Rose considers for a moment the options laid out before her. Waterdeep seemed as likely a place as any to get help, and the idea of Nana making the trip alone worried her despite knowing she was powerful in her own right. However leaving entirely didn't seem like an option, surely whatever the cause of this madness was it would be nearby. Turning to her companions and wondering if they would even be up to a trip as long as the road to Waterdeep she sighed. Well, I think we should stay for now. Perhaps set up a camp outside the city to act as a staging ground. We could get it ready for whatever help you can bring back. Though I must warn you Nana there were drow in the woods. The roads aren't safe, so if you're going to make this trip do be careful. I'll wake Belle and get the others a little further away from the city, we can take care of the few people we have with us and if we decide to follow you we'll catch up on the road.

With her opinion states Rose will try to wake up Belle and fill her in on all thats occurring and to get her to follow Rose away from the city, promising they would all get some rest soon. After that they could discuss future plans in more detail.

"Hmmrrrggrrrr," Bellerain grumbles as she's roused form her sleep.  She squirms on the ground a few times before finally pushing herself up to her knees.  "Oh gods... I think I feel more tired than when I went to sleep."  The Satyr rubs her eyes and yawns as she listens to Rose, and then she gets to her feet hooves.  "Alright.  I'll need to rest longer once we find a place to hole up.  I can prepare some spells for better dealing with this phenomenon as well."

Bell then spots Ylnira, and her ears perk up.  "... Oh!  Rose!  What did I tell you about making new friends without me?!" she exclaims, bounding over to the newcomer.  "Hiya!  My name's Bellerain!"  The Satyr extends her hand.

Trying to at least raise herself up into a sitting position, Fallan says to Rose. "Yeah, a camp sounds better than a long trek anywhere. Of course, a camp may become a target for the drow, but let's wait and see what comes to us. Is there some way we can identify the "edge" of the cursed area (preferably WITHOUT suffering from it ourselves) to see if it is expanding, or easily identifiable as to where its boundaries are?" To Bell, she says: "How can you POSSIBLY bounce around like that when you drink so much from that flask?" To the newcomer, she merely nods and says: "Oh, hi."

Bellerain rubs the back of her head as she grins a Fallan.  "I pace myself, hehee..."

Ylnira treats the exuberant Satyr to a calm nod in thanks before extending her own hand to shake. Her grip is strangely strong for one of such limber build. "Greetings, Bellerain. You seem to have woken quite rapidly from whatever slumber had befallen you," she comments, noting the Satyr's strange enthusiasm. Ylnira's demeanor, on the contrary, is perfectly calm and resolute. 

"I witnessed signs of a struggle some ways away," Ylnira comments. "I suppose it may have been your ambush. Very well - you all seem to have a better grasp on the situation than I do. I will be happy to accompany and aid you with your decisions. 

After Bell bouncily greets the newcomer, and otherwise exerts herself having only truly laid down for half to three fourths of an hour at best, and during the handshake, Bell feels what can only be described as heart-flutters - the heart beating rapidly and feeling minor pain for the next few minutes. With Nana gone, the party would only have to pick up the older woman, the caretaker of the temple, and Yin likely offering to help, the woman weighing barely more than a child in her old age.

Regardless, one way or another, after about an hour of walking (mostly due to Fallans sloggish motions, thanks to her lovely gut) but without Fallans question ever even being speculated on by any of the players (yet) you all make it almost back to where the ambush had happened feeling that it would be far enough away to allow for some rest. Yin being the only viable person to stand watch, as everyone else was still suffering from exhaustion. The old woman, who later identified herself as Ballerie to Yin when she woke up at some point during this time. The woman would appear confused at how she had gotten there, but recognizing Rose and Nana seemed to calm her a bit.

