Kaliklies Library - The Wood of Wrath

[Kane]

The Wood of Wrath

I looked down and saw there was only one packet remaining. Part of me felt sad that there would be no fresh mysteries to discover and solve. Part of me felt relief as I already had too many pieces to a puzzle that I didn’t understand. Each fresh piece had added to my confusion rather then enlightened me. What did I expect? Kaliklies was a savant, the greatest mind of his age and I was an acolyte that he had taken under his wing in his declining years. He always told me he saw brilliance in me and now when he most needs me, I have failed him. Maybe this last packet will help, though the title was ominous.

Delian, everything you’ve seen so far has its roots in the distant past, some back to the elder races and the time of the true gods. This place, the Wood of Wrath, has only recently appeared, but I believe it too has its start in the early years of our race or even before. My research into the past has been blocked by documents that I believe were purposefully destroyed or removed from Caradul. Do not be blinded by what the Wood of Wrath is, but look to why and how the wood formed.

Refugee report, Green March, 87 Last Age

“Erian’s rangers brought in another group of refugees. They were not broken by years of slavery and included a number of men who looked comfortable with blades in their hands. Well weathered they had lived by their wits and had hidden within arms length of the Shadow’s greatest army. That they were here now sparked my interest. After hearing their story and knowing a bit about their past, I believe and fear their tale.

The refugees were once almost 400 strong, men, women, and children.  All were trained to fight and could live off the land. They had found haven for the past dozen years in what we thought was a wasteland, the burned remnants of Erethor. In the thousands upon thousands of miles of charred forest, there is renewed life. Animals that had fled the Burning Line have returned in small numbers, staying clear of the army’s supply lines and slave pens. The refugees could hunt, find water that was again pure, and even plant hidden fields of grain. Their ingenuity and bravery impressed me.

They lived this way for a number of years before they noticed clumps of trees growing at an unnatural rate. Almost overnight trees would grow a dozen or more feet.  Each tree would have the bones of a dead orc, human, or fey.  The trees were dark, the wood gnarled, and the leaves spiky and black. Where the tress grew, the animals fled, except for the carrion crows who roosted in great number in each and every tree. The humans had to leave behind areas that had one time easily supported them and move closer to the Shadow’s army.

Even with their skill, that close, they couldn’t escape all of the Shadow’s eyes. They were set upon by orcs and wargs and driven back toward the dark woods. Better they had died on the orcs blades. In the darkness of night, in the eaves of the woods, they were attacked by the trees, with roots and limbs entangling them. With the voices of men and fey, the crows tormented the humans and laughed as the whipping branches flayed the flesh from the trapped humans. In minutes a body was stripped to bone and the skeleton pulled into the earth. The humans left half of their number in those woods, including almost all of their women and children. The called it the Wood of Wrath.”

Kaliklies notes: Without seeking other accounts, most would discount this tale as just another aspect of the Shadow’s corruption of Eredane; another horror released against the free people. In your first years with me, I often chided you for your incomplete work and a lack of thorough research. I too almost passed this report by, but took a few days to look deeper. Then I found this next report.

Letter to the Greater legate of Eisin, Darmanan Morisin, 94 Last Age

“Your Worship,

I beg your forgiveness, but I have failed in the task you gave me. As instructed I took a strong force of mercenaries, a score of warrior legates, and two of our tame channelers into the largest of the Woods of Wrath. I sought to penetrate to the center to see what powers and controls these cursed trees. We didn’t even get close. We were maybe two miles in when the branches seemed to thicken, blocking the light, casting us into near total darkness and then we were assaulted from all sides. I used every power granted me by our great god but the trees seemed immune to all but our blades.I would have gladly died there having failed you, but I was dragged free by my few remaining guards.

The mission was not a complete failure. I do not seek to excuse my actions, but we did learn several things that may be of use. First and possibly most important are the crows. There are thousands of them, constantly making noise, speaking in Black Tongue, Erenlander, and even elven. I ought to use my demon to possess one of their number and scout ahead, but the crows were protected somehow. There is a relationship between the trees and the crows and I believe the crows are their eyes, ears, and even voice. If another party is sent, I strongly recommend killing as many of the damned things as possible before entering.

