The Beginning of All Things (Inactive)

Game Master Terquem

Marcus looks over to where the fires are scorching the midnight black air. He wonders briefly if his home is one that is in flames, but is relieved to know that his father and mother are both safe.

I hope that my home is not one caught ablaze. At least we have our health, and the memories I can at least take with me, he ponders briefly.

He looks around, and sees that Mr. Panforey seems to be okay for the time being. He looks to the other more capable villagers, and briefly speaks up.

Everyone, I know that we are tired and some of use are beaten and bruised. The night is young, there are homes that are ablaze along the water front, most likely due to the retreating cowards. Those able to, I would like to get those fires put out, so that they don't have the possibility to spread farther inland. PLEASE, all able bodied people follow me and aid in the extinguishing of the fires.

diplo: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (19) + 9 = 28

Leto gives Marwan a grin when he comments " Well you did just save the mans life so I doubt he's about to complain. Thats going to stabilize him for a day so once we deal with the rest of this I can get back to helping him." The lizardman looks at the collected people and give Marcus a quick wave
" If you give me fifteen minutes I can brew something that will allow me to ferry anything that can't get across the river in boats. Start bringing any supplies and and people over there now and I'll join you when its ready."

This would be a potion of Ant haul as leto left 2 slots of his prepared spells open today. Under its effects letos heavy load would become 675 pnds. Which should be enough to carry just about anything across the river heavy tool wise.

"You must understand" Calex explains as he works "I can't actually cast any healing magic. It's like light through a crystal. The ingredients allow my magic to...well...bend, for want of a better word. Outside of the process for brewing potions, I have yet to manage to do it."

Robert helps Rebecca up and then says to those around him, "Help me get him up and into a bed so he can rest. Rebecca, once he's resting make sure someone is with him in case he needs help please." He then gives her a hug.

After moving Mr. Panforey, Robert says to Leto and the others, "Those creatures, are still out there burning. I think the only people going over to Lakeside should be those going to hunt them. If there are any fires here on the island, then we can put those out. Those of us up to it can go hunting those monsters if we want, but we can't be carting over tools and supplies and people yet until they are gone."

I agree. We burned the bridge in the first place because there were too many to fight effectively, and now you want to head over there onto their turf? We might have a ghost of a chance if we sneak about quietly, but anyone who sneaks over there would be one less able body to protect the civilians here, and that's assuming they haven't looted everything useful into their personal possession yet.

Leto gives the human mage a raised brow and a smirk " See bending the rules of magic in one way or another makes it no less impressive. The fact you can do it at all is strange and wondrous. I imagine i'll have plenty of time to chat with you on the nature of bottled magic once this is all over though."

After hearing Robert and Marwan, Leto shrugs " So you'd prefer we leave the empty houses to catch fire to the land around? The bridge went up as fast as it did because it was bone dry tinder and dry wood. Same with the houses around town. There hasn't been rains here in a while, a bit unnatural for spring, it is early but we are still getting toward the season for spring fires. I know the forest just outside of town is dense so if for any reason it does catch it could very easily burn for days."

" Naturally that would be good for the forest but bad for the town what with it taking its own time to grow back."

Parsing back it doesn't look like rain has happened here in a bit. With the date of 'fantasy' February 3rd we are in the spring season so in general there should not be as much of a threat for a forest fire.
It doesn't look like the game ever had the forest around Woodbridge suffer a fire in the last year though so there is very likely plenty of deadwood from the fall/winter season waiting for an excuse.
However with this being a developed area and the mentioned lack of rain there is likely enough fuel in the area of Riverside to do some serious damage. Real world spring forest fire season starts in the middle to end of February so it isn't that far fetched of this being a possibility.
If thats wrong feel free to correct me, I just did a quick sweep of gameplay and could have easily missed such. Never mind the fact that I am absolutely no authority on forestry so my guesses to the viability are half-assed at best.

"My point is, that going over there to do anything other than fight them is foolish as long as they are there. You start putting out fires and soon you are surrounded by them. We need to either wait for them to leave here or go over there and try to encourage them to leave."

I don't see what choice we have. Anyone who goes over there to fight an unknown number of enemies is going to be one less person ready to defend the civilians here should they attempt to send anyone across the river, and if we don't send enough people then their mission will not be successful and they won't be coming back.

