Rutilux follows to the village, and looks about as if appraising the landscape
"We're only a couple of hours away from the Glade, it's fortunate we found you on the road. Shouldn't be too far now, let's get going." Lysandra says before staring back down the road.
She's right about the time to make it to your destination, and after an hour or so you see the edge of the Wood of Sharp Teeth. Within the next hour you see the clearing that signifies the start of the village.
Strangely, however, as you begin the walk to get closer to it you notice the sky seemingly darkening. Slowly at first, but once you reach the edge of the path right outside the city you notice the sun disappears completely. You don't see it happen, but the moon has replaced the spot in the sky where the sun once was.
And not only that but it strikes you that the moon is larger than it should be, as if it were closer to the planet than usual. You can almost feel the pressure of the moon bearing down on you, as if it were watching you the second you passed some threshold.
The gnoll hesitates and looks around, then loosens the headsman's axe in his hand before proceeding as quietly as possible under the odd circumstances, senses sharp to any disturbance...
Rutilux gapes at the transition so abrupt ... and possibly so magical.
He gestures
Ari initially wonders if the sky really is that dark or if it's some kind of manifestation of her own bleak mood. But no, it does indeed seem to be unnaturally black, as if night has fallen over the village with a strongly waxing moon. Whether the village is always like this, some kind of Selûnite blessing or ritual, or whether it is something to do with their mission she doesn't know. Either way, it has her on edge and it is this need to be alert - and certainly she is alive to danger - that forces her to concentrate on her surroundings rather than internal demons. She snaps a dagger into each hand and bounces lightly onto the balls of her feet, keeping a wary eye out.
Rutilux uses his magic and finds that it is very much magical: overwhelmingly so. Not enough to hurt him for looking, mind you, but enough that it certainly isn't anything ordinary.
As Ari and Shaggar look around and attempt to make some sense of the situation, they don't see any obvious threats or magical effects beyond the sudden change to a moonlit sky. There isn't the feeling of hostility, really, just of being observed from far above.
"Well, raise 10 percent, lower five, and call it a sale... the magic is everywhere." He actually smiles
Shaggar looks around, "This would seem to be the town... Where are the people?"
"Well, raise 10 percent, lower five, and call it a sale... the magic is everywhere." He actually smiles
"And that's reassuring, is it?" Ari asks. The tone is light, slightly sarcastic and she raises an eyebrow to show she's not being entirely serious. Although she's had to force it a little, she does feel a bit more normal for speaking, rather than the solitary silence she's been wrapped up in the rest of the day.
"I can't make anything out but does anyone else feel like we're being watched? I think it goes without saying that this is not a feeling I enjoy."
Shaggar looks around, "This would seem to be the town... Where are the people?"
"We could bellow out a big hello and see who responds?" The halfling points out.
"And that's reassuring, is it?" Ari asks. The tone is light, slightly sarcastic and she raises an eyebrow to show she's not being entirely serious. Although she's had to force it a little, she does feel a bit more normal for speaking, rather than the solitary silence she's been wrapped up in the rest of the day.
"I can't make anything out but does anyone else feel like we're being watched? I think it goes without saying that this is not a feeling I enjoy."
The halfling smiles, "Well, We Hin try to stay positive as a rule. IS this so bad? I mean, this is a mission to Selune, and there's the Moon extra large in day time... could be bad, OR... maybe this place is under the goddess' eye and blessed or somewhat? I am no cleric so I'm guessing wild, but maybe?"
Shaggar lets out a (probably neutral) chuff. He lowers his axe and half-hides it beneath his bisht. "We're not quite in town yet. Let us proceed." He begins walking the trail into town at a leisurely pace, hoping to NOT appear like a marauding gnoll.
As the magical night falls, Sasha smiles and pulls back her hood, displaying her different-colored eyes and smiling in pleasure. "Oh! This is nice!" she exclaims before noting her allies' responses with a quizzical look. "I think this looks like a divine blessing, but I suppose I could be wrong," the oracle muses to herself, readying her crossbow reluctantly.
When their new ally confirms the magic she just smirks a bit. Turning to Pheliks she draws him in close and steps in front of her companions, taking the lead. "I see better in this light, let me go first," she explains as she and her animal companion confidently move forward, looking for some sign of life in the twilight-town.
The halfling smiles, "Well, We Hin try to stay positive as a rule. IS this so bad? I mean, this is a mission to Selune, and there's the Moon extra large in day time... could be bad, OR... maybe this place is under the goddess' eye and blessed or somewhat? I am no cleric so I'm guessing wild, but maybe?"
"You don't think it's a bit... oppressive?" Ari looks up at the over-large moon. "In itself, no, it's not so bad. Maybe you're right and this is normal for Silvermoon Glade. But we also wouldn't be here is there wasn't something amiss."
