Thank you for running while you could! I'm definitely with Elyana; please let us know when you come if you want to pick this game back up.
Search Posts
"They may still yet understand Common, even if they don't speak it. I think it is worth the risk." Alric mentions, agreeing with Zaranna. Down into the dark corridor, Alric's eyes strain to see for a moment. "Cardren, can you hold a torch. It will give us away but it is better than being blind in the dark."
"There, you should be alright. Just try to favor your other side, alright?" Alric says, lightly tapping his friend on the side.
"If you think you can talk with them, we'll give it a try. Now just give me a quick moment here." Alric mutters as he takes out some bandages and begin to wrap his side where the stony fist had collided. "Just keep an eye out, yeah? We should conserve the resources we have."
Alric bandages himself and while he still winces slightly, the pain is not as terrible. He looks towards Cardren and nods if he wants to be looked over as well. If He Does:
The two strikes hit hard against Alric, staggering the ranger as he coughs hard. Shaking his head, he focuses through the pain and gets ready to strike down his foe. An arrow flies over his shoulder though and smashes the head of the zombie before him. It crumples to the ground, leaving it open for Alric to move. He sees the foe laying upon the ground and studies him just for a moment before advancing upon his prey.
Alric sees the mephits coming for them and grimaces, wrapping his cloak around him as he tries to disappear again out of sight. In the dim lighting, there are momentary flickers of his cloak moments before it swallows the light all around them.
Alric moves through the dim lighting quickly now, engaging with the other earth mephit who was not dealing with a close encounter with an enemy. The two blades would be draw like flashes, striking at the foe.
From the shadows nearby where Zaranna dispatched the mephit, Alric would seem to manifest again. "Good shot." He says, looking towards the others before nodding down the tunnel. Taking the lead once more, he quietly led the way while keeping an eye out for any more ambushes.
Alric easily manuevers out of the way of the pebble spray, his blade deflecting a myriad of stones that threatened to catch him in the face. Moving quickly, he would wrap his cloak around him suddenly and the dark material would swallow the light around him. He would seem to disappear in the dim light. With his shadowy cloak enveloping him, he goes after the mephit once more.
Alric will move swiftly and quickly, attacking the closest one to him.
"Thank you, sir. We'll keep a cautious eye out." Alric mentions, taking the lead down into the mine. The walls all around him makes his skin crawl; he prefers the open sky and drifting breeze. Now though, his senses try to sharpen like he is hunting a beast in its lair. The lanterns provide illumination around them, his dark cloak swallowing the light eagerly.
I'll miss the little summoner but it happens.
Alric waited nearby the others when the door opened, looking over Zaranna's shoulders to see the little gnomish woman that they had encountered the night before. The woman quickly slammed the door and there was a moment of silence before another humorous snort escaped Alric. "Brilliant." He muttered as the door opened again and there was the gnomish gentleman that had been watching them the night before. Of course it would be. Zaranna and Elyana were up by the door, handling people was much more their thing than it was his. He would keep an eye on the miners coming to and from, trying to get an idea of the atmosphere here at the quiet mine.
The party reassembles and Alric shares what information he had learned, which really didn't amount to too much unfortunately. All the signs were pointing them in one direction for now. "I think we should go to the mine now. Thank you all for looking into leads with me. I was hoping we'd have more but...the mines should surely provide us information." When the rest of the party was ready to go, Alric would finish his glass of water and lead the way from the town to the mine where these dirt gargoyles lingered.
I am! Sorry, it has been a super crazy week here.
The settled dust in the room makes Alric's heart heavy as he walks through it, making the ranger almost unwilling to disturb the room before the need to learn more became too pressing. Just like when he was a boy, he had hid his journal underneath the bed upon the wooden struts that supported one's weight. Reading it over, Alric's face tightened with emotion. He was to become an uncle. His brother was working hard and being honorable. The thought that his brother could be suffering the same way the others had, the thought that it could end the same way it had before, made Alric's knuckles tighten and his eyes moisten. Zaranna spoke though, shaking him from his thoughts, and he would nod. "Let us go and meet up with the others. Then we'll go to the mine." Alric murmured, unable to keep the inflection of emotion from his voice. He turned and made his way out of his brothers room and back to the inn where they had rested and the party had agreed to meetup at before noon.
"The family mostly worshipped Aruuc the First Hunter. We give proper worship to the other gods for their gifts, blessings, and mercies but Aruuc was prominent in our home." Alric offered, finishing preparing himself for the day. Throwing on his cloak, he'd give a nod to Zaranna. "I am ready when you are. We'll all gather back here before noon and make our way to the mines?" If everyone was in agreement, Alric would head out with the gifted oracle to find his brother's place of residence. He would ask some of the miners and locals if they had any idea where his brother had been staying, looking for a good location to investigate into.
