[Continued] - Lug/A Rescue Mission - 28 April, 1 VC

[MonkeyWrench]

Valorei sighs, "Finally, I was exhausting myself while trying to stay my hand to release them..." He looks towards the other group members, any hint of interference and Valorei will stand between them and the goblins while Nihilus does his work.

Calling to the Goblins,

Goblin:

"You're freedom is granted, please run and do not look back... I am truly sorry for your companion."

[Keehnelf]

The goblins spare only a moment to rub at the chafe-marks where they had been bound before bolting off into the undergrowth to the north, disappearing noisily from sight.

[MonkeyWrench]

Valorei watches the goblins scamper off, his shoulders sagging, "I shall remain out here as well... While I do not harbor any violence I... This trial with the goblins and my fellow group members has stressed both my morality and trust and I fear that I am not worthy of such a place, as I am now..." Valorei finds a place to sit, out of the way but not in the grove and simply closes his eyes and breathes.

[Zorroroaster]

Marge watches the drama with the remaining goblins unfold. She huffs a little as the captives scamper off.

"Bah. Looks like they settled it themselves, eedjits that they are. I'll stay here, if you don't mind. I'm sure they can fend for themselves for the night. 'Sides, it's a little quieter in here, and Dog likes the peace for a change. Don't ya, mutt?"

[Keehnelf]

May 2, 1 VC - 8:40pm

Marge decides to stay within, and though the party seems somewhat more resolved they remain outside the bounds of the grove as the sun falls fully below the horizon. As shadows settle under the dense canopy, the party finds it increasingly difficult to make out the shape of the square tower against the darkening sky, and the black spaces between the boles of the jarban trees become denser and more textured than before. After a moment, all sign of the grove is gone from their sight--they are sitting at the end of their muddy track in the forest with nothing but bushes and trees around them and no sign of civilization. Several of them move through the area, looking for any sign of the vanished grove, but they find nothing, and they resign themselves to waiting until the morning.

Less than an hour later, Lug and Varas arrive from the east, weary but apparently no worse for wear than when they darted off into the woods after the injured orcs.

[Zhym]

Lug huffs as he and Varas trot back to the others. "They got away," he reports. "Gruuk-Darak and whoever was with him. They moved awful fast for being hurt. I wonder what hurt 'em. Think it mighta been Xavros? Anyway, they went back to the orc hold, so they know we're around here now. So you might as well let our goblins go. They can't say anything that ugly orc doesn't already—" He stops as he realizes that there are no goblins among the group. "What'ja end up doing with 'em?" he asks. "Did you kill them or set them free?"

"And sorry about before," he adds, looking at Valorei. "I just got so mad when they said...what they said." He lowers his head and sighs heavily.

After a moment, he looks up and around. "Why are you waiting here?" he asks in a more upbeat voice. "The grove shouldn't be far. Let's someone climb a tree and have a look!"

"Hey, where'd Marge and her dog Dog go?"

[Keehnelf]

I'm just going to skip ahead for convenience's sake.

May 3, 1 VC - 6:30am

The party informs the new arrivals of the disappearance of the grove and Marge along with it, Lug slaps himself in the forehead and mutters "Of course!" a few times, stares around in wonder at the trees, and tells everyone to wait until morning and it would come back.

The party sleeps until morning, and finds upon waking that the grove has reappeared. Marge, Dog and Xavro with his lynx all stand near the edge of the grove looking out over the group as they stir. Xavro's voice is a bit strained and more formal than before as he asks, "So, what are your needs?"

[Zhym]

Lug stammers, sensing even though his thick skull that the centaur isn't happy. "Uh, hi. We, er, I—no, we—wanted to make sure the grove was safe from the fires and see if we could help. But I guess it's fine, isn't it? And we were also hoping for a place to rest. We got ambushed on the way to the orc hold, and got hurt, then the Finger went boom, then we saw Gruuk-Darak, and he was hurt, and I wondered if he ran into you, and Varas and I chased him but he got away. And these goblins we captured said all my friends were dead. My Vaul friends won't be friends with my Xavro friend. I'm supposed to be leading this group and I'm doing a really bad job of it."

Lug slumps down against a tree. "What are my needs?" he says, laughing without mirth. "I don't know even know where to start."

[AleBelly]

Varas rises in the morning, stiff from the previous day's exertions. He is gobsmacked by the appearance of the grove right near where he sits. Upon hearing Xavro's question he replies?

"My needs are simple, Xavro. I need wealth - security for my future, as it were. I prefer to take it from evil creatures. Or jerks. Often it's both. My other need is friends out here. I thought the big black wolf was my friend - he helped us kill lizard men, so I figured he was a good guy. But I know the orcs and gobbos are bad, and if you don't like 'em, I hope we can consider ourselves allies."

[Keehnelf]

Xavro looks a bit taken aback by both responses. Looking from one to another, he says, "I apologize for my abruptness. When your group arrived here with violence dripping from them, without you who had stood for them in my eyes, I was concerned for the welfare of myself and this place. I am sorry that you feel as though your mission was in vain or that its lack of success rests upon your shoulders. I can only say that I believe you are not responsible for the collapse of the mountain, and that event casts a long shadow over any rescue attempt you might have made. I believe if you had entered the tunnels in search of your friends, you would likely be dead now as well. Let us only hope that their passing was swift and gentle, and that they will now find themselves at one with the energy of the world."

