Trudvang: Wildheart for 5e

"Maybe the only way to cleanse the forest is to burn it. This man was a ranger. Don't they usually know about such things?"

"Hmmm" Angie considers the message, "According to my studies of the arcane back home, most bewitchings or curses have a source. Now according to my thesis, the ultimate source is always some form of the divine, of course. However, most of the time there is an intermediate source, such as a witch, sorcerer, conjurer, spirit, demon, dragon, or even an object or talisman of some sort. If we assume things are similar in this place, and I admit that is an unproven and even questionable assumption, then the easiest way to end the curse would be to find the source and deal with it." Angie looks at the dense woods around them. "I think that would be an easier endeavor than burning this entire giant, misty and moist forest. Although, perhaps the ranger's urging to burn the forest is a sign that we should make some sort of torches and keep a fire at night. Perhaps fire will be our best weapon in the forthcoming war for the soul of this place."

Retches at the use of the "m" word.

Angie pats Thokien on the back and looks at the mist flowing through the woods around them, "Yup, these woods sure are super moist."

Retches again, glaring at Angie.

Haha, Thokein. 

Angie, please make a survival check when you’re ready to check your trap.

Angie's Survival = 4

You check the trap to find it’s jaws still wide open, empty.

"Shucks" Angie says as she retrieves the empty trap. After packing the trap in her bag with the rest of her belongings she turns to her other companions, "Ready to go? This forest isn't going to heal itself."

The clearing was a dead end, so if you’d like to follow a path you’ll have to retrace your steps from yesterday (in game time). The other option is to off road it... which will be rough terrain and slow going. You can go directly back to the fork with the skull that had the red and blue flags, or check out any of the game trials along the way. The direct route will take you about an hour and a half in game time. Please let me know how you’d like to proceed.

"Well, this is a dead end. Back to the first marker? I don't think there will be anything on the game trails."

You make it back to the fork without issue. The fog seems to have let up along the way, light is making it through the forest canopy overhead, but it is still providing a significant amount of shade.

Do you take the path marked by the tattered red cloth, or continue to retrace your steps?

Angie looks at the marker, "I say we explore the red path next. I think that would be more efficient than backtracking to one of the previous crossings, especially if we end up having to come back here."

The red path takes you northeast for about ten minutes before you see a small entrance to another path on your left. The entrance looks like that of the game trails on the blue path.

Healer examines the trail head,

"I Think we should stick to the current trail. Especially since we may have to backtrack again."

Healer would like to check the trail head for tracks of any kind, especially to identify anything outside animal tracks. 

Make a survival check please.

Healer's Survival check:

8

You look down the game trail and see a few broken branches. Tufts of fur appear to be stuck in some low hanging thorns, but you can’t really tell what kind of animal they are from. The dirt is well packed and relatively dry, makIng it hard to pick out any distinctive tracks.

After, another twenty minutes of walking you pass another game trail. This one looks similar to the first. Ten more minutes and the red path veers northeast. A half hour goes by and you enter a clearing. You begin to feel like the red path is a reflection of the blue path. 

Make a perception check to see what’s in this clearing.

6

The shadows are black and the dark strangely cool. The sun breaks down through the pine forest ceiling like a powerful weapon that destroys the darkness. The open space has caused the forest to expose itself. Everything is seemingly abandoned, but life crawls under the surface and in the dark corners. The clearing leads to a meadow covered in knee-high flowing grass, and in its center stands a stone, leaning slightly as if it were sleepy. By its foot red toadstools grow, one of them as large as a human head. A clutter of climbing plants on the stone’s surface slithers like snakes locking together as if to prevent anyone else from reaching the top first.