Heroica RPG - Quest #159: An Unexpected Return - Hovels

[Waterbrick Down]

40 minutes ago, Zepher said:

 "Howdy, there. You look lost. Need some directions?"

The figure turns and the heroes are greeted by the familiar face of Elphaba the Witch. She wears traveling clothes, a shrunken head emitting an eerie glow hanging from the top of her staff.

"Ha! Lost? A witch in a spooky forest and he thinks we're the ones who are lost?! That's rich!"


"Quite Rodrick." The witch smiles slightly at the heroes. "Figures Heroica would be mixed up in all of this. What role do you play in all of this carnage?" Elphaba indicates all of the bodies surrounding the grove.

[Khorne]

23 hours ago, Alfadas said:

You are right. Not from around here. I was once part of a tribe, in the far north. Pretty cold up there, which explains the lack of clothing I suppose. Torald gestures at his, admittedly, quite impressive muscles, which are out for everyone to see. You know, it's just so warm around here, even now, in the winter. But where are you from? You said it yourself, you haven't been in the Hall much, where have you been?

Eric grinned widely. "From up north you say? Same here. I, too, once lived in the far north. The land of Vikings is from where I hail: the frozen continent of Värtland. There was once another one of us in the Hall. A Hero named Haldor. Other than him, I've yet to meet another Nord. What tribe or clan do you call your own?"

The Nord didn't expand much upon his own history in Värtland and chose to answer the second part of Torald's question. "The way I see it, I'm kind of stuck in Eubric, so I just try to make the best of it. Heroica has been low on my list of priorities as of late. I mostly spend my time managing my bar over at the Eubric Waterfront. You should drop by sometime. It's a home away from home for us Northerners. The Mead is good and...", he paused and tapped his nose, "...there are many extra carnal delights to be enjoyed."

22 hours ago, Palathadric said:

While following the tracks, I look more closely at just how "large" this thing that was dragged towards the portal seems to have been. The size of a dragon perhaps?

"This 'Fey One'...if he/she was a veteran, he/she must be in the city with the others...or?"

"You raise a fair point, Petaldan. The Fey One is most likely with the other Veterans. However, from what I gathered or heard, she always was a peculiar one, so maybe she chose not to join in on the plans of the other Veterans."

6 minutes ago, Waterbrick Down said:

The figure turns and the heroes are greeted by the familiar face of Elphaba the Witch. She wears traveling clothes, a shrunken head emitting an eerie glow hanging from the top of her staff.


"Quite Rodrick." The witch smiles slightly at the heroes. "Figures Heroica would be mixed up in all of this. What role do you play in all of this carnage?" Elphaba indicates all of the bodies surrounding the grove.

Eric chuckled. "Well, well, well, if it isnt' Elphaba. It's sure been a while since our paths last crossed in Babeleth." The Nord scanned the surroundings and raised his shoulders. "This mess? We don't have anything to do with that. I'm far from a tree hugger, but I'm definitely not a proponent of fairy genocide, either."

[Waterbrick Down]

16 minutes ago, Khorne said:

Eric chuckled. "Well, well, well, if it isnt' Elphaba. It's sure been a while since our paths last crossed in Babeleth."

Elphaba rolls her eyes.

"Ah, the Nord, how did your dealings with the Eatress turn out? It sounds like you managed to somehow not let Eubric burn to the ground."

18 minutes ago, Khorne said:

The Nord scanned the surroundings and raised his shoulders. "This mess? We don't have anything to do with that. I'm far from a tree hugger, but I'm definitely not a proponent of fairy genocide, either."

"You've sided with dubious causes in the past and you're conveniently at the scene of this catastrophe as well..."

[Zepher]

The witch from the marketplace. Stranger things had happened, but Boomingham can’t feel but nearly everyone is coming out of the woodwork. When was the last time the heroes had seen her?

”Well, night as well lay out cards on the table. Don’t know how much you know but the Veterans, original variety, have shown up and kicked us out for our... siding with dubious causes in the past, it would seem. Not that I have to answer for that. Must have been the rest of these vagabonds. We thought the Oracle might have an answer or two for us but her Temple was invaded by some plant and we found a portal which took us here... where exactly is here, by the by, and what were they?” Boomingham indicates the skeletons with his sword.

