"My only reasoning for wanting to go back, is because maybe some people won't be so lucky, and will be dropped into that horde by themselves. That's probably how it -became- a horde. The water is incredibly useful, and we haven't seen any more of those berries you found. If it's all natural there, then it's a resource we can take advantage of in exchange for two days of travel."
"I don't really care were as long as we leave, we've been here way to long."
"I'm OK with the cave, but I have a feeling we won't be able to go inside again. "
"And what would make you think that? It seems rather unlikely that something came in behind us and changed the locks."
"Just a feeling. There's so much of this that has been almost scripted, that I don't think backtracking is an option. "
Jacob listens intently to the suggestions posed. As usual, Sterling's suggestion was good, but the motive questionable.
"Lumpy's idea is good; going back would allow us to ease the burden on those which may come after us. We should do so as a courtesy to them; any more heads from our world would be helpful." And keep us from going crazy in this different world." "I want to leave too, Luna. We'll look for clues while we're there."
Sterling cocks his head at Kong. I'd like to hit a city too, but unless you have a map to one, we are currently searching blind. Lumpy pats the large witch on the shoulder.Let's hit the cave first. If we can't backtrack, at least we'll know.
With that, Lumpy heads out the door. Trepidation hit him. He looks back at the others. I doubt the way home will be given freely. We will have to take it. I'm willing to do whatever it takes, and so should you.
Kong corners the barkeep.
Ze nearest city...where iss it? How do I get zere?
The bartender looks at Kong, and blinks. "Oh, that's Ezralt, it's right outside the door. Or maybe you mean the nearest one to this city? That's Malvick, about 2 days north."
"You're nuts, Petrov, it's Calvric we're in, and Sesthat is a day's ride east..." Another patron pipes up.
Several other tavern goers begin to argue about what is the name of the city they are in, and where the nearest city is. Then they all break off and go back to eating and drinking.
----------------------------------------------
The group treks back to the mountain, and up the long arduous trail to the cave. The cave is still there, as is the small pool and the room with the plant. However, the cave leading to the undead is sealed over again, the 5 inch bars having slid back across the passage.
"Ironic. I asked the same question a month ago, without the bullying. I never thought to ask anyone else. Where are we is kind of a neutral question, so why lie? 'Where should we go from here' got a lot of different answers, but that was to be expected."
Kong had gone out on hunts, and while probably not the best tracker, he's probably gotten some meat, right? It stands to reason that we could preserve that for travel food, right?
Neri had just as little trouble entering as he'd had leaving. He moved to the bar that had previously been his and grabbed it. Assuming it did not react, he tried each in turn.
"Yeah, I figured it was going to be like this. I didn't there would be an easy way to backtrack. I suggest we just do a wide recon of the area to get to know the lay of the land. That way we know what is actually out there. Can't very well plan without information. It seems like the townfolk aren't much use for information after all. "
Touching the bars doesn't have any effect.
Luna looked for some kind of device she could access and remove the
bars.
"Use one of your tricks on it, surely something will work why would it close after we left?"
Sterling begins a detailed inspection of the cave, excluding the areas he cannot reach. Based on the available information I have, we were not the first to be transported here. There is a strong statistical probability that at least one of our predecessors left some valuable information here.
"Or... they left the hides, planted the berries, and blessed the water. Other things might not have stuck, but just doing those little things would make a difference. And, best of all, they transcend language barriers. Everyone understands food, drink, health, and comfort. Given time and a chance to come back, art will come in handy. Whether painted stones, or ceramics, or stained glass. We can get a colorful picture in there just as easily as words. I didn't expect this, or I'd have already prepped something." Neri frowns. He really wished someone had thought this through beforehand, he'd never imagined the cave to be one-way.
Vell...ziss iss exziting.
Kong looks incredibly nonplussed.
Sterling finds nothing on the second visit that they didn't find the first time.
Sterling spends some time, in spite of Kong's brooding, Chiseling out a short note on the stone wall.
NEW GUYS
GOTO LAKE
LOCATE HOUSE FROM RELIEF
lEARN NEW SKILLS
Neri took the time to fiddle with his runes for a moment, and then use detect magic to see if he could find anything of interest that Sterling had missed.
After a few moments, Neri's irises glowed with a Crimson light as he moved about the room looking over everything.
The pool gives off an overwhelming aura of conjuration magic. The plant in the room gives off an overwhelming aura of conjuration magic. The rods in the wall give off an overwhelming aura of abjuration magic.
