2025-08-16 - Session 5

Previous session: Session 4 Next session: Session 6

Where Were We?

Back in Freemen's Wood after being way too honest with Brighde. We took a long rest.

And Then What Happened?

In the wee hours of the next morning...

Clodagh wakes from a dream, the Vanha pendant warm in her palm.

The air is cool and heavy. You are standing in a vast stone hall, its walls too tall and smooth to have been built by mortal hands. Your footsteps echo, though you don’t remember moving. The only light comes from a silver-green shimmer at the far end—a pool, perfectly still, as if made of glass. The silence hums in your bones.

And then you see her. Calla. She is walking just ahead of you, her hand trailing along the wall as though she knows the way. She doesn’t turn when you call her name, but you’re certain she hears you. Her pendant cord sways against her back—yet you know the pendant is in your own pocket.

The closer you both draw to the pool, the louder the echo becomes—not words, but a low chant in a tongue you do not know. And yet, on waking, you will remember your own lips shaping the same syllables in your sleep.

Laurence wakes after having a strange dream. He was sitting in a cavern beneath the earth with a single blue flame burning a silver stone in a brazier. In the background a female voice sang this song:

Iron binds the ember, Ash remembers flame.
Stone drinks the sorrow,
None shall speak the name.
Blood was poured for binding,
Roots were cut for war.
Souls were forged in silence,
But doors unlock no more.
Hear the hollow hammer,
Hear the anvil cry—
Vanha forged their glory,
And in their forge, they die.

Thalador awakes to find his mentor Amlachanar staring at him. He bids Thalador follow him. They walk up a trail into the woods. Thalador feels some kind of magic in the air -- but not a spell. We arrive at a grove where there's a single massive oak tree. The lower branches are festooned with tattered flags and hanging charms. Bridghe stands at the base of the tree. Amlachanar stands with Bridghe and waits expectantly for Thalador to join them.

Aoife wakes to see Bridghe's awakened raccoon, Bandit, looking down at her. "Your aunt wants to see you in the grove." The raccoon waits while she dresses. He leads her to the grove where the others are already there. "Come forward, initiate," says Bridghe. We sit around a fire. Brighde pulls out a bag of runes used for augury and casts them.

She interprets them...

The Past – Fid (The Alder, Warrior Tree)

• Symbol of conflict and bloodshed, once carried by druids into battle.
• The keep below is not just a ruin—it is a scar of an ancient war, echoing still.

The Present – Saille (Willow, Enchantment and Dream)

• A rune of mystery, moonlight, and strange magic.
• It warns of shifting paths and dreamlike dangers—the Turahskal trails will not remain constant.
• It also reflects Aoife’s new mantle as Cathbad’s heir—she stands at the threshold of vision and burden.

The Future – Nion (Ash, World-Tree)

• Rune of connection, fate, and bridges between realms.
• Brighde sees the Soulfont not as a spirit, but a tool that binds souls and worlds together.
• Outsiders—empire—will come to claim the roots of the world. If not guarded, the Soulfont will be chained.

The Hidden Influence – Muin (Vine, Prophecy & Binding)

• Rune of alliances, intoxicating truth, and entanglement.
• The omen is that the party will soon meet those bound by oath and blood—the Goblins and Giants.
• They must not only uncover Vanha lore, but also weave new bonds, or else others will twist those alliances first.

She turns to Amlachanar Carvion, the elven envoy:

Amlachanar speaks to Thalador, charging him with leading his friends on a quest. We must journey into the Rime, a place of frozen mists high in the Turahskal Peaks, situated between the lands of the goblins and the giants.

Bridghe gives Cathbad's Staff to Aoife. She is declared the Herald, who shall bring back the knowledge to protect Freemen's Wood.

Amlachanar & Thalador. Something about the seeking the Stone of Remembrance. Might be in the possession of the giants or the goblins.

"Empires will seek this out. We are on the frontier now, but might soon be the center of the world."

Bandit tugs at Bridghe's robe. He begins to screech. Bandit insists on coming with us.

Laurence wakes up. He begins furiously writing in a journal, while fighting through a hangover, trying to get something important preserved. A pounding at the door. It's Aoife and Thalador. We explain we're going on a quest! It's very exciting!

Laurence notices the bushes near his door shaking. Out comes a raccoon, who promptly swallows a robin's egg. Aoife makes introductions. Does Bandit play anything? Bandit sings.

Clodagh wakes from a dream whose contents are just out of reach of her conscious mind. There comes a pounding at the door. It's Thalador, Aoife, Laurence, and Bandit.

We explain we're going on a quest! Clodagh bids her father farewell and gets a fresh notebook; Aoife wants to make sure Clodagh takes notes for her.

We need to go get Cador. Clodagh wants to talk to Calla before we leave. Aoife disagrees. Clodagh heads to Calla. The rest of us go to fetch Cador and arrange provisions. It's a three-day journey to the Rime.

