Session Twenty-Four: The Secret of Ashbarrow

General Summary

- 11 of Solas -

Aldous and Cyrus ran into Tanca's workshop. As they ran in they heard Yarrow's flute playing. Lights came from below the ground and the earth began to rumble. Aldous looked at Cyrus's mouth and saw that his mouth was glowing a bit. After a moment the playing stopped and the two moved into Tanca's office and saw the hatch leading underground with Yarrow's claw marks in the wood.
Yarrow gripped the bag that he picked up of the flowers to keep them away from the vines. Alabaster weaved in between them towards the writhing mass of feral foliage in the back of the room. He reached into his bag and pulled out a flask of oil and threw it at the creature. The vial shattered on the bulk of the creature coating it in a thick layer of oil.
Cyrus jumped down the shaft with grace and quickly made his way down the tunnel. Looking inside he saw Yarrow and Alabaster fighting the huge plant beast and ducked back into the hallway. Yarrow focused himself and his claws and fangs grew and began to drip with a corrosive substance. He clawed the vines and while his claws sunk into the plants they didn't take much damage.
The writhing mass in the back undulated and darkness filled the room. The vines felt the vibrations in the ground and attacked Yarrow and Alabaster. Two tendrils reached out to Yarrow but were met with the flaming bees. One went for Alabaster but brushed against his violin causing him no harm. Aldous made his way down the ladder and then used stamina to dash down the tunnel. Coming into view of the battle he saw nothing but darkness. His magic eyes centering on the vines as well as two hotspots, presumably Yarrow and Alabaster. Seeing this he backed into the hallway.
Alabaster moved his paw out in the darkness towards the screeching noises of the plant beast. Alabaster cast Prestidigitation to create a small puff of fire and set the beast ablaze. The creature whined and howled in pain as flame engulfed it. Cyrus looked at the sudden wall of darkness and cast Dancing Lights. The spirits of light floated in the air towards the darkness but were instantly snuffed out by the magic. Aldous snickered and chastised Cyrus for his lack of magical knowledge. Yarrow heard this and shouted out to them before backing out of the darkness into the hallway. The Tola's fangs and claws grew and he attacked into the darkness and then turned towards his friends and told them that Alabaster was still inside. Aldous shrugged and asked if they needed Alabaster before a vine came from the darkness and wrapped around Yarrow and pulled him into the dark. Aldous shot into the dark with the Borealis a ray of frost going wide. Yarrow fought with the vines as they began to crush him.
Alabaster heard Yarrow squeak under the pressure of the vines. Alabaster raised his paws upward and cast Dispel Magic causing the darkness to disappear. Cyrus looked into the underground garden and saw the plant creature once more, this time the center of it had thorns and teeth barring as it pulled Yarrow towards its center. Cyrus started dancing and infiltrated the plants mind. An illusion of lava and fire appeared below the creature making it fear for its life and begin to take damage to its psyche.
Yarrow struggled in the grip of the tendrils. He burst in size and took the form of the white stag. His eyes glowed white and a mist filled the room. Several illusory images of the white stag took shape and Yarrow shifted into mist and appeared on the other side of the room. As the mist dissipated the vines attacked the white stag, each of them missing him as the creature began to panic.
Aldous lowered his staff and looked around. The voices in his mind began to murmur with approval.

