Noel catches his breath, the energy required to cast the most potent spell in his arsenal having drained him a bit, but he's overjoyed to see the devestating effects of his magic, having destroyed the vast majority of the smaller creatures and brough the humanoid so low that Jack was quickly able to finish it off. As he takes a breath, he sheaths his pan flute into its holster again, and the flames of his candle continue to dance for a moment. They illustrate as the young halfling figure climbs across various mountain peaks and hikes across a deadly desert, even swimming across a few lakes to reach his final destination. With a bow, the figure then dissipates and the candle goes out
However, even as it does, little bits of the flame still dance around Beren, what little of Elroy Leafwhistle's story Noel was able to tell still enchanting him with it's power, lingering as long as the protection can (OCC: I might be wrong, but I believe the effects of the tale lasts as long as Beren has some of the temp hit points remaining)
He turns to Beren, laughing, and says "I don't blame you. I don't exactly look the part". He makes a quick referential gesture to himself, clearly referencing his higher quality clothes and his age beforing contining. "I don't just tell stories just because I enjoy them, and the same for songs. Each tale and tune has its own spell within it if you know how to find it".
With that, he turns back to his surroundings, still wary of the mists around him, even if they have faded a bit more than before
Although Jack for just an >instance< looked as if he too might give chase after the twisted mockeries of verdant dreams, any compulsion to do so is quietly snuffed out within the first step by sheer force of will with a grim smile. "Stories for another day." He whispered to himself before allowing his attention to return to the others.
"You didn't believe us? Hah! And here I thought otherwise for a while there as well." Jack joked, hoping to raise the mood a bit. "But seriously, it is alright. While I'm far from being a stranger to such necessary vulgarities as the drawing of steel or raising a wand in my defense, I will confess to be a little out of practice for sure. So, you're getting up there as it were was most welcome, dear Beren." He further assured the man, then appeared to finally take note of the lifting mist, if only a tidbit. "And what good fortunes! It seems removing that little dark thorn has even raised the mist spirits a tad. Excellent. Best we be off again 'afore... well, 'afore those little runners come skittering back with friends." He says, sidestepping any mention of watchful gazes upon them.
Which by all accounts Jack wasn't entirely unfamiliar with as a few powerful hags and archfey had -- in his vague recollection -- a habit of doing similar. There was a certain level of discomfort to this one, but... but at even an indirect thought to it warranted a bit of a headshake in dismissal of concern. As well as spur him towards taking matters a bit into his own hands in continuing the trek down the path in much the same direction as they had originally been going down.... unless there had been more in the area to stop and regard at greater length. But as he walked and trusted the others to follow, the druid throws back over a shoulder, "And by the well, Noel. I do hope that means you'll be less inclined to hide that spark in you now. 'fore I wager will certainly need it more now than ever~"
(OOC: Looks like it Inferno18. Or at least until you roll on the table again as well.)
As the creatures begin their retreats, Beren decides that letting them go simply isn't an option, and in a twin pair of strikes he takes out the first with ease, though his sword only hits it just barely. Still enough to fell it, but it gets breifly stuck to the sword before his followup swing eviscerates (as much as one can eviscerate a plant..) with a powerful strike, the creature exploding into something like straw and twigs. The creatures not even making a noise as they die, as the body of the first one flew off into the tree's and mist. Now all of the creatures that had been here had died, and for better or worse, everyone had gotten atleast one hit in.
As Beren approaches the humanoids corpse, he gets a better look at it. And despite the way it was walking and acting, .. overall it looks not that different from a normal human. It's eyes covered with leathers though there was no visible reason for it. It's clothes were somewhere in between a barbarian and a keeper of the land, though twisted into a more terrifying look in the same way a warlocks variation of a preists clothing might be. As Beren tries to think back on anything he's heard, his memory fails to recollect anything like it.. whether simply due to lack of experiences ... or some other factor.
In the end, as best as Beren can tell, the humanoid was some sort of being who likely lived off the land to some degree and was either intrinsically, or corrupted to some evil variation of what it had been. However, aside from a few berries, and the clothes on it's body, it carried little else.
Noel, even as he speaks to Beren, takes stock of his surroundings. He too feels like they're being watched but whatever is watching them .. he is sure isn't there with them - and yet it continues observing, judging from afar.
Beren tenses a little when he notices the flames, but manages to remind himself that its just Noel's support spell. Shaking his head, he puts the flames out of his mind, "Hmm, I am not familiar with your kind of magic." He turns away from the corps, listening to Jack as he does.
"I am not sure that our actions here are what caused the mist to thin. ...but perhaps it did. Regardless, it seems someone is toying with us." He eyes his surroundings, "I don't like it...and when I find out who's behind this..." The light behind the mask flares, but he shakes his head instead of continuing. That was a task for later now they just had to figure out what to do and where to go. "For now all we can do is press on." As Jack moves to do just that, Beren falls in line behind him. If the opportunity comes to take the lead again he will do so, but he won't shove past the elf. He also sheathes his sword, having no need to clean the blade since he hadn't had the chance to actually use it. The fact left him wondering if these storytellers even needed his protection. Yet he also realized that that particular fight had ended quickly. He didn't know how the two would fare if faced with a more challenging threat. Even if he found later that they did need his protection, he wasn't about to dismiss their abilities as quickly as he had done before.
After they have been traveling for a while, he once again uses Divine Sense. He doesn't want to stumble into another encounter.
