1648: Stranded in a Foreign World IC

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Darius

"It looks like some powerful magic, Auntie. I'll head back to the center of town and try to share information with others. So far I haven't seen anyone hurt; Mairead was with me and now she's gone back to check on Grandfather."
"Until we get some knowledgeable people to detect magic and other forces at work here, I wouldn't cross that line in the ground, or even reach over it! And I would otherwise get everything ready for whatever could happen next -- be ready to shelter in your house with your animals if there's a swarm of vermin, but also pack a bag to be ready to leave if there's a fire or a flood. We just don't know anything right now."

[JbeJ275]

Prudence

No-one seems to be sure what's going on here, there seem to be no special relationships or clues on the map or in the arrangement of the circles.

Qamar and Samuel

Skir and Gill both eventually hear your cries, and allow you to catch up before continuing on towards the centre of town. They are not very talkative, seemingly also very shaken but describe seeing a barrier similiar to your own views, before both falling over and coming to on the floor.

When you arrive back in the green, next to the inn which serves as a local centre things are in dissaray. No violencce has boken out but panic is steadiy mounting and who knows where it could end up if some direcction or re-assurance is not given.

Darius

Your Aunt nods her assent and ducks back into her house to prepare her things. As you wheel back around you see the same panisked people, they seem to have also came to the conclusion that they're no far from home, but are left only to panic past that point.

[Thundercracker]

Samuel Arvandor

Samuel tried to reassure Skir and Gil, and Qamar as well, on the way back to town. If what he suspected was true, that they'd been mass teleported somewhere, then they'd most likely need to rely on each other in what might be a dangerous place.

Spoiler

Show

diplomacy take 10 for 34 to improve attitude on the sheep farmer and his shady buddy.

As the son of the local lord, Sam felt it was his responsibility to reassure the populace. He stood up on top of a chair or table so everyone could see him.
"Everyone, your attention please!" he said loudly, "yes, something unknown and very magical has happened. I promise you, we will get through this together, for we are Citallon, and we are all citizens of Adelar. First, I need to know, are there any injured who need tended to?"

Spoiler

Show

diplomacy, calm the crowd down, take 10 for 34

[Metastachydium]

Despite her best effort, lacking in both speed and stamina, Qamar lags somewhat behind the others all the way back to the town. Adding insult to injury, she focuses too hard on trying to keep up to mind her surroundings and runs straight into Gil just as the man slows down not far from the inn, only catching her balance in the last second.So… sorry… Sir… she pants, obviously winded, touching his upper arm in a manner gently apologetic.
Not waiting for a response, she then pulls away and looks around. Samuel's words barely reach her mind. She's safely back in town, and while she feels bad about disappearing on the young nobleman, he seems to be in his element. She won't be missed and she must find her parents, as soon as possible. She slips through the crowd, moving faster and faster until she's running again with fierce determination.

[Toliudar]

Prudence

As she watches some guy get up a chair, Prudence is, privately, happy that someone is taking charge. It was clear that he had no idea what was going on either. Which was both unsettling and reassuring. She also watched a green elf dart OUT of the square, which seemed...random and weird, but barely registering on the scale of random and weird for this morning.

As the guy on the chair dealt with any injured, Prudence slowly made her way through the crowd around him and waited until there was the prospect of eye contact. She pulled out the map that had mysteriously appeared to her.

"Hey! You know anything about maps or symbols or such? When the world...changed, this showed up in front of me. Can't figure it out for the life of me."

She holds up but does not offer to hand over the map.

[Thundercracker]

Samuel Arvandor

Once he's satisfied any injured are being tended to (he will use a charge from his healing belt if necessary), Sam looked around. If they'd teleported, some people might have been left behind.
"I need a volunteer to put together a list of anyone missing," he said.

Once that was settled and in progress, he noticed a half-elf holding up a map.

Sam hopped off the table.

"Hi, I don't think I recognize you," he said, "Samuel Arvandor, my father is the baron of Citallon."

He inspected the map, detecting any magical traces and briefly studying ]the symbols.

Spoiler

Show

arcana for the symbols: (1d20+8)[23]
He won't spend the 10 minutes on studying it just yet, until things settle down.

[Toliudar]

Prudence

"Prudence Oksanic, Trader's guild. Nice place you got here. For any given value of 'here'. So is your dad here too? Maybe he knows what's going on."

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Darius

Making his way back to the center of town, Darius puts a hand on the shoulders of various people he knows, asking if they're alright and calmly reassuring them, "We'll figure out what's going on."

He recognizes the baron's son, though he hasn't had much interaction with him previously since he's not one of grandfather's customers, nor is he one of the poorer folks in town that Darius tries to minister to during his free time.

