Either by luck of strategy on the part of the drow, no enemy tried to attack the fallen ranger. The healing spirit of the owl reached Stallock and the satyr now turned dire wolf willed for it to heal the human. The moment the man’s eyes opened, Llwyd barked to him, poiting his head into Irmiel’s direction. She was attacked, he saw, and any healing would be welcome. Worst case-scenario it would be the way to bring her back to consciousness.

The druid could only hope the human would understand. Whatever the case, the beast still needed to decide for his own action. He could attack. It seemed easy enough to bring a dark elf down with his fangs. But that is not a sure result, he pondered thinking about the darkness. His executioner could still be there, waiting for a chance to shoot. Too risky, better wait. He decided in the end. With a waken companion close by his strikes would be much more precise, deadlier.

Growling and showing his teeth, Llwyd kept his protective posture, ready to maul any one drow who entered his range. With a bit of luck, he could even be able to bring the assailant down before any attack could be made. The faster we end this the sooner we can go after Lamorak.

Notes: Llwyd uses his bonus action to have the Healing Spirit reach Stallock then heal the man. With Stallock back up the dire wolf pack tactics activates. Llwyd then ready a Bite attack against any enemy that enters his melee range.

Remaining Heals (Healing Spirit): 4
HP Recovered (to Stallock): 5
Bite Attack: 21
Potential Damage: 10

Stallock's eyes flicker open and he looks around, before rolling to his side and groaning..."What the....did we win?"  He uses the wall to push himself to his feet as he looks down at his cut, stabbed, and arrowed body.... "Owe."

Everyone, please let me know what you intend to do for the next 10 rounds / 1 minute.

"Crowl to the spirit if you can," Irmiel whispered to Stallock, pointing at the transparent owl. "Or maybe just stay there and wait for Llwyd to move it. You passed out and for now, we have one or two drow hiding in the darkness." She was too far to elaborate further but hoped Kris could fill the range in on the situation.

(In case Stallock is near Irmiel, she would tell him about invisible girls and the plan to outwait the drow)

She intended to stay hidden and wait to not risk the loss of Sisri's and Kris's invisibility.

Sistri is content to wait out the next minute to see if anything happens with the drow or the darkness. 

Stallock is quickly filled in and also seems content sitting and healing. The spirit wolf comes jaunting out of the room and stands next to him...Stallocks many wounds slowly closing, before the wolf spirit fades away, it's job done.

Stallock heals: 12

He props his back up against the tree house's wall, his rapier in his hand.  His other rapier lays discarded on the floor inside. He causally hangs out there, the life back in his face as he looks at the dire wolf near him.  "Well....how long do you think this joker is going to hang out in his darkness?" 

As if to answer him, the darkness suddenly vanishes.  Sistri looks around....the Drow is gone, or invisible. The Drow wizard is also missing.  

(out of combat)

The forest is quiet. The two Jackals, and your Shadovar prisoner are gone, off in the forest with a solid lead.

Stallock clucks his tongue in his mouth, and says, "Well, that could have gone better. What now? Do we hunt?"

The moment the darkness disappeared, Irmiel sent Osrik to fly through the area. Not to see anything, but to listen if there is something moving around. (Perception: 21 - rolled with advantage for the listening part but take what is working here).

"Llwyd, can you smell them? The spell ended prematurely and I do not see that damn wizard. Either both teleported or invisible now." Her final move was to spill some water around the exit - unless both drow were also flying on top of invisibility, they had to leave some footprints. Hopefully.

Once the absence of the enemy was confirmed by animal senses in addition to the humanoid's observations, Irmiel returned to the second problem - escapees. It was hard to talk when half the audience is invisible, but she did her best.

"Do we have to hunt them, though? Jackals we were going to release anyway, did not we? The shadovar... Yes, it would be good to bring him with us. Not a nice guy and knows a lot but he is gone, the forest is full of drow, and I think the most important task for us now is to return alive to Suzail and inform the authorities about what is going on with Mythallars. Everything Lamorak told us, everything we learned about the Queen. There are others who search now for these artifacts, they have to be warned." Irmiel hesitated a bit, visibly uncomfortable to say the next sentence but eventually did it anyway. "I still think we might get something for mere discovery of one of the Mythallar and learning how to reach it too."

Once it was confirmed that the drow were really gone, Sistri moved outside near the others. "The escape of the shadovar might mean he brings others of his kind back to the site of the mythallar. That's what we wanted wasn't it?  A conflict between them and the queen down there?"  She glances around, "And I agree with Irmiel, the jackals too I can't imagine much purpose in holding them.  Though having them free now in the forest here may not be the best thing."

