Jove listens intently while everyone describes where they came from. When the orc subject came up, he says "orcs from Toril have a brash and cut throat society, which many perceive as savage and evil, sometimes rightfully so. Goliaths for example, have a similar society to orcs, but focus their savagery into sports and games. My point is, there is something in each creature's nature that determines what they are good at from birth. Orcs are strong and brandish weapons. Many elves are wise and take up the mantle of scholar. But that isn't to say an elf can't be a fighter. Or an orc can't be a cleric."
"From what I can tell, these prescriptive traits make their society shift toward one thing or another, but each creature can mold its own path. And I have noticed that these creatures that take the life they are given, and make something new out of it, those who press the boundaries, those are the ones who become great monarchs or heroes."
"Take Harmony for example. Many might wrongfully deduce that because of her infernal appearance that she means ill. But we can all clearly see she is a gentle soul. She enlightened an entire crowd with Aria. Our roles are DEscriptive. Not PREscriptive. We make what we can with what we are given."
He pauses for a second. He probably overshare a bit on his philosophy.
"Say, Oli. What does the word "Sunder" mean to you?"
"Fascinating...tiefling and halfling..." Oli mutters, furiously scribbling notes while Harmony explains her heritage and Jove explains Toril's orcs, looking up to respond, "Sunder...as in to tear or split something?"
Five days later, the forest comes to an end...abruptly. The environment is not a gradual transition. One step is on a leaf-covered forest floor; the next step is on desert sand.
"I'm not from here, but I'm guessing that forests don't just magically turn into deserts. Is this the work of the Ice Basilisk?" And while she waits for an answer, Olive just picks up some sand and holds it for a few moments before letting the grains slip through her fingers. "I've never come across a desert before. Can't say that I like the feel of sand."
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Xenophon: Topaz Dragonborn Fighter (ixi's Dragon of Icespire Peak)
Harmony had listened to Jove talk about how creatures have prescriptive traits that make them good at or shift toward one thing but that isn't always the case and those that don't are the ones who become great heroes or monarchs. She agreed with him, smiling as he used her as an example since by her infernal appearance she looks like she means ill but is actually a gentle soul and how we make what we can with what we have. "Yes, exactly. Thank you. I wish that everyone thought the same like you Jove." Harmony had said back to him, glad to have such accepting friends like this. After five more days of walking, she was extremely surprised to see that the forest ended so weirdly, going straight into the desert with their next step. She heard Olive ask Oli if the Ice Basilisk was the cause for this, thinking that if she only had a place to change in, she could put on a costume more appropriate for the desert heat.
Jove says, "This desert is quite strange, indeed. The abruptness speaks to the magical nature of the basilisk. If you all don't mind, I'd like to take about ten minutes and look around for traces of magic."I.e. cast detect magic as a ritual.
He sits down and draws eyes all over his body in ink. When the ritual is complete, the eyes have a faint blue glow. After this is done, Jove will walk swiftly in the front of the pack, trying not to waste the duration of the spell. I want to see as much as I can with detect magic.
Jove detects magic upon completion of the spell, but upon focusing on the aura realizes that the only magic in sight are the boots that he wears. Despite the shift in environment, it seems no magic radiates from within the desert.
The temperature soon shifts to match the surroundings, and the heat is nearly unbearable for the next two days of travel.
The following day, you finally set your eyes upon the Ice Basilisk.
The statue is still a large distance away, but the area immediately surrounding it is clearly out of place. Ahead of you, the desert ends and becomes a field of grass leading up to the statue, which is surrounded for around 100 feet by snow. At the edge of the desert is a small camp that has been set up, around 1000 feet away from the Ice Basilisk. It looks large enough for a half-dozen people. Ahead of you to the left, the grass and desert both end in a similarly cut-out fashion, becoming craggy, mountainous territory; another small camp has been set up at the base of the mountains. Further ahead, past the statue, is a third camp that can barely be seen from this distance, but the surrounding swamplike area it lies in can be seen clearly.
"That's weird, there's all these camps here. Either someone set these up for us beforehand, or someone's a really bad survivalist, because no one just up and leaves camps set up in the middle of the wild for nothing."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Xenophon: Topaz Dragonborn Fighter (ixi's Dragon of Icespire Peak)
Abraxas peers at the closest camp. Is there any activity he can perceive? He's investigating for occupants. "Are the camps abandoned?" he says. "Oli are these the camps of earlier groups sent to investigate or something else?"
As her companions observe from afar, Isabella is squinting and walking closer to get a better look because she is having trouble making out any details at this distance.