* * * * *
When it comes time to say goodbye to Lisyil, Ari feels awkward. This is not something that she's good at, whereas hiding her feelings is something she is an expert in. She is at least glad that she has been forced out of her introspective mood by their arrival at the village. She stands with her hands in her pockets, having something to toy with in her hands helping her to feel more comfortable, focusing on the familiar feel of rolling a coin between her fingers. "So," she says, looking at her feet. "I worry that you might be the sensible one here bailing out now. I don't blame you for thinking that it's all, well, a bit much. I'm sorry this wasn't as much fun as last summer. Still," she says, meeting the half-elf's eye with a genuine smile, "we'll always have those nights in Hill's Edge." Ari's not usually one for nostalgia but their time in the city was fun. "Look after yourself, Lisyil, and hopefully we'll meet again in happier times. Lady of the Mists hide you," she finishes with a simple blessing.
He nods at Sasha, happy someone is willing to take the lead who can see clear in the place.
The halfling smiles, "Well, We Hin try to stay positive as a rule. IS this so bad? I mean, this is a mission to Selune, and there's the Moon extra large in day time... could be bad, OR... maybe this place is under the goddess' eye and blessed or somewhat? I am no cleric so I'm guessing wild, but maybe?""You don't think it's a bit... oppressive?" Ari looks up at the over-large moon. "In itself, no, it's not so bad. Maybe you're right and this is normal for Silvermoon Glade. But we also wouldn't be here is there wasn't something amiss."
"Well, I guess it's all a matter of perspective. I understand many dwarves live in great dark holes where you never see the sun at all, which makes me shudder but they love it. And while my family caravans mostly, others would find our sleeping spots too small for their long legs. Customer is always right in matters of taste, as they say, though the analogy isn't perfect." He then smiles "But if we ARE devoured by shadow monsters, be kind enough not to say you told me so, eh?"
Shaggar looks up to consider the moon and the night sky, speculating "Perhaps they need these conditions to make their Moonwine... or perhaps it is to make the were-creatures among the Selunites comfortable."
The path continues towards the village, but you notice another strange thing as you walk around it. You feel as if you are walking along the road and making progress, and yet you don't look to be making any headway. The road stretches out for seemingly forever, the moon an ever-present observer.
Oddly enough, it's only a few minutes before whatever effect you were experiencing subsides, and you find yourself finally getting closer to your destination. Within a few moments of escaping whatever loop you found yourself in, you notice a group of people approaching in your direction.
"Halt! Who goes there?" the lead one says as they raise crossbows towards you. They are all dressed relatively simply, with plain clothes and unadorned leather armor. "Explain yourselves." the older man says, his eyes stern and full of mistrust.
Taking in the wary expressions on the face of the villagers, not to mention the readied weapons, Ari decides it would probably be prudent to remain silent for the moment and lurk at the back of the group. Bitter experience has taught the tiefling that first impressions count so staying out of the way in a tense situation is often the smartest course of action she could take, lest things turn actively hostile. She looks to Lysandra and the other worshippers of the Moonmaiden to demonstrate their credentials and get things off on the right foot.
Sasha smiles broadly and responds, "Greetings, faithful of our Lady of Silver, Selûne. I am Sasha, an oracle of the goddess, and these are my companions. We come to provide aid - the church outside has heard of the plight of Silvermoon Glade and sent us." As she speaks she gestures to her companions, new and old. "We do not know the nature of the plight of the Selûnites here, so we came armed and prepared to fight to defend the church. Are we safe? Can we return our weapons to their sheaths?" she asks, allowing the double meaning to sit in the air demanding an answer from the approaching group.
Rutilux is tempted to join in assuring them , but rather looks impressed at Sasha's delivery.
The man seems to relax a bit, letting the crossbow drop to his waist before noticing Shaggar and pointing it loosely towards him.
"And him? Is he with you?" he asks, his voice showing a hint of suspicion. "Ever since that damned wall went up we've had so many problems with the beasts in the woods. You sure he ain't one of them?"
Shaggar remains still, axe down at his side. ”Good day, sayyid. I am Shaggar of the Bedine, from the sands of Anauroch." He indicates Kiley with a small gesture, "We have been sent by my human tribe to help. What is this ‘wall’ you speak of?”
He seems surprised that you can talk so eloquently, but carries on without mentioning it.
"About a week ago...something happened. If you truly came from outside the village then you know what I'm talking about. The moon stays like that all the time now, we haven't had any sun since. And the wall, it isn't a physical wall, but we can't leave. Anytime you try you get turned around and find yourself coming back in."
He shakes his head, obviously disturbed and on edge.
