The Next Leap

Amaruve cocks his head and follows Kyo through.

Jean stretched for a moment and follows through the portal.

Perspicacious collects herself, and gives one more look to Gordra's resting spot before following after the others through the portal. "We'll make this right some how, old friend."

Amaruve runs across the beach in the body of a human man. Great steel monsters float on the ocean behind him and a cacophony of terrible thunder crashes ring from the hill ahead. He drops onto the sand behind a rock and gasps adjusting his helmet, as sand explodes into the air nearby.

He looks around for his friends. Cordelia is screaming as she crests a hill ahead. She said this thing was really important, but could overthrowing one man in a stupid mustache really be worth all these lives?

He follows and finds her with a hole in her leg. One of those tiny lead projectiles... He lays a hand on her wound and mends her body. The bunker is just ahead. Swarms of men charge across the beach behind them. So many fall...

Amaruve bursts into the bunker and rips into the soldiers there with claws and teeth, punching a hole in the enemy defences, just as the wail of some siren is obscured by the whine of the next portal opening.

They'd accomplished their goal, but this war wasn't over. Cordelia says it's the begining of the end. What a terrible world she lived in. Amaruve is more than happy to leave this battlefield behind. Normandy is a dumb name for a beach anyway.

"This can't be right..." Perspicacious holds up the map again, turning it slightly, and tilting her head in the opposite direction. Jewelry dangling from her horns catches the sunlight setting off a a ruby glow. Ah, yes, her horns, such a relief to have them in this reality. She never felt quite as whole without them.

"This fork in the road isn't even on the map. I should have known better than to pay that child a copper piece for this useless rag, regardless of what the oracle said." She crumples up the now useless paper and turns to her companions and the large wagon they rented. Choosing to travel as a band of entertainers was a good disguise, but it was hard work to maintain. They could only get by playing "The Ruby of the Sea" so many times before someone caught on it was the only song they knew. Thankfully most people forgot the song once Amaruve began his act. 

Hefting her skirts, the tiefling steps up into the cart next to Jean with a heavy sigh. "I guess one way is as good as another," she says looking over her shoulder to Cordelia. "Does the Dust-o-matic tell you anything?" Cordelia glares a little but then fiddles with the trusty device and indicates the path to the right. "I was afraid that's what it would say," mutters Perspicacious, as she prods the wagon goats onward. As they take the right fork, they pass a worn wooden sign, with arrows indicating the destinations of the paths. To the left, it reads, "Menagerie Coast -  20 miles." To the right, "Ashkeeper Peaks - 50 miles", and scratched into the bottom roughly as with a knife, "Here there be dragons."

The crew piled into the portal once more and spilled into a pile of sweaty, panting flesh. It had been a near thing, that jump and the dangers they had faced required all of their might and then some. Jean raised her weary head and asked Cordelia "Who the hell is Sarah Conner and why does the multiverse hate her so much?"

This has been a strange trip indeed, Amaruve runs down the path in his own body, his own human body. He's escaped his imprisonment, and lead an uprising among these feral human slaves, even without the power granted to him by Gaia. The rest of The Lost have been aiding them in preparation. They seemed comically confused landing here in the bodies of great apes.

The apes' society seems to subsist on stolen technology they wield only a few lasting magic items and live in the remains of great cities that crumble and decay with the loss of their originators' maintenance.

The humans have learned so much in these few weeks, but they won't be able to rely on The Lost for leadership anymore. Even as they make their escape the portal opens, filling the whole road.

A baboon nobleman stands in the street stretching out an arm commanding Amaruve and his army of humans to hault. Amaruve recognizes him. A snooty sort, showing off his status by wearing magic clothes that change appearance at will.

Amaruve charges, and as the weight of the moment falls on the ape he turns to flee too late. Amaruve crashes into him and the two go tumbling down the road surrounded in moments by the army and the rest of The Lost.

Amaruve spills through the portal, suddenly alone, but joined moments later by his friends, back in their own bodies. He can't see with this cloak tangled around his head. He stands back to his bear's height surprised to find the clothes he's half wrapped in have changed size to fit their new owner...

(Just jumping in on the action)

Pepper's armor groans as it threatens to pop off of the warforged's straining forearms. "Go, NOW!" it shouts, voice echoing from the steel faceplate of its helmet. The floodgate wheel slips fractionally between Pepper's gripped hands and a thin jet of boiling water shoots from the crack in the enormous iron gate in front of you. In the center of the room, a shining silver portal flickers as it begins to close. They have only seconds left. Jean, holding Kyo's unconscious form in her arms, shouts, "Forget it, you two! If we go down with this world then we can't save any others!" and she leaps into the rift. Cordelia, in a daze, silently follows them as Duchess darts ahead of her. Only the tabby cat spares a look backward at the others before they, too are swallowed by the light. 

Pepper turns to regard the remaining members of the party. Its face is alike in nearly every way to the faces of the thousands of creatures in the sunken city of Insula above you. However, where theirs seemed perpetually gray and tired, Pepper's eyes always held a spark that was entirely its own. Those eyes burn with incredible intensity now. Perspicacious places a hand on Amaruve's shaggy head as they stare at the aquamarine staff in the tiefling's hands. 

"Even if I use it here, there is no guarantee that this world will survive." Amaruve says nothing. "We might die, too, you know," the former administrator says. Amaruve chuffs, laughing softly with a wry expression on his ursine face. He rises on his hind limbs and places a paw on the staff. Perspicacious sighs, a tired smile on her lips, as well. "Alright, together, then."

Channeling their will into the artifact, they see a spiderweb of cracks spread across its surface. It shatters with the bright sound of chimes and crashing waves as they are flung violently backwards into the portal.