Having laid back down once here, Rose, Fallan, and Bell all began to stir within a few moments of each-other, (for convenience of story on forum sake) stirring to a warm, comfortable night, though their bodies felt stiff from lack of even the most minor comforts. You all felt it was likely before the middle of the night but not by much. Everyone starting to regain consciousness, Fallan no longer feeling 'heavy' though still remembering the hour it took to walk here in vivid recollection.

Bell was no longer exhausted but was quite 'dry' inside, as was Rose, who had yet to have anything to drink for an excessive period of time, and the only exception to this had been Yin, who likely still had 'supplies' on her person, though she wasn't able to leave to get water for the others as leaving them defenseless would likely have ended poorly.

Regardless, everyone is wither awake or regaining consciousness at this point, all but Yin and Fallan are starving, everyone, especially Rose and Fallan are feeling dehydrated but you all feel your energy restored, and the night is still somewhat young. And no one seems to feel the tug of whatever is going on in Silverymoon.

Please discuss among yourselves your next step, once i have atleast a 50% consensus i can assume the next move.

Once awake the first thing Rose does is eat and drink, desperate for some relief. Only then can she finally truly sit back and try to take stock of things. Well, I suppose we should figure out what to do. If we wanted to go to Waterdeep for help we could probably catch up with Nana but the journey will be long. As long as we are taking care of these survivors here it'll also be a slow journey. We could always drop them off at Thundertree however. But I worry what will happen in the city if we aren't here. There has to be a source of this madness, either in the city or close by. If we can find out what it is we may be able to figure out how to counteract it. If I had to vote, I'd say we should stay here. We set up camp to use as a base of operations, we can bring those we cure back here and will have a place to regroup should something occur. Then we can start trying to figure out what's going on and how to stop it. We should also build defenses of we plan to keep camp. We may have fought off the drow once but they aren't the only dangers in the area. If the trolls or orcs learn Silverymoon is weak, they may just take it as an opportunity to attack. Anyway I'm open to suggestions on what to do but I say we stay. 

"I say we stay as well.  I can cast Detect Magic as well as Detect Poison.  That should be enough to start to get an idea of what this effect is.  I'm worried that going in and out to retrieve survivors will be a futile effort... we'll probably save more people if we just hunt down the source and stop it," Bell says, taking bites of ration between words and sentences, drinking form her alchemy jug.  She offers to pass the jug around.  "It's water today, just so you guys know."

"My feet vote with Rose. No more walking, at least for a while." Fallan said while rubbing the soles of her feet, and occasionally her tummy as well. She glances at Bell and just has an overall body shiver as she considers the combination of rations and anything that comes out of Bell's jug. "Water or not, keep that thing away from me... at least until I have had a proper solid meal!". After a few moments, waiting for other votes to be voiced, she continues: "How do we plan on determining the source of the town's problem, and how would we know if it is increasing the area being affected?"

Ballerie  relaxed nearby, i nthe center of the party, as she felt exposed otherwise considering her age and frailty, even a commoner could take more punishment than she could. she seemed hungry and tired but in the mental sense. However her mind was clear, and she was sucking in air through her teeth as the party spoke of their next steps, which seemed more or less geared towards staying to help the town, though not everyone agreed on exactly how it should be done. Bell seemed fr more eager to just 'get to the root of it' despite the party knowing little about the situation, but had made a prudent suggestion to test the area's outer limits with several spells so the party could atleast determine the exact nature of... whatever it was.

Rose and Fallan seemed more intent on helping the people  with Fallan leaning more towards making her own job easier in general. Yin had yet to chime in on her personal take on how the party should go forward so Ballerie cleared her throat and chimed in. Well in all my years youngins, I have never experienced such things before. I don't think whatever this is is nessecarily bad in and of itself, after-all it didn't make me try to murder anyone, but it seems to have the power to be bad - I'm not quite sure how to explain what I'm trying to say. And little one, the one you call Bell has suggested a way to do it, silly goose. I see that you are all out of food.. and i have only this half-loaf of bread but it should keep you from being hungry .. atleast for a few more hours. Whatever you choose to do, may Selune's blessing be with you. Remember to commune with whomever you choose to follow if anyone, as sometimes they are active and othertimes they wait for you to come to them.