Noel hear's Jack's comment about his magic and grows a bit more stoic. Despite having already determined that whatever this place was it would force him to drop the guise and use his magic openly in order to defend himself, he's never really though of magic in the same way Jack clearly does. To Noel, hiding his magic magic has not really been a burden or something he's been wishing he didn't have to do, but rather a natural part of his life. Besides, he's always enjoyed how people marvel at his simple candle or become enthralled by his stories, belieivng the candle to be some sort of magical artifact and Noel's stories to be just that, a story. Noel chuckles to himself a bit as he lands on the though that it's much simpler to make your stories feel magical when they are magical. If everyone were to know the true nature of his tales, they'd lose a bit of that wonder. Besides, given the kinds of spells he knows... well, he wouldn't blame people for trusting him quite a bit less, especially when it came to games of chance. So, he's always kept it hidden, preserving that wonder and his own reputation
Here though, that's different. There's no audience, no boisterous taverns and gambling tables, just the fog, that thing they just slayed, and whatever is watching them. Well, that and whatever other horrors await them in the mists. Besides, there's no risk to his reputation when no one he's met but these two will likely ever know. He turns to Jack and says "I will, friend. No use for subtlety in a place like this. At home, being so upfront about my magic might risk my safety but here, well, I think all of our lives are at risk no matter what".With that somewhat somber comment, he tries to refocus on the original prophecy. It was easy to marvel at the idea of it when he wasn't living it but now that the reality's sunk in a bit more, he's not so sure. Still, there's not use resisting a prophecy - it will find you no matter what you try to do to avoid it. It's best to go along and see what fate has in store
Staring out into the receeding mists, he's overwhelmed with the feeling of being watched, as if something is silently observing them. Is whatever this is putting them through some sort of test? Sizing up how much of a threat they are? In any case, it's incredibly concerning. "Something is watching us, something distant and cold," he says, "though it doesn't feel like it's close by. More like it's silently obserbing from afar. I don't know what is it, but I feel like we're being judged. Or hunted perhaps. Either way, I don't think we have any choice but to keep moving"
As they do, Noel remains behind Beren, allowing Jack to lead the way and continuing to watch the mists around him. Even if whatever it is that is watching them is far away, there's always the possibility of another horrifying threat around the next corner
You all proceed after briefly looking over the battlefield, and talking amongst yourselves. The eerie silence remaining, with only the occasional sound of branches rustling, which is likely due to smaller animals in the area being skittish. The road curves slightly, and the mist slowly but surely begins to fade the farther you go this direction.
Until eventually the mist only blocks the most distant views. Despite this, you still mostly see trees on either side of the road, and can vaguely make out a river or stream to the south, somewhat following the roads trajectory.
Another hour goes by with nothing of note happening. The sky, though visible now, is muted, as there is heavy cloud cover obscuring the sun, giving the world a permanent overcast, and leaving the world dull, Grey.
Eventually the road forks to a T. Thbpath continues on eastward, curving slowly south in the distance. Meanwhile, the new path branches off and heads almost directly north. Beren reaches out with his senses, but luckily feels nothing. Atleast within the range of his spell, there is nothing of any extraplanar or evil origin.
As best as you can guess, it's roughly 2 in the afternoon, and now faced with a choice of continuing eastward, or diverting north.
If any of you looked back west, now a fair distance behind you, you see that even above the mist there is something akin to a visually impenetrable wall of fog that goes until your eyes can no longer perceiveit left or right. Ending only what seems to be several miles Into the sky where the clouded sky and muted sun were barely visible beyond the clouds.
"A wall of mist at at least one visible edge of unknown lands... hmm~ Reminds me of a fairy tale." Jack comments, having glanced back out of curiosity while considering paths. "But how far does it go I wonder... A concern for another day, as I'm starting to get a little famished!" On that note, Jack spun about on his heels to again regard the T-intersection, and after but a few seconds more thought, he'd snapped his fingers and dug out a gold piece.
"Heads we head north, and tails we continue ease. Though I would wager a more easterly path might see us to a village, seeing as the river seems to largely follow it.... You know what on second thought, I think we should head east! So let's hop to it gentlemen! With any luck, we'll reach some measure of civilization before sun down at the very least... or whatever equates to sundown hear, in any case. Personally, I half-expect lighting to cap out at twilight before the sun dances is way back the other way." Jack chattered only idly while continuing the course eastward.
Noel examines the landscape attempting to find any real indication of which path may be a more proper one to take, but is confronted with nothing but fog surrounding them. Though it hasn't been long since they awoke in whatever this place is, he's already quite sick of the sight of these mists that keep surrounding him, and that wall of fog behind them isn't filling him with any more comfort. When Jack speaks up to suggest a path, Noel responds "If that is where your insticts lead you, then that is where I will follow! There's no way to tell what lies at the ends of these roads other than by walking them and dealing with whatever we may encounter". As jack begins to move eastwards, Noel follows closely behind him, continuing to keep a watch out for any more horrors in the mist around them as Jack talks.
Beren follows wordlessly. It doesn't matter to him where they go, especially since he cannot sense anything good or evil in the area. All they can do now is choose a direction and continue on. If they must camp outside of civilization, he will keep watch just as he had done before. He doubts that he can get any sleep tonight, not after what had happened last night.
