"Remind me why we have to forage food again?" Scanlan griped as he stumbled over the umpteenth gnarled tree root in his path, arms waving wildly as he struggled to regain his balance before he could faceplant into the softish but still entirely unappealing dirt below.
Vax'ildan shot Pike an exasperated look, "Remind me again why we didn't just leave him back at the camp with Grog?"
"Because the last time those two were put in charge of the campsite, they managed to light everything on fire—including the nearby pond." Though she tried her best to mask her own annoyance, some of it still crept through in Pike's voice as she carefully surveyed their surroundings for anything that looked edible.
"Riiiight, I remember now." Vax muttered, his eyes briefly flitting up to the leafy canopy overhead as he silently cursed his sister for snagging Percy and Keyleth for her foraging party. "Still don't know how they managed that."
"Well as much as I would love to share the story, what happened that night stays in that night." A cheeky grin stretched across Scanlan's face, but a moment later, it had already disappeared as he resumed his rant, "Seriously though, I know we're broke and all, but why do we have to go scrounging through the forest for some grub? Can't Keyleth just use a berry-growing spell or something like that-"
Scanlan's words dissolved into an incomprehensible yelp as Vax lunged at him without warning, grasping the gnome by the ankle just as he was lowering his foot.
"Keyleth learning a berry-growing spell later doesn't help us now, so why don't you shut your trap and start paying a bit more attention to your surroundings?" As he spoke, the rogue glanced up briefly at the bard's face before shifting his attention back to the small bag that sat innocently on the ground in the shadowy cover of the gnome's still hovering foot and a nearby bush. His free hand already at his belt, Vax'ildan unsheathed one of his daggers and cautiously prodded the small drawstring pouch with the very tip of the blade, his tensed muscles already buzzing with building energy that would send him flying backwards faster than one of Percy's bullets if the need presented itself. However, as the point of the dagger probed the bag, it only emitted a soft, crisp clinking sound as its contents shifted about.
In that moment, Scanlan's entire face lit up brighter than the morning sun, and Pike could've sworn she saw a tear welling in the corner of his eye.
"I know that sound! Oh and what a sweet, beautiful sound it is!" the bard sang with pure elation, his hand already reaching for the coin purse. "Forget nuts and berries! Tonight, we eat like kings-"
Acting again with inhuman swiftness, Vax flipped his dagger around before slamming the hilt against the back of Scanlan's hand, prompting the gnome to yelp again as he sharply withdrew it after pulling his foot free from the rogue's grip.
"Use your head a little, Scanlan." he chided, shrugging off the glare the bard shot at him. "A bag of coin just sitting in the middle of the woods? This has 'trap' written all over it."
"And even if it's just a purse, it's not ours to take." Pike cut in pointedly, giving both of her party members a stern look. "Someone probably lost it while traveling through here; they might be looking for it right now."
"Oooor-" Scanlan cut in with a singsong tone, "-and just go with me on this, you both are overthinking things and not seeing this for what it actually is."
Vax'ildan raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Oh really? Perhaps you would care to enlighten us then?"
"Why, it's a blessing from the gods above, of course!" the bard trilled, gesturing showily to the sky as he lifted a beaming face of superficial adoration to the heavens above. "I mean, think about it. Anybody could've found this pouch out here, but who discovered it? Hungry, battered and bruised, down-on-our-luck us. I'd say we've earned a little charity, and whoever this pouch used to belong to has learned a valuable lesson today about keeping better track of their belongings."
Her arms folding over her armored chest, Pike continued to frown at the little bag while trying to ignore the dull aching in her stomach. "It still feels wrong to just take it without even trying to return it first."
Also still eying the pouch with an air of suspicion, Vax cautiously prodded it a few more times with the tip of his dagger, achieving the same results as before. "Our chances at finding the owner are very slim though, and if we don't take it, someone else surely will."
