Keras glances around at the various reactions to his story as he finishes, grimacing slightly "Honestly, it really isn't as scary as it sounds. I've been debating whether or not to investigate the closest beam for a couple of days now, but leaving the security of the island seemed foolish. Perhaps if we remain as a group, it could be something we consider." Keras accepts Euphemia's offer of food, wolfing down some of the roasted spider. He lets out a sigh of contentment "I'm entirely sure that this is probably disgusting, but I don't think I've ever tasted anything so good. The fish in the lake keep you going, but they taste like the mud they live in. This has at least some redeeming qualities." He leans back lightly against one of the walls of the shelter "And here I was, thinking I'd spend tonight wet and miserable. Instead, I'm warm, fed and among company that can actually hold a conversation without trying to get an idea of what my leg tastes like. Things could be worse."

He nods absentmindedly when Euphemia shows them the berries, and explains their uses "They are the primary ingredient in many coagulants used to stop bleeding in people with thin blood, usually administered as a poultice on the bandages but also minimally effective as a direct injection." After a second he realizes what he said and frowns "How did I know that?" He glances around, as if one of them would know the answer. Upon realizing that none of them do, he sighs. "Must be a memory from before. It's a pretty useless one, unfortunately, unless one of you have an incredibly rare nonlethal blood disease." 

Keras spends the rest of the storm helping out where he can, but quickly realizes his skills aren't suited for the tasks that they are doing. Eventually he removes his sword from it's cloth, and inspects its edge. He lets out a small sigh of relief as he finds no imperfections, knowing that there isn't much he can do if it does chip or dull. 

Euphemia enthustiastically accepts the fruits of Taiga's labor. "These are beautiful, Taiga. Thank you!" She turns the tools over in her hands, already seeing how they'll be useful in gathering and preparing herbs. If I can find any more that I recognize. Don't want to experiment too much with strange plants just yet. "If we can get a hatchet made out of this stone, I'll be right glad to help you gather wood for a raft tomorrow."

"It sure could be a lot worse," she agrees with Keras, with another glance at the sleeping raptor at her side. I'm glad we found her, but I'm a little scared still. She has really big teeth. Euphemia resolves to try and wake up before her Animal Friendship wears off, and perhaps play an early morning tune to reapply the magic to Nanra. Maybe she trusts me enough now without it, but maybe she doesn't. As long as I can muster the magic in the morning, I think it'll be a good precaution. "I'm glad you found us, and I'm even more glad that you survived a whole week on your own. That means it's possible, at least. And as for these beams..." The halfling sets her chin in her hands as she leans forward, sitting cross-legged and propping her elbows on her knees. Staring at the huge sleeping raptor's head so close. "If we can find a way to travel safely at night... I'd like to get to one of them too. Maybe there'll be something that can tell us what's going on with this place, and why we can't remember anything."

As Keras shares his revelation about the berries, she lifts her head up. Something about his words feels familiar, but she can't remember from where. Then a quick flash of a memory. She's boiling water for the chirurgeon at the abbey, wrinkling her nose at a lot of stringent-smelling poultices, and worse smelling wounds and sputum coughed up by the infirm... oh, and that was a bad case of frostbite, I remember. And just as quickly, the memory is gone. "You know," she says, "I bet we all know a lot more than we think... if these memories keep coming back... who knows what we'll be able to discover."

ALL

As you go about your various activities, the furious storm outside expends all its rage, becoming nothing more than a mere trickle before ending completely around evening. During that time when tool-making seemed to be the main motivation of the group, Nanra wakes and dashes off into the undergrowth after some stretching. She comes back after about an hour or so. Despite being befriended by magic, she was still a wild animal that still did wild animal things. 

As the sun sets behind distant mountains, the clouds overhead break up and disperse, revealing a crimson sunset fading away into the blackness of night. Above, a web twinkling pinpricks of light begin to wink into existence as night descends upon the land. Around you, the sounds of day give way to the sounds of night: frogs croaking in the swathes of aquatic plants, the lowing of distant animals, the hoot of night birds. Across the lake, you see the yellow-green glow of fireflies bobbing over is placid surface, an occasional fish leaping out from its depths to snatch one of the bugs. The scent of fresh rain hangs heavy in the air, and the gentle drips of rainwater falling from the leaves creates a soothing ambience. The sky  If it weren't so deadly, the jungle could be quite the beautiful vista. 