He eyes the mist and the landscape around them. Even though he cannot sense any evil presence around, he can't shake the feeling that something is watching them. Not that it was a new sensation. He was used to being observed...but he was also used to knowing who was keeping an eye on him. He stays on high alert as they press on, disliking this land more and more.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Chance: 13
Chance2: 2
Original rolls: Chance 8, chance2 19
Chance determination: 1 + 6
Determination original rolls 10 + 2
# roll 3
# original roll 3
With only the breifest thought though a pinch of sound logic, Jack once more sets a course and Beren and Noel following in his wake to some degree. The mist had vanished over the next twenty minutes, though the distant wall of fog never dissipated. In a way, always what was within visible range could be described as being akin to being in a snow globe, except all of the snow blocked the view outside the glass at the very edge, and never fell. And the sun was muffled behind thick cloud cover. Not that much more could be seen past the tree's that surrounded the path as you all left the upside-down T-intersection. The path once more becoming linear .. the road eventually curving back north-east, and with the mist cleared, a small mountain or otherwise very large hill can just barely be seen above the tree's to the north-west. More mountains can be seen beyond that though part of them seems to disappear into the wall of fog.
The river more or less follows the same path as the road, though occasionally it sounds slightly more distant and rarely sounds closer as the road slowly, slowly curves back eastward though the day burns quickly as the sun begins to set in the distance, and the greyed tones of color slowly shift darker. The tree's to the south thinning to the point you all can see the river following along it for now.
In the last rays of sunlight, you all happen to see a bridge before even that falls to the darkness of night as it descends over the land. The wind picking up and the tree's whistling a horrifying dirge, though you all knew it was a natural occurrence. Leaves blew softly over the ground from one side of the road to the other as you continued along the path. At some point during the last six hours who.. or whatever had been watching you seemed to fade away over time. Like a spell wearing off, and atleast for now, you no longer felt watched from afar. Unfortunately for anyone without darkvision of some kind, it is very difficult to see... something that will apparently become a common thing in this place...
Another half-hour passes before the bridge comes into full view and the sound of the river is close. The bridge itself is stone, going directly over the flowing water. On the other side of the bridge, anyone with atleast 60 feet of darkvision can just barely see a weathered sign pointing in several directions. Unfortunately heading directly towards you all, is a group of 3 humans on the other side of the bridge. They are caked in greyish mud, wearing simple leather-hide armor. For those without darkvision or magical assitance, they cannot be seen yet.
Each of them carrying a crude looking greataxe. You can tell they would be hard to spot if they were lying in ambush, but it seems these ones are heading somewhere.
What do you do? Only those with 60+ feet of darkvision can see them, you are otherwise blind to their existence as the river muffles any noise that would otherwise give them away. They are heading directly towards your group, though they don't seem to be aware of your existence either, being humans they lack darkvision.
"It looks like we are in for some company," Beren says, pointing a glowing hand towards the oncoming group. "If we are lucky, they will simply pass us by. Though, it looks like they are prepared for a fight. They have not seen us yet..." He trails off, having no desire to hide from these people as he is confident that he can handle himself should a fight break loose. Plus, he and Jack have an advantage here since they can see in the dark. Nevertheless, he brings up the option in case his companions would rather avoid a brawl at all costs, "If you wish, we could move to the side of the road and out of sight while they pass us by. Though I must say that stealth is not exactly my strong suit." He briefly covers the glowing mask with one hand, dimming the glow for a second.
As much as Jack had half a mind to call an early end to the journey for the sake of setting up camp, the words never leave his mouth. The promise of comfort and relative safety found in some village yet urged him onward. And although he carried himself with the usual vaneer of carefreeness and absent-minded amusement, it would be clear -- at least to a certain entertainer -- that all was not right. Over the course of the passing hours Jack's hair and skin had begun to lose some of its luster or lighten towards yellow in tone in places.
Jack never appears to take notice, but over time began humming an uplifting tune in contrast to the environment and seemingly stave off 'the change'. A task made easier or at least seemingly more effective once the feelings of being watched seemed to fade away. As just as his thoughts turned to Noel and Beren (but mostely Noel), and a question began forming about light a torch, that's when he sees the approaching men.... Axe wielding humans... caked in greyish mud... wearing simple leather hides for armor and largely clothing... Yep... Totally fine.
"Hm~ This certainly beats the monotony." He murmured underbreath. But before he can say more Beren manages to surprise even Jack a bit. "Clearly. But while even I don't expect them to necessarily be the friendly sort, should we not engage in conversation first and maybe learn a bit more about... well, wherever we are?" He asked the group in quiet tones to keep his voice from carrying over the wind too much.
