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

[Dire Lemming]

[sblock=Enko and Ryon]Enko clamps his hands to the sides of his head just about his ears. "Damn it... What if she were possessed by an evil spirit? We would need to rescue her! But she might not even be there." He looks at Ryon, at least he was glad to have him with him. He did not trust Thane, and with any of the others he would have felt more concerned for their safety than his own, even if such feelings were foolish in Artimisia's case. Ryon however, he knew he could trust, he knew he could take care of himself... and he wasn't Artimisia. Still he hated feeling lost and helpless like this. He had no idea what to do. Taking several deep breaths, he looks down the path where Artimisia's trail supposedly leads, then back the way they came. "If we had the time, I could ask for guidance from the spirits, but we don't... The Oak Lady said... follow the guide. I still have no idea what she meant, but it's possible she knew of this place, and that this is what she meant... Still, the only guide we have is Artimisia... I... I think we should go on a little further. Until it becomes too tight to continue. Then we'll know for sure that she didn't come this way." Enko takes one more look around for signs of Artimisia other than the tracks, and prods one of the poison thorn bushes with his quarterstaff.[/sblock]

 

[WarShrike]

[SBLOCK=Enko and Ryon]
"Then let's make as much haste as these briars will allow."
[/SBLOCK]

 

[Dire Lemming]

[sblock=Enko and Ryon]Sure, just gotta wait for the DM...[/sblock]

 

[Zurai]

[sblock=Enko and Ryon]Wary now, the two of you return to following the un-natural tracks. Although the path is lined with brambles and briarthorns, it remains wide enough for a mounted man to negotiate without impaling himself or his mount. Your wariness quickly makes you realize another strange fact about this trail: it is perfectly straight. You could fire an arrow from the start of the trail to where you are now, had you a bow powerful enough, and yet hit nothing but the ground at your feet. There have been no obstructions - not even an exposed root or vine - along the path so far, and, looking ahead, you can see none in the stretch ahead either.

After some considerable time spent travelling, both of you hear an odd sound coming from up ahead. After a brief moment, you're shocked to realize it's a voice - but not Artemisia's, or Thane's for that matter. It is slightly high pitched, but carries a strong undertone as it sings,
"O mo dhùthaich' stu th'air m'aire
Uibhist chùmhraidh ùr nan gallan
Far a faighte na daoin' uaisle
Far 'm bu dual do Mhac 'ic Ailein"[/sblock][sblock=Erin, Alistia, and Cleyra]Following the sound of Quoth's cawing laughter, you are quickly able to find the source of his amusement: a wolf caught in a pit of collapsed earth. There's a thick layer of vegetable matter at the bottom of the pit with it, and the pit itself seems more like a pit trap than a natural occurrence - it is far too deep and its walls too regular to be a simple sinkhole. [sblock=Erin and Cleyra]It's hard to tell with the dirt and leaves covering it, but the facial markings on this wolf look the same as those of Growl, Ryon's wolf companion.[sblock=Cleyra]You also notice, embedded in the wolf's haunches, what appears to be a tiny arrow or dart.[/sblock][/sblock][/sblock]

 

[Dire Lemming]

[sblock=Enko and Ryon]Enko stops, remembering the strange short toothy 'men' they had met all those days ago, as well as their strange language and high pitched voices. Then he remembers the one he tried to help, and how it had withered and died despite all of his care. His heart starts to grow heavy as he fights down the unsettling memory and speaks to Ryon. "Ryon, do you hear that? Do you think it could be more of... them? You know, the little mad people with the bone daggers and long teeth..." He squints ahead, trying to make something out. "It sounds like... it's singing?" He looks back at Ryon with a confused expression. Then it suddenly becomes one of horror. "What if it's some sort of ritual and they've got Artimisia? Come on we need to hurry!" He starts heading down the path again as quickly as he can without making a huge ruckus or running into any thorns.[/sblock]

 

[WarShrike]

[SBLOCK=Enko and Ryon]
"If it is more of those things, they're gonna get annother taste of Szas Fhel." Ryon says, gripping the blade and hurrying after Enko.
[/SBLOCK]

 

[Zurai]

[sblock=Enko and Ryon]Steeling yourselves for the worst, you hurry down the path. To your relief - and utter surprise - the voice comes, not from one of the toothy critters, but rather a brightly-dressed, red-haired boy seated to the side of the trail. The boy doesn't seem to be paying much attention to anything; he puffs on a pipe in between verses.

He wears red breeches, a bright yellow waistcoat, and wears no shoes upon his feet. His skin is ruddy and his flame-red hair stirs lightly in the breeze. He wears no armor and does not seem to be carrying any weapons.

He seems oblivious to your approach, as he does not turn to face you and continues to sing in the same strong, but high-pitched voice,
"Tir a' mhurain, tir an eorna
Tir 's am pailt a h-uile seorsa
Far am bi na gillean oga
Gabhail oran 's 'g ol an lionna

Thig iad ugainn, carach, seolta
Gus ar mealladh far ar n-eolais;
Molaidh iad dhuinn Manitoba,
Duthaich fhuar gun ghual, gun mhoine."[/sblock]

 

[Dire Lemming]

[sblock=Enko and Ryon]Enko glances at Ryon, a look of wonder and bewilderment on his face. "It's... a kid." He looks back at the boy and hesitantly calls out to him, "Hey kid. Um, what are you doing?"[/sblock]

 

[Shayuri]

Erin cracks a smile on first seeing the wolf's predicament, but quickly covers her mouth. Then she sobers as she realizes the implications.

"Isn't that Ryon's pet wolf?" she asks, crouching down to get a better look. "I've never seen it leave his side before. Quoth...that's enough."

"How are we going to get it out of there?"

 

[Zurai]

[sblock=Enko and Ryon]The "child" whips his head around at the sound of Enko's voice, cutting off his song mid-verse. Looking at him head-on, now, you can tell that, while young, he is not a child. Looking only at his face, you would guess his age at perhaps early 20's; his body, however, is small, reaching barely four feet tall. Even as his head whirls towards you, you notice his hands moving in motions similar to those Erin makes when she casts her spells, but he stops almost as soon as he starts, his hands dropping to his legs and dusting himself off as he stands.

"What'm I doing? I was waiting for you lads to make your way here. Took your own merry time of it, didn't ye? I'd ask if ye got lost, but it's hard to get lost on a Straight Path." You can clearly hear the capitalization of "Straight Path". "You can call me Brann mac Llyg. 'Tis not my real name, of course, but it'll do for the nonce." He pauses a moment, then asks, "I don't suppose ye'd have any food on ye? I've been waiting a terr'ble long time here and I've had nought to eat."[/sblock][sblock=Erin, Alistia, and Cleyra]"Yes, I'm sure that's Growl. And look! There, right by his back leg, doesn't that look like an arrow? And this is clearly a pit trap of some sort. But no one from Cuirlen has ever been this far into the Noonshadow Forest!" And, sure enough, now that Cleyra points it out, you can make out what appears to be the shaft of an arrow protruding from Growl's thick fur.

"We need to get him out of there, before ... whatever ... comes and checks its trap! Maybe we can dig some of this earth away and make a ramp for him to crawl up out of the pit?" Alistia adds.[/sblock]