The trip to Cambervale takes several hours but is uneventful. Unfortunately, the herbs the party is looking for aren't seen during the trip.

As the group arrives in Cambervale, the village appears to be in a state of verdant chaos.
A thick, circular wall of thorny vines surrounds a group of villagers, while a pair of badgers made of the same vines patrols around them.

Rocky looks at the vine wall and creatures and says, "While not related to the Singing Tree, this doesn't seem to be normal and I do have to wonder about the timing."

Caeldrim nods and says, “We need to help out, and I do agree the timing is strange whoever is behind this may have been the one to wake up the Singing Tree.”

OOC: Not going to bother with a map on roll20 for this fight since there is no map of the village in the module. However, will still be using roll20 for initiatives, attack rolls, etc...

"Seriously?" 

Barbara draws her weapon.

OOC: Init: 3

Hunter draws his brand new crossbow. "Looks like this might not be melee friendly... but I will charge right in as soon as you need me, Barby."

Amalar says, "We've got this." and takes a ready stance, looking prepared to do more of her elemental dancing.

Mix lags behind Barby a bit, but close enough to come running if she needs something from her.

OOC
Amalar: 5 (dex 16)
Hunter: 16 (dex 16)

  Joe expects this isn't as immediately bad as it seems, but still something that will inevitably end in attempted harm and something being really petulant about people not just rolling over and letting them have their way.

  "So... there is probably something else hiding who actually trapped those people lurking around.  Unless they ran off too look for more victims to imprison while loudly shouting how in the right they are for abusing the oh so dangerous and horrible helpless townsfolk that would stand no chance against a real badger instead of a twisted mockery of one."

  Like, ninety percent of anything with a nature aesthetic is basically cosplayers convinced they are the real deal.  Maybe true power lies in pretentiousness given how hard places like the Feywild lean into that particular brand of hypocrisy.

OOC: 7 Initiative.

Barby scans the area for the caster Joe's expecting to be lurking about.

"Those things don't look like they can shoot at all, so let them face our barrage as they approach, like we did with the boar."

Doubtful Barby's plan will survive till her spot in the initiative, though.  Oh well.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:43, Fri 11 Dec 2020.

OOC: Summary post from the Roll20 session

With the group able to easily dispatch the two Giant Bramble Badgers and the Wall of Vines, the group is able to rescue the villagers. They learn that the vine creations were sent by the Bramble King who is furious that his Bramble Crown has been stolen and one of the places he is searching is the village of Cambervale. The villagers offer the group an Alchemy Jug if they can end the threat that the Bramble King currently poses.

The group learns from an Elfmarked girl named Tremika that the Bramble King must be furious since something he greatly cared about was stolen from him and that normally he's nice and kind as he saved her and once she was recovered his creatures guided her to the Cambervale. She gets the party to promise to not harm the Bramble King in exchange for knowledge of the Bramble King's lair.

In route to the Bramble King's Liar, the group meets Daesanderena, an elven woman hailing from the Summer Lands. She explains a bit of the Bramble Crown's history to the group along with several possible threats like the Weft of Shadows and Catchweed who is the leader of the Children of the Briars. She also reveals that it was a primordial being that set up the Challenge of the Fang long ago and that entity has been dealt with, but that the only way to permanently stop the challenge would be to get several deities to work together to overpower the ancient ritual that created the challenge. Daesanderena also revealed that the wolves also risk an innocent that would starve to death if the wolves lose the challenge since the challenge rots any food the innocent would eat. She also offers 150gp if the group can give her a clipping from the Bramble Crown.

After the group reaches the lair of the Bramble King, they begin talks with the plant-based fey who learns that thorny people have just murdered one of his creations that was searching the overgrown Deepwood Tower. He has promised to not send any more of his creations to Cambervale while the group tries to recover his crown and promises them something wonderful if they are able to return his crown.
The Bramble King then provides accurate directions to the overgrown tower.
This message was lightly edited by the player at 22:42, Sun 20 Dec 2020.

Also Barby has learned that The Challenge is terrible for the wolves as well.  But does the wolf pup die if the challenge ends in victory for Civilization?  Or only if time runs out first?  Likely set up to make sure that the wolves and people can never be allies.

Once the group is out of ear-shot of the Bramble King, Barbara asks her team their opinions of the situation.

"Those people the Bramble King threatened looked to be in mortal peril.  If not from the poisonous thorns, or the unnatural magical constructs created by a terrible relic, then from their own panic.  Although I was considering some leniency for the Bramble King in light of his having once sheltered an orphan, I am now convinced that not only is he far too incompetent to be trusted with keeping a dangerous relic out of the hands of evil Fae forces, he is also criminally insane and may in short order be just as bad as those who stole it.  Should we recover the crown, it would both be irresponsible and unjust for us to return it to a would-be murderer.

"Moreover, I do not trust this other Fae that's eager to get a clipping from the crown.  Even if everything it told us is true, that does not mean that it can be trusted with someone who could use it to create another fell relic just because they gave us accurate information about two evil fae factions.  Or the request is a trick intended to get us to offend the Bramble King: once he notices his crown has been altered, he will become hostile and attack.  Something that I'm expecting to happen regardless of what we choose to do.  I'm not one to trust dangerous relic fragments in the hands of perfect strangers for any amount of gold.

"Even if we're all in agreement to not give a clipping to the pretty Fae, I'm torn on what is the wisest way to approach the Bramble King.  Should we claim to have attempted to recover the crown, but found that the enemy had taken so many clippings that it was in tatters before we arrived, then give The King a handful of ordinary brambles?  Should we take the crown to my kingdom's scholars to be carefully sapped of it's power?  Should we lure the King into a trap using the crown as bait?  Should we tell the King to his face that he has been judged unworthy of the crown, and he has been sentenced to a number of years of public service for his murderous act, and should he prove competent and sane at the end of his sentence his crown will be restored to him?  I realize that politically, assuming this Bramble King really is a monarch of some kind, such a measure is an act of war, but foolish is the one who would hand over a powerful weapon to an enemy already proven to use his power to harm.

"I have seen that you all are the kind of heroes who bravely face horrible monsters head-on rather than try to appease them for fear of their power.  But am I missing something in this situation?  Am I vastly overestimating our chances against the Bramble King's power and we have no recourse but to appease him now, hope that he stops being an insane, unreliable, murderous creature long enough for me to go fetch my parents' army to destroy him and his crown once and for all?  Can I live with how many villagers he will slay in the weeks it takes for me to fetch the army because he lost the damn crown again the same day it was returned to him?  No.  If I'm to fulfill my destiny as Agni's chosen, I can't just fall back on sending others to do the work of rescuing the people for me.  Even now, in asking you these questions, I must admit that I am no match for the dire decision laid before us and must rely on your collective wisdom."

Pyrus is shocked to see Barbara admit to anything less than perfect certainty.  He tries to lighten the mood by suggesting, "Wouldn't it just go to figure that after we come up with the perfect plan we find out that the baddies really did break the crown."
This message was last edited by the player at 06:13, Thu 17 Dec 2020.

