Chapter 4: The Shifting Forest
Icemourn 1, 1463:
Having narrowly emerging victorious over The Shadow Broker, The Other Guys decided to spend 2 in the eastern side of Frostholme, each member separating and spending their time off completing their own tasks, pursuing their own training and recovering. They meet back at The Lodge at noon and discuss with each other what they had been up to for the past 2 weeks. After a brief catch up and an introduction to the newest member of their party, Tony the Crystalbore Beetle, Xorin and Bratmael head out to hunt for meat for their upcoming journey. They share hunting techniques that they have learnt, Bratmael from Kylie Griegan and Xorin from his more primal instincts and together catch a large amount of snow kangaroos to eat. They return to the cabin where Balthasar was attempting to show Harrow the skills he was learning from Thulgak, albeit only able to channel the power of Ellion for a split second. With the sun going down the party eats a meal together and prepares for bed. Xorin, to the partys surprise, settles in to read a smithing book he had picked up during his down time. Harrow looked over with a disappointed glare then, as soon as Xorin put the book down, snuck over and hid the book replacing it with a book on BreyxPor.Icemourn 3, 1463:
The party made their way in to the forest, following the river as far as they could before the overgrown thicket became too hard for them to push through. They made their way further into the forest but eventually got lost in the darkness of the forest. Xorin attempted to climb a tree to get a view of the forest top but wasn't able to find a way to the top, they eventually found their way to a clearing at nightfall where they were attacked by a pack of saber-toothed tigers. Harrow used hypnotism to entrance them all but accidently got his allies caught in the act. Xorin and Tony dispatched the tigers while they were mesmerised. The party then set up camp for the night and went to sleep.Icemourn 4, 1463
The next morning the party awoke and continued their journey through the forest. The trees and bushes around them were starting to blur together, everything looked so similar until they came across an arrow stuck in a tree along with tracks in the ground indicating that some people had been through here recently. Xorin used his tracking skills to determine that a party of 3 or so people had come walking down along this path before abruptly stopping, turning around and fleeing into the forest. The party followed the footsteps and found more arrows in the trees around them. Balthasar and Xorin pulled the arrows out and examined them finding that the arrows appeared to be made by different people with varying levels of skill. Tony took a particular liking to the dark arrows that Balthasar concluded must be made of the same wood that he had found in Tonys cage in the Shadow Brokers hideout. They followed the tracks until they found a clearing where 3 Lizard-like humanoid bodies were hung from a tree and 2 graves were dug on the ground nearby. Balthasar insisted that they give these people their last rites regardless of why they were hung and so the party made their way in to the clearing and examined the area. The bodies hanging from the tree were riddled with arrows but there were no signs of footprints from the people shooting the arrows, the 2 graves were recently dug and heart shaped vines grew out of the head of the grave. The party noted that the lizard-folk were wearing padded armour, likely to keep warm in Frostholmes climate, indicating they weren't from this region. The party moved on from the clearing and found a new area to set up camp for the night, given the scene that they had just encountered they set up a guard rotation for the night with Xorin taking first shift followed by Bratmael.Icemourn 5, 1463
Brat rested temporarily before replacing Xorin as the watchman for the night and began patrolling a circumference around the camp periodically checking back in to the camp, a loud noise that sounded like a more intense rustling of leaves began vibrating around the forest and, when he next walked back to where the camp was, Brat found the area completely deserted. Pondering this for a moment he recounted his steps in his head and came to the conclusion that he was definitely in the area where the camp, and his allies, should be but was unable to see or hear them. He called out to his friends but got no reply before deciding that the best thing to do in this situation would be to sit and wait. Suspecting that he was being watched Brat called out to the forest to say that they were not here to cause harm but got no reply beside a falling branch. Balthasar woke up in the middle of the night to find that Bratmael was missing from the guard post, using his divine senses he attempted to locate Brat but couldn't sense him anywhere and promptly woke up the party. They followed Brats footsteps out of the camp and traced his footsteps looping around the camp but found that the footsteps vanished after a while. Turning around, the