Loose threads: Why were those fishermen so confused and aggressive towards us for being adventurers from First Landing? What is the purpose of the crystal hidden in the tree at the center of the spiral of fire? Why were the Kitsune attacking us? Why were there skeletons in the fires, and what summoned them to attack us?
Participants: Ao , Kariyah Qeyella, Zick and Aznyss Theras
Locations: First Landing, Southern Docks & Fishing Pier, The Unseen Village Coast/The Verge
Short summary:
After speaking with Adaya about what happened with the Ever-Burning Bog being tied potentially to an unnamed Entity that spoke to them. We set out to the docks at the Southern tip of Watcher's Island only to be presented with hostile resistance from some of the Fishermen there. Negotiations did......not go so well, and after knocking them out and defending ourselves against additional unprompted attacks, we were able to secure transport to the Island of the Unseen Village. It seems like at every step of the investigation we were met with active hostility, even by nature itself when we arrived at the bog. Our reward was getting sight of a vibrant green crystal at the base of the greatest tree that was burning. Could this be the source?
Full Report
Look. We didn't want to fight them. Any of them. It......turned bad pretty quickly.
The group of us; Ao, Zick, Kari and myself gathered up to try and investigate what was at the source of the burning bog on the island, and what the hell that voice was that they were hearing while there. Unfortunately the latter we didn't get any info on.....maybe we did without even realizing it, but we'll get there. We got together to speak with Adaya before leaving who was part of the party who...visited...this area last and who could give us some helpful advice on how to proceed. We were warned about the fire, sentient and burning hot. We were warned about the manipulative voices. Adaya suspected a potential link to one of the Ancient Entities that plague this world.....Hmm...Regardless, the fire may have been there long before their arrival stoked the flames.
We set out, thinking we had adequately prepared for what we'd be facing, not realizing that what lie ahead of us was something we could never be ready for. People. Just regular people being scared. We were there to secure transport to The Verge however when we got there we were faced with barricades and traps. We attempted to communicate and negotiate with the Fishermen, but they attacked on sight and wouldn't back down even as I attempted to try and work with them. Unfortunately it seemed like seeing Ao's Eidolon Nix ignited their hostility further. Whatever happened to them by those elementals......It makes me sad to think about. They specifically viewed us from the Guild as a threat and wouldn't back down, saying we could take a boat but they wouldn't be ferrying us. We took them up on their offer and made camp a short distance away.
Not long after we made camp, we were ambushed by some of the Fishermen we saw earlier. It was a quick and rabid attack. They seemed to be well trained in hit-and-run tactics, but it wasn't until we took one down and saw their shape change to that of a Kitsune that things began to turn. Why were they attacking us like this? We were left with more questions then answers, but had found at least a map to guide us to where we needed to go. A map of The Verge, pictograms of a row of sea weed strips, a stone formation resembling a bear with the sun visible behind it as it sets over the painted horizon, three tree trunks arranged in a triangular formation surrounding a small pond with a water lily at its center. Finally, a flame enveloping a chalice with small, ornate script under it in a language no one in the party could understand.
Setting our sights on the water the next morning, we got to The Verge with just a little bit of trouble and began to work to decipher the clues. We followed the sea weed strip path, found the location indicated by the stone formation and eventually to the Everburning Bog. As we approached, the air became oppressively hot (be prepared with any fire immunity potions you could muster. The Kitsune scouts had some that made Zick completely immune to the flame's touch) and after shattering the illusion around us, we were face to face with the white-hot fires that could not be extinguished.
We moved forward with trepidation and on entering the main Burning Bog area were assaulted by a Fire Elemental. It attacked, and we defended ourselves, and as it was defeated it exploded out into several other smaller elemental creatures. It was around this time that we identified that within patches of intense flames were what looked to be skeletons lying there. After dispatching the Elementals.....so many......too many flaming skeletons rose from the bog and began to advance on us. Attempting to give Ao & Nix as much time as possible, they advanced into the blistering flames to investigate the tree at the center of a large spiral of flames that seemed to have a glowing green crystal within the root structure. Without time to discuss until we got back, we had to activate our recallers and return.
There are......so many questions left over from our investigation. With hardly any answered, I hope the next group that investigates the island is more prepared then we were.
I apologize to the Kitsune Scouts that ambushed us and were subsequently laid to rest. You fought well, and we had no intention of fighting you.
-Aznyss Theras, Magus Witch of the Explorer's Guild