Solo session report (narrative style): Anne Marie vs. Delion Dryad

[HikariStarshine]

Ah, you've noticed the ruins, overgrown as they are… You're researching the Fall of Shadowbrook, you say? Yes, I can tell that tale, certainly…

The children were the first to notice. Trees moving when they oughtn't, strange sounds in the forest… But not the sort of things that anyone would be expected to pay much heed to. After all, they were just children. But it's the duty of a teacher to find out why all the children are scared, so it seemed fitting that I spend some time investigating.

Magistrate Kroft… A hedonistic man, certainly, and prone to fanciful acts. My first thought was to ask him about it; after all, once in the past he was known to have masterminded a bout of trickery that resulted in most of the town's youth convinced that a werewolf lived in Sebastian Skinner's Inn. Of course, it was just him in a costume… But this time, there was no such explanation; he had a sound alibi, albeit a rather racy one that I feel no need to repeat here. However, I was a gossipy sort, and would gladly have pressed for more information had a panicked villager not run in, crying out that a tree had just maliciously destroyed the front porch of the Inn.

Perhaps a foolhardy move, but of course I set out to investigate; if nothing else, my belief in the primacy of science over folklore and superstition guided my quest to get to the bottom of this whole lunacy. It made no sense that anyone could believe such things… what a fool I was.

Being new to town, I suppose it's understandable that I took a wrong turn as I crossed the bridge out of town, and wound up lost in the woods. Well… I say that, but in retrospect, it was only proper that I found my way there… I was simply too early. But, being totally turned around, it wasn't until I crossed the marshes and found my way back to town that I realized I was going the wrong way. I had found a stash of British gold in the forest, however, and upon my return to Shadowbrook, proceeded to spend it on tomes of local knowledge and lore, so that I might not make a fool of myself. You see, the trees had indeed taken to moving about, and seemed to be following my earlier path; not only was one quite set on destroying the Magistrate's office, but a crashing sound seemed to herald the destruction of the very bridge I had crossed before, and another was attacking the Town Hall!

I couldn't begin to explain how, but somehow, the town lore gave me the power to drive away the trees… at least from Town Hall. Somehow, they seemed *betrayed* that I would do so… Not that I could talk to trees. But I gathered up what branches I could, and set out to find someone who might know what they might mean. The priest was of no help… In fact, he seemed quite out of sorts; his eyes had gone the strangest forest green color, and he cursed me for bringing him the branches. I had far better luck upon reaching Hanbrook Manor; Lord Hanbrook was quite open about his worries, and told me much of what I needed to know about the tales of the Delion Dryad.

Oh, the Dryad? An enchantress who was said to live in the woods around this ruined town… No, no, it was much later that I understood what he was telling me. Please, let me finish my tale, though.

Lord Hanbrook also showed me the secret passage he had put in, which led to the Monastery outside of town. A curious sort of place to build a passage to, but he confided that the Lady didn't trust the priest in town, so they took communion elsewhere. I wouldn't have made use of it, but word was coming in that the trees were on a murderous rampage in town… hardly the sort of place for me to return to. So, I traversed the underground passage instead, in the hopes of finding some clues as to what might have been happening, once I was outside of town and closer to where the first attack occurred.

I suppose I must have done something wrong, as things went quickly awry as soon as I set food in that cursed place. Almost immediately upon exiting the passage, a crazed, possessed monk tried to spread his condition to me… But again, I fended off the danger, finding a scroll left in his wake, filled with deep Magicks… the sorts of things that one shouldn't find in a God-fearing place.

Oh, didn't I mention that I'm skilled in the art of Magick? It's no more unknowable than the sciences… One simply must understand the rules. Please, allow me to finish.

It seemed appropriate for me to travel across Echo Lake to the island in the center; there were strange sounds coming from it, and it was easier to find a rowboat than to pick my way through the forest to the Inn. The way was more clear, as well, and one can hardly expect to feel safe hiding from walking trees among trees. It wasn't long before the forest on that island came to life around me, though, whispering strange things that I could not understand, and I blacked out… I dreamed long, of living trees and the Magicks that control them, coming to my senses within the walls of the monastery once more. Perhaps returning to the island quickly was a poor choice; I was set upon once more on my return, by a foul cultist, shouting in a strange language… but that whispering came again, the trees moving to take him as I blacked out once more, dreaming in even more detail…

My next attempt at investigating that strange island was more successful; I was slower, more careful, and avoided anything unfortunate. Indeed, I found pages from a journal left by an earlier explorer, with more clues as to how the living trees work, and indeed a note informing me that the only way to stop them was to go to their source, in the woods where I had begun. Satisfied, I went to return to my boat, only to hear that whispering once more… and this time, I did not black out. I found myself face to face with the Dryad herself, but nothing I did seemed to faze her, and she simply laughed at my attempts. To taunt me so… but I was allowed to escape, returning quickly to the monastery.