Noel walks around in the dark, unable to really pinpoint anything around them and focusing on Beren's faint glow in order to get some bearing in the darkened landscape. He's relieved to feel that whatever has been watching them has faded, but remains on alert regardless. If something took the time to watch them for so long, it's not going to stop simply because one spell or whatever that might have been had faded. It dawns on Noel is this moment that the sudden dissapearance of whoever was watching them could mean that they had anotehr way of watching them now. Perhaps they were close by? He tries his best to dismiss the thought - if whatever was watching them has ill intentions, they'll have to react when the time comes
As Beren alerts him to the presence of the someone approaching, Noel's concern immediately grows. Given what little he's seen of this place so far, he's not exactly eager to extent any level of trust towards unknown entities, and especially given Beren didn't mention how many of them there were, his first instict is to ensure they are protected as possible. "How many of them are there?" he whispers to Beren, concerned about possibly getting into a fight they can't win. "If there are many of them, then we should hide. I'll give you some assistance. If there's only 1 or 2 of them I can also use to magic to attempt to make their disposition towards us a bit more favorable. Though if I do that... well let's just not stick around to see what happens when the magic wears off. I'd rather us not put ourselves in danger if we don't have to though"
With that, he puts a a hand on Beren's shoulder, giving him a bit of magical assitance (Guidance) and preparing to duck into the brush on the side of the road
"There are three, and they seem fairly... I want to say fit, but they are awfully caked in mud. So, I suppose that's one too many for any softening up further, hm?~" Jack says with a smirk. "Anyhow, enough waffling. Time is precious. Let us away off to the sides and go from there." With that the Eladrin moved to leave the road by at least thirty-five feet if at all possible, and lay down among the earth and grass to better blend in with it.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Beren is a little displeased with the idea of trying to hide, but he doesn't show it. He recognizes Noel's magical attempt to help him hide with them, but must be honest with himself...its rather hard to hide when his own skin glows. The only thing he could do to cover that up would be to lay face down with his hands underneath him...which didn't put him in a very good position if fighting were to ensue.
When Jack decides that they will attempt stealth, Beren says simply, "Very well, if that is what you want." He moves to the opposite side of the road, just in case he is spotted. That way he won't give away Noel and Jack's hiding place.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Perception1: 14
Perception2: 4
Perception3: 7
After a breif discussion in the nearly pitch black of night, with Beren acting as.. for better or worse, a nightlight for the one person in the group who couldn't see properly otherwise, and a hasty strategy is made out, you all ultimately choose discretion as the better part of valor. Beren moving to one side of the bridge and laying in a way that hides the majority of his 'glow.'
Meanwhile, it takes Noel a moment to spot anything like brush or foliage, but once he spots it, he quickly makes his way to it, slipping into or behind it with the grace of a snake.. that is to say very well.
Lastly, Jack... wanting to be farther away pushes off some distance.. unfortunately .. one of the axe weilding humans hears Jack faintly and cries out in a gutteral tongue that sounds like dwarvish and common fused. Each of them draws their axe as they make their way over the bridge. Though they also seem rather confused. Likely, they heard but didn't see Jack... Regardless... they all begin to storm in Jacks general direction into the tree's.
Acting more on impulse than rational thought, Jack's form further darkens, shrinks, and contorts until within a few moments only a tiny ant remained in his stead. It's only afterwhich he silently hoped Beren, or worst yet Noel hadn't got brave in trying to intercede on his behalf, lead his escape -- or at least, the beginnings of one -- came undone in their rush to act. Either way, he'd try his best to find cover between the bark at the base of a tree, and hoped no other critter had much a mind to call it home this eve!
Noel stays silently hidden in the foliage, and when he hears one of the approaching figures Beren described, he silently begins casting a spell, hoping that Jack will get out of whatever situation he has found himself in. He keeps the wick of his candle covered, careful not to let his magic cause it to light until he needs to actually finish casting the spell, if he does at all
Ready an Action (Vicious Mockery). I'll use it if Jack's location is discovered and it looks like he is in danger, targeting whichever one is closest to Jack that I can reach. If it's cast, the target needs to make a DC 14 Wis save or take 4 damage and have disadvantage on its next attack, or save for half damage and ignore that effect
(OOC: I will give Beren time to make a response before proceeding. And my logic here was ... one of their perceptions had matched Jack's stealth, but they can't really 'see' and though the river muffled noise from the other side, and even to a smaller degree from this side of the river, I had to find SOME way that would atleast semi-sensically allow the 'matched perception to stealth' contest to work out.)
Upon finding his hiding place, Beren had pulled up his fur hood to cover whatever glint from his chainmail and mask he could...and hopefully some of the glow. He is surprised when the enemy...should he think of these people as the enemy just yet? ...Either way, he is surprised when they seem to gravitate in the direction of Jack and Noel.
Cursing silently, he does his best to look after the three humans without lifting his head to the point where they would catch sight of his glow. Part of him wants to attack while he still has the upper hand...before either of his comrades are discovered. But he forces himself to remain calm, if there is any sign that one of his friends has been found... he feels the heat within him rise...preparing him to use his conquering presence. As much as he hates it, sometimes his intimidating appearance can be put to good use. Regardless, he does not stand up unless it looks like one of both of his companions have been discovered. If there is even the slightest hint that this has happened, he won't hesitate to emerge from hiding.
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Noel catches his breath, the energy required to cast the most potent spell in his arsenal having drained him a bit, but he's overjoyed to see the devestating effects of his magic, having destroyed the vast majority of the smaller creatures and brough the humanoid so low that Jack was quickly able to finish it off. As he takes a breath, he sheaths his pan flute into its holster again, and the flames of his candle continue to dance for a moment. They illustrate as the young halfling figure climbs across various mountain peaks and hikes across a deadly desert, even swimming across a few lakes to reach his final destination. With a bow, the figure then dissipates and the candle goes out
However, even as it does, little bits of the flame still dance around Beren, what little of Elroy Leafwhistle's story Noel was able to tell still enchanting him with it's power, lingering as long as the protection can (OCC: I might be wrong, but I believe the effects of the tale lasts as long as Beren has some of the temp hit points remaining)
He turns to Beren, laughing, and says "I don't blame you. I don't exactly look the part". He makes a quick referential gesture to himself, clearly referencing his higher quality clothes and his age beforing contining. "I don't just tell stories just because I enjoy them, and the same for songs. Each tale and tune has its own spell within it if you know how to find it".
