Carl makes some motions and casts invisibility, moving off to the side, staying within reach of Sylyra’s spell to soften his steps and make him even more stealthy.  He maneuvers away from the group at a 90 degree angle to allow for observation of any movement or trap that he can observe.  

"Only two of you? Where are your other companions?"

The man and woman in the cage say nothing, only shushing Auriel in seeming agreement with Sylyra.

The door to the cabin opens and a rather surprised looking elderly woman stands in the doorway.

"My goodness, you gave me quite a start!" the kind-faced woman exclaims, clutching the front of her shirt. "We certainly don't get visitors around these parts very often. Please, sit down by the fire and warm yourselves," she says, looking past the clearing toward Hex, Uragum and Pipyap.

Auriel keeps his mouth shut but blinks in surprise when the elderly woman appears at the doorstep. That was definitely not what he expected Jeny Greenteeth to look like. He has to remind himself that hags are creatures of deceit, so he should not believe his eyes too readily. Realizing that Sylyra's spell has worked and that Jeny is looking past them and Carl, he raises his arms slightly, questioningly, towards the elf and the dwarf—or, rather, where he thinks the invisible dwarf might be. “Now what?” he seems to ask. Even under Sylyra's spell, he’s still wearing clanky armor and is not keen on moving too much with the hag standing so close.

Sylyra notices Auriel's movement and looks at the eladrin, who can clearly see on the wood elf's face that he is at a loss for what to do next. He turns to look at Hex, Uragum and Pipyap, then back at the hag. He had fully anticipated talking with the hag and finding out what they might barter for the return of the remaining Hill folk. And now, here he is hiding. Should he drop the spell? Should he release the humans first? What would she do if she found the cage empty? They might as well attack as do that.

Hex and Uragum have good heads on their shoulders. Sylyra decides to just wait to see what they do first.

At hearing the door open, Uragum turns towards the woman.  He looks her up and down but doesn't trust what he sees and takes what she says with a grain of salt.  Uragum doesn't move towards the fire but doesn't move towards her either.  "While we appreciate the hospitality, I'm not one to waste time on niceties for the sake of pomp and procedure.  We came for the hill folk.  So if you'd be so kind, let's start our conversation there."

Carl slows his speed down significantly, moving very slowly after she appears.  He maintains distance from Sylyra so that his footfalls are quieter, and he maintains his invisibility.  He doesn’t say a word, watching to see which direction this goes.  He’s angled to the side, maintaining the distance, but looking at the doorway, thinking about how he could sneak inside to see what ole Jeny has been up to…

A smirk appears on Auriel's face when Uragum talks back to Jeny—straight to the point, as always. Though he keeps track of the conversation, Auriel takes advantage of the moment, since the hidden ones are stuck for now, to get a better view of the cage lock. Is the cage covered by Sylyra's spell? Would it be easy to pry it open with the halberd, without making enough noise to break the veil of shadows and silence granted by the spell?

He doesn't intend to open the cage yet—not with the hag so close. Besides, he remembers vividly what happened when they opened the cages on the lizard's island. If the two prisoners tried to run, they might alert the hag. Worse still, they could escape the glade only to become prey for the beasts roaming the Quivering Forest.

"While we appreciate the hospitality, I'm not one to waste time on niceties for the sake of pomp and procedure.  We came for the hill folk.  So if you'd be so kind, let's start our conversation there."

The old woman waves the thought away. "We'll talk of those things after we've eaten, dearie," she says. She wears a simple floral-print dressing gown over a clear, lacy apron. Her hair is tied back in a neat bun held in place with a foot-long hair pin made of bone.

"The stew is already going, have a seat. I'll be right back with bowls and plates, and some bread and pudding," she says before ducking back into the house.

"Yes please!" Pipyap shouts after her, fluttering over toward the stew pot and taking a seat, waiting patiently for the woman's return.

