Apparitions of Cryptids

Unicorn Hive Mind

As our adventurers make their way into the Vale, the air is thick. All feel their breath get heavier. As Charm raises his sword to cut through the overgrowth, Mycena stops him. “Don’t harm the forest!” she hollers. She explains that their are guardians of this enchanted forest that will not tolerate harm.

The party continues deeper into the forest. A couple of hours pass before they see it. A unicorn? It is too quick to know for sure. As suddenly as the unicorn went, a party of sailors appear. They look exhausted. Their eyes have dark bags and their bodies have the signs of exhaustion. Tempest stops one of them as they pass. She tells him not to harm a unicorn or its whole pack will come after him. He is convinced by her silver tongue and halts the rest of the party. “Hey guys, quit it! You’ll get unicorn hive mind if you kill that thing!” They all stop because of the tone, though their tired minds do not seem to understand what the danger really is.

As the party slows and stops, everyone takes the head count of the current party. “Where is the captain? barks Chimney.”

“We’re not sure” responds a sailor. He was with us a few hours ago. We must have left him behind while we chased the unicorn.

At this point, the party take turns intimidating the sailors one by one, telling ghost stories of unicorn hive mind and the sorry adventurers that were caught in its trap. The sailors are quivering, both from fear and exhaustion. It would seem that their exhaustion is finally starting to register to their minds. “I don’t want to get unicorn hive mind, man” says one of them. “I just want to go to bed” says another.

“Which way did we come in?” asks Penny. Tempest pulls out a compass and directs them westward.

After several minutes walking, Mycena detects a magical presence. It moves through the trees and settles into two of them. The trees take the shape of two female elves. One of them commandingly asks “where are you taking those men?” Mycena recognizes them as Verdant Queens.

Mycena explains that these men wandered into the forest and others in town have requested them be rescued and taken back to town. The Verdant Queens are unwavered. “Those men have damaged our forest and offended our sacred lands.”

“I understand that” says Mycena, “but we can make sure that they do no further harm.”

The Verdant Queens puzzle over this. Finally, one of them responds “if you see to it that these men leave without further damage and swear on your lives that they will never return, we shall allow them the leave. If, however, we see them in these woods again, your entire party shall be treated as enemies and swallowed by this forest.”

The party agrees. The Verdant Queens seem satisfied, and the trees take their original shapes. Mycena feels the magical presence leave.

As the party re-enters Yarley, it is now dusk. Peculiarly, the entire day has passed even though the party has only experienced 3 and a half hours. They make their way back to the Stubborn Mule. Hyrum greets them gladly before counting the party. “Were there not 6 men that ventured into the forest?”

Charm explains “there were 6. We have found these 5, but they were separated from their captain. We will go back in after him at once.”

Big Bugs

The party once again enters the Vale. After some trepidation from their encounter with the Verdant Queens, the party decides that the Vale has no ill will towards them and carries on. After another hour, a loud rumbling noise approaches.

“Agggggghhh!” The captain leaps out of the underbrush, closely followed by an eleven foot bug bear - this must be the Big Bug that everyone talks about!

As the bug bear enters the clearing, Tempest fires an Eldritch Blast. Direct hit! Big Bug reels backwards 10 ft, leaving a line of torn up brush and trees in his wake. He huffs and turns to Tempest.

The captain wheels around, shocked at the commotion. He looks terrified as his tired brain figures out what just sent his assailant through the brush with such force.

Without a beat, Big Bug dashes directly toward Tempest. The rest of the party joins the fight. Chimney runs up to meet Big Bug and takes a swing. His trident leaves a gash in the monster’s shoulder. The rest of the party take shots a Big Bug, scoring more damage.

Big Bug turns toward Chimney, slashing him with claws. It’s a critical hit! Chimney is severely bleeding. After another couple of rounds of blows, Big Bug is nearly dead. Penny deals the final, non-fatal blow, knocking Big Bug out.

As the commotion dies down, the lizard man that the party had spotted around Yarley appears from the underbrush. “How dare you intervene on my hunting!” he shreaks. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” Penny hits him in the head from behind, knocking him out. She looks through his notebook that he is always carrying. This book is no normal notebook. This is a kill log. This lizard man has been hunting, killing, and, by the looks of it, eating cryptids. The group is apalled.

A Verdant Queen reappears. All has gone quiet once again. She inquires with the group, “What are you doing?” Mycena explains that they are back once again to rescue the captain. The Verdant Queen responds “There has been harm done to our forest. Someone must pay.”

The group huddles together for a moment and responds. “We have captured this lizard man. We read through his journal and it would appear that he hunts, kills, and eats cryptids like this bug bear. Would it be sufficient that we yield him to you?”

After some thought the Verdant Queen responds. “I believe this would be an advantageous trade.” Vines, like tentacles rise up from the forest floor and cover what was a lizard man just a few seconds before.

“We have also heard” interjects Penny “that this bug bear was once a man. Could we return him to what he once was?”

“That will not be possible” responds the Queen. “For what he once was is no more. He, like your sailors entered this forest with wicked intent. He damaged these sacred lands, and was cursed to take on this form. He now acts as a guardian, pursuing those that would do harm to our lands.”

The group nods. Chimney chimes in “In my culture, trophies of battle are sacred. Might I take a tooth of this bug bear’s as a trophy?”

“I do not see how that would inhibit his ability to guard the forest. You may take one.” responds the Queen.

Charm also tries to convince the queen to let him take a tooth, but she is unconvinced. She bids them adieu and disappears just as quickly as she came.

The party make their way back to Yarley. It is well into the afternoon of the next day now. Hyrum greets them once again, thanking them and paying out their 10 gold each before sending them all off to complimentary rooms at the Stubborn Mule.