The Beginning of All Things

[Terquem]

Warning monster sized post ahead...

Day 6, The Green Wood, approaching mid day

The little woman listens to each of you speak. She gives you her attention, and shows you that she is not only interested in hearing what you have to say, but that she is respectful of you, by not interrupting until all of you are finished.

”I believe you, young Poseus of Woodbridge. It has been a good long passing of time since any of the big folk found the bravery in their hearts to seek out the good folk. Make no mistake, I am not one of the lyphs, no, I was once human like you young Phineas, and I was a follower of the old ways, the ways of the Maetaur, young Alomar. I was a Druid. I lived in a village that is to the east, and I have not seen it for many dozens of years. Once upon a time I too came looking for the lyphs, I too needed their wisdom and help with the troubles of my village, and I found the help I needed, and in the end, things were made right. I returned, latter in my life, to live among the good folk, and they accepted my. I have forgotten most of the things I once knew, but with their help I have lived a long and happy life. Come follow me, I will introduce you to Ganorre, she is the leader of the Dakalyph, and then I will take you to Ha’Uldurah, the Witch of Blacktree.”

Tanner and Jarkhun thank you, and then land on the soft grass. Tanner takes the lead, and Jarkhun follows him through a small tunnel in the thicket around the glade.

The little old woman walks in the opposite direction, turns, smiles, and waves at the three of you to follow her. When you catch up to where she stands, she turns to the southeast, and starts walking again.

“The good folk call me Grandmother Astorel, and Astorel means ‘of the red blooms of the Orel flower’ but my name, one of the few things I remember well, is Ineamorra MacNorra MacGarrity. I am one hundred and forty three years old.” She walks at a slow pace, but her steps are sure and light. She leads you, for a short distance, to the southeast and then turns and begins walking up a slight inclined hill covered in short bushes not much higher than the top of her head. She barely pauses, only glancing back toward the three of you to make sure you can see where she is going, and continues to tell her story.

”When I was a young woman I used to wear a hat, a loosely knitted wool hat and I was fond of weaving Orel flowers into the hat, for warmth, and for the quick access it provided me if I needed a sudden remedy from a mild poison, hey, what do you know I still remember that the Orel flower can neutralize weak poisons, what do you know about that, haha. Anyway, there was a great owlbear that plagued our village, a horrible beast, cunning and clever. I sought out the good folk to tell me how I could rid our village of this terror and they gave me a spell stone that summoned a young copper dragon, at least I think it was a young copper dragon, I really can’t remember that part, but anyway, I waited, sitting up in a high tree for days for the beast to appear and when it finally did I cast the stone down upon the ground and the owlbear was no more. The people of my village rewarded me, and I was in a fine place to choose any man in the village for my husband, but that is another story. Here, look we are almost there.”

When she stops talking you have come to the edge of the hill, rounded it on a level a few dozen feet above the forest floor below, but the hill is still tall to your left. In front of you is a cleft in the hillside, a small valley, thick with tall oak and chestnut trees. From where you are standing, about halfway again as high as the tallest tress, you can see, in the distance not too far to the north, a tall black oak that stands apart from the rest of the trees. The branches of the black oak spread out like a huge over turned bowl, and seem to have been trimmed to give just that sort of appearance. Among the rest of the trees you see small houses. The houses look no bigger than a shed, to your eyes, but their windows, doors, and gabled roofs show them to be in fact miniature homes that if they were sized for big people would be huge. The walls are decorated with carved wood, and scrollwork lines the eves and gables. On some of the houses the work is geometric, swirling circles and simple diamond patterns, while on others you see representations of forest animals, or carvings of trees, flowers, clouds, the sun, and even the moon.

Among the houses, along the fat branches of the trees you see several winged people moving about. Some carry a single tool, a long pole with a blade on the end that you cannot guess the function of, while others carry baskets with nuts or fruits, some even carry yokes over their shoulders with buckets or pails hanging down to either side. Oddly, you think, there are few of the little folk flying about. They seem to be content walking about the tiny town from place to place on roads that are the limbs of the trees worn flat on the tops by what must be ages of foot traffic.

The little winged folk are not like Tanner or Jarkhun. They are a bit larger, and seem to be thicker in their limbs and bodies. Their wings resemble those of various butterflies you have seen, but some are strange to your eyes. None of the little folk have wings like Tanner and Jarkhun at all.

”Greetings, Kinamay Brawnoor,” Grandmother Astorel calls out, and a few of the winged folk near you turn and smile. When they see that the old woman is not alone, their smiles turn, not to an expression of alarm, but to one of frustration.

”Now, stay close to me,” she says as she finds a place on the hill where she can climb down to the floor of the valley. It is not a difficult place to climb down, she can stand for most of the effort, but in a couple of places she lowers herself down and slides on her rear for a foot or two, then stands and makes her way cautiously down.

You follow her, it is not difficult, and soon find yourselves on the floor of the valley. The valley floor here is not like the floor of the forest of the Green Wood you’ve experienced so far. It is well taken care of. There are no piles of dead leaves, and the grass is manicured.

There are small patches of cultivated grains, here and there, and a few gardens of vegetables, and most peculiar of all, small fenced in pens where tiny forest deer and rabbits are kept.

Astorel leads you among the trees, there seem to be no paths here on the forest floor, and soon brings you to a glade, you would never have known it was there. It cannot be seen from the hillside at all. And in this glade is a pavilion, a small wooden gazebo like structure stands next to a circle of standing stones. The gazebo is no taller than Phineas’ chin, and the standing stones come to Alomar’s waistline.

There is a bell in the gazebo, suspended on a good, strong rope and Astorel takes hold of a cord hanging from the clapper and rings the bell three times.

In a moment a crowd of winged lyphs are flying into the glade. They are dressed in simple clothing, even the women wear trousers, and everyone wears a shirt and light vest. The colors are green and gold, or brown and blue, not too bright, but not dark and dull like the garments of a poor individual who cannot afford a new set of clothing once in a while.
You are surrounded by what must be a hundred, maybe twice that many, in just a few moments. The good folk are silent, they do not even murmur among themselves. Finally, from among the crowd a slightly taller female lyph approaches you. The others around you part as she approaches giving her a wide path to come near.

She is about fifteen inches tall. She wears a dress of deep red fabric that moves in ways like you’ve never seen any kind of fabric move before. It clings to her body. She is well proportioned, not thin, but certainly not fat. Her skin is a light bronze color and it has a healthy glow. Her hair is golden brown, almost the color of fine clarified honey from bees that live among the clover. She wears her hair long, and it falls over her shoulder on one side. Her hair is smooth and straight (not curly or wavy like the hair on the heads of most people, Gymnaga, Human, and Maetaur alike). Her face is oval shaped. Her cheeks are brushed with a powder that is light red in color, and her lips and the skin above her eyes are painted. Her lips are a lustrous color of dark brown, while above her eyes is a shimmering and sparkling green powder with silver flecks. Her eyes are blue, it isn’t a dark blue, or even a watery sort of blue, but is the lightest color of sky blue you have ever seen.

She moves with long slow strides, crossing one leg in front of the other and with each step her large black and yellow wings gently drift back and forth.

