Sometime after the wedding, in the small “extradimensional house” Syanthus added near the Lucimburic Theater…

The old wizard has a request for Kyriel.

”There is one plan Theoderic has that the Academy most certainly needs a hand in.  This whole issue with Scolo’s village, Mestenon.  This will surprise a lot- most of us never suspected Scolo had any real concern for the people there.  But he does, it seems, and asked Theoderic to see to their safety, and Theoderic said yes.  So he’s going to try and get the people there away from the Huns, because technically, they are in the area the Huns control.  Practically under the noses of the Emperor, after all, Mestenon is just west of Lutetia Parisiorum, in the Yvelines Forest area.

”Naturally, there’s more to this than a village in a forest near the Hun capital.  Scolo played rather loosely with every law of magic.  Deliberately.  Thumbing his arcane nose at us, as it were.  I have no doubt there are dangers strewn about.  Spells half completed, magical fields doing who-knows-what, accidentally summoned creatures… possibly artifacts both dangerous and useful.  It is definitely something we need to be involved in.  And it seems, you would be the right person. You've been there.  You know the place... so you should go back.   Not you alone, of course.  The right team must be assembled.”
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:40, Sat 27 Apr 2013.

Kyriel nods when Master Syanthus suggests that she help relocate the village. "I know. Perhaps we could also see about helping the villagers that are brain sick?

Who else do you think would be helpful. I'm not sure Rory is up for another trip there, since he has his students to look after.

Lady Dromesa told me about Clodomir's sword. Should we broach the subject with King Theoderic?"

Syanthus isn't sure what merely mentioning the sword will do, not now.

"We don't want to distract the young man," he says.  "And remember how easy they are to distract. Now... it's probably best that we do this from back at the Academy.  It is much closer.  I can't teleport us to Mestenon, I've never been there.  It will be on foot... good that you've been there before!"

The days are cold and snowy after the wedding.  Syanthus manages several important meetings with Theoderic, and the other important notables, like Raude Parisi.

After a few days, he has good news for Kyriel.

"A peculiar wizard will be joining us.  Byron.. someone who offered her services to Theoderic.  I don't know her.  But also, Raude Parisi, the High Priestess of Venus, has offered to accompany us back to the Academy.  It seems she has something she wants to do there.  She wasn't clear."

Culann woke with a start as the think tomb she'd been studying started to slip from her lap...Cursing herself at falling to sleep, she glanced at the remains of the candles that had burnt out during her long night’s session. Thankfully they burnt out and not fallen onto the various scrolls, parchments and vellums that were strewn across the desk. Slipping a bookmark into the corner of the tomb she closed it placing it with near reverence on the desk. Standing up she stretched prompting her to yawn in the process. Absently rubbing her stomach she felt twinges of hunger begin to stir in her empty innards. Yawning once more she rubbed her face and eyes with open hands then went in search of something to stave off starvation. Pausing she looked about the libraries study corner of the noting a host of whiskers which peeked out from beneath a bundle of parchments. Slipping a hand into the pile she wiggled her fingers for a moment ticking the source of the whiskers Come along then Cathassa lets see if we can rustle up a fish or four

Kyriel listens to Master Syanthus and after a moment nods in agreement. "I suppose so. He has a lot to do here, organizing things against the hun. There's just so much to do. The sword, finding out what my parents were up to, helping Scolo's villagers, and that temple complex that's beset by monsters. All that while making sure that the Academy is protected."

She gives him a wry grin. "I know what Lady Dromessa would say. 'Wizards aren't helpless.' She told me as much when we learned about the Chucky doll, but it's hard not to worry about things there. It's my home."

She remembers another task that the wizards had given her, one that she'd let slip while guarding Aelasuria. "I need to talk to the wereowls about the trade goods that Master Ulpius gave me. I've been so busy keeping tabs on Aelasuria and the king that I haven't had a chance to do that."

In reply to Kyriel (msg # 5):

Passing by several rooms on her way to the kitchen she heard voices from Master Syanthus room, Culann wondered what had roused him this early, or kept him up to this hour. As she approached Academy's Masters entry her innards chose that moment to prompt her of their displeasure, a pronounced GROWL issued forth echoing along the hallway.

Technically, Culann is still at the Academy while the others are on their way... but we can fix that and get everyone together.

Despite Lucimburic being a pleasant place to spend the holidays, there is work to be done.  A week after the wedding, Syanthus rounds up Kyriel and Byron, and they return to the Academy with the news of what is to be done.

They also know that Raude Parisi, High Priestess of Venus, is on her way, and will be bringing along King Theoderic's other contributions to the Mestenon Rescue Mission:  Rita and Riordeg.

Syanthus brings everyone back, including Byron, the way he brought them there:  by teleportation.  The spell takes a lot of out him, and he is forced to rest for a few days afterwards.

Of course, there is a happy reunion with Terrance and Kyriel.  As Culann knows, Terrance is the young student wizard who, like her (but a few years younger) is something of a bookwormish genius prodigy.  (Wizards tend to collect those kinds).  The relationship between Kyriel and Terrance turned the social world of the student wizards upside down:  Daring, adventurous rogue-girls simply did not fancy thin-armed, bookish awkward wizard-boys.  That just didn't happen.  Apparently, now it did. And the culture of the students at the academy has yet to recover.

The senior wizards realize that since the Academy is after all an academy of wizardry, and though Kyriel is an experienced and creative "agent" for missions like this, it's only proper that the Academy actually send a wizard.

As Gilamur the Alchemist puts it, "It's supposed to be what we do, isn't it?"

And one name comes up.

"Are you talking about Terrance," one of the other senior wizards asks.  "He's smart as anything, I'll grant, but to send the boy out on something like this?"

"Actually," says the Lady Dromessa, "I was thinking of Culann."

The Lady Dromessa, once the Court Wizard of the late great King Clovis, seems to have manuevered herself into the position of "Dean Of Secret Missions".  Her pronouncements carry the most weight.  Culann indeed is well cut out for this.  Not only can she turn into an Otter, but she was actually in the small village of Mestenon before.  It is quickly settled.

And Kyriel is given the mission of inviting Culann along.

Byron, meanwhile, is the subject of instant curiosity, because there is nothing that intrigues wizards like Other Magic.

I figure that this would have become common knowledge (at least among those responsible for security).

When she learns that the assassin has bolted without even making an attempt, Kyriel is happy that Aelasuria and King Theoderic are alright although she is afraid that another attempt will be made later. That's why she was hoping to deal with one assassin to send a message to all the rest. Since she's now got some free time, she visits the wereowls and makes the trades that Master Ulpius wanted her to do.

The trip back is pretty uneventful, and she's there to help Master Syanthus into the Academy after arriving since she knows just how much teleporting takes out of him. "Will you be alright, Master Syanthus?"

She helps Master Syanthus to the lounge in the Academy and makes sure he's alright before finding a place for Byron. "I'll show you some of the places here."

Before they go, she finds Terrance. Holding hands with him, she leads them to the Blue Duck.

There are a number of things that she wants to do, but Lady Dromessa's task takes priority. The Academy is small and Kyriel has a way of finding things out, so it's not too long before she finds the subject of her simple mission. She waits until no one is nearby before approaching Culann. "Lady Dromessa told me that you've been to Mestenon. I'm going there to escort the villagers there to someplace safe. Think you're up for a road trip?"

In reply to Kyriel (msg # 8):

Glancing up from her book Culann's face was a mix of puzzlement, thought and recognition it the erupted in an smile Kyriel how was the wedding, did the bride wear blue or pink silk, who was there, was there any behind the scenes discussions, was the food good, did you manage to catch up with your friend she asked in rapid succession; as she near leaped up catching the elf in a warm hug.

The flood of questions catches Kyriel off guard. She gives Culann a strained smile. "The wedding was great as was the food. I got to talk to Aelasuria. There were a number of discussions, and that's what Lady Dromessa wants to talk to us about."

When Culann hugs her, she can tell that Kyriel is tense like a coiled spring.

OOC: I think we may have to wait a little while for some things to get resolved in the "Talk to Scolo" thread before we can talk about the mission in detail.
This message was last edited by the player at 10:59, Mon 06 May 2013.

Catching Up for Culann...

Culann previously appeared in these two threads:
link to a message in this game

link to a message in this game


Culann didn't attend the wedding, of course.  She was absorbed in arcane studies over the past six month or so, finally completely the course of study that qualifies her as a full wizard.

Being a new wizard, ordinarily, Culann would be expected to leave the Academy and take up a new life elsewhere- many people employ wizards, especially the more powerful aristocratic families, and wizards can do quite well self-employed, if they choose.  Only a minority stay on at the Academy as faculty.  But these are not ordinary times.  The Academy has repositioned itself not only as the last real wizard school, but an association of wizards.  Most of the wizards now thought to be alive in Gaul are either part of the academy, or working (voluntarily or involuntarily) for the Orc nations, the Huns and Goths.

The Academy of Aurelianorum always had a strong “classical” approach to training wizards.  The institution's philosophy is that the study of the Arcane should be embedded in a rigorous study of everything else... at least, a solid curriculum of traditional areas of study- history, philosophy, mathematics, the natural sciences, etc.  One result of this is that over half the students are not actually wizards.  They are children of families with the means to pay for some formal education.

With so many more faculty here than there were before, space is now at a premium in the Academy's living quarters.  All but the most senior wizards must share quarters.

Culann shares a small room with a novice wizardess (still a student) named Rei, who has a reputation as a party girl, and has often had a bit too much wine.

In reply to Ben (msg # 11):

ooc Thank you for those.

I did not know I was even here!

Bryon is at first not very happy about going to the Academy. It is full of wizards who are notoriously bookish and not at all the kind of man she finds interesting. However arriving finds her an instant celebrity of sorts. Bryon is nothing if not an attention seeker and when people give her attention she cares less for what they are like and more that they are looking at, talking too, and talking about her. She is met with flurries of questions and she tries to answer each. Finally she gives up and demonstrates her most potent weapon, her Eldritch blast.

She has them set up winter melons along a low wall in the courtyard. From some seventy feet back she strikes each of them, and depending on how much of a punch each one get they are vaporize, shatter, or something in between. She curtsies after her little demonstration. Then she begins with the question and answer again. "Yes both my grandmothers are Nymphs. I have an uncle who is a satyr and a great aunt who is a sylf. I am probably more fey than human, but who knows really."

She strolls along, admirers in tow. If she can convince them, she will have them buy her things. She enjoys pretty things that make her feel feminine and magic things of course. When someone mentions a circlet of persuasion she has her heart set on it. She makes it clear, whomever purchases it for her will be rewarded, and if they want to split the cost among a group...all the merrier!

20:15, Today: Bryon rolled 12 using 1d20+11. Diplomacy.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:26, Wed 08 May 2013.

In reply to Bryon (msg # 13):

To occupy her time, before clarifying matters with Kyriel, Culann was seated in a corner looks up from her tomes snapping it shut with a definite thump which she accentuated with an audible Harrumph I thought you lot were beyond such enticing antics. For shame, for shame. she chastises the gaggle of males who were clustered about the well endowed lass.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:27, Wed 08 May 2013.

 Byron makes several discoveries.


Second... Diplomacy works best when the objective is in line with what the subject individual already wants...and it is not too much of a stretch for Byron to be an object of desire. So the required roll is really quite low, when the intent of Diplomacy is "like me" and they are already predisposed to do so.  There are males in the Academy who take to females the way a Labrador Retriever takes to food:  Details are not important, the very fact that it's there is just great!