With that, he turns back to his surroundings, still wary of the mists around him, even if they have faded a bit more than before
Perception if Needed: 18
Although Jack for just an >instance< looked as if he too might give chase after the twisted mockeries of verdant dreams, any compulsion to do so is quietly snuffed out within the first step by sheer force of will with a grim smile. "Stories for another day." He whispered to himself before allowing his attention to return to the others.
"You didn't believe us? Hah! And here I thought otherwise for a while there as well." Jack joked, hoping to raise the mood a bit. "But seriously, it is alright. While I'm far from being a stranger to such necessary vulgarities as the drawing of steel or raising a wand in my defense, I will confess to be a little out of practice for sure. So, you're getting up there as it were was most welcome, dear Beren." He further assured the man, then appeared to finally take note of the lifting mist, if only a tidbit. "And what good fortunes! It seems removing that little dark thorn has even raised the mist spirits a tad. Excellent. Best we be off again 'afore... well, 'afore those little runners come skittering back with friends." He says, sidestepping any mention of watchful gazes upon them.
Which by all accounts Jack wasn't entirely unfamiliar with as a few powerful hags and archfey had -- in his vague recollection -- a habit of doing similar. There was a certain level of discomfort to this one, but... but at even an indirect thought to it warranted a bit of a headshake in dismissal of concern. As well as spur him towards taking matters a bit into his own hands in continuing the trek down the path in much the same direction as they had originally been going down.... unless there had been more in the area to stop and regard at greater length. But as he walked and trusted the others to follow, the druid throws back over a shoulder, "And by the well, Noel. I do hope that means you'll be less inclined to hide that spark in you now. 'fore I wager will certainly need it more now than ever~"
(OOC: Looks like it Inferno18. Or at least until you roll on the table again as well.)
Goyo - [Tortle]Druid/Warlock - Circle of Sea/Celestial (Libretalia)
Vogan - [Goliath-Hill]Bard - ???(A Dungeon-Delving Campaign Group C)
Jack Vicvan - [Eladrin]Warlock - Archfey
As the creatures begin their retreats, Beren decides that letting them go simply isn't an option, and in a twin pair of strikes he takes out the first with ease, though his sword only hits it just barely. Still enough to fell it, but it gets breifly stuck to the sword before his followup swing eviscerates (as much as one can eviscerate a plant..) with a powerful strike, the creature exploding into something like straw and twigs. The creatures not even making a noise as they die, as the body of the first one flew off into the tree's and mist. Now all of the creatures that had been here had died, and for better or worse, everyone had gotten atleast one hit in.
As Beren approaches the humanoids corpse, he gets a better look at it. And despite the way it was walking and acting, .. overall it looks not that different from a normal human. It's eyes covered with leathers though there was no visible reason for it. It's clothes were somewhere in between a barbarian and a keeper of the land, though twisted into a more terrifying look in the same way a warlocks variation of a preists clothing might be. As Beren tries to think back on anything he's heard, his memory fails to recollect anything like it.. whether simply due to lack of experiences ... or some other factor.
In the end, as best as Beren can tell, the humanoid was some sort of being who likely lived off the land to some degree and was either intrinsically, or corrupted to some evil variation of what it had been. However, aside from a few berries, and the clothes on it's body, it carried little else.
Noel, even as he speaks to Beren, takes stock of his surroundings. He too feels like they're being watched but whatever is watching them .. he is sure isn't there with them - and yet it continues observing, judging from afar.
Occassional Dungeon Master.
Beren tenses a little when he notices the flames, but manages to remind himself that its just Noel's support spell. Shaking his head, he puts the flames out of his mind, "Hmm, I am not familiar with your kind of magic." He turns away from the corps, listening to Jack as he does.
"I am not sure that our actions here are what caused the mist to thin. ...but perhaps it did. Regardless, it seems someone is toying with us." He eyes his surroundings, "I don't like it...and when I find out who's behind this..." The light behind the mask flares, but he shakes his head instead of continuing. That was a task for later now they just had to figure out what to do and where to go. "For now all we can do is press on." As Jack moves to do just that, Beren falls in line behind him. If the opportunity comes to take the lead again he will do so, but he won't shove past the elf. He also sheathes his sword, having no need to clean the blade since he hadn't had the chance to actually use it. The fact left him wondering if these storytellers even needed his protection. Yet he also realized that that particular fight had ended quickly. He didn't know how the two would fare if faced with a more challenging threat. Even if he found later that they did need his protection, he wasn't about to dismiss their abilities as quickly as he had done before.
After they have been traveling for a while, he once again uses Divine Sense. He doesn't want to stumble into another encounter.
