“He’ll be fine, kids better than you give him credit for” or “you know, you’d get scritches and pets too if you weren’t such a grump!”
Nef looks at the half-orc and gives a ruff of acknowledgement as they give the man the side-eye like they are trying to figure out the half-orc. As he mentions scritches the black hound rolls their eyes and give them a look that unmistakably says 'you'd give scritches wrong anyway' she looks back out into the darkness where Vin disappeared to. Perhaps a bit less stressed then before but still on edge. Its hard to say with her. As Elthana and Vin appear from te darkness of the night and Vin's unravels the shadows concealing him she seems to finally relax in full.
"See he is safe and sound. And he did great, you worry too much."
Vin adds "Yeah, got some really good information to share too." Nef looks to Vin and goes to nuzzle his side while looking at Elthana. She gives a nod of acknowledgement to her, albeit she seems grumpy about it but also relieved that Vin is okay. Vin looks between the two and seems confused a bit. He smiles though, thinking it's nice to see Nef getting along with others... in her own way at least. He gives Nef some scritches behind her ear. She wags her tail and then the pair of them listen in to Muir as he explains what he saw as a squirrel. Vin was afraid others were being held captive like that. To him this just became a rescue mission. Nef seems to pick up on this and Vin suddenly seems a bit more solemn as he nods to words only he hears. As Elthana asks about the condition of the prisoners and Muri doesn't answer that seems to confirm something for Vin and Nef. After Muir speaks Vin voices, "I'd really like to save them... I know its not something we can do easily though. Hopefully this helps, I scouted the entrances up close." Vin proceeds to give details on the layout of what he saw. Guards at each and the tower tot he south having six guards on top. Patrol sizes he saw inside, as well as whatever else was immediately inside the 3 ways they scouted.
Leaving the town for now Vin seems to be trying to think of solutions to the situation. His mind working on multiple fronts. For all his lacking skills the boy has a good mind to problem solve. As the day's exhaustion begins to hit the youth he does his best to hide it but it all the same relieved when others mention resting for the night. Vin takes a moment during the travel to tell Gweyn, "Hey, umm... I wanted to let you know Nef and I like the idea of finding a way to get to the giant. Taking out the leader will likely make these things flee or fight each other. If what Muir said is true then, I think its the way to go as well. We don't want to fight them all, we just want them to leave. I can't figure out a way to make sure the surviving townsfolk will be okay when this happens though. Nef thinks they will get killed no matter what we do... there's got to be a way to save them though right?" Vin seems to be trying to figure a way out to do it and he doesn't seem to expect Gweyn to have the answer but asked him anyway.
As Muir shows them the magical portal into the tree Vin looks amazed! He smiles and says "That, is really cool Muir." Nef seems to distrust the portal but when Vin steps through with enthusiasm the black hound begrudgingly follows. it seems very comfortable and warm here and Vin looks to Nef who looks around the area and scouts it out as if expecting an ambush. She comes back and Vin smiles as they look to Muir and says "Nef says, it's acceptable." The hound finds a nice shaded spot and flops down apparently a lot more tired then they were letting on. Vin watches but doesn't immediately join them, instead he talks with the others a bit. "I know you are all talking about a plan, I find it best to list objectives and make a plan based on those. In my case, my goals for where we are now are: Find a way to cure the soulless, rescue the captives, defeat the enemies, reclaim the town. What is everyone else's goals?" after a bit of discussion and hearing others input on their own goals Vin will go to get some rest pondering what others have said eager to give some feedback but he wants some time to think it over when he's not so tired.
"Good Morning all, I'm glad my friend Muir has found friends of his own to help him with his task. My name is Goodall, Master of the Chattel forest and to a degree the Leader of the Keepers of the woods, and I have been doing a little research."
Waking in the early morning to poke around the camp Vin was delighted to see that both he and Nef seemed to sleep well without interruptions like last time. Nef seems energized as well as Vin. They do their normal morning routine of walking around but this time exploring inside the odd clearing they find themselves in. As Goodall introduces herself Nef seems to be wary of the woman while Vin heartily greets her. "Oh, Hello Master Goodall! As Muir said: I'm Vin and this is Nef." the black dog just glares at her. "You have a very nice place here. Umm, if you don't mind me asking, what research?"
