He breathed in relief when both Qidira and Brandon said to be faring well. His preoccupation further diminished when Ressys healed the wounds of his companions. Confusion take place when the gnome and the warlock started talking about friendship. The goliath could see reason in both their points and ultimately decided that it was a matter of context and depending on the situation one position or the other should be followed.
“Normally it is better to have someone push the mephitis away first to them fire upon them, but their numbers in comparison to ours made it difficult.” Kotar was probably the only one who could realistically push the elementals away and even then he wasn’t more than half successful. “You made the right call.”
After some time, wizard and warlock start speaking about the latter magic. The fighter could not help but think if he could gain magic powers of his own in this manner. Someday, in the future, he would lose his physical strength. It would be good to have something to rely upon by then. For now he tried to focus his attention on the surroundings. A semblance of familiarity making he remember is boyhood. A smile took hold of his lips as he thought about his friends.
"Power has many sources, from the wind and the moon to the arcane and the weave. As well, the gods and other beings can bestow it on others. I knew that raven was connected to you somehow Brandon. You have an interesting journey ahead of you." Ressys says as he listens to the conversation while setting up camp.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Qidira continues to tinker and be observant for game (rolled in the earlier post), crossbow at her side ready to take a more alert stance once everyone settles in for the night. perception roll for watch later 10
You settle for the night and take up your sentry duties when the turn comes. Qidira manages to spot and snipe a couple of snow hares, enough to supplement the rations planned for the next day.
(Everyone please remove one day’s rations, to make up for me forgetting the previous day’s)
@Brandon:
You wake with a start and find yourself alone in the vast white landscape of Eiselcross, all alone in the night. You are not cold, although you can see your breath turning to mist before you. Instinctively you look for the raven and see it, perched on a branch of the lone tree beside you.
“Some things are best not discussed” it says telepathically “in the growing darkness of the night”
Echoing your own words said to Durnham, is it mocking you?
“Benefactor…debt. For now, I am happy to watch you practice your new skills, Brandon. I will open up more when I see you are ready, and that time draws near. Soon I will ask you a question; Tome, Blade or Chain?”
You have questions but are unable to speak. The raven continues:
“I will also show you a truth. One you are not yet ready for, but which you must be shown. Then you can start to remember; and that’s the Deal”
As with your last lucid dream of the raven, the word ‘Deal’ snaps you awake – truly awake this time, soaked in sweat and looking at the sleeping companions around you. It is still dark, and so you try to reclaim sleep once more.
@Kotar:
You do not dream much when you sleep; sometimes you relive battles of the preceding days if you have been in combat recently. Tonight you see the mephitis again, lined up before you and attacking your companions. You reach out to push one away, and you step back to swing your axe. The mephit flies back into the line of fire, or it falls apart under your axe blade and explodes in your face.
The dual realities, the one that you actualised and the other that remained as potential, drifting away on the tide of time; you can almost grasp the power to select a different path in retrospect.
You are suddenly lucid, but asleep; two paths ahead of you: wake or remain asleep. Curious, you ponder the growing strength of these visions.
@Ressys:
In this quiet place of nature’s pure rawness, your meditation is particularly attuned to your surroundings, as if the birds have stopped singing and you hadn’t realsied that they were drowning out the lapping of waves around you. A very faint uneasiness creeps in at times, throbbing in the far west or northwest like the very start of dawn on a starless night. At one point you sense another pulse, like those experienced before. Nature is not entirely at peace, but the reason for her discomfort is not immediately clear.
In the morning you break camp and prepare to head off again, Orvo silent unless asked a direct question. Not rude, just a professional focused on the approaching task.
Qidira rises with the others, helps to break camp and roasts the hares over the fire if she can in case it is not available later. She saves the furs, cleaning them up the best she can and tucking them into the Bag of Holding for safe keeping.
Ressys spends the evening in the quiet solitude of the raw wilderness. This place, Eiselcross, was nothing he had experienced before. Even the sparseness of the Greying Wildlands showed the signs of habitation, the imprint of the touch of sentient beings. But this place was raw and empty and far more dangerous. The touch of nature was strong and it strengthened him.
He appreciated the focus of Orvo, intent on the task of keeping them alive and on target towards their goal.
Brandon wakes and breaks camp in silence, uneasy about the dreams from the night before. She was mocking him and he had so many questions. Questions about being ready, and about what he must remember.
He performs his exercises with his longsword, feeling it strengthen him as he channels his will within it and becomes one with the blade. He sets out with the others and takes one last look at the stand of trees. There was no sign of the raven.
