Session 29: Everything's a Drum (3/26/24)

Desnova 12, 1423.

After capturing the second ethyrean prison relic from the hidden rotja stocks at Crumblemoor, the PCs decide to trek eastward into the Tzarswald before camping. They manage to clear the marshland, and Aldren finds a suitable covered grove in which they can rest. Throughout the watches, they hear some occasional horn blasts off in the woods somewhere, perhaps belonging to a hunting or war party.

Desnova 13, 1423.

Our heroes press on into the woodlands, but soon encounter strange rows of pines, several of which seem to sway or uproot themselves to create formations on the forest floor that seem more like a curated garden than a wild wood. They are 'approached' by one of the trees, which wields a set of drums and has a halo of birds fluttering about it. In a low-toned timbre, it introduces itself as 'The Roost', and is quite surprised to find that Bjork Two-horns is among the party. A friendly bard-off is initiated, and The Roost turns out to have lost to Snowcock the Sonorous in the past, so a prize is determined to be that disgraced bard's instrument, if the minotaur should lose.

A competition ensues, and the pine tree metes out an incredibly moving performance, with its low, rolling tone, steadily escalating drums, and tweeting bird accompaniment. Though Bjork does his best in return, using mage hand to play his cowbell while he slings his lute, it's not quite enough to dazzle the already entranced audience. In the second round, The Roost adds in some swaying pines that he animates with his natural ability, while Mockleg and Nebol'shoy attempt to spice up Bjork's next piece with some shimmering illusions and giant owls that can fly through them, an impromptu air show! Alas, Bjork critically fumbled his performance, breaking strings and causing the giant owls to misdirect and crash into one another, a disaster. Since The Roost has clearly won the first two rounds, there is no need for a third. It offers some wisdom to the PCs, and a warning to Aldren to 'watch his Six' after learning the half-elf's identity. It returns to its pines, the circle changing form to rows once more.

The PCs travel deeper into the Tzarswald, the sounds of horns seeming to close in on them, from all directions now, and an occasional thundering of paws or feet somewhere off in the wood. They come upon an idyllic scene of a statue to the goddess Odhinnei, surrounded by a man-made brook, but in a state of some disrepair, and they decide to make their stand against whatever it is that must be tracking them. It turns out that it is indeed the Blood Lake Band, the bugbears whose camp the party destroyed some weeks back, and whose scouts have spied them from a far once or twice since then. They are arranged into a quartet of small warbands, each led by a fearsome chieftain riding a dire wolf.



The PCs press into a defensive area about the statue, but it actually works against them as the bugbears rain javelins down upon them, and seem to be canny to avoid some of the defensive spells set up by Aldren and Nebol'shoy. The wolves and riders rush in to combat while their underlings continue to press the missile attack, eventually closing themselves. While the Blood Lake Band gives a good accounting of themselves, they are inevitably no match for the magic, missile and melee prowess of our heroes, and as the tide turns, several lightning bolts from Mockleg, and a polymorph turning Rucia into a T-Rex, help the party finish off the fanatical remnants of this hunting party!

PCs: Aldren, Bjork, Nebol'shoy, Rucia

NPCs

The Redhatch Roost (male? treant):