As the group makes the return trek, Gewyn listens to Vin's questions. "That is a question that bothers me too. I, like your companion, worry that there may be little we can do for the captives, but leaving their fate to chance doesn't... sit right. But if we take out the giant leading them, what's to stop them from gorging on the prisoner's blood?" Gewyn stops walking for a moment.
"Unless... What if the leader didn't have to disappear when we've killed the giant?" He glances over at Muir almost imperceptibly before speaking in what sounds nearly identical to Vin's voice,"I am rather good at sounding like other people, and at making people see what I want them to see. I may be able to play a convincing giant, or even move among the redcaps unnoticed, with a bit of finesse."
The next morning, at the sound of his name, Gewyn rolls over and raises his head from slumber. Seeing a new lady-guest who everyone isn't immediately rushing to kill, Gewyn quicklly and casually runs a hand through his flop of hair before smiling her way. "Well hello, there"
"the forests of these lands belong to no one person Sam, however I have no doubts that Master Gore and Master Muir here are doing their utmost to preserve the land as much as possible...
I'm glad to be able to meet you all
I am indisposed at the moment, doing research on your problems, specifically the night attacks that seem to come from nowhere. After Muir left our community to help Hokum I travelled to the capitol, apologies for not telling you earlier Muir, I did not want to worry you on my journey, but I assumed I would be more help here than at home."
Goodall looks around at the reactions of the group, she smiles before continuing, "Vin, a pleasure to meet you, I've heard a little about you, though not from Muir. Your professor has been very helpful in aiding me, but I'm curious as to why he is secretive of the nature of your group. It is interesting but I suppose not important right now.
On to what I have learned, Muir filled me in on the details of the nightly attacks in people's dreams and we surmised together that the attacks were coming from the so called 'Ethereal plane', I looked into things that linked the fabled Faewyld to this plane and did not find a lot I'm afraid. I have a list of creatures from myth and some from religious story that could possibly be your assailant.
The nightmare, a flaming demonic horse that is apparently used as transport by the lord's of hell, said to be a strong and intelligent creature that can step between it's own plane and that of the ethereal nature.
Night hag, this one had more relevance to the Faewyld, but all I could find was an old wives tale, it told of a powerful elf that succumbed to corruption, again of demonic nature, which warped it's body into a horrific visage, I'll spare the details but the story's moral was one of being true to oneself and not letting evil take seed in the form of doubt, the hag had a stone that would let it enter the realms of children's dreams if they were bad.
Succubus or incubus, again more stories and again something demonic, these creatures take winged forms of a ghostly ethereal nature, these too enter the dreams of their victims to tempt them to indulge in their darkest desires and forbidden pleasures, it is said that they would seal their victims fate with a kiss and the victims souls would be forfeit.
The last one I found is ghosts, certain types of magic are forbidden from use, to the point that it is not something I am able to research properly, spirits are naturally occuring in our world, it is in the druidic belief that all life energy completes a circle and that the land produces spirits for its own protection. Some are good omens and some are bad. But rumours suggest that ghosts can be created via unnatural magical means, I hypothesise that these ghosts existing in some kind of limbo would possess the ability to exist in both this plane and the ethereal, when people see ghosts they report the ghosts vanishing and such.
That is all the creatures I found, and the reading I did was quite extensive, the final conclusion I came to was that there is a possibility that these attacks aren't being carried out by a creature at all, but a wizard, from our realm, someone who could command such powerful magics that they could traverse this ethereal plane, the possibility of that is rare but not impossible..." She stops and takes a beat, letting the information lie, before asking for the party's thoughts.
"I know you are all talking about a plan, I find it best to list objectives and make a plan based on those. In my case, my goals for where we are now are: Find a way to cure the soulless, rescue the captives, defeat the enemies, reclaim the town. What is everyone else's goals?"
