"Scars of Battledale" began in the forestside town of Essembra on 21 Flamerule in the Year of the Arch (1353 DR), as a three-caravan contingent headed by a charming young merchant with an adventurous streak named Soltrius Belflaggon charted a course through ancient Cormanthor and across the Moonsea to peddle his spice trade. Soltrius had hired an array of unconventional guards for his journey in the Sembian capital of Ordulin, and when word came to Essembra that an unknown treasure seeker had gone missing somewhere deep in the old elven wood, the merchant elected to divert his band into Cormanthor to see what they may find.
In the vast reaches of the great, lush forest, the contingent stumbled upon a half-elven village-camp known as the Eshen Glade. While present at the glade, an inexplicable attack by a lone gnoll left a gladeswoman seriously injured. Though the gnoll was quickly defeated, the companions witnessed an ethereal, shadowy form escape from the creature's body upon its slaying. In the wake of the attack, two half-elven warriors from the glade pledged themselves to accompany Soltrius's band further into the forest.
Things only got stranger as the party continued its journey. Not far outside the Eshen Glade, the contingent discovered the body of a renowned elven caretaker of the wood named Falidhara who, apparently, had been slain by the blades of unknown assailants, signs of which were naught to be found. Disheartened, the companions continued on toward the Duathamper riverbed where the lost treasure seeker was said to have disappeared. As they neared it, they encountered a jutting rock formation surrounded by nearly a dozen more dog-faced gnolls.
The gnolls' leader proved to be a strongclad human warrior who seemed notably out of place in the middle of the ancient forest. When he was felled, a shapeless, shadowy form escaped his dying body, much as the party had witnessed back at the Eshen Glade. The battle with the gnolls was enervating, and although the contingent proved victorious, suffering nary a loss, injuries took their toll, and the companions were forced to take shelter in the cave; there, they encountered a strange hermit named Brother Bevue, who claimed himself a traveling priest of Silvanus that was taken captive by the gnolls while wandering the forest.
As they rested, the contingent was approached by a small circle of druids; its leader, Adraiya, proffered her aid to the wounded and remained with Soltrius's band throughout the night. The following day, the companions began their trek back to the Eshen Glade, not wholly certain as to what they had learned.
When they arrived, the contingent bid the gladesfolk farewell and set back off for Essembra, where they would seek to continue their journey northward through Cormanthor, and on toward the Moonsea.
In the vast reaches of the great, lush forest, the contingent stumbled upon a half-elven village-camp known as the Eshen Glade. While present at the glade, an inexplicable attack by a lone gnoll left a gladeswoman seriously injured. Though the gnoll was quickly defeated, the companions witnessed an ethereal, shadowy form escape from the creature's body upon its slaying. In the wake of the attack, two half-elven warriors from the glade pledged themselves to accompany Soltrius's band further into the forest.
Things only got stranger as the party continued its journey. Not far outside the Eshen Glade, the contingent discovered the body of a renowned elven caretaker of the wood named Falidhara who, apparently, had been slain by the blades of unknown assailants, signs of which were naught to be found. Disheartened, the companions continued on toward the Duathamper riverbed where the lost treasure seeker was said to have disappeared. As they neared it, they encountered a jutting rock formation surrounded by nearly a dozen more dog-faced gnolls.
The gnolls' leader proved to be a strongclad human warrior who seemed notably out of place in the middle of the ancient forest. When he was felled, a shapeless, shadowy form escaped his dying body, much as the party had witnessed back at the Eshen Glade. The battle with the gnolls was enervating, and although the contingent proved victorious, suffering nary a loss, injuries took their toll, and the companions were forced to take shelter in the cave; there, they encountered a strange hermit named Brother Bevue, who claimed himself a traveling priest of Silvanus that was taken captive by the gnolls while wandering the forest.
As they rested, the contingent was approached by a small circle of druids; its leader, Adraiya, proffered her aid to the wounded and remained with Soltrius's band throughout the night. The following day, the companions began their trek back to the Eshen Glade, not wholly certain as to what they had learned.
When they arrived, the contingent bid the gladesfolk farewell and set back off for Essembra, where they would seek to continue their journey northward through Cormanthor, and on toward the Moonsea.
0 adventurers hailed: