Once Feyre turned the key to unlock the second cell's magic door, it clicked and the ward dissipated. She took a breath before slowly opening it, wishing Pip would have at least said if he knew what was in there. Seeing who was laying on the cot, she realized it was probably better she didn't know as she briefly considered shutting it again. 

Brindle, Pip's twin sister, inched her body to sit up on the bed, wincing when her splinted leg moved. "Hey, Feyre," the other gnome said weakly.

But Feyre wasn't in the mood for pleasantries. "Oh, it's just you," she said dully. "Looks like you got the both of you into another mess," she added with a nod to Brin's injured leg.

"I'll have you know," Brin retaliated, coming out of her groggy state, "I was injured while trying to prevent Pip from being captured." She crossed her arms and leered at her rescuer.

Feyre rolled her eyes and muttered, "A lot of good that did." Brin was about to say something before the rogue cut her off. "Well, I have more important things to do, so you just stay here. We'll come back to get you if we don't forget." She turned to leave before Brin's words could leave her mouth, and glancing over her shoulder, she tossed the injured gnome a canteen. "Here. You look a little thirsty." She walked out with a smirk, leaving the door ajar, and headed for the tower door to rejoin the fight.

◊◊◊

Once he was freed from his prison, Pip ran out of the tower with Feyre's rapier ready when he witnessed a half-orc chop off the head of a frightened slaad and then immediately impale an archer in the face with her halberd. He stopped running to make sure he knew the barbarian was on his side and not an enemy.

As he studied who was fighting who on the wall, he noticed a dwarf swiftly dodge an arrow. She gracefully leaned into her movement to spin and caress the head of her maul against the archer's cheek before following up with a second whirl, lowering her stance and ramming the maul straight into the orc's stomach, sending their body off the wall into the inferno that was enveloping the gate's wooden doors. Pip was almost too amazed to hear the orc's screams. Almost.

Impressed with both women's skills, he let down his guard just enough to where he wouldn't have been able to deflect the arrow that the fighter was now aiming at him. He crouched instinctively but unnecessarily. The dwarf loosed her shot and the arrow whizzed by his head. Pip looked back just in time to see another archer who had peeked around the tower's corner behind him. Ru's arrow pierced straight through the creature's eye, causing it to fall backwards onto the same arrow now wedged in the ground and the other eye to explode from behind as the fletching dripped gore onto its surprised face.

"I sure hope you two are friends with Feyre," he called out to the women with a friendly voice, holding his sword to the side to show he meant no harm. "I'm Pip."

Once the last enemy had been slain, the members of Haven's Blade took a few seconds to catch their breath and assess the situation. Aeldevan jogged over to the burning gate door, hoping to salvage what remained of it. He conjured water out of the air to douse the flames but left the One-Eye banner burning, pleased to see the tapestry destroyed. As soon as the water touched the flames, the thick black smoke turned white and billowed into the sky. The scent of ash was strong like a bonfire, save for the hint of charred orc meat.

After they all exchanged introductions with Pip, Magra and Skamos took sentry positions on the wall while Aeldevan and Ru followed Feyre back into the tower. Pip followed them in to reunite with Brin and check on her leg. Still unsure where the prison guard had gone, the others wanted to see if he decided to hide in the third cell that had been empty when Ru checked in her fog form. The fighter and druid readied their weapons as Feyre quickly unlocked and kicked open the door, but Ru confirmed it appeared the same as before. They did a quick sweep in case there was anything concealed with magic, but all that was there was the same empty but rusted chamber pot.

While Ru and Aeldevan were thinking about what could have happened to the guard, Feyre started running up the steps to the kitchen shouting, "Loot! Loot! Loot!" The two turned to each other with smiles on their faces and quickly ran back outside to tell the others it was looting time. Magra was already tearing into the slaad, scooping up vials of its slime, and Skamos was pickpocketing one of the archer's bodies to find some gold.

"I'm claiming the other bodies and their belongings as my prizes," Ru announced decisively. She saw everyone's bewildered faces and clarified, "I was the one who killed them all. Aeldevan, you can have whatever's in those barrels," Ru added, seeing how he hadn't collected anything yet or actually killed anyone.

