Against the cult: the Forest Ruin (1.5)

Theran trains with Gwydn, who is a little brown gnome of indeterminate age, an archivist who spends most of his time in the library poring over old books and scrolls. But the amount of herbcraft, animal lore, and esoteric nature magic at his fingertips is astonishing. He begins every conversation with Theran the same way:

"What animals have you seen today?"

Gwydn is fascinated to hear about the snake that the party encountered at the Temple of the New Dawn in the Dim Forest. "A snake? Oh ho ho ho! That's a fun one! Show me what it looked like!" At Theran's blank look, he tuts impatiently. "Ah, you haven't done that yet? I have been many shapes before I assumed a consistent form. Let's see...maybe a snake is too big a leap to start. How about this?" Suddenly a mastiff is standing in front of Theran, capering around like a puppy.
Then the mastiff transforms into a horse, stamping its hooves. It rears with a whinny, and suddenly Gwydn the gnome is standing there again, beaming at Theran. "Fun, yes? Yes! You can do it, too, you know. I sense it within you."

As the training continues, Theran does indeed develop the capacity to change his shape into any terrestrial animal (up to a certain ferocity) that he's seen: a horse, a dog, a cat, a rat, a frog, a mule, and, yes, a snake (both poisonous and constrictor varieties).

By midday of the second day, Theran has developed full control of his animal transformation, and it is as a dog that he notices the strange smell of decay around Gwydn. When he transforms back into his original shape, he asks his trainer about it. "Oh, that? It's probably just the spores." At Theran's blank look, he looks surprised. "Spores. You know, the spores? The progression of the natural cycle of life that leads inexorably into death? Those spores." When Theran explains that he doesn't quite know what Gwydn means, the gnome sits him down and explains that, by spending so much time together, Theran too has become colonized by the death fungus that infests Gwydn's body. "I thought you knew! I've always suspected it's why most people in the town avoid me." He claps Theran on the shoulder (releasing a faint whiff of yeast and mildew) and grins. "I find it encouraging, knowing that my remains will decompose and feed the fungus, which in turn will promote plants and feed animals! If that's not enough for you, the death fungus gives other advantages, too!" The two druids spend the rest of the day discussing how being a host to a colony of necrotic fungus is a good thing, actually. Theran learns the Chill Touch cantrip and practices how to use the Halo of Spores that he has started to expel continuously to good advantage.

A small human boy only slightly shorter than Joseph trots up to the halfling, beams a wide smile, announces "You have been invited to have tea with Gwendolyn!" then awaits Joseph's expression of delight. When none is forthcoming, the boy looks a little crestfallen. "It's a great honor, you know. Gwendolyn is a Great Lady, and she has the best cookies!" When he's still not convinced, the boy adds "You're Joseph, right? She asked for you by name!" Eventually, as several of the others are training or on odd jobs for Olpert, Joseph decides to pay this Gwendolyn person a little visit.

Gwendolyn lives in a cozy cottage not far from the south gate of Hochoch. She is an ancient human woman, white-haired, stooped with age, her ruddy skin paper-thin and stretched tight across the knobby, arthritic knuckles of her claw-like hands. She chuckles a greeting, not at all surprised to see the Dungeon Buster come calling: "Heh-heh-heh! I've been hearing a lot about you... Joseph, is it? Come, come, sit up here on the porch with me and indulge an old woman as she warms her bones in the sunshine." She picks up a battered teapot and shakily pours liquid into a cup for each of them, a slight palsy making some of it slop over the sides. There follows a very polite, rambling conversation, occasionally interrupted by passersby calling out and waving to her as they walk past, and sometimes interrupted by children running up to present her with pressed flowers, interesting bugs, or colored pebbles they've found. Each one whispers shyly to the old woman, and she gives each one a cookie from a huge platter she has set out with the tea.

Eventually it becomes clear what's really going on: Gwendolyn's sweet old lady persona may or may not be an act, but she is keeping abreast of all the goings on in and around Hochoch by means of her spy network of children. These scamps run at her beck and call, finding information and then delivering it in exchange for her 'best cookies.' She says "Let's not waste time on any further pleasantries. I was not always 'kindly old Gwendolyn' and I didn't always live in this small, podunk town of Hochoch. I may have put my past behind me - heh, heh - yet I retain my expertise. I am not a young woman - heh, heh - and before I pass along to the Great Beyond, I would like to bestow my wisdom and talents to someone worthy of them." She sips her tea with trembling hands. "Of everyone here, you are the one most worthy. You look surprised?" She smiles with a mouth that has several teeth missing, then effortlessly switches to the gestures of Thieves' Cant, indicating "BIG SCORE. RIGHT HERE. MINIMAL DANGER. NO GUARDS." in quick succession. Then she sips her tea again. "I could teach you things. And I want to. Why do I want to? There's my legacy - I already mentioned that, heh-heh. There's my fee, of course. Each skill I teach comes with a price. But why would you pay me when you haven't seen what I can do? Why should you believe a foolish old woman? Heh-heh-heh." She gets painfully to her feet. "Why don't you give me a try first? If I can teach you something you don't know, you pay me and become my apprentice. If not, well then you got some tea, cookies, and a weird story out of it..." Bemused, Joseph agrees.

