It seems that Kortahl has given up the search for the shifter. He returned to camp to find us all asleep and soon found himself in the same dilemma. They woke up in the morning and began to travel through the valley, soon finding the same creatures that the Dark Blade had found the night before. Seradeen seems to have almost no fear. She walked right up to the first one she saw and began throwing rocks at it (there's is much potential in this one). When she gets no reaction for the hulking mass, she simply shrugs and keeps walking.
Meanwhile, after a long...long rest, Holinn has finally woken up in his temporary shelter. Figuring to try something different, a badger made it's way, slowly, out of the trap and back to the surface. And a blink dog is what made it's way down the path and back towards the party.
As the trio made their way through the field of spiked giants they were caught off guard by something stirring off in the woods. Kortahl sent his fake cat to survey the area and was gone for a few moments before the report came back that a large creature, very similar to the inanimate ones in the field, was searching through the trees, but it seemed harmless. At that moment, there was a large crashing sound and Kortahl grabbed Seradeen and began to run. Suddently the mass of steel and death came bowling out into the field, making a bee-line towards them. Korthal took the time to call a large hound that would be able to carry the two of them and in no time they had gotten far enough away from the creature for it to loose interest. They reached the edge of the woods, without Talis, and decided to continue on without her.
When the dust settled and the creature made it's way, slowly, back to the woods, Talis began wandering in the direction that the slaves and assassin had traveled.
After a short while, the duo was walking up the path when the Dark Blade flinched and withdrew, cuts across his shins while blood (and some type of substance) trickled down. Seradeen did what she could to treat the wound, but the assassin did not appear refreshed. At that point the shifter met up with them and inspected the wound, just as Talis was making her way up the path. Holinn took a look at the toxin that the vines had been soaked in and found that it was wasp poison...harmless, for the most part. However, when Talis arrived, she told him that wasp poison was very toxic and he needed to rest for at least a day or else suffer even worsening effects. He chose to believe his sister rather than the annoying dog, so Holinn offered to have him ride on his back instead of walking.
They soon came across the same hole that Holinn had found himself spending the night in. Apparently needing to prove himself, Holinn let Kortahl off his back and lined up for an attempt at clearing the gap. He reared up and jumped over the hole, sanding on the other side. Right on the edge before he fell back to the bottom. Seradeen and Talis threw a rope down to help the shifter out for another try. Seradeen walked away from the hole, turned around and took a deep breath, then sprinted forward and easily cleared the hole that the large bearhound had fell short of making. Talis chose the more agile approach and tip-toed her way across the edge of the pit and slowly, but safely, to the other side. Holinn tried again, taking a tip from the bard to get a little bit of a head start, and this time he made it across, though again only barely. Now, for the drow who is afraid to walk...
They tossed the rope across and Kortahl grabbed onto it, at that point dragging him closer to the hole in hopes of dragging him across. The assassin dropped into the pit, slamming into the other side and dropping to the ground (apparently needing to work on his grip a bit more. No wonder he fights with such light weapons). The lowered the rope a bit more so that he could grab onto it and pulled him back up to safety. The group, now back together again, continued their trip down the path towards Silverwind.
As they were walking, Kortahl stopped them and pointed out markings on the ground. He told them that point that they were runes for an anti-gravity spell and that it would not be good for them to step towards them. However, Holinn came up with an idea (all by himself) and jumped into the circle, getting shot up into the air. Holinn shifted into a large owl, and told the others that it was okay and that they should jump in as well. Once they were all floating around, they clammered onto the bird's back and he tried to take off into the open blue...without any glimmer of success. All of a sudden, a large croup of creatures came strolling out of the treeline; a mix of thorns and woads.
Words were exchanged and threats were made and the group was found in a very dangerous and one-sided discussion.