"I was hoping that there may be things written; a journal or something. If my brother has fallen underneath this dark influence, maybe something there will give us insight as to how." Alric says, rubbing his chin for a moment. "It is a longshot though so...if we rather just move to the mine and be more direct, I can understand it. If he has been corrupted, we cannot allow whatever he is trying to accomplish here be successful."
Alric couldn't lose the feeling that they were being watched throughout the night, that there was something on the edge of vision and just outside of reality. The feeling did not settle well with the ranger and while he had no dreams, he did not sleep well. He awoke in the morning to the sound of the door being open, rising up from his bed and stretching for a moment. "Thank you." Alric said before the dwarf left the room, grabbing his own plate and eagerly shoveling the food down. He was hungrier than he expected and quickly emptied the plate of every morsel there. Once finished, he would wash his face off in whatever constituted as a water basin and would finish getting dressed. "I'm going to ask around and see if I can find my brother's home. I want to look around it, see if there is any clues inside. After that, we investigate the mine. Anyone else have any other idea?"
Alric pays his piece of coin, making his way into the common room before settling onto an open part of the floor. Cardren brought up a good point as he settled into his place, nodding. "Certainly. We'll take the same watches we normally do and we'll try to sleep closest to the door. In the morning, we'll investigate where my brother lived and see if we can get any information there. Then we'll look into this closed down mine."
Hey folks! My head is trying to explode so I will likely be asleep all of today. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Alric will happily chip in a gold piece, wiping the tear away from his eye. He couldn't even remember how long it had been since he last laughed that hard. The comedy was worth the coin. "I...Kristoff was always hard to read." Alric said with a shrug, his smile tinged with a bit of sadness as he remember the reclusive nature his brother gained after that terrible time in the Piper's domain. He was never quite the same, his laughter as rare as the white stag that roamed the swamplands. "He is a good man though, never meant anyone harm. If he is involved, it isn't by his own choice." "We should get a place to stay the night. Maybe the gnomes will be willing to talk about Kristoff."
I can't believe we kinkshamed a gnome.
"Your...your fiance? You mean, this...this is?" Cardren stumbles over his words as he lets the gnomish lady up and she bolts around the corner towards the tavern door. Alric looks at Cardren, his eyes wide in surprise for a moment before his cheeks puff up in a ridiculous manner. He tries his best to stifle his laughter but cannot as he stands up straight and begins to cry. "Now that...that is a story for home." Alric murmurs, savoring the moment of brevity there.
It was impressive exactly how effective everyone was; Cardren's fast movements and Elyana's magic made quick work of the would-be burglar. Hopping down to the ground, Alric would make his way over as the small figure as they begged for their life. "What do you think you were doing with that blade, little burglar?" Alric murmurs, crouching down on his heels to look down at them. He looks them over for any other weapons and where that glinting blade he saw earlier was.
Alric notices the movement off to the side of a blade glinting in the night, a small figure scaling up to the inn nearby. His stomach drops at the timing of these things. His fists tighten for a moment, eyes focusing on Zaranna again. He fought with his mind for a moment before cursing quietly to himself and darting out from the cover of the alleyway. "Upstair room in the inn. Eastern side. There's someone breaking in." He quickly says to Zaranna (and anyone else who came out to join her) before moving to scale the wall himself in pursuit of the assailant.
"Not sure." Alric says, finishing his drink and standing up from the table. "Only one way to really find out though." He'd throw his hood over his head, nodding for a moment. "If he follows me, follow him. If he doesn't, enjoy your food and then when you go, I'll follow him. Please make sure that there is a nice inn we can stay at, yeah?" Alric asks of the party before making his way out of the tavern and into the cool air of the night. He doesn't wait for long before he moves into one of the alleyways across from the tavern, the dim light covering him. As he moves, he finds the cloak to oddly move for a moment. It was as if the shining moonlight and dim light shining through dirty windows was being swallowed around him. Crouching low, his cloak encompassed him with darkness and he would fade from sight.
Alric let out a soft sound of pleasure at the taste of meat that then melted in his mouth. Things were strange, dangerous even, but that did not mean that he should not enjoy the bits of life he had to enjoy. Adruuc was the Great Hunter and while one should never kill for sport, it did not mean that one could not enjoy the satisfaction of a good hunt. The mead was sweet and refreshing, bringing a wide smile to his face as he gestured to his comrades. "You all should eat. We deserve it and who knows when we'll next have a chance to." Alric murmured, a bit distracted by the meal in front of him.
