Anachain move about 10-ish feet, mostly just positioning herself at the center of the base of the bridge, not advancing on the blight at all.  It is plenty close for her magics to reach.  It was the Chill Touch which worked for her previously so she saw no reason to be changing on...  Hugging herself and running her hands up and down the arms of the other side, as if for warmth, Anachain once more utters the arcane words to try and re-create the cold, skeletal hand upon the blight.

Chill Touch vs Blight:  9 to hit for...Well, the thing was doing it's best Mr. Magoo impression and likely not touching the vegetation at all.  Not all that surprising since hands don't have eyes so are notoriously bad at finding their target.

Deniz fends off the vine-creature's tendrils, while calling out another magic word in the Elvish tongue. The regenerative power of nature flows into Daryl's body...

Action: Dodge

Bonus action: Healing Word on Daryl for 6hp.

Togar flies over the last vine blight, 60 feet up in the air as he conjures another 10 lb metal ball, lines up the thing, and drops it.  He has a satisfied look on his face as he’s floating in the air.  

Metal 10 lb ball : 21 to hit, for 10 points of bludgeoning damage.  

Kulloda charges into the vines, bellowing as he goes.

”Stupid plant should just die.”

But as he rushes in he finds his progress slowed. When he gets within 10’ of the vine monster he drops his sword and sweeps his glaive off his back, slashing hard for the center of the creature.

Glaive - 17 to hit, for 12 (including 2 from rage) slashing plus an additional 7 necrotic from Divine Fury.

Grimrin walks up ten feet, to get a bit closer,  and takes careful aim with his bow, watching its movements carefully for an opening (Insightful fighting. Grimrin's Insight(17) vs Enemy's deception). He let's fly his arrow at what he believes to be a weak spot, hoping to put it down quickly.

Attack: 21, damage: 12 piercing

Darryl sighs with relief at Deniz' spell, almost melting into the stone where he crouches as he relaxes, no longer bloodied or on the cusp of death.

The vine blight chuckles? possibly, the vines creaking in a rhythmic pattern as the chill touch misses it's target, bu not a moment late a metal ball crashes through it, and Kullodas glaive rends the rest in half, then just when the blight could not bare any more damage an arrow whistles through the remainder of it's head... the vines lose all life, rolling over the bridge before shrivelling and curling, dead. Just as the area of difficult terrain dies off to leaving broken stone in it's wake.

"thank you guys" Ashton says looking more than embarassed "I'd say thanks for the help. but I couldn't do anything. you didn't help you just did it all, I'm amazed!"  he hurries over to help Darryl up. Darryl himself still has some superficial strangulation marks reddening his neck, he accepts the help but tries to quiet ashton, starting to take on a more authorative tone. He walks over to the damage on the bridge and pokes around it a bit, "this'll need fixing before carts can traverse here again, but since we both figured out and killed the danger here, I think we are deserving of a reward and rest, We'll file the report with the mayor, and I'll personally leave something behind the counter at cassie's as a way of thanks, the town would be down two guards if it wasn't for your efforts."

Deniz gives no word in reply, but simply turns away and returns to the river bank, as though it was nothing.

So, the vine blights were the creatures we sought for? thinks the druid. He tries to recall the clues they were given, and whether there are any left unsolved. Did the tracks by the river only disappear by the bridge, or did this occur away from the bridge also..? And what about the mention of copper coins from the river - or did Deniz hear that wrong?

To satisfy his curiosity, Deniz casts a druidic cantrip on small sections of the river, first near the banks and then gradually deeper, turning the water momentarily upstream and leaving the riverbed dry. He wants to see if there is anything under the water that might be of interest to human, elves or monsters...

(OOC: Not sure if the blights were a random extra, or if it's implied that they are what we came for...)

Togar flies down and lands on the bridge, straightening his feathers.  The other metal balls vanished as he manifested new ones, but he dismisses the last metal ball and looks at the remnants of the vine creatures.  "Well, you are most certainly welcome.  Those vine creatures were just waiting for the next unsuspecting traveler to come by, ready to eat them, strangle them, or some such.  I'm glad that you will tell the mayor of our victory here.  Sorry about the damage from my metal balls.  Effective, though."  He pauses, considering his strategy and how they approached the problem.  

"its strange... We knew people were disappearing on this trail but where are they? These flights didn't seem to have motive for attacking. There's no destroyed carts here, no... Remains... And the tracks over there, it's like something knew about this trap and was intentionally avoiding it." Darryl muses as he crouches to look closer at the shrivelled up vines, "don't worry mate, the damage your spheres did was necessary, the damage these vines did was worse." He reassured togar.

Down under the bridge, Deniz does find some coins in the silt and mud, buried just over where the edge of the bridge hangs above. It is likely that some towns people used this as a wishing bridge at some point, and likely explains exactly where the person in town was getting their dirty coppers from.

     "I do not believe the tracks we were following were left by these tangled vines," Anachain announces.  "And they surely did not go to town for a drink at the inn..."