Amalar says, "I appreciate you voicing your thoughts, Barby. Especially because I may have an insight into the Bramble King's behavior. Before I voice my thoughts, though, let me be clear: I agree that he is dangerous and probably should not have the crown back. Thing of it is, I believe the Bramble King is really a child who happens to appear as an adult. I don't know how he came to be the way he is, or how he got the crown, but although his acts could have hurt people or worse, I don't believe he had any idea the ramifications of his actions. He is very likely just a little boy under an odd curse of sorts, preventing him from being cared for properly. While it is just a feeling, it makes his actions make a lot of sense. To me, anyway."

Hunter frowns. This was not something he expected.

Amalar continues, "As for Daesanderena; none of us know her personally. It would be best if we simply do not approach them again if possible. And if we do, we will hopefully, by then, be able to say we don't have the crown or any shred of it."

Hunter says, "That last point brings up an important question: What if we decide to keep the crown? Do you think the crown can be trusted in the hands of capable heroes at least? I do. And yeah, I don't trust Daesanderena either. Though I do have an idea concerning the Fang Challenge, given what we heard. However, given that we don't know who is listening out in the open, I would rather write the idea down for you all once we are safely inside a room in civilization somewhere."

Caeldrim listens to the conversation going on and says, “I agree with Amalar that the Bramble King should probably be the Bramble Prince as his mind seem to be that of a child, he doesn't realize how dangerous his actions can be as he is probably underestimating what he can really do. His actions towards the orphaned girl were good. However, he is naive but sociable so it may be possible to convince him to use his powers to help the village of Cambervale. Keeping the crown for ourselves would make us oathbreakers since then the Bramble King would have grounds to attack the village. And our word as adventurers would mean less. While considering the ramifications of possible actions of others is good, we must also keep in mind how others will react to use based on what we do."

Caeldrim doesn't bother to admit that he wishes he knew more about the situation, right now there is not the time to try to research such things as he continues, “Furthermore, if the Bramble Crown is what Daesanderena claimed, and I have no reason to doubt her, then if we recover it, odds are it will try to do everything it can to be reunited with the Bramble King. If we tried to keep it from him, he'd no doubt figure out a way to steal it from us by using the very forest itself since he is a plant-like Fey plus theft out of fear isn't very civilized. As for the clippings Daesanderena wants, I say we reserve judgment on that until we get the crown back to the Bramble King and ask his opinion on the matter, if he voluntarily gives us a clipping then I see no issue with giving it to Daesanderena. I'm more worried about the Weft of Shadow having pawns use the crown and if they can steal it from its rightful owner, then stealing it from us would be child's play for them. Thus we can't keep it. However, a lot depends on if the Bramble King, he seems to have good intentions when not influenced by rage and grief to throw a tantrum like a child. Perhaps the recovery of the crown would calm him down and he could be convinced to help the village in penance for his previous actions or out of mutual benefit. The village could use his strength to protect it and the area, and in turn, the village would help guide him to ensure he doesn't become as cruel and evil as Barbara fears he already is. The problem with a childish mind is that he may be immune to that poison and thus unaware of how harmful it could be to normal people. I am not justifying his actions, he should have had his minions approach the village and inquire about aid in recovering the crown but a child's mind doesn't think like that. Not yet anyway. If we can get him to interact with the village in a positive manner, and get him to see how civilized adults act he would eventually learn.”

Rocky ponders the options the group faces as it follows the directions given by the Bramble King as he states his opinion, "Fey live millennia or longer as they don't die of old age, and the Bramble King is approximately 200 years old so he is a child by Fey standards. But to deny the Bramble King his crown will likely force him down a dark path and endanger those in the area. Perhaps the Weft of Shadow chose now to have pawns steal the crown knowing how the Bramble King would blindly lash out which would create further distractions for the Weft of Shadow to do other misdeeds without being noticed. Right now we should focus on denying the crown to those who stole it and then decide what to do afterward, after all the crown itself is supposed to be sentient so ignoring its wishes would be foolish. But I do agree with Caeldrim, given how it was stolen from the Bramble King, there is no way we could prevent it from being stolen from us. And I don't know anyone we can give it to that could protect it from theft more than the Bramble King himself since odds are whatever trick they used on him once hopefully wouldn't work a second time. If it would, then we need to learn that trick so we could if needed remove the crown from his possession. Unfortunately, the destruction of the crown is probably beyond both the power either we or those who stole it have available. So we shouldn't even bother with that route. Personally, I'd rather fulfill my promises. I hope that if we return the crown the Bramble King would prove to be a valuable ally. After all his abilities could go a long way if we could get him to help with the Challenge of the Fang. If only we could break the cycle of the challenge by exploiting a loophole to where no one loses. To do that we would need a magic item to let the wolf innocent not starve to death and to keep the Would-Be-King of Wolves from harming civilization's innocent in exchange for keeping the wolf innocent alive. Perhaps if both the Wild and Civilization worked in harmony, the ritual would end under its own power without needing external influence. After all, if the wild and civilization become one in harmony, then the challenge of the fang would no longer make a difference."

The one problem Rocky doesn't mention is that he has no clue how to get Nature and Civilization as a whole to work in harmony so such a hypothetical solution is only a pipedream for now.

"I mean, even ignoring keeping words or not or who is more responsible or less... We should probably confirm if the crown itself isn't why the Bramble King thinks poison thorns on everything is how you ask people questions.  Because 'sentient' magical items are almost always horrible, especially the ones convinced they are doing things for a good cause."

He shrugs, "As for Daesanderena, the only reason to do anything for her is the likelihood of them dropping all pretenses of maturity and throwing a big baby tantrum by throwing the feywild at us while screeching 'I'm an important adult!'.  Because she can't possibly be so ignorant to think offering us a tiny handful of gold is worth dealing with even the weakest of magical items, let alone a piece of a sentient one.  At best it is a pretense so she can cry 'oh, such greedy mortals spurning my generous offer' if we refuse her for any reason. More likely they are doing it because they are used to getting away with rubbing 'or else I'll throw an entire plane of existence at you if I don't get my way!' in people's faces. with a side of 'But I'm not as bad as those other guuuuys!'"
This message was last edited by the player at 03:50, Mon 21 Dec 2020.

Barbara chews on her friends' words for a moment, then decides it best to share her thoughts on what they said.

  "Until you swear fealty to me, I have no right to make promises for this group.  So I was very careful with the words I used when speaking with the Bramble King.  I made no oath, nor even a declaration of intending to give him his crown.  I simply told him, 'We intend to recover it.'  Nothing more.  I deliberately left out saying anything about if we would return it to him, or when, much less without compensation or condition, so as not to bind us to any hint of being obligated to do so.  So have no fear of being labeled an oath breaker.

  "Sounds like we all are in agreement that the Bramble King is immature.  A child by his people's standards.  And if we keep the crown from him, he'll fly into a rage, and we'll be forced to kill him.  Or worse, he survives and becomes a long-lived villain, recovering the crown on his own because of the nature of such magic items.  I'm not in the business of killing children, so I'd really rather avoid that scenario.  Hmm...  Wouldn't the crown's treachery apply also to the current holder of the crown?  Can we not rest assured that even should we fail to recover it, it's very nature will see to it that the Weft of Shadows are harassed incessantly and inevitably lose it?  Assuming they really are the ones responsible.

