Etlenda had received a mission from his contact in the Emerald Enclave - for the past several months a halfling vineyard outside the city of Waterdeep had been beset by scarecrows appearing and coming to life, destroying property, and frightening away the workers. So far no one had been injured. Previous scarecrows had been destroyed by other agents of the Emerald Enclave, but after a few weeks new scarecrows would appear. Etlenda's mission was to destroy the latest scarecrow and eliminate the source of the problem, if possible.
- Winterfrost of House Silverspear - Chaotic Good Moon Elf Noble and Fighter. The daughter of elven diplomats, raised among dwarves.
- Etlenda, aka "Exile" - Neutral Good Eladrin Outlander and Paladin. Exiled from the Feywild and raised by wolves. While exploring the Feydark he crossed over into the Underdark and emerged into the Mortal World.
- Tempus Vegvisir - Lawful Good Human Trade Sheriff and Cleric of Helm. Husband and Father.
- Push-ta "Bearbite" Tok - Neutral Half-Orc Former Smuggler and Rogue, secret member of the Zhentarim.
- Kem Hearthfire - Chaotic Good Half-Orc Former Gladiator Priestess of Gond.
- Glom the Wretched - Chaotic Neutral Goblin NPC, former thief and guide to the Arcane Chambers.
Scarecrows!
The team traveled to the Stoutfellow Vineyard where they met the matron, Mary Stoutfellow. She showed them to the latest appearance of scarecrows - four stuffed figures made of burlap and old clothes filled with dried moss and straw attached to poles in a fallow field. She said they appeared several days ago - the latest in a long series. They come to life at midnight, destroying equipment and causing havoc. She said they keep getting stronger and tougher to destroy. Her workers were afraid. None of them would go near them.
When asked about simply removing them during the day, she replied that she had tried that. They mysteriously and magically reappear in the field again before coming to life.
She explained that the timing of the curse was terrible. The appearances began last fall right after her family's wine became popular among the nobility of Waterdeep. Unfortunately, the damage caused and the lack of workers willing to help meant that they might not be able to harvest enough grapes to make a new vintage this year.
That evening the Mystics of Trollskull Manor slept in a tenant farm house near the afflicted field. The tenants had abandoned the house when the scarecrows appeared. The team's first order of business was to remove the inanimate scarecrows from the field. Tempus used a minor cantrip to create a pit in the soft earth into which the scarecrows were thrown. They then set a watch while the other slept.
Midnight Appearance
That night around midnight, Etlenda and Kem were on watch on the front porch. A luminous fog appeared over the field. Etlenda scanned the field for intruders. To his surprise, he saw the four inanimate scarecrows attached to poles in the field, in exactly the same positions as the ones they removed!
He woke the others. They donned their armor and weapons and gathered in front of the house. The old scarecrows were still in the pit. They cautiously approached the closest scarecrow in the field. They felt a chill sense of fear as they drew near. Winterfrost cautiously poked it with a sword - it was filled with straw, an ordinary inanimate scarecrow.
They moved towards the second. Kem froze in her tracks, seized by fear. She refused to come any closer!
The scarecrow in the center burst to life! It rose into the air, growing in size until it was twenty feet tall and spreading its spindly wooden arms wide into sharpened talons! Its wide mouth filled with sharpened metal teeth. Its hollow eyes flashed with magical yellow light!
With a wave of its arms the other two scarecrows hopped off their poles and moved like stiff murderous marionettes - their eyes aglow with magical yellow light.
Winterfrost threw a lasso of magical lightning at the big one and pulled it down to her. One of the smaller scarecrows slashed Winterfrost. The attack frightening her, causing her to hesitate.
Etlenda charged in to her side, his aura of bravery bolstering his companions. Tempus said a prayer to the god of twilight, illuminating the field in dim light and bringing succor to all his allies.
Kem was eventually able to overcome her fear and join the fray. Together the Mystics of Trollskull Alley fought a pitched battle against the animated fiends.
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Tempus wreathed his hammer with green flame, burning the scarecrows. Winterfrost used the same magical spell to enhance her attacks. The large scarecrow inflicted a grievous wound against Winterfrost but Tempus performed a miracle to turn back time, causing the attack to miss!
The two smaller scarecrows were soon eliminated and the larger more menacing foe was likewise eventually defeated.
Having once again rid the vineyard of scarecrows, Mary Stoutfellow rewarded the Mystics with a barrel of Stoutfellow wine.
DM - for the upgraded scarecrow, I basically took a treant and gave it the fear powers, vulnerabilities, and immunities of a scarecrow. Boom - instant Challenge 9 "Dread Scarecrow".
Investigation
The team spent the next several weeks pursuing various individual goals. Etlenda scoured the various shops and markets of Waterdeep in search of magical items for sale while Tempus studied a new language and Kem learned herbalism.
Push-ta, aka Bearbite, met with Davil Starsong of the Zhentarim to discuss some ideas he had regarding Xanathar's Guild and their operations. He learned that the Guild had a secret base deep underneath Waterdeep. Push-ta was given the task of finding this secret base. In addition, he was given special secret instructions regarding the Zhentarim guards currently watching over Trollskull Manor.
Push-ta also asked about Vevette Blackwater. The pirate captain had shown an interest in meeting Push-ta and seemed to have close contact with the Harpers. After her recent involvement with the Manshoon simulacrum and its attempt to usurp power within the Zhentarim, Captain Blackwater had been kicked out of the group. Indeed, Push-ta was told that he should capture her and deliver her alive to the Zhentarim for "proper punishment". He kept his recent encounter with Blackwater at a soiree thrown by the leader of the Harpers a secret.