[Waterbrick Down]

2 hours ago, Zepher said:

”Well, night as well lay out cards on the table. Don’t know how much you know but the Veterans, original variety, have shown up and kicked us out for our... siding with dubious causes in the past, it would seem. Not that I have to answer for that. Must have been the rest of these vagabonds. We thought the Oracle might have an answer or two for us but her Temple was invaded by some plant and we found a portal which took us here... where exactly is here, by the by, and what were they?” Boomingham indicates the skeletons with his sword.

"Honesty... that I can deal with. I've heard of the unrest in Eubric, I clearly had no intention of stepping into the middle of a civil war hence my absence lately, however... You're in the Lost Forest of Babeleth a few leagues west of Fellcrest and these poor souls..."

"Faerie Fricassee!"

[Alfadas]

3 hours ago, Khorne said:

Eric grinned widely. "From up north you say? Same here. I, too, once lived in the far north. The land of Vikings is from where I hail: the frozen continent of Värtland. There was once another one of us in the Hall. A Hero named Haldor. Other than him, I've yet to meet another Nord. What tribe or clan do you call your own?"

The Nord didn't expand much upon his own history in Värtland and chose to answer the second part of Torald's question. "The way I see it, I'm kind of stuck in Eubric, so I just try to make the best of it. Heroica has been low on my list of priorities as of late. I mostly spend my time managing my bar over at the Eubric Waterfront. You should drop by sometime. It's a home away from home for us Northerners. The Mead is good and...", he paused and tapped his nose, "...there are many extra carnal delights to be enjoyed."

Torald shakes his head in disbelieve. No way. Another Nord? Wow. Torald gives the other Nord a big hug. Haldor. Hmm. Can't say I've heard of him. Torald then gets a bit silent. As I've been banished from my tribe, for some stupid reason, I'm not allowed to name them. Out of fear of retribution or something. The tribe herbalist had cast a curse on me. You probably know the deal. Speak their name, die a slow and horrible death. Even though our herbalist was a bit, how to say this, crazy in the head, I'm not testing it out. 

Anyway. That bar sounds lovely. It's been a while since I had a proper mead. Chose to sober up for this whole ordeal. And those, carnal delights, sound wonderful. When this is over, I will stop by, share some war stories. 

2 minutes ago, Waterbrick Down said:

"Honesty... that I can deal with. I've heard of the unrest in Eubric, I clearly had no intention of stepping into the middle of a civil war hence my absence lately, however... You're in the Lost Forest of Babeleth a few leagues west of Fellcrest and these poor souls..."

"Faerie Fricassee!"

Faerie fricassee? Fancy name for fairies. Anyway, doesn't matter. Shame they died... By the way, do you know anything about an Oracle? We traced her steppes through the portal and then we stumbled upon you.

[samurai-turtle]

Keeping quiet, Germ wasn't really impressed with the witch. The only question he had about her is she an orc? 

Staying in the shadows tries to get a better look a the bodies. 

[Zepher]

Even the normally jovial and oblivious Boomingham winces a little as Torald gives Eric a full out hug. “Didn’t know Nords showed that sort of affection,” Boomingham hisses teasingly to Eric.

Returning his attention to the witch Boomingham rearranges his thoughts. Not Dastan but instead Babeleth, an equally foreign land though... closer to Salamanda, if his memory serves... there had been a forest outside that strange land as well with strange and beautiful creatures. “Appreciate if you don’t want to involve yourself, but one way or another you’re already playing some part. A giant flower burst through the temple and there’s a portal leading right to you in front of the flower, so you’d understand why you’re the best lead we’ve got in regards to the Oracle. You’re the ether expert. What do you make of it? Think it was a defensive fail safe she had rigged up, or should we be concerned for her?”

[Palathadric]

"But what are you doing here?" I ask, mildly terrified.

On 2/12/2018 at 10:42 AM, MysticModulus said:

"This is nothing like any demonic realm I've ever seen, everything seems so... Smooth?"

 Now that I see the picture.

[Waterbrick Down]

On 2/15/2018 at 3:10 PM, Alfadas said:

Faerie fricassee? Fancy name for fairies. Anyway, doesn't matter. Shame they died... By the way, do you know anything about an Oracle? We traced her steppes through the portal and then we stumbled upon you.

"It was a joke dearie and a poor one at that. I haven't seen any traces of your Oracle. Are you so sure she came here, or did something..."