"There may be a slim chance at a different option. The maetaur have a tradition of nature magic. It might be an idea to confer with the maetaur families to see if they might have some way to suppress the fires- weather magic or the like"

The Village of Woodbridge, Riverside

Night, Day 12

A small group of people moves in close as Robert asks for help in moving Mister Panforey into the nearest undamaged home, which turns out to be the O’lehig home.

Lifting the man carefully, while he continues to keep his hand tight in his wife’s, the group walks as briskly as they dare to the small cottage.

Arvid is silent as Marwan, Calex, Marcus, and Leto discus the complex situation at hand. Eventually it is decided that the safest place, now, for the population of Woodbridge is here, on the small island that is surrounded by the narrow oxbow lake.

Darleen listens to Calex wonder out load about the ability of the Maetaur to combat the spreading fires, and she gently taps him on the shoulder to get his attention.

Cicily has gone off to warn others, and I believe she took Auria with her, as well as Dominic. Dominic and Cicily are our most powerful druids, those who know the craft who remained behind cannot do such magic.

Patricia, now quieter, and calmer, speaks up
Let’s make sure we account for everyone, and settle as many down as we can for the night. We’ll want patrols moving around the edge of the island all night long just to make sure another crossing isn’t tried.

With that, Marcus and Calex begin gathering people they know and giving them instructions on how to count everyone they can find on the island, and getting them to move to the spring festival stage area. Leto and Marwan gather the young Maetaur warriors, as well as the grounds men of the empire and split them up into small teams, three Maetaur with each of the empire’s rangers, and send them off in opposite directions to begin a perimeter watch.

Robert remains with the Panforey family.

There is little resistance from the people of Woodbridge, who seem to be shuffling their feet in exhaustion. Slowly the population of almost three hundred souls gathers at the spring festival stage, and begin to settle down into clumps of families and friends resting on each other when they can, while a few remain standing and keeping watch through the night.

The morning comes with a spring rain that is brief, but heavy. There are columns of smoke rising from lakeside, but no sign of any fires remain. It is quiet, except for the bleating of sheep, and the mooing of cows across the island as people rise from an uncomfortable night to face the rising sun in the east.

The grey clouds of the early morning rain move northward, and the blue sky is a stark contrast to the darkened buildings that can be seen across the narrow lake.

As people rise, questions begin to be whispered, and no one is sure what is supposed to happen next, when suddenly someone, a young boy of Woodbridge, spots a banner flying high on a pole moving through the ruins of the village.

Calex recognizes the banner as that of the House of Anticus. It is an Alodoan banner that shows both the colors of the empire, and the family that rules Castletown.

Robert spends the remainder of the night with the Panforey's, making sure Rebecca knows he is there for her.

When he sees the women are asleep and has a moment with Mr. Panforey he says to him, "With your blessing I will take care of and watch over them should anything happen."

"Thank you, Darlene. I guess we'll just need to manage things here, and hope morning brings better news." Calex smiles wearily at the maetaur bard.

Calex drops in quickly to check on the Panofreys, and hands the completed potion to Robert. "Have him drink it when he awakes. It should restore his heart and internals to full health, but it's not a cure for old age. I would think rest and a more relaxed lifestyle should be his priorities. He's got to realize he's not a young man anymore." Cal says in kind but firm tones. "Now, the imperial forces have arrived. I've got to head over across and meet with the troop commander. Leto has already said he could get us across, and I'll find Marcus and get him to arrange the construction of a temporary crossing for everyone now that it seems the threat is gone. A rope bridge or the like, for now will do I think. Anyone else who wishes to join me is welcome, so if you could let the others know as you see them I would be grateful." With that the young mage gives Robert a farewell grip on the shoulder, and leaves to find the others.

Upon finding Patricia "Patricia! The reinforcements you summoned have arrived! Good job! We can start to safely get people back off the island and run a survey of the damage. I'm afraid you might need to resign yourself to the village being garrisoned from now on, though. We need those troops to prevent this from repeating. Our yeomen just can't cope with dangers like this. I'm sorry, Pat, but if the choice is civilized domination by the Imperials or death & slavery by the orcs...well...we've seen the orcs. Are the Alodoans really a worse option? Come with me to meet with them."

It should be simple to fasten a rope to a pole or tree on either end and simply ferry across on a pontoon, no?

Robert takes the potion from Calex, "Thank you very much for this. I'll make sure he drinks it and then head to the old bridge and cross over with you to greet the troops."