  "Frustrating that destroying the crown is probably impossible.  I hadn't considered that it is the reason for the Bramble King's insanity, so we need to be very careful how we handle it.  Thank you for making that point.

  "In any case, I do like the idea of recruiting the Bramble King.  Assuming we can persuade him to give up his evil ways, that most certainly is preferable to slaying him.  I shouldn't have jumped to the conclusion that negotiation was impossible simply on the example of the Singing Tree.  This should remain our first thought no matter how many times it fails with Fae.

  "I'm happy to hear that I'm not the only one who distrusts Daesanderena enough to deny her request.  But even so, I would like to hear why you trust her, Caeldrim.  I'll be happier to have reasons to set aside our suspicions."

Caeldrim looks to Barbara and explains, “It's not so much that I trust her, it's that I have realized she has nothing to gain by betraying us or lying to us at this point. She knew our names before she appeared to us which indicates she did research on us. She is clearly more powerful than we are right now unless someone here can open portals to places and I'm not aware of it. It's one thing to know about existing portals and using them but she opened a portal to us using the trees of the Margreve, thus the Margreve has to tolerate her and let her open that portal. What could she possibly gain by lying to us? There is no way she can't get minions to do things for her, just like how the Weft of Shadows gets minions to do things for him. If she is as powerful as she appears to be, she does not need to lie to us to get what she wants as she'd just have her loyal minions acquire it for her themselves. Besides, I only said we should consider giving her the clipping after we discuss it with the Bramble King, he would know if such a clipping would be dangerous or if it would be benign. If it would prove to be anything other than benign then we shouldn't give the clipping, if it is harmless and the Bramble King would give us one freely, why not let her have it. Perhaps through the clipping, she'd be able to work with the Bramble King to prevent this from happening again or at least teach him to act more mature, assuming such maturity isn't restored by giving him back the crown. After all, how do we know if the Bramble King's immature mind isn't due to the separation from the crown? Something to ponder for later since it is moot if we can't even recover the crown.”

  "I'm getting the feeling we are in the middle of trying to interrupt the 'and then he went evil while considering it to be doing nature's will' step with the Bramble King's life."

  He turns back to Caeldrim, and says "Ancient beings who hide from those they play games with in another plane often don't have a 'reason' beyond boredom, and pointing to someone worse than they are as a distraction."  He shrugs,   "Of course, most of us won't be around to see whatever problems a finally grown new crown could cause.  Hopefully nobody is cursing our name for going along with it to solve our problems right now."

Amalar says, "Trust or no, we should still find the crown. Are we in agreement that we will be returning it to the Bramble King at the very least?"

Hunter says, "Once we know for sure what the crown can do, we'll be able to give a more educated threat assessment of what we're up against. Cael reminds me, though... the girl who asked us not to hurt the bramble king... she said he was kind. That was before the crown was taken. I can't help think this is a rare case where the magic item was part of his benevolence and that having that ripped from him may be the very cause of his reckless acts, but having the crown restored will make him good."

Barby considers points made and nods.  "Yes.  Once we recover the crown, hopefully we'll be able to find out exactly what it's role was in the King's going mad.  Then we can decide what to do next."

"If you all need a volunteer to test it out on, I'll do it," Pyrus offers, "I'm probably the weakest one here, so getting mind controlled to throw a tantrum won't be a big deal if its me."

(( Sorry for the long delay.  Reasons.  ))

OOC: Summary post for last session in Roll20

Upon entering the Tower the group is able to defuse a stone halberd alarm trap built into a statue and discover a secret door to a room with an open roof that had a Forest Drake named Zariss. The Children of the Briar had tricked Zariss into guarding a fake Bramble Crown which angered the Forest Drake enough that Zariss has decided to help the group out in recovering the real Bramble Crown.

Afterwards, the group came to an intersection in the overgrown tower where to the left is a cistern now inhabited by a Water Wierd that Amalar spoke with due to knowing Aquan from her Microelemental familiar taking the form of a Water Microelemental. The Water Weird wants to be left alone and warned the group to find another way deeper into the tower.

Along the eastern path from the intersection was a dark room with two Shadows that had created a shadow copy of the Bramble Crown. One of the two tried to fend off the group to buy time for the other to flee with the shadow copy of the Bramble Crown on its head. But the group with Zariss' help managed to defeat both shadows before the second could flee, even if the first shadow did get a good hit in on Hunter, which Caeldrim promptly healed with his herbal abilities.

Finally, the group explored the northern room and found some notes detailing the last days prior to the fall of the tower and found a piece of jewelry (worth 25gp).

OOC: Summary post for last session in Roll20

After the group backtracks to continue to explore the rest of the ground floor of the ruins without passing through the room with the Water Weird, the group uses the teleportation ability of Rocky's Wildfire Spirit to bypass the thorny brambles that they otherwise would have had to squeeze through. Upon reaching the top of the tower, the group finds three Children of the Briar with the Bramble Crown. The group manages to easily defeat the trio and claim the crown. On their way back down the tower, Amalar gives Barbara a fiery dragon's breath to burn away the thorny vines to have an easier time exiting the tower. After clearing out the fire, the group finds itself blocked off by three more Children of the Briar, two Execrable Shrubs, and a Giant Bramble Spider. The group made easy work of their foes, despite one of the Execrable Shrubs creating a smoke cloud to hide from attack, Rocky's Faerie Fire helped illuminate the position of one of the two shrubs while Caeldrim's Sleep spell managed to knock out the other.  Throughout it all only Zariss and Barbara took some minor injuries during the fight. After it was all over, Rocky and Caeldrim searched the corpses of the foes for anything that might be useful and managed to harvest enough Execrable Shrub Fibers and leaves which count as an Elemental Source of fire of medium/expert quality, which will let Caledrim craft six batches of either Alchemical Fire or Alkahest's Flame. Additionally, they managed to extract enough Execrable Shrub Essence to make 3 Potions of Fire Resistance. Unfortunately, they don't find anything of use from the Children of the Briar or the Giant Bramble Spider.
Afterward, Caeldrim uses his Field Medicine and Healer's Feat abilities to patch up Barbara and Zariss.

With the ruins cleared of all threats, the group can easily take a short, or long, rest and discuss things with Zariss if desired before heading off to return the crown to the Bramble King, as well as learn what he thinks of the shadow copy that was made of it. Finally, if the group gets a clipping from the crown, they still need to give it to Daesenderena along with seeing what she thinks of the shadow copy of the Bramble Crown.

  "I'm almost tempted to see if the water weird will be the least bit thankful we got rid of the briar jerks instead of being a pouty violent manbaby over the fact we are still here." probably the lowest on the list of priorities, Joe.

  "So, anywhere you actually need to be now that things are settling down for the moment?" talking to Zariss meanwhile, not a waste of time (probably).

Zariss answer's Joe's question with, "Not in particular. There are several places within the woods nearby where large amounts of dead plants have ended up which need to be burned away in controlled fires before an uncontrolled forest fire could start. Especially with the crazy goblins that have been running around lately." Zariss looks among the group before he continues, "Why do you ask? Did you have a suggestion for where I should go next? I am grateful for the help you all have given me in getting my revenge upon the Children of the Briar for their deception and if you have need of me in the future, I'll give what assistance I can."

