Strangers in the mist

We continued onwards with our journey through Lorewood. And despite the eventful first half of the day, the rest was rather peaceful. If not for the overcast skies and occasional rain here and there. Though on occasion, a small ray of sunlight was able to pierce through the clouds. Sometimes even illuminating Sylvesse, who was standing watch over us from a distance. Which was a most welcome and comforting reminder of his presence. As the same oppressive feeling of dread that had stalked us during the first leg of our journey had returned once more.
 
But despite this, we were able to make rather good time on that first day. Allowing us to make camp in a rather jovial mood, despite everything. Though with the reduced members of our group, the energy that surrounded us was a lot less busy. Though I guess you could also think of it as it being more cozy from now on. Surprisingly however Robert, despite being one of the more enthusiastic members of the group, had decided to sit apart from the rest of us. All the while writing pages in what looked to be a very old book.
 
Overcome with her curiosity, Liliana went up to him in order to see what he was doing. He explained to her that back in Hillfield, he had gotten his hands on a storybook containing various fairytales. And that he was currently at work with writing these over into his own book, as part of his collection. Upon seeing the state that said book was in, Hayley offered to cast a spell that might reinforce it a bit. Which was something that was sorely needed, for as she reached out to cast her magics, one of the pages demonstratively fell out from between it. We quickly picked it up of course, before it was lost to the wind. Which allowed us a glimpse at the poem that was written upon it. I believe it said:
“In the heart of a forest, where shadows dance,
Twins, born through fate, from a mystic romance.
Beneath the night sky, in the moon’s gleam
Conceived from a wish, brought forth from a dream.
 
In the tapestry of fate, where stories begin,
The tale of the twins, the forest spins.
But fate, a capricious weaver of threads,
Will unraveled their bond through unforeseen treads.
 
One fateful eve, beneath boughs so tall,
A rift in the earth, a whispering call.
The forest’s melody, a siren’s loft song,
Will lead one astray, to where shadows belong.
 
In twilight’s embrace, they’ll search, and they’ll yearn.
For the other’s voice, for the love they discern.
Through tickets and thorns, they’ll wander alone,
Forever seeking their lost shared soul’s tone.”
 
The next day however, things took another turn for the worst. In more ways than one. The least of which was the fact that a heavy mist had decided to settle between the forest. Not only severely obscuring our vision, but also reducing our travel speed. But far worse than this, was the fact that both Hayley and Luke had fallen ill overnight. It seemed like a common flu at first, so Liliana used her powerful gifts in order to remove the disease from the both of them.
 
As we continued on our way, navigating through the mists that seemed to get thicker with every passing hour, we were suddenly startled by a loud crashing sound behind us. It was obvious to all that something was running toward us. Something big and fast, as judged by the sound of trees being knocked over. We readied ourselves for a fight when a giant enraged owlbear appeared out of the mist. Charging at us with murderous rage as it foamed from the mouth. Fortunately, we did not have to fight if for long as Hayley used one of her spells to place the beast into a deep slumber.
 
We then went about to inspect the creature. Thinking that perhaps it had contracted a similar disease as those foxes back in Tarn. In which case it would be our responsibility to put it out of its misery. Our fears however were quickly proven false, as it was in perfect health. Save of course for the various wounds and arrows that covered the poor thing. It had obviously run afoul of other visitors of the forest. A hunting party perhaps that had crossed the wrong prey? We briefly debated on what to do with the creature before Hayley reminded us that her spell would not last forever. So we decided to simple let it be in peace. Afterall, there is nothing as disrespectful as killing an animal and then failing to process it properly. And sadly, the owlbear would simple take too much time and space to do so. For the last thing I wanted to do at that point was to stay stationary for a long time.
 
When the evening fell that day, sadly so too did Hayley and Luke. The disease that had afflicted them earlier had returned with a vengeance. It seemed that Liliana’s efforts to remove it, had only weakened it for a while. Which was most concerning as Liliana’s potent abilities would have made short work of any natural disease. Suspicious, Luke decided to power through and hold on long enough in order to inspect both himself and his sister for traces of magic that might be influencing them. The result however was not wat we were expecting, though not entirely surprising. It seemed that the fog, which was still continuing to get thicker, was indeed a magical one. Which was anything but a comforting confirmation of what most of us had begun to suspect. Thus, with little other options, we decided to turn in for the night.
 
The morning however did little to ease our worries. Hayley and Luke spend most of the night tossing and turning. And were even paler then they were last night. Running out of ideas, I decided to take a page from Hayley’s book and confront whatever entity was causing this. I turned to the trees and demanded that the entity responsible for this revealed himself. Fortunately for me, it was Sylvesse that exited the forest instead. Worried, he requested permission from us for him to investigate both Luke and Hayley. Following his investigation, he explained that a powerful fey curse had indeed taken hold of them. While he wasn’t aware of the specifics of the curse, he speculated that it seemed to be influencing their lifeforce. Which in turn influenced their ability to user their magic. We thought for a moment that it might be due to the fact that they both are arcane casters. But that would not explain why Ileas, who uses similar magics, was unaffected. So that theory was quickly abandoned.
 
