Through the Faerie Ring IC

[DoctorGlock]

A full moon hangs in the darkening skies above; the silver orb girt by stars like diamonds studding the red and blues of sunset. A winding path has been trampled through the wheat fields and long grass . It snakes past the farms on the periphery of the backwater township where you have spent the past few days. There it meets the wooded foothills of the vale's mountain girdle. Throughout the day the path has been trampled into the soft dirt and mud-- a gift of fall's first rainfall-- by hundreds of feet as townspeople make their way into the hills.

As night falls, the pilgrimage has slowed from a constant trickle to nothing. People must wake early to get the crops in, and no fireside dance will change that, even if it does make the crops come in better. Besides, who wants to be nursing that hangover without a good nights sleep. Besides, who knows what comes out at night?

But not for you are the superstitions of simple folk. Durance Crossing is a small and quiet town in the middle of a chaotic country; a good central place to meet and nothing more. But gods above! The drink they brew here! Whatever the local moonshine is, it is stronger than anything you have ever tasted. They said it's made with apples. Well, mostly apples, anyway. And what is the harm in participating in the ritual a bit? At the minimum you will blend in better and have some time to catch up in private...

And the path gives way to old cobbles, sparse and worn smooth by centuries of ritual; a beaten path into the woods. When you reach the clearing the sky has darkened to deep midnight shades and the moon shines bright above. The bonfire that roared through the day is smoldering embers now, and the clearing is strewn with empty bottles.

And rising above the ashen pyre are the dolmens. A circle of old stone pillars, roughly hewn and coated with ages-old moss and lichens. Some stand like gates, one slab perched above two more. The long grass has been beaten down by dancing feet around the old stones, but none have crossed the threshold.

The people of Durance Crossing speak in hushed whispers of the dolmens, though none seem to know why. Some say they are the grave of old kings. Others say sleeping giants rest beneath the hill. Still others say it is where they fey steal through at night to snatch children back to their winter realms, and they quickly touch iron afterward.

But not for you are the superstitions of simple folk. And it seems like a good place to sit and enjoy the drink.

It does taste a bit of apples now, doesn't it? Well, mostly apples...

And now one of you has started another bonfire, though the bright moonlight seems to have washed the colors out. It's too pale. But the drink is flowing strong one someone started singing. You never would have guessed he had such a singing voice. Which of them is that now? Your head is spinning.

Oh well, there were more bottles. Nothing another nip won't fix.

And now you are dancing, because someone was singing, and because it's tradition and seemed like a good idea at the time. And above the stars are wheeling, unless that's just your pounding head, and as you dance about the landscape seen through the dolmen gates seems to dance and shift with you. And someone is singing again but there seem to be too many voices and the laughing sounds off and everything is spinning and fading.

Fading to black...

____________________

The first to wake with the pounding of a vicious hangover is Desssria. More accurately, the first to be woken up, by a gentle tapping on her forehead.

'Hey, what happened to you? Did you cross a puck and get enboggled? Never seen someone enboggled before.'

The voice seemed to be coming from mere inches above her nose. Not just seemed, she realized as her eyes cracked open. Sitting on her nose is a tiny childlike figure, no more than four inches tall, dressed in clothing seemingly made from flower petals and a breastplate of tree bark. Fine dragonfly wings sprout from his back and in his hands is a spear, no more than a twig with a long thorn lashed to the end. The blunt end is softly prodding Desssria between the eyes.

'What happened to your friends?' he continued, radiating excited innocence. 'Did some big nasty-nasty come while you were sleeping and nibble on your ears?' You note his are slightly pointed, much like an elf's. 'No, they'd be all leaky if that happened,' he continues. The little figure's face falls a bit at that, disappointment obvious on his face. 'I wanted to fight a nasty-nasty,' he said dejectedly, slumping forward a bit. 'You lot look like Sidhe-- well, except you, but you've probably been emboggled, after all-- but something went and nibbled on year ears without making a mess. Oooh, it's a mystery!' He seems to perk up a bit at the prospect.

And that's when you note the sky behind the figure. It is deep with the purple hues of twilight and a scintillating aurora snakes its way across a sky studded with uncountable unfamiliar stars. The long crass you are lying in is shades of royal purple and gold... and the little figure sitting on your face can only be a fairy, like in the little tales, but those are just tales for children, right?

But this is no tale, as the gentle weight on your face reminds you. And you certainly are not in Durance Crossing anymore...

[Illven]

Melinda moaned.

Okay.... Maybe too much drunk last night. Kinda want a cure spell right about now. She rolled over, trying to go back to sleep.

Then bumped into Desssria.

Gah! Wait... Then she saw the fairy.

What the hell is going on here?

[Defiant Element]

It had been a fine evening: warm, but with a pleasantly cool breeze sweeping in from the north. The town of Durance Crossing had been in fine form preparing for the fireside dance, and the liquor had flowed freely all day and late into the night. But Kiirion had hardly noticed the revelry, although he had partaken of his fair share of the firewater. Okay, maybe more than his fair share. You see, Kiirion had been thinking. Thinking about home and about the future. His thoughts had been grim as he considered the possibility that perhaps he simply wasn’t cut out for the glorious life of a noble knight-errant.

Eschewing the company of his traveling companions and the cheerful warmth of the inn’s fire, Kiirion had wandered out into the starry night and lain down in the stables, his head resting at an awkward angle against his mare’s outstretched flank. He had spent awhile gazing up at those distant, cold stars, wearily wondering if his name would ever be counted amongst their numbers. Finally, blissfully, he had drifted off to sleep.

And he had dreamed. And his dreams were strange.

They had started off normally enough. He had already saved a distressed damsel or three before the strangeness had set in. He had been in the process of adroitly cleaving a villainous ogre in twain when, all of a sudden, he had felt the earth give way beneath his feet, and then he had been in freefall, plummeting into an endless, black abyss. That’s when the noises had begun, noises so otherworldly that Kiirion had sought in vain to plug his ears, for he was certain that the sound would drive him to madness. And then the lights, like will-o’-the-wisps, except that their fire had seared his retinas. And finally the creatures, nightmares given form that had pursued him relentlessly, denying him even a moment’s respite.

…

Kiirion awoke with a scream. And in the heartbeat of blind sleep paralysis that followed his awakening, he knew for an absolutely certainty that he must have died. One heartbeat of pure, stark-raving terror that seemed to stretch for an eternity, until finally his muscles deigned to respond to his brain’s frantic entreaties. Then he felt his mare’s slow and steady heartbeat thudding in her ribcage and the solidity of her presence, and he breathed a long sigh of relief. It had all been a dream—a gruesome, lucid nightmare, true, but unreal just the same.

Then Kiirion opened his eyes and beheld an unreal reality. That’s when he began to laugh. It started as a half-strangled, half-psychotic giggle, but soon developed into a full-throated belly laugh. As soon as he’d glimpsed the fairy perched on Desssria’s nose, he’d known exactly where he must be--more or less. And he knew that he’d finally found his adventure.

Still shaking with mirth, Kiirion struggled to his feet and slowly stretched his aching limbs, pausing for a moment to work out the crick that had developed in his neck overnight and simultaneously marveling at the purple sky and the golden grass. That done, he bent down toward the fairy, executing a half-bow in the process and trying his best to be as non-threatening as possible. Then, respectfully, I am called Kiirion; what might your name be, daoine sìth?

[Dread_Head]

Thanquil wakes with a groan and rolls over searching for his glasses and his pack. He finds he'd been using his pack for a pillow and pulls out his waterskin and takes a long drink before opening his eyes and looking around. Even without his lenses (which he most have misplaced during the revelry as he can't find them) he can tell that the place he has awoken was far different from the one he last remembered partying at. This revelation does little for his hangover and he heaves up what was left in his stomach from the night before then takes another drink from his waterskin.

Looking round at his companions he asks "So does anyone remember what happened last night? How did we come to be here?"

He then notices the fairy sat on Desssria's forehead and runs through all the information he knows about the Fey.

Knowledge (nature) to identify the fairy: [roll0]

"Greetings little one, we had a confusing night, could you please tell me where we are?" He asks the fairy.

[whoiam]

"Em-whattled? No, I don't think so." Apparently, in her post-drunk state, it hasn't yet registered on Desssria's mind precisely what she was talking to. Then again, she also hadn't gotten around to opening her eyes yet. "I'm pretty sure my 'friends' were born like that. And I look like this normally, just a little more vertical. And awake."

Finally, the catfolk got around to opening her eyes. The little fey still didn't seem to have registered, as the bloodshot eyes didn't glance up at him so much as down at herself, just to make sure no-one had considered her an appropriate target for drunken pranks after the alcohol had finally taken her.

"...And more dressed, " she added, having glanced down enough to tell she was showing far more fur than she liked to around humans. She sighed, glancing up at the person who'd been prodding her. A series of rapid blinks followed, as her brain slowly clicked into gear.

She then jumped to entirely the wrong conclusion, screamed "BUG!", and attempted a swatting motion at the thing on her forehead. She seemed to lose interest part way through, however, with the burst of energy quickly transitioning into a low groan and an attempt to hold her temples to stop her brain leaking out.

Moral of the story is, even in the Faerie world, screaming and hangovers don't mix.

[JKTrickster]

Keith groaned and stretched, as he heard whispers of noises and conversations all around him. Not quite sober enough just enough, he started blinking and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. As he opened them, he slowly started to take in the purple skies and the long, golden grass. He took a deep breath, breathing air that smelled fragrant, but unfamiliar. Almost immediately, he started getting up and looking around him. While everyone else was engrossed in their new surroundings, Keith had to take deep breaths and calm himself down first. In all reality, he was not as smart as some of his friends - he truly had no indication where he was. Part of him couldn't help but smile when he saw Kiirion get up and start prancing around - that kid had way too much energy after a night of drinking. But he just couldn't share Kiirion's enthusiasm - Keith had wanted to get drunk, not end up in a strange and new world. But Kiirion's happiness was infectious and Keith was already looking around in anticipation. Perhaps this would not be that bad - at least the small little fairy did not seem like a hostile enemy.

