The Old Forest

White hot pain shoots through Damanadros's hand. His whole body slings back reflexively as he screams out loud.

But his hands are bound together and they are being raised upward, the wrist lashing connected to a rope and hook.

He is being hoisted up by the rope on a pulley system.

There is a glow in the area and the false imagery that was displayed to him falls away. He sees reality in all of its horror.

End mind control. End illusion.

Two small brutish humanoids are pulling the rope that is raising him. Two more of these same creatures scamper below him, looping him with additional ropes as his legs are pulled from the thick mud. They howl and chatter.

She is there - directly ahead of him, perched on an overhanging broken bough.
No longer the Goddess, but now in true form - a sinister harpy.



She spits his blood and the piece of his finger out in the rain and into the muddy ditch below.

Now she bares her sharp, blood-covered teeth and screams out in hateful rage.

A dozen vultures flap their wings ominously, hissing and grunting in the branches all around.

Gennadius treads out across the logging yard with the lantern.

The thunder and lightning are fierce, but the rain is light rather than a downpour.

As he searches for signs of Damanandros or anything that might have captured him, Gennadius grows more certain that there is a Witch at work somewhere nearby.

He is not sure if the ælfkin are involved or not, but he has a good feeling about the Land Spirits after his recent intervention. If he can tune in here, or find the right words, maybe he'll get a real lead since he's already been alerted to the rift.

The Veil Between Worlds is thin in this place, right now at least.

Advantageous Adjustment, All PCs departing from shelter: As beneficiaries of Folkish Luck gained,
...receive +1 to Attack Rolls, Damage Rolls, Attempts to Surprise, Avoiding Being Surprised, and Saving Throws during the remaining time of The Witching Hour.
...can elect to reroll one Saving Throw, Attack Throw, or Opponent Attack Throw of choice during the remaining time of The Witching Hour.

Damanandros reels in shock, overcome with pain, horror, and the unforgivable loss of control. Despair grips him as desire fades, replaced by heartbreak and shame.
He retches, blood from his finger trailing down mixing with mud and bile. All hope seems lost, and he braces for the end.

The clanking sound of grim thunder rumbles through, as if a huge anvil were being dragged across the vault of heaven against its will. Branched lightning splits the Tirenean sky, buzzing and hissing, angry as it breaks free from its shackles in the storm clouds.

Syrena soon finds Damanandros’s tracks, revealing that he walked in a straight line across the muddy woodyard and continued into the thick line of brush and trees beyond. Broken branches and heavy treaded prints prove to be sufficient marks for the trained tracker to recreate the missing man’s path.

Syrena is soon to discover other footprints that join up with Damanandros’s trail. From the sides originally, then they fell in behind him – sometimes stepping within his same impression in the mud.

These are slightly smaller tracks, but as those of men. Or perhaps like what would be those of heavy children. Wearing open-toe sandals, leather moccasins, or some even barefoot. The prominent marks of their long claw-like nails make it clear enough to guess.

Beastmen. Likely goblins.

Damanandros is in grave danger.

With urgency, Syrena picks up the pace, trusting her experience and instinct to track the path while on the move.

Gennadius’s song has filled the companions with a strength of resolve. Trusting Syrena’s proven skill, they join her quickened step in the pursuit. The men scan the forest for enemies, gripping their weapons in anticipation and determined to find their friend.

The relentless storm, raging all around, tested the companions throughout the day. Now, in this darkest moment of night, they begin to draw power from it.

The tracks soon lead them downward into a formidable draw. Bramble and thick brush are like fortified walls of overgrowth.

Quickly Syrena discovers passages through the near impassable barriers. Several of the paths cut through the unwelcoming zone like narrow splits and sometimes even low tunnels, with the foliage from both sides connecting overhead.

Downward they move, following the tracks. Water drains with them along the way, inevitably on path towards low ground.

It is dark in this thicket, but the companions begin to see a faint glow, ever so slight, through the heavy brush. The tracks lead towards the dull light.

Then they hear a scream - filled with pain and terror. Damanandros?!

Moving with urgency down the current path, they make a sudden turn and come face-to-face with a band of beastmen!

The four brutes are small but armed with deadly weapons. Their viciousness is apparent…





Surprise Throw Party.
Surprise Throw Monsters.
Monster Initiative.


Required Action: ROLL INITIATIVE!

***Music***.

...the four goblins see the party turn the corner, but are taken by surprise - momentarily unprepared for an immediate clash.

Gennadius’s lantern bathes the small clearing in light, and shadows dance wildly along the surrounding overgrowth.

Party has Surprise. (noteworthy: Folkish Luck makes the difference)

Encounter Distance: 10'

Ruling: in this circumstance, because of the unusual terrain and Syrena's position as exclusive point, Party Initiative Roll can be made with Syrena's full stat advantages for Initiative.

Required Action, Active PCs: Declare and take Action in Surprise Round

Opponents: 4 goblins, AC +2

The eerie servant sits on a higher branch now, looking on at the sadistic spectacle.

This foul creature spoke in the voice that was hidden in the darkness previously, but now it is visible since the fall of the illusion.



Its hollow eyes are the presence of death.he says to her in the Ancient Tongue.

The Harpy merely snarls and steals a menacing look back at the monstrosity briefly before resetting full attention to her hanging prey.

Required Action, Active PCs: Declare and take Action in Surprise Round

Full Action Remaining: Xenophon, Gundus

Partial Action Remaining:
Gennadius (G1 defeated, attempt Cleaving Attack)
Syrena (G2 defeated, attempt Cleaving Attack)

Opponents: 2 goblins remaining, AC +2

Adjustments: Along with Surprise, remember adjustments for Folkish Luck and Bard Song, detailed in previous entries.

Area Details: This is a small clearing within the draw. Only the 4 goblins are immediately visible. There is an "exit" on the other side of the cleared area, where the thin cut footpath continues on through the tight trees and underbrush of this dense thicket. This thin footpath is gradually heading downward on a slope. Further on, low light glows through the trees. The screams of pain are coming from that same direction, downhill and towards the glow. Exact distance there is not yet known - 100 meters or thereabout is an estimate. None of the PCs in this set know anything thus far about harpies, Damanandros's fate, the enemies at that site, etc.