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<blockquote data-quote="freebfrost" data-source="post: 2592227" data-attributes="member: 3713"><p><strong>From the Tome of Trees...</strong></p><p></p><p>I write these words in hopes that someday my children may better understand who I was and how my legacy came to pass. </p><p></p><p>The Great Mother willing... </p><p></p><p>It was the spring in the common year 924, and I was alone, as I had been the last three months of winter. </p><p></p><p>Comfort was gone. </p><p></p><p>I wandered the woods talking to the Children, looking for a sign - a track, a sighting, a word, anything, to let me know that she was fine. But no sign was revealed to me. Nor did the great wood itself give up the secret. </p><p></p><p>At first, I had thought she was simply gone on one of her rare excursions to the nearby Builder town of Underlake, or perhaps up near the trapper's village. And then, later, I thought it was a test for me - a test of my womanhood. </p><p></p><p>But as the days stretched into weeks and the days grew longer and warmer, I began to suspect far darker things. </p><p></p><p>I had to get more information, but that way was a dark path all its own. That would mean dealing with the Builders again. It had been years since I had to deal with their treacherous kind - with their curses and evil moods. It had been hard enough to deal with their mechanical torture devices which they used to trap and slaughter my brothers and sisters. </p><p></p><p>"O Great Mother! Please help me in this. I do not see how I can .. how I can deal with them. They do not hunt - they slaughter. And not even for food, but for "trade goods," as if such a thing had meaning in life. Please Great Mother, help me find Comfort! I beg thee..." </p><p></p><p>But for the chirping of the crickets, just emerging from their winter sleep into the budding spring, and the rustle of the wind amongst the trees - all was silence. The Great Mother would not answer my plea, and so I was forced to take up staff and with Jack at my side, set my sight towards the south where the village of Underlake and its swarming Builders lived. </p><p></p><p>The track was easy to see amongst those of the Forest - humans. Children from the size of the tracks, and heading alone towards the marshes. Mayhaps they were visiting family in the fens? </p><p></p><p>Or perhaps something more sinister was at work. The forest had its secrets too, and two children alone in the woods... They did not seem to me to be moving like lost children, and no other tracks were nearby. Surely they knew where they were going, because it was clear they weren't following anything.</p><p></p><p>Or were they? </p><p></p><p>Could a Ghost Light from the marsh even now be leading them to a slow and suffocating doom? They never strayed this far from the watery fens. At least never before. And surely the men at the marsh knew well enough to leave them alone. </p><p></p><p>But these were children from the Builder town. Maybe they didn't know their danger. And maybe the Lights were growing bold. In either case, something was wrong here. </p><p></p><p>I had just made up my mind to follow the tracks, when I heard the clumsy footsteps of men in the forest - men obviously following the trail the children had made. I planted my staff firmly in the Mother's skin, motioned Jack to sit down in front of me and waited. </p><p></p><p>We did not have to wait long. </p><p></p><p>Crashing through the brush with careless abandon - four men, one of which was obviously a trapper! This was not going well for a first encounter. </p><p></p><p>Let's see - not sure about that one - that one is obviously a warrior, and the small cute one... cute one? Why would I think that... clear your mind Sillisarra... there is work to be done here. Even if he is cute. </p><p></p><p>(slight blush)...hope they don't notice that. </p><p></p><p>It goes better than I had expected. As much as I am hesitant to help them, they have explained that they are searching for missing children (Mother help them if they were taken by a Ghost Light!), and I am certainly best qualified to help the men find them. The warrior mentioned that he would help me in my search for Comfort, so perhaps our ways are meant to be entertwined for a ways. </p><p></p><p>[LATER] </p><p></p><p>That did not go well. </p><p></p><p>Sigh. </p><p></p><p>It was a disaster. </p><p></p><p>The children were near the marsh and had been treed by two timber wolves, obviously hungry for fresh prey. I beseeched the Great Mother for her aid and 'tangled the wolves, but one got free and attacked the men. They fought back, and the wolf, as fierce as it was, was slain. </p><p></p><p>The other had been wounded by an arrow, and I set it free and attempted to warn it off, but the men slew it too. A great sadness came over me - such senseless death for such a stupid