Chapter 2: Willowdark, A Village Renewed

As you all hear the rumbles, Thorolf flings a hand up and stops suddenly. As he does, you see a cascade of rocks come careening over the edge of the canyon lip some 20' over your heads! Thankfully, through quick ears and quicker toes, you are almost all able to dive into a roll out of the way. Jean is the only one that didn't quite escape the wrath of gravity and he catches a rock a little smaller than an apple on the upper arm, taking 2 points of bludgeoning damage but nothing more extreme. You see a few heads poking over the edge of the canyon.

You dolts! How could you miss! Fish in a barrel, that's what they ar....... you hear a gruff voice yell out before fading out of earshot.

You now find yourselves faced with a patch of difficult terrain some 10 feet across, and then it's another 60 or so to the opposite edge of the tight passage. You don't know what lies beyond that point. Behind you some distance is the fork where Geran continues to be out of his body.

Willowdark? Maybe we throw down a rope, and maybe you come up and we talk huh? says a new voice over the edge as a head peeks out, only to have another voice jump on the end, ...get yer swarthy rear form the edge Petyr! You don't speak fer...... and the voice fades away as the head is snatched back.

As you all make your way out of the pass and hook around, you find a thin worn trail in the sparse grass. Following it back, and up, you spot the vagabonds that tried pelting you with rocks. Four men stand around, looking worried. They have on pretty heavily worn clothes. Out of a small tent pops a man with leather armor and a frail old man that limps towards all of you on a gnarled walking stick.

The old man pushes forth, I'm Caruthers Sterngaze, and who are you to be crossing our path? M'boy here tells me yer from Willowdark. Those uppity folk about to get themselves into a heap a troubles if they sent you out into these hills to collect us. he says, voice full of contempt.