Sunset tethers Fluff outside the complex as every one sets up camp.
After camp is established, she works at sticking poles in the ground whistling tunelessly.
"It's not the physical wounds..." Justinian says with a wince, "it's what that thing did to me. It stole part of my soul..." He pauses, looking up at Torod. "I've heard plenty about what a wight will do to you, but I've never experienced it, and I damned sure haven't felt it until today. Succubi will do that," he chuckles weakly, "but we always used to joke around camp that if had to get your soul eaten, might as well be a beautiful bat-winged fiend. This is was the exact opposite of that."
"We begin our return trip tomorrow. It will take us longer than coming out here as we have more area to map. Three days (H14-H12-H10). You will be able to make it that long?"
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The group sets out early the next day and spend half the day exploring the plains north of the Gudrin river.
The Gudrin river waters are clear in this area. The river itself is about 450 feet from shore to shore and has some deep points to almost 150ft.
In order to complete the exploration there is a stretch south of the river that needs exploring too.
Sitting atop her mount Sunset pushes her hat back from her eyes as she gazes out over the wide, placid waters.
"That sure is a pretty view..." She comments, her gaze drifting up and then down stream.
"So. We go lookin' fer a place maybe we can ford it? Or maybe go lookin' fer a stand o' trees? Maybe make a raft?" She suggests options.
"Good enough for four horses and a giant bird-monster? No. We don't want to take any longer than we need to." Referring to Justinian's situation. "We continue on and look for a better place to cross." We can finish this hex at a later time.
"Don't have much of a choice, do I?" Justinian says looking out over the river. His heavy cloak is wrapped tight about him, this infernal chill! All day he'd been cold, and could not get warm no matter how hard he tried.
"I'll make it."
Sunset actually looks around for something at Torod's words then blinks.
"Whut? Horses swim fine." She replies, "Besides, ye can build a pretty big raft with good long poles." She note but shrugs.
"Right ye are, fordin' t'is..." She agrees.
"Take a look around." Justinian says, laying down on his bedroll with his feet propped up. "There aren't any 'people' here to say this is theirs. No one lives here, and only those strong enough to claim it will have any say."
[dice=Kn History]1d20+5
Justinian muses about what he knows about the Stolen Lands. "The history of this place would suggest there are many of these little tombs; forgotten resting places of forgotten kings and queens. Every one a piece of a forgotten history. What you are trying here hasn't been done successfully by anyone...ever." He sits up to look at the others. "Sorry, but that's the truth of it. Don't worry about the past of every little kinglet that came through here...make your OWN history."
[dice=Fort save]1d20+5
He wasn't feeling particularly deferential at the moment. The wight's touch had taken a part of him, and the pointless discussion about what to do with the tomb annoyed him. As far as Justinian was concerned, the damn place could be razed and salted.
"All quite true," Asta says, "and yet I would not leave this place entirely to its own devices. Do you think you could consecrate this place to your Inheritor, to chase out the dark influences and make it a safe haven for whoever next stumbles upon it, rather than a dark, dank deathtrap? Or should we call for Jhod to stop by?"
As the group comes to the river and the debate breaks out, Asta snorts and shakes her head. "You are all forgetting a certain advantage of mine," she says.
"No, wait, don't tell me," Croft croaks, sarcastically, as he spreads his wings. "'Croft, go scout', am I right? How did I guess? And 'try to recruit more animal allies as you go', is that about the size and shape of it?"
Grumbling as only a raven can, Croft flies off to scout the area on the other side of the river -- keeping an eye open for a safe place for the mammals to cross.
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Croft flies off to scout the area to the south of the river. He doesn't spot any place safer for mammals to cross along the current stretch of water.
If you want to pursuer raft building, there are a few small clumps of trees spread about the plains, so you can build some type of raft. What do you have in the way of tools to chop trees down with and rope to lash the logs together with?
Or would you rather hunt or fish while waiting for Craft to finish your survey.
After several hours at dusk he returns to report seeing just miles and miles of plains. Also, no animals bigger than a jackrabbit.
Sunset has an admantine wire saw to offer towards helping make a raft.
"I could," he says to Asta, "but we will have to come back for it when we have time."
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Seraph accepts the tea thanking Torod quietly and returning the cup when she was finished. Aside from that she says little else.
She spends the night with a solemn demeanor, focusing purely on her duty to Asta and ensuring the Queen and others remained safe. The night was cool and uneventful, much to Seraph's relief.
