Bardoc wrestled with Thunderhoof, the son of his one-time closest companion, until both centaurs were exhausted and it appeared only a stalemate could be reached. The Karameikans watched from a respectful distance, none of them willing to intervene in this duel of honour. At long last however Bardoc emerged victorious.
Journey to Alfheim - Part Two
Vasily and Lana stepped forward to reason with the centaur, recalling his former glory days and his once-unquestionable allegiance to the forest and its inhabitants. Ever so slowly, Bardoc's demeanour became subdued. Realising the wretch he had become and hanging his head in shame he sought to make a retreat, yet Thunderhoof cantered after the departing ex-hero vowing never to return to the Canolbarth unless it was with a reformed Bardoc by his side.
Now that the elven steeds had been rescued, the centaurs proved true to their word and set the party on a trail bound for Desnae, even escorting the party part of the way. Once the centaurs had taken their leave, the party arrived at an area of the forest where the enormous tree trunks were surrounded by impenetrable black thickets, stinging nettles and deep ditches. Looking upward, rope bridges could be seen linking together platforms which had been fixed to various trees. It seemed that the party had reached Desnae at last! Invoking a Fly spell Lana levitated to one of the platforms where she was met with open hostility by the elves who turned out to be members of the Mealidel clan, and who were unmistakeably not prepared to tolerate an outsider's presence within their domain. Lana made her apologies to the elves and descended back to the forest floor.
Travelling onward the party encountered Dominicus Greybeard, a wandering cleric of the Thyatian faith who appeared tending the wounds of an injured vixen. The elderly priest bid the companions to take a wooden box to Carlisan, Counsellor to the Clanmaster of the Chossum Clan, as payment of an old debt. Unable to overcome their curiosity, the companions peeked inside the box, which was not locked, and glimpsed costly gems gleaming within.
Desnae at last
Reaching Desnae a few days later the party was surprised to learn that unlike other elven settlements most of the Chossum clanseat was based at ground level. The trunks of the mighty oaks were surrounded by warehouses and taverns, with only few dwellings nestling among the upper branches. Meeting with Carlisan, the right-hand man of the Chossum Clanleader, the companions found this elf to be pleasant initially, though evidently shrewd and a keen businessman. It seemed that once Carlisan had assured himself of the party's favour his attention turned to more pressing matters. In any event the elf recalled that Valen Karameikos had passed through the clanseat recently, in the company of a female elf by the name of Damareen. They had headed east toward the area known as Selinar, which comprised several of the great elven lakes. However, if the party were to stand any chance of catching up with the young nobleman (whose progress was after all being directed by one of the native forest-folk) they would need to enlist the help of a seasoned tracker.
The party agonised for a while before embarking for Alfheim Town aboard rafts piloted by a dwarven crew. After a brief period of rest they set out east, guided by an experienced woodsman originating from the Grunalf clan. Here the party gained an addition in the form of Adriana Karameikos, hot on the party's heels having set out from Karameikos a few days earlier but having followed the less-direct road from Darokin City instead of embarking through the wilderness as the party had done.
Run-in with Clan Longrunner
Trekking through the eastern area of Alfheim the party was ambushed by one 'Flamefists', the agressive leader of a Longrunner scout patrol. On pain of death he ordered the companions to turn away from their current quest, which could only hope to lead them ever closer to the evil magic point known to common folk as Stalkbrow.
Flamefists was angered by the party's insistence that they should be permitted access to Stalkbrow, since he evidently believed that the outsiders did not know what manner of foe they would be facing. The party members professed their concerns for young Valen and also their willingness to do whatever was within their power to weaken the presence of this malicious force within the Longrunner borders. Finally the party was allowed to meet with a second Longrunner patrol, made up of elven wizards and human druids, who briefed the party on what lay ahead.
Just as the party had experienced areas of beneficial and almost playful magic within the Canolbarth Forest, they had learned that a balance needed to be maintained. Dragontree was considered a point of bad magic, from which monsters such as dragons and displacer beasts would periodicaly escape. Stalkbrow was reputed to be the most evil of the 'bad' magic points since its magic manifested itself in ways which were less obvious than Dragontree. The emanations of Stalkbrow were rumoured not to attack mens bodies, but rather their minds.
