“Leave it to the kid to say it better than me,” Sam says with a smile. “I do trust you all… I’ll just feel better if, like Neferox, we all keep an eye on everyone else…”
Muir was going to open his mouth to offer his tree services but seeing the distrust amongst the group he figures no one would sleep anyway. He just nods along with the group.
"Huzzah," Gewyn says, stepping forward. "This close to the climax is exactly when the heroes should be pushing onward, casting aside doubt, putting everything on the line, and trusting in their convictions and in their friends. If we aren't tired and bloody by the final battle, it doesn't make for as good of a story."
Elthana listens to the others and remains silent. Her confidence in her new friends grows as they decide to see this through the end no matter what. She would have watched over them, would have tried to help them be at their best, but she understands and agrees with this line of thinking. She looks down at her new form and quickly looks back up not wanting the depression of the situation to take hold.
She looks to Gewyn quizzically, "Huzzah? Now that's a new one. C'mon, let's get a move on." and she starts limping down the passageway, allowing anyone who wants to move ahead of her to go ahead.
The group decides to push on against the protests of their tired bodies, but are immediately presented with a choice. Northwards Neferox reports through Vin that she smells more of those fruits, but curiously a passage westward smells the same, with a little time to perceive, Muir confirms this to be true. The breeze from the south tells the group that the path they walked previously is that way, likely the chasm, now devoid of any crossing plank lays that way.
Sam lays a hand on Elthana's shoulder and walks besides her for a bit without saying a word. Once she seems uncomfortable, or understanding of his gesture, he gives her a nod and moves up a few paces to play his role as meat shield. Sam pauses as the passge splits and then starts heading South until the others point out that is back the way they came... Same turns, shrugs and then heads North.
Ten minutes it takes, Vin and Sam in the lead as the group make their way through the darkness, slowly but surely the giants scribblings become less and less frequent, the group having finally left his domain.The stench of the 'floaty fruit' gets thicker and thicker, reminding some of past memories, and merriment.
After that ten minutes the group feel even more exhausted and have reached another T junction in the cave system, the choice of left or right here seems very easy to those with good investigation skill and a memory for who came out if the portal last. Twigs, branches and leaves line the tunnel and deep gauges are present in the wall shallower to the right and progressively getting deeper to the left, like someone huge struggling to get out, the cave itself is still large, large enough to comfortable house the giant even this far away from its station, but the group ponders just how much Old thicket must have struggled down these channels with his outstretched canopy pushing through first, as he travelled from right to left, from the portal room out toward the open air.
(The group all take one point of exhaustion as they make their way further toward the portal)
Muir smiles at Gewyn as he turns around "A bug...apologies..." Muir stops walking and speaks to the group "If I may have a moment before we go in to fight the hag. I would like to share with you a few things that I have recently learned. Firstly, the good news....The clerics and their scouts have arrived to the town. The town has been reinforced and saved. Secondly, there will be people under the Hag's control, we must save them not kill them. We can save them by destroying the hag. No harm must come of these people. Lastly, the portal must remain opened. If it closes, we cannot control where the next will pop up or what will come through. If we keep the portal opened we can aid the good fey that are here back to their realm and keep this open as a conduit between worlds. Closing it would cause more harm than good."
“Old Treebeard seems to have come this way,” Sam points out. “Or rather, gone in the other direction. So the portal should be this way…”
He tries to make his words encouraging but there is a weariness that has set in that makes him suspect they lacked the oomph he intended. Still, nothing to be done but continue on…
Elthana listens intently to Muir as he goes through what he knows. Talking isn't something she is enjoying at the moment, though she was never a big talker before, her current situation made her want to even less. Still... "Muir, how do you know these things?"
Muir smiles at Gewyn as he turns around "A bug...apologies..."
Gewyn rubs the back of his head. "Easy, easy! Must have been quite some bug for you to flick me that hard." He raps his knuckles against his skull. "I actually use this thing a fair amount, so let's mind the sub-concussive finger punches, eh?"
