Rixton will try to identify the liquid inside the flask

Arcana: 18

"I should like this ring," he says of the ring of evasion.

He also piles together the daggers, light crossbow, bolts, silken rope, and tinker's tools. "I've an interest in these, if no one else does," he says. "And we could sell the armor and mace if anyone cares to carry it."

Relieved at how quickly the battle ended (for now) Gwin takes a moment to light a stick of incense and send up prayers of gratitude to her god. Seeing that Rixton identified and took a liking to the ring, the cleric picks up the shield and hands it to Mola. I have no need for this. If you will have it, it is yours. And I'm sure we could add the armor and mace to Steveaustin's pack.

“That is fine by me. Dendros, are you okay? We didn’t mean to start a conflict but they really forced the issue. Are we close to their territory? Does anyone know what they were doing here? I hope they don’t know we are coming.”

What time of day is it? Mola tries out the shield and hopes this turns into a short rest.

Rixton nods. "A rest might be appropriate but we are still missing our wizard..."

“That is fine by me. Dendros, are you okay? We didn’t mean to start a conflict but they really forced the issue. Are we close to their territory? Does anyone know what they were doing here? I hope they don’t know we are coming.”

"Close to their territory?" repeats Dendros. "We are two days from the Grandfather Tree, but Tree Ghosts consider all of the High Forest their home."

Rixton, after a minute or two, is quite certain the flask contains holy water. The fact that the liquid hasn't evaporated is a testimony to the quality of the flask. The horses and Tarnie easily take on the added weight from the armor and weapons that are no longer needed by the slain Tree Ghosts and the yikaria.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

The search for Jheric proves fruitless. There's no sign of him in or around the tower, and Dendros's communication with the nearby trees reveals nothing. The symbol seemingly responsible for his disappearance offers no help. The party members set a variety of items on the symbol, but nothing happens. The items remain where they are. It seems this particular symbol operates under different parameters...

Eventually, Dendros comments, "I have heard of a tower like this one, far to the south, near Delimbiyr Vale. Many moons away."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Within a few hours the strange tower is miles away, and the group sets up camp for the evening. Dendros is quiet, possibly pondering what transpired in and around the tower earlier in the day. The party members take turns at keeping watch, but the evening and night hours pass without incident. Dawn arrives, gloomy and cool, despite the fact that many days of summer remain. The morning meal is simple, and clean up is quick, but before it is done Aralea suddenly says, "Friends, wait here. Will you, please?" With a mild look of concern on her face, she grabs her longbow and strides into the early morning shadows. She glances back a few times to make sure no one is following her. 

As she walks away, Dendros, as softly as a treant can, says, "Others are approaching. The trees tell me this. Do you hear the strange bird call?"

Dendros confirms what the other party members had been thinking: someone, not too distant, is making an artificial bird call. It is a signal of some sort, and Aralea is responding to it. 

Ten minutes of suspense before Aralea returns. She is not alone. Next to her stands a human male, clad in chain mail and armed with a longsword and a light crossbow. Motioning to the stranger, she says, "Meet Rawley, my friends. He is, as you've likely guessed, part of the Enclave. I am, as you are, surprised to find him here in the High Forest."

Rawley nods to the members of the party but says nothing, for he understands that Aralea has more to say, and that none of it will be said easily. Aralea explains, "I am now called elsewhere, friends. My faction's leadership demands it; neither my anger nor my pleas persuaded them otherwise. You must know that I am grieved by this."

Doing an admirable job of controlling her emotions, she continues, "My only consolation in this is Rawley. I must leave you, but the Enclave understands the importance of what you are doing; so, they have commissioned him to replace me. I assure you his blade and bow will serve you as well as mine have."

After a long pause, she concludes, "How I hope to cross your path in the future." 

 Edited the post above to reflect responses to most recent posts from Rixton and Mola... 

Rixton will give the holy water to Gwin.

Rixton frowns but nods.  He shakes Rawley's hand silently as he is introduced but otherwise merely keeps his eyes trained on the new man in careful study.

"Farewell, Aralea," he says at long last. "I am sorry to see you go. I do hope we cross paths again some day."

After she leaves, as they make camp for the night, the rogue broods. He shakes his head once in a while as he wrestles with something. Eventually, he turns to the new man, saying, "There is no way we can trust each other. We have only Aralea's word you can be trusted. In normal circumstances, this would be enough. But earlier today we encountered a creature that can steal the body of a man. I can find no reason to cleanse you of suspicion of such infiltration. And you, by the way, should be equally suspicious of us, Aralea included."

The rogue sighs. "We had a closed system of trust and a method to ensure that could remain strong. Now..." He just shakes his head in disappointment.

“Perhaps I can dispel the magic, if someone is possessed,” Mola says to himself.

”Rawley what is your story? Where are you from? Let’s start there. Maybe we know some of the same people. That would help, Rixton, right?”

Rixton nods. "Extremely unlikely but yes, I had considered the same thing," the rogue says. "Dispelling might be an option, if it even works on this sort of magic. Some curses are too powerful for simple dispell magic. Sadly, we may be forced to maintain an uneasy alliance and build the trust from scratch."

Rawley nods and shakes the hands, then takes Aralea into a bearhug and stays that way for a good few seconds. "I am sorry. Stay safe."

He stays quiet most of the day, but by the way he handles himself it is clear that he is very much at home in this environment and makes the travel easier for everyone, including the pack animals. He seems to continue to produce small carrots for the horses throughout the day.

