Continuing my telling of the tale of our Smurfs RPG mini-campaign, 'The Smurfs and The Palace of the Silver Princess', here is Session Two, Part 1.
You can find tour party of Smurf Adventurers here:
You can find the recap of Session One here and here:
Part 2: Singing The Blue
I would like to point out, as I should have on my previous posts, that these recaps are obviously not a play-by-play of every moment in the game. I have edited out most of the 'rules talk', many discussions both in and out of character, and some of the finer points of world-building for the purposes of retelling the key parts of the adventure within a reasonable amount of words.
If you dear reader have any questions about anything I have potentially glossed over, please feel free to ask me questions in the comments.
Onward...
Our band of Smurf adventurers now stood on the damp forest floor facing a trio of green clad warriors an apple taller than themselves. They all carried swords, though the fairy in the center had a larger and fancier one than the others.
It was she who spoke first. "We are The Protectors of Haven. Who blows the Protectors' Whistle who is not themselves a member of our order?"
"I do! Brash Smurf!", exclaimed Brash as he quickly stood up and tried to achieve a heroic stance. Unfortunately his balance was more than a little wobbly, still in pain from being flung by the rat they'd encountered. Smurfcornflower came in his aid, subtly helping to keep him upright.
Suave put his hand on Brash's shoulder, smiled at him and Cornflower, noddled reassuringly, and stepped forward. He removed his hat and bowed low with a deep flourish. "Enchanté! My name is Suave Smurf. These are my companions - Brash, Smurfcornflower, Apathy, and Smurfhoneysuckle. We have been sent here by our elder, Papa Smurf, who received a vision from...well I assume from you. We, the five of us, also had visions...dreams really...and we want to help. We want to aid Haven and The Princess Argenta. How may we serve?"
The First Fairy whispered, "Smurfs...so these are Smurfs."
The Third Fairy squeaked with joy, "Ah! Of course! It worked! The Mistress will be pleased."
The Second, Middle Fairy, spoke up with clarity and calm, "Well Smurfs, we are very happy to have you in our land. Follow us; we'll take you to the Mistress Knight Commander."
With that, the three Protectors stepped off the ground and floated a dozen apples or so over the Smurfs' heads, proceeding westward, trailing faint sparkles of pixie dust that twinkled in the late afternoon sun. The Smurfs exchanged glances and then proceeded to accompany the green fairies.
After some time, though it was impossible to say how much, they all arrived in a tiny clearing surrounded by small mushrooms and lit by hovering fireflies. There were a good number of Protectors in and above the clearing, all looking practically identical except for one:
With the kind of pomp and circumstance afforded royalty but abridged for time due to the dire situation, the Smurfs were introduced to The Mistress Knight Commander of the Protectors of Haven. She was in turn introduced to them, far more humbly, by Suave Smurf. While regal of bearing and disciplined in demeanor, the Mistress Knight Commander smiled warmly at the Smurfs.
She spoke softly but clearly, "Long ago, when I was a Protector in training, I met a young Smurf who was wise and kind and we became fast friends. We were only in each others company for a short time but we connected. We shared dreams and formed memories. Sadly, it has been a tree's age since last we saw each other."
"Papa Smurf?", whispered Suave to the rest.
"I guessed, and rightly so it seems, that if I called out to him he would hear my plea. I can not thank him, and all of you, enough for coming all this way to help us", the Mistress said sweetly. This was followed by her motioning them all to sit down on rocks or the forest floor. Other fairies, less armed and armored, brought tea and water to the assembly. Once everyone had settled and felt as comfortable as possible, the Mistress Knight Commander began to tell her tale...
The story was a sad and tragic tale; when Princess Argenta announced her pending marriage to Sir Ellis, The Dragon Rider Knight, the Dwarfs of Thundertop Mountain were so happy for her, for the couple, that they gifted her a spectacular gem. They called it the 'Lady's Heart', a round ruby the size of a large plum. What they didn't know is that the jewel already had a name...The Eye of Arik.
Once used to replace the right eye of Arik the Vile, a powerful and terrible giant who terrorized these lands many centuries ago, the ruby 'waited' until the day of the wedding before it struck. It released a spell of dark magic that trapped all within the castle inside a crimson glow. Anyone trying to escape would be drained of their life essence, either driving them mad or transforming them into the undead. The same is true for anyone from the outside trying to enter through the deep scarlet veil.
Well...aside from those with ill intent.
Based on what the Protectors have witnessed, Bandits, Goeblins, and other nasties have been able to come and go as they please. Perhaps the purer of heart you are the harder it is to pass through the jewel's curse? Uncertain.
"We faced a rat with a red glow in its eyes. It seemed more angry than hungry. When Brash blew your Protector's Whistle, it lost that glow and appeared confused", said Apathy quite plainly.
