Kaithys Galestrider, Jaggedpine Forest

"Much more has come through the gnoll-dug tunnel than the gnolls and their attacks upon our home. The vile criminals of your world have followed the gnolls' heels and infected our land with their greedy lusts for wealth. It seems that one cannot walk the forest without finding a rotting, half-skinned corpse of one of our sacred beasts anymore. They kill for profit — not for necessity, and they do it endlessly it seems. Many of our scouts have seen dark figures moving in and out of the tunnels leading to Blackburrow and our brethren in Surefall Glade have been kind enough to inform us that these poachers and thieves are selling their prizes on the underground market of Norrath. But their greed does not end at the poaching of wild beasts, for they have taken an [interest] in our ways as well. . . something that will one day prove to be a great misfortune for them."

"As I have already said, the poachers seek profit, wealth, and infamy among the goodly citizens of your world — and now ours. Like infectious parasites, they feed off of the recognition of their names and the fear that comes to those innocents who are cursed with their attentions. The way they earn this infamy is to directly assault those who would remember them and in this case, it is the Throne of Karana's Thunder that they have turned to in order to quench that venomous desire of theirs. They have raided the village and many of our brothers and sisters, stealing what they can that might fetch some price on their criminal's market. However, it has become a much more dangerous situation than mere thieving of family heirlooms — we fear that they are unwittingly [aiding a much greater threat] to all protectors of the natural order."

"One of the items stolen in the recent raids was a priceless and sacred tome — the Tome of Thunder. This ancient tome was scribed by the first of our druids many centuries ago, when the Throne of Karana's Thunder and the Shrine of Karana were constructed. This tome detailed the legend of Karana, the legend of our people and the creation of these still standing monuments that act as a testament of The Rainkeeper's power and his influence among us. Our efforts to relocate the tome were proven unsuccessful until the aid of the Qeynos loyalists came to our side. A scout of the Jaggedpine Treefolk came across some information and his [report] is most disturbing if proven to be the true fate of the Tome of Thunder."

"The scout believes them to be a cult of militant, brutal, and viscous so-called druids and rangers who have resided in the planes of Karana and the Mountains of Rathe for decades now. This group calls themselves the Unkempt Druids — but they are false bearers of the Unkempt name, my friend. The true Unkempt reside in solitude to the east in the Unkempt Wood, sealed off from the rest of the world as we were for so long. This is as much a blessing as it is unfortunate for the true unkempt are far more feral and dangerous than any ignorant cultists of your world could even dream to be. What these imposters wish with the Tome of Thunder we have to discover — but the fact that they exist at all is the danger. We have worked long and hard to keep the unkempt ways unique to their inaccessible territory but this news that the unkempt philosophies, if only a small part of them, have reached the interest of outsiders is very [troubling]."

"To be honest, we know very little about the unkempt as they are not ones to openly share their ways with outsiders in the civil manner of words. What we do know, however, is that where we try to accept and teach all who would lend ear the importance of the natural world — allowing them to continue their culture and civilization in a way that would not disturb the precious and delicate order and balance of nature, the Unkempt hold a much different outlook. They would see any who give recognition or pledge any fealty to civilization or culture as enemies and thus, they would and will exterminate them. Well. . . so is the perception, in any case. However, we do know that the true unkempt have [no desire to leave their woods] leaving the only explanation for those beyond the Unkempt Woods' boundaries to be impostors."

"We are not certain, but I believe that they are content where they lay. The true unkempt do not show the desire to convert the other orders dedicated to the preservation of nature to their ways through any mass scale mission. Much of this recluse nature is likely a result of the strong influence of the Tribes of the Dawn and the Moon. To be honest, the barricades keeping the unkempt sealed from the Jaggedpine were set in-place with the desire to keep our young, curious, and strong-headed rangers and druids from venturing into the territory. There was also an element of desire to keep the inhabitants of the forest there, for although they may not seem the missionary types, figuratively speaking of course, their ways may very well escape the confines of the Unkempt Wood and many thirsty and curious young druids and rangers might find themselves seduced by the allure and mystery of the Unkempt ways. Unfortunately, it seems that our efforts have [proven to be in vain]."

