Crannoc stands up and walks over to Stira only a bit unsteadily, sycamore seedling wobbling slightly on his shoulder.  He gives her a small, unusual bow.  More like an arching stretch.

"Thank you, den mistress for the hospitality of your city lair.  Your... drink, which my feline companion and I partook of was... most unexpected in its flavor, yet pleasant.  May Temuth favor you with fair seasons and the gift of the wild."

He follows beind Reida Lonsvell and the rest of his newfound companions, grinning and nodding along with Jasper as if fully understanding the Tabaxi's metaphor, even though he is having trouble remembering what cream is and how it relates to a party.  Somewhat surreptitiously, Crannoc prays to Temuth for Guidance and concentrates on it to steady himself.  And to try to get a read on what is about to happen.  Perhaps the compensation that Kass, Maggwyn and Jasper had wanted is in the chest.  Perhaps something else is at play.  Or more respect, as Miesha may have hinted at.  Hopefully not manipulation and city-folk scheming.

Insight:  27 + 3 from Guidance.

Nodding in thanks to the generous halfling bartender, Kass heads out into the street, scowling at the decorations around the town... or maybe that's just her face. Considering most of the time it is covered up by her helmet, it's hard to tell. She follows Reida out into the street and spots the chest. "Hm. I hope that contains our reward," the hobgoblin mutters under her breath. "Or that they at least have good food at this party."

Kass clears her throat and sidles up alongside Reida. "So... hierarch... or whatever honorific you go by... I am unfamiliar with this land, but am interested in learning your customs. What awaits us at this party? How do you people... what's the word... celibate? Cellophane? ... Celebrity... Maabet," she curses at her incompetence. "How do your people have parties?"

Crannoc - As you gather what little you know of the city-folks lifestyle, you determine that this small child would likely be incapable of any malicious deception. It seems to you that when this child offers a celebration to your group it is genuine, and this conclusion is backed by the joyous and grateful people you see in the streets greeting you. The chest and celebration before you do appear to be about as much ceremony as the people of this small town can muster.

Kass - Reida looks confused as you fumble for a word, seemingly unaware of what the word is either. When you rephrase, however, she smiles again and responds. “We always have lots of food at parties! Sometimes we have games, too. Everyone tries to help make the party great! That’s why my moms collected all the surprises-“ She quickly cuts herself off. “I wasn’t supposed to say that. Can you pretend you don’t know? Please?”

"But you have just told me, I cannot un-hear... Uh... I mean, yes, of course, young hierarch. I shall carry the secret you have entrusted with me to the grave."

     “Celebrate,” Miesha offers without turning to look at Kass.  Instead Miesha is marching behind Rieba and trying to cut a shining figure of heroism to all who look on.  She turns her head slightly here and there and gives brief nods of acceptance and appreciations to those watching this little rag tag parade but mostly tries to appear stoic and serene.

     “We will praise whatever surprises offered,” Miesha instructs the others in a whisper. “And act totally surprised!” She adds for Rieba’s sake.  “We will enjoy and compliment whatever food is offered.  And if we have complaints we shall save them until out of earshot if the locals…”

     It’s all said in a hushed voice but with the intention of being an order to be followed.  If any gripe or question it she ignores it, unless it’s done loudly…  In truth she’s quite curious as to what this town came up with.  Sometimes the crap holes of the world can surprise you with what they hide.  After all, that transforming gnoll thing was totally unexpected, she thinks.  And it’s weapon..  that may fetch a price.  In a much bigger city than this, of course.

Crannoc - (Addition to your earlier Insight check, now focused more on the intentions of the townsfolk.) You provided them a great service in allowing them to be led by a leader that they chose, the displays of their gratitude don't seem to have any intention other than to give back to you for what you did for them.

As your group enters the center of town, you are met with cheers from the surrounding townsfolk. Reida runs up to the rest of the Lonsvells who are standing at the center table with a chest atop it. On the tables is a wide array of food, some meats are present but there is a particular emphasis on grains and other plant-based foods. Everything they offer seems to have been grown locally. There is a smaller table that has a row of kegs on it. The food smells freshly made and to those accustomed to city life it appears to be food as good as a lower or middle class locale can procure.

Vara silences the crowd with a wave and beckons you to her table. "Today, we feast and celebrate to honor and thank the heroes who have saved my family and me and in doing so, allowed the town of Aoswell to maintain local governance. We are also gathered to present them with what material thanks we can provide them, to aid in their endeavors of the future.” She nods respectfully to you all, and draws out the chair in front of her, indicating everyone to be seated. Voices begin conversations here and it is clear that celebration has begun in earnest. Vara begins to serve food to everyone at the table, as Rifra speaks up, “So where do you five hail from?”