mistake. </p><p></p><p>The children were safe at least... and then. Then... </p><p></p><p>The trapper began to skin the wolves... my hand trembles even now as I write this.... and refused to stop at my command. </p><p></p><p>What else could I do Mother? </p><p></p><p>I touched Jack with my mind and he leapt forward to attack. I knew that if he got close enough fast enough he could take the trapper down without too much trouble, and then we could talk reason with the end of my staff! Would they never learn to honor and revere our Mother? </p><p></p><p>And then one of the men shot a spray of ice crystals from his hand at Jack! MAGIC! </p><p></p><p>Jack switched targets and leapt at the man, as I moved forward to deal with the trapper. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the sorcerer go down as the cute boy... ARGH..... moved in to attack us too! Were all of these violators out to destroy us? Was this all an elaborate trap? There was no way I could combat them all. </p><p></p><p>And then as quickly as it started, it was over. The sorcerer and trapper were down, the ... boy was checking on the sorcerer and I knelt to tend to the trapper's wounds as the warrior came running up from where he had been building a campsite for the children and men. I told him what had occurred, and that I would dispose of the bodies of the wolves and would return with food. </p><p></p><p>When I had completed my tasks, it was later in the night, and I moved up to talk to the warrior - Menos, his name was Menos. The men were not happy with what had happened and the warr... Menos, suggested that I not stay near the camp at this point. I gave him some Goodberries that I had created to help his friends and went out into the night to rest. </p><p></p><p>I was up before dawn and watched curiously as the men went about searching in the dirt near their camp. As they finally got ready and marched off back towards town with the children in tow, I had the chance to speak to Menos again. They had found a carved stone nearby and couldn't decipher it. Their plan was to return the children to town and return later to investigate it more. He again assured me that he would help me in my quest, so I decided to camp there until their return. </p><p></p><p>As I was gathering supplies to make a camp, I checked out the stone they had found. I had seen those runes before, but I couldn't remember where... </p><p></p><p>A crude stair trail led up a nearby cliff, and I ascended. What a great view! </p><p></p><p>Then I noticed a section of ground that was not quite right. A few minutes later I had uncovered a stone similar to the one below! And those runes again... </p><p></p><p>The same runes. </p><p></p><p>The runes from my medallion!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="freebfrost, post: 2592227, member: 3713"] [b]From the Tome of Trees...[/b] I write these words in hopes that someday my children may better understand who I was and how my legacy came to pass. The Great Mother willing... It was the spring in the common year 924, and I was alone, as I had been the last three months of winter. Comfort was gone. I wandered the woods talking to the Children, looking for a sign - a track, a sighting, a word, anything, to let me know that she was fine. But no sign was revealed to me. Nor did the great wood itself give up the secret. At first, I had thought she was simply gone on one of her rare excursions to the nearby Builder town of Underlake, or perhaps up near the trapper's village. And then, later, I thought it was a test for me - a test of my womanhood. But as the days stretched into weeks and the days grew longer and warmer, I began to suspect far darker things. I had to get more information, but that way was a dark path all its own. That would mean dealing with the Builders again. It had been years since I had to deal with their treacherous kind - with their curses and evil moods. It had been hard enough to deal with their mechanical torture devices which they used to trap and slaughter my brothers and sisters. "O Great Mother! Please help me in this. I do not see how I can .. how I can deal with them. They do not hunt - they slaughter. And not even for food, but for "trade goods," as if such a thing had meaning in life. Please Great Mother, help me find Comfort! I beg thee..." But for the chirping of the crickets, just emerging from their winter sleep into the budding spring, and the rustle of the wind amongst the trees - all was silence. The Great Mother would not answer my plea, and so I was forced to take up staff and with Jack at my side, set my sight towards the south where the village of Underlake and its swarming Builders lived. The track was easy to see amongst those of the Forest - humans. Children from the size of the tracks, and heading alone towards the marshes. Mayhaps they were visiting family in the fens? Or perhaps something