Meeting the Party - Session 1

I begin my day in Dawnsmoor, awaiting to meet the group of individuals I will be escorting to the Shrine of Bael. From what I understand, according to the word of villagers, the Kingdom has fallen into bad luck, and the king is ill. I pay no mind to this, the Elvish people have been in ruins for decades and the rest of the kingdom has not batted an eye, so why should the Elven people care for the ailing king? All that aside, I am bringing a group of individuals to the Shrine of Bael to take care of some of the issues of the kingdom, which it seems to be causing. To do this I must decide on a route to take. Should I take the easier route and spend an extra two days with the clueless humans I will likely be escorting through my woods, or do I risk the Gnoll forest, venturing in deep to a place I vowed never to go again, just to make the trip shorter, which these humans will likely request. Part of me wants to go through the Gnoll forest, just to see if Vassos is still alive. I still think of that night sometimes, how quickly things went from good to bad. I promised him I would never return however, and that is a promise I intend to keep.
 
I have met the individuals I will be escorting to the Shrine of Bael. They are not what I was expecting... Not at all... There are two humans, which I was expecting. They are interesting. One is a criminal, just out of jail, and he seems untrustworthy. The other is a soldier or something, some Helios type that seems uptight and rigid. I feel she will be difficult to get along with, however I must remind myself it is only temporary and once I bring them where they need to go all will be well. The other two travelers took me by surprise however, and brought back a flood of memories from Flumaurem, of my family, and the day it all burned. Sitting among the travelers was a Half Elf by the name of Kayn, but better known to the village and surrounding areas as The Butcher of Flumaurem. All I can say, is that this man is not the one that destroyed my home and family. He looked weak, inept and dim, even for a human, and there is no possible way he could have destroyed the town. However, I intend to find out why it is that everyone believes him responsible, and if he knows who was responsible. I will get my revenge. I will venge the death of Stargazer. The other individual was a high elf named Valharice, a name I have only heard once before. She shared many of my features, and there was no mistaking the similarity between us. She is the secret child my Uncle sent away all those years ago, the Floor Walker I heard about in whispered conversations around my home. My cousin was sitting there before me, dressed in the religious clothing of the humans, with no idea who she was. I don't know what to do with this information, how to process everything that has happened so far today.
 
On a more positive note, I was able to speak with Garrett before our travels begin in the morning. After meeting the individuals and speaking with them shortly at Johns, that disgusting bar crawling with disease and filth, I informed the group of the time we will meet in the morning and set out to see Garrett. I will never not love the sweetness that is Garrett. He gave me a beautifully crafted lunch box and wished me well on our travels. I checked on all his horses for him and requested 2 for our trip. I then also made some medicine for his sick horses, gifting it to him before I left for the night for the trip. He seemed pretty worried. I don't understand why though, this isn't the first time I've guided the clueless into the woods and he knows that. I look forward to returning to Dawnsmoor again, bringing more supplies for Garrett and his horses, and showing him I am fine and it was another trip gone well. I informed the group where and when to meet and returned here, to my makeshift space by the entrance.
 
Another day done
yet here I stay
away from the wilds,
that call for me.
 
Another day gone
yet I am away
from the forest and animals ,
they call for me.
 
I will return to the forest again, once I find and slay the person that slayed my people and town. Damn these humans for making information and resources cost their currency, damn them for requiring me to work among them and for them in order to get ahead.