”Welcome to Kinamay Brawnoor, the Home of the Wood Folk,” the tall red dress wearing Dakalyph says in a sweet and low voice. ”I am Ganorre Pelinisse, daughter of Palinorre Pelinisse, and the granddaughter of Sonorre Pelinisse, the founder of this community. We welcome you as friends of the Ibbenlyph. Please, tell me how we can make your visit to our village worthy of the effort you have put forth to find us.”

[Brother Phineas]

While they are walking, Phineas tries to keep up with the what the old randmother is saying, and tries to slip a word in edgewise, but keeps getting cut off. "About that..." he starts. "You see we..." he beings again. "Yes, a spell stone is..." Finally, he just is quiet, head swimming. "In time, he thinks to himself looking about in wonder. "We will address our needs in time."

As the lyphs swarm into the glade, Phineas' mouth drops open in wonder. "How lovely! Look at all the shapes and sizes of them. It's like a butterfly gathering.". He notices his stares, and tries to remember to close his mouth.

When Ganorre approaches, he is again agog, at her fey beauty. He can barely speak, but notices his friends are also affected. So instead he bows low, to the lyph leader, and looking at his feet, not want to stare at her, he speaks slowly, measuring his words. "We come from the village of Woodbridge across the forest. We come in peace, and to ask a boon of the Good Folk, for so you, the Lyph, have been called in our town. We have need of your knowledge of natural magic, perhaps, and have other concerns to share that may affect us all. We would have counsel, with you, milady, and ask our boon."

Head still down, he shoots a furtive look at Alomar and Poseus to make sure he's on the right track before continuing.

[Poseus Murandae]

Poseus listens intently to the woman while they're walking along and almost comes to a halt when she mentions her name and after that her age.
"MacNorra?, that means you've come from Woodbridge yes? the Gymnaga live in a place called the MacNorra ruins, I'm sad to say your old home had fallen into quite the disrepair before we moved in, now several gymnaga families make their home in those buildings, my own family included."

Poseus looks astonished and hopes she can cast more light on to what has happened to her family, though he will not ask her that.

As they enter the realm of the Ibbenlyph, Poseus is merely gobsmacked and keeps his mouth shut in awe and wonder. He marvels at every Lyph and their day-to-day activities as though he was just a kid, actually just very much like his age...

Seeing some of the Lyphs looking annoyed or frustrated with them, he tries to smile at them and bows to show a little respect, but he asks Astorel quietly.
"What's up with them? Are we that unwanted or do they also smell the blood that is on my hands?"

Inside the gazebo he waits together with the others, silently and eager to see what more wonders await him. The vision of all the Lyphs combined, especially Palinorre Pelinisse, is extremely pleasing to his eyes.
I'd almost wish that the Gymnaga girls around Woodbridge look like her. Is that strange to think that?
As Phineas finishes his talk and looks to Poseus for approval, he nods and motions for him to continuethe conversation, not wanting to interrupt his speech.

[Alomar]

To Alomar it seems his thoughts are flying like butterflies through his head

A dragon? I thought they where as real as faeries! Now who am I kidding, the Lyph are quite real! These houses are marvellous! I did not know that Orel help against weak poison, there is so much I need to learn!

he is so deep in thoughts that he almost bumps into Phineas as they stop. He then stands staring in awe, glad that Poseus has the grace to say anything intelligent.

[Brother Phineas]

After pausing, Phineas stumbles over what to say next. "We -- That is -- I mean --. Well, we need your aid. Will you give it?"

[Terquem]

Day 6, the Green Wood, in the village of Kinamay Brawnoor

”You are nervous, I can tell, and I understand,” Ganorre says with a smile. I had a moment, before you arrived, to talk with Tanner and Jarkhun and they explained to me what you did for them, how you have slain one of the Boggards. If I am correct, you are the one named Phineas, and your friends are Poseus and Alomar. What you have done is no small thing. I have a feeling you do not know the full extent of what you came upon in the woods, but that can wait. You see, we do not often have visitors, not of your kind anyway. You might wonder why that is, and I want to be straight with you. We do not like the big folk. Your kind have given our kind many reasons to be afraid, it should be obvious to you that because of our size it would be easy for people such as yourselves to abuse us or harm us. We are not capable of defending ourselves very well against your kind and even though you might think that because we can fly this gives us an advantage, it does not when you think about that being our only recourse to being attacked by your kind. Flying away, and leaving our homes, is not something we care to have to be constantly repeating, so we try very hard to keep ourselves separated from the big folk.“

Ganorre walks a few steps closer to Alomar. She stares at him for a moment, looks him over quite hard, and then turns away from him and says, “But, having said that, you obviously knew of our existence, and I know that some of our kind are curious about big folks in unhealthy ways, so it is no surprise that you would come looking for us, but you claim it is because you need our help. Surely your people tell wild stories about our kind, and these often include acts of magic and pots of gold, but believe me there are as many stories among my people about your kind that say the very same things.”

We are not normally prepared to offer help to big folk, but we don’t immediately turn your people away either, and we can give you an opportunity to convince us you mean us no harm, and we can hear you out, but I cannot promise we have the solutions to your problems. Who told you that it was our help you needed, and why?”

Before you can answer, she says one more thing. “While you are guests in our village I must ask you to remain here, close to the shrine, it is going to help us ensure you don’t trample on things you might not notice, and I will have someone bring you water and rags so that you can clean yourselves, and some food and wine, but make no mistake, Big Folk of Woodbridge, if you mean to cause trouble, we can answer with trouble of our own. Maybe we will have to abandon our homes, but that is something you do not want on your heads for the rest of your short lives.”

Poseus:

Before you arrive at this village, when you mention to Astorel that you are from MacNorra house Ruins, she laughs and says, “Ah yes, my younger brother built those things when he was trying to impress his wife. He left our village when our father challenged him to make something of himself and stop making a fool of the family. I never saw the place but I hear he tried his best.”

[Brother Phineas]

Phineas grins as the Ganorre speaks his name and those of his friend, but the grin turns grim when she mentions the harm Big Folk have caused them in the past, and her obvious wariness towards these outsiders.

"Lady, hear me. We do not come here to harm you or chase you from your homes. We are not seeking pots of gold or other treasures of the Good Folk, nor do we have such to give. We are simple and superstitious farm folk and mean no harm to you, the Good Folk."

"Instead we have come to ask favors of your people, and to open a friendly dialogue so we can work together against coming threats. First, we seek the sakalyph witch Ha’Uldurah. We are told she is a master of herb lore. You see, we have some very sick people in our village, perhaps even poisoned, and our weird woman, Auria the One-Hand, cannot cure them. She sent us seeking your herbalist, knowing we may have to perform a quest to gain such knowledge. That is the first reason we have come."

"Secondly, we are here as ambassadors from our village to show goodwill and to begin a dialogue. The Aladoan men have started to come to Woodbridge, and our leaders want to reassure the Lyph that we have no ill intentions towards you, even though there may be a history of warfare between you and Aladoans. Woodbridge does not want war, or to house an army that makes war on you. We want to work together to prevent hostility as they Aladoans pour into our lands."

"Lastly, we have come across a Decapus, a monster of enormous girth and ferocity in the marsh near our town. Also, river goblins that serve it. We have stories of a spell-stone that the Lyph have created that might allow us to shrink or defeat this horror."

"We realize we ask a great deal, but are willing to serve or barter for such aid as you can render."

He finishes with a great sigh. Looking nervously about, hoping he didn't say too much, too fast.