"We don't know what caused it yet, but Aldric has been looking into it. If you're here to help, and I believe you are, then you'll want to talk to him. He's the second eldest member of the village council."
"He'll at least have an idea of where to start, I think. Tell him Gideon sent you."
The gnoll blinks, "We thought this night and moon magic was something your town does. We will speak with Aldric. But first, do you know how far this 'wall' extends?" He doesn't raise the other concern that crosses his mind.
Rutilux raises a brow, "So much for my optimism. Mmm."
A creeping dread starts to rise within Ari as she realises the unnatural moon is indeed a recent - and currently unexplained - development. It’s the mention of the villagers being unable to leave that is her primary concern, however, and she voices what she assumes the others are also thinking. ”So are we now trapped here too?” she asks, straight to the point.
"I am willing to test that."
”We aren’t sure exactly where the boundaries of the wall are, since you get turned ‘round quite easily once you get out into the trees. It does surround the entire village, though, we’ve tried that.”
Gideon looks over in surprise at hearing Ari’s question, seemingly not having thought of that.
”I suppose you are, yes. Unless whatever’s going on here only affects us, but you could test it to see what happens. Luckily we haven’t had any hints or signs of the monsters out there yet.”
Sasha nods as Shagger introduces himself, smiling continually in spite of the concerning news. As they others ask the smart questions she approaches the group of villagers after putting away her own weapons. "I'm Sasha, Shagger has already introduced himself, this is Pheliks - my animal friend, Kiley has known Shagger a long time, Ari is the blue-ish one, Rutilux is the short one, and Lysandra helped us to get here. I know we're an odd-looking bunch, but we are here to help..." she says by way of further introduction.
Once close to the villagers she asks, "Not that being trapped isn't bad enough, but has anything else bad happened?" Then Sasha watches to see what happens if her companions test the boundaries of the village themselves.
The man looks hesitant to continue speaking, as if he didn't want to tell you everything, but eventually gives in and answers.
"Something's been killing our animals. Not just dropping dead, killing them outright. Claw marks in the ground and bodies, ripped up and chewed on flesh. None of us know what it is, we haven't seen it happen. It's got both the animals and Amos over at his farm spooked, he might be able to point you in the right direction."
"As I'm sure you can tell, there's a lot going on here at the moment. We all have had our hands full the past week or so, quite glad the church finally sent help."
"I was about to say that it doesn't sound actively malicious until you mentioned the mysterious predator," Ari says drily in a low voice, even if she personally is finding the whole thing fairly ominous. "Much as I'm no fan of monsters with big claws and teeth, that feels like a good place to start. Or maybe we speak to Aldric, was it?"
Another thought occurs to her. "Mister Gideon," she begins, erring on the side of formality, even if their presence seems to have been welcomed. She certainly can't blame them for their caution, anyway. And with this acceptance, she feels more confident in speaking up. "If nobody can leave, logically I assume that your request for aid was sent by some kind of magical message? So we know that there are some ways to bypass this sort of magical shell, if you want to call it that. Given I don't think you'd had word of our coming, does that imply that magical communication is also one-way?" She pauses for a second, trying to work out how to tactfully ask her follow up question, before just rolling with it. "And, forgive me for asking, but on a similar note, has your connection to the divine been similarly severed? Bluntly, is Selûne still answering your prayers?" Ari certainly hopes the answer is yes. Partly because she assumes the effect on the village's morale would be pretty devastating if it is cut off, and partly because anything powerful enough to impede a god is not something that she has any real desire to come up against.
"If one of us knows how to track, then we might be able to find the predator by looking at the kill site of the most recent beast." Rutilux does not bother to point out he was lost when they found him.
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Shaggar is curious the hear the answers to Ari's questions. But if he's right... the townsfolk never sent a message to Baldur's Gate and the situation is likely worse than a just a mystical barrier, but he wasn't going to speculate publicly on that quite yet. "We should speak with Aldric, soon."
"If one of us knows how to track, then we might be able to find the predator..."
He responds to Rutilux's comment with dry humor. "Yes, if only we had a ranger among us." He looks at the halfling then hitches a clawed thumb towards himself. "Luck would seem to favor you."
"If nobody can leave, logically I assume that your request for aid was sent by some kind of magical message? So we know that there are some ways to bypass this sort of magical shell..."
Gideon looks surprised to hear this, nearly interrupting Ari.
"We never sent for aid: we couldn't find a way to leave. Presumably the church in the Gate got worried when they didn't receive their monthly shipment of moonwine." he answers, a touch of bitterness creeping into his voice."And, forgive me for asking, but on a similar note, has your connection to the divine been similarly severed? Bluntly, is Selûne still answering your prayers?"
