The four elves take turns looking over the map. Twigs snorts.
Twigs: Wonder how you got this information. You realize that if this got in the wrong hands you could be putting lots of lives in danger?
Kae rolls his eyes.
Kae: Twiggy, relax. It's not like these are secret hiding spots or anything. It only looks like four of the meeting spaces anyway and no one ever stays long for that matter.
Kae takes the map from Twigs and studies it hard.
Kae: There's been a lot of activity near location three. That son-of-a-birch traitor is really...
Twigs cuts him off.
Twigs: That's enough! It's not our place to discuss such matters. We leave that for the council. Who gave you the Goodberries? Maybe these two can meet up with them and get some more info. They're clearly going to traipse around Neverwinter Wood until they find some of the council.
Kae: That'd be Yuey Yewis. He was heading towards site three, as they have named it to help with...well...you know. It would be extremely difficult to track him, but he is likely going to camp at the intersection of the two rivers before he continues. He probably headed straight south until he reached the river and then followed it down to the fork.
Kae: We'll camp here for the night and tend to our wounds. With the four of us, I think we will be able to hold the hill.
The elves start dispersing to make camp. They carry away the dead bodies and put them in a mound away from the hill. Tae and Heec see one of the elves looking at the wolf corpse with some trepidation. The elves welcome Tae and Heec to take what they need from the bodies. They search the hobgoblin and find a small bottle of shimmering, red liquid. One of the elves identifies it as a Minor Potion of Healing. They also find a small pouch containing a chunk of rock about the size of a fist. There are corners of an amber colored gemstone peeking out. Heec stashes them in his pack.
With lots of daylight left to go, the two elves bid farewell to four elf scouts and head south until they run into the river. The river is about 15 feet across at this location doesn't look too deep, although it is running swiftly. Downstream they see a large log in the middle of the river so they head towards it and attempt to ford.
The water almost comes to Heec's mouth but Tae is able to keep his head above water a little easier. They both successfully make it to the log at the center. As they try to move across the other half the current sweeps them under. Heec is able to stand back up but Tae struggles for several tense seconds. Heec manages to help him surface before he taken downstream. They both make it to the other side and although Tae is coughing up water, he isn't injured.
The two elves make camp for a few hours to dry their items before continuing. As they are cleaning up camp, they hear and see a rustling in the trees on the opposite bank. They both call out but the rustling stops. Then something quite large begins to move quickly through the trees to the south along the river. Before it gets too far, Heec calls out to ask if it is one of the Moon Elves and explains their situation and recent encounter with the Moon Elf scouts.
The rustling stops and a Moon Elf peeks out from the trees a ways down the bank. He moves back towards the elves and quickly crosses the river. He doesn't appear too wet, but does shake off his clothes, splashing Tae with water. He is pale skinned like many other Moon Elves and has white hair that comes down to his shoulders. It appears that he has deer antlers growing from his head, although that is not a common Moon Elf trait. It could be suspended on his head with some type of band. His clothes look like leather armor completely covered in leaves. He is carrying a curved scimitar that looks well taken care of.
He introduces himself in a bright voice.
Moon Elf: My name is Yuey Yewis. What news do you bring?
Hello, Yuey! I'm Heec and this is my brother, Tae. We're here on a mission from Cragglefrock. We need to speak with the council of Moon Elves about war preparations. Would you be able to lead us to them?
With the druid's guidance, the trip is short. Yuey moves quickly through the forest and it's evident that these elves have spent their entire lives moving through Neverwinter Wood. Over time the group moves away from the river and the sound of its rushing waters. As dusk sets in Yuey stops and informs that they should make camp for the night.
After a meditative rest, the three elves continue through the woods. With an expert guide it doesn't take long before they reach a break in the trees. A giant circle of surrounds a large mass of knotted trees completely wrapped in Razorvine. Yuey veers to the right and walks a distance around the trees. He slips in through the Razorvine but the two elves don't quite catch where he went through. Tae and Heec call out to him and Yuey's faint response tells them to come through. The two elves find an area where the Razorvine seems thinnest and begin to move through it. Unfortunately, they don't navigate it too well and end up receiving several injuries. When they finally pass through they come to a clearing within the copse of trees. There are several elves gathered around, some druids and others rangers that have their bows drawn.
A female Moon Elf garbed in druidic gear speaks up.
Female Moon Elf w/ Druidic Gear: Why have you come here.
Greetings. We are emissaries of Kragglefrock here to discuss the imminent war and the need for supplies. Junea sent us to negotiate terms and speak on behalf of our village. War is already inside these woods and in our village. We need everyone's assistance and compliance to ensure our survival. Specifically, we need lumber for supplies and weapons. What can you provide us with to further our shared cause?