Darius puts his arrow back in his quiver and slips through the small crowd (mostly taller than him) to where he can hear the baron's son and the traveling woman from the inn talking, so he joins in the conversation.

"I don't know what happened, but there's a line at the edge of town beyond which everything is different, as you can see on the horizon."

[Thundercracker]

Samuel Arvandor

"Welcome to Citallon. I left my father to his business earlier this morning," Samuel replied, "I mean to look for him, but given what's happened I'm acting in his stead until I can find him."

Darius

Making his way back to the center of town, Darius puts a hand on the shoulders of various people he knows, asking if they're alright and calmly reassuring them, "We'll figure out what's going on."

He recognizes the baron's son, though he hasn't had much interaction with him previously since he's not one of grandfather's customers, nor is he one of the poorer folks in town that Darius tries to minister to during his free time.

Darius puts his arrow back in his quiver and slips through the small crowd (mostly taller than him) to where he can hear the baron's son and the traveling woman from the inn talking, so he joins in the conversation.

"I don't know what happened, but there's a line at the edge of town beyond which everything is different, as you can see on the horizon."

"I saw it as well," Sam said, then he lowered his voice, "I don't want to cause a panic, but it cut right through a house, that's why I'm concerned about missing people."
"It seems like some mass teleportation spell, but I didn't know magic this powerful existed..." Sam said, louder, "on the bright side, we didn't teleport a mile up in the air."

[Toliudar]

Prudence

Prudence grimaces, tucking away the map for safekeeping for now. She takes Darius' news and Samuel's taking of charge in stride.

"Right then, any of you lot default on a debt to some kind of arch-wizard or something? Any cults to elder evils lurking hereabouts?"

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Darius

"I can't think of anything that would have brought this on. We could check with the mayor and the religious leaders. But I think if we want to find anyone who is hurt or trapped in a building, we should quickly make a patrol of the perimeter of the town where the line in the ground is. Maybe some people on horseback could do it faster. I am a healer and I can go wherever I'm needed."

[JbeJ275]

Samuel

Skir and Gil seem somewhat reassured, and grateful to you in a small way. Though remain quiet and nervous.

You recall and use your training well as your voice cuts through the general murmur of the panicked crowd, no injuries beyond bruises caused as people fell over in the momentary panic of transportation have occured, and those are easily dealt with.

The map itself is imbued with a significant amount of divination magic, but nothing truly impressive. As well as a smaller reserve of evocation magic. You cannot recognise any of the symbols.



Qamar

It takes some time but eventually you arrive at the baron's great house, where you know you're parents where meeting with him this morning. Upon entering the vast entry hall you take a few moments to look through the place. After searching several rooms you come across both your parents lying out along a large bench. Both have their eyes closed but their chests are rising and falling. More worryingly both of them are marked with irregular dark and red splotches across their faces and arms, though rather different on each of them. Your healing training is insufficient to tell you anything about what may have caused this.

From another room, you hear footsteps and the banging of draws and cupboard doors being looked through in a hurry.

[Metastachydium]

Qamar storms through the manor as if it weren't the home of a nobleman she hardly knews. She only slows down for a split second when she finally finds her parents, lying on the broad bench as if on a catafalque. She freezes in horror, her mouth opening and closing. A brief, sharp cry of pure sorrow erupts from her throat, and before the echoes could die down, she darts forward, falling on her knees in front of the bench.
That the two still draw breath does give her some vague comfort, but a raw panic and an utter feeling of helplessness fills her the like of which she's never felt before, not even when she found herself suspended in that starry void. She doesn't dare to touch them or to move even an inch farther from their inert bodies. The marks on their skin draw her eyes upon them with some strange, almost hypnotic force. She would cry but the tears fail to come.
It takes some time for her to realize that there's someone else in the house as well, perhaps in one of the adjacent rooms. She holds her breath for a moment, and then she calls out, as loud as she can manage. Help! I… Someone please help!

[Toliudar]

Prudence

Not seeing anything more useful that she can provide, and with her entire life abruptly put on hold, Prudence raises her hand.

"I don't know this town, but I've got a horse. If somebody wants to show me around, I'll start at one end of town. We've really only got to check on the perimeter, right? Shouldn't take too long."

[JbeJ275]

Qamar

In response to your cries, the door soon flies open to reveal a richly dressed man, marked by a signet ring and a circlet that now sits askew on his brow as the baron. He gives you a look of alarm, almost dropping the poultice he bears in one hand as he makes his way over to you and your parents.

Ah. Qamar. Is Samuel with you? Do you know what happened? There was a distant flash then your parents fell to the floor like this. They seem stable but I'm uncertain what did this. And it may be best that they are taken o a healer in the village rather than left here. I have little training with such matters.

His composure returns to him as he continues speaking, but he still seems very unbalanced by this, and shows no sign of knowing the other effects of this sudden shift in the world.

