"GAng, from what everyone is saying about the 'shadows', and the dreams, etc, etc, I'm inclined to believe it's the same thing that Merle and Nari just got finished chatting with. Or close enough to be it's brother." The wizard interjects.
The group assembles. Glittereye and Phaumee are coming, along with some hunter buddies of Phaumee and an assistant for the aged squirrel
Since the night is approaching, Glittereye insists on throwing a feast to honor the group. There seems a need for a celebration in the hutch. The squirrelfolk are flighty and fun as a rule at a party, but they seem somewhat subdued this evening. After a lot of treesap beer and a few belts of frost giant vodka for those in the mood, the group retires to a large cavity lined with fleecy materials and smelling like rodent.
In the morning, the party readys for the trip. The Ratatosk gather, Glittereye resplendent in beetle-scale armor chased with runes and a large cutting scythe. He chitters a farewell benediction to the crowd and then leads the party up to the surface.
Karrin, never one to turn down food, is happy to accept a feast in their honor. The tiefling happily puts anything she is given into her mouth (weather it belongs there or not).
Isaac eats quietly, politely chatting with the ratatosk and having a few strong drinks after bartering for the party's curative magic. He keeps a careful eye on Nari after hearing her threaten the prisoner before, but tries not to let on.
Bluff:
"We oughtta palaver about our camping procedure when we're in the field, cutters. I ain't fond of how things went; you cutters got any ideas about how to get some more advanced warning- alarm spells and the like? I reckon we can take preparation a bit too far, yeh kennit, but it would be awful trig teh have a permanent watch schedule and a bit o' magic in case one of us has an off night and some other berks try teh take advantage."
Ekuur nods at Isaac's words. "There are not many magical warning spells that I can access, unfortunately. Perhaps Justin has something that could work?"
Merle spends the meal stuffing her face. Upon hearing the conversation she decides to butt in. "All else fails we could ask the squirrelfolk if they have any scrolls or wands that would help with that." she suggests between mouthfulls of food.
Seph eats in a somewhat more polite and dignified manner (well as polite and dignified as a cat can)
Isaac eats quietly, politely chatting with the ratatosk and having a few strong drinks after bartering for the party's curative magic. He keeps a careful eye on Nari after hearing her threaten the prisoner before, but tries not to let on.
Bluff: 1d20+5"We oughtta palaver about our camping procedure when we're in the field, cutters. I ain't fond of how things went; you cutters got any ideas about how to get some more advanced warning- alarm spells and the like? I reckon we can take preparation a bit too far, yeh kennit, but it would be awful trig teh have a permanent watch schedule and a bit o' magic in case one of us has an off night and some other berks try teh take advantage."
Isaac smacks his forehead.
"Curse me Clueless...", he mutters while rooting through his pack. He pulls out a crystal with a pointed end.
"Right. The sodding Crystal Anchor of Awareness will make any of us into trig nightwatchmen and shed light thrice a day fer an hour a stretch. So we set this up in camp each night fer starters instead of letting it sit at the bottom o' my pack."
He stares into the weathered backpack.
"Maybe I oughtta start cleaning this out once in a while. What d'ye think, Chee Chowk?"
Isaac smacks his forehead.
"Curse me Clueless...", he mutters while rooting through his pack. He pulls out a crystal with a pointed end.
"Right. The sodding Crystal Anchor of Awareness will make any of us into trig nightwatchmen and shed light thrice a day fer an hour a stretch. So we set this up in camp each night fer starters instead of letting it sit at the bottom o' my pack."
He stares into the weathered backpack.
"Maybe I oughtta start cleaning this out once in a while. What d'ye think, Chee Chowk?"
The small monkey looks up from a nut custard and grins though a white-smeared face, giving Issac two thumbs up
Rhiannon enjoys her meal, smiling at the cameraderie displayed by the group. She sits on a stump, Thundercloud having returned to the plane of shadow to run wild and feed.
"An interesting device, definitely useful in the field."
Justin grins at Isaac. "I love it when they answer their own questions." He says to Chee-Chowk.
"But I'll flip through my travel tome. I tend more towards spells for the fight than for warning you about one, but I'm sure I have something we can use."
He enjoys himself during the party, although at times he seems to be looking,... somewhere else. But he takes the opportunity to chat with the tree-folk and the newer party members they seem to have acquired, getting to know them. As the evening wears on he has given up all pretense, and spends the time between eating bites of food without looking at it first scribbling in his spellbook.