He sighs.

"To be frank, I am very concerned about the safety of this grove. I believe that I can protect it for a time with my arts, but if the fire spreads and engulfs the forest at large, either the trees will be threatened or this grove will become dangerously exposed. The magic of its disappearance is only possible because of the dense woodland surrounding it. If it stands alone, all manner of creatures will be free to come and go as they please.

"I know that you are beleaguered by your travels, but if you truly wish to aid me, I do have a favor I would ask of you." He looks directly at Varas. "And to satisfy your other desires, I may be able to provide some compensation that you would find valuable in exchange."

[Zhym]

"So...the orc hold is destroyed?" asks Lug. He takes a moment as the implications sink in. "Sorry, Orrin," he says quietly. "Adrienne. Jem. Naila. Remus. I tried."

"What's the favor?" he asks. "I can't promise any one else will help. They signed up for a rescue mission, and that's over I guess. They can return to town or stay and help. Whatever they want. But I will help my Xavro friend if I can."

[AleBelly]

"I like the sound of compensation! Plus, you seem like a nice guy...er...horse-guy. Nicer than that Duke prat. What is this favor about?"

[Keehnelf]

Xavro shakes his head. "I can't be sure of anything specific being destroyed. But my friends have informed me that there is significant devastation close to the mountain, fire and molten rock flowing across the slopes of the mountain and of course the explosion of fragments of stone itself. I doubt that anything offering direct access to the depths of the mountain avoided significant damage, at the very least."

He steps forward and places a hand on Lug's massive shoulder, bowing his head, then turns back to the trees.

"As for my request. There is a stream to the south of here (you crossed it on your way north, only a few feet wide and easy to get over on foot). I have a tool that can be used for quickly shaping earth, and would request that you travel to the creek and redirect its course here, to create a barrier of water in the forest a half-mile or so outside the perimeter of the grove so that a portion of the forest may be preserved as well. With time, if the forest is destroyed elsewhere, this will serve as a seed from which it can re-grow. Unfortunately, as I will need to be vigilant here to prevent danger from overtaking the jarban trees, I cannot go to do this work."

[Zhym]

"That seems simple enough," says Lug, brightening from his funk a little at the prospect of being able to do something useful.

Keehnelf: When Gruuk-Durak finally escaped Varas and Lug, was he heading back to the orc hold, or somewhere else?

[Keehnelf]

Hard to say--he was headed northeast last Lug saw of him, but they were probably northwest of where the orc-hold was.

[Zhym]

"Say, you didn't see Gruuk-Darak pass this way, did you?" Lug asks Xavro. "When we saw him, he was hurt, and looked like he might have been coming from this way. Thought you might have been the one to hurt him. If you didn't, I wonder who did? And I wonder where he went. I very much want to meet him again. We have so much to...settle."

[Keehnelf]

Xavro simply nods and disappears toward the square tower. When he returns, he has a length of gnarled, black-barked wood in his hand with two knobbly, rounded ends. The whole thing is perhaps two feet long and dully gleams as though polished or well-worn through long handling.

"Hold this vertically above the ground and recite the incantation repeatedly in order for the stave to activate. The force of your will will direct the earth to reshape itself. Be warned that the process is slow. I suspect that it will take several days to complete the work of creating a perimeter." He hands it to Lug, and then intones the incantation several times, getting Lug to repeat after him until it's clear he has it memorized.

"Gruuk-Darak? No, he did not come within sight of the grove, though I heard word while you were away that his band was abroad somewhere close by." His face is a bit clouded for a moment. "There are rumors of another dark power in the forest appearing in the last few days, but I know nothing for certain. Perhaps the orcs had a run-in with whatever it is."

[Zhym]

"Days, huh? Okay, I got nowhere else to be." He looks to the others. "Ready to go make a stream change directions?"

While he waits for answers and for the group to depart, he practices the incantation. "Klaatu barada achoo! No, that's not right. Klaatu barada nikto. Klaatu barada nikto. Klaatu barada nikto..."

[Keehnelf]

I like it.

[MonkeyWrench]

Valorei stares out into space, just admiring the forest before them as the sun's morning rays shine down. After the others are done with their conversation the elf seems to come back to reality, his smile much more genuine then when he had gone to bed the night before. He walks towards Xavro, bowing low to the aged centaur, "I apologize for my appearance yesterday, I sincerely hope that the previous days trying times does not spoil your opinion of me or my character."

After getting a response back from the Centaur Valorei will turn to Lug, looking up at the massive man, "Lug, Yesterday was a very bad time for all of those gathered here. Not only have we heard nothing but bad news but we've also suffered casualties, as someone who has led an expedition into these lands as well I know that even one injury feels like a failure and for that I would have you know you have my sympathy." He extends his hand upwards to the half-giant man, "I do not like to hold grudges, and so I will not. You were grieved and made a mistake, and you were not the only one to do so. You are forgiven by me and as long as those actions are not a common occurrence you may count on my support in any endeavor you feel my skills and knowledge necessary for... And as such, I will be glad to join you in saving what we can of this beautiful forest."