Nothing particular really stands out along the greener path, though you do find many more tracks, most of it looks like wild life tracks. Though a few stand out to be a bit more distinguishable, the same boot prints and hoof prints as found among the junction but there was nothing indicating shuffling of the feet. Otherwise the buildings looked the same as much as the vegetation, minus the corruption.
Toyer heads back towards the group, but comes from a completely different spot than the one he left. As he steps out of the current hiding spot he says to no one in particular, "I see you soon!" and giggles to himself.
Near where the group is centered he finds a structure that seems sound in its stability and climbs to the top.
He sits down, dangles his feet, kicking them out and back reciprocally, and takes a look about the area. Every so often he chuckles, shrugs his shoulders, or whistles quietly almost as if he's having a silent conversation with someone who's not there.
Perception: 30
"Nobody make any sudden movements, and stay away from th' shadows," Tsakua says, just loud enough for everyone to hear. ""N get ready fer trouble, 'cause I think it's found us."
Getting set, Tsakua moves to some cover, so his back is against a wall. Making sure the movement is staying opposite the group from him, he also moves into the shadows.
Atop the pillar you found near the road, the climb was easy as you perched atop. You got a better view of the road and the nearby buildings. The trees were still a very impressive size, so it made it hard seeing clearly out further then a quarter of a mile when looking out to the buildings. There were many little streets overgrown or covered, many nooks and crannies for anything to hide within. Down the main roads, you have a better line of sight, down the greener path, the road bends about 100 feet and disappears, the corrupted side continues straight into what appears to be a large stone structure in the distance, covered in vines and plant growth. It seemed darker and much more gloomy down that way.
You keep catching movement in the distance down the corrupted path, though its always too quick, sudden or too far away to really pinpoint what was out there.
Down the greener path, is obviously quieter, but eerily still.
During your walks, you do not see any buildings that stood out to be an obvious smithy, poking your head into a couple of buildings didn't yield any results. It seemed like this place was picked clean, or a smithy just didn't last here as each and every building was vacant without any of its old tools, nor equipment, everything except the shell of the buildings remained. The time on the buildings were not kind but the material, much like the bridge stood against it very well, the plants on the otherhand were finding cracks to grow within and slowly pry apart pieces of the smooth stone buildings. The plants seemed to be flourishing, except in the direction of the corruption.
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After a few minutes of looking about, Toyer stops making random noises. His eyes point down the greener path, and he says loud enough for everyone to hear in a tone that would be described as curious, almost questioning, "None of the things?"
Then his gaze shifts to the corrupted path, and again speaks to no one in particular. This time, the tone is not curious, it's more ominous. He frowns and says, "All the things." He pauses for a second, then says, "I see where you live!" He doesn't speak again or make any more noise where he sits, still dangling his feet, but no longer kicking them. His eyes transfixed on one spot down the corrupted path.
Pazeek returns from his fruitless search, mildly frustrated, to find Tsakua disappeared, Toyer perched atop a pillar like a very large, very odd bird, and rest of the group ready for a possible fight. Groaning softly, Pazeek takes a few heartbeats worth of time to place a clawed hand on Gommie's shoulder while clucking and warbling softly, his other hand tracing something in the air above Gommie's head. Upon finishing with this strange action, he clucks, warbles and traces a bit more, then draws his smaller swords. A careful observer, or one versed in spells, can see that Gommie's teeth seem a bit more impressive than they previously were, while Pazeek's weapons, even the sole wooden one, take on a faint leaden sheen.
Breewyn looked around at everyone, tilting her head and listening to the murmuring around her. She narrowed her eyes some as Pazeek interacted with gommie. She relaxed when gommie made no real reaction to Pazeek. She still felt uncomfortable with the flitting shadows and the sounds that she was beginning to imagine.
"Might just be me," Tsakua says, "but I'd be feelin' a lot better if'n we could get rid o' some o' them shadows."
The large half-orc was feeling uneasy in the absence of a clear opponent he could punch or kick. That, and whatever they were looking at just wasn't staying still for very long made him antsy.
Ira nodded to Pazeek in thanks. She cast her own spell upon Gommie, speaking words of protection in Sylvan. The air shimmered around Gommie as a invisible shield settled around him. The kitsune knelt down, readying an arrow. Whatever was out there was waiting for them to make the move. She wanted to be ready for it...
As the party stills and readies for combat, the shadows movements were beginning to become more dispersed and occurred less often until they shadows stilled. A couple of minutes passed and there was no more movement. Though the feeling of something watching you was still present, nothing else happened. No attack, no disturbance, just the silence of the ruins. Even the wind has stilled.
