"By all that is holy!" Balzeros stomps his foot and turns back towards the sound of closing wolves.
Pointing in their direction he directs his anger into the plants around them. That should give us more damn time!
________
Swearing to herself, Serena hits the log at a dead run, grabbing the girl as she goes. Once across, she puts the girl on the ground and attempts to push the end of the log into the river.
The branches creak and give an audible crack as Serena carries the child on to the bridge. She stops and wobbles a bit near the center trying to regain her balance.
"Hop on!", Alia implores the girl after having jumped the river, turning around and indicating her back. "Hurry, or the wolves will get you."
Fergus shakes his head. Of all the things I have done, and thought I would do, I never would have though I would be having an argument with a plant.
He lowers his stance and turns his shoulder towards the plant before charging towards it, then through it. Once through, he turns around to take stock of the situation, already mentally flipping through his quickly dwindling spells at his disposal.
Zokon will wait to See if Alia or Serena need help "We could write a book about these heroics he says."
Zokon will rush in to help if Serena holds on or help to catch if Alia takes over.
With plenty of others moving to help the girl, Balzeros tries to follow Fergus' lead and barrels through the Tendriculos.
________
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"Hop on!", Alia implores the girl after having jumped the river, turning around and indicating her back. "Hurry, or the wolves will get you."
Serena hands off the girl and narrowly makes it across, with Zokon's aid.
Fergus and Balzeros crash through the slowly awakening plant monster which cries "NI!" in response to the disruption.
The wolves charge forward howling and gnashing their teeth!
Alia and the girl turn to see them at the top of the stone steps, each as big as a shire horse.
Round 2! (BOSS Theme ♬)
The Bold May Act!
_________________
__ Illthir
__ Zokon
__ Alia
__ Balzeros
__ Fergus
__ Serena
__ Erevenywg
__ "Girl"
__ Winter Wolves!
"Hold on tight, because I won't stop!", Alia waits just long enough for the girl to get a good grip, then rushes across the bridge, and right through the weak spot of the tendriculous she identified earlier.
"Pew ..." Illthir stepped up on her toes to try and see better and - as far as she could tell - were going better. So she felt no shame in turning to the barge and rushing towards it.
"WAKE UP!" the skald yelled at the boat crew. Just in case. Also - she really didn't want to share too much about the winter wolves until they had someone reliable on the boat. Would be a shame if it left too early ...
Zokon tries the old acrobatics trick as well following Alia
Knowing he's simply not as fast as the others, he begins the trek back to the boat. Damn this armor! I've a mind to just keep it off unless I need it, this has been a nightmare!
________
Alia sprints ahead and through the foliage coming out on the other side with her cargo.
Illthir and Balzeros get a head-start to the barge.
Zokon tries to speed his way through the wall of plant matter and gets stuck inside the carnivorous shrub his hands grasping for the air at air on the lake side.
Erevenywg crashes though to his left.
Round 2! (BOSS Theme ♬)
The Bold May Act!
_________________
__ Illthir
__ Zokon
__ Alia
__ Balzeros
__ Fergus
__ Serena
__ Erevenywg
__ "Girl"
__ Winter Wolves!
Serena considers the log for a half-second, debating internally whether she has the strength to move it. Not wanting to chance it, she elects to turn and run! With the wolves nipping at her heels, she darts towards the plant-monster, smashing her way through!
As serena turns away from the rivers edge, Fergus calls up more of his magical abilities, hold up the same emerald stone once more, he utters the final word of the arcane phrase. Veb! and a neon green webbing fades into existence, hanging between the trees and across the log and river to slow the wolves pursuit. He then turns and books it to the vessel.
The wolves now obscured by webbing do something.
While the huge wall of animate plant-life shakes Zokon out on the wrong side of where he would like to be.
Round 3! (BOSS Theme ♬)
The Bold May Act!
_________________
__ Illthir
__ Zokon
__ Alia
__ Balzeros
__ Fergus
__ Serena
__ Erevenywg
__ "Girl"
__ Winter Wolves!
Balzeros continues his steady plod towards the boat. Maybe a lighter armor? That could work, but it'd be expensive. Bah! I'll think more on it later.
________
Zokon tries again to get past
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With Zokon through (and just in time as the tendriculos awakens fully) and Durgan touching down upon Amdohr's barge there is nothing keeping the companions from concluding their excursion off the boat
"I did not see Argentov," Durgan reports. "He does seem to have collapsed a hillside on the trolls. I cannot confirm with complete certainty that he is a Silver Dragon, but I think it the most plausible explanation.
