The Forgotten Wish

(Rick would do whatever Pallen wants, if he isn't going along Rick would stay back to keep him company.))

As soon as Pallen seems to be taken care of, Nuria is quick to accompany Breldo. She's still not to keen on being alone with her other party members...

Having heard the whole story, Pallen seems to by this point encourage the group to investigate the matter, curious as everyone else. Though, not quite to the point he'd be willing to go trekking through the woods, quite comfy where he is... And if Slick or anyone else would like to stick around, he's more than fine with that too. He figures that nobody is going to be running into any trouble while only investigating, after all. On which note, Breldo and Nuria at least leave together with Boris to go find Gerald.

---

With how small the village is, it doesn't take too long for Boris to escort the duo (or more, should others join) as they pass with what little "industry" the village has. They make good use of the river that flows through the village, one sawmill and a regular mill powered by waterwheels and the steady current- It seems there might also be some manner of catching mechanism for logs floating down the river, though none of it seems to have been in use for a while- Gerald found in the midst of preparing flour from some dry grains, a process he briefly interrupts on Boris' insistence. Gerald in contrast to Boris seems to have a more lanky appearance, sideburns and partial baldness showing his age, though that all belies some strength with how he was hauling one of the bags earlier.

"Gerald, meet Breldo, and..." the man starts, then quickly tapers off as he realizes he never caught Nuria's name. Instead continuing with "They're the folks who responded to our call. They'd like to ask about the time you tried tracking our boys."

"Right, right. I can lead you to the start of some of them at least, though..." the man hesitates, then shakes his head. "Well, maybe you'll find more than I did."

"We hope to, sir. Former military scout, though a whole village of kids is a new one on me, and Nuria here's got young eyes that can pick up on finer details."

Rick stays with Pallen and will chat up the villagers while he waits.

Oren goes along with Nuria and Breldo.   As he walks with them he explains with a smile, "If some awful wild animal shows up that you two can't outtalk, hide from or outrun, someone will have to take it down."    

A bit later in the walk to the woods he adds, "This is all so, so odd.  Never heard of anything like this before."  He just shakes his head and seems to be in deep thought.

((Sorry for the absence, work is draining lately.))

Khond is sticking with Pallen.  A good mystery makes a good story, but he can get the details from the others, and taking care of Pallen takes priority.

Oren, Breldo and Nuria soon join Gerald on the very short trek toward the nearby forest. Boris bids them goodbye for now, saying that he'll go alert more of the town of what they are there for. The balding man gives an appreciate nod to Breldo.

"Ah, good. Well... Maybe you'll find more then. I followed them as far as I could, and..." 

The man pauses. It is self-evident there is something he isn't quite saying.

"Well, I'll just let you draw your own conclusions. The kids usually leave the forest around this spot. I think I see a few good prints in the mud over there still, actually. I've tried scanning the perimeter of the forest before, but I never did find tracks actually going in,"

The man stands there for a moment longer. It seems like he'd probably prefer to get back to work, but not before making sure the group has what they need.

---

Slick, Sylvera, and Khond (barring any of the latter two want to shift plans) stick around with Gertrude to keep Pallen company, and while the woman is gracious to refill drinks, and at some point even asks if the group has eaten yet so she can maybe fix up something small, she doesn't really seem interested in doing small-talk. A few villagers pass by, acting as if they just have somewhere to be, but quite obviously are curious about the group and try to ogle a few looks, but none of them comes to speak directly just yet. After a while, however, it does seem like there is some manner of commotion building up outside...

"And you found nothing when you followed the tracks in? Or you wanting us to have clean first impressions of whatever there is to find?"

((Can I assume Breldo can make Survival checks at Advantage with help from the other two?))

Rick will ask Khond,

"Can friend Khond play something for the villagers? Villagers love music, like Rick!"

He will wave to everyone that comes by.

When the commotion starts Rick will poke his head out to see what's going on.

The man bites his lip for a moment to Breldo's comment, before responding.