[Terquem]

Day 6, the Green Wood

When Phineas mentions the witch, Ha’Uldarah, and then says that he understands that she is a master of herb lore, an uncontrolled chuckle spreads out among the Dakalyph people, but it quickly quiets down when Ganorre makes a sweeping gesture with her hands.

Ganorre listens to the rest of Phineas’ comments, nodding occasionally, and when he is finished she says, ”I am curious to learn more about how you and the rest of the big folk of our land hope to bring about peace with the, what did you call them, the Alodoans? These, I imagine, are the big folk landing on the shores to the west, and settling all over the land. We never wanted war with these people either, but it seems their beliefs in what we are are more convoluted than yours, but nothing would please us more than an opportunity to teach them to stop destroying our homes, and ,making war on our people. If this is truly your intention, then I, for one, welcome you with open arms and open wings."

Ganorre moves closer to Phineas until she is standing right in front of him. She looks up at him with concern, and then smiles. ”Now,” she says as she folds her arms and puts one hand on her chin, “Ha’Uldarah is very knowledgeable about poisons, herbs, and medicine, and, ahem, she, will be more than willing to help you, for a price, but don’t let her ask too much. Lastly, I am confused by your tale of this Decapus, you mean the hairy ten armed tree dweller, yes. These creatures are dangerous, carnivorous predators, certainly, but they never grow to be much larger than one of your sheep herding dogs, unless.”

She seems to be thinking about something for a moment, and then asks, ”Where did you encounter this enormous Decapus?”

Day 7, Castletown, At the Periwinkle Caliope

Dieredon and Calex remain standing in the comfortable room of the tavern near the river in Castletown. They are reluctant, at first, to sample the delights set out, but eventually curiosity and the passing of time turn their hands. The food is good, and the wine is splendid (and seems mild, hardly at all as potent as the wine served at the Rising Sun).

Sabrine enters unexpectedly. She is excited to see the both of you, and she greats the both of you with a warm embrace and a kiss on the cheek.

[Sabrinelle D’Amertine]

Dieredon, Calex, I am so glad you decided to come. Now I don’t want to bore you, or try to sway you with idle chit-chat. Let me get right to the point. No doubt the Lady of the Castle has extended to you both great honors and titles which I’m sure by now you understand come with responsibilities. I’m not going to sugar coat this, nor do I expect you to swallow everything I’m telling you whole, doubt is always a good guide, as they say in the halls of the Emperor. The situation, as I understand it, is this. The Emperor of Alodoa is not convinced that this land is worth the efforts it has taken to pacify the pirates and with those ships and their crews effectively silenced it is not certain that the armies of Alodoa will remain as a presence here, but the people who have settled here, some of them, have desires that are their own, and it is well within the realm of possibility that the Emperor will allow these events to play out as they will, without intervention, and that could mean trouble for everyone who desires to live here. Why, because the Elves, the ones who are separatists, are aiming to create a new country, one free from the Empire and the necessity of dealing with the Halflings. I have friends in the city, and in the country surrounding Castletown, but I know no one from your little village of Woodbridge. Having met the two of you, I hope that that can change.”

”You must obviously wonder what it is that I want out of all this, well, it is simple. I like it here, the esea air, the rain, the green growing things all around suits me, it makes me happy, and I want to stay here, in Castletown preferably. But Castletown, I fear, is the one place where things might be getting worse before they get better. This town is the seat of the authority of Alodoa here, and as such it is the target for those who want to see the Emperor withdrawal and leave this land to its own designs. Soldiers are attacked when they venture too far to the north, and everyday rumors spread that people who live outside of the town are being threatened to abandon their homes or join the separatists, not to mention the crimes that are being committed against the locals to the north, as well as the murder of the Halflings a serious issue that is being swept under the rug. The Lady of the Castle, I fear, will not get a response she hopes fro from the Empire, and it may be that she, and her family and the forces under her control, abandon Castletown, and then where will we be?”

”I could go on, but, I think you understand the situation. If we, the people of Alodoa are to have any hope of having a life here, eventually that is going to mean having the support of every village. We must have the support of the local population, and given their own history of internal violence I have a tremendous fear that if the Empire abandons us, we will be in great peril. So, think about what I have told you, and think of me as a friend, help me and I will do everything I can to help you, and the people that are important to you.”

”So much for politics, yes, now, Calex, I am so impressed by the story I have been told of how you brilliantly subdued the assassins who attacked the castle. Living out among the local population, a wizard with your talents, you must be highly respected, and I’m sure they value you immensely, so please, I ask this as an admirer, and hopefully a colleague, tell me, how extensive is your spell book/ Surely a Wizard with your courage must have many, many spells suitable for a frontier existence, and I would never presume to think you would share your library with me, but if I should ever be brave enough to visit Woodbridge, would you even consider letting me take a look at your spell books? I’m certain there are so many spells I could learn from someone like you, and I’d be willing to pay for the privilege of course.”

”There is one last thing I would ask of you, please. To the south of Castletown there is a tavern and Inn, it is called the Rising Sun, and the proprietor there is an acquaintance of mine, he has a daughter, her name is Hillary, and she is someone I care a great deal about. I’m afraid there is a possibility that she may fall into a relationship with people I do not trust, and I am hoping you can stop by there on your way out of town and speak to her for me. Tell her that I have considered her proposal and I would be willing to invest in the construction of a second Inn under her management, but that I’ve changed my mind, and instead of building another inn in Castletown, I would like her to consider building an Inn in Woodbridbge, see what she thinks about this offer, and send me a letter, have it delivered to this Inn care of me. If you are willing to do this, I would consider making the two of you silent partners in the endeavor, perhaps even set you up in the trade of specialties delivered here to Castletown that I can have delivered to you in Woodbridge, cheeses from Escarlane, wines from the Badoroux region, or even spices from as far away as Xhangzchen.”

[Calex]

"Madame, you have raised some grave, nay, VERY grave concerns. The indifference of the Emperor to the events playing out here is frightening in its implications. Hated or not, the Imperial presence is the only thing preventing this land from descending back into the warlord-ism the Alodoans' supplanted. The dreams these dissident elves have only add to the boiling chaos I see lurking around us. The separatists lack the numbers to make their will a reality, and lack the local support to make up for their numerical deficiency. The locals are, to put it plainly, scared. They have seen the warlords who have pillaged them for generations finally put to route, and have had a taste of what that freedom can be- but NO reassurance from the Alodoans that the new rulers will be any better than what they had. And now other forces are making themselves known. Creatures from children's tales are emerging to accost us in our weakness, and illness brought to these Isles by the Alodoans, which the locals have no remedies for, are beginning to spread." Calex paces back and forth as he lists the problems he sees, running his hands through his hair in worry. He shakes his head and looks Sabrinelle D’Amertine in the eye.
"My Patent of Nobility forbids my fortification of Woodbridge. I have only Dieredon & his woods-runners to defend us, plus any villagers that can be put to arms in an emergency- which is to say, maybe enough for a decent fire brigade. The village itself doesn't even KNOW I'm their new Lord! They are too poor from years of pillage to provide any taxes for some years into the future, to allow them to recover and hopefully begin to prosper. Your plan for an Inn, while generous, might be years before profitable. It would do other things for me besides make money, however. It would give the village hope of prosperity in the future-after all, who would build there, otherwise? It might also bring that prosperity to fruition. With a place to stop, merchants and tradesmen might bring that with them, creating a self-fulfilling prophesy. It will be a difficult, and perhaps doomed effort." Calex holds out his hand to Sabrinelle D’Amertine."But one I'll gladly take on for the good of what are now my people. And yes, enough politics. On a more personal note- I'm very much interested in any exchange or dialogue about our profession you can share. Being out in the frontier as I am, my education has been spotty and largely self-taught. I would thoroughly enjoy the opportunity to discuss things with a true colleague. As for anything hinting at payment- a simple exchange of knowledge will do I think. We are to be partners, after all."

