Post by Andy D on Mar 19, 2023 22:13:31 GMT
Strength Corner Calling
I had been travelling back and forth between Darring and the Fort for a couple of weeks now.
I was spending most of my time between Sylvan learning and strength training. I was planning on devoting more time to Sylvan. But, Kelne, my Halfling cleric friend, said they wanted to join me and Ivan for a workout. I couldn’t say no to a workout with my regular thicc-boi training partner, and our honorary thicc-boi.
Of course, I brought Timor with me, my little Golden Headed Lion Tamarin pet. He likes visiting Uncle Kruger, my Iron-bro who manages Strength Corner at the Fort.
Ivan, Kelne and I, had just finished a good session and had entered the Great Hall for some post workout food, when Jenna called us over with urgency. There was a big, magical plant in the centre of the Hall that had caught everyone’s attention, including two more of my good comrades, the thicc-challenged kind; Sergeant Derthaad, my Dragonborn sorcerer friend, and Glint, my Fire-Genasi wizard friend.
There was a note attached to the magical plant from the Regent of Rebirth in the Feywild. The Regent requested, ‘the strongest people.’ Ivan and I looked at each other and accepted that we would have to delay food consumption for a while, and also, our post workout rubdown. Well, I accepted this. Ivan opted for his beer to have some eggs cracked into it, so he could have some protein with his carbs as we travelled. Ivan also insisted on taking a lamb shank with him too, even though it hadn’t been cooked yet. To be fair to Ivan, since we saw Glint would be joining us, we felt that finding a heat source to cook with would not be difficult. So, raw meat to-go did not seem too weird in the end. There was no solution for a travel rubdown though.
You may have picked up that when I mentioned Ivan was drinking ale it came immediately after mentioning we had just finished a workout. I am not sure if this is typical Human behaviour. Archie, however, doesn’t drink brandy straight after a workout. So, it must be Ivan’s berserker nature.
The magical plant wasn’t just a message service, but also a portal to the Court of Rebirth. When we were ready to depart, we stood in front of the fey plant, and a swirling, magical portal of green light appeared for us to step through and bring us to the Feywild. We all stepped through, including Timor on my shoulder. Jenna said the Regent loves animals, so I decided to bring Timor on an adventure as a Dawnlands Ambassador.
The Court of Rebirth
This was the first time I had visited the Court of Rebirth, but not the first time I had visited the Feywild. I was used to everything having so much more colour and vibrancy. It is especially noticeable in the plant life, with the strong verdant greens, the teal coloured grass, and the purple leaves.
By contrast, The Summer Court is very, very hot. The Court of Rebirth? A few seconds after arriving, all the aches and knots from the workout at Strength Corner had gone. Travel rubdown achieved, I thought to myself. Ivan wanted to come back here. I agreed.
A Deer Centaur man greeted us with music from his flute, this was the Regent. The Regent was taller than me when he stood up, 10 ft tall, impressive. He made a table and a banquet appear with his druid magic, which was also very impressive, and respectful to his guests. But, no meat in the banquet. Ivan wisely didn’t pull out the lamb shank. To be fair, he was too busy frolicking in the very lovely Feywild environment to seem put out by the lack of meat.
The Regent explained that someone called Hagatha had gone rogue. Hagatha is a witch unlike those from the Witching Court. She is not druidic either. She may have grown up in the Feywild, but she is not from any Court. She did, however, become very proficient in book learning magic (like Archie and Glint). In the Court of Rebirth, it seemed to me that no one really dies, since they seem to be reborn quite soon after. Hagatha, as a non-native cannot benefit from this magic. But, she has her means of preserving her life through the Clone spell. Talking to Archie about this, he is keen to visit the Court to investigate himself, but admits the path Hagatha chose for longevity is the same he has planned.
Hagatha wishes to kill the Regent and take over. It seemed that maybe Hagatha had discovered a way to cause a permanent death of the Regent in the Court of Rebirth.
