Raviel and Marakhad arrive at the small copse Nuras had briefly described in just under an hour. The copse has very few trees, most of which are the evergreen sort, and the mountain looms even closer than it did from town. Knowing that they'll have to wait an hour at least, Marakhad starts setting up a very temporary camp.
As each group continues towards the copse, those who look to the sky see a star fall far in the east, at least a few weeks on horseback. Looking to the mountain, dark clouds seem to be coming in from further north.
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In response to Danvi's musing, Signe chuckles. "I'd be shocked if we were after that star. If we're going after a star, it's one already on the mountain, not one far, far to the east. Unless Nuras is insane, anyway. Anyway, have you ever tranced during a storm? I've heard it's an amazing experience."
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"And what of you?" Jethro comments to his dwarven companion. "Your fighting style you mentioned favours the battleaxe. Is there other skills you excel at?"
Garadd unslings his bow as he speaks, and prepares to fire an arrow at a nearby tree. "Well, I'm not too bad at archery, though not as good as I am with my axe. Mostly though, I hunt extraplanar threats. I can locate portals to other planes of existence, and also infuse my weapon with planar energies attuned to a certain creature such that when I hit them, they suffer more grievous wounds. I've also got a little bit of magic up my sleeve. It mostly involves channelling planar energy to a variety of effects."
The arrow flies far too short, digging into the ground about halfway between the pair and the tree. Garadd picks up the arrow before continuing along. "Dammit."
Pair by pair, each group eventually arrives at the copse where Marakhad and Raviel wait. Ten minutes after Gretu and Riot arrive, Nuras, still in his elven guise, walks out of the copse from behind a tree. "I see you all made it here without issue. I hope you tried to get to know each other a little bit; knowing where each of you specialises will enable you all to operate in combat more efficiently. I'll be remaining in this shape until we reach the base of the mountain, but know that in combat, and usually outside of it too, I am a dragon; that is my strength. We'll only be going halfway up the mountain, not to the top as some of the rumours suggest. Nevertheless, it will be cold at that point, and it looks like the weather won't exactly help, so I hope you brought warm clothes with you. Shall we go, or do you have any questions?"
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Danvi shivered a bit, anticipating the cold weather ahead. "So are we after the star that's fallen on the mountain?" he asked. "And should we be concerned about those clouds?"
"How long will this climb take? Long exposure to the cold will be detrimental to all and the weather does not seem to fare well for tracking our mark." Riot asks.
"Indeed, there is a star on the mountain, and if we can grab it, that will be good, I'm sure. There is something else I want done while we're there though. As for how long we'll be on the mountain; best case scenario, we'll be there two days, worst case scenario, up to six, depending on the weather. Shall we make our way to the mountain now."
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Danvi nodded along with Jethro. As he faced the mountain, the highlights in his hair briefly flashed blue before returning to the natural green that they were before. "The sooner we leave, the sooner we return. I'm not a fan of the cold."
"Yes, I'm ready." Raviel says, probably not hiding his impatience too well. And have been for 3 days now. He adds in a thought. Having spent most of his time alone, be it researching or travelling, he is really not comfortable with this need to chit-chat. or repetition. Is it repetition, or had there been a prediction? He does not know - sometimes it is hard to distinguish. All he knows is that from the council meeting he knew he would be going to the mountain, investigating the fallen stars and strange sky, it was why he came to this town. They were told what to expect on the mountain by the council when first enquiring then again when they met Nuras and now the question is asked again. Is it really so hard to grasp the concept - trek mountain, may be cold but most of them are, find star or a beast or a clue, fight nasty things along the way if need be like hungry animals or the ogres. This they have known since they first took the mission days ago. So much waiting and caution and questioning over something so easily understood is just baffling to him.
With a sigh he sends Talon up to keep watch from above and get the lay of the hand. As is routine by this point the bird will stay high for the viewpoint and every so often or when there is a change in the path he will come in low enough to relay direction and concerns through the telepathic link. It's not a perfect thing, the hawk cannot form words in the mind and does not understand language sufficiently to give precise details but he understands the directions, as all birds innately do, and can tell the difference between a hazardous path and a safe one and alert to danger. Whenever this telepathy is not enough, Raviel can just stop and see through the hawk's eyes and find things out himself.
With Talon riding the air with grace Raviel starts heading on, not waiting for the others. If he starts going in the wrong direction Nuras can tell him, and can more than catch up. The others can catch up too if they want, he won't be charging ahead at a fast pace, he's not an idiot, just impatient.
"Very well, let us leave then. I see one of us is a tad impatient. To be fair, this is the third opportunity you've been given to ask questions, and yet you still needed ask some. No matter; onward, to the mountain!"
With this, Nuras begins following Raviel, and the rest of the group follows thereafter. By midday, you've reached the base of the mountain, where two paths present themselves. By this point, the storm clouds overhead finally unleash their anger, and it begins to rain heavily. Lighting flashes, and thunder soon follows. Momentarily blinded by the lightning, you blink it away, and realise the Nuras has finally taken his true form - that of a huge green dragon, scales of emerald, and eyes full of cunning. "Of course the storm begins just as the most dangerous leg of our journey begins... Alas, I think we need to push forward, at least until nightfall."