"Go͍̮̚͞ơ̛̰̻͖̗͎͇͋̎̍͋d̡̩̱͉͇͉̺͐̋͋͛͐̊͟͠͝ ̬̩̞͇̟̖̗͉͔̽͂̍̄̅̐͆͞͡G̢͓̭̠͈̠͚͍̮̈̀̄̈́͂̓̒̒̀͊̿͟͟ọ̟̼̹̮̭̬͇͌̆̀̿͆͐͠͞ơ̢̪͉̪͉̲̻͍͔̲̹̲̻̞̬̟̙͎̤̈̿̌̀͆̀͒̒̿͛̓̈́̉̍̀͘̚͘͜͡ǭ̛̼̗̣͖̮͔̭͇̰̖̞̦̮͎͚̮̯͈̇̅̔͛̉͊̉̃̾̽̈́̿̓̾̿̈͌̍̚̚͜͢͜͠ͅo̢̟̪̞͎̣̺̤̜̦̲̫͙͉̱̝̳̳̟̖̬̭͐́̊̍̐̓̓͆̋̈́͗́̆̃̀̋͂̆̂̓͒̈́̕͢ǫ͈̝̤̯̩̭̻̭̣̞̼͇̈͗͐̾́́̂̔̓̚͠͠͠ḏ̢̡̛̜̲͇̭͇̲̠͔͖̣̞͖̝̜̥̬̔̐̾̆̐̇̀̌̽͋̍́͆̈͋͋̅̑̓͘͜ͅ.̢̨̢̱̠̻̝̮̯͈̳̟̤͎̠̼̟͉͇̻͚̇̿́͊̈́̀̈́͒̀̆͌̐͊̀̓̀̀͒͘͠͡.̧̛̛̥̳͓͈̭̙͇̝̘̭̩̹̠̝͎̉́̔͌̽̔̉̌͆̈́̾̚͠͝ͅ.̨̨̨̧̛͔̪̻͈͎̬͕͍̬͇̝̰̭͓͕̪̗̹͓͎͕͔͉̳̫͓̃̉̔̈́͛̔͑͗͛̇̏́̅̈̈́̎̾͆̓͋͐̓̿̅͆̂̽̏̐͜͟͜͠͠͠

It̬̒ ̢̢̩̪͓̎͂͐̉̇͟͞í̲̺͇̝̻̟̒̈́͌̏͠s̨̎̈͢ ͓͙̭͓͙̣̲̪͚̘̻̖͈̈́͋̈́̅̾̆̔͛̓̄͐͒́̿͜͜͞ͅṣ̛͙̘̜̟͊̇̿̈̒͢p̡̫̪͎̣͙̥̗͈̻̗̋̈̅͒̉̊̊̐̐̈́̈̚͟͟͝ř̦͓͖̗͉̤̝́̇̈́̎͘͞ȩ̢̨̛͎͈̙̳̥̘͉̼͕̲̼͕̻̟͎͓̬͍̱̩͈̻͌̓͒̊͛̇͊̐͊̀̅̿̍̿͑͗̅͐̇͒̎͆̓̿̎̕͟ͅa̢̡̧͎͓̹̜͈͉̞̥͉͙͖͈̟̒̋̋̾́̇͗̍̄͆̄̎̊͊͘͜͝͝d̨̧̨̧̛̳̬̫̞͚̮͍̦̳̺̘̤̘̰̬͊͛̈͑̔́̓͛̃̂͌̏̆̉͆͞͞͞ḯ̧̛̛̳̯͙̗̗̪͔̫̲͕̘͕̼̟̙͕̙͈͓̫̺̞̲̣̟̗̠͈̤̇̌̃̀͆̐̎͛̐̎͊̔̏͑͑̍̌̈́́̀͛̔̑̐͒́͌̍͜͞ͅn̡̧̨̲̻̦͎͙͕͖̻̳̳͎̙̳̘͍̰̮̍̉̎̔̽͆̈̾̽̒͊͐͛͑̎̎̔̓̅̋̓ͅg̰̻̝̜̜̥̼̻͉̰̝̥͓͔̬̭͙̬̫̼̠͒͌͗̈́̑̋̇͛̌̂̀͂͑̒̏̃̀̕̕͜͢͡͞͠͡"

Aldous ignored the voices and cast Mind Sliver. The creature reeled back and howled in pain as it began to be assailed by voices. The creature began to convulse like it was getting ready to vomit. Alabaster began to scream and smacked the vine in front of him. The fires on the creature burned and it pulled back from a phantasmal fire. Cyrus grabbed a vial full of red slime and threw it at the plant. The creature caught flame in more areas. The fires licking every corner of the creature. Yarrow stamped at the ground with his hooves as the creature pulled back and vomited. A torrent of purple liquid filled the underground chamber. As it encountered the air it began to evaporate creating a purple cloud. The smell of decay and rot filled the space and blood could be seen floating in the goop. Aldous moved forward. The winds from the Borealis spread throughout the room and began to freeze the purple liquid.
Alabaster, Cyrus, and Yarrow attacked the vines in front of them. After each hit they stopped moving and fell to the ground. The creature cried in pain and Aldous pointed his staff again and shot a wave of mental agony to it, killing it.