Seeing Thanquil start to approach the fairy, Keith took a deep breath and sighed. He felt relieved that at least someone was going to act a little more rational. Taking advantage of his extra time, he started looking around to check up on the others. Melinda was still next to Desssria, looking just as confused as he was a few moments ago. Desssria was beginning to freak out, but she was still obviously hungover from last night - a thought that made Keith smile yet again. Counting out the people, Keith cocked his head and wondered where Elliot was. It isn't often you lose sight of such a large man - especially one with a temper like his. Keith wasn't too worried - if anything he would be worried for anything that tried to cross Elliot's path - but still, Keith reflexively started looking around. Keeping an eye out on everyone, he tried to gauge what everyone was feeling.

For now, Keith decided to keep silent. No reason to intrude on the conversation if he had nothing to add, after all.


[roll0]

[roll1]


[roll2]
[roll3]
[roll4]
[roll5]
[roll6]

[DoctorGlock]

The pixie stopped poking Desssria's forehead long enough to look indignant at Kiirion. 'Daonine Sith? I'm not nearly fat enough to be one of those overgrown market hagglers! I am Gaelin of the petal fens! By the curve in the brook with the mossy rocks!' he says, puffing his tiny chest out proudly and hefting his spear skywards. 'What sort of name is Kiirion? It sounds like something out of a manling tale!' he adds with a little laugh which turns into a shocked and indignant squeak as Desssria began to flail drunkenly at him. Launching himself into the air he waves his twig spear around frantically.

'Bug!?' he shrieks in a tiny, high pitched voice. 'That's even worse than marketmonger! Where did you learn manners, in a goblin den? No wonder some angry puck emboggled you or some nasty-nasty ate all your ears.' He turns his head away haughtily, crossing his arms for effect (and accidentally dropping his spear in the process. He poorly manages to conceal a pout) and turning towards Thanquil, giving an odd little airborne bow more akin to a looping dip.

'Well, you're ok at least. You're about a league sunwards of primrose meadow by the babbling brook of bitter exile.' The names-- if they are names, rather than descriptions-- are entirely meaningless to you.

Thankquil:

It fits the description to know of a pixie perfectly-- as if being a four inch tall humanoid with dragonfly wings weren't a dead giveaway, the childlike excitable demeanor fits with all the old tales. Though you do know a smattering of the tales-- not many faerie stories are as innocent as the pixie tales told to children. Known for being fairly innocent, they can engage in mischief if insulted or bored, though nothing more than the spoiling milk and other trivial nuisance varieties. Some stories have them helping lost children find their way out of the woods, and often are portrayed as helpful, if somewhat inept. Other stories have them dropping the odd bit of cryptic knowledge or advice used by the protagonist to defeat evil witches and the like.Groups of them are said to be capable of near hypnotic displays of light and color-- come to think of it, the little guy does appear to be glowing faintly now that he's gotten excited. It's a little blueish.

Keith:

Sense motive: The little guy seems to be pretty honest, in a childlike way. Honest, if not particularly helpful. He comes off as entirely certain of what he is saying.

Perceptions: You focus on your surroundings... a faint breeze whispers through the long grasses-- with a start you realize that is more literal than poetic license, as you can swear you hear the faintest trace of whispers on the wind. The sound blends together with the hummingbird buzz of the tiny fae's wings and the distant murmuring of a brook-- and something else. In the air and in the earth, there is a sensation of presence you are not used to. It is the feeling of being in the room where someone sleeps-- there is something alive here, a sense of fullness, of waiting just on the cusp of perception-- and it suffuses everything.

You also not the horizons. On one, the twilight seems to deepen, the stars becoming more pronounced by just the faintest margin. On the other, by just as faint a degree, the sky seems to brighten to the shade between sunset and twilight. In the distance, towards the darker side of the sky you think you can see some sort of structure a few miles out, and beyond it deep violent forests before rising grey peaks that seem to scrape the skies.

[Defiant Element]

More than a little taken aback and very much chagrined by the faery’s vehement reply, Kiirion’s initial elation was quickly replaced by a furious blush and a mumbled apology.

It was at this juncture that Kiirion’s military training finally decided to assert itself. He devoted a few moments to properly taking stock of his situation and his surroundings, with a particular eye (and ear) to any threats that may be lurking in the immediate vicinity, before unselfconsciously transitioning to his standard morning routine, displaying the practiced ease of a veteran campaigner very much at home in an unfamiliar (and potentially hostile) environment.

First things first, he checked on the wellbeing of his courser, Cimmaron. Satisfied that she had not been harmed by the unexpected journey into Faerie, Kiirion called on his innate magic. At his touch, Kiirion and each of his companions* were briefly surrounded by a warm glow, accompanied by a not unpleasant tingling sensation. Anyone paying careful attention would have noticed that as Kiirion murmured a final invocation, his eyes began to gleam softly in the strange light of Faerie before reverting to their normal shade of green shortly thereafter. That done, he donned his ringmail and his gauntlets and performed a quick but thorough inspection of his remaining armaments: pike, longbow, and dagger. Finally, he knelt briefly on the ground, preparing himself mentally for the day ahead and offering a silent prayer to Heironeous to grant him strength and the wisdom to employ it justly.

As he stood, Kiirion addressed Thanquil with a grin, You know, from the looks of things, you might wind up writing that ballad after all. Then, Anyone care to pick a cardinal direction?

Spot: [roll0]
Listen: [roll1]
Invocations:

Endure Exposure: Per Endure Elements, except that affected creatures are also immune to Kiirion’s breathweapon. Duration: 24 hours.
See the Unseen: Grants darkvision and See Invisibility. Duration: 24 hours.
Stance: Martial Spirit
Maneuvers Readied: Crusader’s Strike, Charging Minotaur, Leading the Attack, Tactical Strike, Mountain Hammer

[Illven]

I'm sorry, where is that? Melinda asks the creature.

[Drako_Beoulve]

With his eyes narrowly open and leaning against a stone in sitting position, Elliot had awoke a while ago, he stood still the whole time to presence the scene with something that looks like a little faerie. While the scene evolves, he uses his smell sense to try to catch an aroma that indicates there is more of that little things around the camp. As the chat continues, Elliot see that this situation seems harmless to everyone but he decides to keep monitoring the situation.


Knowledge(Nature) Check on the creature: [roll0]
Sense Motive Check on the creature: [roll1]
Use Scent and Spot check to find nearby creatures: [roll2]

[whoiam]

"Not so loud, please." The catfolk flicks her ears up at the repeated mention of everyone's ears being 'eaten', but chooses not to make an issue out of the assertion. Simple reason, high-pitched whining wasn't helping the state of her head any. She didn't want to encourage him.

As Desssria slowly pulls herself into a sitting position, she notices the dropped spear. "I've never made a weapon quite this size, " she muses to herself quietly, as she scooped up and examined the twig. "But I'm sure I could. At this size you could get away with pure metal, single small rod smoothed down on one end for a handle and filed down on the other end to make a point. Melt down the filings and there's probably enough to make a buckler... if I can work out some way of beating it into shape and attaching arm-slings to something smaller than my claws..."

[JKTrickster]

Keith had taken the time to assess the situation and he could already see some interesting things in the horizon. He decided that it would be best if Thanquil had some extra time with the pixie if they wanted any more information. Moving close to Kiirion, Keith placed a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. "Be patient," he said as he took a deep breath. "Let's give Thanquil time to talk before we jump to conclusions about going anywhere. I think we should find out more about where we are." Looking about, his eyes could spot some kind of structure in the faraway distance - the only sign of other inhabitants in this strange realm. "Gaelin seems to be a genuinely kind fellow - there's no reason why we shouldn't ask him while he's still flying about."

Walking next to Thanquil, Keith lowered his voice and pointed out in the direction of the structure. "I can't quite make it out, but there seems to be something over there," he said as he gestured towards the darker side of the sky. "Everything seems slightly darker over there and I even see deep violet forests and even high mountains out in the distance. But before then, I see this structure that I can't quite make out. Maybe Gaelin can tell us more, if you ask?" Keith pointed out to Thanquil.

As Thanquil handled talking to the flying pixie, Keith went over to help Melinda and Desssria get up to their feet. "Maybe we can get some water so you two can feel better about your headaches?" Keith said with a look of concern on his face. "Looks like we might have drank a lot - I still don't even know how we might have gotten here," Keith said as he rubbed the back of his head. "Maybe Elliot might know where in the wilderness we are but I suspect that this is nowhere familiar."

[Dread_Head]

"Greetings Gaelin of the petal fens" Thanquil says, then coughs and takes another swig of water. He was rather confused after waking with a killer hangover in a place he had never before seen to talk with what appeared to be a pixie. But looking round he decided that incapacitated in a strange place it would be better to try and befriend the pixie rather than alienate any potential friends in this strange land.

"I apologise for my companions words, I'm sure they meant no harm. We are all disoriented you see. We don't know how we came to be here." Thanquil says before pausing and listening to what Keith had to whisper.

"Ugh Gaelin, my friend indicates that he there is some structure over that way. Is it the market you spoke of earlier?"

Thanquil then turns and addresses Kiirion. "Aye it seems I might, not the way I was expecting it to begin though. Perhaps we should wait a little and try to make some sense of this before marching out at random?"

A diplomacy check if you feel it necessary.
[roll0]

[DoctorGlock]

'The petal fens?' the Fae asked Melinda. 'About a league thataway,' said, pointing more or less sunward of the group, away from the tower. 'I heard one of you mention water, there's a stream back thataway too, and then a road, and then a whole bunch of other things I've never seen and then the end of the world, but I've never been there.'

