Welcome to the Wyld Lands

"Welcome to the Wyld Lands" is the first chapter in the Witches of the Wylds campaign.

Part 1
Witches of the Wylds began with the first three characters, Grukk Rhehlu, Azure, and Inanna riding to the town of Thimea. They were at first mere strangers riding together in a carriage. Only Inanna seemed to be extremely comfortable with the conditions though as she was sound asleep in a seat across from the fire genasi and half-orc. They soon found themselves passing through the outer farms of the town and entering through one of the main gates. The driver knocked on the carriage and told them they had reached their stop. Once they each began to exit the carriage, the driver looked up and said, "What in the devil is that?" as several gargoyles were circling over head. Suddenly the ground shook and the sky lit with a bright orange hue. Large fireballs began to rain from the sky, destroying the pavement and knocking the group off their feet.

Thimea was now plunged into utter chaos, guards drew their weapons and ran to the aide of civilians. A swarm of Dretches began to leap from the buildings attacking people and jumping in the street below. Soon a group of Dretches began to converge on the party. One of them tore down a lamppost which ignited a trail of oil on the street, blocking the group's path. Both Grukk and Inanna made their attacks. Grukk swung his axe but the Dretch just dodged the swing, meanwhile Inanna flustered and possibly still at least a little sleepy from her nap, took a swing with her blade but slipped on a pool of grease. She caught herself on some crates and looked up, face to face with the horrible creature. It roared in her face, spewing saliva and foul odor in her face. Azure having assessed the enemies she was facing, drew her bow and fired an arrow using her flaming bowstring. It pierced the chest of one of the Dretches as two more began their approach. The battle continued, the group defending themselves with all their might. Grukk disposing of the monsters leaping over him, Inanna swinging her weapon wildly, and Azure aiming her arrows for Dretches that climbed atop the fallen carriage.

The group eventually pushed them back enough to give themselves a moment's breather. They looked up and realized the gargoyles had begun to appear out of nowhere, as a puff of smoke would appear and a gargoyle would then be perched at that location. Each one seemed to swoop down only to grab a civilian and fly off with them. Looking toward the Cathedral of the Rejected, there were two Nothics charging through the small graveyard at full speed. While the Nothics were preoccupied at the stone wall, searching for a way to get inside, Azure called for her dragon's help... Yesera. Grukk and Inanna were both, of course, startled by the sudden appearance of a dragon. However, the settled down once they realized it was on their side. Azure commanded Yesera to put out the flame ahead with a gust of wind from her wings. She did so, allowing the group to move forward if they wished.

With that, all but Grukk moved to fight the Nothics in the church graveyard. Seeing as he wasn't in any immediate danger now, he stayed behind and waited for the fight to sort itself out. Azure and Inanna prepared to attack, while the dragon climbed atop a small stone mausoleum. The Nothics leaped toward them and the fight began. Azure and Inanna fought with all their might on their own while Yesera showered the enemy with her icy breath. Grukk meanwhile still left the ladies to handle the situation. They soon proved they could hold their own, as a fourth person made an appearance to help in the fight. A swirl of leaves and earth, a Human woman named Yandaichi appeared and provided her aide to the party. With her spells she cast Entagle on the Nothic, rooting them in place. They were unable to move in the slightest and Inanna had a chance to get a free swing in... until... she immediately retreated behind one of the other mausoleums. It seemed Inanna was no match for her own body as she soiled herself right in the middle of combat (Alana rolled a natural 1 and with our fumble table she ended up shitting herself in the middle of combat).

Between Azure, Yesara, and the party’s new ally, the Nothics were finished. Yandaichi landed the final blow as she yelled, “You will not be welcome here… anymore!” And with a great green beam of light emanating from the end of her staff, the Nothic shrieked out in pain as the beam blasted against its large eye. With that, Yandaichi introduced herself to the group. Once the battle came to a close, Yandaichi released her grip on her staff and let it return to the form of a vine encompassing her body. While Inanna... sorted herself out in privacy but while still trying to listen in and remain a part of the conversation, Yandaichi explained a little more about what happened here. “I do not have much time,” She said, looking to Azure and her dragon, “My name is Yandaichi, I am a witch… and this kind of attack… it has happened before.” She stood silent letting the two take in this information. “Years ago I stood against these monsters and helped protect this city. They should’ve been kept in the dimension from whence they came but… obviously that wasn’t enough. They’re back. And I need your help… do you trust me?” Azure and her dragon looked over Yandaichi… she certainly seemed to be telling the truth… Yandaichi stepped forward to them, “I know how difficult it could be to believe a witch… most of us are not to be trusted. But I tell you nothing but the truth. Do you trust me?”

