Session Date: 03/10/2023
The witch is an elf named Lady Dogrose.
We wake to a beautiful spring morning after the rain. Giacomo preens, Sarras looks and watches everyone. The bastard son preps a hunt, and everyone otherwise starts their day.
Pinewood grew up here, his family is at a farm 1.5 mi SW from here, the furthest from the mine. He studied as a second son of a larger farm. He was originally going to go into the priesthood, but he wasn’t well off enough to go to seminary school. It’s an issue: the population here is light enough that there is no school out here, and so his acceptance kept getting deferred. When Ser Nick was given this estate, it was a better position for him to use his skills without needing connections. He’s done this for 9 years this fall.
After breakfast we head out toward the witch’s house. The forest is almost entirely overgrown yew trees, and the house is enclosed by a 10’ tall hedge. The house is a one-story and is rather ramshackle. There are many crows and ravens around. Calthel is unaware of it, but Giacomo looks for magicked traps and he finds the old components of an alarm spell that used to be maintained but is no longer.
Giacomo calls out for Lady Dogrose, and nobody responds but the crows and ravens. Giacomo and I cast detect magic and find the same red feathered raven from yesterday. Kerran casts speak with animals and asks if it is with Dogrose (no longer). He asks if she is alive (perhaps). He asks where she has gone (new master continues the work). Giacomo is aware that familiars can transfer with warlocks, but not wizards, so it’s possible that the witch was a warlock who transferred her familiar to another warlock.
The questions continue:
- Where is the new master from?
- Born here.
- In the village?
- No.
- In the house?
- Yes.
- An heir?
- Yes.
- Can you take us to them?
- No.
- I have some bread, if you’d like it.
- I don’t need mortal food.
- What are you hiding from?
- Didn’t tell me.
- Has master been taking the scarecrows?
- Yes.
- Why?
- It continues the work.
- What work?
- The scarecrows.
- Scarecrow work?
- Yes.
- Keeping crows away?
- No.
The raven says that the witch is in the house, and that she doesn’t get much in the way of visitors, especially n ot now. The bird bursts into red smoke and Sarras and Giacomo knows this is more than just a find familiar spell, and Sarras points this out.
We go up to the door and knock, but Giacomo and Calthel both notice that the door has been closed for weeks. There is more silver wire to indicate an old alarm spell that is no more. Sarras and Calthel work together to get the door open.
In the front room is a workshop area with tree saplings coming up through the floor. Giacomo can tell that the workroom has been used within the past three days, which he tells us.
The door to the next room is ajar with a bundle of twigs propping the door open. Ships, Sarras, and Calthel go in. Ships notices a magic circle on the ground, and Calthel notices three other doors and a pile of cloth in one corner, and turnips in another. Ships asks if this is a summoning circle. Giacomo and Sarras can tell that this is a circle used as protection from outside influence. The elaborate: this is common when the caster must enter the circle and cast a long and complex ritual. This room is where all of the scarecrow parts are, and some kind of magic.
The magic circle activation requires a 3rd level spell slot and a ritual cast. Only four of us would fit.
Each of the three doors are propped open with twigs so they do not close. We go into the room on the left and there are two yew trees almost blocking the window. There are also some shelves with tools, books in poor condition (save the two on the top shelf). Ships uses mage hand to retrieve the books at the top - they are leather-bound, waxed, and locked (with one lock broken).
In the rightmost room are alchemical tools and glass vials, several small boxes and lengths of wood (wands) and a saddle, bridle, and bit. Sarras and Calthel go to the back room and it is filled with hedges and a large flowering tree in the center. Sarras knows that this tree is the largest, most overgrown dogrose shrub to exist.
Sarras and Calthel hear the southern door latch closed. Calthel checks the door and finds that it is not locked, but someone or something is holding the door closed from the other side. Calthel warns the others, and Sarrash approaches and speaks to them, saying we only wish to talk. The scarecrows outside animate and the western room grows aggressive to Giacomo and Ships, while the scarecrow that jumps into the eastern room closes the door.
Meanwhile, a skeletal arm rises from the dogrose tree and casts eldritch blast on Kerran. Kerran and Calthel attack, though Calthel recommends we leave and not finish this combat. The entire group gets out via the window and Ships leaves a bottle of wine and a note apologizing for the death of a scarecrow, though Ships 100% keeps the tomes he found.
We hear a cry of pain and Ships, Sarras, and Calthel are concerned enough to go backa nd peek into the eastern room to see that the scarecrows are still animated. We enter combat and fight. When we finally kill the main scarecrow guardian, he disperses into crows, which fly away.