Spinning around, quick as a hummingbird, he turns back to Thankquil. 'Just Gaelin, the petal fens is where we live ever since the exile,' he says, scowling grimly in the direction of the distant tower. 'And that is no market,' he adds, gesturing towards the tower. 'That is out ancestral home, cruelly stolen from us by the dark ones in times I don't remember but our elder does on account of being our elder and all and knowing all sorts of useful things.'

'Well, we don't have a forge or anything so we make do with what we have,' he says sort of offhandedly (as much of what he says seems to be) to Desssria. 'We probably had a forge before the exile-- our elder says-- say, what is the reeking stink?' his words trail off as his eyes go wide, focused on Kiirion.

'Iron! That's Iron! How can you bear to... Wait! You're Starborn! Mortals! Manlings! Don't eat my bones for bread!'

[whoiam]

"No, no. Bones are used for soup. Bread is made out of grain. Either way, I'm not really in the habit of eating stuff that can still talk.

Anyway, is Iron really that rare around here?" Desssria asks, having a blacksmith's natural panic at the thought of ending up in a metal-poor region. "We've gone through a few metals in our history. Iron is the best one we've been able to find enough of to use regularly.

Still, I'm guessing from that reaction that I probably shouldn't attempt to make you an iron spear. I could use Copper or Bronze? They're not as good as Iron in a fight, but still an improvement over twig-and-thorn weaponry..."

[DoctorGlock]

'Are you sure? Because I heard say in a manling tale that you make bread out of bones. And that you drink blood every morning to recover strength you lost at night on account of being mortal and constantly dying,' Gaelin asks, voice full of suspicion. 'Of course we don't have iron here! It's wrong! Painful! It makes everything silent except for it's ugly buzzing. It can't be glammered or grammered or shaped or tricked or named! And bronze is for ugly hobs or gobs. Don't you have proper metals where you come from? Like moonsilver or thunderbolt ore or mythril and mirrorglass?' he pipes, suspicion replaced by a sort of condescending pity, as if speaking to primitives.

Eliot:

Knowledge:

It fits the description to know of a pixie perfectly-- as if being a four inch tall humanoid with dragonfly wings weren't a dead giveaway, the childlike excitable demeanor fits with all the old tales. Though you do know a smattering of the tales-- not many faerie stories are as innocent as the pixie tales told to children. Known for being fairly innocent, they can engage in mischief if insulted or bored, though nothing more than the spoiling milk and other trivial nuisance varieties. Some stories have them helping lost children find their way out of the woods, and often are portrayed as helpful, if somewhat inept. Other stories have them dropping the odd bit of cryptic knowledge or advice used by the protagonist to defeat evil witches and the like.Groups of them are said to be capable of near hypnotic displays of light and color-- come to think of it, the little guy does appear to be glowing faintly now that he's gotten excited. It's a little blueish.

Sense motive:

As far as you can tell he is sincere, if excitable

Perceptions:

You can detect no one else nearby

Kiirion

Perceptions: You focus on your surroundings... a faint breeze whispers through the long grasses-- with a start you realize that is more literal than poetic license, as you can swear you hear the faintest trace of whispers on the wind. The sound blends together with the hummingbird buzz of the tiny fae's wings and the distant murmuring of a brook-- and something else you can quite identify, but you can't shake the feeling that you are not alone...

Why yes, I am recycling the perception checks of other players with edits where appropriate...

[whoiam]

"Well, it sounds like it's been awhile since you last ran into some of us. I wouldn't be surprised if what body part goes into what food had gotten mixed up in the interval. Stories do change in the telling, after all...

Still, have to say, blood's not such a bad taste. I do prefer milk though, and most of this lot prefer... how should I put this... anything that's had time to ferment? Blood isn't very good at fermenting. It just tends to congeal if you leave it outside an animal for too long.

But for the metals... yeah, we have them. They're rare and expensive back in our lands, though, and it's a rich man indeed who owns a suit of adamantine or mythril. If they're that common around here, I'd love to get my hands on some - as a craftswoman, it's always a rare treat to get to work in an unusual metal..."

For some reason (that's clearly in no way resembling a hangover...) it never seems to have occured to Desssria that it might have been better for her to claim to be vegetarian. Besides, in her mind her diet's just a minor thing now. This... little insect man... had just let slip that some of the rarest and most valuable metals in the world were to be found around here! And the locals didn't have a forge of their own... There were opportunities for an enterprising smith there, oh yes there were...

[JKTrickster]

Keith shook his head and grinned at the exchange that was happening between Desssria and Gaelin, the flying pixie. He wasn't sure if Desssria was intentionally messing with the small fae or not - she was someone who always spoke what was on her mind and that made her a refreshing person to be around, if not a little chaotic and unexpected. Despite the strange circumstances and new land they were thrust upon, Desssria was helping Keith calm down and not overreact, even if she didn't know that was what she was doing. Keeping things lighthearted is pretty important, Keith thought with a smile as he looked around. For now, it seems like we are safe - that is an important blessing at least.

"What our friend means to say," Keith interrupted as he placed a hand on Desssria's shoulder. "Is that we will not eat you. Mortals aren't accustomed to do that, despite what you might have heard. You are safe in our company," he tried to say as succinctly as he could. He couldn't quite find the words to support what he was saying though - how does one convince a fae pixie that he will be safe in their hands? After all, it seemed like Gaelin had no reason not to fly away, just to be safe. "Umm...Thanquil. Help me out here. Tell Gaelin why he can be sure to trust us," he said as he turned to his older friend. He trusted that his friend would be able to handle the challenge, even if it was a little unorthodox.

[Dread_Head]

"As my friend Keith here says, you have no need to worry that we would eat you. In fact we have food of our own, I was just going to have some. Would you like to join me for a bite to eat?" Thanquil says, hoping to distract Gaelin from Desssrias like for the taste of blood. He reaches into his pack to pull out some trail rations hoping that some food would settle his stomach and start to clear his hangover.

"I'm sorry to have brought iron into your presence, I wasn't expecting to awaken in such company." Thanquil says as he sits down to have a few bites to eat. "I shall put my iron away now, will that settle your worry?" He says as he tucks his rapier, arrows, belt buckle and other iron objects into his haversack. He then uses prestidigitation to flavour his food and offers some to Gaelin. What flavour will a pixie like? Thanquil wondered. Fruit and berries I guess, I'll go for a fry up though, that always helps with a hangover...

"My companions, I think we should have a bite to eat and talk some more before we decide in which direction to head." Thanquil says to the group. "Has anyone pieced together how we came to be here?"

"Gaelin, perhaps after we eat, you could take us to the elder you spoke of earlier? I have some questions I'd like to ask him." Thanquil asked the pixie.

Diplomacy: [roll0]
Place all weapons (and other iron objects) in haversack, get out trail rations and sit.
Cast Prestidigitation and flavour my trail rations like a fry up and the bits I offer to gaelin like berries and fruit.

[Drako_Beoulve]

Elliot is now with eyes fully open watching the pixie and others interact. He reached his haversack from his back and start searching with a hand inside of it, realizing his rations are no more (cuz he ate the last one a day ago), he stand up in one jump and put the sack back to it's place on his back, it seems the hang over from last night didn't hit him. "Time to eat, isn't it", interrupting the chat of his companions. "I ran out of food so I will go to explore the surroundings and see what can I hunt for lunch", Elliot is not a diplomatic and his manners are the ones of who live in the wild. Not expecting anyone willing to go git him he walk towards the woods to start hunting.

[Defiant Element]

Kiirion listened intently to Thanquil's conversation with Gaelin, but as he scanned the immediate environs, a look of concern passed briefly over his face. "I do apologize for the iron, friend Gaelin, but this isn't exactly the most defensible position, and there's an itch between my shoulder blades that I can't quite seem to shake. I haven't a clue how we got here, but I've got a feeling that we're not alone...

Kiirion trailed off as his treasonous stomach grumbled loudly, belying the seriousness of his words. But I suppose that a quick bite to eat couldn't hurt, Kiirion said sheepishly as he planted his pike in the ground beside him and reached into Cimmaron's saddlebags for his rations.

As Kiirion looked up from his packs, he espied Elliot striding toward the woods. Uhm, are you sure this is the time to go wandering off on your own?, he called after Elliot. Then, turning to Thanquil, Do you think we should follow him?

[Dread_Head]

"I agree that we shouldn't all split up in an unknown place." Thranduil said and then trailed off realising it was a bit late to stop Elliot. "Why doesn't someone go with him?"

[JKTrickster]

Keith turned and looked on as Elliot began venturing out into the faerie wilderness. Part of him wondered if he should accompany Elliot before Kiirion or Thanquil even voiced their concerns; after all, none of them really knew what was in that faerie wilderness and something seemed to make Keith feel like there were always eyes watching the back of his head. Besides, Keith had run out of rations too and he figured that his archery skills could help safely secure some game without putting Elliot in trouble. But at the same time, Keith was hesitant to go out foraging with the wild man. Of everyone in the group, Keith probably knew Elliot the least. Unlike the others, Elliot was not easy to read and he barely spoke out to anyone during the night before. All Keith knew was that Elliot and Thanquil were long time friends and partners - but perhaps that was as good of a start as any.

Before Thanquil was finished talking, Keith was already walking off with Elliot. That's the best part of controlling time - you always seem on top of things even when you take forever to decide. Looking back, Keith smiled and nodded. "I'll go with Elliot - two sets of eyes are better than one. Hopefully we'll get some thing to bring back to the camp! Just set up shop here and we'll be back before you know it," Keith said as his quick legs helped him catch up to Elliot. On the outside, Keith looked rather calm and collected, but honestly he wasn't quite sure what motivated him to come out with Elliot. Although, perhaps he simply wanted to spend some time with the most reclusive member in their group.

"Hey Elliot, so do you have any plans on where to start foraging?" Keith asked as he caught up. Trying to think of something to say, Keith settled for the mundane and obvious question that was on his mind. "I don't know how much help I might be but I have keen eyes and fast hands. Still, this is a foreign land and I'm honestly not sure how we can safely find something to eat. Do you recognize anything from around here? Or anything that might seem familiar to the forests back home?"

