As the group made their way down the mountain, the sun was beginning to set. Ethan and Savean were deep in conversation, discussing the events of the day and the journey they had just taken. Suddenly, they were interrupted by a knocking sound. They looked over the edge of the cart and saw a short halfling Paladin of Thor. He introduced himself as Hagdof Smolfoot and explained that he had been checking to see if the cart was abandoned.
”I was on my way to Culhaven and saw your cart here. I thought it might have been abandoned and wanted to see if everything was alright,” Hagdof said, with a friendly smile.
Ethan and Savean welcomed Hagdof and they continued their conversation, discussing the events of the day and sharing stories of their travels. As they were talking, they saw the other group coming down the mountain, helping the wounded Gilby. Gilby communicated mentally with Ethan for help, and Ethan went to him and used healing magic on him. The group invited Hagdof to join them as they returned to Culhaven. Hagdof was amazed by the group's bravery, and he eagerly accepted their invitation to join them on their journey to Culhaven. As they journeyed on, they talked and laughed and shared stories.
As they journeyed down the road, they passed the same farmer they passed this morning traveling in his cart but without his wife. A few minutes later, they saw the farmer's grumbling wife walking down the road on her way home. The group stopped and Ethan offered the woman a drink from his Amphora that his god had given him. The drink was so strong that she immediately got woozy and passed out. The group continued on to town, leaving her to sleep it off on the side of the road.
As they entered the city of Culhaven, they were greeted by the warm light of the streets and the sound of the people going about their business as the sun set over the horizon. The group was tired but content, knowing that they had accomplished something great and that they had made new friends along the way. And so, they went back to the travelers came for dinner and to discuss Digger's suggestion that the town would be better off without the forts commander.
As the group sat around the dinner table at the traveler's camp, they discussed the events of the day and what their next steps should be. Hagdof, the halfling paladin of Thor, expressed his self-righteous and stubborn opinions on the matter, insisting that they should go to the local authorities and report what they had seen. However, the rest of the group had different ideas.
”I think we should investigate the farm where the murdered family was found,” said Gilby, with a determined look on his face. “We should do it under the cover of darkness, so we can gather more information without drawing attention to ourselves.”
The group agreed with Gilby's plan and after dinner, they set out for the farm. They walked through the city and out the west gate, several miles to the farm. As they approached the farm, they saw the eerie silhouette of the corn maze, where the previous group of adventurers had encountered the scarecrow monster.
Ethan and Irena decided to investigate the corn maze, retracing the steps of the previous group. As they made their way through the maze, they followed the clues that had been left behind and eventually came upon a burnt patch where the scarecrow had met its demise.
Ethan and Irena began investigating the area, and Ethan stumbled upon a human molar that looked like it had been ripped out with a tool. Irena, using her detect magic spell, held the tooth up to her eyes and could see the faint glow, indicating that it had once been a magic item or held a spell.
”This tooth must have belonged to the person whose soul was necromantically bound to the scarecrow,” said Irena, with a look of disgust on her face. “It's clear that this person was tortured to death and given a task to complete by its master.”
the group made their way to the farmhouse on the other side of the road from the corn maze, they saw a glimmer of light coming from inside the should-be-empty house. Hagdof, being the self-righteous and stubborn halfling cleric he was, insisted on approaching the house head-on and knocked on the door. The rest of the group, however, were more cautious and decided to take a more stealthy approach. Gilby, being the stealthiest of the group, decided to sneak around the house and enter through a kitchen window.
When the person inside the house answered the door, they were taken aback by the group's presence. The person introduced himself as Trefor, a member of the original group sent to investigate the house. He explained that he had returned to see if there was anything they had missed, as he was personally dissatisfied with his previous group's lack of adventuring ambition.
As they entered the house, the group was met with the sight of bloody beds and bits of hay in the bedrooms. The bodies had already been removed, so there was little else to be found. The group decided to stay the night, with Redusia climbing up on the roof to keep watch.
The next morning, Redusia was awoken by the sound of a squad of human soldiers marching down the road from town. She stealthily watched as the squad marched past the farm and down a hill into a swampy defile. From her vantage point, she could also see a squad of dwarf soldiers marching from the mountains. The two groups met, stopped, turned, and began marching back.
Once the soldiers were out of sight, Redusia climbed down from the roof and woke the rest of the group. She pointed out how the farm would make a strong strategic position for a fort to protect the human lands or possibly launch an invasion from. The group discussed the situation and came to the conclusion that there was not enough evidence to attempt to assassinate the commander of the guard.
Instead, they decided to take on the quest to escort the elderly elf to his homeland. As they reached the outskirts of the city, Trefor came to a decision “I hope you don't mind, but I've decided to join you on your escort mission,” he said, a determined look on his face. “I've grown tired of the complacency of my previous group, and I desire to see more of the world.”
The group welcomed Trefor with open arms, and they made their way to the Hall of Quests to pick up their next mission and they accepted the quest and set out to find the elderly elf, who was said to be staying at a traveler's camp on the outskirts of the city.
Searching the camp, they saw the elf sitting on a log by the river, regaling a group of travelers with tales of his travels. “When I was staying with the trolls there was this young one that wanted to hunt with the older ones but they would not let him so he snuck off on his own and ended up bringing back the largest creature on his own. So never underestimate a troll because of his age or size.” he was saying. The group approached him and Redusia stepped forward to introduce them. We are the ones tasked with escorting you to your homeland.” The old elf looked up at them with a twinkle in his eye. “Ah, yes, the adventurers! I have been expecting you. I am Siltanae Ellisidel and it will be an honor to have you by my side on my journey home.”
The group spent the rest of the evening making preparations for the journey. Trefor said his goodbyes to his family and they set off the next morning, ready for whatever lay ahead.