On 2/15/2018 at 4:28 PM, samurai-turtle said:

Keeping quiet, Germ wasn't really impressed with the witch. The only question he had about her is she an orc? 

Staying in the shadows tries to get a better look a the bodies. 

Germ counts nearly two dozen dead faeries, stripped to the bone and lying about the grove. Men, women, children, there seemed to be no commonality other than their race. While poking through the corpses, Germ finds a small mound of Faerie Dust.

Faerie Dust (Allows the user to change their age, size, and gender for a short period of time. +1 Stealth, Consumable.)

On 2/15/2018 at 5:10 PM, Zepher said:

Even the normally jovial and oblivious Boomingham winces a little as Torald gives Eric a full out hug. “Didn’t know Nords showed that sort of affection,” Boomingham hisses teasingly to Eric.

Returning his attention to the witch Boomingham rearranges his thoughts. Not Dastan but instead Babeleth, an equally foreign land though... closer to Salamanda, if his memory serves... there had been a forest outside that strange land as well with strange and beautiful creatures. “Appreciate if you don’t want to involve yourself, but one way or another you’re already playing some part. A giant flower burst through the temple and there’s a portal leading right to you in front of the flower, so you’d understand why you’re the best lead we’ve got in regards to the Oracle. You’re the ether expert. What do you make of it? Think it was a defensive fail safe she had rigged up, or should we be concerned for her?”

"This thing," Elphaba indicates the giant flower remains, "Isn't natural. I was running errands in Fellcrest when a patron mentioned odd goings on in the Lost Woods, Beelzebub my cat, ran off into the woods and I tracked him here, to this..." 


"He probably got eaten! Good riddance."


"There's been rumors of the Faerie being involved in some sort of war, but with whom or what I'm not sure. This plant however... it's more like an egg. Something was born here or summoned and not too long ago. Are any of you trained in the arcane?"

[Palathadric]

4 hours ago, Waterbrick Down said:

This plant however... it's more like an egg. Something was born here or summoned and not too long ago. Are any of you trained in the arcane?"

"Oh, dear, it appeared as if something large had been dragged from the woods into the portal we came through. ...Maybe it was a really large Triffid?"

[MysticModulus]

16 minutes ago, Palathadric said:

"Oh, dear, it appeared as if something large had been dragged from the woods into the portal we came through. ...Maybe it was a really large Triffid?"

"That would be a dire danger indeed, remember the small one Petaldan? Could it be some kind of reptile?" Ezeran tries to track down some Triffid tracks.

[Khorne]

On 15-2-2018 at 7:10 PM, Waterbrick Down said:

Elphaba rolls her eyes.
"Ah, the Nord, how did your dealings with the Eatress turn out? It sounds like you managed to somehow not let Eubric burn to the ground."
"You've sided with dubious causes in the past and you're conveniently at the scene of this catastrophe as well..."

"My dealings with the Eatress turned out to be rather profitable for myself. I can't vouch for the others involved, however. Then again, we all make our own choices, they knew what they were getting into."

The Nord continued: "Dubious causes is such a relative notion. Truth is in the eye of the beholder," he smirked, "I always got what I wanted in the end."

On 15-2-2018 at 10:10 PM, Alfadas said:

Torald shakes his head in disbelieve. No way. Another Nord? Wow. Torald gives the other Nord a big hug. Haldor. Hmm. Can't say I've heard of him. Torald then gets a bit silent. As I've been banished from my tribe, for some stupid reason, I'm not allowed to name them. Out of fear of retribution or something. The tribe herbalist had cast a curse on me. You probably know the deal. Speak their name, die a slow and horrible death. Even though our herbalist was a bit, how to say this, crazy in the head, I'm not testing it out. 

Anyway. That bar sounds lovely. It's been a while since I had a proper mead. Chose to sober up for this whole ordeal. And those, carnal delights, sound wonderful. When this is over, I will stop by, share some war stories. 

Eric was caught off-guard and very surprised by the sudden. The Nord coughed and dusted himself off. "Ahem, glad you're enthousiastic about the bar", he awkwardly responded to the situation. "Nords are always welcome."

9 hours ago, Waterbrick Down said:

"There's been rumors of the Faerie being involved in some sort of war, but with whom or what I'm not sure. This plant however... it's more like an egg. Something was born here or summoned and not too long ago. Are any of you trained in the arcane?"

