Jaroo leads you to a small outcropping of Forest area that is near the central part of the village, towards the south. You can see a small wooden structure, a cabin with furs hanging on the windows, and a few other druid outfitings. Next to the cabin is an open grove area, with standing stones in a circle. Jaroo steps over to the circle and sits down on one of the rocks and then looks towards Althiöf. "That is better, Now, what is it that I can do for you." he asks.

"I've got something someone said there was a chance you might be interested in, but it's something I'd rather not get out, to keep a family from some embarrassment.  It's dead, but it has acid in its body, which might be of some use."

He brought the worm around his body and showed the druid.  "It attacked me and burned me with it's acid.  I had to defend another, so alas, it died."

Jaroo is excited to see what the Dwarf is talking about. "Ah, a worm, interesting specimen." Jaroo takes the eel like creature and lays it out on the ground before him. "Acid you say, If it still has its glands, its possible to harvest it. Did you want the acid, I don't have much use for it, but I could harvest it for you and put it into a glass vial." he says.

"That would be interesting.  I don't have much in the way of gold to give you, though."

"I'm Althiöf, by the way."

Jaroo smiles. "I'm Jaroo, don't worry about gold, I don't need it that often, Living off the land and being able to create my own water, its all I need." he says. "I don't mind helping others out, plus it shouldn't take long. I've taken the glands of a spider out, this should be a lot easier." Jaroo pulls out a small thin bladed knife from under his Elven made cloak, he then slices into the side of the worm and spills out some of its insides, poking around he finds the acid gland and removes it. "I shall be right back." he takes the gland and walks towards his cabin and steps inside the unlocked door. A few moments later he steps back out and walks over to Althiöf. "Here ya go, one vial of acid, now don't do anything nefarious with it, I'm trusting ya." he says.

[ You can add x1 Vial of Acid to your Character Sheet. ]

"You're a very selfless person.  I admire that.  I've never met a druid before."

"Have no fear, though, as I'm not a nefarious person by any means.  As a rule, I'm upstanding and honest."

"I hope our paths cross again, Jaroo."

Jaroo nods. "If you need anything just let me know." he says and then ponders for a moment. "Wait, Althiöf, would you be interested in doing me a favor, or I guess I could call it an adventure?" he asks.

At this rate, Althiöf thought he might have to stop talking to locals altogether.

"I would be honored to assist you, if I am able, Jaroo."

Jaroo goes back and sits down on the rock from before. "My friend Tarim, is having some issues with Spiders up in Deklo Grove, I would normally help him but my talents with animals does not extend to monstrous ones like these spiders. He is one of the local woodcutters, and the grove has been a great source of timber in the area. Since these spiders started moving into the area, Tarim has't been able to do his work." he says. "If you are interested I'm sure he'd hire you to go to the grove and take care of this pest." he says.

"Does Tarim live in Hommlet, or is does he reside closer to the Deklo?"

Jaroo says. "Ah, his cottage is across the field southwest of the Inn, You can see it from the southside of the Inn, he has cords of wood around his cottage." he says.

The dwarf bowed with honor to the druid.

"I will seek him out, and see if there is something we can do to assist with his dilemma."

He then moved to find the south side of the Inn to find the cottage with cords of wood around it.

As you approach the Grove you can see three shadows near the edge of the grove shoveling in the rain. A covered mass, likely the bear lays nearby. One of the Druids looks up as you approach and then taps Jaroo on the shoulder. He looks up and stops digging and places the shovel on the ground and steps out of the hole.

He lowered his gaze slightly from the druid's, and spoke a little quieter than normal, but respectful.

"Can I help dig?"

Jaroo nods, and goes over and grabs an additional shovel and then walks back to the hole. He begins to dig again. Jaroo doesn't talk, he doesn't make eye contact he continues to just dig in silence. One of the other druids breaks the silence and speaks. "Jaroo and we thank you for your help, and for talking the two groups down earlier. Hommlet doesn't need bloodshed." he says.

