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”It can be used for other things. Judging by the state of it I think one of the goblins may have been using it to clean out its ears, but I’m sure it will clean up nice with a bit of effort. Does anyone want it, it’s still got a bunch of charges in it and it would be very handy if we get in another fight?”
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"Ugh... ahem... well, this went splendidly, in a manner of speaking. Please disregard any uncivilized culinary comments I may have made when things got furry. Ah! what do we have here! lovely serpentine lady made yet another discovery hmm? isn't she full of surprises!" says Maaldrek with a wink, his attempt to bring up Lady Golkami's find clearly for the purpose of dispelling anyone's bad memory of the large sasquatch wreaking bloody havoc moments ago.
Zehameti has far too little shame to ever actually blush, but she does look pleased at Maaldrek's praise. Her smile spreads as she leans forward and conspiratorially states in sotto voce "You have no idea how full of surprises I can be." Then winks and promptly turns her attention back to Wulbert's find.
Zehameti looks *HIGHLY* suspicious that the goblin stick is a magic wand, but shrugs and trusts her teammates' knowledge on the subject above her own.
As she goes to pass the tablets off for inspection, she suddenly freezes, her eyes focusing on an apparently empty point in the room, like she's seeing a ghost or something. After a moment her body tension relaxes again and she glances back down at the tablet still in her hand. "Uhh.... apparently this is a song? And uh... some old gnome lady wants us to sing it in Absalom?" She looks mildly uncomfortable. "Singing is, uh... not exactly my specialty. And I have no idea how we're supposed to know the melody. Or who that lady was."
Sweeping through the back caverns, Maaldrek finds little else but a corner that appears to have been used as a latrine, far from the sleeping areas. Nothing else detects as magical.
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Before leaving the area, she will double-check both of the weird little dead-ends for... secret-y type things. She is highly suspicious of dead ends.
Zehameti will tense with her hand on her scimitar as Maaldrek reaches for the hammer...
...but when nothing happens looks very relieved.
On the way back to the Dwarves' tower she attempts to create a melody to fit the rhyme structure...
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As the party start making there way out of the cave Wulbert hangs back to check if any of the goblins are still alive and need stabilising or to cast guidance on any which have died in hope that it will stop their spirits from becoming lost.
He then heads back towards the entrance of the cave, but pauses at the pile of shattered stones and crushed dwarf skeletons realising that they probably need help as well. He racks his brain for anything he knows about dwarven burial practices.
But ultimately decides to ask Helga and Urgrin if they know how the bodies should be laid to rest.
As the Pathfinders emerge from beneath the plain stone arch, Urgrin waves eagerly. "Hoho, you've returned! Did you find what you were looking for?" Both of your escorts listen intently to the tale, their faces falling at the news of fallen dwarves before turning to embarassment at the news of goblins.
"It's our failure to properly guard those halls that allowed that band to slip in. Foolish superstition, even if it turns out to be well founded! We'll make report to the tower and form a full expedition to collect those lost souls. Can't say I would have been so merciful, but maybe by the time we muster they'll have woken up and decided it best to move on."
After a good rest at the Rising Spire and making farewells, the journey south is uneventful, save for a very hasty relocation one night after setting up camp atop a large anthill. The mountains give way to rolling hills, which in turn give way to grassy plains, and finally to the trees of the Arthfell Forest. Proceeding into the forest, the Pathfinders watch as the natural splendor falls away to a barrier of dried-out thorns that does little to obscure the lifeless trees beyond. Frigid winds whisper through branches that claw at the sky as a mist rises out from deep within the wood.
DC15
DC20
Before the thicket stands a woman with long green hair decorated with feathers and armor that seems to have been grown rather than carved from green-tinted wood. "Halt!" she cries, a flicker of green flame vanishing from her hand as she speaks. "What business do you have in these woods? Only death and danger lie beyond here, and my thorns shall keep you out like all the other intruders. Leave now!"
"That means... you must be Pathfinders." She relaxes, and a stillness in the air that hadn't been noticed before also relaxes.
"You may call me Adelyn Rhinon," the woman continues. "I do not know the name Zaul Blystone, but if you truly are Pathfinders, then I would ask you a favor." She gestures to the woods beyond the wall of thorns. "The thicket within here is blighted from a senseless massacre of others from my circle centuries ago. They do not rest well, and the same souls that once welcomed travelers and encouraged a flower's bloom now cause leaves to wither and strangers to become lost. The Greenfire planted this barrier to keep unsuspecting visitors from their deaths, and my task is to maintain it." She frowns. "As you can see, the same blight that curses the thicket also drains the life from the thorns. Attacks by the Shadow Pact have certainly not made thing easier either."