Alric stops eating for just a moment, the spoon hovering in the air as his eyes survey the room. Finishing his bite, he purrs in delight and smiles at Elyana. "Rydyn ni'n cael ein gwylio" He says quickly in Elven, his eyes moving in the direction of where their little voyeur was watching them. Elven: "We're being watched."
As the elven man and his crew depart, Alric waves for the others in his group to join them at the table. Food would be coming and it would be rude to let such delicious delights go to waste. When Cardren calls them earth mephits, he nods softly in agreement. "I believe they're one in the same. Lots of places have local names or a name just sticks. Dirt gargoyles fits well enough here." The ranger murmurs, clasping his hands together as he thinks softly. "Kristoff was always the quiet twin. That night had an effect on him and he turned inwards. We were close...in a quiet way. He didn't take on the training to be a ranger though, a decision the family respected." Alric ponders over things a little more, nodding at Cardren's suggestion. "He liked to construct and build things. I think he had hoped to have that elf's job at some point. He wouldn't be anywhere...loud or disruptive. He liked being on his own, solitude gave him peace."
The news brought a frown to Alric's face as his fists tightened up ever so slightly. It was not the news he was hoping for. Zaranna's words had given him hope that maybe things were alright and not going as poorly as he had imagined they could be. That hope was now dwindling slowly. "Missing, you say? Damn. What about these...Dirt Gargoyles. I don't think I've heard of them." Alric would listen to the description of them and to recall information about them or something close to them. Nodding at Cardren, he would welcome the man at the table with him before he noded. "He's a friend of mine. We've all had a bit of growing up in Swampwood." "Why would people think he is involved with them? Just a timing thing or something more?" Alric asked, trying to not betray the nervousness in his voice.
"I'll take it at a table, if you don't mind." Alric said, leaving two pieces of silver behind as payment and a tip as he made his way over towards where the muscular elf was. He would wait for a lull in conversation if there was one, clearing his throat as he nodded towards the man. "Celethanak? May I borrow a moment of your time?" Gesturing to a seat at the table, Alric would sit down before continuing to talk. "I hear you are my brother's crew boss. I'm Alric, Kristoff Ludwig's brother. Have you seen him or know where he is?"
The rich scent of mead and spiced meats were a welcome treat. There was nothing like a well-run tavern and while Alric enjoyed the solitude of the forests, he could not deny there was something wonderful about a tavern's warmth. Pushing back the dark hood, Alric smiled at the scene in front of him before making his way towards the bar in the middle of the room. He was not pushy at all, making his way to a stool before nodding at whichever bartender was free for his business. "This place is great. A mug of mead and some spiced meats and bread, please." As much as he enjoyed the forest's fare, trail rations and berries could only provide so much enjoyment. Travelling meant most hunts had to be simple and easy to cook, no rich game for them. Paying the coin for the meal , he would lean in to the barkeep. "Have you seen my brother? A bit younger than me, arrived a few months ago. Kristoff Ludwig? I'm looking for him in regards to family business." Alric offered the friendliest smile he could muster and hoped that the barkeep was trusting of strangers from out of town.
Alric listened in curiously for the time being. The woman knew his brother and it made his heart lift. At least he was still himself a few days ago. Zaranna continued to take the lead, an action that made Alric's brow furrow for a bit before she finally pulled them all aside and began to explain what was going on. "She was from your dream?" Alric murmured, looking back at the woman for a moment. Their dreams have all been varied, different, and strange. Some were peaceful and some of them were threats. Whether this was the former or the latter, it was impossible to tell. Zaranna believed it to be a good thing and with a solemn nod, he would place his hand on her shoulder. "I'll do as you ask. We'll find my brother. Keep this woman...safe." As an oracle, the woman's gifts were strange and beyond mortal ken. He would need to have faith that they were being aided in some way against the enemy and not just being led into a trap. Waiting only for a moment to see who else would join him, Alric would make his way into Ruby Hollow. He expected asking just a few locals would point him in the right direction of the Miner's Respite and his dear brother.
Alric smiles as Ruby Hollow finally appears out of the trees, a sigh of relief to not find the town in ruin or worse. Shouldering his pack, he looked to the others and gestured to the town. "Welcome to Ruby Hollow." Alric announces to everyone before he begins making his way down the hill towards the town appropriately. The sun was just beginning to settle down on the horizon. "I'll have to look for Kristoff tomorrow. Ask some of the local guilds if they've seen him or not." There were too many leads and too many possible places to find his prey now. He would look like a madman and possible reveal his hand too quickly if the enemy was unaware of their purpose here. "Shall we find an inn to rest at before the sun sets completely? We can do some walking around before night falls, get an idea of the land first." Alric mentions as the man nearby begins helping the woman collect the apples. Grabbing one that rolled to where he was, he'd toss it back to the man with a nod.