Althiöf accepted the shovel and dug where he was able, while staying out of everyone's way.  If room for digging was scarce, he would help by keeping the dirt they dug away from the edge of the grave, to prevent it from falling back in.

Quietly, he replied, "When the time is right, I will share my ideas about it."  Then he went back to digging and helping.

After the digging has finished, Jaroo and the other two druids carefully pull the bears carcass into the hole. Jaroo says a few words, talking about the Old Faith, and returning things to the soil for growth. The Druids all bow there heads and respectfully start covering up the hole. When the ground has been laid over Jaroo reaches into his pocket and grabs three green seeds, he reaches down and cups out a hole in the soil and places them there, and then steps back. After concentrating for a moment Althiöf notices the ground start to shake around where the seeds were planted, a small spout pops up from the dirt and starts growing at a quickened pace, after a few short moments its already as tall as the dwarf, after a minute its towering over the Druids. After a few minutes its sprung up into a massive Apple tree. As Jaroo stops concentrating, red apples start to show and flourish across the three. Bringing color to this dull damp area. The Druid stops, and you can see he is visually fatigued, he sits on one of the nearby stumps to collect himself.

Although the hole was filled, there was still some dirt remaining around the grave.  The dwarf grasped a handful of dirt, and as he sprinkled it around the apple tree and over the grave, he spoke these words:

Lo, there do I see my father
Lo, there do I see my mother
My sisters and my brothers
Lo, there do I see the blood of my people
back to the beginning
Lo, they do call me
They bid me take my place beside them
In the halls of Moradin
Where the brave may live forever

Jaroo gives the dwarf a respectful nod and says. "A Beautiful song." He says. "So Master Althiöf, if what I hear is true, you've rented a home here in Hommlet, and shall be staying for awhile, I'm hopeful that the outburst today didn't scare you away from that prospect, and I appreciate your respect and assistance with the burial of my bear." he says.

"I have.  It's a fairly small cottage, although I did pay a year in advance."

"I must say, though, that if the powers that be are at war in Hommlet, it does give cause for concern."

"I visited the woodcutter, and he explained the situation.  I'm going out tomorrow with the others (if the weather allows) to try to remedy the situation.  I'm hoping we all return from the journey.  Might be a tad dangerous."

Jaroo nods. "About the Spiders?" he asks. "I might have something in my stores that can help with that, just a moment." he says. He motions towards one of the other Druids and gives him a hand signal, its similar to thieves cant, but different. You can tell they are communicating just not in something you can understand. The Druid goes over toward one of the wooden sheds nearby and steps inside. He returns a minute later with a sack and hands it to Jaroo. Jaroo looks inside and starts pulling out a few things. "I only have one of these, but it might come in handy, you and your companions can use it, I used to keep it around in the event Tanak ate something he wasn't suppose to." he says. "I also have some healing salves that may help if you are wounded." he says.

x1 Potion of Slow Poison (Potion w/ Spell Effect.) (Free)
x5 Healing salve applications (See Below) (20GP per application.)

This ointment contains herbs that help to stop bleeding and close a wound, as well as infection-fighting properties. Applying the salve to a character with open cuts or bleeding wounds (not crushing or bludgeoning injuries) restores 1 hit point per separate wound or injury. For example, if a character was struck three times in the course of a melee, three applications of salve could restore 3 lost hit points. Healing salve costs 20 gold pieces per application.

Althiöf thanked the druid, "These could prove very useful.  Thank you."  The dwarf handed over twenty platinum pieces to Jaroo.

"I know it's getting late, the weather is coming down, and it's a night of mourning.  There are some things I would like to share with you, perhaps in the coming days.  They may be of some importance."

Jaroo nods. "I shall be here, tending to the grove, and the druid circle. If I'm not, then something has befallen me, I suspect that even though the hostilities ended earlier, that I can not prevent those of the Old Faith from attempting to retaliate on my behalf. I shall tell all our followers not to, but I can not watch them all the time." he adds.

