The afternoon was full of questing and adventure. Even Timmus, the local mute, got in on the fun of collecting treasures. Meldryn even uncorked some of his special Brü, aged for a thousand years and too potent for any mortal man. Songs were sung and battles waged, though the town itself remained safe because of its magical tablets. These we were particularly thankful for of late, with trolls and minotaurs about.
Though the town was safe, there seemed to be trouble brewing still. Some townspeople were beginning to feel strange. Meldryn had been experiencing strange dreams and visions, seemingly from another place, another time.
These dreams gave Meldryn a series of riddles, which some young adventurers helped to solve. The strange riddles led the adventurers to different denizens of Ravenwood, all of whom possessed odd, mystical orbs. None could say just how they had come by them, or just what they were.
Meldryn recognized these three orbs as possessing magical qualities. Resting them on the ground together, he peppered them with his special mix of pipe-herbs. Then, he confessed that he believed his dreams to be memories- not his own. Rather, those of his lost brother, Malcolm. These visions were attempting to tell him something. Something was coming, or perhaps was already near.
The united orbs caused Meldryn to sense the nearness of this presence more potently. Only, this intuition seemed to point to a person that no one would suspect- Timmus.
Being too wise to suspect Tummis of foul play, Meldryn asked to see inside of his sack. Therein was a strange, stone idol, which had been found deep in the woodland. This mysterious item seemed to be the source of the strange feelings in town. Meldryn set it aside to ruminate over its properties. However, its presence only caused even stranger happenings- the Wizard could not even cast the simplest of spells. Still stranger, when Thokk attempted to destroy it with his axe, the idol was discovered to be indestructible.
With these cryptic occurrences still fresh in their minds, the Ravenwood Archery Contest commences. It was a hard-won battle, but Spruce and his partner came out on top! From the archery field, the villagers trekked to the dancing circle. There, they enjoyed several rounds of the delightful Strip the Willow, a classic Ravenwood folk-dance. In spite of the oppressive sun, fun was had by all.
Ready for drink and a respite, the townsfolk returned home. What they found there, however, was far from ordinary. Two rogue creatures of the forest, Goblin and Trollie, had infiltrated the town! Once accosted and contained by the townspeople, they revealed that they had not been prevented by the tablets’ magic- they’d just walked right into town. They were sent as scouts by an army of monsters in the forest, looking for an object called Prasidie’s Bane. It was a magic-cancelling talisman, the very stone idol they had found, which was now hidden somewhere in town! The army meant to use it to undo an ancient spell, and unleash Anor the Annihilator of old, a great Minotaur King that would level the forest with ease.
Panic ensued as the warriors banded together to meet the army. Only Meldryn knew where he had hidden the Bane, though Ada’s hobbit ears quickly caught wind of it. Those that remained in the village waited, as the fighters met the army in the woods, and cries rang out. Only, after a time the cries became silent, and there was a resurgence of drumming. The army was coming.
Those left in town set up a line of defense against the monsters, and fought with valiance, but were eventually overcome. They were tied and piled together in the center of town as the goblins, trolls, and minotaurs upended the village in search of the Bane. It could not be found, however, for Mia had hidden with it in the lofts of the Blue Boar Inn. Just as the creatures went to search the Inn, Ivan leapt up and bravely led them away into the forest, claiming that he possessed the Bane they were searching for. The monsters set out after him, leaving only Goblin and Trollie in the town to watch the hostages.
Goblin and Trollie relished the changing of their fates, and performed goblin-songs and dances, to the horror of the townsfolk. They mocked the townspeople’s states, and Meldryn asked that they do what the wish to the town, but not drink his Brü. The citizens of Ravenwood begged them not to take the Brü, but Goblin and Trollie would not be dissuaded. They drank, and were promptly incapacitated.
Their guards unconscious, the townsfolk cut loose their bonds and called Mia out of the Inn with the Bane. The monsters did not have it, but would soon realize their mistake. With the tablets broken, it seemed that the town could not hold its own against another attack. The Bane would need to be kept from the beasts, and the tablets repaired- but how? The tablets were as old as Meldryn, and only he knew their source.
Meldryn told the townsfolk the story of how he had received the stone tablets from the Woodland King hundreds of years ago, and that their properties were not known to him. All the while, he and the other magic users were progressively weakened by the presence of the Bane.
Mertag resolved to seek out the Woodland Folk, as he had met them in the past winter deep in the woods. He and Thokkled the townspeople into the forest with the tablets, leaving the magic users behind to rest. Much further than any had travelled before, led by the cadence of wood-whistles on the breeze, the troupe trekked on. In a round glen in the wood, they found her.
The Woodland Queen recognized Thokk and Mertag, andwas pleased to hear of Meldryn again. The townsfolk explained their predicament, they the tablets her father had made were now broken. Though unsettled by this, the Queen was willing to repair them, if they would find a way to destroy the Bane. She spoke to them of the Pool of Eli’ad’een, and that its waters might nullify the Bane- at the cost of its healing powers. The wood itself would not be injured, but the artery that bled magic into the pool would be shut, likely forever.
The townsfolk thanked her and returned home, discussing the choice that was before them. However, when they reached the village, they found it empty- the magic users had been captured by the army of monsters! The townsfolk then had to decide- could they both destroy the Bane and save their friends, without the idol falling into the hands of those who would use it for ill?
They formed a plan together, to defeat the far-larger army and rescue the magic users, using the Bane as bait. Timmusstood at the crest of the hill, attracting the goblins into a narrow pass of the wood. Once they were bottlenecked between the trees, archers leapt out from under cover, shooting down a great number of the creatures at a distance. Beginning to break rank, many of their numbers lost, the monsters faced down the full strength of Ravenwood’s army. After bloody conflict and the desperate defense of their friends, the people of Ravenwood prevailed over the goblin army!
With the last of their strength, the townspeople took the Bane to the pool, where they at last faced their decision. The Bane or the Pool. Meldryn was given the last word- for this was the place where he had met the Woodland King, where his powers had come from, one of the last places that he had seen his brother. In the end, he agreed that the cost of saving the wood was not too great- let the stone idol be made into nothing more than that: stone.
The Bane was dipped into the pool, and the shimmering waters stilled. Suddenly, strength returned to the magic users, and Meldryn’s powers were restored! The townspeople returned to feast at the Blue Boar Inn, where the Woodland Queen met them. She returned the repaired tablets, restoring security to their village, with a dire warning to be more vigilant with their gifts in the future.
Stunning! What a day in the life of Ravenwood. So nice to hear the whole tale. LONG LIVE THE HERO’S of our land!