The five of you (and your respective entourages) are travelling across the land towards The Meridian Valley, the piece of land that has been promised to you by Prince Korlaf. You've been travelling for a week now across the countryside when you notice that the vegetation grows unusually thicker. Both Ignus and Taman feel a little tingling feeling, like when you just have cast a powerful spell.
Please elaborate on what you are doing while travelling and how you are interacting with the people en the environment around you.
Ignus rides alongside his companions on the way to the valley. Tyto, his barn owl, flies a few feet over his shoulder as they travel, occasionally landing on Ignus' shoulder. The fire genasi's golden hair and eyes light up in the mid-day sun, especially in contrast to his charcoal gray skin. While he used to be much more reserved and hesitant to form connections, he's grown close to the others in the party, particularly Taman. Valuing knowledge above all, Ignus still holds the intelligence of wizards in high esteem.
As they ride along through the increasing growth, Ignus pauses. He quickly turns to his friend, sensing something is wrong. "Taman, do you sense something? I can't seem to place it." He looks through the vegetation and up toward the sky. "Tyto, see what you can find." The owl lifts off his shoulder and flies up, scanning around the horizon as he does so.
Taman rides on his silver dragon as the group travels. More often than not they are on the ground, the dragon walking instead of flying, so Taman can talk and enjoy the fellowship of the group he has grown close to. His retainers travel in two wagons, the towering forms of a giant and a warforged titan, lumbering along close to the back of the group.
"I sense something about these plants as well." Taman says with a frown. "As if some powerful spell has just been cast... Kass, would you mind if we take a look at this from above?" Taman asks the silver dragon he rides. He pats the neck of the female dragon affectionately. He also mentally sends Sabastian, his familiar flying cat off to take a pass from above as well.
Tassarath travels in relative silence, atop Tassa, the bull of the elephant couple. He glances back at Taman's entourage with a scowl as they continue.
"How ostentatious," rumbles Tassa from beneath the howdah.
"I know, Tassa. That's just how he is." remarks the druid. Its how he always is. Still, there was little reining in the arcanists in the group, only to mitigate the chaos that they caused. There was little subtlety or restraint, but they were effective, and while he walked with them, Tassarath rarely felt threatened.
"The brush is strange here. Too thick."
"Let me take a look," comments Tassarath before slipping down from his perch and peering closer at the roots, tangles, and foliage of the flora.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Attending Academy until November, slowdown in posts continue.
Riding alongside Tassa and Tassarath, the tabaxi in the group yawns loudly and rolls his shoulders as he shifts uncomfortably in the saddle of his steed, a black warhorse covered in chain mail, protected from the sun by a tabard of pure white trimmed with gold patterns. "J'zargo the Wise has learned over times that the simple answer, in the present company, is never the correct one, yes? If the trees and the bushes are becoming denser to you all, then were are surely preparing for battle or certain death, no?"
He laughs before taking a swig from his waterskin. "J'zargo the Perceptive is ready for what trials you are creating for him", he says, patting the rapier on his hip.
Lacking the magical prowess of his companions, J'zargo made up for it in wit, daring, good looks, dress sense, swordplay, and particularly gambling. His yellow eyes constantly twinkled with mischief, and missed nothing. His clothes were expensive, save for a functional piece of leather armor, and his was adorned with an array of rings, earrings, and other assorted jewellery. He would spend most of his time travelling exchanging stories with the others, some or all of them not entirely separating fact and fiction.
Tyto, Kass and Sabastian take off. Circling the traveling band, you rise higher and higher. You can see, in front of the group, the road climbing towards a small hill. Rising even higher, the valley on the other side off the hill slowly comes into view.
Viewing the expanse before you, it's hard to draw your attention away from anything other than the natural beauty of the massive valley below you. A river runs from the western heights down into the valley and out the southern end from which you are approaching. Choking the river is a forest. Long has it been since the woods below have seen the tending of civilization. As you look more closely you see in the river in the southern portion of the valley a small, broken, and long-destroyed town center. In some portions, the trees come up to the edge of the decaying buildings. Further northeast on the valley floor are the towering ruins of a palace. Not far from the ruin of the palace is a smaller structure. This half broken building is in the same state as its neighbor. Both buildings are choked by the surrounding forest. finally, you spot the most unusual part of the valley. Shimmering in the distance on the western slope resides an immaculate towering castle that appears as if it were built only yesterday.
Meanwhile Tassarath closely observes the vegetation surrounding the road on which you are traveling. Examining every plant, brush or tree separately you see nothing extraordinary about them. They seem to be normal plants that naturally grow in these regions with this climate. It is only their number and density that doesn't seem natural. There must be some kind of source in the vicinity that causes this lush growth of flora.
