Conquest of Bloodsworn Vale (Rova (IX) 10th-Lamashan (X) 25th 4708 AR)

The heroes made their way to Korvosa. Zemurin came across the bills posted up throughout Korvosa calling for brave heroes to tame the unknown wilderness.

"Land, Gold, and Title!

The trade route through the Bloodsworn Vale must be opened. If you be of stout heart and able body, Captain Tolgrith needs your help. Rewards aplenty for those who help tame this wild land. Interested persons should report to Fort Thorn, inside the vale, immediately."

"During the rise of the Empire of Cheliax a great battle was fought in the valley now known as the Bloodsworn Vale between the emperor’s forces and the barbarian lords of the north. Although Cheliax won, countless soldiers were massacred in one of the bloodiest engagements of the Expansion Wars. Some say the fields of roses that dot the vale date to that time, and that for every soldier who fell, a blood-red rose grew to mark his grave.

Today, Cheliax is a shadow of its former glory, rent by civil war and ruled by devil worshipers. The vale, once a vital trade route, has been reclaimed by wilderness. Only the rose bushes remain to remind travelers of the former empire.

The Pathfinder Chronicles"

“Land, Gold, and Title!” Those were the things promised for taming the great swath of wilderness known as the Bloodsworn Vale, but so far, the journey there had been little more than hardship and boredom. As the miles rolled past and the Mindspin Mountains drew ever nearer, the company of merchants the heroes traveled with had grown steadily more subdued. Some even whispered that the vale was haunted or cursed.

After crossing through Icedeep Pass, the wagons pulled up short to take in the view. Far in the distance, the ice-capped peaks of the Mindspin range were visible beyond a lush green wilderness. Below spread a sea of leaves, broken only here and there by fields of blood-red roses. Perhaps twenty miles ahead, a wooden fort broke through the forest canopy, with a thin wisp of smoke twisting into the air. Suddenly, the promises of “Land, Gold, and Title” didn't seem so far-fetched after all.

Missing Workers

The heroes arrived at Fort Thorn with a small caravan of merchants loaded with supplies and provisions for the settlement. The heroes had  ample time to explore the fort and its various buildings. They visited the Boar’s Bones and one of the few shops. While there was not much going on when the heroes arrived, most of the townsfolk were more than happy to talk to outsiders. At the moment, all of the news in town concerned a missing work crew that vanished two days ago. Theories about the reasons for their disappearances varied wildly, from angry spirits to rampaging monsters.

Meeting with Sir Tolgrith

Eventually, the heroes needed to speak with Sir Tolgrith about employment. They approached the keep.

Fort Thorn’s keep was an imposing structure and one of the few stone buildings in the small outpost. Fully two stories tall, the building had only a few windows, most of which were little more than arrow slits. A pair of guards standing in front of the portcullis that protected the main entrance noticed their approach. One of them called out, “Hail newcomers! You must be the adventurers come to answer the lord’s call. You’re the first. Welcome.”

One guard took the heroes inside to a first-floor planning chamber and asked them to wait while he informed the lord of their arrival. The small room had enough seats for everyone around a large table on which sat a map of the vale. This map showed the basic landforms, the fort, and the progress and projected course of the path. After only a few minutes, Sir Gyrad Tolgrith walked into the room. A hale and rugged fighter, Gyrad remained upbeat and cheerful despite the continued setbacks in the vale's progress.

“Greetings friends. I am glad to see that my call did not go unheeded. Welcome to the Bloodsworn Vale! I am Gyrad Tolgrith, the lord of this vale. I have been charged with clearing the way through these lands. I hope you can help me accomplish this.”

The heroes agreed, so Gyrad went on to explain the current situation. The path itself had fallen behind schedule as the monsters dwelling in the forest constantly harried the workers. Fortunately, these marauding beasts had so far only killed a few workers, and progress on the road continued despite these losses. Recently, however, a new threat appeared. Two days ago, a work crew failed to return. After recalling all of the crews, Sir Tolgrith sent out his scouts to investigate. They returned this morning.

