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The party finds themselves on the central island of an archipelago in the eye of the Everstorm, scattered around its coastline and surrounded by driftwood and debris.
Garthor becomes trapped in a nightmare duel with a spider steed (a Steeder if you will). Wisteria and Vessariel scavenge resources before looking for others. Rome-Bee eats some of an Aboleth thrall.
Vessariel, upon following chimney smoke to a village in the center of the island, scares some locals with her sheer novelty (as well as her fearsome countenance, stern voice, and huge axe). An aging dwarf is the only one brave enough to communicate with the newcomer directly, but sadly cannot help locate Garthor. Wisteria arrives at the village, only serving to increase the villagers’ unease before her emotional turmoil causes the dwarf to direct her to an old manor house on a nearby hill. Vessariel hears Garthor’s troubled dreams and sets out to rescue and retrieve him.
Meanwhile, Rome-bee follows the edge of some nearby woods, which eventually leads to the overgrown backyard of the very same manor to which Wisteria is headed. The yard displays a dried-up well and some crumbling statues, but does not hold any particular interest for Rome-Bee, who departs north before being stopped by a man emerging from the back door of the manor. After some conversation, Rome-Bee inquires about where one may, ahem, relieve themselves, and is directed to a combination outhouse and toolshed.
At the front of the manor, Wisteria arrives and slips through the gate before knocking at the front door. Zigfried, the man who spoke to Rome-bee, runs to the front of the house just in time to greet a distressed Wisteria, then invites her in and attempts to reassure her. Alain, another resident of the manor, seems vexed by Zigfried’s cavalier attitude towards what may be a potentially dangerous visitor.
On the western shore, Vessariel finds and awakens Garthor, who promptly walks into the ocean, kills a shark, and carries it back to the village as a token of goodwill. A wary but thankful dwarf informs Garthor and Vessariel that he sent Wisteria to the manor, and the pair follow. Upon arriving, Garthor (unintentionally?) knocks down one half of the old gate at the entry to the grounds, which Vessariel kindly props up out of the way. The sounds of Wisteria’s distress leads Garthor to barge in, ready to execute a rescue op. Alain draws a hidden shortsword, causing Vessariel to draw her axe in retaliation. Tensions are high, but ample snake-wailing and some talking down of Alain by Zigfried bear a peaceful resolution.
Garthor, upon surveying the disrepair evident throughout the manor, borrows Vessariel’s axe and heads out front to source some wood for repairs. Vessariel herself follows and plays some tunes on her lute to accompany Garthor’s wood chopping. Zigfried excitedly fetches his own lute to accompany the accompaniment. Tea is offered, and a third resident of the manor can be heard preparing it in the adjacent kitchen. Rome-bee, when questioned, reveals a preference for coffee, which is then also prepared. Zigfried helps Vessariel expand her musical library as Garthor fells several trees (some of which miraculously miss falling upon the manor despite their close proximity). Tea is served by a curiously small creature that hides its face under a burlap sack. After a light scolding and encouragement from Zigfried, this creature reveals himself to be an oddly draconic kobold named Varkle. Wisteria divulges everything she can about the world outside the storm as well as the party’s ill-fated voyage to the islands. As Varkle prepares lunch, Alain cross-references some of Wisteria’s information with the manor’s diverse collection of historical literature. Varkle serves sandwiches and lemonade, compliments Garthor’s impressive feats of strength, and is treated to some prime health tips from the man himself. Vessariel improves her sandwich with a skillet and seasonings completely foreign to the isles, which interests Varkle greatly and leads him to request some of the seasonings for himself. Vessariel grants this request and an excited Varkle squirrels away some of the seasonings before returning to Garthor’s fitness lecture.
Intrigued by Wisteria’s description, Alain requests permission to examine the magical parchment the party retrieved for Quark. After an initial denial, Vessariel relents and unrolls the parchment for Alain to VISUALLY inspect (no touching!). The act of unrolling the parchment inflicts upon Vessariel a papercut, and it is observed that the parchment absorbs the resulting blood. Multiple people try spilling a bit of blood on the parchment, Garthor’s blood elicits a reaction but does not reveal anything beyond a small logo. Rome-bee tries smearing a booger on the parchment to no avail, but when Zigfried’s blood touches the page, it reacts by displaying text in an unknown language. Zigfried wishes aloud that the parchment would show its words in common, and surprisingly it complies. The parchment only responds to Zigfried, and after it asks whether to enable “encryption”, it simply requests commands. Another convenient word-fumble allows Vessariel to assume control of the parchment and update its communication to a pictogram-based interpretation of sign language. This is preferable for Vessariel because of, um, reasons. 🤨 The parchment, when asked how one may escape the islands, cryptically reveals that the storm that isolates them is a sickness at the heart of a powerful guardian being (or beings). It is otherwise unhelpful.
Garthor wanders off in search of adventure, followed by a dutiful Vessariel and a Griddy-ing Rome-Bee. Wisteria and Varkle play checkers. Zigfried naps. Alain does chores. Our party-sans-Wisteria reaches the eastern shore before turning north, then west. The trio scale a steep hill and discover an old shrine which contains a moss-covered statue depicting a goddess. The statue’s appearance suggests the goddess had a domain of weather and was a protector and nurturer of the island. Praying at the shrine reveals a weak semi-divine presence disseminated across the isles, unable to focus itself. In an attempt to gather more followers for the defunct goddess, the three heroes uproot the statue to carry into the town. Unfortunately, it escapes their grip and tumbles down the hillside towards Zigfried’s manor. They follow, Garthor tumbling, Vessariel running, and Rome-Bee executing the most god-damned magnificent Griddy ever witnessed by mortal eyes. Vessariel is able to halt the statue with her axe before releasing it to gently roll to the edge of the manor’s backyard. Zigfried, waking from his nap to observe the trio’s return, recognizes the statue as depicting the islands’ patron deity Oriana, and happily prays to it.
