Gael
Gael
Alignment
Neutral Good
Honorary & Occupational Titles
Knight of The Rose Garden
Age
16
Date of Birth
unknown
Children
Gender
Male
Eyes
Green
Hair
Dark Green
A new beginning
29th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree
Early in the morning I received a message from the royal administrator. He requested us to meet him at the old keep in Dogville at noon in order for him to hand over the keys to us and tour the district. We met back up, as had become tradition, at Erna’s wish, from which we rode over the bridge towards the keep. When we got there, we noticed a carriage waiting for us near the entrance. As we dismounted, Nodric, the old administrator, stepped out to greet us.
We had actually met him before, when we first arrived in the city. You see, when Allistan and Liliane were having a dispute with another noble family concerning their family home in Keralon, it was he who eventually mediated the situation. Remembering that incident actually reminded me of how easily we tend to forget the small details. As I could no longer remember the name of the noble family that had ultimately claimed the house.
Our tour began with the keep itself of course. Though once mighty, time had certainly been most unkind to it in the years. A fact made clear not just by its look of disrepair, but also by the stale air that greeted us as we opened the heavy doors. With the dust layered the floors acting as proof that no one had entered these halls in years. Still, the potential it had was clear. And with some hard work, this place could soon become a home for us.
Next, we ventured into the district itself. Where we got to meet several of its still remaining residents. Each if which had their own view of course on what need to be done for this area to grow. Now instead of going over each one of them, for now I would like to focus on two individuals that stood out for the moment. The ferryman and farmer Tommel and his family.
Let’s start with the ferryman shall we. He too was a familiar face. In fact it was Tevon, the bugbear that had smuggled us out of the city when the Fernhunter’s forces arrived. He was absolutely delighted to hear we were the new lords of the district. Though this might have something to do with the fact that he had once assisted the new lords of the district with his smuggling operations.
He was quick to ask if we might turn a blind eye to some of his more questionable activities. As a favour from one friend to another. While I was hesitant, Allistan and Liliane were more vocal in their opposition of the idea, especially after hearing rumours that some of his patrons often caused trouble for the locals. But in the end I had to agree with Hayley’s wisdom in this. She pointed out that out that removing him would simple create a power vacuum. And as nature abhors a vacuum, it would then quickly be filled up by someone else. And that person might very well be of worse character then Terin.
So for now, it would be better to simple let him be for now. Besides, I am certain that our resident knight of the Moon Blossom would be more than willing to keep a watchful eye on him. Just to make sure that he doesn’t go too far. As for his patrons, I was certain that once we established some proper guards for the district, they would be less keen to cause trouble.
Which brings us Tommel’s farm, where we were waylaid by the young "robber knight" named Kas. Armed with his mighty sword, he demanded a toll from us in order for us to pass. Frightened by this display, Hayley was quick to push Allistan in front of her. And when these two great knights stared each other down, a duel was quick to follow. But even righteous Allistan was not able to best the skills of Kas and found himself quickly disarmed. Forcing Allistan to pay him a toll of 2 whole copper.
But it was then that the young Kas was quickly reminded of the fact that in this magical world of dragons, mages and gods, there is truly no force as mighty and fearsome as an angry mother. As she dashed out of the farm, she scolded the five year old for bothering the travellers and demanded he apologized. But we were quick to ease her worries by stating that it was all in good fun. And as she turned to guide us to her home, Hayley was quick to pick up the coins that Kas had dropped and handed them back to him.
Once inside, she introduced herself as Laina Dresner, the wife of Tommel. At a quick glance, it was easy to see that the poor woman was exhausted. And after some gentle questioning, she informed us that her husband had been sick for the last couple of weeks. It was in fact so severe that they had even called for healers from Keralon, but even they were not able to cure him. Worried and perhaps also a bit curious, Liliana and Hayley both offered their services before going upstairs to investigate.
While waiting downstairs, I spotted the most curious sight. In one of the corners of the house, stood a painting on the floor, covered by a sheet. It depicted a young man standing next to a deer. A silver coloured deer with golden antlers. As you can imagine, it was a bit of a shock I tell you. The resemblance to Sylvesse was uncanny, though I couldn’t be certain. It could after all be another one of his kind.
When I asked Laina about it, she said it belonged to her husband, depicted him in his younger years when he was still a scout, standing next to a talking deer that he had once met. Though she believed that he was simple making up stories. She laughed it off as one of his tall tales, after all, who had ever heard of a talking deer?
Soon Hayley and Liliana made their way down the stairs with a look on their face that indicated that trouble was afoot. Hayley assured us that Tommel had been cured. But that he had in fact been cursed instead of sick. When asked, Laina stated that she didn’t know of anyone who would do so. The only one that came to mind was an old friend of his that he recently had a falling out with. We had in fact met him earlier but he hardly seemed like the guy who would or even could do such a thing.
Just then she remembered an odd situation that happened a few weeks ago. An old woman had come to the district in order to hand out some apples. And when she came to their home, her husband was quick to run out and start arguing with her. Laina had no idea what about, but when the old lady left, she did pick up a few of the apples.
Strangely, the apples hadn’t spoiled since and remained fresh. Luke inspected one but found no signs of magic. Thus the question remained, could he have been cursed by the old lady? Or was something else going on?
We didn’t have much time to dwell on this however as Nodric, who had been more than patient with us, was eager to return to his normal duties. So we returned to our keep and after bidding him farewell, we turned to that most dreadful of tasks that awaited any new homeowner. Namely the division of rooms.
Now as you know, I am more than willing to spend the night sleeping outside. In fact there are some nights were I actually prefer it. In particular a warm summer night, with clear skies filled with stars and a full moon. With perhaps a slight hint of romance floating on the breeze. But there are also some nights were I much prefer a soft pillow to rest my head on with matching sheets in a large king-sized bed, or queen-sized, after all I’m not one to be picky. And if that meant that I would have to make the sacrifice of claiming a slightly larger room on the second floor with access to a private washroom, then that would be a sacrifice that I was more than willing to make. And you can judge me all you want for that if you must, but I can assure that when I lie down in my comfy bed, it is the farthest thing in my mind.
But that childish little rant aside, we did make sure that everyone had at least one slightly larger room along with a smaller one. So I do believe that we were all rather content. Especially when we realized that the budget we were given was more than enough to add a few communal areas, such as a kitchen and dining room. Which was something that I was most pleased about as enjoying a warm meal together with dear friends is one of the best ways to both spend ones time as well as strengthening said friendships.
With everyone settled and the day still young, we decided to spend a bit more time exploring the region. Our next stop, a small rundown church in the nearby forest that we had heard about. It was easy enough to find, but the sight of unsanctified graves was troubling, as they could quickly spawn undead. But that was not what filled me with dread.
What did were the tracks we found at the back of the church. Tracks made by webbed feet that led deeper into the forest. Seemingly made by a goose the size of a horse. I had only ever heard of one creature that could have made them. A creature that had been passed down in legend from hunter to hunter in hushed tones, the dreaded Dire Goose. If one of those was stalking these woods than surely this district was already doomed.
And yes, I am pulling your leg here as there is no such creature. But the look on your face was totally worth it. In all honesty, I had no idea as to what kind creature made those tracks. But we were eager to find out.
We followed the tracks to a small clearing in the woods. Where we found a lovely little cottage next to a small pond. Surrounded by a few apple trees. A most idyllic image that was slightly ruined by the giant geese that immediately started hissing at our approach. One of which, and this is not a joke, was the same size as the cottage and possessed up to five heads. The only way I can really describe it, is as some kind of cross between a goose and a hydra, a goosdra if you will.
As we pondered what kind of creatures these were, an elderly woman emerged from the cottage, scolding the geese for waking her. Though she quickly regained her composure when she noticed that she had guests. Now I immediately suspected that there was most likely more to her then what we could see. An old lady seemingly living alone in the woods that are often frequented by Fey with three magical creatures as guards? I think not.
Now as a general rule of thumb when dealing with an unknown entity, it always pays to be polite. If the entity is in fact a benevolent one, then there is no reason to antagonize him. On the other hand, if it is of malevolent intent, then it serves no one to provoke it. So I humble apologized for disturbing her nap and introduced us as the new lords of the Dogville district.
She wasn’t too impressed by our titles, but still introduced herself as Aunty Patty. And the importance of that name hit me a few seconds too late for my own good if I am honest. As this was the name of one of the hags that belonged to the circle that had made a deal with Keralon so long ago. Which was very bad news for us.
Hayley, ever the bold one, asked if she knew anything concerning the fate of farmer Tommel. And while she stated that she had no idea as to what we were talking about, I can safely say that most of us doubted that severely. But with little else to go on, we decided to simple leave it at that for now and said our goodbyes.
That didn’t stop us from continuing to discuss the situation on our way back to the keep. Allistan was quick to suggest that we find a permanent solution to aunty Patty. But I pointed out that this was a terrible and dangerous idea. Not just because of the deal that they had made with Keralon. Which provided them with protection by royal decree. But also because if we attacked them, then we would be breaking the deal that was stuck. And there are few things more dreadful then a broken promise. Especially ones made with beings of such power.
But that was not to say that we were completely without options. For entities such as this often despise being caught in agreements that leave them with no room to manoeuvre. Which is why they often added loopholes. One only needed to find them. After all, the one thing more powerful then a promise broken is a promise kept.
Back at the keep, Dan was waiting for us. Not just to congratulate us one more time, but also to ask us a question. Namely he wanted our permission to open a new building in the district in order for him to continue the work that he was doing back in Ravensfield. Namely setting up a new branch for the Restoration Society in the district. And while Hayley was more than willing to allow this, I hesitated. For while I completely agree with his motives, it does not change the fact that his organization was technically still a guild. Which are forbidden by the laws of Keralon.
A line was quickly being drawn, with Allistan and Luke voicing their concerns while Hayley and Liliane were more open to the idea. Perhaps if we could argue that this was more of an initiative by one of the knights of Keralon, instead of a guild, in order to stabilize the northern region, with one of us acting as the face for it, we might be able to get away with it. Though that is a very thin distinction to make. And call me crazy, but I wasn’t really too keen on breaking the law in my first week as a noble simple because it suited me. As that would be a slippery slope that could quickly turns us into the kind of nobles that would wish to avoid becoming.
We decided to revisit the issue at a later time, as more refugees from Ravensfield had begun gathering at the pasture where the new village would be built. Thus we spend the remainder of the day helping people set up temporary camps. With Hayley even convincing the former miller of Ravensfield to take up his trade at the rundown mill of Dogsville. And finally, we retired to our new rooms, in order to rest and see what the next day might bring.
The Journal Entry’s title
Begin writing your story here...
An Audience With The King
28th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree
During my first week as a knight of the Rose Garden, I presented myself as the picture-perfect image of a knight. Is what I would like to say, but that would be a stone-cold lie. In reality, I fumbled rather spectacularly. A mix of my nerves and an overeagerness to prove myself led me to make more than a few mistakes regarding basic etiquette. Meaning that I spend most of my first week as a knight making a right fool of myself. But as they say, what‘s done is done. All I could was move forward and strive to improve myself. And maybe even live this down.
In hindsight, I should’ve just joined Allistan and Luke for a night on the town. Or as they prefer, a week on the town. In fact, after the stress of the past few weeks, it would’ve been a real relief to just let my hair down. Unfortunately, it always seems like there is something else that needs to done first. I actually started worrying that they might start thinking that I don’t want to spend time with them, which is far from the truth I assure you. Although, the thought of Luke, of all people, acting as my “wingman” as he likes to call it, does sends shivers down my spine. Gods preserve me.
But let us get back to the main story shall we. About a week after our adventure at the embassy, we were summoned to the barracks at Palace Hill to prepare for our audience with the king. Upon our arrival, we were warmly greeted by none other than Ser Donovan. He explained that he was there to escort us to the palace, where we would finally meet with the king. Afterwards, we were to join our respective circles at the cathedral for the knighting ceremony itself. Which would then be followed by an evening banquet in our honour, with several nobles in attendance. In fact, if we made a good enough impression, the king himself might even choose to join.
But before we could get started with this rather busy agenda, Ser Donovan asked us to follow him in order to receive the first gift that the king had decided to give us. They had scoured every inch of the ruins that we had discovered. But sadly, there were few clues remaining that might give an insight into the identity of other cult members or their future plans. They did however find something else of significant importance, a magical portal.
This portal explained how the cult had maintained its seemingly endless resources in Keralon. With such a gateway, they could literally smuggle in anything they needed. Whether that be provisions, weapons, even an entire army would not be impossible. All right under our very noses.
Upon entering the portal, the knights found themselves in an underground cave. They would later learn that it was in fact close to Ravensfield. Unfortunately, it had already been evacuated, leaving no further clues for us to find. With no other options remaining, the knights closed the portal for good. And while the investigation itself didn’t yield many answers, shutting down that portal would hopefully prevent the cult from striking at Keralon with such ease again.
But this wasn’t a day for heavy thoughts. Afterall, this was a day of celebrations. Ser Donovan had brought us to the stables, where we were presented with our first gift, six mighty warhorses. As a noble steed was as important to a knight as any weapon could be, had chosen to grant each of us one of his own.
Excited, we took turns selecting our mounts. Though I felt that Allistan might have been a bit hesitant. He’d grown quite fond of Thorin over the years, and I imagine it was quite hard for him to picture himself riding a different horse. But in my opinion, it was probably for the best. Thorin had served him valiantly, but he had come far too close to death more times than we would have liked. It seemed right to let him retire, to live out his days peacefully grazing and galloping across Keralon’s green fields.
When it was my turn, my eyes were drawn to a young chestnut mare. Thanks to the tricks that my mother had thought me, I was able to deduce that she was clearly a courser. And as you might expect, descendent of a fine lineage. As I approached her, I used a bit of magic in order to seem less threatening and more composed. This allowed me to raise myself into the saddle with easy and I decided to name her Idrhil, for her graceful stature.
With everyone seated atop of their respective horse, we followed ser Donovan towards the palace. And I must say, each of my companions certainly carried themselves with the poise and presence you would expect of a knight.
Allistan and Liliana, in particular, looked as though they had stepped out of legends—embodying the valour and nobility every knight should aspire to. Following close behind them was Dadroz. Though he didn’t really resemble the traditional image one might have of a knight, all who knew him knew that he could easily match both Allistan and Liliana when it came to honor and integrity.
And then, of course, there were the magical twins. They moved with the grace and authority one might expect from archmages. Appearing wise beyond their years, with an air of mystery that only added to their dignified presence. I was truly grateful to have them all by my side that day. As their composure helped to steady my nerves as we reached the castle.
Upon our arrival, we were escorted through a long hallway with both walls lined with portraits of previous kings. Making it feel as if these kings of old were silently judging us as we passed. And perhaps it was the way the portraits were arranged, but the family resemblance between them was unmistakable. The same strong features evident in each of them. This was especially true for the last three kings, whose portraits were so similar in fact, that at first glance, I thought they were of the same person.
What stood out even more was the identical scar each of them bore across their face. The only difference being that the scar appeared slightly more faded with each younger generation. I figured that there was most likely a magical explanation for this. The precision of the scar was after all too perfect to be a mere coincidence. The scar was after all too perfect across each of them to be anything but. But this wasn’t the time for such speculation, so I made a mental note to investigate it later.
As we reached the large door leading into the throne room, we were greeted by an elderly man holding a staff. He didn’t introduce himself, merely inspecting each of us one by one as he asked for our names, circles, and any heraldry we might possess. As you can guess, he was inspecting us for magical items. Not so surprising as we were just about to meet with both rulers of Keralon. Though I was glad that I had nothing more threatening than my bow with me.
And with that done, we stepped into the throne room.
Upon entering, the first thing that caught our attention were King Carollus III and Queen Adelaide, seated on their respective thrones. Next of course were the nobles, standing eagerly on either side of the room, awaiting the entrance of the new knights. And as we did, the old man called our names one by one, causing, to my surprise, our heralds to appear, hanging from the roster above.
When we each stood next to each other in front of the throne, the king rose to greet us. It was only then that I realized just how tall he was. Standing at least two meters tall. he cut quite an imposing figure. And while he was not what you might call traditionally attractive, he did have a quite athletic build.
The king then spoke, , addressing both us and the nobles alike, thanking us for our various deeds for both Keralon and its allies. And then asked us to regale all of those present with the story of how we managed to accomplish all of this.
We quickly discussed on how best to approach the king’s request. First Allistan and Hayley began by spinning an epic tale on how we were tasked with investigating the arrival of Morenthene’s forces, , culminating in our retrieval of Norgar’s stolen gem on the day they entered the city.
Next, Luke and I continued the story. Telling of our journey to Ravensfield in order to investigate troubling rumours of dangers that had been plaguing the village. And how, to our shock, we learned that it was in fact the same cult that was behind it all. Mind you I chose not to go into too much detail concerning Raynis and his condition. after all, we had already included everything in our report to the knights, and those who needed to know were already informed. We then wrapped up our part by recounting our epic battle against Rayl and the subsequent evacuation of Ravensfield.
Finally, Liliana and Dadroz concluded our tale with the events of that fateful night at the embassy. They expertly detailed not only our desperate struggle to find and retrieve Norgar, but also our climactic battle with the now draconic Robert Talespinner.
As we concluded our tale, the audience remained silent, clearly captivated by our story. However as soon as the king showed his approval, the silence was broken by a modest applause. He then proceeded to explain that before presenting us with our rewards, he first wished to learn more about his new knights.
The king first turned his attention to the De La Roost twins. He expressed his pleasure at seeing the De La Roost family once again having an active presence in Keralon. And then proceeded to offer his sincere condolences for the loss of their brother at the hands of the cursed Black Knight all those years ago. After asking a few questions about their family history and interests, he addressed Liliana directly, inquiring about her time away from Keralon. Liliana explained that she had been serving Lady Vivienne during her absence. The king nodded, remarking that he had known Lady Vivienne for quite some time, which wasn’t surprising, as she often served as an envoy for King Ulther.
From one set of twins to another, he then turned to the magic twins Hayley and Luke. Proclaiming that he always had a fascination for the mystic arts, he asked them to provide a small demonstration of their abilities. Hayley responded by conjuring magical thorned vines, while Luke summoned a massive fireball that soared into the sky.
Following the demonstration, the king asked Luke a few probing questions concerning his troubled past at the magical academy. In particular his conflict with Liliana’s former partner Samuel. He then issued a stern warning about infighting within his court, a caution clearly directed at both the nobles in attendance and Luke himself.
Next, the king’s attention shifted to Dadroz. When Dadroz expressed confidence in his skill with a bow, the king eagerly requested a demonstration. In order to do this, asked Dadroz to shoot an arrow as close as possible to a volunteer without hitting them. To choose the volunteer, the king gave the honour to Luke, testing whether he had heeded the earlier warning. Thankfully, Luke was not baited and decided to choose herald Skald instead of Samuel. Dadroz then expertly loosed a bolt from his newly gifted crossbow, missing the herald’s head by a hair.
Finally, it was my turn. When the king asked about my past, I explained that I had grown up in Tarn. Spending most of my time roaming the forest, much to the dismay of my parents. The king then mentioned that he had heard about me possessing a magnificent longbow and asked if he could see it. I was admittedly a bit hesitant, but knowing there was no polite way to refuse, I agreed and handed him the bow. He inspected it carefully for a moment before returning it with a remark about its exceptional craftsmanship.
And you can most likely guess what happened next. Intrigued by my mention of Fey, the king then requested a demonstration of my abilities. Which I obliged by calling on the primal energies that surrounded us in order to turn my body into mist before finally reforming at the door.
With the demonstrations over, the king proceeded to announce the gift that he would grant us. For starters, he announced that those of us who did not yet possess a noble title would be granted one. Which was certainly a surprise. But I think the nobles that were present were even more surprised when Hayley respectfully declined this offer. The king took this in stride however and even gave her a subtle insurance that the people of Ravensfield would be taken care.
Next was Liliana, who had previously declined the offer of becoming a knight. The king, knowing that she was a skilled swordswoman, granted her the right to carry her magic weapon inside of Keralon.
Which left us with his final gift and this one was certainly the most surprising of all. It was decree that the as of now underdeveloped district of Dogville would be placed under our care. Which was most likely what he meant when he said that the people of Ravensfield would be taken care of. Granted, seeing that this district is technically outside of Keralon, in fact it is on the opposite side of the river, I had never been there before. Graciously, we accepted his generous gift, as well as the responsibilities that went hand in hand with it.
With our meeting with the king over with, we proceeded to head towards the cathedral for our knighting ceremony. And while the meeting had been more informal than I had expected, the ceremony itself was certainly grand beyond words. Perhaps it was the combination of Perhaps it was the combination of the cathedral’s imposing stature along with the presence of so many knights from each circle in attendance. Or maybe the growing realization of the weight of the responsibility that was about to be placed upon our shoulders. Regardless, it was certainly a humbling experience.
According to tradition, each of us was presented with a holy symbol for the respective god that we each served. Now, while I give due respect and prayer to the gods, I must admit that I am not particularly religious. So, instead of a symbol of a specific deity, I was given one of the World Tree instead.
Symbol in hand, we each knelt down in front of the altar. Then a knight of our respective order placed his hand on our shoulder. Following this, a priest came towards us and asked us why we wished to become a knight. What was our purpose in taking on this burden.
And even here I must make a confession. Have you ever been so focused on achieving a goal that, once you finally reach it, you’re not quite sure as to why you started in the first place? That was the issue that I was facing. I mean naturally, I wanted to protect the innocent and defend my fellow man. But to me, those are the very basic duties of a knight. After a moment’s reflection, I answered that I wished to discover who I truly am and what my place is in this world. Perhaps not the answer the priest was expecting, but an honest one nonetheless
Once we had all whispered our goals to the priest, he began a prayer. During which, I felt an intense surge of pain in my shoulder. As if someone pierced my flesh with a red-hot poker. it was so severe in fact that several of my friends collapsed from the agony. in fact I had no idea how I remained standing. Or perhaps I did faint, and the shock was simply too overwhelming for me to realize it. Either way, with this, we were now official knights of Keralon. And to commemorate this, we found that the ceremony had given each of us a mark or branding on our shoulder. A divine blessing from the gods in recognition of our oath. It was, as I said before, a humbling experience that truly impressed upon me the burden of the oath that we had just sworn.
With the ceremony complete, the only thing left to do was enjoy the celebration held in our honor that evening. It was a welcome change from the formalities of the day. An opportunity to unwind a little and enjoy ourselves before we took on our duties. At least it was, until we heard Liliana shouting in pain. Turning towards her, we could see that lady Viviene had placed her hand on Liliana’s shoulder and was casting some kind of magic. She explained that she had given Liliana a blessing of her own, a gift as she called it, to thank her for her loyalty towards her. And while this stopped Alistan from tearing her apart on the very spot, it did cast a shadow over the evening.
Which is why it was most likely a good thing that, a bit later, the king asked us to join him for a bit of fun. See he wanted to see if we might be interested in a bit of a wager. He wanted us to give another demonstration to both himself and some nobles he had gathered. As an opportunity for us to prove our martial abilities. All we needed to do was beat one of two golems that he had gathered for this occasion. And as an extra incentive, he even offered to give us some additional funds in order to build up our district, should we win of course. We discussed this a bit amongst ourselves and ultimately agreed that there was no reason not to accept these terms.
When the golems were presented, they couldn’t have been more different. One was a hulking mass of crude steel, powered by a furnace that billowed steam. sleek and mannequin-like, forged from glass, with a large flame burning at its core. Personally, I felt like the first golem would be the better choice. As it seemed to me like it would be more of a straightforward brawler. whereas the glass one seemed like it might possess more magical abilities. However, after inspecting them, both Hayley and Luke agreed that the glass golem was the better option. And knowing their expertise in these matters, I had complete faith in their judgment.
We entered the courtyard, which had been cleared for the contest, and Hayley and Luke were proven right rather quickly. The glass golem went down without much trouble. In fact it didn’t even get the chance to do anything. Pleased with our victory, the king congratulated us and turned his attention back to the nobles who had gathered to watch. It was only then that I realized that I couldn’t really recognize any of them. But I simple dismissed that as a result from me being tired from the long day. At least until Hayley raised her own doubts about these nobles. Even suggesting that they might in fact be Fey. A most curious fact. But a mystery that would have to wait until a later day, as for now, we returned to the party before eventually retiring for the night.
Intermission: Letter home
Hello Everyone,
I hope you're all doing well back home. Sorry for not writing as often lately, things have been quite hectic here in Keralon.
Honestly, I’m not quite sure where to begin. If I were to share everything on my mind, it would probably turn into a small book. So, I’ll keep it short for now. The big news is that I am now an official knight of Keralon! Yes, after five years since leaving Tarn, each of us that were seeking to become one actually managed to earn the title.
We were able to do so because we got ourselves involved with a bit of a crisis here in Keralon. In short, we thwarted several attacks on the envoys from Keralon’s new ally. They were being targeted by a crazed cult that wanted to kidnap the envoy’s son for some kind of weird ritual. But no worries, as we managed to stop them. And as a reward, we got ourselves knighted.
So yeah, I’m doing quite well here at the moment. I’m guessing that things will get rather busy now as I settle into all these new responsibilities. Which isn’t too bad, as I’m still feeling a bit surreal about it all at the moment. In part because after focussing so long on trying to become a knight, I’m at a bit of a loss on what to do now. Just need to find myself a new goal. Hopefully I will be able to find an opportunity to travel back home soon so that I can tell you all about it in person.
There is however something else I wanted to bring up. If I’ve got my dates right, it’s almost time for Cecily and Anna to set out on their own journeys outside Tarn. This got me thinking. When my friends and I first left, we were gifted various items from the town to aid us. One of those gifts was the bow Stormwind, given to us by the sheriff, which I ended up using. And during our journey, Stormwind served me well. But I fear that in the recent years, I’ve since outgrown it.
So, I’d like to return it to Tarn. Please give it to either Cecily or Ashley, if they’re interested. If not, feel free to pass it on to another young adventurer in town. Stormwind helped me find my path, and I would love for it to do the same for someone else.
But That’s all for now. I love you all and hope to see you soon.
Sincerely,
Gael
P.S. Could you also let the sheriff know why I returned the bow? I wouldn’t want her to think we were ungrateful.
The fall of Robert Talespinner
23rd of Nuan, Y126 E.O.T.
Robert immediately raised his hands, assuring us he wasn’t there to fight. He then admitted that it was in fact him who had spirited Norgar away. But that he was more than willing to return him to us. All he asked in return was that we allowed them to finish the ritual that they were doing. Which, he claimed, would only take another hour.
When we pressed him about their goals, Robert explained that the ritual was meant to extract a small piece of Norgar’s draconic essence. But that it should not have any lasting effects on him. As to why, I guessed that they most to wished to implant it into someone else, much like what had been done with poor Raynis. What then followed was a discussion on the ethics of what he and his fellows was trying to do. With us trying to convince him to turn away from this path, while he insisted that by granting mortals the power of dragons, they would be helping everyone.
Suddenly, Hayley hissed that Robert was just stalling for time as she raised her hands to cast a spell. In that moment, Robert lunged at us with a feral, almost animalistic fury. It was only then that Luke and Hayley realized that this was in fact a doppelganger. A magical shapeshifter left to distract us as the real Robert completed his ritual. . Fortunately, the imposter was no match for all of us and we quickly knocked him unconscious and tied him up.
We ventured deeper into the ruins until we came upon what appeared to be a prayer room of some kind. At the center of which stood a large statue of a dragon, with Norgar lying unconscious on an altar at its feet. His body covered in glowing magical runes. With the gem that we had used to track him, atop of his chest. Pulsating with a steady rhythm, almost like the beat of a heart.
Norgar was not alone however, six drakes stood guard around him. We immediately sprang into action, using the narrow hallway as a choke point to prevent them from overwhelming us with sheer numbers. Allistan and Liliane, bolstered by the magics of Hayley and Luke, were able to hold the line. Preventing the drakes from getting to the backrow and collapsing our formation. This gave the edge and we were eventually able to vanquish all of them. Allowing us to focus our attention on Norgar.
Not wanting to worsen the situation, we decided to hold off on moving Norgar until Hayley and Luke had the chance to examine him. He was, fortunately, still alive. However, the ruby, resting on his chest was somehow linked to his soul. Hayley explained that the gem was acting as a phylactery. This is apparently a kind of container that can house the soul of an individual. Most commonly, the soul of a lich, a powerful undead mage. Though in this case, it housed only a small part of Norgar’s soul.
After weighing his options, Luke proceeded to dispel the ritual. Exhausted but relieved that Norgar was safe, we took a quick breather to regain our strength before heading back. I was a little worried that Norgar still hadn’t woken up, but Hayley assured us that all he needed was time. We then made our way back towards the surface.
