"Did not think about that," Maxine looked worried and disappointed, "Do hope he will take it positively and not as undermining your authority. In the worst case - feel free to "punish" me for disagreement." She smiled, indicating it was a joke (though some pretense could be arranged, of course) "We can settle on "it is cleansed and can be now restored as non-evil". If he believes it to be the case - let me know and I'll mend the thing."

Berrus will do one more blade then use the remainder on his handaxe (tracing a slight emblem of Haela Brightaxe onto the flat of the axe with the silver)

The Professor:

"My authority?  Surely you jest, Maxine, I have no authority here other than the information my studies provide, and perhaps an equal voice in the discussions on our major decisions."  Smiling, Snively says, "I will make your thoughts known to Gruk," and he translates Maxine's words for the wise Grung to consider.

Gruk nods along, before saying: "Grung do not need magic to survive, grung need peace. Broken amulet is powerful symbol of new era. But Bro-fasser is right, talking to grung will be difficult. Grung not used to think for grung, grung do what priests say. If Bro-fasser and tribe of Bro-fasser can find small groups of grung, Gruk can convince them, maybe. Worth the risk, Gruk think."

"I did not mean for us," clarified Maxine, "but if grung still see you as a chieftain of our "tribe", any arguing is leads to trouble. But never mind that. Looks like you convinced Gruk in superiority of democracy, so be it. Let's keep amulet broken."

The Professor:

”Thank you, Maxine,” replies the Professor.  “I have told Grung that I am not the leader of our group,  except perhaps in scholarly pursuits; that each one of us has areas of expertise where we lead.  Their rigid caste system makes it difficult for them to understand this point, but we are making progress.”

looking up from his work.  "Then tell him we are leaders of our casts"

The Professor:

”That might work, Berrus, as it is something I have tried before in a different way.  I’ll try,” responds Snively.

The Professor keeps talking with Gruk on the topic and also tries to learn a few words in the Grung language so they can do basic communication when he does not have his Comprehend Languages spell up.  Between all the talking and working on silver, Snively becomes pretty tired.  He still renews the alarm spell and writes in his Gazetteer the highlights of his experiences for the day, but he is soon asleep at the fire as is his habit. 

Shae would do a round of medical checks on every one, seeing how they fair for the evening before settling into a spot by the fire. The scholar would write in her journal and study to the sound of Berrus working away with the silver. She'd peek up every once to watch before going back to her work documenting the heartstone and everything that transpired today. If able, Shae would spend the time to update and fill in their maps with her cartography equipment.

"I'm willing to take watch tonight."

During her watch she expects to be extra diligent with their new possessions. Shae would be sure to keep the decoy bag on her and the pearl secured on her person. As much as she wanted to keep looking at it, there was no sense in keeping it out in the open unless it needs to be used. Instead, she'd practice using her darkvision skills to familiarize herself with the area around the camp. Occasionally she'd look up at the sky to scan the stars.

"Kam, are you there? I feel like we found what we were looking for. We've learned a lot today and it means we have a lot more ahead of us. The big picture is getting clearer." She'd pause for a moment, "The full moon is upon us soon. It could spell danger if we are not prepared. Have we done enough? What more could we do? What more can I do?" Shae would gaze at the moon knowing she's asking rhetorical questions. For once, since they've been in this jungle, she felt positive and with that positivity, came anticipation for what's next and paranoia about letting her guard down.

once finished Berrus will look over his handywork once again.   "These bolts be ready to quiver Maxine as is the short blade.

he will then go near the fire and after watching Shae for a bit says  "Wake me fer last watch"

Berrus, using up almost all the silver, you do your best to coat as many weapons and blades as possible, since you will likely need them sooner than later. Once satisfied with your work, you share out the weapons, and then go to sleep.

Shae, as you ask yourself, whether you had prepared enough, you see a meteor streak past, leaving a bright tail. You choose to interpret it as a sign of Kam's continued favour, and after opening your tome of secrets to the by now well-known page, you find a new short note there:

"The hag will be preoccupied with her ritual, it is then you must strike. While she will be at her most powerful, I may be able to help you as well, particularly if she is distracted. In your gravest hour of need, read my name, and I will come from the heavens to help you and your friends in your battle against this ancient evil." 

Just below, you see in shimmering silver, Kam's true name in Celestial.

Shae would let out a soft gasp when she finishes reading the message in her tome. She'd run her fingers over the writing to convince herself that it is real. This was a gift, and a power to be used at the right time. She'd have to be wise.

While it reached the end of her watch, she'd tip toe over to Berrus to wake him.

