February 05, 2022

Hook

YOUR HELP IS STILL NEEDED IV: We have the information! We have the mission! Let's Stop this Blizzard! Meeting will be at the 13 Corners Tavern due to the CMG being slightly destroyed.

Plot Synopsis

Everyone begins gathering at the 13 Corners Tavern, some arriving much earlier than others. Mellandra, the dullahan hostess informs them that their regular server Clover is out with a cold, and since sneezing can cause her veil to flutter, it is not conducive to good customer service. Therefore, they will be meeting at Table 1, and will be served by Celeste. Celeste is a centaur, with a Draft Horse lower body, and a very muscular upper body. (Think Luisa from Encanto) Just before 10 am, the prescribed time for the meeting, a scroll appears on Mellandra's podium. She reads it, and says, "Oh!" A minute later, a man in robes appears amidst a cloud of purple smoke. He approaches the table and greets the group and starts right in on the explanation.
The analysis of the information gathered from the initial exploration is complete, and the source of the Blizzard was the destruction of a powerful magic item. A ring, imbued with the power of a demigod named Winter had been placed on the finger of Vashana, the Spring Queen. Though both entities were demigods of Osiris, their energies were not compatible, and an explosion resulted, releasing the power of the ring, but also severely wounding Vashana, ripping her soul apart, and trapping the bulk of it in the rift at the center of the storm. To try to fix things, the group is assigned a mission to go to the realm of the Spring Queen, where she has taken refuge, and consult with her about how the problem can be resolved. The divining rod retrieved on the previous mission can open a gate to her realm, and should be used to go to her.
Some members of the group arrive late, and are caught up, and the very large Chimaera out front (Spite) indicates that it wants to join in. The Mages Guild representative sends a message off, and shortly has two scrolls delivered to him. He casts the first, (transmute), then goes outside and casts the second, (endwarf) upon Spite, to make it small enough to come inside.
After a couple of inquiries, the group heads out. Rather than open a gate to another dimension right next to the main road, they trek of the path for an hour to open it in the wilderness. Odespino conducts the ritual to use the divining rod, and the gate to the Spring Realm opens, with a wave of warm air. Everyone makes their way through. Once on the other side, they see that everything is green, kinda. Leaves and flowers are wilted, the color of the sky is somewhat off, and the air is pervaded with the smell of mulch. In the distance, a castle can be seen.
They travel about an hour toward the castle, and find it with its drawbridge open, but two figures standing there, a man in green armor with a sword on his hip, and a woman with a shimmering green gown, long green hair, and butterfly wings on her back. They hail the group, and say that they have divined their intentions, and will not let them pass without being tested. The knight steps forward and tells the group to choose their champion. After a bit of debate, Oka-Gaiman volunteers to be champion, and eventually convinces everyone to agree. The knight asks the Maiden to prepare the battlefield and a large ring, encircled by knee-high mushrooms appears. The knight steps in and waits. The party starts thinking about ways they can prepare Oka-Gaiman for the fight. Meanwhile, Hex tries walking across the drawbridge, but finds himself stopped by an invisible barrier. Someone asks the Knight if there is something special abut the circle, and he replies that it strips all magic, then draws his sword and readies his shield. Medrir tries putting a salve on to Gaiman, but once he steps into the circle, Gaiman discovers the effects of the salve vanish.
The battle is short, but brutal. The knight quickly strikes the first blow. He declares that he has drawn first blood, and asks his opponent if he yields. Gaiman refuses, and the Knight declares, "To the Death it is, then!" The fight continues, with the knight once more offering surrender, which is refused. The knight finally manages to successfully multi-attack, including one critical. This his more than Oka-Gaiman can take, and he dies. Cal rushes in, and activates a device into which he had a Stave Death spell prepared. This reverses the critical, which restores Gaiman's life. The knight declares that the challenge... FAILED.
The Spring Maiden then gives a giggle, and says it is her turn, and that the group should once again choose their champion. Gaiman says he should be the champion again, and is quickly voted down. The Maiden points out that she will not be having a physical fight, but a battle of Wit instead. She produces some metal puzzles and states that she and the champion will have a race. Medrir is selected as the champion. The Maiden tells him that he can pick the puzzle she will use, then she will select the one he will use from those remaining. The winner will be the first to solve the puzzle. (This was a Real Life race, using actual Iron Tavern puzzles, between the GM, and Medrir's player) Medrir selected the most difficult for her, and she selected the second most difficult for him. The race was on, and the Maiden won handily, even picking up the third, and easiest puzzle, and solving that one as well. She declared that the challenge... FAILED.
The knight then stepped forward again saying "Since you have failed both of our challenges, we cannot allow--" He stopped mid-sentence, and did not move for a few moments. Then he said that everyone would be allowed access, and would be conducted to an audience with the Spring Queen. It would seem she had been observing, and was impressed that the challenges were taken honestly, and defeat was accepted gracefully.
Everyone was brought into the castle by the Maiden, who conducted them up into the throne room. Upon the orate throne was Vashana, looking very aged, and ... withered. She explained that the storm that was affecting all of Jaern was directly draining her power, and that her time was... very limited. If this was to be solved, it would have to be done so quickly. Spite seemed to indicate a desire to speak, and Vashana granted him the power of speech temporarily, though it visibly drained her, and she slumped over against the arm of her throne. Spite gave details of the incident, and pledged to help. Vashana produced a crystal cylinder (about the size of a pringles can) and stated that it would have to be taken to specific geographic points on Jaren, where magical confluences were ideal, and be exposed to the following:
1) Sunlight in the center of a storm
2) Rain on a sunny day
3) Frost on a warm day
Once this was done, the final steps could be taken to disrupt the global storm for good.
The group took the crystal, and headed back. as they approached the still-open gate, they saw a figure there, at a small table with multiple chairs, drinking tea. It was, of course, Big Blue. Everyone was wary, as usual, and he bantered as he usually does. Hex took a seat and asked what kind of tea it was. "Orange Pekoe," Big Blue replied. Hex asked for some, and Big Blue poured a cup. Hex took a sip, and then failed a 4d6 Health Check, though nothing appeared to happen. Several people asked why Blue was there, and he said he was here for the atmosphere. They said he should go, and he replied that he thought he would stay a while. Rather than arguing further, everyone exited the Gate, to undertake the mission to charge the cylinder.

Noteworthy Postgame Events