"Good night, then, Jaroo.  I look forward to seeing you soon."

"Again, my condolences."

The dwarf made to leave the grove and return to the Inn.

==============END OF SCENE===================

As you approach the Grove the rain becomes heavier, and it feels like the thunder is louder. As you round a bend in the trees, you see three Druid's including Jaroo standing among the standing stones and all three are chanting. Its almost as if the three of them are controlling the foul weather, you do not know much about the Old Faith or Druids, but you have heard scattered rumors about them being able to control the weather. If you had to guess, it looks like these three are attempting just that.

Kossoth flicked the rain off his cloak for the Nth time to try and keep it from absorbing too much water despite the waxing used to keep him dry.  He wanted to speak with them but wasn't about to interrupt them in the middle of chanting, let alone when they looked like they were controlling the weather...for all he knew doing so would call down lightning on his head.  So the man circled till he could be seen by Jaroo, if the man was paying attention, but leaned against a large tree for some cover form the worst of the storm and began to wait...

Jaroo notices Kossoth watching from the edge of the stone circle, Kossoth almost feels as if the weather instantly gets worse due to him being there. Lighting flashes increase, and the thunder echoes louder as the rains start to fall heavier, the winds pick up to where Kossoth has to brace himself again'st one of the nearby trees. Hail starts to fall everywhere, except for the middle of the stone circle where the Druids are standing.

Weather Update

The Weather suddenly takes a worse turn. Hail starts pinging the roofs and structures outside. The wind starts blowing so far that people outside need to brace themselves. Shutters are flung off windows, and doors are forced open from the wind, and need barred from the window. The wing starts howling louder and louder, the rain comes down more heavy as small flooding starts near the creek. The hail starts damaging those that are ouside in it and not under something. Its easy to fine overhead cover to protect yourself wherever you are. Lightning flashes become more frequent and the thunderous echo groans louder.

As Kossoth held on tight to the tree he shook his head and let the wind carry his voice where it would as he shouted into it, "First poisoning Jay's animals and now this?  Are you trying to get the town to go eagerly into Cuthberts arms?"

Between the howling of the winds, and the thunder, and lightning strikes, Jaroo is able to hear Kossoth and his shouts. Breaking concentration, the weather gets marjonally better, as Jaroo steps from the circle and towards Kossoth. "This is not a place for you, leave now." he says. It looks like the two other Druids are holding the controlled weather, while Jaroo speaks to Kossoth. Jaroo sneers at Kossoth. "You do not know of what you speak, the people of Hommlet will never go into the arms of that Charlatan." he says.

"Why wouldn't they friend?  Will all of Jay's sheep being poisoned by hemlock make him rejoin the old faith?  Whether it is your fault or not the first thought will associate those plants with you and your kind.  Will the other villagers who look at the damage to their homes from this storm say the old faith will protect me?" he caught his breath as he held onto the tree.

Kossoth shook his head, "No they will say either the old faith failed to protect me, or the old faith is harming me and the only way to be safe is to align myself with a god who might have the power to resist.  I'm an outsider here for the funeral of a friend of my parents...I have no reason to lean one way or the other as to the troubles here but it looks like you are causing more trouble than solving it and we both know that it doesn't have to be true for people to believe it so.  They won't have to fall into the Charlatans arms to want to force you out of town..."

Jaroo takes a few steps away from Kossoth, and raises his hands, as the undergrowth near the tree starts to whip and vine around his legs, writhing up his legs and try to wrap, twist, and entwineand attempting to hold him in place. The trees branches also seem to try and come down to grasp the Fighter.

Save vs Spell, if you fail, you are entangled.

The vines wrapped around Kossoth's legs with ease and he looked at Jaroo with the surprise clear on his face, "I come hoping to find you blameless in all this, find the truth and help you...this is what you do?  It looks like you are not my friend Jaroo."


ooc: Fail
11:49, Today: Secret Roll: Kossoth Zan rolled 5 using 1d20 with rolls of 5.  Save vs Spell.

