Biabri's Lystrom/Settlers Game (IC)

[Biabri]

OOC (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?515914-Biabri-The-Settlers-OOC)

1. What game system are you running (D&D, Call of Cthulu, Palladium, GURPS, etc.), and if applicable what edition (Original, Classic, Revised, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 10th, etc.)?
Pathfinder!

2. What 'type' or variant of game will it be (i.e. "Shadow Chasers" or "Agents of Psi" for d20 Modern)? What is the setting for the game (eg. historic period, published or homebrewed campaign setting, alternate reality, modern world, etc.)?
The setting for the game will be a completely new one, with locations, grand cities and histories being made up pretty much as I need them. Of course, I will be writing some things in advance but most of the world will be made up as we go along! So, to actually answer the question, homebrew. (I promise you, I'll try my best and not halfass things.)

3. How many Players are you looking for? Will you be taking alternates, and if so, how many?
I'd like to have at least 3 players, and at this time, at most 4. I MAY open the game for more recruitment later as I become more comfortable with things, but this may mean that I have to split the party for combat scenarios to make things run faster and make the fights more fair for the poor monsters. I don't intend for this to die, so if someone dissapears we will simply leave them until they return, or come up with an excuse for why they don't return, if they vanish for a longer period. I will try to not kick someone out, and will welcome people back if they return, with some compensation in levels and gold. Their spots will likely be filled in.

4. What's the gaming medium (OOTS, chat, e-mail etc.)?
OOTS forums!

5. What is the characters' starting status (i.e. experience level)?
Level one, of course. Level progression will be decided by me, and will likely be based on events that happen or personal achievement. (The party may not level evenly.)

6. How much gold or other starting funds will the characters begin with?
The characters will begin with a total of 500GP. Between them. This is more than enough to buy basic weapons, clothes, supplies and a few misc things. Weekly caravans of gold will arrive.

7. Are there any particular character classes, professions, orders, etc. that you want... or do not want? What are your rules on 'prestige' and/or homebrewed classes?
I have no real favourites. Druids, rangers and other nature based classes will be forced to spend long periods of time being civilised, so take this into account when making your hippy tree hugging elf thingy. Of course, you can be a druid or ranger if you want, it may turn out to be useful! I will be accepting 3rd party classes and spells on a case by case basis. I'm slightly uncomfortable with homebrew and will likely not allow it unless it directly scales with something that already exists, basically, you're allowed refluffed classes, but not entirely new ones. Sorry!

8. What races, subraces, species, etc. are allowed for your game? Will you allow homebrewed races or species? 'Prestige' races or species?
Any! Just remember you can't be a flesh eating soul consuming monster, and being a goblin is NOT a good idea... Anything that can roughly compare with Aasimar on a strength level is allowed. Homebrew races and 3rd party allowed on a case by case basis!

9. By what method should Players generate their attributes/ability scores and Hit Points?
15 point buy for full casters, I don't really want you to have a charisma/int/wis of 20 and a strength of 7 unless there are racial reasons. 16 point buy and some tricks for nearly full casters(unchained summoners and the like). 17 point buy and more tricks for late bloomers (paladins and such) and 18 point buy and yet more tricks for noncasters. These tricks will be both combat and out of combat. I'll write them up on request.

10. Does your game use alignment? What are your restrictions, if so?
I suppose. Alignment will not really have much say in anything for the most part, just an indicator of personality. If you wish to play a cleric, paladin or some other divine class, this will likely be more important.

11. Do you allow multi-classing, or have any particular rules in regards to it?
Sure, just don't make yourself too weak... Multiclassing may lead to slight stat changes, whether these are to be decided by you or me will be determined when we get to that point.

12. Will you be doing all of the die rolling during the course of the game? Will die rolls be altered, or left to the honor system? If players can make die rolls, which ones do they make, how should they make the rolls, and how should they report them?
Rolls can be made on the IC thread, in spoilers preferably...

13. Are there any homebrewed or optional/variant rules that your Players should know about? If so, list and explain them, or provide relevant links to learn about these new rules.
SO, allow us to look at the title of this thread, Settlers, Settling, The Settlers or something along those lines. (This is written before I've even started writing the thread, an example of my expert GM skills right there...)

One of the main goals of this game will be to basically... Settle down and build your own town. Events will happen occasionally and your settlers will have a choice to take part in them or not. Some events will not be optional, such as raids from hostile goblin forces, or an attack from that necromancer who's been terrorizing the lands around you. That necromancer you chose to ignore and thus was left to gather an army. Silly heroes...

So, building this town will not quite work in the same way it would work as it would in normal pathfinder. I plan to have 4 resources: Wood, Stone, Food and Gold. You don't plan to live in this place alone, do you? You'll need to feed yourselves and the eventual residents of this place. You may have to ration or place particular focus on gathering food at one point. You might need some stone to reinforce or fix the walls around your settlement, or some wood to build archer towers atop them. Gold is for trading and such, and will be held in a treasury. You could tax your residents... Or pay them for labour.

These systems will be explained either in follow up posts or as we come to them.

14. Is a character background required? If so, how big? Are you looking for anything in particular (i.e. the backgrounds all ending up with the characters in the same city)?
You are a settler. You are not a great wizard looking for adventure and glory. You're a budding apprentice with some talent in the arcane arts, a warrior with poor training and little experience, a loner druid or a wannabe thief with clumsy fingers.
You've been gathered and sent forth from the great city Serathyst. The king of this place, a young ruler guided by a minor deity of fertility, youth and growth, has sent you out to establish the foundations for one of her servants. You arrive within 2 weeks, the caravan driver informs you that he'll be back within a week bringing supplies.
You can be born in the city, have travelled there, or been caught red handed while stealing from someone on your way through. The king handles all matters of law, and you may have been sent along by him, perhaps with some form of magical binding or oath to prevent you from running away.
In the end, it's up to you. If you want other places to come from or more information about Serathyst then just ask. Creating histories and major cities will not be a priority but will be going on alongside other things.
I will be deciding players based on entries, if there is too much interest, don't worry though, you will not be judged harshly on it.
15. Does your game involve a lot of hack & slash, puzzle solving, roleplaying, or a combination of the above?
There will be a significant amount of roleplay in this, obviously combat, a fair amount of resource management, citybuilding and probably a few puzzles, about complicated enough to be solved with a handily prepared spell, or brute force if needed. Progression will be slow without events.

16. Are your Players restricted to particular rulebooks and supplements, or will you be allowing access to non-standard material? What sources can Players use for their characters?
As stated above, third party allowed on a case by case basis. Homebrew not encouraged, but tentatively allowed. You shouldn't be turned away for asking for a homebrew, so go ahead and ask, but don't expect me to respond enthusiastically!
Traits and feats particular to deities will be re-purposed and either assigned to another deity or made free for all for selection.

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/REkRyPJs9ak/maxresdefault.jpg

You set off from Serathyn in the early morning. The king and Serathyn herself wave goodbye, good travels and good luck with establishing the new settlement. Into the caravan climbs an Ifrit, two Kitsune, a Teifling, a Half-Elf and a Human, followed by a growing tiger, a raven and a tree shrew. One of the court bards steps from the crowd and hops aboard, before vanishing from sight in a blur of sudden movement.

The caravan finally stops. You've been going for at least two weeks with short breaks along the way. The journey from Serathyn was fairly easy, the only trouble you had was when you accidentally ran over something at incredible speeds and one of the wheels broke. Strangely, it had vanished when you climbed out to look for it, a light spattering of it's sanguine juice the only sign of it ever existing. The discussions moved along eventually as you drew closer to the site marked on the map. The driver asked about your plans for the abandoned town, and began talking of the strange things that had been said to happen in the area. The next morning, quite unexpectedly, he burst into stories of Fey beings and deities, describing vicious goblins and feral gnomes. He tells the group that he was one of the party sent to rebuild the raided village of Serathyn, many years ago, a tale not too hard to believe, when looking at the extravagant lifestyle he lives, and the lack of work he actually does. The rest of the journey is spent listening to songs both bawdy and tear jerking, while planning the layout and structures that will eventually be in your settlement, as of yet nameless. Of course, this was all from the comfort and safety of an illusory manor.

The bard opens the door on the side of the caravan, breaking the illusion of the manor and you emerge from the inside of the wheeled beast at last. You've stopped in the middle of a clearing and all around you can see abandoned supplies and half built structures strewn about randomly. One main building stands out, it looks to be completed, if poorly.
It's hard to not notice a trail of small bloody footsteps leading into the forest and a pile of inedible looking meat and bone lay on the ground. The bard takes one look around before whistling soflty and turning to the group.
"Well... This is the place!"
At least the trees look nice and green from here, and you heard the caravan rider talking about rivers somewhere... You just hope the stories he told about the fey and druids are as credible as his claim that he founded Serathyn. Nothing can go wrong with the king of the Great City behind you, can it?

[JewelWasp]

Isube to the driver: "Those feral gnomes wouldn't happen to be Svirfneblin, would they?"

[hector212121]

Reynard takes a glance around before letting out a sigh. "Right. I'm not too well suited to physical labor, as i mentioned earlier, but i'll go look at what isn't done yet, see what we can salvage or build off and what's only fit for the fireplace. After that and the stronger of us doing any work needed to make sure this thing is secure, maybe we should check out those footprints?"

With that, the kitsune scurries off, rapping his knuckles on the wood of the incomplete buildings and listening to the sound they make and doing other tests to see if any rot has set in.

Take 20:Knowledge, Engineering. Total 28

[Grek]

Looking somehow more bedraggled than usual, Melwyn awakens, gives Zingra a scratch behind the ears and checks her journal. Frowning at the result, she disembarks and has her first look at the settlement. "The trail of blood and the half-dismembered corpse certainly looks inviting, I agree, but my morning auguries foesee woe if they are followed. Best avoid them until we can go as a group."

[Blackhawk748]

Morrigan steps out of the Caravan, Bran on her shoulder, and the two of them take it all in. "Well this looks" she notices the corpse "wonderful..." she says to herself

"That is rather off putting Madam" Says Bran

Morrigan keeps looking around, "We should probably set up camp while its still daylight. she says, not particularly loudly.

[Biabri]

The Bard gives Isube a funny look before shaking his head. "For all I know, the gnomes aren't even real." He waves a hand at the pile of meat and bone. "I'd think that is more the work of a wolf or perhaps the first group rather than feral gnomes..." He chuckles softly. His eyes go to Melwyn as she mentions morning auguries and woe, but he makes no comment on it. He also turns his gaze on the witch, eyeing her up properly for the first time before stepping forward. "I believe that having a place to sleep or rest for tonight would be nice. Gathering some firewood for a campfire would also not be a poor idea... We emptied out the mansion's supply."

Reynard would find that the main building seems to be acceptably supported and habitable. It's not grand, but it's certainly bigger than the average house, roughly three times the size of the caravan and clearly the keystone work of this place. There's no rot to be seen in any of the buildings, in fact, but most are in disrepair. All but the main building seem like they could collapse at a moment's notice. Closer inspection reveals that some of the materials that went into the makeshift constructions has actually been taken, rather than just falling off.

[HappyMerecat]

Kyvan

Hearing a faint sound moves to the edge of the clearing where the sounds came from. He does not go into the trees, but scans the area and listens carefully. He says nothing yet.

Perception [roll0] would be +2 if fey.

[Grek]

Setting to work, Melwyn unloads the caravan, stacking bags, barrels and crates of supplies as an impromptu wall dividing the barn in two. On one side, she closes the door and spreads out her hides, laying claim to a sleeping space. Zingra settles down onto it, licking her paws and watching the party work. On the other, Melwyn sets up the cooking equipment, designating this area as a makeshift kitchen. A trio of crates are set around a barrel in an approximation of a table. "Someone should pick out one of the less dangerous looking buildings as a latrine.", she remarks. "And we'll want to bar the doors at night, if we can."

[JewelWasp]

Isube begins collecting firewood nearby, always staying in sight of the camp and has one of her kids keep an eye on her to tell anyone if something bad happens. She is unarmed. After one trip, she asks the Bard to help if he's not doing anything. He agrees.

Enfri asks how he wound up working this job and if he wants to be here.

[Biabri]

The Bard turns to Isube and grins mischievously at her. His eyes visibly twinkle with something a little more than humour. "Do you think I'm some kind of slave? He asks, feigning indignation. He agrees though, but says to give him a minute to 'attune to the earth here' before stretching and letting out a soft yawn. On closer examination it can be noted that he's still young, in the prime of his life. Enfri would also realise that she can't quite place what race he is. He isn't an aberration of any kind, that's for sure. He's certainly not demonic... But he isn't human, elven or dwarven. "I told you, I was there when Serathyst was still a barely planted seed. In disturbed dirt too, mind you... I'm here to offer a helping hand to you this time, and to make sure you don't make the mistakes we do." His emotions are clear on his face in a way that seems unusual. He doesn't have body language, he has a sort of soft aura of emotion, which Isube can feel pressed against her. He goes from content, to a slight melancholy mood, before swapping back instantly to a sort of neutrality.

He soon finishes his stretching exercises and prepares to gather wood.

[hector212121]

Reynard finishes examining the building. "We're going to scrap the lot of these. The wood's in good shape, but there's nothing holding it together." He grimaces. "Mel, these buildings wouldn't stand up to a stiff breeze. We're lucky the main one is in decent condition. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to find something living inside..." He pauses. "Rrrrright. I believe we may have company. Preferably of the sentient kind..."

He moves to stand besides Kyvan "Hold it! Whoever you are, come out and identify yourselves." He repeats himself in Undercommon, just in case.


[roll0] Common
[roll1] Undercommon

[Ceralune]

This feels utterly bittersweet, Cislia thinks to herself as she waves farewell to the King, the deity, and the entire castle, or so it feels like. She and Aislynn had said their goodbyes the night before, with promises to write if possible ("It doesn't matter if you don't have enough paper to write back - I'll just write enough to you for the both of us!" the other court singer had declared. "But... if you can, try to write, okay?" she had amended) and Nelsi had brushed her hair this morning like she always had when Cislia was younger, though with decreasing frequency as the Ifrit had grown into her own and started taking on that responsibility herself.

Perhaps it is a good thing, then, that Starborn presses them forward with such speed. The rush startles Cislia into ceasing her forlorn thoughts, and reminds her of what lies ahead - a chance to be more than an interesting creature, and to really make a name for herself on the merits of her talent and ability. This town will be a beautiful, cheerful place, someday. I'll make sure of it.

On board, Cislia passes the time getting to know the others who the King has selected, filling the lulls in between conversation and meals and stops by humming subconsciously to herself. The tune is bright and cheery, its lilting cadences reflecting hope as she thinks about their group and their future successes. She much favors this over listening to their driver and his stories; having lived in the King's castle surrounded by fellow artists, she knows a tall tale being told for attention when she hears one. What's more interesting to her are the laid out plans for the buildings they will eventually construct, and she scrutinizes them as best as she can while conversing with Starborn. Truth be told, being in this position to converse with him freely is a bit exciting in and of itself; his skill level being much higher than hers meaning that she hadn't really gotten to just talk to him before.

When Starborn finally opens the door and everyone emerges from the caravan, the sight of the clearing is not quite what she had expected. As Morrigan and Bran comment on their own feelings of hesitance and distraught, Cislia is entirely inclined to agree. Not for the first time, she thinks to herself that it must be some kind of bad luck for them to be starting from where some other settlement had quickly failed.

But, as Reynard's first words out of the caravan focus on what they must do next, Cislia jolts out of her thinking and nods. They were here now... they would have to make the best of it. Starborn's suggestions of where to start are certainly helpful, and she goes off in another direction from Enfri to search for dryer, smaller branches. Though she does her best to move quietly, unsure if whatever killed the... creature... lying in the clearing might still be around.

Not entirely sure which are needed here, so hopefully this will cover my bases.
Knowledge (Nature): [roll0]
Survival: [roll1]
Stealth: [roll2]
Cislia returns as Reynard rattles off the details about the buildings, causing her to set down whatever wood she brings back and point to the main building, asking, "If the main building is at least in okay condition, might we preserve it? We could always fortify it instead of having to build completely from scratch. It'll take fewer resources and probably save us some time."

