The party has spent 2 weeks traveling south west though the Brutal Steppes on their stolen riding lizards, training their skills alongside the rescued hunters and leveling up. They have managed to lead their pursuers on a wild chase, but the barbarians are tireless, and have begun to close the gap. The party’s initial four days lead has been gradually cut to less than two. Walks Without Purpose attempted to use his cartography skills to locate a shorter route, but couldn’t find a specific one. Hsessriss sent the hunters that they rescued from the Brutal Horde (Toku, Two Claws, & Snapjaw) to lag behind the group setting traps and laying false trails in order to delay the horde's pursuit. Since they and “Bait” were used to working together, they’re able to establish a familiar rendezvous point in Slaughter Swamp where they plan to meet back up. Brand used divine fire to drive away any game they passed up. She remembered how rough their travels had become once they ran out of food, and hoped to starve out their pursuers. Jones attempted to use her skills as an Oracle to pinpoint the Hordes’ numbers, but found her divination powers weirdly blocked.
As the party neared the edge of Slaughter Swamp, the terrain gradually became more lush and verdant. They came across a herd of grazing Triceratops and discussed if they should hunt, avoid, or even attempt to use them against the horde. There were 10 Juveniles, 6 females, and one male in the herd. Hsessriss’ extensive knowledge of nature revealed them to be skittish and prone to stampede.
An attempt to stealthily circumvent the grazing beasts failed, and all turned to look at the party. Hsessriss warned everybody not to move, but Brand and Jones panicked and took off running. This triggered the bull Triceratops, who charged Hsessriss and gored him in the chest. Hsessriss stood his ground, and was not knocked to the ground. Shockingly, the dinosaur was forced back slightly from the impact of their collision. A short fight ensued, as the herd began to scatter wildly. Walks Without Purpose entangled the bull with magical vines and Brand provided magical support. Rather than use his spear, Hsessriss cast the Animal Friendship spell to befriend the bull Triceratops, similar to how they had tamed their Ankylosaurs Lefty. Once he had become an ally, the party had the bull calm down the rest of his herd. They decided to use the Triceratops’ grazing to cover their tracks, and finally entered the protection of Slaughter Swamp.
The party spent another two weeks trailblazing their way through Slaughter Swamp. It was rough and slow-going, and the terrain was inhospitable to travelers. If not for the fact that swamps were Hsessriss’ favorite terrain, they would have never made it. Brand felt increasingly ill-at ease in the dense swamp, unable to see the sun through the thick canopy of trees. She used her magic to light up her the gem embedded in her staff. Its glow wasn’t sunlight, but it made her feel a little better. Walks without Purpose foraged for mushrooms, experimenting on himself to determine their effects. He found a particular nasty specimen that caused the ligaments and tendons to become painfully drawn-in. His body was wracked with spasms and pulled into a nearly fatal rictus. Hsessriss forced Walks to vomit, but he was in serious pain for days afterwards. The party made sure to collect as much of the Rictus fungus as they could.
Jones found a small and unusual creature dwelling in a tree. It was smooth-skinned like a salamander, but had what she felt were altogether too many legs like a centipede. The Salamandapeed cooed a trilling song and immediately bonded with her. She tried to put him back in the trees, but every time she turned around, he was back. After the second time she found the Salamandapeed in her pack, she realized that she had a pet. She sewed him a little bag to travel in, and began thinking of a good name for her new friend.
Hsessriss found the ruins of a stone structure of some kind, sunken into the swamp. It seemed like a good place to make camp for the night, though nobody was able to sleep well there. Some intangible evil feeling lingered around the ruins, making everyone feel on-edge. Jones fabricated a horror story about the place, claiming it to be a true legend, but Brand saw through her tale. Still… there was something about the place that felt dangerous and unholy. Everyone was glad to move on in the morning.
Leaving the ruins, Jones, her riding lizard “Lizzie,” and the lizard who was carrying the clutch of eggs that the party had stolen from the Brutal Horde fell into a pit of quicksand. Jones attempted to rescue the eggs, but missed and was quickly submerged in the bog. Hsessriss threw a rope, but the Yuan-Ti was unable to grab it so he dove in after her. Walks without Purpose attempted to leap onto the egg-carrying riding lizard, but he misjudged the distance and was soon up to his waist in quicksand. For what it was worth, he had managed to grab the clutch of eggs, but now they were in even greater danger. Brand froze for a minute, not knowing what to do.