The scouts reported finding the missing crew’s camp in complete disarray. They found all eight men dead, pierced with dozens of small arrows. While none of the gear or equipment was missing, each body was found missing its ears. Since this mutilation was obviously not the work of a simple forest monster, Sir Tolgrith preferred to send professionals to investigate the disturbing turn of events. Gyrad asked the heroes to find the butchers responsible, put an end to them, then report back to him personally once they had completed their task.

After giving them this responsibility, Gyrad happily answered questions the heroes had:

Where did these attacks occur? “About eight miles from here, just off one of the finished parts of the trail. I can give you a simple map.”

Is there anything else we should know? “Now that you mention it, there is one other thing. The people of this community do not yet know the fate of the workers. I ask for your discretion in this matter until it is resolved.”

Ambush Site

The trail leading from Fort Thorn to the ambush site was only about 8 miles long. The journey took the heroes across the Petal River via a recently built bridge. The ambush site itself was just a few hundred feet off the path:

A few torn tents and a long-cold fire pit were all that remained of the workers’ camp. Although the bodies had been buried in a single large grave off to one side, dried bloodstains clearly marked the spots where they fell.

There were a total of eight bloodstains in the camp. The scouts took almost all of the worker’s gear of any value, but a few things remained. The heroes uncovered a pair of torn but serviceable tents, two full waterskins, a pair of bone dice, and a silver dagger. They found a thorn arrow lying next to a nearby tree in the area. This Small rosewood arrow had a wicked thorn at its tip and specially treated petals for fletching. The heroes also discovered a faint trail heading south. This trail crossed the main path and headed straight toward the Fey Glade. The heroes also noticed the footprint of a Small creature. This footprint was humanoid and unshod.

In addition, the heroes determined that giant bee wax (as opposed to normal bee wax) coated the shaft of the arrow.

Fey Glade

Traveling to the fey glade was relatively simple. The glade was located in a swath of forest roughly 6 miles south of the main path:

Outer Ring. The dense and wild forest suddenly gave way to reveal an organized plot of land dominated by a pair of concentric rings of rose bushes surrounding a small clearing. A narrow path lead through the rings toward the clearing and some strange stone monoliths.

The rings of rose bushes marked the edge of the fey glade. Between the two rings stood ancient trees, each meticulously trimmed and cared for. The trail the heroes followed to get here lead to this spot and then continued up the path toward the clearing in the center.

A trio of roseblood sprites was stationed here, hiding in rose bush form. They took no actions until they reverted to sprite form to attack. Two of the sprites were positioned near the middle of the path, while the last one stood near the entrance to the clearing at the center. These fey had placed a snare at the entrance to the path through the hedge. This snare covered the entire path. The snare was attached to a nearby tree in order to pull its unlucky victim up into the air. When the heroes triggered this snare, the sprites reverted to their normal form and attacked.

The arrows used by these sprites were identical to the one found at the worker’s camp. Closer inspection of the fey revealed they were all missing one of their ears (although the wounds had since healed).

Aranthor and Gryxxa avoided surprise by noticing the bushes change into creatures just before they attacked. The two sprites nearest the party attacked, attempting to flank whenever possible. The third sprite used his thorn bow and spell-like abilities, first firing his thorns and then trying to suggest a course of activity on Aranthor. The sprites attempted unsuccessfully to flee through the rose bushes when severely injured. One of them attempted unsuccessfully to go down the stairs in the inner ring. The heroes killed them all.

Inner Ring. The rings of rose bushes gave way to five towering stone monoliths, each rising from a pool of crimson. Nestled in the center of these monoliths was a spiraling staircase descending into the earth.

The stones rose 20 feet and rested in shallow pools of blood that wept from the symbols carved into their faces.

A trio of Large trees stood around these monoliths. These trees attacked the heroes when they approaches the stones. The trees were in fact animated objects.

The trees moved to attack the nearest foe. The heroes are still fighting this battle.