After about an hour after the sun sets, the sounds of the jungle suddenly die down. An eerie silence descends upon the jungle, a sudden undercurrent of tension palpable in the humid night air. After a moment of tense silence, you begin to hear dull whir all around you, giving you the impression of something powering up. Suddenly, lights fill the sky overhead, and you look up to see the anticipated 'Eye' that Keras told you about.

Filling the center of the sky overhead, you see a perfectly spherical mass of darkness. Radiating away from it is a vast swath of shifting colors from all over the spectrum. It does look like an eye, the black mass being the pupil with the colors radiating from it being the iris. Just as your initial awe at seeing the Eye begins to fade, a low, rumbling voice with a monotonous, almost mechanical quality begins to speak. You can't tell which direction it's coming from, but it suffuses every part of the jungle around you, echoing off the distant mountains. As it begins its droning speech, the green gems in your forearms begin to flash and pulse in a seemingly random pattern. Flash-flash. Flash. Flash. Pause. Flash. Pause. Flash flash. Nanra roused from her slumber once again as the spectacle begins, but she soon lays back down and goes back to sleep as if nothing is happening. You notice the gemstone set into the base of her skull also flashes in sync with yours.

Please roll perception checks. For those that get a 20 or higher, you notice the following:

Perception: 11

Even as this hellious racket is ongoing, Korinth is only half awake. He eyes the sky with relative disinterest, instead moving to the nearest latrine for a quick "use."

Afterward, he moves back under the shelter and lays on his side. He props his head up with his elbow and drifts back to sleep. 

Shin Perception:  19

Almost, almost, Shin feels as if he should notice something about the strange phenomenon in the sky and the green rocks embedded inside all of them, but it slips away before he can put a finger on it or notice it explicitly.  He stares at the strange celestial event and the gems raptly, taking mental notes.

The goblin studiously tries to determine whether he thinks these events are arcane in nature, or technological, allowing for the caveat that sufficiently unfamiliar and advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic from one's perspective.  Perhaps because of this, he finds it hard to tell.

Shin Investigation:  11

SHIN

As he watches the Eye and the gems, he starts to connect some dots in his mind. With the monotonous, droning voice and the shifting aroura of lights overhead, he comes to the conclusion that maybe the events happening were a combination of technology and magic. However, if there was technology involved, that meant that someone or something else was involved with the events of the island. The thought was quite chilling.

As the busy party eventually settles down to relax, and as the night sounds seem to call for quiet and the halfling finishes her soothing song, watching the stars appear... Euphemia feels an odd mixture of peace and loneliness. They've all worked hard all day, nearly lost their lives in terrible battles or had to flee for them, or both. It's been a terror of confusion, uncertainty, and fear, with only strangers and wild beasts for comfort. By the Invincible, she thinks to herself, the way I feel right now, I'd almost think we'd made it to the Fields after a long and arduous purgatory... a tinge of sadness pricks her heart, but it just has less of a sting since her outburst this morning, when the strange moth had landed on her. If it were the Fields, I'd see ye, Saint Rannik, old lad. Something tells her she had felt lost for a very long time after he had been killed. I don't think this is much of an answer to prayer, but I know I've got to trust the Archpaladin on this one.

She's just decided on this and let her eyes drift closed into a peaceful slumber, when the sudden hush of the jungle and the whir around her startles her back awake. Disoriented, she sits up, looking around, straining to see in the darkness. For a moment, all she can see is the faint glow of the embers of their fire, buried under ash. And then the sky lights up. Euphemia gasps. The dark eye, the beams of light flashing over the landscape, the droning, grinding voice, it holds her mesmerized. She tears her gaze from the eye itself after a moment to try and follow the beams, undulating in their variety of colors, trying to see where they land. If they land anywhere. It's like the leprechaun's pot o' gold at the end of the rainbow, eh? This is the oddest rainbow I suppose I've ever seen, and might just as surely not end where it seems to land.