[Dieredon D'atarisian]

I too would welcome the opportunity to partner with Calex and yourself in the venture. This would give both Calex and I a base of operations as we work hand in hand in the development of the Imperial presence in Woodbridge. I agree with my friend, though. This will be difficult for the people of Woodbridge. We are sure to receive some level of discomfort among the locals when we proclaim our position to the fine people of the settlement. We can only hope that an influx of opportunity and protection by the Empire will help to smooth the transition.

[Brother Phineas]

Grateful that the lovely lyph seems to be agreeing with him, and offering aid, Phineas continues to answer her question. "We encountered the decapus, which our people called the Fulogh Barghnora, along with some water goblins, in the bog near the river north and west of Woodbridge, where the river bends back to the north."

"By the sound it made it was enormous, and when it screamed, we all ran with fear. We killed a few of the goblin creatures that were with it, but had no weapons to fight that monstrosity. Do you know of these beasts?"

[Terquem]

Day 7, Castletown, At the Periwinkle Calliope

Sabrinelle listens to Calex and then Dieredon, and it is difficult to read her expression, finally she says,

”So I can count on you to deliver my message to Hillary before you depart for Woodbridge? Excellent, and of course, when you can spare more time I would gladly sit down with you and, shall we say, compare knowledge,” her smile is nothing but lascivious.

”I understand the difficulty, Dieredon, you speak of, it has been something of a challenge myself to earn the trust of the locals, but I think you will rise to it. Please, gentlemen, enjoy the food, and the wine, and if you have any other concerns, let me know and I will do what I can to help you. By the way, you should know that there is a road under construction going toward your little community. It is being built on the north side of the river, and follows the hills there, avoiding the swampy regions on the south and I understand it is progressing in good time, but I believe the ultimate goal of this road, after it travels eastward for a few miles, is to turn northward and connect Castletown to a town called Durrywain. Do you know of it? No, well, that’s not surprising, but I understand Durrywain is in a valley where there is hope to find some mineral wealth, copper or silver most likely. Good luck gentlemen, and again let me know if there is something I can do to help you in your travels home to Woodbridge.”

Day 6, the Green Wood

As Phineas explains the encounter, he, Poseus and Alomar notice a young Sahalyp among the crowd. She is beautiful, and stands out from the Dakalyphs around her. For a moment you think she is the young Saha that escaped from the cage earlier, but no, it is not her, this girl is older.

When Phineas is finished, you all see an old Altilyph (he is a short, pudgy lyph with coppery skin and a round head, and he has a full beard) step out of the crowd and approach Ganorre. He whispers something to her, and she says out loud

”Go ahead and ask them yourself, Antankral.”

The Altilyph cocks his round head to the side, and asks, his voice is deep and gruff, ”Was this a mound, raised above the water, with an old house built upon it? If this was the place than it is know to my people from a time before the waters of the river swelled and flooded that region. Long ago it was a hill, and we grazed our flocks there before the big folk came. The hill had a sacred place underneath it, one of the Old Places, and we knew it was trouble, a place of bad magic. A great flat stone was set in the ground there, and it was a warning, to not disturb the place, but one of the big folk, a sorcerer, removed the stone, and venture deep under the hill looking for secrets of dark magic. How he survived unchanged is a mystery, but he built a house on that hill, and lived there for many years. I heard tell he moved on, when the waters flooded that land.”

Ganorre lets the old Altilyph tell his story, and then she says, ”There are many dangerous places, many underground places where dark and powerful magic can twist and reshape the natural way of thigs. We do not know them all, but those that we know about we avoid. It was one of these places that the bullywugs, Barquo and Duroque entered and it was the foul magic of that place that changed them into what your people would call an ogre or Fornaggabbin. We can help you, as best as we can, but if the decapus has been changed by the foul magic of one of the Old Places, than it will continue to grow, and it will only become worse with time.”

”A spell stone might help you, but we cannot make them. Some of our old scrolls still tell us how to enchant the stones, so that they can keep a spell ready for when it is needed, but the art of making the stones is lost to us. I hear that the Altilyphs of the Smokey Mountains know the secret, but that is a long way from here. Maybe Ha’Uldurah knows of a way to learn the secret of the stones, you’ll have to, ahem, ask her.”

[Caorann]

Caorann deftly flits about through the crowd, her near white blonde hair flapping behind her, trying to get a closer look. Unlike the other lyphs, she appears to be wearing leaves that cling to her well proportioned form, and she is the only one you see with the wings of a bird.

Big Folk in a Lyph village? How exciting! But what is this about foul magic?

She moves in closer to the group to study them.

[Alomar]

Alomar is captivated by the grace of the Sahilyph and barely listens to Ganorre's speech, although he hears the last comment regarding Ha'Uldurah.

"It seems that Ha'Uldurah is the key to several of our issues, could you tell us if she is in the village, that we might talk to her?"

[Brother Phineas]

Bowing and paying courtesy to the new speaker, Phineas agrees that this does sound very much like the place. "There was an old abandoned structure atop the mound where we saw and heard the decapus, now that you say so. It is hard to fathom a place like that so near our little village."

He also agrees with Alomar. "We would speak to the witch woman if she is amenable, and we know that we must offer her some service in return for her knowledge. Once we have finished audience, perhaps we could meet her?"

[Terquem]

Day 6, the Green Wood, the village of Kinamay Brawnoor

”Yes, you should speak to her, and then I insist you take your rest and clean yourselves. Stay the night, here in our village, while we decide who should speak to the Enmoraa, the bullywugs of Crystal Pond. Wait, look, here is Caoraan,” Ganorre spots the small Sahalyph moving around on the edge of the crowd, and calls to her.

”Caoraan, Caoraan, please, could you show these big folk the sitting place, and tell Ha’Uldurah that her skills are needed?”

The Sitting Place:

This is a large gathering place that is the remains of a dead oak tree. The tree has all but rotted away, from the inside, and the only part that remains is a shell of bark still connected to the dead roots. The shell is nine feet high, and is open on one side (it is about three quarters of an enclosed circle. Inside is a soft grassy place where folks can sit and feel a sort of peace from the outside world. Ha’Uldurah’s home is built into the branches of a large maple tree that has grown out of the ground adjacent to the Sitting Place. She often treats, or sees people who need her care, within the protection of the Sitting Place

[Brother Phineas]

Following the pretty little lyph to The Meeting Place, Phineas sighs with relief. He speaks to the rest of his small assembled group. "This is going well so far. I think they believe us, wanting peace and all. And maybe there is help for the decapus here as well."

Turning to Caoraan, he says:"Tell us, little fairy, about this witch Ha'Uldurah? What is she like, and what is likely to ask us to do as favor?"

