Zubien moves over to see the injured leg. "I can make a poultice and set a splint that may help support the leg." Zubien moves around the tree, looking for stout branches to make a splint. He then makes the poultice and with the splint, attempts to stabilize the leg (Medicine: 19)

Lehmani - The man listens to your tale wincing in pain a bit every now and again then responds to your questions, "I've got a hut a few miles from here, terrain's a bit rough 'tween here and there to be honest." The man sighs and says, "No, I'm a widower. Lost Thedra 'fore we could have any little ones. Nearest family I've got is an uncle in Frickley." The man struggles to hold himself up with one arm as he offers his hand, "Name's Loic." Loic's supporting arm shakes violently and he grimaces in pain, collapsing back to the ground as soon as you shake his hand.

Zubien - You find a tree that appears to have recently been struck by lightning. Pieces of it are scattered about and already fire-hardened from the intense heat of the lightning strike. You're able to gather a few pieces that should work. While Lehmani distracts the man, you carefully cut away the leg of the trousers from the injured leg. Working carefully but efficiently, you clean, bandage, and stabilize Loic's leg. He won't be able to put any weight on it anytime soon, but with enough time it should heal without any issues.

Lehmani looks to her companions as she prepares her Cure wounds, "Apologies, friends," she says, "but without magical aid, I'm afraid Loric will be stuck here, vulnerable to any number of dangers the wilderness holds."

She casts the spell for 8 HPs worth of healing.

Zubien looks around the area of the tree, recalling he had spotted the herbs he needed for the giant knock out potion. He will mopve around and collect what he can.

“Ehr .. yeah.  ‘Gree withya Lehmani, heal him up there and let’s set him on his way, we can’t take too much time.”  He pulls out a bee from his pocket, talking to it, saying “Lessn you can fly us there, can ye?  No, don’t think so.  Improper weight ratios.  Nah, y’d have to be much, much bigger, iddn’t that right?”  After the man has been healed and splinted, Grymar keeps watch on the little clearing and points the way back to the main path.  

Lehmani - Loic's leg glows brightly, illuminating the gloomy forest clearing. He gasps and shields his eyes as the glow intensifies. The light doesn't bother you at all, in fact, you find it comforting to behold. You watch bone, muscle, and flesh knit itself together and as the glow fades you see that Loic's leg has been completely healed. Loic blinks a few times and tentatively wiggles his foot, "Gods... It's tot'ly mended!" He stands and brushes himself off before offering you his hand again, "Thank ye. I don' think I woulda made it out by meself."

Lore - After his leg is healed, Loic turns to you and says, "Yer lookin' fer Jahia?" He talks over his shoulder as he walks over to the trap that had a hold of him and stares at it with his hands on his hips, "Hmm... I didn' think she was doin' mercenary work anymore, not after that bad business o'er in Triboar." Loic sighs and says, "Y'know, after bein' on the recievin' end o' one o' these, I don' think I'll be usin' 'em anymore. Better a clean kill than hours o' sufferin'." Loic walks back over to the group and continues, "As fer troublesome beasts, aye, I know of some. If yer goin' ta see Jahia, you'll have ta pass Weepin' Rock. Infested with harpies it is. Best plug yer ears 'fore you try and pass, else they'll try an' getcha with one o' their songs." Loic adjusts the shortbow on his back and scratches his beard, "Also, ye mentioned giants. Been seein' funny tracks lately. Big. Bigger 'en I ever seen 'fore. Thought it was a big ol' bear at first, but it weren't no bear tracks. Looked like dog, but bigger 'en a dinner plate." Loic wipes his face with his sleeve and says, "Well, I'd best be off. When you see Jahia, tell 'er I said hullo." He shakes everyone's hands and says, "Thank ye again."

 Zubien - After Loic leaves, Lore points out some peculiar fungus around the fallen tree. It matches one of the descriptions given to you by Jahner. You're able to gather a few pounds worth.

After Loic leaves, Grymar gathers up the trap, and if anyone notices him he says “What?  it may comin handy!  Sounds like that big brute has a puppy he does, a giant puppy that’ll bite your head clean off!  Maybe this can trap it.  Who knows, may help.”  When he hears about the Harpy threat, he goes to his other left pocket, and starts to bring out his ear wax collection.  He gets ready to stuff some in his ears, then looks up with a toothy grin offering each of you some of his ear wax.  “It’ll close up your canals for good it will, what, it’s natural!”  He starts sucking on his teeth and holds his hand out with some ear wax.  

Zubien collects all of the fungus he can, then secures it in his back. "He mentioned large dog prints, size of a dinner plate. I am wondering if they may be worgs or dire wolves. Those sound about the right size. If they are ranging down here, could be a problem. Same with those harpies, I wonder if there is a way to by pass this Weeping Rock, what does the map show?"

Lore - The map is pretty basic, only illustrating the route you must take and a few forks indicating the correct path. The section depicting Weeping Rock only shows a rough drawing of a cliff face and the path passing right next to it. You'll have to see the area itself before you can determine if an alternate path exists.

Lehmani nods a farewell to Loic saying, "Do take care and travel safe."