I'm taking it that the main building is essentially a "Tenement" that we will want to upgrade into a "House" or even a larger, common building if Biabri allows? Either way, I'll take the 1 BP we save.
At Reynard's outburst, Cislia turns around to the direction he speaks in, completely startled by the sudden turn in conversation subject. I don't think I heard anything...

[Biabri]

Reynard, Kyvan and Cislia will be able to see the following unfold:

A gnome is being torn to pieces by a wolf with poofy silvered fur, he is defending himself, but poorly. The wolf seems to blur as it goes in for a bite on the gnome, but somehow, the gnome is faster. He dodges out of the way with supernatural speed before letting out a scream of wild anger and brutally slashing at the face of the wolf, opening a deep gash along it and causing profuse bleeding. Kyvan can feel some form of supernatural fey magic here, but isn't sure whether it comes from the wolf or the gnome, he would have to spend time studying both, and by the time he's done that, either the wolf or the gnome would likely be dead.

Morrigan, Starborn, Enfri and Melwyn will hear only a small angry cry, and likely see Reynard, Kyvan and Cislia going over to the treeline. Starborn, The Bard draws a strange, exotic kind of sword from his hip and strides forward to see what the issue is. Enfri would likely feel a strong, almost sickeningly powerful arcane energy flowing from it now that it's unsheathed.

[HappyMerecat]

Kyvan

Kyvan pulls out his axe and moves towards the fight. As he moves he prays to the goddess of this land and asks her to speak her bidding, show him the nature of the fight or her will, prepared to act immediately on her will.

[Ceralune]

As the pair comes tumbling out into view, Cislia flinches at the sight of the violence. "Wha-- S-Stop that right now!" It is unlikely that her hesitant voice has any effect, if it is even heard at all by whom she is speaking to.

What she does next, she does almost without thinking, nervously singing a melody to reassure herself as she gazes at the wolf's furious snapping. Her magic, however, quickly repeats the sound of her voice, making a round out of the tune in which the notes layer over themselves to create dissonant, yet pleasant, harmonies.

Free action to talk.
Cislia uses Bardic Performance to Fascinate the wolf, DC 13

[Biabri]

The wolf's ears perk up at the sound. It turns from the gnome and plops onto it's hind, turning to watch and listen to the bard, tongue hanging out and tail wagging softly. It appears to be completely and utterly entranced.


Wolf Will Save: [roll0]

[HappyMerecat]

Kyvan

Kyvan becomes enraged and charges the last few steps toward the gnome, swinging at it with his great axe, his face dark with rage.

Charge Attack [roll0]
Damage [roll1]
Ac until next round is 10 -2 for rage, -2 for charge.

[Biabri]

The gnome screams out and dodges the speeding ranger, surprised by the sudden charge and attempt on his life.

"Help! Help, He's insane!"

[hector212121]

"The ****, dude?"

Reynard pauses.

"Right."

He draws his rapier.

"Since he has obviously taken leave of his senses, i'm going to go ahead and introduce the pommel of my blade to the back of his head." He mumbles for those next to him. "We can sort this out afterwards. It's not like either's a threat."

With that, he charges and tries to smash the pommel of his rapier into Kyvan's head.

[roll0]
[roll1]

[Biabri]

The wolf remains mostly unaware of what is occuring next to it, too busy staring at Cislia with a wolfish grin on it's face, one fang poking out from it's lips in a goofy way.

The gnome, meanwhile, glares up at the ranger that attempted to attack him, and with a growl of anger, slashes at him with his knife.


Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
Sneak Attack from flank: [roll2]

[hector212121]

"Ok, so, before anything else, i want you to know that any further hostile actions against this here dumbass will be returned in kind. No, i don't know why he went ****ing insane, yes, i want to know. You haven't committed any crimes against nature or anything, have you?" He asks casually.


[roll0] Dip
[roll1] Sense Motive

[Ceralune]

Cislia looks on nervously as the wolf's eyes go slack, and he takes on the appearance of an adorable dog, almost. Kyvan's sudden rage is frightening to her, to the point where she actually feels tempted to try and calm down the beast that was snarling and biting just a few seconds before instead of approach the man, even while unconscious.

However, it seems that the rest of the group is coming over, and she instead maintains the magic keeping the music going, until one of them can come and hopefully deal with the wolf with less temporary measures.

"Do any of you have any ideas to keep this wolf from attacking? I... I don't know how long this song will last..."

[Biabri]

The gnome looks up at the Kitsune, bleeding heavily and looking very weak indeed.
"O-Of course... Not! The crazy beast... went at me! Both of them!"

[roll0]

[hector212121]

"....Alright, I'll believe you for now." He says cautiously. After all, they're supposed to be insane. He could easily believe something without it being true.... "About how many gnomes are there out here, and are you all aligned or in different groups?"

[Blackhawk748]

Morrigan walks into the clearing after hearing the commotion and sees the Ranger lying on the ground, a bloodied gnome, and a hypnotized wolf. To say this is not what she expected would be an understatement. Figuring something odd was up she did the first thing Nanny always told her when she ran into something odd: See what kind of magic was f***ing everything up.


Casting detect magic

Knowledge Arcana
[roll0]

Spellcraft
[roll1]

[Biabri]

The gnome seems genuinely confused at the question and just stares up blankly. "I have... no idea about any other gnomes... There are goblins around here though..." The gnome probably needs help very soon.

Luckily, it as at that moment that Starborn appears from around the corner, sword in hand. He sheathes it when he realises the situation has been dealt with and makes a clicking noise towards Cislia. "Drop the fascination, Bardess." He says, his voice already becoming melodic as he begins to prepare a spell and performance. While the fascination of the other bard fades he hums under his breath and waves a hand. He gives it a few more seconds before turning to the wolf and lifting his voice.

After fascinating the wolf (and displaying his mastery over the voice to Cislia and the others gathered) he speaks to it in some strange feral sounding language, seemingly making a request of it.


Perform (Oratory): [roll0] Fascination
Wolf Will Save [roll1]

Suggestion 19 DC
Wolf [roll2]

[JewelWasp]

Isube had unprecedented trouble sleeping while on the road these past few weeks. After a troubling interaction with Starborn and casting a spell at the wrong target, she acknowledges that the best thing to do right now is get some rest, which she will do after the end of this encounter, in one of the carts.

[Ceralune]

Cislia, relieved to let Starborn handle the wolf, relaxes and feels the magic drop around her as the song fades into silence. She marvels at his prowess once again, responding, "Thank you, Starborn," before then moving on to the next most important concern - Kyvan. The vicious behavior was very unlike him, at least from what she has seen so far.

Seeing that Morrigan has already started getting to work on figuring out what happened, and emboldened by the presence of everyone here to now deal with what was happening, Cislia strides over to Kyvan's body and firmly binds his arms and legs together in a way that will hopefully not be too uncomfortable when he wakes. She then tries to add to the efforts to ascertain if magic was the root cause, concentrating and reciting the ancient chant that helps her discern magical auras.

Cislia casts Detect Magic as well.

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

[Grek]

Melwyn drops a bag of vegetables when she hears the shouting and rushes over just in time to see her companions speaking with badly mauled gnome. "What happened?!" she squeaks, quickly casting a healing spell.

Cure Light Wounds! [roll0]

[Biabri]

The spell reveals that there is indeed magic around Kyven. As Morrigan and Ceslia continue to hold the spell, the immense power of the aura surrounding him becomes visible. This is very strong magic, neither Morrigan nor Cislia have likely seen anything of this power before. While the magic itself is not particularly strong, the source that this power comes from is clearly a very powerful cleric. Nothing more can be determined from the auras visible. The one surrounding Kyven stops too much focus on other things, and leaves those looking at it slightly dizzy. Though Starborn clearly has a lot of power about him, a lot of it coming from above his head, it can't compare to the raw force of the divine aura.

In the next second it blinks out, taking the Detect Magic with it.

The wolf is now gone, along with Staborn. They left in the general direction of the caravan.

[Ceralune]

Cislia cringes at the sight of the rage aura, its brightness causing her to stumble and almost fall but she somehow keeps herself up right. While the aura isn't particularly big, its intensity is nearly overwhelming. What in the...?! An aura this powerful couldn't have possibly come from Kyvan! I doubt even Starborn could manage something like this... She's starting to see spots before the aura vanishes so suddenly, and she blinks a bit to get them to disappear before voicing what she thinks is going on.

"Well... good news, I don't think Kyvan was really in control here," she starts. "There was a magical aura around him that was so powerful... someone else must have be-spelled him. It... it felt like it could have come from a cleric? But a very, very powerful one. More powerful than any I've ever seen before... and I've sung for the head of the Cathedral in Serathyn," she babbles.

"Anyways... I don't even know how we would go about finding who did this. I'm certain they're powerful enough to evade us, if they so wished, and I'm wholly convinced that they could absolutely dominate us in a fight. The aura is gone now, so I'm assuming that the spell is over. Perhaps we can wake Kyvan and see what he felt."

[JewelWasp]

Isube made an effort to get to know everyone in the group some over the two week journey (but can be a little forgetful with new people and may ask the same question again).

During the first conversations she had with Melwyn, she asked Isube about her dreams, and Isube "There is one dream that stands out in particular. It happened soon after I identified a particular person as likely being involved in hurting a dear friend.

In the dream, I was walking around my home town and no one noticed me, not even my friends or family, like I've become a ghost moving through the world. As I plead with them, the all suddenly drop what they are doing and file together in a circle around me. Then they just start screaming, a nightmarish chorus that hardly sounds natural.

Suddenly I woke, thinking I left the dream, only when I looked around, I was in a dark forest, lit only by moonlight... except there's a glowing red symbol off in the distance with a clear line of sight. I cautiously approached it until I could make the image out on a tree: an insect with a scorpion's tail, which it turns out is called a scorpionfly. The light faded to nothing and I heard the chorus of screams again, I turn around and people I don't know, naked and covered in glowing, yellow markings surround me. A huge claw came out of the night sky to grab me when I woke up for real.

I tried to replicate the scorpionfly as best I could," she said, pointing to the stitchings on her hood over her forehead, "and I'm not even quite sure why. Maybe someone I see one day will recognize it and I can find out if it means anything. Maybe it will get me killed. Most likely, it only means what I assign it, and it does help me feel safe and strong."

[Biabri]

The gnome beams up at the woman who'd healed him, showing a wide grin. He wipes blood off of his face and turns to the felled ranger. "Thank you, Divine one..." He gives the ranger a look of pity. "He was controlled then? I can do something for him... I know some fey techniques." His voice cracks a little, and a choked sound escapes his lips as he finishes his sentence. The gnome just clears his throat and smiles up at the group, as if nothing had happened. The gnome pulls out some herbs from a pocket and leans over the ranger, preparing to tend to him, having seemingly forgotten about the axe that nearly split him in two.


Heal Check [roll0]

[HappyMerecat]

Kyvan

Kyvan's eyes open. He looks up at the gnome feeling a heaviness drains. He recalls the powerful feeling from before and looking up at the gnome who seems to be helping him.

He looks around at everyone and doesn't see the wolf. "Is the wolf okay?"

[Blackhawk748]

Morrigan clears her eyes as the aura fades. That was very bright, and she wasn't exactly a fan of very bright. Her ears perk up at the sound of "fey techniques" from the gnome and she decides to give him the once over.

She glances at Kyvan as he gets up and mumbles to herself "The man gets stabbed and the first question he asks is if the wild animal is ok."


Detect magic again

Know Arcana
[roll0]

[HappyMerecat]

Kyvan

Kyvan looks up at Morrigan and then down at his wound and then rubs his head. "I'm alive. Is the wolf?"

[Ceralune]

Cislia examines the gnome's "fey techniques," her interest growing as she watches him work. Hmm... so winterbite grows around here. Maybe if we ask the gnome, he can tell us where to find some to use ourselves as well. It seems like a handy thing to have. Just have to be careful not to swipe it from the wolves, which we now know live here as well... oh. Oh dear.

"Er... I'm so sorry, I don't think we got your name? You didn't happen to... take that winterbite from that wolf, did you?"

[Blackhawk748]

Morrigan stares at Kyvan for a second before pinching the bridge of her nose and slowly shaking her head. Bran looks at his Mistress and then back at the man.

"The wolf is quite alright sir, he was escorted that way by Mr. Starborn" He gestures towards the caravan with his wing.

[Biabri]

The gnome takes a step back from the ranger and moves to stand by the tiefling. "My name is Grimmilk Trecaller. I... Did... Take the Winterbite from the wolf." He doesn't blush, but his face muscles move into an expression of bashful sheepishness.

Morrigan would notice a slight shimmering of supernatural power coating the skin of the gnome, but would not be able to identify it.

[HappyMerecat]

Kyvan

"Well now that, that is out of the way. Why am I tied up?" He looks at the group and then at the gnome. His head is still a little unclear. "And who hit me?"

"I don't think it is as simple as taking that from the wolf. I felt a fey presence and ... the goddess is really pissed at what this gnome did."

[Blackhawk748]

Upon hearing this Morrigan removes her hand from her face and slowly turns her red eyes upon the gnome. Seeing how his mistress is acting, Bran decides its safer to be in a nearby tree than on her shoulder.

"You...took the Winterbite from the wolf." She says, disturbingly slowly. "And you are surprised that the bloody mutt tried to rip your tiny little throat out?!? What in the name of the Lower Planes did you think was gonna happen?? That it was just gonna roll over and give you a lick on the hand, or perhaps a nuzzle? NO!! Its a bloody wolf you stupid little man!! You take something from them and they get understandably upset! Now, explain to me why you couldnt just pick a different flower that the wolf didnt happen to want" By the end she is screaming rather shrilly.

Still on a roll she turns to Kyvan "And you, you bloodthirsty maniac, are tied up because some bloody powerful divine idiot decided to hit you with a Rage spell that made you want to murder this idiotic little man right here!"


Intimidate :smalltongue:
[roll0]

[Biabri]

The gnome seems taken aback by the sudden tirade flowing out of the tielfing woman, and lets out a strangled squeak of surprise, shrinking away from her. It remains there, shivering softly, looking truly shaken by the telling off, so shaken that it doesn't notice the accusations that are being made against it.

[Ceralune]

Cislia, feeling a little more in control now that the fight is over and they're beginning to understand what happened, grimaces at the rush of words coming out of Morrigan's mouth. Well, but they were rather well deserved. Noticing the gnome start to curl into a little ball, though, she hastily tries to make amends. "Well, nothing to be done about it now. Just, don't make the same mistake again, yes?" she gently offers.

What's more concerning, though, is Kyvan's mention of the goddess. Goddess... as in, Serathyn? But we're so far away. For a moment, Cislia worries that, while she has managed to escape the curious stares and pointed rumors, she hasn't managed to escape whatever the all-powerful deities have in store for her. Backtracking a bit, she turns to the man next and asks, "What goddess?"

Diplomacy: [roll0]

[Blackhawk748]

Some small part of Morrigan, the part that isn't burning with incandescent rage at the stupidity of this gnome, realizes that its in her own best interest to walk away at this point, because screaming at the first person you meet in a new land isnt exactly a good plan. With that tiny thought growing in her mind she pivots on her heel, or would if she had heels, and stormed off back to camp.

Once his Mistress had gotten some distance, Bran flew to where she had been standing. "My apologies sir. My Mistress' anger sometimes gets the better of her, especially when it comes to Alchemical subjects."

"BRAN!!!" The shrill scream cuts through the air like a gunshot, however, Bran doesnt flinch, like he was expecting it. "If you will excuse me, my Lady requires my presence." With that he flies off.

[HappyMerecat]

Kyvan

Kyvan shakes his head. "The goddess of this land. That wolf was her servant and the gnome did something to make her very angry. She wanted him dead. I don't think it is as simple as he says."
"Now can someone untie me?"

[Grek]

Melwyn grimaces in the direction of the camp, torn between being affronted at that 'divine idiot' remark and being alarmed at the idea of an unseen magical presence sending people into berserk rages. "Are you... still planning to kill him? I understand, sacred wolf and all, but that seems excessively brutal."