The regent explained that this was unlike Hagatha and that something is at play here. He advised that since he is protecting her cloned body, if we killed the active Hagatha, this would be an acceptable solution. Alternatively, if we could end whatever seeming curse is on her, then that solution would also work. The Regent himself is not able to defend himself with violence. There is some weird Feywild rule about that in the Court of Rebirth. The Regent claimed to be very stressed about the whole situation. He has a very relaxed nature though. However, perhaps his chill vibe is due to the substance he was smoking. When Ivan asked for a hit on the pipe, Ivan became a little too relaxed.
Hagatha had built herself a tower. So, off we went to find her.
Finding the Tower - Feywild is Weird
The Feywild is a truly strange place. The Regent said Hagatha’s tower was an hour away by foot. It didn’t seem to matter which direction we went in, because the intention to get somewhere in the Feywild is all you need to get there.
More Fey weirdness - Timor was able to speak Common in the presence of the Regent! The Regent was happy to let Timor stay with him, so I left Timor to enjoy the Regent’s company.
The Regent cast a spell on us called Death Ward before we left. Less work for Kelne, I supposed. But, if anything goes wrong during combat, Kelne casts their big Mass Heal spell and everyone is back at 100%.
At the time, I thought it seemed prudent, but also a little redundant, when Kelne bought a bunch of diamond dust at Fort Ettin for their restorative and revivifying spells. Speaking of diamond dust, Ivan seemed to be giving Kelne some of his chalk bag powder back at the Fort, and Kelne said they’d give it back if it didn’t get used. Were they planning on climbing Hagatha’s tower or something? Ivan’s chalk is strangely shiny compared to mine.
The Court of Rebirth was bursting with life. Lots of animals were running around with each other. Bear cubs with rabbits and deers. No adult animals though, it seemed. No one was eating each other either. Fine for the rabbits and deers, but what did the bears eat, I wondered? To be fair, the vegetables at the Regents banquets were delicious.
As we reached the tower, the air got chillier, the animals disappeared, and everything got darker. We could see a 50-60 ft tower ahead of us made of stone, with vines running all the way through it. The closer we got to the tower, the more dark, swampy and putrid it felt.
Hagatha’s Tower
My magical comrades discovered the hidden glyphs around the tower and disabled them enough to allow us to pass through the circle of hidden protection and warning unharmed and without alerting Hagatha.
We had lots of ideas for how to reach the top floor, where we suspected Hagatha would be. Derthaad wanted to use his Wall of Force spell to create stairs on the outside for us to walk up to an open window. Kelne had their Stone Shape spell. I could just jump up there. We opted to go in through the door though - after disabling more glyphs.
More work for my arcane friends - there were Wall of Fog spells, Web spells, Arcane Locks and all manner of illusions to help us get lost. Kelne’s Anti-Magic Field spell got us through all the nonsense. Kelne had to be in the middle of us for the field to best surround us, so I let them sit on Timor’s spot on my shoulder, and I stood in the middle.
“Hello dearies, you managed to sneak right by me.” We were greeted as we reached the penultimate floor. We were greeted by Hagatha, who looked, of course, very similar to the clone body that the Regent was protecting, which was a green-skinned Tiefling. Hagatha mentioned a source of new magic that she had found and would be happy to show us, up the stairs in her chamber, before dealing with us. She then vanished.
We started prepping for battle.
Kelne casted their Blink and Mirror Image spells. Derthaad casted his Mage Armour and Crown of Stars spell. Glint, also casted a Crown of Stars spell, and in addition summoned a couple of stags. Ivan put his gauntlets on and casted the Enlarge spell kept in Barbara, his greataxe. I joined him in magical bulking, and downed a Potion of Growth. Ivan was a little upset that after I downed my potion, I was once again much taller than him. Both of us were uncomfortable though, since the height of the ceiling was only just above 10 ft. Ivan had to slouch at roughly 12 ft tall. I, at 15 ft, had to walk around like an ape. No one makes buildings big enough for tall people, let alone giants!
Hagatha and the Home Team Advantage!
