Adventures in Oerth- The Bane of Vecna: Book One, Chapter Seven, Zeif

The Bane of Vecna, those present in this chapter:
Oryn Talus, the mysterious and ancient "Halfling" who has employed the group
Aurora Isilime, the Valley Elf Bard; "The Silver Tongued Siren;" who has more instruments than she can carry and sings to things she shouldn't

Pharin, the Drow Wizard; "The Dark Conjurer;" summoner of demon bunnies

Skye, the Air Genasi Druid and saver of demon bunnies

Dervish, the Kasathe Fighter

Nanu, the NightmOrc Fighter who is late, slayer of innocent bystanders

Lan El'Mandragoran, the Human Paladin

Jarrid, the Human Barbarian, and Jayce's brother

Lothar, the Sovani Smith and Cleric of Moradin

Aerys Shayl, the Human Ranger 

Aerathema, the Wood Elf Druid

Ralliakkan, the Drow Rogue

Pieces of Vecna acquired: Head and Hand

***** Day one in Zeif

       When the group entered the tavern part of the inn they were lodging in, the morning after their arrival in Zeif, no one could find Lan or Nanu- but since both of them tended to vanish randomly, no one thought anything strange about it. The rest of the group decided to find out more about what was plaguing Zeif, and why no one would give them passage on a ship to get there. They needed money, since they had stopped getting paid daily after the loss of their carriage, and the group thought that there might be some money involved in whatever was plaguing the town. 

       The group saw that there were no ships in the harbor, and most shops were shut down- Aurora saw the town as dying, something which saddened me, since last time I had visited this town it was full of life and music. I composed a lovely song about the music dying. They learned that some kind of monster was in the sea, just outside the harbor, and there were no fish left in the bay- there was a bounty on whatever was causing it though, so the group decided to go after the problem. Dervish secured a ship for the next day that had been sitting in dry-dock, the group would only have to pay for the ship if they damaged it, otherwise the ship was free. While Dervish was securing the ship, and Aurora was off looking for one as well- to no avail, Pharin and Skye set to work making a potion of water breathing, that could double as a swim potion; it didn't work. There's a reason I call the airhead "Burnt Potions." 

       The group saw Lan briefly that evening and gave him the Head; he left immediately after receiving it, so he could find a way to shield it. I was glad to have that vile thing out of my possession, it smelled terrible.

***** Day two in Zeif

       The next day the group set out to board their ship, still missing Nanu and Lan, and on the way to the docks, Dervish realized that they were being followed- though he didn't know what was following them, or how many. Skye decided to send her mockingbird animal companion, Buckbeak, to spy on whatever was shadowing them; the poor bird was slain. While Dervish and Skye went forward to get the bird, Aurora and Pharin held their position, and noticed that someone in full armor was advancing toward them. Pharin of course decided to attack it, but it hit much harder, and it paralyzed him. Lucky for him, I was next to him and able to heal him before the villain could do worse. 

       At the same time, on the other end of the street, Dervish and Skye were attacked by another completely armored person. The battle for both pairs was short, for the assailants realized that the group no longer held the Head, which is what they were after. While the group did try to stop them from getting away, they were unsuccessful. As the presumed cultists fled, Ralliakkan turned the corner to see them getting away. She introduced herself to the group, as an agent of Oryn, and suggested they return to the tavern to discuss what was going on. 

       During the drinks Ralliakkan insisted on, the group learned that she had almost had her hands on the Eye when they set off the wish spell that scattered the pieces. They apologized profusely to her, if they had known that they would have used the wish on the Hand instead. She was in the town looking for the Eye, and awaiting instruction from Oryn. Ralliakkan admitted she was already planning on seeing what was in the water, since she thought it may have something to do with the cult, and decided to join the group. On the condition that I not attempt to serenade anything, and if I did she would attack me; we needed the help, so I agreed. Eventually they set out to the docks again to investigate the bay; Pharin and Aurora were tasked with finding the NightmOrc, so they left their party to do so.

