This is old news to most of the characters, from Reed Moon the 15th:

• The fabled Lammasu of the southern savannahs, Good Salas, was seen flying overhead. The people of the land suspect he goes to visit Shin. Folk wonder if this rare council is a sign of aught to fear.
• The Band of Elves traveling from the north have not been seen since their original visit for supplies. None venturing along the south road or near the Grenwood have reported signs of them either. In the drinking halls, creative-types spin tales of an ill-fated battle against the Green Dragon of the Marble Keep. There is a slight tint of fear in these tales.
• The target of the Late Summer Hunt has been announced in Mombafra: a great Griffon dubbed Guillotine Beak. This Griffon has been sighted in the northeastern hills numerous times over the past season and has stolen countless steeds of Mombafrans and foreign traders. As is tradition, the victor of the Hunt will be rewarded one great honor of their choosing by Lord Thompson's court and lifetime rights to conduct trade at the famed Mombafran Market. Many wonder if the victor will be so great as to claim the beast as their own mount.

This is newer news, from Blood Moon the 15th:

• Word comes from Ornholm and Nettin that two bands of ogres have come down from the mountains and turned the surrounding area into a battleground, attacking all kinds of travelers in the area.
• For nearly a week now, fishermen all throughout the Gren region claim to have not caught a single fish. Neither in the river nor the lakes has a single fish bitten. The livelihoods of many are being ruined and food prices are beginning to increase. Under their breaths, some folk curse the druids of the north woods.
• Merchants report a trio of Werewolves attacked a caravan in the night, making off with a lockbox of valuables. Mostly copper and silver, but also being transported was a platinum pendant adorned with an emerald and red tourmaline, worth 7000 gp. Folks speculate that the Werewolves are laired in the old stone shrine in the woods south of Nob.
• The Ranger Exar has retreated from the forested mountains. People say his companions were killed by the Druids, that they were turned to trees by the Druids, eaten by Ogres, and carried away by a Chimera. Most people do not believe all of these things at once.

• Adventuring sites of note, explored by varying characters to varying degrees:
  • Chapterhouse Dungeon
  • Akemeledain
  • Haunted ruins across the lake
  • Stone Chalice
  • Flooded Caverns
  • Copper Hollow
  • Basilisk Lair
  • Marble Keep
  • Southern Hills, scouting tower

The Roster:

• EROS VALENTINE - FTR 1, AC 1/3, Well traveled, knows stories. Guard Dog “Cherry”.
• ITHIMYR - AC 1/3.
• RHINOCK - HALF-ORC FTR 2, Helmet and chain armor.
• ZENOBIA - ELF MAG 2 / THF 2, AC 6/8, Has a white Hawk familiar.

Mercenaries:

• 2 Light Horseman for Overland Travel. 3 gp each a day.

Ithimyr tries to recruit them but they have heard the bad rumors. They will charge 15 gp per day.

Eros Valentine joins us. He comes from Elsewater and sells cheese from Qarn. A barrel chested human, Eros has come from the east and met up with the adventuring group to join with us.

According to Exar, the area of the Stone Chalice has been taken over by Koalinths. There is a single dryad in an oak tree nearby and 3 powerful Druids, including a member of the highest order of Druids.

The weather is mild today, though a bit muggy.

There are hundreds of brethren from Gren around a camp because the fish are avoiding Gren. This only seems to be effecting the town of Gren. Exar suspects that the Druids are aggravated but not sure why. We surmise that perhaps with a gift, we gain an audience with them. Ithimyr looks for seeds and herbs to present to the Druids while Zenobia goes to the blacksmith for a silver sickle. Ithimyr has gathered some herbs, uncommon ones.

The season is changing to Autumn and the fields of grass have regrown by now. The party takes the river north, past the Chaptel grounds. Zenobia's Hawk familiar sees 20 men outside of the Chapterhouse, all wearing dark clothing and encamped.

The river eventually leads us to a forest and the plains turn to hills. We make our way further along the river. Ithimyr has not noticed any unusual tracks yet but he is looking for signs of creatures passing this way. Zenobia's hawk reports that Koalinths can be seen around the Chalice. There are at least 10 Koalinths along the river alone.

