Eku now takes on a pose of curiosity and settles into a leaning position against a tree as wide as she is tall, watching as the conversation goes on. Her look is caught somewhere between 'what did I get myself in to' and 'is this really happening.'
Nenne surveys the group, taken aback by their open displays of camaraderie. She unconsciously fiddles with her mace as she tries to pick words that will have any hope of conveying her feelings.
"I...I hardly know what to say." A blossom of magenta emerges in her skin, nearly overwhelming the lingering frosty undertones. Her voice is soft with gratitude. She smiles quietly.
A moment passes, and while her new coloring remains, a frown returns - one of shrewdness and determination.
"You say you trust my judgment," she says, in a deeper and more authoritative tone, "so I must be forthright. I believe it is smarter for us to avoid this creature altogether. The risk hardly outweighs the reward if we are to singularly pursue our goal. I was a soldier, in a past life, so I know well the demands of a mission directive and the sacrifices one must make for it."
"And yet," she adds, allowing herself a degree of vulnerability, "I no longer serve a nation, but the god of life's transition. So when I say I wish to redeem this creature or hasten the end to its suffering, my sentiment is borne not from any clarity of judgment, but from my own redeemed heart.
"Is it wise to forsake one's mission to attempt to rescue a feral creature from itself? Likely not. But for myself, I believe all paths cross for a reason. This wolf is from my home. I cannot ignore that." She stands tall and resolved. "If you all are willing to place yourselves in danger to allow me a chance to help a kindred Feywild creature, then we must go about it with care and intent. Let us follow this creature at a distance and prepare to engage it on the morrow. I will appeal to Kelemvor for especial guidance and aid in this unique endeavor, and perhaps we can set up physical and magical safeguards for ourselves, as well. What say you all?"
"I say that this is one wild and interesting curve along our path," says Sthara, "Though will the beast linger until the following day? Would it not be wiser to strike, as they say, while the iron is warm? Eku, what say you?"
Nenne looks chagrined. "We could attempt it today, if we had to. Only, I would appreciate an opportunity to perform a ritual of petition, which would aid us in reaching through to the beast and greatly increase the likelihood of maintaining our own safety."
@ Everyone
Nenne's requesting a long rest. I have Calm Emotions, Enhance Ability and other fun cleric buffs/protection spells...and none are prepared today. I actually wrestled long and hard with taking Calm Emotions and decided on something else when I picked the spells for this day. So we can jump into an encounter if you're itching for it, but I'd love the chance to try to prepare some more appropriate spells...as well as RP how clerics get their spells.
"The beast seems to be fond of this land anyways, why else would it howl? I agree with Nenne, collecting ourselves is much better than heading straight in without any preparations. Look at what the frogs did to us. We need an appropriate plan. Marching order, and who does what." Funderburk, perched on Dunk, explained this to his team.
"It might uh.. get me some time to dress properly too. If I am going to dance with death, I might as well as dress the part. Or as best I may." He said with a chuckle. He began adjusting his coat, fulling the hood over his head once more.
Eku thinks for a while before answering Sthara. While she's thinking, she listens to Nenne's mention of her ritual and safety before answering the sorceress, "I'm conflicted, but I'm also very excited. I thought I knew of all the beasts in this jungle, but this is sounding more and more foreign to me. The experience would be amazing, but I have to wonder what this wolf is like if it comes to blows. It also could be that the thing is trapped in some poacher's net...As I said before, I will guide you in whatever direction you wish, but I would also be smart about it. I say that if we intend to search out this wolf, we let Nenne perform her...ritual of safety." The last three words are said with a hand gesture that conveys that she is unfamiliar with whatever ritual the cleric is talking about.
"Then it is decided!" Funderburk yelled from atop Dunk. He looked around his companions, "Let us rest. I have something to ponder about anyways. This wolf... is unlike anything I have ever seen or read. And let me warn you friends, it is... quite large too." He said the last words will a worried tone.
Laying on the back of Dunk, staring at the sky he thought to himself what would happen once they met this beast. One worry being: how would Dunk react with the wolf. He seemed nonchalant about many things until he himself is harmed. But you never know...
"If this creature is what I am familiar with," Nenne says soberly to Allister, "it is likely stronger than any beast you have encountered so far. My village calls them winter wolves, for they carry the fury of winter in their howls. Even in environs such as Chult's, the frost and chill of their breath can rob a man of vigor - or kill him entirely. And yet, like winter, these wolves are as beautiful as they are severe. To catch a winter wolf is a feat of great skill for any hunter, on any plane of existence."
She nods toward Boosey. "I, too, am deeply curious how it came to be here, if it is truly from the Feywild. I do not recall any creatures of that sort coming to this land when I did, nor when my comrades left. Perhaps it is linked with the death curse somehow. Or perhaps it came from another incursion, unrelated to me or this curse. All that I know is that I am grateful to all of you for indulging an old woman her foolish sentimentality." She bows deeply toward the group. "Let us find a suitable place to camp. Then I shall begin my ritual and petition Kelemvor for his guidance and aid."
