Meanwhile, in the Westwoods...

Quentin rubs his head saying, “Yeah.....we should get out of here.” 

Ziia and Del conclude Bom dadada Bom dadada bommmm

He asks the snakes to split up, scout the place and report back in 10 minutes (limited intel, but they should be able to convey extent and creatures if D Speak with Animals) 

How bad are we all doing? What do you know about this place Sir Amnarel?

"I know nothing of this place," Sir Amnarel says, looking around. "The last thing I remember before being healed was fighting a tree blight and its minions in the fen, and I have no idea where I am." He looks around with a little bewilderment. "It doesn't look much like Galliloth's sort of fortress..."

He turns to Raven and holds his arms out to her. "I hoped to spare you from all this, child."

Lintelér, who has been hovering near Quentin since he was hit by the spell, asks how he is feeling.

Quentin smiles and blushes some as he says, “Better now. That was....just a massive psychic attack. I could go on for a little longer, though I did use my most powerful spells, but I think we should return to the castle. Raven’s father despite whatever he says probably shouldn’t be in another fight.”

Magic Reserves: 2

Mindartis takes 5 damage and Quentin regains a 1st lvl spell slot. If he has no 1st levels to regain he gains 5 temporary hit points.

"Here," Mindartis says, going to Quentin and placing a hand on his shoulder. "If nothing else you'll get a bit of cushion if something tries to hit you again." He winces as some of his own power goes flowing into Quentin.

Should we rest an hour before proceeding? And if so, inside or out? Let's all stay on the same side of the portal if possible. I can get us rides, owls took less than an hour to get here. Though, I think we should scout this place quickly, whether we leave or rest first, to find if there is anything to be learned. The hag said this was an assignment - "Auntie's" doing? 

"Seems like something she might do," Mindartis agrees. "Might as well have a look around while we're here."

"I've been here before... Well sort of." Raven says as she hugs her father.  She pulls away after a bit and turns to the others.  "In my dream I walked through these halls, you need to be aware there are many traps set further in, some of which I might have issues disarming..."  She shivers slightly as she recalls the dream and how she failed to disarm some of them then.  "This is where I got my boots." She lifts her feet to show her magical boots. 

If no one else has done so Raven will look over the hag bodies for anything of use. 

“Thank you.” Quentin tells Mindartis feeling some magical reserves return to him. “If we rest I can meditate some and get back a little more magical reserves. I just don’t think we should spend to much time here. Just in case whoever they were working for comes here looking for them.” 

After about ten minutes, the snakes return to say that they saw nobody else in the place.

Raven searches the hags. (Roll investigation, BTW)  There is a large ring of keys. There are some folded papers in one hag's pocket. The first is what appears to be a map of the place you are in. (Will scan it in and post it later.) It has notes on how to bypass traps and open secret doors. The second is a letter. It says:

Goodie Creakbones, Mariah Cackleberry, Grandmother Sweet Pootie.

The Dark Sisterhood has found you guilty of the following crimes: Sedition.  Interfering with the Plan. Devouring children required for other purposes without permission. And unauthorized destruction of a Barleyman for personal profit.

You have been sentenced to be fixed to the floor with spikes through your hands and feet, and left to be slowly devoured by carnivorous slugs.  This would be a long and very painful death. Fortunately for you, Annie Bracken has, in her mercy, offered you a chance to redress your wrongs and have your punishment lifted.

There is an item missing from the inventory of objects of power recovered from the Arch Witch's summer retreat. As you know, the ritual for reviving the Arch Witch will be aided by the recovery of every item the Arch Witch treasured or touched with her own power. Every possession and treasure she owned, added to the collection, increases our chance of success. The missing item is a pair of enchanted Boots of Elvenkind. It is believed that the Arch Witch may have constructed them herself.  If you are able to find and bring them back to the Maze, your sentence will be reduced to construction labor. If you fail, return to accept the punishment the Sisterhood has chosen for you.

If you should try to escape your fate, be advised that I have been instructed to personally hunt you down. I think that would be far more entertaining than merely returning to the Maze--for you, for me, and for my hounds. Do try to run fast...it will make the chase all the more enjoyable.

Your Servant,

Raninon Greyelf

History for Name at the End of the Letter and what The Maze is: 10

(( Presuming Raven read the letter aloud or let Elwin read it ))

"I'm not sure I like this."

Elwin mulled it all over for a minute. Then, "Alright, I suppose someone needs to ask. Raven, do you remember how you came to this place? You said in a dream, but you actually managed to acquire your boots from here. Since you don't have a patron, is there anyone you've interacted with who would have the power to send you to this place? Even if just in an astral form or some such?"

Shaking his head, he quickly added, "I'm not trying to sound accusatory, understand. But... if this here is indeed the 'Maze' they were talking about, then somehow someone--or something--wanted you to find and take those boots. That feels like... like we're being manipulated into all this."

Deciding to leave it at that and wait for Raven's response, Elwin glanced around the hall, wondering what sorts of traps a place like this might have.

"If it is manipulating us," Mindartis says. "It seems like it doesnt want Auntie and whoever the rest of these people are win."

Quentin has never heard of Raninon Greyelf or the Maze.

Sir Amnarel looks at the letter and his shoulders slump. "So...this was not anything to do with Galiloth?" He suddenly seems very depressed.

Prince Lintelér asks, "When did you have this dream?  Was it when you were at the castle at Lomalos? The magic there is unpredictable, and guests often have unusual or prophetic dreams, or discover unknown portals, or sometimes even wake up in completely different places than they went to sleep."

Elwin turned to look at the prince, a little startled. "You're saying the castle's magic might have just sent her here on a whim, or at the behest of... of fate itself?!

"Ye gods... to have gotten mixed up with this like that. I'm not sure whether that's less disturbing, or more!" He quickly wondered what sorts of shenanigans the castle residents had to put up with to stay in such a place.

"Still," he concluded, turning to Mindartis, "you're right, whatever force it is does seem to be on our side. I'm still uneasy about it, but at least I can sleep better with that in mind."

"Although maybe outside the castle," he muttered under his breath, clearly having decided that placing one's fate into the hands of a extra-planar entity was more sensible than placing it into the hands of the weave of magic itself.

I would guess this is not "the Maze", if they were supposed to bring Sister Raven's boots back there. Perhaps the "summer retreat". How about - we search this place first, with the aid of our slithery friends and that map, while those that need just rest here - then we fly back to the Blackblade Manor and take the rest of our rest in comfort. If you have need of healing now, Ziia can provide us with some  Goodberries as he is talking Del is strumming the crwth, and red berries are collecting in his hand There are 30, restoring 1 HP each. It is ok to save them a day, I mean to make some each morning for us to have on hand

If we agree Del will join in the active search, presuming the map shows what we need to navigate the place looking out for traps and tricks and anything useful Investigation 5  Perception 12

"Sounds a better plan than anything," Mindartis says, "Might want to be quick though, who knows when more people are going to show up."

“I don’t think we should split up like that. Let’s just search then, though next time a hag attacks someone’s mind I’m pulling you in to get it.” Quentin responds to Del his tone letting the bard know that the last bit was just a good natured joke. 

Here is the map...afraid I am not much of one for spending time on making them pretty.