Seeming to appear out of the Razorvine a male elf in druidic gear appears.
Make Elf: Compliance? Is that what you come to our Wood to ask? You come from the settled lands of men and ask our help. With a Drow, no less?
The female elf speaks in reply.
Volle: Forgive my companion. He has already lost many friends to the invaders. My name is Volle and his is Juniper. Tell us why we would allow your village to cut down our sacred woods? Can you not leave for safer locations?
Tae, taking offense to the comment, moves towards Juniper but Heec steps in front of him.
Whether we leave or not, it will not impede the assault of our shared enemies. Wouldn't it be better to use our combined forces and supplies to silence them as opposed to letting them run wild? We mean to bring shared peace to the land but we cannot do this alone. And you can survive in these woods, for now, but when these forces surround you, you'll wish you had helped us when you could.
Juniper looks affronted at Heec's words, but Volle just looks oddly amused.
Volle: Those are strong words. And dare I say that they carry truth to them. Come, Yssl, what do you make of this?
A squirrel jumps down from a tangle of razorvine and turns into another druid. Their face is covered by the hood of their cloak and they speak in a soft voice. Juniper rolls his eyes.
Yssl: The visitors may be right. We are beset on all sides by dark forces. Even the deep magic protecting our forest is strained.
Juniper's eyes grow wide and angry.
Juniper: What business is that of theirs. It is a private matter that must be dealt with internally.
Yssl: And you are the one to do it then?
Juniper is furious. He turns into a hawk and rockets out of the razorvine enclosure. Yssl lowers their hood. Underneath is a female (according to your best guess) elf druid with horrible scars covering most of their face. They look like terrible burns that have scarred over long ago. She looks at Tae and Heec with an inscrutable expression.
Will you allow us to have the materials we need in order to defend our lands? We could also use your strength, but if supplies are all you can afford, we would accept those.
Volle and Yssl look at one another. Yssl waves her hand and all of the rangers leave through the razorvine leaving only Volle, Yssl and Yuey.
Yssl: Yes. We will allow your village to harvest our trees. But first you must help us regain balance in our woods. There is one of our members who has come under some outside influence. I fear that something is happening in the mountain that is causing all of these unbalances. Fel was once a great druid. Young for our age, but he was strong and dedicated to our cause. I fear his own fervor has been turned to another cause against us. He has slowly been channeling some powerful magic and changing our forest. His magic has grown wild and dangerous. If you can reason with him, bring him back to our cause, then we will allow you to cull some of our wood. If he will not listen to reason, then you must destroy him and rid our land of his corrupting influence.
Yeuy speaks up with a grin.
Yuey: Evil magic. A rogue druid. Dramatic exposition! What could possibly go wrong?
Yssl's thick scars pucker up in a horrid semblance of a smile.
Volle: Don't worry about Juniper. He's always been distrusting of outsiders and doubly so when they threaten our trees. He'll get over it and you should too. Yuey will lead you to where Fel most likely is. The source of the corruption is close to the base of Mount Hotenow. Here, take this.
She hands a crow's feather to Heec.
Volle: This has been enchanted with one charge of the spell Sending. Once you have completed your mission you can use it to contact one of us and we will come get you. The same goes if you need extraction, but be warned that no one may be close enough to come in time.
She spreads her arms.
Volle: You may camp here for the night. Yssl will make sure you have enough Goodberry to heal your wounds. Good luck.
Volle turns into a skunk and scurries out through the razorvine. Some of the rangers return and begin making camp.
I didn't know she was going to turn into a skunk. I thought she wanted a hug.
That's not funny, Heec. More nonsense added to an already nonsense task. I'm not happy about any of this.
I know you're not. You never are. But they need our help just as much as we need theirs. I'm sure this won't take long. Let's rest up before we leave.
Fine.
Yssl. If it's okay, we're going to rest up before we leave and, if possible, take the berries with us in case we need them after our encounter with Fel.
Yssl: These will lose their effect 24 hours from this point. Use them wisely and good luck.
She walks off and disappears through the razorvine. It is late afternoon and four rangers are checking their gear and preparing to make camp for the rest of the day in the razorvine refuge. Yuey sits down and goes into a meditative trance.
Heec adds x10 Goodberry, Feather of Sending (x1 charge) to his Inventory
The four elves take turns looking over the map. Twigs snorts.
Twigs: Wonder how you got this information. You realize that if this got in the wrong hands you could be putting lots of lives in danger?
Kae rolls his eyes.
Kae: Twiggy, relax. It's not like these are secret hiding spots or anything. It only looks like four of the meeting spaces anyway and no one ever stays long for that matter.
