"Souns ken veen-I-ent." Elgan looks at the others. He's not sure what to make of these guys.
Looking at Altai, she offers, "If they accompany us, their sight abilities might help us in our endeavor."
"It is a great pleasure to find such courtesy, unanticipated. We are on a grand journey to rescue a dear friend from deadly peril, but it could be that Zura lies in our path. Altai, do you understand the geography of dreams?"
"Where do you quest for, monk?"
They seem kinda sketchy. And Satari can feel, as he has on many occasions before, that they think their northern style is superior to his southern style and are itching to prove it.
Pip squints his faded blue eyes and lights a cheroot
"What is your patron's name?"
"I don't rightly know. He never said. He's some sort of dragon. And he reeks to high heaven."
"What manner of dragon?"
"I don't rightly know. You've never seen one though. He may be the only one."
"He reeks? An' don' git out mech? Dat Don' soun' healt'y Chere. He shuuld git out and git sum fresh aiyeah. It'd dew him a wurld uv guud." Elgan says, giving ALtai 'the look'.
You know, the one that says 'Sumthin' don' soun' raight heah.'
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"Aye. It is a portal, by that Hyperborean Wizard Eibon. As such it is ancient.
It is a web of sorts, that connects many places."
"We are not headed for Zura, I'm afraid. But surely you won't mind taking the slow route to the palace of unattained dreams - it sounds like a place best avoided altogether."
"Give our regards to your smelly master. I must admit I am rather intrigued by the description; we'll have to seek him out later. Now, however, we have other, pressing business to attend to."
They look at eachother.
What do you do?
Elgan is all peacable like. He doesn't like throwing the first punch.
But he has become very fond of throwing the LAST punch. :)
He waits, as usual, for either the big weird guys to become all offensive like, or Altai to give the word,...
Right on.
Are you guys heading out?
Elgan elbows Altai.
"C'mon chere'. Lez git outteh heah. We'ze got places teh be. Our fren' iz waitin'."
Pip nods
"Yeah Beldan needs rescuing. Let's leave Jeepers and Creepers to their own devices"
"Indeed. See you later, maybe." Altai motions to the crew to take off.
The ship departs......it's daylight out in the land of dream. The sun hids behind a thick haze.
The storm you sought shelter from has past.
As your ship heads northward, you can see, behind you, at the giant pillar of an island a massive dragon flies out of the cavern.
It, however, heads south and west,......more southward than westerly.
Huzzzah!
Elgan hangs upside down in the rigging, and points at the departing dragon.
"Shuud we bez wurried 'bout dat?" He calls down to the deck.
Giant reptile flying nearby?.....
naaaaaah
That recommendation?
With THAT face?
Yeah,.... NOW I'm worried!
;P
"The best decision. I did not feel that they were altogether trustworthy. Though I suspect we may see their master again. This place is riddled with convergence."
Emrael simply nods at the monk's observation, watching the dragon disappearing into the distance.
"Yeh. Dey wuz jes' ithchin' fer a faight. Which ain't nurmelly a problem. But ah gits deh feelin' dat sumwun',... ur sumthin',... in dis place iz tryin' teh keep us frum gettin teh Beldin. Er mebbe iz deh place isself. Ah dunno."
ELgan scratches his tangled dreadlocks, still hanging upside down from the rigging. He has unconsciously assumed a half-elf, half-monkey form to do so. With a shrug he scrambles back up the rigging, hanging from hands and monkey feet.
Niddler ,,,
Pip watches the distant draconian form leave
"Maybe the dragon smells because he's dead?" He asks no one in particular
The ship heads north, and after two days is over land.
The bleak wasteland that is Leng.
It flows north and east, and is drifting into the mountains, around the city of Lelag Leng, searching for the Friary which is purported to be nearby.
"Yew don' t'ink DAT wuz deh wun whut wanted 'Sheldon' dere back frum us, dew yeh?" Elgan asks no one in particular.
ELgan spends most of his time in the rigging, or talking with the others. He seems, depressed, at the sight of the wasteland below them.
Do you guys have any means of figuring out exactly where you're going?
Got called in. See yall tomorrow.
Satari climbs up into the rigging to be near Elgan-monkey, moving lightly from hand to hand and balancing on the spars like a life-long sailor.
"You have a deep connection with the land. Does this desolation pain you very much?" Sympathy reflects in the old monk's lined face.
Elgan pulls the spell off; you've got about 5 days to travel there.
The boat pulls up into the mountains around the port of Lelag Leng; follows a trail cut into the side of the peaks....
On the way, you see on that trail a train of,,.....looks like hairy yaks or some sort of beast of burden, being coaxed in teh direction of that monastery. There's also a line of bipeds of some sort.
The last....yak (they're too big to be yaks) carries a tented howdah.
You're on the right path.
It's cold, and snowing.
Satari climbs up into the rigging to be near Elgan-monkey, moving lightly from hand to hand and balancing on the spars like a life-long sailor.
"You have a deep connection with the land. Does this desolation pain you very much?" Sympathy reflects in the old monk's lined face.
Elgan swings over and perches upon the rigging next to Satari. He shimmers into a form that more closely resembles his 'normal' wood elf appearance, but as he looks at Satari and talks, his features slowly shift into an approximation of the Monks'.
"Yeh, dis whole place iz jes',... OFF. It ain't raight. Dere's livin' here, and ah kin feel ah kinectshun. But iz lahk tryin' teh talk unnerwateh. Ah'm surprised dat Plantzilla ansered deh call."
Now bald headed Elgan gestures to the desolation below them. He shivers once at the cold, but seems otherwise unaffected.
"Dis place ain't quite as ded az it luuks. But iz dang close. An dere's sumthin' else. But ah can'ts,... tell whut it iz."
He shrugs and points at the caravan below. "Ah guess we'll finds out soon 'nuf."
"Remember that the green lands and sunlit hills, the mountain snows and high arc of the osprey still exist in the worlds we know. This desolation is the ... despair ... of some dreamer. Do not lose yourself in it."
Satari pitches his voice to reach the rest of the party.
"Is there any value in descending to speak with those who toil below?"
Pip spends the journey looking avidly over the desolate plains of Leng. Unlike Elgan the emptiness seems to inspire him. He plucks idly at Lucille
"Did a dream die in your heart?
Did the light of love depart?
Where do the hopes go that fled?
Where do the plans go of the misled?
Off to Leng
Off to Leng
Where dreams die
And dreamers cry
The wretched plains of Leng"
"Is there any value in descending to speak with those who toil below?"
Is there ever?
ELgan looks thoughtful at both Satari's words and Pip's singing. He doesn't respond to either, but he looks more thoughtful and less melancholy.
HEAVY METAL!!!
Hyzzzarr!
Best Southpark ever.
Back later this evening; going to a party.
Pip spends the next five days making sure all his gear is ready to go. He works on his music and often stares out off the ship, looking thoughtful. He again tries to pass out the extra cure critical wounds wands he bought earlier. He also takes to wearing his gem of brightness under his tunic on a chain
Elgan takes one of the wands and slides into his beastform Dragonhide armor.
The swordswoman accepts a wand with a bow. "You are most generous, talented one."
Pip grins and bows with a flourish
"Thank you noble swordmistress! Here, take this wand of Negative energy protection as well. I have the other one, we should be able to cover the party should there be an emergency"
Pip hands Em a slender crystal rod