Part X : Of Wounded Men and Rotted Glades
Flintknuckle brought Sirollo back to camp, introducing him to the party. Syntharia and Trovik were on edge, they recognized him for what he was; the man who'd been ruthlessly killing guards. They tentatively invited him to sit and eat with them, asking him questions to confirm their suspicions. He told them he'd been hunting, though he didn't say what. They told him they were looking for someone who'd been killing guards, curious to see how he'd react. He bent down to retrieve his rifle, telling them he'd better get going, but he was stopped when Trovik cast a holding spell upon him. They ordered him to explain himself, and he obliged. Him and his brother, Otto, had racked up a substantial gambling debt to a captain of the guard. The captain, along with 30 of his men, tied Sirollo, his mother, and his sister, Arris to a post and forced them to watch as Otto was brutally beaten and set aflame. Sirollo left his family shortly after that, learning to wield a rifle with deadly efficiency, and was now hunting down the captain and those 30 men. Every guard who had been killed took part in the horrors that day, in Sirollo's eyes they deserved nothing more than death.
The party was conflicted, Flintknuckle would join his brother if he could, he wished to see those men dead just as well. Trovik seemed to agree, happy enough to let Sirollo continue his business as long as only the guards present that day would be punished. Syntharia, however, was distraught. She felt that the only one who could deserve punishment was the captain himself, she argued that the others were just following orders. She asked Flintknuckle, when he came to retrieve his brother's rifle, if he would let his brother kill her if he found out about his mother; and if one bad choice is enough to damn someone. Flint offered very little in way of a response, simply demanding that she let Sirollo go free. She surrendered the rifle and made her way into the nearby forest.
Trovik offered Sirollo his blessings, and Flint said goodbye to his brother once more. Brother Zael followed Syntharia, offering her support, but she wasn't in the mood to speak. Understanding, he returned back to camp. A few hours later, Trovik found Syntharia passed out against a tree and carried her back to camp, leaving her in Zael's care. In the morning, the group set off towards the Forest of Fallen Leaves.
Entry to the forest seemed impossible, as it was completely surrounded by tall, smooth, white mountains. Syntharia placed her hand on the smooth stone and in response the rock shimmered and revealed a passage. She disappeared into a cloud of leaves, appearing at the opposite side, her hair now colored with autumnal hues, her eladrin heritage awakening upon entering the sacred grove. As they walked, Ri noticed that things looked off. The forest had never been this misty, never this silent. From the bushes a masked figure called for Ri, telling her to follow immediately, she recognized the voice as her mother's and told the group to listen. They were led to a hidden cave, and led down into a larger cavern. Ri's mother told them of what had happened, someone in the university had created a disease that infected even elves, one that could raise the dead. They decided nearly immediately that they would help however they can, telling her that they would put an end to this. While she fetched them all masks so that the poisonous fog would not effect them, Brother Zael pulled Syntharia aside and told her that he felt his services would be better utilized here, aiding the wounded and providing support.
The group headed deeper into the forest, making their way through the small town at its center and eventually stood outside the university. In front of the doors was a massive treant, Høste, though Ri noticed that he looked dead, corrupted. Opting to not directly confront the creature, they broke through a window and made their way inside. The university, though vast and sprawling, was utterly empty. Ri knew what they were looking for, however, and led them well. Under an altar they found a ladder leading down, at the base of which was a small stone room containing an obelisk. The stone mouth on it was open wide and thick fog flowed freely from it. Trovik and Flintknuckle set about quickly dismantling it, rendering it to nothing but rubble. They found, however, that this did not seem to be the source of the fog that hung over the forest; that seemed to be coming from a point above the university. Ri lead them to a spiral staircase which led to the observatory, the highest point of the university. Once at the top they prepared themselves for whatever was to come, though they didn't see any immediate dangers. A voice called to them from above, taunting the party. He told them how jealous he was of them, how he envied that each of them had Ratne's Kiss, something he could never experience. Two shapes fell from the rafters before they could even react; one a lithe, hooded figure, and the other a monstrous amalgamation of bodies. A brutal fight ensued, the hooded figure assaulted the party with poisoned needles and daggers while the mass of bodies slammed itself into them. Trovik, calling upon Hel, sent the creature fleeing in terror, allowing the party to focus on dispatching the hooded figure. Ri confronted the zombified horror and saw her father within the teeming bodies. She conjured up a massive fireball directly at the center of the thing, sending bodies flying throughout the room and ending the thing's torment. Trovik saw the souls of the slain, and watched as the hooded figure was dragged into the earth.
