[Continued] - Valorei/Elves - 2 April, 1 VC

[Scott308]

Dorvar, not being much of a woodsman, keeps an eye out for danger instead of searching for an entrance into the forest.

[OGRE MAGE]

Wendall

Can you see Vaul from up there?
Do you see any more towers or any other landmarks we could go investigate?

[Enoch]

Halfred begins to talk, murmuring seemingly to himself. His eyes are unfocused on where the party goes, staring off into the distance.

"What has a mouth, but cannot scream,
Has a head, but cannot dream;
Bears feet, but cannot run,
And tho' he stands his time is done?"

[Keehnelf]

April 5, 1 VC - 8:20am

Varas climbs one of the slender, silver-barked trees slowly and carefully, picking the thickest and tallest one he can see in the immediate area. As he climbs, he can feel the supple trunk bending slightly and swaying with the wind, but there are enough sturdy branches to bring him up into the canopy from which he can peek.

About forty feet above the ground, he looks out in all directions. To the north, the forest begins to curve away toward the east, and of course to the south it charts a more or less straight course to the foothills of Sheol's Teeth. Off to the east, he sees somewhat northeast of the party's position a gap in the trees, a clearing of some sort no more than two or three miles distant. Further off, more to the east-southeast, he sees a sparkle under the thin morning sunlight. A body of water lies half a dozen miles distant in that direction. Further east, perhaps twenty miles, along the horizon, he spots a wooded promontory rising up out of the forest, steep on the north side and gently sloping on the south, that is bare rock on its top. Between his current position and there, something large is flying through the air. The shape is impossible to make out at this distance, but it has wings and is definitely not a normal-sized bird based on its size and the estimated distance. It appears to be moving toward the northeast. In all this territory, the tree cover seems more or less uniformly of the silver-barked, orange-leafed variety, and there are no gaps suggesting roadways.

Having taken careful mental notes of these features, Varas climbs back down to inform the rest of the party.

[MonkeyWrench]

Lets go a bit further north then head east towards that clearing.

[AleBelly]

Varas climbs down from the tree. "I think I saw a feckin' dragon out there! The nearest spot is a clearing northeast of here - not too far, maybe a couple hours' slog through this forest. Nearest thing I could see."

Did he see any towers in the distance, or back the way they came?

[OGRE MAGE]

A dragon? Well, what are we waiting for?

I'm not sure how the rest of the group feels but.....after being warned twice now about how dangerous this woods is and then finding an elf boy that was turned to stone, I'm not really in love with the idea of just barging right into this place. Its possible that I am just being over cautious however, seeing as how one of my other characters is about 2 rounds away from a TPK at the moment.

Are there other, possibly safer avenues of discovery that we could turn to or is the whole party ready to investigate this creepy woods?

[Keehnelf]

Something that might have been a tower back to the west, but so far off that he couldn't make it out.

Oh, and he saw a huge chasm off to the west, perhaps seven or eight miles. Totally forgot about West...

[Enoch]

Well, the newer members of the party have been told multiple times that we don't know enough to participate in the decision-making, so I'll defer to the more experienced members.

[Keehnelf]

I love the quick hierarchies that develop based on an expedition or two

[Marullus]

Nihilius stands, holding the reins of Mustard. He quirks an eyebrow, murmuring to himself. "Oh? There's still dragons? Good news." Having heard the tale from the treetops, he looks to Val quietly for a decision.

[Scott308]

I have no interest in being eaten by a dragon today...or any other day, for that matter, growls Dorvar. If we choose to enter the woods, that clearing sounds like the best idea. Although, we have seen how horribly wrong a peaceful seeming clearing can become. Mayhap we just keep to the edge of the wood and see where that leads us.

As he speaks, the dwarf slowly casts his gaze upon each party member, old and new alike, holding their eyes a moment before moving on to the next. Because we have a number of options, any one of which could hold hidden danger, I wish to hear from everyone on this matter. If ye have a preference or suggestions, speak your mind. If ye don't have a preference, weigh in on what someone else has said.

[MonkeyWrench]

Valorei muses for a moment, "I am curious of this possible dragon sure, but I will not be facing off against a lizard of that magnitude for quite some time if I can help it. Unless others have a better idea, let us head north along the tree line for another few miles then cut into the forest east in search of that grove that Varas had spotted. Since we are looking for some type of civilization it would make sense that a possible building area would be the first place to look."

[Dram]

Baxtaw- I agree with Valorei lets head the grove. If we are not any of my cousins that would be the best place to look.

[Marullus]

Nihilius nods in Val's direction. "I say we continue to follow the elf to the elves."

[Mister-Kent]

Olympia claps her hands together. "Yes--I trust Val can lead us safely to his kin's home. The woods...that dragon--" A mischievous smile crosses her face. "We'll have time to explore that another day!"

[Keehnelf]

OK, after some discussion it looks like we are on track for the original plan after all. Update in a bit.

[Keehnelf]

April 5, 1 VC - 1:40pm

The party heads north a ways and then cuts into the undergrowth to travel east as much as they can toward the clearing Varas spotted in the distance. The bushes are thick and pungent-smelling, with the beginnings of large boldly-colored flowers dotting the foliage as they make their way. Leery of the warnings of the elves and their own sense of unease, the companions limit their cutting and trampling as much as possible, but Mustard struggles with the dense vegetation and Varas is left with no choice but to snap some branches and chop limbs to create a path for the creature.

The group breaks for lunch on a fallen log, nearly seventy feet long, that crosses their path and still bears a few orange leaves so could not have fallen too far in the past. The upper side of the trunk bears the deep and unmistakable marks of claws digging into the bark and crisscrossing it in several places. The trunk itself appears healthy, but has been uprooted by some unknown force. Clods of dirt cling to the mass of spreading roots that rise into the air like a monument to the unfathomable nature of this place. Sated, but still uneasy, the group continues onward, and some time later begin to hear a very faint hum that almost seems to vibrate the air around them. It wafts here and there on the breeze, and is more physical than audible. It grows slightly louder as they come within sight of the clearing Varas spotted earlier, but is still quiet enough that normal speaking voices are comprehensible.

The party stands at the edge of the clearing and looks out. It appears to have been a marvelous garden at one time, fallen into disrepair. It is perhaps two hundred feet from one end to another, and apart from a few small ornamental fruit trees surrounded with the rotted remains of last year's harvest and struggling to created blossoms for the new year's crop, there are no shady structures. Close by, a few low shrubs with vivid blue flowers create a kind of interior wall three feet high, punctuated at intervals by brushed-sand paths that snake and wind through the entire area. The grass that makes up a good portion of the clearing is overgrown, nearing two feet in height, but the paths appears to still be clear. A set of low stone lanterns surrounds the garden under the overhanging branches of the surrounding trees, and the interior section of the garden features a number of ornamental statues of various kinds of wildlife--a deer, a bounding raccoon, some squirrels, even a bird alighting on a low stone curb--in addition to a handful of statues clustered near the center of a more unusual nature. There is what appears to be a hobgoblin, standing with an upraised spear looking toward the open sky; an elf in heavy armor in the act of swinging a gleaming sword in a similar direction; and a massive statue of some creature lying supine but curled.

[Enoch]

Thistlebottom stretches up on his bare toes, raising his chin to peer over the bushes. "Looks like it was a prettyish sort of wilderness, once. Not too long ago, either; not with the paths so clear. I wish I could keep my garden paths so well-weeded!

"Such odd statuary. Why would anyone have such statues?"

[Marullus]

Nihilius speaks solemnly. "A creature that petrifies, descending from the sky. Perhaps your dragon has evolved a power more terrible than fire for its breath."