"I'm fine, between Dathyra's spell and my own, my wounds are all but healed." Harivaldr nodded at the cleric, "Thanks for that, by the way. If we're all in a fit state to travel, we shouldn't tarry, between Dathyra and I, I'm sure we'll be fine." He chuckled heartily at Merric and added, "If a meat shield is what I'm good for, then a meat shield is what I'll be. When we're ready to move out, I'll take point, unless someone else wants it."

With Hari in front and Durven watching the rear, everyone advances with ranged weapons ready. You follow the stream as it winds its way beneath the old growth forest. Through the ages, the stream has formed a gentle valley with verdant forest hills rising and falling to either side. Rounding the bend you spy a dilapidated old round hut surrounded by a fenced, overgrown garden. The low forest hills rise about, and the stream carves its way along a tall, water-carved bluff to the west. The roots of trees growing atop the bluff jut out from its sides.
Cut into the hillside to the east you spy a small cave entrance. You catch the glow of two pairs of eyes gazing watchfully at you from this closer cave to the east.

Dathyra's eyes were immediately drawn to the, as yet unknown, figure looking at them from the entrance to the cave. Something about that gaze gave her a chill. "Don't look now, but we are being watched," she said in a hushed whisper. "I don't like this at all."

"Well, seein' as how we's already been looked at, not much sneakin' up gunna helps.  Maybe's they scared of us and trying to be hiding?  They's pretty much out's in the open here."  

Sen tries to eye what is watching them without drawing too much attention. Perception: 18 

Sen watches discreetly. He gauges the height of the eyes to be shorter than humanoid but he can't make out what creatures he's seeing.

Without looking toward the eyes, Harivaldr quietly said, "There are lots of possible reasons why they might be hiding. One of them being that whoever's eyes those are is responsible for the plant things. Or they could just be a bystander. Can't really tell as is, can we?" He took a closer look at the hut and garden, and tried to determine how long it had been since somebody actually worked on it.

Perception/Investigation/Nature (for Harivaldr, they are all the same modifier): 15

"Any ideas for determining friend from foe?"

"I tried getting a good look, Harivaldr, but I couldn't identify them." Sen wasn't too happy that he couldn't ID what was looking at them. "I've an idea. Seen it work a few times before with dicey success." Sen moves out toward the figure a few steps. "Hail and well met, my dudes!" 

((I didn't specify distances, but you are placed at the southern edge of the map. The cave where you see the eyes, is about 100 ft away.)) ((OOC: as an aside, I am SO old and "not with it" that I thought 'Hail and well met, my dudes' was a Bill and Ted reference. I haven't even watched Adventure Zone. Will put it on the list.))

Sen step forward several feet and calls out a greeting toward the cave. He hears a whine, a growl and a couple of yips. He realizes that his greeting is getting mixed results.

Harivaldr steps a little closer to the hut and garden.

The centerpiece of this little valley is the round, thatched- roof hut. The hut is roughly 25 foot in diameter, with a lone, south facing door and four shuttered windows set around it. A stone smokestack protrudes through the roof, and vines cling to its sides.

A fence made of fallen timber surrounds the hut, containing an overgrown garden within. A gate twenty feet from the door allows polite entrance through the fence, though the fence could be easily jumped. A large, recently dug hole can be seen in the right front quadrant of the overgrown garden.

A flagstone path leads from the gate to the hut’s door. A similar path circles around the garden. Two trees in the garden flank the flagstone path, providing direct shade to the hut’s door, and six-foot tall sunflowers are planted on either side of the gate and at each of the four corners of the garden fencing.

As you approach, the sunflowers turn to face you, their central flowers opening to reveal eight inch diameter eyeballs gazing at you.

Sen shrugs at the others. "Normally that works well, at least I thought so..."

