Terminax, without saying a word, puts a clawed finger on the tip of his snout.

Also contemplating, Lucien nods to himself. "I feel that we have a finger on the threads of a deeper mystery here. Whatever it is, it is related to your family's history and your father knows more than he's telling. It's possible that we can uncover enough to convince him to reveal what he knows and that may open him to all sorts of new perspectives. We will try our best."

He folds his arms. "Also while I'm sure you've already tried, perhaps try asking to deal with one of these minor tasks he keeps asking us to do. Surely with a squad of men from the keep you would be safe enough to handle some rabid dogs. Seeing a member of the Palfrey household out dealing with their concerns might also endear you to the locals."

Terminax, at the nod, as if on que, removes his finger.

"Heroes have to start somewhere. A reputation is earned one scar at a time, no need to rush towards trouble. That's the trouble with trouble, look for it or don't, its sure to find you."

Lyntern nods. "You're right. I've got to start somewhere. I'll talk to my father about helping to deal with the rabid dogs."

He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a scroll. "I found some old papers in the archives written by Kanthus. Can I see that scroll that you found in the Gleaming Glade? I thought we should make sure the handwriting matches, to ensure that it is authentic and not some elaborate hoax or trap." Lyntern holds up the two scrolls side by side and smiles. "It looks like we've got a match!"

He hands the party back their scroll, then begins to talk in a hushed tone: "Spire Keep is located deep in the heart of the Thornwood. It has been abandoned for over a century, and locals don't speak about it. Most have forgotten it ever existed. It was the original home of my family, built by Count Sarden Parlfray and kept garrisoned by his descendants as a critical defense within the Thornwood, manned by a vigilant body of men-at-arms to counter the constant threat posed by humanoids of the Thornwood.

"Then, one day, a supply party found the bodies of the men there horribly mutilated, with expressions of terror on their faces. Every last one of them had been slain, yet the defenses of the keep had not been breached in any way. Even more surprising was that despite the fall of the keep the humanoids became less aggressive and appeared to shun the place as much as everyone else in the area.

"Elman Parlfray, my great-grandfather, had been away from the keep at the time of the disaster, and he relocated the family home here in the Halfcut Hills, where it has been ever since.

"No one knows what happened there, and no one talks about it, let alone venture all the way out there."

"Oh, this is definitely not going to turn out well. Totally get that saying about curiosity killing cats now. This has, horrifying deadly ancient terror written all over it. Lots of dead heroes though, usually leads to lots of treasure to find in some lair. And I do like having beer money, so... let's just make sure we talk to a cleric before heading out. Get some silver weapons, holy water, and whatever else will kill undead terrors."

Lucien resists the urge to roll his eyes at Terminax. "Well firstly, we've hardly had trouble killing undead terrors so far. Second, unless we're going to convince the cleric to come with us, I don't think it'll make much difference. Not that I'm opposed to being prepared mind."

He turns back to Lyntern. "We'll check it out and see what we can discover."

"Do you know where this Spire Keep is?" Lathan asks Lyntern. "You said it is 'deep in the heart of the Thornwood' but that's not too specific. I don't suppose you have a map or directions or something else useful, do you?"

"I don't have a map of the location of the keep, unfortunately," Lyntern replies. "But from all I could find, it seems the keep is located right in the middle of the Thornwood. I can get you a map of the forest but I'm sorry to say I don't have anything more specific than that."

"If it's in the middle, that's good enough."

Rissa said, anxious to get going now their path was settled.

Lucien nods in agreement. "That seems to be how it is around here. Frankly, we could start making a map of our own and it would probably be far more comprehensive than anything the locals have. The more important decision is which way presents the best route to reach the center of the Thornwood. Should we go back along the river until we can travel due south? Or simply strike out south-west from Thurmaster." He looks to Lyntern to see if the young man has any suggestions.

Lyntern thinks for a moment, then replies, "Either way should get you to the heart of the Thornwood just the same."

"Well, that will have to do," Lathan says with a shrug. "Is there anything else we should know before we set off?"

Lyntern shakes his head in response to Lathan's question. "Best of luck," he says as he turns to leave. "I'm going to go talk to my father about helping with the dogs in the Redwood."

"I have everything I need to depart, is there anything any of you need to do before we go?"

"No, I'm ready to leave whenever."

Lucien watches Lyntern leave and turns his attention back to the group. "If I recall correctly, we may shorten our journey significantly by renting a boat and sailing south. The river forks south of Thurmaster and we may avoid some trekking through the woods by taking the western fork. Why don't we head back to town and see if someone might be willing to let us rent a boat?"

"Faster is better I suppose, though I sink better than I swim." Terminax says, rapping his armor with a gauntleted knuckle.

The journey from Parlfray's Keep to Thurmaster is uneventful. The party arrives in town in the late morning.

Barranas, the owner of the general store, has an old raft he's willing to sell the party for 50 gold pieces.

Looking around to the others for disagreement, Lucien asks to inspect the raft before handing over the money. If he is allowed to do so and if the raft does not appear to be on the verge of falling apart completely, he hands the requested coin to Barranas. He also buys any oars that Barranas has around the store and some paper, a quill, and some ink if they are available using his own money.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:11, Fri 15 Feb 2019.

The raft appears to be in good shape and includes oars as part of the price.

Barranas will sell Lucien a bottle of ink, a quill pen, and five pieces of paper for 14 gold pieces.

"Let's take it."

Rissa said, anxious to be away and making no attempt to disguise it.

Always cautious, Lucien somewhat reluctantly agrees and hands over the gold. "Let's waste no more time then and be off."

Three Elks rode his own raft down the Churnett River.  With a twist of the oar he reshaped the current so that the river itself pushed his long thin raft towards the city on the bank.  Spying another group gathered around a raft on the shore he called out, "Oi! What's the name o' this place?"

He was a tall, tanned, muscular man wearing patchwork leather trousers.  A heavy reddish boar hide was thrown over his bare shoulders, and black tribal tats poked out from underneath.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:18, Mon 18 Feb 2019.

Lathan spots the man approaching but doesn't respond to his question until it becomes clear to him that no one else in his party is going to answer, and then he only replies with the name of the settlement: "Thurmaster."

"Can we be of service?"

A Tiefling woman asked.  She was a strange sight, having made no effort to disguise her demonic heritage with hoods or cloaks.  The purple flesh of her face was heavily marred with intricate tattoo work, monochromatic in dark black.  It bore no form or easily discernible meaning, at least to those who lacked the lorecraft to read Celestial and Infernal, repeating geometric shapes that strange symbols that begin at her cheeks and travel down at least as far as the high collar of her studded leather jerkin.  Her ears and horns were heavily pierced and adorned with jewelry and rings, with some trinkets of real value mixed in among the cheap costume jewelry.

"I am Rissa Twiceborn, these are my companions in arms.  What brings you our way?"