Nac Mac Feegle
First Post
Thane nods briefly to Artimisia, but doesn't speak, apparently having exhausted his daily ration of words already.
Into the New World, Chapter 1: Amongst the Verdant Towers
- Thread starter Zurai
- Start date
Zurai
First Post
Artemisia leans against a wall, shaking her hair out, and says simply, "Then we wait."
_____________________
The group waits in the small antechamber for another quarter-turn, making small talk (or not, as their preference lay). The wind howls around the eaves of the council building and rattles the shutters occasionally, but when the door opens again, no wind-borne ash swirls inside. Instead, Pantheras strides into the chamber, then turns and holds the door open for a younger woman with tiny wavelets splashing and dancing around her feet. Whether through direct knowledge or inference, it's easy to place the woman as Sotera, the spirit-talker marked by Old Man River.
Sotera smiles at the gathered party, then crouches down and appears to address the waves at her feet. The words that pour from her mouth are indecipherable, sounding like the crash of waves on a shore or the gentle trickle of a forest stream. When she finishes speaking, each of the wavelets seems to twist upwards and evaporate into the air, almost like a reverse rainstorm. She turns her attention again to the group, curtsies, and says, "My apologies for our lateness. Our communion with Old Man River disturbed a crocodile and we had to start over again after soothing it."
Pantheras also apologizes. "I had intended to have you on your way well before highsun. Still, there is news you will need to know, and I have provisions for you inside. Come, let us talk in the council chamber, where there is less noise from the wind to interfere" He leads you all into the large circular center chamber and takes one seat at the round table in the middle of the room, gesturing for you each to take a seat as well. On the table are seven bundles; inside each bundle are an assortment of food and basic survival tools, as well as three small clay pots, each a different color.
"There is enough food in each of those bundles to last you a week, and gear to keep you safe and warm in the wilderness. The pots contain magical drinks from Phaidros; the blue pot will close wounds and restore strength to your body, the red pot will protect you from extreme heat or cold, and the green pot will allow you to see more easily in the darkness.
"In addition to these gifts, we have some information for you. After a discussion with the traders and our communion with Old Man River, we believe that you may be able to follow the banks of the Spiritwash River through the forest nearly to the base of the mountains. However, there is a great expanse of water there that you would have to cross. Another possible route would be to skirt the edge of the Noonshadow Forest westward; the traders say that the forest eventually turns northwards and ends at the base of the southernmost end of the mountains. The most direct route would be to cut a path straight through the Noonshadow Forest, which will avoid the great water and hasten your passage by many days; with the ash storm, it might even be preferable to stay under the canopy as long as you can.
"It will be your decision which path you take. The spirits do not know which way will provide the least danger or the highest chance of success." As Pantheras finishes speaking, Sotera again addresses you.
"If you choose to follow the river, I can provide you with charms that should quiet the currents and allow you to cross easily, but they will only work once."
[sblock=OOC]Feel free to make comments at any point during this section. If you want to ask Sotera about the wavelets, or whatever, feel free to do so. I just figured that the thread has been slow lately, so I thought I'd speed things up a bit.[/sblock]
_____________________
The group waits in the small antechamber for another quarter-turn, making small talk (or not, as their preference lay). The wind howls around the eaves of the council building and rattles the shutters occasionally, but when the door opens again, no wind-borne ash swirls inside. Instead, Pantheras strides into the chamber, then turns and holds the door open for a younger woman with tiny wavelets splashing and dancing around her feet. Whether through direct knowledge or inference, it's easy to place the woman as Sotera, the spirit-talker marked by Old Man River.
Sotera smiles at the gathered party, then crouches down and appears to address the waves at her feet. The words that pour from her mouth are indecipherable, sounding like the crash of waves on a shore or the gentle trickle of a forest stream. When she finishes speaking, each of the wavelets seems to twist upwards and evaporate into the air, almost like a reverse rainstorm. She turns her attention again to the group, curtsies, and says, "My apologies for our lateness. Our communion with Old Man River disturbed a crocodile and we had to start over again after soothing it."
