Brand hefts a sizeable branch over a shoulder and drags a hunk of trunk behind him, "Let's go. I need to get paid for this trouble."

//Did that tree talk? No, can't be. So much hassle for wood. Not even enough for a decent mast in the whole thing. Maybe a hull plank or two.//

Skabb follows his party out of the woods. On the way home he starts babbling on about the ruins below the city. "Ancient as the city itself.. Almost no-one knows about them.. We should arrange an expedition... We need funds.. Do we need assistance?..." The journey back do Dorborden is sprinkled with phrases like this, but it seems that Skabb is mostly thinking out loud not really expecting any answer. 

//Damn cat. Nonsense about cities beneath cities.//

Brand seems slightly at peace away from civilization. Fewer minds meant fewer intrusive voices.

Jiron raised his hands in apology to Skritch. "Sorry, I'm just not that experienced with powerful beings like Baba Aga or your... Mistress," he explains.

Upon spotting the little bushel of pixie dust, the artificer moves in to investigate. "Not enough to test out the bag, but might prove of some use..." he mutters as he takes out a pouch. He locks eyes with any pixies in the area, and even if there aren't any, he'll simply mutter into the empty woods. "If I may," he says as he brushes the pile of magic dust into the little bag. "Thank you," he replies before jogging to rejoin the group.

Upon hearing Brand's thoughts, which Jiron believes is just the minotaur speaking, his interest is peaked. "Wait, you heard that murder tree speak?" the young man's fear of his towering companion temporarily fading. //I wish he wasn't always so rude...// Jiron thinks to himself at the comment about Skabb, unaware that Brand may be able to hear him.

(Checking before I post: everyone is good to head back home?)

((If we don't get pulled away to hunt fairies, then sure.))

Brand eyes Jiron sidelong, "Who said anything about a tree talking? He things don't talk, they just grow, sway, and fall."

((Sorry about the confusion, Jiron will just gather what little he found and continue on with the others. If he can't find more soon, he can just come back when we have more time.))

((Just a heads up, I'll be heading out of town today and my internet availability will be a bit spotty until Monday.))

((This is okay! I may put this game on pause then until Monday. I have a Disney trip on Wednesday to Sunday, so I will be MIA myself. I'll set-up some big posts and allow you guys to roleplay more freely while I'm gone if that sounds good?))

((But I will, at least when I get a chance, put you all back in Dorborden!))

Once you've collected everything and set-out, you make it back to civilization easy enough. As you traveled through the forest, Brand felt eyes on him. Watching him. Woodland creatures seemed to keep their distance as well as potentially dangerous enemies.

Arcana - 15 to assess why this might be. Successful check in spoiler:

You reach the northernmost tip of the Sanikra Ward slums. The outermost areas of these areas outside the wall are perhaps some of the more depressing places you could see. If the inhabitants are lucky they will at least have tents and bedrolls to house themselves as they attempt to earn enough money to put a real roof over their heads. You've all heard stories about how those who live in the outer wards are frightened of the night. At least now you have some inkling as to why. A few of you with good in your hearts might like to think you may have alleviated the problem. For now at least.

(Feel free to roleplay a bit here if you'd like, but then the following occurs:)

Skritch leads you all to the Faran tree. There he spots Davi, his dryad friend. They converse with each other, albeit slowly given Skritch's limited common and Davi's long drawl. Finally, it seems an understanding has been reached.

Davi informs you all...

1. Baba Aga is currently busy and in meetings with a few panicked city officials, but Davi will let her know of your success.
2. Davi has asked Baba Aga for details around the seed, red wood, and blight sticks. It would appear Baba Aga needs at least 5 days to set up the ritual. Normally, this would be a shorter amount of time, but given the events of Walpurgisnacht she can't promise anything too soon.
3. Baba Aga would like to meet with you all as a group before the ritual begins. You will come to the Faran Tree on the evening of the 5th day.

Once all that is said and done, Davi invites Skritch to watch the flowers grow, which Skritch happily accepts.

(Now be free to roleplay those days, work your jobs, do skills, or anything else! I'll be using those 5 days to also be on vacation. I can do some NPC-related stuff until Tuesday, but then I am off to Disney World. :) )

((Actually, Skritch would have supplied the 30gp on his own, likely once they delivered the supplies.))