She again nods at the end of Irmiel's statement, "This teleporter, along with knowing a bit of how to make it work, should be valuable too."  She pauses a moment, "You don't suppose we could get to other places, do you?  By changing the number at the end? Oh! Or we could even go back to the place with floating debris. There didn't seem like anyone there trying to kill us.  Perhaps we could find a library there or something."  

Notes: Apologies for the delay. Who is hurt on the party? Also, Llwyd tries to pick up smells on the surrounding area (advantage because of Keen Hearing and Smell).

Perception Check:24 (Passive Perception 18)

The huge wolf begins roaming about. His eyes picked up trampled leaves in the ground, still popping up back into place....his nose picks up the acrid desert smells of their prisoners. He feels, at least at the moment, tracking either of their previous prisoners would be easy enough.  In addition to those smells he smells that pungent scent of the underdark that accompanies the Drow. They have been around here enough that the scent permeates the area, likely for at least a day. 

Stallock watches the wolf prowl, his eyes watching the wolf pick up the scents. To Sistri he turns, "So, you think that there might be more places the portal goes? Twelve thousand took us to the Queen place. Six thousand took us to the floating place. And Ten Thousand took us here. I wonder what other numbers work." 

Irmiel nodded (either to the words of Sistri and Stallock or to the little owl returning to her). "As Sistri said, this teleport alone is quite useful. If not for the drow infestation." She sent a smirk to very quiet again Belaern, who once again failed to reunite with his so anticipated brethren. "We sure can try another number or try to return to any location we've been already but I do not think we are in shape to do it safely. Yet again, if we do - to what end? I am as curious as any of you but should not we reportMythallar's location first?"

As everyone gathers and the fighting seems to have subsided, Sistri casts Cure Wounds on herself. (7 hp restored) 

(She will still be injured after that - she has one 1st-level spell slot and 20 hp of Lay on Hands left, so can use some of that.)  

"You're right Irmiel. I can probably heal myself up, but I've got little left. I'm not sure what we'd do if we ran into more drow. Or worse, more of shadovar.  I was justing we're here and it's a long way back.  And the teleporter is right here."  Sistri hesitates a moment. "But yes, we should head back. Report what we've found.  Then think about next steps."  

He waited for the enemies to attack, but instead of blades there was only silence. He waited more, then started to sniff the air. There was death, sweat and blood – the perfumes of the drow and their land. He also caught the scent of the desert. The jackals and Lamorak, the druid knew without doubt. It should be easy to follow them and to let the Shadovar go meant giving him the opportunity to attack their company in particular, a fact his companions seemed to not consider. The man was still weakened and to let him go was the same as to invite the Netherese to a personal fight.

Llwyd nodded to Irmiel question and barked when she mentioned the possibility of the enemies being invisible. As far as the Satyr could tell the enemies had all gone away.

He pointed with his snout on the direction where he could smell the man, then barked again. Gods, it was frustrating being unable to speak. Too hurt to stay into his original form, staying a wolf was still his best option and he could only hope anyone caught what he meant. Better yet if someone understood the reasons behind what he meant.

Before any answer could be given he willed his owl to approach the group and to heal Stallock.

Healing: 15

"Yes, Llwyd, we all saw Lamorak and jackals running in this direction. I do not think we should worry about them," nevertheless with these words little owl flew from her shoulder and disappeared into the woods, searching for the shadovar (Perception 20). "Jackals can not return to the desert, while Lamorak's goal is to report the situation to his superiors, which will take time. We can just add to our report, that shadovar intend to fight the Queen for the Mythallar."

Irmiel clapped her hands summarising. "So, Sistri and I are for the immediate return to Suzail, Llwyd wants to intercept Lamorak and Stallock - to continue to study the portal. The majority wins?" She smiled with a bit too accentuated innocents batting her eyelashes a couple of times even. But she did listen to Osrik's reports on the shadovar. Just in case.

Stallock absorbs the healing of the small mystical owl before it vanishes. He breathes a deep sigh of relief. "Thank you...thank you very much."  (18 healing.)

Stallock shrugs, "I was just curious, I wasn't proposing anything. Suzail sounds good. I've been thinking about the best path from here. I think it is south, around the ruins of Myth Drannor, and down to the Moonsea Ride which will take us south west towards Cormyr. It's the most direct route, and once we get to the Ride it'll be well travelled and pretty quick."  

Looking much more full of energy, he moves his own spirit animal, the wolf, over to Irmiel and Sistri, and the creature suffuses them both with healing power.  (8 for Irmiel, and 1 for Sistri) 

He then readjusts his bag, and picks up his dropped weapons, and prepares for travel before leading the group away generally southward. 

