The untamed wilderness of Melrath is vast and encompasses frigid mountain ranges, glacial fields, deep alpine lakes, dark ancient forests as well as the expansive shoreline of the nation. Here creatures and spirits dwell together in the remote places of the world, far from the hustle and bustle of civilization.
The next trial dawned bright and the team quickly took down their camp, eager to leave and get on with the race. Brent continued mapping, with the help of Bjorn or one of the scouts using the sighting rod. In return, he helped the other team members organize their accounts of what they saw and any game they encountered.
Gustav excitedly pointed out a herd of deer that was probably twice the size of normal within the Myrkvior woods. It seemed that this Ashan had brought a lot of new life to the wilds. When Brent asked the hunters if they were going to try to bring back a deer as their prize, they shook their heads. Deer weren’t so exciting in a contest like this. They were going to try for something bigger and wilder, likely in the Melrathi mountains.
As the scouts continued to find and follow the white-green-blue ribbons, Brent added new trails to his map. Although it was mostly forest, in the middle of Myrkvior, there was the occasional pond or small lake. Small streams ran through the woods and Brent noted some of the taller hills and ravines that they passed. He watched as Tue, one of the scouts, tip-toed silently past a fox drinking from a pond. A cloud of startled birds took flight. Tue proudly held up another one of the ribbons and they continued on the Great Journey.
It was nearly evening as the trees began to thin, except overhead the foliage was just as constant as it ever was. With more open space on the forest floor, there was not just one path anymore, but a variety of preferred paths between the widely spaced tree trunks and on the crinkled leaves upon the ground. The trees seemed larger and older here. The trunks were too big to wrap one’s arms around and were the equivalent diameter of a dresser or even a bed.
Brent took a moment to jot down the change on his map. He wasn’t exactly sure when the forest had shifted, but it was certainly different here than other places. Vern, their climber, was looking up at the tall trees intensely. As Brent craned his head too, the immense height was staggering, almost dizzying. But there was something else he couldn’t quite put his finger on. It was almost as though he could see stars through the thick leaves.
“Does anyone else see those… lights?” Brent asked.
There were a couple of nods. In response, Vern got out a long length of rope and managed to toss it over the lowest branch to start climbing. The lanky young man proceeded up the tree with surprising agility until Brent had to squint to see the branch he was resting on.
“It’s the Tunawa tree!” Vern shouted down. “Those are their houses!”
When Brent looked harder, he could see a slight movement between the small lights. Some of the lower branches that he thought were just tufts of greenery seemed to be something more. A few seasons ago he had been planning to visit the Hochojobon Colony, but never quite made it. Well here he was now.
Roughly in the center of the Myrkvior Forest, where they were now, the cartographer marked down the colony on his map. In a couple of minutes, Vern slid down the tree and held up another of the tri-coloured ribbons. They were on the right path. As much as he was curious to talk to the tree folk, they needed to keep moving and the last thing he wanted was to seem invasive of their immense tree.
Over the next couple of trials the team followed the twisting trails of the forest and almost got completely lost in the search of a particularly elusive tri-coloured ribbon. They were up to their knees in swampy gunk with Tue cautiously leading the way from rock to fallen log to the next rock. While it was alright for the light footed and agile, Brent was neither of those and he resolved to make peace with the fact that his feet may never feel dry until the end of the journey. The horses weren’t faring much better, and it took a lot of encouragement to convince them forwards through messy marsh. At least one of them seemed happy to nibble away at the various marshy vegetation.
Just as evening was beginning to set in and they were starting to worry about finding a dry place to set up camp, Vern spotted a dark shape at the edge of the water. He pointed quietly at it and the creature, or being, slipped silently into the water. It hardly made a sound as it glided through the water’s surface. Only as it got closer did Brent realize that it almost looked human but with large antlers on its head. Tue, the other scout, touched Brent’s shoulder lightly and he turned to see two others sitting on a marshy log, creating a garland of flowers. They were definitely humanoid, but young. Very young.
The dappled leaves cast orange hues about the wet woodland and Bjorn signaled for the team to approach the strange beings with caution. With a slosh of mud and water, Brent tried not to get his boot stuck as he followed the others. The antlered children looked up at their approach, bright eyes glistening in the fading light. They wore shabby rags for clothes and their nails were long and pointed.
“We come in peace,” Bjorn called with his hands raised. “May the Dark Mother judge us. There is no ill will against the spirits here.”
One of the young antlered children looked up curiously at the mention of the Dark Mother. It had definitely sparked some interest and it seemed as though Bjorn had encountered these beings before. Gesturing to the team, he hurriedly asked everyone to give him an offering related to their craft. The hunters handed over an arrow each, and Vern reluctantly gave a length of rope. Brent fished around for some of his charcoal sticks and hesitantly held out some of his prized coloured ink.
Bjorn wrapped up the offering in a bundle of leaves and placed it on the marshy ground close to the antlered child, and stepped back. Curiously, the child inspected the gift. With a sideways glance the dusk child dashed off through the swamp.
“Tue! Follow after it!” Shouted Bjorn.
The young agile scout leapt from rotting logs through the wet swamp and the rest of the team did their best to keep Tue in sight. Surprisingly, the further they went and the more out of breath they became, the ground began to get harder and more solid. Just as Tue thought he would catch up to the strange being, it ducked behind a tree and vanished for good.
