Giles' friend Rex turned out to be more than a simple merchant sailor. I don’t know why I am surprised at that. I sometimes wonder now though just how much Kayla knows about her husbands past, or if she is perhaps the influence that tempers him and keeps the man in check.
Rex was able to do better than get me to Hurm. Seems he had some sort of deal that needed doing in Valensk. Before I knew it I was already on Mistone. What a strange land this place is, nothing like Dregar. I am told that Rhizome is High Druid of Mistone and that source of much of his power is the great Sielwood Forest. I shall look for him there.
Sielwood, a beautiful place after its own fashion. It holds many new sights and encounters for me that I had not been exposed to before. There is even a powerful Diviner there that I am told is one of the Seven Sisters. One thing that Sielwood seems to lack though is a resident High Druid. I can find him nowhere. Those that tend to a temple to Aeridin in Ranger’s Vale say that many of the mighty and powerful sorts of the day can be found in a nearby town called Hlint. It is there that I will take my journey. I will find this Druid.
Hlint is nothing like South Fort. For one thing even the most unsavory of sorts are given safe harbor there. In fact, many such are openly welcomed. I had not been but 10 minutes in the town before I was nearly trampled by an orc. An orc! I called to the wandering town guard, a buffoon of an individual that is in serious need of some of Giles’ instruction. And what does he tell me? He tells me the orc is there to conduct business as a merchant. Then if that wasn’t enough a Drow wanders down the path! Just when I thought I had seen it all though a small group of individuals passed by me as I was attempting to find my way about. It seems that even the villainy of Corath is tolerated in the town so long as they keep their mouths shut and don’t stir up too much trouble. Unless it is to bring sanity and wisdom to the town of Hlint I have no idea why Rhizome would possibly be found in such a place as this.
For an elf of such standing within the world, it is amazing how few people actually seem to know who this Rhizome is or what he looks like. I am beginning to think that I am perhaps in the wrong place and should return to searching Sielwood for him.
I was told today of an undead menace within the heart of a forest north of Hlint a ways. The High Forest they call it around here, though anyone that has grown up within the woods can see that it used to once be a part of Sielwood. I will make my journey there in search of Rhizome. It is a logical place to look after all. Perhaps he has left the Sielwood in order to help combat the growing evil that threatens his woods from the north. Besides, I am also told that there is another Druid of some standing there that was once the High Druid of Mistone herself. Perhaps this Legodia can help me to find the elf I seek.
Broken Halls. Those ruins are a heinous nest of evil most vile. They should be properly cleansed. No good can come of permitting such a place to continue. This I know from experience.
Legodia was no help either. Although at least she knows who Rhizome is. I will head back to Hlint and ask about there one more time. Then I shall head back to Sielwood. Perhaps if I pester the Diviner enough she will help me to find him.
Well, still no sign of Rhizome, though a very talkative and informed Halfling, Acacea I believe was her name, did give me a few more names to look in to. It seems that Rhizome has some close companions. One of them is even known to me, though I have never actually seen him, Plenarius Ashaley, Birdman of Katia. It seems he is also close to Enzo Reynolt of the Wolfswood Ranger Corps, and is the father of Ashaley’s mate, Brisbane. He also has a pupil named Luna. I shall begin looking for them instead of going to the Sielwood Diviner.
I am also told that the fine home that sits out in the middle of Corax Lake belongs to Rhizome. What he could need such a place for is beyond me. But that will be my next destination.
I wonder now if I am not being actively worked against in my quest to find Rhizome. I must be more on my guard and much more especially careful of what I say from now on. After spending time back on Dregar in the southern reaches I now have a new appreciation for the direness of my situation. But I now also have perhaps a better idea of what really happened to my father and why. It seems not all respect the Lord Protector of the Forests. Only the briefest mention of him nearly got me lynched. Corax Lake was empty. I will return to Hlint and Sielwood and look there for Rhizome’s companions. Enzo Reynolt lives within the vale in Sielwood, and I am told, frequents his home ofen. That is my next destination.
