Witchthorn has little else to say as CRAP leaves his presence and an agreement has been reached.

The forest changes as it did before: colors, sounds, and even temperatures shift somewhat randomly as CRAP is led back the way they came. The elves turned shadow turned elves again don’t have much to say either. They wouldn’t dare add words where their Lord had clearly finished talking.

Son, CRAP is back in Greenhall, but the escort does not end there. You are guided across the clearing and to the very edge on the other side. The silent indication is clear: you are not expected to linger in Greenhall. That said, neither are you being forcibly kicked out. The elves pause, giving you a chance to voice any last ideas before you depart on your long term dragon hunting mission.

After everything that had happened Doozey had neither the will or the words to further concern himself with the elves. Yet, after taking a moment to place a hand on Biscuit, who'd been limping along since the group left the feywild, Doozey saw to mending the canine's wounds with but word and a little magic, before then looking to the elves and simply nodding in thanks for their guidance.

That's it. No more or less, for they hadn't seemed to care much for his earlier offering of either condolences or reparations in his own way. And this was... fine. Perhaps in aiding their lord, protecter, and whatever else Witchthorn meant to them, it would be enough to assuage his own conscious about the matter of Halvin's crimes, if nothing else.

Or, so he silently hoped, in any case. Doozey would then look to the party and say nothing but give them all a meaningful yet weary look that bespoke of just wanting to depart from the area. 

-Casting (1st level)Cure Wounds on Biscuit, restoring 9 HP. 

.

Waiting for the elves... Shadow creatures... Shadow elves to leave CRAP before choosing to speak, Utar looks to Doozey, "Lord Witchthorn asks no small thing of you, Doozey Redfoot. Should you need it, you have my help and all the resources I am able to muster."

Looking to the rest of the group, he adds, "What is the plan now? How many villagers have we been able to account for?"

"There was Rerk, the two who were attacked and eaten by the six-legged beasts, and the two for which we bartered with Ms. Green. I believe that may be all of them?"

"Thank you, Neya. So with that in mind, do we head back to Kabel's Hill? We're on a time crunch to get our collective backsides out of the forest. Are we ready to go?"

"Aye. We go." Doozey affirmed while carefully climbed onto Biscuit's back. "We go 'ome. Bo-" He looks again to Utar and adds, "Om way, you gem worm oum, yea? Wi'm mime ma'im." At that, he gestures to his own head, then off to the distance, and then mimes talking motion with his hand. But after which, he doesn't wait to see if his meaning got through this time around. He... needed to be gone, and so gently urged Biscuit to start padding along for the exit/trail.

The temporary telecommunication no longer in effect, Doozey feels the strange weightlessness of his tongue when pronouncing with difficulty the magical words that fuel the healing spell that treats Biscuit's wounds. (Biscuit recovers 12 HP.)

The halfing then comes to terms with the realization that whatever apology on Halvin's behalf he had prepared had little role to play in the audience with Witchthorn. It is now clear that Halvin, much like Doozey himself, was seen as the Feylord's next weapon of choice in his long battle against Old Gnawbones. Where Doozey had been enticed into presenting himself with polite invitation and promise of knowledge sharing, Halvin had been taunted into action by irritating displays of indifference. Where Doozey sought to defend Phlan and do right by his ancestors, Halvin was willing to ally with the Cult of the Dragon in breaking the agreement between Phlan and the Fey just to get back at Witchthorn, learning in the process that the enemy of your enemy is not always your friend.

From Witchthorn's perspective, the fact that one Redfoot panned out while the other fizzled into an early grave was likely the expected outcome anyway. Similarly, the Feylord revealed that he sees the arrangement with Phlan as another iron in the fire, another avenue potentially granting him an opportunity to engage with his rival dragon in battle, as it was the case when Lord Valero Brokengulf organized his war party. It is clear that Witchthorn cares little for Phlan; the city is just another pawn in the chess match against the dragon.

The arrangement with Jenny Greenteeth is more delicate, as the hag clearly sees the agreement with Phlan as a threat to her way of life. Nonetheless, CRAP was able to secure her adherence to the pact, albeit at a personal cost. In a way, that was the harder victory to secure.

Once the elves leave CRAP at the edge of Greenhall, Utar feels comfortable enough to talk next immediate steps. Neya accounts for five villagers, and Denae adds: "I believe the sixh and last one might have been the one we found within the witch's cook pot... and perhaps that included Halvin too. That should complete the search for the halfling hermit and the six villagers who entered the forest to look for him. It might not be a happy ending, but being able to find two villagers alive in addition to Rerk after so much time has passed since their intrusion into the woods, well, that is some type of a victory."

With everyone accounted for and a general will to leave the Quivering Forest behind, CRAP departs Greenhall by the only way they know: a nearly two-day trek back to Seranolla's spot, then a bit further to Serelis's place, and then down the animal run to reach the edge of the forest. Now that a set of deals with the fey has been struck, the forest mostly leaves CRAP to their own luck. During the walk back to Seranolla, CRAP is not bothered, attacked, or approached by any woodland being or tricky fey spirit.

