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Message: <blockquote data-quote="CanadienneBacon" data-source="post: 3432537" data-attributes="member: 11146">With Maelicent to guide them, the group continues heading north.  After half an hour's careful walk and one missed turn to skirt a thick bramble guarding the outer curtain wall, the trees begin to thin and the afternoon's bright sunlight again filters through the wood.  The hearts of the companions lighten and hope returns; thrushes and sparrows call out to one another and the wood is filled with the sounds of humming insects, a breeze rustling in the upper canopy of the forest, and the occasional crackle of a dry leaf or twig underfoot as some animal nearby scurries away as the group passes.The natural disorder of the forest grasps at Gamad, who finds the underbrush's disheveled and haphazard piles of leaves, unfurling fern fronds, and dead logs to be nearly unbearable. Gamad fights a strong urge to cull the dead undergrowth from the forest.  When his eye catches a bit of damp earth on the heel of Brakkus's boot, the dirt seems a horrible affront,  something that must immediately be cleaned, lest both his own and Brakkus's character be impugned.Chev, perhaps still nervous from being attacked by giant rabbits, is the first to notice a pair of feral eyes staring out at the party from behind a bank of ferns. The eyes blink at Chev then the owner of the eyes steps out from behind the old burled tree trunk. A badger, oversized but squat, with stout legs ending in clawed feet, two broad stripes painted lengthwise down its back, and brief well-muscled legs ending in clawed feet and a wide mouth full of wickedly sharp teeth, fixes Maelicent with a baleful stare and hisses like a bucket of snow thrown onto a white-hot forge."Thisbe! Stop that! Wait until they bite first." The voice is clear and cheerful, and the speaker pops into view with a twinkle. A short gnome with pale skin, a bulbous nose and tangled locks orange as a clementine in winter comes crunching through dead leaves and stops just beside the hissing badger. The gnome extends gnarled fingers and roughly grasps the badger by the scruff of the neck. "Well. No need to be unpleasant. Mazzel Quickblade, Thisbe, and company at your service. Just passing through, or did you use it yet?" The gnome winks at Voadam.</blockquote>

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