A/N: And here we are with another chapter! Things are moving along nicely, yep yep.
Day 88, Hour 14
We've found the Shadow Druid enclave, Mr. Journal, but Branwen isn't here. No one is. The whole place is straight-up abandoned, and we've got no idea where the Shadow Druids went. We've stopped for a breather in the Archdruid's tree, which is just as empty as the rest of this place.
We crossed into Shadow Druid territory earlier this morning. I knew it for sure when I saw the first bridge we'd crossed on our way out to the mines. I felt a great hope swelling up in me then, Mr. Journal. We'd made it, and we knew where we were, and everything was going to be okay! But then, once we got to the enclave, everyone was gone, and now I don't know what to think.
Kivan says that if we look around the area, he might be able to pick up on a trail what we can use to track them with, but we'll have to be quick. We're near out of supplies, and we can only spare one day to look for them if we don't want to run out before making it out of the woods. Even if that weren't the case, I imagine Kivan wants to get out of these woods right quick now that he knows Tazok's long gone from this place.
We're about to head out again and start our search. Gods, but I'm worried, Mr. Journal. I sure hope Branwen is okay.
Day 88, Hour 20
We didn't find the Shadow Druids, Mr. Journal, but we did find Branwen! And what's more, Khalid and Jaheira were with her, and they were all three of them okay! I haven't been this relieved in a long time. Everything's turning out just fine, Mr. Journal.
Okay, so, here's the lowdown on everything what's happened since we started our search near six hours ago. It started raining something fierce soon after we left the Archdruid's tree. The wind was blowing like mad, and there were lightning and thunder everywhere. It was almost as if the sky were mad at us, Mr. Journal. Though, come to think of it, we're probably on the Shadow Druids' shit list right now, so that might not be too far from the truth.
Anyway, the woods were, as always, filled with stuff what wanted to kill us. No spiders, though. Little kindnesses, Mr. Journal, little kindnesses. All of these damn bears though, they want a piece of Yeslick. Near every bear we ran into went straight for Yeslick, though precious few of them managed to make it past his armor and all of them met his BOSSHAMMER.
Either way, about three hours out we ran straight into an ambush. The next thing we knew, we were surrounded by a pack of worgs. Dreadful smart animals. Strong too. Several of them went for me at once, and I would've been done for if Xan hadn't fended them off with his spells. They kept coming, though, and pretty soon we were overwhelmed. Just when it looked like they had us but good, though, who should come crashing out of the bushes but Branwen, brandishing her BOSSHAMMER and screaming out battlecries to Tempus. Gods, what a sight for sore eyes!
Well, Mr. Journal, I was right glad to see her, and my fighting resolve just about doubled knowing she was okay, but I still weren't near prepared for what came next. Khalid and Jaheira burst out close behind her and joined the fight. Gods, Mr. Journal, I just about broke down into tears. I haven't seen them for near a month now, and I was starting to fear the worst.
With those three on our side, the fight was over quickly. As soon as the last worg fell, Kivan went straight over and started talking to Branwen before we could even get a word in edgewise, asking her what had happened, stuff like that. There was a note of urgency in his voice then. I guess he was a lot more worried about her than he'd been letting on.
Well, instead of answering him right then and there, Branwen suggested that we all get out of the rain first before catching up, as it were a long story. So, we backtracked to the Archdruid's tree, which was still totally abandoned. Once we had a roof over our heads, we all shared our stories of what had happened since we last met. You've already heard our group's story, Mr. Journal, but I'll let you know what happened with the others.
Apparently Faldorn wasn't the only one what the Shadow Archdruid had sent to keep an eye on us, and there were scouts shadowing us in the trees. So, news of Faldorn's death in battle traveled fast. Branwen wasn't sure how the Shadow Druids would act on the news, but saw how upset they were, and, fearing the worst, snuck off from the enclave to find us and warn us. She got lost, went around in circles for a bit, and ended up right back at the enclave. When she got back, though, the place was totally deserted. Figuring they'd either gone after her or us, she redoubled her efforts and got twice as lost. She kept traveling through the woods, though, for several days. Wouldn't give up, as that weren't what a warrior would do. But one night, she was set upon by a whole pack of giant spiders. Would have been the end of her if Khalid and Jaheira hadn't shown up and helped her fight. After that, the three of them started heading towards the Cloakwood Mines to find us, which turned out to be in the opposite direction of the way Branwen went. They'd run into us getting our arses handed to us by those worgs in the middle of that.
Khalid and Jaheira never got captured by bandits or anything like that. Hadn't even run into trouble looking for them. What did happen was that they'd unexpectedly run into one of the contacts from their 'organization' while they were on the search and had to go do something what required their immediate attention. Jaheira still won't tell me what that organization is, though, only that it's currently opposed to the Iron Throne and is trying to throw a wrench in their evil plans. I'm still curious and more than a touch suspicious about who Khalid and Jaheira work for, Mr. Journal, but for now, it's good enough for me that they're friends of Gorion's and have got the same enemies I do. They're not bad people, after all, I do know that much.
Anyways, by the time they'd gotten back from whatever it was they were doing, they'd missed our meeting time by weeks. They got back to the Friendly Arm just a couple days after that last time we stopped there, Mr. Journal. They heard from Bentley that we'd gone after those bandits to the north, and he was pretty sure we'd found them and beaten them soundly, but wasn't sure where we were headed next, only that we were looking for them. Gods, Mr. Journal, but I can't believe we forgot to mention to Bentley we'd be headed to the Cloakwood next. We were so sure those two folks what Tazok had captured were Khalid and Jaheira that we didn't think to leave word in case they showed up. Either way, with not much else to go on, the two of them headed up to the bandit camp to look for clues on where we'd gone after that.
They might have not found us at all if it weren't for that Shar-Teel lady what we'd met earlier. Khalid and Jaheira ran into her a few days out from the bandit camp. She recognized them from our descriptions and pointed them in the right direction, though not before challenging Khalid to a test of strength and steel. I asked if he won, but he just got all quiet when I did, and Jaheira just laughed. Still, either way, I sure am glad we met Shar-Teel and told her what was up, Mr. Journal. If I ever see her again, I'll have to thank her.
Anyways, it's getting late, and we're all pretty tired, so we're going to stay the night here. Jaheira says we can come up with a game plan in the morning. Kivan's taken first watch, so I'd better get as much rest as I can before it's my turn. Good night, Mr. Journal.
Day 89, Hour 10
Morning, Mr. Journal. We talked it over, and it looks like we're going to be splitting up again. We've all agreed that traveling through the Cloakwood in such a large group is a bad idea, as the noise would likely draw in every damn spider, wolf, and tasloi from here to Baldur's Gate. This time though, it won't be for such a dreadful long time, at least. We'll be meeting up at the Friendly Arm Inn in a few days to discuss our next move, and whoever gets there first is going to wait there until the other group catches up. Branwen is going with Khalid and Jaheira, and the rest of us are in the second group. I don't like seeing them go right when we found them again, but I just got to keep telling myself it's only for a few days this time. Either way, I sure am glad everyone's okay. I've missed everyone being all together like this.
Things are finally starting to look up, Mr. Journal.
A/N: And that's where we're stopping for now. It may be a bit short, but there isn't another good stopping point for a while, not until they make it out of the Cloakwood. And speaking of which, tune in next time as our heroes finally get the Hells out of the Cloakwood! If you have questions, comments, or concerns, please leave a review. Your feedback is appreciated. No, seriously, I, like, thrive on you guy's feedback. See you next time.