Ky and Flint

As you look over the mile or so of opened fields between the trees and the volcanic mountain that sits north of you, you can see there is not a lot in the way of shrub and foliage to assist you in your hiding. There is a bit, and with Ky's heritage, would be able to potentially use it for functional cover, this group of 6 would not. You also notice that much of the fighting force seems to be currently focused westward towards the coast. You all understand an army of Orcs, Goblins, and Giantkin would catch the attention and worry of others.

Looking to the rubble of where Cyrnair has indicated the abbey to be, you can see there are actually a few different groups of enemy soldiers working their way around the landslide like rubble that seems to have covered over the temple. Each party (5 that you see) is led by 2 Orcs, while a compliment of 2 Hob-goblins, 1 Bugbear, and 4 goblins march. They seem to be poking around the rocks to see if there is another way in.

You also notice that there seems to be rough made guard towers of cut down trees placed every 100 to 200 yards, with 2 Goblinoid figures looking about. It seems the general of this army has some intelligence to them, as they are watching out for a potential attack from the other side. Perhaps that is why there is so many back in the tents, or perhaps they are rotating their soldiers for a prolonged encounter. Whatever the reason, it seems more difficult then you initially though.

At the most northern section of the landslide like rock collapse is where the ogres are digging. It is to far to get an exact count, but you think there is at least a few. They go into a tunnel they have dug, and about a minute or 2 later, they come out with a large bucket full of rock. They seem to be tunneling down as much as anything else.

Ky only:

As you look up at the storm, you get a gnawing feeling in your gut. This rift is expanding, and quickly. The darkness of the clouds seems to continue to rip through the sky. With a DC of 20, you also see within the lightning storm itself, at the heart of it, a large snake like shape, with large wings. You only see it when the lightning flashes, but you think the cause of the lightning itself is this snake like figure. For you to be able to see it at all at this distance, it must be very large indeed. You watch as every time the lightning flashes, the cloud cover expands in increments. It is almost as if this creature you can see if trying to force opened the tear.

Ennis would be greatly interested in the obviously magical nature of the storm overhead.  Is there any way he might be able to glean some additional information?

Cyrnair will try to remember the layout of the abbey and to remember if in his vision he saw any potential way to reach it. 

He says to the others. 

"In my vision, when the mountain started to fall down upon it, four groups of four celestial creatures, each one on each corner of the monastery, raised a protective shield that kept the rocks away. I do not know if this shield is still up or no, but first things first. We need to reach it and the best way is sneaking from those patrols. 

( Perception: 19 ) 

Caradoc looks up at the darkened sky and the sun setting towards the Trackless Sea. After hearing Ky and Flint describe the watchtowers and the guard patrols, he scans the area, looking to see if the guards have any kind of illumination to look for encroachers in the dark.

Perception: 17

As Ennis stairs up at the clouds, his mind whirls with study, knowledge,  and insight. Seeing Ennis's interest,  Ky moves over to him and they have a deep conversation for a few moments.

Ky helps you understand some things about planar rifts and portals that you were not aware of, and the information she provides helps clarify some things for you.

Planar Rifts are natural occurring laylines where 2 realms are closely touching. Only those that are touched by both planes can pass through without magical assistance. Most rifts are only large enough for creatures of "large" size to migrate through.

Planar Portals are doorways are Planar Rifts that have been turned into free flowing passages through the rifts.

Those with arcane abilities can use a rift to shift between realms, but it takes high level magic to do so, which typically saps someone of a great portion of power.

During the time of the ancients, when gods and titans battled, it is said that it was all a single plane, but their wars tore the planes into multiple planes, and sealed them. The rifts are the weak points. The fabric of space/time does not want to have these rifts, and they are in constant flux and shifting with time.

For someone to create a rift of this size, they would have to be immensely powerful, but based on the 2 of you talking, even a God would have to put ALL of their focus into something like this. If they stopped, the rift would recede to its smaller size.

Both of you have no idea what will happen to space/time, if this rift continues to grow. Will the fabric of the universe tear apart? will it tear a hole into another plane, creating a chaotic portal? Will it create a pocket dimension around this area? Will it be a doorway for titans to once more cross through? Will multiple planes collapse into a single plane once more? Or something g different or worse?

All of these thought go through you and Kys jeads as you discuss.

Ennis is much less worried about pathways on the ground at the moment, his attention wholly drawn upwards by the swirling vortex of darkness and lightning above.  He adjusts his glasses once, then removes them and cleans them with his sleeve before replacing them again.

"Damn, I wish Master Baulder were here to see this."

He looks to the group as he motions upward at the dark clouds.

"Whatever is causing this has to be IMMENSELY powerful, and I'm not sure what the purpose or potential result of such activity might be.  That said, whatever we aim to do here, I'd suggest we get to it QUICKLY so we can vacate the area as soon as possible."

Carodoc: as the sun sets out of view, you can see that many of these goblinoids do not seem to have light. You get the sense they do not need it to see a decent distance, and they may be concerned about ruining that night vision with a bright light by them.

As the group approaches the rift and camps, Gelin's mouth remains awkwardly agape.

"Well, I dun know much about the planes and what-not, but I'm pretty sure that ain't right. Did we make a wrong turn somewhere? Dragons were supposed to be the END of such quests... at least in the tales I've heard."

