OOC: Not in the forest, near the edge of the forest.

Auriel can still see the tiny, clawed footprints from time to time as they lead towards the house, and eventually back toward the barn. The outside of the house does not look remarkable to Sylyra as the party passes by. The small windows of the barn have been shuttered, and the door has long since fallen off of its hinges, leaving a large opening. As you approach, the rhythmic sound becomes a loud snoring.

Your guards raised, the snoring grows louder as you round a large pile of hay, neatly baled and stacked in the rear of the barn.

Asleep on the pile of hay is a small, scaled creature with leathery wings and a grossly distended stomach. Resting on his back, his swollen belly heaves up and down in concert with his labored snoring.

A small, burlap satchel is on the floor next to the creature, stained through with blood. Near that lies a half-full milk can, its lid discarded on the floor.

Suddenly, his snoring becomes loud and ragged, and after a few choking coughs, the creature jerks awake and props himself up on an elbow, rubbing an eye with a fist while errant strands of hay cling to the side of his face.

"What time is it?!" he gasps.

The paladin doesn't loose the grip on the halberd, but stands still and surprised at the sight of that creature. 

- What in the Nine Hells...? - he mutters.

Small claws, wings, a sting. It matched everything they saw on the farm. Except that the creature had actually decided to walk instead of fly? Auriel had been that harsh with the poor farmer ... and he had been right all along !?

(OOC: A short post for now. Do we know what creature is that?)

Hex eyes the bloody burlap and half full milk can. "Looks like we found what killed those cows... Blood and milk is an interesting choice. And the Nine Hells is pretty accurate, Auriel. That's an imp. A pretty full imp as well, it would seem. The question then becomes, where is its master and what is it doing here?"

She unsheathes her scimitar and hides it behind her back, walking up to the creature cautiously and answering its question. "It's quite late at night. Have you overslept and missed something important?"

Though her body language betrays her unease, she speaks in a friendly tone, trying not to alert the imp.

Sylyra wrinkles his nose at the sight of the creature. Its wings cause a shiver to crawl up his back as they remind him a little of a dragon's wings, but the rest of the creature's anatomy causes him much more revulsion than fear. He listens to Hex's calm tone of voice, but also notes her sly readying of her scimitar. He has no idea what to expect, but decides to be prepared as well. He adjusts his grip on his staff.

Upon listening to Hex, Auriel immediately opens his awareness to try to detect other infernal creatures that might be nearby. His eyes briefly gleam with a golden radiance as this happens. (OOC: he uses a Divine Sense)

He doesn't come near the creature just yet, thinking that a fiend is not likely to welcome the presence of a paladin, but stands at the ready in case it attacks. Then, he says quietly to the group:

- Careful with the tail. That sting looks dangerous to me.

Carl readies himself, waiting for what comes next, expecting violence from the imp, but waiting to attack.  “Aye, bet thas how he killed the cow.  Don’t look like any fae to me…”

OOC: Auriel's Divine Sense confirms that the creature is a fiend but reveals no others within 60 feet.

Upon waking, the imp hops to the rim of the milk can, dunks the cup inside into the milk, and takes a swig, falling onto his back in the hay and letting out a long, contented sigh.

"It's quite late at night. Have you overslept and missed something important?"

The imp chuckles, "Not unless Halvin has come back. You seen him? Really swell guy."

Hex steps slightly closer to the imp and shakes her head. "No, we haven't seen him. In fact, we came here to find him. The townspeople are worried about him. Do you know where he went? Is he your master?"

Although Auriel didn't detect any more infernal creatures, he didn't feel entirely at ease. There could be some others hidden behind cover, and his divine awareness wouldn't be able detect them. So he shifted from one foot to the other, wondering if they should check the house while Hex kept interrogating the creature, or wait in case the friendly dialogue ended up in a fight. And shouldn't the latter happen anyway? They couldn't just allow this fiend to roam freely and keep harassing the villagers, could they?  

Quote from Twombley >>

“Aye, bet thas how he killed the cow.  Don’t look like any fae to me…”

The eladrin nodded to the dwarf. Yes, definitely not a fey. At least they had been right about that. Continuing on his musings, he now wondered how they could prove to the farmer that the fey hadn't been the ones to blame for the death of his cows. He would have to simply trust the group's word, since there wouldn't be no body left if they ended up fighting and killing the imp.

In the end, he decides to put this thoughts away for the moment and simply join the conversation. If his divine powers couldn't detect any other evil creatures, perhaps a simple question would give him what he wanted to know.

- Quite the feast you're having there. Seems like a lot for a single diner. Are you going to share it with any colleague?

(ooc: Insight for the imp's replies. 14 )

“We don’t know Halvin, do tell us about him….”  Carl stands beside Auriel, he can feel the tension, but holds on attacking, waiting to see if this imp is useful, not really understanding the situation yet.

