Feno, Arnd, Gnorcia, Niki, Armatzi, Kyro, Lhoss awoke on day 7 of Brewfest in the town of Woods Edge. Determined to find the displacer beasts as quickly as possible and return to Orlane, Lhoss asked the innkeeper if there were any holy temples or shrines in town. She was hoping to track down a druid who had the ability to locate animals the way Hilja had in the past. The innkeeper told Lhoss there was a temple of Wee Jas and a shrine of Fharlanghn. Lhoss got excited that Niki could enlist the help of her fellow worshipers in tracking displacer beasts until she remembered that she was confusing Obad-hai and Fharlanghn again. Arnd and Gnorcia waited at the inn, but the others tracked down the shrine to Fharlanghn. On the way, Lhoss recognized a small shrine to Zuoken. Telling the others to wait, she hurried over to the shrine and spoke in hushed tones with the attendant. She was informed that the lawful orders (Wee Jas, here in Woods Edge) were putting pressure non-lawful orders. Feeling intimidated, followers of Zuoken had been laying low in the city and trying not to draw attention. Lhoss pressed two platinum pieces into the attendant's hand as tribute and vowed to return after nightfall to worship.
The group came upon the Fharlanghn temple, which was a grove of white birch trees. A follower greeted the party and raised an eyebrow at Armatzi, asking if he would be entering. Armatzi questioned whether he would be welcome and was reassured that he would be, so long as he made a donation. Armatzi gave four gold pieces, as did Lhoss and Niki. Feno handed over a platinum as he was short on gold and Kyro produced two gold as he was short on gold and platinum. The man thanked the adventurers and invited them to sit on some boulders arranged in a semi-circle. Lhoss inquired about the possibilities of a druid of the order enlisting to help the group fight displacer beasts. The man paused thoughtfully and then conceded that the displacer beasts had made incursions into the edges of town and that they had become unruly. But he countered that the beasts are native creatures and that nature balances itself. He resolved that the creatures were not troublesome enough for their order to intervene. Although, he said that they could be hired for a price. As the group contemplated this thought, the Fharlanghn follower inquired why our own druid should not be skilled enough to track down the displacer beasts for us. It seems Niki had forgotten some of her old training and was in fact able to use her magic to locate any animal she should choose to find. Contented, the party turned to leave when the man shared that the location of the displacer beasts is on the side of the volcano located in the Dim Forest. At least some valuable intel was acquired for all the gold spent. So the destination is a volcano! Feno, while protected from cold, has no such immunity to fire. He inquired about purchasing fire-resistant clothing and was rebuffed. As promised, Lhoss returned to the Zuoken temple accompanied by Gnorcia before the Brewfest celebration kicked off in earnest.
For the last day of Brewfest, several in the party paid five gold pieces for an all you can eat and drink night of revelry. What a deal! The group partook of the tasty meats, potatoes, gravies, fruits, veggies, stews, breads, pies, and drinks. There was a level of temperance, however, as each member of the adventuring group knew of the daunting task that awaited them. Lhoss alone indulged heavily in drink and as such, it was mid-morning before she was put together enough to venture out with the rest. They might as well have joined in the revel with her!
Everyone they talked to warned of the danger of entering the Dim Forest and fighting displacer beasts. First the innkeeper who gave them directions out of town, then the city watch who instructed them to bushwhack a path toward the volcano. Living up to its name, the forest was dark and chill. They worked in shifts to hack through the hanging branches covered in moss, ever making their way closer to the volcano and the thin trails of smoke emanating from within. The first night, Kyro cooked up a ration donated by each party member with a few of his spices to make a tasty stew. The group took watch in turns and groups of 2-3 until morning. It was an uneventful night. After breakfast and tea, the adventurers made more progress through the forest. Late in the afternoon, the volcano came into full view and Lhoss spotted a cave about halfway up. It would take half a day to climb to it, so the group set up the tent and settled in for an early night. Feno hunted for eggs and Lhoss set up some snare traps. Feno only found one egg, but it had gone bad and Lhoss's traps caught nothing. Again, there were no disturbances during the nights' watches.
The next morning, the group found and followed a trail up the volcano slope. They tracked some paw prints and came upon two creatures in mortal combat. One was large and deep blue with odd tentacles growing from its sides. The other appeared to be a large brown dog. The blue creature moved in a blur and the brown one disappeared and reappeared. Then the dog creature turned somewhat and the group could see that it was actually whitish/yellow with large tufts coming off its tail. There was barking, yipping, snarling, and growling and then suddenly they both ran off and the dog creature disappeared. Gnorcia wanted to lure the big dog back, so she laid out some rations. The animal did not return, so they all continued up the trail. Around a bend in the trail, the adventurers found themselves facing a cave entrance.
