As the Gatewalkers cautiously approach the barrier it becomes clear that this is some sort of magical seepage from another plane - presumably the Shadow Plane. Vaguely beyond they can make out the base of one of the arches and in the light of grey torches it is clear that some sort of sacrificial ritual is being conducted!
Pushing on is the only possible course of action but the shadowy barrier blocks your path and looks dangerous.
"Ah. I've read about this. Planar bleed. In order to fix it, you have to reverse the polarity of the metaphysical flow and seal the gap. Like so..."
Anabel pulls an odd tool from her belt and demonstrates what she's been babbling about.
Anabel's odd tool goes 'ping', which clearly indicates the presence of 'stuff'. Fortunately something, whether that's the tool or simply Anabel's sheer conviction that it does work, has some effect and the black veil lifts - revealing the way forwards to whatever evil ritual is going on ahead!
Pressing forward you pass through a thick cloud of shadow, clinging unnaturally low to the ground and find seven arches of gray-brown basalt which loom around the center of the forest clearing. In the middle is a crude wooden altar carved with vines. A hogtied unicorn bleats deliriously upon the altar. Despite two lines of lit torches around the altar, the shadows clog the area like thick mist. Three figures, all wearing masklike headdresses made from woven branches turn and glare at the intruders, wielding staves with ferocious intent!
"Quickly everyone!" Cotton calls. "We have to save the unicorn!"
The poppet's enthusiasm and sense of righteouness empowers those around her as she 'charges' forwards through the long grass.
"Right you are," Anabel says, already calculating trajectory and wind speed in her head. She raises her crossbow and shoots the nearest cultist in the chest before calmly reloading.
The tingling rush of something to burn fills Orania's blood as she sends a lance of flame towards the nearest of the foes and then with a casual gesture, she summons her shield again.
Oriana and Anabel open the account with pure damage, hitting hard enough to leave one of the druids folded up around a crossbow bolt and a second screaming pain as fire sears across her face. Cotton's cheerful exhortions raise her companions spirits to new heights as the druids move to respond.
Two companions close the distance and hurl daggers, while the screaming woman comes charging forwards in pain, swinging her staff in two hands as she charges at Oriana.
The investigator is hit twice, but Oriana flickers away from her attacker, leaving the still screaming woman exposed, and right next to Cotton!
Dancing in place like the flames she draws essence from, Orania grins maniacally as she blasts more fire at the burning woman.
Cage raises his shield and rushes in to defend his companions, circling the screaming woman. He tries to knock her in the back with his hammer.
for
for
Oriana fells her foe with a second blast of fire and the woman collapses, unable even to scream as the fire sears away her facial muscles.
Cage meanwhile closes the distance and strikes down the second cultist by hammering the crossbow bolt even deeper into their stomach. Within moments only one druid remains!
Anabel hisses in pain as the daggers stab into her. She forces herself to remain calm as she calculates a new trajectory. She squeezes her trigger, and the bolt flies and hits home.
Lyra tries to pick up another rock and throws it at the target, but obviously being in combat rather than reading about being in combat is still taking it's toll on her. She moves the rock quickly enough, but it misses and flies wide.
Frustrated, she balls her fist and exclaims "Drat! Why can't they stand still?"
Cotton hardens her soft, cloth heart and uses her own powers to intercept the rock Lyra hurled. It whistles past the druids head!
The oracle turns on the remaining druid with glee. As if in a choreographed dance, she gestures to summon her shield once more and another splash of flame lights the darkness as it seeks out the druid.
The final cultist morphs his hands into powerful claws and attempts to tear Cage in two, but the fighter turns the blow on his shield and then Oriana cooks the druid with impressive ruthlessness.
The unicorn continues to thrash on the altar, letting out angry whinnies and other, less natural sounds.
Anabel gingerly removes the daggers from her body. She cautiously approaches the unicorn, keeping a safe distance away, as she tries to soothe the panicked beast.
Anabel manages to soothe the unicorn somewhat and, the moment it is released, the magical beast snorts and gallops straight back into the woods!
Nothing of value is left at the ritual site itself, but a bloody track into the woods shows clearly where the druids brought the unicorn from. It seems like a good bet that following that trail will lead the Gatewalkers back to the rebel druid's hidden base.
Anabel spends several minutes applying poultices and bandages to her wounds. Then she kneels by the trail of blood, examining it closely.
She straightens up and points to where the trail leads. "I'm on the case. Let's go."