The rogue lifted his gaze to meet the cleric's, carefully deciphering the mixture of emotions that swirled in her pale blue eyes until she turned her head from him. This hesitation and guilt went deeper than pocketing funds that weren't inherently their own, but judging by her demeanor, she was not yet comfortable with broaching this greater dilemma just yet. He could understand and respect that. Even so, they ultimately still had a choice to make, and he had a feeling that if they didn't decide soon as a group, Scanlan would make the decision for them.
"Pickle, this isn't going to do anyone any good just sitting out here in the dirt." the rogue crooned gently, tilting his head slightly to one side as he tried to catch Pike's eye once more, "We could put it to good use. There's still a dragon we promised to fight, and facing it with empty bellies and low spirits won't do us any favors."
Though she didn't want to admit it, Pike knew he was right, and after a lengthy pause, the quiet sigh that slipped from her lips as her arms dropped back to her sides told her companions that she had relented. Grinning from ear to pointed ear, Scanlan hastily snatched up the coin purse and gave it a little shake so the sweet singing of the clanking coins could grace his ears once more.
"Now, lets see what we're working with here-"
Hardly had Scanlan's fingers brushed along the leather cord sealing the little bag when a deafening crash like thunder pounded against the group's ears, the earth shuddering ever so slightly beneath their feet. Fear stealing through each of their hearts as their minds were flooded with fleeting images of muted blue scales and gleaming white fangs that could easily bite any of them in half, Vax'ildan instinctively grabbed hold of both gnomes and darted beneath a small overhang tucked against a slope not too far from them, seemingly a den long since abandoned by whatever had created it. Peeking his head out only as far as was necessary in order to get a clear view, the rogue carefully scoured the sky for even the faintest hint of a foreboding shadow, but not even a stray stormcloud flitted across his vision as the pockets of light blue winked at him through the leafy canopy overhead.
"I don't see anything-"
At that moment, another booming rumble, louder than the first, pulsed through the air accompanied by a stronger tremor that sent a little cloud of loose dirt raining down on the three adventurers from the little hollow's ceiling. Vax swiftly ducked his head back beneath the overhang as Pike tightly gripped her holy symbol, muttering a silent prayer under her breath.
"Okay, that was definitely closer this time! What do we do?!" Scanlan whispered while pressing his back as flat as he could against the dirt wall behind him.
Pike nervously massaged her holy symbol between her thumb and forefinger, yearning for a hint of warmth or some other sign that her goddess had heard her. "Maybe it's something other than the dragon?"
"With our luck? Yeah right." Scanlan grumbled.
"Both of you, pipe down!" Vax hissed, still lurking along the edge of the little hollow as he strained to listen. Though the dull ringing from the thunder created some interference, his ears eventually detected the rustling of leaves combined with the shallow, rapid panting of something moving quickly in their direction. From what he could tell, the source was hardly large enough to be a dragon. Could it be someone else was out there with whatever had made that noise? What if it was one of their friends? What if it was Vex?
As the snapping of disturbed underbrush rang out from just beyond the mouth of the overhang and a vaguely humanoid shape darted into view, Vax sprang forward and clamped down on their wrist without a second thought, urged forward by the dribbles of icy fear that had leaked into his veins. However, rather than familiar hazel eyes, he found himself gazing into wide, pale blue ones framed by thick, dark brown bangs and the embroidered edge of a dark gray hood. At first, fright danced across the woman's face as she was jerked back towards him, but after a split second, a small spark of fire managed to shine through. As she raised her free hand, faint wisps of pale bluish silver light curled and weaved around her fingers before coalescing into bolts of crackling turquoise energy in her palm, which she slammed into the rogue's chest before he could react. Grunting in surprise and pain as the pulse of lightning coursed through him, Vax's grip on the woman slackened, enabling her to wrench free as he fell back. Not even sparing a glance behind her, she whirled around on her heels ready to sprint off, but she had barely taken a few steps before Scanlan's dulcet voice pierced the air.
