Esmerelda queries
“So what ended the man?  And who was he?”

The wood is sorted into useful and not useful
The men at arms strip the man and roll him into one of his own pits before rolling the rejected logs on top of him
They look at each other as if someone should say some words...


The short distance away near a bend in the river a tree stubbornly clings to the bend the dirt mostly eroded from under it and it lists to the side, soon to topple in...
“This must be the one!”

"He was a nothing more than a thief and murderer. He's of no concern now."

Drezghl spit into the pit where the corpse lay beneath the logs and walked towards the river bend.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:09, Thu 20 Aug 2020.

At Esmerelda's question Eilyne shrugged her shoulders and said, "He probably got caught in his own traps when I started setting them off for him."  She shrugged her shoulders as he mattered little at that point, "Serves him right."

As they continued their search for a good tree they wouldn't have to just cut down and found the tree near the river  bend that was not much longer for the world Eilyne said, "I agree, this one is perfect for what you need."  She approached the tree and began to speak to it in sylvan consoling the tree for the end of it's long life and promise that it would not be cut down in vain.

Tauron nods to the other two, the witch and the dryad.
I think we all feel better about using this one than any other.
Eilyne Groveborn does it have any ripe fruit we can take.
Plant then across the land.  What more could the tree want that to know it's offspring will be scattered wide over the lands.

 Octavia agreed with Drezghl Zuhv in his assessment of the thug. His methods were never honourable, but this was beyond anything she had imagined. She was glad he was now worm food.

 She helped sorting and carrying the logs of acceptable dimensions for the war machines. While she was not gifted with engineering, she could tell good lumber from bad wood, and carried them away with ease even with a suit of armour on her back.

 As Tauron and the newcomer in ivy costume discussed which tree to get, she struggled to understand the selection criteria.
  "Has is it been like this all morning?" shed asked the half-orc with an eye roll.

Esmerelda collected the trees spirit before it was harvested...

She turns to Octavia
“Do you wish to know about your new handaxe?”

 Octavia took the handaxe from her belt, appreciated its weight and balance, and replied:
 "It is by no means mine – I didn't win it from its owner, merely picked it up."
 "But do tell, if you know more than meets the eyes."

“Aye magic it is an axe of spring and winter; working either against fire or against ice.”

A +1 handaxe of thawing & quenching

“Tis witches or feycrafted to have both worlds; heat and chill in a single item.”
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:06, Fri 21 Aug 2020.

In reply to Octavia Cassiana (msg # 90):

Drezghl merely sighs and nods.  Then he continues to help with the harvesting of the large cypress.

 The priestess considered the axe for one more moment, and then handed it over to Drezghl Zuhv.
  "A very interesting weapon, if Esmeralda is right. Better suited to the users of two weapons, I should say. I personally favour the two-handed style."

 She was ready to chop down the tree and return to the camp, unless there was anything else worthy of their attention in the woods.

Esmerelda balks...
“Clearly it must be decided whole to wield such a weapon and in what way. Perhaps it’s not a weapon at all and is meant for defense against both the song of ice and fire, as neither can contend with it ...”

The tree is harvested in short order...

It is nearly midday as the logs are all loaded
Fortunately the skilled lumberjack team knew to turn the empty wagon toward home, before loading it

 Octavia rides slightly ahead of the wagon transporting the logs, to open the road in case there was an ambush or other hazard.

 She urged everyone to press on as there was lots to do still to make the fort ready for battle...

The wagon rolls slowly under the weight of logs and the horses keep a steady pace through the woods

Soon a small red dragon with butterflies wings lands on a log he crosses his arms and blows a smoke ring out of his nostril..
“Greeting do you happen to have a jar of jam or wine?  I am fresh out.”

 Octavia turned her horse around when she spotted the little dragon, to see it land on the pile of logs. Her hand was on the pommel of her sword, but as the drake appeared peaceful she did not draw steel just yet.

  "We have no jam with us... and probably no wine either," she checked with a gander at the others, but it seemed unlikely they would have brought wine with them.

  "I can however offer you an opportunity to bargain for jam and wine, would you be interested?" she said in a tone that would hopefully entice the dragon to carry on the conversation.

  can i roll a knowledge check to identify the dragon?

