THE QUEST FOR EMERALDA GREEN (by Tow)


~~~ A dark knight kicks in the door to the bedroom and storms into the room. 
The young Tsol’aa girl is ripped away from pleasant dreams and with a 
frightened look upon her face she crawls into the corner of her bed, grasping 
the sheets against her body. Her eyes locked on the red phoenix burning on the 
pitch black armour of the Infernal knight. When the knight comes closer her 
eyes are drawn to his and she sees his green eyes burn with hunger for blood 
and lust. As the knight reaches the bed he pulls away the sheets and looks down 
on her with an evil grin on his face and whispering “Be still little beauty.” 
At that moment the girl’s father storms into the room screaming in anger “Keep 
your dirty paws of my emerald daughter!”, while he draws his scimitar. The knight 
turns around with anger gleaming in his eyes behind his dark helm, drawing his 
sword parrying the attack of the Tsol’aa father. Swords clashing and swinging 
through the air, the father gets hit, leaving a bloody streak on his side and he 
falls to the floor. Screaming “FATHER!” the girl leaps out of the bed jumping the 
knight. But with a simple turn of his arm he knocks her to the floor and hits her 
hard on the head with the back of his sword after which she hits her head against 
the fireplace severely bleeding from her head. Almost unconscious the girl sees 
how her father used this distraction to hit the knight with his scimitar leaving 
a bloody gash on his leg driving him to the ground also. 
The father slowly gets up and stumbles towards his daughter to check on her when 
he suddenly looks startled. He falls over his daughter with two envenomed arrows 
sticking from his back. Another younger knight with a small hand bow had entered 
the room and now was ordered by the first knight to grab the necklaces with those 
most amazingly emeralds their two victims were wearing. Limping terribly the first 
knight follows the other out of the room leaving father and daughter for death... ~~~

Sweating terrible and shaking all over her body the beautiful Tsol’aa woman 
suddenly awakes out of her dark nightmare remembering the day her father also 
was taken away from her. How come this nightmare is troubling her so many nights 
again lately? Holding her necklace with the two emerald and gold rings tight she 
closes her eyes and feels her heart calm down again. The black stallion nuzzles her 
tenderly trying to comfort his mistress sleeping in the hay of the Eleusian stables.

Her memories of all the bad things that happened to her family still are fresh
 like it happened only yesterday, one would easily start believing in a curse. 
It all started the year after her mother and father got married and she still 
was a little baby. She remembers the many times her father told her that story. 
One day her mother was riding her black stallion called Emeraud towards the 
Black Forest where she was studying the wolves. 
At nightfall commotion started in the worried Tsol’aa village when Emeraud came 
galloping in without his rider. Her father and husband joined the guards forming 
a search party tracking back the tracks of the horse hoping to find Emeralda. 
The search party found some proof of a struggle in the black forest and unknown 
tracks leading northish. Night was falling and the guards started making their camp 
to search further the next day. The worried husband couldn’t wait and with a burning 
torch he tried following the tracks against the advice of his father in law and the 
guards. 
The next morning the guards also followed the tracks and found their exhausted 
companion on the edge of the Granite Hills and the Dardanic Grasslands. The tracks 
somehow ended there but Emeralda’s husband showed them the emerald and gold ring he 
found there, just the same one as he was wearing, Emeralda’s wedding ring. For many 
months the guards searched the area to find any lead but nothing else was discovered. 
They decided to head back to the village and report to King Tu'eras. Kicking and 
screaming they had to pull Emeralda’s husband with them as he was going insane to 
leave his wife there alone. By the time they reached the highway he was calmed down 
and followed them back.
King Tu'eras was shocked by the news but sadly enough had to inform them he couldn’t 
spare any more of his guards for the search. However he assured the father of the 
motherless child that any supplies he needed would be donated on his search. And so 
father and child left the Tsol’aa village riding Emeraud and two fully packed mules 
in northern direction.

For many years they lived like nomads in the hills and grasslands and even searching 
the entire Northreach Forests and the surrounding areas. The baby grew up to become 
a lovely Tsol’aa girl that everyday looked even more to grow into the image of her mother. 
The same long shining mahogany hair and those irresistible emerald green eyes, the 
same colour of the emerald and gold ring both father and daughter are wearing on a 
necklace around their neck. Many times the young girl heard the stories about her 
mother and about their search but quite often she forgot to really look for any leads 
and just observed the abundant wildlife living in Nature’s glory around them. One day 
her father got angry at her when he found her observing a white wolf feeding and 
protecting her cubs. The father pulled his daughter back towards their camp and raised 
his angry voice against his crying daughter never to wander off observing those lying 
wolves as they are the blame for all their troubles. He raised his hand almost slapping 
his daughter in the face but all the sudden he dropped to his knees and collapsed on the 
floor crying as a little child holding his emerald gold ring in his grasp. The young girl 
snuggled against her father and they must have laid there for many long hours, their 
tears flooding the forest floor. 

