With the event more or less over, you all go back to setting up whatever of the camp wasn't already, if any at all. And choosing to settle in, Sha and Yin both turn in first, leaving Ulf and Ulric to watch for at-least the next few hours before swapping places with 'the girls.' The night sky is particularly clear aside from a few long, but very thin strips of cloud that seem miles apart. The night is comfortably cool for summer, the moon is almost perfectly full aside from a sliver of darkness at one side.

You two may roleplay for a bit, but when ready to proceed, both of you make a perception check.

Ulf keeps to himself, happy to relax in the wolds once more. He occasionally paces outside the light cast by the fire, and generally stays out of it's glare, wary of becoming an obvious target, limned against the flames with no cover in sight.

Perception: 12 (passive 16)

Ulric is content to keep to himself as he sits cross-legged on the hard ground. He looks over the sleeping forms of the two woman of the group, and a minute, wistful smile brushes across his features as the flickering firelight casts deep shadows across the recesses of his face. He recalls the time when he used to sleep, and a sudden sense of faint nostalgia comes across him. Sleep was something he almost missed from his old life before he received his gifts. 

With a slight sigh, he begins reviewing the events of the day in his mind as he sits, an immovable silhouette against the night sky. Everything has gone according to plan until the meeting with the cult members. He thinks angrily to himself that he should have been prepared for such an encounter, and he mentally scolds himself for blowing his cover so soon into his mission. Scowling, he looks back at Yrnila and thinks, [bloop] you and your prying!

His scowl softens slightly as he recalls the moment he divulged his secrets. Even though he admitted that he withheld information, his new companions didn't seem terribly wroth with him. If some of his previous allies had learned that he was keeping secrets, Ulric knew he wouldn't be alive at the moment. It was a dark world he had lived in, and he craved the light that knowledge brought into his life. He craved knowing secrets that others didn't know of. Secrets were some of the only things brought excitement into his life anymore.

Through all of this, a twinge of a strange emotion descends upon him. He struggles to decide what this strange new feeling is for a moment before he realizes its compassion. These were the first people he had met in a long time that didn't drive him away after learning some of his background. Unbidden, the memory of the last time he felt this way rises to the front of his mind.

It was a sultry evening following a scorching summer day in the coastal city of Calimport. He remembers that he felt excited that only one other contestant remained, and he had finally cornered his target into my his city. Slinking amongst the deepening shadows, he slips through the city, his prey a burning beacon in his mind. He knew his target knew that he was closing in on them, and he almost felt him relishing the upcoming struggle. It all came down to this last conflict; whoever survived  would win all spoils of the contest.

A few minutes later, he approached his final destination. He had followed his quarry is through a maze of alleys through the desert city, and his target was just around him he bend. Drawing a blade, he confidently turns around the corner with a cocky smirk on his face. Before him in this dead end alley was a woman cowering in a corner. To him, she glows with a blazing aura the allowed him to track he from such a distant, and as he triumphantly raises his blade over his head to deliver the final blow, he notices a child wrapped protectivly in the woman's arms. He had thought that her fear was that he was about to deliver her into death's embrace, but seeing her position, he realizes that she was fearful for her child. His smirk falters as a single fear falls from the mother's face as she embraces her child for the last time. Within Ulric's cold heart, he feels something stir. His blade lowers slightly as guilt suddenly overwhelms him. He feels horror at what he was about to do. Is this what he really wanted? Was he really willing to carry out this despicable act for some petty power?

With almost a snarl, Ulric rouses himself from his reverie. He angrily shoves down his emotions and memories, locking them away deep inside as his cold calmness takes hold once more. Foolish idiot. You know emotions make you weak, he thinks angrily. He stares into the dying embers of the fire as his usual coldness reasserts itself once more. Above, Cyrin can only watch him with sadness as she continues her flight.

((Figured I should make up for my slow posting somehow.))

The hours passed excruciatingly slowly, especially for Ulric once his reminiscing had ended the time seemed to slow to a crawl in the same fashion as when one is looking forward to some new thing arriving or being finished but having no control over the pace. The clouds drifting listlessly through the bright night sky that was otherwise a void speckled with sprinkles of light of varying sizes and brightness. Ulric was utterly distracted wit his thoughts, so Ulf decided to make up for it by patrolling the camp periodically and avoiding the light, practically vanishing the moment the light ceased to touch him even if anyone were actively watching where he went.