Especially among the one sector of Academy society that felt most threatened by Kyriel's Upset of the Social Order.  Part of the Academy is devoted to the training of battle mages.  These are mostly male, and they learn a special, limited repertoire of spells.  But at the same time, they also learn how to directly support the city militia in combat, and they all do.  The other wizard students consider the battle mages to be a little on the slow side as far as wizards go.  But, since they are among the few in the academy who take personal physical fitness very seriously, they are considered by most female students as, well, yes, a little on the slow side.  But hot, anyway.

At least, that's how it went until Kyriel showed up, and decided that the boy for her was a pale skinned nervous bookworm.  After that... things got weird.

But with Byron, the battle mages perceive the chance to set the record straight.

There are a few who would certainly be interested in her.

But then there is a third thing.  Even among them, a gift of a magic item as an “opening move” is a bit over the top.  One does not quickly cough up thousands of gold pieces because there is a new girl in town with a loose blouse!

In other words, Byron will have to start small and reasonable.

* * * * * * * * * *

But meanwhile... in related story matters...

Further into the winter, Raude Parisi arrives, with Rita and Riordeg in tow.  Raude's first stop is the Temple of Venus.  She is the high priestess, after all.  It's only proper.  And they have guest quarters for her.  They have other quarters they can provide for Rita and Riordeg, thinking they are traveling together, but Raude, having gotten to know Rita and Riordeg, is pretty sure this is not a good idea.

Fortunately there is also a temple of Pluto, the Campo Santo, a large rectangular cemetery surrounded by a cloistered arcade.  Like many temples, it has a few rooms for visitors.

And lots of rooms for, well, permanent guests.  At least it is quiet.

When everyone is settled in, she brings them over to the Academy, as the rest of King Theoderic's contribution to the "Mestenon Mission", to meet the others involved.

After the return from Lucimburic, Kyriel is rather withdrawn and moody. When Scolo had accused the Academy of sending thieves, she had assumed that he meant her. That she confirmed his suspicions painted a large target on her back as far as she is concerned and she's afraid of what his weird magic will do to her if he unleashes it against her.

The fact that she's been to Mestenon more than anyone here isn't especially comforting, given that more often than not she's run into weird things there. However, she swore that she would help the villagers and she would keep that promise. More often than not she's been going to places that she swore she wouldn't go back to.

She drops off the supplies she traded with the wereowls and checks to see if there's anything Master Ulpius needs for her to do. Besides, it gives her a chance to check up on what he's come up with.

Much time spent with Terrance pulls her from her funk. After a bit she keeps tabs on Byron; the woman is definitely not subtle. Though in the right circumstances it could be useful to have a partner like her.

Settling in at the table by Culann, she observes "It was the same way in Lucimburic. She certainly attracts a crowd."

She gives Terrance's hand a squeeze.

And she waits with no small amount of trepidation for the call to go back to Scolo's village.

Bryon is fascinated. She had expected a bunch of skinny pasty faced guys with pimples and bad eyes from squinting and old books for hours on end. These were, well, she had to search for a word since the word Macho was not around yet. She could not think of anything better than manly and that seemed to suit them all just fine. This was indeed what she craved all along, a gaggle of hot men who were all vying for her attention.

She goes into full on seductress mode, laughing and giggling at their jokes, casually touching their arms (OH MY SUCH MUSCLES!), calling them all by name, and of course sending out those subtle physical queues that said "I am ready and willing to show any or all of you the time of your lives." She sways her hips, runes her fingers through her hair, touches the bust line of her dress, and a half dozen other things that women did to show interest.

"Yes do show me how many push ups you can do in armor."

For another, "I'll be you could toss me around, if I let you."

And on and on. Yes for those outside her sphere of influence it likely drew groans but within the sphere - delicious!
This message was last edited by the player at 18:29, Wed 08 May 2013.

In reply to Bryon (msg # 17):

Culann rose  she had far more interesting matters to attend. Motioning for Kyrel to follow I say Kyrel how did things go with the Mage after I left he seemed a rather scatty fellow. she quietly asked
This message was last edited by the player at 00:42, Thu 09 May 2013.

5.
The worlds of the wizards of Aurelianorum and the clerics of Arras tend not to overlap all that much.  In some ways, they are entirely different and incompatible theories of magic, apart from occasion “cross dabblers” like those among the priestesses serving Minerva and Hecate.

Raude Parisi, whose order is dedicated to love and passion and the heart, is as far as one can get from the studious, focused mentality the Academy seeks to promote.  When she visits, she knows she is not on her turf- so she goes on the offensive, costuming herself to the nines, letting everyone know, this is the High Priesetess of Venus.

Though she is a mature woman in every way, it is enough to cause a temporary interruption in the attention directed at Byron.

There is a brief introduction between her and the senior wizards, but then... she leaves Rita and Riordeg off on their own.  Raude has other purposes here.  She asks about a wizardess named Cassandra.

* * * * * * *

The senior wizards, meanwhile, debate the upcoming “Mestenon Rescue Mission”.

“Just Culann and Kyriel, then, that's our contribution?” Gilamur the alchemist says, trying to clarify things.

“They are well suited, and King Theoderic has sent his own agents, the priestess of Pluto, the warrior, that peculiar sorceress,” the Lady Dromessa says.  “That's five, enough, I think.”

“It's two of ours, three of Theoderic's,” Tharus notes.  Tharus is the wizard in charge of the battle mages.  He is a mature man, short, close cropped military style hair.  He is the only one of the senior wizards with a warrior's physique, and he's proud of it, and his special branch of the academy.

“It is mostly Theoderic's concern,” the elderly, white bearded Syanthus says.

“Still... why risk our students?  They should have some steel with them.”  Tharus says.

“They have a warrior, one of Theoderic's.  His name is Riordeg,” Syanthus says.

“I meant one of ours,” Tharus replies.

The Lady Constance Dromessa glares at him.  If she was alone with someone she could speak to in confidence, like Kyriel, there are objections she would raise.  Like maybe, one of Tharus's battle mages could hardly be counted upon to act with stealth and discretion... both of which would be required, so close to the Emperor.  But there are things she can't say in a meeting like this.

Quickly, the other wizards are moved to agree- one more won't hurt... Tharus will pick a smart and capable fighter-wizard from his students.

* * * * * * *

Later, the Lady Dromessa gathers together her party of brave adventurers: Byron, Culann, Kyriel, Rita, Riordeg, and a broad shouldered, curly haired battle mage named Stannos.

Byron recalls him:  he was one of her admirers, outside (which is now a few days ago).

Dromessa, in her jet black robe sprinkled with star-like lights, is an impressive figure able to hold Stannos's attention during the meeting.  Most of it.  Occasionally he looks over to Byron.  He winks.

“Kyriel, Culann, you've done this trip,” she says.  “It's three days across wilderness to Mestenon.  Syanthus's agreement with King Theoderic is that we will safeguard Mestenon's population, and Scolo's property, and get it all to.. well, that part is a bit of a trick.  Away from Mestenon, at least.  Eastward, to Theoderic, I suspect, in the long run.  That part will take far more time than merely getting to Mestenon.  Are you prepared for this long journey?”

"Further into the winter, Raude Parisi arrives, with Rita and Riordeg in tow."

OOC: How far into the winter does this take place? Ben, could you provide some context, such as what month it is, when in that month, and what the weather is like?

Windwalking is certainly like nothing Rita has ever experienced. It is something she would like to learn someday. A part of her wants to ask Raude to teach her, but the other part of her knows such a request is premature.

She pays her respects at the Temple of Venus, giving a small donation. Naturally, it being a Temple of Venus, the priestesses offer her and Riordeg a single suite. When Raude vetoes the idea, Rita isn't quite sure if she feels annoyed or relieved. Maybe a bit of both.

Since there is a Temple of Pluto in the city, it makes sense for her to stay there.

"Of course it is your choice where you want to stay, though you know I would prefer we be under the same roof," she says to Riordeg. "You could get your own room at the Temple of Pluto, and I will get a room for myself."

Aurelianorum is a strange place to Rita, but her familiarity with the worship of both Minerva and Hecate does help bridge the gap in perspectives.

"Are you staying here or going back to Arras?" she asks Raude. "Perhaps you should come with us on this mission. These people will need healing that may be beyond anything I can do."

She is disappointed when Raude does not go to the meeting. The tone of the wizards is a bit disconcerting, with all the "ours" versus "theirs." How is it the wizards don't understand how an alliance works? The dwarves, elves, fey, lycanthropes, humans all managed to join together to fight the Huns while completely putting aside their differences. Could this group not do the same?

Uncertain and somewhat uncomfortable, she listens quietly.

When they decide to send a warrior of their own, she is actually relieved. Had Riordeg been the only warrior, the entire burden of melee would have been on him. What if they had to fight several monsters at once? This way is better for all of us, she realized.


At the planning meeting with Dromessa, she is somewhat more relaxed. She is momentarily distracted by Dromessa's robe, which she somehow suspects Bryon will one day want to have copied and made for herself.

"Where do we take the people? Assuming we succeed at rescuing them, we will need an immediate destination. If we don't have one, how can we expect anyone to leave their homes and travel with us in the middle of winter?

Is there a route eastward by which we can escort them to King Theoderic's lands? I apologize for my lack of familiarity with the geography of this area."

As for Scolo's property, how much of it are we supposed to rescue? Obviously, we cannot move an entire tower. There likely are some very odd and possibly dangerous magical items within that tower. Would you give us some direction on what items of Scolo's we should save? Where are Scolo and Melissa anyway? Shouldn't they come with us on this mission? No one knows Mestenon better than Scolo. Also, Melissa is supposed to stay with me by order of King Theoderic. It is a complicated situation, but one more reason why the two of them should accompany us.

Is this wilderness under the Huns' control? It would help if you could give us an idea as to what sort of monsters and hostile creatures we might encounter along the way. That will assist me in choosing what spells to prepare. And yes, we will need provisions--food and water rations, possibly some for the people we are rescuing.

I personally am interested in purchasing magical crossbow bolts. I bought a crossbow in Lucimburic and would like to be able to use it against demons, whether on this mission or another. I will pay for them if you have any."

Kyriel faces the summons for the mission briefing with more than a little trepidation. She's made this trip more times than she really cares to. She's even more worried when Lady Dromessa tells them that they'll be carrying Scolo's stuff in addition to escorting the people! Nervously she ventures an opinion. "Lady Dromessa, I know that Master Syanthus made an agreement with the King, but are you sure that's wise? I'm afraid that exposure to his magic causes brain sickness."

She shrugs unhappily when asked if they're ready to go. "Not really, but I don't think I'll ever be ready to go back there. Do we have any idea how much stuff we need to carry?"

She remembers the things in Scolo's tower and doubts they'll be able to carry them without a wagon. Will the villagers have enough wagons and horses to carry their own stuff and his?  Somehow she doubts that. . . .

When Rita starts asking questions, she sighs and closes her eyes. "Scolo's village is in a no man's land. Nobody controls it. The huns devastated it, and nobody lives there any more. There are weird and horrible monsters that roam the land. In my journeys through there, I've run into a magic eating hopper, a bone worm that I think may have been undead, and a razor sharp glass monster. We'll probably pass close to an old prison that the huns used to slaughter who knows how many. It has an evil look about it."

Before they go, she goes to see whether Master Ulpius or Master Gilamur have come up with anything from the miscellany that she showed him when  she and Rory had arrived after killing Zerova. She'd also like a refill of magic arrows, since hers are all gone.

The arrival of the Priestess of Venus and her entourage which includes Bryon's now good friend Rita, is enough to draw away some of Bryon's attention. Most women would likely have been jealous, but Bryon is delighted. She finds the priestess of Venus as exciting as her admirers do and that is without Rita. She bounces over to this group excitedly.

