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The PCs return to the river road and emerge in front of the Sluice Gate to the River King’s Court. Strangely, Margarita has vanished, but Brave Ella has appeared – the elf ranger fell through a hole in a marshy part of the forest to find herself travelling down the river road at high speed. As Krivinn and Ella get their bearings, they are called upon to rescue the two dwarves who are floundering around hopelessly in the water. Throwing them ropes, the paladin and ranger are able to stop Bolval and Sharden drifting off towards the nasty-looking merrow lurking beneath the river’s surface.

Back together again, the party heads inside the magical castle where they persuade Rumpkin the porter (a talking bear) to let them into the Outer Courtyard, despite the protestations of Redcloak who they first met in the Golden Knight tavern in Riverbend. Inside the courtyard, Krivinn and the others talk to His Excellency Silverwing (Margrave of Ravens) and Caias Gruffkin (satyr and Royal Vintner), learning some useful information about the River King and the bad advice he’s been given by Jenny Greenteeth and Ambertan the Black Fey warlock. Knurlnap the Water Bearer tries to get the PCs to carry his tea urn but they brush him aside and head towards the drawbridge to the Inner Courtyard. Here, Sharden impresses Gumphollow the frog major domo, convincing him to let the party across.

In the inner courtyard, the PCs run into Lady Sorreminx and Sir Yngress the Red. The beautiful eladrin lady grills Brave Ella on her reasons for setting aside her badge in exchange for the Birch Queen’s. Ella explains her mistake in entering the contest to become the Birch Queen’s consort and is forgiven by Lady Sorreminx who allows the PCs to head down the stairs to the Great Rippling Hall.

In the Hall, the PCs state their case to the River King Ulorian. Redcloak speaks out against them but Lady Sorreminx backs them up, talking of their bravery in battle with Tatzel and the Nain Rouge. The River King is impressed and officially withdraws his support from Lord Flax. This angers Jenny Greenteeth (disguised as a beautfiul eladrin) who challenges Sharden to a duel. The dwarf is pulled towards the hag by her beckoning call but is able to take her down with his prayers although he is unable to use his signature power, Trumpet the Star’s Fall, in the crowded throne room. With Jenny defeated, the PCs head through one of the River King’s whirlpool portals to stop Lord Flax

Reunited with Krivinn, Sharden and Margarita arrive at a river gorge with a huge tree trunk acting as a bridge across. As they approach, they realise that death butterflies are swarming on the fallen tree, some of which gather into a humanoid shape, and that a treant stands between the party and the crossing. The PCs talk to Ashbark the wildfire treant who asks them first for healing potions, then for meat for his friend, Lord Peppick, the butterfly lord.

The party trudge off back into the forest where Sharden manages to bring down a deer with his avenging flame helped by the others. The PCs take the deer back to Ashbark who gives it to Lord Peppick. However, when the PCs try to cross the bridge the butterfly lord tells them they must swear fealty to him first. Only Sharden agrees and this isn’t good enough, although the dwarf is allowed to pass over to the other side of the gorge. Fed up with the situation, the PCs head upstream where Krivinn and Margarita cross the river using ropes.

From here, the party arrive at the fey door where they encountered the quicklings a few days ago. In the clearing they meet Bolval, a dwarven cleric of Ninkash, who says he went to sleep inside a colourful painted wagon in the forest and found himself in the Feywild when he woke up.

Krivinn steps inside the hollow tree but nothing happens but when Sharden performs the Fey Roads ritual, the dwarf is able to open the fey door leading to the Fey River Road. The PCs jump into the fairy ring and find themselves travelling at speed downriver.

After travelling some distance, the PCs feel themselves slowing down, appearing in marshy water next to the riverbank. Here they are attacked by nixies led by Lady Syllessi. Sharden kills one of the fey, then Bolval finishes off a second before Krivinn slays Lady Syllessi. The fourth nixie flees into deep water and escapes. The PCs loot the bodies, taking the fey’s aquamarine pendants and the lady’s circlet of authority. Take an extended rest.

Hrothgar opens the door to the east which leads into a cell block guarded by four Mangy Cur gnolls. Gil casts hypnotic pattern to lure two the gnolls towards it but Sora then uses call to arms to pull one of them back towards her! The other two guards attack Juma and Ulthar in the corridor from the second door, and on the next round, two more gnolls attack Gil from behind. After a fairly easy battle, the PCs are victorious and free the five slaves held in the cells – three men and two women, captured at sea by Captain Gnash or in Parsantium by the Dockside Crew.

