Expedition 2: The Burning Weald

Player created map.

Expedition Party: Gossamer, Barnaby, Feodor

After collecting supplies the party sets out for a pine forest west of town. They travel through a forest of razor grass and longleaf pines. As they navigate the woods they start to notice strange looking ivy and massive tortoises that dig maze-like burrows.

Eventually they come to a large section so choked with the red tipped ivy that they can not continue without making contact with it. The party decides the unknown plant is best avoided and goes around it, adding more time to their journey.

By afternoon they discover a massive earthworks spiral made of salt and stone. It is in a large clearing among the pines. While investigating it Gossamer notices his heirloom amulet glowing and his rabbit’s foot twitching. He knows this must have something to do with witch magic.

The group makes camp and have a largely uneventful night. But each watch notices deer with bizarre looking antlers in the darkness beyond their modest campfire. The next morning they wake up to a grey sky and a light drizzle. Running low on rations they decide to resupply and manage to hunt a few quail. That afternoon they decide to explore the surrounding area and find an old stone bench not far from the circle. At the bench Gossamer’s amulet glows again. 

Barnaby touches the bench and sees an image of a statue of a King on wolf back, the wolf’s mouth is open in a howl. Barnaby sits on the bench and sees the image again but from further away. From this vantage point he can see a river not far beyond the statue. 

Gossamer, who was taught the “language of the trees” by the man who raised him, decides to try to commune with a nearby tree. He hugs the large pine and tries to “speak” with it. Immediately his vision is filled with flickering lights of orange and red, and he feels sadness as if he lost a family member, suddenly he feels an uncomfortable itching sensation and breaks the connection.  

They return to the earthwork spiral and Barnaby walks the spiral touching the stack of stones in its center. He sees a vision of a stone tower riddled with ivy in the middle of a pitch black wood. At the top of the tower is a round door and a small amount of light coming out from where the door meets the stone wall. That night the group makes camp again near the spiral.

The next day the weather has improved a bit and the group continues their travel south. They find a large swift moving river and Feodor suggests it is the one that Barnaby saw when he touched the bench. As they make plans to search the area they see eight figures in the shadows and brush on the other side of the river heading south east. The figures appear human but have strange animal-like features and move swiftly, almost violently, through the tall pines. Unsure of who, or what, these people are, the party does their best to remain hidden.

Feodor is uneasy about this strange group and suggests they leave. The group decides to move away from the river and travel back to the spiral. Once there they gather a few items that had left there they decide to head back to Strotherhine. It's getting late and night is quickly upon them but they decide to push onward. They discover more foreign plants but don’t take the time to explore what they may be. 

Eventually, they get back late into the night. Outside of town they notice a perimeter has been set up of Imperial Soldiers serving as guards. Exhausted, fatigued, and deprived they go to rest at the Culling Hammer.