Shadows of an Untold Land [IC]

[Crestfallen]

http://www.mrwallpaper.com/wallpapers/Sunset-Tropical-Island-1920x1080.jpg

A sea of red falls dark in the east, the warm sun glistens over the dimming waters, as the sun falls, its rays pass over it.

The new world... A whole Island... Over night it rose from the depths of the sea itself. Rumors have spread that this new world is inhabited by beings unlike any we've imagined, Humanoids even that live amongst the trees.

Ancestors of the elves we know today? They know not, but they know so little on these creatures....

The people gather in the city of Ouerdome, men, women, elf, gnome, orc, from all sides of the kingdom to hear word on the world ahead.

You heroes find yourselves in the grandest hall in the land, The Orchard of Gods, A beautiful building, walls made of a fine pearl marble, gold weaves its way across the corners of the walls, and plants of all kinds flow freely down the walls sides, Pillars stand, not for a roof to hold, as there is none and the sun shines freely inside, but to reach to the heavens themselves in praise of the gods wondrous work on the land itself.

The hall is filled with humanoids of all types you could imagine, sweaty orcs stand amongst one another, elves keep to themselves or perch themselves with the Ivy's on the walls of the grand hall. Halflings climb shoulders to see, the nicer of the men lift them up for the grand revealing. A lone gnome pushes his way between legs of others to work his way to the front.

Soon the entire hall crouches to their knee, the king emerges at the end of the hall, while he is distant, his voice is powerful, and quivers through the walls, With magic of course, so all may hear his voice. His voice echoes through the city streets as well.

"People of this world, As you know, The world has changed, and a new land has appeared, Our divination is strong, but there is a mystery to the island, as none of our diviners could pierce a force that surrounds the land, but from the distance we did see, There are indeed inhabitants, we know not if they are friendly, hostile, intelligent or stale, but we do know they exist, and it appears they know we exist as well.

We have arranged for a large group of individuals, specifically picked from some of the strongest in the land to travel there, and these brave souls will be the first to greet these new lives and welcome them to our world, we are not their foes, and we shall show them only compassion!

Those of you who are selected, you will be informed of your departure, you have a night to pack your belongings, and you will report here tomorrow to be taken to Enderdream to set sail for the new world.

We fear our magic would fail just as our divination has, so mundane travel it will take!"

Each Player: You feel a voice penetrate your mind, it echoes through the walls of your skull as it speaks.

"Oh Greetings Traveler, You have been watched for many a years now, and It's time to take your skills to the next level!"

"You have been selected as one of Twenty lucky individuals to embark on this journey! If you're not up to the task, That'd be quite disappointing, but I do have a feeling you'll say yes!"

"Pack your things, Grab a drink, and enjoy your last night in Tylia, You wont return for some time I'd reckon"

"If you need any more details, feel free to meet me in the central tower of the mages guild. I'll be waiting!"

"Hehehee!...."

As the voice fades, it leaves as roughly as it came. Either a not-so-talented mage, or someone just stopped caring years ago.

You're now in Ouerdome, You'll spend the night here. Ouerdome is a Metropolis, Its VAST, you can find just about anything here, and it has absolutely the greatest feeling to it.

Very wealthy,
Much beauty
So kindness,
Much Paradise.
Wow.

[TerrickTerran]

Dahlla Whiteash

Of course she was one of the lucky individuals. Dahlla's life revolved around luck. Her life had been quiet for a while. She was ready for some adventure. Sipping on her drink, Dahlla wondered what was going to happen. She didn't mind mundane travel, but what she was sure of was that she needed to find some interesting people to travel with. With that in mind, she looked around at the other people and what they were doing.

[Adunatar]

Any place where he was comfortable, was like home for an outcast like him, and Ouerdome filled that spot just nicely for about three years now. He felt so at home there, among the vast metropolis, with its busy streets and bustling markets, so much that he even thought for a moment that he might not want to leave. The thought haven't persisted for any longer than just an instant, and he angrily brushed it away. Honor above all, as the Bushido codex teaches - and he has been given the greatest honor, and by none less than the Shogun of this land. He shall go to the new lands, and he shall leave the luxuries of the bustling city behind him, without any regret whatsoever. But first, the formalities.

- Domo arigato, unknown messenger-san, - he tried to address the voice in his head, not even sure he's being heard on the other end, - A great honor has been bestowed upon me. Please tell the Shogun, he need not worry - I shall go where the duty calls me, and will defend my comrades to the best of my ability.

Leeroy straightened, and looked around, trying to discern his future comrades by the look on their faces. Failing that (he wasn't hoping for any success anyway), he was planning to head straight to the entertainment district. If he's leaving this welcoming city, he should at least spend the last day enjoying what this place had to offer. And local geisha sounded tempting. Yes, and this cloudy sake that they call "beer", the one with the taste of an orange... "Hoe-garden", or how do the locals call it? Maybe he should take a barrel of it for the trip with him...

[Archmage1]

As she finally reached the great city, Liriel paused for one precious moment to observe the city, to just take in the scenery, the way it almost melded with the forest around it, noting the location of the different sections of the city, including the great gardens. Shrugging, she descended from her tree, nimbly jumping from branch to branch as she headed down, a tiny petal following her around, shaking her head at Liriel's antics.

Once she reaches the city, she heads in, and pauses for a moment, trying to decide where to go.
Lilly, of course, decides to intervene, settling on Liriel's shoulder.
"We should go to the gardens! Come on, it'll be fun! You can see the flowers, and I can say hi!"
Liriel sighs, and tries to fight the inevitable.
"Lilly, don't you want to see the king? I'm sure he will be quite splendid. He might even have flowers of his own. Surely, you don't want to miss your chance, do you?"
Lilly jumps off of Liriel's shoulder, and hovers in front of her.
"Come on! You can see silly kings any day, but flowers are important!"
Liriel sighs once more, shaking her head, but she does start heading towards the gardens, much to the delight of the excited petal.
As they walk, Lilly cheerfully describes the many sorts of flowers she had seen, while Liriel wishes for peace and quiet.
I almost wish I had never met her. Sure, she can be great fun, but she does always want to guide me to do the things she wants to do.

After a short time, the pair, with the petal still cheerily talking, reach the garden, and Liriel starts slowly walking through it, pausing often as Lilly darts off to excitedly examine the flowers.
After they are around half way through(after turning around three times, and going another way a couple of times), the speech starts, prompting another sigh from Liriel.
I suppose we won't be seeing the king after all. I suppose that makes this journey rather pointless, although I suppose meeting Lilly might be considered a good thing. Having a spirit of the forest as a friend never hurts, although... I do wish she were a little more serious.
She would think about more, but Lilly comes back, and excitedly leads her to another flower. True, a lovely flower, but... it is the scene, not the individual items in it, that is truly interesting.

As Lilly cheerily describes how wonderful the flower is, Liriel hears the voice, and starts considering how she might convince Lilly to leave the garden, and see the rest of the city. After a couple of hours(and having walked all over the garden several times), she has an idea.
"Lilly, you know... Maybe they have some other flowers, hidden in other parts of the city. Do you want to look for them? They might be amazing, after all."
She feels a bit guilty for misleading the spirit, but there were other things to see in the city. Luckily, Lilly approves of the plan, and Liriel slowly wanders around the city(with Lilly eagerly looking for more flowers), eventually reaching the mage's guild(which impresses Lilly quite a bit, with its fine stonework, and elegant lighting), where she looks around for the one that contacted her, while Lilly was distracted by a trimmed hedge, shaped like a dragon.

[Vedhin]

Kyanus, after recieving the message, sets on on a meandering an aimless path. "I think I'll go to the mage guild. It would be the height of foolishness to explore new territory without accessing all the available information." He starts putting some direction into his path, slowly working his way towards his destination. "But as we were selected secretly, I should keep a low profile. This will also give me a chance to meet the others chosen; at least the ones who care about learning." As he draws near the guild, he continues his thoughts "That voice acted somewhat suspiciously though. I don't much like the sound of 'watched for many years', and 'take your skills to the next level' makes it sound like it knows what's there."

[Neely]

Standing in the crowd, Amelia Falmer smiles at the goings-on of the people around her. She is not in any wild shaped form, which is rare for her, but when she goes into a city, she finds she enjoys herself more in her own skin. She listens intently with the rest of the people and perks up at the knowledge of new creatures.
Unknown animals? Amazing! Perhaps one of them is a long-lost species I could have a relation to!
She begins to look around to see if there was some sort of draw to see who would go, when she heard the voice in her head. While Amelia is often suspicious of ominous ideas like what the voice was spouting, she was far too excited at the prospect of exploring this new world to care much. She decided immediately to head off to the main tower to find out more, and with that ran down the street. As soon as she could, she ducked into a back alley, and when she emerged from it, she was a Pixie. Still looking generally like herself, but using her new fast flying speed to get to the guild as soon as she could.

[TekHed]

Only in Ouerdome would such a sight be taken in stride. The two were certainly an odd couple. The nymph attracted the lion's share of attention of course, slight, willowy, effervescent, and perfect in every way. Her companion could not have been more different. Tall, muscular, and with a hard edge to her gaze, her beauty savage and raw, and oh so human. Both of them radiated an aura of unapproachability, albeit for opposite reasons. That the couple rode in on the backs of massive grizzly bears only added to the tableau.

At the touch of telepathic contact, Brigid snarled. Just as soon as it had invaded her privacy, however, the presence vanished. The weretouched immediately lost her s***.

"What is this?" she roared. "Who are you?!" she continued to rage into the air, circling around and creating quite a scene. She turned to her mate, eyes wide as saucers. "Did you hear?"

"No my love. What's wrong?" Thelanis replied.

"Sorcery. Mind-invader. Says watched. For years. Him?"

Thelanis paused, looking thoughtful. "Would it not be foolish for your quarry to lead you right to him?"

"Unless trap."

"True..."

"Must go."

"Um..."

"If not him, make pay for Mind-speak." she sniffed the air.

*Sigh*

There would be no talking her out of this one. The shifter's scars, her hatred and mistrust of the arcane ran too deep.

"Guntr!" Without hesitation Brigid's mount tore off down the street.

Thelanis frowned. So much for their spa-day. At least she could try and keep the brash weretouched out of trouble.

"Well Brynhldr. We'd better keep up."

The grizzly roared it's assent and bounded off.

[Neely]

After finding her way through the foreign city, using her ability to turn invisible and fly high into the air to her advantage, Amelia finds herself at the front of the mage's guild. She looks up at it's large towers, excited for her next adventure as she takes in the place that holds the potential newest secrets and clues towards her heritage. Now that she is on the ground, she is visible, but still shaped into a Pixie, causing her to be a smaller size and have fairy wings. As she stands in the city streets outside of the guild, she stands out quite a bit. She looks down at herself, realizing she looks somewhat silly. So to fix it, she changes her adventurer's outfit into a tunic and shorts that appear to be made out of leaves. Much more thematically appropriate.

[Archmage1]

When Lilly sees the pixie, she smiles broadly, and flies over to her, happy to see another fey here.
"Hi! I'm Lilly! Who are you?"
Lilly is a petal, and is orangish in color, wearing a finely made orange and cream dress, with intricate embroidery decorating it. She is also smiling, and looking more than a bit silly.

Liriel, who, moments ago, was glad that Lilly was distracted, sees her pestering the pixie, and sighs, starting to make her way across the open courtyard to Lilly, hoping to get her to not bother other people.

Liriel, on the other hand, is an elf, and she wears clothing practical for walking in the woods, the colors mottled, and vaguely shaped like leaves. She bears a small pack on her back, and has a pair of curved swords in her belt. She moves with a rare grace, but she isn't particularly pretty. Instead, her features could only be described as plain, that is, if you even remembered them enough to describe them.

[Neely]

Amelia spins around, startled by someone suddenly addressing her. She is wearing the aforementioned tunic, as well as a white belt, a cloak, bracers and a necklace. A silver circlet sits atop her vibrant crimson hair, tied up in a bun. Her most striking feature is her brilliantly green eyes, and she has somewhat fair-looking skin.
"Oh! Uh, hey, uh, hi. I'm- I- Hey, I'm Falmer! Er- Amelia! The other way around though. Hi!"
She pauses for a moment, to stop tumbling over her words, it's abvious she doesn't talk to people much.
"Uh, I'm not a Pixie."

[Archmage1]

Lilly smiles, happy that the pixie was talking to her. And nicely, too!
"Hi, Falmer! Why are you here? Are you here to see the gardens?"
When Falmer starts speaking again, claiming that she isn't a pixie, Lilly looks confused.
"Of course you're a pixie! You're big, and you have wings, and ears! Why don't you think you're a pixie?"

Liriel keeps heading towards the pair, thinking to herself.
Oh dear.

[Neely]

"No, I- I don't think I was aware there were any gardens here! I'll have to look for those, they sound nice, er, pleasant. They sound good. No, no, I'm not a Pixie- this is just a shape. Er- it's- um... okay I guess I can just, uh, here."

And with that, Amelia transforms, she grows taller, her wings are replaced by a backpack and a small bag appears on her side, hanging off her belt. Her features suddenly become less fey-like, and more of a blend between fey, elf, and many other races, so it would be fairly hard to pin down just what race she was if you tried.

"Um, yeah, so it was a- uh- um- a shape."

[Archmage1]

Lilly's confusion grows as Falmer tries to explain what's going on, and then her eyes grow in horror as some fell force makes the nice pixie into an elf, and she flies away, hiding behind Liriel(And peeking over her shoulder), who is just arriving.
"Liriel! Some evil thing made the pixie become an elf! It's horrible!"
Inwardly, Liriel sighs. This is going to be interesting. Why is it never simple...
She smiles at Amelia.
"I'm sorry, Miss. Lilly can be a bit... excitable, and a bit prone to making assumptions, and then never thinking about them. I'm Liriel."
She extends her hand to Amelia, while she continues talking, trying to reassure the frightened petal.
"Now, Lilly, it's ok, she isn't evil, she's a shapechanger, like a caterpillar turning into a butterfly, or a grub into a moth. She might have looked like a pixie, but she was always an elf. There wasn't any evil magic, and it isn't going to get you too."
Lilly pauses as she considers this, before she nods, evidently agreeing with Liriel(Or, at least, not wanting to appear less brave than Liriel), and she clambers up to Liriel's shoulder, and sits there.

[Neely]

Amelia smiles back, feeling somewhat guilty. She lets the Petal's friend explain far better than she could as she shakes Liriel's hand back. Amelia's hand is strangely quite coarse and calloused for someone who looks so small and fair.
"Uh, hi. Amelia Falmer- in that order."
She nods back to Lilly, adding to Liriel's explanation.
"I'm a Druid, I use nature-type magics to become other creatures. I can even became- um, a little Petal, like you! Though, sorry- uh, I'm also not an elf."

[Archmage1]

Liriel nods at the taller woman(Although, most of them are taller than she is).
"Nice to meet you, Amelia. What did you think of the announcement?"

When Amelia addresses Lilly, Lilly still looks a bit wide eyed, but she is calming down.
"You're not a elf either! What are you? You look elfish!"
Lilly draws in another breath, clearly intending on speaking more, when Liriel sighs, and turns her head, so she is clearly addressing Lilly.
"Lilly, maybe if you let her talk, she will answer. Give her a chance to answer."
Lilly considers this for a moment, before she nods.

[Vedhin]

Kyanus rounds a corner near the mage guild, finding an elf, a Petal, and a not-quite-elf talking to each other. "Well met! I am Kyanus Garenil, and I was recently called here. Have you also been summoned?"

Kyanus is a tall human. He wears an assortment of clothing that narrowly manages to be interesting rather than mismatched, including a wide-brimmed hat with a feather from some black bird of prodigious size. He has a confident stride and smile, but his physical features are only slightly above average. He speaks with a compelling voice, though he tends to use more words, and longer ones, than is needed.

[Neely]

"Oh, a whole new island world? Where there are new creatures to discover? It's all quite exciting! I'm planning on going as soon as I can."
As Liriel gets Lilly to slow down, Amelia smiles wider and tried to explain.
"Well, I'm uh- Well... I don't really know! I know I'm a Shifter, or a Weretouched, depending on who you talk to, but, uh, I don't really know what I'm touched by. Long story, not very interesting."

[Archmage1]

When the large human comes up, and speaks, Lilly jumps, before she looks, and sees the giant feather, and she flies over to it, landing on his hat, and pulling at the feather, Amelia gone, temporarily, from her mind.
"Look, Liriel! It's a giant feather! Isn't it amazing! I wonder what it came from!"

Liriel gives Amelia a pained look, before she turns, smiling, to Kyanus.
"Nice to meet you as well, Kyanus. I'm Liriel, the petal trying to steal your feather is Lilly, and this is Amelia."
As she introduces Amelia. she gestures, making it clear that she meant Amelia.
"I did receive a message, and I was hoping to learn a bit more about it here."

[Neely]

As the tall man appears, Amelia turns, startled in the same way as when Lilly showed up.
"Oh! Hi! Yeah, like she said, uh, I'm Amelia Falmer, in order. Er- in that order- nevermind. Um, nice to meet you. Yeah, I was called here by someone. You were too?"
She spins to look at Liriel and Lilly as Liriel also brings up being brought here.
"Oh, uh, you two were too?"

[Vedhin]

Kyanus reaches up to secure his hat, lest the weight of the Petal knock it off. "Nice to meet you as well. The feather is from a roc, to answer Lilly's question."

[Archmage1]

Lilly looks amazed at this news.
"It's from a roc? They must be really, really big! Even bigger than owls! And pretty, too!"
She seems content to stay on the hat for the moment, admiring the feather(Which involves walking around the brim of the hat).

Glad that Kyanus wasn't taking Lilly's visit too amiss, Liriel tries to explain a bit more, hoping that Lilly wouldn't damage the hat.
"The voice did say that there were 20, so it isn't too surprising that we would come here, although I don't think Lilly got the announcement. Are you looking forwards to the trip? It should be quite interesting."

[TerrickTerran]

Dallah Whiteash

Dallah sighed quietly to herself. These people were really chatty. Still, at least she finally had some company. Anytime someone looked at her, she gave a sweet smile, but she remained quiet for the moment. Her mind was on other things, other places, memories she'd rather not have yet seemed to be refusing to fade.

[Vedhin]

"I'm quite looking forward to it. The prospect of exploring an unknown land is very exciting for me."

[Archmage1]

Liriel smiles softly.
"It should certainly be interesting. I've worked as a guide for years, but it is always the chance to see something new that keeps me going, even to places I've gone to before."

Lilly, not wanting to be entirely left out of the conversation, her feet on the rop of the hat as she leans out, holding on to the feather, smiling cheerily, chirps up.
"And there'll be new flowers!"

