Session Notes for 2005-05-14
July 31st
After a nights rest we gather some food and head off to Dragon Manor. Morn addresses the path ahead and asks to go to Dragon Manor. Nothing seems to happen, but we continue onward.
Twice during the day we hear rustling in the bushes, but we see nothing. (OOC: Dorian's magical internal map briefly senses someone.) Nothing comes of it.
Near evening the path opens to a large clearing with a huge mansion in the middle. As we approach the gates are opened. Stable hands take our horses. A finely dressed fellow meets us. Morn introduces us and gives him our letter of introduction. We're led inside. The hallways are massive. We're led to a nice room to wait. A few moments later the man returns and leads us to another room. The room has two giant doors with a smaller door built into the large doors. We end using the smaller door.
The room beyond is similarly huge. There are tapestries of dragons doing heroic things. In a corner is a small table with tea settings. A woman is waiting there. She has red-gold hair with ribbons and jewels woven into it. She is wearing a heavy burgandy silk gown decorated with more gems. Presumably this is Vouivre, the Dragon Matriarch. She invites us to sit down and serves us tea. She pours some tea into a bowl for Dorian's wolf; the wolf seems to like it.
Morn explains what we know. The Matriarch is a bit exhausted by the Faerie's interest in Prophesies. The Matriarch informs us that her granddaughter's name is Aura. While we wait for a copy of the Prophecy to be fetched for the Matriarch's review, she suggests that the King's library might be a useful research point.
The Matriarch reviews the Prophecy. She agrees that the Prophecy may describe her daughter. She will allow her granddaughter to visit the Queen's court, but only after we prove outselves. The granddaughter's father was killed. The Matriarch has slain those directly responsible, but some minions have escaped. The Matriarch will provide us with a bird that can track one of these groups. It's a group of fairywasher women. Washer women? We're to kill them and return their left pinkie fingers in a box the Matriarch gives us. We're warned that they revel in death and their weapons may not be what they seem. Washer women? Morn accepts on our behalf.
We're provided with two huge rooms, with human-size furniture along the edges. The Matriarch says any food in our rooms is safe.
In our rooms, we briefly talk. I explain my hesistancy to slay "washer women." The others seem more certain. The woman did match the Matriarch's description and the books suggest not evil in the Matriarch. We shall see.
We rest.
August 1st
Food is waiting on tables in our rooms, this time not quite as much as the Faerie Queen provided. It's quite good.
Our horses are waiting, as is a falconer. A colorful bird, looking something like what parrots are described like but with a sharp beak, is on his arm. He tells us to follow the bird; he'll release it when we leave the gate.
We head out, following the bird. It occasionally stops and waits for us.
Around mid-day the bird stops and lets us ride up. It looks into a nearby clearing. There is a stagnent pool in the middle. There is something in the pool.
Lyle scouts ahead. He finds two women washing clothes in the mucky water. Lyle signals us to advance. The women are almost skeletal and scarred. There appear to be bodies floating the black water of the pool.
Dorian fires on one of the women. The woman falls. Dorian's wolf attacks the second woman. Another woman walks out of the water. That's not right. The woman the wolf was attacking smacks the wolf with her sheet. Strange. I advance on the women who just emerged. Missile fire from Morn and Lyle drops the second woman. A fourth emerges from the pool. Lyle drops the fourth while I drop the third. Two more women emerge. We continue fighting. I get seriously bruised from blows from the women's sheets. One ofthe blowsbriefly stuns Dorian's wold; the washer woman follows it with a vicious dagger strike. After slaying 13 women, they finally stop emerging from the pool.
Faerie is truly a strange place.
Checking the bodies, we find that they were attacking with shrouds. They each had a strange dagger. The daggers look like teeth of a larger creature. There is a handful of small fingerbone tools, including a key.
Morn removes the required figures. Strangely, there is no blood. We put the fingers in the box.
The bird is long gone. Morn tells the path that our destination is Dragon Manor. We ride back. We arrive in the late afternoon. We're escorted to the large room again. There is a table set with hors d'ouvres. We're invited to sit down while we wait for the Matriarch. The Matriarch arrives. Morn provides the box. The Matriarch counts the fingers and appears satisfied.
The Matriarch agrees to send Aura and her nurse with us. We suggest that Aura stay here and we will return later. During the conversation Aura herself arrives and sets herself down on the Matriarch's lap. Aura looks to be about 4 years old, as a human.
We journey back to our manor. After an hour or so, we hear something ahead. Again, nothing comes of it.
Further ahead we find something sparkling in the path. It's a large emerald sitting in the middle of the path. Morningglory picks it up and examines it. It's cut to be roughly spherical. Morningglory says thanks and sticks it in her pocket.
We continue onward. Dorian mentions that her internal map indicates that we're no longer heading toward our manor. We decide to head onward anyway.
Around dusk we come to a clearing. There is a massive palace formed from living trees. There is an archway. We approach. A servant waits. When Lyle asks, the servant indicates that we have arrived at the Court of the King.
We let the servant take horses and head in. The hallways are the same as the outer walls; formed from living trees. No one leads us, we explore, heading left.
We come to a large court. Men and women lounge about, many drunk. Some gamble in a corner. A handsome man is draped over a large throne at the end. Women fawn over him
3,000 13 washer women, story