“Tell me, Orvo”Brandon asks during their walk, hoping to break the silence and focus his thoughts on the path ahead “Where do the Thin Sheets get their name?”
Durnham wakes for the last watch and spends much of the time writing notes on his dreams the night before. He also spends some of the time preparing spells for the day.
Portent rolls 4, 6
Archimedes does most of the watching for danger. His eyes are better than Durnham’s anyway, especially at night.
Once the others began waking, Durnham packs up his tent and belongings, grabbing food as he works.
He turns to Kotar and Orvo and asks “What about this Thin Sheets place? What do we know about it? The name makes me think of thin ice that could break underfoot and have us fall below. Should we use rope and tie ourselves together for safety?”
Before sleeping Kotar started his meditation, trying to picture in his mind what is and what could be. His breath, his pulse, the moves he could make. Open his eyes or leave them close, raise and arm or leg, or sit, maybe jump on his feet. Possibility and potentiality. A deeper breath, a faster breath. Possibility and potentiality. He was closer to seeing the echoes, he could feel. Possibility and potentiality. And thinking so he fell asleep.
Dreams were a rare thing to the goliath and that one was rarer still. He dreamt of the fight against the mephitis, but this time he wielded an axe and before moving he could see different realities. In one he shoves one of the elementals, in another he strikes a creature with the weapon. It was like the time in the smithy, at Paleblank, but more vivid. This time both realities felt so close to his reach, so alive even if he was in a dream. He was in a dream, he noticed when two new realities appear in his mind, to wake or to keep sleeping. The visions are growing stronger, he said to himself before raising from the roll. Maybe I’m getting closer, he pondered donning his armor and approaching the others.
Qidira watches the others go through their routines in the morning while packing up for the trip ahead and passing around some cooked rabbit for their travel. She fits on the Snowshoes amazed at how well they keep her from sinking into the snow and marches ahead with the others. She takes in the icy air enjoying its freshness within its harshness. Noticing the the noise of the city replaced by natural sounds of wind and snow swirling around them, how the branches of the few trees sounded as they swayed in the wind and getting accustomed to the normal sounds of her environment. Listening and watching for any shift that might alert them to danger. perception15
As Orvo gets ready to move, he answers over his shoulder “Thin Sheets gets its name for the fragile state of the surface ice. Plenty of explorers have found themselves suddenly plunged into water or a deep chasm. So, stay in my footsteps as much as you can. If I disappear then, well, make sure your best tracker is at the front.
Hmmm, rope might not be a bad idea Durnham. If Kotar or Ressys go second then they have the best chance of stopping me falling through the planet”
With the rope secured, you head off with the dwarf scout at the front. The course is slightly deviated from the direction which brought you to this sparse patch of greenery, and takes you into the pure white of Eiselcross once more.
(Perception check from everyone please)
(Marching order unless any corrections is: Orvo, Kotar, Durnham, Brandon, Ressys, Qidira)
Brandon trudges through the icy landscape, staying next to Durnham in the middle of the group. He talks little at first, still thinking about the dreams from the night before and saving his energy for the journey ahead, but his thoughts soon turn to the vault. "Durnham, did you study the Aeor while at Uthodurn? What kind of artifacts do you think we will find in this vault other than the antidotes?"
With Orvo and Kotar focused on their path ahead, looking for crevices and weak spots, Brandon keeps his eyes scanning for potential threats even as he talks. He remembers well how well the ice mephits blended in during their last encounter.
As he approached his friends Kotar heard they talking about the Thin Sheets. It was still strange to think of the place name’s in common, but more importantly, it was incredibly reassuring to have Orvo as their guide. The older dwarf proposed an marching order or at least part of it - himself followed by the goliath.
“I’ll go second then.” He says looking to Ressys as if asking if the firbolg didn’t want the position. “I’ll do my best to hold the rope if you fall, but if everyone behind can help if such happen it will be even better.” The fighter then started to ready his shield. “Feel free to retreat past me in case of battle.”
Kotar wasn’t proving himself exactly skilled at avoiding damage, but when it came to enduring it, he was pretty confident. A thought that reassured him as their march started. Almost mechanically he started looking at the surroundings, trying to notice anything threatening - from an enemy to crack in the ice. Hopefully he would have more luck than in his younger days, when he simply fell into the crevices of the terrain.
“I’m curious about Aeor too. I mean, what kind of culture influence people to create something like the Frigid Woe?”
