Niern, Greenheart and Beyond...

Zor 19th Dravago, 998 Y.K.

Niern

On the evening of the 3rd day the captain calls for you and points to the horizon. Off in the distance you can see several lights flickering by the shore of the vast Lake Galifar as the daylight fades. The lake is so large that from your current location it could be easily mistaken for a sea. Off to the west the vast Eldeen Reaches spread as far as the eye can see, an expanse of rich hues of green that rise and fall beyond the horizon.

“We should be there within the hour, get your things together, we won’t be hanging around. You have enemies that I could do without.”

And as evening becomes night the Skystar begins to drift lazily downward. The rope ladders are dropped over the sides and the cargo hold is opened from below, allowing you access to your mounts and other equipment.

“Travel well”, says Syrina, “Your enemies are sure to be hot on your trail.”

Watching as the Skystar takes to the night sky, you find your gaze being drawn to the eastern sky, the ring of Siberys is radiant this evening, but you find yourself wondering about what darkness lurks in it’s shadow?

The Crimson Fists make their way to the Inn through the gathering gloom when Lorric notices someone stealthily pursuing the group. Quietly Lorric slips into the darkness and begins to stalk their stalker. Moving unseen Lorric moves up behind the stranger and then launches himself upon him fists flying. Quickly Anvil charges the mysterious stranger down upon his mechanical steed and sends him flying.

The group quickly surround their badly beaten stalker. Who, somewhat to their surprise, declares " Get off me you idiots " in a very loud and very familiar voice. It is Ajax !

*Ajax comments
Ajax had planned to sneak up on the group and then jump out and suprise Katerina. Sadly as a rogue Ajax makes a damn good barbarian and the only suprise is when he gets ambushed by Lorric.
Who has really hard fists.

The group are suspicious and quiz the newcomer with questions that only he could know the answer to. He answers accurately (or as accurately as they would expect from Ajax) and this combined with his unique interpretation of Elvish convince them it is indeed their comrade returned from the dead.

The group retire to the inn, where Lorric orders 17 beers ( and then grudgingly gives four to his comrades). The Crimson Fists eat and drink as Ajax tells them of the strange events that have befallen him since last they met.

*Lorric comments

Having ascertained (as best they can) that Ajax is indeed really Ajax, Lorric rather sheepishly apologises for beating their stalker repeatedly, but does explain that he has not seen anything like this miracle before. The dead do not normally come back! On that basis Lorric probably takes the most convincing that it is really Ajax, but he is very glad to see his comrade back in the land of the living nonetheless.

*Kapek comments

Kapek feels that no apology was necessary; Ajax's return to the group was done in a spectacularly stupid manner. Of course this goes a long way to convincing Kapek that this truly is Ajax, despite the unlikelihood of his miraculous resurrection, since surely only Ajax could be so foolish . . .

As they talk and drink Ajax notices a lone female shifter drinking herself into oblivion from a bottle of whiskey. Remembering what the Ether-Gaunts had said about the most unlikely guide being their best choice Ajax approaches her.

She introduces herself as Clian and agrees to guide the group for 2 gold a day.

The next day the group rise early and Katerina discovers a wonder waiting for her. A unicorn has appeared from the woods, a gift from her patron deity Olladra. Ajax uses his ability to speak with animals to attempt to converse with it but the somewhat confused creature replies in clear Elvish and introduces itself as Snowdrift.

With their new companion and their hung-over guide the Crimson Fists set off.

Sul 22nd Dravago, 998 Y.K.

Greenheart

The road to Greenheart is an uneventful journey. The only signs of life are the occasional group of hunters that either cross your path or are heading in the opposite direction. The road itself is reasonably well kept, although overgrown and boggy in places, the occasional fallen tree has been cleared from the track and so you make good time.

The skies are clear and the days are growing warm, the vast forest around you teems with life as the seasons begin to change.

Hunting is good and the rich green smells of the forest fill your hearts with renewed zest for life. Occasional clearings by the roadside show signs of recent camping and you take full advantage of these areas as night falls.

The road is relatively straight as it weaves its way through the ancient trees, although the undulations of the land offer views and vistas both through and over the surrounding forest.

As the day grows dim on the third day of travel you smell the faint aroma of wood-smoke drifting on the air and it is not long before you can hear the sounds of gentle song, the chopping of wood and the playful shouts of children.

As you continue the trees around you begin to thin out a little and you see the first signs of civilisation in the form of wooden walkways within the trees. Subtle movements betray the presence of bowmen that watch as you approach the town of Greenheart.

As you approach the area you can see that the forest canopy is clearer here, the few trees that grow are less dense. The area undulates with grassy meadows and blossoming orchards, in the centre of this clearing is perhaps the largest tree that you have ever seen, a mighty greatpine dominates the low knoll that it rests upon, surrounded by several stone circles. A makeshift wooden platform that has been manufactured out of natural materials, stands some 30 feet high by the side of the greatpine. Dwellings surround this clearing within the trees, connected by walkways, there are signs of dwellings dug into the earth and there are several groups of tents that dot the area.

