Wrath of the Lich King session four: the Vrykul Pillar of Community and the Mistward Forest

Hey team! Last session, our heroes completed the trial of the runecarvers, gaining the support of Jarl Algriff to their cause, and soon after gained the support of Jarl Jorg through a one-on-one duel with Magnus to prove their worth! Very exciting.

Hearing from Jorg that the Late Jarl Ulman of Halstaff, the Pillar of Community, was murdered by his daughter - and the new Jarl by blood, Ulrah - they chose to seek them out to both investigate what happened, to gain the city's support one way or another.

Ulrah's claim is in question due to the accusations. For now she is the Jarl, but that could change.

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Halstaff (The Pillar of Community)

Moving to the city a couple of weeks travel north, it was much larger than the previous two, and far less primitive than Ragefall. Many buildings were made of stone, some roofs were thatched and others wooden, with high stone walls surrounding the city as a whole

They were met by guards at the entrance who began questioning them of what they wanted, and what business they had. They soon discovered that if they desired to see the Jarl, his ashes laid in Mistward forest to the north - along with the 'new' Jarl who supposedly fled there after betraying her father.

before they could say more, the second-in-command (Karl) of the settlement, Karl Urban (haw haw) inquired of their business, and said maybe they could make an arrangement if they desired the city's support for their cause against the Lich King, or at least, weren't against the new settlement of Unity point.

My players being as they are, Rosalia (the Sylvari druid) simply said "Who do you want us to kill?"

the Karl smiled, and just said "Follow me."

Image credit: AlekseiVinogradov

He led them to the Karl's abode, a larger stone house than the rest, and when they arrived inside, Skadi and Svala, King Ymiron's two lieutenants, were waiting for them.

Simply put, they stated the late Jarl's daughter was caught with the dead body of her father in Utgarde pinnacle, in the meeting room which he waited to meet with the King. Ulrah's father wanted to speak with the King to maintain stability with the land under the rule of the Lich King, and the daughter wanted something that they did not know - they believed she wanted to create chaos to cause the people to suffer and the nation to collapse, another theory was she wanted the power a Jarl had.

Whatever the reason, Skadi and Svala stated they are people of stability, not of chaos, and wished for her to be brought in for her crime - dead or alive. Preferably alive, so that she could be made an example for those wishing to destroy all that they had built. They asked for them to bring her to the execution platform at Utgarde Keep, where her judgement would be given in front of the other Jarls and the King himself.

Karl Urban openly admitted that he would be given the position of Jarl if this were to happen, not wanting to keep anything hidden from the players.

In return for handing over Jarl Ulrah (or her corpse), Skadi and Svala would give the players their support in their meeting with the King, and would offer their support in keeping peace with the new arrivals in the Fjord (the players, Tirion, and the others in Unity point).

Now, of course everyone was sensing the hell out of motives here. However - Fish, our lovable pirate, sensed something was off, and that they weren't being entirely truthful - but he wasn't sure of what.

Of course, they asked why Svala and Skadi hadn't retrieved Ulrah themselves from the forest - to which they replied that Mistward Forest itself chooses who enters and who exits. Some walk in and walk right back out without changing direction, and some never come out at all.

That was a little unsettling, but the players had a choice to make. One thing that helped their decision was that Rosalia is a Sylvari, whom have constant tree speech.

So they immediately accepted their deal. They shook hands, but Rosalia poignantly added "Make sure to have three platforms ready."

Subtle. (for the three of them) Not intended to be!

The lieutenants just smiled and sent them on their way. Once they were out of earshot of Halstaff, Fish immediately yelled "I don't trust them! They're hiding something." To go off his sense motive he made. They all agreed. They'd consider killing the Jarl, but they definitely planned to kill Svala and Skadi.

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Mistward Forest

(Mistward Forest's theme was one of my favourites again - Abel's ark from the Xenosaga III soundtrack)

I went with a teeny bit of narrative here.

