She holds the horn and inspects it, then closes her eyes. After a time she opens them and looks straight at Augustin.
"I do not think you know what you carry. This is the horn of the Master of the Hunt. He is one of the Primal Spirits, who now sleep. You can see his sign here," she points to the engraving of the spear wielding man with antler horns. "It was the Primal Spirits who protected the world when the Gods fought the Primordials. They have been almost forgotten since they slept, but the world suffers without them. There is much lore about the Primal Spirits that we remember while other races forget."
She continues, "You may have noticed how my brethren were talking about you. They were annoyed that they thought you were perhaps making a mockery of the Primal Spirits by some kind of costume play. Esa could easily represent the Fate Weaver, you, Master Dwarf, with your squirrel ways - even now there is a squirrel on your shoulder - could represent the greatest of the Primal Spirits, the Mother, Mother Nature, The Great World Spirit. Squirrels are her companions, spies, messengers. The minds of my kin then look at the other two, and who might they represent. Unless one of you can sprout black wings, or has a black-bladed sword, or another may have some association with stars or lions, I think not. That would not be a coincidence."
"But.. maybe there is something bigger than us going on here. This horn will likely make the task I set you much easier, if it is really an artifact of the Master of the Hunt."
Rustling leaves will self-consciously wild shape into the following and say 'no humour is intended'
Starry Form: Dragon (Special)
(While in Starry Form, with the Dragon constellation selected). When you make an INT or a WIS check or a CON saving throw to maintain concentration on a spell, you can treat a roll of 9 or lower on the d20 as a 10.
Following Vakiel's lead, Rustling Leaves, in starry dragon form, reaches into his pack and pulls out the star crystal, with the constellation of the lion in the centre.
There is shocked silence for a few seconds, then the elves gathered around are talking, some angry, some shocked, some happy. For those who speak elvish the angry ones are the younger ones who have been raised on stories of the custodians of the Primal Spirits are all wood elves. That some outlanders seek to steal these important relics or have looted them from somewhere is an outrage. The shocked are asking what this means, and does it mean the Primal Spirits have awoken, or are going to waken? The happy ones think the same as the shocked ones, but they are happy about it. These seem to be the older elves.
"So," says Eriyel, in a louder voice, which hushes the other elves. "You, Vakiel represent the Avenging Angel, the Primal Spirit of savagery, anger, survival, and protection. You, Rustling Leaves, seem to represent the Star Lion, associated with valour, truth, endurance, battle for good causes. He has also been represented as the Star Dragon, mostly in the ancient dragonborn empire of Arkhosia. And you've all done this without seemingly being aware of the Primal Spirits. Perhaps we elves have been away from the world too long, momentous things might just pass us by."
"Very well. Successful completion of the task which will remove all doubt from the minds of the other clan elders will be this. Just over the border we have with the Daggerburg goblins is the ancient eladrin ruins of Dal Nystiere. Nearby is a sanctuary, hidden beneath a ring of standing stones which act as a teleport circle. An undead wizard named Yisarn lurks in this sanctuary. He has allied himself with the Daggerburg goblins, our hated enemies. Defeating him would be a great service to all of the Woodsinger Clans. Dal Nystiere is a sacred place for us, to be preserved but not entered, and that includes the sanctuary. But you are under no such cultural barrier."
The Great Elder continues. "If you were to travel there by foot, you would not make it far, they guard their border just as we do. There is always a chance of course, but now another way presents itself."
She stands up gracefully, and orders parchment and ink to be brought. Then Eriyel turns back to the party. "I am going to inform the other clans of what we have discovered here today. But to the quest. The standing stones are older even than Dal Nystiere and were made in a time when the Primal Spirits were active. There is a matching teleportation circle half a day's travel away, but it has been colonised by spiders. Not little spiders, but the big, evil ones. You must clear them from these standing stones, then - if your artifacts are genuine - you can activate the portal to the Sanctuary near Dal Nystiere. You can travel straight there via the teleportation circle, bypassing patrols and guards. It will still be dangerous, but... but for the first time I think there is a chance."
The elf elder's eyes seem moist. "When I first saw you I thought that we were going to have to send you away, or that you wanted something we could easily grant or rebuff and return you to the border. Now it seems that.." She swallows. "It seems that I have been taught a lesson here. You can help us. I believe you can. And if you do, it will be easy for me to persuade the other Woodsinger clans to help you."
