Active A Walk Through the Forbidden Forest

This RP is the part 2 of From the City of Faiths to Seeking Thieves. It follows the story of Rothgar the wizard who leads his party of would be heroes through the forbidden forest, where an ancient evil has been awakened and the way through is hidden!


Players.
RavenSong Joanne Vallenhart
Maxxob Edwin Stormcrest
Spoiled Bread Eeriel "Midnight"
Baku Iselai





The night continued as the moon and the heavens shifted their usual trajectory through the sky. Morning soon arrived, and the group rose at various times of the early hours. Nevertheless, eventually they all gathered after conducting their morning routines if any whatsoever. As they'd one by one arrive into the eatery their sense of smell was suddenly soothed by the various morning pastries and coffee, which in and of itself was a rare treat on this side of the continent.
A small band of soldiers then arrived, the leader amongst them heading straight to the keeper. "Keeper, anything to report?"
"No sirs, there'd be nothin' but the usual happenin's around these parts. But rumors are growing you see, some be mentioning there's a large swarm of undead folk in the heart of the woods."
The soldier took off his helmet, his face was scarred and one of his eyes had faded as a scar revealed a vertical slash that went over his eyelid. "Rumors are hardly a prelude to war, I suggest you keep such rumors from spreading, we can't have anymore commerce interrupted in Halden due to fear of travel. We're short manned as it is."
The keeper nodded, "Yes sir."
"As you were keeper, farewell."
WIth that the soldiers departed, but the eatery suddenly burst in whispers and speculation.
--

The Relic, as the inn was known, was the very last stop before reaching the Paizu. To the west was a small town, Halden. Mostly a food producing farm area, the place was on the brink of electing a new mayor. Which meant alot to the local populace not just to make farmers more money by widening the road to Ryken, but because this mayor was going to have to deal with a problem that loomed over the very land. A curse that had revealed itself that had escalated to attacks, not from raiders or wolves, but the living dead.

The mountain ranges shadow casted upon a vast expanse of forest and swamp; The Forbidden Forest. A place where it was always dark and damp whilst the air smelled of rotting earth and blood.



Usually travelers went around the forest due to the dreadful geography and dense terrain. Many others feared much more than the swampland.

Rumors had grown of a human who haunted the forest, stories of his foul magics to animate corpses. "With a wave of his scythe, he'll take your dead body and bring your very bones to his service." One said to the other at the table as they ate. "Efforts have been mysteriously halted to deal with those abominations! There's something strange going on with the higher ups around here!"
"Its a place of great evil.." A cloaked medium build gentleman with a crossbow at his side as he spoke to his partner. They could nearly be identified as scouts, or rangers of some sort. "I hear the farmers on the borders are looking for folk to build a pallisades. Perhaps they think they can amass enough support to have Ryken intervene." The other shook his head before taking a sip of his blackened liquid drink. "Pathetic. They're looking to get dead fast."
--
Amidst these rumors, Rothgar, the wandering wizard drank a glass of wine. Quite early, but his mind needed it. His anxiety seemed to grow as he speculated what could have been achieved with his stolen charts and plans by now. "Oh grand!" He exclaimed relieved and excited all the same as the party came about. "Don't let the overall mood of the place get to ye, it's not quite as bad as they say.. I know of a way we could get straight through without the need to encounter any sort of nasty things!"
--



The nun had twisted and turned most of the night, the bruises on her body had truly become a hindrance. Sitting up, she examined herself before casting an F grade healing spell. Rather than attempt to return to sleeping however, she rose. Quite earlier than most of the people staying at the inn overnight. She'd covered herself with a blanket and headed down to eat her fill before the long journey that seemingly laid before her. Noticing Rothgar, she'd raise an open hand softly. "May this morning find you blessed, elder." After a few exchange of words she sat by the fireplace to eat while she gazed into the fire. She wondered how she'd obtain a new suit of armor, a better sword to serve, and the courage to overthrow a dragon. Her peaceful train of thought was crashed however when a small dispatch of soldiers arrived through the door. Listening intently, she'd sit next to Rothgar after they left. "What was that about?"

