life as a research subject

[darkillini]

from recruit

You received an invitation out of the blue to meet with mr. Checkof, the world renowned leader in the field of modern survival. the letter said that he felt your experiences, and skills could help him in his research. This invitation would surely get your name out in the world, and bring fame to you if it was known you were working with Checkof.
Upon reaching the manor however things seemed off, upon opening the front gate you were immediately whisked into. A large dinning room, where none but your self and several others were sitting.
several minutes passed as you wait for your esteemed host to arrive, only to have the staff hand you each a note.
the note reads
congratulations, by now you have inhaled enough of my formula that you will pass out by the end of this letter. I must thank you for your participation up front, for I don't think you will survive long enough to find me again. Don't worry though your exploits shall be well recorded, and spoken of for years to come.
sincerely,
Checkof

Your vision flutters as you read the letter, and reaching the last words, you slip into unconsciousness, unaware of what this madman has in store for you.

A throbbing headache greets you as your eyes slowly begin to open. The following moments you become aware of the soft grass which you find yourself laying on. Looking around you become aware of the fact that your surroundings no longer look anything like the manor you had just passed out in, and if seems to be morning now, opposed to dusk when you had entered the manor.

you find yourselves in an expansive bowl shaped depression in the land. there is no marring of the ground anywhere to be seen, and other then there being slightly sloping seemingly symmetrical hills on all sides of you it seems like a normal expanse of plains. knee high grass in large patches, mixed with expanses that have been grazed down by wandering animals. you see several clouds in the bright sky, but non seem threatening in the least.

Looking around you see several other people in similar conditions to yourself, of varying heights and thicknesses. For the first time, you notice each of them has a small sack on the ground next to them. Looking at your feet you notice one next to you as well. At that moment you it strikes you that all your trappings from your previous life are gone, all your rings, money, fancy clothing, every thing. You now stand in a plain pair of trousers, with a leather jerkin on.

Reaching for the bag you notice one final change catches your eyes, on the back of your hand is a small blinking square varying in color from person to person.
blue -soren
black- cage
pink-beli
turquoise-gretta

[Starbin]

She opened her eyes slowly, frowning at the feel of the ground beneath her. Grabbing a hand full, she pulled her hand from the spongy ground and stared at the fist full of grass she was holding. Slowly sitting up, she glanced around, eyes searching around for signs of the dungeon. Laying near by, there were three other figures - a human male, an elven male, and a scaled creature she couldn't identify.

Rubbing her head for a moment, she finally pushed herself up took a closer look at the situation. By each person, herself included, there was a sack (hers seemed larger than the others). Glancing down, she noticed they were all wearing similar clothes - variants of a leather jerkin and pants. She also noticed her huge hands, frowning for a moment as she considered them for a minute.

Getting ready to stand, she dropped the grass in her hand and noticed a blinking light on her hand. It appeared to be a blue-green color, although why it was blinking could only be magic. Grunting in confusion, she ignored it for now - probably something else her observer was playing with.

As she looked at the others, she wondered how and why they were here. Uncertain if they were friendly or not, she slowly clamored to her feet and leaned over to check the sack quietly, hoping to not wake anyone. Inside, she found a pack, a small amount of food, a waterskin, and a huge axe. Another grunt as she pulled the axe out and stared at it for a long moment. Looking back at the others, she thought for a moment, then shrugged.

Slinging the pack over her shoulder, she tried to put the axe on her shoulder as well, but it came across as awkward and odd. Cursing under her breath, she decided to hang on to the axe and wait for a moment. Looking around, she tried to tell where she was.

KS (Geography): [roll0]

Turning back to the others, she considered them for long moments, then stared at her enormous feet. A decision made, she moved over to the human and poked him with her foot. "Uh, hey ... hey you. Wake up."

[Show]

Micajah Sinclair stirred, quietly dreaming to himself of a grassy plain. It was strange because he had been conscious the last time he remembered... perhaps it was a dream?
He blinked once, twice, dazed and confused. After a few moments, he became aware of why he was awake. The mountain of a woman prodded him again, and he finally showed signs of consciousness, just as she spoke..
"Uh, hey ... hey you. Wake up."
He paused, trying to recall...
and then he remembered.

And with memory came a burst of explosive coughing, worse than usual. He raised his hand in front of his mouth, curling up into a protective ball against the unexpected pain. He saw flecks of red fly into his hand before he felt the pain in his chest, but otherwise it was the same as before.
His body shook as he was racked with pain, but inside his mind was still sharp, if a bit clouded with pain. He hated this weakness, but there was nothing to do but wait until he could move again. He couldn't look into the woman's face, but knew that he would despise himself all the more if he did and saw sympathy written there.

[Starbin]

Waking to a huge woman holding an axe was probably not pleasant, but the sudden fit of coughing caused her to involuntarily lean back, gripping her axe. The young man's reaction had startled her and, to be honest, grossed her out, for lack of a better term. If the young man had looked up, he wouldn't have seen concern or sympathy, but the distaste written there may not have been better.

Step away, and relaxing her nose, she gave him room to stand. "Uh ... what's wrong with you?"

[Show]

As the fit passes, Cage unsteadily makes his way to his feet, an expression of distaste crossing his face as he wipes his mouth with the back of his hand.
"Nothing that can't be fixed. Would you mind stepping back a bit more?"

As he stands, he is surrounded by a miasma of black fog. Shadows flicker around his hands as he presses one to his chest. A spiderweb of dark cracks spread from his fingers, bleeding through his clothes to his pale skin. He appears to be in pain for a moment before his features relax and he gives a weak smile. He stands up straight, earlier pain forgotten.
"There. Nothing to worry about."

Apparently for the first time, he takes notice of his surroundings. He glances around for a few seconds before his eyes fell upon the strange woman before him.
"And, if you don't mind me asking, what's wrong with you?" He paused for a moment, obviously regretting the sharp edge on his words. If the woman had orc blood, that was her own business. He quickly turned away, looking down at his hands.
"Forgive me, it's just... I will wake the others."
He gently tapped the nearer unconscious body's shoulder, anything to distract himself.

And then he noticed. The ring. It was gone.

Charnel Touch used!
Yeah, sorry if I'm starting out by already starting an conflict, but... you know, I might as well start by shaking it up. 'Cause that's what I do.
I guess.

[Starbin]

She stepped back further, giving the strange boy more room. What followed almost made her gag, but fortunately her stomach was stronger than that. Raising the axe, she waited for the inevitable trick that was coming, the sudden realization that this was all part of the 'experiment,' designed to tease her.

But the walls did not return, the bars did not rematerialize. Watching the sickly young man, she did not care for the waves of wrongness that poored off of him, but they seemed to make him feel better. He even snapped at her, his comment obviously directed at her looks.

She blinked, glancing down at her form, before looking back at the boy. The comment was hurtful, but more than sadness, it evoked feelings of anger that threatened to overwhelm her. Her breathing quickened, and her fists clenched for a moment, until she gained control over herself.

That is what I can expect. This is the reaction I will face ...

The young man seemed to realize his social misstep, and turned to wake one of the others when he was distracted by something concerning his hand. Perhaps it was the blinking light?

[Moranica]

In an instant Beli's eyes snap open. Shooting in all directions, trying to see anything dangerous. Seeing nothing of the kind, he slowy moves his arms and legs. Again, nothing dangerous. Immediately Beli jumps up, turning around, hopping up and down, checking his body for wounds. Then he seems to calm down, as everything is alright. ....

Until he realises. NOOOOOOOO, I'm in the middle of nowhere again. I can't survive out here. I'm gonna die!!!! Poor Beli is gonna die!!! AAAHHHH!! Beli runs around in circles, hitting his head with his fists, until he trips over the bag, landing face down in the grass.

As he notices what he tripped on, he quickly searches the bag. A spellcomponent pouch and a quarterstaff. I'm still gonna die!!!

It is only then that he notices the others. And stares at them...