Liriel smiles up at her.
"And there'll be new flowers, and all sorts of interesting things to see."

[Crestfallen]

@OOC: You are all welcome to read every spoiler, even if it did not apply to you, however, You must not metagame it, that is all.

A bit of time passes as you carry on your conversation, a couple individuals pass by, knock on the door, and walk inside, a few people walk out of the building, mostly apparant wizards.

Two individuals approach the group, however, A pair of dwarves.

"O'tch, I'm tell ye, I heard 'em, They're goin' to th' new place too! Ask!"

"No, No, They're not, They're just a bun'cha lost tourists, Excuse me folks, Me brother here's thinkin' ye folks are some of th' twenty or so headed to th' new land, Tell 'im he's wrong."

The two dwarves are both clad in some sort of scale mail, very finely made, both of them have a large hammer hooked to their back, both heavily bearded.

@OOC: If you're going to the tavern, this if for you, If not, Just ignore this.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As you enter the tavern, a bit of happiness rushes over you, the place is Enchanting, Quite literally as well, The tavern is flooded with people, at least four tables filled with dwarves, two tables with elves, a couple tables of adventurers of all mixed races, There's a half-orc behind the counter of the bar, a few open chairs there, also a small booth in the back corner open as well.

[Archmage1]

Liriel looks down at the dwarves, so like, and so unlike the ones she had guided in the past.
"Your brother is not wrong. I'm Liriel, and these are Ameila, Kyanus, and, on Kyanus's hat, Lilly. Have you done a lot of traveling?"
As she mentions each name, she uses gestures to indicate who is who.
Lilly waves cheerily at them when her name is mentioned.

[Neely]

Amelia looks over at the two odd Dwarves, looking a little flustered at all the new people.
"Uh, no, I'm definitely one of the people picked to go to the island, I think. I mean, why? We don't look like people who like islands?"

[TerrickTerran]

Dahlla Whiteash

Dahlla looked over at the dwarves. "Yes, I was one of those who was invited. Why do you ask?" She was wondering what was going on but she trusted that luck would come her way.

[Adunatar]

The waves of anxiety and excitement about the upcoming adventure were rolling high inside Leeroy, so much that he chose to skip the geishas, and headed straight to the tavern instead. "Just a few beers, and then I should go meet my mysterious employer... just a few beers, first" - thought he, as he opened the heavy oaken door. Glancing over the big hall and the tavern crowd, he finally decided against joining any of the crowded tables, and headed straight for the bar. There, perching himself on a tall bar-stool, he began to give its due to the big mug-o-ale, complete with rye garlic croutons, his favorite snack.

[TekHed]

Suddenly, a couple of great grizzly's bounded on to the scene, bearing a fierce-looking mostly naked human woman, and a completely naked forest nymph. They skidded to a halt in front of the mage's tower, and the tall blond fearsome one dismounted, stalking up to the entrance and proceeding inside. She seemed very irate, although apparently unarmed.

The nymph daintily dropped down from the other bear, patting it on it's side.

"Terribly sorry about that. She's in a bit of a mood is all..." the nymph smiled graciously.

"I really should go make sure she doesn't kill anyone. If you'll please excuse me..."

Thelanis hurried after her lover.

[Archmage1]

Ooh! A nymph! She looks nice! Maybe she knows some fun stories!
Lilly leaps from her perch on Kyanus's head, and flies towards Thelanis, however, before she reaches her, the door closes behind her, leaving a disappointed looking petal.

Liriel reacts more calmly, as she looks to the others there, the human, the shapeshifter, the pair of dwarves, and the halfling.
"I think we should head inside as well. Hopefully, any late arrivals can figure out where to go."
With that, she starts heading to the door, and opening it, heading inside.
Lilly, seeing the door open, smiles, and darts inside, looking for interesting things, or the nymph, or both.

[Vedhin]

"Indeed" says Kyanus, heading inside.

[TekHed]

Brigid stormed through the Mage's Guild, seeking the central tower, and the one who had the impudence to touch her mind uninvited...

[Neely]

Oddly, the large mostly-naked woman bolting past the group does not phase Amelia at all. My the look on her face you might be led to believe that she's seen that sort of thing fairly regularly.
"Well, yeah, I guess if she's going in..."
Amelia shrugs and begins to follow the others.

[Crestfallen]

"Oy, Hey!! Aye brother I think' they dun really care who we are"

"Psh, They dun care about the Way Brothers do they? Agh, Dont matter anyways, Bayar Way be the o'ly one that matters anyways, Ye probably scared em' off ya Loon!"

"Loon you say? Look here Bayar, I'll give ye a piece on yer own mind ifn' ye don't shut up!"

Their voices fade a bit as you all enter the tower, clearly still arguing outside.

Brigid makes her way through the mage guild, climbing what feels like a couple hundred stairs, passing by multiple levels of wizards practicing magics of all sorts, finally reaching the top floor, the door wide open.

Inside the room lies a huge central rug, rose in color, the ceiling is a half orb made entirely of glass, the view peers over the large grand city, it glows a faint gold from the lights around as the sun nearly sets.

In the room stands a funny looking little gnome standing atop a desk, conversing with a man, arms crossed, leaning against one of the chairs in the room.

The gnome is wearing an absurdly long robe, one that falls to the desk, and continues on for another half foot, covering his feet completely, almost a black robe, with a hint of blue, a lighter blue color, his sleeves tipped with blue fabric, and he holds a large wooden staff in his hand, with a white crystal at the end of it, roughly 5 feet tall in height, much larger than the gnome.

The other individual had donned a long black overcoat, with a grey vest and leather leggings of sorts, with a black hood over his face, and what appeared to be a white porceleon mask underneath.

Both of their conversation abruptly stops as they notice Brigid at the doorway.

The gnome looks at her up and down once, his eyes nearly popping from his head.

"Ahh, Brigid at last, I knew you'd come, Though I guess I didn't spend enough time divining your choice of attire however, Clearly not enough at all, Ahaha!"

The small gnome speaks up, and finishes with a powerful laugh for such a little person, the black cloaked man chuckles a bit, but says nothing.

"mm, If I'm not mistaken there are others among us too, is there not?"

The bar seems extremely lively tonight, you can overhear many of the individuals talking about the "new world", tossing questions back and forth to one another, wondering what's there, what it's like, a few of them wishing they had been chosen, only one individual in the room seems to be openly discussing that he was chosen, as he sits not far from you, a large man, with a steel cap on his head, and some thick chainmail over his body, holding a large mug in his hand, almost bragging that he was picked over the others at the bar.

[Archmage1]

Following the wayward petal, Liriel walks to the door, her movements graceful, and flowing, pausing at it, before she opens it, to the delight of Lilly, who vanishes inside almost instantly.
Sighing, Liriel looks to the others, before she starts heading upstairs, moving with an economy of motion that had her moving almost unbelievably fast for someone who didn't look like she was even trying.
Soon enough, she catches up to Lilly, who had managed to climb up one level, and was looking for Thelanis in a large, open classroom, darting to and fro, being quite disruptive in the process. Pausing near the entrance to the room, she calls out to the wayward petal speaking her words of wisdom calmly, hoping that the mages wouldn't mind too much, and hoping that they would mollify the eager petal.
"Lilly, she's following the other woman. Why don't we start from the top? That way, we can pause at the fun levels after we find her. Wouldn't you like that?"
Lilly pauses(Having just finished landing on one of the desks, and looking inside the hooded figure's hood), and whirls to face Liriel.
"You really think so? And there will be fun levels?! Let's go! You need to learn how to have fun! You're always so stoic, so it'll do you good!"
She promptly zooms off, heading rapidly up the stairs, with Liriel following her. As she reaches each floor, she stops, and looks around, but, always(Often with a sigh of longing), continuing up.
At least she's going the right way. I know what she is... but why me... She thinks that she's good for me... and maybe she's right... But sometimes... I know she is part of life, but does she need to be this energetic?
When the pair reach the top floor, Lilly stops, and admires the view, amazed that even in a tower, there was a view. Not as nice as the ones from the redwoods, but still nice. And there was one of the nice crystals! She flies over to get a better look at the gnome's staff, darting around it.

Liriel pauses, and looks around the room, taking it in, and noting the two individuals, wondering why the second wanted to disguise his face.
She nods to them, calmly.
"I presume we are waiting for the others to arrive, so you don't need to explain things over and over again?"
Her voice is musical, and quite pleasing to the ear.

[Neely]

Amelia makes her way up the stairs, looking around at all the people studying magic. It was quite wonderful to her, these people all devoting their time to study. Perhaps there was a good library she could look at while she was here that may have a bestiary or two.
As she comes to the room and it begins to fill up with those chosen for the journey, she enters and moves off to the side, saying nothing. She wants them to know that she's present, but she'd prefer to hear them speak their minds first, what could she say to them? As everyone files into the room, she takes time to take in her surroundings. Looking out the window, as well as looking around the room itself as well as it's strange inhabitants.

[Adunatar]

Leeroy felt amused by the big braggart for a while, but over time, the feeling of amusement was slowly replaced by a sense of guilt. After all, he wasn't supposed to spend all night carousing like that, even if he was sure he'd be missing this city so much. The summons were an honor, and the bragging of that brute confirmed just how much of an honor this was indeed perceived to be. "I'll get myself a little barrel of that stuff in the morning", he thought, as he finished his beer, and started towards the door, leaving a gold piece on the table. His way was towards the mage tower.

Crest, I'm going to move Leeroy to join everyone else at the tower, unless you have something special planned for him

[TekHed]

"You..." Brigid said, seething. With the inevitability of death she stalked towards the gnome. "How dare you invade mind!"

She swiped for the gnome, seeking to grab him by his ridiculous robe.

"I should devour you for insolence."

Just then Thelanis made her way in, gasping at the scene. Running up behind Brigid, the nymph placed a softening hand upon the Bear-princesses shoulder. If the pair were stunned by Brigid's minimal attire, they were all but blinded by the in-the-buff Thelanis.

"Brigid. My love. I am certain this one meant no harm by his invitation. Please..."

Brigid scowled. "It is wizard. Cannot trust."

"I know..." she looked apologetically upon the besieged pair.

"Please forgive her. She doesn't much like arcane magic. Trauma from when she was but a cub..."

"Quiet!" Brigid shouted at the nymph, still furious. "What have you say for self? Try to magic, you die."


If needed: Touch Attack: [roll0]. Just to grab robe. Not going for full grapple (yet)

[Archmage1]

When Lilly finishes her last loop around the sparkly staff, she catches sight of Thelanis, and smiles broadly as she glides towards her.
"Liriel, she's here! See!"
Liriel smiles, although it seems a bit strained.
"I did say she would probably be here. Why don't you go and say hello?"
At that, Lilly reaches Thelanis, and hovers in front of her, smiling happily, more or less ignoring the current situation with Brigid.
"Hi! Who are you? I'm Lilly! Have you seen the gardens here? They're wonderful, but not as nice as mine! Do you have a tag-along as well? Liriel can be fun, but she's much too stoic. Is yours like that too?"

Liriel, watching Brigid, sparing only a little attention for Thelanis and Lilly, unobtrusively checks that her scimitars were loose in their sheathes, in case Brigid tries to hurt the gnome.

However, she does try talking the strange woman down, her voice sounding remarkably soothing, like someone trying to convince a bear not to attack.
"Brigid? Is that your name? It's a nice name, isn't it? Why do you think he invaded your mind? Did you try to resist his message?"

[TerrickTerran]

Dallah wasn't sure what was going on exactly. She tried not to be amused at the interaction between the gnome and Brigid. She watched carefully as she was waiting for someone to clearly tell them when they could go so that she could finally go exploring."Are we done arguing yet? I'm anxious to get going."

[Vedhin]

Kyanus arrives and watches, ready to try to talk Brigid out of her anger if she tries to do something rash.

Kyanus is readying an action to use Expert Negotiator (Calm) on Brigid if she attempts to attack. He'll also use it on the gnome too, for that matter (still only if Brigid attacks). Of course, since meta-knowledge makes it unlikely Brigid is going to attack, this is a fairly useless thing to do, even if it makes sense.

[Crestfallen]

As the hooded man notices the nymph, he nearly chokes on his own saliva, coughing violently, the gnome, while a similar reaction with less choking, smirks a bit, then returns his attention to Brigid.

He gives the lady a wide smile, holding his hands up at his sides as a sign of defenselessness, however not dropping his large staff.

"No magic tricks here Brigid, I've no need for them, just as you have no intentions to kill me."

"While I will admit to allowing my voice into your mind, I would not consider it an invasion per say, as much as anyone would call a physical whisper an invasion, or even sending someone a letter, as those are not invasions, mine was quite similar you see"

"However, you need not release your grip, I certainly dont mind, the touch of a lovely lady is quite refreshing, its been quite some time, though if your lovely friend would like to accompany this, I also would not object, Ahaha!"

He chuckles a bit, the hooded man places his hand on his forehead, shaking his head a bit, obviously embarrassed by the... boldness... of the gnome.

The small gnome clears his throat a bit, adjusting his attention to the others, his expression straightened.

"I take it you all came because you had questions, Yes? I'm all ears"

The view outside is just as gorgeous as the city itself, with a golden glow, nothing really stands out too much minus the large dome like building in the center, which you know to be the castle, and a pair of familiar dwarves wrestling, tossing and turning at the bottom of the tower, same as before, this time however, more people are watching.

As you approach the guild, you notice an almost circle of people shifting outside of the mages guild. Its not too thick to see through, however, and you see a pair of dwarves tossing and turning, pulling at eachothers beards, simply fighting dirty.

"Otch OY! DONT BE PULLIN' MAH BEARD, LEST I SPIT ON YE MOTHER'S GRAVE!"

"Gah You idiot! We 'ave the ver' same mum! Oy ye don't like when I pull like THIS?

The dwarf pulls harder on the others' beard, both screaming at eachother.

The door to the mages guild is in front of you, the top of the tower is a glass-like dome, you'd assume the guildmaster's quarters is up there.

@OOC: If you so choose, you may go up there, and join in on the "fun", You're more than welcome to deal with the dwarves or let them do as you will, I'm a very... Open DM.

[Archmage1]

Men. They always seem to be such fools, so easily distracted by appearances. Perhaps that's why the best guides always seem to be women?
Liriel just frowns as the Gnome propositions Brigid and Thelanis, but she does speak up once more, speaking softly with her musical voice.
"Why choose us?"

[TekHed]

"You will not touch me." Brigid turned her grasp into a shove, pushing the gnome backwards off the desk.

"I would as soon mate with slaad. Stay out of my head."

With that the Bear-Princess stalked out of the room, down the steps, and out the door where she came upon the scuffle outside."

Back in the tower, Thelanis shrugged, but smiled at the petal.

"While hello little flower. My but you are a beauty. To answer your questions, no, I have not seen the gardens, and yes Brigid has a bit of a temper. She is usually much more amiable though...she just doesn't take kindly to arcane magic." The nymph shot dagger-eyes at the gnome, but resisted the urge to use her power to blind him.

"Truth be told, I am more her tag-along then the other way around."

[Archmage1]

Liriel watches the bear woman stride out of the room, frowning.
"That could have gone better."
She heads over to the gnome, and offers him a hand up.

Lilly smiles, and blushes slightly as Thelanis calls her beautiful.
"Thank you! I think that everyone thinks you are much more beautiful. They have trouble even looking at me when you're here! Why don't we go and look at the gardens? They're lovely! They are going to be all boring and asking boring questions, so why don't we go there instead? It'll be fun! And then they can follow when they are done!"

[TekHed]

Thelanis arched an eyebrow at Liriel, an unspoken question in the air: "do you need a break?"

[Archmage1]

Liriel smiles at Thelanis, nodding slightly, before briefly glances around the tower, a somewhat worried look on her face.

Lilly, on the other hand, confidently lands on Thelanis's shoulder, before pointing towards the garden.
"This way!"

[Adunatar]

Leeroy pondered for a moment whether he should try to brave the crowd, in an attempt to get to the door, or just transform and fly over to the entrance - but the crowd was thick, and he didn't feel like showing off his abilities at the moment. So he decided to stick around for just a few minutes instead, and to find out what's all commotion is about. Who knows, maybe this quarrel would be finished soon?

- Say, what's happening here? What's the disagreement between these two? - he asked a nearby onlooker.

[Crestfallen]

@Tekhed: Since you're leaving the Mages guild, the dwarven conversation is yours to hear, if you so choose to act with it, or if you so choose to go somewhere else that is also fine, but you may read the "Adunatar" Spoiler and use that as in game knowledge.

"Actually, We're not too sure,"
The individual in question is a young woman, perhaps 17 years old at best, with short brown hair, and wearing a glamorous, pale pink dress.
"To be completely honest, they're just sort of.. thrashing about, calling eachother names, and pulling on eachothers beards. I think they're brothers, Lord only knows what could tick them off this much."

She sighs briefly as the two dwarves continue their "assault" on one another.

"Y' know I'm tha older un! Tha' makes tha better un!"

"Oh Older are ye? Tha' must make ye the mature un too eh? Fine! I'm too young ta know anyways."

The "Younger" dwarf spits on the other dwarf's face, which absolutely infuriates him as he throws a fist at the other dwarf's face, actually getting tangled in his beard.

"Wh..What the... AHHHH!!!!!"

"AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!"

Both dwarves begin screaming at one another, You're not sure if its in pain.. or just.. frustration.

The small gnome reaches up and takes the womans hand, standing upright and gives a brief smile.

"Always were a kind one Liriel, Thank you"

He brushes himself off, dusting off his long robe, and picks his staff back up.

"All of ye were chosin for good reason, because each of you are strong, with a good head on your shoulders, a strong will, and a sense of heart, whether your heart is in the right place or not matters little to us, rather just the sense of heart itself"

He gives a brief sigh, tapping his staff on the ground as he waddles off of his desk, dropping to the floor.

"Is that the only reason you came? To ask why we choose you? As I've said before, We like to keep an eye on things around the lands, we know who poses the biggest threat and help to our world as we know it, and the ones chosen, are ones we've always looked upon favorably."

[Archmage1]

Liriel nods at him as he thanks her, before she smoothly steps back, giving him some room, and listening to his answer, more questions already formulating in her mind.

"How long have you been tracking us? For that matter, why? It would have been an incredible effort to track so many from places so far apart, and I can't think of anything that marks me, at least, as different from any of the other Guides."

Her tone is light, as though idly curious, although she seems concerned about the answers.

[Neely]

Amelia, from her spot by the window, finally speaks up.
"What sorts of creatures are on this new island?"

[TekHed]

Mage's Tower:


Thelanis winked at Liriel, allowing herself to be tugged along.

