Aubrey bows in awe to the large silver wolf and looks to the others, ready to move on through the tunnel.

Rohuzar picks up his axe and hangs it on his belt. 

“Eyes up. Hands ready. The job has gotten dangerous.” 

He nods to the others. “If the storm falls, then the competition von’t be far behind.” 

Grugga looks torn between moving on quickly and asking some questions. Finally, his curiosity gets the best of him, and he asks, "How is it that you're speaking, grand wolf. And could you tell us more about the lady of this forest?" He glances up to the limp form on his back for just a moment, not sure if that really is the lady or not. If the wolf answers, he'll ask a follow up question, "Do you know anything of what this Elf is capable of? Or what happened to the Carcerimon rangers? Or what this crystal raven's skull is and can do?" He speaks respectfully, but looks nervous, like he's expecting magic to strike him down at any moment.

As Grugga asks his question, the large wolf head turns toward him and the yellow eyes flare to life.  As it speaks, the wolf head twists and snaps its jaws, like it is mauling some beast, but the voice continues to speak - though it now sounds agitated.  "Impious Orc!  You could no more understand Our Lady than a worm could understand the beak of the robin as it tears it from the earth.  We will not suffer your - " The wolf's ranting is cut short.  For the first time, the feminine form seated on its back moves.  A covered hand strokes the long fur at the back of its neck, and it ceases to shout and lowers its head.

"That's enough.  It is natural for them to have questions.  So much of this is beyond their understanding.  Beyond their experience."  When she speaks, the words touch your ears like the sheer wine-colored cloth she wears.  Smooth.  Cool and comfortable. 

She seems to sense Grugga's next questions before he asks them.  "The elf... he is a rogue and a wanderer.  A trickster.  He is dangerous.  He is powerful... but also alone.  He cannot even find aid in this quest, and must instead conscript strangers such as you to help him.  But how strange you are; or how strange are you?  I sense... bah!"  She waves her hand as if to shoo away a fly.

"Of the item he seeks, the elf must know and will have to tell you more.  I know only that it smells of death and lost souls, and that the rangers killed for it... and then were themselves killed for it."

Before you leave, she offers a parting wish.  "It is too much to hope that the elf should perish in this endeavor.  He survives often when he should not.  But... if someone were to bring me a piece of him... a lock of hair... a drop of spilt blood... I would have much to offer the soul who delivered that to me.  If this interests you, and you manage to secure a totem of the elf, bring it to Phlox in Malvern's Town.  She will see that it gets to me and that you will have a chance to ask for a reward...".

Guilim sighs and runs a hand through his hair, all but certain that by this point the job they had taken will be long over by the time they complete whatever is going on with the forest. "If this continues we should not have to give any money to the Redbrands since none of this is what we were hired to do." 

Rohuzar scowls at Guilim. “Ve still have job, and it still pay great sum of money. These are all just… fluff. Big jobs come vith fluff. Ve need only have speed enough to get to this elf before… I keep picturing the ugly, sniffling fellow from vhen ve take job at start.” 

Grugga unconsciously chews on his lip while he listens. Once she finishes, he half bows - then suddenly pauses mid-bow as if considering if a bow is proper forest witch etiquette - and shakily finishes the bow. "Thank you for humoring me, Lady of the Forest. We will do as you ask if it's within our power."

Once everyone has a chance to ask their questions and the group has begun following the new western trail, Grugga curses in Dwarvish very loudly and then bemoans his fate in Common. "Heeeuuuu. I'd never seen a magical creature in the wild in my LIFE until I came here. Now I'm up to HERE with hags and... and... blue lions." He raises his good hand to his ear to indicate just how far he's had it.

After a few minutes he composes himself to the best of his ability. "Once we get back to Bardstown, you and I are going to have to spend some time in the library, Leelan. I never learned much about magical creatures; it's a bit of a blind spot in my studies, I'm sad to say. I know a lot about magic, but how it manifests in inherently magical creatures is a different field of study at the college."

After a bit more walking, Grugga tests the tenderness of his torn up arm. "I can pull out these barbs and wrap this if can we stop for a bit. But we only have until tonight before the storm stops, so I could also use one of my healing crystals on it if we need the time." ((Time for short rest? or use a spell slot on healing myself? Down 10 hp))

You make your way down this magically prepared forest pathway, some of you still smarting from your encounter with the Displacer Beast, and all of you at least a little disturbed by the events of the last few hours.  There is the undeniable feeling that you are brushing up against powers for which you were unprepared.

The path itself is straight and uneventful.  There are no stumps to climb over or creeks to wade… it is a straight, dry, level path.  Dandelion seems to appreciate it after navigating through wet forest for the better part of a day.  After two hours you notice the light begins to lessen, as daylight creeping through the gaps in the tree tunnel around you slowly fades.