"That's something you'll have to ask Lena, over at the cathedral. She's our resident priest, she'll know more about the connection to the Lady than me. She can still perform her spells and healing magic, so there's that at least."
The gnoll nods, "Gideon, when were you supposed to send your last shipment?"
"Two days after this wall appeared, why? Do you think it might have something to do with the moonwine?"
Somehow the gnoll manages to convey a frown using only his voice. "We saw some strange events outside of this." He waves a claw that takes in the enlarged moon and night sky. "I do not know if these matters are connected, but I will not rule anything out until I am very sure. My question about the wine was to make sure I understand the chain of events. Please, let us go speak with Aldric."
Shaggar moves towards the town, hoping the group will follow and this will temporarily end Gideon's questions. The gnoll didn't know much about magic or planar geometry... but he had a gut feeling the situation was moving well beyond simple magics. He wanted to discuss his speculations with the team alone, and that wasn't going to happen immediately.
”That’s something, at least,” Ari says. ”Thanks.” She looks over at Shaggar, seemingly eager to get going and shrugs. ”Come on then, let’s go find him.”
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He responds to Rutilux's comment with dry humor. "Yes, if only we had a ranger among us." He looks at the halfling then hitches a clawed thumb towards himself. "Luck would seem to favor you."
"Must be halfling luck on account of my people's tendency to clean living." He answers trying to appear cherub like.
Then he follows when the group moves on, his brow now knit with this odd conundrum they find themselves in, and eager for more answers himself.
The path into town continues, with what looks like a graveyard to your immediate right and houses to your left. A dirt path leads down to a river (how does that work in this place, you wonder?) where it looks like some docks sit at the edge of said river.
Ahead of you appears to be some sort of inn, with a handful of people milling about outside. They don't appear to have noticed you yet, as far away from the city as you are. Behind the top of the nearby houses you see the tip of what looks like the aforementioned cathedral , with the top part of a moon fixture poking up into the sky.
"Pretty enough from this distance, would be interesting to see by proper light."
Sasha nods and listens as her friends discuss things with the locals, occasionally looking up at the moon with a thoughtful expression. "Could it be the Lady of Loss? That would be bad..." she asks Pheliks while the others start walking ahead of her. With a small effort she casts a spell before looking up at the sky and trying to make sense of the sky - see if the constellations look right, and so on...
Sasha looks up into the sky to see if she can determine where she is by using the star map above her, but can't seem to get a grasp of her actual location. The stars seem off, and they most certainly aren't the ones she's used to seeing above the Sword Coast.
Shaggar heads for the Inn, speaking to the locals as he comes into sight. "Good evening! Gideon said we should speak with Councilman Aldric. Is he about?"
Rutilux smiles at the locals as he joins Shaggar's meet and greet effort, "And well met," The halfling adds, "The big fellow here is Shaggar, I'm Rutilux Freewind. My family's in the merchant trade, but today I'm following these good folks' lead and hoping to help them help others."
He hopes to make good impressions.
"Yes, well met," Ari echoes Rutilux. "Ari," she offers as a perfunctory introduction. It's only really as she's doing this that she realises something that puts her a bit more on edge: she was so distracted on the final trek to the village that she didn't even don a persona. She chides herself for this sloppiness, though it's too late now. She hopes that given Silvermoon Glade is a pretty remote and insular place it won't have any longer term ramifications and bring with it any unwanted attention. And Ari tends to default to the position that most attention is unwanted.
Before you enter the inn, you are subjected to harsh looks from the few people gathered outside the building. They reek of distrust and suspicion towards you, the outsiders. They don’t stop you from entering but you certainly feel watched.
One of them finally answers your question with a nod towards the inn, before continuing their mundane conversation about some drama between two local gossipers. The usual.
The inside of the tavern looks much like you expect any other tavern would look like: tables with cozy looking chairs, a fireplace with a small fire, a bar with a kitchen behind it. The people inside seem to be in various stages of waking up, and several of the tables have plates of breakfast food on them: ham, eggs, a few pancakes, the like.
The barkeep attracts your attention before pulling out a few glasses from beneath the bar.
”Morning. It’s not often we get visitors here in our secluded glade, I’m afraid we haven’t opened any casks yet. What can I get for you, in regards to drink? Water, juice, maybe some kaeth?”
The gnoll's ears perk up. His question is almost excited. "Do you have the nectar of oranges? I wish for a mug of that."
”Thank you,” Ari replies. ”Water would be great. With some fresh mint if you’ve got any but no big deal.” She scans the room, taking in the patrons and their respective meals. ”I don’t suppose you could point us towards Councilman Aldric?” she asks. ”Don’t worry, we’ll let him finish his food - we’re not savages.” She tips the barkeep a wink.