Maggwyn is enjoying her drink in the tavern and is intrigued by the conversation on how they should be 'paid' for their services.  This group sure is diverse.. this could deem useful she thinks to herself as she enjoys watching Crannoc gag on the drink the rest are enjoying.

Smiling to herself she watches as the young one comes in and invites them to follow her.  Bowing to the halfling, "Thank you for the drink, it is much appreciated.  I'm sure we'll be back."  As they walk along the street, she notices the symbol and heads over to Jasper and whispers so only he hears, "Hey, listen... there is an active guild here.  Did you know that?  Apparently, Birgon’s Apothecary is someplace we can trust."

Maggwyn enjoys the festivities, but stays pretty quiet, it isn't really her scene.  She ignores Miesha and her command to be surprised and such at the celebration.  Like us adults don't know how to act?  She sits when it seems appropriate and waits for others to start talking about where they are from, she is interested herself.

     "Thank you, Lady Lonsvell.  We merely saw a problem and did what we could to help," Miesha says in her most diplomatic manner.  "If one cannot use their skills and abilities to help others then surely such are wasted."

     "Speaking of waste, let's not allow any of this fine looking food go to it!  I am sure me and the others," for she was still unsure if they would be companions or not, "have built up quite a hunger and thirst!  We most humbly accept the gifts of food and drink that you and the great people of Aoswell have provided, and it'll be our honor to eat and drink our fill so as to save anyone the burdensome task of dealing with leftovers..."  (Performance to see if the joke landed? 18 )

     After a short pause to let any laughter die down... Or to recoup her composure after there being none, Miesha continues. "I do pray that you and the rest have not put yourselves out on our accounts.  In neither the feast nor whatever material rewards you feel is appropriate.  While it did turn out to be more than we expected, we of course assisted out of duty, not for rewards..."  And with her little speechy reply to Lady Vara Lonsvell, Miesha bows her head subtly and waits for the lady to sit before she herself follows and partakes of the offerings...

Crannoc smiles in sympathy at Kass' attempts to find the right word.  Celebrate.  At least I knew that one.  I am not the only one out of their element here.

The sycamore seedling seems to nestle deep among the leaves of his necklace, hiding amongst the mote of the forest spirits' power channeled there.

It knows.  We were victorious today over an emergent abomination.  The ritual with the gnolls and cultists and the Lord of Savagery.  They would have ravaged this town and likely not stopped there.  These are worthy companions I have found, though their motivations differ from mine.  Indeed, we ended the imminent threat and restored the proper leaders of Aoswell.  But then why does this... celebration... feel premature?  Something is still wrong.

Crannoc remains troubled but tries not to show it.  He instinctively follows the cue of the bronze leader.  Waiting to sit until the Lonsvells themselves sit.  Miesha's joke goes completely over his head and he makes a mental note to gorge himself as much as his belly can possibly hold so as not to burden their hosts with leftovers, wondering at the chuckles and laughs he hears when she finishes speaking.  He gives his strange, arching bow of thanks and tries to follow the others' leads.  He does his best to be gracious and eat and drink and listen during the festivities.

At Miesha’s joke there is a range of laughs around the table, though the two Lonsvell children seem mildly confused. After a few polite gestures everyone is seated and the feast has begun. For the most part, Vara and Rifra socialize with you all the most, but Reida and Serni make occasional contributions. The eldest of the Lonsvells: Lord Sorlar Lonsvell seems slightly reserved during the festivities but seems glad to be in the company of his family and your party.

Throughout the evening, many people come to thank your party for your service, introducing themselves jovially. Numerous children stare in wonderment at the array of people that are being regarded so highly. At various points your party members are challenged to competition in carnival games by children and adults alike, all thrilled with the sport of challenging an adventurer to a contest.

Food is kept in constant supply until you all think you couldn’t manage another bite. Most of the townspeople seem to be similarly full. Slowly people retire for the evening, packing up some of the tables as they leave. After a while, only about thirty people remain in the center of town, all around the main table with the chest on top of it. It is nearly midnight as you sit and socialize with these townspeople, mostly the local business owners who keep the town running as you’ve discovered in your conversations with them. Vara and Sorlar Lonsvell is still present after Rifra took their children to the Busy Rabbit Inn for the night. Stira remains with you all as well. There is also an older dwarf woman who is sitting back, occasionally chatting with Sorlar and others around the table.

If there is any kind of information about Aoswell or it’s people that you would like to learn over the course of the evening it is made available to you through conversations with the townspeople.

Other than generally trying to comprehend the foreign customs, personalities and daily lives of these people that he thinks of as city-dwellers...

Crannoc would try to get a feel for whether there are any hunters, trappers, herders or any other folk who venture into the woods to the south where he is from, or to the Ropenhaven Slopes to the southeast.  Have any of noticed anything amiss recently (as Crannoc feels he himself has sensed)?  Certainly any word of foul cultists, but even anything else out of the ordinary in Temuth's realm.

