14 - Painting Delivered
| Session 1 | Session 13 | Session 14 | ||
| ◀◀ | ◀ | ▲ | ▶ | ▶▶ |
| Ashira Brolin Frostbite | Ashira Brolin Frostbite | Ashira Brolin Frostbite |
And found some scrolls
The balloon landed amidst the mushrooms near Downfall. I turned to Clapperclaw, asking him to stay with the balloon. We’d need to leave quickly after delivering the painting. He agreed. We stripped Bavlorna’s portrait from its frame and tucked it into Zephyr’s magical hat—out of sight. Then we took a small boat to the hag’s home, and we climbed the stairs.
Bavlorna's hut
The pool room was silent, unsettlingly so. Zephyr noticed the missing lilypad. Upstairs, the study where we last saw her lay abandoned. A large cabinet stood against the wall, locked. I tried to pick it open but failed—frustrating. We moved on. The dining room had a goblin’s head mounted on the wall, leering down at us. A brewery sat nearby, its contents unknown. Brolin, of course, drank something strong. I shook my head. Not smart.
Then, in the kitchen, we met her—an ugly little gnome in a red hat with iron boots. A meat cleaver in her hand. Bloody Toes. She was chasing vultures. Brolin, ever helpful, helped her catch one. She killed it swiftly and stored it in a chilling room where a strange box radiated cold.
We asked about Bavlorna. She was not here. Bloody Toes told us we could wait in the study. But why wait when we could search? Maybe there was another study. We wouldn’t know unless we checked every room.
Zephyr and I ventured further upstairs. The bedroom. A will-o’-wisp flickered ominously. But my attention was on the locked chest. Zephyr distracted the wisp while I worked. Click. Open. Inside: a two-faced marionette—moon and sun. A carnival ticket with a name: Isolde. And scrolls, bound by a lute string. Dhanell would be interested in this. But I wouldn't steal them outright. Instead, I left something in return—my blue butterfly wings. A trade, not theft. That’s fair… right?
The pipe
Back in the study, we waited. Then—some noise. Bavlorna returned. She offered us food and drinks, but Frostbite wasted no time. He pointed at the wall where he had already hung the painting, demanding the return of what he had lost. Bavlorna asked for details on Skabatha’s reaction. We told her—Skabatha wasn’t pleased, which made her happy.
Then Bavlorna went to fetch the lost thing. Upstairs. The bedroom. A lock turned. A creaking sound—like a chest opening. A knot formed in my stomach. Meanwhile Bloody Toes brought us "food." Some actually ate it. I ignored it. Then Bavlorna returned with… a pipe? Not a word about the chest. I let out a quiet sigh.
Frostbite blinked at the pipe, clearly taken aback. That wasn’t what he had expected. Bavlorna, on the other hand, seemed to revel in his confusion, her grin widening as she watched him hesitate. Finally he smoked the pipe. The smoke formed a cat-like shape. Something shifted in Frostbite. His eyes. His presence. Different.
Dry wood
We left quickly after retrieving Star from the kitchen on the way out. I wanted to be far from that place before Bavlorna realized what was missing. But Clapperclaw had no dry wood for the balloon. We had to stay the night in the bullywug palace. Frostbite carved at a chair leg half the night.
In the morning we gathered pieces of the furniture for fuel. Enough to get us out. As we lifted off, bullywugs yelled after us. Apparently, we lacked "permission." We weren’t coming back. It didn’t matter.
During the flight, I gave the scrolls to Dhanell. He identified them as Scrolls of Identify. Useful. He appreciated the gift but, wisely, didn’t ask where they had come from. Just a quiet glance in my direction before tucking them away.
The wind carried us back to Thither, where we landed by a mushroom circle. No dancing mushrooms this time. But a voice—a whisper—cruel, spoke to Zephyr. Then to me. I eyed the mushrooms. Plucked one. Threw it into the circle. Then we moved on, toward Loomlurch.
Back to Loomlurch
Hours later, we arrived. Plans were debated. We had no idea where our stolen things were or what they even looked like. So we sought Chucklehead. Last time, he mentioned introducing us to Skabatha. Maybe we could ask her directly.
Maeve and Frostbite stayed back. The rest of us approached the market. Chucklehead, of course, wanted to sell more candy. Brolin wanted it but had no payment. I gave him a berry which Chucklehead accepted. He pressed them into his eye sockets—strange. In return, we each got a candy. I picked one with a large, ugly insect inside—Brolin’s kind of thing. He was delighted.
Skabatha
Then Chucklehead led us to the parlor. We waited. Zephyr wanted to sneak off, but I stopped him. First impressions mattered. He settled for peering around the corner instead.
Then, she arrived. Skabatha. The old hag. The key in her back turned sluggishly—bad mood. She smiled, but there was nothing warm about it.
“Sit down, children,” she rasped. “Let’s have some tea.”
My stomach coiled. This was going to be dangerous.
| Session 1 | Session 13 | Session 14 | ||
| ◀◀ | ◀ | ▲ | ▶ | ▶▶ |
| Ashira Brolin Frostbite | Ashira Brolin Frostbite | Ashira Brolin Frostbite |
Updated on: 23:04
