Chapter 32: The Protectors of Cloakwood
Cloakwood turned out to be very much unlike the dismal, inpenetrable place Ember had always imagined it to be. In truth, it was far wilder than any forest she had seen so far, with dense clusters of trees and several packs of dire wolves and giant spiders, but there were numerous tracks and paths for them to follow, and the woodlands around them were stunningly beautiful. It was pleasantly warm, and the air was filled with the smell of ripening berries and summer flowers. Every now and then, a squirrel would watch them from a tree. The alert little creatures were completely unafraid of people, and some of them even indulged Minsc's attempts at playing with them.
"Aw, that is so cute!" Imoen exclaimed as a squirrel snatched a sunflower seed from Minsc's outstretched palm.
"Yes, it is very cute and our sole mission in this godsforsaken cesspit is to play with squirrels and one can only hope that the great oaf will not be too distracted by their cuteness when the next wolfpack shows up!" Edwin said testily. "(I will not become a wolf snack due to his inattentiveness!)"
"There are no wolves near us, and Boo likes making friends his own size," Minsc said, patting the hamster with one finger. Boo was perched on his shoulder, and was nibbling a seed of his own.
"(As if someone with his mental capacity could be trusted to judge the presence of wolves)," Edwin grumbled.
Minsc was proven right, though, as they encountered neither wolf nor spider on the path they were following at the time. It showed distinct signs of being used by people; there where hints of cartwheel tracks, and it was wider and more linear than a path made by animal activity, Kivan told them. Despite its width, it was still completely covered by a thick canopy of branches, and only muted light reached the forest floor.
After they had followed the path for an hour or so, it ended in a clearing; a circular area had been clear cut to make room for a very large and elegant-looking log cabin. Several deer antlers and bear skulls were mounted above its doorway.
"Who would live out here?" Ember said.
As if on cue, the front door of the cabin flew open, and a silver-haired man dressed in stylish leather armor and a crimson cloak ran out of the cabin. "You there! Identify yourselves!" he bellowed, waving a bejewelled sword.
"We are adventurers," Kivan called out to the man.
"Butt-kicking for goodness!" Minsc exclaimed. Edwin rolled his eyes.
"Indeed?" the man said. He peered closely at them, then nodded and lowered his sword. "Oh, I see! I apologize for my rudeness, I mistook you for someone else. Let me introduce myself, I am Aldeth Sashenstar," he said, pronouncing the name in a manner that indicated they should immediately recognize and respect it.
"Nice to meet you, Aldeth!" Imoen said. He frowned slightly at the familiarity, but Imoen merely gave him one of her sweetest grins.
"You must understand that at the moment I'm under a terrible amount of stress," Aldeth said. "You see my dear fellows, there is a group of uncouth savages that has declared their intention of killing my friends and I; they have already killed Elban, one of my oldest friends! I've been holed up in this cabin for several days, and have lacked the wherewithal to try and make an escape. Perhaps you would help a fellow in trouble? I would be willing to pay a considerable amount for your assistance."
"Where are these evil men? Minsc will smack a sense of justice into them with his sword!"
"Of course we'll help!" Imoen said.
Edwin sighed. "The reward had better be worth it," he said.
Aldeth beamed. "Good men!" he said. Ember raised an eyebrow. I did not realize Immy and I looked like guys. Behind her, Imoen mumbled a similar statement; Ember turned and shared an exasperated look with her.
"I'm glad you had the sense of decency to help a man in my situation," the man continued. "Let me explain my predicament. You see, my friends and I come here every year to do some sport hunting. This year however, a group of woodland savages threatened us with bodily harm if we did not stop our hunting trip. Being civilized men we realized that it's well within our rights to hunt where we damn well please, so we stayed, but after a few more days of hunting the crass woodmen lost all pretense of humanity and murdered Elban! I'm sure that they plan to attack our cottage here, so we had best be prepared."
Ember frowned. The man's attitude galled her. "Surely it would be better if we could just escort you safely out of the woods?" she asked.
"What, and let the savages win?!" Aldeth exclaimed. "Ah, but I see the point is moot; they must have seen me leave the cottage. Here they come!"
Four men carrying staves and dressed in shades of brown and green entered the clearing around the cabin. Their leader, dressed in a robe of darkest green, had a tanned and weather-beaten face, and his hair was the colour of ripe wheat. Druids, most likely, Ember guessed, but if so, they look more wholesome than that shadow druid we met. I guess we'll see.
