"Thank you for the hospitality."
The monk also slakes his thirst.
Quince remains respectful. He watches as the others take on the blessings.
Watching Lykan glow and the other gifts giving truly blessings, he nods to the group and points out, "I will go scout ahead with Cleonora." With that said he quickly leaves the room and begins to descend.
"What he said." Cleonora agreed as she went with Jorne to see what they might be able to find wait for them.
Down the main path goes for hundreds of feet before it comes to a fork in the cavern you can go right or left.
Right you find a cave in but also some light at the top of the cave in.
Left you travel another 100 feet and find a creature waiting for you...
Lykàn feels the energy that he has being tapping into all those decades flood into his being.
The powers of Nature envelops him bringing him a fresh sense of perception as his senses grow keener and his link with the lands grow stronger.
He flexes his fingers and is moderately surprised to find them shifting into claws swifter and easier then before.
This would let him hunt his prey better. They had best beware.
Standing up, he looks to check on his other companions.
He radiates a seething calm just waiting to explode in a beastly fury.
St. John eats and then seems more nimble as he moves. He turns to the tree, "I thank you my lady for your gift, though what I have done to deserve it I know not. I would like to know more of you as I have never heard of you before."
She confidently relays with a honeyed tongue, "Your welcome. I offer power for praise. Most gods wait for you to show your worth though as I am looking for capable individuals I offer with a gift. My domains are Knowledge, Law, Nobility, and Trickery. Most of my worshipers are soothsayers. I was once a mortal soothsayer and emissary of Pharasma. As you can tell I am a verdant goddess who enjoys beauty. Lykan is likely the closest match to me in your group. Though a pledge of your faith and devotion will reward you with more power."
Quince speaks, "Your boons shared are welcome. Perhaps you could share information. We are here to find missing people from a settlement to the north called Varnhold. Our efforts drew us to what the centuar of the land call the 'valley of the dead' and spoke a name Vordakai buried here. When we arrived we found signs of giants. Do you know of these matters?"
She is silent for about a minute before she replies, "Stopped decay will bar your path. You are but on the first steps of the Valley of the Dead. Beware the eye. The people of Varnhold are no more but yet you will find their remains. I know not of which you speak of yet relay this future sight."
The 25 foot tall humanoid was slumping but facing you as you entered the room. It snarls and its one eye is milky white. It looks like it is about lurch at you but you get to act first.
St. John bows and says "Thank you again. Those are an interesting assortment of domains. Some of which line up with my beliefs. I am a follower of Abadar. I am flatter at your offer to worship you, but I would not make such a choice lightly and without thought."
The red hair elf looks pensive.
"I am a hunter and do not know much about the gods, not even the Elven gods and goddess my race venerate. Your domains are strange to me. I do not know how they might relate to me at all though you said I'm one most suitable in a match towards you. Pray how is this so?"
"Would my hunts be smoother, faster and more effective? Would it serve to balance nature?"
She relays with a rise in volume, though not harsh, "You have a passion for vengeance and nature as do I."
With an objective in mind he states, "What information can you get from this corpse?"
She relays with a rise in volume, though not harsh, "You have a passion for vengeance and nature as do I."
"A shared passion in vengeance and passion. It still does not tell me if your power would aid me. I seek those who would despoil the lands for selfish gains and there are those that have gone missing along with an entire city. Would your power grant me the ability to seek them?"
"I could do further divinations on your behalf but you would need to tell me more about these you search for and what city. You can feel my power coursing through your being. Will that not aid you?" She asks in reservation.
Your group is likely moving on shortly and continue down the stairs. After a few hundred feet you see two figures walking towards you. Jorne has a light dancing before them.
His determined look on his face breaks into a smile as he says, "Hail! We found some kind of undead. A giant of one. Come let me show you. I haven't seen anything else down here so far." Then he turns and leads the group down a good 500 feet before coming to a larger section of the tunnel. Here he goes left and enters a room. There he points to the body of the creature.
At her words, the red haired elf is left speechless.
This was a conundrum he was facing. He had nothing to work with. The city where he could have started his investigations was empty. He couldn't start his hunt because his prey was taken. He couldn't find their whereabouts because his normal search and query was not available to him.
He frowns.
"I cannot tell you for the one who took my prey away also took any and every link along as well. The entire city was taken. Your power. If what you said is true then yes, that power is of aid to me. You are correct in that respect. I already feel much stronger and I can find no fault in what you say. Then Lady Erecura. Bless my hunts and I shall offer prayersin return."
"Undead are not my area of knowledge." Cleonora admitted, her magic had worn off by now so she was visible. "I am unsure how to feel about it honestly."