       When everyone arrived at the dock, there was a man with a cart of a few items that he still had from when the town was living; the group bought most of his stock. No one had thought to hire a crew for the ship, but lucky for them Ralliakkan had done so for them- they now had a crew of twenty to sail their ship. After a couple of hours of travel, all of a sudden the wind and waves were gone, they had entered a stillness so unnerving that it could only be caused by magic. They began trying to make noise to get the attention of whatever was in the water, but it ignored both Ralliakkan's bomb and Aurora's bagpipes. Finally Pharin flew down to the water and dipped his purified amulet from the cult into the water, illuminating the Chuul that were lurking beneath the surface. 

       Pharin sped away from the water as quickly as his broom allowed, and was pursued by the Chuul. The ship was boarded by the beasts. Pharin summoned two octopi who engulfed the Chuul and began devouring them quickly. While the group battled the Chuul, two undead troglodytes boarded the ship- one above deck, and one below, where only Ralliakkan and ten crew members were fighting; seven of her ten died quickly. Ralliakkan twirled in a horrifying, yet beautiful, dance while fighting the invaders, she kept them at bay and was untouchable. Nanu took the troglodyte down, and seeing that the majority of the Chuul were dead, they all began to go downstairs to help Ralliakkan. 

       That damned drow decided to turn his octopi into sixteen spiders and sixteen bunnies. While I was fine with spiders raining down on us and swarming the beasts, the bunnies were another story. I somehow managed to keep my cool and focus on the fight unfolding before me.

       The group joined Ralliakkan in finishing off the remaining Chuul and the troglodyte, and then the bunnies swarmed down the stairs. Those horrid monsters pounced on the final Chuul and ate it alive. After it was dead, I tried to usurp control of the bunnies from Pharin, to order them to drown themselves, but they were too strong to be influenced by my flute. There's always next time. At the end of the battle with those beasts, only ten of the twenty crew members they had started with were still alive. 

       Then Ralliakkan heard a scratching noise, like something was climbing around the underside of the ship, looking to gain entrance. Everyone rushed upstairs to see if they could find where whatever was scratching would be surfacing. Finally, Pharin sent a bunny into the sea to swim beneath the boat and find the source of the noise. The bunny found itself facing another undead troglodyte, and Pharin ordered it to attack. Dervish flew down to investigate, and saw Pharin's bunny mauling the troglodyte's eye... Dervish and the bunny quickly finished off the troglodyte, and resurfaced to Ralliakkan asking where the map was. 

       Dervish had neglected to search for a map, so Ralliakkan quickly dove in the water and ripped it away from its quickly sinking, dead holder. Dervish caught up to Ralliakkan, and map in tow, they returned to the ship. The map showed the group where the treasure was, and they quickly directed the ten surviving crew members to the island indicated. 

       After a few more hours, the group reached the cave that the map had indicated, and headed in. It was a several hour long trek through the cave, which was constantly going down into water, which deepened and shallowed at random. Eventually they came upon a fifty foot tall, vertical wall, with absolutely no hand-holds. Between brooms and spells, the group was able to travel up the wall until they entered another cavern. 

       The new cavern was huge and round, with the sides slanting inward to make a peak at the top; the peak was open and they could see the sky above. It seemed that they had entered a hollow volcano. Ralliakkan quickly identified a secret door, and after much searching Pharin found the trigger to release the door. Instead of a door sliding open, like one would expect, the volcano slowly moved outward, eventually revealing a treasure room, filled with riches and magic items. They had found and obtained what they were after: money. 

       With the loot packed away, the group headed back to Zeif to collect their bounty and divvy their new found wealth. I, of course, did some spinning on exactly how many Chuul and undead troglodytes we fought; the harder and more epic it sounds, the more money we get. 

***** Day three in Zeif

       When the group entered the tavern the next morning, they were greeted to Ralliakkan, Lan, and Oryn sitting at their table. Oryn delivered the grave news that Jayce had died, killed by his evil elder brother. His death was serving a purpose though, Jayce's parents (who were royalty among the barbarians) were using this horrid incident as a way to rally the barbarians. In death, Jayce was now a martyr, and no one was permitted to resurrect him. I was sadder over his death than I should have been, apparently I had grown somewhat attached to him in our travels; I did not realize that he could have been more than a challenge. But somehow, even through the sadness I felt at peace; due to the magical effects of the sword I had picked up from the volcano.  Pharin learned that Haasenpfeffer was currently escorting Jayce's soul to his afterlife in the realm of positive energy.

