As things are beginning to wind to a close for breakfast, Paavu noisily clears his throat to grab attention. Once he had at least Burgee's full attention, he offers to him the strange glasstaff he'd been carrying around since the evening before. "Here. For you, little one. Paavu was given this by Lark for venture. Learned... heard way that to unlock fullpower, it needs a different sort of magic than Paavu's own. Magic... like yours."

Once relieved of the staff, he pats Yue and then stood up. "You will need time with it of course. To... meld spirits. But once do, little one find self far harder to harm than simple means." Paavu said before following after Gwen and Rose for final preparations.

(I'll say this as well in case it comes up that Salazar at least give you all rough directions on how to reach Conberry in the event the group can/needs to go there.)

Looking up into the goliath's eyes, Burgee senses this is indeed a gift to be treasured. "Many thanks my strong friend, if I may call you that. Though we've known each other only a short while, your path seems straight and such a gift, from one such as you is an honor." Burgee takes the staff and fashions a sling in his pack to hold the staff. He will examine it when there is a chance. Then he rubs a symbol on his old driftwood staff given to him years ago.  She'd housed him and fed him when he had nothing. Seeming to appear from nowhere at just the right time. He had been living hand to mouth, no luck finding a ship. He would get close to finding work when his temper would flair, or his enthusiasm would overwhelm him and at once, the winds would howl about him, the seas would turn rough and the Captains and sailors that frequented the ports soon began to think of him as an omen of ill weather and would not have him aboard their ships. Until she found him. She calmed him. She taught him to control it. He rubbed the staff. It was dear to him. How could he part with it? But it wasn't magic, he thought to himself.  He reached back in his pack and touched the glass staff. It felt cool and smooth. A shudder ran up his spine. He left it be for a moment and gripped the comfortable cane he'd come so attached to.

Burgee straightened and bowed his head to Paavu. He did not want to seem ungrateful. "Again, thank you. I will need time to examine it and understand it before I dare walk openly with the staff," he added. And he would examine it. But he wondered. He touched one of the symbols on his carved stick and it felt so familiar.

((Since Cirrus hasn't posted in a while I will wait for a few more hours, and then update to keep things moving))

((Sorry, I forgot about that "post at least once every 2 days thing" and I also couldn't think of anything to say. And I still don't. Feel free to advance the plot. I’ll still post, I’m not leaving, I just don’t have anything for Cirrus to say.))

Toblen sits silently, as the group eats over breakfast, their final paid meals by Gundren, who had been missing for the last several hours. The breakfasts were spared no comforts, and every seasoning had been blended to perfection to add character to every flavor, at-least as much as could be in a currently-backwater town. Everyone more or less rounding up their mornings. Some considering parting atleast in the immediate sense with treasures they cherished. Others waking up with companions new and animalistic. Others with a bit of skin in their faces, and warmth between them, while others awoke to the reality of their new reality. 

It wasn't overly long until the group met Gundren as they began to take their supplies to the cart to stock it up and tack the horses to it to prepare to go. 'Mornin folks. Good luck to ye. For the both of us. Sildar will be gone several weeks, most like. Now I know we had some bad blood between us the night before, and I still stand by what we said. However, I should clarify, I dinnae want any o' ye to die fer me dream either. If worst comes tae worst, you're hired hands, and I dinnae want ye to sacrifice your actual life for this. I may be willing to die for it but i don't expect others to. But I also do expect you to do yer jobs as best as ye can for both yourselves, me, and the good of the realm. 

Goodluck folks. Gundren would stay in the area if anyone had any questions, leaning against the inns walls, seemingly lost within his own thoughts., humming something that sounded like a tune but was unrecognizable, and random. If anything, he seemed nervous.

Paavu gives Gundren a hard, long look before silently nodding. It was no apology. Nor did he expect one from a dwarf when it came to a goal. But, the clarification was... something, at least. More in fact, than what he initially expected following yesterday's debacle. But beyond the nod, the goliath had nothing to really say in turn. Whatever grudge he may or may not have personally harbored was gone from it. As the others are saying their own varied goodbies or lack there of, Paavu gets Yue settled into the sled, seeing as he would be on horseback for most of the trip.

Then it hits him, and from the gloom of his helmeted head, squints at Gundren for a moment. "You seem nervous... Is there something else you hesitate to ask? Or might we be off now?" He asked pointedly, not really caring for subterfuge on principle, and only willing to stomach it to a point. Now was not the time for things unspoken.

Insight: 18(PP 19).

As Burgee sees Gundren approaches he lets out a "Pfft!", looks at Paavu and then heads over toward where the sled is being loaded. He hears the dwarf talking to Pavvue and others but it seems more of the same so he loses focus on the conversation and begins looking at his old trusty staff. He begins tracing one of the storm symbols carved into his driftwood staff. He’d been studying the staff since it was gifted, always intrigued with the delicate carvings. It made him think back on the lady who had taken him in. Though she gave him food and shelter, it seemed there was more to that interaction. Yet he could never quite touch on it. As he continued to trace the symbol, it began to glow. Softly at first, but then stronger, brighter. And the other symbols began to glow as well. And some began moving. One, which looked like a waterspout, began spinning. Burgee became entranced and began tracing over several of the symbols when they all sprang to life and seemed to move up the length of the staff towards Burgee’s hand. During all of this, unbeknownst to Burgee, a tempest lifted Burgee into the sky. As he spinned, and twirled, the symbols lept from the staff into Burgee's aura. Burgee’s mind drifts to another time, another place. Scenes of howling winds and great raging storms fill his dreams. Violent squalls, turbulent waves, electricity lighting the sky, and thunder pounding out the rhythm of it all as the angry sea, swallows ships and towns whole, as the ***** Queen extracts her tax upon all who dare to tame her watery world. As the storm continues to rage, he sees a figure peering through and then reaching out towards him, handing him a piece of…  driftwood… WHAM!  The staff explodes into tiny splinters and Burgee crashes to the floor, exhausted. He awakes moments later feeling somehow different, but more in tune with the weather and the sea. Feeling the rage storms and angry seas within. Knowing now that gift was more than a simple tool, and that it will require gratitude be paid to the one who pulled him from the depths and awakened his connection to the weave.

Gundren sighed and grunted at Paavu's questions, but his face held no deceit when he responded, as if Paavu's question simply reignited the indignation he'd had the day before. AYe, I'm nervous, and no there's nothin' else to tell you. I'm worried that if ye fail to recover me map, the position I'll be in as i'll have lost my last known lead. And seeing as ye already failed to secure it once, I harbor doubts in me mind giant. There is nothing I haven't told ye that ye need to know. For if ye fail, I've wasted me life. Tis the only reason we're paying so handsomely.

Cirrus is ready to get out of this town that constantly reminds him of his sins, but he is distracted by the sound of the explosion. He pokes his head in cautiously after the fact to try and see what happened, giving a nervous "everyone all right?" into the scene inside the building.

At this point in time Rose is outside helping Gwen pack the cart and get everything ready to move at a moments notice. Rose is very meticulous about where everything is stored and tries to make the cart look at neat and efficient as possible when she suddenly hears a commotion back in the inn. Paavu just threw Gundren across the inn! is the first thought to go through her head as she rushes back inside only to find Burgee, not Gundren, laying on the ground. Rose runs over to him just as he starts waking up and kneels down beside him with a worried look on her face. Burgee are you okay? What happened? Are you hurt do you need healing?

"Paavu's apologies. I've seen similiar nervousness in previous employers before other missions. Less... honorable ones, who intentions involved a betrayal of one form another. That isn't to say Paavu expected it here given... stakes. But, Paavu thought best way to eliminate own paranoia through confrontation." Paavu bowed his head slightly in further apology. If he saw's Burgee's aerial gymnastics at all, it never showed on his face. Only the staff's explosion finally warranted his turning in the rough direction of the noise, wait a moment, then look back down to Gundren.

"We will see the mission done." He said before walking off to finally see to Burgee. Seeing no injury beyond a few splinters and maybe a mild concussion from the fall, the Goliath huffs, picks the Kenku up by the scruff of his clothing if he hadn't moved to get up on his own by then, and sets him on the shed. "Time not for sheninigans. We must be off." He states dryly as Yue took to sniffing at Kenku. Immediately after, he is climbing into position on Thunderhoof, a black Clysdale, and with some from Gwen's guidance, leads the group on out of town and on to Thundertree.

(will wait on burgee's reply before proceeding)

The Kenku stands slowly and then shakes from head to toe before looking at the others. "I... I think so," he replies to Rose. He looks at his hands. It was no dream. The staff is gone and only splintered remnants remain. "I felt the anger of a storm flooding within myself. And then it calmed. But somehow... It's still..." Burgee looks around. He's not sure how to explain it. "Yeah, I think I'm ok." He reflects on the dream, or what seemed to be, and then upon the old woman who helped him tame his magic. Somehow he knew she was not who she appeared to be. He could feel the storm, still trying to rage. He had to focus to control it. A slight grin passed briefly as he felt the power of it. He eyed Gundren, but brought himself back to the present. "Thank you Rose," he added, "I'm a little tired. But nothing other than that." 

Burgee felt empty handed. He unstrapped the glass staff that Paavu had given him. "Looks like this shall become my friend sooner than I thought," he said. "I'll examine it during our travels.  And again, thank you."  He wondered... did the new staff know that an owner would soon need it, and somehow, find it's way to Burgee?  He felt the cold smoothness of the new staff. It felt odd and distinctly different from the twisted wood of his old companion. But somehow, that seemed to give him more inner focus. Another grin. "Well? Shall we set forth and find this parchment that the dwarf could not seem to hold?"

"No, don't stop, keep talking," Cirrus is scribbling on a piece of paper, evidently Burgee has just given Cirrus some great lyrics. "Actually, we're in a hurry, we'll talk on the way there."

Once she felt confident Burgee was okay Rose got back up and got herself situated in the cart. Well then, baring any last minute excitement I say we head off. 

I will be speeding up travel wit ha new method, however, every 3rd day I will 'slow down' to allow campfire RP. Primarily because travel bogs down PBP the most. In an IRL campaign, it's one thing, you can travel a week in 10 minutes, but on PBP trying to do a full grind of actual travel, I learned form my time DMing the Underdark campaign that it can just make everyone bored. But I also don't want to rob people of opportunity to RP, so I'm taking that middle ground where i rush travel a bit, but also allow time for 'on the road talk' which if combat starts, you can also still RP what happened up to that point as some have before using the 'before combat' and roleplay there before the fight officially begins.. Also I will be deducting rations from each of your sheets per day etc, and keeping a closer eye on things like that, that I couldn't do easily before with my time constraints + DMing multiple groups.

Posting now.

Gwen had elected to stay with the cart due to the warnings the night before that the group had nearly had their cart burgled last time, to make sure it was less likely this time. Eventually everyone gathering around the cart, some riding inside it, some walking, and some riding the horse(s) themselves. Gundren had chosen not to reply to the goliaths apologies, as it seemed he accepted the apology but his words wouldn't reflect it if he chose to speak, so he chose instead to simply remain silent.

Very few people were about today, and Stella, as well as other better known citizens of the town like the farmer and his boy are shuffling here and there as needed. it seemed (to cirrus) like here, she was both a seamstress and a waitress but Stella also seemed to be a bit.. nervous. Once everything was tied down, everyone wearing their winter clothing beneath their armor, everyone felt comfortable and warm, if a bit confined, as the clothing and armor combo did make moving a little more difficult, while the clothing was being broken in. 