Berrus wakens and nods to Shae,  then starts a patrol walking around the edge of the campfire light

The night passes without incident, and as the group comes to, you almost feel at home hearing the creatures in the forest around you, the environment teeming with life. It was a far cry from the muffling fog and ash near the hag’s lair. Still with two days left before the full moon, she would have to be dealt with sooner rather than later.

As you all go through the moves of your morning routines to prepare for the coming day, you find Thessalandra has gathered her crew, and everyone seems ready to head out of “Camp”. Brax is the first to ask: “What’s the plan for today?”

Probably with everyone else, Maxine looked at Professor. To make things clear and in case Captain missed a couple details) she summed up the choices: "So, if I get it right, in two days the hag can summon her sisters. Once she does it, this region will belong to them. The question is - do we care? We delayed the ritual the best we could. Two days for hag to be occupied might be just enough for us to escape. We freed the frog people from hag's influence, should not it be enough for them to return Faekin? Once we pick him up - we can flee."

"Or, we do what Shae's patron tells us to do, interrupt the ritual for good and probably pay with our lives to free this region from the evil influence. Should we not die, we will return for Faekin and leave the place without running and hiding. Also, would be interesting to check hag's stuff more thoroughly - she might have some means of teleportation, considering her opening portals. Have t  admit, I had enough communing with nature for the life time".

"Did I miss anything?"

The Professor:

Having woken up early and studied his Gazeteer and spellbook, the Professor lays out a few of the options in response to Brax’s question.

”Well, Gruk has suggested finding small groups of Grung to negotiate with and persuade to follow Gruk instead of the bloodthirsty Koro-arak.  There is also the main village of the Grung, although if the priests and Koro-arak are under the Hag’s enchantment, that could be a deadly encounter—we will need to get there soon in any case to rescue our crew member and hopefully any other slaves.”

”Then there is the question of the Hag herself.  With these silver weapons, we may be able to confront her directly, but I still don’t know how to deal with those wisps.  I hope we have prevented her summoning effort, but it may be possible that she will be able to start the summoning ritual and bring her sisters onto this plane temporarily if there is sufficient blood sacrifice—like a full scale battle between the Grung and Lizardfolk—long enough for them to come after us and the pearl capable of allowing them to stay on this plane indefinitely.”

”I am no brilliant tactician,” finishes Snively, “but if we can help Gruk take control of the tribe and prevent a war with the Lizardfolk, we will save lives and rob the ritual of its power, hopefully weakening the hag enough that we can defeat her—this time for good.”

The Professor:

To Maxine, he responds humbly, “I would like to help the Grung if we can.  In truth, I hadn’t expected to live this long.  But I would like to do what good I can before the jungle claims me.”

Yesterday morning when Maxine was in condition "someone, please kill me" she would even agree - and actually was honestly working toward that self-sacrifice, but now she wanted to live more than ever. Will to live, though, was strongly bound to awoken curiosity - another visit to hag's hut looked quite appealing. Grand causes like ""changing the ways" of some random tribe of murderous frogs" was not very high on her list, but for curiosity alone she would roll with it. 

"Im no good at grand strategy. But get me some good ground an we might have a chance.  Allies could always help. But im here to try n keep ye alive so whatever is decided im wi'ye"

Shae would wake up a little later than the others from her watch, but still be up in time for Brax to start the conversation of the day. She'd sit in silence, flipping through her tome as Maxine and the Professor lay out and summarize the choices. A sigh would escape her lips as Maxine's words sunk in. I mean I get it. Listening to a voice in someone's head is pretty crazy when you're risking your life. Which makes her appreciate Maxine's trust and belief in her even more.

The warlock would run her fingers over the script that revealed itself during her watch. She'd start chewing on her lip as she'd read the words over in her mind.

The hag will be preoccupied with her ritual, it is then you must strike. While she will be at her most powerful, I may be able to help you as well, particularly if she is distracted. In your gravest hour of need, read my name, and I will come from the heavens to help you and your friends in your battle against this ancient evil.

A part of her began to dwell over not discussing it with Berrus last night. And now didn't really feel like an appropriate time to bring up more from her patron to Maxine. Besides, the Professor's words really swayed her. They were the truth, probably for many of us.

Shae snaps her tome shut, puts on her usual morning smile and picks herself up off the ground. Taking a breath to steady herself before speaking out loud to the others, "I too would like to help the grung to prevent war and bloodshed. I believe it would be a way to weaken the hag." She'd look to Gruk, "and I also believe in Gruk's resolve for his tribes future."

Though, some additional thoughts she'd keep to herself. I wonder how successful we can be in two days... If the hag will be close, perhaps I can sneak away during the full moon... Shae would glance to her tome before taking a look around to the rest of the party.

She'd push those thoughts back to put on a smile again, "How's everyone feeling today? Ready to stop a war?" Shae would start a round of medical checks on everyone before packing away her final equipment for the road.