The scouts up the air shortly manage look away from the magnificent view before them to look down on the traveling circus with Tassarath who is, what to you seems like, looking at dirt on the ground. Looking back at the castle, something you think is a lot more worth looking at than dirt, you see that the castle has vanished. The area which the castle once occupied is now a barren scar on the landscape. Lifeless stone and dirt devoid of any flora or fauna.
"Huh," Tassarath is murmuring as the airborne scouts return, only partly acknowledging J'Zargo. "Its not enchanted flora, J'Zargo. But it is unusually fertile and dense. Perhaps this castle was built on ideal farmland."
He clambers back on top of Tass, the elephant. Tass' partner, also intelligent, seems preoccupied feasting on the ample foliage. There he shouts into the air at his companions.
"Pretty fascinating stuff. Anything worth looking at up ahead?"
"There appear to be several destroyed villages, ancient though with the plants having overgrown them." Taman speaks up as he sits atop Kass. "The castle itself is the most interesting thing, though it has disappeared now, so it is hard to say if it just was made invisible or if it teleported to some other location." He glances around, giving his own group a nod of approval as they stand at the ready, weapons at hand if needed. "Are we ready to continue onward?" He asks the others of the group.
Ignus rubs his fiery-colored goatee as he looks through the eyes of Tyto. "Very peculiar," he looks at his companions. "Can anyone detect magic once we get closer to the place where the castle was...or is...?"
The tabaxi raises an eyebrow at the news from above. "A castle that disappears is most interesting, and worthy of investigation. J'zargo the Opportunistic is hoping that any treasures within are not also disappearing from J'zargo's pockets." He responds to Taman's question by spurring Ma'zaqq, his warhorse, ahead of the group and down the valley.
You continue over the hill and into the valley, keeping the river on your left side. Unlike your first impression the water flows in its rock bedding with quite some force. Despite riding of first into the valley, the rest of the group easily catches up with J'Zargo. The vegetation slowly grows denser until, in the late afternoon, the road ends at the edge of the forest.
Do the flying scouts keep flying or do you continue on foot/mount with the others?
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
How far does it seem like we are from the place where the castle appeared? Tyto will continue scouting from the sky, trying to find a path or anything noteworthy in the forest between the rest of the party and the vanishing castle. Perception: 15
"Tass, Ssarath, watch your steps," he warns his loyal behemoths. He looks towards the scouts. "We can press on. If we get lost I can better prepare in the morning."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Attending Academy until November, slowdown in posts continue.
Taman is riding Kass, but she is walking with the others for now. His familiar is flying overhead, keeping track of the group and watching the area directly around them.
"Why not pause here a moment and let me caste my spell to detect magic. It will only take ten minutes..." Taman suggests.
As Tyto is scouting, he examines the area between the party and where the castle was before it vanished. Unfortunately the trees of the forest are too dense to see where there might be a path through. Only between the forest and the river there seems to be a small strip of clearing. However, while you can't really see it, you think this strip will probably not suitable for your entire entourage. On the other side of this part of the forest is the old town center, just under a mile away. You get the impression that there is movement in the town center. You can't make out individuals, but something is down there. Further into the valley you briefly gaze to where the castle stood before it vanished. You estimate it to be about a mile and a half from where the party is now.
Meanwhile Taman gets out his spellbook and starts the ritual to cast Detect Magic, drawing arcane symbols in the air. After ten minutes Taman notices a faint aura in the air, not enough for it to be a magical enchanted place, but the weave is more closely connected to this place than anywhere else. Except for the items that you carry on you, no strange objects show to be magical.
"There does not seem to be an enchantment on the place." Taman muses out loud. "Seems to be magical, but not spell-cast, as if it were closer to the magical weave than other places are... Interesting..." he glances to the others. "So we have a few options..." He says. "We can try to teleport to the city or where the castle was located previously, or we can try to hack our way through the plants. what do you guys wish to try?"
"It seems as though there's activity in the village. Perhaps we should check in there first to see who knows what." Ignus psychically calls Tyto back. "Plus, it's a bit closer! Although I can help with teleporting us around if that's the route we want to go."
"J'zargo the Unwilling is not wishing to see his breakfast a second time, delicious as it was. He will venture through the forest, perhaps with one or two of those fine elephants as a vanguard to clear a path, no?" The tabaxi screws his face up at the mention of teleportation, as if he had just caught a whiff of a bad smell.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
The five of you (and your respective entourages) are travelling across the land towards The Meridian Valley, the piece of land that has been promised to you by Prince Korlaf.
You've been travelling for a week now across the countryside when you notice that the vegetation grows unusually thicker.