"Rita, love, I see you've been heading my advice." Rioreg  seems unable to even notice the beautiful priestess of Venus what with his lovely betrothed. Bryon though notices the priestess, and flirts with her like crazy!

-----------------------

Between Dromessa's splendid dress and the hunky Stannos Bryon's attentions are divided such that it takes many moments for her to find a response. "We'll need someone who can cast the Endure Elements spell, or several scrolls of that spell. Its going to be awfully cold and with a large group of people in hostile territory fires may not be possible."

She realizes everyone is looking at her with a bit of shock. She has said something intelligent after all that does not relate to makeup, dresses, or something else "girly." "What?" She asks in a mock hurt tone, "I'm smart."

Rita discovers that Raude has her own mission here.  Rita and Riordeg were just passengers. Favors, for Theoderic.   Raude has to find a wizardess named Cassandra, and bring her back to Belgica.  She has nothing to do with Mestenon.

The Mission to Mestenon is set to launch in March of 513.  No one wants to do it earlier, because there is the danger of a snow or frost, which would make it very easy to track the party.  Foot prints bad.

But they don't want to wait long.  When moving people it's best to start early, so they have time to plant when they reach their destination.

So as the weather warms, and Spring weakens Winter's grasp on the land, they gather for the mission.  No one really knows how much there is to move, or carry, or how many people might be there- and of course the Tilted Tower can't be moved.

"Whatever you can" is acceptable.

Since Culann and Kyriel have been there before, collectively they can describe the area well enough for a map to represent it:

If the group goes north after Mestenon they will soon reach Durocassium.  THis is the closest town not held by Huns.  In fact, it is in the land of Theoderic's brother, King Clothaire.  From there the group could turn east to get back to Theoderic's land.  Clothaire's "North Gaul" is a sort of vassal-state of the Emperor of the Huns.  But no one is very enthusiastic about enforcing the will of the Emperor.

The wasteland, as Kyriel and Culann would recall, is empty, abandonded, overgrown farmland.  Cities held by the Huns are red.

Scale:  It is 70 miles from Aurelianorum to Lutetia Parisiorum.
 

Looking the map over, Bryon bites her lip. "I'll bet if I had foot bunnies this would be a lot easier to walk."

Scrumff appears, for the first time at this particular meeting, as he pops out of her overstuffed bag. He looks the map over, "This looks like very little in the way of proper rat hunting to me. Perhaps I should scare up a few for myself in advance?"

Bryon looks down at her companion, "Hmmm? Oh your probably right. Of course you could always try for field mice."

Scrumff makes a disgusted face and gags audibly, "Yes and I suppose you might want to eat cockroaches."

She strokes his head in earnest guilt. "I'm sorry about that. I understand you. This is what the King has asked of us..." She makes a very loud audible whisper, "Besides they are sending the gorgeous Stannos with us, and you wouldn't have me miss an opportunity like that would you?"

Yawning, Scrumff replies "No I don't suppose so. Happy hunting m'lady."

In reply to Bryon (msg # 24):

Culann peers at the ferret, How novel she exclaimed

Scrumff hopped down and skittered over to Culann. He climbed her chair and into her lap...

Bryon said, "Scrumff! don't be naughty." There is a slight tenge of jealousy in her voice.

Scrumff pays his mistress no mind. "Novel? No my dear lady I am Nichodemus Bosthanomus Rasthbale the 14th, but others call me Scrumff. Can you understand me? Most cannot without some form of magic. I believe the priestess," He points to Rita, "Can. May I have your nom d'plume ma'dam?"

Bryon looks at Culann, "I'm so sorry. He's not normally like this. Normally he just sleeps in my bag. I don't know what has gotten into him since we left home." The ferret waves a paw at his mistress. Bryon speaks in an audible but just barely so voice. "Miss, this is Nichodemus Bosthanomus Rasthbale the 14th, called Scrumff by his friends. He asks your name. Please, he will be a good boy but he is stubborn..."
This message was last edited by the player at 13:10, Mon 13 May 2013.

In reply to Bryon (msg # 26):

As Culann tickled the ferret behind the ear a flurry of movement heralded the playful arrival of Cathassa who scampered up the chair leaping at Nichodemus Bosthanomus Rasthbale the 14th.

Greetings cousin, Mustelidae, have you smelt or seen any fish around here. Didn't you want to tell your petling your full name. We are Cathassa and our companion is Culann Cathassa she chirped playfully

Now, now One's reference to novel was an indication of the impediment you find yourself facing daily Culann informs with a series of squeaks
This message was last edited by the player at 23:03, Tue 14 May 2013.

Kyriel is very serious as she looks over the map. She frowns slightly when Byron mentions the bunny slippers. "I'm not sure they're such a good idea."

Her finger traces the road to Carnotum and goes off to one side before reaching it. "This is the route we took. The prison camp is around here." Her finger stops at a point on the map.

Giving whoever is the Academy representative an appraising look she continues. "What kind of assistance is the Academy going to give us? I want a cart, two horses and something to shield our minds from the effects of Scolo's stuff."

Bryon is shocked into silence when Culann begins to converse with Scrumff in...ferretese? She sits jaw open at the whole picture.

Scrumff on the other hand, is quit amused. Getting his ear scratched exactly right made him sort of fall or melt into her hand and he gave an audible sigh. Another mustid, perhaps a weasel, leapt up into the mage's lap.

The ferret replied, "No fish, sorry. Rats, yes. Many rats are here. My petling is completely at my mercy. She can be trusted. Do you need any fleas removed?"



Scrumff bows, "I am so very glad to have found another human to speak to. You speak my actual language, Very Impressive. Do you get compliments often on your diction, it is very precise. I am so glad we met you."

In reply to Bryon (msg # 29):

Ooc amended my previous post to include introductions as follows Greetings cousin, Mustelidae, have you smelt or seen any fish around here. Didn't you want to tell your petling your full name. We are Cathassa and our companion is Culann Cathassa chirped playfully


Cathassa squeaks in concern What of frogs, crayfish and crabs surly there be some aboutlooking about hopefully

That may be so, Master Nichodemus Bosthanomus Rasthbale the 14th, but based on what I’ve gleaned from your petlings actions she appears to be overly enticed by a handsome face or magical trinket. She informed with a pleasant smile as she busied herself tickling the ears of both the familiars We too are pleased to make your acquaintance she added in a series of soft soothing squeaks

And here is where the story reaches beyond the theoretical human endurance levels of cuteness, as we have both a Ferret and an Otter.  It is possible that as they walk along, they leave in their wake a city virtually paralyzed, with the citizens unable to do more than stare and say “awwww”.  But overcome this we must, if there is to be any progress…

Still... after watching the exchange, the 'battle mage' looks sick.

As the group prepares and plans, Kyriel has some help.  Terrance, her awkward, geeky, but brilliant wizard-student beau, hates the idea of Kyriel going off on these crazy missions without help.

”But she has help,” master crafts-mage Marcus Ulpius explains to Terrance in the Academy’s workshop.  “She’s not going alone.”

”That ‘s not what I meant,” Terrance says. “I’ve read all the notes, there are strange things there.  Mind Affecting things.  We need to make something for her.  Something to protect her.  What kind of object do you think can best house Torkamir’s Psychic Wall?”

”That’s a strong spell!” Marcus says, surprised.  “More than she would need.”

”She could protect the others, then, if she had to.”

The older wizard thinks.  “The Law of Probability… it would be harder to put it into a small amulet.  We need to think bigger.”

”A hat?”

“A large one,” Marcus Ulpius agrees, “to offset the obvious utility.”

And so it is that Kyriel is outfitted with a hat.  It is more like a hood than a hat, a purple knit hat with two long tassels that hang down on either side of her face, and it seems larger and bulkier than an ordinary hat would be, it seems.

Terrance explains.  “There’s enchanted tin wires woven into it.*  It can block mental attacks and things like that.”

When Terrance says “things like that”, Kyriel knows what he means:  “If you ask for specifics it will take me hours to explain the theory, and 80% of it will go right by anyway, so this is good enough.”

The academy also responds to the horse and cart request.  They use this as an opportunity to test a new invention:  The collapsible cart.  The well made but fairly ordinary looking wooden cart can fold in on itself, becoming a wooden square one foot by one foot by 4 inches.

The horses do not fold.

Is the group going to head out along the course Kyriel suggests, then?

*Mages who do their homework, like Terrance does, know that tin is useful for setting up psychic barriers.    It’s especially potent when beaten into thin foil, but wires will work.

In reply to Ben (msg # 31):

Culann watches and listens to her contemporaries discourse Tis indeed pleasing to know Mage Terrance is looking out for his beloved. Yet you considered the risk it now holds? Equipped as she is the greater the prospect she will be sent forth to deal with any risk by herself, thereby placing her in a situation where others will be unable to render her much if any assistance.

Kyriel's moodiness and general discomfort has been growing as the date of departure approaches. It may or may not have been obvious to some of her companions how much she dreads the approaching mission. Which is how she pretty much ignored the diabetes inducing scene with the ferret and otter.

It's only after Terrance gives her the purple hat and tells her what it's for that she perks up. She wraps both arms around him and hugs him for all she's worth. He understands her. The tension that's been building up breaks and she starts crying. Tears of relief flow freely down her cheeks and wet his shoulder. In an almost inaudible whisper, she says "Thank you."

After a couple of minutes she gets a hold of herself and then addresses Culann. "I've been on my own before. If I'm sent out to do something alone, I'll manage."

She looks over the collapsable cart with approval. "This is good. We'll be able to make speed when we need it."

In reply to Kyriel (msg # 33):

Well pardon me... If you want to be that way, feel free. However in this instant I don't recall any mention of you being sent anywhere by yourself. Culann prompts, eyeing Kyriel somewhat putout. Irrespective of the lasses abilities if Kyriel wanted to be a target that was her choice. Culann thought to herself
This message was last edited by the player at 11:43, Wed 15 May 2013.

Bryon spends her time practicing with her lovely new spear and chatting up the splendid Stannos. She does make sure to send Tirig a lovely thank you note, manners after all. She does her best to keep Scrumff in check, but having found an otter friend it is difficult to keep him from her. Indeed he seems to be spending as much time with Culann and Cathassa as with his own mistress. Bryon is so enthralled with her new target for conquest that she hardly notices his absence.

She puts all her "charms" into making Stannos her own, wanting to claim him so that no other woman can. This is different that Tirig, and what's worse he seems to be unsure about Scrumff. She knows she will be spending significant time with him on the road and it could be fun time or misery. She wants the former.

When Kyriel is presented with her lovely hat, Bryon pouts. "I want a pretty hat too." When she finds out it is magic, she is all the more jealous. Bryon is not jealous of Kyriel's sickly looking boyfriend. Getting something so splendid it made Bryon redouble her own efforts to get one of her pursuers to make or purchase something magical for her as well. Its really a competition now, between herself and Kyriel, as to who can get men to give the prettiest magical things.

This expresses itself in other ways as well.  Bryon, knowing nothing of cartography or the area, still feels the need to point out a meandering and totally inappropriate route they might take. Her route will of course be rejected, which will only lead to further competitiveness.

OOC: Can Rita cast Endure Elements? It’s not in her spell list, but it is a common clerical spell.

How much time passes between her arrival in Aurelianorum and the mission to Mestenon? If Rita stayed in Lucimburic the first six weeks of the winter, she would arrive in Aurelianorum in early February.  How far into March does the group wait to start the mission? This is important because it will determine how many scrolls and potions Rita can create. She will do mostly healing potions and scrolls though if she learns Endure Elements, she could make potions and scrolls of those. It is also important because the Spring Equinox is a major holiday for her.

