"Sounds great to me"
The night goes by without incident, and the party is sent offby the elves with a hearty morning meal of acorn flour bread and sweet berries, along with dried fruit and elk jerky to take with. Travelling onward over the mountains, the party finds a giant valley stretching before them, as far as the eyes can see, grasslands interspersed with areas of wetland along the rivers. Their second night of travel finds them on top of a low rise, their fore burning low.
John Thomas takes third watch, enjoying the quiet of the night.
Zaranna takes last watch (with John, right? I think there are only three watches).
On his watch, Angus notices something in the distance that stands out from the dark. It seems to be several torches in the distance, burning brightly.
Zaranna wakes, but does nothing unless the torches are clearly getting closer.
The torches, strangely, seem to flicker in and out while slowly approaching the party.
At the point that it is fairly clear that the torches will
be here in about 10 minutes Guujaaw will throw Mage Armor on himself
He will then try to gauge things and activate his flight hex when they're about 30 seconds or so away.
John Thomas grunts when woken but gets himself together, grabbing his chain shirt and slipping it on.
"I don't see great in the dark so if its trouble we will need light."
I'm not sure those are torches. They aren't reacting normally. And if they get close enough, I think you'll have enough light, since they are bringing it. I'm going to go take a look if I can.
She grabs her bow and moves out into the night, swinging around to try to observe the lights from closer, but not head on... from the side or behind... to see what they are before deciding what to do.
As Zaranna draws closer, she sees the source of the lights. They seem like a small squad of Mexica soldiers, but somehow...different, almost fading in and out of existence. What's more, they're somewhat translucent in the moments before they disappear.
Zaranna moves back to the party.
They look like Mexica, but also... uh, like ghosts. Not sure what is going on with them, but you can kind of see through them at times. Anyone know how to fight ghosts?
"Magic weapons certainly help when fighting ghosts. But if its an entire squad of ghosts we're better off running. Or talking. That is a fight we cannot win"
The group of Mexica finally approaches the party and one steps forward, her face contorted in a mask of anguish. She says in an odd hollow voice filled with pain, "The elves. Their magic. Seared soul from body. Cannot rest." She drops to her knees and begins to cry before fading from reality once again. The others stand somberly before they too begin to fade.
How can we help? Zaranna asks, although she is perplexed. She grew up believing that death severs the soul from the body, so if that is what happened here, why aren't these Mexica just plain dead?
She tries to puzzle it out
Well isn't that a thing. Never got that working in a bar. Not sure what to do though, guess hang tight.
Zaranna isn’t sure what these creatures are. Teiuc is unnerved by the spectral beings but says, ”I am not sure what could cause this. It would likely be some type of powerful divine magic. Beyond that, I do not know.”
"Well that was very strange. I have no idea what happened"
Guujaaw will give a brief prayer to the spirits and then go back to sleep.
The night passes uneventfully, despite the somewhat unnerving events. However, as the party sleeps they are fraught with strange dreams of fire burning their bodies to ash as their souls remain, caught between life and death in an eternal limbo.
When Zaranna wakes up in the morning, she scouts around to see if there are human remains in the area, especially in the direction where the lights came from.
"They must be uneasy spirits that have not passed on properly. But they didn't attack, so they're not foul undead. I am saddened by their presence at least as much as frightened by it. Although I AM frightened by them"
The sun rises above the party as they travel onward. Crossing the wetlands with the horses is a chore, but nothing the party, as seasoned explorers, can't handle. As they travel they begin seeing structures, similar to those of the elven village. Most of them, however, are abandoned. The only population of any note are clustered around a large mountain rising out of the flat valley. Upon the party's approach however, they run further up the mountain and the group is unable to find them. However, climbing the mountain does give an excellent view and, most notably, their first look at the Great Bay. It is fitting of the name, with villages interspersed around rolling hills studded with oaks and pines. An interesting detail is an area cleared of trees where a large, glittering mound of something sits, glinting in the sun.
Guujaaw is struck silent by the site. Surely this is the same ocean that his people live on.
He starts to chant in a sing song voice
"Spirits of my people, hear me. I thank you for bringing me back here to the Great Water, close to where you live and where live my people. The trip has been long but you have never abandoned me and I have never forgotten you.
Spirits of this place, hear me. Thank you for letting me see the Great Water again. I beseech you to let me pass on just a little further, just a little way more until I can again get to my people."
Zaranna goes over to investigate the pile of glittery something.
The party starts out toward the bay, managing to pick up a set of small trails leading through the forested hills. However, as they get a bit further into the forests they hear a voice call out, stern and somewhat harsh, managing to resonate in the minds of the entire party as if they all understood the language, "State your business. We are in the midst of war! All must state their intentions."
We’re exploring and mapping for a wave of colonists that are headed this way. We’re making sure that we put down the proper borders for all the people already here so the newcomers won’t overrun them. We’d love to extend that courtesy to you if you are willing to talk with us.
"As my friends say, we're quite peaceful. We're far too small a force to be a threat to you"
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JOhn Thomas just smiles at the group and does his best to look harmless.
The voice huffs before stepping out of the trees. It is a handsome elven man who Zaranna, much to her surprise, as the man from her vision in the desert so long ago. He raises his eyebrows and says, ”There is an elf among you? Very well, I shall not end you. Tell me then, do these settlers come from the Mexica or the...Allied Territories, as I believe they are called?”
I recognize you...
Zaranna gets flustered, not knowing what to say after that, so she changes tactics, focusing on the question.
The settlers come from the Allied Territories, although we have a treaty with the Mexica who live South, The Mexica that have been doing a lot of killing along our path are rebels against their own lands.
(Trying to play it cool, but not doing an awesome job of it.)
A look of hope fills Guujaaws eyes.
"As you can probably tell, I am not originally from the Allied Territories. I'm hoping that this Bay reaches to the Great Water and that you have perhaps heard of my people, the Haida? They live on the shore near to the Great Water, some hundreds of miles to the north of here. Maybe you recognize my language"
"I believe I have heard of the Haida, though I do not know the tongue. I had best bring you before the Council, they will wish to speak to you. I am Areyl, of the Bay Wardens."