Chapter 9 - Rescue Mission

The party decides not to go with the White as to not leave Emerys behind. The boats leave under ice power. They go across the river and the dragons fly to the river. The dragons are enormous. Massive cracking sounds and the river raise to an enormous wall of ice. It looks like the entire river might have come. The only break is by the bridge. Dragons take a roost on top of the wall.

Luna knocks on Parthogen's hut to ask about the dryads. He walks us to the fire wall. Bynx asks Parthogen to talk to the dryads. He won't. The party tells him about the plan to talk to the dryads to gain allies. We tell him about Malafist and Parthogen knows of him. Thought he was always a jerk. We tell Parthogen about the fight.

Juice throws a stone over the fire wall and flames jut up to destroy it. Kallista asks about the flying creatures we saw. We describe it. He tells it a peryton. It casts a shadow of the last thing it ate the heart of.

He's never seen anything cross through it. We ask him to go through the fire. The fire opens up and he walks through after T'chell pays him, 5 gp and 1 sp.

Luna tests it with a finger and it parts to walk through. She walks through.

She is on the bridge and it feels warm. It feels like a summer day, despite being surrounded by ice.

Luna walks for a while to get to the tree. It is nicely green and leafy. Luna says "Hello" in Sylvan.

Luna tingles and feels like she is in the presence of something. She feels pressure in her mind and she hears a whispy voice, "What are you doing here?"

"Im in search of answers or help"

After a long silence, "I hold the bridge. What answers do you seek?"

"Outside of this bridge, dryads and treants alike are dying, not of natural causes. I want to help. Do you know this?"

"You speak of my sisters?"

"I don't know. That's why I need answers."

"Is the danger from your side or the Feywild?"

Luna explains that dryads and treants are being attacked and killed by Malafist.

"You seem confused. Do you want to cross the bridge to the Feywild?"

Friends can't come.

A white squirrel comes running down the tree, looks that Luna, and then runs back up the tree.

Dryad says she is imprisoned 3000 years ago. She doesn't know anyone anymore. She hasn't even spoken to her sisters in this time.

She says her name is Eponi.

Meanwhile, the rest of the party is cold near the ice.

Luna comes back and we head back to the hamlet.

We approach the standing stone in front of the village. We go in.

The is a two foot tall rose person standing there. Luna jogs up to it. It reaches out a hand and they touch. The name Tika appears in her head. Thank you for summoning me. I am Tika happens telepathetically in Luna's head.

"I will always be your friend until I die."

"Can you leave the bush?"

"I can."

Tika is a Rose Thorn.

Juice tries to touch it but there is no telepathic link.

We check the drawer, but there is nothing.

Kallista takes her mount and goes around the perimeter. The leopard can sense there is something wrong with the forest. She is relieved to be back in side and pees on the bush.

T'Chell wrestles with his mount.

Kallista makes a cat toy.

Everyone plays with their mounts and we wait for Ina.

Tika rides on Luna's shoulder and goes outside to wait for Ina.

Tika says it feels terrible out here.

Luna explains that the forest is not at peace. Tika hops off her shoulder and scrambles up a tree.

An owl lands on Luna's arm. It does not have a message. Luna casts speak with animals.

A mental image of a treant being pulled apart and Luna following the owl. Tika springs out of the tree and is wearing a bow made of twigs, but there are no arrows.

She tells the rest of the team and tells us we have to go!

Most take our mounts. Kriv stays behind. We follow the owl which flies north, gets to a creek bed, and then turns toward the east. This is the way to the ranger's fort.

We concur. We're here to help. We continue forward.

It lands on a tree limb, and points it's head off to the side, and motions its head in that direction. Luna gets away from the creek bed and find a treant ripped apart. Luna thinks this Broadleaf.

Luna talks with the owl again and thinks of Corryn. Owl projects Corryn screaming in agony. Luna tries to ask when and the owl projects Corryn being carried by rangers at night.

The party plans on how to get into the tower.

Juice casts a spell to notify Kriv of the situation. He does not respond.

T'Chell throws a stone in the lake bed. Nothing happens.

A loud screech comes from the sky. Emerys sees a large bird with a deer head.

We fight a peryton and kill it.