Barbara sang her usual hymn of victory to her god.  She of course thanks Caeldrim for the healing and commends everyone for their valor in combat.  Satisfied that Joe said that he's almost tempted, but won't actually be initiating certain combat with the manbaby, she leaves that topic as settled.

To Zariss Barbara says, "You have been a great help, Zariss.  Thank you for joining us.  There is much you can help us with right now by answering some questions.  First off, I'd like to know what there is to know about these crazy goblins.  Are they natives that were stirred up, or invaders?  Also, do you have any insights on why they made the shadow copy?  It must have cost them no small amount of resources, so surely they had other plans in place besides just inconveniencing you or those you might have fought off."

She'll hold off on asking about the lunacy of the Bramble King or the reputation of Daesenderena for the next round of questions.

Pyrus was fascinated by the concept of using plant remains for fire related alchemy, and sniffed at said remains.  "I've never heard even legends of plants like this.  So I was thinking they must be conjured up.  But if they're the result of some kinda weird wizard summon, wouldn't they go poof as soon as they're defeated?  Do more of these grow in this forest?"

Zariss nods and replies to Barbara's questions with, "I'll answer what questions I can. From what I have heard about the goblins from listening to the Children of the Briar complain about them, these Goblins are a mixture of ones native to the forest and from outside of it. All of them are outcasts from their previous tribes. And they follow a goblin named Dib. Most of them prefer to grapple and use unarmed strikes despite their small stature. However, this group's most dangerous aspect is that the traps and devices they construct are comparable to the dangerous traps Kobolds are known for. The biggest difference is that these goblins are using their traps and devices offensively while Kobolds tend to set up their traps to be defensive. They are somewhat nomadic but have established a few ambush posts along pathways, and have even raided villages a few times. But they have drawn the Children of the Briar's anger by hunting them down whenever the Goblins come across them."

Zaris's body then seems to 'shrug' or at least the forest drake's equivalent to a shrug as he continues, "As far as the shadow copy of the Bramble Crown, I do not know what sort of ritual was utilized to create it, nor what that ritual required. However, I suspect it was the master of those shadows who set things up so its minions could conduct the ritual. I suspect that the ritual requires the presence of the original item that is to be shadow copied. Thus I doubt they will be able to create any more copies of the Bramble Crown. However, I do not know if that was the only shadow copy they have made as those shadows had been present since the Bramble Crown was brought to these ruins. But I do not know why they would construct the shadow copies unless there was a reason they couldn't use the original and thus were willing to let the Children of the Briar keep the original while they produced shadow copies."

Caeldrim looks at Pryus as he answers the question, “Those plants weren't conjured or summoned via the methods you suspect, despite that they are Fiendish in their origin. They tend to be found in areas tainted or corrupted by fiends like devils or demons but afterward, they can slowly migrate, or be moved by others wanting them around, to other areas to try to spread such corruption which eventually results in larger and more powerful fiendish plants appearing.”

Rocky sighs as he says, "I hope there are no more of those plants around these parts. I don't even want to consider the chaos and damage that would occur if they managed to corrupt the Margeve. Fortunately, I doubt any amount of Fiendish plants would be able to corrupt a significant portion of these woods. After all the Margreve is known to defend itself from invaders and such corruption would no doubt be viewed as an invasion."

Hunter says, "Well thankfully, so far, nobody has been getting me confused with these wrestle-obsessed aggressive goblins."

Amalar squats down to be closer to eye level with Zariss and says, "We also want to know if you can vouch for the Bramble King. We want to return it to him as promised, but there are concerns he might abuse the power if the crown was returned, because he lashed out at the nearby town when the crown went missing. We'd like it if you could banish those concerns for us."

Hunter adds, "And if you know a Daesenderena, we'd be curious your take on her."

  "Well obviously that is because you are more-" Adorable "handsome than the upsidedown wagon clan, Hunter."

   At Caeldrim's explanation, he shrugs and adds "The Margreve hasn't seemed to be much help in stopping corruption so far, so I wouldn't be surprised if it lets them linger on purpose when it is widely known how quick it is to rub it's power in people's faces if they are just trying to live. At this rate something evil will probably waltz right in and take over because it is too busy rusting farmer tools and smothering campfires that offend it's sense of aesthetics to protect itself."

"Fiendish bushes?!" Pyrus echoes in shock, "Well I guess devils gotta get their fruit form somewhere.  Still.  Doesn't this mean there's already devils in the forest?"

Barbara nods to Rocky.  "Let's hope so.  But considering what the Margreve has tolerated within it's borders thus far, I'm no more hopeful than Joe about it dealing with such problems without our help.

"Such as these evil goblins who are impossible to confuse with a hero such as Hunter.  Are you listening, Margreve?  We are willing to help rid you of invasive devils and goblins.  You have but to point the way to where they are!"

She's not expecting an answer, but she pauses a moment for one just in case.

Then she elaborates on Amalar's question.  "It was suggested that the crown is a part of the Bramble King's mind, and that his evil behavior is the result of being driven mad in the absence of that part of his mind."
This message was last edited by the player at 01:59, Mon 29 Mar 2021.

Zariss answers Amalar with, "Most of what I have heard about the Bramble King was from untrustworthy sources like the Children of the Briar. I have not met him in person so I don't have a real opinion about him."

Zariss then turns to Hunter and says, "I have never heard nor met Daesenderena. What I do know of fey folk like her is that they are bound by strange rules and oaths. They can either be brutally honest, to deceptively dangerous. I do not know which type she would fall into."

Rocky turns to Joe and says, "Actually I think it is more along the lines of with how vast the Margieve is, that it doesn't notice them any more than we notice every single insect that is near us. Naturally, we'll notice them quickly in certain situations, but in others, they would go unnoticed."

Caeldrim looks at Barbara's inquiry around Fiendish plants implying demons and devils are in the forest and says, “While that is certainly possible for lesser fiends. But more likely is someone brought these creatures into the Margrieve and as Rocky implied, it is likely these plants have not drawn the margreve's attention yet.”

Amalar nods to Zariss and says, "And what did they say of him? If the untrustworthy said the bramble king is bad news, then chances are that he isn't."

Hunter smiles at Joe. "Flattery will get you everywhere, Joe. Thanks."

Mix comments, "Too bad for the Margreve... because just like with insects, if a mosquito bites you without you noticing, it sucks your blood unpunished."

  Joe isn't really surprised Rocky and Caeldrim's answer about the Margreve's absentee abusive dad relationship with those inside it is essentially repeating back what Joe and Barbara already said in a more flattering phrasing. Good thing kids these days like Mix are so smart.

 
"I'd need to work on my problems with 'you sounded sarcastic about your bleeding when you got stabbed' reactions before I can claim to be any good with flattery, Hunter"
...Wait being sarcastic about your wounds is something he actually does on purpose in this setting.

  "Anyways, I'm at least expecting the Bramble king to be at least, less terrible than expected. But we should probably keep an eye on him for a while after he gets his crown back."

Barbara sighs.  "Too bad indeed.  But for the people who live here, 'mosquitos' such as aggressive goblins or unchecked devil activity have much more severe consequences than an itchy bite.

"I'm going to have to rely on the fact that none of the villagers pointed out the Bramble King's past bad behavior when he attacked as evidence that returning his crown to him will restore his sanity.  I'll be paying very close attention for if he offers an apology and working to redeem himself for what he did.  Only in such a case will he be allowed to walk away from this unpunished.