----

"I'm from near here, grew up near Neverwinter, spent my time around these areas. Most recently I'm from Phandalin. It's a small village west of Triboar. And I doubt we know the same people, but maybe."

He continues, "My story is that I'm here to help you with yours. I am as you see me, there is no deception here. If you wish to make sure in some magical way then please be my guest. I will submit myself willingly to such tests."

If anything of such happens then after that he says, "Aralea trusts you, so do I. But it would help if you filled me in on the target and why are we going the way we are."

Rixton begins pacing, his hands clasped behind his back and his eyes looking straight through the ground in front of his feet.

"The yikaria," Rixton says. "A new race, at least in this part of the world. Humanoid...yaks...I suppose. We have encountered only one. And they apparently have the power to take over the body of another. I did not see it happen, but my colleagues saw one emerge from a human."

The rogue swivels and paces back in the opposite direction, having walked the full length of camp, almost out of earshot, before turning around. He continues, saying, "They may have begun assaulting tribes and cities to the west, which is how we came to be involved. Associates of ours may have been...possessed...by these yikaria. They have no memory. Nor did Aralea, who may have been possessed as well. Why?" Rixton shakes his head. "Our associates attacked the Tribe of the Hand while under the sway of the yikaria...as we understand it. They likely have control of the Tree Ghosts or a significant portion of them, and thus the Grandfather Tree may also be compromised."

Having made several laps in his fugue state recounting the details so far, Rixton ends up back at the campfire. "And that is where we are headed. Straight into the heart of the Tree Ghost territory and likely this unknown enemy, the yikaria."

Rawley tracks Rixton with full attention and then says, "Ah, that explains your apprehension of me being my true self. Thank you for the explanation."

"Any idea how to de-possess someone? How did it happen with your associates or Aralea?"

Gwin gratefully accepts the flask of holy water from Rixton.

As she is introduced to Rawley, the cleric takes both of his hands in hers and shakes them vigorously. It's a great pleasure to meet you. As they say, make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other is mold. While still holding on to one of Rawley's hands, Gwin produces a feather and a large black pearl from her tunic. Winking at her new companion she says One can't be too careful these days, and in a lowered voice mutters a quick chant in an attempt to detect any spell that might be affecting him.

Turning to Aralea, Gwin asks the elf to kneel down so their faces are on level with one another. With a catch in her voice, the cleric lays a hand on the elf's head and utters a dwarvish blessing, May you be blessed with the spirit of the day, which is peace. The joy of the day, which is promise. And the heart of the day, which is love. With a final kiss on Aralea's forehead Gwin bids her farewell, sharing in the hope their paths cross again.

Rixton shakes his head at Rawley. "We do not know. We found them captured by the Tribe of the Hand, confused and amnesic."

"It seems like the yikaria would focus on possessing leaders, people able to make decisions for the Tree Ghosts. Those other Tree Ghosts, I'd guess, were just following orders, and obviously were not worth much to the yikaria, given the fact that it attacked the last one before he fled. I still don't know what it was doing, and honestly, I thought it would be stronger than it was. We felled it easily." Mola scratches his head.

"We may want to try to gather intelligence before we barge into their settlement. Listen in, find out what's going on, who's in charge, and if we can, who might be possessed. Did anyone see anything weird about the shaman before the yikaria vacated the premises? Maybe we could expel one of the yikaria from one of the leaders and show the rest of the Tree Ghosts what's going on, so we don't have to fight the whole tribe."

Mola's been a bit quiet, as he wanted to get to know Aralea better, before she left. This talking is him working his way through things.

Gwin's identify spell indicates that Rawley is free from any sort of magical effect or influence. 

Rixton stares into the sky for a long time while tucked into his bedroll. He has volunteered for the third shift but he might as well have taken the first one. Eventually, he passes into an anxious sleep until he is eventually woken for his turn on watch.

That first night with Rawley is uneventful; so too is the next day and the next night. The High Forest remains as gloomy and dense as ever, but nothing unusual or contrary steps out of its shadows to trouble the party. Dendros plods along, silently most of the time, as he leads the party toward the Grandfather Tree. Now and then, the treant stops to commune with a tree. Dendros seems completely insulated from the suspense that hangs over the party as they near their destination.

A few hours after midday (on the second day after Aralea's departure), Dendros remarks, "Very close now. The Grandfather Tree stands just ahead."

Before the Grandfather Tree is visible, however, the sounds of a skirmish reach the party's ears. The clash of steel on steel is unmistakable; so too is the harsh sound of yelling and the cry of battle. The party approaches from the south where they can see the massive trunk of the Grandfather Tree and the two rings of raised earth that encircle it. The inner ring contains four oak trees that would be considered enormous in their own right. They are dwarfed, however, by the ancient Grandfather Tree in the center. 

Within the inner ring can be seen a multitude of Tree Ghosts--twenty at least--who are engaged in battle with a large host of opposing barbarians who have taken positions to the east of the outer ring. Both the number and type of these opposing barbarians is difficult to determine, for there is simply too much distance and cover to allow the party members a clear view. A few dead can be seen lying between the inner and outer rings. For now, most of the combatants are relying upon shooting arrows at one another. Periodically, a javelin can be seen arcing through the air. 

As the others point out the Tree Ghosts to Rawley, he says, "Any idea what this is about?"

(ooc: looking at the map, are we almost under the crown of the tree? It's like .. 200 feet up in the air above us?)