Return To The Ruins (Warlords Palace)

[Karaunios]

Akhilleus keeps his distance and is glad Kain is acting with caution.

[The_Wanderer]

Cyril keeps his distance from the woman as he edges around, squinting as he tries to get a view of the hut out of which the the Matron came out.

[OGRE MAGE]

Under The Zakath Desert
Below The Basement
Late Afternoon

Once Kain steps forward, the woman does as well, sporting a confused reflection on her pale looking face. "Okay?" She shows her bare neck and her sandaled feet, neither causing much suspicion. "That is the strangest request I have heard for compliance, but I try not to judge too harshly." She looks the group over carefully, as if sizing each member up, before offering you some hospitality. "I suppose we could have some nice tea and talk a little more. Follow me. DO NOT step on any of my precious babies. You don't want me to do unto you as you accidentally do unto them."

She turns and heads towards her structure, the scent of dirt and mushrooms getting stronger with every step you take. "Some toadstool tea perhaps? Or maybe a nice mulled wine, if you prefer? Is anyone hungry? I make a pretty good mushroom stew and a head cheese that is absolutely to die for."

She leads the group around to the side of the structure where a short flight of stairs leads up to an area that appears to be constructed from the living tissue of one massive mushroom cap, all supported by wood and plaster. She motions for the group to come inside. "Lets see now, how many chairs will we need?"

Looking her over in your torchlight, your concern is justified. Though the strange looking woman has clearly disguised herself in some way, probably magically, she appears more human than snake-like to your eyes. As soon as she walks through the little gate to her garden, little frogs and toads start jumping on her and croaking joyfully and melodiously.

"So, nine of you then? My that is a big group, isn't it? Safety in numbers, I suppose? Some of you may have to stand."

Actions?

Xenos (DS3) AC5 17/17
Drest (Sc4) AC7 22/22 Diseased
Kainaxarthos (C2) AC6 11/11
Cyril (Pr2) AC8 7/7 CLW
Ceana (D2) AC5 13/13
Akhilleus (F3) AC4 32/32
Taibhse (Sh1) AC5 7/7
Belloc (M1) AC6 9/9
Sik (Ba1) AC5 9/12 Diseased

[hedgeknight]

Ceana

The druid cautiously follows the rest of the group. As she enters the mushroom realm of this strange little woman, the druid tries to identify any plants, fungi, etc. "Warm mulled wine would be nice," she says to the woman's back as she walks along.

[shaidar]

Xenos

The ixian keeps his concerns and suspicions to himself as he follows along with the group. He is quite happy to stand.

[Rex]

Drest

Drest will stand and remain silent for now. He studies their surroundings carefully.

[Ahlmzhad]

Taibhse

He will regard all the surroundings and try to judge if the foods and surroundings are food or poison. He will take his place in the rear and watch as they progress into the structure.

[Monsieur Rose]

Kainaxarthos

He nods in thanks for the compliance. "I have some friends who are courtesans and believe me, the requests can get weird. Thank you for your open mind."

Kain leads the way into the structure, voicing his appreciation as they go. "I could go for a stew, thank you. Is that a living mushroom?! How creative!" He makes sure to watch his step, allowing the frogs to hop out of the way.

"So you are matron to these creatures? How did you come to this calling? They are a rarity on the sands above."

Kain will take a chair and observe, looking for signs that these frogs are food for hidden snakes. Snake holes, eggs, and hutches, I guess.

[Belkregos]

Belloc
follows his companions, his gaze sweeping the surroundings with suspicion, refrains from partaking in any of the refreshments offered.

[Karaunios]

Akhilleus well accept whatever's offered to him to eat and drink, as long as it looks the part and is tasty. If there's still no seats for everyone, he will gladly stand with Xenos and Drest.

[silifi]

Sik eyes the woman suspiciously. He is unsure if she is a snake woman, but does not trust her, standing back with Akhilleus, Xenos, and Drest.

[The_Wanderer]

Cyril

Accompanies the others, nodding and making social sounding noises to the conversation...but mostly just observing. He makes a point of avoiding the small creatures that swarm the woman and when she offers refreshment, he graciously accepts a cup of tea but will not drink it until he sees the woman drink the same tea first.

[OGRE MAGE]

Under The Zakath Desert
Feeling Froggy
Late Afternoon?

The woman leads the group to a central dining area in her home with four flat rocks set up as chairs, leaving spaces at both ends of the table for a total of 6 people who get a spot at the rotting wooden structure. Three others can squat or scrunch in wherever they can find room on the floor. Through an open doorway you can see a vast gated garden below the home, filled with every type of mushroom, toadstool, fungus, and yeast you have ever seen. A smaller area off to one side has normal looking vegetables growing up as well. Ceana is actually quite impressed that so many species of plants could be grown here in the dark, under the dry desert above.