As we entered the same hallway where we had first encountered the doppelganger, a deep, menacing, but unmistakably familiar voice echoed through the tunnel. After a brief moment of hesitation, we realized that it was Robert’s. he begged us, his tone desperate, to leave Norgar behind and just walk away. Naturally we refused, which was followed by a deafening roar in the distance.
Through the dim light, we could just make out a massive figure struggling to navigate the corridor, lumbering toward us. Considering that we still had the unconscious Norgar with us, we agreed on the wiser choice of action and fled for now.
Glancing over my shoulder, I could vaguely make out a dragon like figure in the distance, its enormous bulk awkwardly squeezing through the narrow passage. Fortunately for us, its size slowed it down, giving us plenty of time to escape. I suppose that was the limit to what Robert proclaimed as draconic supremacy.
Once we exited the tunnels, we were greeted by a group of guards sent to reinforce us. Upon seeing the unconscious Norgar, they immediately send word to his father and guided us towards the embassy’s chapel. As some of us received healing, I collapsed onto a bench with a heavy thud, vowing to myself that as soon as I got home, I wouldn’t leave my bed for days. Or at least, that was the plan, until Norgar’s gem suddenly began to glow.
Dadroz shouted in alarm, "They're coming!". Causing Fiachna to quickly grab hold of the gem and fly out the window as the ground beneath us erupted. Thrown back by the force, I scrambled to my feet as a hideous creature the size of a house emerged from the dust. It was an abomination, a twisted fusion of man and dragon. Its hulking body was draconic and covered in green scales. While its head, covered in greasy black hair, retained unsettlingly human features. With its face, though barely recognizable, still bearing the twisted likeness of Robert. This was the form that he sacrificed his humanity for.
Without wasting a second, I loosed an arrow at the creature. It struck true, but the wound quickly closed and pushed the arrow out. Allistan charged forward, engaging the monster head-on, which gave Liliane the opportunity to pull Norgar to safety. Just then I noticed that two additional Half-dragons emerging from the hole that Norgar came from.
The rest of us shifted our attention to the two new half-dragons, giving Allistan the space to focus entirely on Robert. Despite the overwhelming odds, Allistan proved more than a match for the creature. For while he was missing his trademark heavy armor, it allowed him to be quick enough on his feet that he could dodge most of Robert’s attacks. And after a series of intense exchanges, Allistan finally landed a decisive blow, his blade slicing cleanly through Robert’s neck, decapitating the monstrous figure.
At the sight of their leader's fall, the remaining half-dragons let out enraged roars and unleashed a barrage of breath weapons. Flames and lightning tore through the battlefield, nearly scorching both Allistan and Hayley, who were only saved by some timely healing magic. Despite the ferocity of the attacks, we pressed on. And while the battle was a long and brutal, in the end we were victorious. With the last of them falling to Hayley’s magics.
It wasn’t long before we were joined by a priest, who tended to our wounds with his divine magic. But more importantly, he was able to revive the unconscious Norgar. Once Norgar regained his strength, we were escorted back to the main building. As we walked the grounds, we informed Norgar of the events that transpired. And I must admit, as we recounted the events of that evening, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of sadness. For while Robert had strayed far from the man I once knew, or perhaps never was that man, there was a point that I considered him a friend. And this was not the ending that I had hoped for him.
When we returned to the main building, we quickly discovered that the party had already ended, as the guest had already departed. Instead, we were greeted by a much more serious group. Standing alongside the ambassador were Ser Donovan, the leaders of various knight circles, the heralds Aspental and Skald and of course, our respective partners for the evening.
Once seated, we began recounting the events that had unfolded. From Norgar’s kidnapping by Robert, to the ritual beneath the city, and finally, the climactic battle at the chapel. The room was silent as we spoke, the weight of the situation hanging in the air. When we finished, Ragnar was the first to break the silence. He thanked us sincerely for once again saving his son's life an then proceeded to explain the significance of the gem we had recovered. It was part of a cultural tradition of Morenthene’s followers. The gem was passed down throughout generations, with each inheritor contributing a piece of their essence into it. Thus creating a lasting connection to their ancestors. And more shockingly, it could also be used as a powerful focus by Velora Morenthene to resurrect someone if they fell in battle. Which would explain as to why the cult was so eager to get their hands on it.
Ser Donovan was the next to speak. expressing his gratitude on behalf of Keralon, not just for our actions this evening, but also for our previous service as well. And he promised that we would be properly rewarded, with the king himself presenting the honours. And the rewards didn’t stop there. Herald Aspental then addressed both Luke, Liliana, and me directly. For while this hadn’t been an official quest for Keralon, we had more proven our mettle beyond a doubt. And as a result, he extended his support for us to join any knight circle of our choosing.
I could hardly believe it. After five long years of striving toward this goal, I had finally earned the title of knight. Naturally Luke and I accepted the offer immediately, but Liliana hesitated. Herald Aspental took it in strive however and suggested that she think on it for the next couple of days. And I understood her hesitation. Liliana had always had her choices made by other. Afterall, while she did join Lady Viviene service to honour her family, ultimately the choice hadn’t really been hers. It was one made by her ancestors after all. So for Liliana, this was a rare opportunity for her to forge her own destiny. And whether she ultimately chose to become a knight or pursue another path, this decision was hers alone to make, and that was the most important thing.
Herald Aspental then went on to announce that Allistan, Hayley, and Dadroz, who had yet to receive a formal knighting ceremony, would be honored alongside us. It felt fitting, almost poetic even. Afterall, we had started this journey together, and now we would finish it together as well.
With the formalities complete, the evening wound down. And while the others said their goodbyes to their respective partners, I couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement for the future. The rewards awaiting us, the knighting ceremony itself, it all felt a bit surreal. After everything we’d been through, one chapter of our lives was closing and the next one was just beginning. And I was eager to see where it would lead.
Searching for Norgar
23th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree
The ambassador explained that his guards had informed him that Norgar had not been seen for some time. And while I was hoping that he had simple slipped away, recent events suggested caution was necessary. After all, if the cult was involved, he faced more than just mortal danger. he real question now was how to proceed. Our only real clue at the moment was Robert, whom we knew was involved with them. However, confronting him at the party would not only be time-consuming, but it could also cause a panic amongst the guests.
Luke fortunately had a more elegant solution. Using his magic, he was able to cast a spell that would indicate where a specific item was located. In this case the ruby that Norgar possessed and the cult had previously attempted to steal. With some luck, finding it would also lead to Norgar. It also served as a good reminder that although Luke often dazzles people with his flashy and powerful fire spells, his true strength and talents instead lied with the more subtle arts of divination magic. As they say, don’t judge a book by its cover.
The spell revealed that the ruby was located somewhere to the north and was beneath us. As in below the ground. Which was unfortunately all we could learn as just then, the item left the range of Luke’s spell. Which was about one thousand feet. Meaning that it was still on the move. However with this information, we were able to determine that at the moment Norgar and his kidnappers were somewhere deep below palace hill.
Now I can’t quite recall who it was, but someone raised the possibility that the embassy, which used to be an old fortress, might possess a secret passage that they had used to smuggle Norgar out undetected. So in order to find Norgar, the first step would be to find it. To help us with the search, ambassador Rachnar gave us a master key that could open every door in the embassy. Which raised another issue. As this key was identical to the ones we had found in Robert’s room yesterday.
That problem would have to wait however, as for now we made our way into the basement. We figured that this would be the most likely place for the entrance of an underground passage to be located. We conducted a thorough search of the basement. With me looking for abnormal tracks, Dadroz searching for traps. And while at first I thought he was being a bit over cautious considering this was still the embassy after all and not some evil lair, I would quickly be proven wrong. As when Hayley attempted to open one of the doors, a massive fireball erupted, engulfing both her, Dadroz, and Liliana. In other words, if your lockpicker says it is best to search for traps, it is best to search for traps.
As the smoke cleared, we could see various figures in the room ahead Nearly a dozen cultists were gathered around a pentagram, performing some kind of ritual, as some kind of flesh golem stood guard at the door. In an attempt to interrupt their ritual, and considering that I was unarmed, I released a spell that would cause magical vines to grow and entangle them. But as if they were possessed, the cultists simple continued chanting undisturbed. Causing Luke to put an a permanent end to it, by engulfing the cultist in a massive fireball of his own. Killing them instantly. Meanwhile the other made quick work of the golem.
According to Luke and Hayley, the cultists had been attempting to summon a demon named Durzal. Alarmed by their boldness, we immediately informed a few guards of this and continued our search. But sadly we found no trace of a hidden passage. That was when Elsa, who had come to check on Luke and offer some magical healing, suggested that one might be hidden in one of the embassy’s auxiliary buildings.
While trying not to alert the other guests, we stepped outside in order to continue our investigation. We decided to mainly focus on the norther buildings for now. However, our progress was slow. This was not helped by the fact that all the buildings we inspected were abandoned. Even with most of the focus being on the party, we should still have encountered one or two guards. A most worrisome fact.
Just as I began to question whether we should change our approach, fate intervened. it happened when Allistan opened a door in the basement of the guardhouse that we were in. he suddenly found himself flanked by two half-dragon warriors lying in ambush. Taking full advantage of our surprise, the ensuing battle turned out to be a brutal one. And although we were victorious in the end, it was not without suffering some serious injuries. Fortunately, Hayley and Liliane were able to use their healing abilities to prevent the worst from happening.
Upon inspecting the room they had been guarding, we finally discovered a hidden passage in the northern wall. And while Dadroz struggled with a particular stubborn lock, we found ourselves at a crossroads. Should we take the time to recover from the attack, or press forward without delay? Opinions on this were divided. On the one hand, it would offer several tactical advantages. As not only would we be able to heal a few wounds, our spellcasters would also be able to recover some of their magics. Not to mention that it would allow Allistan to formulate a battleplan for our current situation. But on the other hand, with no clear understanding of Norgar’s kidnappers’ motives, any delay might spell his doom, or worse. In the end, we ultimately decided not to risk it and continue on our way.
That said, we weren’t entirely at a disadvantage. We managed to gather a few supplies from the guardhouse to ensure we were properly equipped before entering the tunnel behind the hidden door. Though just to be safe, Hayley sent Fiachna, who had been scouting the embassy from the sky, to deliver a message to the ambassador. Making sure that should we fail, others could still carry out our mission.
As we ventured deeper into the tunnel, the brick walls gradually gave way to natural stone and dirt. Most likely this used to be some kind of mine. Eventually, the tunnel opened up into a large natural cave, illuminated by luminescent crystals. And more importantly, with fresh tracks to follow.
The tracks led us to what appeared to be some kind of ancient ruins. It was difficult to pinpoint exactly where these were located. But my best guess would be somewhere right below the palace, or close to it. Before venturing further, Luke decided to recast his spell in order to confirm that Norgar was in fact in these ruins. And with that confirmation, we pressed on.
However our enemies were no fools. Not content to rely solely on the obscurity of the location, they had stationed sentries throughout. A fact that became painfully obvious when we were attacked from the shadows by what seemed to be an experienced assassin. Fortunately, we eventually put an end to him, but the attack served as a stark reminder to stay on guard.
As we pressed on, we explored the various rooms we came across. It quickly became clear to us that these ruins were serving as a base for the cult. As there were clear signs that it was inhabited. Though fortunately, most of the rooms were empty at the time. Except of course for one such room, that was inhabited by a particularly nasty looking ogre.
I was certain that we would have no choice but to fight him, but Liliana surprised all of us by deceiving him into believing that we were in fact part of the cult. And thus fact allowed to be there. To be honest, I never would have imagined Liliana, with her sunny and bubbly personality, to be such a skilled manipulator. Though I guess the fact that I couldn’t picture her like that is what makes her so skilled at it in the first place.
We soon found ourselves in a large hallway, lined with doors leading to other rooms. But what caught our attention most was Robert Talespinner, sitting casually on a stone in the center, greeting us with a wide smile.
The Embassy ball
22nd - 23th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree
After a long and well deserved night’s rest, we regrouped at Erna’s wish in the morning. As expected, the others had also each received an invitation for tomorrow’s ball. Meaning that it promised to be an even grander event then I first anticipated. However before we could turn our attention to such festivities, we had more pressing and unpleasant matters to attend to first.
According to Feyris, while he hadn’t seen Robert in the last few days, he was still renting a room at the inn. So with Feyris’ permission, we decided to go and take a look inside, hoping of finding some clue as to what drove him to such madness. Fortunately as we approached the room, It was a good thing that Dadroz was with us, as he prevented us from triggering a nasty trap that Robert had set on the door. Once inside, we were sadly disappointed by the room being mostly empty. Still having come this far, we gave the room a thorough search. With Luke and Hayley even using a few spells to ensure that nothing was overlooked. Though in the end, we didn’t find much. The only thing of note that we found was a backpack that he had left behind. In which rested a key ring with around ten identical keys. Though with no idea as to their purpose, we sadly found ourselves at a death end.
We then turned our attention to the next issue at hand, namely the remains of the dragon golem that we had to leave behind. After discussing it amongst ourselves, we agreed that the Briar Circle was most likely the best equipped Circle to handle this particular situation. So we, with the exception of Hayley who wished to check in with the refugees, we returned once more to the headquarters of the Circle. And upon explaining the problem that we were facing, they assured us that they would handle. Which was huge relief for us, as I otherwise had no idea on how we could handle this ourselves.
And so, we were finally free to prepare for the feast. Or at least, that's what I’d like to say. But the truth of the matter is that none of us really knew how to properly prepare for a ball of that magnitude. Even Allistan and Liliana, whom you'd expect to have some experience as nobles, were completely out of their dept. So, and honestly I don’t really remember who made this suggestion, I think it was Liliana, it was suggested that we might ask Elsa for her help.
Though when we got to her home, we were informed however that she was not in at that moment. But as we turned around to leave, Luke and I spotted a might warhorse in one of the stables near to the manor. This wouldn’t have been that unusual, were it not for the fact that this particular horse was still glistening with sweat. Indicating that it had only just arrived. Our curiosity piqued, we asked one of the servants to whom this horse might belong to and were informed that it in fact belonged to Elsa’s brother Sir Edward Colline jr, who had only just arrived.
Excited, Allistan asked if it was possible to see lord Colline and after a few minutes, we were having a tearful reunion with our old friend. It turned out he had also received an invitation to the party. Though the short time that he in order to reach Keralon did mean that he had to leave his family behind back in Tarn. But as we were reminiscing, we were suddenly graced by the appearance of Elsa entering the room. She was most surprised to see us there, as she had only taken a short break from her duties in order to welcome her brother, but was delighted to see us nonetheless.
When she heard we had come to her for help with party preparations, Elsa was more than willing to help us. The issue, however, stemmed from the fact that she was currently to busy with the preparations for said party. Meaning that she sadly couldn’t go shopping with us at that time. Instead, she generously offered to lend Hayley and Liliana some of her dresses and jewelry, ensuring they’d be well-prepared for the party. As well as giving us a few addresses to shops and tailors that might be able to assist us on short notice.
Another suggestion of Elsa was that we might attend the party as a group. A notion that we all agreed was a good one. Which led us into her next question. With her time consumed by both the event preparations as well as her duties at court, she hadn’t given it much thought as to whom might accompany her that evening. Which is why she asked if either Allistan, Luke or myself would be willing to act as her partner for the evening. Flattered as I was for the offer, I decided to take a step back for Luke. You see the poor guy still carried a large torch for her. Something that was quite obvious to anyone if you knew what to look for.
Now in order not to embarrass him too much, I’m not going to go and list every little giveaway Luke has he is interested in someone of the fairer gender. But I will share about two and a half ways in which you can tell. The first that happens whenever he spots someone that catches his eye is that he immediately straightens his posture. The second telltale sign, and again don’t tell him that I told you this, is that he gets this subtle, cheerful grin on his face. Which also causes the dimples in his cheeks to get slightly highlighted. So I gave him a discreet nudge and he graciously asked if he could have the honour of escorting Lady Elsa to the ball.
With that settled, we agreed to meet back up at half past seven the following evening, allowing Elsa to return to her duties as we headed into town to find something suitable to wear. Now I will admit that most of my knowledge for these things come from books. In particular some rather interesting romance novels that I sometimes read when I have a free moment. Afterall, one needs a hobby. And one of the things that I learned from these is that an event of such scale was not unlike a battlefield. Where a single misstep might cause you your doom.
The best way to arm yourself for such an event is with a proper suit. After all, a good first impression can make or break you. But even here you must tread carefully, as there are many pitfalls to avoid. Spend too little, and you risk looking cheap and common. Spend too much, and it can quickly appear tacky, especially if it’s beyond your station. So, I spent the better part of the day hunting down the perfect tailor-made suit, and I do think that I succeeded in this. That said, I must confess to a small faux pas of mine, as I decided to wear my chainmail underneath. After all it is rather discreet and the feeling of protection that it offered did temper my nerves somewhat.
We reunited the next morning to finalize our preparations. During which I was surprised to see that Lady Sofia De La Roost, the mother of Allistan and Liliana, had joined us. Apparently she had returned to Keralon in order to both attend the party and to ensure that her children were on their best behaviour. Unfortunately it also became quite clear that she wasn’t particularly happy to see that they were still friends with the rest of us. And I can’t really blame her for that, considering the words that were exchanged last time. And in hindsight, I will admit that we might have judged her and her family a tad bit too harshly last time.
Afterall, while it is true that Lady Sofia and her husband continued the dealings with King Ulther, in the end it was not them that made the original deal. Instead they inherited it from their ancestors. And while I will never say that making a deal, especially with a being as powerful as King Ulther, is either a goor or wise idea, they are often made in desperation. And also tend to contain harsh punishments for unilaterally breaking them. Which actually makes the fact that they lost their home in Keralon, which they got for making that deal in the first place, to political manoeuvres even more maddening. So out of respect for both Liliana and Allistan, I decided to hold my final judgment for the De La Roost family for when I actually know the details of said contract. In order to have the full picture of the situation.
But that would be for later, for now Lady Sofia brought up the very important question of who would accompany each of us to the party. Granted she was mostly focussed on the partners of Allistan and Liliana of course . In fact, she seemed rather pleased that neither would choose one of us as their partner. Instead, Allistan informed her that he would be taking someone else to the party, though he was rather vague about who it would be. As for Liliana, she admitted that she sadly did not have a partner for the dance. Which is not to surprising, as she has not been in Keralon for that long. In fact I’m starting to think that after she returned from her service to Lady Vivienne, she spent more time outside of Keralon than inside. So she agreed with the suggestion that Lady Sofia would use her connections in order to arrange a partner for her.
As for the other set of twins, as previously stated, Luke would be escorting Lady Elsa. And to our surprise, Hayley revealded that she would be taking Dan from the Restoration Society to the party. To be honest, I wasn’t aware that they had gotten that close to each other. Which left just me and Dadroz. Both of us decided to go to the party without a partner , though I’m not sure what his reasons were. As for me, I did consider it. I suppose I could have asked either Karley or Yesda,, but quickly realized that for various reasons that would be a bad idea. Another option would have been Liliana, but I feared that that might make things a bit weird. And besides, there are benefits to going solo to a party. As just you arrived alone, does not mean you have to stay alone.
The rest of the day was spent with some minor preparations. But following Elsa’s suggestion, we each arrived on time at her manor. And I can safely say that each of them would be turning heads that evening. Which isn’t to surprising as each of them possesses qualities that make them attractive beyond the physical.
Allistan’s partner was a young girl by the name of Galiene, a priestess of the temple. And based on the glances that they were stealing from each other, I’m guessing that there is indeed something between them. Or at the very least, something that might be growing between them. But with all with us gathered, we took a carriage towards the embassy.
The embassy was housed in a renovated old fortress in Trusesilver, located beside the Lorerun River. Upon our arrival, Lady Sofia introduced us to Liliana’s partner. A young man by the name of Samuel Veilborn. And Judging by the look of sheer disdain exchanged between him and Luke, they were already acquainted. As they started bickering for a moment, I couldn’t help but hope that Luke wouldn’t make the mistake of focussing too much on his grudge and not on his partner. Thankfully, it seemed that my concerns were unfounded as they quickly started ignoring each other.
We each entered the main hall one by one as our names were announced. The hall was magnificently decorated, blending elements of both Keralon and the ancestral home of the Dragonkin. The guests looked as though they had stepped straight out of the stories I’d read. And the guests themselves each seemed like they had leapt out of stories that I had read before. Truly the atmosphere was magical. To our surprise, however, we spotted our missing friend, Robert Talespinner, among the crowd. There was little we could do about it at that moment however, as we couldn’t just confront him in the middle of the party. Instead, we decided to keep a close eye on him.
We made our way towards the banquet hall, where we offered our greetings to the hosts of the party, ambassador Rachnar Ergoll and his son Norgar Laar. Who then gave us the great honour of announcing us as the guest of honour for party. In thanks for the actions we had previously taken in order to halt the attacks of the cult against them.
When we rejoined the party, we noticed a sudden commotion near the entrance. It quickly became obvious as to why, as we noticed that Lady Vivienne entered the banquet hall in order to greet the ambassador. She introduced herself as the emissary of High King Ulther, who expressed his regret that he could not make it there himself. Upon spotting us, she gracefully made her way over, as poised as ever and expressed her delight in seeing us again. I can’t explain why, but whenever I meet her, I always feel like a mouse under the watchful eye of a cat. Unsure of wheter or not it is going to pounce, or continue to play its game with me. Thankfully, all those books I’ve read did teach me a thing or two about handling such moments. Most important of which, is to smile. if your outfit is your armor in this social battlefield, then your smile is your greatest weapon. it conceals your thoughts and keeps people guessing. And in the end, there’s nothing to gain from being rude. Politeness always pays off.
After a short while, Lady Vivienne turned her attention to some of the other guests.. And while Liliana gave Samuel a short explanation on her relationship with Lady Vivienne, I decided to go and mingle a bit myself. This led me into an engaging conversation with several leaders of the knight Circles, as well as the heralds, Ildan Aspental and Vern Skald. In no small thanks to Ambassador Rachnar proclamation which allowed me to express my own interest in joining on the circles one day.
Not wanting to take up to much of their precious time, I eventually excused myself As I did, I noticed a rather curious sight. Luke and lady Elsa were dancing right next to Liliana and her partner, Samuel. Or rather, they seemed to be dancing against each other. As whenever Samuel picked up the tempo, Luke matched him and vice versa. It took all my willpower not to cringe at the spectacle. Although I don’t know Samuel well, I had hoped Luke wouldn’t fall into his trap. And unfortunately, under the watchful eye of Keralon’s elite, there was little I could do to intervene. Either for his or Liliana’s sake. Apart from cursing my lack of religious knowledge in order to know which god to pray to make both men come to their senses. In the end however it seemed that Luke had come out ahead in this confrontation as he and Lady Elsa gracefully left the dancefloor. could only hope she would forgive him for this childish display. Unlike Liliana who seemed entirely fed up with her partner.
A short while later, I suddenly found myself being escorted to the ballroom. Lady Vivienne had linked her arm with mine and, with a graceful yet determined stride, led me to the dance floor. Her warm yet firm gaze making it clear that she wouldn’t take 'no' for an answer. And I must admit, she was an exceptionally skilled dance partner. Gliding effortlessly across the room, while making it seem as we were the only ones there, as I tried my best to keep up with her pace.
As we danced, she expressed her regret for the fate of Sylvaris. Though I was taken aback by her mention of his name, I would like to think that I kept my composure and offering her a subtle smile as I thanked her for her concern. She then asked if I ever had the pleasure of attending a party in the Feywild. And as I answered her by saying I never had the pleasure, I instantly realized that I had walked straight into her trap. She smiled and remarked that we would have to change that, hinting that she would arrange for me to be invited in the future.
Forget comparing her to a cat, she was more akin to a spider. Weaving her web with such skill and grace that you willingly walked into it without even realizing. And before I knew it, the dance had ended and she disappeared into the crowd. Leaving me wondering as to how I could escape from this honour with being rude.
As the night went on, a servant approached me, asking that I meet with the ambassador in his office. When I entered the room on the second floor, I instantly noticed that the others, minus their partners, had also been invited. Though the moment that the ambassador entered, we were instantly alerted by the worried look on his face that something was wrong. Which was confirmed when he told us that his son had gone missing.
Return to Keralon
18th - 21st of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree
The enemy army was content to simply wait and watch as the last remnants of Ravensfield continued to burn to ash. worked to our advantage, as it allowed us us to slip away unnoticed. Now I must admit that, as foolish as it sounds, my mind was quite troubled by it all. Don’t get me wrong, as this was certainly the best victory that we could have hoped for. Not only had we saved the villagers, but also managed to secure our own lives from an unwinnable battle. Still, the sight of Ravensfield left me wondering if there wasn’t more we could have done? Was there some clever tactic we had overlooked that might have turned the tide? Or some weakness that we could have exploited? As I said, foolish indeed, for the rational part of me knows all too well that there was nothing more we could have done at that time. Yet it would be a question that would haunt me as we made our way back to Keralon.
This was only made worse by the fact that we had lost Raynis. Not that he was dead, mind you. It was just that during our escape from the village, we became separated and lost track of him. With not a clue as to what direction he took. So with heavy hearts, we decided to leave him be for now. As we simply did not have the time to look for him. Instead, we would have to hope that his survival skills would be enough to keep him out hidden from the cultists hands until the reinforcements from Keralon arrived. And as cruel as it sounds, this might have been for the best. We were already struggling to keep his curse in check when we were at our best. Doing so while traveling with a group of refugees would have been nearly impossible.
Fortunately, we reunited with the other refugees after just a day’s travel. Meaning that, should the army decide not to honour Rayld’s promise, we would be able to keep assist them. However there was of course a complication that we had not anticipated. For each night, we would spot a figure flying overhead. A distinctive dragonlike figure flying from the north to the south and back again. Followed by markings we would find the next day, indicated that something the size of a house had landed nearby, relatively close to our camp.
Thus, we had but little choice other than sending both Dadroz and myself out at night in order to get a better look at the creature. Wich we managed to do with some difficulty. As mentioned before, its overall shape resembled that of a dragon, but the dark metallic body revealed its true nature as a golem As for what it was doing, it was simply standing there, watching our camp before ultimately taking of into the nights sky once more.
With that, we returned to the others to share our findings and discuss our next course of action. Opinions on this were rather divided, with both Luke, Liliana and Allistan wishing to confront the creature, hoping that it might be reasoned with, whereas Hayley, Dadroz and myself were against this. Our reasoning being that this creature likely lacked real intelligence and was simply acting on its programming. And that confronting it could only end in a conflict, potentially endangering the other refugees. Ultimately, after a long discussion we decided on the cautious approach and simple observe the dragon. Content to leave it be so long as it made no moves against us in turn. This however would prove to be a fatal mistake.
Our journey back to Keralon would last for about 4 days. Fortunately we were making good time. And every evening, our nightly visitor would return in order to gaze at us once more, before flying away.
It happened on the fourth day. Seeing as we would still need half a day in order to reach Keralon, we decided to halt at noon in order to give everyone one last break. Which is when pandemonium hit us. Before I was fully aware of what was happening, Dadroz had slipped a dagger between my ribs. His eyes cold and unfocused, a telltale sign that he was not in his right mind. And he was not the only one, as several of the other refugees were currently fighting amongst themselves. Even the animals weren’t save as Thorin lashed out savagely to anyone who dared to come close to him.
As we scrambled to stop the fighting as quickly as possible, the strange effect suddenly lifted. Instead, the dragon from the nights before, suddenly appeared before us, shedding its veil of invisibility. With a mighty roar it unleashed a breath of pure radiant energy. Allistan and Liliana rushed in in order to attempt to block it with their shield and magics respectfully, but sadly it was in vain. Several of the villagers who were standing closes to us simple burned to ash as the waves of energy swept over them.
Fueled by her divine rage, Liliana engulfed her blade in holy flames as she leapt towards the beast. Flanked by both her brother and Dadroz. Together their heavy attacks in combination with Hayley’s cripling magics and Luke’s overwhelming firepower eventually forced the golem to retreat. But it did not get far, as Luke engulfed the creature with one final fireball, bringing it crashing down upon the ground.
After applying what little first aide we could to the few refugees that were near us that still lived, we decided to investigate. Though the golem was no longer functioning, we could still feel its lingering magic scratching at our minds. It turned out that this was due to the metal that it was made from. Forged in the infernal pits theselves, it had a passive effect that drives mortals that get too close to it insane. A truly insidious metal that required no magic or power source in order to function. This meant the remains would continue to pose a danger to anyone who dared to approach them. And sadly we did not have the proper means in order to dispose of it. So we did the only thing we could, cover the area in as many warnings as we could and continue on our way. And upon reaching Keralon, inform the circles of the danger that these remains presented and ask them to dispose of them.