"Don't worry, I'll bring her back safely. Do look after Brigid for me while I'm away...she does mean well..."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Outside:


Brigid stormed outside to where her two ursine companions were awaiting her. Seeing the scuffle outside drawing a crowd, the Bear-princess stomped right up to them, grabbed each one of them by the ear, and pulled them apart.

"What is problem?" she asked, still in a foul mood after the gnome in the tower's lascivious advances.

[Archmage1]

Liriel nods, and smiles at the pair as they go.
"Have fun, Lilly. I'll see you at the gardens, later."

"Of course! This way, Thelanis!"
She gently pulls on the nymph, guiding her down the stairs(Pausing on a few of the levels to admire the magic, often with applause, or "Ooh, pretty!")
As she guides the nymph to the gardens, she talks cheerfully about her gardens, something that is clearly of great import to her. She is also distracted by things along the way(A cat, something sparkly in the streets, a few flowers), pausing the exclaim how wonderful they were(The cat is a bit put out). She talks so rapidly that Thelanis has trouble getting a word in, as Lilly always seems so excited, so happy to be talking.
Eventually(It takes about an hour, although it was about a 20 minute walk from the tower), the pair reaches the gardens, which are lush, and beautiful, a gentle place, with artfully placed streams complimenting a truly amazing array of flowers, rare trees, and several unusual animals.
Lilly sets about eagerly telling Thelanis all about how nice the various flowers are, clearly having a fine time. Eventually, in one of her brief breaks, she asks Thelanis a question(And gives her a chance to answer it)
"Do you have any flowers, or a garden? Maybe we could go and take a look! How wonderful are they?"


I'm picturing Thelanis following along, and being in a bemused state at Lilly's activity, while everyone else pauses to stare at Thelanis along the way. If you have any questions that you want to ask Lilly, now's the chance. :smallsmile:

[Vedhin]

Kyanus waits until the others have aired there questions, and then asks "What do you know about the geography of the new land?"

[Crestfallen]

"Why watch over everyone? To prevent anything from getting too out of hand really, and ta make sure all the land is peaceful, while we dont watch every nook'n'cranny of this world, we do keep a good eye on the populated regions of the land, and once we see someone worth noting... we ensure we keep a good eye on em'."

"As for the Geography... Our scrying is unable to reach inside of the island... but we can certainly tell it is heavily forested, I'd suspect much water as well... seeing as it has just risen from the ocean.. We're not certain on any of this... but we've got a good feeling about it to back it up... we've seen trees from afar... the rest is just assumptions..."

The gnome peers out of the window, watching over the horizon.

"It's mainly the reason we're sending you over there... to meet the newcomers... and learn about their land... culture... determine what kind of... people... they are..."

The hooded man says nothing as the gnome speaks, keeping his head down.

Brigid pulls the two dwarves apart, one of them yells as a chunk of his beard is taken off, trying to fight off brigids grasp, but to no avail.

"Oi! Y..Ye ripped mah beard!"

"Ye Bloke, Yer beard was already a child's"

"Yer one to talk! Yer beard consists o' half o' mine!"

They both continue to argue for a brief moment and stop... pause... and look at eachother, then at brigid.

"W..We're not even sure what we're fightin' oer... Thank ye lass for clearin' that up... I woulda tore 'im limb from limb if'n ye didn't step in.

"Pfff, Ya, And yer mother's a dragon, Ye know damned well you woulda' been the un' in pieces!"

[Archmage1]

They are able to track so many from so far away. If they consider my home populated... I did, but when I set out here... compared to that, it is tiny. It is almost... terrifying. No one should have that power. To be able to take effort, and track one, or two, perhaps, but to simply check everyone... But... nothing I can do about it.

Liriel looks concerned about this for a moment, before her more usual serene visage returns.

"You know nothing more of the island? It seems almost too good to be true."

[Vedhin]

Kyanus, listening more to the tone and rhythm of the gnome's voice than the content, is suspicious of his frequent pauses. "He sounds like he's making things up-- or leaving something out.


Sense Motive: [roll0]

[TekHed]

Brigid let the dwarves go.

"Good. No more fighting." She glared at them, as two massive grizzly's stalked up behind her, lending weight to her next words. "Or else..."

Then her glare diminished and she seemed to lighten up. "Like dwarves. Silly faces, funny dancers, jugglers." It would seem that she had come across a caravan of traveling performers once in the forest. Unfortunately it also seemed she couldn't or didn't really distinguish between dwarves and gnomes.

"You on expedition? What are names?"

[Neely]

Amelia screws up her face into a frown as she hears that there isn't information about the island's inhabitants. From her spot by the window, she mutters to herself a bit before piping up again.
"So we leave tomorrow? Any suggestions on where to stay in the meantime?"

[Archmage1]

Liriel nods, and smiles at the pair as they go.
"Have fun, Lilly. I'll see you at the gardens, later."

"Of course! This way, Thelanis!"
She gently pulls on the nymph, guiding her down the stairs(Pausing on a few of the levels to admire the magic, often with applause, or "Ooh, pretty!")
As she guides the nymph to the gardens, she talks cheerfully about her gardens, something that is clearly of great import to her. She is also distracted by things along the way(A cat, something sparkly in the streets, a few flowers), pausing the exclaim how wonderful they were(The cat is a bit put out). She talks so rapidly that Thelanis has trouble getting a word in, as Lilly always seems so excited, so happy to be talking.
Eventually(It takes about an hour, although it was about a 20 minute walk from the tower), the pair reaches the gardens, which are lush, and beautiful, a gentle place, with artfully placed streams complimenting a truly amazing array of flowers, rare trees, and several unusual animals.
Lilly sets about eagerly telling Thelanis all about how nice the various flowers are, clearly having a fine time. Eventually, in one of her brief breaks, she asks Thelanis a question(And gives her a chance to answer it)
"Do you have any flowers, or a garden? Maybe we could go and take a look! How wonderful are they?"


I'm picturing Thelanis following along, and being in a bemused state at Lilly's activity, while everyone else pauses to stare at Thelanis along the way. If you have any questions that you want to ask Lilly, now's the chance. :smallsmile:

Try 2, it would seem

[TekHed]

The nymph smiled as the verbose little petal flitted to and fro. While such antics might have tried the patience of mortals, it was comforting for a fey.

"My child, all the forests are a nymph's garden, the flowers grow as they please."

[Archmage1]

Lilly looks a bit surprised at this, but maybe Thelanis doesn't see flowers like she does, so colorful, so vibrant, so beautiful.
"Of course, but they are much happier with friends, and they love being looked at, and they love being beautiful! So, they are much happier in gardens, where more creatures can see them, they have other flowers to talk to, and they have someone to take care of them! Plus, because they are happy, they become even more beautiful! They almost glow with happiness! Come on, I'll show you!"
She excitedly flits over to a small rose garden, and moves through it, commenting on the roses, moving them slightly, shifting some of the vines. As she does so, the flowers begin to look even better, even more beautiful than they already were, as does Lilly, who is smiling even more, and seems to be even happier.
"See? They're lovely, but they need a bit of help to really shine! "

[TekHed]

"As you say," the nymph laughed, and the sound was like a thrill of pleasure coursing up one's spine.

"That is why the Petals were created," she said. "As the Dryads tend the forest, so the petals tend the gardens. We nymph's simply love to frolic, and we are grateful for all of your hard work, little one."

[Archmage1]

"Everyone likes flowers, and they like everyone too! And nymphs help too! I can't grow flowers without water, and you make sure it's nice!"
Lilly pauses momentarily, as though listening to something, before she suddenly darts through the roses again, pausing at four of them, with large, beautiful flowers. She reaches out, and gently touches them, and as she does, they come away, easily, from the bushes, with a small portion of the stem. Lilly, holding on to all of the beautiful red roses, swiftly weaves them together, into a garland, which she holds out to Thelanis(Which looks quite amusing, since it's bigger than she is)
"Here! They wanted to go with you!"

[TekHed]

Adorable. How you not love Lily? Thelanis thought, accepting the garland graciously.

"Why thank you friends!" She said to the flowers.

"Tell me little one, how did you meet Liriel?"

[Archmage1]

Lilly smiles happily as Thelanis accepts the garland, smiling even more when Thelanis thanks the flowers.
She thanked them! Almost no one thanks flowers! Now, they're really happy!

When Thelanis asks her about how she met Liriel, she smiles, before she starts telling her tale.

"I was there, in my garden, having fun teasing the rabbit, when this giant thing came in! I was scared, so I flew off and hid, but then I looked at her. She looked a lot like a giant version of me, but without wings! I'd never seen anything like her before! But then she seemed to relax, and looked around my garden. She must of liked it, because she smiled! So I decided to come out and say hello, and before long, I realized that she was hopeless, and she needed my guidance! So, I decided to follow her, after asking Mauriel to watch my flowers! How did you meet the bear woman?"

[TekHed]

"Yes!" Thelanis laughed. "Whatever would they do without us?" The nymph set about following Lilly's example, plumping up the flowers and adjusting them just so.

"Brigid found me, actually. I think she's always been drawn to the fey, ever since she was but a cub. The weretouched are as much a part of nature as we are, though perhaps not quite so refined. Their feral passions are tied to the moons, and the tides, and the seasons. She is beautiful, is she not? So savage, and straightforward. I find her refreshing..."

[Archmage1]

Lilly smiles, and laughs before she answers.
"Liriel would be really, reaaallly boring! She would be all serious and dour and organized, and no fun at all! She doesn't know when to just have fun! Brigid seems like she's lots of fun, and she is lovely. A bit serious, but lovely. But I need to help Liriel learn to be fun. It just seems right, and she's much too serious!"

As Thelanis starts on the flowers, Lilly clearly approves, smiling happily, and continuing to help the flowers herself.
"See? A bit of attention, and they are much happier!"

She flies back a bit, and waits for Thelanis to follow her, to better admire the small rose garden. Once both are back a bit, they can see it. Where before there was a nice, well tended collection of roses, there was a truly breathtaking scene. The flowers almost seemed to glow, and they had gained that little bit of wildness to make them truly perfect.

After a minute or two to admire their handiwork, Lilly chimes in once more.
"Maybe we could go and see if they have any of my flowers! Do nymphs have any special flowers?"
She seems curiously excited as she looks over at Thelanis.

[TekHed]

"We nymphs do not have flowers; we have pools that we frolic in night and day! Sometimes the Fauns join us..." Thelanis answered, winking while her voice hinted at all manner of heavenly delights.

"And you should not judge Brigid by what you have seen this day. True, she is more easily riled than most bears, but she is full of wonder, and curiosity as well. She is one of us...as would it seem is that creature Amelia. Did you not notice? The otherworldy sheen. She is of the fey as well."

For Lilly, recall that Nymph's Kiss makes fey regard Brigid as Fey. :smallsmile:

[Archmage1]

Thelanis's reference sails right over Lilly's head, although she, predictibly enough, smiles.
"Are the fauns nicer to you? They always run, and trample my garden. Well, not always, but they are never nice visitors! Maybe I could come and see your pool some day? I can't swim, but I do float! Maybe I could help a few water flowers to grow! That way, you could have your own garden!"

As Thelanis explains Brigid's actions, Lilly nods, excitedly.
"But she seemed so mean! Maybe she is nice, and I just need to get to know her better! Does she have any favorite flowers? Maybe I could give her some! She'd like that! Amelia's the big one, with the red fronds, and the green eyes, right? She did seem nice too!"


Just because she's fey doesn't make her nice, although, it helps. Perhaps when she isn't in such a temper, Lilly will move her to the nice category. :smallsmile:

[kreenlover]

"It is too good to be true. You got any idea how much we been telling ourselves that? Its ridiculous is what it is, insane, bonkers, loopy, wacko. Can't be done, can't be figured, cannot be explained. I mean, c'mon. The island itself defies all logic, explanation, everything! Its an island that just rose out of the bloody ocean to sit on top of that ocean that we have never seen before, and we saw water running off of it, but guess what, there's already a fully formed ecosystem and trees and all that junk and little critters or maybe people leaping from branch to branch and walking along beneath and the whole thing is protected from scrying and to top it all off I'm up for review next month and if I don't handle it well who knows where I'll be this time two months from now dead in a gutter maybe and this island just does not make sense!"
He punctuates the last five words with smacks of his fist on the tabletop. Then he remembers to breathe, and then he remembers that those hits hurt his hand more than they hurt the wood. He grimaces for a minute as he massages feeling back into it, and then ***** his head as if listening.
He turns to Vedhin and winks.
"Now what makes you think that eh? Just because I'm a wizard doesn't mean I'm a liar"
And finally back to Amelia.
"Well, as I was just tellin' that big beautiful woman I have plenty of room in my chambers should you wish to share them, but failing that we can arrange for other quarters somewhere in the building. Sound good?"

Vedhin, he doesn't seem like he is lying

"Ah ha, I am Bayar Way, and this be me brother Rayab Way. We're on tha' very same expedition tha' tha King were talking about!"
"To tha island"
Rayab bestows such mystery and power into that one word that the crowd, already silent, falls even quieter.
"Its where we be goin' ta find fortune and glory"
"And ta discover what it is tha's been lost!"
"Tha' too"
The two brothers nod in unison and throw an arm around each others shoulders. In time, they begin to sing.
"Up an' down an' round we go!
Tha Brothers Way they'll ne'er know
Off ta find fame and advantar
We'll ne'er return afor we're strongar!

"We be the Way Brothers, yah!
And we'll bury all tha foes, yah!
We'll take away all their gold, yah!
There's yet one more dungeon, yah!
'Cause we're the Brothers Waaaaay!"
They finish their song and smile brightly up at Brigid.
"Wha' 'bout you?"

[Archmage1]

Liriel listens, and sighs.
So like wizards, to spend so much effort on the arcane, and so little on common sense.
"Have you had someone with a spyglass take a good look?"

[kreenlover]

The gnome spins, an angry expression on his face.
"Of course, do you take us for-!"
Pause.
"Telescope you say? I think I have one around here somewhere..."
He begins to pull things out of the pockets of his robes and the room quickly fills up with an alarming array of large and useless objects.
Its when he pulls out a complete orrery that it becomes apparent he has no idea what he is doing. It is a minute or two after that (and many more objects) that he finally pulls out a massive telescope twice as long as he is tall.
Grinning like a child he snapped his fingers and floated over to the window where he swung the telescope up into position.
"Oh...Its night there right now. Huh. I thought for sure that this would work!"
He shrugs and drops down to sit on the pile of junk.
"You got my hopes up for nothing Liriel" he wags a disapproving finger at her.

[Archmage1]

Liriel just shakes her head at the waste demonstrated by this wizard in his search. If her village had half the wealth that he had lying around... but such thoughts accomplish little.

"It's night there now, but we don't intend on leaving until tomorrow, when it will be day there. Which gives you a chance to observe using your telescope. Where will we be meeting tomorrow, and when?"

Liriel's soft voice carries the slightest edge of scorn.

[Neely]

Amelia frowns, put off by the gnome's forward nature.
"Somewhere in the building will be fine. I don't need much space at all, but I'd prefer something private."

[Sliver]

Anthos found himself standing in the Orchard of the Gods, but his mind was distracted. Or rather, it was focused on something else. He remembered his mental training and how, as part of honing his mind, he had to become a master of his memory.

"Your brain is a muscle." His tutor said. "Train it enough, and it will become a powerful weapon. To be strong, you must use all the tools you are given."

He struggled at first, committing whole texts to memory... But Elena laughed as he told her of his failures.

"What a fool you are!" She said. "Trying to memorize books when you can barely read? You are living in your own world, so focus on the experiences that you want to keep in it..."

At first, he was confused, but as they played together, running through the garden after each other, the sensations came in... The first thing that Anthos kept in the safe of his mind, the sensation that never left him. The smell of her sweat as they ran through, jumping above the flowers...

"Central tower of the mages guild." The voice echoed in his mind. Anthos barely heard it, but his feet did, and they took him there.

On top of the tower, a man in full plate climbed the stairs. His eyes seemed focused on a point far away and it was obvious the man was not thinking about what was in front of him. Sometimes, it seemed like his feet didn't fully touch the ground and for a few moments, he was flying forward, instead of walking.

Anthos is a couple of inches short of six feet, with smooth brown hair that almost reaches his shoulders. His black eyes seem to focus for a moment on the room and he approaches the small crowd. A green cloak flows behind him, held with a couple of silver antlers and has a golden stag sigil in its center. With the way the cloak flows, it almost appears to be running. Strewn across his back is a bastard sword, its hilt decorated with two gems, giving it an impression of looking backwards, watching his back.

As he reaches them, Anthos bows. "I apologize for being late. My name is Anthos. Anthos Aima. I understand that I can get more details about the journey here?" He asks.

[Archmage1]

Liriel observes the latecomer, noting that his equipment is gaudy, attention gathering.
A noble, perhaps? Not many of them came out to the village, but a few did, and they always had their gems, and their fine clothing. They also seemed almost universally incompetent. Hopefully, this fellow is not one of those.
A female elf, dressed in green chain links with a pair of curved swords at her belt turns to observe you as you enter.
"I'm Liriel, one of the Guides, as well as one of the people going on this trip. It's nice to meet you, Anthos. Unfortunately, We don't know much, beyond that the island just appeared, and it appears to be warded against scrying. The wizards didn't think of actually having someone take a look at it."

[Sliver]

"A pleasure to meet you, Liriel." Anthos says and bows again. "My own divination gave little results as to anything concerning the island, but I will try again once we get there. But I believe that the wizards did think of that. Aren't they sending us to look at it?"

[Archmage1]

"We are going to investigate it, but knowing a bit about what we are going into would have been nice. Still, they might be able to use their telescope to tell us a little more in the morning."

[kreenlover]

The gnomes bursts out laughing.
"We did indeed! This man knows exactly what he is talking about! I introduce to you Anthos, bodyguard extra-extraordinaire. Oh, Anthos, not sure if you're aware but your friend chartered a boat to head to the island. She left this morning before we could stop her, aboard a Cloud-skimmer"
The gnome shakes his head, and his voice is filled with sadness.
"I'm afraid that if you don't act quickly to rescue her she may die, if not from any dangers on the island than from some of the other people we've chosen. They'll be jealous of someone cheating there way in"

[Sliver]

Anthos frowns. "The voice said that they saw inhabitants on the island. I would imagine that they did use mundane means to gather that information..." He turns to the gnome and you can almost hear his jaws grinding against each other. "It would have been better had you stopped her, but Lady Elena is crafty and capable, so I will not hold this against you. However, if anyone tries to harm her, they will not be as fortunate."

[Archmage1]

Liriel looks rather interested in the discussion
"A Lady Elena went ahead? What can you tell us about her? Will she be difficult?"

