Xanos has already transcribed the spells from the spellbook. It can now be sold.
Spellbook carries a resale value of 665GP total... which equates to a equal portion of:
166GP
20SP
5CP
:)
Sorry things are tough at home currently. My son is sleeping very poorly so i'm am too. I will catch up when i can. Please bot me for a bit.
-Posted with Wayfinder
No worries - as/when chief.
Cure potions are actually pretty important to Xanos. He can cast Death Wine, which turns cure potions into +1 Caster Level for Necromancy spells. Next level when he starts casting Animate Dead that's going to be very useful.
So, if the party feels like they have enough emergency cure potions of thier own, I'd like Xanos to start carrying the overstock.
As an aside my home interwebs are been shockingly unreliable at the moment, so been updating at work when i can.
I'm off on leave from tonight until next Tuesday (awa doon tae Glasgae Fri-Sun) so if home webs continue to stymie me, please bot as necessary.
checking in. I'm having Xanos stay inside tonight as "recovery." He's had plenty of spotlight lately so don't worry about me. I'm enjoying seeing what the rest of you post.
Was Aden Kael one of the members of the Knot that went missing out here? (or a known alias)
He as the leader of the missing knot.
I'm going to recruit some more players.
Sorry Fang, I've had a bit of a crazy week, and have forgotten and slowed down on many of my games. I am still 100% interested in this game, and my next couple of weeks should be much less busy.
Think the site being so darn weird last week or so didn't help either. Know I wasn't getting updates and access was erratic to say the least.
Still here and still game to keep my evil on.
New blood will likely help drive things on as well.
Yea, Pazio had some real issues this past week, which definitely didn't help, as the few times I a lot of free time, often ended up being when the site wasn't working.
Ditto - I was snipe posting at work as/when I got the chance - which like you experienced MG was never is synergy with the damn site.
Paizo has been messed up for a week. It's down ever morning, and then randomly throughout the day. Apparently it is a persistent issue related to a website architecture overhaul Paizo is working on.
It's wreaking havoc on PbP games, making posting difficult.
Yeah been a massive pain. Latest web tremors seem to be over and normality has returned...
Hi Rose! Welcome to team evil. :)
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Rose, Sariana welcome to the Knot!
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Since I left a couple of things unfinished - did I read the recruitment right that we get 2 extra SP/level?
Regardless of that - would it help the party for me to take some ranks in DD? (Linked to that would I be allowed to take the Trap Finder trait from Mummies Mask, please nice Mr GM Fang? :))
I see we're adding another vampire to our inventory. It will be fun to see the dynamic between Sariana and Albrekt.
Sariana, I took a brief look at your backstory. If you're up for it, I have an idea for how it could be loosely intertwined with Xanos'. Want to discuss it?
Love it! Is that your familiar?
Yup. It doesn't float though. It just crawls and climbs.
I see we're adding another vampire to our inventory. It will be fun to see the dynamic between Sariana and Albrekt.
Indeed another bloodsucker in the bad batch :)
Interplay will be interesting as Albrekt is a messy eater, and not subtle - think of him very much like a Reaper from Blade 2.
Yup. It doesn't float though. It just crawls and climbs.
Xanos forgot to mention it creepily crawl's and climbs...
Out of curiosity if the familiar wears a magical ring - who gains the benefit?
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I see we're adding another vampire to our inventory. It will be fun to see the dynamic between Sariana and Albrekt.
Sariana, I took a brief look at your backstory. If you're up for it, I have an idea for how it could be loosely intertwined with Xanos'. Want to discuss it?
I have a vague idea for her origin story but I love me a collaboration so let's hear it! Besides the necromancer and the vampire makes a lot of sense :)
Interplay will be interesting as Albrekt is a messy eater, and not subtle - think of him very much like a Reaper from Blade 2.
Whereas Sari is precisely the opposite - very precise and almost dainty. Not charismatic at all, but precise and perceptive. I get the feeling vampiric dick-measuring contests will be in order! The funny thing is that I can nearly outrun Albrekt's horse :D
Hey, thanks for the invitation to join the cause!
And Rose, good to have a game with you again. :)
Hey, thanks for the invitation to join the cause!
