"Should we split up, or stay together? We need to cover both sides of the river." Slurb asks.

Khan muses, speaking in wandering tones, "I was lead to believe the spirit only screams when she arrives in town. Certainly, if I knew of a party of unfamiliar faces digging deep into history that I would prefer stayed buried, I would send them on a wild goose chase, perhaps never to be heard of again."

He scoffs, "A marked grave? For a witch? Surely they could have thought of a better lie than that. If you are experienced at dealing with their sort, you know that nobles speak lies every second breath—and the only way to keep them honest is to stop them from drawing a third."

Fallion frowns at Khan's words. Though he wears no coat of arms or house sigil, his clothes are clearly more detailed than the average adventurer, the light leather armor he wears has silver embroidery on the edges and the pommels of his blades are intricately carved in the design of a mare's head. "You realize you are speaking to a knight errant? I am a noble. You think it wise to accuse my 'kind' of being made up of charlatans?" He stares at Khan hard, for a good few seconds in silence.

Then he shakes his head in disappointment and continues. "You understand nothing. Nobles are not fools, far from it. They carry the responsibility of governing a region, and some take their tasks seriously. Trajan - the one in charge of this area - is no fool. He gains nothing from deceiving me and risking ire from my house. Do you understand now? I do not have the time nor patience to fully educate you on this matter. Suffice it to say they believe every word they said."

"Perhaps instead of questioning my competence, you should enlighten me on what information you gathered from the mad exorcist?"

Slurb interrupts them before a fight breaks out, saying, "The information we got from the Exorcist mainly consisted of that we can't fight the spirit in the square, and that we need to kill her at her grave. And that her touch corrupts, along with one other thing. She also screams, and her screams can make you go mad. That's about it, before he went crazy, and we had to kill him."

Khan shrugs insolently, though his small smile becomes a frown as Slurb interrupts. His gaze slowly drifts back to Fallion before he speaks, this time in a more serious tone, "Believe what you will, I simply wish to consider all the possibilities—it's difficult to be too careful in a town like this. Very well. If you trust his words, then let's see if we can find her grave and put her soul to rest. I do agree with you on one point: tonight, I much prefer to talk than to kill."

He just looks disappointed by Khan's logic. "You're a fool for trying to provoke your fellow man, tonight of all nights. But enough. Are there any further objections? Any other plan?" He says to the rest of the group.

"At this point, I believe that our plan is go to the witches grave, kill the undead spirit, and then celebrate with the citizens." Slurb says.

Mordekai follows the back and forth for a bit and finally adds, "I think heading out now ahead of the spirit is a good idea. I am curious how you think we will be able to negotiate with her. In my experience with the beyond and from what I've heard here, a spirit like her is pretty hostile." 

He will start to head towards the river as we chat. 

Fallion walks along as well near the front, following the route to the bank of the river and then away from the town. As he walks, he tries to make out what he can from the light of the setting sun and rising moon, keeping watch for anything that resembles a grave. It's at times like these that the difference between him and his adoptive family becomes painfully clear.

"Diplomacy is much like dragonchess... The first moves are the most important. One must establish intent, poise, set the tone of the conversation before it even begins. We will first make an offering to the witch in accord with local traditions, then set a portion of rations out for each of us. We will imitate a feast to the best of our ability. If the specter has any shred of reason, they will realize the gesture as peaceful upon their return. With any luck, then we parlay."

(Perception? Assuming there's still enough lighting for his pleb human eyes... - 12)
(In case you need disadvantage, here's another - 10)

"Trying to negotiate sounds like a smart course of action. What will you do if it fails though? From what we've heard people have gone crazy just from hearing her scream. I don't want you all to go crazy before the fight has even begun, shall it get to it. You need to have a plan for when things go wrong, a better plan than 'we just kill her'."

Fallion traces his fingers along the mare shaped pommel of one of his swords in silence for a few moments. He carefully considers what he would do to counteract a vengeful spirit in practical terms. (Arcana check maybe? 24)

Slurb suggest (if we have one) our cleric to bless our weapons so that they are now magical.

Mordekai turns to Limine, "Well, we have our ear plugs if things aren't looking good. To be honest, though, I think the only solution is to destroy her tether to this world through magic. (In other words, blast her to bits). 

He then turns to Slurb, jutting his head to the shield on his back with a giant symbol of Mystra. "The knowing lady will guide us out of this darkness and into the light. When the time comes, we will have her blessing."

The party exits the gates of Trishdale, which are locked behind them by a skeleton crew of guards. From there, they follow the murky river downstream into the Corrupted Forest. 

The surrounding woods are thick and eerily silent. The party travels for about half an hour- a gloomy twilight takes over, but even that will not last. Fallion scours his mind for any scraps of knowledge regarding laying a vengeful spirit to rest. While holy water immediately springs to mind, he remembers an old tale about an exorcist who defeated a spirit by finding it's corpse and burning it. 

(Disadvantage on Perception checks for those without darkvision) 

As the party walks among the ancient trees, they spot something strange in the distance. 

A small grove of trees have taken an especially twisted shape, curling among each other as they shoot upwards. From this angle, it look as if it was a clawed hand, rising from the ground towards the sky. 

"Oh this looks promising." Seeing some of his struggling in the dark, he will cast light on Fallion. "Walk in the light my friend." 

He then takes out his shield and heads into the grove, looking for her grave. 

(Perception: 4 or Investigation: 5)

(Or if you just want our passives, Perception: 12 and Investigation: 13)

Slurb thinks about this for a minute, and thinks about what he has heard about the spirits that haunt the woods. 

History check: 17

Fallion will also walk into the grove of twisted trees, already feeling a shiver run down his spine. (I'll use the passives if I can. Let me know if you need a roll)

Khan smiles as they walk deeper into the forest, "Let's not give up on talking just yet. Some spirits can be downright reasonable."

He'll try to move as quietly as he can as they proceed. Stealth: 10

Scab gives a disapproving sigh at anyone attempting to approach, waving them off, but it sounds more like a retch. "Scab's the best scout 'round here," stopping the very loud Khan before he can go any closer. 

The tiny Kobold rapidly scampers on all fours, getting closer to the grove, giving it a once-over before walking around the base of the grove. It's clear he has experience working in this fashion. He also takes a moment to investigate the strange trees, noting if he'd seen something like it while surviving in the Corrupted Forest.

Stealth - 23
Nature? - 10

Slurb confers with Fallion and Khan as they walk. "I think I can talk her out of this. I have managed to talk my way out of tricky situations before."