At the Academy, she inquires as to whether anyone knows her sister Katrina. There is a good chance someone does, given her proficiency as both a cleric and wizard. It is even possible, though not likely, that Katrina could be here!

Rita will buy five +2 bolts and ask Riordeg if he wants any magical arrows to fight demons using his bow. If he does, she will buy some for him.

Rita will want to do something to commemorate the Spring Equinox. If the group leaves before the actual day, she will take some time on that day to worship and conduct her own ritual, inviting anyone who might want to participate to join her. If they don't leave until after the Equinox, she will celebrate at the Temple of Pluto in Aurelianorum. This is her first Spring Equinox serving Proserpina, which makes it a very important one. It is the day Proserpina departs from the Underworld, leaving Pluto to join her mother Ceres in the world above.

What sort of place is this no man’s land, with all those strange monsters?

“Are the monsters actually in Mestenon or just in the areas surrounding it?” she asks Kyriel. “I don’t even know what a hopper is. Undead I at least know how to fight. Are these monsters creatures that Scolo created with his strange magic, or are they creations of the Huns? It would help to have some knowledge of what we will be facing.

There could be people hiding out in that old prison or even possibly innocents being held there. If the Huns slaughtered people at that site, there may be restless spirits that need help crossing over. I cannot ignore that possibility.”

Before Raude leaves, she tells the priestess to give her best wishes to her parents and let them know that Rita is doing fine.


“Yes, I have,” Rita says to Bryon. “Thank you for everything.” Bryon had given Rita some lessons in applying and wearing makeup, which she has been gradually using though only in a very subtle style.


She stocks up on healing supplies, given the likelihood the people of Mestenon will need them.

Rita introduces herself to Culann and to her familiar.

“Greetings, Culann. I am Rita Duronus, a cleric in service of Lord Pluto and Lady Proserpina,” she says.

OOC: Can Rita understand the two familiars’ speech, or do only wizards understand them?

“I know Carnotum. It is not far from Catolacus, home of the largest Temple of Pluto in Europa. We were there almost a year ago, when we first met King Theoderic. Patre Evroul at the temple provided sanctuary to the children and centaurs whom we helped escape from Lutetia Parisiorum. If we do need help, either healing or temporary sanctuary, I know he would help us.”

Rita has never seen anything like the hat Terrance makes for Kyriel to block mind-altering spells. Her sister, a cleric/wizard of Minerva, would likely enjoy spending hours listening to Terrance’s explanation of how the hat works.

“When we get to the dangerous areas, I could cast a magical circle against evil centered on any one of us. It lasts nearly an hour and prevents charm or possession to anyone within a ten-foot radius of the person on whom the spell would cast.”

She sincerely hopes that no rivalry develops between Culann and Bryon. That would only make the mission more difficult. Rita does her best to stay out of any quarrels, largely by staying near Riordeg.

Even though she isn’t that familiar with the geography, she knows what Bryon is doing in suggesting the inappropriate road.

“I am not familiar with this area. Stannos, do you know the best route to take to Mestenon, preferably while encountering as few monsters as possible?” She deliberately asks Stannos rather than Kyriel. Even if Stannos disagrees with Bryon, chances are she won’t stay angry with him for any length of time.

“We do have a mission to focus on, and it is crucial that we stay on task,” she adds.

Kyriel is a little saddened by Culann's snappy reply. Normally she's bubbly and fun to be around. After a moment's reflection, she realizes that she hasn't been the best company of late and Culann is probably reacting to that. "I'm sorry, Culann. It's just that I've been worried about this trip. I don't know how much interaction you've had with Scolo and the people of his village. Every time I've been there has reinforced my belief that Scolo's magic is dangerous to those around him. He probably doesn't mean for the madness to escape and spread, but I think it does. That's why I've been so uptight of late. I'm sorry if I pissed you off."

She can tell from Byron's reaction that she's upset about the hat. Not only that, it looks like she's got some kind of rivalry going now too. She sighs but doesn't take the bait.

"As far as I know, the monsters don't go into the village but they tend to be nearby. The hopper eats magic. I shot it with an arrow after it ate a wizard's spell and it exploded. I think that they are things that Scolo has brought into the world either on purpose or by accident."

She shakes her head at the idea of people being in the prison. "No Mater. Nobody is alive there now. It's abandoned and has an evil feel about it. I'm sure that there are restless spirits there." She looks grim "There were a lot at Beda, and I don't expect the people who died at the camp to be any less restless."

Once again she shakes her head. "If we have to go to Catolacus, we will be heading towards Lutetia Parisiorum. That's bad news and I don't want to head that way if we can at all help it. I've pressed my luck more than I'd like. In the past year I've been there twice. Last time we had some trouble getting away."

In reply to Kyriel (msg # 37):

Culann leans towards Kyriel giving her hand a warm pat. Tis fine Lass, was just trying to be helpful. Sides from what we've run into so far it pays to be cautious and watching out for each other. She glances at the map wondering if there were any rivers in the area.

It looks like our optimum avenue would be to move from Mestenon through the woods to Durocasslum, being the closest non hun location in the area. From there it be easier to relocate.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:02, Fri 17 May 2013.

Stannos doesn't know the route.  Kyriel and Culann do, however.

The launch themselves northwards.  Their "battle mage", Stannos, is claimed by Byron.  She seems to have no competition.  Culann uses phrases like "optimum avenue" when, in Stannos's universe, normal people say "best way".  He looks at her now and then but avoids talking to her, not wanting to betray his more monosyllabic vocabulary.

It is spring, it is Gaul, days are getting warmer and life is returning to the world.  They quickly pass beyond Aurelianorum's farmland, and the outpost tower that marks the edge of the land protected by the city and the wizards.  At the tower they have one last "safe" evening in civilization.

Beyond is the wasteland.  Kyriel and Culann have had some experience here, especially Kyriel.  This region was raided, fought over, and raided again.  Neither side was able to control it, but very soon, it became too dangerous to live here.  The surviving residents left.  Those that didn't were scooped up in Hun patrols.  Now, the fields are being reclaimed by nature, and the houses and barns are falling apart.  Some farms and villages are only burnt out remnants.

It all ended a few years ago.  The passage of time can be marked by the progress of trees and shrubs swallowing up the farm fields.

Stannos talks about how dangerous the area is, even though he's never been north of the tower since the last battle he fought it, two years ago.  He directs a lot of it to Byron.

"The Huns summon all kinds of crazy monsters, and they let them loose out here, just to hunt people outside their lands, and make sure their slaves don't leave.  You want to come to Aurelianorum from Lutetia Parisiorum, you can eaten by a..."

There is the roar of some kind of large, hungry creature in the distance.

"Yeah, by that," Stannos says.  "It's probably a wyvern or a manticore.  Manticores are bad, they can fly, and they have three heads."


He promises that if it attacks, and they survive, he'll get Byron a pretty hat.

Kyriel smiles at Culann, happy that she seems to have patched things up between them. She likes the idea of a general idea of which way to go, but . . . "We have to get there first."

She says nothing since she figures that Stannos' comments about monsters will probably stick with Byron better than anything she could say. Besides, the roar sounds before she can really add much anyway.

She gets her bow out and keeps her arrows handy. Scanning the area that the roar came from, she adds "We better make sure that the horses don't bolt."

If someplace looks to provide some decent shadows along their path, Kyriel angles towards them and tries to blend in.

In reply to Ben (msg # 39):

Culann gives her head a slight shake at Stannos'es description; then glances in the direction the sound came which sounded like it came from a hearty beast. Aye a wall or four and a solid roof will serve quite well

Bryon, given to flights of fancy, only hears Stannos promise to but her a hat, she misses the qualifiers. It is enough to get him anything he wants from her. She is indeed almost passive now, allowing her rivalry with Kyriel to slip away in favor of showering Stannos with her affections. She makes no never mind where they go, by what route, or even where and when they make camp. Henceforth she goes out of her way to wait on Stannos hand and foot, even massaging him when the camp is settled in, starting at the feet and working her way round.

If there were any doubt that she is at least half nymph it is put to rest now. Her playfulness, her teasing and how she and Stannos spend their nights makes her heritage and personality crystal clear.

 They pick up the pace and press forward, looking for some cover.  They know they have to spend one night out here in the wasteland among ruined settlements and abandoned farms, and that roar... that is one of  the reasons no one lives in the wasteland, and so few people venture through.

Kyriel scans for the old prison she remembers.  Was it here?  Close enough?

But there is an old farmstead she can see.  It's a white walled building, single story, quite large- the kind which is almost a whole village unto itself.  The straggly, overgrown field behind it was a vineyard.

Riordeg calms the horses.  He's good at that, having been around them all his life.

As they get close to the farmstead, they hear the roar again.  It's off to their right, not from the farm, but it's much closer this time.  Riordeg has a much harder time with the horses.

Stannos scans the sky, looking for wyverns, manitcores...

As they get close to the farmstead, a flight of birds takes to the sky suddenly, in the direction of the monstrous roar.  They see the farmstead.  The Huns looted every building in the area, and burned half of them.  They didn't leave the doors locked when they left.  In fact, the front door isn't even there.

Kyriel nods in agreement with Culann. Having a way to either avoid or direct the attentions of the beast is good. Of course, avoidance is preferable. She breathes a sigh of relief that Byron seems to have settled in; the last thing that they need in the wilds is some kind of rivalry. What she and Stannos do on their own time is their business.

She remembers the old prison, but right now she's much happier finding an abandoned farmstead. Much less likely to be "interesting." In other words, not having an issue to deal with. Glad that Riordeg is able to deal with the horses, she pulls her rapier and takes point and heads into the building. If this were a normal camp, she'd take the time to look for any "surprises" that the hun might have left for someone, but right now they don't really have the time. For now the rapier's tip will have to do. Running just above the level of the ground, she hopes that it will trigger whatever might have been left behind before she'll be affected by . . . whatever. "After me!  The huns might have left some surprises."

Bryon follows behind Kyriel happily. She is very glad for someone else taking the lead, she hated making decisions...
This message was last edited by the player at 13:07, Tue 21 May 2013.

In reply to Ben (msg # 43):

That doesn't sound promising I suggest we get ourselves and the horses into the building quickly Culann prompts nudging her mount towards the open door.

ooc is the doorway enough to allow a horse through? If so she'll direct the horse inside and lean over its neck in the process

During her time at the Temple of Pluto in Aurelianorum, Rita learned how to cast Endure Elements, a fact she shares with the group. She also brewed eight healing potions, which may very well be necessary, since she is the only cleric in the party, and there may be many sick or injured people in Mestenon.

"I did get the chance to make eight healing potions while in Aurelianorum," she tells the party members.

"The hopper eats magic. So you killed it with a non-magical arrow?" Rita asks. If such creatures can be killed with regular arrows, maybe they are not as scary as everyone thinks.

"I know it is not part of our mission, but if there are restless spirits nearby, I must at least try to help them," she explains. "How far away is the prison? Those souls are suffering, and I can help them cross over and leave that suffering behind. I would never ask anyone else to do this with me. It is something I must do by myself."

Riordeg will volunteer to accompany her, she knows. That makes her feel secure and loved, but it also scares her. She cannot let any harm come to him, especially not through something she alone chooses to do.

"The farmstead may not be any safer than camping out here," she adds. "We have to approach very carefully, as there likely is something in there. Any monsters summoned by the Huns are likely to be demons of some type."

The roar is unexpected, and she too looks up to the sky to determine its source.

"Whatever that is, if it is near the farmstead, we may have no choice but to deal with it."

Are the birds heading towards the farmstead? Do they appear to be fleeing from the roaring creature?