"I think it'd be best if you see it with a clean first impression. And better, that you find more than I do."

(I think that's a pretty safe assumption yeah.)

---

After asking Khond if he would be willing to play, Rick pokes his head out to see what the commotion is about. Not too far away, he sees that a small group of villagers has gathered, and has gotten into what seems to be an argument of sorts. The way there seem to be two "groups", it must be some kind of conflicting opinion, and Boris has joined one side, while the other side seems to be spearheaded by one of the village elders, the short wrinkled man remarkably vocal despite their age. He's not sure if he can actually hear what is being said from his current distance, though...

(Perception if you want to try and listen in.)

Perception: 20

If he can't hear from where he's at, he'll sneak over to listen.

Stealth: 24

Breldo will pace the edge of the woods, pointing out tracks to Oren and Nuria, sharing any deductions that they bring to mind for him, and encouraging them to be only lookout for signs of passage through the woods.

Survival: 25

(Dice rolls not available, trying to nudge it, but my edit might break it.)

"I'm always ready to put on a show for any audience."

While Khond maybe starts playing (performance roll), Rick puts a (metaphorical) ear to the ground. With a bit of luck of the wind,  and a good ear, he manages to catch quite well the conversation from that point.

"...to help us!" Boris is heard first, before the older man responds in kind, in a quick exchange:

"They're making things worse! What do they think they're doing, dragging bad luck in the village like this?! What kind of mercenary does that?!"

"That... Stupid superstitions!"

"Big words when we're dealing with a demon! You might be too young to remember, but not me!"

---

Breldo first takes some time to inspect the outside of the woods, looking for more tracks that could be an indication of anything... A job that proves harder than thought, though not exactly because tracks are hard to find. The issue is that there are too many tracks - Frequent patrols of the villagers muddle any "standout" track that could be used as a clear indicator that something is up. Closer inspection of those tracks at least seems to reveal nothing suspicious. They are mostly the same prints, and patrolling along the forest line, and only very rarily heading inside the forest, never to the point of suspicion.  Some wild animal tracks in the form of what he thinks is either a doe or a goat... In the end, nothing that stands out as a potential lead- Besides of course the original set of tracks from the kids usual "exit point".

Breldo will nod, as if that's exactly what he expected, and proceed into the 'exit point', taking care not to overly mar any tracks with his own steps.

Khond is so damn game to start performing that he's not even gonna check if there's an audience.  The flute is coming out.

24

Slick uses his stealth come come right up beside the arguing old man,

"Rick is interested in know more about demons? Oh and Rick is also interested in learning about bad luck!"

Breldo soon starts leading the way, deeper into the forest. For now, while the trail occasionally gets harder to trail on the dry patches he manages to keep a steady hold on the trail, noticing both the fresher albeit aged prints, and much older ones. There's some kind of difference between those two, though he's not sure if he can tell just at a glance what...

(Another survival check)

---

Khond begins playing, even if the audience for now is only Gertrude - Who, for her part, listens with rapt attention, as the performance the centaur puts up is, sparing little words, "magical".

That's maybe not the exact word the old man would have used when Rick appears beside him out of nowhere, the first few words that the old man let out a series of expletives- And Boris tries to interrupt.

"Please don't worry about this old codger- We already agreed we'd be doing this, so there's no point in superstition!" he says, the last part more directed at the old man rather than himself. The old man, after recovering his poor heart, has other things to say.

"Ya darn... You know what bad luck you're dragging around, dragging around a cursed elf! It's bad luck! Especially when the last time we..." the man starts, and seems to stumble for a moment as if not sure what to say, before settling on something.

"Last time we kept one of their kind in the village, a barn ended up catching fire! And it was the smiling demon that did it! I was but a young un at the time, but I remember!"

"Now you're just sounding crazy," Boris grumbles. The old man spits on the ground.

"Either way- The elf can't stay!" 

Three other people seemingly on the old fool's side grumble in apparent agreement.

Survival: 15