3. Daleth, The Empress
Emerging from the Priestess' temple the party find themselves facing an
ornate silver bridge that spans the river in front of them allowing
access to a pathway that disappears into the gloom of the vast forest
which lines the far bank.Following this path leads them deep into the forest. Light penetrates the upper branches of the ancient trees in patches, lighting their way with pools of illumination stretched along the path. To either side is thick undergrowth alive with the sounds of many unseen creatures.
Characters who leave the path quickly become disorientated and need to make Intelligence rolls of 11+ to find their way back. If they fail, they will wander until overcome with exhaustion.
If the party have wounded or dead characters with them they will be met
after an hour or so of walking by a dryad stepping from a tree to block
their way.She will greet the characters and ask if they have need of her Mother. She will explain that her Mother will be able to heal them. She will then lead them from the path and take them a short way through the forest to the Empress' glade.
If her help is refused she will step back into her tree and the party may continue.
If the party are unhurt they will walk for many days in the forest. Attempting to backtrack will show the path to have disappeared from behind them after about a mile of so. they will never reach the outer edge. If they all stray from the path they will eventually fall asleep and awaken in the Empress' glade.
If they ask aloud for help or appear to be suffering from hunger or thirst a dryad will present herself and offer her Mother's help again.
Eventually
the characters will find them selves in the presence of the Empress.
She is in the centre of a large, well lit glade surrounded by her hand
maidens and several animals. All the animals are females with young.
Scattered about the glade are servings of food and drink. Any lost and
wandering characters will already be here having woken up in the glade.
A character who was lost without enough time passing for them to have
slept will be escorted into the glade by a dryad shortly after the rest
of the party arrive.Daleth (pronounced Dalet) The Empress is a mature, pregnant woman of incredible beauty. She radiates love and kindness all around her and it is impossible to feel uneasy or unhappy in her presence. She wears a gown of living flowers and a crown or twelve stars.
She will introduce herself as Daleth, the Empress, her full name is Daughter of the Mighty Ones but she will give no indication of this.
She will greet the party warmly, each member by name and every character will fell as if he or she has always known this woman. She will briefly touch any wounded character and instantly heal them. If there is a dead character she will instruct her hand maidens to bury the body at the edge of the glade. Then she will offer food and other refreshments to the remaining party members telling them that they must wait until dawn before they can leave.
As
they eat, darkness will fall and a crescent moon will rise in the sky
to shine down on the glade. Everyone will fall into an easy sleep. When
they awaken, dead characters will be fully restored and alive, an
empty, shallow grave left where they were buried. A resurected
character gains 1XP.The Empress will prepare the party to continue on its way, giving them food and drink to take with them. She will give a gift to the character with the highest presence score. This is a small gold heart wrapped in a bag of green leaves. She will say:
'If ever you are in need again, allow the light of the Sun to fall on this heart and you will be brought to me.'
If the players ever use the heart, the whole party will be teleported
back to the glade from wherever they are. The Empress will then heal
them and open a portal for them to return to where they were
previously. The heart will only work once nad she will not give them
another.The Empress will instruct a dryad to 'Take these people to my husband' and bid the party farewell.
The dryad will lead them from the glade and after a short time they will emerge from the forest on the edge of a dusty plain. Four roads cross this plain, intersecting at a crossroads a mile or so distant. The crossroads is blocked by a huge stone cube. On top of this cube the Emperor sits on his throne, surveying the world around him with his grim gaze.
Rewards
Visiting with the Empress gains each character 2XP
The Empress
I felt the breath of the spring, and accompanying the fragrance of violets and lilies-of-the-valley I heard the tender singing of elves. Rivulets murmured, the treetops rustled, the grasses whispered, innumerable birds sang in choruses and bees hummed; everywhere I felt the breathing of joyful, living Nature.
The sun shone tenderly and softly and a little white cloud hung over the woods.
In the midst of a green meadow where primroses bloomed, I saw the Empress seated on a throne covered with ivy and lilacs. A green wreath adorned her golden hair and, above her head, shone twelve stars. Behind her rose two snowy wings and in her hands she held a sceptre. All around, beneath the sweet smile of the Empress, flowers and buds opened their dewy, green leaves. Her whole dress was covered with them as though each newly opened flower were reflected in it or had engraved itself thereon and thus become part of her garment.
The sign of Venus, the goddess of love, was chiselled on her marble throne.
"Queen of life," I said, "why is it so bright and joyful all about you? Do you not know of the grey, weary autumn, of the cold, white winter? Do you not know of death and graveyards with black graves, damp and cold? How can you smile so joyfully on the opening flowers, when everything is destined to death, even that which has not yet been born?"
For answer the Empress looked on me still smiling and, under the influence of that smile, I suddenly felt a flower of some clear understanding open in my heart.
THE SYMBOLISM OF THE TAROT by P D. OUSPENSKY
The sun shone tenderly and softly and a little white cloud hung over the woods.
In the midst of a green meadow where primroses bloomed, I saw the Empress seated on a throne covered with ivy and lilacs. A green wreath adorned her golden hair and, above her head, shone twelve stars. Behind her rose two snowy wings and in her hands she held a sceptre. All around, beneath the sweet smile of the Empress, flowers and buds opened their dewy, green leaves. Her whole dress was covered with them as though each newly opened flower were reflected in it or had engraved itself thereon and thus become part of her garment.
The sign of Venus, the goddess of love, was chiselled on her marble throne.
"Queen of life," I said, "why is it so bright and joyful all about you? Do you not know of the grey, weary autumn, of the cold, white winter? Do you not know of death and graveyards with black graves, damp and cold? How can you smile so joyfully on the opening flowers, when everything is destined to death, even that which has not yet been born?"
For answer the Empress looked on me still smiling and, under the influence of that smile, I suddenly felt a flower of some clear understanding open in my heart.
THE SYMBOLISM OF THE TAROT by P D. OUSPENSKY
