Day 21.3: I hate gardens – Foundry Campaign Compendium

The library was a green glowing let down. I mean…so many books!

We meet up with Moria Dawnwhisper. She called Geist the Jester of Fallen Twilight, curious title and one that seems to piss off Geist…yet he remains silent. Curious.

Diana warns about giving true names. Diana=Mikena, Mutu=Sir, Charles=Charles (really?), Kiren=Kris

Moria starts her spiel and how Withering Man can’t be trusted (well Duh we were just attacked) and I ask a simple question. Why should we trust her? She almost seemed taken aback by it.

She tells us of the Mother of Nightmares works with the Withering Man – gave him his power. According to Charles – MoN lives for chaos and is unpredictable and never keeps her word unlike most Fae who once given are bound by their word. (if you can manage to untangle the double speak)

Geist sputters and gripes but not a limerick to be heard. Moria laughs and states after 5 centuries he should know he is under a geis, that he is unable to speak in limerick or other forms of rhyme anywhere near the Countess of Twilight – or her representative – which Moria currently is (Poor Geist. 5 centuries huh?).

We get down to her actual offer:

Mutual Agreement but refused to say here the details due to the veil being too thin and ears in the walls. But generally, protection and resources from the Countess. A Partnership. She suggests we withdraw to her Glade of Gloaming(?) Petals, where we can speak in private (so she says). Not until we have an understanding…a written understanding. Including timing (as time flows differently there than our world), protection for “harm” by her or hers with 10x retribution if broken, use her resources to safeguard us to the best of her abilities against entities outside her control that may seek to harm us, and will return us to the world of the Quick (our world) with the passage of time favoring you.

After a bit of back and forth, we agree to go to her realm to negotiate. Moria creates a gate linking the First World, where magic and Fae reign supreme. We arrive at a massive tree on a slightly submerged center circular platform, with four causeways NE, N, NW, S, the last 2 being collapsed, leading out of the small lake of water we find ourselves in. (Talk about your fixer upper…). Before we can do more than look around the tree burst with pollen and creates two yellow, pollen encased conglomerate bushes(?) , who are most definitely not friendly. Moria claims to be fighting off something else trying to break in [I am beginning to wonder if this is a set up] leaving us to clean up her mess.

Irritated, suspicious and totally NOT playing. Kiren launches a fire attack on CR#1. It’s NOT happy. They definitely have a weakness to [FIRE]. CR#2 attacks Charles (being closes, not because of a compelling reason that I didn’t hurt that one) and grabs him with pollen damaging tendril and pulls him close. (aww, he likes him!). Charles manages to get loose an unleashes his own kind of cloud – a Fireball kind of cloud, hitting both creatures. CR#1 (my burning friend) drops a spore cloud on all of us. Only Mutu & Him manage to shake it off, but the rest of us are only mildly effective-ACHOO. Mutu protects me, and attacks back. Diana drops her own special Fireball love against the 2 creatures with limited (but still damage) effect. Mutu meanwhile has taken up gardening I think as he slashes through CR#2 [Slashing weakness?]. Kiren doesn’t think CR#1 is warm enough and sends him another fire blast. CR#2 belches out more spores (this is why I kill plants). Except for Mutu, if effects us all, especially Charles. I think I must be having a vengeance effect on Charles (so happy) as he once again unleashes a Fireball on the two creatures, killing CR#1 [DEAD]. Mutu quickly follows up and kills CR#2.

Maybe it thought his friends were having fun because CR#3 joins the group. Kiren gives him a warm welcome, while Diana & Him smack it with some critically hard lessons about his poor life choices. He didn’t get the message and attacked Mutu/Him/Kiren. I dance away, denying him 2x, while Charles and Him drive home in the moonlight hour of his folly, his critical mistake killing him [DEAD]

When Moria “recovers”, she claims Witherbloom, one of the withering Man’s lieutenants was behind the attack. [I’ll have to see if Diana can detect a lie or if this is a setup to make us think helping her side is the better option.]

I trust no one. Especially not the Fae.

Tagged: Gatewalkers, Kiren, Player Journal