The Windhovers' Call

Xellos breathes a heavy sigh of relief as he leans on his new staff for finally determines the final two yellow potions after many days of studying.

While he is not much for planning and more about improvising on the spot, he leaves the planning to their party leader and Sariel.

The plan does sound logical to him, so he agrees as he examines the newly identified potions, "That probably sounds as if it's the best course of action, in my opinion. These Clairvoyance potions will probably come in handy. I hope Bharash has a chance to drink the wine I gave him, but I doubt he has access to his equipment. Hopefully the compass stone is still on his person somewhere hidden."

And so it is that, after the four of you choose the magical items and weapons that will serve you well, Sariel once again prepares the conjuration to transport all of you to the main island of Syndaris. Each of you steps into a shimmering tree near The Keep on the Isle of Woe and a moment later you are standing next to an ancient oak tree in Wyrwood. The forest is thick with very old trees, and the sound of a few birds singing in the early morning light reaches your ears. Roughly seventy feet away, you can see the east-west road that connects the town of Findric to the village of Greyloft. 

Less than ten minutes later you cross a small stone bridge that arches over the Wyr River and step foot into Greyloft. Sariel leads you toward a small cottage that has several chickens walking around the front yard and scratching for food. Sitting on a wooden crate and smoking an enormous pipe is a red-haired dwarf. Even for a dwarf, he is short. Even for a dwarf, he is stout. Despite the chill in the morning air, he wears only a tunic and breeches, and no shoes. The moment he sees Sariel he speaks. "Sunshimmer! I pray you've come to save me from my boredom! Another day of rest in this place and I swear I'll become one of these chickens!" His voice is good-natured but loud.

"Thoradin Brokenhammer, good morning," the druidess responds with an obvious smile on her face. "Please say hello to the friends of Syndaris: the bard Arissa Antal, the fighter Frandal Silvereyes, fellow druid Ozum, and sorcerer Xellos Mazoku." 

Thoradin hops up, faster than you might expect for such a portly fellow, and gives you a vigorous handshake and, somewhat unexpectedly, a warm hug. "Yes, yes, true friends of Syndaris. True friends of the Windhovers! Where's the fifth? Are there not five of you?"

“Nice to meet you, Thoradin Brokenhammer. This is Celebquesse, my oldest companion. The missing member of our crew is Kurt, bold warrior. He is actually on his way here, to save you from turning into a chicken! “ he looks to the others and adds. “ Truth beign said the situation is dire. Arconius has managed to capture Barash. We avoided him to go with Sariel too, but we fear for our friend. We fear that they had taken him to the Shadowfell, to the part near of Kubrithani Lament. And we need you and your abilites maese Brokenhammer. Are you fit for a fight?” 

Xellos's eyes turn as big as saucers with surprise and a bit of uncomfortableness when he is hugged unexpectedly. "Um, yes, as my friend said."

After meeting Thoradin, Ozum will sit down in the grass and begin a druidic chant while he moves his hand all around around him. Like a terrible gnomish mime routine.

Ozum casts commune with nature to gain a better understanding of the surroundings. Specifically the presence of powerful undead or fiends and influence from other planes within 3 miles.

"It is good to meet you at last, Thoradin Brokenhammer." Arissa performs an elegant bow. 

Ozum:

 Thoradin responds to Frandal by saying, "A fight? Aye! Indeed I am. Ro Venna is dead, Bharash has been captured, and Talisten's mace has been stolen from me. No more lazing about for this dwarf. I'm just fine.." (he stares at Sariel as he says this) "...and ready for a trip to the Nine Hells if need be." 

He then sets down his pipe and rushes into the cottage where he begins making a loud racket as he prepares himself for the upcoming journey. A few minutes later he appears donning a chain shirt, a dark blue cloak, a shield, and a warhammer. "I say we meet Kurt on the way. No need for him to travel all the way to Greyloft and then turn around. Sariel, can you contact him in some way?" 

"Yes, I'll send an animal messenger to meet him on the road near Findric. Kurt can then make his way toward the ruins that contain the shadow crossing," responds Sariel. 

"Into shadowfell we go, eh?" says Thoradin. "Food, water, and supplies may be scarce in such a place. Let's be sure we have all we need. We're on our way, Bharash Shestendi!" 

The six of you fill your packs with all the provisions you can carry from the cottage and begin the one-day journey that will take you south along the banks of the Wyr River and directly to the old ruins where you encountered the Will-o-Wisps a few days ago. Sariel sends a songbird as her animal messenger to find Kurt on the road to Findric and deliver him the message of your whereabouts. You approach the old Wyrwood Vineyard and the ruins a few hours after the sun sets, and, as you do so, heavy rain begins to fall. You don't see any sign of Kurt.

“I am worried for Kurt, he could have been captured too... “ Frandal doesn’t finish the other option that is the rest of the party minds “ We cannot wait too much anyway... “ he turns to the rest “ What do you say? Do we rest and go throught the portal tomorrow or do we press on? Can we check, at least, if the needle works in the Shadowfell? “ 

The eagle will survey the vineyard to make sure that there are no more will’o’wisp or other enemies nearby. 

( Perception: 13 )

Celebquesse disappears into the rainy night and circles the area a few times as she looks for any sign of trouble. After a few minutes, the eagle returns because the wet weather prevents her from flying any further. In the time she was in flight, she saw no signs of wisps or any other creatures. 

