A Sleepy Little Village [IC Team 1]

[Flash in't Pan]

DM

The day had dawned bright with a slight hint of mist as the little village slept on nestled in the safety of its river and cliffs as it always did. The only people up this early were farmers, bakers and the other tradesmen who needed to ensure their wares were ready for the rest of the village waking up.

No-one else that is apart from a slightly eclectic mix of a group of five people striking out from town. Not a single eyelid was batted in their direction after all it was rare if ever anyone left town there was no need to. Everything was provided and everyone lived happily, that is apart from these five who were affected by the oldest of curses, wanderlust.

Who knew where this day would take them, who knew where they were headed?

No-one, except themselves, ready to make a name for themselves and their own personal mark on this world.

[GFawkes]

Liluye lands on Veravel's shoulder, a fieldmouse held in her beak.

"Very impressive. Though it's more of a meal for you than it is for me." Veravel says to her. Turning to the rest of the group, he eyes them up. The eldest man in town, a farmgirl, the son of a blacksmith, and a gravedigger. Nothing really prepared to travel more than a few hundred feet from the most outlying farm. He'd heard that the elder had traveled a bit when he was younger, but age can be a terrible thing to those who travel.

"So, any ideas where we're headed?" he asks the group as a whole.

[Tegannie]

Alexi stood there quietly, waiting to leave, both nervous and excited about her upcoming adventure. "Does the destination even matter?"

[Marlowe]

Walker turned her head slightly; "That that we reach will be our destination. My instructions were disagreeably unspecific".

She turned her eyes back to the trail, "I had hoped to obtain a pack animal and supplies ere we left the village, but was frustrated by the excitement of our departure. I hope I can make up this need as we go.". I can probably hunt for myself, and the group if need. But it's possible some of the group may have ethical reservations on this leading to internal conflict. A result to be avoided unless matters have become really tiresome, she thought.

She scanned the surroundings and turned her thoughts to assessing her companions, a useful chain of thought in case they encountered armed unpleasantness or if she ever found herself needing to kill one, some or all of them.

The bouncy young man with the pet avian seemed competent, although why somebody would like to shackle themselves spiritually to a barely-sentient creature when the voices of the dead were never quiet was a mystery to her.

The bearded mage was older even than Keeper had been and put Walker in mind of her former duty. She thought she had seen a picture of him once in a book. Fighting a pink dragon. He had won, she remembered. That presumably indicated usefulness.

She didn't know what to think about the Halfling, or the carefree young lady with no weapons. Perhaps future events would provide her with more information.

[Daftendirekt]

Standing in the shade of a small tree, Delgar's attention seems to be mainly on the small tawny owl perched upon the top of his walking stick. He puffs absently upon a carved wooden pipe, its blue-grey smoke hovering in a haze around him as he stares intently at the owl, talking quite seriously to it and paying no attention whatsoever to the rest of the group.

"Now, stop being so dodgy Archimedes. I know I had that letter opener yesterday. What did you do with it? It was a very nice one. Three or four feet long, covered in colorful bits of glass and glowing somethin' fierce. I know you couldn't hide it under those scrawny wings of yours, so where is it?!"

[Marlowe]

Walker listened to the Mage until she ascertained his words had nothing to do with where they were going. Then she stepped on down the trail, away from the village.

This was a trail, they would follow it, as was done with trails. Trails lead somewhere, else they would not be trails, therefore they would head somewhere. If they arrived nowhere they would solve that metaphysical conundrum when they found it.

Two of them have birds. She thought, should I have a bird too? I did not know they were mandatory.

[Marlowe]

Let me guess: The die roller doesn't work as an edit?

Making a survival check to get an idea of surroundings:
[roll0]

[Flash in't Pan]

DM

Wandering for about an hour away from the village your small group starts to pass the outlying farms that attend to the villages needs and even the logging and quarry trails.

Birds are rampant in the air - flocks of smaller birds flying with an occasional hunter floating by on a thermal further over. Possible routes from here on out could be;

The trail into the mountains to go exploring and possibly even see the sea.
The trail that leads into the forested surrounds and who knows what lies deeper in there?
Or even south-eastely towards lands unchartered and unknown altogether.

Walker;


The trail into the forest would appear to be easier at this point but is uncharted the further in your group would go.

The trail into the mountains is a fairly well traversed route, at least as far as the quarry and the cliamte should still be quite mild at this time of year.


Housekeeping aside


Just to clarify - die roller doesn't work as an edit, if possible pop them in the OOC thread if its not in your first post, :smallsmile:

[Tegannie]

Walking down the path, Alexi surveyed her companions. The old man reminded her of her master, and she had always enjoyed his stories and admired his capacity for knowledge. The man with hawk, she remembered, had occasionally given her father and the other farmers trouble. The girl and the halfling she had seen, but never met. Well, now's our chance to meet, I suppose. I wonder if I should introduce myself.