RL will ask in Elvish why the discord in the tribe. The respected Elder has had a profound realisation and it does not seem like the tribe is in accord.
He will also nod to Augustin, Esa, Vakiel and Grimbald to imply he is happy to clear the spiders but equally happy to go through the forest as that feels more natural to him.
"Lady Eyriel, you appear to know more about me than I know about myself, could I," (remembering Esa's stern words) "please and thank you, ask if you have any knowledge of this acorn? At first, I searched for it, even though I didnt know what I was searching for. Then I took it for a curse, as I became clumsy in all my actions. I tried to get rid of it, but squirrels kept returning it. Recently there is a magic about it. One I cannot control. Would you, or your kin know if it? Please and thank you? ".
RL will ask in Elvish why the discord in the tribe. The respected Elder has had a profound realisation and it does not seem like the tribe is in accord.
He will also nod to Augustin, Esa, Vakiel and Grimbald to imply he is happy to clear the spiders but equally happy to go through the forest as that feels more natural to him.
"Like humans, different generations of elves have different reactions, and also different personalities respond differently. The young are prone to be so.. emotionally reactive. So protective of what they see as their cultural domain. I would expect the same in all races."
"Lady Eyriel, you appear to know more about me than I know about myself, could I," (remembering Esa's stern words) "please and thank you, ask if you have any knowledge of this acorn? At first, I searched for it, even though I didnt know what I was searching for. Then I took it for a curse, as I became clumsy in all my actions. I tried to get rid of it, but squirrels kept returning it. Recently there is a magic about it. One I cannot control. Would you, or your kin know if it? Please and thank you? ".
Eriyel's eyes grow wider. She holds out her hand and Grimbald places the Acorn in it. She holds it to her heart and closes her eyes. There is a glow from the Acorn through her fingers. She opens her eyes and opens her hands to look at it. There are several runes glowing, and then fading. The Clan Elder hands you back the Acorn.
"You cannot control it, it is an artifact of the The Mother, The World Oak, The World Tree. Spirit of life and death, nature, natural laws, the world. All the Primal Spirits came from her as she split herself so that they could manage various aspects of first, the natural world, and then of intelligent beings. There is much lore about them, so much more than I could tell you in a sitting. I will try, at some point, to tell you what might be helpful. But this artifact is sacred to the world. It may choose to do your bidding, it may show you how to influence its powers."
"Be aware that there are those who would destroy it, who do not want the Primal Spirits woken. Various powers, Asmodeus is one of them, who will search high and low for those who have knowledge of the Primal Spirits and kill them. His servants will destroy every altar, every totem, every book, that references the Primal Spirits. I know Asmodeus rules the Iron Council, I saw his cultists and priests among them. Never let his servants see those artifacts, some of them are tasked to find them. This may explain why the Iron Circle are here, maybe this is the last area where the Primal Spirits can be returned to the world. The last hope to return the world to normality. This.. this is momentous."
Eriyel sits down hard on the ground and closes her eyes and breathes deeply.
The other elves take you gently and lead you away from her.
Grimbald is dumbstruck in awe of Lady Eyriel's knowledge and his own stupidity for attempting to throw the acorn away so many times. As the implications of his actions swim through his mind, he mumbles a meek 'please and thank you' to Lady Eyriel.
Luckily there are a bunch of elves here who know about giant spiders.
They tell you the spiders are the hunting spiders that run down their prey, they are the size of wolves. They lair in the trees nearby so it is hard to get a shot at them without being close. Everytime the elves kill them, more appear within a season. There is probably a nest somewhere where the eggs hatch.
"You know we're ALL coming to watch you deal with the spiders and see if you can activate the teleport circle," says Israfen. He seems to have become the party's liaison with the Woodsinger elves.
DM: If the party don't want to do anything else we can take a long rest here.
"Lady Eyriel, you appear to know more about me than I know about myself, could I," (remembering Esa's stern words) "please and thank you, ask if you have any knowledge of this acorn? At first, I searched for it, even though I didnt know what I was searching for. Then I took it for a curse, as I became clumsy in all my actions. I tried to get rid of it, but squirrels kept returning it. Recently there is a magic about it. One I cannot control. Would you, or your kin know if it? Please and thank you? ".
Esa is actually pretty impressed with Grimbald for approaching the subject calmly and politely. She has come to understand this one doesn't enjoy doing what others ask of him, and is glad he remembered his manners while speaking. She gives him a pat on his back and decides to spend a bit of time riding on his shoulder, something she would normally reserve for those she wishes to study or watch closer, but for Grimbald she almost uses it like a reward for "being a good boy."