"Excellent idea, Marwan! A rope ferry system would be faster to put in place and able to handle more traffic. We might manage whole families at a time."

Thank you, Sir Calex, but perhaps we ought to see if there are yet orcs in the rest of the village over there before we talk of bridges and ropes. A horde does not disappear overnight.

"You're right. Risking our people too soon, especially after what they've endured already, would be a poor choice. Another day to be sure is not unreasonable. It would also be a benefit to the wounded. Moving them too soon risks re-injury. Speaking of which, I hope those troops brought a healer with them."

When Robert tells Mister Panforey that he will take care of his family should anything happen, the old man smiles, and reaches for his hand, Mister Panforey’s hand is cold but his grip is strong, and though he cannot speak, his mouth moves as if he is trying to say thank you.

Calex comes in to the O’lehig home, which now seems crowded, and moves through the people he doesn’t know that well until he comes to Robert sitting beside Mister Panforey, who is now sleeping peacefully. When Robert understands the message, he places the potion on the stand near the bed, and watches Becky sleeping on the floor at the foot of the bed.

With the sun rising, Marwan and Calex consult with Darleen and Patricia. Suggestions for crossing the lake are made, and Darleen report that one of the Maetaur patrols did find, and make safe, a small skiff, in the reeds on the west side of the island. Darleen heads off to get help in pulling the boat around to the east side of the island near the burned bridge.

Patricia listens to Calex put out the options before her. Her expression seems blank, but she does not argue the point. She suggests that they find Leto and Marcus and head to the bridge to see exactly what standing remains after the fire.

Calex, Marwan, and Patricia move past the camped citizens of Woodbridge at the spring festival stage, where many people are gathering together around blankets hastily spread out on the grass. Others are bringing bread, and fruits and vegetables, jars of spreads, honey and anything else that can be found here Riverside that could be gathered this morning. People rise and take Calex by the arms to kiss him, or pull him in close, while those unfamiliar with Marwan shake his hand or slap him gently on the back. Few words are spoken and there are no questions this morning.

A sense that everyone is happy to be alive this morning prevails.

At the bridge, Calex and Marwan examine the bridge, which has not completely burned down. The bottom of the bridge at this end of the lake is intact and extends out into the lake about twelve feet. The floor looks solid and some of the roof structure lies on the floor in a shouldering ruin, while the side rails are burned badly. There is a break after this section, about ten feet long where only pieces of wood sticking out of the water at odd angles can be seen. Then it appears as if the rest of the bridge, some thirty to forty feet has collapsed to the north and fallen into the lake. You can see the pylons that supported the bridge in the water. These are groups of straight tree trunks no more than eight to ten inches in diameter bound together by cured leather and iron hoops into columns almost three feet across. It looks like the south side of the bridge burned faster than the north, and eventually the weight of the northern side of the bridge might have caused the whole bridge to lift up and slide off the supports and into the lake. The remains of the bridge that can be seen are badly burned, but there is probably some wood that can be salvaged.

The lake is clear of debris a few feet north of the wrecked bridge, and the eastern bank at Lakeside is about three feet above the waterline. The side here, at Riverside, is muddy, and level with the lake. There are a few large trees just a few feet from the lake, Lakeside. It will take at least a full one hundred feet of rope to make a ferry here.

As the people of Woodbridge walk back and forth along the shore at Riverside near the ruined bridge, the flags that could be seen move toward the lake. A column of men and elves appear perhaps forty men and women. You can see that there are stretchers being carried in the column and that some of the men and women wear slings, bandages on their heads, or walk with the aid of makeshift crutches.

A woman, an elven woman, moves to the front of the column as it approaches the lake. She raises her hand to her brow and looks intently across the lake at your small group, and then a wide smile forms on her face.

She waves her hand in the air, and yells,

“Calex! Calex! Is that you? It’s me, remember, Georgiana, from the castle. Can you hear me?”

You can hear her voice, though she is a good distance away. Calex can make out the elven woman who befriended him and D’ieredon at the castle of Castletown.

"Georgiana! Hail! Glad to see you! We'll be over in a few minutes!" Calex calls out in reply.

Turning to the others, he explains "Georgiana helped me and D'ieredon hunt down the assassins of the Lord of Castletown awhile ago. It was that act and the rescue of his daughter that got me awarded my peerage, with Woodbridge given over as my demesne. I'm glad to see someone I know and trust over there, instead of complete strangers." Calex turns back to look again at the approaching soldiers, and frowns. "Then again, they might not be as much help as I had hoped. That troop looks pretty beaten up."

