Gameplay

(started off with the following flavor-text)

“Ariana, as you look around at this verdant forest you’ve entered by the use of the Portal Key that belonged to your parents, you feel a deeper connection than you’ve ever felt ever since you chose to become a Leaf druid after becoming an adult. It is not just an ancient forest, but it also has a certain vitality and magical quality you’ve never felt before.”

At first Jackal used his survival skills to lead the party, but they started to notice that the forest seemed to be making things extremely easy for Ariana - branches moving out of the way, brush clearing itself. So Ariana took the lead and a stag leads the party to a river. There they follow the river to a large lodge.

When they enter the lodge they find The Great Druid Oberic Thorn (human). He looks up expectantly when they enter, hoping they are the folks he sent out due to the attack, but it’s the adventurers. He asks who they are and introduces himself. He asks them to please rescue Ysabel Sunbloom (female halfling bard) who was taken in a surprise attack against the lodge. He explains that she is extremely important to the cause of the Elders of The Ring. Although he is The Great Druid he cannot look for her because he’s coordinating the efforts of a large group who has fanned out to try and know to figure out who attacked and to organize a counterattack. He lets them know the south hasn’t been searched yet.

As they go south to explore, Ariana touches a tree and asks if it knows where to go. Since Ariana doesn’t know what Ysabel looks like, she can’t directly ask the trees, but they respond that a large group went trampling through the forest in a certain direction. This allows the group to go in the right direction for a while. When they reach the area where the enemies began to pick their way more slowly through the forest, the forest cannot add any more aid. However, Apaluna calls upon her patron and gets the aid they need to move forward.

They arrive at a clearing where a hag is interrogating Ysabel who has been tied up and her flute thrown to the side. There are 3 centaurs in a triangle pattern keeping watch. Jackal surprise attacks one of the centaurs and the battle is on. The hag gags Ysabel to keep her from using any bardic magic. The balance tips in various directions, but Ariana helps keep things going by healing Jackal in a key moment. Eventually, the hag is getting annoyed and decides to try and kill Ysabel. Jackal rushes the hag and attacks. Within another half a minute, Appaluna also rushes the hag to try and keep her from killing Ysabel. Using her pact powers, she does an epic Eldritch Blast and explodes the hag. The hag’s glamour fades and they can see she was an ambush hag - looks like a giant purple insect. The centaurs run away.

They go back to the lodge and Oberic gives them food and advises them to rest so they can speak the next day. Apaluna asks Oberic about Ariana’s parents. Oberic asks for the portal key and realizes who Ariana is. He tells her that he had called for important druids to come help the Elders during a war to save the Elder Ring. They left Ariana to be adopted since they would be engaged in war. They died in battle and are in the celestial worlds. He lets them know they could use The Labyrinth’s paths to visit them. Mossbeard shows up and recognizes the party from when they went to Moonlight to go to Ariana’s friend’s wedding. As a thanks for saving Ysabel, who is important because her bardic magic can help cure people of void taint, he gives Ariana a Dragon Slayer scimitar sword, Jackal a pair of Gloves of Missile Snaring, and Apaluna an Oathbow. Mossbeard then opens a portal to his forest at The Smithy.

GM Commentary

The kids are starting to get pretty darn powerful and are really learning their powers. I’m feeling more comfortable presenting them with challenging battles without worrying about a TPK. I thought they might have ungagged Ysabel to allow her to cast some spells, but just before Scarlett might have had Apaluna do that, she killed the main boss of the encounter and it was all over.

TWO SESSIONS LEFT!!

• Tales-of-the-Valiant