3,384 Chalcanapsion 4,
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Thridax told us about rumors of wolves harassing loggers north of town. It was a cool, crisp morning when we headed north with Arktouros to deal with the problem.
After following the coast north for a few hours, we saw the Forest of Fate ahead. In our path was a two-headed dog. Thridax cast Speak With Animals and tried to parley but it didn’t go well. It revealed that it was a servant of the Brethren.
Avoiding a confrontation, we circled the Forest to the east, with the Iron Hills to our right.
By the afternoon, we had reached the coast on the north side of the Forest. The coast soon turned east and we eventually reached the logger’s camp.
I led my companions to Patroklos, the fisherman who took me in after I was shipwrecked. He wasn’t home, so we found a lad to take us to the logger’s mill.
A large bearded man, Endymion, greeted us. When he shook Arktouros’ hand, he brought the paladin to his knees. He told us all about their wolf problem.
Thridax convinced Endymion that we could make a lucrative arrangement, clearing the woods of wolves so they could sell more lumber to Neolantika. He offered us the hospitality of his home, and we took him up on the offer.
That night, I had a vision from Athreos, the god of passage to the underworld, who commanded me to kill all the escaped hounds. It was all very vague and confusing, as dreams are.
In the morning, we traveled an hour east to the Old Highway and continued east on the Old Highway for another hour when we encountered a Brethren member, Iauson. He said there was a rumor of a strange creature in the woods, a Cerebus. We agreed that we might be able to assist him and the Brethren would pay a hefty sum. He questioned me about being in the Forest a year ago. Fortunately, he did not push the issue.
After another hour, we turned north and entered the woods where we soon encountered a large, walking and talking oak tree.
The tree walked off and we were soon engaged by five dire wolves who demanded we leave. We explained that we were looking for a hound with many heads. They shared that a three-headed hound had taken residence in their home, driving them south. We agreed to drive it away. They also shared that a satyr with a black hand whipped them and desecrated their sacred pool before being devoured by the hound.
The wolves, led by Loup, agreed to carry us to their pool so that we would arrive at dawn when the hound was supposedly at its weakest.
Around midnight, the wolves said we had arrived at the Wolf Willows and left us to continue on our own. Thridax convinced an owl to take us to the pool. After wandering in the dark, as quietly as we could, we reached the pool.
Using his Divine Sense, Arktouros was able to find the pool. Swimming to the bottom, he found a long silk rope. Using a ritual, Thridax confirmed it was magical. Soon after, he led us to the cave.
In the back of the cave, we found the skeleton of a one-handed satyr wearing a pearl-studded necklace and some common gear. Nearby was a potion that Thridax identified as a Potion of Greater Healing. I packed up the skeleton and the potion.
We waited in the cave until the hound entered, just before dawn. The creature put up a fight, even breathing flames upon my companions. In the end, Arktouros and I were too much for it, circling it and stabbing it with radiant fury until it fell for a feint and I drove my spear into the mouth of the middle head and drove it to the ground until it was still.
We dragged the large carcass out of the cave and into the the dawn light. The wolves soon returned, as I had asked them to, and were impressed by our victory.
In the light of dawn, we could see that the small pool, only a dozen feet across in the center of a clearing, was glistening with the reflection of the night’s stars. Its waters were cool and refreshing to taste. The songs of the birds chirping amidst the willows lifted our spirits.
The wolves mentioned the satyr’s black hand and I soon found its tracks crawling from the cave. With the help of the wolves and a squirrel, we followed hand tracks to a ravine.
We were assaulted by a variety of traps; swinging logs, falling boulders, and spiked pits. Fortunately, Thridax was quick with a Featherfall when we fell into the spiked pit.
Eventually, we tracked the black hand to a large, thorny brambles. Its thorns were poisonous and drove us mad. While Thridax stood in their midst in a stupor, I attacked him and Arktouros until the paladin cured my malady. In the midst of the brambles, Thridax found a crescent-shaped ivory pendant.
I skewered the hand and we returned to the pool where we rested until the next day.
In the morning, having skinned the Cerberus hide and chopped off its head, we left the woods, informing the wolves that we would tell the loggers to stay to the south, out of the Wolf Willows. In turn, they agreed to remain in the Wolf Willows.
We returned to the logger’s mill, where Endymion was shocked to see the Cerberus heads and promised to stay to the south of the woods, out of the Wold Willows. We encouraged him to bring lumber to Neolantika, where they would pay good prices in their desire to help rebuild the Triton Village.
We returned to the Forest of Fate where Arktouros and I waited while Thridax was led into the Brethren’s monastery. He brought the Cerberus heads and when he returned, he had exchanged them for a sack of 1,000 gold coins.
The trip back to Neolantika flew by.
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