Both Ignus and Taman feel a little tingling feeling, like when you just have cast a powerful spell.
Please elaborate on what you are doing while travelling and how you are interacting with the people en the environment around you.
Ignus rides alongside his companions on the way to the valley. Tyto, his barn owl, flies a few feet over his shoulder as they travel, occasionally landing on Ignus' shoulder. The fire genasi's golden hair and eyes light up in the mid-day sun, especially in contrast to his charcoal gray skin. While he used to be much more reserved and hesitant to form connections, he's grown close to the others in the party, particularly Taman. Valuing knowledge above all, Ignus still holds the intelligence of wizards in high esteem.
As they ride along through the increasing growth, Ignus pauses. He quickly turns to his friend, sensing something is wrong. "Taman, do you sense something? I can't seem to place it." He looks through the vegetation and up toward the sky. "Tyto, see what you can find." The owl lifts off his shoulder and flies up, scanning around the horizon as he does so.
DM - Above & Below
Taman rides on his silver dragon as the group travels. More often than not they are on the ground, the dragon walking instead of flying, so Taman can talk and enjoy the fellowship of the group he has grown close to. His retainers travel in two wagons, the towering forms of a giant and a warforged titan, lumbering along close to the back of the group.
"I sense something about these plants as well." Taman says with a frown. "As if some powerful spell has just been cast... Kass, would you mind if we take a look at this from above?" Taman asks the silver dragon he rides. He pats the neck of the female dragon affectionately. He also mentally sends Sabastian, his familiar flying cat off to take a pass from above as well.
Tassarath travels in relative silence, atop Tassa, the bull of the elephant couple. He glances back at Taman's entourage with a scowl as they continue.
"How ostentatious," rumbles Tassa from beneath the howdah.
"I know, Tassa. That's just how he is." remarks the druid. Its how he always is. Still, there was little reining in the arcanists in the group, only to mitigate the chaos that they caused. There was little subtlety or restraint, but they were effective, and while he walked with them, Tassarath rarely felt threatened.
"The brush is strange here. Too thick."
"Let me take a look," comments Tassarath before slipping down from his perch and peering closer at the roots, tangles, and foliage of the flora.
Attending Academy until November, slowdown in posts continue.
Riding alongside Tassa and Tassarath, the tabaxi in the group yawns loudly and rolls his shoulders as he shifts uncomfortably in the saddle of his steed, a black warhorse covered in chain mail, protected from the sun by a tabard of pure white trimmed with gold patterns. "J'zargo the Wise has learned over times that the simple answer, in the present company, is never the correct one, yes? If the trees and the bushes are becoming denser to you all, then were are surely preparing for battle or certain death, no?"
He laughs before taking a swig from his waterskin. "J'zargo the Perceptive is ready for what trials you are creating for him", he says, patting the rapier on his hip.
Lacking the magical prowess of his companions, J'zargo made up for it in wit, daring, good looks, dress sense, swordplay, and particularly gambling. His yellow eyes constantly twinkled with mischief, and missed nothing. His clothes were expensive, save for a functional piece of leather armor, and his was adorned with an array of rings, earrings, and other assorted jewellery. He would spend most of his time travelling exchanging stories with the others, some or all of them not entirely separating fact and fiction.
Tyto, Kass and Sabastian take off. Circling the traveling band, you rise higher and higher. You can see, in front of the group, the road climbing towards a small hill.
Rising even higher, the valley on the other side off the hill slowly comes into view.
Viewing the expanse before you, it's hard to draw your attention away from anything other than the natural beauty of the massive valley below you. A river runs from the western heights down into the valley and out the southern end from which you are approaching.
Choking the river is a forest. Long has it been since the woods below have seen the tending of civilization. As you look more closely you see in the river in the southern portion of the valley a small, broken, and long-destroyed town center. In some portions, the trees come up to the edge of the decaying buildings. Further northeast on the valley floor are the towering ruins of a palace. Not far from the ruin of the palace is a smaller structure. This half broken building is in the same state as its neighbor. Both buildings are choked by the surrounding forest. finally, you spot the most unusual part of the valley. Shimmering in the distance on the western slope resides an immaculate towering castle that appears as if it were built only yesterday.
Meanwhile Tassarath closely observes the vegetation surrounding the road on which you are traveling. Examining every plant, brush or tree separately you see nothing extraordinary about them. They seem to be normal plants that naturally grow in these regions with this climate. It is only their number and density that doesn't seem natural. There must be some kind of source in the vicinity that causes this lush growth of flora.
The scouts up the air shortly manage look away from the magnificent view before them to look down on the traveling circus with Tassarath who is, what to you seems like, looking at dirt on the ground. Looking back at the castle, something you think is a lot more worth looking at than dirt, you see that the castle has vanished.