[Biabri]

"Y-You.. Must be... Confused, Sir... I have no idea what you're on about!" Cislia picks up something in the words of the gnome, enough to possibly raise her suspicions. Kyvan isn't convinced either, as where else did the rage come from?

[HappyMerecat]

Kyvan

"I have no intention of killing him." He looks at Melwyn for a moment. "I don't think it was as simple as he took a flower from the wolf. As I said there was some Fey influence and I asked the goddess for direction. She gave me the rage. It did not control me but it was her words. It was her anger."

[Ceralune]

Cislia narrows her eyes as she watches Grimmilk respond to Kyvan's - rather serious - allegations. He looks like... like those nobles who come to kiss up to the King when they want something and then suddenly start sweating as he starts prying into their reasoning.

"Come on now, Mr. Grimmilk... Hiding it will not do any good. If there was anything else you did to that wolf... you may as well tell us. Or we will be forced to conclude that you truly did something unforgivable and thus be less inclined to help you should the wolf decide to, ahh, attack again. It's still out there, you know."

Diplomacy: [roll0]

[HappyMerecat]

Kyvan

Kyvan still is laying on the ground tied up. "And don't forget wolves have friends. And this one has a goddess who loves it."

[hector212121]

"Ah... I'm afraid I would be the one who hit you. To be fair, you kind of lost your mind.

Now, Mr. Grimmlik, I recommend you simply tell us everything. We will be most cross if we have to break out a truth spell and it turns out that you were lying to us, and I assure you that you will fare much worse for the effort."

[roll0]

[HappyMerecat]

Kyvan

Kyvan looks around at everyone. "It seems everyone is doubting the gnome and someone it is still me tied up on the ground. With smacked up head and a stab wound."

[hector212121]

"To be fair, the goddess might decide to enrage you again if this isn't resolved first."

[Biabri]

"I did nothing to the wolf or it's goddess! Don't be so ridiculous!" Cislia and Kyvan are sure that the gnome is hiding something at this point. His words seem false, they come slower, and his voice rises in pitch randomly before sinking suddenly. He doesn't mention the truth spells. Reynard isn't quite as sure of this, but something tingles at the back of his mind.

[hector212121]

"Hmmmmm. I don't think I believe you. I'll tell you what. Drop the knife and let one of us search you. If we can't find anything related to this, that's at least a point in your favor. If we do...we'll have to come up with some relevant punishment."

[HappyMerecat]

Kyvan

"Reynard. You have known me for a few weeks. You know the King picked me for this. You doubt the gnome who was fighting with the wolf and yet it is me you want to keep tied up? I would not be worried about the Gnome so much."

[Biabri]

"I have nothing to hide!" The gnome declares, before stepping forward and raising his hands above his head.

B [roll0]
SoH [roll1]

[Ceralune]

Cislia sighs and moves to untie Kyvan. "There. Sorry about that, friend. We weren't entirely sure what state of mind you'd be in when you woke. And after that, I guess, it's hard to think with so much going on..."

[HappyMerecat]

Kyvan

Kyvan nods to Cislia in thanks and rises to his feat holding the stab wound. "I suppose the gnome stabbed me." He says picking up his axe and looking at the gnome.

"So Mr. Gnome. Where did you come from and what are you doing here?"

[Biabri]

The gnome seems to be answering honestly still, though to Kyven his words are likely still suspect. "I come from across the river to the east. I have a place around there. I was wandering when I arrived here."

[HappyMerecat]

Kyvan

Kyvan grins. "You managed to say pretty much nothing there. How far is this place and why were you wandering here?"

[Ceralune]

Cislia's narrowed eyes turn into a full frown. We're getting nowhere here. Straightening, she starts singing a melody... others in the past had been more helpful to her after hearing this song before. Those other court singers had even left her alone once after she sang it. Maybe the gnome would also become a little less stubborn.

Charm Person DC: 13

[Biabri]

The gnome gasps after a second, shuddering and blinking rapidly as the charm overtakes it. It then turns to Cislia with a fairly terrifying grin on it's face. "I've not been very helpful, have I? Friends aren't really my thing, but I'll make an exception for you..." The gnome takes on a slightly more sinister tone, the tone of a predator with a hunt nearly completed. His eyes visibly lose focus, staring blankly at nothing while his head moves, taking in Cislia once more. "An Ifrit! Here? Whatever are you doing here, infernal spawn?" He ignores the question that is posed by Kyvan completely.

[Ceralune]

Grimmlik's change in demeanor is expected, though the change itself is greatly alarming. That... that's not how the court singers reacted... "Well, first of all, you are confusing me with a devil. Ifrit are not infernal," she starts. Sorry Morrigan, she thinks, sending an apologetic look in the direction that the tiefling left in. I've just heard that mix-up way too many times.

Meanwhile, Cislia is deeply disturbed by the manner in which her spell seems to have taken hold of him, but she reminds herself to remain calm. "No one attack him... I've used this on people before, and they seem to cooperate as long as they aren't threatened," she mumbles to the others. "Now... Grimmlik," she says, dropping the Mister in favor of referring to him amicably, her voice taking on a soothing tone. "Why was the wolf fighting with you? I, er, I need to know where you ran into it. So that I can find it, and give it a good talking to for you!"

Trying to phrase this in a way he'd take well, but just in case: CHA: [roll0]

[HappyMerecat]

Kyvan

Kyvan watches the gnome as he talks. He goes to speak and then stops, exasperated. He relaxes slightly as Cislia begins to speak again.
There is nothing in Kyvan's body language that suggest any violence.

[Biabri]

The gnome cackles, a truly hideous sound with a painfully high pitch. He drops the act fully now, and steps forward, closer to Cislia. In one movement he tears his own arm off, making an absolutely horrific squelching, tearing noise as flesh is torn apart. With another movement he pushes his unveiled claw into his mouth and tears apart his own face violently, pulling the soft flesh away to reveal red flesh underneath. It looks like he's literally just pulled off a layer of skin to reveal his insides, but they don't flow out like most would. He continues to maul himself violently before anyone can act until all of the flesh is completely gone. His teeth and eyes are a sickly yellow of disease, yet the only ill that's visible is the sick smile that is displayed so widely on his face. It's vocal chords jut out from it's throat violently, and move in the most sickening ways as he laughs. He still looks a little injured from the wolf attack, but Melwyn's healing has helped.

The next time he speaks it comes in a bone-chilling whispering hiss. "My 'frriend' do you wisssh to know what I did to the wolf!? I stumbled across it's den and killed it's cubs, sssslowly... I broke their legsss, one by one, and laughed as the otherssss cowered back beforre I got to them!" He pauses to laugh now, his yellow teeth opening to reveal the blackness of his inner mouth. "When theirrr mother got home, the only thing ssshe could find of her babies were their snapped bones and the pelts that I'd skinned from them!" The creature guffaws at his act of incredible cruelty and looks at Cislia directly in the eyes. "My friend, do you wisssh to see my newest ssskin?" He doesn't wait for a response and simply steps forward, yet closer, before pulling out a strip of flesh from a pocket which seems to go inside his body. He flicks it once and gives it a slow lick, with blackened tongue, before pressing it against his forehead.

In a second, the monster is there no longer, and instead there stands a young looking maiden, a sweet smile on her face. The look of innocence she wears is in complete juxtaposition to the ghastly snarl he'd been wearing earlier. "This one arrived before you did! She came with her father! You should have seen the look on her face when I skinned her alive! The sweet screams too! The best thing about it was... I did it in the form of her father! I ambushed him in the woods after stumbling out of Her court, I broke his bones too. Can't damage the skin of your victims too much, you see? I crushed his skull before peeling his identity from him and returning to hiss home, to find his daughter in bed, sewing some silly scarf! She caught on before I could knock her out, I had to stab her a bit to make her calm down." He turns his arm upside down to show some angry scars there where it seems his starknife has sliced. "The gnome I wore too, was one of my victims. Did you notice his insides as you wandered in? He wasn't very fun... Tried to set me on fire, ruined my last skin. It was only right that I took his, you understand? Have you ever been to the dark court, friend?" While his words are still as violent as before, he now speaks in a much sweeter tone, his voice rising in pitch as he gets to the 'funny' parts of his description and the once-gnome covers the mouth of the maiden he is wearing as a disguise whenever he lets out a soft giggle.

Starborn returns to see the maiden standing there, but does not hear the words from her mouth. "That's sorted out then! Who's this lovely young maiden, and where did she come from? Was she hiding in one of the buildings or in the big one?" He is completely unaware of what stands before him. The sweet maiden flashes Kyvan a charming smile, while Starborn does the same to her.

[HappyMerecat]

Kyvan

Kyvan does not return her smile, instead his face had grown dark as the creature told it's tale.

Knowledge(Nature) [roll0] to understand any details or weaknesses of this fey.

He does not look towards Starborn as he responds to him. "She is the gnome and the killer of the gnome. This lovely young maiden is the killer of this lovely young maiden and her father. She killed the she wolves cubs one by one and cruely as it always does. It is an abomination that needs to be destroyed."

[Grek]

Melwyn makes an awful wailing noise upon seeing the skin torn off the 'gnome' before her. Oh what the hell is this thing? Oh Gods, I touched it! I healed it. No no no no, THIS is what the dream was warning me about! She stumbles backward, drawing her club and brandishing it before her. Her eyes don't leave the monster, horrifying as it is. "Starborn, no! It's a monster. Don't trust it! Zingra! Come here! HURRY!"

[JewelWasp]

Isube' focus returns at the sight of the transforming creature and she readies her weapon and listens to its speech. She begins to wonder, was it a mistake to have targeted the gnome or did my instinct know something I was not consciously aware of?

[hector212121]

Reynard responds simply by casually walking around the skinstealer, but is interrupted by the bard casting a spell, he shrugs then quickly ties up the skinwalker. He then steps back, readying his rapier in case he tries to escape. "If you try anything, i'll use the blade rather than the pommel." He casually informs the skinwalker.

[Ceralune]

For a moment, Cislia is speechless. The gruesome image created as the creature peels off his disguise and slaps on another one would be enough to give her nightmares for days. Perhaps later she would remember to ask Melwyn for help with that, but for now, she focuses on the creature still in front of her.

To ID the monster (in case it is needed):
Knowledge (Nature): [roll0]
Knowledge (Religion): [roll1]

It seems though that someone else acts while she is still shocked stiff. Reynard's rapier comes so swiftly, and Cislia's about to lament the lost opportunity for knowledge - the creature had mentioned a dark court, which means there might be others like it - but holds her tongue. I don't like that he attacked when I told him not to but... I suppose I can't blame him when the information received was so alarming. Still, I'll have to have a word with him later. If he can't trust Kyvan and can't trust my word, when we're all supposed to be working together on building this city... we'll have to set that straight as soon as possible.

[Biabri]

The Bard catches onto what the kitsune is trying to do and, before he can even start his movement, gathers a bolt of sonic power to his fingers and flicks it towards the Skin Stealer, sending a screeching sound through the air, which ends with a soft poof as hit collides with the fey creature. In another movement he animates the rope which is now untied and orders it to curl around the skin stealer and bind him, assuming the fey falls down.

Non-Lethal Damage[roll0]

[HappyMerecat]

Kyvan

Kyvan stands over the abomination with his axe at the ready. He is not attacking, but it is pretty clear he wants it dead.

[Grek]

Melwyn looks at the rest of the party, noting that everyone (aside from the skin stealing monster) seems healthy enough for now. She asks, "What do we do with it? I think we should kill it. Kill it and burn the body. It's... horrible. Why does something like this exist?" Around this point, Zingra saunters over, wrinkling her nose.

[Ceralune]

Well, that escalated quickly. Cislia unslings her bow from her shoulder, hand ready to load it if necessary. "We'll have to watch him carefully," she murmurs. "Skinstealers are notorious for being able to escape their binds with ease. Alternatively... it seems that we now know what he did that the goddess didn't like. I'd understand if we wanted to... k-kill..." Her voice wavers, as the thought of slaying a creature is still new to her. She takes a deep breath. "If we go that route, I don't want to be the one to do it," she admits.

[HappyMerecat]

Kyvan

"It is not so much a matter of if we want to kill it. The goddess wants it destroyed. The real question is, is there anything you want to do before we kill it? And I am more than happy to kill it."
This is a very different side of the gentle man you have known Kyvan to be so far. He is blunt, but in general a calm, considerate man.

[Biabri]

Starborn takes a few steps forward to gaze down at the young woman he's just knocked out. "You have some explaining to do here... What's going on, what is this creature that murdered... this young woman and the gnome and her father...? Where even is the gnome?" The Bard looks around, waiting for a response. As he does, he flicks off some dust from a set of armour he is now donning, and peers at the handle of his weapon, which peeps out from the sheathe. He takes a second to realise what Cislia had said. "Wait.. Did you say that... She," He shoots a look at the disabled young woman on the floor. "Is a Skin Stealer?"

[Ceralune]

Well, that settles that. However way you want to see it, the deities are still a huge part of this... and I can't blame this one for wanting this creature destroyed.

"Yes, Starborn. The skin stealer confessed to killing the gnome, the wolf's cubs, the... woman who originally wore the skin that it's wearing right now... her father..." Cislia gets out. "We've been interacting with the skin stealer all this time."

"And... if that's how it is, kill it then. I don't think it's going to give us any more information. I highly doubt that it would respond so favorably to my song a second time."

Hesitantly, she decides to add one more thing. "I... am incredibly averse to touching it, but perhaps we could search its body once it is... dead. We may find some physical evidence and get a better idea of what we face in this new land, or whether it had other motives in... in doing what it did."

[HappyMerecat]

Kyvan

Kyvan looks around the group at each person to give them a chance to stop him.

As there is no opposition he places his foot on it's chest and brings his axe down on it neck, beheading it.

[Grek]

"I wasn't expecting we'd need to dig a graveyard so soon, but with all the victims... We should bury the skins with the rightful owners. Not with the creature." Melwyn looks around mournfully for a shovel. "Do you think there's more of them? How can we keep them out of the village? I don't want attacked! Not like this."

[HappyMerecat]

Kyvan

Kyvan nods in agreement with Melwyn.

He puts his axe down and begins going through the creatures effects, separating what he feels is of the victims from the rest. While he seems unfazed by the gore, he handles the victims items with great care.

He sets aside a bundle of herbs (35 gp).
15 gp in coin.
A wrapped up skin that he carefully unwraps to see it is covered in fur. Possibly a Kitsume.
The fang of a wolf cub.
The girls skin falls off and he carefully wraps it in some leaves.

[Ceralune]

"The fang of the wolf cub too. Perhaps it would bring some sense of closure to the goddess..." Cislia nods solemnly, quietly murmuring a chant that leaves the gold and the fang taken from the body clean.

Prestidigitation to clean things!

[Biabri]

The Skin Stealer died with a pitiful screech, it's exo-vocal chords making their obscene, disgusting movements for the last time as it's head is set apart from the body. The skin of the young woman falls off of it and compacts itself. Another skin rests alongside it, this one having a furry texture to it. Unfolding the skin would surely reveal the identity of the victim, but would be a gruesome task. It's a fair guess that you'd be able to find the rest of the young woman if you looked for it in one of the broken down buildings. She's probably from Serathyst too, if she was a part of this settlement. Starborn coughs softly and averts his eyes.

"I'll help dig the grave then..."

[hector212121]

"...I'll fetch one of my jugs. I'm sure we'll find SOME use for this stuff..." He gestures at the blood on the ground before scurrying off to grab one of the empty clay jugs. "Kyvan, could you get as much of the blood into this as possible? I'm sure we'll be able to use it for something, like, i don't know, disguise potions?"

If Kyvan refuses, he does it himself; if not, he attempts to aid as best he can.

[roll0]

[HappyMerecat]

Kyvan

Kyvan glares at Reynard. "You and I need to have a discussion first."

[Ceralune]

"Ohh, never mind that now," Cislia says hastily. "We should focus on finding the bodies of the victims, and giving them a proper burial." She moves to do just that, intent on giving the victims the respect they deserve.

