Surraruthru's Tree (Surraruthru)

[Iron Dragoon]

Surraruthru watches them, looking for signs of communication or coordination.

"Pearwood? The intricacies of animals is more your thing."

[Anastasia]

Pearwood takes 10 on K:N.

"They're intelligent or being directed," Pearwood says after a bit of study, "They're moving in a steady pattern if you pay attention and they're ignoring each other, they aren't pack predators so this is unusual."

[Iron Dragoon]

"The local guardian using them as scouts?"

[Anastasia]

"It's possible, but they may also be natural guardians," Pearwood says, "Don't start anything with them."

[Iron Dragoon]

"I haven't started anything with anyone so far."

Surraruthru huffs and continues his search for the tree.

[Anastasia]

You wander a time, Pearwood stopping every so often to lay a hand on a tree and concentrate. After about 20 minutes of travel he grunts, "The dryads don't have a great sense of scale and I'm not sure how big this place is. Bigger than you would think, possibly infinite."

"Then we'll have to do something to speed it up," Kascha says, "That should be possible with magic, right? I can use a wish if needs must be."

Make a Listen check.

[Iron Dragoon]

> roll 1d20+36 Listen
<Serith> Iddy roll for Serith < 38 > [d20=2]

[Anastasia]

"It can be," Pearwood says tersely, stopping and holding a hand up. "Back," he says immediately, starting to walk backwards. "No sudden moves."

[Iron Dragoon]

"Why, what's ahead?"

[Anastasia]

Kascha does so, moving carefully.

Simmer peers ahead, unamused. "Well?"

"Just do it," Pearwood says tightly.

[Iron Dragoon]

Surraruthru snorts, but does as asked, irritably.

[Anastasia]

The party backs up. Pearwood is tense for a time, peering ahead, before veering to the right. "We'll go around," he says.

As you do, Simmer crosses her arms. "So what was that?"

"Yes, I'm curious about that too," Kascha says, taking her book out and opening it up. "What was it and what can you tell us about it?"

[Iron Dragoon]

"I don't see why you were so scared. You have a celestial, a pyro-dryad, and a dragon with you. I doubt there's much we couldn't have dealt with."

[Anastasia]

"There are things best left be," Pearwood says, "I will say no more than that. Be thankful I was here with you." He then goes to the nearest tree and touches it, only to startle back. A wizened old dwarf emerges, his beard iron gray shot with white and wearing plate armor made of red scales.

"So there's one of you who exercises the better part of valor," The dwarf gives all of you a rather grumpy look, "What are you doing here, especially the fire-blooded dryad?" His gaze turns to Simmer and never leaves it, "Why would you bring a creature like that to a place like this?"

[Iron Dragoon]

Surraruthru sighs.

"Oh come now. She's done nothing to you and yours. In fact, she's gone out of her way to be as non-hostile as she could be. Credit her for that and put your fears aside, dwarf. We're here for a cutting of a tree and nothing more, in hopes of using it to help restore nature to balance when we return to our world."