RPG Campaigns

Giraine Summaries

Hi there,

You continued on from the (re-)dead “landshark” into the Mushroom Forest, where Boamund came across a giant mucus trail from some enormous thing that had slithered across your trail some time ago. He put some mushroom stalks across it to build a bridge and you moved onward, wary of where that huge thing might have gone; it had been munching on/destroying fungi as it went.

Later you came to Siphula's Child, where it was silent and the usual pungent aroma of fungi was lessened. There was a scattering of hacked-apart or otherwise destroyed (chewed) fungi, and six dead muscarians (aww!); something had clawed or bitten them to death recently. Inside the giant purple puffball, you were immediately confronted by a formidable squad of big fighting-fungi, armed voralans and a very grumpy and suspicious Siphula, who asked if you'd brought this trouble to Good Troll Food. Fraud calmed her down to the point where she would talk more diplomatically.

She then said, “My mushroom forest reigns in the powers of Grower and Taker alike, but an old enemy has arisen that brings only the evil hunger of undeath. She rules from the canyons to the northeast and sent her minions to harry our peaceful folk. That we could handle, for now. But then an emissary came of late, and she spoke sweet words of allegiance. Of course they were lies, but I listened. And now I will listen to you.” She didn't like some of what Boamund said once Arkat came up-she clearly knew some things about Arkat and was very interested in what you had to say about his adherents or powers. “His rule was, 'No questing without respect and humility.' How have you done that? Will you always? Ponder that when you confront yourselves on the Hero Plane, as Arkat did.” She eventually accepted Fraud's placatory answers but kept a side-eye on Boamund.

Before you left, when asked if you could help her (the mucus trail oddly didn't worry her?), she insisted that word is taken to colonists and others that her forest is now forbidden, and will become very hostile to almost anyone now. “It is easier to defend my mushroom forest by singing the song of the Taker, to wreak havoc on any that trespass. And so I shall do. We can grow stronger if we fend off all comers. This forest can be more impassable than any wall humans can build.” While that certainly wasn't friendly, she made the nice parting gesture of directing the Voralans to give each of you a fungal brew or medicine, with explanations of their names and vague uses but the caveat that she wasn't sure of side effects, particularly on not-so-humans like Fraud. She then kicked you out rather unceremoniously. How rude-but a lichen-hag who has been around since at least the Greater Darkness might get that way.

You left Good Toad Food at last, but only after Boamund got lost and Fraud had to use his map to get you back on track, leaving you wandering about at night and fighting off fatigue before camping late. Then Riftoyz and Lars Windchare showed up at your camp, bringing plenty of news and some good cheer and companionship. You learned a few things:

<UL><LI>They had explored the Mushroom Forest thoroughly, “befriended” Siphula an d the Swems site creatures, but had not pressed further inward; were met by vicious 'mantis-monsters' (#5-which Siphula had warned you of; in a dry canyon-maze area matching her description) and sorely wounded, needed to retr eat and heal. They went back to New Arv to resupply and ship off specimens to collaborators, then returned, a couple of times while you'd been busy he re.</LI><LI>They heard much news of PCs being sought far and wide. The Rokari-Colonist war still rages back and forth but slower this year; both sides seem depl eted– or distracted in Seshnela's case. Lars is distraught over news that his home city of Nochet is besieged by the Lunar Empire. Lars gave Fraud a mushroom tonic that heals 1d3 HP (up to Serious wound) at 1 HP/round.</LI><LI>Riftoyz and Bog talked a bunch, and the enlo quickly earned a bit of respect from the great troll, who still teased him a bit. The big news for Uz-kind was The Swarm: The trolls of Guhan finally completed a magical ceremony generations have participated in. In 1622, the Great Caravan of the Uz left Guhan and moved across Ralios with the aid of the Argan Argar Chain. Both helped andhindered by humans, it finally reached Halikiv. After performing additional rituals and gathering even more trolls, the Swarm travelled over the western Rockwood Mountains into Dragon Pass. The Swarm consists of thousands of trolls, trollkin, Dehori, and giant insects of every sort! The swarm includes Mistress Race trolls and carries exotic foodstuffs and artifacts from Guhan and Halikiv. It does much as Halikiv did in Giraine of the Second Age (a vast Uz horde crossing great distances), but at a greater scale and their purpose may be different. Those in its path are rightly VERY concerned. In the short term, The Swarm is eating everything in its path-a disaster during growing/harvest-time; and not long after the famine of Dead Orlanth's Long Winter.</LI></UL>

You then parted from them, and they appreciated your warnings not to enter the Mushroom Forest, which disappointed Lars but he admitted it would be safer to just do his work on its safe edges; outside GTF.

