They start to look quite unsure about robbing you. Before you have chance to do anything else, a rather matted looking wolf with grime covered fur leaps forward between the party and the brigands, snarling at the brigands. "On second thoughts, keep the memories." and they turn around and start to flee. 

Moneo gasps as the wolf jumps out, and then chuckles as the rabbits flee. Looking to the wolf he pulls out a ration from his pack, and over the next few minutes, while trying to calm the wolf with some dried meats, he casts speak with animals ritually. Once he’s able to speak with the animal, he asks simply, “Hey buddy! Thanks for jumping in! Those bunnies didn’t seem so nice… Where are you from?”

(Assuming the snail and hares are rather quick, and Barreknar is rather slow) Barreknar gives a slight chase for a few feet with weapon in air. "Ay, I still need to give you something to remember me by." As they pull farther and farther away, he yells "I CAN'T PROMISE IT WILL BE A HAPPY MEMORY!" He stops and turns backto the others. "Uhhh did that seem strange to anyone else?" Without realizing he had stepped up next to the wolf. "Oh, ahhhhh, good pup."

The snail is slow. The hare people are about the same speed as you, (image in spoiler for those curious), but moving at the snails pace. 10ft a round including dashing. (With the mud, it is difficult terrain so all speed is halved)

Quote from kevtr0n >>

Moneo gasps as the wolf jumps out, and then chuckles as the rabbits flee. Looking to the wolf he pulls out a ration from his pack, and over the next few minutes, while trying to calm the wolf with some dried meats, he casts speak with animals ritually. Once he’s able to speak with the animal, he asks simply, “Hey buddy! Thanks for jumping in! Those bunnies didn’t seem so nice… Where are you from?”

The wolf stares at the proffered meats and begins to shift form into that of a slender, pale-skinned elf-like figure with brownish-grey eyes. Her face is covered in marks that look like they could be tribal tattoos, war-paint, or some sort of blighted affliction. Hard to tell.

She looks between Moneo and the dried meats wild somewhat manic but benign and curious expression (think Gary Busey), smiling incongruously as she says, "Thank you, but I don't eat meat."

Stopping casting his spell Moneo puts his meats away and says, "Well, thank you for your assistance with the rabbit-folk. They don't seem to look kindly upon strangers. We are new to your world. Perhaps you could grant us a bit more assistance? We are here looking for Prismeer and a friend of a friend. I'm Moneo, this is Barreknar."

((@DM - did we ever get any description of Prismeer? Does where we find outselves match what we might know of it?))

Eliaanore peeks out from the mangroves' tangled roots. With an air of caution, she emerges from cover. "Is it over?" she asks sheepishly. Seeing a distinct lack of either corpses or carnage, she turns to Barreknar. "Did you eat them?" No sign of sarcasm or wit is on her face. Only curiosity and slight shock. She seems genuine. 

The shapeshifting elf-like figure gazes off in the direction of the harengon brigands with a dreamy-yet rapt expression as she responds to Moneo. "Hello Moneo and Barreknar... To be honest, I doubt the bandits would have given you much trouble. I've been watching this band for a while, and as much as they boast, those little leporine hooligans tend to be rather conflict-avoidant. Not the best approach in their line of work, but who am I to judge? " 

Then, as if noticing the other members of the party for the first time, Fa'ame smiles broadly and wiggles her fingers in a playful "hello." 

"I am Fa'ame... and it just so happens that I am new to my world as well..."  She turns toward Moneo, offering a genuinely apologetic expression. "Unfortunately, I won't be able to assist you in your search for Prismeer, because it seems you've already found it... I apologize... I hope I haven't disappointed you terribly." 

As she speaks, she casually scratches at some of the grimy warpaint on her skin which, in close proximity, can be recognized as some sort of fungal growth. A small piece flakes off and she immediately puts in in her mouth, chewing on it as she continues. "As for finding your friend's friend... That might be a bit more difficult... This particular corner of Prismeer is known as 'Hither' and... well... As far as I understand things, it has a tendency of not letting anyone leave once they find their way here. So, unless your friend of a friend calls this place their home,  I don't expect you'll be seeing him any time this..." She runs a quick calculation in her head. "Eternity..." 

