Having found the first of the three lost fairytales, the heroes were back at the fairytale crossroads heading down a second path.
As they walked in the beautiful summer weather, Thorga realised they had walked for hours with nothing worth noticing and as soon as he alerted his companions, they all notice the delicate singing by a young woman away from the path.
As they closed in, they met a young woman in a red hooded cape picking flowers.
Striking up a conversation with the her, the party learned she was picking flowers for hte grandmother whom she lived with and the heroes decided to escort her home eventhough the girl told them it was perfectly safe.
But since she was curious about stories from afar, she readily accepted the escort back.
Trouble at granny’s
However, as the group entered the home of the grandmother, the living room looked in disarray with chairs and books thrown about.
The young woman started cleaning up nervously while she called for her granny.
The party suspecting foul play went upstairs to investigate while Thorga’s pseudodragon stayed below with the young lady.
Upstairs they found no sign, but while investigating the rooms, a scream from the girl downstairs reached them.
Thorga ran for the trapdoor down and was grabbed by large strong claws that pulled him down stairs into the ground floor now dark from a mysterious magic blackness.
He was attacked by huge strong claws and a mighty bite that fortunately dug into his armour. He swung back, first swing hitting home while the second one struck air as the creature teleported away.
DM notes, I on purpose didn’t reveal the miniature for this fight straight away, to add some danger to the scene.
Watch out!
Pestilence was busy trying to get downstairs to help Thorga while Kaari checked the last of the top floor. But the trapdoor had been bared so she had to find another way to open it.
Meanhile the room Kaari was investigating, fell to the magic darkness as the creature materialised in the room.
But with her keen Ranger senses, Kaari dropped down avoiding being hit and at the same time she swore the Sunoath and fired her Sunoath Bow into the beast hitting with both shots.
Hurt and surprised, the creature was not able to hold the magical darkness and as it faded Kaari saw a huge Werewolf for a split second before it teleported away again.
It’s on the ground floor!
Thorga, having barely caught his breath, felt the magical twang from the teleport exit, familiar to him from his many uses of his Misty Step ability.
And soon enough the huge creature appeared, but this time Thorga was ready and pulled his silver weapons to ensure maximum damage.
Pestilence blasted the trapdoor with his Eldritch Blast to get down to help his dwarven companion.
Seeing the mighty beast, Pestilence grabbed the flash of fey water she had and threw it at the Werewolf only to realise the potion was a boon making the beast even more lethal.
And soon enough all three heroes were downstairs fighting the beast.
And the huge Werewolf, wounded and confused, teleported again away from the heroes leaving them in the empty ground floor in silence.
Oh no, where the girl?
As the dust of the battle settled, the Hellbenders realised the young woman was gone!
As they looked for clues they her very soft whimpering from downstairs… the girl was in the basement!
The heroes ran down and found the girl cuddled up in a corner.
Pestilence, never having trusted a lone girl walking the fey forest fully, suspected foul play, but Thorga ran up to her to ensure her she was safe.
As he calmed her her whimpering turned into a deep growling laugher and suddenly her small arms became huge hairy trunks of muscles trying to catch the dwarf.
It’s her!
And sure enough the girl transformed into the mighty Werewolf, that in the first instance tried to hurt Thorga with no luck, then Pestilence with limited success, for then to try and flee up the stairs only to find itself downed by Kaari’s lethal aim.
The end
The entire house all swirled around the heroes and in a quick swooosh all flew down into a single book labeled “Little Red Riding Hood”.
the second lost fairytale had been found.
Epilogue (and then some)
DM notes, as we still had time, we continued the game down the last fairytale road to show the players what they would face next… but in fact, Thorga’s player actually called it correctly before I even set up the first part!
As the heroes went down the last path, it didn’t take them long before they came to a shabby hut made of straw and grass with a huge pig-like creature on top telling the party in a crude tone: “Piss of!”
Realising the fairytale playing out was “The Three Little Pigs”, Kaari remembered the bottle she resuced from the bottom of a pond that contained some wind related shenanigans.
She followed Pestilence’s earlier tactic and threw the bottle against the hut hoping wind would take it as per the fairytale.
Alas, rather than wind, out came a Djinni as if from an entirely different fairytale.
“Thank you for freeing me. I will grant you one wish before I go!”
Kaari stepped forth and asked the Djinni to grant her and her companions the power to face the Iron Lich on equal terms and her wish was granted before the Djinni flew away.
DM notes, what started out as just a way to set up the next game became the most exciting part of the whole session.
In the end, the players decided to ask for extra levels. Now this may seem out of character of the Wish spell. However, none of us have ever played beyond level 14 and where all excited about the idea. Currently the party was level 11.
So in the end I allowed the players to level up the number granted by a single D6 roll!
As Captain Adama said: Sometimes you have to roll the hard 6!
Well, Kaari’s player didn’t roll 6… but she did roll a 5.
Celebrations all around as the party will be level 16 next time we meet!