party realised the trail behind them had also disappeared. Balthasar and Harrow studied the forest for a moment and came to the conclusion that the forest was at the very least moving or transporting them but the exact method was undetermined. They tested various methods of finding Brat but couldn't find their way to him, though they did manage to make their way back to their camp. Back at the camp they found Brats tracks again however these only led a few feet out of camp before disappearing. Harrow examined the area around the tracks and found that there was a visible border where the trees didn't cross, branches that should have extended over the border were instead cut on both sides. As if 2 worlds had been squished together. Meanwhile, Brat, now tired of sitting around and waiting decided to try climb a tree to get a look out of the tree tops to spot where he was. He climbed till he reached the thickets halfway up the tree and began hacking away at the tree. He hacked at the tree for an hr before deciding that whatever creature or magic had him trapped was keeping him away from his friends, so, in a leap of faith, he cleared his mind of his destination and let go of the tree, falling into a repeating void of branches and air, none quite close enough to grasp until he spotted a hand reaching out to him. He grabbed hold of the hand and was pulled on to a branch and came face to face with a stranger, an younger Elf by the name of TaeLohr, who came from a village in the forest called Kolufo. TaeLohr was surprised to see Brat let go of the tree and told him he was lucky that he was around or he'd be falling for eternity. Brat reluctantly thanked him for saving him and asked if he could guide him back to his friends. TaeLohr agreed and told Brat to think of his friends as they took off along the tree branches. The Other Guys began packing up their campsite and got ready to set off and find Brat again when they heard a voice call out behind them, turning they found Brat and TaeLohr. Brat explained what happened and TaeLohr, noticing that Brat and his friends were warriors, said he could show them the way out if they were willing to help his village with a problem. The Other Guys tentatively agreed and followed TaeLohr to a nearby clearing with vines hanging down. He instructed them to pull the vines and as they did they were pulled upwards to a village built in to the tree tops. He then led them to a large hut and introduced them to Moldren Windwhisper, the chieftain of the village. Moldren told them that the exterior of the forest is in Frostholme but the forest itself was its own dimension, with many layers that could be accessed with the right directions. He explained it was like a map, divided in to squares, but instead of folding on to itself to be smaller like a regular pocket dimension. It was cut in to squares and stacked on top of each other, with more squares surrounding it to make a somewhat 3 dimensional cube. The inside of the cube were the tangible DIFFERENT areas that the party had experienced, like the camp site, the hung bodies and Kolufo. The exterior of the cube was the constant repeating forest that they had been walking through. To get from one inside square to another you needed to walk through the repeating area and damage a tree while thinking of your destination and the forest would move you to that area. Xorin nodded along in agreement though he was pretty sure he didn't understand anything that was said. Because their forests entrance was in Frostholme they maintained diplomatic contact with the Council of Elders, though very sparsely. The elders had contacted them 90 years or so ago to let them know the war had begun and to request they kill any Aevalasians that come through their forest as they were bloodthirsty and could not be trusted to be left alone in such a dimension. Due to their isolation, the residents of Kolufo, were not practiced in the arts of combat so they would resort to using the forest to trap Aevalasians and kill them, however, in recent times a larger party of Aevalasians had made their way in to the forest and set up a camp. The villagers had taken out a few of their men (who the party had found hung) but the main camp was still active in the forest. Moldren suspected the Aevalasians had figured out how to get back to their camp reliably but had not yet figured out how the forest worked. He told the party that it would do the village a great service if they were to eliminate the Aevalasians however, he did not want to force them in to it. The party went to his chambers to discuss their plans in private before agreeing to pay the Aevalasian camp a visit at the very least. The party, disturbed from their earlier sleep, took a few hours to sleep while Brat explored the village and spoke to a few of the locals to see if they knew of any other strangers coming in to the forest, but found no useful information. The party slept till afternoon then, made their way to the Aevalasian camp. The camp had a hastily erected wooden fence running around it with a guard