       He did bring the group good news in addition to the bad; Oryn told the group was that he had the Book of Vile Darkness, and Josiah, in custody. Though he was thus far been unable to get the book unbound from Josiah- it liked him. When Oryn had been in the midst of fighting Josiah to obtain the book, Haasenpfeffer appeared out of nowhere and landed on top of Josiah. Haas' positivity was great enough to suppress some of the evil in the book, just enough to allow Oryn to take him as a prisoner. 

       Oryn also told the group that the Hand had been acquired by one of his agents. They now had two pieces of Vecna away from the cult! He gave Pharin a new skull, that when given fresh blood and flesh from an undead creature, could point the way to the other pieces of Vecna.

       They told Oryn that the Fang was pointing directly south, and they believed it would be taking them to the Forgotten City, in the southern desert. Oryn told them of an old legend that the Thri-Kreen guarded the Sword, and to use caution around them. He advised them to also be cautious in Kester, which would be the last city the group would see before reaching the Forgotten City.

       Aerathema had spent the last five days trying to break Josiah, to no avail. By the time she emerged from the interrogation room Oryn had set up in the inn, she looked utterly drained. I gave her a restorative spell to help her get some rest. Jarrid had been working with Aerathema to break Josiah, but his efforts were also in vain. I suggested trying to break him with my bagpipes, I'd been working on developing a song that would make a rabbit's head explode, and I thought maybe I could modify it for Josiah. For some reason, this disturbed Oryn, and he walked away. 

       After Oryn left, Lan pulled the pouch containing the Deck of Many Things out of his pack. He had been carrying it since the gala, because Pelor wouldn't allow him to actually draw from the deck- making him the best guardian of it. Lan asked if anyone was feeling like they had luck on their side and wished to draw from the deck. Everyone said that they were indeed feeling lucky, and Pharin shuffled the deck. 

       Dervish drew first. but luck was not with him. He first drew the Idiot card, and his second card was the Donjon card and he found himself instantly imprisoned, leaving all of his belongings behind...

       Aurora drew next, and luck was not with her either. I drew the Void card, and my soul became instantly imprisoned, leaving my body behind...

       Pharin stepped up next, and drew the Talon card, making all of his magical items disintegrate.

       Ralliakkan drew the Rogue card, which made one of her friends turn against her... 

       Nanu received Euryale, a nasty curse that one a deity or the Fates card can remove.

       Skye drew last, and received the Fates card. The moment Ralliakkan saw Skye's draw, she grabbed the genasi by the throat and demanded that she undo all that has just happened; taking them back to the moment they decided to draw. Skye insisted that Lan shuffle, not Pharin, and that no one cut the deck. She was the only one who remembered what had just happened, and even though she told everyone about their previous draws, no one believed her. She's such an airhead that she could have been spacing out and imagined the whole scenario.

       The second time around, Lady Luck decided to visit some the group. Everyone, except Skye, Pharin, and Nanu, received good cards, including Pharin's spider familiar. Skye was the recipient of Euryale this time around, and she began praying to her God to remove it. She also had Lan and Lothar ask their Gods, who didn't care. Nanu drew the Skull card and found herself fighting a spectre of death; which she managed to defeat, but gained nothing from it except her life. Pharin drew the Rogue card, so he now has a mortal enemy for life- but that's much better than his items disintegrating. 

       Shortly after the group had finished drawing their cards, Jarrid emerged from the interrogation room. He gladly took a card, since he felt he had nothing left to lose. The Knight was Jarrid's card, and a young male fighter appeared before him, swearing fealty to him until death. This enraged Jarrid, and he told the group to outfit the young fighter so he could vent his rage on him. While the rest of the group knew that would likely result in the lad's death, they didn't have much of a choice- the boy was no match for Jarrid, even when he isn't raging. They gave him some armor and weapons they had received the day before at the volcano and sent him to his doom.