Sylvesse then continued to say that most likely they were not targeted by this curse specifically. Instead it seemed to be a side effect of whatever was causing the mist that was surrounding us. Meaning that them being close to death was little more than collateral damage. Which was both as infuriating as it was worrying. Unfortunately the curse was beyond Sylvesse his ability to remove. But he did suggest that taking them outside of the mist might remove it. Personally I wanted to turn back immediately. The journey to Keralon was not worth their lives. But the decision was not up to me, it was up to Hayley and Luke. And their choice was to continue onwards, so we did. With Liliana easing their suffering whenever needed.
I believe it was around noon when Dadroz alerted us to something he spotted up ahead in the mist. An overturned cart, lying just beside the road. Cautiously, we stalked towards it. The bodies of both horses and dead travellers becoming visible as we got closer. Trying to figure out what happened to these poor sods, Dadroz and Ileas both surprised me by finding various tracks of small humanoid like creatures. A goblin attack it seemed like. And guessing from the tracks, one that happened no more than a day ago. Based on their belongings, we figured that these people were merchants. Most likely on the way towards Logvale. With little to be done for them, we decided to take what supplies we could and deliver them at Logvale in their stead. Hopefully that would appease their souls somewhat.
 
The last thing of note that happened that day, occurred just before we decided to break for camp. Dadroz spotted a lone figure walking ahead of us. When confronted by Alistan, the figure turned out to be a bewildered young man. It was obvious from a glance that he was both cold, exhausted and famished. Thus Hayley attempted to calm him down. But it seemed that the poor sod was suffering from amnesia as well. And any attempts to calm him were met with failure. As such Hayley, despite her disease already starting to take hold of her once more, knocked him out with some more of her sleep magic. Though it seemed like it was not without cost as both she and her brother looked far worse than before. Part of me even started to worry that they might not last the night.
 
My worries however were quickly proven to be unnecessary. As next morning, they were both feeling better than ever. It seemed like whatever the curse was, they had managed to fight it off on their own this time. Though it seemed like it did leave its mark. As both myself and a few of the others noticed some odd happening around both of them that day. From time to time, whenever Luke would pass next to a source of light, like a torch, said light’s intensity would increase. At the same time Hayley’s presence would on occasion either cause a plant to wither or bloom. When we pointed this out to them, they both stated that they had not noticed anything strange. And intrigued, spend most of the day experimenting with these abilities. After a while, they had learned that these effects only happened on a few occasions and not all the time. But little more than that. Thus for now, they would remain curiosity that would not be answered at that time. Though I also noted that the items that they had received from old man Terrin seemed to have gained a few new runes marking them. A reasonable guess would thus be that they were connected. But decided that if there was, it was a matter between them and Terrin. And not something that I should pry into myself. If it was something that we needed to know, I was certain that they would tell us. Afterall, I did believe that a measure of respect and trust had already started to form between all of us.
 
As for our new visitor, sadly we had less success. While a good night’s rest had indeed allowed him to recover a bit and calm him down, sadly his amnesia remained. The only thing he could remember was that while travelling with a companion, most likely a woman, they were attacked by strange little green men. During said fight, he had managed to flee to safety. But he had no idea what happened to his companion. It seemed likely that he was a survivor of the attack on the carriage that we had found earlier. Though admittedly, that was only guesswork. So we decided to take him with us to Logvale. Hoping that someone there might be able to tell us who he was.
 
It was the early afternoon that day, when it happened. An arrow struck one of the horses, startling us as we realized that we had ridden straight into an ambush. A group of around fifteen little green men emerged from the mist. At first I thought them to be goblins, but closer inspection quickly revealed my mistake. These were in fact Dianios, the fey equivalent of goblins. They are known to be both highly aggressive and territorial and as we sadly experienced like to travel in groups. We tried to mount a defence, but the sheer number of them threatened to overwhelm us. The only saving grace that we had, was the fact that for the most part they targeted our horses. While of course they did not deserve this fate, it did allow us to mount a counterattack. So I was grateful for their sacrifice. But I will not lie. Even with this, it was still a hard fought battle. But in the end, we were victorious.
 
We gathered up the survivors and attempted to interrogate them. Though despite Liliana her best efforts, we didn’t learn much. Only confirmation that we had indeed entered their territory. Which did not make sense to us, as Dianios hardly ever leave the Feywild. I slight fear started to take root in the back of my mind. Had we accidently passed through some sort of portal to the Feywild? And if so, how could we go about and find our way back. Before I could voice these concerns however, a deep howl pulled us out of worry. The Dianios, terrified, begged us to release them. Before the hound would be upon them. At which point, a massive wolfhound like creature emerged from between the trees. It’s humanlike face observing us menacingly. It was Yeth hound, a fey creature often used as hunting dogs for more powerful Fey. Due to the fact that they are persistent trackers, that do not let go of a prey when they had gotten their scent. And more worryingly, one that we would not be able to fight. For its thick hide could only be damaged by either silver or magical blade. Two things that we were in short supply of.
 
The beast started circling around us. Taking note of each of us very carefully. The actions of a predator stalking the herd to find suitable prey. And sadly for me, I took his notice. Noticing this, Liliana and Alistan moved to stand in front of me, but I signalled to them to keep calm. Hoping that we might still avoid a confrontation. But alas, it was for naught. The beast let out another howl, which gripped our hearts with a cold embrace of fear. A howl that was answered by another in the distance. The fear took hold of Robert and he dashed away deeper into the mist. As well as several of the surviving horses. I could not blame him however. For it took everything I had not to do the same, as every fibre of my being was screaming at me to run. The beast then lunged at us and we tried to mount a defence. But as our weapons were doing little to dissuade it, Onvyr circled around it in order to catch its attention.
 
It was at this moment that a new figure exited the mist. A figure of blue skin and fiery red hair. Before we knew it, he loosed a single arrow towards Onvyr. The arrow flew true and when it hid Onvyr, he turned into solid stone. Shocked by this, all we could do was watch in horror as he turned his gaze towards us. The words he then spoke chilled me to the bone. “Well it seems that you truly found something valuable this time.”