The Exploits of Misfit Company

At the mention of Bixby, Kasha made a noise that sounded like a snort.

Vastra's enthusiasm brings a slight upturn at the corner of Yvan's lip, though it soon falls when they get closer to the mountain. When he sees the uprooted trees, his brows furrow, and he approaches one of the trees to further investigate.

Why do I have a +4 in investigation: 14

(Ain't like it helped much tho)

Stella eyes the trees cautiously while Yvan checks them out, her hands playing around the hilts of her blades.

"True enough, Vastra!" Courage said in between bites on some kind of large, sweet smelling nutrient bar. "Though speaking of Truths-..." He starts, as he pulled out six leaf wrapped nutrient bars. Two of which looked more girthy and had a few almonds in the mix. " I prepared a couple special treats before we left! The biggest ones are for Alys and Vastra however, as they pack a bit more of kick then usual to bolster you for the day. So best to eat them now for the greatest benefit."

"But for the other four, you can eat whenever you want a bit more pep in your step and you hurts to feellll slightly less so." He said with a smile in his voice. As Courage wasn't exactly a woodsman, the trees garner a look of interest and put him and on guard enough to take a precaution in activating his armors shielding. But more than that, he would observe others investigating them more closely at their leisure.

(@SF & Ixi: In laymens terms, the 'Big Bars' is Courage's way of casting (3rd level)Aid(ie. 10 Max HP) on Vastra, Alys, and himself outside of combat. As for the smaller bars, consuming them costs a bonus action, and grants 4 Temp Hp that lasts until depleted or your next long rest).

Kasha snatched one. She sniffed it loudly, scrutinizing it clearly. Her face wrinkled in great suspicion at Courage.

"What is this?" she asked, showing it to him.

Courage furrowed his brow at the snatch, then cocked his head, clearly confused by the extra scrutinizing of the treat. "A... A snack with benefits. Kind of sweet, kind of crunchy, and kind of salty. Working on making one a bit more purely sweet, but that'll be awhile I imagine." He admits as much casually, and then looked more worriedly. "Does it... does it smell bad or something?" He asked, sounding genuinely worried over the quality.

Still looking at Courage, Kasha took a bite of the treat. She chewed. Still looking at him. 

God dammit, this shit is good. What the ****?

She took another bite. 

"No." she said, her mouth full. She stared at him the whole time while she ate it, as if waiting for something bad to happen. But, nothing did. "It's good. I like salty nuts." she admitted, immediately regretting she said that by the twist in her face.

Alys would try to feed off of Vastra’s spirits the best she could, but would fall back silently. She’d pack and puff on her pipe until she felt herself fade away in a daze. The sweet bars would easily catch her attention when mentioned and she would accept her portion. “Thank you.” The elf would say quietly, offering Courage a polite smile. She’d take a bite, taking her time to chew and savour the flavours before swallowing. The blonde would offer another small smile to signal that it’s enjoyed. She’d bite back down on it, holding it in her mouth and would saunter away to see if Yvan and Stella could us some help.

Stella gives Alys a hand with her investigation.

Courage smile in relief, and seemed either to not catch or care to exploit the slip of the tongue. Instead, he said with much enthusiasm, "I'll have to make sure not to leave out too much salt then in the next batch then! A tricky thing considering I was planning to experiment more with the lighter chocolate mixes to give it a bit more of a gummy consistency. But, I'm sure it'll be able to make a work around somehow if we ever come across the right nuts." 

Vastra eats the energy bar. "Thank you!'

Alys: It looks like the trees were uprooted by something traveling underground.

Alys would finish her nutrient bar during her inspection with Stella. Patting her nose and leaving crumbs behind. Pointing to the ground the elf would turn to look at Stella. "Underground traveler." Then back to the others. "Wonder what it could be?"

Nature?: 21 + Guidance:4
Adv if someone helps?: 6

"We following it?"

"Another worm...?" Yvan considers. "It's destroying some parts of the forest, so... I think we should follow it." Anything to avoid the mountain.

Alys: You know that the only creature that would go burrowing around in the cold is either a Remorhaz or a Frost Worm.

"BLLchCH, worms." Kasha moans.

Courage scratches his chin. "Been a while since I've had a taste of Uncle Trouble's Wormageddon soup, but I think I still know the recipe." He admits as much, then shrugs and pulls down the faceplate. "Whichever way the rest of you wish to go, I'll follow of course. But probably shouldn't go out of our way to deal with a detour while on the job, to be honest. Not unless there's some good folk living near here to mind."

Alys would look to Yvan and put her finger on her nose indicating he was right on the nose. "Remorhaz or a Frost Worm."

 The elf shared some of Kasha's detest for worms. Like the giant ones that could swallow them whole. She'd shudder thinking about the last one they fought and how she had paralyzed herself. Side thought, the little guys in the garden are cool though.

Alys' head would turn slowly to look to Courage when he'd mention Wormageddon soup. She didn't know what to think of it. Her eyes would glance to Stella, "I'd try it if you did."

Thinking about the detour, Alys would shrug. It never really bothered her to wonder off course, and besides, Yvan's right, it's destroying the forrest. Does it even belong here? She'd look back up to Yvan. "I'm willing to go."

When Alys confirms Yvan's suspicions, he grimaces. He had some knowledge about those creatures (due to being a mountain born), but he remembers a run in with a Frost Worm when he was a tyke. Quickly, he suppresses the memory and looks at the trees, pointing at the ones that had been uprooted.

"If we keep following those... Then we might find it... If the rest of you are okay with it, then let's move."

Survival (if needed, will roll twice in case of help): 20 |  13 

Stella grins at Alys. "You're on." She nibbles her lip. "Might as well follow them for a bit, I guess, although let's not forget our priority here."

OOC: The destroyed trees aren't off to the side or anything. They're going in the way you're going.