Owl's Hollow

The Beginning

from @PhotonBetamax

Leaving home had been difficult, but it was something that I had dreamt of for years. In spite of my 'youth' as determined by my people, I knew that among other races I would be considered an adult. So I traveled out of the Hollow Hills and made my way to Plossoria, staying only two nights, I booked passage on a ship traveling up the coast. I disembarked, somewhat worse for wear in a port town near Mill Hill. After a night of recovery I started poking around listening for interesting happenings, and simple jobs for pay. My talent for story telling often bought me a bed for a night or two at inns, and I found myself slowly making my way East. Eventually I found myself in a tavern of questionable repute listening to the gossip of a few. It seemed, that a bit down the road, the town of Owl's Hollow was experiencing some strange happenings. Tales of people disappearing, only to reappear insisting they had never left, or disappearing but still to be heard and felt, knocking over items like a poltergeist. Demons, whispers one of the men at the nearby table. A curse, argues the other. As I sipped at my sour ale, I noted a tall broad shouldered fellow listening intently to these tales as well. I chuckled to myself. Seems like I was not the only one looking for a bit of interest in the world. That night, when everyone was at their rowdiest I played a few rousing pipe tunes. The tall fellow was surrounded by a group, and he was in the middle of arm wrestling a barrel chested gent. During a break in my piping I watched him, clearly earning his night at the tavern. Then, to end the night, I told The Saga of Karvin Fork-Beard, the mighty dwarven warrior of the Hollow Hills. It paid for my bed, my meal and my ale.

Next morning I refolded my precious cargo and packed it carefully. I carefully set my pipes in their case and slung my pack on my back. A few short hours of morning travel brought up the fellow I had noticed listening to the talk of Owl's Hollow. He came from behind me, no large surprise as being a good two feet above me, he out strode me pretty well. He slowed a bit as he came up on me. I glanced at him, and gave a nod. He nodded back and mentioned my piping and story from the night before. I confirmed that he was right, that was me what did the piping and the telling. I congratulated him on the gauntlet of victories he had won by the strength of his arm. He gave me a grin and said his name was Magni. We walked together for that day, trading small talk and a few travel stories. When it came time to bed down for the night, I found a convenient tree off the main road with an unoccupied hollow and bedded down. I wasn't quite ready to commit to traveling with the fellow. He kept on a while longer.

The next morning dawned clear, and I set off at early light. Reaching the town, I took it in. It was hard to call it a town really. Village was even a maybe. I reveled at what folk stories these small village people might have to add to my collection! I wandered through the main street and came across the tavern...as much as it was. There I found a gnome barkeep with a tendency to prattle. He seemed rather taken a back that a traveller was in his village, and seemed like he was about  to turn me away, but I sat myself down and ordered what was cooking. Not long after my plate arrived, so did Magni. I swear Finn nearly had a fit when another stranger walked into the tavern. Eventually, we got to the topic of the disappearances and strange goings on. Then anther Gnome, looking rather like Finn, entered the tavern and had much the same reaction to seeing two strangers in his village. Once we got the point across that we were intending to help investigate, Finn and his brother Krinn were very excited. They told us to visit Katya as she was the closest thing they had to a magic user anywhere near the village as "we don't magic here." They said she lived to the east, near the river but before the fey stones. They seemed rather fearful of these 'Fey Stones' and said that no one ever went passed them because there were fey in the woods that would snatch you. Magni and I headed out east to see if we could find this Katya and get her input on the situation.

We found her small cottage rather easily. However, when we knocked on the door, there was no answer. As I am a noisy dwarf, I won't lie...at least not about that, I poked around the back of the cottage to see if there was anyone there. Once again, there was no one. As I was coming back to the front of the cottage two figures approached a half-orc and a human. They were comically opposite - one quite tall, the other nearly as short as me. The half orc asked if we were looking for Katya and if she was home. Answering that she didn't seem to be around, Mace, the half-orc walked up to the door and opened it. Why Magni and I didn't try that I really can't tell you. Mace confirmed that he was a close friend of Katya and he wanted to go and find her. Claudette, the small very bookish human girl, agreed. After being able to see into the cottage and making sure no one was home, a brief discussion with our new acquaintances we thought to go on toward the fey stones.