Pantheras also apologizes. "I had intended to have you on your way well before highsun. Still, there is news you will need to know, and I have provisions for you inside. Come, let us talk in the council chamber, where there is less noise from the wind to interfere" He leads you all into the large circular center chamber and takes one seat at the round table in the middle of the room, gesturing for you each to take a seat as well. On the table are seven bundles; inside each bundle are an assortment of food and basic survival tools, as well as three small clay pots, each a different color.
"There is enough food in each of those bundles to last you a week, and gear to keep you safe and warm in the wilderness. The pots contain magical drinks from Phaidros; the blue pot will close wounds and restore strength to your body, the red pot will protect you from extreme heat or cold, and the green pot will allow you to see more easily in the darkness.
"In addition to these gifts, we have some information for you. After a discussion with the traders and our communion with Old Man River, we believe that you may be able to follow the banks of the Spiritwash River through the forest nearly to the base of the mountains. However, there is a great expanse of water there that you would have to cross. Another possible route would be to skirt the edge of the Noonshadow Forest westward; the traders say that the forest eventually turns northwards and ends at the base of the southernmost end of the mountains. The most direct route would be to cut a path straight through the Noonshadow Forest, which will avoid the great water and hasten your passage by many days; with the ash storm, it might even be preferable to stay under the canopy as long as you can.
"It will be your decision which path you take. The spirits do not know which way will provide the least danger or the highest chance of success." As Pantheras finishes speaking, Sotera again addresses you.
"If you choose to follow the river, I can provide you with charms that should quiet the currents and allow you to cross easily, but they will only work once."
[sblock=OOC]Feel free to make comments at any point during this section. If you want to ask Sotera about the wavelets, or whatever, feel free to do so. I just figured that the thread has been slow lately, so I thought I'd speed things up a bit.[/sblock]
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Dire Lemming
First Post
Enko is about to speak to Pantheras and Sotera when Ryon suddenly reveals his bizarrely massive blade. He stares at it mutely for several moments, feeling strangely uncomfortable. "Um, Pantheras, I actually wanted to speak with you about something."
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Curious, Erin goes over to see what the commotion is about the blade. Quoth tilts his head and flaps down from his perch on her shoulder to peck at the sword experimentally.
"CAUGH!...shiny..."
"Shiny and sharp," Erin warns the bird as she reaches out to stroke its somehow shaggy-looking head. His feathers are still fluffed from getting all ashy outside, though he's dislodged most of the powder by now.
"CAUGH!...shiny..."
"Shiny and sharp," Erin warns the bird as she reaches out to stroke its somehow shaggy-looking head. His feathers are still fluffed from getting all ashy outside, though he's dislodged most of the powder by now.
Lorthanoth
Explorer
Alistia turns to Erin and says quietly, "Seems like the river would be the safest to me, if we have charms to help us, rather than the forest."
Zurai said:
"I purchased it from one of the traveling tradesmen. The one that brings the iron knives. He himself claims not to know it's true origin or purpose, although he did say that it would cut through bronze with ease, and that to his way of thinking, it's purpose was merely to kill. It made me very uncomfortable, the way he described it, but at the time, i was overcome by the feeling that i would need such a blade in the near future. For use against the dark spirits of the forest. Do you think the spirits were trying to warn me?"
Dire Lemming
First Post
"A blade made only to kill... Why would someone create such a thing?" Enko shakes his head in disbelief. "It's hard to believe, though it's right in front of me..." He looks downward for a moment, looking concerned, then looks up again at Artimisia. "Uh, Artimisia. I think we should speak to Pantheras about what we discussed yesterday. Is... that alright with you?"
Nac Mac Feegle
First Post
WarShrike said:
"I agree with Ryon," says Thane abruptly. "The river may be safer, but it is unknown to us, we would do best to keep to the forest, where the hunters have the most experience. It will also give us a better chance to gauge the disturbance among the spirits. Were we to take the river we would have little to compare it to."
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