Chapter 1 - The Red Waterfall

The dart glides through the air and buries itself into the frog's rubbery flesh. It lets out a croak of its own and collapses to the ground in front of Ghelin.

The last sight the white spotted frog had was flames engulfing it. Ghelin's radiance blinded the poor creature staggering it before Mac's bolt seared through it. A minute of intense action ends with four giant frogs lying upon your feet and the hundreds of normal frogs hopping in all directions as the sun begins to creep above the top of the waterfall.

The bridge sits before you and you are still baffled to find that it ends right into the sheer face of the rock of the waterfall. The water remains as red as ever and the wind is beginning to pick up. You look at the lake and notice the generally calm waters begin to agitate and crest waves. The waves begin flowing towards you and rise in size until a form takes shape in front of you.

"Hello." is the reply from the water form, although you soon realize that it didn't speak the words but imparted them directly into your mind. This would normally seem troubling, but the creature seems calm.

"Help us.......the water has been poisoned.......we don't have long...." it conveys. "A small town some days from here is killing us..."

It's form lessens and then splashes down back into the lake. It reforms a moment later. "The bridge will teleport you there," it adds before dropping again and this time not returning.

OOC: You indeed confirm that it is a water elemental. It doesn't seem aggressive to you at all.

You all take a deep breath and walk towards the wall of stone at the far end of the bridge. Ewan shrugs once again and slowly puts his hand out to touch the black stone. His eyes widen as his hand disappears up to his wrist before reflexively pulling it back out.

"Well I'll be," he mutters, flexing his digits to ensure everything is still in working order.

One by one you step into the stone. Once inside, all is black, cold, and completely silent. Mac tries to speak but the words do not come. You float for what seems hours before emerging on the other side, quite intact.

An identical bridge stands in front of you as you walk back out into the morning air. Behind you, the black stone rises up just as it did on the other side. While some differences in the types of trees and rocks are present, another red waterfall flows down into a lake. As you walk off the bridge you find that you are standing upon a small hill looking down upon a small village in the valley, jagged mountains rising sharply on both sides. You all look at each other and give the shared look of having absolutely no idea where in the Realms you are.

The lake samples are indeed identical, both a murky red and with the faint smell of blood.