Thursday, June 21, 2018

A Sapling in the Courtyard

Seglun led the way under the portcullis followed closely by Baru.  Seeing no Goblyns or any other obstacle they motioned for the rest of the heroes to emerge.  Swiftly the group marched down the road.  Arvien thought that is was about 8 or 10 miles back to Shelaugh's sanctuary, so they marched quickly.

On the way back toward Sanctuary the party passed an area that they now knew was the site of Birnam.  Little remained but the blackened foundations of burned buildings.  One building was partially intact, a large hall possibly.  As Seglun moved forward somewhat to look at the foundations a creature about the size of a large cat grinned at her from the darkness of a crevice in a broken wall.  With its pointed ears erect and its tail lashing from side to side, it surveyed the party with bright eyes.  The little beast sat in a hunched position with its elbows on its knees and its mouth set in a needle like grin.  One claw clutched the partially gnawed carcass of a rat.  The creature's eyes darted from one of the party to the next as it emitted a chittering noise.
One by one several others creatures poked their heads out of various nooks and crannies chittering to each other like a pack of prairie dogs.  The beasts move around the heroes looking cute as could be.  They even rubbed against the heroes legs, begging for a treat.  Suddenly the beasts attacked, one stole and Amulet from Grunyar another the strand of prayer beads from Drovic.  A third took an Amulet from Arvien, the others bit lightly at the rest of the party.  The party attacked back and on the next count the three beats with stolen goods disappeared and appeared closer to the ruined hall.  Drovic cast entanglement about the creatures and Grunyar fired away at the cat that stole his amulet.  Baru, Seglun, Ralom and Varrid set to attacking the beasts as Arvien turned invisible.  The teleporting cats next appeared in a large weeping willow tree that had sprung up inside the ruined hall.
Arvien used Dimension Door to move up closer to the tree and the creatures in it.  Arvien pulled up as she appeared when she was hit with a horrible, rotten odor from the tree.  The source was quickly evident: There, hanging from the branches, were a number of severed heads. Arvien felt drawn to the enticing fruit heads.  None of the rest of the party could see Arvien as she was invisible.
The battle continued and as the remaining cat creatures fell the party moved up toward the tree.  Grunyar was the first to reach the stink of the heads, which he shrugged off.  Baru also closed and was drawn to the heads as they turned and fixed their stare on him.  The head opened their mouths and began to cry piteously, "Help! Help me!"
Arvien approached the tree, reached for a head and took a large bite, swallowed and then felt like running away as fast as possible.  Baru likewise bit into a head then gashed himself across the legs with his great-sword.  The rest of the party cleaned up on the Jinkins and Drovic attacked with lightning continuously on the tree and its occupants.
At last the creatures were gone and the great willow slumped over.  The group recovered their stolen items, looked for more treasure, which they did not find, and headed out for Sanctuary.  When they arrived at Shelaugh's encampment they were met with great wonder as few had ever returned from Castle Tristenoira.  The party related what they had learned and Arvien specifically asked about the saplings, holy days and the ghostly Flora.  Shelaugh told the party that the druidic holy days were the equinoxes and solstices, and in fact the Vernal Equinox was in three days.  Shelaugh and Maeve begged for time to consider the matter and headed to a small chamber for private discussions.
When the druids returned they suggested that only sapling from the sacred grove would suffice to fulfill the prophecy.  She also relayed that planting was an old Forfar term that was more akin to caressing.  She thought that in fact the party would require one sapling for each party member.  This was disconcerting as the heroes couldn't imagine finding one, let alone seven saplings.  Maeve wondered if the days were the same in the other time frames since the party had related the time shifts in the Castle.  While ruminating on the subject Arvien recalled that a map she had found indicated "weeds" in the courtyard which were supposed to be cleared by the servants.  Were "weeds" really saplings?  And what was that note about a servant disappearing when clearing the area when a ghost appeared.  Varrid wondered what the Lord meant by "days that I slumber" written in the note.
At any rate the party headed back toward the Castle armed with new knowledge.  We may have to protect saplings or fight over them Baru suggested.  "What if we go through a time shift again?" wondered Drovic.  "Would the sapling trick work there?"
The party approached the Barbican and heard the snarling and high pitched laughter of Goblyns coming from inside.

DM's Notes: The party earned 2,285 XP for the Death's Head Tree and the Jinkin battle and now have 59,099 XP.

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