Noel hear's Jack's comment about his magic and grows a bit more stoic. Despite having already determined that whatever this place was it would force him to drop the guise and use his magic openly in order to defend himself, he's never really though of magic in the same way Jack clearly does. To Noel, hiding his magic magic has not really been a burden or something he's been wishing he didn't have to do, but rather a natural part of his life. Besides, he's always enjoyed how people marvel at his simple candle or become enthralled by his stories, belieivng the candle to be some sort of magical artifact and Noel's stories to be just that, a story. Noel chuckles to himself a bit as he lands on the though that it's much simpler to make your stories feel magical when they are magical. If everyone were to know the true nature of his tales, they'd lose a bit of that wonder. Besides, given the kinds of spells he knows... well, he wouldn't blame people for trusting him quite a bit less, especially when it came to games of chance. So, he's always kept it hidden, preserving that wonder and his own reputation
Here though, that's different. There's no audience, no boisterous taverns and gambling tables, just the fog, that thing they just slayed, and whatever is watching them. Well, that and whatever other horrors await them in the mists. Besides, there's no risk to his reputation when no one he's met but these two will likely ever know. He turns to Jack and says "I will, friend. No use for subtlety in a place like this. At home, being so upfront about my magic might risk my safety but here, well, I think all of our lives are at risk no matter what". With that somewhat somber comment, he tries to refocus on the original prophecy. It was easy to marvel at the idea of it when he wasn't living it but now that the reality's sunk in a bit more, he's not so sure. Still, there's not use resisting a prophecy - it will find you no matter what you try to do to avoid it. It's best to go along and see what fate has in store
Staring out into the receeding mists, he's overwhelmed with the feeling of being watched, as if something is silently observing them. Is whatever this is putting them through some sort of test? Sizing up how much of a threat they are? In any case, it's incredibly concerning. "Something is watching us, something distant and cold," he says, "though it doesn't feel like it's close by. More like it's silently obserbing from afar. I don't know what is it, but I feel like we're being judged. Or hunted perhaps. Either way, I don't think we have any choice but to keep moving"
As they do, Noel remains behind Beren, allowing Jack to lead the way and continuing to watch the mists around him. Even if whatever it is that is watching them is far away, there's always the possibility of another horrifying threat around the next corner
You all proceed after briefly looking over the battlefield, and talking amongst yourselves. The eerie silence remaining, with only the occasional sound of branches rustling, which is likely due to smaller animals in the area being skittish. The road curves slightly, and the mist slowly but surely begins to fade the farther you go this direction.
Until eventually the mist only blocks the most distant views. Despite this, you still mostly see trees on either side of the road, and can vaguely make out a river or stream to the south, somewhat following the roads trajectory.
Another hour goes by with nothing of note happening. The sky, though visible now, is muted, as there is heavy cloud cover obscuring the sun, giving the world a permanent overcast, and leaving the world dull, Grey.
Eventually the road forks to a T. Thbpath continues on eastward, curving slowly south in the distance. Meanwhile, the new path branches off and heads almost directly north. Beren reaches out with his senses, but luckily feels nothing. Atleast within the range of his spell, there is nothing of any extraplanar or evil origin.
As best as you can guess, it's roughly 2 in the afternoon, and now faced with a choice of continuing eastward, or diverting north.
If any of you looked back west, now a fair distance behind you, you see that even above the mist there is something akin to a visually impenetrable wall of fog that goes until your eyes can no longer perceiveit left or right. Ending only what seems to be several miles Into the sky where the clouded sky and muted sun were barely visible beyond the clouds.
Occassional Dungeon Master.
"A wall of mist at at least one visible edge of unknown lands... hmm~ Reminds me of a fairy tale." Jack comments, having glanced back out of curiosity while considering paths. "But how far does it go I wonder... A concern for another day, as I'm starting to get a little famished!" On that note, Jack spun about on his heels to again regard the T-intersection, and after but a few seconds more thought, he'd snapped his fingers and dug out a gold piece.
"Heads we head north, and tails we continue ease. Though I would wager a more easterly path might see us to a village, seeing as the river seems to largely follow it.... You know what on second thought, I think we should head east! So let's hop to it gentlemen! With any luck, we'll reach some measure of civilization before sun down at the very least... or whatever equates to sundown hear, in any case. Personally, I half-expect lighting to cap out at twilight before the sun dances is way back the other way." Jack chattered only idly while continuing the course eastward.
Goyo - [Tortle]Druid/Warlock - Circle of Sea/Celestial (Libretalia)
Vogan - [Goliath-Hill]Bard - ???(A Dungeon-Delving Campaign Group C)
Jack Vicvan - [Eladrin]Warlock - Archfey
Noel examines the landscape attempting to find any real indication of which path may be a more proper one to take, but is confronted with nothing but fog surrounding them. Though it hasn't been long since they awoke in whatever this place is, he's already quite sick of the sight of these mists that keep surrounding him, and that wall of fog behind them isn't filling him with any more comfort. When Jack speaks up to suggest a path, Noel responds "If that is where your insticts lead you, then that is where I will follow! There's no way to tell what lies at the ends of these roads other than by walking them and dealing with whatever we may encounter". As jack begins to move eastwards, Noel follows closely behind him, continuing to keep a watch out for any more horrors in the mist around them as Jack talks.
Beren follows wordlessly. It doesn't matter to him where they go, especially since he cannot sense anything good or evil in the area. All they can do now is choose a direction and continue on. If they must camp outside of civilization, he will keep watch just as he had done before. He doubts that he can get any sleep tonight, not after what had happened last night.
He eyes the mist and the landscape around them. Even though he cannot sense any evil presence around, he can't shake the feeling that something is watching them. Not that it was a new sensation. He was used to being observed...but he was also used to knowing who was keeping an eye on him. He stays on high alert as they press on, disliking this land more and more.
