Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[A5G_Reaper]

There were way more bright sparks of fire than one would expected on the dagger's impact, pretty obviously unnatural considering that some of it were bright blue and green. But in contrast with the fanfare, the strike left only a shallow - if lengthy - cut across the gate's bars.

On the bright side, it should take only several hundred such strikes to completely cut through the gate. Probably way less if the warding gave in at some point.

[MeimieFan88]

Reeta, GSH, and Burt travel north along the river, passing where Reeta and GSH had crossed earlier. The color of night begins to emerge as the sun sets and the shadows darken. Sounds of chirping crickets and an occasional owl hoot can be heard in the surrounding forrestry.

The light of a campfire is soon seen glowing in the distance. Exploring nearer, the group sees that there are several humans gathered around a small camp. Most of them are armed, wearing leather armor and carrying an assortment of weapons. In the back of the camp is a small wagon of goods, where one of the humans is lying on the ground nearby and appears to be injured. It seems that they've not yet spotted the adventurers.

Spoiler: World map (click to show/hide)

[Silversky]

Jack trudged through the quickly reddening twilight through the grass, and toward the tower.  He could see that the large orc fellow had taken to tending the over-sized fire, and had set a number of large logs aside to keep it fed with.  Instinctually, and totally undesired, thoughts rushed through his head about misusing resources. There was only so much fallen timber, and it took YEARS to grow a tree that size. It was downright wasteful to use wood in such a wanton manner... but he took that thought, wadded it up, and crammed it into the back of his mind.

"Nobody wants to hear about that kind of thing, Jack. You've put your damn foot in it badly enough as it is. Don't say a goddamn thing about it, pretend it didn't happen, pretend you don't see it, do whatever-- but don't bring that shit up.  Deep breaths. You're here to be 'sociable'-- not cause a further ruckus. You made pancakes, and brought water, because you are trying to be nice--"

His internal monologue trailed off as he drew closer, and the outlines of his traveling companions came into clearer view.  Linea and Edwarg were eating biscuits and drinking coffee again. Either those were magical biscuits, she had a really profound preference for bland hard food, or they did not really provision well before they left.  Regardless, the biscuits really did not have enough 'oomph' to sustain a body walking so many miles in a day like this, and then shivering in the cold at night to boot.  Pancakes weren't really satisfactory either, but the honey at least would go a long ways toward making up the deficit.  What she really needed was a good serving of stewed starchy root vegetables, some savory herbs to make it tasty, and some hearty meaty bits in it-- something that would keep a body going under this kind of abuse...  Just...

His thoughts wandered again, to all the times the elf-girl had tacitly refused any of the food he had gathered previously.  Sure, it wasn't exactly gourmet, but it wasn't like it was poison either. Then again, most people don't consider such things edible...  He had to remind himself of that.  The pancakes at least were something everyone could agree were actually food.

They would have to do.  --Especially since they were all he had at the moment. 

At the very least, she should have some honey with that hard tack. SURELY she wouldn't refuse THAT.

As he drew closer, he noticed that the other woman was missing.  He wondered if she had gone off somewhere, but since the only real reason he could come up with for why she would have done so involved answering nature's call, and was not something polite to bring up, especially when bringing food, he decided to put the observation on the same dark corner of his mind that the oversized fire, and wastefully stacked wood were relegated to.


Approaching the fire, he held a hand up peaceably, and announced his approach.  He was unsure how good the other's vision was in the growing darkness; He had heard that Elves and Orcs had better vision than humans did, but such things were apochryphal, and until proven, not something to bet your life on, or just assume. 

"Howdy!" he announced jovially. "Ya kids hungry?"

The campfire was unnecessarily bright so Edwarg had no difficulties on discerning the approaching figure. It was the hermit Jack, he waved at him and called.

"Hey pops! Care to join us for some coffee break? That's a real treat you've got there, pancakes goes well with coffee. Sit down here, I will make you some." 

[Slyph]

"Howdy!" he announced jovially. "Ya kids hungry?"

Being offered a pancake in the middle of the night was totally not something she would expect, especially if it coming from a lone wanderer who just spent the last few hours doing god-knows-what in the woods. She was expecting information, whatever it is, be it from the pixie, or about the general landscape of the surrounding area. Something that worth keeping her awake a little bit longer.

But she recognized the neighborly gesture and tried not to be a prick this time.

 "Not really, but we surely wouldn't say no for some snacks. Right Edwarg?" 

[The Centipede]

Barely a scratch on the gate... and her dagger is back to being an unwieldy trinket made of bone.

Dixie takes a sip of the coffee. Hm, tastes okay.
There's one last thing she could do. She holds the Dagger of Destiny up and stares at it. Commit the shape to memory.

She drank all of the coffee in one go and tossed the cup above the gate, and her dagger through the gate's grating, and Dixie dashed and jumped at the gate, seemingly attempting to punch it--

one of Dixie's two rings glowed, and her entire body started to warp and shrink into smoke starting from her fist-- mid-air, she turned into an exact replica of the Dagger of Destiny, as her momentum continues to carry her through the gate.

[King Zultan]

"So guys should we attempt to talk to them or do we assume they're bandits do to the injured guy?"

[A5G_Reaper]

First the cup clonked on a briefly visible barrier, the same kind as the one over the wall. The dagger went through the gate's grating just fine, but then Dixie's polymorphed form clonked on a barrier and fell back down inside.

Either the gate's warding was a lot smarter than it initially seemed, or the ring wasn't able to perfectly turn her into an inanimate object. Nevertheless, she's still stuck inside.

[wierd]

This Edwarg fellow seemed like an alright sort. Easy going and jovial, and not too judgemental. A shame he was misusing the wood, but once more, Jack shoved that thought into a dark hole.  It was nice having somebody on their good side. (He silently cursed inwardly about sticking his foot in things about fire once before already.)

While he was dispensing pancakes and accepting a shot of coffee into one of his jars to drink it from, Jack overheard a clank from the other side of the locked gate. Acting on impulse more than anything, he whipped around to face the gate, his single eye bulging in the dark and a hand firmly grasped 'round the haft of the frost staff slung over his shoulder.

What 'as that!?

He couldnt sense any danger from behind the gate, but he remembered that he couldn't sense a whole lot of ANYTHING inside that tower, which is one of the many reasons he detested the unnatural thing with a purple passion.  The LAST thing he wanted to meet was another whirling blade of doom in the dark out here.

"Calm down old timer--" soothed the red-haired orc gentleman, putting a large, warm hand on the old hobo's shoulder.  "It's just the mage girl, stuck behind the gate."

Of all the places she could have gotten off to, "Behind the gate" was not a place he would have considered. 

Wull, what' she doin' BACK 'ERE!? Keen she git back out?

"She tried to teleport the gate out of the way." said Linea, somewhat between sympathy, disdain, and 'matter-of-fact'. "Now she's stuck in there until her amulet recharges. Whoever made that gate must have warded it. It's resisted heat that should have melted a hole in it."

Jack looked at the gate more closely, and saw superficial sooting and other signs of intense heat being applied to it, but no real sign of any structural damage of any kind.

He stroked his beard-- Trying to teleport it off its hinges was a clever idea..  too bad it hadn't worked.

She gon' be alright in 'dere? uh REAALLY dun like is 'ere tow'r-- all big an' gaudy an' unnatural.... His voice trailed off into muttered profanities concerning male genitals and marital aids, amongst other unmentionable epithets. Edwarg interrupted his muttered festering tirade with a squeeze on the shoulder.

"She'll be fine. We just have to wait it out."

I hope yer right... huffed Jack, returning back to the conversation at hand. Can we slip anthin' through the bars a' least? She' prolly hungry in 'dere---

"Ed passed her some coffee just before you showed up, so I suppose you can." Said Linea, huddling her knees closer to her with a coffee cup stuck between them, as she wrapped her clothing tighter around her, and hunkered near the fire.

Jack nodded, and let go of the staff behind his back, then walked up to the gate slowly, taking the menacing iron work in with all his senses. Linea had mentioned a barrier along with the gate, and if the scorch marks on the ground (that conspicuously were not on the gate) were any indication, she was right. Who knows what that fool of a wizard had this thing rigged up to do-- Jack did not like it at all, and approached it like it was an angry beast stricken with distemper.

Ya Alright girl?! I got's some pancakes ifn' yer hungry---

[The Centipede]

The dagger on the inner side of the gate, after landing, made a small explosion on the ground to propel itself up, and another mid-air explosion to launch it towards the gate again, bouncing back away again due to the barrier. It then dissolved into smoke and turned back into Dixie, who then immediately raised her right hand forward, and the dagger on the outer side of the gate shook and the flew towards the gate and through it hilt-first, just a single foot away from Jack.

She sighed, before answering back. "I'd like one. Thanks."

She picked the cup up and dusted it, and held it through the gate as far as she could.
"Please put it in here, I can't hold my hand out due to this dastardly thing..."

[wierd]

Jack blinked bewidleredly with a single large, bulging eye then craned his head around this way and that looking to see if any more flying objects would perform a meet&Greet, before placing 2 pancakes into the offered cup.

Dauym girl-- don' hurt yaself.. How long ya think ya gonn' be in dere? Duh I need ta be considerin somat more fillin? Push comes ta shove, I can prolly conjure up more mushrooms or sommat...

[The Centipede]

She stared at the 2 rolled-up pancakes inside his cup and then took a bit out of both of them at the same time.

"Maybe until next morning."

[Naturegirl1999]

"So guys should we attempt to talk to them or do we assume they're bandits do to the injured guy?"

I think we should try going around them

[MeimieFan88]

"hmm, you won't have much to worry about, it seems pretty safe so i'll be going to catch up with one of the groups now, have a nice and peaceful day"
Dularach leaves to catch up with the group that went to the lake

(Skye comes along as well)

Dularach and Skye travel northwest into the forest, and after journeying for some time, arrive at the tower, where Linea, Edwarg, and Jack are currently having pancakes and coffee, along with Dixie who remains trapped within the tower's gates. It is now late evening, as the last colors of the setting sun glow in the distance and a cool breeze washes over the tower and the surrounding forest.

[Remuri]

As he linked up with the party. Skye stay stand still and close his eyes.

A circle spreads in wide within 100 yards, follow up a grayscale environment inside of it. The naked silhouette of Linea filled with an overflowing of mana which more brighter than the average on like the rest of the party which is normal flow in their bodies. Dularach same case of Linea even in Dexie's too if the range reaches her.

Also within the range, notify what are those that got detected.

[King Zultan]

I think we should try going around them

But they could have info, or if their hostile we could take their stuff they're dead.