Session16



To your left path you find it opens up a little wider, you can faintly see along the old damp stone and dirt walls a few scratch marks where somehow has dug a sharp object across the walls numerous times passing up and down the hall. At the end you find 5)

Taking the path down the center it's more or less a straight line before eventually you come upon 4)
 * 1) Trip wire with log trap.
 * 2) Trip wire attached to a bunch of old metal cans, some form of make shift alarm.
 * 3) Pit trap opens up revealing sharpened sticks and rocks.
 * 4) You come across a wooden door embedded in the left side of the dirt wall. It appears to be some kind of make shift room. The path also seems to continue on ahead of you further.
 * - Inside are a bunch of disheveled humans and a Tielfing wearing old tattered hoods sleeping in some shitty looking beds. (Perception 22: notices that strangley the hoods are the same kind the blue skins were wearing)
 * - The blue skins are shape shifted into human form and will pretend to play along with the adventurers before ambushing them. 4 Oni.
 * 5) A thick wooden door is embedded in a dirt wall and a few make shift planks. Between the planks you can see behind a 15ft dark room, you can make out the sounds of crushing coming from the corner just outside of your vision.
 * -inside is a large blue skin like the ones you saw earlier, except without a hood and a little larger than the others, across his back and arms appear to be numerous closed eyes. (combat oni, 1d4 random eye per turn, each eye casts magic missles level 1 at a random person as well as a normal attack action)
 * 300g 2200 silver, a fine piece of a silk holding a petal of a purple lotus (an incredibly rare alchemy ingredient), 2 chunks of adamantite, some fine silverware, a golden challice, and a diamond worth 1000g.
 * 6) At the end of the tunnel you find a steel cell door blocking your way further, through the doors you can see a few cowering humans in the corner. One of the more braver ones shouts out as you approach "Come on you blue skinned freaks, you can eat me but I won't make it easy for you, I hope you choke on my bones you pieces of shit".
 * They think you're playing tricks because the blue skins can change form (persuasion 14)

Town of Halm
Returning back to the small village with the survivor(s) there are many cries of joy and a few cries of sadness as obviously not everyone who was taken had survived and those still holding out hope are met with the bitter reality. Still the mood is generally one of joy and relief. The old village chief looks at you with gratitude and thanks you.

(granny)"Without knowing any of us, or knowing what you were getting into you came to our village and offered your help. Each of you is kind and noble and a testament the goodness in the world. Every one of us here owes you a life debt."

She holds out her hands which are weathered, wrinkled and shaking not out of fear but just the ravages of time. Inside her palms are the 18g in various small pieces of bronze and silver.

(granny)"It's not much but I have gathered the savings of everyone here in town for you".

(If the players do not take the reward) (granny)"You truly are kind. But you have saved our village, I can not let you leave with nothing. Come with me. I have something for you that is of no use to me but will probably be helpful for you". She painfully slowly walks toward her house in the center of the village. Inside she motions by a rug in the centre of the room.

"Do an old lady a favour and lift up that rug for me".

Lifting off the rug it reveals a few loose floorboards.

"This village was originally founded by a powerful mage, though many generations have come and gone since then and we are now nothing more than a small farming village, I still have an old heirloom of his that has been passed down."

Beneath the floorboards you can see a small wooden doll, carved into the shape of a beautiful woman. You can see faint magical runes and sigils carved into the underside.

"This item has no real practical use, It simply lets you store 10 minutes worth of thoughts or memories inside to be played back at your discretion. However it seems pretty obvious to me you are heading to the yellow springs, A place notorious for people losing their marbles, so perhaps you can store fond memories you do not wish to lose, or trade it to others. Although we are poor and you have refused our money, I won't feel proper if I don't at least give you something. Please take it.".

Back on the road
Heading back toward where Vizize set aside the horse cart you can see everything is still intact and nothing appears to be missing at first glance.

Getting back on the road again trying to make up for some of the lost time, The next day you arrive at the crossroads leading to Scardale and Yhaunn, presumably heading toward Yhaunn you notice that you're not really seeing any more people traversing the roadways. In the entire days travel you saw only one other person who hurried by you quickly on his horse without stopping. Picking up your pace just to be on the safe side you arrive at the borders of Yhaunn close to dusk on the 9th of Mirtul (5 days traveling 1 day sidequest).

About 1 hour out of the city, about an hour before dusk as the road gets wide you come across a humanoid figured propped up arms outstretched like a scarecrow in the middle of the road. A long dark hood obscures his figure but you can see straw coming from out their sleeves and you catch an odd looking bone face underneath that sits a little strangely. He calls out to you...