Jones managed to swim to the surface for a moment, but couldn’t see “her” eggs and began to panic. As Hsessriss swam to the rescue, Brand directed Lefty the Ankylosaurs to offer his tail to their submerged friends and pull them out. They managed to pull the egg-carrying lizard to safety, but Jones' mount Lizzie drowned in the quicksand. Once everyone else was safe, they cleaned themselves and took a short rest before continuing their travels. They had no idea how long a day they were about to have.
As the party traveled deeper into the swamp, they stumbled into a huge swarm of angry insects, which all gave chase. The bugs’ attacks harried them, poisoning them with their stings. Brand did her best to neutralize the poison for anyone bitten by the swarm, but she couldn’t keep up with the constant attacks. As a Yuan-Ti, Jones was immune to the bugs’ poison, but not their painful stings. Hsessriss attempted to find a natural insect-repelling plant, but was unable to do so.
The party was chased into a clearing. As soon as they entered it they noticed that the glade was circled by a ring of wildly-colored mushrooms. Before they could notice anything else, there was a flash of blue light, and everybody began to vomit uncontrollably. Their bodies were pulled by a great sudden and unseen force across impossible distance, stretching and elongating like a sunbeam before they snapped like a broken rubber band. They attempted to close their eyes, but it did no good as a kaleidoscope of colors rushed past them. Their perceptions swirled dizzily, before finally (blissfully) darkness took them. Everybody of Lawful alignment took 1d6 Psychic Damage, Neutral Alignment took 1d4 Psychic Damage, and Chaotic characters were unharmed.
The party awakened in the same clearing where they left, only somehow it’s another place entirely. A different place. A wilder place. Every step left a glowing, phosphorescent footprint on the ground that remained for hours. The sky hung unnaturally above them, awash in brilliant colors. It was perpetually dusk or maybe it was always dawn, their confused mind could not tell for sure. The streaks of celestial light left long shadows under the yellow-orange heavens. And they knew somehow, in that primal core of their lizard brains, that those shadows were home to unimaginable predators. Though the sky was exposed in the clearing, they could not see the sun. Although sometimes it seemed as if something was watching them from high above, hidden behind Technicolor clouds. Nature has truly run amok in these wild lands. Iridescent purple vines slithered on the ground like snakes as tree limbs waved in the air, lithe and wantonly like a dancer. The party felt languid and sluggish in the wet-heat. The air was thick and cloying, filling their nostrils and making them feel light-headed. There was an overly-sweet smell of honey in the air that almost masked an underlying stench of earthy decay. A warm blustery wind rustled the leaves and bushes. It almost sounded like a song.
Brand cast her light spell, and the normal effects were replaced by a flashing strobe effect like a 90s rave. Jones cast Mage Armor on herself in anticipation of the worst. Looking at the topography of this new realm, it clearly mirrors that of Slaughter Swamp, only exaggerated. Hills become mountains, trees soar hundreds of feet into the air, and rivers teem with bizarre sea-monsters.Thanks to his years of hunting, Hsessriss became aware that the plants surrounding them were slowly creeping in for the kill. He went into a defensive posture immediately. The spell Detect thought revealed “Protect the circle, obey Laverne!”
They were attacked by 4 mute spear-wielding Plant Spirits whose empty, gourd-like heads creepily shook like maracas.Their wooden spears were just sharpened branches, lacking the modern technology of the spearhead. Instead of blood, the Plant Spirits had strange spores that spilled from their wounds like sand. The fey creatures were defending their magical grove aggressively, like an animal would defend its lair, and really creeping the party out. Their mistress, Laverne the Dryad, had charmed two giant praying mantises (Hall & Oats) to do her bidding and sicced them on the party. Walks Without Purpose commanded Lefty the Ankylosaurs to charge Laverne, and the dinosaur utterly annihilated the Dryad before she could use any of her potent magic. Though the creepy Plant Spirits were easy enough to dispatch, Hall & Oats proved to be a huge challenge.
Every time that Hall or Oats struck with their giant claws, they would grapple their foes in a death grip. Once grabbed, they would bite down on their victims, usually aiming for the head. They piled onto Lefty, stabbing him repeatedly and eating his brains. Once the giant mantises turned their attention to Hsessriss and Walks Without Purpose, Brand was able to magically heal their Ankylosaurs, though she encouraged him to stay down and play dead. Walks Without Purpose was not used to using his quarterstaff one-handed, and frequently missed his attacks. He had much more luck with unarmed strikes and channeling his Ki into forceful projections like the Fist of Unbroken Air.