---

The group stood back and looked over the scene.Yarrow took out his flute and played it again. Lights shown filled the cavern and passed the group as the frozen purple rot in the chamber began to brightly glow. Alabaster grabbed a vine that was already beginning to decay and put it in a jar. Then he started to ritually cast Identify on it. Aldous moved to the middle of the room across from Alabaster and began to ritually cast Detect Poison and Disease.
Cyrus stared at the rot on the ground and the decaying plant matter. The smell hit his nose and he had an urge, an urge to consume. He wanted to eat this and it smelled divine. Yarrow saw this and assumed that Cyrus was just hurt so he cast Healing Spirit to heal the party. As the healing magic started to take effect Yarrow heard cries. He ran to the edge of the dirt tunnel and listened. Somewhere within the dirt beyond this wall people were crying out in pain. The Tola stepped back and turned to Alabaster and cast Healing Word. Again soft cries could be heard through the dirt.
Yarrow went over to Alabaster and grabbed him telling him that he needed to dig. Alabaster put away his things and began to burrow with Yarrow behind him using his magic to harden the walls of the new tunnel. They burrowed for a few minutes before Alabaster hit a wall of stone. It was a thick, block wall in the dirt. There was a stone structure here. Cyrus went back and grabbed Aldous who brought his bellows. The party backed up and Aldous used the bellows to create a 5ft gap in the wall allowing them to get inside.

Beyond the wall was a large chamber. The chamber had an overwhelming smell of decay and rot, a red circle etched into the stone, a channel in the ground was filled with glowing blood and the bodies of several bandits and two Tenders were hung on pikes at six points around it. A glowing handle was floating in the air in the middle of the circle. The handle bathed in red light and tendrils of multicoloured energy pulse from the handle into the ground above.
The group looked on in horror at the people here. They were still alive. Alabaster turned around, went back into the tunnel, and began digging upward.

---

The door to Bonda and Taru's house slammed open suddenly. "What the Fuck is wrong with this town!?" Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked to the front door. Bonda was sitting in a chair with a cup of tea. Taru was giving orders to some Tenders who were running around. Tevor was hovering over Havel and reading letters that were on his body. The thing that stuck out the most was that Maneba was trying to teach Gifu how to walk again. Gifu was up and moving around. Alabaster ran over and pushed Gifu down.
"Hey!" Maneba stood inbetween Alabaster and Gifu. Alabaster was furious and turned to Bonda and Taru.
"Did you fuckers know how shit stays alive here?!" Taru and Bonda looked to each other confused. "What are you talking about?" Taru said standing up. Alabaster flew over the room and grabbed his claw, pulling him to the front door.
"Come with me! People are dying underneath the town!" Alabaster screamed, stirring the other elders to action as well. Bonda turned to Maneba and nodded, "You are in charge while we are away." Maneba held Gifu who was upset and agreed. The Hedge walked over to the hole in the ground and pointed.
"In the hole." Taru looked at him confused, "In the hole?" Alabaster pointed and screamed, "In the hole!" The Tender Elders all shifted into small creatures and made their way down the hole underground.