       Eventually Oryn returned, with Lothar and a bundle of things- Jayce's belongings. The group somberly divvied up his things as they saw fit.

       After that grievous task was completed, Oryn showed everyone into the interrogation room. He had a plan to use divination to get the book away from Josiah- he offered him a draw from the Deck. Josiah drew the Void, making it so that they could take the book. 

       The problem the heroes now faced was that the Book had to be bound to someone, and they had to decide who would take charge of it. Taking custody of the Book would mean that the owner would be locked in a warded room, like the one they were currently standing in, and study the book. Lothar volunteered himself to take it, saying the Moradin had granted him the knowledge to have the book without it completely devouring his soul. Nanu offered to take it, but Aurora pointed out that she can't sit still, and after a few hours the NightmOrc would be losing her mind from being penned up. There was no one else who could take it, I wouldn't for fear that I would have to experience that Hell I felt when I sung to it. With a heavy heart, they let Lothar take them book; once it bound itself to him, Oryn sent him away. He left the group telling them to hurry up with getting the sword so this wouldn't happen again.

***** 
       The next morning our heroes departed from Zeif, heading south toward Kester. When they emerged from the tavern, they found Aerys waiting for them, with horses in tow. The ranger was not happy to be going with the group, since she had heard bad things happened to those who were with them; the group hoped that wouldn't become a pattern.

This is the area the group stayed in for the course of this chapter.

Adventures in Oerth- The Bane of Vecna: Book One, Chapter Six, Ekbir and the road to Zeif

The Bane of Vecna, those present in this chapter:
Aurora Isilime, the Valley Elf Bard; "The Silver Tongued Siren;" who has more instruments than she can carry

Pharin, the Drow Wizard; "The Dark Conjurer;" summoner of demon bunnies

Skye, the Air Genasi Druid and saver of demon bunnies

Dervish, the Kasathe Fighter

Nanu, the NightmOrc Fighter who is late, slayer of innocent bystanders

Lan El'Mandragoran, the Human Paladin of Pelor

Jayce, the Human Barbarian of the Bear, Warlock of Pelor

       Our heroes spent several days and nights in the coastal city of Ekbir re-supplying, and by the morning of the fifth day they were ready to move on. On the previous day, the group has decided to travel south to the port city of Zeif by sea, hoping it would slim the cult's chances of tracing them down, and it would shave days off of their journey. As they prepared to leave they realized two things: No one had actually chartered a ship to take them to Zeif, and that they had not warded the Head that was in Aurora's care against scrying. While they were preparing to find a ship, Jayce joined them and announced he had already found one, but it would be 50,000 gold per head. They had just spent four days in the markets, and most of them couldn't afford the outrageous price of passage. Having to alter their plans last minute, the group delegated out tasks to get themselves quickly on the road and out of town, as well as find a way to protect the Head. 

       The group split up, part of them going to what few merchants were left in town to search for something of non-detection, to no avail. The merchants were all sold out of anything like that, and wouldn't have new items in stock for several more days. The other part of the group went to find cheaper transportation, also to no avail. Something was happening in Zeif and the ships felt it too dangerous to go near the town; so dangerous that several captains made comments about valuing living too much to take their ship there. 

       While everyone was working on their assigned tasks, Pharin stayed behind to scribe some circles onto Aurora's lute case that he hoped would protect the Head from prying eyes. After their ill luck at finding any of the things they had been sent out to get, Pharin decided to make do with what he had, and set a magical binding on the case, making it so that the only one who could magically sense what was in the case was him. Defeated, the group decided to travel by land to Zeif, and while discussing exactly how to travel (by horses, brooms, or magic) Jayce appeared with horses and wagons.They set out to begin their trek to the coastal town.