Euphemia pulls her gaze from the strange sight, looking around at her companions. She sees Nanra and Korinth stir and wake, but soon return to sleep, mostly uninterested in the display. But the goblin is awake, and he sits riveted. Suddenly wanting a companion in watching the strange phenomenon, Euphemia stands up from where she had lain down near the raptor and quietly creeps over to Shin's side, sitting next to him. "What do ye make of all that, Shin?" she asks. Gone is the wariness from her voice, but gone as well the friendly cheer. It's just a raw question, of one who feels in utter thrall to forces far beyond her ken, and has found a strange peace with it, but nonetheless, doesn't want to be alone with it either.

As Taiga finally lays down to rest, she realizes that she can't recall the last time she felt so exhausted, although she doesn't remember much to begin with. With tired eyes, she observes the phenomenon that Keras had earlier described to them. In awe, she follows the display, listening to the alien words without being able to discern anything of importance. Noticing that the raptor is oblivious to the event and pays it no heed somehow reassures her. (Perception: 9)

Perception 17

Keras watches the sky as the eye appears, as was his routine. "Sometimes things you see around the island trigger little fragments of memories, like those Stimberries spurred that recollection earlier, but watching this...every time it feels like it does the opposite. It feels...wrong, somehow. Every time I feel like I might be getting my bearings slightly, it shows up and suddenly I feel as lost as when I first awoke." He glances round at the rest of the group. "This time though...well, maybe together we can figure out what in the hells is going on."

He hugs his knees into his chest as the the voice continues to speak, hoping in vain that he'll understand any of it at all.

As the rest of the troupe marvels, or perhaps fears, what lies above their heads, Korinth finds him in a dream. A vast ocean, warm and dark. He feels nothing, hears little. Except... except a fine bell, a soft reverberating timbre in a deep shifting well of black. From that black, he hears a voice. No, he hears a song.

"Sail, bonnie boat..."

He sees it. A giant ship, cast upon sky blue sails, it's mast gilded in gold and pearl. He feels the wood 'neath his feet, the smell of brine on the wind, the warmth of the sun on his back... and the touch of his mother, her soft embrace as she sings to him. 

 "...like a bird on the wing..."

His father holds him tight, carrying him o'er the mast. Seaward breezes brush his damp hair and the sun glints on the horizon. He reaches for the ocean, his words not yet formed, and his father smiles and laughs. He then holds the young genasi and continues singing that sweet, soft tune, all the while as stormy skies close in.

"...Onward, the sailors cry..."

Rain pelts and lightning flashes, the sky itself quaking with rage. The sea is angry, foaming and full, waves crashing o'er the deck. Men scream as friends are carried over, lost to the sea dark and deep, never to be seen again. A child is screaming. Is it him? He cannot remember... only–

"...Carry the man that's born to be king..."

A great monster rises from the deep, it's eyes crossed unto the ship.

Across the side its tail doth sweep, and thus the boat begins to tip. 

And in she so desperate he stay alive, of his mother what does he see?

Her in tears as she throws him off side, shortly 'afore she ceases to be.

And the beast doest roar, the ocean quakes.

"...Over the sea to the isle."

As the child drifts to shore, the only survivor to the horrors of that sea drake...

—!

Korinth awakes, forgetting it all. Or perhaps then, there was nothing to forget. For the man who wakes against the sleeping beast, he is not the man who fell asleep. And that timbre that rings inside his head is now the voice of the creature that lies in his lap. 

"Keaid."

ALL

As the droning voice continues its monotonous litany, the kaleidoscopic aroura overhead continues its celestial display. Around ten minutes after the Eye opened in the sky, the voice inexplicably ceased, and in the same moment, five beams of light launch into the sky and are absorbed by the black mass in the center of the Eye. They make no sound as race through the sky, and one of the beams definitely seems closer than the others. The closest beam is green, the same shade of green as the gems set into your arm, and it seems to emanate somewhere to the west. As for the other beams, the colors are as follows: blood crimson, golden yellow, plum purple, and an icy blue. They all come from a northernly direction, and the icy blue beam seems to be the farthest from you. 