Gewyn listens to Muir's information and casts him an inquisitive side-eye, waiting for his answer to Elthana's question
"People?" Sam asks. "What people? How MANY people?"
"And when you say no harm must come to them... You mean no more harm than necessary, yes?"
"Do more harm than good for who, precisely? 'Cause this portal being opened has done PLENTY of harm already... I think I may need some actual, you know, facts and proof and stuff before deciding to just let the status quo... quo...."
Muir looks at the group back and forth as they ask their questions, understandably so. "It is hard to explain but I get these premonitions. For a moment you were all frozen while a voice spoke to me. Each time this has happened what I was told came true. This time I was told that the clerics have arrived to reinforce the town. They are outside now helping reinforce Iver and clean up the town while protecting the wounded. Sam send your owl to fly back and check. You will see the scouting party has arrived and by the time we are done here the rest will be waiting. The Hag has people from the town under her thrall. We cannot harm them. They are not evil. They are being controlled. The voice said do not harm them. They also told me the portal closing will cause another one to open elsewhere with even worse fey coming through then this hag. When we defeat her the people will be saved and the portal can be used for good instead of evil. We can control what comes through and goes through. A gateway to a new world. What more can I tell you? Since I have met you, I have answered whatever you wish and kept your secrets as best as I could. What can I do to convince you this is the way"
"And I thought you were the non-suspect one," Sam says but he says it with a smirk and with obvious levity.
"My owl friend, alas, fell back in town when we fought a redcap in an alley," Sam reminds. "My bag is not yet ready to allow me to pull forth another creature yet..."
"I do not aim to harm any innocent. But the hag must be dealt with and I cannot make any garauntees. As for closing the portal... I suppose the final decision will be left to others besides us. I suspect each of our factions will have an opinion, as usual. I'd likely vote to leave it open but blockade it with half this mountain but I doubt I will get a ballot upon which to mark that..."
Sam has been fingering and finally pulls out an oval, flat and smooth stone. It is small in his palm as he flashes it briefly and then closes his hand around it. "As for factions... I should be checking in. Probably late already but I am not sure I see much point. Jimmy is back in Marblestead... He couldn't confirm anything you've said, and I'm not sure I care what his opinion on what we should do next is."
"Well then... So we should do our best to not hurt innocents - Nothing new there. We should take down the hag. That was also the plan already. Don't close the gate... I don't think we even know how to. The rest of it - the clerics and the town and all that, kind of moot to us right now anyway. Far as I see it nothing has changed and we should continue on...?"
"Sounds straight forward. We rush in, hit the hag with everything we got, protect the civilians. If we give her too much time she could muster them against us, hold them hostage or worse. We know she can make them mindlessly obey orders. The soulless are her doing right? My only hesitation is what did she do to the soulless? This might be our best chance to find out what she did." Vin looks to Nef who immediately growls in objection. She then stops and seems thoughtful and seems to accept something.
"Alright, Nef has agreed. The hag keeps playing tricks on us. I think it's time we play one on her. Gewyn, how do you feel about playing me? Nef can join you confronting her from afar and in being the bait. She'll put on a show of not letting you get too close to the hag. She won't buy it's me unless Nef is with you but that works in our favor. If she buys the act our mental link will allow me to know instantly if anything goes wrong and I can tell the others. We can hang back around the corner while you pretend to be me wanting to save the kids. Nef can also report the positioning of everyone and everything. If the hag buys that I came to bargain for the kids not only could she tell us key information she might even approach you from afar getting her away from the portal and allowing us a perfect time to strike and not hurt the people she has enthralled." Vin has presented his plan and looks to the others wondering what they think of it.