And then the tunnel is gone.  You find yourselves just on the edge of a small field.  The rain, heretofore kept off of you by magic, now pours down on you from above.  Looking around, all trace of the tunnel is gone and you see only dark forest behind you.  It is difficult to say for certain with the rain and cloud cover, but you suspect it is dusk, or just after nightfall.

In the clearing ahead sits a small building… it has the appearance of a woodcutters cottage.  There are several stumps in the yard and piles of chopped firewood.  There are also bodies.  Two skeletons lie smashed near an old firepit and another body, face down and in leather armor, is next to them.  A few swords and an axe can be seen on the ground as well.

Outside the door to the cottage, four figures crouch, facing each other in a diamond pattern.  Their posture is reminiscent of kids drawing pictures in the sand, or street folk playing dice in an alleyway,  but they crouch motionless.  There are two women (human or elf, most likely) and a male dwarf all in chainmail.  The fourth is a human man in leather armor.  The shutters of the cottage are closed and the door is shut, but there is light from inside, and moving shadows around the shutters suggest the building is occupied.

As arrive outside, you can’t help but notice your footsteps and even your breathing seems muffled.  (The PCs may not recognize it, but you are all currently under the effect of a pass without trace.)

Grugga points ahead to the skeletons, "the necromancer from the fishing hut has been here, too." He looks to Rohuzar for guidance

Rohuzar points Guilim and himself, then points towards the huddled four people. Then he gestures to the others to keep an eye on the skeletons. He then looks to see that everyone is ready. 

Aubrey nods to Rohuzar and tries to find a hiding spot closeby from where he can cover Rohuzar and Guilim.
Stealth: 19

Aubrey moves to find a spot to cover the warriors, but as he turns in the gloom he nearly falls into a bush.  A hand grips his arm and keeps him on his feet.  "Shh.  Watch your step, there."  Looking around, there is no one to be seen.  Then a hand appears from nowhere as it pulls down a hood, revealing a face and soon the rest of the body materializes.

Leelan, you see a handsome young elf, a bit on the tall side.  His complexion is fair and he wears his shoulder length brown-blond hair loose and untied.  Under his cloak he wears a set of gleaming golden chainmail.  In the hand not clutching Aubrey's arm, he holds an elaborately decorated longbow... it appears to be decorated with precious gems, which seems wildly ostentatious and impractical for a weapon.  Two short swords are worn at his hips, and a pair of longswords are strapped to his back along with an embroidered leather quiver.

Everyone but Leelan:

 The elf opens his mouth to speak, but then pauses as he takes a closer look at all of you.  "Are you... Red Band?"  A bemused smile crosses his face.  "That old witch..."  He starts to laugh, and the gleaming golden chain he was wearing morphs back into plain looking studded leather armor.  "No sense getting dressed up, if I'm slumming it with the Red Band."  

He cuts short his laughter, looking down sharply at his left hand.  "Right.  Hrhhm.  So... raise your hand if you've fought necromancers before?"

Grugga quickly recalls Zip and packs it away in his pouch. He also checks the straps on his backpack invention to make sure it's secure, and closes all his pouches tightly. He does not raise his hand, but says, "I suppose that was your work at the fisherman's hut." his tone is slightly unfriendly but not aggressive, mostly just cautious.

Once everyone gets their chance to speak of their experience with necromancers, Grugga will ask a few questions:
"What is this skull we're after and what's your interest in it?"
"I assume the necromancer killed the rangers; why is he or she after the skull?"
"What can you tell us about what we're up against?"

Grugga also looks to Rohuzar and Guilim, expecting them to ask about the pay split.

When he has a second, Grugga explains he needs to take care of his arm - he has no plans in joining the ranks of the undead! He steps further back behind the trees and self-medicates with his healing crystals.
Cure Wounds: 11

((down to 1 spell slot))

Aubrey flinches and his eyes goes wide as he is caught by the arm and the Ancient Elf appears out of nowhere. He listens to the Ancient Elf and Grugga while collecting himself again. "The witch, as you call her, chose us since we completed her test. We are Red Band indeed and you seem to need our help or we wouldn't be talking. We won't be able to help you if you don't brief us fully on the situation. Now, what do we call you?" Aubrey says in a lowered voice to not draw the attention of the crouching group, sounding more confident again. "I don't think anyone of us has fought a necromancer before but I'm sure you have, so please indulge us, how do we defeat it?"
Persuasion/Intimidation mostly to reach a more respectful alliance: 25 

After Grugga and Aubrey's words, the elf takes a long pause to look over your group.  

Insight DC 9:

 Then he sighs, looking down at his left hand.  "When I was young... the Red Band were an outlaw company of thieves and killers.  We cut our teeth hunting your predecessors.  And old grievances die hard."

"As far as what is going on here... these rangers were hired to help transport a dangerous and evil artifact.  Its something I've been after for a very long time.  I called in a favor and they took possession of it for me."  He turns and looks over at the cottage.  "But before I could rendezvous with them... they were attacked.  It looks like they were all killed."