 Another of their trips led them to Inbhir Ness, the dwarves living in the high north. 
There he showed her the place he found the green emerald that provided the stones for 
the rings specially made for the marriage. And each year during winter they returned 
to the south spending the coldest month of the year in the sanctuary of the Tsol’aa 
village. They slept in the tree house of her uncle who was head of the guards. King 
Tu'eras always was delighted to see her father as he seemed to be the only one that 
was better in the proficiency of the scimitar then the king. After reporting to the 
king and some scimitar training they left again with fresh supplies towards the North 
in search for Emeralda.

On one of their trips her father fell from his horse near the Black Forest hitting his 
head hard. The horse got scared of a wolf suddenly crossing the path through the forest. 
She went to search some help and found a friendly woodcutter living on the edge of the 
town of Thera. She wasn’t so fond of people butchering and cutting down trees in the 
forest, but she needed help. The woodcutter took the wounded man into his home and went 
in search for Seasone which he knew was a good healer. It took almost an entire month 
for her father to be on his feet again as he also broke one of his legs. Seasone was 
a great help to heal her father although she cost them half of their supplies for the 
next year. 
During her father’s recovery the girl learned much from the woodcutter and saw he 
cared much for the forest, cutting the sick trees and nurturing the young healthy 
trees and the wildlife living there. She learned his name was Enfrin. But she always 
kept a feeling of distrust. She also spend many hours observing the wolves living in 
the Black Forest making up many excuses to her father as she didn’t want to trouble 
her aging father. She fell in love with a small grey wolf cub with a single white foot. 
His mother, which seemed to be the alpha female, caring for him with much love and 
protecting him against every intruder. However for some reason the alpha female seemed 
to allow the presence of the young girl after she stared for some minutes in the familiar 
emerald green eyes. There in the forest the girl also met a couple of different forestalls 
and she also fell in love with a handsome Sentinel that showed her many of his skills 
and told her many heroic stories about the Fighting arm of Nature.

When her father was better again they had to return to the Tsol’aa Village as they 
certainly didn’t have enough supplies for the rest of the year. The third night of 
their stay in the village there was a raid by a group of Infernal Knights from 
Mhaldor. The day of her nightmare that visited her all nights for quite some years 
and that she now seemed to have more often again. The elder druid, Thaa’lis of the 
village took care of her and helped her wounds to heal. After two days he told her 
the sad news about her father and how he died. He also told her her father’s soul 
preferred to rest in peace then to return to his body and the insanity he was growing 
towards. But he assured her that his spirit would always look over her. The girl jumped 
out of the bed, that was attached to the ceiling, and put on her still blood stained 
clothes and ran out with the fire of green rage burning in her emerald eyes. She ran to 
the stables and mounted Emeraud, her mother’s black stallion. Many people tried to stop 
her but none could calm this emerald fury riding her strong steed. The king ordered some 
guards to follow her from a distance and make sure she remained save.

The tracks of the raiding party were easy to follow. Just follow the destruction and 
bloodshed left behind. So she came back to the Black Forest where she saw a group 
combined of dark nights and mysterious people hunting all wildlife in the forest. 
They even did slay some of the friendly treekin living there. The girl hid herself 
on the same spot where she observed the mother wolf. She felt an agonising pain as 
she saw a knight with black armour and a red phoenix on his chest plate tried to 
kill the wolves. But the mother wolf defended her white pawed cub with ferocity. 
She was wounded and bleeding from her side but still she stood there growling 
menacingly. The girl was just about to leave her shelter and to attack or scare away 
this evil knight. But at that exact moment more wolves came out of the forests and 
other wild animals like foxes, lemmings and badger attacked the knights and then she 
saw a familiar face next to hers with a comforting smile. It was the Sentinel she met 
before together with some of the members of his House. The battle was fierce but the 
forestals took the overhand. One of the Mhaldorians set the forest on fire before they 
called the retreat and went to hide in their city, a limping dark knight forming their 
rear-guard. The girl was amazed to see how well organized the Sentinels were to drive 
away these attackers of the forest and how fast the fire was put under control.