You watch silently as the beams are consumed by the pit of darkness in the sky for about 30 seconds. Then, as suddenly as it began, the beams, the shifting aurora of colors, and the black mass that make up the Eye suddenly disappear in a flash of light that sears your retinas. Blinking, you look back up at the sky and see that the Eye is gone, and the normal night sky is back in its place. Slowly and hesitantly, the sounds of the jungle slowly start back up, and the fireflies across the lake begin to flash and bob along once more

Quote from ConstancePhokas >>

 

Euphemia pulls her gaze from the strange sight, looking around at her companions. She sees Nanra and Korinth stir and wake, but soon return to sleep, mostly uninterested in the display. But the goblin is awake, and he sits riveted. Suddenly wanting a companion in watching the strange phenomenon, Euphemia stands up from where she had lain down near the raptor and quietly creeps over to Shin's side, sitting next to him. "What do ye make of all that, Shin?" she asks. Gone is the wariness from her voice, but gone as well the friendly cheer. It's just a raw question, of one who feels in utter thrall to forces far beyond her ken, and has found a strange peace with it, but nonetheless, doesn't want to be alone with it either.

(During and just after the sky show)

Uncharacteristically, Shin remains silent for a time, his head tilted to one side and his lips moving subconsciously as he studies first the phenomenon above and its accompanying, unintelligible voice, and then the five colored beams rising skyward to meet the dark central eye.  Just as surprisingly, though unbeknownst to anyone else, Pinky-toe refrains from her usual sarcastic commentary, watching the events around them transpire.

"I do not know, Euphemia," the goblin finally sighs ruefully.  "I find I have insufficient evidence to form falsifiable theories of any specificity.  Only general hypotheses.  What we are witnessing above, and its connection to all of us and the gems we bear, appears to involve both magic and artifice.  Which means someone is interacting with us and all of our surroundings, and is almost certainly well aware of us in particular.  For purposes unknown, as yet."

"My mentor once showed me a delicate glass globe that he had crafted for one of his children, long departed.  A snow-scape in miniature would come to life within at an wave of his hand, the weather, the trees, the creatures changing, transforming in patterns, all under the persuasion of his masterful arcane talent and artifice.  I can only hope that those who wave their hands at us from outside our globe are as benevolent as he."

He gives her a crooked smile and bobs his head, at the halfling and at Keras and Taiga too, both of whom seem to still be awake.  "All the more reason we test subjects should stick together, I suppose.  'Figure things out', as you aptly suggest, Keras."  Pinky-toe lets out a soft hoot.

As Taiga sleeps fitfully in the makeshift shelter, her mind is troubled by the events of the night. The sight of the alien eye appearing in the sky, accompanied by colorful beams and strange, incomprehensible sounds, has left her feeling uneasy. Though with the warmth of the jungle night, she finds herself drawn to the icy blue beam, its visual coolness offering a strange comfort in the midst of the unfamiliar.

Surrounded by her new friends and companions, all in the same bewildering situation, Taiga finds solace in their presence. The work of the previous day, crafting wood into familiar shapes, helped to bring a sense of normality to her life. She had discovered an inscription inside her pouch, a message from someone named Urgon Wenth, which only adds to the mystery of her situation. Who is Urgon Wenth, and why was this pouch gifted to me? Is he my husband, my father, or perhaps a dear friend?

As she awakens, Taiga notices a new rune on her wrist, similar to the one on her forehead but different from the gem she found on her other arm. She wonders if these markings are related and if they were caused by the nightly events. When she contemplates to question the others if anything strange has happened to them, she discovers that they are not alone—Korinth has a creature dozing on his lap, a snake-like creature or some sort of reptile. Reacting quickly, Taiga springs into action, looking around for a pole or some tool or something to remove the potentially poisonous creature from her companion. As soon as she finds a long branch, Taiga tries to maneuver it under the creature, and poking Korinth's lap in doing so. She struggles to find a position that offers enough leverage to hurl the creature away.

At the sight of the stick, Korinth merely grasps the end. He turns to the unknown woman holding it and brings a single finger to his lips. 

"Shhh. You will wake him." His words, no his voice is deeper, richer. It rumbles as he speaks. He turns to the other genasi and speaks again, a strong dulcet tone completely unlike his previous mannerism: "I fear I do not know you. Who are you?" His eyes are quite cold, distant even. It's as if another person entirely is speaking. 

