"We should head to the west here. We don't want to leave any enemies behind us!" Jorgen suggested.
"Then you should lead us in that direction." Casia ordered.
Jorgen headed up the passage which looked like the rest of the passages in this area with springtime scenes on the walls.
A few feet into the passage Jorgen noted tiny pieces of quartz that formed an inlay of a crescent moon in the floor of this passage, surrounded by a ring of runes. A few feet beyond the inlay a small round table stood in the middle of the tunnel. A wooden bowl filled with fresh wildflowers sat in the center of the table.
"There is a trap here," Jorgen stated
"And there is magic in the bowl on the table," Santrel added.
Jorgen moved up to the table and tried to disable the trap. His efforts were successful. At the table he could see a teleportation arch at the end of the passage. Amadeo and Jorgen moved up to, but not through, the arch. Santrel and Fanara examined the table and bowl where no magic was observed after the trap removal. Searching the bowl Fanara found among the flowers four tiny wooden figurines about 6 inches tall. Each figurine depicted a nude maiden performing a different task. One was standing, holding a bouquet of wildflowers. Another was kneeling, and seemed to be washing her hair. The third one held a triangular knot in her hands, and the last figurine was sitting with her head gazing upward.
"This is familiar," Fanara said. "We were in a room with wall paintings that were similar to these."
Examining the table Fanara and Santrel found four slight notches in the cardinal directions. They then placed the wooden figurines to match the wall paintings in the initial chamber. This did not cause any change or apparent difference in the location.
"You really should not have release Marislova. I didn't appreciate having to recover her again."
"We are sorry. We didn't know what to do with or for her," Casia responded.
"I suppose it is fine, I did find her again."
"Who are you?" Casia inquired.
"I am just a maiden living here in Artrosa, no one important. Who are all of you and what are you doing here?"
"We are on a mission looking for Baba Yaga," Santrel said.
"She seems to be missing. We were tasked by the Black Rider to find her hut and bring her back to Irrisen. Seems that her daughter is plotting against her." Fanara added.
"Baba Yaga is missing? Was she supposed to return now?"
"Apparently she returns to Irrisen every 100 years. Something about the royal lineage."
"I haven't seen here for ages, I hope she comes back soon."
Fanara noted that the maiden wore a necklace with a gold nugget as the pendant.
"We aren't sure exactly what to do. We had two keys to the hut, which brought us here." Fanara continued.
"I think we need something gold and something about a dragon for the new keys to the hut," Santrel added.
"Good Luck in your quest. I cannot reveal any of Artrosa's secrets but you may find your way through yourselves." the Maiden said.
At that she dropped a key as she again disappeared from the area.
"Shall we go through this arch?" Jorgen asked.
"We are here now so let us continue," Casia answered.
Jorgen led the party through the arch and they appeared in another hallway. This hall was significantly darker as their light sources only produced dim light. It was also colder. The walls of the hall were covered with with a motif of winter, darkness, and death. The passage led upward with crudely carved stairs almost tripping them in the darkness.
The hall led quite a distance upward and ended in a door. The door was decorated with wreaths of goat skulls woven together with catgut and cornhusks and then hardened and stuck to the doors with lime and shellac. Jorgen did not see any traps but the door was locked.
"How good to see you. What have you learned of Artrosa? Has it led you to a clue about Baba Yaga?" the old and raspy voiced croaked.
"We have not learned anything yet, can you help us?" Casia asked seemingly for the third time.
"I can give you no help."
Fanara noted that this woman resembled the young maiden and could be her grandmother. Strange though was she Jadrenka or Jadrenka's ancestor?
"The cancer grows in the womb of the Crone. To face the Curse of Eons, you must have time on your side." she intoned and immediately teleported away.
The field of corn faded, revealing a rectangular room formed from chiseled granite blocks. Carvings of lifeless cornfields adorned the walls, and withered cornstalks and dead ravens littered the floor. A simple sleeping pallet lay on the floor against the north wall, next to a small trunk and a nightstand holding a basin of fresh water and a few candles. Double doors led west and south while another door led east to the south of the party's entrance.
A thick, evil fog began to fill the chamber as the dead ravens on the floor slowly rose from amid the withered cornstalks. Horrid shapes formed within the cloying green mist, which pulsed sporadically and with seeming voracity. The swarm and the fog attacked Jorgen, Fanara and Amadeo.
Santrel began using fireballs as the area of effect was needed for the swarm. Fanara and Amadeo escaped the beaks trying to peck out their eyes. Bludgeoning weapons were effective against the swarm and Jorgen was left alone with the fog.
The battle was short and sweet for the party as Santrel's second fireball destroyed both the fog and the swarm. Searching the room found only changes of clothes in the trunk along with a Scroll of Age Resistance. Some simple healing was done and the party headed on to the second door to the east.
Jorgen picked the lock without even using a key and found another passageway headed down. Around a curve a door hung open on bent hinges and bore huge gashes on its splintered surface. Peering further into the room Jorgen saw two frost giants guarding a double door leading south. The remains of a giant wooden statue, carved to resemble a stooped and ancient beldame, lay broken and scattered across the floor of the chamber. A set of massive iron double doors stood in the south wall, their faces engraved with a procession of humanoid figures. At the top of the doors, the figures were young women in the bloom of youth, but as the parade continued down the doors, the figures age, turning into pregnant matrons, stooped crones, and finally, at the bottom of the doors, into capering skeletons that vanished into a gaping tomb.
DM's Notes: The party earned 2,533 XP for the night and now have 49,495 XP closing in on 9th level.
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