"As for Daesenderena, dangerously deceptive is precisely why I cannot rely on, 'she didn't attack us,' as evidence enough for trusting her.  Unless the Bramble King shows himself to be sane and repentant and gives evidence for trusting Daesenderena, I see no reason to give her a cutting of the crown.

"Thank you, Zariss.  You have been very helpful.  Shall we get going, then?"

Zariss contemplates the offer to come and meet the Bramble King as he says, "Basically, they said he was a danger to the forest and was abusing his crown to terrorize nearby villages. I probably should meet this individual to learn the truth first hand instead of relying on second-hand stories."

Zariss then looks to Barbara and says, "Regarding Daesenderena, maybe the Bramble King knows something about her, or at least if the crown knows anything about her since it is sentient."

The forest drake then says, "But I do agree, if there is nothing else that needs to be done here, then we should head off."

Hunter says, "Like last time, I'll take turns with Joe scouting ahead. I'll go first." he heads off ahead of the group in preparation of returning to the Bramble King.

Amalar, like last trip, sings softly, though mostly chats with Zariss about him; things he enjoys, what his life in the woods has been like, and so on.

Mix, of course, goes to walk next to Pyrus, but keeps an eye open in case by some off chance, Mix might spot something the others didn't.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:12, Sun 16 May 2021.

  "Yeah even if we don't trust the crown, getting it's opinion on having a clipping of it handed to someone would probably be informative at least." at the very least to make sure the crown doesn't get mad and start demanding the Bramble king kill them all for causing an ouchie.

Barbara nods to Zariss and takes point for the main cluster of people on the way back to the Bramble King.  "I honestly would rather be taken by surprise than risk you or Joe taking a charging boar to the face with the rest of us a distance behind you.  Any chance you can scout from right beside me instead of in front?"

Barbara will sing along with Amalar as the melody allows, but is keeping a sharp eye out for ambushes.

"I'd like a clipping of my own," Pyrus says, "If only to see what all the fuss is about.  Or put in a salad to see if I poop out monsters."

Barbara gives him a disapproving look, but he acts like he doesn't notice.

Rocky nods and says, "Then let us make haste lest we have to deal with more Children of the Briar showing up trying to claim the crown from us." Rocky then looks to Pyrus and adds, "Let us ask what such a clipping can do first... but no don't try to eat it just to see if you can then create minions from your rear end." As the group travels, Rocky stays more towards the middle of the group since he's not a scout, nor a rearguard.

Caeldrim remains silent and in the middle of the group since he knows as a healer he needs to be able to reach anyone quickly.

Zariss easily keeps up with the group, although he tends to stay among the trees leaping from tree to tree with ease.

Hunter looks up at Barbara. "...an ambush that knows what it's doing would not target you, but maybe Amalar, Caeldrim, Rocky, or even Pyrus or Mix. Which would mean Joe and I would need to flank the group. Which... is still better because you would be nearer than if I scouted ahead. So... sure!"

Hunter walks behind Barby, flanking the group with Joe (assuming Joe agrees to the idea).

  The medium size human follows the small sized party member's lead by standing next to someone else. There are more practical ways to phrase this but we don't want to.

  "At this point I'm more curious if everything will go fine just so that our next problem following within ten minutes of giving the crown can hog more attention for itself."

Barbara would rather Pyrus' comment had not been dignified with a response, but the response was sensible enough.

"Thank you, Hunter."

Joe's comment has her mentally preparing herself for a scene where the Bramble King has been mind controlled by Daesenderena to kidnap and hold the village girl hostage in order to demand that the group hand over the crown.

After about another hour of traveling, the group reaches the Bramble King's lair. It is clear that the Bramble King senses his crown among the group as they approach him. A delighted Bramble King smiles as he says, "So you've kept your promise and retuned my crown." The Bramble king waits for the group to present his crown to him.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:51, Sun 16 May 2021.

Mix half-hides behind Barby. Feels like he's being a wimp and decides to step out and stand next to Barby. "Yes. You'll be happy to know the ones who stole it are now dead. They were suicidally obsessed with it. We offered to talk and they immediately attacked instead. Even when they saw they were doomed to die if they kept it up."

Hunter and Amalar are quiet. Hunter watches the Bramble King, but keeps his eye on the surroundings. He even positions himself to Mix's other side so the crown can not so easily get snatched.

Amalar keeps glancing at Cael and Barby, but tries to be polite about paying attention to the Bramble King.

  Joe can hardly blame people for expecting a last second ambush on top of a possible betrayal.  "Someone who gave us information towards locating it wanted a clipping of the crown if recovered. Would you know if it would be a really terrible idea for that to happen?" Obviously the Bramble king is going to be biased, but even complaints can be informative.

Barbara takes the crown off Mix's hands knowing that the Bramble King will hardly be willing to hold a conversation unless he believes every moment brings him closer to being reunited to his precious.

"Daesenderena, by name.  She warned about the Briar Children."

She approaches the Bramble King with the crown.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:07, Sun 16 May 2021.

The Bramble King notices Zariss' but doesn't ask about the presence of a Forest Drake accompanying the group since he knows he can find out later. The Bramble King instead tilts his head a bit as he nods to Amalar and says, "If they are dead, then they won't be attempting such thievery again. And hopefully others of their kind will take this as a warning to not attempt it in the future." However The Bramble king keeps a careful eye on Barbara as she approaches with his crown. It seems the closer the crown comes to the Bramble King, the more collected and calm he becomes.

The Bramble King rubs his chin as he says, "A clipping of my Bramble Crown... an odd request since such a clipping would have no power nor harm my living crown. I have no issues with providing such a clipping for Daesenderena in addition to the reward I had previously promised you. Then again from what my crown tells me, she is one of those who guarded my crown before it came to me... although she was not the one to create the crown... perhaps they know of a way to try to ritually cultivate a second crown to serve the purpose my crown was meant to serve in the Feywild...although since my crown has ended up here it can no longer serve that purpose even if both it and I went to the Feywild. Not that I could abandon this part of the Margreve which I roam and protect." The Bramble King pulls out what appears to be an ordinary-looking bag the size of a belt pouch, made from some sort of green cloth, and puts it on the armrest of his throne chair.

Caeldrim then speaks up, “The Children of the Briar that stole the crown were aided by a couple of Shadows who seemed to have found a way to make a shadowy copy of the Bramble Crown, but we managed to destroy them before they could escape with it.”

The Bramble King's 'eyes' grow wide upon hearing of the 'shadow copy' of the Bramble Crown and asks, "Did you manage to recover that shadowy fake? And if so please tell me none of you tried to use it. It would be a cursed item that would bind unto flesh and be harmful...especially to the Feywild and beings like Daesenderena."

Caeldrim nods and says, “We managed to recover it, and feared it might be harmful to touch so we made sure to only handle it indirectly with at least a bag between it and out hands.”

The Bramble King smiles, "That was a wise precaution. Show this shadowy fake to Daesenderena, she'll need to see it and will probably know how best to destroy it. It is good that the Shadows failed to bring it to their master...as I would rather not consider what they would use such an item for... although I fear we may find out one day. If the Shadows created a copy, if their master had a link with them like the bond with a familiar, the master may be able to make another shadow copy of the Bramble Crown in time. That is perhaps even more troublesome than the theft of the crown itself."