As you can imagine, morale was quite low after that ordeal. Fortunately, we eventually reached the safety of Keralon’s walls. And although the gates had already closed for the night, Allistan was able to use his authority as a Knight of the circle in order to persuade the guards to let us inside. Though we still had to each give an explanation to the captain of the guard on the situation and where exactly all these people came from. And to his credit, as soon as he understood the gravity of the situation, he immediately arranged for a location where the refugees could rest before a more permanent solution could be found.
Following this, Hayley and Allistan decided to meet up with their Circle in order to inform them of the situation. During which, the rest of us, Under Dadroz his watchful eye as a knight, delivered the professor and his fellow cultist to the Briar circle. Where it luckily did not take as much paperwork as I was expecting to place them in their prison. Instead they respected the word of Dadroz that these were dangerous individuals that needed to be locked up, on his authority. Meaning that while they imprisoned them, he still held the final responsibility over them and the investigation into their crimes.
With that task complete, we regrouped with Hayley and Allistan, who had one final piece of unsettling news for the evening. It turned out that when the Circles received our letter several days ago, they had immediately sent out three seasoned knights to Ravensfield. And the fact that we hadn’t crossed paths with them on our journey back to Keralon was a most troubling sign in regards to their current whereabouts and safety. Had they fallen prey to the golem we encountered? Or was it not the only enemy that had stalked our path?
But seeing as the midnight bell had already rung, we decided to leave these questions for the next day. Giving me the rare luxury of actually sleeping in my own bed. And I can even say that the day ended with a small, if not surprising, piece of good news. For upon returning home to the Greenhouse, I found a letter waiting for me. A golden envelope with silver letters, inviting me by name for a party the very next day in honour of not only the new Embassy, but also for the newly assigned ambassador Ragnar Ergoll. A most welcome distraction that was just what the cleric ordered in order to clear my head of all the hardships of the recent days. If only for a single day.
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The battle for Ravensfield part 2
16th - 17th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree
Time seemed to have been slowed down to a crawl as the wyvern rider stared us down. When the expected attack didn’t come however, Hayley and Liliana, quick on their feet as always, seized the moment in order to cast a few healing spells for us.
After they were finished, the rider addressed us and asked if we were indeed the knights of Keralon who had raided Hollow Hill. When we confirmed this, he stated that because of this, he had come to Ravensfield in order to get revenge for this. But as he was not without mercy, he then proceeded to offer us a deal of sorts.
He offered the villagers of Ravensfield 24 hours to evacuate before his army would arrive to tear the village down, on the condition that we would stay behind and fight to the last. Any trickery on our part or attempt to rally the villagers to fight for us, would result in no mercy however.
While we truly suspected some sort of trickery, we truly could not sense any falsehoods in his statements. So with no other options available to us, we decided to accept his proposal. And with that, he took off and left the village alone for now.
Hayley immediately spoke to both the village head and Dan, explaining the urgent need to gather the people and start evacuating to Keralon. After all there was no way we would be able to hold off an entire army , even with their help. No, better to save as many lives as we could.
As for Zem and Saphira, as you can imagine, they weren’t exactly keen on leaving Hayley behind. But it was for the best. As even if the Rider didn’t go back on his word, the road to Keralon would still be a long and treacherous one. And the villagers would need people like them in order to keep them safe.
Also we had to consider the matter of our prisoners. Based on what the rider had said, the cult was currently not aware that the professor had survived. Meaning that his capture might be edge that the circles would need in the future in order to ensure that the cult was rooted out. So it was vital that he reached Keralon in one piece. And there was no one else better than them to make sure of this.
That left us with the matter of Reynis. Afterall, due to his curse we couldn’t just send him over with the rest of the villagers. In the end, we decided to simple ask him what he wanted to do. Surprisingly, he wanted to stay behind and assist us in the upcoming battle. Which we greatly appreciated.
With all that out of the way, we began our preparations. In order to give us a fighting chance, Allistan, Dadroz and I started setting up traps around the village. Nothing major mind, just a few hunting traps that, while not powerful enough to take someone out, should be able to hinder them a bit. Beyond that, we also asked Dan for whatever lamp oil he could spare and spread it across the village. Afterall, if the village would be burned down regardless, might as well do it on our own terms.
We worked tirelessly the entire day and the next one as well, when we were alerted by plumes of dust in the distance. It seemed that the army had arrived. Fiachna scouted from up above and Hayley estimated that there were roughly three hundred soldiers in the army.
A roar alerted us to about a dozen dragonels circling above the village. And as if on cue, the wyvern and its rider landed in front of us. The rider seemed surprised that we had actually stayed behind to face our doom. He then proclaimed his name to be Rayl and stated that before facing his army, we would first have to deal with him. Not that it would change anything, he added, as even if we somehow managed to defeat him, his army would still attack us.
The ensuing fight that followed was indeed a challenging one, as both Rayl and his wyvern were formidable opponents. However, true to his word, none of the dragonels overhead interfered. This allowed us to ultimately overwhelm him with sheer numbers and knock him unconscious.
As soon as Rayl went down, the army started to advance. Dadroz quickly tied the unconscious Rayl up and we moved him into the barn. Meanwhile, Hayley showcased her arcane might by enchanting the environment. This caused spiked vines to grow and hinder the army’s approach. Which was especially effective as in their eagerness for destruction, they had already started burning down the houses near the edge of the village. Houses that we had doused in oil beforehand.
Seeing how quickly the flames were spreading,, the main force of the army had been given pause in their advance. Which allowed us to notice a second smaller group approaching us. A pack of drakes of various kinds, led by some strange humanoid dragon creature, were attempting to flank us.
We quickly shifted our focus and engaged the new threat, using whatever means we had to settle the battle as swiftly as possible. Afterall, not only were there more enemies on the horizon, those flames were advancing towards us a lot faster than we would have liked. Things took a turn for the worse when one of the drakes bit down hard on Thorrin's neck, causing him and Allistan to fall to the ground. However Allistan quickly got back up and provided Liliane enough time so she could give Thorin some much needed healing.
In the end, we had no choice but to fall back, narrowly evading the flames as we made our way to the south side of the village and into Lorewood. To our great shame, I must admit that we failed to recover Rayl from the flames. While he was an indeed enemy, no one deserves to die like that. Especially one who had shown us that amount of honour. As for the rest of the army, they were content with simple watching the village burn to ash. No doubt assuming that we had perished in the fire.
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The battle for Ravensfield part 1
16th of Nuan, 126 Year of the Tree
We managed to make it back to Ravensfield just before nightfall. Which was good, as it allowed us to put our new plan in order to deal with Reynis’s transformations in motion. The plan was rather straightforward, namely wrap him up in heavy chains in order to prevent him from moving.
However, as the saying goes, if you want to make the gods laugh, simply tell them your plans. So as Reynis started transforming, he effortlessly broke the chains apart. Fortunately however we managed to subdue him before his transformation was complete this time. Allowing us to get through it without any major injuries. Which was good as we still had other business to take care of that evening.
Our captives, whom we had left in the capable hands of Zem and Saphira, had regained consciousness. We started our interrogation with the mage that we had captured. Or the professor as we had come to know him. Now as you can imagine, he was less than forthcoming with any information. So in order to speed things up, Hayley decided to use her magic in order to read his mind directly.
It turns out that the final goal of their experiments is to find a way in order to turn humans into dragons. Upon questioning the sanity of this, the professor finally decided to speak up. The main reason for it all was envy, plain and simple.
Now there is a whole philosophical debate to be had about the right and wrong reasons for seeking power, but I won't delve into that right now. No, what truly bothered me about it all wasn't their motive or goal, but rather the actions they took in order to achieve them. If their experiments had only involved willing individuals, I might have questioned it all, but I wouldn't necessarily have a problem with it. However, when the professor started preaching about the necessary sacrifices for the greater good, he lost me. For it is far too easy to speak off making sacrifices when you are not the one making them. So no, these fools are insane and I had no sympathy to give them.
We then turned our attention to the identity of the so-called champion that now resided in Keralon. However once more, the professor immediately shut down when we broached this topic. And to make matters worse, when Hayley moved in to read his mind once more, he actually bit of his own tongue and spat it at her. A good thing that Liliana was there, as she was able to quickly seal his injury to prevent him from bleeding out.
Although the professor could no longer answer our questions, his drastic actions did have a profound effect on our other prisoner. By which I mean that he was so intimidated by all this that he sang like a canary. And while he did not know the champion's name, he was able to provide us with a detailed description. A description that, to our great shock, matched that of one of our dear friends, Robert Talespinner.
While there was of course a small chance that it was all a coincidence, the realistic part of me knew that there could be no doubt about it all. Robert had betrayed Keralon and was in league with the cultist that had attacked us on numerous occasions. But despite all of this, I resolved myself not to judge him immediately and at least give him a chance to explain himself. After all, he had been our friend for years and even made the journey to Keralon with us. So this was at least the most basic courtesy that we could afford him.
After this, there weren’t that many more answers that the cultists could give us. So we decided to turn in for the night.
The next morning, we immediately set out to see Dan of the Restoration Consortium. It was our hopes that he might have a scroll for sale that had the spell needed to undue to curse afflicting Raynis. Though admittedly, the changes for this were slim, as we are talking about advanced magic here. So it wasn’t much of a surprise when he told us that sadly he had no such scroll in his possession. However, he did offer an alternative solution.
Just outside of Ravensfield, there's an old dead tree once used to hang convicted criminals. Next to it, there is apparently a small path that is flanked by a trail of mushrooms. If you follow that pad, you would reach a small clearing with some standing stones. And according to Dan, if you provide an animalistic sacrifice there, you could summon a hag. With whom you could then negotiate in order to get what you need.
Now I do not need to tell you that this is an absolutely terrible idea. And fortunately, most of my friends were quick to agree with me. Though I do question there wisdom in wanting to go there anyway in order to check things out. To me this sounded almost as bad as summoning the hag, as the only thing that could result from this is drawing attention from forces that we really do not want to be messing with. Especially, considering my suspicions that this hag might actually be part of the coven that had made a deal with Keralon so long ago. Don’t get me wrong of course, if need be I will follow them into any danger, but to me a needless risk is the same as a foolish risk.
They did not however get the chance to sate their curiosity. For just as they were getting ready to set out, we could hear shouting coming from outside the house. And as we went outside, we could see various people running away while shouting that the village was under attack.
Wasting no time, Allistan called out to Thorin. And as the horse sprang into action, both Liliana and Allistan jumped onto its back and charged towards the danger. And I must admit that it was certainly a most valiant sight to behold. To see that poor horse carrying the fully armoured siblings on its back, while charging towards the enemy. Gods bless Thorin’s iron back, for its sturdiness is surely only matched by its nerves of steel.
As the rest of us headed out, I shouted towards Sapphira to keep an eye on the prisoners. After all, the last thing we needed was for the insane mage to get loose and causing more chaos.
When we got to the centre of the square, the twins were already engaging the monstrosities that had attacked the village. There were two of them. Towering brutes that I can best describe as some strange amalgamation of a human man and a dragon. Flanked by a small group of zombie kobolds.
As soon as they got into range, Hayley and Luke unleashed their potent spells upon them in order to reinforce Liliana and Allistan. And as twisting vines and an orb of flame caused havic, Dadroz and me started sniping them from a distance. However despite their appearances, it seemed that these creatures had at least a rudimentary form of intelligence. As a third one had passed through some buildings in order to attack us from behind.
Fortunately, Dadroz quickly moved to intercept it. Which was most appreciated. For while I sometimes wish that I had the ability to join my friends on the frontline, I know what I’m good at. And melee combat is not really one of them. This allowed us to refocus our targets and take down the three brutes without too much difficulty.
The zombies however were proving not to be that easy to take down. Not that they were particularly strong combatants mind you, but rather they refused to bloody stay down. One of them even got cut down so many times that it started to seem like only a few pieces of sinew were holding it together. But in the end, even it went down with a most satisfying thump.
After this, we immediately set out to discover where they had come from. But just as I was about to follow the trail, a bit of movement in the corner of my eye caught my attention. Which allowed me to dodge the initial charge of several dragonel and their riders. Though I did not have that much luck with the second one.
It seemed that this battle was not yet over. For as we recovered from the initial surprise, we could count four dragonel with their riders circling above us. They were using hit and run tactics in order to wear us down. Knowing that we were at a disadvantage, we dashed towards cover in order to prevent them from having an easy target. Though Allistan and Liliana remained in the open in order to hold the line.
Now I would like to say that in this battle, I was able to pull my weight. But the wounds that I had suffered seemed to be influencing my aim and I had the utmost difficulty to hit these damned flyers. Fortunately Dadroz was there to pick up my slack and skilfully started picking off the riders.
But this also had the effect that the now feral dragonel started swarming the largest target amongst us, namely Thorin. And while Allistan and Liliana valiantly held them, they could not prevent Thorin from going down. Though a quick application of some healing magic did prevent the worst from happening.
After a while, a loud roar echoed through the sky and the remaining riderless dragonels flew back up. As we looked up, we could see a heavily armoured individual, mounting a massive wyvern, sizing us up. And we got ourselves ready for round three.
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The Tomb of Hollow Hill
15th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree
We set out for the Hollow Hills Tomb at the crack of dawn, as soon as Raynis came to. Mind you, he wasn’t too thrilled about returning to the tomb, but we sadly didn’t really have another option. As we had no guarantee that we would be able to return in time to help him with his next transformation. Also, if we did manage to find a cure for him, it would be in everyone’s best interest to have him close to us in order to give it to him as quickly as possible. So, he agreed to come with us on the condition that he wouldn’t have to enter the tomb unless absolutely necessary. A request that we naturally honoured.
It took us several hours before we reached our destination. Fortunately, it was easy to identify once we got there. For the hill had several ruins that remained at the top, with a staircase build into its side. The entrance proved more difficult to find however. We scoured the hill and the ruins from head to toe and all we managed to find was a pit standing in front of what remained of a statue depicting an elven warrior. I tried to take a look at it in order to see the insides, but even with my sight all I could see was inky darkness. Which is when Liliana surprised me by stating that she could see what appeared to be the remnants of stairs that continued down at about 100 feet. And I will admit that I was a bit taken aback by this. Between you and me, let us just chalk that one up to youthful pride. I eventually figured that this was most likely a part of the abilities that she gained from her dealings with lady Vivienne. And it actually made me a bit more curious to what others tricks she might still have up her sleeves. But we mustn’t pry, as a lady is entitled to her secrets after all.
With some difficulty, we rappelled ourselves down the hole. Upon the reaching the bottom of the stairs, we found ourselves in a circular chamber with a door in each of the cardinal directions. Dadroz immediately began inspecting each one of these, efficiently removing each trap he found along the way. Following this, we decided to open the western door first.
The door opened up into a large chamber containing a ritualistic altar smeared with draconic writing and blood. With various skeletons and skulls adorning the walls. Startled, a robed individual let out a cry of alarm as he unleashed a spell that engulfed us with searing flames. He then wasted no time and commanded his stone to attack us.
Valiantly Liliana and Allistan, assisted by Hayley’s spells, charged into the fray and proceeded to cut the golem down to size. But just as it fell, the door to the North opened, revealing half a dozen cultists surging towards us. Fortunately I had anticipated this and quickly unleashed a spell in order to entangle them with various vines in order to prevent them from swarming Hayley and me. Actually wait, I can’t say that with a straight face. While I would like it to seem that my acute tactical insight allowed me to foresee this, in reality it is only thanks to Liliana that I was able to do so. For when she took down the golem, Liliana had called out to the mage, demanding his surrender. And if she hadn’t done so, I would have simple continued attacking him as normal. But when calling for a surrender, it’s common courtesy to wait and actually give them a change to surrender. Which is why I withheld my attack, which in turn allowed me to react to the door opening.
Emboldened by the arrival of his allies, or simple fuelled by the power and confidence of the crazy, the mage continued his attack. Which ultimately meant that we would proceed to take them all down and capture both him and one other cultist alive. Once they were unconscious and securely tied up, we began searching the room. Luke quickly patted down the mage in order to get his hands on his spellbook and also managed to find a keyring containing four keys in the process. As for the rest of the chamber, the only other thing of note was the altar itself.
Being more knowledgeable about these matters, Hayley and Luke examined the altar. It seemed that originally this altar was used in order for prayers to old Elven gods, but had since been desecrated by these cultists. This had turned it into the focus for some kind of insane ritual with the goal of turning humans into dragons. But more importantly, the altar could also be used in order to undo the very curse that it inflicted. This was however sadly not possible at the moment as it required magical knowledge that we still lacked at that moment.
With little other options available at the moment, we decided to explore the rest of the tomb. After a quick discussion on where to go, we ended up choosing the door to the east. Inside, we discovered an old, desecrated chapel. In the center of which stood a small desk with several letters in top of it. As well as four statues of human farmers in each corner of the room. An odd artistic choice that quickly made more sense when, as Hayley approached the desk, they sprung to life and attacked us.
Fortunately the fight wasn’t overly difficult as we made quick work of them. There were two letters of particular interest on the desk. They were a bit of correspondences between an individual called “The Professor”, whom we later learned was the mage that we captured, and someone named Vezzir. The letters discussed the success of their ritual on a certain champion, who was apparently a chosen of Arcarost. But more worrying still was the fact that he had been send to Keralon on the 1st of Nuan in order to “restore order” and protect their interests. Meaning that we currently had some kind of fanatic in the city whom had recently undergone a ritual in order to gain the powers of a dragon. With no quick way to inform the knights of this. A silver lining however was the fact that the letters also mentioned that his transformation was still incomplete. Meaning that we might still have some time left in order to stop him. Or at the very least inform the circles of this.
Also of note is the fact that the letters made mention of an informant by the name of Beatrice. She had apparently informed Vezzir of the true reason for the proposed alliance between Morenthene and Keralon. And given the sensitive nature of this information, I figured, as did the others I am sure, that this must be either someone with enough high standing in court in order to become aware of this, or have access to someone who does. But as the name meant nothing to us, I made a mental note of asking Lady Colline if she might have an idea as to who this Beatrice may be.
In order to process everything, we decided to return to our captives and take a breather. And yes, I can see you staring dumbfoundedly at me, your guess is correct. We did in fact leave our captives, bound and unconscious mind you, alone and unguarded in the middle of their lair. A fact that we very quickly came to regret as not only had the altar been moved in order to reveal a small tunnel, but the mage, or professor as he was called, was also missing. A quick inspection revealed that a small creature, an imp most likely, had not only freed him but also followed him through the tunnel. And yes you are correct again, considering all the things that Fiachna had done for us over the years, we should have taken the option of a familiar into account when dealing with a mage. Look rest assured, there is nothing you can say about all of this that we did not say to ourselves as we crawled through that small tunnel in order to catch up with that damned mage.
We followed that tunnel for what seemed like over an hour until it finally opened up into a large underground cave. The cave was exceptionally vast, with the ceiling soaring up to 60 feet high. In fact later when we had more time, we could even see traces of the foundation of Ravensfield sticking out of the ceiling, signalling where we exactly were. As for the air in the cave, it was relatively damp. Thanks to a large lake near the centre of it. And on its shore lay the remains of the former owner of the cave. The skeletal remains of a giant dragon. Most likely either an adult Green or Black. With the mage standing next to them, in the middle of some kind of ritual.
Not exactly relishing the idea of fighting an undead dragon, I quickly took aim and hit the bastard with a blunted arrow. Knocking him out cold. And having learned our lesson, Liliana used her divine senses in order to look for the imp. But he was nowhere to be found.
Before venturing out into the cave, we decided to finally take that breather. Since both Dadroz and I were still feeling relatively well and energized, we took it upon ourselves to go and scout ahead. There was a slope up ahead, ascending about 30 feet, that we followed in the hopes of finding an exit. Eventuall, we reached a dead end, or at least it seemed that way. For the way was barred by various roots and vines that were holding on to a crystal. The crystal itself was marred by various cracks, looking as if it would break at the slightest touch. Suspecting that it might have something to do with magic, we decided to use the Tarnstones in order to contact Luke and get his opinion on it. Though he couldn’t really say much without actually seeing it himself. So we simple sat down and waited for them to catch up with us.
After about ten minutes, the imp suddenly appeared, hovering above the crystal. Not caring for whatever trickery it might have in store for us, I quickly took aim and fired an arrow at him, this time not bothering with a blunted one. And as the arrow struck centre mass, it disappeared in a puff of flames, returning to whatever abyss that had spawned it. A good thing too, as when Luke arrived he determined that the crystal was actually a key that was sealing the entrance to the cave. And breaking it would undo the magic of the seal.
Not having an immediate interest in doing so, we returned back to the tunnel. But not before stopping at the dark waters of the lake once more. Curious, I decided to dive in and see what might be at the bottom. Now you might be questioning the logic behind jumping into a dark lake, that was underground and in an abandoned dragon lair and I can’t blame you. But picture this. There are people out there that dream of flying through the skies, soaring with little a care in the world. And while I certainly can see the appeal of it. And would honestly give serious considerations of what price I would be willing to pay to have a pair of wings of my own. I myself am more partial to water. The simple idea of traversing the murky, uncovering long-lost secrets hidden beneath the waves. While being able to breath and move like a fish or sea serpent, is an appealing one to me. Though it is but a harmless bit of fancy. And after finding nothing but bone-chilling cold, I returned to the surface and we climbed back into that cramped tunnel once more.
We then went through the northern door, the one from which the cultists had stormed out. And as we might have suspected, this led to their sleeping quarters. Or rather the crypts that they had converted into sleeping quarters. Now I’m not overly religious, I mean I follow the basic teachings but I won’t really go out of my way to honour the gods. But I do find the idea of disturbing the rest of the fallen a morbid one. So I said a small prayer for these poor souls. Hoping that by clearing this tomb of intruders, we might return them to their peaceful slumber once more.
That left us with only the southern door remaining. And as you might guess, it led us to even more desecration. This one in the form of a sarcophagus that had been smashed to pieces and covered with the skeletal remains of various creatures. And as Liliana set one foot into the chamber, the skeletons started to swirl and form into two rough shapes. One resembling a dragon and one as a Minotaur. But they went down without any problems.
Which left us feeling rather good. Especially considering that this chamber also contained some treasures that the cultists had dismissed. One of which being a chain shirt that was made from an adamantium alloy. In the end, it was decided that the shirt would go to me. Seeing as Allistan and Liliana preferred heavier gear and Dadroz preferred being light on his feet. Though I must admit that I did feel a bit guilty about this. As it was without a doubt the most valuable piece. So I quietly hoped that the next treasure we would find would contain something for the rest of them.
And with that, we met up with Raynis and said our farewells to Hollow Hill and returned to Ravensfield with our prisoners in tow.
Shadow of Ravenfield
14th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree
Feeling the urgency from the letter Hayley had received, we set out the morning after the celebrations. The journey would take us about three days, which fortunately passed without much issue. Meaning that we arrived at Ravensfield just after noon on the third day.
My first impression of Ravensfield was tinted with a sense of nostalgia. While it was certainly larger than Tarn, the village's quaintness brought back fond memories after those long years away from home. And while she tried to keep her emotions in check, I could tell that Hayley was more than a little happy to be back at her new home. And from what I could see as we walked down the streets, the feeling was mutual. As many of the villagers stopped what they were doing in order to welcome her back.
There was however a bit of a surprise waiting for Hayley. A surprise that came in the form of a barn that they were erecting in the centre of the village. It seemed that some outsiders had arrived in and had hired some folks in order to build it. hearing this, Hayley decided to first pay a quick stop at the barn in order to feel things out.
When we got there, we were quickly approached by a man named Bart. It was he who had started the construction of the barn to serve as some sort of headquarters for his group, the restoration society. Unfamiliar with the group, we listened as he explained their mission was to rebuild the various villages that were destroyed in the north during the war with the Fernhunter. As well as restore the economic power of the region. A noble cause to be sure.
Her curiosity sated, Hayley continued to guide us towards her home. When we arrived, we were quickly greeted by a kobold named Zem. Hayley had explained to us earlier that she shared her home with both Zem and a dragonborn by the name of Saphira. And after some pleasantries, where it seemed like Liliana could kill the young kobold with a stare after a poorly worded comment concerning the deal that she had made, he explained to us the various problems that were plaguing the village.
The first of which were a string of thefts that were occurring throughout the village. It seemed that around sunrise, various items around the village went missing. At a rate that was to frequent to be explained as them simple being misplaced. The curiosity here however was that nothing of real value was being stolen. Mostly food and survival gear in fact. Which caused us to figure that Ravenfield might have a hidden visitor in the area.
Speaking of which, this brought us to the second problem and this one was without a doubt more serious. You see various tracks had been found in the area that hinted to the presence of some kind of large beast. Which was reinforced by attacks that were happening on cattle like sheep and the like. In fact two shepherds had died just a few nights ago. Most likely in an attempt to protect their flock. Or simple because they were at the wrong place at the wrong time.
When asked about the nature of the tracks, Zem admitted that there was some disagreement on what might have made them. Some like himself believed that the tracks were most likely made by some sort of Drake, while others like Sapphira believed that the creature was in fact some kind of large cat. A fact that they had obviously been arguing about for some time. So before another argument could break out, as well as seeing the urgency of the attacks in comparison to the theft problem, we asked them if they could show us the most recent tracks so we might get an idea ourselves on what we were dealing with.
When we finally reached the tracks that Zem had mentioned, it immediately became clear as to why there was so much debate over their origin. As even the combined efforts of Hayley, Liliana and myself, we were unable to figure what might have made them. We did agree on a few facts however. The creature was at least the size of a horse or bear, and it walked on four legs. Also, while at first glance one might mistake these tracks as those of a drake, this creature had four toes instead of three. Which gave the tracks a more catlike appearance. Yet, unlike most cats of this size, which have retractable claws, these tracks clearly showed non-retractable claws. Which left us with a complete mystery.
This left us with little more to do than follow the tracks themselves. We followed them deep into the forest for about an hour before losing them. The trail had simply stopped. My first guess was that the creature might have taken off into the sky or climbed a tree, but the tracks provided no evidence of this. We did however noticed another strange thing. The creature had been pacing around this spot, perhaps due to agitation or injury. But in the end, all we managed to find were a handful of black scales and a single large claw.
Hayley and Liliana offered the notion that perhaps this creature was another construct. Similar to the one that had attacked us just outside of Keralon. And while this was certainly possible, it was definitely not one that I wanted to consider. For it would mean that this cult we were dealing with had even more resource than I had dared to imagine. So with a desperate need for answers, I decided to turn to the only witnesses we had of the creature. The sheep of Ravensfield.
Now before you call for a healer, allow me to explain. This is a trick I learned some time ago. Using my connection with the primal energies of the land in order to communicate with animals. It allows me to speak with them just as we are doing right now. The challenge, however, is that an animal's perception is vastly different from ours, making it sometimes difficult to convey specific wants or needs. This is especially true for farm animals like cows, geese, or sheep, so I tend to avoid such conversations whenever possible. And for good reason. For while I did learn that we were dealing with a large black creature with a spiked tail and no wings, it also served to give me a splitting headache.
With no success in either tracking down the creature or figuring out its identity, we were left with only one course of action. Wait for it to come to us. As Zem had explained, the creature usually stalked the village at night. So, we decided to hold a stakeout and see if we could catch it that way. And the best place for that, was atop the barn that the Restoration society was building. Dan was not that enthusiastic about this, but considering the urgency of the situation, he agreed to our use of it. provided that we took care not to damage it.
Before we began our vigil, we were treated to a delightful lunch courtesy of Zem and Saphira. It was especially entertaining to see Saphira, upon learning from Luke that Hayley was now an official knight, questioning Alistan on the double standard as to why he received a magic sword and Hayley did not. A nice bit of enjoyment before the coming storm.
It was just after midnight when I noticed a large shadow entering the village. I quickly alerted Liliana and while she roused the others, decided to go ahead in order to take a closer look. As I was worried about not only the risk of us losing the creature, but also of the risk of it encountering someone else while the others got ready for the confrontation.
It didn't take me long to find it. And as I observed it from the shadows, I quickly realized why we had so much trouble identifying its tracks. It was unlike any creature I had ever encountered before, a mix between a drake and a large cat, with fangs the size of my forearm. Awe inspiring to be sure, but deadly with every step it took. I was more than a little glad that I had decided to approach it from the shadows and wait for the others instead of confronting it by myself. Unfortunately, that choice was taken from me when the creature turned its gaze towards me and I knew I was not the hunter here.
