been bothering him for a while.
"So, I know you all are of the, erm, magical folk... and maybe you see stuff like this all the time. But I'm not, and I think it's just sinking in that I have no idea what has happened over the last two days." He pauses his lockpicking and looks back at the group. "What in Procan's name are we up against? Sedgewick was supposed to be a person, right? Then we get here and he's some sort of -what? - blobby octopus demon??"
"And that name he mentioned what gave Nikita the creeps - that's his boss or something? He some sort of even bigger squid monster? Now we're talking of portals? Those are magic doors right? To some place with lots of plants and dream people? Just what... what is going on here? I feel like I'm going crazy!" He takes a big breath and sets back to work on the lock, but looks back over his shoulder for an answer.
Nikita looks chagrined as Boyd speaks he plain truth. Realizing that she has not been giving much thought to how all of her companions feel. More just thinking about the tactics of the situation obsessively. As if compensating for something...
"I... you are right Boyd. I can tell you, though, even speaking as a wizard, though I still prefer my rapier for the most part but... as a user of magic, this is not right as far as I know. None of it. All the outcomes from the unstable planar rift. The Sagacitas' young draining life from us humanoids rather than being back in their home plane, the ghosts at night, the boggles, the mad plant growth everywhere and Sedgwick..."
For a moment, Nikita tastes bile at the back of her throat. "And Sedgwick. I think the Tree Knight and the Sagacitas themselves would tell you he had become an abomination. A human attempting to gain immense power by feeding as the Sagacitas feeds. The Tree Knights were just as eager to end him and the Sagacitas to regain its stolen essence from him." Nikita pauses in case the Tree Knights or Sagacitas wish to contradict her.
She swallows and continues. "In Celene. Far to the north. I was the youngest of a coterie of spies. We identified and infiltrated a conspiracy by the one you have heard named. Sedgwick's master. Rosetta was right about one thing, I should not speak his name. But unlike Sedgwick, he is not a 'blobby octopus', and only half a demon, yet a terrible half that is. He is a lord of an entire land which bears his name, further yet to the north. A cambion - a child of a demon lord from the Abyss and a witch of unimaginable power. He uncovered our scheme and I witnessed his lackeys and demons kill or capture and turn all of my friends one by one as we fled. I was the youngest. The most junior member. Not even allowed to know the nature of the conspiracy we found. Perhaps that is the only reason I yet live, to flee here far to the south through Keoland to a sleepy fishing town. Where on arrival, what should I find but a delegation from the same cambion lord right inside the town. 'Faithful Quartermasters' of his name. And then his servant Sedgwick as the prime mover of the conspiracy right here in Saltmarsh. I... I am sorry that it has unhinged me so."
After another internal struggle, Nikita finishes: "But despite all that, I think that these powers, be it the cambion lord to the far north with Sedgwick as his proxy, or the Scarlet Brotherhood's red tide to the south and east with the so-called 'Sanguine Cabal' as theirs, are here to use the power of the open portal to their own ends. From what I have understood from the Tree Knight Captain, not only must we return our new allies to their home in the feyrealm, we must properly close the portal to remove the threat. We cannot just smash it, just as smashing the door to a home would not secure the home. It does seem crazy but you are not the crazy one. We need you, Boyd. And Faila and the rest, to keep us grounded."
Tanis(Ranger1): Shiverquill's Tempest City | Xarian(Fighter2): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(TwilightCleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(ShepherdDruid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Ophelia(WildMagicSorcerer4): Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(EchoKnightFighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Sabetha(MercyMonk3): Bedlymn's Murder Court | Seri(NatureCleric3/DivineSoulSorcerer1): Bartjeebus' Greyhawk
Night - Day 3 - Ground Floor Bedroom
Boyd's hands work deftly as he works the lock. After a couple of minutes, he is able to open the door without much resistance. Thick cobwebs cling to the door and walls in the room beyond, obscuring a great deal of what lies beyond. Asha's warning comes as a hush. "Spiders," her voice is followed by a gasp. "Take care Boyd," the concern in her voice appears genuine. "This is, or was, my bedroom. I think there may be a couple of items you will find useful. Otherwise, I'd avoid the creepy crawlies."
Nikita's Investigation check:
Searching the documents it becomes abundantly clear that the relationship between Sahmyr and Asha has stemmed back years. You are struck that the relationship between the two was almost that of mentor/apprentice. Clearly, whoever Sahmyr was, he had an influence over the young, impressionable girl's mind. Even in your rudimentary understanding, you believe it likely that Asha would have never been able to create her Hawkes Device without direct interference from Sahmyr.
As for the letters, many are addressed to Sahmyr and others to an Olivander; whether this was another pseudonym, you are unsure. They detail Asha's loneliness, her struggles with her parents, and her wishing to escape Prospect and visit the Feywild. Many of the letters are hard to read and fraught with emotion. It would appear that Asha led quite an isolated childhood.
Thumbtack's Perception check:
Images flood your mind of the view beyond the door. It appears as though thick spider webs cling to the floor, walls, and ceiling. However, from its vantage point, Thumbtack is unable to find the creature that laid the webs.