"Who are you - Are you asking me, who I am? Korinth?" Taiga mumbles in disbelief wondering if she's hallucinating while relinquishing her branch. "You know who I am, we met just yesterday. Are you pulling my leg?" she hisses. "You've got one of those reptiles from the jungle sleeping on you, have you noticed? What if it's poisonous? I just tried to get it off you." She steps back a step and watches, trying to make sense of Korinth. 

The stranger cracks his neck as he stands. The small reptile yawns as he does, exposing tiny razor-sharp needles for teeth, and climbs around his back, settling on his bare shoulder. He looks at the creature, who looks right back. "I see only Keaid. And you are not Korinth. I am." He takes a step forward, caution palpable in the air.

"I'll ask again: who are you?" At this, the creature on his shoulder chitters, a sound not unlike a bird. The stranger listens intently, then turns back. There's no recognition in his eyes, nor much of anything, really. "He says your name is Taiga. Is that correct?" A small empty smile forms on his face. "Then at least I am not alone." The creature chitters again. "No, of course you count. I only mean to say–" more chitters follow. "No, but it's fair to say why I would. It's just that..." Soon the two are speaking without separation, a voice of reason atop a broken soul. Taiga is forgotten in the moment. Whoever he is, or whatever, walks serenely to the water's edge, deep in conversation with the creature on his arm, this "Keaid."

"That's not a nice thought," Euphemia says to Shin, with a frown. "Sounds like black magic to me...if what you say is true, I reckon it can't be for any good purpose." She sighs. "But there's not much we can do tonight." She looks at Keras. "Is it the same every night... do those beams land in the same place all the time? If they do, maybe it's something that we can track."

As the eye and its beams disappear in a flash of light, and the stars return, Euphemia rubs her eyes, looking up into the sky. So it goes, then. O Archpaladin, who is greater than any magic, and any artiface, I know I've got nothing to fear from a thing, and only an eternity in the Fields to look towards, if I live true and right and do my duty. Which, I think is to stand against this evil and help these innocents. Feeling reassured with this sense of purpose, she bids goodnight to Shin and Keras, and curls up in the softest spot she can find underneath the shelter and next to the sleeping raptor.

Troubled dreams muddy her sleep, whole songs and ballads that she hadn't thought of while awake, singing out in their glory over the wind, bagpipes bringing the first licks of terror to marching armies, growing their apprehension until they came in range to hear the war harps, giant structures played by the wind in a thunderous cry, turning back the marauders to the shore. Faintly, the halfling thinks she must have known an awful lot of songs, for an awful lot of different purposes, and, as if burying her small hands in the dirt and bringing them up with roots which she could just smell the properties of, she thinks that even on this strange island she hasn't lost that connection, which is really to herself, anyway, an understanding deep within, of how things work, of how they are, of how the Invincible connects the threads of life and ultimately back to himself. No matter where I am, I can become more myself.

The fresh hint of rosy dawn finds Euphemia just barely opening her eyes, curled up against the cold of the night, the scaley warmth of Nanra nearby. Blearily, the halfling blinks. Sunrise is coming... oh. A frightened lurch of her stomach reminds her that she meant to renew the magic of her song connecting her to the raptor. Oh, what I'd give to just wash my face first and let my bowels out. The lake and the latrine are right there, but Euphemia thinks she oughtn't wait to greet the dawn, and her raptor friend, with another magical song. I hate to be so loud, this early, though... who knows if there are night predators still stalking? But her newly recharged confidence in what she remembers brings the words of the song to mind, and she knows she can sing it, too, and the magic will still work.

So Euphemia begins to sing... softly, like a crooning lullaby, to Nanra, before she wakes...

"Wade away, wade away
Through the water,
And you'll get away, get away
They can't follow..."

"If you've got troubles, I've got 'em too
There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you
We stick together and can see it through
Cause you've got a friend in me."

"Oh, you've got a friend in me..."

Casting Animal Friendship on Nanra again.