toward at its north entrance. Xorin climbed a nearby tree and saw 2 Lizardmen standing on rocks in a pond practicing with their spears. The party decided to attempt a diplomatic approach and, with Balthasar and Bratmael staying back and hiding in the bushes, sent Harrow and Xorin to the camp, posing as people lost in the forest. As soon as they stepped in to the clearing near the guard tower a voice called out to them in a language neither understood, though they assumed it was Aevalasian. They both tried to reply in various languages but could not find a common tongue, until Harrow remembered the Diary of Zork that he had translated. Using non-threatening poses as well as a few words he had learned from the Diary he managed to get an introduction to the leader of the camp who introduced himself as StryxTyxAlin. Through a rough broken-draconic conversation Harrow and Xorin explained they had lost their friends, Stryx told them there was no escape from the forest and, through magic, showed them an illusion of an elf killing a lizardman but couldn't get any further information from him, a moment of tension ensued when the watch tower archer heard a noise in the distance coming from Balths armor. Realising they needed a better method of communication the 2 left and met back up with Brat and Balth, Balth explained that Ellion offered many gifts to him but he needed time to gain access to it so the party made their way back to their camp site and rested for the night until the next morning.Icemourn 6, 1463
Early the next morning the troupe set off, making their way to the Aevalasian camp. Brat, knowing the Aevalasians didn't like the Elves, decided he would stay hidden nearby while the party approached the guard tower. They were greeted by a different guard this time, who summoned StryxTyxAlin. With some careful nudging by Harrow, Stryx agreed to take Balthasars hand and with the gifts bestowed upon him by Ellion he channeled the ability to understand all languages in to Stryx. Stryx explained that his party was sent to Frostholme to retrieve the body of the Aevalasian Prince, XatFoTola, who they believed was being held in Glacial Falls, they were also tasked to kill the Frostholme "Queen" while they were in the city. The party questioned why the prince would be in Glacial Falls and Stryx explained that the previous "King" of Frostholme was killed and XatFoTola was being blamed for his assassination, a task they insisted he would not have performed. The party, unsure about what this meant, offered to show Stryx the way out of the forest however as they were getting ready to leave a voice called out in Aevalasian and Stryx let the group know that the Elves had come. The party followed Stryx as he made his way toward his scout and came upon Bratmael being held at arrow-point by an Aevalasian Archer. Seeing his friends and thinking it might do them good to dissassociate them from himself, Bratmael yelled out that he would kill all Lizard scum and lept to his feet, taking an arrow to the back as he did so. Chaos ensued as Harrow stabbed a dagger into a nearby tree to shift the forest and Xorin grabbed Stryx and dragged him deeper in to The Shifting Forest. Brat stabbed a different tree and ran into another part of the forest, a lizard shaman chasing after him hoping to get to Stryx. With Brat and Xorin now gone in to the forest, Balthasar and Harrow were left confused about what to do. Harrow hypnotized the archer that had shot at Brat but 2 more soldiers came out of the woods. Balthasar figured the fight was on now and summoned his spiritual weapon and began beating at the remaining soldiers, with Tony leaping in to assist his master/friend. Harrow, unsure how the situation had turned out like this after they had made such careful plans, checked if Balthasar was feeling confident before running into the woods after Brat. With Tony by his side Balthasar fought the 2 spear soldiers, throwing out healing spells for himself and Tony for as long as he could but eventually was overwhelmed as Tony was struck dead by a spear thrust from one of the soldiers. Meanwhile, Brat, now back at the camp, was going through an existential crisis as his inner monologue, manefisting in the form of Ulwarth, took jabs at him insisting that he had done the wrong thing. Through his monologue he remembered that the plan was to go to the hanging bodies, not the camp, and so he went through the forest to the hanging bodies but was again forced to face his inner demons as he found the area clear of his friends. Harrow meanwhile ran through the shifting forest with a shaman chasing after him, he turned and grappled with the Shaman for a moment before noticing that the forest was shifting, let the shaman go and proceeded to the forest. He eventually came face to face with Brat and berated him for his foolish antics but Brat was not in the mood to listen and began shouting back at him. Before they could reach an end to their discussion the Shaman came bursting through the forest and in his rage Brat cut him down in moments. Finally calming down