Ribat stares blankly at the sky after hearing Paulina's story. When Nathaniel makes his suggestion, Ribat says, "Sleep? That's the best idea I have heard all night! I know my swamps, and I know how to turn a profit in the darkwood business, but this talk of other worlds? Well, maybe it will make more sense after I sleep on it. Until the morn, sirs and madams."
Friday Morning, in the town of Connie’s Bright
It is a cool morning, with grey cloudy skies.
The night before a group of people who had met for the first time, not bothering to make any plans, went off each on their own and found a place to sleep for the night.
The beach has been cleared of the zombies and skeletons that attacked the night before.
It is a new day.
Tessrimea wakes up early, and is careful not to wake Nathaniel and Paulina. It turned out, after Tessrimea asked Paulina bout the possibility of there being no rooms available in the inn, what with all those strangers from the ship that arrived late last night all needing a room, that Paulina had a spare room in her home here in the town and offered it to Tess and Nathaniel.
Nathaniel had been a perfect gentleman and insisted that Tess sleep in the small bed, while he slept on the floor.
When she finished her morning meditations, Tess searched through Paulina’s kitchen and found a few vegetables and some cheese, eggs and bread in the pantry in a strange tall white box that was sealed and maintained a cool temperature inside. Obviously this Dwarven woman had access to some powerful magic, what with this strange ice box and her remembering flail.
Nathaniel rose when he smelled the spices and aroma of toasted bread, and Paulina soon was up as well.
When the three had finished their morning meal, it was Tess who was the first to broach the difficult subject of what was going to be the next thing they planned to do
I’m not sure if we should try to contact the others we met last night, or set out on our own. But I think, the first thing we need to do is follow the trail of those monsters back into the moor to try and find out where they came from and who sent them.
When Ribat awakens, he heads down to the bar to get breakfast. After eating he sticks around, hoping some of his new-found friends will come in.
I'm not sure what happened last night, but I know I'm way out of my league. I need to finish my route and get back home at some point, but I dare not travel alone if there are more of those...things...about.
Xor wakes up and heads down for a breakfast of meat and ale, his head still pounding not from drink but from the speech that Paulina gave
Friday Morning, in the town of Connie’s Bright (Day 1)
Two Barrels Tavern is opened for business. Nigel is seated at a table in the corner, and he is being cared for by his niece, Kathryn.
Meanwhile, Nigel’s nephew, Kelly, supervises a crew of young boys who are cleaning up the floor and serving trays of morning rolls, jams, jellies, cooked eggs and ham, to those few people up bright and early (mostly local men and women who make a living by catching fish, or collecting lobsters and crabs). Two women sit at a table and discuss, loudly, the loss of one of their boats to a mysterious fire.
Ribat and Xor arrive and decide to sit together and take a small meal. The coffee is hot and full of flavor, with an aroma that hints at cinnamon and orange.
Nigel insists that Kelly serve the two without charging them for anything, other than the coffee (which is a rare imported delicacy) and a full pot will cost them two silver pieces.
Well, before we do anything stupid, I think we should check in on Nigel. Then pick up some supplies, and find someone who can track Zombies or Skeletons,Paulina says.
One thing is certain. What I've told the two of you, is going to get me into trouble, eventually, and probably put before a review board, which means I can kiss any promotion this year goodbye. Unless we can gather some hard evidence about the nature of these inter-dimensional incursions, I'm screwed.
Nathaniel looks sideways at Tessrimea, and then smiles at Paulina, and says, Maybe it would be better if you said these things to yourself, for a while. I don’t want to see you, or anyone get into trouble with the people we are supposed to be working on behalf of or for the good of, but honestly, Paulina, I’ve got no idea what you are talking about half the time.
He checks his gear, and then marches to Paulina's front door and says with a smile, Let's get over to Two Barrels, and then we'll make a plan from there.
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The morning light seems to withdraw significantly from the stairway as Sasithorn finally makes his way down to breakfast (he'd been looking forward to seeing it less than it would have been to see him - the Wayang do not normally operate on quite the same schedule as more light-loving races, but a diplomat learns to compromise). He spots Ribat and Xor, and the shadow that had up till now centered on the stairs passes briefly over the bar as he makes his way to their table. He takes a seat and gives them an unexpectedly bright smile.
