Kennen looked at Dolpho at the same time the wizard looked at him. And unfortunately, he could see the same conflicted emotions. That was not what he expected. He expected Rodolpho to be the voice of reason. To tell them that these people would be fine and they would move on. Kennen would hem and haw and offer poorly disguised reasons to stay with the pretty half-elf woman but he'd relent in the end. But nooooo, he had to go and be the responsible one and save the world possibly. Kennen scratches his head and cries out in frustration. "We...gotta leave. Fate of the world maybe. Important mission and all that."
While Kennen and Dolph talk with Celia, Kee-rik begins a low croaking chant over the most debilitated of the woodsmen. He burns a variety of herbs and roots sacred to the grippli and wafts the smoke across the sick man's face and within ten minutes or so the man rises unsteadily into a sitting position - still weak but lucid and with colour returning to his face with each passing moment.
Within an hour or so, most of the men have regained their strength - If not enough to go monster hunting in the swamp, then at least enough to return home. Miracle of the goddess! some exclaim.
Celia is again very thankful. Well little grippli, I don't understand what strange amphibious herbology you have worked here today but we are grateful indeed.[b/] she leans down and kisses tKee-rik on the top of his head.
[ooc]Kee-rik, this expends one hero point and the daily use of your Chosen of the Goddess for today and tomorrow. Also, Good on ya for creative problem solving. Also also, thanks for embedding those spell links.
Impressive. Kee-Rik. Hrungir says to the grippili.
Dolph bids goodbye to Celia, slightly jealous as Keerik gets a smooch from her. "Well, the rest of us still have to job to do, eh? Might as well get marching..."
After their battle with the hag and Kee-rik's healing of the woodsmen, it is well past sundown, so the two groups share the campsite for the night. In the morning the adventurers bid farewell to Celia and her woodsmen and sets back onto the trail of the stolen book...
Kee-rik will try to get everyone to where we want to go.
"It'd be nice if we had someone who was better at this. I wonder if Celia is any good at navigation?"
"All of this damned bog looks the same to me! It mig be better to rest and camp for the evening, and try it again tomorrow. I don't want to get even more turned around than we already are..."
You group spends a frustrating day slogging through muck and mire, constantly harassed by clouds of buzzing, stinging insects, and has a few close encounters with the biggest crocodiles any of you have ever seen (or were they fallen logs? You didn't venture close enough to find out).
You think you have been heading generally north-east, but you are unsure of exactly how much ground you covered today. You are moving through a densely wooded area - the canopy of vegetation obscures much of the light and makes it difficult to tell the time of day, though it must be getting close to sundown - When Kee-rik calls out and points ahead.
In the darkness and gloom, you can just make out a still lake, fog and mist clinging to its surface, and a hard-packed dirt trail winding through the bog towards its shores. There, upon the edge of the water, stands a mighty mangrove tree. Inside its roots looms a dark and foreboding cavern. Two large spikes set to either side of this cavern have been decorated with the now bloated and rotting corpses of a pair of elves.
Hrungir growls at the sight.
Is this the place Rodolpho? It smells ill...
"Their choice of landscaping is a little...sickening," Kennen says, going a little pale. If this was the place he was probably going to regret going in there. If not, he'd just as soon avoid it. "I lost track of where we were a few hours ago. Aren't we looking for a hidden city of giants? I doubt this is it."
"Well, whatever in the hells this place is, there's evil inside. Might as well clean it out while we are in the neighborhood. It'd give us a dry spot to sleep tonight, once we clear out whatever's done all this."
"Yeah just gotta clear up all the blood," Kennen mutters. But instead of dwelling on it, he starts jumping in place and taking deep breaths to psych himself up. "Alright, who's going first? I can be stealthy but Hrungir might be able to pop in and out before they even know what hit them."