Neya observes the knife and while she very much doubts the ask is as innocuous at first blush. However, she internally reminds herself that she, herself, made the current situation more precarious and if she backs out, she could not only endanger the people in the cottage, but also the previous deal to renew the protection for Phlan and the surrounding area.
Still kind of feeling the prickling from the nettles from earlier in the day, she turns her free hand over, fingers spread. In an effort to not feel either the heat nor the edge, swiftly slices her middle finger.
(If it matters at all, she is right-hand dominant. So, she's cutting the finger on her left hand.)
The knife loses its orange-hot glow as Neya slices her finger, preventing the cauterizing effect Ms. Green afforded Doozey a moment ago. As the blood starts to pool, it disappears from view much like the halfling's tongue. A few yards over, Ms. Green holds up a gradually filling vial of Neya's blood. The knife is also already back in her other hand.
Once the vial is full, Ms. Green waves the effect away, giving Neya permission to dress her wound as she sees fit. Neya feels some sudden wooziness once the process is over. She tries to fight it back but the moment lasts for a bit longer than she might have hoped. She gathers that this must be the result of losing some of her life essence.
@Drache: With the failed CON save, Neya's DEATH saving throw threshold becomes 12. In other words, rolling a 10 or an 11 on DEATH saving throws now counts as a fail for Neya.
"Two deals in a day." Ms. Green begins to thank CRAP in her own way. "You are so generous." Another wave of her hand sees the cage unlocked and the two survivors shaken out. They are weak but waste no time in standing back up and moving away from the hag. Recognizing the symbol of Torm, they take refuge behind Utar's large frame. "Go on now..."Ms Green says her farewells. "Unless you'd like to offer me a third deal before the day is over." She smiles and approaches her cottage's doorway, signaling that she is ready to call it a day.
Both Doozey and Biscuit let out simultaneous sighs of relief and let the tension flee from their posture. Well, Doozey did, as Biscuit's interest in the whole tense affair barely went above mild concern and confusion over why everyone seemed so tense in the first place. Ms. Green had been nothing except kind to them, and even plucked from thin air new friends to travel with them! Granted, the two looked to Biscuit as if a stiff breeze might knock them over any minute, but humans always tended to bounce back in time.
"Mimi fam." Doozey eventually says in farewells in return, bows, and then nudges Biscuit sides to prompt the mastiff to once again turn about make ready to depart. Floating about somewhere in the back of his mind is a mild nugget of concern about something left unspoken. But that thought is quickly squashed, in a dismissive snort. "Oi! Pipyap. You come om 'oo. We be habim more wormf wiff you on way."He calls back and side-eyes the imp with a look that said 'This wasn't a negotiable request'.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
When you realize you're doing too much: Signature.
The head rush of losing more than just "a drop of blood" fades more slowly than she'd like. But seeing that the two villagers are now safe with Utar allows her to ignore the feeling to a degree.
Neya says to Ms. Green, "Thanks for your hospitality."
She then turns to leave the cottage, stumbling slightly from her light-headedness.
"What..." Pipyap is taken away from his thoughts by Doozey's command. The imp has lost some of his defiance since learning of Halvin's demise. His legs would start moving even if the imp were to think of resisting the idea. He doesn't. Much like Biscuit, Pipyap finds himself walking by Doozey on his way out of the witch's clearing.
Neya takes a brief moment for herself before thanking Ms. Green for her hospitality. Soon, the eldritch monk is ready to depart as well. Denae waits for her Sister to catch up and then pass her, before following Neya toward the edge of the clearing.
Utar is the last one to move, staring at Ms. Green who stands at her cottage's door. The two villagers wait for the Tormite to move before risking an exit themselves. Will Utar leave now or does he have some last words for Ms. Green?
Utar simply raises a hand and gives Ms. Green a wave. Somewhere in the back of his mind he's sure he'll be seeing her again.
Cajoling the two freed prisoners ahead of him, he guides them up the path away from Ms. Green's home, "We need to get you both back home, but first I think we all need to have a little chat once we're caught up with the rest of my party."
Catching up with the others he suggests heading further up the track, where they can likely speak with Seranolla too.
Ms. Green shuts her front door before Utar puts down his waving hand.
