Crown of the Giant Queen: Session 3 - Terror in the Wood

When last we left our heroes… Stepping into the clearing full of a foul and noisome stench, the companions could see the two acolytes—one chained to a large stone where the other’s body had been splayed out as a bloody sacrifice to some dark god. All around them, the hag-headed vultures—lead by one vulture-headed woman—sang a baleful song. The companions sprang to action, fighting their way through the horrific creatures. Shadlaharl ran forward, trying to free the other Acolyte, but the creatures swarmed around him. For one desperate moment it seemed that the company might be overwhelmed, until the tide of battle turned. 

The Priestess Varjala began singing the Litany of Banishment, sending several of the vulture-creatures scattering like the flock of carrion fowl they were. The valor of the companions overcame the Daughters of the Vulture, and one by one they slew the creatures or set them to flight. The victory did not come without a cost, however: Vasiral, the young thief from the Leopard Isles, had his right arm permanently maimed in the battle, and would likely never be able to shoot a bow again.

In the aftermath of the grizzly contest beneath the trees, the companions spoke with the surviving acolyte, Kjala. Although it took some reviving, they eventually learned from her that the Daughters of the Vulture were working in cahoots with a “beautiful woman clad in silver” who had come to them on the previous night. She it was who had instructed them to intercept the Serpent, and the silver lady spoke of reclaiming “what had been hers long ago.” According to Kjala, the Silver Lady’s plan has been to try to stop the Serpent from being delivered to the Four Villages so that the Rite of Purification for the Feast of Orusen cannot be performed—something which could have potentially disastrous consequences, since it would leave the Four Villages unprotected from evil for the year. Kjala warned the companions that they needed to head back to the village of Mjathkor in order to arrive before the feast. 

The companions also searched the ritual site, finding a treasure hoard beneath the great standing stone. It was an odd assortment of items, some of them extremely ancient, and included an ancient bow of Treian craftsmanship as well as the missing Serpent. The priestess Varjala decided to keep the bow. With the dead properly laid to rest and their wounds seen to for the moment, the companions began the long journey back to Mjathkor through the forest at night…

Monsters killed:

• 6 Hag-headed Daughters
• 1 Vulture-headed Daughter 

Treasure found: 

• Tsobjada “The Bow of Piercing Wind”
• 82 ss worth of random jewelry and other items taken from travelers waylaid by the Daughters of the Vulture