I immediately used my magic to misty step to a rooftop, hoping to gain some distance. But to my utter shock, the drake did something similar, stepping into one shadow only to appear out of the shadow of the chimney that I was hiding behind. It lunged towards me. And while I managed to avoid those sharp fangs, I failed to take its spiked tail into account as it knocked the wind out of me. I failed to account for its spiked tail, which knocked the wind out of me. I was only saved by the timely arrival of the others, signalled by the spells that hit the creature in its flank. Seeing that it was outnumbered, the creature fled into the shadows once more.
We searched the area and fortunately found a trail of its blood leading toward the forest. We immediately gave chase of course, running as fast as we could in an effort to catch it. But despite our efforts, the creature eluded us once more and we lost the trail around sunrise. And as we searched for any sign that might point towards its direction, a suspicion came to me. I don’t know why, but I was reminded of a that I once read a couple of years ago, “Under the moon”. In short it is the story of the doomed love between a werewolf and a huntress. Following my instincts, I decided to look for other tracks in the immediate area. And sure enough, I quickly found barefoot tracks heading toward the village. Meaning that our drake might actually be a shapeshifter.
We followed the trail to a small camp a bit away from the village. Unsure of what we might find, we decided to announce ourselves first. Though there was no response. Thus, we hid ourselves and waited for whoever was staying there to return, although I did question Liliana’s choice of hiding inside the tent itself. With the boots of her armour sticking out from under it. It was thus no surprise that when a half-elven man approached the camp, he was quick to notice our presence there. He tried to sneak away from us, but we quickly managed to cornered him, causing him to surrender.
He introduced himself as Raynis, a hunter from Drybank. And he had quite the story to tell. You see, one day, while at home in his hut, he was attacked by a small group of men. Who proceeded to not only knock him unconscious, but also take him with them to their, for lack of a better word, lair. Where they performed some dark ritual that placed a devastating curse upon him. And as you might have already guessed, it is this curse that forces him to transform into that creature every night.
He wasn't sure how long he was held there. But while they were keeping him there, he did manage to overhear his captors saying that the ritual was a failure. It was most likely for this reason that they eventually led him go. But having no idea where he was, as well as the knowledge that he was a danger to everyone around him, he didn’t exactly have a lot of options. So ultimately he decided to simple stay away from everyone and stay in the forest. Only occasionally venturing into Ravensfield in order to get some crucial supplies. Which explained the robberies that had been plaguing the village.
On a hunch, and with a slight feeling of dread I might add, I drew the same mark in the sand that was tattooed on those cultists we captured earlier. Which Caused my heart to sank into my stomach as Raynis confirmed that the once who captured him did indeed bore the same mark. It seemed Hayley’s and Liliana’s earlier comments about the attacks possibly being the work of a golem controlled by the cult were not far off the mark. Which as I stated earlier was most disturbing.
We vowed to Raynis that we would help him lift his curse, though that would be easier said than done as we had little to go on. What with Raynis having had no clear memory of where the cultists' lair was and we lacking the means to undo the curse at that time. So we decided on the next best thing. We would contact Sir Donovan at Keralon to both inform him of our situation and request for reinforcements, in particular a cleric or mage. In the meantime, we would keep an eye on Raynis to ensure that neither he nor anyone else would get hurt during his transformations.
With that decided, Liliana and I stayed with Raynis while the others returned to the village to send the message and gather supplies for the night. As we were waiting for them to return, I noticed a most peculiar tree in the distance. Now I know what you are thinking, a tree in a forest is not that unusual. But the thing is, this tree was waving at me. Intrigued, I decided to go and take a closer look. And just as I was about to place my hand on it, a lovely dryad stepped out from the tree.
Cautiously, she introduced herself as Ash and asked if I was indeed Gael, a friend of Sylvesse. When I confirmed, she visibly relaxed and proceeded to give me a warning. She wanted me to know that Raynis was very dangerous and that I should be careful. I thanked her but explained that my friends and I were already aware of this and intended to help him remove the curse. She understood and told me that she knew where he came from. She understood and revealed that she knew where he came from. Apparently, he emerged from a tomb about half a day away from the village, called Hollow Hill. The tomb was named so because it was situated in a small hill that had recently been radiating with unnatural energies.
I thanked her for the information and said that my friends and I would go to inspect it. However, that was not the only warning she wanted to give me. She also wanted to warn me about Liliana, or rather her connection to her patron, Lady Vivienne. This was most surprising, but thinking back, not that much. For while I trust Lilianna, I cannot say the same for her patron or said patron’s master. I thanked her again but assured her that Liliana was a kind soul.
With that, we said our goodbyes, and I returned to Raynis and Liliana. When the others returned, I informed them of what Ash had told me. It was without question that we would need to go and inspect this tomb as soon as possible, as it might hold the key to releasing Raynis. So we decided that we would leave first thing tomorrow morning. As we still had some business to take care of that evening.
Of course we had attempted a few things to prevent Raynis from transforming, such as giving him a sleeping potion, but nothing worked, and the change came over him. This time, when faced with the choice between fight or flight, he chose to fight, and it proved to be a deadly one. Things looked grim when he unleashed a breath weapon of necrotic energy over a large area, badly wounding both Liliana and Alistan. However, we managed to subdue him in the end. And as he lay there unconscious, he shifted back into his normal form.
As I sat down while Hayley administered some much-needed first aid to the twins, I fervently hoped we would find a cure in the tomb. Not just for Raynis, but also for us, as I feared for our survival if we had to face this ordeal every night for the foreseeable future.
The Journal Entry’s title
Begin writing your story here...
A festive day
10th Nuan, Y126 Era of the Tree
Things were relatively quiet after our adventure in Cairn Fussil. And for the next couple of days, the city was bustling with preparations for the arrival of the Velora Morenthene’s delegation. This also meant that for the next five days, I was blessed with some extra free time on my hands. An opportunity that I decided to use in order to go out and meet some new people. Maybe even make a few new friends along the way. After all, you can't just stay in your own little corner of the forest, waiting for others to come to you. Sometimes, you have to go out and meet them. Luckily I was not alone as Luke decided to join me. And it was quite interesting to act as his wingman during his endless quest to find the next future ex-Mrs. Thomas. I’m afraid however that that is a story for another time.
There is also one more thing that I should mention before I continue. During this week of preparations, Robert found his way back to us. He had finally returned from his latest journey and was most pleased to see us again. In fact, he came baring a letter from Hayley’s village. Besides a few pleasantries, it also mentioned that some kind of creature had been stalking the village for a while now. Killing some sheep and even two shepherds. Learning about this, we resolved that as soon as the festivities were over, we would make way to Hayley’s village in order to straighten things out.
But that is for later. For now, let me bring the focus back to the day of the festivities. Even in the early morning, the tantalizing smells of various dragon-themed delicacies was filling the air, offered by the dozens of street vendors that had come out. The sounds of children playing with toy dragons, streamers and wooden swords echoed everywhere. And people were lining the streets that the delegation would pass through in droves, hoping to catch but a single glimpse of them. And amidst all this festive energy, there we were. Sitting once more upon the roof of Erna’s Wish.
Around noon, we could see a small group leaving the draconian camp and heading towards the city. In response, four mounted knights departed from the city to meet and escort them back. And as they entered the Foregate district, the crowds erupted in cheers and excitement. However, none of them could hold a candle to Liliana's enthusiasm. For the moment that she swa that both Norgar and commander Ergoll were at the head of the delegation atop their drake mounts, she jumped to her feet, shouting and waving her sword wildly in order to get their attention. She even went so far as to set her sword ablaze with green flames, just so that she might be easier to see. And while I worried that a few errant sparks might set the tavern ablaze, her efforts did pay off. For both Norgar and Commander Ergoll noticed her, and by extension us, and gave us a short but respectful bow. And with that, the chaos of the day was unleashed.
As Commander Ergoll straightened his back, Norgar suddenly collapsed, falling from his drake. The knights were quick to surround them in order to figure out what had happened. We too, were worriedly trying to make sense of the situation when both Hayley and Liliana noticed three cloaked elves standing on a different roof, bows in hand. Just as they were turning to flee, Hayley and I unleashed our respective spells, binding them with magical plants that erupted from the roof tiles. One of them managed to avoid us, but Allistan was quick to intercept him, jumping from rooftop to rooftop. But just as he was about to close the distance, a vicious bolt of magic hit him in the side, nearly knocking him off the roof. A spectre floated atop the roof on the opposite side of the street, glaring at Allistan with murderous intent.
What happened next is exactly why I no longer hold much stock in the so-called laws of physics that some scholars like to prattle on about. Instead choosing to believe in the age-old law of the bards, the rule of cool. For without missing a beat, Allistan, clad in full plate armor, turned on his heel and charged at full speed toward the spectre. Crossing the streets below by balancing atop a clothesline without slowing down. And yes, he actually made it. What made this even more ridiculous was that, just a few seconds later, one of the elves, who was wounded by arrows and magic from Dadroz and Liliana respectively, attempted the same feat. Only to slip and break his neck. Please take a moment to appreciate the insanity of these events. To this day, I still don’t know what impressed me more, Allistan’s portrayal of a squirrel or the sheer strength of that clothesline.
Allistan engaged the spectre with the help of Luke’s flames. Meanwhile, the remaining elves were quickly dispatched by the rest of us. But just as Liliana and Hayley turned to join their brothers, a new beast descended from the sky, a manticore. It surged toward me, one of its claws striking my shoulder. Fortunately for me, Liliana and Hayley quickly turned their attention towards it. Hayley weakening the beast with her magic and Liliana stood between us, intercepting it. Together, they managed to keep it at bay, allowing Dadroz and me to unleash a volley of arrows upon it. Eventually knocking it out of the sky. The spectre meanwhile met a similar fate as it was defeated by the combined efforts of Luke and Allistan.
We had no time to recover however, for the sounds of battle in the air signaled more assailants out there. Allistan, who was closest, could see that several attackers in the same red robes as before engaging the delegation. But they were of little match to the trained soldiers and knights. However just as we were preparing to jump in, Allistan noticed one of the attackers stealing something from Norgar and making a dash for safety. Allistan pushed his way through the busy crowds in hot pursuit, along with Dadroz and me following closely. We nearly lost him in the winding back alleys, but Fiachna was quick to point him out for us. We then managed to corner him in a small square. Or at least that is what we thought when suddenly two more attackers jumped at us.
Despite the surprise attack, we were easily able to hold them off. At least up until the point that one of them opened a door in order to release a monster. It was a flesh golem, a misshapen heap of flesh that moved through alchemical and arcane might. And more importantly, just like the construct from before, completely impervious to non-magical attacks.
We quickly dispatched the remaining attacker before turning our attention to the hulking monstrosity. Our first instinct was to run, but we feared that if we did, innocent civilians might get caught in the crossfire. So with little alternative, we decided to hold it off to the best of our abilities in order to buy time for the others to arrive. We were surely in hot pursuit of us. It went as well as you might expect. Allistan tried to block as many attacks as he could, but each blow threatened to shatter his bones by sheer impact. Something I can confirm, as I felt one of those hits when I pulled Allistan aside so he could down a healing potion.
We did manage to figure out that it had a weakness to fire when I lit a torch to see if fire might work better than steel. Making me really wish that Luke was with us. But despite our best efforts, it was completely one-sided. Our small glimmer of hope was quickly extinguished when Dadroz confirmed, by using the Tarn stone, that the others wouldn't be coming to our aid. They were instead still busy helping the wounded from the earlier attack. A most noble venture, but really not where we needed them to be at that moment. So with little alternative, we decided to retreat. Taking extreme care as to keep the golem focussed on us as it pursued us.
Eventually our deadly game of cat and mouse came to an end when we finally managed to reach the streets. The golem was quickly dispatched by the knights and their magic blades. At that moment, we nearly collapsed as we caught our breaths. It was then that we were addressed by Ser Donovan of the Octagon. Liliana, remembering the rule of magic weapons and knights, quickly passed her magic sword of to Allistan as she tried to look as non-suspicious as possible. However Ser Donovan was more intrigued by the fact that we were again present during an attack by these cultists. It seemed that these attackers were indeed part of the same group as the guards from earlier, confirmed by a similar tattoo that each of them possessed.
I’m not completely sure if he was suspicious of us or not. But seeing that we had nothing to hide, we simple told him the truth of what he had witnessed. What surprised him most, was the fact that we had to retreat from the golem due to not having a magic weapon. All the while eying Liliana’s sword that Allistan was holding. He scoffed and proclaimed that as a knight of Keralon, Allistan should always carry a magical weapon in order to be better able to defend the city. So he turned to one of the knights and pulled his out the knight’s sword before handing it to Allistan. Stating that this sword was no his. I will admit that I was quite shocked by the nonchalant attitude of Ser Donovan. As well as feeling quite sad and angry for the knight who essentially had his sword stolen. After all this could very well be a family heirloom. Confused, Allistan asked if this was alright to do. But Ser Donovan stated that the knight would be issued a new blade upon returning to his headquarters.
He then turned to the rest of us and removed two of his rings as a reward for protecting the city. Partly out of pointless pride and partly out of anger for his attitude, I declined this however. I did not consider myself of such low character that I would need a reward in order to do the right thing. Sylvesse had taught me better then that. Having more clarity however, the others graciously accepted the reward. And before you draw undue conclusions, no I am not attacking their character with my earlier statement. As I said, I was simple being stubborn and prideful at that moment, something that I would work on. And considering the cost of living in Keralon, accepting the reward was the smart thing to do. Double so for the mages who also had to refresh the material components they used in the battle.
With that business done, Ser Donovan took his leave. And considering that the delegation had already been moved to the palace, there was little reason for us to remain. Also if there is one thing you can say about Keralon’s citizens, it is that they are a resilient people. For not even an attack of this magnitude was enough to dampen their spirits. And it wasn’t long before the festivities began anew. But before we could join them, there was one more piece of business that we had to take care of. Namely repairing the damage to Feyris’s roof that we had caused when fighting the manticore.
Heart of fire
3rd - 4th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree
Following the inaugeration of both Hayley and Allistan into the circle of the Long Table. Apologies, I meant Lady Hayley and Ser Allistan. We returned to Erna’s Wish in order to host a small celebration. As for Dadroz, we did not hear from him again that evening. Most likely, the initiation for the circle of the Moon Blossom was taking up more time than anticipated.
Since it was already late when our second party ended, we each decided to stay the night at the tavern. And after such a couple of hectic days, I was quite looking forward to sleeping in for once in a while. But as the saying goes, "If you want to make the gods laugh, tell them your plans." And true to form, even this simple plan was disrupted when Luke woke us at the crack of dawn, quite urgently. Apparently, his mentor Amarra had send him a message, ordering his immediate return to Cairn Fussil. With no time to waste, we immediately set out for the wizard's tower, but not before making a quick detour to the De La Roost manor for Allistan to retrieve his armour.
Even with the horses we borrowed and Thorin, Allistan’s noble steed, it still took us the better part of a day in order to reach Cairn Fussil. During which, it quickly became apparent to Luke that something was seriously wrong. For the telltale smoke of the braziers that surrounded the tower was no longer visible in the sky. As we approached the forest clearing near the tower, we were alerted by a loud crashing sound. The source of which were a couple of giant insect-like creatures that were in the middle of tearing the tower down. According to both Luke and Hayley, these were Umber hulks. Living siege weapons with a chitin carapace as thick as iron.
Besides the two remaining, several of the creatures lay dead around the battered tower, each marked by deep scorch marks. Indicating that whatever happened to Amarra, she did not go down without a fight. But we had little time to complicate this, as the creatures charged at the sight of us. This fight proved to be a difficult one. For while these creatures seemed to fight purely on instinct, they possessed a monstrous amount of strength. Worse still, they also possessed a gaze that could drive one to madness if they crossed eyes with it. making it especially difficult for both Liliana and Allistan to hold these creatures down in order to prevent them from reaching the backline. A line they held to the best of their abilities. And on the end , each of the creatures went down.
With heavy hearts, we entered the remnants of the tower. Only to find more destruction and dead Umber Hulks inside. There was however no sign of Amarra. Which while worrisome, also meant that she had most likely not fallen in battle. As the others searched the tower’s interior, I decided to turn my attention to finding the source of the Umber Hulks. Which fortunately, wasn’t very difficult as they left rather large tracks. It seemed that they had come from the west of the tower and also there were no tracks indicating that any of them left the area. Meaning that these dead ones were all the Hulks that had come here.
At that point I heard shouting from inside of the tower. Luke had discovered an illusionary wall in the basement where he had completed his entrance trials. Upon dispelling it, we found a heavily injured Amarra lying unconsciously on the floor. Liliana was quick to administer first aid on her. When she came to, she was very happy to see that Luke had gotten her message. As without help, she knew that this tower would have very likely become her tomb.
Once assured there were no Umber Hulks remaining, Amarra began explaining what had happened. The Hulks had attacked her earlier that morning. Although she initially managed to hold them off, she soon realized she stood little chance against their numbers. For that reason, she decided to contact Luke for help. When she eventually started to slow down due to her wounds, she decided to flee into the basement and used what little magic she had remaining in order to set up a barrier to keep her safe, before eventually losing consciousness.
Amarra explained that the Umber Hulks were sent by a former lover seeking revenge. For that reason he had gone as far as to charm these creatures in order to carry out his vendetta.. This also was not the first time that he had attacked her. The attack that occurred when we met her for the first time was also orchestrated by her ex-lover. So regrettably, she decided to leave Cairn Fussil, as it was no longer safe for her. She also feared that his next attack might involve people that she cared for, which included Luke. It must be some terrible cosmic irony that both master and apprentice have such terrible luck with their love life. One with a homicidal ex and the other with three failed marriages to what I understand to be very complex individuals.
As a farewell gesture, Amarra presented Luke with a teleportation scroll. It would lead him to the heart of Cairn Fussil, as It was his to claim now. She hoped that it would prove to be useful to him when he eventually started building his own tower. However, that would have to wait until morning, as we were all exhausted at that point.
Come morning, Amarra had already left. She had used her magic to teleport away while the others were still asleep, likely to avoid awkward goodbyes. It was why I didn’t stop her when I noticed what she was doing, but in hindsight, I should thought of giving her some of my travel supplies. After inspecting the remaining structure of the tower and guiding us in reinforcing it where needed, Luke decided to use the teleportation scroll immediately. Bringing us all to the heart of Cairn Fussil.
We arrived in what seemed to be an underground cave. The floor was marked by several veins of lava and the air was heavy with both scorching heat and the stench of sulphur. In front of us there was a demonic stone skull carved into the wall, with lava flowing from its mouth and eye sockets. A large indentation on its forehead appeared to match the marble sitting atop a pillar, surrounded by a pool of lava in the center of the room.
Before making any assumptions about what was expected of us, we decided to explore the rest of the cave first. Doing so, we discovered three separate altars with a book on top of them. In front if each altar was a circle from magical runes, which appeared to be summoning circles connected to the plane of fire. The three books seemed to be different volumes from the same series, ranging from volume one to three.
After thinking over our options for a while, Luke decided to take a gamble and walked through the pool of lava in order to retrieve the orb. Why he choose this method instead of using his magic to move it towards him, I will never know. Nevertheless, with the orb in hand and minimal scorching he proceeded to insert the orb into the demon skull. Which, to our disappointment, did absolutely nothing.
I don’t remember exactly who it was, but if I had to put some gold on it, I think it was Luke who decided to take the orb into the circle of the altar that held the first volume. Which actually did something. The runes surrounding him started to light up as the orb its energy. Unfortunately, this also summoned two elemental creatures: a mephit and a fire snake. The battle itself was not overly complicated and they quickly fell to our attacks. However when Luke attempted to leave the circle, he found himself unable to do so. With little alternative, he threw the orb to Allistan who then took it to the next circle.
Just as before, the orb charged itself with the elemental power contained in the circle. And just like before, another mephit and fire snake were summoned. After defeating this group, we repeated the same steps, passing the orb to Liliane. Who took the orb into the next circle and after defeating the creatures summoned this time as well, we finally had a fully charged orb. Hayley and I then proceeded to place it in the demon’s head.
This not only released our friends but also opened a hidden passageway, revealing a small lake of lava. Above the center of the lake hovered a giant, brightly shining crystal. However as we approached, a new challenge emerged. A giant fire elemental rose from the lake, blocking our path. This battle proved to be far more challenging than our previous encounters. Not helped by the fact that Allistan and Liliana constantly had to be cautious not to fall into the lava.
The battle was long and grueling. Allistan and Liliana having to take turns in order to keep the elemental occupied while the rest of us attacked it from a distance. And in the end, it was only thanks to Luke’s magic that I was able to strike the core of the elemental and finish it off once and for all.
Upon its defeat, its essence coalesced into some king of magical staff. Naturally we gave this to Luke as it seemed that it was somehow meant for him. That only left us with the daunting task of actually claiming the heart from the lake. But just as I was contemplating if we could catch it using a lasso, Luke had the brilliant idea of jumping into the lake. That’s when I realize that fire mages have an innate instinct to setting themselves on fire. It simple makes them happy I guess. Perhaps this instinct also explains their misfortune in matters of love. Their strong emotions simple igniting their hearts in a blazing wildfire when struck by it. Only to eventually leave them with the ashes when it dies down.
When he finally reached the crystal, somehow preventing himself from burning to a crisp, the lava almost instantly solidified. And with an exhausted look on his face, he firmly grasped hold of the crystal and raised it triumphantly over his head. He was now Luke, fire mage extraordinaire and master of the heart of Cairn Fussil. And with that we decided to take our leave. We fortunately did not have any issues with finding a passageway that led into the basement of the tower. Allowing us to say our farewells and wishing our best to Amarra, wherever she had gone to, before finally returning to Keralon.
Escorting the envoy
2nd of Nuan, Year 126, Era of the Tree
As expected, the fight was neither long nor easy. I am not ashamed to admit that had this been a one-on-one battle, none of us would have stood a chance. This became clear quite quickly when poor Allistan took a vicious counterattack when he led the charge. And if not for some quick healing spells, he would have died right then and there. In his defence however, he was rather underequipped at the time. As when the alarms went off and we were given the pledge, we did not really have time to go and reclaim our gear. So we only had on us what we took with us to the party and as you can imagine, a full plate armour does not really allow for a comfortable dining experience.
Fueled by rage at the sight of her brother being struck down, Liliana launched a vicious attack empowered with holy power, leaving Dren with a deep wound. Unfortunately, this did not slow him down. On the contrary, it made him even more dangerous. Something we realized as we watched in horrors the blood dripping down from his wounds ignited into flame. With unseen speed, he lunged forward, engulfing each of us, including Ergoll and Norgar, in the inferno. Things were not looking good, as every wound we inflicted only made him more powerful. And that last attack had taken a lot out of us, but it also created an opportunity. Alistan was able to use Dren’s momentum against him in order to create an opportunity for me to hit him square between the eyes with a blunted arrow, knocking him out with a critical hit.
In celebration of our acceptance into the clan, a small feast was held in our honour. Which we graciously accepted as it allowed us to not only dress our wounds, but also send word to Keralon. For while we were still on a covert mission, we could hardly smuggle a diplomatic envoy into the city. So, we send over Fiachna with a request to allow us entry into the city through the main gate. I swear that bird has solved more of our problems then I would dare to count. I guess we should all just be thankful that Hayley doesn’t charge us a mileage cost.
While we waited for a response, Norgar decided to join us and opened up a bit. It quickly became obvious that he was rather nervous about being send over as an envoy, considering that this was his first campaign and all. So we tried our best to put him at ease. Eventually Liliana and Allistan both pulled out their violins and started playing a few tunes, quickly drawing in the other dragonkin of the army to pull out their own instruments and join them. It was a bit of a shame that I had forgotten to bring my lyre to the party. But on the other hand it was good to hear the twins playing together once more.
After a while, we had to make our way back to Keralon. Which wasn’t too much of an issue, just a gentle walk towards the city on a sunny afternoon. That was until Dadroz shouted an alarm. Before we knew it, a shadow descended from the sky, its claws tearing into me. I only barely managed to survive thanks to some magical interference from Luke that gave me enough time to dodge that final attack. In total, two skeletal dragonlings, the size of housecats, and one dragonlike creature, the size of a bear, had dropped from the sky. We tried to fight back, but to our shock, most of our weapons proved ineffective against the giant creature. We would later learn that it was in fact a golem of some sort. Which meant that it was impervious to non-magical attacks. Only Hayley, Luke and Liliana with her magic blade stood any real change against it. So in order to allow them to focus, the rest of us turn our attention to keeping the little creatures of them, as well as keep Norgar safe.
I must say however that Liliana surprised me in this fight and the one from earlier that day. Don’t get me wrong, she was always a capable warrior in her own right. But had you asked me compare her skills along with those of her brother five years ago I would have said that Allistan was the better swordsman amongst the two. However it seems that her time spend in service to lady Vivienne had allowed to overcome that gap. And now she was his equal when it came to handling the blade. This was made perfectly very clear as she gracefully dodged an attack, only to bring her sword down on the neck of the creature, severing its head after a hard-fought battle.
After the battle, we decided to inspect the remains of the creatures we had fought. It was then that we learned that the giant one was some sort of construct. But that was not to only thing we learned. What was even worse were the materials that were used in its construction. There is no easy way of saying this, so I will just say it outright. It was made from the remains of children. Or to be more precise, children of dragonkin. Dozens of them must have been used in its construction. I still to this day cannot comprehend the brand of evil that one must posses in order to be capable of doing something like this. And as you can imagine, this was especially hard for Norgar to take in. But to his credit, he managed to steel his resolve and eventually we continued on our way to Keralon.
When we arrived, a knight was already waiting for us. He instructed us to escort Norgar to Palace Hill, where a delegation would be waiting for our arrival. He even lent us some horses in order to speed up our journey. Not that Norgar was that keen on the idea of riding a horse, as he had never done so before. So he had to ride alongside Allistan, who was the best rider amongst us. As we rode towards the palace, Norgar’s head swivelled from one side to the other as he took in the sights of what was most likely his first time in a human city. It actually made me remember my own feelings when I entered Keralon for the first time. But I digress.
When we reached the gate to the palace district, we were surprised to see that there was actually no one waiting on us. In fact the guard on duty was most surprised to see us there and even more so when we told him that we were escorting an official envoy to see the king. Confused, he told us to wait in the barracks cafeteria as he attempted to sort things out with his superior. As we waited, our suspicions only started to rise. There was no way that the news that the envoy of an army sitting right outside of the gates had arrived in order to speak with the king would simple have gotten misplaced after all. But there was little more that we could do then wait for the guard to return with news.
Upon hearing a door close in the other room, Allistan assumed we would finally get some news and opened the door on our end. Only to be met by guards in red robes brandishing blades with clear hostile intent. The leader, a sergeant if I recall correctly, immediately ordered his men to kill Norgar. Of course we leaped to his defence and demanded an explanation, but our assailants were not inclined to provide one. The chaos got even worse when another group of guards, not wearing robes, joined in only for the sergeant to order them to attack us as well. Pure madness I say.
After a brief fight, we managed to subdue all of the guards, taking great care not to kill any of them. Just as we had a bit of time to catch our breath, another group of guards entered, accompanied by a knight. This was Sir Donovan, Knight of the Octagon. He demanded an explanation as to what had happened and since we had nothing to hide, I recounted the events that had transpired in earnest. He was understandably stunned but quickly recovered and ordered his men to arrest the guards who had instigated the attack. He then offered to escort Norgar and us to the palace. Where he would be able to address the council of nobles, as the king was unfortunately not in Keralon at the time.
Setting foot in the palace was rather breathtaking. But I must hand it to Norgar, he held himself quite well. He addressed the council quite well and explained that he was indeed here because his mistress Velora wished for a closer relationship with Keralon. This included deciding on proper borders and hopefully a more permanent peace agreement between the two. An idea that most of the nobles were interested in. It was thus decided that in order for the negotiations to continue, they will provide lodgings in the city for a handful of Velora’s negotiators to live in as they discuss terms.
With our mission completed, we said our goodbyes to Norgar and went to inform Herald Skald of our success. He had told us earlier that we would be able to find him in The dull blade, the tavern that also serves as the headquarters of the circle of the Long Table. Upon hearing about our mission, he was very pleased to hear about our success. But I had the sneaking suspicion that he already knew most of what we had come to say. However nothing could have prepared us for what Hayley had to say next.
While we were at General Ergoll’s camp, she had managed to figure out the true reason as to why they wanted to suddenly open up peace negotiations with Keralon. It seemed that some force had been raiding their homes and stealing both their eggs and children. They even managed to go so far as stealing the egg of Velora herself. This is why they came to Keralon. They were hoping that we might be able to assist them in tracking down the culprit.