We head left into the woods to go off the beaten path and to meet with the Druids.

We travel for 2 more hours and find a couple of sod buildings. This must be the place so we pause for a moment and hear a “scrackle” sound…it is a chipmunk. Ithimyr casts Speak with Animals to speak with the little creature and sends the chipmunk to go announce our presence to the Druids. The chipmunk returns and says that the Druids are prepared to meet with us.

Ithimyr takes the lead toward the Druid's Grove. There are plants and leaves and vines positioned unnaturally all over the place. It is as if the rorest conspired to produce an atmosphere that looks mystical. This is also a Fae populated forest. There are blue and green leaves on different plants and it is apparent that this area is even more mystical than normal, as thought it was cut out for this beauty.

Emerging in the grove are 3 Druids, each with long gray beards and wielding staffs. There is a great aura of power around them.

The Druids welcome us to the grove then ask us what we want. The Druid leader grabs the gifts quickly. We notice, and it is unclear if this is intentional or not, that he has twigs in beard. We learn that DJORN is one of the Druids, he is the one to the right that also gives us a smile. The others are named DEMONSILIAS and TYRAN. Zenobia presents the sickle from the town of Gren to them. All three Druids are attentive.

Demonsilias says they are appreciative of these gifts and they are impressed about such thoughtful gifts. He provides us with a small smile and says that we received their message, in the form of the fish issue in the river. He mentions the Order of the Midnight Sun and how they are responsible with the events.

They explain that, despite our fears, the fire is not the most concerning event, as the earth can repair itself. However, the issue they have is with the Giant Wasps that were seen crippled with their wings cut off, living in a state of pain and suffering and a weapon of war left by the old church by the river. It was crafted by earnest adventurers.

As for the disappearance of the Order, they think that nature has righted itself. Many adventurers have arrived in Gren recently but they bear no animosity toward them. They only wish that the balance to be restored.

They say that the stone released a Planar Worm that is wreaking havoc. It is causing villages to the west to have to deal with rampaging Ogres. The Planar Worm is unknown in nature. They are not opposed to the consequences for foolhardy actions but we must extinguish the Planar Worm to gain their favor.

The Druids present their request: There are some Boarmen to the south that have an item of great power among their shaman. It is too powerful and dangerous and the item is of interest to the Druids.

They say that they are not knowledgable about the non-elemental planes but they do know that the Worm attacks with a great maw while unleashing purple flames. The flames create fear and panic amongst those who see them. If there is a way to not see the flames, it may help when dealing with this creature.

The Druids also describe an old cave in the mountains to the north. The Planar Worm is using it as a lair along with a pair of Harpies. The Harpies are destructive and bring chaos. They can only be damaged by magic or silver weapons.

In regards to the Standing Stones, the Druids are in agreement with guarding the stones because they are unnatural.

Regarding the Chalice, they know that the pixies have not returned and may be seeking to expand into a new lair. The Pixies are no longer found at the Chalice. Now there are only Koalinths around it. Demonsilias asks that we NOT make matters worse.

In parting, the Druids hope that the new relationship may be more profitable and less destructive than with the other adventurers.

We camp for the night near the Druid's grove and our sleep is serene.

The next morning, we head north along the river, stealthily, to seek out the Koalinth camp. Zenobia's Hawk reports that there is a cave mouth 3 miles ahead and it is huge. The Hawk can see 8 Koalinths outside and there are piles of branches where the stream comes out of the cave. Furthermore, the Hawk can see posts and tents and there are still Koalinths by the Chalice, 4 are spotted. From above, the Chalice is just a big stone bowl filled with water from the rain.

In regard to the Boarmen to the south, their location was given by the Druids who had been scouting it. There is a force lead by the Boarmen Shaman which used to number 200. Now there are only 40 Boarmen left. They are encamped in the hills and dispersed over a few hills in a cluster. They are known to pick fights with the locals.

By the Druid's grove is a river crossing of stones. We want to approach the cave from the land so we approach from the north toward the Chalice. The Hawk continues to scout ahead and we determine that the total numbers at the chalice are now less than before. There are 18 Koalinths camped thereabout, distributed in a 100 yard distance. They wield polearms, morningstars and longswords.

