Invasion of Fischler part I

by Dandelion

Dear Lucerne,

You wanted a pint of Black Sap. It is easier to get than a pint of princely blood but it has cost us many pints of our own. Man is not welcome in the Schwartzen Walden and the foresters only penetrate the forest for the annual rite of burning a black log. The wood is calmer then and fatalities are less. That time is still 2 months away.

We had travelled to the village of Harseveld? where we planned to leave our steeds. We spoke to the elderly forester and he gave us much information. His advice was to forget our task. We travelled north to the woods' eave. We passed a battle site and the graves had been ripped open. We camped in the open. During the middle watch of the night we were attacked by flying gargoyles. Antonio who always talks about getting things up was lifted 20 feet into the air. He was dropped twice. Ambrose was lifted 40 feet in the air and managed to survive the drop. He is made of sterner stuff than we expected. The gargoyles tackled Borstenn but his size helped to prevent him being carried up. Eduarde showed the class of the Valroux school. He dashed around, despatching gargoyles with style. The rest of us did our bits. The next day we pressed into the woods. The compass is erratic and sometimes spins wildly. Checking with the artifact I determine that we are being led to the west even deeper into the wood.

This is called the black forest. Despite the warnings it is much worse than I can tell. During the day it is dark like a dripping cave and the lantern casts out its struggling beams. The trees try to trip you. The forest floor grasps your legs. It is stifling, cold and oppressive. Franz complains it makes his head ache. He was bitten by a serpent in the wood as a child. The night makes the day seem like a midsummer picnic. The dark moves in around the the light. The lantern casts as much light as if its glass was smoked over. It smells DARK. In my bones I can feel the forest trying to choke me. I wish I could Porté out. Shutting your eyes is much more pleasant than having them open. We mark a tree and stumble about for some hours trying to get out of the deepest part of the wood. We give up and camp around the lantern. During the middle watch we are attacked. They are large shambling mounds of wood, mud and bone. They are strong and fearless. We fight them until they dissolve back into the rubbish from whence they came. They have wounded us and we patch ourselves up. We cast their black wood clubs into the dark. They are a manifestation of the woods hatred of us.

The next day we cannot find the marked tree but we find a better tree to tap. I blood it and we set up camp within attunement range but out of sight. We sleep in watches. In the darkest watch Franz is bewitched by a huge dark serpent. He puts out the lantern and cuddles it in his sleep. Eduarde fires a pistol and by the flash we take in the scene. Borstenn fights the beast and is bitten several times. Its icy venom sinks in. The rest of us try to light the lantern. The serpents' glowing eyes are the only visible thing and that only when it is attacking. By the time it is relit Borstenn has succumbed and is in an enchanted unwakable sleep. The serpent silently glides away. Franz and Borstenn awake in the morning.

The mark is still on the tree and Borstenn takes several hours to cut a gash on it. The bark is like iron and the axe is sharpened every few minutes. After several more hours we collect the pint of sap. I send it to you. We hear howls. We start moving. The pack of Schwartzen Walder wolves leap upon us. These wolves are to mundane ones what a great wolfhound is to a puppy lapdog. Sized like ponies, co-ordinated like fingers on a hand and with razor teeth; they wound Borstenn, Franz, Eduarde and me within a drop of unconsciousness. Ambrose miraculously is merely unconscious as is Antonio. This is just the first contact. We respond with steel, pistol and lightning bolts. We down a few and the rest melt back into the trees. If they had stayed we were finished. They are probably unfamiliar with men, magic and gunpowder and their discretion saved us. We continue lucky and escape the woods without any further encounter. Ambrose has been treated and is conscious but Antonio is carried by Eduarde and Franz our toughest warriors.

The Harsefeld healer is able to help a bit but we need a team of specialists. We will return to Stutzung for aid. PS Keep up the supply of nibbles the 'porridge' in Eisen is as bad as ever.

Dandelion *