The hidden

[megamania]

THE HIDDEN: BEYOND NEW WATER
12 NEW TEAM ENTERS THE HIDDEN
SEGMENT 202
”BUSY MORNING”
04/29/18

RHAAN 2, 1000

At daybreak Payne hears something. He can not place it. The goblin and Xena being up for prayers hear it- wings. They look to the sky and see the cause. Part horse and part eagle…. A Hippogriff. But one unlike any other. It has calls out with a screech and flies with hesitation. It is slightly discolored. It has orange and brown coloration.

It turns and dives at the startled group as they call for the others to awaken. The sonic screech it uses for echo location also acts as a stunning blast. Everyone keeps their wits about themselves and awaken quickly. The goblin runs towards its charge and leaps into the air. The enchanted wounding blade slices the underbelly of the creature as it begins to sweep upwards. Payne finishes it off as he blasts it. It crashes into the obsidian and slides down in three pieces.

“Uh!” is all the just awoken orc can muster as the intestines seem to wiggle on their own.

They pick up camp and prepair to move on. Xena calls up fresh water to freshen up with (teasing both Dan and Payback with the washing) and having some of the water land in a bowl for the goblin.

As they begin to leave a shriek of pain can be heard from the direction of the Hidden. They turn with weapons readied and find…. A Bronze Dragon Wrymling struggling to stay in the air, falters towards them. As it falls dots of bright color can be seen on it. Dragon Beetles! The Dragon Fear! A few dozen beetles about 1-1 ½ inches in size scurry about it. They chew at the young scales and burrow into the draconic flesh. They are killing the young dragon!

Dan rushes to it hoping to save it. Khiis rushes to it to sacrifice it to the Keeper. The others merely hold their ground still transfixed by what they are witnessing. The dragon rolls about hoping to crush the beetle swarm. Despite to save it and hoping it survives the flames, the barbarian breathes out a fire that kills many beetles but also blackens the weakened scales. The remaining beetles chew undaunted. The goblin can not get close enough to grapple for a killing blow. A second flame burst and Dan is nearly in tears. He begins to pull and pick at the beetles as he can. The tossing and turning of the dragon makes it difficult. When he does get one he flings it away to try for another. In this time the beetle bounces and skids to a stop and scurries directly back to the victum.

Xena and Payback step on a few before they run back. Soon they kill the last of the beetles but…. It is too late.

In draconic…… (so young it hasn’t learned the common language) “Ohhhhh….. my parents will be so mad…. At me. They said…. They said not to come here……the dragon fear….. has come. I didn’t believe them……but I saw…. And now …. I have experienced…. The Dragon Fear…….”

Dan slumps and cradles the dead dragon. Unknown to the goblin, their spiritual beliefs were similar. It’s parents were followers of the druid sect- Children of Winter.

The barbarian from the land of dragons buries the wyrmling in the few areas that allow for it here. It has been a busy and hard day so far.

 

[megamania]

Poor widdle thing.....

 

[megamania]

THE HIDDEN: BEYOND NEW WATER
12 NEW TEAM ENTERS THE HIDDEN
SEGMENT 203
”GREY DUSK ORC AMBUSH”
04/29/18

RHAAN 2, 1000

The group has buried the dead dragon and are beginning to ration their food rations. Xena has proven that water is not an issue but food is. They have seen nothing edible in New Water since they entered it days ago.

Payback will not admit it, but he is lost. The stars are not from Siberys. Even the sun seems…. Different. The moons are clearly wrong. From twelve there are maybe 2-4. This has gone from strange to horribly wrong.

They advance through an area with very vibrant green vegetation and moving New Water to the Obsidian Wall. The orc ranger follows the current and finds a wide opening in the wall…. Complete with a very high waterfall. As they debate what to do, they discover they have been carefully followed…. By the Grey Dusk Orcs! About two dozen of them!

