Act Four: The Treehouse

DH QS · p.33

the treehouse

ACT FOUR

The Whitefire Arcanist

Read the following aloud:

Making your way past the homes of the village, then through the farmlands of Hush, you see a variety of crops that have begun to cultivate a thin layer of glowing blue moss over the top of their fruits and vegetables. They pulse softly like a heartbeat as you pass. Among the thriving groves, you notice that the Sablewood trees in this area have hundreds of unique faces carved into all sides, the eyes peering in every direction. One tree, taller than the rest, bears the Arcanist’s home, like an overripe fruit. It hangs from a braid of rope, as wide around as a giant’s forearm, tied to a massive branch and counterweighted by a cabin-sized bolder lying at the base of the tree. The stone is marked with a collection of symbols and the cabin windows flash with a soft, yellow-green light. What would you all like to do?

Give the players the option to roleplay and problem solve. Use the section below as guidance, or create your own.

If they try to call to the Arcanist from below, there is no response, but the light within still flickers.

If they try to cut the counterweight rope, it will immediately blast them backwards a few feet, dealing a point of Stress.

If they try to climb the tree, its an Agility Roll with a difficulty of 13. On a failure, a limb of the tree grabs them, gently sets them down on the forest floor, then resumes its original form.

When they finally do something to successfully get the

Arcanist’s attention, use the following to describe her as she emerges from her cabin to greet them.

A seven-foot mix of humanoid and firefly, the Arcanist is a faerie that moves in a combination of both very slow and suddenly jerky motions. Though her expressions are difficult to read, her emotions are very clear in her voice. She is old but spry, and she eyes the group mischieviously. “Are you the group Emeris sent from the capital? Oh my, you’re rather late aren’t you. Come in, come in.” As the Arcanist lowers her home and invites you inside, you’ll notice the treehouse is surprisingly spacious. The main room is a crowd of potion bottles, spellbooks, runes, plants, and small creatures of all kinds. But, no one could classify this place as messy. It’s clear that if anyone moved a single item even an inch, the old faerie would notice.

The Package

Let the players roleplay with the Arcanist. Make her curious about their journey, the NPC who directed them towards her house, and how each of them have imagined they might die one day. Once she’s had enough conversation, the Arcanist will ask about the package from King Emeris. In order to inspect it in safety, she will magically unfold her home as if it were a blossoming flower. She’ll hurry the players to get the crate inside before closing the cabin back up, now just a bit bigger. When she opens the delivery, read the section below aloud:

Inside King Emeris’ package lies a massive stone with a lion’s face carved into it. Marlowe, you recognize this as the keystone of the capital city gate’s main archway. The Arcanist nods sagely as soon as she sees it, saying: “Of course the King would keep this delivery secret. If anyone knew your city was no longer warded, you would be conquered before sunrise.” With this ominous warning, she starts to unfurl her treehouse yet again. “We must travel to the Open Vale to revitalize the ward. But such an effort of magic will attract dangerous creatures from the darkest reaches of the Sablewood. I’ll need your help.”

If the players seem enthusiastic about helping, you should cut straight to the Open Vale, transitioning into Act Five. Otherwise, you can encourage the players to describe their time traveling with the eccentric Whitefire Arcanist.

No extracted maps for this adventure — the map is in the source book: Open source p.33