Clodagh heads over to the wizard's tower. Calla greets her, a bit surprised. She steps out and shuts the door behind her. They begin to discuss the stone pendant; it looks like Calla is very reluctant to discuss it. She pulls a threadbare cord from her pocket. The half-pendant has been in her family for generations, passed down from woman to woman. No one knew what it does, but it frightened her. Says she had a feeling that Clodagh was trustworthy, more than most, and that it was waiting for Clodagh. It burned in her presence, and felt lighter when near Clodagh. Maybe Calla just wanted Clodagh to have something of hers. Some awkward flirtation? Asks if Clodagh will be at the festival today. Calla gives her an awkward hug and dashes back into the tower.

The rest of the party heads to the Logging Camp. It's a bustle of activity! There's a rope barrier around the sinkhole. Cador paces as if keeping patrol. Men at the camp are getting shovels. They've put him on guard duty, he doesn't think he can come with us. Maybe he could get Aoife's brother Seamus to fill in? Doesn't know where Seamus is. No one is talking to him. Doesn't know how people found out that someone went into the hole.

Cador shrieks as Bandit runs up his axe and bites Cador's arm! Hijinks ensue. The head logger asks Aoife whether Cador might have rabies. He summons Seamus to fill in.

We escort Cador from the camp and into town. Bandit catches up along the way.

We fix Cador up and seek provisions. At Thalador's advice we make sure that we have climbing gear, rope, and cold weather gear. Clodagh sells some weapons to the smith. Laurence and Thalador discuss selling off any of the other stuff, but we conclude that we might keep them in case we need to trade on the road.

We assemble at the Graveyard, where the trail leads up into the mountains. Thalador offers an elven blessing for safe travels and safe returns. We head up into the mountains, following the river for a time.

We reach a breathtaking vista where rainbows arc off the frozen river water. It's a stark beauty. A few conifers and bushes. Peaks are sharp, trails are steep.

Thalador plays the flute a bit at the first camp, and Laurence joins in with the lute. Bandit tries to join in.

When prompted, Aoife says she feels the burden of her responsibility as Cathbad's heir. Not the path she expected to take. Thalador tells of Brighde's warning of "empires" that would come looking and would want to dominate the Soulfont. Empires triggers Clodagh's memory -- she explains about coming to Freemen's Wood as a small child, and her father's words about the pros and cons of empires. Thalador and Aoife tell about the meeting with Bridghe and Amlachanar.

The next day wakes us with blasts of icy wind. We break camp swiftly (since we forgot to bring tents). Laurence performs an Encouraging Song.

The path leads up further into the mountains. Someone has built a narrow stone bridge spanning a chasm, at the bottom of which is a cold stream. A stiff wind blows Clodagh off the bridge! Cador grabs for her and starts to fall as well. Clodagh casts Feather Fall! They land hip-deep in cold water, about 150 feet down.

The rest of us cross and see if we can discern how to help our friends. Laurence lowers rope. We get Clodagh up, and then lower the rope to help Cador. Thalador helps advise the climbers on the use of their tools and where to reach and step. Clodagh uses Prestidigitation to dry off, and repeats the favor for Cador. She warms clothing for herself, Aiofe, and Laurence.

The trail goes up, razor-thin, skirting along a ridge line. We tie together with ropes and proceed. Laurence gives out Bardic Inspiration to Clodagh, Aoife, and Cador. Clodagh misses one Acrobatics check, but Cador fails all three. Cador starts slipping, and pulls Laurence with him! Laurence hugs the mountain for dear life. Clodagh manages to hold on. Cador dangles, unable to find purchase on the cliff. And now Laurence starts getting dragged toward the abyss, and falls as well! Clodagh starts to slide too but catches herself. Thalador uses Guidance to aid her. Laurence casts Unseen Servant, desperate for any help he can find.

We hear the sound of metal hitting stone. Cador has kicked out, and sunk his climbing axe into the stone to the hilt. He begins slowly climbing, tossing Laurence back up to relative safety. We carry on... Clodagh starts to slide on a patch of ice but manages to prevent a fall.

We come to a place where the path widens and passes between two mountains. The wind tears at us, a gale beating at us. Small caves to the left of us offer shelter until the storm passes. We find a narrow crevice that opens into a wider cave. In the back of the cave we see the rounded haunch of something VERY large, possibly curled up like it's asleep. It faces away from us. It's scaly. We come to an immediate halt. We don't see any movement or hear any breath.

Laurence and Thalador use Message to discuss the beast; the elves speak of dragons that slumber in secret caves, waiting for an age to return. Then we see Bandit has gone up there. Laurence uses the same to tell Bandit to come back!

In the light now, it seems to be made of stone?? Thalador observes that it may be chiseled?? It looks like someone has crafted a life-size back end of a dragon out of the rock of the cave. There's no front to it. It looks like the cave has been shaped around this thing. Laurence sneaks up for a closer look and confirms that it's a chiseled statue. It appears to be curled around a central seating area, with a fire pit and stone benches.

We proceed in and rest to wait out the storm, lighting a fire for warmth.

Plans for Next Time

Wait out the storm. Press on toward the Rime.