As we entered the top room of the chamber, we came upon a large, 150 ft wide space - still a low, giant-unfriendly ceiling though.
There was a throne on the opposite end of the room, where Hagatha stood. There were some shelves of books on the western and eastern walls. And all over; there were magical, and this time very visible glyphs covering the floor. There seemed to be some space to walk and navigate around without stepping on a glyph, but it did not make for a straight line between the door on the south end where we were, and Hagatha’s throne in the north of the room.
An explosion of flame burst out from all around us. Hagatha had casted a Fireball at us as we stood clumped together by the doorway. Everyone was scorched, but we were doing well. I, of course, barely felt the flames. Hagatha drew a scimitar and began dancing by her throne.
Kelne went to get closer to Hagatha to cast their Silence spell, but in the process of moving, they stepped over one of the orange glyphs which triggered a spray of acid which hit them. Kelne casted the Silence spell despite the great pain they were in. But, the spell fizzled, as if it had been countered.
Hunched over, knuckles scraping the ground like a great ape (what a sight) I pounced forward, and with the power of my flight legs, and despite the low ceiling, I leapt across the entire floor without touching a single glyph, going past Hagatha and landing on her throne. Hagatha slashed with her scimitar. Strong cut, but for me, a troublesome scratch.
Ivan followed. Instead of leaping like me (he can’t squat as much) he darted around the glyphs to reach Hagatha, avoiding any potential acidic traps, and as he got into range, he brought Barbara down in a frenzied slash at Hagatha. Hagatha, danced out of the way, and brought her scimatar’s edge across Ivan’s exposed right shoulder. Hagatha drew first and second blood. But, Ivan managed to catch her blade with the beard of his axe before she could withdraw, and he yanked her blade to the side and down, giving himself enough time to bring his greataxe down on her undefended in a great and mighty slash, bleeding her deep.
The stone floor beneath us turned into ice. I turned around to see who did that to find Glint was the source. At the same time, one of the radiant motes from his crown of stars flew towards Hagatha, who managed to duck out of its way. Glint’s stags came forward to stomp all over the ice. As they got to the centre, two spectral dogs attacked them. The stags were wounded, but also cracks emerged in the ice.
Hagatha disappeared in a puff of mist, only to reappear, as Derthaad countered the spell. Derthaad released one of his motes at Hagatha, but she shielded herself with one of her glyphs. Derthaad went to work disrupting several of the floor glyphs near him with his Shatter spell.
It Was Another One All Along!
Without a visible somatic or verbal movement, Hagatha somehow dispelled Glint’s ice floor, and the original stone returned. She went to Misty Step again, but once again the spell was sniped. She had to use her legs to get where she intended. This allowed me to launch a punch at her, but she successfully slipped out of the way, as she stepped onto a green glyph. As Hagatha moved from the green glyph to the neighbouring orange one, the wound from Ivan’s greataxe healed. And as she stepped off of the orange glyph, she seemed to bulk up a little, and was ready for Ivan. She landed three cutting slashes on his then giant torso. Each of the slashes were imbued with thundering force. Ivan took the slashes well, but the thunder hurt him; his conditioning isn’t like my own. To make matters worse one of the spectral dogs bit his leg. The other dog went after Glint, but a magical shield prevented it from getting close to Glint.
“By the bookcase in the eastern corner! There’s another Hagatha!” We could see nothing, but Kelne was certain having cast the True Seeing spell.
I noted the warning of the second Hagatha, and then pounced over the spectral dog to get to the visible Hagatha, and recklessly threw punches in bunches. The first haymaker of a right hand hit her hard in the face. I misjudged the left hook, but not the follow up right uppercut that shook her head backwards. She recovered quickly despite my mighty punches, and sliced my uppercut arm with her blade. Ivan took advantage of Hagatha’s current focus on me and landed a couple of powerful, bloodletting slashes on her. She was hurt, but still carried on as if she had drunk one of the Potions of Speed Varga likes, as she quickly halted Ivan’s onslaught with an overhead slash of her blade.
