EGADS! You've been tricked! That wasn't a real noise!
The cloud hurries back inside and begins looking around intently.
Does it detect magic?
Salty gets mesmerized at the sight of the butterfly, an insect he is not very familiar with. He wonders at its colors and movements, and questions himself, for a second, on its culinary applications, before rejecting them. But as an alchemical ingredient? Maybe they is something there.
He gets very close to it... Maybe too close for Eliah's confort....
Eliah somehow doesn't seem to notice either the butterfly to the looming half-orc. She stirs gently, murmuring softly (maybe something about chicken pies? It's hard to hear). Her eyes almost flutter open as she turns before thumping back down onto her bedroll and snoring loudly.
Sadly, the butterfly is probably scared off.
When Eliah stir, Salty will try to grab the butterfly, or capture some from the fields, when the opportunity present itself.
The poor swarm cannot find the source at ALL!
At the inn, the rest of the night is uneventful, and the dawn comes silently and beautifully over the practically-untouched grasses.
Salty is on a good mood, and tries to be more attentive than usual to Eliah, even as he shows how lost he is far from the sea. He sure is a fish out of the water.
Eliah finally wakes, groping for her hat and overshirt before pulling off the covers. After a big yawn and a stretch, she spots her chance companion in a field a little ways off. 'What..? Oh.' Eliah realizes what the cook is actually doing, and can't help but grin. 'Yesterday he was biting off chicken heads, now he's chasing butterflies... heh. What's next?'
Eliah stands up from her bedroll, wobbling a bit before steadying herself. The ache from the cockatrice bites is still there, but she feels a bit better at least. She heads to the river to collect a bit of water for boiling, using it to rehydrate and refill her waterskin. Her stomach growls loudly as she works on starting the fire though. Digging out some salted beef from her pack, she takes a strip in her teeth then calls out to the Salty, who seems to be trying to dig up some tubers in a field of grass? 'Heh, he really is a sailor.' "Salty! Want some breakfast?" She waves one of the beef strips as she calls, the other still hanging from her mouth. "Boiling some water too, if ya need it." 'Not sure he does with that stomach though...' She thinks, chuckling to herself.
Valaravans approaches and smiles to the human.
"Salty meat! Thank you! Is one of my favorite meals. Simple, but with great taste. So... Do you recon the sea is near us? "
"Heh, I suppose you would. Didn't think of that." She chuckles.
Eliah chews thoughtfully for a moment before answering. "Hard to say. The river's still pretty small though, so I'd reckon we're closer to the source than the mouth. Still, it's better than wandering the mountains."
Tuich stands, stretches, and ambles off into the morning sun for a brief devotional.
3 (1/day) Cure Moderate Wounds
2 (2/day) Protection from Evil, Communal, Sacred Bond (DC 15)
1 (3/day) Bless, Divine Favor, Rally Point
After Max makes sure the others are up and moving around, he too wanders off the porch to begin his morning devotional. Kneeling, facing the morning sun, he pulls his bow out and lays it on the ground before him. Bowing his head, he begins to communicate with his deity.
"Lord Ragathiel, as I am just an instrument of your justice, I do not pretend to know why I might have been brought here to this place, wherever, or whenever it might be. I only ask me that you provide me your wisdom and your eye for justice and that I might bring good triumph over evil and that those who have lost their way, might find their way again, through my example. I ask that you let your eyes fall upon me and that your wings shield me in what I can only imagine will be many battles. Lead me to find what has caused the scratches and the odd feelings that it gave us."
After several moments of meditation and quiet reflection, Max stands, grabbing his bow and dusting himself off.
There aren't any grazers about, to be sure. A breeze tickles empty grasss, but it's a lovely morning.
Lupi wakes up last, her bedhead marked. She doesn't have to bother with any preparations, though to be fair, neither do the oracles.
She searches fruitlessly for leftovers from the night before before staring at the remaining two carrots on the table dubiously.
"We need more food, guys." she yawns, informing anyone who was listening. "But if you want, I can do some basic laundry today, if you don't mind running around in your skivvies..."
"Lupi if it is easier I have perfected a cantrip that will clean just about any stain while adding a slight whiff of lemon verbena. No skivvie exposure needed... unless you want." Fajra winks at Lupi while saying this.
Xarl shakes his head at the mention of food.
"I have no skill with the hunting of animals, but I also do not require food, so feel free to keep it to yourself."
"Don't require food...is this some sort of Hellknight magic? Did I miss something in my paladin studies?"
Xarl shakes his head chuckling.
"If it were Hellknight magic would you have missed it for being a paladin? No, I speak of an item gifted to me by the signifiers of my order. It allows me to function without food or water, and even feel fully rested with only two hours of sleep. The only Hellknight magic I have is the ability to see through inanimate things."