he realised Balthasar was not with Harrow and so went running back in to the forest to help Balthasar. Xorin meanwhile had dragged StryxTyxAlin in to a different section of the forest and was struggling to keep hold of him until Stryx turned around and spat a mist in to his face. The mist caused Xorins body to freeze up on him and his world turned black as he was pulled in to visions of BreyxPor and the carnage that had come across the land after the coup. He saw visions of the people suffering in the country side, the buildings burning and crumbling. His sister kneeling over the body of his mother, blaming him for her death. The vision shifted to an image of the Usurper sitting on the Throne, he accused Xorin of running away, being a coward, he reminded Xorin that when he was young he was terrified of storms. The vision shifted again to a cliff side overlooking BreyxPor, a storm raging across the land, wind howling, lightning striking a nearby forest setting it alight. There Xorin is approached by his father, who reminds him that the storm is a natural part of life and while it does take, it also gives."The storm brings rain that nourishes the land. The winds scatter seeds far and wide, giving them new places to grow. The trees that fall make way for new life to rise stronger than before. The forest regrows, my son, and the land becomes fertile again.". His father reminds him that the Storm is a part of the land, and that Xorin carries the strength of his people and the land within him, he is the Storm. With these wise words on his mind Xorin felt the storm rage inside him, a fire burning so hot it tore through the poison that had put him in this haluscinatory state and brought him back to reality. StryxTyxAlin was no longer in his grip, instead he was attacking someone that Xorin didn't immediately recognise, an elf from Kolufo. Xorin, feeling the power of his ancestors coursing through his veins channeled the power of the storm and ran at Stryx, slashing at him multiple times with a speed he had never had before. He had become lightning incarnate, zapping around the battlefield with a blistering pace. Stryx attempted to fight back but was eventually overwhelmed by Xorin and defeated. Finally, the andrenaline wore off and Xorin ran to the body of the elf that had probably saved his life. It was TaeLohr, and while he was still concious, it was clear there was a dark venom spreading through his veins as they were turning black all across his body. With his last strength he told Xorin that he had come to find them to give BratMael a pair of boots that he had made, because all elves were born to walk the trees, he handed Xorin the boots before breathing his last breath. Xorin pocketed the boots before noticing that his arm had turned black, a wound he had sustained from his fight with Stryx seemed to be spreading some kind of poison through his arm. Not knowing how to fix it he ran into the forest to find his friends in hopes that Balthasar or Harrow would know what to do. Brat and Harrow made it back to Balthasar in time to see him cut down the archer and one of the spear soldiers before Brat jumped in and finished off the second one. Balthasar healed his companions before walking over to Tonys body, picking it up to take with them. Xorin then came bursting in to the clearing calling for help as his arm was turning black. Balthasar attempted to heal him with magic but could only manage to slow it down. Harrow took a look at his arm and realised it had venom coursing through it, he told Xorin they only had 2 choices, either chop the arm off or attempt to suck out the venom which could kill the person sucking it out. Xorin asked if Harrow had the skill to suck it out. Harrow, being an expert in poison thought he might be able to do it so used a dagger to create a hole and started sucking the venom out, successfully removing it from Xorin but not without swallowing some himself. The party then returned to the Aevalasian camp and rested to regain their energy, awakening in the early afternoon. Brat spent some time alone meditating, while Balthasar, took his frustrations out on the party as he felt everyone abandoned him to fight the Aevalasians alone. The party eventually regathered themselves, along with Tonys body and TaeLohrs body and made their way back to Kolufo, there they gave Moldren TaeLohrs body, received their thanks for clearing the Aevalasian threat then made their way out of the forest and back in to Frostholme.
Icemourn 14, 1463
The party arrives on a cliff face overlooking The Wyverns Breath, a field of large ice spikes that reach up to 80 feet high surrounding the front of Glacial Falls. They make their way through the field of spikes, with some party members sensing a weird energy. Despite multiple days passing Harrow has still not recovered from the venom he had ingested and suffers some hallucinations while passing through the field of spikes. The party rests here for a day before catching their first glimpse of Glacial Falls.
Parent Plot
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