The Grove
- Kill no sentient creatures
- Light no fires, put out any you see
- Never stop a song in progress
- Never destroy an instrument of music making
The Round
At the centre of the grove lies its only visible structure, a double ring of standing stones called simply The Round. Here the bards of the grove gather to sing, meditate, and eat evening meals together. In the centre of the round is a low stage with a stone seat in the middle, where the bards of the Lyric Grove sit to perform for their followers and guests. The larger, outer ring is around fifty feet across and consists of blue-black stones, fifteen feet high and hollow in the centre. When struck these each produce a different deep, resonant tone. The inner circle consists of light grey stones, about 3 feet high and polished by the behinds of many congregants. When not being used for benches or low tables these stones can be struck for percussive effect to accompany their larger siblings.
Tree Dwellings
When first entering the Lyric Grove you’d be forgiven for assuming that Synleoth and her followers camp out every night under the stars in The Round, since no other structures are visible. In actual fact there are many small dwellings hidden among the trees. Using magic and song and a lot of patience the dwellers of the grove have trained the growth of these trees to create hollows and ledges within their massive trunks, forming cave-like rooms and knotted stairways out of living wood, which are lit by strings of glowing bioluminescent fungus-lanterns. Bright woven tapestries in shades of green, brown, and grey hang across the entrance-ways to these chambers keeping out the cold and disguising their existence.
Oisha’s Fate
- Silme polymorphed Yomi into a great eagle
- Yomi flys upwards towards the tree
- The Shrubs around the tree, shoot needles at the eagle, taking it down so it returns to Yomi form infront of the Tree
History
When the gods were young the gregarious and charming patron of bards, Milil, fell hopelessly in love with Eldath - a river spirit and nature goddess. He set about wooing her, visiting her forest home every morning with flattering songs and verses upon his lips.
Eldath was both flattered and alarmed by Milil’s attentions and in her shyness she threw up a great barrier of thorns around their favourite glens and glades to ward prying eyes away from their courtship.
Although Milil’s way was never barred. Their affair was sweet but brief. It was not long before Milil’s curious nature called him to travel abroad, seeking out new audiences for his arts and charm.
Ever craving solitude, Eldath returned to her peaceful meditations sore at heart but with a small sense of relief. Bearing her lover no ill will, within their secret hideaway Eldath brought trickling streams together to feed a healing pool as a parting gift to him.
Touched by her gesture, Milil decreed that only those who loved them both should be fit to make a home within its walls.
It isn’t known when Queen Synleoth took on guardianship of the Grove. Her high standing with its patron deities has led some to theorise about her origins and relationship with them.
It’s even said by some that the queen is a child of their ancient union and that the Grove was created to be her cradle.
All is myth and rumor with little proof, though. Those few who’ve stumbled across the Lyric Grove over the centuries have rarely left written accounts of their experience.
It’s unclear whether the current queen is the first or only the latest in a long lineage, when she arrived, who her first followers were, and who built the great stone circle which stands as the only structure on her lands. The grove is a place of tantalising mystery, even to its inhabitants.
Lyric Grove is doubly blessed by Milil, the god of bards, and Eldath the river spirit.
The life of the commune revolves around a huge stone circle on the banks of this pool, where the initiates frequently gather in song and eat their evening meals together every day.
The Lyric Grove’s inhabitants are plucked from the downcast of society by Queen Synleoth. If they’re not yet bards when they come to her, their latent talents soon emerge. The queen’s judgement in this never errs.
She’s a mother to abandoned children, a saviour of wounded rangers, and a figure of worship to pilgrims who come for the blessings of her patron gods.
This is an environment of serenity and restoration, far from the bawdy taverns most bards would consider their element. Here the bards of the Grove meditate on the rhythmic ebb and flow of the seasons, the passage of ages, and the endless cycle of life and death. Listening to the song of creation, drawing upon it to create their own esoteric, reality-shaping magics
Though , few have heard of it. Synleoth's followers rarely travel and their homeland is protected on all sides by a near-impassable wall of tangling vines and thorns as tall as the tallest tree in this ancient wood. Within the Lyric Grove’s enchanted borders grow the oldest and wisest of trees, their mingled canopies alive with the trilling of the colorful songbirds sacred to Milil. Water trickles and pours through many small streams, collecting in a crystal-clear pool imbued with healing powers by Eldath.
The Bramble Wall
The Lyric Grove is protected by a tangled barrier of magical vines and brambles thirty feet deep and two hundred feet tall. The wall writhes in the presence of uninvited visitors although it can be passed safely by dedicated followers of the Lyric Grove or by clerics and paladins of either patron god.