---

Aldous inspected the ritual on the ground. It looked much like the notes he had from Gifu's office. Not exactly the same but definitely influenced by it. Yarrow and Cyrus looked up at the people. Cyrus looked at the apparatus keeping these people up in the air. They were impaled on pikes with their centers strapped down to the pikes with a long metal and leather band with a gem in the middle. They were slowly bleeding, the pikes having grooves in them that led to ring of blood around the middle of the room. The flow of blood was slow but continuous. Yarrow looked to one of the bandits and cast Healing Word on them. The crystal in the air glowed brightly and a red light, originating from the people on pikes, glowed up towards the crystal. The prismatic light stopped for an instant and as the gap in the light passed the healing spell went through causing the bandit to get healed. The group moaned out in pain.
Yarrow moved back in horror. How many times had he healed people in this town? As he backed up he reached the wall and saw the actual door to the room. It was a tall stone door with words written in Druidic at the top of them. "Beyond the Spirits" it said. Yarrow pushed on the door but it did not open. The Tola reached into his tunic and brought out his flute to begin to play. As he did the light from the crystal grew brighter, prismatic lights shooting out across the room and out up towards the surface. Cyrus's mouth began to glow and Yarrow became aware of the underground room with the plant monster as well as something else at the front of town. Someone was here and they had a strong signal of rot.

---

Alabaster burst into the chamber and pointed at the center of the room. He looked back at the three small animals behind him, "Look what you did!" The druids unshifted and took in the sight. Bonda stood there unmoving, Taru moved forward to look at the victims, and Tevor backed towards the opening that he came from. Bonda looked at the two Tenders among the six.
"They had gone missing..." She said looking down, "Gifu said that they were taken by bandits..." Yarrow hopped over to the group and grabbed at Alabaster's cloak.
"I played my flute and there's a person at the edge of town that's made of bad." Cyrus and Aldous looked at each other and Cyrus moved closer.
"We were attacked by someone before we came into town." He said while Aldous added, "and we couldn't kill him either." Aldous began to spiral in his thoughts. Are they coming for me? Who is this? They want the staff I know it. I need to know more about this ritual though. Alabaster put his paw to his brow.
"Fabulous." The Bard turned towards the Tenders, "What do you know about all this?" He growled at them getting only Taru to react.
"Nothing... Not this..." Alabaster scoffed at the response.
"Well Tanca's dead too and she turned into a monster of some sort. Did you know about her?" The Hedge asked calming down a bit. Taru shook his head.
"This is all too much. Too much at once. We lived together for years..." Taru looked down and then looked to Yarrow, "Bonda go to the surface and stop this person. If they are a threat then eliminate them." Bonda snapped out of her daze and grabbed her staff. Alabaster and Tevor moved with her and the three of them head to the surface.

---

Bonda, Tevor, and Alabaster made it to the surface. They moved towards the edge of town but saw nothing. Alabaster out of the corner of his eye saw leaves move in the brush nearby. Thinking that the enemy was invisible Alabaster decided that he would pretend to not know about the enemy and try to take them by surprise. Alabaster walked into the brush and loudly exclaimed, "It must have been a false alarm. There is no one here. Nothing to worry about at all." To his left he heard incantations, someone was casting magic. Alabaster swung his violin around him but hit no one. They were gone. Bonda came more out of her daze and looked to the Hedge. They would need to search the town. She would gather the Tenders for aid.

---

Yarrow couldn't figure out how to open the large stone door here. So he went to Aldous and asked him to use his bellows. Aldous did and it created another gap in the stone big enough to fit through. Yarrow looked down the tunnel. It was dark and the stone was a deep blue. On the other side of the door, written in Druidic it said, "The shield of light protects us, the cost of blood keeps it lit."
Aldous on the other hand was interested in this crystal at the ceiling. He wrapped himself in magic to Fly. Once up at the ceiling he used his special eyes to magically intuit the function of this item. Voices echoed into his head suddenly. The voices seemed to warn him of potential threats and what he could do to avoid them. This was some kind of shield and more importantly it neutralized an entire school of magic. Anyone with the shield could not be touched with any kind of evocation magic nor could they cast it.
Aldous flew around and looked at the people in the ritual. The pikes and bonds didn't seem important but there were gems at each of their backs. These must be what is keeping these people alive. Aldous needed to know more. How could they break the ritual? How could they leave town with these items? Would the druids stop them?
As Yarrow moved into the dark tunnel out of the chamber Alabaster moved in from the hole they dug on the other side. Alabaster saw Aldous fiddling with the people and asked what he was doing. Aldous told him that they should keep these gems and the crystal in the air. Cyrus claimed that they should destroy these items as they were too powerful. Alabaster angrily moved to the two of them and claimed that the gems were not to be harmed. Confused the two looked at him. Alabaster sighed and began to explain what he knew about the gems and what they are.