They didn't argue with that since she had done the most work, so Magra just sat on the steps and started to clean the ichor off her weapons. Skamos tossed his money in his pouch with a pout and drew his lute to sing about unfairness.

Aeldevan scurried over to the couple barrels and pop off their lids which hadn't even been nailed down. Interestingly, each barrel only held a single periapt rather than weapons or rations. As soon as he touched the first ruby-colored amulet, he sensed its power to grant him invulnerability to disease and fastened it around his neck. The second one, a scarlet heart, gave a subtle feeling like it would be rejuvenating for whoever attuned to it. He placed that charm in his bag along with the necklace that enabled the wearer to breathe in any environment. "We'll need to go through our equipment to make sure we're taking advantage of everything we have," he thought. Seeing Ru finishing her loot tour, he walked over to see what she had found.

◊◊◊

After having already stashed fifty gold pieces from the remaining archers, Ru added a little more from the two tower guards. One guard had a pair of white bone dice with red engravings that looked like dried blood. The other had a greater healing potion and oddly enough a black velvet mask stitched with silver thread. "Looks like someone was planning to go to a masquerade party," she joked, then saw Aeldevan's eyes light up. She tossed him the mask with a smile, and once he had put it away with his alabaster mask, she handed him the potion.

The druid thanked her and asked, "Did all the bodies get picked through?"

"Not yet," Ru answered and gestured with her thumb. "I still have this big guy." She walked over to the giant orc who was face down in blood and somehow managed to roll his body over with a single but forceful kick. Two objects glimmered in the light despite the lingering fog as if they produced their own brilliance. Laying around the orc's neck was a necklace with crimson beads that looked like they contained whisps of fire. She carefully unfastened it and counted eight beads before smiling and placing it around her own neck. "I'm going to have some fun with these," she commented before assessing the second item, the shining maul that had pulverized Aeldevan. The druid shivered at the painful memory.

From her smithing studies, Ru recognized the head of it as meteoric iron, a dark and rare material. She felt heat coming off it as she traced her fingers along the silver-blue metal veining throughout like lightning frozen in time. Her left hand felt along the haft, a sturdy oak handle wrapped in celestial oil-soaked leather which gave it a grip that would prevent forceful removal. She noticed a dwarvish inscription along the side of the head and read it aloud, "The earth quakes beneath those who wield the power of the stars."

"Nice find!" Magra had strode over to look and clapped Ru on the shoulder. "I didn't even see that with his body on top."

"Thanks!" Standing up with her new weapon, Ru looked around. "Feyre hasn't come out in a bit, so I'm going to go check on her."

The others nodded in agreement. "We'll stay out here in case that first archer or prison guard come back," Aeldevan said. "Also, someone may have noticed the fire from that," he added, pointing towards the smoldering gate door and giving Skamos a smirk.

"Hey," the Tiefling replied with his hands up, "I can't be blamed for how your plans turn out. Besides, everyone likes a good fire and ice combo."

◊◊◊

Ru peeked into Brin's cell and saw she had fallen asleep, and Pip was nowhere in sight, so she walked quietly up the steps to the mess hall to look for Feyre. The room was a mess: scorch marks covered the walls and ceilings, furniture was strewn about and in pieces, and a thin layer of flour covered almost every surface. The stove was still going, so Ru quickly turned it off before she noticed a pair of small footprints leading from the counter to one of the barrels in the corner. Slowly approaching the container, she noticed it was rocking back and forth a little and heard slurping sounds and heavy breathing. She drew her daggers and kicked the barrel over, ready to attack whatever disgusting creature fell out.

"Ow!", Feyre yelled. "What's the big idea?", she asked Ru as she blew her hair out of her face.  She stayed on the floor to adjust her clothing, and Pip was hiding behind her while he hastily pulled his shirt back on.

"I, uh-." Ru was speechless in her surprise but remembered what she was doing as the rogue's eyes continued to stare angrily. "We wanted to see how your looting was going, so I volunteered to find you."