Muir considers Vin's plan and it seems like good one but something is raising a red flag. He finally hits him "The plan is a solid one but two things strike me as problematic. One is she knows we are with you. I am sure of it but let's say Gewyn could make her believe the Giant got us and the rouse works, the other fey knew right away that Gewyn was fey. I know this because I speak their language. They said as much the minute they met Gewyn. There is no guarantee the hag, if fey, wouldn't be able to do the same. There certainly is a risk but all great plans are risky"
Vin nods and replies to Muir's concerns saying "Good points, I don't think he needs to say the others died. I think he just says he came ahead wanting to find out about making a deal to save the kids. Like I went ahead of the group to ask before coming to blows. I say this... because I thought of doing it myself but... I don't think it'll end well if I did go ahead without telling you. I thought of how I would approach her and keeping my distance to be safe and also hopefully preventing them from using any magic. The distance makes it look like I'm being careful but want to talk. With any luck she'll like taunting and gloating and tries to take advantage of the situation by trying to get closer to him drawing her away from the portal and people. Hopefully the distance between them will prevent her from knowing he's fey too."
As they all turn to look at her, she sighs heavily not wanting to say any more. "The hag specifically needs Vin and Gewyn. I am not for handing our changling over on a silver platter. Neferox there or not."
Muir nods in agreement "You two are the key....it is true....Elthana is right."
Muir hangs back a moment to speak to Elthana about her boils. He examines them and says "”It’s a curse and not the same as the giant. Yours can be cured. Yours although looks the same is not. Yours doesn't appear to have essentially combined with your being. The giant seemed to have been subjected to some kind of demonic corruption over a long period. Your affliction seems to be more of a curse. You are of sound mind and soul. You can fight it so it doesn’t become worse but it succumbing to it. It is removable given either enough time or magic or strength of will.”
Elthana visibly winces as Muir scrapes at the boils, not caring about keeping on a brave face during the operation. With Muir's assessment though, it looks as though the weight has shifted on her shoulders and she appears a bit more lighter. Her face contorts to what could be a smile? "Thank you. Removable. Yes." and she wipes the drool from her face and continues to limp along with the group. A bit less defeated then she was earlier.
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“Leave it to the kid to say it better than me,” Sam says with a smile. “I do trust you all… I’ll just feel better if, like Neferox, we all keep an eye on everyone else…”
Muir was going to open his mouth to offer his tree services but seeing the distrust amongst the group he figures no one would sleep anyway. He just nods along with the group.
"Huzzah," Gewyn says, stepping forward. "This close to the climax is exactly when the heroes should be pushing onward, casting aside doubt, putting everything on the line, and trusting in their convictions and in their friends. If we aren't tired and bloody by the final battle, it doesn't make for as good of a story."
Elthana listens to the others and remains silent. Her confidence in her new friends grows as they decide to see this through the end no matter what. She would have watched over them, would have tried to help them be at their best, but she understands and agrees with this line of thinking. She looks down at her new form and quickly looks back up not wanting the depression of the situation to take hold.
She looks to Gewyn quizzically, "Huzzah? Now that's a new one. C'mon, let's get a move on." and she starts limping down the passageway, allowing anyone who wants to move ahead of her to go ahead.
The group decides to push on against the protests of their tired bodies, but are immediately presented with a choice. Northwards Neferox reports through Vin that she smells more of those fruits, but curiously a passage westward smells the same, with a little time to perceive, Muir confirms this to be true. The breeze from the south tells the group that the path they walked previously is that way, likely the chasm, now devoid of any crossing plank lays that way.
Sam lays a hand on Elthana's shoulder and walks besides her for a bit without saying a word. Once she seems uncomfortable, or understanding of his gesture, he gives her a nod and moves up a few paces to play his role as meat shield. Sam pauses as the passge splits and then starts heading South until the others point out that is back the way they came... Same turns, shrugs and then heads North.
Ten minutes it takes, Vin and Sam in the lead as the group make their way through the darkness, slowly but surely the giants scribblings become less and less frequent, the group having finally left his domain.The stench of the 'floaty fruit' gets thicker and thicker, reminding some of past memories, and merriment.