Eku guides the party for a while looking for a place to camp and settles at the base of a large tree that has its massive roots in the shaped of a 'u'. The tree is leaning slightly, letting the jungle vines grow under the smaller roots that have popped free of the ground. She motions to the small space and says, "This will do without putting us too far from our course."
As the night falls, Nenne sits with her prayer book and a stick of incense, praying quietly. She makes a sigil in the air over her companions as she petitions the Fair Judge to aid her in protecting them, that they might restore the wolf and bring all things in balance. She'll pray also that Kelemvor will see it fit to restore harmony to the creature's soul rather than require its life - or anyone else's the next day.
She'll trance during another's watch and take the rest of the night's sentry duty, listening fondly to the night and happily remembering home.
Boosey, having slept fitfully joins Nenne on her watch and passes the time talking. “I have a great love of Wolves, though the ones we have on the Sword Coast are somewhat less exciting than this one. To many there, they were to be feared and hated, but my troupe used to love listening to the packs howl to each other at night in the mountains. It was a different kind of music for us, and a performance under the stars was spellbinding. There is no evil in them, but they treat others with mistrust, there are so many hateful stories about them. I too hope we can somehow help this one,” and he laughs for a moment “plus I’ll be grateful for the take it will give me if we survive. It will be one worth telling, I think.”
Taking out his flute, he plays softly for a while, playing gentle songs that could almost be described as sentimental. “I guess I’d better try and get some sleep,” he says after a while, but lies there awake, wondering what the dawn will bring.
As the sun begins to filter in through the canopy once more, Boosey and Nenne begin waking the others up since they had last watch. Camp is broken down after a quick meal and the party sets off once again, this time their journey not so clear. Eku guides Allister through, making sure to warn everyone about some red creeper just over there. A non-sentient vine with a tendency to hold one fast while it leeches out your nutrients. At a point, some hour away from the camp site, the six companions stop at very large and numerous wolf tracks.
The paw prints are the size of Boosey's torso and go in both directions. Eku stoops low investigating the tracks before saying, "Those are definitely wolf tracks - big wolf tracks. It has been through here many times." She looks back and forth down the tracks, seeing several different paths to take before commenting, "I guess one is just as good as another." As the party walks on more cautiously this time following one of the trails Eku calls for a halt and asks, "Do you hear that?" A quick listen indicates a void of jungle sound, which is normally quick noisy. A howl bearing an echo rings out from the direction the party had just been traveling from. Small trees can be heard snapping as the party braces for whatever is coming. The underbrush parts way some 50 feet from the party and a wolf steps out into the open.
The wolf's fur is stark white somehow adding more color to its already brilliant blue eyes. It pants out a visible, chilled breath against the harsh environs of the jungle while pacing back and forth maintaining its distance. Its eyes fall from one person to another, scanning each of you up and down in turn. It does not growl, nor does it ever make a move forward. The creature's back is taller than any horse anyone of the present party has ever seen. Surely, if it were to stand on its back legs, it would reach the top of a two story building. Dunk takes two steps back.
Allister exhales audibly, grips the hilts of his weapons and take a tentative step to the left. Speaking over his shoulder without taking his eyes off the beast he adresses Nenne. "If you plan on doing any Feywild comradeship thing, now is the time!, Everyone, spreadout slowly."
"Wait," Nenne says in barely over a whisper. "I have sought guidance from Kelemvor and know that, if we are to succeed, we must rely on the skills we all bring."
She looks at the other magic users. "We must convince this creature that we are friend, not foe. Kelemvor has made it plain that it is not my place to speak with it directly, yet I know I can protect and bestow a boon on one who can. Lady mage, storyteller, sir wizard - are any of you up to this task?"
When the beast made Dunk take steps back, he knew it was an intimidating creature. "This beast is a big one friends. We should be more careful around it." He looked at the creature, taking it all in. From the size to its beauty. "I can try casting a spell to read its mind, but looking at the creature, I'll have to think whether to if so."
"Judging from the creature, I am not completely sure... but I shall anyways. Oh mighty wolf, do not think of this in any rude particular manner..."
The massive wolf's hackles raise at the wizard's gathering energy. It lets out a growl that becomes a deep guttural use of the common tongue, "Stop! I will eat your hands if you keep doing that!" A chill mist flows freely from its toothy, open maw.
Eku now takes on a pose of curiosity and settles into a leaning position against a tree as wide as she is tall, watching as the conversation goes on. Her look is caught somewhere between 'what did I get myself in to' and 'is this really happening.'
Nenne surveys the group, taken aback by their open displays of camaraderie. She unconsciously fiddles with her mace as she tries to pick words that will have any hope of conveying her feelings.
"I...I hardly know what to say." A blossom of magenta emerges in her skin, nearly overwhelming the lingering frosty undertones. Her voice is soft with gratitude. She smiles quietly.
A moment passes, and while her new coloring remains, a frown returns - one of shrewdness and determination.
"You say you trust my judgment," she says, in a deeper and more authoritative tone, "so I must be forthright. I believe it is smarter for us to avoid this creature altogether. The risk hardly outweighs the reward if we are to singularly pursue our goal. I was a soldier, in a past life, so I know well the demands of a mission directive and the sacrifices one must make for it."
"And yet," she adds, allowing herself a degree of vulnerability, "I no longer serve a nation, but the god of life's transition. So when I say I wish to redeem this creature or hasten the end to its suffering, my sentiment is borne not from any clarity of judgment, but from my own redeemed heart.
"Is it wise to forsake one's mission to attempt to rescue a feral creature from itself? Likely not. But for myself, I believe all paths cross for a reason. This wolf is from my home. I cannot ignore that." She stands tall and resolved. "If you all are willing to place yourselves in danger to allow me a chance to help a kindred Feywild creature, then we must go about it with care and intent. Let us follow this creature at a distance and prepare to engage it on the morrow. I will appeal to Kelemvor for especial guidance and aid in this unique endeavor, and perhaps we can set up physical and magical safeguards for ourselves, as well. What say you all?"
"I say that this is one wild and interesting curve along our path," says Sthara, "Though will the beast linger until the following day? Would it not be wiser to strike, as they say, while the iron is warm? Eku, what say you?"
Nenne looks chagrined. "We could attempt it today, if we had to. Only, I would appreciate an opportunity to perform a ritual of petition, which would aid us in reaching through to the beast and greatly increase the likelihood of maintaining our own safety."
@ Everyone
Nenne's requesting a long rest. I have Calm Emotions, Enhance Ability and other fun cleric buffs/protection spells...and none are prepared today. I actually wrestled long and hard with taking Calm Emotions and decided on something else when I picked the spells for this day. So we can jump into an encounter if you're itching for it, but I'd love the chance to try to prepare some more appropriate spells...as well as RP how clerics get their spells.
"Could you at least give a hint what we´re about to face? More than ´a wolf from my home´?"
"The beast seems to be fond of this land anyways, why else would it howl? I agree with Nenne, collecting ourselves is much better than heading straight in without any preparations. Look at what the frogs did to us. We need an appropriate plan. Marching order, and who does what." Funderburk, perched on Dunk, explained this to his team.
"It might uh.. get me some time to dress properly too. If I am going to dance with death, I might as well as dress the part. Or as best I may." He said with a chuckle. He began adjusting his coat, fulling the hood over his head once more.
Made you look.
Eku thinks for a while before answering Sthara. While she's thinking, she listens to Nenne's mention of her ritual and safety before answering the sorceress, "I'm conflicted, but I'm also very excited. I thought I knew of all the beasts in this jungle, but this is sounding more and more foreign to me. The experience would be amazing, but I have to wonder what this wolf is like if it comes to blows. It also could be that the thing is trapped in some poacher's net...As I said before, I will guide you in whatever direction you wish, but I would also be smart about it. I say that if we intend to search out this wolf, we let Nenne perform her...ritual of safety." The last three words are said with a hand gesture that conveys that she is unfamiliar with whatever ritual the cleric is talking about.
"Then it is decided!" Funderburk yelled from atop Dunk. He looked around his companions, "Let us rest. I have something to ponder about anyways. This wolf... is unlike anything I have ever seen or read. And let me warn you friends, it is... quite large too." He said the last words will a worried tone.
Laying on the back of Dunk, staring at the sky he thought to himself what would happen once they met this beast. One worry being: how would Dunk react with the wolf. He seemed nonchalant about many things until he himself is harmed. But you never know...
Made you look.
"If this creature is what I am familiar with," Nenne says soberly to Allister, "it is likely stronger than any beast you have encountered so far. My village calls them winter wolves, for they carry the fury of winter in their howls. Even in environs such as Chult's, the frost and chill of their breath can rob a man of vigor - or kill him entirely. And yet, like winter, these wolves are as beautiful as they are severe. To catch a winter wolf is a feat of great skill for any hunter, on any plane of existence."
She nods toward Boosey. "I, too, am deeply curious how it came to be here, if it is truly from the Feywild. I do not recall any creatures of that sort coming to this land when I did, nor when my comrades left. Perhaps it is linked with the death curse somehow. Or perhaps it came from another incursion, unrelated to me or this curse. All that I know is that I am grateful to all of you for indulging an old woman her foolish sentimentality." She bows deeply toward the group. "Let us find a suitable place to camp. Then I shall begin my ritual and petition Kelemvor for his guidance and aid."