The Tormite and his new charges catch up with the rest of the group down the path connecting the witch's cottage to the fork-in-the-road where CRAP met Seranolla. Nothing has changed ahead in this path. The walk down it truly is much shorter than the way leading to Greenhall, and CRAP still find themselves walking in a mostly reclaimed-by-nature path.
About 6 minutes worth of walking later, Doozey, Denae, and Biscuit all feel some sort of fog lift from their minds. Looking at the two villagers, it looks like they are coming to the same realization.
Looking over her shoulder, Neya notices that the portion of the path that they have already traversed (that is, the portion that would lead CRAP back to the cottage) has been totally and impossibility quickly reclaimed by nature. Nettles, briar, and thorny bushes prevent any sort of backtracking toward Ms. Green.
@Dooey: You have control of your full faculties once more, and remember everything that has occurred back at the witch's cottage.
@Everyone: You are still more than 90 in-game minutes away from reaching Seranolla.
As Biscuit whined and staggered about, Doozey growled and clutched at his head until the fog fully cleared from their mind. Once that happened the former immediately did an about face and growled at once had been a cozy enough path turned nightmare. As for Doozey, he just... chuckled a chuckle that slowly evolved into a full blown bout of laughter. Left to his own devices, a solid minute all but passes before the stoutling calms again, wiping a few budding tears. Beneath the veneer of amusement, however, was unmistakable the look of someone silently vowing to do something vengeful at some later point.
Doozey's expression then took a turn for the solemn when looking at the pair of men hovering about Utar. In place of a minced words, the stoutling did the only thing he could in that moment. Bow his head in apology, before then with a tug and some signaling footwork, reigned in Biscuit enough to get him back on track walking down the path. Discussions could wait a little longer, though he wouldn't begrudge anyone from at least doing a little talking along the way. But if any insist or so much as make the suggestion of turning back to try and hunt down the hag, that's when he'd give a warning growl and shake his head.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
When you realize you're doing too much: Signature.
Neya turns as the forest seemingly swallows the path they just traveled. She looks at the two men she helped save with a sense of cautious relief.
After taking stock of what happened over the past several minutes, she notices slightly more pallor to her skin. She feels that that the most dire of the negotiations are past them. Perhaps re-establishing trade with the elves might not have as many consequences.
Denae's realization comes in a different shape than that of either Neya or Doozey. The half-elf had fallen for the hag's tricks, but there will be plenty of time to blame herself for that later. For now, she simply loathes the fact that others got to pay high prices for what was, at least partially, a mistake on her part while she got out of the witch's clearing unscathed. She shows gratitude to her Sister for vouching for her and for demanding that she pay no price in the negotiations. She understands that position. Were roles reversed, Denae would have done the same for her Sister. Nonetheless, she can't help feeling guilty and gullible. She remains silent for the next patch of the walk.
A moment taken to internalize their new afflictions, Doozey and Neya soon return to the most immediate party goal, that of walking and reaching the fork in the path ahead. Utar follows along from the back, just behind the two rescued villagers. They remain in clear shock of the situation, frightened of every snapping twig or ruffling leaf. They are afraid of talking beyond murmurs. Pipyap is also eschewing spoken words for now. He grieves and the emotional pain is palpable.
This all makes for quite the solemn walk back to Seranolla. They 90 or so minutes that come next feel more like 900 minutes instead. Despite the low morale, eventually, the group spots Seranolla and her bifurcating path just ahead. The old gnome, wearing her wide-brimmed mushroom hat, slowly turns her head to meet CRAP's gaze. You know her to be a slow moving old druid, but her neck turn feels extra labored this time. "Hello again, my dear friends. I see your group has increased in number. That is a good sign. I am happy you were able to find survivors. Only you lot could have pulled that off, but I am too old to believe even you'd be able to accomplish this feat without any cost. How dire was it?"
"It was fairly dire, our host had considered the pact between the Forest and Phlan void. But, yes we needed to give them some assurances, as well as payment for them to look the other way from trespasses we knew and didn't know about, and the release of these two. Regardless, we needed to pay rather heavily, personally. But, I suspect other consequences are to come."