"So! I will open the barrier to you, and I ask that you seek the source of this blight and bring their spirits peace. Would you do that for me?"
"If only I could tell you. I have tended these lands for many decades, but the events that blight this thicket occurred long before my time. I cannot enter even to investigate this past, such that all I have heard is from those that came before me. I am told it was senseless and cruel, but the specifics are lost to time."
"Oh, it would be so nice to finish tending this circle and not find the beginning wilted by the time I reach the end! Thank you, dear Pathfinders!" With a gesture, the thorny vines part to create an entrance to the dark woods beyond. "I will remain vigilant for your return!"
Inside the circle, the atmosphere is foreboding. Tall, naked trees are interspersed with the occasional needle-covered fir, and the ground is barren with no signs of fauna.
Maaldrek notices that the compass from Shaine seems to not point north anymore, but towards something else. Quickly moving to follow it, he leads his fellows through the foreboding woods. Cara intervenes briefly at one point to prevent the tiefling from walking headlong into a patch of poison ivy.
After less than an hour of walking, the Pathfinders arrive at an open glade where deciduous trees burst with magnificent autumnal colors. A thick undergrowth of vines bearing flowers, gourds, and vegetables chokes the ground in this open thicket, and clutching ivy climbs the posts and eves of an abandoned lumber mill on the thicket’s far side. Though the light of the sun reaches all but the darkest corners of this vine-covered garden, the air still bears an oppressive quality, as though neither light nor humanoid life is truly welcome.
Wulbert notices the thick tangle of undergrowth impedes his steps.
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While Maaldrek is navigating the forest, Zehameti will pass along the following info about Arthfell & local druids:
Creatures of the First World have called the Arthfell Forest home for longer than mortal memory. Conflicts between the fey range from mischievous fun to deadly serious. The Arthfell druids historically act as peacekeepers between human communities and fey. Since a schism divided the druids, those diplomatic connections have all but dried up. Andoren druids celebrate the changing seasons with holidays. The most important of these celebrations occur in spring, symbolizing new life, and autumn, symbolizing acceptance of death.
As Maaldrek begins to chop away at the vegetation, a spooky chuckle causes him to pause. Sinister flames sprout from one of the many pumpkins in the patch, the gourd growing taller on thick vines until it assumes a vague humanoid form. The blazing eyes leer at you all with a wicked grin.
19 Maaldrek
18 Dora
14 Knuckles
13 Cora
10 Zehameti
10 Green
9 Wulbert
Maaldrek readies his weapons, noticing that the underground is not quite evenly spread.
19 Maaldrek
18 Dora
14 Knuckles
13 Cora
10 Zehameti
10 Green
9 Wulbert
Dora recognizes the creature as a jack-o'-lantern, a plant creature that strangles its prey and breathes magical fire. As Cora's ray strikes the rubbery vines of its body, the party sees the heat does nothing to the deep green flesh.
19 Maaldrek
18 Dora
14 Knuckles
13 Cora
10 Zehameti
10 Green
9 Wulbert
Dora readies for the sinister creatures approach!
19 Maaldrek
18 Dora (Readied)
14 Knuckles (Readied)
13 Cora
10 Zehameti
10 Green
9 Wulbert
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Once Dora tells her about the breath weapon, Zehameti curses under her breath, but is determined to not let it near her grouped companions.
She pulls out a new weapon: a 6-foot staff affixed to a 2-foot-long, swordlike slightly curved blade and cautiously moves forward keeping it at the maximum distance of her weapon's reach.
As Zehameti moves closer, the flickering flames of the enemy's eyes become unnerving, fouling her attack!
The thick vines reach out and batter the Zehameti, attempting to wrap around her limbs and reaching for her face!
19 Maaldrek
18 Dora
14 Knuckles
13 Cora
10 Zehameti (Damage: 8, Will Save and Reflex Save needed)
10 Green
9 Wulbert
The overgrown clearing causes Wulbert to stumble as he pulls the trigger, sending the bolt off into the underbrush.
19 Maaldrek
18 Dora
14 Knuckles
13 Cora
10 Zehameti (Damage: 8, Will Save and Reflex Save needed)
10 Green
9 Wulbert
Maaldrek sticks the pumpkin in the side, knocking its frightening gaze askew for a moment before the malicious flames turn back towards the Pathfinders!
19 Maaldrek
18 Dora
14 Knuckles
13 Cora
10 Zehameti (Damage: 8, Will Save and Reflex Save needed)
10 Green (Damage: 6)
9 Wulbert
Zehameti's curse is cut off as the entangling vines form a muzzle over her mouth!
19 Maaldrek
18 Dora
14 Knuckles
13 Cora
[b]10 Zehameti (Damage: 8, Entangled)
10 Green (Damage: 6)
9 Wulbert