"This is the Dream" Flint says, waving his hand around them. "When the planes collapsed and the gods died there was an unexpected consequence. A new plane was created in the wake of all others collapsing. It is partially within the Etheral plane, but partially not."

"Ky'Leyra by the way," The wood elf says. Ky continues "Has it been centuries then? It is hard to tell in this realm. This realm is a realm of dreams and it is powered by Divine and Arcane powers from the dead gods.... as best I can tell. But it is a plane on to itself, and it is also powered by all those alive in the prime material plane that dream."

Carodoc jumps up again in his seat, holding a turkey leg like a sword. "We battled as hard as we could. We fought for what seemed days, and then when the Phoenix Queen died... There was a backlash. A Tear. We were sucked into it and trapped within this realm. It seems that this realm is also tied to the Fog. We could be saved by you defeating Morgan, or we could cease to exist. Who can say. We hope the latter, but if we must die to stop Morgan, then so be it."

Ky says into the hollow sound of Carodoc finishing, "Regardless of what happens to us, Morgan is an extremely powerful combatant. She is not a fighter per say, though some of the Shadowlords she has taken into her court are. When we knew her she was a Warlock. She was to be the reincarnation of a powerful Archlord of the Shadowlands, and she accepted this calling instead of fighting against it. She was trying to fulfill a prophesy about rebirth and such, but when it came time to die herself, and allow the rebirth to happen, she sided with Visarai, and killed the Phoenix Queen instead of allowing herself to be reincarnated once more."

Flint nods, "She has taken on more power since. She is capable in a fight, though she will only do so once her magic is expended. If you are to kill her, you will have to deal with the Shadowlords that are in her court first. To attack them all at once would be madness."

     "Are there others within the Shadowlands that are trying to fight her...or any we could consider allies?"

Carodoc nods emphatically, "There are Dragons of old that are fighting against her even as we speak. With Visarai gone to control them, Morgan only has sway over the Chromatics. It seems they see her as the closest thing to Tiamat."

Ky nods, "Some of the Shadowlords that have not fallen under her sway still fight as well, and there are those within the mists that have not fallen under her sway. Though I would not trust any of them to far."

The half-elf paladin stands, touching the shield that leans beside him for a moment, to draw strength from his connection to the archfey. Unknown to him, the shield pops out tiny dancing lights that float behind his form, lending a faint glimmer of radiance to his outline. He gazes at the three figures... apparitions... voices from the past... and sees his own possible fate.

His face is grave as he begins to speak in soft tones. "I am Calinar Moonweaver. I have sworn myself to the hope of the Archfey - to be the light that drives out these shadows and to beat back despair with hope and joy. We grieve the loss of your compatriots, Mistwalkers, for we know what it is to lose. I know not what we can offer that might comfort you, except for this: we will not surrender - not to shadow, not to despair, nor to corruption or suffering. If Morgan of the Blight is to fell us, so be it, but we will stand before her and see if she can withstand the Light we bring.

"How... how many like us have you had this feast with, Mistwalkers?"

      "Yeah, I don't think I feel like getting too friendly with some Shadowlords," Gilnur says while he refills his plate. As he digs back into his meal, with a little less of a mess than before, he slowly processes all that these other adventurers have informed them. "Any possibility about bringing about the reincarnation of the Phoenix Queen? I figure death for a phoenix is a little less permanent...at least traditionally. So what's keeping this one from coming back?" 

Thinking carefully about the information being provided, Artemis asks "These Shadowlords that continue to fight against Morgan, what is it that compels them? What do they desire? Are they simply rebelling against her authority, or do they have ulterior motivations that we can exploit in order to manipulate cooperation?"

Kyra shrugs "Who can say. The Darklord of death herself, a Shadowlord that inherited the powers of the Ravenqueen and from Lolth simply wishes to have the power that Morgan possesses. She would be trustworthy until Morgans death, at which point... who knows. The Ravequeen was Lawful, but then again, so was Lolth... just different ideas on how to implement that."