Cage takes a moment to gaze in wonder at the stone arches, then shakes himself, hefts his shield, and sets off after Anabel.
Orania's flame-clouded eyes turn this way and that, seeking something else to set alight with glorious fire. Seeing nothing, the disappointment is obvious.
"Lead on, then," she declares impatiently when Anabel announces her discovery of the trail.
Lyra quickly hurries to the front beside Anabel and begins peppering her with questions. "How did you handle that unicorn like that? Did you know it would leave peacefully? What did you find back there on the trail? What do you think it will lead to?"
"A unicorn is basically just a fancy horse," Anabel says matter-of-factly. "I simply employed the same tactics as I would to calm any equine, though it took a bit of extra doing. It seemed like that unicorn might have been subjected to some sort if harmful poison or drug. It was a risk releasing it in that state, but fortunately it did not attack us. I do hope it will recover.
"As for this trail, I'm willing to bet it is the path those druids took to get here, dragging the poor unicorn with them. It will lead to the place where they have been staying, and there we will likely find Bolan and the portal key."
Cotton wants to step in and help with the unicorn, but she has very little experience with horses - which are often inclined to chew fabric - and even less so with magical horses, so she stays back and whispers encouragement as Anabel works instead.
The prospect of more blood and violence is not overly exciting for the poppet, but her answers and those of her fellow Gatewalker's depends on it so she squares her tiny shoulders and follows along behind Cage with silent determination.
Pressing on through the gathering darkness the group enters the shadowy wood, following the glinting trail of silvery blood. It is a spooky journey full of shadows which seem to move in the corners of the eye and the wind plays odd tricks as it whistles through the trees.
Eventually, after nearly an hour of difficult marching something looms out of the gloom. Just ahead, the forest thins to reveal a chaotic network
of houses, barely visible high above in the trees. The structures are all several stories tall and interconnected by swaying rope bridges. In the southeastern corner of the enclave, a wooden staircase spirals upward from the forest floor to a suspended gazebo. Atop a tower at the enclave’s northern end, a small canvas-sailed windmill creaks in slow circles.
One thing is obvious even in the low light: the houses have been recently fortified: the trees’ lower branches have all been shorn clean, and the bare trunks shine with grease and are studded with downward-pointing wooden spikes.
The only obvious way up is the spiral staircase but a flickering light can be seen in the treehouse at the top as well as in three or four other treehouses scattered through the canopy above.
When they reach the treehouses, Anabel fills an empty vial with reagents and swirls it around, creating a crystal-clear elixir. She drinks it, enhancing her sight.
"Alright, let's take the stairs. Cage, lead the way," she says, crossbow loaded and at the ready.
Cage nods, and heads up the stairs, peaking over the top of his shield.
Orania's head tips back and farther back as her gaze is drawn upwards to the dwellings among the leaves above.
"Don't they realize how vulnerable they are to a fire of any sort?" she questions with a shake of her head.
She follows after the others, the thick scent of woodsmoke surrounding her like a cloak.
The gnomes either don't know or aren't terribly concerned about the possibility of fire, as far as Oriana can tell, as the whole way up to the first treehouse there seems to be no countermeasures in place. The structure’s windows are completely boarded up except for a few small murder holes. To the east and west, steep rope bridges ascend ten feet from the landing to larger buildings.
Cage leads the way and as soon as he appears in the doorway to the small hut there are shouts of alarm! Two druids are sitting in the room beyond but they scramble to their feet as soon as they see the fighter.
Both grab crossbows, load a bolt and fire at Cage without so much as a 'what are you doing here?'
The fighter finds himself doing a hedgehog impression as he is pincushioned with bolts. Fortunately his quite unreasonable paranoia means that only his shield is actually damaged.
Anabel raises her crossbow and aims at the first druid, but then she frowns and shifts her aim to the second one, pulling the trigger.
It would seem changing targets was the right choice, as her bolt hits the man in the gut. She calmly reloads her weapon.
"Rude!" Lyra groans, ducking for cover. "How about a 'Stop or we'll shoot' warning first?"
She picks up one of the bolts destined for Cage and sends it flying back towards the druid that fired it.
Afterwards, she casts Guidance on Cage.
Orania laughs in glee before sending flame in the direction of the crossbow-wielding druids.
She follows up by summoning up her magical shield of flaming light.
Cage raises his shield and rushes into the room, swinging on the more injured druid.
for
"Please be careful." Cotton requests when Oriana starts throwing fire around, but her pleas seem to fall on temporarily deaf ears. With a small shrug the poppet does her best to offer useful advice (and stay out of harms way).