The forest was almost completely dark now, but it was forest with a hard forest floor. As they silently set up camp in the dark, Brent whispered his thanks to the spirits of the forest.
The next couple of trials rained, and Brent was grateful that they hadn’t been caught in the bog in the middle of a rainstorm. Their path swung east towards the coast, and they even managed to spot the sea before dipping back into the Myrkvior forest. Brent rode at a slow pace, making notes as he went. At first he had been far more precise with his map, but due to the large distance they were covering, he became a little less rigid in the detail and accuracy. Not that he stopped using his spyglass or compass, but it was almost as if it became second nature to observe the landscape as it would be applied to his map.
As the cartographer encouraged his horse up and over a hill, he spotted something strange looking in a small clearing below. Veering off the trail, he guided the old horse through some of the underbrush towards what looked to be some human-made shrine or altar. But as he got close and dismounted, he wasn’t sure what to think of the strange construction.
It was a perfectly smooth stone archway, about the size of a door, standing amongst the trees with no apparent purpose. There were spiral markings on some of the stonework, but for the most part it was smooth and unblemished. He couldn’t even see any evidence of mortar, just solid stone curved in an arch. He was vividly reminded of a dream he had, where a construction crew was trying to build a stone arch but it was flat instead of curved.
The cartographer walked around it several times. No building, just an isolated archway. He called over his teammates, but most were just as puzzled as he was. Brent cautiously touched the stone surface, but nothing seemed to happen.
Vern was about to walk through, but Bjorn grabbed his shoulder. “I wouldn’t walk through. Might be magic. Might be a portal. Besides, we need you Vern.”
“Maybe it’s a forgotten shrine to a spirit,” Brent suggested hesitantly. “We could give a small offering just in case.”
They were going through their supplies quickly, but they agreed to spare a small token of food, some wild flowers and leaves, and a few rocks arranged in a circle. Brent placed it cautiously between the two pillars, not wanting to actually pass through. As they weren’t sure which spirit the shrine was intended for, the variety of gifts would hopefully appease it in some way.
In any case, Brent marked it down on his map as he was curious to one day find it again and discover its origins. Perhaps one of the Aesir might know more about it, and he did up a quick sketch of the lone archway in the forest.
It was just the next day when the team discovered another remarkable landmark. They had stopped for lunch and Gustav was proudly turning a dead rabbit on a spit over the fire. It had just been a small catch, but everyone was excited for some fresh meat rather than the bland salted stuff they had been surviving from.
Tue and Vern pointed to a steep trail leading to some sort of rocky outcrop. With the familiar ‘three, two, one…’ they dashed up the incline, scrambling among the stones and logs. But after they had disappeared for a couple of minutes, there was a sharp whistle. It wasn’t danger, but something the scouts wanted them all to see.
Brent stopped grooming his horse and set down the brush before curiously wandering over to the trail. It was steep and awkward to say the least, and certainly not the type of trail he favored with his bad leg. Limping up the treacherous trail, he was the last of the team to make it to the little outlook overlooking the forest. Except that wasn’t the only thing it overlooked.
The cartographer stared in shock and awe at the immense blackened crater. All the trees surrounding it were charred and scorched, and in the middle of the circle was the glassy sheen of obsidian. There was no vegetation or wildlife within the massive crater, although small plants along the edges struggled to grow. Brent wondered when the disaster had happened. Although some trees looked burnt, it seemed to have been relatively contained. It was certainly not smoldering anymore and plants were attempting to grow.
“Take a look around, but do be careful,” Brent said to the two scouts. “We have no idea what caused this and if there are any lingering dangerous effects. If you can give me an approximate size and shape, I’ll sketch it on the map.”
Brent started to draw out the rough shape. What was he to call it? Neatly he printed, ‘Black Crater’. The information that the scouts brought back suggested that the disaster had occurred at least a few seasons ago, but not enough time for the vegetation to truly start growing back. Strangely, there were cases of hundreds of fish skeletons on the black rock. Had it once been a lake? It was an eerie sight and they all made sure there was enough time at the end of the day to relocate to somewhere new to set up camp.
They were nearing Raelia where they could restock on supplies, but they still needed to loop back to Fensalir to complete the Great Journey, guided by the tri-coloured ribbons. It was hinted that all the teams would need to make a complete route around Melrath, so they suspected that great Melrathi Mountains were the next leg of the race.
Fieldcraft: Traversing a swamp
Fieldcraft x1
Cartography x3
Drawing x1
Renown: 15 for being the first to discover a landmark or two.
Skill Usage: Appropriate to level.
Loot/Losses:
An Excellent Quality crafted Map of Myrkvior Woods (travelled section) including the landmarks of: Hochojobon Colony, Tio’s shrine (although identified as only a strange arch), and Alora’s Crater (although identified as only a massive black crater).
Injuries/Conditions: none
Consequences: Some of the men report being exhausted as they near the Black Crater (Flayer's End), but as they make distance from it, they soon recover their stamina.
Comments: I really am enjoying this trip around Melrath, Brent is doing great so far. It's always refreshing to see non-combative characters taking on great challenges and pursuing adventure in their own way. This is a great example of that kind of adventure. And thanks for tipping your hat to FLayer's End. That really warmed my cockles.
Keep up the great work! Enjoy the points and stuff.
If you have any concerns about this review, please PM me about them.