Abraxas and Isabella spot activity from the closest camp, in the desert. There are at least four humanoids between the tents, and it appears they have spotted the party as well, as they begin to make their way across the sands toward you.
Four in total, they carry no weapons, and are outfitted very plainly, in simple robes that match the color of the sand around them.
Isabella continues to walk forward, a big smile on her face, and Roxy protests, flapping her wings while perched on Iz's shoulder. Iz waves at the approaching people, "Hail friends, and well met! I'm Isabella, though most folk call me Iz!" Once within a few paces, she'll offer a hand out in greeting.
Abraxas follows Iz. He watches the four men carefully, thinking about how spells can be sculpted, but instead readies Mage Armor in case the men seem hostile.
Harmony was fanning herself and trying to keep cool as she felt the heat of the desert for the next two days. But finally they made it to the statue, surprised and confused to see the desert end into grass and snow around the statue. There was also mountainous area as well to the left and swamps past the statue as well, noticing all these camps here too. "Looks like there must have been a lot of people here." she had said, glancing around and wondering why so many people would camp by the statue. That was when she too saw the four humanoids sand-colored simple robes come walking over to them as she quickly made her way forward along with Isabella. "Hello, I'm Harmony! It's nice to meet you all. What are your names?" she then happily greeted and asked with a smile, offering her hand out too. She was just happy to finally have met other people after all this time of traveling without seeing any other humanoids.
OOC: Are we able to see enough of these humanoids to get a clue about what race they are?
Olive doesn't know who these human are or what they're doing here, but if Isabella and Harmony are willing to trust them, so is she. "Hello! I'm Olive. What brings you all out here today?"
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Xenophon: Topaz Dragonborn Fighter (ixi's Dragon of Icespire Peak)
As they move closer, it becomes evident that the small group are humans; two women and two men, nearing middle age. "Well met," one of the women calls out. "I am Clarette. This is Vivianne, and these are our husbands, Garlan and Amo."
The others bow respectfully, and Garlan answers Olive, "We are pilgrims. We are on a holy trek to the shrine of Hnaska. And what brings you here? Passing through, or are you seeking this fascinating statue?"
"Nice to meet you. My friends and I have been sent to investigate the Ice Basilisk statue. We were told that it's been causing some disturbances in nature."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Xenophon: Topaz Dragonborn Fighter (ixi's Dragon of Icespire Peak)
"A pleasure to meet you all! Pilgrims huh? Where is the shrine? Who's Hnaska? Are you camping here for the evening? Does the Basilisk mean anything specific to you? Or is it the Ice that fascinates you? Are you natives of this land or did you find yourselves here randomly as well? Oh yeah, we found ourselves here mysteriously after falling asleep, I keep thinking I'll go to sleep and wake up back home, I hope someone came to gather the buck I slew, otherwise... it's probably pretty gross by now. Oh... sorry, where are my manners, this is Roxy..." Iz goes on until someone else stops her or wants to speak.
Jove gives a half-assed formal bow in return. "I'm Jove. What Iz is trying to say, I think, is we are adventurers, some would call us heroes, and we come from far away to help. We heard there were some disturbances, as Olive said. Is there any information that you could help us with?"
"It is a pleasure to meet you all as well," Amo says. "The shrine is far to the east, in Lisanbre-Nehrad. I am not surprised that you do not know of Hnaska, our beloved deity of knowledge and magic. There are not many followers in Ruskivek, as the journey is long and difficult."
Clarette continues, "We too have heard of the disturbance caused by the Ice Basilisk, but we were surprised to see the change it has wrought in this territory. Our maps described only a forest surrounding Loch Varokaj, but it seems most of the water itself has been changed by this...thing. We believe that Hnaska is calling us to seek the knowledge of the Ice Basilisk, but unfortunately we have not been able to approach. There are camps of nomads and goblins that prevent us from doing so. They have us in a bit of a standoff, I'm afraid...both have been corrupted by the statue and claim it as theirs; no doubt they are watching us even as we speak. Do you think you would be able to help us?"
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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Jove listens intently while everyone describes where they came from. When the orc subject came up, he says "orcs from Toril have a brash and cut throat society, which many perceive as savage and evil, sometimes rightfully so. Goliaths for example, have a similar society to orcs, but focus their savagery into sports and games. My point is, there is something in each creature's nature that determines what they are good at from birth. Orcs are strong and brandish weapons. Many elves are wise and take up the mantle of scholar. But that isn't to say an elf can't be a fighter. Or an orc can't be a cleric."