Doozey's immediate answer is a grim smile before simply opening his maw open wide to showcase the new lacking appendage. Meanwhile, Biscuit lowered his head in shame, though some head pats from his quick to notice rider seems to raise his spirits back up before long... if only a little. After all of that, the stoutling contented himself at first to leave the talking to others, knowing he'd muddy the waters with his mangled speech. As for any potential look of pity or concern from Seranolla is met with the halfling maintaining a nonplussed expression.
But at some point or another as the others converse, Doozey softly sighs inwardly, before fetching from his back what amounted to a patchwork book and some well-worn charcoal pencil to start scribbling some things down. A moment later he's tearing a page out and offering it to Pipyap, if visible. Though if not, he takes but a few moments to sniff at the air, narrowing down the fiends rough location before waving it until Pipyap took it. Then its immediately back to writing for Biscuit.
For Pipyap:
Written on the note is the following:
"While we were at the hag's place, could you really not sense Halvin's presence? Did you not try? "
Seranolla understands Neya's desire to not want to elaborate too much on the price paid. She respects it. The details are not needed in order for her to internalize the gravity of the situation. "Quite noble of you lot to pay high prices for an accord you did not originally make and of which most beneficiaries are unaware. You are the people Phlan needs. Lucky are the denizens of the city who realize that."
Unlike Neya, Doozey is quick to show the price he paid. Seranolla can't help but let out a small laugh. She is not laughing at the halfling's situation but at the difference in responses from the two CRAPers. The old gnome recomposes herself and verbally offers a serving of some numbing edible ointment to Doozey, in case he is feeling pain. "It is right here somewhere, I am sure of it," she says as her hands search the many layers and pockets of her attire for said ointment.
-> Those with passive perception of 12 or higher notice that Seranolla is not moving her legs at all in her seated position while searching for the ointment.
A few moments later, a very visible Pipyap responds out loud: "What are these symbols? They look like the ones Halvin used. Called them "wurds." I never understood how symbols can make any sounds."
Thankfully though he was, the party's halfling dismissed the offer from Seranolla, then bowed his head and faintly smiled in appreciation of the offer, taking no misconstrued offense at the laugh. 'After making a right fool of meself, I would've welcomed any pain. But as things stand...'He lowered his gaze and frowned at the thought. But he didn't wallow for long before Utar's words led the halfling to look at first perplexed, and then a touch worriedly at Seranolla.
However, hardly had he returned to scribbling something down again to perhaps question her did he finally register Piyap's words. At first the halfling could only look in disbelief. But if after a few moments the imp genuinely didn't seem to be up to any duplicity(Insight: 28), the stoutling facepalmed, shook his head, and silently wondered what kind of education system(if ANY!) did the hells even possessed at the moment!? And yet, in taking in Pipyap's being once more, squinting all the while, some silent connection is made as his eyes went wide for a moment or two, before he then let out a barking laugh!
"Fair. Very fair! E'okay!"He assured the imp after regaining some composure after nearly a minute. But while he dared to try and pat the imp on the shoulder, any warning look or more is enough to get the halfling to pause, hold up his hands in surrender, and even give a small but apologetic smile.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
When you realize you're doing too much: Signature.
Seranolla nods in understanding as Doozey refuses her offer, just to soon turn to Utar to address his question. She smiles like a trickster might and answers: "Nothing gets past those observant eyes of yours, do they, Utar?" She raises the fabric that constitutes her long and layered skirts to reviews legs that have become less humanoid and more root-like, though it is clear the transformation is still in its early stages. A few of Seranolla's recent words come to the CRAPers' minds at this point, things she said during your most recent prior visit:
"I did tell you that, should you feel the itch for another talk with an old forest gnome, you'd know where to find me. It wouldn't be very hospitable of me to say so and then move, would it?"
"Well, yes. How else am I supposed to grow roots?"
But who am I to advise you not to strike a deal with the fey, hmm?"
Doozey then notices that the nearby imp is mouthing the sounds of a couple of letters, so it seems he has taken at least one or two lessons. Other than that, Pipyap is clearly illiterate. You wonder how can he possibly try to write contracts and close deals as devils are known to do, but you then realize that it is quite possible Pipyap has never earned another's soul through devilish trickery. Even his relationship with Halvin is one likely forced on him initially, given the halfling was a warlock serving a patron.
