As the last session began, it was the 37th day of the 1st Trigon of Nool’s Influence. The party had just arisen from their sleep and were preparing to depart for Old Winterberry Keep where they were going to attempt to acquire the necessary Witch Wood for the creation of the Sickle of the Moon.
As promised, Jandr was waiting for the party and transported them to the tree line just a few hundred feet from the Keep. As the party approached the Keep, the day turned dark, cold, and rainy. A change that Jandr had warned would happen due to an ages-old curse that was placed on the Keep.
Inside, the party had little trouble finding the Witch Wood tree or catching the attention of Faelynn; the Banshee who haunted the Keep. The party treated Faelynn with the utmost respect and presented her with a beautiful piece of jewelry that Lafferty had created. Faelynn’s vanity got the better of her, and she allowed the party to leave with the necessary Witch Wood. As they departed, she warned them to never return to the Keep again.
The party returned to Winterberry now in possession of the final material required for the creation of the sickle. Jandr told them that the sickle would be completed that night during a special ceremony that would involve the entire village. They needed to wait until dark so that the ceremony could be completed under the moonlight.
Later that night as promised, the Druids gathered throughout the village; all holding candles that produced a bright white light. Jandr performed a short, but powerful ceremony that completed the Sickle of the Moon. Their quest was complete. The party was ready to return to the Kingdom of Evendor and Tionchar winery. The production of the Alim wine could proceed as hoped.
The next morning, Jandr transported the party back to Tionchar winery. There they saw that the rebuilding of the winery was complete and looked fantastic including a new manor house that was easily twice the size of the old one. Anton welcomed the party back and was very pleased to hear that the quest to acquire a new sickle had been successful. He told the party that he was busy ensuring that the Alim wine crop would be ready for the Githinthor’s arrival during the Festival of Death. He felt good about the amount of Alim wine they would have ready.
After settling in, the party traveled into the City of Evendor to confer with the Penumbra bards and the Vanguard. They learned that Lord Falmorn Riovar had disappeared from Evendor castle, but was believed to still be hiding in the city. As well, they learned that a bounty hunter called Haze was looking for Nightingale.
The party traveled to the Fortune and Luck Smoke Shop where, in a roundabout way, Elim Brushbelly confirmed that Falmorn would come to visit them. Sure enough, late that evening Falmorn arrived at the winery disguised as a delivery man from the smoke shop. He told that party that he was now sure that King and Queen Evendor were imposters. He had learned from eavesdropping on the imposters that they were working for King Graynor Wilhorn of the Kingdom of Wilhorn. Falmorn believed that the real King and Queen were with Wilhorn, so he was heading there to see what he would find out. He asked that the party not provoke the situation until he knew the fate of the King and Queen. With that, Falmorn departed.
The party enjoyed the rest of the evening eating, drinking, and talking about all that was going on around them. Each had things they felt they needed to sort through before the arrival of Maggie and the Githinthor to collect the Alim wine. Nightingale and Landis decided to head to the City of Alagon with a few stops along the way to check in with old friends. A chance for Nightingale to check in with the College of Penumbra, and a chance for Landis to complete some much-needed research. Douglan and Lafferty decided to stay at the winery. A chance for Douglan to see what he might find out about the Dooms and the imposters, and a chance for Lafferty to learn about the making of the Alim wine and complete a few of his outstanding projects.