"From what I can tell, these prescriptive traits make their society shift toward one thing or another, but each creature can mold its own path. And I have noticed that these creatures that take the life they are given, and make something new out of it, those who press the boundaries, those are the ones who become great monarchs or heroes."
"Take Harmony for example. Many might wrongfully deduce that because of her infernal appearance that she means ill. But we can all clearly see she is a gentle soul. She enlightened an entire crowd with Aria. Our roles are DEscriptive. Not PREscriptive. We make what we can with what we are given."
He pauses for a second. He probably overshare a bit on his philosophy.
"Say, Oli. What does the word "Sunder" mean to you?"
--- --- We want Grung! --- ---
~https://www.dmsguild.com/browse.php?author=DragonbornDoug ~
"Fascinating...tiefling and halfling..." Oli mutters, furiously scribbling notes while Harmony explains her heritage and Jove explains Toril's orcs, looking up to respond, "Sunder...as in to tear or split something?"
Five days later, the forest comes to an end...abruptly. The environment is not a gradual transition. One step is on a leaf-covered forest floor; the next step is on desert sand.
See my profile for all my PbP threads!
"I'm not from here, but I'm guessing that forests don't just magically turn into deserts. Is this the work of the Ice Basilisk?" And while she waits for an answer, Olive just picks up some sand and holds it for a few moments before letting the grains slip through her fingers. "I've never come across a desert before. Can't say that I like the feel of sand."
Xenophon: Topaz Dragonborn Fighter (ixi's Dragon of Icespire Peak)
More
Harmony had listened to Jove talk about how creatures have prescriptive traits that make them good at or shift toward one thing but that isn't always the case and those that don't are the ones who become great heroes or monarchs. She agreed with him, smiling as he used her as an example since by her infernal appearance she looks like she means ill but is actually a gentle soul and how we make what we can with what we have. "Yes, exactly. Thank you. I wish that everyone thought the same like you Jove." Harmony had said back to him, glad to have such accepting friends like this. After five more days of walking, she was extremely surprised to see that the forest ended so weirdly, going straight into the desert with their next step. She heard Olive ask Oli if the Ice Basilisk was the cause for this, thinking that if she only had a place to change in, she could put on a costume more appropriate for the desert heat.
Jove says, "This desert is quite strange, indeed. The abruptness speaks to the magical nature of the basilisk. If you all don't mind, I'd like to take about ten minutes and look around for traces of magic."I.e. cast detect magic as a ritual.
He sits down and draws eyes all over his body in ink. When the ritual is complete, the eyes have a faint blue glow. After this is done, Jove will walk swiftly in the front of the pack, trying not to waste the duration of the spell. I want to see as much as I can with detect magic.
--- --- We want Grung! --- ---
~https://www.dmsguild.com/browse.php?author=DragonbornDoug ~
Jove detects magic upon completion of the spell, but upon focusing on the aura realizes that the only magic in sight are the boots that he wears. Despite the shift in environment, it seems no magic radiates from within the desert.
The temperature soon shifts to match the surroundings, and the heat is nearly unbearable for the next two days of travel.
The following day, you finally set your eyes upon the Ice Basilisk.
The statue is still a large distance away, but the area immediately surrounding it is clearly out of place. Ahead of you, the desert ends and becomes a field of grass leading up to the statue, which is surrounded for around 100 feet by snow. At the edge of the desert is a small camp that has been set up, around 1000 feet away from the Ice Basilisk. It looks large enough for a half-dozen people. Ahead of you to the left, the grass and desert both end in a similarly cut-out fashion, becoming craggy, mountainous territory; another small camp has been set up at the base of the mountains. Further ahead, past the statue, is a third camp that can barely be seen from this distance, but the surrounding swamplike area it lies in can be seen clearly.
See my profile for all my PbP threads!
"That's weird, there's all these camps here. Either someone set these up for us beforehand, or someone's a really bad survivalist, because no one just up and leaves camps set up in the middle of the wild for nothing."
Xenophon: Topaz Dragonborn Fighter (ixi's Dragon of Icespire Peak)
More
Abraxas peers at the closest camp. Is there any activity he can perceive? He's investigating for occupants. "Are the camps abandoned?" he says. "Oli are these the camps of earlier groups sent to investigate or something else?"
Death on the Water and Baldur's Gate Bodyguard
As her companions observe from afar, Isabella is squinting and walking closer to get a better look because she is having trouble making out any details at this distance.