[Thundercracker]

Prudence

Not seeing anything more useful that she can provide, and with her entire life abruptly put on hold, Prudence raises her hand.

"I don't know this town, but I've got a horse. If somebody wants to show me around, I'll start at one end of town. We've really only got to check on the perimeter, right? Shouldn't take too long."

Samuel Arvandor

Samuel relays what he can discern about the map.

"Right, we need a small group of volunteers to make a circuit of the outskirts of the town," Samuel said, "Darius, Prudence, I'd appreciate if you would join, as well as any other able bodied volunteers."

Samuel looked around. He wanted to go with them, and he wanted to search for his father, but he didn't feel he could leave the townsfolk alone, not just yet anyway.

Spoiler

Show

if sam can find someone to hold down the fort while he sweeps the perimeter with the others, he'll do that; trying to get a semblance of a party together.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Darius

"Right then, let's get your horse from the inn's stable. If there's another horse there someone will let me borrow, I'll ride, but even if I have to walk it will be good to have one horse with us."

[Toliudar]

Prudence

"Done and done."

Prudence returns to her horse in the town square and mounts up. Once one of the locals sets a course, she does her best to follow. Although Prudence wants to help, she's floundering a bit here. She doesn't know the buildings, has no idea what to make of the situation, and her magic isn't of the 'lift a collapsed wall off a wailing baby' variety. For now, she'll hold back and watch for any opportunities.

"Hey, Baron-son! While we're checking to see who came along on this crazy ride, It might be good to set a watch for what might be coming IN from out there. No telling what critters might be in the new neighbourhood."

[Metastachydium]

Qamar, disturbingly pale and visibly trembling, looks up at the baron. She takes a long moment to steady her breathing and shifts her gaze back up on her parents before returning it to the nobleman again. My lord. she begins to speak at last, timidly and slowly at first. Her own voice rings hollow in her ears. I… I really don't know, we were heading out on the road and a wall of light appeared and it became brighter and brighter until everything was light and then I saw things and fell and the wall was not there anymore, but neither were the fields, just scrubs and strange hills I've never seen before, all around the town as if it was all just… Picked up from where it was and dropped somewhere else, and then the young lord took me to the house of some shepherd, Skir, I think was the name and his fence was gone and a corner of his house disappeared, as if it were just cut off and he ran and we ran and we ended up back in town in front of the inn and there were panicked people everywhere and the young lord spoke to them to calm everyone and I ran off to find Mother and Father and found them like this and I don't know what to do now… she talks faster and faster, the pitch of her voice rising ever higher and by the time she's finished her long, erratic sentence she's already sobbing.

[Thundercracker]

Samuel Arvandor

“Agreed on both counts,” Sam said, “but let’s make sure we know who is here before we start sending out patrols, otherwise we won’t know who is missing. I was traveling with one other, an elf. Her parents are meeting with my father, so it’s as good a place to start as any, and we can gather any extra supplies we need there.”

Spoiler

Show

oocly trying to get the party together.

[JbeJ275]

Qamar

It's okay Qamar. You hear me girl. If what you say is true then I need you to do as I say right now. They're stable, but I can't do much more than keep them that way. You need to go into town and fetch one Gasper Sungold as quickly as possible. Once you've done that, find Samuel and bring him back here with you. He's too untested for a situation like this and will have no hope if panic sets in. Once you've done that I'll be able to restore some discipline. I understand this puts a great deal of pressure on you, but your parents need you to step up. Do you understand me?

All of this is said in a steady tone, as he holds a poultice to your fathers side, and begins picking out a selecction fo other herbs with his other hand.

Samuel, Prudence and Darius

It's the work of some time, to dispel the panic, learn who is and isn't accounted for and begin saddling up the horses. The process is sped up somewhat when Darius' Grandfather arrives Mairead in tow, the small fellow's nerves holding up better under the strain than most as he brings out a few calming tinctures for the most hysterical and kind words and a good bedside manner for the others. But all in all, it's close to an hour past the intial flash when you depart from the centre of the village.

You approach the baronial house shortly, breaching through a copse of broad trees that seperate the grounds of the house from the farms outside. As you do, Prudence spots the outline of a humanoid figure around 120ft away crouching in some brush, it's clearly facing her direction and is holding a strange artificial looking stick in its hands. One end near his shoulder. Behind the first such figure you can see several other similiar ones, less than ten but you struggle to get an exact count. Just past that, the place where the barrier emerged renders seeing further difficult, due to the cliff and changing terrain on the other side.

[Thundercracker]

Samuel Arvandor

Completely oblivious of the intruders, Sam continues chatting with the others much as he has the entire trip. Part of this is to get to know the others better, and part of it is to relieve the tension of being thrown into a completely unknown situation.