As the tension builds, only to come to naught, Pazeek grumbles angrily, his claws tightening on the hilts of his weapons. "The last time I was teased to such an extent, I at least had the pleasure of drinking the beer the barmaid was serving in the process," he says to nobody in particular as he stares intently at the ruined buildings in the area. Then, with a chuckle, he sheathes his weapons and adds, "And her sister was more than willing to follow through on her own offers, so it wasn't a complete wash."
Looking to Tsakua and Octavian, he waves a hand back in the direction from which the group came. "I don't know about anyone else, but I've had just about enough of this damn place for a good long while. I'm past ready to return to camp, if we're done here?" With an expression now soured by the memory of the day's events, Pazeek continues under his breath, half to himself. "Traded a fine hippogriff for two golems and a great big bunch of nothing. A piss poor bargain by any reckoning."
"I'd like nuthin more," Tsakua responds, "But it'd mean returnin' empty handed, and leavin' whatever's out there waitin' fer us or t'follow us back t'camp." Looking around, feeling the silence, he lowers his voice.
"If'n we leave now, I'd think we'd be followed. They've been pretty safe so far, back t'the camp, n' I don't feel like bein' the one responsible fer bringin' danger back to'em." Looking at Pazeek, he adds "An' don't you act like you're the only one what's lost somethin'," he gruffs. "We've all lost friends'n family t'things far worse'n one o' those golems. At least yer pet had a fightin' chance." Tsakua's tone is gruff, but it isn't condescending or hostile.
Stretching, Tsakua takes a look at the sky. "If'n we leave an' try t'come back later, we might find more surprises waitin' fer us. Best thing t'do is prob'ly press on an' find somethin' worth using."
Breewyn fidgets uncomfortable off to one side, listening the exchange back and forth between Pazeek and Tsakua. She couldn't shake the feeling of being watched, though everytime she jerked her head to look over in wone direction or another, she saw flitting shadows at the edge of her viision. She though for a moment, and tried to look sideways, focusing more on the edges of her vision or trying to concentrate on the peripheral, instead of looking directly around.
She looks back to the others, piping up. "Should we get going? Where to friends?" She asked hopeful to move away from the decayed plants and stillness in the air.
Breewyn started to become a little curious about the vibrant and healthy looking plants. She stepped closer to some of them and started examine the foliage. She attempted to recall upon her experiences growing up and try to identify if why they were so vibrant was a result of magic or just natural lush growth.
Wanting to see if he can get a response from the shadows, Tsakua picks up a chunk of rock and chucks it at where he thinks the shadows will be appearing. He stops short of closing his eyes before throwing, but is throwing towards his peripheries, since that's the only place he's noticed the shadows.
As you studied the more vibrant plants, you notice that the soil was fertile enough for the vegetation to grow so numerous and large. As you inspect it the foliage even closer, you do sense traces of the ether within the plants. It was similar to the Treant before, where they are feeding off the latent eldritch magic that lays within the ruins.
The rock penetrated the shadows of the ruins. You can hit the rock hit the buildings stone with a loud crack before tumbling down to the ground. Nothing else happened, the shadows that moved do not seem to be there or either they are immune to physical objects. The area is still eerily quiet.
Breewyn turns and calls out to octavian. "ummm, octavian? Did you notice something off about these plants? It's like that tree thing from before that we blew up..." She fidget some as she tells him, a mixture of excitement and worry making her tingle all over.
Toyer leans over a bit looking at Breewyn after she makes her comment. He leans a bit too far and proceeds to fall. As he topples his foot happens to catch a crack in the pillar pushing his knee up to his face, eliciting the golgi tendon reflex response that involuntarily kicks his leg out springing him away from the pillar he was tumbling down. As he arcs through the air he collides with a dense vine hanging off one of the nearby buildings. It cushions his impact and the friction slows his descent. He still falls, but he is being rolled along the vine from the friction of all the leaves and plants. He reaches the ground and is put into a roll that winds up putting him on his feet taking a few steps forward without trying before the momentum is spent and he's left standing right behind Breewyn completely unharmed. He wobbles on his feet for a second from all the spinning, then quietly chuckles to himself "Hehe," before leaning over Breewyn's shoulder to look at the plants she was talking about. "What'cha lookin' at?"