[gunnar11]

Ok, you know what to do. Listen, smell, feel. Then think and finally open your eyes. Soren did.
He listened: "Uh, hey ... hey you. Wake up.".
He smelled, grass.
He felt ground, a soft breeze and the same grass brushing against his skin. And something else... Leather? Rope? Time to open the eyes.

Moving slowly Soren turned and looked at the object next to him. A sack.
In it was nothing special: Some rations, a waterskin, nothing uncommon. Hey! Some handy tools!
He then proceded to look at his surroundings: A large grass field, on which two people were talking/moving, but also looking very disoriented. Soren wondered what the fuss was all about. He then remembered. That damn Checkoff! He quickly checked himself, only to find all his belongings dissapeared. Only a blue blinking light on his hand was to be found.

hey, that looks a lot like.... His eyes widened. Damnit, damnit, damnit, damnit! It HAS to be here! Soren checked himself over and over. It wasn't there, his ring had dissapeared...
He stood up, a little depressed already, maybe a stranger had stolen it.

"Hello gentlemen. I seem to find myself in this problematic situation and was wondering if you could all be of any help to me."
Manners, always.

[Starbin]

As she stood there watching the rude, sickly boy attempt to wake one of the others, the scaled figure moved it's arms slowly, then leapt up and started patting itself. Then, as quickly as it had jumped up, it started running around in circles, beating itself on the head! It would have been frightening if it weren't so comical.

She stared, nonplussed for a moment, as the creature ran around a couple of times before tripping over one of the sacks. Distracted, the beast dropped down to rifle through the pack urgently, before leaping back up with thatfrantic look on its face. Finally, it froze as it finally realized there were others. Stock still, like a deer trying to hide from a hunter, the scaled one crouched and starred ...

She almost started laughing at the bizarreness of the situation, but instead she simply took another step backwards holding her axe tightly. As she starred back, the last boy stirred, checked through the last sack, then stood and addressed them. "Hello gentlemen. I seem to find myself in this problematic situation and was wondering if you could all be of any help to me."

Rolling her eyes, she looked down from her almost seven feet. Did she really look like a man? "What's going on here? Where are we, and who are you?"

Her gaze took in all three of the others.

[Show]

How dare he?
Cage miserably stared at his empty fingers for a few more seconds before his eyes focused on the blinking square on the back of his right hand.
Some kind of a tracking device? Identification?

The scaled figure went into a sudden flurry of activity, managing to trip and fall after a matter of seconds. As he stared around, Cage met his gaze, eyes shining with interest. He gave a half-hearted grin at the startled creature before someone else broke the silence.

"Hello gentlemen. I seem to find myself in this problematic situation and was wondering if you could all be of any help to me."

Cage barely looked up to see who it was. Some elf. The gigantic woman spoke again, apparently lacking any sort of subtlety at all.
"What's going on here? Where are we, and who are you?"
The directness almost made Cage cringe. Perhaps it was the aggressiveness he could feel pouring off of her, or perhaps it was just that she had been present as his weaknesses were blatantly apparent. Either way, she was quickly beginning to irritate the boy. He did his best to ignore her comment, addressing the elf instead.

Noticing the confidence the elf and the huge woman had used, Cage tried to speak more forcefully.
"You might as well speak colloquially seeing as we're apparently in the absolute mid-"
As he spoke, he began to realize that the elf looked familiar.
"-... Ser?" He immediately regretted using the childhood nickname he had given his old friend, but it was already in the past.
He briefly considered how different he looked than when he had last seen the elf. Perhaps he was taller now? Thinner, for sure. Was his hair a bit shorter and more unruly? Not that any of that seemed to have any connection with the elf, of course, Seron looked exactly the same.

[Moranica]

I ....... I am not alone out here? Perhaps these peoples have food? The woman must have some. She big!! Skinny elves probably not... Best stick with the woman.

The spellscale walks up to the woman, looking all over her person, searching for any signs of food.

"Uhm.... hello you, I am Beli! You have food with you? Perhaps for Beli also?"

[Starbin]

The woman looked at the thin human, frowning. Was that an insult to me, or an answer to the elf? The scaled one distracted her, however, with his request for food.

"Uh ... there was food in the bag near me. Yours might have some, too."

[gunnar11]

"-... Ser?"
Ser? Ser? Soren had heard it before. He couldn't really place it. It had always been his nickname, sometimes even coming from complete strangers. Did his influence reach this far? In a game of some psycho, mind-altering freak? But that was not it. The way this gloomy person spoke to him, accentuated his words, pronunciated it differently; something was odd.

"Who... Who are you?" He asked, when it suddenly struck him. "Cage? Is that you?
Soren moved a bit closer. He had to verify if that person standing right before him really was Cage. "Dear... It really is you! Where have you been all this time!?"
This wasn't that much a soap reunion, it was more like a: What the heck?- Moment. Soren hadn't seen Cage in years. Cage's family had been wiped out, and with them the whole region. It had decayed, been raid, ilnesses, virusses and other things took over. From there on it became known as the land of Ruins, the Land of Death.

But somehow, here he was. Cage was alive and kicking, as if nothing had happened. "But, But.... Your family, and you... you were all... all.... death?" Logic didn't exist in this world anymore. He had been kidnapped by Checkoff, to find himself somewhere that did probably not even exist, only to find that his childhoodfriend had been alive all the time! "Am I death?" he whispered to himself.

[Moranica]

"Food in my bag??"

Quickly Beli starts rummaging through it again. And soon a smile brightens his scaly face.

Woohoo!! I have food! I will survive... Beli lives!!

Right away Beli starts demolishing the food. Gorging it down with big bites and a lot of noise. It takes him about a minute to finish the ration. Then he looks at the others again, with a satisfied smile and renewed confidence he makes a small bow to everyone.

"Beli will survive. Beli has food and magic power. Beli will live on!"

"So, how did you all come here?"

[Show]

Cage can't help but grin for a moment, although he quickly returned to solemnity.
"There was, but the crown somehow managed an act of tolerance and refrained from killing a few of us. I ended up living with a half-dead gardener for... well, up until now. Didn't keep me from re-learning some of my family's secrets, though."
He finishes with a strange look of pride in his eyes.
"Speaking of that... are you as confused as to what's going on here as I am?"

Then, Cage was interrupted with the energetic fourth member of the group.

"Beli will survive. Beli has food and magic power. Beli will live on!"

"So, how did you all come here?"

Cage broke off from his conversation with Seron long enough to answer the strange scaled creature.
"Well, I might be the odd person out, here, but I was kidnapped by an old friend of my family as part of some experiment."

[Starbin]

Standing there, she watched the elf and sickly young man engage in conversation, her questions being ignored as they realized they knew each other. She wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt, realizing she would probably have been the same once. However, she couldn't ... the dismissal, the sharp comments, the rudeness ... it made her so mad.

Unconsciously, she began to tighten her hands on the axe, eyes narrowing at the two people chatting away as if nothing had happened. Maybe it was a big joke to them ... wait ... maybe they were in on the joke! Maybe this was another big joke that would end up with her screaming in pain again.

NO! Not this time ... the joke will be on them ... they shouldn't have given her a weapon if this was supposed to be a joke. They should have ...

Her concentration was distracted by a shrill sound of joy as the scaled creature almost leapt face first into the sack and devoured the entire contents noisily. Blinking she watched incredulously as he (it was a he, right?) finished and stood up giving a bow to everyone.

"Beli will survive. Beli has food and magic power. Beli will live on!"

"So, how did you all come here?"

Completely disarmed, she could do nothing but laugh out loud. It was a barking guffaw, as strange to her ears as everyone elses, and she quickly stopped. Glancing around somewhat self-consciously, she bit her lip - she knew the others were already judging her by her looks and now they would judge her by her laugh. Her face darkened, trying to turn into a scowl. However, she fought against it, seeing how at least one person had been polite. Ish.

