Gods, this fog. It's like it's actually following us. Stop being a dumbass, Anborn. Fog doesn't move. You're acting like a child. "I'm going to take a little walk through the woods. See if there isn't an inch of land that isn't covered by this damned fog. Anyone who wishes to follow and see if we can't find some clear skies is welcome to accompany me. I'm acting like a child right now, getting freaked out by fog. 

Corrin follows Anborn, his eyes darting to and fro frantically observing the creepy woods. 

“Have you ever seen anything like this, sir? It’s quite creepy, no?” Corrin starts with a sudden realization, a smile splitting his face from ear to ear as he extends his hand. “I’m Corrin. Corrin Kettlewhistle of the Mudpit Kettlewhistles. Well, that’s where we’re originally from. We move around a lot. Grandpappy Kettlewhistle calls it an occupational hazard. But I digress. Who are you kind sir?”

Ledanra watches Anborn and Corrin depart into the treeline. "I for one would rather make ahead for our destination rather than getting caught up with some of the potential dangers that the locals believe inhabit these woods... Let us find out why we have just walked for 5 hours, before risking anything more than our time and aching feet."

"No, I haven't seen anything like this before. Hence why I'm investigating it. I already introduced myself back at the tavern, but since it slipped your attention, my name is Anborn. But stop calling me sir. I'm no one of any particular importance. And please be quiet. If there's any unfriendly creatures in these woods, you're attracting all of them."

“Oh, ok...but wouldn’t that make them easier to find? No matter...let’s get to it.”

Corrin puts a serious look on his face and begins moving stealthily alongside Anborn. 

Winter watched the pair head deeper into the woods, her arms crossing over her chest as a sigh of irritation made it past her lips. “Isn’t the first rule of being in a party to not split up?” She mutters to herself, but stands and waits for the others to move. Whether they followed the two or not didn’t matter to her.

”My name is Winter.” She adds in, a bit late to the formalities, not that they would matter too much.

See? No one else is following you except this Halfling. You're being a damn fool, Anborn. "We should get back with the others. I don't think that it's wise to get separated from the others." And then he heads back without waiting to see if Corrin joins him.

Corrin nods. “Yes, this place gives me the creeps, Anborn.” He turns and follows Anborn back to the others. 

Seeing the man and halfling return from the woods, maybe looking a little less spooked, Lendara turns to the old man doing his best impression of one of the imposing statues - and doing a fair job of it. "Lead on, Winter's words must have carried through the trees."

Best be wary, there is something not natural about the fog, and too many things that may hide in it.

Ledanra will be paying extra attention to their surroundings for the last stint. Perception: 8

((Did I say extra...?))

Elya shakes her head as Corrin and Anborn return, "Don't be so eager to swim that you drown, who knows what you could have found out there? Or worse, what could have found you. Let's find this Kolyan Indirovich and help his wife so that we can get out of this creepy place."

As they walk on, she tries to manipulate the fog with shape water, and keeps an eye out for anything dangerous. Perception: 8

Winter says nothing further and walks behind Orlio, doing the same as the others (or she would hope) and keeps her eyes and ears peeled for anything out of the ordinary.

Perception: 25

Song has been mostly in introspection this whole time while following the group. A chance to save someone's loved one? A chance to be a hero! What an amazing opportunity!

But the fog brings him back to reality. It's... wrong. Very wrong. A lifetime of avoiding trouble has not steered the young Warlock for danger like this. Though he can hold his own in a fight, he's never had to fight anything but wild game and malnourished bandits.

Song gives a sigh of relief as Anborn and Corrin return. It was a poor decision, getting away from the group, but he's glad they're okay. In the stories, it was always when a group divides in curiosity that things get hairy. Though, of course, it can sometimes lead to new discoveries. Stories are tricky like that.

"I think we should stay together, everyone. No leaving the group without good reason. If we want to investigate these woods, let's do it together, alright? Alright."

Song looks to the group, especially the tall, well-armored man. Why does he keep looking at me? Does he fancy me? Sorry, that seems like a very bad idea in a place like this...

Song keeps a keen ear to his surroundings. All of the ballads and poems he knows won't help him here, he thought.

Perception: 20

"Apologies for wandering off. I merely wanted to see if there was any open sky in this place. Won't happen again."

And then Anborn joins his companions in examining their surroundings.

Perception:18

Svalich Woods

Anborn and Corrin return from their brief exploration of the woods, but it is Winter, as you all walk, who catches the scent of death on the air. You can sense that it's coming from the opposite side of the woods, and your keen nose could probably locate where it's coming from..

..if you chose to explore it.

Otherwise, you can visit the Ivlis River, or continue along the Old Svalich Road to the Village of Barovia.

Winter wrinkles her nose at the familiar stench, a low growl escaping the back of her throat at its discovery as she slightly deviates from the group as they continued to walk. Her eyes narrow at the trees, expecting something to pop up, but after a few more seconds, she turns to the others with her irises now slits, similar to that of a cat . "This place reeks of death," She looks back into the woods, then points in the direction of where the scent is strongest. "There." The rogue leads forward, but stops herself before she went further in. Do not split up again. "... Do we want to stay on the path? Or find the source of this smell?"

Winter, you can see an unmoving body about 15' away from your position.

Winter squints at what she sees now. "... There's a body over there..."

Song sniffs the air stronger. And immediately regrets the decision. It's faint to his nose, but it's definitely something dead. "I say... we stay the path. If we can smell it from here, it's long dead. Nothing we can do for it now."

"Nice...nose you got on you. I vote that we stay on the path. We have a job to do and it's not like whatever died in the woods is going to get less dead in the time it takes for us to do our jobs." Anborn says, before he pauses once he looks Winter in the eyes. Wait, were her eyes always like that? Stop it Anborn. First you go running into the woods to chase magical, moving fog and now you're convincing yourself that your traveling companions have strange eyes. Just do your ******* job.