Townsfolk wander to and fro, finishing their days work, carrying lumber or game to their homes. Mothers call their children in for their evening meal, all in all this is an idyllic scenario.

Lorric is horrified to discover that Greenheart has no inns and sets off to discover ale accompanied by Clian.

Kapek takes Reaver off into the woods to do a little hunting for the ever hungry raptor.

Ajax wanders off to speak with Shifters not from Sharn for the first time in his life. Determined to learn what he can of his people and their society.

*Ajax comments
Strange as it may sound having grown up in the Fallen Ajax has practically no idea what Shifter society is actually like. He finds an old Shifter chopping firewood and offers to help. As they work they talk, Ajax tells of life in Sharn and his new friend explains how the Shifters of the Eldeen reaches live. Ajax is suprised to discover they have neither money nor government, nor any real need of them.
When the wood is ready they return to the old Shifters home in the branches of the tree and share a mug of ale. Ajax likes the idea of the peace and simplicity of such a life even if he's not sure it would suit him.

Anvil and Katerina, sensibly stay with the child.

Lorric finds a friendly group of people who offer to share their fire and their ale in return for stories. Lorric fetches his companions and they all settle around the communal camp-fire. The Crimson Fists entertain their hosts with stories of their adventurers.

The group also take the opportunity to quiz their hosts for any information that could help them in their quest. They learn that little is known of the Six Falls area as nobody has returned from it for a long time. They are warned however that the area borders the territory of the Ashbound druidic sect. Their hosts suggest that the group should speak with Oalian, though in the morning as he doesn't like to be disturbed at night.

Upon returning to their own camp Ajax is presented with a gift from Anvil, a silver amulet that should preserve his life when he is mortally wounded. Ajax is touched by this thoughtful gift crafted by Anvil himself.

Meeting Oalian, the Great Druid

As you approach the 210 feet of pine that is the Great Druid Oalian, the earth shivers beneath your feet, before becoming a tremble. Great root tendrils burst from the earth and poise themselves around you threateningly. A deep and booming voice resounds from the tree ahead of you and as you look up you can see a gnarled and knotted face glaring down at you.

“Why do you return to this place ‘Stormcrow’?”

A thick root-stem wraps itself around Clian’s ankle, lifting her into the air, a deep trench is torn into the earth as the root carries her towards the tree, before a thick branch swings down from the heights and takes a firm hold of her, holding the shifter mere feet from the Great Druid’s face.

“I was hired to show these people through the forest,” she struggles to reply, “They seek Six Falls Ravine.”

“You have brought a darkness to this land ‘Stormcrow’, and now you seek to continue your work?” the tree asks.

“No, no, I seek only to help those who would help the Reaches. Six Falls has long been cold, perhaps they will bring a new spring to the grey, curse that clutches the heart of the realm.”

The branch releases the unfortunate shifter and you watch as she bounces down the trunk before hitting the ground with a crack of bone and a deep grunt of pain. The tree fixes it’s gaze upon you, “Come up here so I can see you better little ones.”

It gestures to the platform with one of its mighty boughs.

Somewhat concerned by the treatment meted out to their guide the Crimson Fist carefully approach Oalian but he does them no harm. The Crimson Fist and Oalian speak cordially, it turns out Oalian has heard of Palimino though apparently he has not been seen for around 5,000 years.

Oalian also confirms that there is a gate to Thalanis in Six Falls called the Seventh Pathway.

The group returns to their camp where Katerina curiously pokes the injured Clian's wounds ( a bad habit she seems to have developed) before healing her.

The Crimson Fists and their guide set out once more. As they travel they exchange tales and Clian tells her tale.

Clian Raincaller, the tale of the Stormcrow

The first time she came here she was just a child. Her parents had brought her to be blessed by the Great Druid. She was just a child but Oalian had refused to bless her, claiming that the stars were badly aligned for her birth. Her parents felt great shame and left the Eldeen Reaches, trying to put this bad omen behind them. They moved from place to place until they arrived and settled in the Eldritch Groves in Aundair. Bearing in mind that this was a time of war the journey was not without peril or tragedy as she lost her father to an assault on their camp by a group of Eldeen rangers, they killed him as a spy before she and her mother managed to escape.

When her mother passed, taken by illness Clian decided to travel once more. Living by her wits she managed to make it to the wondrous city of Sharn.

For a time she worked with various groups, until she eventually settled into a routine with a company known as “The Seekers of the Perfect Jewel”.

This group formed in Sharn late in the year 982 YK. They were originally commissioned by House Tharashk to transport Eberron Dragonshards from the Shadow Marches into Sharn for processing. They earned a good name and respectable profit for themselves, the work was tough at times but this only strengthened their bonds with each other.