That day, near the Spider Swamp, you passed flies buzzing around adead dwarf deer; partly eaten; with hints of slime and being ripped apart. Miguel could see this was no normal attack but an act of Chaos; mindless destruction. And soon enough a cloud of acrid gas arose from the swamp and from it came a walktapus! You prepared and faced it, and smote it mightily. It was tripped and then dealt multiple brutal blows, with Boamund finally crippling it with a freezing strike to the chest and Bog ensuring it would remain dead for a while with his Seal Wound spell on his maul. You burned it and made haste away; chiding Bog that this was not a good thing to eat right now.

Later, Boamund saw a huge (4m tall) giant gold-coloured crane stalking through the swamps ahead. You watched, evaluating the situation. It didn't seem to be chaos or a danger. The crane suddenly plunged its long beak into the swamps and came up with a large frog impaled on it. With one graceful toss of its strong neck it then swallowed the hapless amphibian. With little pause, it powerfully launched itself into the air and flew off. As it did, the surrounding swamp plants suddenly withered and died. Closer investigation by Miguel's Sense Life spell showed that about a 6m diameter patch of swamp had turned into rotten, blighted desolation. Fish floated to the water's surface pale and dead. Miguel pondered and had a sudden insight: maybe this was a magical omen: this scene represented the land of Seshna/Granno (the frog) reacting to the ?Rokari presence (the bird) and the threat of the ?Vadeli behind it all (the Chaos remaining if the Rokari leave?). Fraud and Boamund saw it differently, but that is omens for you. They can mean different things to different people!

That night, while looking to camp you knew you were near the (original) Spider Temple, having seen many signs of spider activity: webs, tracks and more. Approaching that site, the spiders angrily thrummed and swarmed and said to Fraud that their God-spider wishes no non-spiders to approach the sacred temple. So you kept your distance and rested elsewhere in the swamp.

The next day, a young Giranois herder ran near Boamund, wide-eyed with fear and covered in mud and small wounds. He paused (recognizing the Thralls of Granno) and warned, “She returns! Yomil's Stalker and her pack! Elder Shilde's prophecy upheld! Run, flee, hide, the doom of ages is upon us! To cross running water is the only hope!” He fled, and moments later a chorus of horrific howls penetrated the air. You were beginning to turn to face the threat, but Bog, Miguel and Fraud were all struck with mad terror and instead ran away like the Giranois. Boamund, left alone, wisely followed. Bog quickly hid so well that Miguel had trouble finding him later; Miguel found a good enough place to hide too, and the threat passed them. But Fraud led the way, running crazed through the swamp and avoiding numerous obstacles while the enemy closed in: you saw humanoid figures (tall and thin, with whips coming from their mouths?) and something else that might be humanoid but floated in the air and bore what seemed like a cracking magical whip. There were also thundering sounds like hoofbeats but nothing that seemed to make them (later, you did see hoofprints of what might be a large deer or very large goat, and bare humanoid footprints). After this long chase, you finally came to a stream and Fraud swam across, with Boamund making a graceful leap. The foes stopped in a fogbank on the other side of the stream, howling and hissing angrily, pacing as if they sought a way to reach you, but they could not. Boamund tried casting a Disrupt but he was unsure what happened. After a few minutes, though, the enemy either retreated or truly faded into the fog; there was no more trace of them. Miguel and Bog soon found you and you were at last safely on your way.

Tremors continued to shake the land that day, and one of them got violent: right under your feet! A crack opened and you all ran or dodged clear. Bog adroitly climbed in and saw little of interest; not even many yummy worms or beetles. The land clearly was unsettled. That night, Fraud had a powerful dream that he remembered little of, but that he could see the land goddess Seshna Likita tossing and turning, and could feel what she felt. She rolled her body away from the evil empire to save her children from it at the end of the Second Age, and now new empires vie to woo her body and spirit. She resists them all. That was his feeling from the dream, and he mused over it the next day.

Morning greeted you with a buzzing and droning noise across your path— uh oh!

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