((Mkay! Didn't want to seed a resentment cause I've seen it happen. If its 100% okay with you, then I will recon it.))

((It's cool. Skritch offered his friends 30 gold to help him out and he's completely okay with trading a sack of gold metal bits for getting his mistress back.))

After delivering the Gulthias lumber, and meeting the Dryad, Jiron returned to the Elder's Vault, where he continued with work as he could, though he spent a couple of days scouting out for anyone possibly selling Pixie Dust.

Work Shifts:

• Work Check-10 Payout- 15 +1 Loyalty Point
• Work Check-13 Payout- 16 +1 Loyalty Point
• Work Check-26 Payout- 16 +1 Loyalty Point

Investigation for Pixie Dust

• 15

While Jiron is out searching Dorborden for anyone who could possibly be selling pixie dust or something that could be used in it's place, the hobgoblin is finding himself growing more and more curious as to what sort of strange magics Baba Aga has mastered. This whole thing about the Chosen and the confusion about what the hag needed the Gulthias wood for, which Skritch told him with confidence was not a resurrection ritual, had his head spinning so much he could barely focus on work or finding materials for his string theory experiment.

"Booyahn!" echoed from behind Jiron, and he twirled around to see a slimy green frogman with a Chosen mark on his shoulder bounding towards him. The tinkerer breathed a sigh of relief. It was Ledo, the grung he had met after Walpurgisnacht. Jiron smiled as his acquaintance approached. It seemed as though Father had never made himself known in the depths of the Bajuka Bog, where Ledo said he'd grown up.

"Hello Ledo..." Jiron started. He was still unsure how to comfortably interact with people he met here in this city, who he hadn't been forced into a situation where he grew to know them like with Skabb and Skritch. Nonetheless, the hobgoblin tried. "How has the world been treating you since the festival?"

The frog smiled at the hobgoblin. "Well enough I suppose. It's strange, before I was just another face in the crowd, whether not it was a common one. Now, it feels like people expect me to be handing out blessings or something. I've even had some... less than wise people attempt to lay a hand on my mark, which... heh..." Ledo let the light reflect off the slimy toxins on his skin, "Isn't the best idea in the world.

"Anyway, that's not why I wanted to talk to you..."

"Oh?" Jiron was genuinely surprised. Outside of Zellix and the small friend group he had fallen into, he had found that no one in the city had much reason or interest in talking to him. Then again, he supposed that had likely changed after Walpurgisnacht, and the hobgoblin once again became uncomfortably aware of the eyes gathering on the two conversing Chosen, and faint whispering passing around them.

"Nope!" the frog yipped. He seemed to have adapted to the extra attention far faster than Jiron had, and had a knack of snapping him out of the panic attacks that it ensued. "I just happened to see you and thought that my friends might want to meet you."

"Friends?" As far as Jiron could see, Ledo was alone.

//Indeed// Jiron jumped as he felt a hand grasp his shoulder. As he turned around he saw a four armed insectoid looking creature in simple, yet seemingly refined, animal skin clothing. The hobgoblin watched in amazement watched in amazement as the mantis creature bowed to him.

//My apologies, Chosen-of-Oethea, I did not mean to startle you. I am Xilxa, one of the friends Chosen Ledu speaks of.//

Jiron looked the Xilxa up and down as he... she... they? straightened. As if the insectoid had read his mind, Jiron heard chuckling, though the mandibles were not moving.

//We Thri-Kreen do not have what you refer to as gender//

Jiron looked around at the people surrounding him, immensely creeped out by the entire situation. "H-How do you know what I was th-thinking?"

Just then the tinkerer felt a sleeved elbow nudge his knee. "He's telepathic," Ledo explained. "Most Thri-Kreen are..."

//Indeed, and though not from my kinsmen, I believe you have already experienced another with the ability...//

Jiron shook his head, now even more confused than before Ledo had shown up. "You said you were one of Ledo's friends?"

Ledo rubbed his four limbed hands together. "Yep, although, I don't where Bror wandered off to..."