And Rose, good to have a game with you again. :)
Glad to have a nice new cast of EVIL to conquer the world with! :)
Also, I was rather impressed with Molsabar's build, so I'm happy you made it in!
As for skills, build adjustments, etc, Haruk has party face covered. He has no qualms charming people if necessary.
For spells, he's got a decent array of utility and offense, but he won't be taking many buff spells, and his offensive ones mainly will be fire.
Great additions to our little Knot of evil.
Welcome one and all. I'll give you the tour;
As Haruk stated he's the party face - devilishly handsome (literally) and cruel to boot.
The creepy one is Xanos - a necromancer whose risen more times than you can count on a (severed, reanimated) hand...
Finally there's Albrekt. A voracious vampyr who sounds like he's quoting Rammstein lyrics when he speaks (between feeds)
Also, I was rather impressed with Molsabar's build, so I'm happy you made it in!
Thank you! I'm still working out some details to make him effective enough. I'm thinking about dipping Fighter (unarmed fighter) next level to get Kirin Strike and Kirin Style. But mostly I'll stick with magus. I am trying to figure out if there is an efficient way to get Trap Spotter as well.
As for skills, build adjustments, etc, Haruk has party face covered. He has no qualms charming people if necessary.I'm glad you've got the face skills covered, because I'll be a little stretched thin. I'm planning on keeping Perception, Disable Device and Stealth maxed out.
For spells, he's got a decent array of utility and offense, but he won't be taking many buff spells, and his offensive ones mainly will be fire.
I don't know if any of you watch Big Bang Theory, but I can almost picture Xanos and Molasbar sitting down with each others spellbooks and flipping through them like the BBT guys at the comic book store. "Got it. Got it. Got it. Need it. Got it. Got it..."
I have a vague idea for her origin story but I love me a collaboration so let's hear it! Besides the necromancer and the vampire makes a lot of sense :)
Great. I'll PM you so we don't clog up the thread with our back and forth.
I can almost picture Xanos and Molasbar sitting down with each others spellbooks and flipping through them like the BBT guys at the comic book store. "Got it. Got it. Got it. Need it. Got it. Got it..."
Ha! Love it. Lets make that happen. :D
Since I left a couple of things unfinished - did I read the recruitment right that we get 2 extra SP/level?
Regardless of that - would it help the party for me to take some ranks in DD? (Linked to that would I be allowed to take the Trap Finder trait from Mummies Mask, please nice Mr GM Fang? :))
The 2 SP/level thing is built into the core AP character creation, I’m fine with the party having them. It’s mostly because the expectation is that the PCs won’t have NPCs they can rely on for information etc.
Molasbar is the resident trapfinder, so no need for DD.
I've got my own request -- at some point, I would like Rose to grow black feathered wings and be able to fly, as she becomes more like an Erinyes. The most obvious way I could see to do that was the Angel Blood and Angel Wings feat line. Are you okay with that, and if so, would it be possible to change the mechanics on Angel Blood so it messes with Good-aligned creatures?
Yup, you can just reskin them as “fallen” angel blood, etc. and swap out good for evil, where appropriate.
@New Folks: I know some of you posted this in the recruitment thread, but I wanted to know how familiar you are with the AP. Basically, do you know who Tiadora and the Cardinal are? This is mostly just so I know who of you, if any, needs a primer on what’s going on.
Sorry, it has been brutal trying to get through to the website to post. Hopefully this one won't get eaten as well.
Looking at the thread, I believe your group is a bit further along than I've been in previous groups. Only one went past the Cardinal's basement, and that one not by much. I do remember Thorn being in charge and Tiadora being his lieutenant.
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Yup, June has not been kind to the Paizo site.
The Rise of House Darius
Talingarde may be a peaceful and prosperous kingdom at the start of the campaign, but the nation has certainly had a troubled past. Only eighty years ago, the kingdom weathered a bitter war of succession fought between the largely half-elven nobility of House Barca and the human dynasty of House Darius. Both had claim to the throne and their supporters amongst the fractured nobility of the isle.