The girl returned to Enfrin, the woodcutter from Thera and asked if she could stay in 
his house for a couple of months. She was sixteen years old now, growing up to become 
a beautiful woman. Every day she spend many hours in the Black forest pondering about 
all that happened to her and about her future. Daily she went to check on the mother 
wolf and her cub. The first days the injured wolf didn’t allow her to come close, 
growling menacingly at her. The girl always kept some of the food Enfrin made for her 
and took it with her for the wolves. The first week the mother wolf didn’t touch the 
food but she persisted and finally the wolf allowed her to be in the immediate 
surroundings and allowed her cub to come out. She was so happy to see the white pawed 
cub was doing fine. After finding some inner peace again she had a little idea about 
her future. On her seventeenth birthday she thanked Enfrin for his kindness for those 
couple of months and for the time he helped when her poor father was hurt. She first 
returned with Emeraud to the Tsol’aa village to ask for her uncle’s and the king’s 
blessings and departed to Loom Island to start her initial training and later try to 
join one of the many organisations.

Right after her eighteenth birthday she completed her training and as a beautiful 
young woman she appeared at the Ring of Portals. After some initial guideline from 
Juliet she took the portal towards Delos as she already knew which path she wanted 
to try to follow. Directly she headed towards Certimene and asked her to induct her 
in what then was still called the Guild of Sentinels. She got titled Cub and 
Certimene suggested her some scrolls to read. She was delighted to be called a cub. 
Very soon after she was greeted on the cub channel of the Sentinels where some 
friendly people welcomed her. She had to read a scroll composed for their novices 
and then try to find her way to the Eleusian Gatehouse where she would get her intro.
When she arrived there she saw a Sentinel coming from the sky and landing next to her, 
the eagle’s spirit shining in his eyes. To her amazement she saw it was the one she 
already met twice in the Black Forest. She just stood there speechless and blushing. 
But very soon he was able to make her feel at ease and started to ask her some 
questions. He even gave her a beautiful green dress, a gift from the Sentinels for her. 
Then he took her to their guildhall and introduced her to Vixen, the Sentinel tutor. 
She loved the village of Eleusis and the Sentinel Hall. It reminded her of the 
Tsol’aa village a bit, but again totally different. After learning about what the 
Sentinels stand for and reading the rules for cubs he gave her some lessons in 
metamorphosis and woodlore. Her heart jumped of joy when she was able to call upon 
the wolf spirit to assist her in meta. But at that time he told her there was a fire 
in the Aerinewild and he had to go help. He asked her to sit in the water room next 
to Vixen and to serve as water beacon and gave her some more files to read while 
sitting there. Very soon he returned and assured her the fire was out and she learned 
some more skills and given some extra tips. She was told she best could try out her 
new skills in Minia or Lodi, which she did after thanking him for his time and patience. 
He left with a joyous smile on his face.

Many times she travelled back to the Tsol’aa village, one day being attacked by a lion
 but saved by her Sentinel friend. Many times he and other people of the Sentinels 
helped her. She was very eager to learn and wanted to pass her tests as soon as she 
could. After a couple of months she was ready for her first interview and she specially 
waited for that one special Cub Aide to be around that already helped her so much and 
she had a girly crush on in her young days. He asked her if she was sure to be ready 
and to meet him at Vixen. Somehow she was feeling warm and fuzzy feeling his strong 
arms around her in a friendly hug. But then the feeling turned into a bit of 
disappointment when he told her someone that was training to become a Cub Aide would 
do the interview. However he would be supervising. She was really nervous but somehow 
his smile and blue eyes gave her strength and courage. She passed her interview without 
any problems and was titled Sentinel Cub. When she finally was alone with blue eyes she 
blushingly asked if she could ask him something. His eyes sparkled with amusement. 
Scraping all her courage together she asked him if he would like to be her mentor. 
She was delighted when he agreed and gave her an eagle’s feather.

She loved the many times she spend with her mentor and sometimes she was feeling a bit 
sad that he was already married and so much older then her. But he was a great friend. 
Her next tests went very well. She loved to learn about the Sentinels, Nature, the many 
cures and elixirs, the forests. Exploring the world and all the different forests was 
no problem for one always on the move since she was only a baby. Although returning to 
the Northreach Forest was hard on her. On her twentieth birthday she became a full 
Sentinel, a day she would never forget.

She also became a member of the Eleusian village and was given permission to use the 
stables for the horse that once belonged to her mother. She also was able to combine 
her duties as a Sentinel with the quest her father gave his life for. Her patrol area 
for overharvests are the Dardanic Grasslands and often she wandered into the Northreach
 forest and other surrounding areas. Discovering the burrows in the forest and the crypt 
in Darkenwood but without any trace of her mother.  She also became a member of the Order 
of Lady Tarah, Goddess of Harmony and Compassion by the time she was twenty eight. Which 
is about a year ago now. In the mean time she dedicated her life to Nature and her fellow 
Sentinels, always on the look to learn what happened to her mother. And spending many 
moments with her mentor.