She holds the horn and inspects it, then closes her eyes. After a time she opens them and looks straight at Augustin.
"I do not think you know what you carry. This is the horn of the Master of the Hunt. He is one of the Primal Spirits, who now sleep. You can see his sign here," she points to the engraving of the spear wielding man with antler horns. "It was the Primal Spirits who protected the world when the Gods fought the Primordials. They have been almost forgotten since they slept, but the world suffers without them. There is much lore about the Primal Spirits that we remember while other races forget."
She continues, "You may have noticed how my brethren were talking about you. They were annoyed that they thought you were perhaps making a mockery of the Primal Spirits by some kind of costume play. Esa could easily represent the Fate Weaver, you, Master Dwarf, with your squirrel ways - even now there is a squirrel on your shoulder - could represent the greatest of the Primal Spirits, the Mother, Mother Nature, The Great World Spirit. Squirrels are her companions, spies, messengers. The minds of my kin then look at the other two, and who might they represent. Unless one of you can sprout black wings, or has a black-bladed sword, or another may have some association with stars or lions, I think not. That would not be a coincidence."
"But.. maybe there is something bigger than us going on here. This horn will likely make the task I set you much easier, if it is really an artifact of the Master of the Hunt."
Vakiel will slowly draw his long black sword (as to not look threatening) and hold it tip down in front of him, resting his weight on its hilt.
Rustling leaves will self-consciously wild shape into the following and say 'no humour is intended'
(While in Starry Form, with the Dragon constellation selected). When you make an INT or a WIS check or a CON saving throw to maintain concentration on a spell, you can treat a roll of 9 or lower on the d20 as a 10.
Following Vakiel's lead, Rustling Leaves, in starry dragon form, reaches into his pack and pulls out the star crystal, with the constellation of the lion in the centre.
There is shocked silence for a few seconds, then the elves gathered around are talking, some angry, some shocked, some happy. For those who speak elvish the angry ones are the younger ones who have been raised on stories of the custodians of the Primal Spirits are all wood elves. That some outlanders seek to steal these important relics or have looted them from somewhere is an outrage. The shocked are asking what this means, and does it mean the Primal Spirits have awoken, or are going to waken? The happy ones think the same as the shocked ones, but they are happy about it. These seem to be the older elves.
"So," says Eriyel, in a louder voice, which hushes the other elves. "You, Vakiel represent the Avenging Angel, the Primal Spirit of savagery, anger, survival, and protection. You, Rustling Leaves, seem to represent the Star Lion, associated with valour, truth, endurance, battle for good causes. He has also been represented as the Star Dragon, mostly in the ancient dragonborn empire of Arkhosia. And you've all done this without seemingly being aware of the Primal Spirits. Perhaps we elves have been away from the world too long, momentous things might just pass us by."
"Very well. Successful completion of the task which will remove all doubt from the minds of the other clan elders will be this. Just over the border we have with the Daggerburg goblins is the ancient eladrin ruins of Dal Nystiere. Nearby is a sanctuary, hidden beneath a ring of standing stones which act as a teleport circle. An undead wizard named Yisarn lurks in this sanctuary. He has allied himself with the Daggerburg goblins, our hated enemies. Defeating him would be a great service to all of the Woodsinger Clans. Dal Nystiere is a sacred place for us, to be preserved but not entered, and that includes the sanctuary. But you are under no such cultural barrier."
The Great Elder continues. "If you were to travel there by foot, you would not make it far, they guard their border just as we do. There is always a chance of course, but now another way presents itself."
She stands up gracefully, and orders parchment and ink to be brought. Then Eriyel turns back to the party. "I am going to inform the other clans of what we have discovered here today. But to the quest. The standing stones are older even than Dal Nystiere and were made in a time when the Primal Spirits were active. There is a matching teleportation circle half a day's travel away, but it has been colonised by spiders. Not little spiders, but the big, evil ones. You must clear them from these standing stones, then - if your artifacts are genuine - you can activate the portal to the Sanctuary near Dal Nystiere. You can travel straight there via the teleportation circle, bypassing patrols and guards. It will still be dangerous, but... but for the first time I think there is a chance."