Perhaps they are beaten up because they already found the rest of the horde?

Marwan shrugs, then yells across.

Have you thoroughly searched over there? There was a rather large group of pillaging brutes over there last night.

The elven girl moves closer to the shore of the lake and raises her hands to the sides of her mouth as she shouts.

Yes, we ran into a large group of men just before dawn at a clearing in the woods just north of here. These were men the likes of which I’ve never seen before in my travels, hairy men, with bestial features, and some with large teeth protruding from their mouths. We stumbled upon them as much as they blundered into us. I’ll tell you all about it when we don’t have to shout.

She drops her hands, and looks over her shoulder, then raises her hands again and shouts

So far nothing here has attacked us, except a few geese, haha. I'll send a patrol through the village just to be sure and report back what we find later.

Cal turns to Marwan & says "It seems the raiders have withdrawn to rejoin the rest of their force. I can't say I find that thought reassuring, although the immediate threat is gone. I suspect this attack might have been a probe of the area's forces and our ability to respond. I don't think its a test we passed." Calex thinks for a moment then continues "We may even have been just a feint in a larger move. Any force looking to conquer the area must eventually contend with the Alodoans & Castletown. These attacks may be trying to draw force away from there to leave it more vulnerable. I would be curious the learn if there has been raids on any other villages. If the response was to garrison a troop at each raided location it would spread the Alodoan forces thin."

Marwan casts his eyes downward, folds his arms, and thinks a few moments before speaking.

Do these creatures think and act that way? I was under the impression that these were simple reaving brutes, bandits writ large. If it's as you say the safest course of action may be to withdraw the noncombatants to Castletown until we can verify what their long-term plan is.

"I suspect you are right about the beast-men by themselves. The ones we captured seemed pretty monstrous- and definitely evil. But the snake-men they are allied with seemed to be the real leaders, and considerably more cunning, if no less cruel." Cal gestures out to the still smoking village. "As for the villagers leaving- good sense would say you are right. But having lived through the warlord years and the uncertainty of the Alodoan conquest, I feel they might bock at abandoning Woodbridge now. Plus we don't know if the Alodoans would even be willing to take in the refugees. It's still a good point to raise though. If we can I certainly would favor moving our vulnerable to safety. The village is its people after all. Buildings can be re-built."

In any event, this will not be a decision made between the two of us at this point. Come, let us get some strong young men and some rope. Our first priority is to reestablish a connection with the world outside this tiny little island, no?

After seeing that Mr. Panforey drinks his potion, Robert gathers his things to leave. He pauses at Rebecca, "I'm heading to the bridge to see how I can help connect us to the mainland again. Your father's doing better I'm glad to see. I'll check back in when I can. Take care." He then hugs her close and leaves.

On the way to the bridge he stops by where his parents are staying to make sure they know he's alive and then walks to the bridge.

The Village of Woodbridge, Riverside

Day 13, before noon

By the time Robert arrives at the site of what was one the covered bridge between Riverside and Lakeside, a gathering of both young and old, human and Maetaur are assembled. He joins Marwan and Calex as they evaluate the safest place to establish a crossing of the lake, just north of the wreckage in the water. A small boat has been brought around from the northeast side of the island and once it is inspected, a few people of Woodbridge climb in to see just how many it will hold. At seven adults, the top sides of the boat begin to drop close to the water.

Ropes are gathered, men and women with shovels begin preparing a hole to receive a large post on the bank of the island, while across the lake, some hundred or so feet away the soldiers of Alodoa look as if they are beginning construction of a small pier.

By noon the post is set, the ropes are knotted together, two large oars have been found, and the first crossing of the lake is ready to begin. Calex, Marwan, Marcus, Robert, and Patricia climb into the boat, with Marcus and Patricia each taking an oar. The surface of the lake is still and calm, the waters here are deep, and in only a matter of moments the boat, dragging the ropes behind it, has crossed to the other side.

The soldiers, who happen to have rounded up a few tools, from some of the burned houses on Lakeside, begin fastening rings to the boat, and attaching the ropes to the small pier built from scrap lumber recovered from the village.

