Into the Borderlands (5e)

[scalyfreak]

As soon as she realizes that she's not the only uncertain and embarrassed person in this conversation almost all of Amber's confidence returns, along with her cheerful smile.

"Whenever my cousin goes into a glass shop, the shop keepers follow him everywhere and keep staring at his tail." She almost begins to laugh and quickly stops herself. "He has a very long tail that can grab things, so he picks up bottles with it and waves them around their heads to see what they'll do. They would faint if they saw your wings around their glassware." She chuckles, amused by the mental image.

"And he'd probably pull my hair for being rude and not introducing myself." Amber makes a show of tipping her hat and performing a casual bow. "Amber Yarrowhill, at your musical service."

[Luccan]

Ayslam smiles in return, happy to continue talking with someone unconcerned with, and perhaps even benignly interested in, his appearance. Well, I can't pick anything up with my wings, but I think most shopkeepers would be more concerned I'd pick it up and fly off. Which admittedly, in my younger days, was my general tactic. He holds out a hand Ayslam Black, deburdener and friend of the shadows.

[scalyfreak]

Amber takes the offered hand without hesitation. She has a firm handshake, with calloused finger tips on strong fingers.

"Then they would be stupid shop keepers. Everyone knows that's why there's a roof on the building."

Amber glances over towards the chanting dwarf, the tiefling with the glaive, and the two women who arrived at the Keep at the same time she did. "So... do you know anything about the rest of this group, or am I the only newcomer here?"

[ybn1197]

Spoiler: Mold Earth

Show

((With Mold Earth, I can move 15 ft3 of earth with every action. That's just a bit over 1500 pounds of earth every five seconds. Shouldn't take too long to move enough earth to make a shallow crossing at a narrow point in the river.))

1. Its not 15ft3, it's 5 ft3.
2. Regardless of 5 or 15, it wouldn't take too long to create a fjord if the water was more still. The flow is powerful enough to naturally move some of the dirt away from your fjord. This causes more work to be done and lengthens the process.
3. Given facts 1 and 2, I think it would take about an hour to move enough dirt to pass through the river at this point while still not creating enough of a diversion to cause damage to the natural habit of this area.

Good use of a cantrip.

((I am presuming you headed due south of the keep and are crossing there.))

After about an hour of chanting, there is enough dirt moved for the group to cross the river. Moving across you are still north-west of the Fell Fens. Directly ahead of you are some hills and forests. This area is known as Ravenwood. These woods are still dense, but not as dense as the Whispering Woods to the north. There is plenty of open ground between the woods and the river to follow around to the west side of the fens. A little over an hour's walk takes you to a tributary of the Goblinwater. Crossing this tributary will place you on the western edge of the fens.

Spoiler: For Amber Yarrowhill's Eyes Only

Show

Hello! Where are you going?

[scalyfreak]

Amber, who has been toying with her flute while walking, suddenly stops so abruptly that anyone walking right behind her probably bumps into her. She looks around swiftly, startled eyes narrowing as she realizes that no one else is reacting the same way she currently is.

"Wait! Did anyone else hear that?"

As she speaks she continues scanning her surrounding, searching for the source of what she just heard.

[Jrpergande78]

Zarr listens for a moment to see if she can hear what Amber had heard. She hadn't noticed anything but if there's one thing she knows, you should always listen to your gut. Zarr concentrates a moment on her senses to see if she can Divinely since anything good or evil.

Spoiler

Show

Divine sence: The presence of strong evil registers on your senses like a noxious odor, and powerful good rings like heavenly music in your ears. As an action, you can open your awareness to detect such forces. Until the end of your next turn, you know the location of any celestial, fiend, or undead within 60 feet of you that is not behind total cover. You know the type (celestial, fiend, or undead) of any being whose presence you sense, but not its identity (the vampire Count Strand von Zarovich, for instance).
Within the same radius, you also detect the presence of any place or object that has been consecrated or desecrated, as with the hallow spell.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to 1 + your Charisma modifier. When you finish a long rest, you regain all expended uses.

Perception [roll]1d20[/roll]

[ybn1197]

Zarr listens for a moment to see if she can hear what Amber had heard. She hadn't noticed anything but if there's one thing she knows, you should always listen to your gut. Zarr concentrates a moment on her senses to see if she can Divinely since anything good or evil.

Spoiler

Show

Divine sence: The presence of strong evil registers on your senses like a noxious odor, and powerful good rings like heavenly music in your ears. As an action, you can open your awareness to detect such forces. Until the end of your next turn, you know the location of any celestial, fiend, or undead within 60 feet of you that is not behind total cover. You know the type (celestial, fiend, or undead) of any being whose presence you sense, but not its identity (the vampire Count Strand von Zarovich, for instance).
Within the same radius, you also detect the presence of any place or object that has been consecrated or desecrated, as with the hallow spell.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to 1 + your Charisma modifier. When you finish a long rest, you regain all expended uses.