*****

Aurora

       Two days into our journey to Zeif, absolutely nothing had happened. No cultist attacks, no random creatures attacking or following us, no weather changes, NOTHING. Needless to say, I was bored. Nothing happening doesn't make a story good, nor does it make travel worth while. On our second night of camping I learned that Skye had purchased a bag of magic beans during our stay in Ekbir. My mandolin was rumored to have belonged to Jack the Giant Slayer, it even had his special insignia on it: a beanstalk encased in a harp. With as bored as I was, I simply had to find out if it really was Jack's mandolin, didn't I? It would make such an interesting story if it really was his!

       Skye had planted one of her beans and it transformed into a fruit tree, which was not what I was expecting to happen, but druids do weird things. I asked her if she would let me sing to one of her magic beans, just to see what would happen. She wouldn't let me do that, so I instead sang to her tree. I serenaded it using Jack's mandolin, singing to it the story of Jack and the Beanstalk. I figured if I could make anything happen to it, it would be by using that story on that mandolin. What happened though when I finished my song was not what I expected. Some of the fruit on the tree transformed into different types of fruit. That's it. No beanstalk, no cloud giant, no harp, no goose. Some transmuted fruit. Boring.

       That was when Skye said I could serenade one of her normal, non-magical beans. She even planted the bean for me and grew a modest beanstalk to get me started. I began my song again, singing Jack's tale exactly as I had to the tree, hoping that I could prove the rumors about my mandolin true- and maybe get a magic harp. As I sang, the beanstalk grew to be fifty feet in diameter, and it shot up through the clouds themselves! This was much more interesting than fruit. I added a bit more power to my song when the stalk began to grow, just to see if it would make things more interesting. It did. When I finished my song, a strange light came from the sky, surrounding my beanstalk. Dervish, Pharin, Skye, and I flew up to see what was going to happen next. I kept my fingers crossed for some entertainment.

       A fire giant came rushing down the beanstalk! That's much more interesting than the cloud giant Jack fought! The giant zoomed down the several mile long beanstalk in only a few short seconds! I've never seen anything move as fast as he did! Pharin had purchased a giant slaying rapier and finally had his opportunity to use it. He zipped in on his broomstick and slashed at the giant, causing it harm and drawing first blood. The giant was of course not happy about this, so he unleashed a fire storm right above Pharin's head. Battle against this beast had begun! But unlike Jack, I had backup and wasn't in the giant's home; I knew we could handle him, and the song I could write about this would be marvelous! 

       The battle didn't last long once the giant reached the ground. Nanu, Dervish, and Jayce rushed the giant, hacking at its legs and feet with their swords. Pharin decided to drop a rhinoceros on its head, and missed... Lucky for him I don't think Skye actually noticed. We made short work of the giant, then headed up the beanstalk to see what awaited us on top. 

       Nanu and Jayce stayed on the ground to work on chopping the stalk down, ignoring my assurances that in Jack's tale there was only one giant, so we need not worry about more coming down after us. We sent a bird up through the clouds, and it was returned to us instantly, dead and charred. We returned to the ground again, but since there wasn't much Pharin and I could do to help chop the stalk down, we decided to return to the top, letting the others work on chopping it down. Jayce had me punch him so he could become enraged, which would grant him better strength in dealing with this leafy foe.

       Through Pharin's insistence, I don't know why I listen to that draft drow, I began singing at the light surrounding the stalk. I sang about how just like Jack, we had defeated this giant and made a fool of it; a lovely, taunting, tune. When nothing happened, Pharin wrote a taunting note on a rock and threw it up there; it returned after a moment, and zoomed past us to the ground, leaving a small crater on impact. Finally, when nothing else had worked, Pharin suggested I send a fireball up there. That was a bad idea... But fun!

       Three storm giants burst forth from the clouds! These giants could fly, unlike their flaming friend, allowing them to emerge without gripping the stalk. On the ground, our friends hacked frantically at the beanstalk now, trying desperately to get it down before the giants reached them. I was struck by an agonizingly painful lightning bolt by one of the giants, apparently they also don't appreciate having a fireball thrown at them... Oops? 

       At about that time the others were able to get the stalk swaying, preparing to come crashing into the ground any moment. Seeing this, the storm giants returned to the clouds, knowing that once the stalk fell their portal back home would vanish. The falling stalk prevented us from having to face a much more grueling battle than the one with the fire giant, and it happened at the perfect time.