As Nikita attempts to make sense of recent events, she looks to the tree knights for confirmation/contradiction. The Tree Knight Captain slams its chest in agreement with Nikita's summation.
"Sedgewick -- the betrayer -- I had no clue of his allegiance Nikita," Asha says by way of explanation. "I am sorry. The foul deeds he may have been able to commit should he have learnt the secrets of my device..." her voice trails off. "I am glad that you were able to end his treachery."
"Crazy?" Asha's chuckling echoes around the room. "I cannot tell you how many times I heard that word during my childhood. To deny that which is provably in front of you is crazy. Yet it was what I had to do for many years. Act as though the things I saw, the events I witnessed, and the people I met were not real. Though you have seen them, have you not?"
Suddenly a commotion comes from within the room; a crashing and the sound of movement from beyond the door. "They come," Asha hisses. "I fear you may have to choose -- fight or flight... for they shall show you no mercy."
DM - The Call of Strahd (CoS); Feyrealm Campaign, Chapter 0 - Bleak Prospect (BP), Chapter 1 - Destination Unknown (DU)
While still probing the lock, Boyd silently listens to Nikita's explanation and story. When she finishes he says, "I'm sorry. It sounds like you've had a rougher go of it than most. I thought demons were just fairy tales, but Sedgwick... it's just as bad as the worst stories. Worst we usually have to deal with down here are storms and pirates."
He pauses again in his lockpicking and turns again to the group. "I had been working for the Scarlet Brotherhood for the better part of a year - not by choice, mind you. I didn't know who they were at first, but I figured it out eventually. I always knew they'd try to get rid of me sooner or later, too. And my gut said it was after the manor job... Well, I was right and I made some preparations - glad I did, cuz they were the only thing what got me out of those sewers alive... that was only three days ago now. Feels like a lifetime."
He shifts uncomfortably, "Like I said, I don't know much about them, really... but I know they ain't friends of anyone but themselves. Whatever they're doing here is bad business. Cavorting with demons sounds right up their alley, and I don't know what they want with this portal thing, but it's nothing good, that's for sure." He nods solemnly, but looks woefully tired. "I'm with you. Whatever we're doing here, I'm with you..."
He finishes popping the lock and then hears Asha's warning. "Don't worry, miss, ol' Boyd isn't afraid of a few little spid-" He hears the sound of skittering and furniture being knocked over and slams the door, using his bodyweight to hold it shut behind him. "COR, WHAT?! That's no spider, that's as big as a damn dog! What do we do?! They cant open doors, can they?!"
"Sounds as if the Brotherhood tried to use you until it no longer suited them, Boyd. I am glad you got out. Yes, we are in this together and..."
Nikita hesitates slightly as Asha mentions creepy crawlies, then tries to reassure the ghostly voice when she reacts to the word 'crazy'. "Only 'crazy' in the sense of seeming so to us who had no inkling of this just days ago, Asha. We are adjusting. And Boyd and I are from this world. The others..."
She stops entirely at the crashing sounds and Asha's urgent warning. "Boyd, yes, brace that door shut, but ready to jump back if no use. Tree knights, please help him if you would? Be ready to bottleneck whatever that is if it breaks through the door."
Nikita herself steps up, hopefully beside the Tree Knights, bladesong not yet started but ready. Attempting to collectively surround a 'kill zone' just on this side of the door in case the enemy crashes through. She looks for any furniture to jam against the door.
With urgency in her own voice, she calls. "Asha, what useful items are in there? Please remember if you can. And what merciless enemy comes? Giant fey spiders? If we try to all flee now, some of us will be caught. We must fight if it comes to that."
Tanis(Ranger1): Shiverquill's Tempest City | Xarian(Fighter2): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(TwilightCleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(ShepherdDruid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Ophelia(WildMagicSorcerer4): Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(EchoKnightFighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Sabetha(MercyMonk3): Bedlymn's Murder Court | Seri(NatureCleric3/DivineSoulSorcerer1): Bartjeebus' Greyhawk
Night - Day 3 - Ground Floor Bedroom
The scuttering of hundreds of tiny feet echoes from inside the room. Just beyond the door swarms of fluorescent blue spiders cast an eerie glow as they charge toward the party. More worrying still, a giant spider the size of a four-poster bed leers forward, its giant legs moving with unnatural speed as its frame phases in and out of existence.
"Something taints this room," Asha says, enigmatically. "This was not how I left it."
She pauses to consider Nikita's question. "Why, there are many incredibly useful items in there. My mandolin for one. Candles, stunning candles that would twinkle like the stars. Oh, and my starglass, of course."
The Tree Knight Captain looks at Nikita as the rest of the knights stand ready by the door, swords drawn. It points at the door and thumps its chest.
DM - The Call of Strahd (CoS); Feyrealm Campaign, Chapter 0 - Bleak Prospect (BP), Chapter 1 - Destination Unknown (DU)
In an urgent flurry of thought, Nikita attempts to recall anything she can about a strange-colored spider that is phasing in and out of existence:
Nature: 18
Thumbtack quickly flies up a bit from her shoulder so as not to be bitten if a swarm crawls over it.