Lumpy finishes up, then brushes off the stone chips. He whirls around and points at a lethargic Kong. Since you're in such a hurry, you can pick a direction, and we'll move.
Very well, zen. North.
Kong takes off.
Luna pressed against the bars again.
"What about your magic? This is our only way home, if we just head off in a random direction who knows what we will end up in."
We need to find the one who brought us here, in order to go home. He will not be found here
"Sure, north, why not. It's at least a start on a recon." and he follows Kong.
"The water and the bush give off the same energy as when I summon mist or acid. The bars are the same thing as when I summon an energy shield." Neri shrugs lightly, "It's the same basic sort of magic, but I can't really say much else. Neither one is magic designed for blowing things up, I know that fairly well."
As he waits for the others to decide what they'd like to do, he heads back over to the bars, and tries interacting with them with the 9-ring sword directly. This was a little dismal. Failing that having any effect, he'd try a ray of frost, just to make sure it wasn't something he could try to fix.
Regardless of how that works out, he'd turn to sterling, "I believe you have more storage containers than the rest of us combined, mind grabbing some of the water?"
Jacob peers at the bars, seeing their passage clearly ... barred.
He placed a hand on Luna's shoulder. "Lumpy there is right, I think. Just a hunch I have, but I think someone is tugging us along, watching us. It would not be exciting for them if we mucked about in the same cave."
Giving the bars a second glance though, he turned to the chemist. He'd seen the variety of concoctions he'd created. "You know ... depending on what the bars are made from, you might be able to dissolve them with the right stuff." Chemistry was not a study of Jake's though, so he left it at that.
At Neri's request, the bard intervened. "You could bring some, but I seem to be able to summon whatever we need for water. And it is pure. Water from the environment might have interaction with those rabid beasts."
His focus turned back to Luna, and he turned her around, giving her a boyish smile. "We will look for a path back home, and on the way, though it will be dangerous, think of it as a bit of a vacation. The land looks clean, untouched by man."
Luna ignored the hand on her shoulder.
"A path were? This is the only lead we have and we plan to just walk in a random direction and hope we don't die, were never going home."
Everything about Luna sunk from her facial expression to her posture.
Neither the sword nor the spell do anything to the bars (well, beyond a small bit of frost on the bars that melts rapidly).
Better alive and lost than dead in your bed... The thought sneaks up on Luna.
Jou zay zomeone brought us here. I don't know. I know I.zhould be dead...but I'm not...and I'fe learned tings zat no college could haff taught me. For now, all I assume iss there iss much I don't know...and I don't sink ve vill find.many answers going...or ztaying...where we haff been.
Kong moves at a demanding pace, ready to make up for lost time.
After making the etchings on the stones, and investigating the sleeping room and pool again, the group trudges back down the mountain and back to the lake area.
Stocks are replenished in the clearing, and then the group sets off north, moving slowly and carefully and exploring.
The area immediately north of the lake is a typical mixture of deciduous and conical woods, tall pine trees, oak trees, a few maples and ash. There are also some edible plants and tubers that the group can harvest along the way.
Two days away from the lake, toward afternoon, the group is suddenly set upon by helldeer! A buck with a huge rack that gleams in the afternoon light steps out from behind a thick evergreen tree.
Harry, despite being comfortable in the woods, is just not used to watching out for deer attacks, he's much more used to looking out for bear attacks. And so it is he doesn't notice the deer lurking in the woodline. Paradoxically, 3 of the city folks are much more attuned to the area as they are looking everywhere for threats (granted, 2 of the city folk are looking at pretty butterflies as the rip into wasps and eat them). Those three realize the buck is a distraction from the sneaking does.
Order : Luna, Sterling, Does, Neri, Buck
Luna grabbed for her whip as soon as she saw the deer in range and swung it at it's legs.
Doe 1 charges Sterling, snapping at him with her razor sharp teeth, but Sterling saw her coming, and is waiting, and manages to sidestep the bite.
Doe 2 runs forward and stops next to Jacob, preparing to attack.
Doe 3 charges Neri, snapping at him with her razor sharp teeth. Poor Neri hasn't had a chance to get oriented for the ambush, and the dear rips open his new lighter armor with it's teeth, sending blood spraying.
Gah.. damn... might as well be wearing leaves... The thought brands itself in Neri's mind.
Doe 4 charges Kong, snapping at him with her razor sharp teeth. Kong is completely and utterly surprised by the attack, and the deer has no trouble at all ripping into the hulking singer, sending blood spraying over nearby companions.