       I suppose it did not occur to me how different my tale would be from Jack's, I was operating the entire time under the assumption that my story would parallel his and there would only be one giant between us and a castle of treasure. Though my tale is more interesting than Jack's, it has me in it and I'm far more interesting than a silly human boy. The others were not happy about my "accidental" summons, but Pharin seemed amused; I think he likes it when I do things like this, and I'm not sure that's a good thing. We were rewarded by with a staff of fire from the fire giant, but I can't use such things- we gave it to the druid. If only we could have gone through the clouds to whatever was beyond, I'm sure we could have gotten such wondrous things from their lair.

*****

       After another day of peace, the group was beginning to believe that Pharin's spell to hide the Head had indeed worked. The spell Pharin had cast to conceal the Head had lulled the group into a false sense of security. Midway through their fourth day of travel, the group discovered that they were very wrong...

       On the fourth day of travel the group began to feel a sickly, wrong feeling. Skye sensed that a group of fifty dire boars were being slaughtered, and something negative and wrong was killing all plant life around the dying boars. The group could see nothing except a dust cloud that kept spitting the boars out. While the rest of the group was quite happy to go around whatever was causing the trouble, the druid insisted they stop the evil destroying nature. Resigned, Aurora insisted that they use ranged attacks to dispatch of it, since whatever was doing this was not something they should get close to. Jayce took up a boulder and in a flash he broke it into more manageable pieces that he could throw. As he finished breaking the boulder, the dust began to settle and a man with fiery red hair emerged... hair the exact same color as Jayce's. 

       The man standing before our heroes was Josiah- Jayce and Jarrid's older brother. The sight of his older brother stunned Jayce into silence and paralysis, and it took Pharin hitting him with an eldritch blast to bring him back to the present. Josiah had been turned by the cult, and was in possession of the Book of Vile Darkness; the very book that contained the ritual the cult was using to bring Vecna back. The book was apparently so evil and vile that it was killing the nature around it; and the closer the party got to Josiah and the book, the more that sickly wrong sensation sunk into their bones. It was even worse than the sensation they got around the cultists, for the Book of Vile Darkness is one of the most evil items in existence. Josiah announced he was only there for the Head, and if they simply handed it over he would leave. But our heroes could not let the Head fall back into the cult's hands, they needed to keep as many pieces out of the cult's hands as they could.

       The battle began quickly, with Jayce charging in to battle his brother. Josiah was as strong as Jayce though, and they gave the appearance that this was a dance they had done before, but under much different circumstances. When Jayce reached out to grapple his brother, they vanished for several seconds, only to reappear in the midst of combat. The group watched in horror as Josiah bashed his brother in the face with a hammer- a move they had seen Jayce use many times before; Jayce in turn grappled his brother. 

       Jayce restraining his brother gave the group an opportunity to grab the book. Pharin called to Aurora to get the book, but Nanu was closer. However, the book did not like the foul foal, and she was sickened the moment she touched it, rendering her unable to retrieve it. Aurora then swooped down on her broom and attempted to take it, but it vanished right before her hand could connect, reappearing once her hand was gone. The book had taken a shine to Josiah, and when that book likes someone it is always reluctant to leave them.

       The fight raged on, with Josiah frequently turning himself invisible, during one of these moments he appeared in the air right above Skye, and talked the poor druid straight out of the air. She was in the form of a small bird, and therefore easy to grab by the large barbarian. Josiah did not wish to kill her though, he instead planned to use Skye as hostage to exchange for the Head. He gripped Skye's tiny form in such a way that he could easily snap her neck if they continued to deny him the book.

       In response to this, I made one last attempt to get the book from Josiah. I don't know why I listen to Pharin, I really should stop, he's a terrible influence on me. Since I was able to serenade a kraken and a group of giants to come to me, I thought maybe it might work on the book; so I used my siren's call once again... Serenading the Book of Vile Darkness is a really bad idea, and one that should never be done by anyone. Ever. My siren song did get the book's attention, and I began feeling a malevolent darkness closing around me... It was like I was ripped into a swirling pit of darkness and despair, I frantically tried to release my hold on it book. I was lucky and managed to break my connection to the book before it consumed my soul. The book was again announcing that it liked Josiah and did not want to leave him, not even for the Siren.