[Metastachydium]

Still sobbing and shaking, Qamar meets the baron's gaze and nods twice. Yes, my Lord. she says, collecting herself somewhat and scurrying back to her feet. She gives the man a small, sad smile before adding a quick Thank you, my Lord. and without further ado, she bolts for the door, dashing through room after room and then through the courtyard. This can be fixed. This can be fixed. she keeps repeating in her head, drawing strength from the notion.
She's some distance away from the manor already when she realizes that she has no idea who this Gaspar Sungold is or where she is to find him. At this point, however she has no time to turn around. Samuel will be there and he'll know. He seems to know everyone. All she has to do is find him.
Steeling herself, she soldiers on, running as fast as she can. Mother and Father need her. She must not fail now.

[Toliudar]

Prudence

Well, if the natives are only armed with sticks, maybe we'll be all right here.

Prudence glances at her colleagues, trying to signal that there's something up ahead, and then holds her arms out and up, showing that she is unarmed.

"Hello! We come in peace! We would like to make friends and explore the many different flavours of beer that our peoples have created. My name is Prudence. Who are you?"

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Diplomacy: (1d20+17)[26]

[JbeJ275]

Qamar

As you rush downstairs and out of the house you come face to face with three humans, none of which you recognise. Two are in pale brown tunics and have swords on their belts, both standing in front of you and holding long metal rods in hand pointing them in your direction. The third is sitting atop a horse, with a different style of sword on his belt and a red tunic covered on the front by metal armour. All wear headscarves, though the mounted man's is different in style to the other two. As you break through the doors they first recoil in what seems like shock, then the man on the horse cries out.

Durmak. Sen kimsin? Şimdi bizimle geleceksin yoksa seni iblisleri yere sereriz.

You hear other similiarly gibberish words from the other side of the house.

Samuel, Prudence and Darius

At Prudence's call, the figures step closer. Showing four men dressed in pale tunics, one calls back momentarily and your hear the sounds of hoofbeats behind them as a mounted figure also approaches slowly. All of them seem to be human and male. The closest one calls back out to you.

Beni anlayabiliyor musun? Sen kimsin, buraya nasıl geldin? Yunan mısın? Ell... Elliniká?

You hear other similiarly gibberish words from the other side of the house.

[Toliudar]

Prudence

Prudence turns to her colleagues and murmurs.

"I have magic to translate this gibberish, but it'll only last half an hour or so. Pass me anything you want said or asked, I guess."

Hoping that her initial words don't scare off the four strangers, Prudence briefly pulls out a tiny clay shape from a bag at her belt, then crushes it as she speaks a word of power. She tries again to speak with the four men, this time in their language.

"Gentlemen, hello! My name is Prudence, and these are Samuel and Darius. We are strangers here, but we mean no harm. May we approach, so that all of us can speak without shouting back and forth?"

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Prudence casts Tongues on herself.

[Thundercracker]

Samuel Arvandor

"Handy," Sam said in response to the spell.

"Let's see what they say first," Sam said.
He adjusted the circlet on his head, a clear sign of his noble lineage.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Darius

While Darius is no stranger to magic, he is a bit surprised when the words coming out of the traveling woman's mouth - Prudence, was it? - are changed to a language he has never heard before. He can only hope she knows what she's doing. He decides to act casual... if these are foes, he is lacking both the advantage of surprise and of numbers.

[Metastachydium]

Qamar freezes almost instantly at the sight of the three armed men. Awed by the commanding voice she raises her hands before her defensively and backs down somewhat. I don't… I don't understand. she stutters. What on earth is happening? Who are these people? Did they come from the strange hills? I… I must… she tries to continue, but she bites off the end of the sentence. She can't actually go anywhere. She'd leave Mother and Father with these people. They came in arms. They might mean harm. Her eyes tear up again at the thought. This isn't fair. This shouldn't be happening.
Trying her best to appear as harmless as possible, she begins to slowly inch backwards. She must warn the baron. She owes him that much and he should know what to do.

[JbeJ275]

Samuel, Prudence and Darius

Strangers? What? You will stay right there, we wil come to you.

At that, two of the men lift up the sticks high with one end to the shoulder the other pointing in your direction, while the other two footmen and a man on horseback start walking slowly and carefully towards you, their eyes scanning you for any movement. As the three who approached draw close the man on horseback speaks.

So. Who are you devils claiming to be? And what magic brought you to here?

Qamar

As you begin to back away. the man on horseback gives a command, and the closer of the men on foot lunges towards you and tries to grab hold of your arm. The other puts away the stick and draws the sword from his belt, speaking some more of these foreign words back to the commander as he does so.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

You may choose to take an attack of oppurtunity as this guy attepts to grapple you.
(1d20+3)[7] needing 11 to land it from them.