Upon coming to the fork in the road, Alexi waits for another to pick a direction. To her, the direction didn't matter, and she didn't want to take lead unless she had to. I hope they the forested road.

[Marlowe]

Walker stopped and listened. The Dead were loud here, and came with feathers and bright plumage. As usual, they weren't going to be much help.

"Over the mountains to the sea is known, and well-travelled. Easy and mild.", she said quietly. "The forest path looks easy now, unknown later. The unknown route to the south-east is as unknown as itself."

She half-turned to face the others; "I have no preference."

She waited for the group to decide, and wished the birds would be silent.

[Atemus]

"I've heard rumors about something going on n the forest. I think we should go and check that out, there might be something there, or least we can disprove a rumor."

[Marlowe]

Walker locked her eyes on the Halfling. It was the first time she'd noticed him speaking and was, relatively, a significant event. "A shadowy, half-formed hint is one worth our time investigating", she said.

The Halfling presumably knew more than what he was saying. She didn't need the whispering in her ears to tell her that. If he's not volunteering the information now, he is not likely to volunteer more without certain actions precluding "friendship". I was told to seek "friends", so I will not attempt such. Yes, this logic is satisfying.

"I remind you of my earlier misgiving concerning supplies. However, the forest may make for good forage. Your proposal is agreeable."

[Daftendirekt]

Delgar stands silently, eyes squinting as he stares off to the southeast. He scratches idly at his jaw through his long, grey beard. He then pets Archimedes on the top of his head before transferring the owl from his staff to his shoulder. Taking a puff of his pipe, he notices that it has quite gone out, and with a grumble of discontent he empties its spent contents onto the ground before slipping the pipe into one of his many pockets.

"Well, if Archimedes here doesn't have it, perhaps someone that way does. I seem to recall a place with lots of sand, and there was another with lots of pointy-eared people that liked to sing. And for some reason, I can't shake the image of a pink dragon. Insanity!"

[GFawkes]

"Aye. The forest is one of the best places to hunt and gather in. I once found a bush whose leaves had the most exquisite sting to them that went amazingly well with the meat I had that evening." Veravel replies to Walker.

[Marlowe]

He does eat meat, thought Walker, looking from the Mage to the Druid. That will simplify arrangements.

"I will take the lead then, until noon. Then the Druid", she said.

She turned down the forest road, moving more cautiously than before, testing the ground before her with the shaft of her spear. I must keep my eyes open for signs of game, and for darker things too.

Survival check: [roll0]
Spot check: [roll1]
Listen: [roll2]

I wonder if these people have names.

[Atemus]

John falls inline with the group. He keeps to the back, quietly watching each of the members, and keeping an eye on the woods around them.


Spot:[roll0]
Listen:[roll1]

[Flash in't Pan]

DM

Walker sets the pace brisk but not too fast or too harsh through the forest whilst keeping an eye and ear out. She spots numerous small game trails, those left behind by rabbits and occasionally a deer - though the noise of the group is probably loud enough to scare off all of the deer.

The outskirts of the lumber camp that supplies the town is left behind after barely 15 minutes, its at the outskirts of the forest and as such no one needs venture deeper into the forest.

About an hour later travel slows down and the larger game trails are becoming less and less well traversed. Its not yet slogging and forging your own path although you get the idea that it well may go that way.

With the sun shining through the forest canopy it is warm enough and has small birds chirping around in the trees nearby as well as the occasional squeak of smaller animals it is a gentle and enjoyable journey.

The sun shines almost directly down from above and signals that it is about mid-day, at the same time your small group comes to a stream running directly across the game trail and as far as you can see both left and right. It is about 12 feet across and whilst not all that fast running it seems to be running clear and deep with a gentle gurgle as it laps the banks.

All;

We could do with an active spot check here guys.

[Atemus]

John looks around, making sure there's nothing else around. He eyes the far side of the river, looking for anything he could catch a rope on. He then looks into the river, seeing if he could gage the depth a all.



Spot surroundings:[roll0]
Listen surroundings:[roll1]
Spot far side:[roll2]
Spot river:[roll3]

[Daftendirekt]

Delgar picks something absently out of his beard, looks at it, and then peers around as if surprised to find them all standing near a stream. He stick his hand in one of his several pouches, pulls out a half-eaten biscuit, and nibbles on it while looking around at the trees and cross the stream.

Spot [roll0]

[GFawkes]

Veravel looks around, trying to absorb the knowledge of the area. The bend of the stream, the distance between trees, etc.

