Oten looks around again, and thinks back to the display of gift-giving he'd seen. "You all seem close. I understand that I am an outsider to you, and that I may need to earn some trust. Also, that my stunt back there with the princess may not have served particularly well in further ingratiating myself with you. Very well then... I suppose I should be a bit more open with you."He shifts and raises a large metalic hand before his face, looking at it as he turns it over.
"I... wasn't exactly personally called upon by the Childlike Empress." Oten casts a glance over to Lelith again, concerned about how she may take the news. "My creator, Chenwell Spruceman, was. But he was preoccupied with a project of his, and was hardly interested in coming to the world's aid. Then there was me. He created me to be an automat- well... not exactly, it's complicated. But he intended for me to be compliant to his will. In that, he failed. I instead see it as my obligation to compensate for his rejection of the Childlike Empress's summons and to serve her in his stead.
But,"he adds hastily, "I can guarantee that I will be an asset to your mission."
There may be more to the story than that, but he stops talking there and gauges the group's response.
Greko smiles “Ah there is nothing wrong with thinking for oneself. I, personally, welcome the aid. This road is hard and arduous. You seem quite capable. This is a time where we need to band together. All in this world need to aid in the fight against evil. I fear too many of my allies have fallen in the fight. Some may have even joined the darkness. Welcome aboard again Oten the Clear Thinking”
Rum looks around at Oten, having listened in on the conversation.
"It is a noble thing you do. It seems you are blessed with free will and have chosen to use it to help others. This, I can respect, friend Oten. And I am already pleased to have you join us, to know where we head and be willing to come tells me enough", he says congenially.
He then looks back around to focus on the path ahead, his eyes alert for any dangers.
Lelith did not speak up this time preferring to keep her sharp eyes on the road. She seemed to neither disapprove nor approve of the current conversation and she was, as always, unreadable and somewhat unpredictable.
The plains of western Hylia go on for days before the treeline of the Kokiri Forest come into sight. The first band has traveled far, very far indeed from the Ivory Tower, and it feels like hey are getting closer every day.
The day is clear and sunny. Stumps dot the fields near the forest where Kokiri loggers have worked the edges of the forest. They're sparse and sporadic, many under threat of being swallowed up by deep field grass and wild flowers that grow in great armies here.
With the way some of the grass is trampled, it seems an actual army may have recently passed through.
Seeing the trampled path, Ro dismounts Penelope. "Seems we're on the right path. Prim, I need you to be my eye in the sky." With a snap of his fingers, Prim appears out of thin air and flies into the sky to keep lookout for the band. Ro then examines the tracks left behind by the supposed army, attempting to discern how recent the tracks were made, the army's destination, the army's number of troops, along with anything else that seems relevant.
Greko looks at the landscape and the stumps watching Lelith scrutinize them. He says quietly to the group "Perhaps....Lelith's keen eyes have spotted something. Do these stumps look sporadically placed to you all? If they were indeed chopped down by loggers why here in the middle of a field dotted all over. Lelith what do you think? Ro what can Prim make of the patterns of the stumps? Are they...moving?"
Rum stands up on the bench at the front of the cart for a better view, but leaves the investigation of the area to the others for now.
"Let me know if I can be of help", he says idly looking at the tree-line for signs of people, or worse another of those guardians. He wasn't at all sure why they were talking so much about the stumps, it made sense that trees would need felling in order to build structures.
Lelith's eyes widened as she seems to see something none other could. She walked up cautiously to a specific tree stump and curiously rubbed it. Why would he appear to her here? Why her specifically? Was he in the Kokiri Forest? She didn't know and that irked her. She was sure of one thing, however. "He has been here..." Whether it was in another lifetime or this one.
"Let us not dally here any further." Lelith did not seem to care too much about the rest of the stumps nor did she notice any patterns if there was any. She seemed to be deep in thought.
The tracks that Ro investigates indicate an army that is moving single file. There are an unknown number of very heavy things making indentations in the ground like walking on enormous elephantine feet. The trail moves due east, straight into the Kokiri Forest.
Although the stumps only appear to be stumps to Rum and Greko, though it did seem that Lelith had some sort of momentary connection.
Proceeding into the tree line reveals roughly two weeks to ten days of growth on skinned trees, broken limbs, trampled underbrush and disturbed leaf litter and duff. There are scorch marks at one point, but whatever happened, there weren't any clues left behind. It seemed that the line of march by the enemy stuck mostly to well traveled game trails and trade routes through the old growth forest.
Oten slides off the cart and looks at the tracks. He approaches one of the larger indentations and crouches down to inspect it. "Only a guardian could leave tracks like these. We are definitely on Ganondorf's trail."
Rum continues to guide the cart through the woods, but stops and turns as Oten jumps down.
”We should be more careful, possibly send scouts further ahead. We are too obvious as we are with the mounts and cart”, he says looking around at the group.
”I am happy to sneak ahead myself, if you all like?”.
"You might want to leave that to me, Rumble." Lelith interjected worriedly. "I have greater mobility with flight, and a magical cloak. I also happen to know fey woods better than anyone in Hyboria."
