"Yes, i know how to use healing wands." she says with a smile. "Do you want me to carry it?"
|
During the travel to the Briars, Shan-yu whispers to Anja. "I do not believe Bernadetti stumbled over the man comment because Biyo is not a man, more due to his dislike of someone who would rat out his fellow storykin to outsiders." Though in this place, it would not surprise me to learn he is an actual rat made man by magics.
"Ah... then again, I don't know if any of these storykin count as real men, or tengus, or rakshasas, or whatever. I mean, would a storykin werewolf still be vulnerable to silver or whatever? It'd be too lucky to find out storykin are all vulnerable to cold iron... I got some of that."
While on the road Velera walks up to Anja and says
"Hey, while we are stranded here in this place together i would like to know you better."
Velera pauses for a moment, a friendly smile spread on her face as she tries to see what kind of expression she will recieve from Anja before continuing, "I myself grew up with and trained in the Militia, but thats along time ago, for a human atleast,
A chucle escapes her lips and she continues
" I think thats seven years ago, allmost to the day, how about you?"
Khar keeps quite mostly on the trip, trying to contimplate his situation here and remembering things the fortune teller had told him. He follows the others only half-way paying attention to their conversations.
While walking you notice there are many things quite bizar about this place. It seems that there are some kind of garden paths under the dirt you are walking on, and you could have sworn that some of the brush looks like it could have been the hedge of the maze, one day. However the pathways that you follow are very overgrown into a nightmarish tangle of thorns and mud. You are found chopping , pushing, sweating, and cursing your way through what feels like miles of... Whatever do you call this?
You can feel the cards burning in your pocket!
Unsure whether she really hadn't heard of her before, Anja gives the nosy paladin a dismissive "pfft". In better spirits after the fight, however, she gives her the benefit of the doubt: "You've heard of the Broken Oak Fellowes? I used to run with them, before they went to Qadira. They had to hire two swordsmen to replace me when I left."
"Offcourse i have heard of that group! That group according to the bards removed one of the greater evils from our, previous world not so long ago didn't they? When we have the time, i would love to hear about that adventure, if you would share the tale in detail." She says with a smile, and then walks away.
After packing out her stuff, Velera walks over to Anja, with two cups and a small bottle, a small grin spread across her face.
"Hey, uhm, i got this bottle of wine, its not alot, but its enough to share while hearing your tale, or atleast fill theese 2 cups, if you are feeling up for some bards work before going to bed?" She offers her cup to Anja.
Hope the wooden cups doesnt bother you, didnt really have the time to pack before i, we, went to this place.
And don't forget to roleplay the "Alas, we are lost." ;)
"I got some experience in the wilds, but this place is far beyond me, where are we? and where do we go?"
Velera suddenly reaches for her pocket.
"My pocket feels warm"
Up from her pocket she pulls alot of different harrow cards, she then looks through them contemplation which one may be the correct one this time.
Then she looks at her companions and says;
"Which one do you think is the correct one? We got this Tangled Briar card?!"
Velera looks at you all for opinions.
As the group travels Valeeran is constantly absorbed in taking in their surroundings. His attentions seem less concerned with hidden threats and more focused on memorizing every detail of this strange place. He frequently chitters back and forth with his equally entranced familiar and his eye sometimes blaze with light as he looks at some oddity with magically enhanced senses. From time to time he can be overheard muttering phrases and half sentences such as "pocket dimension", "Facinating", "all tied together", "walking through a story...or a memory..or..." before falling silent or dropping back into conversation with Skitter.
After traveling into the briar area for a time he drops out of his fascination, looks around with a bit of concern and asks, "Do we know where we are? This place seems odd. I'd almost swear we were circling around on these paths but that can't be right."
Hearing Velera state her woodland experience he brightens, "Ah good to hear. Lead on then."
"Hey, uhm, i got this bottle of wine, its not alot, but its enough to share while hearing your tale, or atleast fill theese 2 cups, if you are feeling up for some bards work before going to bed?" She offers her cup to Anja.
Hope the wooden cups doesnt bother you, didnt really have the time to pack before i, we, went to this place.
"Save it. Like I said, I ditched them before they went to Qadira, so you'll have to get that drivel from a real bard. Gods know, they sing it often enough." She rolls her eyes, then turns her attention to the more important matter, "I've just been enjoying the march. The quiet part, anyway. I thought the old man was leading us to the next one - you shoulda told me we were lost."
She surveys the area. "Hells, I got no bearing."
Velera turns to Valeeran and asks;
"Valeeran, do you by any chance have any tricks up your sleeve? We have no idea where we are?!"