---

Yarrow walked down the stone tunnel with the light behind him. After a distance he came to the end of the tunnel and a ladder leading upward. He cautiously observed the ladder looking for signs of traps. Then he clawed the stone beneath the ladder and began to climb. At the top of the ladder was the underside of a hatch. Yarrow tried to push it open but something was on top of it. With a heavy shove the Tola threw open the hatch and the rug that was atop it.
Pokng his head up he looked around the room. Movement caught his eye and by a writing desk in the corner of the room stood a hooded figure holding an ornate dagger and some paperwork. Yarrow called to his fey magics and cast Crown of Madness on the figure. The magic however did not take hold and the hooded figure hissed at Yarrow in defense. Yarrow ran back down the ladder, closing the hatch behind him. Upstairs he heard some movement as well as some incantations. The Druid readied his quarterstaff and prepared himself for the figure to open the hatch above him.

---

Alabaster continued to explain the gems and the history of his family's death. He also explained the Vulpin murderer who left the markings of Kren behind in his village. Aldous and Cyrus tried their best to offer condolences to Alabaster and agreed to let him keep the gems. Aldous still argued over the usefulness of such items and how they could be used for good. Also Alabaster let the two others know that this means that Serra Hyne is dead and that she was turned into a crystal most likely by his family's killer.

---

After a minute or so had passed and the hatch had not opened Yarrow became suspicious. He quickly peered into the room by lifting the hatch and cast Fog Cloud. He then popped up into the room and began to swing his quarterstaff around in an attempt to hit the intruder if they were invisible. At the front of the room Yarrow heard voices from beyond the door to Gifu's room. It sounded like Tenders on the other side. Yarrow took his staff and knocked on the door, scaring the Tenders. They quickly ran off in search of Bonda to determine what to do since they were not to enter Gifu's room under any circumstances.

---

Aldous told both Alabaster and Cyrus that this ritual looked like it needed maintenance. That these people needed to be rotated out, maybe yearly or so, given the rate at which they are hurt and heal. Alabaster turned to Taru and asked him when they made their blood sacrifices. After hostilities Taru informed the group that they had a celebration on the 1st of Sildeyuir to bring in the new year. This celebration had dancing and ritual to it but that it happened on the surface of town and that he never sensed much magic from it. The Tenders, however, went missing in Cliste. Two months before the holiday. Also Gifu left in Alta the first month after Sildeyuir to go to Alderheart and help the Bird Council with their needs. Alabaster continued to interrogate and mock Taru as Aldous took notes on a scroll.

---

Yarrow waited and eventually heard Bonda from beyond the door. She told the tenders to leave and as she did Yarrow backed up. Bonda kicked in the front door and leveled her staff ready to cast a spell. Yarrow raised his hand in the air.
"Hello! Please don't attack me." The Tola said cheerfully.
"Dispel this fog!" Bonda yelled. Yarrow dispelled the fog and hopped over to her.
"Does the phrase, 'Shield of Light' mean anything to you?" Bonda looked around but saw no one else. Lowering her guard she looked down at the Tola.
"In poems and stories. It is a weapon of great power that helped old heroes slay great beasts but I do not know specifics. Is the intruder in here?" Yarrow turned away from Bonda and took out his flute. The noise echoed in the heads of everyone nearby and strands of prismatic light shot up from the ground. Underground the people there could see the crystal glow with the tune. Yarrow could still sense the beast's corpse underground but couldn't sense anything else.
"No they're gone now." Yarrow hopped over to the desk and saw that it had a false bottom and the intruder had taken things from here. Bonda put her hand to her face.
"Great." She also began to look around the room. "It looks like they stole mostly books and scrolls." She said looking at the empty bookcases. Yarrow remained quiet. Over by the front door was a wall of staffs. One in the middle looked like it didn't belong and another on the end was missing. At the foot of the bed was a chest. Yarrow poked inside and found a cloak, a hat, and a bag. Curious Yarrow opened the bag and cold air came out, the inside was dark and seemed extra-planar. He took the shoes below the staffs and put them inside the bag and then dumped the bag out. Fourteen corpses of bandits and Tenders came out of the bag. They all had different markings on them and seemed to be in different states of decay. Yarrow looked up at Bonda who was horrified.
"That's it, I'm killing Gifu." Yarrow got in front of her and told her to wait. They needed to regroup with the others. Bonda agreed and they went back underground.