As the party considers her words, Fa'ame peels another scab-sized flake of fungal growth off her cheek and earnestly offers it to them as a snack. She remains completely unfazed when Eliaanore suddenly appears, asking about the brigands. Fa'ame simply turns and offers her the fungal growth as well.

Moneo listens closely and sighs at the news, saying, "Well, that is disconcerting. Though it is possible that they are here, we really don't know. In the mean time, it seems we should search for a native of the land. Thank you for your help." He then looks back to Barr and says, "To the balloon?" ready to head towards it.

Eliaanore, listening and chewing the rubbery fungi with indifference to its source, perks up at the mention of this 'friend of a friend.' 

An eyebrow raised, she asks "Who is this friend, anyway?"

Moneo looks over towards the elf and asks, "Are you still here? Why are you following us anyway?" Then, shrugging, replies, "An old warlock back on the Coast. Why?"

Fa'ame tepidly raises a hand as if she has something to add but not wanting to get in-between the frictious exchange between these two strangers...

"Um..." She says. "I certainly don't want to delay you... but before you go, there's more you might want to know... such as the rules."

Moneo pauses and says, "There are rules here? Interesting. Please do share. By the way, Fa'ame, how long have you been here? And what is it that you are doing so far from home? The Feywild is not exactly a normal holiday destination."

Eliaanore sneers childishly. Through flecks of food, she replies, "I can follow whomever I please! Don't like it?" She sticks her tongue out at the poor satyr. 

It doesn't matter anyway, she thinks to herself. It doesn't sound like Lady Zybil...

With a small sigh of loosely hidden despondency, she quietly responds "No reason" before walking over to Dravos. Without hesitation or pause between, she begins to ask him a flurry of questions, clearly ecstatic once more. 

"Why do you seem so pale? Are you sick? Are you dying? Are you undead? Do you know undead? Why do your eyes look like that? Does it hurt? Why..." The questions continue, with no means or time for the man to answer any of them.

As the wolf turns into a upright, talking... elf? Barreknar wasn't sure but it seemed to be eating? From its own face!? Stopped in his tracks next to, Fa'ame he thinks the name was, he trys to hold still. Awkwardly standing there with star still in the air above his head he trys to mouth the words to Moneo "Do I hit them?" Trying not to look directly at the new comer, he slowly starts to shuffle away and lowers his weapon as non threatening as he could, which the fact that he was thinking about it made look much worse and not as smooth as he had intended. 

"Uhhh, maybe we walk and talk, don't want those poor souls in the balloon to leave or die if they need help. Plus that balloon might  be a travel ticket if it can be repaired. So uhh rules you say..."

Fa'ame genuinely considers the question for a long moment as she starts trailing along with Moneo and Barreknar, following the orc's suggestion to "walk and talk".

"I'm not entirely certain how long I've been here, truth be told..." Fa'ame says. "I must have lost track of time at some point."

She breaks out of her revery to regard Moneo again with a tender smile. "I'm something of an explorer... an asthete of a certain flavor of the mortal experience... I wander, listen, learn and observe its many variations wherever I can..." She loses her train of thought for a moment, then remembers where she is. "...in the course of my wanderings I was enticed to this place by a certain "froggish" little fellow offering some unnamed curiosity if I followed him to his realm. He brought me to the abode of a certain hag named Slack-Jaw Lorna who proposed a bargain... If I were to eliminate a rogue member of the brigand band you just encountered, she would give me some unnamed something that I could bring back to my homeland. Something she promised would please the leader of my people..." Fa'ame's eyes grow wistful for a moment as she says those words.

After a moment, she looks back at Moneo and curls her lip into a smirk. "I've been called mad by some... and I won't entirely dispute that accusation...  but I'm certainly no fool. I'm not the sort to take a life on the orders of notoriously duplicitous being such as a woodlands hag... Especially without so much as a concrete offer of exchange." 

