The Fey, the Far, and the Ugly Space In Between

[Tecklenburg]

Per Manbearcat
The drawing back of the stone by the earth spirits within it is a rough, meter diameter circle. Inside is pitch black. The lantern lights only the very periphery, but it is plain to see...this is no house.

What lies within is a cold, cramped hollow leading off into inky blackness, looking all the part of a tunnel carved into the black stone of the Feydark.

Your nearness to it fills you with a strange sense of...being drawn into it...

"...what magic is this (?)" escapes from my lips as Rawr and I slowly draw back from it. I look to Otthor.

Being drawn into it? As in enchantment or like gravity?

Per Manbearcat
As in the latter. This is a physical sensation.

I toss the lit lantern through the opening.

Per Manbearcat
While it looks to be a horizontal shaft, the mote of light is accelerated after it crosses the threshold, as if "falling." It winks out of sight several tens of feet down in a flash as a circle of light violently emanates from the point at which the lantern abruptly disappears.

"Quite the contingency," I say aloud.

I'm pretty sure this is trans-dimensional magic. I'm consulting my accumulated knowledge to confirm this and determine if I can be lowered on a rope through barrier like in the movie "Poltergeist."

[sblock]Spout Lore (Int)
1, 6 +3 = 10

The GM will tell you something interesting and useful about the subject relevant to your situation.[/sblock]

Per Manbearcat
What you're seeing resembles the tales of the dimensional magic of Baba Yaga's Dancing Hut. There is definitely "twisted space" directly beyond this stone wall and a dimensional pocket on the other side of the barrier below you. There is obviously no activation ritual so the portal must be permanently open, the barrier between the two places basically being a superficial, rather than physical, one. A rope or a person should be able to exist simultaneously, and intact, on either side.

"This is much more dangerous than I had anticipated. Farmer Barnum is either a powerful acolyte of Baba Yaga or 'he' is an incarnation of the queen crone of witches herself and we are potentially looking upon an entrance to her fabled Dancing Hut."

I look Saerie in the eye and give a verrrrrrrrry subtle smile. "Only one way to know for sure. You guys could lower me through the barrier by rope. I'll tug hard once for 'pull me out' and twice for 'the coast is clear'. Rawr and the wolf would need to stay up here."

FYI - I'll spend 1 AG to avoid DD on this should Saerie want to go with it.

 

[Binks]

"This is much more dangerous than I had anticipated. Farmer Barnum is either a powerful acolyte of Baba Yaga or 'he' is an incarnation of the queen crone of witches herself and we are potentially looking upon an entrance to her fabled Dancing Hut."

I look Saerie in the eye and give a verrrrrrrrry subtle smile. "Only one way to know for sure. You guys could lower me through the barrier by rope. I'll tug hard once for 'pull me out' and twice for 'the coast is clear'. Rawr and the wolf would need to stay up here."

FYI - I'll spend 1 AG to avoid DD on this should Saerie want to go with it.

"I agree that we should investigate. However, I think we should traverses this together. Your eyes are not as trained or as discerning as my own and my understanding of magic is amateurish compared to your own. Whatever lies on the other side of that barrier will need both of our expertise. And Lucky can sniff out any trouble."

[sblock]+4 to Discern Realities with Lucky![/sblock]

I turn to Rawr and give him instructions to anchor the rope. I'll use the rope that Otthor has given me. I'll get a length of my own from my pack (1 AG). I'll use it to tie a harness knot for each of us and I'll anchor it under the pits of Rawr's huge forelegs.

Leonel can assist Rawr in feeding us rope as we rappel down. Once we cross over, we'll tug once when we don't want any further rope. Once we're ready to come up, we'll tug twice to be pulled back up. I'm not going to ask the Dire Wolf to be involved in this because I suspect he would be a problem and I'd have to test his Loyalty with Order Follower.

I say to Sadia; "Be patient and quell any fears you might have. If there is something on the other side that is dangerous, Otthor and I will be just fine. Whatever it offers, we have seen, and dealt with, far worse. Stay with Rawr, Leonel, and my wolf. It is safe here."

I move to Leonel and place my hands on his shoulders. "I entrust you with the safety of my dear Sadia. Your role in this is every bit as important as Otthor's and I. Anchor our climb up and down and be wary for any danger up here. Rawr and my wolf will be at your side if your blade must be drawn."

