Leshy

The crevasse is wide, far too wide for our ropes and grappling hooks. It's a good dozen yards. And it runs for miles, so long that we can't see where it ends. The expedition has come to a halt, and we're looking for some way to avoid a detour that could take hours or even days. Everyone is brainstorming emergency solutions. In different circumstances, I could jump across using Alteration as a foothold, or bend a tree into position to provide us with a path. But the tree line is too far, and I have to think about all the folks behind me who can't use the same tricks as I do. In my pocket, I roll my few remaining seeds between my fingers. No, I'll save them for a more critical moment. The group is discussing how to cross the gap without having to cut down nearby trees, and I take the opportunity to sit down and drink a bit of water.

As the group mulls over the remaining options, I hear a rumbling sound from the bottom of the gorge. Intrigued, I peer over the edge of the crevasse and see a green tuft moving up towards me. It looks like a bush. No… it's lichen! A huge mossy surface, some fifteen feet around, arrives at the edge. It's actually the top of a flower-shaped face, with horns on its head like an elk's – an enormous head with hair and a beard made of moss. A man's torso follows, covered with multiple layers of bark from different tree varieties. The Eidolon gives us a strange conspiratorial smile. Its body stops growing once it's half as wide as the crevasse. The being stretches out its enormous arms, which look like tree trunks. Its hand grasps the ground on the other side of the rift, and its elbow slowly comes to rest near where we're standing. I grab my bag and smile back, then hurry towards the makeshift bridge. Sometimes, nature really does step in to lend a hand…

A guardian spirit of the forest and its inhabitants, the Leshy is a creature from Slavic mythology. A human-plant hybrid, he looks like a bushy-haired old man. Traditionally, his beard is made of moss and his clothes are made of fur. He casts no shadow and can change size, appear and disappear at will. He also takes the form of every plant and animal, all of which obey him. Though he enjoys leading hunters and travelers astray, you can also earn his good graces by respecting the forest.

TEIJA

393 AC