Spot check:
Knowledge (Nature) to know things about the local area: [roll]1d20+p

[Tegannie]

Alexi looks around, looking for a way to get across the river. She bends down near the river to refill her waterskin, trying to judge the depth.

Spot:

Listen:
[roll1]
And, just in case, Survival:
[roll]1do20+3

[Marlowe]

"Wait", says Walker quietly, putting a hand on the Monk's shoulder. "Test it with a branch". Her Longspear would do as well, but she's got no desire to dunk her best weapon.

She looks around for a fallen branch long enough to probe the stream trying to stay alert to the surrounding forest as she does so.

Survival:[roll0]
Spot:[roll1]
Listen:[roll2]

[Flash in't Pan]

DM

The stream runs gurgling by as people have a good look around and a quick check for suitable materials of testing its depth. The contemplation and concentration of people is broken by Delgar's bird having it's belly grumble.

No one spots anything out of the orginary, but there is what appears to be a rabbits warren about 15 feet away, and the telltale bubbles of a very large shoal of river fish close to the bank hiding in the roots of what appears to be a large willow tree.

Walker;


The longest loose branch on the floor you see appears to be about 8 foot long.


Veravel


Nothing out of the ordinary about this location or at least not that is common knowledge.

[Daftendirekt]

Delgar jumps back in surprise at hearing a loud rumbling right next to his ear, and Archimedes nearly falls off his shoulder, flapping his wings wildly -- batting Delgar in the head several times in the process - and squawking loudly. After the pair calms down, the old man offers the rest of the biscuit to the owl. Dusting his hands off, he pulls back out his pipe and his pouch of pipe-weed, packing the bowl. Patting all his pockets, he realizes he doesn't have a tindertwig anywhere.

"Pygmies!" he curses loudly, kicking a stone into the stream and stomping away angrily.

[Tegannie]

Alexi stood up, surprised at the speed of the water. It looks so calm on the surface. She realized that she knew very little about the wildness.

"Perhaps you are right." She said to the other girl.

I wish someone would start introductions. I know Delgar, and the hawk-man's name is Veriel, or something like that, but I'd like to know the others' names too. I may rely on them to survive at some point, especially in this wildness.

"I'm Alexi, by the way. she says, shyly, to the group as a whole. I figure we should at least know each other's names if we are to be traveling together.

[Marlowe]

Walker begins prodding the branch into the stream, testing the water depth and the nature of the bottom. The trail crossed the stream, so presumably others before had found it easy enough to cross before, but running water had its dangers, and things could drift in.

She registered the other girl had spoken.

"I don't have a name",she said."I was Little Keeper. Watcher over bones and ash. Now I am Walker. These words are not names. You don't have a weapon.". She was grateful for the other girl taking some sort of initiative, even if the timing seemed peculiar.

[Tegannie]

Who doesn't have a name. Alexi wasn't going to inquire about the girl's lack of a name.
"I do carry weapons, in fact.". Alexi pulled out her siangham and her sling. "I can use both of these, although I've never been able to aim well with the sling. I can also fight without a weapon. I prefer it, in fact. I hope to eventually be able to combine attacking with the siangham and my punch and kick attacks." .
Her studies were one of the few things Alexi could talk about easily and with any confidence.

[Marlowe]

Walker looked at the girl, looked at her weapons, looked at the girl again. Eye contact is important in polite communication. I must be polite, she thought. "I am sure they will be very useful if the rabbits prove hostile", she said.

She looked back at the stream. "I wonder if this is the same stream in which we disposed of certain bodies. If so, it should have good fishing". She was sure her new friend would be pleased with this sound reasoning. "Have you a net or a fish-hook?"

[Daftendirekt]

Talking around the unlit pipe in his mouth, Delgar for once becomes aware of the presence of the rest of the party as he turns to address them.

"Unless one of you is aware of a bridge nearby, I think felling a tree would be the most expedient course of action. When's lunch?" he finishes confusedly, turning away and muttering to himself in a strange, guttural language.

[Marlowe]

Walker turned her head to face the Mage. He is aware of his surroundings, she thought. I had begun to think that he was simple.

Nonetheless, he seemed to have missed something obvious. "The trail continues beyond the stream. It follows that others before us have found this stream an insignificant linear obstacle. I am attempting to ascertain the precise degree of significance right now. Felling a tree may lead to flooding, to the displeasure of the forest inhabitants, to possible conflict and inconvenience followed by death. If such is agreeable to you, please let me know your preferred method of burial."

She took a breath. This is the longest speech she could remember delivering. Still, it was important to be polite and make her new friends fully aware of all options. "I am trained in earth burial, air burial, seaborn burial and in cremation". Her eyes flicked to the Mage's pipe. "In your case, cremation would seem to be most thematically appropriate. Also, we could roast rabbit over your pyre"..

