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Uriel creeps up the center passage and peeks into an open space.
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With the wand's magic, Mikhaere gets a faraway look in his eyes.
To the North path, it winds back to the entrance and circles around to join up with the space in the center. This path continues to the East where it enters another long, wide area that is partially roofed by a sheet of woven bark. There is a path joining the center area from here as well.
A path from this area and one from the place you are in now leads to the South into a wide area on the South side of Briar Henge that has a roughly circular shape. Four tall, thin spires of ancient stone thrust up from the ground at irregular intervals like malformed teeth. To the west, two thicker stones are capped with a third horizontal stone, forming a crude gateway. A thick piece of charred bark is suspended in this gateway by a web of crackling energy. The crackling energy pulses outward from the bark into the dolmen stones, and from there into the ground. Four humanoid figures in hide armor, grasping staves, stand before the gateway and seem to be chanting something.
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"Hold on," the tengu stops Li before he gets too far. "Let's think a little first."
"I have a spell that can cause all the plants to awaken and hold the druids in place. It'll make spellcasting a pain in the arse as well. Let me sneak up there and cast it first - then you can pepper 'em all with arrows until they drop."
"What d'ya think?"
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"Let's hope Jorag's luck makes them do just that, Daeris. Bloody easier than us bothering with this nonsense." Mikhaere caws in amusement, waiting patiently for the others to be ready.
Once everyone is in order, the druid mutters a few brief syllables under his breath, reaching up to pluck a leaf from the nearby tree and blow it from the palm of his hand. He then slowly, carefully makes his way towards where he saw the druidic ritual.
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Not particularly confident in his ability to be stealthy, Jorag stayed well behind the others, ready to ask for Kurgess to bless their aim. Uriel wasn't a whole lot better at stealth than he was, so the cleric placed a hand on his shoulder, bidding him to stop. "Lets us stay back and give them every possible chance to catch the enemy unaware."
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Mikhaere creeps down the passage, and as he rounds the final corner and beholds the standing stones from ground level, there is a cry of alarm from one of the Druids. Attuned to their surroundings, they have spied Mikhaere!
Mikhaere
Uriel
Li Shuo
Jorag
Daeris
Druids
The Druids begin by all chanting spells.
Initiative Round 1
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Mikhaere curses loudly. "No need for sneaking anymore! Get down here!"
He then begins to chant himself, no doubt in the very same tongue that the druids across from him are casting spells with. The briars and brambles and weeds and grasses of the henge come alive with the tengu's whispered requests, reaching up to wrap around their legs and arms.
To the druids, he glares at them and speaks in an old, deep voice, his eyes flashing with anger... "Rhoi'r gorau i gwallgofrwydd hwn! Nid yw hyn yn ffordd i gynnal y cydbwysedd!"
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Mikhaere begins the assault with his spell, resulting in the grass and vines of the area bursting into activity, trying to grasp anything standing in them. Two of the Druids are caught in the vines, while the other two try to get clear of the area. Daeris' arrow strikes home on one of the Druids. Then one succeeds in escaping the vines after the fact, and one remains caught.
One Druid makes it adjacent to Li and swings at him with his Quarterstaff, which shimmers with green light, missing badly.
Round 2
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Uriel steps up to the Druid menacing Li, and momentarily giving into his bestial curse, goes to savage the man with his new teeth and claws, and strikes him with the latter. The Druid crumples to the ground.
Li re-aims his fire, and with Daeris' arrow as well, another Druid falls to the ground.
Another Druid advances laughs to see Uriel's change. "Join us, brother! Give into your bestial nature and kill the interlopers!" he says before swinging at Li, striking him a bone-rattling blow with his staff.
The other Druid struggles against the vines holding him and fails to escape.
Round 3
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The final arrow drops the last Druid, ending their threat. With Mikhaere's expertise, you are able to extract the Atavistic Splinter from the standing stones and end the ritual. By the next day, Li Shuo and Uriel are their old selves again, though a craving for raw meat lasts for a week or two.
When you return to the logging camp, you find the loggers similarly cured and they are very grateful for your actions. Venture-Captain Brackett commends you for your actions in retrieving the Atavistic Splinter.
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"Thank you, my new friends, for not assuming the worst when I first succumbed to the curse, like that elf archer who shot first and never asked questions later. I am interested in how this relic caused such a widespread effect, though. Perhaps we can study it on the trip back to the Venture Captain..." Uriel speaks as they head back. "Regardless, it was an honor working with you all!"
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Li flexes his jaw several times, glad to have his old, fractured speech patterns back.
"It was...interesting. The beast is opposite of zen. Full of self, no room for the void."he says, adding "No more moon in the water!" as if it were an aphorism of his home country.
He bows to Uriel, then to the others. "Has been Li's humble honor as well."
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"It seems balance favored our path this day. I am glad to have traveled it alongside all of you. But I fear our story may be found incredible by those with whom we share it. And I'm positive I could never give a description of Mikhaere that would do him justice." The corner of her mouth twitched with amusement as she began readying to return to Absalom.
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Mikhaere caws in amusement; many of the human (or human-ish, although he suspected Daeris might find that insulting) adventures he'd been assigned to missions with held similar sentiments. "Say what you like about me, just so long as you preface it with 'He did such a good job and should be paid extra'."
"But hey, you lot were pretty competent. Or maybe I'm just happy to not somehow run into Grandmaster Torch this time." The tengu rolls his eyes. "So it was good.."
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A job well done, Jorag felt confident joining the Pathfinders had been the right thing to do. It might not be safe, but he had lived many years already, and the challenges they had passed had given him more satisfaction than the sporting event of the past few years. "Nothing wrong with coaching wrestlers of course, but this is just something different entirely."
"I share your sentiment Daeris." he looked around at everyone "With all of you. Dangerous at it was it seems to be over all too soon. I should have liked more time to get to know you all, but who is to say we wont have the chance yet?" He gave a big smile. "At any rate we will sure run into each other from time to time, and I look forward to it."
Not wanting to drag on the inevitable, he headed for the door, turning briefly towards everyone before leaving. "Kurgess guide your path and see you safe. Until next we meet, fare thee well."
