Red Groves

Half a day east of Stonetop is a copse of trees that turn blood red — leaves, bark, and all — at the autumnal equinox. By spring, the color returns to normal. The Forest Folk warned the villagers to avoid this place. They never said why.

An iron tang in the air. The scrutiny of the forest upon you, heavy like a blanket. Words of warning faintly heard in the breeze, the rustling leaves, the insect hum.

A dozen such groves dot The Great Wood. Some redden in autumn, others in spring. Some, like the one near Stonetop, are large and old; others are just a few young trees. What they actually are is for the table to decide:

• where spirits of the wild are born and where they come to die
• prisons for some terrible evil, each
• graves of champions of Danu
• something different at every grove

Redwood is a conduit for spirits of the wild. Some of the Forest Folk's most powerful totems are made of it.

Any spirit of the wild might be found here, but every grove hosts at least a few brennauwed and is protected by Coedwaig. Butcherbirds frequent the Groves while they are red.

You draw The Forest's Wrath unless you come naked and empty-handed, ritually purified; or you bear a dying spirit wishing to pass on; or you are cloaked in subtle magic.

• A dying Glasbren seeks a mortal to convey her to the Red Grove.
• The Grove is corrupted by The Things Below; its spirits are confused and unwell, and the Grove will soon start spawning horrors.
• A villager steals a branch of redwood and is cursed with the forest's wrath.

• Half a day east of Stonetop
• Trees turn blood red at the autumnal equinox
• Forest Folk warned villagers to avoid this place