Nodding a greeting to Beli, she listened to the elf's answer. Apparently, Beli had earned enough respect to warrent an answer. The scowl threatened to return, but her ears had caught the word 'experiment.' She waited, eyes watching the others carefully in case they turned against her.

[gunnar11]

Soren took a step backwards. That woman seemed to have dangerous thoughts. Her movements indicated a readied action to take a leap or sudden burst to attack. Now that the little guy had spoken though, it seemed she had calmed down a bit. Still though, Soren didn't entirely trust it. The axe in her hands didn't seem to be friendly either. Soren then decided it was time to do what he was best at, words:
"Excuse me madam, it was very rude of me to exclude me and this man from the whole group, let me pay my debts. Could you tell me who you are, what your name is, and if you any knowledge on where we seem to be finding ourselves... in? on? at?

As for myself, my name is Soren Courthegard, firstborn son of the Courthegard family and heir to the beautiful city of Sacerum, city of Skies.
He then wanted to proceed onto presenting Cage, but decided not to reveal any information about him he himself didn't want to be revealed, and just waited for the rest to identify themselves. He now hoped the woman would lower her sword.

"OOC: Soren is speaking formal-ish, and therefore referring to Cage as a man (which he practically is)"

[Starbin]

Her eyes narrowed for a moment, unsure if she should trust this man. His manner was one she had seen before a hundred times; while it could be ingratiating at times, there was a certain amount of comfort in familiarity. The elf's question was directed at her, given the lizard man had already given his (its?) and he apparently already knew the sick teen.

Relaxing her shoulders a bit, the axe slumped a little lower. She held on to it, but more for the comfort of having something to solid to hold on. Clearing her throat, she looked between the three 'men' and stammered. "I-I don't know what's going on or where we are. I ... I woke up ... here. He said ... he said something about an experiment. What experiment?" She gestured at Cage.

Pausing for a moment, thoughts racing, she added. "I'm ar ... a bit confused ... so if I'm touchy ... well ... She trailed off for a moment. Almost lost in thought, she continued, looking down at her feet."Call me ... call me Gretta."

Looking up at Cage, her gaze hardened. "Do you have a name?"

[Moranica]

Beli looks on in amazement as all the people use so many words.

I wonder, are all big ones this talky? Also, they look a little tense. Hope this doesn't go problems. Or maybe is a good thing. Woman had food, if woman die, perhaps Beli has more food! Gnagnagna...

Beli suddenly seems to chuckle to himself. Having a wide smirk on his face, ... until he realises what situation he is in. Eyes big he sends everyone an obviously faked smile from the tense spellscale.

"Hehe, Beli entered a course, a course on survival!! That's right, you must be the instructors then!! Excellent, nice to meet you. Teach Beli survive please."

Beli lets out a big sigh of relief as he comes to the obvious conclusion that this is all part of the course and he is in no real danger.

[Starbin]

Gretta stared at Beli for a moment, her deep-set eyes furrowed in confusion. Her eyes turned towards Soren and his friend, curious to see if they had any additional information.

This becomes stranger by the moment ... so hard to think through this clearly ...

[Show]

Cage takes a break from digging his foot into the ground for long enough to make an awkward return to the conversation. He had been thinking, and then there was a flurry of activity as everyone else began talking. He tried to avoid making eye contact, but by the tall woman's body language, he could already tell the damage had been done. His brain raced for a few moments as he scrambled to find something to say, but before he could join in on the conversation the woman had asked a question. Two questions?

"Um... Micajah Sinclair. It's... Checkof, he's big in the survival field, you know? Sometimes I've known him to be a bit... eccentric? This must be some test of his... there was a letter..."
He quickly checks over himself once more. He slowly picks up steam as he speaks.
"Anyway, there was a letter which was given to me before I woke up here. It thanked me for participation in something. I'd imagine it's this."

He hears the scaled one speak, but figures its best to keep quiet for a bit due to the woman's(Gretta?) hostility. She seemed friendlier now that there had been some discussion, but that axe still didn't look exactly friendly. Cage silently reminded himself that this wasn't civilization, and sometimes people attack you in the wilderness with little to no provocation. The thought made him retreat another half-step back.

He pauses, considering that each of the others had already taken a bag. He quickly grabbed the one near where he was, quickly glancing inside before looking back around at the others. He was interested in where this was going to go next.

[Starbin]

Gretta nodded, somewhat distracted now by the various answers. Each part of this seemed different. Beli thought he was being taught how to survive. This Micajah Sinclair thought he was invited to be a part of an experiment. Soren hadn't indicated one way or another. And then there was her own experience ...

Shuddering, she finally lowered her axe, shoulders slumping again. It was all so overwhelming that she wanted to cry ... but for some reason, crying made her want to hit something instead. Best to just take a deep breath and see what the others had to say.

"So what ... we just survive? That's it?"

[darkillini]

Indeed!!, though I suppose if you were to just keel over where you all stand, it could be scientifically significant as well.. a disembodied voice says, quickly followed by some grumbling, and a mumbled effect of large mental shock mixed with.. .. .. perhaps a dose of in the food could lead to.. .. .. the voice trails off for several moments before returning.

I must say I do apologize for not being there in person, but due to the varied methods each of you joined our experiment I figured it would be better to hold back on a face to face meeting. as our fine, although somewhat sickly.. .. .. will have to discuss with.. .. .. I digress again our friend Micajah has said, you all are now a part of significant scientific experiment into the the effects which varied environments has on the development of the world's races. your currently in my special playground, feel free to explore, interact with whatever you find, in however you see fit, I shall be watching and recording your exploits eagerly.

as the voice trails off into thin air again, the sudden silence leaving you with the sense that it may have all just been something you imagined you can see the small blinking colors o each of your hands darken, becoming a single toned square on the back of your hands.

suddenly however they start blinking again and the voice returns It slipped my mind for a second there, If at any point you see the squares blinking it's because I've left a message for you, merely tap the square and the message will play.. .. .. figured someone would mess with the thing by now, i mean the catfolks did.. .. .. as the voice trails off, and the blinking fades again you hear muttering about how that curiosity had killed the cats as well though.

[Moranica]

The sudden voice clearly frightens Beli. The spellscale inches it's way over to the large woman, somehow thinking she could provide protection against an invisible man. Listening carefully he realises he hadn't seen the mark on his hand yet. At first he tries to shake off the mark, waving his hand back and forth. Then, as it starts to darken, he sticks out his arm, holding it as far away as possible.

Oh no, I'm so in trouble... I've seen such explosive runes before. How do I get it off?

While still stretching his arm out as far as he can, Beli reaches for his staff and uses it to hit the back of his hand with it.

"OUCH!!" Beli shouts and clutches his hand in reflex. After some long seconds he realises what he's doing and stretches out his arm again, while trying to clutch it with his other.

This goes on for a couple of minutes after which he slumbs down into a sobbing mess.

[gunnar11]

Soren had heard from this kind of sorcery before, having it been used on him. He had never heard of it like being remotely explodable or attached to one's body though. He wondered wether there was an actual goal to this or that it was just surviving for as long as possible untill death would follow. Soren was already thinking about an escape, looking around him to see any loopholes, any exits nearby.


Search: [roll0]


Something was wrong with this Gretta person also, lying to them at the first try already. Maybe she was in on the game? She knew the exits and was watching us, as Checkoffs right hand? He'd interrogate her later.

Soren decided to stand closer to Cage, also close to Gretta to not offend her and began eating his food:
"Shay Gwetta... Nomnomnom. Do you know anything at all about surviving? Cause I don't..." Soren said, immediatly becoming aware he'd spoken while eating.
"Pardon me, I'm being really unpolite towards a lady of your caliber." Again, apply pressure real smooth.

He then noticed the little one hiding behind Gretta. "Hey there little man, Beli, was it? How are you? Don't worry, that thing on your hand won't explode unless you try to take it off. If you just keep calm, and you don't cry too much you'll see it won't explode!