[Sliver]

Anthos closes his eyes and breathes deeply as the image of Elena flows into his mind, their time together. Difficult? He thinks of their last encounter. He felt so torn when he looked at her face as he said...

"No." Anthos said, only a second later. "She would not be difficult. For you, at least. Lady Elena is the daughter of my Lord and is my charge. I apologize, but anything beyond that is private and I would ask you to not push the subject. These are my trouble, but they will not affect my performance."

[kreenlover]

"We did try and stop her. Why do you think she needed to take a Cloud-skimmer? And why do you think my voice is so high right now? She has a very strong kick you know. Its still quite painful"
The gnome shifts uncomfortably then looks to the group again.
"Anyways, yes, we saw the people with scrying, and I was that voice. Our scrying could see the edges of the island, but nothing inside. So, are you people all done here ready for bed? Or do you have things to do tonight?"

[Archmage1]

Liriel looks nonplussed by Anthos's answer.
Some sort of bodyguard? For a noble house? Then he may be competent. With luck.

"I won't inquire further then. I would be ready, but I think I'll need to locate Lilly again. She gets into the oddest mischief when I'm not around, and it always ends up being my fault. Hopefully, she went to the garden, and Thelanis was able to keep her under some control."

[Sliver]

"I can help!" Liriel hears in her mind as Anthos sighs. "I apologize for that..." He says and opens his pouch, allowing a crystal to fly out of it and climb up Anthos' arm with half-translucent spidery legs. "You can't help..." He begins, but stops. "Say it!" The crystal says. "Clyde..." Anthos looks defeated for a moment before grabbing the crystal. "She doesn't need your help. You don't even know who Lilly is and you don't know where the garden is. Will you let this one thing go?"

The crystal manages to look tall in Anthos' palm. "We cannot refuse a damsel in distress!" It declares.

"She is not in distress... And you should not assume she is a damsel either..." Anthos says and suddenly reddens. "I apologize for Clyde's behavior, Lady Liriel. Once he gets an idea into this hard mind of his, he won't let go... I know he is supposed to be some projection of my personality, but I swear I'm not this difficult..."

"Silence!" Clyde the Psicrystal declares. "Let me loose! I shall find Lilly!" and with that, his legs fold underneath and Clyde flies off in a random direction, probably looking for a garden.

"So much for a good first impression..." Anthos shakes his head. "Anyway, the sooner we go to bed, the sooner we wake and head out, right?" And with that, Anthos declares his readiness to sleep.

[Archmage1]

The surprising bodyguard produces yet another surprise, as a voice speaks in her head, and, moments later, a small crystal makes it's appearance.
Liriel watches the interaction between the two, which seemed somewhat similar to her interactions with Lilly. After the crystal leaves, Liriel looks at Anthos, understanding clear on her face.
"I see you have some experience with impetuous companions. Lilly is... sort of like that, and sort of not. You'll understand once you meet her. Don't worry, I'll keep an eye out for him while I look for Lilly."

And with that, the elf leaves, moving remarkably quickly for someone who was walking, as she headed towards the gardens, hoping to find Lilly there.
At the exit, she pauses, and looks back.
"We'll meet at the base of the tower at dawn."

[kreenlover]

"Alors, A M and A N, Amelia and Anthos, apples always allow axes and aggh! Alliterations are always agonizing after an abrupt appearance!
"Amelia, Anthos, after Arnold! Ha, yes, I did it!"
The little gnome hops in delight as the small homunculus in question crawls out of a pile of debris and leaps into the air on unsteady wings.
It blinks at the two and begins to fly lazily down the stairs, leading them to small spartan rooms that nonetheless contain the most comfortable beds the two have ever felt.

The brothers have conjured up a small portable keg stand and beer keg and are pulling off mugs for everyone nearby.
"We've got yer ale, true Dwarven ale, right here! C'mon up and drink with us, we've got tales te tell, songs te sing, and an impending adventure ta celebrate!"
Turning to Liriel one of them bows and offers her a mug.
"A mug o' ale for tha beauty?"

[Archmage1]

When she heads out through the base of the tower, Liriel is ambushed by the dwarves.
"Ah, no thank you. I'm afraid that I don't drink. Well, outside of some ceremonies, of course."

[Sliver]

Anthos steps into the room and looks around before feeling the bed. He frowns and shoves a hand into his pouch, producing a bedroll which he sets on the floor. After this ordeal is over with and he gets Elena home, it will be back to the hard bed in his quarters. And then there is the journey ahead of him... Anthos felt that perhaps the wizards were trying to impress them, make them believe that their job is more glamorous than it is. Anthos expected to sleep in dirt and mud, and indulging himself now would only dull his sense of the wild.

"Come back." Anthos says, but Clyde's will remains as hard as... Clyde.

"That is right, Lady Liriel!" Clyde says and lands on her head. "The drink fools the mind and weakens the soul's resolve! We are on a quest of the utmost importance!

[Archmage1]

Having seen Clyde coming, Liriel doesn't act surprised when he lands on her head.
"Hello again, Clyde. Good to see you again. I would prefer that you either address me as Guide Liriel, or just Liriel, but if you want to help me find Lilly, you're welcome to come along."
As she speaks, her thoughts are a bit different.
Definitely like Lilly. Although in a different way.

Wisely, she does not comment on his opinion of alcohol.

[kreenlover]

"Oi! Ye crystal thing there! Ye don't be dismissing Dwarven ale that easy! S'mere ye little shard an' I'll shove ye in tha barrel, give ye a taste o' heaven!"
The short dwarf hops about wildly, trying to reach the top of Liriel's head.
He comes far short, although he manages to slop ale over everything including but not limited to: Himself, the ground, a passerby, the tower door, Liriel, and his brother.
His brother turns when splashed and roars in anger.
"Don't ye be wastin' the ale brother! That's tha good stuff! Don't ye be wastin' it!"
He charges forwards and with an impressive flying leap grabs the tankard from his brother's hand. To add to the act he chugs the ale as he flies.
However impressive the flight is though, it terminates like any other, and he smashes into the ground, hard. Bouncing once, twice, and then rolling, he fetches up against the tower's base.
"Ow. Good thing we got more o' the ale, 'cause that'll need dulling!"
As he begins to laugh a shadow falls over the group.
Turning they see the cause of that shadow.
The monster (http://puu.sh/9QTV4/c68255341e.jpg) towers over the gathered people and snorts in derision.
Its voice is like the rumbling of boulders mixed with the screams of the damned and the crackling of a fire.
"These are my competitors for the Island's secrets? Two drunken acrobats, a half naked feral woman and some elf who refuses to accept compliments? Well, I see it will be a short battle indeed"
Another man (http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2012/191/f/7/pyromancer_by_thedurrrrian-d56ortj.jpg)steps out from behind the giant and smirks.
"Please, don't waste our time on banter. Lets get the information we came for and get back to preparing"
They shoulder their way past the group and into the building.

[Sliver]

Clyde speaks again, but only to Liriel this time. "La- Guide Liriel, they are clearly proving my point! The dwarves cannot even hold their own liquor!" But he quiets down as the two monsters appear.

These... These things were called into the expedition too?!" Clyde sounds outraged, still only speaking to Liriel's mind. "Not a whole brain between them, those wizards."

[Archmage1]

When the dwarf objects to Clyde's description of the ale, Liriel is almost tempted to roll her eyes. Almost.
And just like Lilly, Clyde gets me into trouble. Although, Lilly is friendly about it, and it wouldn't be right for me to refuse her, but still... they might get along quite well. Or not at all.
While she thinks, she evades the dwarf's pawing, and moves quite quickly, avoiding the ale spill.
"Master Dwarf, while I acknowledge dwarven ale as perhaps the supreme ale, I would prefer to not be coated in it. Besides, isn't it a waste of perfectly good ale? It'd probably knock me out after one sip, and Clyde here couldn't appreciate it, since I don't think he can drink anything at all."

She watches, bemused, as the dwarves fight it out, and Clyde comments. Unfortuantly, she has no idea how to respond, so she can only try thinking at him.
I'm not sure if that is the liquor or not. Best to leave them be. There are all sorts of people in the world.

When the two strangers appear, Liriel watches them carefully. Clearly, they don't fit in with the rest of the group.
"Not competitors. Allies. Remember, we are all to be working together."
Thinking to herself, she considers the pair.
They seem to be certain that they, and only they will be returning. I wonder if they'll go with us, and betray us at a later date, or if they will simply betray us immediately. There was that wizard who was so afraid that someone might steal his research that he tried to kill me right after he told me where he wanted to go. Never did make any sense of that. Regardless, they seem even less trustworthy than any of my Guidees.
Taking advantage of the distraction they offered, she departs, heading for the road to the city's famous gardens.

Liriel has evasion, so I figured that it would be reasonable for her to dodge the wasted ale.
I imagine that there will be more dialog before Liriel reaches the garden. And Brigid might want to talk to her as well(Whom she would stop for)

[TekHed]

"Island, yes. Go I there." Brigid said, referring to her twin grizzlies. The princess took the proffered mug and sniffed at it, her nose quickly wrinkling up. She took an exploratory sip, then violently aspirated right back through her lips.

"Bad water! You poison I?!?" Her bears seemed to react to her agitation; Guntr growled at the Way brothers, while Brynhldr reared up on her hind legs, towering over the dwarves.

The trio of ursine were quickly distracted however by the arrival of two new arrivals, both seeming exotic and quite inhuman. For a moment, it seemed there would be a challenge, and Brigid's naked back, shoulders, and cheekbones momentarily bulged and grew with a sickening crunching sound, but then the two left and she managed to calm herself down, her features deflated back to her usual brawny proportions.

Now where has that girl run off to? She thought to herself, much more eloquently in Sylvan. She sniffed at the air and quickly picked up her effervescent scent.

Scowling, she thrust the mag back into Rayab's hand. "Stream fouled. Need get fresh water for trip. Must go. Find woman now."

Brigid made a noise that sounded exactly like a bear, and presently her two companions came along. They quickly outpaced Liriel, sniffing at delicate tracks in the soil, bloodhounds on the hunt.

[Neely]

Amelia stands at the door to her room, fighting the urge to just go to bed. Ultimately, she decides it would be best if she tried talking to the others. She would be spending a lot more time with them soon. Reluctantly, she walks outside, passing a large monstrous man and his companion on the way. As she steps outside she gives a small smile to the nearby arguing dwarves, and looks around for Liriel, Lilly, and most importantly Brigid, one of the few shifters Amelia had seen in a long time.

[Archmage1]

Seeing Amelia come out, and Brigid and her bears rush past, Liriel pauses, and looks at Amelia, wondering if she wanted to come along as well.

[Neely]

Seeing the elf pause, Amelia jogs up to her and smiles. "Hey, uh, it was Liriel right? Where'd your little friend fly off to?"

[Archmage1]

Waiting for Amelia to catch up, Liriel uses the time to choose a route to the garden, knowing that Lilly would probably be there... somewhere.
At Amelia's question, Liriel nods.
"I am Liriel, and you are Amelia. I suspect that Lilly will have ended up in the gardens, but they are fairly large, and she could be anywhere in them. It will probably be easier to find Thelanis than Lilly. Do you want to come and look as well? The gardens are quite beautiful, and are certainly worth the trip."

[Neely]

"Um, uh, yeah. Yeah. I'd love to come along. The gardens sound great. I'm a druid, so you know, nature's good. For me." Amelia winces slightly after once again jumbling her words. She starts to walk with Liriel to the gardens "Lilly seemed somewhat interested in my shaping before. Think that there's any particular form she may find cool? I could become a petal, or like, an eagle or something."

[Archmage1]

"Of course. The gardens are this way."
Liriel heads confidently down a series of small side streets, a more direct path to the gardens.

As Amelia asks about Lilly's fascination with Amelia's shaping, Liriel smiles wryly.
"I think that she would find any form to be cool. She finds pretty much everything to be interesting, and fun. She might be a little confused, but once she figures it out, she will be very interested. She's very curious, and very easily distracted."

[Neely]

Amelia laughs, "Yes, I noticed."
As they move, she shifts to become a petal. She shrinks down and becomes a tiny, flying version of herself, with rose petal hair. They continue along, making light conversation, and soon reach the garden to begin the search for the fey.

[Archmage1]

Noting the form that Ameila chose, Liriel thinks to herself.
This is going to be an interesting meeting.

Reaching the edges of the garden, Liriel pauses, allowing Amelia to admire the stunning setup, with a large tree in the center of the first area, with flowers of all sorts and colors arranged around the outside of the area, with a small steam burbling along. The area is surrounded by hedge walls, which serve to separate the various exhibits. There is no sign of the petal here.
"It seems that she went deeper into the gardens. Why don't we try the rose section first, before we try the lilly exhibit. She's probably there, or at least, she's been there. Besides, they are quite nice, so we might as well take a look around.

[TekHed]

The direction the two should head is made more obvious by the various cries of alarm and fear heralding the arrival of two truly massive bears somewhere over yonder... :smallbiggrin:

[Sliver]

Clyde takes in the information, constantly relying everything to Anthos back in his room.

"Just let me sleep, please..." Anthos replies, not really taking in the bears or the shifting that Clyde talks about.

Talking only to Liriel, Clyde shares his bemusement. "Bears and flying tiny damsels, what fascinating people! Never seen anything quite so... Unique!" The flying, spider-legged crystal says from Liriel's head. "Well, besides Anthos and Lady Elena's trips to the zoo... And the traveling circus... I guess bears aren't so unique. But the other one, Lady Amelia, you said her name is? Please, La- Guide Liriel, could you introduce us?" He asks courteously.

[Archmage1]

Walking through the gardens still, heading towards the Rose Gardens now, Liriel looks slightly distracted as she talks with Clyde.
Seeing things in the world is very different from seeing them in cages, and in enclosures.
The tone of her thoughts seems to indicate that such things are quite distasteful.
I can certainly introduce you to her, Clyde.

She turns her head, slowly, looking at Ameila.
"Amelia, while you have already sort of met him, Clyde, the crystal on my head, would like me to introduce you to him. Clyde, this is Amelia. Amelia, this is Clyde, Anthos's companion."

[TekHed]

The trio, Liriel, Amelia, and the valorous Clyde pressed onward, like salmon against a flow of fleeing folk of all races and stripes. The maze-like hedge soon gave way to an open grassy vale, the centerpiece of which was a pristine pond filled with floating water lilies and glittering golden koi. Liriel had no trouble spotting her fairy friend, flitting from one flower to the next. Thelanis was momentarily nowhere to be seen, but presently broke the surface of the water with a brilliant splash. Time seemed to stand still as the nymph's beauty radiated outward, water droplets catching the light like a million glittering diamonds, wreathing her for a fleeting moment in a rainbow of refracted colors. While a sign nearby proclaimed that the pond was not for swimming, the Nine Hells of Baator take anyone who would stand between a fey and her frolic. Nearby, one of the bears amused itself by batting at koi while the other lounged on the grass, providing a warm and furry rest for a reclining Brigid.

Just then two park rangers burst onto the scene from the opposite direction of the trio of travelers, having heard reports of beasts running amok in the garden. As soon as they laid their eyes on Guntr and Brynhldr they knocked arrows, but a moment later caught sight of Thelanis and quickly went slack-jawed with shock and awe.

[Neely]

Amelia smiles at the crystal, a slight look of confusion on her face. She wasn't really sure it was a living creature. "Uh, hello Clyde. Nice to meet you. Can I ask, um, what you are exactly?"
As she gets her response, they all arrive in this new area of the garden, and Amelia is forced to stop dead in her tracks for a moment, just hovering in the air. "Wow... that's a beautiful sight. The animals, the flowers, the... fey... I- yeah."

[Archmage1]

Admiring Thelanis for a moment, Liriel's mind soon turns back to business. For all the nymph's beauty, it didn't appeal to her. Luckily, Lilly was there as well, flitting from lilly to lilly, presumably, trying to teach them to be better flowers.
While she rapidly spotted Lilly, the opposite was also true. Lilly sees Liriel, and smiles, darting over to her, but, along the way, she spots Petal Amelia, and pauses with amazement, before coming closer, clearly quite excited. Her first words are to Liriel, but her attention is clearly drawn to the strange petal. Before Liriel can get a word in, she starts talking, excitedly.
"Liriel! You found someone else! Hi Rose, I'm Lilly! Do you live here? I didn't see any signs that this was your garden, but I could be wrong. It's lovely, with so many flowers, and they seem happy! My garden isn't this big, and it doesn't have nearly so many people visiting! Is it like this all the time? It must be wonderful!"

[Neely]

Amelia sticks her face out and lifts any hair/petals out of her face that may be present. "Don't you recognize me Lilly? It's me, Amelia! Remember? I was a pixie, and then I wasn't, and now I'm a different not-pixie! A petal! See? I can turn into lots of things. I thought it would be fun to fly around the garden with you."

[Archmage1]

Lilly seems more than a bit taken aback by this, and she flies up to take a closer look.
"Amelia? But... you looked like Rose! Are you sure you're Amelia? She's big, and not an elf or pixie!"
She doesn't seem quite convinced.
Liriel just watches, silently.

[Neely]

Amelia smiles widely, "Yep! I'm sure it's me! I can turn into all sorts of things! I could even turn into another bear!"

Do your petals know each other? That's adorable.

[Archmage1]

Lilly's face looks like a dozen thoughts flow across it instantly, each one more.. interesting than the last, but almost immediately, she smiles happily.
"We already have two bears! But let's go and look at the flowers! Come on!"
After a moment's pause, she zooms off, heading to some of the lillies.
"Do you like them? They're my flowers! But they're happy here too!"
Strangely enough, to your petal eyes, the flowers appear to be incredibly beautiful, the colors incredibly vibrant. You can see why Lilly loves flowers. If she sees them all like this, how could she stand to leave? There is one, however, that doesn't look so vibrant, standing on its own.

[kreenlover]

As the group makes their way back to the tower they see others arriving. Men with pieces of cloth wrapped around their bodies like a mummy but clearly not dead, a woman with crossbows everywhere and bandoliers of bolts, two mages floating on carpets of air, a snake charmer with dozens of snakes, and the list goes on.
Likely you'll meet all of them in the morning on the boat ride out.

The sun dawns bright and early. As it rises above the city there is a knocking on your doors, and then they fly open.
A basin of water and a towel fly in carried by unseen servants, are deposited on a table, and then the doors slam shut as the servants depart.

[Archmage1]

Lilly has a fine time showing Amelia around, and trying to teach her how to care for flowers properly, something that she knows a great deal about. After several hours, she gets tired, and flies over to Liriel, who had casually climbed a tree, and was observing the tiny fey from there. She settles in on Liriel's shoulder, and goes to sleep, humming happily.
Once the fey lands, Liriel meditates, her breathing slow, and even.

