#Hinter Wildtree

[we-are-a-dragon]

DM: The BBEG begins chanting again. He slices the dagger across the back of his hand and lets his blood run over the wooden eye. The townsfolk start to groan again.

Lyra (playing Hesty): I wonder... Could I try to take the eye off him?

M (playing WA): *eyes light up* God, yes. I was thinking about putting out his candle, but that's even better.

DM: You don't need to make a check to put out the candle, you can just snuff it.

M: I do that, then.

DM: BBEG snarls with displeasure.

Lyra: I make a grab for the eye.

DM: You miss, unfortunately.

M: I also want to grab for the eye.

DM: As he leans away from Hesty, you reach up and snatch it from his hands.

M: Yes! Now what?

Adam (playing Harriet): Throw it to me!

Hamish (playing Hunter): Oh my god, play keep-away with the BBEG.

M: Yes! I throw it to Harriet.

DM: He roars with anger.

Adam: I run to the side door and attempt to leave.

DM: As you run into the corridor, you come face to face with the two Faceless who Gregor locked out earlier, who have circled around the hall.

Adam: Oh, shit! I run back into the hall and use the front doors instead!

DM: Alright, you have left the hall with the main ritual item. That certainly puts a spanner in the BBEG's plans.

[we-are-a-dragon]

DM: The BBEG continues chanting his ritual. The paralysed townsfolk begin to groan in discomfort as if they're being drained in some way.

M (playing WA): I stab him in the ankle. I know D&D doesn't have targeted wounds, but I like to think it makes a difference.

DM: He fails his concentration check to continue the ritual.

M: Yes!

DM: He snarls. "Cease! You have no idea what you're interfering with!" He raises his hand and creates a blast of energy pushing everything around him back.

Lyra (playing Hesty): Everything? Does that include his allies?

DM: Yes... And amazingly, he only hits his allies.

Lyra: Amazing.

Adam (playing Harriet): I want to make a Diplomacy check. "You're right, we don't know what you're doing! So tell us!" Er, that's a 12.

DM: He laughs humourlessly.

Adam: I forgot I'm not playing Billie.

M: I'm surprised the BBEG doesn't want to monologue.

DM: Look, he's tempted, but he's not 12 Diplomacy tempted.

[we-are-a-dragon]

DM: You have the BBEG tied up on the stage.

Hamish (playing Hunter): I don't trust him. I want to non-lethally knock him out.

DM: Alright, you dash his head against the stage and his eyes roll back.

Lyra (playing Hesty): I want to search his pockets.

DM: You find a handful of gold, a journal, and a blue jewel lined with red cracks.

Lyra: Is this the missing Keystone??

DM: It fits the description you had, except for the glowing blood-red material within the cracks all over its surface.

Rach (playing Gregor): Can I do an Arcana check?

DM: The jewel is extremely magical, but you also sense a demonic presence.

Rach: Ah. That explains a lot.

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Lyra (playing Hesty): I want to read the journal I took from Hinter Wildtree when we get back to the inn.

DM: It turns out his real name is Jorgan Felldale. His diary reveals that he is half-orc, half-elf. His mother was an orc who got pregnant with an elven ally, and after she died unexpectedly the father raised baby Jorgan himself. Unfortunately his extended family were openly racist toward the young mixed-race boy and his father didn't try to stop them. He was raised in the elven tradition and learned archery and magic. He grew to hate his 'family'. When he came of age he left to seek out orcs and learn about the other side of his heritage. He fell in with a traditionalist group of Gruumsh worshippers and they nurtured his resentment toward his elven upbringing. He converted to Gruumsh, tore out his own eye, and swore vengeance on everything elven.

Lyra: Cool motive, still murder...

DM: He travelled to Theriya and took a cleaning job at the museum, polymorphing himself into an elf to get close to Corellon worshippers. He found the broken Keystone in a museum vault and created a pact with a demon to restore its power, in return for his blood. He knew it would eventually kill him, but it was worth it to him as he put together his plan to heal Gruumsh's missing eye.

Hamish (playing Hunter): *raises eyebrows* Can he do that?

DM: He reckoned if he could restore Gruumsh's eye it would put him on a power level to challenge and this time defeat Corellon. Jorgan learned of a ritual created by a splinter cult of Bane designed to heal their god if he was ever grievously harmed in his ancient conflict, and travelled there to learn the ritual. Once they had taught him what he needed, he used the Keystone to dominate them and transform them into the Faceless. When he returned to the city he tracked down a powerful symbol of Corellon, the god who had wounded Gruumsh, which he needed for the ritual to work.

Marijn (playing Winnifred): Shame's necklace.

