Zorg's Lost Souls III

     Mulligan secretly smiles as he watches the little umbrella-head think better of the butter situation and abscond instead. 

     Should we take him with us?

     Mulligan asks the Group Chat.

     This well dressed man-frog.  The mushroom-man seems to have departed.

Barria watches as the G'Reg talks to the very well dressed frog and then smiles as all the sudden his dinner up and waddles away.  She turns to Mulligan wondering if he had anything to do with it, and then realizes the man has slipped into hiding.  Ah well, he'll come out when he wants to.

She doesn't say anything when the Frog man talks about the gray skinned man, though thinks he sounds hideous.  But does respond to Mulligan, Why?  He doesn't know this area either and probably won't be any help.. just more of a hindrance.  But I won't stop you.

"let's see what his motivations are first" G'Reg communicates back to Mulligan, "if he's under the hag's thrall or simply misguided then he won't be of use."

     Luck?  Aren't frog legs supposed to be lucky?  Tradition?  We had stragglers against the other hag.  Then again, 'No' is a perfectly reasonable answer as well...

Now that the mushroom has run off, calm returns to Rowan. His breathing settles and he takes in their surroundings. While the others question the frog and question whether to bring him along, Rowan checks out the soup cauldron to see if there was anything else in it besides warm water; something that might make a meal taste a little better than the usual jerky, dried fruit and hard bread they usually find themselves eating.

"Maybe the hag would be fooled by a fake unicorn too?"

Kro'ah beats the bushes, talking to himself while hunting for the truant mushroom, and at the same time trying to correct and educate Greginald:

Not Thither... Hither! Bah, where did that thing get to. Here is Thither. There is Hither. It seemed so happy! I thought I had it convinced!

Finally, the frog-man gives up and flops down beside the small cauldron, which Rowan now sees contains nothing but boiling water. Frustrated and hungry, Kro'ah tries to maintain a polite demeanor:

I've never had the pleasure of meeting Granny Lampshade, or whatever her name is. Our village, Downfall, is graced by the residence of her sister, Bavlorna Blightstraw. She's quite the talented taxidermist, you know. Makes things last much longer than they ought to. Hehe. And I have come on her behalf searching for rare and unusual beasts. Unfortunately, I seem to have misplaced the way back.

Kro'ah sighs, peers into the ingredient-less water, then back at the bushes, and croaks Shame, before continuing:

I could wait for the Inn at the End of the Road, but one never knows when it will arrive. Or find my way to Loomlurch perhaps. My cousin Wigglewog is a pilot, you know. His balloon drifts into Loomlurch from time to time.

Kro'ah doesn't wait for an answer, but hops to his webbed feet once more and grabs his pack.

Oh well, no sense idling. I'm off to find another mushroom. Or a handful of pixies, if I can catch any before they vanish. Care to join me?

Kro'ah stares at the travellers, blinking his large wet eyes, as the surrounding trees listen for their answer. "Where will they go next?" they seem to whisper. Fey directions are so strange...

     He works for Bavlorna.  Do we let him leave alive? 

     Mulligan asks over the Group Chat.

     Leaving witnesses is never a good idea.  But then again I suspect we'll catch none of the hags unaware.

"she crafts creepy critters in her own uncanny image" G'Reg mutters to himself repeating the words that the group has heard before. "Say, Bavlorna, what more do you know of her, she moved into downfall how long ago? Her taxidermy, is it only animals she preserves?"