Once the dawn reaches her, Liriel climbs down from the tree carefully, not wanting to wake the still sleeping petal, although once they leave the garden, Lilly wakes up, and, predictably enough, is quite eager.
"Come on Liriel, we can go and meet all of the people! It'll be fun! And then we can go on a trip, and see new things, maybe even new flowers! It'll be wonderful!"
"It will be different. Possibly wonderful, possibly dangerous. Be careful, Lilly."
Liriel tries, but she knows that Lilly will ignore any warning.
"Don't be silly, of course it will be wonderful! And it can't be dangerous, nothing ever is! Why would anything want to hurt us?"
Liriel just shakes her head, gently disagreeing with the tiny spirit, but not having the heart to tell her..

As the pair reaches the square, Lilly's eyes go wide as she takes in all of the strange people, and she immediately flies off to go and talk to them. (Not sure how you want to handle this, so I'll gloss over it for now)
Liriel stands apart, keeping a watchful eye on Lilly.

[Neely]

Amelia ends up feeling a little overwhelmed, but enjoys learning about the flowers from Lilly. When they head back to the tower, Amelia mostly ignores the newcomers, she's done enoughy socializing for today. She heads straight to her room and passes out quite quickly.

Awoken with a start, she looks at the towel and basin with extreme caution.
"Jeez, I ask them to give me a small room, don't need much, and they throw invisible butlers at me..."
She washes up and goes outside to see who else is up.

[TekHed]

Having eschewed the creature comforts proffered, Brigid and Thelanis awoke from where they bedded down with the bears in a nearby park (the rangers in the garden had finally regained enough composure to escort them to a more suitable area).

After washing up and foraging for a bit of breakfast, they all ended up with the others, Thelanis as bright and cheerful as ever, while Brigid gave every indication of murdering the first person who dared speak to her. Apparently she was not a morning person.

[kreenlover]

The man wrapped in cloth flips into the air and lands on his palm. From there he flips up into a handstand on only his pointer finger.
"Hello little Sprite. What brings you hfere today? You are certainly not one of those going to the island are you?"

A crowd is beginning to gather to watch the twenty lucky explorers and their tag alongs.

[Archmage1]

Lilly claps as the man flips, and puts on a brief show, smiling broadly.
"Of course I'm coming! I'm following Liriel, and someone needs to teach her how to have fun, so I will! She's standing over there, being bored!"
The petal points out Liriel, who is standing watchfully near the edge of the square, but not interacting with the others gathered, apparently preferring her thoughts.
"But you seem fun! MAybe you can help teach her! Do you do flips all the time? I can't."
She seems a little sad as she reveals that she can't do flips, and her voice seems a little quieter.
"I tried, but I nearly fell! Luckily, my flowers helped me! Flowers are always nice! Even the sad ones!"

[kreenlover]

"Child you are quite insane. I am sure of that fact. As to your friend I may not be able to help teach her how to have fun; I will be busy, like the others here, exploring the island and trying to discover its secrets.
"As for slips, it is part of my martial arts style. I can perform many stunts that most would think beyond the power of mankind. For example..."
He tenses his finger, and then pushes off.
As he flies up into the air he spins himself so that he is upright and then lands on one foot.
His foot is not touching the ground as he looks down at Lilly.
"It is all a matter of disbelieving that which is impossible and accepting that wish does indeed exist"

[Archmage1]

Lilly shakes her head as he says she's insane.
"I'm not insane! I'm me! Lilly! The very idea is silly! She'll help explore and things, she's one of the Elven Guides, but she doesn't know how to have fun, she's always so boring and stoic, so I'm trying to help her learn to have fun!"
As he flies up once more, she smiles again, clearly enjoying the show.
"Anything's possible, but some things just aren't fun, and others are way too much like work to be fun! But flying upside down is tricky, and it makes my head hurt! Maybe you can go and talk to her? Then she might join in the fun! And she might actually start to have fun!"

[Sliver]

As Anthos wakes up, he feels the slight nudge at his consciousness and opens the door, letting Clyde in. "Sure took your sweet time!" Clyde scolds.

"I was asleep, it is your fault for loitering all night." Anthos shrugs off the crystal and lets the invisible servants bring the water. After using it to clean and shine his sword and armor, Anthos meditates and leaves the room.

He manifests Sustenance on himself and Share Pain on Clyde.

Reaching the square, Anthos looks around and studies the others but not making a move to speak with any of them. With Clyde in his pouch, it was hard to remain still. Their combined eagerness at moving on and going into the island, finding Elena already... Every wasted moment, she was further away, and she always was elusive to him...

Too bad he never figured out why she was so elusive.

[kreenlover]

"Well child, perhaps I shall help your friend learn to have fun...later"

"Gather around everyone!"
The gnome floats up onto a pedestal at the doors of the wizards tower.
"Its time for you all to get going! The sun is up, the island awaits, and there are mysteries to be solved!"
The crowd begins to stir at the announcement as the twenty chosen gather around.
There is the pyromancer and the giant.
The masked man from the tower top last night.
The man wrapped in cloth who Lilly was talking to.
The woman with her crossbows and bandoliers of bolts.
The snake charmer, a large python draped across his shoulders and vipers coiled around his forearms.
Two mages on flying carpets. One has dismounted. He is clearly more powerful than the other, a halfling, who is likely an apprentice or some such.
A towering half-orc barbarian, his limbs bulging with muscle. No weapon is near him, but there seems to be alternately steam coming off of him and water condensing on his body.
A man with two long thin blades, one at each side. He looks vaguely feline and is dressed immaculately.
A woman who has daggers everywhere, spikes on her armour that seem to be able to detach, and bladed gauntlets.
An elven woman with a single scimitar. She wears long flowing robes and moves with a fluid grace, not quite standing still while the gnome speaks.
A man with a multitude of tools of every kind hanging off of him. He seems to be some kind of walking tool box, and has an odd contraption strapped to the underside of his arm; maybe some kind of weird sheath?
A woman wearing full plate and holding a shield emblazoned with the symbol of Apollo, Lord of Dawns. She has a deadly serious look on her face.
The two Way brothers stand off to one side, waving at the crowd and rubbing their temples. When you arrived they were just getting up from the ground where they had slept.
And of course, the five of you.

"These are the twenty who have been chosen; some of the others we asked refused or decided against it, so these are who will be going! Wish them luck, and now, the Cloudskipper Valiant approaches!"
As a shadow falls across the square the steady thrumming throbbing sound that had been growing since your arrival becomes terribly loud.
Looking up you can see a mighty cloudskipper, one of the fanciest and largest you have ever seen, descending from the clouds above.
The four lift rotors beat furiously, the magical engines that sustain them working as hard as they can to maintain the lift, keep the 'skipper from crashing into the crowd below.
As it continues to sink the gnome begins to gesture and mumble and a cradle of metal springs from his sleeves to land in place just as the ship sinks into it. Ladders drop down for the explorers to ascend.
"All aboard who are going aboard! Anything you need to do here, get it done fast! We leave in five minutes!"

[Archmage1]

Lilly looks terribly disappointed as the man refuses.
"Aw... ok"
Her voice seems low, and downcast.

When the gnome speak up, Liriel heads a bit closer, and Lilly flies back over to her.
"Liriel! I made a friend, and he's going to help you to learn to have fun! Isn't it wonderful!"
Lilly is animated, and clearly happy.
"Thank you, Lilly. I'm sure it will be an enlightening experience."
Liriel's response almost seems to be pro-forma, as though she didn't really think about it before saying it. Lilly, luckily, didn't notice.
"No, silly, it'll be fun! Much better than enlightenment."
"If you say so, Lilly."
Liriel does not sound convinced, and Lilly just sighs. She keeps trying, but Liriel was almost impossible. She never had any fun.

When the Valiant comes, Liriel looks at it.
A Cloudskipper. A very large one. I've seen small ones at the village, but never one so large, and so well cared for. Her captain must love his ship.
Lilly just looks at it, wide eyed. Her expression clearly conveys her thoughts. Well, some of them.
Woa! That's a big flying thing! It's even bigger than Mr. Bear!

When the gnome finally says all aboard, Lilly zooms up, eagerly looking around. Liriel, moving quickly, walks up the ladders, and moves out of the way of those behind her, looking around as well.

[Neely]

Amelia smiles, mostly to herself. Finally! She will be heading to the new land, and hopefully will find some new creatures. The ship does look quite marvelous, and she heads towards the ladders without delay, making sure everyone is able-bodied enough to climb aboard as well.

[TekHed]

Brigid looked somewhat forlorn at Thelanis, and the nymph walked over, taking her fierce head in her hands and pressing their foreheads together.

(In Sylvan)

"I don't want to leave you." she said.

"I know," Thelanis replied, looking into her eyes. "But you must seek out this new wilderness, and I must remain to look after things here. Fret not, my love, for I will be but a summon away, should you truly need me."

(In Ursine)

"Guntr. Brynhldr. Keep your sister safe for me." The two massive bears growled in response.

The odd couple embraced for a long moment, then shared a kiss, before Brigid began to float up into the air and away. In a comical, and yet frightening display, her twin cohorts managed to wrangle onto the dangling ladders, and haul themselves up towards the airship...sending those just above them clamoring for the safety of the passenger cabin above.

[Archmage1]

After waiting for a few minutes, Lilly flies over to the edge of the Cloudskimmer, and looks down at everyone below.
"Come on everyone! The big flying boat is going to carry us all, and it'll be wonderful!"

[kreenlover]

The Valiant is quite impressive on the deck.
It is all nice burnished copper and polished wood, beautiful finish and gorgeous detailing.
It's truly a magnificent ship.
And it remains that way for the next three seconds.
Then the gnome teleports aboard and upends a bag of holding.
Just the most random utter crap goes everywhere leaving people wading through the notes and papers of an insane archmage.
"Ha, love doing that. So, now that I have all your attention, you guys want to help? I've got the info you all need and the list of things we want you to do on a sheet somewhere in this mess, but I put it in here instead of in my haversack. Whoops.
"So! What you're going to do is each take a haversack"
He points to a small pile at his feet.
"And shove handfuls of papers into them until they are full. And then ask it for the list of stuff you need to do. If it doesn't give you the right one come over here, and dump everything back into the bag of holding. Got it?"
He smiles for a few seconds until the ship begins to lift off, the huge rotors kicking up drafts and...
sending the papers flying everywhere turning the air into a whirling storm of white.
"No!" There is true anguish in the little man's voice and you can barely see him hopping, tripping on his robe, then leaping up again to grab at as many papers as possible and stuff them back into the bag of holding. "My notes! My research! My to do lists! My designs! My fan-fictions!"

[Sliver]

Anthos looked at the others as they climbed up on the ladder and decided against pulling his full plated self up, instead choosing to lift off the ground and fly in an upwards spiral, landing on the deck. He scanned the deck, somehow hoping that Elena would magically appear among the crowd, as the gnome...

"Who would expect wind on an open-decked airship?" He asks with a frown. He watched the mess, he sighed. This was not part of his training, nor duty. What kind of information they could even supply them? And hand out tasks... Without them knowing anything substantial about the destination, they could be vague. Collect plantlife, study wildlife, try to create a friendly relationship with the locals if possible...

While Anthos seemed not too concerned about the task in front of them, seeing as he only joined this trip to find Elena, Clyde flew out of his pouch and began using his spidery feet to grab as many pieces of paper as possible, while trying to encourage Anthos to do the same.

[Archmage1]

As the gnome explains, Liriel listens attentively to his plan, and once his explanation is complete, she starts to gather papers, moving fluidly. However, once the airship motors start up, she starts moving much more rapidly, her hands almost seeming to flicker as she collects the sheets.
Why do people never seem to think things through?

Lilly, on the other hand, laughs and smiles as she chases down some of the flying papers, and catches them, clearly having a fine time.

[Neely]

Amelia smirks at the large mess of the gnome, then sighs. Grabs a bag, and starts to pick up papers. Then the wind picks up and Amelia's eyes widen in a panic, she drops the haversack and chooses the first multi-limbed creature that pops into her mind, and activates he wild shaping ability.

Suddenly Amelia's flesh shifts and blackens as she bursts into a mass of tentacles. Like a pile of moving spaghetti, the black tentacles move quickly and efficiently. Given a moment to look, it becomes clear that the form looks very similar to an octopus but with eyeballs all over it's body and limbs, and given time to count, one would find that it has thirty-six tentacles total, all fifteen feet long. All of her clothing stays on the new body, and still fits quite well, though at all looks really awkward on a body not built for things like cloaks. The tentacles quickly whip out, grabbing as many papers as possible shoving them in the haversack on the ground.

So she turns into a Darktentacles from MMII.
It looks like this:
http://www.orcedinburgh.co.uk/wiki/images/Darktentacles.gif
I'll also roll a spot check to grab for anything interesting or noteworthy: [roll0].

[kreenlover]

As others look on the wizard on the carpet sighs and makes a few quick hand motions.
A wall of wind appears at the rear of the cloudskipper, sending those papers that would have flown back swirling into a mailstrom above the deck.
As he begins to cast again his apprentice summons an air elemental. It is soon joined by a much larger one, and together the two elementals sweep all the papers into their bodies and then into the haversacks.
"Ah. Thanks. Thats healful everyone, really is"
He sighs and begins to collect the haversacks, each time asking for the list, and each time coming up empty. Once he last has failed he scratches his head for a minute before his mouth forms an 'o'.
Removing his hat he reaches in and pulls out a folded and crumpled piece of paper.
"Found it. Whoops"
He unfolds it and strikes a pose.
"*ahem* The full and complete manifest of tasks that you are to undertake.
1) Explore the island
2) Record that which you've explored
3) Don't destroy it. That includes setting large parts of it on fire or mining or anything stupid like that. Also, don't have any really big fights with anything; try and keep it low key
4) Don't offend any natives. You don't necessarily need to talk to them, but don't offend them or break any taboos or anything
5) Make us a map
6) Don't get lost
7) Don't take anything. If you do end up taking something you're gonna have to give it to us
8) Don't die without arranging for a way to send your map to us
9) Don't be stupid
10) If you find someone else dead, take their map and their stuff. And their body. We don't want to leave corpses lying around, and their stuff might be useful to you
"And thats it! We'll be stationing the Valiant off the coast, so if you need anything go to the landing place, signal us, and we'll send someone for you. Best map gets best pay, and then you go from there. Other info is worth other amounts based on what it is. Sound good?"

[Archmage1]

I was kinda hoping someone else would go first here. Alas, nope.

Liriel wordlessly approaches the gnome, and hands him the papers that she gathered, before heading back to the edge of the ship. Lilly, on the other hand, smiles, and flies up to the gnome.
"I caught these! They look important!"
She's holding a couple of sheets of paper, and is being blown around quite a bit in the breeze.

As the gnome finds the paper at last, Liriel listens as he explains the requirements.
All that, for those requirements? It seems quite basic, but this is a charting expedition. Then again, they hired people who have no idea what they are doing.

[Neely]

"I'm not much of a map-maker, I'm here for the wildlife. I'll be sure to bring back note on the creatures." The voice of the young woman sounds odd coming from the tentacled monster. She moves to the edge of the ship looking to get the first glance of this new land.

[kreenlover]

"Right then! Good to know that everyone's ready and raring to go! Captain, full speed ahead!"
The captain nods and slams the levers down.
There is a roar and the Valiant leaps forwards, flying towards the island ahead.
Others rush to the front, but Amelia is the first to see the island.
A beautiful picturesque place, trees line the edge after a short beach.
Beyond that, further in, a single mountain rises up. On top of it is some kind of structure, but its hard to see what; it is partly obscured by clouds.
The gnome runs forwards to stand beside her.
"Oh! Thats new!"
Some type of fish leaps in the harbour and the trees rustle in places with the movement of animals.
As the group watches a part of the forest rears up. Underneath it is a monstrous creature (http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2011/056/e/8/forest_monster_by_gianflo-d3adadz.jpg). It swats at something below and then stuffs whatever it hit into its mouth.
Then, shuddering for a moment, sending small creatures flying from its back, it settled back down into the ground of the island.

[TekHed]

Brigid didn't move a muscle at the gnome's antics. The little lecher deserved any and all misery that befell him. If he even so much as looked in her direction, he found two very stern looking grizzly bears snarling and salivating back at him.

"Why not fly top of mountain in ship?" She asked Liriel.

[Archmage1]

As the ship jerks forward, Lilly grabs onto the gnome's hat, so she doesn't get thrown off by the wind. She seems to be smiling cheerfully, evidently enjoying the breeze.
Liriel, on the other hand, easily holds her balance against the sudden jerk of motion, and heads to the front as they move, seeing the huge beast at almost the same time as Amelia.
"The island is quite beautiful, but..."
At this point, the giant creature comes into sight.
"That is a remarkable creature. I'm not sure if I've ever seen anything like it, but it would be wise to avoid it. It's large enough that it could kill us accidently. What it would do if it were trying would only hasten the process."
[roll0] know: Nature
Lilly has a much more succinct answer: "Ooh! He's really, really big! Maybe we can say hi, and ask him! He's sure to know things!"
Liriel looks over at her companion, smiling.
"Maybe, but he might not be intelligent. Better off finding something else to talk to first. Besides, we probably won't encounter him initially, and there will be other things to see, maybe even more wonderful than he is."
Lilly looks excited by this.
"Really! That would be wonderful! And fun! And maybe you'll have fun! Do you really think so?"
Liriel nods, before continuing her survey of the island.

When Brigid asks her question, Liriel responds in Sylvan.
"I don't think that there's any reason in particular, however, it is quite possible that the mountain is more dangerous than the rest of the forest, so it makes sense to learn what we can before heading there. Also, mountains tend to have high winds, which would make it harder to safely land this ship."

[kreenlover]

"Also, that mountain wasn't there yesterday. No way am I ordering the Valiant anywhere near it. Like, I mean, the island was there, but it didn't have a mountain. And now it has a mountain. And I don't get it"

[Sliver]

Anthos watches the giant turtle for a few moments before examining the mountain. If only she had boarded a normal ship, picking up her scent might have been much easier. But like this... Choosing any place is just as likely to be right as any other. Well, most of them.

"It's better to not start at the mountain anyway. It will advance poorly any of our goals. It's too high to use as a vantage point to map the area, might have hostile creatures occupying it, and as Liriel pointed out, the weather may be too wild for-" Anthos pauses, thinking whether or not he should shift to Sylvan or not, deciding against it and continuing in common. "Landing, especially since it is apparently new... We should land in some clearing, probably far from the giant rock turtle that might decide we are a territorial threat, and move towards the mountain. Hopefully, we'll find someone friendly that might know something about the mountain."