In the last years of the war they heard news that House Cannith was paying extremely well for expeditions heading to Xen’drik in search of lost magics or weapons that could be used in the war. They signed up immediately, not knowing that this first expedition was to be their last.

Upon arriving in Stormreach they hired a drow guide, Velaroa Ssellmar, to take them deep into the jungle where a vast temple complex was said to lie crumbling with age.

On the journey, which took weeks, several members pressed Velaroa to quicken the pace, he explained that certain marshy areas must be avoided due to the fact that disease was rife in them; more gold persuaded him that the risk was worth taking. It was here that several members of The Seekers contracted a strange Yellow Fever, today some have died from it, and others are still suffering.

The group made a discovery carved into the wall of a vast and dangerous temple deep in the Xen’drik jungles, in a ruined city known as Pra’xirek. In the centre of this extravagant carving was an Eberron Dragonshard. While the group tried to chisel the gem from it’s setting, the group’s wizard, Selthen Frey, began committing the pattern to memory. He recognised it as some kind of vast and intricate Schema, although he was not sure of it’s purpose….

The group were disturbed by the guardians of he place and had not choice but to flee the area, as they were leaving the pattern slowly faded from the wall to nothing, leaving just a gem firmly embedded in the wall.

Within a matter of hours the wizard fell ill, fevers wracked his body, his lucidity waxed and waned. When he tried to plot the schema onto parchment he grew more ill and the quill and parchment both crumbled to nothing. He knew he had to get help so the group returned to Sharn and enlist the help of Morgrave University and House Cannith. That was the last the Seekers ever saw of their wizard. House Cannith paid them for their services and with heavy hearts the group decided that it was time to retire on their profits. They were strictly bound to silence on the matter by House Cannith, but that was 10 years and 1200 miles away.

Clian's tale strikes chords with the group. The description of the child as containing the power of a great Dragonshard and the fate of Clian's wizard comrade seem to close to be a coincidence. Ajax wants to tell Clian of their mission but his comrades disagree, there is a short but lively debate in which Ajax is outvoted by his comrades and so he agrees to not tell Clian.

After three days brisk travel the group reach Woodgard.

*Ajax comments
Ajax loves travelling through the forest. The new scents, the new plants, the new tastes, the new animals to hunt, all fill him with joy. He practically bounds along each day, rushing off from the group to explore each new sight and then rushing back to them with endless energy. Even though he was born in the Fallen, this is the place he truely feels he belongs.
His happiness is made complete by his growing closeness to Clian who gifts him with a special braid in his hair, infused with the magic of her druidic arts.

Into the Wild Wood

Wir 25th Dravago, 998 Y.K.

1. Woodgard

After 3 days of pretty uneventful travel you arrive at the small shifter village of Woodgard.

A small, apparently natural clearing in the thick forest has at its centre a silvery pool of purest water. In the trees, burrowed into the ground or in simple shelters are the homes of Woodgard’s inhabitants.

Clian is recognized by the Shifters of Woodgard, but to the Crimson Fists relief she is warmly welcomed. The Crimson Fist are welcomed and food, stories and alchol shared.One of the Shifters rubs Ajax up the wrong way by refering to him as a whelp and when he tells a story Ajax deliberately tops it with one of his own. The Shifter challenges Ajax to match his words with action. To the cheers of the locals and the Crimson Fist they fight a friendly boxing match which Ajax wins.

The Shifters are inspired and in short order Kapek, Anvil and Lorric are also challenged. The Crimson Fist acquit themselves well with Kapek and Anvil winning (and Lorric only losing through poor fortune).

The Shifters also mention that two of their number, named Veltrith and Dhren, are overdue to return and ask the Crimson Fist to keep an eye out for them.
The night is a haze of drinking,fighting, eating, story-telling and fighting and the Crimson Fists are delighted by the hospitality of Woodgaurd.

Zor 26th Dravago, 998 Y.K

2. Felldrake Attack

The next day the group are travelling down a dry and deep river-bed when they hear lizard-like hissings from above them. They look up to see a group of Spitting Felldrakes perched on the bank, fifteen feet above them. The creatures spit streams of acid down upon the surprised group.

As the group reel from this attack, another of the creatures appears in the river-bed and spits at the group.

The creatures must have thought the height and bad terrain between them and the group would protect them but they reckoned without the speed of the Crimson Fists. Ajax leapt straight up the bank to engage one of the creatures, Lorric sped around the battlefield like lightning and Anvil rode down one of the creatures, his mechanical steed crushing it to a pulp beneath its iron hooves. Only Kapek couldn't match his comrades speed but didn't need to as he instead slew one of the creatures with a stream of force boomerangs from his new item. ( Crafted for him by Anvil).

In short order the Felldrakes are dispatched.