The Spells that Bind Us

The Grove

We came upon the entrance that had reflected me not that long ago and slowly stepped through the archway.  The cloak hiding what was inside moved behind me and revealed the damaged area. The ground was broken and scattered around and many tables and chairs were shattered and strewn around the place, with multiple dark burns along the edges.  In the wreckage there was no sign of life.

Jax walked in and took in the scene with a surprised expression.  It was at this point when one of the broken tables started moving.

I quickly ran over and flipped the table to a heavily wounded alchemist in robes similar to those The Coalition wore.  I was about to ask what has happened when they crazily said a group of people and a strange beast had attacked The Grove.

I looked over at Jax, who was mixing something for the alchemist and had a solemn look on his face.  We had a suspicion it was The Tainted Sun who had attacked the meeting. We then asked how they had gotten past The Ring of Birch, to which they went silent.  Then the alchemist started frantically describing the creature. A tiger-like hunter with dark fur peppered with white strands. A maw stretching across most of its head, with sharp teeth lining it.  Then it's most horrifying feature, the dark flames burning off of the sides of its head. The alchemist then described a leather cord wrapped around its neck with a shard of a dark crystal embedded into it.

I tried asking about the robed figures, but they once again fell silent.  Jax had finished with his concoction and was talking about how the alchemist was most likely in shock from their wounds.  The mixture was then given to the alchemist to drink, and they did so gingerly. After a few minutes they fell asleep and Jax and I constructed our plan of action.

We decided that I would drop the alchemist off with a medic near our shop and come back here to further investigate with Jax.  I grabbed the alchemist's arm and focused on Amanda's work room and pulled us through the barrier that surrounded The Grove and felt the rush of magic once more.

The world appeared around us as we arrived at Amanda's waiting room and nearly tripped her as she was entering.  She quickly asked what had happened to the alchemist and I relayed what had caused the wounds, leaving out the beast.  She quickly got a stretcher for them and put them on a bed. I told her I had to go and that I would be back later for the alchemist the next day.  I then focused once again on the entrance to The Grove and felt the rush of magic. This time nothing reflected me away.

Jax was inside and looked like he was inspecting some kind of animal hair, which I realized must have belonged to the beast from it's odd coloration, a solid black with it sometimes changing to white for a second and changing to black again, indicating the creature was very attuned with magic.

WOO!  I have had way to much free time during classes.  I'm about to work on part 12 right now too.