-> You may complete a Long Rest.

Seranolla is found in her exact same spot. Her roots have presumably taken an even tighter hold of the rocks and soil about her, but that image is covered by not only her many skirts but also her general acceptance of her fate. She is happy to be able to say goodbye to you once more, but does not pry regarding your business with Witchthorn.

(OOC: Pausing here to give you a chance to RP with Seranolla once more. The next stop would be to move on to Serelis's place on your way out, unless you;d prefer to attempt a different way out of the forest.)

Utar spends his time with Seranolla in quiet contemplation.  The gnome's serenity at being forced into Lord Witchthorn's eternal servitude humbles the cleric.  He doubts he would go as quietly, prefering to rail against the dying of the light.  Knowing there isn't much he can do for her, he instead focusses on helping those he can.  He contacts Sister Ahkt via sending to inform her of the liklihood of incoming patients from Kabel's Hill.

Coming to the realisation that Lord Witchthorn is likely to be as fickle an ally as The Lady o' The Woods, Utar wonders if the fate befalling Seranolla is the same as the punishment imposed upon Doozey's clan.

"Seranolla, I have seen firsthand that the Lord of these Woods turns those who displease him into similar trees as you are becoming now.  Have you done something to displease him? Is your current state a punishment of sorts?"

He lets his question linger for a moment, before dropping his voice to a whisper, "Does it hurt? Are you in pain?"

While not entirely unusual for the stoutling, the most recent events all but assured his silence during the journey back to Seranolla's side. And whenever he did dare to speak -- try to, in any event -- it's either to answer another, or when time permitted it, practice the simpler charms and evocations that required vocalization. But with little in the way of external distractions barring those of the party's creation, his mind ever wandered away from the present and towards the past and recent enlightenments. Thankfully and in spite of all that happened, Biscuit is sure to watch out for his halfling borther, and even regained some of his spirit after the first day. Yet on the rare occasion had stopped and looked long and hard at random trees along the way as if trying to discern if secretly be a halfling....

Before in his self-assuredness of said tree NOT being a halfling, mark his territory and carry on about his day!

Noone perhaps voiced it, yet all knew it might be a long time before they could visit Seranolla again. So, almost as soon as Utar sat down beside her to think, with a soft smile gracing his feature for the first time in days, Doozey nodded approvingly, before both he and Biscuit joined the half-orc and whoever else for an impromptu break. Well, Doozey would sit and scribble away at some notes he'd intended to pass along anyhow. But Biscuit? He made it a point to shower Seranolla once again with plenty of "doggie kisses" before slumping by her side to regale her in boofs and growls the past couple days adventure.

In response to Utar's questioning of Seranolla later, Doozey scoffs, shakes his head, then adding a few more lines to his parchment, started to pass it along to Denae to read aloud. But then, he has a thought and started to fish around in his pack before remembering a certain imp couldn't read. At that, he facepalms, shakes his head, and then finally offers the parchment to Denae, which reads as follows:

The moments spent with Seranolla are a welcome respite from all the adversities the Quivering Forest has brought to CRAP. She enjoys the conversation, laying her head on Utar's shoulder when the half-orc sits next to her, placing a hand on Doozey's upper arm when he approaches, and accepting all the love Biscuit has to share with her.

Utar takes a moment to contact Sister Ahkt, who replies:

When the conversation turns back to Seranolla, the old gnome has a chance to respond to Utar's questions before Doozey is done scribbling on his piece of parchment. She says: "I have no reason to believe I displeased him. I do not see this as a punishment; I assumed he was simply putting me on watch duty. Perhaps he trusts an immovable wooden form more than a slow-moving gnome." She laughs a bit at her self-deprecating jest. "And no, it does not hurt."

Denae then reads Doozey's note and summarizes: "Mr. Badger seems to already have known that this is no punishment, but he is saving any elaboration on this point for a later time." Seranolla agrees with a simple nod an a quick hmmm noise, and respects the halfling's wish to not dwell on the matter.

Denae then continues, answering a written question others have not had a chance to read: "Yes, I saw Serelis. He was pleasantly surprised at the arrival of two surviving villagers but did not dare utter anything that could be potentially heard by the hag. He took them in and I said we'd be back soon. There is a chance the survivors are still there with him, as opposed to having found their way back to Kabel's Hill."

As Sister Ahkt's message comes to him, Utar is slightly buoyed by her compliment, before the pressure of knowing he will be responsible for restoring Doozey's speech and if he can do that, then potentially he should see what can be done for Rerk as well.

Utar shakes his head, pushing the anxiety away and focusses on Seranolla instead.  "I cannot claim to understand this, Seranolla, at all. I mean not even a little teeny bit. But I am glad you are not in any pain or discomfort and you are not being punished for anything.  I hope to see you again though, in whatever form you have taken or will take next."

Looking to Danae, Utar suggest they do go check in on Serelis, "At the very least we escort the last of the living villagers home."

