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[KittenMaster]

Footsteps brave into the shades of the encompassing leaves above, light creeping through their cracks.

The terrain here becomes wild, untamed by man with no clear path to find. Hammering of bird calls and insects eventually become dull as you grow accustomed to their presence, itching, scratching, smells, and other bothers are common here.

It should be reminiscent of Alf's early days as a wolf, guiding his pack through these trees as he is doing the party now.

Niko

Spoiler

your entire body begins to... feel something. Like you are sensing something in a far distance.

<I made it possible to get lost in these parts of the woods, whoever makes the highest survival or knowledge: geography check can ensure they make it to the direction you want to go.>

 

[Azih]

((Does anyone have a compass?))

Stricia looks around a bit warily. Though she has traveled far her experience with forests is limited.

Perception and Survial: 1D20+14 = [14]+14 = 28
1D20+4 = [9]+4 = 13


"We are fairly West, we should head North.I believe that is where I saw the Tree."

 

[KittenMaster]

<Perception won't work here, I'm looking specifically for survival.>

 

[ThLunarian]

Survival (1d20+12=22)

A beacon of knowledge in a world of uncertainty, Alf confidently strides forward through the forest. Armed with his trusty sickle, he's able to hack and slash any errant plant life out of the way.

It is here that he feels most at home, and it shows by the smile decorating his face as he presses forward. Occasionally he stops to check on the status of his companions, directing them away from poison ivy and other such hazards, and pointing out any particularly delicious fruits along the way.

This is only a little different from his first life, in that this time his perspective is slightly higher than that of an average-sized wolf.

For Alf, right now life is good.

Never mind that he doesn't actually know in what direction he's going. That part doesn't matter.

 

[KittenMaster]

((Hopefully that roll was good enough and I don't have to retcon my WWE introduction-style writeup ))

<Looks like the only character left, Dreadstone, has a chance, and a better one at that to beat the DC I have.

Awaiting him to step in front of Alf and lead again.>

 

[Mike M]

Survival check:  1d20+16=17

((Womp womp))

 

[Jackben]

Stopping to adjust his cloak and scrape the dirt from the soles of his boots, Niko waves a muddy knife at Ozzy dismissively. "Just don't blame me if you get poisoned." The weasel's cheeks appear to be bulging with various insects and exotic fruits as it scurries through the underbrush. At the very least it seems to be doing better than Niko himself at keeping up with Alf's swift pace.

Stumbling upon an unseen tree root, he lags behind once again. "Hold a bit! Sorry." Frustrated by the sting of salt in his eyes, he pulls his hair back underneath a bandanna to keep the sweat from dripping onto his face. Trekking through a mysterious wood was not nearly as fun as he remembers being when he was a kid, perhaps due to the urgency of their task, the awareness of true danger or simply the lack of the boundless energy of childhood.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiEvWdHJG-A

"Uh...I swear we've seen this tree already." Taking a breath, the hairs on the back of the sorcerer's neck stand on end. a chill passes through his body and he feels goosebumps prickling his upper arms, despite the weight of the humid air in the tropical forest.

"I can feel something out in the distance. A strong magic perhaps, or something else..."

He casts detect magic over his eyes, not expecting to see anything yet, but just in case.

 

[KittenMaster]

You are lost.

Despite attempts to orient yourselves towards the correct direction, the obscurity of the trees and the winding terrain only make it difficult to travel straight. In essence, you never manage to escape the part of the woods you are in.

<Roll again.>

He casts detect magic over his eyes, not expecting to see anything yet, but just in case.

Spoiler

When you do this, you become dazzled due to the sudden light you see.

 

[ThLunarian]

Survival Part 2 (1d20+12=28)

((Wait for it... wait for it...))

 

[KittenMaster]

<Going to wait for Niko's response.>

 

[Mike M]

Dreadstone finds a hollow stump filled with water.

"Hold!" he calls. "I got me an idea."

Dimly recalling long forgotten wilderness training subsumed by a lifetime of urban combat, he carefully places a leaf in the center of the stump's cavity. He pulls a simple needle he uses for mending clothes on the leaf and holds his breath.

In theory, the needle should point north...

Survival check:  1d20+16=35

((That's more like it))

 

[KittenMaster]

<On second thought, I feel like this doesn't adequately punish you guys for failing a roll enough. I'm gonna think of what to do here.>

 

[KittenMaster]

<Dreadstone's post is going to get retconned after I see what Niko says.>

 

[Jackben]

"WHOA!" The sorcerer stumbles back and covers his eyes with his arm."Okay, good news and bad news. The good news is, I'm not actually blind. Bad news is...well I'm not sure yet. Someone give me their arm before I fall down a pit or something."

