The Forest Continues to Surprise
As we reached the village, we found Aila or rather, she found us. Lives alone in a hut in the woods, left the village behind. Says the Children of the Forest told her we're the cause of these damned nightmares everyone's having. Fantastic. Just what I wanted to hear.
She asked Chin Chin to lead us to some cave from his dreams. The problem was, he couldn't remember a thing. Led us to the redcap cave instead.. completely empty, naturally. We tried resting there, hoping Chin Chin would remember something or we'd get a clue from the dreams. No such luck. Same nightmares, barely any rest. Though Chin Chin did see gnolls moving things out of a cave in his dream. Looked like theft, but he had no idea where the entrance was.
We headed back to find Ziri, figured the best hunter might know where gnolls are but then things got weird. Two owls. Just staring at us. Then they spoke. Well, "spoke", they said "follow us." Olga was relieved she wasn't losing her mind as we all heard it.
They led us to a clearing packed with animals. Wolves, sheep, owls, other forest critters. And they all started talking to us.. one word each, forming sentences together like some bizarre forest chorus. "Stop the dreams. We can lead you there."
Turns out it's Ei-Ciomora, an old god, speaking through them. He told us about the "leakage", some mage named Orthrid who experimented with the astral plane that might be the cause. The Children of the Forest imprisoned him, but Ilfang (an evil dude I guess) helped him escape. The dreams seem to be fallout from his experiments.
"Follow the wolf" they said. So we did. Led us straight to a cave.
The Cave:
Squared off, clearly man-made. Multiple rooms:
- One with a hole in the ground we couldn't cross
- Another with a big black co.. obelisk that granted wishes when Uthai touched it. We all got rested somehow. Still don't understand that one.
- A round room with a shimmering ring in the center. Devil voices. They were actually kind of funny, but annoying as hell. Offered us a contract, any wish we wanted for a favor down the line. They called themselves "honest devils" from the sixth layer of Hell, sixth district. Smart money says we don't take that deal, and we didn't. But I'm keeping it in my back pocket. Might be useful someday.
- A room full of mirrors. Got ambushed by our own shadows. Not a terrible fight although our weapons were useless, but Olga and Chin Chin's magic did the work. Aila too, swinging that axe like a woman possessed.
- Final room: summoning chamber. Altar in the middle, something missing from it. Same symbols we've seen on those stones scattered through the forest.
Chin Chin placed the driftglobe from that birdcage in the altar. Instant relief rushed over us, like a weight lifted. The curse is broken. Orthrid's curse.
After dealing with the cave, Aila gave us Walknuts, nuts that lead back to specific trees. Apparently useful since this forest keeps shifting around.
Learned about the Keeper of the Refugion, some dwarf named Dwoinan. Which is odd since all the dwarves supposedly disappeared. The Refugion is apparently a museum run by the Children of the Forest.
On the way back, we heard something. Hooves, a ruckus. We hid, but Uthai had to get a better look. He saw deer pulling carriages, leaving green mist behind them. No tracks. No prints. The Wild Hunt. And now Uthai won't shut up about it. "The only person to see them and live." Sure, kid. Sure.
Back in the village, Breyla thanked us. Promised compensation and afterwards we talked to Worlis. He'd never heard of Orthrid but knew about Ei-Ciomora, the old god who saves lumberjacks through animals. He mentioned the Wild Hunt too, connected to the Children of the Forest somehow. Seems to be Fae passing through the forest.
I followed Uthai to the lumberjacks (because someone needs to keep an eye on him). Learned about Rackmoor, a settlement like Rubury that settled a bit too deep into the forest. One day, the whole village vanished. Now it appears and disappears in different parts of the forest, completely empty. They think the symbol stones are moving it around.
All in all.. The curse is lifted. That's good. But there's still Ilfang out there, still questions about Dwoinan and the Refugion, still those devils waiting in their little room. And now a disappearing village. This forest has more secrets than I can count.