[Caorann]

Caorann comes out of the crowd, fly up and over the fray. She alights on a nearby branch.

She chuckles at Phineas words, but it is not clear why.

"Well she is certainly interesting. I'm not sure what she will ask of you, but it won't be all that bad. She likes to help people and she will probably know of what you seek. Alright then, let's be off!"

She points off in the direction of the sitting place. This way!

She flits off, waving at you to follow her.

[Alomar]

Alomar looks at his companions, it is clear that he is bewildered with everything that is happening. He shrugs and follows Caorann

[Poseus Murandae]

Poseus had been a little gobsmacked as well. He bows when they leave and finally breaks his silence again.

"You Lyphs have a wonderful place here, I've never quite seen something like this. Though I know a few places around Woodbridge that are also a sight to behold, this beats them."
He says to Caorann, with an enthusiasm that's the opposite of his reverent silence of the past minutes.

"I'm curious about one thing though, why did everyone seem to find it funny when we asked to see the witch Ha'Uldurah?"

[Caorann]

Caorann giggles again, then flashes a mischevous grin. You'll see.

[Terquem]

What do we know, of witches?

There are a few, in the world, that we know, and some of them are good and some of them are bad, but if there is one thing that all have in common, at least the ones who live in and around Woodbridge, they are all this. They are all a bit, well, odd.

There is Auria. They call her Auria the One-Handed, but she has a regular name. It is Auria Panforey. Perhaps she is not so odd as she seems. Then there is Bertrius Colinaria, the Gynmaga fellow who keeps to himself at MacNorra House. Other than his shyness, he isn’t, well, not altogether as odd as some say he is.

And now, we meet Ha’Uldurah.

The small, bird winged lyph leads the three friends through the trees of Kinamay Brawnoor. As they go, they see new things, a well, a few small barns, and more pens for small animals, including sage hens, and more of the small forest deer. Most of the lyphs that had gathered to great them go back to their daily lives, but some of them follow. The trees begin to thin as you walk toward the southeastern part of the village, and you come to a small stream set deep in the ground, the water is a good five feet below the land in a crack in the ground that is a beautiful sight of grassy tufts, and broken rocks. You look to the north and see the water of the stream tumbles over a series of small waterfalls before it reaches this brook in front of you, and there is a large wooden bridge that crosses the brook. The bridge is old, and made for larger people than the lyph folk, and that is curious indeed.
Just past the bridge stands the remains of what was once a might oak tree, but now is no more than a shell. It forms three quarters of a circle, and behind it is another tree that seems to grow out of the decaying stump that was once the oak. High above the ground, nestled in the branches of this other tree is a mysteriously constructed house. It is not like the other lyph houses and is built from practically every kind of wood you know. There are small rooms, and large rooms haphazardly linked together with short flights of steps. The roofs of the separate rooms are decorated with poles that fly banners and flags of every color, every kind of material. Some of the flags are painted with images that are strange and beautiful, animals that you do not recognize, or shapes and patterns that confuse the eyes.

The inside of the circle, the Sitting Place the lyphs called, is a trimmed grass lawn. There are no tables, no benches, but there are a few rounds of wood large enough for big folk to sit on, even though they are closer to the ground than a comfortable stool would be.
When you approach the Sitting Place, a lyph appears from the house above and taking a rope from the porch of the house, she drops it and then begins to climb down.

This is Ha’Uldurah

She is larger than every other lyph you have met so far. She is taller than the Nuanolyphs by far. Her shape is thick, but she is not chubby. She wears a dress that appears to be made from thick wool, and it is dyed black. Her face is oval shaped, and her chin is strong. As she lowers herself by the rope, you notice two peculiar things about her. The first is her wings, the second is her hair.

This lyph has wings that you can almost be sure are not real. They are huge, and resemble butterfly wings, but you can see that they do not seem to move, naturally anyway, but only sway with the breeze or the movements of her body. The wings look like they are made from cloth and are a rainbow of colors. Her hair, well, that is another mystery. Her hair is the color of a sunset, and is streaked with red, gold, and orange colors of various hues from bright to dull. It is piled on the top of her head. Surely if she let her hair down it would reach the ground at her feet, perhaps further, and the way it sits on her head is a curiosity all its own.

When she reaches the ground she bows, and then stands (she is at least one and one half foot tall!) and says to you in a deep baritone voice.
[b]”Welcome, children of the larger world. I am Ha’Uldurah, a name that means the Watching One, but I would ask that you call me Tina. How is it that you, three of a different kind, have come to see me? Is it magic you are looking for? Your own kinds have this, and to spare, but no, there is something else, for I have seen it in a dream. You seek the secrets of the stones. The spell stones of the Caigcanigh, the old people, the ancestors of all kinds. Well, I can tell you everything I know about them, but I cannot help you more than that. We know the secrets of the magic used to enchant the stones, and the secrets of their construction, but the materials, well, they are difficult to come by. And what else troubles you, please tell me, how can I be a friend to the big folk?”

While she speaks, Tina steps lightly around the Sitting Place, and she gathers her dress around her with one hand, as she does. There is something odd about the way she walks, the way she talks.

You can make a Perception Check, and there is a DC of 18, that will reveal a secret

[Brother Phineas]

Phineas looks over the newcomer 'Tina' with an appraising eye. Her voice and carriage look funny to him, but in a day where he fought bullywugs and met the Good Folk nothing surprises him any longer. As the witch woman moves around to the Sitting Place, he is able to examine her closely, but the wonders of the day blind the lad, and he accepts her at face value.

Perception: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

"We are well met, honored one." begins Phineas trying to mind his manners. "We are sent by your weird sister, Auria the One-Hand of our folk in Woodbridge. She has need of your knowledge of poisons and herbs as there is a youth in our village who is sickened beyond her ability to cure. But that is not all we seek."

"You are right that we come to seek the knowledge or whereabouts of spell stone. One for shrinking as our town is threatened by an enormous unnatural beast. A decapus some call it, Fulogh Barghnora it is called by others, but it is swollen to gigantice proportions. We would take a spell stone to reduce the beast, and so remove it as a threat to our village. If you do not know the ways of making such stones, we would hear the lor you have, which may help us find one."

"Will you help us, great lady, and earn our favor? What would you ask in return for such knowledge and aid?"

[Poseus Murandae]

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21

Poseus, though distracted by the new impressions all around him, finds this new fey an odd sort indeed. His eyes focus on the wings, then her hair, then on her walk.

She's different than the other Lyphs here, I'm not sure she even is a Lyph. Though there is probably a good reason why she is dressed like one and in this community.

Poseus 'stands' near one of the wooden rounds and bows slightly in respect of Ha'Uldurah.

"What Phineas tells you is true miss Tina. Our world seems to be changing and this Fulogh Barghnora is only one of our problems, though it is most certainly our biggest. Would you please help us?"

[Caorann]

Caorann greets Ha'Uldurah as she comes down with a wave. She alights on on one of the rounds.

These stones...let me think

Arcana: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15

They seem genuine enough... And their cause is good....Let's help them!

[Alomar]

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12

Alomar looks at all the different kinds of woods used in the building house, recognizing most of them. He does not think anything of Tina, accepting her as she appears to them. After Phineas and Poseus have finished he adds:

"And if I might be so bold, we really would like to hear the tales of your folks. I always thirst for more knowledge. Could you tell us something why your house is made from all these different woods?"