Sterling admires the speed of the deer. He quickly pulls a mutagen and drinks it. His arms and legs elongate painfully and become more well defined
New Stats:
AC/Touch/Flat 20/14/16 | Fort/Ref/Will +3/+5/+4 | Init +4
"Jacob, Kong! Behind you! ACK!"
Really, Id? I go from leather to metal, and you're going to complain about it being like leaves?
Neri slid to put himself closer to Jacob, to make it harder for either of them to be trapped between the deer, and hurled a glob of mud towards the deer closest to Kong's face.
Hide... dragonhide... not leather...
Harry will engage the stag directly to his west.
Rapid shot, point blank, deadly aim.
miss
Neri casts shocking grasp on his weapon, as he slips between Luna and Jacob, focusing on the creature's movements while he casts his spell.
Lightning arcs across his four-pointed star-like blade that encircles his hand, as he brings the weapon up and across, striking towards the doe that had not yet struck Jacob. He figured bringing one down quickly was superior to fighting each separately.
Neri slams his star into the doe, and tries to harness his new found powers to make the hit go home in her heart, but his effort only leaves his head pounding as he fails to will the blade to change that last few centimeters for a heart hit.
Harry pulls his bow and fires at the charging buck, hitting it in the chest. The heavy buck continues on though, not even feeling the arrow (likely from the adrenaline of charging). But Harry, used to wild animals, isn't intimidated and maintains his cool. He ducks to the side, and the lethal glittery sharp antlers sweep over his head, scraping off his backpack, shredding bits of leather off it.
Doe 1 rears up and slams both her razor sharp hooves at Sterling before biting at his neck with her bared fangs. But the poor thing seems to have been distracted by the electrical discharge nearby, and completely and utterly misses.
Doe 2, infuriated by the electrical discharge into her hide, squeals in pain and turns her attentions on Neri. But she too seems to have been impaired by the bright electrical sparks, her sight filled with spots that make her miss him.
Doe 3, also, charges Neri from behind, her teeth flashing. But like the other does, the unusual arcing electricity seems to have partially spooked her, or perhaps it's bits of mud on her eyelashes that cause her to miss.
Doe 4 however, wasn't affected, and she rears up and catches Kong a solid hit in the chest, slamming the razor sharp hoof through his corset and into bone and flesh beneath. As the rocker reels from the heavy hoof hit, the teeth flash down and rip the flesh from his shoulder, leaving a bloody swath on the grass as he's mauled horribly by the helldoe.
Kong growls...I AM GOINK TO EAT YOU!
...manifesting the scythe...
...and Mage Strike
(Blowing a Chill Touch)
Kong manifests his scythe, and swings it around in a glittery arc that trails frost particles in the air. The first slice opens the doe's chest, sending crystallized blood in an arc. The return stroke, on the other hand, chops the doe into multiple pieces as the blade slices through her body, her neck, and her muzzle on the upstroke.
The body falls in several pieces, making a mess of the forest floor.
Lumpy reacts by instinctively moving away from the deer. He can see out of the corner of his eye, that Kong made quick work of the doe. He back peddles to him and launches two bombs at the deer that attacked him.
Move action 15' towards Kong
Standard Action
Splash Damage 6 Ref DC:14
Swift Action
Trickster Attack
Deadly Throw (Ex)
As a swift action, you can expend one use of mythic power to draw a thrown weapon or alchemical item and make a ranged attack with it. This attack doesn't provoke attacks of opportunity. When making a deadly throw, roll twice for the attack, take the higher result, and add your tier to the roll. If the attack misses, the weapon or alchemical item lands adjacent to the target, regardless of the range.
Splash Damage 6 Ref DC:14
New Stats:
AC/Touch/Flat 20/14/16 | Fort/Ref/Will +3/+5/+4 | Init +4
As Sterling runs away, the deer takes advantage of his distraction to attack. But fortunately for Sterling, the vile concoction he'd drunk earlier gives him just enough of a boost that the deer's teeth just slam into his armor and bounce off, instead of hitting his carotid artery, as the deer was aiming for.
The brief double boom results in blown up bits of deer raining down on everyone in the clearing, along with a fine mist of blood and viscera.
Luna moves back before attacking the deer (deer 3) with her whip as the trip failed she went for pure damage.
Luna's still getting the hang of the whip, and so it snakes out, hits the deer, but not correctly and just slaps her side ineffectually.
Lift your arm more... Sneaks through her mind.