Pipyap accepts the shoulder pat, likely hoping it was going to be another one of those "hoogs" Utar recently taught him about.
"And this is the result of your deal with the fey? That you become part of the forest itself?"
Utar sits himself down next to Seranolla and motions for the rescued humans to take a break themselves.
"What can you tell us about your transformation, will you become a tree? Will you forever be part of the forest? Will you be able to talk once the transformation is complete?"
Utar's questions come out as he thinks of them, but he waits for any answers before he asks the last one, "What did your bargain secure?"
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Neya looks over Seranolla's form to see if there are other changes other than her feet becoming roots.
Perception: 19
Now, getting more concerned about the deal she made with the fey formerly known as Ms. Green she also looks over herself to see if there are any overt changes (I guess same roll applies?).
@Neya: In addition to the partial transformation for now, you had noticed that her movements are even slower than normal. You fear that you are witnessing a transformation in progress, as slow as it may be. Looking at yourself in comparison, you see no signs of tree-fication.
"Yes, I am afraid so. A deal with Lord Witchthorn to be more specific," Seranolla tells Utar. "We needed all the aid we could get in the fight against Claugiyliamatar and Lord Witchthorn knew that well. He used it to his advantage when offering a deal, which is not surprising for the fey. I suspect he welcomed Lord Valero and his horde of allies into the forest by offering an exception to the original deal with Phlan but, when he needed his continued help the most, he implied the deal might be broken anyway. He wanted more for his continued help. In our need, I offered my services to him. In exchange, he brought his full might into the fight in the form of an extended protection ward over the battlefield. Of course, the exact details of my servitude were not clear, and only now I know what they entail. I have accepted it; you do not need to worry about me. As I mentioned earlier, I was told that reuniting with old allies would mark the beginning of my watch, so now, I serve."
Thinking of Utar's questions which might still need addressing, she offers: "I m not sure if I'll be able to speak freely, but there are spells for that kind of thing."She points at Doozey, recognizing the halfling's knack for plant-speak.
Neya observes the knife and while she very much doubts the ask is as innocuous at first blush. However, she internally reminds herself that she, herself, made the current situation more precarious and if she backs out, she could not only endanger the people in the cottage, but also the previous deal to renew the protection for Phlan and the surrounding area.
Still kind of feeling the prickling from the nettles from earlier in the day, she turns her free hand over, fingers spread. In an effort to not feel either the heat nor the edge, swiftly slices her middle finger.
(If it matters at all, she is right-hand dominant. So, she's cutting the finger on her left hand.)
Extended Signature
Con save: 3
(Burning inspiriation: 8
Extended Signature
The knife loses its orange-hot glow as Neya slices her finger, preventing the cauterizing effect Ms. Green afforded Doozey a moment ago. As the blood starts to pool, it disappears from view much like the halfling's tongue. A few yards over, Ms. Green holds up a gradually filling vial of Neya's blood. The knife is also already back in her other hand.
Once the vial is full, Ms. Green waves the effect away, giving Neya permission to dress her wound as she sees fit. Neya feels some sudden wooziness once the process is over. She tries to fight it back but the moment lasts for a bit longer than she might have hoped. She gathers that this must be the result of losing some of her life essence.
@Drache: With the failed CON save, Neya's DEATH saving throw threshold becomes 12. In other words, rolling a 10 or an 11 on DEATH saving throws now counts as a fail for Neya.
"Two deals in a day." Ms. Green begins to thank CRAP in her own way. "You are so generous." Another wave of her hand sees the cage unlocked and the two survivors shaken out. They are weak but waste no time in standing back up and moving away from the hag. Recognizing the symbol of Torm, they take refuge behind Utar's large frame. "Go on now..." Ms Green says her farewells. "Unless you'd like to offer me a third deal before the day is over." She smiles and approaches her cottage's doorway, signaling that she is ready to call it a day.
Both Doozey and Biscuit let out simultaneous sighs of relief and let the tension flee from their posture. Well, Doozey did, as Biscuit's interest in the whole tense affair barely went above mild concern and confusion over why everyone seemed so tense in the first place. Ms. Green had been nothing except kind to them, and even plucked from thin air new friends to travel with them! Granted, the two looked to Biscuit as if a stiff breeze might knock them over any minute, but humans always tended to bounce back in time.