Velera then looks at Anja and Shan-yi and says
"What do you guys think we should do?"
After wandering around aimlessly, but at least having less problems with the undergrowth, you notice in the distancere that there are some crude, amateurishly sewn banners that flutter weakly in the breeze of this otherwise deathly silent clearing in the dense nettles of the briar. At one end of the clearing, an adorable little house painted in garish reds and yellows stands out against the trees.
As you approach you notice there is a small sized humanoid talking, ney argueing, with the lawn, it would seem. From the back you don't immediately notice anything wrong about him, apart from the rabbit ears. When you come closer, you notice it is a rabbit standing on its hind legs, in expensive clothing.
While he is hiding in the branches overhead he is yelling at his lawn. “Begone!” he shouts. “Begone and mewl at my heels no longer, you stupid… mewling… heeling-thing! I have greater destinies than to play your nursemaid!”
Khar shakes his head This place is a mess... Looking to the others "Is this the thing we need to get the item from?"
Amused by the rabbits antics Valeeran say "I certainly hope so, seems a most interesting fellow. Do you suppose he's talking to something or just to the lawn?"
After chanting a few words of power the wizards eyes flash for a moment and then take on an almost mirror like sheen.
The cards are burning in your pocket.
You know the drill. First one to post has to choose one (or more) cards.
Before casting, you glance up, and with your (normal) eyesight you notice it sitting in the tree above.
Upon noticing his visitors, the rabbitman pauses long enough to cast something and returning to the forest floor to greet his new guests in
person. He/she/it is very obvisouly excited by your arrival, and he quickly starts begging for stories.
"Outsiders! WOnderful! Tell me a tale, quickly. I've grown so bored of this house, this door on this house, this doorknob on this door, this scratch in this doorknob,..." he exclaims as he mumbles on for a few seconds, and then repeats his earlier question.
"OUTSIDERS! A tale, if you will?"
Spellcraft
A little caught offguard by his strange approach,Velera says
"Greetings my friend, a tale you say? Shall we find a place to sit while we tell what stories we can offer?"
I look at my companions shrugging, then i focus on the rabbit-man again,
"What do you say? Shall we find a place to sit, maybe exchange a few tales?" Velera says, smiling innocently.
Anja stands patiently, listening to the diplomacy, keeping an eye out for whatever the rabbit was talking to. Seeing nothing, she speaks up, "Who were you talking to, bunny?"
"That's a very bad tale. I believe it's even considered a question in some towns, my strong pointy-eared friend. Say, you wouldn't happen to be family would you?"
He turns and talks to Velera: "Any tales, maybe about your adventures? What have you seen, who have you conquered, what strange men and women have conquered your heart? Tell me anything, I implore you."
Anja rests her hand on the pommel of one of her sheathed swords.
"I've got a story, then. It starts with a blue dragon, a talking rabbit, and a few of their other storykin friends who get together to murder their creator and steal some of her gems. And then the heroes get sucked into this stupid storykin world, and all they want to do is go home, to a place where rabbits don't talk, but are put into a delicious stew. And so the heroes have to visit all the murderers and find out which ones are smart enough to hand over their gem to help the heroes, and which ones are so stupid that they need to suffer unimaginable pain first. The first murderer they went to was a crocodile-headed rakshasa who likes to keep slaves. He decided he didn't want to become a slave, himself, so he gave the heroes his silly little gem. Next, the heroes met the talking rabbit... and here's where I've heard a couple different versions of the story... "
Her fingers start tapping around the grip of her sheathed sword.
"Personally, I prefer the one where the rabbit decides to be helpful and gives the heroes his gem, and the heroes decide that they're not hungry for talking-rabbit-stew. The other version... there's just so much pain and screaming by the rabbit... it's almost enough to ruin my appetite. Almost."
The rabbitman claps in his hands as you are telling the story, seemingly excited about the tale. As you near the end however, he starts yawning and doesn't seem to be paying attention to you anymore. He starts talking through "helpful" at the others.
"Well, that was a good start, but it took too long. Anyone else has a better one? I believe the stars have granted me so many people to entertain me, he would not have done so without at least entering one with one hell of a story!"
Khar shakes his head at the whole situation and sees if he can try something.
"There once was a group full of friends
who got stuck in a world beyond comprehend
They met an odd rabit
who helped heroes by habit
And gave them his trinket in the end!"
Khar finishes his little rhym with a stupid smile.
Gods, everyone has to be a freakin' bard. Anja starts walking toward the house. "Well, you won't mind if I start some tea while y'all swap stories here, then. I'll be right back."
If nothing stops her, she enters the house and starts searching for the jewelry.