"We've certainly stayed in this deep in the forest for longer than we anticipated. We don't want to risk undoing the progress we acheived."

"It was wonderful to see you again, Seranolla."

After listening for a time, Doozey looked about ready to make another message, only to stop and shake his head instead. "Chu Sereris we go. Worms he be meeing to hear." With that, Doozey gets up to wrestle/coach Biscuit back to his feet, as the group yet had much ground to cover if they were to make it to Serelis humble home in a timely fashion. And while dogback riding wouldn't make for the most stable environment for writing, the stoutling meant to burn through the last of his limited stock with a few prepared messages for the future encounter. 

Seranolla once again seems generally unbothered by her new condition. She reassures Utar by asserting that they will certainly see each other again. "You know where to find me," she jokes at her own expense.

CRAP then says their renewed farewells to the gnome before hitting the road again, as Neya recognizes they have spent many days in the forest by now. The trail soon narrows and becomes a tad harder to follow, but you reach your next stop soon enough. As Doozey finishes up his next pre-written note, you find Serelis outside working on putting his scarecrow back together. The two villagers you rescued are still here, also outside, although they are not keeping themselves busy. They look worried and afraid. You can spot that Serelis has served them some food, at which they are pecking slowly and hesitantly.

Noticing your approach, Serelis preempts your question and explains somewhat apologetically: "They don't seem confident enough to complete the trip home on their own, and I still have quite a few things to address here at home before I can put another visit to Kabel's Hill on my list. I figured it was worth waiting for your return."

"Considering the harrowing experience they've had, I do not place blame on anyone present." Neya says with a nod.

"It seems that despite what happened, you intend to stay?" She asks, noticing the (partially?) reconstructed scarecrow.

"Right," Serelis agrees with Neya even without necessarily knowing all the details of the villagers' harrowing experience.

He shifts his focus once Neya does: "Despite the attack, I still plan to dedicate myself to being a liaison of sorts between Kabel's Hill and the woods. I don't mean to inflate my own influence, but I gather the situation here would be much worse if there was no one playing the role. A message sent one way or the other without having to have the villagers enter the forest themselves can prove to be invaluable in certain situations. Granted, a lot more than that was needed in the current matter. Speaking of which, your safe return tells me you were able to smooth things over with the fey in some way, is that right?"

Utar keeps his own council on his useful Serelis' has been to himself, no point in offending him. Besides given most of Serelis' vegetable patch and the scarecrow work for The Lady O' The Woods, Utar isn't sure who might be listening.

"We can escort the villagers the rest of the way, get them out of your hair."

Whereas before Doozey and Biscuit had strode closer to the villagers to give their physical state a once over as the others conversed, hearing Serelis question prompts the stoutling to dismount and make his way back over to the Serelis. It's then while wearing a solemn expression that he offers the note to his fellow ranger (or Doozey would presume)/resident mediator that reads as follow:

 As it looked as if Serelis had finished reading, Doozey than opens his mouth open wide to confirm the truth of his words, then gave a hapless shrug. 

(@Drache: Yes, still partially reconstructed scarecrow.)

@Doozey: You approach the villagers and note that their state is generally still precarious. They are thin and weak. They have not been eating much despite Serelis making available a healthy amount of food (not that you think he has food in excess to share to begin with.) They are dirty and obviously still need plenty of care. Both you and Biscuit can smell them from afar. Serelis has kept them alive over the last three or so days, but the resident ranger is no inn, tavern, healer, or bathhouse.

"Hmm..." Serelis thinks for a second after Utar's offer. "Yeah... Yeah, that's probably for the best." He is then handed Doozey's note, responding after reading it: "I trust your dealings with the fey, be it on your own behalf, Kabel's Hill's, or Phlan's, are your own... above my pay grade, as some humble merchants are fond of saying. That includes this business with fighting a dragon that you write about... I wouldn't be of much help there... not that you asked. And thanks for the warning." He looks pensive after that last sentence, but does not elaborate on what he might be pondering.

After a moment of silence, he offers: "From here, the rest of your trip is relatively short, but let me know if I can offer anything to help you. If I may ask a favor, please let the folk of Kabel's Hill know that it will be at least a tenday before I can pay them a visit, in case they need anything."

Denae has a short reply for Serelis: "Your elven blood allows you a foot or two into the forest, but don't mistake that for being welcomed. The lady of the woods already proved to have a grudge against you. You might be better off moving to Kabel's Hill permanently."

Serelis responds with a joke of sort, the kind that usually comes from someone who is feeling a bit nervous: "Hmmm. Is that concern for a fellow half-elf or are you implying to know more than you are sharing?"

Denae facepalms before responding: "There just isn't any need to risk your life when it looks like to me that you can continue to run your messages, or whatever it is you do, while housed in town instead of within the lady's territory."

Serelis deviates: "I will think about it, but this is still my home." He waves toward the cottage. "It is not so easy to abandon one's home."

Denae looks at Neya with that message lingering in the air: "Right..."