The Queen Under The Stars
A 5th Edition D&D Adventure for 5th-8th Level Characters
The Elements:
Infinite Loop - Feleira's star-forged ring which allows her to share her immortality
Ice Frog - Fadden's frogs and their icy toxin
Chapel of Wings - Feleira's seat of power / owl roost / place of immortality ritual
Astronomer's Husband - Fadden is an ex-husband, whoever wins Feleira's hand becomes the new husband
Athletic Airship - Ethandril the giant owl is an athletic airship
Banal Competition - Counting the stars in the sky is a banal competition
The Background:
Feleira the Luminous, Queen Under The Stars is an immortal Lady of the Fey. She has long been a student of astronomy, though the fey practice astronomy in different ways than mortals. With a long life span comes a different perspective, and Feleira has spent her years painting the stars in their different positions as the centuries pass, forming a marvelous web of light and dark on the walls of her palace.
With her eye turned to the heavens, Feleira models many aspects of her life on the heavenly bodies above. Her romantic inclinations follow the path of a comet that comes every sixty years, appearing in the sky for a year's time before it departs once more. Sometimes, the marriage lasts beyond the comet's stay, but never for more than a few years; inevitably, she and her husband part ways.
The Queen Under The Stars possesses a magical ring, forged by ancient celestials from a star that fell from the sky. This ring protects Feleira from any disease or poison. It is also instrumental in a ritual of immortality, that Feleira's husband may share in her longevity.
Feleira's most recent ex-husband is a man by the name of Fadden the Fair. He was a Fey Lord of the Marsh, who dwelled in the great marshes of the Feywild. His were the creatures there, and chief among them, his frogs. He caught Feleira's eye at the last celebration, but theirs was a short-lived union. They split ways after merely two months, and so bitter was their parting that Feleira stripped him of the immortality he'd been gifted with.
The Hook:
"In the sky, a new star appears, and thus begins the revelry. Join with the fair folk beneath the jewels of the night sky, with food and drink of quality and quantity. This missive is your invitation to join in the celebration, where Feleira the Luminous, the Queen Under The Stars will choose her suitor.
At the High Perch, Ethandril will remain until the new moon. Appear, be swept up in the revel, and dance with the Queen for a chance at her hand."
The letter is scribed in an immaculate hand, on white parchment edged with silver gilding. It doesn't matter where the PCs found it, but it is in their hands now; an invitation to join the Queen Under The Stars at a grand party. Who could pass up such an offer?
Introductions And Mingling:
High Perch is a wondrous place, full of towering trees and a village amongst those giants. Bridges and walkways arc back and forth throughout, but the top of the tallest tree is the perch from where the village gets its name. And on top of the tree is an owl, larger than any dragon by a fair stretch. The owl's name is Ethandril, and he bears Feleira's Palace on his back.
The characters will find a tall ladder onto the back of the creature, where they will emerge at the edge of a large courtyard. Here on Ethandril's back is a labyrinthine net of towers and collonades, of gardens and beautiful buildings, all of it airy and wondrous. At the far end of the courtyard is an elegant, flowing structure with owl wing embellishments and plenty of open windows.
There are people here too; a myriad assortment of fey and mortals are mingling in the courtyard, all of them dressed in finery. Perceptive or insightful characters might notice a short man in a green doublet wearing an owl mask, sticking to the edges of the crowd and waving off any attempts at conversation; whether or not they notice him, they will meet Fadden later.
Before the characters can join in the celebration, they are met by an elf lady named Avellia. She wears stylized owl armor; a helm with sweeping horned brows, a beak for a noseguard, and a cloak of feathers. Perched on her shoulder is a great horned owl named Benthas, who does the talking. The owl will demand to see their invitation. His disposition will be much softer if any of the characters is dressed in any sort of finery, but he will still be authoritarian until he sees an appropriate letter. Avellia will interject with calming, soothing sentiments, and she will scratch the owl's head when he becomes agitated. Once the fussy owl has scrutinized the letter to his satisfaction, he will allow the characters to join the festivities.