Valeerans jaw just about drops at Anjas story and he has to work hard to hold back a chuckle at the rabbits unfazed response. He gives Khar a smile at his efforts.
"You know sir rabbit, it is generally customary that tales be traded. You've had two so perhaps about about yourself then?"
Tongue licking his teeth Skitter asks "Does this mean we don't get to eat the rabbit?" in their secret language. The elf merely waves off his question.
"T'is a nice story indeed, my arcane newly found friend. I could not have made a better one if I were to write stories myself."
He looks around at Shan-yu and Anja trying to open the door, when they notice it doesn't open. It seems and feels real, but it's more like it's painted on.
"But you say you require my token? Therefore I shall issue a challenge. You, good sir, will fight me in single combat," he says, while slowly pulling the fingers looser on his left glove, "and if you win this duel with your honour intact, you will receive my token, the Dancing Heel. What say you? Are you man enough to face Brambleson?"
The rabbit comes closer, and throws his glove in front of Khar's feet.
Anja looks at the front of the apparently fake house, then looks to Shan-yu with a shrug. "No tea, after all. Okay, now I'm mad." Her grin matches the sarcasm behind the words.
When the rabbit "challenges" Khar, Anja turns to the monk again. She makes no attempt to speak softly, since no one in this world seems to hear her anyway, "I don't know why he didn't challenge me. I'd be happy to kill him. Actually, I guess that's exactly why he didn't challenge me. I think we'll find rabbits in this world taste like chicken - they behave like them."
She raises her voice to call out the rabbit, "Silly rabbit! There's no honour in any duel you offer, when you can't die, but your opponent can! Yeah, we know how you all reform in the manmolds, you cheat. You can't trick us. Tricks are for kids..."
"Ah, my robust and strong-hearted female friend, I wasn't talking about death, in any way? 'T is merely a display of swordmanship, and the reason I do not challenge thee has more to do with the euh.. How to put it delicately?"
He looks around at the gathered man, and then back at you.
"It's because you differ from these fine gentlemen around you, in more than just your willingness to fight and your combat prowess!
Besides, this one," he says as he points to Khar, "seems to be very friendly, and we trust his honour greatly. Only a man with honour could tell a glorious tale! Could you tell me your name, good and kind sir?"
Khar looks around at the others and then back to the rabbit. "I am Khar Efran. I don't believe you properly introduced yourself either?" Waiting for the rabbits response he continues "So this duel, what are the rules?"
When Khar looks to her, still standing past the rabbit at the house, Anja pats her blades, and subtly nods in the affirmative, letting him know she has his back, if necessary, though more precisely, she'll have the rabbit's back. And run it through with a cold-iron longsword.
"We fight, and the winner is the last one standing. You can quit at any time, if you so chose, by throwing down your weapon and getting on one knee. Anything is allowed, but it's one on one..."
Khar shrugs "Let me prepare and we shall start then." Khar moves a short distance away, removing his backpack and setting it down along with any other things not directly necessary. He pulls out his longspear and casts Mage Armor and Enlarge Person on himself.
He smiles at the Rabbit "Are you ready then?"
"Ready!" he smiles, and draws his broken short sword.
Valeeran seems quite excited by the impending duel and nods in approval at Khars display of magical ability. Finding a spot off to the side to watch the combat he settles in.
"Good luck Khar! I've no doubt you'll uphold our groups honor. Especially since our mission pretty much depends on you and all..no pressure of course but don't lose!"
Despite his seemingly flippant attitude, once all eyes are drawn to the combat Valeeran casts Detect Magic and begins scanning the area for any sign of other creatures or threats.
Khar starts off with scorching ray as he waits for the rabbit to approach.
As Khar releases his rays of pure white flames, the rabbit dodges one but is hit in the chest an instant later. He groans, touches his chest, and declares "Well done, nice shot sir! I do believe it's my turn now?".
As the wounds are slowly healing, he walks forward, swishes his sword left and right, and dissapears instantly. You hear him walking towards you while humming a tune as "Now you see me, now you don't." and then the sounds stops.
Khar steps back 5 ft opening his palms out toward where he heard the Rabbit as flames burst forth.
The rabbit seems not to care, instead you hear from behind you...
"Tricky, isn't it, to hear but not see." When you turn around to try and pinpoint the sound, you stop hearing him, but you feel a sharp pain in your back.
"You know, this isn't fair. What do you say we let your friends help you? I wouldn't mind a decent fight, even if it is with two women, a poor guy and a guy who talks to himself. What do you say? I like a challenge!"
You can hear him giggling and talking to himself right in front of you a second later..
"Hihi, he doesn't know we are here. Be quiet, and he'll use his torch on the other side again!"