"Invaluable moral support, that's what he is.", Isaac says, patting Chee-Chowk on his turban.
"Any other ideas? Rhiannon? Yer the trig professional soldier; how do ye handle watch rotations and fortifyin' yer kip on the Prime?"
Rhiannon looked at the rest of the group thoughtfully.
"A group this size, always at least two on watch. One heavy hitter in the mmiddle of the camp and one person who has some skill at scouting, that roams the perimeter. That would make it hard for anything to get close."
"Bah! What am I then! I'm professional mercenary! When was the last time you asked my opinion? You're turning into a terrible leader!"
"I listen to yer opinion, Karrin. That is, when ye aren't complainin' like a dwarf in Alfheim. Give me somethin' constructive and I'll work with yeh, but spare me the screed."
"Hrmph!"
"... case in point."
"We'll start makin' use o' this crystal while we camp and set fixed watch rotations so you cutters can adjust yer sleep schedules. And we can see if the ratatosk have any alarm spells or whatnot written up fer our dazzlers."
Isaac scratches the back of his neck and turns to Nari and Merle.
"You cutters reckon there's anythin' we should put together teh counter these shadow things? Sorry teh put ye on the spot, but yer the bloods that went in and fought the thing."
Merle responds evidently sounding very pleased "Well can't say for sure but on the dreamplane at least magic seemed to work well enough and I'm fairly sure it probably wouldn't be as powerful outside the dream plane." She turns to Nari "That seems about right doesn't it?"
Justin grins at Karrin's reaction, then swiftly covers it up by shoving the nearest edible into his face. (Let's NOT annoy the nice lady with the big axe!)
Coughing slightly, as he realizes that he doesn't know what it was he just ate, (and now he's afraid to ask,) Justin swallows hastily and turns to Merle and Nari, suddenly intent on their conversation.
Ekuur eats heartily, and raises an eyebrow at Karrin's outburst. However, as is typical for him, he remains silent and decides not to take part.
Merle responds evidently sounding very pleased "Well can't say for sure but on the dreamplane at least magic seemed to work well enough and I'm fairly sure it probably wouldn't be as powerful outside the dream plane." She turns to Nari "That seems about right doesn't it?"
"Yes, it seemed to have most of its power tied up there. Also, it feeds on fear. It doesn't have as much power over those who aren't scared of it. Or scared at all."
After a feast and a (somewhat) peaceful night's slumber, the party readies to travel to the Warpwood. Glittereye, Phaumee and their squad accompany them out after a breakfast of fried beetlemeat strips with nut paste and bird egg pancakes drenched in golden Yggdrasil syrup.
The day is strange, with a thick mist enveloping the entire World Tree. It is the foggiest the party has seen things since they arrived on Yggdrasil. Glittereye sniffs and proclaims, "The Mother drinks today."
Issac:
They set off, their companions fading to pale spectres not five paces away. The Ratatosk decline any offers of riding, prefering to travel on paw. The rough bark of Yggdrasil becomes very damp and slippery, and it is hard to see where to place ones' feet.
As the day wears on, the party makes slow progress down the smoothed trail among the tall bark furrows. Glittereye started out in a good mood, but now the aged Ratatosk looks as if he is feeling his years. He limps a bit, being supported by his acolyte.
The party comes to a halt after a good seven hours of riding/walking. The trip seems to be taking longer than expected thanks to the fog, and the Ratatosk seem a bit unquiet, chittering softly to themselves in their native tongue. Glittereye calls for a halt and addresses the party.
"We near the Warpwood. It lies a few minutes' walk this way. We will continue as soon as I can catch my breath. You might want to approach on foot, I can keep one of my folk back to watch your mounts."
Reflex
ride
Reflex:
Ride
Walking:
Riding:
Ride:
"Whoa. Whoa! Hey, EASY bug-brains!" Comes an unexpected cry from Justin.
Those close enough to see him through the foggy soup watch as he slowly, inexorably, slides backwards off the beetle-mounts slick carapace. His eyes wide with surprise as his hands fail to find a grip. He obviously knows exactly what is happening, but is powerless to do anything about it.
