Tyrol races west, attempting to gore a manes as it leaves the abandoned army camp.
Attack: 10 Damage: 3
The group runs for what feels like 10 minutes but is really more than 20 minutes before they slow to a stop in a sparse copse of trees. First, Keyrie stops to wait for the others to catch up but, as they do, they can see back across the gentle hills that they have not been followed. Still, everyone takes a chance to catch their breath, ready to run if fiends or demons appear on the horizon. They have run more than a mile, putting them almost halfway back to the Long Road.
Gentoa is still whimpering and a feminine voice calls from up high in a tree, "Shush, child."Gentoa, looking up, falls silent.
Weapons ready, Dog is the first to spot the woman lounging in the tree 25 feet away. She is slight with a cherubic face, a lopsided grin on it. She sits up, revealing, well, almost everything, since she seems to not share the modesty of civilized creatures. Her clothing appears to consist of mainly a collecting of leaves artfully sticking to her person. It is clearly a dryad, now with her feet dangling from the tree branch that barely bows at her weight.
"I bet you are regretting letting that god between your legs right now," she says.
"Excuse me?" Neventi says, anger tinging her voice.
"Don't get me wrong. I understand. Given the chance I would make many dryad babies with Milil," she says, swinging her legs back and forth.
"Excuse me?" Nev says again.
"But it should be clear by now," the dryad says, "that life will never be normal. That child is a prison sentence for you and possibly for her."
"How dare you speak of..." Nev says, sputtering in her anger.
"She is adorable, though. Milil makes beautiful children. So, anyway, which prison are you going to choose? The warlock or the king?"
Nev takes nearly a full 20 seconds to process the fast-talking dryad's words. "That's none of your business," she says, eventually.
"That's true," the dryad says. "And frankly, it doesn't concern me what you choose. I'm only here to present the third option, that of a neutral party."
"If you think I will go anywhere with..."
"Oh, please. I'm just the messenger," the dryad says, "The cloud giant Mardek offers his home as sanctuary to you and your daughter."
Neventi looks at the others trying to figure out how to continue being outraged. Tyrol just shrugs unhelpfully.
"Yeah, okay, what's the catch?"
"No catch," the dryad says, examining her fingernails. "If you leave, he can no longer offer his protection, but while staying in his cloud estate, he vows you will be safe. No concessions are necessary. You may raise your daughter as you see fit. You will both be provided for comfortably. You will be left alone when you wish to be and you may leave whenever you wish."
"But we will only be protected while in his care..." Nev says.
"That's all there is to it," the dryad says, standing on the branch. "You don't need to decide yet. It is a long way to any of your choices. You will need to sail 10 miles beyond the port of Delphendria to reach the cloud giant's estate. He doesn't much care for the company of men or the kingdom of Alcion. Since Delphendria is very nearly at the end of the Long Road, you might as well decide on the way. Until then, I'll offer a little help. Thirty miles due south of here, sadly not right next to the Long Road, is the ruins of an old monastery. It is still consecrated ground and you will find it a safe haven from demons and their like."
Thirty miles is a long day's walk. Probably close to 10 hours, with a child. It is now late afternoon, so some decisions are necessary if any travel is to be planned.
"Best of luck to you, lover of Milil." And the dryad slips into the tree she stands on, disappearing from sight.
Nev is clearly seething at the encounter but Gentoa snaps out of her daze and begins to whimper and cry again. This captures Nev's attention while her protectors discuss their next course of action.
"We're not going to get to a monastery tonight. We don't have to decide which if any of the 3 offers we take tonight. Let's move towards the monastery but make camp as soon as we find a secure place before dark. Tomorrow we can discuss the options on the road and we'll at least have a short term destination. "
Keyrie in elk form nods her head with this plan, she will continue to carry the two for as long as they wish to ride, and as long as her form lasts (a total of one hour).
Dog tries to reach after the dryad as she disappears, saying "wait lovely lady! how did you find us? how do we know if the devils and angels can find us? don't go!"
He's a bit taken with her. Whether or not she replies, he will argue to the group that perhaps a march through the night to the safe ground is the best option, given the two powerful magical armies that want to find them (and that found them easily just a few minutes ago) are still very close. He asks if there is anyone familiar with the land between here and the consecrated ground - where could they stay the night if they wanted to stop to sleep? He volunteers to carry the child and anything important that's heavy if exhaustion is the issue. He's tired but tired is better than dead.
A little over 30 minutes later, Keyrie transforms back into her normal form and Nev ties a sling expertly around her shoulder and waist, letting her carry Gentoa for a while, occasionally trading off with Dog and Tyrol. They encounter no problems for 2 hours, daring to stop and have a quiet meal as the sun begins to touch the horizon. There is only about an hour of daylight left and the travelers will have to come to an agreement on how to proceed.
"Nev. Do you feel comfortable pushing on through the night?
( ooc 30 miles, comfortably walking maybe 4mph, if we did a few and another after this pit stop that'd still be 12-16 miles minimum. Get there midnight or later if I'm understanding the situation? )
"So we either rest here out in the open and hope nothing else finds us tonight, or we keep walking under the stars and aim to get to safety by midnight, right? How is everyone feeling? I sometimes forget -- my people are an athletic bunch and I have trouble getting tired."
