Erebus

So you have passed out of Paradera to the North, part out of curiosity as to whether some plot links it to Amuria and part simply anxious to leave , your stay in the besieged city lengthened beyond your plans and means.

There is no notice as to when you leave Bannor possesion, other than a small company at a solitary fort to north of Paradera. Exactly to which empire the few settlements you pass belong, even they do not know. This was the northern reach of the Lanun claim on the mainland. The Bannor now hold the nearest city, but their culture is foreign to these fishermen, dwelling along the shores of the Sea of Stars, off to the east as you travel. The Amurites rule close by, but for now these people are content to rule themselves until until an empire stakes it's claims--or the orcs, wildmen, or some beasts show up.

When you make camp at night at the edge of the foothills and forests that mark wilderness, you can see reflections of the brilliant northern stars dancing upon the sea at moments of calm.
Tsanal is able to read from the book on the Glory coast by the starlight. It was founded by some of the Amurite heroes of the Age of Ice, tired warriors who sought retirement apart from the often surprisingly brutal Amurite politics. It is out of the core of the Amurite nation, but holds a fair bit of prestige. The current ruler is a man named Acellus, who can trace his lineage back to Jehoel of Kylorin. In Amurite cities, the ruling prince is also the head of the mage guild in their city, though some take more or less active roles.
 
It seems the sevants have been lax in tidying this room, for there is a pile of books on the table by the chairs by the window. Someone was recently studying the geography of an Amurite town on the Glory Coast, Glorairine. There is a copy of a map of the town, and a handwritten list of names:

Quote:
Garlin
Belarchass
Nyarlat
Flayn

The other books on the table include a history of Lanun religion and a book of Svartalfar politics

ooc: any chance of getting a map of the town like you did for Paradera? is there anything relevent to our quests in the lanun or svartalfar books?

*back in character*

Mryddyn lands some way away and walks up to the camp whilst gazing up at the lustrous night sky. he nervously walks to Tsanal and sits down next to him
"im sorry for my actions this morning. that outburst was uncalled for. i understand that you were helping and i understand nothing was harmed, but its just i have always had a fear of undead... (he stairs out over the sea for a while) as a child, my fatehr and sister were killed in a snow storm, we buried them in the forests that were once our home. 2 years after their deaths i reviseted the site with my mother, ony to find an insane necromancer casting his works around the glades i hold so dear. he brought my father and sister back! their skeletons moving in jerky motions and the insane mimicry of life along with long dead animals... why he was there i cannot tell. but when my mother realised what was happening she got caught in a battle with the necromancer. and following her faith in Cernunnos she summoned forth the might of the Forest to rid the glades of his presence, but he fled, leaving the haunting creatures that were once my fatehr and sister. My mother and i fled in turn, and not once have i been back to that haunted wood. You understand? it was just the fear of that day that caused me to act that way this morning......
(suddenly his mood changes again and he is back to his normal self) Anyway, lets get on with our task at hand shall we. (he slaps the ground and stands up, moving away to tend the horses)

At some point in this stop im going drain my remaining energy into my stave and Pray to Cernunnos.
 
"Oh, and by the way, I'd like to keep the books. If needed, I will pay you for them. After all, it was you who got them in the first place," Tsanal says to Mryddyn, and then tries to cheer him up again, even though it's a bit difficult because of his a bit lacking charisma.
 
"you can keep the books if you think they will be of more use to you than selling them" mryddyn says with a smile.

mryddyn turns to everyone and says:
"now that we are aproaching Amuria, we should decide what our first actions will be. should we go warn the leadership of the presence of this Octopus Overlords cult, or shall we try find the trail of Corvanes and his men?"
 
"Actually," Tsanal says, "I think it would be smarter to see if we could find an inn first. We may be staying here for a while, and I'd prefer to sleep in a bed for a change."
 
good thinking, tsanal.

I'll use that gold to ask around for information, when we get to town.

While thomas asks about corvanes, he will also ask about that peice of the godslayer that's here somewhere.
 
[Ummm... you aren't in the town yet, actually you aren't even in Amuria yet. Those things were in the books]

You leave your camp and continue the travel. In the evening you haven't seen anymore villages in hours, indicating that you are entering an uninhabited, uncivilised area. The paths and tracks that had been leading you until now have gone too, but you are able to track your course by the hills and mountains visible in the northeast. As you camp after the second day of your uneventful travel, you can no longer see the sea, even from the foothills. The forests are changing too: the golden and red autumn forests begin to yield for dark green firs and pines, and it's much darker under them. This reminds Mryddyn of the ancient forests of his homelands, the last groves of the elves, far in the east.

Nothing disturbs you during the night, and in the morning you continue your travel. When riding past the hills and woods of the Isthmus of the Lost, you wonder what has given it its name, as nothing hints of anything like it in the parts you have seen. Despite the apparent peacefulness of the area you seem to be arriving to a completely wild land now. Before the sunset of the third day you see vaguely a tower on a mountaintop in the west, showing in the evening sun.
 
Let's ignore it and continue our journey asap!

