Hekazu

The Magical Planet - Ecetopia - Open

Much, much later...

---

The final pieces of bone clattered to the ground and what was left of the group that once set out on this journey straightened their backs and scanned the environment. The threats were gone, as far as they could tell. Grug had managed to avoid invoking the powers of the Eldritch abomination lurking in his withered hand so nobody had had to deal with that in addition to the shambling opposition. Secretly, he was glad.

The old oracle moved forward into the room, having followed the fight from the doorway in the relative safety of the party members who had a touch for ranged combat, but he soon noted that something was off in this room. He made his unsteady way to the centre of it and looked around. There were no further doors here, simply urns, relics and that sort of things. This was the end. He shook his head slightly, then more visibly and finally almost violently. "No. No, no, no. Nonononono..." he mumbled to himself, the fingers of his dysfunctional hand twitching as he tried to raise the hand to his forehead.

With the attention of those who cared, he turned towards the apparent leader of the remnants and implored they listen to him. "This is not the place. Similar, but not the place I saw in my visions... we are not done, the great evil we must vanquish is not here. This is not it!" he panicked as the truth became visible before his eyes and he fell to one knee. "I can see us, and I can see a greater combat... we are less numerous than when we marched here... or more... but mostly less... we need to go further. This is hardly the end of the road. This is simply... the beginning", he finished with the visions vanishing and the veil being drawn before his sight once more.

Grug sat down on the floor on both of his knees and let go of his walking stick, the cane falling down next to him as he leaned against the floor with his healthy hand. He was exhausted. He had managed to hide it all the way here, but now that he realised it had all been futile... his body was just not having it. He took deep breaths and tried to gather himself as those around him would have time to consider the new piece of information he had provided.

@CoyoteLovely@Silvan Haven

D&D 5e - High Seas and Tall Tales

Jill did not quite seem to be picking up just how big of a deal it was for the great Dyn'yer'zhead to call anyone a child of their own. It had not come instantly, that was for sure, for the battle of two minds between him and the actual child the merfolk woman had been back then had lasted but two whole years, at the end of which he had given up for mere convenience's sake. It was easier to spit those syllables out than repeat a whole lot of others, but it still did not mean he liked it. Best for everyone around (except maybe the Beholder himself) was when Adrevz would speak up and explain this matter to the lot. If Dyn had had to do it, the tirade would likely have went on for way longer.

But soon after they finally made their way away, the Beholder still holding firmly onto the map, allowing the two merfolk ladies to look at it when they needed to, but he did not let it slip away from him, nor did he look kindly to other's attempts at manipulating it. With the two in scouting position, they would reach the Verdant stream surprisingly easily. The infinite sea was kind to them on this day. But as soon as they reached the stream, their troubles began.

Dyn registered the form of the creature Cynthia pointed out and grimaced. It was another one of those ice wolves. Of course. Had they just dealt with the one they had faced on the seas instead of taking its mark for themselves and setting out on some errand with no promise for a reward they could have made do with just one of them. Now they had a second one before them, and that one had a multitude of heads to boot. Less of those drakes, but the main problem was in the wolf thing being very much present and not too likely to be sympathetic to their cause. That meant they simply needed to convince it to let the group pass though.

Dyn grumbled, his dissatisfaction with the situation showing, though nobody with the possible exception of Sauron should be surprised at said mood, nor the expression of it anyway. He waved Adrevz over, sharing his insights with Jill and her, as well as anyone else who might be willing to listen. "With the earlier of their kind having been left behind without a fight and us possibly wanting to talk with the Marid... we do not want to charge this one either. Talking with it is an option, though if it is even remotely like the other we'll end up getting roped to another episode of nonsense. Considering an alternate point of view, three heads, three noses. May be hard to go around. Start with talking", he gurgled, his preference now made clear. He detached from the conversation to see if anyone would be starting a solo act before swimming slightly closer to the creature in the event of no surprises in the once more smaller crew.

Mechanics&Rolls

HP: 62/62 AC: 16 Concentrating: Nope
Bladesong status: Inactive, 2 uses left
Slots/expended:
4/1 1st
3/0 2nd
3/0 3rd
3/0 4th
2/0 5th

@JBRam2002@Zverda

The Elder Scrolls: Swords & Septims

We have our first injury and use of magicka has returned. In my book, feel free to go for it. I stand firm in my decision to wait a couple posts more, though if we start experiencing sudden drops in player count I'll be sure to move earlier. I am not going to remain stubborn to the game's grave

The Elder Scrolls: Swords & Septims

Hello? Anyone here?

D&D 5e - The Lost Lands

Everything had been fine, until Cesar started spouting nonsense about "sense of adventure" and "how inaction led to the fall of their own realm". His words struck a nerve in the templar, who darted onto his feet and crossed his arms, his gaze drilling into the bard's head. "Is that what you discern this to be? Voluntary inaction? I had always doubted you actually knew anything about fighting a war, but now it has been confirmed. One does not march into combat with ill prepared and exhausted troops, unless one wants to get swiftly defeated!" he vented.

"Taking a moment to collect oneself and prepare for the next battle is only sensible, and we will be with you as soon as we have recuperated. That is assuming you have not already found your deaths down there in your hastiness to act without a plan. The best way to repay as you put it is to not throw oneself at the enemy. And you needn't guess twice what I see you doing right now", he appended to his rant and sat back down, wondering how the man who had actually listened to the voice of reason just last night would now be ready to rush headlong into danger without taking a moment to consider.

Mechanics&Rolls

All events in this post should be considered to have happened during the short rest, whose end has already been determined in the earlier one. This is simply additional to PC interaction built on information that came available later.

