Forbidden Forest Campaign

*Took place on 31/01/2023.*

Julian, Lalo, and Omaris are all sat at the same table along with Sintix Swiftknob, an extremely old gnome from Westmire who walks around in clockwork legs. They were invited to this banquet by Queen Saila of Lindon (aka Forbidden Forest) in effort to get help in planning and launching an invasion to recover lands lost in an area now known as Westmire. Their table, along with all the others, has been placed in the great hall of a palace deep in the forest. The palace is built, or rather woven and carved, out of several extremely tall ancient living trees on the bank of the Valdëa Thranduil (Great Spring). It is a grand building quite unlike any of the other homes the travellers saw as they made their way here. It was clearly converted long ago into a legislature and an office building for its councillors; its craftsmanship is second to none.

Julian, an intelligent talking monkey found the formal dining situation he found himself in quite strange, and he struggled to sit still despite gleaming that he was meant to for some reason or another. Omaris only took food he was directly offered, but he had a keen sense of nostalgia with respect to several of the dishes - namely a chutney and a sweet pickle which appear to be enjoyed by both the Dark Elves and Wood Elves. Lalo, however, thoroughly enjoyed the meal. He noted how long it had been since he had tried something truly novel to his refined palette, and delicacies so different from that back home in Boreas no less.

Now finished with their meal, the three look around the room and one by one mill about getting to know those at the other tables and eventually getting to speak with their hostess. Julian had in intriguing conversation with those sat at the table to their right. There he found four people sat, a human he didn't speak with, a dwarf named Alastair Kragminer, and two very strange looking people. Apparently called Luftisch, Fritz and Lena seemed quite nice. Julian, not having actually being invited himself, was quite keen to learn why the others had been so that he might find a way to get their help to restore him back to his original form. Julian managed to trick Fritz, much to the chagrin of Lena, into revealing that the Luftisch were long-time close allies of the wood elves, and that for some reason Saila wanted to restart hostilities in some long-lost war. Not necessarily inherently interesting to Julian, but, quite possibly useful.

Omaris, ever the diligent administrator, was eager to speak with Saila and get to work. Lalo, slightly distracted by the droning of his tome and spirits, simply followed Omaris up to Saila. Saila and Omaris spoke, and while she was grateful for the Vaya Sana School sending him to lend his expertise in administration to them, she would prefer to speak with him in private as doing so here could complicate matters somewhat. She asked Lalo if he would be willing to lead the spectres and ghosts which dwell on the peaks of the hills of the Spectremoor each evening. He agreed to and to be paid in unlimited access to their extensive and ancient library. Omaris headed back to his seat but saw a familiar face at another table as he did.

Julian walked up to the head table, actually more of a horseshoe shaped desk for council meetings, just Omaris left. For some reason, unbeknownst to him, Lalo did not return to his seat, instead standing in the corner speaking with his book and then some will-o-the-wisp that floated through the wall. Julian first spoke with a beautiful female wood elf smoking pipeleaf through a long cigarette holder called Mirya Root. She had a slightly cold, bored and dismissive way about her which seemed to break momentarily somewhat passing the comment, *"what an intriguing creature."* In speaking with Mirya he was able to uncover that she had a deep seated hatred and distrust for the newcomer humanoids. He then spoke with the hostess, Queen Saila, who he offered a biological weapon allowing them to sterilise all the outsiders (or Edlon). Queen Saila appeared nervous, occasionally glancing toward Mirya as she listened, she quickly tried to end the conversation while keeping options open.

At the same time Omaris walked over to the table, the familiar face was none other than Scrubsy, the tall lanky human wizard who he was friends with back home and had taught him how to use a little bit of magic. Although, something wasn't quite right about him. He looked... younger? Maybe 18? But surely when he saw him last, some ten or fifteen years ago, he was a man in his thirties. They chatted briefly, Scrubsy being happy to see him but uncharacteristically evasive about his youthful visage.

