"I am Sellyria Starsinger, Speaker for the Tiri Kitor," the standing elf says. She indicates the seated elf and continues, "This is High Singer Trellara Nightshadow. Killiar tells me you defeated the harrowblade who took two of our kin. Thank you."

At this, a perceptive party member might notice the seated elf struggle to hold back a stubborn tear that wells near the corners of her eyes.

"We do not often see strangers in our homeland. What brings you to the Blackfens?" she continues.

Remembering their bout with the crazy kobold the last time they entered a tree, Valthur keeps his head on a swivel. Although he gets a feeling that the current situation is not as dangerous (at least not immediately), he continues to follow his earlier-established policy of keeping his mouth shut and letting Eoni do the talking.

"My name is Sister Eoni, follower of Avandra," she said, bowing her head to the Speaker of the Tiri Kitor.  "We call ourselves the Trailbreakers.

"Adranna the Young, the Eth Speaker of Witchcross, asked us to search the ruins of Rhest for a growing evil within.  Something more dire even than the army of hobgoblin, dragons, and other dire creatures now marching on Brindol from the Wyrmsmoke Mountains.

"She told us we're searching for something with the taint of the Nine Hells upon it.  Once found, we'll destroy it, if we can.  Then return to do what we must to prevent the Witchwood and Elsir Vale from being overrun.

"If Brindol falls, the darkness will be long and bloody."

"Rhest!" Speaker Starsong echoes, her voice pained and full of sorrow.

"As you have seen, the marsh is growing dangerous. We have long struggled to hold these beautiful lands for our own. The local lizardfolk have vexed us for many decades, but now a new peril stalks the Blackfens."

"So, you have come on a mission from the wise Eth Speaker of the Witchwood? We count the Children as Eth as friends, therefore, you shall be afforded the same honor," she whispers.

In a voice just above a whisper she continues, "Rhest holds painful memories for my people. We do not go there now. It is a place of bad memories and things lost. But it was not always so. It was once the center of a proud nation. But now, it is little more than a few ruined buildings slowly sinking into the mire. We respect the memories of that folk and avoid the place. The same cannot be said of the lizardfolk that have long haunted that ruin, until recently, they claimed sole dominion of that realm..."

"The Eth Speaker is wise in the ways of divination. I suppose her suggestion of the taint of the Nine Hells would explain the new, Dark Power, that seems to have established itself in the ruins and brought the lizardfolk under its dominion. This could be the taint of the Nine Hells the Eth Speaker spoke of," she adds.

"Whoever it may be, they have not meddled with our encampments yet. We have not tried to infiltrate the ruins for fear of arousing a wrath we may be ill-equipped to counter."

"Would you allow us to see what we could discover there?" Eoni asked hopefully.  "I daresay we would not be mistaken for your people."

She hadn't thought this mission might open a new front to this war.  If they stirred the lizard folk to rise up, it would not be to their advantage.

Speaker Starsinger closes her eyes while considering Eoni's request and, with her eyes still closed, says, "Yes. I do not suppose you would."

The aged elf smiles as one might in response to a child's joke, opens her eyes, and continues, "You will not find many forces within Rhest, but those you do find will be quite strong. Scouts report they are now led by a cruel and clever goblin chief. Reportedly, they have claimed several buildings near the center of the ruins. I also suspect you may find the dragon within those ruines, as well..."

 Marklin stood there while Captain Eoni parleyed with the Owl Riders, his momentary fascination with the elves having evaporated when he found out he had to fly. When the Elf bespoke of these "Beautiful Lands", Marklin got a mild surprise look on his face. All he had seen was a Swamp, when they had  flown to this place.

Valthur's attention fades as Eoni and the Speaker discuss the matters at hand. "I wonder what Darna will think when I tell her of this adventure," he wonders optimistically to himself. "Riding on the back of a giant owl? Then being welcomed by the Queen of the Swamp Elves?" His face curls into a bit of a frown at the term. "Wait - that's not what she called herself. Plus 'Swamp Elves' is not at all impressive. What was the name they used? Kirri Taka? Karri Takir? Bah - I should've paid better attention. Their proper name would do a lot more in the way of impressing Darna Coalhewer than 'Swamp Elves' would."

Taerix waits for the parleying with this new elf to resolve, while still trying to get his feet back under him.

"We've been seeing too many dragons of late," Eoni sighed.  "You wouldn't happen to have anything that might help against a dragon, would you?"

She was hopeful the Speaker might have something to aid them.  As well she would dearly like to lighten the load of gold in her pack if she could find some armor to replace her ruined jacket.

OOC: We're all carrying at least 35 pounds of loose coin.  If there's any opportunity to spend some here, Eoni would like to find it.

OOC: Marklin refused to carry the extra weight.

"We've seen but one dragon in the skies. A black dragon and not quite as large as any of our giant owls. It has not attacked any of our encampments, yet I fear it may be simply biding its time," she says.

Addressing Eoni's question, "You are our guests here. Avail yourselves to our hospitality, rest and recuperate your strength and vigor. If you need healing, you should speak to Illian Snowmantle at the temple. You may also find those willing to trade within our village. Beyond this, there is little I can offer. I must keep our defenses focused on our homes, as you must clearly understand."

Sarah's face brightens at the mention of merchants.

"Thank you for your hospitality," Eoni replied to the Speaker with a bow of her head.  "We will leave in the morning to continue our mission.  If we survive, we will return or send word of what we discover."

Having concluded their business, the Sister expected to be dismissed to avail themselves of their hospitality.  She herself wished to see their healer as her skin still burned from the acidic bite of the swamp beast.

Speaker Starsong appears somewhat taken aback by Eoni's declaration of an early morning departure.