Bluff: (it's pure gibberish) [roll1]

[Show]

Cage wasn't in the mood to talk. As he began to wander away from the group, he noticed the scaled creature begin to hit himself with his staff. Seron seemed to be trying to move closer, but Cage brushed him off, heading up the side of the bowl. He wasn't in the mood to talk further. Reaching the top, he sat and stared off at the horizon, trying to clear his mind. As he thought, he felt a flicker of familiar necromantic energy within him. He felt anger burning within at Checkof, as well as a massive tumult of other emotions, but carefully locked them away. There would be time for that later.

As he meditated, the familar cloud of necromantic energy surrounded him, focusing his thoughts and revitalizing his body. He thought for a moment that he might make a bad impression on the others, but he found a strange lack of worry about the others opinions- even his childhood friend's. He had already dug himself into a bit of a hole, so he might as well be refreshed if he was going to be friendly.

Well, what now? We survive, I guess. But did Checkof say there were other groups? Catfolk?

Say, what's out there? Forest? Plains?

[Starbin]

When the voice started, Gretta looked around frantically for the speaker. It didn't sound familiar, but it quickly became apparent the owner was responsible for their current situation. This was a test of some sort? A game of who could last the longest? And the blinking lights were magical messengers?

As she tried to understand everything, Beli started freaking out over the light, and Sinclair walked off dismissively. Turning, she saw Soren start eating and chatting. She stared for a moment, nonplussed. They had heard, hadn't they? Or maybe only she and Beli had heard it, since both of the others seemed somewhat oblivious to the disembodied voice ... and its message.

His manner had gone from smooth to almost oily, like when somebody wanted something and it was all a little too peculiar. "Did you hear that? Or is this normal where you come from? We ... we're kidnapped for someone's test and you and S-Sinclair seem ... seem ... not worried."

She keeps an eye on the sobbing Beli, but this is becoming a bit much for her.

[darkillini]

cage:
as you meditate, taking in your surroundings around you now that you've gotten out of the depression. you see an expanse of flat plains spreading from your location for a good distance, scrub grass and small trees dot the landscape here and there. however as you meditate your eyesight sharpens and in the distance you notice a shimmering of light, while in the opposite direction you notice the land seems to become more vegetated, and you notice a spreading green line along the horizon.

[Moranica]

As Beli slowly regains his composure, one of the other persons says:
"Hey there little man, Beli, was it? How are you? Don't worry, that thing on your hand won't explode unless you try to take it off. If you just keep calm, and you don't cry too much you'll see it won't explode!"

It won't explode? .... How would he know?!.... still, it hasn't exploded yet, and I wouldn't live to see any different anyway. I must study this ..... blinky thingy.

Slowly Beli clambers back to his feet, takes a couple of deep breaths, crosses his arms in front of him and looks at the rest.

"So, otherones, what now, will you help me to survive? I have no food, and I will need some more tomorrow. I could really use your help on this. So, who's good at surviving?"

[Show]

Cage walks back down the hill, refreshed after his short meditation. He bears a look of new determination.

"Well, I'm fairly certain that any experience I have with surviving only applies to the city... not to the scrubby plains all around us. There doesn't seem to be much around here at all. I presume I'd be overly optimistic by hoping that one of us does have some experience?"

[Starbin]

Gretta frowned, looking back and forth between Soren and Sinclair, with an occassional glance at Beli. Had they not heard her question? Was this part of the test? Were they simply ignoring her? It was all so strange.

Running a hand through her bangs, she looked around the area, the question Sinclair asked running through her head. "I, uh, know a something ... I think." Flashes of images ran through her mind, skinned animals over a spit ... moss growing at the base of a tree ... clouds drifting overhead, spurned by southern winds ... holes filled with hot rocks ...

Shaking her head, she looked back at Sinclair and Soren. "Why aren't you bothered by ... this?" She waved her hand with the colored square and gestured to the area around them.

[Show]

Cage wasn't in camp when Gretta asked. Sorry if that wasn't clear!

[gunnar11]

Soren immediatly rose up to listen carefully to the big woman. She was someone you didn't want to have to fight. After she finished talking, and thereby made clear they weren't paying attention to the others, Soren regained his composure. It surely was weird he hadn't panicked yet. It was understandable though, ths was the way he dealt with problems, just be calm and think, think and find a solution.

"Surviving, noble lady, isn't one of my strong suits. If you seek manners, or any sort of verbal contact with a race that speaks either common, elven, draconic or sylvan, I can be of assistance. But do call for my help if you need it building a fire, or something to keep us alive. He finished his speech. He now submerged himself deep into his thoughts, thinking of the game, of the people he met here, and what the goal was.

Companions, if you allow me to call you that way. This game, set up by Checkoff, has to lead somewhere, it has to have some goal, like every other game, doesn't it? Also, we should find some shelter for the night, and maybe start working on the food already. Tell me, Cage, did you see anything unusual from up there? Or somewhere we can go perhaps?

He now directed himself fully to Gretta:
The reason why I'm not alarmed, lady, is because when panicked a humanoid is never able to make calculated decisions, which you need in a cornered situation. Furthermore am I in precence of a lady, and a gentleman always has to keep his composure in vicinity of a lady. Last but not least: This is a game right? A bit unorthodox, but still a game. We should all enjoy it :smallbiggrin:
Althought he himself was starting to lose faith also...

DC 16 Sense motive:

Bluff: [roll0]
You sense Soren wasn't entirely true to you when he said t was just a game



Sorry guys for not responding, but I didn't know I wasn't subscribed to this thread, so I thought no-one had said anything...

[Starbin]

Gretta frowned, somewhat dubious of Soren's explanation. A game? Not what that ... Checkov said ... don't know what game he's in ... but he is quite the dandy, so who knows ... lady, indeed! Maybe once, but now ...

One thing he said did make sense: panicking, while often appealing, didn't really help improve the situation. Closing her eyes for a moment, she took a deep breath and paused as she counted to ten, slowly exhaling. Opening her eyes, she looked at the others. "If we're supposed to survive, we should find a good camp, with lots of food around."

Looking to Sinclair, she grunted. "What's out there?"

OOC - No worries ... Funny thing, I actually almost asked if you were subscribed before :smallbiggrin:
As for the sense motive, I didn't even roll ... mainly because Gretta has a different perspective of this situation based on her background. Therefore, she doesn't think Soren is fibbing ... just that he's wrong :smallwink:

[Show]

"Um... I'm not so good at emotion. I sort of try to avoid it."
Micajah runs his fingers through his hair as he speaks, looking a bit embarrassed.

After a few moments, he finally faces Gretta. He wonders for a few moments if this is the first time he'd actually directly talked to her.
"I've basically already told everything. It's just a big plain with some small plants all around. If you do know something about surviving, I guess we're all counting on you."
He tries to put on a small smile, but it fades as he quickly glances away, looking at the ground as he feels a sudden wave of nausea wash over him.

[Starbin]

Gretta nodded, her shoulders slumped. Having someone rely on her was not a role that felt comfortable ... look where it had gotten her so far? But if she was the only one who had an idea (regardless of how that was possible), then there was nothing for it.

Reaching down, she opened her pack and riffled through it. "Um, I guess we should see what we have." Letting the others see, she pulled out some food, a waterskin, and some clothes.

OOC - Assuming the others have variants on the same, except only one waterskin amongst us.
"So we have some food for ... ah ... today." Glancing at Beli, she hoped the lizard man wouldn't freak out again. "I guess we should start looking for stuff around here. If this is all an experiment," she said the word with no small amount of rancor, "then there should be food somewhere around. We just have to find it."

Putting on her pack and shouldering her axe the best she could, Gretta waited for the others to gather their things. Once they did, she would walk to the edge of the bowl and take a look around, trying to get a lay of the land.

KS (Nature): [roll0] Any ideas about the flora and fauna?
Survival: [roll1] Wx (DC 15)
EDIT: Should predict for the next two days ...