Perception (1d20)[11]

Zarr stretches out her senses but is unable to detect the influence of any powerful entity.

[2D8HP]

"Wait! Did anyone else hear that?"

As she speaks she continues scanning her surrounding, searching for the source of what she just heard.

Rolen: Wood-Elf Rogue AC:14 (Leather) HP:11 Initiative:+3 Speed:35ft. Passive Perception:16

says:

"Something other than birds, river, and wind?"

and listens intently

Spoiler: OOC/Roll

Show

Perception: (d20+6)[16]

[Luccan]

Amber, who has been toying with her flute while walking, suddenly stops so abruptly that anyone walking right behind her probably bumps into her. She looks around swiftly, startled eyes narrowing as she realizes that no one else is reacting the same way she currently is.

"Wait! Did anyone else hear that?"

As she speaks she continues scanning her surrounding, searching for the source of what she just heard.

Aylsam pauses, trying to tune out the louder sounds around them as he listens

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Perception (1d20+5)[8]

[scalyfreak]

Amber cautiously eases a bit closer to the group, while giving Rolen a quick glance and headshake. "It was a voice."

After hesitating a moment, Amber raises her voice a little bit, attempting to speak to someone hiding out of sight. "Hello to you. Would you mind showing yourself, so I know who I have the pleasure of speaking with?"

[Silent_p]

On reaching the gates, Haranna is dismayed to find that she'd lingered too long. The others had forged onward. She paused a moment, wracking her brain to she if she could recall their intended destination. Hadn't one said something about the marshes?

Uncertain, she casts her gaze about for tracks to follow...

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Haranna will try to catch up to the others.
Perception to spot the relevant tracks: (1d20+4)[19]
Survival to follow those tracks (if spotted, at least... ): (1d20+4)[19]

[atlastrembles]

Pleased with his work, Dravakar thanks the earth before proceeding onwards with his companions. As Amber alerts them to the strange voice and his allies cast about for its source, Dravakar scans the ground, looking for tracks or any evidence of nearby threats.

Survival - (1d20+5)[25]

Spoiler: Previous Druidcraft

Show

I cast Druidcraft in an earlier post to determine the weather for the next 24 hours...we in for any surprises?

[ybn1197]

Amber cautiously eases a bit closer to the group, while giving Rolen a quick glance and headshake. "It was a voice."

After hesitating a moment, Amber raises her voice a little bit, attempting to speak to someone hiding out of sight. "Hello to you. Would you mind showing yourself, so I know who I have the pleasure of speaking with?"

Spoiler: For Amber's Eyes Only

Show

No. The voice inside Amber's head says with some level of finality. I asked you first. If you can't play the game correctly, then I will have to find someone else to play it with.

On reaching the gates, Haranna is dismayed to find that she'd lingered too long. The others had forged onward. She paused a moment, wracking her brain to she if she could recall their intended destination. Hadn't one said something about the marshes?

Uncertain, she casts her gaze about for tracks to follow...

Unfortunately for Haranna, the road has become packed down by the constant travel of merchants, wagons, and animals that it is impossible for her to discern individual tracks let alone the tracks of her fellow adventurers. However, the road to the Keep from the main caravan road is a 20 minute walk and she hopes to catch sight of them along the way. Still, by the time she makes it to the caravan road there is no sight of the others but Haranna does spot an area of grass that has been disturbed as if by a large group passing through. Hoping it was not created by merchants taking a break, Haranna follows the disturbed grass all the way to the Goblinwater River where she finds signs of the group resting along the riverbank. She also finds a fjord to cross the river nearby. Crossing the river, she quickly picks up sign of the group's passing through this area as well and she follows it for close to an hour when she spots the group of adventurers stopped ahead.

[scalyfreak]

Amber blinks, her expression going from confused to a little worried, and her voice slows a little as she considers her next words carefully.

"I'm sorry. I'm new to this game. We are going towards the marshes, I think." She raises a hand to point in the direction the group was traveling. "I'm really just following them."

[Luccan]

As Amber continues talking to the voice the others can't hear, Ayslam takes out his bow and knocks an arrow. I don't like this. Backs together? His eyes scan the area around them, trying to find any signs of a hidden foe.

[Jrpergande78]

Genuinely worried about Amber Zarr woul normally agree to a defensive posture...but she sent her senses out looking for anything, be it good or evil, and sensed nothing.

Amber, do not give anymore information. Though I can't sense anything foul or otherwise, we can't be sure that whom ever is speaking to you is in fact friendly. Try the best you can to limit what information you give out until we know more of the one only you can hear.