The rain comes down hard and fast, and the already steep rocky path becomes slippery quickly. [Time for a group Dexterity saving throw as you advance the mountain. A single failure will have no adverse affect, but if half or more of the group fails, injuries may occur... (Also please roll for your partner.)]
The wet ground causes Raviel to recall his dream: of Marakhad slipping and getting hurt. Armed with foreknowledge he assists her preventing her from falling as then struggles to ensure he doesn't slip or fall himself!
Of the ten humanoids of the group, only Jethro finds himself in any trouble, finding himself beginning to fall at a particularly steep point in the path. He tries to grab an outstanding rock, but his fingers slip, before a dwarven hand grabs his wrist. "That was a close one, eh?"
The group continues through the rain, which only seems to get more intense as the group continues to ascend. By nightfall, the group is thoroughly soaked, though they are lucky enough to find a cave that slopes upwards, keeping the rain out of it. Signe begins warming his clothes with prestidigitation to dry them, and offers to cast it on the clothes of others. Meanwhile, Nuras returns to his elven guise to join the people out of the cold and wet. "Well, I'm glad to see we've suffered no injuries, except perhaps to an ego or two. I don't think we can get any decent firewood in this weather, but is anyone able to start a fire without some?"
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"I am afraid I cannot but I can keep warm, a bit." Raviel says as he busies himself. Talon finds a perch nearby and begins fussing over his wet feathers.
Raviel gets out his spellbook and begins to ritually cast the Alarm at the mouth of the cave setting it to give out a warning sound if anybody not from this group passes through. He then ritually casts Unseen Servant and instructs it to set up his 2-person tent with a bedroll and blanket within it. Raviel sets up another Alarm around the tent this one triggering a telepathic alarm if anybody not in the group enters. He then explains what he has done.
"Anyone is welcome to make use of the tent with me but you will need to supply your own bedroll or blanket." Raviel says as he sits next to the tent using prestidigitation to dry his robes much like Signe did.
Raviel and Marakhad arrive at the small copse Nuras had briefly described in just under an hour. The copse has very few trees, most of which are the evergreen sort, and the mountain looms even closer than it did from town. Knowing that they'll have to wait an hour at least, Marakhad starts setting up a very temporary camp.
As each group continues towards the copse, those who look to the sky see a star fall far in the east, at least a few weeks on horseback. Looking to the mountain, dark clouds seem to be coming in from further north.
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"I wonder which one is our particular problem," Danvi muttered, his eyes flitting between the star and the dark clouds.
In response to Danvi's musing, Signe chuckles.
"I'd be shocked if we were after that star. If we're going after a star, it's one already on the mountain, not one far, far to the east. Unless Nuras is insane, anyway. Anyway, have you ever tranced during a storm? I've heard it's an amazing experience."
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"And what of you?" Jethro comments to his dwarven companion. "Your fighting style you mentioned favours the battleaxe. Is there other skills you excel at?"
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Garadd unslings his bow as he speaks, and prepares to fire an arrow at a nearby tree.
"Well, I'm not too bad at archery, though not as good as I am with my axe. Mostly though, I hunt extraplanar threats. I can locate portals to other planes of existence, and also infuse my weapon with planar energies attuned to a certain creature such that when I hit them, they suffer more grievous wounds. I've also got a little bit of magic up my sleeve. It mostly involves channelling planar energy to a variety of effects."
The arrow flies far too short, digging into the ground about halfway between the pair and the tree. Garadd picks up the arrow before continuing along.
"Dammit."
Pair by pair, each group eventually arrives at the copse where Marakhad and Raviel wait. Ten minutes after Gretu and Riot arrive, Nuras, still in his elven guise, walks out of the copse from behind a tree.
"I see you all made it here without issue. I hope you tried to get to know each other a little bit; knowing where each of you specialises will enable you all to operate in combat more efficiently. I'll be remaining in this shape until we reach the base of the mountain, but know that in combat, and usually outside of it too, I am a dragon; that is my strength. We'll only be going halfway up the mountain, not to the top as some of the rumours suggest. Nevertheless, it will be cold at that point, and it looks like the weather won't exactly help, so I hope you brought warm clothes with you. Shall we go, or do you have any questions?"
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Danvi shivered a bit, anticipating the cold weather ahead. "So are we after the star that's fallen on the mountain?" he asked. "And should we be concerned about those clouds?"
"How long will this climb take? Long exposure to the cold will be detrimental to all and the weather does not seem to fare well for tracking our mark." Riot asks.
Jethro is keeping quiet again, waiting to see the answer to the others' questions before doing anything.
I wonder what Nuras was expecting in that hour march, he ponders. Are there threats that would be that close to a town's borders?
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"Indeed, there is a star on the mountain, and if we can grab it, that will be good, I'm sure. There is something else I want done while we're there though. As for how long we'll be on the mountain; best case scenario, we'll be there two days, worst case scenario, up to six, depending on the weather. Shall we make our way to the mountain now."
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Jethro nods. "It seems it is time." He says, readying himself for the next leg of the journey.
