Gusof seems uninterested in the melody that Lumen plays during your brief rest, but he does continue to answer your questions.
"No rafts and boats in lake... I swim... no need boats. Crossing water not dangerous for me's... lake my home, but some some dangers lurking in waters... swimming maybe not ok for peoples. For me, swimming one hour to other side. Yes... witch making things bad, living here long time. We both living here long times. Nice peoples helping and make end for bad witch."
Eventually, the strange water man wanders back towards the lake and lets you finish your rest.
FYI: Krackle is currently at full hp. He seems quite uneasy about all of this, and like you all are, he's rather creeped out by this whole scene. However, he shows no outward signs that he doubts anything that's being said by the man. During the resting period, he stays quiet and remains curled up in his temporary burrow.
"We need ta think 'bout how to cross the lake,"Chrys says, packing her things up again. "Try for a makeshift raft o' some sort? Or hike 'round the long way?"
(Is hiking around the edge of the lake even possible? How far away would it be to circle the lake to get to the other side?)
Yes, surveying the immediate area around you, you surmise that you could probably circumnavigate the lake on foot, although with the heavy fog, you cannot see what the landscape looks like very far beyond. your current position. Given that he told you it takes him about an hour to swim across the the lake, a good estimate would be about the same time frame to walk, maybe a little bit less, depending on the terrain.
After gauging the distance roughly with her eyes, Chrys says to the others "I don't see no way to get 'round walkin'... lest anybody else got a better idea."
She looks at the wet, marshy ground, and asks Krackle, "If ya got a way to freeze the water, that might actually make it easier to walk across this gunk here. Don't sweat it if ya don't, though," she reassures the little kobold. "The exercise is good for us! Makes us stronger an' keeps us on our toes!"
Lookin left and right, they look about the same. Spongy, puddle filled swampland that extends around the perimeter of the water until visibility disappears into the fog. And Krackle, visibly dismayed that he can't help, indicates that he has no magic that can freeze the ground or water.
Chrys nods in agreement, and offering Krackle another ride on her shoulder, begins to slog her way to the right, keeping an eye out for danger as she walks.
With no obvious dissent, you take Lumen's suggestion to go right, and after Gusof wishes you good luck in dealing with the witch, you begin walking away from him and the two large, twisted Cyprus trees that apparently make up his home.
Staying close to the lake, both for ease of navigation, and also to make the shortest possible trek, you plod your way across the vast expanse of swampy, spongy ground, brushing your legs through thick stands of wet grasses and reeds and tromping your already soaking wet feet through endless puddles of cold brackish water. The air is eerily still here, and a heavy fog continues to blanket the lake and the land all around you, limiting your visibility across the glassy waters to less than 100 feet. You keep the shoreline within sight at all times as you follow it around. You have no idea where it will lead, but at least you have a point of reference so you don't get lost in the fog.
As you tread along, thousands of midges, gnats and other small bugs fly all around you, although they seem to be more incessantly annoying than threatening. Despite the seemingly endless stream of bugs landing on your skin and flying in front of your face, they don't seem to be biting. Along the way, you see no other animals; it's as if this place is utterly devoid of life, except for the insects and the haggard old man you just left behind.
"Is it jus' me, or is it way too quiet 'round here? Even the insects seem ta have lost some o' there sass," Chrys says suspiciously, glancing around. "Maybe one o' you whose light on yer feet can try scoutin' a bit ahead. I don't like this one bit. Way too quiet." She pauses as if having a second thought, and then levels a finger at Lumen. "Not you. Ya get yerself killed too often tryin' to prove somethin' about bein' combat ready. Ya may be from a warrior peoples, but ya know, it's fine ta buck expectations and hang back a bit. Look at me. They were hopin' I'd become a smith. Or a baker! Duin's ass. I eat pies, I don't make 'em. An' ya sing great, but ya don't thwack people on the head with a club too well. So stay back this time an' protect yerself, got it? I'd rather hear ya singin' than screamin' this time 'round."
"I'll go ahead," Kess offered, her expression uneasy at the sheer silence; it had also been bugging her how quiet the place was, gnats and other tiny insects notwithstanding. "It is indeed far too silent, and I'm the quickest of all of us... so I shall go."
Adjusting her gait, Kess would zip ahead of the group, taking care with her footsteps as best she could so she could scout for danger...
You all watch as Kess springs ahead on her light elven feet, disappearing into the fog in a near silent stride.
Kess
Moving quickly, and doing your best to leap and hop over myriad of smaller puddles with fleet footed steps as you do your best to keep your feet out of the water, you advance ahead of the group. At one point, you look back and see nothing but a blank wall of dim grayness, meaning that you have now been enveloped by the mist and effectively separated from your companions.
In other words, you suddenly find yourself utterly alone out here in this strange, creepy and totally silent landscape. You're pretty sure that if something did happen and you were to scream or shout out, your friends would hear you, but then again, you know that sounds can dissipate quickly in vast open landscapes like this. And even if they could hear you, how have no idea how far back they actually are. Did they continue to walk slow, or did they stop and wait for you to return from your brief reconnaissance?