Which also explained the creatures that had attacked us earlier that day and even worse, the fate that had most likely befallen all of those children. They wished to stop us from joining forces and turning our combined might against them. Which brought the uncomfortable idea that the attack by the guards earlier was also most likely orchestrated by the same force. Meaning that that they had already managed to infiltrate the guards and perhaps even worse. And while I was deeply enraged at the thought of what those children might have gone through, another thought kept creeping up to me. What kind of group or being was confident enough in its ability that it would risk making an enemy of both an ancient dragon and Keralon at the same time?
While we could not provide answers to these questions, Herald Skald still congratulates us on a job well done. And as promised, presented both Hayley, Allistan and Dadroz with proof of their mettle. A larger silver coin that they could present at any one of the knight orders of the lower circle in order to serve as proof of their worth to join them. A great honour indeed and I was very happy for all three of them that they had finally made it this far. Admittedly I was perhaps a little bit jealous that they had managed to earn their knighthood before me, but again it was an honour well deserved. And there were few others that I could imagine as being as worthy as them.
And with that Hayley and Allistan disappeared into the basement of the Dull Blade in order to pledge for the circle of the Long Table. Whereas Dadroz made his way to the Mausoleum of Dead Gods in order to join the circle of the Moon Blossom.
The Journal Entry’s title
Begin writing your story here...
Has it truly been five years?
1st - 2nd of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree
In order to continue my story, I’m going to have to jump forward about 5 years. Although we tried to stay in touch for as much as possible, the sad truth is that we were mostly focused on our own lives during that time. Therefore, there is not much point for me to bring up the events of those years. However if you are interested, I can always tell you a bit more about that time later. But for now, let me tell you about our joyful little reunion party.
For on that fateful day, we had something to celebrate. After 5 long years, Liliana had finally returned from her servitude towards Lady Vivienne at King Ulther’s court. Thus, we decided to hold a small reunion for those of us who had journeyed to Keralon together all those years ago. And fortunately, we even had the perfect place for it. Our good friend Feyris, the mysterious traveller with amnesia, had spent the last couple of years working in a local tavern in the Foregate District. And when the old proprietor sadly passes away, she kindly left the tavern to him. Which he then renamed as “Erna’s wish” in her honour.
I arrived just before the agreed upon time, only to find that a good number of us were already there. Dadroz, Luke, Alistan and of course Liliana were gathered around a table which Feyris was determined to fill every square inch of with as much platters of food and snacks as possible. I must admit that seeing most of our little group sitting together like that again, did make me a little misty-eyed. What can I say, I get sentimental from time to time, even if I don’t show it. And I am pleased to say that they all looked like they were doing quite well for themselves. Especially Liliana, who seemed like she came out of her part of the deal relatively unharmed. Though I admit that her new hair colour did take some getting used to. But then again, I’m not really one to judge a change in appearance.
Right as the bells struck the agreed-upon hour, Hayley entered the tavern. Now between you and me, I must confess something. And I will admit that I have absolutely no proof for this and that I’m basing it solely on my own suspicions. But I'm certain that her punctual arrivals are not so much due to some tricks of fate that make her seem more wise, but rather because she cheats. Now I don’t know how she does it. Whether through some kind of magic or by simply waiting outside until she hears the bells, but it happens too often to be mere coincidence. But however she does it, I’ve sadly never been able to figure out how. But let's keep that one between us, though.
Our next guest arrived in rather spectacular fashion. Two heavily armoured men entered first to ensure the tavern was safe enough for Lady Elsa Colline to enter. Her time in Keralon had certainly suited her, as through her efforts, she had become one of the most well-known courtiers among the nobility here. Certainly no small feat for a noble daughter of a family in charge of a small village such as Tarn. However, as impressive as her entrance was, the last guest of the day did manage to outdo her. For just as she greeted us and sat down, a loud ruckus erupted outside. And as we rose to investigate, one of her guards was flung through the door, followed by a smiling Dorr, mumbling something about spoiled nobles and the like.
And with that, our party was complete. Though sadly with some noticeable absences. First, there was Ileas. The last thing I heard was that he had safely rejoined his family in the satyr tribes. However, as time passed, the messages from him sadly became less frequent. But fear not, for based on what I know of him, I’m certain he is doing well. And should he ever find himself in the neighbourhood, he knows we will always be there to welcome him back with open arms.
Our second open seat belonged to Lord Edward Colline jr. Due to his father's suddenly falling ill, he was forced to return to Tarn to take up his father's duties. This sadly preventing him from fulfilling his dream of becoming a knight. But sadly that’s just how life goes sometimes. But news from the grapevine concerning a certain romance between him and a certain young lady from Hillfield suggests that he is not doing too badly. And I admit, knowing that he is keeping an eye on things does ease my worries about home a little bit.
Next, of course, was good old Onvyr. Who admittedly had changed very little over the years. After recovering from his stone curse, he quickly returned to earning his keep as a guide for the various caravans traveling through the Lorewoods.
And last but certainly not least, there was Robert Talespinner. He managed to survive his time in Lorewood with nary a scratch and a variety of new tales to add to his collection. Which he also continued to expand over the years. Most often due to trips he took away from Keralon. Unfortunately, this meant that during the time of our party, he was sadly too far into one of those trips to join us.
But despite these absences, having our merry little band together once more allowing us to have a grand old time catching up and enjoying each other's company. At least, until we were rudely interrupted by the sounds of bells ringing throughout the city. And given that, to our knowledge, there was no grand celebration planned, this was most likely not a good sign. A suspicions that was quickly confirmed when we stepped outside to investigate, only to see droves of guards rushing toward the main gate. Worried about this, we naturally decided to follow them.
Arriving at the gate, we were immediately drawn not only to the sight of guards trying to calm the civilians gathering in front of it, but also to the large plume of dust rising beyond the walls. Our fears to the meaning of this were quickly confirmed when Hayley told us that her raven, Fiachna , had spotted an army just outside the city walls, holding banners with the mark of the Fernhunter, the ancient green dragon who launched a war with Keralon only a few years earlier. We quickly attempted to join the guards, in the event that the worse would happen. But were told that for now no assistance was needed. With little else to do, we ultimately decided to return to the tavern in order to wait it out.
When we returned, we noticed that Lady Elsa had already left. Most likely to return to court in order to gather more information about the situation. Dorr and Feyris, on the other hand, had decided to move the party to the roof in order to get a better view of the surroundings. And not wanting to waste Feyris' efforts in preparing said feast, we decided to join them atop the roof.
Just as we had finished eating, we heard a knock upon the door. Before Feyris could see who it was however, a visitor entered the tavern through the kitchen: Herald Vern Skald, a most notable figure indeed. His arrival was especially significant for Hayley, Dadroz, and Allistan. Afterall, they were aspiring to achieve knighthood with one of the knight orders of the Outer Circle. Which meant that as Herald, Vern Skald’s recommendation would go a long way into fulfilling that dream. Which meant that it was no surprise that he was there to speak with them specifically. Given the current situation, he was there to present them with an emergency pledge. While the city was still preparing an official response, he wanted them to go out and investigate the army. In particular their goals, potential battleplans and maybe even most importantly, how they had managed to bypass Keralon’s advanced lookouts. In return, he promised to put in a good word for them with their desired orders.
There was however one small catch. While the pledge was official, our mission was not. Which meant that beyond us and the herald, few were aware of it and this including the guards. This meant that we would need to find a way to not only smuggle ourselves out of the city, but also back in when we were done. Not an impossible task, but certainly not an easy one considering the circumstances.
After discussing our options, we decided we only had two reasonable courses of action open to us. The first was to head to Fishtown and find a boat to sail down the Lorerun River; Thereby bypassing the city walls. However, as none of us were skilled sailors in the least, this made that plan risky at best. The second option was to head to Huntington, where legend spoke of a hidden passageway hidden deep in the cemetery that led outside of the city. Which meant that we would only need to find a secret tunnel that may or may not exist. Personally, I preferred the second option all things considered. But in the end after talking things over, we decided to settle on the first. Thus, we set out towards Fishtown.
As we ventured deeper into the district, we noticed the rising panic amongst the people. Most understandable given not only the army just outside the gates as well as the uncertainty of the situation. Knowing that fear, a crowd and an enclosed space are a telltale recipe for disaster, Hayley decided to take action. She raised her voice and addressed the crowd in a calm yet authoritative manner, urging everyone to calm down and return to their homes. And though her success was admittedly rather limited, I am certain that she prevented the situation from escalating any further.
Meanwhile, Dadroz decided to sneak off on his own. Now remember back when I said that I consider Dadroz to be my equal in matters of stealth. And that the only problem he was facing at the time was that he was not in his element. Well this was his element. Skilfully, he used the distraction of Hayley’s address to the people in order to manoeuvre towards the docks unseen. Once there, he immediately attempted to find us a ship. Once there, he immediately began searching for a ship for us to use. Sadly, most were already locked down by the guards. Instead, he resolved to stealing the keys to a drydock instead, where hopefully a few boats might still be stored.
After Dadroz returned, we discussed the situation once more in order to review our options. Ultimately, we decided that that if we wanted to pull this off, we were going to need help. Unfortunately, it was already getting late and few people were still out and about on the streets. So, we headed to the only place we knew might still have some people around: the nearest tavern.
Noxis’ Tap was the very definition of what you might call a dive bar, but it did have a certain charm to it. Even here, however, there weren't many people left. Apart from Noxis, the tiefling barkeep, there was only a group of bugbears who were busy drowning their sorrows over the situation. And while initially hesitant to help, the largest of the bugbears, Ferran, was ultimately persuaded by Dadroz to assist us. For a meagre fee of course. So with this, we had acquired the skills we need. Now all we needed to do was find a ship. So back to the docks we went.
You might think finding a vacant ship in a mostly abandoned dock would be rather simple. However, as Dadroz discovered earlier, most of the ships were already locked down by the guards. And they were most determined to make sure that no one got away with one of them. Fortunately, Dadroz’s foresight in stealing the key proved to be most fortunate. And after a quick inspection of the boats docked at the drydock, we found the perfect one to borrow.
With Ferran’s help, retrieving the boat from the drydock was easy enough. And just as the bells struck midnight, we left the city under the cover of darkness. Thankfully, our trip was short one. Don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with swimming or open waters. I’m just not a big fan of boats in general. So I was quite happy when we reached shore and I felt solid ground under my feet again. Ferran informed us that he would return to Keralon, but that he would keep an eye out for Fiachna. And would return at midnight in order to pick us up when he got our signal. And with that he left.
Considering the time, we decided to take a quick night's rest. Afterall there was no point in a forced march only to be exhausted in the morning. Especially as we would need our wits about us. That said, we did rise rather early and continued onwards. Hayley informed us that Fiachna had spotted no obvious signs of a siege preparation, which was a good sign. Armed with this information, we decided to forego stealth and simple approach them openly.
It wasn’t long before a small force of kobolds and dragonborn set out to meet us. They were led by a green-scaled dragonborn, whom we later learned was named Rachnar Ergoll, the general of this army. Attempting diplomacy with him proved challenging. Unlike the subtlety and hidden meanings common with the fey, dragonborn culture was apparently more straightforward. And it wasn’t long before we found ourselves going around in circles. Eventually we simple decided to forego subtlety and proclaim us as the delegation from Keralon and asked why he and his forces were there.
Pleased with this response, he welcomed us into his camp. The camp itself had an interesting structure to it. Instead of a uniform layout, it instead consisted of several smaller individual camps. he genius of this design was its decentralization, which prevented any obvious targets from being easily identified from a distance. It actually kind of reminded me a bit of the structure of a beehive.
When we arrived in his tent, Commander Ergoll explained that he had been sent here by his mistress Velora Morenthene, the true name of the dragon Fernhunter. And that was indeed here on a diplomatic mission. Following the end of the war, Velora Morenthene desired a more open relationship with Keralon and thus dispatched him in order to discuss a peace agreement. She even went so far as to teleport his army as a show of respect towards Keralon. Which explained how they managed to catch us of guard.
He was most pleased that Keralon had finally sent over its representatives, as this allowed him in turn to send an envoy back with us to present the king with his proposal. However as is usually the case, there was one problem that needed to be resolved first. In order to send the envoy back with us, we would first need to undergo a ritual in order to be accepted by the clan. Nothing serious, just a form of ritual combat. And while Liliana and Allistan were already eyeing each other to see who would volunteer first, Commander Ergoll continued to explain that it would take the form of a six-on-one battle against one of their champions, a dragonborn named Dren.
It was a name that I had heard of before. In fact most of us who had fought in the scale war had heard of him at one point or another. A giant dragonborn, whom many believed was in fact a genuine half-dragon, known for wielding a greatsword in one hand and cutting down scores of men with but a single swipe. Ergoll was wise to make this a six-on-one battle, as even with the numbers this would not be an easy fight.
As we exited the tent to meet our opponent, we were instead greeted by a young, black-scaled dragonborn. Ergoll introduced him as his son, Norgar Laar and explained that he would be the envoy we would be escorting. In the distance, I saw a towering figure striding toward us, his fellow soldiers quickly darting out of his way. Dren was exactly as I had imagined: red scales of deep crimson, almost as big as a house, with giant wings furled at his back and a greatsword in hand. He licked his lips, his eyes shining with a clear desire for combat. No, this would not be an easy fight at all.
Keralon at last
15th of Lug, 121 Era of the Tree
Despite our best efforts, we were sadly unable to reach Keralon before nightfall. The good news however is that, considering that we were so close, it was no problem at all to find an inn where we could rent a few rooms for the night. And while I enjoy a peaceful night of sleeping under the open skies, I certainly will not turn down the luxury of being able to get a good night’s sleep in a soft bed for two nights in a row. Which is why it was only natural that that almost did not happen.
Having the opportunity to do so, I had decided to actually get some sleep that evening instead of just trancing. For while trancing for long periods of time is certainly doable, nothing can really beat a good solid 8 hours of sleep. So I was completely passed out when I was suddenly awoken by a loud banging on the door of my room. The annoyance at that, as well as the general ooziness that clouded my mind at that moment were quickly dispelled by both the sound of shouting coming from outside of my room, as well as the telltale smell of burning wood.
Fortunately, it turned out that the inn was not burning down, despite my immediate fears. Instead some fools decided to burn the words “Death to the Usurper King” into their room’s wall before fleeing the inn. Thinking back to earlier that evening, Hayley and Liliana did indeed notice a few suspicious individuals sitting in the common area. All huddled around their table, nervously glancing at anyone that came to close to them. But that was not regarding the tricks that were up Hayley’s sleeves. Apparently they were discussing a poster for something called the freehold guild. Which was both strange and highly illegal, as guilds had been outlawed for several years now after a bunch of them had attempted to launch a coup all those years ago. But to be frank, I didn’t pay to much attention to it at the time. I was simple too tired to really ponder the implications or reasons for petty vandalism. So I simple returned to my bed when the immediate commotion died down.
The next morning, most of the events of the evening were already forgotten. Instead we were dealing with a more immediate issue. Namely the problem that we could not bring our magic items into the city. As we were racking our minds over this issue, a few solutions were issued. Me and Alistan proposed renting a horse and returning to Amarra to ask if she could keep the items for a while. However Luke feared that this might take up too much time. Hayley on the other hand suggested that we simple smuggled the items into the city. But I wasn’t too keen on this as I did not want my first action in Keralon to be breaking the law. Also I believe it was Liliana who then proposed to simple burying them outside of the city, though this was also quickly discarded as an option. We were dangerously overthinking things, until ultimately Hayley came with the logical solution of simple paying the innkeeper in order to store our items for a while until we had a more permanent solution.
With that taken care of, we continued on our way towards the southern gates of Keralon. Now while I had several ideas on what our arrival would be like, I can safely say that not one of them included standing in line for about an hour or so. But sadly this was the reality of the situation. However, in the end and after a long and eventful journey, we were finally able to enter the city.
I can’t help but laugh at an earlier thought I had that Hillfield would have prepared us for the impact that Keralon would have on us. I can safely say that those notions were quickly dashed as the reality of the city dawned upon us. Comparing the two was like comparing a hound with a dire wolf. Simple no comparison. I can take solace however in the fact that I was not the only one who was overwhelmed. A notion that was quickly reinforced when we lost Liliana in the busy crowds. Thankfully Hayley’s raven was quick to point her out and we were able to reunite with her.
Now you might think that arriving in Keralon would be the end of our troubles. And you would be right, if you did not know our group. For you see, we have a supernatural knack of finding it. Especially when we are not looking for it.
Our first problem came in the form of a helpful guide to the city. One of the guards at the gate had informed us that the best way to gather help for Logvale was to issue a report at the guard barracks in the Northwall district. We stated our goodbyes to the Colline siblings, who as usual had familial matters to attend to and confidently made our way towards the river. to But seeing as we were new to the city, it wasn’t that long before we were hopelessly lost. Seeing this, a seemingly kind girl offered to guide us along the way for just a small fee. And while we were most grateful for the help, alarm bells eventually started going off when she kept bringing us deeper and deeper into one of the more shadier parts of Keralon. Confused, we called her out on this and while she had an excuse ready. In the end she wisely decided to cut her losses and attempted to flee from us. This was however not counting on a bit of friendly and magical persuasion courtesy of Hayley. Who convinced her to keep her word and show us the correct way towards the Barracks without issue.
Arriving at the barracks, it was no issue at all in order to report the situation in Lorewood. One of the sergeants even assured us that they would be quick to send a patrol in order to bring relief in only a few days. I took this opportunity in order to volunteer to accompany them. Not only to bring back our remaining possessions and Onvyr, but also so that I might attempt to search for Robert. Though I feared that at this point I would be searching for his remains instead. It would however take a few days before I would learn that I was accepted into the patrol. As well as the fact that I would be making the trip back alone. Instead Ileas would accompany me. Just before we would be heading out, we received word that the war between his ancestral clan and Hillfield had ended. And while this was most welcome news, it had an obvious downside. As per the terms, Ileas would have to leave both Keralon and the De La Roost family behind in order to return to them. And while I suspect that this was not entirely to his favour, there was little to be done. But I am getting ahead of myself as there was still another matter to attend to. And that was the fate of our mysterious companion with amnesia. Who had been most patient with us, especially considering that, due to the commotion of the last couple of days, we kept forgetting to give the poor soul a name. Now in order to get him the help he needed, we took him to the temple. In particular, the mausoleum where they honour the fallen gods of old. Sadly however they were unable to help him. The reason for this was that his affliction did not seem to come from either disease or curse. Most likely it was the shock of the attack that had instead burned away all of his memories, the poor sod. And while it was of little comfort, not only did we decided to then name him after one of the saints of the world tree Irminsul Feyris, the temple agreed to take him in order to get him started on his new life in Keralon.
And that ultimately leads me to the final problem that we would face on our first day in Keralon. Namely our arrival at the De La Roost manor in Keralon. Sorry I meant the former De La Roost manor in Keralon. For we were most surprised that when we arrived at the place where Allistan and Liliana would spend their time in Keralon, we found that is was not only welltaken care off, it was also inhabited. To this day I can’t tell who was more surprised. Allistan and Liliana or the noble woman who found a small gang of youngsters who had broken into her home. As a side note, Dadroz once told me that it is not really considered breaking in when you have the key. But I doubt that she was willing to make such a distinction. The guards where quickly called in order to straighten things out and while it took another visit to the barracks and one of the city administrators, the mystery was eventually solved. It seemed that the lady’s family had successfully petitioned the king to grant them the house, seeing that the De La Roost family rarely made us of it. And while the De La Roost family had received a new, all be it smaller manor, the news had not made its way to the siblings in time.
And that is how my first day in Keralon would end with cleaning the new De La Roost manor. But that mattered little as now we had finally arrived in Keralon, the city where our story and fate would be written.
Trial by fire
13th - 14th of Lug, 121 Era of the Tree
After everything that had happened to us over the last couple of days, we wisely decided to spendsome time in Logvale in order for us to recover. Which, speaking for me personally, was more than a little welcome. As helping around Logvale allowed me to put my mind at ease somewhat. Or at the very least give me something else to focus on. This did however quickly came to an end around noonish when Liliane enthusiastically called us over to see what she had discovered.
She had found a small, almost dried up pond in the middle of Logvale. Now that in itself was not unusual. Butt what was, was the fact that what little water was still in it, was completely frozen over. And while admittedly it was a bit chilly for the time of the year, it was nowhere near cold enough for that. Things became even stranger when Dadroz pointed out that beneath said ice, he could see a hatch. Curious, we decided to melt the ice and opened up the hatch in order to reveal a tunnel underneath. When asked about his professional thoughts concerning it, Droz explained that the tunnel was not only old, but also in very good condition. Which most likely meant that it was formed by means of magic. A fact that was all but confirmed when we noticed several runes, etched into the walls, lighting up when we passed them. Now these runes didn’t mean much to me, but the others told me that they had seen them before. When they were running from Cornu, they had stumbled uponsimilar runes marking a path that deviated from the main road. With the pressure of Corny’s hounds calling in the distance and the promised safety of the path, they ultimately relented and followed it. Which proved to be a blessing as the path took them to Logvale far faster than the main road would have. Which was odd in itself as the main road was a straight line towards Logvale. Meaning that potent magic had intervened on their behalf.
As for the tunnel we had found, we decided to see where it would take us. It was mostly a roughly straight path that took us about an hour in order to reach the end of. We exited a cave and found ourselves inside a small depression between two hills. In front of us, we could see a group of Menhirs marked with the same runes we found in the tunnel. In the centre of which stood a large archway. Even stranger, was the fact that the mists of Logvale did not approach the depression. Instead seeming like a giant wall that encircled it. Cautiously we got a bit closer in order to inspect the site, when suddenly torches lit ablaze with a blue flame as a blue shimmer appeared inside of the archway.
Looking inside of it, we could see a woman calmy approaching us. When she passed through the archway, she introduces herself as Vivienne. She had used the runes in order to get us to come to her so that she might offer us a deal. Apparently, when Liliana leaves in order to complete her end of her families deal, she will be placed directly under the command of Vivienne. So in order to speed things along, she offered to use the gate in order to send us just outside of Keralon. In exchange for our silence in this matter to others.
Naturally we were suspicious concerning this. Especially when it became known that she was familiar with Cornu. But according to her words, she and him were not on good terms. As such she had no interests in avenging him or the like. In fact from what we could tell, she seemed true in the fact that she simple wished to speed things along. And while most of us were keen on accepting this, Allistan, Hayly and me were not convinced. There were afterall a few other matters that still needed to be addressed. First off, was the fate of poor Robert. While it was unlikely that he had survived the dangers of Logvale on his own, it did not sit right with me to simple abandon him without making at least an attempt to find out what his final fate was. At the same time, there was no way that we could take Onvyr with us through these tunnels. Meaning that we would have to leave him behind. And lastly and not at all least was the fate of the people in Logvale. While their camp proved to have some defence against the Fey, it had already proven to not be fool proof. As Cornu had already proven. An even more sinister foe could simple decide to put it to flame in order to smoke them out from behind their walls. And that is not even counting the fact that they might have to leave their camp in order to hunt for food. So personally I would rather stay behind in order deal with these matters and provide some assistance to Logvale. Or at least until a patrol from Keralon would arrive in order to provide relief. But seeing as we were divided on the matter, we simple decided to put the matter to a vote. And ultimately, the decision to take Vivienne up on her offer was made.
So while Luke and Liliana stayed behind with Vivienne, the rest of us returned in order to get the others and gather our supplies. Phara, Logvale’s leader, was more than a little disappointed to see us go. Especially when we could really explain to her why we were leaving and why she and the rest of the people there could not use the tunnel themselves in order to escape. However I did feel this was for the best, as I worried what kind of defences might activate should uninvited people decide to venture near the portal. Eventually, Phara relented and agreed that they would seal of the hatch. We did however promise to immediately send word to Keralon about the troubles they were facing.
And with that we returned to Vivienne where she, Luke and Liliana were in deep conversation. She then graciously opened the portal once more and stepped aside allowing us to pass. But not before leaving us with one final bombshell. Namely that in 15 days, Liliana was to start serving her time under Vivienne.
When we exited the portal, we found ourselves amongst a similar group of Menhirs near the edge of Lorewood. And in the Distance, atop of a hill, we saw it. The silver city of Keralon standing proudly. My imaginations about its grandeur hardly did it justice. And with the realisation that it would only take us a few more days of travel in order to reach the end of our journey liftin our spirits, we set out once more.
That said my mind often wandered back to the people of Logvale, Robert and Onvyr. Don’t get me wrong, informing Keralon about the situation would prove to be of greater good than simple staying there and waiting. But such is the benefit of hindsight. At the time however, the idea that we were leaving them behind did not sit right be my. As such, I came to the conclusion that after arriving at Keralon and informing the guars of the situation, I would return to Logvale in order to find our lost compatriots and help the people there as best as I could.
Upon hearing this, I had the feeling that several people would be willing to join if I asked them. Especially Alistan. But allow me to tell you something about Alistan. He is courageous, noble of spirit and loyal somewhat to a fault. So there is no doubt in my mind that if I had asked, that he would have been the first to volunteer. But that is precisely why I could not ask him to join me. Because I did not want to force to choose between helping others and spending what little time he had left with his sister before she had to leave. Similar with the others. They all had hopes and dreams waiting for them in Keralon and it would be cruel of me to ask them to put those on hold.
As the evening was starting to fall, we were preparing to find a place to set up camp when we notices a trail of smoke in the distance. Suspecting that there might be fellow travellers who had set up a camp, we decided to get closer. It quickly became obvious however that that was not the case as we heard the telltale sounds of battle in the distance. When we reached the source of the sound, we found a tower standing in the middle of a clearing with several large braziers standing around it, with a mighty flame burning in each of them. In front of it, a woman was fighting of a heavily armoured figure, a gloom we would learn later, flanked by two pixies. The question on which one of the two was the aggressor quickly got answered when the pixies turned towards us to hinder our advance. Wanting answer on what was going on, as well as having learned my lesson about unanswered ones from my killing of Cornu, I decided to use a blunted arrow in order to knock one out of the sky. The other one however was not so lucky as Luke launched a firebolt at it, burning it to a crisp. The rest of us moved to protect the woman from her attacker. Giving her ample room in order to launch a spell of her one, which caused the golem to be engulfed in a massive pillar of fire, ending the fight.
The mage introduced herself as Amarra, current owner of Caern Fussil, the tower of the fire mages. And while she had no idea as to the identity of her attackers or their motives, it was obvious to her that this was no random attack as the golem proved to be rather resistance to her magic. Hoping for some answers, Hayley treated the concussion of the pixie, who was most confused when she woke up. Sadly she could tell us very little as the last she remembered was flying around with her sister before venturing into a blanket of mist. In fact she even had no idea as to how she came to be on the material plane. This all pointed towards the notion that something had taken hold of their minds with magic and forced them to do its bidding. She was of course most depressed when we informed her of the fate of her sister and decided to return to the forest of Lorewood in order to find a way home. I offered her to join up with me as I would be heading that way in a few days, but the idea of waiting that long was not that appealing to her.
With the departure of the pixie, Amarra was kind enough to offer us shelter for the evening. She also give us a bit of welcome advice about Keralon. In particular that the use of magic items was not allowed for people who did not belong to a knight order. Which was a problem as both me, Hayley and Liliana, who had received a powerful sword from Vivienne, obvious possessed magic weapons and would be stopped at the gate. However this would be a problem that we would solve when we got there. For now, there was another matter at hand.
As you can imagine, the notion that we were standing in a wizard tower was most intriguing for Luke, who wasted no time in finding himself inside the library. And while he was going through as many books as he could, Amarra joined him in order to make him an offer. As she had only just returned from her trip, she was currently looking for a new apprentice. If Luke was willing, all he needed to do was succeed in a test and the position would be his. Naturally he accepted and they agreed to do the test first thing in the morning. In order to celebrate this, Amarra even went as far as to perform a ritual that gave Luke a bit more insight into his magic. It seems that most people have an affinity for each of the great elements, with varying degrees. However Luke has an overwhelming affinity for fire magic, along with a connection to the summer court of the Fey. Which was most unusual. Later she would perform the same ritual on Hayley, only to reveal a similar result but only for wind and the winter court of the Fey. A most intriguing result, but one that would not mean much to us for many years to come.
The next day, as agreed the test took place. We were even allowed to help Luke in order to complete it. Now out of respect for Amarra, I will not include the details of the test here. All you need to know is that Luke succeeded with flying colours and succoured his apprenticeship. But despite this, Luke decided to continue onwards with us for a bit more in order to reach Keralon before beginning his new studies. Something that we were all grateful for. And with that we continued our journey to Keralon once more.