Pinned in by the advancing orcs and the waterfall that is walled in by sharp glass, they have no choice- they need to defend themselves.

Xena panics and begins to cast a spell while taking cover behind Dan. Her confusion spell strikes nearly everyone- party and orcs alike. Payback takes several hard hits while everyone else has avoided the first rally. Payne has seemly committed suicide as he runs off the waterfall much to the delight of the orcish leader. Suddenly, he and nearly everyone there are striking at everyone else.

It is a full melee. Payback…. Startled and angry at his passenger raises his double axe so that the handle strikes the goblin across the bridge of his nose. Angry at the assault, and also under the spell effect, he stabs twice downward blindly. First he strikes the eye patch (nat 1) then he stabs deep (nat 20 and near max dam) into the remaining eye. Between the blows from the other orcs and this….. Payback goes down with a bloody splash.

Xena and Dan (both out of range of the spell) are amazed as three orcs swing at the same time and behead each other (rolled once for the three nat 20, confirmed with a nat 20- house rules- auto kill).
A few orcs that were out of range throw javelins at the now flying Warlock. They miss but does he as he is taken back by the three orcs killing each other. No one saw what happened to ranger.

As orcs drop, the survivors leap to the next closest surviving orcs and the goblin. Riding the floating body towards the waterfalls, the goblin kills orcs as he can. The Keeper would expect no less.

Shortly there are no orcs left (not even Payback whom has floated over the falls). Finding a path near the waterfalls they step onto dry land. The goblin had difficulty doing this as the water was chest high and with a strong current. Dan, his new ride, helps him.

“Did anyone see which orc killed him?” asks the Cleric of The Fury. Her emotions are building and screaming for release and vengeance.

Wisely the goblin allows them to think it was an orc.

 

[megamania]

THE HIDDEN: BEYOND NEW WATER
12 NEW TEAM ENTERS THE HIDDEN
SEGMENT 204
”DEROS FRIST”
04/29/18

RHAAN 2, 1000 NEW WATER

The orc looks deeply into her crystal ball. She watches from the safety of her tower on the NE side of The New Water near The Hidden. She has first sent her orc raiders and thieves onto the shores of Yrlag’s outer regions to scare away or distract would-be adventurers as instructed by The Master of Hidden Secrets. Then she began to send them after specific groups getting too close to her master’s activities.

She is running out orc minions.

She watches the largest of her remaining forces stalk a group on the NW corner of The Hidden. They have followed them for three hours now. They use the towers of shards to cover them as they follow. The group has made a mistake. They have gone close to a tall waterfall. She smiles as the orcs move in to pounce for the easy kill.

Then she witnesses a tiefling caste a spell she knows all too well. Confusion.

Then there is sheer chaos and destruction. It pleases her until she sees how her orcs are doing. They are killing each other rather than just the group! Nooooo! She screams and magically slams a pile of books onto the floor. She is nearly foaming at the mouth.

“Without my minions I will need to do this myself!”

She drops a cloth over the ball even as the dead ranger orc washes over the waterfall. She storms into another room to collect items.

 

[megamania]

THE HIDDEN: BEYOND NEW WATER
12 NEW TEAM ENTERS THE HIDDEN
SEGMENT 205
”FROM THE CREATION SCHEMA COMES…..”
04/29/18

RHAAN 2, 1000 NIGHT TIME AT YRLAG

An airship with battle scars slowly flies down the river from Eldeen at night. The fiery ring is mere feet from the water’s surface. Fish too close to the surface are shocked by the sudden heat. Some float to the surface gasping to process oxygen from the suddenly heated water.

If the commander of the ship knew…. It wouldn’t bother him at the least.

The vampiric looking Cleric of Vol stands at the bow. His billowing dark green robes flap about his arms and hips. He watches the oncoming lights. Lights from small controlled torches and cold fire lanterns. He also sees a brighter light. A ring in the air above the primitive settlement.