"Well, you found me," Feyre replied, annoyed. She stood and brushed herself off before pulling Pip up.

"I'm going to check on my sister," he said hurriedly with reddened cheeks before sprinting away.

Feyre sighed as she watched him go, then turned back to Ru to answer her question. "I took the rolling pin the cook had and I'm hoping Skamos can mend the huge crack in it. I also took a really nice pan that just made me feel better as I looked at it." She showed the dwarf the well-maintained cast iron that looked like a smiley face had been etched into its surface, and when Ru went to touch it, Feyre pulled it away before continuing. "There were also a few links of sausage and soup that looked salvageable, so we could have those later." She looked around the room to think of anything she left out and spotted the small open chest. "Oh, and a speed potion mixed in with four hundred gold pieces." She patted the bag of holding she had borrowed from Magra. "I think it was their special stash since it was hidden but not hidden well enough!"

"Wow, that's amazing," Ru said, excited for her friend. "Did you check upstairs yet?"

"No. I didn't see anything when we were up there earlier, and I thought you looked more when we were air people," Feyre replied.

Ru nodded as she clarified, "I couldn't touch anything, so there were a few drawers I wanted to look in. I'll be right back."

Moments later, she came back down the steps looking thoughtfully at a small doll made of random pieces of fabric that resembled an angry guard. 

"Looks like someone liked to craft," Feyre joked. 

"Or someone's child made this for their parent," Ru replied solemnly as she gently placed the doll in her bag. Like most others, she viewed the orcs as barbaric creatures that only caused pain and misery, and she knew they deserved to suffer for their crimes. But after seeing the doll, she wondered if there were some that were just victims of their own culture.

Feyre wanted to avoid the sentimentality, so she abdruptly changed the subject. "Did the room still smell like B.O.?"

"Absolutely," Ru quickly replied, snapped out of her funk. "Let's get out of here."

The members of Haven's Blade reconvened outside the tower's open door while Pip was talking to Brin in her cell. As the others discussed tracking the two remaining orcs, Feyre leaned against the tower wall with her arms crossed over her chest, suddenly glum. Looking out at nothing in particular away from the group, she spoke just out of earshot of the other gnomes. "Go talk to that bitch I left in the cell," she demanded of her friends.

The party's conversation immediately stopped as they turned to look at her questioningly. Not appreciating the rogue's attitude and tired of her erratic mood swings, Aeldevan gave it right back to her. "Quit pouting and go talk to her yourself. You obviously have something to work through. The four of us are going to try finding those missing orcs before they alert Vrazhura."

"I thought we killed them all," Feyre replied, her memory clouded by other thoughts swirling around in her head. Accusation at the fact the others had let some escape crept into her voice.

Before things got even more heated, Ru stepped in to remind Feyre of who they were talking about. "We don't know what happened to that prison guard. Since he wasn't in the cell we checked with you, we have to assume he ran off to alert everyone at the grove."

"Before the slaad ran into the tower, we saw the door open by itself," Magra corroborated.

"Since no one seemed to use magic besides that frog face who wasn't even looking at the door," Skamos remarked, "we're thinking he could've used an invisibility potion to go and tell Vrara about us." The bard's careless mispronunciation earned a few wry smiles, but no one corrected him.

Now that he had time to cool down, Aeldevan added, "And there was an archer who went to investigate the noise I made in the western woods but never came back." Gesturing at the carnage around them, he added, "Apparently some people also forgot to leave one of these fellows alive for interrogation." With a smirk, he looked pointedly at the fighter and barbarian who just simpered.

"Yup, my bad," Magra admitted nonchalantly.

Ru shrugged and turned out her palms. "I may have gotten a little carried away."

"I thought I was the one who made the jokes," Skamos replied with a laugh. "You obliterated them!'

Interrupting their laughter, Feyre made a loud and exaggerated sigh to bring the attention back on her. "Fine," she whined, "I guess I'll stay here then and find out what Pip and that thistle bush know."