She was sure her new friends would appreciate her concern.

[Tegannie]

Alexi frowned, not liking the talk of death and burial. I came on this adventure to experience life, not to die. Does this girl enjoy talking about death? I mean, I could start telling everyone about the best ways to keep potato bugs off your plants and how far apart to plant corn, but I don't.

"Well, I'm sure we won't be needing burial anytime soon." Alexi turned to the group as a whole. "I have a fish hook if we want to stop here for a bit and fish. I could use a break, but I have some trail rations I can eat if we don't feel like stopping long enough to fish, or hunt, or forage. Walker, Verial, is the water shallow enough to cross?"


And yes, I am purposely getting Veravel's name wrong.

[Daftendirekt]

"Burial? Oh, I'm quite sure that won't be a problem. My death shall be quite fiery. There will be nothing left to bury."

[Marlowe]

Walker (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=393401)

She nods."An elegant solution", and turns back to testing the waters.

IF the water appears shallow and the bottom appears clear and not too soft, Walker will try wading across, using her Longspear as a brace. If the current is strong enough, in her estimation, to inconvenience or endanger any of the others, she'll ask for some rope so the strongest in the party can cross with it and secure a safety-line. Once everyone's across, she'll go fish.

If it appears the stream is too deep at this point, she will suggest heading upstream for a better crossing-point, but will be happy getting some fishing done first, or maybe take a try at spearing a rabbit. In that case then SURVIVAL:[roll0]

In both cases she will avoid getting any water in her mouth just now if she can help it.

A break would be welcome, but I would prefer if we crossed before we eat She wondered absently if any of the party were actually proficient with an axe.

[Flash in't Pan]

DM

The stream does indeed have a visible trail on the other side, leading almost directly away from the trail on your side of the stream.

As Walker dips the branch into the water its grabbed out of her hands and she almost falls in after it only just catching herself on the bank in time. She ends up causing a large splash soaking herself from head to foot and catching everyone else with ice cold water as well. It would appear she was lucky not to fall in after the branch.

It would appear that the branch was grabbed by nothing more than a very very swift current flowing just under the almost gentle surface of the stream.

[Tegannie]

That would appear to answer my question. Well what now?

[Marlowe]

Walker (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=393401).
"That's...interesting", said Walker. And not very natural. She stares at the brook for a long moment.

"Miss Alexi, I believe we will go with your Luncheon Plan, then look upstream for a better crossing point. I no longer trust appearances here", because a current strong enough to wrench a branch from my hands and not show upon the surface is a strange thing indeed. Also-" she realizes she has nothing to gain by not sharing her thoughts. "We should be past the season of snow-melt by now [OOC: because the mountains have already been described as easy to pass], yet the water is ice-cold and the current strangely potent. I am sorry if I splashed you. I think we should be careful what we touch."

She stares across the stream to the trail on the other side. No, I don't trust this place at all. She casts a Detect magic towards the stream before her and the trail on the opposite bank.

Her eyes widen. "Hexe-", briefly slipping into Infernal. "Strong magic. Miss Alexi, if you have drawn water from this brook, I suggest you dump it now." She steps back from the brink, drying herself with her cloak and taking up her longspear. Much as I am grateful for Keeper's care and training, I wish he had at some point invested in a cold iron weapon. .

[Marlowe]

[Seriously time for some more checks]
Spot: [roll0]
Listen: [roll1]
aaaand the biggy; SPELLCRAFT: [roll2]
The standard DC on this sort of thing is almost impossible at this level. But Walker don't know that.

[Daftendirekt]

"Magic?" says Delgar sharply, suddenly becoming quite alert. "What sort? Tell me what you discerned."

His eyes stare at Walker like a hawk's, utterly different from the confused old man from a moment before.

[Marlowe]

Walker's (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=393401) head snaps around ninety degrees (because sometimes you have to do things half-way) and meet the old man's. "The water is drenched in magic. It shines like a torch. Including that which splashed us. I would advise against a drink just now. If you are able, please help me understand what effect is at work here".

[Daftendirekt]

Knowledge (Arcana) check: [roll0]
Spellcraft check: [roll1]

[Marlowe]

I can ask the dead. For what use they ever are.
Knowledge:Arcana [roll0]
Knowledge: Religion [roll1]
and a real longshot
Knowledge: History [roll2]

This stinks of the Fey. I wonder what the Druid can tell us.

[Tegannie]

Magic?

Alexi quickly poured out her water and raised her fists, prepared to fight.

Checks:
Spot:
[roll0]
Listen:
[roll1]

[Flash in't Pan]

DM

A few moments have passed since Walkers initial reaction to the water and everyone flying into a flurry of activity. Nothing appears to be threatening the group, in fact everything seems to be exactly the same as it was since the group arrived and has been since. Well minus the fact that there is a large branch missing from the ground around you.

