A Shadow in the Forest

[Talen]

The dawn found me camped near a pond in Seilwood; as usual wondering what went wrong with Treana and I. As I thought back over the previous months of our time together, I didn't see that there was anything I would have done differently. I have made my piece with it in any case. There is no pain any longer and we're both probably happier now. Certainly wiser.

  I broke camp later than usual and left Sielwood for Hlint. On my way through town I met Rhynn, and we talked for a while. A short while. She told that Freldo would not give her back her things from a room in the Leilon Arms, and she left angry, vowing to break down the door. I don't know that I can blame Freldo. If my relationship with Treana had ended like that I would have been after the life of whoever had been with her.

  Slightly angry myself after talking to Rhynn I decided to go into the Hlint crypts to lay some of the undead to rest, thinking perhaps that doing Aeridin's will and letting them return to the Great Cycle might calm me. Instead I found Lee in the cemetery outside the crypts studying the large gravestone again. Knowing that she is a cook I gave her some wheat I had along with a bag to carry it in, and she invited me to go with her to Haven to try to convince some cows to give up some milk. The trip was good, if quiet, and we made it back to Hlint with no trouble except for a deer that decided to follow us for a short time. I always have felt comfortable around Lee, perhaps because of how attuned to nature she is, and with Treana and myself no longer together I find that there is no one else I'd rather spend time with.
 
  We met Sa'kura as we walked through Hlint and I gave her a crag cat bag that she'd wanted, and we also met Mith, who didn't say anything to either of us and just stood there watching us. There's no love lost between Mith and I and I doubt he was pleased to find me in the company of his wife, however unhappy they are at the moment.We parted ways in front of the Wild Surge Inn and I headed to the bank in order to get some money from Sa'kura for a crag cat bag that I'd had made for her. Unfortunately, our paths did not cross and I went back to the Wild Surge Inn. I found Lee again in the back room talking with a man who introduced himself as Demetri, and Mith standing in the corner, again saying nothing.  They finished talking soon after I arrived and Lee and I walked to the Temple of Ilsare where we came upon Rawkwin and Caighd. Lee commenced to tell Rawkwin about her recent disastrous trip to Karthy to rescue some children from that town. It seems as though all the children were slain and though eventually raised, they do not wake. Shortly after Lee finished telling her story, a cleric of Aeridin arrived looking for Rawkwin. It seems that his presence was needed in North Point and it was decided that the children would be safer if taken to the temple of Aeridin there. Lee, Caighd, Rawkwin, Mith and I carried the children to North Point. We reached North Point without incident and got the children settled in the clinic. They will be well taken care of there.

  I really feel for those children. Cut down before their time, slaughtered for no purpose but to cause others pain. This must be stopped at all costs.

[Talen]

Talen finds an old journal while cleaning a chest and leafs through it idly. He moves to toss the old cloth bound book in the trash, but stops himself and rereads a passage. He shakes his head slightly and frowns as if catching a glimpse of a fleeting memory, but not quite able to recall it in it's entirety. "So much has changed since I last wrote. The whole world has changed. " He takes the book downstairs to the inn, draws himself a pint and begins to write...

I was recently touched by the soul mother for at least the sixth time. I was with Lee up in the High Forest near Leilon cutting up some fallen oak trees, set in my task and not paying enough attention to my surroundings. A fatal mistake. It was a peaceful, quiet day and Lee, my companion Fira the bear and I were taken completely unaware. I was hard at work chopping and Lee was sitting under a tree, scratching a sleeping Fira's neck and watching me work. Suddenly we were set upon by at least eight stag beetles and a number of dire spiders. Fight we did, but the numbers were too much. All three of us were quick to fall, not taking a single one with us. As darkness hit me, I felt the soul-rending touch of the soul mother. I awoke gasping for breath at Ilsare's Temple is Hlint. Knowing Lee would be safely bound at Katia's Temple, I slowly made my way back up north. The trip back was uneventful, luckily, as I felt in no condition to best even a goblin at that point.

It was dark by the time I arrived at the oak grove and I closed my eyes and concentrated, whispering a prayer to Aeridin and allowing my sight to shift, making in possible for me to see. I used the cover of night to sneak back to the spot where I had fallen. The weakness I had felt to this point passed quickly, and as I straightened up I noticed a set of footprints indenting the soft moss beside me. I knew it was my love, safely shrouded in the illusion of invisibilty. I would have if I hadn't seen the prints. I could sense her presence as easily as if I could see her plainly. She took my hand and we left the area quickly, neither of us needing revenge against creatures that were only protecting their nest. The weaknes I had felt upon my death had long since evaporated, but the emptiness following the soul mother's touch remained. I stopped sitting down in the grass and leaning against a rock by the side of the path. Lee was at my side in an instant, sensing something amiss and I told her what had happened. We held each other for a long time, each of us silently dealing with our thoughts and fears. I noticed tears mingling with the rain on her face, and to get both of our minds on happier things than the possiblitly of loosing each other, I asked her to tell me about Katia. We talked for hours about her goddess, and I felt a sense of inner rightness in listening to what Katia expected of her followers and about what she meant to Lee personally. After our talk we contiued to Leilon and boarded a ship for Port Hampshire and then to Point Harbor. Later that night with Lee sleeping contentedly beside me, I thought of why I followed Aeridin. The only reason I could find did not appeal to me at all.