As Calex, Robert, and Marwan begin touring the ruin of Lakeside with Georgianna, Patricia and Marcus begin supervising the ferrying of some of the people of Woodbridge across the Lake giving them specific instructions that they are, for now, only to take stock of their property, recovery anything they might need, including any food stores still intact, and then return to the ferry so that they can return to Riverside, while others can then come across to do the same. It is well understood that it is not yet safe to return to their homes, and perhaps another day or two in Riverside is needed.

Tambree Maowan, Darleen’s older sister, has taken the temporary role of leadership for the Maetaur people, and assigns four of her kind to travel, one at a time, in the boat, when space is available. These four Maetaur are all members of the Children of the Moon, a small number of young Maetaur who have taken it upon themselves to train with weapons, and wear cloth armor. Their intention is to scout Mingary bend and assess the damage there if there is any.

Calex explains to Georgiana exactly what the people of Woodbridge believe has happened

For over a century no one has seen Tafganor in this part of the large island country of Urandoma. The Sashi-Anhain, the snake-men who have a long history of conflict with the Gymnaga people, were though to live only in the farthest southern regions of the land. MacNorra House, the Gymnaga settlement close to Woodbridge was attacked by a small force of Tafganor and Sashi-Anhain, who carried off the population of Gymnaga-folk. Tracking them to the southeast, Calex and some others of Woodbridge discovered a small fortified camp and rescued the Gymnaga-folk, who then set out for the coast, to the west, in hopes of following the coast to Castletown.

The force that attacked Woodbridge was half of the force that had attacked MacNorra House. It is unclear how long it might take for Lorgrad to fulfill his plans, access the hidden fortress, what he hopes to gain there, or how long it might be before his armies march northward toward Woodbridge, or Castletown.

Georgiana takes in all thins information, and by the time Calex has finished telling his story the small group has circled the Lakeside settlements and farms, and returned to the ferry.

Patricia inquires as to the whereabouts of Hector Pavicar, the Captain of the Alodoan forces who was supposed to lead the company to Woodbridge.

Georgiana tells Patricia that hector fell in combat with the leader of the Tafganor they encountered.

That is a synopsis of the situation at this point. Over the next couple of days it will be deemed that Woodbridge is safe, and people will begin rebuilding their homes Lakeside. The soldiers will stay, making a camp Riverside. Georgiana will send the Groundsmen who assisted Woodbridge in the defense of the village, along with D’ieredon, back to Castletown with a full report (Georgiana accompanied the Alodoan soldiers at the last minute. She is the head of the Groundsmen at Castletown, and D’ieredon’s superior. The people of Woodbridge will not willingly leave their village at this time, but they also show more confidence in the Alodoan’s desire for cooperation and mutual habitation of the lands of Urandoma.

The party of adventurers for this game have to decide what they will do next. There is the problem of the Fulough Barghnora, a huge decapus that was seen in the bogs northwest of the village, the current situation of Auria and Cicily being unaccounted for, and the situation of the Tafganor warlord and his plans.

Once all the chaos has died down, and it appears safe. Marcus, rushes over to his home, hoping and praying along the way that his home isn't burned to cinders.

Once he has an answer, whatever it may be, he helps to ferry the Aladoan support army over the lake, into the hopefully safe Riverside Island.

He listens to the story, and looks to the others, Calex, Robert and Marwan, Thank you to all of you, for coming together in our village's time in need to repel the army that marched upon us. I am not skilled in martial arms nor do I possess any magical auras inside me. What I do know is the art of crafting. I will craft whatever I can, to lend my skill with whatever quest you may wish to embark on.

Looking at the ruins of the bridge, Marcus can see that the supports are still intact and that the bridge once rested on the piers, but was not firmly attached to them.

As he ponders what it will take to rebuild the structure, the Widow MacNorra (Ginny MacNorra, the second wife and widow of Duffy MacNorra the man who found and began restoring the ruins that are known as MacNorra House)approaches him.

Ginny says,
When I was a little girl there was an old man in the village by the name of Oscar Dallopwinter, he was a grandson of Jeremy Dallopwinter who built the first bridge here. That first bridge was not like this one, it was smaller, and didn't have a roof. Oscar used to tell us that his family was sad when the original bridge was replace by this one, but that he was happy that the new bridge was larger. When we rebuilt the bridge, we should have your father fashion a plate of metal with Jeremy's name on it to remind everyone of where it came from.

Robert crosses over the river and heads toward his home to see what is left of it.

