Hilmir Enters The Wood

Travelling to the south-east goes well, it is a quiet route just as Deacon said it would be. When he passes through some darker areas, Hilmir notices that one of the flowers emits a soft aqua colored glow in the absence of light.

He gets to the stream and finds a good spot for a small camp. There are animals in the area, some squirrels and birds, but Hilmir doesn't notice anything much bigger than that. He figures there's about three hours of light left in the day.

While he is gathering firewood, Hilmir hears movement in the brush about twenty paces ahead. It sounds larger than the small animals he's seen thus far, but Hilmir would need to move closer if he wanted to inspect properly.

If Hilmir wants to investigate the area he heard the noise, please roll a DEX and WIL save. Successes/Failures would impact how close whatever it is would be able to get to Hilmir before he notices, if whatever it is decides to do so. Otherwise he can go back to the campsite, or take any other action he'd like.

Another woman with dark hair, a bit older than the pale one, steps out from the same area. She is wearing a leather shirt, and is carrying a satchel.

"Didn't mean to sneak up on ya, not a lot of friends in these woods. We're just passing by... wait did you say frogmen?" She looks Hilmir up and down quizzically. "You know some frogmen? Mister....?" she gestures towards Hilmir with sort of a one-handed shrug.

Elara looks at the ground for a moment, before shrugging to herself as a signal that she had resolved some internal debate. "You don't act like anyone with The Order, and if you have an in with some frogmen I know someone who wants to chat. I'm Elara, this is Dreli."

"It's a bit over an hour from here, and we'll ensure you have a safe area to rest the night. Assuming you're willing to talk to Dani that is... She's in charge of a small group around here." Elara moves closer to Hilmir, and darkens the tone of her voice dramatically, "Crossing her would be a bad idea."

Elara would engage in some casual conversation on the way, partly feeling the pair of you out but also because she's a chatty person overall. In each of your next replies, please include your character's answer to the question "How much experience do you have in the woods?", and up to two questions they would ask Elara.

Elara doesn't pry much, and mostly talks about plants that are unique to the area. She describes an ivy you'll definitely want to stay away from, as well as an edible weed that grows plentifully where the wood is less dense, closer to the valley.

About an hour in, Elara suddenly stops and gestures for them all to get low. She whispers "Up ahead there is the camp, but sounds like something this up."

They move a bit closer and hear a woman talking to someone in a dark red robe. "Took me days to build this hut, how much for you to keep moving?" She sounds like she's made these sorts of offers before. She is tall, and somewhat broad, with blonde hair.

"Been letting too many slide around here lately," the robed figure answers. "Folks been getting too comfortable. Examples need to be made."

Elara moves behind a large tree to the side, and motions the two of you to follow. From here, you can no longer hear details of the conversation, just the overall tone, but they also won't be able to hear you. Elara keeps to a whisper, but speaks with urgency. "That's Dani talking to the fella from The Order," She wipes some sweat from her brow and continues. "There's usually at least two, but I haven't spotted the other one yet."