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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Andrew D. Gable" data-source="post: 472661" data-attributes="member: 4144">Five days later, a messenger came to the hut the party was staying in and summoned them before Conn once again.  Conn, looking ill, greeted the adventurers along with Bricriu, congratulating them once again on the completion of the Test of Iron, and laying out another test before them.“Some miles to the southeast, in the lands of the Tylwyth Rhaidd,” Conn said, gesturing to a crude map of the Frithlands on a table before him, “lies a lake called Llyn Ffel Pysgad, the Lake of the Sly Fish.  In the middle of this lake, on Ynys Crochan, the Isle of the Cauldron, lies the fabled Cauldron of Life.  Our druids tell us that Dagda himself used the Cauldron when he made men.  The Cauldron has the power to restore life to those placed within its waters.  However, the Cauldron will not be easy to get.  It is guarded by a foul and evil ogre, the wicked and feared beast Gwrach Benyw.“The quest for the Cauldron is the Test of Water.  Should you succeed, the druids of the Frith will be feared and respected by all the tribes of the Frithlands.  Complete this test, and only one will remain in the way of your full acceptance into the tribe of Frith Margadh.”Kylie, Maeve, and Lucan bowed in respect to the lord, and waited for dismissal.  Briucriu spoke up.  “To get to the lake, you must pass through a dangerous section of forest,” he said.  “That stretch of woodland is haunted by the horrid beast Ban Oiché.  The creature was once known as Cullen mac Art, and was a respected warrior of a nearby tribe.  However, a curse was placed on him by a witch, and he became a horrid creature with the head of a swine.  I advise you to be careful in your journeys.  You are dismissed.”The three exited the long hall, and ventured outside of the village into the forests of the Frith.  *********They had marched for several hours when around them stretched a vast stone circle, a cromlech.  Maeve sensed this as a place of power - though the stones were burnt out now, this spot was sacred to the witches.  In the center of the cromlech rose a single tree, a vast and mighty oak.  Its gnarled branches swayed gently in the wind - but there was no wind.  Steeling themselves, Kylie and Lucan readied their weapons, while Maeve prepared to cast a spell.  With a shimmering and a great sound, a form materialized before the tree.  It appeared to be a man, nearly twice as tall as a normal person and with skin like the bark of its oak, rough and pitted and craggy.  A great beard hung below its gaunt face, vaguely greenish, and hair of the same color covered much of its body.  Countless leaves and plant matter stuck in its hair.  Though the creature remained silent, Kylie sensed the voice speaking to her silently.What are you doing here, the creature asked.  These are my trees.“We mean you no harm,” Kylie said.  As she spoke, the creature’s head turned towards Maeve and the witch could have sworn she saw a brief smile flash across its face.  Sister, it said.  Maeve spoke, voicing an opinion that had been steadily growing in her mind.  “It follows the Green Man as well,” she told Kylie and Lucan.  “It’s a wodewose.”The creature turned away, back to Kylie.  Leave here.  These are my trees.  My grove.The warrior-woman began to mouth a farewell, but the wodewose had already vanished.*********A day later, the three came to a crystal-blue lake.  An island was visible in the center, and a single stone rose from the island.  A fire burned on the isle.  They worked for a few hours lashing together a raft, and it was nearly night when they set out across the waters.  Eels and other fish were dimly visible within the lake, and then the fire on the isle was extinguished.  The raft ran aground on Ynys Crochan.  Maeve investigated the standing runestone, while Lucan and Kylie checked in the forest.  A twig cracked behind them.  Kylie spun around as the elf peered into the forest.  The fallen leaves, green for the summer, stirred as if in the wake of something.  Lucan readied Rowan as sharp claws raked his face.  He shot blindly, and heard a shriek as an ancient woman became visible before him.Hearing commotion, Maeve ran over as Kylie chopped down with her sword.  The blade swept by the woman’s head and once again claws shot out.  This time a gash was opened in Kylie’s leg.  Blades flashed and arrows sung, and within moments, Gwrach Benyw lay in a bloody heap at their feet.  Maeve retrieved the Cauldron from a hole in the ground, and the warriors headed back to Frith Margadh with the Test of Water complete.</blockquote>

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