At Arisa's words, Belkas startles out of his reverie. It is indeed time to start moving again. They have an ancient evil dragon to meet and attacks by giants to prevent.
He waves farewell to Gilbert and the others, warmly wishing them well on their travels.
An invisible Crowley lands on his shoulder and touches his mind, 'You do realize that these people you are suddenly so friendly with are the same ones you thought were going to try to kill you in your sleep.'
Crowley nods, 'Yes, but seeing as they didn't, I have much warmer feelings for them this morning.'
He waves again before hefting his backpack onto his back and lifting his spear.
He makes a minor incantation, and the sound of rolling drums fills the air. It is definitely time to start walking again.
Leaving the small group of happy travelers behind, who are headed in the opposite direction towards the sword coast, you begin another day of traveling northward on the Long Road. The route continues to traverse through the hills towards the Village of Amphail, which you should reach by the end of today.
The morning is bright and clear, and the sky above is full of birds, some of them in full song, while others sore silently overhead looking for prey. At one point, you see a dilapidated hunter's cabin that squats uneasily against a rocky hillside. It's not uncommon to see these kind of structures along the main routes in the north.
The path here is well traveled, although a little rocky in spots, as it cuts through the eastern foothills of the Southern chain of the Sword Mountains. Arisa knows that these mountains are home too many orc tribes, some of which occasionally come down into the lower hills and even the lowlands to raid. This is the region where those orcs who raided the Hafling village you visited on the way to Goldenfields would have come from.
Belkas stares up at the hunter's cabin and the mountains rising behind it.
"Do you think we should see if anyone is up there?" he asks the others. "If there is, they may have information about any dangers up ahead or even about the dragon we are looking for."
"Crowley, could you do a flyover and see if there is anything dangerous in sight?"
Crowley flies over the old stone hut, but find it to be completely abandoned. You've seen huts like these before, they dot the countryside all over Faerûn. Often built and used by hunters and shepherds, they usually offer a dry place to rest for weary travelers who seek a roof over their heads, a warm fire, or temporary respite from the elements. However, there's no one hanging around this particular hut right now, nor is there any indication that it's being used as a permanent residence by anyone at this time.
"Although this hut is empty, or at least appears to be empty, Zyllith is right, we should remain on our guard. Someone built and uses these huts. Let's continue on, but keep our eyes and ears open."
“I Agree. Let’s keep moving. Might be a good place to camp if we needed one. But we should move on. I fear by nightfall these hills will be crawling with orcs.” arisa says
“It is early enough yet, we could check the cabin to see if there is anything of interest or use. It might be good to know it js here if we need to shelter. But i am hoping we can reach the village by nightfall.”
Arisa heads up towards the cottage and knocks on the door, out of habit although it seems abandoned.
As Arisa walks up to the solitary hut, Belkas looks around wearily at the surrounding hills for any sign of orcs.
shouts pain whimpers a kick huddling in the dirt rocking back and forth
"Everything okay there boss?" Crowley's voice snaps Belkas out of his memories. "Cause there's some unhealthy dark smoke rising off your tattoos."
Belkas rubs his arms sef-consciously, looking around to see if his companions noticed anything.
"Just some old memories brought back by the scenery," he says, then turns to the others, suddenly glad of their companionship, and asks, "Do we have any idea how much further we need to travel to find our dragon?"
Fortunately, you don't see any immediate signs of orcs nearby. You can imagine that orc parties indeed pass through this area on occasion, but today, this alpine meadow seems empty of any apparent threats.
Arisa approaches the hut and knocks on the old, worn, wooden door that has hung on its hinges for perhaps a hundred years or more. The wood is partially splintered in a couple of spots, and contains numerous nicks an scratches, but otherwise the door is still quite sturdy.
"Ach, aye, let's see whot tha' shack 'ere has ta' offer. But we should be rioght quick about it, so's we're nae caught wit' our briches down when tha' orcs come stompin' through." Zyllith commented as she followed Arisa to the cottage, staying close with rapier ready in case anything jumped out at them
The heavy wooden door gives way with an appropriate amount of resistance, but it swings open with no obstructions or sticking, although there's a brief creak at the mid point. Once its open, she can see into the small cottage. It has a wooden plank floor, a small table and three chairs, a fireplace, a cupboard/shelf and two sets of wooden bunk beds. There's a slight odor of mustiness mixed with charcoal, which is typical of old huts like this, but otherwise, it's in relatively decent shape.
“well, It looks nice. Reminds me a bit of the cabin i grew up in, except that was always filled wirh smells of herbs and concoctions my mom made.”. Arisa looks around a bit more, searching for any clues on former occupants, and to see how secure it would be as a retreat, if needed.