Should the roaring monster come into view, she will be ready to cast Deific Vengeance at it if it gets within the required 35-foot range.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:16, Wed 22 May 2013.

Bryon nodded at Rita's sentiment, "That actually sounds very exciting. I will go with you as well. I think such a place will be oodles of fun to explore!"

Her idea of fun...Sheesh!

The birds scatter quickly.  They have no real destination in mind.  Just "away".

Inside the main entrance is a short passage, with brick walls on either side, partly covered in the same white stucco which is on the outer wall.  Sections have spalled off, and it is dingy green with algae towards the base.

Far from major cities, even moderate farmsteads like this are built for protection, because of the dangers of wild beasts and outlaws, even before the Huns came.  So the farmstead is built like a little self contained fort- everything faces inward to the central courtyard, which is only accessible by the gates, while a strong brick wall faces outside.

The courtyard has hard packed clay, but weeds have sprouted through cracks.  In the middle is something like a gazebo with a hole in the floor- it is the farm's well.  Arranged around the courtyard, clockwise from the main entrance, are:

The workshop.
The barn.  This has its own entrance to the outside.
Three homes for farm workers/servants.  Just small peasant lodges, typically they would have just a couple of rooms, and hard packed clay floors.  One of them is tucked into the corner.
The manor house, for the owner/manager of the farm, on the back side opposite the main entrance.  Only the manor house and the barn have a second story.
Two more workers' homes.
Storage sheds.
A “Common Hall” in the corner to the right of the front entrance.  This is the place they would use for all the “communal” functions, like group dinners, sewing circles, etc.
A  small shrine to Bacchus and Ceres, deities of wine and grain.
And... back at the entrance.

But there may not be time to do much exploring.  The brush in the overgrown field across the road is moving.  Whatever it is, it is coming.

Rita enjoys Bryon's company and has come to genuinely like her, but this last remark is quite inappropriate, if Bryon's is referring to her desire to check out the prison for restless spirits.

"Oodles of fun? Do you mean the prison or the farmhouse? If you're looking for fun, a place filled with restless, suffering spirits is anything but that. I cannot imagine you would take pleasure in other people's suffering. If fun is the reason, you want to accompany me to the prison, then please do not come along. Such an attitude would be offensive to Lord Pluto."

She tries to not sound too harsh, understanding that Bryon is from a very different background than she is.

As they head into the farmstead, she glances back at the road.

"Someone should keep watch while the rest explore, or we could be taken by surprise by who knows what monster that might follow us in here. I have a feeling that whatever that roaring creature is, it already knows we are here."

If no one else volunteers, she will stand watch at the entrance. If someone else does volunteer, she will go inside.

"We should check out those storage sheds. You never know what might be in there."

As soon as she sees the shrines to Ceres and Bacchus, she carefully examines each one and says short prayers to both gods for success in their mission. Ceres is Proserpina's mother, which means the grain goddess has a special connection to Rita. She also looks to see if any religious books or items have been left near the shrine.

Is the roaring coming from the moving brush? If not, do we still hear it?

Kyriel nods in agreement with Culann. "I don't think we'll have much time."

News that healing potions are available is always welcome. "That's very good Mater. I'm afraid we might need some sooner rather than later."

She nods again when asked about killing the hopper. "When it ate a magic missile spell, I thought the best thing to do was to shoot it. I didn't have any magic arrows at the time."

She certainly approves of the idea of clearing the prison. "I don't know what the huns were doing there, but it had an evil feel. I'll help if I can." She's noncommittal about Byron's idea of fun.

Once they get into the compound, she waves the others towards the closest structure large enough to house everyone and the horses. "In there! I don't know how much time we'll have before the creature is upon us. I don't know if we'll have time to do any exploring before the creature is here."

She pulls her bow out and peeks around the door to see what the creature is. If it continues to approach in a threatening manner, she'll unload a couple of arrows at it in an attempt to dissuade it from continuing its approach. After a couple of shots, she'll fall back with the others. She doesn't desire to get separated from them!

Bryon realizes she has offended Rita, which was not her intention. "I am sorry I did not mean that restless dead would be fun. I understand that will be somber and necessary. I meant that exploring a former prison might be fun, especially if the Hun have left behind guards or something. I've met a Hun or two, mostly traders, never soldiers. I think it would be fun to explore their place for holding prisoners. I will not interfere in your somber spiritual incantations."

She agrees with Kyriel, "It will be on us in no time." She hefts her spear and takes careful aim...but then remembers her hair pin. She slides it out of her hair and focuses on the moving brush, hoping to see what is hiding there.

Using Hair Pin thingy to get a better look at Mr. Beasty.

We need to close the gate and secure any possible access to the exterior lest the creature find a way inside the compound Culann prompts

Kyriel looks back towards the direction of the roaring. It's coming.. she can tell.  It's not in range yet, but soon.. very soon.

 Securing the front door could be a problem.  It's not there.  In fact, the remains of it are lying on the ground, about 20 feet away.

Bryon was first interested in exploring, and Stannos gave her a "NOW?" kind of look.
Stannos may not be the cream of the academic crop at Aurelianorum, and some of his attitudes might be considered, well, boorish.. but he knows his way around a fight, and he's not one to run from fight before he's given it his best.  Especially when there are women to protect. Especially when one of them is his recent conquest.**

“If it comes it will be through the door,” he says.  “It's not a flyer or it would be flying already.”

“Probably not a manitcore or wyvern, then, oh master-of-monster-lore,” Riordeg says in a whisper, mostly for Rita.

Stannos stands at the back of the entranceway, where he expects the creature to come if it is following them.  He draws a short sword, and readies it in his “off hand”.  It is the customary stance of the battle mage, ready for action.  His free hand is ready for spell casting.

Bryon looks through a loop at the end of her hair pin.


**the question of just who conquered whom, given Byron's inclinations, is in doubt

"Apology accepted. Thank you for clarifying that," Rita says, genuinely glad to know that Bryon would not find encountering restless spirits as "fun." "I cannot imagine you as the type of person who would interfere with spiritual work."

She is genuinely glad to have had the chance to get to know Bryon better during their weeks in Lucimburic. If a stranger had made that same comment, Rita likely would have been somewhat alarmed, as such sentiments could indicate a wizard who enjoyed necromancy and might have revealed a more sinister side. Thankfully, she knows Bryon well enough to be certain she has no evil intentions.

Master of monster lore? She smiles at Riordeg, whispering back to him. "I'm hardly that though my sister probably is. But what I can do is give you some help."

She casts Bull's Strength on Riordeg, then prepares to cast Deific Vengeance at the monster as soon as it closes in on them.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:43, Sat 25 May 2013.

In reply to Ben (msg # 54):

Do you think we can use the door to partially block the entrance. Culann suggests looking about hoping there enough stuff, lying about to prop up

Culann looks at the door.  She's no carpenter, but it seems that the door will need some help to become a real obstacle.  Especially when she sees the spikey back of the thing protruding from the weeds and brush across the road.

It would be possible to drag the door in front of the opening in time, but unless there is some way to rapidly secure it and/or strengthen it, it will not do much.

Kyriel tries an opening shot when she sees the creature, and hits it in one bony shoulder with an arrow.  That made it mad.  It breaks into a charge, right towards the group.  And now there isn't much time left at all.

(It is just off the map, to the right, across the road.)

 

After casting Bull's Strength on Riordeg, Rita sees the beast charge at the group and decides not to wait for it to get within range for a deific vengeance spell, which requires the monster to be within 35 feet of her. Instead, she moves to spot O14, where she can see the creature outside and casts Doom at it. This spell has a much longer range, 150 feet in her case.

Doom
Necromancy [Fear, Mind-Affecting]
Level:Clr 1
Components:V, S, DF
Casting Time:1 standard action
Range:Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Target:One living creature
Duration:1 min./level
Saving Throw:Will negates
Spell Resistance:Yes
This spell fills a single subject with a feeling of horrible dread that causes it to
become shaken.

Bryon uses her ability to climb walls to her advantage. She leaps up and climbs high enough that the thing will not be able to get her. From there it is a matter of using either her spear or E.blast whichever is more effective.

Culann slips through the door into the building, glancing about she spots the doors further along in the same wall. Rushing towards them Quick there's another door in here she calls back at the others

Kyriel backs up into the courtyard (next to Rita), there's no way she wants to get caught in the doorway with this thing charging down on them.

As she does so, she realizes the Byron has an excellent idea--not being on the ground with this thing. The only problem is that horses can't climb. When Culann tells them about the door, she nods. "Get the horses in there and close the door!" Hopefully that will provide enough cover for the horses while everyone deals with this beast.

She shoulders her bow and quickly pulls a rope with a leather-bound grappling hook out of her pack. A couple of quick swings and she sends the hook up to the roof. "Everybody up! I don't think we want to be on the ground floor for this dance."

The beast galumphs towards them, at high speed.  It reaches the entrance way.


Bryon climbs up to get a safer vantage point, Kyriel pulls back and then follows Byron up, and Rita “preps” Riordeg with a spell.  Culann finds another door... in fact, Culann sees a lot of them, all facing the courtyard, all leading to the various chambers named previously.  The nearest one leads into the workshop.  There are some old mill stones and old lumber boards here.

And the creature charges right into them.  Bryon launches an energy blast at it, while Rita uses Doom.

And then the bad news...

Rita's spell didn't seem to have effect.  Bryon's spell had... two effects.  It clearly hurts the creature, putting a small injury into its hide, but at the same time, something is turned around- Bryon feels a jolt of burning magical energy, feedback from her own spell!  It hurts- not life threatening, but painful.

Stannos uses an attack spell and has a similar experience.  He wounds the creature, but at a cost.

“It turns magic!” he shouts.   No longer trusting in magic, prepares to hold his ground and meet the charge alongside Riordeg.

 

(OOC: Ben. At little confused as to where Kyriel is at the moment. In the text, you have her climb up. But in the map she's next to Rita. I've put in a couple of if-then conditionals.)

Kyriel calls out to Riordeg, Rita, and Stannos "It shouldn't be able to turn fast! Flatten against the walls next to the entrance!"

If she's up top, she'll run along the roof and drop down behind the creature. Nocking an arrow, she lets it fly into beast from above and behind as it charges into the confining corridor.

If she's next to Rita, she grabs Eadoin's cloak from her pack and waves it as she runs away from the beast. Hoping that she's got its attention, she puts the cloak on and activates the shape change to squirrel form just before she dodges hard left.

Culann moves towards the large doors to in the wall O17 expecting the others to be following her away from the beast.

Bryon backs up along the roof, and getting a running start she leaps off. Holding her spear pointed down she intends to use gravity and steel to end the monster's life. The odd part, she is laughing. Even when her bolt of energy was turned back on her she remained in high spirits. She obviously has no concept of her own mortality.

Culann tries to get them to fall back into the buildings, but Kyriel and Byron are making a “forward defense” and Riordeg and Stannos are not going to leave them.

Kyriel scurries across a roof, and lands behind the thing, and turns to see Byron do her crazy leaping attack thing.

Stannos sees the same, and is momentarily aghast, but then, the thing is charging into him and Riordeg.  The beast forces them both back, Stannos more than Riordeg as Riordeg has been strengthened, and in moments there is a fierce battle, the creatures long horns vs Riordeg’s and Stannos’s weapons.

Riordeg is the stronger, but Stannos is suddenly driven by a primal instinct not to let Byron be mauled, and presses an attack, bloodying the thing, though both he and Riordeg are injured in the process.

Byron has a hard time- the thing has horns growing in various places, not just the head, and in jumping on it, she has to evade them.  Surprisingly, she hits it, hard, driving her spear in.  But in a moment, the creature bucks, squashing Byron against a wall.  The wall cracks.  Byron feels much flatter, and nauseous.