We approach from the north side of the river.

They are not surprised. We are at a distance of 12“ so will have -2 to ranged attacks using bows. The ones by the stones, all Koalinths, have AC 5 type 5. They charge us and meet us in melee in one round. There are 4 of us and 6 Koalinths. EROS is dropped immediately!

We take mega damage but Zenobia puts them to sleep with a spell. The party grab Eros and we run at a 9” movement rate.

We flee down the river with Eros and manage to lose the Koalinths after some distance into the forest.

We stop the bleeding on Eros and he wakes up from a coma. He has been awake for 10 minutes.

Eros will require bedrest and will be back to go on Harvest Moon the 7th.

We arrive back in GREN and Ithimyr informs Exar of the news we learned from the Druids. Exar wants to find his companions. He knows of some lairs with large birds and believes it is possible that the Pixies dropped them or drowned them in the river.

We talk to Syrah who can perform a divination over a particular area of the forest. Exar has an idea: they all wear black brooches with a white sun symbol. The brooches are magic that lets them communicate over a long distance. If Exar provides his brooch as an example, Syrah could use that to divine the location of the other ones.

3 Days later…

The lineup going back to the cave will be:

• EROS VALENTINE - FTR 1
• ITHIMYR - AC 1/3
• RHINOCK - FTR 2
• ZENOBIA - MAG 2 / THF 2, AC 6/8

Syrah determines the location of the other brooches using divination. One is in a cave on a mountain about 2 miles north of the standing stones. It is at a higher elevation than the location of the Koalinths.

The 2nd brooch is 4 miles west in the forest. This brooch appears to be moving only slightly, generally staying local. The ritual has revealed that only one brooch is moving. We will head to the location of this one first.

Zenobia has purchased a guard dog named BITER.

We leave Gren and head west into the forest.

The Hawk familiar of Zenobia finds a crossing as we head down the river toward the south. It is farther west than the chalice so we will have to camp out here tonight.

The next day, we get there without any trouble. Ithimyr finds some boot tracks of a humanoid going west. Exar has come with us to help and he is a level 8 Ranger.

Ithimyr lights his lantern to follow the tracks more easily for 2 hours. We come to a tree with a robed form leaning against it. It is Welrick, the Illusionist! We all tend to him and give him food. He seems to be okay and Exar is now reunited with his companion.

Exar agrees to let us have the other magic brooch to communicate with him, in case we need other assistance at some point in the future from the Order of the Midnight Sun.

Another chipmunk is found and Ithimyr communicates with it using Speak with Animals. The chipmunk says it knows of no monsters nearby but sometimes there are Ogres in the area. There have been no Ogres recently though. The chipmunk says he will stay in the area and let us know if there is any danger. His name is DALE.

Exar searches Welrick's form and he finds that he had a scroll of considerable power. He pulls it from his inner sleeve and also pulls out a wand from his sleeve. This wand may come in handy as it can negate magic effects if something gets us.

Welrick is healed but does not remember his own name, though he does remember being carried away by a bird. They flew for some time but the other Ranger was not conscious. After they flew for a couple miles, the two were split and the Ranger went for the mountains. Welrick Has not seen anything since then.

Zenobia tells him that he was a good friend and Welrick believes him because he also has two friends.

We will need to travel 3 miles to the north and find a river crossing. Then, we will travel a couple more miles. Exar prepares the Entangle spell and then we stride north toward the mountains. The Hawk navigates the area well. After 3 miles, the sounds of the river can be heard. This is about 1 mile north of the Koalinth cave.

Exar scouts ahead. Zenobia' Hawk locates a river crossing and it looks stable. We see mountains everywhere and a roadway leading to High Dell. We cross over the bridge and travel a couple more miles until it starts getting late. We can see in the distance a higher peak with a cave mouth open and a cliff area.

This is the cave described to us. The slope is climbable as we go around the back side of the mountain but still use rope to be careful. There is no snow on these mountains as these are more miniature mountains compared to the other peaks. They are just not high enough to get snow even though it is a cooler temperature.

We are in front of the cave mouth now and we can see just inside that there are bones of medium sized creatures, Human sized. There also appear to be the bones of Bears and Wolves. A stench comes from inside the cave like that of a beast habitation.