But three months ago some weird things happened. On one of her searches in Northreach 
she discovered the Lupine Hunting Grounds and went in. She had no problem killing the 
first Basilisk she met but when she went further in she discovered some really big wolf 
tracks which she decided to follow. But very soon she was jumped by a male Werewolf 
defending his den. She fell to the werewolf but her soul was able to find the way out 
and a druid friend of hers gave her a soul rezz in his grove near the Hunting Grounds. 
At the same time however the Herald of the Order started yelling that the Shrine of Lady 
Tarah near Northreach was being defiled. Putting all her defences up and using her hide 
and stealth skills she hurried to the location and witnessed an Infernal knight defiling 
and destroying the shrine.

She emerged from the shadows and said: “Hello stranger, what do you think you are doing 
here?” With an evil grin the dark night turned around and her breath caught in her throat. 
The knight was wearing pitch black armour with a red phoenix on his chest plate. “Are you 
going to try and stop me little one?” he replied while drawing his sword. Green sparks of 
fire shooting from her emerald eyes she flexed her muscles to stand her ground. “Get out 
of my way or feel my anger you dirty forestal!” he said and knocked her to the floor. She 
roared fiercely and mauled him with the sprit of the jaguar filling her soul. The battle 
was fierce and she seemed to be on the loosing hand while she stumbled back into the forest. 
The Infernal knight came stumbling after her to give her the final blow but suddenly he 
falls to his knees, various poisonous arrows sticking from his back. She remembers he is 
an enemy of the Sentinels for murdering one of their members. One certainly must have had 
him enemied and having some traps lying around. When the knight fell to his knees she was 
able to recuperate a bit and jumped him again sending him sprawled over the floor. 
She froze when a necklace appeared from under his armour, two emerald and gold rings 
sparkling in the sunlight hanging from the chain. Looking at the emeralds she got a vision 
of a misty woman’s face with a softly green tanned skin and beautiful emerald green eyes. 
It somehow reminded her of her own reflection in a damped mirror but only many years older. 
The surrounding trees seemed to emit a green glow and it felt like an unseen presence was 
putting a strong, but comforting hand on her shoulder. Draining strength from both the presences 
she was feeling she called upon the wyvern spirit and stinged the knight hitting him with 
a random venom.  The knight was already back on his feet and started smoking his pipe and 
eating many herbs. Then she remembered the new skill her mentor just recently started to 
teach her. She focussed on her woodlore skill and tried to summon a wolf to assist her 
against her foe. 
She almost thought she was dreaming when menacingly growling an adult grey wolf came out 
of the woods. He had one green and one blue eye, standing strongly on his four paws of which 
one was white. Together they mauled the dark knight and the wolf gave the final blow sending 
the soul back to the halls of the death. She took the necklace and held the rings close against 
her chest and with her other arm wrapped around the wolf she collapsed and bursted out in tears 
burring her face in the soft wolf’s fur. 

The moon was already high in the sky when her mentor found her there in the forest alone with 
the wolf. Between her tears she told him what happened after she calmed her wolf, this was a 
friendly visitor. He knew about the story of her childhood and somehow it felt good feeling his 
strong arms around her and telling him about what happened. How she was filled with joy and pain, 
anger and hope. He took her back to Eleusis to her favourite place, the Eleusian stables. Before 
she fell asleep he also told her he had a bad month, after many years of absence his wife returned 
only to divorce him and leaving for good. But she was too tired from all the emotions of the last 
day to fully understand the meaning his words could have.

Now, barely three months later the beautiful Tsol’aa woman, sweating terrible and shaking all 
over her body, suddenly awakes out of her dark nightmare remembering the day her father also 
was taken away from her. How come this nightmare is troubling her so many nights again lately? 
Holding her necklace with the two emerald and gold rings tight she closes her eyes and feels 
her heart calm down again. The black stallion nuzzles her tenderly trying to comfort his 
mistress sleeping in the hay of the Eleusian stables.

She checks her gear and vials and mounts Emeraud, the black stallion to ride to the forest. 
There she summons a wolf to assist her and a happy smile crosses her face as a blue and green 
eyed wolf appears with one white paw. Normally a Sentinel can call upon a wolf companion and 
a random wolf will appear to aide them, but for some reason this wolf was looking after her 
specially. Together with her animal entourage she heads north to the edge of the Granite Hills 
and the Dardanic Grasslands. A new area was discovered, the Manara Burrow, where an aggressive 
race called the Gnoll enslaved the Mingurk people. The burrow was discovered after some Gnoll 
slavers tried to abduct a young Halfling girl. There also were rumours some slaves of other 
races were held captive their. Maybe if she can end her family’s curse she could open her heart 
for the love she feels inside...

                     Black hoofs and white paw
                     Quest for Emeralda, green
                       eyes galloping north