       Nanu had purchased an item during the group's stay in Ekbir that would allow her to banish someone, and lacking options for saving Skye from Josiah's grasp, she decided to banish Skye. Since Skye is a genasi, she was banished to the Plane of Air for about thirty seconds before Nanu managed to bring her back. Skye had beseeched the clouds in her realm to send her back, and upon returning believed it was per the cloud's aid; according to Skye, Nanu had nothing to do with her return.

       Pharin, seeing no other options to save Jayce, summoned Haasenpfeffer, his giant happy bunny of doom...

       Josiah reiterated that he would gladly leave if they handed over the Head. I made the mistake of telling him to fuck off, bringing his attention towards me; that was a bad idea- I seemed to be making a lot of those in that fight. Once he actually looked at the bard, he realized she was the Head's guardian and vanished again, only to reappear right above Aurora. The moment he latched onto the bard, all of her magics stopped, and she began to fall. Had Pharin not given me a potion of Soul Shield, I would not have survived that fall. On impact Josiah wrenched the lute case from Aurora's back, but Jayce tackled his brother and the pair vanished, lute case and all, with the Head dropping to the ground. Jayce had used something that forced both of them home to their parents. 

            After the brothers vanished, the bunny appeared. I was quite proud of myself, I did not try to set it on fire, nor did I feel any fear toward it. The positive energy of Haasenpfeffer was enough to keep my terror at bay, and considering the sickly, darkness that I had just experienced, his calming effect was quite welcome. The party decided to ride the bunny the rest of the way to Zeif; though Pharin was tethered to the bunny, flying behind everyone on his broom so he could keep the Head away from the hare. 

       The next day the group encountered the cultists, but they were still riding the harmonious hare, and simply hopped over them. 

       With Haasenpfeffer increasing their speed tenfold, they reached Zeif that afternoon. When they were only a few miles out of town they saw a huge army standing between them and Zeif. Aurora called to the army that they were coming in peace, and the bunny was friendly, but that did not ease the guards. Zeif had been raided by demon bunnies three days prior to their arrival. I knew those blasted creatures needed to be put down, not set free; damn druids thinking all animals are innocent things that need saving. She made the monsters demons in the first place, you would think she would have wanted to rectify her mistake the next time we met them. 

       As the group neared Zeif, they found themselves surrounded by crossbow wielding soldiers, and attempted to explain the cause of their presence. 

       The group had to convince Pharin to send Haasenpfeffer away, to ease their ability to speak to the guards. They convinced the guards that they worked for Oryn by showing them that the pouches with Oryn's insignia were pouches of holding, not the pouches that can be purchased in trinket shops. A small group of soldiers was dispatched to town, while the group was ordered to "not move." They wouldn't even let me sing. 

       A group of thirty guards with crossbows aimed at the group was left to keep them surrounded while they waited. Pharin, being impatient and not wanting to just hold still during this wait, summoned Leomund's Tiny Hut to shelter the group from any stray crossbow bolts. They attempted to converse with the guards, but none of them were willing. After a couple of hours the guards who had been sent to town finally returned to where the group waited- with Lan in tow. After confirming their identities, Lan brought the party to a tavern in town and ordered them to not speak until three rounds of drinks had been consumed. With the stories he had heard of their doings, he needed to be intoxicated to absorb their antics and unorthodox way of doing things. 

       Lan told the others that Oryn had a plan to hide the Head from the cult, but it involved the Zhentarim. The Zhentarim were not easy to get an audience with though, and without Oryn, Lan was having difficulty achieving the task. In the meantime, the group charged Aurora with protecting the Head again, since Pharin and Nanu already carried important pieces (the sword hilt and the Fang), and it was decided that no person should have more than one piece on them.

The red line shows the group's journey during this chapter