Eku guides the party for a while looking for a place to camp and settles at the base of a large tree that has its massive roots in the shaped of a 'u'. The tree is leaning slightly, letting the jungle vines grow under the smaller roots that have popped free of the ground. She motions to the small space and says, "This will do without putting us too far from our course."
"Then let us prepare ourselves."
For a good bit of the rest, on and off, Sthara will hum the melody of Kissing the Mermaid's Buttocks.
As the night falls, Nenne sits with her prayer book and a stick of incense, praying quietly. She makes a sigil in the air over her companions as she petitions the Fair Judge to aid her in protecting them, that they might restore the wolf and bring all things in balance. She'll pray also that Kelemvor will see it fit to restore harmony to the creature's soul rather than require its life - or anyone else's the next day.
She'll trance during another's watch and take the rest of the night's sentry duty, listening fondly to the night and happily remembering home.
Boosey, having slept fitfully joins Nenne on her watch and passes the time talking. “I have a great love of Wolves, though the ones we have on the Sword Coast are somewhat less exciting than this one. To many there, they were to be feared and hated, but my troupe used to love listening to the packs howl to each other at night in the mountains. It was a different kind of music for us, and a performance under the stars was spellbinding. There is no evil in them, but they treat others with mistrust, there are so many hateful stories about them. I too hope we can somehow help this one,” and he laughs for a moment “plus I’ll be grateful for the take it will give me if we survive. It will be one worth telling, I think.”
Taking out his flute, he plays softly for a while, playing gentle songs that could almost be described as sentimental. “I guess I’d better try and get some sleep,” he says after a while, but lies there awake, wondering what the dawn will bring.
As the sun begins to filter in through the canopy once more, Boosey and Nenne begin waking the others up since they had last watch. Camp is broken down after a quick meal and the party sets off once again, this time their journey not so clear. Eku guides Allister through, making sure to warn everyone about some red creeper just over there. A non-sentient vine with a tendency to hold one fast while it leeches out your nutrients. At a point, some hour away from the camp site, the six companions stop at very large and numerous wolf tracks.
The paw prints are the size of Boosey's torso and go in both directions. Eku stoops low investigating the tracks before saying, "Those are definitely wolf tracks - big wolf tracks. It has been through here many times." She looks back and forth down the tracks, seeing several different paths to take before commenting, "I guess one is just as good as another." As the party walks on more cautiously this time following one of the trails Eku calls for a halt and asks, "Do you hear that?" A quick listen indicates a void of jungle sound, which is normally quick noisy. A howl bearing an echo rings out from the direction the party had just been traveling from. Small trees can be heard snapping as the party braces for whatever is coming. The underbrush parts way some 50 feet from the party and a wolf steps out into the open.
The wolf's fur is stark white somehow adding more color to its already brilliant blue eyes. It pants out a visible, chilled breath against the harsh environs of the jungle while pacing back and forth maintaining its distance. Its eyes fall from one person to another, scanning each of you up and down in turn. It does not growl, nor does it ever make a move forward. The creature's back is taller than any horse anyone of the present party has ever seen. Surely, if it were to stand on its back legs, it would reach the top of a two story building. Dunk takes two steps back.
Allister exhales audibly, grips the hilts of his weapons and take a tentative step to the left. Speaking over his shoulder without taking his eyes off the beast he adresses Nenne. "If you plan on doing any Feywild comradeship thing, now is the time!, Everyone, spreadout slowly."
"Wait," Nenne says in barely over a whisper. "I have sought guidance from Kelemvor and know that, if we are to succeed, we must rely on the skills we all bring."
She looks at the other magic users. "We must convince this creature that we are friend, not foe. Kelemvor has made it plain that it is not my place to speak with it directly, yet I know I can protect and bestow a boon on one who can. Lady mage, storyteller, sir wizard - are any of you up to this task?"
"The skill I usually rely on is stabbing or slashing with sharp steel. Maybe I should stay in the back for a while."
When the beast made Dunk take steps back, he knew it was an intimidating creature. "This beast is a big one friends. We should be more careful around it." He looked at the creature, taking it all in. From the size to its beauty. "I can try casting a spell to read its mind, but looking at the creature, I'll have to think whether to if so."
"Judging from the creature, I am not completely sure... but I shall anyways. Oh mighty wolf, do not think of this in any rude particular manner..."
I cast Detect Thoughts on the wolf.
Made you look.
The massive wolf's hackles raise at the wizard's gathering energy. It lets out a growl that becomes a deep guttural use of the common tongue, "Stop! I will eat your hands if you keep doing that!" A chill mist flows freely from its toothy, open maw.
Allister says in a low voice "This isn´t going well. Remember to slowly spread out."