Kynes ears perk up at the talk of dragons. He's worked with a great many rangers in his time.

Dragons? Close, or a few miles off? He asks, looking up from where he has a nice little fire going in the fireplace.

While the others chat, Mathilda has been busy frying up the bacon, eggs and trout. She has dished up a fairly nice lunch from the supplies she has found in the hunting cabin. As the smell of freshly cooked eggs wafts up, the mixture of voices and clattering plates takes her back to her childhood. Mornings in families as big as hers were always a loud and busy time, but it warms her to think of these days now. Never a minute to yourself, but never lonely either. She daydreams a little while longer, stoking the fire and surveying the peaceful lake. Pulling herself out of her reverie, she shouts: "Food's ready, grab a plate or go hungry!"

      Hurosk shakes his head at Lyreis' question. "No, I don't think I can learn any more. Just that there seemed to be a sizable area within the lake where no life seemed to exist and an undead presence had taken over."

      "The dragon is not that far off - a day or so journey depending on the terrain. My senses detected the creature just at the limit of my range, six miles." Hurosk gives Mathilda a nod. "Thanks. Smells good," and begins to pile a plate high.

Kyne shovels bacon onto a plate.

"So," he begins between mouthfuls.

"Those other two rowed off across the lake. The man we interrogated also seemed to hint at some kind of beautiful female being that lives in the lake and drives their efforts... and now Hurosk," the elf gestures at the ranger with his cutlery while he chews, "says that an undead presence dominates an area of that same lake."

He pauses and swallows.

"So, do we know of any beautiful, manipulative, aquatic forms of undead?"

"I see, a powerful ability indeed." Lyreis also gets a plate of food, bowing his head to Mathilda as he takes it "Many thanks, it does indeed smell good."  As he has in the past when with the group the elf eats quickly and purposefully but when the food is gone he sits down looking out over the lake, resting back on his elbows, one leg stretched out the other bent in front of him.  "You know,  it really doesn't look like a place to find an undead monstrosity". 

"Because... cough cough... she is not a monstruosity you idiots. I already told you that. " the man seems to have regain his senses " But I do not understand what you are saying of undeads and dragons... " he seems to think and makes a gesture of pain while sitting and leaning to the wall " Wait. I get it now. You are crazy. That will explain a lot." he pauses for a few seconds touching his wounds with his free hand. "would you care to share some of my food? I haven't eaten in the whole day, you know? " 

( You all can log a short rest. It's about 15:00 hours and sunset is around 18:00 ) 

(2 Hit dice: 5)

     Hurosk looks up from his plate of food to the man. "Listen,... - what's your name hy the way? - I dont know if what I sensed was your mistress, but I know I sensed something undead in the lake," he says waving a piece of bacon. "Tell me what she asked of you all and maybe you can have a bite."

(3 Hit dice) 29 

(2 HD - 11 hp, rolled in discord.)

(@Frandal - Aramalian started her Speak With Dead conversation in Discord, so that you could give her more information for her post. I assume you haven't checked for that yet.)

Pointedly ignoring the injured captive and the talk of undead monsters, Mathilda clears up everyone's plates after lunch and goes inside. A short while later, she reemerges with a small bag and a big grin. She holds out the bag and proudly announces: "Dragonmallows!" Clutching her treasure, she begins to put a few dragonmallows on a stick and grills them over the fire, looking out at the lake. She leaves the bag beside her for anyone else who also feels like dessert. 

"My name? Reksn... at your service " he smiles but he has a big blister in his left side of the head and prevents him to do it. "She.. she came to us and asked us to work with Volren And she is not the kind whic take a no for an answer, besided no man in his right mind would ever say no to her. She gives something to him and he creates the drug. Then we found this half-orc back in town to distribute and sell it. When we come back with more drug he just give us the money. It's simple. " he tries to hide it but he is in real pain. 

Kyne has lost interest in Reksn and enjoys the dragonmallows with Mathilda.

"Tell me more about yourself, Mathilda. Where do you come from? How did you end up in Delethorn?" He asks between gooey bites.

Chewing awkwardly on the hot dragonmallow while trying not to burn her tongue, Mathilda thinks back to how she first came to leave her little town. "So I'm originally from Woodhelm, where the most interesting thing to ever happen is a tree falling on a lumber jack. I've got five older siblings and two younger ones. My family didn't have much, so I never got to go to a fancy school or anything. I've always wanted to get out and see more though. And not just because Maggie got on my nerves to get married like her - that's my older sister, Magdalena - "  she laughs, licking some goop off her fingers, "but never thought I'd get the chance to see the world. Then this group of adventurers came through and, uhm, I might have  kinda sorta tried to steal from them and gotten caught?" She shrugs apologetically. "They weren't mad though, said they could use someone who is good at getting in and out of places quietly like me, and that they were on a treasure hunt. I went along and, well, in the end we travelled together for nearly two years." She smiles wide. "And we did find the treasure!"