[Talen]

I am now thirty three years of age. Although still in my prime, even by human standards, I can't help but think about the future. Barring accidents...and perhaps the soul mother, I should live to see perhaps another thirty five or forty years. Lee, with her elven blood, will likely outlive me by one hundred years or more. Which brings me to thoughts of religion and the afterlife.

I was raised to revere Aeridin, and throughout most of my adult life I did follow him, and still do. I have thought long and hard about this and I have come to accept that I follow him more out of habit and because I was raised to than any personal allegience or dedication. But these last few years with Lee have given me a deep appreiciation of Katia. Lee is a dedicated and ardent believer in Mother Nature; so much so that I have seen her weep at the death of a falcon and fall herself beneath the claws of a griffon rather than harm it.

Through watching her example I feel deep in my soul that following Katia is the right path for me.

[Talen]

*Talen sits down and leans back against a wall, weary after helping Quantum and Elladan move dozens of sick people to the Hurm docks to be shipped the North Point. He pulls out a journal and a quill and ink vial and hastily writes*

I have made a grievous error in entering the town of Hurm. The massed army outside the walls presented no problem getting through. I thought perhaps they were too tired to notice me after their long march from Prantz. Regardless, they did not detain me as I entered the town. Soon after I entered, seeking only to book passage to Leilon, I heard a shout from over the walls; “The penalty for disobeying the orders of Lord Broegar is death. Send out the one who entered the town.” I looked to the harbor and saw on the horizon the ships of the Prantz navy.  They had noticed me enter Hurm. The army of Lord Broegar was going to use me as an excuse to attack the town. The defenders of Hurm, few in number, were given very few hours to send me out. At first they scoffed at this seeking ways and means of evacuating Hurm, but there were too many that were too ill to travel. As time grew near we readied what defenses we could and waited. At last the call. “You are now guilty of harboring a criminal. Send him out or be destroyed.” There was but little choice left. I could not have stayed inside the relative safety of the walls and risk the death of innocents, nor would I have others die to protect me. I stood to leave, whispering a prayer to Katia, and my voice caught in my throat as I turned to Ireth. “Ireth…tell her…” she nodded, knowing what I meant, and I stepped forward and out of the gates.

[Talen]

Perhaps my prayers to Katia won me the clemency of the captain in charge of those barricading Hurm. Perhaps it was respect for me having the courage to step forward rather than hiding behind others. Whatever the reason, rather than execution, my sentence was three months imprisonment in the dungeons of Prantz, and permanent banishment after with immediate execution on capture.

I was very quickly introduced to the monotony of prison life. The unending days consisted mostly of cleaning, broken only by meals, served in the cell. I quickly lost track of how long I'd been imprisoned. The days seemed to run together, only sleep breaking them up. I try talking to the other inmates, but all the whispered questions do not even produce looks, let alone answers. They go about their business slowly, heads bowed and eyes down, looking completely broken. The continuous silence becomes oppressive and I can feel myself loosing touch with the world outside. The only things that keep me focused are thoughts of Lee. I pray that someone has told her of my fate. If she thought I had died she would be inconsolable. She has told me that she would seek her own death rather than live without me; I pray that Katia give her the strength to wait.
After uncountable days, during what I think of as night, the silence of the dungeon is broken my a blood-curdling scream in the darkness, tearing me from my sleep, but fading quickly as I realize the scream was not mine.
I spent the next few days trying to find out what had happened, but, as always, my questions are answered with silence. Time drags on and the horrible scream never reoccurs. It quickly becomes like the echo of a memory, but I fight to hold on to it. To focus.
There is definitely something wrong here, but the only people that could tell me about it go about their daily routine in complete silence bred of compulsory obedience.

How long, I wonder, until I become like them...

[Talen]

Finally my incarceration is over. I was told I was free to travel in and around Prantz as well, where originally I was barred. The condition of my release, I was told, was that I might be called upon in the future to assist the city of Prantz. Whether this means working directly for Broegar or not I do not know. Broegar. I know that the mere mention of his name is enough to stir images of unspeakable evil. I was one of the defenders of Pranzis when the city fell. But, since then, all hearsay aside, what have I seen with my own eyes?
He could have had me killed when I gave myself to up to the soldiers of Prantz to try to stop the army from leveling the town. He could have had me killed at any time after. But he did not. Nor was I abused in any way during my sentence. I would have liked to meet this Broegar personally to take his measure myself, but I did not have the opportunity.
If I am not asked to commit and overt acts of evil, how can I not keep my word to his messenger? I have little else of value. I suppose that will have to wait until the time comes.

