Stealth, Silk, and a Stabby Situation

Session 3.3 began with the party having just rescued Elkhorn from beneath Loomlurch, where he was trapped in a pit. The party, along with the recently freed children, Mishka, and Elkhorn, had returned to the safety of Little Oak. Elkhorn told the party that he was a member of Valor’s Call, a group of heroes. He explained that he and his friends had followed members of the League of Malevolence, their enemies, to the Palace of Heart’s Desire. It was there that he was knocked unconscious during a battle and awoke in the pit beneath Loomlurch.

Yevelda informed Zahala of a secret entrance into Granny Nightshade’s bedroom, accessible through a storage window after navigating some trees. She also cautioned them about Pud, suggesting a possible alliance with Skabatha. Will shared knowledge of five different mushroom varieties cultivated in Skabatha’s garden. Mishka revealed the secret password to unlock Skabatha’s dollhouse to Acornagorn.

After a period of playful banter, the party resolved to return to Loomlurch to recover Zahala’s lost possession. En route, Filbert collected owlbear excrement and a rock, placing them in his bag of holding. Their arrival at the Goblin Market was marked by Filbert’s mishap on the bridge, causing a commotion. Fortunately, their ally, Chucklehead, came to their aid, concealing them from Skabatha and her toy soldiers who were investigating the disturbance. Chucklehead revealed Skabatha’s fury stemming from the children’s escape. He consented to guide the party to a location that would allow them to stealthily approach the bedroom by circumventing Loomlurch’s exterior.

The party successfully navigated a series of stealth checks as they made their way around the tree, eventually arriving at a doorway flanked by a large rocking horse. Filbert and Acornagorn observed an indentation on the horse’s forehead, prompting Filbert to speculate that it might be Eledon, a unicorn awaiting the restoration of his horn for healing. Despite Filbert’s assurance that they intended to rescue him, the rocking horse remained unresponsive.

Zahala skillfully picked the lock on the door, enabling the party to silently slip into the storeroom. She repeated the lock-picking feat on the storeroom door. Once inside, Zahala ventured outside for a closer look and discovered Sowpig, enveloped in a silken cocoon. Upon emerging, Sowpig inquired about her next task. Filbert instructed Sowpig to retrieve Zahala’s trinket. She attempted to exit through the door leading directly to Skabatha’s room, but found it locked due to Zahala’s earlier actions. Lacking the key, Sowpig stood perplexed.

Seizing the opportunity, Filbert unleashed a color spray that blinded Sowpig. The other party members followed suit, attacking the disoriented Sowpig, who, remarkably, reacted with casual curiosity rather than aggression, questioning their motives. After enduring several blows, Zahala delivered the final strike, knocking Sowpig unconscious. They bound and gagged Sowpig, returning her to her box, where moths enveloped her in silk once more.

During the chaotic skirmish, Acornagorn accidentally stabbed Zahala and Filbert accidentally hit Acornagorn with his quarterstaff. In a display of unconventional tactics, Filbert cast “tiny servant” on the owlbear excrement, animating it. He then cast “invisibility” on himself and the animated excrement, effectively concealing them from view. With a display of acrobatic prowess, Filbert traversed the tree, successfully reaching the windowsill of Skabatha’s bedroom. The room was surprisingly tidy, save for a dilapidated and mold-infested dollhouse.

Filbert dispatched the miniature servant inside with the objective of opening the dollhouse. The creature, surprisingly stealthy, traversed the floor without alerting Skabatha. It somehow mustered enough strength to scale the bedside table, positioning itself next to the dollhouse. Filbert then cast “minor illusion” to vocalize the password required to unlock the dollhouse. A click signaled the dollhouse opening, but its mechanism remained hidden from Filbert’s view due to the distance. Notably, casting the spell broke Filbert’s invisibility.

The miniature servant, despite its valiant attempt, was unable to enter the dollhouse. Thankfully, the commotion failed to rouse Skabatha from her slumber. Unable to gain entry, Filbert cautiously entered the room, approaching the dollhouse to investigate. He discovered a hidden latch that released the top, revealing a miniature Skabatha nestled in a tiny bed, surrounded by a collection of trinkets. Filbert swiftly collected all the trinkets, but one slipped from his grasp, awakening the tiny Skabatha. However, due to her peculiar condition of forgetting the first person she sees upon waking, she remained oblivious to Filbert’s presence. She simply closed the dollhouse and returned to sleep.

Filbert’s attempt to exit the room stealthily proved unsuccessful, rousing Skabatha once more. Yet again, his status as the first person she saw upon waking rendered him invisible to her. His attempt to retrace his steps across the branches ended in a 20-foot fall, resulting in injury. Zahala and Acornagorn joined Filbert outside the window, and the three successfully fled into the woods. Triumphantly, Zahala had recovered her long-lost possession, instantly gaining inspiration. However, the unicorn horn was not among the retrieved items.

Disoriented and lost for a short while, the party could hear the jaberwocky soaring above. Eventually, they found their way back to the familiar safety of Little Oak.

