Stonewood

General
Stonewood is a small uninhabited town in the south-east of Nihost. It is a few days travel north-east from Droston.

The Rangers of Eamonn
The Rangers first heard about Stonewood from Helen Elderflower, who suggested that the druid Kaylee may be located there. Mirna Thulkanathai, once a resident of Stonewood, warned the Rangers that Stonewood was beseiged by a plague. This plague was said to "bloat and twist" its sufferers, causing them to attack others. Mirna's ex-husband, Nilsa's father, is assumed to have been lost to this plague. Athorell recognised this as similar to what he had witnessed at The Sunstone Ruins.

Mirna requested that if The Rangers were to visit Stonewood, that they obtain her mother's necklace which she left in her father's apothecary shop.

The Journey
After leaving Droston, The Rangers briefly visited Millicent Baron to discuss the Sentinels.

Following the road towards Melithyr Forest, they were accosted by Sylvio De Chella, a strange gentleman claiming to know Mallory's father Antonio. He invited Mallory to view a portrait of his grandmother at Sylvio's house on Mount Rewenge.

While walking, Athorell asked a passing caravan for news - they had little to say, except that they were travelling from Bithmount, working on behalf of an unnamed fancy man.

Mallory created and gifted Lutark a collar, and Gae-An admitted to having two boyfriends while living on Mount Rewenge.

To get to Stonewood, The Rangers were forced to cross a river. Lutark attached a rope to an arrow and Gae-An nimbly and acrobatically flipped across to anchor it to a tree.

Arrival
Upon arrival in Stonewood, The Rangers were greeted with a sign warning them of the danger in the town.

"DANGER! CORRUPTED PLANTS AND CHANGED PEOPLE HERE!"

In the first building they came across, Virtuous saw plants moving inside, as if in the breeze. There was no breeze at that time. Exploring further, they found an intact building. Inside was Kaylee, who was scared and hiding from an unknown entity.

After Athorell asked her about the location of The Sunstone Ruins, a place she was familiar with, she revealed the threats in the town; not only was there a plague, a green dragon had taken up residence in a tower and some Durathi were skulking around. This caused particular distress to two of the members of the group, Athorell and Virtuous. Athorell was concerned about the dragon, as he had been kept captive by a green dragon named Smaragdus, and hurt badly by it. The Durathi were Virtuous' concern, as they are natives of her home island Durath. They decide to take on the Durathi before dealing with the dragon. Kaylee begged The Rangers not to get involved, an idea very alien to them. After learning they would be clearing out the town, Kaylee requests that The Rangers tie a special rope around the large tree in the centre of the town - she tells them that it will trap any evil spirits in the tree.

Mallory: "We never leave well enough alone, that's kind of our motto" 

Walking through the town, they came across some spiderwebs blocking their path. They tried to pass through without disturbing it, but were unsuccessful.

(combat detailed here)

Following the fight, Athorell cast 'speak with animals' to interrogate a spider about the dragon. It tells them that the dragon kicked it and its bretheren out of the tower where it was dark. It also told them to 'fuck off'.

Moving through, they found and searched the Herbalists Shop and found Mirna's necklace. Athorell convinced a bird to scout the area to the north of Stonewood, and they moved towards the central tree. On their way, they came across another intact building. Gae-An tried the back door, only to find it barred. This alerted the people who were inside. Assuming they're Durathi, Mallory impersonated Virtuous. In the resulting confusion, Athorell and Gae-An broke down the door.

Inside were two Durathi warriors; Glorious, a horned male, and Merciful, a winged male. They explained that they, alongside the Durathi princess Cera, had come to Stonewood to find Virtuous and take her back to Durath. However shortly after arriving, the dragon had kidnapped Princess Cera, who was revealed to be Virtuous' sister. Rescuing her became their top priority, though they were honour-bound to return Virtuous as soon as possible. They stated that they "no longer respected Virtuous' authority". Virtuous admitted to being a princess and explained that the two Durathi were royal guards sent to convince her to go back to Durath.

Athorell explained that dragons generally take prisoners for conversation, and that if the prisoners refuse to converse, the dragon will hurt them. This was how he got the large scar on his collarbone.

Slaying Smaragdus
The Rangers devised a strategy to take on the dragon - Gae-An, Lutark, Glorious and Lutark were to climb the tower and await a signal (the signal being "Smaragdus"), then drop down, casting 'Web' and hitting the dragon on the head. Meanwhile Mallory, Virtuous and Athorell were to distract the dragon with a promise of loyalty and an exchange of riches for the princess.

To gain entry to the tower, Athorell spoke Draconic. Inside was the dragon Smaragdus, Athorell's worst nightmare. The Rangers executed their plan almost flawlessly. Gae-An was set to deliver the killing blow, but refrained so that Athorell could have the kill if he so wished. He did so after interrogating it.

(combat detailed here)

Following the fight, Mallory renamed 'GentleFist' to 'Dragonsbane', and intimidated the Durathi into not killing Virtuous on the spot. Cera confirmed that she was in Stonewood to return Virtuous home to "face justice". It was then revealed that Virtuous had left Durath because people were trying to kill her - the Durath culture glorifies killing and celebrates death. She was confused that her sister was being so nice to her, and urged Cera to go home without her. Cera explains that their father had forced Virtuous into fighting and ultimately killing her Elven friend Aramil to prove that "the Durathi could conquer this new strange thing". Following Aramil's death, Virtuous killed many Durathi and fled. Cera admitted that she is torn; she didn't want to take Virtuous back to Durath, but felt she could not return to King Thernath empty-handed. Mallory solved this conundrum by 'suggesting' that Cera take a dragon scale, go home and tell her father that she slew it.

Success in Stonewood
Following the slaying of Smaragdus, The Rangers decided to clear out the rest of Stonewood. They faced Wretches, a Rutterkin, Vineblights, Needleblights and Twigblights

(combat detailed here)

After two sets of combat, Mallory lost concentration on his 'suggestion' to Cera. The Rangers decided to rest up in a fortified building. Lutark and Athorell went to convince Kaylee to join them, which she agreed to do. Meanwhile Gae-An, Mallory and Virtuous created a fake camp to fool Cera if she returned, setting up a noise-making trap to alert the group if she returned, as well as a bear trap.

While they rest, Gae-An and Kaylee bonded. She told him that while she knows of The Looking Glass and The Sentinels, she's part of a different group called Nature's Balance - they maintain the balance between civilisation and nature. Kaylee took Lutark and Athorell aside to enquire about their time and connection with the Melithyr Forest. She requested they join Nature's Balance, to which Athorell immediately agreed. This was also the first appearance of Lutark's 'Driftglobe', and Mallory's dragon-tooth necklace.

Gae-An: "Do you have hair?"

While resting in the barracks, Mallory told a story; a man who is visited by fey on his wedding night. They tell him a story about a terrible war ravaging the lands, and when he emerges from his house 15 years have passed - his village is razed and his husband-to-be is dead. Kaylee expressed that she does not believe elves are real - to which Athorell responded by exposing his ears.

Athorell proceeded to explain his quest - his Lady (Lady Vellionor) had sent him into the Ruins to retrieve a sword set in crystal, however instead he found a demon. Kaylee followed up with explaining that she wanted the tree bound in the rope because she noticed that the plague creatures were stronger in close proximity to the tree. Virtuous responded to a question about her beliefs, and expressed that the prefix 'eryth' means 'blood'.

Mallory: "Do you have a god?"

Virtuous: "If death is a god, then yes."

Having cleared the town of plague as well as they could, The Rangers moved on towards The Sunstone Ruins with Kaylee as their guide.