Around the stroke of midnight, both could faintly hear a soft rumbling in the distance though it's source is initially unknown. Ulf being more on alert than even Cyrin circling above begins to look around for the source, and it takes a long moment, but in the distance, a single Ogre can be seen, heading from where the mountains and hills the area was famous for were at. It seems to have noticed the fire from far off and decided the party (not that it would know how many people were or weren't there) but Cyrin being a creature of the night can see quite a bit more once the culprit was noticed.

Ulric see's, through his familiar, should he choose to engage that ability, that the large force of Water Cultists they had been speaking to before had been keepign an eye on things and had moved to engage it.

Yin and Ulric gain DM inspiration, if they don't already possess it.

((I think it's a typo, but who's Tin?))

As Cyrin swoops closer to where the ogre was spotted in the distance, Ulric relaxes his mind and allows his consciousness to drift into his feathered familiar. As he sees that that the cultists they met earlier begin to engage the behemoth, Ulric says quietly to Ulf as he passes by, "The cult members are moving forward to engage the giant-kin. Should you and I assist them and allow these two to sleep?" He returns his senses to his body and shakes his head to clear out the sudden wave of disorientation. He looks up at Ulf, waiting for his response.

Ulf grins at Ulric, but then looks at the sleeping forms, "Wake 'em first. We're supposed to be guarding, rememeber?"

With that he walks over to where Ylnira  is sleeping, and shakes her shoulder, then does the same with Shautha, "Trouble in the distance...if we want to show willing with our would-be allies, we could assist them against what looks like gnolls."

Shautha wakes with an annoyed grunt, giving the elf a piercing glare when he's the first thing she sees when she opens her eyes. 

Then he mentions trouble in the distance, and her mood swings drastically. Sleep all but forgotten, she stands and takes her weapons, readying for the action. "...How many?" She asks.

 In the distance, as you wake Shautha and Yin up, the familiar watches a flurry of ranged attacks, initially two purple spherical blasts, followed by three obsidian ones, and then a volley of javelins soaring through the air, and all but one of them hitting it's target, turning the ogre that for whatever reason Ulf called a gnoll to Shautha .

Through the eyes of his familiar, Ulric can see that the ogre is basically already beaten as it's suddenly bloody and has fallen to it's knee's under the sheer assault of the cultists.

Ylnira tunes out the laughter of the incessant, haunting voice inside her mind as she went along with the Water Cultist's movements. She silently nodded at the mention of setting up camp - rest was necessary, and she notably observed how Shautha and Ulf made their preparations. It was clear she was more used to an urban lifestyle, and she uncomfortably laid down to catch some rest. 

As Ulf jolted her awake, the first thing he would notice is Ylnira, almost impossibly quickly, drawing her elbow back for a punch. If he was being perceptive, he would notice something odd - despite the natural shadow flooding the campfire with darkness, the sclera of her eyes seemed to momentarily - and unusually - darken, returning to normal after less than a moment. After recognizing who Ulf was, Ylnira was immediately attentive, not one for relaxing when perceived danger was noticed. "How many gnolls, and where? Those cultists seemed to be prepared for a fight. It may not be wise to interfere, considering speaking with them again may lead to even further danger." 

Ulf looks to Ulric, "Any news, Ulric? I can barely make them out at this distance, it's only the light from their spells that reveal them..." he squints as another flash lights up the fight,  "...could be ogres, not gnolls..." he says, as he starts moving forward, stopping when he is within 90' of the fight.

The fight is taking place about 100 feet away from the camp (interception time by the cultists) but.. if half a mile...? thats 2640 feet.... >.>

Ulf circles for a few feet, to get out of the light of their camp fire, and get within 90' of the enemy. He studies the group, eventually marking his target. He will loose an arrow at one of the ogres, preferably one that is currently directly threatening on of their 'allies'.