Surprisingly the branch doesn't appear to have resurfaced anywhere along the river and hasn't left any ripples from where it fell into the river at all.

Then a slightly strange thing does start to happen, the first item to have touched the water at all - Alexi's water skin starts to smoke and have holes appear from where it was immersed in the water....

Walker;


You can see nothing or hear nothing new or out of the ordinary compared to what was already there.

You have absolutley no idea what the spell is - however you can tell that it is necromantic in nature, overlaid with both abjuration and conjuration - every single one of them glowing massivley and absolutley lighting the area up.

With regards to your religion role - bingo! You remember somewhere being mentioned that Donoos, Oa & Ui combined to throw an ancient being of immeasurable power into a magic river that left no trace of anything that went below the waterline with water that ate away at anything attempting to get below it.


Delgar;


You have never heard of anything or can even think of anything that could come close to such a feat, although for some reason you simply can't get the image of a pink dragon from out of your head.

[Daftendirekt]

"Pygmies!" Delgar curses again, kicking another pebble into the stream as he waves his staff around in an effort to dispel the pink dragon. Archimedes finally has enough of his master flailing around, and flies over to a more stable perch -- one of the lower branches on a nearby tree.

[Tegannie]

ACK!

Alexi pulled her waterskin from her pack as it started to smoke and threw it to the ground. She turned to Walker and the wizard:
What is going on!?

[Marlowe]

"Necromancy. Some binding magic. Some conjuring", purrs Walker, "I recall a tale; That the gods bound an eldritch and malign being into such a river such as this. A river that looks calm, but rages beneath the surface. A river that eats what it touches. I also seem to remember it had something to do with causing Third Impact by making contact between the Mother of the Black Moon and the Rose Bride to smash the world's shell and bring about the revolution of the world, but I am dubious about that".
I aced the Knowledge/Religion but fumbled the Knowledge/History:smallredface:

"The corrosive effect seems only to effect non-living tissue, since we are currently not writhing in pain as the water eats at our flesh. Also I sense no illusion and yet we can see fish-sign. However, I would not swim in this stream", she turns to Alexi. "Did you say something?'.

Alexi;
seriously, I don't know. Are you talking or thinking?

As she looks at Alexi, her eyes briefly dilate. One of her whisperers has whispered something useful for a change."...that eats what goes below...that's it", she says. "The supernatural effect requires a certain depth of water. Your waterskin is endangered because its shape allowed the water to achieve that certain depth. The fish are spared because as creatures native to the stream, they are already part of the "below" and have no reason to "go" there. They are protected by strict interpretation of rules as written."

Clever. So what next, girl?, something whispered. Bad child. Be quiet.

"Does anyone have a rope that can be spared? We could try tying it to a tree and throwing in the other end. If we are unlucky, we lose the rope. If lucky, it might pull down the tree and give us a bridge. The forest children can bill me."

[Tegannie]

"I asked what was going on."

Sorry for the confusion, I forgot the "s :smallredface:

Necromancy? I didn't expect to run into such a thing out here, so soon. I didn't except problems until much later.

"I'm sorry, I didn't bring any rope. I'm afraid I may be somewhat useless in this situation, since I don't know much about magic. I can throw the rope, I suppose..."

[Marlowe]

"I was planning to buy such supplies when I had a mule to carry them, but there was no mule to be had. It is something we should think about", Walker says.

"I do not think what you know or not know puts you any more at a loss here than-" she shrugs towards the old man and the druid "-we are. This is not something we can solve with an orison. SOMETHING uses this path, so something crosses the brook, but we don't know how. All the whisperings of my children woven taut cannot support an ounce of my weight on water. I think-" she looks upward, looking for tree branches extending over the water. "I think we need to find a log long enough to span the gap. Failing that, try upriver. First though; I'm going to find something to eat"

Survival:[roll0]

[Flash in't Pan]

DM

Casting an appraising eye around - there would be several places on this side of the bank to tie a rope off as well as several on the other side which you could attempt to lasso and to pull taught afterwards.

In fact one of the most likely looking places on this side of the bank would be the tree Archimedes has chosen as a perch, it is thick around the middle and well substantiated all over. It is a massive ancient oak that is easily 20 foot around its middle and would serve well in such a purpose.

Walker finds multiple edible fruit and berries as well as roots from local plants, more than enough for everyone in the group to eat their fill.

Walker;


You also see multiple animal tracks that indicate any number of small animals you could set traps or snares for.

There are also the telltale bubbles and multiple other signs of a large shoal of fish nestled in the roots of the willow tree on the edge of the bank.