"If what the scout of the glade says is true and the presence of unkempt cultists is indeed a reality then somehow the philosophies or some semblance of them have leaked out into the world. I sincerely doubt that their naming convention is but a coincidence. The true unkempt pay homage to the Mother of All exclusively, although they do so not within the traditional methods of worship and reverence. From what we have gathered, they view her as a spiritual manifestation of the cycle and balance of the natural world — the divine force that ultimately fuses the delicate balance between life and death, creation and destruction together. That is why it is so difficult to understand why these cultists would want our tome. Perhaps they were misinformed by the one who had introduced them to the path of the unkempt. In any case, despite their reasons for reaving it into their possession, the tome must be [returned] to us."

"There is a blade, a cursed blade that I have held onto for many years now. Until Gurrin came of age and his skills in blacksmithing and his druidic magics had matured, I was unable to purify the curse and use the blade to create one of my finest creations yet. That weapon is the Blade of Rot — a weapon that I procured during one of my finer moments as a young adventurer. You see, before the Jaggedpine was sealed, I had frequently left the confines of the forest in search of adventure and my own curiosity of the unknown world guided me. Shortly before the Jaggedpine was sealed, one of my companions stumbled upon a spell that would create a mysterious gateway to an unknown place. Of course, we were foolhardy and arrogant in our ways, so naturally we encouraged our wizard, Yanous, to create the gateway so that we might scout what lies beyond in the unknown. Little did we know the [horrible danger] we had brought upon ourselves."

"'Till the day that the Eye of Karana's Storm takes me, I will never forget the sight that fell before us. An unnatural behemoth; a monster of steel, bone, and flesh stood before us. Its blue-black flesh was like a sheet of silk stretched over unnaturally formed muscles beneath an exoskeleton of bone and steel-plated armor. The armor child, the armor breathed! It pulsed with life. . . or death, and it moved — slithering around its host's form like cloth churned by a gentle breeze. Clutched in one of its massive talons was the twisted length of steel and bone, which it wielded with a grace I've yet to see surpassed and the deadly force of Innoruuk's very hatred. We engaged this agent of hate — this nemesis of life for what seemed an immeasurable limit of time. All that I can remember are the deafening, monstrous roars bellowed by the knight and the blaze of steel, blood, and flesh that danced around us in the peril we engaged. [Victory] seemed impossible."

"When we returned to the Jaggedpine and several weeks after the mourning of our departed loved ones, I took the liberty of inspecting the blade carefully. It was a curious item, although saturated with the corruption and evil of the very seething hatred that inspires all of Innoruuk's creations. Through extensive research and Yanous' aid, I was able to determine that the blade was tied to the Deathrot Knight — the creature that wielded the blade, but it was fading, attempting to return to the divine realm that it was forged in. Yanous placed an enchantment upon the weapon to keep the corruption dormant and its 'consciousness' at bay, so long as the weapon remained within the confines of the Jaggedpine. Unfortunately, [Yanous was unable to purge the corruption] from the blade entirely and we felt it wise to not speak its presence to the elder priests whom might have been able to do that which Yanous was unable."

"Though his powers as a wizard are great, his knowledge did not reach far enough into the occult and the spiritual realms of divine magic. He did what he could and it was more than enough for the time being. As I have already said, I have been waiting patiently for my assistant and apprentice to come of age and mature in his priestly power before I attempted to make proper use of this blade in honor of my brother and beloved's demise. But, the blade was stolen before I was able to present it in secret to Gurrin and I fear that it may have returned to the realm of hate and the Deathrot Knight may again be in existence. We must have the blade returned and the only way you can do this is to venture to the plane of hate and destroy the Deathrot Knight. You must return the blade to Gurrin with the Writ of Thunder and we shall be able to complete what was intended all those years ago."