Moonday, Pharast 4, 4713 evening
The Spirit Road

We have settled back into our travel routine, albeit with a much smaller caravan than before. Setting up and breaking down camp is a breeze, and preparing meals for the reduced staff takes little time. Most of us do not need to eat, but even just a bite of something hot at the end of the day lifts one’s spirits enough to make it worth the while.

We remain off the road by a hundred yards or so and occasionally see travelers pass by, but we keep to ourselves as do they. The ground undulates in a lazy series of low grass covered hills with patches covered by a thin veneer of snow. Our travel time is good and during breaks our horses are able to graze.

We’ve not forgotten last week’s ninja attacks, but the repetitive nature of this sort of travel dulls the senses — at least until the next unexpected event.

By noon we began to pass some sporadic clumps of trees. By mid afternoon we landscape was dotted with small groves of conifers. But these were still far apart and offered no real obstacle, and the trees broke up the monotony of the grassland.

This evening Ivan handed me a morning star to use while he is enchanting my flail. “You can use this.” he declared in his matter of fact way. I swung the handle around a few times, but using a morning star is pretty much just hitting things with a stick and I had little doubt about my ability to use it.

“I hope this isn’t a permanent change,” Star grumbled. “Be quiet!” I replied before adding, “And be nice!”

Ivan raised an eye and said, “I assume you are talking to one of your mice.”

“Yes, Star was being… Star, and was commenting on the temporary downgrade of our gear. She can be impatient and does not always take the long view.”

“I’m curious if they will talk to others,” Ivan continued.

“That’s funny, Dasi asked the same sort of thing the other day. They’re not exactly quiet when offering advice, and I bet if you ask them something they’ll answer,” I replied.

Badger was quick to exclaim, “Wait, what? You’re constantly telling us to keep our voices down!”

I sighed and said, “Badger, that’s when you guys are clamoring with your opinions in the middle of combat when people are trying to stay focused.”

Ivan asked, “So what are they telling you now?”

“They are mostly curious about what you plan to do with my flail. Star seems particularly concerned,” I explained.

“Well then, Star, why don’t you help me make Qatana’s weapon something special. You can infuse some of your wisdom into the magic. It’s going to take four days, and so all of you are welcome to come add your own magic to the weapon during the process. You can also keep an eye on me while I work on it,” Ivan countered.

My mice erupted with all sorts of guidance for what Ivan could with the flail, and after a moment when I realized he couldn’t actually hear them, I passed their comments on — well, most of them.

“Make the ball shoot out tiny explosive spikes on impact!” Star gushed.

Pookie said, “I want to see little ghostly mice spring from the flail to the target when Grayflame is active.”

“Make the ball fly off and around, hitting all of our enemies before returning back to its chain,” Badger suggested.

“Maybe make the face of Groetus look a little happier.” This, from Huffy.

Takoda added, “But not while in combat: then it should grow fangs and growl!”

“I think it needs to scream whenever you swing it,” Timber stated.

“I want to see how you’re going to do this so I can add some magic to my tail,” McLovin said whimsically.

And finally Beorn offered, “I really don’t care what it does, as long as I get to decide who lives and who dies.”

Ivan thought about these suggestions for a few moments before saying, “Okay, maybe with all of you helping this could happen. I’ll talk with the gods about letting me enchant Grayflame on the weapon, and you guys can help out with the other stuff.” He then turned around and walked away.

“Ooh,” Pookie replied, “I’ve always wanted to enchant a weapon.”

Wealday, Pharast 6, 4713 evening
The Spirit Road

Kali and Dasi returned from Miliwan. Kali went disguised as a monk, having cur her hair the night before, and Dasi went as himself. Additional precautions included the use of phantom steeds to quickly ride from the caravan, camped a half a mile or so out of town, and back again; plus scrolls of teleportation for emergencies; and complete back stories for who they were pretending to be.

None of it was needed, and they were able to quickly sell off all of our excess items for a reasonable amount, and to buy the items we needed at very good prices (apparently Dasi has the gift of haggle). But then maybe had they not been so cautious they would have had trouble.

We have become a paranoid lot.

I now have a new set of boots, having handed over my old Boots of the Winterlands to Ivan in favor of Boots of Striding and Springing. I also got expensive components for some of the more exotic spells that I know, but have been unable to cast for lack of materials.

