Session 8: Corster’s Debt

Road to the Mirkwoods

TONE: Tension building. Corster is not what he
appears; the Mirkwoods are not safe;
the locket matters more than anyone knows.

Enter Corster Fre

Corster Fre is a Summer Eladrin — tall, angular, with the kind of
beauty that makes mortals nervous. He appears during the party’s rest,
standing in the middle of their camp with the specific stillness of
someone who is very good at not being noticed until they choose to
be.

‘You burned six of my apple trees,’ he says, without preamble or
visible emotion. ‘I’ve been growing that particular
cultivar for three hundred years. The apples were not merely
fruit. I want them replaced. As that is impossible, I will accept an
alternative service.’ He produces a scroll. ‘There is a silver locket in
the Mirkwoods. It belonged to a witch named Amaranth
Nettleweed. Two children stole it — Hansel and Gretel.
You will retrieve it. In exchange, I will share information about a
missing princess that you may find useful.’

DM NOTE: Corster is a Seelie Court agent working to rebind Dagon by
collecting the five binding foci. He knows about the locket — it is
Amaranth’s foci, the one representing Discernment. He does not tell the
party any of this. He is using them because he cannot enter the
Mirkwoods himself (old Feywild treaty; Summer Court agents are barred
from that forest after an incident several centuries ago he will not
discuss). Everything Corster does is in service of a larger goal. He is
not cruel, but he is not above using people.

The Mirkwoods: Getting There

The road to the Mirkwoods takes one day. As they approach, the forest
changes: the birdsong stops first, then the wind. The trees grow denser
and darker. At the treeline, stone statues of animals — foxes, deer,
birds — are arranged in a loose ring, all facing inward. DC 12 Arcana:
they were placed to warn, not to guard.

• Eerie whispers in the undergrowth: DC 13 Perception to locate the
  source — river sprites, not hostile, repeating fragments of old
  conversations they have overheard

• Podwick the Korred appears — a small, boulder-shaped fey creature
  with rock-hard fists and a disposition for blunt honesty. He has been
  sent by Corster to observe. He will not lie about this if asked
  directly. He chews on a piece of flint constantly.

DM NOTE: Podwick is the party’s conscience in this arc. He is
disgusted by the deal they will eventually make with Dagon and will
leave them when they make it. He is not wrong to leave. His departure
should sting.

• Reaching the Mirkwoods: 150 XP

• Finding Podwick and getting him to cooperate: 100 XP