(Performance Check)

Performance 14

Does anyone want to help me with this performance?

(Remember to send your rolls to everyone in the campaign log so they can be seen!)

The dragon is more than willing to listen to whatever tale you weave or ballad you sing, but it doesn't seem to be enough to convince her to tell her own tale. When you ask again, she briefly raises her massive head to slowly shake back and forth. "My stories are already out in the world, if you wish to know them, you'll have to find them."

Crannoc, eyes closed and reclining in the pool, feels as one with Silvanus.

He reaches over and touches Gallant on the shoulder to share the flow of natural Guidance:  (if allowed, add 3 to the Performance check.)

Reroll performance: 14 + 3 

Even with the guidance of Crannoc's deity and Hildr telling her own skaldic poems, the dragon remains unmoved in this matter. Closing her eyes as she lays her head back down. 

"You'll have no disagreement from me, this is wonderful." Gawain says in reply to Iris. "It's a shame we won't be able to come back here."

"Since Mercuriel has offered to let us rest here...Do we still need to keep watches?"

Hildr hadn't realized she had it in her, and she appreciates the bard's patient coaching. The dragon certainly seemed amused. But alas, their combined efforts weren't enough the sway the worm. I hope I didn't spoil Gallant's oration.

The warrior woman still marvels that any of this is happening.

And that she is no longer afraid.

Hildr is at ease.

After bathing in the enchanted springs for about half an hour, you decide to get out, lest the heat make you faint. You feel relaxed enough that sleep comes almost instantly, and for the entirety of the night nothing disturbs your rest. For Iris, this is the first time in her remembered life that cursed nightmare does not haunt her dreams.

When you wake in the morning, you find yourselves in a clearing that fits better with the local flora of the Greenfields, your belongings neatly set off to the side. You look over just in time to see a shimmering field begin to fade, along with Mercuriel's watchful golden eye behind it.

True to her word, the waters have blessed you. You feel a warm power underneath your skin, invigorating you like never before.

(For the next 3 days, your hitpoint maximum is effectively increased by 14 points. Mechanically just use temp hitpoints on the character sheet to track this. If you have a spell or effect that also aids temp hp, just add it on top.)

As Gallant wakes he looks around and feels that his muscle doesn't ache for the first time in a long time. "Thank you so much Mercuriel for your hospitality and kindness. I will make it a goal to learn your stories from the world." 

"Not bad for a first night on the road, let's hope the next brings us an equal amount of fortune." Gawain says as he finishes gathering his pack together and refitting his armor. "I think we should make haste for most of the day, until we get a few miles out at least." 

The last to wake, Iris is unwilling to give up the best sleep of her life. When she finally opens her eyes, she elects to simply lay there for a few minutes. She thinks back to what the dragon had said. 'You may be fortunate enough to stumble upon it twice, but I have never seen the same face here again.' It nearly makes her want to weep.

Finally, she drags herself out of her bedroll and packs up, preparing for the day's journey ahead of them. "That sounds a workable plan. If we don't encounter any bandits on the road, I'm intereseted in getting a look at this troublesome plantlife the castellan spoke of. There must be some way around it."

A dozen yards from her comrades, amidst the ferns and other undergrowth at the edge of the meadow, her feet propped upon an enormous toadstool and a bed of moss serving as a pillow, Hildr awakens naked—and uncharacteristically late!

Where is my sword? Where is my shield? Where are my clothes? She scrambles to track everything down in the meadow. "Tempus surely frowns on me," she mutters.

But Hildr has never felt so fit—and that's saying something.

Crannoc always enjoys a night spent sleeping outdoors, but this tops them all.  He bows deeply towards the final fading sight of Mercuriel's watching eye, murmuring Silvanus' blessing upon the great gold dragon.

He puts his clothes back on and equips his armor and weapons, feeling even more invigorated than normal.  Even the thought of facing an unnatural-seeming killer plant that can snare an elk does not daunt Crannoc.  Ever alert, he watches the surroundings closely as he party sets off.

(For those keeping an eye out, perception checks.)

Perception check 20

Crannoc is far too distracted by the wondrous events of the previous night to pay proper attention to his surroundings as he should.

Perception:  8 (nat. 1) or +2 = 10 if with Guidance

(Passive Perception:  17).

Though the weather was fair when you set out this morning, come mid-afternoon the skies have been covered by a cloak of gray clouds. A light rain begins to fall, creating a gloomy mist that covers the landscape as cool raindrops hit the warm earth. 

It's around this time that Gallant would notice them: a group shadowing your own by moving stealthily through the woods on either side of the road. He never spots them directly, but catches the signs well enough. The twang of a branch being moved out of place, the shuffling of brush. 

Someone is following you.