I am back and it's nice to see a new post is up! It seems we might be on our own again and that it is getting late!

It surely seems as though we are being "lead" back to town by the adventure, or being forced toseparate completely. With the case/info we have, I am wondering if maybe we should head back for info????? Or - let's go find Hammer's Oracle? or we could really be "bad" and tell the man we are taking all carts and men and moving on. (Like, who's in charge here?)

I await more educated thoughts .........

I will split the gold and pass it out rather than hold it.

I would suggest we stick with the plan. we stick with the group for a little way - make sure they get out of the woods ok. We also need to open that scroll and see what is inside. We also need to talk with Carus about what we found with that orc. We can do that as we head back to town. I don't think there is much option here - they are moving out and we NEED to go through this stuff with Carus.

But we don't go all the way back. We turn off/back and hunt for Hingatuli's vision. My only real question is this - do we want to find some place to rest for 8 hours to get some spells back - and get a few of us healed?

I think this was the basic plan from before. I'm inclined to post this plan fairly soon unless I hear otherwise. It feels like I am pushing this, but I think it is just continuing what we were doing. I do want to follow the vision soon.

aye

..... remain with the party as long as we do not go all the way back to town!

He has NO Healing Spells granted him!

What he would really like to do is go to the Woodsmens Camp and spend the night there to look for clues, get some rest, evaluate the situation and have some time for prayer devotion in case his "Dwarven War God" has something to say or impart to him before proceeding further!

I know I asked ths earlier, and I'm not sure if I got a response. Why do you think the woodsmens camp is the key to everything? I would have thought the ugly spot from the vision was off in the dark parts of the woods - which is not where the camp is.

I'll get a post up in a few hours.

please give me specific questions for Carus. it will help me give more accurate responses. thanks.

..... the Woodsmen Camp is that there should be some type of shelter there etc that would be more ideal for sleeping overnight than just camping outside!

Hingatuli does not mind sleeping out in the woods, but it just makes sense that there may be some better shelter there ... unless it is all destroyed of course!

Plus there might be some food remaining that was overlooked in the battles!

I hate those guys. If I knew exactly what era of FR were in, I'd know who to hate.

SD, are we pre or post Time of Troubles?

I think the fact that they killed the Tree-singer tells us something. What? I'm not sure about that yet.

We need to go ahead and open that scroll. It may have something important for us to consider too.

Lets make sure we open and show the scroll to Carus.

Do you know something about Zhenterium that should be shared - that your character would know?

I will post about opening the scroll shortly.

But since most of you are on right now...
Shadowdragon asked for specific questions for Carus . . . any suggestions?

Oh and as for the camp - it may have shelter, but it also seems to be attracting attention right now.

After reading my character history again, there is a chance that I would know a bit about the Zhenterium, or at the very least Zhentil Keep, there home city.

Common knowledge about them is that they are evil and serve the god Bane, Lord of Fear and Hatred. I asked SD about the era because they have gone through some major shifts in regards to their deity allegiance. They may be worshiping Iyachtu Xvim, depending on the time period. Knowing the time period changes little concerning how evil and diabolical they are, but gives me a reference point.

Not so common knowledge: Pre-Time of Troubles, they worshiped Bane. During the Time of Troubles, when AO stripped all the gods of their powers and cast them down to Faerun, Bane was killed by Torm, god of loyalty and obedience. Zhentil Keep then shifted their devotion from Bane to his son Iyachtu Xvim. After about 10 years, something happened and Iyachtu Xvim was consumed in a green fire, Bane emerged from the flame reborn.

Post-Time of Troubles about 8 years.

Ok, guys I posted a general statement of intent. I included some questions for Carus - if you have others, go ahead and post them. There are no bad questions - only questions we forgot to ask and regret later!

SD - a few questions for you:

1. Zhenterium? I am not familiar with this world - I have heard of it, but never campainged in it. Beyond the brief overview already posted, is there anything else I/we should be aware of? Would we have had the same reaction that Carus did? If so, why?
2. Is the sign on the coins that Carus reacted to the same one we saw earlier?
3. Tree singer? What is a tree singer? Is that another way of saying Druid? Does this imply, as the orcs final comment did, that they will target spell casters? (Warning to group - I think we need to get another sleep spell!)
4. What time of day is it now? If we take a couple of hours to go back with Carus - what time then? I'm trying to figure out how far to go and when to rest for spell reclamation.
5. How many woodsmen total died, are hurt, are still healthy?
6. What other question should I be asking, but I am forgetting?

SD - the stream with the caves is to the north - is the ugly area of the woods with the ruins in the same direction? Or different?

Also, are the ruins at all in the direction of the woodsmen's camp?

My thoughts to the group:
* We suggest that Carus and comp. send a messanger to the Dwarves to warn them about the dragon ASAP. They take care of that, we don't.
* We look for Hingatuli's vision - so far the ruins seem like the best bet. Hingatuli - your the best source on this - I'm guessing as to where your vision would lead us.
* I still like the idea of a rest to regain spells and heal, but want to know if others are willing to delay 8 hours.
*If we can find the ogre leader (And not the other 9 at the same time!) we would take him out, but that isn't our main goal. We search for the vision first and deal with the ogre and additional orcs as they come up.

Thoughts from the others fortunate enough to be wandering around in the woods?