"What shall we have, gentlefolk? The adventure of an era, possibly?"
Marvin does not know how they found themselves to be using a musket and gunpowder, nor that it was not supposed to work, but they put that question in the background for the meantime.
The android had arrived in the Two Barrels Tavern for sustenance earlier, waking in the inn nearby precisely after the required rest hours. Already finished with their breakfast, a light meal containing everything required for ongoing optimal operation and shunning the coffee in favor of fruit juice, Marvin waits.
Eventaully, some of the others arrive, and the android invites them to share the table. They do the same for anyone else new arriving, but does not start any conversation, creating an awkward atmosphere unless someone else speaks up.
Diarmal sleeps far longer than he had expected - perhaps the night before had taken more out of him than he'd thought, or the unexpected arrival of his cousin had kept his mind active and wandering through the night. Even his dreams were strange, thoughts of living shadows and blinding light - and, perhaps most worrying - a disconnection from Lady Aisling. That moment stuck with him, even more than the strange things that Paulina had spoken of.
What could possibly disconnect a goddess from the material world?
After gathering his things, and hurries to the Two Barrels Tavern, hoping that nothing too important had happened in his absence. He walked in just as Sasithorn gave a wide smile.
The adventure of an era, possibly?
Matching the man's smile, Diarmal joined his new companions at the table. Regretfully, he didn't see his cousin among them. His heart sank. Was fate so cruel as to part two newly rejoined kinsmen? He could only pray Aisling would see their paths interwoven once more.
"Adventure, you say? It certainly seems as though we've all stumbled into something far greater than we could have ever imagined - and I, for one, am wholeheartedly aboard. But where do we even begin?"
"With breakfast," Marvin deadpans.
Day 1, Friday, Morning, Two Barrels tavern
Ribat and Xor enjoy a few moments of quiet, contemplating the strange events and where life might take them next, when Nathaniel, Paulina, and the beautiful Tessrimea enter the tavern. Nigel, offers more food, and leaves the five of you alone.
When Nathaniel has finished expressing his confusion about Paulina, he fills his plate and takes a cup. He fills the cup half way with coffee, and then adds another half of a cup of cream. Paulina watches this and asks him, ”Do you always drink your coffee with that much cream?”
Nathaniel takes a deep drink from the cup and says, ”Usually. I love the taste of coffee, but it wrecks my digestion something awful.”
Paulina pours a full cup of the aromatic and dark coffee, smells the steam rising from the cup, and says, ”Ah, this place has the best coffee in the galaxy. I just hope that word doesn’t get out.”
Nathaniel smiles, but his eyes show he is as puzzled as always by her strange comments.
Sasithorn enters the tavern, followed closely by the coppery haired individual called Marvin.
Sasithorns mood is light but Marvin seems distracted, his attitude almost coming off as aloof.
Diarmal arrives just in time to hear Sasithorn mention the possibility of an adventure. When Diarmal inquires as to where they might start, the table is quiet, only for a moment, until the taciturn Marvin quips, ”With breakfast.”
Tessrimea giggles and Nathaniel beams a smile.
”With breakfast indeed,” Nathaniel says filling his plate again. As he pokes at well cooked eggs, and breaking bits of bacon with his fork, he looks around at the few people gathered at the table.
”Maybe introductions would be in order. We all got to meet in dark and perilous circumstances the night before, but let’s get to know each other better, and see what kind of commitment we are willing to make. First off, My name is Nathaniel Artegal Boote, and I’m from the town of Wellspring, that’s in Eshia, near the north fork of the Blossom River. I’m on a leave of absence from my duties as a Guard of the Tomb of the Lady of Mittonwir, among my kin this is a great honor, and the leave I’ve taken is granted to young men and women in my place to seek out , well, I don’t need to go on about myself. I came here following my older brother, Thomas, Tommy Boote, when I heard he had a run in with the Blackwater Bullywugs who live west of here. Since I came to this town I’ve heard some terrible rumors, but no word about Tommy. I’ve spoken to the Shire Reeve in this town, and he strikes me as a man who won’t approve of us taking matters into our own hands. This is troubling for me, as I a man who has dedicated himself to the law, but maybe the group of us can sway him, make him see reason. I’m all for us going together in an expedition into the moors of Blackwater and the Shadow Moor, as what I’ve heard is it is not a safe place for individuals or even small groups. There’s strength in numbers, and we count as, one two, three…” he points around the table at each of you, ”Eight, a good lucky number.”