The elf elder's eyes seem moist. "When I first saw you I thought that we were going to have to send you away, or that you wanted something we could easily grant or rebuff and return you to the border. Now it seems that.." She swallows. "It seems that I have been taught a lesson here. You can help us. I believe you can. And if you do, it will be easy for me to persuade the other Woodsinger clans to help you."
RL will ask in Elvish why the discord in the tribe. The respected Elder has had a profound realisation and it does not seem like the tribe is in accord.
He will also nod to Augustin, Esa, Vakiel and Grimbald to imply he is happy to clear the spiders but equally happy to go through the forest as that feels more natural to him.
"the GREATEST of the Primal Spirits you say?, smiling at Esa. says Grimbald
"Lady Eyriel, you appear to know more about me than I know about myself, could I," (remembering Esa's stern words) "please and thank you, ask if you have any knowledge of this acorn? At first, I searched for it, even though I didnt know what I was searching for. Then I took it for a curse, as I became clumsy in all my actions. I tried to get rid of it, but squirrels kept returning it. Recently there is a magic about it. One I cannot control. Would you, or your kin know if it? Please and thank you? ".
"Like humans, different generations of elves have different reactions, and also different personalities respond differently. The young are prone to be so.. emotionally reactive. So protective of what they see as their cultural domain. I would expect the same in all races."
Eriyel's eyes grow wider. She holds out her hand and Grimbald places the Acorn in it. She holds it to her heart and closes her eyes. There is a glow from the Acorn through her fingers. She opens her eyes and opens her hands to look at it. There are several runes glowing, and then fading. The Clan Elder hands you back the Acorn.
"You cannot control it, it is an artifact of the The Mother, The World Oak, The World Tree. Spirit of life and death, nature, natural laws, the world. All the Primal Spirits came from her as she split herself so that they could manage various aspects of first, the natural world, and then of intelligent beings. There is much lore about them, so much more than I could tell you in a sitting. I will try, at some point, to tell you what might be helpful. But this artifact is sacred to the world. It may choose to do your bidding, it may show you how to influence its powers."
"Be aware that there are those who would destroy it, who do not want the Primal Spirits woken. Various powers, Asmodeus is one of them, who will search high and low for those who have knowledge of the Primal Spirits and kill them. His servants will destroy every altar, every totem, every book, that references the Primal Spirits. I know Asmodeus rules the Iron Council, I saw his cultists and priests among them. Never let his servants see those artifacts, some of them are tasked to find them. This may explain why the Iron Circle are here, maybe this is the last area where the Primal Spirits can be returned to the world. The last hope to return the world to normality. This.. this is momentous."
Eriyel sits down hard on the ground and closes her eyes and breathes deeply.
The other elves take you gently and lead you away from her.
Grimbald is dumbstruck in awe of Lady Eyriel's knowledge and his own stupidity for attempting to throw the acorn away so many times. As the implications of his actions swim through his mind, he mumbles a meek 'please and thank you' to Lady Eyriel.
Nature check on Grimbald's knowledge of giant spiders 4
RL to provide help on this and guidance. Comparing knowledge from other forests and conversations with other druids
You know that Giant Spiders are giant spiders.
But RL jogs your memory a bit. 13
Luckily there are a bunch of elves here who know about giant spiders.
They tell you the spiders are the hunting spiders that run down their prey, they are the size of wolves. They lair in the trees nearby so it is hard to get a shot at them without being close. Everytime the elves kill them, more appear within a season. There is probably a nest somewhere where the eggs hatch.
"You know we're ALL coming to watch you deal with the spiders and see if you can activate the teleport circle," says Israfen. He seems to have become the party's liaison with the Woodsinger elves.
DM: If the party don't want to do anything else we can take a long rest here.
While the party sit around a campfire, Eriyel sits with you and tells you about the Primal Spirits.
DM: This would be a massive post, so you can read about it on the Obsidial Portal blog instead - The Primal Spirits.
great lore, love it.
Love it :)
Esa is actually pretty impressed with Grimbald for approaching the subject calmly and politely. She has come to understand this one doesn't enjoy doing what others ask of him, and is glad he remembered his manners while speaking. She gives him a pat on his back and decides to spend a bit of time riding on his shoulder, something she would normally reserve for those she wishes to study or watch closer, but for Grimbald she almost uses it like a reward for "being a good boy."
Esa is being stared at by a squirrel now perched on Grimbald's head. It appears to be attempting a serious look of sorts.
RL is giggling to himself thinking it's like an angel and a demon whispering in Grimbalds ears. He will let you decide which is which 😁