Chet-conomics

An adventure starring Runii, Stella, and Willy.

Tweet: Sometimes life gets you up a tree and you feel like you’re going nuts. Join Runi, Stella and Willy as they fight monsters and the system itself

Setting: the forest outside Metdifov

Non Player Characters:

* Chet Chittertooth
* Anaril Evanara
* Robin Treehollow
* Roxxy Haypenny

Plot Summary

Runii, Stella, and Willy begin this adventure not in their guild hall but within the forest outside of Metdifov in western Guaso. Stella and Willy have been kind enough to accompany Runii to Metdifov, where her merchant father Paolo currently resides, but also to find some beautiful flowers to give to their respective love interests. While traveling through the forest, the Kittens begin in the vast, dense Canopy Layer of these enormous trees. Stella and her footman Lenny ride on her summoned dragon Safe'ira while Willy and Runii ride on Willy’s companion Maarhgret. Runii clears the foliage using Bigby's Hand as they navigate the canopy and run into a very excited and Common-speaking brown squirrel asking for nuts. Slightly surprised but decidedly unphased by this strange animal, Stella has Lenny deliver some nuts to the squirrel, who excitedly tells them that he will invest them by giving them to Chet Chittertooth. As they speak with the squirrel, the party learns that the nuts are used as currency to trade for nest decorations, which has led to rivalry within the community and starvation since the squirrels choose to spend their nuts rather than eat them. The burgeoning capitalist society is a major red flag for Willy and Stella, who are incensed at the apparent trickery by Chet, and the party decides to try and find him in the “lid of the forest”.

The Kittens first explore the Emergent Layer in search of Chet, but the branches are very thin in this area so it’s difficult to fully break the tree tops. Stella removes her Cloak of Protection and gives it to Runii before she unfurls her dragon wings and takes flight for the first time. As she searches for a flower or two, Willy and Runii notice the sound of loud snoring and find a fat squirrel resting in the trees. They immediately think this might be Chet and call Stella down to intimidate him into answering their questions about the nut investment system. Stella obliges and, after giving a freeze-dried flower to Willy, she wakes him up. The squirrel is indeed Chet, who makes excuses and pleads for his life as they question him. They bring him down to the canopy layer and show him what his capitalistic system has created, but he doesn’t show any particular remorse. He eventually reveals that he was taught about this system and how to speak by different people and wasn’t above slavery to make sure that he got plenty of nuts without working for it himself, which only further angers the Kittens.

While questioning him, Willy notices a strange distortion in the space above one of the trees and sends his floating skull, Arae, to investigate. It disappears from view as it enters a hidden extra-dimensional space, and almost immediately, Willy senses his skull’s presence fade away, indicating that it was destroyed by something within. Incensed at the loss of his favorite floating skull, Willy enters the space to investigate, followed closely by Stella holding Chet and Runii.

The group descends into the space and find themselves in a 7 foot tall, 15 foot wide room covered in tree litter within the trunk of the tree. 15 feet ahead is a strange grey hallway, but before they can begin to investigate, Chet calls to his minions to attack the party. Incredibly strong chipmunks rustle beneath the litter and bite them, latching on to anyone they can get their little mouths on. It doesn’t take long for Runii to fall unconscious from the attack. Stella, in her rage at seeing a party member (and therefore honorary family member) fall, unleashes her full power as a half-dragon and decimates half of the Chipmunks with her frost breath and Prismatic Spray. Willy, protected by an aura of fear, revives Runii and protects her as she lets off a powerful Magic Missile to take out more chipmunks. Stella successfully intimidates Chet into calling off the rest of his minions, which allows the Kittens to easily exterminate the rest of the chipmunks and Chet himself, though Willy does decide to keep him as his new undead familiar as punishment for his crimes.

Battered and bruised, the Kittens take a short rest to recover and to lend Runii some items to help her protect herself in the future. Afterwards, they go down the hallway and find that it’s another portal that leads into a sterile grey hunting blind filled with nuts (though not as many as they had expected). After some investigating, Willy realises that the Ekenblim had created this and Runii pieces together that this was an observation deck where the Ekenblim had observed this world before they began their invasion, bringing up questions of how long the Ekenblim had truly been in Drawes. Runii casts Detect Magic and senses the faint signs of Ekenblim dust and follows it down to the forest floor, where it is covered in the stuff. As they mill around, an Ekenblim shoots past them moving at incredible speed. The Kittens follow it in hopes of catching it but only find a clearing filled with zombie forest animals. The party promptly runs away and runs into Anaril Evanara. Runii embraces her and Anaril shares that she’s here doing research on the Ekenblim dust. She hands all of them potions that restore their health but Willy notices that the potion contains Ekenblim dust. He asks Runii to cast Dispel Magic on Anaril to ensure that this isn’t a disguised Ekenblim. It isn’t. Super embarrassed now, Willy apologises as Runii and Anaril continue talking. They learn that Anaril has created an item very similar - if not identical to - the rod that Stella has, which pulls Ekenblim dust out of people. Signs of a sibling rivalry begin to show themselves, since Runii has been trying for some time to create an item that would do just that, and Stella and Willy do their best to boost Runii’s ego and encourage her after Anaril leaves. The three Kittens find comfort in their friendship and decide to head to Metdifov to see Runii’s father.

Instead of walking along the forest floor, they decide to traverse through the Understory Layer and come across a treehouse. They decide to investigate and find a human woman there who recognises Willy. She is Robin Treehollow, and as they speak, Willy realises that she was the one who taught Chet about investing, and he delivers a lengthy earful before the party refuses to help her and continues on their way to more fun and less anger-inducing locales.