[HappyMerecat]

Kyvan

Kyvan nods. "I'm going to find the cubs if I can. Maybe they are not all dead."
He sets out into the woods following the tracks the she-wolf left. He moved carefully realizing he might run into her and then he would do his best to make his peace with her and if she wanted to keep their bodies, of course that was her choice.

Perception for danger [roll0]
Survival to track the wolf[roll1]
Wild empathy if needed [roll2]

[Biabri]

You all contribute to the effort. Morrigan is found by Starborn and convinced to do some work by the bard, after the situation is explained to her. The first collapsed building that the party venture into contains a pile of two insides, the organs varying in size. Starborn grabs some of the empty jugs and uses magic to lift them into the jar without having to touch them. By now they've rotted ever so slightly, which was partly how you found the organs on your first try. Everyone helps a little with digging the graves, even if they only help they offer is to observe and make sure that no one stabs themselves with shovels, which are fetched from the caravan. Another grave is dug for the Skin Stealer, this one a little shallower, with less group effort towards it. Starborn cuts out a small square with his sword, away from the settlement, before lifting the dirt, kicking the broken corpse of the skin stealer (along with the head) into the hole and dropping the dirt back on top of it. The grave goes unmarked.

The father and his daughter are placed into the same grave, their skins and organs in separate jugs and closed, in the hope that perhaps one day in the future they can be brought back to life with magic. Starborn knows that the great city would never pay for it, not for a commoner without a name and her daughter. He states this, and says that some things just wouldn't come to the attentions of the king, and that if he bothered the king about such things, his name would gather slurs. He assures the party that he would happily pay towards the cost of having these two revived, out of his own little dragon hoard, but that it'll have to wait until the settlement has an established cleric.


Kyvan does eventually find his way back to the she-wolf den. The wolf is there. Another wolf is wolf is with her, this one slightly larger. It nuzzles against her side as she looks at the mess of flesh, blood and bone her children have been turned into by the Skin Stealer. She lets out a whimper of sorrow as she allows herself to grieve for them. Kyvan can tell that she seems a bit more intelligent than the average wolf, though this is only to her detriment as she knows that her babies are gone forever, stolen from her by a wicked fey out of spite. The empathy he shares with the wolf overwhelms him for a second, leaving him in complete and utter despair before he breaks the bond. This is why he doesn't at first notice three other figures standing, watching, their eyes now on him.

Two vanish, as soon as he realises they are there. Kyvan is sure that one was a woman and the other a feral looking man. One figure remains, this one female. She has a few wolfish features herself, but looks otherwise refined. She offers a soft, weak smile towards the hunter, though this quickly fades. "This is truly a terrible thing, Dearest Huntsman..." She whispers to him. Her voice is reminiscent of a flowing river in strange ways, Her speech sounding weirdly... fluid and melodic. Her expression shows loss and confusion. It's hard to judge what clothing she has, as the colour of it blends in with her skin tone, and is, as the rest of her is, mostly translucent.

[Ceralune]

Having been spooked by the skin stealer when its nature was first revealed, Cislia can hardly imagine the terror that the father and daughter must have felt upon encountering it, and this alone would surely be enough to convince her to pick up a shovel herself and dig. At the bard's offer, she can only turn to him with a weak smile and an expression of gratitude on her lips. She contributes to finishing the burial with a solemn air, and after a moment of silence for the departed, she finally steps back and tries to lift the group's spirits.

"Well, as sorry an affair as this has been, I'm glad we were able to find out what was going on in the end. Anyways... if I remember correctly, we still have a town to build," Cislia murmurs, a smile starting to tug at her lips as she remembers why they originally came here. "If more of these creatures are here, we should be on the lookout for them, but in the meanwhile... let's get a decent common building built, shall we?"

Clearing her throat, she then turns to Starborn. "So, we have tools that the King is lending us to help build with, right? What have we got, exactly?"

[HappyMerecat]

Kyvan

Kyvan is awed by his interactions with the cubs parents and then by the three strange figures.

Suddenly Kyvan felt that he was arrogant to feel they needed to bury the cubs. Their parents would deal with that. He expressed his sorrow as best he could and headed back to the settlement.

[Ceralune]

"So... as I suggested before that... thing came by," Cislia shudders. "If the main building is in okay shape, I think we might as well add to it instead of building an entirely new building. I'm willing to pitch in for that. Do we think that's a good idea? We'd have a roof over our heads for our first night!"

[Grek]

Melwyn nods eagerly, eager to get her mind off the depressing fate of the fey's victims. "Why yes! I'd been trying to do almost exactly that earlier, in fact. Stacking the crates to make a kitchen and barracks. Proper interior walls would do us a world of good. Oh, and floors. Could we maybe even manage a hearth?" She cheerfully starts sketching possible designs in the dirt, more aspirational than architectural.

[Biabri]

Starborn turns to Cislia and stares blankly. "You mean all that stone, wood and those tools I found in my caravan were for building this place?" He blinks and reaches up to rub the back of his head absentmindedly. Cislia feels a sudden wave of sheepishness flow over her. "I threw uh... quite a lot of that out. Didn't manage to get it all before we had to set off though." He coughs and points towards the caravan. "I'll start... I'll uh... Yeah, I'll go get that... Stuff..."

Kyven would return roughly 10 minutes later.

[Ceralune]

The sheepishness radiating off of Starborn quickly collides with the exasperation Cislia feels as she watches him scurry off. She stares in that direction for a minute with a deadpan before finally sighing. "I... ohhh. Well, we'll have to make the best of it," she mutters. "All the more important that we make use of what's already here then."

[HappyMerecat]

Kyvan

Kyvan returns and begins to help with the work.

"Tomorrow I am going to head out to scout the area and find the goddess's shrine."

[Grek]

"There's a shrine?" Melwyn asks, looking up from her hauling. "Mind if I come along to see it?"

[Blackhawk748]

Morrigan has been doing a fairly decent job of hiding it, but that fey very much disturbed her. Thankfully she can focus on something that will make her happy, Alchemy. While Bran starts the fire, Morrigan cobbles a small cutting board and impromptu table out of wood laying about and begins prepping some of alchemical ingredients for making a large batch of Acid, which she is quite certain will keep those nasty fey away from her.

"Now..." she says tapping her chin in thought "where did i put that striated salt crystal...."

"Have you checked your pockets Madam?" says Bran from down by the fire.

"Now why would i have put it in my-" She stops as her hand brushes against the lump in her pocket. "Oh, i guess i did put it there then" Morrigan finishes her preparations for the Acid. Well all except one. She forgot to get the water. She looks around a bit helplessly, not sure where they where supposed to get water from.

[HappyMerecat]

Kyvan

Kyvan looks at Melwyn. "I really have no idea where it is. Returning from the wolves she bade me find her shrine, fix it, and make an offering. Tomorrow I will look for it as a survey the area. Certainly I think we should all contribute to fixing it and making the offering."

[Ceralune]

"Well, once we have a roof over our heads, I think I'd be alright with exploring a little," Cislia comments, as they wait for Starborn to return. Truthfully, she felt that their time would be better spent putting more buildings into the ground, for after all, they would have new people coming in just a week! But of course, the goddess would likely not appreciate her requests being put on the back-burner. I do feel that it's not the most practical thing we could be doing... but... well, that doesn't mean we can't make it practical, I suppose, she thinks to herself. We can get an idea of how this land is arranged... and maybe, find helpful resources while we are searching for the shrine! Ohh, that reminds me...

"Actually, a friend of mine wrote a song for me in the hopes of helping me with this city-building task! She said she chose the lyrics and melody specifically to help one travel through the wilderness! This sounds like a good opportunity to try it out," Cislia adds, with a bright grin as she remembers Aislynn's kindness.

[JewelWasp]

Lacking a suitable building skill, Isube wanders around looking for ways to help and sees Moreigan looking around helplessly, so she gleefully prances over.

hi Morigan, something wrong? Anything I might be able to help with?"

[Biabri]

Starborn returns from his caravan, clutching nothing but a fancy cloth in his hands. He gives Cislia a big grin. "Are you ready for this?" He seems... strangely giddy, and his emotions flow from him in waves, caressing the Ifrit as they go. "This'll more than make up for me uh... Misplacing... Your building stuff. I learnt this trick many years ago, and it's been useful in so many ways, some weird ways too..." A small wave of an emotion that can only be described as perplexedness joins the giddy feeling, before leaving.

He studies the cloth for a second, and runs a hand over it, like a magician demonstrating the lack of strings on an object. He then pinches the cloth between his thumb and index finger, and with a flourish and a whisper, releases some kind of enchantment on the cloth. With a bright flash, and an incredibly loud noise, a pile of wood, stone and tools appear, seemingly from nowhere. He repeats this trick a few times, drawing a few different cloths from his pocket to do so. When the last cloth is expended he wipes a hand across his forehead before peeking his head around the pile to grin at Cislia.

"Pretty good, right?"

[Ceralune]

Cislia raises a skeptical eyebrow as she eyes the bard who has just returned, sans building materials. "Starborn, a piece of cloth will not repair this building--" she begins, though seeing his excitement, she sighs and waves a hand to motion, 'Well, go on then.' The impressive display of magic sends up clouds of dust, causing her to cough a bit, though the coughs soon mix with chuckles as she looks at the piles of building materials they now have. "Ohh, yes, well done then!" she laughs.

"Well, we'd best get started."

Knowledge (Engineering): [roll0]

[Blackhawk748]

Morrigan jumps a bit as Isube speaks to her. "Oh...uh...i just...needed some water....can't recall where we are getting it from though...." She says, rather quietly.

[JewelWasp]

Isube

The look of excitement fades from her face and she says,"Oh, we should have a bunch in the carts for now."

She points them out to Morigan and goes to help build, but hardly helps at all having never done such a thing in her life.

[Blackhawk748]

Morrigan brightens up a bit "Thank you" she turns quickly and heads to the cart to get some water and pours it into her cauldron and lets it get to a roiling boil.

[Biabri]

Starborn suddenly takes on a focused look, and the waves of emotion stop flowing off of him. He studies the details of the interior before nodding slowly to himself. "We'll do the divides first." He declares, before starting off.

Within an hour the interior is done, incredibly fast, and to a fairly decent standard for people with little experience. Book reading seems to have paid off here. Melwyn and Isube struggle a little, but still manage to contribute overall to the work taking place by doing other tasks, such as bringing more wood to the bard, who has cast some form of speed enchantment on himself to improve his wood sawing efficiency. The job Cislia takes charge of is securing the wooden walls between the room, and making sure everything is in the right place before Starborn approves it and secures whatever is needed. Within just half an hour the bottom of the new tenement is completed. While this is going on, Kyven has completed a set of stairs, which are secured into place and tested multiple times by all of the building party. The upper half is completed in the next half hour, and a wooden floor fitted below.

When the construction work stops, and the building party takes a small break, Starborn is still moving at a fast speed, every twitch and slight movement being blurred. One more divider needs to be setup, and doors need to be put into the empty frames. It'd also help, as Isube pointed out, to have a stone hearth to cook at, and at least one bed for every room. Overall, the work is extremely efficient, and to a fair standard.

[Blackhawk748]

Once the cauldron reaches a boil, Morrigan tosses the ingredients into it and slowly stirs it all together with a glass stirring rod. Once the mixture turns a slight shade of green, Morrigan begins to fill flasks with it.


Making a bunch of Acid with my 75 gp of Ingredients, for a total of 22 flasks.

Taking a 10 on the Craft Alchemy check for a 27.

[hector212121]

While literally everyone else worries about other things, Reynard decides to keep a eye out. However, while watching, he gets a idea and pokes his head inside.

"Nobody mess with the other buildings without telling me. I'm going to set things up so if something attacks us we can knock one of them over on it. Y'know, just in case."


Perception d20+6
Knowledge[roll0]

[Biabri]

Starborn finishes up the building himself, letting Cislia and the others take a break while he does the rest of the work over half an hour, taking more time on each task, making sure the beds are perfectly flat, and making sure the hearth is made properly.

Reynard notices a squirrel watching him from about 20 feet away in one of the closer trees. He watches it back. The squirrel refuses to blink, so of course, Reynard feels like he has to stare back. The squirrel doesn't give up, and Reynard is eventually forced to blink to clear his eyes of dust. One could almost think that the squirrel took on a smug look.

[hector212121]

Ok, **** that squirrel. He pulls his crossbow.

One, he doesn't trust it to not be another fey shapeshifter after what just happened.

Two, even if it isn't it's always food.

He fires the crossbow at it.

[roll0]
[roll1]

[Biabri]

The squirrel seems to laugh, before a ball of mud appears in one of it's paws. It stares at it's attacker and tosses the mud ball up in the air once, before tossing it violently at the rogue.

[roll0]

[hector212121]

"Ack! Pfft!" He splutters, wiping his face clean before reloading his crossbow and taking his aim again.

"Guys? Either the squirrels here are sentient and magic users, or i'm looking at a druid or fey." He calls out. "Either way, get out here!"

[HappyMerecat]

Kyvan

Kyvan heads outside to check on Reynard and his squirrels.

Perception to see/check the squiirels [roll0]
Know(Nature) [roll1] +2 if Fey

[Blackhawk748]

Morrigan, having just finished cleaning up her Cauldron, heads over to find out what Reynard is yelling about, a bottle of acid in her hand.

She casts her detection spell and checks the area


Detect Magic cast and some Know Arcana total 24

[JewelWasp]

Isube

After finishing the work on the tenement and feeling pretty useless, Isube decides to take Shuki out a little ways into the woods to hunt for some fresh food by practicing an idea she has to hunt, which she has never done before.

[HappyMerecat]

Kyvan

Seeing Isube heading towards the woods, Kyvan raises his hand and whispers "Wait. There may be Fey out there."

[JewelWasp]

Isube stops to explain herself and get any insight Kyvan may have to offer.
"Thanks, noted. I won't leave sight or earshot and am going partly to keep a lookout. Shuki here can help by providing perception and scent. You can come if you want, but the goal is stealth."
She does not continue before hearing him out.

[Ceralune]

Happy that Starborn is taking the lead on the building for now (because, really, Cislia was a bit lost on where to start herself), Cislia happily assists with putting the new walls in place. It seems all of those arithmetic lessons are becoming quite useful after all, she thinks to herself as she checks to make sure that the wall is aligned properly with the marks she drew earlier, marking measurements.

While the bard may have spaced earlier on bringing some of their building materials, he truly proves to be a valuable asset in the building, or so Cislia can't help but note. Someday, I wonder if I'll be that good at magic. In any case, it feels good to step back and look at the fruits of their labor - an honest start to what this settlement will someday be.

Cislia nods in response to Reynard's instructions, replying, "I don't think we going to be fortifying any of those since you said they're in pretty bad shape anyways. And it'll be a while before we need to clear them, so good luck!" before he hurries off.

Cislia's fully lulled into a happier state of mind when his voice comes piercing through the bustling noises of construction, such that it's a bit startling. At the mention of more fey, she visibly pales, but unslings her shortbow from around her shoulders and moves outside towards Reynard's voice, determined not to let it play them for fools this time.

In case these are needed:
Perception: [roll0]

[HappyMerecat]

Kyvan

Kyvan nods to Isube for her to proceed, content he sees nothing dangerous. He pulls out his bow and asks "What did you see Reynard?"

[Biabri]

The squirrel hops down nimbly from the trees, before starting to swagger over to the kitsune who dared shoot at her. Morrigan would sense a magical aura around the squirrel, and then would determine that the aura is from some form of transmuation magic.

[hector212121]

Reynard responds to Kyvan before switching to Sylvan. "Right, so, bearing in mind that, besides what may or may not have been a staring contest, I had no reason to believe this was anything other than a squirrel, i happened to spot them and snapped off a shot. Aaaas you can probably guess, it retaliated with a mudball.

...

(Right. You there. Squirrel. If you're a Unseelie, leave. If you're a Seelie or a Druid or something else, please assume your ordinary form. ....If you're a actual intelligent squirrel, i would appreciate if you did a tap dance. Because if nothing else then i'll be able to say that I saw a squirrel do a tap dance on my death bed.)"