From where the party stands, the Wyr River is on your right and directly to your left is the abandoned vineyard, with several acres of wild vines and two decrepit buildings. Approximately one hundred yards ahead is the northern wall of the ruins. The only sound you can hear is the beating of the raindrops all around you. 

"The thought of leaving Kurt alone troubles me, but the thought of stalling Bharash's rescue troubles me as well," muses Thoradin. The dwarf then wrings his beard, for it has become thoroughly saturated by the rain. "Dawn," he blurts out. "I say we wait until dawn for the lad. His sword will come in handy, no doubt. So, I'm willing to wait until morning. What say all of you? If we wait until tomorrow, then I say we head to one of those old buildings and take cover. We can't abide this rain much longer." 

Frandal nods, using his magic to dry Celebquesse feathers and to keep her warm, he heads towards the buildings. 

“Perhaps its better to use the one that we know it doesn’t has the rift to the Shadowfell “ 

"I agree. We'll leave at dawn, we can not afford to wait much longer."

Xellos says, "In theory, the needle should work inside the Shadowfell if the stone is there as well. When I briefly entered the Shadowfell here before, the needle malfunctioned in a similar way that it is now, since the stone was on this plane. Ordinary matter passes through unaltered so if Bharash has the stone on him, we can find him. Or at the very least, track him. He must be restrained or his equipment taken, since he could just drink his wine to teleport out."

Normally Xellos would be more in favor of pressing on now, but sees the others are worried for Kurt and says, "I suppose we could wait, but every second we delay is going to make it that much harder to find Bharash."

OOC: Xellos also brought the displacement cloak, defense bracers, and ring of fire resistance in case they found Kurt.

The six of you follow the path that leads to the two buildings on the Wyrwood Vineyard property. The smaller of the the two buildings--which seems to be a house--has very little structural integrity remaining, and it has almost no roof whatsoever. You can tell that the larger of the buildings will provide better shelter from the poor weather. As soon as you enter it, you see evidence of the wine-making that once took place here: wine-making vats; tables littered with bottles, labels, and dried-up containers of glue; a corking machine; and dozens of empty wine barrels. In the corner, you see a large desk covered with decaying paper, an ink bottle, a quill pen, and a leather-bound ledger book. The floor of the place is littered with dirt and leaves that have gathered over years of neglect. The roof leaks in several places, but spending the night here will prove to be much more pleasant than doing so outside. 

After investigating every corner of the building, Thoradin says, "First watch is mine, my friends. I've done nothing but sleep and eat for the past week. All of you have earned some rest." He then looks at Frandal and continues with a smile. "Well, I doubt you'll truly sleep, but the offer stands."

Thoradin perches himself on a wine barrel and lights his pipe while the rest of you fall asleep (or enter a trance) to the incessant patter of rain on the roof above you. Hours later you awake to to the dim, grey light of dawn. The rain has ceased, but the world around you is soaked. 

"Sadly, no Kurt," remarks Sariel. "Friends of Syndaris, with all respect to you and your friend, I fear we must move forward without him. I have prepared another animal messenger to linger in this area for the next two days. If Kurt arrives within that time, he will be told of our plan. Ready yourselves. Shadowfell may not receive us kindly." 

Frandal receives Thoradin offer with pleasure, and he rest for the first 4 hours of the night. After that he releaves the dwarf on watch duty and has the breakfast ready and hot when the rest awake. 

“I am ready” he says to Sariel “ and I really hope that Kurt is ok and we certanly miss his sword, but we can’t linger no more. “ he gets his things ready and is ready to march. 

Ozum gathers his gear and makes his way to the shadowfell crossing. He takes out his mistletoe and touches it to his forehead. He looks around a bit nervously. "No use in delaying any longer I suppose. See you on the other side." He steps through the crossing.

You quickly eat the breakfast prepared by Frandal, and then you make your way to the ruins, specifically the opening in the crumbling stone wall of the ancient tower. You push past the vines and enter the small square room; as soon as you do so, your entire surroundings change just as you expected. 

You are standing inside a circle of nine massive, gnarled, twisted trees.  Their bizarre-looking trunks are grown so close together that they almost make a solid, impassible wall that surrounds you. The upper branches of each tree have become intertwined with the branches of all the other trees, forming a leafless, impossibly complicated series of knots that almost form a roof high over your head. In front of you is a narrow opening between two of the tree trunks; you can see very little of Shadowfell beyond them. There is gloom, shadow, and for several hundred yards in all directions the land is featureless except for a few ashen, twisted, lifeless trees. Far off into the distance you see a handful of pale, orange, floating lights. 

"On Syndaris, covering the distance to the Nilling Hills and Kubrithani's Lament would take nearly two days. I wonder if the same will be true here..." says Thoradin aloud. 

“Let’s find out”. Says Frandal. “Let me scout ahead” and he goes out of the tree ring as stealthy as possible.

Stealth 21

You travel for hours through a seemingly hopeless wasteland. The ground beneath your feet appears to be a mixture of dirt and ash; the few trees you pass by are sad and depressing at best, frightening at worst. You neither see nor hear any signs of life, and you find yourself struggling with thoughts and feelings of hopelessness...

(Everyone: Make a WIS saving throw)

"Ugh, this place is horrible. I hope we don't need to stay here very long." Arissa tries to stay close to the rest of the party.

Wis save: 29