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Donovan, Ian, and Shale begin escorting Latham back to his home...

(OOG: I will pause here for a bit to see if others follow or to see if orders change)

The three escorts and Latham begin walking down the Old Road, noticing the road looks better maintained than previously and the trees a touch larger. The alterations of the terrain make the four wanderes somewhat uncomfortable and they proceed with caution. Nearly twenty minutes into the journey, Ian, who was walking slightly ahead of the group, ceases his stride and holds up a hand.

Everyone stops and listens, Shale close to Latham's side. The wind howls fiercely like something out of a nightmare, but it is unable to cover what could only be the sorrowful note of a woman's tortured cry. The sounds come from just beyond some thick bushes up ahead, and the bushes shake violently every few moments...

Shale draws his sword, and places it point down into the hand of his shield arm leaving his right open and ready for battle, while standing next to Latham he uses his magical perception (detect magic) to scan the bushes for some kind of ambush. Shale nods to Donovan and signals with his free hand that he'll watch Latham, then nods to Ian, Donnovan, then the bush suggesting with hand signs that they flank the shrub together.


((OOC- Taki is in D.C. till Sunday... Dunno when he will be back to post a reply.))

Taking the cue from Shale.. Ian draws a small sword from its sheath and along with Donovan proceed to flank the bush....Trusting Donovan and Shale to warn him of danger Ian keeps a closer eye (spot) on the surrouding terrain rather than the bush.

Noticing nothing else in the vicinity, Ian walks carefully up the shaking bushes.. if possible he circles around them to get a look at what may be behind them.
If that takes him too far away from Shale and Donovan he would give Donovan an old sign from the past and quickly work his way straight through the bushes..

Once through Ian quickly looks around for the source of the cries he heard.

Ian, circling around the brush ever so carefully, begins to be able to see more clearly what lies beyond. Entangled in thorny vines is a creature unlike any he had seen before. The head was distinctly human, female it seemed, with a messy mass of long black hair. The torso resembled more that of an Orc, big, bulky, strong, green. And the extremeties, well, they hardly seemed to be present at all, instead constantly changing shape and dimension, altering between something and nothing, between humanoid and beast, and all the while the thing wailed...

"Shaaleeeeeeeee, I have no idea what I am looking at?? Could you bring yourself and Latham over here......"

Meanwhile just staring Dumbfounded at what he has found.

Looks over at Latham, and then Donovan with eyebrows raised. He walks a few paces before Latham, but jestured him to follow.

*Donovan does indeed flank the shrub with Shale, his sword half-drawn. Upon seeing the creature entangled in the vines, he freezes in his steps.*

"Shale, keep Latham away from here for the moment. Ian, keep watch on the woods around us."

*Donovan moves closer to the creature and begins looking for signs of intelligence. Still several feet away, he glances around the trapped creature for any belongings, clothing, or clues as to what it is or how it got here.*

"Light help me, I hope this poor thing isn't the result of all this shifting..."

*Sheathing his sword completely, he speaks directly to the creature*

"Hello? Do you understand me? We're not here to harm you."

At Donovan's words, the woman lets out an ear-splitting scream, sending chills down everyone's back. The scream was not one of menace but of agony, as if their presence gave her permission to let it out.

She breathes quickly, shallowly, her eyes dart back and forth, and when she finally speaks, little bubble of spit spew out of her mouth, "P-P-Please h-h-help me," and with one ever shifting hand and a look of intense concentration upon her face, she manages to reach out toward Donovan with a claw and then a tentacle and then a stump of an arm and then...

*Ian begins scanning the vines the "woman" is trapped in, trying to determine if it is possible the cut her out, waiting for word from Donovan*

*The look on Donovan's face seems to flicker back and forth between sympathy and efficency for a moment, finally settling somewhere inbetween.*

"Shale, take Latham on ahead. We can't risk him coming to harm. Ian, take up a midpoint between Shale and this location. Keep an eye on them, and as soon as they get out of the immediate area, signal me and then continue on with them. I'll be along shortly... GO."

*With that, Donovan draws a dagger and begins looking for a way to free the creature.*

Shale stops and gets ready to follow his orders. "Yessir, if you need me to try manipulating the patterns of magic, or something, I'm game."

He walks back and pats Latham's shoulder trying to urge him onward the direction Donovan ordered him. "Come on, we need to go for now."

Latham looks concerned, as if he wants to help, but nods at shale and says, "Yes of course." He begins walking down the path toward home

Shale sees Latham's worried eyes and tries talking to him to distract his worry. "Any idea what's going on?"