[roll0]

[Blackhawk748]

"That squirrel is under a transformative effect, so be careful" says Morrigan as she slides another acid into her other hand

[JewelWasp]

Isube hears Kyvan ask Reynard what he saw, so decides to check it out as well.

[Grek]

Melwyn continues setting up the kitchen, hopeful that whatever is going on outside won't lead to more violence. "Stew today. With bread and vegetables. I think we've all had enough of meat." she decides aloud, absently gnawing at a carrot.

[roll0] Cooking roll.

[Biabri]

The squirrel stares at Reynard for a second before morphing it's shape to that of a human woman. She looks surprisingly attractive, for someone who was a squirrel mere seconds ago. Her hair is long, flowing and a natural cherry looking red, resting at her hips, and her eyes are the shade of green reserved for emeralds alone, with a spattering of freckles below each. Her skin has a slight natural tan to it. Her clothes are fancy too, for a druid, and all in some shade of orange. She speaks in soft tones, with a foreign sounding accent, far more foreign than anyone from these forests should sound. "Is this how you treat the guests of your lands, you... civilised people?" She says this teasingly. It's clear that she speaks a language other than common as her first language, and hails from some far, far distant land, perhaps even across seas.

She pulls a horn from her belt and proffers it towards Reynard. "I came to give you this, it comes from the druid community in this area. The last druid we sent here didn't return... So they decided to go with a... prettier face, and asked if one of you would accompany me home, but before that... The horn will let us know that you need, or wish to speak with us. Blow twice for aid, and once for a meeting." She grins before continuing. "Your silly city dwelling ears will not be able to hear the call, but worry not, the sound will be heard by us." She closes her eyes then, and places the horn against her lips, before blowing three times, shortly. Other than Kyvan, and the familiars of those gathered, no one would hear a sound. Kyvan, however, would hear the howl of a wolf, the roar of a bear, and then the hoot of an owl, the sounds ringing in his ears for a few seconds after they stop.

"Now, I smell food, what's cooking?" She grins and stretches lazily, like a lion or tiger would. It's not hard to notice at her belt is a sickle, made of an iron which, you would assume, is cold iron, but looks and feels different when looked at. Looking at it brings the scent of fresh blood to the nose. Her quarterstaff has one end capped with this material and another capped with normal cold iron, the wooden parts look strangely foreign too. At a call, a weird breed of bird soars down from the skies with a cry, to land on her arm. Her clothing stands up well against the claws of the thing, and you notice that she's padded out an area, presumably specifically for this.

[HappyMerecat]

Kyvan

Kyvan smiles at the woman as she transforms to human form.
He looks concerned about the druid who didn't return.
When she mentions someone accompanying her home he bow and says. "When you are ready to return, I would be more than happy to accompany you."

[hector212121]

"Ahhhh... Would the last druid happen to have been a gnome? Or perhaps a human male who took his daughter with? A kitsune, or maybe something else with fur? Because you see, we came across a skin stealer and he had some skins..." He winces.

"At least it should be enough to raise them from the dead should you believe it to be the case."

....

"In any case, that wasn't my fault! You're the one who decided to take the form of a squirrel while watching me! You're the druid; you should know foxes hunt squirrels!" He wags his finger teasingly at her before taking the horn with a grin. "Anyway, my thanks. I am Reynard Vos Fuchs." He pauses, watching to see if his name gets a reaction, if only because it literally means 'fox fox fox'.

Curse his parents' sense of humor.

[roll0]

[Biabri]

The druidess doesn't seem to care much about the human, but when the dead kitsune is mentioned she visibly perks up. "Bring the skin to me, please..." She looks a little more pale now. She tries a weak smile in response to Reynard but doesn't quite manage it. "Feora, Desert Princess." This is said quite simply. She isn't rude, but her voice lacks enthusiasm.

"It's possible that the druid lost here was him. Every time I arrive here he seems to be in a new form... I first met him as a badger, then he came out of his Weith Sphate and revealed himself to be a goblin. I had... quite the fright. He then met me as an elf, an ifrit, a dwarf... I heard his last form was a Kitsune." She pauses before stating what seems to be obvious. "I'm not from around here... I'm not even really in the druid circles in these parts. I just happened to be around, sent by my father to help with some sort of fey attack, and since I'm not... the most effective in combat, I was sent here as a messenger." She looks up and tries a real smile, this time pulling it off a little better. "Sorry, I forgot for a second that... we could bring him back. The knowledge of Recanafion spells is not widely used by the desert druids... But here, the forestals love such things. If this is the druid I think it is, then I shouldn't be worried."

[Ceralune]

Cislia squints in the general direction that Reynard is talking in, searching for a fey-like creature, but then tilts her head in perplexedly as there clearly isn't anything out of the ordinary over there. She's about to voice her confusion when the voice that responds lets her zero in on its source, and finally realize - Ohh. That... That squirrel is talking. Still a little scarred from their earlier encounter with the skin stealer, as the squirrel morphs back into a woman, her fingers twitch at her quiver strapped at her waist... but then the woman does something else completely expected. She offers a gift.

"Er... thank you for your generosity," Cislia stammers, as it seems that the others are addressing the other things she has said. "I think we would very much like to get to know the other peoples who live here, so long as they don't bear us any ill will," she then says more steadily, lowering her bow. "I am called Cislia," she adds to the round of introductions.

"I believe Melwyn is cooking dinner up right now, we'd be happy to share. I am sorry for the druid community's loss," Cislia murmurs, eyeing the supposed Kitsune skin with newfound solemnity.

[Grek]

Zingra answers the call of the horn curiously, followed soon after by Melwyn holding a pan of cornbread in one hand and her club in the other. "What in the world? Oh! Hello." She beams broadly at the newest visitor, offering some of the bread as she listens to the Druidess's introduction. A Princess, really? And from some far away land. How terribly exciting, but how tragic a day to meet. "Yes." she agrees, nodding to Cislia, "I was just making some bread and soup. Shall I pour you a bowl?"

Melwyn had only made enough for the settlers themselves, but there was no reason to worry guests with that knowledge. She'd give the druidess her lunch and claim to have eaten earlier. Making it up later would be easier than trying to get soup down awake, after all.

[Ceralune]

"Ohh, wonderful, thank you Melwyn!" Cislia smiles brightly as it seems that they can now properly receive their rather important guest. "Shall we eat, then?" The King always treated his very important guests with the utmost respect and hospitality; hopefully Feora will appreciate similar accommodations as well, even if she probably isn't particularly posh. There is still something to be said for power, and Feora is likely brimming with it.

"Well, we're sorry that this place is a bit of a mess... first day and all," Cislia grins wryly, opting for a mix of being accommodating but also not overly stuffy. As people go to get their dinner, she sits down on a crate and starts to converse with Feora. "I hope you won't mind us asking some questions. We've got a lot of work ahead of us and any knowledge about this place would be helpful, even if you aren't really from here. For starters, do you know anything about a shrine to the goddess of this land? And from the horn, I take it that druids might prefer we stay away from their own homes..."

[hector212121]

Reynard nods, expression quickly going from humorous to serious on hearing it might be the druid. "It's a natural reaction. I'll go get it after we eat so as not to spoil our appetites." He states. He pauses. "And i really AM sorry about shooting at you, even if I just joked about it." He grimaces slightly. "Ok, uh, let's just eat." he mumbles slightly awkwardly.

[Biabri]

The druidess returns the smiles offered to her, seeming to be forgetting about the skin for now. "Great! I haven't eaten properly for days... Trees do not make good hosts, and uh... The same can be said about the druids that worship them... And the fey would rather eat me, according to all the tales my father has told me me." She takes the bread gracefully, inclining her head politely towards the oracle. She holds the bread in one hand, taking a rather savage bite out of it, before leaning down to tickle softly at Zingra. "How cute! This is your uh... How is it... Contanyoh?" The druidess stands up straight and clears her throat before continuing.

"Which goddess of the land...? Nahrina or... Vicia, in your language?" She shrugs. "I cannot help you there, but the druids may know a little about that. Perhaps you can ask them? They don't mind you coming near their home, it's just... quite dangerous for your kind." She pulls out an expensive looking silk from a pouch, unfolds it and places it over one of the crates before taking a seat. She smirks at the back of the Kitsune, though makes no attempt to forgive him for it.

"Uh... Did you say first day?"

[Ceralune]

Cislia hesitates at the unfamiliar names being thrown her way, but tries to describe what she knows. "Well, the goddess seems to have a connection to wolves," she explains. "And that really is an understatement from what we have seen..." she trails off, sending a dubious glance Kyvan's way as she remembers the rage that the goddess bestowed him with earlier.

"Ohh, and that's good to know. We'll try to avoid their homes, then. Where is that exactly? And, yup! First day here."

[hector212121]

"Now, now, let's not overgeneralize. The unseelie would rather eat you. The seelie would rather give you food with some sort of sleep agent and prank you mercilessly while you sleep." He smirks slightly as he sits down and grabs his own food. "Yep, we just arrived here. We're planning to build a proper town up and this look like the best place to do it. And no, it's Serathyn, actually."

[HappyMerecat]

Kyvan

Kyvan moves with everyone else into their new home. He listens to everyone speaking, unsure what to say or treat the Druid.

When Reynard responds to the goddess of this land as Serathyn Kyvan says, "No Serathyn is the goddess of the land we come from, not the goddess of this land."

[Biabri]

"Serathyn is where you came from, is it not? I don't know exactly what happened with the group that came here last. I heard they all met.. unpleasant ends, a variety of ends. I heard they were ripped from end to end," She shrugs. "But anyway, The shrines in this place have little meaning to me or my people. We call the deities by different names in my land and dress them up in different clothes. My people care about the ancient sands beneath us, not the divine powers above us. We pray to the dunes, not the gods..." She seems excited when speaking about her land, but then withdraws into herself afterwards a little, just eating and seeming to think about something.

"The druids here have different stories, of course... The most commonly accepted story is that the good druids live in the lighter forests, while the... uh... man eating ones live in the darker forests. It's said that there's a uh... Pohta uh... Doorway... To the Unseelie Court in the darker forests. There's one leading to the Seelie court in the lighter forests, but it's well hidden, and has remained a secret of the druids for..." She blinks, suddenly realising, and then coughs awkwardly. "For until now, I suppose."

She returns to eating her food, and when none remains, she clears her throat once more. "People say that the river was a result of fighting between these druids, and that the river on the east side of the forest has powerful and fell fey magics to keep those who live in the light from crossing... They say that the west river has a similar enchantment, and that the forest in the middle is a kind of no-mans land. This isn't true, of course. I've seen the fallen druids in the light side of the forest, and I remember an invasion into the dark side once, a long time ago..."

She lifts her hand, full of crumbs, allowing her bird to eat, and plops it onto the fresh table so it can peck at the stew left.

"Thank you for your hospitality... I was expecting to be turned away and shot at more... They said that is what happened to the last druid that wandered here, you seem like nice people though. I'll tell them this...." She seems slightly humbled, and almost surprised. Perhaps she isn't used to this kindness in her land?

[Ceralune]

The news that the settlers who came here before them is distressing, to say the least. If they all met terrible ends, then that means the skin stealer may be just the beginning of the opposition we find here, Cislia thinks worriedly to herself. I think we're going to have to be very vigilant tonight...

"I see, I suppose we could ask the local druids with that horn... it would be good to talk to them in person, anyways. Though it was truly kind of you to deliver their message and the gift... Perhaps we'll ask them tomorrow, if we have time," Cislia murmurs, half to herself. She listens to Feora's rambling with a glimmer of interest in her eyes; she had read a little about the desert druids' history, but getting details from someone who was truly a part of that culture is something she hadn't had the chance to do in Serathyn.

As the conversation topic shifts back to the topic of the native druids, Cislia makes a mental note to avoid the other side of the east river. Hopefully the shrine isn't in that direction.

Soon, supper is finished, and Cislia offers to take Feora's dishes, cleaning them with a quick spell. "No, thank you for going out of your way to deliver the message, and inform us a bit more on what to look out for here," she hastily says. "I'm sure a few of us would be happy to see you home. I'd like to come along myself, actually."

[Biabri]

The druidess seems pleased with the offer. "Hah, trust me, it was nothing. I was here anyway, and if I'd had to stay any longer in that place..." She feigns a shudder and shoots an exasperated look at Cislia. "Sometimes they can be so silly... I couldn't stand them talking about Ferru for any longer. My father tells me that I shouldn't let the dirtwalkers know that I don't give a camel's ass about their gods though." She freezes then, and takes a careful look at the party. "Uh... You wouldn't happen to be... religious, would you...? Wait, did you say something about a shrine to a goddess? Uh... I think I can show you that on the way back." She seems to want to get off the topic of what she gives a camel's ass about, very much.

By now, Starborn has returned. He glances into the room, notices the desert druid, and does a double take. The druidess does the same. They stare at eachother for a few seconds, before a blush stains her face. The party feel an intense feeling of shame.

"I think we should go now."

"Feor-" "It's getting late."

[Grek]

"Zingra is my other half, I like to say. I'm Melwyn." The oracle listens to Feora's story, nodding along eagerly. "Really, we're not normally so jumpy. But with the skin stealer earlier, we're all just on edge." Mostly, she keeps herself busy around the kitchen, pouring soup, cutting bread and trying not to let her stomach grumble. Zingra is fed her daily meat ration, and Melwyn licks the blood from her fingers. When the Druid makes to leave, Melwyn she hesitates for a moment before following along on the escort detail. There's obviously a story there, and she'd really like to ask Starborn about it, but she also really wants to get the names of the local druids, so she can send them dream messages tonight.

[HappyMerecat]

Kyvan

Kyvan looks to Druidess. "How far are we travelling?"

[Blackhawk748]

Morrigan isnt a big fan of this Druidess, so she decides to go back to her Cauldron and tinker around until the offending redhead leaves.

[hector212121]

Reynard quickly finished his food.

"Princess Feora, wait." He says firmly. "You're kind of forgetting something."

He quickly scurries off and grabs the skin before returning. He bows to her before extending the hand with the scrap of fur. "While I hope the one you are looking for is well, if he isn't, i hope that this will help return him to you, (milady)" For the last word, he switches languages to Sylvan, feeling that if nothing else it is slightly more dignified than Common.

[Biabri]

"I am no one's lady!" Declares the druidess haughtily, loud enough for Starborn to hear, snatching the skin from Reynard's paws, before practically storming out. "Especially not his." She says in Sylvan. She calms down almost as soon as she steps out of the room, but still has to take a deep breath to control herself.

"Ahm... Sorry. We had uh... have... a bad past..." She starts to lead those who are coming towards the treeline, wanting to put as much distance between herself and Starborn as possible. She turns to the party with her and whispers some words to herself. Those following her gain a sense of knowledge and awareness about the forest around them, and clear cut paths through the treeline suddenly become visible, obstacles highlighted by a strange light. The druidess sets off, not talking for a while. When she finally does talk, she talks about the druids and the forest, instead of Starborn.

"When you mentioned something about a shrine earlier, I didn't quite realise what you meant. You want to restore a broken shrine though, right? Well, I found something really weird around here... It's like... It looks like some kinda broken statue, surrounded by bones. I uh... I ran away pretty fast, I thought it was some kind of dark druid thing, but with you here with me, nothing can hurt us, right? You look strong enough anyway... So anyway, there are four druids that you should know... Mallur is the druid of Summer, he kinda... plans activities, I think, like relaxing ones, and the occasional ritual. Then there's uh... Thurn, who is the druid of Spring, he looks after the younger druids and animals. Right, don't laugh or take this weirdly... There's a magical tree and it speaks to druids and druids only. I'm not from around here, so it hasn't spoken to me, but people I trust have said it speaks to them. The tree soaks up bad, harmful magics though, even if you're not a druid. I've heard that it's like a hot springs for cursed people. We have something like that in our lands. We call it Tehgret Junay and it's um... It's basically a really big... pile of... sand. I don't know how to say it in these tongues. There are powerful earth and air elementals that rest inside of it and we have ceremonies that involve it. Some of the older druids say that they learnt the sacred language of the druids from it. My father taught me... And uh... There's Fharr, he's just come into power, he's like... a kinda chief. I suppose he's like my Father? I can't explain it! She continues to blabber on like this for a while, until you do eventually arrive at the shrine.