Jones attempted to flee the grove, only to be stopped by carnivorous vines with blood-hungry suckers. She escaped, but at the cost of two riding lizards. Weirdly, Jones was certain that she heard drumming in the near distance, and it seemed to be coming closer. She yelled to the rest of the group, but they were too busy with combat to hear her. Testing the mushroom circle that surrounded them, the Yuan-Ti Oracle began to cut down the fungi. After the second mushroom was destroyed, a bipedal humanoid mushroom appeared, playing the bongo drums. ”Hey baby, please stop doing that,” the mushroom asked. “That shroom is my cousin.” Confused, Jones agreed to stop cutting down mushrooms. They smiled at each other, and the mushroom person hung a garland of flowers around her neck.
More mushroom people began to appear, as if by magic. Their leader, with a blue and orange-speckled mushroom cap and a gnarled staff, appeared atop the slain Dryad’s tree. He shot glowing red spores at the corpse of Oats, and it briefly animated long enough to descend upon Hall and eat its brains. Once the battle with the plant spirits is over, The King of the Mushroom people played a song on his pipes. It was “Rump Shaker,” or a reasonable facsimile thereof. She shouted, “Every Mushroom Dance Now,” and the other Mushroom people joined in on their drums. The music cast a spell that took control of the players and forced them to dance. With no agency or control of their bodies, the Mushroom Sovereign led them in a conga-line through the magical swamp.
Humberto’s Dance Party (Improved Otto’s Irresistible Dance)
Level 7th
Casting Time 1 Action
Range/Area 30 ft.
Components V
Duration Concentration 24 Hours
School Enchantment
Attack/Save WIS Save
Damage/Effect Control (...)
Choose one group of creatures (up to 10) that you can see within range. The targets begins a comic dance in place: shuffling, tapping its feet, and capering for the duration. Creatures that can't be charmed are immune to this spell. A dancing creature must use all its movement to dance and has disadvantage on Dexterity saving throws and attack rolls. While the target is affected by this spell, other creatures have advantage on attack rolls against it. As an action, a dancing creature makes a Wisdom saving throw to regain control of itself. On a successful save, the spell ends. Unlike Otto’s Irresistible Dance, the victim is able to leave its space if commanded to do so by the caster. Humberto is able to issue dance commands to the spell’s targets, as per the mass suggestion spell.
You suggest a course of activity (limited to a sentence or two) and magically influence up to ten creatures of your choice that you can see within range and that can hear and understand you. Creatures that can't be charmed are immune to this effect. The suggestion must be worded in such a manner as to keep the manic dancing motions going non-stop. Asking the creature to stab itself, throw itself onto a spear, immolate itself, or do some other obviously harmful act automatically negates the effect of the spell.
Each target must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, it pursues the course of action you described to the best of its ability. The suggested course of action can continue for the entire duration. If the suggested activity can be completed in a shorter time, the spell ends when the subject finishes what it was asked to do.You can also specify conditions that will trigger a special activity during the duration. For example, you might suggest that a group of soldiers give all their money to the first beggar they meet. If the condition isn't met before the spell ends, the activity isn't performed. If you or any of your companions damage a creature affected by this spell, the spell ends for that creature. At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a 8th level spell slot, the duration is 30 days. When you use a 9th-level spell slot, the duration is a year and a day.
The party, now dancing uncontrollably, were herded deep into the Feywild Swamp. The leader of the Mushroom People, a boisterous loudmouth called Humberto Blue-Orange, the FUN GUY fungi spoke to them, “Ohhh, little scaley-babies, y’all done stepped in it now. You’ve gone and opened up a door that most folk wanted to stay shut. Knock, knock, who is it? It’s Humberto Blue Orange, baby! The FUN GUY fungi. I hope you got something sexy on! I know you hear me knocking, now I’m coming on in for dinner. Ain’t yall’s fault though, my little rutabagas? Y’all just done what you always had been-were going to done. That crazy jazz will be written waay back in the day, when folks knew what picante sauce should taste like. Owwwww! Have mercy!”