[sblock]Obviously this is to address any issues where Leonel may feel like he is short-shrifted or under-utilized which would require Otthor to make an Order Followers move.[/sblock]

 

[Manbearcat]

[sblock]You guys are good to go with your 2 AG spent for the rappel, harness, swiss seat system. Saerie would be able to manage that no problem. You preemptively addressed any misgivings that Leonel may have and Rawr would naturally accommodate this situation, so no need for an Order Followers move.[/sblock]

Leonel sets his feet at the base of the hewn block wall and the rope system is anchored by Rawr. The gravity shift when you cross the threshold is momentarily disorienting, but your combined agility and the complementary work of your comrades up top relatively trivialize the effort as you rappel down, down, down into the close-quarters blackness.

Degobah.

That is what it looks like when you cross-over.

Hanging in mid-air from an unseen dimensional rift, you survey a fog-shrouded landscape of mire. A singular moon gazes down at you from a starless sky. The stench of putrid detritus hangs thick in the air. The humidity is oppressive and the relentless sound of unseen, very large, buzzing insects would be unnerving to all but the most stalwart of hearts. Where the low foliage peaks out of the thick cloak of yellow mist you can see the slimy black of low-slung Cypress, clothed in all manner of vines, gnarly moss, and over-sized fungus.

Where it is not claustrophobic, it is utterly bleak and barren. Such is the case directly below you, some forty feet to the top of the fog-bank and perhaps another five to ten feet to the ground.

The only other light beyond the moon is a singular, unmoving mote drenched in the blanketing fog. It is not far from the ground and within shouting range (Far) where this barren stretch meets a stand of Cypress trees. The sound of humanoid murmuring and the clatter of carpentry rings out from that area. The rounded cone of a thatched roof pokes out of the fog.

 

[Tecklenburg]

Otthor thinks to himself. This must be The Murkendraw, home to Baba Yaga and her infamous Dancing Hut. I reach for the hilt of the elegant Winter Fey blade on my weapon belt. I draw it just enough to see if the sweltering, oppressive heat of this place is enough to trigger its blue radiance and then re-sheathe it fully.

I keep my eyes peeled and open my senses as best I can to help Saerie. Mostly I'll be trying to hear if the murmuring of the figure performing the carpentry is intelligible and, if so, what the creature is saying.

"The Murkendraw, I believe. What is out there?" My voice is barely a whisper.

[sblock]Aid (Bond - Saerie)
1, 4 +2 = 7

Binks takes +1 to Discern Realities, but I expose myself to any danger, retribution, or cost from the move.[/sblock]

 

[Binks]

I'm looking, listening, and smelling the surroundigs very attentively.

What is the topography beneath the mists or what is it most likely given what I'm able to discern?

What is the humanoid carpenter murmuring and is it the satyr?

Any creatures lurking within the mists?

[sblock]Discern Realities (Wis)
1, 4 +3 (+1 Lucky, +1 Aid) = 10

* What should I be on the lookout for?

* What here is useful or valuable to me?

* What here is not what it appears to be?[/sblock]

Per Manbearcat

1) The fog is thick but it waxes and wanes here and there giving you a peak at what lies beneath. The area where the cone-shaped, thatched structure lies appears to be peat dense enough to support such a structure.

The area directly below you is a reed swamp.

You've got about 40 feet of water to clear before you get to the relative firm ground of the peat.

2) It is very mumbly and incoherent, but you can make out the following:

a) The carpenter is definitely the satyr, Farmer Barnum.

b) He is going on about how he thinks he has the exterior wall construction and the appropriate runes finally configured. Perched nearby on an easel, he has a large schematic of the structure he is building. He keeps looking over to it.

3) Something extremely large, horizontally primarily but also girth-wise, is disturbing the reeds and murky waters of the swamp below you.

I fill Otthor in on what Lucky and I have discovered. I lean in close and whisper. "We have to navigate these forty feet to the peat bed." I look down at the forty to fifty feet from the reed swamp to the end of this rope. "We're going to need to tie another length of rope to this to get back out of here."

I retrieve the necessary length to create a knotted line to tether to this that will be reachable from the bottom of the swamp. When it hits water, I pull it up several feet.