Approaching the circle of four stones, we all saw another figure. He wore a mask, but it didn't hide the small horns on his head, glowing eyes, or bright red hair. Then he spoke...inside my head. From the reactions of the others, I figured he spoke inside their heads as well. After a brief time to process the sudden introduction of telepathic communication we had a look at these fey stones. No one was able to read the inscribed sigils on the four stones or around the stone slab that the standing stones sat on right away. Something was tickling my brain though. Fey were related to elves, and the elvish language came from an older language...eventually we figured out the writing around the outside the stone slab was in Sylvan. Ooru, our telepathic fire genasi friend was able to read them once he did...some kind of magic that I don't understand. It read:

Guard my travel
Part the Veil
My destination take me

The sigils on each stone read: WNES

from StoneStrix r/monsteraday

It really didn't take a genius to figure that one out. Believe me, because I was the first one to figure it out...and I am no genius. They were direction markers, West North East South. The guess was that the circle was some kind of Fey transport or teleportation circle. Shortly after figuring this out, both Mace and Magni started getting a feeling of being watched. Mace then heard something and took off racing down the path passed the stones. We all followed, one after another. Mace turned sharply off the path, and we once again all followed until we came face to face with an eight foot white and...green wolf. My heart skipped a beat. I had seen large creatures before, but this was a wolf, twice my size. It looked like part of the forest, it's white fur blended into a mossy green. After some near misses, Mace and Ooru were able to communicate with it, and it led us down a path to an abandoned mill house.

Entering the mill house, we do not find much in the ground floor. It is just the mill stone, and some scattered rotting wood. A set of stairs lead down into a basement, and we all wander in. The basement is full of crates and barrels. One wall of the basement has crumbled away and vines are growing into the room. We can hear the river clearly flowing under the mill. Mace, in all his wisdom, picks a crate up and shakes it to see what it might have in it. We all hear the lovely crash of breaking glass. Then the wall starts moving.

A bit of vine smashing later and we notice a door next to the stair case and investigate it. There were more crates, most containing empty vials. Some were cracked, some broken, others comfortably intact. Behind a stack of crates that appeared to have been moved, we found the body of Katya. She seemed to have been dead for a few days, and had a fungus growing on her. Claudette was able to figure out what it was from a memory of a book. She said it wasn't dangerous at this stage, but fully grown at death this fungus was pretty nasty. We searched around a bit and found Katya's note book. It seemed like she believed that the source of the problems in town were coming from the river. Someone poking around in the crates of vials noticed that there was dampness to the touch, but no sign of liquid spilled anywhere to the eye. Then Magni shook one of the unbroken 'empty' vials, and it sloshed. I was fed up at this point and sat down to ritually cast identify on it. The others continued to poke around. Mace picked up Katya and placed her in one of the open crates so we could lay her to rest when we were done here. After the 10 minutes of the spell we finally knew that the vials were filled with potions of invisibility. The general guess was that a large number of these potions ended up in the river and were causing people to go invisible for a time through their drinking water. Magni and Claudette worked together and were able to salvage a half dose of potion into an unbroken vial.

from Sriwhiteout

There was one room in the basement left to check. I wandered in and saw a grey-green tentacled blob...with one eye in the center...Dear gods it was a beholder! I backed away slowly and alerted everyone that we should leave right then...because there was a beholder in the other room! No one really believed me and they had to go check for themselves. Magni was somehow convinced it was a plant, but there was no way. I knew what I saw!....It turned out to be a plant. Well, a fungus really. The mature form of the fungus growing on Katya. Magni thought it was better not to leave it there to possibly harm someone, so he gave it wide birth and threw a Toll the Dead spell at it. It exploded with a putrid grey-green pollen. Mace then dubbed the fungus a "Be-moulder" and we left the mill house. 

We returned to the tavern to let Finn and Krinn know what we had learned. Arriving at the inn, there is yet another similar looking gnome, who was neither Finn nor Krin. This was Bryn, who claimed that he "doesn't do this." I tell him the story, and try and emphasize that this is a bit of a problem and could happen again, and they possibly have a smuggler or something living in their woods. Finn comes back at one point and I try to make him understand...with no success. I have to say I got a bit heated with them and may have lost us the chance to have accommodations there. Finn did give us some nice travel provisions though, which was kind enough. Mace said that we could all stay at Katya's cottage for the night.

I spent the rest of the day chatting with the people of the village collecting folk tales. One fellow Corvin gave me a great few children's stories about the fey in the woods, and leaving out milk and honey to keep them happy. Krinn gave me some good tales as well. In the evening we all met back at the cottage. Mace carried Katya's body back to her house packed carefully in one of the crates. We buried her in her back yard, and as we did, the giant wolf reappeared. It gave us a nod, watched quietly for a moment, then turned and disappeared back into the woods. We had a good meal, good company, and I played a lament for Katya on the pipes.

I may be wrong...but I think I may have found myself an adventuring troop.

Until next time Asotta - Goodnight.