On the Plains of Tamberlyn just north of the capital city, two great armies met and decided the future of this dominion. One army was commanded by King Jaraad of House Barca, a great half-elven hero mounted on a griffon, the symbol of his house. The other was led by Markadian of House Darius, a young upstart paladin who would not bow before all the gods of the Talirean pantheon (in particular Asmodeus).
The Battle of Tamberlyn remains the most famous conflict in all of Talingarde’s history. House Darius was gravely outnumbered but far more fiercely committed to their holy cause. Much of House Barca’s army was paid mercenaries fighting for nothing more than gold. The Battle was fought between two large stone spires (the so-called Lords of Tamberlyn) that rise from otherwise level ground. A small brook splits the spires crossed only in one place by an ancient stone bridge. The brook is not deep but still would be difficult for men in armor to cross.
Markadian took to the field first, seizing the bridge with his knights and positioning infantry on both his right and left flank. The famed archers of Barrington and Embryl, with their mighty longbows of yew, were positioned behind the infantry.
Outnumbering his foe many times, King Jaraad hoped for a quick victory and sent his mercenary crossbowmen forward to bombard the knights on the bridge. The hope was that a few volleys of crossbow shot would kill many of the knights and paladins of House Darius. Deprived of their leadership, the rest of the soldiery would likely flee from the battlefield when the king moved the bulk of Barca’s army forward.
However, the crossbowmen advanced too close and the infantry on Darius’ right flank performed a surprise charge. The charge caught the mercenaries off guard and they fled with hardly a shot fired.
So disgusted was the knight commander of Barca behind the mercenaries that he ordered his knights to charge forward through the “cowardly retreating rabble” to attack the relatively exposed Darian infantry. The result was a chaotic muddle of panicked mercenary and tangled knights. It was then that the Darian archers begin to fire their volleys. The arrows rained down on the knights and took a princely toll on the Barcan force.
King Jaraad saw the muddle that his left had become and ordered the other pincer of his army forward. They moved swiftly at first along the banks of the brook but soon found themselves equally bogged down in mud. They too began to receive a hail of arrows.
Finally the Barcan left pushed through the mercenaries and charged the bridge. It was here that the heaviest fighting of the battle took place. On the bridge of Tamberlyn the knights of Darius met the full might of the Barcan army and held the line. The Barcan army was packed in so tight trying to cross the bridge that there rear ranks were at the mercy of the Embryllian archers.
King Jaraad could watch the slaughter no longer. He flew his elite personal command – a dozen knights on griffons to the other side of the bridge hoping to flank the defenders and break their line. What he encountered instead was the young Lord Markadian and his personal guard.
The battle between Markadian’s knights and the griffon riders has been immortalized in several songs and plays. Suffice to say that after a great battle, a dozen dead griffons littered the field and only Markadian of Darius and King Jaraad of Barca remained combatant. They fought fiercely and in the end, Markadian slew Jaraad upon the banks of the Tamberlyn brook and claimed the throne of Talingarde.
At the end of the day, the battle had proved to be a slaughter. The military might of House Barca was broken and House Darius came to power. It would have been easy then for House Darius to seek revenge against their former enemies but instead King Markadian I called the Victorious showed mercy.
He allowed the nobles of House Barca to keep their lands if they would only swear loyalty to the new king and bow before the great god Mitra. The offer was accepted and peace once more came to Talingarde. The crisis of succession was over and the religion of the isle was decided. Mitra the Shining Lord became head of the Talirean pantheon.
The Victor upon the Throne
When Markadian I came to power there was great uncertainty of how capable a king he would prove. While he was a great warrior, he had never ruled and there was reason to doubt this young paladin could control this divided land. He soon put those doubts to rest.
Markadian I called the Victorious (usually simply The Victor these days) was the sort of ruler that only comes once every thousand years. At the battle of Farholde he dealt the bugbears of the north a savage defeat and scattered them for a generation. He confronted the pi-rates who had made the western coast of Talingarde their stronghold and burnt them out. It seemed that the Victor was undefeatable upon the field of battle.
So fearsome was his reputation that by the later years of his reign, he merely sent a letter to a rebellious warlord in the west that read, “Must we meet on the fields on war?” The warlord relented and became a loyal subject. By the end of the Victor’s reign, almost all of the island south of the Watch Wall was firmly a part of Talingarde. Only a few parts of the great and trackless forest, the Caer Bryr, remained wild and unmapped.