Hunted no more
12th of Lug, Year 121 Era of the Tree
The most important rule when dealing with any crisis is to keep calm. This so that you can make the right decision in order to resolve it as efficiently as possible. Of course this is easier said than done. Especially when you are being chased by a homicidal maniac. In the middle of the night, we were playing a deadly game of cat and mouse that seemed to last for an eternity. Though thinking back, it couldn’t have been more than a few hours at most. During which he got close to finding me on numerous occasions, but somehow I managed to keep giving him the slip. Now I would like to say that this was due to sheer skill, but that would be an utter lie on my part. Beside skill, I also needed to use up a lifetime’s worth of luck as well. And for an Elf, that is saying something.
I tried doubling back a few times. This in order to not only leave him in the dust, but also to reunite with my friends so that together we might come up with a plan to deal with him in a proper way. But sadly he wasn’t having it. Whenever I made the attempt, he always managed to be right there in my path, ready to strike me down the moment I would reveal myself. As you can imagine, It was beyond frustrating. Not just because I was worried about my own safety, but also for the safety of my friends as well. I knew that they were more than capable to reach the safety of the lumber camp Logvale on their own. But not knowing was killing me. Thus it as with a heavy heart that I eventually had to decide to abandon the idea of regrouping with them for now. No point in leading Cornu straight to them.
But despite this, as time continued to pass on, I started to get a bit more hopeful. Hopeful that the hunter would soon become too frustrated to continue and might abandon his search for now in order to come up with a new approach. Sadly he did indeed come up with that new approach faster than I would have guessed. And it stomped out what little embers of hope I had. For in the distance I could hear the telling sound of the howling of wolve. His new approach, calling for backup.
Despite my best efforts, the combined stalking of Cornu and his hounds slowly closed the noose around my neck. And I was running out of options, I knew that I had only two choices left. I could delay my capture for a few more minutes or I could make my last stand. Two death sentences to be certain. But just as I was about to make that choice, it was made for me. Covered in wounds, Sylvesse suddenly stormed out of the mist towards me. I wasted no time and quickly jumped on his back as he dashed past me. The last I heard was Cornu cursing us in the distance as the mist swallowed us up once more.
The downside of travelling through the mist is that it makes it difficult to tell the passing of time. Thus before I knew it, the night had already passed as Sylvesse and I continued our escape. We dared not to slow down for a moment out of fear that the hunter might catch up to us. All I knew was that Sylvesse was taking us to a place where we might be safe. And hopefully where we might meet up with the others. Fortunately, I did receive a bit of good news. Alistan had contacted me through the runestone. They had succesully found their way back to the main road and asked if I was safe and could join them. I quickly confirmed this and told them that I would join them as soon as I was able. That message relieved a huge weight off my chest.
We continued our journey to just beyond noon, when we reached the edge of a clearing. Beyond it lay the small settlement of Logvale and more importantly the safety that its wooden walls promised. But sadly that safety would proof not to be without cost. When we arrived, my friends were already making a mad dash towards the open gate. Sadly Cornu and his hounds had beaten them to it. And were now in the process of trying to prevent them to reach it. I descended from Sylvesse’s back and together we began to assist them. Sylvesse cleared the way for us and as we were close to reaching the gate I shouted towards him to flee.
However his noble spirit prevented him from doing so as he wanted to make sure that we had reached safety. This would prove to be his downfall sadly. For Cornu and his hounds swarmed him and sadly managed to take him down. The sounds of his death throes would hound me for several nights. Even to this day, it still sometimes catches me of guard. While trying to hold back my tears I launched one more arrow that struck Cornu in the shoulder as the gate closed.
You’ll have to forgive me for not being too accurate from this point on concerning the remainder of this day. As I was mostly just going true the motions in an attempt to keep it all together. So my memory concerning the rest of that day is fuzzy. I do remember Hayley and the others attempting to comfort me. And while it did remove a little of the sting, it was sadly still too raw at that point. I also remember the leader of Logvale, Farah, telling us that this place had some kind of magical protection that became active when the mist appeared. But she sadly did not know much about. She did however offer some rooms in the local inn, in order to recover a bit. But while the others graciously accepted this offer, I respectfully declined. I simple wished to spend some time alone in order to straighten out my thoughts and emotions concerning everything. Sadly however this was a luxury that was not given to me. For deep in the night, I was pulled out of my emotional stupor by the sight of a trail of mist finding its way through a small crack in the wall. And this mist, Corvu manifested.
His tenacity had forced him to appear before me once more, but not without price. For whatever magical protection Logvale had was doing a number on him as it almost appeared as if it was burning him away before my eyes. He slowly stumbled towards me demanding that I handed over the prize that he sought. Now the smart thing to do was to capture him in order to get answers on the why of things. But my rage got the better of me and I told him that all I would give him was several arrows as I attempted to shoot him. He was however quicker on the draw and almost got the better of me. If not for the timely arrival of my friends who wasted no time to come to my aid. This allowed me to fire off one more arrow. But as it shot wide, we were surprised by a light coming from something tied to his waist. Which caused the arrow to curve and catch him in his remaining eye, killing him instantly.
It was over, the nightmare of Cornu the hunter was finally over. Still we moved with caution towards him in order to inspect the thing that was tied to his waist. The antlers of Sylvesse, taken as a trophy. As I moved to retrieve them, in order to find a nice place near Keralon in order to give him proper burial, a most curious thing happened. For a moment it seemed like the antlers turned to liquid as they reformed themselves into a most magnificent longbow. The final gift that Sylvesse would ever gift to me.
I carefully picked them up as I continued to watch the magics of Logvale burn Cornu’s body to ash. But as the last bit disintegrated, a scary thought came to me. What was so important that it caused him to risk certain death just to retrieve it. The remainder of that night I continued pondering this question. I even unpacked every single item in my possession in order to inspect them. But the only thing of true value that I possessed was the bow given to me by Edna and I highly doubted that that was what he was looking for. Kust as I started to pack up once more however, a thought came to me. A notion that, while unlikely, was certainly possible. But sadly that puzzle would continue to evade me for a long time.
For now I am the hunted
11th of Lug, Year 121, Era of the Tree
As bad as things were, the arrival of the stranger quickly proved that things could be even worse. After petrifying poor Onvyr, he turned his attention to us. Alistan quickly turned to charge in on him, but sadly this only gave the Yeth hound an opening to bite down hard and knock the wind out of him. Liliana attempted to intervene but sadly she received the same treatment from it. Fortunately, Edward and Ileas were nearby in order to get them back on their feet. One with a goodberry I had handed out earlier and one with some quick spells.
Hayley attempted to persuade the stranger to cease this attack, but he simply ignored her as he took aim and shot me with an arrow. When I came to thanks to Elsa’s healing, I noticed that things had not improved. Our amnesiac traveller had just given Hayley another goodberry in order to wake her up. Judging from her injuries, the Yeth hound had taken a nasty bite out of her. At that point the stranger took aim once more and shot both Dadroz and Ileas. Taking them out of the fight. As you can guess, saying that things were not looking good was somewhat of an understatement. A notion that was pointed out by Edward as he voiced out his concerns that this fight was beyond us. All the while moving to stand closer to his sister.The Yeth hound turned its attention to me once more. Causing me to take some distance from Elsa for her safety. And sure enough, the damned thing decided to follow me.
Enraged by the sight of his friends going down, Luke channelled as much arcane energies as he could muster and blasted the stranger with an unparalleled firebolt that enveloped him in flames. However this was not without cost. For when he released the spell, the staff that he was holding shattered. Causing some of the flames to engulf him as well. But to his credit, he endured the full force of that blast and remained standing. If only barely. Meanwhile Dorr, our dwarven companion, moved to the remaining horses and attempted to unshackle them from Robert’s carriage. Now I should point out that I have to give an apology to Dorr here. For upon seeing this I was positive that he had decided to cut tail and run. But instead he was planning on sending the horses on a charge against the stranger.
Then from a distance, a ray of hope appeared. Sylvesse came charging forward out of the bushes, to our rescue. Though seeing that he was already bloodied, did diminish that hope slightly. Sadly however this created another opening, causing the stranger to once more take aim. This time hitting both me and Elsa with his arrows. And not having fully recovered from my previous wound, I went down once more.
Next thing I remember, was waking up to Hayley feeding me another goodberry. Sylvesse had just taken down the Yeth hound in a deadly charge and told us to run. And while it pained me to leave my friend and mentor behind, that was indeed the smart choice. So we did, praying that Sylvesse would be able to flee when he had gained enough distance.
We had mostly fled in two distinct groups, which meant that it took us around half an hour in order to find each other again. We waited a bit longer, before deciding to head back to our wagons. As you can imagine this was not exactly the safest choice, as the stranger could still be there waiting for us, but we had little choice. For without our supplies, we would not get far. Fortunately, the stranger was no longer there. And even better, no obvious sign that Sylvesse had fallen to his hand. My hope that Sylvesse had managed to give him the slip when we left thus remained strong.
As we gathered our supplies, Hayley, Liliana and I attempted to search for poor old Robert. But sadly his trail quickly grew cold. Hayley did sent her raven out with a message in hopes of finding him, but if I am honest with this mist I did not have much hope. Meanwhile Dadroz, Ileas, Alistan and Luke went out to find Thorin, the horse we had been given back in town. And while I understand that on a survival basis having two horses instead of the one we had remaining at that time was indeed a better option. The fact that more individuals went out to search for the horse instead of our missing travel companion was a bit odd to me. Especially because I thought that Robert was rather liked. But then again, Thorin was a very good draft horse. And as luck would have it, it didn’t take them to long in order to find him.
With two horses in tow, we decided to take the Colline carriage with us. It was without a doubt the largest of the carriages that could be pulled by our two horses and the soft padding of the interior would serve well to keep the statue of Onvyr in one piece. We did however decide not to take any supplies from Robert’s carriage. We hoped that if he found his way back to this place, he might use them to find his way to Logvale or back to Hillfield.
We then continued our travels towards Logvale, though at a much slower pace. Hayley asked me if I had any idea how this stranger, this hunter was. Seeing as he seemed to have a keen interest in me especially. But sadly I had never seen or heard of him before this. Thus his identity would continue to remain a mystery for now.
Another discussion that started around this time that I should point out is that Alistan, Luke and Liliana were arguing that we made a mistake with falling back when we did. They believed that with the combined might of Sylvesse, we would have been able to overwhelm the hunter with sheer numbers. But I remained sceptical of this however. While it is true that we had numbers on our side, none of us were really in a fighting condition at that point. The battle against the Dianios had taken more out of us than we would like to admit. Not to mention the Yeth Hound witch had caused us to use a lot of our magical potential just to hold it back. So sadly I believe that that was wishful thinking on their part. Not to mention that when a creature like Sylvesse tells you to run, you listen and run. No in my humble opinion, I think we made the right choice.
As night fell, we managed to find an old ruined tower where we could set up camp. Well I say tower, but the remaining walls were barely higher then Dorr’s chest. But it did offer some comfort. Despite the risks involved, we decided to make a small fire. Our hope was that the mist would hide it from view and frankly we could all make use of the comfort at that point. Sadly however this proved to be our mistake. For during the second watch, Dadroz and I noted multiple Dainios exiting the forest. We raised the alarm, but before either of us could do something, Luke launched a potent firebolt at the leader and burned it to ash. This was then followed by Alistan beheading one of the ones that were trying to flank us. Liliana however had a different tactic and pushed one of them into the small pond that was near the tower. But sadly this did little to discourage it.
Now admittedly, unlike this afternoon there were less Dainios to contend with this time. But that is not to say that we were not at a disadvantage. For having been roused from their sleep, many of us were not wearing any armour. Something that Alistan sadly experienced firsthand when a Dianios blade found him in his gut. Fortunately Ileas had one more goodberry remaining and was able to close the wound before he bled out. I would like to point out that I was very pleased with myself that the notion of casting that spell just before I retire for the night was proving to be this effective. Though I did figure that I should keep some notes as to who had been given how many just to keep an oversight of it. Something that I was certainly going to do should I survive this night.
It was at this point however that we heard Dadroz should out the one thing that we did not want to hear. The hunter had returned once more. Just as that chilling feeling was taking hold of me once more, Ileas used some of his bardic abilities on me. Causing me to be filled with a warm feeling of inspired confidence. Which was good as the hunter took another shot at me that I was only barely able to dodge.
Considering that we were all exhausted and in even less of a shape for a fight then last time, I decided that it was time for some cold hard calculus. As Hayley pointed out, the hunter was interested in me in particular. So we either had eleven victims, Onvyr included as we still held hope that we might be able to undue his petrification, or only one victim. An easy choice to make I think. Especially if that one victim is yourself. So I shouted at the rest to get out of here before calling out to the hunter to come and get me, just as I dashed into the forest.
Now don’t misunderstand, I had no illusions on my chances of survival here. Especially a fight with the hunter would be straight up suicidal, even if I was fully recovered from earlier. But a straight up elf to fey fight was not what I was planning. All I needed to do was lure him away from the rest and then get away myself. Not an easy prospect in the slightest, but also not an impossible one. For while he was undoubtedly more skilled then I at the time, I was counting on three things to even the playing field for me. First of was this infernal mist. My hope was that if I gained enough distance, it would prevent him from attacking me with his bow. Secondly was the fact, guessing by his injuries, I figured that he had not yet had much rest after his battle with Sylvesse. Perhaps an hour tops. Whereas I was able to trance for a few hours. Meaning that while I might not have fully recovered, I was in no immediate danger of falling to exhaustion. So I hoped that I might have an edge when it comes to endurance. And the last stake I was gambling on was the hunter himself. Every action that I had seen the hunter take was always calm and even slightly casual. There was no doubt that he was a confident hunter, I mean you could see this in his every movement. But too much confidence can lead to arrogance. And this was what I was hoping for. That if I could stay away long enough, he would make even the slightest of mistakes that I could capitalize on.
So that was my plan, gain distance on him, hide and then wait for an opportunity to present itself to escape. Then use the Tarnstone in order to contact the rest and group up in Logvale. Where we might come up with a plan in order to deal with him for good. Not the best plan I admit. But all I had at the moment I’m afraid. All that it required was that I just simple maintained enough distance from him in order not to die.
But sadly as I turned around to confirm that I indeed had the attention of the hunter, I saw that this might be a bit more more difficult than I had anticipated. For while he did indeed follow me deeper into the woods, so did Luke, Alistan, Hayley and Ileas. With Liliana and Dadroz following close behind. Those fools, those damned beautiful fools. Sadly however this almost proved their undoing as the hunter turned his attention towards Luke and Alistan and casually struck them down from behind as they stumbled through the darkness.
Slightly cursing, I turned back a bit closer to the hunter in order to call out to him once more. This time succeeding in getting his full attention as he slowly started to chase after me. I started to run again. And as I looked over my shoulder once more, I could see the rest pulling Alistan and Luke out of the forest. Meaning that part one of my plan had worked. Now, with the hunter closer behind me then I would have liked, I just needed to survive part two long enough in order to reap the rewards in part three.
Strangers in the mist
8-11th of Lug, 121 Year of the Tree
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.”
Onwards towards the west
7th & 8th of Lugh, 121 Year of the Tree
Following her mother’s advice to keep a low profile for the remainder of our visit and stay out of trouble, Liliana suggested that we might spend the day showing the Colline siblings the town. This worked out well for us as Onvyr had delivered us some news during breakfast. Sadly the remainder of the journey would be made with a reduced group. As the merchants and their guards decided to stay behind and return back to Tarn. However that was their choice and there nothing we could say to change their decision. So we decided that since we no longer had to wait for them to peddle their wares, we would leave the following day and make for the Logvale. A logger’s camp around 7 days into the Lorewood and the next stop on our trip to Keralon.
So with that news, we went our way to enjoy the sight of Hillfield. Acting like a normal toerist under the skilled care of the De La Roost siblings. However despite our intend to stay out of trouble, it was not to be. For it quickly became apparent to most of us that we were being followed. Just as I was about to make a move to separate myself from the group in order to flank our pursuiter, Hayley simple turned around and walked towards the cloaked figure. As I stated before, Hayley can be quite bold. And while I appreciate that quality of her, I due sometimes worry that it will lead her into troublesome situations.
Sensing that she was spotted, the hooded figure attempted to dash away from us into an alley. But to no avail, as we quickly caught up to her. Despite her cloak, it was obvious from her stature that we were dealing with a Satyr. My apologies, I need to correct myself. The correct term for a female Satyr is a Faune if I am correct. She immediately called out to Ileas, who was most surprised when she removed her hood. This was Griselda, a childhood friend of Ileas whom he knew when he still lived with his old tribe. She had recognized him and wished to speak with him. That was why she was following us, in order to wait for an opportunity to do so privately. Out of respect, we took some distance so they could have their talk. But just to be safe, considering our earlier trouble with satyrs, I decided to keep my guard up. What can I say, these ears aren’t just for show and besides, their voices carry.
She explained to Ileas that while their tribe allied themselves with the baron in his rebellion against Keralon, they had a good reason for doing so. For he had promised that if they help him, he would return unto them their ancestral lands. Lands that currently belong to Hillfield. However because he fighting had gotten worse lately, she hoped for Ileas his assistance. In fact she wished for him to bring a package to the guards. Inside was an offer of truce between them and the Satyr tribe and seeing that Ileas was on close footing with the De La Roosts, she figured that he might more look than her in successfully delivering it. sensing no double cross, Ileas accepted the parcel. Upon which Griselda told him that if he wished to speak further, she would be staying in an old watchpost just outside of town.
When she left, Ileas returned to us and explained the situation. However despity Ileas his faith in his old friend, we agreed that it would be a good idea to inspect the package first. And a good thing that we did as Luke was quick to point out that there was a strong magical aura on it. An evocation aura, meaning that the parcel was most likely a bomb. News severely depressed Ileas and who can blame him. And it is here that I would like to interject my own opinion in regards to the matter. For while the issue concerning the return of their ancestral lands is an extremely complex one, I do not fault them for their wish for independence. Afterall, the ability to make your own choices and chart the course of your life is the only true freedom that we have. What I due fault them for is the way the go about doing this. If your plan consists of attacking civilians that have no way of fighting back against you, it might not be a bad idea to revisit your plan and see if there might be a better way to go about it. And while that action is deplorable beyond a doubt, it is still not as bad as the implications of their master plan. The idea of using an offer of truce as a cunning trap to kill your enemies is so abhorrent to me, that I cannot even fathom why anyone would consider this a good idea. It might not seem that this is worse than the killing of innocent citizens, but trust me when I say that this action holds greater consequences. For whenever some tactical genius comes up with it, it cheapens the value of a truce for all of history. For whenever you give a new offer of peace following this, people will worry that this might be a trap. Causing even a genuine offer to be dismissed out of hand simple because it cannot be trusted. Resulting in more lives being lost throughout the channels of history. So no, while I can understand with their motives. I cannot agree or tolerate the actions that they had chosen to achieve them.
So we delivered the package to Berris, whom quickly had a wizard dispose of it. however as we explained the situation to him, Hayley once more surprised us. For she explained that Griselda would not be found at the guard post that she mentioned. But instead could be found at a local pastry shop called Sylvan Pastries. When asked how she knew this, she simple smiled and stated that these are simple things that a witch just knows. So Berris despatched some guards in order to arrest them. He would also send some guards to the guard post just in case. The raid at she shop was a success and he informed us that several rebels were arrested thanks to this.
This did little to alleviate the heartache that Ileas was feeling following this betrayal of course. And Liliane and Alistan spend most of the remaining day trying to console him. In order to change the topic, Luke wished to have another crack at identifying the menhir that was located in the garden of the De La Roost manor. However lady De La Roost had anticipated this and made sure to have a guard placed their at all times. And despite Alistan his best efforts, there was no going against his mothers orders. A lesson that every child learns at one point in their life.
The remainder of the day went by rather uneventful. With one small exception of course. Onvyr explained to us that he had managed to find another companion for our journey. A dwarf whom had run into some trouble in town and that had to leave rather quickly. I don’t think it takes a genius to guess the suspicion that we were all having at that point. But we decided that what would be would be.
The next day, after we said our goodbyes to Mathilda and thanked her for her kind care, we were surprised to see Onvyr shouting at Edward. It seems that the young lord ad decided to dismiss his guards. Which was a problem, as Onvyr had been counting on their presence in order to help guard the caravan. But Edward had been tired of running around with a couple of essentially babysitters and considered the matter closed. Frustrated, Onvyr let the matter be for now. But while I understand Edward, I distinctively remember hoping that we would not come to regret this brash decision. A feeling not helped by the sight of the usually calm and collected Onvyr stomping away in anger.
Fortunately, the De La Roost twins were able to change the subject by telling us of an offer that their mother had made. It seems that she had used considerable resources in order to have her children travel to Keralon by means of teleportation. An offer that they were quick to refuse as they wished to continue traveling with us. A good thing they did as I am sure that had they told us that they would be leaving us, I think we would have seen Onvyr spontaneously combust at the spot. So despite her best wishes, Alistan and Liliana chose to remain with the bad influence of their friends. But I do feel that I must clarify something. I have described Lady De la Roost in a rather negative light and I should clarify. While I admit that our first impression might not have been the best for both sides. Especially with the revelation of Liliana her fate and the breaking if her very nice bedroom door by Alistan. I do not consider her as villainous as I have made her out to be. I believe that she is simple a mother trying to do right by her family. And while I do not agree with some of her choices and actions, I can at least respect that much.
But to get back on track, we then met up with our new travel buddy. And as you might have expected, this was indeed one of the dwarves we had confronted in the sewers. It was in fact Dorr, the leader of the dwarves, who had decided to join us. As you can imagine, he was surprised to see us again. And while he might have preferred different company, I due believe that he did not really have a choice in the matter. So with three carts now remaining, we decided to head out towards the west. To Lorewood, Logvale and Keralon.
Now I would like to say that our first day back on the road was rather uneventful, but that would be a lie. For besides the constant threat of a storm brewing overhead, we quickly came upon a sight that invited trouble. At a crossroads in the distance, I spotted three horses a bit of the road. Horses that, according to Alistan, bore the mark of Hillfield. But with no sign of their riders in sight. Upon reflecting, we surmised that these most likely belonged to the guards that were send to inspect the guard post that Griselda mentioned earlier. Despite my reservations so split up the group, Onvyr assured us that there would be no problem if they simple placed the carts a bit of the road while they waited for us as we made our way to the guard post. And with that assurance, I started following the tracks.
It did not take us to long to find the small tower in the distance. Though it did seem like it has seen better days, as the roof had partly collapsed due to the passage of time. The first thing that we noticed were the clear signs of battle. Marks that were covered with drag marks, satyr hoofprints and the claw marks of a large catlike creature. As we made our way towards the tower, Griselda came outside to greet us. Or more precisely Ileas. She explained to him, that it was never the plan to hurt him. That she knew that when he handed the parcel, they would gather the council first. And that when they opened it, they would have removed the snake’s head. Which would bring them one step closer to getting back the lands they stole from their tribe. All without hurting him. This I found to be complete folly. For while that may or may not have been her intend, the moment she failed to inform him of his role in the plan, she deemed him as an acceptable sacrifice. But for Ileas his peace of mind, I choose not to reveal this.
Ileas implored her to stand down as it was not yet too late and that they could resolve this peacefully. But she could not believe that he stand against her and their tribe. To be with the people who stole him away. But despite all this, she stated that if we were to simple turn around and leave, she would let us go. But that was something that Ileas could not do. So he turned to Alistan and asked him what he would do. Alistan stepped forward and told her that she would need to come back to town and be judged for her crimes. A notion that did not sit right with her as she called out in Sylvan. Yelling attack, as a giant displacer beast jumped out of the tower.
It was at this moment that I was overwhelmed with a feeling of confidence and assurance. That even as I stared down this predator that moved towards me, that there would be nothing to fear. That I would not stand alone in my time of need. And as this feeling of reassurance grew ever stronger inside of me, I raised my hand and whispered in Sylvan “grow”. And with that, I casted my first spell. Now as you know, magic can generally be divided into three forms. Here is arcane magic, divine and finally primal. Now I’m not even going to try to explain the first two as either Luke, Hayley or Ileas are better equipped to explain the mysteries of arcane magic. Just as Liliana can give you a better idea on the nature of the divine powers that she can tap into. But primal magic, is in a league of its own. For primal magic, is a force that surrounds all of us. It is the hands of the father, protecting us as we take our steps in life. It is the embrace of the mother, shielding us from the cold around us. When calling out to it, we not only fill ourselves with the essence of the spirits surrounding us. But we also come to understand just how delicate and beautiful it all is. We feel the passion of the fire inside us, the resolve of the earth we stand on, the intuitiveness of the water surrounding us and the freedom of the air above us. The reason I am telling you all this is so that you have a proper idea of what emotions filled me when the magic flowed onto my words to guide the spirits to influence the plants around Griselda and the displacer beasts to grow and restrain them.
Unfortunately, while it slowed her down, it failed to restrain Griselda for long. As she quickly broke free and dashed into the forest. And despite the valiant attempts of Hayley and Alistan to stop her, she was long gone before we knew it. Fortunately I had more success with the displacer beast itself. Allowing us to quickly dispatch it without much difficulty.
We then inspected the tower itself and sadly indeed found the remains of the guards inside. Not wanting them to remain here, Hayley used her raven in order to send word to Hillfield to inform them of their fates. Afterwards we returned to the others and continued our way towards the west.
A complicated situation
6th of Lugh, 121 Year of the Tree
I will admit that I was a bit worried that the discussion of the previous day might sour the mood in the group a bit. Fortunately however I was proven wrong as we simple decided to drop the subject for now. Instead we decided to have a lovely day of simple touring the city. Seeing the sites and browsing the various wares of the Mariket. All in all a quit enjoyable first part of the day.
As for the second part of the day, well this is where things got rather complicated. For you Alistan could no longer ignore his sense of responsibility to his people. And told us that he wished to investigate the insurrections that were happening. In order to make sure that his people were safe. There was a bit of hesitation to his however as Luke voiced his concern that in doing so we might be getting in the way of the investigation of the guards. But Alistan assured us that this would not be an issue as we would in fact be helping the guards bringing this case to a close a bit sooner. So with our worries cleared up, we agreed to help him.
In order to get us started, we decided to pay a quick visit to the guard station. Our hopes was that Sergeant Berris, a guard we met after the satyr attack from the other day, might be able to give us some information and maybe even point us in the right direction. Now admittedly, he wasn’t to keen on having us “assist” with the investigation. But after Alistan pointed out that the De La Roost family had a keen interest in this and would take responsibility, he decided to give us the information.
Berris informed us that the activities of these rebels started occurring several weeks ago. And that their actions have been steadily escalating. At first they were simple content with rousing people up and organizing small riots and protests. That is until a few days ago, when a large group of them attacked a local guardhouse. Which got even worse yesterday when the attack on the gate happened where they were simple content with killing random civilians. As for the who, while it was true that a large part of them consisted of satyrs. Their number also included other races such as bugbears and other humans. Essentially reflecting the various mercenary groups that made up the self-proclaimed baron’s army.
Armed with this information, as well as an overview on the where most of the attacks occurred, we set out in order to see what we could get ourselves into. And it is at this point that I must admit that I got a bit over excited. For you see in my enthusiasm, I came up with a rather ambitious plan in order to flush the rebels out. The basic premise of this was to send Ileas in as a spy in order to find out where the group came together. Maybe even have him “liberate” a few captives in order to get in their good graces. All so we could round them up in one fell swoop. A bold plan I admit. A fact that became more clear as Ileas his face became paler and paler. So with that plan rejected, we instead decided to do some legwork in order to find our prey.
As we made our way down the streets discussing alternative plans, we heard a large commotion in the distance. Worried, we made our way towards the sound and found ourselves in front of the local monastery. Along with a large crowd that was demanding to be let inside. Something that the priests adamantly refused. Seeing that the mood of the crowd was getting evermore heated, Alistan took charge of the situation and stepped forward. Then with a calm yet commanding presence he managed to calm the crowd down before they did something stupid. With that done, he turned around to the priests and politely asked them for the reason as to why the monestary was closed. The priests informed us that it was out of their control as the Abbot, father Ethon, had ordered it so. Following this, Alistan requested an audience with the Abbot. In the hopes to resolve this situation quickly so that we could continue with our investigation.
We took a side entrance into the chapel in order not to antagonize the crowd. And upon meeting the Abbot, it quickly became clear as to what the problem was. For of the three statues dedicated to Belanus, the lord of light, two of them had been vandalized. Their faces being smashed in beyond recognition. But that was not the most disturbing thing of this scene. For the middle statue, that had remained untouched, was crying tears of blood. A most ominous omen indeed. It was for this reason that the Abbot had closed the chapel for now. As he wished to study this omen in more detail. So that he might appease Belenus and not cause undue worry with the people. Especially with the recent troubles that the city had been dealing with. Naturally we offered our assistance with this, something that the Abbot was most pleased with. For he himself had no idea as to who might have been responsible for this. All he knew was that this act of defilement must have happened sometime last night. But as there was no obvious signs of breaking and entering, the means as to how they got inside was as elusive as their identity. Thus we started with combing every square inch of the immediate area around the statues.