DM: Indeed. The rest is history.

[we-are-a-dragon]

DM: You have successfully stolen a key part of Hinter Wildtree's – or whatever his name is – ritual. He yells for a couple of the Faceless to follow Harriet.

Adam (playing Harriet): I keep running.

DM: The townsfolk closest to the door react as the Faceless lumber out after you, but you're on a side street so there's not such a crowd. They look around and then follow you.

Adam: My speed is 8, and I'm taking 2 run actions this turn.

DM: Harriet has left the map.

[we-are-a-dragon]

Party recap:

Adventurers Not Cautioners counter-infiltrated Theriya's festival of Corellon and confronted the mysterious Hinter Wildtree as he attempted to turn a service to Corellon into a dark ritual to restore Gruumsh's missing eye. Narrowly avoiding being poisoned and paralysed themselves, they fought Hinter and his faceless followers until they were able to steal a key item and interrupt the ritual. After revealing that he was seeking revenge on elves and their god for injustices against orcs, Hinter was captured by the party and turned in to the authorities, saving the paralysed townsfolk in the process.

[we-are-a-dragon]

Marijn (playing Winnifred): What is the centaur priest doing during all this?

DM: Now that the danger seems to be over, he comes out of his corner and begins to check on his congregation. The paralysis seems to be gradually wearing off, and the frightened townsfolk leave the hall in ones and twos as soon as they're able. The priest thanks you for your help.

Lyra (playing Hesty): What should we do with Hinter Wildtree - or whatever his name is?

Hamish (playing Hunter): Hand him into the guards. He's a criminal.

Marijn: We do already have a dialogue open with them about this.

Lyra: Alright, we call one of those taxis to take us to the nearest station.

DM: The guards are very happy to take him in.

Andy (playing Diardi): Is it okay to just leave him there?

Lyra: We've got the Keystone. I think he's past being dangerous.

[we-are-a-dragon]

DM: Since the half-orc fell unconscious, the Faceless have stopped attacking you.

Lyra (playing Hesty): We form a bully circle around them.

DM: They huddle together and put their hands up.

Rach (playing Gregor): I say, "Come quietly. We're going to tie you up."

DM: They shake their heads wildly.

Rach: I try to tie them up!

DM: They evade without attacking you.

Marijn (playing Winnifred): I ask them, "What do you want?"

DM: They point toward the exit.

Andy (playing Diardi): *shrugs* Just let them go.

Rach: *makes face*

Adam (playing Harriet): What about the Faceless chasing me?

DM: When you look over your shoulder, there's no sign of them.

Adam: I catch my breath and then creep back the way I came.

DM: You catch sight of the group of Faceless coming out of the hall. They're in a tight group and seem to be conversing in some way. After a moment, they slink up the alley toward the back streets.

Adam: I let them go.

Rach: I guarantee this is a bad idea.

[we-are-a-dragon]

DM: The half-orc stands on the stage and glares at you all. "How dare you interrupt like this? You have no idea what you're doing."

Gregor (thri-kreen artificer): So, tell us!

DM: He says, "I work for the dignity of my people! For my mother. To repay the wrongs done to us."

Hesty (pixie mecha): By who?

DM: He spits. "The elves. They will suffer as we have suffered. They will know the pain we have known."

Winnifred (kalashtar bard): *frowns* All elves?

DM: "All elves and above all, their smug god."

[we-are-a-dragon]

Party recap:

Adventurers Not Cautioners returned for the third and final day of the festival of Corellon. They almost skipped the service to Corellon but infiltrated at the last moment, narrowly avoided being paralysed by the poisoned wine, and confronted a half-orc dressed in ceremonial Gruumsh robes who took over the stage. Suspecting him to be the Hinter Wildtree they had been chasing down since discovering two different missing persons cases, they fought his faceless followers as he began a dark ritual involving draining the life force paralysed townsfolk trapped in the town hall. Halfway through the fight, WA managed to snatch the key ritual item and pass it to Harriet, who left the hall at a run leaving the bad guy unable to continue his plans.

[we-are-a-dragon]

M (playing WA): Sorry for ruining your combat, DM. Stealing the eye was just too perfect.

DM: No, no, I love it. I had no set plan for how this was going to run. There were so many options to mess with his ritual and I was just excited to see where you'd go with it. This is great.

Adam (playing Harriet): So am I out of the hall and away?

DM: For all intents and purposes, yeah. It would be hard to chase you down very effectively through the crowds outside.

Lyra (playing Hesty): So I guess next session we go into a skill challenge or something.

DM: We'll see. Man, I thought for a moment there you were just going to hang about outside and not go into the hall at all.