---

As they made their way underground into the chamber they could hear Alabaster, Aldous, and Cyrus arguing. Aldous believed that the conspiracy was too big for them. Gifu was clearly working with the Bird Council so they must be evil too. Alabaster argued with him and called him crazy as Cyrus tried to mediate the situation.
Yarrow walked forward and yelled in a voice similar to Serra Hyne's. Bonda took the bag of holding from Yarrow and went over to Taru. She dumped the corpses on the ground and told him that Gifu really was evil. Aldous looked over the corpses. "I asked for staffs not stiffs." He said, "I'll take them though." Bonda looked at Aldous incredulously.
Meanwhile Yarrow told Cyrus and Alabaster about the hooded figure being in Gifu's room and taking a knife and some notes. Alabaster took some time and explained the gem situation to Yarrow as Taru and Bonda argued over what to do with Gifu. This argument carried over to the group. Cyrus wanted to kill him in case he regained his mind somehow. Aldous wanted to leave him be in order to see what would happen with his recovery. Alabaster wanted to kill him, or at least his body, for attacking them. Yarrow wanted to contact Flandal and get the cursed ring he had made with him back. It could heal someone indefinitely they would just sleep forever. This would be perfect for setting Gifu up in this ritual and having him keep Ashbarrow safe. The group looked at him with a mild amount of terror and moved on.
Bonda said that regardless this ritual should be dismantled and that they needed to talk to the Tenders. If Yarrow and Alabaster could help her with that then Aldous could have these bodies to practice necromancy. Yarrow agreed and the group went separate ways. Bonda went to the surface and told the Tenders to calm down and that there would be an assembly in an hour. Taru went to deal with the plant monster in the tunnel under Tanca's shop. Cyrus and Aldous would go to Tanca's and look around. Alabaster would watch Gifu and talk more about what to do. Yarrow meanwhile made his way to the front of town and wanted to speak with the trees.

---

Aldous stopped by the plant monster and picked up some matter to examine later. Taru told him to leave and that the winter path would handle the cleanup and study. Up the ladder Cyrus began to look around Tanca's office and subsequently robbed her. In the desk he found two letters. One from someone named Jorn and another from someone named Signa. Also here he found a sending stone. Around the office there wasn't much more of interest besides the shelf of potions that Cyrus filled his pack with.

---

Yarrow used Druidcraft on a tree at the front of town and leaned into it. He then began speaking as if to Oakheart.

"To oaken heart, The tenders were betrayed by Gifu. They were being used as sacrifices to a blood ritual against their will. They need new leadership and guidance, maybe your wisdom could lead them to better help the grove? Or atleast to end the fire that is eating the grove. Yarrow"

---

Alabaster got into Bonda and Taru's house and started identifying things that he had gotten over the day. The hat and cloak from Gifu's room were both used to help hide someone magically. The plant matter he had taken had rotted down into a purple sludge. This sludge seemed to be something natural that had been refined with transmutation magics and could help things grow by stopping their natural inhibitions.
Meanwhile Cyrus and Aldous began to argue about whether or not to kill Gifu. Maneba didn't want to kill him saying that he was as a child now. Aldous agreed and said that Gifu was already dead by his mind being eradicated. Cyrus argued that he could recover and come back as a threat. Alabaster took a break from his identifications to convince Maneba to leave and let them decide. They did so in a huff and left the house.
Aldous wanted proof that this was Gifu and not someone else entirely at this point. Alabaster cast Detect Thoughts and once again got jibberish from Gifu. Digging in his mind he found no resistance and a singular memory of Gifu as a child playing on a playground. The rest of his memories were of him and Maneba playing together that day

