Nib looks confused by the whole thing, saying “I don’t know what you mean.  I can’t think of anything that I have that is like that.  Just my posessions, I don’t have anything but my word…. maybe we should just go our own way.  I don’t understand…”

Joanne nods solemnly at Talon's words... "That would be a fair exchange." She says, looking to the rest of you, explaining. "I will pray my Goddess... the Matriarch of the Woods...  She will lead you to the well... and if any of you reveal its location to another soul in the future... She will reveal your location to the ones who hunt you... Can you all agree to that?"

She looks at you all, expectantly, genuinely unsure how you will answer... 

Dardek becoming more frightened "I have to protest this arrangement! They aren't looking for you two! They are looking for us. If one of you blabs to your Aunt Tilly, it's me they are coming for not you....No no no....We found that box...Ashley has it. There maybe is something there that's good enough for the elves and if not then maybe uhh they have something in mind." Dardek finishes up just as he began...

"Idiedtryingtosavesyouhm."  Talon reminds Dardek.  "We in this together."  

Nib looks at Joanne, not even contemplating that something like that was possible.  “Whatever.  Whatever you say.  I just know that I won’t blab.  I don’t do that.  But if you’re making us promise to give up our first born, or give up our soul or whatever, I wouldn’t deal with anyone who did such things, so the answer would be no in that case.  But with what you say, which is still weird to me, but ok, I guess.  We need to be on our way and such.”  Nib crosses his arms and looks at Joanne, not sure what the hell he just agreed to.

Dardek nods at Talon "I appreciate that Talon...." He then turns to the rest of the group including Joanne "I am just leery about dungeon diving, I barely know how to swing this thing and well my uhhh ability to heal is pretty limited but if that's what you all want to do, I will follow you but I don't think we could discount that box that Ashley's been carrying around."

Ashley holds up the box and hears the sound from within, she finds she can't give it up.  She shakes her head and looks at Dardek, "I'm sorry, but I need to know what is in here and... well... I don't want to give it away."

She looks to Nib, "You promise never to tell anyone about this well she is going to show us?"  Assuming he does (the following will change if he doesn't), she then puts her hand on Dardek's shoulder, "We've gotta try and see what we can find.  Who knows?  It could be a world of wonders down there.  Not only might we find something that will work for the elves, we might also find items that will please Onifax.  That would be great, wouldn't it?"

She just smiles at Talon.

She finally turns to Joanne, "You have a deal."

Talon's eyebrows furrow, the only sign that something is going on in his head for the moment.  Otherwise, his face is expressionless.  He does say something though.  Soft.  One word.  Interrogative inflection.  

"Onifax?"  

Joanne takes a moment to assess the group and confirm that they all seem on board. Once she's convinced she nods and says, "Alright then."

She reaches into her belongings and pulls out a gnarled wooden stick, too large to be a wand, too small to be a staff, decorated with polished stones and shells and painted grass. Whispering something under her breath, she plants the stick in the ground and moves it in a stirring motion to dig a small niche in the earth. Hunching over the niche and bringing her face close to it, she cups her hands around her mouth and whispers into the hole she dug, as if delivering some secret message directly into the dirt.

When she's finished, she sits up and looks at you all. "It is done. Your secret is entrusted to the Matriarch of the Woods." 

From a pouch on her belt, she produces a handful of bones and begins rattling them in her palm.

"Now, let us see what omens she will place in your path in order to guide you to the well..."

She releases the bones and they scatter across the ground... some of them landing in the carved out niche.

Joanne picks those bones out of the niche one by one, studying each closely... though what she sees in these bones you cannot possibly understand.

"You will head west, as you know, into the depths of the forest..." She says, lifting up the first bone. "...until you find a burial ground that is no longer a burial ground..."

She sets the bone aside. "From there, you will turn north..." Lifting the next bone, she says, "...until you cross paths with a congregation honoring one who stands above the rest..."

She sets the second bone aside and reaches for the next. "You will follow that congregation until you encounter..." She studies this last bone for a long moment, shaking her head slightly without full comprehension. She lifts the third bone to show you... It mirrors the second... The same size and shape, pointed in an opposite direction...

"...an opposing force to the congregation. That's how I read it... be it natural or ideological, I cannot tell." She then looks at you pointedly. "But you will know it when you see it. That much is certain. When the Matriarch of the Woods agrees to act as guide, her directions can always be relied upon." She collects her bones and regards the party.