He would wonder about the larger city, Neldfield, and its emissary, though his mind would struggle to think of a city larger than Aoswell.  Are their (Neldfield's) pack or flock superior to that of Aoswell in some way that they would impose rules on the latter?  Or just more numerous?  Is there trust between the two packs?

He would try to discern the natural power dynamic among the adult Lonsvells themselves, especially with Lord Sorlar seeming aloof along with the older dwarven female.

Insight + Guidance:  8 + 1 

Finally, if no one else raises it, he would quietly and politely remind one of the adult Lonsvells about the captives, Osboran and the other cultist.  Crannoc has no love for them, given their past, but with the help they gave, he thinks they deserve even-handed judgement from the Lonsvells and folk of Aoswell.

     Miesha does her best to enjoy the festivities as well as play the role of one being celebrated.  She is kind of happy to interact with any and all.  She happily allows the children to defeat her in all kinds of contests, oohing and ahhing at their amazing skill, strength and prowess.  She does her best to judge which of the adults are looking for the same treatment and which actually want to test themselves, and restrains herself or not based on her estimations.

     Later in the evening, as things have quieted down and it is more talk than frivolity, Miesha would bring up the more serious topics... "What is being done with the cultists?" Miesha asks at some point during the evening.  "It you and your people were wronged, so I leave them to your justice... But I am curious."

     Miesha will also inquire if these people had been a known threat or nuisance previously or if they had come out of the blue.  She would bring up the tablet that they were using for the ceremony as well and inquire if anyone here would know anything of it, was able to make anything out from it, or if they felt it should be shattered,  destroyed, and forgotten.

     She would ensure the topic of the town's leadership is also brought up, mainly inquiring why it seems so disastrous to everyone if an outside leadership were to take over.  "Local is of course always preferable, having a voice in things and all...  But is there is a bigger threat from the outside that we should know about?"

As the party walks towards the festivities and receives some firm coaching from Miesha on their behavior Jasper scowls, especially with regard to the insistence that they praise any offer the townsfolk make.  He does shrug and nod in agreement about keeping Rieba's secret, however, as that costs him nothing and he does generally like children.

As the heroes are introduced Jasper certainly makes a show of bowing and generally being seen, his cloak billowing all the while.  Unlike Miesha he goes out of his way to show off his superior skills and dexterity at all kinds of games, trying to be entertaining and make the towns folk laugh along the way.

When asked the tabaxi does reveal that he was born far away in Byzay but learned his skills growing up and working in Ouverlock, although he is vague about the details of any 'work'.

When Maggwyn mentions Birgon's Apothecary Jasper looks caught off guard at first as he clearly hadn't noticed but he insists that of course he had anyhow.  "Worth a visit tomorrow, I'd say" he adds.

When Miesha mentions to the towns folk that they did the job out of duty rather than rewards the tabaxi gives Maggwyn a befuddled look suggesting that he truly cannot grasp her meaning and may question her sanity.  Throughout the evening his eyes do find their way to the chest on the table many times but he always reminds himself to keep low expectations in this town.

While Jasper is mostly focused on enjoying all of the attention he's getting playing this new role of adventurer and hero he does remember to ask here and there about any other people going missing in the region or any rumors of further cult activity.

"I do not understand," Kass mumbles at Miesha's joke, but looks around at the others laughing and decides to fake it for the sake of fitting in. "Hierarch Vara, my home is far from here, in the frigid wastes of the Carafairn Frostlands. It is... quite different from this place. I have not yet grown used to being here. Or speaking the native tongue."

As the party drags on, Kass has no idea what to do with herself, so she sticks with the Lonsvells, perhaps a little too intrusively. Not quite trusting that things are suddenly in the clear, she keeps an eye out for any danger. When Miesha brings up the subject of the cultists' fate, she chimes in. "I am agreeing with the brave warrior Miesha. The cultists must be served justice in whatever manner you see fit, hierarchs."

Crannoc - When inquiring about any odd happenings in the nearby forests, you eventually find yourself in conversation with a half-elven hunter. He tells you about an encounter he had in the Hailvort Woods when he was last there, about two weeks ago. He described how there was a grove that he often visits that usually is rich with flora and fauna. When he visited it in this most recent visit, all of the animals were in hiding and there was a strange whole in the center of the grove. The plants around the whole were clearly dehydrated. As you observe the Lonsvells you observe numerous things. The first, that it seems Lord Sorlar's detachment is primarily due to him having less energy to use to engage with others. He seems perfectly content as he is, without being in the center of the conversation. The second, that Vara seems to be the Lonsvell that holds the most leader-like position in this town. From what you gather based on context clues, Vara is Sorlar's daughter, and took over much of the town's leadership as he neared the end of his career. Rifra manages much of the financial portion of Aoswell's dealings. She manages communication with potential crop-consumers outside of town to help the local farmers.

