- Auriel - the eladrin introduces himselft but does not second Hex's greeting, unsure as he is of where this is all going to lead - Yes, let's check the house now. I'm curious as to what we might find, seeing that the woodcutter has already proven far more surprising than I anticipated. 

As they walk towards the house, Auriel asks Pipyap:

- So, Pipyap, care to share those guesses you had on Halvin's whereabouts?

"We're leaving now?" Sylyra asks, clearly surprised. "Wouldn't it be better if we left in the morning after all the things that go bump in the night have stopped their bumping?"

"Let's just check the house first. We might even spend the night right there. Sounds better than sleeping in the barn..." the eladrin shrugs. Not that Halvin is going to complain, is he? The paladin does look curiously at what the imp might say about this, though.

So, Pipyap, care to share those guesses you had on Halvin's whereabouts?

Pipyap shrugs as he waddles with the group toward the house. "I figure I'll know it when I see it," he says. "We know he's in the forest...maybe making a hag angry..." the imp shudders at the thought, then stops. "Are you all really just going into the forest? No guide, no direction, just plowing through?" he asks. "I know Halvin can make some dumb decisions, but five people making the same dumb decision is still a dumb decision."

There is nothing remarkable about the farmhouse, outside or in. Halvin seems to have occupied only the main kitchen/dining area and one bedroom, judging by the rudimentary mess kit and bedroll laying about, and the slightly more tidy appearance. The rest of the house has been left dim and dusty, with any valuables in the open having long since gone. Pipyap stands looking somewhat bored and sleepy nearby as you look through the place, showing little emotion and offering no opinion at Auriel's suggestion.

Quote from BartyMcDougal >>

"Are you all really just going into the forest? No guide, no direction, just plowing through?" 

OOC: Regarding this, guess the next stop is Serelis. Did we know how to reach him? I think Auriel had a general idea, but I'm not sure if it is accurate enough so we don't go "plowing through"?

"Ah, a guide. The whole business with the farmer just made me want to get away as soon as possible that I forgot about them." Hex glances up towards the darkening sky. "I guess Sylyra is right. We should rest here for the night and head to their place tomorrow?"

"Yeah, the guide", Auriel repeats after Hex, and then mutters "Hope that goes well". He isn't sure how to feel about meeting Serelis. On the one hand, it's good to see a friendly acquaintance once again. But on the other, he couldn't help but feel a little awkward about facing anyone related to Greenhall again. 

The paladin muses about all this as the party settles for the night at the woodcutter's house. While it would have been more comfortable to sleep in a bed at the Brightbell's inn, he did prefer doing it in his bedroll at that small but quiet house. Not listening to screams or talk about hags or fey would be a blessing, if only for a few hours.

"I can take the first watch as you long-sleepers rest", Auriel says when he's finished preparing his spot in a corner of the main room. He glances at Sylyra after saying this, assuming the two elves can combine their trances to keep watch.

"Of course," Sylyra responds to Auriel benignly without making eye contact. The wood elf picks a spot in the same general area as the others, but as separate as possible. He rolls out his mat and sits upon it, crossing his legs and preparing to enter a restful trance.

After Auriel "wakes" him for his turn to watch, the druid silently paces, looking out windows at periodic intervals and letting his mind wander. He thinks about Waterdeep and what he left behind. He thinks about Phlan and what has happened over the past few months. He thinks about those who have entered his life and then exited so unceremoniously. Then he dwells the longest on what has happened since entering the swamp. Systematically, he packs these memories and the attached feelings away inside tiny mental boxes. He has a job to do. That is all. What the future holds, he knows not. But what he will not allow himself to do is to hope.

Quote from DirtyDogP >>

"Of course," Sylyra responds to Auriel benignly without making eye contact. 

At this, the paladin presses his lips and averts his gaze from the druid to look at  ... anything else. A chair. A table. A speck of dust floating in the room. Anything will do as long as it helps him divert his attention to something less painful.

When the group begins to fall asleep, Auriel sits on his knees with the hands resting on his thighs, closes his eyes and tries to find solace in the rhythm of his breath. With each rise and fall of his chest the black haired eladrin tries to empty his mind and let go of his troubles. He does manage to find some relaxation, thought not as much as he wished for. What he doesn't find is a sign of the seasons - any season - returning anytime soon.