”Well,” Paulina says leaning back in her chair, ”As I was saying before the rest of you arrived. I’m already committed. I need to get information, and normally I’d try to do that on my own, but with there already being so many cats out of the bag, I’m in with the rest of you. My name is Paulina Southmiller, and I was born on Lighthouse, that’s a space sta… never mind. I’m not from around here, okay. I’ve got some experience with tracking in the wilderness, some survival training, and some skills in recognizing dangerous plants and animals. I’d like to say I’ve got access to some gear that we might need, but I’m going to have to give that some careful thought before I make a decision. I don’t want to end up on prison barge for four to ten years because I thought we needed a camp stove.”
Tessrimea looks pained for a moment, then lowers her head and says softly, ”There was a woman, a girl, in my family, many years ago, who ran away from home, because she felt her parents did not understand her. She found herself dancing, for money, and singing in a tavern very much like this one, on the north coast of Vologna. There were, people, bad people, they are known to your kind as Yaun-ti, but to our people we know them by other names, names we don’t like to speak. There has always been, trouble between our kinds. We, the Gymnagaopthians, are lizard-folk, while the Yaun-ti are snake-folk. The differences are subtle, but important. You see, there was a Yaun-ti woman, a priestess, who desired this Gymnaga girl, as a lover, and in order to keep her people safe from harm, the Gymnaga girl fled. She would have been given, as a bride to the Yaun-ti, by her parents, if she stayed, and some of my people have said that this would have been not such a terrible thing. But, anyway, this Gymnaga girl fled, to Vologna, and lived there for a while, until, until the Yaun-ti priestess came to the village, and in her anger at being denied, she killed a lot of innocent people who were trying to protect the Gymnaga girl.”
Tess straightens up, and then speaks with more conviction. ”I have joined an order of followers of our goddess dedicated to protecting the memory of this Gymnaga girl, and as a way of showing our remorse for the suffering of the Volognans, we are, as priests and priestesses dedicated to helping people in need, people searching for lost relatives, and people trying to stop oppression. I came here looking for a purpose. Nathaniel, I will help look for your brother, and Paulina, I will help you find your answers. Purpose, has found me.”
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Diarmal solemnly bows his head at the recitation of Tessrimea's tale.
"Then it sounds as though you and I have much in common, Tessrimea. I am unsure if everyone got my name in the chaos last night - I am of the Illsutra clan, the nomad priest Diarmal. I hail from the lands of the Drasbians, a land of highlands and moors, clan and honor. I could never imagine letting a kinsman suffer a tutelage hardly differentiable from slavery. You and your people have done her memory a great honor, and I am sure she knows this - wherever her soul now rests."
He pauses, looking over the table at Paulina. His head starts a slow, instinctive shake as he ponders her tale. "And you're a strange one, lass. But I respect ye spirit, too." Grabbing one of the nearby plates, Diarmal begins to shovel a hearty breakfast into his gullet. "Best eat up then - sounds like Nathaniel here's got quite a journey planned for us."
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"I need to head west anyway. I might as well do it in the company of friends. As Nathaniel says, it's better to travel in groups."
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Xor burps loudly and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand.
Well...Wot are we waitin for
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Marvin nods, registering the information into their database. When it seems that their turn for introductions has come, they speak but their voice shifts on certain words.
"This unit is of designation DATA CORRUPTED, class variant M.A.R.V.I.N., manufactured on DATE UNKNOWN at LOCATION UNKNOWN. Production number DATA CORRUPTED. Specifications are not for public release. For information on this unit and its purpose, please contact DATA CORRUPTED. If unable to be reached, please DATA CORRUPTED. Agent Southmiller of the Interplanetary Relief Society is currently registered as the local contact point. We at DATA CORRUPTED look forward to working with you. Remember: The best way to predict the future is to create it."