Highly skilled bards may be respected enough by Milil to pass through, while Eldath may favour a forest ranger highly enough to admit them.
For these lucky few a tunnel opens in the wall around eight feet high and five across, all the way through to the other side. If an unwelcome visitor attempts to cut or force their way through the wall they likely find themselves ensnared.Eldath’s Pool
Eldath’s gift to Milil, this large pool is fed by several small springs and a couple of waterfalls. Its waters are tingling cold all year round, but those who can bear to remain submerged have their wounds healed and their exhaustion cured.
Water from this pool can be bottled but loses its magic within the hour.
The pool is strictly for healing, using it to bathe or as a source of drinking water is frowned upon as a great ingratitude to Eldath.The Glowing Cavern
At night the largest of the waterfalls feeding Eldath’s Pool glows with a faint eerie light, noticeable only once one’s eyes adjust to the darkness of the wilderness. This is bioluminescence emitted by several species of algae and fungi which make their home in the dark, damp cavern behind the falls.
This space is filled with elaborate and rare mushrooms and moulds which glow in shades of blue, green, and lilac. This bounty of glowing growths is harvested carefully by the residents of the grove and used to fashion the fireless lanterns and torches which light their paths and dwellings. It recedes deep underground.
No resident of the grove has fully explored its depths, although someone has carved steps into the slippery stone floor.Tree Dwellings
When first entering the Lyric Grove you’d be forgiven for assuming that Synleoth and her followers camp out every night under the stars in The Round, since no other structures are visible. In actual fact there are many small dwellings hidden among the trees.
Using magic and song and a lot of patience the dwellers of the grove have trained the growth of these trees to create hollows and ledges within their massive trunks, forming cave-like rooms and knotted stairways out of living wood, which are lit by strings of glowing bioluminescent fungus-lanterns.
Bright woven tapestries in shades of green, brown, and grey hang across the entrance-ways to these chambers keeping out the cold and disguising their existence.Nature’s Kitchen
The grove sees merchant visitors perhaps once in a human lifetime. Its inhabitants don’t hunt and can’t sustain their numbers all year round with foraging. So gently, and with many apologies to Eldath, they’ve cultivated their land. They’ve encouraged salads to grow in one spot, berries in another. In one patch the ground is a mess of vines and swollen squashes.
Next to that, willow cane structures support climbing beanstalks. Potato plants flower abundantly in one of the larger dells and the residents harvest their tubers all year round. They also grow apples and hops and brew their own ciders and ales.
Between this carefully managed kitchen garden and what their scouts can bring back from villages at the borders of the forest, the commune eats a healthy, if not terribly indulgent, diet.
More worldly travellers and those used to luxury may find the fare a little spartan. However, if visitors have spices and herbs to trade or share they find the resident cooks very enthusiastic.
Queen Synleoth - Queen of the Lyric Grove (She/Her)
Queen Synleoth is a beautiful and mysterious human woman with brown skin and a mass of curly dark brown hair the colour of good earth. She rarely speaks, though she sings often, and her face is half covered by a golden mask ornately detailed with flying birds, fruits, and vines. She appears to be in her thirties, although among her followers she’s believed to be very ancient indeed.In truth she is a powerful celestial tasked by Milil with the protection of The Lyric Grove and its inhabitants.Synleoth performs nightly for her followers in the stone circle. She has an arresting singing voice - surprisingly versatile and capable of evoking bliss, amusement, or even terror. She seems to play every instrument well, though she favors a harp of silver leaves fashioned after Milil’s own.When not performing the queen is very shy and nearly always lets her nominated Voice speak for her. Though she’s kind and generous to visitors, when her rules are broken she becomes inconsolable to the point of rage. Visitors who push too far invoke Synleoth’s wrath.
Niraba - Voice of the Queen (She/Her)
The day-to-day running of the Lyric Grove falls to a chosen initiate with the ceremonial title “Voice of the Queen”. A young halfling woman named Niraba has held this role for ten years since the passing of her predecessor. She’s expert at interpreting the queen’s moods and wishes through her gestures and postures - the clench of her jaw, the tilt of her head, how she strums her harp - and she’s been granted the authority to make pronouncements on Synleoth’s behalf.Niraba was born in the grove and has never seen life beyond it. She’s very dedicated to Synleoth and her gods, but hopes one day to pass her title to another worthy bearer and go out into the world for a season or two. Like most halflings Niraba moves with surprising stealth. She’s a masterful flute player and carries a light instrument fashioned from the hollow bones of a large bird.