Here, the PCs may mingle with some of the guests on board, and may seek more information about what's happening. In all likelihood, all they know is what was contained in the letter. Most of the guests on board know the details of the celebration, but the fey are coy and playful about sharing information. The PCs may also meet some of the following NPCs:
- Priggs the Satyr, who loves to drink and dance, and is a shameless flirt
- Bosterly Banderwick III, a young noble who fancies himself an adventurer
- T'Raste, a beautiful elven bard here to chronicle the occasion
The characters may notice the court is very gossipy, and conversations keep circling back to lovers and ex-lovers, particularly about Fadden and Feleira. Other prior husbands are mentioned (Jinnael the Sly and Postrothal are mentioned most often), but Fadden certainly receives the most mention, particularly his strange fascination with frogs. The characters may also notice a set of large black boxes set off to one side, clearly gifts from a suitor. Anyone who examines them closely may hear the sound of something moving inside; they contain a number of ice frogs. If asked, NPCs may reveal they were placed there by a pair of men and a woman wearing owl masks.
A Sky Full Of Stars:
As the characters meet and greet, they will notice as Ethandril takes to wing, leaving High Perch far behind. The giant owl is a graceful flyer, and keeps his flight level and even. As he flies, the sun sets, and the sky darkens, revealing the canopy of stars far above.
Feleira the Luminous makes her appearance with a grand entrance; she descends from her chapel, her face skyward, bathing her pale skin in the starlight. Her beauty and grace are without peer, and while her eyes remain fixed on the stars above, she will sing a soft song in sylvan, welcoming their first light upon her face, and bidding them to stay through this night of courtship. Her dress is sleek and dark blue, patterned with tiny magical lights that mimic the stars above.
With the stars properly greeted, Feleira will turn her radiant gaze on the assembled suitors. She will greet them all, and will speak of the evening's agenda; a challenge first, and then a dance. At the culmination of the dance, she will gift her hand to a suitor who has impressed her.
The first challenge is this; count every star in the sky.
Feleira will remain outside, on a high platform where she may gaze upon the stars. The PCs may approach this in a number of ways; counting the stars will take an intelligence check. For complete accuracy, the DC is 20; the further off the result is, the further out the PCs are numerically.
Priggs will lose interest in the counting and will come over to bother the PCs; the satyr will poke fun at anyone still counting, boasting that he counted them all twice already. If he isn't kept from annoying the counter, the intelligence check is made at disadvantage.
The PCs are welcome to come up with an alternate way to count the stars. Or perhaps a way to amuse or entertain Feleira. Bear in mind that fey, even ones so serene as Feleira, have a sly sense of humor, and enjoy a clever take on a solution.
Dancing and Revelry:
After about an hour, Feleira will make her way to the suitors, and ask for an answer. Given a correct answer, or a reply that amuses her will put a character into the Fey Lady's good graces. Regardless of which sort of answer she is given, she will graciously invite the characters to remain for the dance.
As the murmur of conversation spreads across the courtyard, more and more owls will perch along the perimeter, or circle overhead, all emerging from the winged structure at the far end. Benthas and Avellia will check in on the PCs to make sure they aren't causing trouble; the fussy owl seems to believe that the characters are up to something. Avellia seems amused at the suggestion, and will mollify the owl's fears at every turn.
Priggs will be eager to show off his dancing abilities; hooves are the only way to dance, to hear him tell it. Bosterly Banderwick III will suggest that his training in all forms of dance will catch the eye of the Fey Lady. Neither one scored well with counting stars.
Observant PCs might notice Fadden lurking about once more, carrying an elegant black box in his hands. If questioned or approached, he is calm and polite, though an insightful character will notice he seems to be watching Feleira. His other owl-masked servants have all taken up positions near to the black boxes.
As the dance gets under way, Feleira will dance with anyone who catches her fancy. If the PCs did well with counting stars, she will gladly spin with any or all of them. Acrobatics would be the relevant skill, but allow a PC to use other skills creatively here, so long as they can explain how it would be of use. If the characters peformed poorly at counting stars, the Lady will not approach them for a dance unless they dare to request it of her.
Concluding the dance, Feleira will stand at the front of the assembled dancers, removing her ring and placing it on a velvet cushion before her. The ring is the focus for the immortality ritual, though that effect remains even with the ring removed. However, without her ring, the Queen Under The Stars is no longer immune to disease and poison; the time to strike has come. Before she can announce her suitor, a dart strikes her neck from a place of hiding. With a gasp, she will put her hand to her neck, her skin going completely pale, and shaking, she will fall unconscious.