Sadly however, we did not learn anything special. The only thing we really learned was confirmation of the fact that this area had been desecrated. A fact that Liliana was able to deduce thanks to her own abilities. Which was further confirmed by the Abbot himself. Fortunately luck was on our side. Which is another way of saying that Hayley was one step ahead of us. For she remembered that while she was observing the crowd outside, there were a few individuals that caught her interest. A group of dwarves that were keeping their distance. Who, after observing the crowd for a bit, made their way to a sewer entrance that was out of sight. Before ultimately descending into it. At first she paid it little mind, but seeing as what had occurred inside the temple, she figured that it might have something to do with this. Something we all agreed with, so we quickly made our way towards this entrance. Promising the Abbot that we would get to the bottom of this all.
One of the things of adventuring that appeals to me the most, is the ability to experience something new. To see things that no one else has seen before. To experience the new of the future and the wonder of the old. Which unfortunately includes experiencing the worst stench I had ever experienced in my life up to that point. An experience that I could have certainly done without. But alas such is the flipside of the glamourous life of an adventurer. But as if this stench was not enough, we also had to content with the water. For with little room to stand, we had to take a most uncomfortable trek, sludging through the water as we desperately tried not to think about what was flooding our boots in the process. It was only when Alistan noticed sounds in the distance that the monotony of it all was broken.
Now despite Alistan’s insistence that it was not necessary, Me and Dadroz decided to go ahead and scout out the situation. If only to ensure that we would not bite of more than we could chew. What we found in that horrid sewer, were a group of dwarves who had dug out a small cavern. A cavern that they were actively still mining out. Also when Dadroz and I turned around, we noticed a strange creature lying asleep in a cage. This was an Ettercap we would later learn, a humanoid like spider creature with a most unpleasant morning temper. Not wanting to leave things to change, Dadroz wasted no time in making sure that the cage was most definitely closed.
Upon returning with the rest, Dadroz attempted to sneak in a little closer into the cave. In an effort to get a better view on what the dwarves were doing. But sadly with them being more accustomed to tunnels and the like, it did not take them long to spot it. But fear not, for as Dadroz was attempting to talk his way out of this, Liliana stepped forward and demanded to know what was going on here. And this is where things got rather messy. For while Liliana and Alistan are indeed part of a noble family in Hillfield, at that point in time they did not yet have an official position in Hillfield. So Liliana’s threats of arresting the dwarves were not really taken seriously by them. Leading into some sort of an impasse, where they did not accept our claims of authority and we not wanting to let them go. Especially when we realized that the place they are digging is right under the temple. So for a while we stood there with the dwarves holding their pickaxes at the ready to defend themselves and us not really sure on what to do next. This stalemate was broken however when Alistan stepped forward in order to arrest the leader. At which point things went to hell in a handbasket. The dwarves as one moved to defend themselves, while we attempted to knock them out. With Liliana and Alistan quickly forming a small shieldwall in order to hold the line as Ileas darted between them in order to get a better stab at the leader of the group. At the same time Luke and I harassed them with spells and blunted arrows respectfully. Which was made even easier thanks to Hayley using her arcane gifts to demoralize them with the venom in her words. Words that are best not repeated in polite company, especially as she got a little mean near the end of it.
Now you might be wondering why I haven’t mentioned Dadroz his role in this fight. And I assure you, that there is a good reason for this. I first wanted you to have a pretty good idea on how the fight was going. Before Dadroz made a most lucky or unlucky shot, depending on how you see things. For he made a perfect shot. Piercing the dwarf with an arrow in the throat in such a way that there was simple nothing that could be done about it. No magic would have been able to heal a wound such as that one. Or at least no magic that we had access to at the time. Now I want to be clear that I don’t blame Dadroz for this. Afterall I have no problem with using lethal force when a life is threatened or to protect my own. And even if I did, we were part of a group and the responsibility of the actions of an individual fall upon the responsibility of the group as a whole. It is merely sad that, with the benefit of hindsight, this could have been avoided. Had we simple waited there and send one of us to get the guards it might not have gone the way that it did. And that is what made the whole situation so unfortunate.
But if that was not enough, it still got worse. For at that moment, that damn Ettercap woke up and broke out of its cage. And this is where our inexperience got the better of us. For as the Ettercap charged towards Luke, both Liliana and Alistan moved to intercept it. Now while the Ettercap was indeed the greater threat and Liliana and Alistan were both one hundred precent correct in their assessment that it needed to be locked down. The fact that both of them moved towards it, had the unfortunate effect of turning our frontline into our backline. Something that Hayley immediately regretted as the last dwarf that remained standing socked her right in the jaw. Fortunately Ileas and myself were able to subdue him before he could do more harm. But it did illustrate to us that while we were good at working together, we still needed to iron out the details of our tactics when working together. Now again, this does have the benefit of hindsight.
After this it did not take us too long to take down the Ettercap. For while it was formidable, we had numbers on our side and we quickly overwhelmed it. Following this, the magic twins offered to go and get the guards in order to arrest the dwarves. Naturally I joined them in order to make sure that they would not get lost. The fact that this meant that I would also have to leave the sewers for a while was just a happy coincidence. Now I should point out that while Luke, Hayley and I were gone, the rest of our group were greeted by some unexpected visitors. A handful of priests had heard the commotion down here and came to investigate. Not too surprising, considering that we were fighting below their feet and that they would be on alert following the desecration of the temple. Brother Marik, the leader of the priests, seemed pleased that the situation was nothing to major and quickly returned to the surface.
A little while later the leader of the dwarves, who goes by the name of Dorr, woke up. And after a few questions, explained that he and his friends were hired to dig these tunnels in search of treasure. Some kind of book that was hidden below the temple. However it came as a shock when he told them that they were in fact hired by brother Marik. He did not however have much time to elaborate on this further as at that point Luke and I returned with the guards. Hayley had decided to stay behind in order to keep an eye on the monastery. Which was a choice that I am sure was in no way motivated by her desire to stay as far away from the sewers as possible.
Now you would assume that that would be the end of things right then and there. The guards come, arrest the henchmen of the villain and after finding the leader we would celebrate our victory in the inn right. You would however be wrong. For at that point things would get complicated, a bit more complicated and then very simple. For if you recall, as I said before we did not have any jurisdiction upon making that arrest. So it quickly turned into a we said they said situation where we argued that we took them captive when we found them doing something illegal and them saying that all they were doing was defending themselves. Which technically was both correct and that is before adding in the unfortunate dead dwarf in the mix. Fortunately for sergeant Berris, who was clearly at a loss on what to do, the decision was made for him. Because Sophia De La Roost then appeared and used her influence to make it all disappear.
Naturally Alistan argued against this. Stating that the responsibility of the lost life was his and that he would face whatever judgment would come his way. As this was the right thing to do. In response however lady De La Roost made it qut clear beyond a shadow of a doubt that if this were to go to court, Alistan would not be judged. Instead it would be Dadroz who would have to face justice for the murder. And that as a commoner he would most likely by judged guilty without to much trouble. So in short, if he wished to keep his friend out of jail, he would keep his mouth shut and consider the matter closed. Reluctantly Alistan agreed to these terms, not wanting Dadroz to go to jail. And that is what I meant with things becoming very simple in the end. Though on a moral view, this didn’t sit right with any of us. But there was nothing else we could do, besides promising to ourselves to do better in the future.
in order to round out the day, we decided to return to the Abott. We explained to him what happened in the sewers and he was most surprised to hear that we encountered brother Marik there. For you see, the brother indeed used to belong to the monastery. However he was removed from it a while ago do to a difference in interests. For instead of religious teachings, he was more interested in the forbidden part of the library that contained various dangerous books. Arcane books with knowledge that is best forgotten. Though Luke might beg to disagree, as he himself was most interested in this.
Unsure on what to do next, we decided to investigate the statues one last time. And fortunately thanks to Luke we had a bit more success this time. This time he used smoke in order to check for a draft that might hint at the location of a secret door. And he was successful, there was indeed one located behind a small statue in an alcove. We wasted no time and opened the thing, finding ourselves in a small hidden room. A room that contained a small altar, upon which a human skull was located. Along with the three priests that accompanied brother Marik. Upon seeing us, they lunged at us but they were no match for us. So we tied them up and looked around the room, finding a small ladder that lead into the sewers. In fact leading to the very tunnel where we fought the dwarves. Only in the opposite direction. We all felt rather stupid at that point. All we needed to do was investigate the sewers a bit further and we could have avoided a lot of trouble. Let us just say that this was once more an example of how inexperienced we were at that point and leave it at that shall we.
We questioned the priests on what they were doing and after a bit of probing, they explained it all. They were in fact followers of the lich Morhim. A lich that several hundred years ago attacked Keralon itself. I’ll admit that I am a bit fuzzy on the details, but the short version is that as a man he had a vision that he would bring death and destruction to Keralon. And in his efforts to avoid this fate, turned into the verry thing he tried to prevent. A most depressing tale and a valuable lesson on the caution one must take with visions and the like. The reason they were there is because Marik believed that below the monastery a book was hidden that was written by Morhim himself. In fact he believed it was one of the three books that explained his fall into lichdom and he hoped to reveal these secrets to himself. You know, I never understood this. Why some spend all their time trying to attain eternity, if the end result is losing the very thing that made them be alive. But perhaps I am not the right person to judge this, as I due belong to one of the most long-lived races. As for the location of Marik, sadly they did not know. For he had left them just after finding us in the sewers. The only reason he left them is because he blamed them for this. It seemed that they had gone behind his back to desecrate the statues as a tribute to their lord. Not realizing that all this would do is draw unwanted attention to themselves. Which naturally it did, as otherwise we would never have gone done into that sewer in the first place.
And with that we decided to call an end to the day. Alistan and Liliana returned home with Ileas, no doubt expecting another barrage of a dressing down for their actions earlier in the day by their mother. The rest of us returned to the inn. Where the day did end on a funny note. For you see while the inn was stacked, Hayley decided to use this to her advantage. She ordered two mugs of beer and took them to the masked stranger in the corner. Only to realize when she sat down that it was un fact a scarecrow. Something of a running gag in the inn where they tried to pull one over unexpecting newcomers. But to Hayley’s credit, she took it in stride and played along. Using her magics in order to fool them back in return and hold a whole conversation with the scarecrow with her ventriloquism act. Something that brought more than a little smile on her face as the onlooker were shocked when the scarecrow started answering back to her. And that was the end of our second da in Hillfield.
City of Strife and Secrets
5th of Lugh, 121 Year of the Tree
With the death of the winter wolf, it did not take too long for the weather to shift one last time in order to once more have the feeling of spring being in the air. Which was a good thing, as it made sure that we had a perfect view of the first major destination in our journey towards Keralon. Namely the city of Hillfield. Now while I attempted not to admit it at the time, currently with the benefit of age, I can freely admit that when I first laid eyes on it, I was rather awestruck. You must understand that I had never seen a city like this before. I had heard stories of course and thought I had a pretty good idea of what to expect, but as always there was a difference between knowing a thing and seeing it for the first time. And my imagination of it being just a slightly larger village like Tarn, hardly did it justice. But despite its splendour, a little voice couldn’t help but speak up in the back of my mind. If Hillfield was already this big, then what was Keralon like?
When Onvyr joined up with us, he explained the plan to everyone. Namely we would remain in Hillfield for a small week. During which we were basically free to do as we wish, while he would make sure that we were resupplied for the next leg of our journey. Which would sadly be with fewer people as some would not be venturing with us beyond Hillfield. He had also taken the initiative to rent out some rooms in a local inn called the Iron Shield Inn. Though Alistan was quick to offer up room and board for all of us in his parents home. It seemed that not only did he and his sister grew up here, they also belonged to the noble family that was in charge of Hillfield. But despite his kind offer, I decided that I would prefer the inn instead. Something that sadly irked him the wrong way. Now you might be wondering why I chose a room in an inn over a room in a noble’s house. And the reason is quite simple. It is an Inn. It is the holy grail of adventurers. A place where stories begin and mystery hangs in the air. Even the tale of the ascended gods started in an inn. So there was no way that my young self was going to miss out on this opportunity. A notion that was obviously shared by Hayley as she also turned down his kind offer.
Fortunately his good mood quickly returned as we made our way towards the city. As he was quick to regale us with stories on the various sights that the town had to offer. And quickly volunteered to be our guide during our stay there. Sadly his enthusiastic explanation was interrupted by a most curious sight. For several groups of people, consisting mostly of both guards and labourers, were stalking about in the distance. And just when we were wondering as to what they were doing, we noticed some of them toppling one of the menhirs that dotted the land. A dangerous notion as those had obvious sylvan markings. Something that was clear even at a distance. And as you might know, Fey can be quick to anger and slow to forgive and forget. But despite this, Alistan wasn’t worried and assured us that there must be a good reason for this. A reason that he would be sure to ask his parents about.
When we finally reached the gate, It quickly became apparent just how busy a city really was. For we even had to wait a while in a queue before we could even enter it. This was due to the fact that the guards diligently inspected anyone that wanted to enter the city. As for the reason for that, sadly became clear to us when we had entered ourselves. For when guards moved towards the Coline carriage in order to welcome the noble visitors, several Satyrs and blink dogs rushed from the alleys and started attacking anyone that came to close to them. Fortunately, we were quick to respond, as Alistan took charge of the situation and rushed in to defend the people. Flanked by his sister whose sword radiated in holy light. Meanwhile Hayley and Luke launched several spells in order to turn the tide by either putting them to sleep, or blasting them to oblivion. And when one of the Satyrs launched himself towards Hayley, Ileas bravely intercepted the blow and protected her. Which caused the satyr’s face to twist as he venomously shouted the word traitor to him in Sylvan. But while the battle was fierce, we quickly managed to turn the tide and capture most of them.
Now naturally, there was a huge panic amongst the people following this. But Alistan once more showed his prowess as a natural leader by calming the crowd down with only a few words. Which was further helped by Liliana who used her abilities to heal as many people as possible. So while the guards made their way back to the gate as quickly as they could, most of the commotion had already passed by that point. That didn’t stop them of course from taking the statements of all those involved and the witnesses. Which went easy enough, safe of course for one exception. And that being the presence of Ileas. The guards were a bit less then eager to place their trust in the lone satyr that remained standing. Fortunately, Alistan was able to stand on rank and persuade the guards not to arrest the ward of the De La Roost family.
That leaves us of course with the question as to why this happened in the first place. And sadly this was a story with more ugly turns I’m afraid. For you see down southeast of Hillfield, there lies a stretch of land that has been shall we say claimed. Land that used to belong to Hillfield. Some merchant who had struck it rich, proclaimed himself as the rightful baron of the region. And no longer accepts Hillfield authority. This came to a head of course when the tax collectors came round and were quickly convinced to leave post haste. Naturally Hillfield could not led this stand and the head of the De La Roost family took a small army and marched towards the baron. Who in turn had gathered his own forces. A mercenary army, the majority consisting of the satyr tribes of the area. One of which even being Ileas his own tribe. It seems that they had been beaten by Hillfield in the past so this most likely seemed as a good opportunity to not only earn a lot of coin, but also get even. And to make matters worse, these mercenaries not only engaged the army but also frequently raided the surrounding area. And if I am completely honest, at the time the fact that they were able and willing to launch such a brazen attack in broad daylight in the heart of their enemies stronghold, made me think that Hillfield’s position might not be as secure as some might hope.
But that is enough about these dark thoughts. For now, the splendour of Hillfield awaited us, with the first stop of course being the Iron Shield Inn. And I can safely say that it was exactly what I always pictured when I heard the stories of old. From the atmosphere and the décor, all the way up the barkeep, a woman by the name of Mathilda and being of orcish descent. With most likely a dark and sad past, as hinted by the burns that marred one side of her face. And who of course could forget the mysterious stranger sitting in a corner. Nursing his drink as he awaits for someone to approach him in order to set off the events that would lead to grand adventures that would be sung about for centuries. As you no doubt guess, I was rather excited though I tried not to be too obvious about it. Hayley and I quickly deposited our gear in our room. Which was rather luxurious if I’m honest. It was located just under the roof, meaning that we had a wide view of the city and the De La Roost manor that was conveniently located just across the street. And seeing as it was actually a room for four, it meant that it was quiet spacious.
Following this, we rejoined the rest in order to visit the De La Roost manor. Strangely when we got there instead of a servant, we were greeted by Sophia De La Roost herself, the mother of Alistan and Liliana. Which was when we realised that it was already rather late and she simple did not want to wake the servants at this hour. Fortunately for her Ileas quickly took up that role as he served tea and proceeded to prepare the rooms for the rest. Which was a bit awkward, especially when Alistan started to argue with his mother that he shouldn’t need to do that. But she reassured him that as a servant, this was technically his job. So reluctantly he accepted this and started catching up. It was during this that we asked her what the deal was with the Menhirs. She explained that as a scholar of all things Fey, she learned that the Menhirs were part of an ancient ritual that was used in an attempt to launch a powerful curse during a war with two Fey Kingdoms. The struggle between Immerglade and Neverhold. So out of security concerns, she ordered for their removal. Fascinated by this, Hayley asked for permission to read some of her books and was later able to confirm that these Menhirs had some relation with the old kingdom. Namely that they were border markers, that were used in order to contain the Fey magics of Immerglade. And while she found no evidence of a curse in the few hours she had to read, seeing as the magic had long since passed, it should have no real harm to remove them.
As time passed, the Coline siblings also joined at the manor. They had spend their day taking care of some errands for their family. Keeping up appearances and making sure that the proper people were greeted. But as the hour passed, Hayley and I excused ourselves and made our way back to the inn. Where we spend the remainder of the evening enjoying a few drinks and talking with Mathilda. Who was even kind enough to tell us her story. Of how she used to be a mercenary with shall we say a less then legal reputation. Finally she decided to leave this life behind and settle in Keralon. But sadly the past has a way to catch up with us all. For when the people around her learned of her past, the subjected her to mob justice. Which resulted in the mark on her face. It was a rather eye opening account. For until that point I had imagined Keralon as a perfect place where chivalry and fairness ruled. It made me wonder just how things would differ from what I had been told. After this, she moved once more. This time to Hillfield. Where she was met by an old couple that ran that very inn. They hired both her and her brother and when they retired, Mathilda bought the inn from them. And has been living a happy life ever since. I was thankful of her story as it taught me an important lesson. For while we cannot change the past and undo the mistakes we made. When one is truly trying to better themselves and they have paid the price for their mistakes, we must not be afraid to offer our hand and give them that chance. Something to ponder for the future.
Just as we were about to lay our heads down, Hayley was contacted through the Tarnstone. It seems that while strolling through the garden of the manor, our friends had found another Menhir. Only this one was active. So with a heavy sigh we made our way back to the manor. Only leaving Hayley’s raven, which I later learned was her familiar, behind in order to open the door for us.
When we got there, Hayley lost no time and quickly started to inspect it. She deduced that these runes were not from Immerglade and instead belonged to Neverhold. Not a really welcoming thought. Especially when Luke deduced that this was a conduit in order to channel magical power from the Feywild. Seeking advice and clarification, Alistan quickly rushed towards his mother’s room. Even breaking the door straight off its hinges in the process as we later learned. For when he shouted that his mother was gone, we quickly rushed forwards to join him. In the room, we found him arguing with a servant in front of a passageway. The passageway had clearly been hidden by a mirror that stood next to it. And the servant was doing his very best to convince Alistan not to go down there. Now this might be due to certain novels that I had read concerning nobles. But considering the implications of a hidden doorway in a noblewoman her bedroom, with a husband who was currently away fighting in a war, that might not have been the worst suggestion. Though I would not suggest this to Alistan as he was far to agitated and when his patience reached its breaking point, simple pushed the servant aside and went down the tunnel.
We followed it down, eventually going deeper then the basement. And as we guessed, going towards the garden, when we found a door. This one too was quickly disposed of by Alistan, leading into a large circular room containing an altar. With lady De La Roost, while wearing a fanged mask, performing some kind of prayer. Which caused the runes to pulsate in the same light as the Menhir. A prayer in Sylvan that seemed to be addressed to Ulther, the king of Neverhold, asking for protection. She was more then a little startled when she noticed our presence. Though this quickly made way for irritation when Alistan started to demand an explanation. But seeing as this was a rather long discussion, we made our way to the sitting room.
Following a dressing down for both Alistan and Liliana, the likes of which only a mother can give, she began to explain her tale. For you see, during the Leper revolt that almost brought Keralon to its knees centuries ago. The De La Roost family made a deal with King Ulther of Neverhold. In exchange for his assistance in dealing with the revolt, as well as wealth and fortune for the De La Roost family, the family would perform this prayer as well as small request for the king when needed. This was also the real reason for toppling the menhirs of Immerglade. It was something he requested. Now this already sounded like a bad idea, but sadly it got worse. For besides this, it was also demanded that every second child of the family must go to the king and serve. Which meant that Liliana had to serve when her time came. This lead to a whole different discussion all together, with lines being quickly drawn in the sand. Luke and Hayley were very vocal about their opinion that this was effectively selling their children into slavery and that dealing with a Fey like King Ulther would only lead to heartache in the end. Lady De La Roost and Liliana on the other hand argued that this was their duty as nobles. And this deal has served to keep them safe for generations. However Ileas was the most vocal in his defence of that standpoint. Though I will admit that I was not sure on his motivations in regards to this. A part of me thought that this had to do with him thinking that we arguing from a racist standpoint towards Fey. Simple distrusting the deal because it came from a Fey. I have no doubt that that never came up with anyone, but considering his earlier dealings with the guards, I can understand why he might have been a bit more sensitive towards this. Another notion came that it was simple loyalty towards the family. Or maybe it was simple because he was in a similar position, serving as a ward to keep his tribe from attacking Hillfield. And if he argued against the deal then he would simple be arguing against his own position in life. The Colline siblings in the meanwhile were in silent agreement with lady De La Roost. Though most likely like me, they figured that one extra shouting voice wouldn’t really help in this situation. Alistan in the meanwhile also stayed quiet. Most likely due to the fact that he obviously had no idea about this deal. And was most likely reconsidering his life at that point.
As for my own opinion, it is a bit complicated. I will freely admit that with the benefit of hindsight, it has evolved a little. So while I attempt to recollect my feelings at the time, due forgive me if it is not 100% accurate. In short, I agreed with Hayley and Luke. A magical contract, regardless off which entity it is made with, is never a good idea. These deals are often very tempting and often offered only in times of desperation. And unlike a normal contract, breaking one of these often invokes a heavy price. For you see, there is one general rule of thumb that I would like give to you. And should you ever find yourself in a position where you might need it, I hope you will remember it. The rule is that the more powerful an individual is, the less straightforward he is in what he says or does. This is not necessarily out of malicious intent mind you. It simple that the more power you have, the less you generally want to be bound in how you can use it. Especially when you have given your word in how you will act. It is for this reason that they tend to say a great many things while saying as little as possible. Also known as politicking.
Another thing that influenced my opinion at the time, was my perception of King Ulther. I only knew him from what I had been told about Immerglade and his role in its destruction. So I kind of imagined him as a power hungry tyrant at the time. As for the idea of making a deal with an entity like that, well I knew of easier ways of self-destruction.
And lastly of course, there was the fate of poor Liliana herself. I was concerned and doubtful of how much of this was truly what she wanted to do. She naturally stated that this was completely what she wanted and needed to do of course. But I also figured that she had been raised her entire life learning that this was what was expected of her and what was what she needed to do for her family. It was why I couldn’t even really blame her family for this, as they had the same education. So naturally, they saw nothing wrong with it as up to that point it had served them well. And yes I know, nobles have a great deal of responsibilities and duties in exchange for the luxuries they enjoy. And that this seems similar. But the difference lies in the fact that this isn’t an oath that has been sworn, but is rather a magic contract. A noble who does not wish to serve can choose to leave the family and those responsibilities. Leaving them to the next in line. It is why once someone claims the title as head of a family, one of the first things they do is swear an oath to their liege. But Liliana does not have that choice. It also explained to me why she was so keen to seek out adventure and take risks. She simple wished to experience as much of life as possible before she had to complete her role in the deal. As a means of escape or even with a darker motivation.
Seeing that there was no end to this discussion, Lady De La Roost decided to end the discussion then and there. And had Luke not decided that he wished to join Hayley and me in the inn, I’m quite certain that the lady might have thrown him out. We would discuss this more in the morning off course. Resolving ourselves along with Alistan to look for more information about King Ulther as a means of helping Liliana. But at that point, all I wished to do was lay my head down, as I hoped that despite our differences of opinion this would not break our group.
Dreams and Peril
2-5 Lug, Year 121, Era of the Tree
The next day, we continued onwards with our journey. But it seemed that our luck from the previous day concerning the weather had turned. Once again we were in the front of the group. And once more, we were joined by Edward. Who was more than willing to stay with us as his sister remained asleep in their coach, with Hayley offering to join her to keep her company when she woke. An offer I am certain had nothing to do with the fact that our luck, when it came to the weather at least, had turned. For while we started our journey on a crisp early spring morning, now we were greeted by a thick, damp and grey fog.
It happened, a few hours after we started for the day. The hairs on my neck standing on end. Someone or something was watching us from the forest. Gazing at us, as if sizing up its prey just before pouncing. Some kind of woodland spirit or Fey, whose territory we were close to invading at the time. Or at least, that was what I suspected at the time. And while I am no stranger to a fight, I was more than content that this particular one seemed more then content to just keep gazing for now. So, with one eye on the treelines at all time, we continued our journey. But the feeling never left us.
It was nearing nightfall, when we finally caught site of our stop for the evening. Fortunately, the cold mist of the day had made way for warm yet damp temperatures. Which gave us a lovely view of a small valley, with several trees and rosebushes that were in already full bloom, despite it still being so early in the spring. Near the centre of this, stood a small hamlet and a just bit further from that, a most impressive castle. This, as Luke explained, was the valley of Rosebloom. Mostly known for its most peculiar climate. For you see, during the great catastrophe and rising of Irminsul, several fissures opened up in this valley, each quickly filling with magma. Now most of these had closed over time of course, but they nevertheless left their mark. For they left a small pool of water that was constantly boiling. Which caused this valley to essentially be caught in an eternal spring. Which for our young and inexperienced eyes, was quite something to see.
Now following Onvyr’s instructions, we made our way towards the largest house in the small village that we could see. This was the home and shop of Henry, the apparent leader of the people here. It seemed that before coming to Tarn, Onvyr had taken the initiative to arrange for some fresh supplies for the caravan to be waiting here. We were tasked to collect them and inform Hector of our arrival. When we entered the shop, we were greeted by a young girl, whom we guessed was around 10ish of age. Anna, as we later learned she was called, was quite startled at our entrance and quickly made herself scarce. Returning a bit later with her grandfather Hector. He was most pleased to see that we had already arrived and quickly told us where we could set up camp near the village.
As you can imagine, our caravan quickly drew the attention of everyone in the village. And before we knew it, a small party had started. With laughter and dancing a plenty. And while it was tempting to just remain there, I decided to stretch my legs and take in the view of this beautiful place. I was however not alone, as I quickly fell into a group with Hayley and Dadroz. They had the same idea as me and decided to take in the sights. But sadly there is only so much to see in a place like that, so we decided to take a walk towards the castle.
When we arrived, Dadroz and I were wondering what to do next when Hayley simple marched up to the castle and knocked on the door. Not the first time I would be amazed by her sheer boldness. Which was further enforced when she requested to meet the lord of the castle. Fortunately, unlike lord Colline, Ser Flinn proved to be quite agreeable. Even inviting us to join him for dinner. During which he told us that he had only recently became the lord of Rosebloom after becoming a knight for the order of the rose. A notion that was most interesting for Dadroz as he too had dreams of becoming a knight. Though it seems that he had his sights set on a different order then Ser Flinn. I also took this opportunity to ask Hayley on her goals for Keralon. Partly out of genuine interest and also because admittedly at the time I didn’t really have any plans myself. And was hoping it might give me some ideas. But she simple replied that she was going in order to further her studies, in order to be able to better help people. A most admirable goal, but sadly not an answer that really helped me forward.
Not to say that I had no dreams for the future at the time mind you. Just nothing concrete, they were just more like goals. One of which was to learn more about my Elven heritage. Don’t get me wrong, I love my parents and siblings greatly and I would do anything for them. But it is a fact that being raised by humans, I have a very limited understanding of what it means to be an elf. Sylvesse did teach me a few things, so I wasn’t completely ignorant. I just wished to know more about myself, which naturally included things about Elves. The second one was rather simple, but also rather vague. You see, I wanted to make my place in the world. Like my parents before me who went out on adventures and made a name for themselves. The only problem was of course, how I would go about this. The obvious answer would be to attempt to become a knight, not something I was opposed off. I mean who hasn’t dreamed of becoming a knight, slaying the monster and saving the damsel in distress. It was one of the things I would play out when I was young, going on adventures in the nearby forests. Only to get scolded by Sylvesse for not keeping my attention on my surroundings and presence. Ha memories of youth. But I digress once more.
