Whispers in the Woods

"Veinia" Moryana murmurs when Will mentions an 'older crone' "She’s my grandmother"

She recoils slightly when he suggests she joins them to confront the witches, looking behind his back as if she expects to see them appearing out of the shadows "I... I’m not sure about that" she stammers. "I don’t want to hurt anyone. I just want to leave."

She continues to fidget restlessly, more so the more she realizes they haven't quite delt with the witches "We need to get out of here. Before they come back," she lowers her voice to a whisper "There are potions in their ritual chamber. One of them… it can dissolve the hedges."

When they come back, if they come back, they’ll fall by my blade. But very well, we’ll get you and the boy to safety first. Take us to these potions, por favor!

Boudica nods and follows, keeping her guard up.

Miyana follows at the rear of the party, fully expecting trouble, bow at the ready.

Without saying another word Moryana leads you to a dark, bare patch of floor near the entrance on the first floor. At first glance there's nothing unusual about it; just a stretch of twisted bark like the rest of the tree. But then she reaches down and presses her hand into a hidden knot within the wood, and the bark groans and begins to twist, splitting apart to reveal a spiral tunnel descending steeply into the earth.

"Through here" She hesitates as she stands at the edge, clearly reluctant to go in. But staying behind, and risking the hags' return, seems like the worse option. Swallowing hard, and trembling, she steps forward and begins to walk down the tunnel.

The passage is tight. The walls are lined with tangled roots, the floor is uneven, and in some spots, spongy, like walking across old, wet moss. You have to duck as the tunnel narrows, brushing past strands of hanging moss and the occasional bone charm swaying in the stale air.

At the end, the tunnel opens into a vast, hollow chamber beneath the heart of the tree. It wasn't carved by tools; it feels as if the tree itself hollowed and rotted from the inside, then was repurposed for darker needs. The chamber is dimly lit by the same firefly-filled lamps seen upstairs, casting a cold, blue glow across the interior. The centerpiece of the room is a massive cauldron - wide enough to submerge a grown man. The tables around the cauldron are stacked with grim materials - open jars of body organs, dried animal parts, strange powders and bottles filled with swirling liquid. A heavy ritual tome sits open on a plinth nearby, its pages inked in what looks like blood.

And then there are the cages.

They dominate the perimeter of the room, maybe a dozen of them, woven from twisted roots and reinforced with bone. Each one holds a wild creature stolen from the forest above: foxes with matted fur and lifeless eyes, wounded badgers licking old scars, ravens with clipped wings, and even a pair of snakes coiled in tight, sluggish knots.

As you pass, a few snarl softly or hiss, but most are too weak or broken to react, not able to do much besides blink at you with hollow, hopeless stares.

Boudica looks sadly at the collection of creatures here. Any that would not pose a threat to her or her friends she will release, hoping they find their way up the stairs and out to freedom—if they are strong enough to flee at all. As she moves around the room, she keeps her eyes open for anything useful that might be lying on these tables.

Our fighters fellow assists his clerical friend with releasing captured animals, and then Will also checks the table for interesting items.

Miyana watches approvingly as the others release the captive animals. She remains alert, bow every ready.

It’s sad, but none of the animals are in any condition to survive out in the wild. The fox flinches when Boudica moves to its cage, and its limbs actually tremble from fright, as if it was expecting her to hurt it. It is emaciated, shaky, and could merely blink at her in the low light with one of its eyes, as the other one is nearly swollen shut. The badger growls at her, but doesn’t attack, before huddling in the corner of its cage. The only animal that dares leave its cage is the raven with the clipped wings, who hops on its legs and tilts its head to look at her.

Moryana stands still amid it all, looking dejected at the pitiful menagerie. She only snaps out of it when she notices Boudica walking toward the tables.

"I...I think we can save them" she turns and joins them. Hands trembling she leans in closer to inspect the row of bottles on the table "That would dissolve the hedges. And anything else it touches" she warns Will, before handing him a vial filled with black ichor. Then, with a relieved sigh, she reaches out for a bottle with a pinkish swirl "It’s a potent regenerative potion" she looks back at the animals "They’re small. Maybe if we let each of them drink a little...."

Out the Raven back in its cage. We’ll regenerate them outside, then release them. Let’s dissolve the hedges, then we’ll deal with the crones.
Will gently picks up the wounded raven in gauntleted hands, and places it back in the cage.

Anton looked over the ingredients, and the assorted liquids as Moryana points them out, he still doesn't trust the young lady. He tries to work through it and see if he can glean some truth to her words backed up by his own knowledge of the arcane arts.

"But how will we get all these cages up there?" there were a dozen of them, and she didn't think she could carry even one. Especially not if there was also a wounded animal inside "- I'm sorry" she immediately corrected herself, almost as a reflex "I didn't mean to speak out of turn"

Let’s go deal with the witches, and then we’ll pack these cages out as time allows.
Anyone not ok with that?

Boudica says, "We had decided to get Stefan and now Moryana out first. Let’s take that potion, go dissolve the hedge, and get them to safety. Then we can return and deal with the hags and save the animals.

Very well, I think that’s an excellent way to go. Keep the boy and the girl close, and safe.
Will takes the potion, and heads over to begin dissolving hedges.

"What about the raven? It could fly away once we healed it. And I can carry the fox on my arms..." Moryana tried to negotiate. Asking someone else to carry the toad, or the two constrictor snakes, was probably pushing her luck, but maybe one of them would volunteer to take the squirrel, or badger, or any of the others...

Ho, there! What’re you men doing here?

Boudica agrees to carry as many animals as she can, knowing that she might have to drop them if it came to combat.

When the emergency from the tree and see the gray skinned men, she looks to Moryana and asks, "Can you control them?"