Episode: But Strong in Will
Posted by Story on 12/02/23
Before the Blood Moon, stories about villages simply vanishing in the Northlands have largely been ignored as fanciful tales or (most often) the work of raiding shavs. After all, people might vanish, but buildings don't generally up and walk away, and certainly forests that are old one day were obviously old the day before.
That was then.
Five villagers, and only five villagers, from the modestly sized town of Helmfirth turn up in Stonedeep, nearly incoherent with terror, with wild tales of being woken up by strange sounds in the night and emerging from their homes just in time to see, in the words of one horrified man, "trees swallowing everything and everyone." This time, people pay attention. This time, when the Knights of Solace go to see if it's true and find a silent forest instead of a village, they stay back. This time, when the road to what was once Helmfirth is closed, when the guards warn them away, when a strangely familiar phrase begins popping up in hushed murmurs among the older residents of Stonedeep and the children of newly knelt prodigals, *everyone* listens to the warning.
"Don't go into the Witchwood."
That was then.
Five villagers, and only five villagers, from the modestly sized town of Helmfirth turn up in Stonedeep, nearly incoherent with terror, with wild tales of being woken up by strange sounds in the night and emerging from their homes just in time to see, in the words of one horrified man, "trees swallowing everything and everyone." This time, people pay attention. This time, when the Knights of Solace go to see if it's true and find a silent forest instead of a village, they stay back. This time, when the road to what was once Helmfirth is closed, when the guards warn them away, when a strangely familiar phrase begins popping up in hushed murmurs among the older residents of Stonedeep and the children of newly knelt prodigals, *everyone* listens to the warning.
"Don't go into the Witchwood."