As she said, the thing has collapsed. A hoard of bones surrounds it, most are bitten and chewed on, strangely though, there's no meat on any of them. "I mean... I'm not sure which goddess of the land you're worshipping... I think that your religion is nice and all but... Yeah..."

At that moment, a wolf emerges from the bushes, and bounds up to the desert druid, before letting out a series of reprimanding yips.

[Blackhawk748]

Morrigan rolls her eyes as she watches the Druidess leave. Once she, and others following her, have left, she heads into the main building and sees if any food is still left.

[HappyMerecat]

Kyvan

Kyvan listens to the Druidess as they walk. He takes in everything she says realizing the world is more complex than he thought.

After arriving at the shrine he wonders at the nature of the bones and if something horrible happened here or these were related to the sacrifice. He looks carefully at the bones to determine what kind of creatures bones they are.

Knowledge(Nature) [roll0]

When the wolf arrives he assumes it is something more than a wolf.

[Grek]

Melwyn perks up at the mention of a tree that soaks up curses. "How very fascinating. I'll have to take Zingra to visit the tree." She gives the tiger a fond look.

On a hunch, she bows to the wolf at the shrine. Sure, it might just be a wolf. But it might not. And the worst she'd get from being over respectful was a bit of ribbing once they were home.

[hector212121]

Reynard... blinks at the vehemence of her reaction. He follows and once she pauses, moves close to murmur in Sylvan, "Just so you know, whatever your problem with the Bard is, he isn't going to be sticking around for long. He's supposed to make weekly trips back and forth to deliver things, but if you ever happen to visit again, it shouldn't be all that hard to avoid him."

He glances at the wolf. "Fey, Druid or simply a companion?" He asks, slightly alert. "....Or just a random wolf sent by Lysa?"

[Ceralune]

Cislia watches the exchange between Feora and Starborn with unmasked curiosity, and maybe a twinge of guilt at her obvious interest. I shouldn't ask what happened... I'll feel like one of those nosy court gossips... As Feora gets the group quickly moving, she bites her tongue and follows, intent on investing her attention into their surroundings rather than continue wondering fruitlessly.

Though, it will be hard not to ask Starborn once she returns to the settlement; Cislia's never seen him that flustered before!

In any case, Feora's mention of the shrine piques her interest once more, and Cislia nods eagerly in response to her question. "Yes! We... well, I... figure that we should probably pay homage to the deity in these parts in some way, at least. I... I'm not particularly religious, but it is hard to simply ignore the goddess's will, or so I find." Cislia's voice is a mumble by the time she finishes speaking, and rather than lose herself in mulling over the circumstances of her life and coming to this land, Cislia turns to observe the greenery as they pass through the forest, keeping an eye out for berries or useful herbs along the way. She stops to take note of where they are, though she quickly catches up after, half-listening to Feora's babble and trying to remember the names of the important druids she mentions but knowing that she'll likely forget.

Knowledge (Nature): [roll0]
Perception: [roll1]

The sight of the fallen shrine is... less impressive than Cislia had imagined, really. I know that the thing is supposed to be broken, but the King had that beautiful spire of ivory dedicated to Serathyn. This... seems horribly lackluster in comparison, somehow. Well, I guess it also has bones?

Cislia, like the others, reacts with doubt at the sight of the wolf, convinced that there's no way it's actually just... a wolf. That said, she regards the wolf more cautiously, not reaching for her weapon but staying a fair distance away from behind the others. So far one guest has been kind, and the other has been downright sickening. Who knows what this wolf will be...?

[Biabri]

Edible looking fruits, herbs sprices and some interesting new varieties of foods are just strewn across the forest randomly. Berry bushes are aplenty, and fruit seems to hang from nearly every other tree now that you're in the forest properly.

The wolf changes, it's shape changing and growing taller until a young looking woman appears. She seems to be human, but has a few strange features. Her eyes are coloured differently, one a soft blue and the other a leafy green. Her skin is unusually pale and she looks thin, but she also has powerful looking muscles, which are shown only by virtue of her fashion sense. Her arms remain fully uncovered and her legs are hidden only below the knee by a new type of green cloth.

She wags a finger in the face of the desert druidess and almost shouts when asking "Where exactly have you been then?! We've been worried sick looking for you! We could sense you at the village but..." The girl pauses, taking a breath and looking around. "Wait, who are... You did go! Did you give them the horn? What will your father think of you running off like that, into a group of savages? No offence..." The woman sighs softly before grabbing at the druidess's arm and pulling gently at her. "We need to get back, it's time for you to go home, I think." Feora pulls away at this, and takes something from a pouch at her hip. An orange pearl rests in her hand, she presses it into the hands of Reynard before whispering "Sorry!" in sylvan and saying aloud " I have to go home now, to my lands... I'll see you again sometime, I assume?"

She stands there, waiting for a reply. The green clad druidess next to her seems impatient to get moving, but says nothing else, giving a slightly strange look to Melywn, unsure about the bow she recieved from her.

[hector212121]

"Of course, Princess. Farewell, and well met." He bows his head slightly, accepting the pearl. "Ah, before you go, might I ask if this is magic, and if so, what it does and how?" He figured it might be a method of getting in contact in which it would be kind of silly to not ask.

[Biabri]

The princess shrugs. "Apparently they grant you some form of extra sandy protection. My father gave me a bracelet of them when I was younger, much younger... I haven't used any yet, I have other magics protecting me." She squints for a second, and two circling fields of force become visible around her. After that she raises her hand, revealing the bracelet of orange pearls she had been talking about. "I have too many silly little things like this... I try to give them away when I can, but if I do it too fast my father will notice..." She smirks. "He still believes that I'm his silly little girl... I tell him that I've fallen over and crushed one of them countless times, He hasn't realised yet that I'm giving them away. I can only afford one though, he does try to keep a count of them at times to make sure I have enough."

[hector212121]

He grins. "Ahhh, parents." He chuckles softly, shaking his head. "Thank you."

He turns to the druidess in green cloth.

"Before you go, we heard rumors of gnomes wandering these parts. Would it be possible for you to either point us in the right direction to meet with them, or, as long as you believe they're willing to peacefully coexist with us, point a group of them in ours?"

[Biabri]

"I have no idea what you're on about. There are gnomes everywhere in the world, there are some in our circle."

This said sharply, and with a barely contained patience.

[Ceralune]

Cislia feels a small surge of satisfaction as the wolf indeed turns out to be... not-a-wolf, but another druid. I guess learning not to take everyone here at face value is the way to go. We're going to have to be very careful when we hunt.... The new druid is... well, loud. And a bit rude. The temptation to tell her that saying "No offense" does little to actually prevent the party in question from being offended in a situation like this, is there, but seeing that this druid is dressed differently and may actually be from this area, Cislia decides to hold her tongue. 'Savages?' I grew up in a castle. I'd like to see where she grew up.

Looking at the orange pearl with some curiosity, Cislia makes a mental note to offer to examine it for Reynard later, if he so wishes.

Meanwhile, the as-of-yet unnamed druid continues with her rude behavior, this time not even pretending to hide it, and Cislia looks at her levelly before speaking in a neutral, polite voice that keeps her at a distance. "Right then. Apologies, we thought that there may have been an organized population of them in the area, and as we would like to communicate openly with non-hostiles, we were curious." Seeing that the green druid is impatient to leave, for whatever reason, Cislia suggests, "It is getting late, sorry for keeping you. We'll be in touch with you through the horn, yes? Good evening."

[Biabri]

"We'll arrive when called, but we are not a charitable organisation. We'll expect something in return. If the fey are troubling you, we'll help for free, of course. I have to take this one back to her father, it's time for her to be getting home to her dusty deserts and her skin searing sun." Though the green druidess puts on an expression of long-worn out patience, it's clear she doesn't mind attending to the desert princess.

"If you could clear up your mess, that'd be nice too."

[Ceralune]

Cislia quirks an eyebrow. "'Mess?'"

[Biabri]

The druidess nods to the bones. "Your leftovers."

"There's no need to be so rude, Sharah..."

[Ceralune]

While Cislia could mention that the supposed "leftovers" are not at all theirs, there's no point in holding up the druidess - Shanah, apparently - any longer. At least, not when we're already planning to fix up the shrine in the first place.

"Ahh... the bones. Well, we have a lot on our plate at the moment, but we'll be getting to that as soon as we can." With nothing more to say to Shanah, Cislia turns to Feora, warmth reappearing in her eyes and pleasantly upturned lips overtaking her previously colder expression. "It was lovely to meet you, Feora. I know you're not from around these parts, but maybe we'll see you sometime in the future, if you're ever in the area again and feel like seeing us. Safe travels."

[HappyMerecat]

Kyvan

Kyvan looks around at the bones. He does not look upset, but says, "We had no part in this. This was the first time we have been at this shrine."

[Grek]

Melwyn returns the strange look with a sour one. Honestly, she was only being polite! Clearly, these hermits have let their manners atrophy with their lack of civilized company. Raised by wolves, by the look of her too. And... did she just call us savages? And then demand we clean up a pile of bones she'd clearly made? The nerve! She shakes her head at the indignity of it all, before replying to Feora. "I will contact you soon. Sleep well and pleasant dreams. Both of you, perhaps." She barely manages to grimacing at the unpleasant druid, and merely crinkles her nose.

[Biabri]

Feora is pulled away, not in a way to pull her over, but firmly. She then begins chanting, very loudly, clearly in an attempt to drown out what Feora says next. Feora doesn't seem to get this, so raises her voice even higher.
"I'll ask my father if I can come see you again soon! Thaaaank youuu!"

Feora shrinks down, into the size and shape of a squirrel once more. The green druidess nods once at the words aimed at her and morphs into a wolf, carrying off the desert princess on her back as she squeaks in pleasure.

[Ceralune]

Cislia lets out a small sigh after the two druidesses depart. "Well, I suppose that excitement is over. I think I've still got it in me to work on the shrine today, but it is getting dark. We probably can't finish it today... and we didn't bring the supplies with us either.

"Should we maybe sleep and get a start on it tomorrow?"

[Grek]

"We probably should get back. I'm not an elf! I can't see in the dark!" Melwyn agrees, suddenly uncomfortable with hanging around an ancient shrine full of bones in the at sunset in the middle of a fey-ridden forest.

[Ceralune]

Cislia chuckles a bit to herself at Melwyn's point, but it does remind her of something as they start walking back to the clearing.

"Speaking of which... I don't know about you all, but... what happened earlier was a very strong reminder to me of how precarious our position is right now. I think I'd sleep much better tonight if we took turns keeping watch."

[HappyMerecat]

Kyvan

Kyvan nods to Cislia. "Agreed, I am all for taking shifts on watch.

"I think we should head back as well."

[Biabri]

Those who travelled to the shrine return within a few minutes, aided by the spell of Feora. Starborn lounges about, his emotional aura showing the mixture of emotions he's feeling. The most common feeling being one of confusion.

[Ceralune]

Cislia takes a deep breath upon reentering the clearing where the beginnings of their settlement are. I hadn't noticed it while we were walking, but... even if we can't take what we see for granted, it feels relieving to be back where I can at least see without trees obstructing everything. At least then I can see that something is coming, even if I don't know exactly what it is. Seeing Starborn still in a bit of a tizzy, she briefly considers going over and asking what happened back there, but then chides herself. It's not really any of my business... if he wants to talk, I'll listen, but I shouldn't butt in.

What else? I could call it a night, actually. Or... ahh! I should write a letter to Aislynn so that Starborn can take it to Serathyn with him tomorrow. She'd want to know that I've made it this far. With her plans for the night set, she turns to the others. "Well, I'll be going to write a letter and then heading off to bed. Let me know when it's my turn to take watch, alright?" With that, she goes into their newly refurbished common building.

[Grek]

Swaying in place, Melwyn proposes. "Four hours watches, two people two a watch. I'll head up the second one. I'm famished and would like to get in an hour or two of sleep for dinner. And I need to speak with the Court Seer at midnight. Objections, anyone?" If there's none, she curls promptly up on her old elk hide and attempts a quick nap.

[HappyMerecat]

Kyvan

Kyvan says "I have no real preference for what shift. Happy to take whatever shift is unpopular."

[hector212121]

On the way back, Reynard looks for promising pieces of fallen wood, figuring that if he finds any appropriate, he can fashion wooden spikes out of them. Sure, spikes weren't all THAT practical, but they did make it harder to charge safely. "How about I take the first watch? I can always catch another hour or two of sleep at some other point."

[roll0]

[Blackhawk748]

Hearing the others talking about watches Morrigan pipes up "Umm, i cant do a watch, as if i dont get a full nights sleep i cant prepare my spells." She thinks for a few moments "But im sure Bran could"

[Grek]

In her dreams, Melwyn wanders through a jungle of green spring grass, the Moon looming large overhead. Ants the size of elephants march in the distance. A table has been prepared in a clearing with hot tea, bread crusts and thirteen different types of preserves. Two arm chairs flank the table the King's Seer sits on one while Melwyn 'awakens' to the other. "We have arrived." she states, hastily unscrewing lids. "At the colony, I mean. But here, too. I'm sleeping in the main hall we've finished. There was another colony before, but it was attacked by fey. The local druids came to warn us about them. Aside from that, all seems well." She stuffs some bread into her mouth. Crumbs float off into the air and accumulate on the underside of a grass blade far above. "How's Serathyn?" she asks, through a mouth full of jam.

---

Later, she visits Feora: "Your Majesty. As promised, I appear. With more food, if you wish." This dream is less fanciful - she simply reproduces the settlement as it was when the Princess left it, save that the stew has been refilled. "With your companion there, I didn't get a chance to mention that I'm blessed with the power to visit others in my dreams. It is a tremendous comfort to a lonesome soul, and rather practical at passing messages." She pours herself some soup and dips the cornbread in it. "If there's anything you wanted me to pass on for you, or anything you wanted to tell us without being overheard, feel free. If not, I'd be pleased to hear the name of the Druid who made that horn. Two way communication."

---

After the conversation with Feora ends, she visits Sharah briefly, finger waggling in an empty abyss. "We are not savages. We were perfectly mannerly. I even bowed. You, on the other hand, were quite rude. Visit us some time, if you feel the need to apologize." And promptly flicks her on the nose, waking the second Druid.

Melwyn casts Dream Feast x2 with her remaining spell slots.

[Ceralune]

Back in a room in the common building, Cislia sits on a bed and takes out a slip of clean parchment and her inkpen. Frowning a bit to herself before murmuring a quick chant to make her inkwell radiate light, she then taps the end of the pen against her cheek as she thinks. Now... what do I write about? Aislynn would probably want to know everything that's happened so far-- However, she feels some reluctance as she remember just what "everything" entail. Ohh, but if I tell her about the skin stealer, she'll start to worry... I'll... I'll just tell her that I'm fine, we're fine, and that we've already got a building put into the ground!" Mind made up, she starts to pen the letter.

Dearest Aislynn,

It has only been a day (well, less than a day), yet already so much has happened! I miss you dearly, but I'm feeling hopeful about what this town will someday be. We managed to get a decent common building done, and so I write this from a comfortable bed, just before night comes.

Aside from the helping to construct building, I met a Desert Princess today. As in, the sort of person that the King's advisers or even the King himself would normally greet and converse with! It was very unexpected; she was visiting us on behalf of the native druids and she was a rather pleasant person, if a bit chatty. I was rather worried that I was going to end up saying the wrong thing or offending her somehow... you know me, I don't usually interact with many people. But she didn't seem to react negatively, so I'll take that as a good sign. I think talking to her has really helped make it sink in - I really am one of the people in charge here. Hopefully I do a good job.

Hopefully everything is going well at home. How is it different now that I'm not there? And the other two aren't giving you too much trouble, are they?

I think I'll go to rest now. Maybe you can write me back next week, yes?