Heading through the door at the end and then east, Hrothgar and Juma blunder into Orloch Scragmane’s slave auction. Juma teleports to attack the necromancer and his zombies watching from the stands – he kills one zombie but it reanimates and soon finds himself immobilized by the dark mage’s grave bolt. The shadar-kai also attacks the genasi, before dancing past Hrothgar to fight Sora and Gil in the corridor. Ulthar is attacked by the spectral jaws spell of a goggle-eyed kuo-toa priest while Hrothgar manages to knock Orloch prone  before finding himself surrounded by gnolls. Hrothgar is also attacked by the kuo-toa priest and ends up unconscious – he fails a death save but is healed by Ulthar. Although the PCs have killed two gnolls, both zombies and both kuo-toa guards, things are looking bleak and Gil makes a run for it. From the corridor, he magic missiles Orloch who has chased after Ulthar and Hrothgar; then Juma finishes off the gnoll slaver. The kuo-toa priest and necromancer both make final attacks on the PCs before fleeing. Sora kills the shadar-kai and the battle is over. Ulthar chops off Orloch’s head and puts it in his sack.

 

Talk to Sreedhar, the scholar they’ve rescued from the auction block – this fellow is keen to get the PCs to accompany him on an expedition to the Feyshore Forest where there is an ancient Sahasran temple to plunder. He tries to get the PCs to agree to split the profits with him 50/50 but soon settles on 15/85 when they threaten to leave him behind when they leave. Take an extended rest.

The PCs lead the rescued slaves through the sewers on their way back to the surface. En route they are attacked by a flock of kenku. Gil casts hypnotic pattern again, luring the bird-men into the poo but Sora is viciously attacked by their bloodseeker drake and goes unconscious. She fails two death saves and is knocked unconscious twice more by the drake after being revived three times by Ulthar. Hrothgar takes a lot of damage from the kenku sneak – once he’s unable to hide among his minion allies, the gnoll chases after him and cuts him down. Juma is knocked into the sewage by the kenku ringleader’s spiked chain but is able to get out by teleporting next to the drake and finishing it off. With their enemies defeated, the PCs are able to get their charges back to the Dock Ward and return to their houseboat for a wash and well-earned rest.

In the second round of the contest to become the Birch Queen’s contest, Ella is up against Oiglas the centaur’s nature stories, Sir Arnovar’s poetry, Harrowdin the Black Fey’s grim anecdotes and Sir Yngress the Red’s hunting stories. She makes it through to the third and final round with a virtuoso display of acrobatics.

Round three is an audience with the Birch Queen at her table on the Lords and Ladies Mount. The other PCs are invited too and do their best to support Ella in her conversation with the Queen but in the end the ranger balks at the one year term as consort and the Queen, perhaps fortunately, favours the charming Eagle Knight, Sir Arnovar, who has the added advantage of being male. Ella is offered and accepts the Queen’s badge.

As the PCs make their way off to bed – well, bedroll under the stars – they run into Ellessandra. More time has passed than they thought as the eladrin talks as if she and the PCs met a long time ago rather than yesterday. She warns the PCs that the River King is likely to raid Riverbend for not making the agreed offerings

Ella trades her woodcraft skills to the lone wolf, Rhorlief for the Fey Roads ritual (-1 to attack rolls, skill checks, saving throws and ability checks). The PCs then decide to leave the fair. As they head towards the exit and the ettin, they witness the arrival of Lord Flax – recognised by Margarita as the grown-up version of the young lad they met inside the mill in Riverbend. Lord Flax is recruiting fey for a raid on Riverbend and won’t be persuaded otherwise by Krivinn. Ambertan the Warlock and the Black Fey are the first to join up. As Lord Flax makes ready to petition the River King for permission to attack the village, the PCs head past Garag-Nagan and out of the fair.

Heading east along the Straight Road, the PCs turn off to visit the clearing of Tatzel the wyrm. The area is full of mist, making it hard to see. Krivinn, Sharden and Ella are attacked by the dragon’s dragonborn protectors as Koh-Bar and Margarita face off alone against Tatzel who attacks with bite, claws and dragon breath. Koh-bar is stunned by the dragon's frightful presence and then slid towards a large pit by the dragon's luring gaze. Margarita uses lead the attack and steel monsoon to wound Tatzel but both genasi and tiefling god-king are poisoned by its bite. Koh-bar who gave up a "future moment of success" at the Fair fails his saving throw to shake off the dragon’s poison.



As the battle goes on, the PCs realise that fire can clear the mist, making things easier. Once Brave Ella has killed the dragonborn attacking her, she shoots Tatzel which bloodies the dragon – a dozen kobolds spring up from his blood but luckily Sharden is able to take most of them out with taste the star’s fall. Unluckily, this fills the area up with smoke, making it hard to see again!

Eventually, the PCs force Tatzel to yield and he gives up the secret of returning to the natural world – the PCs must travel to the False Mill, following the river towards the Cedar Mountains. By swimming down to touch the millstone at the bottom of the pond, they can return to Riverbend. Koh-bar also asks how he can learn more about his godly origins – Tatzel says the Oak King might be able to answer this question.