Session 20 - Stormwood

Upon stepping through the great black disk of the portal to Arborea, the Dogs of War arrived in a large field of wheat surrounded by a forest of impossibly large and beautiful trees. Swaths of the wheat the field has been trampled flat, apparently by large forces of troops moving through the area. Immediately they found thenslves under attack by a force of elves tasked with guarding the portal. The elves were defeated, but in the fighting, Nedra and Kuber were rendered comatose by an evil spell. As the party was resting from the fighting, a group of wood elves arrived wearing uniforms similar to those worn by the Arborean elves who had come to aid Sigil. They took the party to their camp to rest and regroup.

The camp was led by an elf Cirilaas. He said that Jynjur and her elves had invaded this part of Arborea. Since Arborea is infinite, it was unclear what their objective was in choosing this specific location. Cirilaas and the other Guardians of Arvandor had been fighting to contain the invasion.

As the party discussed their plans with Cirilaas, he said that the "Realm of Nephthys" referred to in the excerpt from the Velvet Tome was a reference to the City of Khem in the desert of Mithardir, the "White Dust." Cirilaas said that travel by land to Mithardir would take months, but that he knew of a way to get there faster. He said that nearby there was a settlement of hollyphants who knew a fast route by air to Mithardir. The hollyphants had remained neutral

The party traveled to the city of Chingwe to meet with the hollyphant King Izengwe. After much discussion it became clear that he had no desire to help them or the Guardians of Arvandor. His only concern seemed to be his daughter Ikombe who had been lost for centuries in a nearby forest called Stormwood. Stormwood was home to a mystical connection with the chaos of the plane of Limbo and as a result was prone to wild and dangerous weather and other effects. The party traveled to Stormwood and used their magic to locate Ikombe. She seemed to be trapped in an improvised structure in the middle of an area of huge gnarled trees. She seemed to be in a large amount of distress and to not know who or where she was. Upon entering the area, the party was attacked by the trees and also by shifting bubbles of chaotic energy. The blue bubbles seemed to cause a state of forgetfulness and the party struggled to overcome them. It became clear that specific trees were the root of the effect, and after destroying those trees, the connection with Limbo disappeared, freeing Ikombe.

The party returned with Ikombe to the city of Chingwe and reunited her with her father King Izengwe. He was ecstatic and threw a feast for the party. He said that his gratitude was boundless and he bestowed upon them a carved elephantine tusk which they could use once to summon an army of hollyphants to wherever they were needed. In addition, Princess Ikombe agreed to fly the party to the City of Khem.

Upon examining the map to the  Athenæum of Ir'mee al-Ma the party found that another dot, the one labelled "blue bubbles of forgetfulness" had become illuminated.