//He is here// echoed the voice of Xilxa, sending more shivers down the hobgoblin's spine.

With a resounding clang, a massive polearm slammed into the ground next to Jiron, as the sun disappeared from above him.

"You needn't rat me out so readily, bug!" boomed a deep, gravelly voice. Looking up, Jiron saw a ginormous figure, even taller than Brand, towering over him with crooked, yellow teeth, and glowing, pupiless eyes.

//You seem to be scaring Ledo's acquaintance...// the Thri-Kreen replied, unreactively.

Bror grumbled as he stepped back from the hobgoblin, who was stiffling a scream at the sight of the towering, blue skinned figure with a giant glaive, though through his paralysis, he was able to note that neither Bror nor Xilxa had Chosen marks that he could see. 

Ledo waddled up next to the terrified tinkerer. "Don't mind him Jiron, he's just grumpy because the guard is still contemplating whether they want to recruit an Oni or not."

"O-Okay..."

Bror huffed, puffing a lock of bone white hair out of his face. "Alright, Ledo, we've met him, now can we go on with out lives?"

Jiron smiled sheepishly. "Y-Yes, well, i-its been lovely seeing you again, Ledo, and meeting you friends, b-but I was actually out doing some shopping..."

"Oh," the green grung replied, looking apologetic. "Well, I'm sorry for interrupting you. Let's go guys!"

Jiron shook his head as the frog, Thri-kreen, and giant padded away, and slowly staggered away from the shock inducing meeting to continue his search.

Skritch will spend the next few days wandering the city, looking for a building with a relatively high tower room to call his own. Between quests for lodging, he will occasionally try to meet up with the dryad, Davi, at the tree-man's little meditation garden for some slight social interaction, as Davi's slow drawling speech is a fine break from the bustle of this monster metropolis. Having been a few days since the festival night when the Chosen were revealed, Skritch will keep a keen eye on how the social dynamics of the city might be changing. Are some Chosen walking about, brazenly displaying their marks and powers to the delight of onlookers and hangers-on? Are there whispers in the crowd of discontent of some being "chosen" over others? These are things Skritch ponders as he winds through the bustling streets and narrow alleys. Well, that and the occasional meal. The Smiling Gnoll, Skritch's current touchstone location, seems generally as busy as ever. Slowly becoming something of a regular, the aven adventurer will set himself up behind a table for the evening and enjoy the food and the occasional visit from one of his friends.

(HeroSmith, I love these NPCs! I am going to make note of them somewhere. Let me know if you have any ideas about them and I'll fit them into the narrative a bit more!)

Despite his jostled thoughts from being introduced to Ledo's strange friends, Jiron finds a handful of shops in the Ayabis Ward that carry Pixie Dust. They all quote him a similar price - 100g. 

(If you'd like to haggle or anything, roll me a d20, then roll me a persuasion...)

Skritch's time spent observing the city informs him well of the ever-evolving situation with the Chosen. 

There are quite a few Chosen who seem to be showing off their marks to any eyes willing to look - and there are plenty of eyes. By Skritch's estimation, there should be a couple hundred Chosen in the city. A few of the Chosen are well-known to citizens of Dorborden, as they are politicians or other famous folks of the 'soft' variety. Skritch has spotted a handful of Chosen who seem to use these powers to perform street magic, music, and other sorts of entertainment. 

There hasn't yet been any in fighting with the Chosen or between Chosen and everyone else. Instead, the only negativity seems to be the confusion about a traitor. Whispers of a Betrayer who may cause Dorborden's demise. However, this is treated more like a zesty rumor rife with drama and story - nothing that will actually ever happen. Even with a traitor on the loose, there are more Chosen who serve and love Oethea among us than not!

(When ready, I can fast forward time to the meeting with the Witch... or you guys can go looking for trouble/jobs!)

((Right now Skritch is looking for a place to call home that isn't some random rooftop. What sort of options and landlords has he run across?))

Brand returned from the Gulthias outing distracted from the others. He didn't even push for added payment when business was done. Instead, he went straight to  the docks and proceeded searching for a familiar ship captained by a harpy. It wasn't glorious work scrubbing a deck, but it got him off land.