The Great Quest

In the mountains nigh unto Fangorn Forest, a grave battle was fought. A foul Balrog, one of the fallen Maia that sought the corruption and conquest of the world, was foiled in his vile plans, and his menace forever ended. But in the process, the heroes that dealt him this grievious blow were to suffer their own calamity - two of their number were siezed and taken by mysterious warriors who called themselves 'The Watchers.' The two lost were Dania and Narsh, noble elves.

Of the adventurers remaining, three took it upon themselves to find and rescue their comrades, and discover what force was behind these Watchers, and what horrendous purpose drove it. Those who set out were Mal, once a powerful Maia, now a fragment of his former self; Faradin, one of the noble remnants of the Dunedain, a Ranger; and Slythre, who is simply a capable figure who gets the job done, now without a leige.

A fourth figure journeys along their path as well, but only one of them knows of his silent presence, and catches sight of the silhouette of a wolf at times, watching them as they make camp for the night.

The adventure begins as they walk down along the bank of a wide river, a river called the Entwash. Faradin takes the lead, bending down every few feet to investigate the ground.

As they walked, Mal glanced back every so often, seeing the trees of Fangorn Forest fading into the distance behind them, as they headed southwest along the Entwash.

Suddenly Faradin stopped, bending over the bank of the river, and running his hands along the crushed grass beside it.

He turned to the others, speaking up softly. "Here is where their path ends. They must have journeyed up the river in a number of boats or rafts, and then split up into a few parties - three, from what I can tell."

Slythre spoke. "We met one in the woods, Mal another in the castle," and here she glanced sidelong at Mal, for the question of how he had slain those was unanswered... as was how he had restored the arm he had apparently lost a while before. Shaking her head, she went on, "And the last was the one that stole off with Dania and Narsh. So they are all accounted for."

Faradin nodded, agreeing. "Aye, and that last party returned here, where they had left the boats. They must have split up, and took all the boats back, and now sail down the Entwash."

"Which means," Mal spoke grimly, "they are gaining even more of a lead, even as we speak."

"Aye."

Silence fell over them, and then they headed out once more, continuing on despite the hopelessness that they began to feel.