More than a soldier, he also proved a great builder and statesman. He raised the capital Matharyn from a small city into a great metropolis. He reinforced the watch wall, commissioning three new fortresses. He eased tariffs bringing merchants from the mainland to the oft-isolated isle once more. He personally visited the Lands of the Yutak tribesmen in the north and made peace with their great chiefs. And though the paladin spread the religion of Mitra and discouraged devotion to Asmodeus he tolerated the Prince of Nessus’ temples as long as they were discrete.
For forty six years the Victor sat upon the throne bringing a golden age to Talingarde. Today, his statues are to be found in almost every town and hamlet through-out the kingdom. He did have his faults though. Like so many great rulers – he was a great soldier and king but a poor father.
The Scholar and the Monster
After the death of the Victor, his oldest son Martius ascended to the throne as King Markadian II called the Learned. More a scholar than a king, Martius proved largely disinterested in affairs of state. He commissioned the great library at Matharyn and began renovation of an old family castle into the great palace known as the Adarium. As the first wing of the Adarium was completed, he retreated there and was rarely seen in public.
The other son, Prince Hallen, was not so reserved. Though he had no official power, he often ruled in the king’s absence and commanded great loyalty from the knights of the realm. This might have been an acceptable arrangement. After all, Prince Hallen was a soldier and an heir of the Victor. He could have become the de facto ruler while the official king sat in his distant pleasure palace and library. Alas, that Prince Hallen was also mad.
Prince Hallen became convinced that his mother (who had died in childbirth) was not the queen but an angel of Mitra. He believed himself a demigod and incapable of wrong. At first the Prince’s madness was subtle. He often dressed all in white and even had a magic set of wings made for himself that allowed him to soar over the capital.
But in time the visions began. He communed with these so-called angels and they whispered that he should replace his brother and become the true and immortal master of Talingarde. The king received disturbing reports of the prince’s madness and plots but refused to believe them. “My brother but jests,” is famously what Markadian II replied to the reports.
Finally the “angel” prince would wait no longer. He flew to the Adarium and with a flaming sword slew his own brother amidst his books and proclaimed himself Markadian III called the Immortal. His brother’s six year reign was at an end.
For a brief time, it was possible that Markadian III’s claim of kingship might have been acknowledged. His brother after all was little loved and tongues wagged that getting rid of the absent king was a blessing. Maybe the new king was a divine messenger of Mitra’s will. But within days the mad decrees began from the Adarium. The king decreed that Mitra’s high holy day would no longer be the summer solstice but instead would become his own birthday. He ordered the military to prepare to invade Hell and commanded his wizards to research opening a great gate. First, he explained to his flabber-gasted advisors, the army would go through the gate to the shining realm of Mitra himself to call forth an army of angels. Then he personally would lead the host to invade the nine hells and overthrow Asmodeus himself.
Finally the people had enough of this madness. Officially, the histories record that after only five moths in power Markadian III called the Mad tried to fly from the highest spire of the Adarium without his magic wings. More likely, he was thrown from the spire by paladins who would tolerate no more of this madman’s blasphe-mies. Whatever the truth, his reign was over.
Blame the Devil
Fortunately for Talingarde, Martius (Markadian II) had a son — Marcus. The grandson of the Victor was neither mad nor a recluse. He had been clever enough to avoid the Adarium and the capital during Prince Hallen’s angelic rampage. Marcus was a handsome knight twenty nine years of age and closely resembled his grandfather the Victor. Thus was Talingarde spared another disastrous war of succession.
Marcus returned to the capital and was crowned Markadian IV called the Zealous. The new king quickly realized that he needed to solidify his power and explain away the difficulties of the last six and a half years. In short, he needed an enemy to unify this fractured Talirean nation. He found one – in the Temple of Asmodeus.
King Markadian IV blamed the cult of Asmodeus for using their black magic to summon a devil to possess the former king thus driving him mad. It was a brilliant political solution (though an utter fiction). It removed blame from the royal house of Darius and instead placed guilt squarely upon a small, unpopular, marginalized cult. This was the beginning of the Asmodean Purges.