"Goals? Simple, kid. Stay alive. Keep you all alive. Do the best about the rest that I can with keeping the first two true..." Sam says with a mix of grump and old man charm.
"I would love to save all the captives, beat all the bad guys and make Hokum a city of renown again. But reality is reality. We have to be realistic about what we can do, and we can't save everyone. As for the captives, like as not they're going to die no matter what we do. Doesn't mean we disregard them, but it does mean we can't risk our other goals just due to hopes and wishes..."
"Unless... What if the leader didn't have to disappear when we've killed the giant?" He glances over at Muir almost imperceptibly before speaking in what sounds nearly identical to Vin's voice, "I am rather good at sounding like other people, and at making people see what I want them to see. I may be able to play a convincing giant, or even move among the redcaps unnoticed, with a bit of finesse."
"But does the giant go to the town?" Sam asks. "Mind you, I am liking the thinking, but the further you stray from what the giant does the more chance the gig is up, yes? It may be best to have you replace the giant where they are and give future delivery redcaps new orders?"
Current...
"the forests of these lands belong to no one person Sam, however I have no doubts that Master Gore and Master Muir here are doing their utmost to preserve the land as much as possible...
"All respects due and all, but you're the one named yourself keeper, not I..." Sam notes but shrugs, not looking to make an issue of it or anything.
He listens to her report as best he can but in the end is left scratching his head. "Maybe one of the others got something from that I didn't," he says with real confusion "But I didn't understand a bit of that which would help us at all."
Muir ignores Sam’s gruff demeanor figuring he meant no harm by it and asks Goodal “Do you know of any wizard powerful enough to do this? Why would they do this to the people of Hokum while this invasion occurs?”
Vin is a little stunned at the news his professor has been in contact with Goodall. The boy very curious if he's here or not too. When she reveals this information Vin can't help but ask "Professor Wooswin? Really? Is he here?" Vin looks around the area expecting the man to step out from behind a tree. He's been one of the very few people that seemed to help the boy when he was growing up. Help clear up a few messes Vin and Nef got into too. Vin is clearly a bit excited to hear their mentor might be here. Vin will cast prestidigitation on himself as well just in case he is because he wants to look clean and crisp like a well presented student of the academy. He's not expecting the old man to be here but he wasn't going to take any chances as having the professor's approval was important to them. If not here Vin will probably ask, "He talked about me though?"
Barring prominent figures appearing, Vin gets into the discussion of the various creatures that can attack through dreams. They listen with apt attention and jot down a few notes. One Goodall finishes Vin says "There is some kind of fruit that is tied to this too. At least, it seems to be tied to making the kids soulless. Which, what if they are not soulless? Can a person have desires without their soul? I was able to get one of the kids to make a choice based on what they like rather then a direct command. We heard there was a person called Favian living in the mountains near Hokum. Apparently the kids ate some fruits of his and it made them... like unable to make choices. Always do as they are told kind of thing. They just stand there doing nothing unless you tell them to do something. I don't know, maybe I'm just optimistic and hoping their souls are not really gone but I wonder if they are trapped in their own dreams? Like a person sleepwalking but aware on some level something is going on?" If Professor Wooswin isn't here Vin is definitely wishing they were. Their arcane expertise would be ideal here.
"Goals you say? For our current situation?"Elthana ponders this for a moment. "I would say it is to clear the town so that the survivors from Hokum can return." Then she looks wryly at Sam, "And yes, to stay alive."
"I wonder, would we be able to split into two teams? One to stop the delivery of blood to the giant, and one to release the prisoners? Maybe if we stop the deliveries, the giant will be angry enough to wreak havoc on the redcaps, and we can also try and stop the source of the collection by removing their so called cattle. I mean, we could also do these things together just one at a time, if separating doesn't sound smart. Just my two cents, anyways."
Elthana nods at Goodall as she arrives and says her hellos. She listens to what she has found in her research, but it doesn't sound like anything matches up really to what Vin had described... at least from what she could remember. She sees Vin jot down some notes, and figures that will do for now, the 'soulless' children are interesting, but not on the forefront of her mind.