"Do you know where he went? Is he your master?"

“We don’t know Halvin, do tell us about him…."

"Yeah, what's the word you humanoids use for it? I'm his, uh...familiar, that's it. And yeah, he went into the Quivering Forest," the imp says, leaning up on his elbows to speak, his distended stomach hanging out. He puffs his cheeks and says, "He makes some pretty dumb decisions sometimes. That one was a doozy. Even I thought that was stupid."

"Quite the feast you're having there. Seems like a lot for a single diner. Are you going to share it with any colleague?"

"Nah, Halvin could have shared but he should have told me when he'd be back if he wanted some," the imp guffaws.

For Auriel:

- His ... familiar!? - the eladrin repeats, dumbfounded. This situation is getting weirder by the moment - And you've been his familiar for how long? Is Halvin okay with you eating his neighbour's cows? Or have you been behaving all along but decided to have a bit of fun while he isn't around?

Slaughtered cows, dead crops...  Auriel is now asking himself if this imp could be behind all that. He bets this hungry fellow would also enjoy feasting on those offerings the villagers were supposedly leaving to appease the fey of the forest.

- Anyway, what did your master need from the forest? We were told he had a map to Greenhall. Do you know how he got that?

Hex couldn't help but feel slightly less on guard around the imp as he continued to speak. He seemed so laid back and carefree, hardly a threat. At worst, he seemed just a little mischievous which amused her. As Auriel has his attention, she moves to sheathe her scimitar without drawing his attention too much.

“Yeah, that does sound like a doozy.  You know where he is right now?  Like any more specific?  Could you lead us there?”  Carl considers the idea, watching the imp.

Sylyra makes no effort to hide a wide yawn. He, like Hex, no longer feels like this situation is going to become violent. Unlike Hex, the elf has become bored with the imp. But he recognizes that there is still information to be gathered, so he holds his tongue and lets the others pepper the creature with questions.

"And you've been his familiar for how long? Is Halvin okay with you eating his neighbour's cows? Or have you been behaving all along but decided to have a bit of fun while he isn't around?"

"Oh, let's see...a couple years now, maybe? Time doesn't really have the same meaning to us imps," the creature says. He ponders the next question for a moment. "Well, Halvin would have wanted to cook the meat first, which would have taken longer. And I probably wouldn't have been as messy. You know how hard it is to cut through a cow with these hands?" he says, holding up his small claws and wiggling them.

"Anyway, what did your master need from the forest? We were told he had a map to Greenhall. Do you know how he got that?"

"I don't know," the imp shrugs. "He didn't see it necessary to fill me in, I guess."

“Yeah, that does sound like a doozy.  You know where he is right now?  Like any more specific?  Could you lead us there?”

"I don't know exactly where, no. I could maybe make some guesses; I do know the guy pretty well, after all. But he did tell me to stay here until he got back..." the imp says.

As the imp appears uncertain whether to help he party, Hex crosses her arms and gives him a stern look. "I think it might be best if you come with us and lead us to where he could be. Do you know the hag, Jeny Greenteeth? She plucked out a villager's eyes, shoved in some stones, stabbed him with a bone and then hung him up in the middle of town half dead for everyone to find because he went into the forest looking for Halvin. Halvin might be in even more danger and you're the fastest way we can find him right now."

Auriel rolls his eyes after some of the imp's replies and can't contain a light smile when he sees Sylyra yawn. For all his patience, even the paladin was getting tired of the conversation.

When Carl and Hex press the fiend to make it help the party, the seasonless eladrin gives them a supportive nod and then adresses the imp:

- You look like a faithful familiar. Keep being that way and help us bring your master back alive, all right?

The paladin is not particularly fond of the idea of working alongside this creature, but he also knows that adversity tends to make strange bedfellows. And they need every help they can get in order to solve the mess the woodcutter has created.

(OOC: Do we know if familiars vanish after their masters die? Or do they get free from their service and are able to do whatever they wish when that happens?)

"Even fiends know better than to cross a hag..." the imp quietly mumbles when Jeny Greenteeth is mentioned, but the effect that the mention of Halvin's safety has on the imp is apparent. "Gaahhh, fine!" it says, hopping down from its would-be nest and stretching its limbs. "I'll help you find Halvin."

The imp collects the burlap sack and slings it over his shoulder, then motions toward the door of the barn. "And it's Pipyap, by the way. Since nobody bothered to ask," he says.

For Auriel:

Hex chuckles and loosens up as the imp introduces itself. "And I'm Hex. A pleasure to meet you." She heads out of the barn and waits for the others before speaking up. "We should probably quickly check out the house before we leave in case there's something that might narrow down where Halvin may have gone."