To prove one's trustworthiness

Rising from their slumber, the party discovers that they have found the Lyari Yathaenae, or rather more were found by them. Huntress Irwen Leloquin greets the adventurers, holding her bow casually but confidently in her hands, and enquires as to why they have ventured as deep into the wood as they had. The party tries to not be deceitful about their intentions and refer to the correspondence they found earlier concerning an artifact hidden in the Gloomwood Forest and a possible threat to Bastow, the Duchy and, more pressingly, the Lyari themselves. Being as respectful and seemingly truthful as the adventurers are, Irwen senses the authenticity of their intentions but states that it is not in her power to grant the party the continuation of their enquiry. That is to be decided by more influential individuals of her people. The adventurers are presented to the Master of the Hunt, Aranwir Carfaren, a proud and stoic elven commander. He is not overly moved by the adventurer's appeal but does not want to ignore the custom of hospitality either. Aranwir agrees to take the party to the Lyari's major settlement, Daín Quinra.

After travelling for a few hours the party, accompanied by a squad of elven marksmen, Irwen and Aranwir, arrives at Daín Quinra and is introduced to the leader of the Lyari, Ameria Delythiel. Also present at the court is The Shepherd of Voices, Cerebrin, who agrees to take a look at the adventurer's correspondence and will help out with researching the meaning of the document. After they have proven their good intentions towards the elves and worthy of the Lyari's help, that is. It is one thing to let adventurers pass through their domain unheeded but another matter entirely to grant them assistance. So Aranwir issues an assignment: Exterminate some creatures which have encroached on the Lyari's lands. Ever so often the elves need to take care of creatures whose proliferation poses an increasing threat to the health of the wood's ecosystem. In this case a clutch of Giant Spiders and Ettercaps. After successfully dealing with this vermin the Lyari would show their gratitude and support the adventurers to the best of their abilities.

The party sets out on their task, supported by a few guides, and seeks out the nest of the Giant Arachnids. The fight proved to be a small challenge for the group as the heroes needed to deal not only with sticky webs and giant piercing mandibles, dripping with poison, but also the Ettercaps' disturbing intelligence and tactical whit. Nonetheless the party was successful and managed to exterminate the spiders and their nest. Resting for the night the adventurers were looking forward to receiving the Lyari's aid and to find some clues as to where to find the artifact. But for one of the party members the night had a special encounter in store...