Flint smiles at Cal's question, "We have provided this feast for 3 other parties thus far. One from the Shadowlords minions, one from the Yaun-Ti that wished to stop the encrouchment, and one from the Archfey before you. They have all failed in their task in one way or another. Some still fight within the mist, but without the strength of their friends, they are ineffective at best."

Carodoc shrugs to Gilnur, "Its a Phoenix... so maybe? Who knows. There was a Half Elf Drow that had my eye for a long time. She was a Sorcerer that had a good outlook on life, even before Lolth was destroyed. When Frixori died, we all thought it was her that would inherit that title, but who can say. Last we saw, Visarai ATE the ashes of the Phoenix... Can you come back from being eaten?"

"Do you know why the others failed?  If you can share with us what caused their quests to fail, it might help us avoid making the same mistakes," Desarian says.  "For that matter, if some of them remain in the mists fighting, they could be powerful allies in our own attempt to put an end to the mist."

Kyra shrugs. "The ones trapped in the mist may be allies... it is hard to say. Madness follows not long after if you dont have an anchor to the outside world. Keep your friends close or be potentially lost yourselves."

Carodoc pipes in. "Those that were to arrogant to see the danger and not retreat fail quickly. Leave your pride behind before entering the mists."

Flint nods sternly. "Hold onto the light, for there is little in the mist. Trust little, but still trust."

As you continue to eat and talk, the figures you speak to begin to grow uncorporial. "Our time grows short. Take our words to head. Seek out Gundrens Calling to the far west in the mists. Our old keep is there, as is the people we grew akin to. If ever there was a light in the darkness it is there."

All 3 seem to say this in unison before they vanish. As you all look to one another, you realize that the full table has been consumed and you feel mighty and powerful. You feel hardy.

You suddenly wake up, and it is morning. You have been untouched, but tendrils of the mist seem to be stretching out in your direction, having covered about 1-2 the distance.

(OOC: in game mechanics, this was a special heroes feast. Essentially, EVERYONE gains a +2 to their CON. Go ahead and add this to your character sheets.)

What do you do now?

Artemis' almond shaped eyes flare open and the elf jolts upright from where he is laying, his hand reflexively grabbing for his hand crossbow and swinging the weapon up before him. After a long moment of heavy breathing the archer calms and relaxes his taut muscles, blinks away the last of the sleep from his eyes and looks around the camp intently. His gaze rests on the foreboding Mist for a time and a frown crosses his face, but refusing to be deterred by the sight, Artemis stands and stretches his long, wiry frame and reaches up to tie his long brown hair back out of his face. Next, the wood elf adorns himself with his collection of arms and armor, once again taking the extra time to ensure that everything is in peak working condition and properly fitted about his person. The archer takes a drink from his waterskin but does not overly indulge, as he can't be certain what sort of conditions they will find upon entering the strange and dangerous western realms. This thought prompts Artemis to once again look toward the encroaching Mist and his emerald stare remains fixed on the malevolent environment, echos of the night's dream playing over and again in his mind, until the sounds of his companions also stirring and awakening reach his elongated ears.

Turning to make eye contact with the ally nearest to him, the wood elf will simply ask, "That was real, yes?"

      Gilnur wakes rubbing his skull, still trying to understand all the others told him...in his sleep? His gruff demeanor returns. "Bah! What is it with everyone coming and going like a fart in the wind." Looking over the to the wood elf, he just shrugs. "Seemed real enough. That food definitely seems to have had an effect." He stands and begins to prepare for the day's travel. "So, anyone heard of this Gundren's Calling?"

Calinar stretches, and then puts himself through several fighting routines to wake himself up and get his blood flowing. Thrust and recover, advance and retreat, cross step and parry and counterattack. Over and over, until he drives his imaginary opponent into the mist. Then he pivots and salutes the group before returning.

Flushed and breathing vigorously, he nods to Gilnur. "Absolutely - I could feel the new fortitude during my exercises." He drinks from his own waterskin, then replies to the dwarf's question. "No - I suspect it is a faraway town."

