Dryn and Erbert, while this is the first time you hear of a so-called 'Guardian of the Rainforest', the name brings to mind quite a few legends about the nature spirits that are said to inhabit Chult, including the Couatl, serpentine Celestials who are said to have been created as guardians and caretakers by the god Qotal, but they were so rarely seen that they might be just a legend. The last supposed sight of one of them was at least one century ago.

"Thank you" Eshek says to the gnome, before answering Dryn's question. "Actually no. I've had some short visions on dreams and when reading fortunes, but this is the first time this has ever happened to me. Don't know whether I should feel blessed or just annoyed." He says with an awkward laugh. "I was just minding my business and now I have a gap in my memory and I scared some strangers by speaking weirdly. Not exactly what I had planned for today."

He stops laughing and looks at his amulet, holding it in the palm of his hand. "Oh well, the All-Seeing can be like that, ya know? We don't get to choose what our god shares with us, we can only wait knowing that one day he might bestow some of his infinite knowledge on the moment least expected."

"I remember this driving need to find you... At least, I hope it was you. The description was as poetic as it was vague." He explains. "I saw a man with a strange strength lurking inside him, another who was burned and returned from his ashes, a tiefling guided by the moon's light..." He shook his head. "I was looking for them and a few others. Gnome, kobold, tabaxi, dragonborn and an elven-blooded lady... And well, wouldn't you look at that." He points dramatically at the group half-jokingly. "I don't know who you all are, nor what or who is that Rainforest Guardian, but if Savras wanted you to know it it might be important. Maybe not now, but it might be wise to remember it."

Ice continues to try and take in all the details of the people around him as he walks with the group. Trying piece what he is seeing with what he had read in his books.  Suddenly a commotion started and he saw Erbert trying to support a man who had collapsed in his arms. He hadn’t seen what had led up to the moment, but from the discussion now it almost seemed like the man had been possessed. The mention of the Rainforest Gaurdian pricked his brain and he searched for any scraps of knowledge he might be able to tie to that. 
history 7
arcana 7

unfortunately nothing came to mind. He agreed though. Someone felt this was important enough to go through all this trouble to get them the information. 

"Thank for your warning," Dryn says more like a question than statement. "I don't know what to make of it but I know the guardian you speak of," she adds then shares her knowledge with the party. "Can we return you to your temple or can you get there on your own," she asks next.

"I'm fine. Please, do not worry about it" Eshek assures you. He stands and shakes hands with you, Erbert and the others. "I should go now. Please, feel invited to come to the Temple any time. Savras’s temple is one of the oldest, grandest buildings in the city, and our head priest, Grandfather Zitembe, is the wisest man on Chult. I shall discuss this 'prophecy' of mine with him. Until then, take care..."

If no one has any other questions to ask, he leaves from where he came from.

You are close to the villa, and you can already see it from where you are:

Kwayothé’s villa reeks with scented perfumes, and oil lamps and braziers are kept lit with continual flame spells. The pleasant, breezy, tiled courtyard includes a splashing fountain and thorny bushes of red flowers. The entry portico is guarded by two gladiators. 

As they approach the villa, Squawk squints against the blazing light and looks to the gladiators outside the entrance. He asks, "Is there anything that we should know about this merchant royalty? Is he violent?"

"Maybe it is just the value of what he has to sell?" Ice considered the courtyard as they entered. "He clearly has money to spend. People like that usually want to protect their wealth." 

As they approach the portico, Ice addresses one of the gladiators."Is Kwayothé in at the moment? We have need of his services." Unsure of the protocols in this land, Ice tries his best to sound polite and confident. (Charisma: 10)

The two guards look at Ice with unconcealed disgust. "Which services are you searching for here?" The one on the left asks.

The one on the right is a lot less polite "It doesn't matter" He growls. He takes a hand to his spear. "Prince Kwayothé does not make businesses with cats. Now leave, or I'll..."

"That's enough!"

Both gladiators turn to look at a woman who walks towards the entryway, and they switch their mood. "Prince Kwayothé, we were just..."

"Shut up Kobe, we'll talk about this later. Open the door." She orders. She doesn't seem mad, though: Rather, you get the feel that she is calm and contemplative in a way that’s vaguely menacing. When the door is open, she greets you. "I apologize for the rudeness of my employees. I hope they have not created a bad first impression."

Dryn bristles at the insults putting a protective hand on Ice's shoulder glaring at the gladiators but when the woman appears the tiefling relaxes slightly.

"We have business. Syndra Silvane and Wakanga O'Tamu send us," Dryn says her tone firm. "As for your guards they need a lesson in manners," she adds in a gruff tone of het husky voice.