She blinks at the display. "did you just...? No you couldn't possibly..." She was very confused, but it did partly confirm for her that there was something unnaturally strange about their new halfling friend. Too many coincidences just happened for it to be nothing, and this very fact troubled her greatly. She snapped out of her idle thoughts for a brief moment. "these plants are feeding on some form of magical power, they are far too lush for it to be natural growth." She bit her lip gently, as she was pondering and considering possible things they could have fed on to make them so vibrant.
"I agree with you Pazeek, we will return in a moment. Show me little one." Octavian says as he kneels to get a closer look at what Breewyn was pointing at.
As you inspect the plants further with the help of Breewyn, you realize that the mythic energies are acting as a nutrient, almost a supplement to the plants. The soil was rich with the energy and could be better turned into incredible soil to farm within in. From what you gather it wouldn't be dangerous to eat the plants, the lush ones that is. The plants seem to have become much like super plants. They are, in all purposes, identical to any other average plant but their size and the eldritch magic flowing through them, at least from an external, non invasive study.
The plants soil may be useful for farming if the ruins becoming a permanent home, though transporting may render the soil to just be as average as any other soil.
The wizard was silent as he ran his hands over the healthy plants and pondered the possibilities. Multiple scenarios ran through his head but were jolted to stillness when he glanced over at the pathway with corrupted plants. Whatever possibilities there would have to wait for nothing could be accomplished in the presence of such a powerful undead aura. "It has possibilities Breewyn but that will have to wait for another time. Let us return to our camp so that we may discuss this in relative safety. My most powerful spells were used up in that trap and we have wounded amongst us. I believe staying just to find something tangible as a reward is foolish. We gained much knowledge in a short time and that in itself is a great reward." he said.
He stood up and started back the way they came, only pausing long enough to see if anyone wanted to argue their departure. If no such challenge arose he would continue his trek. Once they travel over the bridge he would pull out the map he created to lead the party on a roundabout path back to the camp in an effort to lose any anyone that might be following.
Toyer yawns briefly, and falls in line behind Octavian. This time he doesn't slink off, he simply follows the man.
Tsakua waits for a little bit, lagging behind the group as a rearguard. Before leaving, he picks up a sharper chunk of stone and uses it to carve the outline of a diamond on one if the walls. Smiling to himself, having made his declaration to the invisible watcher, Tsakua hurries to catch up with the group.
With the decision apparently made to return to camp, Pazeek takes position at the group's tail, and begins to obscure the evidence of their movement; he is fully in agreement with Octavian about not wanting any surprise visitors tailing them to their home. The work is time-consuming, but Pazeek considers it worth the extra effort, and it seems to be successful, as far as he can tell.
The group has made there way back to the bridge in a short amount of time, with Pazeek trailing as he covered the tracks quite successfully. Though if Pazeek were to check in on the body of Sharpfeather, he would find the body gone, completely and without much of a trace.
When you arrive back at the camp, you notice it was still bustling with activity. You were actually greeted by one of the camp scouts, giving you a small clip of detail of what has been done since your absence. The elf wouldn't stick around and continued his job of making sure the perimeter was secure.
The short rampart the dwarves were busy working upon has been finished, securing the collapsed wall of the small manor. The two gates are now under construction. The scouts have not found anything of interest, but the hunters have secured another bounty for the nights meal. With Visiarra in charge of the others, they have cleaned the place up quite well, removing most of the rubble and securing the tarps that were strung up by Jietin and the others. She could be found busying herself with some equipment for the others. All the kobolds, except the cook Kitha, were still gone. Ishak has apparently taken them on a further expedition out towards the east.
Most occupants were quite busy with their tasks that the group wouldn't be approached by any members yet. The sun was past its zenith and was already on its way to setting, casting a golden glow about the camp. Besides the activity and noises from the camp, the surrounding ruins were still and quiet, much like before.
As soon as they arrived Octavian would inform the presumed guard captain about their encounter and his suspicions about the presence of undead in the ruins as well as the sudden disappearance of Sharpfeather's body. He would order that the guard be doubled as night falls and large fires be lit to give them plenty of light to see by. Once that was done he would direct any of the other's in the camp to see to his companions wounds before motioning Jietin over to one of the tables. "I'm going to enhance your weapon to be stronger against undead."
When the berserker handed over his weapon the wizard would place it on the table before going over to their supplies and grabbing 2 pieces of adamantium and a piece of the black iron. With a piece of charcoal he would write a circle of arcane glyphs on the table and place the greatsword inside. Lastly he retrieved a hammer from the materials and began the spell and muttered an incantation that surrounded his hands with a familiar blue glow.