My release was quick and easy. I was simply led to the exit and the doors were quickly and quietly shut behind me. I looked around, slightly vertiginous, having been in a tiny cell for so long, not really knowing what to expect. I heard running footsteps and turned quickly to see my love running towards me. I have never before experienced such joy. After our initial reunion was over and our cheeks were dry again, we left the city, stopping at the farmlands between Prantz and Lorindar to eat and I told her of all that had transpired during my imprisonment. We talked for most of the night and left Lorindar by ship with the dawn. We wasted no time in Karthy upon landing and stopped for a break when we reached the Delwin River. We had a short swim in the river and I lit a fire under an apple tree, and then, for a long time nothing happened that I need write about or that any other need know.

[Talen]

An eighth. An eighth touch. An eighth soul rending, life-changing touch. I awoke this time in unfamiliar surroundings, with no recollection of how I came to fall. Looking around me I saw a cleric, an Aragenite by his symbol, kneeling on the floor beside me, watching me carefully. I noticed he had a quill and ink and a leather-bound book on the floor next to him. The memories flooded back. I pushed my self up into a sitting position and learned back against the wall, collecting my thoughts. I had visited the temple of the Lord of knowledge to get bandages in case I ran into any trouble on my mushroom picking expedition. I didn’t expect any trouble. I should have learned by now…

In the temple I’d been asked if I could bind to the stone there and if it came to pass that I returned to the temple by way of the stone, would I be able to tell the tale of how I fell. I agreed readily enough, thinking that my stealth had always kept me safe enough before.

I ran into no difficulties during the first part of my journey, passing through the land unmolested. I stopped at the Mistone Alliance Watch tower to visit shortly with a guard I had met on a previous trip and he told me of a tribe of Kua Tao that had been raiding…well, I assume they’d been raiding. He wasn’t too specific. I didn’t give the matter much thought, thinking to myself that I wasn’t likely to take on the whole group myself. I took my leave on him and continued on my way towards the marsh and the mushrooms.

I managed to move around the swamp without attracting any unwanted attention, picking what mushrooms I found. The inhabitants of the marsh seemed at peace for the most part, sitting around their fires in small groups talking quietly in their own tongue. Finding the scene quite tranquil and idyllic, I decided to press on through the swamp to take a look at these Kua Tao first hand. That was my first mistake.

I found them easily enough. I could hear them squabbling amongst themselves from a long way off. I crept up fairly close to a group of them and watched them for over an hour from the edge of a stand of trees. They seemed a rowdy group, constantly shoving each other and arguing in a strange, croaking language. The guard had told me they were some sort of lizardman but they seemed more frog or fish-like that other lizardmen I had seen. As I watched them one of the group separated from the others and moved over near a shallow pond. As is did so, it startled a hare that had been drinking from the edge of the pond. As the rabbit darted towards the trees near where I was watching from, the Kua Tao raised a crossbow and fired, hardly taking the time to aim. In a very impressive display of shooting the creature hit the rabbit in the neck while it was stretched out in a full run, killing it instantly from a distance of at least thirty paces. The Kua Tao then reloaded its crossbow and walked over to, I thought, retrieve its meal. I was enraged when it picked up the rabbit, violently ripped it’s bolt out and tosses the carcass into the trees. Such needless killing goes against what I stand for as a ranger.

Blinded by rage, I struck. My second mistake. My short swords flashed into my hands, my right stabbing upward into it’s chest, angled to slide between it’s ribs and pierce it’s heart, the enchantment on the blade cauterising the wound, my left slashing across it’s throat leaving a trail of blood edged with frost. Either wound would have killed most humanoids quickly and silently, but I did not know enough of Kua Tao anatomy. My final mistake. Although the creature was mortally wounded it mustered the strength to raise its crossbow. The string snapped loudly as it released the bolt and I threw myself to the right a split second too slowly. I felt the head of the bolt cut a line across the left side of my neck, and I fell heavily to the group, paralysed. The bolt must have been poisoned or enchanted. I watched, unable even to close my eyes, as the Kua Tao fell to it’s knees, released one loud, piercing cry and fell over dead. If only it had not cried out. My second cut should have seen to that. My paralysis, I’m sure, would have worn of shortly, but it was not to be. The other group of Kua Tao heard its cry. Paralysed I may have been, but I felt the impact of every single bolt clearly and they were many. Mercifully, one found a vital organ before I suffered long.

I stood then and the cleric stood with me, thanking me for telling my story. He was very interested in knowing what it was like to feel the soul mother’s touch, but I told him I had no memory of the event. I just knew, upon waking, that it had happened. He nodded at his and thanked me again and I left. Thinking of nothing other than seeking solace in the arms of love.