Aspiring Heroes of Faerûn

((Sorrysorrysorry))

Kess Athletics: 14

Grabbing the rope and taking her turn, Kess deftly repeats the process, lowering herself rather quickly down the cliff, her feet almost dancing over the various features of the cliff face as she descends. Once she reaches Chris, she grabs the branch, lets go of the ropes and swiftly climbs down the last bit to meet her companions on the ground. Only Nym remains on top. 

Also, there is no other side to climb. It’s not a ravine, just a single cliff that drops 50 feet. From here, you can continue walking forward through the forest. 

(not that anyone's needed it, but y'all have advantage on that check XD)

At Chrys' query about whether they should find somewhere else to go down due to the fact that something might be enjoying the nice troll carcass they had deposited, Nym grimaced and glanced at the others. "When I get within sixty feet of the bottom, I could cast Faerie Fire centered around the corpse. Might help if anything is right by it." 

Seeing Lumen about to begin his descent, she walks up to him and pats him on the shoulder twice in reassurance, the first pat giving him Vigilant Blessing and the second a simple Guidance. "Be careful." She watches carefully as Lumen and then Chrys make their way down. And then Kess and Vesper. Taking a big breath, the drow traces Eilistraee's symbol on her forehead to cast Guidance on herself and awkwardly gets into position before lowering herself down to the rest of her companions. 

Athletics Check: 6
Guidance: 4

"Looks like we all made it," Chrys grumbles, smiling as she jumps down.  "Save yer magics for the dragon... it's likely to pop up when we least expect it anyhow," she answers Nym.  Then she looks around the forest, making a face at the rare sight of a decomposing troll.  "Uhh...which way is the dragon again?"

After helping Nym down from the last branch, Chrys scampers down the last ten feet and joins everyone else at the base of the cliff. (Do you pull the doubled over rope down with you?)

Looking at the dead troll, you can see that the badly burned and hacked up corpse is beginning to draw a collection of flies. The stench ins't as bad as you figure it will probably be in a few days, but it certainly doesn't smell like roses. 

Now that you're down, Nym recalls the new from above and surveys the surroundings as she tries to establish the fastest and most direct course to reach the ruins of Vehlarr, while the rest of you prepare for another day of travel. 

Survival Roll: 8    //  Guidance: 4  // Total: 12

(Post will come after work tomorrow)

Could Lumen inspire Nym as she tries to orient where we are headed?

Yes he can. 

After a short time spent studying the forest, which is aided by the Eilistraee's blessing, Nym asserts that she's fairly confident about the direction and she begins begins leading you away from the cliff wall. Very quickly, you find yourselves back in the forest, with terrain and topography very similar to what you have traveled during the past couple days. At one point, a pair of squirrels chatter almost annoyingly at you from the branch of one of the trees as you pass, before scampering away out of sight.

Later in the morning, you come across a trio of deer who are drinking from a small brook about 75 feet away. They hear you as you approach, and all three raise their heads, before turning and bolting the other way, quickly disappearing into the wood. Crossing the tiny stream, you continue walking along the heading the Nyn indicates. Apart from the numerous birds and small rodents that inhabit this part of the forest, you don't see or hear any other creatures during the next couple of hours, and certainly nothing that poses a threat.

Nym

Lumen inspiration should Nym wish to use it: 2

(Chrys will take the rope with, hoping to leave as little evidence for a passing dragon to find.)

As they wander through the forest, Chrys begins to relax a little.  "This ain't so bad," she mumbles, taking in the wildlife.  "Things chatterin' means no dragons about lookin' ta eat 'em.  I like that."  As Nym draws to a stop to check something, Chrys squints and peers around the force.   "What's it?  More danger?  Don't sound like it from the little critters yellin' at us, though..."

((Will absolutely take that inspiration to make the survival roll 14~ Thanks rkmobius. Also I can't remember, coming from Duaric's hut, were we traveling from the west towards the ruins? Or were we traveling from the east?))

Squinting up at the sun breaking through the tree tops and circling slowly to orient herself, Nym nodded to herself before beginning to lead the way. Glancing back at Chrys she nodded forward and then to the right while speaking, "We should be heading towards the ruins of Vehlarr and Ravensglade Keep should be just south from there. I'm both curious and wary to see what we find in the ruins. The Warriors of Sehanine said that Duskbringer had come from the north. It's possible she simply came further north than the ruins and didn't stop, but I feel it is unlikely."

Her eyes narrowed, not because of the sunlight, but eyeing a pair of squirrels that she swore if she could understand them like Duaric claimed he could, were probably talking about her. And with nothing good to say it felt like. But she tried not to dwell on it too much as she continued forging a path through the forest. 
When the group encountered the trio of deer, the drow froze, eyes meeting theirs and when they inevitably darted away, she had to suppress the deep urge to leap after them in a chase.  