Either way, you press ahead through the swamp, as always, keeping the lake within sight just to your left. It was about a half hour since you left Gusof, and now you've been scouting ahead for about ten minutes. Fortunately, you have seen no other creatures or potential threats. Really, you haven't seen much of anything except flat, spongy ground, wet grasses and
Then, something catches your eye... you see a shape in the fog up ahead. At first, it looks like it might be a rock or perhaps a large beaver dam, but as you move a little closer, to within about 50 or 60 feet, you can see that it is some kind of large mud and stick mound that sits on the bank right at the edge of the water, similar to a beaver dam, but much bigger.
Turning around and staying along the shore of the lake, Kess easily finds her way back, returning quickly to her friends. The rest of you keep advancing slowly, and after about 15 minutes, you see Kess emerge from the fog as she returns from her scouting expedition.
"There is something up ahead... a construction of some kind, built with sticks or mud or both," Kess would explain, taking a minute to steady her nerves. "It was right on the edge of the bank. It's not much bigger than a large beaver dam, but I wouldn't be surprised if it is occupied in some way."
"Ya think it's the fey witch's home, then? I don't think there's much use sneakin' up on it... so I'm guessin' we mightas well knock on the front door," Chrys says. "Everybody ready for that, or does someone got a plan?"
"Might as well,"Lumen says. "Prepare however you like. It's very possible that old elf man was telling the truth and this witch is terrible, and she lives here, and we'll have to fight her to stop the corruption. It's also possible he wasn't, and there's something else going on. Knocking seems likely to tell us more than attacking without warning. Or, um, a beaver lives in there and the witch lives elsewhere, and we'll just get a very confused beaver."
He's fine with knocking, but if he does, he'll step back 30 feet and listen.
“Let‘s have Vesper‘s magic hand do tha knockin‘, then,“ Chrys replies. “Witches or angry beavers, it‘s better if we‘re not all up in it‘s business... or standin‘ close to one another out here,“ she says, thinking. “We could spread out, an‘ those o‘ us good at hidin‘ could hide.“
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Gusof seems uninterested in the melody that Lumen plays during your brief rest, but he does continue to answer your questions.
"No rafts and boats in lake... I swim... no need boats. Crossing water not dangerous for me's... lake my home, but some some dangers lurking in waters... swimming maybe not ok for peoples. For me, swimming one hour to other side. Yes... witch making things bad, living here long time. We both living here long times. Nice peoples helping and make end for bad witch."
Eventually, the strange water man wanders back towards the lake and lets you finish your rest.
FYI: Krackle is currently at full hp. He seems quite uneasy about all of this, and like you all are, he's rather creeped out by this whole scene. However, he shows no outward signs that he doubts anything that's being said by the man. During the resting period, he stays quiet and remains curled up in his temporary burrow.
"We need ta think 'bout how to cross the lake," Chrys says, packing her things up again. "Try for a makeshift raft o' some sort? Or hike 'round the long way?"
(Is hiking around the edge of the lake even possible? How far away would it be to circle the lake to get to the other side?)
Yes, surveying the immediate area around you, you surmise that you could probably circumnavigate the lake on foot, although with the heavy fog, you cannot see what the landscape looks like very far beyond. your current position. Given that he told you it takes him about an hour to swim across the the lake, a good estimate would be about the same time frame to walk, maybe a little bit less, depending on the terrain.
After gauging the distance roughly with her eyes, Chrys says to the others "I don't see no way to get 'round walkin'... lest anybody else got a better idea."
She looks at the wet, marshy ground, and asks Krackle, "If ya got a way to freeze the water, that might actually make it easier to walk across this gunk here. Don't sweat it if ya don't, though," she reassures the little kobold. "The exercise is good for us! Makes us stronger an' keeps us on our toes!"
"I think it might actually be quicker, and less dangerous, to walk around," Lumen says. He takes a look at which side seems more welcoming...
(she meant freeze the marshlands so we don't squelch through the shoreline !)
Lookin left and right, they look about the same. Spongy, puddle filled swampland that extends around the perimeter of the water until visibility disappears into the fog. And Krackle, visibly dismayed that he can't help, indicates that he has no magic that can freeze the ground or water.
"Yeah, let's just walk around the lake."
Xenophon: Topaz Dragonborn Fighter (ixi's Dragon of Icespire Peak)
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(Sorry, totally thought you were talking about walking across the lake by freezing patches! Silly of me.)
Lumen's for walking either way. He suggests right.
Chrys nods in agreement, and offering Krackle another ride on her shoulder, begins to slog her way to the right, keeping an eye out for danger as she walks.
Perception: 13
With no obvious dissent, you take Lumen's suggestion to go right, and after Gusof wishes you good luck in dealing with the witch, you begin walking away from him and the two large, twisted Cyprus trees that apparently make up his home.
Staying close to the lake, both for ease of navigation, and also to make the shortest possible trek, you plod your way across the vast expanse of swampy, spongy ground, brushing your legs through thick stands of wet grasses and reeds and tromping your already soaking wet feet through endless puddles of cold brackish water. The air is eerily still here, and a heavy fog continues to blanket the lake and the land all around you, limiting your visibility across the glassy waters to less than 100 feet. You keep the shoreline within sight at all times as you follow it around. You have no idea where it will lead, but at least you have a point of reference so you don't get lost in the fog.
As you tread along, thousands of midges, gnats and other small bugs fly all around you, although they seem to be more incessantly annoying than threatening. Despite the seemingly endless stream of bugs landing on your skin and flying in front of your face, they don't seem to be biting. Along the way, you see no other animals; it's as if this place is utterly devoid of life, except for the insects and the haggard old man you just left behind.
"Is it jus' me, or is it way too quiet 'round here? Even the insects seem ta have lost some o' there sass," Chrys says suspiciously, glancing around. "Maybe one o' you whose light on yer feet can try scoutin' a bit ahead. I don't like this one bit. Way too quiet." She pauses as if having a second thought, and then levels a finger at Lumen. "Not you. Ya get yerself killed too often tryin' to prove somethin' about bein' combat ready. Ya may be from a warrior peoples, but ya know, it's fine ta buck expectations and hang back a bit. Look at me. They were hopin' I'd become a smith. Or a baker! Duin's ass. I eat pies, I don't make 'em. An' ya sing great, but ya don't thwack people on the head with a club too well. So stay back this time an' protect yerself, got it? I'd rather hear ya singin' than screamin' this time 'round."
"I'll go ahead," Kess offered, her expression uneasy at the sheer silence; it had also been bugging her how quiet the place was, gnats and other tiny insects notwithstanding. "It is indeed far too silent, and I'm the quickest of all of us... so I shall go."
Adjusting her gait, Kess would zip ahead of the group, taking care with her footsteps as best she could so she could scout for danger...
Stealth: 16
You all watch as Kess springs ahead on her light elven feet, disappearing into the fog in a near silent stride.
Kess
Moving quickly, and doing your best to leap and hop over myriad of smaller puddles with fleet footed steps as you do your best to keep your feet out of the water, you advance ahead of the group. At one point, you look back and see nothing but a blank wall of dim grayness, meaning that you have now been enveloped by the mist and effectively separated from your companions.
In other words, you suddenly find yourself utterly alone out here in this strange, creepy and totally silent landscape. You're pretty sure that if something did happen and you were to scream or shout out, your friends would hear you, but then again, you know that sounds can dissipate quickly in vast open landscapes like this. And even if they could hear you, how have no idea how far back they actually are. Did they continue to walk slow, or did they stop and wait for you to return from your brief reconnaissance?
Either way, you press ahead through the swamp, as always, keeping the lake within sight just to your left. It was about a half hour since you left Gusof, and now you've been scouting ahead for about ten minutes. Fortunately, you have seen no other creatures or potential threats. Really, you haven't seen much of anything except flat, spongy ground, wet grasses and
Then, something catches your eye... you see a shape in the fog up ahead. At first, it looks like it might be a rock or perhaps a large beaver dam, but as you move a little closer, to within about 50 or 60 feet, you can see that it is some kind of large mud and stick mound that sits on the bank right at the edge of the water, similar to a beaver dam, but much bigger.
Kess tries to backtrack to where she left her friends, now thoroughly spooked.
Turning around and staying along the shore of the lake, Kess easily finds her way back, returning quickly to her friends. The rest of you keep advancing slowly, and after about 15 minutes, you see Kess emerge from the fog as she returns from her scouting expedition.
"There is something up ahead... a construction of some kind, built with sticks or mud or both," Kess would explain, taking a minute to steady her nerves. "It was right on the edge of the bank. It's not much bigger than a large beaver dam, but I wouldn't be surprised if it is occupied in some way."
"Ya think it's the fey witch's home, then? I don't think there's much use sneakin' up on it... so I'm guessin' we mightas well knock on the front door," Chrys says. "Everybody ready for that, or does someone got a plan?"
"Might as well," Lumen says. "Prepare however you like. It's very possible that old elf man was telling the truth and this witch is terrible, and she lives here, and we'll have to fight her to stop the corruption. It's also possible he wasn't, and there's something else going on. Knocking seems likely to tell us more than attacking without warning. Or, um, a beaver lives in there and the witch lives elsewhere, and we'll just get a very confused beaver."
He's fine with knocking, but if he does, he'll step back 30 feet and listen.
“Let‘s have Vesper‘s magic hand do tha knockin‘, then,“ Chrys replies. “Witches or angry beavers, it‘s better if we‘re not all up in it‘s business... or standin‘ close to one another out here,“ she says, thinking. “We could spread out, an‘ those o‘ us good at hidin‘ could hide.“