Sen will follow behind Harivaldr. "Why hello there sunflower. We are adventures. No doubt you recognize me, Sen? Sen Nurkov? Famous adventurer and explorer? No? Maybe? Anyways these are friends of mine." Sen pauses for a moment looking back at the others and gives the group a wink. "I'm friends with Conker. We go waaaay back." Sen recalls reading a "children's" book about a drunken squirrel and his antics within a fantastic world of other woodland creatures and talking plants. Tales are based on a small truth......, right??

(They're making the new Bill and Ted some time! And yes, Adventure Zone is one a favorites. I listen to it a lot when I'm working. It's a very good production I think.)

Harivaldr was about to make a suggestion when he caught Sen's introduction. He knew that story! "Isn't that the one with the Great Mighty-" He completely lost his train of thought when the Sunflower's eye looked his way, the skald had to work to prevent a disturbed expression from crossing his face. Eyes aren't supposed to go there, he thought, if eyes were supposed to go there, the gods would have already put them there. In the moment, Harivaldr decided to just follow Sen's lead and introduced himself. "Harivaldr Laurison, skald of the Hall of Lauriklanni, at your service..."

Still wary that the eyes were still watching them, Dathyra wasn't sure what to do next. However, since Sen seemed unbothered by them and had joined Harivaldr, she figured she had better do the same. She nearly jumped with a start when she saw the eyes on the flowers. She began muttering quick prayers before saying, "Oh, no! No, no, no! Whatever lives here is clearly something unholy. This is not right at all!"

As your party approaches the gate the sunflower stalks turn and the eyes watch your progress. 

Merric, highly amused (at the moment) and of the thought that perhaps there is nothing malicious to the pretty flowers, runs forward ahead of the others and runs around in circles and with erratic back and forth movements, trying to see what the flowers do and if he can trick them.

"Hey...be watching this...bets I can make their stalks falls over!"

(Of course, being the highly skilled adventurer he is,  he is kinda watching for other "weird" stuff" too.)

Dathyra rolled her eyes. "Well, I'm glad you're enjoying it," she said, glaring at a handful of flowers that were gazing at her. "I, for one, am not liking this one bit. This...this is not normal, and I have a pretty good feeling that whatever lives in that hut is causing it. The sooner we can take care of whatever this is and get out, the better I'll feel."

Harivaldr nodded at Dathyra's statement, and quietly spoke to everyone in earshot, "Right, as the hardiest fellow here, I am going to walk very slowly towards the hut, and attempt to hail whatever lurks inside. If the rest of you could keep your eyes peeled for anything around us and shoot anything that tries to grab me, I would be very appreciative. I do not intend to walk inside, so if you see me totter off into the place there may be some sort of fey enchantment about, and just in case such is to occur, I'll be playing a little ditty to help me keep my head. If something grabs or attacks me or throws a spell, I have a few tricks up my sleeve to hopefully keep myself from getting trapped, so please don't beat around the bushes." He took a deep breath and added, "Also, if one of you has a better plan, I would love to hear it."

((In game terms, his plan is to spam Countercharm as he walks forward, playing his little heart out on his dulcimer as he tries to get a response from whatever lurks within, while the rest of the party stays hopefully free of whatever may come to kill them all))

Sen moves his crossbow into easy reach along his belt. "Sounds like a fine enough plan Harivaldr. I don't mind you trying to sweet talk some hellish beast. Mighty fine plan." Sen gives Harivaldr a wink before following behind with the others. 

 Hari heroically takes the lead as Sen and Durven gladly follow. Dathyra practically grabs Merric by his ear to get him to stop antagonizing the eye stalks. 

Hari is prepared against charms with his song. 

((Hari make an Arcana or Investigation check as you walk towards the hut))

Arcana: 18

Hari is humming to himself and plucking at the strings of his dulcimer when he freezes mid step. An off-key twang sounds as he throws his hand up for everyone to halt. Up ahead, on the front port of the hut, Hari sees a magical shimmer, as if arcane energy has been pulled taut. ((Hari has spotted a glyph of warding  ))