Gewyn props himself up on his elbows. "I don't suppose the wive's tale describes what would happen were the night hag's stone were to be taken from her?"
"Knowledge and understanding of your enemy is key to victory Sam," Goodall says with a soothing calmness, "I was hoping you who have been around the attacks may be able to shed more light on this."
"I personally know no Spellcasters with the skill to cast themselves into other planes, but I heard tell of it In my youth, I should maybe ask to counsel with the leaders of the cavalcade as they may have more information on this from their adventuring days? Professor Wooswin has been very helpful and, yes Vin, hasn't told me much but has mentioned that you were in the area of Hokum and that you are a capable young man."
As Gewyn props himself up he catches Goodall's attention, "as with most old wives tales or children's stories, the evil creature's weaknesses are left out, though if this is an avenue you'd like me to explore more I can look it up..."
"If it please you," Gewyn says, smiling charmingly once more. "I just have a hunch that the night hag may fit the bill. And my hunches are rarely wrong more than half the time."
“I find hitting your enemy harder and more often than they hit you is often the key to victory, but I imagine not every fight is the same, eh?” Sam retorts, still gruff but a tad more sociable now that he’s sure she’s not a threat,
“But it seems the hag’s weakness is in what you already told us. If the stories you heard were true, then the hag has a stone letting her enter dreams, yea? We get the stone from her and at least that threat is gone,” Sam points out…
Everyone feels a sudden rush, like they've just been dropped from a nauseating hight, all of a sudden each member of the party is forcibly ejected from the sanctuary and sent sprawling over the forest floor. Those of a dexterous disposition look back just in time to see a golden glow of a doorway fade and the magical wooden doorknob that belongs to Muir, tumbles to the ground.
The morning light can be seen warming the sky above slightly but it is still a dark winter morning, the contrast of the warmth of the sanctuary shifts suddenly to biting frozen air.
Muir walks over and picks up his knob and turns to the group "I trust we are all well rested after last night. Shall we head back to the cave and see who and what we can muster to help? The Clerics of Hermes should be here within the day or 2 to help with whatever we need or at least that's what I have been led to believe."
“Well that’ll wake you up in the morning” Sam declares once he finishes rolling head over tails and cones to rest against a tree. “Evicted with barely a ‘Fare thee well’ we are!” Sam has a grin on his face though and it’s apparent he thought the forceful ejection rather amusing.
“If we can count on the druids showing and helping, then that seems the destination,” Sam says, emphasis on the iF. “Each day before we do something is surely hard on the hostages so if there’s doubt about them…”
After being unceremoniously extracted from the tree room, Elthana stands up and dusts herself off. She looks longingly towards the village of Hokum, not wanting to delay their mission any longer, but then reluctantly turns towards Muir, "So you are sure the Clerics of Hermes will be there soon? Shoot, that is something we should have cleared with Goodall... would she have known?"
She nods to Sam on hearing his words as well, "If the group wants to head to the caves, I am fine with that. But as Sam states, each day...." and she trails off.
Gewyn collects himself and then traces one finger along his pipes as he thinks. "I admit, I too am a bit chafed by the idea of leaving the prisoners to their own poor fortunes for another two days... What do you think, Vin? And Nef?"
The forest looks completely different covered in frost and light snow, anyone who had only navigated through the thick of the forest before this would easily be lost now, luckily the group only has to keep close to the mountains and keep the mountains to their right, to know they are headed in the correct direction.
After an hour or two of trudging through the crunchy forest, the groups feet start disappearing through the ground as they progress, the familiar smell now. Blight.
The field of dessication looks similar to how it did before, but it lays now abandoned, the white of the necrotic rot only highlighted by frost. It is now only a place of loss for the forest, a grim reminder of the cost of the land that this invasion has suffered upon Hokum, even in a lonely place like this.
Wind whistles through this alley where the trees no longer stand to protect the ground, bits of rot and dust and frost fly around creating a small whirlwind tornado which wanders here and there.
