Courts of the Shadow Fey Session 5 – Ravens and Grey Ladies

Courts of the Shadow Fey was the third 4th Edition Open Design project from Kobold Press. I ran the adventure in 2011 as part of the same Parsantium campaign as Wrath of the River King and Halls of the Mountain King.

This is a really fun but tricky adventure to run so hopefully these write-ups will prove useful to other GMs. In this session, one of the PCs (and players) made a dramatic revelation before leaving the campaign.

Begin here with Session 1 – A Chill in the Air.

---

23rd November (contd.)

Eracen offers to teach Ella the violin. The elf has a go on the instrument but only seems capable of producing a screechy “nee-how” sound. Giving up, the characters retire for the night in the guest quarters but decide to set watches.

While Ella and Sebastian are supposed to be standing guard, both drop off to sleep. When they wake up, the party’s boots and armour have been polished; a note under the door reads “leave us milk and cookies tomorrow night.“

---

24th November

The characters duel with the Ravens in the duelling grounds. Sebastian goes first, losing to Josha Migallisti. Next, Saethus and Khuma both draw with the shadow fey. Krivinn goes next, taking on and defeating one of the other Ravens. Finally, Khuma duels again but this time he loses.

Refusing to join the Ravens, the characters follow Eracen to the stables where Krivinn, Ella and Saethus (the high status PCs) can now see the Black Prince’s blue horse, Lazulin, and the shadow hounds of the Margreve. They talk to Kolya the Kennelmaster who asks Ella to deliver the love poem he’s written to Maurelle, one of the queen’s ladies-in-waiting. In the smithy, they meet Tenpound Hammer (aka “Nails”); the goblin is mending the monolith footmen trashed by the party earlier.

Back in the duelling grounds, a monolith footman and empty cloak move to throw Sebastian and Khuma out of the Courts, but Ella takes them both out with a twin shot.

In the kitchens, the characters meet Blazing Barda the cook and ask her for milk and cookies to leave out for the brownies. Barda asks them to pay off his debt to the donkey-headed Fordin of the East and suggests the characters should bray like a donkey when they do so. Ella isn’t fooled but gives Fordin 5 silver pieces to get the milk and cookies from the chef.

Back out in the duelling grounds, Ella defeats Sir Yngress the Red of the River Court in an archery contest. The eladrin presents her with his +3 radiant longsword, “Heartsilver”, and tells Ella that Lady Sorreminx is also here.

Khuma has some violin lessons with Eracen but isn’t any better at playing than Ella. The characters rest for the night but actually a whole week passes. They don’t recover any healing surges either.

---

1st December

Krivinn has received an invitation to come and see the Grey Ladies. Eracen offers to take the paladin and the other characters there. The musician repeats the rumour he’s heard that the Grey Ladies secretly worship Mammon – this sets the paranoid Krivinn off, prompting Saethus to tell him to “stop mentioning Mammon, you knucklehead!“

The Grey Ladies welcome the characters and ask that one of them donates 13 hairs from his or her head to be woven into the loom. Sebastian agrees, pledges allegiance to the Ladies and is given a magical cloak in return. Krivinn trades his memory of defeating the Dockside Crew in Parsantium’s Old Fishery for a future critical success. Both he and Khuma can see through the illusions hiding the Ladies’ true nature as spidery fey with six arms. The Grey Ladies ask the characters to fetch them 20 strands of horsehair from Lazulin. The characters make their excuses and leave.

Ella asks Eracen to take her to see Lady Sorreminx. The eladrin isn’t in, but her door is answered by the flirtatious Sir Yngress who chats to the ranger, telling her that other guests in the palace include an ambassador from the Nine Hells and the Cockroach Demon Akyishigal.

In the Hall of Changelings, the characters meet the dwarf scholar Narin Poolcryer who tells them about the Firebird that the Black Prince is obsessed with hunting. Krivinn challenges a tiefling, Caleb Quick to a bridge duel. Using the future moment of success he traded with the Grey Ladies, he defeats the tiefling with his first blow, catching him before he tumbles off the bridge.

The characters’ celebration is short-lived though, as Sebastian casts off his disguise, revealing himself to be a shadowy spy of the Moonlit King. He taunts the adventurers before teleporting away.

---

If you’d like to keep up to date with my Courts of the Shadow Fey campaign and other posts, please do join my mailing list – there’s a sign up form on the home page and subscribers receive a free Parsantium supplement.