THE WIZARD'S GARDEN
16 Warmshade, 4433
A few hours
Characters:
Gorr, Ranger 4
Robert the Swift, Fighter 4
Eric Withakay, Cleric 4 of Solaris
Suba-Jin the Three-Handed, Cleric 4 of Hextor
Young Joe Spruce, Druid 2
Lord Fesgate, Fighter 3 (NPC)
The Aftermath
The group was exploring the gardens of Dimorites the sorceror, overgrown with carnivorous plant creatures and other strangeness.
They headed north from the koi pond through narrow passages in the hedges. They first came across the remains of a battle: seven human corpses being picked through by a dozen of the gnarled root-men, who jumped to attention when the party arrived.
"We Mandragoras! This is our meat! You stay away!" one of them buzzed.
The group was trying to defuse the situation when Eric Withakay heard a faint, pained groan coming from the pile of bodies. One of them wasn't dead yet! While Young Joe Spruce attempted negotiations, Eric crept towards the sound to investigate.
One of the Mandragoras stood next to the body, guarding it from Eric. It seemed worried he would take its dinner.
"This is bad meat, fire-meat. If you eat it, it'll burn you!" warned Eric, and cast Light on the body.
Pandemonium erupted as the flash of light terrified the Mandragoras, who ran into the hedges with a chorus rasping cries and the shuffling of leaves. In moments, the group were alone with the corpses. They began a search and found a sack of 500 silver coins with strange markings: a woman with a crown on one side, a snake and a mask on the other, and the word Zur'Gonath. A few assorted low-value gems were found as well, and a spinel gem that seemed of decent value. All the dead men wore leather armour and had simple hand weapons. Strangely, they all had crude masks made of Papier-mâché or even twigs & leaves.
Eric assisted the groaning man who was only barely alive. After some healing magic the fellow managed to sit up and talk. He introduced himself as Joktan and asked the group what they were doing here:
"We're the backup. We just arrived, they said you would fill us in" prodded Gorr.
"With a priest of Hextor?" He looked skeptical. "Well, all right..." Joktan groaned out his tale of woe. "We got in here a few weeks ago with the magic door, from the neighbours' lot. We didn't expect all the monsters. We got pinned down in the baths and can't leave, because Petemnesthes the Lunatic has the key and nobody can find him! Sandar and Behrouz can't agree on anything, and we're being picked apart by the mirror-men!"
"What are those?"
"Didn't your mother ever tell you the story? They live on the other side of the mirror, and if you're bad they come for you. Never thought it was real... until now. They only hunt humans, that's why we wear these." He indicated his mask.
Joktan was able to walk, and offered to lead the party to his gang's hideout since they helped him. They were called Dushan's Dervishes, from the Bridge neighbourhood.
They didn't have to travel far. Back on the lawn, the party ran into a dozen armed thieves. They put their weapons down and stopped to talk once they spotted Joktan with the group. They confirmed what he'd said: the Dervishes were stuck in the gardens after their break-in went terribly wrong, and had barricaded themselves in the sorcerer's opulent bath-house.
The party offered to show them an exit and they followed along with interest to the grotto of sad black stone statues [see last session]. Robert the Swift insisted they blindfold themselves, which they were unwilling to do. After a tense moment that almost came to blows, the Dervishes shrugged and turned around, leaving the way they came.
"I never liked those guys anyway," said ME the piglet. "They're the ones who locked me in that shed in the first place."
Just to cover their bases, the group backtracked and warned Sesto's crew that others might be coming out the way they came in. Suba-Jin wrote on the wall above the stairs: "Go down the stairs, talk to the lookout, he'll get you out."
Exploring Further
The party progressed southwards toward the huge mansion (more like a palace) looming over the hedges. They entered an overgrown, scented garden, crammed with plants of every type colour & description. The trees and undergrowth obscured visibility except for a few narrow paths. The sounds of bees & tropical birds could be heard.
They immediately spotted a dark green statue of a bearded man holding a book, wearing the fine robes of a Gloaming Tower wizard. As they approached, a voice boomed: "Welcome visitors, to the manse of Issachar Dimorites!" Getting closer, they saw carvings around the base that someone had tried to scratch out: "Lord Issachar Dimorites, 4261."
They came to an artificial river of clear water running in a stone trough. Young Joe Spruce took the opportunity to look around for any plants that might be useful: he found a day-lemon tree, and harvested 15 of the fruits. When cut open they glow with a soft inner light, and are worth a few silver each. The others planted various seeds they were carrying with them.
A feline snarling from the south interrupted them. Two strange beasts emerged from the undergrowth: black & green panthers with huge bat wings and scars zig-zagging down their heads & backs. The group formed up for battle, and Joe Spruce's entangle spell caught the rear panther in its tracks. Meanwhile, Lord Fesgate was almost swallowed whole when the lead panther split almost completely in half, revealing itself to be a giant toothy mouth on legs! This one fled and the entangled one was dispatched, and the group was able to move on.
Next they came to a marble pavilion with a birdbath in the centre. Three giant butterflies flapped around, drinking from the birdbath or settling on the furniture. Suba-Jin approached and managed to distract one with a divine cherry [from back in Session 4]. The other two flew at him and he was paralyzed by the sparkling dust from their wings. One settled on him, licking his face with its poisonous tongue! The group came to Suba-Jin's rescue, shredding the butterflies with a hail of arrows & stones. After a few minutes the feeling came back into his limbs and he could move again.
The pavilion itself was held up by carved pillars. The floor was arranged into a mosaic of cavorting monsters, while the roof depicted a stern wizard launching blasts of lightning & fire from his hands and the word DIMORITES underneath.
Suba-Jin investigated the birdbath. It was dark green & yellow marble with a small jet of crystal-clear water bubbling in the center. He was the only one of the group willing to take a drink - immediately turning invisible! He bottled some of the water for later.
Outside The Mansion
The group decided to venture south, since the main structure was now very close. Passing through a narrow gap in the overgrown plants they were finally beside the huge mansion, over four stories high. They could see a wide pillared porch facing them, and another above it on the second floor. From nearby, they heard... singing?
An 8' tall blue man in voluminous robes was walking back & forth on the porch, strumming an oud and singing. His powerful baritone carried an otherworldly song, the melody and the language both alien to the group's ears. He stopped when approached and introduced himself as Marzaman of the East Wind. He said he had been summoned here to bless a wedding between Lady Lorca Dimorites and Lord Aeolus Adrestus. Something had gone wrong and the wedding could not be completed. As a result, he had been stuck here for one hundred years!
"Look for yourselves," he indicated the grand doors behind him with a wave of his hand, holding a glittering gemstone plectrum. "Through the chapel, in the grand hall is the wedding reception. You'll see what I mean."
Who is this enigmatic blue man, and what secrets does the mansion hold?
Monsters Defeated:
1 winged panther-thing (820 xp)
2 giant butterflies (142 xp)
Treasure:
500 silver coins w/ odd markings
4 assorted small gemstones
1 nice spinel gem
15 magical day-lemons