~♡~
"Your guess is as good as mine," Oli says.
Abraxas and Isabella spot activity from the closest camp, in the desert. There are at least four humanoids between the tents, and it appears they have spotted the party as well, as they begin to make their way across the sands toward you.
Four in total, they carry no weapons, and are outfitted very plainly, in simple robes that match the color of the sand around them.
See my profile for all my PbP threads!
Isabella continues to walk forward, a big smile on her face, and Roxy protests, flapping her wings while perched on Iz's shoulder. Iz waves at the approaching people, "Hail friends, and well met! I'm Isabella, though most folk call me Iz!" Once within a few paces, she'll offer a hand out in greeting.
~♡~
Abraxas follows Iz. He watches the four men carefully, thinking about how spells can be sculpted, but instead readies Mage Armor in case the men seem hostile.
Death on the Water and Baldur's Gate Bodyguard
Harmony was fanning herself and trying to keep cool as she felt the heat of the desert for the next two days. But finally they made it to the statue, surprised and confused to see the desert end into grass and snow around the statue. There was also mountainous area as well to the left and swamps past the statue as well, noticing all these camps here too. "Looks like there must have been a lot of people here." she had said, glancing around and wondering why so many people would camp by the statue. That was when she too saw the four humanoids sand-colored simple robes come walking over to them as she quickly made her way forward along with Isabella. "Hello, I'm Harmony! It's nice to meet you all. What are your names?" she then happily greeted and asked with a smile, offering her hand out too. She was just happy to finally have met other people after all this time of traveling without seeing any other humanoids.
OOC: Are we able to see enough of these humanoids to get a clue about what race they are?
Olive doesn't know who these human are or what they're doing here, but if Isabella and Harmony are willing to trust them, so is she. "Hello! I'm Olive. What brings you all out here today?"
Xenophon: Topaz Dragonborn Fighter (ixi's Dragon of Icespire Peak)
More
As they move closer, it becomes evident that the small group are humans; two women and two men, nearing middle age. "Well met," one of the women calls out. "I am Clarette. This is Vivianne, and these are our husbands, Garlan and Amo."
The others bow respectfully, and Garlan answers Olive, "We are pilgrims. We are on a holy trek to the shrine of Hnaska. And what brings you here? Passing through, or are you seeking this fascinating statue?"
See my profile for all my PbP threads!
"Nice to meet you. My friends and I have been sent to investigate the Ice Basilisk statue. We were told that it's been causing some disturbances in nature."
Xenophon: Topaz Dragonborn Fighter (ixi's Dragon of Icespire Peak)
More
"A pleasure to meet you all! Pilgrims huh? Where is the shrine? Who's Hnaska? Are you camping here for the evening? Does the Basilisk mean anything specific to you? Or is it the Ice that fascinates you? Are you natives of this land or did you find yourselves here randomly as well? Oh yeah, we found ourselves here mysteriously after falling asleep, I keep thinking I'll go to sleep and wake up back home, I hope someone came to gather the buck I slew, otherwise... it's probably pretty gross by now. Oh... sorry, where are my manners, this is Roxy..." Iz goes on until someone else stops her or wants to speak.
~♡~
Jove gives a half-assed formal bow in return. "I'm Jove. What Iz is trying to say, I think, is we are adventurers, some would call us heroes, and we come from far away to help. We heard there were some disturbances, as Olive said. Is there any information that you could help us with?"
--- --- We want Grung! --- ---
~https://www.dmsguild.com/browse.php?author=DragonbornDoug ~
At the word heroes, Iz lets out a loud "Hah!" and then clasps both hands over her mouth.
~♡~
"It is a pleasure to meet you all as well," Amo says. "The shrine is far to the east, in Lisanbre-Nehrad. I am not surprised that you do not know of Hnaska, our beloved deity of knowledge and magic. There are not many followers in Ruskivek, as the journey is long and difficult."
Clarette continues, "We too have heard of the disturbance caused by the Ice Basilisk, but we were surprised to see the change it has wrought in this territory. Our maps described only a forest surrounding Loch Varokaj, but it seems most of the water itself has been changed by this...thing. We believe that Hnaska is calling us to seek the knowledge of the Ice Basilisk, but unfortunately we have not been able to approach. There are camps of nomads and goblins that prevent us from doing so. They have us in a bit of a standoff, I'm afraid...both have been corrupted by the statue and claim it as theirs; no doubt they are watching us even as we speak. Do you think you would be able to help us?"
See my profile for all my PbP threads!