When they all regroup he says, "I think we need to try and find Cicily and Auria. We should talk to everyone and see who saw them last and where they were heading. Maybe the orcs took them and maybe they got away. I don't know. But we should find them and bring them home. Hopefully in one piece. This village as suffered enough already."

"I worry too. See what you can learn from the people to give us a lead on their direction or possible location, would you? Marcus may have heard something, too. Once we have a chance to rest, and maybe give me some time to craft a scroll or 2 to extend my abilities to a more useful amount, we should be in a position to launch a search. A few more healing potions would not go unappreciated either, but time may be against waiting for me to be able to craft those. We'll see. Things are very much fluid right now. I would rather we leave under-equipped to search for them rather than let the trail grow cold & we lose any chance at all."

I can heal almost any injured person we come across enough to keep them alive for the night. I agree, the potions will take too long. We have security here, let's head out as soon as we can.

The Village of Woodbridge, Riverside
Day 13, noon

Robert arrives Lakeside, while Marcus and Calex are still making a circle around the lakeside settlements and assessing the damage. He recognizes a couple of Maetaur and nods in their direction, and then heads toward his home.

He is happy to find his family’s home, which is on the northeastern side of Lakeside, is undamaged, but it has been pillaged. Robert’s best guess is that a few fires were started by the retreating Tafganor, and when Auria’s shed when up in a massive explosion, that must have been enough to convince the Tafganor to stop setting fires to random buildings.

He moves through his family’s home and finds that his mother’s silver serving platter was taken, and much of his family’s belongings are strewn about on the floor. Fortunately his grandmother’s rocking chair is undamaged, but then again, it is a heavy chair, and it would take a considerable effort to damage the thick oak chair anyway.

When he is satisfied that his family can return and begin cleaning up the mess, Robert heads back toward the temporary ferry and passes Auria’s ruined house on the way. The “milking” shed, as Auria had called it, is completely gone, only one corner timber burnt, but still in the ground remains, while scattered pieces of wood lie in a circle around where the shed once stood at a distance of fifteen or twenty feet away. The northern wall of Auria’s home is blasted apart, exposing the whole interior of her house, and what remains of the rest of her home is charred from a fire that was put out by the early morning rain. Small wisps of smoke still rise from the building where it was turned black by the fire.

There seems to be nothing to learn from the wreckage of Auria’s home, and Robert sees Calex and Marcus coming from the north toward the ferry and hurries to join them.

When Robert expresses his interest in finding the missing which and the Maetaur woman Cicily, one of the Maetaur warriors, a young man named Michelin McCarthy overhears his conversation and approaches the three men.

Michelin McCarthy says,

When word reached us at Mingary Bend of the imminent approach of the Tafganor, Cicily talked to my mother, Nell, and told her that she was going to go ask Auria to accompany her to Gowan’s Crossing. Now, I’ve never been there myself, but I’ve heard others in Mingary talk about Gowen’s Crossing. East of the Green Wood there is a settlement called Otter’s Lake, and it is a small community of Maetaur and Urandomans who fish the small lake there. Otter’s Lake is fed by a river from the north called the Dalinour River. About four miles north, I think, of Otter’s Lake there is a large Maetaur town at a sandy shallow crossing point of the river and this town is called Gowen’s Crossing. Cicily intended to warn the people of Otter’s Lake and then continue on to warn the people of Gowen’s Crossing.

The Green Wood is due north of Mingary bend, passed the Fox Woods, and the Hills of the Cairns. Mingary Bend is three quarters of a mile to the north of Lakeside where there is a bend in the river, and a small hill in the cup of the river bend. The Fox Wood is a small stand of fir and beech tris on the north side of the river, beyond this small wood are rolling hills of tall grass, bushes, and scattered trees. The Hills of the Cairns can easily bee seen to the northeast, once you are out of the Fox Woods, and when you are close enough to those hills the green Wood can be seen to the north of the hills. The southern edge of the Green Wood is thirteen miles north of Woodbridge. The Green Wood is thought to be about eight miles wide from north to south. On the north end of the Green Wood can be found Otter’s Lake. But, no current resident of Woodbridge, other than Cicily Fautinbino, has ever travelled that far north. If Cicily and Auria set out for Gowen’s Crossing by way of Otter’s Lake a day ago, they may have made it as far as otter’s Lake in one day, but there is no way to know if they made it that far or not. The way to the Hills of the Cairns is easy, you cannot get lost, but once you enter the Green Wood, the journey would be difficult. There are trails in the Green Wood, but it is a thick forest and without good outdoor skills you could easily become lost.