[Neely]

Amelia has been silent, but if you could see her behind all the tentacles, and if you could read octopus facial expresions, you would see her in complete awe of the creature she just saw.
"Wow, I wonder what that is? Is it a plant? It had trees growing from it, but it could be an animal... OH! WHAT IF IT'S A HYBRID. THAT WOULD BE AMAZING!"
The large mass of tentacles starts to bounce slightly, ready to hop off the boat as soon as it docks.

[kreenlover]

"Ok, we're going in!"
The Valiant swoops down, the engines chugging down as it hovers above the bay. The downdraft from the engines whips the waters into a frenzy and creatures flee the area, terrified of the flying ship.
The gnome waves his hands and the smaller lifeboats rise up out of their storage containers on the decks, hanging in place for the people to clamber in.
"Team up or not, I don't care, just go, get out, explore down there!"
The lifeboats have some small steering capability, enough so that you can decide where on the island you want to land; further inland, directly below, down by the beach...it might even be possible to pilot one across, and get to the far side before it touched down.

[Archmage1]

Liriel goes to get in one of the boats, but Lilly flies up above head height, and calls out.
"Does anyone want to go with us? It'll be fun! I promise!"
Liriel sighs, but looks everyone over, wondering who'll come along as well.

[TekHed]

Brigid rises up into a barrel roll next to Lily, aerially dancing with joy next to the tiny fey. Meanwhile, Brynhldr, and Guntr lumber clumsily over the side of the landing craft, smooshing their soft fur against Liriel.

[Neely]

"I've had some bonding time with you guys now. I might as well tag along." Amelia answers, climbing aboard the raft, trying to take up as little space as possible in her now larger form.

[Sliver]

Anthos seems to miss the question, thinking about the titan... Would the three others rise here, or perhaps areas rise somewhere else in the world... And why now? Clyde shakes him out of his thoughts as he calls to Lilly and Liriel, as well as Brigid and Amelia. "We would join you, if you would have us!" He says. Anthos sighs and simply nods. "I think we should land on the beach and travel inwards, scout the area, try to make contact. If we fly in these boats deeper into the island, we might risk attracting more attention than we would want... Perhaps that titan over there, or maybe another. Them being here makes me uneasy... More change atop more change..." Anthos floats up and sets a foot at the edge of the boat, Clyde crawling to his shoulder.

[Archmage1]

Lilly smiles, her eyes twinkling with delight as Brigid does a barrel roll, and she seems even happier(If that were possible) when Amelia and Anthos decide to come along.
"Yay! Thank you! Liriel's much too silly to ask for company, even when you're really nice!"
Liriel moves back to the edge of the boat, leaving plenty of room for everyone, but the bears do the same thing, leaving her a little crowded.
"You are welcome to come, all of you. Scouting alone in an unknown land is quite foolish. Anthos, you are correct. Scouting from the edge in is the best choice, as that way, we have a chance of having a relatively safe place to run to if things go poorly."
She speaks up more loudly, so that those on the cloudskipper can hear.
"Does anyone else wish to come with us?"
Lilly flies over to Liriel, and lands on her shoulder, grinning.

[kreenlover]

Nobody else boards, as the boat is quite full now.
The gnome waves, and then gives it a shove with his boot.
Its a testament to how well-oiled the ship is kept that the boat slides down the tracks and falls over the side.
There is a brief moment of panic, and then Liriel gets it under control, finding herself sitting by the controls.
The boat glides down, floating through the air as the Valiant launches other boats.
None land near where yours end up, in a small sheltered cove pretty close to where the Valiant has settled into the water on its pontoons.
Debarking you find yourselves on soft white sand. Ahead of you the lush jungle drips. It seems like a rainstorm has just finished, for everything glistens with water. A small river flows down the middle of the beach, cutting it in half and flowing towards your boat.
There is no noise but the gentle sound of waves lapping against the boat and the shore, and the occasional snuffle from the bears.
And then Lilly spots a beautiful purple flower the size of Liriel not too far into the forest.

[Archmage1]

As Liriel realizes that she's the one closest to the controls of the strange boat, she quickly experiments, and learns how to control it. Since that emergency was ended, she surveys the area nearby, seeking a good landing spot, and she finds one, where it should be safe to leave the boat while they look around. Liriel climbs out, and pulls out some paper, beginning to map the area. Unfortunately, this leaves her at a disadvantage when Lilly spots something of interest.
"Ooh! It's so pretty! See!"
Before Liriel can do more than look up, Lilly zooms towards the flower, wanting to get a better look at it. Liriel tries to think if she's seen or heard anything about similar flowers.
[roll0] know: nature
"Lilly! Be careful!"
Lilly doesn't seem to hear Liriel's warning, and Liriel just shakes her head, unsurprising. She follows the curious petal, hoping that Lilly wasn't getting herself into too much trouble.

[kreenlover]

Liriel has no idea what it is, although that doesn't seem to stop Lilly from flying all around it trying to look at it from every direction at once.
She gets a chance to see it from the inside when the petals gently fold closed with the speed of a striking viper. For a moment she is trapped inside, and then it opens again, and the petal, now slightly damp from the flower's digestive juices, flutters back out. A quick shake rids her of the juices.

[Archmage1]

As she reaches the giant flower, Lilly's smiling, and is clearly quite happy. She flutters all around the flower, cheerfully describing it(Something that can be summed up as "She's a beautiful flower!"). When it closes around her, Liriel looks quite worried, and draws her scimitars, but before she can do anything, the flower lets Lilly go, who now looks somewhat sad.
"Aw... she's such a nice flower, but... I can't grow her in my garden! She's hurt the birds, and the bees, and everyone else, and flowers shouldn't hurt anyone!"
She looks more than a bit confused, but Liriel arrives, and she looks quite relieved, her scimitars once more in their sheathes.
"Lilly, you had us all worried! The flower was going to eat you, but you're ok! Can you please try to keep close to us as we explore? If you spot something interesting, just point it out to us, and we'll go and take a look."
Lilly looks back at the elf, starting to look sad.
"No flower would hurt me! And what if it's really, really interesting? Like this flower! What if you don't come with me!"
Liriel looks over to Lilly, who, at this point, has settled on her shoulder.
"Lilly, please, just tell us before. We like interesting things too, but we're more cautious than you. You wouldn't want to hurt us because we were trying to rescue you, would you?"
Lilly looks quite horrified at the mere thought of hurting them.
"Of course not! But... you wouldn't be hurt, would you?"
Liriel just looks at her, her gaze saying it all, and Lilly seems to droop, ashamed of herself.
Liriel then smiles at her.
"It's ok, Lilly. Just please be more cautious."
Lilly nods, still looking sad, as Liriel walks back to the others(Who, presumably, either followed, or waited on the beach.) As she goes, she writes a brief description of the flower, as well as its attempt to eat Lilly, and a drawing.
Once she reaches them, she starts talking in a calm, but commanding voice.
"Ok, now that emergency is over with, we need to get started scouting. We're here to survey the island, and to find out as much about it as we can. To do this, we will need to wander around the area. Now, the standard way to survey an area is to find a creek, or a stream, or a river, and head up it, as most civilization can be found nearby rivers. I think that makes sense here as well, as it doesn't look like this place came from under the ocean. Now, since we have a stream here, why don't we head up it, and see what we find?"
With that said, she heads to the bank of the stream, and waits for the others.

[Neely]

Having followed Lilly and Liriel on their little adventure, Amelia takes a moment to closely study the large flower, pulling at it's leaves with her many tentacles. She takes immense care to look at the mouth and any parts that seem to be able to move on their own. What an interesting new discovery! Amelia has been on the brink of being able to change into plants for quite a while now, she wonders how long until she may be able to become this one, assuming she ever could. Taking many mental notes, she then follows the two back to the others.
"The stream sounds good, it's as good a place to start as any, and water is a benefit to me in this form."

[Sliver]

Anthos nods. "I'll keep an eye and a nose for any tracks that might have been left here. Fishers, washers, herbalists, you know..." He says, and adds to Clyde. You help too. OF COURSE!

With Clyde swirling around his head, Anthos walks with the others keeping an eye out for tracks and scents that might belong to humans or humanoids. And hoping that he'd also pick up Elena's scent, unlikely as it is to be so easy...

Anthos is in Hunter's Stance for Scent.

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

[TekHed]

Brigid floated out of the landing craft, and alighted not on the ground, but about an inch above, where she walked as if on an invisible cushion of nothing. Her giant grizzlies joined her, but left footprints the same as any other. While the others busied themselves with notation and cartography, she took in the landscape. The foul gnomish lecher might think she is doing his bidding, but in truth she only ever did her own. She cared not for wealth, or trinkets, or any other such baubles he might dangle before them. No, she came to explore. For the Great Bear was guardian and steward of all nature.

Knowledge Nature: [roll0]
Survival: [roll1]
Spot: [roll2]
Listen: [roll3]
Search: [roll4]

[Archmage1]

Seeing that everyone was ready, Liriel, with Lilly flying along nearby(And darting off to look at rocks, plants, and other things of interest), leads the way up the stream, looking around alertly for anything of interest, and carefully mapping as she goes.

[kreenlover]

The way is easy enough, the plants gorgeous and strange to everyone. Strange creatures hoot and call in the underbrush, from far away, from nearby. Brightly coloured birds fly overhead, birds that none can recognize save the annoying mimicry parrots that seem to have spread across the entire world. Some of these decide to follow the party, repeating anything that is said until chased off.
The day is beautiful, the sun is warm, shining down through gaps in the trees overhead. As you venture further in the trees more akin to palms, with frond-like leaves, give way to those more akin to jungle trees.
It is a strange and beautiful place.

There...is a scent here. Something really smelly passed this way. Recently.
The smell is of death, rot, and new growth, flowers, spring, and festering putrescence, all rolled into one horrid stench. It is weak enough that the others do not smell it, although perhaps the bears will, but with your nose, you can tell.
It too followed the stream for a time.
The flower is unknown, as are all plants and trees. None of them are familiar, none of them match anything at all. All of it is strange, all of it is wrong and bad.
A quick sniff of the berries on a nearby bush, seeing how they crush between the fingers, seeing how they taste on the tip of the tongue, reveals that they are good to eat.
The weather promises to be good for the rest of the day, until close to sunset. It'll rain then, likely torrential, but should clear up in time for sunset.
And it should repeat like this every day for as long as you can predict.

[Archmage1]

Lilly seems to be having the time of her life, getting to look at the many new flowers(And collect seeds), as well as investigating the colorful parrots(Who she also really likes).
Liriel seems to be writing a lot in her notebook as the group moves along, making notes on the new plants and trees, but trying to keep alert at the same time.

[Neely]

As they move along, Amelia tries to get a good look at any nearby creatures. Anything in the bushes or trees that try to come near and check out the newcomers. She pays a lot of interest to the parrots, attempting to get familiar enough with them that she could potentially turn into one, see what being one feels like. She attempts to mimic their squawks and caws and says sentences they say back to them, attempting to get one to land on one of her tentacles to get a closer look.


Wild empathy: [roll0]

[TekHed]

Brigid floated along, her bears never far behind, until she spied some berries nearby. Taking a cautious smell, and exploratory nibble, after several moments she ate the entire thing, then proceeded to pick the bushes clean with Guntr and Brynhldr.

Suddenly she caught a scent in the air.

"Bad thing go through here. Smell like death." she said.

[Archmage1]

Liriel continues to look around alertly, but Lilly squeaks, and hides behind Liriel, who pauses to look back at her, her gaze softening, and her voice reassuring.
"Lilly, it isn't here now, it just was here. You're safe. It'll be all right."
Lilly looks quite worried, and just shakes her head, wordlessly. Seeing this, Liriel sighs.
Why can't she ever be worried when she should be worried?
Speaking to the group, but softly, she tries to gently express her opinion.
"So a predator, or undead? Either way, we should try and follow the scent, see if we can get a look at it, preferably without being attacked. Can you tell how long ago it was here?"
Liriel looks for signs of the creature's passing, hoping to follow it herself, and get some information.
[roll0] Survival(With track and swift tracker)

[TekHed]

"Maybe flower? Smell like flower, or rotting tree." Brigid replied.

"Went upstream. That way..."

Surivial: [roll0]

[Archmage1]

Liriel nods.
"Agreed. Let's go then. Be quiet, since we don't want to disturb it."

Liriel seems to almost vanish into the shadowed undergrowth, although Lilly continues to flutter from interesting thing to interesting thing, smiling happily, often announcing how interesting something was(But quietly). Both continue up the stream.

[roll0] hide
[roll1] Move silently
(Move speed of 60 feet, so she can lead the group fairly easily, and act as a sentry)

[kreenlover]

The walk is a beautiful one, and Lilly is right to enjoy it. Amelia manages to get a whole flock of parrots on her tentacles, singing and squawking to her as the others look on with mild annoyance.

Then the scent of death floats through the air, and the group takes a detour.

As they follow its path the light begins to dim, the spots of light and patterns of shadows cast by the leaves becoming less and less obvious. The trees begin to rustle as the breeze becomes a wind and the parrots fly away, squawking loudly, sounding nothing less than terrified. The bushes all fall still, no insects buzz or chirp...nothing moves as even the breeze fades away.

In this interlude Liriel creeps forwards, motioning for the others to stop as she sees a clearing up ahead.

She creeps forwards, soft pine leaves and moss underfoot cushioning her already quiet footfalls.

A step closer. Then another. And another.

And she is there.

Poking her head through the branches she sees...two people. Both teenagers. A boy, and a girl. The boy is of average height for a teenage male, around 5'7". He has dark skin, so dark it is almost ebony. His hair sticks out wildly from his head and he wears naught but rags. A simple spear of sharpened wood, more a long stake, is clutched in his hands.

The girl is his opposite, his negative almost. Her hair is blond, where his is black, and her skin is so pale as to be almost ghostly, the colour of newfallen snow. She wears a simple, yet elegant and beautiful dress of some white cloth, and rocks back and forth on the balls of her feet. Both are barefoot.

The girl has a smile on her face and is talking quietly while the boy darts glances all around. She is shorter than he is, but not by much, likely being around 5'5". She has a grace about her that the boy lacks; for some reason Liriel is reminded of night and day, the rushing business of the day being encapsulated in the boy's too-fast movements, his obvious nervous energy, while the girl, with her paleness, quiet grace, and calm, like the nights when the full moon rises and all is still.

Before she can say anything the two look up at the sky in unison, and then the respite ends.

There is a flash of light followed instantaneously by a crack of thunder as a lightning bolt strikes three paces to the elf's left. As she throws herself away from what will surely become a brush fire she lands in the mud created in mere seconds by a downfall of rain so thick that the group cannot see their hands in front of their faces. Lilly is knocked from the air by the force of the water, and has to be caught by one of the others lest she drown in the rapidly rising water levels.

When a lightning flash next lights up the clearing Liriel can see that both children have vanished.

[Archmage1]

Lilly has a fine time, talking to parrots, finding strange flowers, sparkly rocks, and all manner of petal attractants.

Keeping an eye on Lilly as she advances, Liriel moves swiftly and silently, following the tracks, but when she seen the two teenagers, she's quite surprised.
Humanoids? And the source of that smell and trail, it seems. Odd. They are not what they appear to be, but what are they? And what language do they speak?
Intending to get a closer look, and maybe get in some evesdropping, Liriel starts cautiously moving closer, confident in her stealth abilities, but before she can take the second step, they react. Alerted by their action, Liriel tries to be ready for anything, and it's well that she was, as she barely dodges the lightning strike, does a handstand, and lands on her feet, just as the rain starts. Lilly, luckily, was quite near Androl, and successfully manages to grab onto his face, looking quite bedraggled in the uncaring rain. She is, of course, smiling, inches from his eyes.
Knowing well the threat of a sudden rainfall, Liriel tries to make it over to the others, hoping she was in time.
Shouting, so that she might be heard.
"We need to get out of the stream! This rain will cause a flood almost instantly! This way!"
Remembering the terrain before the storm, she starts heading uphill, away from the stream, hoping that Lilly was all right, and that someone would take care of her. In this weather, that was all she could hope for.

[Sliver]

Anthos frowned as the kids seemed to bring a storm before disappearing. Is this place governed by a different set of deities? Made sense, but why would they appear among them and welcome them in such a way... Mysterious are the ways of gods. Perhaps it was to make them feel unwelcome, force them to leave? Or perhaps those were some other beings that took the form of kids and bring the storm with them...

Anthos lets Lilly grab onto him as he grabbed at the edges of his fluttering cloak and tucked it under his belt. Take shelter there! Clyde called through his mental link to Lilly as Anthos held her as gently as he dared and tucked her into his makeshift pocket. For a moment, he felt like a backwards kangaroo.

He did not dare fly in this weather... Well, he dared, but he did not want to exert himself unless necessary. He let down most of his weight, enough for his feet to hold him against the wind but not too much as to sink or slip on any freshly created mud, and began walking behind Liriel.

We must find shelter until this ungodly storm passes us! Clyde conveyed Anthos' thoughts to the rest, adding his own interpretation to the mix. On the contrary, Anthos believed that it was likely to be a godly storm... But he couldn't do much to prevent Clyde from adding his own twist, and the mental link was more convenient than trying to outshout the roaring wind...

[Archmage1]

Lilly darts into the pocket, being careful of her wings.
Any response the normally cheerful petal made is swallowed by the wind.

[kreenlover]

Liriel is quick to lead the group to a large tree. Its branches and leaves cut the worst of the rain...for a moment. Then the torrential rains tear the leaves from the branches and wet leaves come down in droves, plastering to the already sodden group. As the stream roars beside them, the waters rising, rising, until they burst the banks, the trees begin to creak and groan under the weight of so much rain.

Slipping in mud, weighed down by sopping clothes and wet sticky leaves, the group can barely find their footing, barely keep their feet. Movement is less of a walk or a run, more of a prolonged fall that each stumbling step manages to put off for only a moment longer.

As the water levels reach their ankles, even away from the stream, it becomes clear that for any of them, falling means drowning. With the weight of the rain, the clothes, the leaves, there will be no getting up.

And then Liriel disappears, her form, already barely visible through the rain, vanishing without a trace. As the others step forwards they experience the same thing she did. A sudden collapse of the ground beneath their feet as the rain eroded it away, and then a slide down the hill until finally sliding into a cave. There is a pool that's about waist height. The water seems to be swirling in the center, and the pull towards it is strong...

But they're able to pull themselves out, and to the far end of the cave. Its dry here, and quieter, the rain buffered by the distance.

