Campaign 2, Episode 7: Cross Hairs

Episode 7: Cross Hairs (2x07) is the seventh episode of the first chapter of the second campaign for the Venture Maidens. The party faces off with some cackling pests before finally reaching The Witch's Brew. Who is Tandy? Where are the races being held? What is the Chef's Special? Is that Rook!?

Synopsis
Our party is overcome with dread

As vandals aim to get a head

But not long now must they look

For an ally known to Rook

Can't Touch This...Nah Nah Nah Nah!
The group finds themselves in a tightly cropped street littered with trash and debris, surrounded by a gang of cackling tiny creatures as droplets of prismatic colored rain fall from the sky. Blood drips from the back of Aoife's neck, where one of the lightning fast creatures ripped out a patch of hair before speeding off.

The party stands back to back, drawing their weapons and readying for a fight. Lu chucks her chef's knife at a passing blur, but only manages to bury it to the hilt in a nearby wine barrel. Toni' s hand shoots out to grab one, but the creature running by deftly dodges past. Using her Action Surge ability, she screams and pulls her greatsword down, barely missing the creature but causing it to stumble enough to gain a glimpse of it.

The humanoid creature stands as tall as a cat, with blue skin and white hair jutting back, as if it had been running for so long that it's hair is frozen in place, and its leather armor has been piecemealed together. It glares indignantly at the half-orc, draws tiny daggers from its belt, and tries to rapidly stab her. She laughs, until one of its daggers pierces her boot and ankle, causing her to cry out. Using the momentum, the creature stabs its other dagger into her calf and begins to climb her.

Aoife pulls out bobbins of thread that emit bright blue light as she casts Faerie Fire. The tiny blue fey swiftly avoid the illuminating particles of the spell. Not to be deterred, she draws her knife and attacks the one latched onto Toni.

Another creature comes shooting at Lu's face. She feels its fingers close around her hair and swats it away. The third creature launches from behind Toni and snatches a lock of her hair, ripping it from the root. It then whistles, gaining the attention of its companions.

Lu yells out, offering a lock of her own hair in exchange for a ceasefire. The fey consider the offer for a moment before agreeing, and taking her offering. Toni, seizing the momentary lapse in combat, asks the one that had been climbing her if it knows anything about an underground racing event. It jumps off of her, rudely shouts "NO," and the attackers take off into the night.

The Witch's Brew
The group take stock of their condition. They are all covered in various colors of paint-like staining from the rain, and two bleed from throbbing heads. A voice from a side alley asks them if they are okay and they see a woman dressed in an austere, black, long sleeved dress that buttons down the center. The woman's skin is dark brown and textured like tree bark and her large hair is a nest of thousands of delicate roots. She carries an umbrella in one hand and a bag of trash in the other.

Toni asks the stranger if she knows the way to The Witch's Brew, and the fey offers to lead them. She explains that she works there and was in the middle of taking out some trash when she heard the commotion. She asks if the party knew the Quicklings that attacked them as she ushers them out of the rain. They admit they don't, and Lu asks the woman's name.

She introduces herself as Tandy and asks the group what she should call them, subtly hinting at the proper way to ask someone's "name" in this area. Lu gives the name Marney and tells Tandy they are actually looking for her. Tandy tosses the bag of trash on top of a nearby pile and the group follows her into a beautiful Town Square.

The square is dusted with running fountains and gorgeous statuaries. The surrounding shops and boutiques are bustling with business and foot traffic. Tandy hustles towards a building entirely of wood, crowned by branches extending from the roof, as if a tree had been grown into the vague shape of a building. Frosted panes of glass have been strategically embedded into circular gaps and a sign hangs over the door that reads "The Witch's Brew".

Lu compliments the establishment and asks if Tandy owns it. Tandy admits it is her tree, as she steps inside to the tinkling sound of a bell. The inside is a combination of a tavern and a dining room, that opens much further than they initially thought. Patrons mill about furniture that has been grown directly from the wood of the hollowed out tree. Tandy waves for the party to sit at the bar as she steps behind it.

With Alcohol?
She reaches down and pulls a wide brimmed witch's hat from beneath the bar top and affixes it atop her head before offering the group some drinks on the house, in light of them being attacked.

Lu is tempted, and almost caves, but dutifully tells Tandy that none of them are hungry or thirsty. Tandy, sensing their hesitation, tells them that she won't give them the gifts for free, but they can pay for them with cool rocks, acorns, buttons, or anything else on hand.

Aoife glances around and is proud of herself for choosing the garments she wears because she fits in perfectly amongst the kitschy witch aesthetic and décor of the place. She admits to Tandy that they are new in town, and fills her in on their adventure in the Tachinid nest. The satyr further explains that they don't want anything like that happening again, so they are looking for some bounty work to help keep other people safe. She then orders something sweet and alcoholic and pays with a bobbin of robin's egg blue thread.

Tandy looks to Toni and Lu for permission before drifting off to make Aoife's drink and talk with other customers. They see that there is a Pixie bartender in a similar uniform to Tandy buzzing around serving drinks, and a very large black Wilde Cat is laid across one end of the bar. The cat stares at them judgmentally from its perch.

After a bit, Tandy returns and slides a mug in front of Aoife who immediately buries her face in a mix of milk, a sweetened coffee liquor, and a touch of alcohol in the aftertaste that has been masterfully tucked away. The bartender asks why they were looking for her, and who sent them, because they mentioned they were looking specifically for her.

The party recalls Rook's instruction not to mention her, and lies that they had heard from locals that she was the one to talk to about finding bounty hunting work. She asks why they hadn't just gone to the bounty office, to which the quick-witted Aoife responds that the office make them sign too much paperwork and they need a job immediately.

