Episode 23 - Den of Thieves

Carried aloft by hippogriffs, four of our heroes (Sypheros, Brugdush, Hammer, and Thorn) were soon flown a few miles away and deposited near the top of a cliff, on a large ledge that seemed to be used by the hippogriffs as a nesting area. Eggs and nesting material were strewn about the ledge. Several hippogriffs were frantically grabbing eggs and nesting material and moving them to a nearby grove of large pine trees.

Suddenly, a small reptilian figure darted out of a crack in the cliff face. He snatched an egg from the nest and ran back into the hole from whence he came. One of the hippogriffs lunged after the kobold but missed. The hippogriff then screamed and clawed frantically at the crack, unable to follow the kobold through the small opening.

In the meanwhile, our other heroes (Fie and Galen, with friends Folan and Hagstone) puzzled over the kidnapping of their friends. Spying the cliffs in the distance toward which the hippogriffs were heading, our heroes set off in pursuit of the hippogriffs. Their run left Fie exhausted after twenty minutes, so they took a rest. After another long run, they arrived at the cliff and began their ascent using ropes and a grappling hook.

The heroes on the cliff decided that the hippogriffs must want help with the kobolds who were stealing their eggs, so they decided to enter the crack in the cliff side. After following a narrow tunnel several hundred feet, they came to a large cavern. At one end was a hippogriff hatchling and several unhatched eggs. The hatchling screamed in terror as several kobolds approached it with knives, clearly intent on preparing their dinner. The heroes might have surprised the kobolds, but just as they entered the room, Brugdush kicked a rock, alerting the kobolds.

Swords clashed, and soon the battle looked grim for our heroes. Although they felled many of the kobold minions, the Wyrm Adept, clearly the kobold leader, unleashed viscious magics on the heroes, and the kobold Dragonblades cut down Hammer, Thorn, and Brugdush. The situation was dire, but then Fie, Galen, Folan, and Hagstone arrived and finished off the enemies. Thorn and Brugdush were quickly restored to health by Folan's powerful healing magics, and Galen used his expert knowledge of the arcane to repair the damaged Hammer.

Fie recklessly charged toward the poisonous barrier summoned by the Wyrm Adept, but fortunately the party convinced her not to go through the barrier. Since Hammer is a Warforged (a magical construct, not a living creature), he was able to pass through the poisonous barrier without harm and finish off the kobold leader. The party discovered a significant cache of gold, gems, and a set of magical bracers.

Hagstone used his druidic knowledge of animals to speak to and calm the terrified hippogriff, and the heroes brought the hatchling and the remaining eggs out to the waiting hippogriff parents. Hagstone spoke with the hippogriffs. He said that the hippogriffs were grateful and would carry the heroes far to the north, saving several days of travel. The party rejoiced, as the flight would take them far to the north, avoiding the dangers of Droaam and hastening their meeting with Oalian, the sentient tree and master of the druids whose prophecy about doom appears to involve our heroes.

As they rested for a few moments high on the cliff before their flight, the party could see dark skies in the far north, the unnatural winter storms in these summer months mentioned by Hagstone. What powerful spell or terrible ritual was causing a disruption of the seasons? Was this part of the prophecy of doom about the Lord of Eyes? What did Oalian's message mean about the coat, crown, jewel, sword, and crystal ball?

Episode 22 - Flying High

After defeating a Gibbering Spider, a huge arachnid that nearly killed Folan, the heroes continue their journey across the endless bridge. Still taking psychic damage regularly and unable to rest, they soon find a group of five corpses, their lives apparently drained very recently. Upon one of the bodies they find a message that says, "The young one is not what he appears to be." Following clues and hunches, Thorn and the others confront the child. His ruse discovered, the child dissolves into sand and the bridge along with him. The group then find themselves only a few feet away from the shore whence they started.

After a day of travel through the woods of the northern Shadow Marches, the party stops to camp, and the Coat of Eyes whispers to Fie, saying: From the depths of Khyber, my master and mistress arose and ruled over this earth for ten million years till the wretched dragons defeated them. But no prison lasts forever. They will rule this world again. You are going in the right direction. Go north. Go far to the north, to the ice and cold. Your actions please me. When the master and mistress rise again, maybe I will keep you.

Before sleeping that night, the party again encounters faeries. Several gremlins try to steal Fie's coat, but the coat is now bound to Fie's flesh. The faeries leave, but not before many of the little folk beckon Sypheros to come with them. Hagstone is confused and troubled by the repeated appearance of faeries.

A day later, in the densest part of the woods, the party meets a nymph. She says:

"Hello, mortals. The little people told me of your coming. Why are you in my woods?"

"Long, long ago, there were brave mortals in this land, but neither men nor women ever dreamed that food was to be got out of the ground, but only from the trees and bushes. Mortals ate what nature provided. They hunted, cooked acorns, and brewed honey. The fey walked among them, for the mortals were as the animals and plants, ever being born, growing, and dying, and they did not offend us."

"But then a foolish fey called Fro brought to the mortals knowledge of the seed and plough. Mortals learned to tear up the earth, and soon the abundance wrought from the earth led men to raise stones into high cities and to burn the dark green forests. Then the fey fled from the blasted land, only coming out in these remote places."

"Some say Fro also created the Fomorians, that race of terrible giants who rule vast underground kingdoms in the Feydark. The Fomorians once challenged the Faerie Courts for control of the Feywild. They fought a terrible war. My mistress loved a great soldier in that war. His name was Torrheval." The nymph appears angered now.

"He was wrong to leave her. My mistress is the fair Selephra. How could any leave her?" she says angrily.

She then looks at Sypheros closely and says, "You are so like him in appearance. Will you come with me to Thelanis? Will you come to my mistress' palace?"

Sypheros refuses, and the nymph flees.

Hagstone again is worried about all the faeries.

As they emerge from the deep woods and approach the border near Droaam, the land of monsters, suddenly hippogriffs descend from the sky, seizing four of the party members and flying off toward the cliffs to the west. Now separated into two groups, what will become of our heroes?