Ro stands and hops onto Penelope again after observing the tracks, "You may be right Oten. Whatever made these elephant-like tracks are incredibly heavy given the depth of their footprints. Whoever is guiding these troops seem familiar with the land. Assuming this is Ganondorf's army, it seems they have about a two weeks lead on us."
"A forward scout may be a good idea. Could prevent us from being surprised like we were last time with the guardian. Depending on how far you plan to scout ahead of us, I can stay in contact with you using magic." (Ro is referring to the Message cantrip which has a range of 120 feet.)
”Sounds like we have a plan. We will wait for you to get ahead of us a bit Lelith, and then Ro can give the nod at a suitable distance and we will start to follow”, he says, confirming the plan.
”We should also spread out a little, those guardians cause quite the blast when they hit. We don’t want to be caught together again”, he adds addressing Ro, Greko and Oten.
"That does indeed sound prudent,"Oten says to Rum. "I've also been working on something that I should like to test on a guardian, should we be so unfortunate as to encounter one."
A vial emerges from the mechanical pack on Oten's back, and without looking he reaches back and lifts it out with two fingers. He shakes it vigourously, causing it to bubble violently and turn green. A compartment opens on his left forearm and he proceeds to slid the vial into place before closing the compartment up again with a click and a hiss. "Ideally, however, we won't encounter any such resistance for a while."
The forest is quiet. While there are birds singing and squirrels scurrying about in the leaves, the sounds of the more musical and fey creatures of the Kokiri forest are distinctly lacking. Even into the first night in the forest, things are abnormally quiet, like Ganondorf's passing has drawn some vital essence from the land that compels the denizens of the wood to make merry and be alive. The only sounds are the occasional whippoorwill, brave cricket, or branches rustled by the breeze.
The next day brings them to a section of trail that is trampled in a new pattern, as though the Guardians had begun to spread out during their march. It becomes clear why. They had fanned out before rolling into the Kokiri Village, which has been razed to the ground. Treehouses are burned and crashed down, gardens and fences trampled, structures on the ground torn asunder. Burned debris and busted construction materials litter the battlefield. Kokiri and Korok bodies still lay where they fell, many annihilated by the beams the Guardians were outfitted with.
The Guardians's footprints are everywhere, like they'd fanned out and attacked for maximum decimation.
Greko asks curiously of Oten “What were your other objectives that were overridden?”
Oten looks around again, and thinks back to the display of gift-giving he'd seen. "You all seem close. I understand that I am an outsider to you, and that I may need to earn some trust. Also, that my stunt back there with the princess may not have served particularly well in further ingratiating myself with you. Very well then... I suppose I should be a bit more open with you." He shifts and raises a large metalic hand before his face, looking at it as he turns it over.
"I... wasn't exactly personally called upon by the Childlike Empress." Oten casts a glance over to Lelith again, concerned about how she may take the news. "My creator, Chenwell Spruceman, was. But he was preoccupied with a project of his, and was hardly interested in coming to the world's aid. Then there was me. He created me to be an automat- well... not exactly, it's complicated. But he intended for me to be compliant to his will. In that, he failed. I instead see it as my obligation to compensate for his rejection of the Childlike Empress's summons and to serve her in his stead.
But," he adds hastily, "I can guarantee that I will be an asset to your mission."
There may be more to the story than that, but he stops talking there and gauges the group's response.
Greko smiles “Ah there is nothing wrong with thinking for oneself. I, personally, welcome the aid. This road is hard and arduous. You seem quite capable. This is a time where we need to band together. All in this world need to aid in the fight against evil. I fear too many of my allies have fallen in the fight. Some may have even joined the darkness. Welcome aboard again Oten the Clear Thinking”
Rum looks around at Oten, having listened in on the conversation.
"It is a noble thing you do. It seems you are blessed with free will and have chosen to use it to help others. This, I can respect, friend Oten. And I am already pleased to have you join us, to know where we head and be willing to come tells me enough", he says congenially.
He then looks back around to focus on the path ahead, his eyes alert for any dangers.
"Oten the Clear Thinking. Hmmmm..." Oten goes silent for a long moment. "... Yes. I think that is a name worth living up to."
Lelith did not speak up this time preferring to keep her sharp eyes on the road. She seemed to neither disapprove nor approve of the current conversation and she was, as always, unreadable and somewhat unpredictable.
The plains of western Hylia go on for days before the treeline of the Kokiri Forest come into sight. The first band has traveled far, very far indeed from the Ivory Tower, and it feels like hey are getting closer every day.
The day is clear and sunny. Stumps dot the fields near the forest where Kokiri loggers have worked the edges of the forest. They're sparse and sporadic, many under threat of being swallowed up by deep field grass and wild flowers that grow in great armies here.
With the way some of the grass is trampled, it seems an actual army may have recently passed through.
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
Seeing the trampled path, Ro dismounts Penelope. "Seems we're on the right path. Prim, I need you to be my eye in the sky." With a snap of his fingers, Prim appears out of thin air and flies into the sky to keep lookout for the band. Ro then examines the tracks left behind by the supposed army, attempting to discern how recent the tracks were made, the army's destination, the army's number of troops, along with anything else that seems relevant.
