Session 26

The Fated Eight awoke to a foggy morning within the hovel built by Dridge - as they completed any morning tasks before preparing to continue Eastward towards SHAI’s society. They pondered both the locations of Axton and Jin as well as the sudden calls from the shrill voice of Scabb that Aurevald had heard the previous night; with the Goliath brushing it off as The Shifting Shades playing tricks on his mind. After an hour or so, they arrived at a foggy chasm with a long and narrow bridge as their only passage through - crossing one-at-a-time to avoid collapsing the seemingly-fragile pathway. As they regrouped on the other side; many of them began to notice a steady increase in vibrant Mushrooms decorating the otherwise unchanged jungle landscapes they’d become accustomed to from The Shifting Shades.

“Muuuuurgrrr”
- Kjott

A short while later; the Party found their passage blocked by a 300 foot high cliff that protruded through the canopy above them - with a quick investigation identifying larger mushrooms positions at the base and at intervals up the cliffside. SHAI posited that jumping on the mushrooms would be their way upwards - as he bounced from mushroom to mushroom. They rest of The Fated Eight followed his lead and scaled the cliff - with only some of their troupe sustaining minor injuries. The top of the cliff revealed a pathway through a region that SHAI recalled as The Sporelands - a mysterious region that appeared without warning or seeming cause hundreds of years ago. His people didn’t see it as a risk and therefore left it alone. The large plateau that The Fated Eight found themselves upon revealed a pleasant surprise at it’s somewhat suspicious center - Axton and Jin resting at the bottom of a 200 foot hole. Through teamwork and determination - the group was able to rescue their comrades without too much difficulty. Axton and Jin explained that they had woken up at the bottom of the hole after seemingly crash landing - and any attempts they made to scale the wall proved unsuccessful. Regrouped - The Fated Eight continued out of The Sporelands; aided by some large green mushrooms that absorbed their fall, before arriving at a mucky clearing with two paths ahead of them.

The party noticed a tall Fey creature with her back towards them sitting atop a large Pumpkin in the middle of the clearing - whilst some noticed a second path that skirted around the outside of the clearing. Kezark - being brave or foolish - stepped out and spoke to the entity; who revealed that she was stuck here until her daughter could be found. She offered the party a reward if they were able to find her daughter - but warned that she would not be easy to quell in her current state.

“My daughter; like myself, is quite powerful - but she hasn’t learned to control them yet. As such - she sometimes lashes out in anger. I just hope that he doesn’t find her first.”
- The Woman’s Words

The Fated Eight accepted The Woman’s request before continuing after a trail of footsteps - eventually arriving at a small bend in the woods with a burned out campfire. Investigating the campfire unintentionally awoke a small Terralpi boy who introduced himself as Barlok - who was confused where his friend Stevan. Some of the party recognized the name as the same as Dridge’s son - and similar footprints seemed to lead away from the campfire and deeper into the woods. Barlok was told to find and alert Dridge in case there was danger whilst they proceeded further in. As The Fated Eight found their way through the mucky pass - they arrived at a thickly canopied clearing in the woods where a younger Fey with blonde pigtails.

“You arrive at a clearing in the trees as you see a large, open space with muck and grass covering the ground beneath you - as rows of thick vines line in front of you. A closer inspection uncovers the unripe buddings at random intervals across the vines - and you gather these to be crops of some sort. Your attention is caught by the sudden wailing of a feminine figure perched atop a giant pumpkin - even bigger than the one you saw before. She is facing away from you - so all you can see is the lower half of a navy ball gown.

She notices you all as a shrill voice echoes through the clearing

“I warned them… they didn’t listen! I told them to stay away!!!! Now let’s see how they like being turned into MY Pumpk’Nights!”

You see her turn to face you as you see a young Humanoid girl with blonde hair in pigtails - she looks maybe 14 at the oldest. Before long you notice the skin on her face is a bright orange; and where her eyes should be are black voids. Her entire head is just a carved pumpkin.

