Pieter pursed his lips at the halfling's mention of queens and royalty; these were not circles he moved in, more accustomed to the rude courts of the wood. He said nothing, though his fingers twitched as he wanted them to close on his weapon

The Elves eyebrows raise and one of the bows swings in the direction of Edgar as he speaks. The strange figures have a hushed conversation in their impenetrable tones before the leader speaks up again.

"We shall let you pass... but we shall be watching."

He looks imperiously at the group at then at Granny before raising a hand in signal. As one the elves step back into the shadows of the trees, eerily silent and almost seem to melt away.

For a moment all is quiet until Granny Moescher sags with relief, wiping her brow with one hand even as the other still clutches the herbs and weeds she had gathered. "Thank you my dearies. I thought the the thorn-ears would have had me there."

Lukas waited for what seemed like an uncomfortable amount of time staring at the treeline where the elves had disappeared into.  He couldn't see to well in the dark anyway, and yet he believed them when they said they were watching - it was like they had just floated into the woods and become part of the forest, but he knew they were there.

"That was a relief," he whispered, although he was sure that if the woodmen could see them then they could probably still hear him too, whisper or not.

"I've only ever heard of their kind before, they are terrifying aren't they?" he carried on to the others nearby who perhaps had not shared his awe.

He bravely took a step forward and knelt close to Granny Moescher who was still close to the herbs on the ground

"Granny, what are you doing out here alone?  You could have got hurt.
You could have asked for one of us to accompany you.  Someone you trust."

He knew it was pointless.  Granny did her own thing and so did he.  Schiller thought they were both mad living outside the town but he knew Granny needed her space.

"Let's get back to the camp, we've had enough scares for now" he still whispered, only now beginning to feel self conscious about it.

Edgar's shoulders slumped with relief as if all the wind had been taken out of his sails.

The mention of the queen had been a gamble but one that seemed to have paid off though looking into the trees he could see with his night eyes shadows upon shadows and knew they were still being watched.

He turned to Lukas " It agree with your counsel it would be folly to tally here any longer" he replied with a weak smile.

Nodding to the others he turned to head back to the camp

Jocelin kept her fists planted on her hips as she watched the elves depart. "'Let us pass.' Hmpf! As if they weren't the ones trespassing!" she said quietly in a huff.

He face softened and looked at Kohl. "Are you sure Ghyran and ... Ghur..." the second Wind she pronounced with some emphasis, "weren't working themselves through us for Granny Moescher's benefit? She was protected, I'm sure, as she sought to protect those in her care. But yes, let us return."

Yawning, Pieters eyes lingered on the trees where the elves had vanished: that was a trick worth learning. He said nothing as the others wittered, returning to his blankets

Harkrin stayed on guard, being the last to turn his back to the place where the elves had been just a moment ago, making sure that no one would be attacked from the shadows. The pointy ears were, after all, known for their deceptions and ambushes. They could not fight, so they had to rely on tricks.

With one last glance at the spot previously occupied by the elves, Harkrin grumbled something and followed his companions back to the camp.

Fyodor let the others leave first before he slowly backed away from the area. His arquebus still aimed at the shadows from where the elves had first emerged. Once at a safe distance he turned around and jogged after the others to catch up with them.


"Number one elves. Not friedly. Forrest them?" he asked in his accented Reikspeil.

Jocelin softened as they started their way back to the caravan. Not understanding Fyodor, she asked, "I'm sorry, Fyodor, what was that you were asking about the Elders? If this forest was theirs?"

---

OOC:

I think you're trying to write in dialect, but since I don't quite get what you mean, Jocelin will play along, too. :-)

Fyodor nodded at the wind witch.

"Da. Forrest theirs? Da."

OOC: Yep. My Slavic language knowledge is limited so making him hard to understand in a different way :)

The wizard huffed in response. "Most certainly not," she said adamantly, the tightness of the encounter returning to her face for a moment. "They act as if any place a shade to green from the sky belongs to the Elder race, even if they can't behave amongst themselves. They are subtle and alien, not to be trusted at their word, and the Empire trucks with them for specific and limited purposes.

"Yes, they are wise in their craft," she begrudgingly admitted, "but there is a reason their race spawned the Despoiler*. Pure hedonism and arrogance brung them low, and how easily they drip that poison from honeyed words."

She shook her head and the pleasant face returned. "No, Fyodor, this forest belongs to His Imperial Majesty. And I'm happy Kislev remains innocent of much contact with the Elders. May it ever be so."

---

OOC:

*Canonically are the Elves responsible for creating Slannesh in WHFRP the same way they are in 40K, or would this be a tenuous accusation on the part of J?

"They keep the forests a little clearer of the fallen, men and beasts", offered Pieter as they returned to the camp, "At least so the tales tell. Good to have in the vicinity, but not too close"

Edgar continued his walk back to the camp but joined the conversation"the elf are a strange and elder race they were here long before humans they might have been here befors my own race who can tell. They were the care takers of the land before humans scared it with their civilization so I think they have the right to be above humans whwn they see the land damaged the resources ripped from the earth and their sacred places destroyed. "

" we should count ourselves lucky to them we were defiling the land..... Whether you humans agree with it or not they still see themselves as the guardians of nature..... And I honestly believe without them the world would be a less wondrous place"

“For an agent of the Empire, you seem quick to diminish it and place others above it,” Jocelin returned to the halfling.