"Nope," Caradoc murmurs when Ennis mentions moving quickly. The halfling's gaze is tightly focused on the scene below - totally ignoring the maelstrom above.

"Quick gets us surprised and surprised gets us dead. We don't move quick, and we don't move slow. We watch, we learn, and we move when the time is right. This is just like casing a mansion in Waterdeep. We need to know how long those patrols take to make their circuit. We need to know how many of those ogre digging teams there are, and how long it takes them to make their circle. We need to know as much as we can know, and then when we move, we move smart and steady and confident. That mess in the sky has nothing to do with us - our job is under that rubble, and since there's only one way in... We watch until we know exactly when the coast will be clearest."

"Maybe we sneak around the long way? Arc around and stay away from the perimeter? Then go in hot and fast from the mountain range? If there is a shield blocking RH abbey place, maybe we can get Cyrnair to let us in?"

"Can't hurt - if we can't get in that way, we can still try this side. But I wouldn't get my hopes up - as well guarded and as many troops as they have here, there's no reason for them not to be guarding that area too."

"It's still better than charging at that mess down there, though."

Trying to ignore the comment of how to assalut a house in Waterdeep, tthe paladin says

"I think that we should try Ky's path. We should be able to reach it with the less chance to be detected by those tower guards. Perhaps your magic will aid us in this " he says looking to Flint and Ky'lera.

"Its your call Cyrnair. But I think the approach around may be best. Let's stick to the foothills, so we can hide from as much sight line as possible. I would rather not have to use magic until we have to."

     Flint nods in agreement with Ky'Lera. "We should hurry before those that are digging find a way in before us." He pulls his spear and shield from his back. Readying his shield on his arm, he jabs the point of the spear into the ground and takes a knee next to it. He begins to say a quiet prayer to the Huntress. 

     "Artemis, grant us your blessing for a safe hunt. We seek to return your light to this land and rid these monsters ahead of us. Guide our spear, while we hunt for you." He pulls the spear from the earth, holds it out before himself with both hands and touches his forehead to it. "Are we ready?" he says to the group.

Caradoc slips off his pony's back and tosses the reins to Flint once the big fellow has finished his prayer. "Hold these for a second?"

He kneels down and rummages in the haversack for a moment and tugs out an old cloak. With his dagger, he cuts it into four squarish pieces. Then he tugs out some string from his belt pouches and proceeds to tie the thick fabric around the pony's hooves. It shuffles and snorts a little bit, but steadies down once the halfling slips him a stolen carrot or two.

Taking back the reins, he pulls himself back up into the saddle. "It might help muffle the noise if we have to go over rocks or anything."

Looking to Carodoc, Ky says "Thats a good idea, but at this point, I think it will be better for all of us to move on foot. Horses are not... stealthy creatures, and if we ride them into that, they will probably spook. These are not war trained animals."

Hopping off her horse that she has been riding bareback, she leads it a bit back into the foothills and gives it a tap on the rear to get it to move off a bit. "Horses and adventuring rarely work out well for the animals."

 As they prepare to move, the paladin goes to their mounts and speaks to his celestial mount in a musical, yet alien language. 

“ Go back until I call you my friend. Save your strength, something tells me that we will need of it soon if we must cross that army to join the Neverwinter and Waterdeep forces. Take care of them, once we get out we will need your speed... “ 

He bows his head with respect and go back to the rest of the party. 

OOC: I will allow it, to the extent that it can as a horse... as it is a celestial itself. If this is the groups decisions, I will move forward.

As the group all dismounts, and Cyrnair's angelic horse seems to herd the animals together, they trot off southward, seeming to follow the same path back that they came. When one horse starts to graze in the rare patch of weeds that sprout up on this rough ground, the Celestial whinnies softly and the horse continues to follow the rest of the herd. (Good picture Carodoc... Its not quite so violent as that, but not far off either. It is not spewing lava... just... oozing)

(Based on Ky's Perception and Ranger abilities) The group moves off to the east, still hugging the valleys of the foothills, with occasional stops to crawl up and peak over the hills, the group makes their way through the foothills rather quickly and without incident. Much of the guard posts that were assembled are within the flattened land, though occasionally you have to trek southward to avoid the random one sitting atop one of the boarder foothills.

It takes roughly 2 hours to make your way eastward enough to start heading north without having to cross into opened ground. As you continue to travel, the rend of blackness above you continues to pulse and grow. It seems to do so in leaps, where it pulses for a while, going in and out slightly, before thrusting forward what seems like miles in each direction. Each pulse seems to be more and more delayed as well, taking longer with each growth. You start to think that it may be for the better, until you realize that each pulse expands more largely then the one before it. You also start to feel a.... shudder... of flicker... its hard to describe. Almost like with every pulse, you feel... a second heartbeat within you chest... but in between heartbeats. It is an odd and unsettling feeling.

As you get to a point where the foothills merge in with the mountain itself, you start to have to move between rocks and more opened ground. It is now full night, and with the pure blackness of the clouds is above you, it is very difficult to see. You hope that this struggle you are facing assists you as much as it hinders. The only real source of light is the distant glow of lava in the distance, which does not help very much in the here and now.

 Stealth Checks (Add +10 if you are using PWaT now... Let me know... I will assume you are once you leave the foothills... but if not...)