Elements of Power IC

[Kelvin360]

River divides her attention between examining the situation and rifling through her equipment, keeping one hand on her new scimitar. "Another bout, then. I don't think they'll let us alone once we close in, but the only other way into Valtorik is to circle closer to The Barrens. This could be a Glade trap, even. Wouldn't put it past them to switch sides. What should we do?"

For now, the creatures are still a few hundred meters off, and don't seem inclined to come any closer.

[GameSpawn]

Etoris replies to River with a shrug. "Eat breakfast? They don't seem to be attacking, and I would question the wisdom of doing so ourselves."

[Hexalan]

"Eugh...How long have they just been sitting there, staring at us? If they were going to attack us, they'd of done in the middle of the night while half of us were asleep." Nodra takes his spyglass and looks at the beasties in the distance.

Spot [roll0] to see what the creatures look like, what they're doing, etc.

[GameSpawn]

"They haven't been there long, so far as I can tell."

[esorscher]

"If they stand in our way, I say destroy them. If not, then let's go around."

[Kelvin360]

Under closer inspection, you can make out details that seem very...unnerving. Of the things that keep coming out of cover, no single one looks the same way twice. They're all the same size - twice yours - but range from jungle cats missing large patches of fur to oversized lions with scorpion tails. Whatever the lot is, it's safe to say that they are not ordinary animals.

[Hexalan]

"Well...they're not real animals, as far as I can tell. They're all big, twice as much as a man, but more than that...there's beasts out there. Right now I can see some sort of jungle cat with patches of fur missing and a...manticore? It seems they're intelligent, so I think we can reason with them."

[GameSpawn]

"Tzadhika raises an important point. Do we need to go past the creatures, or can we go around them? River?" He turns to Nodra, "If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to take a look through your spyglass. Perhaps I can identify them."

[Hexalan]

"I'd like to know what they're doing there. It'd be very unpleasant if they were friendly Barreners and we suddenly attacked them without provocation. It'd be similarly unpleasant if they were unfriendly Barreners and we were massacred." Nodra hands Etoris his spyglass. "Here. You know those magical beasts better than I do."

Knowledge (Warfare) [roll0] to know if those creatures are some kind of war mount engineered by armies past.

[GameSpawn]

Etoris takes the spyglass. "Just so. I did not mean to apply that if they were in our way we should immediately resort to violence." He raises the spyglass to his eye, examining the creatures.

I'm going to make a knowledge check with a +6 modifier, which is my modifier for Knowledge (Arcana). If Knowledge (the Planes) or Knowledge (Religion) is the relevant skill, I have a +7 modifier. Otherwise, I have a +1 modifier, and the check is untrained (I have 5 ranks in history as well, but I don't think that has any monsters associated with it). [roll0]

"I could perform an augury, of course, to see whether moving down would benefit us or not."

[Kelvin360]

A Favored Communionist of Olidammara would take one look at those odds and run the other way. Anything that comes out of the Barrens is thoroughly in-tameable, and the Glade doesn't have steeds so much as animals with ceasefire agreements, and even those aren't magical beasts.

It takes you a moment to notice something strange about the creatures. Each one that comes out shares one or two physical details in common with the previous one, but each of them seem otherwise unique. After a while, it becomes clear that what you're looking it is one or two beings constantly shapeshifting into various unnatural animal-like forms and then re-appearing.

"Color me stumped." River shrugs. "All I know is that our odds of survival are inversely proportionate to how close we are to the Edge. Still, I can't see why the Glade would fully throw us out. And we still haven't seen hide nor hair of Fay'arra. Could be coincidence, could be illusion, could be a test. And I don't like any of those options."

[GameSpawn]

Etoris lowers the spyglass and offers it back to Nodra. "It seems to me that there's actually only one or two creatures. They just keep shapeshifting, so it looks like there are more of them. Unfortunately, I don't know exactly what they are. I can still ask the earth if we should attempt to walk past them without engaging."