"About fifty feet," I say.

[sblock]Spending the 1 AG for this.[/sblock]

Once that is done, I'm going to pull out Covenant of Winter. Remember when I pulled an "Iceman" during the fight with Piscaethces? There is obviously a lot of water vapor in the air. Is that feasible here? Freezing it momentarily to create a slide for us to get to the peat bed?

Per Manbearcat
Sure. Complication-wise though, you're looking at dealing with an immediate thaw due to the heat. The "Iceman chute" would be looking at imminent collapse on a 7-9, so you guys would have your means to get to the bog but you'd have to DD to get there. 10+ and you're good.

[sblock]Swinging yourself free of your rope seat and leaping onto the chute will require your hands. Your take -1 forward from your prior move would apply to that DD (should it come to pass).[/sblock]

Sounds good. I say to Otthor "...get ready" and I pantomime a wavy chute with my arm and leaping from our perches on the rope seats. I convey the same to Lucky with a subtle low growl and whine.

I hold the staff out before me and quietly invoke Old Man Winter.

[sblock]Winter's Covenent (Con)
5, 2 +1 = 8

The effect comes to pass, but you pay nature's price.

Defy Danger (Dex)
2, 5 +3 (take -1) = 9

Success but a worse outcome, hard bargain, or ugly choice.[/sblock]

When the chute appears, Lucky leads the way with a leap onto it. I quickly grab the rope with my free hand and use the pinky and ring finger of the hand that holds CoW and do the same. My "earthen hand" is completely awkward and it throws me a bit off balance as I swing free from my seat onto the fast-fading ice-slide.

Per Manbearcat
I'll change the situation with a post after Otthor's DD, as I'll have to make at least 1 move.

 

[Tecklenburg]

I pay close attention to what Saerie reveals. I think for a moment about casting Invisibility on her, but then I think twice on it. Farmer Barnum is a Warlock. There is a decent chance that he may sense the ripples in the fabric of magic.

I just patiently and studiously watch my companion as she knots the new rope in several places and tethers it to our current rope. There are a thousand skills and more that she knows that I need to learn.

When I see the ice crystals materialize in mid-air, I grab the rope and throw myself from my seat and into a mid-air somersault.

[sblock]Defy Danger (Dex)
6, 2 +3 = 11[/sblock]

I surf down its length momentarily, but when it quickly breaks up, I'm leaping from one melting section to another until I near the ground. A final leap and roll brings me to my feet on the peat bed. The fog is still quite dense, but surely I can hear the good farmer-warlock's incessant mumbling.

 

[Manbearcat]

I hold the staff out before me and quietly invoke Old Man Winter.

[sblock]Winter's Covenent (Con)
5, 2 +1 = 8

The effect comes to pass, but you pay nature's price.

Defy Danger (Dex)
2, 5 +3 (take -1) = 9

Success but a worse outcome, hard bargain, or ugly choice.[/sblock]

When the chute appears, Lucky leads the way with a leap onto it. I quickly grab the rope with my free hand and use the pinky and ring finger of the hand that holds CoW and do the same. My "earthen hand" is completely awkward and it throws me a bit off balance as I swing free from my seat onto the fast-fading ice-slide.

Due to her awkward earthen hand and the tenuous grip on the Winter Fey staff, Saerie is left with a hard choice the moment she propels herself from her rope seat. Her momentum is sufficient to get her to the icy chute and slide down it to the peat bed below. However, the staff shifts in her hand and threatens to fall down into the murky waters of the reed swamp below (and down to whatever thing lurks within).

This is a split-second decision with no time for deliberation. What is Saerie going to do?

1) She can retrieve it mid-air, but that course would cost her all forward momentum, thus depositing her in said reed swamp...but with the Covenant of Winter safely in tow. However, this would obviously also make a hell of a splash, alerting the warlock and whatever inhabits the waters of the reed swamp.

2) She can lose Covenant of Winter to the murk of the mire (perhaps trying to recover it later), but make it safely and silently (enough) to the peat bed.

Regardless, her crusty, cracked earthen hand will have fully recovered its coordination and normal aesthetic.

---

When I see the ice crystals materialize in mid-air, I grab the rope and throw myself from my seat and into a mid-air somersault.

