Thursday, July 16, 2020

Un-Spoke Woe of Ashbarrow

Long time Sis,

Thank you for the delicious pumpkin bread. It didn’t last long but was enjoyed none the less. My last letter was pretty light like many before, but now I finally have a tale to recount.

This is a tale of sorrow and romance of a group of unlikely heroes, both large in bravery and in heart.

This humble bard was having a bit of fun in a nearby river when a large crowd gathered. Naturally, with large crowds come interesting news, so quickly I gathered my things and joined in.

The head guard had returned with terrible news. Ashbarrow fell to the Scorched Grove. As far as I could gather, the whole town is lost. Though I lost my chance at my story, I grieve for my friend who lost his home.

Oh, speaking of which, I along with some of the others here are now on a quest. Unfortunate tragedy turned into surprise opportunity.

Some of my new troop I had mentioned before in my letters, but I should refresh what I had previously told you.

Spoke, the unfortunate Hedge who has lost his home, is a kind and compassionate cleric.

Rakuno, a noble and justice seeking monk. This Jerbeen is small but packs a serious punch.

Farah, rivals her fellow monk Rakuno. As a Mapach, she’s really creative with harvesting supplies. I’m unsure which region she’s from, but she looks closer to a ferret than a typical Mapach.

Sycamore, a mighty Cervan. This Pronghorn is intimidating in stature, as I would expect a fighter should be.

Finally, the heart of this group is your older brother, me. The group doesn’t call me by Cookaroo, but by my nickname Corkscrew. You tried to torture me with it growing up, but I like it and took it as my bard stage name. The Raptors I see around here don’t quite look like our family heritage of bearded vultures, but it’s nice to see others of our race away from the trees.

You may not believe it, but we’re headed to Alderheart. I had to move up my plans to head to the big city, but it’s for good reason. We must warn them of the spread of the grove. Our first stop is the Winnowing Reach. I’ll be sure to send an interesting recipe with this letter.

The troop headed out, but what good adventure starts without a problem. We stumbled upon a group of bandits ruffling through a poor merchant’s cart. Either the desperate cry of poor Eliza the Eluran, or the way the mourning works in our cleric, but Spoke gave them quick warning and rightly open fire.

There was at least three Mapachs and a tough looking Vulpin. You might think your brother was scared, but I was protected by Fara and Rakuno as they made swift work of those toadies. And Sycamore frightened off that Vulpin with a battleaxe the size of a wagon wheel I tell you.

With the chaos that ensued, we thwarted their plans, and even may have steered one back to the humble life.

We were also chased by some fearsome fiery bats. These creatures I swear to you exist, and not just stories. There was even a strange humanoid looking creature made of magma. The Scorch Grove is truly an awful place.

Please give mom and dad my love, and I’m fortunate you guys are so far south and safe from this danger. Enclosed is a delicious looking recipe for Cajun Gumbo.

With all my love,

Cork

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