Chapter 3: Trouble in Summerwood

With treasure in hand, the Pushermen return to the city of prophecy, the Prophecity. No matter where you are in the city, you can see the Beardspire, the upside-down beard-shaped building at the center of the Academy district. In the main courtyard in front of the spire is a 40' golden statue with barely an impression of a face, standing straight up.

The Beardspire entrance is wreathed in braided white hair. When the heroes approach, the lobby inside fades to black and the main chamber of the Council of Ioun fades in. Inside is an octagonal table with a crystal structure floating in the center. The highest members of the council stand at their approach.

The greatest among them, the man so wise he has three beards, is Steven Spellberg. His advisors are Martin Sorcer-ese, Robert Zemagickis, and M. Knight Shazamalan. They were mostly included just to make the joke.

The Pushermen present their findings. The box Arcanus carried inside his coffin. Spellberg sighed as he handed it off to have its hex removed but was otherwise pleased with the discovery. Chrome handed him the skull of the random nobody from the fake sarcophagus, and he said he'd have a historian look at it just in case.

Pleased with what they've done, Spellberg offered a favor to each of the heroes. Chrome had his chest compartment upgraded to extra-dimensional space. It could store anything that would fit through the roughly 12" opening. Ka-Moh had the pipe he took from the Killer Queen enchanted to let him speak draconic whenever he smokes. I would tell you what the other two got, but I don't remember, and it doesn't look to be marked on their character sheets. Other than that, some gold was dumped on random equipment upgrades.

The Pushermen stopped in for a drink at the Prophecity's #1 bar, The Chosen One. Seated at every table was a dark brooding mysterious figure who would mumble about their heroic destiny and their tragic past. Except it was obvious everyone was only pretending. And should anyone mention a great deed or a past war, voices from every direction would cry out about their own deeds and what wars they fought in. "No war was so horrific as the one that no one remembers," intones a shadowed figure probably voiced by Steve Blum. "I fought in 37 wars, and they all lasted for a billion years!" shouted another.

After things settled down, the Pushermen caught word that there was trouble in the town of East Hope. Cleary a job for heroes! They went back to Spellberg to possibly snag some free horses, but he could only let them borrow his private magical coach. Fine by them. On the way to East Hope, they passed an elf on horse apparently played by Dr. Chase from House. Sometimes voices just come out. He let them know of the ice dragon that was frightening the town and had frozen over the Summerwood to make a new home, and that East Hope was offering a reward for its head. Ka-Moh knew he had to prove his might against this dragon, whether it was the one he hunted or not.

The party was stopped at the gate into East Hope to have their bags inspected. There had been a recent string of thefts, and everyone got questioned and inspected as they entered. In spite of that, the town was positively full of people moving about and trading (and stealing) goods. In fact, Ka-Moh had one of his money pouches stolen by a little girl who tried to run, but they cornered her inside a wrecked mansion and forced her to give the money back. Before she could be turned in, she wrestled her way out and disappeared into the nearest crowd.

The Pushermen settled down for a drink in The Wishing Well. Each table inside had a well in the center to drop coins into, and drinks would appear with a small pop. A sign by the door read, "A wish and a coin are all you require, for any fine beverage you may desire." It was here they found out about the local church's plight. Dozens of citizens were sick with something called the caffeine curse and were unable sleep. The church was expecting a shipment of medicine that never came and were down to their last healing salves. The forest was the shortest route through, and the supplies never made it.

The sign in front of the church had rewards posted for the dragon's head and the salves, and also a request for information about warhorses that were stolen from the local militia.

They made it to Summerwood late that night. The ground was covered in snow and ice, and the trees were weighed down under thick layers of ice. Not far into the forest, Samel found a ring of mushrooms, just a few feet wide, giving of waves of Fey magic. Carefully stepping inside it, he felt it giving off healing energy and quickly stepped out again so not to use up the magic before it was needed.

Ahead, they noticed two mounted figures in the dim moonlight and crept closer. The horses were saddled up just like the ones East Hope soldiers ride, but their riders were certainly not as well dressed. Confident they found the stolen horses, the Pushermen attacked and positively destroyed one bandit but left the other alive for questioning. But their persuasion attempts didn't work, so they kept him prisoner to drag back to town later to prove their innocence if they needed to.

Pressing on, they saw a druid woman kneeling down to inspect something on the ground. Ka-Moh approached cautiously but found her to be a little too transparent for his comfort. A specter materialized in front of the party and shot waves of psychic energy at them, knocking them to the ground. Recovering quickly, they banished the incorporeal beings into oblivion and found a holy Raven Queen symbol Samel could use to enhance his powers. Samel was pleased.

Umm. And then we wrapped up! End Chapter.