She held to herself the thought, ~~ One susceptible to the Defiler — or caught in his vile grip — would speak of the Sundering of the Eldest and the blight they brought upon the world as ‘guarding nature’. For his own soul’s sake, I hope he is merely obstinately ignorant in this, as he is in other matters. ~~

"not at all just relating history..... Which repeats itself time and again.... The empire is a, wondrous thing but the fact is they invaded these lands humans spread to all corners.... Taking what they wanted by might of arms forcing their ways on the world around it. "

" those that bent the knee were taken in as the conquered those that didn't were segregated of destroyed. "

" the elves, dwarves and halflings even were invaded.... Don't get me wrong I'm not against the empire I'm just stating what happened.... Acts that are written down as fact..... But I can also see it from the other side of the coin and can see why the elves have issues with the empire.... And whatever you say and I'm not saying you are right or wrong but to them the land still belongs to them and they still protect it as they see fit"

“Saying, they have the right to be above humans is not ‘relating history’. Nor is declaring as fact their ownership of Imperial demense. Tread softly, Messenger.”

"for a learned person you don't listen much I did not say they were above humans or that they had aright to the land I was merely stating they believe it.... And I need not tread carefully as I have not said anything against the empire..."

He shook his head and sighed..." next time we encounter such people I will hold my tongue and allow you to get us out of a deadly situation...."
This message was lightly edited by the player at 18:26, Sat 26 June 2021.

Lukas had absolutely no idea who Ghyar or Ghur where so the concept of whoever they were somehow protecting Granny was completely lost upon him.  He didn't really want to mention that to Jocelin for he didn't wish to appear particularly ill informed or stupid.  He knew a lot about wood and smoke and heat and space but he doubted that knowledge was useful in the wider world.

He walked back to the camp silently staying close to the others for he knew his eyes were not as strong and his footsteps unsteady in the gloom.  One day he imagined he would be in an inn laughing about a joke about 'the halfling and the wizard' but what started off as an interesting history lesson about things he could barely follow quickly turned into bickering and a perception that the two had been chewing Weirdroot.

There was a part of him that sought to placate them and soothe their tempers but at the same time he felt that he really wasn't informed enough about history or elves or anything else they were on about so just kept his eyes and ears on the way back to camp.

"Tea.  That's what we need.  A little fire, a boiling pot and some tea," said Lukas hopefully when they got closer to the camp.  Tea didn't settle arguments but he'd feel a lot safer watching Edgar and Jocelin debate Elvish land rights with something warm in his hands surrounded by a fire and the people of Untergard.  The forest was his home of course, but recent encounters had certainly unnerved him of what lay beyond his eyesight.

Edgar looked up at his friend Lukas "sweet tea all round I think... Good idea my friend..... I think I have some dried herbs and some honey in my pack that will be spicy and sweet and take the chill of the night and the encounter out of our bones"

"Good man!" said Lukas to Edgar eagerly, "Sounds perfect," he added, then felt a little guilty for he hadn't meant to impose on Edgar but a part of him was secretly glad to have a Halfling with them.  It was clear their knapsacks contained all sorts of wonders.

"You know, I've lived in these parts a long time and never seen elves and never seen beastmen until recently.  Times are a changing, the world isn't what it used to be.  There have always been tales of course, of old veterans passing through and those to scare children to sleep, but I've never seen so much disturbance and trouble before.  Don't think things will ever be the same again.... he said as they go closer to the camp, but privately already looking forward to the tea.

Fyodor was lost in the conversation between the shortling and the wind witch. So when I recognized the word tea his face lit up and he loudly exclaimed.

"Da, hot tea. "

By now they had walked a good distance from the elf encounter so he let himself relax a little more and was looking forward to some hot tea with a little kvas in it.

As they reached the camp Edgar turned to the others " Right let us congregate at  my fire in ten minutes bring your mugs and I will have the tea boiling"

He moved over to Jocelin "Mistress Herzog I would be honoured if you would sip tea at my fire on this cold night, we might have differing opinions but we are still one group and it is best to warm oneself with friends than on ones own."

With that the little halfling moved off quickly to his camp fire and set about laying out herbs and honey, boiling water and adding a little of this and a little of that tasting as he did so until he was satisfied it was the right temperature, correctly spiced and sweet to the pallet but not overly so

The return to camp was met with cries of relief from the Untergard refugees - and tears as several of the children seemed quite overcome with seeing their guardian back. Granny Moescher seemed to be weathering it well, tired perhaps but otherwise happy to be back.

The buzz in the camp gradually settled down as people began to turn in for the evening. It looked like being a clear crisp night for once and there was reassuring sense of normal 'life' from the woods around you as furry moths danced around the campfires and an owl hooted in the distance.

---

OOC: If anyone has any NPCs they want to talk to or other plans for the night suggest them, otherwise we can skip to the morning.

Back at the camp, Harkrin concentrated on the trees, carving into them warnings in Reikspiel and Khazalid. "Pointy-ears nearby, beware." "Bloodsucking elves, kill on sight." "Women left unattended will be killed by elves." and similar ones.

After he methodically marked every other tree, he put away his chisel and went to bed. The night was eventful enough for everyone and they next day would most likely be very similar.

Disquieted by the tears and the children, Pieter nonetheless hung at the edges of the campfire where tea was being brewed - such rough cameraderie was bread and butter to him, though perhaps his experience was more akin to crust and stale water. After a time he retreated to speak to those he had arrived with