01-21 to 01-22 963: Bargains are a girl's best friend

In the aftermath of their fight with three gargoyles, the party catches their breath and quickly hears the approach of metal booted feet. Thinking fast, Luci dashes out of the room with his comrades in tow. Shouting at the guards as they ran past that they were overrun and there were 30 more behind them, they made their way back up to the main floor of the cathedral, picking up a hyperventilating Brother Leonte. After speaking with a guard officer and getting him to send more guards down, they made a discrete exit.  

Finding a quiet place to eat in the run-down Cooper's Alley Inn out in Ritten. As they try to decide what to do about the hag Luci, Dendra, and Nexus think they should go out looking for her in the forest, while Sinata advises caution. Thinking that the sword who has been around for "days" may know something about hags, they ask Rasen. Rasen had no idea, but enthusiastically agreed that they should go kill her, because she's evil. Sinata inquires how they should address Rasen to which the sword also replies that it has no idea. Dendra confirmed that she was on the right track by moving her ring near the hair recovered from the robe, which caused it to dim and flicker. After finishing their lunch, the party decided to take it easy and depart for the woods to look around the next morning.  In the mean time, Dendra gets to know Rasen more and Luci works on carving his mask.

Feigning that he was asleep in a chair in the common room, Nexus waited for everyone else to go to bed, before going out to wander randomly in the forest.  Hoping to attract the attention of Granny Preant, he began muttering about how much he hated the bishop.  After an hour or two of grumbling in the woods, he decided to mention Preant's name, and after a short while he felt something crack beneath his feet.  Reaching down, he found a small whicker doll with a glowing green stone in its head.  Taking the stone out, he heard the voice of the hag in his mind. After some beating around the bush, Granny Preant offered to give Nexus the Page if he brought her a book from the Palanaeum and left a 'gift' on the desk of the Head Archivist. Faced with the choice of betraying his beloved academy and the temple of his Goddess, Nexus declined Granny Preant's offer and returned to the city.

Meanwhile, Sinata also stayed up waiting for everyone to go to sleep.  This time, he wandered aimlessly out through Ritten into the forested areas there.  As soon as the lights of the city faded into the wood behind him, Sinata spotted a light through the trees ahead of him. In a hut held by the roots of a gnarled old tree, Granny Preant could be seen through the window pouring tea for a guest. As Sinata approached, Preant opened the door and asked him to come in and join them for tea.  After exchanging pleasantries, Sinata expressed his displeasure that the hag didn't tell him that the curse on his village was the work of ancient wizardry. Preant shrugged it off and said that he should've been more specific when he came to her.  When Sinata asked what would happen to his village if Preant were to die her guest jumped in, introducing herself as Gaerta, and told the good doctor that was precisely why she was there that evening. It appears that Preant had displeased Gaerta one too many times, and that all of Preant's deals would pass to her if the other hag died. Sinata inquired whether Gaerta was some sort of boss for Granny Preant and after correcting him that there was only one Grandmother there, confirmed that Preant was bound to her in a way. After a vague implication that she'd be pleased if Preant were to meet her end, her host jumped in and reminded Sinata that if she called in her favor and Sinata didn't deliver that his village would lose its protection, as would he.  With this in mind, Sinata soon took his leave of the women and returned to bed, with neither him nor Nexus knowing the other had left.

While all of this was going on, Chedvah found herself in a mountainous valley walking along a path.  As she rounded a corner, she came across the black-eyed version of herself from her previous dream. As she watched, the other version of her used the powers Chedvah unknowingly drew upon during the fight with the gargoyles to crush a tree to splinters.  Turning to the real Chedvah, the other version of her asked how she liked her new power. After all, hasn't she always deserved more power and influence than she's gotten from others?  She knew better than everyone else that fateful day and took action, as was proper according to this other Chedvah.  Understandably confused by this, Chedvah asked what the other her was talking about.  In a tone like a tired old friend trying to get her to see the truth, the other Chedvah continued by saying that they are one and the same, it wasn't this 'dark' version of Chedvah that did those terrible things, the 'real' Chedvah was the one who chose to do all of that, she always had the power to choose. Now with these new powers, the other Chedvah hoped the real Chedvah would make the best choices she could and seize her destiny.

After a lively night for some and a restful night for others, everyone got up and headed out of the city for the forest.  The party split into two groups, with Luci and Chedvah in one group and Dendra, Sinata, and Nexus in the other. Each group searched for the hag's hut.  In one, Chedvah managed to keep track of where they were, while Luci looked around and got himself a little turned around.  Luckily, he spotted an open field with a hut in the root ball of a tree.  Calling Chedvah over, they made their way over to it.  Meanwhile, the other group was kept on course by Nexus's razor sharp mind. By chance, Sinata caught a glance of Luci in a field through the trees at one point.  He brought his group over to reconvene and try to figure out how to keep the two groups on course, but soon noticed the hut.  When everyone got back together, they peaked into the hut, to see the classic hag decor: drying herbs, a shrunken head, jars of uncertain contents, a tea pot, and a large iron cauldron. 

From above the party, sitting atop a broomstick, Granny Preant appeared.  Much displeased by the intrusion and the repeated appearance of certain members of the party, Preant demanded to know what the group wanted.  She offered to trade the page for Rasen, but that plan failed quickly.  Seeing the hag was growing increasingly irritated, Luci made the decision to kick things off. He dashed 30 feet up the trunk of the tree and attempted to tackle Preant off the broom. Although he missed the hag, he managed to catch the broom and hold on.  

  How will the party fare against the weirding ways of Granny Preant?  Will she call in her favor from Sinata? What other tricks does she have up her sleeve? Is Gaerta still around? What is her stake in all of this? What do they want with the page and with Rasen? Dead men tell no tales, but perhaps dead hags will unveil secrets.