Activity in the forests around the small township of Elmerton (jurisdiction of which is still heavily contested between Houses Windlock and Lav’Endros) has seen an increase or dramatic change in several areas as observed and scribed by Scrivener Bertram:
- An increase in shadow activity- this includes the presence of shadows, both aggressive and indifferent. Most shadow activity seemed to involve exploration and investigation into something unknown to the observer.
- An increase in the presence and activity of the organization known to the townsfolk as the Ashynnied since the end of Bonheharvest, 122 AoF. Their activity seemed, at first, experimental in nature and with dire, sometimes deadly, consequences to its members. Throughout the winter, there seemed to be fewer and fewer casualties until, nearing the end of 122, their reactions suggested triumph and accomplishment. This observer could not ascertain the reason for either the casualties or the triumphant demeanors.
- An increase in the presence and activity of strange creatures with the ability to maneuver unnaturally within consistent temporal parameters. Bearing skull-like visages, these creatures seem to have distinct capabilities that are consistent with the color of their skin. Blue creatures seem to have power over the mind, while the red ones are able to fight extremely effectively, though it appears as though they move through the temporal plane with fluidity, though perhaps without conscious directive or control. Brown ones appear as patches of darkness and have a tendency to steal whatever they find, popping out of their darkness only long enough for a quick look around.
- A dramatic change in many of the hunting patterns of the animals native to these forests. Many of the prey animals have either become even more timid, leaving their feeding grounds to seek out safer places (sometimes starving themselves out of refusal to forage in the open) or have become unnaturally aggressive, attacking any and all who approach them. Predator animals have generally seen a change in behavior towards unnatural aggression, obsessive stalking of prey (hours or days on end without completion of the kill), and tendency towards restlessness and a
form of animal insomnia. - An increase in the presence of werewolves, especially in packs, throughout the woods. Most of the activity of these packs seemed centered on quiet investigation and exploration. Most seemed keen to stay out of public eye.
- An increase in the intangible sense of overwhelming anxiety and tension within the very trees and stones of the forest.
- A change in the size and shape and activity of the disease-curing mounds that lie on the borders of the town of Elmerton. These mounds have cured many diseases throughout the winter months as folks from as far away as Riverton have come to be cured by these seemingly miraculous plants. Though they have not grown too much bigger above ground, changes in the vegetation and topsoil around them suggest that they have grown exponentially beneath the surface. Unexplained movement from these plants has also been observed in the last months of the year 122.
And specifically in the Southern Woods, the following observations have been observed and scribed:
- Unusual and increased activity in the Wood Trolls. They appear to be restless (which could, of course, be attributed to the coming of spring) but also have the unique ability to disappear into one tree and reappear from another, fully healed and restored. Observations of wood trolls in other areas of the forest surrounding Elmerton suggest that this ability is in fact unique to those native to the Southern Woods.
- Increased sightings of “wild men” who seem to travel with and form bonds with the wood trolls in the area. These men have resorted to feral behaviors and are prone to cannibalism. They also seem to despise the race of men, and appear to consider themselves to be more wood troll than man.
- Unusual sensations and effects happening to this observer were noted as he walked through the woods.
These observations were made dispassionately and without bias or prejudice and reflect the events taking place in the forests surrounding the Township of Elmerton in the South Farthings of the Kingdom of Irvanshire from the seventeenth day of Boneharvest to the thirty-first day of Bloodthaw in year 122 of the Age of Fortune.
-Scrivener Bertram