It has been a long time since he was near Vollax and his man servant Quintos. They are sadistic and ruthless. Beyond that, the cleric has little respect for him. They each rose in power at roughly the same pace. Then about three years ago, Vol herself, asked him to seek the six pieces of a very powerful artifact- The Creation Schema. Something he would have had if not for Kim ir’Elderich and that damned halfling Cedious. Vollax was placed on a mission involving a few Draconic Prophecies Vol thought she and her other generals had deciphered them correctly. She is not convinced he is taking this assignment seriously. Gussa is also here doing her own thing…. As usual.

Vollax is not expecting me. I will enjoy this.

As they seem to float over the first of the docks, he sees people looking up. Some are pointing, others seek shelter, either way- they pay respect to the arrival of the new lord and master. Best yet, people on Vollax’s ship have begun to panic.

It is not an easy docking at the lighthouse where Vollax already has docked. But it is done. As one Blood of Vol cleric rises to walk onto the lighthouse so does another.

Vollax has a stern and unhappy look on his face. “Is that you Garrow?”

 

[megamania]

THE HIDDEN: BEYOND NEW WATER
12 NEW TEAM ENTERS THE HIDDEN
SEGMENT 206
”ABERRANT HUGE SPIDERS OF THE HIDDEN”
05/06/18

RHAAN 2, 1000 LATE AFTERNOON INSIDE THE HIDDEN

The four “adventurers” walk along a cliff edge. To their back is sharp and hot black glass and on the other side of the 3-6 foot wide pathway is a hundred foot cliff into the jungles of The Hidden. This is how the group learns their fearless leader has a fear. He fears heights. He gets a few burns and cuts as he inches along the glass

The warlock- Payne- has taken the easy route. He is flying. Khiis happily strolls along…. Thinking private dark and deadly thoughts. Thoughts of The Keeper and The Web. He loses his happy thoughts shortly as they reach a dead end. The path continues but on the other side of a fast moving river. A series of cascading water falls with black glass protruding from the edges and within promise a painful death.

Also on the other side is a statue. As the others consider how to cross the dangerous waterway, the warlock flies over to it. It depicts a life-sized wizard with huge bulging eyes and a tiny mouth. He has no nose. Instead of hands holding a staff, each of the fingers are tentacles that wrap around the shaft of the quarterstaff.

“How to cross?” asks the barbarian.

“Rope?” suggests the cleric of The Fury.

“I have. What of it?”

“Perhaps Payne can fly it to the statue- anchor it. Then fly back and hold it as we cross carefully.”

“It may work.” Agrees Dan.

The goblin watches as the rope is collected and stretched from statue to them. Then the flyer pulls it taught. “Who is first?”

Everyone looks at her as she suggested it first. She silently motions to herself. “Me?” She at each. The goblin has a strange hard to read look on his green wrinkled face.

She walks up to the line and makes a few grand motions in the air and holds her palm to the other side then to the water before her. She looks over her shoulder to the three there waiting for her and quickly- incredibly quickly runs over to the far side. Dan notes her feet never even get wet.

Next is the goblin. He swings up onto the rope and shimmies across using his arms and legs along with a belt. Half way across he notes the long fall if he fell into the water and were to be swept away. The big barbarian has to go next. This thought brings a smirk to the killer.

Dan swallows hard as he grasps the rope. As he leans onto the rope and his foot hits the water a strong breeze comes from no where. The wind shifts the flyer and the rope goes slightly slack. He sucks in his breath as he braces himself. The goblin frowns as he stops his slide and the rope grows taunt again. He struggles to cross as the heavier body is harder for the flying warlock to support. Once he is near the edge Xena reaches out and grasps his hand. He finds himself with better footing and easily steps onto the land.

They reclaim the rope and look over the statue briefly once more but as a group. The warlocks tries to detect magic on it or within it but finds nothing. They continue on the path onto a new narrow cliffside walkway. Dan the barbarian is not impressed.

