After the massive undead onslaught was beaten back outside the Quanlo city walls, the heroes spent a few minutes poking around the bodies for anything interesting. Quite a number of the slain undead were wearing forest worker outfits, and the party immediately made the connection between this and the rumors of a missing lumber shipment they'd overheard during their first night in Quanlo. They then slipped back inside the city gates for a little R&R and shopping as the Iron Gate cleaned up the aftermath while Reeser set to the task of assembling a crew to ward the Embershale mine and investigate the dragon-tomb-scepter connection.
The heroes stood around for a bit fussing over a strange ceramic jug that Doc had picked up in the Tomb of Urzaan that had yet to be identified. Despite feeling like it was empty, shaking the jug produced sloshing noises as if full of liquid. Popping the cork released a very strong stench of vinegar, and Fhasys once again volunteered to be a guinea pig by taking a sip; sure enough, vinegar, Still somewhat confused by this jug, Doc decided he'd wander around the Quanlo bazaar in search of a shopkeeper who might know more about the object. Talos followed suit and set out to see if he could find any unusual items in the bazaar for procurement while Fhasys scouted for crossbows and armor.
Doc had all but decided his search to be fruitless when an old lady at an herbalist stand called out to him. The shop keeper seemed very curious about his jug but was unable to glean any specifics from Doc in terms of where exactly he'd found it or the circumstances revolving around its procurement. She did volunteer some basic information about it, saying that the liquid contents changed every day, but did not know exactly which liquids this particular jug could contain. Mostly satisfied, Doc left the shop and noticed a cloud of billowing smoke filling the sky at the far end of the bazaar.
Talos had discovered a high-end clothing shop sporting oodles of finely crafted shirts and pants, one of which seemed to radiate magical energy. After snubbing his Elven nose at the shop keep on his way in, he immediately found himself on the short end of the stick when it came to bargaining. This particular shirt was far too expensive for his liking, so he decided to pay Fhasys to steal it for him.
Fhasys cased the shop and decided a distraction was necessary to sneak inside. Slipping into the shadows between the shop and one adjacent to it, she dribbled a trail of oil on the grass and lit it on fire. As the townsfolk began to panic and call the guards to help with the fire, she managed to slip inside the shop and steal the shirt. On the way out, however, a guard spotted her and gave chase. Doc arrived on the scene just as the two took off running. Fhasys ducked inside another clothing shop and ran into the owner, who asked what she was running from. Claiming some form of physical abuse by the pursuant guard, the shop owner felt overcome with compassion and hid Fhasys in her basement shelter. The guard got a talking-to by the owner for his inappropriate behavior and Fhasys was let out once he left.
Thanking Fhasys for her hard work, the trio decided to call it a night and turned-in. During the night, Talos was again plagued with dreams about the Ruins of Enra and woke up seriously compelled to begin the journey. Comparing notes, the heroes decided to head down into the Ragneron forest to scope out the lumber camp situation, see if they can locate Doc's friend Peter, and to hit up the ruins once and for all so Doc and Talos can get over their compulsions.
After an uneventful half-day walk, the crew found the lumber camp completely deserted. Doc and Fhasys poked around two smaller administrative buildings discovering a business log (last entry from several days prior) and some human footprints heading out and into the nearby forest. Talos, spotting a large barracks type structure at the far end of the camp, suggested they investigate. Several lumber worker corpses lay strewn about the entrance to the barracks, covered in green acidic slime. The entire front of the building had also been coated in a layer of this slime, suggesting that their favorite dragon had likely paid a visit. Poking her head inside, Fhasys heard multiple sources of guttural breathing, saw a figure standing in the corner of the main room repeatedly bumping into the wall, and decided it'd be best to leave the place as-is. Clearly, the barracks had been infested with undead.
Turning their attention back to the human tracks, the heroes followed them into the woods. After 10 min of walking, they encountered a corpse hunched against a tree that had clearly been munched upon. Continuing to follow the tracks, the dense forest opened up into a roughly carved path through the woods heading North/South. Wagon tracks were spotted, meaning that the path was likely used for some sort of travel or commerce. The party followed the path to the South and, just as darkness began to fall, stumbled upon the wreckage of a cart and the remains of the final two workers. Strangely, their bodies didn't show signs of struggle or wounds. Doc searched the cart and found, to his bewilderment, insignias from his old Slabtown crew emblazoned upon several small crates. As they investigated the scene, Talos heard the low rumble of a cat-type creature coming from the nearby forest. The sound seemed to travel every few minutes to different sides of the path, and the heroes quickly grew worried that they were being stalked. Sure enough, something lashed out from the forest striking Talos on the back with a rasping, sharp pain, yanking him toward the treeline and knocking him to his knees. As he collected himself, Talos found a pair of glowing yellow cat eyes staring at him through the thicket. A large, sleek-black feline creature with six legs and hovering tentacle-like appendages emerged from the forest and combat ensued.
The displacer beast made quick work of Talos (but not before he managed to hurl a lightning bolt igniting the forest). Doc and Fhasys found it incredibly difficult to hit the animal due to some strange "blurring" effect. The creature seemed to periodically phase-shift, making it hard to know where to aim. After a few rounds, another cat came bounding up the path to join the fray. Ultimately, the heroes were victorious albeit badly wounded. They limped their way further South, out of range of the now raging forest fire, and set up camp for a short rest.
Talos, still consumed by a compulsion to visit the ruins, took the party off-path toward the East. He seemed to intuitively know how to get to the ruins. As they traveled, they crossed a large stream leading from a lake far to the North. Talos noticed a warm, golden shimmer coming through the trees by the lake and they decided to visit on the way back. Further still, the forest opened up into another crude path on which the heroes encountered a lone, wandering half-elf ranger named Trace who seemed to know exactly where Talos was headed. Trace offered his assistance to get them through the last stretch of forest and to the ruins themselves, but once they got there things got weird.
Trace vanished and then re-appeared at the far end of the ruins dressed as a robed acolyte. Talos and Doc became overcome with a desire to move to the center of the ruins and stand on a large stone pedestal while the robed person began chanting in a strange language. The sky began to grow dark, the winds picked up swirling around the pedestal, and Fhasys got the heebie-jeebies. She launched a bolt at the acolyte but missed. Her second bolt hit the robed figure, momentarily staggering him and halting the chant. His form shape shifted into a strange, tall, hairless blue humanoid and the wound only increased his resolve to finish the ritual. With his final words, the veil of illusion around the ruins fell revealing a circle of acolytes surrounding the party and a far more dark and twisted forest. A rift appeared in the air above Doc and Talos and, as Fhasys stared skyward horrified of what was to come, a pair of large insectoid claws pushed their way through into their dimension. Doc and Talos lit up with excitement in anticipation of what was to come. They'd finally made it home.