[DoctorGlock]

'Well, if you insist...' he says. 'I suppose I did expect something more... you know scary? Single burning eye weeping blood kind of stuff. The stories are generally pretty scary. I mean, I've never met a mortal. I certainly don't think anyone else has in a very long time. Even our elder hasn't. And he's seen everything. Well, everything for even dozens of miles around! Say, maybe that's the issue-- you don't have proper metals and you're surrounded by bitter stinging iron all the time-- bound to get kind of upset. Like bleeding burning eyes and bone-soup-bread kind of upset.' he says, gesturing wildly all around.

'I suppose we can go meet the elder after eating-- especially if it isn't something icky like bone soup bread. What kind of mortal food did you bring?' he asks, eyes wide with excitement. 'Is it something like-- wait, you can't go that way! Not that forest! There are nasty-nasties in the tower who will do horrible things to you!'

[Drako_Beoulve]

As Elliot walk into the woods he hear others including the pixie screams about not to go in that direction, also, he noted one of them start to following him, he stop his march until Keith get closer. Many things are on his head about the place, it feels strange yes, but also the urge to know what is near or far inside the woods invades him.

Keith reaches Elliot with some questions, trying to break the ice. Elliot already think about it while walking and with calm he respond:

"This place makes me feel uneasy, I want to explore the surroundings to see if I can figure out where we are looking what kind of flora and fauna are in this place, let's walk circling the camp going a little far each time, whenever we see something peculiar or out of place we stop and try to figure out it before we decide to approach, If we feel in danger we can shortcut straight to the camp. We will hunt only if I feel safe to do so, we don't know yet if we are predators or prey..." years of experience had spoken.

[whoiam]

"I didn't bring anything, I'm afraid. Not sure if the others did. We... weren't exactly planning to travel today, you see. There was a party, some fermented apples, and next thing I can remember, you're prodding me between the eyes with a spear-haft.

Did anyone else bring food? Or drink?"

[Dread_Head]

"I've never met anyone who wasn't a mortal before, we aren't as scary as your stories have made us out to be. When you call us mortal do you mean to say that you aren't? How does that work?" Thanquil asks Gaelin, then at his last outburst. "Don't worry Gaelin, they are't going to the tower, only scouting into the woods a little way." Thanquil says trying to calm the pixie down. Still he looked worriedly at his departing friends maybe we shouldn't have split up, too late now of course... We'll have to talk about this later.

"I have some trail rations which I can share and a waterskin. Did no one else bring any food? Lets hope that Eliiot and Keith manage to find some then, I don't have more than a days food for all of us." Thanquil says looking at his companions before reaching into his havesack for more trail rations to hand out. "Here you go, it provides sustenance but it is rather bland, I can flavour it however you want with a little magic though. I'll magic us up a little extra water as well." Thanquil says before casting a little spell and filling a hollow up with water.

Pass out food to everyone using prestidigitation to flavour it as they request. Then cast create water and fill up his waterskin.

[Drako_Beoulve]

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

[JKTrickster]

Keith managed to catch up to Elliot. Taking a small break, he looked around and wondered exactly what kind of "nasties" this forest could hold. "I think that's a wonderful idea," Keith said as he started looking around. "We can look for food and even make sure that we are the area around the camp is safe. But we should set a limit on how far we move away from camp too. I don't want to get lost out in these kinds of woods - I've been feeling a malevolent presence ever since we've gotten here," Keith almost whispered as his eyes continued to scan the environment. Even now, he was constantly looking for the slightly sign that something alive was out there. Keeping his bow at the ready and his arrows within reach, Keith started carefully following the seasoned hunter's footsteps. Although he easily looked calm and collected, Keith was actually hiding sweaty palms and a nervous twitch. Still, he couldn't afford to lose concentration for a moment - here he had to put his gifts to good use.


Spot
[roll0]

Listen
[roll1]

Search
[roll2]

[DoctorGlock]

'Well, we aren't always dying by the minute the way you folks are,' Gaelin answered, shrugging his little shoulders emphatically. "I dunno how that works, something about time I think. I mean, little folk can end, and it happens, but it doesn't just happen one day because you've seen too many moons. There is usually a lot of leaking involved. I don't know, I've never died. How does it work for you? Have you died before? I heard a story once about a mortal who hid his heart in a chest so that time couldn't steal it so he wouldn't be mortal anymore...'

The glow around him fades a bit as his excitement dies down. 'Well, I mean, if you don't have magic mortal-food I suppose we could always find some eggs or berries but I think they'd have to be very big ones for you but I know where a roc lives not too far from here and I've always wanted to try to swipe an egg but our elder says stuff like that is dangerous and shouldn't be done because it leads to leaking...' he prattles on, occasionally stopping to take a short breath but not to punctuate his sentences.

Kieth and Elliot:

As the two of you break away to scout out the woods the sense of unease rises as you cannot shake the prickling sensation of eyes on your backs. You creep through the long grasses in their alien hues, skirting wide of the tower that seems to guard in solemn vigil at the edge of the violet woods. There is a sharp tang in the air of bitter malevolence radiating from that solemn post and it seems to stand out in subtle wrongness against the vibrant colors of the fae. The realization hits you about the same time as the smell of smoke on the air, as if a fire recently burned through here-- the tower's colors are muted and wrong, as if leeched out. Besides the tower an old beaten road winds into the woods, and along it is devastation. The blue ferns have withered and blackened as if subject to winter's chill. But there is not a spot of snow in sight, and the air is far to warm, and outside the path the forest is lush and living.

Kieth:

There is an odd creaking coming from the treeline, and the whisper of wind through the trees speaks in actual whispers, you can hear them clearly enough to know they are no trick of the mind. Out of the corner of your eye for but the briefest of moments you could have sworn you saw a flicker of flame in a window of the not so distant tower, and could have sworn it burned a pale, cold blue. As you focus back on the treeline you could swear it has changed slightly, as if the trees have moved. You can feel a subtle chill in the air in the direction of the forest path.

Elliot:

There is an odd creaking coming from the treeline. As you focus back on the treeline you could swear it has changed slightly, as if the trees have moved in the space of blinking.

[Illven]

Melinda sighs, the little creature was very grating. It... just needed to shut up and let her hangover subside.

First off mortals live for years, not minutes. She replied trying to not let her voice show her irritation.

I don't believe anyone hear has died before, and I know for a fact that I haven't. She added.

[Defiant Element]

Kiirion declined Thanquil’s proffer of food politely; personally, he was well-provisioned for the foreseeable future, and the others might need to make their victuals last for quite a while. On the other hand, Kiirion wouldn’t mind an excuse to see a roc’s nest up close and personal…

Kiirion was torn. On the one hand, he felt obligated to remain with Thanquil and Desssria to ensure their wellbeing, and his soldier’s instincts inclined him to caution—who knew what manner of fell creatures might be lurking at the edges of those woods? And while Kiirion supposed that Gaelin seemed trustworthy enough, Kiirion certainly wasn’t going to trust the mercurial pixie to protect his friends.

On the other hand, Kiirion couldn’t recall the last time he’d felt this exhilarated, and even his well-honed danger sense could hardly hold back his youthful exuberance. He itched to roam about the Fae wilds in search of new adventures, and Gaelin’s blithe babble was hardly doing wonders for his impatience to be off and about. Tactically, he knew that there was safety in numbers, but he couldn’t help but envy the casual ease with which Elliot had struck out on his own.

Kiirion took a deep breath to steady himself and resolved to be patient. Gaelin’s assistance might mean the difference between life and death, and Kiirion definitely intended to be alive to tell this particular tale.

Thinking to distract himself, and lacking anything especially erudite to contribute to the increasingly bizarre conversation, Kiirion, pike in hand, began a patrol of their ad hoc camp, all the while keeping a weather eye on the receding figures of Elliot and Keith. If danger was lurking about, Kiirion wanted to be the first to know about it.

[Drako_Beoulve]

"That tower looks so wrong, definitively out of place, and this sensation the more we go deep in the woods...Keith prepare yourself, this is more critical than I though, let's skip the tower and complete the circle, then we will return to the camp to advice others". The unease increased on Elliot as this place is unnaturally eerie. He took a deep breath and proceed to shift into a black tiger with gold strips.


Shapeshift into predatory form (Tiger) and enter Hunter Stance to catch scents and continue walking.

[Dread_Head]

"No I've never died myself, I did once meet a man who had died and been resurrected on three separate occasions, even spending some time as a Kobold after a disastrous reincarnation spell..." Thanquil says before realising he was straying from the point a little. "I would deeply love to explore a Roc's nest, I've never encountered one before. But perhaps you could take us to meet your elder first?"

[JKTrickster]

Keith nodded to Elliot, but he could barely find the ability to talk out loud. He could feel a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach as the hairs on the back of his neck tingled. He could feel that someone was looking at him but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't see where they were. Far away from anything that he knew, Keith could feel his heart thumping loudly in his chest. It was just barely louder than the whispers that he could hear on the wind - surely there was someone else out here!

Turning to Elliot, Keith stood back a little bit as he saw him changed forms right before his eyes. It was honestly a glorious sight - power and speed bursting on an already imposing form. Standing back a bit, Keith started to calm down and focus on his surroundings. Sure he was not exactly ready for this - but how often was he ever? Notching an arrow into this bow, Keith proceeded to fall behind the safety of his comrade in battle. "I feel as if we are being watched," Keith said finally as he continued to look around. "That tower - there are inhabitants there and I am almost sure that they are watching us. They may be very close - hopefully not all around us..."


Perception checks to get a more descriptive idea of the immediate surroundings around the camp and our area.

Spot
[roll0]

Listen
[roll1]

[Drako_Beoulve]

As Keith start moving, Elliot begin the exploration of the surroundings, this time putting more attention than before as it remembers the moments ago "...did the trees moved?!...".