"Trespasser and butcher of our wood; I, Seniyad, have come to administer the punishment that you have brought down upon yourself," the leader said to Aldeth. He regarded Ember and her companions curiously. "Who are these that stand beside you? With them we have no quarrel." He turned fully towards Ember and Kivan, who were at the front of their group. "It is now to you that I speak; this man has most likely duped you into protecting his sorry hide. He has most likely not told of the druid they have slain in cold blood. I will allow you to rethink your earlier decision and leave this man to their most deserved fate."
"Do not listen to these slavering wild men my dear fellows; they lie as befits the uncultured barbarians that they are," Aldeth said condescendingly.
Ember ignored him. "What is the nature of his punishment?" she asked Seniyad.
"He has been warned multiple times to cease his destructive ways, but the time of warnings has passed. We shall destroy his lodgings, and he must leave these woods, never to return. If he has not left by nightfall, his life will be forfeit."
"And exactly what has he done?" Ember asked.
"He and his companion have shot many animals, often merely wounding them. They would kill a deer for its antlers and leave the body to rot. Finally, they shot and killed one of our number while she was tending a bear they'd wounded. He ran away like a coward, but his friend remained and attacked us. That one has been dealt with already."
Kivan stepped forward. "Sashenstar, we will escort you out of the woods safely, if you will. In no other way will we aid you."
"What!?!" the man exclaimed, his rosy cheeks turning quite red. "Have you gone mad, throwing your lot in with a band of madmen?! You treacherous savages, you will suffer for your foolishness! I will deal with you after I kill Seniyad!" He roared dramatically and charged at the druid leader.
Seniyad whispered something and made a gesture. The sky darkened overhead. Aldeth raised his sword and slashed at the druid in impressive yet inefficient swings, and the druid easily blocked the attacks with his staff.
The was a loud boom and a bright flash of light. An immense bolt of lighting flashed from the clouds overhead, striking Aldeth's sword and passing through his body. He fell to the ground at the druid's feet.
"He has paid for his actions," the druid said. "I congratulate you on your wise decision." He glanced at them all in turn, frowning visibly as he scrutinized the red wizard. His eyes widened for a moment as he noticed the hamster perched on Minsc's shoulder. The druid walked closer to Minsc, staring intently at Boo. Eventually, he nodded. "Your hamster is content and well cared for, and it cares deeply for you. I commend you, forest walker," he said.
Minsc beamed and patted Boo. "See, Boo? The nice druid likes you!"
"I have no quarrel with those who respect my forest," Seniyad said, "but I would know where you are headed."
"Our foes have a base in these woods. We are searching for it," Kivan said.
"Would this base involve those known as the Iron Throne?"
"Aye."
"Then I would suggest you head west, then north. They have built a fort in the deepest part of the forest, above an abandoned dwarven iron mine."
"Something tells me it's not so abandoned anymore," Imoen said.
"That is correct," Seniyad said. " Be careful in your journeys, for there are many foul beasts that have inhabited the woods of late. Another danger is a sect of Shadow druids. Their Order is a dangerous splinter group of the true druid Order; they believe in the violent suppression of all forms of civilization, and will often attack travellers."
"We met a Shadow druid in the Wood of Sharp Teeth," Ember said. "He'd poisoned the other druids there."
"Was it then you that disposed of the miscreant?"
"Yes," Ember said.
"She killed him," Imoen added.
"I thank you," the druid said. "I have heard of the destruction of the grove there, but not of how it occured. You must tell me more."
They shared what they knew about the destroyed grove while the druids cast minor healing spells on them, closing up the cuts and scratches they had gained over the course of the day. When they continued onwards, it was with Seniyad's well-wishes, and Edwin was the only one who left less than satisfied with the encounter.
"The gall of telling me what I can and cannot do with my spells! (As if I am a mere child with no sense of proper application with regards to evocation spells!)" he grumbled irritably.
"He's just being protective of his lands, Edwin," Ember said, "and I am sure that you are aware of the reputation of red wizards."
"Don't worry, Eddie, we know you can use fire spells properly," Imoen said. "In fact..." She stopped and reached into her pack.
"Don't call-" Edwin started to say, but he stopped in mid sentence when Imoen handed him the wand of fire. "I..."
"Use it well, Eddie," she said with a grin, and attached their wand of frost to her own belt. "If we're going to run into all those 'foul beasts' on the way, I figure we'd better be fully prepared," she told the others.
Edwin didn't answer. The look on his face as he clutched the wand said everything that needed to be said.