Azure looked to her Dragon, then back to the witch. “I do not trust you… but you have my respect.”

Yandaichi looked to the bow, noting its carvings and intricate nature. She nodded to the Genasi, not even batting an eye at the exotic creature that stood before her. “Fair enough.” She stepped away and watched as people were being helped out of buildings fallen and crushed by the monsters. “This world is in danger. I cannot stop this danger alone. I am going to need your help. All of your help.”

At which point, the Genasi looked to the Half-Orc still standing on the sidewalk and held up a gold coin, beckoning him over. Grukk, petting his possum one last time, made his way over to the rest of them. Inanna… having shed her pants and undergarments, peaked around the corner and listened in.

“If you wish to aid me,” Yandaichi said looking to them all now, “come find me… in the swamps outside of Whisper Forest. You will find my hut. For now though… I recommend you stay here… help these people rebuild and do whatever you can. When you are finished, come find me.” The Human looked to them all, asking one last time… “Do you trust me?”

Grukk remained silent, as did the Mousefolk. The Genasi met her gaze, “You have my answer.” The White Dragon behind Azure nodded in agreement with her master.

“Very well…” Yandaichi said, the leaves and grass coalesced about her form. “Find me in the swamps outside of Whisper Forest.” And with those final words the leaves settled and the woman had seemingly disappeared from view. Grukk, Inanna, and Azure stood there together… once strangers… and now seemingly brought together by fate for some greater purpose.

Part 2
After Yandaichi disappeared, Inanna told the others of a legend… a story passed down through generations that told of four witches that once fought back against an army of evil.

The story goes… many years ago, in the Wyld Lands these same beasts showed up out of nowhere. They terrorized the same town and dealt the same damage, but then… there were people to stop them. Folks say that not five minutes after the attack began, four witches appeared in the town. An Earth Witch, a Fire Witch, a Water Witch, and a Moon Witch. Together they fought back and pushed the monsters out of Thimea, and stories immerged of these same four witches saving other towns that were attacked by the monsters. Soon rumors surfaced of a secret Witch’s Guild that sought to protect innocents from the fate of these foul beasts. Over time these witches made a name for themselves, until they ultimately found the location of which these creatures poured out from. A portal. Together the witches sealed the portal, and locked away whatever evil was inside.

The rest is history… no one knows what became of these witches… but this story is decades old by now… The party came to the conclusion that Yandaichi was none other than the Earth Witch of legend, come back to fight the horde once again… but the question remained of where the other three were?

Before the party could discuss this though, a voice rang out in the street, a deep and strong one called, “Hunters! Gather ‘round!” And the party watched as armored individuals and a few citizens followed the crowd, gathering in front of a large building in the eastern corner of the city. Azure dismissed Yesera and told her to watch the skies for anymore threats as she followed the others.

A dwarf climbed atop a stack of crates and looked over at his audience. He hardly had a beard to speak of… likely not that he was incapable of having one but he didn’t see it necessary. He spoke with powerful demeanor and strength.

“Hunters… we lost good people today. I will be the one to admit we were not ready for this kind of attack. But we have fought this before. This is not the first time these creatures have attempted to take our lives.” The crowd seemed to nod and agree in unison. “We are strong. And we… are hunters!” The crowd roared together, “AYE!” The dwarf proceeded, “And we will not go down easily! We have friends… families depending on us to protect ‘em. Depending on you.” He took a deep breath. “Don’t forget that. We have lost many, yes. But together we are still strong.” The dwarf looked to the armored individuals among the crowd, “For now, hunters I need half of you stay here and help civilians, the others go out into the woods, search for any survivors. Report back to us if you find anything.” With that, he then hopped off of his stage and the crowd dispersed, doing as they were ordered.

Inanna, forcing her way to the crowd managed to catch up to the dwarf before he went inside the building behind him. She asked him for his name. “My name is Deanmus, I’m the leader of these Hunters… what do you need from me?” He asked crossing his arms and looking at the little mouse.

Inanna replied, “Well, you mentioned you had fought these things before… would you happen to have more information on them or something like that?”