And sometimes even if you do, they choose either to not answer or answer in riddles. If  you choose to help people before focusing on the.. issue send them to Everlund, it's a little off the main path but it's not that far off.. and  a large enough group of people may pass unharassed, but if you choose to seek out the source, make haste with your investigations, as soon as Rose's spell wore off.... i felt the tug on my mind, and i wanted to help...

Rose nods in agreement. I agree, anyone we save should head to Everlund. The city should be safe enough though I suppose its possible they are suffering from the same madness. It might be a good idea for us to go check first. For now however....I'm starving and we have no food besides that bread. Don't suppose any of you know how to hunt?

"I'm not a magic-user. Just how long would those "detect" spells last, Bell? How far would we be able to get before they cease to work? And do we think they will tell us the SOURCE of the trouble, or just exactly WHAT KIND of trouble we are facing?" Fallan asks. "I think Rose may be on to something. If Everlund is also affected, Bell's ideas can be used there. If not, we have escorted the others to a safe place where we can likely *get good food*, and then return. How long would a trip to Everlund take, and what do we think is likely to happen HERE during the round trip plus meal time we might be away?" The hobbit's returning feistiness seems to indicate her recovery has progressed significantly.

Bell thinks for a few moments.  "Alright, I think I agree on heading to Everlund.  As far as my spells, they last about 10 min and I can use them about 6 times all together.  If it's a poison, it it should reveal what type it is, and if it's magic, I'll know it's school.  Considering that, even if we don't spend time mapping the border of the effect, I should still get close enough once just to identify the phenomenon.  If two of us want to start escorting the folks to Everlund, one of you can come with me just to detect the effect and then we'll catch up.  Is that alright?"

Rose nods in agreement. That sounds like a good idea. I can escort these people to Everlund and get them set up. I suggest Ylnira stay to assist you and Fallan come with me but I'll leave that decision to them. But we need still need some food to see us on our way. And to answer your question Fallan, the road to Everlund runs through the Everlund pass. Its about 50 miles so it normally takes two days to get there. So we should try to gather enough food for the trip. Once there we can buy enough provisions and perhaps even a cart to lug back supplies. Then we can get a proper camp going. In fact Belle, if you want to give us some of your coin so we can buy more supplies it would go along way.

Ynirla remains oddly silent for the last while, as does the older lady, Ballerie - Allowing everyone to decide what they were going to do. Ultimately for fear of further 'drow issues' the party spends the rest of the night together for safety, if nothing else. Ynirla forced to share her rations (much to Fallans Chagrin) lest everyone starve (-5 rations) but atleast everyone got to eat 'something' and using Bells jug everyone (except perhaps Fallan?) was able to get some fresh water in the morning, as the night proved uneventful.

The morning was cool enough to be comfortable, as the sun Rose in the sky, lighting the land, and touching it with its vibrant rays. The nearby forests filtering enough of the light that it wasn't blinding. After some discussion, Rose and Fallan, along with Ballerie, ultimately choose to go towards Everlund to make sure that it was truly a safe place to go, and Fallan not wanting to head back into the 'danger zone' just yet.

Yin and Bell ultimately choosing to head towards the city of Silverymoon as the pair would likely need to stick together.. and as the only two to really 'resist' the effects Ultimately leaving Fallan with 'the new girl' 

Yin and Fallan both begin heading south along the road towards Everlund.

Meanwhile Rose and Bell head back towards the city

About three hours into the trip, Rose and Fallan spot some people walking up the road, it's a group of roughly twelve men and women of varying sizes - Including two water genasi, all of them wearing attire one would normally see on fishermen, pirates, and other water-based lifestyles.

Bell walks a ways back towards the city, with Yin in tow and casts detect magic as the pair sprint towards the city to best use the effects duration. However, during this time, Bell senses no magic along the path they take.

