Angalia tries to pursue Gilbraith through the mists, but is unable to determine where he went through the mists. What is abundantly clear is that neither she nor her companions are where they were before. The terrain is hilly, and covered in short, damp grass. Angalia passes near a sickly tree: the first distinguishing feature to present itself in the mists.
"Lenna!"
Aware of the futility of trying to pursue someone she can't see over ground she doesn't know, Angalia pulls herself back to see if she can help Lenna.
looks around at new terrain thru clearing mist, reaches over to grab Tiffa's hand
What's happening? Where's the keep?
Angalia returns to the spot where Lenna lay, only to find bare turf. The body is gone.
It's hard to tell whether the mist has thinned slightly, or all of your eyesight has simply adjusted, as if in darkness, but visibility has improved somewhat. You can make out each other through the swirling fog, but nothing else is familiar, nor can you see Lord Gilbraith within your immediate vicinity. You are on a small grassy rise beside a small, sickly tree. The terrain is otherwise featureless.
“Damned magic!” curses Nathaniel as the mist grows ever thicker and Gilbraith slips away from them.
As the confused calls of his companions around him indicate that Gilbraith is not to be found, Nathaniel falls to his knees and reaches out towards where he saw Lenna lie ... but all he feels is damp grass beneath his hands. “Lenna!” he exclaims, feeling about frantically.
As the mist begins to clear, he sees that the walls of the tower have apparently dissolved or vanished, and that they apparently stand in a field of some sort. Lenna’s body is not apparent.
Nathaniel throws aside his axe and shield and begins searching frantically around in the grass for some sign of his sister – if not her, then footprints, blood, something. His fingers claw frantically at the grass, and he begins tearing it out in clumps, as if to see if his sister has sunk beneath the ground.
“LENNA!” he shouts desperately.
The ground shows no trace of bloodshed, nor do you spot any tracks other than your own.
"Whe - Whe - Where are we? What happened to Gilbraith, the keep, poor Lenna? Did we teleport somewhere? I've never teleported before but shouldn't I have felt some sort of tug or motion or something?"
Suddenly, Res acutely feels the pain from Lord Gibraith's last swing before he disappeared. "If anyone is still in need of healing, gather round and feel Gorum's healing grace."
He waits while the others gather, says a soft prayer, followed by a burst of light as healing energy flows from Gorum's holy symbol.
Healing: for all within 30 feet of Res.
Eliva casts about for Gibraith with an angry grimace, and realizes along with everyone else that their surroundings aren't what they should be.
"What...what happened? Where are we?"
Eliva looks around for any signs of civilization.
looks around at new terrain thru clearing mist, reaches over to grab Tiffa's hand
What's happening? Where's the keep?
"I do not know dearest 'Kani, but..... I just do not know." Tif says with more than a hint of fear in her voice. She returns her friends gentle touch for a few moments more before moving to Nathanial's side. Placing her hand on his shoulder she speaks in a soothing tone, "She's not here, we need to get our bearings and collect ourselves if we are to have hope of finding your sister, grieve not yet until we have seen with our own eyes her fate my friend."
Tif wonders to herself what new dreams will haunt her this night.
It does still appear to be night. There sky is dimly illuminated by starlight or moonlight, although it's not entirely clear which, as it is obscured by the heavy mist.
There is no sign of anything manmade in the immediate vicinity - only the rolling terrain.
While the others seem to be in a confused half-panic, the gnome stares off into space with a bewildered expression on his face. Seemingly not noticing or caring about his surroundings, he mutters to no one in particular.
"Claimed, we are. The fog of fate has swallowed us whole, as Avalon, Brigadoon, and a score of other places more fanciful and mysterious than the last. We are the night's children now, playing along with the music of its sinister serenade..."
"Whatever we're doing, we need to see where we're going."
Angalia reached into her bag for a torch, unwilling to think about what has just happened.
Nathaniel looks up at Tiffana’s touch. His face is tear stained and his fingernails are torn and bloody. “I should have gone to her first,” he says quietly. “Instead of trying so damned hard to kill Gilbraith. I should have gone to her. I just ... I didn’t want to know if she was ... if it was too late for her.”
He stands, wipes his face (leaving it smeared with dirt) and looks for his weapons in the mist and dark. “You’re right. I ... shouldn’t give up. Res,” he says, turning his attention to the Gorumite priest. “Do you think your healing may have helped her? Before all of this,” he gestures vaguely to the hills and mist around them.