The hut seems like it gets regular activity, and there is even a small bundle of firewood by the stove. You also see some old rags, a couple of half burned candles and a few strips of leather. You guess that travelers often take refuge in here, although it doesn't look like anyone has been here for at least a few days or more. Being a small, but study stone cabin, it would seem at offer at last some level of security against minor threats, certainly things like wolves and other roving beasts. Against a orc party, probably not so much.
As you walk across the floor in the corner of the hut, your feet step on a loose floorboard, and upon closer inspection, you see that it's small, but very well hidden panel that can be removed.
Bellas tries unsuccessfully to fold a long piece of grass into something that resembles a bird. After a while, he throws it to the ground in frustration. Seeing as how Arisa hasn't returned from inspecting the small hut yet, he wanders up to ask if she has found anything or needs help.
Belkas arrives in time to see her kneeling down and peering at the floor.
Vernon will stay outside with Ciri unless she expresses interest in following the others in. His confidence when talking to women has improved lately, so he's been pumping Ciri for information, trying to swap his tales of Deepingdale's tinkering scene (his hometown) and his journey since then for every detail he can get about her armor and magic.
Ciri has remained quiet at times throughout your brief journey with her, although she does seem to enjoy visiting with Vernon whenever he musters up the confidence to speak with her. She shows intrigue at his tales, although maybe she's just feigning interest; he usually can't tell, and it doesn't matter. As far as he's concerned, any interest is a boost to his self assurance.
She shares a few tales about her own travels through the north since leaving her small village outside of Neverwinter, and talks at length with him about her enthusiasm for tinkering and for the complexities of magic that allow her to decipher special arcane enchments and harness them within seemingly simple objects and inventions. However, she doesn't go into much detail about the exact nature of her armor and its specific crafting or capabilities, although from what you've seen, it affords her a surprising amount of lightness and relative silence on her feet.
Any other powers that it may or may not have she does not relay, although she does hint with a wink that if he's lucky, Vernon may get a chance to witness some of its other capabilities, should they find themselves in a situation where such would prove useful or necessary.
(Whew been busy last few weeks. Like to keep going with this if possible.)
Arisa says “well, we should get moving. Thank you for the hospitality and companionship!”. She packs up her things and prepares to hit the trail.
At Arisa's words, Belkas startles out of his reverie. It is indeed time to start moving again. They have an ancient evil dragon to meet and attacks by giants to prevent.
He waves farewell to Gilbert and the others, warmly wishing them well on their travels.
An invisible Crowley lands on his shoulder and touches his mind, 'You do realize that these people you are suddenly so friendly with are the same ones you thought were going to try to kill you in your sleep.'
Crowley nods, 'Yes, but seeing as they didn't, I have much warmer feelings for them this morning.'
He waves again before hefting his backpack onto his back and lifting his spear.
He makes a minor incantation, and the sound of rolling drums fills the air. It is definitely time to start walking again.
Leaving the small group of happy travelers behind, who are headed in the opposite direction towards the sword coast, you begin another day of traveling northward on the Long Road. The route continues to traverse through the hills towards the Village of Amphail, which you should reach by the end of today.
The morning is bright and clear, and the sky above is full of birds, some of them in full song, while others sore silently overhead looking for prey. At one point, you see a dilapidated hunter's cabin that squats uneasily against a rocky hillside. It's not uncommon to see these kind of structures along the main routes in the north.
The path here is well traveled, although a little rocky in spots, as it cuts through the eastern foothills of the Southern chain of the Sword Mountains. Arisa knows that these mountains are home too many orc tribes, some of which occasionally come down into the lower hills and even the lowlands to raid. This is the region where those orcs who raided the Hafling village you visited on the way to Goldenfields would have come from.
Belkas stares up at the hunter's cabin and the mountains rising behind it.
"Do you think we should see if anyone is up there?" he asks the others. "If there is, they may have information about any dangers up ahead or even about the dragon we are looking for."
"Crowley, could you do a flyover and see if there is anything dangerous in sight?"
"Aye, could'nae hurt. Though we might stay careful-like all tha' same." Zyllith nodded.
Sylnache Ashrain - 7th Sojourn
Crowley flies over the old stone hut, but find it to be completely abandoned. You've seen huts like these before, they dot the countryside all over Faerûn. Often built and used by hunters and shepherds, they usually offer a dry place to rest for weary travelers who seek a roof over their heads, a warm fire, or temporary respite from the elements. However, there's no one hanging around this particular hut right now, nor is there any indication that it's being used as a permanent residence by anyone at this time.
Belkas listens to. Crowley's report and frowns.
"Although this hut is empty, or at least appears to be empty, Zyllith is right, we should remain on our guard. Someone built and uses these huts. Let's continue on, but keep our eyes and ears open."
