After being rejoined by the gnome K'gug, the PCs decide to march back to Briar's Edge and further follow the potential lead of the cultists from the Tooth & Tusk guild. Yukkbutt feels ill, so they leave the half-orc behind temporarily, but promise to leave him a trail of breadcrumbs to their destination. The journey across the Whipwater Plain is uneventful, and when they arrive they decide to surround the Tooth & Tusk's guild hall and seek admission. They are told to get lost until the following morning, but they persist, with Un'krug trying to beat down the front door. Two of the older laborers in the guild sneak out a concealed rear entrance but are caught by the PCs, who press them for questions they won't answer. A few decide to remain while one of them while the others go to investigate Toli Bulberry's farm again and check on the girls. One of the Tooth & Tuskers goes to find the local Elder Eagle Klah to confront the PCs.
At the farm, Cynjak and Kaarl discover a hidden trap door beneath a floor board, in which are a half dozen cultist outfits similar to those they fought on the Plain! They rush off to tell the rest. Eagle Klah arrives to speak with the PCs, and after being convinced, decides they have free reign to investigate and ask questions around the village. He leaves a pet sparrow with SlakeThirst which can be sent to fetch him. K'gug gets a room at The Plain's End, where he meets the gnome proprietors, and the rest of the party heads back over to Toli's farm to investigate even further...they find very little of note except some ledgers of trade that the merchant left behind. However, they are confronted by an angered Muddy Nul, who was fishing along the Whipwater and heard intruders. After talking him down, some of the PCs go to the Inn, and Un'krug to camp. At the Plain's End, Nobro has a brief encounter with a hooded figure who invites him to the Tooth & Tusk the following day.
Tarok, Second-Week, Third-day, the Now-Year
Nobro rises early to attend the Tusk & Tooth, where he meets the union leader Castrova formally. After inquiring about what skills he can offer, she orders him to kill either the half-orc brothers or Cynjak...all of whom are his companions. Once the halfling tells her he is their companion, she throws him out, thinking he's useless and not much of an assassin. After some further inquiries, the PCs learn that Toli Bulberry left on a boat to the North, presumably headed for Dregroot for some trading. Thinking he must have taken his daughters to some awful fate, they pursue. En route, they run into several dangers like an angered giant boar (which they slay), a hungry brown bear (which they feed), and a flight of flying snakes in the canopy of the Old Barrowbriar (which avoid them). They find some bodies drifting in the river on a boat anchored to the opposite shoreline, and are surprised by a wererat which bites and infects Cynjak. She chooses to fight the curse, and does not suffer from any ill effects quite yet. Deeper in the night, they choose to rest once they get near the Bone Lake and Dregroot.
Tarok, Second-Week, Fourth-day, the Now-Year
The PCs awake on a foggy morning and Cynjak guides them to one of Dregroot's hidden access points, a tree stump with a trap door, manned by a pathetic human named Sotti. At least one of Duthar's Wives has spotted them, but does not seem to recognize the paladin in her disguise. Sotti tells them that Toli is in fact there with some five others from Briar's Edge, but is meeting with Zlazash. He demands a serious bribe not to turn the PCs over, but claims he doesn't like his Elder much. Then he tells them where they can find Toli's boats, just outside the village on the banks of Bone Lake. The PCs plan to watch them or possibly sabotage them.
PCs: Cynjak, Kaarl, K'gug, Nobro, Slakethirst, Un'Krug
XP rewarded: 520 each (410 for K'gug)
Inpiration rewarded:
Renown: --
Castrova (elf female): A slim elven female with a sly smile that gives off the impression she wouldn’t trust you if you were the last person on the Plateau. She wears an eyepatch over a heavily scarred left eye, and the opposite ear is half shorn, with bones stuck through it at various angles. Her hair is kept back in a single braid with a few sharpened bone splints in it that look lethal, and her hide armor is tucked with a number of small bone handles, a makeshift bandolier for her blades.
Sotti (human male): A filthy, leather-clad man with a shorn ear and flimsy leather cap, he has rather sharp and weasel-like features compounded by the fact half his jaw has been collapsed, so he makes strange grating sounds with his jaw and teeth when he speaks. He is essentially a watchman and guide for newcomers to Dregroot, offering them access to the hidden village.