[Archmage1]

Finding the tree, Liriel is hopeful, since she could probably climb it fairly quickly, and let down a rope for everyone else to follow, but then she hears it creaking, and realizes that it can barely stand on its own.
A pity. Perhaps there is some other cover. If not, we can only try getting as far from this stream as possible. Unfortunately, this area seems to be quite flat. But... where's Lilly? I don't see her!
She looks around, and soon spots Lilly's grinning face, in Andros's cloak.
At least she's ok.
However, as she starts moving again, she only goes a short distance before she finds the sinkhole, and it's all she can do to keep her head above water... and then she finds a grip, and manages to pull herself out, before she helps the others get free, and to the dry area. Knowing that they were all quite chilled from the submersion, she starts looking for driftwood, hoping to start a fire.

[TekHed]

Brigid's bears were not happy as the rain began to fall. As for the princess herself, her mood fared little better. What was this place, where nature itself turned against them. She had little time for reflection however as the torrent became nearly a wall of water, reducing visibility and threatening to suffocate them where they stood. Even had gale-force winds not knocked her from the sky, she still couldn't leave her brother and sister behind. She clung to their thick fur tightly as the three of them were caught up in the whirlpool, and for a moment she faced the spectre of death. By a small miracle solid ground found it's way beneath them once more, and for what seemed like an age, they lay still save for the heaving of their chests as they gasped for air, the ordeal having left them bedraggled and exhausted.

RAWRRAWRAWRRAWRRAWR!!! she said first in her native bear tongue. Seeing the incomprehension on the other's faces she managed to translate into Sylvan.

"What in Nature's name was that? Those two..."

[Archmage1]

Continuing in Sylvan, Liriel looks quite worried, although you see a soft smile on her face when she glances at Lilly.
"Are something else. I'm not sure what they are, but they are clearly powerful, and while they might not be inimical, they are not friendly."
That said, she continues her search for burnable materials.

[Sliver]

"I think they are either creatures of ill omen, or divinge beings, gods of this land." Anthos says, in Sylvan, after landing on dry ground. "Either way, they are probably displeased by our presence. I wouldn't be surprised if their power is greater than storm calling, but if they can teleport and know the labd, avoiding them is unlikely. Hopefully, they just wanted to impress us and will be willing to converse should we meet again..." He said and loosened his cloak, letting Lilly out. "Unless you all have ways to ease your way through the storm, we should warm ourselves while waiting it out." He says and pulls out a campfire from his pouch, which lights itself as soon as it hits the ground.

[Archmage1]

Lilly, rescued from the cloak, immediately darts over to Liriel, and sits on her shoulder, looking quite happy, despite being soaked.
"Liriel! It was amazing! There were these two giants, and they made it rain really, really hard! I couldn't even fly, but I grabbed Anthos, and he put me in his cloak, and then we found this cave! It was fun!"
As she speaks, Liriel looks at her, looking more and more stunned.
That anyone could enjoy this... I suppose she does seem to find joy in everything, but still
"It was different. I haven't ran into anyone who could make it rain like that, and you, unlike us, are not covered in mud."
As Anthos pulls out his fire, Liriel smiles at him in approval.
"Excellent. I wasn't having much luck finding anything that could be burned here."
She moves closer to the fire, and sits cross legged, and gently picks Lilly up, and moves her from her shoulder to her lap.
"Lilly, you should dry off while you have the chance."
Lilly looks up at Liriel, smiling.
"But it was really fun! Can we do it again?"
Liriel sighs, and shakes her head.
"It's the spontaneity that's fun. If we knew it was going to happen, would it still be so much fun?"
Liriel challenges Lilly, hoping that the excitable petal wouldn't say yes.
"Well... no, but maybe something else would happen!"
"Why don't we get dry, and then decide what to do next? No sense in getting sick."
To this, Lilly makes no response, but she does spread her wings, to help them dry.

[Sliver]

After driving the chill from his bones, Anthos settles on the ground and pours out sand from one of his pouches. The hill begins to move as Anthos frowns and picks up Clyde from the sand, shaking the sand off of him and pushing him away, leaving him to fly around the cavern. It takes him a few moments of concentration, but after a while the sand becomes a mirror. Anthos places his hands against the silvery rims of the mirror and begins concentrating. Perhaps he'd find a clue, there...

Casting (Manifesting) Divination, asking:

"How will I find Elena?"

[Archmage1]

After a few minutes pass, Lilly yawns, before she snuggles into Liriel's lap, to sleep, humming gently as she snoozes.

Liriel sighs, and waits for the rain to stop.

[kreenlover]

As the group sits on the spit of dry rock debris washes past them, bubbling to the surface, then being sucked under again eventually. A few pieces of dried driftwood from previous storms were pushed to the back of the chamber in the mad rush to get ashore. Unfortunately the very air here is so damp that any fire would likely go out soon after it was lit. Anthos' pocket-campfire is a boon to everyone, warming the air, and filling the cave with the heady scent of burning pine logs.

As the sand roils and rolls, forming the mirror, Clyde crashes into something and rebounds with a mental yelp. Sparks fade and die from the impact sight, but nothing can be seen there.

Then, moments later, a shimmering light begins to pour out of the area, spreading, until it reaches the edges of the crystal, filling the vessel that contains it.

And as the one begins to glow so too do the multitude of other previously invisible crystals in the cave. As they glow in different colours filling the area with a rainbow glow. As Lilly takes flight to 'ooh' and 'aah' over the crystals the others take a wary step backwards towards the fire.

Clyde's yelps of pain continue to echo in their minds as he twitches on the floor and tries to scramble back to the group. Looking at him the new crack in his outside is obvious.

And then the mirror on the ground breaks with a crack as the lights fade, then warp into a single scene.

A woman standing alone in a primitive hut. Her back is to the group, and something about her seems sad. But she doesn't look to have been harmed. There are no obvious identifiers in the room, and very little pallet, stool, and a curtain of animal hide.

There is a sound from outside, the sounds of battle, cries from multiple throats. The roars of a bear echo as swords clash. She takes a few tentative steps forwards, and then a sword bursts through the back of the tent. Whirling again, a sword appearing in her hand as if by magic, she faces up against the hulking giant and red-clad man who step through.

The woman is Elena, the giant and red-clad man the two aggressive explorers from outside the tower.

[Archmage1]

Calmly, Liriel observes the imagery, hoping to get a glimpse of something that she recognized from the air, hoping to get a location.

[roll0] Spot

[Sliver]

Anthos was quite distressed by what was happening to Clyde and leapt to his feet, gragging the crystal gently. [i]If I ask the same question, I'll get the same vision]/i] he remembered from his training, but before he completely missed the visage he realized that he couldn't count on his experience. The divination never worked like that. The vision was always shown just to him, never causing pain or doing that to his sand mirror. The island's reaction to divination was clearly not mere outsider blocking! so he'll have to experiment further before being certain about anything.

He forced himself to watch the visage until it was gone and then focused back on Clyde, removing his gauntlet and tracing the crack with his finger. Memories of the lecture from his Master at Mind, the way his psionic trainer demanded to be called, obviously competing with the Master at Arms, came to his mind. The Psicrystal is part of his creator, a solid manifestation of his soul. It pained Anthos to see the crack on Clyde, a crack in his soul...

Assessing that there was no physical damage, Anthos was upset even more. He was trained to withstand pain, and so did Clyde. For him to be tormented so, the pain must have been great. Anthos wished that the link would have been less selfish, so that he could take some of Clyde's pain to himself, but the power did not work that way. He could take harm to himself, but pure pain was harder.

But not beyond his abilities.

He traced his finger over the scarred crystal, forcing the crack to vanish. Restoration wasn't as easy as healing, but he would not leave his companion in such distress.

As Clyde calms down and reassures Anthos that he is fine, Anthos nods and forces his mind to empty, allowing it to be filled with new thoughts.

Even if he were to assume that his divination was a success, which under usual circumstances was a prett solid assumption, as he would get a correct result about nine out of ten divinations, this visage seemed of the prophetic kind. The sort he most hated. Divination would give something helpful, usually, but visions of the future are always problematic. Now that it has been observed, either it will be altered or caused by his actions. What was one supposed to do with that? Without knowing the full extent to which his divinations are altered on the accursed island, he couldn't rely on the information he gleans from the visions, little as it may be. Even the supposed confirmation on the hostility of the duo could simple be due to his biased view. He could experiment futher right then, but the incident made him weary and he didn't want to pester the divines again so soon. Perhaps the unfavorable result was because he called them into a gloomy cave in the middle of a storm. Too many possibilities.

He formed the broken sand mirror into a smooth ball before scooping it into its pouch and finally looked up.

"What do you think?" He asked, gesturing at the direction the visage appeared.

[kreenlover]

As the image fades the invisible crystals begin to glow again, restoring the rainbow lighting scheme for a few more moments.
Then, the lights balance out, blend, and suffuse the cave with a warm yellow glow. As the light spreads throughout the chamber so too does a pleasant heat, and a kind of stuffy contentedness that encourages sleep.

[Archmage1]

Liriel considers her response for a moment, before she speaks, her voice soft, and calm.
"I think that the vision wasn't overly useful. There was no sense of time, or place. Given the participants, it was likely on this island, but without some way to pinpoint the location, there is nothing we can do. Which means that your intervention is problematical, at best."

Lilly, on the other hand, is far less restrained, looking quite excited.
"I think she was really pretty, but they were mean! We should help her!"
She looks at Liriel, hopefully.
"We can help her, right?"

Liriel addresses Lilly, her voice sad.
"We would, but we don't have a way to do that currently."

Lilly looks sad to hear this.
"Aw..."

After a few moments, Lilly yawns once more, and, soon enough, she curls up in Liriel's lap, and goes to sleep. After a few moments, Liriel speaks up again.
"I can keep first watch, if we want to rest here. It is out of the rain, and relatively sheltered, and I'm not sensing any threats here."

[Sliver]

Anthos nods. "I agree... I'll have to inquire further, and experiment more. The way the divination behaved is quite peculiar. If we'll meet those two before the events of the visage, I'll..." Anthos paused, unsure. If he were to try and talk them out of their aggression and things were to go badly, they might seek to attack Elena out of spite. He didn't think they were after her, so if things go as the visage has shown, it meant their meeting would be accidental. He shook his head. "I have no idea." He said after a moment.

"Clyde can help with the watch, but... Well, I require eight hours of rest to regain my full strength, although I haven't used much energy today... It would be irresponsible of me to not inform you that my observation skills are quite lacking. Clyde is a better watcher than I am, and he is usually the one who informs me of anything noteworthy." Anthos explains before drawing two tents out of his pouch, which immediately grow into full size. He looks at the others and, after blushing, pulls out one of the two bedrolls from one of the tents. "I'll... Sleep out here." He says.

After they agree on the watch, Anthos uses the bedroll as a pillow, laying on the ground in his full plate. Luckily, his armor was equipped with the right crystal, so he would not need to bother removing it before calling it a night. Since his training, he was barely ever out of his armor... It was almost a second skin to him.

As he lay there, Clyde used his spider-like legs to pick at Anthos' armor maintenance kit and clean his armor while the man was falling asleep. It would be unpleasant if the armor would rust during the night...

[kreenlover]

As everyone settles in there is a bit of a surprise.
Before everyone can truly settle in to sleep the waters begin to lower, further and further until they've emptied out of the bottom of the cave completely.

Once they're gone the group can see that stairs have been carved into the floor of the cave. They're over at the side and ended just below the water level, which is why they weren't found. But, evidently, this cave is often used as...something. Likewise, the hole that the water flowed out of at the bottom of the cave does not look natural.

Emerging from the cave a quick look around shows...nothing. It is impossible to tell where the group is due to the destruction that the rain has caused. Flattened trees everywhere, bushes and scrubs torn up and deposited elsewhere by the rushwaters...it is all chaos and destruction.

As the sun begins to sink towards the horizon its last rays play across the ruin.
And a strange thing begins to happen. As the last of the daylight touches the ruined plants, they begin to writhe, and regrow. Bushes and shrubs put down new roots, trees right themselves, shedding broken branches like snakeskin, as their leaves regrow to the size and abundance of before the storm. Fruits bulge into being, ripen, and begin to fall to the ground as dozens of creatures emerge from everywhere and begin to gorge themselves on the new growth, or on each other. One of the bigger predators, an odd creature with rear legs that look like a frog, fur on its head, and strangely intelligent eyes, takes a look at the group, but changes its mind once it sees the two bears, each a creature the same size as it. Moving away in leaps and bounds its smaller forelegs snatch up a few creatures to stuff into its wide mouth as it goes.

The gentle breeze that has been blowing, tugging at the group begins to strengthen until it is impossible to ignore it. As hair whips around and clothes flap Lilly is the first to notice the source.
Her mouth open wide in astonishment she points up into the sky.

There the clouds have taken on features. This creature looks nothing like the forest titan from earlier. You don't know why your mind made that comparison, but it did. That is the only other thing that any of the group has ever seen that does it justice as a comparison. The majesty and size of the living cloud...the source of the rain, now floating above the rays of the sun, not blocking the islands from them, but still catching enough light to run from pink to orange and back...

It takes your breath away.

[Archmage1]

Observing the flow of water, Liriel speaks as she notices the stairs, being careful not to wake up Lilly.
"Looks like there's something else here. There's not much point in having stairs down to an empty room, and that hole does not look natural. Might be interesting to have a look."
When she sees the color of the light start to change, Liriel carefully picks up the sleeping Lilly, being careful, soas not to disturb her, and walks softly, to have a look outside.
"That's... unusual. Almost like some sort of reset. Which points to this place being created, not natural."
She gently shakes the sleeping petal.
"Lilly, wake up. You will be really disappointed if you miss this."
Yawning, Lilly, at first, just tries to settle in once more, but as Liriel insists, she looks around. And her eyes go wide.
"Woa! They're all growing really, really fast! It's Amazing!"
And then she sees the clouds, and learns what being amazed truly is.
Once she recovers from her surprise, she waves, and calls out.
"Hi cloud!"

[Sliver]

As the stairs are revealed, Anthos examines the room once again. Why were there stairs to lead to this... Cave? Perhaps it was a storage room, but it would be a poor choice as the exposure to the moistness in the air would be quick to ruin most of what one would wish to store. It didn't seem like a place one would use to exit through, unless you were capable of flight, perhaps, but those would unlikely choose to live underground. This place was a mystery, one which they were sent to discover. Even if it was not his reason to travel to this island, he had taken the job. We would not neglect it, not unless he had some hint as were Elena could be found. The vision was unhelpful in that regard.

As the others decided to check the situation above, Anthos floated up to join them. The sight of the regenerating nature reminded him of Elena, hair messy as she woke up, brushing it carefully and getting ready for a new day as if nothing happened... He blushed as the memory came to him. Too vivid, too personal. He was guarding outside of Elena's room, the powers that he was taught allowed him to sleep only once a week or so and so he decided to minimize the chance of being caught off guard, when he heard a crash. He rushed into the room, afraid of an assault, afraid for her, but then he just saw her sprawled on the ground by her bed, in her white sleeping gown and her long brown hair, free from the usual constraints of the braids... He was frozen there, until her laughter shook him out of his stupor. She chided him for his paranoia, but then ignored him as she began to prepare for the day. She didn't mind, but seemed to smile playfully as he tried to mumble an apology, stumbling over his words, the inappropriateness of the situation both screaming at him to leave the room and demand for him to either be punished or forgiven and excused. She done nothing of this sort. She enjoyed taunting him so.

And now she was gone.

He breathed deeply, the blush fading away from his cheeks, as he glanced up at the sky. An Air Titan? Or was it Sky, or Cloud? Anthos thought to himself as he glanced at the direction of the mountain. Will we find a Fire Titan residing there, perhaps in the center of an active volcano? He was concerned. The titans held immense power, and for two of them to be at such close proximity, it could not be a coincidence. He doubted that they would be the only two here. Something must have awoken them, something must have brought them here. This was a place where great change was going to happen, and it made him feel so small. Here, amid such giants of great power, and he was looking for Elena. Of course, she was a noble who ran away from her betrothed, but compared to this?

He shook his head, clearing his head of the thoughts. Such way of thinking might lead him to madness, or worse... To leave Elena to her fate.

"I do not feel our chosen campsite is as secure as before, not without finding out what is on the other side of those stairs." He finally said. "We can rest after scouting a bit." He said and slid down, allowing his flight to carry most of the balance, rather than the sleek hill of mud which dispatched them into their small haven earlier.

[Archmage1]

With Lilly cheerfully waving to the cloud, Liriel addresses Anthos.
"I'd be more interested in the other side of that hole. The stairs just seem to lead down here, and the only interesting thing here is that hole. I'd check for secret doors, but I never was much good at that."

[kreenlover]

The hole is much too small for anyone to go down, except perhaps Lilly. A foul stench rises from it, rot and mould and death, along with other scents.

As Lilly waves at the cloud the face smiles. Breezes pick up to rustle the hair on everyone's heads, to dance them around in circles as leaves snap off of tree branches and swirl around in patterns and dance to an unknown tune. Magic is in the air, everything is charged with potential...

And then the face looks away, its eye caught by another playmate elsewhere on the island. As fast as they rose, the winds disappear. The leaves float slowly to the ground, and everything returns to stillness, asides from the movement of the creatures in the brush.

Then the sun sets, the last rays leaving the cloud behind as the group is plunged into sudden darkness. With the darkness comes a chill, sudden in its arrival as everything on this island seems to be. Lilly begins to shiver as frost begins to rime the branches and grasses nearby.

[Archmage1]

Lilly looks delighted as the cloud smiles, responding to her wave, and she plays in the wind as it blows her around, excitedly flying around, laughing. However, once the sun sets, she starts shivering almost immediately, as it grows cold, and she heads to Liriel, and snuggles to her side, wrapping herself in Liriel's cloak.

Moving carefully, so she doesn't dislodge the cold petal, Lilly looks around, starting to get cold herself. Before long, she looks at the stinky drain.
"I don't think we are going to find a better spot to spend the night, but that drain worries me. I'd ask Lilly to take a look, but... she wouldn't like it. If it's this cold already, we are going to need a fire tonight, and I would prefer not to advertise our location to everyone on the island."
She looks over at Anthos.
"Do you think Clyde could do it? He should fit, and he's probably less noticeable than Lilly."

[Sliver]

Anthos grimaces at the scent and tenses at Liriel's suggestion. "I'm not sending Clyde anywhere I cannot retrieve him from if things go wrong." He says simply. "He'll watch the hole in case anything tries to come out of it, but I'm not... Sending him there."

[Archmage1]

Liriel nods, Lilly's eyes peering out from her bundle of cloak on her side.
"Very well. Then I suggest we return to the cave, and rest until morning, when it's warmer. Freezing to death here accomplishes nothing. However, we will need additional wood if we want to keep the fire going until morning, unless it is magical enough to not require such things."