Together they move the statue to the village, where Vessariel and Garthor STRONGLY INSIST the villagers offer prayers and worship. Hijinks ensue, including threats, implied blood pacts, and the election of sassy detractor Leigh to the position of flock leader. An uncomfortable Zigfried returns to the manor for dinner, which is being prepared by a somewhat overzealous Varkle. Garthor makes a quick detour to acquire another shark, which is prepared for the villagers by Vessariel. This, along with talk of ending the storm and freeing the islands, warms the crowd, and the compulsory worship session slowly transforms into an impromptu cookout! Vessariel is even showing a different side of herself as she becomes friendly and even playful with the village’s children. Back at the manor, Varkle, Wisteria, Zigfried, and Alain tuck into dinner, which is slightly over-seasoned. Alain, still distrustful of the party, goes to town to check on things, but finding only cordial comradery, returns to the manor (soon followed by Garthor and Vessariel). Rome-bee meditates atop the statue as the sun sets, feeling the restless divinity of Oriana called by prayer and yet kept at bay by some affliction on the outer isles. Garthor and Vessariel finish dinner, the latter offering cooking advice for Varkle.
All find their guest rooms, save for Vessariel who meditates guarding Garthor’s door, mending her clothes while naked. Varkle, on the way to the kitchen, embarrassedly shields his eyes and steps on a caltrop laid by Vessariel. Wisteria, hearing the commotion, sees Varkle is injured and heals him. Garthor also investigates, stomping on caltrops without a care. Varkle is amazed by the group’s hardiness and proficiency in magic, confessing that Zigfried’s health has been steadily declining. He begs Wisteria to heal Zigfried, but sadly, her healing abilities are limited. As consolation, she promises to assess Zigfried’s health and do whatever she can. Rome-bee, also naked (for some reason???) exits the manor to use the facilities, expertly dodging any remaining caltrops. Later, Vessariel hears Zigfried peek outside his bedroom door and open his window. She enters the bedroom to see a makeshift sheet-rope trailing out the window and Zigfried nowhere to be found. Expertly tracking his path outside, into the manor’s back door, down the stairs into the wine cellar, she finds a hidden door sitting ajar behind some shelving units, and hears voices coming from the other side. Shoving open the door and entering the room beyond with axe drawn, Vessariel sees an unfinished sparsely furnished room partially carved from the surrounding stone. On the far wall is a fissure that leads into some sort of cave or tunnel system.
Moreover, she sees Zigfried communicating with a 7 foot tall animated skeleton seemingly composed of scavenged bones and threadbare cloth wrappings. The creature is not aggressive, but its unnatural composition is off-putting to Vessariel, who questions Zigfried vigorously (and also copies down some more music). Zigfried claims that he discovered the hidden door and secret room a few months ago and that the creature began showing up shortly thereafter. He suspects that it originates from the adjacent tunnels and frequented the room even before he discovered it (though he admits he had not the courage to investigate the tunnels himself). Zigfried uses female pronouns for the creature, which it does not object to, though it seems unable to confirm its own gender. At some point, Wisteria and Varkle are awoken by noise coming from downstairs. Wisteria follows the same path Vessariel did, and is unknowingly followed by Varkle. Upon entering the secret room behind the hidden door, Wisteria finds a tense situation surrounding the creature, which when asked, gives multiple names invented on the spot. Some careful questioning about what the creature likes (poetry, music possibly Zigfried?) leads Wisteria to give the creature the name Rain, which it seems pleased enough to accept. Vessariel, frustrated with Zigfried’s reluctance to reveal Rain’s presence to Alain and Varkle, alerts Garthor, Rome-bee, and Alain himself, who springs into action to assess the threat. Wisteria, after seeing Varkle in the cellar, asks him to slow down Alain, who she suspects will be hostile towards Rain. Unfortunately, Varkle does not succeed in slowing a very protective Alain, who is indeed hostile and demands that the secret room be vacated and sealed while admonishing Zigfried for what he perceives as reckless endangerment of himself and their home.
Rain exhibits mental acuity similar to that of a child or someone suffering from dementia, losing track of conversations and repeating certain habitual phrases. One such phrase is a request for bones, which is granted through the sacrifice of one of Wisteria’s teeth, and a gift from Garthor in the form of the jaws of a previously slain shark (all of which are incorporated excitedly into the hodgepodge mix of bones). Despite obvious aggression from Alain and a protective stance from Wisteria, Rain seems unable to perceive the threat, rambling obliviously about the tunnels connecting the different islands and making a vague allusion to a time when “the land was together”. After some insistence, Alain succeeds in convincing everyone to move out of the secret room and into the cellar while they discuss what will be done about Rain.
Upon reentry, Rain is gone, having retreated into the tunnels. The party, following the twists and turns of the tunnel system, successfully tracks Rain, and finds their way back to the secret room (but not before securing a speedo’s worth of bioluminescent moss). Another, shorter, discussion reveals implications about possible unrequited feelings between Alain and Zigfried, and an exhausted party finally agrees to barricade the door for the evening and return to the problem after a good night’s rest. Garthor hauls Zigfried (but fails to haul a slippery Alain) up the stairs and to bed. Zigfried is tucked in with utmost care. Wisteria promises Rain that they will speak again, the door is firmly barricaded, and all return to their rest.
Will our heroes find their way to the other islands? What exactly is Rain? Will Alain have an aneurism trying to handle all this ridiculousness? Find out next time on Dungeons & Dragons