Besides the strong odor of dirt and shrooms, there is a distinct smell of burning incense inside the home, as wisps of smoke exit a nearby fuming censor of silver-chased bronze. The Matron, as you call her, moves to the kitchenette area where a bubbling cauldron sits over a small peat fire on a stone hearth. You watch as the woman tastes her stew with a long spoon, blowing on it a little first before pouring a small amount of liquid into the pot from a glass jar. She stirs vigorously before tasting the concoction again. "Mmmmm, just right." You have to admit, the warm stew does indeed small pretty good after a long days travel.

She moves around the table, pouring either toadstool tea or mulled wine into cups that appear to be dried out mushroom caps. "If you don't like the selections, I have a few other choices to drink. Just speak up if you want something else." Anyone trying the stew is actually pleasantly surprised by its fragrant flavors. Taibhse doesn't detect any scents or signs of natural poison in either the food or drinks.

Nearby is a dried up patch of old fungus that appears to be the woman's bed, something oddly shaped rests upon the pillow that you can't make out from a distance. Sik stares at the woman, certain she herself is not a snake-person, though he can just barely make out the hissing noise of a single snake hidden somewhere inside this abode. Kain looks around as he speaks, finding no evidence of snakes, hutches, eggs, or anything else snake related. Drest looks around uncomfortably, noticing 2 pair of strange looking seashells, tied together with a thin leather thong hanging from a hook on one wall.

The woman pulls out a necklace from her robes and pulls it over her wild mane of red shaggy hair, dropping it around her neck as she serves her nine guests. It appears to give a boost to her already unflagging confidence. "You keep calling me Matron......So you have heard of me then? I am quite well known in some circles, I will have you know." Whether her guests eat and drink or not doesn't seem to bother her, though she does encourage all to consume their fill.

She eats and drinks herself, all the while frogs and toads leap about the room and the table as if it was totally normal. One tiny green colored frog leaps off the leg of Xenos, landing directly upon his sword hilt, cutely attempting to pull the blade from its scabbard.

Matron tries to keep everyone's attention, speaking as she continues serving. "You all seem powerful enough to take care of a few dwarfs, so all we need to do is to agree upon some kind of reward, I suppose. If you are all willing to help out a new friend, that is." She seems to await any other questions or comments about her or the dwarfs in question. The croaking voices of hundreds of batrachian species begin to gleep in a strange and melodic pattern, creating a nice dinner music you can eat and drink to.

Actions?

Xenos (DS3) AC5 17/17
Drest (Sc4) AC7 22/22 Diseased
Kainaxarthos (C2) AC6 11/11
Cyril (Pr2) AC8 7/7 CLW
Ceana (D2) AC5 13/13
Akhilleus (F3) AC4 32/32
Taibhse (Sh1) AC5 7/7
Belloc (M1) AC6 9/9
Sik (Ba1) AC5 9/12 Diseased

[Ahlmzhad]

Taibhse

Not seeing anything that says don't he will consume some of the soup and wine. He will also keep an eye on the approaches around them as the Matron tries to draw them to her, he is unsure if that is her need for attention, or to draw them away from something.

[silifi]

Sik smells the stew and finds himself tempted by its delicious aroma, considering for a moment that it may ease his fever - after all, Taibhse, wise shaman that he is, appears to be partaking. But just as he is about to ask for some, he hears faint hissing.

Sik listens carefully to the hissing sound in an attempt to pick up the general direction. He slowly and quietly steps towards Drest, trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible, and gives him a subtle nudge.

"Snake," he says in the quietest voice he can muster, leaning towards Drest's ear while moving his mouth as little as possible.

Sik holsters his axe and begins milling about, careful not to step on any toads, trying to appear dumbly curious, rather than let on his suspicions, while moving around to triangulate the position of the snake.

[Monsieur Rose]

Kainaxarthos

He thanks the Matron for the food and drink. "If you prefer we call you by your name, we could. As before, I am Kainaxarthos. What is your name?"

"Your creatures put on a good performance, quite pleasant. But surely you have problems with snakes, I would think they would be drawn to the sound."

[shaidar]

Xenos

Unsettled by the situation, but unable to put his finger on the reason, Xenos remains politely standing and doesn't eat or drink.

[Karaunios]

Akhilleus eats and drinks without worry. If this woman needs help against the dwarves, the last thing she'll want is a group of unwell warriors... He's careful not to step on any of the frogs that dart and leap around.

[The_Wanderer]

Cyril

"My dear, I am no friend of dwarves. We had a bit of a scuffle with their type recently in the palace above...but with that said, other than them being despicable, why do you so hate them?"

[hedgeknight]

Ceana

The druid can't help but smile at the woman, her home, and all of the plants and growing things around her. She graciously accepts some mulled wine and a bowl of stew, taking a "chair" as close to the woman as possible. "Old Mother, I am Ceana, servant of Yoon'Deh. Your home is enchanting; I love it. How do you coax plants and vegetables to grow down here?"