The ogre looks back at the room.  Then at you.  Then back.  Then at you.  His shoulder sag.  "Cup not here. Huark go with."

Then he seems to cheer up. "Yes! Goblin knows lots."

Feeling nervous about the torch, Del tells Edwin quietly Maybe get that decanter ready

((edit - somebody already convinced him so I won't repeat the argument))

"Yes goblin knows lots."  Raven agrees with a nod.  "Let's get out of here and go see the goblin..."  She turns and heads back out.  Taking the lead again, she scouts the path back down.

Stealth:  23

Perception:  14

Huark shakes his head and reaches into a hole.  He pulls out a huge, wriggling grub. "Holes only full of bugs," he says, smashing it against the wall. "They hide, not like fire."

You make it quite safely out of the tree--any grubs you see hurry away as the light of the torch hits them, and once again, Raven catches all the rotten spots in the floor before anyone steps on them.

Quentin sighs as he says, “Because one wrong move with that and we all go up in flames.” His tiredness making him more irritable than normal. 

Huark looks at the tired and cranky wizard. "You want Huark carry? You not much bigger than Cup..."

Quentin gives the ogre a death glare just at the idea of those dirty hands touching him, “No thank you. I’ve seen the state of your washroom. I’d rather not spend the next twenty minutes disinfecting you just to be carried like a child. Now let’s go before I reduce you to the size of a mouse.” 

Raven quickly leads the entire group back to the one-legged-sock store.

Del wants to get a word with the street kids, moving away from Huark as they said they were scared of him, and getting down on the ground. Look fam, we got the ogre, we're taking him home. Prob'ly nothin' but grubs left in the Pitchpine, but they're kinda riled up, so be careful. We're trying to get the Candyman, or someone pretending to be the Candyman. So anything you find can help us out. You learn anything or about anyone who knows anything, get us a word. We're at the Lark and Swallow in Willow, or get word to the goblin sock shop in Locust. And let everyone know to be careful - we'll be making trouble.

Then he quickly follows Raven to Sharky's

The few kids still hanging out on the street promise to look Del up if they hear anything interesting. Huark looks slightly disappointed not to be able to carry Quentin, but follows along with the group quietly.

When you reach the sock shop, the lights are out, and there is no response to your knocking until Huark starts pounding on the door. Under the blows, the entire building shakes, looking likely as not to fall off the branch, and Tagec's voice from inside shouts, "I"m coming, I'm coming!"

The goblin comes to the door in a nightgown and long nightcap.  The moment he peeks out, Huark grabs him and lifts Tagec up, shaking him out of his bunny slippers.  "WHERE CUP?" the ogre demands. "WHERE FIND CUP?"

Eventually, Tagec manages to stutter out, "K-k-kitchen?" Huark drops him and charges into the shop.  You can hear the sound of smashed-down doors and breaking crockery.

"Well," says Tagec, groping for his slippers. "I see that you have completed your task. Would anyone care to tell me what in the nine hells is going on?"

"Huark has a kid he is taking care of, named Half a Broken Cup."  Raven says.  "I am guessing he thinks the kid is in your kitchen now, since you told him that was where cup was.  Our guess is that the kid was taken by this person they are calling the Candyman.  We told Huark that you might have a lead on the missing kids, which is how we got him to return."

On the way over, Del tells everyone I think I mobilized the gutter punks. Another source we might use besides the sockmaster is the pixies, if we can get up to talk to them. It might take a variety of information

Tagec says a couple of choice words in Goblin and goes off to explain the misunderstanding to Huark and try to save the rest of his kitchen from demolition.

Eventually, you all quietly gather in the shop, and Tagec pays out the 100 gold he promised.

"The fens," he says. "Well, ever since the Arch Witch was killed, the Sisterhood of Hags has been...in disarray. No leadership, no organization, every hag for herself. Lately, there have been some hags sighted in the Fens. In groups, with different sorts of hags traveling together. Normally, if hags form a group, it is only with their own specific type. There is other evidence that the Sisterhood is rallying after losing their leader.  What's more, there have been groups of blights spotted in the fens lately.  There have always been blights around, of course, but knowing your father...he might just think an old enemy of his has returned from the dead. It's possible, of course, but I doubt it.  The Night Queen's executions are usually VERY thorough."

"As I told you, I don't have much information about the missing children, but I can tell you this: Lomalos is only the tip of the iceberg. The disappearances are happening all over the Westwoods, in some places far worse than here. The best of luck to you, and I really hope that you find this Cup kid, but I think anything you uncover here will be only one strand of a vast spider's web."

"Was there any other information I can help you with, while I'm feeling generous?"

Sugar, and not a pet name Master Tagec. No one has candy but the Candyman, say the street kids. We saw a letter that implied some captain (lost his name) had an easier time getting supplies past the gnolls. Pixies are using up honey so the beer supply is disrupted. Any of this make you think of any connections?

Tagec shakes his head. "Sugar comes up from the Halfling Republic. There are lots of places the shipments can be hit by gnolls. If there's someone getting through the gnolls with their goods, that would be worth knowing. But if they are, their sugar doesn't seem to be hitting the market anywhere." Tagec scratches his head. "I wonder what the gnolls are doing with all that stuff.  I haven't heard of them having a sweet tooth..."

Elwin found himself impressed at his companions' acumen. They seemed to be finding leads and deducing clues rather rapidly... for his part, he would have probably just tried to threaten what he could out of Tagec, and likely would have just gotten more trouble than he'd wanted.

"We follow the sugar, we'll probably find the Candyman," he mused aloud. He had no idea how to go about that, nor how long it would take... but he figured it made sense as a lead.

Galanodel generates more tosh, as usual. Except maybe someone who does care about sugar is directing the gnolls? Anyway, not the matter at hand. We need dinner and rest, and putting together the plan - but executing in the morning?

"I still think the honey pot is the best chance of finding the kids and then we can follow the spider web. As for sugar my first guess would be to bribe pixies but....honestly it could be anything. And you..." Quentin turns towards Huark, "I have a few questions for you. Starting with where did you find Cup, what is Cup to you, why were you hiding Cup, and what exactly you were arguing with Cup about?" 

Huark yawns, wrapping himself up in Tagec's rug and curling up by the fire. "Huark hear fight, go see. Bad elfs kicking Cup. Huark chase away, take Cup home, find healer. Feed. Work, buy Cup nice things. Cup so little and fuzzy and..." his brow wrinkles for a while, as if he is trying to find a word he barely knows the meaning of. "...cute. Cup smart. Huark pay for Cup school. Cup not like. Big fight. In morning, Cup gone. Cup not come home. Next day, Huark go look for Cup."