Jaroo turns back and goes over to the standing stones with the others. He starts chanting again in rhythm with the other two Druids, as the rain and hail starts to pick up again, a moment later the storm is back at full strength, this time more lightning is fills the skies above, and the thunder is almost deafening.

Those heading to the Grove will come upon the three Druids chanting looking towards the sky, standing around the stones. Off to the side you will notice Kossoth who is attempting to untangle himself from the vines that have grasped onto his legs and the branches that are trying to grapple him.

You will be entangled for the remainder of this round.

Storm approaches his new friend and once he is at the edge of the spell radius, he casts Bless on the party before approaching the druids and hailing them. He will raise his shield and keep his hands on his weapon sheathe

When the others step into the Grove, the weather takes yet another turn for the worse. The raining increases and the ground starts swelling as small floods start to appear. The Lightning strikes become more frequent, strikes are happening nearby, and the echoes of thunder rumble across the small Hommlet. The three Druids continue the chants. Suddenly a very close strike happens northwest of the Grove, you can hear the strike of lightning as it crashes into something.

"Sir Druids care to stop for a moment? I just came from the inn and your Storm is causing a lot of damage and even flooding. At this rate your village will soon be no more. I am certain you have friends whom you love and care for. Surely you do not want to see them harmed?"'Storm tries to use logical reasoning on the Druids.

Continuing, he shouts,"'we will help you to find out more about the death of your bear but I hope you have compassion on the residents of the village many of whom you call friends and stop this storm. The small creek now is flooding and soon the village will be gone of you don't stop."

Jaroo Steps from the circle, and the other two stop the chanting, the rain instantly stops, the lightning stops, and the thunder rolls into silence. Jaroo looks to the other two Druids and gives them a nod. He then waves his hand and the vines release Kossoth, freeing him. He steps over to the large apple tree and kneels down and whispers. "You've been avenged." he says.

Before speaking, Storm pays his respect to the dead bear grave, to honor the druid's faithful companion.

"I feel your loss good sir. Surely the villagers did not harm the bear. Is there no way your order and the church can co exist?" Storm asks.

He will ask the jaroo to explain the origins of the feud between the two orders if he is so inclined.

Jaroo turns to Stormrider. "There is no need to speak further about this. You didn't want the Church and the Old Faith to go to war in the streets, so we took it upon ourselves to bring the rightful justice to the one that killed my bear. It is over now." he says. The two other Druids move to flank Jaroo and stand with him, not knowing what reaction these people are going to have.

"Ah so much damage to the village just for your revenge? Would it not be better to report the matter to the mayor? Besides your gang is supposed to be neutral and not evil? Just curious what has the storm got to do with avengng your bear? The village did not kill your bear I am certain!" Storm asks.

He observes the druids and see if they have any emotions and their garb
This message was last edited by the player at 06:24, Fri 21 June 2019.

Jaroo looks to Stormrider. "Those of St. Cuthbert were not going to punish the one responsible for the death of my companion, so the Old Faith took care of it. The Druids of the Old Faith are neutral, and we were not the ones that brought violence and murder into this fight. Father Calmert and his ilk are the ones that did that. With the death of my companion, its escalated this war between our Faiths. Neutral or not, we will not just sit back and allow this to happen, or go unpunished. The waters will recede, and the downpour will increase the local crops and their yield, a little rain goes a long way outsider." he says. "Should you want to report this issue to Burne or Rufus, feel free too, I have no doubt they will want to have words with me, but I was here before them, and will be here long after them." he says.

"Yes I understand you are here before them. I am an outsider but in my school of thought, we learnt not to harm inocent people when we are fighting for a cause. I agree killing your bear is unwarranted. Now that you have claimed that you have avenged your loss, would you be willing to have a discourse with the church to at least have a truce? That will bring some peace to those you claim to serve. I can be your emissary," Storm says.