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Danvi nodded along with Jethro. As he faced the mountain, the highlights in his hair briefly flashed blue before returning to the natural green that they were before. "The sooner we leave, the sooner we return. I'm not a fan of the cold."
Riot nods, "Prepared for the journey, ser Nuras."
"Yes, I'm ready." Raviel says, probably not hiding his impatience too well. And have been for 3 days now. He adds in a thought. Having spent most of his time alone, be it researching or travelling, he is really not comfortable with this need to chit-chat. or repetition. Is it repetition, or had there been a prediction? He does not know - sometimes it is hard to distinguish. All he knows is that from the council meeting he knew he would be going to the mountain, investigating the fallen stars and strange sky, it was why he came to this town. They were told what to expect on the mountain by the council when first enquiring then again when they met Nuras and now the question is asked again. Is it really so hard to grasp the concept - trek mountain, may be cold but most of them are, find star or a beast or a clue, fight nasty things along the way if need be like hungry animals or the ogres. This they have known since they first took the mission days ago. So much waiting and caution and questioning over something so easily understood is just baffling to him.
With a sigh he sends Talon up to keep watch from above and get the lay of the hand. As is routine by this point the bird will stay high for the viewpoint and every so often or when there is a change in the path he will come in low enough to relay direction and concerns through the telepathic link. It's not a perfect thing, the hawk cannot form words in the mind and does not understand language sufficiently to give precise details but he understands the directions, as all birds innately do, and can tell the difference between a hazardous path and a safe one and alert to danger. Whenever this telepathy is not enough, Raviel can just stop and see through the hawk's eyes and find things out himself.
With Talon riding the air with grace Raviel starts heading on, not waiting for the others. If he starts going in the wrong direction Nuras can tell him, and can more than catch up. The others can catch up too if they want, he won't be charging ahead at a fast pace, he's not an idiot, just impatient.
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"Very well, let us leave then. I see one of us is a tad impatient. To be fair, this is the third opportunity you've been given to ask questions, and yet you still needed ask some. No matter; onward, to the mountain!"
With this, Nuras begins following Raviel, and the rest of the group follows thereafter. By midday, you've reached the base of the mountain, where two paths present themselves. By this point, the storm clouds overhead finally unleash their anger, and it begins to rain heavily. Lighting flashes, and thunder soon follows. Momentarily blinded by the lightning, you blink it away, and realise the Nuras has finally taken his true form - that of a huge green dragon, scales of emerald, and eyes full of cunning.
"Of course the storm begins just as the most dangerous leg of our journey begins... Alas, I think we need to push forward, at least until nightfall."
The rain comes down hard and fast, and the already steep rocky path becomes slippery quickly. [Time for a group Dexterity saving throw as you advance the mountain. A single failure will have no adverse affect, but if half or more of the group fails, injuries may occur... (Also please roll for your partner.)]
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Jethro's Dexterity Saving Throw: 10
Garadd's Dexterity Saving Throw: 16
Current Player In: The Guild as Elsara Deepmoon
The wet ground causes Raviel to recall his dream: of Marakhad slipping and getting hurt. Armed with foreknowledge he assists her preventing her from falling as then struggles to ensure he doesn't slip or fall himself!
Marakhad ~ Dexterity Saving Throw: 21 (Portent Ability override by Raviel - d20: 20)
Raviel ~ Dexterity Saving Throw: 17
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Danvi and Signe both moved across the ground with elven grace, as if the water wasn't even there.
[OOC: Danvi's Dex save: 26 | Signe's Dex save: 16 | rolled in discord]
Riot: 17
Gretu: 20
Of the ten humanoids of the group, only Jethro finds himself in any trouble, finding himself beginning to fall at a particularly steep point in the path. He tries to grab an outstanding rock, but his fingers slip, before a dwarven hand grabs his wrist.
"That was a close one, eh?"
The group continues through the rain, which only seems to get more intense as the group continues to ascend. By nightfall, the group is thoroughly soaked, though they are lucky enough to find a cave that slopes upwards, keeping the rain out of it. Signe begins warming his clothes with prestidigitation to dry them, and offers to cast it on the clothes of others. Meanwhile, Nuras returns to his elven guise to join the people out of the cold and wet.
"Well, I'm glad to see we've suffered no injuries, except perhaps to an ego or two. I don't think we can get any decent firewood in this weather, but is anyone able to start a fire without some?"
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"I am afraid I cannot but I can keep warm, a bit." Raviel says as he busies himself. Talon finds a perch nearby and begins fussing over his wet feathers.
Raviel gets out his spellbook and begins to ritually cast the Alarm at the mouth of the cave setting it to give out a warning sound if anybody not from this group passes through. He then ritually casts Unseen Servant and instructs it to set up his 2-person tent with a bedroll and blanket within it. Raviel sets up another Alarm around the tent this one triggering a telepathic alarm if anybody not in the group enters. He then explains what he has done.
"Anyone is welcome to make use of the tent with me but you will need to supply your own bedroll or blanket." Raviel says as he sits next to the tent using prestidigitation to dry his robes much like Signe did.
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