"Excellent. A boon for you then!"
"Well, it's a boon for me to worry about one less mouth. And the laundry. Ta be honest, Miss Fajrah, I thought you might think the laundry beneath you."
Lupi grins and leaves to find the partially filled-out map from the day before.
"So, that's a little more information for us. Are you guys willing to go further out on your little quest? I mean, I know Xarl doesn't have to eat, but the rest of us do, and ideally, we probably want to get to a place where there is a steady source of fish or game. Oh! And any seeds...
Not to mention, I think we need building materials to fix this place up. I'll stay here to keep making it more presentable, but, um, not alone. Pharysene has been nice enough to tell me that she'll stay with me, though."
"We'll stay too!" "Yes!" "That we will!" "Not that we have anywhere else to go..." "That's true." "An excellent point." "This really must be the Count's doing!" "But why would he bring them here too? They don't even know about him!" "Perhaps he's just messing with our mind!" "Quite likely..."
"I'll go where I am most needed, here or out there."
There's the sound of giggling in the nearby brush.
"Xarl and I will lead the exploration group. We'll try to gather some food and such."
Eliah hears the bush giggling, but keeps on their discussion about the river without much of a halt. She weaves in a few hand signals and words under her breath to Salty.
(I'll loop around the other side, let's try to corner whatever that is.)
"Well, I think I'm going to take a quick dip before we head out!" She says, slinging her pack over her shoulder. "Just give me a minute."
Eliah walks around the bush until she can hopefully cut off any escape route of... whatever is in there.
Salty assents, while moving his hand in a circle over his stomach and licking his lips, signalling his hope it is something they can eat. When (if?) Eliah gets in position he moves as quickly as he is able towards the bush, while screaming.
"Breakfast time!"
Tuich speaks up hesitantly. "I'd like to go as well, if you'll have me."
She pauses for a moment, then continues. "Max, I feel really bad about the boot thing. After neglecting my devotionals the first night here, I think my invocation brought misfortune instead of blessing you. But I feel renewed this morning, so I don't think Ashava has abandoned me... more like it was a slap on the wrist."
She looks at the floor, embarrassed. "Only it was your wrist that got slapped instead of mine. I'm sorry."
Max chortles.
"I somehow think Ashava doesn't consider me important enough to use as an object lesson. Do not worry about it. It's not the first time I've rushed a shot enough to miss so horribly. I forget that slow is smooth, smooth is fast, sometimes. Do not fret over me. I am sure even Xarl has made a bad swing here and there."
Max pauses.
"But just in case, keep your devotions correct. No need to tempt fate."
Max smiles.
Tuich nods earnestly. "Oh yes! I don't think I've ever missed a devotional before; that first night was just... well, so much happened. I shan't miss a night again!"
She looks thoughtful. "Although, I guess I'll have to learn to make tallow candles soon." Raising her voice slightly she asks, "Does anyone know how? I've read about it, but I've never actually done it."
In the bush, they find nothing but a fish skeleton and a couple dead beetles arranged in a strange pattern.
"Lupi dear! Please my parents were horrified to have a "girl", us being so useless and all.
Fajra rolls her eyes and gives a slight sigh in annoyance.
"They looked at me as no more than a tithe to the local religious sect. I may have been born with noble blood but now I am just a magic whore!"
Fajra says while smothering laughter.
"Please trust me I have done far, far worse things that were "beneath" me at the Sorceress's Gift than laundry!"
Eliah cocks her head, surprised. "Wait, what..?" She takes a moment to look around and listen before examining the scene more closely.
Knowledge = 20 + 15 = 35
There's the sound of a flutter of wings, but nothing is visual.
Salty tríes to see where the sounds comes from.
Eliah shrugs at Salty and stands up, grabbing removing the whip from her belt just in case. In a loud, clear voice, "Is someone there?" She looks around cautiously, not sure what to expect.
From the table, Kenith grunts something that sounds like an offer to do some building work at the inn.
"Good to know." Lupi says to Fajra, filling a couple of her companion's waterskeins.
"But you should go while it's still early."
---
Whatever it was is gone. Which way do you go?
"We shall be back soon."
By midday, the group manages to retrace their steps entirely. They make it back to the place by the creek and the wheat. The ground doesn't seem disturbed, and the sun beats down from a violet-tinted sky today. The creek runs from the northwest to the south, and a single bird flies overhead towards the south.
"Seems quiet today," says Tuich... er... quietly.
"I think we should probably make our way along the river. Going in that direction."
Fajra points in the north westerly direction.
Downriver, towards the sea, of course