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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Amaroq" data-source="post: 1306377" data-attributes="member: 15470">As we walk down off of the hill, Goldpetal walks beside Jim. “Have there been any unusual disappearances in this area?” he asks.Jim nods his head grimly. “Yes, ever since the hag moved in.”“Are you sure it was the hag?” the elf asks. “Well, that’s what people assume.”A few minutes pass in silence, and then Goldpetal asks, “How long has it been since someone was seen in the ruins?”“No one knows,” Jim says, “So few people come this way. We could talk to Taryn Kratys after we visit the swamp. If we could see his farmstead, he could certainly see any lights up there.”Goldpetal looks determined. “After we get back from the swamp, we should pull the ruins down,” he says firmly.Jim shakes his head. “I don’t know,” he says. “That’s a big job. And it’s not so smart to anger the titans. Maybe you should get some more druids?”“They need to be pulled down,” Goldpetal says, grimly, but he says nothing more. We travel the remainder of the hour in silence, stopping only to pick up the horses and cart, from the base of the hill.When we reach the campsite, Chuck suggests, “Let’s camp in our slave disguise.” “That’s a good idea,” Miriel says. “If somebody scouts us, we should look the part.”In disguise, Delonia, Jim, and Paks are “guards”, while Milo, Goldpetal, Miriel and Chuck are the captured “slaves”. The four “slaves” cover their armor with the tattered blankets. We set watches; the watches are shared by one of the “guards” and one of the “slaves,” as it is only the “slaves” who can see in the dark. “We usually have a campfire,” Delonia says, so Chuck lights a small fire. Milo asks to be woken if any strange lights are seen on the hill. Delonia stands watch for the “guards”.Goldpetal volunteers to stand the first watch for the “slaves”. To Milo and Jim, he seems grim and distant. Paks and Miriel, perhaps more perceptive, think that he seems almost terrified, after our trip up the hill. During the third watch, shared by Jim and Chuck, the two Vigilants see a light to the east. It looks like someone holding a lantern. Jim tells Chuck to wake everyone else up, which he does. “I think that’s the hag,” Jim says. He gives us instructions quietly. “Get in a circle, and keep the fire lit. I think she’s going to cast a spell. She won’t attack us all together, so keep together near the fire and don’t believe in her illusions.”Miriel performs a quick, quiet, head count, and Milo is nowhere to be seen. The hag has drawn close enough that everyone can see her by the light of her lantern. She’s over seven feet tall, fat, green, and hideously ugly, with a big nose and an undeniably female figure. She is holding a lantern, and carrying a large sack over her shoulder. Seeing the sack, we remember the story of her death bag. The rest of us draw our weapons, and throw off the blankets. The hag doesn’t seem to notice us, and moments later, she’s past the camp, walking away quickly towards the swamp. Paks whispers to Goldpetal, “Remember, that may be an illusion. You’ve the best eyes in the dark. Let’s watch the perimeter of the camp, while they watch the hag.” Goldpetal nods, silently, and they step away from the group, both armed with bows, but neither of them see anything. They both listen carefully, but can hear only the wind. The hag disappears into the distance, but we can see the light of the lantern for almost half an hour until she disappears into the shelter of the swamp.  Nothing else disturbs the silence of the night, and it is only as we begin to relax that Jim notices that we are missing our smallest member. “Hey,” he says. “Where’d that sneaky guy go?”“I woke him up,” Chuck says, “So I know he was here.”“He must have slipped off immediately,” Miriel says, “Because he was gone by the time Jim told us all to stick close to the fire.”Nobody is interested in searching for him, and we begin to settle the camp for a return to sleep. Jim and Chuck still have the watch, but none of us have found a restful state when we hear Chuck yell, “Halt! Who goes there?” We all draw our weapons, to discover that Milo has returned to the camp. His shoes are very muddy, and he appears very animated. “C’mon guys, get up! We should follow her,” he says excitedly. “I snuck up behind her in the shadows, and followed her to the swamp. I had to run to keep up with her! She was mumbling to herself. I couldn’t quite make out what she was saying, but it didn’t seem like a spell, just the mumblings of an crazy old witch. Her lantern is the skull of a ratman! Anyway, I followed her as far as I could, but the ground got mushy and started slowing me down, and I didn’t want to sink into the muck. She was going southeast – we should follow her!”Goldpetal asks, “Was her sack moving?”“No,” Milo says. “Come on! We should follow her, now, if we’re going to.”Jim shakes his head. “I don’t think that taking on the hag, with a bunch of neophytes, in the middle of the night, in the swamp, is a good idea.”“Why?” Milo asks. “She can see in the dark?”“Have you ever met a swamp hag?” Jim asks incredulously. “Not only can they cast illusions, they also have creatures, great snakes and panthers, that help them out. I think we should just leave her alone.” “Do you know anything more about her?” Milo asks.“She’s a monster,” Jim says, but he won’t say anything more.After a minute’s silence, it becomes clear that nobody is interested in Milo’s plan of following the hag, and everyone begins settling back into their blankets for the evening. The halfling sits down, but his curiosity won’t let him rest just yet. “Did Mormo get along with Chern and Gormoth?” he asks, to nobody in particular.Jim answers him wearily. “Titans don’t get along with each other at all, or anyone else. Right, Goldpetal?”Goldpetal nods. “Yes. The titans hate each other, and many of them hate everyone else.”Milo says, “Maybe, then, the swamp hag won’t get along with the ratmen!”“That’s why the Vigil have left her there,” Jim says. “As a buffer.”“That’s what Fox said, too.” Paks contributes.Milo says, “We could ask her to help us against them.”“Would you trust her?” Goldpetal asks doubtfully.“As much as you trust me,” Milo says with a level smile.“Swamp hags don’t like anyone, either,” Jim says, “Except as dinner. Whose watch is it next? I’m tired of this guy Milo.”Milo shakes his head. “I’m astounded that people aren’t more interested in this idea,” he says, with the overwrought dignity only a halfling can assume.Miriel speaks with the firm voice of authority. “Milo, we need to rest for the trip to the swamp in the morning. Let’s go to bed.”“Yes, mistress,” Milo says, his voice instantly meek. He appears cowed, and settles under his blanket.We return to bed, and the rest of the night passes without incident.</blockquote>

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