◊◊◊

Wanting to get it over as quickly as possible, Feyre took a deep breath and marched back into the guard tower to address the other gnomes. "Alright, you two. What the fuck happened?" Looking lovingly at the brother from beyond the cell door, she added, "And it's great to see you, Pip."

He stood up from his seat on the cot with stars in his eyes, emerging from the chamber. "Thank you so much for rescuing us," he replied, reaching a finger out to caress Feyre's autumn-colored hair in the way she used to like. They had barely said a word to each other since he was released. As soon as he had gone upstairs to talk to Feyre, their past passions immediately reignited, leaving little room for talk.

Brin's feelings toward Feyre were quite the opposite, and she never thought the rogue was good enough for her brother. Not wanting Feyre to stand taller than her but also to stop whatever was happening outside her door, Brin groaned as she stood up and hobbled in between the two lovers to create some distance. 

Feyre blushed as Pip's finger brushed her cheek as his sister pushed him back. "Not in front of her," she said shyly before getting saucy. "But maybe later we can find another barrel to roll around in," she teased with a wink.

Brin made gagging noises with a face to match and killed the the mood.

Rolling her eyes, Feyre repeated her initial question at the same time Pip asked, "How did you find us?"

"You're gonna have to ask Aeldevan if you want the full story," Feyre answered. "I'm more of a summary type of girl." The twins looked at her expecting to hear her version, so she conceded and gave a very brief overview of Haven's Blade's past and current missions. Although a short synopsis, the siblings' faces ranged from surprise and amazement to fear and concern.

There was a pause before Pip spoke. "So, you're all really on your way to stop this ritual, then?" His previously lighthearted demeanor had sunk beneath a serious tone as his body tensed.

"Yeah," Feyre replied with a nervous giggle, unsure of the sudden shift in the atmosphere. "We seem to always be getting ourselves into slippery situations," she added while elbowing insinuatingly in Pip's direction, trying to keep the energy up.

Pip barely lifted one side of his mouth to acknowledge her joke, but lowered his eyes before looking at Brin knowingly. His sister gave a small nod, giving him permission to do or say whatever he was contemplating. "We were actually on our way back from scouting the grove," he said quietly, almost defeated.

"At least as close as we dared to get," Brin corrected.

"Apparently too close," Feyre mumbled, directing the snide remark to the other woman who just glared back.

Ignoring the comment, Pip continued. "There's something you should know," his words slow.

Feyre's patience was thinning, but she waited for him to continue, steeling herself for what was about to come. It wasn't like Pip to act this way, and it had her concerned for her safety and his.

"We discovered the orcs have the Blood Spear of Gruumsh at the grove," he finally revealed, "but we aren't sure where exactly it's being kept."

Feyre's shoulders slumped a little at the fact they weren't able to get to the spear first, but then she let out a laugh. "That was it? I thought you were going to say you turned to the dark side." The other two breathed a sigh of relief while looking at her, amused at the thought of them helping the orcs. "At least they don't have the other two artifacts, and we know one more thing we're dealing with. Plus, you can show us where you last saw it," she said decidedly as she took Pip's hands in hers.

His amusement faltered again before his face turned stoic again. "Continue northwest on the road," Pip informed. "You'll know you're close to the grove when you see the forest start to die."

Feyre read between the lines and had the feeling she wasn't going to like how this conversation ended. "I wish you would come with us," she insisted, lightly squeezing his hands and giving him a pleading look.

Pip gave her a another weak smile before gently pulling away to stand beside his sister once again. "I can't," he trailed off, looking down at the blood-splattered floor to avoid Feyre's eyes. "With everything we've been through," he gestured to Brin's injuries, "I need to take care of my sister and bring her somewhere safe."

Feyre's empty hands curled at her sides, her patience gone and her fear of losing Pip again taking over. Not so calmy, she asked, "So, you're putting Brin over me?"

Pip stayed silent, still looking away. Brin was visibly bewildered at Feyre's selfishness but with a hint of satisfaction that Feyre wouldn't be winning this battle. Unfortunately, this only made the rogue feel mocked, triggering her into a spiral that was only headed downward.

