Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ormazd" data-source="post: 6029064" data-attributes="member: 24334">Resting in the forest proved difficult. Even the sounds of our footsteps and the light of our torch seemed dampened by the eerie surroundings.As we followed the river, we spotted a procession of glowing ghostly elves. Shirazade and Lumi stepped forward and called out to them. At the sound of their voices, the spirits broke off and passed through bodies of the two heroes, striking them to their very souls.Asteron spoke in a whisper. "The genocide has scarred the forest on a spiritual level. It's as if the forest itself craves vengeance on the Shahalesti." Karuna shuffled awkwardly and suggested we return to the river's edge, with Merrick's fervent agreement.Asteron was surprised by a bird-like entity that rose up out of the dead leaves and flew off. "What was that?" No one else saw it.We came to the mouth of a black cave, from which poured the river's waters. Karuna climbed a rise to get a look around, and spotted a clearing; within the clearing, a group of arrow-riddled corpses drew his attention. We decided to go investigate. "If I die, I'm going to be upset," Merrick quipped.We cast ghost walk, and the stealthier members of the group snuck around through the woods while the more heavily-armored ones lumbered toward the clearing. Asteron's hesitance proved warranted as Karuna and Van spotted three Shahalesti snipers hiding in the trees. Karuna lead the attack, catching the archers unaware. A barrage of stones and spells sent our enemies reeling, but they responded in kind. Another handful of soldiers, who had been well hidden in the trees, rushed out to join the fray.The fight was short and brutal. Our mettle, especially Merrick's spells, proved stronger. The Eladrin captain ordered his men to retreat, vanishing into the underbrush, but Van had taken care to knock a couple of them unconscious.The soldiers gradually woke. "Tell us everything we want to know." Van glared.Karuna stepped in. "What are your orders?" "The shining lord Shaladel has sent us here to scour the area while our batallion sets up to the south of here." They were reportedly looking for the torch.When the soldiers wouldn't divulge any more, Shirazade murdered them in a rage.Karuna spotted a strange fairy ring--a circle of mushrooms, weeping blood. As Van looks forward to investigate, he notices his flail begins to drip with blood as well. "Strange..."Shirazade looked up from the bloody scene of carnage she had wrought. She calls to the spirits of the wood: "This is just the beginning of our vengeance!"We returned to the caliginous cave. Entering its dark mouth, we found ourselves in a subterranean complex. Merrick wanted to continue to follow the river. Karuna wanted to explore deeper into the caves. Shirazade wanted to head North, in the direction the Eladrin search party had been travelling. Van suggested they use a ritual to decide. As we explored deeper into the cave, Shirazade's keen senses picked up a strange feeling, and we gradually became aware that the cave was somehow linked to--no, tainted by--the shadowfell. Creepy red eyes peered at us from the gloom and then vanished; disconcerted, we hurried on.Paranoid, perhaps justifiably, Merrick caught Karuna when he made a strange choice of words, and said he was "drawn" to the south somehow. Weighing in, Van suggested we continue up the river and see if Karuna's compulsion became more pronounced.It did. In addition, Asteron, Lumi and Shirazade were being drawn to the North. Discussion was being made while Merrick walked a short distance into the woods ahead of us. The halfling came back in a fury, having seen what appeared to be Karuna's naked corpse abandoned in the woods, and accused Karuna of being a doppelganger. When we looked, everyone saw something different: a corpse; writhing snakes; a pile of dead leaves.Shirazade cast corpse light, and the whole forest was wreathed in green flame, signifying that the forest itself was undead. Van's mind was blown, but Asteron was unsurprised.Karuna felt filled with hatred as they move further from his chosen destination. The forest didn't want him to be there.We decided to camp for a while. In the middle of the night, Asteron was awoken by his watcher ritual. Soon after, we could hear wolf-like howls from the forest, and a posse of strange elves, translucent and glowing blue, clad in wolf-skins surrounded us.</blockquote>

Verification