Deanmus thought for a moment, “Well yes, but I’m not exactly the lore expert. You can go inside and talk to my brother though, he’ll know more.”

Inanna thanked him for that and walked away, letting the dwarf enter the building.

By now each member of their party went their own separate way, Azure went off to find an alchemist, Inanna left to find a tailor, and Grukk waited in the street scanning the area.

Azure found her way into a potion shop, opening the door and seeing a half-elven girl huddled on the floor gathering a few potions and placing them into a crate. The windows appeared to have been broken, and the shop completely ransacked. This girl was likely gathering whatever ingredients and potions were left, and had an appearance of an apprentice of sorts.

She looked up at the genasi woman, blinking and shuddering nervously. “Oh um… I-I’m sorry, can… can I help you?”

Azure looked about the store, noting the state it was in. “You still have any healing potions?”

The half-elf nodded and held up two common healing potions to her, the red magical liquid inside looking untarnished. “Yes! Our… shop was attacked as you can tell but some of our stock is still available! Are… are you going to help us?” She asked.

Azure didn’t answer immediately, seeming to debate the situation in her mind, “Perhaps. You require ingredients? To restock?”

She nodded, continuing to place items from the shelf into the crate.

“I can go and fetch you some ingredients,” She knelt down, meeting the young girl at eye level, “If you give me some potions.”

The half-elf girl seemed to need no persuasion… she immediately lit up and smiled, “I-I-I’ll give you a potion for 1 gold each!”

Azure nodded, “Deal, three potions.”

The girl smiled, holding out three common healing potions to Azure. The genasi of course provided the payment of three gold coins to the desperate girl. After the transaction was completed, the girl stood up, asking the genasi to stay where she was as she scanned the shelves, seeming to take note of what remained in the store. She returned with a list of items she needed. “Here, look for these, and the potions will be paid for.” She smiled and handed Azure the list.

Meanwhile, Inanna entered a tailor’s shop. A bell rang over her head as the door closed. The store looked empty… until a voice called from the back. “Oh? Can-can I help you?” The voice of an old Halfling man called out. He stepped out from the back and walked forward, “What can I do for y-WHOA” The poor old man was completely flustered by the fact that standing before him was a completely pantless female mousefolk.

“I need some pants.” Inanna said.

The old halfling man, shielding his eyes nodded, “Uh… v-very well, uhm…” He looked about, noting no one else was present in the store and led the girl to the back, “Come, come.”

He led Inanna to the back room, a shelf of fabric stood at the back and a disheveled desk next to it. An open hatch in this same room hinted that this Halfling man hid and waited out the attack. “So em….” He stuttered as he tried to maintain only eye contact with Inanna. “What… exactly would you like?”

“I’d like some cargo shorts.” Inanna replied.

“B-beg pardon?” The Halfling questioned.

“Cargo shorts… you might not have heard of them. They’re not exactly pants but they have pockets- HUGE pockets.”

At this point the Halfling took out a notepad and pencil, sketching everything Inanna described. He took every detail and minute description she mentioned and made a note of it. Afterwards, he nodded and set his paper aside, “Very well uhm… let me take some measurements.”

With that, a series of very awkward measurements were made for Inanna's new cargo shorts. The tailor then offered some fabric for Inanna to use as a makeshift skirt until the shorts were done, asking for her to return in a little while once they were done.

While Inanna and Azure were doing their shopping, Grukk stayed behind looking about the street and watching the people pass by. Once the mousefolk and the genasi were out of sight, he reached into his bag and pulled out the colorful hat and fitted it atop his head. The bells jingled and rang softly as he approached a mother and her child, who were being led out of the city by one of the Hunters. Grukk introduced himself as an entertainer from lands far off and that for just a few gold pieces he would cheer up the young child. The Hunter looked to the boy’s mother, standing in way to say he could remove the Half-Orc if she needed him to. She shook her head and obliged, handing the clown two gold pieces.

Grukk proceeded to, rather apathetically and sarcastically entertain the child until he finally finished it off by making a balloon animal for him. He took out a blue balloon and blew air into it. Anticipation built in the kids eyes until Grukk finally tied the end of it, and presented it.

“Tada!” Grukk said, “A balloon worm!” He leaned down, holding the ‘worm’ to the boy and smiling.