For the next hour he hammered away at the glowing weapon. Although he didn't have a proper forge the blade still shifted under his blows. At the end of the spell he dropped the adamantium and black iron into the glowing bar of light that rippled like liquid for several more minutes before resuming hammering.
When he stepped away the wizard was panting and coated with sweat but he grinned as he picked up the finished blade. Although he had spent the past hour hammering away at it the blade was cool to the touch and had acquired a dark shimmer to it's metal. He returned the blade to Jietin and said "Now it will aid you fighting undead and also will cut through wood and metal like they were human flesh."
Pazeek spends the bulk of the voyage back to camp in a contemplative silence as he continues minimizing the evidence of the party's presence. The disappearance of Sharpfeather's body, with none of the expected signs of scavenger activity, was quite worrisome. Upon returning to the camp, Pazeek takes a moment to get a bit of something to eat--this evening's offering is some sort of stew--then finds a comfortable spot to occupy high up in of the nearby trees while he eats. Enjoying the view his perch grants him, he spends a bit of time after his dinner rounding up some odds and ends to turn his perch into a tidy little nest of sorts, with a hammock to sleep in and a set of small bags and platforms secured to the branches around the hammock to hold his gear. A waxed canvas tarp strung over the whole assemblage to hopefully keep most of the rain off and grant some extra shade completes his work.
Satisfied with his efforts, and finding himself in a slightly better frame of mind as a result, Pazeek decides to look into the enhancements his weapons will need if they are to be effective against potential undead foes. He wanders through the camp until he finds Octavian, just as the spellcaster is apparently finishing up whatever he was doing with Jietin's sword. Pazeek looks on with a curious eye as he notes the blade's new appearance, wondering what the actual effect will be. "Interesting work there, but what's it do," the tengu asks intently. As he listens to Octavian's explanation, Pazeek casts a discerning eye at the materials available, mind already considering possibilities for other enhancements.
The blade Octavian crafted together was of excellent quality. Due to his experience and expertise he was able to push the blade beyond its known capabilities. The blade was a magnificent piece of work.
The one who was designated as a the Guard Captian was a female Aasimar Ala'na. She took note of the orders and immediately went about informing those who were charged in defending the camp to make preparations.
As Octavian is explaining to the guard captain Toyer stands nearby at the edge of their periphery singing loudly enough for the two to hear, but not directly talking to them. He sings out, "They dance and play..." Toyer disappears into the brush mid-line
and reappears in another location, but still at the periphery of Octavian's and the guard captain's vision, "And dash all about!" all in a mimic of what the shadows were doing to reinforce Octavian's description.
Performance complete, he heads over to where the food is being cooked to sit patiently next to the food, cross-legged, and smiling at the chef as he waits for dinner to finish.
Ira moves about, helping the camp folk prepare dinner. She chats up the scouts as they return, sharing a kinship. She stopped by to watch Octavian's mastery at work. She admitted she was totally enthralled by his skills, "That is amazing work, good sir." Her little bow suddenly felt very inadequate.
the vixen stopped to listen to Toyer's performance. She gave a little clap as he ended up next to her, "That was quite deft! How do you accomplish such tricks?"
"It's all in the feet!" he says as he grabs her hand and twirls with her a couple of times in his dance. As spin ends he says, "They're very special feet, my fine foxlady friend!" while wiggling the toes. He then looks down at his feet with a fondness, "Always there when I need them!"
Breewyn sat off to one side in the camp, her mind going over and over the events as they played out in her head. She watched octavian craft a mighty fine weapon for jietin and pazeek express curiosity and admiration for his work. She saw iraldia move around the camp comfortable with the others and also remark on the sword. She Toyer do his dance and iraldia getting pulled into it.
She smiled, she giggled, but ultimately she was once again lost in her thoughts. The bridge, the decaying plants, the magically nourished plants...Something didn't add up and whatever fate was toying with her gave her chills.
Ira laughed as she was swept up into Toyer's dance. She found him strange and a little off, but his was a harmless chaos and she needed to let go.
The sun is beginning to sink into the trees far off, the light slowly fading from the world. The guards, most of the ex-slaves had already equipped any arms and armor they found and were standing absolute. Large bonfires have been lit around the manor, a few outside the south barricade, and two at each entrances, the north and west respectively.
Concerning, the kobolds have not returned to the camp yet, Ishak and at least three other kobolds were unaccounted for. Serin has been mending his wounds off to the side, but stubborningly posted himself guard at the northern entrance with two others, including Luca.
A few others posted themselves on the new barricade the dwarves had built, and two more posted themselves at the west entrance. There was only an hour or two left of dim daylight before night encroached.
