((Just checking, Eric took 1 dmg for getting close to The Human Torch, correct?))
((Yes, 1 point heat/fire damage. He may have noticed that he only felt it on his right side. Then again, he kept his time up there very short. Only a few seconds.))
"What have you learned Shayne?"he says in an authoritative tone, like one a father might use when chastising a child. "Do not stab the trees. Especially magically burning ones. You might get burnt, all right"The last part of his sentence said with a chuckle. After seeing that Shayne was ok, he tries to inject a little woodsman style humour (read - not very funny) into the subject.
"So do we explore this area? What is everyone's feeling?"Being able to offer no usable information about where they are, he seeks the group's thoughts.
"I do not like the sound of that horn." Alyna was still concerned with Shayne's health and a bit distracted. "But that can be the reason to go towards it if we can. Not sure, of course, but that could be the thing that the miller is following." She would also want to leave the tree glade, as any criminal (or accomplice) would like to leave the crime scene.
"I would like to point out that the tree attacked me," Shayne says, in all seriousness. "I was merely acting in self defense. B besides, I thought we brought Woodsy McWoodsman along to provide such insight into the ways of burning trees before we learned them ourselves through trial and error?"
"Honestly, this place... this... wherever we are," Shayne says, opening his arms wide and turning in a circle to show he meant not just the immediate area but the all of everything. "I am beginning to think this place is not for us. If walking to close to a tree scars one for life, I don't think our wayward miller has a hope of surviving this place for as long as it's been. I think we're partaking in a fools chase and that there is no chance for success. I think it would be in all out best interests to find our way back to that hill and get out of here before any other oddities decide to act in such strange and manslaughterish ways!"
Alyna tilted her head looking at Shayne as if he stated the obvious: "But of course this is not for us, silly, it's for fairies." Glad that they were on the same page here she continued: "I agree that the miller is in the bigger trouble than we are - he is alone here. This is why we have to get him."She sighed. "We knew it would not be simple and I am scared too. But we can not just leave him here if there is a chance he is still alive, can we? Just... be careful what you are touching. May be we should try to stay away from anything ... touchable and just look."
"Burning trees, I can help with. Burning magical trees, now how am I meant to know anything about that? Those would be things from tales told to children. You know like a musically inspired magician might spin."He snaps at Shayne. His retort a little more nasty than intended. Their situation was beginning to bear down on Eric. He was the one who took on the role of protector. He was meant to know about these things. A sense of hopelessness creeps into the wood cutters mind - his shoulders slump in response.
Eric walks over to the burnt bard. "I am sorry. My temper is a little too quick in this place."He holds a hand out to the bard in a gesture of friendship.
"It attacked me way before I was in touching range," Shayne insisted. "Believe me, I know touching can be dangerous... I've been slapped on plenty of occasions! But the point is, all I was doing was getting near the thing... Not even near. Near adjacent, at best!"
"But anyway, point is, miller is dead. No way he is gallivanting around here all alone without people to pour water on him, or slather mud on him, and survived a week or whatever... I say we go back, tell the heartbroken villagers that the fairies turned him to dust, or petrified him, or whatever, and advise they need to get on with their lives. No good is going to come of exploring these lands..."
((was typing at the same time and missed Eric's post so...))
Shayne shrugged. After a brief moment he clasped hands with Eric and smiled. "Look, I've no ill towards any of us. It's just I got burnt half a crisp for merely walking in this land and am frustrated, annoyed and ready to burn the whole place down given half a chance.... But we're good, the four of us. Don't be thinking my annoyance is with any of you. I've just quickly gone from intrigued by possibility to quickly realizing my own mortality and in just how much peril we are just even being here..."
“I am pretty sure that the Miller would not be the type to mess around with a tree like that one,” Xylys says, pointing back to the tree. “He is the sort of person who could be duped by fairies, if he’s here he most likely was. But, I agreed to find out what happened to him, and I am not comfortable making up a tale to conceal a half-hearted effort.” He looks at his companions earnestly, “I also am not afraid to go back and tell folks I couldn’t find him, as long as I did my best.” He shakes his head, “So I say we keep looking.”
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Panic is a mechanism that strengthens the gene pool.
"Alright, alright," Shayne says throwing up his arms and wandering a little bit off from the rest. "I'm the idiot who got attacked by a flaming tree for merely taking a closer look. Everyone else in the world would have just ignored such a phenomenon and known all the quirks of faery land just through osmosis... Pardon the unholy hag out of me!"