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Sasithorn says the following almost as if he's said it in precisely this fashion a hundred times. "Sasithorn Xuwicha Thaang Loom, of the House Thaang Loom - roughly translated to Basconde, it means 'escape from a black hole.' How that came to be the family mantle has passed into deepest shadows of fable, of course, but I can't say I don't come from a long line of accomplished courtiers, occultists, and others who made names for themselves by skirting the impossible." For a moment he turns aside, and his face rapidly flashes through shades of wistful, then pensive, then sad, then troubled, and abruptly back to gregarious enthusiasm. "Be that as it may: My people, the Wayang, define themselves as a people In Shadow, the dissident Eysterlun whom Iekah Does Not See - we shall discover if that becomes important somehow, what with this phenomenon with Kantov's Bane - and I was bred to be one of this Invisible Empire's most distinguished agents. However...it always seemed to me that there had come to be an unacceptable amount which most Wayang have come 'not to see;' did not a powerful jester once say, 'deep inside every cynic is a disappointed idealist?' So, malcontent that I was, I volunteered - volunteered, mind you! - for the ambassadorial corps, to dive into the Abyss that I may someday wash up on the Shore of Wonder. And so it was I made my way to the lands of the Basconde, where I was invited, perhaps as a sort of exotic party favor, to the wedding festivities of..." Sasithorn's voice starts trailing off, and a strange look comes to his eyes. "...and the boat...and the...did anyone else survive?...and those paraelementals..." He steals a sudden glance at Tessrimea before his gaze drifts into nothing and his voice becomes steadily softer. "50 years?...and what happened to all that gold?" His wide grin returns. "Thaang Loom indeed." His eyes abruptly turn to the the coffee pot, as though it had just rudely interrupted him. He gently lifts the lid and sniffs. "This is good kāfæ." He calls out to Nigel. "Where exactly is this from?"
Day 1, Friday, Morning, Two Barrels tavern
Nigel yells over across the tables of the room, apparently able to hear Sisithorn’s question
It’s from the South Eastern lands of Anthandra. I traded a cask of Eshian Whiskey for twenty five pounds of the beans and the secret to roasting them to perfection
Paulina listens closely to Marvins words, and frowns when he is finished.
Damn, that’s a shame, and very strange to boot. I’m not familiar with older models like yours, but I’ve never heard of a corruption so bad before that didn’t impair basic decision making. You seem to have lost a pretty specific block of data. Tell me, Marvin, can you remember anything about how you came to be here, now?”
Nathaniel finishes his food and then wipes his mouth with a cloth set on the table.
Well, what are we waiting for? Is everyone equipped for a jaunt in the wilderness for a couple of weeks?
Raht, Let's get movin, awl this talk is makin my head hurt
In response to Nathaniel's question, Ribat scratches his chin. "I have enough preserved foodstuffs to last almost a week without supplementing them. Do you think there will be sufficient game along the way to eke out my supply, or should I purchase more provender?
Marvin tells Paulina, "This unit walked along the rim of a vast canyon. Specific measurements were not recorded, but the climate was hot and dry. There was a constant wind. No further information available. This unit then moved barrels at a port and a few coins were gained in exchange. A ticket was bought for a ship going north. No further information available."
Diarmal sighs. "Lad, your story keeps getting stranger and stranger. I'm with Xor - let's get a move on before all this talk causes permanent damage. I've got enough rations for a few days, and if the trails out to the moors are anything like the ones I traveled on to get here, there should be plenty of opportunity to track down a meal."
He glanced around the table, then quickly amended his thought."A'course, might be a little different if we're trying to feed a small army."
Day 1, Friday, Morning, Two Barrels tavern
I will begin tracking time in a unit I call "turns". a Turn is ten minutes, there are 144 turns in a day. Midnight to 12:10 am is turn 1
Nigel, sitting at a table in the corner, tells Kelley, his nephew, to pack a small sack full with yesterdays rolls, and all the Cheese that is left on the shelf in the basement cupboard.