"Mimi fam." Doozey eventually says in farewells in return, bows, and then nudges Biscuit sides to prompt the mastiff to once again turn about make ready to depart. Floating about somewhere in the back of his mind is a mild nugget of concern about something left unspoken. But that thought is quickly squashed, in a dismissive snort. "Oi! Pipyap. You come om 'oo. We be habim more wormf wiff you on way." He calls back and side-eyes the imp with a look that said 'This wasn't a negotiable request'.
When you realize you're doing too much: Signature.
The head rush of losing more than just "a drop of blood" fades more slowly than she'd like. But seeing that the two villagers are now safe with Utar allows her to ignore the feeling to a degree.
Neya says to Ms. Green, "Thanks for your hospitality."
She then turns to leave the cottage, stumbling slightly from her light-headedness.
Extended Signature
"What..." Pipyap is taken away from his thoughts by Doozey's command. The imp has lost some of his defiance since learning of Halvin's demise. His legs would start moving even if the imp were to think of resisting the idea. He doesn't. Much like Biscuit, Pipyap finds himself walking by Doozey on his way out of the witch's clearing.
Neya takes a brief moment for herself before thanking Ms. Green for her hospitality. Soon, the eldritch monk is ready to depart as well. Denae waits for her Sister to catch up and then pass her, before following Neya toward the edge of the clearing.
Utar is the last one to move, staring at Ms. Green who stands at her cottage's door. The two villagers wait for the Tormite to move before risking an exit themselves. Will Utar leave now or does he have some last words for Ms. Green?
Utar simply raises a hand and gives Ms. Green a wave. Somewhere in the back of his mind he's sure he'll be seeing her again.
Cajoling the two freed prisoners ahead of him, he guides them up the path away from Ms. Green's home, "We need to get you both back home, but first I think we all need to have a little chat once we're caught up with the rest of my party."
Catching up with the others he suggests heading further up the track, where they can likely speak with Seranolla too.
Ms. Green shuts her front door before Utar puts down his waving hand.
The Tormite and his new charges catch up with the rest of the group down the path connecting the witch's cottage to the fork-in-the-road where CRAP met Seranolla. Nothing has changed ahead in this path. The walk down it truly is much shorter than the way leading to Greenhall, and CRAP still find themselves walking in a mostly reclaimed-by-nature path.
About 6 minutes worth of walking later, Doozey, Denae, and Biscuit all feel some sort of fog lift from their minds. Looking at the two villagers, it looks like they are coming to the same realization.
Looking over her shoulder, Neya notices that the portion of the path that they have already traversed (that is, the portion that would lead CRAP back to the cottage) has been totally and impossibility quickly reclaimed by nature. Nettles, briar, and thorny bushes prevent any sort of backtracking toward Ms. Green.
@Dooey: You have control of your full faculties once more, and remember everything that has occurred back at the witch's cottage.
@Everyone: You are still more than 90 in-game minutes away from reaching Seranolla.
As Biscuit whined and staggered about, Doozey growled and clutched at his head until the fog fully cleared from their mind. Once that happened the former immediately did an about face and growled at once had been a cozy enough path turned nightmare. As for Doozey, he just... chuckled a chuckle that slowly evolved into a full blown bout of laughter. Left to his own devices, a solid minute all but passes before the stoutling calms again, wiping a few budding tears. Beneath the veneer of amusement, however, was unmistakable the look of someone silently vowing to do something vengeful at some later point.
Doozey's expression then took a turn for the solemn when looking at the pair of men hovering about Utar. In place of a minced words, the stoutling did the only thing he could in that moment. Bow his head in apology, before then with a tug and some signaling footwork, reigned in Biscuit enough to get him back on track walking down the path. Discussions could wait a little longer, though he wouldn't begrudge anyone from at least doing a little talking along the way. But if any insist or so much as make the suggestion of turning back to try and hunt down the hag, that's when he'd give a warning growl and shake his head.
When you realize you're doing too much: Signature.
Neya turns as the forest seemingly swallows the path they just traveled. She looks at the two men she helped save with a sense of cautious relief.
After taking stock of what happened over the past several minutes, she notices slightly more pallor to her skin. She feels that that the most dire of the negotiations are past them. Perhaps re-establishing trade with the elves might not have as many consequences.
