21. November 27, 2010

Shelby chats with the Eladrin and asks what they may know about the history of the various factions on the island - they don't know much since they stay away from the various factions. There were only a few places where the Eladrin could cross into the island, but over time it became easier. A couple of hundred years ago it became very easy and they could enter the island from the Fey wild at any location but it's become more difficult to get back to the Fey wild. About the time this changed, there was a dramatic increase in shadow creatures appearing in the Fey wild, centered around the counterpoint location to this island. Then, whole portions of the Fey wild vanished and were replaced by portions of the Shadow Fell. Something on the island had been acting as a buffer to keep the Fey Wild and the Shadow Fell at bay, and possibly the world here as well. This seemed to be a one-way change since Fey were not suddenly appearing in the Shadow Fell. The dream state is not something that is familiar to the Fey. Gunter wrote and performed a ballad about the plight of Geleneth to convince the Eladrin to assist the Party in rescuing her.

It turns out that the Eladrin have been under siege by the Shadar-Kai, replacing entire Eladrin cities with their own. These Eladrin cannot go back to their own village, and they think it's because it may have been replaced by a Shadow Fell village. Also, they don't know how long they have been away from the Fey Wild since they were being held in an extra-dimensional prison. Shelby knows a story of the stone giants about a tiny, frail elf-like creature that is described like an Eladrin who was trapped on the island and was rescued from danger and nursed back to health by a minotaur. She was locked away and would cry all the time, and was driving the stone giants to drink. The giants attempted to rescue the Eladrin from the minotaur, but the minotaur escaped in the process and the lair collapsed. The Eladrin could not be rescued, and eventually her crying ceased to be replaced by the wailing of the minotaur.

The party decides to try to find the entry way into the Fey Wild via the minotaur's layer. While camping, Shelby enters the dream state and informs the Outcasts and the garrison personnel who are studying with them of what they've learned from the Eladrin. Later that night, the party is attacked by 2 dire alligators, a smaller alligator, and 6 giant frogs. One of the Eladrin (a Druid, Theirastra) is eaten by a frog but the rest of the party survives the attack.

Glowen notices a patch of unnatural darkness in the swamp, and it feels to him like the party is being watched from this spot. He sneaks up and can see a creature inside of the dark spot. Glowen knocks out the creature and discovers that it is a tattoo-covered humanoid male. He binds it so that it cannot escape and alerts the rest of the party. The Eladrin identify it as a Shadar-Kai scout. It is carrying 2 katars (punch daggers). Because it cannot be held when conscious and is not afraid of death, the party decides to kill it at the urging of the Eladrin.

The party sets up camp in a new location, and despite seeing some fleeting shapes during the night their rest is undisturbed. The group travels on to the garrison on their way to the minotaur's layer.