OOC: Includes the maze and the village.

Tobin:

Tobin is astonished by the gift and, in a rare display of silence, is rendered completely speechless for long moments before offering profuse thanks.

Bazavur gives a curt nod as he thanks Otaaryliakkarnos. He is fascinated by the orange tint to the metal and wonders if this weapon perhaps has some other as of yet, unknown capabilities. While Aiwin is off performing some reconnaissance he familiarizes himself with his new weapon.

Varan bows to the dragon and holds onto both weapons while Aiwin goes off to scout, "Thank you kindly. These are precious gifts you have given us and we will wield them with respect." 

Otaaryliakkarnos makes her final farewells and returns to her dragon form, flying away to the north.

As Bazavur is studying his new weapon, Aiwin sets off scouting. The ground gently slopes away and down, and you have a pleasant view of the valley below and are confident no enemies lurk there. When coming a little closer to the hedge maze, you can see that it looks quite different now. From the air, it appeared neglected and overgrown, with no clear path through. Looking at the edges from here, they appear to be perfectly maintained - vibrant, growing hedges. You see the entrance, and through it - well, you don't actually see any maze within. Instead it appears to be a well-kept garden, such as you might find around the dwelling of an elven elder or perhaps the large city mansions of the humanfolk. Across the entrance to the maze is a wooden fence.

There are houses not too far from the entrance; the village appears more like a single long street that wraps around the maze, houses to either side. You think you see a tavern, and a few figures moving around. None appear to have seen you.

Aiwin just goes back to the group and reports what he found "Nothing looks extremely dangerous, but we should approach cautiously." he looks at Varan "You get a new bow and sword. The bow looks really nice."

Varan holds out the longbow to Aiwin, "Our dragon friend gave us these. The bow is named Remembrance and both weapons were owned by an elf hero." He holds up the scimitar, "I'll take Swift seein' as I'm more likely to be headin' into close combat. So, we going right into the maze or gettin' a nights rest first?" 

Soar accepts the gift graciously, and looks at it for a bit, curious about a sword hilt. When she realizes how to summon the blade, her eyes alight with wonder. She gives a quick prayer to Kelemvor. But she faces Otaaryliakkarnos and says, "this is a majestic gift. I will wield it in your honor, and keep it -- her -- safe. Solara. I will not forget that name. Perhaps I will find a clue of how to wake her, or talk with her. Thank you, for this, and for all you have done. I am lucky to be your ally." 

The dragon receives a second thanks before she departs.

Soar looks at Bazavur's glaive. "I think the cult will be quite unhappy you wield such a scary weapon. Poor fellows." Watching Tobin receive the robe, she says, "is it comfortable? Any idea what it does?"

She watches the others receive their gifts and smiles imperceptibly, to herself. She spends the time Aiwin is away attuning to the sword.

When Aiwin returns, she says, "interesting. So it looks different up close? Think we can get inside by skirting the village? Or are we just plunging straight in? I can make myself look like someone else. But hiding who we are hasn't worked too well in the past. Think we can sneak in past a bunch of people? Tobin, I wonder if there are any stories about what this settlement is like."

Aiwin takes the bow and nods "Appreciate it." he says pulling the bow string back as if to fire, but then guiding it forward "Beautiful bow and nice draw." At Soar's words he just shrugs "Honestly best bet is to probably just act like normal adventurers. Try to gather some intelligence on the maze and go from there."

When Soar comments about the new glaive he gives a wide grin. “My thoughts exactly.” (Does time spent examining it reveal anymore information about the weapon?)

“Well. Shall we continue to try and find this defector?” Bazavur asks of the group having finished familiarizing himself with the new weapon. 

(Those of you who need to attune can do so while Aiwin is scouting, but it reveals nothing beyond what you've already been told).

Tobin:

”Yes, let us move forward towards the maze,” says Tobin, his quill already out and ready for his journal, a blank page ready to record the first strokes mapping the maze.

Varan lightly grabs Tobin's shoulder before he can run off into the maze, "You might want to think twice about runnin' into that maze. We are losin' light pretty quickly, and I don't know if you've been in the woods at night; but it gets really dark really fast. I imagine it would be the same for a dense hedge maze. Let's see about gettin' some rooms for the night, gather what information we can, maybe gets some supplies, and head in after breakfast." 

Tobin:

Shaken out of his puzzle-solving mode, Tobin looks about and says, "Ah, yes, that would be much wiser.  Let us rest and start our explorations at first light."

"The person who wrote the letter urged us to hurry," Soar says, looking at the group. "I'd personally take the risk of the maze in fading light over the risk of the cult getting wind of us being here and preparing or killing the defector or moving the blue dragon mask. And perhaps going in under cover of night could be helpful. But I've been very wrong before, Varan, so perhaps you're right. What say the rest of you?"

“Either way works for me.” Bazavur says simply. Though he’s not the biggest fan of being out after dark. 

To reach the maze entrance, you will need to pass fairly close to the village. Which is it to be?

Tobin:

”Perhaps we should go by the village and do a little research—have dinner and find out what is known about the maze and the tower.  We can decide after dinner whether to go tonight or in the morning, based in part on what we learn,” suggests Tobin, his stomach growling a bit at the prospect of a hot meal.

Soar nods, and says, "that sounds good, Tobin. Let's go. I'll make myself look different, unless someone has an objection. The cult's no fan of mine, and if they have anyone keeping watch, for the most part, they'll just recognize Bazavur."

She shifts, using mask of many faces, to a female dragonborn teen, the same color as Bazavur. She's ready to head into town.

This is a weird little village, or perhaps a small town; getting closer, you can see that though mostly confined to a single long street with only a few little offshoots, there may be a couple of hundred people who make their homes in this place. There are a few out and about as you approach together. They don't appear alarmed, and a couple of folk give you a friendly wave before going about their business.

A human man is washing clothes in a large tub of water out the front of what is presumably his house, perhaps the third that you pass. He calls out a greeting. "Hullo there, travellers. Adventurers is it? Welcome to Xonthal's Tower." He doesn't seem to be addressing any one of you in particular.

Up ahead, you see a tavern, what might be a small general goods store, and a stall out in the street selling baked goods.