Daventry approaches the tree, and places an armored gauntlet on it. "Pardot... I think grandmother might be the wrong term. This tree. I know it. When I took my very first steps here as a dreamer awakened this tree spoke to me. This was, no, is Nodens. Though he was weak in that dream. And... seems silent now?"

She tries to focus her willpower, her being, and see if she can commune with Nodens within the desiccated bark.

Charisma... something? 15 on the dice, 17 for a straight CHA check, 22 for a CHA save

Daventry is certain this is the same tree. You don't sense any sort of presence good or ill with the tree it just seems to be a dying tree. 

Similar to Ludolf, Triäsa notes the drying bark and the overall poor condition of the tree. Nothing else really stands out to you.

Edgar takes to the sky, ascending above the canopy and quickly locates the moon. He lands back at your feet, "That was an easy one boss. It would seem our path shall take us down that road there." Edgar nods to a much more worn dirt path the circles the tree and heads to the left as you stand. There is really no telling north or south. It seems geometry and direction has little, to no, meaning in this place. But if you're to follow the Zoogs instructions it seems this will be the way.

Triäsa looks at Daventry, seeming as though she doesn't quite follow what is happening. "Nodens is a tree?"  When Edgar returns and relays the information about the moon, she looks at the others. "It does not seem there is anything we can do for the tree... Nodens.  It seems we must continue to the pool and deal with whatever is there." 

Ludolf nods and smiles to Triäsa. "I agree, we should press on to this pool and focus on cleansing it from the corruption the Zoogs spoke of." He says firmly and motions for Daventry to head down the path Edgar has indicated, warily following her, keeping a good lookout for Gugs and other threats.

Perception with help from Edgar: 18

Daventry opens her eyes, retracts her hand from the bark, and nods at the others. "I don't know if this is him, or just an avatar of him. But we can certainly cut away this corruption and go from there."

She shifts, and makes ready to continue, moving quietly despite her dreamed plate armor.

Stealth: 14

Perception: 8 :(

“Let us continue our search then… perhaps once we cleanse the pool we can do the same for this grandfather.” Pardot says with a small smirk as they continue to walk.

Perception 16

You leave the tree and make your way along the path indicated by Edgar. Pardot's spell continues to muffle the sounds of your feet allowing you to move quickly and quietly through the glowing woods. It doesn't take too long before you come the end of the trail and the forest gives way and you find yourself standing at the top of a small hill that looks down into a modest burnt orange valley. Nestled haphazardly in the valley are 15 or so very modest hovels that appear to be made of mud and wood. Mostly rounded structures, a few humanoid figures meander between the buildings. Beyond the meager village is a small stream that flows right to left and disappears somewhere back into the forest. Beyond the stream appears to be farmland that is poorly cultivated and desiccated. This wasteland blends into the orange horizon as far as you can see. 

Your Journey so Far

"We should talk to them before heading on to the pool, we might learn something of importance here." Ludolf suggests to the others, inclining his head towards the small settlement. Meanwhile Edager flies closer to the people to see whether they are armed or seem to be hostile.

Edgar perception: 10

"Those creatures in the forest didn't seem to think much of the people that lived here," Triäsa comments. "But I guess it does little harm to see what they have to say - if they aren't hostile."

Edgar takes to the sky and soars over the village. He flies as close as he can and after a pass or two returns, landing on a nearby branch, "Hey Boss, they look like farmers. Not terribly sophisticated looking folk like you. Didn't seem to pay me much mind. Simple clothing, no armory and as far as I could tell none of them carry any weapons, unless you count the pitchforks. They got plenty of those."

"Well, they don't sound exceptionally hostile. Guess we go and see them," Triäsa says. She keeps an eye out for anything interesting. (Perception: 15)

Ludolf simply nods and sends Edgar up again to watch for Gugs, then waiting for Daventry to lead them down to the settlement for information gathering about the dreamlands.

Edgar perception: 11

Daventry nods and takes the lead once more. You hear her mutter to herself, amping herself up.

"You aren't that withered nightmare anymore. You are more than that. You can do this."

She walks towards the hovels, approaching one of the farmer folk in hopefully a peaceful manner.

"Hello, there. We're travelers and dreamers, looking to find the path, and were hoping we could get some advice from the locals..."

Persuasion: 19

Not quite sure whether this is Daventry's personal dreamlands they have been walking into, the old man decides to let the brave maiden do the talking, standing behind her with a polite smile while glancing around the small settlement, wary of threats and nasty surprises.

Perception: 22

It's not a far walk and as you descend down into the valley the air gets a certain chill to it as a mild breeze pushes through the air. The people of the town look at you blankly as they stare at you with dead eyes. A women perhaps in her late thirties stops at Daventry's words and stares a bit long and uncomfortable into her eyes. "What would know. You are not familiar to us Dreamer, have you lost your Dream?" She again pauses for an uncomfortably long moment, "This land is nowhere to wander without purpose." Her voice is as empty as her eyes a bland monotone devoid of emotion. The a few other villagers pass you by without much of a glance. They walk slowly and without obvious purpose.

For the first time since you encountered the Zoogs you do not see their beady yellow eyes following you. Edgar agrees the zoogs have not followed you to the village. He follows the stream a bit toward it's origin and does not make note of them anywhere in the vicinity. He does not wander far back into the forest. 

"We have a purpose!" Triäsa says confidently. "We are going to the pool and we will cleanse it." She can't help think though that perhaps these people were once like them and had lost their purpose.

"...and we will kill any Gugs that oppose us." Ludolf adds confidently, hoping this would mean the Dreamland farmers would look more favourable on their presence here. "We could use your knowledge of this place though." He adds with a poilte bow of his head.

Persuasion if needed: 19 + Guidance: 4

( Lucky reroll: 23 )

The women regards you with clear indifference and continues simply, "The water is not right the crops don't grow in this Dream no matter how we sow the soil." She looks upstream and raises her arm and extends a single rigid finger toward the forest where the stream emerges. "The pool is up there some ways but it matters little us. We shall continue to toil until the harvest returns."

Triäsa can roll insight