Quest Letter - Issue 6 - Kallio Chapter 6

Get caught up with all of Kallio:
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5

Hey guys! Chapter 6, the penultimate chapter, is a bit of a small one. In addition to introducing you to some characters you may encounter in later adventures, it gives you (the DM) a chance to breathe, because chapter 7 is huuuuge. I am aiming to have it to you by the 31st! Have a great week, and go kick some bad guys butts!

Chapter Six: The Groves of Ro

Grove of the Moon

Leaf will transport your players using Transport via Plants using any nearby trees (or in a pinch, a barely big enough potted plant she pulls out of her bag of holding) to the Grove of the Moon.  Once there she will ask you to wait and will go get Archdruid Kuu.

Kuu greets you and will immediately heal any damage the players have taken.  She will also offer you rest if you want to wait to talk to her until morning

Either now, or the next morning when you chat, Kuu will explain the situation on Ro to the players, and hear all about Devron and Kallio from Leaf and them.  

Kuu is a good source of information about Ro, and about long time foe Oscar Glimmershard.  

Ro

Ro consists of seven continents.  The Grove of the Moon lies in the far north on the continent of Yötaivas, but Oscar makes his home on the western most continent that is the ancestral homeland of the gnomish people, Länteen.  A little over 1000 years ago, a group of humans and dwarves invaded the lands of Länteen, dividing them up amongst the powerful people into fiefdoms.  Within their own lands gnomes were no longer allowed to own land, vote, or even practice their own religion.  They pay most of their income in taxes to their lord.  Oscar’s grandfather Frostanvil was leader then, but Oscar has been the Lord of Glimmervale for over 700 years, a quite unnatural life span for a dwarf.  ‘Something unnatural is keeping him young.’ Kuu will tell you.

Recently the gnomes have started to organize, rebelling against the rich landowning upper class.  They have made it clear that the poor humans and in rare cases dwarves who work alongside them are not their enemy, their enemy is the rich landowners who keep them all in perpetual poverty. This has led to some people from other races joining as allies in the fight.  Oscar’s territory, Glimmervale, is an unremarkable piece of land with some farmland and a lot of swamps.  Leaf is from a farming community there called Crankshaft.  Despite his unimpressive lands, Glimmershard has been one of the largest suppliers of metals used to keep the Länteen army fully outfitted.  

For the past year, the moon druids have had an anonymous source for information to help with the gnomish rebellion.  The druids have been finding notes around the large transport tree.  The notes are unsigned but the information about troop movements, food distribution, and other insider details has always been accurate.  It was one such note that tipped them off to the existence of Devron, and Leaf was sent to investigate.  

Kuu’s druids (spread across many groves on all the continents of Ro) are sympathetic to their plight and have been aiding the gnomish rebellion.  They have provided help as healers, spies, and in some rare instances even in combat. 

From Kuu

I am reasonably powerful myself and have fought Oscar many times, but he teleports away from most any fight where he can’t be sure of victory.  He is a talented mage, no doubt, but his biggest strengths aren’t in combat.  He is good at illusion, teleportation, and deception, these sorts of things.  But this makes him very slippery.  I have been working on this.  ((Kuu shows the players a metal bracelet, similar to one side of a handcuff, with three empty sockets, covered in intricate rune engravings))  I am currently infusing this gem with the power of the moon ((Kuu motions to a large sapphire hovering above the lake)) and have fellow druids working on a sun powered stone (topaz) and star powered stone (diamond).  Once I place them in the bracelet, it should prevent teleportation - both his teleportation, and his ability to teleport soldiers to himself, or be teleported by others.  The problem is it’s going to be hard to get close enough to be able to pull it off.  Once the bracelet is complete, we are good to go.

While chatting with the PCs, one of the other druids will politely interrupt you to bring a message to Kuu.  A new note from their source… Oscar will be in his home to host a party in one week's time.  Perhaps this would be a good time to use the new device if it will be done by then?  But who can get close enough… Oscar knows the druids are against him and has his guards on the lookout for bugs and rodents.  It would have to be someone unknown to all of society. 

Both druids then look at you… ‘You aren't even from this planet… you are completely unknown.  Nobody at the party would know you at all!  Perhaps with the right clothes and a little coaching, you could blend in at a party and slip the bracelet on him?’ asks Kuu looking you up and down ‘Could this unlikely group be the heroes of Kallio, Devron, and Ro?’

The druids will spend the next couple of days briefing you on Oscar, preparing you to pass as a noble, forging you an invitation to the party, and generally readying you for the fight.  Someone at the grove will offer to place glamors on your armor and weapons so they will pass for fancy attire, walking canes, and other appropriate items to carry to a party.  

Once the players are comfortable and well rested, and have spent a little time in the grove, one of their planning sessions with Kuu will be cut short by an urgent message whispered into Kuu’s ear.  The gem is ready at the Grove of Stars and she needs to go pick it up.  

Not long after her departure, there is a second interruption.  A druid tells Leaf that the grove of the sun is under attack.  Leaf tells the players that most of the druids here at the moment are trainees or people recovering from injuries, and asks if you could help.  She will open a tree for you to travel through.

Grove of the Sun

You exit a tree at the Grove of the Sun and immediately notice how different it is.  Everything is bright, sunny, in shining yellows and oranges.  There are small huts throughout the trees where the druids reside, and a large sundial in the center.  The whole center of the grove is filled with cots and wounded people, mostly gnomes but also some humans, and healers trying to attend to them.  The grove is under attack.

You are immediately greeted by two elves.  Eila, an elf with long red hair, clearly a druid, and a second elf, Halarion, who is clearly not a druid.  Her hands immediately glow with fire and she demands ‘Who are you?’.... When you tell her you came from the Grove of the Moon, she looks relieved and quickly assigns you to defend the Eastern entrance.   She then rejoins the fight to the north, with the other elf heading to the west.  

On the east stride of the map you will encounter one mage, three soldiers of the one, and a healer.  There are other mages, soldiers, and healers on the map, but they should be removed manually as the battle progresses, as they are being fought by others defending the grove.  If the players are struggling, Eila or Halarion will come help them in the battle.  

Fun idea:  If you have characters from a previous campaign, they could be helping fight off different entrances to the grove!  Especially if your old party had a druid.

After the fight Eila will thank you and tell you to make yourself comfortable.  She can also heal you if needed.  If you want to chat to her or Halarion they will be around, and when you are ready to leave she will give you the Sun infused gem and open a tree back to the Moon Grove. 

If you talk to them you will learn that the Grove of the Sun is also located on Länteen, and therefore susceptible to attacks from Oscar’s army and the armies of other nobles on the continent unhappy with the druid's position of helping the gnomes.

Upon your and Kuu’s return to The Grove of the Moon, Kuu will thank you with a basket of gifts.  The basket contains: Kuu’s Luck, Circlet of Blasting, Ioun Stone of Reserve, Ring of Evasion, and 5 Beads of Force.  If you have a Druid she will also give you 2 scrolls of Teleport Via Plants to help return.  If you do not have a druid, you may choose to provide the players with different scrolls at your discretion.

Kuu will also finish creating the Anti-Teleportation Bracelet, by placing all 3 gems into its sockets. 

The players also advance to level 6.