"Mother,..." He mutters before the slide picks up terminal speed and deposits him gracelessly on the bark of the world tree. The mage rolls a couple of times when he hits, whether deliberately to get away from the skittish mount, or just from the momentum of the fall is difficult to tell through the fog.
Justin sits up, rubbing his head. Then his derriere. He glares at his ride.
"Do the words 'Material Components' mean anything to you?" He mutters balefully to the bug as he gets back up.
"I'm ok." He grins ruefully at the rest of the group, waving off any serious concerns for his health. "Nothing injured but my pride. And I suppose I had that coming,..."
Phaumee leads the way after getting one of his warriors to mind the beetles. Glittereye limps along after Phaumee and the scouts, grey muzzle set, his acolyte at his side. The fog has begun to break up a bit, the early afternoon light beginning to show through.
Suddenly Phaumee halts and motions to the party. Glittereye limps up to him and turns.
"Behold the Warpwood." He says in a pained voice
Beyond the party is a stretch of bark that is ...changed. Where Yggdrasil's bark is normally deeply-furrowed straight rows, this area looks as if the bark had ...rippled, like someone had dropped a huge rock on the World Tree and it had reacted like a pond surface.
Bizarre lines of rippled bark lead out in circles from a central point 200 meters away. The bark here looks unhealthy, as if gnawed by worms. Holes riddle the oddly-patterned surface. The area has an evil feel about it, as if the air was laden with sinister energy.
"Now you see the Thing That Should Not Be. The Mother cannot be ill, but she is. Something evil has infected Her."
Glittereye groans and straightens, grasping his staff tightly.
"Evil comes from the outside, infesting the Mother with evil and sickness."
Isaac grimaces when he sees the Warpwood, like he's swallowed something he doesn't like. He takes a step into the warped bark, looking over the patterns of the wood.
Perception:
Survival (Tracking):
"Ekuur, Justin, Merle: can ye detect any magic at work? Nari, what can ye sense empathic-like? Keep yer eyes on the scan, cutters, and weapons teh hand..."
"Yeah, sure,..." Justin murmurs in response to Isaac without looking at the ranger. He seems to have a difficult time taking his eyes off of the 'WarpWood'. It is disturbing, yet eerily enticing.
With a small shudder, Justin gathers his wits and casts the detection charm, gazing about the warpwood with slightly glowing blue eyes,...
Perception Rolls:
DC 15
DC 20
DC 25
Justin:
Merle Perception
Seph percepton
Isaac turns around slowly until he's facing the ratatosk shaman.
"Glittereye... are ye feelin' all right?"
"No active magic at work. But whatever sorcery went off here was Strong. With a capital 'S'. Strong enough to leave this,... mark. This is just the fallout. It's possible it was strong enough to damage the veil between the planes." Justin murmurs as he gazes at the area.
The wizard turns to glance back at the ratasosk as Isaac speaks. Noting the tone of Isaac's voice, and the sudden change in their guides eyes, he turns his mystic gaze upon Glittereye.
Isaac turns around slowly until he's facing the ratatosk shaman.
"Glittereye... are ye feelin' all right?"
Justin/Detect Magic:
The aged Ratatosk has stood up straight, his greying fur rippling, making him look almost twice as large as normal. A stacatto chittering comes from his mouth before he speaks in Planar Trade Common
"You. You are interlopers. Come to hurt the Mother. The Mother must be made clean! The only way to burn out the infection is fire."
He points his staff at the party and begins chittering in an angry tone. The other Ratatosk look bewildered. Phaumee yells out.
"STOP! These are friends! No hurt! "
Init
"Oh, bat guano,..." Justin murmurs as he gazes at Glittereye. His eyes widen as the elder ratatosk starts casting.
"He's been affected! His aura looks like the Warpwood!" Justin cries as he dives for cover,...
Eyes alert to impending danger Rhiannon's voice rings out in a clarion call.
perception
At Justin's yell, Ekuur's face turns to the squirrel. Though he agrees with the Ratatosk's sentiment, he diagrees with the target.
dispel check
EDIT: **sigh**
Isaac dives on Glittereye, trying to hold him down and prevent any ill-advised spellcasting.
Grapple check:
Perception:
Karrin's head snaps round as she sees Isaac grappling with Glittereye. It takes moments for her to figure out what's going on:
"This is seems like the perfect time for that sleeper hold!" Karrin says as she attempts to pancake on Glittereye with Isaac:
Grapple check: