stonegod's Expedition to Castle Ravenloft: Ch. II [IC]

[EvolutionKB]

Avron

At being rebuked for not being the only one that harbors ill favor, Avron slows his breakneck pace for the exit. He sulks to himself a little, before settling down in the middle of the group. You can hear him whispering softly to himself, "Walking talking to Eva been a long time chilly down here brrr..."

 

[stonegod]

You all return to the dim light of the Barovian mist. Nothing much has changed: The wind remains gusty, the air cold, and an eagle has taken alight.[sblock=renau1g]That's you, still observing. Don't observe forever. [/sblock]

The group begins their ride to the Vistani camp. As usual, the road is empty. In an hour, a little past noon, the group arrives at the crossroads that turn towards town or the Tser Pool.

OOC: So what is the plan? The book says the fane is near the pool, but not exactly where, so some searching will be involved.

 

[s@squ@tch]

Marot

The voices in the warlock's head are all a-buzz -- with tales of strange extraplanar beings struck low by insanity -- each voice relaying their own recollection of such a tale all in an oddly cohesive cacophony.

He shakes his head as he looks after the odd man.

As they reach the surface once again, Marot turns to the others and sighs,"Alright, am I the only one who has strong reservations of allowing this crazed scholar free reign within our group?"

"I, as much as the rest of you, have felt the maddening grasp of this land infect my very being, and after events of the past day, it is quite clear that there is death and danger behind every turn -- so, I cannot even fathom inviting a clearly unstable personality into our company. Have you all not witnessed his odd and crazed behavior down below?"

"It somewhat shocks me to think that no one has at least questioned whether or not this person should accompany us -- am I the only one who has actually pondered this?"

 

[pathfinderq1]

"Like it or not, I fear we have little choice," Tessa replied quietly- though she had no doubt that Avron could hear the entire conversation. "What else would you have us do? Kill him? Even we are not yet so far under the fell shadow of this place, I hope. Leave him, and let him carry tales of our endeavors to Mateusz, and whatever ears serve the local lord? I should rather an honest madman than some of the subtle foes we may face- and where we can see him, rather than lurking upon our trail."

 

[DEFCON 1]

Sir Khensu looks to his Flame brother and bows slightly to him. "I understand your reticence, Brother Marot... and indeed, you are not incorrect. But we do have precedence in meeting and learning to trust a man who at first blush would seem a bit off. That of course being Sir Urik." The shifter looks to Ashlyn, Jarrith, and Tessa, then back at the warlock. "Tessa knows better than the rest of us the skills and the faith of this man, as they rode together here as suredly as you, I, and Jarrith did. The three of us have stood up for the good names of each other when each of us did things that could easily have been looked down upon." Khensu says, implying his own savage change and Marot's temporary possession at the hand of the Emerald Claw agent. "Others have accepted our claims in good faith, and I think it be only fair that we extend that same faith to Miss Tessa."

He walks over and places a firm and friendly hand upon Marot's shoulder, the feeling of friendship evidently flowing between them. "In times of confusion, what do we do? We look to the Flame. Trust in the Flame, Brother. The Flame will tell us when things have changed."

It is obvious to all that Sir Khensu's personal strength and conviction has heightened and grown following the cleansing vigil he went through back up at the castle.

 

[s@squ@tch]

Marot the Flame

"I appreciate your wisdom and council, always, my brother." Marot says to Khensu.

"Indeed, we have met with many unexpected allies so far in this cursed land -- my main concern is purely with the man's current mental state -- it would appear at first glance that he has been driven mad by this place."

"If we are to travel together, we must at first admit that the man's mental state is not stable -- to not do so would be foolish and put us all at risk during our darkest hours."

"I do not harbor any ill will towards the fellow, but at this point I would like to keep him on a rather short leash, so to speak."

Turning to Tessa,"You travelled with this man as part of the caravan -- can you honestly say that he has always been? If he is not, which is my opinion -- is there anything you can do for him? Perhaps your influence with the Host would be able to partially assuage his mind?"

 

[pathfinderq1]

"I do not harbor any ill will towards the fellow, but at this point I would like to keep him on a rather short leash, so to speak."

Turning to Tessa,"You travelled with this man as part of the caravan -- can you honestly say that he has always been? If he is not, which is my opinion -- is there anything you can do for him? Perhaps your influence with the Host would be able to partially assuage his mind?"

Tessa thought for just a moment before shaking her head. "I think his madness has progressed far beyond what he demonstrated on the journey here- even Mateusz would not have borne the company of someone like this. But he is hardly the only one to suffer since we arrived, and probably not even the worst. For my part, there is little enough that I can do, or that the Host can do at my behest- the mind is a fragile thing, and healing it is much more difficult than tending physical injury. I can try to assuage any curse he might bear, though I've had little luck so far. Other than that, I don't know- perhaps the Vistani seer might have some clue."

OOC: That is to say- Tessa doesn't have any particularly useful spells memorized, and I'm not really sure what might work. Panacea (from the SC) seems like a possibility, but I don't know what else. I think we're stuck with crazy- though if he gets too wild, Tessa could always set him on fire.

 

[EvolutionKB]

Avron

[sblock=SG]What is the Tser pool? If I know of it of course. [/sblock]

Avron plops down beside the road, listening to the group discuss his fate. He is humming under his breath and rocking back and forth. He is content to sit and watch for a while. He begins scratching lightly at his forearm, which progressively increases in intensity, until he lets out a blood curdling scream and pulls the leather bracer away, revealing the purple abberant mark beneath. He scratches crazily at the mark, nearly drawing blood. When his companions become quiet from his outburst, he stops his scratching and stands up, insanity gone from his eyes for the moment. "You need me as much as I need you." He points to his mark, "This is why I am here I think. Only Mateuz's knowledge rivals my own. I am a considerable caster in my own right." He raises his palm in the air, a bolt of electricity rises above their heads, sending Avron's hair standing on end. "The lady can vouch for me, I am a good man, even though my mind is currently plagued by madness."

 

[stonegod]

What is the Tser Pool?

OOC: See the OOC thread and look at the map; its where the main body of water in Barovia pools before forming the swamp later on (which is where some people are looking for something after they look for something in the forest... not that they've told you. )

 

[DEFCON 1]

Jarrith glances at the others, then hitches up his pack and places both hands upon the handles of his twin rapiers. "Well let's head to the pool then. We don't want to lose the sun."