Terra Subterranea and The Caverns of Lost Time

[Rystil Arden]

"Might could be." Michael replies.
"But trees are pretty scarce in the Big Sky country. We pretty much had one. It was in Big Tree."
Michael shrugs.
"Fancy names are pretty scarce in Big Sky too."

"Still, an efficient nomenclature," Aya conjectures, "Now that we have everyone, let us be on our way."

(OOC: Looking at Opale's spells prepared, there aren't any Phantom Steeds, but there should be. They left the next morning, givign Opale that day to learn the spell. She can then prepare it out of Aya's spellbook.

Also, Michael should prep a Create Food and Water if you want to use up less food)

*Using Opale's and Aya's conjured Phantom Steeds, the group is able to move at incredible speeds, nearly three times the speed of a normal horse, doubled again because the Phantom Steeds can hustle without getting tired. The real limiting factor is that Opale's steeds don't last very long, so for now, the group can only really travel seven hours a day by Phantom Steed, to a total of 196 miles a day. Still, that is quite fast indeed, and Aya's steeds can ignore terrain penalties.*

(OOC: For some reason I thought Opale was Caster Level 8. That's actually going to be a big issue in the mountains unless Aya literally loads up all but one of her level 3 and 4 non-specialist spells on Phantom Steed. If she did that, the group's speed would increase from 196 miles per day (does not ignore terrain penalties) to 324 miles per day (ignores terrain penalty). The growth of Phantom Steed's speed by caster level increases quadratically. What do you guys think? It's sort of leaving her useless in combat, but it will nearly double your speed on easy terrain and up to octuple it on the worst terrain (the sort that's usually x1/4 movement). )

 

[Velmont]

OOC: Or I could spend 19 DM credits and raise her to level 8... that would not be such a bad move. She could have learn a few things from Aya.

 

[Rystil Arden]

(OOC: That's a lot of GM credits to spend, but it certainly isn't a bad idea. Statistically because of our weird rule that credits stop increasing in value after level 8, the best two levels to raise your PC with GM credits are 7 and 8. Being a Wizard and thus with a d4 HD, having an extra HD can't hurt as far as survivability either. Aya's higher caster level is mainly due to having a +1 CL item.)

 

[Velmont]

Well, it is a lot, but with Rinaldo at 10th level, Opale at 7th and Ridik at 5th or 6th, my DM credits will soon become less usefull. I'll do that.

 

[Rystil Arden]

(OOC: Okey dokey--if she's going to be learning from Aya, I'll give the following description

*Although Aya is soft-spoken about her own abilities and generally more focused on getting the job done, when Opale studies with the other woman, she finds her to be possibly the greatest genius intellect that Opale has ever encountered, and a naturally gifted teacher. Despite being the Fallonese representative, Aya's style is something of a combination of a small amount of basic Medibarian theory with a large amount of personal technique and innovation, much of which Opale has never heard of before, probably because Aya is not a published author, so she may be the only one who knows of such things. Still, despite Aya's genius, Opale has the feeling that her own vast experience puts the two of them on par in pure spellcasting power, even despite Aya's thirty-something odd years, so Opale is able to add a few pointers every once in a while, especially as relates to techniques Opale has discovered based on her mastery of Illusions.*

(OOC: So speed is now 256 miles per day, ignoring terrain penalties. How many Phantom Steeds will Opale prepare?)

 

[Velmont]

I've updated my usual spell list. every day we are riding, opale will convetr Stinking Cloud, Dimension Door and Fly. If there is a need for one more steed, she will convert Black Tentacle.

 

[Rystil Arden]

(OOC: No, it should be okay--if Opale does 3, Aya can just do 4)

*Between Opale and Aya, the group manages to move at incredible speed, and so the group quickly moves into the lands of earth. Sometimes they see what might be monsters in the distance, but very few things can outpace the Phantom Steeds, so they just keep going. After about a month, they enter the Wendigo Mountains, and the terrain becomes extremely treacherous. Fortunately, the Phantom Steeds can move at full speed without any difficulties on difficult terrain. However, navigating the range pretty much requiring climbing high into the mountains, and it becomes colder and colder as they ascend. Michael uses his survival skill to try to keep everyone sheltered. Aya, in her long cloak, seems unaffected by the cold at all.*

(OOC: Watch order please? No need to wait for everyone, I think--someone just propose one, obviously giving the casters each eight hours of contiguous rest, which is easy enough to do because you only ride for 8 hours each day)

 

[Velmont]

Two hours each watch:

1. Eternity & Aya
2. Hulgyr
3. Zack
4. Duncane
5. Michael & Opale

That's make 10 hours night. Spellcasters/Manifesters have 8 hours straight. Add one hour of memorizing in the morning and that make 11 hours of camp and 8 hours of riding. The remaining 5 hours can be used many way.

 

[Erekose13]

ooc: EDIT: Velmont did a better one up

 

[Rystil Arden]

(OOC: Sounds good)

*During part of the journey, Michael finds shelter for the group in a small cave. During Zack's watch, he hears a strange sound coming from just outside.*