[Terquem]

Day 7, Woodbridge
The day in Woodbridge had begun with agitation, but it was coming to end in quiet and calm.

Marcus spent the day working in his father’s shop. He tried not to think about his friends, and if they might be alright after all.
He had a light lunch, and kept as busy as a man can be with so many small jobs pilling up around him.

When the night finally began to close in, the sky turned unusually clear. It would be a beautiful night in the village. The wind was calm, there was no sign of rain, and the river was swelling from the melting of the snows far up in the mountains to the south and this gave the river a voice. The river gurgled and splashed, and sang a quiet song as the shadows stretched from the setting sun until the night was filled with stars.

Marcus was almost feeling energized enough to keep working, when a young elven girl approached the open side of the little shop and called his name. She was carrying a basket. He couldn’t see what was in the basket from across the shop, and so he smiled and set down his tools and went over to the girl.

Markus knew the girl, her name was Kaspeae Havannis and she often was seen in the bread and Board. She is usually quiet, doesn’t say much, but she plays a violin and it is well known that she plays it well. She is a tall girl, a few inches taller than Marcus. He skin is light tan and her hair is black and straight. She wears her hair cut straight across at her shoulders and pulled behind her ears where she keeps it in place with small pins. Kaspeae has blue eyes, light blue almost the color of a cloudless sky. She bows when Marcus approaches and then stands and says,

[Kaspeae Havannis]

”Thank you standing up, and speaking on behalf of all of us today, Marcus. My mother and father wanted to thank you for your kindness and asked me to bring you this basket. It has a pot of honey from father’s bees and some bread that mother has baked this morning. Also,” the girl lifts the cloth that covers the basket, and shows you a few pieces of bone on the side of the basket tied together. She explains,

“These look like bones but they are actually the teeth, or tusks I think, from a huge animal that lives in the sea but sleeps on land, my father calls them Walruses, but I’ve never seen one. When he was a boy, he would hunt them with his father and others of his town. These tusks have been a treasure of our family for many years. My father wants you to have them and thinks you might find them useful and that you can make decorated handles for knives from them.”

As she talks, the girl absentmindedly reaches for the side of her head as if to tuck her hair back, but her hair is neatly in place and she just runs her fingers across her hair a few times.

When she is finished, Marcus notices, across the way, some distance from his shop and toward the Bread and Board, that the young Gymnaga girl he met earlier in the day is watching the exchange between him and Kaspeae

[Terquem]

Day 6, the Green Wood, the village of Kinamay Brawnoor

Tina stops pacing for a moment and listens to the three friends explain the situation, when Phineas tries to give more details about the spellstone they are seeking she puts her hand to her chin and says, A stone for shrinking you say, hmmm, no I’ve never heard of one of those, but I suppose anything is possible.”

Caorann:

Some of the people in your close family have spoken of spellstones, but no one you know has actually seen one. There is a story, among your people, that the human Druid woman called “Astorel” obtained a spellstone from an Altilyph of great power, a man named Dargonne, and many of the lyph people believe he is still alive, but lives far to the south. Your Arcane knowledge tells you that a spellstone is a one time use spell bound into a fragile glass bead something like a marble. The more powerful the spell that is bound to the stone, the large the stone is. Some lyphs believe that there are spellstones that have been lost by powerful sorcerers of ages past and that they can be found in the places where people should not go.

”You see, a spell stone is a small, sometimes large,” the witch goes on, “round object made by heating special sands until they melt, and for a glass. Now, there is only one person in this village who knows how to make glass and even he doesn’t know how to craft a stone so that it can become a spellstone. The altilyphs, however, they know the secret, or so I’m told. I’ve heard of stones that contain spells that summon creatures from other worlds of existence that will fight for you, but other than that I’ve not ever seen a spellstone, or know much more about them. If you say this decapus, a ten armed lumpy sort of hairy beast, yes, and you call it Fulogh Barghnora, because it is huge, Barghogga, enormous, and udilnora, terrifying. Well, yes I suppose a huge decapus would be terrifying to say the least.”

”If Auria sent you to me to help with a poison it must be a bad one, yes a very bad one. Auria knows many secrets. Hmmm, let me think. You say a boy is sickened, and that the poison came from the Fulogh Mogobbh. Hmmm, yes, yes, I think I may know the cure, and I have some. I will gladly let you have it, if you will ask Auria to send back to me a few more pages of the vellum she gave me a few years ago.

When she claims she knows the poison and has a remedy, your hearts are lifted, but at this moment it is Poseus who is not listening as closely as the others, but is instead watching the lyph woman with a curious eye.

Poseus:

You are convinced that this Lyph is not what she appears to be for two reasons. First, she has feathered wings, that look sickly and small beneath her fake cloth wings, and second, you are almost positive that she is not a she at all, but is in fact a man. You can’t help but notice some subtle things that give you this idea, and it would take a lot of proof to convince you that you are wrong

What’s that Caorann? You think I should help them, and I agree. You have a good eye for seeing straight to the matter. And as to tales of our people, well, if you are staying for the night in our village, I think something can be done to entertain you. As to why my house is built they way it is, well, I would like to say that I like it that way, but that would just be pride talking. Actually, I’ve had to bargain for things for most of my life, a witches income is not always as secure as you might imagine, so this has meant that I have gotten to add to and make changes to my simple home over the years by bargaining for the work and accepting whatever materials where at hand.”

[Marcus Dale]

Kn. Nature. max 10 untrained: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5
[dice=intuition "gut instinct"?]1d20[/dice]

Marcus, begins to close up shop, happy with the progress he had done for the day with the many tasks at hand. He hears a knock at the side of the shop, and goes over to see what is going on.

After hearing Kaspeae speak briefly, he smiles with his response, Well, I was happy to intervene. You all have helped not only my father and I by keeping us in business, but also the entire village over the years. The actions that took place today were solely out of fear: fear of the unknown and fear for the safety of the village. I hope you and the others don't look at our little village any differently.

Marcus, peers into the basket and sees the goodies inside. He has heard good things about the honey produced by the Elven community, they have always been good at tending the land, and getting the most out of the nature that surrounds them. He checks his lips, to make sure he isn't salivating all over the nice gifts given to him, and his eyes widen at the mention of walrus bone.

I have only heard about them from my mother while growing up., as he gently runs his fingers over a tusk. I don't remember much about what she taught me, but don't tell her that...she can still scold me even though I am a grown man., he says with a slight chuckle. What ever happened to the walrus, do the young men in your village still hunt these animals? What does one do after hunting such an animal?

Marcus, may have a lot of "book" smarts with the teaching from his mother and father respectively, but his internal instincts were never as sharp. Women, were one area in particular that flummoxed him, and caused him to second guess himself on a regular basis. He watches as the young elf almost by habit, goes to tuck her hair out of the way, but it hasn't moved an inch since she had shown up moments earlier. Marcus disregards the motion, listening to what she knows about walrus.

will address the Alinda, the young Gymnaga girl after finishing with this Kaspeae if that's okay with you?

[Brother Phineas]

Phineas' heart is gladdened when the witch-woman agrees to help and all she asks in return is some old paper from Auria-One Hand, but he is persistent about the spellstone, thinking of saving the entire village with it

You say the "addilyphys?" What are they and where can I find them? If they have the knowledge about spellstones, perhaps I should seek them out. Will they share their knowledge with a human? What is the price of such a thing?"

