From the Trees (Chapter)

"From the Trees" is Chapter One of Book One.

Prelude
The following occurs just prior to the played events of the game.

The party is introduced to Gabriel, an acolyte of the Covenant, and ward of a local cloistered shrine. He has been selected as the apostolate for the ceremony of renewal this year. The church has requested that, for political reasons, the child be escorted by a capable, unaffiliated group of guardians throughout the course of his journey.

The church selected Shawn Benson, Caleb Lancaster, Edison Gottfried, Moira Wolff, and Isa West to provide support to Gabriel on his mission.

Bishop Naomi Rin presides over a massive ceremony to celebrate the launch of the bimillenial renewal ritual. The party stands hazily on a platform elevated for the whole city to view, while the elderly priestess drowses on with her homily. She cycles back on the Goddess' everlasting love over and over again. Following the blessing, the homily, and an hour of prayer, the party is led to the furthest northern gate. As they climb the rocky steps to the bridge out of the city, the Bishop gives them a final blessing, and instructs them once again to ensure the child's safety.

Game One: May 23, 2014
The party began at the entrance to the Forest Temple: a large door, sealed with many locks. Gabriel was able to use his training to open the door. Once open, it revealed a hallway, which seemed to have been grown from the tree itself. Glowing vines of green phosphorescence lit their way as the adventurers traveled through the temple.

After a while, the party came upon a large pit, filled with an oozing, green slime. Floating in it were weapons and bits of armor. Warned by this, the party kept their distance as they moved around it, which was a smart move, as Caleb, with his affinity for Earth magic, recognized the slime as carnivorous.

As they traveled, the party came upon what seemed to be a stone alter set into the floor. It was made of a clear crystal and no one in the party could seem to figure out what it was for. Puzzled, but not daunted, the six continued on.

After walking for some time and passing several more stone alters, the adventurers entered a long hallway, paved with large, stone tiles. They walked along as normal until suddenly, forging ahead, Shawn disappeared. The party's initial shock dissipated when a shout from Shawn informed them that he was behind them. It didn't take long for the adventurers to determine that the hallway was built as a puzzle, in which certain tiles teleported you to a specific place. After a little bit of trial and error, the six made it through the hallway to find themselves at the entrance of a large room.

Like the hallway, this room was also paved with stone and marble tiles, but with the passage of time, plants had grown up between the paving and had slowly begun to change the room from the cold gray of stone to the lush green of living things. Above each side of every tile rose intricately carved arches, forming rows down the length of the room. Some of the archways seemed to shimmer, as though the air inside of them were different somehow, but most seemed to be simple gates of stone.

For a moment, no one moved, but then Edison, mad cap medic that he is, plunged into the room. Seeing that nothing unfortunate had happened, he took a step forward through an archway onto the next tile, which was bordered on the left and right by shimmering archways. As soon as he passed through the arch in front of him, there was a sound like a bolt of lightning and the air in the archway started to shimmer. A quick touch showed that, once this had happened, the archways were impenetrable.

The other members of the party joined Edison in the room and began investigating the force field inside the arch. Not to be daunted, Edison stepped through the only remaining usable arch. There was once again the sound of lightning and for a split second, all four arches shimmered and buzzed. Then, all at once, the shimmering force fields disappeared and a large green blob of slime dropped into the middle of the tile.

Caleb recognized it at once as the same slime they had encountered earlier in the pit. It could move and it could kill. As dangerous as it was, however, it turned out to be no match for Edison's fiery magic. A blast of his power caused it to bubble and boil and finally, to crumble to dust. Though metal weapons could not hurt it, fire could.

This discovery held in mind, the party cautiously crept forward, knowing that each time they passed through an arch, it would create a force field, and that each time a room was bordered by fields on all sides, a slime would appear. Things seemed to be running somewhat smoothly until Moira crossed onto a tile and disappeared. Though not seen by the rest of the party, she had been transported back to an earlier pathway in the Temple. As she worked to make her way back, others in the party encountered separate tiles which sent them back to other places in the Temple. After a long time of transportation and subsequent walking, the party was reunited in the arch room.

The six slowly made their way through the room, fighting the slime as they went. Finally, with hearts still beating from their last encounters with the ooze, they reached the doorway at the end.

Passing through, they found themselves in another large chamber. The great trunk of a tree grew up through the middle of the room and, suspended on it, was a crucified figure made entirely of wood. Truly, this must be the heart of the Forest Temple itself.

Game Two/Three: June 6/June 27 2014
Together, the party entered the final chamber of the Forest Temple. At the end of the room was a raised platform, surrounded by water. On this platform stood a giant tree, upon which a creature made of branches, bark, and vine hung as though crucified.

Gabriel explained to the group that he had to do a ritual to contain the power of the tree spirit, who became corrupted over the years and would strive to disrupt the balance of the world. He also explained that as he was doing the ritual, forces of the Forest spirit would attempt to stop him and he would need the party to keep himself safe until he had completed the ritual.

Together the party fended off two waves of mogs and even defeated the Forest spirit itself. Gabriel successfully completed the ritual but at its ending, he reacted suddenly as if in pain. He had received a token, a rune inscribed into his shoulder. He told the adventurers that he had to gain a rune like this from each ritual along the way.

With this, the party left the chamber and set off for the rest of their quest.

Game Four: July 11
Having defeated the Forest spirit, the brave band of adventurers left the temple and returned to the city of Acadia, where they were able to rest and take place in various activities such as research, meditation, and business meetings. When finished, the party got into carriages and took off toward the next temple.

On the way, the party noticed a cloud of smoke billowing in the distance and followed it to a town which had caught fire. Together, the team worked to fight the flames and save the town. They discovered that the fire had been started by shape shifters through alchemy. Once the town was safe, the adventurers continued on their journey.

Game Five: July 25th
Shawn and his team finally arrive at a small town before the mountain pass. They discover that the mountain trail can be treacherous if the storms were to hit. With time of the essence the group begins to prep for the trip through the trail.

Once the group is prepared they proceed to the wall leading to the mountain pass. An ornery guard awaits before the large wall. The group tries to convince him to allow them to pass, but to no avail. As some of the players try to work their feminine wiles, a strange traveler is seen observing the group.

This traveler is known as The Librarian, and agrees to assist the group in getting by the guard. Along side him stands a faceless child. The traveler reaches for a scroll on his cart. This scroll contains the face of a child. The face of the child transfixes itself to the body of the faceless one and the newly formed full child walks up the steps to the guard.

Once the guard sees the child he is brought to his knees to hold the young boy. His anger and sadness can be felt by the group and he relinquishes the key to the gate, telling them "I don't ever want to see you in my town again." The group uses the key and proceeds through the gate.