Above & Below

Kurama, while you've never heard of Gredica, you have a vague recollection of the word Shadowfell. It was either Ryuu or Orochi who mentioned it once while you were reading together.

"Ay, that road will lead you south for about a day. Then you'll come to Sicklerville," Gil throws a few pieces of meat into a cast iron pan and begins to cook them up. He carves another piece off and tosses it to Blue. "Baron there isn't known for helping out for free, though. Guess that's why he has what little power he has. Can't remember his name. There's also Norton, up on the northern coast. No road leading up there. Should take about a day and a half if you don't get lost. Smaller town. The baron there, guy named Eram, is considerably friendlier but probably won't know as much. They don't hold much power or resources up there. Just scrape by living off the frozen sea."

Ava takes another sip of her tea. "Folks here don't travel much. Too dangerous. Thankfully the wild creatures that roam the forests aren't enticed by fire and a plot of potatoes, so we get by okay. Safer than dealing with the people!" She smiles, perhaps only partially joking. "And of course we have Blue here for protection...not to mention he brings the occasional dinner to our front door!" She nods at the cooking boar.

Cadmael notes how dark it's becoming outside, but only notices more distant howling from a pack of wolves. A mile away or more, probably nothing to worry about at the moment. 

"If you don't mind sharing, what manner of creatures roam this area of Gredica?  And does this area have a name of some sort or historical significance?  On our side, it has seemed to be an area of great importance."  While his mind craved pulling out his notebook and asking a series of questions about Gredica, he restrained himself and politely asked only the questions he thought were the most important.

"Creatures. Animals. Monsters. Come in all sizes and shapes. Wolves, ghosts, shadows, cloakers...if you run into cloakers, tuck your head between your legs and hope they don't spot ya." Gil skewers a piece of meat and offers up the tip of the knife to Brask. He then goes back for another. 

"There is more magical energy here than elsewhere in the Shadow Realm, to be sure," Ava chimes in. "If you truly came here from another world, it does not surprise me the traveling took place where it did. And Gil is right about the things that lurk in the darkness. They are extremely dangerous, even to a band of capable adventurers such as yourselves. You're welcome to sleep here on the floor if you'd like. We don't have much to offer but we can offer that."

Brask takes the food happily, and starts to eat.  Wolves I can kill.  Ghost, shadows, cloakers though... I dunno.  If there's magic beasties here, can you tell me what kills em?  More than just a maul to the skull?  We're gonna be travelling a fair amount, he adds gloomily.  He glances at Pip and decides to be a little more upbeat.  Still, always good to stay in practice.

"Eh, anything I've decided to mess with has responded pretty nicely to something smashing in its skull," Gil gives a half-smirk as he gives the massive wolf a boar leg to chew on. "But I tend to avoid things I don't think Blue and I can handle."

As Cadmael continues his watch, he notices three large silhouettes traveling through the night sky. They glide slowly, occasionally flapping huge appendages to propel themselves forward above the tree tops. They don't seem to notice the cottage - or if they do, they don't bother with it - and continue moving into the darkness. 

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"Creatures. Animals. Monsters. Come in all sizes and shapes. Wolves, ghosts, shadows, cloakers...if you run into cloakers, tuck your head between your legs and hope they don't spot ya." Gil skewers a piece of meat and offers up the tip of the knife to Brask. He then goes back for another. 

"There is more magical energy here than elsewhere in the Shadow Realm, to be sure," Ava chimes in. "If you truly came here from another world, it does not surprise me the traveling took place where it did. And Gil is right about the things that lurk in the darkness. They are extremely dangerous, even to a band of capable adventurers such as yourselves. You're welcome to sleep here on the floor if you'd like. We don't have much to offer but we can offer that."

 "Cloakers?"  Kurama asked Gil, his curiosity getting the best of him.  "Are they some kind of undead?  A spirit perhaps?"  Then turning to Ava, Kurama added, "And thank you for the offer.  It will be nice to have a roof over our heads for a night." 

