The tiger run away for his live unless you do something to stop him.
Brock addresses the Ranger.
"Listen here you cross-eyed excuse for a guide, if one more thing sneaks up on us without you telling us I'll shove so much dirt up your ass you'll taste it, understand?"
They would have not attacked if you were not struck first. Anyways, nobody died, and as I said the first time, just stay by my side and animals will not attack
The guy guides you deeper in that forest. The lush foliage and undergrowth becomes an impossible tangle here The trees and plants are now intertwined with a thick hedgerow of vines and thorny plants. It stretches in either direction as far as you can see gradually curving away from you and stretches over 30 feet high. From within this tangle, trees still rise above, though their trunks are obscured in the thicket. Dangling on the face of this hedge wall is a horribly twisted and distorted skull of possibly demonic origin. Vines grow through the eye sockets and gaping maw and firmly affix it to the hedge. To the left and right you can see other white spots on the hedge wall in the gloom beneath the tree canopy. Apparently these skulls are placed at intervals along the hedge.
The guy guides you to a hidden entrance. Two Oaks stand by the side of the entrance. Were it not for the image of a sinister face peeking out from its dark gray bark, they would look like any other ragged oak tree.
Just keep walking and don't cause any fight
The thick hedgerow opens into a clearing with a soft carpet of moss and grass. An idyllic setting opens before you. A crystal clear pool occupies its center with several weeping willows overshadowing it gently dipping their fronds into its surface. A small spring gurgles at
one edge of the pond. A gentle breeze ripples the pool and provides the only sound here. Another opening in the hedge wall leads into green shadows.
We can rest, the druids surely know of our presence they should be here shortly
They would have not attacked if you were not struck first. Anyways, nobody died, and as I said the first time, just stay by my side and animals will not attack
"That's not what ya said ya bloody git."
stay by my side or you could be attacked by the wild animals
"Aye. Druids. Right." Brock says, now THOROUGHLY suspicious of anything the ranger says.
"Nature sure is scary sometimes, but this place seems rather odd in the middle of the desolation. Surely there's some history behind it?" Aedric attempts to strike up conversation with their guide. He also feels extremely paranoid of eyes watching him.
" Surely there's some history behind it?"
of course. - The ranger reply rather enthusiastically. He shows you an amulet he is wearing. We are followers of our lord Telophus, and here we have the mission to revitalize the Desolation and reclaim it for Nature
Higher Kn religion and history can reveal more information.
ok...
A couple of minutes later an eagle lands near you and transmute into a man.
Greetings travellers - The man also greets the ranger, they obviously know each other.
I'm Jeraldus. I'm sure my friend here explained you how hard have been for us to create and maintain this pocket of nature in the middle of the desolation, so I ask you to not do anything to harm the natural harmony of the forest. Having said that, which is the reason for your presence here?
"We're looking for what remains of a caravan. We found what seemed to be the wreckage of it, and footprints leading into the forest, so we followed them here."
If some stranger came to the forest I know nothing of it. Perhaps you already saw the Dire Tigers, they are good at dealing with intruders
"Good at scarin' the ever loving daylights out of people you mean." Brock grumbles.
"Darn. Figured yall nature folks woulda seen something. Well we sure appreciate you lettin us stay here for night. Looks pretty comfy."
Yes. You are welcome to rest and refresh here...as long as you do nothing to disrupt the natural harmony in here.
"Shouldn't be a problem, since I sleep like a log. Har har har!"
You can rest there without problems. The druids refuses to help you in any other way, apparently their neutrality prohibits them to do it, but they don't mess with you and you can find fresh water and fruits to eat.
So, what do you do? explore the forest in search of traces of the person you are looking for or something else?
"Let's look around here. Warn me next time big ass tigers sneak up on us."
That morning you explore the forest at the outside of the clearing. A couple of hours pass and your guide have no new news for you, though it somewhat seems to you that the ranger is not really putting all of his effort in the task.
At some point Aedric see what he think is rather curious scene. Apparently somebody was walking in the forest, and then there was an struggle and the track get lost. The curious thing is that there is no blood or other signs that indicates that someone was hacked or slashed or eaten in that place.
"So, what? Did someone get choked out and captured?"
"It's possible. The trail ends here. A struggle happened, but the person wasn't killed...or whomever did it is very good at cleaning up after themselves."
What are you talking about?, what happened here is that... - The ranger tell a story about an animal attacking another animal, it fits more or less the evidence left in the place an it would be the first thing a tracker that were not paying attention would think, but Aedric is convinced his own interpretation is the correct one.
"Makes perfect sense. An animal that doesn't draw blood when hunting." Brock says, thoroughly tired of this man by now.
"Answer me, are you a liar, or just an incompetent?"
The question still stands.
Aedric frowns at the Ranger's story.
"That...doesn't add up. We're not going to pay you if this is the quality of service you provide."
Hey, that's what I see here, if you have a different opinion that's on you - Say the ranger.
"Enough is enough. Tell me what your motivation for lying to us is or perish." Aedric levels his fauchard towards the Ranger.
Nicos?