Chance: 13
Chance2: 2
Original rolls: Chance 8, chance2 19
Chance determination: 1 + 6
Determination original rolls 10 + 2
# roll 3
# original roll 3
With only the breifest thought though a pinch of sound logic, Jack once more sets a course and Beren and Noel following in his wake to some degree. The mist had vanished over the next twenty minutes, though the distant wall of fog never dissipated. In a way, always what was within visible range could be described as being akin to being in a snow globe, except all of the snow blocked the view outside the glass at the very edge, and never fell. And the sun was muffled behind thick cloud cover. Not that much more could be seen past the tree's that surrounded the path as you all left the upside-down T-intersection. The path once more becoming linear .. the road eventually curving back north-east, and with the mist cleared, a small mountain or otherwise very large hill can just barely be seen above the tree's to the north-west. More mountains can be seen beyond that though part of them seems to disappear into the wall of fog.
The river more or less follows the same path as the road, though occasionally it sounds slightly more distant and rarely sounds closer as the road slowly, slowly curves back eastward though the day burns quickly as the sun begins to set in the distance, and the greyed tones of color slowly shift darker. The tree's to the south thinning to the point you all can see the river following along it for now.
In the last rays of sunlight, you all happen to see a bridge before even that falls to the darkness of night as it descends over the land. The wind picking up and the tree's whistling a horrifying dirge, though you all knew it was a natural occurrence. Leaves blew softly over the ground from one side of the road to the other as you continued along the path. At some point during the last six hours who.. or whatever had been watching you seemed to fade away over time. Like a spell wearing off, and atleast for now, you no longer felt watched from afar. Unfortunately for anyone without darkvision of some kind, it is very difficult to see... something that will apparently become a common thing in this place...
Another half-hour passes before the bridge comes into full view and the sound of the river is close. The bridge itself is stone, going directly over the flowing water. On the other side of the bridge, anyone with atleast 60 feet of darkvision can just barely see a weathered sign pointing in several directions. Unfortunately heading directly towards you all, is a group of 3 humans on the other side of the bridge. They are caked in greyish mud, wearing simple leather-hide armor. For those without darkvision or magical assitance, they cannot be seen yet.
Each of them carrying a crude looking greataxe. You can tell they would be hard to spot if they were lying in ambush, but it seems these ones are heading somewhere.
What do you do? Only those with 60+ feet of darkvision can see them, you are otherwise blind to their existence as the river muffles any noise that would otherwise give them away. They are heading directly towards your group, though they don't seem to be aware of your existence either, being humans they lack darkvision.
Occassional Dungeon Master.
"It looks like we are in for some company," Beren says, pointing a glowing hand towards the oncoming group. "If we are lucky, they will simply pass us by. Though, it looks like they are prepared for a fight. They have not seen us yet..." He trails off, having no desire to hide from these people as he is confident that he can handle himself should a fight break loose. Plus, he and Jack have an advantage here since they can see in the dark. Nevertheless, he brings up the option in case his companions would rather avoid a brawl at all costs, "If you wish, we could move to the side of the road and out of sight while they pass us by. Though I must say that stealth is not exactly my strong suit." He briefly covers the glowing mask with one hand, dimming the glow for a second.
As much as Jack had half a mind to call an early end to the journey for the sake of setting up camp, the words never leave his mouth. The promise of comfort and relative safety found in some village yet urged him onward. And although he carried himself with the usual vaneer of carefreeness and absent-minded amusement, it would be clear -- at least to a certain entertainer -- that all was not right. Over the course of the passing hours Jack's hair and skin had begun to lose some of its luster or lighten towards yellow in tone in places.
Jack never appears to take notice, but over time began humming an uplifting tune in contrast to the environment and seemingly stave off 'the change'. A task made easier or at least seemingly more effective once the feelings of being watched seemed to fade away. As just as his thoughts turned to Noel and Beren (but mostely Noel), and a question began forming about light a torch, that's when he sees the approaching men.... Axe wielding humans... caked in greyish mud... wearing simple leather hides for armor and largely clothing... Yep... Totally fine.
"Hm~ This certainly beats the monotony." He murmured underbreath. But before he can say more Beren manages to surprise even Jack a bit. "Clearly. But while even I don't expect them to necessarily be the friendly sort, should we not engage in conversation first and maybe learn a bit more about... well, wherever we are?" He asked the group in quiet tones to keep his voice from carrying over the wind too much.
