A Thorn(berg)y Issue

With his heavy brow knitted in a suspicious frown, the Druid Thornberg transports himself and his massive bear from the goddess Estrid's grove, through the mystical green pathway. The journey is quick but not instantaneous and the very large Druid is puffing heavily by the time he and his animal companion emerge from the single large Oak tree in the Three-Quarterling's far distant, hidden and magical glade.

Thornberg is a truly massive man; dressed in the simple brown vestments of his brotherhood. A head and shoulders taller than the six-foot tall plus Fortu and at least a hundred pounds heavier, but he's still dwarfed by his brown furred guardian. The mighty Grizzly bear sniffs the air and grunts softly and Thornberg's broad shoulders relax. If Bamse's trusty nose senses no danger, then there's no danger to sense.

There are a few bizarre looking creatures milling around by the pond but none of them make any threatening movements or show any signs of aggression. Mostly untroublesome insect mixes but there are a collection of about a dozen curiously quacking fox/duck hybrids that waddle on their webbed feet towards him.

Thornberg can't help but smile momentarily, despite the sombre reason for his visit.

A flock of Fucks!

His grin abruptly fades though as he turns and directs his attention back to the grim task at hand. The big man and bigger bear spend the next ten minutes or so, retracing the Three-Quarterling's last few hours of life but Thornberg curses when he comes across the bodies of the tiny, smeared and dismembered Scorcion and arrow peppered, feathered horse Howl, before finally discovering the unmarked mound of soil covering the pulped remains of his small friend. There's barely enough of him left to recognise and far too much time has passed for any sort of reincarnation spell. The mixed Halfling/Human is beyond his powers to save.

Despite this though, Thornberg still continues with his investigation. From previously speaking to the simple souled, winged Dork, he was already certain that the adventurers were lying about what happened here and was determined to discover the full truth. After instructing his bear Bamse to guard the entrance, Thornberg ducks his head and squeezes his bulky frame through the unlocked, arched door in the cave, deep behind the vertical rocky wall. Bending low to accommodate for the much smaller Druids dwelling, Thornberg searches the place as best as he's able. There was no battle here but the place has obviously been searched, with desks broken into and secret hatches and hiding places found. No battle that is, until he discovers the yellow and black striped corpse of the poisonous Beer lying in the iron-barred cellar below. Sword slashes across its chitinous torso and four arrows still protruding from the creatures shaggy head, one of them piercing deep through its big, buggy, compound eye and into its tiny brain.

Four finely fletched Elven arrows...

Pushing back outside and into the sunlight, Thornberg finally whispers a few secret Druidic incantations and breathes a semblance of sentience into the tree he'd recently emerged from.

"Tell me friend Oak... What exactly did you see here?"