Prologue: To Boldly Go Where People Have Not Been in a Good Long While!

"I wouldn't know. In any case, if we take care of their gnoll problem for them, they may be amenable to babysitting our journey through their territory, and we'll have a Harken ranger along for a little while as well. Let's try to be careful, though. I nearly ran a-fowl of some...dire turkeys. Strange."

"I did my shopping and I'm almost flat broke now, fyi. Are you all ready to head out?"

[I apologize for the lack of non-verbal roleplay in the chat. I thought of Geralt of Rivia for some reason.]

"Yeah, I'm ready to go." Kathryn is munching on a piece of bread she took out of one of her pockets. "Let's take care of these gnolls too. With our luck, if we don't seek out a fight with them, they're just going to ambush us later."

"That's the spirit Katheryn! Avandra helps those who help themselves." Zoe nods at Hunter, "I'm all set."

Consensus reached, Hunter leads the party down the road towards Ludmilla's cabin. Everyone spots the dire turkey tracks, which are easily larger than a man's and the sound of the flock can be heard through the trees. The party speeds their progress to avoid conflict. When you guys arrive at the cabin you find the old woman waiting for you, though she's traded in her hunter leathers for a chain helmet and studded leather all in greens and browns with the symbol of the Harken Rangers emblazoned on the chest. Her magnificent short swords hang from their hooks but she has supplemented her arsenal with a cadre of darts secured on both vambraces and the shoulders of her armor for easy access when throwing.

Harken Rangers:

"Greetings, but introductions must come on the road. We must hurry for I have already had reports of another band to the south. Come." The old ranger wastes no time getting you all back on the road, moving at a light jog for 30 minutes and then walking for 10. The pace eats up the miles without unduly tiring you out.

During the journey she takes the time to learn each of your names and to exchange a few words about how you like to fight and to let you know some of her own tactics. She prefers to soften up targets from surprise with her darts and then proceeds to move around the battlefield constantly inflicting many wounds on as many enemies as she can, leaving her allies to finish them.

At about the 2 hour mark she leads you east off road along a path down a game trail, a game trail oddly big enough to accommodate the cart without much problems. 30 minutes more and the forest gives way to a meadow, just as the game trail becomes a wide road of packed earth leading towards the hills on the other side. The meadow teams with life, from the buzzing of insects to the movements of animals like rabbits, gophers, and occasional grass snake. A sense of calm pervades the place, speaking to the sacred nature of the grove. As you draw near the closest hill all of you spot a great cave entrance, overgrown with the roots of nearby foliage, making for an effective door.

Near the entrance stand two elves. Both ladies are supermodel pretty in that way elves usually are. They both have long red hair, worn wild and loose but interspersed with twigs and leaves. Their gowns are knitted from the forest itself, a mixture of moss and ivy magically fused into a light and airy material. It doesn't leave much to the imagination. One clearly stands guard over the other, her hands resting on two wicked looking sickles. Her eyes never leave any of you and any movement is carefully noted by those calculating eyes. The older of the two, for it's written there in her eyes for anyone to see, holds a great staff shaped from some sort of tree and an aura of great power surrounds it. It is she who speaks first. "Greetings Ludmilla. So these are the mercenaries you have recruited?"

Ludmilla sniffs in disagreement. "Nay, Nesme, they be volunteers that be helping us with our predicament. No payment has been nor will be exchanged."

The elf's eyebrow raises in surprise and addresses the group directly. "I am Nesme, Heirophant (leader) of the Harken's Heart druid circle. This is my daughter Allinandra. To whom am I speaking?"

"Aye salud, lady Nesme." - Carlos humbly raises his hand in greeting - "Me llamo Carlos Jalapeño de Muerta and these here are me friends. I'm really temped to just introduce them all meself, especially the cute one, but it be hardly me place to be so forward." - he finishes speaking and gestures to the party member nearest to him.

Hunter's eyes light up when he sees the elven druids, but his fingers twitch, longing for the fletching of an arrow. These are Harken's Heart druids, and his trust is placed in their new friend in the Harken Rangers. Carlos can always be counted on to lighten the mood, and Hunter warms a little as the upbeat dwarf breaks the ice. "My name is Hunter."

The white-haired mercenary examines intently the elven druids; or more accurately, their verdurous garb. By her facial expression, it's easy to deduce the questions going through her mind right now. How did they craft this? Is it comfortable? Isn't it cold during the winter? What about protection? Needless to say, she doesn't ask those questions, considering the reputation of the Harken's Heart druids. She perks up however when she hears Carlos speak about the "cute one", and discreetly glances at Zoe to assess the veracity of this claim. It soon becomes obvious that the elves are waiting for her to introduce herself, which she does with the elegance of a raccoon.

"Oh, hi. I'm Kathryn. I'm, uh... I'm a swordwoman. It's nice to meet you."

Zoe is also busy checking out the elves, Allinandra in particular, but she's more interested in the view than the gowns. When she finally meets the sentinel's eyes, Zoe winks and gives the woman a double thumbs up, which looks pretty silly with a big wooden shield attached to her left arm. Allinandra is caught off guard by the cleric's reaction and can only turn away and "hmmph" snootily in a vain attempt to recover her air of menace. "Hi Nesme, I'm Zoe, maybe the cutest one? I don't know, he may be talking about Katheryn instead. But whatever, Avandra's grace to us all in this meeting of new friends!" She raises her arms and gives a full-on hooray cheer. It's as awkward and out of place as it sounds.