Upon my return, I found myself face to face with the town Doctor and Lady Hanbrook. To say that the results were undesirable would be… quite an understatement. The Lady pointed at me, shouted something that sounded much like what the cultist had said when he attacked me, and pulled a large knife… only to be cut down by the Doctor, his eyes just as green as the priest's, before he ran into the forest outside and vanished.

Yes, I am aware that I have very green eyes. Do you know that you are very good at interrupting?

I followed the Doctor out of the monastery, doing my best to keep up with him. He was better than I at traversing the path, however, and I lost him just before reaching the Inn where that first attack had been. It seemed reasonable to investigate that place in search of clues, as well, and what I found within was startling, to say the least. The place had been abandoned and locked up, of course, but the room that the trees had opened to the outside was easy to enter. It was full of mirrors, reflecting the dim light of the setting sun and catching me in all different angles… It was the strangest thing, though; in some of the mirrors, the Dryad herself stared back at me. It shook me, certainly, and I exited that place quickly. I knew now that I had but one chance, that I had to go to the Woods and end this.

My path was blocked by the walking trees, of course, but strangely, they stood aside with nothing more than that strange whispering… And it was not long before I was standing at that crossroads in the Woods once more, facing the Dryad as she stood, chanting spells that I could not hope to understand… The Doctor and the Priest were at her side, as was a monk from the Monastery… and though the arrival of the town midwife, Lord Hanbrook, and even the hedonistic Magistrate gave me some cause for hope, the dark Magicks of the Dryad crept around them as they approached, and their eyes, too, became the green of the Forest, and they, too, were held by her power.

Oh, how I fought. Some of the local militia were on hand, and tried to help, but what use are muskets against trees? And then that whispering once more, from all around now, as the image of the Dryad faded… And I looked at myself, confused… And in that moment, I realized who I was… What I had been doing… what I had yet to do.

After all, the most powerful of Magicks require a blood cost, do they not? And my trees grow so well with such a sacrifice… The town elders died by my hand, that day, those who had not been slain by those under my spell, briefly as I may have needed it. And the next day, the roots grew under the town, my trees drinking deeply of the blood that the villagers provided… willingly, under my spell.

Which brings me to you, I suppose… Yes, I'm aware that you knew all along who I am. It's difficult to hide the way my skin looks now… difficult to hide the leaves that are part of my hair. But you shall do ever so nicely for what I require, and I suppose it's my own vanity that led me to tell you all of that first… I have need of a new guard, you see, as you put an axe through the trunk of my old one a few hundred times. No, no, quit screaming. Don't make me...

Aha, that's better... I can put up with a gurgle like that, for a few minutes. So nice, what happens when the throat is damaged that way. Now, do you see those roots, growing so quickly through your flesh? You really ought to look, it's quite beautiful if you ignore all the blood…

---

Obviously, that's not a comprehensive report of the entire session... I left out anything that didn't affect the narrative, after all, and there was rather a lot of that. For anyone interested in the raw notes I took while playing (which are utterly comprehensive; not all of the raw data is there, but every card drawn, every card played, and the number of successes on every skill check are there), here's the file.

Personally, I think the narrative is more fun.

[Old Dwarf]

Great I love Narrative in a Session Report & AToE just generates really good Narrative.
Interesting I never read a Session Report for AToE from the Villains point of view....Well Done.

OD

[vikinglad]

Great story! I think my favorite part was when you got knocked out on the Forbidden Island, and dreamt of magick trees. The end was pretty gruesome and fun too. +1 rep from me. I really enjoyed this. ATOE is a great game that lends itself well to this sort of report.

[HikariStarshine]

(07-15-2012 06:57 PM)Old Dwarf Wrote:  Interesting I never read a Session Report for AToE from the Villains point of view....Well Done.

OD

After looking at how things played out in the game (especially the early part where the trees were following Anne-Marie around)... It just seemed fitting that she herself was actually the villain. She certainly had a big enough pile of evidence by the end (seriously, I had a ton of Investigation tokens...)

Plus, if you look at the raw data... The two rounds of the Showdown resulted in first reducing the Dryad to 1hp, then killing all the elders in one big hit before the Dryad obliterated my own wounds. If I'd gotten one more hit in during the first round, I could've at least defeated the Dryad at the same time as the Shadow track passed 0, as one of the 'Elders' at the end was the corrupted Guide (and thus not linked to the Shadow track), but I think I liked the way it actually *did* play out more.


On a more general note... Is it actually possible to defeat the Dryad in single-hero solo play? It doesn't seem like you can do much more than hold steady without some *very* lucky Lair deck shuffling, what with the Living Trees coming onto the board in every single round, and sapping Shadow points if you don't kill them.

[Old Dwarf]

The Dryad is a real bear I did a Session Report a
few pages back:

http://www.thezombiegame.com/forums/Thre...wich-Dryad

Using her & I remember all those living trees,She won
that Game to.

OD