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Ressus gave Kotar a curt nod. "Fair enough. You are stronger than I so that is a good choice. Let's not lose Orvo though and then we don't have to guide ourselves!"
Qidira pulls a ring out of her pocket. "I think it's time to use this." She says holding it up. "I have a mental link to it as long as it's on the same plane as me. Here, pass it up to Orvo. Orvo, just tuck it in a pocket or somewhere on your person and I can keep track of you."
She passes up the Ring of Location along the line of the rope to the front and ties herself in at the back.
(Marching order is: Orvo, Kotar, Durnham, Brandon, Ressys, Qidira)
As you trudge across the vast white expanse, you keep a sharp eye out for any signs of danger. Archimedes circles above and keeps watch too.
(Group Perception check was excellent, almost all successes!)
Orvo accepts the ring with a nod and places it in his pocket. Qidira instantly gets a curious but unintrusive sensation, something telling her that the ring is right there.
At about midday, with the sun as high as it will reach, you stop briefly for a snack and to check your socks. During the brief lull, Orvo says as if in passing: “We came close to a fall about a mile back there; the snow had a slight undulation where it had settled over a lower section of land. We’re well into Thin Sheets now”
Before long you are back on the road. Another couple of hours pass before you notice something about half a mile ahead of you; a line of figures, humanoids, across your route. It is difficult to make them out from here, but they seem scarcely dressed as if impermeable to the frigid weather of Eiselcross. Orvo appears not to have seen them and carries on towards them.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Unnerved by Orvo’s casual mention of the potential fall, Brandon continues looking around their path, trying to spot the unsettled ground Orvo described. This was not the first time he was thankful that Orvo had agreed to guide them, and he did not believe it would be the last either.
“Ho, Orvo! What is that in the distance? Do you see those figures?”Brandon calls out a warning as he sees the humanoid figures ahead. Not taking any chances with the unknown figures, Brandon mutters under his breath, gestures his hand and pulls darkshadows from the ground around him, strengthening him from beyond the grave.
(8 temp hp)
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He breathed in relief when both Qidira and Brandon said to be faring well. His preoccupation further diminished when Ressys healed the wounds of his companions. Confusion take place when the gnome and the warlock started talking about friendship. The goliath could see reason in both their points and ultimately decided that it was a matter of context and depending on the situation one position or the other should be followed.
“Normally it is better to have someone push the mephitis away first to them fire upon them, but their numbers in comparison to ours made it difficult.” Kotar was probably the only one who could realistically push the elementals away and even then he wasn’t more than half successful. “You made the right call.”
After some time, wizard and warlock start speaking about the latter magic. The fighter could not help but think if he could gain magic powers of his own in this manner. Someday, in the future, he would lose his physical strength. It would be good to have something to rely upon by then. For now he tried to focus his attention on the surroundings. A semblance of familiarity making he remember is boyhood. A smile took hold of his lips as he thought about his friends.
"Power has many sources, from the wind and the moon to the arcane and the weave. As well, the gods and other beings can bestow it on others. I knew that raven was connected to you somehow Brandon. You have an interesting journey ahead of you." Ressys says as he listens to the conversation while setting up camp.
Qidira continues to tinker and be observant for game (rolled in the earlier post), crossbow at her side ready to take a more alert stance once everyone settles in for the night. perception roll for watch later 10
You settle for the night and take up your sentry duties when the turn comes. Qidira manages to spot and snipe a couple of snow hares, enough to supplement the rations planned for the next day.
(Everyone please remove one day’s rations, to make up for me forgetting the previous day’s)
@Brandon:
You wake with a start and find yourself alone in the vast white landscape of Eiselcross, all alone in the night. You are not cold, although you can see your breath turning to mist before you. Instinctively you look for the raven and see it, perched on a branch of the lone tree beside you.
“Some things are best not discussed” it says telepathically “in the growing darkness of the night”
Echoing your own words said to Durnham, is it mocking you?
“Benefactor…debt. For now, I am happy to watch you practice your new skills, Brandon. I will open up more when I see you are ready, and that time draws near. Soon I will ask you a question; Tome, Blade or Chain?”
You have questions but are unable to speak. The raven continues:
“I will also show you a truth. One you are not yet ready for, but which you must be shown. Then you can start to remember; and that’s the Deal”
As with your last lucid dream of the raven, the word ‘Deal’ snaps you awake – truly awake this time, soaked in sweat and looking at the sleeping companions around you. It is still dark, and so you try to reclaim sleep once more.