All in all it was a fairly peaceful journey for a while until something caught her eye. Slowly approaching, Nym looked the delicate pink blossoms over, picking up one of the scattered petals in between her fingers in curiosity. Not looking away as Chrys came up behind her and voiced her own curiosity, the cleric replied skeptically, "No, just....flowers. From a blue light..."  Her brow furrowed as something tickled at her mind before she recalled, "Aelar mentioned something about a fey spirit in the woods. In the form of a fox of some kind if I remember right."  

Taking a chance and feeling a bit curious herself, Nym glances down at the flower before looking back at the tree. Her hands moved fluidly as she murmured under her breath and suddenly one two, eventually four softly glowing purple dancing lights came into existence in front of her. With a wave, she shaped them into a humanoid looking form, making it bounce forward and tip toe to make it look like it was peaking behind the tree. She also leaned to the side to try and get a glimpse of what she hoped was a at least non malevolent spirit. "Hello?" She would ask in Elvish. If it was a fey, Elvish would be the closest she could get to its language since she didn't know Sylvan. "We don't mean you any harm if you don't mean to harm any of us."

Chrys folds her arms and waits, watching to see what happens.

"Blue talkin' fox spirits in woods infested with trolls an' dragons.  Yep, I'm a city girl, through an' through," she mutters aloud.  Thinking back to stories she heard about foxes, she only vaguely recalls snippets here and there.  About them being playful, maybe?  Or mischievous?  Or was it both? 

Scratching her head, she turns to Vesper and Lumen.  "Oi, either o' you two know anythin' bout fox spirits?  I mean, heard in stories or ol' fairy tales passed down in yer villages or somethin'?  I thought they were playful or somesuch."

While waiting for an answer and watching Nym ply the potential blue spirit, she settles down on the mossy forest floor, sighing in relief as she cracks the joints in her legs.  Then she pulls out her set of playing cards and begins to deal herself a game, inviting Kess, Lumen, and Vesper to join in.

"If it's a spirit that likes games, maybe a lil' ol' card game will help draw it out," she whispers under her breath to the others.  She nudges Lumen and Vesper in particular with her elbows.  "You two, play it up if ya can.  Make this look like the most damn interestin' game o' rummy ya ever been dealt!"

(Is there a Knowledge check Vesper can make to see if she knows anything about blue fox spirits?)

Vesper digs into her memory to try and recall any information she might have heard about blue fox spirits, but nothing come to mind, save for the same message that Aelar had given back at Dauric's home, that there was a spectral blue fox that inhabits this forest, and which could be of help. 

As Chrys sits down and deals her cards, the rest of you keep watch. Nym's calls out, while keeping her eyes trained on the tree where she saw the glimmer of blue, but she sees no indication that there's anything behind the trunk. However, a few seconds later, her eyes catch another movement, about 60 feet to the west, another flash of blue that appears behind a different tree. It almost looks like an animal's tail of some kind. Lumen and Kess see it as well. 

"Oh ho ho!  Ya shouldn'ta put that one down, I'm 'bout to go out if ya don't watch yerself," Chrys crows, grabbing a card off of the discard pile and waving it around over her head with an enormous, smug grin.  "See whatcha get when ya challenge yerself 'gainst the Queen o' Cards?  I'm gonna teach y'all that no-one can beat me when it comes to games," she boasts loudly, before throwing her head back and laughing a deep, prolonged belly-laugh.

Performance: 13

Cracking an eye open, she notices the others staring at her unusually boisterous behavior.  "What?  I'm jus' gettin' into it," she says innocently.

"I've not heard much more than just cautionary children's stories about the fae. But Aelar said this one was helpful so..." Nym shrugged good naturedly while continuing to stare at the tree trunk expectantly. Her head jerked abruptly to the right, westward, as she saw another flick of blue light. "How... Hm." Starting briefly at Chrys' deep laugh before cracking a smile. "As much as I'd pay coin to see you play cards with a spirit, I don't think it's interested at the moment. Maybe it wants us to follow it?"  With that suggestion, the drow begins to pick her way through the foliage towards where she saw the swish of tail last, trying to keep a sharp eye out for any other light or movement. 

Lumen performance: 18

The bard was so engrossed in the pretend card game he nearly lost sense of his surroundings. Until Nym's last, when he gives up the ghost.

"Is it likely to be friendly or helpful? We could use some of that. Why don't we follow it, from the flank? I'd like to avoid any traps if I can." 

As Nym quickly darts over to the other tree where she just saw the second blue flash, she sees no creature, but does find another small collection of small pink flower petals that are scattered at the base of the tree.

And then suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she sees a blue tail again, this time farting around a different tree about 20 yards to the left. Again, Lumen, Kess and Vesper see it as well.