After that ten minutes the group feel even more exhausted and have reached another T junction in the cave system, the choice of left or right here seems very easy to those with good investigation skill and a memory for who came out if the portal last. Twigs, branches and leaves line the tunnel and deep gauges are present in the wall shallower to the right and progressively getting deeper to the left, like someone huge struggling to get out, the cave itself is still large, large enough to comfortable house the giant even this far away from its station, but the group ponders just how much Old thicket must have struggled down these channels with his outstretched canopy pushing through first, as he travelled from right to left, from the portal room out toward the open air.
(The group all take one point of exhaustion as they make their way further toward the portal)
Muir smiles at Gewyn as he turns around "A bug...apologies..." Muir stops walking and speaks to the group "If I may have a moment before we go in to fight the hag. I would like to share with you a few things that I have recently learned. Firstly, the good news....The clerics and their scouts have arrived to the town. The town has been reinforced and saved. Secondly, there will be people under the Hag's control, we must save them not kill them. We can save them by destroying the hag. No harm must come of these people. Lastly, the portal must remain opened. If it closes, we cannot control where the next will pop up or what will come through. If we keep the portal opened we can aid the good fey that are here back to their realm and keep this open as a conduit between worlds. Closing it would cause more harm than good."
“Old Treebeard seems to have come this way,” Sam points out. “Or rather, gone in the other direction. So the portal should be this way…”
He tries to make his words encouraging but there is a weariness that has set in that makes him suspect they lacked the oomph he intended. Still, nothing to be done but continue on…
Elthana listens intently to Muir as he goes through what he knows. Talking isn't something she is enjoying at the moment, though she was never a big talker before, her current situation made her want to even less. Still... "Muir, how do you know these things?"
Gewyn rubs the back of his head. "Easy, easy! Must have been quite some bug for you to flick me that hard." He raps his knuckles against his skull. "I actually use this thing a fair amount, so let's mind the sub-concussive finger punches, eh?"
Gewyn listens to Muir's information and casts him an inquisitive side-eye, waiting for his answer to Elthana's question
"People?" Sam asks. "What people? How MANY people?"
"And when you say no harm must come to them... You mean no more harm than necessary, yes?"
"Do more harm than good for who, precisely? 'Cause this portal being opened has done PLENTY of harm already... I think I may need some actual, you know, facts and proof and stuff before deciding to just let the status quo... quo...."
Muir looks at the group back and forth as they ask their questions, understandably so. "It is hard to explain but I get these premonitions. For a moment you were all frozen while a voice spoke to me. Each time this has happened what I was told came true. This time I was told that the clerics have arrived to reinforce the town. They are outside now helping reinforce Iver and clean up the town while protecting the wounded. Sam send your owl to fly back and check. You will see the scouting party has arrived and by the time we are done here the rest will be waiting. The Hag has people from the town under her thrall. We cannot harm them. They are not evil. They are being controlled. The voice said do not harm them. They also told me the portal closing will cause another one to open elsewhere with even worse fey coming through then this hag. When we defeat her the people will be saved and the portal can be used for good instead of evil. We can control what comes through and goes through. A gateway to a new world. What more can I tell you? Since I have met you, I have answered whatever you wish and kept your secrets as best as I could. What can I do to convince you this is the way"
"And I thought you were the non-suspect one," Sam says but he says it with a smirk and with obvious levity.
"My owl friend, alas, fell back in town when we fought a redcap in an alley," Sam reminds. "My bag is not yet ready to allow me to pull forth another creature yet..."
"I do not aim to harm any innocent. But the hag must be dealt with and I cannot make any garauntees. As for closing the portal... I suppose the final decision will be left to others besides us. I suspect each of our factions will have an opinion, as usual. I'd likely vote to leave it open but blockade it with half this mountain but I doubt I will get a ballot upon which to mark that..."