"It appears an army of undead creatures is amassing in the forest.." he stroked his beard, "..how peculiar that the soldiers don't want to get anyone alarmed. Perhaps.. no.. no it couldn't be." He dismissed the thought with a wave of his hand before addressing the young crusader. "Once we get my plans, I'll be sure to help you find this dragon of yours." Joanne shook her head, "It is not the dragon, it's the chalice."
"Ah yes! The Chalice! Heh, I recently found out from the keeper ere' that the Church of Dala is rallying all their faithful crusaders to begin some sort of inquisition. Seems like they believe there are spies in their midst and anyone who doesn't join will be under scrutiny. By order of the arch bishop, those unwilling to serve will be sent to the public gallows of Ruaan. Hehehehe! Such a silly way to deal with getting a stolen chalice returned! Kill your own, find the dragon later!"

Joanne didn't know what to believe, she appeared rather conflicted by the recent news, if it was true it meant madness. The churches followers were livid by their stolen chalice, but why had the arch bishop now chose to wield that rage towards its faithful? Something was not right. "I have heard from others that.." she hesitated.

"Hm? Yes? Do tell." Rothgar pressed.

"That the chalice was used in conjunction with fell relics of the accursed realms of the underworld, and those of the demon realms as well. I don't know much else.. but if it's true-"

"It means that the church is compromised from within!"

Joanne nodded. "I fear the worst."

Rothgar then placed a hand on the crusaders shoulder, "Oh don't ye fret in time maybe things will reveal themselves!"

"I pray they will."

---

Once the others were gathered, Joanne greeted them. "A blessed morning to you all."

Titles
[Human - Mundane], [Noble Ryke] D, [Apprentice Lancer], Knight [Educated] Color - #6bcdfa

RavenSong Spoiled Bread Bakuyoshi

The night had been simply dreadful to Edwin. Not because of the adrenaline, which was still coursing through his veins from the previous first, real taste of battle he had experienced. Nor was the rather simplistic bed he slept on, much less comfortable than the velvety, luxurious bed along with equally high-quality pillows back at his family estate. No, the main culprit for his poor night of sleep had been none other than Rothgar, as they had to share the one of the bedrooms he had rented, as it wouldn't be proper for the free-knight to share the sleeping quarters with Sister Vallenhart.

The old mage had snored and snored, the rumbling coming out of his mouth kept filling the room with its insane cacophony. At one point, the teen nobleman thought that the dragon had, somehow, made its way into the living quarters by how loud the sound was. The infernal sound kept hammering into Edwin's ears, and even covering his own face with a pillow did little to muffle the sound. There was even a fleeting thought of getting his own pillow and sticking on top of Rothgar's face. In the end, the free-knight had committed a terrible mistake: not renting his own room. And this lesson, he burned in his own memory, knowing what to do if the party were to stop by another inn at some point.

Only when Rothgar got up and left the bedroom, had Edwin managed to get a few minutes of sleep, before his own internal clock made him awaken once more. Letting out a long sigh, he decided to get up from the bed and start his own morning routine in preparation. After he was done, he was clad in his armor as he made his way downstairs. With a rumbling stomach, he directed himself first at the ordering counter and began to choose his breakfast. Using his personal assets, [Wealth F], he ordered many pieces of assorted pastries. In fact, if one would look at his plate, they probably would think that it was for a few people, instead of just him. Along with the food, he ordered a large cup of coffee, a much-needed stimulant after the really poor night of sleep.

With tired eyes, Edwin managed to spot both Joanne and Rothgar by the fireplace. With his plate armor clinking with every step, he approached them, finding a seat near them. "Good mor-" his morning greeting was interrupted by a yawning with he couldn't stop, seeing that one of his hands carried the plate with the ungodly amount of food and his other one held the mug of coffee. "Sorry about that..." He apologized, a bit embarrassed, before continuing. "I hope you all slept well. So, what are the plans for that... what was called? Forbidden Forest?" He asked, while trying to jolt his brain into place, before starting to eat his pastries and drink the hot coffee.

RavenSong Maxxob Spoiled Bread

"21, 22, 23." Iselai mumbled to herself as she counted the coins she had left, frowning as she realized she was low again. She knew it was going to be rough but money always had a way of running out when she was getting close to an objective of hers. How was she going to enter that Forbiddent forest if all she had was the most basic of survival gear and equipment. Her own mind was firing ideas as fast as it could but she ended up feeling more frustrated with each failed thought.

"Can't believe of all places this is where the brick wall lies." She sighed before taking a drink of cofee before her ears caught something she never dreamed of hearing.