My father and my birth mother were right to do as they did and live as they did. The people in the so-called civilized world are anything but. In fact, many seem to be little more than blood-thirsty barbarians with manners. Others are sheer capitalists, with no regard for the impact they have on the world. They care only for lining their pockets with gold so that they might line their beds with fine silks. I wonder if Kithairien’s iunfluence has ever even touched upon these helplessly greedy and destructive people.
I have yet to find Rhizome, or his companion Enzo Reynolt. However I did finally meet the Birdman of Katia. Hlint never ceases to amaze me. Before them stands one of Kaita’s chosen, a paragon of the defense and well being of nature. What do they do with him? They have turned him into little more than a crafted goods vendor. His skills with jewels and magical enchantments I am told are nearly unrivaled. But yet his wisdom and guidance are not even sought after. What good are jewels and crystal rods encasing fire if in the end they only help the world to destroy itself?
The greedy capitalism finally ran me out of Hlint. I was never going to get a chance to speak with Ashaley there. I overheard him say he needed to go to Port Hampshire. I decided to get there ahead of him and await his arrival. It seems doom and destruction are ahead of me though.
Sinthar Bloodstone’s forces have begun marching down the roads here on Mistone. No sooner had I left Fort Hope on my way to Port Hampshire than I was waylaid by some unsavory dwarves wielding acidic axes. Despite my ability to slip by many unseen, I was felled before I could even consider running. Perhaps it was a fortuitous event though as Plenarius came to my aid and brought me back from the brink. Others arrived. They attempted to retake the hill that the forces that waylaid me had secured. In the fallout I fell again, and Plenarius once again did what he could for me.
Then the most evil presence I have ever seen or felt in my short life appeared. A lich appeared. Drezneb was his name. With naught more than a horrid glance he struck me down again. This time however the strain was simply too much to bear and there was naught that Plenarius or any other could have done for me. The death that spews forth from Drezneb is not easily turned aside.
After all that happened I finally meet Plenarius at the gates of Prot Hampshire only to find him treated the same there at the gates as he was in Hlint. This time however I was able to ask him what was on my mind. Imagine that. With all the pain and suffering I put myself through; Plenarius knew no better than I did where Rhizome could be found. I should have stayed in Hlint.
Go figure, Hlint is more informative when I sit saying nothing than when I ask questions. Though I am treated as a it naïve and deluded, I have at last met Rizome’s pupil, the one they call Luna. Though I must confess I wonder how great a teacher he can be when even his pupil is unable to find him. I know through only a short conversation with her though that I must certainly watch my step in these parts. My views and means are unpopular and with the violent tempers and short-sightedness of those in these pars a misstep might yet cost me my life.
I come to Hlint seeking knowledge and wisdom and find only idiocy. It is obvious that Rhizome’s influence is needed here. Too bad the Druid seems to have abandoned his post and his duties. I am off once again to find another Druid that might have information on where to find Rhizome. Perhaps the one called Raven will know how to find him. I must be cautious though. This trip will take me through Wolfswood Forest. I do not know what sort of welcome I will receive there.
Well, that seals it. The world has gone completely mad. Raven was less than no help at all. The meeting with her went nowhere. She would only glare at me coldly and warn against bringing harm to her woods. I decided to return to the Sielwood Vale and begin again from square one when I met Ozymandias within Wolfswood. It seems he too was waiting for Rhizome. I decided to wait with him. While I sat waiting I got to see first hand the paradox that is Wolfswood. I find myself wondering how much balance truly exists in those woods and how much of the status quo is forcibly maintained by those Wolfswood Rangers.
Rhizome never did meet with Ozymandias, though Enzo and Brisbane did. It seems that they met with Raven along with Rhizome. He has now been made High Druid of Rilara and the Dragon Isles as well as Mistone. How could such a thing be? There is every indication that he has abandoned his calling upon Mistone, and yet he is now called upon to preserve and protect even more of nature’s blessings. This new calling has apparently encouraged Rhizome to wander even farther afield. Finding him now is going to be tougher than ever. I am going to return to Sielwood and start at the very beginning. If no new leads can be found, perhaps I will then ask the aid of the Sielwood Diviner. Or perhaps the mad denizens of Hlint will have yet another lead for me to follow up.