Listen: [roll0]
Spot: [roll1]


Elliot cannot fully concentrate in this sea of mysteriousness...

[DoctorGlock]

For all your straining. the bleak grey tower remains staunchly silent, and you do not see another flash of flame. But the silence from the tower feels heavy and unnatural, like a real thing, a presence rather than a simple absence of sound. It is a complex silence, like that of an empty waste and a dark well or the inside of a grave. Above the silence comes the whispering of the wind and the rhythmic creaking of the trees.

The menace radiates not from the woods but from the tower itself, leeching out like a cloud of choking miasma along the withered forest path.

Kieth:

The very rhythmic creaking of the trees. An ever so faint thump can be heard through the whispers, and through your tiger paws you can feel it shudder through the ground. Something moves ahead...

Elliot:

Certainly no trick of the light, that. The trees are moving, flickering within the pause of heartbeat and shadow of blinking. And here and there withing the treeline a less subtle movement... true motion in the trees.

_______

The figures of your outriders recede into the distance and the cross the league and then some to the forest edge. Around you the camp is filled with naught but the chatter of questions, both legitimate and inane.

During a pause for breath the little fae seems to pause long enough to think as well, his little brow and pale blue eyebrows furrowed in consternation. 'You know, if the elder hasn't seen mortals before, and I haven't-- and I am the most traveled of my whole tribe, up to four leagues away even!-- and you seem pretty surprised about this, I don't think mortals happen very often. Well, not here anyway. What are you going to do? Where are you going to go next? I can take you to our elder. He might know something...'

[whoiam]

"Well, I think we start by waiting for the others to come back. Then going to talk to your elder sounds like a good idea. Anyone who can point me towards mythril or meteoric iron" That's what Desssria assumes he meant when he mentioned Thunderbolt Ore " is worth talking to."

Spoken like a true craftswoman :smallcool:

[JKTrickster]

The hair on Keith's neck stood straight up as he felt a presence coming towards them. "We have to get out of here right NOW," he tried to whisper to Elliot before it was too late. Recognizing the danger and severity of the situation, Keith tugged on Elliot's clothes as he started to slowly step backwards. Keeping his eyes and ears open, he desperately hoped that they weren't going to be bringing trouble back to the camp. "There is something coming. Let's go!"

[Drako_Beoulve]

Elliot notice the hesitation of his partner and proceed to shapeshift back to human and whispers to him "Seems you found something and judging for your restlessness you saw something bad I don't want to know what is it...let's go back to the camp following the path we already walked".

[JKTrickster]

Keith nodded to Elliot as the two of them started to back away from the noise that he was hearing in front of him. "I can't make it out entirely but I don't want to risk an unfortunate encounter between the two of us. Especially when I feel so uneasy already..." Keith's voice trailed off as he gulped. "I'll be right behind you - let's turn back." As they both agreed, Keith walked behind Elliot and headed towards the camp. Hopefully they would be able to get back without much of a hitch.

[DoctorGlock]

You place the forest behind you, retracing your footsteps towards your arrival point. But even then you do not leave the sense of unease with it. Nor does the sense of pursuit. The inaudible thumping rises to to the splintering of fallen of branches and the earth shudders, more and more rapidly, as if beneath the approach of massive sprinting feet. No sooner have you put a few hundred meters between your backs and the treeline before a deafening foghorn bellow shatters the silence and whispers...

Looking behind you, you can see a massive, vaguely humanoid, tree-thing, massive limb like branches with gnarled claws tearing at the ground. It is hunched over, resting on one set of knotted bark-clad knuckles, wide-rooted feet splayed and crushing the long grass beneath. The twisted bark of the tree, its knotholes and crags and mosses and lichens form a face, twisted in fury, it's mouth filled with splinter-sharp jagged teeth as long and the fingers of a large man's hand. Above the maw are two amber-drop eyes, glinting in the twilight, narrowed in fury.

You notice that it is dragging one arm and one leg behind it, each withered and ravaged by the same blight that carved it's way through the wooden path. A loud rumble fills the air in the wake of its foghorn bellow.

Worm things...
Chewing at the root
Ash and elm
writhing and wriggling in the bark
Poison things...

Worm things walk with fear now?
Worm things who rode girt with smoke and iron before?
Old things. Foul things. Return you to the old earth!
Nevermore to know the touch of the moon!

Whatever that means, it sounds like a threat...

_________

Back at the impromptu camp, Gaelin chatters on.

'Of course it's not iron silly,' he said, exasperated. 'We both know what iron is! Say, if mortals and fey never really see each other, why do we speak the same?' He pauses in thought. He seems to be about to open his mouth to speak when he is interrupted by a loud foghorn roar from the direction of the forest and tower. It is loud enough to feel in your teeth.

'Oh dear. I think they might have woke up something nasty.'

[Defiant Element]

Although Kiirion had more than a passing interest in arms and armaments, Dessria's conversation with Gaelin hadn't held his attention for long. Lord, but the little fae could prattle! The unshakeable feeling that he was being watched combined with the unrelenting tedium of guard duty had slowly chipped away at his initial exhilaration until he felt like he'd been through an emotional wringer.

In spite of all this, the moment that Kiirion heard the roar emanating from the direction of the tower, Kiirion snapped to attention. Recognizing that Elliot and Keith might well be in danger--and that they might lead the source of said danger back to the camp with them--Kiirion moved wordlessly to interpose himself between Dessria, Thanquil, and Melinda and the undeniably malevolent presence of the tower. Then, glancing back at his companions, It sounds like Elliot and Keith could use a hand. Stay behind me, and keep an eye on our flanks. Pike at the ready, Kiirion strode toward the distant figures of Keith and Elliot.

[Dread_Head]

"Oh dear indeed" Thanquil said glumly looking out towards the forest. Gaelins constant chatter follwed by the loud foghorn had not helped his head any. "I don't think we should split up again until we get a better feel for this place. We should follow them at least to the edge of the forest, they might need help. Gaelin do you know what it is they might have woken up?"

[Drako_Beoulve]

At the sound of movement Elliot turn his head and became amazed with what it was behind him, his eyes wide open observes the greatness of that creature, trying to picture it in his mind to see if he can recognize or at least try to remember something that indicates what is this creature.


Knowledge (Nature) Check: [roll0]

[DoctorGlock]

Elliot:

You can remember some snippets of old tales... Very old at that. Before the world was such a closed and civilized place, so mundane and quantified. A time when there were still wild places beyond untamed frontiers, when magic was more common, boundless and unbowed and elves ran through the primal forests rather than in slums...

Those primal places had watchers and guardians. Trees that walked and tended the ancient forests of the world. Treefolk they were, who jealously protected their brother trees from axe and industry.

It seems they are more than tales.

--------

'Could be anything,' Gaelin shrugged. 'Well, not anything I suppose. Probably not a dragon. Or an UnNaming. Or the Flower Witch. Probably just old man Waits-by-Rivers.'

[Illven]

Which means what exactly? Melinda asks as she moves to protect her new allies.

[Dread_Head]

"Who or what is old man Waits-by-Rivers?" Thanquil asks Gaelin before saying to the group "Ok lets head towards the woods, hopefully they won't need help but if they do we shouldn't wait round.

Thanquil throws his stuff back into his rucksack and sets off towards the forest. "Gaelin is old man Waits-by-Rivers dangerous?" He asks the pixie as he walks.

[JKTrickster]

Keith almost doubled over when he saw the huge tree....thing burst into the clearing. Eyes wide, Keith had never saw anything like this before. This was beyond magical creatures or orcs or elves - this was something from legend and lore itself. He could almost feel the power emanating from the creature's roar - it shook him to his very bones. Gritting his teeth, Keith simply did not know what to do - he only understood how much danger the two of them were in.

"Elliot! We have to go! NOW" Keith yelled at the top of his voice as his hands flew to his quiver. Quickly, he knocked an arrow onto his bow and pointed it at the tree beast as he started to step backwards. Honestly, he wasn't sure what a small arrow was going to do to a big tree - he honestly never quite expected to fight the entire forest after all....

[DoctorGlock]

...Smell like iron
But not of blood
of blight, of maggot-plight

Not of cursed silence tolls
What then, worm things?
Bearing bane and woe--
Tell us, be thee friend or foe?

The tree-thing rumbles, deep enough to feel in your bones. The amber pits of it's eyes narrow in suspicion as it rocks forward onto its forelimbs, roots taking hold in the alien soil. You can feel the ground rumbling under you, as if an extension of the creature's will.

---------

'Oh, he's just a guardian. Unless your friends took an axe to him or his trees or tried to set him on fire they should be fine... I mean, they didn't do that, did they?' Gaelin asked.

[Drako_Beoulve]

"I remember something about that things, they are called Treefolks, they are forest guardians...we should be fine unless we arm him or the forest...". Elliot put a hand on Keith's bow and kindly lower it, he is both calm now, because there is no apparent danger and excited to meet in person one of that wonderful creatures of the nature.

Elliot approaches slowly to the Treefolk guy, lacking of social skills, he clear his throat and tries to establish a conversation with the big talking tree: "Hello Mr. Treefolk, we mean no arm to you...or the trees"

[roll0]

[JKTrickster]

Keith couldn't quite believe what Elliot was saying. This huge hulking beast....was harmless? Keith knew what harmless meant and it normally didn't come in sizes bigger than he was. Still he took a deep breath and lowered his bow as Elliot insisted. Taking several steps back, Keith warily stood by and waited to see if anything would happen. In the back of his head, he imagined the great beast just swinging its harm and sending Keith and Elliot flying through the air. Shaking the grisly image from his mind, he crossed his arms and waited for even the slightest hint of aggression. Again, he wasn't sure if his bow could do anything - but he might as well try.