The travel south for the rest of the day goes by quickly. You see more and more signs of elven architecture, along with huge chunks of rock or building scattered about the forest where they seem to have landed as if tossed into the forest by a giant. You also spot more deserted structures built into the forest, though none quite so unique as the tree house. They all appear covered in vines, weeds, and forest growth as nature is quick to reclaim everything.  Stallock must have led you well around the ruins of Myth Drannor however, because you see no direct results of the massive impacts of when the floating city of Shade fell from the sky upon the city proper. 

As darkness comes you find Stallock waiting at a small level patch of ground.  "Seems as good a spot as any for camp." 

(Osrik did not find any trace of Lamorak?)

"Thank you!" Exclaimed Irmiel in turn when healing magic closed her most grievous wounds. Only now she realized how serious was the last hit. "Well, looks like Lamorak is fully gone anyway, we can as well go now."

She followed their guide again with Osrik scouting a bit ahead and around in case there was another ambush somewhere still. After the battle all the body wanted was to lay down and rest, alas, they were not in Suzail yet to teleport anywhere with Charlie's scrolls. The clearance, Stallock discovered, came right in time. Osrik circled the place, piercing the coming darkness, and gave it a go. (?)

Once both - Stallock and Osrik confirmed the safety of the place, Irmiel was ready to settle, helping with the campfire, should the group risk starting one.

(If Perception 18, if needed for her shift. Osrik will be on guard all night too: Perception 23)

Before setting out, Sistri would concentrate on herself to use her Lay on Hands ability to heal herself (for another 15 hp, leaving 5 hp in reserve).  While looking much more refreshed, she is still a bit injured. She keeps an eye out as they travel, worried that shadovar or drow might come back upon them at any moment. She was a bit relieved that nothing had happened once Stallock called for a stop.  

"Well, it will be nice to sleep here in the forest tonight. I'm glad to be rid of that underground place," Sistri says.  She checks out the clearing and finds a comfortable place to set up her bedroll.  "So how many days do you think the trip will take?" she asks Stallock. Once everyone settles in she offers to help out in setting up a campsite and will take whatever watch is needed.  

(Perception for watch: 23) 

Osrik's quiet flight around the area picked out clues of passage for certain. The owl noticed footprints in the loam still filling with water....and broken branches. The sound of not too distant bird chitter and disturbances in the forest are obvious.  (If Osrik would like to trail Lamorak, it can, it needs to make a survival roll. But it seems like the large dire wolf can also pick up the trail, but you'd chosen not to?  Up to you of course! Didn't mean to miss that.) 

The evening in the forest passes uneventfully. Far enough from the tree house that it would take an expert tracker to have followed the groups trail, Stallock doesn't seem too concerned about being followed. The morning is wet with dew and damp as the small group, still nursing bruises and the reminders of wounds from yesterdays battle, prepares to travel. 

Stallock takes a stick and begins drawing a rough map in the ground.  "We are a long way from Cormyr. It's over 300 miles to Tilverton, which is the northern most city of Cormyr. From there, it's maybe another 200 miles to Suzail, which is at the southern most point of Cormyr. That leaves us with 500 miles to travel. I would say, a couple of days to the Ride, and then from there, ten days to Tilverton. Another 8 days to Suzail."   He glances at Llwyd, Irmiel, and Sistri as he lays out the distance of journey they're planning on making. "Or, I take us back to Hillsfar, which is about a 3 day journey." 

(With Llwyd's silence, I guess we chose not to pursue Lamorak)

Irmiel looked at all the drawings and calculations with an already tired expression - the journey promised to be the long one. "We need to get to Suzail or to the Candlekeep. Actually, getting to the Candlekeep first could be preferable - they can offer teleportation there, Shalasta said we are allowed to ask for one. But unless Hillsfar or any surrounding cities have a public teleportation circle, we are out of luck and will have to take the long path. Would much prefer a horse, in this case. A bit less tiresome."

She paused, wrinkled her nose and admitted. "If we wanted horses, I guess it does make sense to go back to Hillsfar. Or maybe you know some farmer around renting or selling horses?" She looked at Stallock hopefully.

To Irmiel, Sistri says, "I am able to summon a horse for myself."  She then pauses, making a face. "Well, once I've had a chance to rest for a bit I can. But horses might be a good idea."  She then turns to Stallock, "Do you know if there is a way to teleport from Hillsfar?"  She sighs a bit, recalling the place. "Even if it isn't my first choice of destinations."