Bimtree Bottletop - The Master Luthier (He/Him)
Bimtree is a middle-aged gnome who acts far younger. He’s been with the camp for 50 years after coming here on a quest to present a lyre he’d crafted to Synleoth.When she saw the quality of his work the queen immediately invited him to stay. He accepted her offer and now spends his days maintaining the many instruments of the grove. It’s said that Bimtree was drawn here by dream visions sent by Milil, and despite his customary irreverent attitude he’s very devout.
When the band arrive back to the Lyric Grove the residents are overjoyed to see Oisha again and gladly hand over their reward, a meal and bed for the night, as well as offering a scout guide to help them navigate out of the forest faster.
- 1-2 in caverns under the mountains off to the East
- 2 in the desert plains past the mountains
- A few in the forest on the other side of the plains
- Last few in the volcanic hellscape somewhere in an active volcane
Items
Pipes of Haunting
Wondrous Item, uncommonYou must be proficient with wind instruments to use these pipes. They have 3 charges. You can use an action to play them and expend 1 charge to create an eerie, spellbinding tune. Each creature within 30 feet of you that hears you play must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened of you for 1 minute. If you wish, all creatures in the area that aren't hostile toward you automatically succeed on the saving throw. A creature that fails the saving throw can repeat it at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. A creature that succeeds on its saving throw is immune to the effect of these pipes for 24 hours. The pipes regain 1d3 expended charges daily at dawn.
We have a Plan
Eden
- A Bone from Patient Zero - After everything happened, they eventually traced the disease back to a single individual - a caravan trader named Cole. They buried him out in a special mausoleum in the graveyard to make sure the infection was kept locked away. When next they went to bury a body, the dead were stirring and they sealed the place! They were said to be ravenous and filled with rage. Cole was buried with his amulet of Lathander around his neck - that is how they will know it is him. Adam Relnok, the town mayor, has the key to this mausoleum but will be unwilling to give it up easily as he is afraid of a full-blown zombie invasion! His house is on the far north side of town near the lake if the party wishes to try to change his mind. She also assures the party that Fleshrot cannot survive longer than a week without a living host so even though this is patient zero, they are at no risk of infection!
- A Sundew Tulip Bulb - A Sundew Tulip can be found about two hours east of town, in the deepest section of the forest. The flower is a vibrant yellow with blue near its base. They only grow in areas that are inhabited by fey creatures, but she is not sure if the creatures are drawn to the flowers or the other way around. She warns the party may be walking into the garden of a dryad or the territory of a band of sprites, so be careful as they approach!
- A Strand of Unicorn Hair - One of the villagers, Carter, left just over a week ago. He wandered off into the woods to the north, presumably to end his life. He said he was going to a clearing where he and his wife used to have picnics back when they could still taste food. His wife carried a locket with a strand of unicorn hair arranged into a heart. Carter kept it with him always so he should still have it even if he is no longer of this world. It is a sad ordeal, but people choosing to end their lives is just a part of life in the town of Eden. She imagines this will be much easier than trying to hunt a unicorn.
- A Mote of Elemental Water - The potion will not bind without a mote of pure elemental water. There is a spring that pours out of the mountain a few hours northwest of town that is frequented by elemental creatures. Usually, it’s steam mephits or small water elementals, but sometimes stronger elementals as well so approach cautiously. They simply need to capture some of the creature’s essence in an enchanted vial which Theo hands over to the party to use on their quest. They can capture its essence by passing this vial through the elemental’s form with the stopper off. It should be painless for the creature but they may not be willing to give this up without a fight!
- The General Store - Eden General Goods
- The Tailor - Angelica’s Designer Boutique
- The Blacksmith - The Cracking Hammer
- The Tavern - Paradise Inn
- The Alchemist - Theodora’s Alchemical Remedies (my shop)
Oik the Goblin Scout
Small humanoid (goblinoid), lawful evilArmor Class 13
Hit Points 45hp
Speed 35ft Swim: 15ft Climb: 25ft
- STR 8 -1
- DEX 14 +2
- CON 8 -1
- INT 15 +2
- WIS 15 +2
- CHA 8 -1
Skills Acrobatics +2, Insight +4, Perception +7, Medicine +2
Condition Immunities Charmed
Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 14
Languages Goblin, Common
Spellcasting
Ability: IntelligenceAt will: Message: Range: 120 ft., components: V S M, casting time: 1 action, the spell is blocked by: magical silence, 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood.
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