The Evermoore Road by Aldrich | World Anvil
Sat 17th Jul 2021 01:05

The Evermoore Road

by Aldrich Runecarver

During Dru's meeting with Chauntea, she asked him to go to the High Forest and find the Shadowtop Cathedral. A friend of hers named Turlang lived there; he was a member of the Emerald Enclave and may need our help. She also gifted Dru with a new staff made from a sappling from the Tranquil Oasis to replace the one that Bane destroyed.
We all met in Zarruk's room after returning from our respective errands. He was understandably eager to head to Stiljabyr and meet his uncle, but we agreed to wait until morning and make the necessary preparations before leaving on that journey. He and Dru knew that we would have to take the Evermoore Road to reach the town, which would take us through the High Forest. Dru then told us of Chauntea's request, and we agreed to try to find the Shadowtop Cathedral on our way to Stiljabyr. Before going to bed I got information from Amara on where we could buy supplies and sell some of the loot we had taken from the dungeon, then I wrote up two letters to send to Brother Beocca and Isyllwen in Windholm, letting them know what had happened since I left and where we would be going next. Amara and I also discussed the dragoneye stones that Bevil/Bane had given us. She said he could potentially use those to track us, so they should be left here for them to destroy. We would be able to contact them instead with the oak leaf that Silvanus had sent while we were in the dungeon. It could be used to send spoken messages, using the phrase "message of the wind".
In the morning we made our preparations, leaving the stones with Amara, sending the letters through a young man named Jaques, and then going to a merchant a Brytha's Masonry to sell some of the extra gear. We then embarked on the Evermoor Road and headed out of the city. We eventually reached the High Forest and entered through an archway made of a living tree. Inside the forest the high canopy allowed little light through, leaving us to find our way in relative darkness. Dru seemed much more in his element here than in the city, so we let him by the guide. As we followed him suddenly a white unicorn crossed our path. Dru decided to follow it since it seemed to be moving parallel to the road. We eventually encountered it in a clearing where it entered a circle of large stones and disappeared. Perplexed, we investigated to see where it might have gone and if this was some sort of trap. Po dropped a rock on the ground at the center of the circle and it promptly disappeared, while I cast Detect Magic and discovered some sort of transference magic on the ground with a distinct Fey aura to it. Dru attempted to call out to the unicorn several times, but receiving no response he stepped into the circle and disappeared.
We eventually followed him, discovering that the circle was a portal to the Feywild. The unicorn was there, standing at an altar with a horn placed in the center of it. A pixie approached us and demanded to know what we were doing there. Talking with her, we discovered her name was Lolatha and the unicorn's name was Althada. The unicorn was mourning her mate, who had been killed by a blue dragon 300 years ago. Dru tried to offer to help the unicorn, but she became agitated and I urged everyone to leave quickly. Stepping back to the center of the stone circle returned us to the material plane, but something felt off...