Having recovered from a backlog of digests, I thought I'd add comments on two items.
Around the Crypt of the Black Queen to the north of Hortugarth in Imther, you can find the Black Mice that gnaw every night on the crypt's walls. They are never found anywhere else in Imther, yet the local farmers make a daily offering of a crumb of cheese to keep the Black Mice from their homes. The lords of this village in Isildon Heights laugh at the superstitions of these humble folk. Yet they, too, have their daily rituals for they overlook the Isildon river and every now and then, the river is known to spawn the hated Black Eels which attack the best river fish if these rituals are not maintained.
I concur with Nick's assessment. Generally my Spirit Plane is somewhat
dreamlike. I include the following pieces from a recent episode in my own campaign, that include the descriptions of the local Spirit Plane area (in the region of Amber Fort, a new Imtherian village along the Elf Sea in Balazar--a setting that will soon make its debut in v2 of New Lolon Gospel). Generally, the geography of the Spirit Plane more or less corresponds to that of the mundane plane in my settings. However, sometimes you can't see beyond a specific hill or valley in the Spirit Plane, though you normally could or the sky could be dark when it should be light, etc.
"After arriving at the site, the party noted that there were remains of
a campfire in the clearing. Nordicus, investigating, found the remnants
of some plants within the fire. Looking around the clearing, they found
some silver flowered plants that seemed to match those from the fire....
After a brief discussion, the group built a fire and placed three of the
plants upon the fire to ascertain the effects. Smoke suddenly billowed
from the fire, engulfing the party.
"They seemed to be in the same clearing, but the sky looked brighter and
bluer and the trees and grass looked richer and greener. No fire burned
here though. Shortly after Ebony caught the scent of an animal, one
appeared--a red fox. They were all taken aback when it spoke to them
clearly asking who they were. It said in response that it was called
"Red Fox" and wondered why they were in the clearing.
[The party entered into discussion with Red Fox as they were seeking to exorcise a spirit possessing one of their companions. Red Fox gave such after the party agreed to gamble for it.]
"Red Fox revealed that the Hunter could cut the spirit from Grucius.
The Hunter could be found upon the Beacon Hill which was a hill of no
trees that was always dark and never light, though a fire always burned
upon it. To summon the Hunter they must burn four woods upon the Beacon
fire, those of Pine and Oak, Willow and Moonwood. To command the Hunter
they must say "Kneel". If they did, the Hunter must accede to the order
and must accept one command....
"The group debated what to do after Red Fox departed. Taniya suggested
that since they seemed to be in the world of spirits, that perhaps they
could imagine where they needed to be and get there more directly.
Holding hands and focusing thoughts, they tried this tact. Edardos,
Morrigan, and Taurus, along with Grucius succeeded and found themselves
upon a hill of no trees where the sky was dark on which a fire burned.
They looked for Taniya and Ebony, but without success, for their
imaginations were less vivid.
"[they] could hear Nordicus, but couldn't see him. They looked and
looked, until suddenly Morrigan realized that the voice was coming from
the fire. They looked closer and say Nordicus, though very small,
trapped within a cage of fire in the midst of the larger beacon fire.
Morrigan shouted "You fool! You pictured yourself in the midst of the
fire!"...
[The group realized they did not know what Moonwood was. They sought
out the Horned Owl first and then the Red Fox for aid.]
"[they learned] that at the base of Beacon Hill was the Black Stone
Gate. There may be crows upon the gate. These are Shorty's spies.
[Shorty is a figure as yet unknown to the party, but who seems to have a
sinister reputation on the Spirit Plane.] They must sneak by or kill
the crows, else they'll raise an alarm and alert Shorty. Then they must
go through the gate to the Dark Pool. There are two rocks to step
across, but beware the water for it causes forgetfulness. Past the Dark
Pool is the path through the Dark Woods. They must find the Skeleton
Trees and once those are found they must find the Oldest Oak. At the
base of the Oldest Oak is the cave in which they can find the Lady of
the Dark Cave.
[The party descended the Beacon Hill and reached the Black Stone Gate after disposing of the crows there.]
"Once the crow was gone, they all passed through the portal and stood
before the gate. The gate itself was black stone, dull and
unreflective. It seemed old, as old as time itself, though nothing grew
upon it. Through the gate was darkness. The group entered.
They found themselves in an entryway beyond which was a dark pool. Two
stones provided a path across the pool. Keeping their warning in mind,
Taniya flew across the pool with a rope. This was used to aid any who
needed such to cross (i.e. those Taniya could not carry across). One of
these was Nordicus.
[Taniya is a Carmanian sorceress who happens to know the Fly spell.]
"But Nordicus slipped upon a rock and splashed into the water. He shook
himself and stood up and crossed. He thought there was something he had
forgotten, but could not think of what it was. He knew who he was and
where he was and otherwise appeared fine, though, so the group went on.
"They continued on down a path through a dark woods, eventually coming
to the place where the skeleton trees grew more abundant. Here they
thought to question the Horned Owl further. But when Nordicus thought
upon it, he found himself sitting in one of the skeleton trees with a
living skeleton of an owl. He asked several questions, but the owl just
hooted in response. Nordicus came down and rejoined the others.
"They finally spotted three large oaks amidst the trees. All had raised
roots under which a person could pass into the dark hollow beneath.
Using a rope they determined that one tree was much larger than the
others and that this must be the oldest oak. It was determined that
Morrigan, as a potential Keeper of Dire Secrets, was the one who should
enter the cave. She did.
"Within the cave, Morrigan talked with the Lady of the Dark Cave. What
was said was unknown, Morrigan said later it was secret, though she did
learn how to get the Moontree wood. However, Morrigan's long hair was
cut--a fact which shocked Nordicus since she could no longer braid it
for their wedding (though with luck it might grow back out by
Stormseason).
[Hairbraiding is something done only when a woman marries in Imther. A woman with unbraided hair is normally considered a child.]
"...they returned to the top of Beacon Hill. There Taurus took up the
Willow wood, Taniya the Oak wood, and Edardos the Pine wood. Morrigan
sought to find the Moontree wood, but alerted Nordicus to knock it from
her hands when it appeared. It did and Nordicus did. The others cast
in their woods. The flames brightened quickly in a great crackling
bonfire blaze. The flames and smoke spired upward, twirling around and
around until they wrapped around a huge man who stepped out of the fire.
"This was clearly the Hunter. He was 7' tall with 10pt antlers rising
high from his brow. His red eyes were of flame and his hair and beard
were flowing black as night. He carried a barbed spear in his right
hand. A whip hung at his belt, as did a dagger and a hunting horn.
"Morrigan (?) promptly said, "Kneel."
"The Hunter did so before her. She commanded the Hunter to cut the frog spirit from Grucius and allow his own soul to refill the body. The hunter rose then and took his dagger from its sheath. He walked to Grucius. Then speaking an unknown word, he plunged the dagger into Grucius' right shoulder, tearing down towards the elbow. frog-Grucius shuddered and jerked and then they saw a spirit leap out of Grucius upon long legs. Grucius' form, previously taking on the shape of the frog spirit, seemed to twist and reshape before his eyes blinked alert.
"The Hunter meanwhile sheathed the dagger and took his horn from his
belt. He blew upon it three times and then walked down the Beacon Hill
away from the group. As they watched him depart though they heard the
baying of hounds in the distance, getting closer...."
[The group was able to envision an entry back to the mundane plane through which they passed before most of the hounds reached them. One hound did reach them, but passed through the portal too and ran off elsewhere. The hounds in this case belong to Shorty, not the Hunter.]
HaraldR ("warrior-prince" according to my Danish language sources)
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