Stop the Poaching - Group 3, Session 2

The brawl in the Two Bridges Inn is over as quickly as it started. Between the fighting prowess of Dhraanngg, the half-orc Champion and Kleone, the halfling druid's use of illusions to embarrass the main antagonist, the fight ended with minimal damage to people and property (except for a few minor poke-holes from the dagger of Gambit the goblin alchemist.

After everyone settled down, a few rounds of drinks were bought back and forth to ensure no hard feelings between townsfolk and the adventurers (the folk that frequent the Two Bridges Inn actually enjoy a good bar brawl as part of the regular weekly 'entertainment'). Dhraanngg, Gambit, Kleone, and Tom the halfling bard discussed their mission. They were on the road to the village of Spirit Lake to investigate, and hopefully put an end to, the disappearance of the pixies, sprites, and other lesser Fey in the Spirit Lake region, and they'd need a plan of action. All they really knew thus far was...

• ...that the disappearances seemed to be happening in the Forest areas surrounding Spirit Lake...
• ...that the Fey Council and the Elves had already approached the elders of that village to complain, but the Elders were either unable or unwilling to help. They claim to have no knowledge of anyone in town who may be responsible...
• ...the Taxlatl (lizardfolk) of Lizard Fen have actually witnessed human poaching parties in the area around Spirit Lake in the act of catching pixies and sprites, and have reported this to Amalthea the Druid and the Fey Council (with the party's help, of course!)

They'd need more information.

---

The seven-day trip from Feybridge Crossing to the larger town of Dryad Falls was uneventful. The road between these settlements is well enough traveled (and patrolled by the secretive Elven Rangers) that there are rarely, if ever, incidents of highwaymen or creatures from the woods accosting travelers. The group arrived at Dryad Falls to find that the town was engaged in its Founders' Week celebrations. The town square was filled with folk enjoying themselves. Small carts of food vendors and trinket sellers lined the square. Performers and musicians, some solo, some in small groups, performed on the square to the delight of the onlookers. And a large wooden stage platform in the center of the square bore a sign that announced the upcoming performance of the Traveling Troupe later that evening. Tom and Kleone, who both hail from the village of Spudbarrow, were quite familiar with the Troupe, as it has been stopping in their home town twice annually for many years. To them, the arrival of the Troupe was akin to the arrival of a traveling circus, and the halflings of Spudbarrow even tie their own festival schedules to the anticipated arrivals of the Troupe. The two halflings enthusiastically explained to the half-orc and goblin that they were in for a great treat.

There was time before the show, though, so the group decided to secure lodgings for the evening before returning to the square for the show. Dhraanngh and Gambit has passed through Dryad Falls a few weeks prior (on their way to the Bugbear's Head Inn), and so were familiar with one of the three inns in the town. And since that one was least likely to be overfilled with festival-goers, they decided to make use of this one. Making their way to the North edge of town, they reached the First Stop Inn and secured lodgings.

While waiting for the innkeeper, the group was able to overhear conversations of some of the merchants and travelers that had come south from Laketon. Apparently, the Elven Ranger patrols were out in full force, and were stopping and searching wagons of folk that were traveling north away from the area (and away from Spirit Lake). The merchants did not know what the Elves were searching for, but they seemed to be searching in earnest. As the party returned to the square, they caught other snippets of conversation that reinforced this. The Elves were restless, and some humans were even beginning to feel as if the Elves resented their presence in the Feywood. The party began to realize that dealing with this poaching problem would be necessary to head off a potentially large confrontation between the Elves that had lived in the Feywood for thousands of years, and the humans and other settlers that had begun to make their homes in the wood over the past few hundred years.

The Traveling Troupe took the stage, and after initial introductions, Elianna the Songstress regaled the crowd with her music. After a lilting ballad in elven about the trials of love between an elf and a human, a lively tavern song about life in the Feywood followed and the crowd sang along. As the Illusionist Mystro took the stage, Elianna Altuliel stepped down and wandered over to a few villagers she apparently knew - standing a few feet away from the party. The adventurers could not help but overhear bits of Elianna's parts of the conversation:
...little fey are disappearing...
...my forest friends near Spirit Lake... very worried... being hunted...
...very, very bad... Elven patrols investigating...
...Rangers investigating... stopping merchants...
...trouble between Elves and the town if it doesn't stop...

The group realized they would need to speak with the half-elven songstress, and so they approached her.

They introduced themselves as agents of Amalthea and the Fey Council, en route to Spirit Lake to deal with the disappearances. Elianna was quite happy to hear that, and offered to provide whatever information and contacts she could. The Troupe had just been throught Spirit Lake recently, and Elianna herself had several acquaintances in the village that could be of help:

• A Satyr named Two Twists frequents a knoll in - or very near - where the disappearances were occuring in the forest. While Satyrs are not known for their helpfulness - or their empathy toward the plights of others - Two Twists was concerned because the disappearing lesser Fey meant fewer creatures willing or able to attend the "frolics" that the satyrs loved so much. Elianna had spoken with the satyr - he would be willing to help "put things back like they were so we could have more fun".
• two Brownies living in the village (at the Wailing Spirit Inn, to be exact) are familiar with all of the Fey Folk that live their hidden lives within the village, as well as several that dwell in the surrounding forests. They would likely have heard more detailed information about the disappearances, though extracting it would be like playing a guessing game with a young human child.
• Finally, Elianna explained what she knew of the village Council of Elders. She was familiar with one member - Grisela Bladewell - who owned a bakery that specialized in cakes, tarts, and other sweets. If nothing else, her establishment would be a useful place to visit to obtain 'bribe material' before speaking with the Brownies. Elianna described Grisela as "everybody's jovial grandmother".

The party took in all this information. The Traveling Troupe continued their show, which ran about two hours. Shortly after the show, the adventurers noticed that the townsfolk were beginning to leave the square. The vendors along the edges were closing up for the night. While most of the villagers were headed home - especially those with children in tow - a large crowd had moved their celebrating to the Central Square Inn's common room (right on the square), while other groups of revelers loudly proclaimed their intent to continue their celebrating at the Satyr's Glen common room on the western edge of town.

The session ended at this point