"Now-now, we are not saying you were wrong in looking," soothingly said Alyna, placing her hand on Shayne's arm. "But you said it yourself, everything here was not meant for us, we must be very careful. Now we all know it and we will, right?"Considering the matter resolved she returned to the main (and ever the same) question: "Where to? Should we check out that horn?"
As she said, she would rather move away from it but at the moment it was the only clue or some "cheackable" thing around aside from this weird tree.
"The horn would indicate that someone, or something, with intelligence is beyond the burning tree. It's as good a place as any to start with. They may only be as smart as the horrendous were-crickets but it definitely warrants a look." Eric voices his agreeance with Alyna's words. "We must go beyond the tree, so make sure to give it a wide berth. And, please, no stabbing it".
The party hikes around the hill, alert and ready for action. The tall, weirdly symmetrical broadleaf trees grow far enough apart that you can spread out a bit and set a good pace without losing sight of one another. Shayne's lights, (if he again conjures them) help out a good deal, relieving the darkness that gathers under the trees despite the brightness of the narrow moon.
When you look back the third time to check your position by your only sure landmark, the glow of the half-burning tree, which had been visible through the foliage, is quite gone. The tall trees stand further apart here, with thick brush growing in the spaces between. Have you been walking for ten minutes or an hour? None of you seem to agree on how long you have taken to get here or far you've gone. And you get no help from above; the new moon and the stars seem not to have shifted position in the least.
AYIIIIEEE!
The shrill cry still echoes in the trees when the horn sounds again, louder and closer. Twigs snap. Fammy hisses, half-crawling out of her sack with ears flattened against her skull.
A tawny blur bounds through the brush and crashes into your midst, nearly knocking Alyna to the ground. The stag casts its magnificently antlered head about, eyes wide with fear. Blood drips from an arrow lodged in the beast's right flank.
Hoofbeats approach. Bowstrings twang and arrows whistle through the trees!
(Let me know if Shayne would have previously created dancing lights. If he has done so before this encounter begins, there will be no dim light penalties for the party. )
((Just checking, Eric took 1 dmg for getting close to The Human Torch, correct?))
((Yes, 1 point heat/fire damage. He may have noticed that he only felt it on his right side. Then again, he kept his time up there very short. Only a few seconds.))
"What have you learned Shayne?"he says in an authoritative tone, like one a father might use when chastising a child. "Do not stab the trees. Especially magically burning ones. You might get burnt, all right" The last part of his sentence said with a chuckle. After seeing that Shayne was ok, he tries to inject a little woodsman style humour (read - not very funny) into the subject.
"So do we explore this area? What is everyone's feeling?" Being able to offer no usable information about where they are, he seeks the group's thoughts.
"I do not like the sound of that horn." Alyna was still concerned with Shayne's health and a bit distracted. "But that can be the reason to go towards it if we can. Not sure, of course, but that could be the thing that the miller is following." She would also want to leave the tree glade, as any criminal (or accomplice) would like to leave the crime scene.
Meili Liang Lvl 5 Monk
Dice
"I would like to point out that the tree attacked me," Shayne says, in all seriousness. "I was merely acting in self defense. B besides, I thought we brought Woodsy McWoodsman along to provide such insight into the ways of burning trees before we learned them ourselves through trial and error?"
"Honestly, this place... this... wherever we are," Shayne says, opening his arms wide and turning in a circle to show he meant not just the immediate area but the all of everything. "I am beginning to think this place is not for us. If walking to close to a tree scars one for life, I don't think our wayward miller has a hope of surviving this place for as long as it's been. I think we're partaking in a fools chase and that there is no chance for success. I think it would be in all out best interests to find our way back to that hill and get out of here before any other oddities decide to act in such strange and manslaughterish ways!"
Alyna tilted her head looking at Shayne as if he stated the obvious: "But of course this is not for us, silly, it's for fairies." Glad that they were on the same page here she continued: "I agree that the miller is in the bigger trouble than we are - he is alone here. This is why we have to get him." She sighed. "We knew it would not be simple and I am scared too. But we can not just leave him here if there is a chance he is still alive, can we? Just... be careful what you are touching. May be we should try to stay away from anything ... touchable and just look."
Meili Liang Lvl 5 Monk
Dice
"Burning trees, I can help with. Burning magical trees, now how am I meant to know anything about that? Those would be things from tales told to children. You know like a musically inspired magician might spin." He snaps at Shayne. His retort a little more nasty than intended. Their situation was beginning to bear down on Eric. He was the one who took on the role of protector. He was meant to know about these things. A sense of hopelessness creeps into the wood cutters mind - his shoulders slump in response.