Jaroo scoffs. "You truly thank that the Church is going to let this go?" he asks. "One of their Acolytes are dead, but its what the Old Faith calls for. Their will not be a truce, neither side will agree to such. This shall be the occurrence that causes one side to succeed against the other. Father Calmert will leave Hommlet, and return to Verbobonc where he belongs, the Abbey can stay, those wishing to Worship St. Cuthbert can stay, but Calmert, he is cruel, vile, and forces people to covert to the madness that is the Church." he adds. "And that the Old Faith will not stand for." he says.

"Ah, I take it as you are fine with co-exstence with the church as long as it does not force people to convert? Couldyou tell me more about this Father Calmert? You seem to know him well," Storm asks.

He will also ask about what the druid meant by an acolyte dying.

Jaroo shakes his head, and sighs. "Calmert is a charlatan, he has come here from a large city with one task, collect more followers to St. Cuthbert, and collect tithes, The people of Hommlet were fine before he arrived, we worked peacefully alongside Terjon and Y'dey, we even broke bread at the Inn with them during festivals and celebrations. Then Calmert showed up, sent by a higher order in the church. When he arrived he forced people to convert, used tithes and gold he brought from Verbobonc to buy peoples debt and then manipulate them into converting to the church, can you see how manipulative and conniving that is." he says. "I've had brothers, friends fall victim to his ways, and now this." he adds.

Yaotl, having left closely behind Storm, watches the silent druids behind the talkative one. She listens with interest but she stays alert just in case.

Kossoth extracted himself from the last of the vines only after the Druids stopped the spell that was holding him and his shook his head, "If Father Calmert is the snake you say he is and came here with gold first he will go back to Verbobonc for certain and come with holy soldiers next.  You don't need to tell me they were wrong for killing your friend, but an eye for an eye isn't going to end at this and a lot of innocents...villagers here in this town...are going to get hurt or die because of this."

He cast his hand in the air, "And hopefully this Temple thing that the Elvish Princess and her companion were heading to before they were captured or killed is just them being unlucky rather than it growing again.  This town wouldn't have the resources to deal with it and the two religions at each others throats..."

He turned around to leave the grove efore turning his head to say, "I was going to ask you about Jay's sheep being killed with hemlock but if you just killed a man, killing sheep would be nothing."

Jaroo calls out to Kossoth. "The Old Faith devotes its self to all nature. We would have never killed someones sheep, what is this that you speak of." he says.

Kossoth turned shaking his head but shouldn’t have been surprised as they were Druids and pulled the wrapped packet of hemlock from his pack.  Walking back he held it out and replied, ”Jay’s sheep have been dying one by one and he had no idea why.  It was pure chance that I knew when I saw one of their tongues blackened and spotted that it was Hemlock poisoning but I’ve never seen it used on animals.  Tufts of it were stuffed in their pen and they had to have been eating it when other food wasn’t around.  Most people don’t know about it but herbalists would and most people consider Druids to be excellent herbalists.  With Jay saying he’d already taken flak for leaving the faith any random person would think you folk were the cause...truth be damned.”

Jaroo looks to both of the other Druids near him, both of them shake their heads. "It wasn't us that did that. Black Jay was once of the Old Faith, but after the death of his wife he needed something more to believe in, we understood, this was before Calmert came to Hommlet. Terjon gave council to Black Jay and helped him through his grief, we would have never harmed Black Jay or his sheep." he says as he sits down on one of the nearby rocks contemplating what was happening. "If what you say is true, this means that someone else is attempting to manipulate the issues we have between one another, someone might be trying to add fuel to this fire." he says.

Kossoth sighed, "That's why I tried to get you to stop what you were doing.  Even if it was right to do what you did it will play straight into the hand of whoever is trying to make you look wrong.  Anyone who has a deep connection in a religion are easier to manipulate because their strings are easier to play, more obvious."