The conversation with Ser Flinn lasted till a few hours after midnight, after which he proved the ever gracious host by offering each of us a room. And while I certainly am someone who can appreciate sleeping outside under the starlight on nice evening and will prefer this when possible. I am also not someone who will turn down a comfy bed in a warm room with prospects to a nice breakfast in the morning when offered. I mean that would just be rude towards our host. But sadly the night was not a peaceful one. For I and I later learned a few of the others such as Luke and Alstan were haunted by a most troubling dream. In it, we stood around the boiling pond of Rosebloom. With various figures made of steam, which resembled little imps, dancing in front of us. All the while a voice singing in Sylvan the words: "In shadows cast by Twilight's Mourn A town lies still, its fate forlorn Whispers haunt its one dead street Where sorrow and despair entreat Hollow Windows, Shattered panes, Reflect the echoes of past refrains. Once bustling with life's vibrant hum, Now silence reigns, a dirge begun". Most ominous, especially when I learned that I was not the only who experienced it. I suspected Fey trickery, or at least that is what my instinct told me. And if it is so, was it a warning or a threat? And to whom? To our merry group or to this town? As always it was difficult to see through its intent, as is often the case with the fair folk. Later, just before we left, I decided to quickly leave a message for Ser Flinn with Hector. Telling him about the dream, but admitting that I had no further details. But while I still did not know its true meaning, as they say a warned man is worth two.
It quickly became obvious when we regrouped with the others, that we seemed to have missed something last night. For our good friend Luke simple could not help himself from staring daggers at poor Robert. Later Liliana would tell me a bit sheepishly, that she might have accidently caused Luke to be distracted at the party, By bringing little Anna to talk with him. Apparently she was being a bit ostracized from the rest of the village due to the fact that she preferred the company of books over others. And in an attempt to help the poor girl gain a bit of confidence, she introduced her to Luke, whom she thought could relate. And while he was busy talking to her, Robert took the opportunity to spirit Elsa away for a few rounds of dancing. It seemed that there was a new rival in town for both Luke and Alistan. Something that put a bit of a damper to both of their moods it seemed.
Now the rest of the day was rather uneventful. The only thing of note was the fact that when we left the valley, we quickly greeted again by the mist we left behind yesterday. As well as that creeping feeling that we were being watched being back. But while the day was unremarkable, the evening was anything but. For you see, we were informed by Onvyr that it was our turn to keep watch. So we quickly divided the labour. And seeing as I only need around 4 hours, a little trick I learned from Sylvesse, I volunteered to take two shifts. It’s not something that I mind you see and I make sure to get more hours when I have an actual roof over my head. Like the night before, so I was all good.
It was during my first shift, that I shared with Liliana, that we saw it. A light passing through the forest. I had heard stories of creatures tempting travellers away in this manner and with that creeping feeling still present, I was well on my guard. But I nonetheless decided to address it in Sylvan, in order to gauge its reaction. The light seemed to flicker for a bit, before coming towards us. When it got closer, we saw the image of a transparent elven woman approaching us. She addressed us in Elvish and seeing that Liliana only speaks Sylvan, I decided to translate. Which proved to be a big mistake, for she asked us to follow her to some ruins. This caused Liliana to excitingly start jumping up an down. Reminding me of a puppy we used to have, just around dinner time. She wasted no time waking up the rest in order to go on an adventure. Which Hayley, Dadroz and I quickly attempting to dissuade her from this. Seeing as it was a terrible idea, especially with that damned creeping feeling still haunting us. My fear was mostly that if we split up from the caravan, whatever was behind that feeling would see it as an opportunity to strike. Either at us or at the rest. But Liliana was undeterred and insisted that adventure was waiting for us. But as my mother had always said, there is being adventurous and there was being stupid. Knowing the difference often meant the difference between success and an early grave. And my instincts were telling me this was the latter. As a final ditch effort, I proposed putting it to a vote. Either us all going, or no one going. The no’s had it, with only Alistan and Liliana really wanting to go. But that damned sparkle in her eyes did not diminish one bit. So I asked if she was still planning on going, despite us agreeing to follow the vote. And she said yes, she would simple go with her brother. My last ditch effort was pointing out that seeing as she could not speak Elvish, she could not follow the figure. But sadly I forgot that while she is fluent in Sylvan, he is fluent in Elvish. Which I had forgotten, so it was a bit embarrassing. So reluctantly I decided to go with them. They might have been acting foolish, but they were still good people and my friends. And I simple could not live with myself if something were to happen with them out in the woods at night while I stayed near the warm, safe and dry campfire. Luckily Luke decided to join us as well, while the rest remained in order to keep watch.
We followed the figure for a while, until we ultimately reached the ruins of a small house, standing near a pond. The figure floated towards a small grave, pointing towards it. But as we approached, a second figure rose from the pond. She looked similar to the first one and started to sing. Which caused poor Liliana’s mouth to begin overflowing with water, threatening to drown her. Alistan moved to engage, but not being able to reach her without entering the pond, could only throw a handaxe at her. Which passed through the image effortlessly and with no harm. Fortunately, the magic bow I had received a few days prior, as well as Luke’s magic had more effect. It did not take long for Lilana to recover, at which point Luke overwhelmed it with a barrage of magic missiles. The song it sang, spoke of two elven sisters. Who were both in love with the same man. A rivalry that ended in tragedy when one drowned the other. Which pointed to the identity of the two figures. This was confirmed when we figured out that the woman wished to be buried with the man she loved. A request that we happily granted her, giving her peace and allowing her to move on. I will admit that we did a good thing there. And that this only happened because Liliana was insistent about going out there. But that does not take away from the fact that it was a stupid thing to do and that we mostly got lucky that it wasn’t anything more dangerous. In fact I feared that this would only prove to embolden Liliana even further in the future. But there was little I could do about it at that point.
The next day, the weather had turned once again. But unlike last time when we got a warm spring day, we instead got snow. Not uncommon at that time of year of course and it proved a welcome distraction from everything as snowballs flew and puppets were being made in the cart. But this joyous feeling was quickly soured when that feeling of dread became even worse. Being tired of this, Hayley jumped out of the cart, took two steps towards the forest and demanded that whatever it was, to leave us alone. Like I said, sometimes Hayley can be an avatar of boldness when she wants to. She quickly got a response however, when large white wolf, the size of a horse came out of the woods.
I had never seen a wolf as fierce and beautiful as that one at that point. Dadroz and Luke identified it as a winter wolf, a magical creature imbued with the power of frost. And with howl it proved this, as it caused the snowstorm to pick up in intensity. This made it difficult for Dadroz and I to hit it with our arrows as it leaped towards us. Edwine however took this as an opportunity to dash beneath it before slashing at its unprotected underbelly. But the creature persevered through the pain, and with a massive howl conjured forth a blast of frost directly at myself, Alistan and Dadroz. Luckily Alistan shielded Dadroz and I from the majority of the hit. Though it bring him to death’s doorstep, as it seemed like he would fall over if he took even one step. At this, Luke and Hayley started blasting the beast with their magic, as Liliana and Elsa moved towards Alistan. Elsa wasted no time and kissed him on the cheek, using magic to heal most of his wounds. This caused to surge forward with renewed vigour as he attacked the wolf. Seeing the tide had turned against it, it attempted to flee, as the storm became worse. But Luke, channelling most likely all his jealousy and frustration for Alistan at the time, bombarded it with as much magic as he could handle, killing the beast.
It frustrated me to no end that as a hunter I could not give this creature the respect it deserved. It went against all my instincts not to make sure that all its parts would be properly used and collected. But I simple did not have the time to process it properly and it was too big to carry onto the cart. So regretfully, I decided it best to leave it be and be part of the circle of nature. Knowing that in its death, others would find life. But before we left, Hayley decided to take its tail in order to make a protective charm against other Fey. Admittedly, not exactly something I would use as a charm, as I prefer the use of plant based charms, but I wasn’t going to argue with her. I can safely say that she knows as much, if not more then me when it comes to dealing with Fey. Her methods are simple different from mine, but are no less effective. Liliana wanted to take the head, but changed her mind when we explained that it would simple rot, as we could not preserve it. Instead she settled on a few fangs and claws.
Many questions remained. Foremost where did this wolf come and who sent it? For that feeling, while diminished, had not gone away. But while we were wondering this, I suspect that Alistan had different matters on his mind. As I nervously thanked Elsa for the healing and the kiss. She was equally nervous and explained that she spend a few years at a convent, where she picked up some divine magic. Now I admit that divine magic is not an area of knowledge that I know a lot about, but I’m pretty certain that just touch is enough for a healing spell. And not so much a kiss. Though depending on her teachings and beliefs this might be different. Or maybe the fair lady had already made a choice concerning her suitors. It was interesting to consider, as Alistan was being a bit to passive lately. Allowing Robert and Luke to take the forefront. Hopefully this would cause him to get out of his funk and also be a bit more proactive in his pursuit. Afterall, who does not like a good romance to inspire and warm the heart. Where a lady is respectfully courted by a few young suitors before ultimately making that fateful choice. Provided of course the rivalry remains friendly and all parties involved respect said choice in the end, regardless of what it may be.
Departure
1st of Lug, 121, Era of the Tree
We met up again at the crack of dawn near the village square. All eager to get our journey started. But to our surprise and great shock, we were not infact the first who had gathered in the square. In fact it was positively buzzing with activity as 5 wagons were being loaded. The first of which was actually a rather fancy coach. Which bore the heraldry of the Colline family. Next were three normal sized wagons that belonged to the merchants that were going to accompanied us to the Hillfields. Alongside with the mercenaries that were hired for the caravan’s protection. And last but certainly not least, was our cart. We had actually received it yesterday as a farewell gift. Along with the draft horse that Alistan had lovingly named Thorin, after a dwarven hero of old.
As we approached the caravan, our attention was immediately drawn to the shouting of an older elf, who was busy coordinating the various preparations. Something that struck me as odd right from the very beginning, was his silver beard. Which to me was a rather sad and shocking reminder of just how shallow my knowledge was of elvenkind. For I had no idea or ever questioned whether or not Elves were even capable of growing beards. It just never occurred to me based on the things that I had heard about them. But as we approached him I quickly recomposed myself. He introduced himself as Onvyr and explained that he was hired as the leader of this caravan. He also admitted that while there were a few mercenaries present, he could always use more help in making sure that we reached our destination safely. So he asked if we were willing to act as scouts. Either by going on ahead and making sure that everything was safe, or by holding up the rear and making sure that nothing attempted to ambush us from behind. Both myself and Liliana were quick to propose that we would take the lead of the caravan. And while I cannot say for certain as to why Liliana wished for this, I’m guessing that it was similar to my own reason. You see, I knew that if I was at the head of the caravan, I had the largest change to be the first to lay eyes upon the city of Keralon. To be the first to see the grandeur of its silver walls in the distance. That is why I wished to take on that scouting role.
After the preparations were complete, we were just about to set out when we noticed that the fair sheriff Edna was running towards us. Sadly she did not have a real chance to give us a final goodbye yesterday and was pleased that she made it just in time. She gave some last minute advice for our journey and also presented us with a small token of her affection for us. Namely a magnificent longbow that she had acquired a few days earlier. We gratefully accepted this gift and seeing as the longbow is my weapon of choice, decided that it would be using it for the time being. Which was most fortuitous I must admit, as I later learned that the bow, called Stormwind, carried a small magical gift. Namely the power to harness the winds around it to push back a foe hit by one of its arrows. And with that, we said our final goodbyes and started with our journey.
The journey to Hillfield would take us about 5 days. Or at least that is what Onvyr told us. Now for the most part, the first day was rather uneventful. We made good progress, only really stopping around noon in order to have something to eat and give the horses some time to recover. It was during that break that I was finally properly introduced to the Colline siblings. Edward was the first to join us and he made a rather good first impression. Unlike his father, he was less focussed on rank and freely interacted with us. He explained that he actually wanted to join us the day prior during the festival and trial, but his father insisted that those things were not for the nobility to concern themselves with. Something that he somewhat regretted. I made a note to, while not revealing all the secrets, maybe give him a shot at solving the riddle later. Just to give him a little bit of an idea on what it was like.
As this was happening, Luke decided to take his chance and approached Elsa, who was still in the coach, in order to invite her for a walk around the camp. Something that she readily agreed to as she interlocked her arm with his. Leaving Luke with a rather satisfied grin on his face as he escorted her and Alistan with a rather confused one. Following the old saying that love is a battlefield, it seemed that Luke had won the second battle for the heart of Elsa.
The rest of the day was roughly the same as the previous part. With the only difference being that Elsa and Edward decided to join us in our little cart. Seeing as there is only so much excitement to be had inside of a carriage. This monotonous routine continued right up to the point where we were about to halt for the evening. Both Liliana and I spotted a plume of smoke in the distance, indicated the possibility of a small campfire. Either belonging to fellow travellers on the road or less upright individuals. Not wanting to take the risk of leading the caravan into a possible dangerous situation, I volunteered to scout ahead in order to see what was up. It took a while, but eventually I located the small camp. Finding both a fellow traveller, who was wearing a rather magnificent red hat, and a group of Reynards, who were armed to the teeth.
Now I will freely admit that what happened next, was both stupid, idiotic and even suicidal on my part. For you see, it was obvious to anyone that the traveller was being shaken down for coin and that things were starting to escalate when he did not have enough of it. The smart thing of course would have been to lay low and wait for the rest to arrive before engaging them. But I feared that in the time it would take them to arrive, they would have already attacked and killed the poor man. And the idea of someone dying due to my own cowardice to act, even in unfavourable circumstances such as these, was simple something that I could not stomach. So I decided to reveal myself to them. Now if the Reynards were shocked of seeing me suddenly approaching, they did not show it. And seeing as they outnumbered me, I figured that the best course of action for me was to simple stall for time by keeping them talking. Maybe even intimidate them with the idea of a large group approaching to scare them off.
But sadly their impatience and lust for coin grew the better of them and weapons were quickly drawn. Now I did my best, but there were simple too many of them for me to fight off on my own. So they quickly managed to swarm and overwhelm me. It was only the timely arrival of Ileas, who had run ahead of the rest and Sylvesse that saved my life. Otherwise I would be here to tell you this tale. This caused the battle to quickly turn in our favour. Especially when the rest of us joined the fight and Reynards fell to our blades and magic. We expressed our gratitude to Sylvesse, who quickly took his leave before the rest of the caravan joined us and tended to both mine and the man’s injuries.
He introduced himself to us as Robert Talespinner. A bard and fellow traveller to Keralon. As you can imagine, he was more than pleased at our intervention. Even saying that he would turn it into song. Both I respectfully stated that there was no need for that. Instead when Onvyr arrived, we suggested that it might be in his best interest to join on our travels. Seeing that there was safety in numbers after all. Something that both Onvyr and Robert agreed with. And with that we finished up our first day on the road to Keralon.
A trial of brambles
30th of Daga, 121 year of the tree
So all in all, not a bad way to end a rather eventful day such as that. But of course as you already know, the party was not the end of it. Because just after midnight, as the Coline family made way to return to their home, Terrin arrived in order to deliver upon to us his cryptic message. A great secret that had already been shared to every other adult in the village. Which was very clear when each of them made sur to give us our space, in order not to disturb us. Terrin even went as far as to use magic in order to hide our conversation from preying eyes.
Thus he began to explain to us, the past of Tarn. Or rather the area where Tarn is located. For ages ago upon that very spot there used to be a fey kingdom by the name of Immerglade. Said kingdom was ruled by a queen whose name has sadly been lost to time. Now while this knew great prosperity, it al ended when they were invaded by a neighbouring fey kingdom named Neverhold. And now all that remains are but a few scattered ruins around the lands. Cursed by the sorrow that had been inflicted upon them. And is in fact one of these ruins that would hold our interest for the rest of the evening.
For you see, one of those ruins was located just outside the village. In a part of the forest that was overrun by thorn bushes appropriately named the Brambles. As you can imagine it is not a place one would happily visit. But it was in the very centre of the Brambles where the ruin of a once mighty tower of Immerglade could be found. And as tradition dictates, all youths that come of age in Tarn must go and visit the Bramble tower in order to complete a small test. This became a tradition when an Elven sorceress visited the village a long time ago. During a time in which Terrin was still a young lad. So as you can imagine a very long time ago. When she was here, she delivered unto us a prophecy. A prophecy stating that one of the champions that complete the test, will unveil themself as the rightful heir of Immerglade and restore the kingdom to its former glory. A prophecy that has filled the people of Tarn not only with hopes and dreams for the future, but also with a sense of pride. Explaining why the tradition has endured for so long.
That said however, this test would not be without danger. For as I said earlier, these places hold powerful curses, that even the fey avoid when possible. And while it was perfectly possible for nothing to occur at all, it was always possible for more dangerous forces to stand in our way. Then when we passed those, we would find a riddle inside the tower that we would need to solve in order to pass the test. And while I have been dealing with puzzles for a while at that point, my success rate sadly did no really give me confidence if I am honest. But Terrin did give us a hint. A small phrase that went: Forward, Backward, Upside down. Given time, same is the sound. And with that, with bellies full and hearts brimming with wonder and hope for adventure, we went forward towards the Brambles.
Now I feel that my earlier description of the Brambles does not really do it justice. For while I said overrun with thorn bushes, I want you to imagine a giant wall made from Thorn bushes. Where you could hardly gaze through, even with my elven eyes. That was what was blocking our path. But we were not disheartened. Instead we found a narrow path that we could follow in order to make our way through. We even managed to avoid the poisonous thorns along the way, if only barely. And after following the long, twisting path we reached our destination, the ruined tower.
We were however not able to catch our breath for long. As Liliana, Dadroz and Hayley were quick to alert us to the fact that the thorns had started to move. Twisting, while taking on four humanoid forms, that I later learned were blights. Plant like creatures of animal like intelligence that were fiercely territorial. Thus we readied our weapons to fend them of as they came at us. Ileas, brave Ileas decided to take charge and storm towards the enemy, meeting them head-on. Sadly his bravery was rewarded with a barrage of needles that quickly made him look like a porcupine as he fell to the ground. But rather then demoralizing us, this only served to send Liliana in a rage as she roared and charged forward cutting one of them down. Giving Alistan an opening to administer one of our last healing potions to Ileas. The rest in the meantime continued to pelter them with arrows and spells, eventually turning the tide and winning the battle.
Once more we attempted to catch our breath and once more we were interrupted. As Luke and Hayley alerted us that we were being watched by a newcomer. Luckily however, it was one that I knew quite well. For there was no mistaking that coat of silver, as bright as the rays of the moon. And those antlers made of solid gold, resembling glistening amber. This was Sylvesse, my oldest and most dearest friend and mentor. The one who had found me, at a mere 10 years of age, when I had sneaked of into the forest in order to play. Unaware of the dangers that surrounded me. Intrigued as he was to find one of the people so young, he decided to teach me the ways of the forest. If only to ensure that I would not end up a wolfs snack. Even taking the time to teach me a few things about elves and fey. As well as how to play the lyre. And no, I still do not know how one can play the Lyre with hooves. Naturally I greeted my friend, but he advised me to first focus on the task at hand, before exchanging pleasantries.
Following his advice, we moved towards the tower. Inside we found a large Menhir, inside a few circles. With four rocks standing around it, each depicting one phase of the sun: Dawn, Noon, Dusk and Night. Having found our riddle, we turned our heads together to discuss our options. Eventually, Hayley pointed out that the phrase we were given pointed to a Palindrome. A word that sounds the same when read from either side. This pointed to the solution being Noon. Something that was enforced when we realized that the Menhir was in fact a sundial. So Luke used his magic in order to cause the shadow to fall on the Noon-stone. This had the desired effect, causing a chest to appear in front of us. And after cautious Dadroz made sure it was not trapped, we opened it. Inside there were around 25 stones, each marked with the same rune. We then each took on of these as out prize. Now later we would learn that these stones were magically connected with each other. Allowing us to send a message to anyone holding one of these stones.
We then returned to Sylvesse, who was quite pleased that we managed to solve the riddle. And despite some translation issues, was eager to meet my friends and future travel companions. But sadly we had to keep our meeting short, as we were losing quickly losing the night and tomorrow would be an early day. And I must admit that I was a bit sad to say my goodbyes to him. But fortunately he assured us that he would following us from a distance for a while. In order to make sure that we would arrive safely to our destination. Thus showing once more that while fey are known as tricksters. There also those who possess a sense of nobility that rivals and dare I say even eclipses that of even the most noble of knights. So we said our goodbyes and returned home for some well-deserved rest.
A day of celebrations and beginnings
30th of Daga, 121 year of the tree
You know it’s funny, even after all this time I can still remember the day that it all started. It was on the 30th of Dagda in the year 121, the day of the Lightwatch Festival. When we say goodbye to the cold nights of Winter and welcome in the warm winds of Spring. But more importantly in Tarn, the small village in the Eastmarks where I grew up. It is also a day that holds a more special meaning. For you see, it is on this day that various youths that have come of age, their hearts filled with hopes and dreams, say their farewells to friends and family. Before venturing out the next day beyond the borders of the village in order to make way for Keralon. In search of fame and fortune. And that year was the year that it was my turn to make that voyage as I had reached the age of 16.
I remember waking up on that cold morning. Blessing my stars that I did not oversleep that day, which would have been an impressive feat for an elf like myself. But considering that I had spend the previous day and most of the previous night packing, unpacking, inspecting and repacking the supplies that I would need on my trip, it would also not have surprised me. Thus I made my way to the Coldperch Inn to join my future travel buddies. When I made it to the inn, I quickly spotted both the magical twins Hayley and Luke Thomas and Dadroz arriving at the same time. As for the rest, we found them sitting inside the inn waiting for us. Seeing as how both the other set of twins Alistan and Liliana De La Roost as well as their friend the satyr Ilias had just finished their cups of hot cocoa, it was obvious that they had already been waiting there for a long while. Which did make me feel a little less embarrassed, seeing that I was not the only one who was over excited for our journey.
Following a quick greeting, we fortunately did not have to wait long as we were quickly joined by the Sheriff of Tarn, Edna Fare. Now while she did have a small decade on us in terms of age, admittedly one might consider her a bit too young at the time to hold such an important position. But no one who knew her would ever question either skill or devotion when it came to protection those in need. Calmly she explained to us that sadly our other two companions for the journey, the young lord Edward Coline and Elsa Coline of Tarn, would not be joining us for the first part of the festivities. This was disappointing of course as I had never really interacted with either of them before and this would have been a good opportunity to get to know them before heading out, but I digress. Following this, she explained that as per tradition we were now expected to go around the village in order to say our goodbyes to friends and neighbours. And as a means of thanking them for all the care and friendship they have shown us over the years, offer to assist them with whatever small task they have for. Afterwards, when night falls, there would be a large celebration where we would of course be the guests of honour. Before finishing off the day with a “secret” meeting with old man Terrin.
Thus we eagerly set out to get started on our tasks. Now sadly, if I were to recount every single thing we did that day, I fear this text would become to long. So I hope you will permit me if I simple point out a few of them that stick out to me. The first task we did was for the good Sheriff. She asked us to go down to the local river in order to remove several traps that had been set in order to poach rabbits. Something that was easy enough for us to do. We even had the chance to save one rabbit from a snare. Though sadly, kind-hearted Hayley was not able to fully heal the wound it had suffered. But still it was a good start for the day.
Secondly, we returned back to the inn. This in order to say our goodbyes to Pat Barrelwheel, the local halfling innkeeper. A man whose culinary skills were certainly a blessing for all of Tarn. We then of course waisted no time in order to assist him with setting up several tables outside, in preparation of the festivities for that evening. A task in which Alistan wasted no time in order to have a round of harmless boasting, as he stacked several tables upon one another before carrying them outside.
With that done, we made our way to the local church in order to see good old father Ellis Brightspin. After small small talk, he asked us to help him retrieve a fallen log that he had found. For you see he wanted to carve a new sculpture for the church. And decided that this log would serve perfectly for it. Now as many hands make for light work, it was thus no difficulty for us to do so. And after receiving a few health potions for our trouble, we continued onwards on our way.
The market house was our next major stop. Where many of our neighbours and friends were busy peddling their wares. And just for this occasion, the had prepared a most appropriate task for us. For you see, for some unknown reason, the room that was used to dump various rotten fruits and vegetables had not been cleaned for a long time. So with perhaps a slight bit of hesitation I admit, we dared the putrid stench that awaited, a stench that almost cost Ileas his lunch on numerous occasion, in order to complete this task. And I will admit, this was first of many times where I was grateful for Luke’s magic. As he removed the stench that had clung unto us like flees.
The next stop was Terrin’s. When we met the old veterinarian, he greeted us in his usual gruff manner and asked us to gather for him several herbs that he needed. This was fortunately easy enough to do thanks to Hayley's extensive knowledge when it comes to herbs and their whereabouts. And surprisingly, upon our return I could swear that the lines on Terrin’s face softened a bit as he handed a stone dagger and wooden staff, that were clearly lovingly handcrafted, to both Hayley and Luke respectively. Showing that even a rock like Terrin was moved by the sight of these two getting ready to venture into the world.
Our last task before the evening feast, brought us to chicken farm of Jeb Tofree and his friend Corckscrew the pseudodragon. Though when we arrived there, we saw no sign of either of the two. But were instead treated to the sight of several feral foxes hunting down the chickens of the farm. Foxes that we later learned were infected with rabies, which explained their aggression. We acted quickly in order to safe as many chickens as we could, even managing to capture one of the foxes alive without harming it too much. Liliana was even able to use her divine gifts in order to cure it from its rabies, allowing us to safely set it free.
Searching for Jeb and Corckscrew, we went inside the house, where we were shocked to find Jeb lying on the ground unconscious with a nasty bruise on his head. When he came back to his senses, he informed us that a group of Reynards, a humanoid fox like creature closely related to gnolls, were stuffing poor Corckscrew into a sack when he came home. And while he attempted to save him, he was sadly quickly overpowered and knocked out. Naturally, we realized that there was no time to waste and we quickly set out to save Corckscrew. Fortunately it was not to difficult to find their tracks and I guided my friends through the forest. When we then spotted a small campfire in the distance, Dadroz and I advised Allistan and Liliana, who were eager to rush in, to take a more cautious approach and allow us to first sneak ahead to see what we were dealing with. Thus Both myself, Dadroz and Ileas crouched forwards, while doing our very best to stay hidden. Now I will be the first to admit that both Dadroz and Ileas are perfectly capable to match me when it comes to stealth when they are in their element. Sadly at this point the forest was not their element. And it didn’t take too long for a wayward branch to snap underfoot in order to alert Reynards to our presence.
Now as much as I would like to say that the following battle was a trivial one, I must admit that that would be a bold faced lie. Because shit went to hell in a handbasket rather quickly when poor Ileas received an arrow in the gut rather quickly. At first it looked like his life had been cut short before our journey could even begin, but fortunately Liliana was able to get to him in time with a health potion. I was then the next to take a nasty blow, when an arrow struck me in the shoulder. A bit to close to my heart if I am completely honest. Fortunately with the combination of the twins magic and Allistan taking to the front line, we were able to rally. It even allowed Dadroz, to sneak away in order to free Corckscrew from his sack. Following this, the battle was over rather quickly. And with Corckscrew resting comfortably on Allistan’s shoulder, we returned to Tarn.
When we arrived, we reunited Corckscrew with Jeb and were greeted by the sight of the Sheriff. Who while happy that we were still alive and saved Corckscrew, was most disappointed in the fact that we did not sound alarm in order to call for help instead of taking things in our own hands. But seeing that all in all no real harm was done, especially following a quick visit to father Brightspin, it did not dampen the rest of the festivities.
The rest of the evening was filled with laughter, good company and delicious food. It is also here that I first had a proper look at lord Coline and his family. In particular our future travel companions Edward and Elsa Coline. The latter of which had a most profound impact on both Luke and Allistan. As both approached her at the same time in order to introduce themselves and ask her for the honour of having the first dance with her. An offer that she was happy to take Allistan up on. But while Luke was a bit disappointed, her mother lady Coline graciously agreed to be his partner instead. Not the result he wanted I suspect or even anticipated, but it did mean that it would sour his mood to much. And admittedly was a most amusing sight to both myself his sister and Dadroz as we waited for the arrival of Terrin in order to continue the rest of the festival.
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