"Then maybe I can save her..." Alric murmurs to himself, shouldering his pack and feeling the pain aching in his limbs. Putting things down, he would unpack his healer's kit and turn towards everyone. "Let me look you all over. That fight was rough." Alric would move first to Elyana, bandaging up where the force of their strikes were the most painful and spreading numbing ointments to help restore her bodies strength.
It takes a half an hour but after all things are said and done, the three of them are looking and feeling much better after their conflict. "I'm ready to go. How about the rest of you?" Alric asks, moving to take the lead once more.
The two remaining assailants let out cries of pain, the caster beside Alric falling to his knees. Alric crouches down, his longer blade left to the side but the parrying dagger ready to protect himself. "What is happening to you? Tell me, please." Alric pleads, trying to get some insight on their attackers and their reasonings. Yet the shadow covers their flesh and the cries of pain are muffled before finally being silenced. All that remains is a pile of clothing, a scowl slowly spreading on Alric's face before he hears the movement back the other way. Pushing through the underbrush, he gazes at the floating man. The puppeted flesh speaks in that awful voice and Alric's grip tightens along his blade. Before he can speak, the body is covered by that dark energy and ruptures outwards into a wave of darkness that washed over him. "Agh!" Alric gasped, the cold almost burns from the Piper's mark upon his wrist before dulling away to normality. Alric moved again, dropping his cloak that he had used to protect himself with. There was a strange, textile sensation to his cloak and to those watching, it almost seemed to blur like a shadow around Alric. The shadows that had erupted were swallowed by the fabric, becoming as dark as night itself. "That...was very strange. Very strange indeed." Alric murmured, looking towards his companions and noticing that each one of them had been changed in some degree. Zaranna's bow and Elyana's blade no longer looked quite the same and he was certain that his cloak had been infused by that energy. "Perhaps they are lieutenants or favored servants? Did you all feel that? That coldness rush through you? It was...awful." Alric says gently. When Zaranna asks about the bodies, Alric shakes his head. "When I cut them, they bled like the living. The other bodies did not turn to shadow. Maybe his hold on them is getting stronger." The thought makes Alric want to reach Ruby Hollow sooner now.
Level 3 Updates:
I look through the various gifts and I think I will take the Minor Shadow Gift of Obscure for my cloak, if that is doable. I like the idea of eventually wearing an almost living shadow.
Alric charges through the underbrush, chasing after the caster as Elyana goes after the bowman. Closing in with his target, he slashes with his dueling sword.
There was a sense of grim satisfaction at the burly man's surprise as the blade caught his throat and spilled his life-blood, his body tumbling to the ground between him and Cardren. The sounds of fighting proved that the battle was not yet over though as he turned towards where Vei, Fel, and Elyana were fighting. "You got that one." Alric murmured with a nod, leaving the bowmen to be dealt with by the dangerous monk and the powerful oracle. The ranger rushed through the other side, looking to assist his comrades in battle.
Beaten but not yet down, Alric grimaces under the strain of fighting the dangerous warrior. Spitting out a mouthful of blood, he took his moment to analyze the warrior's dangerous poise. "He seems to be able to pierce my defenses easily. It is better to seize the opportunity and strike hard and fast." Cardren provides a moment of distraction for the ranger to attack swiftly and violently.
I am able to make edits to the map.
Alric had been leading the way when they had been caught off-guard by the warriors and their impressive leader. Reminiscent of the ones that had attacked the wedding, the ranger drew his weapons in the midst of their conversation and prepared himself for combat. His attention flickered on the shadowy warrior nearby before they phased into nothingness and attacked once more with javelins.
As Elyana's spell entangled the dwarven warrior, Alric moved quickly and swiftly through the field of battle towards his hindered prey. Falling upon him in a slew of strikes, Alric aimed to kill after being cut by one of the javelins.
Alric listens to everyone's dreams as they describe them, nodding softly before his lips pressed firmly closed. Each side had their own good points; if these were traps and lies to distract them, why were so many of them working the way they did? Only some of them had been hostile in some way, Alric had considered his even hopeful if a bit too idealistic. "I think a diviner or a high priest of Mara or Faluun could provide some answers to us. I would wish to make sure that my brother is not trapped in that fiend's web though and try to find a way to save him if he is." The memories of the attackers at the wedding taking their own lives returned to Alric. He would need to do what he could to protect his younger sibling.
