Secrets of Sister Willow

by Gael

We were enjoying a lovely spot of breakfast when Hayley suddenly announced that she was going on a trip. She wanted to go and visit the shrine of Sister Willow, the very same one we had passed on our journey to Latebra Velora. As for her reasons, she was, as usual, rather cryptic. Only revealing that she suspected that the shrine still held secrets waiting to be uncovered.

Naturally, we all offered to join her. And while she wasn’t as forthcoming, we all knew that deep down she was grateful of our company.

We began our preparations for the road ahead and I must confess that I couldn’t resist being a little cheeky here.

As a child, I grew up listening to my parents’ tales of adventure. Which eventually grew into a fondness for both storybooks and cheesy romances. And one cliché I always admired was the knight’s keepsake. A small token from his beloved to carry during a quest, a symbol of his love to her and a promise to safely return it to her.

So I humble asked Dynia for a small token. At first she was puzzled at this, but eventually she handed me a small necklace to hold onto until I could safely return it to her.

With our preparations complete, we set out north. Even by the most direct route, the shrine was at least four days away. Fortunately, the autumn weather favoured us, a cool breeze making travel rather pleasant.

We did take a brief detour to revisit the site where we had once defeated the dragon golem. Its metal remains had finally been cleared away, but the ground still bore traces of its presence. Small, oddly-coloured flowers had begun to grow there, likely mutated by lingering magic. An effect, Hayley and Luke assured us, that would fade with time. Meaning there was no immediate cause for alarm.

What troubled us more was what we didn’t see. Many of the border stones that once marked the Lorewoods borders were now missing. Something which did not miss its effect. For Liliana, whose senses are sharper than ours, confirmed that the Fey’s energies in the woods were steadily growing stronger.

Now I’ll admit, I have, on occasion, voiced support for the Fey, but please don’t mistake that for blind trust. For I honestly believe that the key to harmony and prosperity is found in balance. And that balance was beginning to tip dangerously to one side. Sadly, there was little we could do at that time, except hope that the situation wouldn’t become irreversible.

We pressed on until eventually rain and the setting sun forced us to make camp for the evening.

Around midnight, Hayley and Liliana woke us in a panic. As Alistan was tossing in his sleep, they noticed something strange. A tattoo in the shape of a wolf which had appeared on his shoulder. Worried, Liliana then checked her own shoulder and found a similar toad-shaped mark. She opened her senses and confirmed that not just she, but all of us had been touched by both fiendish and fey energies.

Sure enough, both Luke and I also bore a mark of a bat, and an owl respectively. It was only Hayley who was untouched.

We debated about who could have done this for a few hours, but no clear answer came to us. It felt far too petty for one of our usual enemies and we highly doubted that any stray entity could slip past Luke’s wards unnoticed.

The following days passed quietly, though all but Hayley and I, thanks to my trancing, suffered from vivid night terrors. Yet on the third night, Hayley dreamed as well.

In her dream she was a small child lost in the woods. Accompanied by an owl, a bat, a wolf, and finally a toad. Seeking a way out, she sent the owl to scout the darkness. But it never returned. She sent the bat after him, and he too vanished. She then asked the wolf to chase away whatever was lurking there, but it vanished as well. At last she turned to the humble toad, asking it to walk besides her into the dark as support. It croaked in agreement, and together they stepped forward. The dream ended there.

The mystery deepened.

On the fourth day, we finally reached the shrine. It had certainly changed since our last visit. The moss and overgrowth were cleared away, revealing the structure restored and cleaned. An offering bowl sat in front of it, smeared with dried blood and ringed by unlit candles. Finally a small campfire burned nearby, but there was no sign of who had tended it.

We turned our attention to the shrine. Given everything we’d experienced, it was clear what we needed to do. As the bearer of the owl, I drew my dagger and let my blood fall into the bowl. Luke, the bat, followed, then Alistan and finally Liliana. But the blood simply evaporated with nothing else happening.

“Right idea,” Hayley smirked as she drew her dagger, “but you missed a few steps.” She lit the surrounding candles and prepared to draw blood once more. But before she could, a roar shook the night.

A massive oak split open to reveal rows of teeth, as countless eyes blinked awake across its bark. It tore free of the earth and charged towards us.

Alistan, ever the first to respond to a challenge, met it head-on, shield raised, buying us time for the ritual. But before we could aid him, a hag burst from the woods, shrieking curses and accusing us of stealing her shrine. At her command, the tree spewed seeds that sprouted into humanoid plant-creatures, which quickly surrounded us.

Liliana and I started attacking them while Hayley and Luke turned their fury on the hag. Fire and vines ensnared her, though she quickly dispelled the flames with dark magic. Sensing the danger posed, Liliana engaged her. Freeing Luke to sear the minions to ash.

As this was going down, Alistan was still holding his own against the massive tree. But even he was slowly being pushed back as its massive branched thundered down on his shield relentlessly. And so it came to be that after a particularly hard blow Alistan was thrown back and the tree shifted his roots towards Hayley. Ensnaring her and slowly draining the life from her.

Enraged and having dealt with their respective foes, Luke and Liliana unleashed their full powers upon it. Giving Alistan a few vital seconds to not only catch his breath, but also pull Hayley out of the roots. Who wasted no time in completing the ritual.

As the last drops fell, mist emerged and swirled into a portal. Hayley shouted for us to follow and leapt through. We followed close behind, though Liliana paused long enough to cleave the monstrous oak nearly in half, grinning as it crashed to the ground.

Catching my bearings upon exiting the portal, the forest we found ourselves in felt wrong. The ground was blanketed in unnaturally coloured flowers, their scents merging into a sickly purple haze. Above us, there were no stars or moon to behold. Only an unending darkness

But the most disturbing thing was what we saw in front of us. A small wooden cabin build inside the trunk of a massive tree. And on its roof it stood. A creature that I can only describe as an unholy union of moth and a man. Long stretched out arms and legs, a body covered in dark carapace and a face that would drive even the greatest of men into insanity.

It descended, calling itself a sage of Sister Willow. Hayley stepped forward, declaring she had come to learn her secrets. The sage asked her if she had brought her guides and she gestured to us. “Then let the owl step forward,” it hissed.

With my heart in my throat, I stepped forward. Every instinct inside of me screamed at me to either flee or fight. But Hayley had asked for my trust. And she had always trusted me in turn, even when there was clear reason not to. And I couldn’t simple betray that.

The creature seized my shoulders and pierced the owl tattoo with its proboscis. The sensation wasn’t exactly painful, but it was certainly uncomfortable as the ink was drawn from my flesh. And then, in an instant, I stood back at the shrine.
Luke and Alistan soon appeared beside me, but Hayley and Liliana did not return at once.

Now had I the time, I certainly would be worried. But I mostly spend my time trying in vain to calm down both Alistan and Luke as they continued pacing around the shrine.

When they finally emerged, they said nothing of what had transpired. Keeping that as a secret between the two of them. As for whatever Hayley sought, it seemed she had found it. Evident by the wooden board she carried under her arm. Something she called a Ouija board, said to be able to contact spirits of the beyond.

And so, thanks to Luke’s spell, we returned home at the crack of dawn. And I for wasted no time in taking a bath. Desperate to wash away the lingering memory of that damned moth.

Continue reading...

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The Journal Entry’s title

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Secrets of Sister Willow

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