"I hope you all slept well. So, what are the plans for that... what was called? Forbidden Forest?"
Every person treated the place as if the air inside of it was toxic. The rumors she heard were far too numerous for a normal person to even consider entering the Forbidden forest. She had to look at the group of fellow fools just in hopes it was not some drunks shouting nonsense.

Her frown turned into a smile when she laid eyes on the group. An older man, a cleric or priestess of some form, a knight. There were people just as foolish out here as her. She ran her normal hand through her hair in an attempt to make herself more presentable. This was a chance she could not mess up.

She walked up to the group clearing her throat "Forgive the sudden intrusion strangers, I was a couple of tables away and I heard tale of you lot trying to go into the Forbidden forest." she had to stop herself before she gushed about the unknown and realizing she had butted in without even so much of bringing her name. "Oh er apologies about the lack of manners. My name is Iselai, I am a traveler of sorts who has been considering going into the Forbidden forest." She gave a bow upon finishing up her introduction. Though internally she felt her goose was already cooked at not starting with said introduction.

It was quite early still, but the inn never slept. Many had come and gone, others returning from their nightly duties. The inn echoed and occasionally creaked from he accumulated moisture of the night now drying up with the rising sun. The keeper went about his usual business, serving customers, returning keys, collecting fees as his waiters took orders back and forth to the chefs in the back room. An incredible order has been placed to which the baker was scratching his head wondering who on earth would eat so much in a single morning, and with a single cup of coffee nonetheless? Either way, he filled the order and the waiter served it at the bar for the noble knight Edwin Stormcrest whose degree of wealth impressed even the keeper who made sure to treat him particularly well.

Rothgar would look to Edwin, his beard increasingly just a day more tangled. "Good morning young man! Ready for the day are we? Hm? Ready to do some fighting are you? Eh?" He laughed, exposing his missing teeth as he slapped his knee. "Ah! Ah! Yes, eat much for it's quite the journey up ahead hm!"



It was then that Iselai would approach, her boots rapped and tapped underneath her feet as Rithgar saw her join the small group. "Hm?!" Exclaimed the old wizard with surprise. "You? You're headed to the Forbidden Forest?" He nodded in deep thought for a bit before looking at Joanne and Edwin. "Well, I suppose another weapon wielder would certainly be useful, heh.. but this is quite the dangerous journey lass! Are you sure?" He only paused briefly before continuing, "Well, no time to lose, we're after a stack of tomes with my celestial charts you see? It's my life's work! My.. my.. whole lifes worth of research! Surely you could understand the magnitude! Oh yes, those parchments are protected by magics of my own design, but, in the right magicians hands they can be unlocked and wield terrible, terrible power!! Oh you don't want to know what horrors could be possible!" He looked towards the door impatiently. "We.. we.. must go!" He got up but sat back down as he saw Edwin eating. "Right.. heh.. hasty, no no.. you need to keep up your strengths if I do say so myself!" Leaning into Edwin, "Hey lad, spare a pastry for an old man? Yes?"




Joanne nodded and held a gentle hand to her mouth as Edwin yawned, making her yawn as well. Once she was done, "By the gods that is excessive." She commented on the nobleman's giant plate of food. "You plan on eating all of that?" She asked non-chalantly as if already knowing what he was going to say.

When the woman known as Iselai approached and introduced, the templar maiden looked up at her from where she sat, "May Dala bless our meeting miss Iselai, i am Joanne Vallenhart of the church of Dala. Pray tell, what calls you to venture into the Forbidden Forest? I assume you've heard of the recent rumors coming from that place?" She looked at Rothgar who shrugged, then back at Iselai, "They say the way through might be riddled with some sort of accursed magic that returns corpses to life. I for one rather return to Ruaan, but.. Rothgar is in dire need."

Rothgar had been bouncing his knee up and down with anxiety, "Doh! We should really get moving! It's only a matter of time before things get much much much worse for us! If those magics are unlocked then it will be much greater an emergency than these undead whatever things!"

Joanne sighed before getting up and walking up to Iselai, "Are you ready to go? It appears we're.. heading out. I suppose we can wait a bit if you'd like to get anything in order before departure."

Titles
[Human - Mundane], [Noble Ryke] D, [Apprentice Lancer], Knight [Educated] Color - #6bcdfa

RavenSong Spoiled Bread Bakuyoshi

Edwin's emerald eyes were focused on Rothgar as he was greeted by the old man, flashing him a small smile while he ate. Swallowing the pastry that was on his mouth, he commented. "Training always left me famished! Carrying my armor and lance around takes quite a bit of energy! And, if what we will meet in the forest are the undead, I guess it will take sometime until we can poach animals to eat..." Finishing, he took a small sip of coffee, noticing the newcomer which had approached the trio.