Sincerely,

Cislia, The Midnight Flame

Satisfied with the letter, Cislia folds it into thirds and puts away her writing materials. I'll have to keep watch at some point, so I had best sleep while I can. With that, she removes her chain armor, relishing in the lightness that follows and the lack of weight on her shoulders. She changes into a simple robe and crawls into bed, quickly falling asleep after today's labors.

[Biabri]

The moon is bright, and the night calm. The only noises from the darkness is the occasional hoot of an owl. Sometime around midnight the wolves let out a chorus of howls, heard in the distance from the direction of the lighter part of the forest. This is answered later by a deeper, more discordant set of howls from the darker side of the forest.

The noises are too far off and distant to be considered dangerous though.

~~~
The Royal Seer inclines her head politely. Her eyes are darkened and she looks extremely tired, even in her sleep. "Greetings, Little Dreamwhisperer!" The Seer seems glad to have the oracle in her dreams. "I do love your little visits. I don't eat half as well as I do when sharing dreams with you. I imagine you eat terribly when awake too, poor girl..." She also looks younger than she does in life. The blindfold she normally wears is placed around her eyes still, but her hair is slightly silvered rather than the dull gray it has faded to with the passing of time. Her wrinkles are gone, and her figure much finer than it has been since she began her isolated life in the king's service. Melwyn is fairly sure that this is how the seer imagines she looks by now. She's never seen the Seer with her blindfold missing, and so thinks that perhaps this is the last remaining image she has of herself in her mind. An evidence of this is how her body is weird in some places, seeming fuzzy and without detail. The bones that would jut out in some places simply don't, her collarbone seeming nonexistent. She picks up one of the slices of bread delicately, takes a silvered knife and carefully spreads a mixture of berry preserves with a dollop of honey onto it, before taking a bite. She does this almost painfully slowly, before speaking next. "Your skills are improving, and the scenery is as as fantastical as always I see... Is that... Strawberry that I can taste?" She takes another bite before continuing, not waiting for a response.

"That's great progress then! The druids have visited you already? Great! What are they like? Serathyn's fine by the way... There's a lot of work to do, but the kingdom and the lives of hundreds, if not thousands, are based upon my dedication to this work... I'll have to leave a tad early if that's fine with you." The Seer then continues to stuff her own face with bread while waiting for a response, if any is to come.

~~~

Feora is a lot less ready for the invasion into her dreams. At first she pokes Melywn, prodding at her cheek. When the Oracle begins to speak, revealing her power, she seems genuinely awed. A lady who is practically a princess, surrounded by druids, wizards and others who wield extraordinary powers. "Wow, that's amazing! I wish I could visit dreams and stuff... Can your tiger do it too? Uh... As for the druid who made the horn... There are normally a few people assigned to the duty of making them for our younger druids, but the one who made this particular horn and the one in charge of the creation of them... Well that'd be Pheefi. She's uh... She's a fey, so watch yourself around her. She's nice normally, but she's played some awful pranks on me at times. She dyed my hair green. I couldn't go home that day until the magic had worn off... If you want to contact her, make sure to play a prank on her, that'll get her respect. It has to be a funny prank though, she'll get upset if you do something mean like hold her under pond so she can't spit the magical words out of her vile maw while you dye her hair green in reveng-" She blabbers on a little, as is usually her way, but seems a little more excited to listen this time. She also blushes when revealing what she did to the fey. "If you get time... Say that... I'm sorry to Starborn. Say that I wasn't thinking clearly. Tell him to ask a woman called Fillicia for a letter in an orange envelope when he returns to Serathyn."

Melywn can smell something distinctly foreign coming from the Princess, an exotic sort of perfume.

~~~

Sharah doesn't have time to say anything or do anything, apart from let out an outraged shriek, which is sure to have carried onto her waking.


Melwyn is sure that she hears a sweet, melodic laughter in the space between dreaming, before picking her next visit...

[Grek]

Melwyn is pleased as always to see the Royal Seer and nods eagerly. "It's a lovely place. I've not been able to really see the sights much, but I've heard rivers in the distance. And the birdsong! Beautiful. There's nothing like it back home. Next time, I'll bring some with me." The dream melts as it ends, like a sugar cube crumbling.

---

A nod and a smile. "Consider it done, all three. And feel free to come back any time at all."

---

Melwyn smiles at the laughter. She gives a wink, just in case. You never know Who might be watching.

---

Claws click against stone. A bestial roar in the pitch darkness. A fey dream becomes a nightmare labyrinth of pursuit. Closer, closer! A swoosh of air! A sudden blow! A terrible mass of fur. "Mew." echoes a kitten's voice. "Are Pheefi, right?"

[Biabri]

"Thank you! I hope to come back soon... Though maybe not for a few weeks, my father went out of his mind worried about me when I went missing to give you the horn... Sharah needs to calm down a bit too."

~~~

'Pheefi' mews back. She is taking the form of a mountain lion, but you can tell that this is the fey you are looking for. You can't identify what kind of fey she is, and her true image is hidden from even your dream magics. She mewls back, seeming to be a mixture of confused and pleased.

"Yis, yis? Yee've foun' teh right fey! Wha' du'ya wan'?! Er yuw tha' taiger tha' wa' turnt to a fish?" Y'see Phifee can' fix tha'!" She speaks with an extremely thick accent, nearly every word sounding different. You wonder how the druids manage to communicate with this thing, never mind take orders from it.

[Grek]

"I'll visit again in a moon's time. By then, we should be much more settled in, and your father shouldn't worry nearly as much. I hope." She finishes her soup with a loud slurp and a sprinkling of crumbs. "I should go. Two more visits this night, and then a turn at watch, and then midnight prayers. Sweet dreams, Your Majesty."

---

Melwyn tilts her head, puzzling out the fey speech. "Oh, good. I didn't want to be a fish. I wanted to thank you. For the horn. Feora says hello, by the way." At this point, Melwyn reverts to her normal form. "And not to turn your hair green. If you should ever like to visit, you're perfectly welcome to come and go with locks undyed. We'll even put out a meal for you, if you like. What do fey eat?"

[Biabri]

Feora offers a smile as the dream fades.

~~~

"Tha' wa' a nice trick! A'll hav' t' ask yuw t' teach m' i'! Yuw'r welcom' t' an' horn' yuw wan'! Teh fey ea' al' kinda foods bu' Pheefi eats teh sweetest berwies i' teh fores'!

~~~

The night passes without any issue. Reynard takes the first watch, then Bran. Just before midnight, Melwyn awakens to gain her spent spells back, and begins her watch.

A loud scream from the forest awakens everyone. It's female and comes from the general direction of the shrine. There's something slightly otherworldly about it.

[Blackhawk748]

Morrigan sits bolt upright on her bedroll a flask of Acid in her hand. She looks around quickly, "Bran, what in the Hells is going on?"

Bran shakes his head and responds from his perch upon a nearby box "I am unsure milady"

[Ceralune]

The scream comes as a very unwelcome disturbance to Cislia's sleep, and she bolts out of bed, completely disoriented. It takes her a moment to realize that the scream came in the direction of the shrine, and she panics for a moment before slipping on her armor and clothes, grabbing her bow as she rushes out the door.

Upon meeting with everyone outside, she looks around hesitantly before trying to decide on the best course of action. "Well. No time to waste, I think we had better go and see what that was. I... a friend of mine taught me a song that will let me find the fastest way there, with no hassle." She quickly sings the tune, which sounds almost dance-like in nature, a deliberate waltz that sways through the air...

Cislia casts Nature's Paths on herself. 8 hours of wilderness exploration gogo.

[Grek]

Melwyn considers donning her armour, but consults her journal first. "Weal. We may go boldly into the darkness and still remain safe."

[hector212121]

Reynard blinks awake before getting up. "I'm obviously not saying we shouldn't go, but this could be a fae trick. Walk cautiously and be wary of illusion." He wipes his eyes before snagging his sword, loading his crossbow and holding one in each hand. "Does anyone need to make any quick preparations before we go?"

[HappyMerecat]

Kyvan

Kyvan wakes suddenly with the scream. He does not take time to think about the nature of the sound other than someone seems in trouble. He quickly grabs his quiver, bow and great axe.
"Is anyone missing? Sound off! Kyvan here."
He heads outside and moves tot he shrine side of the clearing, waiting to hear everyone call out.

[Biabri]

When everyone has called out to Kyvan, or not done so, the group set off towards the shrine, not sure what they'll find. Upon arrival they would notice that the air feels a little different, tighter than usual, and a strange tension hangs in the air, but nothing remains physically changed. Starborn rubs the sleep out of his eyes and takes a look around. He can sense nothing out of the ordinary, or if he does, he doesn't say anything. The bones lay still arrayed as they were, with perhaps a few more lying around than the day before.

Taking a closer look at the shrine, you realise now what it displays, something you failed to see in the slowly falling night. The shrine displays the image of an elegant woman, a wolf at her heel, and dress flowing around her.

"Whatever made the noise clearly isn't here anymore... I think I should start preparing for the journey home, and you lot should be getting a list of the things you'll be needing from the King... And you should fix this up when I'm gone, I think." Starborn yawns halfway through, and the party can feel a soft drowsiness still pushing at them, urging them to go back to bed and lie down for just a few more minutes. The feeling is easy to push away though.

[Ceralune]

Cislia pushes away the feeling of Starborn's drowsiness with almost no effort. The scream had been enough to send a chill down her spine, one that is not dispelled completely, not even by the magic that he seems to subconsciously exude. The woman portrayed on the shrine is presumably the goddess that Kyvan spoke of, and Cislia glances nervously at the shrine, hesitant to leave the area when the scream sounded so... distressed. But nothing can be done about it; they are not going to find the source of the noise by just standing here, and Starborn is right - they need to get him sorted and see him off.

"Yes... we should return, I suppose."

[Blackhawk748]

Morrigan looks around the shrine,a vial of acid still in her hand her staff in her other. She doesnt like this place. She doesnt care if this is Kyvan's goddess, this looks like the lair of a vicious predator and that scream didnt sound particularly inviting.

[hector212121]

"What? No! We went all the way out here, and all we do is look in the immediate area? If that's all we were going to do, we might as well not have bothered--we'd either find a corpse or nothing at all! C'mon, everyone, look for tracks!"

That said, Reynard immediately begins scanning the ground around the shrine, looking for any disturbance besides their own.

[roll0]

[HappyMerecat]

Kyvan

Kyvan looks around for any sign of what happned. New tracks, new blood or bones, things that have moved.

Perception [roll0]
Survival for tracking [roll1]

[Grek]

Melwyn and Zingra stand next to the shrine's bone pile, communing with the unseen world. One watches the skies, searching for auspices and magical auras. The other sniffs around, tracking by scent. "A little while longer, I think I see something."


Aupsices Augmented Perception: [roll0]
Scent: [roll1]
Spells cast: Detect Magic.

[Ceralune]

Cislia bites her lip and looks worriedly at Starborn, but since the others are taking the time to look, she decides she may as well.

Perception: [roll0]
Spellcraft: [roll1]
Knowledge (Arcana): [roll2]

[Biabri]

There are clear signs of magic here. A sort of fey magic, to be precise. Leaves flutter excitedly and whisper in the wind, barely perceptible to the ears. At this point Cislia and Melwyn are almost sure that the scream was not natural, and the feel of sonic magics, familiar to Cislia, hang in the air.

Covered almost completely beneath the bones is a glowing blue gem, Cislia and Melywn notice this. Kyvan notices that there are plenty of tracks to follow too, but most are from wolves, he can identify Feora's but not the druidess who led her home. He can also faintly make out the faint footsteps and marks of disturbance caused by his own party. Other than that, there are no disturbances to the dirt.

"This feels wrong. I want to fix this shrine quickly and return to the settlement. I need to start preparing to go back to Serathyn."

[Ceralune]

At Starborn's words, Cislia turns to him, surprised. "Will it be alright if we focus on fixing the shrine first? What time do you need to get back to Serathyn? I don't want to delay you... but given the situation, I don't know if I'm comfortable leaving the shrine alone any longer either," she confesses. "I can feel some kind of sonic magic in the air... that may explain the scream we heard. But why would anyone do that on purpose, unless they were trying to draw our attention to... something?"

It is then that Cislia notices the blue gem glowing from underneath its mantle of bones, and a spark of curiosity overtakes her as she reaches towards it, drawing it into her hands. Strange... it shouldn't feel this cold, should it? It's been a while since I saw something pretty... could I ta-- She cuts her thought off though... having found it in such an important place, it's unlikely that it's free for her to take.

"This feels... magical, somehow. A bit cold. But I'm not sure what kind it is," Cislia murmurs to the others.

[HappyMerecat]

Kyvan

Kyvan looks at Starborn. "What feels wrong? Why the sudden rush?"

[Biabri]

"I'm not quite sure. I can sense a great, great power here that wasn't anywhere to be seen the last time we came. Cislia, if you please, keep that thing away from me. Waves of uneasiness flow from the bard, making the situation not much better than it already is.

The bard's sword hums softly in it's sheathe, and the owner of it seems very much on edge. "Don't worry about when I have to leave... I could leave at night if it were needed, but I'd rather leave as soon as I can." The bard pauses, realising the effect his words might have on those around him. "I very much doubt that there's anything here that may harm you, but since coming here, I have felt something turning my arcane magic against me... You'll have noticed my emotion aura flaring up at times because of it. I don't think that whatever this is... Can harm you." Cislia will have realised that this strange emotional presence is not usual around the bard. She hasn't had much interaction with him, but it's very unlikely that their paths would not have crossed as bards with a bond to the king.

He holds up his hand, a smile on his face. "Don't worry about me, I'm fine. I've just been had to use a significant amount of my strongest power to fend whatever this thing is off."

[Ceralune]

Cislia does as Starborn asks, moving herself and the glowing blue gem away from him, though she crinkles her brow in complete puzzlement. Why is it only affecting Starborn? "Okay then... well, I trust you." I do. I mean, it's Starborn! He's never given me any reason not to before. "Shall we go back and get the materials, then?"

[HappyMerecat]

Kyvan

Kyvan looks unhappy with the bard's answer, but doesn't comment.

[Grek]

"Kyvan, is there any chance this gem could be sacred? It looks pretty sacred to me. And the augury said Weal, so there's little chance it's actively dangerous..." She looks around the shrine. "Perhaps the Goddess wishes it to be placed into her shrine! The bones, too. On the walls, maybe?"

[Ceralune]

Cislia adds, "And... the goddess didn'thappen to tell you her preferences for what the shrine should look like, did she?"

[HappyMerecat]

Kyvan

Kyvan moves over and takes the rock and then closes his eyes and opens his mind to the land that surrounds them. Seeking an answer to how she wanted her shrine to be fixed up and the significance of the gem if there was any.

[Biabri]

Kyvan suddenly bows his head, stepping forward towards the broken statue and placing a hand on the broken stone. He spends a moment staring at the statue, unblinking, and then continues to stare, at the statue, without blinking. The others around him see or hear nothing. The hunter, however, is lost in a wave of sudden images and sounds. The sounds of a wolf howling, a running river gurgling, some fey laughter and the sounds of construction. His eyes, though locked onto the inert stone, show him images of sudden strikes, with fangs like daggers, the tossing of pebbles and dribble of water along a stream before at last, an image of the settlement springs up in his mind.

He moves as if in a trance, using the hilt of his axe to trace out how the statue used to be, before being broken. He can see the woman that first made the statue, a woman with eyes as radiant and as blue as the gem found here. The gem is placed into the mouth of the wolf, and Kyvan can see clearly what happened to the last fey that tried to steal it, a maw of stone teeth becoming real and as strong as iron for a moment, then chomping down on vulnerable flesh. He can see the fate of the woman who created the shrine, her demise. Pulled into the bushes by a strange darkness, and ripped to pieces as she screamed. The hunter snaps out of his trance, his eyes drifting to the nearby bushes.

The goddess doesn't want a great shrine, she just wants a place for those who wish to honour her to do so.

[HappyMerecat]

Kyvan

Kyvan conveys the visions he saw and that she wants the bones cleared off the floor of the shrine.

