6th & 7th Harvest 802

Though we managed to kill the red dragon, we feared the ire of the remaining two. We teleported back to New Turlough, and from there we watched for the reaction of the surviving brothers. BlackHawk attempted to gain access to the old tower so that he could watch for the dragons. We cast spells to heal one another, but Stephen would not remain with the group. I went after him. I knew that he was greatly displeased with BlackHawk’s action. BlackHawk had fired an arrow at the dragon we had been battling, but it was calmed into passivity by Stephen’s music and magic at that time. BlackHawk’s attack dispelled Stephen’s song and its effects, and the result was nearly death for all of us. Stephen’s anger with BlackHawk is deeper than any of us will understand for awhile.

After recovering from our close encounter of the draconic kind, we sought out Mayor Welby. We wished to inform him of the status of the Dragon hunt. That firstly, we were woefully uninformed. He had given the impression that they were much smaller and less active. Also, we feared that the wrath of the other two may send them searching this island.

BlackHawk scanned the skies for signs of the brother dragons, and Stephen took a walk about the island. Stephen returned to tell us of a Crossroad that he discovered. It was then decided that to keep the halflings safe that we would cross them through this gateway. The Foxes would then return on the morrow to dispatch the remaining dragons. This would keep the halflings out of harms way when the dragons came in search of new victims. We passed this plan on to Mayor Welby, and he then informed his people to ready for a survival march.

Stephen greeted the Guardian of the Crossroad and played for her, performing at his finest. The guardian allowed our passage, and the passage of over 200 halflings. It was well we went with this plan, for BlackHawk could see from his vantage point Old Turlough beginning to burn.

The Foxes then passed through as well, and we were all safe in the new location. Or so we thought. Stephen and I had scouted ahead to find a place for the halflings to stay. We had chosen a spot about a half-mile to the southwest of the Gate.

The Crossroad led us into a pristine forest of enormous pines. It was chill here, but no snow yet; quite dry, in fact. But it was still and peculiar. There was a stand of trees in a ring just in front of the Gate, reminiscent of a Druid’s Circle. I sense animal life here, but I am uneasy. Élensûl is very uneasy. As the halflings settled, Élensûl meditated, and BlackHawk and I scouted the area about the camp. The forest is deep here, and the trees can be disorienting. We have suggested that everyone stay in the area of camp, except BlackHawk and I, who have tracking abilities and know how to find our way about a forest.

I walked a ways from the others, to reach out and feel for the presence of the Animal Spirits here. I touched upon another Feline essence, and feeling comforted by their presence I returned to administer whatever healing remained. BlackHawk required attendance to his burns yet. And I made a soothing drink for Stephen to ease his throat, burned by the hot air and smoke, and then strained by the singing.

After I saw to the others I went out to meet the Feline Spirit. It was a feline, though none I had ever seen before. It resembled a lynx, but it was giant! It also had large, slanty eyes, and many, many teeth, and the tufts at the end of its ears stood tall and straight. It was helpful and informative. Though I did not learn what this place was, it told me a great deal about it. This is an ancient forest. There are very old Forest Spirits here. They are extremely protective of the trees and the forest, but are not offended by our presence, at least not yet. There are Ancient Ones that sleep here, and the Forest Spirits will protect us from them, if we are respectful.

The Lynx told me that this land is the “Birthplace of the Firstborn”, and the “Place Where Northwind Blows.” I immediately think of Élensûl and his kind. Perhaps he can learn something of this place. I gave my thanks to the Lynx, and it promised that it would watch over us as it could. I returned to camp. There I learned that Élensûl already experienced a sending. As he meditated he heard the Horn of Arome the Hunter.

The forest grew dark and it was unsettling to wonder what moved about among the trees. DeVal was completely unable to rest. He was unsettled from the moment we arrived and darted about from tree to tree, staring outward into the forest, watching.

Remembering the words of the Lynx, I went about the camp iterating the need for the halflings to be respectful of the forest. There would be no fires, and all axe blades would remain covered. It would be difficult for them, but I felt that as long as we showed our respect to the forest, we would have the protection of the benevolent spirits here. I prayed to the Mother for her life giving waters, and filled the halflings stores.

Knowing that the Lynx, and DeVal, and the Spirits would watch over us, I tried not to let the presence of the Sleeping Ancient Ones disturb my sleep. Despite that, my sleep was uneasy.

The next morning I woke unrested. I offered up prayers to the Great Spirit, Earth Mother, and Sky Father. I offered prayers to the Spirits of the Forest, beseeching their protection and made an offering in their honor.

Jaden and Stephen were both disturbed by an Elven woman singing in their dreams. It was beautiful, but left them very sad and in tears. Strange that they should share the same dream.

Upon on first scouting trip here, Jaden had sent Jeck, his raven, aloft to scout the area. He had spotted a bridge to the northwest. On this morning, Élensûl and BlackHawk have expressed an interest in exploring it. Remembering what the Lynx said of the Land being the “Birthplace of the Firstborn,” I encourage Élensûl to explore. We had decided that we must wait at least a day to replenish our spells before returning to Old Turlough. And we decided we would coordinate our attack for later in the day. The bridge would be a 2/3 day travel, and that seemed feasible. Jaden joined them, but I was disappointed that Stephen chose to remain behind. He was taken very down by his dream, and had no desire to explore.

I did not travel with them, so I can only report what they described to me. They traveled to the river, and then followed it upstream for some ways. They came to bridge at last, to discover that the white structure was extremely thin, only five feet across, but it traverses over a mile. It was like a thin white ribbon crossing the river. The exploring party did not cross but stayed on the path that continued beyond the bridge heading NNE.

They finally came to a large valley, that they described as a large bowl. Upon close examination they found that the floor of it was glass! As though something extremely hot blasted this area so long ago. It was vaguely oblong in shape, and at the far end was a structure. Jaden tried to cast detect magic on it, but had the same results as my detect magic on Stephen’s Torc and Bracers. The attempt caused Jaden to pass out for awhile. Powerful magic there. The structure was octagon shaped and made of marble stone. A square cut opening provided access. Inside the chapel was an Elf statue. The interior was lined with fine tile work, and the walls had murals. The ceiling had an octagonal opening that matched the shape of the building.

The statue bore a royal crown. It wore armor and held a sword raised up in one hand. Its other hand held an orb. The murals depicted battles, though not like any battle scenes we have seen, except for the mountains that were the backdrop. Those, we have seen before. And they are extremely tall mountains. Curiously, the standard carried by the King bears a butterfly. BlackHawk noticed at the base of the statue a single flower growing. It was a gold-orange elven flower.

The explorers chose to return after that and headed back to camp. In the meantime, DeVal made a discovery outside camp. He led me to find a very large, freshly killed something. It was snakelike, and coiled up I could not fix its actual size, but I would guess it to be about 80 feet long. It had a great spear struck through its head, pinning it to the ground. The spear was a forty foot long log, recently stripped of branches. It seems someone was out hunting last night. And the Kind Spirit protected us. Blessings upon it.