"Ha haa, you approach yhaunn on the night of the parting festival, those who attempt to follow this road without first solving my riddle are doomed to be cursed. Feeble minds and bones will plague you, and women will talk about the smallness of your penis behind your backs."
 * what has 3 legs and flies like a kite
 * tells them to paint an x on their clothes to avoid the curse

Yhaunn (the parting festival)
The town is small but not tiny, around half the size of Melvaunt. As you approach the outskirts of Yhaunn, still quite from the main parts of town you can see green lanterns and decorations of animal bone and painted skulls begin to fill the entire area. A strange greenish colored mist that almost seems to be faintly glowing hovers in the sky above the town.

It seems very obvious at first glance that the opening of the yellow rivers has become a bit of a tradition or festival in this town. As you head further in the streets are filled with to the brim with people, there are even a decent amount of people from adventurer guilds all over the place. Various stalls all down the main town strip. They're selling all manner of items that seem to fit the theme, masks with stitched eyes and mouths of all different sizes shapes and colors, jewelry made from colored bone, teeth and hair and even baked goods in the shape of boats.

(Perception 12) As you push in passed the crowds a few teenagers run by you with some buckets filled with a red liquid or paint and attempt to strike a mark across your backs. (dex 10 dodge)

(who failed) They manage to strike a deep red dripping X across the back of your clothes/armor.

(IF SOMEONE DODGED) The teenagers look at you a little shocked and say to you. "You're a candidate for the parting? That's unusual for outsiders. I'll be cheering for you." They laugh among themselves and slip back into the dense crowds.

But you notice now most everyone in the town has a red x painted across their backs. (cowsblood- so that the raven queen knows not to take them to the afterlife). The crowd is beginning to swell and more and more people seem to be pushing down past you toward the center of town it seems like some kind of main event is going on there. (the parting ceremony where those not marked with an X are chosen by the mist to follow the river)

Town square.
At the center of town sits a small 15ft by 15ft wooden platform that is raised about 6ft in the air with steps leading up. The wood is old and partially rebuilt in places. Clearly having been around for some time. The densely packed crowds fill the entire area surrounding the platform. You appear to be arriving late and are at the far edges of the square. The area is incredibly lively with chatter, the crowds seem to be gathered thicker in certain clusters. Only a few short minutes after you arrive a deep long horn is blown (brrrrrnnnnr) and everyone quietens down as an older looking man dressed in black and red priest robes, adorned in painted bones and wearing a skull mask similar to the ones you have seen around town but actually made of a painted skull from some humanoid looking animal steps up to the platform.

(priest) "The mists have appeared, which means the rivers will open at dusk on the morrow. As per tradition the parting ceremony shall take place tonight. The candidates who wish to be selected please step forward."

The crowd begins to part around about 10 or 20 people where you noticed the clusters had formed earlier. And a bunch of men and women, all human, young and in their 20's make their way to the edge of the platform as the crowds open to reveal a path for them. All of them dressed in fine ceremonial robes similar to the old priest who stands on top of the platform but a little less ornate.

As they approach the mist begins to swirl and turn brushing past people like an eerie hand, slowly making its way through everyone in the crowd seemingly skipping most of the people but stopping at the candidates brushing against them like it's deciding before moving on.

(If all the players did get an X and passed their wisdom saving throws)

Eventually the mist makes its way toward a young man in his mid 20s in black robes, with red and yellow leaves embroided in. His hair is freshly shaven completely bald. The priest once again speaks up. Please step forward and name your family members so your journey will be rewarded.

(if players didn't get an x)

Eventually the mist makes its way toward (playername) and begins to twirl around you, damp and smelling of rot before suddenly growing bright and seeping into your skin.

(wisdom saving throw: DC 18) (Fail)

(priest) "It seems the parted one has been chosen. And it's unusually an outsider. Please step forward and name your family members. So your journey will be rewarded".
 * Those who are chosen must enter the river, or the mist will erupt and curse the land, crops will stop growing and the livestock will die. However if the parted one should enter the crops will grow fertile.
 * Those who enter never return it is unknown
 * A reward of 3 cows, 12 chickens, 100 gold pieces, and a title to a piece of land 10,000 square feet (100x100)
 * most people choose to spend their last night with their familiy members.

YHAUNN TAVERN/INN
Inside the tavern, which for places you've seen is incredibly well cleaned and decorated. Varnished wooden floorboards and a roaring fireplace. Festive decorations littered everywhere. The place is filled to the brim with people laughing and cheering, most of them drunk and enjoying themselves. Save for what appears to be an extremely angry customer shouting at a very short, somewhat rotund small human woman, in her 30's. Long golden pigtails that heavily knock around as she shakes her sorrowfully while shes being berated.

(dwarve - donald goldhammer) Listen I already told, my brother Ronald, THE DUKES SON, should have already booked this room. He set out before me and he should have already arrived. Stop telling me whatever bullshit excuse you have and give me his room.

(female dwarve - poppy yornjar) And I keep telling youuu, we have no reservations for that name and the inn is booked solid. I can't just go and kick people out we've already checked in.

The arguing continues for some time before a few of the locals step and and very calm but forcefully let them know their presence is bothering people and they leave.

Tavern menu