Kae takes the map from Twigs and studies it hard.
Kae: There's been a lot of activity near location three. That son-of-a-birch traitor is really...
Twigs cuts him off.
Twigs: That's enough! It's not our place to discuss such matters. We leave that for the council. Who gave you the Goodberries? Maybe these two can meet up with them and get some more info. They're clearly going to traipse around Neverwinter Wood until they find some of the council.
Kae: That'd be Yuey Yewis. He was heading towards site three, as they have named it to help with...well...you know. It would be extremely difficult to track him, but he is likely going to camp at the intersection of the two rivers before he continues. He probably headed straight south until he reached the river and then followed it down to the fork.
Then we'll head for site three. Will you folks be okay or would you like us to escort you to the medic?
*sighs*
Kae responds.
Kae: We'll camp here for the night and tend to our wounds. With the four of us, I think we will be able to hold the hill.
The elves start dispersing to make camp. They carry away the dead bodies and put them in a mound away from the hill. Tae and Heec see one of the elves looking at the wolf corpse with some trepidation. The elves welcome Tae and Heec to take what they need from the bodies. They search the hobgoblin and find a small bottle of shimmering, red liquid. One of the elves identifies it as a Minor Potion of Healing. They also find a small pouch containing a chunk of rock about the size of a fist. There are corners of an amber colored gemstone peeking out. Heec stashes them in his pack.
With lots of daylight left to go, the two elves bid farewell to four elf scouts and head south until they run into the river. The river is about 15 feet across at this location doesn't look too deep, although it is running swiftly. Downstream they see a large log in the middle of the river so they head towards it and attempt to ford.
The water almost comes to Heec's mouth but Tae is able to keep his head above water a little easier. They both successfully make it to the log at the center. As they try to move across the other half the current sweeps them under. Heec is able to stand back up but Tae struggles for several tense seconds. Heec manages to help him surface before he taken downstream. They both make it to the other side and although Tae is coughing up water, he isn't injured.
The two elves make camp for a few hours to dry their items before continuing. As they are cleaning up camp, they hear and see a rustling in the trees on the opposite bank. They both call out but the rustling stops. Then something quite large begins to move quickly through the trees to the south along the river. Before it gets too far, Heec calls out to ask if it is one of the Moon Elves and explains their situation and recent encounter with the Moon Elf scouts.
The rustling stops and a Moon Elf peeks out from the trees a ways down the bank. He moves back towards the elves and quickly crosses the river. He doesn't appear too wet, but does shake off his clothes, splashing Tae with water. He is pale skinned like many other Moon Elves and has white hair that comes down to his shoulders. It appears that he has deer antlers growing from his head, although that is not a common Moon Elf trait. It could be suspended on his head with some type of band. His clothes look like leather armor completely covered in leaves. He is carrying a curved scimitar that looks well taken care of.
He introduces himself in a bright voice.
Moon Elf: My name is Yuey Yewis. What news do you bring?
Hello, Yuey! I'm Heec and this is my brother, Tae. We're here on a mission from Cragglefrock. We need to speak with the council of Moon Elves about war preparations. Would you be able to lead us to them?
The druid looks intently at the two elves for nearly a minute. Then says, "Alright! Let's go!"
He strides off, following the river to the south.
The two elves follow Yuey.
With the druid's guidance, the trip is short. Yuey moves quickly through the forest and it's evident that these elves have spent their entire lives moving through Neverwinter Wood. Over time the group moves away from the river and the sound of its rushing waters. As dusk sets in Yuey stops and informs that they should make camp for the night.
Let's rest for the four hours.
Agreed.
All three elves prepare for four hours rest.
After a meditative rest, the three elves continue through the woods. With an expert guide it doesn't take long before they reach a break in the trees. A giant circle of surrounds a large mass of knotted trees completely wrapped in Razorvine. Yuey veers to the right and walks a distance around the trees. He slips in through the Razorvine but the two elves don't quite catch where he went through. Tae and Heec call out to him and Yuey's faint response tells them to come through. The two elves find an area where the Razorvine seems thinnest and begin to move through it. Unfortunately, they don't navigate it too well and end up receiving several injuries. When they finally pass through they come to a clearing within the copse of trees. There are several elves gathered around, some druids and others rangers that have their bows drawn.
A female Moon Elf garbed in druidic gear speaks up.
Female Moon Elf w/ Druidic Gear: Why have you come here.
Greetings. We are emissaries of Kragglefrock here to discuss the imminent war and the need for supplies. Junea sent us to negotiate terms and speak on behalf of our village. War is already inside these woods and in our village. We need everyone's assistance and compliance to ensure our survival. Specifically, we need lumber for supplies and weapons. What can you provide us with to further our shared cause?