And Shalelu now has her own Ring of Sustenance. She was delighted with the gift, and I am delighted that she will be up with the rest of us overnight. No more waking up in the middle of combat and walking into a wall of fire for her.

Tomorrow we enter the Spirit Forest, and at dinner tonight Miyaro explained the name. Over the millenia thousands of people have died there and many of their souls still roam the forest.

This seems like an inadequate explanation. Any city can boast the same number of deaths over the same interval of time, and yet we don’t hear of “The Haunted City of Magnimar” or the “Ghost Infested Metropolis of Korvosa.”

Something else is going on in the Spirit Forest, and given the amount of time we’ll spend traveling through it (from north to south) I suspect we’ll discover more about it than we really want to know.

Oathday, Pharast 7, 4713 evening
The Spirit Forest

We entered the forest around mid morning and before mid day we had encountered our first spirit. We had followed a wide path that led away from the road and plunged into the trees. Snow was falling gently, gathering on the branches of the spruces, firs and cedars, making for a lovely journey. And quiet too, with the snow absorbing the typical woodland sounds, and muffling the sounds of our wheels and steeds.

About ten miles in a standing stone lay toppled across the path, and so we naturally set it back up and brushed away the snow and loam.

“Forest of Spirits, 1200 miles to Minkai”

It was a way marker, and it reminded us of just how long we would be in this forest. Miyaro suggested that we leave a gift at the foot of the marker, and several of us did so. A feeling of goodwill washed over us, and a moment later a small man, no taller than my knees, walked out from the trees and bowed. He was a wizened old thing, dressed in simple robes, and several of us bowed before him. He bowed in return.

He was a forest spirit and this was his way marker.

Miyaro introduced herself, and the man said a disturbing thing, “You are not Miyaro. I know Miyaro and she does not look like you.” Miyaro said something to the little man and he made a face and replied, “I am no longer as good at recognizing faces as I once was.”

Miyaro explained our purpose in passing through the forest, and the man said he would send word of us to the other spirits. He then walked up to the way marker and merged into the stone.

Perhaps it was just my imagination, but after that the feeling that we were being watched grew throughout the day.

Oathday, Pharast 7, 4713 night
The Spirit Forest

We’ve had another meeting with a spirit — this one was a lot less cute and friendly than earlier today, but at the same time not confrontational. I guess.

We were sitting around the camp fire and Miyaro was telling us more about the forest when all of a sudden she just stopped. At the same moment Sandru said, “Do you hear that?”

A lovely humming filled the air, softly at first and then gradually louder. A shimmering figure of a young woman faded into view. She was humming and seemed to be lost in thought. She approached Sandru until she was standing (floating?) right before him, and then began to merge with him.

Olmas tried to hit the ghostly figure before it joined with Sandru, but to no avail. I tried Ghostbane Dirge, but it too was ineffectual. Ivan cast Protection from Evil on Sandru, but the ghostly form joined with him anyway.

Suddenly Sandru began to speak in Tien, telling a tale about samurai. Kali called out to Sandru and asked when he had learned Tien. “Uh, other than a few words I picked up from you folk, I don’t know any Tien. But I do remember telling a story about a samurai. Odd. I don’t know any stories about them either.”

Dasi then spoke with the spirit within Sandru. She was a famous poet and based upon her poems, Dasi realized she must have lived a hundred years ago. But she was clearly unaware of her own death. She thought the Amutatsu family still ruled Minkai, and that she was having a strange dream.

Ivan cast Dispel Magic upon Sandru and the spirit apparently left, but whether she has at long last gone to her final rest or was still wandering the forest we did not know.

Maybe this thing wasn’t harming Sandru, but maybe if we had left it alone it would have eventually displaced him altogether. It is best in situations like these not to take chances.

Fireday, Pharast 8, 4713 evening
The Spirit Forest

I have found our trip through the forest to be quite pleasant. We’ve not seen any more spirits since that first day, and we are making good time.

Ivan finished my flail and handed it back to me after dinner. I could tell right away that it was different, and my little mice friends are all in awe of Ivan.

