Into the Weald [3.5, IC]

[Barsoom]

OOC is here

For generations, the people of Diggersford lived in peace with The Creatures - which was the name given to the fey, magical beasts and other strange animals populating Knotoak Weald. The peace was fragile and easily shattered - as happened one summer thirty years ago, which still lives in local memory. A group of local youths, drunk and having nothing better to do, lit a campfire at the edge of the forest, eventually setting the forest on fire. Unknown forces put out the conflagration, not before it cut a mile-wide swath through the woods; and then, the forest's revenge was swift and horrible. Dark as the night, furry creatures the size of a cow, swooped onto the village, slaughtering all in their path from cattle to infants. Also, your parents swear that the amount of lightning strikes hitting the village was inordinately large in the years since.

Whether the war ended or not that summer, the folk of Diggersford do not venture into the Weald readily. In fact, even the Krag hills, with their abandoned silver mines, fraught with falling dangers, are a more popular travel destination. But all this changed last winter.

In one of those caves, a horrible Red Dragon took roost, calling himself Pyredread. He announced his arrival in the middle of the night, burning three huts along with their inhabitants. The village folk were too weak to fight this menace. The few foolhardy souls who tried, perished in flames. The dragon now rules Diggersford from afar, demanding tribute of gold and food, and the village is rapidly running out of both. Help from the Duke is not forthcoming, and it's only a matter of time before you stand unable to satisfy the beast's demands.

With that in mind, the seven of you have been gathered in this hour before dawn. Standing at the outskirts of the village, your mission is clear - to venture deep into the forest, meet The Creatures, and plead an alliance. A small handful of village elders, as well as your loved ones, is bidding you farewell. Garet, who can barely walk. Maroin, the apothecary. Tom-Tom, the village fool, is here for some reason. They all look somberly, as you get ready to head for the burnt stretch of ground separating the village fields from the forest.

What will your journey bring?

[Baverage]

Ludo moves to stand with his companions after carefully helping Garet to a log to sit on. He stays quietly to the side, occasionally throwing glances back towards the village before speaking up to say; "Elders, do you have any last words of advice before we depart? The forest Creatures are not found easily and I fear we have quite the quest before us."

[stanleyindraven]

Peter grips the haft of his axe tightly. He looks around at the others, almost in disbelief that they should represent the town in this matter. "Or Tom-Tom, you have any words," he jested, trying to keep the quivering from his voice.

[Atemus]

Excited. That's the word you were looking for. Excited to finally get to go into the forest. You've always been found of exploring new places, and this one place has always been off limits, until now.

"Is it time to go?"You ask, hardly able to contain yourself as you rock back and forth on the balls of your feet.

[Magnera]

Caviclair gathered with the rest of his companions, upon the edge of town. His trident's prongs glow brightly with a yellow, heatless flame. The glow illuminates the early dawn like a firefly at night."I never thought this day would come. A day when my skills are needed."

[stanleyindraven]

"Really? I figured mine would, I'm about the only one in town that speaks their tongue," Peter says with a roll of his eyes and a smile.

[Atemus]

"Good to know I'm not the only one ready to go. Who knows what's in there! And they're going to help us get rid of that damn dragon!"

[NightOwl451]

Aurelia hugged her father one more time before stepping away, avoiding the harsh glare of her mother. Walking quickly, she joins the group in seconds. May this dragon be defeated, and the town protected. She turns and faces the others, testing the weight of her crossbow before slinging it over her back. Are the rest of you ready?

[al'Lan Mandrag]

Lilia stood to one side, not knowing the elders well enough to feel comfortable, and not with so many others who she knew even less. Her time in the village had only just begun, but it was obvious that these folk would need a healer, and thus she was the perfect choice.

In response to the other girl's query, Lilia quietly answered: "I am ready, I know not how to find these fey, but I'm ready to try."

[Chromascope3D]

He stopped to speak with the aging alchemist. "Well, Maroin, I'd like to thank you for all you've done. It's been a real fun time. If I don't make it back, well, tell my family if they ever pass through." And with that, he joined the others. "Yes, I do believe I'm quite ready. It shall be interesting, at the very least, to connect with my roots."

[Barsoom]

Ludo moves to stand with his companions after carefully helping Garet to a log to sit on. He stays quietly to the side, occasionally throwing glances back towards the village before speaking up to say; "Elders, do you have any last words of advice before we depart? The forest Creatures are not found easily and I fear we have quite the quest before us."

Garet mouthes a muffled thank you as he sits down, then scratches his head. The creatures you may meet might be indifferent to your fate at best, or as alien and hostile as Pyredread at worse. I only pray we made the right choice, and you are not sent to your doom. Regardless, remember where you came from, and remember who you are doing it for.

Peter grips the haft of his axe tightly. He looks around at the others, almost in disbelief that they should represent the town in this matter. "Or Tom-Tom, you have any words," he jested, trying to keep the quivering from his voice.

The fool circles around you, hopping merrily, and tries to grab your weapon with his meaty palms. Sharp! Sharp! he chitters excitedly.

Aurelia hugged her father one more time before stepping away, avoiding the harsh glare of her mother.

Try as she might, those blue eyes are burrowing a deep hole in her soul.

He stopped to speak with the aging alchemist. "Well, Maroin, I'd like to thank you for all you've done. It's been a real fun time. If I don't make it back, well, tell my family if they ever pass through."