Sam has been fingering and finally pulls out an oval, flat and smooth stone. It is small in his palm as he flashes it briefly and then closes his hand around it. "As for factions... I should be checking in. Probably late already but I am not sure I see much point. Jimmy is back in Marblestead... He couldn't confirm anything you've said, and I'm not sure I care what his opinion on what we should do next is."
"Well then... So we should do our best to not hurt innocents - Nothing new there. We should take down the hag. That was also the plan already. Don't close the gate... I don't think we even know how to. The rest of it - the clerics and the town and all that, kind of moot to us right now anyway. Far as I see it nothing has changed and we should continue on...?"
"Sounds straight forward. We rush in, hit the hag with everything we got, protect the civilians. If we give her too much time she could muster them against us, hold them hostage or worse. We know she can make them mindlessly obey orders. The soulless are her doing right? My only hesitation is what did she do to the soulless? This might be our best chance to find out what she did." Vin looks to Nef who immediately growls in objection. She then stops and seems thoughtful and seems to accept something.
"Alright, Nef has agreed. The hag keeps playing tricks on us. I think it's time we play one on her. Gewyn, how do you feel about playing me? Nef can join you confronting her from afar and in being the bait. She'll put on a show of not letting you get too close to the hag. She won't buy it's me unless Nef is with you but that works in our favor. If she buys the act our mental link will allow me to know instantly if anything goes wrong and I can tell the others. We can hang back around the corner while you pretend to be me wanting to save the kids. Nef can also report the positioning of everyone and everything. If the hag buys that I came to bargain for the kids not only could she tell us key information she might even approach you from afar getting her away from the portal and allowing us a perfect time to strike and not hurt the people she has enthralled." Vin has presented his plan and looks to the others wondering what they think of it.
Muir considers Vin's plan and it seems like good one but something is raising a red flag. He finally hits him "The plan is a solid one but two things strike me as problematic. One is she knows we are with you. I am sure of it but let's say Gewyn could make her believe the Giant got us and the rouse works, the other fey knew right away that Gewyn was fey. I know this because I speak their language. They said as much the minute they met Gewyn. There is no guarantee the hag, if fey, wouldn't be able to do the same. There certainly is a risk but all great plans are risky"
Vin nods and replies to Muir's concerns saying "Good points, I don't think he needs to say the others died. I think he just says he came ahead wanting to find out about making a deal to save the kids. Like I went ahead of the group to ask before coming to blows. I say this... because I thought of doing it myself but... I don't think it'll end well if I did go ahead without telling you. I thought of how I would approach her and keeping my distance to be safe and also hopefully preventing them from using any magic. The distance makes it look like I'm being careful but want to talk. With any luck she'll like taunting and gloating and tries to take advantage of the situation by trying to get closer to him drawing her away from the portal and people. Hopefully the distance between them will prevent her from knowing he's fey too."
"No." Elthana states from behind the group.
As they all turn to look at her, she sighs heavily not wanting to say any more. "The hag specifically needs Vin and Gewyn. I am not for handing our changling over on a silver platter. Neferox there or not."
"Let's keep moving forward... together."
Muir nods in agreement "You two are the key....it is true....Elthana is right."
Muir hangs back a moment to speak to Elthana about her boils. He examines them and says "”It’s a curse and not the same as the giant. Yours can be cured. Yours although looks the same is not. Yours doesn't appear to have essentially combined with your being. The giant seemed to have been subjected to some kind of demonic corruption over a long period. Your affliction seems to be more of a curse. You are of sound mind and soul. You can fight it so it doesn’t become worse but it succumbing to it. It is removable given either enough time or magic or strength of will.”
Elthana visibly winces as Muir scrapes at the boils, not caring about keeping on a brave face during the operation. With Muir's assessment though, it looks as though the weight has shifted on her shoulders and she appears a bit more lighter. Her face contorts to what could be a smile? "Thank you. Removable. Yes." and she wipes the drool from her face and continues to limp along with the group. A bit less defeated then she was earlier.