[darkillini]

soren and cage:
as you see gretta begin to put her pack on and gather her things up your ears pick up a sharp cry carying in the wind frombeyond the depression your in, your able to make out a "..elp..e .. som...hel.. over the wind
---------------------------
Gretta
you are fairly certain that it should be nice weather for the next two days. as for flora and fauna, you recognize the astute fact that you are surrounded by average prairie grass :smallbiggrin: (nothing special about it really)
as you pick your pack up and get ready to leave the world seems perfectly calm, and at ease, you can hear a a light breeze begin blowing across the lip of the depression which cools the area off a bit.
---------------------------
Beli
as Gretta begins to pick her pack up you think you hear a bit of a breeze pick up, but for all you know it may just be the large lady blowing air at you.

[Show]

Cage looks around as an unknown sound passes by his ears.
"I heard something. Someone yelling, I think. We should go see... but let's hurry. I wouldn't guess that anyone would be yelling about anything pleasant out here."

[gunnar11]

"I heard it too... I think it was a girl... Let's go find her!" At which Soren begins to move where the breeze came from. "Come one now! Don't be shy!

"May I offer you my hand, m'lady?" Soren says, stretching out his non-blinky-thingy-voicy-speaky-hand, offering it to Gretta.

While on the move he decides to start a conversation: "So tell me, what kingdom are you from? What incredible things lay there, and most of all: What are your hobbies and other fun-havings?
Soren chuckled a bit of his own joke: fun-havings! That isn't even a word!

[Moranica]

"What? Yelling? Was it that voice from the invisible man?"

[Starbin]

Gretta was gazing skyward, one hand shading her eyes, when Sinclair and Soren both spoke of hearing something. Glancing at the two of them, then back at Beli, she paused for a moment. Strange that the both of them heard it, given their situation so far.

"May I offer you my hand, m'lady?" Gretta blinked and stared down at Soren's hand for a moment before looking back up at the elf.

"Uh ... no. Thanks." Turning to look in the direction the two friends indicated, she strained her ears to hear what they claimed they heard.

Listen: [roll0]
Spot: [roll1]

[darkillini]

as you crest the top of the depression's ridge you see a small humanoid shaped creature in the distance running towards the depression. behind it you spot a canine like creature casing after it, seemingly impossibly cutting off the small humanoid every time the small thing tries to break to the sides or make for cover. the small humanoid is shouting as loud as it can as it runs.

battle map link (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Au4dFDsXe-AWdHFMdndFdkYzRXYzZmlXR2JibzVjYlE&hl=en_US#gid=0)

[Starbin]

Gretta cautiously followed the others to the edge of the small depression, looking around for the source of shouting Soren and Sinclair had claimed they heard. As she crested the ridgeline, something flashed through her mind, something about ridgelines and visibility. Blinking, she crouched a bit as she moved forward, her eyes finally catching sight of a small figure being chased by a dog.

"Is this part of the experiment?" Gretta gripped the axe handle, unsure how to proceed since she didn't know who the two creatures were, or why one was chasing the other. However, from this perspective she could at least see a good distance.

Initiative check (just in case): [roll0]
Don't know if the spot check from previous post counts (21) for seeing around, or if you need a new one.
Holding for now ... figure Gretta will wait until the others decide to do something (or something about the situation makes her mad ... :smallbiggrin:)

[Moranica]

Still short of breath, Beli reaches the top. Panting he looks up as Gretta speaks out. His eyes quickly find the small humanoid and the thing chasing it.

"It's coming right for us!"

Initiative [roll0]
KOBOLDS RULE!!

[Show]

Micajah stops, something about the situation catching him off guard. He takes a moment to peer closer, trying to get a better look.
Initiative: [roll0]

[gunnar11]

"Wait, what the h- Soren says, while looking at the humanoid being chased
"Is that a dog?" he says in disbelief.
Soren holds back for now, first looking at the situation, before doing anything


Initiative[roll0]

[darkillini]

you see the Dog noticing other humanoids in its region stop herding the small humanoid and jump on top of it trying to bite at it's throat. the small humanoid manages to keep pushing its head and jaws away for now though.

initiative blocks
soren
greta
beli
cage
humanoid/dog

[gunnar11]

Soren sees the thread the dog means to the human. He quickly runs towards them. (Next round is the attack, right? I thought 1square=5ft).
Soren approaches the man and the dog (running 100 ft), almost exhausted now.

[Starbin]

Gretta blinked as Soren ran full out towards the canine and small figure. Gripping her axe, she moved forward, although without the same wild abandon as the elf.

Full move to C20, ready action to move to C14 if Belli or Cage move forward as well (she's hesitant about running up completely alone ...)

PS - Looks like Soren only has to run 100 ft to be w/in 5 ft of the two 'combatants.'

[Moranica]

Not so scared anymore, now that the dog isn't approaching, Beli shouts out.

"Kill it!! It might change it's mind!"

Energy bursts from his hands and a small globe of energy flies towards the dog.

MM [roll0]

[Show]

Watching the others around him move into action, Cage darts forward, hand already rummaging through the spell components which had been left in his supplies. After a few long seconds, his hand grasps what he had been hoping for... the cool touch of bone. The sounds of his ragged breaths seem to fade for a moment as he feels a familiar spark awaken deep within. The words of a well remembered spell on his lips, he continues to run forward as best as he can.

[Starbin]

Seeing Sinclair move forward, Gretta continued her advance. The bolt of energy from Belli caught her by surprise, but she hid it as well as she could.

Continuing her readied action in response to Cage's movement.

[darkillini]

the dog being hit by the sudden blast of energy looks up from its held target and growls, suddenly yelping backwords towards where it came from, where a matching howl is heard emanating on the wind several moments later.

the dog then disappears from sight, reappearing yards away charging towards beli.(location of reapearence is marked) it then bites at beli as it reaches him attempting to take a chunk out of the hand he just threw the energy bolt from.


[roll0] [roll1] miss chance [roll2] (20 or lower misses)

[gunnar11]

Soren sees the dog dissappear, he doesn't detect him anywhere close, so he doesn't really care. The man's life comes first. He approaches the humanoid, trying to help him/her.

"Hey there, are you hurt? Can I help you in any way? Tell me.

[Starbin]

Gretta paused, trying to figure out which way to go. Soren had remained with the figure, but Belli was being attacked by one of the dogs, which appeared to be able to move across distances without being seen. Of course, the lizard-like man had attacked with some magic. And those howls ...

Moving back towards Belli, she gripped the axe, still confused over what was going on, but determined to help.

Move action: 30 ft towards Belli; Readied Action: Attack anything that comes at Gretta!

[Show]

The doglike creature suddenly dissapeared. Catching something out of the corner of his eye, he turns to find the dog charging directly past him towards Beli. Revising his plan, Cage quickly spun around, dodging to the side in an attempt to get a clear shot at the dog. He held the rough bone in his hand, holding it out towards the dog and speaking a quiet word from his necromantic studies.
Before him, the ground seemed to bubble for a moment as a creature from out of a child's nightmare materialized from within his signature dark miasma. Damage scimitar held before it, the creature of cracked bone flung itself forward, eyes glowing ominously from within the unholy fog. The scimitar swept down once from within a flurry of confused activity as the skeleton viciously attacked the dog, but the lines of its' body quickly began to waver as the magic binding it began to fade. Cage gritted his teeth, desperate to hold on to the spell for as long as possible.

Skeleton used TACKLE
Attack: [roll0] (1 base, +2 charging, +2 flanking. Is that correct?)
Damage: [roll1]

That was NOT A GOOD TIME for a nat 3...

[darkillini]

giving morainica 1 more day to post, then il continue as though he just delayed his turn.