The Knights of the Alerion took the lead in destroying the temples. High priests were burned at the stake and the sect was driven underground. For twelve years, the Zealot sat upon the throne and during that time he did his best to annihilate the cult of Asmodeus. He very nearly succeeded.
Markadian IV died comparatively young, only 41 years old of a mysterious illness. There were rumors that the Cult of Asmodeus had placed a curse upon the king. These rumors only fuelled the purges further.
A Brave New King
Markadian IV was followed by Markadian V, his son. Twenty-two when he took the throne (the same age as the Victor), he has ruled for sixteen years as a capable, energetic king who has done much to put bad memories in the past. Beloved by his people, he has proven again and again he is the true heir of the Victor. Early in his reign, he personally led the army to relieve the Watch Wall after another bugbear incursion. It was on the watchtower walls that he earned himself the title The Brave.
Markadian V has continued the prohibition against the cult of Asmodeus but does not pursue the purges with the same vigor as his father. After all, that battle is largely won. No one has heard of an Asmodean cultist in Talingarde for years. Instead, he turns his attention to the west and the north hoping to be the king who brings the entire island of Talingarde under his dynasty’s dominion.
He has failed in one duty however. He has failed to yet produce a son. Instead, he has only one child — a beautiful, brilliant young princess named Bellinda. Twenty years of age, she is already a prodigy of arcane magic. If her father produces no heir it is an open question whether the men of Talingarde will follow a queen instead of a king. Her story is yet to be written.
Okay, current AP progress synopsis: Skipping Brandescar part. Nobody in this game actually did that part of the adventure. Cardinal Thorn is effectively the high priest of Asmodeus in Talingarde. All the PCs have signed a Devil's contract to serve in order: 1. Asmodeus, 2. Cardinal Thorn, 3. Each other, 4. Themselves. (This originally was part of the payment for helping the PCs escape Brandescar prison, but your own reasons can be whatever.) It is mostly in place prevent PC infighting and backstabbing due to everyone being evil). Thorn's stated goal is to overthrow the church of Mitra and restore the church of Asmodeus to its rightful place. To do so, he has assembled several teams of individuals, called knots, to do his bidding. The PCs are members of the Ninth Knot.
The Ninth Knot's first mission was to transport weapons to a monstrous army of bugbears, giants etc, massing outside the northern curtain wall that protects Talingarde. This was successful and in meeting the bugbear leader of the army they found out that he too was a follower of Asmodeus. After making the delivery, the knot was tasked with weakening Balentine Keep, which they did by stealth, infiltrating it and killing its leaders, before opening the gate for the army. That army is currently working its way southward and the whole Kingdom is rallying a defense.
The knot was then met by Tiadora, Cardinal Thorn's creepy female assistant (for lack of a better word), who guided the PCs towards their next objective. Which you can read in this post The Mission
Since arriving in Farholde, the PCs have managed to insult and alienate a powerful Asmodean NPC, Baron Arkov Vandermir , connect with the seventh knot, and find a clue to the location of the Horn of Abaddon. In terms of how to bring in the new PC's the easiest is to have Tiadora teleport them in, but that is hardly the only option.
Great. Now that I have your attention, just a quick FYI that I will be on vacation From June 17th until the 24th. I have little expectation of having internet access and as such, don’t anticipate being able to post during that time. Things may change, but just be aware that there will probably be no posts from me next week.
It would be nice to have a new PC be a local contact who's been in place under cover for some time, or who came in with the Seventh(?) Knot, which never returned.
Maybe Rose since she's the most human looking/capable of blending in with locals?
Also worth noting that even though he serves 1. Asmodeus, 2. Cardinal Thorn et al. Albrekt is primarily a follower of Urgathoa, and it was the Pallid Princess who allowed him to rise anew as one of the Deathless and brushed with the group as she (or her proxy) did so:
The smell of death and decay fills the chapel, as Xanos' blood spills into the corpse' mouth. A throaty, female laugh bubbles out from the darkness.
"You would claim my champion, necromancer? Bypass the edicts? Rush the change? You are the ambitious one aren't you?." Another peal of seductive laughter rings out. "Oh, I think I'm going to like you. Yes, let's break some rules. But we're going to need more blood. So much more blood."