I take it you had no trouble getting back?"
Zokon lays down or leans on something and relaxes... he tries to let the tension wash away...
This leadership business is hard work...
Balzeros collapses onto the deck. "Trouble is an understatement," he admits, his voice slightly muffled by his face pressed against the floor. "I hated every minute," he complains. Pushing himself off the floor, he climbs back up to his shelter on the roof with Ramita and begins ripping his armor off.
"Should we let the girl rest and speak with her in the morning or is now the time?"
"Best we should be about it as soon as possible, I think." Serena offers.
Fergus wheezes his way onto the ship, sweaty and all together covered in dirt and blood. After a few minutes to catch his breath, he quickly looses it again as he goes on a long, long, rant. One that you think was likely being held in by sheer dwarven determination.
Bloody hell, Do you know how hard it is to clean these robes? Even with magic?! UGH! Is that mud? Oh god I hope it is mud. Antics in resemblance to tonight are why people cannot keep proper and clean things. My only request is that our next mission be a bit cleaner. My god, there's a tear in my robe! It goes on as such for another few minutes as he proceeds to clean himself as best he can with prestidigitation. During his rant, he turns to the others for a moment.
Can dire wolves swim? He looks at them for a few seconds, before seeing a bug crawling on boot which launches him back into his rant.
Zokon observes the girl, trying to ascertain if he thinks she'll be up to questioning or if she seems like she needs a little care first.
Zokon observes the girl, trying to ascertain if he thinks she'll be up to questioning or if she seems like she needs a little care first.
"Pew ... Oh it was nothing, we're all in one piece!" Illthir sighs in relief as she can finally sit down in the boat and not worry about being eaten by wolves. Unless they could swim. Which she hoped they didn't. She takes a few minutes to make sure that isn't the case and simply watch the distance to the shore grow. And listen to Fergus rant - it felt nice that someone put it in words so she didn't have to.
"All right. The least we can do is give her some water." The skald follows her own plan and finds her waterskin. First she takes a sip to show that there's no danger - and because oh divines being chased by wolves was thirst inducing - and then handed it over to the girl. As well as a spare blanket; she might be cold. And perhaps it'd feel a little safer/better with it.
"So. Argentov the maybe dragon and definitely odd is tied up in the woods with a bunch of trolls. With her. And oh he can apparently create landslides. Hmmhm..." she thinks out loud, hoping that perhaps 'dragons' would entice the girl to speak. Or react. At worst it might serve to herd her own scattered thoughts into something coherent.
"Yes illthir good idea, maybe food and water, to get her to a little healthier?"
Alia, having carried the girl, feels responsible for her, to some extent.
The fact she is not particularily communicative does not bother her - she continues working on her arrows and the armor, but does so with the girl nearby.
Sometimes she may idly comment on something, but mostly in a rhetorical way, not really expecting an answer. While she DID get used to the fast-paced social interactions of her group in these past weeks, patience was still a culturally ingrained quality, and waiting a couple days for someone to maybe open up was hardly a big deal.
The one thing she DOES directly address the girl with is this, on the next day:"For now, you will come with us...for your own safety. If you want to go somewhere, or to someone, do tell us. We can try and drop you off, or arrange for safe travels. Is there a place or person that makes you feel safe? Someone who cared for you?"
Balzeros spends the next day with his armor off. Maintaining the magic that holds his silky shelter together and pouring some healing magic into his wounds, he enjoys sitting at the back of the barge with his feet trailing in the water. See, water isn't so bad!
Around meal times, he catches fish from the river for the others to enjoy. If the boat ever makes a stop, he forages for some crawfish too.
________
Fergus approaches Alia the next day after mending his robes from the nights excursion.
Aye, lassie. I noticed you seemed proficient in the arcane arts. I was wondering if you studied, and where if you did. Perhaps we could discuss arcane findings? I'd be very interested in your art. As would ditzy here. A pure white mongoose pokes its head up from Fergus shoulder and chips at Alia.
Serena spends as much time as possible out of her armor as well, reveling in the relaxation of such. In her spare time, she also talks with the child, though her statements are more direct.
"Where are you from? Who was that with you? What happened to your parents?"
She is unaccustomed to dealing with children.
Zokon will spend time working with Alia, helping with arrows, learning about arrows etc.. he will help with the girl when needed.
He is trying to gain a sense of familiarity with Alia, he wants to give the correct impression to his mother.
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Durgan will approach Illthir.
"Illthir, I'm not sure the girl even can talk. Is there magic you might use to breach the communication barrier?"