As they walk, Elthana looks out on the field of desiccation and gets lost in thought. She is pretty quiet as they head back to the cave, the majority of her thoughts worrying that the clerics they are hoping for are not there. Wondering if they will have any help there and that this trip is a waste.
Thinking back, and realizing there really won't be a whole lot of down time, she walks over to Gewyn, "You mentioned before you wanted to spar? Did you want to head off a bit away from the group and do it as we walk? Could at least get in a little practice on our way."
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Nef looks at the half-orc and gives a ruff of acknowledgement as they give the man the side-eye like they are trying to figure out the half-orc. As he mentions scritches the black hound rolls their eyes and give them a look that unmistakably says 'you'd give scritches wrong anyway' she looks back out into the darkness where Vin disappeared to. Perhaps a bit less stressed then before but still on edge. Its hard to say with her. As Elthana and Vin appear from te darkness of the night and Vin's unravels the shadows concealing him she seems to finally relax in full.
Vin adds "Yeah, got some really good information to share too." Nef looks to Vin and goes to nuzzle his side while looking at Elthana. She gives a nod of acknowledgement to her, albeit she seems grumpy about it but also relieved that Vin is okay. Vin looks between the two and seems confused a bit. He smiles though, thinking it's nice to see Nef getting along with others... in her own way at least. He gives Nef some scritches behind her ear. She wags her tail and then the pair of them listen in to Muir as he explains what he saw as a squirrel. Vin was afraid others were being held captive like that. To him this just became a rescue mission. Nef seems to pick up on this and Vin suddenly seems a bit more solemn as he nods to words only he hears. As Elthana asks about the condition of the prisoners and Muri doesn't answer that seems to confirm something for Vin and Nef. After Muir speaks Vin voices, "I'd really like to save them... I know its not something we can do easily though. Hopefully this helps, I scouted the entrances up close." Vin proceeds to give details on the layout of what he saw. Guards at each and the tower tot he south having six guards on top. Patrol sizes he saw inside, as well as whatever else was immediately inside the 3 ways they scouted.
Leaving the town for now Vin seems to be trying to think of solutions to the situation. His mind working on multiple fronts. For all his lacking skills the boy has a good mind to problem solve. As the day's exhaustion begins to hit the youth he does his best to hide it but it all the same relieved when others mention resting for the night. Vin takes a moment during the travel to tell Gweyn, "Hey, umm... I wanted to let you know Nef and I like the idea of finding a way to get to the giant. Taking out the leader will likely make these things flee or fight each other. If what Muir said is true then, I think its the way to go as well. We don't want to fight them all, we just want them to leave. I can't figure out a way to make sure the surviving townsfolk will be okay when this happens though. Nef thinks they will get killed no matter what we do... there's got to be a way to save them though right?" Vin seems to be trying to figure a way out to do it and he doesn't seem to expect Gweyn to have the answer but asked him anyway.
As Muir shows them the magical portal into the tree Vin looks amazed! He smiles and says "That, is really cool Muir." Nef seems to distrust the portal but when Vin steps through with enthusiasm the black hound begrudgingly follows. it seems very comfortable and warm here and Vin looks to Nef who looks around the area and scouts it out as if expecting an ambush. She comes back and Vin smiles as they look to Muir and says "Nef says, it's acceptable." The hound finds a nice shaded spot and flops down apparently a lot more tired then they were letting on. Vin watches but doesn't immediately join them, instead he talks with the others a bit. "I know you are all talking about a plan, I find it best to list objectives and make a plan based on those. In my case, my goals for where we are now are: Find a way to cure the soulless, rescue the captives, defeat the enemies, reclaim the town. What is everyone else's goals?" after a bit of discussion and hearing others input on their own goals Vin will go to get some rest pondering what others have said eager to give some feedback but he wants some time to think it over when he's not so tired.