Taking a second to re-orient himself, he describes the light he sees. "Either the trees around here are enchanted, in which case please no one mess with the bark, we're in an illusion, or something in the distance is so magically powerful its aura can be seen all the way from where I am standing. I might be able to guide us toward the light if we can't find another way forward."

Niko attempts to see if he can find the origin or direction the light is coming from.

((Appropriate roll not found, let me know if you want me to make one))

 

[KittenMaster]

<Sorry Dreadstone and Alf, retconning the winning rolls.>

It is after awhile that the group finally makes it out of the forest to enter the daylight once more. Before them is a view of the horizon from an angle away from the sun, and various goats grazing about on rocky protrusions from the ground. Niko will find himself distanced from the source of magic he felt.

 

[Azih]

((Seems harsh, but whatever, have no idea what kind of roll is required now and which rolls are pointless and I guess we can't take 10 or 20 on either of them anyway))

 

[DeadPhoenix]

((Darn, if I'd got up earlier I could have totally saved us with my geography +8+1d6.))

 

[KittenMaster]

<I have a set of outcomes on a 1-6 die, turned out one of them was kind of pointless, so I felt it was better to reroll again on a Survival failure.>

 

[Azih]

((Alright, do we roll Perception, or Survival/Knowledge Geography in this grid?))

 

[KittenMaster]

<You ended up in a place where you can't get lost, so I have no special instructions other than you can go east or north or back south.>

 

[Jackben]

"Wow more goats. Cool." Sore of mind and body, Niko begins to think about the magic he felt earlier as the group debates their next move. Not truly caring which direction they choose next, if asked his input will be as follows. "Guys we have to go back! The light...we need to find the light!"

 

[ThLunarian]

"Told you not to eat those mushrooms," Alf says to Nico. He pats the sorcerer on the shoulder. "Should be okay. Give it 4 to 8 minutes. 15, 16 tops."

He looks around and scratches his head. "Somehow we get turned around. I think I know where we are now. This time let us enter the forest from a different place. First we go north again, toward giant bird nest. From there, instead of go east into forest, keep going north to hug the perimeter."

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

"So, Niko, the light you saw wasn't like a fire's light or anything, was it?"

Leo looks apprehensively towards the sundial still on Stricia's person.

 

[KittenMaster]

North of your position (or to your right after exiting the trees), you find yourselves at a corner of the island, but in seeing that more of the island in the distance lies over a gulf, it is not THE corner. In the distance, you can see that the forest land becomes gradually misty, even foggy in some places.

There is not much here. To the east the trees are lighter than the previous point of entry they had used earlier.

Niko

Spoiler

you start to feel the sensation again as you draw a certain distance towards whatever is the source of the magic.

 

[Azih]

"East?" Stricia asks.

 

[Jackben]

Niko stands dazed for a moment before shaking his head. "Alf, I didn't even eat those mushrooms, I gave them to Ozzy." As if on cue, the weasel darts out from underneath a rock and begins running in circles before hopping into the forest again. "Clearly a wise decision."

Ignoring Tiberius question, the sorcerer waves his arms around to get everyone's attention. "I really can feel some kind of strong magic in the area. If I head towards the source it gets stronger. I don't know where it will lead us but I figure it's worth a shot considering how dense the forest is." He looks to the druid in a final plea of his case. "If you and Dreadstone can make sure we know how to get back, I think I can lead us towards it."

 

[Mike M]

Dreadstone nods. "Niko's on point until he can lead us to this magic source. The rest of us, we get to try and keep him alive."

With a pointed glare at Leo, he adds, "And no more gettin' distracted."

 

[ThLunarian]

"Source of magic sounds like it could get us to results. This time let us make very obvious trail that is easy to back track, but if you feel strongly of this then we ought follow your instinct."

He directs Nico to take center stage.

((Not sure of mechanics involved, but I want to do as described and leave a very obvious, easily retraceable trail as we move along ))

 

[KittenMaster]

<I don't think it'll be an issue, but I'll give you a bonus to tracking checks if you do leave some kind of trail.>

Moving east the forest becomes lighter and easy to navigate compared to the thick condensation of trees and plant life they had attempted to navigate earlier.

From here, Niko can feel the presence grow stronger, yet at the same time he begins to get used to the feeling while still being aware.

North and east lead to more forest, but Niko will remember seeing the grand aura from North.

<You can make perception checks to see any direction.>

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

"Hey, in my defense, that trip into the nest would have been worthwhile if the shiny thing in there hadn't been lost."

