The Druid Wars

"'If there's ever been an underestimated group of people, it's probably the druids. In a world full of forests, they will always have the upper hand.' - Lucy Suville."In 1402 E.O.J, Everfall was besieged by a large group of druids, who, for unknown reasons, decided to attack the realm and earn back a long-promised respect. The war took place over just five weeks in the summer seasons and this article details what of towns, cities, and adventurers that have dealt with druid threats over this period and what happened to them week by week during the war.

Week One - "The Emergence of Spore Trees"
Townsfolk across Everfall, in every village, hamlet, and town, woke up one morning in 1402 to discover a sudden gigantic tree in the centre of their settlements. Although the appearance of the tree differs from town to town (depending on region) there are some remarkable similarities between each one. Each of these trees sprung up rapidly overnight without provocation (and at the same time in each place), and each tree dispersed a cloud of spores over those towns and vilages which caused rapid sickness when they came into contact with skin; the druid disease was an effect of these spores and symptoms included: heavy rashes, sudden fatigue, and the sprouting of leaves and foliage across the body. Unknown to most people at the town, this was part of a co-ordinated attack by the druids and the first provocation of war between those that follow nature strongly and those that do not. The only cure for the disease came in the form of a variety of different ingredients; including Tenderwood, which when mixed together could heal those that had been afflicted.

Below you can find examples of specific towns and their reactions to this sudden assault:

Alis'Dale
The town of Alis'Dale is no stranger to invading forces and immigration, when the Declaration of Danger was delivered by way of bird they wasted no time making adjustments to combat the threat. The Council of Champions, in preperation for this threat only a month prior, had assigned one Lumon Longstrength as Captain of the Guard in the town, to ensure it was properly protected from any invaders. This turned out to be a failed tactic however, as Captain Lumon's prevelances for strictness and swift justice made him an outsider in the town and he was distrusted heavily by the locals.

That being the case, the day before the emergence of the town's spore tree, several adventurers came into the town looking for work; Arranis, Rolen, Revas, and Enilalas; these travelling heroes proved themselves most important in the events that transpired next. The next morning the spore tree sprouted and the townsfolk of Alis'Dale immediately started getting ill, this group of adventurers however didn't concern themselves with a cure and were more interested in the face behind the attack. They went in search of evidence to implicate a guilty part, and soon came across real evidence that pointed to Captain Lumon Longstrength as the culprit; this evidence included: A map of the town found in his drawer marked with the area of attack, a horseshoe found on the body of Adele Greenhill (whose house had been destroyed by the tree) - his horse had lost a shoe that morning, witness testimony that he had been in the area of the attack the night before, and the ledger from the stables showed that he had been out all night (neglecting to sign his horse back in.)

With the evidence mounted up against him, control of the guard was handed over to Dorald Doonin, who immediately arrested Lumon, questioned him, and put him to the noose. Just after his hanging though, the heroes tragically discovered that Lumon was not behind the attacks, as they played witness to his horse transforming back into human form before taking the form of a bird and abandoning Alis'Dale.

Greenstone Village
"'This is a poor town. Your need is greater.' - Misa, Wandering Adventurer."One of the first villages throughout the Druid Wars to discover a cure to the druid disease, Greenstone stands amongst many others with this knowledge. Like most other towns, Greenstone woke up one morning to discover a tree near its centre, releasing spores in much the same way it did for Alis'Dale in the North. Lady Velrosa - High Steward of Greenstone, who was less concerned with who skulked behind the plot and more concerned with her infected patrons, discovered the cure for this malady in an ancient book, and commissioned a group of freelance adventurers to find the components neccessary to cure the ailment - including the most neccessary component; Tenderwood. The group consisted of; D'Barsden Darkbrite, Misa, Ali Djinn and others unnamed.

Following the direction from an ancient one-legged gnome (Piotr the Peg/janitor of the local inn) - who told them of a nearby cave that catered for Tenderwrood, this party of adventurers set off into the nearby forests to forage for the components; a forest that had remarkably overgrown itself in foliage. Along the way the adventuring party were acosted by a Tree-ceritops (one of the many creatures to have appeared in the duration of the Druid Wars) and Moss Frogs. They battled their way inside the cave and soon found the Tenderwood inside guarded by a selection of druids who know that the Tenderwood can be used as a key component for the cure (proving their guilt) - the party managed to overpower them and return to Greenstone Village with the vital ingredients neccessary to cure the town. Lady Velrosa offered the adventurers a reward in return for their aid, and the group refused.

Grimsby
Grimsby can be best described as a town that already had a tree at its centre before the Druid Wars began, a well-established tree that was a decent fixture of the town. Grimsby is one of the only towns across the realm to experience a tree conversion - where an already existing tree is transformed overnight into a plague tree, rather than springing up or being grown. So, in a matter of night to morning, the town of Grimsby went from hosting a sensible old oak to a terrifying plague tree, similar to those that have sprung up across Everfall.