Phineas is conflicted about returning to the village with the cure for the sick lad, or continuing on to find the atilyphs, where ever they might be.

[Caorann]

Excellent. I knew you'd help them! Well let's be off finding this spell stone of yours!

For some reason, I thought I already posted something in response to this, but apparently not. Hope I didn't slow things down much.

[Poseus Murandae]

Poseus bows before Tina and says nothing as they leave, he has the impression if he starts to talk he'll only embarass himself and him/her with the question.

Though as Tina leaves to find a cure and they can talk again for a short moment he turns towards Phineas and Alomar.
"I think Tina said they were altilyphs actually, though I still might have heard it wrong myself, I wasn't really paying attention to his words."

Poseus makes this slip of the tongue on purpose, in the hope that either Phineas or Alomar catches on or Caorann confirms his suspicions.

[b]"Do you know how far the altilyph village is from here Caorann? Can we make haste there when we've rested here? As that cure might save a life and it would be a waste to come too late with it."

[Caorann]

Caorann looks at Poseus pointedly, nodding in affirmation, but then glares as if to say "Don't bring it up."

There is one past m-I mean a sahilyph forest. I don't remember how far exactly it is...

[Terquem]

Day 7, Castletown

Dieredon and Calex conclude their business with Sabrine and as they ready themselves to leave she hastily pens a note explaining her offer to Hillary, and then folds it twice and hands it to Calex.

The two men bid her a fond farewell and then set out for the Rising Sun on the outskirts of town. It is a pleasant walk, and without even realizing it the two hurry as if some unseen force is calling them to make haste.

They reach the Rising Sun just after midday, and there are only a few patrons in the place at this time. Hillary is here and she is cleaning the floor with a small broom.

Day 7, Woodbridge

Kaspeae smiles when Marcus expresses his gratitude, and even blushes a bit, her eyes dart down to the ground and then up just in time to see Marcus looking past her shoulder. She turns her head, and sees the Gymnaga girl, and her countenance suddenly changes to one of discomfort.

[Kaspeae Havannis]

Kaspeae smiles when Marcus expresses his gratitude, and even blushes a bit, her eyes dart down to the ground and then up just in time to see Marcus looking past her shoulder. She turns her head, and sees the Gymnaga girl, and her countenance suddenly changes to one of discomfort.

”Well,” she begins to say as she regains her composure, ”I don’t really know if they men still hunt the walruses back in our home country. We’ve not gone back since we’ve moved here. Mother and Father like it better, they say the rain is better than the snow any time, but I imagine it still goes on.”

She turns her head again and sees that Alinda is going into the Bread and Board, and then turns back to Marcus to ask, “Do you k now that Gymnaga girl? I’ve never seen her in the village before. Who is she?”

[Terquem]

Day 6, the Green Wood, the village of Kinamay Brawnoor

Caorann:

The Altilyph live far to the southeast, many days, and high in the mountains.

No, I think you cannot hope to reach the Altilyphs in any reasonable time,” Tina frowns, ”if you want to save the one poisoned, you must hurry and deliver the remedy no later than tomorrow, and even then it may be too late. And yet I still wonder why they would poison one of your people. They are known, these goblins of the bogs, to eat men and lyph alike, but they would not be able to eat someone they have poisoned. They are not immune to their own toxic brews, as far as I know.”

When Poseus makes his offhand comment before asking his question to Caorann, Tina looks crestfallen for a moment, and then brightens as she pulls at her dress and clears her throat.

“Give me some time to check the potency of my remedy, maybe I can enhance it some to help. While you wait, clean yourselves and have something to eat. You can sleep here tonight, in the sitting place, and I will ensure you are up early so you can hurry back to your village, what did you say it was called again? I should like to visit it someday.”

And then with surprising strength, and curiously she climbs the rope back up to her house (why she does not fly is something of a mystery, or perhaps not so mysterious at all…)

As Tina climbs the rope you can maneuver to get a better look at her. You can decide if you want to make a Perception check, and if you get a 16+ more will be revealed, but if you roll less than 6, you might expose yourself in the act, which may make Tina wonder why you are so curious about her, which could affect future interactions with her.

Once she is gone, Caorann leads you to a clearing in the lyph village where water has been fetched and placed in large wooden tubs. Cloths are provided, and you all wash your faces and hands (arms even in Poseus case, as he was splattered with some blood earlier). When you are finished food is brought forth, and at first you think it is amazing hospitality, but as time passes you realize that a general feast is being set out for everyone in the village and lyphs are spreading blankets out on the grass all around as others work to build what must be for the lyphs a regular bon fire, but which to you is simply a large campfire.

The afternoon wears on and a few of the lyphs approach the three of you and introduce themselves, and it becomes impossible to remember all of the names you hear, but the people are friendly, asking simple questions about your families and your lives, and telling you small inconsequential details about themselves.

They are friendly, but not talkative folk.

When the shadows begin to stretch as the sun dips in the west below the tree tops, you are encouraged to sit down and watch as a few of the lyphs dance, or perform songs on masterwork instruments. Then a lyph elder, a man calling himself, Dounnaim, tells you in a quiet voice that the village is going to do something special for you. It is a presentation, he tells you, of a dramatization of an old lyph tale of the lovers Penia and Foultain.

A space is cleared near the fire and a group of young lyphs, children actually, all dressed in costumes of bright orange and green, take a place in a circle near the fire and begin a choreographed dance, with many turns of the feet and with arms raised and reaching to the ky as their hands twist and turn slowly, while a few men and women drum out a slow beat and sing an ancient song in a tongue you do not understand. It is a slow dance, and yet it is rhythmically hypnotic, and as you watch you are mesmerized by the movements even though you don’t understand the story.

Dounnaim occasionally whispers something toward the three of you, comments such as , ”here is the part where they meet,” and “here is the part where her father forbids her marrying him,” and ”this is the part where they are sleeping under the spell of the witch.”

You want to listen to what he is saying but watching the dance is taking all of your attention, but you do not feel as if you are missing much even if you can’t follow the story exactly, it is a beautiful display.

When the dance is finished, the lyphs clap respectfully, and then begin to clean up the glade and bid you good night.

[Brother Phineas]

Phineas accepts the fact that they will have to return to the village to save Roan, but he is still disappointed to not meet the atilyphs nor get their aid with the Spell Stone.

As the witch "woman" climbs Phineas turns away properly. First hes not sure he wants to see anything, and second he doesn't want to break some morality code by getting caught.

Later, during the dance of the lyph, he stares mesmerized as the others as the spinning and drumming lull him. Finally, as the lyphs whisper goodnight, he dozes off with visions of Lizzie Goodwell in his head. He hoped to see her again in the morning, this time as a returning hero of a sort.

[Calex]

As Calex enters the Inn with Dieredon, he turns to his friend and says in a bemused tone "This should be an interesting dichotomy. On the one hand we bring her an offer of the chance to be her own master in a business she can build herself, and with the bonus of being closer to a certain elf I know...on the other hand it means moving out to the wilds in Woodbridge, away from all she knows. I wonder what she'll choose?"
He produces Madame Sabrine's note from his pocket and waves it towards Dieredon. "Do you think she would be more willing to accept the offer from my hand or yours?"