@Kotar:
You do not dream much when you sleep; sometimes you relive battles of the preceding days if you have been in combat recently. Tonight you see the mephitis again, lined up before you and attacking your companions. You reach out to push one away, and you step back to swing your axe. The mephit flies back into the line of fire, or it falls apart under your axe blade and explodes in your face.
The dual realities, the one that you actualised and the other that remained as potential, drifting away on the tide of time; you can almost grasp the power to select a different path in retrospect.
You are suddenly lucid, but asleep; two paths ahead of you: wake or remain asleep. Curious, you ponder the growing strength of these visions.
@Ressys:
In this quiet place of nature’s pure rawness, your meditation is particularly attuned to your surroundings, as if the birds have stopped singing and you hadn’t realsied that they were drowning out the lapping of waves around you. A very faint uneasiness creeps in at times, throbbing in the far west or northwest like the very start of dawn on a starless night. At one point you sense another pulse, like those experienced before. Nature is not entirely at peace, but the reason for her discomfort is not immediately clear.
In the morning you break camp and prepare to head off again, Orvo silent unless asked a direct question. Not rude, just a professional focused on the approaching task.
Qidira rises with the others, helps to break camp and roasts the hares over the fire if she can in case it is not available later. She saves the furs, cleaning them up the best she can and tucking them into the Bag of Holding for safe keeping.
Ready to leave when they are.
Ressys spends the evening in the quiet solitude of the raw wilderness. This place, Eiselcross, was nothing he had experienced before. Even the sparseness of the Greying Wildlands showed the signs of habitation, the imprint of the touch of sentient beings. But this place was raw and empty and far more dangerous. The touch of nature was strong and it strengthened him.
He appreciated the focus of Orvo, intent on the task of keeping them alive and on target towards their goal.
Brandon wakes and breaks camp in silence, uneasy about the dreams from the night before. She was mocking him and he had so many questions. Questions about being ready, and about what he must remember.
He performs his exercises with his longsword, feeling it strengthen him as he channels his will within it and becomes one with the blade. He sets out with the others and takes one last look at the stand of trees. There was no sign of the raven.
“Tell me, Orvo” Brandon asks during their walk, hoping to break the silence and focus his thoughts on the path ahead “Where do the Thin Sheets get their name?”
Durnham wakes for the last watch and spends much of the time writing notes on his dreams the night before. He also spends some of the time preparing spells for the day.
Portent rolls 4, 6
Archimedes does most of the watching for danger. His eyes are better than Durnham’s anyway, especially at night.
Once the others began waking, Durnham packs up his tent and belongings, grabbing food as he works.
He turns to Kotar and Orvo and asks “What about this Thin Sheets place? What do we know about it? The name makes me think of thin ice that could break underfoot and have us fall below. Should we use rope and tie ourselves together for safety?”
Noob
Before sleeping Kotar started his meditation, trying to picture in his mind what is and what could be. His breath, his pulse, the moves he could make. Open his eyes or leave them close, raise and arm or leg, or sit, maybe jump on his feet. Possibility and potentiality. A deeper breath, a faster breath. Possibility and potentiality. He was closer to seeing the echoes, he could feel. Possibility and potentiality. And thinking so he fell asleep.
Dreams were a rare thing to the goliath and that one was rarer still. He dreamt of the fight against the mephitis, but this time he wielded an axe and before moving he could see different realities. In one he shoves one of the elementals, in another he strikes a creature with the weapon. It was like the time in the smithy, at Paleblank, but more vivid. This time both realities felt so close to his reach, so alive even if he was in a dream. He was in a dream, he noticed when two new realities appear in his mind, to wake or to keep sleeping. The visions are growing stronger, he said to himself before raising from the roll. Maybe I’m getting closer, he pondered donning his armor and approaching the others.
Qidira watches the others go through their routines in the morning while packing up for the trip ahead and passing around some cooked rabbit for their travel. She fits on the Snowshoes amazed at how well they keep her from sinking into the snow and marches ahead with the others. She takes in the icy air enjoying its freshness within its harshness. Noticing the the noise of the city replaced by natural sounds of wind and snow swirling around them, how the branches of the few trees sounded as they swayed in the wind and getting accustomed to the normal sounds of her environment. Listening and watching for any shift that might alert them to danger. perception 15
As Orvo gets ready to move, he answers over his shoulder “Thin Sheets gets its name for the fragile state of the surface ice. Plenty of explorers have found themselves suddenly plunged into water or a deep chasm. So, stay in my footsteps as much as you can. If I disappear then, well, make sure your best tracker is at the front.