Eric walks over to the burnt bard. "I am sorry. My temper is a little too quick in this place." He holds a hand out to the bard in a gesture of friendship.
"It attacked me way before I was in touching range," Shayne insisted. "Believe me, I know touching can be dangerous... I've been slapped on plenty of occasions! But the point is, all I was doing was getting near the thing... Not even near. Near adjacent, at best!"
"But anyway, point is, miller is dead. No way he is gallivanting around here all alone without people to pour water on him, or slather mud on him, and survived a week or whatever... I say we go back, tell the heartbroken villagers that the fairies turned him to dust, or petrified him, or whatever, and advise they need to get on with their lives. No good is going to come of exploring these lands..."
((was typing at the same time and missed Eric's post so...))
Shayne shrugged. After a brief moment he clasped hands with Eric and smiled. "Look, I've no ill towards any of us. It's just I got burnt half a crisp for merely walking in this land and am frustrated, annoyed and ready to burn the whole place down given half a chance.... But we're good, the four of us. Don't be thinking my annoyance is with any of you. I've just quickly gone from intrigued by possibility to quickly realizing my own mortality and in just how much peril we are just even being here..."
“I am pretty sure that the Miller would not be the type to mess around with a tree like that one,” Xylys says, pointing back to the tree. “He is the sort of person who could be duped by fairies, if he’s here he most likely was. But, I agreed to find out what happened to him, and I am not comfortable making up a tale to conceal a half-hearted effort.” He looks at his companions earnestly, “I also am not afraid to go back and tell folks I couldn’t find him, as long as I did my best.” He shakes his head, “So I say we keep looking.”
Panic is a mechanism that strengthens the gene pool.
"Alright, alright," Shayne says throwing up his arms and wandering a little bit off from the rest. "I'm the idiot who got attacked by a flaming tree for merely taking a closer look. Everyone else in the world would have just ignored such a phenomenon and known all the quirks of faery land just through osmosis... Pardon the unholy hag out of me!"
"Now-now, we are not saying you were wrong in looking," soothingly said Alyna, placing her hand on Shayne's arm. "But you said it yourself, everything here was not meant for us, we must be very careful. Now we all know it and we will, right?" Considering the matter resolved she returned to the main (and ever the same) question: "Where to? Should we check out that horn?"
As she said, she would rather move away from it but at the moment it was the only clue or some "cheackable" thing around aside from this weird tree.
Meili Liang Lvl 5 Monk
Dice
"The horn would indicate that someone, or something, with intelligence is beyond the burning tree. It's as good a place as any to start with. They may only be as smart as the horrendous were-crickets but it definitely warrants a look." Eric voices his agreeance with Alyna's words. "We must go beyond the tree, so make sure to give it a wide berth. And, please, no stabbing it".
"No stabbing. Got it. I'll keep that in mind," Shayne says with a wink.
The party hikes around the hill, alert and ready for action. The tall, weirdly symmetrical broadleaf trees grow far enough apart that you can spread out a bit and set a good pace without losing sight of one another. Shayne's lights, (if he again conjures them) help out a good deal, relieving the darkness that gathers under the trees despite the brightness of the narrow moon.
When you look back the third time to check your position by your only sure landmark, the glow of the half-burning tree, which had been visible through the foliage, is quite gone. The tall trees stand further apart here, with thick brush growing in the spaces between. Have you been walking for ten minutes or an hour? None of you seem to agree on how long you have taken to get here or far you've gone. And you get no help from above; the new moon and the stars seem not to have shifted position in the least.
AYIIIIEEE!
The shrill cry still echoes in the trees when the horn sounds again, louder and closer. Twigs snap. Fammy hisses, half-crawling out of her sack with ears flattened against her skull.
A tawny blur bounds through the brush and crashes into your midst, nearly knocking Alyna to the ground. The stag casts its magnificently antlered head about, eyes wide with fear. Blood drips from an arrow lodged in the beast's right flank.
Hoofbeats approach. Bowstrings twang and arrows whistle through the trees!
Initiative
The Hunt
5
The stag
9
(You guys roll your own, of course.)
Shayne Initiative: 9
Fammy Initiative: 22
(Let me know if Shayne would have previously created dancing lights. If he has done so before this encounter begins, there will be no dim light penalties for the party. )
(Shayne would have the Dancing Lights out illuminating the path ahead of us... )
Xylys initiative 17
Panic is a mechanism that strengthens the gene pool.
Eric's initiative 13