As the party made their way to the Mad Eye Inn, they were greeted by Pom Bordiv, a female elf bartender hailing from the northern forests elves known as the "gwaith ithil." Pom had left the forest at an early age, choosing to live amongst humans for several decades before returning. However, she soon found the forest to be boring and decided to move to the nearby town of Espy. During their conversation, Pom revealed that not all elves were peaceful and that there were resistance fighters known as the "móriel." She also shared her doubts about elven magic being responsible for recent events, but suggested that if the party wanted to know more, they would have to visit the forest themselves and speak to the elders. Intrigued, the party considered taking up Pom's offer and delving deeper into the mysteries of the northern forests.

As the party made their way towards the northern forest, they came across a southern elf farmer named Elitariel Eudor. However, it didn't take long for them to realize that Elitariel had a strong prejudice against the northern elves. He referred to them as "dirty root suckers" and lamented their way of life as a waste of space. He further complained that the northern elves were nothing more than a bunch of "savages" who didn't understand the value of hard work and progress. The party quickly realized that Elitariel's views were not shared by all, and that their journey to the northern forest may be met with more resistance than they had initially anticipated.

Gwaith Ithil

gwaith ithil

golwen a dúath

As the party arrived at the Gwaith Ithil's village, they were met with welcoming smiles and a peaceful atmosphere. The elves offered them food and drink, eager to learn about their travels and reason for visiting the forest. The chief of the village sat down with the party, and explained their situation. The mayor and farmers were trying to push them out of the forest, wanting to use the land for more farmland. However, the elves had been granted this land by previous kings and even the current king had visited them once. It was a constant struggle for them to keep their territory, as some past kings had decreased their allocations.

The chief also spoke of their ancient religion, which had lasted for millennia. The elves believed that the world followed a cycle of light and dark. During the light, there was peace, prosperity, growth, and happiness. However, in the darkness, there was strife, natural disasters, surges of monsters, and war. The elves considered it a great blessing to die in a time of light, as they believed it meant passing on to a better place. They hoped that the current darkness, referring to the human's progressive era, would pass soon, and they could return to a time of peace and harmony. The party left with a newfound respect for the Gwaith Ithil, and the struggles they faced to maintain their way of life.

Cave of De'lights

As the party made their way through the forest, they stumbled upon Sergeant Batair, who was injured. She had discovered that the child was in a nearby cave, overrun with mutated vines. They managed to rescue the child and bring him back to the city, where the apothecary tended to both the sergeant and the child.

The apothecary shared her suspicions that the hag was responsible for the attack. According to her, the hag had given birth to a child without eyelids soon after the child had disappeared. The party decided to investigate and interrogated the hag, who told them that the real culprits were the monks who lived in the nearby mountains and were known for producing wine.

The Abbey

The next day, the party set out to the mountains and found the river running red, tainted by an unknown substance. Hiring a guide, they made their way to the abbey where the monks lived. Upon arrival, they discovered that the abbey was abandoned, but found a journal that detailed how the monks had been digging an extension to the wine caves beneath the abbey. The abbot had discovered an ancient relic that resembled a large, black shard of obsidian, but instead of reflecting light, it absorbed it. Soon after, the abbot began hearing voices and acting strange, unable to tolerate any form of light, even when blindfolded.

The abbot clawed at his face even though he was restrained by the brothers. He torn at his face so viciously that he stripped the flesh from much of them eventually he was tore out his eyes. After that he returned to the calm disciplined abbot he was before. But soon after many the senior member of the brotherhood had been struck blind as well. The abbot then locked the shard in the wine cave, and refusing to let anyone near it.

The party realized that the monks' actions had caused the river to turn red and had potentially released an ancient evil. They quickly made their way underneath the abbey, determined to find a way to stop the darkness from consuming the land.