[darkillini]

beli seeing the dog run at him just stares and starts gibbering incoherently,Gahhh! watdoidowhadoido!

the small humanoid sits up momentarily mumbling softly.
SOREN
you can make out what it's saying "don't hurt it please it was my fault, i wandered into its clan's nursery grounds accidentally, it was running me off from there, probably thought i was a poacher.

cage
thinking about the shape of the creature, and its unusual spatial teleportation abilities you recall reading a book back in your youth about a creature called a blink dog, which would use such abilities. however its current attitude is odd as the book went on to say they were generally peaceful towards others.

the skeleton's valiant swing comes up short, missing the beast which turns and growls at the sight of the skeleton its jaws flash towards the arm and leg bones trying to tear the thing apart.

[roll0] [roll1]

[gunnar11]

"DON'T HURT IT! CALM DOWN!" Soren says, laying a calming hand on the small man.
"You seem like an intelligent creature, so you can understand me, right? We didn't try to attack you or your pack. We were here the whole time, and he just happened to accidentally enter your area. We won't try to enter it again, I promise." Soren says, pointing to the general direction they came from with his free hand.


Diplomacy?:[roll0]

[Moranica]

Slowly regaining his composure, Beli picks up Soren's advice, staring at him bewildered and then to his mauled arm and hand.

"What?!? Are you crazy!!! It bit me, AND it just disappears and appears somehow. DOGS don't do that. This must be a devil! KILL IT!!"

Beli then steps backwards and while biting away the pain, manages to create somekind of shimmering forcefield around his body.

Mage armor

[Show]

As Beli and Seron shout back and forth, Cage realizes just what this creature must be.
"It's a blink dog!"
He reconsiders his statement after half a second.
"It can teleport, and they don't usually act this way!"

He spins around as the skeleton finally dissapears from the stress of the material plane, shaking itself violently before as the aura of darkness around it fades like an early fog. Cage holds out his hand, ready to cast another spell, but afraid of provoking the strange creature into further unnecessary violence.
"Soren! Why would it be attacking us?!"

Delaying turn until Soren replies.

[Starbin]

Gretta stopped moving forward, her wide jaw wide open as she tried to assimulate what had just happened. A small lizard-man had flung magical energies from his hand. A dog had managed to flicker out of sight and reappear dozens of yards away. A sickly youth had called forth an evil-looking cadaver that had attacked the disappearing dog. And now, the smooth-talking Soren was shouting for everyone to stop fighting.

Standing there, nonplussed, Gretta could only stare, the situation entirely too strange to absorb completely. What kind of experiment is this ... ?

[darkillini]

(sorry my page didn't show starbin's update)


seeing the skeleton disappear, and the rest back off from it, the dog growls towards the group surrounding it. it suddenly teleports again to a more clear area, slowly growling towards the group. behind it several other blink dogs, non as big as the first, appear growling as well. hearing soren's attempt at calming it down it emits a quick sharp bark to the other dogs, who quite down. IT turns it's snout towards the group eying you suspiciously, staring at the small humanoid, and beli more critically then the rest.

[Starbin]

Gretta looked incredulously from the magic dogs to Soren and the group, and back again. Holding her axe and glancing around nervously, she waited.

"So now what? Do one of you speak blinking dog?"

Holding actions until she feels threatened.

[Show]

Noticing the sudden lack of violence, Cage drops his hands. He nervously grins, speaking sideways towards Gretta in an attempt to keep facing the dogs.
"Blink dogs. They're creatures with the ability to use teleportation. They aren't usually hostile, so I don't know why they'd be acting like this."

[Starbin]

"Hunh," grunted Gretta, as she glanced at Sinclair from the corner of her eyes, then went back to watching the dogs. Of course, watching them was pretty pointless if they decided to blink but she wasn't really sure what else to do.

Maybe Soren would be able to keep them pacified by talking louder. And perhaps slower.

[Moranica]

"Whhaaaah!! What are you waiting for?!!? Kill it!! Look at the evil glint in it's eyes. The blood splattered mouth and sharp claws waiting to eat me. It must die!!"

Beli screams at this point and waves his arms excitedly as he slowly backs away from the dog.

[gunnar11]

"Everyone, calm down! They won't attack us if we don't attack them. The reason why they're so angry is because this man accidentally tresspassed their breeding area."
Soren slowly says, while still talking loudly. He also makes slow gestures, trying to keep the dogs calm.
"Beli, do NOT attack." he repeats.

"We're sorry" Soren whispers quietly to the blinking dogs, backing away a little and winking the human(oid) to do so too.

[darkillini]

the small humanoid wairily stands to it's feet behind soren, peeking out around him to look at the dogs.
imimim im sorryididdn'tmeanto it spouts out quickly before ducking behind sorens back again.

the two new blink dogs look to their leader as if wanting orders for what to do, while the first dog stares at the young one and soren, it's gaze jumping between them and beli every so often.

as soren speaks the dog looks at him as if considering something then barks to the others, and slowly they back off before blinking out of sight.


the small humanoid looks at you, for the first time you have enough time to realize that the small humanoid is actually a fairly average sized male gnome
thankyouthankyouthankyou! Iwasoutlookingforsuppliesandiwanderedintotherehome . Beforeiknewitiwasbeingchasedbythatlargeblinkdog. Ioweyousoomuchwhatcanidotohelpyou???? he looks up expectantly to you having said his piece.

[Show]

Cage lets out a long sigh of relief.
"Well, I think filling us in on just where we are and what the basic situation around here would help. Also, what are you doing here? Do you live here? Are you part of..." he cuts himself off, unsure of how much to say. Still, redirection comes naturally to the boy and he continues without excessive delay."any nearby settlement?"

[gunnar11]

"You could start off by calming down. After that, tell us where we are, what country and which town the closest by is." Soren said, still with the tone of a father angry at his son.

Soren also winked at the others to come and listen to the man's story, now the dogs were gone.

[Starbin]

The situation seemed to diffuse as quickly as it had started. One minute the dogs were staring unnervingly at the group, the next they disappeared ... literally.

Within moments after the blink dogs exit, the gnome began prattling off, while Sinclair and Soren tried to get answers from him. Gretta simply watched for a moment, then moved over to Beli to see how badly he had been hurt. Her eyes swept the horizon, looking for some clue about their location ... and any new threats that might pop up.

[Moranica]

.......... sigh....... Beli seems relieved the dogs have left.

Warily he eyes the newcomer and once he realises it's a gnome, he bursts into anger.

"A GNOME?!?! I knew it, this is gnome tricks. The dogs were good you say? Not very good... but that explains why they were hunting this GNOME.. I've heard many tales of these gnomes and they were nothing but rotten and stinky ... Shall I .. dispose of him? "

[Starbin]

Gretta blinked at the vehemance in Beli's response to the newcomer. She had heard the standard things about gnomes, regarding their inquisitiveness and propensity for taking incessantly. However, she had never heard anything about their being a threat in the manner Beli described.

Uncertain, she waited, listening, to see what happened next.

[darkillini]

yesyestownisnearbytheotherswillwanttohearaboutthis . itsbeenawhilesincenewcomerscame. he pauses for a moment and a strange perplexed look crosses his face howdidyoucomeherebytheway? itcouldprobablybeanewresearchformetolookinto! Finallythereissciencetodoagain! he seems to be getting absorbed in self thought and he begins wandering around talking to himself.

[gunnar11]

"We seem to be in some kind of research ourselves" Soren answers, giving up on the gnome's accent, and hiding the blue light on his hand. At the same time, Soren looks at Gretta and Beli, trying to assure them there's nothing wrong with him.

"Can you lead us the way? And this time without crossing a blinkdog, please"

[Moranica]

"A whole town of them, ... o my ... we are so doomed. This is survivalling at a whole other level."

[darkillini]

ssuresureIcanleadyou. thiswaythiswaycomeon says the gnome as it begins walking of to the north , taking a distinct turn away from the direction the dogs had come from.
weregonnatakethelongwayifthatsallrightwithyou.

[Moranica]

..... oh, oooh, he's tricking us .... already ....

[Starbin]

Gretta nodded uncertainly at Beli's statement. However, moving towards a civilization of sorts seemed better than standing out in the wild ... and better than wandering about, hoping not to anger blinky dogs.