After prayers to the beauty of a new day, she turns immediately to training with her large bastard sword before setting out. Sweating while others made their prayers and roused for the days labors. By the time they were leaving she was warmed up for the day, horses ready.
When they reached the river she wasn't bothered much by it, looking for places to ford it or perhaps taking the horses straight through. That was until Croft took off. Instead she placed herself on look out while the others performed others duties, she held her bow at the ready and paced along the shore line.
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Croft returns by dusk and gives his report between sips of water and snippets of meat offered to him by his Lady.
"In short, a lot of grass and boring, unless you want to hunt rabbits," he concludes.
Sunset is content to try and help with the hunting to add to the group's stores. When Croft returns Sunset lifts the brim of her hat and rubs her forehead.
"So.. maybe we head up stream? See if it narrows or shallows some?" She asks.
"Or... we head off another direction, do more mappin' an' maybe see about bringin' a boat back with us next time?"
Justinian huddles in his cloak, chilled to the bone.
"If need be, I can always order a couple of ravens from the rookery upstream to check out the lay of the land," Asta says in an offhand manner. "Once we've returned to Greenheart, that is."
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After a day of scouting comes to a close, you feel the wind change directions coming out of the NorthEast bring with it cold gusty air and gray clouds.
The temperature is dropping into freezing range and there is a storm coming tonight.
Anyone setting up tents for camp?
"It's going to be cold and stormy tonight. Make sure you take extra care when setting up your tents." Where Torod will normally sleep under the stars, tonight he takes extra time to make sure his tent is as solidly built as he can.
He also does his best to make sure his trusty horse Girty gets through the night as well as she can.
"Can we make for the Tomb?" She looks to the skies then, unable to read them as accurate as some. But smart enough to put her bow away.
"Try to find some tree cover, at least," Asta counsels. "They'll break the worst of the wind."
A brief smile ghosts across the Witch's face. "I'll set my tent before yours, to keep the cold off of you. It won't bother me as much."
@Seraph: "Unfortunately, that is the way the storm is coming from. We'd be caught in it with hours still to go."
@Asta: I presume that we always set camp in the most advantageous location we can. This is a land full of danger and we are experienced surveyors and travelers.
Sunset turns the collar of her coat up against the wind and does her best to follows Torod's and others instructions.
Justinian spends the day wrapped up in two of his travel cloaks. The heavy cold-weather version wasn't working, so he added his lighter summer one underneath. No matter, he could not keep the chill away.
Quietly, he set himself up for the night. Rather than pitch a tent in the wind, he wrapped himself in the canvas material. Another cold night...
Asta notes Justinian when she has finished pitching her tent, and shakes her head.
"Priest," she says. "You and Seraph can bunk with me. For warmth; no funny business."
"Th-thank you, milady," Justinian says through chattering teeth. "but I must decline. Old habits d-die hard, and we don't bunch up like that on the front."
"Different front. Different rules. Pile in."
Torod perks up at Asta's offer to Justinian. "You never made that off... No funny business? Never mind."
"Asta does have a good idea, though. Maybe Sunset can share with Asta and Seraph and Justinian can share with me and Strawberry."
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The cave tomb is about 3 hours ride away.
Torod using his Survival skill finds a reasonable spot for the camp in a cluster of trees. Where enough wood for a campfire can be found.
After sunset, the wind blows cold as the clouds thicken and the temperature continues to drop. About two hours after dark it starts snowing. Between the fire and Survival skills, the group keeps warm as best they can for the next four hours as the snow continues to fall in the swirling wind.
The snowstorm stops about 2 hours before dawn as the winds die down. In the morning you find the landscape transformed into a white winter-land as two inches of snow covers everything except the river. While the river is ice free it is still freezing cold.
Sunset moves Fluff closer to Asta's and Seraph's and adds her gear to theirs, nodding.
"Torod's got a fair point." Sunset suggests to Asta and Seraph as she agrees with the Torod's words.
Come the morning Sunset pokes her head out from the insides of Asta's and Seraphs tent and blinks against the white. She disappears back inside, rustles about her packs for a bit, before stepping out into the morning sun to walk carefully about in the snow wearing her smoked glasses against the glare.
"Now... that sure be a pretty sight..." She stretches and flexes, basking in the moment.
Torod cuddles up with Strawberry to help fend off the cold of the night.
Assuming that Justinian takes Torod up on his offer, "You should know that she snores something awful. And can sometimes scratch in her sleep."