"Very well. I guess we'll resupply and set out in the morning. I'll use tonight to pen a new scroll of a Magic Missile spell. It has good range, & always hits, although the damage it does is similar to a dagger jab more than anything else. There is one thing I'm a bit worried about though. My wood skills are...less than ideal. To be honest- I needed Dieredon's help to get back to Woodbridge from Castletown. And I'd made the trip before! Someone with much better wilderness skills than me would ease my misgivings. That aside, we really never had much of a chance to unpack from our last outing, so a quick leave-taking is easily done."

I do not know this area, but I will gladly help search for anyone missing.

The Village of Woodbridge, Riverside

Day 13, noon

The rest of the day passes. As more and more of the residents of Lakeside return to their homes they form into large groups, mostly made up of those whose houses are closest to each other, and begin helping the ones whose homes were damaged by fire begin the long slow process of tearing down what is damaged, and taking stock of what can be done to begin rebuilding.

The elven woman, Georgiana, divides the small platoon of soldiers from Castletown into five groups of six, and assigns four groups to assist each group of residents, and sends one group back across the lake to help with the clearing of the debris from the fallen bridge.

In a few hours another boat is seen on the lake, and word spreads around that Leto and Alinda journeyed back to MacNorra house to fetch it. More ropes are stretched across the lake, and rafts are being built with the help of the Maetaur.

Marcus finds himself inundated with information as practically everyone in the village comes to him to tell him what the status of the family and the home is. At first it is difficult to keep track of all the information, but he notices that the elven girl, Kaspeae is writing everything down on a stack of thick sheets of paper she took from her father’s library. Kaspeae smiles when Marcus sighs, looking at her well kept notes.

Patricia slaps Marcus gently on the shoulder and tells him he is doing a fine job of acting village leader, and she is more than willing to go take care of her own family unless he has something he needs her to do.
Calex, Robert, and Marwan begin the preparations for what could be a long overland journey, by meeting at the Bread and Board, to make a general plan, and compare resources. While they are there, Oscar and Lulu feed them well.

While they are getting their plan in order, Darleen Maowan, the Maetaur bard approaches the three men.

I would like to join you, if you’ll accept me, in your search for Cicily.

"I would be delighted to accept your help."Calex says. "I've always admired much of our maetaur neighbors. You and your people's support over the past have have been part of Woodbridge's resilience for so long we often take such for granted. Any aid we get makes things safer for us all. The raiders are still out there, and other threats are arising in the wilds. It's a poor time to travel in small numbers and I worry for our missing ones. Thank you for your offer."

We certainly can use the help of someone who knows the area.

Robert smiles at the maetaur. "Another friendly face would be good on this journey. Please come with us. If you know the land in the way we travel even better." He then turns to the group, "Before we leave, I have a few things I need to take care of. I'll meet you at the bridge at whatever time we decide."

Thank you, all of you. I'll try to do my best to be of help on the journey. I don't know the way, but my father gave me a map, to the Maetaur Village of Durrywain, which is north and west of Woodbridge, and it is there that I think Cicily would have gone, to warn them. I've never been there but both of my parents were born there. I've been to Kinamay Brawnoor, the lyph village that is along the way, and the Lyph people here in Woodbridge want to know if it is safe to return to their homes, and if they can follow us at least that far.

It is midday, day 13, do any of you have anything you need to do in Woodbridge, which involves NPCs, or something else from me, before you set out on your journey?

Not I.

Dotting, ready whenever you are Terq

The Village of Woodbridge, Riverside
Day 13, noon

Calex, Marawan, and Robert decide to meet on the unfinished road between Mingary Bend, and Woodbridge, Darleen promises them that she can have the map ready by morning and will wait for them in her village.

The Village of Woodbridge, Riverside
Day 14, morning

Robert rises early, satisfied that he has promised his family he will return, and as he leaves his house he sees Calex and Marwan, coming towards him (his house is on the north end of Lakeside, so it is on the way toward the Mingary Bend Settlement.

The rest of the village is already active though it is early in the morning, as folks begin the task of cleaning up the damage and debris from the days before.

Suddenly, a strange sight appears coming from the south.

A young female Maetaur is walking alongside a young male gymnagaopthian. They are dressed for a journey, and they have their sights set on Calex