Auriel sighed. This would pass, eventually. One way or another. 

OOC: Serelis's cabin is a short distance into the Quivering Forest itself. Auriel knows of its location from his dealings with Serelis in the past.

Pipyap snores contentedly as you rest, allowing the night to pass into restful sleep. The house, despite its dilapidated appearance, serves as fine, dry shelter from the elements.

In the morning, Pipyap seems less fattened and slightly more energetic. The imp visibly shudders as you pass by the boundary of the Quivering Forest. The foliage is thick and untamed, the path itself little more than an animal run.

After a mile or so, the narrow and twisting path opens at last into a small glade, where a picturesque babbling stream tumbles past a cabin built of natural timbers and a sod roof. The only sign of occupancy is the small garden along one side of the cabin, with a number of herbs and vegetables growing in neat rows watched over by a scarecrow. The idyllic garden is being tended to by a half-elf.

Noticing your approach, he stops working and props his elbow on the end of the shovel he holds, cautiously eyeing the imp. "I take it that they haven't returned yet?" he says with a note of concern in his voice.

OOC: The party has gained the benefits of a long rest. Each character has received 25 XP for befriending Pipyap. One day of rations has been removed from each character's inventory.

"Well, one person returned at least. Eyes plucked out and hung up on a sign post by a hag but returned nonetheless," Hex replies, somewhat distracted as she takes in the natural beauty of the glade. After the way everyone spoke of the Quivering Forest, a part of her expected it to look a bit spooky but, at least here on the edge, it looked peaceful.

Though he'd been the last one to lie down, the eladrin rose early to prepare for the journey ahead. After a series of stretches and donning his chainmail, he spent a while outside Halvin's house leaning against a tree, apparently doing nothing but enjoying the morning's crisp air. At a given moment, he reached for his holy symbol, pressing it gently to his forehead as he whispered a quiet prayer to Tyr. They were about to enter the Quivering Forest, and the paladin wished for the party's wellbeing.

As they crossed the forest's border, Auriel's mind drifted back to the day he first entered it. Such a similar path ... yet the circumstances were very different. Several months had passed since then, but it was etched into his memory vividly, as if it had happened the day before. He recalled his father's steadfast presence leading the family towards what would become their new home, his posture radiating certainty in a situation that would have crushed anyone else. Auriel had always admired this unwavering resolve of his. In contrast, his mother's face betrayed her anxiety, her hands trembling as she clutched a small bag containing their meager possessions, all they could salvage before being forced from their house and homeland. And then there was his sister, trailing behind like a specter who didn't really register the world around her, as the older sibling held her hand tightly to make sure she walked at all. 

Lost in these thoughs, the eladrin follows the rest in silence until they reach the glade where the familiar face of Serelis brings Auriel to the present moment. He smiles at the half-elf, though he can't shake the strangeness of witnessing this idyllic place after the harrowing scene they experienced at Kabel's Hill. Did the ranger really refuse to help those poor villagers ...? 

"It's good to see you again, Serelis". The paladin lingers for a moment and then extends his hand to offer the half-elf a handshake. He stands silent as Hex describes how they found Rerk, observing Serelis' reaction as he hears all this. Then he adds "We can't let the others experience the same fate as Rerk. We need to find them and Halvin, the woodcutter they went after. Will you help us? You know this forest like the back of your hand. There's no one I'd trust more to assist us".

"You wouldn't happen to have a map, would you?" Sylyra asks. "The Hill folk didn't know what happened to it."

Something about the stress of the days prior, the meal so kindly offered, the turmoil in his belly.  Carl sleeps soundly, but fitfully.  He turns over frequently, adjusting his bedroll to get comfortable.  Then the snoring starts, a couple of hours into Auriel’s watch.  Sleeping out in the open, the sounds of the night, perhaps it isn’t as notable.  But in this little farmhouse, sounds are - amplified.  Including the sounds of rippled blankets.  Dwarven flatulence punctuates the late hours of the evening, like staccato and sometimes legato notes that linger, occasionally followed by a sigh or deep breath of the dwarf that produced them.  The evening passes and he awakens somehow unnaturally refreshed, stretching and smiling, seemingly of better spirits today.  He wipes his eyes and looks around the room, first aiming to spot Pipyap and learn what if anything transpired through the night.  