Res turns toward Nathaniel, "If there was a glimmer of life left in her, then Yes! I DO believe she is still alive. I did my best, I only wish she was still with us that I could complete the task myself. Do not punish yourself with guilt. You did what was best to try to save her. As long as Gibraith was living, she was not safe. You allowed me the chance to try to heal her. Now, let's work on finding our way back to her."
"I don't like this mist. What does it hide?" Eliva was worried by the lack of even so much as a well worn path to give them direction. "Does anyone have a direction? Or see anything that gives us a guide of which direction to go? Or shall we set up camp this evening and wait for the sun to rise and give us at least a better view of where we go?"
Nathaniel looks about, trying to peer through the mist and get his bearings.
Somewhat unnerved by Erfan's crooning, and not wanting to believe in anything supernatural, Angalia goes to Nathaniel.
"We will find her, Nat."
She can't bring herself to add "dead or alive", but she thinks it and hopes it doesn't show on her face.
"I think Eliva has a good idea. Let's set up camp for the remainder of the night and use the sunlight to get our bearings. Perhaps the mist will lift by then. Does anyone require more healing? I still have some available."
Res begins to roll out his bedroll and prepare for the night.
.
Are you camping here? Keeping watch?
You are on a small grassy rise beside a small, sickly tree. The terrain is otherwise featureless.
and
There is no sign of anything manmade in the immediate vicinity - only the rolling terrain.
Should we camp here? The rise will give us some visibility and it might be important to check this spot out once in daylight.
looks carefully about
Does anyone see anything from inside or any of the guards that were in the keep?
spoken quietly to Tiffa, in a light hearted tone to disguise his worry,
I dropped my drum on the first floor. So no dance practice around the campfire tonight.
“I can’t see any signs of immediate danger,” says Nathaniel, trying to stay busy and useful so as to take his mind off his other concerns, “but nothing here looks familiar. Perhaps it will be different when this mist clears and we have daylight ... but at the moment I don’t know where we are.”
“As has been suggested, lets set up camp on high ground. As we don’t know what might be around here, and trying to gather fire wood in this mist could be dangerous, we should keep a cold camp. We’ll share body heat for warmth if the temperature drops later in the night.”
"Share body warmth? Where have I heard that one before?", Tif says with a playful squeeze of Nat's shoulder before stepping to 'Kani's side, "If I must lose sleep then I would prefer to stay up later than be woken from my slumber, but I must ask,", the young gypsy pauses for a moment sheepishly before continuing, "Does anyone have any food?"
"Food? Of course. Help yourself, Tiff."
Eliva leaned over and pulled out her bedroll.
"I don't know if everyone is prepared to camp. I have a place for someone to sleep while I'm on watch. I'm willing to watch in the dark of the night, as I can see well then. While I need sleep like any other, I can pray for spells with the rising sun even with an interrupted night. I have some wander bread - but it's only good for emergencies. Eat it too many days in a row and you'll feel sick as well as hate the taste of it. I have a fair hand hunting and gathering from the land, however."
Eliva find a comfortable place to sit in the shadow of a tree trunk and looks around, alert for signs of danger.
Nathaniel blushes slightly at Tiffana’s comment, though its lost in the darkness and behind the dirt on his face. “I have some trail rations too,” he says. “I was heading out into the wild for a few days when ... all this happened. I have a bedroll and some water ... if we can find some containers or even some broad leaves, we should set them out to gather condensation for water. Though in this terrain and with this mist I expect there must be a water-source nearby.”
Tif smiles slightly as she gathers everyones offerings and sees to getting her companions fed, sadly she has naught but her wineskin to offer to the meal. To the offer of the bedroll she adds, "And would you be in it when it is to be used?", with a wink.
looks wryly at Tiffa
I've still got some of the rations left- not much though. I was planning on finding an inn tonight.
pulls out rations for two and a water skin
hands out bedroll and spare blanket
I'll take watch early, while I can still see. I'm used to being up late and I slept in this morning. Tiffa, you don't need to try to stay up- if you have one of your dreams, you won't be able to sleep after it anyway.
If we're going to double up people, maybe on the second and third watch only? It's darkest then. On my watch, anyone who doesn't go right to sleep will still be up and the morning watcher will have early birds up to help.
