Shimmerglens

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Episode no.	Episode 58
Date	2009
Game Master	Abbe
Characters	Dorothea Gloriana Honeypot Nell Velicia
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We discussed how to get to Whitewillow and decided to use the ghost horses that Velicia could summon with her magic. As soon as she had summoned them Honeypot also cast telepathy.

Using the shadowy horses we could travel across the water directly to Shimmerglens. We rode fast over the surface of Claybottom Lake. It had gotten quite cold and I still wore my summer clothes. The shadow horse I rode gave no warmth either. It was just some dark ghostly excuse for a horse. While looking at it I thought I could see the water we rode over through it. I decided that I was wrong and didn't look at the magical horse anymore. We reached Shimmerglens and it was very spooky. There were dead trees everywhere, with cuts looking like wounds with dark sap dripping like blood. They seemed to be reaching with dead branches with twigs looking like fingers, as if trying to grab hold of us. I crouched down in the fake magical saddle. The trees also had large and very icky insects everywhere. I saw spiders bigger than any I've ever seen before watching us as we rode past. Japp were somewhere up front leading the way while I was last. We followed a trail that I could hardly see at all and I got a feeling that the branches closed behind us.

We stopped and Velicia said that there were ghosts ahead of us. I rode to the side and climbed a leaning tree trunk that were in the same height as the saddle. I hid there holding the reins in one hand and my dagger in the other. I heard strange ghostly music coming closer and I got a feeling that the branches around me closed in on me where I was hiding. I squeezed the reins as hard as I could. I heard someone up front hailing someone. I heard another try in another language. Then I saw them. It looked like ghosts of fauns and other fey creatures, dancing and playing as if they didn't know they were ghosts. Honeypot looked like she wanted to join them and her shadow steed was sucked into the dance and disappeared. I looked at the dark water below and thought of all the awful things that could be lurking down there, just waiting for me to stick my feet into it. Quickly I sheathed the dagger and said to my shadow horse "Here, a shadow apple for my shadow horse." while pulling the reins as hard as I could to distract it from the passing fey entourage. When they had passed I noted that all but me and Velicia had lost their horses to the ghosts.

We continued on, but slower as it was harder for those who had to walk. On the other hand most of them are good at handling themselves out in the nature. I was very happy I didn't loose my shadow steed. Someone up ahead told us there was a ship ahead. As we approached and we all could see it we all wondered how such a big ship could have ended up there. I had only seen such big ships in Magnimar harbour and even there they were unusual. We heard strange music coming from it. The others hurried aboard but I rode up to the side of the ship and stood on the back of the horse to get a look, but I was reluctant to leave the horse as I didn't want to loose it too. When the others were all on the ship I thought that waiting alone outside would be even worse so I joined them. We found that the music came from the captains cabin. As we opened the door slightly, we could see the skeleton of a man wearing a triangular hat and a big coat. It was sitting at a harpsichord and held a silver chalice in it's bony hand. The music had stopped and the skeleton was absolutely still. We entered and Gloriana and Honeypot went up to the instrument. They were very interested in it and some sheet music. Apparently Gloriana played the harpsichord and she wanted to play. Honeypot took care of the remains and put them on the bed, while I took care of the chalice and put it in my pack. Velicia found some maps of some sea. Gloriana started playing and she and Honeypot couldn't get enough of it. I searched the cabin and only found some log that I gave Velicia. The others said that it was the captains remains we had found and that he had starved to death. I thought that must be one of the worst ways to die. I said I would stand guard at the door outside and left.

File:Ghost dog.jpg

The spooky dog...

File:Nell watching.jpg

...watched by Nell.

I took out some ham that Kaven had made. It was very good. Together with cheese and apple slices on a slice of bread, as he had told me to eat it, it tasted great. I noted a ghost dog sitting outside, on the deck. After a while I got annoyed by it just sitting there looking at me. I got a branch from a nearby tree and thew it past the dog to see if it would play fetch. It didn't move and as I realized that I didn't want it to come too close to me, I was glad it didn't. I still wondered if it would fetch if I threw a bone from the dead captain inside, but I didn't think that would be such a good idea to try. Finally the others were finished and we left. Velicia's and my magic horses were still waiting.

We went deeper into the marshlands and after a while the little pixie Japp said we would soon arrive at Whitewillow. He was scared of Myriana and didn't want to continue. He pointed the way we should go and turned invisible. I could hear him fly away. We continued on ourselves. Velicia was still up front and I was at the very end. We entered a clearing. At the edges there were wooden statues of elves. They were painted and quite lifelike but definitely wooden. There was a circle of white willows, but they were in a spooky white not of the majestic white the stories told earlier had described.

File:Myriana.png

The dead dryad Myriana.

As we approached a ghostly appearance rose from the dark water. It was a strangely deformed ghost of the queen. It looked like she had been torn apart and rose with a scream chilling our bones. I didn't mind that much but the others seemed to really hurt from it. Dorothea cast some magical light at the ghost but it didn't hurt it and Honey started reading from the sonnets by Lamatar to try to calm the ghost. It worked and we started talking to it. It asked us to bring back a piece of Lamatar. It sounded a bit icky. The ghost said that if they were joined again she thought that she could rest in peace.

She mentioned her sisters.

We went back.

At the outer edge of Shimmerglens we found the horses that got away on the way in. We had thought that Velicia would have had to cast the ritual again to cross the water.