Waking in the early morning to poke around the camp Vin was delighted to see that both he and Nef seemed to sleep well without interruptions like last time. Nef seems energized as well as Vin. They do their normal morning routine of walking around but this time exploring inside the odd clearing they find themselves in. As Goodall introduces herself Nef seems to be wary of the woman while Vin heartily greets her. "Oh, Hello Master Goodall! As Muir said: I'm Vin and this is Nef." the black dog just glares at her. "You have a very nice place here. Umm, if you don't mind me asking, what research?"
As the group makes the return trek, Gewyn listens to Vin's questions. "That is a question that bothers me too. I, like your companion, worry that there may be little we can do for the captives, but leaving their fate to chance doesn't... sit right. But if we take out the giant leading them, what's to stop them from gorging on the prisoner's blood?" Gewyn stops walking for a moment.
"Unless... What if the leader didn't have to disappear when we've killed the giant?" He glances over at Muir almost imperceptibly before speaking in what sounds nearly identical to Vin's voice, "I am rather good at sounding like other people, and at making people see what I want them to see. I may be able to play a convincing giant, or even move among the redcaps unnoticed, with a bit of finesse."
The next morning, at the sound of his name, Gewyn rolls over and raises his head from slumber. Seeing a new lady-guest who everyone isn't immediately rushing to kill, Gewyn quicklly and casually runs a hand through his flop of hair before smiling her way. "Well hello, there"
"the forests of these lands belong to no one person Sam, however I have no doubts that Master Gore and Master Muir here are doing their utmost to preserve the land as much as possible...
I'm glad to be able to meet you all
I am indisposed at the moment, doing research on your problems, specifically the night attacks that seem to come from nowhere. After Muir left our community to help Hokum I travelled to the capitol, apologies for not telling you earlier Muir, I did not want to worry you on my journey, but I assumed I would be more help here than at home."
Goodall looks around at the reactions of the group, she smiles before continuing, "Vin, a pleasure to meet you, I've heard a little about you, though not from Muir. Your professor has been very helpful in aiding me, but I'm curious as to why he is secretive of the nature of your group. It is interesting but I suppose not important right now.
On to what I have learned, Muir filled me in on the details of the nightly attacks in people's dreams and we surmised together that the attacks were coming from the so called 'Ethereal plane', I looked into things that linked the fabled Faewyld to this plane and did not find a lot I'm afraid. I have a list of creatures from myth and some from religious story that could possibly be your assailant.
The nightmare, a flaming demonic horse that is apparently used as transport by the lord's of hell, said to be a strong and intelligent creature that can step between it's own plane and that of the ethereal nature.
Night hag, this one had more relevance to the Faewyld, but all I could find was an old wives tale, it told of a powerful elf that succumbed to corruption, again of demonic nature, which warped it's body into a horrific visage, I'll spare the details but the story's moral was one of being true to oneself and not letting evil take seed in the form of doubt, the hag had a stone that would let it enter the realms of children's dreams if they were bad.
Succubus or incubus, again more stories and again something demonic, these creatures take winged forms of a ghostly ethereal nature, these too enter the dreams of their victims to tempt them to indulge in their darkest desires and forbidden pleasures, it is said that they would seal their victims fate with a kiss and the victims souls would be forfeit.
The last one I found is ghosts, certain types of magic are forbidden from use, to the point that it is not something I am able to research properly, spirits are naturally occuring in our world, it is in the druidic belief that all life energy completes a circle and that the land produces spirits for its own protection. Some are good omens and some are bad. But rumours suggest that ghosts can be created via unnatural magical means, I hypothesise that these ghosts existing in some kind of limbo would possess the ability to exist in both this plane and the ethereal, when people see ghosts they report the ghosts vanishing and such.
That is all the creatures I found, and the reading I did was quite extensive, the final conclusion I came to was that there is a possibility that these attacks aren't being carried out by a creature at all, but a wizard, from our realm, someone who could command such powerful magics that they could traverse this ethereal plane, the possibility of that is rare but not impossible..." She stops and takes a beat, letting the information lie, before asking for the party's thoughts.
"Goals? Simple, kid. Stay alive. Keep you all alive. Do the best about the rest that I can with keeping the first two true..." Sam says with a mix of grump and old man charm.