"I still have the key to the cell, so we could just lock her back up and come back for her after we're done," Feyre said unapologetically. "She'll be safe in there, and we'll make sure she has rations and the poop bucket." While Brin's mouth gaped open, Pip exhaled incredulously and only now looked back at her. Feyre kept going, though, throwing out any idea she could think of. "Or she can come with us and ride in our cart. Ru even has a magic carpet she could fly on."

She turned and addressed Brin, cringing with displeasure, "Doesn't that sound like it would be fun?" Feyre's head twitched as she spoke, and she had an odd smile as she strained to convince the twins to accept one of her ideas.

"You're being ridiculous," Brin admonished, not appreciating all the hostility and bad ideas, but triggered Feyre again.

"After everything we just did to save you both," Feyre shouted hysterically, "now you're just going to abandon me?"

Pip looked at Feyre like she had just struck him but kept his voice level. "Brin and I have been through more than you know, and her health is my priority right now," he explained before some fury escaped. "And who are you to talk about abandonment? I haven't seen or heard from you in years."

"That's because I left to raise money to rebuild our home," Feyre snapped back defensively. "Our forest, I mean."

Pip shook his head in disbelief. "You never even -." He took a breath. "I could have gone with you, but once the fire died down, I couldn't find you anywhere." His eyes began welling with tears. "I thought the worst happened to you but was lucky enough to overhear someone say they saw you escape. You left without a word."

By now, the air was thick with emotions. Pip blinked slowly to recompose himself as he lifted his hands to tell everyone to take a breath. "All I'm trying to say, Feyre, is that Brin needs me more than you do right now. If the situation was reversed, you'd be my priority."

That was the wrong choice of words, and the respite Pip attempted was dismantled as Feyre felt herself lose control again. "Who are you to say what I need? If I'm not your priority, then fine. But that doesn't mean you need to go run off because you're scared. Besides, all she needs is some rest and healing potions, which we have plenty of. We even have two spellcasters who can heal her leg in no time," she argued with barely a breath in between.

"There are more than just physical wounds here," Pip admitted sternly, unwilling to divulge any details.

Brin had barely spoken and knew Pip didn't need her help, but she felt herself choking up at him defending her like he always did. She always admired his unwavering loyalty and ability to truly know what she needed. Brin was certain Pip was the better twin. She was the one with a short fuse and better at confronting what was in front of her, but Pip was always patient and understanding on the deepest levels. Brin's admiration was cut short as she was brought back to reality with Feyre's next comment.

"Oh yeah? Like what?" Feyre spat the words out, realizing it was much more than just overstepping. A part of her regretted everything she'd been saying this whole time, but her pride wouldn't let her stop now.

Pip's face reddened in anger and his eyes watered again. He ended the conversation with what patience he had left, whittled down by Feyre's insensitivity. "I'll see you when this is all over."

Feyre had never seen Pip this way before and knew she had screwed up, possibly tearing whatever thread remained between them. She couldn't break down here, though, especially not in front of Brin. "No, you won't," she replied in defiance before she spun and flew out of the tower, unable to hold back her own tears anymore.

◊◊◊

Due to the prison guard's heavy build, Ru and Magra were easily able to track his footprints in the damp dirt road. They continued along its northwest direction for about a quarter mile before it took a sharp right into a thicket.

"Do you think we should follow it?" Magra spoke to her partner but eyed the woods suspiciously.

"I say follow," the dwarf decided. "Do you feel good about it?"

"Hell yeah," the half-orc agreed, now more sure of herself. "Honestly, I've been feeling great since that battle, and maybe even like I could do it all over again." As she brought her left hand to her right shoulder while winding that arm, her eye and mouth twitched as if maybe she was feeling too great.

"Yeah, I can see that," Ru replied, slightly concerned about her friend's mental state. "Let's just see what we find first."

They had only walked fifty feet before the forest opened into a clearing a hundred feet across, short blades of green grass spanning its area. At the center of it, Ru noticed a small dark object. "Stay here," Ru directed, "and I'll go check it out. Watch my back."