Checking their belongings, and finally, heading off, Gundren just says before getting up and seeming to head to the town-masters office. Good luck, for both our sakes.

The group heading along the trail, and just as they leave the town proper, they are going around the massive hill that the Manor sits atop in all its glory, Standing in the road with arms crossed over her chest, is a black haired human woman, her face is stuck in a 'not amused' expression. To each side of her, four humans stand in a makeshift line. All of them bearing the insignia of the Phandalin Miners Guild, though the woman in the centers is much more elaborate.

Oh? You contact me with my own sending stone, somehow and you ask if I know you. Yet when I request to meet you - you instead choose to leave town. Halia Thornton, of the Miners guild, at your service. Now, if my sources are correct, its one of you who contacted me. And if my source is to be believed, it was the blue boy there. So...she says, taking out her sending stone, followed by another, that Cirrus would recognize as looking exactly like his own, as both stones had a unique shape to them, but his and her second were no different. YOU WANT TO EXPLAIN TO ME WHAT'S GOING ON?! she shouted into her stone, and her voice was echoed a moment later through both her second stone, and as everyone else would hear, through Cirrus' stone as well.

If not for Paavu's visor making it significantly difficult to do so, Paavu would be pinching the bridge of his nose by the time the woman has finished her spiel. Burgee's little incident had already somewhat delayed them longer than the goliath would've preferred, and now...

He just sighs heavily. "Little Blue, the one I presume you speak of, is not from this realm. Believe or do not, Paavu cares little." Paavu then turns to Cirrus. "Give her the stone. Or Paavu will. Because we have more important things to do then this. And we do not have time for this one's likely testiness about having it." He states in a tone that brokered no argument. Hopefully having spurred the genasi to compliance and act, Paavu tries to sit patiently for group of miners(?) to move aside so they could proceed beyond it.

"Though arguably, the delay thus far was mostly the fault of that mindless dwarf back there," Burgee adds with a thumb pointing back towards the inn, where, Gundren, likely was relaxing whilst others went after his 'life's work'.  Burgee sighed and looked up at Paavu. "You're right of course. We need to make haste." Burgee looked back over his shoulder toward the inn. "But that damned dwarf." Burgee shook his head and added "I'll not miss his tongue. Blaming us for losing something that, had he noticed, was not in his possession at the time of our meeting." But Burgee caught himself before he continued on too long and looked over at Cirrus with a quizzical look and it helped him calm down and forget about the dwarf. He gave a soft chuckle and looked over at Cirrus. "You do seem to find yourself in odd situations don't ya there Bluey?  More lyrics maybe?" 

 Gwen tries to gain some insight on the situation but whatever it was was just too far beyond her pale. Mmm, Well I have no idea what's going on here, but the mans right. Atleast to the best of our knowledge, Cirrus, also known as 'little blue' as the big guy here said, our best guess is he either came from some other plane similar to ours, or an entirely different dimension or somesuch. Not all THAT uncommon an occorance in some eras. 

Halia crosses her arms, and took a hard look at Gwen and Paavu. Her eyes narrowed a bit, but then softened. Ah, I see. I see. I must apologize then for my behaviour. After the redbrands.... and other even worse things, like the Zhentarim. the others with her nodding in broken tandem as they look between eachother, her and the group. Mm. But no, no, don't worry about it. Keep it then. I'm sure the other me, whatever her reasons were for giving it to the man, were sound. But hopefully you can understand that when I receive a message out of the blue, from my own magical trinket and then find the connecting stone still in my pocket, 

AND when I .. as far as I knew, hadn't been expecting any messages, could only assume so much with limited knowledge. So please, keep the stone, as it was a gift from the other me, apparently. And I must have given it to him for a reason, yes. Sorry for the trouble. You may be on your way. they all shuffle out of the way of the road, each of them making a pose that was eerily similar to the insignia of two crossed picks as they did so.

May you all find your travels blessed, and unburdened.