He looked at her in appraisal, noticing the that she wasn't a full-blooded humanoid, and neither was fully of the other species she seemed to be a part of. Despite the general feelings that humans had towards beast folk or half-breeds, Edwin was neutral to them. "Greetings, Iselai. I am Sir Edwin of the house Stormcrest." The sixteen-year-old nobleman introduced himself, before placing yet another pastry in his mouth, wolfing it down with unprecedented aggressiveness. With that, Edwin would listen to Rothgar attentively, getting a better grasp of what his scrolls were about. Up to that point, the free-knight had no idea about the ramifications of the magical parchments. It looked like this quest had much in the value of honor after all, even if they would be, in fact, clearing after a mage with had been careless. At the end, it was just like his combat instructor had taught him: mages were simply no good.

Still, he kept himself amiable towards Rothgar, bringing his the mountainous plate close to him as he asked for a pastry. "Shure, go ahwead." He said with a mouthful, probably looking like a chipmunk. Turning towards Sister Vallenhart, as she asked if he was going to eat all of it, the teen nodded. "Do you want shome?" He would then also offer the plate towards both her and Iselai, giving them a chance to also get pastries from his plate, before shoving multiple of them inside his hungry mouth, washing them down with coffee in a blink of an eye. After he was done, he would let out a contented sigh, closing his eyes for a moment, before putting both plate and cup down. Cracking his neck, he appeared to be ready for whatever waited for them. "Ready when you are." He said with clear conviction in his preparedness.

Eeriel (Midnight)
Character Grade - E

As a cat, Eeriel didn't sleep like a regular person. Instead of one session of straight up eight hours sleep, she prefers to do frequent brief naps throughout the days. She spent half of the night sleeping, and then the other half baiting and sniping rats like she usually do. Fortunately for her the rats around tavern were usually abundant and plump from all those leftover foods and The Relic was no exception. Once the sun rose Eeriel had finished her little art piece that she placed behind a random tree near the inn, a dozen dead rats piled inside a replica magic circle drawn with the rats' own blood like some sort of mini ritual (Arcane F).

Satisfied with her little prank, she entered the inn and sat under the table, silently listening to the discussion done by the other individuals while grooming her fur. She did have some curiousity about the rumors floating around about the forest, or the might be juicy business about the Dala church, but ultimately she didn't care. She only came out from under the table when another person expressed their interest on joining them.

"Oh? Interesting, someone else is dumb enough to be willing to enter the forest. Welcome to the club then." The cat let out a big yawn and then stretched her body. Readying herself to resume their journey.

RavenSong Maxxob Bakuyoshi

Spoiled Bread Maxxob RavenSong

Iselai was surprised by the reception, hearing greeting after greeting, alongside being accepted. The thing that got her to speak up was the rumours and the danger behind it.

"Oh I have heard rumours of the place, similar to this one forbidden cave I investigated a few villages back. Undead, spirits. Just hoping one of em may be true. See the thing with the cave was it was just a hiding spot for a bandit who had masqueraded as a traveler like me. Spreading all these stories as a means of keeping people away."

She took a moment to respond to the cat "The word dumb is not applicable here, rather it's a place hardly many step foot into and if I can go into it and pop back out I can say more then most around here. Actually you may not get it, only those that travel for the sake of it would know why I want to enter." She could already imagine the possibilities behind this, mayhaps it was like the cave and have another story to tell from it. Or even the concept of nature sprits who challenge them to navigate the forest, now that would make for a greater story then just bandits.

She snapped back the moment she heard the call to move out, fumbling a moment as she rushed back to her table to grab her pack and various supplies.


"Forgive me but are there any preferred titles among you? I would rather not obtain the ire of any lords in the making."