Then let’s meet on the west edge of the village, by the bridge that crosses the stream. I’ll gather my things, and see you all there as soon as I can get there.
Xor heads over to the west part of town, rocks in hand ready to go
Ribat gathers his things and heads to the rendezvous point.
If Nigel has anything left in store that he's willing to trade away, Diarmal will also chip in for 5s worth of rations.
In either case, Diarmal quickly gathers his pack and joins the others, ready for adventure.
Nigel leaves the room suddenly, and then returns in a moment carrying a small leather shoulder sack, and says
I never had a chance to thank you folks properly for saving my life. Here take this, it belonged to my sister. She was an adventurer, like you folks, always going off looking for people to help in their time of need. This sack is enchanted and will hold more than it looks like it should be able to hold. Use it well, and may your journey be a successful one no matter where it takes you. I’ll never forget what you did for me, for us.
the party now has a Bag of Holding, who will carry it?
Day 1, Friday: turn 80
In just a short while a small group of strangers gather at a bridge west of the village.
It is a simple bridge, the supports in the creek are made of natural, not worked, but well fitted stones, and the bridge itself is made of strong wooden planks.
Across the bridge, to the west are a few small farms and homesteads, with fences for cows and pigs, and then just a little beyond that lies the land known as the Shadow Moor
The Shadow Moor is a inhospitable place of tall heavy leafed trees dripping with vines and mosses, pools of brackish water, and streams that wander in impossible to map courses. The land is mostly flat, but there are small hills scattered throughout the Moor, and it is said that there are even ruins out there.
Ruins, they say, that date back to a time when there was a river, further to the west that carried the runoff of the mountain rain and snow to the shore and the land here was dry. But the River bed rose, no one knows why, and the waters flowed across the fields turning the once dry and fertile land into a cold swampy expanse that stretches for dozens of miles to the north and is almost six miles wide.
But what are those ruins? Some say there is a castle ruin out there, others say no, that it was a walled town, while still others claim the ruins are several small watch towers once inhabited by ancient Elven Clans.
Nathaniel, Tess, and Paulina, join Sasithorn, Diarmal, Ribit, Xor, and Marvin as they cross the bridge, with no particular marching order. To any casual observer they resemble a lose band of friends heading out into the country.
Marvin looks around, assessing the situation. "The attackers of the night before came from this direction. Confirm?"
"I believe so, Marvin. I may be able to pick up their trail."
Day 1, Friday: turn 81
The party walks at not to brisk a pace toward the west, pointing occasionally at the farm houses and fields, the different members of the group question each other about their knowledge of this area and it soon becomes clear that none of them has ever been here before.
Even Paulina admits she never tavelled this direction, but has been to the north of the village a few times.
Slowing their pace even more the group spreads out. They form a crude line from north to south and walk slowly, looking for clues.
"I believe I have found something, friends. These appear to be skeleton footprints; I am certain that they were made by the creatures we encountered last night," Ribat says.
Ribat turns to face his companions. "Come on, let us go.". He then starts following the trail of footprints, his eyes alert for signs of trouble.
"Excellent!" Diarmal finds himself pleasantly surprised with the resourcefulness of the small frog-ish fellow. It reminded him a bit of Rydwen back when they were kids. She'd been able to follow a deer for days without losing its trail, and it always amazed him. If Lady Aisling had taken his kinsman off on another path, then he was glad to have crossed paths with Ribat.
"I agree, we'd best keep moving. There's no telling what's out here. Could be more of those beasties lurking about."
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Sasithorn has been making a habit of trying to stay in the shade provided by his taller companions' shadows, and his mind has been oddly preoccupied with wistful thoughts of exotic fruit and fresh-caught crab....
For the time being, his Eysterlun dissociative tendencies are demonstrating their upsides.
Marvin also begins to track the trail, noting the characteristics of the imprints in the ground and calculating the direction of their owners.
"I suggest that we send a small group forward as the others cover them from a distance. This is my native terrain; I can be most surreptitious. Who else should come with me?"
"This unit can assist."
Awl help ya out froggeh