Along their way as they are walking the following morning, Carl ritually casts unseen servant, causing Squirt Mudbottom to appear once more, walking along at his side.  Carl hums a little tune as they are walking, curiousity getting the best of him as he wants to know more about the forest and what it contains.  He remains silent as the interaction with Serelis begins, he waits to see the response to the request for help, watching with interest and frequently shifting his weight from side to side.  

"Well, one person returned at least. Eyes plucked out and hung up on a sign post by a hag but returned nonetheless,"

Will you help us? You know this forest like the back of your hand. There's no one I'd trust more to assist us.

Serelis drops his shovel where he stands and ushers you into his cabin, without directly answering any of the questions. "Please, have a seat," he says, looking toward his kitchen table. He fills glasses from a keg with a light brown substance and places one in front of each of you. "My life's work, here," he explains. "If this isn't the best homemade hard cider you've ever tasted, I'll be immeasurably disappointed."

Once settled with a glass of hard cider himself, he takes a swig and sighs. "It's good to see you again as well, Auriel, though I must wonder why you are accompanied by a devil. And a pleasure to meet the rest of you as well. Normally I'd be quite offended at your intrusion into the forest, but it seems unavoidable these days. The fey barely abide by my presence here, you see. We tread on thin ice," he says. His words don't seem to affect Pipyap, who gazes curiously into the glasses of hard cider.

"I take it you have spoken to the residents of Kabel's Hill? A couple of tendays ago, they asked that I lead a small group into the Quivering Forest to treat with the elves of Greenhall. Despite my best efforts to explain that the elves were the least of my concern, they wouldn't hear it."

Uragum stands near the back.  This is Auriel's acquaintance and feels rude to interrupt the greeting.  He raises his hand and whispers into it casting a spell so only Auriel can hear.  

"You should ask him about those things that aren't the least of his concern.  May forewarn of trouble  " he says.

Sylyra gives his cider a quick swirl and a curious sniff before taking a long draft. After letting the liquid deposit in his stomach and his taste buds make a full report to his brain, he drinks the rest of the glass and wipes his mouth with the back of his sleeve.

Auriel welcomes the cider glass and rises it slightly towards Seleris as a sign of thanks, then takes a sip and makes a satisifed sound as he tastes it. "Delicious. As expected from a beverage made from that impressive garden of yours". The eladrin keeps drinking as the half-elf talks and, upon receiving the unexpected message from Uragum, he blinks slightly surprised and takes good note of the wizard's suggestion. Useful magic that was. 

"Pipyap is an unexpected ally in our search for the missing Hill's folk. He's the woodcutter's familiar and has kindly agreed to help in his master's search. Never thought I'd be allying myself with a fiend, but we need every help we can get". He gives a sidelong glance at the imp as he says this, evaluating how much help he will turn out to be. "I do wonder what kind of woodcutter has a fiend familiar, but I guess that's a mistery to solve once we find Halvin".

"We spoke to the people of Kabell's Hill, yes. They are scared, Serelis, and they have every reason to be. We grew tired of their many baseless accusations towards the fey, but even so, that blind devotion born out of fear...", he sakes his head, "...that is not right. And, naturally, they want their people back. Safely, not as Rerk returned". At this point, Auriel asks Sylyra for the bloody piece of parchment Rerk had pinned on his chest so Serelis can take a look. "Look at this. They just wanted their neighbour back. I say it is a fair request. Why not help them? Those concerns of yours, I take it you mean the dark fey themselves. Do you know Jenny Greenteeth? The locals think she is the one that did that to Rerk. Seems the stones he had on his eyesockets have her sigil on them."

Hex takes a seat and gladly accepts the cider from Serelis. She quietly sips at the drink as she listens to the conversation intently, not wanting to interrupt. As Auriel mentions the stones, she pulls them out and places them on the table to show him.

Sylyra compliantly hands over the parchment. Other than that, he seems to be in his own world as he sits, looking about the house with bored curiosity.