Visiarra has made it known she was able to fit work on some enhancement for the group. Targen was already making rounds, wrapping and bandaging any wounds.
While watching with considerable interest as Octavian uses his amazing abilities to improve the weapons set before him, Pazeek finally takes time to attend to the injuries he'd suffered during the fight at the bridge. Digging the components of a compact, but quite comprehensive healer's kit out of his equipment, Pazeek quite handily treats himself, a skill developed by necessity during his time traveling with only Sharpfeather.
Breathing a bit easier now that the various abused parts of his body have received care, Pazeek turns to the task of improving his own weapons. Finding a clear bench to work at, he lays them out carefully and begins considering what he has to work with. As he thinks, he is struck by the strange but absolute certainty that he can, if pressed to do so, imbue these weapons with potent magic, given time. Further thought makes him equally certain that he can go a step a further, and actually create a variety of magically potent tools and equipment, if need be. Pazeek doesn't know how he knows this to be so--he never took the time to learn such esoteric arts, even when he had the opportunity--but he has a growing suspicion that the strange burst of energy he encountered in the forest is somehow responsible for this knowledge.
As the battle ends, Jietin pants heavily, leaning on his greatsword and tossing his head to clear the last flickers of red. He nods wordlessly to Octavian's warning, keeping an eye out until they start leaving.
As Octavian starts talking about working new metal into his blade, Jietin scoffs. "That ain't how metal works. Gotta put it in when you make it." All the same he hands over his weapon. Not that he understands what the hell is going on with magic anyways, so who is he to judge? He starts watching on his feet, but after ten minutes of hammering it appears this was going to take a while and finds a log. He sits down nearby, watching with curiosity but not really understanding what's going on. Eventually he starts drifting off and thinking about some of the places he's worked at. Where he has slaved and toiled away, the people he's met, the people he's hit, the times that he has struggled and bled and sweated...
Octavian's call jumps him out of his daydreaming as he realizes the hammering has stopped. He stands with a dull grunt, stretching out his stiff legs. He looks at the blade with surprise, then awe. "Damn. If that ain't gorgeous..." He runs the blade up his hand. "Oi, shit!" He flicks the blood away and swears again, placing his cut flesh against his shirt. "Gods be damned that is sharp." He takes a few experimental chops with it, a grin spreading across his face. "It's heavier." He makes a vicious uppercut and grins. "I like heavy, hard to turn aside. Better at cutting through shields and guards." He puts the weapon on his back, wrapping up his hand in a torn bit of shirt. Then he makes eye contact with Octavian, a new respect and trust in his eyes. "Thank you...Octavian. It feels good to have a real weapon."
The Black Greatsword: +2 Enhancement Bonus, 2d6 standard. Bane against Undead: +2 Additional Enhancement Bonus & +2d6 Additional DMG when attacking Undead
For the rest of the day, Jietin wanders about the camp edges, keeping an eye out here and there and taking some experimental swings with his new blade.
Thomen approaches one of the leaders.
=>Toyer
Thomen, a blond dwarf in a blue breastplate which seems a bit slim for a dwarf, approaches Toyer with a dubitative expression on his face.
-Excuse me, sir... nice performance! Um... I... just wanted to ask... there was a human here with you, one holy warrior called Serin...- He doesn't statter, but seems to choose his words carefully. -Do you have any news of his whereabouts? He was... showing me some techniques, you know...
Thorin tries to be polite, but he ends up being shy.
-Uhm... also... uhm... if any of you need some caring... I guess I could be of some help... uhm... yes...
Octavian had eaten dinner, written the days' events into his journal and turned in early. If something was going to do down he wanted to be well rested. Right now he was curled in a blanket along the back wall with his back to the opening, snoring lightly.
Toyer has his standard eyes-half-open with a small smile on his face as the dwarf approaches him. He's looking off into the distance, not seeming to notice that the dwarf has come up to him. As Thomen asks his question, Toyer slowly turns his head to meet the dwarf's face and the small smile grows. With teeth showing in a grin Toyer reaches out and starts ruffling Thomen's beard as he finishes his sentence. He laughs and says, "I like your beard!"
Toyer turns and starts skipping toward the manor without saying anything. Anyone might think he has completely ignored the question about Serin. Toyer stops a few feet shy of the manor and turns back around, skips back to the dwarf, grabs his hand, and begins skipping back toward the walls of the manor dragging the dwarf along.
He pulls the dwarf up to Serin, then lets go of his hand. Sractches the beard one more time and giggles as he dances back toward where dinner is being made.