Even as Dryn speaks Ice talks quickly to cut he off as she mentions the guards. "No, it is I who should apologise. I am the guest here and didn't think to learn first what would be appropriate." Ice bows politely, a little deeper than he thinks he probably should. "Thank you for allowing us to meet with you. We are very much in need of your help."

Kwayothé turns to look at Dryn, and for a moment you can see a subtle change on her calm expression: For a second she looks gladly surprised, but the joy suddenly turns sour and it is replaced by wariness. She immediately puts on her calm facade once again, and the change happened so fast you almost didn't see it.

"...Yes, I have heard about them planning to send out an expedition. Oil and insect repellent, I suppose? Alcoholic drinks aren't what comes to mind when shopping for a jungle expedition, after all." She says. Her voice is gentle, but there's also this unexplanable feel of coldness underneath it.

She turns to her villa. "Come on in. I'll show you my wares." She says as she walks towards her mansion.

Erbert takes in the entry and initial interaction with Kwayothé, remaining quiet.  He follows along, interested to look at her wares and insect repellent.  He regards her attitude and tries to see if she is hiding (or withholding?) anything...

Insight :  14

As they follow behind her, Squawk says quietly to the group, "I hope we didn't offend her somehow. Maybe she doesn't like Syndra for some reason." He stays in one of the taller folk's shadow as they move along.

Erbert, you see that, underneath her calm demeanor, Kwayothé appears to be worried about something, but you can't guess what. She seems to be cautious of Dryn for some unknown reason, even appearing to doubt for a second before letting her in along with the rest of the group.

You all enter the mansion, and it is obvious that this is the meeting area for guests: Decorative columns support the arched doorway, depicting images of birds and wildfires. Rugs and comfortable pillows are arranged on the floor, and bowls of fresh fruit can be found throughout.The Phoenix appears to be a recurring motif in the decoration, with textile designs on the fruit baskets, rugs and pillows depicting the same fire birds as the columns, as well as sculptures and wall art painting. Narrow windows look into the garden, but it is easy to guess that these double as arrow slits for when visitors aren’t as friendly as they claim to be.

Upon hearing Kwayothé return, two people join you at the guest room: One is a handsome Chultean man with very dark, almost charcoal-colored skin and piercing golden eyes. The other is a young woman, maybe twenty years more or less, with wispy red hair, olive skin and gray eyes. The two are wearing fine clothing as regal and costly as Kwayothé's, and if you look at their hands you'll see that they are wearing what at first seems like engagement rings: Matching rings made of gold with a big red gemstone... which Kwayothé is also wearing.

They both give a quick glance in Dryn's direction, and you see the woman get behind the man's back and whisper something in his ear.

"Ixis, Indar... Can you go bring the guests some Tej? Thank you." Kwayothé tells them, but her voice lacks any of the cold authority she had when talking to the guards. The very subtle adoration on her tone when speaking to them is the most obvious and honest display of emotion you have seen from her yet. 

Still, the two heed the order immediately, quickly taking the opportunity to exit the room. As Ixis and Indar leave, Kwayothé brings in one of the baskets and shows it to you. Inside, there's blocks of incense and elegant vials containing a greasy-looking salve.

"These are the insect repellent" Kwayothé explains with a clinical tone. "When lit, the incense stays lit for 8 hours and repels the jungle bugs within a 20-foot-radius... But sadly, it does not work against the fairy bugs, just against normal insects. So it keeps mosquitoes from biting, but can't keep the forest sprites' annoying tiny arrows away."

"The same goes for the salve" She holds one of the vials. The salve is green in color and smells strongly of aloe and spearmint. "Worry not about the odor, it quickly becomes odorless once out of the vial. One application of this protects its wearer against normal insects for 24 hours and it is waterproof, so it doesn’t wash off in rain. Each of these vials can last for 20 applications."

She returns the vial to the basket and hands it to the group. "Since you were sent here by O'tamu and Silvane, I'll make them pay for the repellent. Grab as much of each as you can carry."

Dryn is surprised by Ice not wanting het intervention but marks it for future reference. We says nothing else following the party inside. Dryn isn't surprised by the people's reactions to her. She knows that her appearance often attracted different ranges of emotion from people. Selune's adoration for her was enough to make the paladin undeterred by the close mindedness of others. She is curious however if it's only thier prejudice against her infernal heritage that's to blame and nor something else

Insight: 8

Perception for anything out of the ordinary like religious symbols etc.. 5

Dryn takes a couple of each applications and puts them away along with the healing potions for herself and the party.

"Thank you," she says politely with a nod. "Any other insight you can share about the jungles dangers would be appreciated," she adds giving the woman a toothy smile her larger canines proudly displayed with the expression.