Immediately, Gwendolyn's demeanor changes. She straightens a little, and hobbles over to the side of her house. "Come along, come along - time is precious, when you're as old as I am." She looks at Joseph appraisingly. Well, when you're as old I feel, anyway." She proceeds to run Joseph through several drills, calling out instructions for different maneuvers that have him sweating and panting for breath soon enough.

By the end of the first hour, Joseph is convinced that she's trying to kill him.
By the end of the first day, Joseph is convinced that he will be able to use these dodges and rolls to prevent other people from killing him. He acknowledges that her lessons are useful, pays her, and agrees to become her apprentice.

The next day, Joseph runs through drills again and again and again while Gwendolyn sits under a tree and calls out instructions, being served lemonade from a pitcher and handing out cookies to the children that arrive with her "latest gossip." He gets faster in his reaction times, and better able to change direction, feint, hide, and evade.

When the party returned to Hochoch, Xana caught a glimpse of a very handsome dwarf with a golden-blond beard, visible and illuminated in the corner of her eye as if he was holding a lantern or standing in front of a campfire. But when she turned to look, he was gone, and there was no trace of light anywhere near there.

On leaving the temple of Rao, Xana saw the dwarf again, a bit closer than before: she could make out the richness of his attire, fabrics of pleasingly complementary colors of an exquisite drape and texture. He smiled at her, eyes crinkling merrily, and vanished.

The next morning, a moment after the others have left following the morning meal, Xana turned and the fabulous dwarf was sitting next to her at the table. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Beren." he said, with a brilliant smile and a slight inclination of his head that somehow reads as the deepest of bows. "I am called Dirk Gerald. I have been chosen, just as you have. Hyrsam has sent me for you, to be your guide and mentor." He brushes an imagined bit of fluff from his sleeve - imagined because his clothing is immaculate. His beard gleams with rich pomade and his pinkies glitter with filigreed golden rings. "Do not fear another betrayal like Anzu's...I could not go against Hyrsam's wishes if I tried, and it is Their wish that you receive more of Their gifts. Come! I will show you!"

Next thing Xana knows, she and Dirk are outside, strolling through the sunshine in between rows of plants in a farmer's field. Dirk's mellifluous voice tells her of the Fey and its powers. As he walks, his golden fingers brush against the leaves. Dark energy flows from Dirk's golden fingertips, and behind them, the melon vine swells and stretches like taffy and the fruits expand like bladders. Then they wither, shrivel, and putrefy into foul rot.

Night falls suddenly, and in the starlight, Xana can see that they are on a sandbar in the middle of the river. In the dim light, Dirk's eyes glitter like silver, and his sultry voice is like a caress...the caress of Hyrsam. It tells of the Invocations that Xana can draw upon, adding to her Pact to be granted more powers of the Archfey.

Then it is morning, and the sky overhead is pink with the rising sun. They are in the trees, somewhere deep in the Dim. Dirk continues talking as they walk out along branches, stepping from one tree to the next. At times, Dirk takes Xana's hand in his, helping her leap from one branch to its counterpart in another tree, and when he does, the grip is warm and welcoming at times, and at times it is cold and bony. They arrive at a tree covered with fuzzy black caterpillars that are devouring all the foliage of the tree until it is as if the tree had hairy, black, wriggling leaves, and still Dirk's voice croons on, praising Xana for being chosen by the Archfey.

Then it is so dark that Xana cannot see - disorienting to someone with superior darkvision - but then she gradually sees shapes, lit by the glow of Dirk's perfect teeth as he continues to speak. "Now it is time to demonstrate your commitment," he is saying as the growing light of his teeth and the echoes of his voice make it clear that they are in a vast cavern. "Commitment-ment-ment..." come the echoes. Xana takes the 30 gold eagles from her pouch and they appear in Dirk's outstretched hands. His hands melt and fuse into a crucible glowing red hot, and the gold coins melt and flow from the crucible into channels that run back into the recesses of the cavern. Xana watches as the thin little streams of gold expand into flowing torrents that pour out and up. The gold cools, and Xana sees that each flow is forming a mound of gold coins. "So shall the Archfey Hyrsam multiply your contribution!" Xana's eyes are dazzled by the mountains of gold, shining as if each one burned with flame. She blinks.

Xana is in the Inn of Eternal Rest, sitting at the table with Myrtha, Reptile, and Kragga. Two days have passed, and she is level 2.