[Defiant Element]

Kiirion continued his march toward the tower, checking occasionally to make sure that none of his comrades were lagging too far behind. Although he managed to comport himself resolutely and to maintain his deliberate pace, his strategic assessment of the situation was grim. Kiirion had seen enough combat to know that if Waits-by-Rivers' intentions toward Keith and Elliot were hostile and if Waits-by-River was as dangerous as Gaelin's reaction suggested, then it was unlikely that he himself would arrive in time to accomplish anything more than to avenge Keith and Elliot--or die trying, more likely. It didn't improve the situation that as far as Kiirion could make out, neither Keith nor Elliot were making any attempt whatsoever to defend themselves or to withdraw. Kiirion hoped that meant that the situation was not as dangerous as it seemed--that Waits-by-Rivers was in fact a guardian and not an aggressor--and not that Elliot and Keith had already been incapacitated somehow...

[DoctorGlock]

The green man knuckles closer, leaning in with a great creaking until his splintered barkish face is mere feet from your own, glistening pools of amber sparkling in the pale twilight, narrowed in suspicion and anger... and uncertainty. You can smell pine and maple on his breath, whistling faintly between those massive splinter-teeth, and a faint susurus of voices ride the wind between his branches spread wide overhead.

...not silent, no... not like they
What worm things are you
They crawl through fey?
Bearing taint of iron fell
Through the now-defiled forests
In which we dwell?

Green Man sounds so much better than treefolk

________________

Alexander and Victoria

It is cold and dark when you come to in oppressive silence, and dark thing seem to flit through the shadows behind your eyes. The only illumination is faintly gleaming embers, burning blue, casting your surroundings into dim eerie ghost-light. They reveal what appears to be a prison of sorts, girt by bars of some strange and glimmering metal of multiple hues. Shadows ooze across the floor like living oil. Across from your dark cell is another, separated by only a few feet of space. Inside, you can see another figure stirring in the dark. Lying face down in a pool of shadows between the cells is what looks sort of like an elf, taller and slimmer, with more predatory lines, dressed in mail of the same glistening metal. The glow of embers is coming from his body, where a hole seems to have been burned through him slightly above the waist, neatly boring out his spine. You can smell a subtle foulness in the air from the wound, and a sense of wrongness seems almost palpable. The armor around the burn looks as if it rusted into ruin.

Now that you are awake, the sense of wrongness is stronger, hemming you in from all sides. A palpable menace in the air.

You are in opposite cells from each other. You do not know each other or where you are or how you got here.

[EdroGrimshell]

Victoria got to her feet quickly on waking, stumbling slightly in a moment of panic before she calmed herself, rather forcefully, and summoned Teresa to her hand with the augment crystal she'd put on the blade and unwrapped the pellet of liquid light from the tiny pouch hung around her neck, shedding some light to help her see.

Are you seeing what I'm seeing Teresa? Victoria asked after a moment of letting what was going on register, and even then she was confused.

You mean that we're in prison with something that has a flaming hole in its back?

Victoria deadpans, Yea, that.

Free Action to draw Santa Teresa (Quick Draw from Least Crystal of Return)
Swift Action to invest 2 Essentia into Cerulean Will (+1 to Will saves per point of essentia invested)
Move Action to Retrieve an Item (Pellet of Liquid Light - Sheds light as a torch)
Move Action to Move against the Wall

Free Action Constant Guardian targeting Victoria (Teresa takes a -2 penalty to attack rolls to give Victoria a +2 dodge bonus to Armor Class until the start of the next turn. NOTE: Teresa can make attacks herself)

[Nightraiderx]

Alexander rises slowly, calm and collected as he strides gracefully towards the light that Victoria has set.
From Victoria's view, he was just sitting just outside of the darkness, his face just showing up through the bars on the other side. "Ah, it seems that we are in a bit of a predictament, you and I" Alexander slides his hands up and down the bar to get a feel for how hard it is. He backs up for a moment, "I am Alexander, Grand Inquisitor of a far away land that you may have not heard of."
He bows politely before Victoria and the dead man. "And what of your names?"

[EdroGrimshell]

Victoria's eyes dart to the new arrival, "Victoria of Olau," she replies, followed by another voice.

"And Santa Teresa, though I prefer Teresa," the sword says.

"He didn't need to know you could talk you know!?" Victoria says with exasperation, probably happened before.

"He asked for our names, I assumed he already knew, not like he could ask the dead man."

[DoctorGlock]

Huh, i didn't realize it could speak out loud.

As a side note, assume any gear on your sheet is stuff you will loot from the place on the way out and that you do not have it on you yet with the exception of anything specifically bonded to your character

The bars seem very solid and unyielding in Alexander's hands, their alien materials feeling unnaturally slick. The light of Victoria's bead throws the dim prison into full view. A hallway, perhaps forty feet long and eight feet wide stands between eight prison cells, four per side, the overall prison a circle. At the end of the hall a shadowed arch barely revealed a staircase upwards. Under the light you can see the shadows are more than an absence of illumination, they have a liquid substance and flow in a black oily tide over the floor, ankle deep and chill. More shadow drips in liquid ephemeral pools through cracks in the mortar of the arched ceiling above.

[Nightraiderx]

Alexander looks down at the man on the floor a giant hole in his chest, frowning slightly, "Oh, he was dead, so he is, so he is. It seems that I have neglected your friend, Teresa, I am delighted that you have decided to speak up." Alexander bows to the sword as well. "now, have either of you done anything to deserve such poor treatment in this cell?" Alexander scans the room.

Detect magic on the room, her and the sword and the dead guy I want to know how many auras there is. Detect good on Victoria and the dead guy.

[DoctorGlock]

Alexander

The dead man detects as quite dead, though the wound still reeks of fell magic... well, the burning embers around the wound anyway. Not the magic of any school or constructed nature either. The embers blaze with simple wrongness. There seem to be faint traces of magic in the armor, some sort of glamourie, but those traces are leaking away into the corrupted wound, flickering their essence into the night.

More interestingly, literally everything seems to radiate with low grade magic, not enough to be an enchantment, but as if the very nature of the place were infused with it. Everything except for that wound. There is seemingly a consuming void. And the low grade pulse seems to be drawn, fading into it like water rushing to fill a hole.

Neither of them detect as good

[EdroGrimshell]

Victoria takes a deep breath and attempts to focus her mind, and checks the metal of the bars, trying to identify what material it is.

"Not that I can recall," Victoria replies.

Full-Round Action to Gain Psionic Focus: DC20 [roll0]

EDIT: Well that's a bad roll. Will have to try again later.

Assuming checking the bars is a swift or free action, if I'm wrong correct me and it'll happen after Connecting to a Link.

I'll use Craft (Weaponsmithing) just because that actually should cover what metals look like, if not it's probably an Int check and just subtract 7 from the below roll.

[roll1]

Whether successful or not, she'll open a link with Teresa, gaining several stained glass flower patterns on her body, including right next to her collar, her outer thighs, her back, and right above her knee.

Full-Round Action the following round to connect to a Link. Not connecting to more than one so no rolls needed. Stable Link active.

Connected Link grants:
+2 Dex, +2 Str, +1 to Str- and Dex-based Ability and Skill Checks, Overdrive Mutation (currently inactive)

Just doing this to speed things up, since I'd do this anyway.

[DoctorGlock]

The material is no earthly metal that you know of, but you dimly recall a travelling tinker passing through your town when you were a child, hawking strange wares from distant lands. One of his secret possessions which he showed you and only you (though in retrospect you realize he probably told all the town's children that line) was a small lump of metal, smaller than any coin of the realm, kept in a thrice locked box of ironwood hung round his neck. It was pale and lavender silver, shot through with dozens of other hues. He said it was moonsilver, made of dreams and fairy dust, and such things no longer existed in the modern world...

You remember he dropped it in acid and tossed it into a white hot forge-fire, and nothing could mar its seemingly polished finish.

[Nightraiderx]

"Right then, we shall take leave then, that black ichor does not seem to friendly to the touch." Alexander begins winding up, eldritch energy coalescing in his hand as he strikes the lock with his bare hand.

Warlock Paaaauch!!
[roll0]

Full power attack
[roll1]

Eldritch Blast damage
[roll2]

[DoctorGlock]

The strike is met with a morose ringing peal that echoes through the dungeon and a spike of agony through your hand. You suspect you might have just broken a couple of fingers. The lock looks defiantly unmoved.

(take half the physical damage rounded down)

On the heels of that echoing ring you hear something else: A deep bellow, so loud and deep it seems to shake the foundations of the prison. So deep and powerful you can feel it in your bones. And it seems rather close.

[Nightraiderx]

Alexander doesn't flinch, leaving his hand against the bar as he begins to burn through the bars with his eldritch energy. "Seems that we have company, better to know it is here now, than to "discover" it later.

Eldritch blast roll
[roll0]

damage
[roll1]

bluff check to make it look like I totally intended to do that:
[roll2]

[EdroGrimshell]

"The bars are moonsilver, a fae metal, it's resistant to damage," Victoria says, just a moment to late, flinching at the echo and the roar, "...not to mention it alerted something to us being awake. Give me a minute to focus and I might be able to come up with something," she says, closing her eyes and trying to focus again.

Teresa, however, sighs audibly, "Do you have to do this now? We could just take a swing at a few bars and slip through," she says, but Victoria was already trying to focus.

Concentration: [roll0]
"Will you shut up for a minute, I can't focus while you're distracting me."

[DoctorGlock]

You notice, with some unease, that a certain numbness is spreading through your extremities where exposed to the dark mists.

In addition to that, you see that all color seems to be be leeching out of the wound. And the armor around it. As if it's very substance and essence are being degraded...

[EdroGrimshell]

While Victoria is quiet as she focuses, Teresa is not, "I'm not an expert on human anatomy, or living creatures in general, but that wound doesn't look right, is it supposed to turn grey like that?"