"If we wish to continue forward it would probably be good to have those that can see in the front and back, or we could use torches, I have quite a few, and my scimitar can give off light as well."
Tock says, "If we do push forward and some of us can see in the dark then we can tie a rope between us and keep going. I would much prefer resting in a safe place after all the events that have happened recently."
"Walking in the dark with no moon seems like a way to get lost, so FeyTok might have a point here. Can we find a place to spend he night that is remotely hidden and defensible? Until we can find a cave, close, canyon, old barn, or rocky bluff that would offer some kind of protection from searchers, the rope idea could work - why don't we keep moving in the right direction and keep our eyes peeled for a good secure location to hide, and as light fades, we try the rope idea and depend on the nightseers to guide us?"
Nev finally weighs in. "Yes, let's keep going. I would rather not find us in the middle of another standoff."
The party presses on as the light fades. Soon, Feytok leads the party. Using a rope to keep each other close and out of trouble proves to be comforting. Gentoa falls asleep in her mother's makeshift sling and the party marches on in silence.
DM Shield:
14
In the distance to the north, behind the travelers, a distinct glow appears. As they continue to march, the glow brightens, indicating the light source is getting closer. There are no trees or large rocks, no caves, ditches, or hills to take cover behind. They walk in open plains and the light source is getting closer rapidly. It doesn't appear to be coming directly at them, but it will pass them by on their left before too long, and they will be hard to miss.
"Is there any way to outrun whatever that is? Anyone recognize it? Anyone have any tricks up their sleeves? I wish I knew magic."
Do we smell anything if we are downwind? Hear anything? Is the light flickering? Can we start to go to the right to see if it will pass by? Investigation/Perception: 10
"I still have a Wild Shape left, I can turn into an elk and take Gentoa and Nev as far away as possible, we can try and find a safe hiding place and then catch up with you guys."
(A little math cause why not, 50ft movement, 100ft a turn if sprinting. A round is 6 second, 10 rounds in a minute, that 1,000ft in a minute. 60 minutes in an hour, so 60,000ft in an hour. A mile is 5,280ft is 11.36 miles. So I could go 11.36 miles as an Elk just sprinting. Would that be far enough to get them to the monastery from where we are?)
Tyrol races west, attempting to gore a manes as it leaves the abandoned army camp.
Attack: 10 Damage: 3
The group runs for what feels like 10 minutes but is really more than 20 minutes before they slow to a stop in a sparse copse of trees. First, Keyrie stops to wait for the others to catch up but, as they do, they can see back across the gentle hills that they have not been followed. Still, everyone takes a chance to catch their breath, ready to run if fiends or demons appear on the horizon. They have run more than a mile, putting them almost halfway back to the Long Road.
Gentoa is still whimpering and a feminine voice calls from up high in a tree, "Shush, child." Gentoa, looking up, falls silent.
Weapons ready, Dog is the first to spot the woman lounging in the tree 25 feet away. She is slight with a cherubic face, a lopsided grin on it. She sits up, revealing, well, almost everything, since she seems to not share the modesty of civilized creatures. Her clothing appears to consist of mainly a collecting of leaves artfully sticking to her person. It is clearly a dryad, now with her feet dangling from the tree branch that barely bows at her weight.
"I bet you are regretting letting that god between your legs right now," she says.
"Excuse me?" Neventi says, anger tinging her voice.
"Don't get me wrong. I understand. Given the chance I would make many dryad babies with Milil," she says, swinging her legs back and forth.
"Excuse me?" Nev says again.
"But it should be clear by now," the dryad says, "that life will never be normal. That child is a prison sentence for you and possibly for her."
"How dare you speak of..." Nev says, sputtering in her anger.
"She is adorable, though. Milil makes beautiful children. So, anyway, which prison are you going to choose? The warlock or the king?"
Nev takes nearly a full 20 seconds to process the fast-talking dryad's words. "That's none of your business," she says, eventually.
"That's true," the dryad says. "And frankly, it doesn't concern me what you choose. I'm only here to present the third option, that of a neutral party."
"If you think I will go anywhere with..."
"Oh, please. I'm just the messenger," the dryad says, "The cloud giant Mardek offers his home as sanctuary to you and your daughter."
Neventi looks at the others trying to figure out how to continue being outraged. Tyrol just shrugs unhelpfully.
"Yeah, okay, what's the catch?"
"No catch," the dryad says, examining her fingernails. "If you leave, he can no longer offer his protection, but while staying in his cloud estate, he vows you will be safe. No concessions are necessary. You may raise your daughter as you see fit. You will both be provided for comfortably. You will be left alone when you wish to be and you may leave whenever you wish."
"But we will only be protected while in his care..." Nev says.
"That's all there is to it," the dryad says, standing on the branch. "You don't need to decide yet. It is a long way to any of your choices. You will need to sail 10 miles beyond the port of Delphendria to reach the cloud giant's estate. He doesn't much care for the company of men or the kingdom of Alcion. Since Delphendria is very nearly at the end of the Long Road, you might as well decide on the way. Until then, I'll offer a little help. Thirty miles due south of here, sadly not right next to the Long Road, is the ruins of an old monastery. It is still consecrated ground and you will find it a safe haven from demons and their like."