Titles
[Human - Mundane], [Noble Ryke] D, [Apprentice Lancer], Knight [Educated] Color - #6bcdfa

RavenSong Spoiled Bread Bakuyoshi

Edwin let out a disapproving sigh when hearing the small black cat's bluntness towards the newcomer. He wondered how she had managed to stay out of trouble so far, if that was how she always acted. Well, maybe she didn't and had the means to handle the situation if it became ugly. Turning towards Iselai, he answered her question in a heartbeat. "Sir Edwin, as it befits my status as a knight." He said, telling her how she could address him. While the teen was approachable, he didn't really dismiss formalities. Focusing his attention to sister Vallenhart, he nodded with her proposal. "Certainly, sister. And there is no need to write a note for repayment. Just as the noble of the house Driscol said: the nobility and the clergy of Ryke stand hand-in-hand. My house ought to become closer to the faithful as well." He offered, with a small smile on his lips. He saw such favor as a no-brainer: coin for standing within one of the faiths. The more connections he made with those holding power, be it between the nobility or the clergy, the smoother his path would be. And, even more importantly, he would not allow for Joanne ill-equipped, as the dangers would be too great both for her and the group itself.

Outside the inn, his blue cape fluttered with the gentle breeze, his emerald eyes gazing up at the skies for a moment, understanding that Rothgar was probably right: it was going to rain. And, when the crusader asked for a moment to visit the small blacksmith next to the inn, he would follow her to provide the funds she needed to equip herself once more. Once more, using his funds [Wealth F], he splashed the necessary rykes to make whatever purchase she had in mind happen. He himself would grab a few simple lances, which the man had already in stock, as he predicted they would end up breaking from constant use. Carrying the newly acquired armaments, he brought them back with him and filled the pouch of his warhorse with them, before getting on the animal and starting to ride towards their next destination.

Galloping slowly as to match Rothgar's walking speed, his green eyes kept scanning the scenery as they arrived at Haldon. The ruffian types which eyed the group received, in return, a hard stare from Edwin. The free-knight thought it was nothing short of preposterous that whatever lord had the responsibility over the place had not taught his peasants better. And, even more grave, was the fact that the place had been allowed to reach such a state. Taxes were imposed and collected, he was sure of it, but the administration of the land was shoddy at best. He wondered if he would find in Ryke a noble worthy of swearing fealty to until he became a baron himself.

When the man suddenly approached Rothgar, the free-knight's grip on his lance tightened, ready for possible combat when next was revealed something much different. He heard the man's words, looking from the top of his horse with a critical gaze. "Flock of crows... hmph! Work of an arcanist, no doubt." He scoffed, shaking his head. It would be only natural that, if the man was not hallucinating, to be the work of those damned mystics.

Upon seeing the gate, Edwin's expression was unreadable. Rothgar's words did little to ease his tension, but it didn't matter. He would rather keep himself on edge, that way, his preparedness would follow suit. With Rothgar being the first to enter the Forest, the free-knight piped up in a rather authoritative manner. "Rothgar, you should not be taking the lead. Best for me and sister Vallenhart take up the front, you and the cat the middle, while Iselai takes the back. That formation is more sound." From his tone, it was clear that Edwin was expecting something to happen and having Rothgar exposed at the front, poorly armored as he appeared to be, was a horrible idea. With that, he would ride up and take point or, at the very least, take the old mage's right side.

RavenSong Maxxob Spoiled Bread

Iselai could not help but wonder what group she had tagged along with. A talking cat, a women of the cloth, a knight, and a traveling wizard was an odd bunch on it's own. What if they got too attached to her or the other way around and she was going to find herself getting stuck in something she would rather not have any part of. Maybe a mistake or two was made, but it was her only ticket of going in and finding something few could.


Her mind tuned out for a while, only whistling a small tune a fellow traveler had taught her. But by the time they were in Holdan Isolde found a feeling she was all to used to, the glares of people who were bit very appreciative of people like her strolling through, ok maybe it was more they did not approve of the group as a whole, taking a moment to grab her tail and coil it around the inside of her cloak before anyone got any ideas of cutting it off.

It wasn't long before a man ran to them spilling a tale of a women named Diana being taken by a flock of crows. She was processing the information before Edwin came to the same conclusion she had.

"Could be some spell involving familiars. Wish I could say more but alas I only know magic from an outsiders perspective and the spells I have heard about. Can't cast an ounce of it." She spoke up, but at the bit of not being able to cast magic she turned her voice down almost as it she was embarrassed about that fact.

She stopped at the suggestion of being the one stuck at the back, she could only hope this Rothgar was good with combating spells for her own sake turning to the Wizard with a worried look. "I hope you are fast with spells Rothgar, I would greatly appreciate not suffering whatever fate lies beyond being snatched by some mad wizard in this forest."