Zarr then grabs her glaive and walks with it ready to be used at a moment's notice.

[scalyfreak]

Amber, do not give anymore information. Though I can't sense anything foul or otherwise, we can't be sure that whom ever is speaking to you is in fact friendly. Try the best you can to limit what information you give out until we know more of the one only you can hear.

Zarr then grabs her glaive and walks with it ready to be used at a moment's notice.

Amber glances over at Zarr and immediately nods. "The voice asked me where we're going," she explains. "And it said that if I won't play the game correctly it will find someone else to play with. I don't know that that means, but the way the voice said that, makes me nervous."

Spoiler: OOC question

Show

Is the voice male or female, or neither?

[Silent_p]

It took some time, and a great deal of frustration, but Haranna manages to find the others who had departed the keep that morning. They are grouped together... and several have weapons drawn. She frowns, unsure of what is transpiring. She can't be certain but it doesn't look like they're for her.

Nonetheless, she approaches the others with caution, careful not to make an aggressive move. As she looks around, there does not appear to be any immediate sign of a threat. She stops several meters away and waits.

[ybn1197]

Spoiler: OOC question

Show

Is the voice male or female, or neither?

Spoiler: OOC Answer

Show

Neither. The voice is very childlike and difficult to discern whether it is male or female. To make it more difficult to know, it has a sort of echo as it talks. So you hear the previous word overlie the current one but more subdued and in the background. Like a backing melody that is a second or two off.

There is no further word from the voice as if the last statement was not a threat but a promise.

[scalyfreak]

Amber spots Haranna some distance away and smiles, though it seems a bit forced, as she lifts a hand in greeting.

"Um... Hello?" She frowns and looks over at Zarr and Dravakar, confusion on her face now. "The voice stopped talking. I think."

[atlastrembles]

Amber spots Haranna some distance away and smiles, though it seems a bit forced, as she lifts a hand in greeting.

"Um... Hello?" She frowns and looks over at Zarr and Dravakar, confusion on her face now. "The voice stopped talking. I think."

Drav frowns thoughtfully, Maybe we scared it? Let's wait for our friend yonder and then see if it'll get back to you. Must be all sorts of strange things in these wilds.

[Jrpergande78]

Zarr takes a moment to think a bit as the new companion approaches them.

Well, if the voice is gone, we can proceed, but we will have to be cautious. Is everyone ready?

Zarr places her glaive back in its place on her back and waits for the others before moving on, she is not at ease that someone seemed to threaten one of her companions without being seen.

[Luccan]

Ayslam replaces the arrow, but keeps his bow out, just in case I am as ready as I can be. He decides to stay on the ground near the others for now, not wanting to risk being separated in the event of an ambush.

[Silent_p]

Seeing the others relax slightly and gesture a greeting to her, Haranna approaches the group. "Hello, friends," she says, giving each person a look of acknowledgement. "Lost track of you back at the keep. Glad I caught up."

Pausing, she takes in the tension. "What's going on?" She asks after a moment, her voice lowered.

[2D8HP]

"What's going on?" She asks after a moment, her voice lowered.

Rolen: Wood-Elf Rogue AC:14 (Leather) HP:11 Initiative:+3 Speed:35ft. Passive Perception:16

says:

"Amber thought she heard a voice that wasn't one of ours"

[scalyfreak]

"Amber thought she heard a voice that wasn't one of ours"

Amber spins and levels a hard stare on Rolen, eyes narrowed and shoulders pulled back. "I didn't think I heard a voice. I heard a voice, and it asked where we were going, and then it said if I can't play the game properly it would find someone else to play with." She huffs and turns her back on Rolen, instead focusing on Zarr. "Sorry about that, the voice took me off guard."

[Silent_p]

Haranna frowns briefly at Rolen before looking around the group. "So we're being watched? What kind of game are they expecting to see us play?" Her gaze settles on Amber.

[scalyfreak]

"I don't know." Amber's eyes narrow again, in frustration this time, then clears as she begins to think back to the brief encounter. "When the voice said it was going to find someone else to play with, it was... declarative. It wasn't telling me something it was planning to do, it was stating a fact. If it's still here, I don't think it's watching us anymore."

[Luccan]

Well, whatever it is, we won't find it standing around, he nods to the trail as his hand tightens on the shortbow We're all together now, so lets go. His tone is agitated and the golden orbs of his eyes dart back and forth, searching for whatever might have made the sound or perhaps simply warier now that foes could be about.

[Silent_p]

Haranna casts a final glance around, a faint grimace crossing her face. "I'd worry what this voice might do to others but maybe moving on will keep its focus on us."