Tunnels and S.T.A.C
An old Dwarven catacomb is no laughing matter, and the descent into the dust filled caverns was nerve wracking for most of the party. They inched forth. watching their every step. After a few dozen minutes crawling in the dust, seeing the remains of an ancient civilisation, they arrived in the true purpose of this place: An open chasm, filled with glittering white metal, milky and gorgeous!
There they crossed thin bridges, ruins, as the eerie ghosts of this place haunted them. Through teamwork and strength the adventurers reached a safe haven, an old guardpost, defending the passage to heroic burial grounds. Yet the way forward was blocked by rubble. One of the adventurers, being lithe and agile crawled through secret passages, and found a new companion for the guild, STAC! A multitool and map of the Dwarven megalopolis…
Eventually, the blockade was surmounted, with an automaton of old make destroyed without shedding any blood, only to square off at the arena which was the adventurer’s destination. It was not the warlord they faced however, but a Hobgoblin necromancer! Wading through his honour guard and undead hordes, they tied him up, and subdued him! Another hobgoblin warband destroyed!
Bound by the letter dispatch.
A small group of new adventurers, Caw, Futhark, Anjara, Fvenn, and Filas took up the task of the odd letter. With a cart full of pyre wood they headed out to the northern coast to see if they could aid the unknown writer. They soon arrived at the coast and begun to construct the pyre, and after it had been built they waited to the writer to arrive.
In the night as the party rests near the fire, a gnome in grubby robes approaches the party. The entire left side of his face is covered in burn scars and had no hair. He introduces himself as Garrebad, High Druid of Silvanas and that he has kept balance on this part of the island for over 900 years. He is old now and wants to pass on but first he has one last task he needed to complete.
The woods nearby are the domain of some kind of spirit, and Garrebad wants to help it find rest, but the spirit has always kept him at bay through magic or might. He tells the group of a massive tree in the heart of the woods, and how it might be the key to this mission. Garrebad warns the party that there are more than one malicious spirit in the woods and gifts the party with a bag of holy salt, that when cast on the ground will prevent such evil from passing. He sends them into the woods and informs them that he will be right where they left him, waiting for their safe return.
Not long after the group enters the woods, in the distance they can hear the sound of a boar crying out, and as they head towards the heart of the woods do the cries grow louder. After a small detour, the find a pregnant boar, caught in a bear-trap. Filas applies his strength and devotion to the trap, opening it. Fvenn then calmed the creature and cured its wounds as the rest of the group kept watch. Once the boar could move again, it bolted into the woods.
The group returned to the mission at hand and quickly found the heart of the woods, and the tree that Garrebad had described.
The tree was massive and ancient, with almost half its entire length scorched and burnt. The “wound” was covered in a sticky resin, but it was also noted how much the burn on the tree looked like an actual burn wound…
Caw clambered up onto the tree to investiagate further as Anjara, Fvenn and Filas all debated the nature and origin of the tree. One theory is that it could be an Treant that hasnt awakend yet and had been possessed by a spirit. Another was that it was somehow linked to Garrebad, since they both bore heavy burn scars.
As the debate continued, Caw noticed small pustules on the tree and attempted to take a sample of the fluid inside. Fvenn then saw a branch reach out to Caw and called out a warning just as the branch came down and gave Caw a mighty *thwack*. As the large tree began to quiver and tremble, the smaller trees around it sprung to life and ambushed the party. Thinking on his tiny, kobold feet, Fvenn began to scatter the salts given by Garrebad around the tree in an attempt to hold back its swinging branches. Soon the small treants had been defeated and the giant tree returned to its slumbering state. The party noticed writing on the bark “ Through Fire Borne,By Earth Reborne, Through Fire Scorned, By Earth Mourned”
The group then began to investigate around the tree and Fvenn began to dig under its roots, quickly finding an enormous acorn underneath. On one side of the acorn was a crack that Fvenn could peer into, and inside was the mummified corpse of what seemed to be an elf. Using a mix of berry paste and the sacred salt, he managed to patch the crack. The group filled in the hole they had dug. No sooner had they done this did they notice that the burn on the tree had begun to heal itsself. Satisfied they had helped the spirit they returned to Garrebad on the coast.
They found Garrebad waiting exactly where they had left him. Garrebad was very pleased as he felt the spirit and the woods had been satisfied and balance restored, granting the blessing of the Silvanas to the northern coastline. He also apologized to the group, for he had been decieving them. He was the boar they found, testing their morale. He was also the spirit linked ot the tree. Having been buried underneath the roots in a ritual used by secret druid circles. He explains that he has been watching the guild since its inception and intends to leave the care and maintanence of the coast to the guild, but had to test their intentions and motives. Garrebad believes that the island is in good hands with the Guild and its Heroes.
He rewards the party and climbs the pyre, as Caw,Futhark, Anjara, Fvenn and Filas watch it burn and the spirit pass on.
Upon their return to the Guild they find Keth, grounds keeper at the Sanctum of Silvanas raving that a miracle has occured! A pale white oak tree has sprouted and grew to maturity within minutes. A true sign of Silvanas’ blessing!
Romancing the StarStones
A group of heroes struck out to find another starstone. After a long trek through the forest they discovered that some magics were causing them to veer off their destination, but with the help of the local forest animals they were able to find the source: a magically shielded ruin. Some strong Ogres under the command of a spectral creature were trying to smash the shield with a Starstone. The spectral creature tried to escape through the crack, but was only able to magically project his head outside of his entrapment. Negotiations quickly turned ugly and the Ogre group was decimated and ran. The Starstone was safely returned to the guild along with a detailed report of the surroundings.