Leo looks north and east as they follow Niko deeper into the forest

[url=http://roll.coyotecode.net/lookup.php?rollid=62553]Perception North: 1D20 + 5 = [11]+5 = 16
[/url]

[url=http://roll.coyotecode.net/lookup.php?rollid=62554]Perception South: 1D20 + 5 = [1]+5 = 6
[/url]

((South was a typo, but you know what, since he rolled a nat 1 his attempt to look east will have him looking off to the south))

 

[Azih]

Stricia scans in both directions:
Per North than south: 1D20+14 = [15]+14 = 29
1D20+14 = [11]+14 = 25

 

[KittenMaster]

In the north is a sparse forest along the cliff of the gulf. In the further distance, the base of the giant tree can be seen from there, its towering presence extending far above.

In the near north, are a pack of grey wolves. They seem to be resting or wandering idly.

To the south, is a very up close look at the very detail of a tree's bark, with a slight hint of some of the surface it covers. If he looks to the side of that tree, he sees more trees behind it.

 

[KittenMaster]

Lady is suddenly jumpy. She seems excited and eager to continue on.

 

[Jackben]

"The aura definitely grows stronger to the north. I can't say what we'll run into on the way there but if we keep heading in that direction we should find out. Anyone see anything?"

 

[ThLunarian]

"Wolves," says Alf. He stays close to Lady; in case she gets the idea to bolt ahead, he'd like to be able to grab her before she gets too far away. "We see how they react. Might run away before we get close. If not, I will try talk to them, see if they seen anything round these parts. Don't think we have anything to worry from them though."

 

[KittenMaster]

<You mind if I move you on based on Alf's post? I assure you: you have nothing to worry next grid>

 

[Jackben]

<You mind if I move you on based on Alf's post? I assure you: you have nothing to worry next grid>

((Sure go ahead, trusty patches.))

 

[Azih]

((Sounds good to me))

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

((Yeah, works for me))

 

[KittenMaster]

Wolves gather about to look to those that dare approach. They grow wary and begin to arch from their rest... but only for a moment.

Lady frees herself from the grip, and dashes to the wolves, being welcomed once more by them in jumping and prancing.

As Alf approaches, all of them will stand attention. It will look strangely like his old pack, which he was once a grey wolf among. As she returns to his side, the wolves begin to step away, allowing passage.

Before you, is a village at the base of the giant tree.

 

[Mike M]

Dreadstone keeps a wary eye on the wolves, even though they don't seem hostile at the moment. Gnaw stretches as far forward as he can manage to curiously sniff his distant relations without invading their space.

"This is damned odd," he mutters as the wolves part to allow passage. "Wild animals don't act like this..."

 

[Jackben]

As the encountered wolves begin to play with Lady, Niko lowers his guard. Even more impressive is their bowing to Lone Wolf as if they recognize his true nature. "Haha, friends of yours, Alf?" The sorcerer is soon stunned into shocked silence however, as an entire village is revealed around the base of the giant tree.

 

[Azih]

Stricia is awed by the respect afforded to them by the noble beasts. She stays close to Alf and Lady realizing that it is because of them that they are being allowed to enter.

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

Leo is a bit surprised to see the wolves acting like people, and more surprised by a village existing out here.

"These wolves seem smarter than normal wolves. Do you know them Alf?"

 

[KittenMaster]

The wolves strongly resemble his old pack, before they had seemingly disappeared from him early in his human life. While these wolves are not necessarily smarter than most, they seem to respond to the wolf man and his companion well enough to overcome instinct.

 

[KittenMaster]

<I'd like to point out that we're somewhat over half the posts the Quest of the Holy Relics thread ended up being in total at this point in the game.>

 

[ThLunarian]

As the identity of the wolves becomes apparent, Alf gasps. "These..." he says, and his voice cracks. "These are... my old pack..."

Streams of tears leak from his eyes and he sobs against his will.

"What is this?" he says, and it's not clear whether he's talking about the wolves' presence, or his reaction to it.

Ignoring the other party members for now, Alf transforms into his original wolf form and dashes forward to meet with his pack, frolicking about and playing happily.


((Unless something incredibly major happens, Alf is going to be out of commission for at least an hour of in-game time. Conveniently enough, that gives the rest of the party time to check out the village))

 

[KittenMaster]

Before the group, they see an Alf with his family once more, a grey wolf standing at equals with others of his kind, those that were lost so long.

((Unless something incredibly major happens, Alf is going to be out of commission for at least an hour of in-game time. Conveniently enough, that gives the rest of the party time to check out the village))

<On the contrary, you're the reason something major happens. The party does not move on without you. Looks like the party is waiting a half hour or more.>

 

[ThLunarian]

((If that's the case then he'll probably start to notice that everyone's waiting for him after half an hour or so. I guess we get reactions from everyone to cover that half hour and then I'll make a move?))

 

[KittenMaster]

<Yes, that'll be fine.>