Ithimyr looks for tracks and finds none but then looks for signs of a nest. He does see golden tufts of hair, bristly hair that is not long. It reminds him of lion fur but does not look like Manticore fur. We wonder, maybe this is Chimera fur or some other Lion-like beast.

Exar agrees to scout inside as well. Both Rangers have a 3-in-6 chance to surprise. He disappears into the cave and a shout comes out from within the cave “HELP! There are Beasts in here!” We run into the cave and go in only for a short distance where we find that Exar is surroundedby 3 baby Chimeras. Despite being small, they are still formidable they get 6 attacks each.

He is hit pretty bad at first but Exar also hits one though it does not fall. We charge in and Ithimyr manages to cut one down with his sword. Rhinock also cuts one down. Ithimyr then manages to cut off one of the baby Chimera's heads, it is the Dragon head.

We quickly manage to kill all 3 and Zenobia gathers Chimera materials.

Ithimyr's lantern casts over a dark form with its stomach facing upward. It is the body of Cyril, the other Ranger, and he has been mostly eaten.

Exar goes to Cyril and sadly, sees that his body is dead.

Welrick and Zenobia find a gold necklace that is covered with gems. Welrick holds up another platinum necklace with gems. We take the items and quickly rush out of the cave.

As we get out, we can see that a huge beast is coming…it is headed straight for us! It has 3 heads…

We climb down the mountain as much as we can, moving quickly. Ithimyr looks for any nearby animal tracks and finds the tracks of several Boars headed in a small group to the north, they are very fresh. He believes that there could be a small cave, perhaps we can hide?

We are 3 miles from the forest and we follow the tracks deeper into the mountains. Ithimyr eventually finds a small cave with a few hundred yards of tracks outside. The party bursts into the cave and we find that it is pretty shallow. Inside, there is a nest with 3 Boars.

Quickly, Ithimyr casts Speak With Animals and tells the Boars that we mean no harm. After a brief conversation, they let us hide with them. We wait a while for the Chimera to leave, listening for sounds of a wing. It patrols the area until its form eventually disappears to the north.

We leave the cave and head back south, making our way to the forest without any trouble. As the party continues into the forest during the night, we must go by lantern light as we make our way in the woods.

Our group heads through all the way to Gren and arrive just as the sun comes up.

Back in Gren, Exar explains that he must head further east and decides not to stop in Gren. He is riding south and east to Criss Antha to save Cyril if he can.

We can keep an eye on Welrick here in Gren.

Welrick does not remember anything. We take him to Syrah who says he needs an EXORCISE spell! She can perform the ritual.

Meanwhile, Zenobia gets the jewelry appraised which has matching pieces as part of a paired set. A wealthy couple might wear these. The total gold value is 3500 gp and 5000 pp.

The Exorcism is performed on Welrick and only has a 7% chance of success. I go to man the temple of Riswa to make sure Syrah cannot be distracted. Four hours go by with no word from Syrah. Then 6 hours have past…Zenobia has not slept at all. 8.5 hours and finally the Exorcism completes…

Welrick's eyes slowly become aware as the holy rite has been performed. Welrick is saddened to hear about Cyril and Ithimyr hands him back his brooch.

Word comes back from Exar and Welrick says Cyril has been dead too long for a Raise Dead. He is now trying to procure a resurrection spell and attempting to contact members of the Order of the Midnight Sun. A caster can die from casting a Ressurection spell so it is quite dangerous. Cyril has been dead for 11 days already.

Welrick says that we can keep the wand and he plans to stay in town until Exar returns.

Treasure split: 1700 gp each for the jewelry. 8500 gp value otherwise in total.

1700 xp each. For Ithimyr, that is 850 / 935 (CLR).

145 xp from combat, or 72.5 / 80 for Ithimyr.

ITHIMYR HAS PAID OFF THE REST OF HIS LOAN (1400 gp) AND PAID HIS UPKEEP FOR HARVEST MOON (300 gp).

Spelling correction : Ciril (4th level ranger), Welrick (7th level ranger), Domencilus (11th level druid), Jorn (6th level druid), Tiron (3rd level druid)