” Jhod Kravken, he comes from Galt.” Faerin explains to the newcomers of the group. ”Like you Tristian, he came here following a vision, in his case granted by Erastil, telling him to find the Temple of the Elk. It seems that many of the gods seek to remove this curse from the land, and I can attest to the fact that nature itself wants this gone.”
"It would definitely be safer, there are still a number of bandits around." Faerin replies. "You're welcome to join us at the fortress."
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Seeing that they are headed back, Linzi finishes with her yodeling.
With a new person to talk their ears off, Linzi starts right away.
This is perfect! On our way back, we'll pass right by this scenic monument. The locals started calling it *Linzi's Bluff*. You know - for Moi!
I'll point it out to you when we pass, because it is majestic. Trust me, you'll be impressed.
**********
Linzi rides Rusted Root and checks in on all of her companions listening, talking, and picking up on any tidbits that she might note for her juicy book. She's contemplating writing two books side by side. One, a trashy romance novel. The other - the life and times of the Lost Landers.
She rides up to the winter witch.
Hey IceRose, I'm writing a couple books. One's probably going to be a trashy romance novel. You got anything for that? Some wickedly wonderful sinful arts from the North? Oh, the other book is about us and our adventures. What'cha think about a team name? The Lost Landers?
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Oh! So *YOU* are Jhod. Well, we have come back with two presents.
The first is Tristian - the Curse Seeker. He's here because we lifted the curse of the Elk Temple. Plus, he likes my company and chit-chat.
The second is this handy-dandy magical Temple finder. While it looks like a normal stick, it did it's job and got us there in the nick of time to save T-Seeker's life.
Linzi introduces Tristian but also hands Jhod the piece of wood she used to "weather vane" the location to the temple. Totally forgetting that it was Faerin that gave them the right direction.
"Tristian said you may want to see the temple for yourself. The curse seems to be lifted but he said there is some interesting stuff there." Ekun explains all about the tainted animals and what they discovered between the burned cottage and the temple.
Pyros nods. "Indeed. It'd be best if an expert took a look."
"Your visions definitely led to the right place. There was definitely malign binding ritual of some sort that tied the curse of the fog, and guardians designed to slay anyone who tried to undo it." Faerin adds. "It feels as if it is lifting and the curse may be broken now. It appears that quite a few of the gods, and Nature itself wished to see this removed from the land."
On the way Shayn makes conversation with her new companions, trying to get better acquainted with them. The witch was a bit socially awkward, but still made an effort, especially with Linzi.
As they finally got to the outpost and met Jhod, however, she stepped back into her silence. She was curious to see what Tristian would say, especially since she didn't really trust him - probably a produce of her own paranoias.
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Linzi really enjoyed the conversation with Shayn. She could tell the the Winter Witch was a bit off kilter with her interpersonal communications. So, Linzi didn't pry to much.
There's an especially fun interaction- leaving Linzi cracking up in laughter.
..You can't be serious? They did *WHAT* during the Yule Festival? And they did that using a combination of WillowWisps and the GlitterDust spell on *WHICH* body parts?
Now that is a party. I'm putting that story in my book.
***********
Fast forward to this less than scintillating conversation with Tristan and Jhod. Linzi is off daydreaming about the HagFish bar in Sandpoint and then a disjointed jump to wondering if there's a type of magic that bird feathers can harness.... hmm.... a Feathermage....
Linzi's daydreaming is broken. She went too far into preposterous.
Nah..that's totally stupid idea.
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When you arrive and go see Jhod, he is ecstatic at your news.
"Erastil be praised! You've finally returned, my good friends. Thank you for heeding my request. My heart is filled with calm and confidence that I have fulfilled the will of my god. I would like to reward your bravery, I have no real treasure, but take these as a token of my gratitude."
With that, he hands you two scrolls (both of Remove Blindness).
"As far as I know, your next task seems to be the Stag Lord himself. With the Temple of the Elk cleansed of evil, this unnatural fog should dissipate. Of course, magic so powerful is unlikely to disappear at once. Bide your time--follow up on other concerns for now. I will aid you on your noble quest. Erastil himself forsaw our meeting." Jhod bows piously.
"Thank you, Jhod. It was our pleasure to lift that vile curse from the land. We look forward to your aid in making this area safer for all." Faerin says accepting the scrolls.
Turning to her companions, the druidess shrugs. "So I suppose we have the rest of the evening and night to take it easy and we make a plan to go after the Staglord tomorrow, perhaps take a bit to get settled and we can meet for dinner later?"
"That sounds good to me." Pyros says with a nod.
looking over the scrolls, Faerin passes them over to Shayn, "Do these make more sense to you, I get the idea of what they should do but, the magic it invokes is foreign to me."
Ekun grabs a chair. "Do we know where the Stag Lord's camp is located? We found out a bit more about his past but we need to find this camp still."
Hmm... - the witch stops, analyzing the scrolls - These are scrolls for restoring one's sight. They might be useful!
"The camp is at the Thorn River ford just West of here. We found that out from the bandits we captured before." Faerin replies to Ekun.
"That could definitely be useful, the kind of thing you'd rather have and not need than the other way around." she says with a nod as Shayn takes the scrolls.
"We can set out in the morning. If the fog is lifting it should make things easier, though we're likely to come across more bandits than we have so far." Faerin says pensively.
"That's a good point, Faerin. Let's take a night's rest then head south tomorrow."
"We passed by a large sycamore in the distance to the south. It may be near the camp. We should head there to look for clues." Ekun suggests.
"Sounds like a plan, a good nights sleep, and we head south. Maybe check in with Oleg and Svetlana to see if there's anything they need, and maybe get Tristan set up with somewhere to stay. "
As the discussion turns to their plans for the morning, settling on heading in the direction of the massive Sycamore that dominates the forest landscape, Faerin finishes her meal, ready for a decent night's rest.
