Therendor 22nd, Sul, 998 Y.K.
As the night passed the group decided it was best to make camp in the clearing where there had been obvious revelry the previous night, and despite the strange lights and sounds off in the woods they managed to get a good nights sleep.
As the night passed the group decided it was best to make camp in the clearing where there had been obvious revelry the previous night, and despite the strange lights and sounds off in the woods they managed to get a good nights sleep.
11 a.m.
The group are up and ready to travel again. Marshal was sent back to Turvin armed with his wood axe, and the group chose to press on into the woods, following the tracks they found last night which headed along the deer trail they had been following.
2 miles further north and 2 hours later through thick and unforgiving undergrowth the group came across a river.
The trail ends abruptly, revealing an opening in the trees. A fast-moving river flows from the west, and a scattering of ancient willow trees and cattails line both banks.
Small rocks cause the water to gurgle and sputter with froth, spraying the air with a fine mist. A fifteen-foot-wide, horizontal bridge of sturdy gossamer webbing hangs from two willow trees, one on each bank. The web sparkles with an incandescant dew five feet above the water, and as the light hits it, the entire expanse shimmers with multicoloured hues.
Anvil steps forward to try and determine whether or not the bridge is magical. As he places his hands upon it Kapek and Ajax spot something 10 feet up in the tree on the far side of the river that is supporting the bridge.
A slightly larger than human sized creature with bright purple skin adorned with yellow stripes, two gossamer wings fanning either side of his chubby frame. Its multi-faceted, hypnotic eyes stare impassively as its head constantly cocks itself from side to side.
Kapek and Ajax prepare to defend or attack should this thing make a move, the rest are unable to see it. As Ajax moves towards the bridge the creature spits web at him pinning him to the ground, this also has the unfortunate effect of blocking the bridge for the rest of the party.
As Lorric prepares to leap across the river, Kapek launches his mount into a run and clears the river with relative ease, also managing to get a hit at the thing with his sharrash.
As it launched into the air on gossamer wings a lucky strike knocked the thing to the ground, dead.
Upon further inspection the group determined that the creature was some kind of fey infused ettercap, although much debate ensued as to whether or not it could still be considered an aberration....
Kapek and Ajax search the area for tracks, they are specifically interested in finding the goat-like hoof prints that they are assuming to be made by a satyr.
As they search they fnd that the human-like tracks simply fade to nothing as they enter the northern woods, however the hoof-prints continue in a north-eastery direction.
1 p.m.
They pushed on across the river.
The forest thickens considerably. The sound of the river fades away, as does the natural chirping of forest creatures. The canopy completely obscures the sky, leaving only a gloomy half-light.
No plant life grows on the forest floor, except for small patches of clourful mushrooms and toadstools.
Following the tracks that they can make out the group head north into the forest. after an hour of tracking Ajax realises that he has lost the trail, the group head back to the point where they last had tracks and start again, this is repeated twice before they feel that they are heading in the right direction.
As they are travelling, some 50 feet ahead through the trees, a howl of rage fills the quiet air as a huge blood-soaked troll emerges from the trees.
As Ajax charges forward the ground beneath the feet of the group begins to writhe with plant life. Vines, roots and grasses grab at the feet of the group trying to pin them in one place as tiny arrows begin to fly from unseen assailants.
As Anvil heads forward he reaklises that something is not right with the troll they are facing, it is not moving and he is sure that one of his arrows simply passed through it. Will a force of will he disbelieves the existence of the giant and as it fades to a silhouette before his eyes he yells to the others that it is an illusion.
The group move out of the area covered by the entangling plant growth and try to determine where the tiny arrows are being fired from, each time they are hit by one of these arrows they are overwhelmed with tiredness, but manage to resist falling asleep. Until Ajax succumbs and Katerina is hit with an arrow that removes all of her memory, she simply hides in shock.
Eventually Lorric manages to hear the rough location of where one of their attackers is, at this point realising that they are invisible. Anvil manages to land a faerie fire spell at its location after one failed attempt and finally the group can see something to aim for. Ajax is awoken and uses a scroll to cast Embrace the Wild on himself, thus giving him the ability to sense what he can not see.
Although they seem to be hitting the creatures, they are not injuring them as they are flying 20-30 feet up and the groups missile weapons are not powerful enough, in a final moment of clarity Anvil turns a quiver of arrows into fey-bane weapons and the combat soon ends with two of the pixies dead and one fleeing into the forest leaving a sparkling trail of faerie dust behind it.
The group decide that their best bet is to head back to Turvin as Katerina has no memory of anything.
10 p.m.
The group arrive back in Turvin and after a meal of rabbit stew provided by Marius Redhare, the proprietor of the Blue Oak Inn the settle down for a good nights sleep, with hope that by morning Katerina will have regained her memory.