Extended Signature
Denae's realization comes in a different shape than that of either Neya or Doozey. The half-elf had fallen for the hag's tricks, but there will be plenty of time to blame herself for that later. For now, she simply loathes the fact that others got to pay high prices for what was, at least partially, a mistake on her part while she got out of the witch's clearing unscathed. She shows gratitude to her Sister for vouching for her and for demanding that she pay no price in the negotiations. She understands that position. Were roles reversed, Denae would have done the same for her Sister. Nonetheless, she can't help feeling guilty and gullible. She remains silent for the next patch of the walk.
A moment taken to internalize their new afflictions, Doozey and Neya soon return to the most immediate party goal, that of walking and reaching the fork in the path ahead. Utar follows along from the back, just behind the two rescued villagers. They remain in clear shock of the situation, frightened of every snapping twig or ruffling leaf. They are afraid of talking beyond murmurs. Pipyap is also eschewing spoken words for now. He grieves and the emotional pain is palpable.
This all makes for quite the solemn walk back to Seranolla. They 90 or so minutes that come next feel more like 900 minutes instead. Despite the low morale, eventually, the group spots Seranolla and her bifurcating path just ahead. The old gnome, wearing her wide-brimmed mushroom hat, slowly turns her head to meet CRAP's gaze. You know her to be a slow moving old druid, but her neck turn feels extra labored this time. "Hello again, my dear friends. I see your group has increased in number. That is a good sign. I am happy you were able to find survivors. Only you lot could have pulled that off, but I am too old to believe even you'd be able to accomplish this feat without any cost. How dire was it?"
"It was fairly dire, our host had considered the pact between the Forest and Phlan void. But, yes we needed to give them some assurances, as well as payment for them to look the other way from trespasses we knew and didn't know about, and the release of these two. Regardless, we needed to pay rather heavily, personally. But, I suspect other consequences are to come."
Extended Signature
Doozey's immediate answer is a grim smile before simply opening his maw open wide to showcase the new lacking appendage. Meanwhile, Biscuit lowered his head in shame, though some head pats from his quick to notice rider seems to raise his spirits back up before long... if only a little. After all of that, the stoutling contented himself at first to leave the talking to others, knowing he'd muddy the waters with his mangled speech. As for any potential look of pity or concern from Seranolla is met with the halfling maintaining a nonplussed expression.
But at some point or another as the others converse, Doozey softly sighs inwardly, before fetching from his back what amounted to a patchwork book and some well-worn charcoal pencil to start scribbling some things down. A moment later he's tearing a page out and offering it to Pipyap, if visible. Though if not, he takes but a few moments to sniff at the air, narrowing down the fiends rough location before waving it until Pipyap took it. Then its immediately back to writing for Biscuit.
For Pipyap:
Written on the note is the following:
"While we were at the hag's place, could you really not sense Halvin's presence? Did you not try? "
When you realize you're doing too much: Signature.
Seranolla understands Neya's desire to not want to elaborate too much on the price paid. She respects it. The details are not needed in order for her to internalize the gravity of the situation. "Quite noble of you lot to pay high prices for an accord you did not originally make and of which most beneficiaries are unaware. You are the people Phlan needs. Lucky are the denizens of the city who realize that."
Unlike Neya, Doozey is quick to show the price he paid. Seranolla can't help but let out a small laugh. She is not laughing at the halfling's situation but at the difference in responses from the two CRAPers. The old gnome recomposes herself and verbally offers a serving of some numbing edible ointment to Doozey, in case he is feeling pain. "It is right here somewhere, I am sure of it," she says as her hands search the many layers and pockets of her attire for said ointment.
-> Those with passive perception of 12 or higher notice that Seranolla is not moving her legs at all in her seated position while searching for the ointment.
A few moments later, a very visible Pipyap responds out loud: "What are these symbols? They look like the ones Halvin used. Called them "wurds." I never understood how symbols can make any sounds."
If the half-orc one knew how to phrase the question better he would have done but here he was watching someone become a living tree.
"Seranolla, I don't know how to ask this but are you taking root?"