[Sliver]

"It lasts eight hours, that's it." Anthos says simply. "You could get wood to create a separate fire, but there's no need for that." He says and floats back down into the cave.

[Archmage1]

Liriel nods.
"A useful tool. I can take first watch, and then your Clyde can take second."
With that, she heads smoothly back into the cave, and sits, shifting Lilly so she was sleeping in her lap, watching the entrance.

[kreenlover]

The night passes uneventfully enough, and the sun rises the next morning providing a beautiful dawn. The cold of the night is held at bay by the fire, and the frost riming everything makes for a gorgeous awakening.

Light from the sun sparkles, tinkles, dances across the leaves, branches, ground, as the heat of the day begins to cause the ice to drip. Drip, drip, and the island comes alive, creatures starting to move, flowers unfurling, the day beginning again as if the melt water rejuvenates the land itself.

The sound of a child's song floats on the wind into the cave.

[Archmage1]

As the light of the sun slowly increases in the small cave, Liriel ends her meditation, and looks down at the happily sleeping Lilly, still wrapped in Liriel's cloak. Not wanting to disturb the sleeping creature, Liriel carefully takes off her cloak, setting it, and Lilly, off to the side, before she starts to warm herself up, a simple dance, moving slowly, but far harder than it looks, requiring exquisite balance, and stretching her muscles.
Once she finishes, she wipes the sweat from her forehead, and heads out, meaning to wake Lilly and Andros to food.
(Taking 10 on survival)(25)(Also gathering some firewood, and tinder, and such).
As she wanders the woods, looking for edibles, and keeping alert, and out of sight, Liriel takes in the lovely frost, although she does, on occasion, wish she had her cloak, since it is still quite chill in the predawn air. She returns, food gathered, just as true dawn begins, and the ice begins to melt.
She crouches besides the snoozing petal, and gently shakes her awake.
"Lilly? It's time to get up. I found you some berries. Once you and Andros are ready, we'll continue scouting."
Lilly stretches, and jumps up.
"Berries? Are they yummy? I don't recognize them!"
She picks one up, and starts chewing on it, clearly enjoying it.
"They're delicious!"
Knowing that Lilly was settled for the time being, Liriel heads over to Andros, and gently shakes him awake.
"Andros, it's time to get moving. Here, I found some things for you to eat."
She hands him a mix of nuts, fruit, and edible roots.
"I'm afraid that the fire died down in the night, so they're raw for now, but they are quite edible, and fairly good. We should be leaving in a few minutes."

However, almost as soon as she finishes speaking, Lilly jumps up into the air.
"Do you hear that? Someone's singing! Let's go and see!"
With that, Lilly snags the last of her berries, and flies out, looking for the source of the lovely song.
"Lilly! No, wait..."
Liriel stops her useless protest as soon as Lilly flies out, settling for moving quickly, snagging her cloak as she follows the wayward petal.

[Sliver]

Blocking the song for a moment, Anthos concentrates, refreshing his mind and regaining full power. He raises his hand, rejecting the food. "I haven't eaten for years, thank you, though. I also do not think that it's a wise idea for you to go out and look for food on your own. My pouch can create rations for you, besides the fire or tents." He says before concentrating once more, creating the nutrition that his body would need for the day. It has been a long time since Anthos has actually eaten anything. Eating was distraction enough, and the waste that the body had to expel afterwards was just another distraction. Besides, it was hindered by the fact that he almost never removed his fullplate.

Manifesting Share Pain (On Clyde), Sustenance and Overland Flight for 17 PP.

Clyde's Listen: [roll0]

"Be wary of mysterious children." Anthos says, remembering the kids of rain. Setting off, Anthos let Clyde climb on his shoulder as he flew out of the cave.

Anthos will manifest True Seeing when we get out of the cave.

[kreenlover]

Liriel, Clyde, and Anthos follow the sound of singing, and then the sound of Petal chatter, through the woods until they see Lilly speaking to the girl from the night before.

She looks as she did, but now the smile spread across her face is happier, more animated. She has lost much of the stately grace, and seems more like the young adult she is. Lilly is doing backflips in the air as the girl smiles and applauds gently.
As the magical double-sight settles over the manifester's vision a double image superimposes itself over everything else. The real and the imagined line up, the ghostly green copies of most everything lining up, tinting that which is real in the shades of normality.

Or, rather, that is what is supposed to happen. Only three things in his vision maintain the glow of normality; Clyde, Liriel, and himself.
The island glows with magic. Each and every vein of the plants, each and every tree, the bushes, the dirt, everything. It glows, it pulses, and he sees the pure elemental energy, the divine power, the nascent godhood that the island contains.

And much of that energy seems focused around the girl. It shields her, shines from her, cradles her in its arms. As she speaks to Lilly, and Lilly speaks back, the light spreads slowly on the winds of their breath, dancing to enfold Lilly too. Both sparkle, glow, are enfolded by this energy, this potential for divinity.

"Hello"
The girl turns when she sees the trio emerge, and her smile grows wider.
"Welcome to the island. Are you Lilly's friends?"


Oh Anthos you clever bastard :smalltongue:

[Sliver]

Anthos looks around in awe, even though part of him expect something like that, but not on such a scale... And then, there was the girl. Or perhaps it was merely the form she had chosen for herself, exterior meaning little to gods.

Anthos landed and bowed his head to the girl. As his mouth spoke the words, his mind concentrated on something different. "I would like to think so." He says, smiling gently to Lilly. "We were pretty close during a storm, such experiences strengthen bonds, I've been told." He turns back to the girl. "I am Anthos Aima, it's a pleasure to meet you. I wish to ask you a few questions." He says, more cautiously. "Is there anything I could offer in exchange?"

[roll0]

Anthos hoped that the girl would maintain a pleasant demeanor. The storm may have been their doing, or not. Perhaps the boy... There wasn't a lot he could make out of their last encounter, but he hoped she would cooperate. If they could get anything solid...

During the conversation, Clyde begins talking to Liriel mentally. "Master Anthos says that the entire island is emitting divine energy, but currently it is mostly concentrated on the girl. However, it seems that Lilly is also surrounded by a fair bit of it, and only the three of us are not. Master does not know whether she is merely exposed to it due to her proximity to the girl, or if there is something more to Lilly. He did not try to observe in such a way before. Perhaps you know if Lilly is a minor god, and simply decided to avoid mentioning that? In any way, Master thought you should know, since it is relevant to your companion. Also, Miss, if you can hear us, we did hear gods can hear when conversation mentions them, we do not wish to insult in our secretive chatter, but merely be cautious and show as much reverence as we can to a being such as yourself." The last part wasn't directed at Liriel, even though she could hear it. But Anthos directed Clyde to say it anyway. Without knowing how much power the girl had, Anthos would rather tread cautiously.

[Archmage1]

Hurrying through the bushes, trying to track the elusive petal, hoping to find her before she gets into trouble, Liriel is quite surprised when she comes upon the scene.

As she recovers from her shock, she recieves Clyde's message, and tries to respond.
While Lilly is fey, and a part of nature to an extent that I still don't understand, I'm fairly sure that she isn't a goddess. I think she's a teacher in some areas, and a student in others.

"Hello, and thank you for the welcome. We are indeed Lilly's friends, and I'm glad to see that she's all right. I'm Liriel, and it's nice to meet you with less lightning and rain."
She smiles softly, but before she can continue, she gets a faceful of hugging petal.
"Liriel! You came! I found who was singing, and she's really nice!"
Once Lilly loosens her grip a bit, Liriel, still smiling, nods carefully.
"She does seem quite nice, and I'm glad you made a new friend."

[kreenlover]

The girl looks at Anthos in surprise.
"Why would you need to offer something in exchange?" But as soon as she finishes her attention switches to Liriel.
"I've never met you before. What do you mean without...Oh! Were you caught out in the storm just now? Lilly was telling me that you just arrived on the island, so I guess you wouldn't have known about it! Well, now you know me. So you won't have to not know things when they happen! You said you had questions Anthos Aima?"

[Sliver]

Anthos glanced at Liriel for a brief moment. He was a bodyguard of low birth, and after informing her that they might be facing a goddess, she was allowing him to take the lead in diplomatic affairs? What was wrong with this woman?

"We seek information, so it is only fair to offer something in return, even if it is information as well." Anthos replies. He hoped that if she would have asked something of them, that they would have stronger footing. But as things were, she may have something they want, and only her goodwill as their option of obtaining it. "I do not know your ways and traditions, so if what or the way I ask the questions isn't to your liking, I hope you will not take offense, instead being satisfied with alleviating my ignorance."

"Before I begin, may I ask for your name? I'm sure a pretty young lady such as yourself has a beautiful name to match." He says, putting on his most disarming smile. The compliment was required of him, Anthos believed, but it was sincere. The man restrained himself greatly around Elene, but that only caused his frustration at his predicament to grow. Mentally, he shook himself. That line of thought was wrong and highly inappropriate.

"I'm sorry if this is too blunt, but... What are you? You probably know that we are guests to this land, everything looking so new and strange... And you are exuding so much divine energy that my skin tingles and even the least religious people I know would be compelled to bow." Anthos said, wondering if he was pushing it.

Anthos has more questions, but it depends on her answer...

How do you feel about diplomacy checks? I mean, is the one I rolled enough for the entire conversation and set the general tone, you want me to roll for every request or whenever I feel might needed, or those are pointless and you are going purely by RP and whim?

Also, Healing Belt in exchange for my money and a feather token, you didn't say yes or no... :smalltongue:

[kreenlover]

The girl marches over and stares up into Anthos' face. Her face has taken on a look of intense concentration. Then, when he mentions the divine energy, she smiles, laughs, and skips away to stand in the middle again.
"You are funny Anthos Aima. I think that I will keep you.
"My name is, well, it doesn't make sense in your language. You can call me Luna though. As for what I am, I have no idea what you are talking about. I'm not a god. I'm just a person, like you. Well, not just like you, 'cause I live here and you don't"
She grins again and waits for the next question.

One diplomacy check for the entire conversation is fine for setting the tone. At this point I am going off of pure RP and whim :smallbiggrin:

As for the healing bet, that's fine.

[Sliver]

Anthos wasn't sure what to make of her answer. She said she wasn't a god, but it didn't mean she didn't have power. If anything, being a god would have meant that she needed worship for that power, instead of being independent.

"You may be a person, but not just a person." Anthos said after a moment. "Where is your companion? Is he your brother, or perhaps a lover?" Anthos wondered. "Would you say that in our language, one might call him Sol?" He hazarded a guess. It was odd... Luna meant moon, if he made the connection right, but if his thought process is right, her being related to day and him being related to night made more sense. Perhaps it was something symbolic, opposite to the expectation...

"Yesterday, if time works here the same way as it does out there, we were indeed caught in the storm. But you and <Sol> were there... And then you were gone. What kind of power do you have? If it weren't you, what caused the sudden storm and regrowth?"

[Archmage1]

Content to remain silent for now, Liriel continues to watch, but Lilly doesn't agree. She flies back over to her new friend, and starts weaving flowers into her hair.

[kreenlover]

She smiles when he says 'not just a person'.
"We're all special aren't we? And my companion? Oh, no, he's not Sol! That'd be a silly name. You can call him Funus. And he's none of them! We're friends"
She pauses then adds "We both live in the village" as if that is all the explanation that is needed.
Luna grins at Lilly and helps her pick some flowers, laughing at the Petal's antics.
"We were gone? Are you sure you didn't see things wrong? The rain is really heavy, and the lightning is sometimes blinding. When the storm arrived we went our own ways, myself heading back towards the village, while he went to go look for the people we had heard were on the island. And the storm and the regrowth...those are just how things are here. There are a lot of things that don't make sense to outsiders"
She smiles again and looks around.
"Are there any more of you, or just the three of you? And are those all your questions? Where do you want to go now? What are you planning on doing next?"

[Sliver]

"Sol isn't a silly name..." Anthos says defensively. "I just thought... Well, your name is Luna, which means moon, and you two just seemed like day and night, so I thought that his name being sun would make sense... Funus is a bit of a morbid name..." He explains. "Are you sure you're just friends? Where I come from, when a boy and a girl go out alone together into the woods, it is mighty suspicious and their parents have long been making plans for marriage." He says, teasing. Of course, he wouldn't mention how similar the case was for him and Elena, yet how far away from reality the result was for him.

As she explains yesterday's events, Anthos frowns. Was she lying, was their perception of the island and the events wrong, perhaps due to an illusion, or were there multiple realities in this place? Perhaps the divine energy he was seeing had something to do with it...

As she bombarded them with questions, Anthos smiled. A teenage girl asking with the curiosity more fitting of a toddler.

"There are more outsiders that came with us." He says. Anthos didn't want to group himself with all of the people that came here. Some of them were bad news, and separating himself from them might mean that when those cause trouble, the natives wouldn't turn on him right away. "We came here to explore, as your island is like a giant toy box for kids in adult bodies. I have many questions, but only one right now. And a request..." He says finally.

"It may not be my place to ask a lady such a question, but how old are you?" He asked.

Looking at Liriel for a moment, Anthos decided to go ahead and ask. "Could you take us to your village?"

[Archmage1]

Still listening, Liriel looks around, and looks worried.
Where is she? She seemed fairly competent, and she had the bears, but she hasn't arrived yet, and I was expecting her to have done so. She might be in trouble, and in such situations, time is often quite critical.
Liriel speaks at last, but she sounds worried, and concerned.
"Perhaps you could give directions to your village? One of our companions appears to have wandered off, and I dislike losing people like that. I'm sure that Lilly would love to come with you, but I'll need to find her before I head to your village."

[Sliver]

Anthos tensAt first, Anthos nods as Liriel expresses her wish, but then he tenses, remembering. After a few moments, Liriel receives a message through Clyde.

"Master Anthos understands your wishes, Mi- Guide Liriel, but he would like you to consider an alternative course of action. You may remember we saw her in the vision, helping Lady Elena. Master Anthos is aware that the vision isn't definite and offers little in terms of solid information, but... The fear is that if we retrieve the bear squad now, that Lady Elena will face the danger alone. We would like to try some more divination before we are doing anything that could change the vision we had seen, at least until we know more of how dependable are those visions.

[Archmage1]

Liriel listens, but then she tries to think back, clearly disagreeing.
And if we follow the bear squad, we might find her sooner. The vision didn't provide enough information to base decisions on, certainly not enough to abandon a companion who may be in need.

[Sliver]

Clyde doesn't reply, but after a second, Anthos speaks up. "You have told us that knowing you means we don't have to not know... Miss Luna, could you lend us your knowledge of the island and aid us in finding our companion?"

[kreenlover]

Luna smiles at Anthos Aima patiently as he stumbles through his explanation. When he asks his questions she nods.
"They don't offend me. I don't know my age, and I can take you to the village. Or", she continues as Liriel speaks, "I could go with you to find your friend, as you suggest Anthos Aima. Where might she be do you know? Where were you before?"
As the group backtracks their steps, now with one more body, Luna points out all kinds of features, the plants that are safe to eat, the plants that are very not safe to eat, and so on.
"Oh!"
Luna walks over, the serene grace of the day before returning somewhat, as she crouches down by a small injured creature.
"It's ok, it's ok. Don't be sad, don't be scared now. It's ok. You'll be fine, things will be ok"
As it curls into her hands the creature, something like a cross between a mouse and a rabbit, stops whimpering and begins to coo softly.
"Yes, there there, it's ok"
She smiles again, so serene, as her one hand grasps the beast's head and twists it until there is a loud crack.
"All ok now"
She lays the body of the dead animal down and begins to dig it a small grave.
"Your friends should be somewhere ahead. They haven't deviated from the path yet. Likely they went the other way when you came to look for me"

[Archmage1]

Lilly continues weaving flowers into Luna's hair, although she does occasionally get distracted, propting her to go flying off to examine whatever she found.
Liriel pays attention as Luna indicates what's safe to eat, and what isn't, as such knowledge is always useful, assuming it was accurate. However, when Luna encounters the animal, and kills it, she is quite concerned. It didn't fit in with her attitude from earlier, and mental instability often made an otherwise ordinary outing a disaster.
For Lilly, it was far worse. She thought Luna was nice, but when she just casually killed the injured creature(And the creature trusted her), she's horrified, and immediately flies back, alarmed.
"Why would you do that! She was hurt, but she would get better! And now she never will! And she trusted you! How could you!"

[Sliver]

Anthos tensed as Luna casually killed the little critter. It made no sense to him, but it didn't mean it didn't make sense. This island was different. Was this a normal behavior? He frowned. Was anything normal, considering that the island was so new? What would Luna's age mean, even if she knew it? Was she a few days old? A teenager? Ancient? Was her mind seeing things that he couldn't understand? Was it because she was insane, or so wise and powerful...

But the question raised by Lilly, though with the harshness of a child who just witnessed something unreal and brutal, did need to be answered. He didn't hope too much that Luna would give a helpful answer though...

[kreenlover]

"She was hurting. And she wasn't going to get better. She'd been stung by a Bladewasp. Those just poison you slowly. Nothing else will come near them, so they won't be eaten. They just have agony and more agony until the Bladewasp eggs grow enough. Then they'd hatch, and eat the poor thing alive from the inside. Killing her now and burying her means that the Bladewasps will never hatch, and if they do, they'll be buried and suffocate"
She stands and wipes the dirt from her hands as she steps firmly on the small mound with the creature in it.
"We've been trying to kill the Bladewasps for ages. They're a real problem, as they don't stop growing. They'll keep getting bigger and bigger until they're big enough to attack, and plant eggs in humans. We've killed all the ones that big though"
She smiles again as she starts off. When they reach the end of the path that the two took she glances around for where the other two could be.
"I have no idea which direction they'd have gone from here. There are a few places that they could end up"

[Archmage1]

Lilly looks very distressed by this information, and Liriel looks somewhat unnerved.
"But that's terrible! I've never heard of something so mean!"
"It does seem to be a rather vicious wasp. Perhaps a poison? What do they eat?"

Liriel studies the tracks, trying to determine which way Brigid and the bears went, while Lilly stays close to her, keeping an eye out for mean wasps.
[roll0] survival(Track)

[Sliver]

"I have some restorative ability, it would have done no harm to try." Anthos says dryly. As Elena's bodyguard, he didn't have to deal with such nonsense. She was spontaneous and acted without telling him, but they knew each other enough to allow him to react to things he was able to handle better, and so did he. Luna didn't know him, yet she didn't seem to consider they had any abilities that could be helpful. He doubted she knew how his powers would react to the critter's condition, and neither did he, as his earlier divination proved. She denied him the chance to help and further test how his powers work here, with one simple twisted action.

Crouching low, he tries to pick up the bear scent and help Liriel, who seemed better skilled at tracking.

Survival (Track, Scent, aid other) [roll0]