Tandy offers to ask around, but explains it might take a day to dig up some leads. Lu asks if she can find anything in an hour or two instead, but the bartender explains that she can't just leave her shift, and they are more than welcome to stay the night in one of the available rooms while they wait.

Lu offers to tend the bar in Tandy's stead so she can go find them work, much to the fey's surprise. She mentions it's a little strange to make such an offer, but she pauses to consider it.

Toni interrupts Tandy's train of thought by asking if there are any local sporting events happening in Coven. The bartender asks what kind of sport Toni was into, and the half-orc says horse racing. The fey considers the question and admits that she is much more of a theatre gal herself, but could try and dig up some information. She agrees to trust "Marney" with the bar and to find them some bounties and information on races before handing Lu her uniform hat.

As she prepares to leave, she warns that they should run if a hag shows up for them, seeing as their hair had been snatched by Quicklings and then drifts away to chat up the customers.

A large humanoid covered head-to-toe in scarlet hair approaches Lu and grumbles an order in a language she does not know. Aoife translates that he ordered two 'Smash Heads'. Lu asks the Pixie bartender what is in a 'Smash Head' and is met with questions. The drow quickly explains that Tandy left the bar in her hands, much to the fairy's dismay. She flits over and points out a bunch of bottles while rattling off measurements. By the time Lu finishes the recipe, she is holding two cups of thick porridge like substance which she hands to the creature and accepts a gold piece as payment.

Aoife ducks behind the bar and searches for a recipe book. She quickly realizes that there is no book behind the bar and goes to search for one down a hallway that leads to a kitchen full of strange creatures. The strangest is a large octopus that is moving around and stirring various pots and pans as it yells out instructions to various pixies that flit around the space.

She continues down the hall and ducks her head into various rooms, eventually peaking up the back stairs to see the guest rooms, and she decides to head back to the table. She passes a painting on the wall that catches her attention of Tandy and someone that looks very similar to Rook. Rook appears older in the painting, and her skin is made of bark and her hair of twigs, and now that she has seen them side-by-side, Aoife can see the similarity between Tandy and Rook.

The Chef's Special
Lu has had to make several drinks that she has never heard before, and is confused that some drinks she was familiar with, but the names made no sense to her. As she experiments with the new fey ingredients at her disposal, she makes and begins to offer "The Chef Special" through the help of Toni.

The new drink is a hit, and Toni quickly finds herself in conversation with a group of crystalline creatures. She finds out that they work in marketing and that they love coming to The Witch's Brew. Aoife returns and helps Lu garnish the drinks.

Eventually Tandy wanders back into the bar and congratulates them on their work. Lu tells her that she wrote down the recipe for the Chef's Special and makes the drink for the fey. Tandy immediately offers her a bartending job, and Lu has considered it, but knows she has to stick with her friends.

Wander is a Good Way to Describe It
Tandy tells them that a few clients would be arriving in the morning with possible bounties. She apologizes that she couldn't get them in any sooner, and again offers for them to stay in one of the guest rooms. She tells Toni that she heard about a shady underground racing operation, but assumes that they care about animals and have no interest in going to such an event.

Toni agrees that they do care about animals, and that was precisely why she wanted to find the race, so that she could go and see what happens from there. Tandy tells Toni that the Slithering Court has an area of abandoned buildings and empty sewer systems that likely held the event. She recommends that they not go there, since a hag still owned their hair and they were new to the area and that they should just come back tomorrow to talk to the bounty posters.

Before they depart, Aoife asks Tandy if the street lamps went out a lot, and discovers that it only happens when it rains. Tandy offers the satyr her umbrella and the party heads out to meet with Rook. It takes them a minute to see Rook on the far side of the central fountain since she is still dressed in a mask and oversized hood.

The teen congratulates them on not dying. Lu tells her that she has good news and bad news, and that they should get home quickly. Rook asks her if there was anything she needed to know immediately before their trip back and Toni fills her in on the fact that the lamps went out and the group got jumped and some hags now had their hair.

Rook asks if they got hair from all of them and Lu admits that the Quicklings had managed to snatch all three of them. They argue back and forth about the situation as they leave Coven.

Lu's Flashback
At the end of the episode we saw a flashback moment from Lu's past. The scene began with the drow locked in a dark cell, where she has clearly been suffering for some time. When things seem most grim, a scraping sound alerts her to someone tunneling through the back wall. We see an elderly halfling woman (Frida), a dwarf (Urbrun), and a bugbear (Larry) squeezed into a dug-out escape tunnel. The three carry a barely concious Lu out of the cell, and away from the hell that is her life in the Under World.

This is where our journey comes to an end, until next time! -Venture Away

Player Characters

 * Aoife Flannery
 * Lluvyras 'Lu' Ssath
 * Fittonia 'Toni' Silvertail

Non-Player Characters

 * Frida
 * Larry
 * Rook
 * Tandy
 * Urbrun

Locations

 * Coven
 * Coven Town Square
 * The Witch's Brew

Inventory
No significant change to party inventory.

Quotes
"More like Fecklings if you ask me!" -Aoife

"See, I get the vibe!" -Aoife

"Why do you even own that?" -Lu

"I'll have it with alcohol!" -Aoife

"Well that's weird...that's a weird offer." -Tandy

"I'm kind of a free spirit, so shifts aren't really my thing." -Tandy

"They stole our HhhHhAaaaaIIiIiIRRRrr." -Lu (dramatically)

Trivia
One Quickling had floppy ears, one had a lightning tattoo and was named Ziggy, and the third had a gap tooth.

The fake names that the party gave Tandy are as follows:

Toni is Franny

Lu is Marney

Aoife is Sasha

Current FECK count: