Destiny of the Iceheart

[Tacitus]

Whispers from the mountain were silent on the subject of the Second Day of Mourning. Runes, entrails, and knuckle bones told of brighter futures than days of screaming and rivers run red with blood. The Quori sent no dreams of terror on the scale of the coming apocalypse. The Draconic Prophecies held not a single line regarding the fate of Khorvaire, nor the destiny of the Guardian of the Peak. When the Second Day of Mourning it was as though the sun rose twice, so bright was the light from the far side of Icetop. The ground trembled and sheets of ice and snow tumbled down the mountain in terrifying avalanches as far as could be seen, deflected from your village with carefully placed avalanches drawn from magic and your will. The light faded and even the sun dimmed as winds ripped past your mountain home, throwing up an intense blizzard that darkened the skies further. For two whole days the blizzard continued, the world gone white and the only sound the howling of winds.

When finally the skies began to clear you began to hear it. The grinding of rock and immense crashing of stone rumbled through the Mror river valley and up the sides of Icetop. For a day snow and fog fills the air in the Mror River Valley, massive shapes rumbling in the mists and flakes. Their size rivals the ancient giants and the distant dragons, and the sound of screaming stone continues. Once the valley clears your eyes are drawn to the far mountains; the dwarven Enclave beyond the valley had been ravaged. By what, you could not guess, but it was as though every stone building had been ripped from the ground and out of the mountains and cast about by a flailing toddler. The river valley was littered with the bones of the Gate, and doubtlessly stained with the blood of the dwarves. The shapes in the mist have gone, no sign of colossal beast and no obvious tracks or patterns can be seen from the distance, just torn up ground.

Down from the peak you find yourself just outside the village of your tribe and you hear their calls of confusion and terror, seeking guidance.

[Genth]

Tali descends from the mountain in her own, disarming form. At just under three feet, she is tall for an Uldra woman, but her form, from what people can see of it, is hardy and solid, strong bones beneath sinewy, ropelike muscles. This is mostly hidden however beneath flowing granite-colored robes, trimmed with icy blue fur at the collar and cuffs. She wears a separate hood, lined on the edge of the fabric with long talons, which hands over her face and obscures her emotions from view. She casts a strange, hazy figure, walking out from the blizzard with snow swirling around her booted feet, hands deep inside her robe. She comes to the edge of the Omeh family's hamlet, looking at the ruined and damaged houses with a slight sigh. Out from one of the snowdrifts runs a slip of an Uldra, barely twenty, her eyes wide and frightened.

Whitefoot.... Whitefoot Omeh the witch thinks as she sees the young woman come close.

"Greetings, Whitefoot. Are all the Omeh ok?" Tali asks. This hamlet is one of five dotted around the mountain, each family with their own place to live. This one, the Omeh had fifteen people the last time Tali had come. Without waiting for a reply, Tali continues. "No. Go and gather your family. We will be safe.

Gather the families. While they prepare, go to the gate, and find out what has happened... she runs through her plan in her mind, the cold in her chest nothing to do with her half-ice heart.

[Tacitus]

The Omeh girl babbles incoherently, fear running sentences together as she approaches Tari, but she is silenced by the wizened Uldra with but a few words. The Guardian had given her a direction and reassurance in just a few words, soft clouds on the horizon of stormy weather. Her babbling comes up short in that moment and she simply nods quickly, "Our lodge? I-it still stands, w-we will be there." She turns and hurries off, her small form dancing across the snow as she rushes back to her family.

The mountain shudders, eliciting a brief scream from the girl in the distance, but a quick glance back at Tari and she continues on her way. The snow itself seems to ripple across the stone skin of the mountain, a deep vibration coursing through the earth. After a moment the quake passes, a brief twitch to the ancient stones but no less terrifying in its duration for those living on the back of the Icetop. After a moment of scanning the slopes it seems as though whatever snow had intended to slide down the mountain this day has already done so and a tense calm falls across the land. As Tari ventures down the mountain to other villages those closer to the valley seem less worse off than the Omeh, but all still shaken. Indeed, in the village furthest down the mountain a hardy old Uldra rolls a stone out of his ruined home for her to see. His house is the only one to have seen damage, a massive dwarven head from some statue in the enclave across the valley somehow thrown the whole distance. What is most puzzling is that the head survived impact, a faint aura of magic radiating around the carved features.

[Genth]

"Look, I know there's this whole hubbub going on, but you really need to give those dwarves a stern talking to. Look at my roof!" the older Uldra drawls, gesticulating almost violently at the stone head that crashed through his house, to be met by Tari's cold gaze and slightly exasperated expression.

"Eugene, the dwarvern halls have exploded. I highly doubt there's any still al.. you know what never mind. Sure Eugene. I'll tell those dwarves off. You go to the Omeh's lodge. Tell them I said to give you a cup of tea." Tari replies, her voice patient, but keen to start moving onwards. Eugene seems about to reply when another Uldra, younger, elbows him,

"Paw, I know yer old, but your eyesight can't be that bad. Can't you see that?" the younger Uldra says, shaking her head slightly.

"My eyesight is fine Jimmy" Eugene replies, arms flailing,

"My name is Tabitha"

"ENOUGH!" Tari yells, and this time there is a slight shuddering, a small movement of snow off the ruined wreck of the house. "Tabitha. Take your grandfather, and get him to the Omeh's lodge. You know where that is?" she asks, before rounding on Eugene. "Any more trouble, Eugene, and I'll inform everybody of what you did when you were fifty." she threatens before turning, her cloak fluttering slightly in the cold air, and heading off down the mountain.

Once out of sight, she calls to the power of the mountain, feeling the magic of the world itself course through her veins and with a sudden flurry of snow, the diminutive form of the Uldra vanishing and being replaced by a powerfully built, streamlined Raptor of the skies - almost like an eagle, save for the blue-and-white feathers, and the primordial, strange cast of its features. She leaps from the rock, and starts to wing her way towards the dwarvern halls, gathering speed as she goes.

Wildshape into a Primordial Eagle. +4 size bonus to Strength, a -2 penalty to Dexterity, a +4 natural armor bonus, DR5/Cold Iron and SR 16 (Technically SR19, but for the sake of argument, going to count CR as HD.). Fly speed of 100, or 130 if Monk enhancement applies to wildshape'd flight.

[Tacitus]

Ugh, side note, I hate maps. The one I was using had an incorrect scale of miles so your flight will be most of a day rather than a small number of hours like I had thought. That, and, I'm going to be cutting pretty much all distances on Khorvaire in half, because I can. Luckily, being on a mountain helps get over the curve of the earth, so nothing needs to be changed there. >.> Thats my story and I'm sticking to it XD
Edit: Actually, looks like even the developers of the setting can't agree on distances, and there was last minute fiddling so nothing makes sense because of course it doesn't. Whatever. XD Still, lets call it most the the day,
so you're arriving above Korunda Gate while its still daylight for a bit.

As you take to the skies Eugene grumbles a bit to himself, but is quickly ushered off by Tabitha along with the rest of the Uldra in the village. After just half an hour you notice that the foothills and valley beyond have no movement whatsoever. The skies are quiet and the land seems dead in the aftermath of the event to a degree that deeply unsettles Tari given her deep connection with nature. As she passes above the bulk of the wreckage strewn about the valley she quickly takes note of the fact that most of the rubble is clustered in groups that look like they may have at one point been buildings or even several smaller structures at one point. Again, like the dwarven head found in poor old Eugene's house they seem to be only barely damaged, the faces of the structures almost untouched while corners and roof lines seem ground down, but not broken.

From your vantage point high in the skies you can see that the Icewood seems as dark as ever, but does not seem to be any different than normal in its silent malevolence. Despite your height you cannot seem to see the far seat of the Iron Council at Krona Peak, or at the very least what little of the capital city sits above ground. After several hours of flight you approach Korunda Gate; the smell of dust and debris fills the air, heavy dust hanging even thousands of feet into the air as though the natural currents in the air refuse to carry it away from the cursed place. The ground in the valley leading to the gate has been scoured of soil and dirt down to bedrock from what seems to be successive massive impacts, craters leading up the the foot of the mountain. And then it stops. Korunda Gate stands silent, fully one half of the structures spilled out into the valley while the rest seem entirely untouched. However, as you circle the city one you see no movement from below whatsoever. No dwarven sentries, no traders, no children, no pets, and you wager no insects as well.


Korunda Gate is dead.

[Genth]

Tari continues to circle around the ruined city for a few minutes, mind racing through possibilities. She feels repulsed by such an event, such death.. if it even could be called death.. more erasure she thinks, before swooping away to land on a rocky outcropping, high on the mountains. She turns her gaze back towards the Icetops, a frown in her mind if not on her currently avian face. Then, quite suddenly, she lets out a long, loud screech, throwing back her head and letting her animal voice echo around the landscape.

In Sylvan, she starts to speak:

"To those who have gone in this scouring - I bid you farewell.
To those who I knew, who I had spoken to, I will remember your voices.
To those who I did not know, I did not meet - I hope you are at peace.
To those who caused this to happen - fate will see fit to punish you."

Finally, she lifts away from the rock, and heads back towards the icetops, likely returning deep into the night. She lands outside the Omeh's lodge, and returns to her normal form, tucking her clothes close around her before heading inside.

She starts by saying three words.

"We must leave."

[Genth]

Stealth - [roll0] (In a large wildshape, add 5 to that if it's after she changes back
Perception - [roll1]
Intelligence - [roll2]
Reflex [roll3] (In a large wildshape, add 1 to that if she changed back)
Random d20 roll [roll4]

[Tacitus]

On her return flight Tari is unmolested, but a nagging feeling in the back of her mind causes her to take a second pass over the river when she crosses it again. The normally clear waters do not shine in light of the moon, running thick with debris and blood. The Mror river springs forth from high in the Ironroot near Krona peak, and is the first sign of blood Tari has seen at all in her flight, the river crowding its banks from the excess clogging the waters. Additionally, one of the structures from Korunda Gate that was on the bank of the river on her way to the Gate is now nowhere to be seen, a small pool forming where it had been with no visible tracks leading to or from where it had been.

On her return to the Omeh Lodge she is greeted by the full assembled might of her people, now lacking what she guesses is about ten percent of the population with another ten percent sporting mostly minor wounds or those that have been cared for well enough to move. Everyone carries worried looks and seems to be weary from the days of terror and the hike to the Omeh. Most of the Uldra assembled brighten on Tari's return, but it quickly becomes confusion when she makes her statement. Murmurs come from the crowd as many glance back and forth between one another.

"What do you mean?"


"Where will we go?"


"What is happening?"

"Damn dwarves."

[Genth]

Tari shoots Eugene a dark look from beneath her hood, before raising her arms to quiet and address the crowd.

"A great blight has befallen the world below. The dwarves and humans of the land have been wiped away - I could not see any hint of them. Some terrible doom has befallen the world... and it continues. There vestiges of the old world are being attacked, taken away. And it is surely only a matter of time before they come for us. A long time ago, children, your grandparents and great grandparents left from their home to travel the world and find this place. It is time for us to do the same. We must take our people, our stories onward. The journey will be hard... but our home is no longer safe, and we must find a new one.
"

With that, Tari leaves the lodge to the outside mountain, and closes her eyes, seeking out her companion. A few moments later, emerging from the snowy darkness with whirls of frost coming from it's breath, the Blizzard that Prowls arrives, a huge tiger-like beast which towers over the Omeh lodge, and bows its head to Tari.

"Hello, old friend.. are you ready for a journey?" she asks, stepping forwards to scritch the companion behind the ears.

[Tacitus]

For several moments after Tari steps outside Omeh Lodge is quiet. It then erupts into a cacophony of confusion and activity, everyone talking at once and pushing for the entrance to return to their homes to collect what they can for the journey. Chaos reigns inside the lodge as Uldra begin spilling out, first among them the elderly Eugene, "You say everything is gone. Is there nothing worth saving? I'm not partial to dwarves, and humans are a bit tall, but what about the rest? We all look to your guidance, where you go we will follow. I'm too old for stopping the end of days, but slow as I am I doubt bringing along other folks would slow us down much. Provided anyone still lives, that is." He blinks and looks up at The Blizzard that Prowls, "How in the name of the north wind did you get an elephant up here?"

[Genth]

Tari looks over towards Eugene, and a brief smile crosses her lips. She doesn't move from her spot, but she tilts her head slightly, in thought for a moment before speaking.

"Eugene, I've lived almost twice as long as you. I'm held together only by the grace of the ice in my heart. And nothing I've ever seen is like this. It's... gone. Like some great hand wiping the board clean. This is a danger, and my first priority is for the Uldra." she laughs. "You've always had a warm heart beneath that exterior. I.. don't. I won't stop others from joining us if they will follow my lead,
but it is not my duty to find and protect the other races of the world. My duty lies with the Uldra, and with the Uldra alone." as she speaks, her voice becomes a little more cold, clipped, and a swirl of snow pushes upwards about her feet. She turns away from Eugene and steps towards The Blizzard that Prowls. "It's the protector of this mountain, and my close friend. Sirēṭō" she says, laying a hand on the beast's flank. "The people need to move freely. Will you consent to carry some of their burden?" she asks.

[Tacitus]

Eugene nods slightly, "It will be as you say. I'll be in the lodge, trying to get the young ones to calm down a touch, keep track of the smallest so others can prepare for the journey." He turns to head back inside as the great beast rumbles and lowers itself to the ground, submitting itself for a harness or rig to carry the burdens of the Uldra.

Time for details on the trek.

1. How much do you intend to plan ahead for the route to the sea, and how much of the plan to you intend to share with how much of the community?
2. How soon do you intend to leave and at what time of day?
3. If not leaving asap, are you scouting anywhere while preparations are made?
4. Beyond personal possessions they just can't live without, what are you allowing/requiring the Uldra to bring?
5. Anything else I should know?

[Genth]

"Thank you, Eugene.." Tari says before turning and heading out into the snow, going a short way away from the lodge to a rocky outcropping that during the day, would show a vast expanse of land below the mountain. She takes a seat, pondering the land and the right route to take. In her mind's eye, the vastness of Khorvaire expands out, some places with crystal clarity, others covered with a light haze. From the Icetop mountains, she begins to draw a mental line, first west along the river, taking it very nearly into the Karrnwood. Following the southern line of the woods to Bastion, and from there along the main roads through Korth and finally Rekkenmark. From there, with all hope, the right path will have revealed itself to her.

She returns to the lodge and informs the Uldra that they have two nights and a day to ready themselves to leave - they will leave on the Dawn after tomorrow. She tells them to bring only what is precious. From there, she returns to her own home, sleeping for a time before heading down towards Lakeside, hoping to scout and figure out if they have fared any different than the dwarves