Hex is immediately on edge as the elderly woman makes her entrance. She didn't know if this was the hag's true appearance or not but a part of her felt like she would've been more trustworthy had the hag looked more... stereotypically spooky. At least it would've been honest. She becomes even more nervous at Uragum's straightforwardness, hoping the hag wasn't one who was easy to insult or offend. It was an admirable trait of his though, she couldn't lie.

As the "elderly woman" ducks back into the house, she eyes the stew suspiciously and waits for Uragum and Pipyap to sit first before standing behind them. Her hand twitches, ready to draw her bow in case anything goes wrong. She tries to make eye contact with the caged humans, subtly gesturing towards the stew in a silent attempt to ask them if they know if it's safe or not.

Sylyra decides to drop the stealth, opting for a more direct approach. As his spell is released, the druid crosses his arms over his chest, hoping to appear clearly obstinate. They still had one secret card in their hand in the form of Carl. "Hide if you want," Sylyra says under his breath in Auriel's direction. Part of him was wishing he was enjoying a goblet of wine at the Cracked Crown.

"Not really my style," Auriel mutters back. Then, he moves to stand next to Hex and Uragum nonchalantly, as if he had been there all along. He follows their lead and if they enter the house, he will walk up to the door, nodding to the elderly woman and remaining silent for the moment.

Carl moves quickly to flatten himself up against the wall without touching it, on the side of the door with the hinges.  He holds his breath and waits, taking the opportunity to get in position where he could surprise her from the rear if need be.

Whilst she leaves and the others join near Uragum uncrosses his arms.  "Remember, we don't eat what she serves.  Not a bite and if push comes to shove.  Shove without restraints "  He keeps his arms uncrossed and wiggles his fingers to keep loose for spell casting.

If Pipyap makes a face in response to Uragum's direction, Sylyra raises his chin and says, "Not you. You can eat anything you like."

Pipyap beams in response to Sylyra, and the door to the home soon re-opens. The elderly woman gives a slight jump at the new arrivals before smiling and motioning toward the cook pit with the plates and bowls she balances in her hands. "Come, come, have a seat. Rest your tired feet." She hands a bowl and a plate to everyone, ladling the stew from the cook pot over a hunk of bread in the bowl, and then some pudding onto everyone's plate. She includes Pipyap in the distribution, who tucks greedily into his food.

"I don't get visitors often. It's always such an exciting time. I'm sure you have many entertaining stories to tell," she says with a smile as she takes a seat herself.

Sylyra, who holds his plate, but basically ignores it, says while motioning with his head toward the cage, "What? No plates for your others guests?" Before she can respond, he continues, "We're looking for the hag Jeny Greenteeth. Would you happen to be she?"

While Sylyra addresses their seemingly kind host, Auriel inspects the food more closely. He picks up the spoon and stirs the stew in his bowl, pretending to be interested in eating it while he listens to the woman's replies.

"What? No plates for your others guests?"

"We're looking for the hag Jeny Greenteeth. Would you happen to be she?"

"Tsk," the woman scolds Sylyra, waving a finger. "There will be time for those questions soon enough, love, but for now let's eat," she says, sitting and watching patiently. Her eyes lean toward Pipyap with his head half in the bowl of stew and she smiles sweetly. "Your familiar seems to like the taste. It should, after all. I've had plenty of time to improve the recipe," she says.

Auriel chuckles slightly when the elderly woman implies that Pipyap is Sylyra's familiar. Continuing to stir the stew, he replies, "Oh, Pipyap is actually Halvin Graingle's familiar. Have you heard of him? He's a woodcutter from Kabel's Hill. We've been searching for him, along with six — well, four," he corrects himself, "of his neighbours who ventured into this forest to find him."

He glances at the two in the cage and adds, "It seems we've found two more."

Looking back at the woman, the Spring Eladrin smiles and asks, "Would you be so kind as to share what you may know of all this? I'm sure we're as eager to leave the Quivering Forest as its inhabitants are to see us gone." 

Sylyra, wishing he had foresight and had prepared a spell to defend against poisons, looks into his bowl as well. Running the spoon through, raising the utensil and letting its content dribble back in, and sniffing the aroma, he tries to make heads or tails of what might be in the hag's recipe.