She pauses, looking over at Hurosk and Lyreis. "What's there to know about you and the rest of the group?"

Kyne listens carefully as he toasts his next mallow and smiles in understanding.

"Truth be told, I haven't even been working with them for full day yet myself. I arrived just yesterday evening, only an hour or so before we met you. A creature of the feywild, a satyr, appeared before me as I was travelling the Eldeen Reaches. It told me that this group was performing a 'task' for it and that, if I aided them, it would return something precious to me. It was cryptic, but the fae don't generally lie outright. I wasn't busy with anything else and was curious enough to investigate."

The wood elf shrugs non-committally, as though to say 'why not?'. 

"Otherwise... I hail from the realm of Elentári. It's an Elven kingdom, deep within the Eldeen Reaches. I'm not currently welcome there though..."

He laughs at this as though it is nothing, but his eyes betray that he cares and it has affected him deeply.

     Hurosk takes a bite from the piece of bacon he was holding up and then tosses the rest at Resken. "Yeah, you've said how pretty this one is. Guess I'll have to judge for myself... And what of you're two friend that rowed out of here? Obviously they aren't hunters either."

     To the rogue's question, he simy states, "Not much to tell. I was just making my way back to my homeland of the Shadow Marahes after tracking down some of our 'contractors' that went rogue." The half orc takes a drink from his waterskin. "Caught word of a ornery owl bear along the way and decided to help rake care of that problem for some folks. Just so happen to meet up with Molly and Lyrwis here."

Much more relaxed after the good food, Mathilda curiously asks Kyne: "Not welcome? What did you do? Steal something?" While Kyne has a mouth full of dragonmallows, she turns to Hurosk, suddenly shy again: "I'm sorry, what do you mean by contractors? I've never been to the Shadow Marshes, what's it like?"

Kyne lets out a dry chuckle in response to Mathilda's question.

"You could say that... I killed the King."

He blows rapidly on a too-hot mallow he had over-ambitiously tried to shovel into his mouth.

"He wasn't a very good King though."

Mathilda spits out a mouthful of dragonmallow: "You did what?" Her eyes are huge.

     "The name of my land is well earned," Hurosk replies. "Many small villages - most built on stilts - scattered across the region. Lots of insects and snakes for sure. And lots of rice for dinner. That's why enjoy other foods so much." He raises his empty plate with a smile. "As for those contractors... My house acquires those that most would consider monsters and provide them as mercenaries for many purposes - soldiers, messengers, laborers - to others all over the Khorvaire. We do our best to make sure our contractors will obey their new masters, but that is always not the case." The half-orc picks some food from his teeth and continues. "Like I said, I was finishing up with tracking down of one of these troublemakers - a harpy that ran off with a package to be delivered - and took care of the problem." 

Kyne sighs. This was bound to come up eventually. Once Hurosk has finished explaining his job, the elf sits back from the fire and crosses his legs, running a hand back through his long auburn locks as he brushes them out of his face.

"The Queen died. Queen Livana An'nayne. She was fair and just and well beloved by the people. She was also my great aunt - although I didn't know that at the time."

He lifts his waterskin to his lips and takes a sip, before setting it back down in front of him and looking Mathilda right in the eye as he continues.

"She was very old and it was her time, but she died without a direct heir or an obvious candidate for the throne. This created a power vacuum, which General Gathodel decided to fill. He was not a pleasant man."

Kyne turns back to the fire, the flames sending shadows flickering across the angles of his jaw and cheeks as he talks.

"Gathodel believed that the High Elves were the one true race of Elves and that their cousins, the Wood Elves, were a lesser species, undeserving of the same basic rights. When he was crowned King this attitude became law and my people became second-class citizens. I stood up to Gathodel and led the Wood Elves of Elentári to resist his oppression. For this, I was eventually captured and imprisoned."

He slides a dagger from a sheath beneath his arm and begins to spin it point down on the floor in front of him.

"Gathodel wasn't stupid. He knew he couldn't just kill me. My name is known in Elentári. He'd make a martyr of me and just cause himself more problems. Unfortunately for him I am not without my own friends in the palace. With a little help, I was able to free myself and end his reign once and for all."

With a resounding thunk, Kyne jams the dagger into the floorboards of the cabin.

"After that, many called for my head and many others called me a hero. The new King is a good man, but his position is also politically tenuous. He decided on a resolution that would partially satisfy both sides - my exile."

The elf snatches the dagger back up and vanishes it away into his armour.

"...and so here we are!" He concludes with a faraway look in his eyes.