"Approaching the cloak of forest green on the horizon, you see a haze of white dancing across and through it. Stories tell that this place is strong with the power of the spirits--the ancestors of Azeroth. Vrykul legends tell of this as the place where their people go after death when they have guidance to give to their descendants--some say it’s haunted with the power of evil spirits that punish any who dare enter its woods. From the information you’ve gathered, many Vrykul have recently come to the forests under order of the Lich King to investigate a potential power within--but none returned.

Rosalia attempted to speak some of the trees on the forest edge. they were cryptic as hell, but to be fair they're part of a thousands of year old forest protected by spirit magic and dedicated to cryptic messages from the ancestors. She found out Ulrah was still in the forest, seeking guidance, and if they intended to find her for a good cause, or a cause that was to discover the truth, then they may find her - but could not tell them the way.

Entering the clearing at the forest edge, the mist within makes it hard to see--limiting your vision to barely 20 feet in front of you. It’s filled with a quiet, serene silence, but also a dark, hollow void that seems to steal the sound from around you--that slowly claws at you, as if digging into your mind to discover hidden secrets."

The Spirits are one of the "Deities" I gave the players. In a little while I'll post the deities!

At this point one specific forest creature followed them, a small fox with amber eyes. But it quickly retreated into the misty forest edge.

They came to a clearing with four paths in front of them. The read as follows:

The path of the righteous
The path of the fool
The path of the traitor
The path of the failure

These were pretty fun to design, despite being simple. The players had to choose either the path they thought Ulrah went down, or the path they think they should go down as a team. (the path that's right for them)

To the players:
Its possible she was righteous in what she did, or righteous in that she was not guilty;
It's possible she feels like she's a fool for making such a dramatic mistake/act;
It's possible she murdered her father, making her a traitor to him, or didn't and was a traitor to the King;
It's possible she tried to save her father, making her a failure as a daughter, and as a leader.

So it was a bit of a yolo decision. the players thought they were righteous people, (most do) and they thought Ulrah thought she was as well in whatever she decided - so they chose The path of the righteous.

They came to a gate in the forest path, and when going through, they met with a spirit who spoke to each of them about their backstories.

I can't exactly go into all of them, since one answer/question was secret and my players read this sometimes. However! I can say that Rosalia was found to be in Northrend specifically to search for her sister and said she'd do whatever it takes to get her back - and the spirit told her she resided in the Grizzly hills.

Soren was asked if he wanted to seek the place he received his power, and the spirit also told him he'd be going there whether he liked it or not. Ominous!

Also, Solessa is still with the party, and the spirit asked her "Do you think you'll have to kill them?"

Despite the party's feelings toward her (not fans, since she was typically upbeat and happy), her attitude was fairly happy/peppy - and this was one of the few times they'd seen her near-concerned or upset about anything. Or, you know, mentioned having to kill people.

She simply answered "If I have to."

This turned some heads, as most of the party immediately thought it was about killing the party members. So there was definitely a 'we're talking about this later,' vibe after she said it had nothing to do with them. (and after sensing motive, they sensed she was telling the truth)

After the questioning, the spirit simply thanked them, and vanished. The next gate opened, and they traveled to the next clearing, where a misty version of each of them emerged from the forest and attacked!

Image credit: 0BO on deviantart

I tried to do some narrative here, but the impatient pirate decided to start shooting. Happens when combat isn't happening enough.

The copies went when the players did in the initiative order, but after the player. they had the same general statistics, but depending on how well they answered their questions to the spirit, the statistics were modified.

If they answered better/had answers the spirits liked, the copy's health, damage, AC, CMB/D, etc. would be reduced. If they answered badly, they would have full health, damage, and so on.

The funny part here was I got to use some of the abilities, such as aura of thorns of the Dervish, which the other players hadn't seen yet. My favourite part was that Roselia's copy cast flame strike, and the actual player had no idea flame strike was a 4th level spell for druids, and got really excited to be able to prepare it from then on.

The fight was close at times, but the players prevailed over their copies! Some of the more dangerous ones in a party (Magnus, who can channel energy) had a penalty and was taken out quickly.

As the gate opened, they moved to the final clearing.

Had a bit of narrative here.

(Played "Garden of the Gods" from the Chrono Cross soundtrack here.)