O'waac takes two vials of the salve and a block of the incense, putting them away in his pack, careful not to reveal too much of himself under the cloak. He nods his thanks at Kwayothé and moves over the stand by the door, waiting.

He takes this time observe the gathered people. Both his companions and the locals. He had only his parents descriptions and his own vague recollections of his people, the Chulteans. Mostly, everything seemed to line up. Of course, individuals would always vary.

He would have liked to come back here with his parents. Running a hand along the scarred flesh of his left side, he knows that wants and desires are often the things of fantasy. Regardless, he is pleased to be here, even under such dire circumstances.

After his apparent misstep with the guards, Ice felt it best to hang back a little more. Kwayothé Was being very generous with his other, though looking around, Ice was certain he would get more than fairly compensated. One does not live in such grandeur without knowing how to extract value out of every situation. 

ice greatfully accepted the salve, taking 3 vials and 10 blocks of incense. While they were together, they could share the incense, but Ice had no idea how long the journey would be. Better to be over prepared in his opinion.

Dryn, you notice that it might not be your appearance what's prompting such a reaction from them, at least not exactly. When the couple returns, they still seem wary of you even though they try to hide it, and you spot the woman, Ixis, nervously eyeing your maul like she fears you will attack her with it any moment now. You hear her whisper something about the holy symbol in your shield, and they both try to stay out of your sight: It seems as if paladins makes them uncomfortable for some reason... Or maybe it is something about Selune's symbol?

The recurrent phoenix motif on the room might have some deeper religious meaning to it, but it also might just be mere decor. 

Indar and Ixis arrive with chalices and what looks like a golden liquor: When they serve it on the chalice, a sweet floral aroma reaches your nose. When they hand you the cup, you see that it is creamy and has a deep, amber hue. If you drink, you find that it has a lively sweet taste but with a spicy finish.

"Tej" Says Kwayothé, knowing that this might be the first time those who are foreigners see it, let alone taste it. "It is a fermented drink made from honey, you might even call it a "honey wine". You might not have it on Faerun, but here in Chult, it is more popular than beer or ale."

She takes a long sip from her own goblet before answering to Dryn. "My husband, my wife and I never go out into the jungle. We were born here, we live here, and we'll die here as well, the gods be willing..." She turns to Ixis and Indar with a fond smile before continuing. "But we have heard a few things of what's hiding out there. Deep in the heart of the jungle, there's rumours of a city built by minotaurs. It’s now overrun by snake people, but even worse things might now dwell below..."

"In my nightmares, I have seen visions of strange devils screaming in the dark." Ixis adds, her voice shy. She glances at Dryn and goes quiet.

To Dryn:

Kwayothé beckons her closer and Indar puts his arm over her shoulders protectively.

"There's also the issue with Fort Beluarian..." Indar says. 

"Mercenaries and thieves led by a stone-hearted watchdog of a woman" Kwayothé says. "Avoid them at all if possible, they are not to be trusted."

She takes another long sip of her goblet, as if washing away a foul taste.

Edwin takes a tentative sip, unsure of exactly what to expect. He pockets 3 vials of insect repellent salve while listening to the conversation about the various issues and mysteries plaguing Chult. 

"More visions, dreams, and rumors. I find the lack of facts to be slightly disconcerting, but I suppose that is why we are here." He thinks for a moment before continuing. "These dreams," he asks Ixis, "do yo believe they are related to this overrun Minotaur city? I wonder if there is some connection between these snake people and the curse we are trying to understand; Might provide some useful information."

"Maybe?" Ixis nods. "There's an underground city, and snakes, and minotaur bones..."

"As for if the snake people are behind this... That's what always think it was, yes." Indar says. "The snakefolk had a leader: A human paladin who broke his oath and joined them, or something like that. Some people say that he made a pact with their goddess to become a necromancer... But that was a millenia ago. Either the man came back from the dead, or the snakes are trying to do just that." He shurgs. "That's my theory, at least."

Dryn observes the Phoenix symbol. Does she recognize it?

Religion: 15 or history 17

Has Dryn heard of the city and snake people?

History: 20

Dryn looks at Ixis curiously. Can she tell what race or has she encounter such a being before?

Nature: 4

History: 20

OOC: Point of order. Dryn's shield no longer has the symbol of Selune. It has the eye motif as specified in the item description sentinel shield. Dryn wears an amulet of Selune however...

Dryn has rarely encountered good people who's taken issue with her Goddess before and seems to watch the people more closely.

Are they being truthful?

Insight: 10

"Thank you for the insight. We will take ant and all knowledge you can part with," Dryn replies to Kwayothé.

Seeing party members are preparing to leave Dryn follows suit.

OOC: oof, bummer rolls! I think Wil Wheaton touched my dice...