Amalar asks, "It is comforting to hear you calming more, Bramble King. Now that you are calm... what can you tell us about the nature of your relationship to the crown and why losing it seemed to jostle you almost to a magical degree?"

Mix is silent. He offered no resistance to Barby taking the crown, obviously, but stays back once she has it.

Hunter has no questions at the moment.

The Bramble King glances to Amalar and answers, "Being attuned to the crown for so long not only made me into what I am but it also made the crown somewhat sentient, however, that sentience is tied to my own. So think of me as having my mind in two locations, separating them would be like someone trying to think straight when their head has been split in half and the two halves separated... that is if someone could do that without dying."

  Okay so people acting more reasonable instead of less once they get their hands on their 'precious' is probably a good sign, so that is one surprise he is glad to see.

  "Considering they were trying to escape with the copy, it probably would keep some kind of power all on it's own. Though if they could just make more without your crown, I would say' why would they try to escape with a copy' but our enemies are rarely reasonable in any way that is convenient."

Barbara watches and listens.  She's relieved to see the Bramble King acting much more rational now.  And somewhat surprised to hear that Daesenderena was once a guardian of the crown.  Why would she need a cutting, then?  Wouldn't they have kept one before handing it over to the Bramble King if having a cutting was important?  She saves her questions for now, still watching to see if the Bramble King shows any remorse for attacking innocent people.

Hunter decides to get right down to it and asks, "...I know your mind was torn at the time.. but now that it is restored, how do you feel about having attacked the innocent folk back at town and accusing your only friend of betraying you?"

Amalar is prepared for a fight on that one. But shows no outward signs of such.

Mix is.. squirming.

Joe is mostly glad to be surrounded by people as tactless as him because it spreads the blame around, because it was only a question of who asked that first rather than at all.

The Bramble King looks to Hunter and says, "Regret, although I do need to make two points of clarification. One, Tremika is not my only friend as you claim, even without including my Bramble Creatures. Two, it was never her that I thought in my deranged state that had betrayed me regarding the theft, even if she did reveal the location of my lair to you, but the villagers she was among. It wouldn't have been hard for them to abuse the trust of an orphan, after all, if you could get her to reveal my lair's position, they could as well. In the many years, I've lived, it wouldn't have been the first time humans have attacked me or tried to steal from me. Most of the time it is people wanting to set up logging operations in this part of the forest...as if the Margreve would tolerate such a wound without retaliating."

The Bramble King taps his chin as he continues, upon looking back at my memories of recent events... "It seems to me that it would be wise to reach an arrangement with the nearby village of Cambervale for mutual protection. As that village seems very vulnerable to external threats. Plus this would give me more insight into my relatively new neighbors as that village is only a few decades old. That would also let me learn about the goings-on of the area outside of this section of the Margreve, which could warn me of future attempts to cripple me like what the Children of the Briar nearly succeeded at doing. I would also be able to provide the villagers safe passage into parts of the forest to harvest herbs and fruits, though I won't allow logging in the forest. It is one thing to harvest items that easily are easily replenished, assuming you don't overharvest, but logging is always detrimental to the forest."
This message was last edited by the player at 06:49, Sun 16 May 2021.

Barbara had been waiting for the Bramble King to take the initiative with an apology, but Hunter's timing was fine.  He'd had plenty of time by then.  But though it is not an ideal reaction, this is much closer to the best possible outcome than Barbara dared hope for.  She hands over the crown to the Bramble King.

"Though it is unclear whether The Children of the Briar had anything to do with the first incidents, this is the third time in a very short span where the peace of the Margreve has been maliciously and deliberately disrupted.  And there is evidence that other devilry is at work.  You say you cannot leave this area that you protect?  Then wise indeed to shore up your defenses against another assault that is sure to come.  And your diplomacy toward your neighbors will go a long way toward that end.  Already The Briar have used trickery to recruit good people to their ends by slandering your reputation..."

She gestures at Zariss.  "So it would not be hard at all for The Children of the Briar to set your neighbors against you just as it was not hard at all for you to assume that they were at fault for the loss of your crown.  Now more than ever building trust is critical for the good of the Margreve."

Pyrus adds, "Did you even hear from the woods about that singing tree?!  And the creepy lackey it had?!  That was nuts!  I'll bet one look at you and the people would run screaming thinking that you're just like that monster."
This message was last edited by the player at 03:10, Mon 17 May 2021.

Amalar says, "So... very happy we got you back what is yours."

Hunter nods, "If it wasn't obvious, we support your decision. And to show that we support you, we could all walk together back to the village?"

  Joe nods to hunter and Pyrus, "We've been involved with stabbing and burning the rush of problems surrounding the town the past week. So us showing up with him might be for the best before they put their rushed training against creatures attacking their home against the bramble kind showing up before you have the chance to say 'my bad about the poisonous monsters holding you hostage, guys'"

Zariss looks to Barbara after having remained silent up until now. "It is true that the Children of the Briar spread lies about you, but they wouldn't work with humanoid loggers...so I doubt they were working with the previous attempts... However the mastermind behind the two Shadows being present... that individual might have instigated those attempts as well."

The Bramble King nods to Zariss before looking back to Hunter and says, "That will probably be necessary to start discussions with the village."

If Daesenderena is on the way back, Barbie suggests hitting that location first.  She finds it odd all the fae monsters flipping out about loggers, as if a human going after a tree that can rust his axe were something to be concerned about, but then shrug off fire-breathing bushes as pesky mosquitos.

"No time like the present.  Shall we?"

The Bramble King stands up and accepts his crown from Barbara when she hands it to him and places it on his head. The bramble King seems releaved to be wearing his crown once again as he picks up the bag he had placed earlier and says, "That we should, and this bag will produce up to three Bramble Creatures a day to aid you for up to an hour each as he offers the Bag of Bramble Creatures to Barbara as the reward for returning his crown."

Hunter looks at Joe. "So... is Daes on the ways to town?"

  Considering how common they are, Joe would figure 'magic bag' would be as much of a famous image as a magic staff or pointy hat.

  He comments to Hunter, "They probably wouldn't bother visiting a town, but we can swing by them on our way to it at least."

Barbara hands the bag over to Mix for safekeeping.  "I expect we'll be getting plenty of use out of that in our quest to protect the Margreve."

She follows Joe's directions to the suspicious fae lady.  Still on guard for ambushes, of course.

With both the Bramble King and Kariss traveling with the group, it doesn't take long for the group to reach the site where they met with Daesanderena. Before reaching the site, the Bramble King hands Rocky the clipping from the crown so that the group can present it to Daesanderena.

Upon reaching the site, they find Daesanderena emerging from the archway. Upon seeing the group along with the two traveling wit the group she smiles after seeing that the Bramble Crown has been returned to its rightful owner. "It is good that you have succeeded in your endeavor. And it seems you have accomplished something beyond the initial task which you set out to achieve."

Mix smiles up at Barby for handing him the magic item. Then puts it with the other stuff while writing down its existence in the manifest.