Humberto Blue-Orange counted the party members and came up short. “Uh-oh. Uno, dos, tres, quarto … there’s supposed to be SIX little piggies going to market, three and three, nice and balanced.… Aint y’all met ole hot & wet yet? What happened to those hungry-hungry hippos?” The confused lizard folk had no answer. They barely understood that there had even been a question. Brand understood that the mushroom king was making references of some kind, but had no idea what those references were to. After judging the party’s lack of response, Humberto Blue Orange shrugged and continued. “Oh well. Let’s just chock that one up to good ole-fashioned free-will. It’s like Geddy Lee said/will say, “You can choose a ready guide in some Celestial voice. If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice. You can choose from phantom fears and vipers that can kill. I will choose a path that’s clear, I will choose freewill. Let’s just hope that missing out on the Arch Fey’s blessings doesn’t make them grow bitter, turn against you beneath the city state of Uruk, drink the marrow from Brand’s lil’ boney-wonies, and declare themselves the scion of Maat and shit. But you know- free will and all. Now, put on your red shoes and DANCE, kiddies. Y’all are on your way to the Parliament of Trees, now can you dig it? I said, CAN YOU DIG IT!”
It’s impossible to tell how long the party danced through the fey swamp. They never lost the feeling that something terrifying lurked just on the outskirts of their vision, but it seemed to give a wide berth to their Mushroom guides. The sun never rose or set, and they lost complete track of time. When thirst overwhelmed them, the mushrooms poured nectar straight from the flower down their gasping throats. They were force-fed berries and small game, but the dancing never stopped. No matter how tired they grew, no matter how much they hurt, it never stopped. Deliriously, the party danced on. The party was each forced make a series of three Constitution Saving Throws. The first was DC 13, the second was DC 15, and the final was DC 17. Each failure resulted in a level of exhaustion. By the end, Brand and Walks Without Purpose were barely able to stand.
The party was finally led to a majestic hill that overlooked a literal river of Blood. Hsessriss’ Ranger training reminded him that there is a tributary of the River Styxx called Blood River in their world, a pale reflection of this one. Atop the hill is a circle of impossibly tall trees. It came as little surprise that many of the trees had faces, and seemed to be harmonizing, singing a beautiful chorus that brought tears of peace and exhaustion to their reticulated eyes. It functioned as a magical song of rest. Any friendly creatures who could hear the Parliament of Trees’ performance collapsed on the ground and took a short rest.
After their short rest at the base of the hill, Humberto Blue-Orange, The FUN GUY Fungi led the party to the Parliament of Trees, but the Mushroom Folk did not enter the grove. Suddenly reverent and serious, he told the party, “Sorry my buddies, but this is as far as us Mushrooms go. Only those marked by the fates are worthy to share the council of the Parliament of Trees. Now dig on this baby: Two more times we have/will be meeting. On that third time, you’ll even will have been happy to make my shroomtastic acquaintance, even if the second time is gonna/has made y’all curse my sudden and inevitable betrayal. Just be careful. Trust each other… until you can’t anymore. As he led the Mushroom people away, Humberto sang tunelessly to himself,
“There is unrest in the forest
There is trouble with the trees
For the maples want more sunlight
And the oaks ignore their pleas
The trouble with the maples
And they're quite convinced they're right
They say the oaks are just too lofty
And they grab up all the light
But the oaks can't help their feelings
If they like the way they're made
And they wonder why the maples
Can't be happy in their shade?”
Small figures made from living twigs ushered the party into the clearing, where they were surrounded by the Parliament of Trees. They were unsure if all of plants were awakened and sentient, but all of the trees seem to stare at them in judging contemplation. A writhing mass of vines and swamp muck acted as a bailiff, and called the court to order. The party heard his raspy words inside their heads, and knew that they are not spoken aloud.
“Hear ye and stand at attention, for this conclave of the Seelie court. You bear witness to the august personages of the Parliament of Trees, the honorable Judge emeritus, Treant Arborius presiding.” With a rustling of branches, the tree lord addressed the gathered party. “Mortals… you of fleeting moments… eternal spirits… shackled in prisons of flesh… I bid ye… welcome to the Feywild… It is known… that our covenant… will grow strong… like the mighty oak… The Seelie court… would offer onto thee… gifts of friendship… Elder… Glutton… Heretic… Savage… seal this compact.”
The great tree lord shook, and four giant acorns dropped to the ground. There was one at the feet of each of the party members. Jones immediately pried the top off of hers, and in a flash of light it was revealed to contain a cloak. Brand received a bottle of sparkling liquid, and chugged it the second that she realized what it was. Hssessriss was given a vicious obsidian spear named "Bleeder." Walks without Purpose was cautious about accepting his gift, questioning why the Parliament of Trees was doing this. Treat Arborius claimed that this was merely an offering of friendship. Reluctantly, the old alligator opened his acorn and received a three-fingered hand of polished wood.