[Hexalan]

"That's...better, I suppose. We know they're intelligent; actively using subterfuge to confuse us. Of course, they are using subterfuge to confuse us. They've got something to hide. Or maybe they're just trying to scare us off by appearing to be numerous than they really are?"

[GameSpawn]

Etoris shrugs, "Speculation is speculation. Should I perform an augury or should we just walk down and found out?"

[esorscher]

Normally Tzadhika would charge in without much thought, but the apparent numbers and the strange shape of the creatures concerns her. "Save your spells. We can approach with caution and see if they attack us. I'll lead, in case they do." She takes steps in that direction.

[GameSpawn]

Etoris hops up after the barbarian. "Well off we go then."

[Hexalan]

"This couldn't possibly go wrong." Nodra makes sure to acquire his weapons and follows.

[Kelvin360]

"We'll stay here in case something tries for a rear assault." River says, nodding at Kyrios. "Good luck storming the brush."

On your approach, the creature(s) responsible for your concern has ceased its movements, for the most part. Its head and front half remain visible; its face is half goat and half human skull, with a mane of spines not unlike dozens of rose stems. Its paws are similar to those of a lion, but with no claws. However, it makes no indication of hostility. Rather, once you are in range, it speaks in a soft, growling tone. "Why come you here, meatlings?"

[Hexalan]

Nodra holds his hands up nonthreateningly. "We are going from one place to another. We have no intention to hunt in the place which is yours, or disturb you."


Sense Motive [roll0] to figure out his disposition

[Kelvin360]

It's Unfriendly, but not towards you, specifically. You get the sense that it doesn't have so much intelligence that it won't jump straight to mauling given suitable provocation, though.

[GameSpawn]

Etoris waits to see how the creature responds to Nodra's words before taking action.

[Kelvin360]

The creature snarls softly, confused. Its mane spontaneously molts, replaced instantly by an array of magnificent gold feathers, and scales begin to adorn its main body. In speaks in as close a tone as it can manage to an adult explaining something simple to a child. "Do...not then. Consumed, before you are flee."

[esorscher]

Tzadhika whispers to Nodra. "See if he will let us through, or what it will take for him to let us through." For once, she would rather solve things through peace rather than slashing.

[GameSpawn]

Etoris pauses, moving his hands back and forth and tilting his head from side to side before venturing a guess at the creature's meaning, "So, you mean, we should not hunt, since we have no intention to, and should flee before we are consumed?"

Not sure if a diplomacy check is necessary (I just want it to answer yes or no), but if it is: [roll0]

[Hexalan]

Diplomacy [roll0], assisting Etoris
Sense Motive [roll1], to get a better sense of what he's going on about

[Kelvin360]

It's attempting to warn you off from your progress. It appears to think that the danger inherent in pursuing your goals is obvious, but said danger isn't the creature inquestion or, if it is, he/she/it's part of a collective.

"Yes..." Its voice slowly adjusts from feral growling to a soft whisper reminiscent of the sound a sleeping dog makes. "No. Both. Whole are you. So remain - the touch rot will desanctify you not. Dawn is breaking. Fire is coming. From trees felled and smoke thick flee, trespass and...longer...no. No? Yes." It shakes its massive head.

[Hexalan]

Nodra whispers back at Etoris and Tzadhika. "He's trying to tell us that something is ahead, something that is always ahead, and obvious."

Nodra speaks again to the creature. "The touch rot? Do you mean the mists of the Barrens? Or are we entering another's territory, a great beast of fire?"

Possibly necessary Diplomacy [roll0] to acquire information on the things which may or may not be ahead
Sense Motive [roll]1d10+10[roll] to get a better sense of what he's going on about.

[GameSpawn]

Etoris shrugs, and responds cheerily, "Well, so long as this fellow isn't going to try to stop us, I suppose we can proceed. I'll inform our compatriots." He turns back, walking toward the camp.