Hunter nods as he offers up the clipping. "Yeah... the shadow crown. What can you tell us about it? Can you get rid of it? And... can you make sure the one who was responsible for its creation will be hindered enough to not make one until we get to him and kick his butt?"

  Joe's own paranoia is sadly nothing to do with rumors of the feywild and more because 'entirely normal artifact request and reward' is not something he really expects to happen regardless of who they are dealing with.

  Yes we know they just had that happen with the bramble king, that doesn't stop long worn often justified paranoia.

"We suspect that the ones behind the Shadow Crown might be behind the other problems that have been rapidly popping up of late."

"Devil Bushes," Pyrus mentions.

Daesanderena hands Hunter a pouch containing 150gp to Hunter when the crown clipping is given to her.

Afterward, Rocky pulls the bag containing the Shadow copy of the Bramble Crown out of his backpack and shows the crown to Daesanderena.

Upon seeing the shadow copy of the Bramble Crown, the Bramble King looks angry and mutters, "Whoever designed the dark ritual which created that thing is a corruptor of nature and the natural order..."

Daesanderena frowns upon seeing the shadow copy and says, "I can see that this item was crafted by minions of the Weft of Shadows, no doubt he will be aware of what has transpired, and without the Crown in the hands of his minions, it will take him a long time to try to craft another shadow copy of the crown. And the Weft of Shadows has no qualms with using even fiendish or undead creatures to further his own goals." Daesanderena glances to the Bramble King and adds, "His story is a long and dark one. I think his ultimate goal is to destroy part of the Feywild by corrupting it into a place closer to a cross between the Shadow Realm and the Abyss which he'd rule over. I'll see that it is safely disposed of and I do believe an additional reward is due to this further setback to the Weft of Shadow's plans."

Daesanderena then opens up a bag and pulls out three items, a black box, a brown wooden box with two halves with ornamental clasps, and a vial containing a liquid. and hands both over to Rocky in exchange for the shadow copy of the bramble crown which she places in the black box before putting that box back within the bag. Given the size of the items she pulled out of her bag, it is likely to be a bag of holding. "The Brown box is an Ambitious Medic's Box, and the vial contains a Tea Weird." She then gives a brief explanation of the two items as she hands them over to Rocky.

OOC: Descriptions for bot the Ambitious Medic's Box and the Tea Weird, along wit the Bag of Bramble Creatures are in the Margreve Narrator's description.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:26, Mon 17 May 2021.

Hunter says, "Hey wow, thanks! I have to say things have been going a lot better than expected what with stopping the Weft from getting his nasty paws on that crown even while returning the real crown to the Bramble King. We're on our way to mend things between the local town and the Bramble King. Interested in coming with, or are you busy?"

  Joe is pretty sure the natural order is corrupted by the bramble crown and margreve itself far more frequently, but sitting around bemoaning how things are not as natural as you are is (usually) less of a problem by comparison anyways.

  "Hopefully this weird is more sensible than the last one we met, they were of no help whatsoever and very proud of themselves for that fact."

Daesanderena looks to the members of the group and says, "Unfortunately I have to start the ritual to safely dispose of the shadow copy of the Bramble Crown. And I strongly suspect that a number of the recent problems in the Margreve have been instigated by the Weft of Shadows to both further his own plans and weaken the Summer Lands within the Feywild as it does have a connection to the Margreve that I suspect the Weft of Shadows is trying to corrupt and exploit."

Caeldrim grins as he looks over the Ambitious Medic's Box as he knows he'll be able to make good use of it to heal people with his abilities.

To be gifted a Tea Weird by a fey lady has Barbara weirded out.

"It sounds to me like we're all very keen to defeat the Weft of Shadows.  Good.  Then I propose a system for keeping one another informed about what we learn of the Weft's whereabouts.  I will leave what we learn with the villagers, so you can check with them.  When you do, you can inform them if you've learned anything new."

Pyrus is eager to have a taste of the tea.  "Let's try out the new things!"

Amalar hugs Pyrus from behind with a smile and says, "The tea weird might ask for a taste of you in return, Pyrus." then looks at Cael. "I see that grin... I take it that box has you very excited."

Hunter nods in agreement with Barby. "Good idea." then looks at Daes. "Thanks for the loot and for taking care of that nasty crown. We're off to town." he gives a polite bow and follows the group off to town.

 Joe manages to barely avoid his enjoyment of someone else getting stuck with 'your reward for the end of the quest is another related problem' being the vindictive sort, but enjoy it he does.

  "We should probably wait until after we get everything with the town dealt with, unless you want to handle hot tea while walking I guess."

Daesanderena nods and says, "Keeping in touch to deal with the threat posed by the Weft of Shadows to both of our lands, although the system you propose is a bit unnecessary as I can use magic to contact you without involving innocent villagers who could become targets of the Weft of Shadows simply to break our means of communication. To contact me, use this token and it will let you contact me. This token can only be used once a day, but I doubt you'd need to use it move frequently than that."
Daesanderena then pulls out a carved amber token and hands it to Barbara.

Daesanderena then wishes the party well and once the party heads off she returns through the archway to the Summer Lands.
This message was last updated by the player at 05:09, Mon 17 May 2021.

Barbie accepts the magic item.  "Even better.  And you two are in frequent contact, then?"

She glances between The Bramble King and Dae to indicate whom she's talking about.

Pyrus blushes from Amalar's hug and comment.  "I wasn't going to eat the Weird."

He headshakes to Joe.  Walking with hot tea would be messy.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:13, Mon 17 May 2021.

The Bramble King and Daesanderena look at each other and the Bramble King says, "We will have an easier time contacting each other. I can have a Bramble Creature waiting near the archway and if needed I could open it and send the creature through with a message, or Daesanderena could open the archway and contact me through the Bramble Creature."

Mix curiously checks out the token Barby was just given. "...handy."

Hunter says, "Glad you and she can be in more frequent contact, just in case."

When the group gets going, Amalar asks the Bramble King, "What is your story? How did you get the crown... and how long ago was that? And what were you before?"

  Bramble butlers, a sure sign of a more dignified future for the bramble king.

  "I'm going to just be thankful my broad jadedness makes correspondence with other planes seem like a convenience rather than outlandish."

As the group travels to the village, the Bramble King answers Amalar's question with, "I was a young orphan lost in the deep woods when I discovered the crown around 150 years ago. I remember that my curiosity about the object overrode any fears about its thorns glistening with green poison, and I reached out for it. To my surprise, the thorns retracted where my hand touched, allowing me to grab the crown and place it on my head. As the crown settled on my head, it transformed me into the plant-like fey that I am now. That act probably saved my life since I doubt I would have otherwise survived alone in the Margreve. I suspect the crown somehow knew that. It is also why I try to tend to and protect any orphans or lost children that wander into my territory."

Barbie simply listens to the conversation without comment.  But inwardly she wonders if she can use this to recruit the Bramble King in tipping the scales in favor of the innocent in the Wild Games.

"Me and Mix are orphans too," Pyrus comments, "Her mag...  Miss Barbara has been taking care of us since she found us."

Mix nods to what Pyrus said.

Amalar ohs, looks up to the crown and says, "Goodness. Well thanks, bramble crown, for rescuing him." she then looks back to the Bramble King. "Do you like music? Barbara is a good singer."