"It's a small room, they can't retreat easily!" She calls. "Remember what we're fighting for!"
Anabel and Oriana fell the rearmost druid with a combination of crossbow and flame bolts, which combine with lethal effect. Cage meanwhile, encouraged by Cotton, lands a ringing blow on the other druid's head which makes him drop his crossbow with a groan.
The druid staggers away, just about making it through the rear door and clangs a bell loudly.
"Alarm, attack!" He bellows. "Attack!"
Anabel takes aim and shoots at the second druid before reloading.
"The welcoming party is going to be on the way!"
Cage keeps his shield up and follows the druid, trying to finish it off.
for
With a shriek of joy, Orania sends another bolt of flame after the fleeing druid.
Once again Anabel and Oriana combine to brutal effect and fell the second druid with bolt and flame.
The path ahead is a steep one to a large treehouse that seems to be almost overflow with light even at night. Cage leads the way finds large windows and elaborately positioned mirrors filling the warm greenhouse. Potted plants choke the room in what can only be described as an indoor jungle.
"What are you doing here?" A small gourd leshy holding a watering can demands as it emerges from the plants.
"You're not Oakstewards!" Another voice agrees as a second leshy emerges, brushing the large leaf over its face aside. "Why are you here?"
"We're heroes!" Cotton declares, pushing past the taller people to talk to the leshys on their own level. "We're here because some of the people here were trying to kill a unicorn! Can you believe that? Someone tries to kill a unicorn? Who would do something like that?"
Anabel hopes Cotton or another socially-inclined companion is able to talk the leshys down, but she keeps her crossbow in her hands in case things turn sour...
"No, we're not Oakstewards," Orania says, containing her mania for the time being. "We've come to deliver to them their just rewards for their evil acts!"
While Lyra is chatty and likes to ask questions, she typically doesn't interface with anyone directly. When she does, bad things tend to happen. Standing at the rear of the group and observing, she notes that things tend to not be going very well and she can't help herself and decides to jump in.
She casts guidance on herself, hoping to help win the day with her amazing verbal skills. She pushes to the front and declares boldly
"As my friends say, we are not Oakstewards, are on business for the Oakstewards! We even have a piece of bark decreeing it as such. Please, we mean no harm and do no wish to escalate this further."
The leshies look at each other and seem to be considering the group's words. Lyra's talking of the Oakstewards and special pieces of bark seems to be the deciding factor and the first leshy walks over and hands Cotton its watering can.
"Ok." It says simply. "We'll go now. Bye."
The second leshy nods and waves a small hand cheerfully. "Bye!"
Then the pair swing out of the window with surprising agility and disappear from view.
Left alone in the suddenly empty greenhouse the group feels slightly at a loss for a few moments before Anabel recognises the distinct trailing leaves of a flayleaf plant, known for its dangerous toxins.
The only way onwards is a door to the north, which opens into a dining hall which sports a long wooden table lined with benches. Assorted musical instruments lean against the walls. A door on the left suggests another room behind you and another leads further north. The room seems to be empty.
Cage leads the way into the room, cautiously stepping in between the benches.
Annabel gathers the flayleaf. (”For medicinal purposes,” she insists.)
She keeps her eyes and ears sharp as she follows Cage.
Orania frowns, almost as if she's disappointed that more of building didn't burn. Finally she nods. "Yes, we should continue."
Cotton looks rather confusedly at the watering can in her hand and then puts it down carefully by the plants before following the rest of the group.
In the next room (vast from her perspective) she looks around in wonder and then approaches the instruments carefully.
"What does this one do?" She asks, pointing to a large bag with three wooden sticks poking out of it.
Nothing disturbs the room although both Anabel and Cotton think they see flickers of movement in the beams at the top of the building. The poppet suspects more fey but like the leshys in the previous room they don't seem overly confrontational and the party is able to explore at their leisure.
There is a door 'behind' the group to the south or one leading north.
Cotton examines the instruments with a discerning eye (once she gets past the strangeness of the bagpipes) and picks out the banjo as a work of much greater quality. After a pair of softly cast cantrips she points to the instrument.
"That one's magical. But I don't know what it does."
"We should carry on, don't you think?" She asks, pointing north. "We still need to find the actual druids, not the fey who live here."
Cage grabs the banjo and slings it over his back. "We can examine it later. Let's see if we can still get the drop on any of the druids."
He'll head toward the north door, unless someone stops him.