Her eyes grow a little wider and slightly mad again. "However, I am nothing if not curious. And so I tracked the brigands, found their rogue and learned a bit about this land that has become our new home in the process... Which is what brought me to you. As much as I've found a certain comfort in the melancholic whimsy of this place, I would prefer not to tarry here much longer. I have many more places I'd like to explore, I've never been too keen on being trapped in one place for more then a few days, much less an entire eternity. And, perhaps most of all..."  She hesitates on this last point, her strangeness melting away to reveal something very genuine and heartfelt as she turns to you and says. "I think I'm starting to feel... a bit lonely. So... If you'd be willing to let me walk by your side for a time, I might be able to share some of what I learned..."

Suddenly remembering Moneo's initial inquiry, Fa'ame stands up straight and announces, "Starting with... The rules! 

She lifts her thumb and forefinger... her own non-sensical way of counting. "First...Around here the locals have what they call the Rule of Hospitality. When a friend, an enemy, or a stranger enters your home, you are expected to be gracious and accommodating to them until such time as they prove, by their words or actions, undeserving of such hospitality."

She lifts her ring finger next. "Third... Most of the locals here abide by the Rule of Ownership which states you must not steal from a friend, an enemy, or a stranger. To take something that doesn’t belong to you without the rightful owner’s permission is a crime and an unforgivable breach of etiquette... Clearly a rule our long-eared friends fail to recognize."

Finally, she wiggles her thumb. "Second, they have the Rule of Reciprocity which states...When a friend, an enemy, or a stranger offers you a gift, you are obliged to accept it and offer something of comparable value (be it a gift or a service) in return. Such reciprocation need not happen immediately."

Having provided her instruction, Fa'ame's taught posture goes slack and she resumes picking at her fungus. "It's only three rules to remember... but they are important if you hope to make a good impression around here. I, myself, had to learn through trial-and-error and it is not an experience I recommend. Anyway... I'm not an expert by any means... but I do know some things about this place. And if you'd be interested in having a guide who knows some of the basics and can hold her own in a fight... I'd be more than happy to have the company."

She looks up at you with large, strange, but oddly endearing puppy dog eyes. "What do you say?"

Listening to the Druid as they walk, Moneo then replies, “very interesting rules and deal you made. We met a kinda ‘centaur’ not long ago who made a deal with a hag. Didn’t turn out so good for him unfortunately. Ah, you said we couldn’t leave. Did the hag you met tell you how you'd be able to take the reward back with you?”

Then counting off the rules on his fingers he says, “Who enforces these rules? It seems that group of brigands was working directly against the second, er third, er… the ownership one. And yes, Barr here and I likely could use the help navigating this place. Thank you. And if we meet these brigands again at least we know they don’t like wolves.”

You talk while walking. Suddenly without warning water begins to rise. Fa'ame, you have experienced this change, it is sporadic but happens every few hours. Over the course of 10 minutes, the water level rises to 5ft. All movement is half speed still (unless you have a swim speed). The water is very murky. You can see around 10ft ahead of you underwater. 

After an hour of swimming/wading through the deep water, you can see in the distance, a crumbling stone tower rising out of the swamp, leaning at such an angle that it threatens to keel over. Black brambles surround the base of the tower and cling to its lower half. Hanging from the crenellations on the lower side of the tower’s peak is a large woven basket at the end of a tangle of ropes and tattered fabric. The basket dangles thirty feet above the surface of the swamp. 

(I will give some more time to continue any conversations while travelling/respond to the water and tower before progressing to reaching it)

In response to Moneo's question, a breathless Fa'ame says. "Lorna didn't say a word about how to leave with my reward... One of several reasons why I chose not to take her up on the deal. As for enforcement... well... I'm not rightly sure. The old hag seems to be a person of some authority around here, yet she was taking a cut of the brigands stolen goods. I don't entirely know what's going on around here, but I get the sense this remarkable place is in a bit of a tumult at the moment.

She gazes up at the crumbling tower... (Does she recognize if from her travels in this realm?  History 15)

Eliaanore listens intently, aghast that she won't be allowed to swipe anything. As the party approaches the tower and the water rises, she too finds herself curious about the nature of such a thing. 

Craning her neck upward, she peers to the top, eager to see something new...