Of course he had already impressed them as we watched him work on adding the enchantment, and a small mouse scampered out from his pack to watch as well. When I asked him about the little figure he simply shrugged and said, “I don’t know its name.”

“It must be nice to have a quiet mouse,” I said.

“Hey, look at that!” Badger exclaimed. Running around the flail’s handle was etched a troop of eight mice, each posed ready for combat.

Starday, Pharast 9, 4713 evening
The Spirit Forest

Early today we began to climb up along a broad ridge. The trees followed along from much of the way, but now they are thinning out, and we can look out on the tree tops below. It is like staring out onto a sea of needles and snow.

Sunday, Pharast 10, 4713 evening
The Spirit Forest

By mid morning we had reached the top of the ridge. The trees had all but given way to a rocky stone strewn land. Snow clung in the shadows of the larger boulders and at the foot of cliff faces, but the path was mostly clear.

Some time after noon we heard a bird calling a short distance away. This was the first animal sound we had heard since entering the forest, but Nihali swooped down to Kali’s shoulder and said, “That’s some creature pretending to sound like a bird.”

Presently a stone giant shambled out onto the road ahead and called out, “How come you to my home?”

Kali and Ivan replied in a friendly enough way, but the giant seemed intent on pressing his hostile attitude and lumbered towards us.

A moment later and a pair of small boulders landed among us. Looking around I spotted two other giants off on either side of us, tossing rocks and ducking back down behind cover.

Really? You guys are going to attack a caravan with clearly well armed guards all about it? I realize that giants aren’t the smartest of creatures, but this line of thinking takes a special kind of stupid.

As expected, they did not survive for long. Near the end one of them tried to run away, but things had gone too far by then. I’m not sure why this sort of thing makes me sad. It just seems so needless. At least we made it quick.

We followed the giants tracks back to their lair, which was a surprisingly well built stone house, and gathered everything that was useful or of value.

[458]	25′ long tapestry (300gp)
[459] [460]	two white tiger skins (250gp each)
[461]	three barrels of Minkai saki
[462]	two bolts of fine silk (150gp each)
	salted and cured meats

We continued on our way, and finally began to climb down from the ridge back into the forest just before making camp.

Moonday, Pharast 11, 4713 just past noon
The Spirit Forest

We had followed the path back down onto the forest floor the night before, and were preparing to break camp (“Only a thousand miles to go!” Timber quipped) when all of a sudden a giant white tiger crashed through the trees before us.

Our presence startled it, and it slowly approached Miyaro, stopping some thirty feet or so from her, sniffing and growling. “This kind of tiger is sacred to the Kami, “she said, “and it should not be acting in this way at all!”

Radella made some sort of soothing animal noise as she slowly approached it.

Dasi thought he detected grief in the tiger’s stance, and so I cast a cure wounds spell on it, just in case it was injured.

The tiger sniffed Radella, who was now quite near, and then bounded off into the trees. Radella followed and I was close on her heels, although some sort of force tried to hold me in my spot (where they hell did that come from?).

With my new boots I was able to keep up with the tiger, but Radella was falling behind. Ivan threw some bacon, but the tiger was not interested. This told me that it must be very stressed: I mean, come on, bacon!

We returned to the caravan, but Radella really wanted to follow the tiger, and Miyaro kept emphasizing how wrong its behavior had been. And so I went along with Radella as the tracker and Ivan came to offer support.

A half an hour on we began to smell smoke — a very subtle smell, not of an active fire, but perhaps of the dead embers of a fire long extinguished. A shifting translucent form of a woman stepped out from the shadows toward Ivan.

Ivan wisely ran away, and the woman came toward me. Beorn greeted her with a toothy, “Hi there!” to which she recoiled and followed after Ivan.

I channeled energy and the wandering wispy woman faded out from existence.

The tiger tracks led to a cave entrance. Radella entered, still speaking softly in her animal language (I had no idea she could do that), and within she found the tiger mourning over the dead figure of a small man, much like the first forest spirit we had encountered.

Ivan used Sending to Miyaro for advice, and she recommend we remove the body. Radella offered the tiger some meat, and she brought the body out, where we buried it.

Back in the caravan Miyaro said that there must be a serious problem in the forest, and that she would tell the kami what we had found.

We still have half a day for travel, and so we are finally heading out.