A stray thought encroaches into Nikita's mind before she puts it aside. A... a starglass? I do not know what that is but it sounds as if we may need it...
Tanis(Ranger1): Shiverquill's Tempest City | Xarian(Fighter2): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(TwilightCleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(ShepherdDruid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Ophelia(WildMagicSorcerer4): Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(EchoKnightFighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Sabetha(MercyMonk3): Bedlymn's Murder Court | Seri(NatureCleric3/DivineSoulSorcerer1): Bartjeebus' Greyhawk
Nikita's Nature check:
You quickly attempt to recall whether you might have heard of such spiders before. Unfortunately, you cannot remember hearing about such peculiar creatures.
However, if you were to hazard a guess, it appears that the spiders are phasing in and out of existence -- similar to the ants that were observed in the basement. Your assumption would be that the spiders are shifting between the plane you currently occupy and another (likely the feyrealm).
You note that the colouration of the animals does not appear natural, perhaps caused by their proximity to the portal or by another source. The smaller spiders seem to defer to the larger one.
Though you do not recall information about these specific spiders, you are aware that many species of spiders are able to deliver toxins to their prey via their bite. You see no reason why these spiders should be any different.
DM - The Call of Strahd (CoS); Feyrealm Campaign, Chapter 0 - Bleak Prospect (BP), Chapter 1 - Destination Unknown (DU)
"The Tree Knight Captain has partially secured the door with vines. Boyd, others, step back. These spiders, including the biggest... something is wrong. They seem to be phasing in and out, to the feyrealm and back? As the ants were earlier. Aside from smashing through the door or the little ones crawling through the gaps, there is a chance their less than full existence in our world might allow them to... surprise us somehow. They may have pack intelligence, deferring to the big one, and their coloration is off. No doubt they still deliver venom through their bite as most spiders do. Stand ready!"
Nikita holds her rapier lightly with Thumbtack flying a few feet above her head, ready to start her bladesong, should the creatures come through.
Tanis(Ranger1): Shiverquill's Tempest City | Xarian(Fighter2): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(TwilightCleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(ShepherdDruid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Ophelia(WildMagicSorcerer4): Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(EchoKnightFighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Sabetha(MercyMonk3): Bedlymn's Murder Court | Seri(NatureCleric3/DivineSoulSorcerer1): Bartjeebus' Greyhawk
Night - Day 3 - Incy Wincy Spider
Everything happens within a blink of an eye. Nikita's concern is instantly validated as a blue flicker lights the darkened corridor. The next moment, a tiny spider is perched on one of the Tree Knight's wooden shoulders, then another, then another. Before long, multiple flickering lights start appearing around the party and their allies, the flashes are almost blinding and not too dissimilar to a firework display or a gunfight.
On closer inspection, it appears that the spiders have almost been supernaturally dyed. Each spider emanates a glowing blue aura. The party, however, is not given the time to contemplate such things, as they watch as the spiders begin to swarm and attack two nearest Tree Knights. Their little mouths going to work on the Knights' bark skin. Many of the little critters begin to bury themselves in the hapless Knights.
Alarmed at the ferocity of the attack, the Tree Knight Captain attempts to pull its troops away from the door, stamping and squishing as many of the spiders as it can in doing so. The momentary disorientation of the ordeal results in a loss of concentration for the Captain and the vines holding back the door wither and drop away.
A thunderous cracking sound rolls out, as the door is smashed off its hinges by two giant blue hairy legs. The phase spider emerges, its body squeezing through the entrance to the bedroom. The two Tree Knights that were standing at the door, now lie motionless on the ground, their wooden bodies bent and broken, their ancient armour dented. The Captain, dismayed at the loss of its troops, grips its thornsword in its right hand and approaches the giant spider.
ALL - Please roll initiative.
Nikita - You commence your bladesong as soon as you notice signs of trouble.
DM - The Call of Strahd (CoS); Feyrealm Campaign, Chapter 0 - Bleak Prospect (BP), Chapter 1 - Destination Unknown (DU)
Nikita initiative: 18
Having just spoken of them, Nikita begins humming a melancholy, soft song of loss in Elvish, thinking of her coterie, now broken.
She steps up next to the Tree Knight captain, who has just lost two of his own, as Thumbtack flies in the air just behind and above her.
Tanis(Ranger1): Shiverquill's Tempest City | Xarian(Fighter2): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(TwilightCleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(ShepherdDruid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Ophelia(WildMagicSorcerer4): Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(EchoKnightFighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Sabetha(MercyMonk3): Bedlymn's Murder Court | Seri(NatureCleric3/DivineSoulSorcerer1): Bartjeebus' Greyhawk
Faila Initiative: 3
Boyd initiative: 17
Boyd cover his face with his hands as the door blasts off its rickety hinges. "What in the..." he murmurs before falling into an easy combat stance and drawing his knife.