The enemy of my enemy...

Hm...wait....WAIT.....LIGHTBULB!

"You are too kind mistress, to listen to this wretched creature. I have waited long for someone of your power to walk this path..." She raises an eyebrow, "I was here last Tuesday." "Ah....I don't work Tuesdays. Anyway: One night, long ago, I spied a...traveler walking this path. He brought with him many servants, carrying chests filled with gold-Mistress? Where are you going Mistress?" The witch had started off down the path again, completely losing interest in you. "I have no need of gold, monster. My home is practically made of the stuff at his point." Damn. You were right not to attack her, she must have been around for a while to be so well established.

"Ah but Mistress, wait! There's more!" You detach your roots, floating along beside the indifferent witch, "One of your grandeur obviously has no need for gold or jewels. Such things would motivate only your lessers." "Your point, monster?" "You didn't let me finish my story: Ahem, on this dark night, the traveler-" "Can you skip to the important part beast? I tire of hearing your voice and I have places to be." Dammit woman, you're playing a part here. "but Mistress, it is a very..." She taps the wand menacingly on her side. Alright, jeeze. That's what you get for trying to make it interesting for her. "(Sigh) very well Mistress. The traveler was transporting an ancient artifact from the far east, a black stone-" "A Dark Shard?!" She stops dead and you scrabble for a foothold so you aren't swept away. "Er...yes. A Dark Shard."

She bombards you with a flurry of questions: How big was it? What shape was it? Did it glow? You decide the safest thing would be to make indecisive movements with your head and let her reach her own conclusions. You downplaying yourself was really paying off: she doesn't even question that you have so little information, writing it off as incompetence. Then she asks the real question, the one that mattered, "Where is it now?" "I am glad you asked, Mistress. The traveler was set upon by the wild spiders of the wood. Overwhelmed by their numbers and unable to call upon whatever power lay within his precious cargo, he died a tragic **** alone in the wood." "Yes yes, now: where. Is. The Shard?" Heartless bitch. You'd almost BEEN that traveler yesterday.

"The spiders recognized the power in the artifact and dragged it away, along with the rest of his treasures. They undoubtedly brought it to their layer." "Where is it?" She demands. You're a little fuzzy on that point yourself but based on the direction they'd retreated in you'd guess they were holed up somewhere further into the Deepwood. You give the excited witch some general directions and finish with, "-and remember Mistress, just follow the spiders. They'll lead you right."

The black clad witch hurries off down the road as it diverges from the river, "Good luck Mistress! May the...and she's gone. HaHa! Two birds! One stone! I. Am. A Genius! What's that noise...? Turning towards the low roar you see the river ends abruptly not two-dozen feet from where you drift, cascading off the cliff in a beautiful waterfall. Shit. It didn't look so beautiful from this side...