Immediately recognizing the danger of letting Zoe talk too long, Jojo inserts himself into the conversation with a dramatic pose atop the wagon's driver's seat, immediately drawing all eyes to him! "Yes, blessings upon this, our first meeting fair ladies of the wood! We heard of your problem from Ludmilla and I am here, Joshua Jordstad, solver of problems, peddler of dreams, and the last merchant you'll ever need! With my friends and I on the case, your gnoll problems will soon be a thing of the past!"

Carlos seems momentarily stuck in some kind of reverie until Jojo's bombastic entrance knocks some business back into him. - "Ay, yes. Gnolls. We here to kill them." - he remarks as he regains some composure - "So maybe we take care of that problem, so we can all go back to..." - he fumbles a bit, unsure of how to finish that line - "...being cute."

Hunter rolls his eyes at Zoe. And Jojo. To mother and daughter, he summarizes amicably, "Ludmilla explained the problem to us, and we're here to help, if you'll have our aid?"

Both elves blink in shock as they recover from Jojo's charm assault (Charisma (Persuasion) check result 20, PASS) but Carlos' and Hunter's followups get the elves back on track. Nesme looks thoughtfully at the party and finally says, "Very well. I approve. Beyond these roots is a cave leading into a greater cavern with many passages. The gnolls have spread throughout the complex seeking a way out even as they destroy and defile the Grove. Dark magics are being used, and I believe they are seeking to summon demons to their cause.

I will open up the door but be prepared. Even now gnolls bite and claw at the roots. My daughter will distract them with a great burst of light. Be sure to look away or you too will be blinded. Show them no mercy, adventurers, for they will show you none in return."

The two elves prepare for the door to come down. Mother off to the side so as to not draw attention from the enemy, daughter in the middle, the words of her spell already on her lips.

Okay, map time. You'll see an area on the right for you to fill out. Choose a color, write down your hp/hp, roll initiative, and then place yourself around Allinandra in some way that makes sense so we can start this thing.

MAP

During the short rest, Hunter approached Allinandra and this is what took place:

Hunter and Allinandra:

After the druids have sealed the party within the Grove again...

As the party heads east to check the last door, Zoe notices that Hunter has looked sullen since his talk with Allinandra. She hangs back and quietly talks to him. Half way there she yells, "She called you WHAT?!"

"It's nothing I haven't dealt with before, Zoe," says Hunter, trying to shrug it off.

The half-elf is having none of that. She says, "Guys you need to hear this."

When everyone has gathered Hunter says, "So...Allandra just spat a racial slur at me." He then tells the tale of trying to get to know Allinandra, leaving nothing out. "So, in addition to hating us, these people are racist."

Zoe is so mad her face is flushed red. "I can't believe those...those..ugh! I'm so angry!"

Carlos raises an eyebrow and strokes his beard thoughtfully - "Goin' by how they carry themselves, they probably don' care get along with anyone that ain't them. Especially the daughter - she likely at that age. I wonder what be behind it."

"'That age'? You know she's probably at least in her 50's, right? Anyway, thanks, I appreciate the support and all, but this doesn't change anything. I just want to finish up what we came here to do, then ask them if they can guarantee us safe passage."

He said, ignoring the change in his attitude. Hopeful once for the prospect of obtaining a guide, He wishes to avoid the druids whenever possible.

Kathryn frowns at the mention of the racial slur, and the utter lack of respect from the youngest druid, but she stays silent during the conversation. Even when she gets a chance to voice her opinion, she prefers to say nothing, and focuses her attention instead on the hallway.

Jojo blinks a few times at the whole situation and what's being said, "Hm, I see. So the daughter made a judgement call based on our favorite ranger's race instead of himself as an individual... That IS pretty low of her." After a brief pause, he insert his 2 cents by mimicking their 'druid hunting' tone, "Ah! Then surely that makes it ok to judge the whole of their community by this one event with that one individual, out of context, right?"

Joshua sighs and looks back at them with this 'less than amused' look in his eyes, back to his usual tone, "All ah hear from y'all mouths is the garbage the druid lass spat out. An 'fore ya say ever'one agrees they druids be garbage, tieflings ain't exactly being accepted by yer society either, so that be all second-hand info. All ah'm certain is 'Hunter' is a great lad and one elf lass did mess up."

"Aye aye, we all very bad. Can we move on, please?"

And Hunter replies, "Boy, ah say boy"

Nah, I'm kidding

"Well, hang on..." After some silence, perhaps having killed a few more gnolls, Hunter pipes up again to respond to what Jojo said earlier.

"Everyone's fully aware of the attitudes their people take with mine. But one must be raised on such an attitude to for them to be even likely to accept it, and Allandra is...she's as young as they come." A moment's lapse, the memory of her hotness tickling his mind one last time. How can one so beautiful even think such things?

ooc:

"Screwing up her name and oogling her like a lecher may have had more to do with it than your horns, just saying. And wasn't she at least 50?"

"I was not!" He snaps, his mood soured. "I mean, okay, I may have 'noticed' a little, but so did you guys! And if you feel like 'eyes all over face' action should be sanctioned, then by all means, clap me in irons when we're done, right after I clear a space and lift my heavy, heavy burden to the gods."

ooc:

"Ok. ¿Now let's finish the job, eh?"

Kathryn blinks multiple times, now feeling out of place because of this conversation about men ogling elven women, and the awkwardness makes her turn away from her male companions.

[Don't worry, she will become one of the guys in good time.]