Forest of Despair: Spirit Investigation

                                                  These are the words of Corbin, the Spiritwalker

I led the Dark Heart Grove and allies on a Spirit Walk to investigate the Forest of Despair. I prepared them by taking individuals on a Spirit Journey to better associate their minds with the ever changing Spirit Sphere. I led them as a group on a great hunt to Dis to better attune them to the madness and fury of the hunt so that Malar could not easily influence them.

All prior theories on the Forest of Despair were speculation gathered over generations that investigated the physical Forest. I had hoped that we would find something on the other side to aid healing the Forest on the physical sphere. Our main objective was to determine if there was any spirit guardian or if one could be lured to guard the Forest. We gathered at the Spirit Stone (which draws its power from the spirits and the Spirit Sphere), offered tokens to the spirit guardians of the Dark Heart before I threaded everyone through to the other side. This location was selected for its stability and because I had already spent months plotting a route from the Stone to the Forest, for convenience.

Upon arrival, we came upon the angry trees of the Forest however they lacked the hot temper that they usually possess. Lilah communed with a tree. The tree did not appear to understand the pain of others as its grip ever tightened around Lilah's wrist. Ultimately we were told that a spirit could be found, in the center.

However, spotting movement nearby, our Alpha ranger led up in the opposite direction; we came upon another Spiritwalker. He too was curious of the Forest. He stated that speaking with the trees he found they do not like to be asked about their anger (reacting hostilely) and that this stems from a war that occurred although no details were provided.

We came upon a small structure with a door that I did not recognize. It appeared to be much older than anything seen in the Forest in either sphere. Alpha encouraged others to place tokens in the jug beside the door which prompted it to open. We crossed through and were led to the Forest on the physical side.

We were at the secret alcove that many have speculated seeing strange lights coming from over the years. It can only be reached by rope and even then, angry trees appear promptly to put to rest any intruders. Inside the alcove, a thick line of dead trees block the way in which made us suspect that this may be the home of the wild elves, known for their illusion and command of trees.

However we were not equipped to dismantle illusions so we returned to the spirit sphere and continued our search. We came upon a dark bridge, decorated with mushrooms which led me to believe that this was Lloth's old influence at work. The group attempted to place offerings in the jug however Alpha mistakenly attempted to retrieve his to place something different.

This caused a shadow to erupt from the jug, attempting to pull him in. The group managed to draw him back out and restore his mental status with magic. Suspecting that the spirit was offended and that the door led to the Underdark, we continued to the last door. The final door was littered with blood and stood in what could objectively be called the healthiest part of the Forest.

We offered it blood from our fallen foes which prompted it to open. We entered into a plane I did not recognize although Malar's presence was powerful. We were promptly beset by displacer beasts and Malar's beasts. The guardian of the land revealed himself; a massive lycanthrope, eager for our blood.

The group informed him that we would honor Malar after a few short questions. Much to our surprise, the guardian stated that there were three spirits at work in the Forest; the first was of the wild elves which controlled the trees and treants, the second of the dying influence of Llolth which controlled the spiders and finally that of Malar that seemed to have the greatest hold on the Forest.

The chaos in the Forest appears to be from the contending spirits however it appears Malar's guardian is claiming the most ground; he is confident that he will ultimately win. Before we were allowed to leave the plane, we were hunted and hunted in turn a volley of Malar's forces. Our victory granted our release.

• These notes are torn as though stolen from their resting place making the date difficult to determine however given the names involved in the text it may be a safe guess to believe that it was between AR 141-144*