Clearing her throat, she asked the gnome a question. "Uh, who lives in your town? What goes on, and how did you get there?"

She will watch the gnome for any of these tricks Beli seems certain will come, but also she watches around the group ... nervous that more surprises are waiting just over the rise ...

[darkillini]

peopledoofcourse? whatdoyouexpectabunchofanimals? Iwasborntherethatshowigotthere. says the gnome laughing.

after several hours of walking north along the plains the shimmering in the distance several of you saw upon reaching the rim of the crater is finally visible as a large river spanning horizon, about a days travel off.

[Starbin]

Gretta thought about what the gnome had said and remembered back to their first encounter with the voice that told them of this experiment. If the gnome was born here, was the voice lying? Or had this experiment been going on for generations? If so, why hadn't anyone heard of it before?

This was very confusing ...

[Moranica]

"So, where is this city of yours, gNoMe?"

[darkillini]

ohitsrightoverthereatthebendintheriver says the gnome pointing off towards the river. thoughihavetoask, canyoupleasenottelltheelderigotintroubleouthere. hewouldn'tletmecomeouttodomyworkanymoreifhefoundou t. he sputters as he digs his heel into the ground looking ashamed.

[Moranica]

Beli flashes a quick grin, followed by a sour look.

Hehe, setting up that gnome would be fun...., but then again, if I didn't I would trick a lot of other gnomes.... ... so confusing..... it´s gnome tricks again!!

[gunnar11]

"So how are you going to tell them how you found us? You certainly needed our help or something..." Soren says, looking towards the gnome settlement, judging it's size and population.

[Starbin]

As the group approached the river, Gretta continued to look around. Part of her simply wanted to know where she was, and what the surrounding areas held. Another, more instinctual part of her sought any threats, and looked for possible ambushes and the like.

This strangely synergetic dichotomy of perspectives kept her quiet. For now.

[darkillini]

ohilthinkofsomething mentions the gnome before he starts off towards the village.



after another half days walk you reach the outskirts of a small village. It consists of a small wooden wall surrounding clusters of small clay hovels built into the ground. a few people patrol along the edge of the wall, a mix of humans, gnomes, and elves, they don't seem to take any special notice of you walking into the village.
inside the wall asides from the buildings you see several small rice fields by the banks of the river which the village is built along. the citizens at ground level seem to take more notice of your group being new comers then the walkers on the wall did. the small gnome leads you to a hovel near the center of the village, and motions for you to wait outside as he disappears inside the hovel. several moments later an gray haired elder half-elf walks out his aged eyes taking in all of you before he stretches a hand out to you, welcome to the nexus, our fast talking friend here told us how he found you and led you here, it's not often that new arrivals here, must be.. ten years now or so since the last group came through.

[Moranica]

...... so many gnomes........ best to let the others do the talking. ....

[Show]

Cage, despite being somewhat out of breath from the light exertion, manages to maintain an entertained spark within his eyes as he attempts to adopt a subtly deferential stance.

"Oh, I'm sure he exaggerated everything," Cage says, unconscious of his pretentiousness after listening to the gnome's babbling for hours. "but he did lead us here, and that's what counts!"

He gently drags his foot across the crushed grass beneath his feet.
"Uhm. Where is here? And what's that about the last group?"

[Starbin]

Gretta grew more and more confused as they approached the village, wondering about the depth and scope of this 'experiment.' As they walked, they got increasingly more looks and stares, which only served to increase Gretta's discomfort and self-consciousness. The further they walked, the more uncomfortable she got. Soon, she was clenching her hands around the huge axe, which she was now holding off of her shoulder.

She let the others talk, but this was becoming increasingly weird ... and more than a little suspicious.

Probably pointless, but Gretta will try to 'sense motive' ... [roll0] ... like a hippo trying to do macrame ...

[darkillini]

seeing only one of you speaking openly, he smiles. ah just like i remember the last group that was dumped here, you seem pensive about us spreading his arms wide indicating the whole village this settlement is the nexus, where we are in relations to whereever you came from i have no idea, i was born here, as was the rest of the people in this village. pointing at your group he continues you all are what we have come to call harbingers, as whenever groups of you marked individuals show up strange things start happening in the land.

he begins walking gesturing for you to follow, as he makes his way around the settlement he indicates the presence of several buildings, and a few larger hovels. all in all other then the dwellings for the villagers, theres a good sized blacksmith, 3 storehouses for grain, a town hall (jokingly called the town hole, as it consists of a multi leveled indentation in the ground allowing for there to be stadium style seating.) there is a medical hut, and a few bakeries. upon finishing the tour he turns to you just to be sure im not making any mistakes, it was that Checkof character that sent you here yes?

[Starbin]

Gretta frowned as the man spoke. She interrupted part of his introduction at one point to ask a question. "Wait, how long has the village been here? And how many groups have come through?"

This is not at all what she was expecting. The 'experiment' either involved spiriting peopled off to another part of the land, or something much more involved and diabolical.

Either way, Gretta continued to be confused.

And just a little bit afraid.

[Show]

Micajah, entranced by the town for a few minutes, still manages to deeply frown at the tour's conclusion. He gives a long look at the village elder, nodding in response to his query.

"Will we be able to get home? Is there a way to do so?"

[darkillini]

oh the nexus has been around for as long as anyone can remember, every one here was born here, as were our forefathers. he closes his eyes in thought for a few moments before continuing to answer gretta three have come through in my life time, the last about ten years ago i believe. Some have stayed with us for a time, others have sought a way home as you say, immediately. Whether they have been successful or not I do not know, as none of them have ever come back from searching, not that I think they would like to. his eyes sadden a bit for all that i know this land is a prison, once your here you are more or less stuck to the best of our knowledge. but as i said, non have returned here to tell us if they succeeded or not

upon finishing the tour he asks so what do you think you will do, will you search for a way home like the others did?

[Starbin]

Gretta leaned back against a nearby wall, shaking the building with her build. Blinking, she thought about the enormity of what she was involved in and it was almost overwhelming. Groups arriving almost decades apart ... a town in the middle of nowhere ... a man playing puppet master ...

Growling, Gretta stood. Gripping her axe tightly, she grunted at the man. "Tell me about Chekov! Who is he? Why is he doing this? And where can I find him?"

[Moranica]

Suddenly, Scribly speaks up.

"Chekov, he is behind this!! It would be fitting for him to have gnome friends. Does he have any?"

[darkillini]

I'm sorry i've never met the man, or spoken with him as i assume you have. looking oddly at beli he reaches a hand up and scratches his head I'm not sure what you mean by that? the gnomes are not really working with anyone, and I'm sure you will find plenty of people here who would gladly not have to deal with their inventions on a weekly basis. based off of that i can't imagine checkof from what i know of him to be working with any..

[gunnar11]

Soren finally speaks, after much thought:"What do you do here? What can you offer us? What we offer you, and what do you know about the other groups and Chekoff?" He asks rapidly.


Sense Motive:[roll0]

[darkillini]

the elder blinks slightly at the barrage of questions. what do we do? were a town we get by how we can. your welcome to come and go as you please, we always enjoy people bringing extra supplies in from the outer reaches of the land. he pauses for a moment as you reach the center of the village again where food is being laid out. please join us, motioning for you all to sit before continuing if you don't fancy staying near here, you could try seeking out the elvish communities in the forests to see if they know anything, other then them we don't have too much contact with other outsiders, the gates make that difficult.

he blinks for a moment then laughs a little i must say age is getting to me, i forgot to tell you about the gates! as i said this land is basically a prison, and i guess you could call the gates the walls, they are a series of paths that can be used to go to other areas of the land, but they must be followed in certain orders to get anywhere, otherwise you become stuck in an area. over the years we've only been able to find a single working path ourselves, and that is to the elves forest. he pauses he taking a bite of roast chicken that is put on the table before him before looking to see if any of you have more questions, or wish to say anything.

