Serena silently finishes up her breakfast and then packs her things, such as they are, to travel.
Waiting late in the day to set off the Coven begins its journey into the Greenbelt under the cover of darkness, and this sets the path for the next few days. Exploring in the dark is more difficult, and it is soon understood by all of you that this is not the most efficient way of doing this, but it is the most comfortable - so that will have to do.
On the fourth day of your travels, curving back east and north, Eliza - who is leading - holds her hand up to stop you all, the coven bond conveying her wariness at the same moment.
"There's something up ahead, I think..."
Evelynda allows Siggy, her crab familiar, to crawl on her shoulders and the outside of her gown while they are traveling. She can sense that he enjoys seeing the wonders of the surface world, and he often flexes his pincers in the direction of things that catch his interest.
Always focused on protecting the others, Olyenna keeps a sharp eye out for any sign of danger as they explore.
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Serena talks little and focuses on their surroundings. Being from a background of urban poverty, the beauty of the wilderness is not something which she was truly prepared for until she entered it. Even their first foray into the forest did not convey to her this beauty, for she was so focused on stopping the people who had attacked them.
She wishes they could travel during the day, so that she could see everything in full color... She considers bringing it up to her coven-mates, but a pit in her stomach tells her that it would be selfish of her to put Eve through any discomfort just for her own needs, that she isn't really worth it...
...This inward focus throws her off.
Siggy tensing up on Evelynda's shoulder is the first clue, before Olyenna's practised eye picks out what disturbed him.
This seems to be the lair of some sort of burrowing spider.
"Thpider...a big one, the burrowing kind." Olyenna says quietly, pointing toward the bush and the large hole beneath it. "Thee the webth?"
Evelynda nods. "Shall we spring its little trap?"
Drawing one of her swords, Olyenna nods. "Why not?" she says with a bit of a grin.
Drawing her sword, Olyenna moves toward the bush ready to defend against the spider's attack.
Serena finds the biggest rock she can to throw into the spider's web, and then gets ready to fight it with fist and foot.
Evelynda approaches, pointing to the webs and indicating that they should cut them. She removes her scarf and readies it for battle.
Faster and more wary by nature than her sisters, only Serana has the reflexes to react when the spider comes leaping out of it's hole.
Serana, Spider, Olyenna, Evelynda.
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Serena flexes her muscles, then steps forward and attempts to wrap her limbs around the spider, restricting its movement so that her sisters could more easily whallop its ass.
As the spider comes leaping from its home Serana leaps on it, wrapping it in her arms and doing her best to hold it. It retaliates by biting at her, but cannot reach due to the brawler's leg lock!
Evelynda steps up to flank the spider with Serena, and strikes it with her elongated magic hair.
Serena squeezes tighter. The spider's lack of trying to escape helps her out a lot here - she pins the spider against the ground, getting it to a point where it can't even move, let alone bite anyone.
Locking her attention on Serena, Olyenna touches her amulet, a shimmering glow passining over Serena and herself as she extends her protection.
The spider bites ferociously as Serana pins it, but Olyenna's magic diverts much of the pain and allows the brawler to keep her grip. Unable to escape the spider is rapidly bludgeoned to death by Evelynda and Olyenna's weapons!
The spider’s lair is a 5-foot-diameter, 25-foot-deep shaft. The thick webbing along the walls makes it relatively easy to clamber up and down the shaft. Apparently the spider has not cleared its lair for a week or so and a few bodies still remain at the bottom of the shaft, including the body of a dead bandit, dressed in leather armor and carrying a short sword and 10 gp. He also wears about his neck a silver Stag Lord amulet worth 20 gp.
After a couple more days (nights) exploring, just as the sun is setting the coven comes across a neatly thatched hut, sheltered in a small hollow which is overflowing with bushes and plants of various sorts.
At the bottom of a hollow a ragged looking man can been seen, puttering around and tending to the various bushes. He appears to be speaking aloud, although there is no obvious target for his conversation.
"Helloa!" Evelynda calls somewhat imperiously from a position near the hut. "Is anyone there? You have visitors."
Serena just waits to see if the old man responds to Evelynda. Eve was better with words than Serena was.
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The old man starts, dropping his pot, which shatters on the floor. He looks up, squinting in the gathering dusk. "Bokken! Bokken is my name! I am here. Is anyone else here? What visitors? Are you visitors? I have potions!" He bustles into the hut and returns with an armful of small bottles. "Healing, strengthening, growing, even more hair on your chest!" He stops and squints again at the women above him. "Maybe not that one!" The potion goes flying over his shoulder and something very small darts from the hut, grabs the bottle and vanishes inside again in the blink of an eye.
"Bokken. How-do-you-do? You want potions?"
Giving the....eccentric old man a skeptical look, her hand subtly resting on her sword hilt as her sister addressed him.
Evelynda is a bit surprised by the direction their conversation has taken. "...Yes, we are the visitors, Bokken," she says, raising an eyebrow. "You have potions for sale? Growing potions? We may be interested, depending upon the quality. You make them yourself?"
"I make all my potions. Oleg not tell you? I make him good potions!" Bokken replies, looking surprised behind his bushy beard.
Hex Explored!
"Good to know." Olyenna says with a nod to the strange little man.
Questing south, the coven soon finds a large patch of moon radishes almost directly south of Oleg's. It was not far from the path they rode weeks ago to chase down Kressle and her bandits - but, concealed in a low dell, they hadn't noted it before. A nasty spider swarm caused a little trouble, but in the end a large collection of fangberries could be harvested.
Heading further south, on the east bank of the Thorn river, two interesting landmarks are found on successive days. First, an old mine, which shows evidence of a potential seam of gold - well worth noting for future exploration. To the east of the mine stands a huge wind-blasted tree, standing alone on a small tree like a gnarled claw reaching for the sky. As the coven explores mostly at night the effect, of a hand crushing the moon in its grip, is distinctly unsettling and leaves the whole coven uneasy for the next day or two.