She raises two hands as vines extend from the pumpkin beneath her - carrying the corpses of 5 dead soldiers towards the unripe buddings in the crops near you. Magically - the buddings grow into large and unnatural pumpkins that attach to each of the corpses.

5 reanimated Pumpk’Nights - commanded by The PumPrincess - turn to face you; each with a shield and a rapier.
- The PumPrincess’ Introduction, as narrated

An extended skirmish occurred amidst this dark and canopied woods as The Fated Eight attempted to quell The PumPrincess without lethally wounding her. The fight proved challenging as the presence of the Pumpk’Nights seemed to grant her immunity to most damage; aside from fire. Additionally - as they were felled - she was able to use their corpses to grow large pumpkin vines that enabled her to both reposition at will and extended her offensive capabilities. The Fated Eight managed to overcome this and quell the tantrum-led Fey. They each noticed her face shift from the carved pumpkin appearance to a still very-orange but more Humanoid one.

As The Fated Eight attended to their wounds and gear - one of their troupe noticed a Terralpi boy watching from the bushes. The boy’s attempts to escape were moot as he was locked down by the Party - who confirmed that the boy was indeed Stevan. The Terralpi child reluctantly agreed to return with them to Dridge after words of wisdom from Aurevald. The party began to notice The PumPrincess awake - presenting a much more timid and shy demeanour than she had on first introduction - she revealed that she had vague memories of what had happened but that she often feels like a stranger in her own mind when the powers begin to get too hard to control. The moment of reflection was short-lived however as The PumPrincess - both ashamed of her lack-of-control & seemingly scared by a booming voice that spoke from above.

“Oh my little PumPrincess! I thought I heard you down here - let’s get you back safely to Mother, alright?”
- The Booming Voice calling out to The PumPrincess

The PumKing; as he would introduce himself - floated down through the tiniest gap in the canopy above revealing his sickly pale white skin and green hair. He inquired with The Fated Eight about the location of his daughter; The PumPrincess, and his ex-wife; The PumQueen, hoping that returning her safely could help him make amends. SHAI - familiar with the levels of Archfey recognized that this individual had power that surpassed even The Big Three that ruled his society. Distrusting of the Fey - based on both The PumPrincess’ reaction and the off-the-cuff comments by the The PumQueen - The Fated Eight deceived The PumKing; with Jin’s tact for negotiation proving sharp enough to outwit the Archfey. It was unclear however, how long their deception would last.

With not much time to spare - The Fated Eight swiftly returned back the way they had come; with both Stevan and The PumPrincess amongst them. Sure enough - The PumKing had realized their deception and began flying over The Shifting Shades’ canopy to find them all. They luckily managed to avoid his detection as he followed a Northward bearing - before bumping into Dridge, Barlok, and a Terralpi adult who presumably was Barlok’s Mother. The Terralpi blacksmith had a touching reunion with his son before warning the boy never to leave his side again. Before departing - Dridge revealed that a number of Terralpi had located a small stronghold within The Shifting Shades that they were using a home base - and that it had most of the equipment he would need to upgrade Aurevald’s axe. The Party agreed to visit on their way through to SHAI’s society - before bidding their Terralpi friends farewell for the time being.

As night fell; The Fated Eight returned to the clearing they’d encountered The PumQueen, where she made her presence known to them all. Now that she was not frozen atop the Pumpkin - they could see that she was an 8’ tall Fey woman with deep orange skin and long silver-gray hair that ran either side of her face. She had a caring eyes that immediately teared up at the sight of her daughter. A tender moment was shared between the two - as she revealed she feared for the worse when she had heard her ex-husband’s voice boom through the forest. Jin awkwardly turned the conversation towards the reward that she had offered. Pleased with her daughters safe return and impressed with The Fated Eight’s capability to survive an encounter with The PumKing - she offered them refuge in her home for the night as well as convenient travel in the morning.

The Fated Eight watched on as The PumQueen - with only a wave of her sleeved hand - folded the trees behind her away revealing a previously inaccessible pathway through The Shifting Shades. The session closed with them taking in the comical, yet still grandiose, exterior of Castle Pumpkin.