HP: 35/35 AC: 16 Concentrating: Nothing
Radiant Consumption: Available
Slayer's Eye: Inactive
War Priest: 0/2 uses expended

Spells expended:
1/1 Free Unique
2/3 1st

@Cu Chulainn - Conflict between personalities has risen
@JBRam2002@Gordian Nought@The Harbinger of Ferocity - Characters controlled by you would be well in hearing distance

D&D 5e - Hoard of the Dragon Queen

@The Harbinger of Ferocity@Gordian Nought@Lucius Cypher@Ryonara@Irredeemable

You can find the map of the camp on the CHAR tab. I would encourage swift posting from those that have yet to post since my last one, for you have been approached by the new party member. Don't leave them hanging, talk at them with words or punch them in the face, whichever comes more naturally. But do something, for a game has to keep moving or it suffocates. Four days is the limit, not (hopefully) the norm

Return to Ravenloft

Nergüi Pisacar

At first, nothing seemed too out of the ordinary. The air around the man clad in fur adorned leather armour was cold, but that was what he had got used to. The trip to the Northern parts of their land in early winter brought such misfortune for the tribesmen to endure, but they had geared up appropriately. The only part of him the cold bit was his face, and that had grown used to the gentle breeze one felt off horseback long time ago. What startled him was that he was no longer with his horse, nor could he recognise any of the shapes moving around him in the mist, not the ones standing nearby who he could see, nor the foreign voices of the caravan. And lastly, definitely not the children. He had never been around children much. He had not served the Khan well enough to earn a wife of his own. That was still in progress.

The man tried to draw comfort from what was familiar to him. The barred up buildings brought many a raid into his mind, for without the bars everywhere this place largely resembled a settlement their army had descended upon and sacked. Thing was, the buildings were in better shape and had been walled shut. But that nonetheless was something he could draw familiarity from. He laid his eyes on his armour, and noted that it was still there. His buckler was still strapped to his arm, his sabre hug on his belt in its sheath and when he reached back he could ascertain both his hat and longbow were unharmed. The only thing that was left to determine who these other people were, and where in the plains he was now. He couldn't be far from home... it hadn't been that long and he was still standing on his feet. He would simply need to find a way back.

But how would he go doing such a thing? Nothing came to mind. For now, the best thing he could do was see if anyone else would come up with something, for those around him, despite not carrying the standard of his Khan, might at least know where they were. But when the first comprehensible words rang out, they were addressed to the children, by the woman with the coldest eyes he had seen in his time. And for someone of his background, that was no light merit. Yet it was she who had spoken up, and Pisacar found himself moving one fur boot after another and slowly approaching her and the children. Inaction would lead to no results, that much he knew. And with somebody taking initiative, they could get on the move. This mist that was enveloping them appeared borderline hostile, as much a weather phenomenon could.

The Elder Scrolls: Swords & Septims

I have decided to wait just a little bit longer before dropping aa post in from Lord Vensor. Probably one or two more IC posts, give people time to react to the big one getting injured. His bow takes time to draw after all, so things happening in between would be the natural course.

D&D 5e - Hoard of the Dragon Queen

Given the conflict between the Bard and the Priestess, it came as a slight surprise that the priestess would accept what Parum was telling them, that being her simply staying quiet and 'brooding' as she put it. She crossed her arms and opened her mouth, ready to break out in an argument... but she didn't. She shut her mouth, dusted off her gear and commented with a brief message of approval. It was both important that they would get there soon and without a hitch, and her rising an argument would help neither of those goals. She would follow along with the plan, for the good of Greenest. For the good of her home.

The final approach towards the area proved to go off without a hitch with nobody harassing the group as they approached. Some people passed them on their way away, most giving a passing glance to Orchid and Torus, some shaking their head afterwards but going on, others stopping and staring in disbelief. If nothing else, the combination drew attention to itself. Whether that was called for or not, that was what it did.

From the entrance, they already had a good view into the plateau's governed area and could indeed establish that this was the camp they had been looking for. From where they were standing, the area opened quite large, the horseshoe shaped plateau offering it surprisingly large amount of space. At the front many leather and hide covered tents were pitched, kobolds heading in and out of them and they could see that the 20 foot high guard tower near the entrance was manned by the little lizards. They left the group well and truly alone, but somebody donned in a green cloak and leather armour approached them and tried to address them. "Hey, I don't really know about bringing that bear in... I see you have a prisoner and all and I trust you know the procedure but come on. An animal going loose in the camp ain't a thing to take lightly", the man told them.

Parum would have a word with him though, aptly convincing them of the bear's tameness, to which the man shrugged. "I guess. Ain't my business if you get in trouble though. Any higher up goes saying bad things about it and it's all on you a'ight? Good. Go on", they revealed their true indifference, most likely being one more of the hired help for the camp. Now that they were here, they could not that the traffic in and out was hardly regulated at all. Marching in with appropriate disguises had been a smart move. Look like you belong, and nobody will question you.

The valley in the 'horseshoe' extended at least one thousand feet until it reached the back wall, and from this distance one could barely make out the mouth of a cave. Not too far to the left of it was a much bigger tent, guards swarming around it, most likely something important. Further to the left, about 80 feet up from the ground if they had to guess was another guard tower, standing on a ledge protruding from the plateau. There had to be a ladder there somewhere, no? Whatever was in these lower parts was mostly tents, but a lot was covered by the bustling masses and the housing. If they were to find anything here, they would need to go looking.

Mechanics&Rolls

Welcome to the camp of the cult. I will be looking for a map without too many spoiler markers that I can provide legally. In the meantime, feel free to ask me about the layout via OOC!

@The Harbinger of Ferocity@Gordian Nought@Lucius Cypher@Ryonara

D&D 5e - Hoard of the Dragon Queen

Post from me coming tomorrow!