The first arrow flies quite true, though such a large target isn't hard to hit even in the darkness. Schlicking through it's flesh with ease, the creature starts to fall only to be hit by a second arrow, already dead before being hit and a light, thunderous fall shakes the ground as its girth and gravity take hold, it's corpse now, softly bleeding from many holes. it had managed to get a solid swing in on one of the cultists but not enough to kill any of them.

Unfortunately (the dice determined) that was the only enemy, so in a sense, Shautha and Yin had their rest interrupted for little reason. Cyrin can confirm that the only 'beings' on the battlefield were the now dead, and solitary ogre, the cultists, and the crew - unless you counted a few rabbits hiding.

Combat is over. Will allow for a few Rp posts (and me to get some sleep) before pressing on to the morning.

Uld nods, "Not perfect, but good enough."

He returns to his companions by the fire, "Apologies, but it's best to make sure everyone is awake when danger is near" he stokes the fire then continues, "Get some rest, I'll wake you when I need to. Unless...now that you are awakened...you would prefer to watch now?"

Ylnira calmly nods towards Ulf, not bothered by his caution. She loosely folds her arms. “You were right in waking us. As to who is keeping watch, I do not have a preference. Rest is always welcome, but I am not in dire need of it.” She isn’t attempting to hide her discomfort with camping in the wilderness. She futilely attempts to brush away some dirt in a certain area near the fire, sitting cross-legged with no small amount of annoyance. Her healer’s robes were dirtied. That wasn’t good - infections were spread by filth, and she silently reprimands herself for not being the most prepared for such ventures. She cuts a glance at Shautha and Ulf. Perhaps she could learn something from them.

Regardless of whom takes the next watch, it goes rather peacefully as the moon crosses the sky. Once the ogre had been dealt with, the cultists had briefly checked it for anything of worth, and finding none, they went back on their patrol, adding an extra set of eyes guarding the camp, now that you all knew they were, for sure watching out - likely thanks to Yin's watery words.

Slow and boring, the watch continues until the sun starts to rise, at which point, the cultists begin to leave the area, heading north-westish. The morning itself is greeted with the sounds of birds and other wildlife though far less than if you were near a forest or other greener area. You all go about your morning rituals, eating, cleaning, preparing, and whatever else you would normally do (you may RP this) until around nine in the morning when you all finally start to get back into the road, knowing that, barring more strange concordances you might make it to the town you were all heading to initially by early afternoon.

I can't post more since doing so would be me railroading, so do you follow the cultists? Proceed as planned? etc. Once I have atleast two responses to this I will proceed with that.

Ulf looks in the direction the strange cultists went, then turns to his companions, "I suggest we continue as planned...".

Strange folk, but not to be messed with. He turns to Ulric, "You said you infiltrated one of those groups. What are they doing, and...why are there more than one group if they simply represent the dispossessed....I assume they must have been lying? Are the ones you infiltrated opposed to the ones we met?"

As they turn in for the night, Ulric settles down and lays on his back as he watches the night sky transform into the predawn flow that warned of daytime. He stands up just as the sun begins peeking over the horizon and starts doing some simple exercises around the camp. When he comes to a slight sweat, he stops and dismisses Cyrin with a gesture. Despite being a creature from a different reality, she needed a break too. He cleans himself with prestidigitation, and then he waits for everyone else to rise.

To Ulf's question he responds, "The cults don't get along. They each want to dominate the others. From what I gathered, they are gathering power for something I haven't discovered yet, but I assume it's to bring their patron to this world."

Shautha notices Ylnira's discomfort with some amusement. After seeing Ulric clean himself up with his magic, she says. "Think you could do the same to our healer? It seems like she doesn' like the dirt..."

"As for the cults..." She continues, now serious. "Do you know what this patron of theirs even is? Is it a god, a spirit or what?"

Ulric puts both hands in the air in an act similar to the sign of surrender as he says, "I wouldn't quote the summoning statement as a fact. I was merely speculating with the facts I've gathered.'

He points at Yrnila and says something under his breathe, and the dirt and grime upon her disappears with a faint sound of suction. Despite the warmness of the air, a fine layer of frost crackles on her clothing for a moment after the spell is finished, but it fades in a brief moment of chilliness.