Thirty miles is a long day's walk. Probably close to 10 hours, with a child. It is now late afternoon, so some decisions are necessary if any travel is to be planned.
"Best of luck to you, lover of Milil." And the dryad slips into the tree she stands on, disappearing from sight.
Nev is clearly seething at the encounter but Gentoa snaps out of her daze and begins to whimper and cry again. This captures Nev's attention while her protectors discuss their next course of action.
"We're not going to get to a monastery tonight. We don't have to decide which if any of the 3 offers we take tonight. Let's move towards the monastery but make camp as soon as we find a secure place before dark. Tomorrow we can discuss the options on the road and we'll at least have a short term destination. "
Keyrie in elk form nods her head with this plan, she will continue to carry the two for as long as they wish to ride, and as long as her form lasts (a total of one hour).
Dog tries to reach after the dryad as she disappears, saying "wait lovely lady! how did you find us? how do we know if the devils and angels can find us? don't go!"
He's a bit taken with her. Whether or not she replies, he will argue to the group that perhaps a march through the night to the safe ground is the best option, given the two powerful magical armies that want to find them (and that found them easily just a few minutes ago) are still very close. He asks if there is anyone familiar with the land between here and the consecrated ground - where could they stay the night if they wanted to stop to sleep? He volunteers to carry the child and anything important that's heavy if exhaustion is the issue. He's tired but tired is better than dead.
A little over 30 minutes later, Keyrie transforms back into her normal form and Nev ties a sling expertly around her shoulder and waist, letting her carry Gentoa for a while, occasionally trading off with Dog and Tyrol. They encounter no problems for 2 hours, daring to stop and have a quiet meal as the sun begins to touch the horizon. There is only about an hour of daylight left and the travelers will have to come to an agreement on how to proceed.
"Nev. Do you feel comfortable pushing on through the night?
( ooc 30 miles, comfortably walking maybe 4mph, if we did a few and another after this pit stop that'd still be 12-16 miles minimum. Get there midnight or later if I'm understanding the situation? )
(Yep. Midnight-ish is an accurate estimate.)
"So we either rest here out in the open and hope nothing else finds us tonight, or we keep walking under the stars and aim to get to safety by midnight, right? How is everyone feeling? I sometimes forget -- my people are an athletic bunch and I have trouble getting tired."
"You, Tock, and Tyrol may have trouble seeing once the sun goes down "
"It seems like the majority of us wish to continue forward, how many of us can see well in the dark, I for one can not."
" about half I think. I'll keep going if we decide but visibility is part of my concern. "
"If we wish to continue forward it would probably be good to have those that can see in the front and back, or we could use torches, I have quite a few, and my scimitar can give off light as well."
Tock says, "If we do push forward and some of us can see in the dark then we can tie a rope between us and keep going. I would much prefer resting in a safe place after all the events that have happened recently."
"Walking in the dark with no moon seems like a way to get lost, so FeyTok might have a point here. Can we find a place to spend he night that is remotely hidden and defensible? Until we can find a cave, close, canyon, old barn, or rocky bluff that would offer some kind of protection from searchers, the rope idea could work - why don't we keep moving in the right direction and keep our eyes peeled for a good secure location to hide, and as light fades, we try the rope idea and depend on the nightseers to guide us?"
Nev finally weighs in. "Yes, let's keep going. I would rather not find us in the middle of another standoff."
The party presses on as the light fades. Soon, Feytok leads the party. Using a rope to keep each other close and out of trouble proves to be comforting. Gentoa falls asleep in her mother's makeshift sling and the party marches on in silence.
DM Shield:
14
In the distance to the north, behind the travelers, a distinct glow appears. As they continue to march, the glow brightens, indicating the light source is getting closer. There are no trees or large rocks, no caves, ditches, or hills to take cover behind. They walk in open plains and the light source is getting closer rapidly. It doesn't appear to be coming directly at them, but it will pass them by on their left before too long, and they will be hard to miss.
Whispering-"we all see that right? Be ready for trouble. "
"Is there any way to outrun whatever that is? Anyone recognize it? Anyone have any tricks up their sleeves? I wish I knew magic."
Do we smell anything if we are downwind? Hear anything? Is the light flickering? Can we start to go to the right to see if it will pass by? Investigation/Perception: 10
It appears to be galloping and does not see the party yet.
"I still have a Wild Shape left, I can turn into an elk and take Gentoa and Nev as far away as possible, we can try and find a safe hiding place and then catch up with you guys."
(A little math cause why not, 50ft movement, 100ft a turn if sprinting. A round is 6 second, 10 rounds in a minute, that 1,000ft in a minute. 60 minutes in an hour, so 60,000ft in an hour. A mile is 5,280ft is 11.36 miles. So I could go 11.36 miles as an Elk just sprinting. Would that be far enough to get them to the monastery from where we are?)
(Let's find out! The party is 35% of the way to the monastery from their dinner stop. Yup, that makes it about 1 mile away.)