A Fireball erupted in the corner where the secondary Hagatha was said to be. Something screamed in pain, but still we could not see it. One of Glint’s radiant motes attacked the dog that tried to bite him, as Glint’s stags went glyph exploring. One was blown up and vanished in the process of deactivating the glyphomaniac’s many glyphs. The sacrifice made the combat terrain safer for us.
As I tried to grapple Hagatha and keep her still for Ivan to go reckless with his greataxe on her, Hagatha slipped out of my grasp and struck Ivan with the edge of her blade again. The thunder damage to Ivan was making it hard for him to retaliate. Us Thicc-Bois were having middling success, but the focus Hagatha had to keep on us, did make it so she took Derthaad’s Crown of Star’s mote right in the chest with no way of avoiding it. Combined with Derthaad’s thundering Shatter spell, Hagatha was now the person looking the most hurt from thunder damaging attacks.
Relentless Test!
It felt like both Ivan and I were being drained of our vitality from, it seemed, the second Hagatha. Hagatha Prime in front of us seemed to then be a little more chipper.
“You might take me down. But I’ll take at least one of you with me!” Hagatha declared in frustration and anger. She brought her weapon up, I leapt at her for a waistlock, but her magical speed saw her sidestep me. One giant out the way, she brought her scimitar down on the other again, and again and again, all in the time it took me to reset my stance.
Giant Ivan was mortally wounded, and yet, his most fatal wound sealed up with the protection of the Regent’s Death Ward spell. But, tried as he did to remain standing, and as much as he raged, Ivan had to relent to the physical punishment, and he collapsed to the floor.
Kelne sprung into action. It was time for the Mass Heal spell. The healing energy burst from Kelne’s hands… and then fizzled, countered by the invisibly Hagatha! With haste, Kelne ran towards us in an attempt to try a plan B, as Hagatha slashed away at a prone and unconscious Ivan.
Kelne was too far away, I tried to run, and idiotically forgot I couldn’t because of the height restricting ceiling. I pounced forward, Hagatha redirected a sword slash for Ivan at me. As it landed, cutting my arm, I shoved Hagatha backwards and reached for the Greater Healing Potion I had on my belt, and shoved the contents down Ivan’s throat. His wounds healed, and his eyes opened. I stepped aside to let him get back up, and Hagatha filled the void I left, springing back from my shove, and slicing Ivan’s neck. Ivan fell back to the ground, and at the same time a wave of chilling energy attacked him from the direction of the invisible Hagatha.
Derthaad fired another of his radiant motes at Hagatha, combined with another Shatter spell. Whilst Hagatha was pelted with radiant and thundering energy, a trap door opened up under Hagatha, casted by Glint. This would buy Kelne time to heal Ivan, I thought. But, it turned out that Ivan’s status would not be as concerning as we had thought at the moment.
Before Hagatha could fall to the floor below, her simulacrum, as Glint put it, joined Hagatha Prime, “you’ve been impressive. Some other time,” she spoke. The Hagathas teleported away.
It was clutch. Kelne healed Ivan, who they noted was moments away from needing more than just healing..
Thicc Again
We got Ivan up and let him rest a little while some of us checked the chamber for loot. Glint cooked Ivan his lamb shank, so Ivan could have some protein and something to occupy his mind. I cleaned Barbara for him.
The others found a pair of ruby red slippers that enabled the wearer to climb walls. There was also a whole trove of diamonds and a spellbook that Glint found and insisted on keeping. This was fine by me. I wasn’t even sure Derthaad cared about that book. Glint did though.
We walked back to the Regent and informed him that we did not succeed in our mission. We were thanked for our help nevertheless, and he even had some diamonds of his own for us.
I picked up Timor, who seemed to have had a very good time with the Regent. Timor did his job as Dawnlands Ambassador very well.
As we got back to Fort Ettin, I wondered how Ivan would take his near defeat. He claimed this was the first time that he had almost been defeated. But, this was not the first time I’ve forced a Potion of Healing down his mouth whilst he was on the brink of death. Perhaps it’s good that he seems to have forgotten the previous time?