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"Blessings upon you Elfkin Lykàn Delĩss may your claws ever be sharp and your shots be true. Continue to pray and more blessings will follow. Oh you should have my divine symbol. There is no magic in it yet, that will require completion of quests." She says divinely and with that one of the leaves moves, splits and opens revealing a golden halo with runes upon it.
Edicts:
Manipulate dangerous beings and opportunities to your benefit.
Thrive in hostile conditions.
Divine the future.
She is the Queen of Dis but only until she can find a way to be freed from the curse and banishment that keeps her there. Which goes with the following prophecy: Only until you have found followers that are of pure of heart and willing to travel to you for your redemption. That you will share in all of their pains to get to you. A life must be offered up to release you from hell.
Quests:
Find an oracle or soothsayer and pay for your future to be told ten times the asking price.
Claim a Quester, a magical item that works like a sending stone to all the other Questers and give you the ability to Divine the future once a day for yourself.
Free Erecura from Hell.
Quince looks on. He smiles, "You seem to have made a friend."
The elf's gaze glazes as he takes the halo.
As his gaze returns, he turns it to Quince.
"Yes it seems I have done so." he keeps the halo around his neck after fashioning a loose throng of leather form his pack.
"I received her blessing. Now to put them to the test. Shall we join the rest? I noticed them leaving us earlier."
You meet Jorne and Cleo on the stairs down and they lead you to the giant's corpse.
Standing next to the corpse,
"Let's go." Quince looks back toward the tree. "Thank you for your help."
The elf bends to a knee to examine the corpse.
The corpse is rotting and smells horrible, it has been dead for a long time, or it was raised as an undead...
"Yeah it looked that way before I cut it down, so most likely an undead, eh?" He points out and asks.
"I have to agree. Looks like this was raised for a purpose."
Jorne then continues to walk ahead of the group with his flaming sword shedding light as a torch before him.
The group continues down the path which slowly begins to rise up. Ahead you can see a hole and light coming from it at the end of the tunnel. Exiting the cave you see that you have come upon a massive graveyard. It is massive in two ways, first it practically covers the valley and next each of the graves are giant size, either large or huge. You don't spy anything moving except for a few birds.
St. John whistles at the sight of the graveyard. [b]"Hopefully they all haven't been turned into undead or we could be in trouble."[/]b
Quince looks about. He looks along the edges of the valley to see if there is a trail up or buildings that overlook the valley.
"I don't like this. This is an easy place to get ambushed. Perhaps I shall scout."
Nothing more than a graveyard and one that is very much overgrown with vegetation. Though running along the top of the valley and the entrance to this wide valley is marked by a series of posts decorated with bones and skulls every 50 to 60 feet—a wall of warnings erected by the Nomen.
No buildings in the valley or along its edge.
The further one travels toward the mountains, the more a strange feeling of oppression grows; the wind seems oddly muted as it flows through the trees and grass, the birds and insects grow quiet, and the unusually regular crags along the surrounding mountains seem almost to crouch in expectation of your approach.
The gravestones 10 to 40 foot tall stone steles are badly weathered. Many are partially or wholly collapsed, but each bears strange runes.
There are thousands of gravestones within the valley of the dead.
----
At the farthest western point in the valley, where the ragged Tors of Levenies rise 300 feet above the surrounding foothills, a crack in the cliff wall allows a 15-foot-wide stone stairway to wind up into the mountains. This path takes a circuitous route, winding back and forth over a length of 8 miles through the tors.
-----
You see movement. Three or four large figures 200 feet away. They are near one of the larger grave stones. So there could be even more behind.
You can see the tell tale sign of undeath as you see through some of them were essential body parts would be needed for the living.
"The rest least if they are all undead we can put them to rest."
When they came across the gravestones she was surprised. "This is... far more than I expected... Does anyone see and disturbed soil?"
"I spotted more undead. They seem larger then us. DO we take them out?"
St. John looks toward the undead giants and says "No point in leaving them around to get behind us or do harm to others. Just make sure we have a line of retreat if we need one."
He nods to Lykan's and St. John's words, sheathing his sword and retrieving his bow and two arrows.
"Yes I see them," He states and aims high, he is shooting into the second range increment -2. "Everyone ready?"
+3 Impervious Adaptive
+3 Impervious Adaptive
Lykàn too adds his shots with Jorne.
Quince moves to where he can get a shot with his bow.
Most of the arrows hit their mark and you hear... nothing.... They look around... and move a bit but obviously don't see your group. Only two of them are still clear from your present position to hit, and it is still the same one you already hit.
Round 2
Round 2
+3 Impervious Adaptive
+3 Impervious Adaptive