"They're...alive," Gil considers the question. "Though you won't be if you run into 'em! Ha! Big monstrous things with sharp teeth that fly around, typically around dawn and dusk. Once in awhile they'll make a terrible, horrible moaning sound. Haven't seen them when I've been closer to the coastal towns...they mostly cruise around through the mountains and valleys, I think."

"A few just flew overhead," Effort comments offhandedly.  "I have Cadmael keeping an eye outside."

Thinking, she leans forward.  "... So, in order to achieve our goals, we either have to travel to Sicklerville, or Norton.  Norton would be the safer bet, given that we could get there in one piece.  But Sicklerville sounds like it would be more helpful, if we could somehow convince the Baron there to cooperate with us."

Effort rubs her chin.  "Which would you rather brave?  To be honest, I would not be averse to taking a risk for a greater reward.  But it may also be that this Sicklerville Baron demands coins, or other items of value, of which I have little to offer."

We're not here to play it safe, Brask snorts.  That's kind of the whole deal, right?  We can manage in Sicklerville.  If there's a price, we can work.  Barons and the like always need something doing, by folks who don't mind getting their hands dirty.

"I agree with Brask, the risk certainly seems to be worth the reward.  I would also like to discover what happened to our missing allies, so the quicker we can gain more truths about our mission and whereabouts, the better."  Kurama added on.  

"Well, it's time for an old woman to get to bed," Ava gets out of the chair slowly and nods a goodnight to everyone. "I hope you'll stay for breakfast so we can send you on your way with full bellies!"

Gil rummages around in a big wicker basket in the corner of the main living space. He pulls out a heavy wool blanket and tosses it over a chair. "Only extra blanket we have, but it's mighty warm. 'Night." He heads into the other room with Blue.

Feel free to talk amongst yourselves before bed, and/or ask any other questions you might have at breakfast. 

Effort pulls out her own bedroll from her pack to keep warm, offering the blanket to Pip.  "I hope Promise is alright," she says, as she wraps herself up and settles down for the evening, retiring Cadmael to his pocket plane.  "I'm worried about where he ended up, and what might have befallen him.  We only just found him once again, and now to be separated like this once more..." She shifts uncomfortably, then sends a piercing look at Kurama.  "Did you actually manage to get all the answers you needed from my friend before we were separated again, or were there questions left unasked?"

After answering any questions any of the others might have had of her, Effort spends the rest of her evening studying the book she picked up from the library, going over the ritual once again to make sure she understood it correctly, before retiring to rest.

"I was not."  He replies to Effort as he begins to get his accommodations into order.  "But I'm sure I will be able to ask them when we see him again."  he adds with what he hopes was a reassuring smile in her direction.  The action brought up a fond memory of Tora teasing him for his lack of skill with people, or anything of real value for that matter, before giving him a few pointers on what not to say or do to others.  Sighing in sadness as the thought of all that he had lost hit him once again, he took out a fresh notebook from his pack and began quietly writing down all that they had experienced since entering the fortress. 

At some point before the party retires for the night, Kurama will ask unprompted, "What do you believe the chances are that one of these barons will know anything that could help us?  From what I understand, the peoples of this region are just trying to survive.  I would be surprised if they knew any truths about the crisis all our worlds face."  

Dunno, says Brask.  You got a better idea?  If not, best just rest and then get on with it.  He settles down to sleep.

Everyone, as you drift off to sleep, give me a Wisdom check.

Brask's WIS check:  13

WIS Check: 19

WIS check: 11

You all settle down and despite the wind rusting dead branches outside, you fall asleep quickly. It's been a very long few days, and being able to rest with relatively little worry is irresistible.

Kurama:

Brask:

Effort:

As the cottage fills with golden light, Gil and Blue come out of the bedroom. "Rise and shine!" He goes to work cutting up some potatoes and slicing more boar. Blue sniffs around you all, licking at Effort's face and eventually settling down near the table. 

Brask takes a moment to compose himself, then rises and heads for the breakfast table, a scowl plastered on his face.