"Yeah ... Or she might not want to. You're right though - there's magic for that. I can try and try it." The skald gave the girl a long look, pondering what secrets she held. Though she knew better, she hoped they weren't too horrible. Hopefully she'd feel comfortable enough to share them regardless, if given the opportunity.
First though Illthir tried to see if she could get anything the mundane way. After fetching her flute and sitting down somewhere comfortable nearby she started to work through her repertoire of children's songs. If she went dialect by dialect north to south then perhaps there'd be a flash of recognition. Better to avoid the ones where someone was eaten by trolls though. Just in case!
Fergus approaches Alia the next day after mending his robes from the nights excursion.
Aye, lassie. I noticed you seemed proficient in the arcane arts. I was wondering if you studied, and where if you did. Perhaps we could discuss arcane findings? I'd be very interested in your art. As would ditzy here. A pure white mongoose pokes its head up from Fergus shoulder and chips at Alia.
If Alia's black blade, had eyes they might have been staring daggers just then.
Serena spends as much time as possible out of her armor as well, reveling in the relaxation of such. In her spare time, she also talks with the child, though her statements are more direct.
"Where are you from?
{Stare}
"Who was that with you?"
{Shrug}
"What happened to your parents?"
{Thousand-yard stare}
{Stare}
"Yeah ... Or she might not want to. You're right though - there's magic for that. I can try and try it." The skald gave the girl a long look, pondering what secrets she held. Though she knew better, she hoped they weren't too horrible. Hopefully she'd feel comfortable enough to share them regardless, if given the opportunity.
First though Illthir tried to see if she could get anything the mundane way. After fetching her flute and sitting down somewhere comfortable nearby she started to work through her repertoire of children's songs. If she went dialect by dialect north to south then perhaps there'd be a flash of recognition. Better to avoid the ones where someone was eaten by trolls though. Just in case!
When Fergus approaches her, Alia is slightly surprised. Dwarves had their Runes, and their working of the art was often vastly different from that of Elves, same as with Gnomes. Of course, all the magic ended up being the same bending of the physical reality, but the 'how' was different. Taking a moment to think, she answers cautiously:"Aye, Ser Fergus. I did study the arcane arts, back in Kyonin. I...opted to blend swordplay and arcane prowess into one style. Understanding both magic and weapons also helps my craft." She raises part of what she was working on to indicate it, then continues:"I fear my magical abilities are lacking, compared to what they could have been had I focused on them, but we can certainly discuss some aspects of the arcane arts."[b]
She looks at Ditzy, then clumsily curtsies in greeting:[b]"I have a cat...a rescue from the Restov Sewers. Slightly...feral. I wonder if Ditzy and Vega would get along. Gods know he'd need some good influence..."
As Zokon helps with the arrows, Alia continues her lessons on Nobility - or more specifically, human nobility and the customs of Brevoy.
But she also spends time with Zokon apart from work, doing small-talk and making sure she remembers everything important about him and his family.
I am so glad we're visiting HIS family. That will be so much easier than the other way around...but it'll need to happen, eventually...
"...Right." Illthir sighs and puts down her flute as she reaches the end of her songs. She sits still and quiet for a few minutes simply pondering. And giving the girl a chance to speak up - though she didn't expect it. The half-elf herself tried to think back to her own old friends: some of them had children and she tried to see if she had accidentally picked up any useful tricks. Probably not. Still ...
She got up and sat down next to the presumable orphan and put an arm around her, pulling her a bit closer. Hopefully it'd feel warm and somewhat comforting. "So Girl. I guess you don't want to talk - that's fine. Not sure if I'd want to, if I've gone through whatever you have. But on the off chance you're from a faraway place ... I'm going to try a spell okay? It'll let us understand your words if you want. Not that this explanation helps if it's needed ..."
The girl recoils at first as Illthir goes through the motions of magic at last gingerly pulling a quill from hair--she remembers falling through a bird's nest in their mad flight from the mountains--and making it disappear into shimmering faerie fire.
The girl watches intently, but doesn't remains silent for the rest of the voyage.
It is mid-afternoon when the barge arrives at the riverside hamlet of Forest Edge.
Small simple docks run along a small inlet on the north side of the river that retreats back into the forest. A score of fishermen, washer women, and little children, work, and play along stretch.
Further back and up a sloping hill sits a small hamlet of a dozen or so buildings with thatched roofs, and stone chimneys.
As Amdohr and his crew pole the raft toward the shore a woman's voice can be heard shouting from the docks.