"You appear alongside your allies, and you see in the distance, a number of vrykul statues lit up by candles and light sources that dance above them. As you step closer, a large figure is knelt before the statues, staring up at one in the centre.

“Father, I’m not ready,” she says, in a deep, resounding voice. “They don’t trust me. They won’t help me, but I can’t let this go unanswered.” Hitting the stone beside her, she says, “I won’t.” After a moment of silence, she continues. “The elements haven’t gifted me with powers of the Vrykul the others want. I trained to be at your side while you fought. I didn’t ask the elements for the strength to stand on my own. I wanted to protect you, as mother did. I should have been there.” letting out a quiet cry, she whispers, “I abandoned you.”

As you step closer, she looks up, but not behind her. “Have you come to kill me?”"

Image credit: Arenanet, guild wars 2 (I pictured Ulrah like Eir)

The party asked her her intentions, and for the truth about what happened to her father. She was striaghtforward with them - she was hunting at the time outside Utgarde pinnacle as her father went to meet the King, but worrying for his safety. When she arrived in the Pinnacle to the meeting room, she discovered her father's freshly dead body, with gashes coated with hoarfrost and his wounds drained of blood - to which she told the party were signs of the powers of Svala and Skadi.

She said she did not have the skill to stop them alone; she trained in the ways of the spirits and elements in order to support her father and her allies. (She's an frostforged Vrykul Restoration Shaman) 

Sensing truth behind her words, the party told her they were instructed to take her dead or alive to Utgarde keep - and they told her instead, they would go back with her to the Lieutenants to get justice for her father and to try and prove her innocence.

For the confrontation with Svala Sorrowgrave and Skadi the Ruthless, stay tuned to the next post - as there won't be just one execution stand on the platform to come - and along with Svala and Skadi, the executioner, Ingvar, will be waiting.

Image credit: Snow via Steam

However, with the experience they've gotten smashing through spirits, undead, and helping others with the powers of niceness, they've achieved level 8!

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For those interested, I'll go through what the other three paths in Mistward Forest were.

The path of the fool

They would have run into a strange, jester-like fellow, and he would offer them three riddles.

I didn't write the first one, but I wrote the other two. Highlight for the answers!

In your future and in your past
I come and go so senseless and fast
My purpose is unknown to all
Remembrance seems to drift then fall
I travel by night and fade by day
Because that is my common way.

Dreams.


To follow dreams is that of fools,
Because I, unlike them, follow rules.
I am in the past, yet also made in the present,
But if you look forward, I am absent.

History.


If you seek us, we may answer both the bright and the fool,
But if your past lay unsettled, child, then you’ve broken our rule.
Within the ones who are not worthy, it is their soul,
Giving themselves a mask, a lie, a different role.
This is what binds them, forfeiting their lives,
As it is easier to run, than withstand the tides.

Fear.

After the riddles, the jester would ask each of them a simple question: "Are you a fool?"

All of them had to say yes. If any of them said no, or any of the riddles weren't answered with the correct answer within four real minutes of me reading them, (four minutes per riddle, obviously) they would have had to fight a red jester. A very scary fight, but I think they'd have done just fine. I removed some cards from the deck and added some new ones, and altered some. 

They'd move to Ulrah's clearing after this.

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The path of the traitor

In this path, they'd have to tell a spirit how they are a traitor.

Traitor for good: they are free to go.
Traitor for evil/selfish purposes other than fear: They are stabbed by a phantasmal blade, dealing 1d4 constitution drain that cannot be healed until they atone/do a good deed.
Traitor for fear: They are given a gift against fear: +2 to fear saves until they betray once more.
Traitor for other reason: try to improvise.

After this, they would have fought five hoarfrost wights with special abilities depending on what traitors they were.

Simple enough path.

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Path of the failure

This is the path Ulrah went down. This path has the spirit ask them how they've failed someone. 

After the RP, they fight their copies, like in the path of the righteous. The copies got penalties based on if they answered truthfully, if they think they have failed someone and believe it so. They did worse if they said they hadn't failed someone they actually had failed.

And that's it! See you next time.