Merin will then (manipulate waylines) to perform the following tasks:
1. Dampen sound around himself.
2. Soullessness.
3. Night Vision.
4. Darkening his skin.
For the players this is probably nothing more than vocabulary, but characters do not "use" waylines to perform mystical feats. The "use" of waylines indicates analysis, which infers Divination. In order to perform mystical feats, even simple ones, waylines must be abused. They must be changed from their natural state, which is why I use the term "manipulate" waylines.
Seeing the feat that Sheldon performed as he was departing company earlier, reminds Matumbo of even greater things he has seen the more powerful members of his former clan do. The masters of those feats are enhanced warriors, called Echoes, feared even among the other Deviard. It is likely that an Echo came to kill his parents. Seeing someone as jovial as Sheldon perform something once thought terrible indicates that it is not the talent to manipulate waylines that makes one malevolent. It must be something else that drives the other Deviard.
No one else in the party has that particular talent like Sheldon. As a Philosopher, he is becoming a master of bending light. Merin's particular talent lies with the manipulation of sound, while Vadin and Matumbo are similarly more tuned to pheromones and alchemy.
Even with the slightly enhanced vision, moving through the scrub at night is more difficult than expected. In very short order, Merin realizes that he can see much better than the others. Instead of trying to follow a trail that does not seem to exist, or crosses various other game trails that look identical, the three men take a bering on the cliff wall and move directly toward it. Once it is reached, the decision is made to move farther south, hoping to find a break that will allow egress within.
When the three travelers reach a distinctly dark crevice in the cliff wall, some instinct causes them to pause. Even with enhanced vision, it is like trying to see within a cave. A strange quietness seems to fill the sky above, followed by an odd windy sound. A heavy thud resounds in front of Merin's feet. Looking closely, it is the body of a young Da'Roneh.
Unable to see Merin, but noticing the other two, it is fortunate that Sheldon did not hit Merin with the corpse. In a whispered voice as if speaking only to Vadin or Matumbo, Merin asks, "Sheldon is that you?"
Carried by the wind at Merin's command, the faint whisper is carried far above to where Sheldon is standing, unseen, looking down. In response, a dimly glowing pebble strikes the ground near the fallen corpse. A second pebble bounces within the hidden path that leads into the rock. Though extremely faint, the glowing stone allows the others to see how to proceed.
The path is so narrow that Matumbo has to turn sideways a couple of time. It is obvious that Torvald, had he been along, could not traverse this path. By using yet a third dimly glowing stone Sheldon shows himself to the rest of the party from up ahead. He motions for everyone to follow him up the divergent path to the lookout post above where the group is more free to speak. There are five more bodies up top.
Matumbo nods at the bodies and says with a wide grin to Sheldon, "And here I thought you were going to wait for us. It seems clear that your abilities rival the best of what this valley has to offer. If you wish to lead on, then I will follow you against these offensive Deviard."
Matumbo will patiently wait for someone else to take the lead.
Merin pauses for a moment to manipulate Way; he augments his physicals (Strength, Motility, Health) before continuing.
Merin says, "Well, this path seems to lead us to the Da'Roneh, not the Deviard. But I'm sure we'll meet up with them as well, in the long run. By the way, Sheldon, be careful where you drop your bodies. You almost squashed me." Merin chuckles lightly.
Merin continues, "Let's get moving."
And with that, Merin takes the lead, following the path toward the Da'Roneh village.
Matumbo nods at the bodies and says with a wide grin to Sheldon, "... It seems clear that your abilities rival the best of what this valley has to offer..."
Matumbo will patiently wait for someone else to take the lead.
Sheldon shakes his head and laughs. "No. I think not. I remember, well, the last time we were here. We made some advance upon the Da'Roneh, but the Deviard could hit us with lightning from a distance we could not even see them. We did not know what we were up against, before. I think we should fare better this time."
"As for these, chumps..." He pauses for a second to gather his thoughts.
"I speak Centrin as a first language. In Ansylin, I guess I would call them fodder. I actually feel a little bad about what I did. They did not even stand a chance, but there is no negotiating with these people."
Merin takes about two steps back the direction from which he arrived and stops, realizing no one is following. It is full on dark, and no one else can see nearly as well as Merin can.