She then turns to the others. "Well, whatever lies ahead, I believe we'd best journey onward. We can always assess the danger when we arrive at this Weeping Rock."

As she speaks, she sees Grymar's proffered ear wax... and manages to hold her polite smile in place despite her discomfort. "A kind offer, friend Grymar. I may take you up on it once we approach the harpy territory. For now, I'd prefer to keep all of my senses clear and unimpeded." 

All - The dense undergrowth of the forest becomes less thick and more rocky as you travel further along Weeping Rock Trail. The trees become less dense as well, allowing you glimpses of a tall cliff face ahead. A peculiar formation catches your eye, a large outcropping that roughly resembles a face. Two thin streams trickle down the face of the stone, giving Weeping Rock its name. The gray skies overhead also begin to weep, though lightly for now, dotting your clothes and armor with drops of rain. The trail meanders up and over large formations of rock and boulders, with multiple switch backs and sections of vertical climbs.

Grymar shrugs his shoulders, saying “Suityerself.”  He wanders along the path, taking note of direction as they go.  When they come to the formation, he stands there with a grin and starts stuffing his ears with wax.  “Sometimes they stay stuffed anyway..”

Following the advice about the Harpies, Zubien uses candle wax from his pack to make ear plugs. "I am not sure if my mental discipline is strong enough to counter a harpy's song, at least not yet." He looks over the terrain, looking for possible ambush sites or outcroppings on the rocks where the harpies may have their nests. (Perception: 4)

With everyone refusing his offers from his earwax collection, Grymar continues to shove some of it into his ears, then starts to go about scouting this ridge, squatting down and sneaking forward to see any movement, any sign of harpies that he can spot.  He has keen eyes… and knows how to track prey.

Perception : 23

Once Zubien has his ear plugs in place, he follows Grymar in scouting for Harpies (Stealth 6/Perception 2)

(Actually, Lehmani wanted to take Grymar up on his offer now that we're here, but looks like the moment passed)

Lehmani accepts the wax from Zubien, fixes it in place and finds a safe place to monitor the scouting expedition... ready to shout out a warning if needs be. She presses her hand to her chest, granting herself Guidance as she scans top of the rock for signs of danger...

Perception: 8

+Guidance: 2

(DM how tall is this cliff? I'd like to keep enough distance to maintain a different perspective than Zubien or Grymar, but close enough to launch a counter-attack against any ambushers if needs be.) 

Lore - From your current position, you aren't able to find a suitable alternate route. The cliff face stretches as far as the eye can see on either side, rising higher to form a range of mountains to the east. Most of it is sheer rock with no obvious foot or hand holds. The trail indicated on the map looks to be the only option at the moment.

Grymar - With your ears stuffed full of wax, the world becomes muted. You hear only the sounds of your breathing and heartbeat, which gets louder and faster as you begin to ascend the upward winding trail. But as one sense is dulled the others sharpen to compensate and you notice scores of sun-bleached bones scattered among the rocks and in crevices. You also smell the acrid aroma of guano, a lot of guano, noticing also that the rocks lining the trail are covered in it. Your eyes follow the droppings to an area about two thirds of the way up Weeping Rock, roughly where the 'mouth' would be. You can see no more droppings above this area and would assume this is where the harpies make their lair. Fortunately, the many large boulders do give you cover on your approach.

Zubien - You're able to keep hidden by moving silently from boulder to crag, the moaning wind covering any sound you might make.

Lehmani - You feel the ever pleasant sensation of Gond's guidance wash over you. You become more aware of the workings of the world. You feel the rise and fall of the air pressure as the winds gust periodically from the coming storm. You see channels ground into solid rock by the incessant flowing of water down the rock's face. You also see a group of large rocks near where the water has eroded. Focusing on them you see one shift slightly as the wind gusts, then settle back into place as the wind dies down. It looks as though the water has weakened the base upon which these rocks are resting, creating the potential for a dangerous rock-slide if the weather worsens. Or a potential trap if they're knocked loose manually. The path rises to a height of about 100ft while the top of Weeping Rock is roughly 50ft higher than that.

Zubien will settle himself, while deprived of sound, he will rely on his sense of smell, any other sensation he may detect as he moves silently but alert to his surroundings. He keeps Grymar in view, in case he needs assistance. He will stretch out his feelings, his Ki to detect any hostile intent (Investigation: 10/ survival 14/ perception 3)

Lehmani speaks quietly to Lore, drawing her attention to the shifting rocks, watching on with concern as Zubien and Grymar ascend the trail.

"I don't like the look of this," she says. "We're easy targets coming up this path, and the height of those rocks doesn't give us many options in the way of a counter-offensive. I'm reluctant to follow behind our stealthier members without some sort of plan. Do you have any useful spells? I'm afraid I'm plum out."

Grymar pantomimes and points to the opening, the site of the lair, warning everyone about what may be coming.  He keeps his eyes on the path and any loose rock, wanting to avoid any landslide or fall.  

He hears muffled sound and Lehmani’s voice, turns to look at her.  He nods, gives her a thumbs up, takes his index and middle fingers spreading them and pointing at his eyes, then points at the surrounding area.  “Eyes on, watch out,” the clear meaning.  He continues to pick his way forward carefully, but watching for any movement.