Assuming he makes it back:

"Good news, River, Kyrios: This fellow doesn't appear to mean us any harm, though he speaks of as yet unspecified danger ahead. It seems we can keep moving."

[Kelvin360]

The gist of it is: Abandon hope, all ye who enter here.

"Like the watchers. Fools." It growls and follows Etoris' lead, leaping back into the forest as the shugenja moves back to camp.

---

River frowns. "'Unspecified' doesn't cheer me, but it doesn't surprise me, either. Any chance it's a druidic mind game?"

[Hexalan]

Nodra stares at the creature bound off for a moment, then turns and follows Etoris back to camp.

"If it was the Druids, I think they would have been more straightforward with keeping us out. That seemed more like a genuine native of the Barrens, giving us a warning of something real and dangerous, or at least, what he thinks is real and dangerous. 'Trees felled and smoke'...I don't think the Druids would harm their own forest to get at us. 'So remain - the touch rot will desanctify you not'...the creature seems to think the Mists of the Barrens are safer than whatever is out there.

It mentioned the Dawn. I'd say to hide out in the trees until we are certain there is nothing, but whatever might be there seems to come from the trees..."

Knowledge (History) [roll0] for terrible ancient beasts of smoke and flame.

[Kelvin360]

The most obvious answer would be 'a dragon', but reds tend to steer clear of the Glade. Having a bunch of angry druids on your tail is a clear-cut 'no win' scenario. Given The Barren's proximity, some form of mystical aberration might have surfaced from The Valley of the Eyes. From the common chimera to something as strange as a fire-breathing spider.

[GameSpawn]

"Hmm." Etoris contemplates the words, "Is it possible to move around this area, staying further from the Barren's? We don't want to take too long to get where we're going, after all, so waiting might not be in our best interest."

[Kelvin360]

"How far can you swim? The edge of the forest goes South until it hits the Breaking Sea. If we had naval transport, we could head straight to Poralac, but that's not in the cards." River glances at her side. "How about it, bag?" She reaches down and pulls out a scroll. When she reads it, she rolls her eyes. "Water Breathing. Cute."

[GameSpawn]

Etoris chuckles lightly. "Through then? Well, I don't personally see a need to wait."

[esorscher]

"Me neither. I'm tired of talking. Let's get going." Tzadhika says, characteristically brusque.

[Hexalan]

Nodra snorts, and shrugs his shoulders. "Onward, then."

[Kelvin360]

Once again, your party stands on the verdant border between what once was a landscape as vibrant as its brother to the Northeast and the first leg of your journey. This time, however, you step over the threshold, secure and unburdened by any mundane obstacle, for now. The tilting tree trunks and curling bushes add a dizzying array of accompaniment to the otherwise uncrowded forest floor, and after a few minutes, the local creatures seem to become used to your presence, bursting into soft yips, chirps, and chittering sounds, casting a low, constant hum around the occasional snap or brush of your footsteps. Whether this is comforting or unnerving is for the individual to decide.

However, something odd about the situation has not gone unnoticed by your ward. "This doesn't feel right. Shouldn't our guide have been here by now? I don't much like tromping through unfamiliar territory - does anyone know where we're going?"

Feel free to add Survival and Listen checks to your responses.

[GameSpawn]

Etoris looks at River in slight confusion, "Well, to be perfectly honest, I had been under the impression you were directing us." He glances about the area around him, searching for anything of note.

Listen: [roll0]
I'll do spot too, as it seems to fit what he's actually doing: [roll1]

[Hexalan]

Nodra looks around.

After a moment, he closes his eyes, leans against a tree, and listens to the world around him. "Do we know anything of our guide-to-be?"


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

And, about what time of day is it now?

[Kelvin360]

It is just past dawn, though the trees make it difficult to tell with absolute certainty. As for your examinations, you see nothing out of place.

River pauses alongside Nodra, glancing around uncomfortably. "Some sort of former refugee, I gather. Not friends with the grove, part of a guild or somesuch that doesn't exist anymore. She's your contact; I was told only the bare minimum."