Surprisingly though, the boy was impressed enough that he accepted the balloon. The mother being completely grateful for the performance wished Grukk a good farewell and a thank you for his service.

Grukk smiled, “For the cause, ma’am. For the cause…” as he pocketed the coin he just made.

By now Azure had left the potion shop, list of ingredients in hand she made her way out of the city and into the surrounding forest, looking for lunch for her dragon and the herbs on the list. Inanna had by now caught up to Grukk, with something to wear for the moment they went into the Fiend Hunters Guild.

Opening the door and stepping inside, they could see the head of a Griffin mounted on the wall and a Rakshasa claw mounted across from it. At the end of the room Deanmus stood talking to one of the other hunters. They finished their conversation and the Hunter walked past them and out the door, Grukk and Inanna stood before the dwarf.

“You’re back. Here to see my brother I’m guessing?” He said.

“Yes, we have some questions for him.” Inanna replied.

“Right this way.” The dwarf said, leading them down a hallway. The dark wood of the floor creaking gently with each step, “Your help is very much appreciated. Like I said to my men, we lost many good people today.” Deanmus stopped in front of a door and turned to the mousefolk girl, then up to the Half-Orc standing a few feet taller than him, “He with you?”

Inanna nodded.

Deanmus gave a brief sigh, “Meet me in the foyer and I’ll see to it you’re paid.” He then gave a few loud knocks on the door. “Sam! Got some people that wanna talk to you!” The dwarf stepped past them and returned to the entrance to the guild.

A few moments later the door opened, and there stood a half-elven man with brown hair grown to meet the collar of his armor. He smiled briefly, “Uh, hi! I’m Samwise, nice to meet you.” He then shook hands with the mousefolk and invited them both inside.

Inanna then asked Samwise several questions regarding the previous attack many years ago, wondering if he had actually been one of the people that was there.

“Well, not me personally. Many years ago this same kind of attack happened. Um… you’re familiar with the legend of the Witches’ Guild?” Sam asked.

Inanna nodded, “I told them of it as well.”

“Oh! Good!” He chuckled a bit and cleared his throat. “Well… as you likely know, many years ago a group of witches appeared in Thimea when the horde attacked. These witches were said to be an Earth Witch, a Fire Witch, a Water Witch, and a Moon Witch.” Samwise now shifted a bit in his seat. “The legend said that they continued venturing through the Wyld Lands until they came to the portal from where these monsters seemed to be coming from… and after sealing it with their power, no other reports of monsters came from the settlements.”

Inanna nodded, “And… you wouldn’t happen to have any… documentation of these… witches would you?”

Samwise thought for a moment… “Actually…” He stood up and retrieved a leather bound journal from the shelf, flipping through a few pages. “Yes, right here! ‘There I saw four figures stand before me. One was a Human, like me; the next a red skinned Tiefling; then a blue skinned Genasi; and a black hooded figure.’ I believe this journal was written around the time of the first attack.

Inanna then leaned forward and said, “Could we like… maybe have that?”

Samwise immediately looked to her, shut the book and set it aside. “This journal is property of the Fiend Hunters. And if you wish to have it, you’d need to be a member.”

Inanna backed off, “Okay, okay, then we would like to join your guild.”

The Half-Elf turned his head and sighed, “Well, if you wanna become members you’ll need to talk to my brother. But, why do you want to know about what’s inside this book?”

Inanna leaned forward, “We met one. The Earth Witch, Yandaichi.”

Sam’s eyes widened and he leaned closer.

“We met her, just now. We need to talk to her and find these other witches.” Inanna said, “We’re going to need that journal.”

Samwise of course responded by repeating questions, “You met one? One of the witches?”

The Mousefolk nodded proudly.

Eventually they came to an agreement, Samwise would let Inanna have the journal so long as she properly joined the guild. Both Inanna and Grukk then returned to the main hall, seeing Deanmus sitting at the desk once again, this time with a small sack of gold in front of him.

“Here, 25 gold pieces. It’s not much, but it’s all we got for now. Your payment for the part you played in our defense.” Dean gave the sack of gold to the Mousefolk.

Inanna then informed the dwarf of the agreement she came to with Samwise, asking to become a member of the Fiend Hunters and telling him that they had met Yandaichi.

