Into the New World, Chapter 1: Amongst the Verdant Towers

[Zurai]

[sblock=Enko]

"A woman? Wait Artimisia, you shouldn't go off alone if something strange is going on." Enko hurries to catch up with her as she leaves. "I'll go with you."

"I saw someone, I swear it. There's no tracks, though. Not even a bent twig!" She spends nearly fifteen minutes inspecting the area around the tree in minute detail, although you can't imagine how she's able to make out much in the failing light.[/sblock]

[sblock=Erin OOC]Quoth isn't spotted by either Artemisia or Enko. Feel free to eavesdrop as much as you want.[/sblock]

 

[WarShrike]

"The darker spirits of this wood have a way of playing on one's emotions. T'is best to be on your guard, not only for the beasts without, but also the beasts within. These beasts must be quelled, for if they are allowed to rage, here, in this place, well..." Ryon stares off in the direction Enko went. It's obvious where he'd run off to.

"I had hoped she would have gotten control of her emotions before we entered the wood. She was weeping when we exited the council chamber. Whatever was said that broke her spirit so, those words were powerful indeed. For Artemisia would not be one of Cuirlen's greatest hunters if she burst into tears the moment the inner beasts came growling.

You say she has been seeing things that weren't there? I can only hope it is her inner beast that shows her these visions. In time we may be able to comfort her and reign the beast in. But if it is the forest itself that is preying upon her, it will only get worse. I will be extra careful in my scutiny of our path. Not all visions are false."

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

Thane holds his peace as Ryon speaks, but when he finishes the shorter hunter remarks quietly, "If you see the forest as your enemy, as a beast that preys on you, you are wrong. This place is no more an enemy than the air we breathe or the blood that flows through our veins. It is not a foe, it simply...is. Listen to the words of the trees, and understand, we are the only beasts here. The madness you fear does not come from around you, it comes of refusing to hear what is being spoken plainly."

 

[Dire Lemming]

[sblock=Enko]Enko frowns, looking around himself for signs of a person's passage. "You're sure? Any signs would be hard to see in this light. Then again, I can't think of anyone who would be out here either. Can you? What did she look like?" Enko gazes at the oak, wondering just how old the tree must be to be so large.


OOC: So I guess that would be either a survival (+8) or spot (+2) check for the traces of a person, and a Knowledge Nature (+5) check for the oak.[/sblock]

 

[Lorthanoth]

Alistia looks at first Ryon and then Thane as if they're speaking gibberish, and then goes off to gut the game.

 

[Shayuri]

Erin stands near Ryon and Thane, but seems distracted. She nods vaguely at appropriate moments, but it's clear she's reacting more to the cadence of the words than to the content of them. Despite looking at the forest floor, her eyes are unfocused.

 

[Zurai]

[sblock=Enko]

Enko frowns, looking around himself for signs of a person's passage. "You're sure? Any signs would be hard to see in this light. Then again, I can't think of anyone who would be out here either. Can you? What did she look like?" Enko gazes at the oak, wondering just how old the tree must be to be so large.

You don't see any tracks of any sort, nor anything especially out of place. The oak itself is massive, far larger than most of the other trees you've seen so far, but you really don't have any idea how to determine how old it is.

"I didn't get a good look; she was only visible for a moment. When she saw me looking at her, she ducked behind this tree. No one in the village would be out this far at this time of day, no. I don't know ... maybe I am delusional after all."[/sblock]

 

[Dire Lemming]

[sblock=Enko]Enko shakes his head absently, still staring at the oak. "No... Look at this tree. Have you ever seen one so large? Surely it must have a strong spirit." He walks over and places his hands on it. "I wonder if I can communicate with it."

OOC: Well I don't suppose there are any game mechanics for what I want to do so...[/sblock]

 

[Zurai]

[sblock=Enko]

Enko shakes his head absently, still staring at the oak. "No... Look at this tree. Have you ever seen one so large? Surely it must have a strong spirit." He walks over and places his hands on it. "I wonder if I can communicate with it."

"I don't know much of spirits, or trees for that matter. I do however know that trees tend not to be strong conversationalists." She continues poking around the base of the tree for a few more minutes, then sighs and shrugs. "No signs of anything bigger than a squirrel. We should probably get back and help the others set up camp."


OOC: Not in any official books, no. I have a general idea how I want to go about doing spirit seances and communions and so on, though. As far as what Enko knows about communicating with spirits, he's probably only rarely communicated with any spirit other than the Blackfrond. Usually spirit talkers are pretty specialized at a younger age and gradually take over more generalized roles as they grow older. He knows, more or less, how to set up the ritual to contact the spirit world, but he's never done it alone before.[/sblock]

 

[Dire Lemming]

[sblock=Enko]"Hm..." Enko cocks his head at the tree. "Uh, yeah..." after a moment of silent contemplation he turns away looks back at Artimisia with a concerned expression. "Artimisia... I'm, kind of worried about the others... If you don't tell them about your visions, they're bound to start noticing things eventually. There's no telling what ideas they might get if they don't know the truth. I'm not too worried about Erin, but Alistia's a different story, and Cleyra's been taking care of her family by herself since her father died."[/sblock]