[JKTrickster]

Keith slowly looked back and forth between the large and imposing treefolk and his equally imposing (but not as large) friend Elliot. Taking a deep breath, Keith finally relaxed his arms and hands as he placed his arrows back and put his bow away. As he listened to the elderly treefolk, he could feel the loss and pain in its (his?) voice. He could see the diseased arms and legs and he knew that this was a creature acting out of pain, not malice. Finally calm down, Keith bowed to the aged-old being. "H-hi," Keith said slowly as he mustered the courage to speak to the treefolk. "My name is Keith Zen. This is my companion Elliot - he is a man of the woods. But not these woods," Keith said as he looked around him. "My friends and I - there are several others - are stranded here in these woods. We have no memories about how we got here or what brought us here. We don't even know where we are," Keith honestly said.

Taking a pause, Keith looked at Elliot and waited for him to introduce himself more fully. After all, he was the one who recognized that this was an ally, not an enemy. Calmly, Keith started to take in his surroundings once again, to make sure he could see and hear and feel as much of his surroundings that he could. He didn't want anything else catching them off guard - especially not in the presence of such an aged creature.


Spot
[roll0]

Listen
[roll1]

[DoctorGlock]

The Green Man leans in close and sniffs the air, then rocks back, eyes widening. The whispering winds chattering through its branches intensify for a moment, and the Green Man seem to pause and listen to them before focusing on you again.

...Mortal blood you be!?
It has been many many moons since last mortals walked the lands of fae.
For that is where you be, manlings,
Wherefore the moon goes when it is no longer in the sky,
Where men have not walked in mass sine the War of Naming.

How then did you come to be?
Say that you do not know,
but I know of no doors that still exist in these days.
It has been time long passed since then
Time even for myself...

Nay, you do not smell of silence and death
Of blight and dancing
though you bear iron too like those that danced last moonless.
Iron calls to iron, so it goes. When then did you become lost here?

----------

You notice that the moonsilver bars have lost their luster where the inky mist has been flowing over them

[EdroGrimshell]

I'm assuming that Victoria has her psionic focus now

Victoria quirks a brow, and goes to the dulled bar, and tests them with a quick hit.

Str Check: [roll0]

[DoctorGlock]

Fair assumption.

The blade strikes the bars with a sound like breaking glass, and the bottom few inches of the bar splinters. The rest is still anchored in place pretty firmly.

[EdroGrimshell]

Victoria smiles at that, and attempts to break a few more bars, "the mist weakens them, look for the greyed bars and they will break," she says, then tests a bar by pulling at it, trying to dislodge it from the top, this might be one of the few chances she'd have to get her hands on moonsilver she could craft.

"Be careful with your hand though, it's greyed out like the bars," Teresa comments herself.

Str Check: [roll0]
Str Check: [roll1]
Str Check: [roll2]

Not sure if I need these, but assuming I do they are to break more bars, pull one down, and bend the rest to the side so she can get through.

[Nightraiderx]

"Only a fleshwound. No need to worry my dear, now lets see..." Alexander looks over the bars to find the weaker ones blasting them with eldritch energy.


Eldritch blasts
[roll0]

damage
[roll1]

repeat until grey bars are blasted through

[DoctorGlock]

Eldritch energy crackles as Alexander shatters the bars where they meet stone near the floor. Likewise, in the cell across, Teresa sings her song of iron, shattering more bars with Victoria's swings. Some heaving on them reveals that outside the corruption, the bars still hold firm.

[EdroGrimshell]

"Can you use that to hit the top, the stone, while I push the bar? It might be able to help loosen the bar, if it works we can get out of here," Victoria asks as she stows Teresa in her sheath so she could properly brace herself.

Str Check: [roll0]

[Nightraiderx]

"It's not really an issue to reach it." Alexander aims the energy upward attacking the stone.

[roll0]

[roll1]

[DoctorGlock]

Lining up his shot, Alexander chips the stone by the base of the bar.

[EdroGrimshell]

After a few seconds of pushing, Victoria manages to dislodge the bar and squeeze her way out, "that worked pretty well, now lets get you out of this cell," she says as she grabs a hold of the bar and starts to pull.

Another 10 Str Checks to pull the bar.

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]
[roll4]
[roll5]
[roll6]
[roll7]
[roll8]
[roll9]

[DoctorGlock]

Working together you manage to replicate the process, breaking off a bar and squeezing out. By now though you notice that your extremities have gone numb save to a piercing chill that is more an absence than anything else. You note that the leeched area has spread considerably. since you first observed it. And the burning embers in the wound still gutter, the black taint oozing from the contact with flesh like a puss.

[EdroGrimshell]

"We should leave, before that mist causes more trouble," Victoria says to her new companion as she kept the two bars of the material over her shoulder, "if it can make moonsilver break that easily, I can only imagine the kind of damage it can do to us."

"You know, I wouldn't mind being reforged with that material, I imagine it'd be quite useful for the both of us," Teresa comments herself, taking in the metal herself, "not the tainted stuff you have on you now, maybe we can find more here if they're using it in the prisons."

"Now is not the time to get greedy Teresa, we can worry about that after we get out of here," Victoria counters, a hand on her forehead, "sorry about her, she can get a little... distracted... at times," and with that, Victoria lifts the pellet of liquid sunlight up to try and gauge which way is the best to go, "I wish we had some windows here, without them we can only guess if we need to go up or down."

[Nightraiderx]

"nothing wrong with having a connoisseur's eye, Teresa." Alexander smirks.
"Now hopefully we can find a safe path out of here."


Alexander shall look for the exit, where the patches of
liquid are and possibly a way to squigee it away from them to minimize it's
effect.

spot check
[roll0]

[JKTrickster]

"T-the lands of Fae?" Keith questioned, as he turned and looked at Elliot. Shrugging to indicate his lack of knowledge on the matter, Keith waited for the Green Man to finish talking before he said anything else. But even that small answer opened up so many questions and ideas. Keith had only heard snippets of stories about the land of Fae - and honestly he barely remembered any of it. He had always regarded this as nothing more than old wives' tale for their disobedient children. Now he wished he had paid more attention to the old stories - maybe they would even have clues on how to get out.

"Um...my friends and I just woke up not long ago. Just last night I remember drinking and having fun at a small festival. And yet, when I woke up this morning, I found myself in a strange land - under a tree not far from here. I can't be sure but it must only have been hours," Keith said after giving it some thought. But honestly, he really couldn't be sure. "I think it was only a few hours," Keith said as he pondered on the nature of time in such a strange land. "I can feel time passing by judging my own body, but the land around us never seems to change. Aside from..." Keith's voice trailed off as he stared at the tower in the distance.

"Do you know what that is?" Keith asked as he turned back to the large Green Man.

[EdroGrimshell]

Victoria nods and searches around herself right before Teresa comments, "do either of you remember which way that roar came from? We can use that as a marker, either to go towards or away from it."

Victoria's Spot Check: [roll0]

[DoctorGlock]

The green man gazes at the tower for a long moment before rocking back and forth with a great creaking, listening to the whispering voices once more. His eyes narrow.

'That tower was once Myr Tamrien, watchtower of the moon. It was there before I, perhaps as old as the War of Naming. Only the eldest knows how many have held it over the years. Until last moon it was held by the unseelie. No more.'

'Last moon they rode. The thirteen. Girt in shadow and silence they came bearing iron, untouchable steel. They who have lain silent and cold beyond the lands of night for a hundred years and a day.' He points towards the blasted path in the forest, gesturing with his devastated and blackened arm. 'They took the ancient watchtower and danced the circle dance, cadences of silence that split the Song and sky. They left as the moon fell from the heavens, and death and silence guttered in their wake, the taint of their foulness still reeks in the air.'

'Tell me child... do you believe in coincidence? You wake here, where no mortal has tread in the lifetime of my kind, on the same night the thirteen ride once more?

'But it is impossible... I know of no gates between mortal and fae that any now alive could pass, though they used to be many indeed...' He seems to think for a few moments again. 'But perhaps a gate is not needed. A gate is a permanent thing after all. And mortals are very transient. And iron calls to iron... but why?' That last part was muttered, seemingly more to himself as he ponders unknowable things. 'I do not believe in coincidence...'

ALL PARTY MEMBERS NOT IN THE DUNGEON HAVE CAUGHT UP TO THE OUTRIDERS

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

The dungeon has no windows, not here, and your own circle of of liquid sunlight is the only illumination as the blue flame gutters out behind you in a puff of silence. At the end of the prison hallway is a dark and winding staircase of the same pale grey stone. It goes both up and down, though you can see nothing outside the circle of your light, and all noise seems unnaturally suppressed. You cannot determine the source of the roar.

[EdroGrimshell]

"No windows, that makes me inclined to go up, just as likely either way..."

[Nightraiderx]

"Seems the logical choice, if we are not underground but above ground, we'd reach the top of this place and I'd rather see the light of day than go too deep and then transition to underground." Alexander carefully edges the dark mist, as he makes towards the staircase.

[Illven]

Iron calls out to iron? Melind asks the creature What do you mean by that?

[whoiam]

"Ever heard of Lodestones? They're examples of a type of raw iron that can attract most other forms of iron to itself." Cobalt and Nickel as well, but I don't think Desssria knows those two exist yet. "From the stories I heard, larger deposits of lodestones are generally found by someone walking over the top of them and finding whatever iron they'd been carrying - from knives or swords down to the nails holding together their boots - being ripped from their person. I've never heard of a deposit strong enough to pull people between worlds before... but then it doesn't have to be. All it has to do is make a connection, then any sufficiently powerful magic could follow that connection to target something on the other side. That is, *us*."

[DoctorGlock]

'Aye,' the tree slowly rumbles as he nods to Desssria. 'That's the shape of things.' The question becomes why? Or why you?'
_____________________

You ascend a short flight of stairs and enter a massive, pillared circular room, though it takes some exploration to discover that fact, as you sunlight only revealed a small circle perhaps ten feet around, the pillar's reaches ascending into darkness. The mists are thicker here, perhaps a foot deep, swirling around more bodies that litter the floor, clad in mail of moonsilver. The circle of light falls on rows of finely crafted swords hanging from the walls, as well as shields like chips of jagged ice. Clearly this was an armory of some sort.