The dwarf chuckled and eventually gave a short, bellowing laugh. “You? Met one of the witches of legend?” He kept laughing for a moment. “Uh-huh… sure…” Trying to gain his composure he gave a deep sigh and looked to both Inanna and Grukk. He took a deep breath and sighed. “Look… if you want to become a Hunter… you might lose some close folk. The life of a Fiend Hunter isn’t easy. You lose friends, family even. It’s a life of commitment. But…” He glanced to them both. “You both look like capable adventurers-”

“We’ve got a dragon on our team.” Inanna said nonchalantly.

Deanmus stopped mid-sentence and connected the dots in his head. “Ah.” He blinked, “In any case… this is a commitment. And if you prove to me this is one you can make, you’ll be very welcome in our halls.”

Inanna agreed, accepting the terms of a Hunter. For the time being until officially stated… she is now a Fiend Hunter.

Meanwhile, Azure had ventured out of the town and into the nearby forest, searching for the herbs on the list managing to find enough to return to the potion shopkeep. Before she left though, she came to a small clearing and saw a rather large boar eating grass up ahead. She loosed an arrow into it and called for Yesera, informing her that lunch was served.

A gentle voice chuckled in the genasi’s ears. “I hoped my patience would pay off.” Suddenly Yesara swooped down from the sky, taking the boar in her talons and flying off into the overcast sky.

Azure smiled as she watched her dragon companion make off with her meal. Until suddenly a stone figure swooped down and landed in the same clearing. Just as Azure began to stand up, she crouched back down, staying out of sight and watching the scene. It was one of the Gargoyles from the attack. It landed and set down the body of an unconscious teenage boy. As the Gargoyle bowed its head, a black smoke trail hit the ground and there appeared a dark cloaked figure. Over its head was a black hood and it seemed slender in nature, like a Reaper. They seemed to speak to one another, the Gargoyle and the Reaper, but no words could be discerned. As they spoke, however, the figure noticed Azure standing close, and it extended a hand, pointing to her. The Gargoyle whipped its head around and looked in her direction. The cloaked figure then disappeared into the same cloud of smoke and combat began.

The two engaged, the Gargoyle acting first and swooping ahead to slash at the genasi. Azure and the Gargoyle exchanged blows, until Yesera sensed something amiss. She quickly swooped back up into the sky and began scanning for her master.

At this point, Inanna and Grukk had been searching in the woods for their previous companion. A tiefling man had directed them to where their genasi friend might’ve gone, saying she made for the forest just moments ago. As they made their way into the woods, a deathly birdlike howl echoed through the woods, and with sudden urgency Inanna and Grukk ran forward searching for the genasi.

Inanna called out “Genasi Lady?! Genasi Lady!! Where are you?” as Grukk began playing a small… foreign instrument known as a kazoo. They both whipped through the forest, calling for the genasi.

As they desperately searched for Azure, the Gargoyle did not let up on its attacks. At one point, Azure managed to block the stone creature's jaws from clamping down on her, causing the bite to fail entirely and the stone teeth crumbling to pieces. It did its best to snarl but was hurting a little. Finally the battle was proving to be in the party's hands as Inanna and Grukk finally found the clearing and acted immediately. Grukk, being sure to keep his pet Dura safe in his satchel before charging in, battleaxe at the ready. After exchanging several more blows, Yesera finally returned, landing atop a rock about five feet up from everyone else.

As they got a breather in the fight, the mousefolk looked to Yesara… surprisingly beginning to speak in Draconic. “Oh, now you show up?” She then tossed a bag of coin to Azure, her share of the payment from the Fiend Hunters.

Yesara turned back to the mouse. “You caught me in the middle of my lunch break.” And with that the white dragon flew forward attempting to grapple the leg of the Gargoyle. It screeched out in pain as it attempted to fly away from the battle, leading to its right leg being broken off. The stone creature now roaring in pain, haphazardly flew away attempting to get away. Just at the last minute though… Azure began to pull her bow back, following the monster’s head with the tip of her arrow. She took a deep breath, focusing her shot and released. Her aim was true, as the flaming arrow managed to shoot through the bottom of the Gargoyle’s mouth. It cried out in pain as the stone seemingly began to melt a bit as it spiraled down to the ground, landing on the boulder nearby and tumbling down on the grass next to the unconscious boy it had brought with it.

As the Gargoyle fell to the ground, limp and lifeless. The teenage boy was still unconscious on the ground, and the party stood there together. Their adventure had only just begun.