"Hey!" Auriel greets Carl, glad that they are all together again. His eyes flick behind the dwarf in search of the tiefling — whom, of course, he doesn't see. He makes a point of keeping his gaze on Carl, careful not to give away Hex’s position. "How did that go? Were you able to find anything?" His gaze drifts to the carving, curiosity sparking in his expression. What has Carl carved?

Then he lowers his voice and adds, "Hildigrim thought of shooting a flaming arrow. Though... well, we’re not sure they wouldn’t know it’s coming from us." He runs a hand through his red hair, the tiny branches and leaves braided into it rustling softly, and mutters, "I swear to Tyr, all this waiting is making me jumpy."

OOC: Made Stealth checks for Hex. No change needed to anything posted so far.

"It looks like Krulek has some big plans." Hex explains everything she saw in Krulek's tent, including the locked chest. When Auriel tells the party of Hildigrim's suggestion to shoot a flaming arrow, she nods, though no one sees it. "Hey, that's not a bad plan. Everyone here is on edge, from what I've seen. It's like they're all hoping the arrow goes off. If we can find where the archer is, I have a feeling they wouldn't question it for a second."

Carl shows Auriel the crude beginnings of an owl carving.  He smiles, saying “I was given inspiration by that screech owl sound and seeing that feller looking about for someone about to murder im.  Heh!”  He listens to the plan, considering and looking around at their surroundings.  “So where would you post an archer here…”

Auriel chuckles at Carl’s remark about Erik and nods. He hadn’t noticed his dwarven friend was so skilled at carving!

When Carl wonders aloud about the best spot to post an archer, Auriel glances around, his gaze settling on the tall statue of the King. His reddish brown eyes follow the zipline tied on this side of the camp, stretching all the way up to the statue’s shoulder. Well — wouldn’t that be the perfect spot? High enough to watch over both camps, hidden from view, and an ideal place to shoot a warning arrow.

The eladrin tilts his head toward the statue’s shoulder. "How about there?" he suggests. A quick calculation tells him the shoulder is about forty feet from the base — too far for him to reach with his fey step. He hesitates for a moment, then adds, "We could try using the zipline, but that would be too obvious. Unless…" He turns to the tiefling. "Hex, do you think you could manage it? Your invisibility makes you perfect for the climb."

Hex looks up towards the zipline as Auriel points it out and squints. "Huh. Yeah, that would be the perfect spot." When he suggests she climbs it, she makes an unsure sound. "I could try. It doesn't look too bad."

Sensing Hex's hesitation, Auriel tells her "If you're not sure, we can think of another way. I would do it myself, but  ... I’d likely be spotted too easily."

If she still wants to go for it, then he adds, "Hand me your backpack. The lighter you are, the easier it'll be. I’ll give you a little hop to get you going, or if it’s easier, you could climb on my back."

"She'll need something to start a fire," Hildigrim mutters, his tone edged with quiet unease. His gaze sweeps the camp, mentally marking each figure, each movement — who’s watching whom, who might notice something amiss. Then, his eyes shift up the path, cataloging possible routes and obstacles. Finally, he cranes his neck to study the statue, its presence looming over them.

A beat of hesitation, then a simple warning: "Be careful."

Hex gives Auriel a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Might as well give it a try. Make the most of this invisibility while we can." She goes to hand Auriel her bag but before she does, she tears off a bit of cloth from the gray cloak they had taken before and a tinderbox. She then wraps an arrowhead with the cloth and tucks it away.

She can't help but nod in response to Hildigrim, even if he can't see her. "You all be careful too. If this works, chaos is likely to break out."

As ready as she'll ever be, Hex goes to attempt to climb the zipline, taking any help she can from Auriel. She was going to need it.

The length of rope is fastened to a silverbark tree near the foot of the cliff. Clambering up the tree with a boost from Auriel to begin the climb, Hex finds her grip on the rope and begins moving upward, shimmying up the rope upside down. The rope looks, of course, like it is simply wavering in the wind, with Hex in her invisible state. Even though she can't be seen, her grunt and thud certainly can be heard when her legs slip off of the slick rope and her hands quickly follow suit, dropping her 10 feet to the ground below.