"The artifact belongs to a powerful and ancient necromancer.  And it is the key to finally killing him once and for all."  

"The thing is... the necromancers that attacked the Carcerimon here aren't his followers.  They wear the red cloaks of a different necromancer.  One I haven't heard from in a very long time.  I don't know what her interest here is... or how her people even knew about this."  He shrugs.  "But I imagine the answers are inside."

"This is my problem.  The little cottage there is only the tip of the iceberg.  There's a tunnel under the bedroom floor that leads to a cave in the hill underneath.  Another 300 yards northwest of here and down the hill is another exit from the cave system."

"I've been killing things more dangerous than these scrubs for a long time, and I could probably take all of these clowns on my own.  But I cannot cover both exits, and I won't risk letting this artifact slip away.  So I cut a deal with Ol' Maggie to drop a storm on top of these jerks and hold them here until someone came along that could give me a hand."

He points to some of the figures squatting outside the door.  "Those three arrived first.  They wouldn't listen to or work with me and charged in blind.  Now they're undead thralls."

He pauses to think.  "Yeah I think that is pretty much all of the salient points.  The only question is if you think you're up for the fight.  And, do you want tops or bottoms?  The way I see it, I would need you to take control of either the cottage or the cave entrance, and then hold it.  Keep anyone or anything from escaping.  I'll start at the opposite end and kill my way through until I meet you at the other side. You can expect to see zombies and skeletons.  There are at least four necromancers inside but I'll go after most of those myself.  There are also some... bird people.  So watch out as some of these may be able to fly."

"So.  Are you in?"

"Oh.  I have no idea what you mean by 'fisherman's hut'.  And let's just say you can call me Dawntreader for now."

History DC 14:

Insight: 16
History: 11

Grugga twists his mouth at the face the Elf is giving him, but nonetheless he briefly explains that at the fisherman's hut that the courier stayed at, they found several re-dead undead and a crimson necromancer's cloak with arrows in them. At first they thought it was the ranger's doing, and it looks like they were right after all.

He then looks to Rohuzar to see their take on all this.

Insight: 10

History: 15

Leelan looks at the elf with suspicion. Some aspects of his story are making him wary of the new would-be ally. 

"While I’ve encountered the walking dead, I’ve read up on some of its more common creatures. However, I find myself curious. If this artifact is so important, why wait for a group of adventurers, which you seem to have grievances with, to help you collect it? Why not call upon another on of your organization?"

Insight: 17
History: 10

Aubrey listens to Dawntreader and stays silent for now, looking to Rohuzar to decide if this is something for them.

Rohuzar holds up a hand. 

“Elf. You are not velcome here. You say Red Band vas thieves and murderers, but they not come close to the scale of murder you have managed from the Curtain. Ve are not here to help you vith some necromancer. Ve are here to obtain artifact for paying customer. Artifact vas stolen from them. Maggie also offers reward for your blood. You have made everyone you meet angry, it seems. Make offer for our assistance in cleaning up your mess. Vith extra fee for your… pleasant disposition.” 

Rohuzar is trying to see if this turd is using illusion magic to disguise his appearance. I don’t know why, but it occurs to me that there was a wanted poster for an elf before we left Bardstown. If he can change the appearance of his armor, then perhaps he can change his face. 
investigation for illusion 18 
History for Dawntreader 15 

Intimidation for pay? 18 

Grugga, he listens to your explanation about the hut.  "Hmmn.  That does sound like it was probably Madson.  The Carcerimon who first claimed the artifact.  And it sounds like Auriel's servants were already on his trail even then.  So this attack here at their camp wasn't just some chance encounter... they have been hunting the item, the same as the rest of us."

Leelan:

 He thinks on your question, Leelan.  "Well, to be honest, I have few allies I could call on these days for something like this.  And all of them are vital to the work I am trying to do.  People like you... I don't care if some of you don't make it.  My people are too important to me to risk, even for something as critical as this.

Rohuzar, your are confident the shifting clothing is the result of a set of Glamoured Studded Leather.  The elf stiffens at your words but he allows you to finish.  "You know nothing about me.  You speak of the Curtain.  Never have I dwelt in the lands of 'The People".  I was an orphan... raised as a slave and then in the wilds.  The Ancient Elves knew of my existence... watched me from afar... but never offered me aid or a home until they felt they could use me against the men and elves of this land."  He spits on the ground.  "I've been fighting the Ancient Elves since before your grandfathers were born, and I'll still be fighting them 1000 years from now."

He pauses and stares daggers at Rohuzar, but then relaxes.  "You're correct.  We need to set terms.  The artifact comes with me, to do with as I please.  I can offer you this - " he motions to one of the longswords on his back - "its a magical sword made for killing giants.  If that doesn't float your boat, I can give you 600 platinum pieces.  And there's no need for your bosses or the tax man to know about it either.  Just tell the folks back home you never found the artifact and keep the profits.  Oh.  And as a gesture of good faith..." He offers up four potions of healing.