(Hopefully the DM doesn't have some elaborate side-quest worked out :mischief: )
 
As he flies to the tower Mryddyn the owl stares around a bit. But the sky becomes soon dark, and he doesn't want to leave such a scouting chance behind, and decides to stay the whole night.

The tower isn't very interesting, just an abandoned watchtower perched atop a hill to guard some pass. The pass below is what might be worth investigating. It runs from east to southwest between two high mountains, with a five feet wide ancient cobbled road built all the way through it.

Mryddyn begins to feel an urge to hunt for mice, and quickly returns to the empty tower to spend the night in, as he doesn't want any permanent damage upon his mind.

In the morning, rested, slightly badly but rested, he becomes an owl again and soars to see the surrounding area.

He had heard those tales that when one climbs to a high enough mountain he can see whole kingdoms. Sure, he had seen it in the hills of his homeland, but never in this magnitude.

In the east he can see even Braduk the Burning's fire, nobody knows how many days' travel away, the spires of Torrolerial, the meager villages of Bannor and Lanun alike, and the besieged town of Paradera, as small spots of red, grey and brown in the yellow and green landscape.

The mountains block the sight to west and south, but in the north he sees the lands of Amuria, their mighty citadel of Cevedes, and the towns of each of Kylorin's children. On the western edge of what he can see, there are some old ruins of earlier ages, destroyed by the ice. A small trickle of blue runs beside them, showing those to be the ones where the road to Glorairine ends to become river.

Beyond that, the wild lands of the Doviello tribes, white already from the early snow, the dark woodlands and icy tundras, where the White Hand once fell.

---

Just as others begin to be nervous, he returns to the camp, and you continue the travel.

{Sorry, no sidequests}
 
ooc: why would thomas want the Godslayer seeing as he is a follower of Mulcarn? the only reason he would want it would be to prevent others from using it against Muclarn

ooc: good question... why do i want this? besides the fact that i was told to get it?
 
{Sorry, no sidequests}
I'll throw you guys some action.
First:
ooc: why would thomas want the Godslayer seeing as he is a follower of Mulcarn? the only reason he would want it would be to prevent others from using it against Muclarn
What post was that? Are you thinking of the heart of Drifia, or did I miss something

Anyway... You set off the next morning, after seeing to your animals. The skeleton gazes at you eyelessly, disquieting Munak and Mryddon. Nonetheless, you pile on your supplies and Tsanal [I think?] makes a few gestures, smoke-like shaodws briefly wreathing his hands. The undead pack animal lumbers after you.

You make good time. The area around the sea is a bit warm for this climate, but as you head up the foothills the air cools. Nindoro, riding point, hears a commotion and pauses while the rest of you catch up.

Ahead there is some shouting, and thumping, thrashing sounds. A small battle? A hunt gone bad? You dismount and push through the brush slowly. Ahead in a clearing, around the remains of a camp, is indeed a small battle, and a hunt gone bad. In this case, it was not men who were the hunters.

It is a Chimera. A very large bear, with three heads--one bear in the center, a wolf's head on the right, and on the left an eagle. From the bears jaws dangle the torso of a dwarf, leather armor pierced by the teeth.
Two men and a woman oppose the Chimera. One man, wearing a suit of chain armor, wields a two handed sword, the woman dressed likewise holds a spear, and bleeds from flesh wounds across her face. A hunter, armed with a bow, is nearest you, and has scored a couple direct hits.

But the further challenge is evident as he fires again--as the wolf growls, the bow snaps, and the hunter is hit with the backlash, knocking him over. Apparently, the creature has some magical nature--probably of different sorts for each head.

[I'm going to be lazy and trusting here--click the spoilers if they have your name.]

Spoiler Thomas :
You are sure that the bear, totem of Mulcarn, would have no magic, as the Ice sphere is inactive in this age.


Spoiler Kjally & Ken :
You know that experimentation with creation of magical creatures is strictly regulated in Amurite lands. Either this creature is controlled by the Amurite nation, let loose by a rogue magician, or descended from a creatures made long ago in the age of Magic.
 
What post was that? Are you thinking of the heart of Drifia, or did I miss something

(ooc: yeah, the heart. it was a while ago, and i sort of remembered the gist of the message, and sort of forgot what i was looking for. i'll use my gold to look for the heart of drifia)

So, I don't think the creature has noticed us yet... and neither the hunters. do we go on our way, or do we take it on? i beleive we might be able to beat this creature.
 
In answer to Thomas's question Mryddyn transforms back from his horse form to his natural form, which he was travelling in. He quickly sends out his primordial thoughts to try and distinguish what emotion drives the beast. Fear? anger? hunger? from this he will try converse with the Chimera and persuade it to leave the 2 men and woman alone, and if possible, convince it that we do not mean it harm.

if this fails, Mryddyn will prey to Cernunnos and call forth the wrath of the forest, animating the trees, grass and other vegetation (which i assume are nearby) and causing them to lash out at the Chimera to damage and entangle it in their roots and branches.

and if THIS fails, he will draw his bow and shoot the eagle head.
 
should myrddins tactics fail, thomas will attempt to freeze the Chimera to hte ground.
 
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