In reply to Athellin (msg #83):

Today: Kar rolled 9 using 1d20+8. spot (Per) check while on sweep.

Taking a couple of circles above camp to make sure there are no surprises before we bed down, also to clear his head. So many new...friends? Who knows what the creator has in store for the future.

J'landria walks over to Jaxar and lays her hand on his shoulder, then sits down beside him.  She doesn't speak, but she goes back to watching the scene before her while listening to the sound of the open prairie.

Athellin sits across from Aalistair, shuffling the cards of his Zodar deck.  They begin to blur, and, it seems so does the world around you, as the cards shimmer and glint in the firelight. 

As he shuffles, he brings draws out the first card, and and in a deep yet quiet voice, he booms to Aalistair, "You," and draws out the card of the Wanderer.

His fingers never stop shuffling, hands never stop moving, as he continues, "what you carry for us, the intentions in your soul," and Drome comes forth from the deck.

His fingers and cards now nearly a blur, the Rahastran continues, "what you will encounter, in your near future," and the Assassin card drops with the others, followed by the Warrior.

His hands slow and stop, and he rumbles, "That is all for now.  My interpretation is, that you are trustworthy, and will shortly stand beside us to confront death itself.  But then, interpretations may vary." 

Gathering up his cards, Athellin finishes, "As surprising as it is to me, I give you my trust, and would vouch for you to my companions and others."    He extends his hand in friendship to Aalistair, "And I welcome you to our troupe, should you wish to join us, and my companions be agreeable." 

Aalistair takes the offered hand and shakes it.

"We should speak some day of spiritual matters. But in the meantime, I accept your friendship in the spirit with which it is offered." He looks around at the rest of the group to judge their reactions.

In a somber tone Jaxar replies, "You misunderstand, . . .  or perhaps I have not been clear. I have already stated that I know this man, that we once hunted the same criminal. If I did not trust this man would I be so open and speak freely in his presence? Would I have let my guard down as I have?"

Turning to the Aamanian he bows slightly, "Aalistair, I apologize if I have done you an injustice. I thought it obvious by my actions that you had my trust. Although my companions and I have been through much we have not known each other long as one measures the seasons." With a sly smile he continues, "I believe I have overestimated how well they know me, or more likely, how well I communicate with them."

As Athellin continues to shuffle the cards Jaxar slowly grasps the charm at his neck with one hand and unobtrusively lays his other hand to sword hilt. His ears begin to lay back against his head as he slowly scans the perimeter from where he is seated.

After the reading Jaxar will approach Athellin. Speaking softly he advises the Rahastran, "I hope you interpret well the cards you dealt. I sensed that something important was revealed in your reading." Speaking slightly louder he adds, "I think extra vigilance in tonight's watch would be a wise course. With the recent beastmen raid on this caravan it is likely there are still some of the retches about."

J'landria's reaction to the reading is different from Jaxar's.  While he clutches his amulet and his ears lay back, she lays both hands flat on her knees and leans closer to see what is happening.  The only way you could tell that she's reacting is the fact that the hair on her neck is rising up and she begins to blink more rapidly than before.  When everything is said and done she relaxes her position some and cocks her head to the side as if she's more curious than anything.

When Jaxar speaks she turns to look at him and nods once.
"It is common that... others... do not always understand us when we speak to them," she says quietly to Jaxar.  "It is the difference in our ways."

Once Jaxar has stood and walked away, J'landria waits respectively for him to finish before she too approaches the Rahastran.  She gestures to the seat beside him and waits for a nod before sitting.

"It is quite possible, my friend.  Sometimes the Zodar can be elusive in its assistance.  Nonetheless, I applaud your vigilance." 

Athellin looks up at J'landria, his thoughts still apparently running on his predictions, smiles almost imperceptibly, and nods to her and motions to the seat beside him.

J'landria sits down and watches him move.  Her eyes dart with the movement of his hands and her head moves slightly side to side when the movements are too large to follow with just her eyes.

"Risking being an annoyance.  May I see those," she gestures to the cards.  "What you did is... interesting... to me.  So, I first seek to understand your... prop."

Athellin looks at J'landria displaying brief surprise.  "A cartomancer's Zodar deck is a rather personal thing... perhaps similar to your talisman that you wear... but I don't mind if you look," he fans the cards out in his hands.  "You have never seen the Zodar?"

She shakes her head no to answer his question and leans in close to look at the cards, keeping her hands at her sides.  At first she lets her eyes do the observing, but then she takes in a long, deep, and slow breath, smelling the cards and the one who holds them.

"I have not seen anything like them.  I," she leans in and speaks quietly.  "I have been rather sheltered.  Before now, only the Orgovian is the only outsider I have ever seen.  All this," she moves her left hand to sweep over everything.  "Well, it is quite new to me."

She cocks her head to the side and sits up, looking at Athellin.

"Thank you for the opportunity to see your... deck," she rolls the last word over in her mouth as if she's tasting it.