Luckily for him, Payne finds a hidden path that cuts back and forth down the cliffside into the valley below. They reach the bottom and look about. New Water, strange too vibrate green and nearly glowing yellow plants, vines and flowers fill the area. Strange, mostly orange, sand and pebbles make up the land. Mixed in the orange are red, blue, yellow, green and a few scarce purple pebbles. The warlock looks at this and more.

“There is a river not far away.”

They cut through the strange alien brush and reach a slow moving river about thirty feet wide. There are dozens of smaller waterways leading into the main river.

They are about to cross when the warlock calls out a warning. Three strange mutated huge water striders are floating down the river slowly. The group attack them quickly.

The warlock strikes from above. Xena castes a blast of pure sunlight onto one. Dan charges across the water…. No. He charges on top of the water and strikes a strider deeply. The goblin goes to move out and instead trips on the water and is submerged. He surfaces and finds the priestess next to him, on land.

“Need help little man?” She is enjoying the goblin’s disposition. Especially as the gentle current begins to pull him away from her. His look of disgust is priceless. If she did intend to share her spell with him, he would not accept it.

The two spiders go down quickly as the first one has crawled, smoking, with black curled up legs under it. The warlock finishes it off quickly.

 

[megamania]

Aberrant Huge Spiders (Striders)

 

[megamania]

THE HIDDEN: BEYOND NEW WATER
12 NEW TEAM ENTERS THE HIDDEN
SEGMENT 207
”RAIDERS OF A FRUIT TREE”
05/06/18

RHAAN 2, 1000 LATER AFTERNOON INSIDE THE HIDDEN

Twenty minutes later, further down the river Payne spots something rising out of the forest. Something very large and off white. He also sees something between them and this object. A tree that looks out of place (it’s the first they have seen) and an ogre is picking at its fruit.

Given no reason to, he attacks the ogre. At this point he sees the group of gnolls that were directing the giant-kin. Oops. Oh well.

The gnolls were hidden by large and tall shards of glass. They move around it and find the main group flatfooted but at a distance. They attack with their bows raining arrows onto the unsuspecting group. Paniced by the surprise, Xena releases a spell of confusion. It has no affect on them. (incredibly all passed) Dan hurries up to attack them but by using the shards for cover. Khiss holds back. He really doesn’t like these wet environments. Xena asks if he wants to run on water. “At what cost?”

“Fine- drown you little twirp.” And she casts Confusion once more but at a different spot. Many suddenly stop and babble including the Ogre. A few gnolls defy her attempts to disrupt them. One, a cleric of The Mockery, calls up a spiritual weapon to attack the flying armored “man”.

Dodging the floating weapon of faith, the warlock further attacks the ogre whom is nearly defenseless. Dan , charging on the water’s surface, begins to take down babbling gnolls ones by one. A better skilled fighter holds back the barbarian. This ranger switches from bow to sword as the barbarian moves in. The barbarian drives him into the glass. Pushing and driving the gnoll back and forth on the glass, the leather armor begins to slice apart. The cleric is about to attack him with a spell from behind but the tiefling follower of The Fury strikes first. A hold spell stops her in her tracks. Unlike her, Xena moves up to attack in melee. With her rapier she attacks the gnoll priestess but after the first strike her will to survive overcomes the spell. But the gnoll sees what is happening as the ogre falls from repeated elderitch blasts from the flying warlock.

She decides to flee. With her magical kama having faded away, Payne easily now concentrates on her. The last three gnolls go down quickly.

After looting the bodies for whatever they happened to have they then heal and patch themselves up.

After the warlock mentions the white hillside ahead of them along the river, they head to it.

Though late in the day, they head for it. Finally reaching it, it is more like a large white mound made of a course sand-paper like shell. They circle it but find no entrance. Birds of many sizes fly and circle the mound. Deciding to look into the birds, the goblin easily begins to climb it. The others follow.

