The group stared in horror as what they had thought a mundane bridge came to life into a terrifying monstrosity of a mimic, one larger than they had ever heard of. It reared up, staring at them all, the group that had the audacity to not die to its offspring, and then making a decision it moved towards the nearest target not physically engaged: Tiaumil.
The creature moved so fast that one moment it was running with such speed on its many legs, and the next the elf was bitten and then swallowed, disappearing from view into the creature's stomach. One might think that such a fate would be the end of him, but Tiaumil called upon his innate connection to his patron, and once more transformed into a thing of such a fearsome presence that it seemed as though the huge mimic didn't know what to do with the situation. It spat the elf out, and started to run, attempting to camouflage itself in a tree, only to then try to speed away to safety down in the canyon. But the group were focused and worked well together, the smaller mimics already dealt with, and it was there, where the water of the canyon washed away the blood, that the creature was slain.
It was in investigating the creature further that an unusual thing was found: a body in the depths of the creature's stomach, one that had no signs of decay despite the clear evidence of their demise. Using investigatory knowledge from his tome, Tiaumil was able to determine an astounding level of knowledge about the person, and what happened to them. It seemed as though the person was a woman called [Siriel Velmore] bard knight emissary of the Wardhun the Everscaled, the beastriders of that city. The lack of decay on the body was from a spell imparted by an Archfae that constantly regenerated the body, even when death would have been welcome. Getting swallowed and crushed, only to regenerate over and over, it would have been a horrific death.
The rest of the group dealt with searching for anything useable from the encounter, with Siax and Grid bonding over leatherworking and crafting with the acid and mimic hide, while others relieved the body of its various magical items and gold, before they settled down nearby for a short rest to recoup their energy before moving on.
Loot:
50g, 120s
Boots of the Shifting Path
Crown of the Unspoken Court
Lute of the Tangled Seasons
Effie seemed particularly interested in the lute, which she took, and while Tiaumil was interested in the [crown?], he deemed it too precarious to use, as the mark of [the bramble queen?] was worked through the item and would be impossible to remove. He believed that there was no way to understand whether using such an item would make them in some way indebted or aligned with the fae who had created it.
It was during this rest that Arya attuned to the fire staff that had been found in the burning forest, and holding it, she found that her wildfire spirit was larger and more autonomous and intelligent than before.
Rested and reinvigorated, the group continued on their way to the ancient green dragon's lair. It was a difficult path, or would have been if not for the keen eyes of their [ranger?], and eventually they found themselves facing what appeared to be some ancient ruins from Merdelain. These, Tiaumil identified as the remnants of a rich estate, possibly royal in origin, and to be wary of traps and defences that might still be active after all this time.
However it was not traps that found them, but slightly strange looking elves that seemed to appear all around the area, ones that had some manner of mixed heritage with humans, for some had beards. They were, the group found, there to guard the lair, and they told the group that Ebonidris had been there, and had fought the 'queen mother', but was driven back. The dragon had been injured by a black shadow blade that Ebonidris had wielded, and indeed the roaring of hurt and anger could be heard even out there in the forest.
Eventually though the group were given the okay to visit with the dragon, but they had to prove themselves in some way first in finding the way. "There are three marks deposited in the place. You must find them. They represent our queen mother. You must present them to her, in a form befitting her might. Only then shall the way forward be revealed."
And so it was that the group turned their attention to the ruins around them and the task ahead.