Another sound can be heard no more than 20 feet away in the shrubbery. Through the fog, you spot a scaly humanoid with leathery, bat-like wings. The creature has two reptilian heads; one looks around nervously, while the other whispers into a black stone held in its palm. The creature cannot be more than three feet tall, well hidden thanks to its height. Despite the sound of Hex's fall, it does not appear to notice any of the party.

Hex grits her teeth as she falls, holding back from making any more sound than she already has. She stays down for a moment to catch her breath before finally getting up. At least she was invisible so no one could see her embarrassing fall.

As she gets up, she spots the odd two headed creature. She looks back at the party before deciding to approach it. She moves slowly and quietly, avoiding all the branches and crunchy leaves to get as close as needed. She just wanted to hear what it was saying to the black stone. 

Auriel curses softly under his breath at the sound of the fall. He feels a pang of guilt — he'd been the one to suggest Hex make the climb, though with her invisibility, it had seemed the obvious choice. Still, he would've rather taken the fall himself.

He pushes the thought aside the moment he spots the small, two-headed figure through the mist. That must be Jeralla’s second-in-command. Sharrak, wasn't it? And that stone… is he contacting her now using it? Auriel freezes, thinking quickly. Knowing Hex, she'll almost certainly try to get close and listen. But if he tries to move, the noise of his armor will give them away. Best to stay back. He leans toward the others and murmurs, "Hex will probably try to approach Sharrak. What do you think? We could try to circle around, be ready to seize him if we need to. But I'd better stay put, or he'll hear me otherwise."

Auriel then carefully shifts toward a bush or tree to take cover so Sharrak doesn't end up spotting him. But he tries to position himself so that, from the Gray Patriot camp’s point of view, it simply looks like he's leaning casually against the trunk.

Carl whispers to the others, “Should I have Squirt go and try to take that stone from his hand?  Thas risky, if it laid it down, that’d be good.  I don’t know that I’ve had Squirt do such a thing before and I’m’ not sure he could pull it off…”

"Could be worth a try. Perhaps, as you say, if we wait for a moment when Sharrak lowers his hand?" The paladin smiles softly. "Squirt is certainly useful, you know."

He pauses, considering. "Be ready. If Squirt gets the stone, Sharrak will probably raise the alarm. But that's the same outcome as if Hex had fired the arrow. So I think it won't really hurt."

"Hainard's hairy toes," Hildigrim says, Hex's fall forgotten. What kind of creature is this? He needs to get a closer look.

Ignoring the others, the halfling approaches, trying to be quiet to keep the creature from getting spooked and running away. Once within five feet of it, he attempts to engage it in coversation.

"Hello," he says meekly. He bows a little at the waist, not taking his eyes off the creature.

"Wait, Hildi—" Too late. The halfling is already speaking to the two-headed creature. Auriel exhales sharply. What in the name of Toril just happened? He doesn't dwell on it for long, though, and follows after his companion, keeping a few steps back so as not to overwhelm Sharrak. When he arrives, he gives a short nod in greeting.

Hex is somewhat shocked as Hildigrim and Auriel openly approach the creature. Not wanting to reveal herself, she just stands still and watches the interaction play out.

As you approach the creature, you hear it whispering into the stone. "Jeralla won't suspect a thing!" one head whispers. "She's too busy with the humans. There is no better time to attack than now! Kill the heretic, and the Cult of the Dragon shall shower you in gold!"

"Hurry up with that stone!" hisses the creature's other head. "It is not safe here."

"Ah!" the left head shrieks when Hildigrim speaks. "See? I told you!" the right head shouts, "Let's go, get out of here!"

Despite the right head's insistence, the creature's legs do not move as it seems rooted in place.

Auriel moves a little closer, bringing Sharrak within the ten feet reach of his halberd, though he makes no menacing gestures. He chooses to ignore what they've heard so far—especially the mention of the Cult of the Dragon—and instead says nonchalantly, "You must be Sharrak, Jeralla's second-in-command. We've heard about you in our camp." 

He smiles and adds, "So, are you waiting for your boss? I take it the negotiations are going well?" He gestures toward the stone. "I suppose someone's been keeping you informed through that," he remarks, even though he already knows it's not the case.

Hildigrim tamps down his curiosity about the strange creature, shifting his focus to the bigger picture. He smooths his expression into one of mild interest, tilting his head as if merely making conversation. "Something troubling about the negotiations?" He takes a step, casually adjusting his position to cut off an easy retreat toward the cult's camp. "If there's a problem, perhaps we can help."