more sinister was at work. The forest had its secrets too, and two children alone in the woods... They did not seem to me to be moving like lost children, and no other tracks were nearby. Surely they knew where they were going, because it was clear they weren't following anything. Or were they? Could a Ghost Light from the marsh even now be leading them to a slow and suffocating doom? They never strayed this far from the watery fens. At least never before. And surely the men at the marsh knew well enough to leave them alone. But these were children from the Builder town. Maybe they didn't know their danger. And maybe the Lights were growing bold. In either case, something was wrong here. I had just made up my mind to follow the tracks, when I heard the clumsy footsteps of men in the forest - men obviously following the trail the children had made. I planted my staff firmly in the Mother's skin, motioned Jack to sit down in front of me and waited. We did not have to wait long. Crashing through the brush with careless abandon - four men, one of which was obviously a trapper! This was not going well for a first encounter. Let's see - not sure about that one - that one is obviously a warrior, and the small cute one... cute one? Why would I think that... clear your mind Sillisarra... there is work to be done here. Even if he is cute. (slight blush)...hope they don't notice that. It goes better than I had expected. As much as I am hesitant to help them, they have explained that they are searching for missing children (Mother help them if they were taken by a Ghost Light!), and I am certainly best qualified to help the men find them. The warrior mentioned that he would help me in my search for Comfort, so perhaps our ways are meant to be entertwined for a ways. [LATER] That did not go well. Sigh. It was a disaster. The children were near the marsh and had been treed by two timber wolves, obviously hungry for fresh prey. I beseeched the Great Mother for her aid and 'tangled the wolves, but one got free and attacked the men. They fought back, and the wolf, as fierce as it was, was slain. The other had been wounded by an arrow, and I set it free and attempted to warn it off, but the men slew it too. A great sadness came over me - such senseless death for such a stupid mistake. The children were safe at least... and then. Then... The trapper began to skin the wolves... my hand trembles even now as I write this.... and refused to stop at my command. What else could I do Mother? I touched Jack with my mind and he leapt forward to attack. I knew that if he got close enough fast enough he could take the trapper down without too much trouble, and then we could talk reason with the end of my staff! Would they never learn to honor and revere our Mother? And then one of the men shot a spray of ice crystals from his hand at Jack! MAGIC! Jack switched targets and leapt at the man, as I moved forward to deal with the trapper. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the sorcerer go down as the cute boy... ARGH..... moved in to attack us too! Were all of these violators out to destroy us? Was this all an elaborate trap? There was no way I could combat them all. And then as quickly as it started, it was over. The sorcerer and trapper were down, the ... boy was checking on the sorcerer and I knelt to tend to the trapper's wounds as the warrior came running up from where he had been building a campsite for the children and men. I told him what had occurred, and that I would dispose of the bodies of the wolves and would return with food. When I had completed my tasks, it was later in the night, and I moved up to talk to the warrior - Menos, his name was Menos. The men were not happy with what had happened and the warr... Menos, suggested that I not stay near the camp at this point. I gave him some Goodberries that I had created to help his friends and went out into the night to rest. I was up before dawn and watched curiously as the men went about searching in the dirt near their camp. As they finally got ready and marched off back towards town with the children in tow, I had the chance to speak to Menos again. They had found a carved stone nearby and couldn't decipher it. Their plan was to return the children to town and return later to investigate it more. He again assured me that he would help me in my quest, so I decided to camp there until their return. As I was gathering supplies to make a camp, I checked out the stone they had found. I had seen those runes before, but I couldn't remember where... A crude stair trail led up a nearby cliff, and I ascended. What a great view! Then I noticed a section of ground that was not quite right. A few minutes later I had uncovered a stone similar to the one below! And those runes again... The same runes. The runes from my medallion! [/QUOTE]
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