"A pity you will be leaving in the morning, for tomorrow, we honor Lanikar's memory with a funeral ceremony," the aged elf says. Again, the younger elf, seated to the right of her elder, becomes visibly shaken at this pronouncement. She struggles to hold back tears, to which Speaker Starsong says, "It will be alright child." She reaches across her armrest and clasps hands with the younger elf."

"Lanikar is Trellara's brother," the elf Speaker says. "Losing a sibling is hard," he eyes becomes misty and distant, "as hard as one of your own."

"I do apologize for our haste," Eoni explained.  "Every day we spend away from the Vale, the invaders grow closer to Brindol."

In reply to Eoni Daflin (msg # 22):

The Wood Elf Speaker nods once, her facial features masked and emotionless. "Very well then. Killiar will show you to the guests tents we have made up for you. There you may freshen up, as needed, before going to temple."

After purchasing two Potions of Healing from the merchants, Kane heads for his tent and tries to remove the worst of the dirt and dust before lying down for a while until  the elven temple service begins.

 Marklin would attempt to purchase two potions of healing from their hosts, then retire for the night.

Valthur purchases the final healing potion and, after a long discussion about "what's so good about these sheets of paper anyway?" with the keepers at the temple, he also purchases a scroll of protection from evil, which he unceremoniously gives to Eoni with the hope that he "didn't get totally screwed by those holy swamp elves in the temple."

With backpack still heavy, he contributes another 200 gold to have his armor and battle axe identified.

After that, he heads to the general supplier for a new rope and a replenishment of his quarrels. Finally he haggles at great length with a shopkeeper over jewelry for Darna. His preference is "something that isn't just made of swamp grass and snake eyeballs". If he can get anything with an owl feather in it, he considers that a great bargain. As always, his frugal nature shines through when thinking of others and he caps his spending there at 20 gold... unless the feathers are really nice.

Her clothing likely being acid-eaten, Aldara seeks out travelling clothes, or perhaps robes.  Either way, she will seek out a hooded cloak and cloth bandana to cover her face if the healers are not able to return her features back to normal.

Forty-two gold coins of her share of the treasure are donated to the Correlites at the temple.

Following their meeting with Speaker Starsinger, and when she is assured of their designs in the Blackfens, the adventurers are given leave to move about the village at will. Befire dismissing the adventurers, she has Killiar provide the party verbal directions to the Ruins of Rhest.

Starsong Hill is essentially a mound of dry land surrounded by a thick grove of trees. The hill itself rises about 20 feet from the surface of the surrounding wetlands. Perhaps one hundred or so simple hide and wooden structures are clustered throughout the hill. The southern third of the hill is uninhabited by the elves; here, the giant owls roost in the tall trees overlooking the nearby wetlands.

The adventurers spend the early dusk hours visiting the Temple of Corellon and trading with the wild elves, primarily gold for jewelry and other clothing items. Additionally, Valthur consults with a few elves on his recently found magic items and learns a little of their history and powers. Apparently both are Rhestilorian in make and definitely enchanted, as previously suspected.

At the end of the evening, the elves provide the adventurers with food and drink and show them to their accommodations, which are clean, comfortable, and dry.

Eventually, the party drifts off to sleep, the thin tent walls doing little to diminish the mysterious wetland sounds that persist through the night...

***

The night passes uneventufully and the adventurers wake early the next morning feeling quite refreshed. Perhaps the best they have felt in some time, all aches gone, and their spirits lifted. Once they emerge outside their tents, the party discovers a village in the midst of dilligent preparations for a funeral ritual later to occur at dusk. The wild elves are constructing a pyre of boughs and branches, skillfully woven, in the center of the village. Normally, the adventurers may learn later, the deceased would be burned atop a pyre, but in this case Lanikar's body was never recovered.

Elsewhere, others are preparing for a great feast and celebration immediately following the ceremony. By all accounts, it seems like Lanikar's funeral will be quite the spectacle. But the adventurers have indicated they intend to press on early in the morning and will be unable to attend.


OOC: +1 Armor, +1 Battle Axe

"I would have liked to have stayed," Eoni lamented as she watched the preparations for Lanikar, "but we're pressed for time."

She's once more wearing her dun dress that she'd forgone for riding.  The other outfit now unfit and acid eaten left by the wayside.  She was, however, wearing a new tiara of a light colored wood intricately carved with a polished stone at it's apex.

"Let's see how far we can get on foot before nightfall.  I'm hoping our trip with the owls brought us closer and not further from our destination."

Valthur joins the group the next morning with, if it's even possible, his chest puffed out a little more than usual thanks to the news regarding his enchanted axe and mail. He struggles to keep from smiling outwardly during the somber preparations for Lanikar.

He hands Eoni the scroll he purchased the evening before, hoping it might do them some good in the future. "This is for you," he explains. "Hopefully you'll know what to do with it because I can't read a thing it says."

As they prepare to depart, he brings his axe over to Marklin to give him a closer look (whether he wants to take a look or not). "I'm thinking about giving it a name," he confides in the fighter. "Maybe 'Hobgoblin's Bane'... or 'The Elsir Edge'. What do you think?

When Sarah emerges to greet the day, she looks decidedly different.  Her dusty (filthy) clothes are gone, replaced with finely crafted clothing, courtesy of the elves.

Her new outfit is not what one might regard as the height of fashion; it is clearly intended to be functional.  The colors are not garish; they are dark and natural looking.  Nonetheless, anything crafted by the elves has a look of quality about it, and Sarah's new clothes are no exception.

[Private to DM Pawn: OOC: It did not occur to me to think of something in the way of clothes (or anything to augment sneakiness) until tonight, so I apologize for any liberties I've taken here.  I deducted 13 gold to pay for the fine, functional, yet rugged clothes; tell me if I should pay more.]