[Marlowe]

Walker would like meat, but with water suddenly such a dangerous commodity she's rather grateful not to get the stink of butchery on her hands. She sits with her back to a stout tree, her spear across her knees, and spreads her catch of berries before her, waving a hand to Alexi to join in.

It will be interesting what the others have to contribute. I did not expect "friends" to be so taciturn. I will wait until their thoughts on this situation are known.

She is conscious of having spoken more today than in the last few years. She hopes this does not become a regular thing. Her voice is deeper than she remembers.

[GFawkes]

"Though it pains me to do so, I believe felling a tree is the fastest way across the river. I'd much prefer we seek a way around, or perhaps attempt to leap it," Veravel says, turning to look at Delgar, "though that may not be an option for all of us."

[Marlowe]

"A suggestion. But which of us would have any reason to have bought an axe? The Monk? The Mage? The Druid? The Halfling?", Walker touched hand to her forehead. "I take it none of you have a rope either?"

They're all going to sit here waiting for someone else to fix this. They're not even going to volunteer the negative information that would let us define our options, she thought with sudden clarity.

She stood up and stepped to the bank of the brook. Her hand snaked to the elemental symbols around her neck and closed on the one representing water. I need to shout at something. She felt the energy that is life's shadow fill her and her voice welled up, sounding oddly distorted to her ears. "Fell, fallen, failed child. Let us pass."
Rebuke Undead:
This is such a random idea. But I'm going to burn 3 turning checks just to make sure.
Check:[roll0] Damage [roll1]
Check:[roll2] Damage [roll3]
Check:[roll4] Damage [roll5]

[Daftendirekt]

Delgar looks up from cleaning dirt out from beneath his fingernails with his dagger as Walker shouts at the stream. And people said he was the crazy one. Then he walks over to stand beneath the branch Archimedes was perched upon, and stares sternly up at the owl in an effort to make him come down.

"I don't suppose you've got an axe on you, do you?" he asks the owl.

[Tegannie]

What is she doing?

Alexi stared at Walker in awe. There was so little she knew about the world outside her home, especially about magic. Well, she was here to learn, wasn't she?
Whatever she's doing, I hope it'll work.

[Flash in't Pan]

DM

The owl looks down at the wizard like he's some sort of mad old coot but humours him by looking under both of its wings and then its left claw before looking back to Delgar and shaking its head once left and once right, almost in a human manner.

Walker starts to shout at the river, whether she is shouting in frustration at the groups predicament, or simply as a way to relieve stress becomes almost a moot point when something happens. Whether it was something that was expected or not is still to be ascertained.

The river responds, not by parting, not by slowing down but by coalescing. It becomes more substantial and more solid almost directly between the track on the parties side of the bank and the track on the opposite side; the water is still flowing to either side of the bridge and looks as serene as ever. Underneath the bridge now that the top has hardened and coalesced into something that almost resembles being stable you can see underneath. Underneath is something no one has seen before, a raging vortex swirls and flows beneath the water is black, jet black and almost has a slightly red tinge to it that you only catch whilst looking out of the corner of your eye.

[GFawkes]

Seeing the river react, Veravel gives the "bridge" an experimental poke with his staff.

[Tegannie]

"What was that?" Alexi asks Walker. She takes some sling bullets (3) and tosses them on the newly formed bridge.

[GFawkes]

"Whatever it is, it feels solid. Seeing as my staff is no shorter than before, it should be safe to cross."

[Marlowe]

Walker's not in a mood for discussion. Her vision is red-shifted and her mouth tastes of blood, hot iron, ash and almonds. She doesn't want the others close while the black channel is still running through her.

With an explosive snap of "Better.", she steps out onto the bridge, moving fast for the other side.

ASSUMING NOTHING HORRIBLE HAPPENS:

On the opposite bank, she draws herself to the side of the trail to let the others passed, her eyes to the ground as the redness subsides. "Druid, take the lead", her voice sounds like her mouth tastes. "And be cautious. We know now what manner of people use this trail."

[GFawkes]

"I have a name you know," Veravel says indignantly, crossing the bridge and beginning to lead the way through the forest

Survival to avoid getting lost: [roll0]

[Marlowe]

In spite of the turmoil in her head, Walker registers. He has a name I know? But I don't know his name. Then clarity. I see. His name actually is "Druid". That is unimaginative but servicable. She raises her head. A peculiar moment to remind me of this fact. Perhaps he is eccentric, like the Mage..

[Tegannie]

Alexi quickly follows Veravel across the bridge, a little frightened by what jus happened. What have I gotten myself into?

[Daftendirekt]

Delgar motions for Archimedes to come down as he walks away from the tree and hobbles across the strange bridge, glancing down at the strange stream as he does so.

Any new knowledge now that he gets a better look at this strangeness?