Knowledge nature or dragons DC 12

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
Faerie dragon

---

In reply to Octavia Cassiana (msg # 95):

"As do I, but you never know when you only have one hand empty. It's certainly an interesting axe." Drezghl said as he tucked it into his belt and went back to work.

Octavia was not particularly knowledgeable when it came to dragons. She would have to assume that this specimen was one of the famed red dragon, mightiest and evilest of their kind. Except this one had butterfly wings and seemed friendly enough, so she would give him the benefit of the doubt. For now. Or her? She couldn’t be sure if she was addressing a he or a she-drake.

  “A score of most evil men are about to attack our little community, one or two days from now. If you and yours could help use, if you would attack the brigands beforehand or even assist us in battle, I promise you a fair and handsome payment in the form of wine and jam, for whoever joins our side in this battle.”

 The priestess was not too sure whether Oleg actually had a stock of wine and jam available, but she was positive such could be procured or crafted if necessary.

The little dragon smiles and winks...
"I am Perlavish, and We have been watching you and you respect the trees and the ways that are our ways, and I have appeared because we have already decided to help you."

Just as suddenly another small creature appears with the legs of a cricket..
"And I am , TygTitter­Tut, TT for short...and yes you pass the tests,"

The appearance of the dragon was something of a surprise to Eilyne, she wasn't quite sure what kind it was but she suspected that she should know.  As she listened to the two creatures talk she smiled and gave a couple of rather grumpy people an "I told you so" look when they complained about her restrictions on their choices of lumber.  She gave each creature a nod and said, Perlavish, TygTitterTut, I am Eilyne and I am quite pleased to meet you both."

Eilyne Groveborn rolled 15 using 1d20+7 with rolls of 8.  Know (nature).

Tauron looks at the little dragon and smiles.
It is a pleasure to meet you Perlavish and TT and to know you will be help.
The elf give the same look as Eilyne to Drezghl.
When I joined the group of people that came to defend the fort it was also to defend the land it self.  To make sure that nature itself was not forgotten.
The fact you are here for us to see and talking to us mean I not done a bad job.
After we defended the fort would you two take the time to show me more of these land and teach me more about nature here.  If you have time?

Perlavish laughs
”of course it is a pleasure to meet us we are the fey of this wood and have decided to help.”

“Well it is settled then, ride with us to the trade post, and we can work out the details. Any denizen of the forest you can bring with you will be welcome. The battle ahead will be a difficult one, but with more allies we will prevail, Gorum will shine upon us.”

 Octavia was eager to get back and get on with the battle preparations.

The wagon lumbers forward laden with the tree and logs

The fey creatures disappear and take flight, it is hard to say exactly where in the woods the fey are at any moment.

Strangely the forlorn woods seems suddenly warm and inviting as if welcoming you...

Imiria’s raven perches on Esmerelda the old gnome nods and talks to the bird...
The old gnome shakes her head slowly
“Troubling news indeed.”

When the woods opens back to the plains, it seems to have happened shockingly fast
The woodcutters scratch their heads
“Thought we were another hour to reach the edge.”

Eilyne was pleased to see the two beings and spoke to them in the language of the fey until they flew off.  It was nice to see more of "her kind" around and Eilyne was quite pleased.  When they reached the edge of the woods and the woodcutters expressed their shock Eilyne laughed and said, "Thus is the power of the fey in our lands.  We can trap you in the woods, running in circles if offended but if we are shown respect can as easily speed you on your journey."

She shifted atop the logs, laying on her stomach now, and looked ahead of them.  One leg lie to the side of the log while the other was on the center of the log with her knee bent letting her foot rise above her in the air.  It made her garment ride up on her backside and hinted at what she did, or did not, have on underneath it to anyone behind her.  If she cared if they saw it didn't show in the least.

TO: Oleg’s Trading Post
This message was last edited by the player at 13:07, Thu 03 Sept 2020.

The remainder of the trip is uneventful
The only exception is when Esmerelda tells everyone that Filarion
Is in grave danger far from any humanly aid

Exit to Oleg’s