Goyo - [Tortle]Druid/Warlock - Circle of Sea/Celestial (Libretalia)
Vogan - [Goliath-Hill]Bard - ???(A Dungeon-Delving Campaign Group C)
Jack Vicvan - [Eladrin]Warlock - Archfey
Noel walks around in the dark, unable to really pinpoint anything around them and focusing on Beren's faint glow in order to get some bearing in the darkened landscape. He's relieved to feel that whatever has been watching them has faded, but remains on alert regardless. If something took the time to watch them for so long, it's not going to stop simply because one spell or whatever that might have been had faded. It dawns on Noel is this moment that the sudden dissapearance of whoever was watching them could mean that they had anotehr way of watching them now. Perhaps they were close by? He tries his best to dismiss the thought - if whatever was watching them has ill intentions, they'll have to react when the time comes
As Beren alerts him to the presence of the someone approaching, Noel's concern immediately grows. Given what little he's seen of this place so far, he's not exactly eager to extent any level of trust towards unknown entities, and especially given Beren didn't mention how many of them there were, his first instict is to ensure they are protected as possible. "How many of them are there?" he whispers to Beren, concerned about possibly getting into a fight they can't win. "If there are many of them, then we should hide. I'll give you some assistance. If there's only 1 or 2 of them I can also use to magic to attempt to make their disposition towards us a bit more favorable. Though if I do that... well let's just not stick around to see what happens when the magic wears off. I'd rather us not put ourselves in danger if we don't have to though"
With that, he puts a a hand on Beren's shoulder, giving him a bit of magical assitance (Guidance) and preparing to duck into the brush on the side of the road
Stealth for if we choose to hide: 21
"There are three, and they seem fairly... I want to say fit, but they are awfully caked in mud. So, I suppose that's one too many for any softening up further, hm?~" Jack says with a smirk. "Anyhow, enough waffling. Time is precious. Let us away off to the sides and go from there." With that the Eladrin moved to leave the road by at least thirty-five feet if at all possible, and lay down among the earth and grass to better blend in with it.
Stealth: 14.
Goyo - [Tortle]Druid/Warlock - Circle of Sea/Celestial (Libretalia)
Vogan - [Goliath-Hill]Bard - ???(A Dungeon-Delving Campaign Group C)
Jack Vicvan - [Eladrin]Warlock - Archfey
Beren is a little displeased with the idea of trying to hide, but he doesn't show it. He recognizes Noel's magical attempt to help him hide with them, but must be honest with himself...its rather hard to hide when his own skin glows. The only thing he could do to cover that up would be to lay face down with his hands underneath him...which didn't put him in a very good position if fighting were to ensue.
When Jack decides that they will attempt stealth, Beren says simply, "Very well, if that is what you want." He moves to the opposite side of the road, just in case he is spotted. That way he won't give away Noel and Jack's hiding place.
Stealth: 6 + guidance: 4
Perception1: 14
Perception2: 4
Perception3: 7
After a breif discussion in the nearly pitch black of night, with Beren acting as.. for better or worse, a nightlight for the one person in the group who couldn't see properly otherwise, and a hasty strategy is made out, you all ultimately choose discretion as the better part of valor. Beren moving to one side of the bridge and laying in a way that hides the majority of his 'glow.'
Meanwhile, it takes Noel a moment to spot anything like brush or foliage, but once he spots it, he quickly makes his way to it, slipping into or behind it with the grace of a snake.. that is to say very well.
Lastly, Jack... wanting to be farther away pushes off some distance.. unfortunately .. one of the axe weilding humans hears Jack faintly and cries out in a gutteral tongue that sounds like dwarvish and common fused. Each of them draws their axe as they make their way over the bridge. Though they also seem rather confused. Likely, they heard but didn't see Jack... Regardless... they all begin to storm in Jacks general direction into the tree's.
Occassional Dungeon Master.
Acting more on impulse than rational thought, Jack's form further darkens, shrinks, and contorts until within a few moments only a tiny ant remained in his stead. It's only afterwhich he silently hoped Beren, or worst yet Noel hadn't got brave in trying to intercede on his behalf, lead his escape -- or at least, the beginnings of one -- came undone in their rush to act. Either way, he'd try his best to find cover between the bark at the base of a tree, and hoped no other critter had much a mind to call it home this eve!
Goyo - [Tortle]Druid/Warlock - Circle of Sea/Celestial (Libretalia)
Vogan - [Goliath-Hill]Bard - ???(A Dungeon-Delving Campaign Group C)
Jack Vicvan - [Eladrin]Warlock - Archfey
Noel stays silently hidden in the foliage, and when he hears one of the approaching figures Beren described, he silently begins casting a spell, hoping that Jack will get out of whatever situation he has found himself in. He keeps the wick of his candle covered, careful not to let his magic cause it to light until he needs to actually finish casting the spell, if he does at all
Ready an Action (Vicious Mockery). I'll use it if Jack's location is discovered and it looks like he is in danger, targeting whichever one is closest to Jack that I can reach. If it's cast, the target needs to make a DC 14 Wis save or take 4 damage and have disadvantage on its next attack, or save for half damage and ignore that effect
(OOC: I will give Beren time to make a response before proceeding. And my logic here was ... one of their perceptions had matched Jack's stealth, but they can't really 'see' and though the river muffled noise from the other side, and even to a smaller degree from this side of the river, I had to find SOME way that would atleast semi-sensically allow the 'matched perception to stealth' contest to work out.)
Occassional Dungeon Master.
Upon finding his hiding place, Beren had pulled up his fur hood to cover whatever glint from his chainmail and mask he could...and hopefully some of the glow. He is surprised when the enemy...should he think of these people as the enemy just yet? ...Either way, he is surprised when they seem to gravitate in the direction of Jack and Noel.
Cursing silently, he does his best to look after the three humans without lifting his head to the point where they would catch sight of his glow. Part of him wants to attack while he still has the upper hand...before either of his comrades are discovered. But he forces himself to remain calm, if there is any sign that one of his friends has been found... he feels the heat within him rise...preparing him to use his conquering presence. As much as he hates it, sometimes his intimidating appearance can be put to good use. Regardless, he does not stand up unless it looks like one of both of his companions have been discovered. If there is even the slightest hint that this has happened, he won't hesitate to emerge from hiding.