Bidding her companions goodnight, she heads to the room she occupied since they first arrived, putting away her gear, and stripping out of her armor and clothing before drifting off to sleep.
"We can head out at first light." Ekun gets a bit of rest as well.
Come morning Ekun gathers his gear tightly in his pack as he leads the way south to the Old Sycamore.
Pyros rises early, before dawn, and meditates in the courtyard, his newly-enchanted blade laid across his legs. After meditation, he rises fluidly and progresses through his exercises, adding a few more he'd read of in books but never tried. When the others are ready, he sheathes his blade, grabs his things, and departs with them.
Shayn finished her morning prayers - or, communing with her familiar, which immediately turned into a tattoo again - and pushed herself to reach her companions.
I can't go upward either, my dear. - says Shayn, approaching with a smile. The tattoos on the arcane caster seems to be shifting a little bit around her body, as if still finding their "position".
Awakening just before dawn, Faerin makes her way up to the most secluded of the open-top guard towers of the trading post, allowing her the open air and view of the coming dawn as she communes with nature, connecting with the elements and life that flows through all the natural world. Her power replenished, she mixes up a few additional concoctions from collected ingredients, preparing for another foray into the danger and adventure of the untamed lands, before heading back down to her room and getting dressed, gathering her gear, and joining the others for breakfast. She notes the subtle shifting of Shayn's tattoos with a bit of intrigue. "I've never seen tattoos move on their own before, glow yes but not animate."
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It is two day's travel to the great tree. As part of the need to explore the region you head East first to the Sellen River, and then follow it down to where you can then head back slightly West to the tree.
You make camp the first night, and nothing seems to happen. However, everyone awakes the next morning unrested, having been plagued with vivid nightmares of drowning and fire. In the morning, after someone mentions the nightmares, you all realize that each of you had the same dream.
Awakening with a haunted, unsettled feeling, plagued by dreams of death by different hazards, Faerin realizes the impact on herself, and likely her companions, during her morning meditation. Working diligently through the tiredness, the druidess creates a few concoctions, capable of relieving the fatigue.
Once everyone is awake and after discussing their joint nightmare, she hands a pair of brewed concoctions to Pyros and Ekun. "You two are our primary combatants, so I think you're most in need of your full physical capabilities. Drink this, it's harsh...bitter, but it'll help."
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Linzi makes open mouthed and full throated yawns all the time we travel.
After one especially theatrical yawn that gets at least one pair of disapproving eyes down upon her, she shrugs and gives a "what? What was I doing" look.
Um, it helps the vocal cords to loosen. I'm...um... keeping my music magic in tip top shape. Like the Founder of Ekun's Ferry over there, he polishes his bow. I stretch my vocals and tune my Shamisen.
Linzi certainly doesn't need the fatigue remover, but she makes it known she's tired *ALL* the time.
Pyros grimaces. "This is...less than ideal. We should try to push through this as quickly as w can." he says, knowing immediately that their very condition makes that less likely.
Downing the third of the concoctions she'd brewed, Faerin makes a face for a moment at the bitterness, letting out a sigh as the overwhelming fatigue fades. "Yes. There's definitely something supernatural plaguing this region." she agrees as they ride on.
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After breaking camp, you continue down the West bank of the Sellen River. After about two hours, you come upon a burnt out ruin of a home. An older dirt road also heads due West from here. a An old, weatherbeaten sign post says, "Nettle's Ferry: 2 silver for crossing."
You can see the remains of pilings at the edge of the river where a ferry rope pull would have been. The burnt out house is slightly uphill from this.
"I think we should check the ruins, they might give some indication as to what happened here." Faerin suggests.
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Linzi spies the place. She sees the sign and thinks it's wise to contribute. So, she'll try....
She walks up to Pyros.
Hey Executioner! You want to lend me 2 silver pieces?
I don't think it's worth 2 SP's because that place looks like it's old Busted. Certainly not New Hotness.
She holds out her hand. She has a pouch of gold and silver, but this situation has "trail leader expense account" written all over it.
[contingent on Pyro's donation]
once the 2 SP's are in hand, she joins the others in checking out the ruins... but as soon as they are done. she's run to the sign post and the collection cup to drop in her SP's.
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They shot the dog?! Who would'a shot the dog?
Linzi checks the arrows. She tries getting the fletchings or arrow heads to the buff boys on the party. Maybe they can identify the munitions to see if they are Orc, Gobo, or human in design.
Linzi will spend 10 minutes, but if others spend longer, she curls up and rests. I'm really tired.
Faerin begins inspecting the area in detail, looking for clues to what exactly had occurred here, and how long ago.
"Go ahead and rest Linzi, we'll get you up when we're ready to move on, or if anything happens."
Ekun grimaces as he downs the concoction. He kneels down to inspect the arrows. "Could be bandits? Or the Stag Lord's goons even." He plucks out one of the arrows and looks over it before looking for signs of a trail or tracks.
"Good news is it is just the dog. No other bodies." He tosses the broken arrow shaft to the ground in a clatter before brushing his hands off.
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A thorough search of the inside turns up an old lockbox. The lock is rusted shut, but a few good raps opens it with ease. Inside you find about 200gp in various coins, some papers that burned up inside, and a ring that is magical. Aside from this, the fire and years of weather have turned everything else into unidentifiable rubbish. You find no human remains.
The arrows were of average quality, but old and weatherbeaten now. There is a oath from the house that leads down to the river.
Pyros takes a gold piece from the box and hands it wordlessly to Linzi.
When they reach the riverbank, he looks upstream, then down. Then at the party. "So. How do we cross?"