     "The lizard like tracks enter the stream there," she continues, pointing to the appropriate location.  "And then just there, across it, are more tracks.  This time smaller, perhaps cat sized, but they seem to be on the same path.  As if by the same creature but only changed?  Those prints continue off into the foliage there..."  She points again to a place that surely must be straining her eyesight to try to make out anything at such a distance.  

     "My guess would be these vines are just a distraction... a trap to delay and divert anyone who may have been following or tracking the real quarry..."

Kulloda keeps slashing at the vines until they're little more than a stack of tiny twigs and leaves. He doesn't stop until his heart rate slows and his breathing returns to normal. Then he picks up his sword, retrieves his javelin and then finally starts to listen to the rest of the conversation.

"Dumb plants not lizard," Kulloda says as he slips his sword back into its scabbard and straps the javelin and glaive back into place.

He then moves to the far side of the bridge (away from the village) and starts poking around in the bushes and underbrush for any sign of lost wagons and the like.

"Maybe coward merchants just turn back."

"well we checked the tracks like you guys asked. The rest will have to wait til the morning, we've already lost the light." Darryl suggests, picking up Ashton's spear from the floor since his own was thrown into the river by Ashton's clumsy attacks.

Night is indeed drawing in, the group is basked only in dim light as the sun disappears over the horizon. Soon it will be fully dark and only the slight moonlight will left to guide them.

Deniz seems to be taking an unusually long time under the bridge, more than a few stray coins would warrant. After a lot of looking up and down and around, staring pensively into space, and mumbling a few magical elven words, the elf beckons to whoever is within range (especially Togar) and points at what appears to be graffiti under the bridge.

"Do you see those runes? They are magical, known only to the druids. It is a ward of nature, intended to activate the vine creatures upon the death of the caster. It would seem that a druid of these parts has gone the way of the earth, and these vines became aggressive as a result."

Togar hears Deniz calling from underneath the bridge, he takes flight again and descends below the bridge, coming to rest and landing beside him.  His darkvision helps him in the fading light, he looks underneath to see this graffiti, looking on with interest as Deniz points them out.  “I wouldn’t have known this, great find here.  Activates on the death of the caster… but why?  To what purpose would he have these plants come alive to attack travelers?  Someone who wanted revenge on the town, if they passed?  Where would this Druid have lived?  There is more to this than simple hungry vine creatures, I see.  Hmmm…”. Togar walks along under the bridge, looking for signs of travel, anything that would indicate where the person who wrote these runes came from.  

Perception : 20

     "You are under no obligation to stay and investigate," Anachain tells replies to Darryl.  "Other than whatever oaths and promises you have made to your town and employers."  She adds a little shrug to indicate that the decision is on them and then she wanders down to the under-bridge to see what Deniz is on about.

     "Are you sure?" she asks Deniz as she listens to him explain the runes.  "About the activation, I've no doubt they are druidic in nature.  That would seem to make sense with the tracks changing shape and all..."  She further explains her question about the activation by saying that something definitely crossed the river and left lizard like tracks on one side and feline type on the other.  The feline tracks trailing off into the woods...  "It could be a coincidence, a shape changer of some sort passing by the trapped bridge, but I can't help but wonder... Could it be that their changing form somehow killed the previous form and thus activated the runes?  How old do you think the runes could be?"

     Anachain studies the graffiti and the runes in particular herself and tries to guesstimate if they are fresh or well aged...  Perception:  13.  She will also inquire of Deniz (and try to determine herself) if the rune repeats or is a one and done sort of spellcraft.  Either way, one fully studies, she suggests they disrupt the rune by removing it.

     "Could be we solved the bridge problem," Anachain suggests once that is done and everyone gathered near enough to be a part of the discussion, "But we do still have these mysterious tracks.  Even if not part of the bridge situation they could be connected to other problems the town is experiencing.  The tracks leads off into the woods that-a-way (she says as she points in that direction) and I have seen that there are twinkling lights in the woods... Not dissimilar to those that we encountered as we approached town and ran off.  I think we should investigate..."

Kulloda grumbles at memory of the pixies.

"No more dumb pixies," Kulloda says as he looks into the woods. "Elf say job done. But maybe bandits. Okay we go kill more bandits."

Kulloda heads straight off into the brush where Anachain has indicated the twinkling lights, though he does his best to move quietly. If they're quiet he might get to kill more bandits than if they're noisy.

Stealth: (13+2) = 15

"I, um, yeah. We're gonna head back, report in. Our shift is over and we did what we set out to do. If your plans have changed and you want to follow this then I wish you the best of luck!" Darryl Surmises as he gathers himself and Ashton and readies to depart. Kulloda puts a fine point on things as he makes his way northwest of the bridge moving from the well worn road and into the tree line.

As the group follows, it is difficult to move stealthily, the darkness that surrounds you as the moonlight is blocked by the canopy above and the uneven vegetation covered ground, make travel slow. After ten minutes of walking the more perceptive members of the group do begin to see small lights up ahead, maybe 200ft away, blinking as they float behind far off trees and back into view once more, there seems to be no pattern to the movement, at least from this distance.