• You started at Little Oak again, with all of the children rescued and Elkhorn safe as well.
• Elkhorn told you that he is part of a team of heroes called Valor’s Call and that he and his friends followed some members of their enemies—the League of Malevolence—to the Palace of Heart’s Desire where he got knocked out in a battle and woke up in the hole in the kitchen floor.
• Yevelda told Zahala about a secret way to get into Granny Nightshade’s bedroom, through a storage window and across some trees and then in a windowsill. She also warned you about Pud possibly working for Skabatha. You passed this information on to Will.
• Will told you about five kinds of mushrooms that grow in Skabatha’s garden.
• Mishka told Acornagorn the secret password that can open Skabatha’s dollhouse
• After some banter and play, you decided to go back to see if you could retrieve Zahala’s lost thing.
• On the way, Filbert collected a pile of owlbear poop and a rock and put them in his bag of holding.
• You arrived noisily in the Goblin Market, Filbert having tripped on his way across the bridge, but you have a friend there in Chucklehead and he hid you while Skabatha and her toy soldiers came by to investigate.
• He told you that Skabatha is angry because of the children being freed. He agreed to help you get to the place where you could stealth into the bedroom by working your way around the outside of Loomlurch.
• You survived several stealth checks on your trip around the tree and eventually got to a doorway with a large rocking horse next to it.
• Filbert and Acornagorn noticed that there is an indentation on the horse’s forehead. Filbert intuited that this might be Eledon, who is a unicorn waiting for his horn so he can be healed. Filbert told it that you were going to rescue it, but the rocking horse gave you no response.
• Zahala successfully picked the lock on the door and you successfully used stealth to sneak into the storeroom, which door Zahala also picked.
• Once in that room, Zahala went to look outside and discovered Sowpig, wrapped in a cocoon of silk. Sowpig emerged and asked for instructions.
• Filbert told Sowpig to go retrieve Zahala’s trinket. She went to go out the door to walk directly to Skabatha’s room, but the door was locked because Zahala locked it once you entered it. Without the key, she was confused about what to do.
• At that point, Filbert used color spray to blind her and the other players attacked her—which she responded to pretty casually, wondering what was going on.
• After getting attacked several times, Zahala eventually knocked her out, you tied her up and put her back in her box, and moths wrapped her in silk.
• In the midst of the battle, Acornagorn stabbed Zahala by mistake and Filbert hit Acornagorn with his quarterstaff.
• Filbert cast tiny servant on the owlbear poop to animate it. Zahala cast invisibility on both Filbert and the tiny servant.
• Filbert successfully use acrobatics to traverse the tree and end up on the windowsill of Skabatha’s bedroom, which was quite clean except for a moldy and ratty old dollhouse.
• Filbert sent the tiny servant in to try to open the dollhouse. It was stealthy enough to make it across the floor safely and quietly.
• It somehow succeeded on a strength check to climb the bedside table to be standing next to the dollhouse.
• Filbert cast minor illusion to say the password to open the dollhouse. It clicked open, but Filbert could not see how because he was so far away. (And Filbert came out of invisibility upon casting a spell.)
• The tiny servant attempted to enter the dollhouse but was unable to. The noise did not wake Skabatha.
• But the tiny servant could not open the dollhouse, so Filbert climbed into the room and went stealthily to look at it.
• He discovered that the top flips open. He opened it quietly and saw a tiny Skabatha in a little bed and a pile of trinkets sitting next to her.
• He took all of the trinkets, but one of them fell out and woke her. But becuse she forgets the first person she sees when she wakes up, she could not see Filbert. She closed the dollhouse to go back to sleep.
• Filbert was not successfully stealthy leaving, and he woke her again, but as he was still the first person she saw when she woke up, she could not see Filbert.
• Filbert did not make it back across the branches successfully and he fell 20 feet and took some damage.
• Zahala and Acornagorn climbed out of the window and all three players successfully escaped into the woods.
• Zahala has her thing back! And she instantly gained inspiration.
• The unicorn horn was not in the pile of things.
• After getting lost for a bit and hearing the jaberwocky flying overhead, our players made it safely back to Little Oak
• You know that:
  • The unicorn without a horn is a rocking horse in Loomlurch.
  • Somewhere there is a horn without a unicorn, which was used to defeat zybilna and may be necessary to release her.
  • Zahala’s lost item has been found and she has inspiration!
  • Skabatha wants you to go interrupt Endelyn’s theater performance.
  • You have a painting you plan to give to Bavlorna.
  • You have given Squirt what he needs to be willing to take you to Yon.
  • There is a dandelion in Yon somewhere who knows the way to the Zybilna’s Palace.
  • The League of Malevolence and Valor’s Call fought a battle in Zybilna’s Palace, where Elkhorn was knocked out before he arrived in Skabatha’s kitchen
• You are motivated to:
  • Free Zybilna
  • Recover Acornagorn and Filbert’s lost things
  • Get the painting to Bavlonra before your contract is up
  • Get to Yon to interrupt Endelyn’s performance (maybe?)