Pepper's grip on the wheel slackens, then releases. The wheel stays firmly in its place and the temperature of the room begins to cool just a bit. Exhausted, the paladin falls to its knees and buries its face in its hands. Warforged do not weep... but Pepper weeps.

THE NEXT LEAP
The Festival of Steam

There is a carnival atmosphere in the cool night air. Tents fill the massive field, each painted more brightly and wonderfully than the last. There is a massive crush of bodies giddily pressing from attraction to attraction, sampling the food, the drinks, the music and games of chance. There are more than a few magical wonders, as well: water that dances between brightly shining pots, plants that gently sway in glass cages while whispering haunting melodies, creatures that appear to be made of oil and smoke bursting into pyrotechnic blues and oranges as they alight upon their stones hearths…

Tonight is a a night worth living in. It’s a night of wonder, and terror (but never too much, of course). Tonight is for letting go of the thousand little anchors that fetter the ship of your life, for wearing masks (and sometimes little else), for leaving the children with their grandparents and remembering what being a child yourself was like, if only for a little while. Because tonight…

Tonight is the start of the Festival of Steam.

A burst of silver light illuminates a crowded open-air pavilion. As is typically the case, the five of you and the brief flash of the gate are unnoticed by the people around you. A quick inspection reveals that this is one of the good leaps- you are in your own bodies! No weird spatial doubling this time around. After consulting the stardust, Cordelia learns that the new gate will open sometime between 48 and 72 hours from now in this exact spot. Unusually certain, she has grown quite familiar with the device.

Kyo begins to wobble on his feet. While the leap recovered you physically (as usual), the emotional toll of facing down the mother of all manticores isn’t so easily assuaged. What’s more, Kyo’s eyes have begun to shine a bright blue, which means Vasht’s directions can’t be too far off. You need to get somewhere private, and quickly.

You are surrounded by sapient creatures- human, dwarf, elf, gnome, halfing, tiefling, triton, goliath… you’ve never seen a collection of souls so diverse as this one. There are a few quiet places nearby (some dark alleys between the tents), but it will be an effort to push your way through. What’s more, a few people have started to point and laugh (happily, not derisively) at the fancily dressed bear.

What do you do?

Amaruve appears in his usual pin striped suit, and sticks with it, feeling it suits the atmosphere. He gives the spectators a bit of a dance, as people always seem to enjoy that, though he's not very good. (Performance disadv.: 3)

He sniffs the air... smoke and funnel cake? He lets his nose lead the party. (Perception: (3)19)

(Haha!)

The crowds laughs as the bear capers about (very poorly). A dwarven boy of about fifteen, his hair a shocking color of blue and white candy stripes, shyly hands you what appears to be a salted pretzel, Amaruve, and then dances quickly away as your enormous paw takes it from him. 

You see a clear path through the crowd! (However, I'll need at least two other people to pass a DC15 athletics check with advantage to successfully follow the big bear- it's a big crowd!)

Kyo, athletics: 19

(Make that one more person)

(Someone else should attempt the roll. I have a -1 to Athletics.)

Cordelia hardly takes in the sight for long. Since losing Gordra, she changed. She was always quiet, but these days she seemed to spend her time in solitude between jumps or during moments of calm. Here, amongst so many people, she decided to keep a low profile and her eyes peeled for danger. Cordelia did her best to stay with her group as they traversed through the crowd after Amabear.

Stealth: 15
Perception: 17

(you did it, Ru!)

Your eyes are wide open, but truly there's nothing to see and EVERYTHING to see. Imagine the biggest county fair, the biggest festival you've ever attended. Now make it clean, fresh, and wonderful. No one is fighting or too drunk; unforced, ready smiles are on each creature's face.

This isn't some insipid fantasy world or an illusionist's trick. The people here are really, truly happy.

The five of you (six counting the duchess) form a chain with Amaruve in the lead. Whoever is at the back feels a pair of hands on their shoulders as a conga line briefly forms behind you.

Honestly, after so much pain, so much loss, the easy thrill of this place is infectious. You all feel an entirely non-malicious, non-magical happiness steal into your tired hearts as you weave through the crowd.

Excited to be in a place of revelry, Perspicacious gives into the conga line and begins dancing along. Sometimes a break from the seriousness of their predicament is warranted. She prods the other to join in, if only for a moment, while navigating the crowd. (Persuasion to encourage dancing: 25)

(I shall try athletics but Persp is very not strong as well) Athletics: 6

Jean smiled as she took in the festive atmosphere. She was about to break off from the group to look for the food vendours (Cheese? Would there be cheese?!) when she saw Perspicacious join the conga line, with a laugh she put her hands on Perspicacious' hips and also joined in the dance.

You all actually weave your way through the crowd with ease. Jean and Perspicacious enjoy a decidedly lighthearted moment near the back of the line, and the two of you notice that you are surrounded by all manner of fantastic food vendors (as well as numerous booths filled with games and contests- more on that later!). Just to your left, Jean, you see a fondue set-up. They're asking for 5 SP for a tankard of a hoppy-smelling ale and a plate piled high with cheese-dipped fried bread. Will anyone break away from the group to dive in?

Kyo has a distant expression on his face, and the bright blue glow in his eyes is growing stronger.

Perspicacious' stomach starts to growl at the smell of all the food. When was the last time they ate? Spotting Jean's eyes on the fondue, she'll motion for the group of them to stop and eat, and then head towards the booth.

*sniff sniff sniff sniff sniff* Amaruve is already seated and dropped three gold coins on the table as he starts in on the food. Is that Honey? He sticks his head into a big clay pot. (3 gold for the four of them and double for the bear)