[Dieredon D'atarisian]

Dieredon puts his palm up.

You should hand her the letter, but allow me the honor of conveying its importance beforehand. Let us sit with her together.

Dieredon smiles broadly at Hillary.

Good day, mi'lady. It is such a pleasure to lay eyes upon you again. May Calex and I have a word with you in private? We have news from Castletown, and it impacts you directly.

[Alomar]

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (13) + 11 = 24

Alomar has picked up on Poseus 'mistake', but decides not to pry into the witches affairs.

At the dance he is mesmerised by the performance and when it is done he enthusiastically claps in respect of the gift they have been given.

[Marcus Dale]

Marcus, listens to her response to his question, then looks surprised when she becomes uncomfortable. He thinks back to his first encounter with Alinda.

Well, the first time Alinda was just a few days ago. I ran to her village to find Cicily an Rosalindae to come help out the sick soldiers in the village Marcus thinks a bit more, The following day, there was a large gathering of disgruntled villagers and I spoke up to them to quiet them. She stood up for me then, and the two of us managed to quell the negativity that was building that day.

Marcus, will look beyond, to see that Alinda had gone into the Bread and Board, he then looks at Kaspeae, Why do you seem so nervous?

[Poseus Murandae]

Poseus can't help but be curious to see what and who Tina really is, even when it is perhaps not good to go snooping into someone's private life. Somewhere in the back of his head he knows that Tina has to have a reason for doing this. He approaches abit and looks carefully a Tina climbs up the rope.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19

I already knew she probably wasn't a proper Lyph, or at least those wings were fake. I didn't mean to upset her, uhmmm him..., uhmm her..., though how and why a non-Lyph has gained the right to live among them is a mystery to me. Perhaps I should try to ask him... her... carefully is she would explain it to us.

Poseus cleans his arms thoroughly as he suspects some of the Lyphs may not be too trusting of a stranger covered in blood, perhaps they even think Poseus is dangerous himself, he doesn't know yet. The small-talk with the Lyphs takes his mind oof of those tohughts and he quickly tries to become friends with some of them.

He does his best to remember all the names but they float around in his head as he tries so, eventually he can only place a handful of names to the matching faces. Their way to retell stories sounds so very much like ours, though we usually don't make such a wonderful display of it. We tell those stories around a big bonfire and mostly the priests or priestesses tell us those.

He leans against a tree as he watches the choreographed routine of the younger Lyphs and claps appreciatively as it ends.

[Hillary Ilyiomearra]

Day 7, Castletown, late afternoon, at the Rising Sun

For a moment the red haired elven girl doesn’t recognize the pair of travelers. She smiles, it is a casual smile, and then you can see her face change as a memory comes back to her, and her smile becomes warmer.

”Dieron and Calem, right? Yes, I remember you stayed here two nights ago. Welcome back.”

It suddenly dawns on her that Dieredon has said something about wanting to sit down and talk to her. She looks puzzled for a moment, and then says, ”Well I suppose I can give you a few moments. Let me see,” she turns away and looks across the tavern, and then points to a corner table shielded from most of the tavern by two walls creating a kind of alcove. ”Have a seat in the corner there,” she says, ”I’ll get something for us to drink, and I’ll be right back.”

She hurries off to the kitchen.

When she returns she is carrying a heavy glass jug in a woven carrier, and three small metal cups.

She sits at the table with you and pours a red wine into the cups and passes them around saying, “We get this from Ganheim, south of Alodoa, comes in only twice a year in the summer months and we save it for special occasions. It is about the best damn wine in the world, but watch yourself, it packs a kick. So what is this news you want to talk about?”

[Terquem]

Day 6, the Green Wood, the village of Kinamay Brawnoor, evening

Earlier

As Phineas and Alomar exit the Sitting Place, while Tina is climbing the rope, Poseus casually drifts over to stand near the rope and looks upward. He is not noticed

Poseus:

From below you see certain things that confirm your suspicions, this person is a man, but you also see that he has wings. You feel a sudden pang of guilt and sadness for this man as it is obvious that his wings have been badly damage, and it looks as if the left wing, under the cloth disguise is only a short section of bone and a few feathers, while the right wing is a bit larger, and shows a few more feathers but also shows heavily scared skin where the feathers did not grow back after whatever injury he fell victim to.

Poseus, Phineas, and Alomar sleep the night comfortably in the sitting place, and are given a few “tents” that they can use as blankets. There is a light rain during the night, but the tree above shelters you (perhaps there is a small enchantment at work as well, for no drops fall on you as you sleep). The sound of the light rain is soothing. In the morning, Tina is already down from her house when you awake, and she is packing a small draw string sack for you to take back to Woodbridge.

[Ha’Uldurah "Tina"]

”Here,” Tina says holding out the sack with both of her hands.
”This is three pots. Mix the black pot and the blue pot with warm water, don’t let it mix with any juice or alcohol, then let the victim drink only a small cup, about this size,” she indicates holding her hands apart. “If they keep that down, then give them about the same amount from the green pot. The person might be violently sick for a while, but should then recover from the poison. Good luck.”

"Has anyone seen Caorann this morning?"

[Kaspeae Havannis]

Day 7, Woodbridge

Marcus:

The “following day” is actually today, just this morning in fact, but that’s okay ;)

”Nervous,” Kaspeae blushes even more than she was before, ”Why would I be nervous? I’m not nervous, I’m not nervous at all.” She reaches again for her hair, and then quickly drops her hand when she looks into your eyes. Her breath seems to pause for a moment and then she says, ”Well, I’ve got to get going. Maybe we can meet again sometime and you can show me what you are working on. Goodbye, Marcus Dale.”

She turns and practically runs toward the bridge, but stops and looks back at you, waves, smiles, and the n sets off again for her home.

[Marcus Dale]

terq:

Sorry bout that...the days seem to meld together in a glob of goo...I can't keep them all straight in RL. It seems like the "game" days are going by quicker then what they are due to the developed posts by everyone...i will try better from now on :)

Marcus will smile and nod as Kaspeae turns and leaves, You are welcome to see what I am working on anytime you like, but it isn't the most glamorous work ever. Just making stuff for my freinds...whom I hope are all okay. If you do come, make sure to wear light clothes, it can get kinda hot in our shop when I have the furnaces and blowers going.

After Kaaspeae leaves and passes the bridge, Marcus will turn back towards the shop and the work at hand. He thinks about all he has to do today, he has to work on the finely crafted leather for Dieredon and Poseus. Then after that he wanted to craft Calex a copper scroll tube, as a thank you for not leaving him behind in the bog against the giant creature.

He picks up his smithy instruments, but thinks better of it. He kept going back to the stare of Alinda, and besides, food would fuel his body for the work of the day.

Marcus closes up shop, leaves a sign on the door, and heads over to the Bread and Board to see what goodies Lulu has cooked up.

Marcus will walk up to the bar with a big smile on his face as his nostril fill with all the wonderful smells of the kitchen. He starts to salivate, almost subconsciously due to the aroma present. Marcus looks around, for any signs of Alinda and /or Lulu.

perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11

[Dieredon D'atarisian]

Ahhhh...a fine vintage from a beautiful lady. I have tasted it before, when I was young, but it has been many moons. Calex, please show Hillary the missive, and feel free to elaborate upon its contents. I can only hope that you will consider its implications, and act with your best interests at heart.