An invisible hand grips Xanos' wrist and was once a trickle of blood becomes a torrent. Albrekt's mouth fills and begins to overflow, but then the corpse swallows and then swallows again. A pale blue light begins to emanate from Albrekt. Before your eyes, his body shrivels, his skin becomes as cold white alabaster and fangs sprout in a wicked tangle from his mouth
At last, the stream of blood relents, and Xanos' arm is released. Albrekt slowly sits up. "Guard my champion well. I have plans for him."
Deviously chuckling slowly fades and silence fills the room once more, though the stench of decay remains.
Not sure how Sariana's background fits in (nor do I need to know ;) but thought it useful to show that the vampanzer is somewhat unorthodox and may not have Hell's best interests in his cold, unbeating heart lol.
As such he and Tiadora have verbally sparred on a number of occasions, and their disdain of each other is palpable.
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Xanos is a complicated dude. :)
I've been debating how much I should go back and read the thread before we get going. I kind of landed on not reading back (since Molasbar wouldn't know about the characters and their background). But that is such a cool vignette into their past! Thanks for sharing it. You set a really high bar.
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Sariana is the result of using dubious Hungry Ghost practises on a vampire repeatedly - so mildly strange herself. She's actually a second generation Xanos-ian (we might need to work on that adjective...) so Xanos seems to have his teeth/hooks/hands/blood in quite a few of us!
As to background I've set up Sari as being recently arrived - best way to introduce her is probably to arrive in town at night and have a run in with Albrekt. She knows she's looking for Asmodeans but the Cardinal may have neglected to tell her exactly who (or what) she's looking for!
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She's actually a second generation Xanos-ian (we might need to work on that adjective...) so Xanos seems to have his teeth/hooks/hands/blood in quite a few of us!
Mwa ha ha, etc.
Liking the new vibe already gang - especially with that old spider Xanos at the middle of it all lol.
@Sariana: Albrekt has been casing out the local crypts and cemeteries as he needs to nest. He's also identified the perfect feeding ground in Farholde's orphanage (but has yet to pay a "visit"). Perhaps you've been watching him having had a similar plan?
(as an aside when out and about Albrekt rarely wears the same "face"; I've a Albrekt Incognito profile (which I've posted with) and he has various aliases he runs with.
Currently he likes to investigate as either:
Opa Langenschlaf ("Grandfather Longsleep") - a doddering old sage (current mask).
Dosten, the barbaric member of the 7th Knot - to bait them and potentially frame him for crimes if uncovered.
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Liking the new vibe already gang - especially with that old spider Xanos at the middle of it all lol.
@Sariana: Albrekt has been casing out the local crypts and cemeteries as he needs to nest. He's also identified the perfect feeding ground in Farholde's orphanage (but has yet to pay a "visit"). Perhaps you've been watching him having had a similar plan?
Food and lodgings are always the first things to look for of course - so Sari will probably notice Albrekt hanging out in all the places she'd consider. Exactly how to make contact though... that's the rub! :)
I think it'd be fun if me and Molasbar were part of either the fourth or seventh knot and knew each other beforehand. More background tie ins so we're not just a bunch of strangers. Thoughts about which knot makes more sensr?
I like the idea as well, though I'm not sure which knot would make the most sense. And if Rose and Molasbar are contacts in the area already, that would give us a bit of a boost on intelligence gathering as well.
In previous campaigns, Thorn had given us iron circlets of disguise. Did that happen here as well, and if so do the newcomers have them? Or do I need to adjust my gear/skills to have a disguise kit and a better disguise skill?
Food and lodgings are always the first things to look for of course - so Sari will probably notice Albrekt hanging out in all the places she'd consider. Exactly how to make contact though... that's the rub! :)Liking the new vibe already gang - especially with that old spider Xanos at the middle of it all lol.
@Sariana: Albrekt has been casing out the local crypts and cemeteries as he needs to nest. He's also identified the perfect feeding ground in Farholde's orphanage (but has yet to pay a "visit"). Perhaps you've been watching him having had a similar plan?
If Sariana knows Dosdan, she might think he's looking for her by showing up at her resting or feeding grounds.