Kyriel is lined up for an easy target, though.  With the thing squeezed into the entranceway, she shoots at the beast’s large and unprotected hindquarters, and a pair of arrows sinks in.  They make terrible wounds which would make sitting very uncomfortable, if the creature ever tried to sit.

Byron and Kyriel together have hurt it worse than the “boys” have, but the creature doesn’t seem to be registering individual threats.  It concentrates most of its attack forwards.

Culann is in the barn, but feels the whole structure shake with the fury of the battle.

 

For reference, a typical farmstead of this culture, with the "everything faces the center courtyard" style.

Kyriel is very surprised when Byron jumps directly onto the creature. Given how spiky the thing is, that's pretty daring and dangerous. She sighs when Riordeg and Stannos stand their ground; that's almost as dangerous as jumping on spike.

She moves forward to O14 so that she's directly behind the creature. She pulls her rapier and starts poking the creature's vulnerable backside. She doesn't want to hit anyone else with her arrows, and now that they're engaged in hand-to-hand it makes her shots a little risky.

She calls out to the ones fighting it in the front. "Fight defensively! We can wear it down. The last thing we need is for someone to get badly injured this early!"

Bryon drives her spear into the creature, but having to turn and twist to avoid its dragon like spikes makes hitting vital organs impossible. For her troubles she gets thrown into a wall, which cracks and she flattens against it. "Ugh...by the gods you are a tough one aren't you?" Her question to the beast is made less jovial by her sudden wave of nausea, and instinct kicks in, causing her to invoke an ability she had only used a handfull of times before. In an instant she is on the roof again, doubled over and vomiting. Left behind is an illusory copy of her, which smiles and tries to stand and dissolves into nothing.

Flees the scene - to a rooftop square

Helpless for the moment she wipes her face with the back of her hand. Looking over the ledge she sees her spear still lodged in the thing's spine. A smile finds its way back to her lips as she realizes she gave as good as she got. She had to shake off the nausea before she could make another serious attempt at killing the thing.

Seeing that magic doesn't work against the creature, Rita takes a step back to K14, takes out her crossbow, and shoots bolts (non-magical) at the monster. Bryon obviously needs healing, but she is on the roof now, meaning Rita cannot reach her.

Riordeg is more than surprised when Rita suddenly fires her crossbow past him.  Of course, having not felt the magical feedback from the creature, he doesn’t know…

But doesn’t Rita normally use her spells to aid in a battle?  And this only as last resort?

Past the creature, he and Stannos can see Kyriel attacking where the creature is least able to protect itself, stabbing into its prodigious gluteal muscles.  The beast is not happy with this, and tries to react, but the two warriors quickly see the handicap it has.

“Keep it in the passageway,” Stannos shouts.  “It can’t turn!”

But that is easier said than done.  It is a fierce opponent, especially from the front, where they happen to be.


Bryon manages a difficult climb.  It was much easier before she was wounded, and there was no ferocious beast to contend with.

Kyriel takes advantage of her position to the best of her ability. When she has a chance, she pulls a dagger in addition to her rapier. She hasn't done something like this often, but the possibility of putting this thing down quickly before anyone gets seriously hurt is a priority. Avoiding its spiky tail, she keeps stabbing at it with both the rapier and dagger.

Bryon's spell takes her to a nearby roof, and below, in the confines of the entrance way, the fighting continues.

They've figured out the winning tactic, though.  Riordeg and Stannos keep the beast confined, and it cannot turn to face Kyriel, who is able to attack the creature from behind almost at will.

The tide is turned- the creature is losing, and it seems to know it.

From her position behind the beast, Kyriel does what she can to take the heat off of Stannos and Riordeg. They'll have problems if the beast charges them or moves quickly. Her rapier continues to wreck havoc on the beast's exposed backside.

 Her dagger however, has a much different goal. Carefully she tries to spot how the beast's muscles work in order to find the tendons. That is the goal for her dagger. To hamstring the beast and relieve at least some of the pressure off those facing the horns outside.

On the roof Bryon's wobbly legs manage to keep her standing. From her bag a nose emerges, but the rest of Scrumff is secured and not willing to exit. "My Lady, may I suggest you not do that...whatever it was...again?"

She quipped, "You may suggest anything you like, dear one, but I had too much fun to never do that again. You know me, try anything once and if I like it, I try it again."

A bit more of his face emerged, but not much. "Then may I ask you put me aside the next time you mean to do something so insane?"

She grins ear to ear, "Absolutely." She reaches into the bag and withdraws her trusted mace, then dropping the bag and turning to get a running start.

Scrumff tries to wiggle free, "No My Lady, PLEASE. Your hurt and..."

She interrupts him as she squares herself for a second run at this, "Fortune favors the bold!" She shouts this and takes a dead run at the edge. Her leap this time is meant to bring her in line with the others who are face to face with the monster wolf. If she manages not to break her neck she will begin clobbering the thing with her mace.

Once the creature is wobbly, Riordeg switches back to the offensive again.  Still bolstered by Rita's spell he is exceptionally strong, and when he hits he delivers a powerful blow.

A couple of those, and the horrible horned whatever-it-is can take no more.  Unable to lunge forward anymore, it leans against the wall and begins to sag, but still snaps at anything too close.

By the time Bryon is ready for a second charge, the creature is not so ready to react.  She smashes it on the neck.

Stannos has the stunned look of a man who has just realized that his date is insane.  Not in the mild, fun,  still-decorates-room-with-hello-kitty-although-she's-thirty way, but in the scary, serious, on-three-different-medications way.

"What are you doing?" he asks in a quiet, serious, and slightly bewildered voice.

Bryon is slightly out of breath, or breathing hard for other reasons. From the look on her face more likely the later than the former. She opens her mouth wide and laughs heartily. She walks over to him, intending to touch him. "Winning sweaty. I'm winning. That thing was attacking my friends. It had to be killed."

She looks at him in a heated way. "Come, I have too much energy and nothing to do with it."

Once the thing is down, Kyriel leans against the side of the cooridor breathing a little heavily. Even though she's in pretty good shape, running and fighting like that isn't her usual modus operandi. Not only is it hard work, but it's messy too. While she has a chance, she tries to recover any arrows that she used.

She knows that she needs to clean up before too long. However, she has a couple of questions now that the thing is dead. Before Byron steals Stannos away she asks "It turns magic? Could it be the skin? It might be interesting to see if a cloak made from its skin would have that ability."

The problem is, that she doesn't have much skill with skinning. "I will help skin it, but I think someone else would be better at figuring out just how to do it."

Places like this probably had wells somewhere. "I'd guess we'll find a well here. Might be a good place to wash up and at least get something to eat."

OOC: What time of day is it?

Bryon gave a face that said "icky" as Kyriel mentioned skinning the beasty. She looks at Stannos, "If you skin that thing, you had better wash up before you join me."

It is afternoon, and the beast is dead in the entranceway to the farmstead.

Stannos does not look happy about having part of his world view disrupted.  Yes, he knows that Bryon is “into him”, but she doesn’t act quite right.  Yes, there are women warriors, Kyriel is one, but… does she have to jump so enthusiastically into the fray?  And now, bruised up and battered as she is, she is supposed to breathe heavily and tell him how horrible and awful it was and hint broadly about the comforting she will need, not simply make an open and public invitation.

It’s just not supposed to work like that.  Stannos is supposed to be calling the shots… at least, the obvious ones.  Very disturbing.

”Aren’t you injured?” he asks, slightly hoping that whatever it is will just wear off, any moment, and Bryon will be much more… he looks over in the direction of Culann.. well, not like her, she’s so easily distracted… but like how women are supposed to be.

”Maybe we should take care of injuries first?”  One thing Stannos knows… blood and bruises are not compatible with romance.

Meanwhile, Kyriel looks over the creature.  It’s certainly got the most repulsive, vile looking hide she’s seen in a while, and she’s seen some nasty things.

Culann, meanwhile, has toured some of the rest of the farmstead, possibly in shock that the others actually stood and fought that monster.  Is that what happens on these missions?

  Like many places out here, the farmstead was deliberately abandoned, not lost and forgotten.  Most of what could be taken easily was removed, long ago.  Still, she finds four large jars of Bonasi The Herbalist’s Hoof Cream.  At least, that is what it says on the jars.

Upon a closer inspection of the creature, Kyriel mirror's Byron's expression. "I haven't seen anything that nasty since I saw some of the livestock in Lutetia Parisiorum. I'm not sure that hide would be worth anything."

She's one of the lucky ones, having not taken any damage from the beast during the fight. "I think healing up may be a really good idea. How does everyone feel about staying here until morning? It's afternoon, and we might not find a better place to rest before tonight."

Places like this are a mixed blessing. More comfortable than sleeping out in the open and more defensible. They also pose the problem of being obvious places to stay. Not only that, but spike's carcass is certainly going to draw some attention. "We'll probably want to get this" she nudges the defunct spike with her foot "out of here if we're staying the night."

She arches an eyebrow at the others. "Any idea what this thing was? I've never seen anything like it!"

Seeing the bounty that Culann has found, she nods. "That may come in handy when we get the villagers on the road. The horses or their livestock may need it. Anyone got an idea of how to use it?"

OOC: Did any of Rita's crossbow bolts hit the creature?

"The creature turned back spells, which is why I used the crossbow against it," she explains to Riordeg.

"Yes, we should take care of injuries first." Rita casts healing spells on every party member who is wounded.

She has no interest in skinning the creature or taking any part of it with them. But she does get a close up look at it, trying to determine if it is demonic (Knowledge Religion or Knowledge Planes roll).

"I strongly recommend against keeping any part of this creature. It could be demonic, and we really don't want to be carrying part of a demon with us."

She will help move the creature out of the farmstead.

"The hoof cream could be useful. I think we should take it but hold off on using it until we find someone who can confirm it really is what the jars say it is.

If we spend the night here, we must take watches. Someone or something could come in and attack us at any time."

In reply to Ben (msg # 79):

Culann emerged from the building upset that the others had chosen to be as rash as they had been. She was sure they'd follow here to a better tactical position. Their actions simply demonstrated a degree of rashness which she would factor into any future proposals she'd make. The skirmish was short and sharp after which she'd explored the section she was in, locating four large jars of Bonasi The Herbalist’s Hoof Cream. Carrying these back to the others placing them on the ground.  Standing she faced the others Now then I think we should discuss this situation, there obviously needs to be some understanding established here, it is necessary to circumvent Least a repeat of this happening. Firstly I’d like to dispel any thought that I simply left any here to deal with this creature; this is not my intention or design.

Bryon went over and pulled her spear out of the creature. Seeing it stained she stomps and throws a bit of a tantrum. "Look, LOOK my pretty new spear is all icky." She raises her eyebrow at Culaan who emerges from the shelter. Culaan struck her as one of those girls who was afraid to break a nail. She waves off the comment about abandoning them. "Your a wizard, and this thing turned back magic. You would not have hurt it and may have ended up hurting yourself. You did the right thing. Now I don't suppose you can cast that wonderful spell that cleans things, can you?" She nods to her spear, hoping the girl had some use anyway.

To Stanno she simply shrugs, "We have a priestess with us. She can heal me and then you can put a few more strategically placed bruises on me." She leans in and whispers, "Don't worry about it sweaty, I like the rough stuff." And then winks.

She looks up at the roof then lays her spear on the ground in front of Culaan. "I'll be right back. Its sharp don't cut yourself." Then she vanishes, leaving an illusory copy to laugh and fade away.

