The Barrens Part 3

## Episode 13 - The FeyWild West

Seline riding a dire wolf Talia arrive in the Grove. After they exchange greetings with Franya, they explain the situation and Legacy. Over tea, Franya speaks of Anthonius. He enslaved entire races of people and kept them separate. Dwarves were kept in the mines and forges under constant surveillance to ensure that they weren't going to construct anything to revolt. Humans and halflings either worked in the fields or in the great houses. Gnomes were kept in trained as servants and slaves for the dwarves. Dragonborn were kept as pets. Tieflings were treated differently. Their brothers were celebrated and praised and much was expected of them though they were never allowed to hold positions of power. A tiefling birth meant the family struck a deal with the demon. Anthonius himself had many demonic servants and associates. He never constructed a barrier (one of the crystals) the hell plane. Many of the other humanoid races were either exterminated or kept dormant for his experiments. In a chamber near the bottom in a corridor Franya never saw the end of, were thousands and thousands of Orcs, goblins, and kobolds. When he died he unleashed a curse that turned a lavish rolling hillside forest and mountains to desert. The capital city, itself was built over a lake. Talia says if they're not in the capital they're very close to it. Franya says beware of the curses and traps that her father left. A rebellion led by Gwendolyn Hammerfell forged non-bladed weapons in secret and communicated through allied tieflings. With distractions, they be able to get more weapons and supplies and even families that were moved through tunnels beneath the city. The city itself sat on an island in the lake. In the end, the rebellion marched to the emperor's bedchamber and crushed his skull. Franya had been Telu. When news reached her, knowing what would happen, she fled. Franya did meet Gwendolyn when Franya visited one of the masters at the ironworks. She remembers the fury and rage in Gwendolyn's eyes and she was being marched off to be flogged. She is sure her father also saw those eyes before his skull was caved in. Anthonius's goal in his experimentation was to get as close to god-like it's possible. He claimed if he were killed he would live on. If his body died the realm would be cursed for more than a century. She also says that Legacy was the name of one of Anthonius’s projects. The city's library had no equal. One subject they had extensive books on were the first ones. The first ones were supposedly being a pure energy that had more control over matter than any wizard. They were also closer to godhood than Anthonius could ever hope to be on his own. So he tried to convert souls into first ones. Franya reports many failures and doesn't know if he ever succeeded. Talia and Seline speak about the crystals and the warlock they killed in the desert. Anthonius despised the crystals, disliking the idea of being bound to something like that. The warlock, Franya says, was never mortal. The warlock was created to prove that it could be done. Remembering Seline trying to cure Legacy, Talia suggests the being trying to attach itself to Seline was a manufactured first one. Seline also mentions her dreams of the first ones. They compare the symptoms of Legacy and what a first one inhabiting a body would do and conclude it's the same thing. Franya explains the oil of the gods was created as a recreational drug and mild medicinal and was intended to be smoked. Talia is upset. Franya knows and has more knowledge of Legacy than anyone else but Talia knows Franya will not leave the Grove and not directly help anyone else. The awareness of this fact is why Talia can never stay in the Grove. Franya would like them to make sure a steel door with a carving of a flame is closed. Behind the door is a weapon that would be terrible in the wrong hands. They're making more excursions into the feywild and Sylvaka is exploring the realm of the Bear King. As they're getting ready to leave, Franya congratulates them and asks if they've chosen a name yet. Talia and Seline are excited to learn of Seline's pregnancy. They also learn the Church of the Mother neglected to teach Seline about pregnancy. When they return to the mansion they ask Jareth to deliver a message to Meela requesting her assistance. Talia goes out for a run to commune but not before Seline cast warding bond on her. Seline visits Brother Martin in his room where he's still eating. He claims that there's a certain gnawing feeling that comes with Legacy. Also that he used some of his… the Mother’s spells to relieve his discomfort. He is also claiming that he is conserving spells in case they need them. When Seline speaks to Rhenalle, Rhenalle says that the appetite that Brother Martin has is not a symptom of the Legacy that she’s seen. Seline relays the gist of her problem with the Broker in the feywild but Rhenalle doesn't quite understand why Seline can't just kill the Broker. Seline also tells Rhenalle about speaking to Franya and that things are a little more complicated. Rhenalle suggests that she get more clarification about what the Undertaker meant with Brother Martin. Seline tells Rhenalle about her pregnancy. Rhenalle is happy and congratulatory but then realizes how much Seline doesn't know about pregnancy. Next Seline goes to her shrine room and asks the Undertaker for clarification concerning Brother Martin. The Undertaker affirms that Brother Martin is a danger. Seline also relays Rhenalle’s request that the Undertaker not come for her anytime soon. The Undertaker's response is 3 6 1327. That's this year and today is the 4th. That date is 2 days from now. Seline contemplates this while Talia gets ensnared in a net. A man, five foot, six with a heavy limp wearing a well-tailored, heavy-duty deep navy, traveler’s cloak shirt and vest and a tricorn hat with a completely mechanical arm, leg, and eye moves around to face Talia. He says that Talia and Seline have gotten quite a bounty, especially after Kal-Undar. After hearing about it he didn't want to come into direct conflict with them hoping to instead talk. Talia decides to bite her arm knowing that some of the damage will pass to Seline through their warder bond. Alerted to the danger, Seline starts flying toward Talia. After releasing Talia from the net, he asks that Talia and Seline leave District 3. Talia explains that she's only on her current task to get to fugitive from District 1. After she claims her fugitive she'll be more than happy to be gone. He explains that often when people come in and make waves like Seline and Talia did they're there to change things. If all they’re in District 3 for is to claim a bounty, he will not pursue them any further because he doesn't want things to change. He will also discourage other bounty hunters from pursuing them as well. Before he leaves he reveals 3 huge 4-legged automatons with dual-mounted gatling guns on each before mounting a mechanical horse. He says he is the Iron Horseman before riding off. Seline and Talia discuss things that happened in the day. They decide not to do anything about Brother Martin unless he does something shady, not to tell Rhenalle about the Undertaker's date, and to try to contact the Mother tomorrow. In the morning after some discussion, Seline sets up divination in their bedroom to contact the mother to ask if Brother Martin is a danger to them. As divination completes a ball of light forms and the Mother responds:

> **The Mother**Brother Martin is dead! What inhabits his body is a bane to life. He was lured, possessed, and killed.**Seline Argent-Grey**what would you have me do?**The Mother**Destroy the creature! Do not let him reach his destination! Kill Teolyn Anthonius!

## Location

* The Grove
* The Barrens

## Characters

### Players

* Seline Argent-Grey
* Talia Argent-Grey

### NPCs

* Franya
* Rhenalle
* the Iron Horseman
* Brother Martin
* Jareth Argent-Grey
* the Mother
* the Undertaker