When the Boughs Break

[The Dungeon Master]

Eshket's heavy brows crimped together as she focused her eyes on the scrap of parchment. She squinted, tilted her head, then sniffed prodigiously. Only that last action brought any recognition, and a baring of fangs - her first show of any kind of aggression since entering the lodge.

"This was carried by an elf," she said. "An elf in green clothing was found sneaking about our camp four nights ago. I tracked its scent into the pass. This scent." She nodded at the scrap. "Our warriors killed it."

She glanced at the scrap again. "I have not seen this thing, nor the thing marked upon it."

[Serril Indaiyu]

Elves were the most common outlanders in the Moonwood. Some weren't even outlanders at all - there were a few bands of Moon Elves to the south who were good neighbors and fellow stewards of the Wilds. Silverymoon was close enough to the south that the Elves of the Silvery March would occasionally visit.

Windra frowned. The Gnoll didn't seem to be deceptive or misleading so far, but it seemed like she understood her questions only in a literal manner.

"This elf in your camp, did you see what they were doing before they were found out? Did they get close to this Tanar'ri?"

Crazy-Mountain had by now eased into a chair, which she sat hunched over in, propping herself with her club.

"What did you find on the body of this elf when the warriors killed them?"

[The Dungeon Master]

Eshket swallowed hard again as her eyes darted from one firbolg to another. "I do not know what it was doing. As soon as it was discovered, it ran. We found..." She sucked her teeth as she racked her panicking brain. "Leather armor. Dagger. Pouch with coin. Necklace shaped like green stag. We would have taken the body, but I heard movement in the woods. So we fled with what we had taken."

Her stomach growled. She had not eaten since the previous night, and she doubted she would be allowed to eat anytime soon. She licked her chops dolefully.

[Serril Indaiyu]

At that, Kam's breath caught. She looked to Sibi, who averted her eyes. The momentary shock was brought under control, and she turned her attention to Eshket again.

"You're a scout. Are you able to read a map? If we drew a map of the Moonwood, would you be able to show us the location of Tanar'ri's camp on it?"

Movement could be heard from the other side of the lodge. Kam's ears pricked at the sound, noticing Mr. Ounay grabbing a roll of paper and a lump of charcoal.

[The Dungeon Master]

Eshket watched hungrily as Kam began sketching out a map using a charcoal stump. At first she was lost in the shapes and lines, until she realized the dark, winding snake in the middle was the river Surbrin spilling down from the World's Spine and carving his path through the Moonwood, and those lumpy shapes represented the Frost Hills to the West, where the great dwarven stronghold of Mithral Hall delved deep into the roots of the earth. Between those hills and the edge of the Moonwood ran the Mithral Pass, choked by glacial ice and snow during the winter. Eshket's eyes devoured the map as she compared it to the one she carried in her own head.

She shuffled forward toward the paper on the floor, and held out one of her paws, still bound at the wrist to its partner. Once Kam had pressed the charcoal stub into her paw, she moved it to the map and began adding broad strokes. A narrow valley nestled within the Frost Hills, tucked away from the paths that ran between Mithral Hall and Settlestone. She added squiggly lines for streams fed by snowmelt which tumbled down steep crags to provide fresh running water. From such a valley, one could easily climb the cliffs and watch the whole length of the pass with impunity, or trek out through any number of canyon passageways into the pass and across into the Moonwood itself. Once she had sketched this valley, she placed a heavy, dark mark in the center of it and laid the charcoal down.

[Serril Indaiyu]

The elders and Sibi had begun to gather close in a semicircle around Eshket, watching intently where she placed her marks.

"Well-chosen ground." Crazy-Mountain conceded. "Plenty of open ground between the Frost Hills to the Wilds, and command of it all from where she sits. Difficult to scout, and with the melt in the pass, she could send war bands north of Menzoberranzan, or south through the Silver Marches."

"I'm familiar with the area." Windra knelt in front of the map, tracing a path along the Frost Hills with the tip of her dagger. "I was last there six seasons ago, but there's a path the bighorn take to graze to the south. It was barely fit for single file movement, but it should have enough concealment to get a few scouts close enough - if it still exists, that is. There's no telling where Dwarves will delve."

Windra paused.

"I'll leave at first light, and take a look myself."

Mr. Ounay cleared his throat. "Jobi is suited for this. He will join you."

Windra nodded, and returned her attention to Crazy-Mountain, "Before I go, we need to make arrangements for our guest. Storage room in the back should do. We'll also have to feed her."

"I can find some carrion." Sibi volunteered, trying to be helpful in a situation that was more and more escalating out of her control. "Barring that, I can kill to sustain her, Mother of Waters willing."

"In the morning." Kam replied adamantly. "We should not send anyone beyond the Grove at night unless necessary."

"Wise." Crazy-Mountain nodded. "They are skillful in the night. Better to face them on even terms."

The massive elder looked to the Gnoll again, and sighed.

"This must not leave the Moot, save for those who already know."

Kam spoke up, "My children will do what is asked of them." Which was sufficient for the horned matriarch, who nodded. She returned her attention to Eshket, drawing a simple knife. Crazy-Mountain gestured to Eshket's bonds, respecting her captive's distance and waiting for her to submit before cutting the bonds.

"My people call me Crazy-Mountain. What are you called?"

[The Dungeon Master]

Eshket bowed her head and stared, unfocused, as the moot descended into speech unknown to her. She could only guess at what they were planning. She had to pray that, by some miracle, they could repel the coming storm, because Eshket had thoroughly betrayed her former captors now, and could expect nothing better than bloody disembowelment if they overran the Grove. And that was if the firbolgs saw fit to let her live, and did not kill her for a confirmed traitor lest she betray them, too.

Her eyes snapped to the knife in Kam's hands, and she whined piteously until she realized the matron was pointing at her bonds and not her throat. She sunk her head low and extended her long, shaggy arms.

"Eshket," she replied. "In our tongue, it means Sparrow."

A back-handed compliment, for her first kill as a cub. An expenditure of effort, patience, and skill for a pitiful reward. The elders of her tribe said that names were prophetic. She had never believed that until now.

[Serril Indaiyu]

"Very well, Eshket." Crazy-Mountain shifted her weight, causing the wooden chair to creak slightly.

"You are our guest for now. We will protect you as any other creature under our covenant. You will remain here until the danger has been dealt with."

The horned matriarch looked around the room at the other elders. "If anyone disagrees, let them speak now."

Only silence followed, and Crazy-Mountain nodded at the unspoken affirmation.

"Then we know what to do."

Windra nodded.

"Mother of Waters, preserve us."

The elders and Sibi began to file out of the lodge, until only Crazy-Mountain and Mr. Ounay remained to keep vigil.