Leaves of Forgotten Trees

Manasa found himself in a distant memory, a young scoundrel in Port Last, a millennium prior. Gurbo, a lizardfolk lowlife, stood beside Manasa in a dim tavern, both eager to find a mark. The attempt failed to materialize, as a sudden cacophony of crashing sounds erupted from the street outside, pulling the attention of Manasa and the lizardfolk. The commotion heralded the arrival of a renowned group. Lorilon, Malcer, Omihi, Kosara, and Emmen, then known as the Orc Slayers and not yet called The Leaves, entered Port Last with a singular, desperate goal: to secure a resurrection spell for Ana, their fallen paladin. Lorilon and Omihi swiftly cornered Manasa, interrogating the thief with an intensity that probed Manasa's mind. Under their scrutiny, Manasa recalled a vivid vision, a flicker of a kenku figure deep within the shadowed woods just outside Port Last. Convinced by the thief's account, the Orc Slayers wasted no time. Trekk expertly drove their coach, conveying the adventurers and Manasa towards the precise location Manasa had envisioned. There, amidst ancient trees, Manasa watched as the kenku, Šum Lišća, performed a powerful resurrection ritual, and the paladin Ana miraculously drew breath again, her life restored.

Manasa's focus returned to the immediate reality before him, the scent of damp earth and pine needles filling his senses. He saw an elk, tall and imposing, standing silently within Lesnina forest. A sense of connection to the natural world resonated within Manasa, recalling the awe he had felt watching Ana's resurrection in the woods. The elk, Lunaryn, a guardian of the ancient woods, seemed to probe the minds of those present with an unseen tendril. It waited, and a heavy silence settled in the air, as if it expected a response. The brief, ominous crimson glow in Lunaryn's eyes faded, replaced by the deep intelligence of its gaze. Lunaryn shifted its head, and an unseen energy radiated from the elk guardian. Patches of scorched earth and withered undergrowth around it began to mend. Green tendrils unfurled, and the damaged ground recovered. Then, the ancient creature turned silently and deliberately, moving deeper into the forest. Its departure seemed to carry a silent message, as though Lunaryn acknowledged their presence.

As soon as the elk left the area, the party spotted hidden pods. The pods looked like the technology belonging to the predators that had hunted them before. From the pods emerged a Predator Seeker Drone and a Predator Bruiser Drone. A brutal fight began, and the party quickly found themselves low on health, barely holding together. One of the drones struck Kilijan, killing him instantly. Mycha also fell, killed by another drone. After the last drone was destroyed, Kilijan and Mycha were resurrected. Bruised and almost defeated, Manasa, Kilijan, Weneon, Greg, and Sagiatto decided to continue their exploration. They followed the path where the elk had left, moving forward despite their ordeal.

The party kept an eye out for more pods as they traveled north. They carefully made their way through the dense forest, eventually coming upon a fallen tree that served as a natural bridge over a river. The river flowed through a particularly dense section of the woods. Kilijan began setting up a system to cross the water. He attached a wire to both sides of the river bank, creating a makeshift contraption for traversing the gap. Weneon and the others then spotted several pods attached underneath the fallen tree trunk, indicating the presence of predators. The party decided to use Kilijan’s rope system instead of the more direct but dangeroustree trunk. One pod began to activate, but the party destroyed it quickly, preventing a new drone from emerging. They then finished crossing the river and continued heading north. After some more travel, they discovered old ruin walls. These walls were surrounded by ballistas, forming what looked like a small fort in the middle of the dense jungle. Within these ruins, they found a journal. It appeared to belong to a researcher named Aldric, who seemed to have left it behind. Aldric's First Notebook: "Thirteenth day in Lesna Forest. I saw it again at the evening bivouac. It stands as if it is part of the tree, it does not hide, it just… belongs here. A deer of unusual color, like twilight that has taken shape. Its antlers glow faintly when the light recedes. I recorded thirty-four deer moving towards it, staying at about forty paces distance. They do not follow it. They orient themselves around it. I am not sure if these are two different things. The moss in the places where it stood glowed for six hours after it left. I took a sample. I cannot explain why it is warmer than the surrounding moss. The druidic circle in Dolna Ves describes it as Lunaryn, guardian of the axis. They told me he is not a god and not a beast. They told me he is the reason the forest is a forest at all. I did not understand what they meant. I think I am starting to now. Notes for tomorrow: follow the path to the northwest, where the roots are higher. There is something in the arrangement of the trees there that looks intentional." The party decided to make a short rest in the ruins, who seemed to be safe for at least a few hours.