As a coincidence to the recent plight of Grimsby; a team of adventures arrived at the town after meeting up with Griselda, a presence in the town that could rival even the tree in terms of fixture. As it turns out, Griselda had sold the heroes a book of disease remedies, along with a free warning to stay away from the town. Something, fortunately, the heroes did not take heed of. The party was made up of; Jaxi the Tabaxi Sorcerer, Rhaenys, Dexi, Enna, and Kaeleb.

The fortunately revealed book guided them through Aspen Forest where they found Helena, a druid of conspicious design that warns them not to proceed. The party gets lost in the forest but eventually finds their way thanks to a friendly Treeant named Shiny, who takes them to a grove where they find a series of druids attempting to pull a dryad from a tree - one of the druids is Helena. The druids attack but are beaten by the party's skill, and it is at this point that Helena transforms herself into a Giant Wurm. Fortune favours the lucky however, as newfound friend Shiny bounded through the trees to hold the druid off, helping with their escape.

The Dryad tells the party that her body can be used as tenderwood if needed - a key ingredient to developing a cure for the druid disease. The party takes her arm and escapes through her tree, which the dryad allows them to travel through. After, they appear in a snowy landscape, battered and bruised, and hear the same high pitched screech.

Week Two - "Arrival of the Dwarves"
It didn't take long for Ola'Varris and the Dwarves of High Mountain to hear about the appearance of Plague Trees springing up across the realm. The Council of Champions were sent into a frenzy with only one conclusion drawn from the emergency meeting; what evil fiend could be behind this sudden resistance of druids? Ola'Varris decided that they should focus on the individual behind this threat, while the Dwarves of High Mountain settled on helping those across Everfall; they sent much of their remaining forces to travel across the realm and help those towns that needed help; a task that was harder than originally thought thanks to a sudden overgrowth of nature on the travelling routes between the towns and villages.

Greenstone Village
Following on from the recent troubles with Greenstone Village, some heroes elected to stay in the town to aid with the crisis, while others joinded the cause thereafter, including; Leman 'The Anvil.' Greenstone called on them to deliver food and provisions to three outlying farms after a pigeon arrived informing the local council that the three families had gathered together in the Forcas farmhouse - their farms had been cut off thanks to the overgrowth following the previous week. Osstra Hulvaan's far, Summerhawks', and Forcas farmhouse.

The party sets out towards the farmhouse, and after a breif stint of being lost and fighting off a tree-ceritops, they find that the troubles are far from over. The three families are beset with arguments about whether they should remain at the farm or travel back to the town under the heroes protection. The heroes step into the argument and convince them that Greenstone would be a far sight better than a creaky old barn. Slowed greatly by the families the heroes journey them back, but just as the town came back into sight, Ramm Forcus cries out "Look! It's the forest coming for us!"

Many forest creatures stride across towards the large group, with fierce robed humanoids on their backs, and on the other side, Treekin. The heroes cut a path through the treekin to try and make their escape, a feat that proved impossivle, for the heroes did tear the creatures apart but the forest creatures caught up with them. It is only thanks to Avandra Above that helps comes in the final moments through the blasting of horns, and the deep throated cries of a dwarven battalion, the Doomgar Dwarves charged through the creatures and made short work of them, but it came at a price.

They ushered the party back to Greenstone with the surviving family members, where Borthan D'Goodfellow - leader of the dwarfs, seeks them out through his small force and beseeches their help. Through their travels many of his brethren have fallen in this war, now he needs the help of others. Somewhere there is an item, an item of power, that can fight back against the forces of nature.

Grimsby
Following the same adventures as they come out into a strange snowy landscape, only to be followed by the sounds of the pursuing wurm. Thinking fast, the group hides behind nearby some trees and is fortunate enough today to not be spotted by the wurm. This is when their luck runs out however, as the group is assaulted by a large tribe of Polar Bears calling themselves the Poxxa - who grow especially enraged at the sight of the dryad's arm. Through a combination of speech they manage to converse with the Poxxa, convincing them that they are aganst the druid war, in return the Poxxa inform them that they are no longer on Everfall, but a different plane - Dunal'Daf: The Plane of Endless Forests.

The newly befriended Poxxa give the group a set of special goggles that allows them to see another of the dryad's trees nearby, one that could guarantee their escape back to the material plane. Then, they create a distraction long enough for the heroes to escape the clutches of the wurm druid Helena; although it doesn't work for long and a chase soon begins.

The party makes it to the tree before the wurm can catch them and they slip through to an uncontained chaos on the other side. Goblins everywhere. Panicking at the sight of the tree they travelled through from Everfall now destroyed.

They travel back to Grimsby with another dryad of the grove, Stabby Abby, who helps them navigate the overgrown forests. The party makes it back to the town, where they grind up the dryad's arm into a fine powder and gift it to the citizens of the town to be cured from the druid disease, as Abby heals the plague tree at the centre of the town returning it back to its former glory.

Soon after a batallion of Doomgar Dwarfs arrive, who offer the party a new quest, find an Amulet of Anti-Nature.

DinoTown
A complete recap of Dino-Town's happenings can be found here for Week Two - DinoTown and the Druidic Maze