Lyra: Yeah, we just about let it happen.

DM: That would have been awkward. There were pretty big consequences for failing this quest.

Lyra: Thank goodness Gregor's a wine snob.

[we-are-a-dragon]

DM: This Faceless is going to grab WA and try to drag you off the stage.

M (playing WA): *grimaces* It succeeds.

DM: It's going to drag you over here toward the door. Harriet, these two grab you. Hunter, this one grabs you. Gregor, since you're all the way over here these two spend their turn getting adjacent to you.

Hamish (playing Hunter): I hit this guy. If he's adjacent to me at the start of his turn, he's immobilised for that turn. That lasts until the end of the encounter.

DM: Ah, he's going to shift away from you then.

Hamish: Yeah. Do that, bitch.

[we-are-a-dragon]

Adam (playing Harriet): I want to loose two arrows at the half-orc.

DM: One hit, one miss.

Adam: Alright.

Lyra (playing Hesty): I'm going to take a double move action, using the rocket boots power on my mech suit to land on the stage next to the half-orc.

Hamish (playing Hunter): I want to run over here next to these Faceless.

DM: That's difficult terrain, the pews are packed with paralysed townsfolk.

Hamish: Ugh, fine, I go around.

DM: The half-orc pulls a small blue-purple jewel from his pocket.

Lyra: The missing Keystone?

DM: You'd need to have someone confirm it, but it fits the description. Except that it is covered in glowing red cracks.

Lyra: Oooh.

DM: He raises it, and the air around him shimmers and turns slightly translucent. It takes an additional square of movement to come adjacent to him, and attacks against him have disadvantage.

Hamish: Yeah, I think this is the BBEG.

[we-are-a-dragon]

Lyra (playing Hesty): When the townsfolk start screaming and rushing out, I'm going in.

Hamish (playing Hunter): Right behind you.

DM: You see the Faceless advancing on Gregor and Harriet, and an unfamiliar half-orc dressed in ceremonial Gruumsh iconography.

M (playing WA): I've crept up behind the half-orc to stand behind him on the stage.

DM: He doesn't seem to have noticed you. Roll initiative.

Lyra: I'm writing the half-orc down as SBEG... small bad evil guy.

DM: *frowns*

Lyra: Oh. Is this the BBEG?

DM: ...Yeah.

[we-are-a-dragon]

M (playing WA): When I get Gregor's Stopper message, I want to try and break in through the back of the hall.

DM: It has a very simple lock, you easily pick it.

M: Sweet. I make my way through.

DM: You find yourself in a kitchen.

M: How much of the wine is left?

DM: A few bottles. Most of it is circulating in the hall already.

M: I pour out everything I can find. I carry on. Do I see anyone suspicious?

DM: As you're getting close to the main hall area you see a half-orc dressed in red and black and a lot of ceremonial skulls heading in.

M: I follow. 25 for Stealth.

DM: He doesn't seem to notice you. Gregor, Harriet - as the townsfolk are dropping their wine glasses and crying out, this figure enters from the top of the hall and strides onto the low stage. He basically shoves the centaur priest off the other end and turns to the crowd. He's freshly tattooed all over with the same arcane symbols you found in the workshop and Hinter Wildtree's house.

Adam (playing Harriet): I yell, "Oi! Who the hell are you?"

DM: He pauses and squints at you.

Rach (playing Gregor): "Did you know your wine is laced with a toxin that causes paralysis?"

DM: He laughs. "Ah yes, unfortunate for you. Thank you all for coming. I'm afraid you will all have to die now." The fear turns to panic and the quarter of the crowd who aren't paralysed stampede for the exit.

Adam: "Hinter Wildtree? Right?"

DM: He glares. "I'm getting sick of you interfering. Get rid of them!" He gestures, and six of the Faceless appear from behind the stage and make a beeline for you.

Rach: ...Uh oh.

[we-are-a-dragon]

Party recap:

Adventurers not Cautioners attended the first two days of the festival of Corellon. On the second night they set a watch on Hinter Wildtree's house in case he made any movements before the final day. While watching, Harriet and Hunter abandoned their post to follow a spectral cat which led them to a well where a young girl called Rue had fallen and hurt her leg. They rescued the girl and formed an attachment to her, though she parted ways with them to go home.

Returning to Hinter Wildtree's house they discovered a light in the window, but Hunter alerted the occupant by spectacularly failing a stealth check. Inside they found tattooing supplies and a crystal which transpired to contain Marilee Sylvari, the missing eladrin priestess the party had received visions of. She filled them in on some missing details about the mystery and took them back to the temple of Corellon to recover and make plans.