IC - Mad King's Monkey II

[Fangor the Fierce]

Eban waits for the others to appear, as he scrutinizes the scene before him. He felt a little at ease, for some reason, and looks down at the wayfinder tied to his waist. Lifting it, he examines the needle and watches it is tries to pinpoint north. Something else seems to flood him though, as the wayfinder seems to impart a name on his mind. Arora. "Arora" he whispers, low enough to keep to himself. As he says it, a link seems to be created. The wayfinder seems to have been awakened.

He is brought back to his circumstance by the joining of the others. He is too concentrated on the scenery to note that anyone has spoken, so he waits. Turning back to the others, he speaks "I can not hear any warning, should it come. I should not lead, in case you have need of alerting me of danger. Who can lead and keep their eyes open?"

For the new people, his accent is foreign, not something that can be placed. It is plain, as if pronouncing some of the words comes with emphasis on the wrong syllable. But, Eban does speak. "I vote the woman and her dog to lead, as they seem possibly more attuned to this type of role. Unless anyone else has a better chance at a scout role?"

 

[Scott DeWar]

"This is not right. This can't be good. There use to be clear, clean paths, the sky a calm gray to our blue, not turbulent. I have traveled the netherworld as a youngster and eventually as a guard for the caravans. Never was it ever like this." Jan's face shows total dismay and more then a bit of fear, "There is something very bad amiss."

 

[Axel]

Bayar kept his sword out and ready until everyone had made it through. Whatever had attacked the Steward had showed no signs of itself by that time, so he sheathed the weapon again.

"We be moving quickly," he said, setting off along the goat track. "The thing may be back soon."

The Netherworld had always been a creepy and strange place. He would be happier when they were through the far portal.

 

[Isida Kep'Tukari]

Ullara looks at Eban and raises an eyebrow. Well... she'd hoped to aid others from the middle of the pack, but the man had a point.

"If you prefer, I can go first," she says neutrally. If no one else leaps forward with a desire to lead, Ullara will start them off down the path, Bran following after her, both of them ready for trouble.

 

[doghead]

Moment One, Herr Borne's path, The Netherworld

The ground falls away slightly at the track departs the portal and enters the valley. The ground is rough and broken, mostly rock and hard dirt strewn with loose rocks and boulders. The footing is treacherous enough to require those on the move to pay attention to what they are doing. The path meanders a little, but cuts a fairly unobstructed path up the slope of the valley to the saddle at the far end.

Small clusters of rough spiky bushes are scattered around the valley on either side of the path. Despite their spindly branches and sparse spiky foliage, their interiors seem draped in shade, as if they have gathered up the surrounding shadows and wrapped them up within their branches.

At first the Netherworld appears silent except for the small noises of your passage across the hard ground. But gradually you become aware of a low discordant hum lurking in among the crunch of boots on hard ground, the clatter of stones dislodged and the small clinks of hard item against like. Elusive when listened for, it snatches your thoughts as soon as you stop pay attention, snagging in the corners of the mind like burrs in a woollen cloak.

[SBLOCK=OOC]Everyone please roll me a Reflex and Willpower Save.

For those of you who are new (or have forgotten), I don't require you to use an online roller and link to the result (although you may if you want to). We work on the honour system.[/SBLOCK]

[SBLOCK=Fangor the Fierce]Eban cannot hear the humming, and you don't need to roll a will save. However, keep this to yourself until it becomes apparent IC to Eban that the others are hearing something unusual.[/SBLOCK]

 

[Guest 11456]

Li Thuan, male human monk

As the group moved through the Netherworld, Thuan remained at the rear watching for signs of anything that might approach from that direction. Having only travelled a few times through this strange land he found it different this time. In the past he had always travelled with a large group and this time it was with a small one. He found himself more apprehensive as well compared to times in the past and could not quite put words to why this was. Lastly there was this strange feeling he was trying to shake out of his system.

[sblock=Saves]Reflex=19; Will=19[/sblock]

 

[Isida Kep'Tukari]

Ullara has traveled over rough terrain before, and even in woods that some had said were haunted before, but this was the first place that had truly warranted the title. The skin was crawling on the back of her neck as the path seemed to reach out to grasp her as it hadn't in a way since she'd learned to tap into the power of nature. Bran was very unhappy, growling softly in his throat out of nervousness.

[sblock=DM]Ullara - Reflex 13, Perception 21, Will 21.
Bran - Reflex 12, Perception 11, Bran 21.[/sblock]

 

[Fangor the Fierce]

Eban is intrigued by the bushes and tries to discern if they are poisonous by quickly scanning them. They are interesting, and had he more time, he would inspect them more. But they were on a mission, and one that seemed of importance. He continues on, looking around and wondering where anything would hide in a place like this. He keeps his shield at the ready, but his other hand free as it is used for magic. To the newcomers, having someone with a shield and only a dagger would seem weird...

OOC - Detect Poison when he passes near the bushes, 30'. Also perception +6 to see if anything would be able to hide in a place like this. Sight only of course.

 

[Scott DeWar]

Jan's knowledge of sound only confuses his senses, though only for a short moment. He searches in his mind for a counter chord to nullify the hum - an opposing harmonic should do just the thing if he can just identify the the note of the hum. gerrrrr . . . . .

1d20+4=15, 1d20+6=25

will and perception check

 

[doghead]

Moment One, Herr Borne's path, The Netherworld

The bushes are scattered around the valley, mostly a fair distance from the path. But Eban finds one that is close enough for his purposes.

[sblock=Eban]The surface bush luminesces a pale red indicating poison. But Eban almost misses it as he is momentarily engulfed in a 30 ft sphere of pale softly pulsing red light that is everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

I still need a REFLEX check from Eban.[/sblock]

The valley is still, and empty. Anything bigger than a child would have difficulty concealing itself behind the few bushes, which would still leave it with at least 30 feet of open ground to cover before reaching the track. A small animal might conceal itself among the rocks and broken ground, but would likely only remain so if motionless. Anything else would have to hide on the other side of the hills that line the valley, hundreds of feet away.

Jan listens intently trying to get a handle on the humming.

[sblock=Jan]The sound is elusive. It fluctuates and changes, twisting and turning like a living thing trying to remain detected and un-known. It has power. Jan can add +4 to his future Will Saves for his Well Versed ability [/sblock]

[sblock=OOC]Check to make sure you have given me a WILL and REFLEX check. Tailspinner nailed it. Scott and Isida and Fangor close, but no banana.[/sblock]