### Sirens and searchlights

High Druid Hiril marches into the great hall and throws a powder into the vast fireplace. A huge but brief fire burns blue. All the wood elves not on guard duty quietly leave the room and a loud waaaa-waaa noise rings out. High Druid Hiril declares;

*“I did warn Queen Saila about trusting you Edlon… the ceremonial crown has been stolen. Queen Saila has insisted if the crown is returned we can all carry on as if nothing happened. However,* **[She cracks a big smile]** *and it brings me no joy to tell you this, we have sealed you all inside while the Cauncombë (council) meets to decide your fate. It falls within my remit to contain you all here in the interim, Saila has insisted I explain your situation, so know that if you try to leave the grounds of the palace you will be forced to renew your life cycle.”*

High Druid Hiril then walks out of the room and leaving the door wide open behind her, the guards leaving with her.

A dwarf and a human run from their tables and try to escape the palace. The human, with a longer stride, is able to move much faster and is able to get well ahead of the dwarf, suddenly and without warning, the entirety of an enormous willow tree he is running past slams down on him, lookers on only see a mist of blood enter the air where he had but fractions of a second before been stood. The blood soaked leaves of the tree now returning with it's vast boughs back to its original position. The dwarf, seemingly unphased, jumped over the pile of human jam left on the ground where the man had been. He made it a few meters further before he stopped in his tracks and began to scream pawing at his feet like a bear caught in a trap.

*"By the gods, oh no! Oh fuck, no, are those roots! Ahhhh! It... it hurts so much! Oh my gods its spreading! It's spreading up my calves!!!"*

The wind blows and the doors of the palace close with a thud.

**Next is a pointform summary. The long-form text is to be completed later. The final version having being edited to be completed after that.**

Luiniaf Wine - a blue root that looks like a carrot but tastes like blueberries and is made into a blue wine with the potency of whiskey.

* They tried to decide what to do. The other tables seemed uninterested in helping. The Luftisch began drinking heavily.
* The gang made their way over to the kitchen, as they went, Lalo tried and failed to commune with a Will-o-the-Wisp.
* They entered the kitchen, not finding anything of particular note immediately, they realized Sprites had taken issue with Lalo “harassing” a Will-o-the-Wisp and the party quickly dispatched them – in part accidentally.
* They then went into the library next door where they found Scrubsy looking through a book, he quickly put it back, Julian tried to have a look at the book. Changing Bodies book gag - Julian saying "oh that sounds interesting to me!"
* They then moved upstairs to investigate the offices. Julian was able to find Mirya’s diary including times and dates with a Vanya Leafkin (crown drawn next to her name). Omaris investigated Saila’s office and found the pillow on a pedestal where the crown should have been sitting. Lalo was the only one who heard steps scuttle past and down the stairs, he floated down after them. Julian made his was down also, but a bit after Lalo.
* Lalo came down the stairs to see a red headed wood elf turn into the library but it was Scrubsy stood by his table that caught his eye!
* Julian noticed just a glimpse of red fur enter the library, and he followed it to investigate. Library was empty but he thought he heard the door to the library close. He went outside and saw Vanya Leafkin getting ready to shimmy up the drainspout. She spoke with him briefly.