She looks at you with compassion and shakes your hand. Please do try to come back in one piece.

Having thus said your goodbyes, you leave the world you knew behind. As you walk through the fields, the sun's red edge shows over the horizon. You move away from the river, through the half-mile-wide stripe of burnt trees, standing sentinels at the edge of the dark forest, smelling of ash and soot, still, after all those years. As you come further, you find more green grass and shrubs - the forest is reclaiming its own. Despite that, the transition from the burned-out area to the living forest is very pronounced. The first living tree you reach is a lush oak, spreading its branches over a hundred feet wide. A spider web glistens between two low-hanging branches, awaiting unsuspecting moths and flies, which there is no shortage of in this summer morning.

You see there is something carved in the bark of the oak, some kind of symbols, possibly a writing, but you'll have to get very close to decipher it. Deeper inside the forest, a faint moaning sound reaches your ears.

[stanleyindraven]

"I want to check that writing, anyone care to come with," Peter questions.

[Atemus]

"I'll check around the area, feel free to check it out."

Check the immediate surroundings, as well as anything within eye-shot in the forest, without passing the oak.

[Magnera]

" I will most certainly join you! Some one has to keep my allies safe. I'll keep an eye out while you examine the inscription" Caviclair felt happy, he felt a sense of comradery in this group. A big smile grew upon his face as he walked to his destination

[al'Lan Mandrag]

Lilia steps up beside Peter, interested in what information the plaque might yield.

[Baverage]

Ludo joins the scout and keeps an eye on the forest.

[Barsoom]

Crudely carved on the tree, possibly with a dull knife, are eleven stick figures - complete with a head, torso, two arms and two legs. The figures are depicted in various poses - some simply standing, some with hands outstretched, or standing on one leg, or hunched over, etc. A small tear of dried up sap trails from the end of the right-most stick figure's hand.

Beneath the figures, the words NO MORE are cut into the bark.

Knowledge (Social) DC 15

Spoiler

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Eleven happens to be the number of children that went missing during the great strife between the village and forest creatures thirty years ago

[Magnera]

Peering over, Caviclair examines the carving."Sorry, I don't see anything relevant to our cause. It looks like it's just stick figures."

[NightOwl451]

Aurelia steps up beside Peter and Lilia, clearly uncomfortable outside. She examines the carved figures as well.

[Chromascope3D]

Dubhan approached them, and met their focus with his eyes. It seemed familiar somehow, as he wracked his memory.
"How strange, it's just like the tale. I believe those represent the stolen children, but what does it mean by 'No more?' Are they dead?" His voice died away before he finished. He had come across the tale in Marion's library several years ago, and he didn't know much more than what he had read. The carving itself was strange and primal, yet oddly beautiful and entrancing. He must have stared at it for a minute before he returned to reality.

[Baverage]

Ludo wanders over and takes a long glance at the carving before shaking his head and walking further into the forest. "Not much to see there, moving on, yea?"

[al'Lan Mandrag]

Lilia nodded along to Dubhan's assessment. "Perhaps a warning: we should not forget the number of children who died that night. Maybe they thought it the best way to remind us?"
Lilia hoped it meant an end to the war between the two peoples, and thus a chance of an alliance now, but she did not want to sound so naive before her companions.

[stanleyindraven]

"Perhaps the children were turned to trees, or something similar. Look at the way the sap comes from the child's hand," Peter says as he touches his finger to the drop.

[Atemus]

"That's not why the fire was started, was it?" Wind said, stepping slightly past the tree to get a better look into the forest.

[al'Lan Mandrag]

"I don't know, but either way this ominous plaque is not a helpful set of directions, so we should probably get on." Lilia was shy around strangers normally, but she did have one thing that annoyed her, and that was lack of efficiency (probably something the nuns instilled in her).

[Magnera]

Unfortunately, Caviclair had only a small idea what everyone was talking about.
"I concur, we should keep moving. As much as what happened in the past is important, we need to also note our future. If we don't strike early, and build an alliance with the forest now, Pryedread will burn us all."

[NightOwl451]

Aurelia shrugged. The carvings hadn't made sense to her. If it is a warning, they I suggest we proceed with caution. Either way, we do need to get moving as Caviclair suggested. We can't leave the village in danger.

[Barsoom]

Spoiler

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Since the majority voted to move on, I assume that's what you are doing

After a while, members of the group tear off their gaze from the carved oak and round it to venture into the forest proper. The moaning from before quieted down, only to soon reemerge from a slightly different direction. A bird sitting on a maple branch seemed intent on making eye contact with each and every one of you before spreading its wings and flying off. A few hundreds of yards deep, the undergrowth became dense and rough, prickly thorns slowing your progress significantly. About one mile deep, you run across a trail, where shrubs and bushes have been thoroughly trampled. The trail runs perpendicular to the direction of your travel, and is empty, both left and right, as far as you can see.

[stanleyindraven]

"Lets cross this trail. We are getting closer, I know it. They know we are here, now we need to force them to show themselves without being aggressive," Peter said.

[Magnera]

"Goodness, I am glad that we have gotten out of that difficult undergrowth, which way do we wish to travel? Perhaps by examining the ground, we might be able to determine which way is traveled more often." Caviclair keels upon the ground and observes the road's finer details.

Spoiler

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Perception(1d20+4)[17] This is for my roll to examine the tracks.

Also, for the record, my aura has been active since we started.