Session 2 Report - Mushroom Man and Girl In A Bottle 6/28/2020

Session 2 Mushroom Man and Girl In A Bottle

New Player Tim with character Hathyra aka Hafie a fighter from Ostland. Hafie is a sailor with a drinking problem that got him kicked off the ship he was serving aboard.

He has found his way into the care of the Godar of Ostland. They are the High Clerics of Odin. After many months they call him in to a meeting.

They tell Hafie that a ship is leaving to Vestland and one of the Godi is going there on a mission. Things are not right in Vestland. We need to help them as they are threatened by the Ethengar. The Godar want Hafie to be a bodyguard for this Godi.

Hafie meets Gunnar Hallkel the Cleric of Odin. This Cleric has taken up the Wanderer Aspect of Odin.  He appears as a poor gray cloaked wizard with a long gray beard. Hafie can see that the man is actually young and not the old man he is dressed as. Hafie is given some money and supplies for the journey to Ostland. The journey to Vestland is uneventful and only take two days.

Meanwhile the other guys. Felix the Catian, Steve the Elf, and Fernando the Darokin are preparing to journey to Teagora’s Manor. Mr. Felix urgently wants to get out of town as he is afraid he is being framed for the murder of Carl Stoffens.

Gunnar the Cleric informs Hafie that he is going to a roadside shrine to pray by the city gates. While there praying an Old Lady and Kids bring them beer and sandwiches. Suddenly the Cleric steps out into the street and falls down with a twisted ankle. Forcing a passing wagon to lurch into an emergency stop. The Cleric is urging Hafie to climb into the wagon and he does so himself.

Inside the wagon there is confusion and a bit of anger. However the City Guards are approaching to see if anything is wrong. The Cleric waves them off. Just before the wagon gets out of town they hear a town crier. The crier is saying that Duke Stephen of Rhoona is to marry Ala the Sea Witch and then be crowned King of Vestland. Then they hear another town crier saying that Princess Zyta Popika is wanted for the murder of Carl Stoffens.

The wagon makes it out of town and things seem to be going well. The hostler of the cart informs them they are coming up on a town. Do they want to push through or stop for the night? Go to an Inn or camp outside of town?

While discussing the options they notice two soldiers in Vestland Military Garb coming towards them from the town. As they get closer they realize they are actually Ethengars dressed in Vestland Uniforms and Armor. Everyone in the party is taking stock of the situation and making plans. The soldiers inform them they have to pay a toll by order of Duke Stephen of Rhoona.

At the mention of money the Darokin Fernando comes alive. He hands out a business card to the Ethengars and informs them that he is an agent of the Darokin Diplomatic Corps. He makes a deal with them and the soldiers agree to let the cart go without paying. Just then the party sees ten more Soldiers come ridding out of the town. They push through the town. Each of the party members notices something not right with the town. Everyone wants to get off the road.

The Cleric Gunnar takes out a map. They figure they can cut overland to another road. By the grace of the gods the plan seems to be working. Just as they think that a wagon wheel breaks. However Felix proves to be very useful and fixes the wheel. They all decide to keep pressing onward.

As the sun comes up and they wake up in the wagon and have breakfast two events occur. One the horses lurch to a panic stop. The horses are going mad with fright. One of the horses is so frightened that it faints in fear. At the same time all the members of the party feel a wave of Evil from an Innocent Child Sacrifice nearby.

The party decides to investigate. They creep through the woods and see a small clearing.  What they see is a Stone Slab covered in the blood of the sacrifice victim, 3 Witches, Orc Cleric, Giant Mushroom Man, Girl in a Glass Bottle, Treasure Chest, and a Backpack.

The group decides to try an ambush as their targets are chanting loudly and dancing around the Girl in the Bottle. With one shot from the arquebus they drop the mushroom man and scatter the rest. One of the witches is cut down. The others taken hostage. The Orc Cleric is killed as well.

The Darokin has made his way to the chest and is trying to open it. Hafie is going through the backpack and finds scrolls and a wand. They talk about what to do with the witch captives and the girl in the bottle. Hafie in true Ostland Fashion slits the throats of the witches. The Darokin helps Felix take the cap off the bottle and Free the Girl inside.

The girl informs them that she is Princess Alice of Blackmoor Castle. She tells them that time slows down in that bottle. She has counted 700 winters through a window in one place the bottle was kept. The party decides to take her to the wagon and leave her with the wagon hostlers.

Hafie finds three letters wrapped in a black ribbon. The Letters appear to be from Ala the Sea Witch to persons she calls her Sisters. The first letter she says she would like a meeting in 20 days at the Dancing Damsel Inn, Village of Hogart.  Ala writes that if she should not make it they are to meet with her Agent Riva the Gypsy.

The Second Letter instructs them to Sacrifice the remaining Girls in Bottles. They are no longer needed. We have won. 

The Third and Final Letter Ala writes that the Love Potion and Ritual is working better than anticipated. She has total control of Duke Stephen. She will be wed to him soon and Crowned Queen of Vestland.

The Adventurers decide to go down and explore the burrow or cave the witches apparently have been using.

Session 2 End