[sblock]Defy Danger (Dex)
6, 2 +3 = 11[/sblock]

I surf down its length momentarily, but when it quickly breaks up, I'm leaping from one melting section to another until I near the ground. A final leap and roll brings me to my feet on the peat bed. The fog is still quite dense, but surely I can hear the good farmer-warlock's incessant mumbling.

Though Otthor cannot see the figure, he can easily make out his obsessive mumbling. Maybe 40 - 50-ish paces away (out of Near range). He hasn't reacted to Otthor's encroachment (we'll wait and see about Saerie, pending her decision).

The peat bed is extremely dense and firm. It may very well make for a sufficient foundation to build a standing structure in this swampy domain. It is also just pliable enough to make for a nice surface to stealthily pad along. No sucking mud, splashing water, or foliage to brush up against.

 

[Binks]

Due to her awkward earthen hand and the tenuous grip on the Winter Fey staff, Saerie is left with a hard choice the moment she propels herself from her rope seat. Her momentum is sufficient to get her to the icy chute and slide down it to the peat bed below. However, the staff shifts in her hand and threatens to fall down into the murky waters of the reed swamp below (and down to whatever thing lurks within).

This is a split-second decision with no time for deliberation. What is Saerie going to do?

1) She can retrieve it mid-air, but that course would cost her all forward momentum, thus depositing her in said reed swamp...but with the Covenant of Winter safely in tow. However, this would obviously also make a hell of a splash, alerting the warlock and whatever inhabits the waters of the reed swamp.

2) She can lose Covenant of Winter to the murk of the mire (perhaps trying to recover it later), but make it safely and silently (enough) to the peat bed.

Regardless, her crusty, cracked earthen hand will have fully recovered its coordination and normal aesthetic.

Ugh. We're talking potential permanent loss of the artifact staff here, yes?

Per Manbearcat
Possibly yes. Reed swamps aren't going to be terribly deep, but you're talking murky, sludge-filled water...the dark of night...who knows what lurks in there...in a deep fog.

[sblock]Here would be your move (which you would take -1 on given all the circumstances.

When you search for Covenant of Winter in the Murkendraw reed swamp, roll +Wis. On a 10+, you find her! On a 7-9, you find her but you also find something that you wish you hadn't![/sblock]

Well, painful splash down with a big critter who isn't likely to bring out the welcome wagon? That doesn't sound so good either.

Saerie isn't so reckless though. I think she'll just clinch her jaw, stifle a curse and watch the artifact fall from her grip to the fog below. She'll deftly navigate the failing ice chute and softly land next to Otthor.

Per Manbearcat
When the staff plunges into the waiting waters below it makes a splash indicative of a smallish object. Farmer Barnum chuckles over at his workbench.

"Muffy, are you playing with your food again?" Quietly to himself; "...naughty girl..."

Muffy, huh? Ok. Why am I not picturing a fluffy and cuddly pet?

I look at Otthor with a raised eyebrow and give him a hand indicating let us move forward. We can sneak along this soft peat no problem, yes?

Per Manbearcat
Correct. You guys are both well beyond the requirements of such a feat.

The fog clears a bit when you close within fifteen feet or so (Reach range). Any further than this and you will indeed have to DD (Dex) to stealth.

Farmer Barnum's back is to you. He is hunched over a workbench, intently inscribing some runes onto a piece of freshly cut timber. The timber is not the wood of Murkendraw so he must have purchased it elsewhere and had it imported here for a pretty penny. Nearby is a sawhorse with a saw, a bunch of fresh timber, and the schematic on the easel.

The structure he is building lies a bit deeper in so it is shrouded by fog.

His staff leans against the workbench right next to him...

I look at the staff and think about removing it from within his arms reach. But I'm not afraid of him and certainly even less so with Otthor at my side. I'm hoping we can handle this civilly. Aggression will earn us no inroads to a peaceable settlement I don't think, even if he cannot help us with his warlock-craft.

I look to Otthor and give him a "after you" gesture, indicating he can speak for us. I've pulled my bow out, have an arrow strung and I'm circling away from Otthor, let us say left. I want to be flanking Farmer Barnum and just on the periphery of visibility. If he goes for his staff or makes an aggressive move, I'm using Called Shot to knock it out of his hand.