The Vindicator raised an eyebrow in surprise. "An egg? And something crawled out of it? Sounds like something...alien to me. Magic and the arcane isn't really my forte, though. I'm more of the direct and brutal hand-to-hand action."

4 hours ago, Palathadric said:

"Oh, dear, it appeared as if something large had been dragged from the woods into the portal we came through. ...Maybe it was a really large Triffid?"

"A what now?"

[Palathadric]

"A Triffid. We had to face one in one of our last quests. It was a ether-eating plant that was devouring mages everywhere. We had to return to the Guild of Invision."

Just for the record, I don't think it is a Triffid, but it would make sense for Petaldan to think it is.

[samurai-turtle]

On 2/15/2018 at 4:10 PM, Alfadas said:

Torald shakes his head in disbelieve. No way. Another Nord? Wow. Torald gives the other Nord a big hug. 

A little bit of chucking could be heard from Germ. At the apparent lonely Norseman. 

20 hours ago, Waterbrick Down said:

Germ counts nearly two dozen dead faeries, stripped to the bone and lying about the grove. Men, women, children, there seemed to be no commonality other than their race. While poking through the corpses, Germ finds a small mound of Faerie Dust.

Faerie Dust (Allows the user to change their age, size, and gender for a short period of time. +1 Stealth, Consumable.)

"He probably got eaten! Good riddance."


"There's been rumors of the Faerie being involved in some sort of war, but with whom or what I'm not sure. 

Looking at the Faerie Dust. "It looks like some sort of Faerie Cloak, it might be useful." He thought to himself. 

What is the matter, the cat used you as some sort of toy? 

It is probably with a Demon named Rosier I ran into "her" once. And it seems like "she" was going after the fairies back then. Clear something up from me we are next to Dastan, right? 

10 hours ago, Khorne said:

Eric was caught off-guard and very surprised by the sudden. The Nord coughed and dusted himself off. "Ahem, glad you're enthousiastic about the bar", he awkwardly responded to the situation. "Nords are always welcome."

Couldn't help but chuck some more at the Norseman's discomfort. 

1 hour ago, Palathadric said:

"A Triffid. We had to face one in one of our last quests. It was a ether-eating plant that was devouring mages everywhere. We had to return to the Guild of Invision."

How big can this Triffid get to be? 

The only plant monsters I can think of being "big" are the Marlboro and the Ochu. And both of them are mean "K'nex". At this point Germ smacked the "egg" with blunt side of his sword. To see if he could get any sort of reaction. 

[Waterbrick Down]

22 hours ago, Palathadric said:

"Oh, dear, it appeared as if something large had been dragged from the woods into the portal we came through. ...Maybe it was a really large Triffid?"

"A what? Do they come from the Lost Woods?"

22 hours ago, MysticModulus said:

"That would be a dire danger indeed, remember the small one Petaldan? Could it be some kind of reptile?" Ezeran tries to track down some Triffid tracks.

The tracks all seem to belong to humanoids. Upon further investigation, Ezeran pulls up a cloak similar to the one the dark druid from the shrine had worn.

18 hours ago, Khorne said:

The Vindicator raised an eyebrow in surprise. "An egg? And something crawled out of it? Sounds like something...alien to me. Magic and the arcane isn't really my forte, though. I'm more of the direct and brutal hand-to-hand action."

"Something was brought forth here, these corpses are missing all of their flesh and recently. This doesn't look to be the work of any beast, my best guess is some sort of ritual."

6 hours ago, samurai-turtle said:

A little bit of chucking could be heard from Germ. At the apparent lonely Norseman. 

Looking at the Faerie Dust. "It looks like some sort of Faerie Cloak, it might be useful." He thought to himself. 

What is the matter, the cat used you as some sort of toy? 

It is probably with a Demon named Rosier I ran into "her" once. And it seems like "she" was going after the fairies back then. Clear something up from me we are next to Dastan, right? 

"The Lost Woods lie right on the border between Dastan and Babeleth, it's anyone's guess as to which you're in at any given time." At the mention of Rosier's name, the witch stiffens. "There were tales of a great witch of our coven having dealings with a demon of that name. However most of those records were lost when the Tower of Babeleth was destroyed, only a handful of other libraries in the world would know any more."

