Magic Kingdom For Sale* (*Some Assembly Required)

[Isida Kep'Tukari]

*Once the determination of who is staying is done, you can talk to Aya about your intentions.*

"I can wait, of course. I will talk to your warriors while you're gone, I shall teach them about the plants around here, some of them can be rather... feisty," Aya says with a strange smile.

*The next morning you can slip out, heading again toward the river. In the next few weeks you encounter several more gnoll tribes, the Torngut (with their fierce claw-to-claw combatants, they particularly liked fighting Drakkon and his men), the Milkstealer (an unusual but not unheard of tribe solely of gnoll women, considered spiritually special, they must live away from men), the Boarchaser (expert hunters of the various exotic beasts, they allowed your hunters to join them, and brought down a small clutch of rather tasty owlbears), and the Legbreaker (a more war-like tribe on the fringe of troll territory).*

*The hunting has been good, the gathering plentiful. You haven't noticed any dragons or other particularly large, intelligent predators (barring the gnolls) yet, so that's a blessing. Well, there were some kobold tracks, but kobolds are generally too cowardly to attempt to even confront so large a party unless they outnumbered you ten to one or more.*

*There are plenty of owlbears, but they seem to be favored prey of gnoll hunters, so that keeps their numbers down. Deer, rabbits, wolves, foxes, these forests are very rich. There's a few carnivorous plants, assassin vines and the like about, so one does have to keep on one's toes. There have also been traces of dire animals. At least two scouts came back after having quite a fright upon meeting two krenshar in their lair. A few have spotted pegasi flying above the trees, and some others have spotted other things, large insects and bats. No one has seen any pixies or grigs, but then again with such a large group moving through the area that's not too surprising.*

*Finally the scouts brought back word that there was a large river up ahead. Making good time, you finally come to the banks of the large river. Over a hundred yards across, this is going to be difficult to traverse. There are not too many rocks in it, which argues for it being deep, and it seems to be swift as well. As you're evaluating the rocky banks, Trekt and Grik spot someone on the other bank. It seems to be a centaur. Looking at you all with astonishment, the centaur turns and slips back into the woods, disappearing from view.*

 

[Ferrix]

"Aye, ye seen 'm too didn't ya? Centaur across the river." Trekt says to Grik who nods affirmitively his ears flopping about with the vigorous motion. Turning to the others, "be seeming we've been noticed by a centaur on the other side, prolly slipped off to tell his folk of our arrival."

 

[Thanee]

Allyra

“I'll go and tell them, that we wish to talk to them,” Allyra tells the others. “Kira will keep you informed, if anything happens. I can come back in an eyeblink, too, so no worries,” she adds with a smirk.

With that, her raven familiar flies down from a nearby tree and lands on the wagon, Allyra has been riding in, while the mage swiftly takes off, thanks to her Overland Flight spell, and flies over the river towards the position, where the centaur has been sighted.

 

[Sephiroth no Miko]

*Phaeder will leave about half a dozen of his more sensible and level-headed warriors at the keep with the gentle admonishment to mind Aya and the plants. He lets them know that it that it will probably be several weeks, possibly a couple months, before the Hex comes back this way again.*

*The journey to the river passes in a blur for Phaeder, who is mostly distracted by his newest composition woven from the Aya's story. He is glad that the group's contact with the various gnoll tribes have been reasonably amiable so far, especially since it makes their journey easier-- he had no real desire to fight through hordes of the howling, drooling creatures every step of the way.*

*When they get to the river, Phaeder looks at the wide expanse of water with a repressed sigh.* I sincerely doubt the horses and livestock are going to be able make that, much less the wagons.... *Absorbed in his contemplation of the rushing waters, Phaeder misses catching sight of the centuar, though he hears about it from Trekt. He merely nods as Allyra volunteers to scout across the river and will wait quietly.*

"You've been rather subdued these days, whelp," Anshul comments after a while, as they're waiting.

"Hnh," *Phaeder replies noncommittally.*

"Something the matter?" the ghost asks, somewhat tentatively, not used to asking after Phaeder's moods.

"No," *Phaeder answers tonelessly, keeping his eyes firmly on the treeline across the river. Anshul frowns, knowing the response for a lie-- Phaeder was only good at dissembling when he put effort into it-- but also knowing his host and how pushing will only make him clam up more, he lets it drop.*

[OOC: Isida, which way is the river flowing? Towards the lake or away from it?]

 

[Emperor Valerian]

"This river is wide and swift... is it as deep as Kord's power?" Drakkon will ask, edging closer to the stream. He doesn't dive in, just merely gets close to the bank and watches.

"If we seek to cross, perhaps we need to find a ford. While I'll be able to swim across, I doubt the wagons will swim nearly as well!"

*Drakkon will, with the party's permission, dispatch a few of his barbarians up and downstream for the task.*

 

[Xael]

*Rezomael will leave two of his wizards to the keep.*

*After the group has arrived at the river, Rezomael will also get closer to the river. Staring at the water, he speaks to the group:* "As I see the situation, we have three options. One is to find easier place to get to the other side, second is to stay on this side and take the long way to go around the lake in the end of the river, and the third one is to find a good spot to build some kind of bridge. I think that we need to build the bridge in some point anyway, if there's to be any kind of traveling between our destination and where we're coming from, but that could be done later. A very small guardhouse might also be in order later, but that's not very important right now either. Any other ideas or suggestions?

Or maybe we should pay attention to the centaur and his friends first, but Allyra seems to be taking care of that for the moment."

 

[Isida Kep'Tukari]

*The river is flowing toward the lake.*

*Drakkon's barbarians are dispatched to attempt to find a suitable ford, warning him that they might have to take several days.*

*Allyra floats over the river like a bird, and comes to land on the opposite bank. A rugged centaur with the long nose and strong teeth characteristic of his breed slowly came into view, a bow in his hands, and a quiver around his human torso.*

"Who are you?" he asks, snorting nervously. Allyra spots a few other sets of eyes watching her from the cover of the brush.

 

[Thanee]

Allyra

“A messenger,” Allyra humbly states. “We wish to talk to you in peace. We are looking to cross the river and we are heading for the lake to find a suitable place to settle down there. That is, what we wish to talk about with you, because we are seeking the friendship of the civilized races in these woods and we are willing to oppose those, who are not, like the trolls in the north most likely.”

 

[Isida Kep'Tukari]

*At the mention of the trolls, the centaur snorts and paws the ground in agitation.*

"We're not great builders, but those of us that can't swim as well often make rafts. If you truly seek only to cross, that is something you could do. But if you're looking for a ford, try upstream. About two days' travel, there's a place where it's about chest high," he says, indicating his own human chest. "Try crossing there. You can get to the lake easily enough." The centaur seems nervous at the thought of you, and obviously would be relieved to see you pass through his territory at top speed.

 

[Thanee]

Allyra

“Thank you! We will carry on to the north. Rest assured, that we mean no harm to you and your kin. Is there anything you know about the lake area, maybe? Is it inhabited?”

Meanwhile, Kira informs the others of what the centaur told Allyra and her own observations.