How do you all proceed?

Rose skows her pace upon seeing the group and turns to Fallan. They look normal enough so hopefully that's a good sign. Let's see if we can figure out where they came from and where they are going. Just uh, well be ready for anything. Rose would wait long enough for Fallan to reply but if she didn't or didn't try to convince her not to approach Rose would continue on the path and hail the travelrs. Hello fellow wayfarers! Don't suppose you come from the direction of Everlund by any chance? Would you have any news from there or from along the road?

"Sure" Fallan replies to Rose. "If nothing else, they may have food with them we could buy or share. They look like they may always have some fish with them, at least." She nods at the group as Rose inquires about news from Everlund and scans the crowd, watching for any of them that might seem shady or scary.

Bell switches between detect magic and detect poison as she goes.  Definitely not sprinting.  “Stay a bit behind me Yin... if I enter the area of that effect and start acting weird, I’ll need you to try and pull me out.  Or at least not get trapped in it yourself so you can get help or something.”

Ylnira calmly walks alongside Bell for the duration of the journey. Strangely, Ylnira's gait is surprisingly spry - despite the attire she wears, she is clearly no ordinary healer as she barely breaks a sweat to keep up with Bell. She narrows her eyes as her expression creases while she looks onwards at the afflicted area. "I suppose I will request the same if I fall under whatever effect is afflicting the area. Strange; I have never seen anything like this before." 

The rather large group of travelers continues their quickly-casual pace along the road heading towards Silverymoon and though they had noticed Rose and Fallan previously - When Rose hails them, the man leading the pack raises a hand in reply, as do several of the others, though not all. Hail and well met fellow hmm... Fellow travelers! having had to pause momentarily to consider whether or not to call them merchants, peddlers, etc as he sized them up, ultimately deciding on travelers as the most neutral guess. It has been a long while since last we saw anyone along this road since leaving Yartar. Mmmh... We heard tales there were attacks along the road, yet we'vebeen here for days and seen nothing but what appears to be an abandoned path, until we came across you two atleast. the first one waived the others to be quiet though when Rose asked her followup question - Specifically Everlund. The mans face brightened with a sudden thought....

We had been there, yes though we didn't stay long. They shooed us away calling us fish-beggars.... but we have to deliver something to someone within Everlund ... so we thought to seek out the aid of someone less... Fishbeggary in Silverymoon to deliver it for us in our stead. It's very important and we saw no other way. And we figured travelling in a group this large that we'd be unlikely to be assailed by anything more intelligent than an owlbear.  Um.... Perhaps .. could we convince you to deliver our package in our stead?

Fallans nose would likely detect the faint scent of salted fish at some point in the conversation, wafting from the group of mostly men, with only two women among them. The group itself was fairly well armed, as to better fit their story of 'traveling in groups for security.'

Meanwhile with Bell and Yin, performing a slow circle-dance and rotating detection spells every time both have been checked in an area, by the fourth casting (two of each) Bell is walking at a swift jog when she feels  her 'sensors' go off as the detect poison spell begins to flare within her mind not overly-far from where the parties camp had been the night prior. By now the sun was heading towards its apex but was still only at the nine at best. And taking a few more steps forward senses that the further in she moves, the more of her 'sensors' go off. In more understandable terms she feels as if a gas is entering her field of view and the further she goes in the more of it she can sense.

Every step further in it gets slowly but surely thicker, and pausing to see if it was 'moving' at all, she could tell that the area was almost imperceptibly growing with every passing second. The poison itself wasn't dangerous in the way of, for example being an assassins poison meant for a monarch, but it clouded the mind in ways even her spell couldn't' fully perceive.. as if the poison itself had no singular, distinct purpose. And anytime Bell thought about something the poison seemed to shift with that thought. The poison itself could only be described as Chaos, and in Bells mind though she had never before seen it, a symbol appeared in her mind until the spell finally left.