Magra kept watch at the forest's edge with her weapon readied as the fighter crept closer to the mysterious object. The open field allowed a breeze to pass unhindered, bringing an unpleasant from familiar odor to Magra's nostrils.

Finally having reached the item in question, Ru groaned out load in disgust, dropping her hands. "It's poop!" She  turned and began to stomp back towards her friend, a mix of amusement and annoyance on her face. "This guy took a shit in the middle of the field!"

The barbarian burst out laughing. Catching her breath and wiping a tear from her eye, she asked, "Did you see any more tracks?"

Already halfway back to Magra, Ru pointed to footprints leading from the specimen to a different break in the woods a little farther north. She motioned for her friend to follow. "I think he just ran back to the road," she said. Once the pair were close enough, she reminded the barbarian, "Keep in mind we're looking to capture this guy for questioning, not kill him." Seeing Magra's disappointed face, she clarified, "If the boys find that archer, then you can kill this guy. Honestly, we can kill them both, but we need to question one of them first."

Magra beamed. "Maybe we'll even find a door to smash," she hoped, punching her fists together.

Ru highly doubted they would stumble upon a random door in the forest but kept the comment to herself. 

As they traversed through the undergrowth almost parallel to the road, the soil became more packed and the tracks harder to see. Slowing down and no longer focused on the ground, they noticed the foliage around them looked wilted, becoming more grey in the direction of the grove. They could tell it was something unnatural as the trees didn't have warm hues like they did in autumn, not to mention they were only halfway through spring. Normally the forest would also be alive with sound this time of year but instead was eerily quiet, matching the ominous backdrop.

"Does the forest seem off to you?", Ru asked aloud as she surveyed her surroundings of dying flora.

Magra teetered back and forth slowly as she tried to peer farther into the forest to see how far the blight went. "I don't like this," she admitted. "Maybe we should start heading back, 'cause this seems more like a full party thing."

Ru walked past the half-orc. "Let's go five more minutes," she compromised. "That shit I found was fresh, so he's got to be nearby." Magra hesitated before nodding in agreement. It was odd for Magra to be the one to hesitate, but she trusted her friend's judgement and wanted to keep her safe.

They refocused on tracking and found the orc's large body had disturbed the foliage enough to indicate the path he took, abruptly turning left towards the road. Despite the compact earth, tracks were beginning to reappear, indicating a heavier footfall, and there was more distance between steps.

Ru noticed Magra speeding up into a jog to match the more spread-out footprints. "It looks like he ran back to the road," the dwarf observed between breaths.

Magra broke out of the brush first to reemerge on the road and paused for her friend to catch up. "Maybe he was running from something," called back.

Ru looked uneasy as she exited the shrubbery, catching her breath. "I'm not sure, but maybe we should be running from it, too." As they stood even farther from the tower, the dying and silent forest surrounded them. Out of nowhere, a raven erupted into the air with a caw, startling the two adventurers and making Ru jump into Magra's arms.

The half-orc wasted no time and spun to sprint towards the tower, still clutching her friend. "Let's hightail it!"

Less than a minute later, a loud "Pop!" sounded behind them, accompanied by a flash of white light. They heard it come from just off the path, not far from where they had been moments ago. Ru shrieked from the sound but also from being tossed in the air as Magra shouted and threw her arms up in surprise.

Ru quickly grabbed onto the barbarian's weapon strap to sling herself onto Magra's back. Trying to ease her friend's burden, Ru massaged the half-orc's broad shoulders as her large feet raced them back up the road. "Hey, Magra," she said meekly, "I think I'm going to need to change my pants when we get back."

◊◊◊

After separating from the huddle, Aeldevan showed Skamos over to where the archer had gone into the woods and in the direction of where he had used his thunderclap spell. The soft earth gave way to the orc's heavy feet, making tracking relatively easy, especially since the druid had an idea of where they were heading. He led them farther west into thicker trees away from the tower and then adjusted north to move parallel with the road.