Sheldon, who is not whispering but is speaking with relatively quiet, addresses Merin. "Where are going!? I can tell by the way that you are moving you can see much better than the rest of us, but it would be foolhardy to attempt a night raid into an established village when we know so little of it. I can fair say there will be much more competent foes than these six, well, five since I threw one off the cliff."
"It was still light when I arrived, so I can tell you what I know that you cannot see. This outpost appears to be more a living lookout. There are two huts that can sleep six each. There is a permanent fire pit and a water collection system. I do not think that the guards here change out, regularly. I think they stay here until they spot a target traveling the road, then attack. Once they return with spoils, I am guessing that they return to the main village to be replaced by another group of young bandits."
"I only found the one path. I think we can establish a base of operation at this location and make raids into the village. Yes, it is the Da'Roneh village. I cannot believe you forgot. The Deviards are on the other side of the lake."
"I tried to signal you all using light, earlier, but even if you had noticed, you could not have known it was me. Sorry about the body," He laughs. "I could see Vadin and Matumbo. Glad I did not hit you."
Merin laughs, "I didn't forget. It was Matumbo who was talking about the Deviard. But that's only natural, considering what the Echoes did to his parents. But anyway, back to the Da'Roneh: using this post as a base sounds like a good idea. And I'm starting to realize that you are correct; I can see well enough to move around, but not enough to scout effectively. Let's get some rest, and get up with the dawn. Then we can discuss our next move."
Matumbo nods at the conversation and says, "My mistake. I thought we were going against the Deviard first, since they are stronger after the Seekers defeated the Da'Roneh in battle. If you want to take out the weaker threat first, then I will follow your lead."
He will leave camp to scout around, keeping as silent as possible.
Matumbo nods at the conversation and says, "... I thought we were going against the Deviard first..."
He will leave camp to scout around, keeping as silent as possible.
This means that Merin can see 61% as well at night as he could during the day. Sheldon and Vadin can see less than half as well, while Matumbo can only see 23% as well as he could during the day.
Sheldon answers, "Well, we wanted to see how the Da'Roneh were managing to make raids on the caravans. Also, to go at your former village first, we would have had to go through the jungle and come at the valley from the other side. Merin and I thought this would be better when we discussed it some several days back, long before we even decided to make the trip."
Like Merin had, Matumbo begins to walk away, but as soon as he is away from the dim light stone that Sheldon is holding, he realizes that he can barely see to walk around, much less actually find anything. From a pouch sheldon pulls three more of the dimly glowing stones and hands them to each of the others.
"I can make several of these at a time. I chose to keep them dim because I do not want the light to penetrate the jungle and alert the Da'Roneh village. They will glow for most of the night."
The party uses the available huts and spends the night in relative comfort. In the morning light, everyone gets a clear picture of where they are situated. The lookout camp is built back into the trees, but a bald outcropping juts toward the east at this location. A person can readily see the road from the outcropping, but the chances of being noticed from below are negligible, especially if the lookout is lying down.
West of the immediate treeline, back toward the hidden valley, it becomes evident that Sheldon's previous caution was for naught. The mountain chain rises again, cutting off egress. The only path to this lookout and from the road to the village at this location is the fatman's misery, a ravine so narrow it seems to have been designed for the Faethrin by the gods.
Following the cut in the rock it does not really matter who is in the lead, for travel is necessarily slow. The cut opens on the other side of the peaks, still at a relatively high elevation. The larger of the trees that contain residences for the Da'Roneh can be identified as the poke above the rest of the canopy. Some hint of structure way on the other side of the valley must belong to the Deviard who reside there.
Out of the cut in the rock and down into the valley, the four men can fan out and walk parallel paths. From this secret direction, there does not appear to be guard posts as there were on the north end of the lake, which means that the nearest structure, secured up in a gigantic tree, should be a residence. Rope ladders allow access and arboreal pathways have been manufactured between the structures.
The sounds about the village all seem normal, voices can be heard, and the party is not near enough to have yet been noticed.
Matumbo speaks in Deviard, "I used to despise the Da'Roneh. I was taught they were inferior people only worth killing so that our tribe could rule the valley. I see now how our two peoples were pitted against each other in pointless conflict. I pity the Da'Roneh, and I pity those I once called my tribe. This beautiful, rich valley deserves better than two continuous warring tribes."
If Matumbo can recognize the 'hint of a structure' he will identify it to the Seekers.