On the roof she retrieves her handbag. "Its over now fraidy-cat. You can come out." As she throws her bag over her shoulder she pats Scrumff on the head. He huffs and goes back to his hidey hole. She teleports back to ground level, at which point Scrumff climbs out and goes over to Culaan, "Please allow me to apologize for my Mistress. She does get ahead of herself. She also sometimes lacks common sense or a healthy sense of self preservation..."

Bryon shouts over at Scrumff, "I can hear you!"

He waves her off, "Any discussion of tactics, I'm afraid will go in one of her ears and out the other. You'd do better discussing such things with me and then letting me brow beat her into submission..."

Bryon shouts again, "I can STILL hear you!"

Scrumff ignores her and stands, arms crossed, waiting for Culaan to discuss tactics. Bryon meanwhile goes to Rita for some TLC...

Kyriel gives Rita a quick nod when she comments on her switching over to crossbow. "Good thinking."

She knows that the wizards at the academy will find anything that interferes with magic interesting the hard part will be to find a way to preserve whatever she collects for the extended period of time that they'll probably be gone. In light of this and to avoid potential strife in the group, she forgoes collecting any specimens from the creature.

"Of course Mater. We should have watches. I will take the middle of the night."

She gives Culann a bit of a perplexed look. "You did a very important task. You kept the horses safe; if we're to return much from the tower to Scolo, we need the horses.." She pauses for a moment. "The creature was already chasing us. Whether for food or territory, it had targeted us for something. There's a time to run and a time to fight. I figured that since it was still chasing us, that we had to start fighting."

Byron's antics with Scrumff are interesting, but she doesn't say anything since she can only understand one side of the conversation.

Once the corpse is moved a couple of hundred distance from the building with the use of one or both horses, she continues the examination of the farm complex. Maybe some other things were left behind?

OOC: Ben- did spike have carnivore teeth or herbivore teeth

Rita is uncertain as to why Culann seems upset. Circumvent a repeat of this encounter? The monster had pursued them, which meant they had had no choice but to fight it. The possibility that Culann left the group to fight the creature without her had not even occurred to Rita.

"I don't think we have the choice of avoiding more encounters like this," she responds to Culann. "That thing came after us; it was in the area, meaning we would have to fight it sooner or later. This area is filled with monsters, and most of them probably aren't the types that will ignore anyone in their territory. We fought the creature on our terms instead of waiting and letting it sneak up on us in the middle of the night."

Thankfully, Bryon and Kyriel express the same thought about Culann having done the best she could under these circumstances, where magic wouldn't help in the fight. Though she hopes Bryon is not serious when she asks Culann for a spell to clean her spear. Spells should be saved for occasions when they are really necessary, not used for convenience. At least that is the way Rita was taught to use them.

"Culann, I agree with Bryon and Kyriel. There really wasn't anything you could do against this creature. Casting a spell could very well have put you in harm's way since it turned spells back upon their casters. You have nothing to apologize for.

Bryon, I don't know how many spells Culann has, but I would recommend they be saved for those times when they are really needed. Magic isn't necessary to clean a spear. Of course, it is ultimately Culann's prerogative to choose how she uses her spells.

I do need to sleep to regain my spells, so I would prefer a watch either at the beginning of the night or at the end," she says.

Culann nodded acceptingly thankful they didn't think she was running away To clarify my suggestion which was to circumvent the chaotic manner which the skirmish was executed. Suggest we work out a series of co-ordinated responses. She peered at the dead creature for several seconds before glancing at the others Does any of you know how to skin and tan a hide, which could be used to make magic resistant shields.she suggested, Perhaps its blood could be applied to something providing the same effect.she thought.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:56, Mon 10 June 2013.

Scrumff laughed, which sounded horrible if you did not know he was laughing. "I think that for now my mistress is in love with her new spear. The boy she was sleeping with during the winter made it for her. Fine craftsmanship if you ask me. She also seems to like jumping down from high places. Its likely a fad. She will move on to the next crazy stunt when she tires of this one."

He scampers up into her lap, making sure to have Culaan's attention. "What sorts of maneuvers did you have in mind?"

In reply to Bryon (msg # 87):

Not sure I was hoping the warrior or battle mage would suggest some. Culann squeaked in reply to the ferret  The squeeking prompted Cathassa to peeked out from her mobile nest, looking about she adroitly scrambled out. Reaching the ground she sniffed at the smelly thing before greeting her distant cousin.

Culann is very familiar with the staff at Academy and their skills.

Unfortunately, Culann also knows that the hide of a spellwarped creature may not be something you would want to make a magic item out of.  And there is no way to find out but to test it, at the Academy.  To a book-dwelling wizardess like Culann, it's an obvious application of the law of Thaumaturgic Entropic Non-Circularity, the very same law that makes it impossible to Wish for More Wishes.


Simply put, the Spellwarped Creature may be the product of a spell.  If it was spelled into being what it is, and not "born that way" it can't serve as the source of additional magic.  One would have to find a creature with a "natural" resistance to magic.

Still, the creature might have research value even if it can't be used.

Stannos is against lugging it or anything taken from it on the mission, though.

"It's big, it's ugly, it's going to stink.  Kyriel, if you really want it, we should pick it up on the way back.  We can hide it in one of those rooms, it won't go anywhere."

He looks over at Bryon and adds, "And then, I can get washed up.  And let's eat something, too."

Then he adds for the others, "besides, if all the stories are true, we're going to find crazier things than this.  What'd Kyriel call them?  Hooters?"

Kyriel relaxes a bit when Culann settles down. She does bring up some valid points about planning . . . "I agree that if we know about an opponent ahead of time we need to plan a bit. However, for fights like this I'm not sure just how much we can plan in advance. Things worked out pretty well this time."

Stannos gets a nod. "I'd pretty much figured that taking anything now would be detrimental. I typically want to avoid detection, and taking anything from that beast now would mean that I'd be detectable a long way off." She holds her nose. "Thanks, but I don't plan on passing this way again unless I have to."

"Hoppers." she corrects absent mindedly. "You'll know what they are when you see them. They only have one eye and foot. They hop and they sniff out magic. They seemed to home in on people who have access to magic. If you have a spell, they'll eat it. At least arcane spells. I don't know about spells from the gods. We didn't have anyone with us who could use divine magic then."

She roots through the buildings to see if Culann missed anything; otherwise she'll get ready for her shift at guard duty late at night.

Bryon, with her typical sideways thinking pipes up. "May I posit a conundrum? If the wizard with the pink bunny feet...I still want pink bunnies for my feet..." She stops looking distant for only a moment as she wishes for foot bunnies. Returning to the now, "Sorry, yes. The Foot Bunny Wizard if he made all these monstrosities, where are the new ones coming from? Could there be a new wizard in the tower? Perhaps, and this is based on something Mr. Foot Bunnies said, perhaps there always was another wizard, or even something more sinister here? I for one am glad we have a priestess with us."

Bryon hugs her friend in gratitude for the healing. Then to Stannos, "Don't keep me waiting too long."
This message was last edited by the player at 13:25, Wed 12 June 2013.

They settle in for an evening here, and after cleaning and tending to injuries, they give the place a look-see.

The dwellings in this region are all abandoned, but there is a range of conditions from burnt out remnants to nearly intact.  This farm is towards the high end.  Many doors have been smashed in, and there is nothing small and valuable (at least, nothing obvious) but neither the people who left this place nor any looters who showed up afterwards bothered to take large things, except, maybe, some of the best of the furniture.  Thus, there are some usable furnishings still here- chairs, tables, even a couple of couches, and some large cisterns for rain water collection.

There are harnesses for four oxen in the barn, but no oxen.

In the main house, they find a musical instrument of a kind- a very large one.  It is a set of metal chimes on a large rack.  The chimes, little bars and tubes made of metal, hang down on slim wires.  Apparently no one could remove it and carry it away easily enough.

Once he's clean and rested and confident that things are safe, Stannos does not keep Bryon waiting very long.  Her familiar trots around outside with a bothered look on his whiskered face.

Bryon meets Stannos at the door, less aggressively than she would have given his seeming distaste for her aggression. She had her fill on the field of battle anyway. She spends as much time as he likes and dutifully follows his directions, enjoying his attention.

When they are done she rejoins the others by the fire. She volunteers to take whatever shift they have open and/or to keep others company while they keep watch (in a platonic way). She brings up her point again about their being another mage often, hoping that someone will at last listen and acknowledge her.

Despite her earlier shenanigans she is willing to listen to talk of tactics especially if others are willing to listen to her multiple mage theory.

Kyriel looks over the items they found in the building. One of the horses could easily carry the harnesses, and they might actually be useful helping the villagers move. The musical instrument is an interesting conundrum. It's large, but comes apart in segments. Does it fit in her bag?

By the fire, she listens to Byron pose her question. "I'm not sure. I wasn't there when Scolo packed up, but from what he said there wasn't much time to do very much. It's entirely possible that someone has come and taken over the tower, but Rory and I spoke with some fey nearby on our last trip out. They haven't seen Scolo in a while and I think that they'd be aware of anyone new taking over.

He has a portal of some kind in the tower that he uses to get things from other places. The creatures could just be a result of his opening portals to other places. Some I'm sure he's summoned intentionally, but I'm not sure about others.  I'm not sure he takes the proper precautions to keep unintended things from coming through."

She's glad that people are willing to talk about things, so she gives them a rough idea of what she's capable of. Making sure that nobody gets hurt is a good thing!

Even though they're not likely to take the time to do so right now, she figures that she has to mention something. "Mater, there are some temples in a place called Gisacum that are having some trouble with griffons or some other flying monsters. It's a bit out of our way though."

OOC: Ben, about how long would the trip to Gisacum be?

Stannos does not rejoin them that night.  He’s had quite a day, and only mumbles something about about “I’ll take the last watch… they come pre-dawn, anyway,” before turning in for the night.

Kyriel tries to work out distance to Gisacum, with what she remembers from other trips.  One fortunate thing: the Romans were obsessed with organization, and when they built roads, always equipped them with stone “mile markers” showing just how far to the next town.

But… how far back was that last marker… but that last marker was for Carnotum… at least that’s in the right direction.  But then there is the fact that part of the trip, as she recalls, is off road.  So all Kyriel has is an educated guess of 4-5 days.

Riordeg listens to Kyriel’s description of  Griffons troubling a temple complex.  He looks over at Rita.  He knows how she thinks.  If there is badness afoot, Rita will want to set things right.  He wonders if he will have to do what Theoderic used to do- set down priorities to make sure she doesn’t stray from “That which must be done Now” to “Things we really ought to do sooner or later.” But he keeps silent on the subject.

He observes, though, “From what we saw of Scolo, I don’t think he was the type to summon creatures like that.  I think that’s Huns, and their own magic.”

The evening passes uneventfully- there are no more attacks, not even sounds of local wildlife- one good Mutated Worg  Thing is all it takes to clear them all away.

On a cool and misty early spring morning, they set out.

They know that sooner or later, they have to turn off the road, and head north- before the empty, abandoned “wasteland” gives way to the farms and woods (and patrols!) around Carnotum.

Kyriel and Culann have been here, and they find the land marks.

By late afternoon, they are in the woods, and the woods thicken as they travel northwards.  This is the Yvelines forest, a thick forest that makes an arc around the west of Lutetia Parisiorum.  Mestenon is in the same forest, so between here and there, they will not leave the forest.  They know that soon, they will come across the Carnotum-Lutetia Road, which is a well traveled road in Hun hands.  Fortunately, they don’t have to take it, just cross it- and once across, they will be back in forest.

Bryon follows Kryiel's lead. She is unfamiliar with the territory and unfamiliar with woods in general she hangs back. She stays behind, not too far, but not getting in the way either.