"I agree. Fel...you've had the most...disastrous interaction with this creature so far. I know it must be hard to recollect but I think it is imperative that we know what happened." Was the enemy trying to trick them or was it trying fool them now? It was impossible to say and Alric disliked the thought of being made a fool either way.
"I agree with Zaranna and Elyana, my dreams have not yet been...wrong." Alric listens to Elyana's tale, nodding softly but remaining quiet. The divine and the cosmos worked in mysterious ways, his own dreams had been strange and unusual. If the enemy was trying to break them by dreams or leave them vulnerable, it was playing with them. Such play could lead to an opportunity for the prey to escape or, even better, turn the tables. "We'll see that the night brings." The night goes by uneventfully, Alric's shift coming and going. As he wakes in the morning, he begins his morning ritual where he gathers food to spice up the usual drudgery that was trail meals. His concentration is broken by Fel's cry of alarm, the ranger quickly moving from the campfire to where the gnome was being soothed by the her spiritual companion. "Fel, what happened? Are you alright?" Alric asks, looking her over for any wounds or harm.[/b]
Alric stirs the fire up, helping them all get their breakfast cooked and ready before getting ready to head out into the forest once more. Adventure awaited them.
It was amazing to watch the vitality return to the dryad, her form coming back to life like a tree that survived a fire. She disappeared into her home, emerging only a moment later with five small vials of red liquid inside. A gift in return for kindness was a welcomed tradition and, having seen the dangers that have awaited them so far, Alric was in no mood to deny them. They learned more details of who could perhaps help them, a group within the port city of Polaris. Divination magic could assist them greatly but not before they made sure that Ruby Hollow was safe. "Gum bi thu air do chumail sàbhailt." The ranger says softly, dipping his head reverently before mentally noting the place. As long as there were offers left for her hospitality, this place could be quite the safe space for other rangers to rest and recuperate within. Flipping his hood back up, Alric once more led the way into the woods step by step to get them back to Ruby Hollow. Sylvan:
"May you be kept safe."
"Polaris does seem like the best lead we'll get, depending on what we find at Ruby Hollow. I am hoping that we find nothing amiss and Kristoff is...himself." Alric says softly, his brow furrowing softly. There was the more likely alternative though, one he had to face; what if his brother had been corrupted as well? They would need to take him somewhere to be confined to stop him from killing himself like the others or find some way to exorcise the evil within him. Neither option seemed truly pleasant.
"I do not know enough about the arcane to make any kind of decision like that..." Alric says softly, shaking his head. "Maybe we'll be fortunate and a diviner will be living in Ruby Hollow. Someone that can help us see our fate more clearly." Cardren's words were wise though; fear grew on possibilities. It would fester and take over your decisions, your thoughts, your mind. You had to control it, lest it control you. Alric smiled at the monk's wisdom, nodding. "A hunter must be sure. A wolf without confidence dies hungry." Alric had an idea of why the monstrosity that was the Piper didn't attack them separately; it was letting them mature and grow. It was why you didn't slay a young deer; the meat was not worth it yet. It was better to let them mature and grow. The attack at Cardren's wedding was simply easy bait to lure them out, it would seem. They were all gathered in one location and it was easiest now to hunt them down and consume them. "We are not sheep. We are wolves." Alric quietly reminded himself. Each trial that was supposed to fatten them would make them leaner. They would grow fiercer, more dangerous, and their cohesion would go. The hunter would become the hunted and Alric would see to it that the fiend's terror ended. "We can take turns holding her. I don't want her tied to you in case we're attacked. Your manueverability is your key to success." Alric says before he begins leading them back into the heart of the forest.
Alric says nothing but the thanks was evident on his face, the tension of what he needed to do and what would be done easing away. Like the others, he took his watch and slept well enough. In the morning, he woke up with a start and clutched by his left shoulder with a momentary look of confusion. A slightly destitute look came to his face before he sat up from his bedroll, collected his things, and prepared to lead the way once more. "I had another dream last night." Alric said as he led them along the trail of the orcs, following them back to where they had captured the poor dryad. "I dreamt of Shadei. We had escaped that monstrous shadow and had been wandering those strange woods for...days...hours...I can't say. We found shelter from the approaching storm, a small cave. It was pleasant...quiet." He lets out a sigh as he crests a hill, scanning the area for another moment. "It is strange, it is her as an adult. How she'd look if that monster never took her. I've thought of horrid monsters as a child but...she looks like she should. It-it is hard to put into words." Alric mutters, dropping his conversation. Strange dreams were never a good portent, especially with their shared connection.
Nope! I had thought it was on 2nd edition but it was on 1st edition. Not worth it otherwise, we'll just take the two days for travel then.
|