Hunter smiles as the group seems to be getting along OK. This is a FAR cry from how he expected things to go.

  In a long enough timeline, most children are orphans. Joe (and Tark) probably do not count due to fictional age cutoff ranges of how dramatic it is for your dad to be eaten by a bear or not. Bramble king would probably laugh considering the whole 'woodsman and carpenter' job though.

  "Well, hopefully given the chance to make their town a bit safer will cut down on family members dying for reasons other than old age."

The Bramble King nodes to Pyrus and catches the 'slip' and figures that Barbara must be a minor noblewoman from some land due to the 'her majesty' comment.

The Bramble King smirks at Amalar's comment to his crown since some other people could view that act differently. "Most often I listen to the natural sounds of the forest. The singing by birds, frogs, and toads can often create soothing melodies."

The Bramble King then turns to Joe and nods while Zariss speaks up, "There would still be deaths from other natural causes like disease, but I think everyone here understands the intent behind your words. If both the Bramble King and myself work with this village, then not only would the village flourish but the wildlife as well. The villagers would be able to gather herbs and items they need while helping me and the Bramble King keep dead plants from becoming fire hazards to the forest. Plus they could discourage loggers from trying to set up shop in this area since neither the Bramble King nor myself would tolerate such activities as that would draw what passes as the conscious attention of the Margreve"

"I've heard repeated mention of loggers.  What of hunters?  Suppose there were a spike in demand for wolf pelts during the Wild Games?"

Like a per-pelt bounty paid for by her parents if she can persuade them.  It would be better to manufacture a fashion trend for furs, but Barbara doesn't think that way.

Amalar responds to the singing comment, "I do so enjoy the songs nature sings..."

She watches Barbie ask about hunters and idly pets Pyrus to distract him from the fact he slipped up.

Hunter looks like he wants to speak, but keeps his mouth shut for now.

Mix doesn't get the whole "nature sings" part of the conversation, but his attention is definitely on Barbie's latest inquiry.

  Amalar is clearly so good at music she could convince frogs to give her fragments of vitality boosting-Right this joke has dragged on. It is a zelda reference, the end.

  "Many successful farming communities have to import lumber these days, considering how far from forests they can be to provide for their kingdoms." You can't even escape from this in fantasy farming games where you go from cursing the countless stumps on your land to suddenly needing to pay exorbitant prices for wood in a hurry before spring arrives.

  "So unless the Margreve also makes crops and livestock grow poorly out of spite while continuing to let them be driven wild by twisted dark magics... Okay it's going to take a lot of work even with the Bramble king being more friendly with the locals."

  Joe is tempted by Barbara's idea out of spite, and yet... "People hunting for profit by pelts here will probably either die, or be disappointed and leave when dealing with beasts you need to brutalize before they get the hint and actually drop dead. I'm expecting a hypocritical combination of 'The Margreve can't notice every twisted ritual controlling nature to suicidaly attack any person they see' and 'People are burning these magically compelled wolves, not on the Marvreve's watch!' to make that an even bigger mess of a blood sport."
This message was last edited by the player at 03:12, Mon 24 May 2021.

The Bramble King says to Barbara, "Animals and people can typically either move or defend themselves. But plants are stationary and without the plants there would be no Margeve. And I do remember the last Challenge of the Fang, which is what I think you are referring to. And once people realized it was going on... there was an increase in people hunting down wolves... but also an increase in werewolf activity. Those brutes nearly wrecked half my territory before I managed to drive them off."

Zaris looks to Joe and says, "The issue with Loggers versus people who just need timber from a single tree is that most logging operations clearcut areas which is an act that is not sustainable by even in the Margreve."

It is shortly after this that the representative of the villagers in Cambervale begins negotiations with the Bramble King and Zariss. It is at this time that the representative hands over the Alchemy Jug to the party as the promised reward for resolving the situation. Another villager informs the group that the herbs they were sent to acquire for the nearby village of Levoca have been loaded into the cart pulled by the party's donkey.

By the time the party is ready to leave Cambervale to get the herbs to Levoca that Tremika informs the group about the resulting arrangement which provides mutual protection for the Bramble King, Zariss, and the village of Cambervale. The Brambleking gains a source of insight into what goes on outside of his section of the forest, the villagers gain safe passage into the parts of the forest the Bramble King controls to harvest herbs and fruits. Zariss gains allies to help him prevent uncontrolled forest fires in the area.

Barbara is sure to sharply warn the villagers to be vigilant.  Not only for the coming Challenge of the Fang, but also for the machinations of malevolence bent on breaking the peace of their home.

"Werewolves?" Pyrus wonders aloud, "That doesn't make sense to me."

Rocky glances at Pyrus and says, "Unfortunately it makes a lot of sense to me. Werewolves would be the natural hybrid between man and wolf, civilized and feral...if their mindset wasn't slanted towards the feral due to the curse of Lycanthropy that they have So in actuality I'm sure they side with the wolves and I would not be surprised if the leader of the wolf side was in fact a werewolf of some sort."

Hunter says, "Right. Silver weaponry. Gonna need it in the near future."

Mix says, "I wonder if a werewolf or normal wolf would be fooled if I practice at pretending to transform into a werewolf... or even just being one."

He shapeshifts into a werewolf pup and wags his tail.

  "How do so many things immune to natural harm or magics that specifically effect nature manage to keep their reputation as 'natural'? Real wolves hunt in packs because if a sheep kicks them in the head it goes badly for them, while a werewolf who gets chewed up and spat out by a dragon will then brag not dying makes them a 'natural predator' and everybody smiles and nods because they sorta kinda look like an animal if you squint. A fat corrupt lord hunting rabbits from horseback is a more natural predator than a werewolf, at least they might hurt themselves falling off."

  He eyes Mix for a moment, then sighs saying "Sorry, you did it too well and look like an actual natural fluffy wolf person. Maybe if you looked more pretentious it would be convincing."

Barbara kinda hates those state functions where being pretentious is mandatory.  Now she has ammo for comparing nobility to werewolves...

"Good point, Rocky.  I should have thought of that."

Now that Mix is acting like a puppy, Pyrus feels it's OK to play along with Amalar's pets.  He pants and tail-wags.  "ARF!"

Caeldrim observes the current antics and shrugs, “When magic as powerful as the lycanthropy curse is involved, I think it is mandatory that logic is thrown out the window... Possibly because people that strong with magic are completely insane. Which does beg the question, if those people can't grasp logic and rely on magic to get stuff done, how do they get logic to go out the window anyway?”

As these antics continue, the group continues leading the cart pulled by Don the donkey back to the village of Levoča to get the village the herbs it needs to replenish its supplies after recent events in the village.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 04:12, Mon 24 May 2021.

As the group reaches Levoča, they see some of the villagers heading towards them, seemingly to greet them.

The pair seems a bit out of breath as one of them says to the other with the group in earshot as it seems the pair hasn't even noticed the group yet, "We had to walk quite quickly to escape it. Some sort of weird wagon thing. I'm nearly out of breath. Last I saw, it was sort of chugging down the main pathway. It tried to climb the hill but I think whoever is inside got tired. Goblins, no doubt. No, I wouldn't say it was careening through the village on a path of destruction; definitely not - still quite a nuisance."