## 2 - On the run in Lindon

*Took place on 09/02/2023.*

* Omaris felt Scrubsy was acting odd and decided to get to the bottom of things. Scrubsy explained that he had messed up a spell that was supposed to give him eternal youthfulness and good health; instead he was aging backwards actually bring his death (or reverse birth) much closer than it would have been otherwise.
* As Omaris spoke with Scrubsy Lalo floated out of the conversation and over to the door of the palace and began to try to commune with the spirit of the human who had been killed earlier. Fortunately, this time, he was able to speak with him. Jam. Revealed it was Vanya he was working for – it hadn’t gone to plan for them.
* Vanya then seemed to decide running around avoiding the guests was somewhat pointless. She entered the great hall, Scrubsy made eye contact with her and immediately started to run for the door. This raised significant suspicions with Omaris who felt betrayed by him.
* Vanya began to slam the heal of her boot against a blue gem in the centre of a tree mosaic by the councillors desks/parliament area. It shattered and the waa waa noise from earlier happened in a decreasing octave.
* Omaris felt betrayed and he tried to get Scrubsy’s bag off of him, somehow Scrubsy managed to hold on to it, Lalo now done speaking with the dead human spirit noticed Vanya was now full-on sprinting across the room toward them and noticed as Julian tried to intervene, Vanya being a master assassin simply avoiding Julian. Lalo decided to cast darkness on Scrubsy to make it harder for her to find him herself.
* Omaris, being incredibly skilled himself, managed to hold Vanya back buying Julian and Lalo time to act. Julian quietly entered the field of darkness and was able to find his bag and take the crown out of Scrubsy’s bag. Lalo decided to offer Omaris back-up by casting a spell, which to outsiders initially seemed to work, but actually caused the dwarf still painfully and slowly being transformed into a tree, very quickly into an angry treant . Vanya, authentically convinced by Julian, was able to realize the immediacy of their new treant problem. Omaris kept an eye on Vanya and Scrubsy, taking a moment to ask Scrubsy why he would work with her. He explained he felt he had no choice, she said she could help reverse the spell.
* The dwarven treant monster was artfully kited by Lalo into the turbid waters of the great spring – using his abilities to walk on water. The treant monster was cleansed in the holy waters and disintegrated into dwarven viscera and driftwood.
* Omaris, being assigned to work for Saila knew where she would be, and told the others to run to the Callistophylla home by the Nen Athae while he held Vanya off. He managed to hold his own with this force of nature of a woman giving them chance to get far ahead.
* He then began to run there himself, even shaking her off his tail. That’s where he met a very kindly wood elf who was farming root vegetables who didn’t tell her where he was.
* Julian and Lalo arrived at the home of Saila in time to hear Mirya informing her that they had discovered what she had been doing with the crown, and that the council had voted to impeach her. Mirya, then saw that Julian had the crown, and somewhat taken with him, offered him anything he could want for it. Something in his gut didn’t feel right about it, perhaps he sensed in her something he saw in the wizard who had altered him, but he rejected her offer and convinced her to leave. She did. Remarkably!
* Julian gave the crown back to Saila.
* Omaris, walking up to Saila’s home, overheard a younger wood elf being told by his mother “your grandmother can’t protect you now, you’ve been banished, you have to leave now,” he pleaded with her saying “it doesn’t make sense” and sobbing.
* Omaris entered the room in time to see Saila snapping the beautiful crown in half, the hourglass bouncing out on to a table. She set it on its end and then apologized for the predicament she got them in. And she asked them to take the crown to Menelost where her friend there would be able to get them out and help Julian to return to his own life again.
* They agreed to do it and she went to hand the hourglass to Julian, who asked her if someone else could carry it. He no longer trusted such magics. She smiled understanding how he might feel and acknowledging how much she had already asked of them and handed the crown to Lalo, who seemed if nothing else, inured to the constant torment of carrying powerful artefacts.
* The gang made their way back up the trail past the palace and up toward the Fae Aeglir. As they began to climb the base of their first mountain, they came across a young wood elf girl being tormented by Erebim in the moonlight. Omaris and Lao not wanting to lose the artefact or call unwanted attention to themselves, tried to quietly make their way around the ghastly scene. Lalo was unable to bear this, and tried to cast a spell to get every last Ereb off of her. Alas, it failed, and a portal opened in the waterfall behind them, out of it came an enormous floating head of the dwarf from earlier screaming at him. This did scatter the Erebim who flew in every which direction and Lalo, satisfied with this and not wanting to fight the dwarf again, ran after his friends already running up the path.
* They continued to run from the screaming spirit winding up the narrow carved steps into the side of the mountain. Suddenly, an invisible barrier seemed to dissuade the head-spirit.
* The gang spoke with a pixie sat on the stairs. She seemed to take pity on them, particularly Julian who she felt had been cursed, declaring that it’s not fun when it’s sad. She flew away.
* They got to the top of the mountain and crossed a long rickety bridge made out of vines and roots woven across the valley connecting them to the adjacent mountain. The mountain was crowned with a vast temple/castle complex. They made their way across without incident but suddenly Vanya called to them from across the bridge. Julian, having placed a rock of similar size to the crown in his bag, cast his bag off the top of the mountain into the valley. Vanya, tired and dismayed by this ran back down the stairs after it.
* The gang entered the beautiful moonlit shrine.

*They were meant to meet the lady of the mountain who would heal Julian and call animals to help the other two make their way out of the forest through the Fae Aeglir.*