[Ceralune]

Cislia suppresses a slight shiver as Kyvan finishes recounting his visions. It sounds like the last person who built this shrine didn't have such a great ending... that's not going to happen to us... right? "Well... i-it's good that we know what she expects now, I suppose," she says, trying to sound steadier than she feels. "And... well, now we know what this gem is for." Definitely NOT keeping it anymore. "Perhaps Starborn can help us shape the holder for it? And... we can get to building the rest? And then we can hide until we're sure that whatever ended our predecessors is gone..." Having resolved herself to doing as the goddess wishes for now, she helps carry back whatever materials they need to start working.

[Grek]

"Don't worry, nothing bad is allowed to happen for at least another ten minutes!" Melwyn declares cheerily, setting to work pushing bones off to the side of the clearing. "And even if it did, we have the protection of a goddess. Really, we're safer here than we were all night."

[Blackhawk748]

Bran flies up into a tree to keep watch while Morrigan bends over to help Melwyn clear the mess.

[HappyMerecat]

Kyvan

Kyvan hearing Cislia quiet words says, "I'll hold the stone. I don't think hiding it would be safe ... I'll be her wolf for now."
He raised the stone to his lips, symbolically placing in his mouth simultaneously with saying he would be her wolf.

[hector212121]

"Oooook then.

If we can find a appropriately sized chunk of wood, I could try carving it into the right shape, if wood would work for the new statue?"

He looks into the bushes to see how...intact the body is, and if any of the woman's belongings might shed some light on who she was and if she belonged to any particular group. His rapier is out and ready, just in case whatever attacked lingered.

[Biabri]

The bones are cleared easily, with no resistance. A quarterstaff is revealed under the mess, it's snapped in half and looks fairly weathered. The body of the woman is worse off still. She's completely unrecognisable, as in, one wouldn't be able to even tell that this mess was a woman if Kyavn hadn't said so. It's hard to be sure that this thing was ever humanoid at all. The legs are all torn apart, bones shattered and broken in places. It takes a while to notice one thing, there's no real amount of gore. Blood has been cleaned up for the most part, and there are no exposed organs. Muscle, is aplenty in the remains of this woman though. She has no head, but something tells Reynard that this is the woman, Kyvan would be able to confirm this if he were to ask.

The gem is placed against Kyvan's lips. With the dirt rubbed off of it, the gem is relatively clean. The bones placed on top of it were usually already stripped bare and bloodless, so it's remained somewhat clean. Wolf saliva is still an interesting flavour for the hunter though. His mouth tingles every so slightly, but there are no immediate effects as far as he can tell, apart from feeling slightly more connected to his goddess for a moment.

[Blackhawk748]

Upon them uncovering the corpse, Morrigan steps back. She is not getting any of that on her clothes, as it will never come off, plus she doesnt wanna be near a fey kill.

Seeing Kyvan put the gem near his mouth she just rolls her eyes, all he's doing is encouraging the goddess, who doesnt look like she needs any more encouragement.

[Grek]

Melwyn winces and backs away. Another corpse. Another victim. What happened here? Why did everyone who came here before die? What kind of place have we come to?

[HappyMerecat]

Kyvan

Kyvan secures the stone in his pouch and after finding the body begins to prepare her for transport to the new and rapidly filling gave yard. "I wonder why her head was taken?"

[hector212121]

Reynard gingerly picks up one of the halves of the quarterstaff(the one further from the body).

Since it's split in half, and usually halves of a weapon-staff are seperately enchanted, perhaps at the very least traces of the magic would remain?

"Uh, could someone see if this has any magic on it?"

While he waits for someone to examine it, he does his own visual inspection to see if there's any designs on the staff or visible signs it was once magic in case it's too damaged to keep any.

[roll0] Appraise

[Blackhawk748]

Morrigan runs her index and middle finger over both of her eyes to activate her magic. She looks around the area, taking a special look at the staff, with her new sight.

[Biabri]

The quarterstaff is broken, clearly. It's value has likely plummeted due to that, so much so that he'd have to pay someone to take the broken thing. It looks pretty simple, though is obviously made by someone experienced with the making of them. The staff is not, however, masterwork.

There has been magic cast upon the staff, though the staff itself is not magical. It'd be a fair assumption to make that this probably belonged to a druid, rather than the woman you found, and Starborn makes it.

Starborn would move to aid Cislia.

[Ceralune]

Cislia returns with various stones in her arms, setting them down on the ground with a small grunt. Well, if the shrine doesn't have to be too big, then I think we've brought back all we need. She squints at the currently existing structure, trying to figure out what they can do with it. We'll need a new statue, for sure... perhaps we could tuck it into a little alcove of wood and stone? As for the bones... Kyvan said we should clear them away, but are other animals going to come back and leave more? We could make a small entrenchment for those. She articulates her suggestions to the rest of the group for input. "So, what do you all think?"

Knowledge (Engineering): [roll0]

[Biabri]

"I can do this... I just want to get out of here though..."

The bard takes in the details of the fallen shrine with the critical eye of an artist. He then grabs up a bunch of materials, holding them up to the statue before starting his share of the work. The parts that have faded and broken are repaired to the best of his ability.
[roll0]

[hector212121]

Reynard contemplates the body before shrugging. He'd worry about that later.

He turns to start dealing with the shrine.

[roll0]

[Blackhawk748]

Seeing some of the group starting to work on the shrine Morrigan heads back to camp and makes a list of some things that she wants Starborn to give to whoever is handling their supplies. After that is done, she finds some parchment and starts to catalogue all the supplies they have.


Morrigan is requesting a Hybridization Funnel as part of their supplies

[Biabri]

With Cislia, Kyvan and Starborn fixing and building. The shrine is done within just over half an hour, using only few materials. The mouth of the wolf is opened slightly, a space to slip the gem into.

A soft thrum begins to hum through the ground...

[Ceralune]

Cislia is one of the first to notice the strange noise and the vibration it brings. "What is that?" she asks warily. "Maybe... put the gem inside the opening now, Kyvan?" In the meantime, I had best take precautions in case that noise isn't connected to the shrine and is instead coming from a more... hostile source. She chants quietly, hoping to perceive what it might be through magical sight.

Cislia casts Detect Magic.

[Biabri]

Cislia can see a dazzling show of divine light when the magic is revealed to her. A soft mist begins to shimmer around the shrine, something she'd recognise from any sacred or holy places she's visited before. She can see the mists part when they hit a certain point, something that cannot be seen blocking the mists from passing... She can't quite tell what the shape is yet though. The thrumming is quite loud now, and the eyes of the wolf glow a little to Cislia's magically perceptive eyes.

[Ceralune]

Well, it looks like the same aura that Serathyn's ivory spire has, Cislia thinks to herself. I don't know what the source of the thrum could be other than this.

"Yes, I think it's definitely coming from the shrine. Or... at least something around the shrine. Perhaps this is the goddess's way of conveying acceptance? Definitely try putting the gem in... do you think it's safe for me to try?" Gently taking the gem from Kyvan, Cislia carefully slips the gem into the intended slot, in the mouth just underneath its eyes that brim with magical energy.

[Grek]

Melwyn scuttles down onto her knees, supplicating herself before the shrine. Her hands are intertwined behind the back of her head, apparently unable to decide between ducking for cover and praying for mercy.

[HappyMerecat]

Kyvan

Kyvan looks around for any sign of where the humming is coming from, moving around the shrine as he does so to help locate it.

Perception [roll0]
Know(Nature)[roll1]

[hector212121]

He backs up a bit, gazing warily about and thinking about what that could possibly mean.

[roll0] Religion

[Biabri]

The wolf snaps it's mouth shut after the hand has been safely withdrawn, and for a second, the stone becomes animated. The statue moves, the wolf raising it's head to let out a triumphant howl. The lady part of the statue remains as still as before. Instead, another lady stands before the shrine.

Her form is translucent, but not as much as the last time Kyvan remembers seeing her. She cradles an equally translucent wolf cub in her arms, hugging it close to her breast, in a motherly way. The figure doesn't wear any form of clothes, but the impression of wearing some type of dress is created by the mists swirling around her body. One of the first things that those gathered will notice, is the sudden and intrusive presence of a river running it's course. The thrumming stops with a final Whum...

"Well done, chosen one..." She smiles and reaches out an insubstantial hand towards Kyvan, palm towards the ground.

"The rest of you too... I appreciate your help... Midnight Flame, Mr Fuchs and Lady Haruspex. She turns her eyes on Starborn, who inclines his head in respect.

"Lady... May we have the pleasure of learning your name?"

[Ceralune]

Cislia lets out a startled gasp as she quickly withdraws her hand. I... darn it, I wish I had known it was going to do that. The howl that resounds through the clearing, though, inspires a feeling of power and awe, and even in her somewhat timid state, it's hard for Cislia not to feel something well up inside her chest as she gazes upon the form of the goddess. The sight of the wolf cub cradled in the goddess's arms gives her a sense of peace as well. That must be the skin stealer's victim...

[Biabri]

The presumed goddess places her hand atop the wolf cub's head, stroking it from ear to tail once before setting it down on the floor, allowing it to scarper away into the bushes. It leaves no track and vanishes completely from sight when leaving her view. She smiles a little in Cislia's direction before answering. "My name... Well... You could call me Lysa. I guess that you could also call me the local deity... If you wanted to." Her speech is as Kyvan remembers it. Strangely melodic and whispering, mixing in with the sound of the flowing river that can be heard in her presence. At her waist is an axe that takes some kind of inspiration from her only follower's choice of weapon. This axe though, has it's own style to it. To the average person, the weapon looks like pure decoration, even one trained in axes would come into some struggle with using this weapon effectively. It's also as big as Kyvan's is, far too big for her to be carrying it like that without strain, one would assume.

[Grek]

Melwyn ventures a peek at the Goddess and, upon seeing a lack of overt menace, switches her grovelling stance from supplication to a modestly more dignified genuflection. "Do You have any commandments for us, Great One?" The oracle looks to the others, asking hopefully, "We delight in Your guidance?"

[HappyMerecat]

Kyvan

Kyvan kisses the translucent hand, but remains silent. For all these years she has called him here and now his real life began.

[Biabri]

The Goddess withdraws her hand, in an elegant and refined motion. She gives a calm, accepting smile to the man before her, before turning this to Melywn. "Oracle, I am not here to offer guidance, the signs you interpret will not be placed by my hand unless I feel an urgent need to do so. The land is yours to use, the choices yours to make... I will not shape myself as others have..." She frowns a little, but in this same motion, she offers her own polite little curtsy.

Morrigan can suddenly smell... Wet dog, strongly.

[Blackhawk748]

Setting her parchment down on the stack of wood she was checking, she palms a flask of acid as she looks around. Seeing his mistress' concern Bran shifts position to the top of the building for a better look.


Morrigans Perception (assisting Bran)
[roll0]

Bran's Perception
[roll1]

[Biabri]

Nothing happens, and as soon as the witch reacts to the smell it fades away.

[Ceralune]

Cislia quietly watches the conversation, somewhat hesitant to interject given her past experiences with Serathyn. Though, that does remind her of something. Their settlement has yet to be given a name.

"If... If it would please you, we could honor your name with our settlement," she murmurs. "Lystrom. After the deity of this land, and the rushing river which she represents."

[Biabri]

The Goddess looks enthusiastic at this idea. She nods towards Cislia. "Sounds great, I'll have more influence that way, according to the others. Until the next time we meet, my band of settlers..."

The woman nods serenely, before starting to fade from reality. Those around the shrine can still feel her presence though, and the sound of the river remains here. A call would probably bring her back here if she needed to be contacted.

Starborn gathers himself, grabbing up some of the spare materials.

[Ceralune]

Cislia stands afixed to her spot for a brief moment, relieved that Lysa seems to have taken her suggestion well. Noticing Starborn start to pick up the remnants of their work, she quickly moves to help him. "We should get back now, I think," she hastily says. "You'll be wanting to get a move on, of course. We can put together a quick list of what we'd like when you come next week, and then send you on your way."

[HappyMerecat]

Kyvan

Kyvan closes his eyes and feels Lysa's presence. He knows she is here still.

[hector212121]

Reynard nods his head awkwardly; after all, while he acknowledges the existence of deities, he isn't exactly devoted to any in particular. He nods in agreement with Cislia before moving to render what help he can.

[Grek]

Melwyn remains on her knees until the Goddess has fully departed. Only then does she rise, occasionally looking over her shoulder. Just in case.

[Biabri]

Staborn nods to Cislia, he seems fairly well possessed, considering a goddess just appeared. The group set off back to camp, arriving there after a short walk.

The journey goes uninterrupted. Upon arrival to the budding settlement, Staborn rushes into the caravan to grab some fine looking paper and a fancy, expensive looking quill. He carries this into the tenement and settles it down on the table there.

"So, what will we be needing?"

[Blackhawk748]

Morrigan walks in a and puts the catalogue of supplies on the table fro the others to see.

"Id like a Hybridization Filter, and i believe we need several Donkeys, 4 females and 2 males should be sufficient"

[Ceralune]

Cislia stands by, hoping to get Starborn on his way as soon as possible, as it seems he would very much like to get going. But, as the question of what exactly they want him to bring next week is finally asked, she hesitates and ends up staying silent, not really knowing anything to suggest at this point save for some rather pointless things she'd simply like to have. Something tells me that they're not going to be okay with purchasing sound amplifiers, she glumly thinks to herself.

[Grek]

"What's more important is who you send, rather than what. We need people who can help cut wood and erect buildings if we're going to get this place settled soon." Melwyn adds. "But as far as building supplies go, sending stone would be more useful than wood. We're in a forest - getting wood locally is easy."

[HappyMerecat]

Kyvan

"I have looked at the soil and the land and it is fertile and most things will grow well here. I think we should bring in a mixture of vegetable seeds and two types of grain. Say wheat and barely. I also think we should reconsider the donkeys and bring in cattle. They can serve as oxen, produce milk and meat in time. Of course a plow would be good as well."

Kyvan looks at Morrigan. "What is a hybridization filter?"

[Blackhawk748]

It is a device that allows one to mix to alchemical mixtures together to form one mixture. If i get one, i can create more effective mixtures for us, which will allow us to better defend ourselves against the fey and others.

[Biabri]

Starborn nods and notes all the requested purchases down. He reads it over before looking up again. "What kind of people do you want, then? Specialists? Any other material orders too?"

[HappyMerecat]

Kyvan

Kyvan nods to Morrigan. "Well our funds are limited. If you think it is worth the cost."

"I would say in terms of settlers we want farmers, builders and lumberjacks. We need to clear the land, start farms and build homes for them."

[Biabri]

Starborn nods, inclining his head before noting this down too. "As you wish, 'chosen one' of Lysa." He offers a small, almost sympathetic grin. As if he knew what it feels like.

He starts to clear up, and gather up his things, it seems like he's preparing to go.

[Ceralune]

Cislia stares inquisitively at Starborn's behavior for a moment before straightening. "Well, I suppose we'll see you in a week, then? Here's hoping for a safe, speedy journey back home for you," she says warmly in farewell to the other bard.

After he leaves, she exhales slightly before glancing around at the others. "So... I'm not really sure what project to start next," she admits. "Perhaps we could get to building some other necessities? A well, perhaps? The river's nearby but lugging water back and forth would be awfully heavy..."

[Biabri]

The Bard nods, standing up and picking up his gathered pile from the table he set it down on. The kitsune cook comes with him, trailing behind with a small wave of the hand and a stream of apologies. "I'm sorry, I don't think that this is really my style. I'm not suited to ruling, I'll be returning to Serathyn with Starborn... He's got a friend hoping to sell up a tavern." Starborn mentioned something about this particular friend earlier. It's not hard to recall the tale of how this particular friend once fell into the latrine dimension one time while drunk. He was stuck there for half a day until Starborn came to his rescue, riding a (thankfully) illusory pony made up of the available materials. Starborn leaves, taking Isube with him.

He returns a few seconds later and smiles warmly at Cislia. "You'll do good." He says to the group, though his eyes rest on the tiefling bardess. Sympathy practically... literally, wafts from him like rich perfume. "Anything else before I go? I'll be returning in a few days with this stuff and some commonfolk to populate this place."