The Observatory
Heading onward with the blessing (after a fashion) of the Longrunner clan the party set up camp one night on the shore of one of the great lakes but noticed a mist rolling directly toward them, from off the lake. They tried to run but were enveloped within the rolling fog. When their vision cleared they had re-appeared on a vast, unremarkable plain of grey landscape and empty sky overhead. Suitably spooked they had little choice but to head toward the only feature they could see - a large castle some distance away. As they neared the peculiar construction they noticed that one side of the building was made of smooth polished stone, while the other was jagged natural rock. Inside they met with Olmundvar, the Watcher, who explained that the party must have chanced upon a magical vortex to find themselves here on the 'Observatory', built by the forces of Neutrality between the Prime and Ethereal planes, to observe the world of men from afar. By way of example, he bid the party cast their gaze into a great scrying pool, within the waters of which they watched the forces of Thyatis and Alphatia amassing to wage war on the Isle of Dawn, where only recently the party had rescued Karnus' sister from the hands of Thyatian slavers. The focus of the current conflict appeared to be a heavily fortified castle, which was besieged by a vast army bearing banners of white fabric depicting a spray of rainbow colour. As the companions watched, the keep's outer defences were breached and the triumphant army began pouring inside.
After viewing this scene the Watcher bid the heroes depart quickly lest they be trapped in this strange dimension and fail in their quest to save young Valen Karameikos. The heroes took turns to exit via a set of great double doors. In so doing they could feel themselves being affected and changed forever by the opposing forces of Law and Chaos. One by one they emerged on the branch of one of the great trees, unmistakeably back in Alfheim. A swarm of flying lizards descended and the party was obliged to attack in self-defence. Once the battle ended, it became apparent that all was not as it should have been. Threy was missing.
As much as the companions were concerned about what had become of the surly cleric, they could not waste time as Stalkbrow was by now not far off and Valen's rescue was imminent. Within only hours of trekking onward the party emerged onto a flat plain devoid of trees, miles wide, in the middle of which two giant hills stood in the image of a furrowed brow. Most unnervingly of all however the hills appeared to be moving toward the party! Within minutes the hills reared up before the party, a pair of enormous evil-looking eyes glaring down upon their tiny forms. A heartbeat later the hills morphed into a giant hand and engulfed the party. Without exception their minds blacked out.
Stalkbrow
As they regained consciousness the companions' surroundings appeared transparent and insubstantial, with a hazy figure standing cloaked before them. This entity introduced itself as the spirit of Stalkbrow. It claimed to have been awoken by the cries of a small clan who had been rejected by their fellow faerie folk. Lana cringed as on cue around a hundred wood imps (such as she had battled to clear from the Dymrak Forest a month before) emerged from nooks and hollows in the hillside. The spirit had been able to feed and grow from the malice within these small creatures' hearts. Similarly, the spirit revealed that it held prisoners. Throwing back its cloak, the outlines of human and elven forms could be made out writhing in chains of shadow, unable to escape but bound to the spirit by their various grievances and petty hatreds. Among the prisoners was Valen, his face contorted in anguish. Adriana cried out upon spying her brother and demanded that the spirit release its captives.
The spirit laughed defiantly and grew larger, the young woman's resentment seemingly providing it sustenance. Vasily was accused of harbouring hatred for the Thyatian invaders and humanoids which infested his homeland. Karnus and Lana allegedly held mutual distrust and jealously for one another's magical prowess, while Drewen was accused of harbouring resentment that his companions viewed him as a mere fighting machine. In turn the spectre addressed each party member, claiming that the hatred they each fought so hard to conceal meant not one of them stood any chance of defeating the powerful spectre. All but one however. Turning its attention upon Betula the spirit was unable to find any hint of negativity within the pure young dryad's soul. Recoiling in an outward show of hate and fear the spirit called forth its minions. A dozen undead elves mounted the hill from below, each cloaked in darkness and bearing blazing red spheres in each hand. The spirit howled with delight and bid the Wyrds focus their attacks on the defenceless Betula.
Read the next dramatic instalment - Showdown at Stalkbrow