Shin awakes to the sound of Euphemia's pipes and song, his eyes flicking open once he remembers the dangers he is surrounded by, yet siting still for a time, watching.  He notes with relief that everyone seems to still be present and breathing, including the new (or old) arrivals, along with Nanra.  He eyes the raptor warily, then notices the new addition on Korinth's lap, taking it in stride and saying nothing for now.  If the aquatic chose to explain, he would.

The goblin opens his spell book instinctively and pulls out his writing implement, staring at it for a long moment as if trying to remember what it is.

Are you going to write about halflings singing lullabies to raptors and aquatic humanoids giving birth to little dragons?  Pinky-toe preens herself sleepily.

That would be assuming facts not in evidence, would it not?  Yet there are ideas fresh in my mind.  Perhaps from... before... or perhaps new from our experiences yesterday.  Methods to trap foes as the spider we supped on might (or might not) do, and ways to get away when pursued...

Slowly, methodically as he had been taught, though he does not remember the teaching, Shin begins to write.

Taiga simply nodded in confirmation when the man with Korinth’s face inquired about her name, his source of information his newfound companion, or so he makes her believe. The revelations were overwhelming, leaving her struggling to process it all. She watched him depart, silently observing the others, wondering if the jungle had some transformative effect, causing memory lapses. Could it be that she had been here longer than she realized, her memory wiped clean? Already several times?

Turning her attention to the comforting familiarity of her woodwork, she began crafting a shaft for the axe, for which Euphemia had found a stone that can serve as blade. As she worked, she observed the others waking up, offering them a polite “good morning” partly to gauge their reactions and confirm their recognition of her. So far, Euphemia and Shin seemed unchanged, and they didn’t seem to notice anything amiss with Korinth. Perhaps his behavior was simply par for the course? She realized it would take her time to understand and navigate the complexities of such an unpredictable character.

Additionally, she couldn’t help but feel a twinge of childishness at her initial instinct to defend herself when she first encountered Korinth’s pet. ‘Nonetheless’, she thought, ‘better safe than sorry’.

After the eye disappears, Keras curls up in a corner, as far from the dinosaur as he can get. He turns a couple of times, restless. Something claws at the back of his consciousness, desperately trying to force its way through the block on his memories, but it is like trying to pull a feather through treacle. Eventually, he falls into a fitful sleep. There is no solace to be found in his dreams.

He is running, first. From what, he doesn't know, but fear grips his inside with an iron fist. He wants to stay, to turn and face his pursuer, but he is not control of his own body. Keras is merely a spectator, the fear rules him utterly. Suddenly he is being tossed about. His whole body aches, his head spins, and the fear is still there. It's different this time though, it's lithe and snakes through him like ice through cracks in stone. The fear is no longer for himself, no longer is he afraid of what chases him, it is for another. The fear of loss. He crouches, sobbing into the darkness, knowing that he is utterly powerless. The fear twists inside him, becoming hot and violent. Anger courses through him, and the anger scares him most of all. He feels it dragging him to his feet, pulling him to somewhere dark. Then there's a hand on his wrist, gentle but firm. He turns back, anger becoming uncertainty. He sees no-one, but he knows there's someone there. Some of the anger burns away. It's still there, but...lessened somehow. It was her that did it, of course. It is always her that pulls him from the edge. Something else pulls on him, yanking him from her grip. He calls her name as the darkness closes in around her, but he knows she's out of reach. 

Keras' eyes snap open and he sits up straight. The dream is already fading from his mind, any details fogging over, but the fear remains. The fear and a name."Ceri."  It slips from his lips unbidden, a whisper to the night air. He looks around at his new companions, sleeping soundly. He whispers the name again. The third time, it is more than a name. It's a promise. "I'll find you, whoever you are. I'm coming."

His exhausted body demands sleep, and he acquiesces. His dreams reveal no more secrets this night. As he stirs once again, he sees the light of dawn creeping around him. The first thing he notices is the melody floating gently in the tent. He smiles and pushes himself upright as he watches Euphemia sing to the raptor. It is a stark contrast, the soft, gentle beauty of the lullaby compared to the stunning, harsh landscape around them. His attention is snagged by the conversation between the two genasi, but he drags it back to the song. Everything else could wait for now.