The Left Hand of Arborius
Wondrous Item, Artifact (requires attunement to use, the wearer must be missing their left hand)
Magically fashioned from a branch of the Treant known as Arborius, this hand features three elegantly-proportioned fingers and a thumb. The dark oak has a polished finish that almost seems to glow with an internal light and is smooth to the touch.
While wearing this wooden prosthetic left hand, you can use an action to name a location that you are familiar within the Feywild. Then make a DC 15 Intelligence check. On a successful check, you cast the plane shift spell. On a failure, you and each creature and object within 15 feet of you travel to a random destination. Roll a d100. On a 1–60, you travel to a random location on the plane you named. On a 61–100, you travel to a randomly determined plane of existence. This power may be used once per long rest.
The Left Hand of Arborius may also be used to grant the wearer the protection of Barkskin and the ability to cast the spell Plant Growth 1/day.
Notes: To use the Left Hand of Arborius, the wearer must be missing their left hand. ,
Fae Philter of Fire Breathing
Potion, legendary
This potion is a unique creation of the Feywild, and cannot exist outside of it. When consumed by the user, it permanently alters their physiology and anatomy to give them the ability to breathe fire.
You can use your action to exhale destructive gouts of flame. When you use your breath weapon, each creature in the area of the exhalation must make a Dexterity saving throw. The DC for this saving throw equals 8 + your Constitution modifier + your proficiency bonus. A creature takes 2d6 damage on a failed save, and half as much damage on a successful one. The damage increases to 3d6 at 6th level, 4d6 at 11th level, and 5d6 at 16th level. After you use your breath weapon, you can’t use it again until you complete a long rest.
Notes: Breathe Fire, Buff, Utility, Consumable
Fae Cloak of Flying
Wondrous Item, legendary (requires attunement)
While wearing this cloak, you can use an action to speak its command word. This turns the cloak into a pair of bat wings or bird wings on your back for 1 hour or until you repeat the command word as an action. The wings give you a flying speed of 60 feet. When they disappear, you can't use them again for 1d12 hours.
While you wear this cloak with its hood up, Wisdom (Perception) checks made to see you have disadvantage, and you have advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made to hide, as the cloak's color shifts to camouflage you. Pulling the hood up or down requires an action. The Wearer cannot use both the Stealth and Flight abilities at the same time.
Notes: Set: Innate Speed (Flying), Advantage: Stealth, Disadvantage: Perception, Movement, Outerwear
Bleeder (Greater Obsidian Spear of Wounding +1)
Weapon (spear), legendary (requires attunement)
With an Obsidian spearhead perpetually stained rusty red with blood, this jagged weapon looks like something out of a nightmare. The shaft is wrapped with black leather.
The wielder may re-roll any 1 that they have rolled on the damage dice, taking the higher result. Hit points lost to Bleeder's damage can be regained only through a short or long rest, rather than by regeneration, magic, or any other means.
Once per turn, when you hit a creature with an attack using this magic weapon, you can wound the target. At the start of each of the wounded creature's turns, it takes 1d4 necrotic damage for each time you've wounded it, and it can then make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw, ending the effect of all such wounds on itself on a success. Alternatively, the wounded creature, or a creature within 5 feet of it, can use an action to make a DC 15 Wisdom (Medicine) check, ending the effect of such wounds on it on a success.
Special Material: Volcanic Glass
A weapon made out of Volcanic Glass has a hardness of 1 and 1 hit point, no matter what enhancement bonus it may have. A magic weapon made out of Volcanic glass may be sundered by weapons with a lower enhancement bonus than it normally, however as long as the hilt remains intact and is near sufficient amounts of volcanic glass, it will reform over 2 hours as long as it is kept relatively undisturbed. Although Volcanic glass is relatively common, the need for special tools and training to keep it from shattering under even light stress causes these blades to be incredibly expensive. All Volcanic glass weapons are considered masterwork.They have a tendency to shatter, but the sharp edge of Obsidian weapons inflict an additional +1 damage if they successfully hit. When you roll to hit with a primitive weapon and the d20 roll is a 1, you can choose to treat it as a hit instead of a miss. This impact destroys the weapon. If used to attack someone wearing metal armor, the primitive weapon is -1 to hit.
Proficiency with a spear allows you to add your proficiency bonus to the attack roll for any attack you make with it.
Notes: Damage: Necrotic, Damage: Piercing, Melee Weapon Attack: Piercing, Bonus: Magic, Damage, Combat, Thrown, Versatile
Judge emeritus, Treant Arborius continued to speak to the party. “This conclave… is at an end… Return to your… mortal realm… The next battle… of the Blood War… shall be fought in your village of home… Law… or chaos… You alone… shall decide… Be seeing you” breathes the tree lord, and space once again warps and twists in unnatural ways. Players must make another Constitution Saving Throw (DC 13) or become dizzy and fall down in the grass. The party found itself at the base of the hill, the Parliament appearing to be no more than a simple circle of trees.