What's Fadden Up To?
Fadden the Fair has slipped aboard the airship with three helpers, all disguised with stylized owl masks in black and silver. His helpers have carried four large black boxes, and positioned them beside the dance floor; each one contains three giant frogs, all of them hungry and waiting patiently for their master to release them.
He has a small black box his own which contains a blowgun and a dart tipped with a potent concentration of the toxin from the skin of his ice frogs, which freezes the blood in the veins and induces a great torpor.
While the crowd is mingling and chatting, Fadden is getting re-acquainted with the layout of things; he is trying to assess any of the possible threats in the crowd. While the assembled guests are counting stars, Fadden is keeping an eye out for a good point to launch his attack from. His helpers are setting up the boxes, making sure they are spread out so the frogs can attack quickly. As the dance progresses, the helpers are each near the boxes (the lady has two, while the men each have one box), while Fadden himself will move to his hiding spot, open up his blowgun, and poison the Queen.
It is possible for observant PCs to derail Fadden's plans. If they notice the suspicious activity and take steps to head him off, it is entirely possible that he never has the chance to unleash his frogs and poison Feleira. This is perfectly fine! Observant and pro-active characters deserve to have a chance to head off a disaster before it happens.
The Confrontation:
There is a gasp from the assembled court, followed swiftly by screams. Fadden's owl-masked minions have opened the large boxes and unleashed a dozen ice frogs, who are leaping about and are using their toxic skin to paralyze and render guests unconscious. Furthermore, a particularly large ice frog is bounding towards the edge of the courtyard, where it clearly intends to try and paralyze Ethandril himself! In the chaos, Fadden appears from nowhere and snatches the ring from its cushion, disappearing swiftly into Feleira's quarters at the head of the courtyard.
The characters must take action! They are the only ones; none of the others among the suitors are adventurers, and the guards were the first victims struck by the frogs. They may need to divide their efforts; the frogs must be stopped before they can devour the guests they have paralyzed or knocked out. The larger frog must be stopped before it can paralyze Ethandril, sending the entire airship into an spiral to the ground. And, Fadden himself must be stopped before he can complete the ritual and regain immortality. Surely once he is immortal once again, he will flee the airship with the ring.
Avellia and Benthas have moved to cut off the huge frog headed for Ethandril; she will cry out to the PCs that she'll hold it long enough that they can save the others. Without any aid, the frog will down her in a round or two. But it might buy them the time to deal with the dance floor frogs (or send help to her, should they choose). Either way, Fadden will have enough time to begin his ritual.
The key of it is the ring; if placed on a finger, it will cleanse a victim of the frog's toxin. If the PCs don't realize this, perhaps one of the NPCs tending to the wounded calls out that their magic does nothing to rouse the sleepers, and the ring must be found to cure them.
They will find Fadden at the Altar of Stars, a room at the far end of Faleira's chambers, where glass windows offer a beautiful view of the night sky. A telescope is affixed to a mounting, and it seems to gather starlight to focus it in a single point on the altar's top. Fadden has placed the ring on the altar, and there he speaks the words to the ritual that will grant him immortality.
The PCs will likely need to fight Fadden. He is too near to his goal to listen to any sort of reason. But if the PCs have a convincing argument, they can sway him to surrender peacefully. Otherwise, he must be brought low by force.
With Fadden defeated, the characters may retrieve the ring and return to Feleira, there to place the ring on her finger and remove the effects of the toxin.
Conclusion:
Feleira will be greatly thankful to whoever places the ring back on her finger, and will declare them the victorious suitor. She will take that person as her husband (a largely traditional title, since she will marry a woman just as much as a man). There will be a great wedding, and the hero will be gifted immortality through the same ritual that Fadden was attempting. The husband's companions will all be granted gifts of sylvan riches.
It is likely that Feleira will tire of this new husband in the usual year and a bit. Additionally, the Queen Under The Stars is a very low maintenance spouse; she is amused to allow her husband to go off on adventures, so long as he or she brings something back for her. It is largely up to the DM how to use this unique connection for a character going forward. A marriage to a fey lady has many upsides and just as many challenges.
In short, her husband is in for a year that will be anything but dull.