"If we want to double up on any of the watches, I can take the 4th watch with Nathaniel. It will allow me some time for my morning meditation. Also, I have a few trail rations to share if anyone needs some."
Erfan helps himself to one of the offered trail rations, breaking off a small chunk of hardtack and strays away from the main group, though not beyond vision. He makes crooning, chittering noises into the dark.
"If we want to double up on any of the watches, I can take the 4th watch with Nathaniel. It will allow me some time for my morning meditation. Also, I have a few trail rations to share if anyone needs some."
“Why don’t you take the fourth watch with Angalia? And I will stand the second.” After what has happened to his sister, Nathaniel suddenly feels very protective of his friend (not to mention slightly guilty for getting her – well, everyone – into this mess). It doesn’t occur to him that his concern may come across as doubting her ability, or condescending.
Angalia looks hard at him for a second and then moves quickly to Nat and hugs him.
"Ssh. We're all here because we care for Lenna and for you and for getting rid of Gilbraith. Stop guilt-tripping."
She smiles.
"Look at us, Nat. We've got a nude gnome, a dreamweaver and her protector, a warrior of Gorum, and Eliva who scares the sheep just by breathing. It's a recipe for something. Could be a tavern brawl, could be joke, could be the end of Gilbraith. Let's make it the last one."
"It is agreed then. Wake me up when it is my turn for the watch."
He thinks to himself, "I've only known these people for a few hours. I hope the can be trusted to be vigilant in their watches during the night."
Just in case, Res discretely conceals his longsword under the edge of his bed roll, before he lies down to sleep.
'Kani makes sure Tiffa is bundled up, with someone on each side of her, between her and any danger.
He spends his watch alternately circling the rise, stopping to peer carefully from high spots, and climbing the low tree for a better vantage.
Shock, fear and the roiling mists make Angalia less than perceptive.
Nathaniel has trouble sleeping, the events of the day – and what he could have done differently – weighing heavily on his mind. He finally falls into a troubled sleep an hour or so before ‘Kani wakes him for his turn at watch.
During his watch he walks circuits around the camp perimeter at regular intervals, both to make sure he is overseeing everything and to ensure he does not doze off.
Nathaniel was sleeping lightly and fitfully, probably due to his concern and grief, and so managed to rouse himself after only a brief sleep. He immediately notices that no one is keeping watch and 'Kani is not present. The other five party members are sleeping soundly.
Nathaniel awakes with a start, and quickly notices that ‘Kani is not in sight. Cursing quietly, the hunter reaches for his weapons, arms himself, then moves around the area quietly, searching for the missing bard.
Tracks are plentiful. You can clearly see indications of a human-sized mass being dragged away from the campsite. You suspect you could follow it relatively easily; no attempt appears to have been made to obscure it. You also see lots of tiny impressions in the soil along the same path as the dragging, but they are not easily identifiable.
Upon spotting the drag marks, Nathaniel hurriedly but quietly wakes everyone.
“’Kani’s gone,” he says bluntly in a low voice. “Looks like he was dragged off in that direction. And look here, there are some strange tracks or something here. You might see them more clearly with a light – see, there. Does anyone recognise them?”
Nathaniel peers off into the night . “We’ll have to go after him quickly. Question is, do we all go? I think so, but there might be a benefit in those of us who can move quickly and quietly going on ahead.”
"All of us go. If we need to scout ahead, let's do it from somewhere else. Whatever took Kani already knows we're here."
"Good point, Angalia. Now is the time for haste not stealth. We will move faster and be able to follow the tracks easier with some light."
Res pulls out his holy symbol and casts light upon it to illuminate the area. Quickly he rolls up his bedroll, stows it, and then picks up his great sword and is ready to be off.
At the news of their first watcher's disappearance, Eliva swiftly and silently gathered up her things and took a quick sip from her waterskin, then went over to examine the tracks that Nathaniel pointed out.
Eliva frowned as she examined the tracks, hoping she was wrong, but with a sigh she stood back up and quickly strode over to the others. "I don't know exactly what this was...but it seems they were buglike creatures. Very....large...insect creatures. Either way, I don't hold a lot of hope creatures like this are just curious. We should go after him. Now would be good."
Eliva pulls out her buckler and bow and expertly strings it as she moves back toward the trail.