The area which the castle once occupied is now a barren scar on the landscape. Lifeless stone and dirt devoid of any flora or fauna.
"Huh," Tassarath is murmuring as the airborne scouts return, only partly acknowledging J'Zargo. "Its not enchanted flora, J'Zargo. But it is unusually fertile and dense. Perhaps this castle was built on ideal farmland."
He clambers back on top of Tass, the elephant. Tass' partner, also intelligent, seems preoccupied feasting on the ample foliage. There he shouts into the air at his companions.
"Pretty fascinating stuff. Anything worth looking at up ahead?"
Attending Academy until November, slowdown in posts continue.
"There appear to be several destroyed villages, ancient though with the plants having overgrown them." Taman speaks up as he sits atop Kass. "The castle itself is the most interesting thing, though it has disappeared now, so it is hard to say if it just was made invisible or if it teleported to some other location." He glances around, giving his own group a nod of approval as they stand at the ready, weapons at hand if needed. "Are we ready to continue onward?" He asks the others of the group.
Ignus rubs his fiery-colored goatee as he looks through the eyes of Tyto. "Very peculiar," he looks at his companions. "Can anyone detect magic once we get closer to the place where the castle was...or is...?"
DM - Above & Below
"Of course." Taman says with a shrug. "Just give me a few minutes to cast it once we are closer."
The tabaxi raises an eyebrow at the news from above. "A castle that disappears is most interesting, and worthy of investigation. J'zargo the Opportunistic is hoping that any treasures within are not also disappearing from J'zargo's pockets." He responds to Taman's question by spurring Ma'zaqq, his warhorse, ahead of the group and down the valley.
You continue over the hill and into the valley, keeping the river on your left side. Unlike your first impression the water flows in its rock bedding with quite some force.
Despite riding of first into the valley, the rest of the group easily catches up with J'Zargo.
The vegetation slowly grows denser until, in the late afternoon, the road ends at the edge of the forest.
Do the flying scouts keep flying or do you continue on foot/mount with the others?
How far does it seem like we are from the place where the castle appeared? Tyto will continue scouting from the sky, trying to find a path or anything noteworthy in the forest between the rest of the party and the vanishing castle. Perception: 15
DM - Above & Below
Tassarath continues to the edge of the road.
"Tass, Ssarath, watch your steps," he warns his loyal behemoths. He looks towards the scouts. "We can press on. If we get lost I can better prepare in the morning."
Attending Academy until November, slowdown in posts continue.
Taman is riding Kass, but she is walking with the others for now. His familiar is flying overhead, keeping track of the group and watching the area directly around them.
"Why not pause here a moment and let me caste my spell to detect magic. It will only take ten minutes..." Taman suggests.
If agreed, he will ritually cast Detect Magic
Ignus stands near Taman as he casts his ritual, surveying the dense forest that now blocks their path.
DM - Above & Below
As Tyto is scouting, he examines the area between the party and where the castle was before it vanished.
Unfortunately the trees of the forest are too dense to see where there might be a path through. Only between the forest and the river there seems to be a small strip of clearing.
However, while you can't really see it, you think this strip will probably not suitable for your entire entourage.
On the other side of this part of the forest is the old town center, just under a mile away. You get the impression that there is movement in the town center. You can't make out individuals, but something is down there.
Further into the valley you briefly gaze to where the castle stood before it vanished. You estimate it to be about a mile and a half from where the party is now.
Meanwhile Taman gets out his spellbook and starts the ritual to cast Detect Magic, drawing arcane symbols in the air.
After ten minutes Taman notices a faint aura in the air, not enough for it to be a magical enchanted place, but the weave is more closely connected to this place than anywhere else. Except for the items that you carry on you, no strange objects show to be magical.
"There does not seem to be an enchantment on the place." Taman muses out loud. "Seems to be magical, but not spell-cast, as if it were closer to the magical weave than other places are... Interesting..." he glances to the others. "So we have a few options..." He says. "We can try to teleport to the city or where the castle was located previously, or we can try to hack our way through the plants. what do you guys wish to try?"
"It seems as though there's activity in the village. Perhaps we should check in there first to see who knows what." Ignus psychically calls Tyto back. "Plus, it's a bit closer! Although I can help with teleporting us around if that's the route we want to go."
DM - Above & Below
"J'zargo the Unwilling is not wishing to see his breakfast a second time, delicious as it was. He will venture through the forest, perhaps with one or two of those fine elephants as a vanguard to clear a path, no?" The tabaxi screws his face up at the mention of teleportation, as if he had just caught a whiff of a bad smell.