Seeming to appear out of the Razorvine a male elf in druidic gear appears.
Make Elf: Compliance? Is that what you come to our Wood to ask? You come from the settled lands of men and ask our help. With a Drow, no less?
The female elf speaks in reply.
Volle: Forgive my companion. He has already lost many friends to the invaders. My name is Volle and his is Juniper. Tell us why we would allow your village to cut down our sacred woods? Can you not leave for safer locations?
Tae, taking offense to the comment, moves towards Juniper but Heec steps in front of him.
Whether we leave or not, it will not impede the assault of our shared enemies. Wouldn't it be better to use our combined forces and supplies to silence them as opposed to letting them run wild? We mean to bring shared peace to the land but we cannot do this alone. And you can survive in these woods, for now, but when these forces surround you, you'll wish you had helped us when you could.
Juniper looks affronted at Heec's words, but Volle just looks oddly amused.
Volle: Those are strong words. And dare I say that they carry truth to them. Come, Yssl, what do you make of this?
A squirrel jumps down from a tangle of razorvine and turns into another druid. Their face is covered by the hood of their cloak and they speak in a soft voice. Juniper rolls his eyes.
Yssl: The visitors may be right. We are beset on all sides by dark forces. Even the deep magic protecting our forest is strained.
Juniper's eyes grow wide and angry.
Juniper: What business is that of theirs. It is a private matter that must be dealt with internally.
Yssl: And you are the one to do it then?
Juniper is furious. He turns into a hawk and rockets out of the razorvine enclosure. Yssl lowers their hood. Underneath is a female (according to your best guess) elf druid with horrible scars covering most of their face. They look like terrible burns that have scarred over long ago. She looks at Tae and Heec with an inscrutable expression.
Will you allow us to have the materials we need in order to defend our lands? We could also use your strength, but if supplies are all you can afford, we would accept those.
Volle and Yssl look at one another. Yssl waves her hand and all of the rangers leave through the razorvine leaving only Volle, Yssl and Yuey.
Yssl: Yes. We will allow your village to harvest our trees. But first you must help us regain balance in our woods. There is one of our members who has come under some outside influence. I fear that something is happening in the mountain that is causing all of these unbalances. Fel was once a great druid. Young for our age, but he was strong and dedicated to our cause. I fear his own fervor has been turned to another cause against us. He has slowly been channeling some powerful magic and changing our forest. His magic has grown wild and dangerous. If you can reason with him, bring him back to our cause, then we will allow you to cull some of our wood. If he will not listen to reason, then you must destroy him and rid our land of his corrupting influence.
Yeuy speaks up with a grin.
Yuey: Evil magic. A rogue druid. Dramatic exposition! What could possibly go wrong?
Yssl's thick scars pucker up in a horrid semblance of a smile.
Yssl: What say you then, adventurers?
Tae? What say you? Up for making the trip to... Where exactly would we be going?
You know my answer. You should talk to Juniper about his insults. They may not go over as well next time.
Take it easy, Tae. Where is Fel now?
Volle and Yssl laugh.
Volle: Don't worry about Juniper. He's always been distrusting of outsiders and doubly so when they threaten our trees. He'll get over it and you should too. Yuey will lead you to where Fel most likely is. The source of the corruption is close to the base of Mount Hotenow. Here, take this.
She hands a crow's feather to Heec.
Volle: This has been enchanted with one charge of the spell Sending. Once you have completed your mission you can use it to contact one of us and we will come get you. The same goes if you need extraction, but be warned that no one may be close enough to come in time.
She spreads her arms.
Volle: You may camp here for the night. Yssl will make sure you have enough Goodberry to heal your wounds. Good luck.
Volle turns into a skunk and scurries out through the razorvine. Some of the rangers return and begin making camp.
I didn't know she was going to turn into a skunk. I thought she wanted a hug.
That's not funny, Heec. More nonsense added to an already nonsense task. I'm not happy about any of this.
I know you're not. You never are. But they need our help just as much as we need theirs. I'm sure this won't take long. Let's rest up before we leave.
Fine.
Yssl. If it's okay, we're going to rest up before we leave and, if possible, take the berries with us in case we need them after our encounter with Fel.
Yssl hands Heec ten Goodberry
Yssl: These will lose their effect 24 hours from this point. Use them wisely and good luck.
She walks off and disappears through the razorvine. It is late afternoon and four rangers are checking their gear and preparing to make camp for the rest of the day in the razorvine refuge. Yuey sits down and goes into a meditative trance.
Heec adds x10 Goodberry, Feather of Sending (x1 charge) to his Inventory
The two elves rest for 4 hours.