"Hey, where you think you're going, baby?" he belted, magical energy dancing around his own fingertips now. "Scanlan's Hand!"
In a flash of brilliant purplish light, the phantasmal hand materialized directly in the woman's path, leading her to barrel right into its grasp. Large, translucent fingers curling snugly around her, the woman squirmed and writhed to no avail as she was raised aloft, her feet flailing helplessly a couple feet above the forest floor.
"…Well, this is a shocking new development." Scanlan chirped, earning himself a sharp jab in the ribs courtesy of Pike's elbow.
A long, pained groan slipped from Vax's lips as he slowly staggered back to his feet, his body and the air around him still buzzing with residual electricity. Shifting his attention to his attacker, he observed the ornate staff she had accidentally dropped upon being snatched up by Scanlan before trailing his gaze up her form, making note of the sheathed dagger strapped to her thigh and the medium-sized satchel hanging at her side. Upon reaching her face, he could practically picture the gears of her mind turning as he watched her eyes dart about, analyzing as much as she could while she tried to calculate some solution for her current situation. However, the minute he reached for her staff, her attention snapped in his direction, icy blue eyes now fixed unwaveringly on him and him alone.
"Before you try anything else-" Vax stated just as the woman's lips parted, tongue already poised to spin another spell, "-keep in mind that there's three of us and only one of you."
"Is that supposed to frighten me? I'm not scared of you." she hissed in reply, the slight quiver of her voice undermining her words somewhat. "I won't let you drag me back there!"
Pike's brow furrowed. "What are you talking about?"
"Yeah, I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say there's been some kind of misunderstanding." Scanlan remarked.
"You were waiting in the shadows and tried to grab me! What's there to misunderstand?" the woman fired back, still straining against the vice-like grip of the massive magical hand to no avail.
Scanlan shot a glance in Vax's direction. "…Okay, she kinda has a fair point."
Vax was about to reply, but the words on his lips vanished as the crackling of more disturbed underbrush somehow managed to overpower the faint ringing that still echoed in his ears. The slight shift in his expression was all the indication that the woman needed, and as those familiar silvery wisps of light danced across her fingers once more, Scanlan's spell combusted at the flicking of her wrist. The second her heels hit the soft earth after a brief freefall, she dove for her staff, but before the straining fingers of her outstretched hand could caress the cool metal of the shaft, a long, slender blur stole across her vision and a stinging pain shot through her palm. Yanking her hand back to tuck it protectively against her chest, she stared warily at the arrow that had just sliced a deep gash into the curve of her thumb and forefinger. Had its trajectory been even slightly off, it would've either pierced clean through the back of her hand or missed completely. The arrowhead just nicking her wasn't mere coincidence or luck; it was a warning.
Not a second later, two more blurs tore through the air, a pained yelp springing from Scanlan as one of the arrows struck his shoulder while the other slashed at the back of Vax's knee. All eyes snapped in the general direction from which the projectiles had come, and after carefully scouring the foliage, they spotted their assailant tucked up in a tree. The aarakocra archer already had another arrow nocked and trained on the woman, his golden eyes locked on her in an unblinking stare. Even more troubling, however, was the fact that he was not alone on the branch. On his left crouched a halfling while a kenku loomed on his right, both of which were also watching the group very closely.
Glimpsing some movement in his peripheral vision, Vax lowered his gaze to the space just beneath the tree and found multiple pairs of eyes staring back at him. He noticed the hulking minotaur first, followed by a half-orc, a human, and finally an elf. Seeming to gather than they had been spotted, the elf smirked and took a few steps forward with his comrades following not far behind, catching the attention of Pike, Scanlan, and the woman. At the sight of them, the girl's expression immediately hardened and her eyes darted briefly to her staff again, her mind racing.
"Hey guys, I think I know why Sparky here was running." Scanlan called out, wincing from the pain in his shoulder as he shifted his hand to hover over the strings of his lute again before adding, "Man, our luck really fricking sucks."