[EdroGrimshell]

"An armory, most armories are on the ground floor or one level down, not counting dwarven strongholds," Victoria says.

Teresa has another concern, however, "keep away from the bodies if you can, the body below produced the mist, stands they'd do the same here, and there are more."

"Right, it's already stinging, we'll want to get clear of it. If it gets too thick going up, we may need to go down instead, I don't want to end up breathing this in, whatever it is."

[Nightraiderx]

"agreed. But I should just grab something here....." Alexander grabs one of the greatswords off the wall. This should help if we do end up meeting the thing that was making noise.

Loot the room for all the goodies!

[whoiam]

"An interesting question that I wish I had an answer for. I doubt they were going after us specifically - there's too much iron in our world to be able to pick out specific people that way.

Honestly, I think they were targeting the place, not us in particular. There were... stones.. an arrangement of them. Massive ones. Like old pillars, with stones crossing over the top. All the way around the clearing where we slept. Back before the drink caught me, I remember thinking someone had erected those for a reason. Maybe it marked the site of one of the old gates? Just because a portal's closed, doesn't mean you can't try and open it again...

...and pull people from the other side into your world as a result. Whether this was the objective - or just a side effect - who knows? I doubt any but the... '13'?... could tell us their intentions."

[Illven]

Maybe the area we were in has a naturally weak planar boundary? Melinda suggests.

[DoctorGlock]

'Nay, not you then. You describe a gate, an old one by the sounds of things... and for the first time in an age one has opened...' Seeing the question on your face he scowls and tries to answer. 'I do not know what the thirteen are. That is but one of their titles, and they have had many across the ages. The Silent Watchers. The Nameless Ones. They are old things. Older than I, and likely very few know from whence they come. And they keep it that way. Four centuries past they rode often, striking like lightning from the blue and obliterating all knowledge of them the Daonine tried to gather at their library. They move with mysterious purposes and seldom leave survivors. And the knowledge that they can open a Gate? That is dangerous knowledge indeed.'

'Aye, a weak boundary is the very foundation of the Gates. Places where our worlds are close indeed, a mirror's distance from each other.' he says to Melinda. 'Even so, no gate but one has survived the ages.'

Setting difference: there are no planes per say. Just Terra and Fae, and the boundary between the two is hard to place, with older texts showing that the two are close enough to cross into unknowing, and more recent texts dismissing the older texts as superstition and nonsense
_________________

Assume you now have access to all the starting gear you bought, fluff wise you loot it from the armory.

[Illven]

Okay. If something or someone were weakening the planar boundary. Who would benefit? Melinda mused outload.

[EdroGrimshell]

Victoria follows the wall to try and find a staircase.

[JKTrickster]

Keith nodded as everyone mused on about exactly what the motives or intent could have brought them into the fae world. To be honest, it was all a little overwhelming but he did his best to keep his head high as he followed the conversation. He was honestly glad his more talkative friends have come out of the forest to back him up - he was beginning to feel a little too stressed to talk or communicate effectively. Taking a deep breath, Keith mulled over the facts that they knew and tried to follow their speculation as best as he could. But he started to follow another thought pattern, and focused on something that he had saw before.

"Wait that is not the most pressing thing," he said as he pushed aside the thoughts of the Nameless Ones or the Thirteen or whatever they were called. "I think we should stay focused on trying to find a place back home. I think that Tower," Keith says as he points out into the distance. "It holds more than we might imagine. It is not empty - I saw signs of a blue flame not too long ago. It was why we were walking in this direction in the first place," he says as he contemplates what he saw. Looking between the members, he took a deep breath before continuing. "I think whoever made that signal might have some answers for us. We should go investigate it before we sit idly by and speculate any further."

[whoiam]

"...We could also die, but... while this may just be the hangover talking, I agree, we should go check it out.

I don't think there's going to be a 'safe' way back - considering that the only group that seems to have come up with a way to make the journey appear not to be the most friendly bunch... So I think it's going to come down to taking a few risks in the search of answers."

[DoctorGlock]

'Profit? Who can say? The queens and their schemes would always bear fruit on mortal soil. The Daonine markets would thrive once again, filed with real goods and not mirror-conjured mockeries. But of the Thirteen? Their motives are shadow.'

'Blue flame is one of their signs. Blue flame and rot and shadow. They are not known for leaving survivors.'

A high pitched buzzing fills the air as Gaelin catches up, panting. 'My tower?' he pipes. 'Are we going to liberate out ancestral home?'

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

Victoria finds a staircase leading up again, once more into shadow, with Alexander not far behind. You can hear the echoing of footsteps on the stairs ahead.

[Nightraiderx]

Alexander follows behind Victoria, the silence getting a bit annoying.
"So, Victoria, where would you be from, dear? This prison seems to be quite strange after all. Nothing like the prisons in my lord's land..."

[DoctorGlock]

Your words bounce back to you, distorted and in different voices, echoing with whispers not your own.

[EdroGrimshell]

"Not really a time for niceties, something's coming, and the mist is thicker. We need to go down," Victoria replied, before Teresa chimed in, "She did introduce herself as Victoria of Olau, that's where we're from, the Fiefdom of Olau."

"Aim questions at Teresa, she doesn't have much to do other than answer them right now as it is, at least until we're out of here or whatever's coming here catches up," with that, she starts to head back the way they came.

[DoctorGlock]

As you make your way back down the stairs, for the briefest moment you think you caught the blur of motion out of the corner of your eyes, as if something stirred in the darkness. As you round the bottom of the stairs you note that you are not where you started. The landing opens above a balcony of crumbling stone, circling a gnarled tree, its roots sunk deep into the shattered flagstones. Waves of blackness lap at the roots of the tree, as high as a man's waist.

But light filters down here from stained glass windows, pale and wan moonlight lancing through shattered panes. Through the drifting shadows you can make out a circular table of enameled wood, multihued panels flickering in and out of sight. It appears to be set for some sort of feast, or was, as the bodies slumped over the table and scattered across the room attest to. Each one is that same breed of not-quite elvish, predatory looking humanoid, each clad in moonsilver mail. You note the shadows swirling around the moonbeams, as if loath to touch them, and even as you watch some goes up in smoke at the contact.

Suddenly you hear-- no feel, as the stones shudder and reverberate with it-- a massive scraping and a thump, and a sound like shattering masonry that seems to come from all around.

The door you just came through opens onto a semicircular balcony about twenty feet above the table and tree roots. The trunk rises through the ceiling of this room, maybe another thirty feet. There once was a stairway up, but you can see collapse rubble at the end of the balcony. Still, massive vines traverse the wall from floor to ceiling, through and upwards into the unknown above. Under the opposite side of the balcony you can see a short hallway, dimly lit by the moonlight, end in a massive set of double doors.

________

Not stopping to listen to the four inch nuisance, the party begins to run in the direction of the tower. The Green Man's voice fills the wind at your backs. 'I cannot leave the bounds of the forest with you, but bear this warning: where The Thirteen ride, desolation pools in their wake. What was once a sacred place is now profane, and you will find nothing alive and certainly no answers there.'

But by then you are already racing over the gold and violet grasses into the chill shadow of the great tower-fortress. Rising perhaps two hundred feet from a hill at the edge of the forest path it is made of some sort of pale stone that reflect the twilight hues of the sky above. Thick vines wind their way across the surface of the tower, piercing the stone and vaulted windows in places. Seemingly symbiotic with the stonework, the trunk of an enormous tree can be seen winding in an out of the masonry, its branches crowning the crenelations and battlements far above. And yet no green blooms on that crown. You note the unhealthy color of the vines and a thick carpet of dead and blackened leaves that seems to shadow the tower.

The entrance is a vast double door of what seems to be long since tarnished copper, green all over and black in places It depicts two not quite humanoid figures in alien armor, palms outstretched in a warding gesture. The pose is echoes by twin statues of the same stone flanking the entrance, though one seems to have toppled and shattered ages past.

[Nightraiderx]

"Fair enough my dear, excuse my ill-mannerisms. It seems that the place has many a magical stairway and is impeding our way out of here, seems that we'll have to keep going down, since the stairs windows at least give us some indication of where we are height-wise."

Detect magic on the stairs, the doors. everywhere.

[EdroGrimshell]

Victoria nods, "we can't really go back with whatever's back there, only real option is to get down from here and out that door, now..." she sighed, "this is going to hurt," she said before jumping down to the table below, hopefully it'd keep her out of the mist if it held.

Tumble Check to Reduce Fall Damage: DC 15
[roll0]

[DoctorGlock]

Victoria arcs through the air, making a jarring roll on the table's surface in a clatter of silver and upended goblets. You suspect you may have just squashed some grape in your hair. Beneath you the table lets out a dull creak as the rotted wood splits and cracks, ravaged supports disintegrating into ash under the blow, pitching you towards the hungry darkness...

Reflex save?

Fall damage: [roll0]

But you are faster, running along the surface of the collapsing table you leap, landing inches above the mists on the gnarled roots of the massive tree.

________

Outside the tower, you note that the massive, tarnished copper doors are slightly ajar. A cold wind seems to waft out, and the shadows flicker and dance before its cold breath.

[EdroGrimshell]

"There are three doors down here," Victoria called up, "we'll need to pick one, fast, if we're going to get out of here before that thing catches up to us."

[Nightraiderx]

"Quite a show you put on there miss Victoria, sadly my old bones are not as limber as you and as such, I shall take the slow way down."
Alexander reaches for the vines, climbing down and trying to avoid the mist the best he can. "Three doors hm?" Alexander scans each door with detect magic, if he can he'll reach for a few small objects, "I say we open all three and throw an object as far down as we can, at least we may be able to see if there are any traps, I'm scanning them now, if they prove to be magical we shall be careeful to open either of them."