[Show]

Cage thinks for a few seconds before hesitatingly answering the elder's advice.
"I doubt I'll... we'll be staying long. Where are these gates?"
He glances around at the others, hoping for approval.
Best to get out of here, and fast.

[Starbin]

The announcement that there is another village is interesting to Gretta, but is complicated by the discussion of gates. Apparently the old man realized this was a prison ... but for some reason had made it seem as if this were always their home. How strange ...

[Moranica]

This reminds me so much of the death gate saga.

Beli is all nodding, when it comes to getting out of here.

Elves, a major improvement over gnomes, if you ask me.

[darkillini]

the elder nods at cage, surly your not thinking of leaving in the middle of the night? rest for the night I'll show you to the first gate in the morning. you can stay at my house for the evening, its where we the young one took you originally. if you wish to look around on your own, or stay and ask more questions i will be here for the rest of the evening. he says before going back to the meal before him.


ooc: anything you wish to do or any questions you wish to ask before evening "progresses"? will get awnseres / progression up based on results tomorrow evening.

[Show]

Cage nods, a bit unsure and anxious. He enters the hovel, glancing around at the current furnishings in an attempt to find a comfortable, out of the way niche to slip into.

No IC questions, but maybe a bit of RP before tomorrow begins?

OOC, what's the hovel like? Also, are there windows to look out of?

[darkillini]

the inside of the hovel is fairly homey. while the building is shaped as a large dome on the outside, the inside gains a bit more space by extending down into the ground, likely to maintain heat in the winters. theres a simple bed with woven sheets in a corner, and a large elaborate handwoven rug in the center of the floor. in a side room there is a small kitchen and dinning table.

the outside edges have some windows, but they are not prominent features in the design of the house, which seems to serve functionality over appearance

[Starbin]

Gretta waited for a moment to see what the others would, finding some logic in the old man's suggestion. Of course, if this were all part of the 'experiment,' it might be a test on how far newcomers would trust the world around them. Should they trust the man? He seemed to be telling the truth, but she was not well-versed in uncovering such things. Better that the silver-tongued Soren ferret out any lies being told.

Seeing little action from the others, Gretta followed the man towards the entrance of the hovel. Leaning down, she had to hunch over in order to step inside. She tried to step to the side, but knocked over a clay pot and bumped her head on the ceiling. Growling, she finally stepped back towards the doorway, pushing past the others in an effort to get outside. With a deep breath, she calmed herself, realizing that the old man's home had evoked a bit of claustrophia-like panic.

Looking around, she found a small patch of grass nearby and moved to set up a spot for the evening. Before settling down, she walked over and tapped the old man on his shoulder. "Do you have food and water? And a blanket?"

Standing for a moment, she considered her demands and softened the abruptness with a belated, "Please?"

Yeah, I don't think Gretta has any questions right now ... ready to press to the next day (or the sneak attack during the evening, as the case may be!)

[gunnar11]

Soren just kept listening, discerning truths from lies. It was something he had learned early on in his life:

I used to play chess with my father. He mostly won. One of those games he told me his secret though. He said:

"Son. Do you know who the better chess player is?
The one that is the smartest of course! I said proudly.

He wronged me though:
The better chess player, is the one that can see through his opponents moves, his intentions and his rationality. And so, you have to learn to do this in life.

And now he did.


Was out for a time, now I'm back.
Nothing really to comment. Soren will just look for escape routes and everything that seems suspicious.

Sense motive:[roll0]
Spot:[roll1]
Listen:[roll2]

[Moranica]

Beli is still on edge, but tries to look relaxed and calm. By the time evening comes though, he's chewed through most of his nails, has some scratches on his arms and still has wide open eyes.

He sticks with Gretta at all times.

[darkillini]

the elder looks as if he is telling the truth from Soren's perspective. nothing much else of importance is said over the next hour as people ate at the center of town. allowing for Soren to spot 2 side gates out of town, making three exits if he needed them.


Gretta finds the elder more then happy to give her a blanket for the evening, apologizing that his abode was likely too small for a person of her size. He also motions to take anything she wishes from the table to eat later, there are several half full bowls of fruit, and a few baked bread dishes left from dinner.

beli, well beli succeeds in confusing everyone around him as to why he seems so nervous, and sets several people on edge as they come up to talk to him, quickly changing their minds as they approach.
--------------------------------
(assuming soren goes back to the old mans place eventually.)

night passes quietly, nothing but the chirps of crickets in the night, and the occasional owl hooting. In the morning you each awake rested, soren and cage finding the elder man working at the hearth in his house making some form of porridge. ahh good morning my friend, would you like some breakfast, you look like you could use some food with that withered body of yours, or are you four going to be running off without eating?

Gretta awakes to a group of small faces looking down at her, all wide eyed and amazed at the size of this person before them. however seeing her wake up the children all jump back in surprise and start laughing, and poking fun at each other for being "chicken faced wusses who startle like little babies"

and nobody knows if beli actually slept or not that night, only he can know for sure if his nervous tremors died down, and his eyes finally shut or not.

[Starbin]

She heard the whispers before opening her eyes, and wondered who had snuck into her room. "Let me be ..." she murmured. The bed, however, was very uncomfortable, and the pillow unyielding.

With a start, Gretta sat up, her eyes wide open and hand on her axe handle. The children around her jumped back with startled shrieks, staring at her with unabashed wonder. Suddenly, the group dissolved into laughter and merciless teasing of one another. Blinking, Gretta watched for a moment, before the ghost of smile reached her face.

Streching, she rose, pushing her dishevled hair back as she looked around. Near her feet, Belli was curled up, eyes open but soft snore coming from the little creature. Nudging him, Gretta gathered her gear and waited. Looking back to the kids, she pointed at one. "What's your name?

[Moranica]

After the difficult evening Beli found it hard to get any sleep. So far, nothing really bad had happened, though he was sure that could change any moment. He just lay there, curled up, ears and eyes wide open.

The battle from earlier and the meeting with the gnome infestation had taken it's toll though. At some point he must have dosed off, because Gretta woke him up.

"Aahh!! Uhh!! ooh, sorry bout that. You startled me."

Trying to eye everybody, Beli eats his breakfast.

"So, today we leave yes?"


No new spells for Beli. Btw, Beli is a medium spellscale (just a reminder), but he does tend to hunche and look up to everybody else. Except gnomes of course.

[Show]

Cage, having spent something of a restless night, wakes up late and perhaps more irritable than usual. He quietly slinks around for a few minutes before he realizes that no one has produced breakfast, retreating back to his corner to rummage through his pack and halfheartedly bite at a piece of bread.

He eventually gathers his supplies together, surreptitiously dropping them into his sack with no apparent sense of order and making his way over to the greater mass of his companions.

"I suppose we're getting an early start for these gates?"
He speaks without any sense of irony, although by his slovenly methods it is apparent that his idea of "early" lies much closer to noon than any hardened traveler's.

[Starbin]

Not getting any response from the children, Gretta turned her attention to Beli and the sickly Sinclair. "We can leave, but let's ask for food. And supplies, or other ... uh ... stuff."

[gunnar11]

"supply is a word you know, then?" Soren asked, his attention now going from Gretta to the children. He loved kids. Carefree, humble and seemingly unaware of any evil on the world.
" I agree though; supplies first, then journey."
He looked at belli. (was that thing coming along?)

[Starbin]

Gretta's eyes cloud in confusion for a moment, then narrow at the perceived slight from the slick-talker. Just like any other sly-tongued devil, he was smooth if he wanted something, and mean if he didn't.

Fortunately for the man, the axe was not in her hands, but she glared at him for a moment, thinking to herself. I know plenty of words ... like smash ... crush ... maim ... kill ...

She blinked for a moment, surprised at her own vehemence, then turned to gather her gear and stand to the side.

[Moranica]

"Oohh, foodies sound good. Gnome foodies sound bad.... You try suplise first!

Now let's get them, and get out. Beli still don't like it here."