"Hmm", Suave contemplated, "honored hosts, have you tried to blow those enchanting whistles near the castle? Perhaps if several of you sounded in unison it might weaken the barrier."
The Protectors (and Stephen the GM!) were taken aback by the Smurfs' idea. The Fairies admitted they had never tried that before but they were aware of their whistles' ability to free animals from madness and even drive off evil spirits and undead.
"May I...may we...keep this one Protector's Whistle Mistress Knight Commander? It could be of great use in freeing of the Silver Princess and her Palace", asked Brash, trying to rein in usual bravado. Many of the Protectors glared at him. Others, including their leader, gave a faint smile as they were impressed by the Smurf's bravery and cleverness.
"Very well", the Mistress Knight Commander began, "You may."
The Smurfs, the Mistress, and a good number of her Protectors discussed the situation further and made plans to head to the palace at dawn. The Fairies invited the Smurfs to stay at their camp for the night.
Honeysuckle was able to restock some provisions. The Protectors' Healers shared some of their medicinal herbs and mosses with Cornflower. Brash talked fighting styles and tactics with the Mistress' Second-in-Command. Suave filled in a captivated audience of Green Fairies on the finer points of Smurf Culture. Apathy was there as well (Haha!). *
As evening became night, all assembled had a meal together and then the Smurf party had a good night's sleep inside a surprisingly spacious tree trunk.
The next morning a troupe of Green Fairies from the Protectors of Haven escorted our Smurf adventurers to the Palace of the Silver Princess. Upon arrival our heroes prepared for the plan they devised the day before. As several of the Protectors took flight and positioned themselves near the portcullis at the castle's entrance, the Smurfs stood in a straight line, one after another. The front gate was raised half-way, giving anyone ample access were it not cursed by evil magics.
Cornflower pulled out her last alchemy bottle, a Potion of Invisibility! I convinced the GM to let me have five uses of it instead of our agreed upon three at the cost of spending extra Mind Effort. Instead, the other players offered to pay 1 Heart Effort from each of their Smurfs so that I needed to spend only 3 Mind. Stephen loved the idea of the team working together like this that he approved it. The result was each PC was given one splash from the potion, rendering them Invisible** but only for half of the usual duration (in this case 5 moments).***
As coordinated beforehand, a half dozen Protectors plus the Mistress Knight Commander blew on their whistles, the high, clear, piercing sound causing the red glow at the entry way to waver. It rippled like a pond with a stone dropped into it. After a moment or two, a hole opened up, a portal through the crimson barrier. The hole wasn't large and it wouldn't hold long (since the Fairies would run out of breath) so the Smurfs ran through the opening, immediately scanning the entry to find a good place to hide. They saw soldiers coming down the hall towards them but as they came into the light it turned out they were Skeletons! Apathy whispered a "Psst!" to the group and ran down a separate hallway and tapped on a wooden door. The other raced toward the sound and hide instead a small Guard Post.
The whistling sound faded and the red glow sealed the hole like it never was.
The Smurfs were inside The Palace of the Silver Princess.
Season Two, Part 2 coming soon...
AD
Barking Alien
*While the rest of the gang each did their thing, Apathy Smurf investigated the Protectors of Haven camp to learn more about them: the members, the structure, what they protected exactly, how they protected it, etc. It was Apathy's questions and observatiions that really got the team to accept the meta-context/world-building of an organization called 'The Protectors of Haven' that didn't seem to be able to protect Haven. If that paradox was on your mind dear reader, trust me it was discussed and explained and it made sense.
To summarize it, the Protectors guard the natural world of the Haven region and at first did not get along with the Humans there. The fairies resented the civilizations of Humanity and how they treated their surroundings. Eventually, when Princess Argenta became ruler, she took great strides to be conscious of the environment and work with the Fairies. She was very kind and generous to the animals of the woods, the fairy peoples, and in general how a good heart.
When evil befell the Silver Palace and its residents, the Protectors were not present at the wedding but were ensuring the safety of local wildlife, plants, and the travel of people to the castle. They weren't at the wedding itself. After the Red Glow erupted and enveloped the palace, the fairies found the dark magic of it was more powerful then their own overall. After several unsuccessful attempts to penatrate the curse, the Mistress Knight Commander went out on a limb (literally! Haha!) and sent a vision to Papa Smurf and by accident the members of the party.
**The party was only invisible in the first one or two Moments after getting the Potion of Invisibility poured on them. For the next two Moments they were essentially transparent, as if clear like glass but they wre not impossible to be seen at all. For the final Moment they were barely semi-transparent, perhaps best deescribed as colored in camoflauge matching their surroundings.
***Moments are a vague measurement of time in the Smurfs game largely defined by and dependant upon the narrative of what is happening at the time. I love it.
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