"I would love to save all the captives, beat all the bad guys and make Hokum a city of renown again. But reality is reality. We have to be realistic about what we can do, and we can't save everyone. As for the captives, like as not they're going to die no matter what we do. Doesn't mean we disregard them, but it does mean we can't risk our other goals just due to hopes and wishes..."
"But does the giant go to the town?" Sam asks. "Mind you, I am liking the thinking, but the further you stray from what the giant does the more chance the gig is up, yes? It may be best to have you replace the giant where they are and give future delivery redcaps new orders?"
Current...
"All respects due and all, but you're the one named yourself keeper, not I..." Sam notes but shrugs, not looking to make an issue of it or anything.
He listens to her report as best he can but in the end is left scratching his head. "Maybe one of the others got something from that I didn't," he says with real confusion "But I didn't understand a bit of that which would help us at all."
Muir ignores Sam’s gruff demeanor figuring he meant no harm by it and asks Goodal “Do you know of any wizard powerful enough to do this? Why would they do this to the people of Hokum while this invasion occurs?”
Vin is a little stunned at the news his professor has been in contact with Goodall. The boy very curious if he's here or not too. When she reveals this information Vin can't help but ask "Professor Wooswin? Really? Is he here?" Vin looks around the area expecting the man to step out from behind a tree. He's been one of the very few people that seemed to help the boy when he was growing up. Help clear up a few messes Vin and Nef got into too. Vin is clearly a bit excited to hear their mentor might be here. Vin will cast prestidigitation on himself as well just in case he is because he wants to look clean and crisp like a well presented student of the academy. He's not expecting the old man to be here but he wasn't going to take any chances as having the professor's approval was important to them. If not here Vin will probably ask, "He talked about me though?"
Barring prominent figures appearing, Vin gets into the discussion of the various creatures that can attack through dreams. They listen with apt attention and jot down a few notes. One Goodall finishes Vin says "There is some kind of fruit that is tied to this too. At least, it seems to be tied to making the kids soulless. Which, what if they are not soulless? Can a person have desires without their soul? I was able to get one of the kids to make a choice based on what they like rather then a direct command. We heard there was a person called Favian living in the mountains near Hokum. Apparently the kids ate some fruits of his and it made them... like unable to make choices. Always do as they are told kind of thing. They just stand there doing nothing unless you tell them to do something. I don't know, maybe I'm just optimistic and hoping their souls are not really gone but I wonder if they are trapped in their own dreams? Like a person sleepwalking but aware on some level something is going on?" If Professor Wooswin isn't here Vin is definitely wishing they were. Their arcane expertise would be ideal here.
"Goals you say? For our current situation?" Elthana ponders this for a moment. "I would say it is to clear the town so that the survivors from Hokum can return." Then she looks wryly at Sam, "And yes, to stay alive."
"I wonder, would we be able to split into two teams? One to stop the delivery of blood to the giant, and one to release the prisoners? Maybe if we stop the deliveries, the giant will be angry enough to wreak havoc on the redcaps, and we can also try and stop the source of the collection by removing their so called cattle. I mean, we could also do these things together just one at a time, if separating doesn't sound smart. Just my two cents, anyways."
Elthana nods at Goodall as she arrives and says her hellos. She listens to what she has found in her research, but it doesn't sound like anything matches up really to what Vin had described... at least from what she could remember. She sees Vin jot down some notes, and figures that will do for now, the 'soulless' children are interesting, but not on the forefront of her mind.
Gewyn props himself up on his elbows. "I don't suppose the wive's tale describes what would happen were the night hag's stone were to be taken from her?"
"Knowledge and understanding of your enemy is key to victory Sam," Goodall says with a soothing calmness, "I was hoping you who have been around the attacks may be able to shed more light on this."
"I personally know no Spellcasters with the skill to cast themselves into other planes, but I heard tell of it In my youth, I should maybe ask to counsel with the leaders of the cavalcade as they may have more information on this from their adventuring days? Professor Wooswin has been very helpful and, yes Vin, hasn't told me much but has mentioned that you were in the area of Hokum and that you are a capable young man."
