Morale is surprisingly high at the moment, in spite of yesterday's failings. I suppose it is due to today's success and the warmth and hospitality of Elwoz's people. We are in Big Root, a vast area of swamps and marshes which are home to a nomadic tribe of various folk. Never before, save for the streets of Merkemia, have I seen such an assortment of races living together in peace. Shifters, fey, orcish, and human folk here behave as one people, wary of outsiders and protective of their land.
Our arrival, however, was anything but pleasant. As we stepped through the portal to this land, we found ourselves in complete darkness, submerged in filthy water in the dead of night, surrounded by a thick fog. The putrid stench of still swamp water, though completely natural, left all but Elwoz scrambling for solid ground, while gagging from the rancid odor.
We shook off the muck as best we could and set out into the darkness, Elwoz's questionable sense of direction being the only guide. Silently, for Elwoz warned us of dangerous swamp donkeys, we crept between the trees, at the best of times submerged only to our ankles in the mud.
Eventually our silence paid off. The telltale sign of Alyana freezing in her tracks and crouching low told us that she had heard something. Whispering only "voices", she silently disappeared into the fog as we waited motionlessly for her return. When she reappeared, she told us of several half-orcs and gnomes gathered nearby, and described their attire. This put Elwoz at ease, for he recognized them to be members of the Order of the Summer's Shield, a collection of nature's wardens whose mission is to preserve the wild lands and defend them from any threats.
Unfortunately for us, the Summer's Shield were not very welcoming of our shaman friend. The shaman cheiftain in Elwoz's absense, Koba, had been hard at work tarnishing Elwoz's name. There has been turmoil in Big Root since Elwoz's departure, and Koba had convinced the tribesmen that it was a curse set upon them by a crooked and corrupted Elwoz. A half-orc met Elwoz as we approached and accused him of all manner of treachery, claiming he now returned with his own personal henchmen to sabotage Big Root and bring about further calamity.
With that, two gnomes wielding battle axes charge Talos, swinging wildly. Only one managed to land a glancing blow, thoroughly annoying our paladin. Feeling a bit indignant at being called a henchman, and not at all eager to slaughter these poor, misinformed creatures, I stepped forward to address the orcish spokesman of this band, tossing my sword to the ground as a show of my desire to talk our problems out. The brute failed to recognize the religious insignias that Talos, Deisa, and I carried upon our person, and began to accuse me of trickery and evil magic. This was the last straw.
I warned him that a battle with us is a battle against both the forces of nature and the gods themselves. When he claimed I knew nothing of nature, I gave him a little demonstration. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the world around me. I spoke with the trees, the muck, and the croaking toads, and the buzzing insects. A dense cloud formed around me, and at once the lights of thousands of strange lightning bugs flickered on as they flew out from around me, slapping and stinging the warden, filling his nose and mouth. In his flailing and fighting, the simpleton struck himself about the body with sword and shield, nearly killing himself. Fortunately for us, this convinced the Summer's Shield that we were in communion with the natural forces and not a threat.
They told us that we would not find Koba if we continued our path to the Big Root encampment. Koba had embarked upon a vision quest, so he said, to devise a way to cleanse the swamps and defeat Elwoz's evil magic. Our best bet was to head south, but they did now know where he would be.
On our long journey south, we trudged through mud and slime until we came to a runic circle over which hovered a maggot-covered corpse. Knowing there isn't a goodly force in all creation which would require this kind of spectacle, we immediately set upon the circle with full force. Sure enough, the maggots took shape to form a disgusting mage who called several wrights to flank us. I almost feel sorry for the undead which face us. As always, these abominations were quickly and mercilessly dispatched, though Diogi suffered serious injury which required our attention.
We pressed on as the muck began to feel more soupy. Elwoz noted that this swamp water was unusually dirty, like sewage. Suddenly, we came to a row of thick vegetation which Alyana and I gazed over by scaling a nearby tree.
An eccentrically-dressed shaman, much like Elwoz, but human, stood in a raised clearing, shaking a totem stick made of bone as he chanted and danced. Around him, several winged demons were busy pushing barrels of putrid liquid into the swamp.
Elwoz recognized this figure as Koba, and was enraged that he would participate in such vile destruction. Joining with our comrade, we scaled the vegetation and charged in to battle.