As the sun begins to set, they find an opening near the top. Large bird dropping and an occasional feather doesn’t seem to worry the adventurers. They peer into the sheer darkness and find a room with two exits.

Time to camp.

 

[megamania]

Do gnolls smell like wet dogs?

 

[megamania]

THE HIDDEN: BEYOND NEW WATER
13 THE PALE MOUND
SEGMENT 208
”TO KILL AN “EAGLE” FAMILY“
05/12/18

RHAAN 2, 1000 JUST AFTER DARK WITHIN THE PALE MOUND

Khiis settles in the back corner of the room. He trusts no one here. Xena and Dan lay down near each other on an opposite corner from the goblin. Payne stays up to guard. Though not spoken out loud, it is understood that the warlock is not a normal person and is most likely undead.

About an hour later, just as the sun sets, he hears something in the next room. A rustling sound with a quiet shriek. He doesn’t investigate it as he also hears something outside. Flapping sounds with a quiet thump. Instead of waking anyone, the warlock lines himself up with the short tunnel leading into the Mound. Something blocks out the star light and thus the warlock fires away with his elderitch blasts.

The creature screeches and tries to hurry into the room. A second blast is released as the the very large giant Eagle is about to enter the room. Xena and Dan awaken and get up to aid the defense of the room. The goblin rolls over to sleep more.

The eagle is killed before it gets into the room where its sheer size wouldn’t work against it. At this point they see the creature is not normal. It has red enlarged eye, tentacles and patches of no feathers but instead tough scaly green skin.

RHAAN 3, 1000

Khiis rolls over and awakens in the morning. The others are awake already and quietly discussing things including Xena doing her usual renewal of spells and creation of water to shower before everyone. Then his wary eyes go to the entrance and he sees a mutated head and one wing of a large ugly eagle.

“By the souls of the Keeper! This is what happens as a Sleeper? If my sleep was any Deeper… It would only become Creepier!” growls and calls out the goblin slipping back into his rhyming habit. “Explain before I complain!”

“Too late Lil’ man.” Says the naked tiefling picking up her leather armor and thigh high boots of red leather.

Dan, still staring at her while telling himself to ignore her, merely grunts at the concerned goblin.

The greedy goblin checks his pack and his belt. Everything is as it should. Everything being in order he breaks down to his primal instincts. He walks over to the eagle and considers what would be the prime piece.

Then they hear it. Quiet sounds…. In the next room over. Looking to each other, they pick up weapons (Xena quickly gets the last boot on) and they move towards the adjoining room.

Those with dark vision spot several large nests with three eagles (also aberrant) and many babies just hatched. The warlock attacks without warning. This heartless and merciless attack bothers Xena. The Fury calls to her. The husband has been killed. The mothers and children are defenseless before them and they are not attacking. Instead the mothers are trying to protect their young.

Dan, wielding a sun rod, rushes past her and attacks a mother bird. The warlock kills a young chick…. One with blue lifeless tentacles growing from its neck and chest. The barbarian kills the animal he started on and suddenly finds himself unable to move (Hold Person by Xena hoping the eagle would get in a shot or two) All of the eagles are killed except for one chick. The small “bird” goes berserk and attacks the warlock. It succeeds through a magical effect but scratches the armored warlock all the same. He utterly destroys the bird out of a mix of embarrassment and rage.

Dan goes back to the camp room where he can be alone with Xena. She is kneeling down next to the dead male eagle. She is whispering something to herself. “We were concidering cutting up this bird for food.”

“Blade.” She asks with her hand out. She has only a club and her god’s rapier for use. Suddenly in a crazed fury, she begins to strike at the animal. Dan is startled as are the others as they watch her from behind…. A safe distance behind her.

[ DM NOTE: The Player of Xena rolls a d20 with any change / encounter of conditions. The result is how she responds. She is very unstable and unpredictable]