Miesha - The general consensus of the locals is that if a city-dweller were to take over leadership they would prioritize the needs of other, larger cities to those of Aoswell. The decision on what is to be done with the cultists is directed to the Lonsvells present. Sorlar and Vara talk for a minute and eventually agree that the cultists may go free, but may not return to Aoswell. No one present reports having ever seen or had issue with the cultists or gnolls before. When you present the table with the tablet a number of people come to take a closer look. One of them is the old dwarf woman who inspects the tablet and says in a decisive tone: "This tablet has a number of signs for alchemical components. It'd take a while to figure out exactly what they mean, especially with all this gibberish in between but it's possible." The others know nothing about the tablet, but most believe that it could be potentially beneficial with some more extensive study.

Jasper - During the evening, your questioning about anyone going missing leads you to Stira. She mentions that about a month ago there was an odd human man with knowledge of the sciences far beyond anyone she had ever met. He stayed for a day in the Inn, but left in the early morning, before Stira was awake. As Miesha pulls out the tablet and is showing it to the people at the table, you feel a shock of recognition. The nature of the ritual inscribed on the tablet and the one in your spellbook are quite similar, and many of the runes on the tablet are ones used for spells. There is some similarity that, with study, could potentially be explored.

As the celebration winds down, Vara stands and informs the party that she will be retiring for the evening in preparation for the "big day tomorrow." Numerous others agree and the party is packed up with more thanks from the townsfolk to your group. Two townsfolk lift the chest off the table and set it on the ground before you. As she is leaving, Vara looks to the five of you and says: "Thank you again for everything you've done. You're welcome in Aoswell anytime. Goodnight."

Maggwyn listens to others in her party talk and to the townsfolk, enjoying the conversation while not partaking it in.  She wasn't one for conversations, she wasn't one for parties, or any real type of socialization, but as she is getting to know these other adventurers she is actually enjoys it.  While the festivities go on, she joins the children, letting them win each game, enjoying the simple pleasure of the laughter than only children can bring.

As Vara has the two townsfolk lift the chest off of the table and set it before us, Maggwyn nods to her, "Goodnight Vara, thank you for the celebration, it was enjoyed by all." and then heads over to the chest and opens it up.

Crannoc's ears perk up, as does the seedling on his shoulder when he hears Kass speak of being from the Carafairn Frostlands.  He must have missed that earlier when he just associated her with her clanking armor and her strange gadgets.  If there is time during the meal, he asks her:

"Can you tell me of your homeland, Kass?  Temuth's children are strange and wondrous in the the far north, I have heard, the seas teeming with life despite the cold, and the land dwellers hearty and fierce.  Is this true?  Were your people hunters?" (The nature cleric has no problem with hunters and trappers as long as they are part of the balance of nature and cycle of life.) "It sounds as if your people have great respect for pack leaders and an orderly herd.  Why did you leave?  It seems we are both outlanders here, though my home is much closer, in the woodlands not far south of Aoswell."

Speaking of woodlands to the south, Crannoc is dismayed but not surprised to hear about the strange, desiccated hole in the Hailvort Woods that the half-elven hunter tells him of.  He has never heard of such a thing, though the seeming increase in unusual violations of nature is part of why he had ventured forth to start with.  He thanks the half-elf sincerely for the knowledge shared and makes a note of their name and best description of directions to the location should he need to find the place.  For his own part, he speaks of his home deep in the woods to the west of the Ropenhaven Slopes.

He is a bit absent minded during the games, his mind on other things, but does manage to enjoy himself.  The play of cubs is truly one of Temuth's joys.

Crannoc says his goodbyes politely, if awkwardly, at the end of the night, then waits as the chest is brought forth and Maggwyn opens it.

Maggwyn - Opening the chest, you see an assortment of different items. There is no coinage, but there are some items that pique your curiosity. You see a potion bottle that looks empty except for the occasional bubble that surfaces, a small figurine of a silver raven, two scrolls, and six wooden tokens with the image of a rabbit on them.

     Miesha watches as the chest is opened and rummaged through but her eyes keep returning to the village and it’s simple houses and stores.  “Good people.  Honest people.  People who just want to be free to live and run their affairs…  I can’t help but think that chest contains everything of value this people could rummage together…”

     Miesha looks on for a moment or two and then sighs and turns away.  “I’m calling it a night, it’s been a day and a half it seems.”  With a nod she heads back to the room she had rented and leaves the spoils for the others….

Jasper halts his partying briefly when the markings on the tablet strike him as familiar.  By the end of the night he is still enjoying himself but privately complains to Maggwyn about having a headache.  He asks his friend "anything good in that chest?" 

Jasper asks his companions on this brief job what each will be up to next as he and perhaps Maggwyn go to seek out new work as well.