Total travel time: 8 days

Strange portents abound on the Argos Plateau…

After narrowly escaping from The Prison of Yol-Uzarc-Drem, the party decides to head back to the Thunder Folk Encampment to get a long rest and plan their next move, since it’s on the way to Crow's Keep anyway. That first night, Piddling Streams wakes the party and they see a strange figure - humanoid with antlers - fleeing into the night. Greer the Betrayer discovers a bleeding hole in Skarrow's neck. They give chase and eventually Skarrow tackles the creature - an urgot - who is clutching a clay pot. Shiv Drinkstep attempts to pry it loose, but the Urgot has it tight. Cleansing Waters eventually gets it free, though the Urgot takes a blow to the head in the process.

The pot contains a small amount of blood, stolen from Skarrow. The Urgot - wearing a skull mask with antlers - curses the party and casts some sort of spell that fails. They loot his pockets and leave him tied to a tree.

The next day, the sun rises and they have a pleasant walk - a warm, sunny hike. While they walk, Skarrow shares that before Greer met him, he was apprenticed to a portrait artist and was starting to learn to mix paint. He actually lived in Melek but has been up here so long, he’s lost his accent. He thinks he was born in Melek, but can’t remember his actual name. When the urgot jabbed him, he was dreaming of mixing pigments. He was never very good - that’s how/why he joined the Shenzu Raiders. Eldric the Bald hired Skarrow’s master to paint a portrait. (Greer: That portrait hung over Eldric’s bed while Greer the Betrayer was cuckolding him and burning down his house).

After an uneventful night (thanks to the stalwart Piddling Streams), a barbarian comes running from the hills, chased by a pack of wolves. The party helps, but The Blade of Graxus beheads a wolf, causing all plants within 60 feet to wither and die. This scares the pack but causes the barbarian to curse Shiv and Graxus. She’s dead now. Based on the totem around her neck, she was a member of the Dead Bow Tribe

The next day, the party descends into the foothills and stumbles on some old eldritch ruins - the stone pillars made of some strange white rock not native to this area. There was a large collapsed statue, but with strange, otherworldly laughter ringing in their ears, their explorations trigger a rockslide! Everyone dodged but Greer, who found himself pinned under a rock. Luckily, the party easily frees him.

While walking, Greer tells the tale of Melek, as sung by Sooney. In the time of Serpentfolk, Melek was the seat of magic and sorcery. The Mage King of the Ancient World became so drunk with power, his subjects rose against him and outlawed magic ever since.

As they continue towards the Thunder Folk, they come upon strange Skorn shaman marking the ground with entrails and colored dust. Waters' knowledge of arcane lore revealed it was a ritual to tell the future. The party skirts him and he never saw them.

Nearing the emcampment, the party is spied upon by feathered maws - knowing they are attracted to shiny objects, they break for the riverbank and “mud up.” Waters strips out of his shiny space clothes. The maws stay away.

They finally make it to the Thunder Folk camp, only to discover it abandoned and showing signs of a raid.

They also find Sooney-Crow of No Family’s halberd, lying discarded in her hut…