"See he isn't Gifu but a child." Aldous said in frustration.
"I don't care. Cyrus kill Gifu." Alabaster waved his paw and moved over to a chair to continue his rituals. Cyrus drew a dagger before Aldous intercepted him.
"No. This isn't a court of law! This is a room with the four of us and a manbaby!" Aldous screamed. Yarrow opened the front door suddenly, "What's going on? Why is Maneba outside?"
"Yarrow we are apparently debating keeping Gifu alive. I'm worried about him coming back." Cyrus said calmly.
"Uggh just kill him." Alabaster groaned. Aldous turned towards the hedge as the temperature in the room continued to drop. "That's easy for you to say. You kill lots of innocent people." Alabaster and Aldous glared at each other. "Fuck You! You'd kill Flandal!" Alabaster said grabbing his violin. Aldous grabbed the Borealis, "Flandal isn't an innocent!"
"If we cut out his tongue and eyes he won't be a useful caster." Yarrow cheerfully said cutting the tensions a bit. The group looked at him concerned. Quiet filled the room until Yarrow broke it again. "If we only want to kill him out of fear then I'm against it. Besides he could be used to convince people that the Tenders want something or we could set him up to take the place of the people in the ritual downstairs. For now we should leave him be." Alabaster took his violin and his items and went upstairs in a huff. Just then Bonda opened the door and motioned towards Yarrow.
"It's time for the assembly. We need you." Yarrow sighed deeply and shuffled off out of the house.
Everyone in town was outside gathered in mass. They whispered and talked as Bonda and Yarrow walked to the center of town with Taru. After a few minutes Bonda stepped forward and began to shout.
"Gifu betrayed us!" She yelled across the crowd eliciting confusion and a murmur of panic. "He has been working with the bandits and been trying to keep us here to control us!" The crowd began to become unsettled. Taru moved forward.
"We may need to leave Ashbarrow! We also need to restructure! The way we are now and the values we spouse to have are incongruous! Change needs to happen!" The group of druids and healers began to stir more. Bonda pulled forward and reached a hand to Yarrow to speak. The Tola grabbed a seed from his bag and moved up. Once in the center he pulled Dapple and Rose from his bag. The Giant Elk standing behind him and the mountain rabbit in front of him.
"The Tenders and the Healers are the seeds of compassion," Yarrow's magic infused with the seed and a flower started to bloom from it. It was a bright yellow dandelion which stood up strong and continued to age as Yarrow continued to focus. "when they are planted and cared for they sprout kindness. This kindness grows and just as nature does," The flower fell down and the seeds of the dandelion showed. The white puff holding on barely. Yarrow blew the seeds and they began to fly around the crowd. "They spread. Just like this flower you can grow anywhere. You don't need this town." The crowd settled down as the seeds floated through the air. Bonda took this moment and stepped up.
"We may need to leave Ashbarrow. I need everyone to prepare for that tonight. Tomorrow I will need everyone to be ready to move and I will need a group of strong healers willing to help us fix Ashbarrow before we leave!" Some people in the crowd nodded and Bonda nodded as well. "That is all!" Bonda and Taru started to make their way out of the crowd but were stopped by people that wanted to see Yarrow. Yarrow drew a line in the dirt quickly and looked at them.
"No. Stay behind the line." The Tola said firmly. One young Tender looked to her neighbour, "You're right he is like Gifu." Realizing what she had said in the wake of this revelation she looked up to see an angry Druid in front of her. "S-sorry we were saying that before we knew abo-" Yarrow hopped off angrily towards Bonda and Taru's house as the darkness overtook the town and the day came to a close.

Report Date

06 Jul 2020