Meanwhile, Winterfrost did some research on animated scarecrows. He learned that they were created by necromancers and hags by binding a spirit, minor demon, or devil into a proxy body. His suspicions immediately fell on the halfling necromancer they encountered in the City of the Dead last winter. Further research revealed that the wealthy Snobeedle family had tried to purchase the Stoufellow Vineyard and that their offer had been rebuffed. He began to suspect that the Snobeedles had hired the halfling necromancer to create the scarecrows to force them to sell the vineyard.
Winterfrost, with Push-ta's assistance, began to investigate the halfling necromancer, studying broadsheet reports and speaking with contacts who might know something. She soon learned that a halfling named Losser Mirklav was secretly and illegally teaching necromancy to students in a hidden laboratory somewhere near the Trade Ward. She discovered that Losser Mirklav was also a proprietor of a wig shop in the Trade Ward known as Dandymops - a wig shop conveniently located near the cemeteries of the City of the Dead.
She decided to stake out Dandymops - watching for anything unusual.
The Fear Witch
One day, she saw an unusually tall woman wearing a tight fitting head scarf and a long heavy cape entered the shop. She was so tall she had to stoop to enter. The door closed behind her.
Winterfrost moved closer to get a better look. Suddenly the tall woman was looming over Winterfrost's shoulder!
Winterfrost spun around. The woman leaned over and looked Winterfrost eye to eye. Her bulging eyes burned with a yellow magic fire. She bared her lips, revealing too many teeth in her mouth. She said, "It would be wise for you to leave my pupil alone, if you know what's good for you.'" She returned to her full height, straight and tall, and slowly descended into the ground, never once turning her menacing gaze away from Winterfrost's eyes.
Winterfrost's knees buckled with fear. She stumbled and ran back to Trollskull Manor. The rest of the team heard her storm up every flight of stairs to her room in the attic. She locked herself away and refused to come out for two days.
DM - That was fun and improvised. I can't wait for her to turn back up again. I have new great plans for the Fear Witch.
Return to the Dungeon of the Mad Mage
After three weeks above ground, the team returned to the Yawning Portal to once more delve into the dungeon of Undermountain beneath Waterdeep.
They retraced their steps on the first level. Tempus noticed that the secret compartment at the base of one of the pillars in the forest of pillars had been replaced. Push-ta used his magic to open the compartment remotely from a safe distance. As predicted, the magical glyph protecting the compartment exploded - though no one was injured. Push-ta removed an opal that had been hidden there.
DM - Push-ta's player said he cast “Invisible Hand”, meaning “Mage Hand”.
Kem's player replied, “you affect their economics?”
I, as DM, said, “okay, you cast Keynes’ Invisible Hand*. You seize the means of production and exploit the working class. What do you do?”
*technically it was Adam Smith that defined the Invisible Hand of the Market, not Keynes, but that’s not what I said and "Smith's Invisible Hand" is not as funny sounding.
Spirit of the Dwarf King
The party once more found themselves in the room with the well and the diagram depicting the levels of Undermountain. The south wall was tagged with graffiti, "Utkarl's Territory". They opened the secret door leading to the hall of the Dwarven King only to be met by the piercing scream of frightened child. Winterfrost located the source of the scream, a large fungus known as a shrieker, and smashed it to pulp.
Etlenda said, "Well, they know we're coming."
They passed through the winding secret corridor and into the hall of the dwarven king. It was dimly lit with lanterns containing luminescent fungi. A glowing apparition stood in the room - the ghost of the dwarven king!
It pointed to them, "Who dares enter my domain? You who trespass must pay me tribute or suffer my wrath in the form of a curse!"
Winterfrost and Push-ta strode forward confidently. Winterfrost declared, "The hell we will!"
Four other ghosts, glowing in the darkness, appeared from the chamber behind the king, weapons drawn. The king stepped backwards, "Come no closer or my legions of the dead will cut you down!"
Push-ta said, "Bullshit!"
A familiar voice appeared out of the darkness of the rear chamber, "Cut! Cut! Okay, break scene guys. " It was Utkarl, the leader of a band of confidence artists who had previously impersonated vampires in an attempt to extort payment from those who venture into the Undermountain. "They're onto us. Hey, King, you did great but I have some notes."
Utkarl held aloft a proper lantern, revealing the truth - the dwarf and the legion of the dead were actors covered in luminescent paint.
Winterfrost said, "Me too. For one thing, don't start in Common. The ghost of a dwarven king would speak Dwarvish - THEN switch to Common."
The dwarf playing the ghost king glared at Utkarl, "I TOLD you!"
Utkarl explained that Xanathar's Guild once controlled this checkpoint, but they were all killed or fled. So he and his actors split away from Harria Valashtar and her group. They gave up being vampires and gave their try at being ghosts.
Etlenda, Winterfrost, Tempus, and Push-ta gave positive reviews and constructive criticism to the would-be ghosts, praising them for their ingenuity and creativity. Winterfrost put five gold coins into their collection basket. Etlenda told Utkarl that, in the future, any information they might share regarding those who pass through the checkpoint might result in a lucrative and generous reward.
With that, the team descended the stairs into the Arcane Chambers.
Awesome. :D
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