"I havent heard of much of any of this. I have been focused on my training mostly." Kyra says. "But it seems like we have to get into that mist one way or another. Are you guys ready?"

Kyra stands up stretching her muscular form. "I do feel stronger now. That was a good dream meal huh?"

Calinar glances at his companions with a curious look on his face. His eyes move from one to the other, finally taking the time to evaluate how each is armed and equipped. "I can find my way in the wilds with some skill, but I doubt I am the best of us at it - nor am I the quietest mover. But if I stay close to the leader while we move, I can provide extra defense in case we find ourselves surprised. So who's our best tracker, do you think?" he asks, grinning at Desarian, having seen that one's toughness and comfort in the wilderness setting where the gnome captain left them.

    "So our visitors last night did say those yuan-ti sent a group into the mist," Gilnur says as he munches on a now-almost-flavorless ration, wrinkling his nose at the quality of his breakfast. He muses to himself: That damn genasi sure did ruin all food for me. Gonna have to figure out how he conjured that meal up.  To the party he asks, "Think it's worth it to scout out their village? Maybe find something useful bit before heading into our doom as well?"

Desarian wakes and stretches, feeling tougher somehow after the dream.  While Calinor stretches and goes through his fighting routines, Desarian spends some time meditating on what spells he wants to have available for the day.  As Calinar returns and asks about tracking, Desarian finishes his meditation and stands.  "I am quite skilled at tracking, as it happens,"  He says.  "And reasonable skilled at moving quietly.  What's more, I can use magic to help us remain quiet and cover our tracks." (Pass without trace)

Artemis considers Gilnur's suggestion for a moment, tilting his head slightly from one side to the other as he, almost literally, weighs the options in his mind. Finally nodding to himself, the wood elf turns his gaze on his dwarven companion.

"I think your right Gilnur, it might be a good idea to scout that village first. Normally I might be reticent to walk unannounced upon a village that stands this close to an active battlefield," The elf gestures dismissively at the Mist, "but this time, if our spectral cohorts from the dream are to be believed, we and the Yuan-ti share a common enemy. If they have already lost a party to the Mist, then chances are that they would have at least tried to arm their people with some kind of knowledge or information before sending them forth, knowledge that might be valuable to us. Of course," Artemis makes a bit of a face here, "whatever they did arm them with didn't exactly work, so lets keep that in mind as well."

The archer shakes his head before continuing, "Never the less, I think it's worth investigating. What do the rest of you think?" He finished, turning toward the rest of the party.

     "If this village is on the border we may need to get a move on before the mist gets to it... if it hasn't already."

Desarian agrees with the plan to try the village first.

With that the group finishes their talks and heads off into the blight. As morning rolls into afternoon the desert air is hot and dry. You can see rippling heat waves rolling off of the desert sand flats. To the west, you can see the temptingly cool mists of the fog some hundred feet off, and that darkness starts to feel appealingly welcome.

You travel northward for another few hours before you come to what looks like a village of sorts. Tents and mud hut style buildings around a central pit that seems to be some communal area. The fog is only a feet hundred feet away from the closest building, and you can see a flurry of activity within the village. Men women and children all seem to be in the midst of packing and tying off supplies to large animals that look to be serpantine in nature. They look human in appearance, and seem to be highly focused on their tasks.

Off in the distance you hear a horn blow shrill through the air. Suddenly from the ground around you a large shimmering snake burst from the ground. The snake is easily 15 feet tall, as thick as a tree, and more of its body is underground. As fast as it happens, 2 more burst up from the group d around you, and a man comes striding up to you. He appears to be human, but he has a shimmer to his skin that reminds you of the snakes. It is especially strong around the eyes, and he has bright yellow color to them with vertical slits. In his hand he carries a short spear.

"Our village has nothing to offer travelers. Let us leave in peace, and if you wish to risk the mists, feel free to loot what we leave. We wish no trouble, but know if you threaten my kin, we will consume you."