Koba summoned an ethereal gnoll spirit, much like Getty, which seemed to bolster his power.
The battle was further complicated by the arrival of a vicious and angry nature-spirit which lashed out at us and the demons alike. It was as it was foreseen in the portal vision. Nature itself had awakened and was quite upset with the goings-on.
We found hard as Koba stubbornly clung to life, siphoning healing energy from the World Serpent, as Elwoz explained it. I called upon the angelic forces of Avandra to aid us, and was again blessed with the arrival of an angelic warrior. Together, we turned the tide of the battle and Talos was able to slay the treacherous Koba, allowing us to focus our attention at the wild beast which remained.
Though we were badly beaten and Talos nearly drowned, we managed to defeat the monstrosity. Elwoz warned, however, that nature was still angry, and our troubles were not over. To some degree, Koba's plot had been foiled, so it was decided to travel to Elwoz's village to tell them the news and search for more answers.
Amongst the destruction, we were able to find a scroll case with strange abyssal writing which Diesa translated as a corrupting ritual which was being cast upon the swamps. It also noted that the bone totem Elwoz was now inspecting was bound to a terrible spirit.
Before we left, Elwoz assisted me in a ritual to invoke rampant plant growth in the area. This, we believed, would help to counter the corruption already brought upon the area.
We are now in the care of Ash and Thorn of Big Root. These two halfling friends of Elwoz's listened to and believed our words of Koba's wicked acts and gave us shelter for the night. They also spoke of a boneyard, which Elwoz recalled, where might hold the spirit bound to the bone totem. Tomorrow we shall embark on a journey to the boneyard, to disperse the cloud of evil hanging over this land.
On our long journey south, we trudged through mud and slime until we came to a runic circle over which hovered a maggot-covered corpse. Knowing there isn't a goodly force in all creation which would require this kind of spectacle, we immediately set upon the circle with full force. Sure enough, the maggots took shape to form a disgusting mage who called several wrights to flank us. I almost feel sorry for the undead which face us. As always, these abominations were quickly and mercilessly dispatched, though Diogi suffered serious injury which required our attention.
We pressed on as the muck began to feel more soupy. Elwoz noted that this swamp water was unusually dirty, like sewage. Suddenly, we came to a row of thick vegetation which Alyana and I gazed over by scaling a nearby tree.
An eccentrically-dressed shaman, much like Elwoz, but human, stood in a raised clearing, shaking a totem stick made of bone as he chanted and danced. Around him, several winged demons were busy pushing barrels of putrid liquid into the swamp.
Elwoz recognized this figure as Koba, and was enraged that he would participate in such vile destruction. Joining with our comrade, we scaled the vegetation and charged in to battle.
Koba summoned an ethereal gnoll spirit, much like Getty, which seemed to bolster his power.
The battle was further complicated by the arrival of a vicious and angry nature-spirit which lashed out at us and the demons alike. It was as it was foreseen in the portal vision. Nature itself had awakened and was quite upset with the goings-on.
We found hard as Koba stubbornly clung to life, siphoning healing energy from the World Serpent, as Elwoz explained it. I called upon the angelic forces of Avandra to aid us, and was again blessed with the arrival of an angelic warrior. Together, we turned the tide of the battle and Talos was able to slay the treacherous Koba, allowing us to focus our attention at the wild beast which remained.
Though we were badly beaten and Talos nearly drowned, we managed to defeat the monstrosity. Elwoz warned, however, that nature was still angry, and our troubles were not over. To some degree, Koba's plot had been foiled, so it was decided to travel to Elwoz's village to tell them the news and search for more answers.
Amongst the destruction, we were able to find a scroll case with strange abyssal writing which Diesa translated as a corrupting ritual which was being cast upon the swamps. It also noted that the bone totem Elwoz was now inspecting was bound to a terrible spirit.
Before we left, Elwoz assisted me in a ritual to invoke rampant plant growth in the area. This, we believed, would help to counter the corruption already brought upon the area.
We are now in the care of Ash and Thorn of Big Root. These two halfling friends of Elwoz's listened to and believed our words of Koba's wicked acts and gave us shelter for the night. They also spoke of a boneyard, which Elwoz recalled, where might hold the spirit bound to the bone totem. Tomorrow we shall embark on a journey to the boneyard, to disperse the cloud of evil hanging over this land.
