The moment the battle was over, Zeroth and Ardric collapsed to the ground, mildly exhausted and a little bumped and bruised. As Zeroth hit the ground and let his battle axe fall to the ground, he noted the second it left his hands the fire extinguished itself, whether from that act or if it sensed the imminent threat was passed, he didn't know. While Varic walked to the dead boar to inspect it and make certain it was gone, Grimbli, controlling the stone as he did, zipped out of Zeroth's waistband and knocked him in the back of the head, less gently than anticipated.
"Ah, before you get comfy my friend, stay alert, while the air's heaviness has subsided, it is only but by a small percentage. Whatever is causing this is linked to the boar and aren't I glad you have the axe on hand, it was amazing to use, I'm sure." Grimbli mused to Zeroth.
"Yes rock friend, the axe was thrilling, to say the least, but came in handy in dispatching the enemy." Zeroth chuckled.
As Zeroth chuckled, Varic turned towards the duo with a curious glare. "Who are you talking and laughing with you fool?"
Before Varic could finish his sentence, Ardric butted in waving Varic away. "It's that blasted floating stone he has, guess that axe is getting to him, or he's just crazy."
"How about a little of both, eh?" Varic teased.
Zeroth rolled his eyes at his comrades' lack of knowledge of his friend as he pushed himself off the ground onto his feet. "All jokes aside, we may want to keep up on this path and make sure to keep an eye on our backs. I don't want anything to sneak up on us, the boar was enough but I doubt it will be the last beast we bring down before the day is up." Ardric followed suit with Zeroth, picking himself up and dusting himself off.
"Well, thank the gods that be we are quite used to being thrown around and slammed into trees every once in a while or this would actually be difficult." Ardric laughed as he finished that statement, a little too full of himself.
"I for one hope there are more instances of possible negotiation instead of outright combat, sadly I am not made of magic and there is always a daily limit to how much power I can draw on," Varic noted with a slight huff.
Ardric nodded in agreement. "I also am somewhat limited on what little healing I offer but I've been blessed with a strong sword hand and you Varic, your yklwa is sharp and has reach so if push comes to shove, you are prepared."
"And we always have this stupid powerhouse here," he said as he elbowed Zeroth in the side.
"Oof. Is this some of that brotherly love I was always told about?" Zeroth asked.
"Aye, it is brother." Ardric replied, laughing.
As the trio dusted themselves off, Zeroth suggested they stay vigilant and keep an eye on their surroundings. Several hours passed, the sun dipped below the horizon, and the forest grew denser. The magical pressure in the air intensified, creating an ominous atmosphere. Just as night began to settle in, the trio heard faint voices in the distance, accompanied by an eerie red glow.
Ardric squinted ahead. "Do you hear that? And look at that glow... What in the realms is going on?" Varic, now attentive, strained to listen. "Voices and chanting... and that glow. Something doesn't feel right."
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As they ventured deeper, the glow became more pronounced. The trio emerged from the thick foliage to witness an otherworldly scene: a group of sorcerers, their faces concealed by masks and hoods, surrounded a hazy red portal that seemed to spill flames from the depths of the earth. About 15 feet away from the hooded figures was a 10-foot by 10-foot wooden cage with what appeared to be medium-sized sacks, seemingly moving on their own.
"Now what do you guys think would be in those sacks?" Zeroth whispered.
Varic visibly winced. "A portal that appears to be hellish, surrounded by hooded figures chanting, with a wooden cage filled with moving sacks. You know what this is. We cannot let this go on." As the last words left Varic's mouth, the chanting grew louder, humming and buzzing seemed to fill the air around everyone. Zeroth looked on and wiped a bead of sweat from his brow as the portal flared and the door to the wooden cage was slammed open, splintering as it hit the exterior of the cage. Zeroth tensed, gripping his axe tighter, he needed a plan but he instantly realized it was too late. With a sickening sucking sound followed by a whoosh of air towards the portal, all the sacks in the cage tumbled out, seeming to exude whimpers and yelps, as every last one was sucked into the portal.
As the last sack rolled through, everything went dark, as if a candle were blown out at midnight. Zeroth nearly jumped as Adric whispered into his ear. "We can't do anything here, it's dark, we are heavily outnumbered and I don't much feel like dealing with what may be on the other side of that portal or whoever's idea it was to open it."
Zeroth frowned and squinted his eyes trying to see anything else beyond what may be flickers of shadows moving. "As much as I hate to agree, you are right. The best we can do is come back when it is brighter and see if we can find anything that was left behind." Without much hesitation, the trio slowly began to backtrack the way they came, tracking back for well over an hour to put as much space as possible between them and the possible threat.
Once everyone believed they reached a safe distance, Zeroth huffed in exasperation. "At this point, I just want to know exactly what was in those sacks."
"It looked like an offering of some kind," Varic stated.
Ardric nodded his bald head in agreement. "We can be certain of one thing though, the air is very close to being back to normal. It seems that portal, or the process of opening it, was the main cause for the pressure but that doesn't explain the boar."
Varic shrugged as he pulled some sticks and twigs together to begin a campfire. "Could just be a bout of bad luck on its end and good timing on our end, I vote that we rest up for the next few hours though, we don't know what we will face when we return to the site." Everyone nodded in agreement as the fire was started by Varic and the two brothers got everybody's bedroll ready. As the fire burned down and Zeroth attempted to get some rest, he couldn't shake the questions that kept forming in his mind and the possible horrid answers he may uncover the following day.