The Race to the Rescue

We immediately set forth for the Dayde Woodland. Kico and Blue took the lead, with Blue shoving money in the face of a local stablemaster, affording us the advantage to travel to our destination with haste and no delay. Magnus prompted Jakuul with the hoist of his body to his aide, and found a slimey substance to cause his body to numb temporarily. Jakuul explained the mucus of his froglike nature had some, at times, unfortunately consequences, but that nothing serious effects should last.
 
The rest of us, short of Kico and Blue who had boltered off, took a moment to saddle our horses properly and would catch up with them later, while trying to make our best speed for the woodlands. Ikeltek had brought misery to the region and now to our friends, and would be answering for his crimes of terror.
 
'333333333333333333333333weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesssssssssss33333333333333333333'
 
-Editorial addition by Winston
 
We rode all day on our horses to their reasonable limit as fast as we could, not stopping unless necessary, even eating rations while we continued to push. Towards evening, a hawk with blue and white plumage flew along side us for a moment, screeching and veering away from the main path as we rode. This was familiar territory; we had been here before with Blue as he led us into the Woodlands before. We decided to press on through the evening and make use of Magnus' oil lantern to guide the way. We continued into the grasslands as we followed the hawk, flying as our lead.
 
Suddenly, the flying form blipped out of existence. A distance in front of us, a flaming source lifted into the air, illuminating the nearby vicinity and guiding us the rest of the way in. Blue's hawk was holding a torch to show us where to rendezvous, and we regrouped again once more. We continued to ride towards the village that we had visited before within the Dayde Outpost region, pushing our steeds to their endurance max and beyond our own exhaustion for riding so long. With the moon lighting the veiled skies, we continued to press on into dawn of the next day.
 
Ikeltek no doubt wanted to be ragged, so we slowed our pace to a point where we would not be so tired. Into the afternoon, approached the edge of the woodland. A strange sense washed over us, similar to before, telling us there may be more trouble. Where we had heard lush signs of life and nature before, we heard an eerie silence devoid of activity. Neoon discovered some foliage that wasn't native to the woodlands, and warned us to not touch anything as something appears to have taken over. Blue recognized the fauna as foreign, and with a chuff decided to tend to the horses as they required a much needed rest from the riding.
 
Blue made use of his macaw once more to scout the area and find more information. No sooner than we began to catch our breath did one of the horses began to thrash with the vines trying to consume and restrain him. Randuras and Magnus made an effort to free the horse from the frenetic foliage, and managed to free and rip the cords from the animal. As he did, the appendages emitted red spores, which was mirrored by the other plants in the area around us. Almost fungal in nature, the tendrils that had begun to restrain the horse now shriveled and fell off, but had left pocks and bores in the animals flesh where it had been grabbed.
 
The rest of us watched in horror and disbelief as Randuras attempted to heal the creature. The skin ripped and torn quickly regenerated and the beast stabilized, we looked for more vines to be wary. Blue rebuked the vines using his powerful magic, and directed the horses to leave the woodlands. He believed the woods to be unsafe while we rest, so we followed them to the outskirts of the woods into the grasslands, and we made camp for another night until we were well-rested to fight the next danger Ikeltek -- or whoever aiding him -- may have ready to dissuade us.
 
We took turns for watch throughout the night. Randuras and I sat overlooking the pitch black visage with not a sight or sound, only the smell of death and decay in the air. Restless, Blue turned until we 'woke' him for his shift. 'You don't have to follow me into these woods.' I reassured him that I wouldn't be a very good friend if I did not stick by his side, that we would get to the bottom of this together. A brief moment of relief passed over him, until his thoughts returned to the problems in front of him.
 
Venturing into the woodlands once more, we dismissed the horses as we set on foot towards the outpost. The vines we had seen before now decorating the forest, with random mushrooms and fungal life adorning them, almost pulsating with breath.
 
A booming voice from the unseen woods called out to taunt us one by one, individually. Goading us as if he had been watching us for a long time, Blue finally lost his temper. He cried out that he had failed his ancestors, and with a gash to his wrists transformed himself into a giant creature of sinew and bone, increasing his size many times over. He threatened us to stay away, although what now stood before us was most surely a new entity consumed by an eclipse of rage. Goblins appeared, racing toward our group, humanlike creatures with flesh torn asunder, with mushrooms similar to those on the vine in the forest protruding from their forms. Tormented souls who had formerly been the inhabitants of the Dayde Outpost, Blue's form was now the only thing in between us and their fury.
 
Ikeltek's curse now permeated the land, the air, and now the former citizens of the den. We prepared for their assault and heeded the warning of our friend as he transformed. We would not be intimidated, nor would we leave our friend to fend for himself, however his temper now became feral and as Magnus attempted to secure safe passage beyond, was knocked away by his tail, throwing him to the ground. He stood back up, and screamed in a rage, that surged into a flumph manifestation of corporeal yet projected energy form. The rest of us scrambled to gather our senses as we prepared for an onslaught of enemies, as the trees themselves began to animate and attack us as well.
 
Flame from a makeshift thrower from Randuras, and torches lit as we fought back the animated trees and undead foes, we traded blows with our enemies as they advanced. Biting and thrashing from Blue's enormous figure, we began to dispatch them one by one. Suddenly, the fallen corpses erupted in foul swarms of grubs that enveloped and surrounded us, and as one of the spore servants struck Blue, he went down with a crash as the group of insects swarmed over his body. He began to attack them as they chewed through his hide, and the shrubs lashed at him on the ground. Each felled servant warrior produced a putrid smell and spores into the air, and we worked to destroy each abomination with every available effort.
 
When the beasts and undead were dead, Blue's uncanny form now thrashing at friends remaining, knocked Randuras' flamethrower over, a fortunate and favorable collateral, while he bit the air around Kico's projection. Taking the opportunity, Kico with her actual personage cast a huge blast of color that covered the area around Blue, and also affecting the grubs covering him, although granted us a measure to gain advantage. I took the chance to singe the bugs plaguing him, and took a large swipe of them away with my blast of eldritch energy as the rest of us followed suit to clean him of his parasites.
 
With no one left but us and the enraged version of our friend, we continued to pommel him into submission until he roared with agony and was knocked prone and finally submitted, his rampage waned. Magnus offered him his helmet again now that his senses had been regained. The animal that comprised his helm now returned to recent memory, and Blue still breathing, we counted ourselves lucky from our encounter. Blue looked markedly age from the exertion, and we gathered our limp ally to take him to a place to rest outside the Dayde once more.
 
We took our turns watching over the camp as before, and we let Blue regain his strength. Reasonably so, Blue and Randuras took the final watch into morning. When we awoke, we found ourselves in grateful morning with a thankful return of nature, but absent our druid friend.
 
Where he had gone, we were not aware, and only time would tell if our paths would cross again. Only the whispers of his name on the wind remained, and our fond memories of our time together.