Since nobody comments on the temples and that Riordeg got a gloomy look in his eye when she brought up the subject of going slightly off target for a few days, Kyriel keeps them on track to get to Mestenon as quickly as they can while avoiding the hun patrols.

She gives Stannos' comment about the twisted creature a nod. "Yeah, that would be just like the huns. Especially around here. Use a mage's magic against them. We'll have to warn the academy as soon as we can."

She remembers that Rita was very interested in the old prison camp and tries to find it. As she recalls, the camp was about 15 miles from Carnotum.

The dead at Beda were restless, these must be just as restless. Maybe they can help lay them to rest.

Within about a mile of the road on either side, most of the cleared agricultural land is slowly going wild again. There are shrubs and saplings growing amidst open meadows.  In some places there are fruit and nut trees, but nothing is in season yet.  Further from the road the cleared area gives way to forest.

Kyriel does her best to find the landmarks she remembers.   Except for a few close to where the party spent the night, there are no more abandoned homes- there are the burnt remains of them.  A few walls still stand.  Twice, they pass ruins of less flammable structures, large homes built of brick.  Where they couldn't be burned, they were knocked down.

As they travel along through deserted farmland, Riordeg asks, "Are you sure it was fifteen miles from Carnotum?  We should be..."

They see one of the mile markers.

It says: "Carnotum: 15 miles."

And there is the prison fort once used by the Huns.
It is how Kyriel remembers it.  It looks like a walled village.  The land around it is cleared, but empty of movement.

Closer in, the walled village looks a little strange.  The wall is a hastily built, recent one- recent meaning within the past decade.  It's an earth mound with a stout log fence on top.  Like most log walls of its kind, at the corner locations, towers have been built (also log structures) to allow a better view, and to aim weapons downwards at attackers.

And then there's the gate, with the heavy crossbar... also on the outside.

"If it is a prison," Stannos says, "they have no need to use it any more.  There is no one left here to imprison."
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:46, Tue 25 June 2013.

Kyriel leads the way along. It's been a few months and the season was different, so she's not exactly sure where they are in relation to the camp. A few times she slows down and checks things out, but always returns to going forward.

Finally Riordeg starts to ask her about the distance. In response she merely points to the sign and dryly says "Quite certain."

The roman mile markers do have their uses..

The prison is exactly as she remembers it. Ugly and nasty. "Here it is. We didn't stop to do anything here last time because there weren't that many of us and none of us had a direct link to the gods. It troubled me that we weren't able to do anything then, especially after I saw what the Huns did to Beda."

She waits for the others to come to a decision on what to do, but she shakes her head at Stannos comment. "I don't think so. One of the times we went by here we encountered a bone worm. It was big and covered with bones from the dead. I guess it may have come from here.

I think something went wrong here and forced the huns to abandon it. Why else would the huns barricade it?"

When they pass the road sign and Kyriel points it out to Rita's boyfriend, Bryon snickers. She then pats his shoulder. "It will be ok. Men are not suppose to see these things. They are suppose to be busy looking at women."

"I resent that remark mistress," Scrumff peaked out to remark, "besides, men are superior in every way."

Bryon laughed out loud at this. "If men were really superior, they would not get lost on the way to their goals. If men would ask women for directions they would get there more quickly and with a greater degree of satisfaction."

Scrumff opened his mouth as if to reply but then realized what his mistress was actually talking about. He ducked back into her bag without further comment.

Later as they reached the citadel, Bryon whistles. "Impressive. I thought Romans build well." She hands her spear and bag to Stannow, "Hold these for me sweety, I'm going to have a look-see." She pulls Scrumff out and wraps him around her shoulders. "I'll need your eyes, love."

She uses her spider climb ability to go up the closest tower and have a better look at the top.

Backtracking a little:

Rita casts a detect magic on the large musical instrument in the farmstead, on the off chance that it may be magical.

"Did Scolo say whether he closed the portal in the tower? If he didn't, monsters could be coming through from all sorts of places even if there isn't any new wizard there. And there is no one in the tower to stop them."

If the party stops by the prison, Rita wants to take a look inside. She pauses, trying to sense if there are troubled spirits nearby.

"I need to go in there. If there are restless spirits, I can help set them free. They need to know they do not have to stay here anymore."

She focuses her mind on how she might help these spirits, and for a time is quiet, distracted, and deep in thought. Then she hears Kyriel talk about disturbed temples in Gisacum.

"Where is Gisacum, and when did you find this out? Why didn't you mention this sooner? Griffons--it seems strange that they would cause trouble at a temple. Perhaps the Huns did something to alter the griffons and make them demonic. Do you know to which gods these temples are dedicated? I cannot ignore this; it has to be checked out as soon as possible, maybe even before we go to Mestenon."

Restless spirits must be attended too as soon as possible, but as soon as that is done, the temple issue demands attention.

"The Romans do build well," she says, taking care to use present tense. "But if something went wrong here, we definitely need to check it out and be prepared for the unexpected. Did you kill the bone worm?" She shudders at the thought of the bone worm, which they may soon have to fight. A creature composed of the bones of dead people? The very idea is horrific. How does one put the spirits of those people to rest? She prays to Pluto silently for guidance.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:46, Sat 22 June 2013.

In reply to Rita (msg # 101):

Culann passes the prison continuing on towards their intended target.

Rita found no magic with with the chimes.
Rita seeks guidance at the old walled village, and prays.

Bryon scurries up the wall.

Stannos watches Byron go one way and Culann another.

He is bothered by the fact that he understands neither of them.  Bryon... well, she definitely has her charms, but... she is nuts.  Clearly.  The kind that pokes at things that shouldn't be poked at, just because.

Culann, on the other hand, is the bookworm sort.  There are a few at the academy, both male and female.  Wizardry attracts people like that.  Though they can be annoyingly resistant to the Social Rules that are supposedly governing male-female interactions at the Academy and Aurelianorum in general, they also have another equally annoying trait:  They are usually right.  When the bookworm says "this is an application of Euclid's Theorem of Transmorgrification", or "the answer is obviously six" or "don't drink that" they are almost always right.

Bryon, on the other hand, is the sort that would drink it anyway, burp, and then ask why.

But now, with Culann apparently not interested in anything but continuing the mission, Stannos knows.... she's right.  She's absolutely right.  Tharus would kill him if Stannos returned to the academy with the mission a failure, and his explanation started with "well, there was this old place to check out, and..."

He calls out to Bryon.

"Hey, Bree?  We should get our mission done first.  Culann's right.  This place will still be there, but we told the others we would get to Mestenon."

Meanwhile, Bryon gets to the top of the wall.  It seemed a much harder climb than it should have been, even with the magic. There is something "wrong" about this place.

Inside, there are tile roofed stucco buildings in neat rows.  There is a field of soil that looks broken and uneven, as if the earth was churned up there.  While spring vegetation is growing plentifully everywhere else, from that rectangle, only white flowers grow.  She feels a strange chill from this place.
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:38, Mon 24 June 2013.

Kyriel stays near Rita as Byron climbs up the tower. She passed by this place before and it still has the creepy feeling from before; back then she let the idea of the mission keep her from doing anything here. It seems that they'll always have another mission that's more important than others, but there are those that do need to be done that never seem to get put on any list. Helping the dead rest, helping the brain sick in Scolo's village, other things like that. It's on her list by the gods, and she isn't sure when she's going to pass this way again.

As for Rita's questions? "It's about 5 days out of our way each way. We'd have to cut through the fey forest to get there, otherwise we'd have to go to Lutetia Parisiorum. I'm sorry Mater, we didn't go there. I think there were temples to Jupiter, Apollo, Ceres,   Fortuna,  Vesta, Pluto, and  Mars there. I've mentioned it several times, but not in your presence."

She nods in response to the question of the bone worm. "Yes we did."

The feel of the place is getting to her, and she readies her bow. "Last time, nobody climbed any of the towers. We noted the place and left."

At the top Bryon feels that the place is cursed. Its just in her bones and blood. Even though she cannot really surmise all the clues, she knows it still. She climbs back down, relating what she learned and then, "Its cursed. I'd bet the farm on it."

She sees Culaan walking off and asks, "Where is miss stick up her hind end going? I thought we were going to explore this place. I am more for it now. Cursed places are always intriguing."

Stannos was obviously about leaving. She glared, thinking he was picking that weird girl over the woman he was sleeping with. "Go then, and I hope she keeps you as warm at night as I do." She took her things...well snatched them really...from Stannos and went strait for the open gate to the prison...

In reply to Bryon (msg # 105):

Cunnan ignores the strumpets innate screeching and continues heading towards their destination.

ooc This is why I suggested we establish operational procedures.

I am going to assume this group is splitting up, then.

I will post two new threads, one for those continuing to Mestenon, one for those choosing to investigate the old prison-village.

It is, from Stannos’s point of view, the worst of possible situations.  He’s not the brightest of wizards by far… no one in the “battle mage” program is.  But they are like hedgehogs- they may not know a lot, but they know important things, and they them know well.  They have a mission.  Other things might pop up of interest, sure… but Bryon seems perfectly happy to divide the group to indulge curiosity, and one never, splits the group over an issue like that.

One last time, he tells Byron that this kind of thing can lead to getting tossed out of the academy.  They do not like unruly wizards.  And Stannos is not an unruly wizard.

“We have to go to Mestenon,” he says.

Then he turns and heads off in the direction of Culann.

Riordeg waits to see what Rita would do.  They are not Academy members, but they too were here with Mestenon as the objective.

Bryon goes to the gate of the village, and sees that it is not open at all, it is in fact secured with a very large, very heavy crossbar.  From the outside.

She also goes to a new thread, along with anyone else doing the “village” thing:  The Prison Camp

Those that continue go to a different thread, Mestenon, Spring 513
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:08, Tue 25 June 2013.

Bryon tries to convince her lover to stay. "I have every intention of going there. Rita has told us of her duty to put the souls of this place at rest. I want to explore and find out what secrets it holds. Do not let one spoiled petulant little girl draw you away. If you stay she will have no choice but to stay or go it alone."

She waits only a moment for his reply before turning back to the open gate.

"Bryon, no! Don't do that. There are spirits here, but horrific things were done to them. They are angry and may not be able to distinguish ordinary visitors from those who harmed them. I think the place needs to be consecrated. The ghosts should be set free, but we need more than one priest to do that. I don't think I alone can do it."

If there is a way for her to determine additional information about the nature of these ghosts and whether there are any undead among them, she will attempt to do it. If there is a means of communicating with the ghosts and explaining that they come as friends, she will try that too.

"Let me see if I can make contact from here, without going in. If that does not work, I can cast an augury to determine whether it would be best to deal with them now or to wait until we can get a group of clerics together to deal with this area. Lord Pluto most certainly would want these people freed to go to their rest, but the task may need more resources than we have. Bryon, I advise you to come back down here. I don't think the area is cursed, but these ghosts may be beyond our efforts to help, at least without a larger group of priests. At least don't do anything until I try to make contact or, if that fails, cast an augury. Yes, there is a duty to help, but not necessarily this minute, not if we will do more harm than good by putting ourselves at risk. We can always come back with a larger party."

This nonsense between Bryon and Culann is starting to annoy her, but she says nothing at this point. There are other, far more important matters at stake than who gets to be with Stannos. Inwardly, she is horrified that in the face of such tragedy, anyone would even be thinking about rivalry over a man.

Rita does not climb the wall. She should be able to address the spirits from this distance. If that doesn't work, she will cast augury to determine whether they should address the prison situation now or wait until a larger, more appropriate group can be organized and sent on a specific mission here.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:49, Wed 26 June 2013.