"You are quite welcome.  If you have been so sheltered, perhaps you should stick with us... assuming we will be sticking together.  You see, we, also, have lost those we seek.  I expect we will decide our next move once we reach Deadwood."  He turns to Aalistar, "When do we expect to reach the town?"


He turns back to J'landria, "If you would like, perhaps I can read the cards for you.  But not tonight.  I think perhaps Jaxar is right, we should remain on our guard, and get our rest for our journey in the morning." 

Aalistair rubs his chin, looks up at the sky and back down at the horizon.

"When I rode out in search of the pilgrims, I was moving fairly fast. Only took me a day to find them. Heading back, with you lot on foot...," he pauses for a moment clearly thinking things through. "Assuming we get a decent start and nothing surprising happens tonight, we should get there mid-morning probably. Suns-high at the latest."

J'landria nods and smiles at Athellin.

"That would be... interesting," she says in almost a purr.  "As for staying with you, traveling in numbers is always a good idea."

She stands then and stretches then looks around.

"Tell me what watch I have, I can take any you need me to."

Careful watches during the night pass uneventfully.  In the morning, everyone is able to get moving again, and start the last leg of the march south to Deadwood.

J'landria does what is asked of her, and will step in to help if an additional set of hands are needed.  She doesn't speak unless spoken to first, and will answer in as few words as possible.  She seems a little overwhelmed with the amount of people around her at times.  She generally stays on the edges of the group, or near Jaxar if he is near the edge of the group.  Her eyes and ears are constantly scanning the area, and only on occasion does she concentrate on one spot before going back to scanning around.

The day dawns clear, if cool, and the entire group is able to get underway under the early light of the two suns.

After leading the group of travelers and his equs in a brief march, Aalistair points off to a set of hills just visible in the distance.

"There's Deadwood," he says. "The Aamanian monastery is closer to us on the north end of town. Cymrilian tower is at the opposite end." His finger moves slightly from one point on the horizon to another barely any distance apart.

"There's a few taverns and inns and such," he shrugs. "I'm sure we can find some accomodation for you lot."

In the cool light of the morning, Athellin says softly to Jaxar as you walk, "Sorry if I have offended last night.  I was trying to be sensitive to your unique senses when it comes to magic.  As far as our new friends go, I don't believe any of us has yet given them a full accounting of our situation." 

He looks at Aalistair and J'landria, and smiles warmly.  "We have been traveling by windship.  For a place such as the ruins on the Plains of Golarin, it is an exceptionally fine mode of travel, as we fly over the heads of the Beastmen, with no harm of interference by them.  I count us lucky that in our march we have not encountered any, but as we see from the pilgrims, it is our luck indeed which has saved us.  In any case, we were supposed to meet our friends in the windship during the night, but they did not rendez vous with us.  Nor did we see them in the light of morning, or since.  We find ourselves missing both our friends, and our accustomed mode of transportation.  My first thought is to find a way to recover both, but first, we needed to get out of hostile territory, and the Zodar indicated to me that our windship was to the south of us as well." 

J'landria's ears twitch and she looks toward Athellin and listens to him as they walk toward Deadwood.  At his words she shrugs and nods to him.
"Sounds.. Interesting.  I came close to the beastmen a few times, but was able to easily skirt around them.  I am glad that we met up, for traveling in a place like this is," she ponders for a moment, clearly thinking of the next word to use.  "Easier? More convenient in a well armed and trained group."
She continues to look at him for a moment longer and seeing his gentle smile, she risks one of her own, a toothy grin that could easily be mistaken for something predatory if it wasn't for the look in her eyes.

"No apologies are necessary, friend. I admit I am overcautious when it comes to the use of magic. Perhaps I have an unacknowledged need to overcompensate for what I perceive to be a reckless or carefree attitude. It is silly, I know. Do not think for a second that I am under the impression that you would in any way put us at risk or would use your gift carelessly. It is quite possible that I am a bit of a superstitious fool." Looking over toward J'landria he chuckles and shakes his head. "Obviously not all of us Jaka are as 'constrained' as I am when it comes to the use of magic. Frankly, our new companion's attitude mystifies me. But knowing how often magic has been used by you and our other companions to keep us alive I have to admit to myself that she may have the right of it"

J'landria looks at Jaxar and smiles slightly.  Moving a little closer she catches his eyes for a moment, and begins to sign.


Her fingers flit quickly, but her facial expression remains neutral.  Her eyes stay on Jaxar, but her ears are constantly listening to everything around them.

As you travel south, the ground becomes rockier, and the thick grass more sparse.  Several hills rise in the distance, where Aalistair has indicated the town of Deadwood to be.

From the distance, it appears you will reach the town by mid-morning, and the hills surrounding it before that.


[OOC:  I've opened up the "Deadwood" thread, and any who wish to start looking around town are free to do so, but I also encourage your continued banter in this current thread as your characters walk into town.]

In reply to GM (msg #107):

Nearing the city, it is good to see the others communing. Perhaps, there is hope for them yet.

Them.

Maybe I need to include myself in their company more.

Perhaps in the city......ehhhh.......crowds.