On the fifth day out from Olegs an outcropping of large boulders emerges from the weathered face of a nearby hillock. A narrow opening in the rock leads into darkness below. A fallen sign leans against the side of the cave entrance, and a cage made of branches and sticks sits on the other side. Inside the cage sits a tiny blue figure, hiding its face behind its tiny hands.
The only guard is a solitary kobold - who reacts with surprise when he sees the coven approach. He hesitates for a few moments, before calling out in sibilant common. "Ssstop! Wait. I wantsss to talk!"
Frowning at the sight of the tiny caged creature at the kobold's mercy, Olyenna looks at the kobold addressing them, letting Evelynda take the lead.
Evelynda draws up haughtily, staying within arm's reach of her sisters in case of trouble. "Speak, then. Do you offer us fealty?"
"Feel-me? Why you want to feel me?" the Kobold asks, seemingly very confused. "Evil mitess ssstole our tribe God! Old Ssssharptooth wasss taken! You come inssside, talk to boss Ssshaman. You get ssstatue back - you get big reward!" He waits, looking expectantly at Evelynda.
Evelynda looks annoyed but rallies. "We will meet with your shaman. Lead the way."
"Come, come!" The kobold leads you all into the caves, leaving the mite outside in its cage.
You are lead through a very narrow tunnel, which each of the coven can only just fit through. Two kobold guards with spears glower at you as you pass, but the leading kobold's squeaked assurances get you by unharmed.
You are lead past a small chamber where the primary decoration appears to be crude murals of a crouching toothed figure and a taller figure whose details are obscured.
You emerge, and are able to stand at full height in a larger cave where the air is warm and close, thick with reptilian stink. Numerous beds of furs lie scattered throughout the room amid smoldering cookfires, while to the south, a ten-foot-wide alcove contains a large mound of furs framed by dozens of sticks on which are mounted the skulls of many birds and small animals, all smeared with ash.
Your guide is challenged by two notable kobolds, one bulky and dressed in an elaborate headdress of bones and feathers. The other is purple, with white eyes and an even more cunning look than most kobolds. The guide fields a barrage of questions in rapid, squeaky tones before the chief turns to you.
"Naknik says you good humans. You can be trusted - if you kill mites, retrieve Old Sharptooth, lift curse on our tribe we give you lots of coins! Shiny coins!"
"Uh," mutters Serena, "What are you talking about?"
Evelynda flicks her hair beneath her scarf and regards the two kobolds with a look calculated to suggest they are very lucky to have her attention. She bows to the chief slightly from the neck, as one ruler to another. "You are the chief of this tribe? What is your name?" she asks. She looks at the purple kobold. "And this is the shaman?" She stares at him for a few moments, considering. "You want us to kill these mites for you, and you will reward us if we bring back your statue. As it happens, we may be inclined to do so. Will you show us the treasure in good faith, to prove that you have it? And what can you tell us about the mites' lair? Where is it?"
The chieftain puffs his chest out, "I am Chief Sootscales! The shaman is Tartuk! He is gifted by Old Sharptooth."
He hisses out some instructions in the kobold's language and two kobolds hurry off into the tunnels, re-emerging with handfuls of mixed gold and silver coins. "You see, great treasure!" Chief Sootscales boasts. "I send Naknik with you! He show you way to great tree and mite nest! Retrieve Old Sharptooth then return and make our tribe strong, as in olden days!" He eyes Evelynda in a way that seems... odd... but the Shaman, Tartuk, is doing that too so...
Naknik leads you back out of the tunnels again before diving back in and returning with a small pack and a spear. "Ssso, we go away from ssun, to find mites! Yes?"
"Their chief was hiding thomething. I don't know what, but some bit of information he kept to himthelf." Olyenna says quietly as the leave the caves.
EVelynda considers Olyenna's suspicions. "There are some strange politics going on down there. I will try to get this Naknik to talk, perhaps that will keep us from getting entangled in them."
While setting up camp the morning after traveling, Evelynda strikes up a conversation with Naknik. "How long have you lived in these caves? Do you work for the chief or the shaman? It seemed like the other kobolds were upset while we were there; they were hissing messages. Do some of your kin not want the statue recovered, maybe? Or do they just not trust outsiders like us?" She tries to smile pleasantly without looking like she is going to gobble him up.
Naknik looks a bit awkward at those questions. "Tartuk says Old Sharptooth not happy - that we make him angry. But we do all same as before! Give offerings, best treasure and food! Chief thinks Tartuk want to be shaman AND chief. No-one want to cross chief, or anger Old Sharptooth. Hard choicesss! And Tartuk say we wrong - Old Sharptooth only god, not Old White-Hair." He stops at that and squints through the early morning light at Evelynda - "You have white hair. You know of Old White-Hair?"
Evelynda shakes her head. "Another god your tribe venerates?" she suggests, unable to resist guessing.
"Old White-Hair was shaman to Old Sharptooth. Female, tall, helped Sharptooth make tribe, get good hunting. She went away and left first shaman behind - that is tribe story." Naknik responds.
"Maybe they thought you Old White-Hair? Then Tartuk not happy!"
You meet no significant encounters over the next two days, Naknik, whatever else he may be is a skilled scout and tracker who manages to avoid the few animals of size you come across with some skill.
By midnight of the third day you approach a vast tree, looming across the sky from its position on the side of a hill. Over the past hours there have increasingly been bodies, some mite-sized and some kobold, scattered across the land and always picked clean of anything useful and, sometimes, flesh.
The way in appears to be a low tunnel that winds its way through the roots of the tree and onwards - it looks very small.