About ten minutes later, they began to hear loud footsteps from the road charging in their direction. They crouched to stay hidden but peeked through the branches to see a dwarf riding a half-orc towards the mile gate.

"Was that Magra and Ru?", Aeldevan asked Skamos.

"Those two are unmistakable," the bard replied with a laugh. "What I wanna know is if Magra agreed to give Ru a ride in exchange for a massage." He gave his partner an insinuating nudge.

"I don't think either of us could carry the other for very long," Aeldevan admitted, "but I'll give you a nice massage tonight." He winked, and the Tiefling's tail whipped in excitement, snapping the branch of a blackberry bush he walked by.

"I wonder why they were running, though," Skamos thought out loud.

Aeldevan stopped walking to think about it with a hum. "Good point. We should tread carefully going forward."

Skamos either didn't hear him or blatantly ignored the request as he twirled around the half-elf, planting a kiss on his neck, and took the lead to follow the broken twigs and trodden plants from the orc's wake. The Tiefling hummed a random tune as he glided along the forest floor, taking a sharp left before his song faded and motion stopped.

Playfully chasing his partner, Aeldevan nearly bumped into him as he skidded to a halt. "Why'd you stop?" He didn't need a response anymore as he moved his focus from Skamos to the forest beyond them. Something was wrong, and the normal shades of green shifted to dull browns and even greys.

Having grown up in a forest, Aeldevan knew this wasn't a natural. The druid touched his new necklace, wondering if it would protect him from whatever was affecting the trees. He knelt down and spoke to some undisturbed plants, hoping they would listen. "Does anyone know what's going on here or saw an orc running through?"

After a brief silence, a small orange and yellow marigold spoke up, its voice bright and small despite the nearby gloom. "This land has been poisoned," it answered, a slight rasp in its voice. 

Noting it hadn't answered his second question, Aeldevan pressed for something else. "Do you know what creature has been killing the orcs?"

"Not everything in these woods is evil," it revealed before becoming silent once again as the magic faded.

"Thank you," Aeldevan whispered. He stood up and looked at Skamos. "Let's keep following the archer's trail for a little while. The plant made me think we aren't in too much danger despite that," he said as he nodded toward the greying forest.

"At least not yet," Skamos jinxed, holding up crossed fingers. He continued following the path, though, silently agreeing with Aeldevan to continue. 

Not long after, they saw a second set of smaller boot tracks coming from the right, intersecting with the orc's, and spaced steps that indicated a chase had occurred. They looked left and saw a clear line of broken foliage before nodding to each other. As the two spellcasters followed the damage, Aeldevan kept an eye out for blood but didn't see any signs of a fight.

Shortly after the turn, the forest broke into a large field before reaching a patch of trees and the mountains beyond. Patches of white and orange wildflowers dotted the ground between taller stalks of colorful switchgrass, but the ones more north weren't nearly as vibrant and the grass turned a sickly yellow. About thirty feet into the field lay a motionless and cloaked orc holding a bow, seemingly unconscious. Aeldevan motioned for Skamos to keep look out and cautiously approached the body with his sword drawn.

Holding his sword up to land a quick blow if needed, the half-elf nudged the body with his foot before kicking it over on its back. Seeing the orc's face, he recognized it as the one from the tower wall. He also noticed its face frozen with terrified eyes as if killed instantly, but there was no mark on him or sign of a struggle. Confident the orc was actually dead but not taking any chances, Aeldevan knelt down and checked its pulse, confirming there was no more life.

After signaling to Skamos it was safe to approach, they checked for any other clues. Besides their own and the orc's, there were no other tracks leading to the body from the forest or anywhere else. They couldn't even find feathers or anything of the sort to suggest a flying creature had been there, which could explain missing footprints. However, Skamos had noticed the smaller prints indicated a controlled stop at the tree line before disappearing back into the foliage.

The orc still being warm, Aeldevan knew it hadn't been there long. He walked to stand between the body and the edge of the forest where they exited from. The druid concentrated to sense if magic had been at play, and he found it curious that there were faint traces in both spots he interposed but nothing in between.