Next, the woods are sentient and there is one or more minds controlling each and every tree. The channellers sensed some form of necromancy and tried a divination, but they died before they could complete it. Whatever that sentience is, its hates all life except the crows. The reports you showed me before I left on this mission shows the woods have attacked humans and scouting parties of fey.

The most disturbing fact is that the Woods of Wrath are growing at an alarming rate, connecting with smaller copses of bone riddled trees. Old battlegrounds are sprouting with fresh growth of dark, warped trees, entwined with the bones of our dead.  I am certain that before the year is out, there will be almost a hundred more trees, all bearing the skeleton of one of the men who died saving me. The woods are a threat that should be addressed before it gets too strong.

Your servant, Emil”

Kaliklies notes: The Legate Emil confirmed the refugees report and provided a number of important observations.  That the crows could not be possessed by an astirax shows they have been altered or are already possessed by some other, more powerful entity. I believe he was correct and they are extensions of whatever is controlling the woods. The writer believed that the woods had a purpose and it was a danger to all life. Is its only purpose to grow and survive or is there something else, something that could be a threat to our people and our allies?

The packet ended with one more note from my mentor.

“Delian, I can almost se your face, wondering if this is all I have; two slim reports from sources that can’t be verified. You would be wrong. That the Woods of Wrath exist is a fact that is accepted by the Queen’s Counsel and the Army.  There are dozens of eyewitness sightings by reliable scouts and spies. Remember what I told you, don’t focus on the what, focus on the why and how. I have done what research that I can and I have a theory, a hint at the possible how, it will be up to you to prove it.

From all the reports the Woods of Wrath first appeared some fifty miles northeast of Eisin. Before the Last Age, this area was still part of Erethor and several elven villages were scattered in close proximity to where the Woods of Wrath are today. I searched through old maps and records from the First and Second Age and I found nothing, an absence of records that should be there. Reports of trade, births, and deaths, all gone. Records are lost to age, misuse, and neglect, but not every record of one region. The records had to be removed by someone close to the Queen, perhaps even from our order well before my birth.

Whoever removed the records was thorough, but I was like a hound on the scent and looked at the list of councillors to the Queen in the later days of the First Age. There was a councillor, Talsin, listed for a small city north of Eisin that I couldn’t find on any map. The city had been erased but records of the councillor and his votes had not. Talsin was a powerful mage and rumored to be one of the Queen’s lovers. He was corrupted by the Shadow and was discovered less then an arc before the launch of the Shadow’s assault. There were vague references to a purge of Talsin’s people that spared no one; all were presumed guilty by mere association to the traitor.

Since all records of the city were destroyed, I suspect the worst; that the city was put to the sword to staunch whatever evil may have lingered there. It was like cutting off an arm due to an infected finger. A very dark day for our people and a probably a grave injustice. If I were the Queen and the court of that time, I would want to bury that act as well and try to forget the evil that was done. The only good from that act may have come when another lover of the Queen, the Demon Binder, was corrupted and rose to be a Night King. The Queen took time to determine who was also tainted and did not assume that the Binder’s apprentices and guards were also corrupted.  Many of those warriors have fought and died proving their loyalty.

The only link between that atrocity and the Woods of Wrath is their location. Is that enough or is it some strange twist of fate? Could the wrath of hundreds if not thousands of innocent souls be guiding the woods? If so, why wait so long? What event awoke those souls? That mystery is yours now. My days are at an end. I smile when I think of you quietly cursing my name for saddling you with a hopeless task. Believe me when I say, that I wouldn’t have given it to you, if I didn’t believe you had the ability to solve it. You were the last and the favorite of all of my students. Do my memory proud. Good luck.

Your friend, Kaliklies

There were tears in my eyes as I read those last few sentences. This was the last words I would ever have from him. His faith in me both touched and inspired me. I would solve this riddle. He knew me too well; and yes I was quietly cursing his name as I read through this packet. I suspect the other members of the order will be believe me as mad as Kaliklies before this is over.

[IORNBORN]

A nice story. Did anyone think of some possible outcomes from it?