16 - Stormy Mountains
| Session 1 | Session 15 | Session 16 | Session 17 | |
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| Ashira Brolin Frostbite | Ashira Brolin Frostbite | Ashira Frostbite | Ashira Frostbite |
And too many distractions!
We walked from Little Oak to Clapperclaw's balloon. There the mushrooms continued their endless cursing. Their foul-mouthed complaints grated on my nerves, so I silenced one with a swift kick and told the rest to shut up. If only all problems were solved so easily.
Into the Sky
We ascended into the sky and let the wind guide us. After some time, Hither sprawled out below, and Brolin expressed a desire to stop there, hoping to find a route to the palace. Most of us wanted nothing more to do with that swamp, so we continued on. The wind picked up, carrying us further from familiar lands.
Clapperclaw had never flown this way before. The wetlands faded behind us, replaced by towering mountains. The sky darkened, and then the storm came. A relentless barrage of lightning struck the peaks, flashing in rapid succession. Then—one found our balloon.
Down to the Earth
Flames erupted. Clapperclaw scrambled to contain them, but it was too late. The moment was chaos. The balloon lurched, the ropes snapped, and suddenly, I was almost weightless, drifting amidst the wind and the storm. Below, I caught a glimpse of the wreckage tumbling past me. Just barely, I twisted out of its path before it could take me. Through the haze of rain and flashing light, I saw Dhanell—tangled in the ropes, plummeting toward the earth.
Something held me aloft. Magic? Likely Dhanell’s. I didn’t have time to question it. We descended, landing roughly on the mountainside, battered but alive. Most of us, at least. Clapperclaw and Dhanell were nowhere to be seen. We had to find them.
In the far distance a castle was carved directly into the mountain itself. Around us, peaks jutted toward the sky, their summits crowned with tall metal rods capped with moons and stars. The lightning sought them out like hungry spirits.
The Moon Elf
We climbed, hoping to spot the crash site. On a plateau, we encountered an elf woman in a crescent moon mask, an oversized bee buzzing at her side. She called herself Gleam. When lightning struck again, I noticed something peculiar—she had no shadow.
Zephyr, as always, was quick to strike up conversation. Gleam revealed she once performed at the Witchlight Carnival with her twin, Glister. One was the moon, the other the sun. Endelyn feared a prophecy that foretold her doom during a solar eclipse, so she captured Glister and cast out Gleam, severing her shadow in the process. That shadow now serves Endelyn.
The bee, Pollenella, was a creature Gleam freed from a beekeeper. She claimed she could understand it. More importantly, she wanted our help rescuing her sister. Zephyr immediately agreed, of course. His promise, not mine.
She suggested we seek out the Korreds to help us. When we mentioned our intent to sabotage the play, she thought Hurley, a bugbear in Endelyn’s service, would be glad to hear it. Hurley was the brother of Burley from the carnival. With little choice, we let her join us. Sigh.
The Throne
We pressed on. Somewhere, Dhanell could be lying in the wreckage, injured or worse. We couldn’t waste time. Further up, we found a stone throne carved into the mountainside, adorned with astrological symbols and an inscription in Elvish mentioning Mazikoth, Keeper of the Stars. Zephyr, unable to ignore anything remotely magical, immediately sat upon it.
He jumped on it and fell asleep. Of course he did. I pulled out my wine and let the carnival music drift from the bottle. It didn’t wake him. Frostbite had to carry him as we moved on. No more distractions.
Dhanell!
Finally, we found it—the crash site. Eight megaliths stood in a circle around a game board. A burnt-out campfire smoldered, but more importantly, there was the balloon’s wreckage, tangled atop one of the megaliths. Clapperclaw lay motionless, his scarecrow body in pieces. Dhanell was still breathing.
I hurried to him, pressing a berry to his lips, trying to stop the bleeding. Before I could do more, Frostbite placed a hand on him, called to the mountain, and something unseen answered. Energy surged through his hand into Dhanell’s body. His eyes fluttered open. Surprise. Relief. Gratitude. “What was that?” I asked.
Frostbite only said the mountain helped. This place—this storm-ridden land—was responding to him in ways I didn’t understand. Not the way it calls to me, but something else entirely.
The Korreds
Then, figures emerged from the stones. One, a woman who named herself Queen Argantile, leader of the Korreds. The other, Jagu. They hid from Endelyn, whom they called Bitter End. Brolin, having touched the game board, was rewarded for it. He accepted it without hesitation.
We learn that the Korreds’ hair is magical—Endelyn steals it for her marionettes. That she gathers the lightning to fuel a machine called the Orrery of Tragedies, a device that lets her see the future.
Then Gleam pried about the unicorn horn. I stopped Brolin before he said too much. I don’t trust her yet.
Zephyr, ever the fool, now seems to think we can simply defeat the hag rather than making a deal with her. Argantile took this as a pledge to fight Endelyn. Korreds appeared from the stones, ready to celebrate. But then the sound of pickaxes echoed through the mountain. Argantile yelled: "Stop the Brigganocks!". Apparently it are tiny helpers of Endelyn that work in a mine. And they have a secret tunnel to the Motherhorn.
As the moment soured, we turned our attention to Clapperclaw. Maeve buried him with the help of a Korred that could transform the stones into a grave. Clapperclaw had guided us far, but his journey ended here.
Only after the moment passed and the mountains grew quiet again did the Korreds resume their dance. They struck their drums, the sky brightened, and they beckoned us to join. I hesitated. Then, begrudgingly, I joined. My own steps were forced, but my shadow danced wildly without me.
As thanks, they taught us “Command: Hair,” a spell to control the Korred hair Endelyn hoards. Useful, maybe.
We learned more. Endelyn has no diaphragm—puppets stretch across her ribcage instead. The Darklings serve her. Charm and her gang? They work for her too, though seemingly for their own ends as well. Since the alicorn, which Endelyn sought, was sold by them to Will. I don’t like this tangled web forming.
The Goblin Girl
We left for the Brigganocks’ tunnel, only to find a goblin girl, Feenia, holding a kite shaped like a grinning demon. She couldn’t let go—it would age her into dust. A curse.
Attempts to pull it down failed. I took aim and loosed an arrow, certain of my shot. At the last second, it veered away, as if by unseen force. Magic. Brolin, watching her tears, realized the wind strengthened with her sorrow. Maeve comforted her, and with that, the kite sank. The curse was broken.
Enough delays. The storm looms overhead, and I have no interest in lingering here any longer than necessary.
We go to Endelyn.
| Session 1 | Session 15 | Session 16 | Session 17 | |
| ◀◀ | ◀ | ▲ | ▶ | ▶▶ |
| Ashira Brolin Frostbite | Ashira Brolin Frostbite | Ashira Frostbite | Ashira Frostbite |
Updated on: 01:36
