The faint smell of smoke still clings to the air as Yuno kneels near the firepit, her keen senses cutting through the forest musk of pine and damp earth. She can pick out the clear trace of a single traveler — the scent distinct and fresh, though already fading with the breeze. Following it is simple enough: it trails directly back to the narrow line of the ranger’s trail and continues northeast, the same direction as the pull that tugs at all of you. The prints are well-defined in the softer earth near the camp and Yuno has no trouble spotting them. A single set of boots. A single person. No beast of burden, no companions. Whoever it was, they left no more than an hour ago.
Trythia studies the edges of the trail with practiced focus, her eyes sweeping for broken branches, disturbed brush, or signs of lurking danger. Nothing threatens from the shadows here — the forest feels no different than it did before, alive but not hostile. Her attention shifts to the faint traces of passage and she confirms Yuno’s findings: one traveler, heading along the same path as the pull, their steps steady and purposeful. The coincidence is hard to ignore.
Mal’s words hang over the group as Haluth steps up beside them, flask in hand, his eyes scanning the ground with a more casual focus. He catches the edges of a few boot prints but Yuno’s sharp instincts have already made the trail clear. He lowers the flask with a faint shake of his head, the earthy burn of drink lingering as he weighs Mal’s suspicion against his own pragmatism.
The evidence is unmistakable: someone else is ahead of you on the same trail, no more than an hour’s lead. Whether they are connected to the pull or merely another wanderer cannot yet be known — but their trail is plain, and it runs true with the direction you must already travel.
As the traveler was moving in the same direction as they, the moment of decision could be delayed. "The traveler follows the same path. Indeed, he or she or it may well be subject to the same urge. Let us proceed." Suiting actions to words, the half-elf paladin moves out, her senses alert to danger, particularly the divine sense which seems to tell her of otherworldly things nearby.
Divine Sense: The presence of strong evil registers on your senses like a noxious odor, and powerful good rings like heavenly music in your ears. As an action, you can open your awareness to detect such forces. Until the end of your next turn, you know the location of any celestial, fiend, or undead within 60 feet of you that is not behind total cover. You know the type (celestial, fiend, or undead) of any being whose presence you sense, but not its identity (the vampire Count Strahd von Zarovich, for instance). Within the same radius, you also detect the presence of any place or object that has been consecrated or desecrated, as with the hallow spell.
"Well well... this is interesting." Yuno comments. "I can smell them. Whoever was here headed off in the same direction as the annoying magic object (referring to the direction of the tug) about an hour ago. I say we pick up the pace and give them a pleasant surprise."
Cygnan, Haluth, Mal, Trythia, and Yuno
The faint smell of smoke still clings to the air as Yuno kneels near the firepit, her keen senses cutting through the forest musk of pine and damp earth. She can pick out the clear trace of a single traveler — the scent distinct and fresh, though already fading with the breeze. Following it is simple enough: it trails directly back to the narrow line of the ranger’s trail and continues northeast, the same direction as the pull that tugs at all of you. The prints are well-defined in the softer earth near the camp and Yuno has no trouble spotting them. A single set of boots. A single person. No beast of burden, no companions. Whoever it was, they left no more than an hour ago.
Trythia studies the edges of the trail with practiced focus, her eyes sweeping for broken branches, disturbed brush, or signs of lurking danger. Nothing threatens from the shadows here — the forest feels no different than it did before, alive but not hostile. Her attention shifts to the faint traces of passage and she confirms Yuno’s findings: one traveler, heading along the same path as the pull, their steps steady and purposeful. The coincidence is hard to ignore.
Mal’s words hang over the group as Haluth steps up beside them, flask in hand, his eyes scanning the ground with a more casual focus. He catches the edges of a few boot prints but Yuno’s sharp instincts have already made the trail clear. He lowers the flask with a faint shake of his head, the earthy burn of drink lingering as he weighs Mal’s suspicion against his own pragmatism.
The evidence is unmistakable: someone else is ahead of you on the same trail, no more than an hour’s lead. Whether they are connected to the pull or merely another wanderer cannot yet be known — but their trail is plain, and it runs true with the direction you must already travel.
As the traveler was moving in the same direction as they, the moment of decision could be delayed. "The traveler follows the same path. Indeed, he or she or it may well be subject to the same urge. Let us proceed." Suiting actions to words, the half-elf paladin moves out, her senses alert to danger, particularly the divine sense which seems to tell her of otherworldly things nearby.
Divine Sense: The presence of strong evil registers on your senses like a noxious odor, and powerful good rings like heavenly music in your ears. As an action, you can open your awareness to detect such forces. Until the end of your next turn, you know the location of any celestial, fiend, or undead within 60 feet of you that is not behind total cover. You know the type (celestial, fiend, or undead) of any being whose presence you sense, but not its identity (the vampire Count Strahd von Zarovich, for instance). Within the same radius, you also detect the presence of any place or object that has been consecrated or desecrated, as with the hallow spell.
Tandor the White, Human Life Cleric
"Well well... this is interesting." Yuno comments. "I can smell them. Whoever was here headed off in the same direction as the annoying magic object (referring to the direction of the tug) about an hour ago. I say we pick up the pace and give them a pleasant surprise."
"Works for me, lets pick up the pace, maybe we can catch them before they get to the pull." Mal says as she quickly starts to jog down the trail.
Volkanica braces for the attack. She finds that even though it pierced her armor, it... doesn't hurt as much as she had expected.
(DM, is displacer beast magical? Mortal soul shard gives resistance to nonmagical BPS damage.)
"Haaaghhh!!!!"
Still roaring with flame, she launches a wave of fire at the beast, followed by another attack from the sky-bound beetle.
Volkanica: Reach to the Blaze (Free burning hands at 1st level) - DC 15 DEX save vs 6 fire damage, half on success.
Beetle: Flame spit. Attack: 14 Damage: 5