He touched his chest, "I revere Lydia as she seeks the truth of things.  Truth brings both happiness and pain but I prefer it to a veil that can lead to calamitous results.  So if it wasn't you who else is knowledgeable enough about plants to understand that hemlock could be used in such a way?  Jay even had Calmert come out and he called it an evil aura leading me to believe it wasn't Cuthbert's followers either...if it was he would have fingered you right away.  I don't know how magic works or auras, I'm a mere Dervish, but if it was powerful enough to be sensed is there a way to follow that trail like a ranger follows tracks?"

Jaroo shakes his head. "Herbalism isn't as rare as you might thank, Druids of course know if the usage of herbs, but so do Alchemists, Apothecaries, even Merchants that trade in such items. It could have been anyone." he says. "An intent of evil can linger in an aura, but its able to be tracked as you put it." he says.

" yes I agree with my friend. If you did not poison Jay sheep then clearly there are dark elements at work seeking to destroy the town from within. This is a small village but I believe it's location could b strategic enough for someone to disrupt. Your bear was killed by daggers. Priests of st cuthbert don't use such weapons I believe. They use blunt instruments. If you say calmert is a beast, why not seek out the more moderate members of the order to parley?" Storm asks

"Don't you think that I have?" he asks. "Terjon and I actually get along, we've sat and talked, he even told me about St. Cuthbert and what their Faith has to offer. I am not against the Faith, I am against Calmert. But Terjon isn't in control of the Church here in Hommlet. Canones Y'Dey is suppose to be in charge, but she is often off on errands elsewhere. So that leaves Calmert to run the church how he sees fit." Jaroo says.

"Can the Canonese be persuaded to reign in Calmert? Or shall would it make more sense to appeal to the church to recall him? I think my friend is right. If calmert goes back for an army, it will be bad for the villagers and play into the hands of the people who wish this village ill," Storm says.

"Maybe we can talk to him and see if he can be brought to his senses,"'Storm muses.

"Until then, the Druids and I are going to leave, I have to seek out another companion and I can't do it here in Hommlet, I must venture deep into the heart of the Gnarley Forest." he says. "Calmert will have to wait for his revenge if he plans to take it, as for asking Y'dey, She has become a recluse when it comes to the business of the church, I fear that nothing she could do at this point would reign in Calmert and his blind Faith." he says.

"Perhaps we can talk first to calmert and get a truce for now till we sort the business of the agent provocateur out. In the mean time, I wish you success in finding your companion,"'Storm says.

"You do what you need too." he says as he moves over to the nearby cottage and enters inside. The other two Druids stand nearby and wait for Jaroo. He returns a few moments later with some wilderness gear. "I have things I need to do." he says. The three of the Druids turn to walk towards the forest.

，Storm wishes them good bye. He will stay a while to explore the grove and try to find anything of Interest

Stormrider stays in the Grove to look around. Jaroo had closed up his cottage and locked the door, so that wasn't something that he could easily look at, without some legerdemain. A small wooden shed is nearby which looks to house tools to tend to the grove, some farming tools, buckets, and some other misc items. The standing stones number six in total, the tallest standing eleven feet tall, and the smallest four feet. They have intricate runes carved into their surface and pigments have been used to accentuate the carvings. You can't understand the runes as they are of the Druidic language. Four smaller stones sit among the standing stones, places to sit from the looks of the wear on the tops. The grove its self lies a few paces further into the thick forest, an open grove of emptiness and fresh green grass in a perfect circle, its actually quite beautiful. You can feel the hairs on the back of your neck raise as you look around the grove.

Storm marvels at the place and wonders what causes his hair to stand. He will investigate the source that tingles his hair if he can.

The area clearly has some energy, its all over the grove, almost like a small electric charge.

Storm tries to use his knowledge of religion to see if he could tap into the energies or understand it.

This is a Druid's standing stones, and magical grove, it has many energies, but unknown to those not of the Druidic caste.

Storm leaves and proceeds to check out the cemetery.

Ooc: to cemetery. Cast invisibility to undead once there

==========END OF SCENE=============