"When you've reached that point, the well will be in a place that you can find with your own senses. From there, the path is yours to choose, so long as our accord remains intact. I wish you all the best of luck, and I'm happy to provide whatever assistance I might before you set off. Just let me know when you're ready to depart. I know the chief and the villagers would love to see you off." She smiles at you warmly, ready for any questions or requests you might have.

Dardek sighs "Ok.....Could we have some snacks for the road or maybe you have some supplies found out in the wilderness left behind by adventurers who uhhhh weren't good at adventuring? Would that be too much to ask for, please?" Dardek looks down at his feet out of habit hoping not to be struck 

Ashley listens intently as Joanne works the bones and tells them what she has learned about the location of the well.  She thinks they can find it, but is a bit worried.  What if they get a bit lost and one of them asks for directions?  Even innocently?  Would that be enough to break their oath?  Probably.  She feels a bit of a rain cloud finding it's way over her.

"Yes, Onifax... don't you remember him?  You seemed to have a really good relationship with the dragonborn." she looks at Talon a bit worried by his response, were some of his memories distorted?

When Joanne asks if they need anything she asks, "I don't suppose you have a dagger or two?  A little more protection I think would be good."

Joanne nods to Dardek and Ashley's requests. "Yes, I think we can manage those things."

Before you leave, Joanne will outfit you with a pair of daggers and 10 days worth of rations (total, not per person) in the form of dried mushrooms from her own supply. That's all she can spare personally, and the vegefolk generally get their nutrition from soil, sunlight and compost. They don't eat the same food as humanoids.

"Thank you....you are too kind. Perhaps one day if I survive this, I could come back?" Dardek takes all 10 days worth of rations and puts them in his bag

Talon looks confused for a moment when Ashley talks to him, his brows curled down in that typical questioning facial gesture that his somehow devoid eyes couldn't quite relay.  

"TalonknowsnotanOnifax."  He says, matter of fact, his tone clearly questioning Ashley's sanity.  

"Alright then," Says Joanne. "We're ready to see you off whenever you're ready to depart. In the meantime, we'll take good care of your friend. We promise to keep him safe until such time as he's able to depart on his own two legs."

Ashley gladly takes the two daggers and stuffs them away.  Looking quizzically at Talon, she can't help but push the issue, "Of course you do.  You work for him and that's how we met.  How do you think we met?"

The fire genasi says her farewells to the veggie people and as the others do their goodbyes, she is ready to head West.  Eager to see more of the countryside.

Dardek looks at Talon in a confused manner "You know a big dragonborn guy who gave us this job?" Dardek follows Ashley and says his goodbyes as well.

Nib listens to the back and forth, saying “Onifax, Onifax, you don’t remember him?  Hmmph.  He made quite an impression…”. He waves goodbye to Joanne and to the vegepigmies.  The little guys he had to admit were a little cute, but still they gave him the creeps, a little bit.  “Shall we?”  Nib points forward to the path, awaiting a decision to leave.  

Talon takes a moment to think about this situation, taking a step back to let his sparkling eyes wander...or not.  It's hard to tell.  He certainly looks confused though.  

"ThatwasanOnifax?"  Talon asks, thinking back to getting the mission to come out here.  "Hm barely remembers that, hm.  I think friends with Seig?  Good Seig good..."  

He clearly remembers Seig well, at least, and confusion starts to give way to sadness that his friend won't be accompanying them any further.  

"TalonknowsnotanOnifax."  He doubles down finally.  

Talon leads the party into the forest, trying to get as far away as possible from the village before clear confusion overcomes him.  He stops after awhile and just stands there in the shade of a big tree, looking around.  He looks apologetically to the rest, and Ashley in particular.  

"I seems to have losts my way..."  

A moment after Talon speaks these words, a sharp object seems to fly out of nowhere, striking Ashley straight through the torso, dealing 15 points of piecing damage...

As she falls to the ground, two small arrows hit the earth near her collapsed form coming from an unknown place in the treeline. Immediately after they strike, a gnarled, raspy voice growls, "Drop what you've got. All of it!"

Tracking the source of the voice you see a tall, hairy, muscle-bound humanoid with a snout-like nose and matted, (surely flea-infested) fur. It wears rusty armor and dangles a large morning star from its long arms like a Louisville Slugger. The creature blows a fly away from its face, spits and says, "Once yer done, I wanna hear a story 'bout why I shouldn't just crush yer skulls and loot the mess." He lifts the morning star and pats it against the palm of his hand. "And ye better make it intrestin' 'cause I looooove crushin' skulls."

You hear a couple wheezy Muttley giggles from the treeline as you consider your next move.