Defenders of the Forest - Liber Fanatica

Chapter XII: Revolutions
in Progress
ruling noble, Lady Galadrin, is a powerful mage who’s currently
in the Otherworld training Bretonnian damsels (see Misty
Hollow, 5).
Guest Pavilion: A colourful Bretonnian-style pavilion can be
assembled to accommodate guests on short notice. During the
night, Buthu watches the pavilion from a high branch.
Beech Nuts: The beech trees of Galadrin produce large nuts that
are eaten in salads or ground into flour for Elven bread. A mere
handful of beech nuts provides one day’s worth of nourishment.
3. Ho u s e o f En r e t h
The second-largest settlement of Anaereth is home to over
200 elves, primarily from the Wardancer and Glamourweave
Kindreds. Standing at the centre of a glade ringed with magicattracting
waystones is a 400-foot tall yew tree of immense girth.
The great yew’s trunk is criss-crossed by stairs connecting barkpod
homes with lush garden terraces in the upper branches.
Swinging bridges link the great yew with other, smaller hometrees.
The House of Enreth is a popular destination for Asrai students
and artists. Marianne spent several months attending “finishing
school” here after completing her magical training. The Elves of
Enreth taught Marianne how to sing, and accidentally divulged
to her the secrets of the Sacred Yew Grove (6). Detained PCs are
confined to an earthy dungeon below the great yew’s roots.
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C. Garden Terraces: Household gardens are nurtured by young
Treesingers and tended by human boy-servants. PCs may
observe a human boy in Elven finery weeding a spinach patch.
Elven chaperones sternly order anyone approaching the boy to
return to their quarters immediately.
D. Listening Circle: This round amphitheatre with wooden
pews is a place of learning. Initiates of Isha sing fable-songs to
Elven children and students. Occasionally, human damsels-intraining
are invited to join the circle.
4. Sc r y i n g p o o l
10 miles downstream from the House of Galadrin is a pool
of enchanted water used for divination. Human maidens are
brought here for training to eventually become Damsels of the
Lady. Criss-crossing waterbugs ripple the surface, and Spites
leave trails of ghostly luminescence. Around clusters of white
lilies, the water is perfectly placid. A young Grail Maiden named
Berenice sits alone on a rock amongst the lilies, hands pressed
together in meditation.
Arriving With Marianne: If no Lost Boys have been rescued,
Marianne picks a lily and proceeds onward to Misty Hollow (5).
Berenice cautions her not to upset “the order of things”. When
her advice goes unheeded, Berenice urges PCs to dissuade Marianne
from her “reckless heroics”. If any Lost Boys have already
been rescued, Marianne can navigate to Le Preneur by following
the stream.
Arriving Alone: If asked about the Vaubon children, Berenice
glances nervously in the direction of Misty Hollow (5) and cautions
the PCs not to eat “the forbidden fruit”. She knows little
about Jean-Michel, Bhati, Zephyr or the politics of Athel Loren.
Looking into the Pool: PCs can see a brief, shimmering image
of the spirit Bhati surrounded by despondent-looking children
in a tangled forest. Berenice points nervously in the direction of
Strangle Wood (8), where she informs PCs their own fates lie.
5. Mi s t y Ho l l o w
A. Yew Court: The ruler, Lady Enreth, holds court in the great
yew’s cavernous hollow. Only Wood Elves are granted an audience
with her. Enreth’s court seers have observed Marquis de
Vaubon’s gamekeepers at Le Preneur through magical scrying.
Lady Enreth holds a poor opinion of Quenelles’ bickering
nobles.
B. Hall of Song and Dance: This elegant longhouse doubles as
a feast hall and shrine to the god of dance, Loec. Guests might
be entertained here by Radulan’s Wardancer troupe. After a glass
of Elven Wine (pg. 39) the Wardancers’ skillful performance
seems quite magical.
At the centre of a mist-shrouded grove is a Limillin Apple tree,
which acts as a portal to one of the Otherworld realms where
Bretonnian damsels are trained. If an apple is eaten, characters
will emerge from the mist in a meadow, several hundred yards
from a fairy-tale castle beside a lake. Singing female voices drift
from the castle and a thick fog obscures the sky beyond in all
directions. See the “Other Worlds” sidebar, pg. 133.
Lake: The lake is a one-way portal from the Otherworld back to
the forest. Travellers entering the water bearing a token branch,
leaf or petal from elsewhere in Loren may return to the place
their token was picked. Marianne carries a branch from the
Sacred Yew Grove (6) to return there. Others can follow her
by holding hands. At the centre of the lake is a wooded island
called the Isle of Broken Toys, which serves as an asylum for
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