Extract from the Collected Letters of Mallius Vane
Several days had passed since we fled Phaendar into the forest. It felt longer. We were living a hand-to-mouth existence, barely managing to keep the townsfolk fed and protected. But day by day, with the help of those of us who had some skill at surviving in the wilds, the townsfolk were learning...becoming more confident...more able to fend for themselves. But then these were Nirmathi men and women...a hardy bunch! Nevertheless, one evening after a meagre meal, they thanked us for everything we were doing for them, giving us each a beautifully crafted necklace. I admit I was touched.
Yet it was not always easy. Three villagers had picked up the filth fever. And despite the best efforts of Folgrun and Rhyna, only one of them was responding to their treatment, the other two were gravely ill. And then, as we were sitting down to eat supper on our seventh day in the woods, Kana warned us a storm was coming. A big one. That is all we needed. And then we discovered the sheep had escaped...perhaps sensing the coming storm. One step forwards, two steps back.
I slept poorly that night, worrying about the storm. But I had remembered that nearby...it must be only a mile or so away...was a deep hollow underneath the trunk of a huge fallen tree. It would make a perfect place to take shelter from the storm. For I worried that, despite our efforts to reinforce the shelters we had made, we would be at risk staying in our makeshift camp. I persuaded the others and we left that very morning.
I found the place easily enough, it did not take more than an hour or so to reach. Unfortunately, there were animal tracks leading into the hollow. Big ones. I approached with caution, only to be met by a low and menacing growl from deep within the hollow. It was already occupied. I motioned to the others to come forward. Folgrun unslung his hammer and came to join me, Xin following a little behind...whilst Kana headed off to the side. Ban and Abraxas stayed back to protect the townsfolk.
Suddenly an enormous hulking shape emerged from the hollow. A wolverine. But no ordinary wolverine...this one was the size of a bear. It caught sight of Kana and began to push its way through the undergrowth towards her. I let fly, an arrow piercing its side, closely followed by a bolt of sizzling energy from the wand Xin held in his hand. Unfortunately, this seemed to do little other than enrage it. Kana backed away, her rapier looking pathetically small compared to the hulking beast. Both Xin and I hit the creature again but again it seemed to have little effect on the raging creature which leapt at Kana, swiping at her with its huge paws. She was tossed in the air like a rag doll, crashing to the ground where the beast tore bloody mouthfuls out of her.
Folgrun rushed towards our fallen comrade, shield heldp rotectively in front of him, trying to distract the creature from Kana. It worked as the beast turned on him. Fortunately, the dwarf stood firm, blocking the mighty swipe of the beasts paws with his shield. Both Xin and I hit the beast again...surely the arrows and bolts must be taking their toll! But we could see no lessening in its rage. Again Folgrun stood firm as the beast tried to get past his shield to no avail. He then delivered a hefty blow to the creature which, at last, seemed to give the creature pause...enough for me to finish it off with another arrow!
By this time, the wind had really picked up, whipping through the trees, and heavy drops of rain were beginning to fall. We motioned to Abraxas and Ban to bring the townsfolk over to the hollow as Folgrun picked Kana up, carrying her to the shelter under the tree. She was a bloody mess, her flesh torn all over. Folgrun, with the help of Aubrin and Rhyna, spent the rest of the day tending to her as we sheltered from the storm. And what a storm. Certainly one of the worst I have seen. Torrential rain, falling trees...but we were safe enough in the hollow.
By the evening, the storm had eased enough that we ventured out of our shelter and recovered the carcass of the wolverine. The meat was tainted but Folgrun assured us he could purify the meat, which he did. We ate well that night.
The next day we awoke to a bright and sunny day. Kana was conscious but looking battered and bruised. Still, it was a miracle she had survived such an attack at all. Not many would have. And there was more good news...those who had been suffering from filth fever were now fully recovered.
We made our way back to our camp to find a scene of devastation. All that remained standing were the dry stone walls we had used as foundations...the rest had been smashed and broken by the wind.
One step forward, two steps back.
We spent the rest of the day rebuilding the camp but as the townsfolk now knew what to do it took much less time than it had and by the end of the day we had it all fixed up and looking better than before. We also managed to have a good day foraging for food, bringing in plenty of fresh meat, fish and fruit.
The following day was another good one, spent hunting, fishing and foraging. At the day's end, after a decent supper, Folgrun was moved to make a speech congratulating the townsfolk on how far they had come, how much they had achieved here, how they were now able to fend for themselves meaning that some of us could now take the time to explore a bit further afield. Our dwarven companion certainly has a way with words...by the end of the speech, the townsfolk were clapping each other on the back and shaking each others hands, assuring us they would be fine by themselves for a few days!
The next day, our eleventh in the forest, Xin, Ban, Abraxas, Kana, Folgrun and myself set out to explore. We were accompanied by a couple of the townspeople that were decent hunters. We spent the morning foraging for food, sending the hunters back with most of what we gathered, while we continued on.
By late afternoon, we had made good progress, when we came upon a large bramble patch full of ripe fruit. We stopped to gather as much as we could. Suddenly, I noticed Kana draw her rapier just as a strange creature emerged from the brambles. A mass of dark writhing vines and thorns, the creature lashed out at Xin, drawing blood. Kana with her usual speed and grace, lunged with her rapier, managing to pin the creature to a particularly thick branch. This was fortunate because it gave the rest of us a chance to recover from our surprise. Xin and I then hit it with arrow and magic before Folgrun finished it off with his hammer, mashing the creature into pulp. And so ended the first day of our exploration...our eleventh since the fall of Phaendar.
For a slightly easier read, a PDF of the write-up on Google Drive here.
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