Arcana [roll0]
Dungeoneering [roll1]
Planes/History [roll2]

[Flash in't Pan]

DM

The whole group passes over the raging vortex of the water without a hitch, the bridge feels as solid and substantial as any stone bridge you have previously crossed.

The forest on this side of the river seems much the same with a few slight differences. The track now you are stood on it is quite obviously less well travelled and walked, is overgrown moreso than the well worn game trail on the other side of the river.

The bushes are much more overgrown, large fruit and berries appear to be hanging off them that were unseen from the other side. The trees seem slightly more densley packed, and the birdsong seems slightly more muted on this side of the river.

As you start down the path the 'bridge' behind over the river seems to sink back onto the top of the river and the river runs as calm as ever over the top.

The trail twists and turns around the trees and you lose sight of it around 40 feet into the forest.

[Marlowe]

Walker shakes off the red shadows in her head and steps in place at the rear of the party, keeping not less than 15 and no more than 25 feet from the person forward of her. She keeps her attention on the forest around her, listening and looking for signs or sounds of threat, game, and non-cthulhuvian water.

Spot: [roll0]
Listen: [roll1]
Survival: [roll2]
Knowledge/History: [roll3]


OOC: Does a natural 20 on survival mean a freshly-butchered deer randomly falls out of the sky near us?:smallsmile:

[Flash in't Pan]

DM

Walking along the trail through the tree's the party collects small scrapes and bruises from low hanging branches and spiky branches laid out across the path. Small rips are created in clothes as branches catch and pull into the lower part of the groups pants.

As she walks along Walker collects great handfuls of edible berries as well as low hanging bright red ripe fruit. The fruits have a sweet and sticky juice and as they are so ripe the sweet nectar flows freely down hands and chins where they are bitten in to.

About an hour or two pass when the trees are starting to get noticebly thinner. The game trail peters out and there ahead of the group is what can only be described as a massive lake. The lake however has no visible river leading into it, but doesn't look swampy enough to be just a collected depression of water. Even more surprising is the island in the middle of the lake. The word island might be a little bit flattering. A huge piece of rock rises out of the middle of this lake reaching towards the sky like a rocky finger that points straight up. There do appear to be caves scattered around the large lump of rock that is almost mountainous in height.

[Marlowe]

"This time",says Walker, "Somebody else test the water'..

[Daftendirekt]

Delgar shuffles up to the water and kicks a pebble in, muttering 'pygmies...' to himself as he does it. He then sneezes loudly and wipes off his nose on the sleeve of his nondescript gray robe. He idly scratches his behind with his free hand and coughs loudly, looking about as if confused about where he is before turning and walking away from the lake.

[Tegannie]

Hopefully this water's safe, I'm really thirsty now
"Can any of you mages sense anything about this water?"
Maybe I'll try the stick thing that Walker tried...


Alexi looked around, searching for a stick log enough to test the water from the shore.

[Marlowe]

Walker clenches her fingers on the shaft of her spear, just for a moment. "I have no suitable orisons remaining. In a few hours the day will fail. I can meditate then, and prepare new ones. I will be able to summon fresh water, and scan the lake for magic. But it should not reasonably come to that."

She turned herself to face the group. "Mage. Druid. You have heard what is needful. You should know what is needful. You have cast no spells today. You. Have. Done. Nothing. Today. Kindly check the lake for magic. If you cannot do that. Then gather firewood. Fish. Cut bait. Do something"

[Daftendirekt]

The old wizard turns and walks straight up to Walker, suddenly not vague or confused at all. He stares at her, eyes like a hawk's, face stern underneath his long grey beard and bushy eyebrows.

"Mind your tongue, whelp, and learn respect for your elders. Magic is no triviality. It is best used sparingly, only when needed. There are other ways to test the nature of an object."

With that he raps the young woman on the head with his staff and walks away, pulling out his pipe and packing it with tobacco. Finally finding a tindertwig in his robes, he lights it and puffs away at his pipe while he sits and stares thoughtfully out at the lake. After a few minutes of this, he gets up and looks for the longest branch he can find. While he looks, Archimedes takes off from his shoulder and flies out over the lake towards the rocky monolith; the old wizard occasionally glances up to check the tawny owl's progress. Once he has found a suitably long branch, he will head back to the shore, sticking it in as deep as he can while still maintaining a grip on it. If this produces no ill effect, he will dip the tip of his right foot in.

[Marlowe]

[yeeaaah. That's not gonna happen. Walker's not gonna let people swing bits of wood at her head.]

Walker deflects the staff with the shaft of her spear. Petulant child, she thinks. But what she says is; "I am beginning to understand the appeal of necromancy."

[Tegannie]

Seeing the old mage doing what she was ging to do, Alexi gives up her search for a stick to check the lake.