As Gewyn props himself up he catches Goodall's attention, "as with most old wives tales or children's stories, the evil creature's weaknesses are left out, though if this is an avenue you'd like me to explore more I can look it up..."
"If it please you," Gewyn says, smiling charmingly once more. "I just have a hunch that the night hag may fit the bill. And my hunches are rarely wrong more than half the time."
“I find hitting your enemy harder and more often than they hit you is often the key to victory, but I imagine not every fight is the same, eh?” Sam retorts, still gruff but a tad more sociable now that he’s sure she’s not a threat,
“But it seems the hag’s weakness is in what you already told us. If the stories you heard were true, then the hag has a stone letting her enter dreams, yea? We get the stone from her and at least that threat is gone,” Sam points out…
Gewyn snaps his finger at Sam with a nod. "Exactly what I'm thinking"
Everyone feels a sudden rush, like they've just been dropped from a nauseating hight, all of a sudden each member of the party is forcibly ejected from the sanctuary and sent sprawling over the forest floor. Those of a dexterous disposition look back just in time to see a golden glow of a doorway fade and the magical wooden doorknob that belongs to Muir, tumbles to the ground.
The morning light can be seen warming the sky above slightly but it is still a dark winter morning, the contrast of the warmth of the sanctuary shifts suddenly to biting frozen air.
Muir walks over and picks up his knob and turns to the group "I trust we are all well rested after last night. Shall we head back to the cave and see who and what we can muster to help? The Clerics of Hermes should be here within the day or 2 to help with whatever we need or at least that's what I have been led to believe."
“Well that’ll wake you up in the morning” Sam declares once he finishes rolling head over tails and cones to rest against a tree. “Evicted with barely a ‘Fare thee well’ we are!” Sam has a grin on his face though and it’s apparent he thought the forceful ejection rather amusing.
“If we can count on the druids showing and helping, then that seems the destination,” Sam says, emphasis on the iF. “Each day before we do something is surely hard on the hostages so if there’s doubt about them…”
“Oh sorry I thought I mentioned we only had a certain amount of time before having to leave….time was up” Muir chuckles to himself
After being unceremoniously extracted from the tree room, Elthana stands up and dusts herself off. She looks longingly towards the village of Hokum, not wanting to delay their mission any longer, but then reluctantly turns towards Muir, "So you are sure the Clerics of Hermes will be there soon? Shoot, that is something we should have cleared with Goodall... would she have known?"
She nods to Sam on hearing his words as well, "If the group wants to head to the caves, I am fine with that. But as Sam states, each day...." and she trails off.
Gewyn collects himself and then traces one finger along his pipes as he thinks. "I admit, I too am a bit chafed by the idea of leaving the prisoners to their own poor fortunes for another two days... What do you think, Vin? And Nef?"
The forest looks completely different covered in frost and light snow, anyone who had only navigated through the thick of the forest before this would easily be lost now, luckily the group only has to keep close to the mountains and keep the mountains to their right, to know they are headed in the correct direction.
After an hour or two of trudging through the crunchy forest, the groups feet start disappearing through the ground as they progress, the familiar smell now. Blight.
The field of dessication looks similar to how it did before, but it lays now abandoned, the white of the necrotic rot only highlighted by frost. It is now only a place of loss for the forest, a grim reminder of the cost of the land that this invasion has suffered upon Hokum, even in a lonely place like this.
Wind whistles through this alley where the trees no longer stand to protect the ground, bits of rot and dust and frost fly around creating a small whirlwind tornado which wanders here and there.
As they walk, Elthana looks out on the field of desiccation and gets lost in thought. She is pretty quiet as they head back to the cave, the majority of her thoughts worrying that the clerics they are hoping for are not there. Wondering if they will have any help there and that this trip is a waste.
Thinking back, and realizing there really won't be a whole lot of down time, she walks over to Gewyn, "You mentioned before you wanted to spar? Did you want to head off a bit away from the group and do it as we walk? Could at least get in a little practice on our way."