With an insectoid buzz of tiny wings, a small figure popped into existence. “Hello Self-Friends! I am Billy, and I love you! Follow me and I’ll lead you home!” At his shrill voice, the living grasses that were just beginning to move to entangle the party retreat. Bill summoned giant Dragonflies to serve as their mounts. “We can’t go as the crow flies, self-friends. You don’t know what those are yet! It’s safest to follow the rivers. They’re strong in your world, AND here in mine! Otherwise the paths can change, and self-friends would be lost forever and never find and fulfill self-friends’ destinies!”
Billy flew in front, leading them Northwest, alongside the banks of the Feywild’s version of the Blood River. Just like in their world, it connected to an echo of the Hunter’s River. That tributary eventually led to a version of their local Skull Lake. Unlike the mundane body of water, this lake was shaped exactly like a leering skull. The southern tip of the magical lake’s shores seem to flex and flood their banks, making the skull-shaped body of water laugh... or maybe it screamed. Billy insisted on hugging everyone, regardless of their feelings. The giggling fairy says, “This is as far as this Billy can fly, self-friends. If you wanna get back home, you have to swim to the bottom of OUR Skull Lake and touch the glowing stone. Then that will take you where you need to go. I love you! Come back soon! Oh yeah, I forgot… Beware of the water guardian!”
The players prepared to swim to the bottom of the lake and finally leave this horrible place. Before entering the Feywild's version of Skull Lake, Hsessriss swore an oath of loyalty to the Parliament of Trees upon his new spear. Both Hsessriss and Walks Without Purpose were both members of the Alligator tribe, and they are able to hold their breath for long periods of time. The mounts initially refused to enter Skull Lake, no matter how much Brand and Jones cajoled them. Following the Yuan-Ti's suggestion, Brand changed tactics and used a bribe of meat to lure Lefty and their remaining riding lizards into the lake. With her in charge of guiding their animals, it would take her the longest to reach the portal key. Brand swam down at the hypotenuse of the angle to cross the distance to the lake floor in the shortest distance and time possible. Jones revealed that her new cloak could turn into wings and allow her to fly, so she went high above the lake and dive-bombed down into the water, swimming down towards the stone. She couldn't hold her breath as long as the Alligators, so she would have to hurry. Luckily her Salamandapeed was amphibious, so it wouldn't be at risk of drowning like their other animals.There were four clumps of Killer Seaweed that attempted to attack anyone who swam near it, but they were easy enough to avoid once the heroes became aware of them. No matter how hard it stretched out to menace them, they were able to stay out of its deadly reach. The magical waters of the Feywild offered little of the normal water-resistance, allowing the party to make their attacks unhindered. That came in very handy in the following skirmish.
Hsessriss initially skulked past the sharks that guarded the magical rock, ambushing them one on one as part of his sacred hunt ritual. The glowing rock port-key home was on the bottom of the lake floor, defended by a Kelpie named Berylah. She nearly slew Walks Without Purpose, but he connected with his Fist of Unbroken Air Monk-attack, shoved a Rictus mushroom into her mouth and forced her to swallow the poison. Everybody happily touched the stone, and was magically teleported away from the Feywild. Hsessriss was the last to leave. The Kelpie's death spasms from the Rictus mushroom drew the attention of the final shark, and the hunter smiled approvingly as it began its feeding frenzy.
The players surfaced in the Prime Material Plane’s version of Skull Lake. For a moment, Walks Without Purpose nearly forgot the events of the last several days, but tenaciously clung to his memories. Normally teeming with Fishing Boats, the mundane version of Skull Lake was eerily quiet. Both Hsessriss and Brand realized that there had been serious changes to Home. Much of the surrounding swamp land seemed to have been clear-cut. Giant bonfires choked out the sun with black smoke. From their vantage point, the players could see a crude yet massive statue standing atop Suntouch Hill where the shrine of Rae should have been. This idol had been roughly hewn from rock and depicted a huge and fearsome Komodo tribesman and is covered in blasphemous symbols that hurt to even look at. Townsfolk were being marched through the village in chains by slavers, and dozens of bodies were impaled on the points of trees, surrounding Home like some grotesque picket fence. Clearly much had happened since they had left home.