The party was conflicted, Flintknuckle would join his brother if he could, he wished to see those men dead just as well. Trovik seemed to agree, happy enough to let Sirollo continue his business as long as only the guards present that day would be punished. Syntharia, however, was distraught. She felt that the only one who could deserve punishment was the captain himself, she argued that the others were just following orders. She asked Flintknuckle, when he came to retrieve his brother's rifle, if he would let his brother kill her if he found out about his mother; and if one bad choice is enough to damn someone. Flint offered very little in way of a response, simply demanding that she let Sirollo go free. She surrendered the rifle and made her way into the nearby forest.
Trovik offered Sirollo his blessings, and Flint said goodbye to his brother once more. Brother Zael followed Syntharia, offering her support, but she wasn't in the mood to speak. Understanding, he returned back to camp. A few hours later, Trovik found Syntharia passed out against a tree and carried her back to camp, leaving her in Zael's care. In the morning, the group set off towards the Forest of Fallen Leaves.
Entry to the forest seemed impossible, as it was completely surrounded by tall, smooth, white mountains. Syntharia placed her hand on the smooth stone and in response the rock shimmered and revealed a passage. She disappeared into a cloud of leaves, appearing at the opposite side, her hair now colored with autumnal hues, her eladrin heritage awakening upon entering the sacred grove. As they walked, Ri noticed that things looked off. The forest had never been this misty, never this silent. From the bushes a masked figure called for Ri, telling her to follow immediately, she recognized the voice as her mother's and told the group to listen. They were led to a hidden cave, and led down into a larger cavern. Ri's mother told them of what had happened, someone in the university had created a disease that infected even elves, one that could raise the dead. They decided nearly immediately that they would help however they can, telling her that they would put an end to this. While she fetched them all masks so that the poisonous fog would not effect them, Brother Zael pulled Syntharia aside and told her that he felt his services would be better utilized here, aiding the wounded and providing support.
The group headed deeper into the forest, making their way through the small town at its center and eventually stood outside the university. In front of the doors was a massive treant, Høste, though Ri noticed that he looked dead, corrupted. Opting to not directly confront the creature, they broke through a window and made their way inside. The university, though vast and sprawling, was utterly empty. Ri knew what they were looking for, however, and led them well. Under an altar they found a ladder leading down, at the base of which was a small stone room containing an obelisk. The stone mouth on it was open wide and thick fog flowed freely from it. Trovik and Flintknuckle set about quickly dismantling it, rendering it to nothing but rubble. They found, however, that this did not seem to be the source of the fog that hung over the forest; that seemed to be coming from a point above the university. Ri lead them to a spiral staircase which led to the observatory, the highest point of the university. Once at the top they prepared themselves for whatever was to come, though they didn't see any immediate dangers. A voice called to them from above, taunting the party. He told them how jealous he was of them, how he envied that each of them had Ratne's Kiss, something he could never experience. Two shapes fell from the rafters before they could even react; one a lithe, hooded figure, and the other a monstrous amalgamation of bodies. A brutal fight ensued, the hooded figure assaulted the party with poisoned needles and daggers while the mass of bodies slammed itself into them. Trovik, calling upon Hel, sent the creature fleeing in terror, allowing the party to focus on dispatching the hooded figure. Ri confronted the zombified horror and saw her father within the teeming bodies. She conjured up a massive fireball directly at the center of the thing, sending bodies flying throughout the room and ending the thing's torment. Trovik saw the souls of the slain, and watched as the hooded figure was dragged into the earth.
Played on 04/17/2021
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