Thankfully though he was, the party's halfling dismissed the offer from Seranolla, then bowed his head and faintly smiled in appreciation of the offer, taking no misconstrued offense at the laugh. 'After making a right fool of meself, I would've welcomed any pain. But as things stand...' He lowered his gaze and frowned at the thought. But he didn't wallow for long before Utar's words led the halfling to look at first perplexed, and then a touch worriedly at Seranolla.
However, hardly had he returned to scribbling something down again to perhaps question her did he finally register Piyap's words. At first the halfling could only look in disbelief. But if after a few moments the imp genuinely didn't seem to be up to any duplicity(Insight: 28), the stoutling facepalmed, shook his head, and silently wondered what kind of education system(if ANY!) did the hells even possessed at the moment!? And yet, in taking in Pipyap's being once more, squinting all the while, some silent connection is made as his eyes went wide for a moment or two, before he then let out a barking laugh!
"Fair. Very fair! E'okay!" He assured the imp after regaining some composure after nearly a minute. But while he dared to try and pat the imp on the shoulder, any warning look or more is enough to get the halfling to pause, hold up his hands in surrender, and even give a small but apologetic smile.
When you realize you're doing too much: Signature.
Seranolla nods in understanding as Doozey refuses her offer, just to soon turn to Utar to address his question. She smiles like a trickster might and answers: "Nothing gets past those observant eyes of yours, do they, Utar?" She raises the fabric that constitutes her long and layered skirts to reviews legs that have become less humanoid and more root-like, though it is clear the transformation is still in its early stages. A few of Seranolla's recent words come to the CRAPers' minds at this point, things she said during your most recent prior visit:
"I did tell you that, should you feel the itch for another talk with an old forest gnome, you'd know where to find me. It wouldn't be very hospitable of me to say so and then move, would it?"
"Well, yes. How else am I supposed to grow roots?"
But who am I to advise you not to strike a deal with the fey, hmm?"
Doozey then notices that the nearby imp is mouthing the sounds of a couple of letters, so it seems he has taken at least one or two lessons. Other than that, Pipyap is clearly illiterate. You wonder how can he possibly try to write contracts and close deals as devils are known to do, but you then realize that it is quite possible Pipyap has never earned another's soul through devilish trickery. Even his relationship with Halvin is one likely forced on him initially, given the halfling was a warlock serving a patron.
Pipyap accepts the shoulder pat, likely hoping it was going to be another one of those "hoogs" Utar recently taught him about.
"And this is the result of your deal with the fey? That you become part of the forest itself?"
Utar sits himself down next to Seranolla and motions for the rescued humans to take a break themselves.
"What can you tell us about your transformation, will you become a tree? Will you forever be part of the forest? Will you be able to talk once the transformation is complete?"
Utar's questions come out as he thinks of them, but he waits for any answers before he asks the last one, "What did your bargain secure?"
Neya looks over Seranolla's form to see if there are other changes other than her feet becoming roots.
Perception: 19
Now, getting more concerned about the deal she made with the fey formerly known as Ms. Green she also looks over herself to see if there are any overt changes (I guess same roll applies?).
Extended Signature
@Neya: In addition to the partial transformation for now, you had noticed that her movements are even slower than normal. You fear that you are witnessing a transformation in progress, as slow as it may be. Looking at yourself in comparison, you see no signs of tree-fication.
"Yes, I am afraid so. A deal with Lord Witchthorn to be more specific," Seranolla tells Utar. "We needed all the aid we could get in the fight against Claugiyliamatar and Lord Witchthorn knew that well. He used it to his advantage when offering a deal, which is not surprising for the fey. I suspect he welcomed Lord Valero and his horde of allies into the forest by offering an exception to the original deal with Phlan but, when he needed his continued help the most, he implied the deal might be broken anyway. He wanted more for his continued help. In our need, I offered my services to him. In exchange, he brought his full might into the fight in the form of an extended protection ward over the battlefield. Of course, the exact details of my servitude were not clear, and only now I know what they entail. I have accepted it; you do not need to worry about me. As I mentioned earlier, I was told that reuniting with old allies would mark the beginning of my watch, so now, I serve."
Thinking of Utar's questions which might still need addressing, she offers: "I m not sure if I'll be able to speak freely, but there are spells for that kind of thing." She points at Doozey, recognizing the halfling's knack for plant-speak.