Well, what do I do now? It seems to be too early to start a camp fire."

"Is there anything you need me to do?" she asks quietly.

Should we write in past or present tense?

[Flash in't Pan]

DM

This lake, apart from the island/mountain in the middle appears to be just a normal lake as Delgar finds out when he kicks a rock in, it sinks rapidly and ripples spread out from its entry point as well as causing a small splash of water.

Alexi finds many fallen branches and sticks that would serve her purpose well and testing the lake at the edge it would appear to be about 6 inches deep thereafter gaining roughly 1 foot of depthness for every 2 feet into the lake up to about 5 foot deep then it suddenly drops off.

Now that the group is closer to the island they can see its pockmarked with caves, goats roam the loose formations of stones freely, and you can even see a couple of bright yellow flowers with every third leaf it would seem being blue.

Whole Group;

I am going to need spot checks now please - OOC rolls is fine but IC is better if you would like to get your character doing something.

[Marlowe]

Walker gives the shape of the distant rock a hard stare. Caves are suspect, she thinks. But goats are not. Goats are proverbially guilty

Oh, spot check: [roll0]

Much as the presence of the animals on the island gives her thought, it has been a fair hike and she would like some meat. She starts hunting for material to make some snares.

Survival:[roll1]

OOC: And I just got my copy of Complete Divine back today and realized that Walker really should be a Spirit Shaman.:smallsigh:

[Daftendirekt]

Delgar is far too busy enjoying the feeling of his foot in the nice cool water to notice anything else.

[Marlowe]

While poking around for good raw materials, Walker registers that she's missed something.

"Alexi, goats are browsers, not grazers. They don't feed on grass and flowers by choice. If forced to do so, they pull the plants up and destroy them. Meaning those goats out there must have some way off and onto the island. Or there would be no flowers and they'd have starved to death. So there should be a causeway around, just under the water level. Or maybe just a line of stones."

She straightens up and looks at the monk. "I need to see what I can catch for supper before I meditate. I don't know if you have forester skills, but if you could scout around the lake and look for this causeway if it exists, please do. Don't go too far. If you encounter difficulties, come straight back--"She gave the rest of the group a Look. "Let us be honest. Come back to me. Is this agreeable?"

[Tegannie]

"Makes sense. I'll get right on that."

Alexi looks for a causeway or some way to get to the island, glad to have something she could contribute.

Search:
[roll0]

[Flash in't Pan]

DM

As the group start upon various activities on the edge of the lake the sun starts to lower itself towards the horizon. It can't be more than an hour or two until nightfall now.

The water flowing over Delgars foot is so cool and relaxing that the wizard appears to be lost in the enjoyment of the moment, and even his owl has got a talon dipped in on the edge of the lake.

Walker attempts to find some material for snares and is succesful in finding several small twigs and branches that would serve well to capture small game. She also finds handy looking tracks of what would appear to be rabbits, or something of a similar size and movement method.

Whilst the rest of the party is occupied Alexi focuses on trying to figure out how the goats have managed to get onto the island.

Alexi;


You see two possibilities - one is that there does indeed appear to be a natural causeway, possibly a sandbar or mudbar that runs just below the surface about 80 feet to your left.

The other possibility although seemingly less likely would be around 140 feet to your right is a series of rocks that jut out of the water ever so slightly and you think that even the doddery old wizard could step from one to another as long as he didn't slip.

[Tegannie]

"Walker, I see two possibilities. I'll go get a better look at them."

Alexi walks over to the left, and tests out the natural causeway, walking a few feet along it.

[Marlowe]

Walker, conscious that a snare doesn't work any better if you stand there staring at it, follows cautiously, testing the footing before her with the shaft of her longspear.

[Hold it, I have set snares, right? I didn't just make 18 on a survival roll to gather twigs?]

[Flash in't Pan]

DM

After staring at one of her snares for a few minutes Walker realises that shes probably not accelerating the process and heads back to the banks of the lake to meet up with the rest of the party.

Walking to the natural causeway on the left, it appears steady enough. Taking time, testing each step forward before taking another seems to grant enough balance that even on the slightly slippery and shifting surface no one falls over or into the lake off the sides of the causeway.

After about 10 minutes of careful progress you two are about halfway across towards the island and can start to make out details on the banks of the island. The trees there seem a little stunted compared to normal, but the bushlife seems to be just as strong and vibrant as elsewhere. There is an abudance of flowering plants and berries on offer, and even the remains of a campfire.

[Marlowe]

Walker continues following Alexi cautiously, as a swim check would not be in her best interest. The campfire is an interesting detail, and an ominous one. But neither as interesting nor as ominous as the detail of what's beneath her feet.

[Tegannie]

Alexi continues on, careful to not fall.