There seemed to be no immediate danger so Loral and I approached the magnificent tree. Jäger decided it would be wiser for him to keep inside the cover of the trees and skirt the perimeter. Once I was closer into the clearing I could more easily see the bodies in the tree. Rather than being nailed to the tree like the fairy folk we found earlier, they were bound by rope. In absolute disgust to the crime I was witnessing I called out for the foul heretic of the forest to show themselves so justice could be done. Sadly, no one came out to answer for their crimes.
I could no longer bear the sight of the poor people tied to the tree so I decided I must cut them down and lay their bodies to rest so they could finally get some peace. I removed my chain mail so I could climb the tree unhindered. That proved to be a mistake. Only moments after I laid my chain mail upon the ground, a hideous creature burst out of hiding from within the tree's many twisted roots. It's appearance almost caused my to recoil in disgust. It resembled a snake the size of a man with a large head and am upper body to support it's claw ended arms. Jäger managed to score a strong hit on it with an arrow that seemed to appear from nowhere. This gave me the chance and success to strike it with my great sword but only moments after that the foul creature was bested with an expertly placed arrow to the head. Needless to say that the beast was killed with only a scratch taken by me.
Without a moment more to waste, I began to climb the tree but that was my second mistake. The scratch I received earlier seemed to take more out of me than I thought. I lost my grip when only a mere ten feet up the tree and fell to the ground. The fall combined with the attack I already sustained caused me to fall unconscious.
I awoke a little while later, still under the cover from the gargantuan tree's branches by the care of Loral. The first thing I saw when I woke was the smile on her face and relief in her eyes. Jäger had not been idle either, he had bravely climbed the tree and cut down the bodies and laid them in a row on the ground. Clasped in their hands were their swords as they lay rested on their chests. Jäger had also searched them for clues in order to help us find any family who are looking for these poor men. He found a ring, a signet ring emblazoned with the image of a flaming hawk upon it.
Thanks to Loral's healing I was back on my feet and ready to make camp a little way into the forest so we could rest up for the night as we still had a long way to go before we can help the poor people of Falcon's Hollow.
The morning came after a peaceful night. As we were almost done in breaking camp man appeared across a the clearing. I called out to the stranger as I sensed no evil in him. He was a strong looking man, tall and confident. On his back he too carried a bow and attached to his belt was an array of tools and equipment to help him in his adventures. He called out in response to me and introduced himself as Oakey and he had been looking for us. He had heard of our deeds and what we intended to do for the people of Falcon's Hollow and tracked us here. He had come to Falcon's Hollow looking for adventure and possible hidden fortunes to discover. Also he was struck sympathetic of it's people and their plight. He sought us out so he could help us in our deed. Jäger gave no real strong liking of this man but I knew he was a man of good and I was happy to let him join us in our quest to rid Falcon's Hollow of The Black Scour Taint.
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