Hmmm, rope might not be a bad idea Durnham. If Kotar or Ressys go second then they have the best chance of stopping me falling through the planet”
With the rope secured, you head off with the dwarf scout at the front. The course is slightly deviated from the direction which brought you to this sparse patch of greenery, and takes you into the pure white of Eiselcross once more.
(Perception check from everyone please)
(Marching order unless any corrections is: Orvo, Kotar, Durnham, Brandon, Ressys, Qidira)
Qidira's Perception 20 - unless that earlier roll was sufficient.
Brandon trudges through the icy landscape, staying next to Durnham in the middle of the group. He talks little at first, still thinking about the dreams from the night before and saving his energy for the journey ahead, but his thoughts soon turn to the vault. "Durnham, did you study the Aeor while at Uthodurn? What kind of artifacts do you think we will find in this vault other than the antidotes?"
With Orvo and Kotar focused on their path ahead, looking for crevices and weak spots, Brandon keeps his eyes scanning for potential threats even as he talks. He remembers well how well the ice mephits blended in during their last encounter.
Perception: 19.
(Process a long rest please for the night just gone - waiting for all Perception checks before I proceed)
As he approached his friends Kotar heard they talking about the Thin Sheets. It was still strange to think of the place name’s in common, but more importantly, it was incredibly reassuring to have Orvo as their guide. The older dwarf proposed an marching order or at least part of it - himself followed by the goliath.
“I’ll go second then.” He says looking to Ressys as if asking if the firbolg didn’t want the position. “I’ll do my best to hold the rope if you fall, but if everyone behind can help if such happen it will be even better.” The fighter then started to ready his shield. “Feel free to retreat past me in case of battle.”
Kotar wasn’t proving himself exactly skilled at avoiding damage, but when it came to enduring it, he was pretty confident. A thought that reassured him as their march started. Almost mechanically he started looking at the surroundings, trying to notice anything threatening - from an enemy to crack in the ice. Hopefully he would have more luck than in his younger days, when he simply fell into the crevices of the terrain.
“I’m curious about Aeor too. I mean, what kind of culture influence people to create something like the Frigid Woe?”
Perception Check: 21
Durnham focuses on following Orvo’s footsteps and tries not to think about any bottomless chasms that may be just below a thin piece of ice underfoot.
14
Noob
Ressus gave Kotar a curt nod. "Fair enough. You are stronger than I so that is a good choice. Let's not lose Orvo though and then we don't have to guide ourselves!"
Ressys Perception 22
Qidira pulls a ring out of her pocket. "I think it's time to use this." She says holding it up. "I have a mental link to it as long as it's on the same plane as me. Here, pass it up to Orvo. Orvo, just tuck it in a pocket or somewhere on your person and I can keep track of you."
She passes up the Ring of Location along the line of the rope to the front and ties herself in at the back.
(Marching order is: Orvo, Kotar, Durnham, Brandon, Ressys, Qidira)
As you trudge across the vast white expanse, you keep a sharp eye out for any signs of danger. Archimedes circles above and keeps watch too.
(Group Perception check was excellent, almost all successes!)
Orvo accepts the ring with a nod and places it in his pocket. Qidira instantly gets a curious but unintrusive sensation, something telling her that the ring is right there.
At about midday, with the sun as high as it will reach, you stop briefly for a snack and to check your socks. During the brief lull, Orvo says as if in passing: “We came close to a fall about a mile back there; the snow had a slight undulation where it had settled over a lower section of land. We’re well into Thin Sheets now”
Before long you are back on the road. Another couple of hours pass before you notice something about half a mile ahead of you; a line of figures, humanoids, across your route. It is difficult to make them out from here, but they seem scarcely dressed as if impermeable to the frigid weather of Eiselcross. Orvo appears not to have seen them and carries on towards them.
Unnerved by Orvo’s casual mention of the potential fall, Brandon continues looking around their path, trying to spot the unsettled ground Orvo described. This was not the first time he was thankful that Orvo had agreed to guide them, and he did not believe it would be the last either.
“Ho, Orvo! What is that in the distance? Do you see those figures?” Brandon calls out a warning as he sees the humanoid figures ahead. Not taking any chances with the unknown figures, Brandon mutters under his breath, gestures his hand and pulls darkshadows from the ground around him, strengthening him from beyond the grave.
(8 temp hp)