It was warm, almost stifling, under the canopy of the forest, and not a breath of wind stirred. As the party of three paused to gain their bearings, peering into the forest gloom, they heard a voice.
“Hold there, strangers! We would speak with you.” A moment later, an elf dressed in a short tunic of brown and green stepped into the open and advanced towards them, a bow in his hand. “I am Israfen of the Woodsingers,” He said, “I see that you are not Harkenwolders, and you do not look like the mercenaries of Iron Keep. Who are you and what is your business in the Harken Forest?”
The adventurers explained themselves to Israfen who replied, “This is a matter for Eriyel. Come, follow me.” Just then, two more elves stepped out of the shadow of the trees to join him and the three hunters led the party to a small elven encampment in a clearing by a forest stream.
Israfen led them through the crowd of suspicious elves to an elf woman of middle years with dark eyes and long green-gold hair.
“This is Eriyel, chief of the Woodsinger clans,” Israfen introduced them to the woman, “Eriyel, these strangers have important business they wish to discuss with you.”
“Greetings, strangers,” Eriyel spoke softly and slowly, “I sense that you bear a great request.”
XIII remained silent, as did Lirael, who shifted uncomfortably, surrounded by the elves. Rayne bowed slightly in respect, “We bear no ill will, Eriyel,” He said, “My name is Rayne, and this is Lirael and XIII. We wish to help the Harkenwolders in their fight against the Iron Circle—”
“I see, but that has nothing to do with us peaceful Woodsingers. What is it you wish of my people?” Her voice was not unkind, merely concerned.
“You see, the Iron Circle is a plague upon these lands. The Harkenwolders cannot face them alone,” Rayne began to explain.
Eriyel lowered her eyes slightly, “I grieve for the evil that has covered the land of Harkenwold, but it is not our fight.”
“Your elven camp here won’t be safe from the Iron Circle forever,” Rayne said.
Lirael stepped in, “It is true. They plan to conquer all of the Vale. They will come to you.”
“If you ignore the threat, you are fools,” XIII said grimly.
Eriyel paused to collect her thoughts before she spoke, “There could be truth in what you say. Evil left unchecked cannot help but spread. Still, I deem it better to wait and watch for now. Given time, this Iron Circle may simply move on. It is too early to say.”
“The Harkenwolders are preparing for battle,” Rayne said desperately, “The Iron Circle has already been provoked. Bloodshed looms on the horizon! How can we convince you to help? There is no way the people of Harkenwold can stand up to this threat alone.”
“You ask us to risk our lives for you. If you were to do the same for us, we would be obligated to match your selflessness. There is a sanctuary hidden beneath a ring of standing stones, near the ruins of Dal Nystiere, an old eladrin village a few miles from here. An evil presence there poisons the surrounding forest. Put an end to this threat and we will aid you.”
XIII rolled his eyes, “Will the chores never end?”
“An eladrin village…Lirael does this peak your interest at all?” Rayne asked.
Lirael folded his arms, “No, not really…Look, Eriyel. It is no use evading the task at hand. The Iron Circle is planning to stomp out the Woodsinger clan before they can cause any trouble. If you do not take this opportunity to fight alongside the Harkenwolders, you are all doomed, Woodsingers and Harkenwolders alike.”
“I am not that easily fooled, eladrin,” Eriyel said with a half-smirk, “We are elves, not dwarves. We can see what is plainly in front of our face and we can smell danger in our forest before danger even knows it is here. The Iron Circle is hardly even aware of us.”
XIII was becoming impatient, “You elves have a funny way of showing your care of the land. It seems questionable that you are interested the well-being of Harken Forest at all if you are not even willing to fight the Iron Circle to keep them away from this innocent place.”
Eriyel sighed sadly, “Forgive me, strangers. I wish to help you but my problem is that I have been preoccupied by this evil in the forest that hunts us unceasingly. I do not have the strength or numbers to send aid to Harkenwold while I am busy trying to protect my people from the evil in Dal Nystiere. To send my best bows out to Harkenwold to fight would mean the end of the Woodsingers right from within our own woods. Help us help you by ridding us of this evil presence and I swear we will fight for your Harkenwold.”
“Fine,” Rayne said, “What are we up against if we agree to face this ‘evil presence’ of yours?”
“An undead wizard named Yisarn lurks in the sanctuary. He has allied himself with the Daggerburg goblins, our hated enemies. Defeating him would be a great service to us. Wizards used to use the sanctuary as a private place to conduct magical research. It lies underground but you can teleport there by pouring dragon’s blood onto a pedestal located in the ring of standing stones.”
Lirael huffed a sarcastic laugh, “Dragon’s blood!”
Eriyel interjected before he could turn to leave, “I can provide you with a vial of green dragon’s blood, which we obtained at great cost. I will give it to you as a sign of our trust. There is only enough to activate the stone once. So you will have to be extremely cautious with it.”
“Hmm,” Lirael thought for a moment, “I suppose I am beginning to feel more confident about this. One little undead mage, how hard could it be? Alright, we will take care of your evil. When we return, you will march against the Iron Circle.”
After the arrangements were made, Israfen escorted them to the trail which would lead them to the ruins of Dal Nystiere and handed them the vial of dragon’s blood as he said his farewells to them.
“Listen, you need only mutter the name of the place you wish to go once the stones are activated. Good luck, strangers. I await your safe return, as do the rest of my clan.”
With that, the adventurers were on their way, into the depths of the forest.
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