Ro Aleron (Ro the Red) -> Illithid, Wizard 8 (Chronugist) // AURYN
Greko looks at the landscape and the stumps watching Lelith scrutinize them. He says quietly to the group "Perhaps....Lelith's keen eyes have spotted something. Do these stumps look sporadically placed to you all? If they were indeed chopped down by loggers why here in the middle of a field dotted all over. Lelith what do you think? Ro what can Prim make of the patterns of the stumps? Are they...moving?"
Rum stands up on the bench at the front of the cart for a better view, but leaves the investigation of the area to the others for now.
"Let me know if I can be of help", he says idly looking at the tree-line for signs of people, or worse another of those guardians. He wasn't at all sure why they were talking so much about the stumps, it made sense that trees would need felling in order to build structures.
Perception: 9+7=16 (Passive 17)
Lelith's eyes widened as she seems to see something none other could. She walked up cautiously to a specific tree stump and curiously rubbed it. Why would he appear to her here? Why her specifically? Was he in the Kokiri Forest? She didn't know and that irked her. She was sure of one thing, however. "He has been here..." Whether it was in another lifetime or this one.
"Let us not dally here any further." Lelith did not seem to care too much about the rest of the stumps nor did she notice any patterns if there was any. She seemed to be deep in thought.
The tracks that Ro investigates indicate an army that is moving single file. There are an unknown number of very heavy things making indentations in the ground like walking on enormous elephantine feet. The trail moves due east, straight into the Kokiri Forest.
Although the stumps only appear to be stumps to Rum and Greko, though it did seem that Lelith had some sort of momentary connection.
Proceeding into the tree line reveals roughly two weeks to ten days of growth on skinned trees, broken limbs, trampled underbrush and disturbed leaf litter and duff. There are scorch marks at one point, but whatever happened, there weren't any clues left behind. It seemed that the line of march by the enemy stuck mostly to well traveled game trails and trade routes through the old growth forest.
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
Oten slides off the cart and looks at the tracks. He approaches one of the larger indentations and crouches down to inspect it. "Only a guardian could leave tracks like these. We are definitely on Ganondorf's trail."
Rum continues to guide the cart through the woods, but stops and turns as Oten jumps down.
”We should be more careful, possibly send scouts further ahead. We are too obvious as we are with the mounts and cart”, he says looking around at the group.
”I am happy to sneak ahead myself, if you all like?”.
"You might want to leave that to me, Rumble." Lelith interjected worriedly. "I have greater mobility with flight, and a magical cloak. I also happen to know fey woods better than anyone in Hyboria."
Ro stands and hops onto Penelope again after observing the tracks, "You may be right Oten. Whatever made these elephant-like tracks are incredibly heavy given the depth of their footprints. Whoever is guiding these troops seem familiar with the land. Assuming this is Ganondorf's army, it seems they have about a two weeks lead on us."
"A forward scout may be a good idea. Could prevent us from being surprised like we were last time with the guardian. Depending on how far you plan to scout ahead of us, I can stay in contact with you using magic." (Ro is referring to the Message cantrip which has a range of 120 feet.)
Ro Aleron (Ro the Red) -> Illithid, Wizard 8 (Chronugist) // AURYN
Rum inclines his head towards Lelith and Ro.
”Sounds like we have a plan. We will wait for you to get ahead of us a bit Lelith, and then Ro can give the nod at a suitable distance and we will start to follow”, he says, confirming the plan.
”We should also spread out a little, those guardians cause quite the blast when they hit. We don’t want to be caught together again”, he adds addressing Ro, Greko and Oten.
Greko gets down off of Gary and leads him into the woods spreading out from the group
"That does indeed sound prudent," Oten says to Rum. "I've also been working on something that I should like to test on a guardian, should we be so unfortunate as to encounter one."
A vial emerges from the mechanical pack on Oten's back, and without looking he reaches back and lifts it out with two fingers. He shakes it vigourously, causing it to bubble violently and turn green. A compartment opens on his left forearm and he proceeds to slid the vial into place before closing the compartment up again with a click and a hiss. "Ideally, however, we won't encounter any such resistance for a while."
The forest is quiet. While there are birds singing and squirrels scurrying about in the leaves, the sounds of the more musical and fey creatures of the Kokiri forest are distinctly lacking. Even into the first night in the forest, things are abnormally quiet, like Ganondorf's passing has drawn some vital essence from the land that compels the denizens of the wood to make merry and be alive. The only sounds are the occasional whippoorwill, brave cricket, or branches rustled by the breeze.
The next day brings them to a section of trail that is trampled in a new pattern, as though the Guardians had begun to spread out during their march. It becomes clear why. They had fanned out before rolling into the Kokiri Village, which has been razed to the ground. Treehouses are burned and crashed down, gardens and fences trampled, structures on the ground torn asunder. Burned debris and busted construction materials litter the battlefield. Kokiri and Korok bodies still lay where they fell, many annihilated by the beams the Guardians were outfitted with.
The Guardians's footprints are everywhere, like they'd fanned out and attacked for maximum decimation.
A lonely ocarina tune fills the air...
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York