 

[Tecklenburg]

I wait until the fog causes me to lose sight of my circling companion. I stand there very casually, one hand thumbing a loop on my weapon belt while the opposite rests easily on the pommel of my sword.

"Lovely night for some carpentry, friend."

[sblock]Farmer Barnum is obviously high strung with a hair trigger. I'm trying to disarm him with easy-goingness and social grace.

Defy Danger (Cha)
3, 3 +1 = 7

Success but a worse outcome, hard bargain, or ugly choice.[/sblock]

Per Manbearcat
He doesn't explode into violence or immediately reach for his staff. Nonetheless, his hunched shoulders barely relax as he quickly wheels and even though he doesn't make a move for it, he definitely eyes his staff. His white knuckle-grip on his rune-carving tool is intense, but he keeps it at his side rather than wielding it before him as a warding implement.

"You must be lost. If you're not, you probably ought to get it. Lost that is."

"Costly venture, this building you're constructing. You just secured a pouch with 200 coins. That will go far toward your project. The problem is, reimbursement for your damages back at your farm would figure maybe 2/3 of that."

I put my hand up and pat the air, letting him know to hold on before he feels I've gotten all accusatory.

"Now I'm willing to look past that...AND...sweeten the pot with an extra 25 coins. That is if you agree to a very simple arrangement. A Warlock with Baba Yaga as his patron would have the mysteries of the universe at his fingertips. Perform a ritual of revelation on a young human girl. That is effectively 100 extra coin to pay your laborers or barter for materials."

[sblock]Parley (Cha)
1, 6 +1 = 7

They will do what you ask, but need some concrete assurance of your promise, right now.[/sblock]

Per Manbearcat
Without hesitation his mouth curls into an almost predatory smile...

"A young human girl...how interesting."

Abruptly his smile fades and he places the rune-carving implement on his workbench with a resounding thud. "Show me the coin. And I'll need the girl here or something of hers; a lock of hair, nail clippings, a shed tear, or something beloved."

I look toward the direction where Saerie disappeared into the fog.

 

[Binks]

I replace the strung arrow in my quiver and shoulder my bow. Once done, I move toward Otthor and step out of the fog at his side.

"We meet again Farmer Barnum."

Per Manbearcat
Not quite smugly, but certainly not friendly; "...so we do."

"Is the ritual better ensured by her actual presence? I'd rather not expose her to this, but if I must then so be it."

[sblock]Take +1 or something?[/sblock]

Per Manbearcat
"It is...but it is not ensured either way. The forces of fate and the powers of divination are both fickle. They are not always in a mood to reveal themselves. And sometimes...others...powerful others...do not want them revealed."

[sblock]The move will be take +3 with her and take +1 with just a token of hers. 10+ and you can ask 3 questions. 7-9 and you can ask 1, but you'll earn the attention of something terrible. On a 6-, an entity dispels the ritual with a sudden and violent response.

* Who are the shadowy figures in Saerie's dreams?
* Why is she burdened with such guilt and sadness?
* What is the looming presence that is interested in Saerie?
* Why is it interested?[/sblock]

I look at Otthor as I begin shaking my head. "If she physically serves as the focus and things go poorly here, she would be put at terrible risk that we may not be able to protect her from...no." I reach for my neck and pull a woven necklace out from underneath my elven armor. My hands go to the clasp and I undo it. I smile. "Saerie made this for me. She wears a matching one. We pretend that there is powerful magic within them that bind us together."

I place it on the workbench. As he reaches for it I keep my hand over it and look him in the eye. "I need this back."

Per Manbearcat
"The casting does no harm to the focus. I make no assurances about any entities that are offended by it..."

I relinquish the necklace. "Very well."

I stand back with Otthor, draw my bow again and restring an arrow. I half-smile to him. "...just in case..."

[sblock]Barnum's Revelation Ritual (take +1)
1, 3 +1 = 5

...an entity dispels the ritual with a sudden and violent response.

Mark 1 xp.[/sblock]

I saved the game right before we did this! I'm reloading and rolling again!

Per Manbearcat
Uh huh

I'll reframe the mess you've gotten yourselves into with a follow-up post.