6 hours ago, samurai-turtle said:

The only plant monsters I can think of being "big" are the Marlboro and the Ochu. And both of them are mean "K'nex". At this point Germ smacked the "egg" with blunt side of his sword. To see if he could get any sort of reaction. 

The plant, being already open is easily hacked to pieces, the insides a strange amalgamation of sap, honey, and some almost demonic looking fluid.

 

[Palathadric]

7 hours ago, samurai-turtle said:

How big can this Triffid get to be? 

 

44 minutes ago, Waterbrick Down said:

"A what? Do they come from the Lost Woods?"

I blush a little as suddenly both eyes turn to me.

"Oh, I don't know...and I don't know about where they come from either, except that the Guild had one and it ate ether or something like that. Just..thinking about a plant monster made me think about it."

[Alfadas]

9 hours ago, samurai-turtle said:

How big can this Triffid get to be? 

The one we fought, was roughly man-sized. But I assume they can get much bigger. 

[samurai-turtle]

3 hours ago, Waterbrick Down said:

The plant, being already open is easily hacked to pieces, the insides a strange amalgamation of sap, honey, and some almost demonic looking fluid.

Well this is more brittle than I thought. Then dipped his Obsidian Scimitar and the Sword-Fish in the "slime" to see if their is any difference in the reaction(s). Maybe you guys might want to check this "slime" out. 

7 minutes ago, Alfadas said:

The one we fought, was roughly man-sized. But I assume they can get much bigger. 

It sounds like it is to small, for this egg thingy. 

[MysticModulus]

"This looks like the work of a demonic cabal or something very like it. It could mean human sacrifises, those fungi-corrupted monsters might have been their work."

Inspecting the ground further he turns to the witch.

"I am trained in arcane matters but I'm not sure I can help you out, what needs to be done?"

 

[Alfadas]

9 hours ago, samurai-turtle said:

It sounds like it is to small, for this egg thingy. 

Hmm, yes. This looks more like bear sized or even bigger. 

And I too am trained in arcane stuffs, though not nearly at the level as Ezeran. 

[Waterbrick Down]

11 hours ago, samurai-turtle said:

Well this is more brittle than I thought. Then dipped his Obsidian Scimitar and the Sword-Fish in the "slime" to see if their is any difference in the reaction(s). Maybe you guys might want to check this "slime" out. 

As Germ removes the weapons from the sap, he notes that they now seem wrapped in an unearthly shadow. Both weapons seem to exude elemental darkness if but for a brief time.

2 hours ago, MysticModulus said:

"This looks like the work of a demonic cabal or something very like it. It could mean human sacrifises, those fungi-corrupted monsters might have been their work."

Inspecting the ground further he turns to the witch.

"I am trained in arcane matters but I'm not sure I can help you out, what needs to be done?"

 

"My powers are more clerical in nature than arcane, are you able to remove the earth from around this plant?"

[MysticModulus]

56 minutes ago, Waterbrick Down said:

As Germ removes the weapons from the sap, he notes that they now seem wrapped in an unearthly shadow. Both weapons seem to exude elemental darkness if but for a brief time.

"My powers are more clerical in nature than arcane, are you able to remove the earth from around this plant?"

Ezeran clears his throat and puts his hands around the plant without touching it. He started reaching out with his mind, feeding his vision of the earth crumbling away with ether.

[Waterbrick Down]

1 hour ago, MysticModulus said:

Ezeran clears his throat and puts his hands around the plant without touching it. He started reaching out with his mind, feeding his vision of the earth crumbling away with ether.

Which element does Ezeran use?

[samurai-turtle]

11 hours ago, MysticModulus said:

Ezeran clears his throat and puts his hands around the plant without touching it. He started reaching out with his mind, feeding his vision of the earth crumbling away with ether.

As he watches the "spell"...

14 hours ago, Alfadas said:

And I too am trained in arcane stuffs, though not nearly at the level as Ezeran. 

Maybe you should help Ezeran out, he seems to be having some trouble. And it would give you some practice to boot. 

12 hours ago, Waterbrick Down said:

 

"My powers are more clerical in nature than arcane, are you able to remove the earth from around this plant?"

What are you going to with this (thing) when it is out of the ground? I don't see anything to move it easily with, like a cart or animal.