The truth is that Strawberry's purrs are soothing and Torod snores and she scratches him to get him to roll over onto his stomach.
"Good morning," Asta greets the others on the next day. "Lovely weather, isn't it? Bit nippy during the night, but still."
The Winter Witch takes off her boots and socks and digs her toes into the snow with every indication of enjoyment - as though the white blanket were a deep, velvet rug.
Sunset looks to Asta's voice from behind the lenses of her smoke tinted glasses, blond hair floating and shining free in the early morning sunlight.
"Aye, right pretty enough." (^_^)
It's a long, frozen hell of a night. Justinian sleeps little, the cold waking him every few hours. Surprisingly, not the worst he had seen. But that didn't make it any less miserable. His teeth chattering, he performs his morning rituals, making sure to cast his Endure Elements. It doesn't remove the unnatural chill from th wight, but at least the winter weather wouldn't affect him. He packed his gear in silence.
Seraph accepts the offer of companionship for added warmth. Though she seems saddened when Justinian declines, her tail bouncing in irritation. However she didn't press the man. Though bunking with Sunset and Asta was interesting in its own right. She enjoyed close companionship such as this.
Though unlike many her demon infused blood kept her body more resilient then most and her skin was always warm. The storm actually made her feel somewhat refreshed, cooled in the fury of the colds touch but not enough to harm her. Arshea had blessed her with further resilence and the only thing to wander in the night was her tail, coiling happily around whatever leg or arm presented itself. A sure sign that she was at absolute ease among her two bed companions.
In the morning she rises and pulls on her colored clothes, arranging them to please her goddess but with a modicum of modesty. Though pulling on her armor completely covered up her work, she still felt her mood was improved. She exited last out of the tent, awoken when Asta pulled away minutes before. At the conversation at hand she nods and looks at the frozzen landscape. "I truly love the beaty in this world, though it can be cruel at times." She looks to Asta then. "Did you summon this Milady?"
Having enjoyed the feeling or the warming sun upon her skin Sunset turns and enters the tent again, eventually emerging in her usual attire of brown jacket, shirt, vest, pants and boots.
Though the glare of the snow has her wearing large, round dark lenses of glass in wire frames before front of her eyes.
She sees to the care of her mount first, then to breakfast with every one else then about breaking camp.
She pitches in and gives Justinian a bit of an extra hand.
"No, no," Asta says, shaking her head so her white locks tumble and flow freely. "It came in its own time. I have not the power to affect the weather -- yet."
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Enjoying the winter-land weather or not as the case maybe, the snow slows down the packing of camp and exploration of the next area.
The weather remains cold and cloudy throughout the day, and the snow remains on the ground for the most part.
Scouting the next area of plains along the Gurdin River, the group discovers an area where the Gurdin River becomes rather shallow, creating a navigable ford across its width.
While you see normal signs of wild life, there is nothing that threatens your group or kingdom.
The weather holds, and the group has an uneventful camp night to go with the uneventful day.
The snow starts to melt as the weather warms leaving patches of snow in the shadows and clear melt in the direct sunlit areas.
While scouting the area of Plains to ether side of where the Gurdin River empty's into the Tuskwater Lake, Croft spots the largest turtle it's seen in a secluded pool along the Tuskwater's edge. The 3-mile stretch of the Tuskwater shoreline rises up above the water below, presenting a swarf of 40-foot high cliffs with limited access to the water below. The cliff tops are thick with stinging nettles.
While exploring the cliffs you find a hidden trail that
leads through the nettles and down a cliffside trail to the same
secluded pool, 50 feet in diameter, at the Tuskwater’s edge. Where Croft had spotted the large turtle.
The deathly chill continues its grip on Justinian. He spends the day quietly in the saddle, helping where needed, but silent save for the barest acknowledgements. This affliction was a true test of his faith...in all the years on the Mendevian border, he'd never experienced such a thing. It wore at him; minute after minute, hour after hour. that evening he prayed to the Inheritor for guidance...something, anything, to drive the chill away. He dove deep into his own reserves of strength, using all of the blessing he usually saved for those in need. All to no avail...the test would continue...
Cold again. The country was beautiful - the blue waters of the lake gleamed in the early morning light. Atop Galea and looking out over the cliffs onto the lake almost made Justinian forget his plight. He pulled his worn copy of the Six Acts, something he did every day, and read passages from Iomedae's trials. It was all he could do.