Journal of the Wayfarers 2

2nd Pretor, Year of the Wolf
Stopping overnight in the village, the following morning they were joined by three other adventurers, a Ranger called Fluff (Daniel), a Fighting man called Smily (Ben) and a Wizard named John (John). The village Reeve (for such he was) promised them a reward for proof of the ogre’s death; then led them through the fields, passing a burnt-out farm, to the edge of the False Forest. Stepping-stones crossed a small stream, on the far bank, in the mud, was the imprint of a large clawed foot. Heading into the woods, after some time they found a hut with and old man sitting by an open fire. Talking to him, they found out that to find the ogre they “…must travel north. Where the path divides, use your common sense. At the Stone Pool, throw in a sprig of hazel and a coin at midnight; then follow what you see.” He also gave then a handful of Goodberries; advising that they be used before the next of the full moons (there are two moons in this world). John asked him to describe what hazel looked like.
Travelling north, they came to a fork in the path. The left-hand path was straight, smooth grass, lined with flowers, whereas the right-hand path was twisting, boggy and choked with briars and thorns. Remembering that they were in the False Forest; where all is not what it seems, they chose the right-hand path. All except Shadow, who marched off down the left-hand path?

The right-hand path was difficult going and brambles and thorns sorely scratched them. At one point, in the distance, they heard thudding hooves and the ‘thwack!’ of a bowstring, followed by a long drawn-out scream. “Oh dear”, they thought, before continuing. Eventually the path joined another coming in from the left, passed through some thick gorse bushes and emerged back at a muddy clearing they had found earlier.

Meanwhile, Shadow headed along the path, all his Elven senses alert for danger. Without any warning, he was attacked from behind by a huge wild boar. He managed to loose off a shot, but was badly gored and knocked out.

Leaving the clearing and heading north, the track climbed up into the hills, eventually ending in a hollow with a huge standing stone archway. The trail ended just beyond in a grove of trees. A suggestion was made to burn the trees, fortunately, as shall be seen, they did not pursue this course of action. The old man had told them to seek a stone pool, but finding nothing they returned through the gathering dusk to the inscrutable wise old coot to seek clarification. However, when they got there, they found the garden overgrown, the hut ruined and no signs that anyone had lived there for years. Puzzled and at a loss, they went north again; at the Straight Path they were amazed to see Shadow calling to them. It transpired that he had only been knocked out (true! – BJ). Night was falling; lighting torches they hurried up the path to join him. Suddenly, Fluff was charged from behind by a wild boar. He and Smily were unhurt and John felled it with a Sleep spell. To their amazement the boar shimmered blue and disappeared.

Back at the standing stones, it finally dawned on them to climb up and look on top. In a hollow on the upper surface was a pool of rainwater. Cutting a sprig of hazel from the grove of trees, Fluff threw it and a coin in at midnight. The image of a cave mouth appeared, followed by a constellation of seven stars, and then faded. Looking in the sky, the constellation was seen, low in the west. Heading west along the hill line, after about three miles they came to a cave; the lair of a mean one-eyed wolf that dealt Smily a grievous wound before being killed. Trying to heal Smily they found out what the Goodberries did (provide healing and nourishment).

After a short rest they continued along the hills, the forest a dark brooding mass below and to their left. After about four miles they came across another cave. There they found the outlaw Rogar and his female companion Kira. Kira was badly wounded and dying. Rogar offered to help them find the ogre, but only if they first help Kira. It used their entire supply of Goodberries to help her; she was still not cured but at least she now had a chance. When asked how it had happened, Rogar simply replied that it had happened during their escape from the prisons of the Red Cardinal. At dawn, he pointed out a ruined tower jutting up like a broken tooth about four miles to the south, the lair of the ogre.

Approaching the tower, the ogre appeared to be asleep, judging by the noise. Shadow crept forward and woke it up by shooting an arrow at it. The ogre grabbed a club and came out fighting but a concerted attack soon killed it.. A search uncovered some treasure, plus a fragment from a diary making reference to “…the Tomb of Karian, somewhere on the Far Isles.”

Returning to Axbridge, they collected the reward for the ogre’s head, then returned to Kularni.