“I Agree. Let’s keep moving. Might be a good place to camp if we needed one. But we should move on. I fear by nightfall these hills will be crawling with orcs.” arisa says
“It is early enough yet, we could check the cabin to see if there is anything of interest or use. It might be good to know it js here if we need to shelter. But i am hoping we can reach the village by nightfall.”
Arisa heads up towards the cottage and knocks on the door, out of habit although it seems abandoned.
As Arisa walks up to the solitary hut, Belkas looks around wearily at the surrounding hills for any sign of orcs.
shouts
pain
whimpers
a kick
huddling in the dirt rocking back and forth
"Everything okay there boss?" Crowley's voice snaps Belkas out of his memories. "Cause there's some unhealthy dark smoke rising off your tattoos."
Belkas rubs his arms sef-consciously, looking around to see if his companions noticed anything.
"Just some old memories brought back by the scenery," he says, then turns to the others, suddenly glad of their companionship, and asks, "Do we have any idea how much further we need to travel to find our dragon?"
Fortunately, you don't see any immediate signs of orcs nearby. You can imagine that orc parties indeed pass through this area on occasion, but today, this alpine meadow seems empty of any apparent threats.
Arisa approaches the hut and knocks on the old, worn, wooden door that has hung on its hinges for perhaps a hundred years or more. The wood is partially splintered in a couple of spots, and contains numerous nicks an scratches, but otherwise the door is still quite sturdy.
She hears no reply.
she tries to open the door to see what is inside
"Ach, aye, let's see whot tha' shack 'ere has ta' offer. But we should be rioght quick about it, so's we're nae caught wit' our briches down when tha' orcs come stompin' through." Zyllith commented as she followed Arisa to the cottage, staying close with rapier ready in case anything jumped out at them
Sylnache Ashrain - 7th Sojourn
The heavy wooden door gives way with an appropriate amount of resistance, but it swings open with no obstructions or sticking, although there's a brief creak at the mid point. Once its open, she can see into the small cottage. It has a wooden plank floor, a small table and three chairs, a fireplace, a cupboard/shelf and two sets of wooden bunk beds. There's a slight odor of mustiness mixed with charcoal, which is typical of old huts like this, but otherwise, it's in relatively decent shape.
Upon first glance she sees no one inside.
“well, It looks nice. Reminds me a bit of the cabin i grew up in, except that was always filled wirh smells of herbs and concoctions my mom made.”. Arisa looks around a bit more, searching for any clues on former occupants, and to see how secure it would be as a retreat, if needed.
22 investigation in log.
The hut seems like it gets regular activity, and there is even a small bundle of firewood by the stove. You also see some old rags, a couple of half burned candles and a few strips of leather. You guess that travelers often take refuge in here, although it doesn't look like anyone has been here for at least a few days or more. Being a small, but study stone cabin, it would seem at offer at last some level of security against minor threats, certainly things like wolves and other roving beasts. Against a orc party, probably not so much.
As you walk across the floor in the corner of the hut, your feet step on a loose floorboard, and upon closer inspection, you see that it's small, but very well hidden panel that can be removed.
Bellas tries unsuccessfully to fold a long piece of grass into something that resembles a bird. After a while, he throws it to the ground in frustration. Seeing as how Arisa hasn't returned from inspecting the small hut yet, he wanders up to ask if she has found anything or needs help.
Belkas arrives in time to see her kneeling down and peering at the floor.
He asks, "Something interesting down there?"
Vernon will stay outside with Ciri unless she expresses interest in following the others in. His confidence when talking to women has improved lately, so he's been pumping Ciri for information, trying to swap his tales of Deepingdale's tinkering scene (his hometown) and his journey since then for every detail he can get about her armor and magic.
Persuasion: 2 +5 = 7 in the log.
Ciri has remained quiet at times throughout your brief journey with her, although she does seem to enjoy visiting with Vernon whenever he musters up the confidence to speak with her. She shows intrigue at his tales, although maybe she's just feigning interest; he usually can't tell, and it doesn't matter. As far as he's concerned, any interest is a boost to his self assurance.
She shares a few tales about her own travels through the north since leaving her small village outside of Neverwinter, and talks at length with him about her enthusiasm for tinkering and for the complexities of magic that allow her to decipher special arcane enchments and harness them within seemingly simple objects and inventions. However, she doesn't go into much detail about the exact nature of her armor and its specific crafting or capabilities, although from what you've seen, it affords her a surprising amount of lightness and relative silence on her feet.
Any other powers that it may or may not have she does not relay, although she does hint with a wink that if he's lucky, Vernon may get a chance to witness some of its other capabilities, should they find themselves in a situation where such would prove useful or necessary.
Arisa carefully removes the panel to see what is beneath. “a little hiding spot here…” she says to the others.