"Have you a druid or a cleric in your party that can create water? I can carry twenty days worth of water for my beast and myself. That's 20 gallons for myself and 100 gallons for my beast. I'm afraid I'm not able to carry much more beyond my personal self because of weight, though the short distance to the city wall with an added rider will not harm my mount."

Rix pauses, then adds almost as an afterthought, "There is an oasis near the entrance to the swamp. The oasis is approximately 1 day from the swamp and about 15 days from the city depending on travel time and weather."
This message was last edited by the player at 14:32, Sat 10 May 2008.

"I do, but only a few gallons more or less four."

"You can create four gallons of water per day?" Rix asked. "That will likely be enough for yourself. And the others? We may want to stop by the corral on the way out and hire or purchase some pack animals. Or if you have the money, there are vendors in the market place that supply beads of dryness which expand when a little water is poured on it."

Joseph had taken a detour when the party left the city, to track down the camel he had used as a mount in the desert - who he had released before they reached the City of Shade.  It didn't take too long to catch her tracks, and as he had half expected, the loyal animal hadn't gone far, waiting for it's master to return.  Climbing on, he set off to catch up with the others, though when he did, Aelynia was nowhere to be seen.

"Where is Aelynia?" was, of course, the first thing he asked, looking over at Lysande.

"She mentioned scouting ahead, perhaps she already is on the way." Lysande said, while loading the last waterskin on the beasts of burden they had brought. Eventually she mounted Mourn's and said "I am ready to leave. On your word we can leave this place behind."

Aelynia was, in fact, scouting on ahead of the others already, but not too far ahead.  If she spotted any danger, her intention was to run back and alert her friends and new companion.

OOC: Aelynia: give me a two spot checks, two listen checks, a survival check, and a knowledge nature check if you have that skill.

OOC:21:46, Today: Aelynia Th'wil rolled 6 using 1d20+1. Survival.
21:45, Today: Aelynia Th'wil rolled 10 using 1d20+7. Listen.
21:45, Today: Aelynia Th'wil rolled 25 using 1d20+7. Listen.
21:45, Today: Aelynia Th'wil rolled 26 using 1d20+6. Spot.
21:45, Today: Aelynia Th'wil rolled 11 using 1d20+6. Spot.

Aelynia scouts ahead carefully and is distracted by the sounds of jingling, not unlike the traces placed on horses followed by a buzzing sound that grows in intensity. A moment later the sound dies after a quick flash of blue light.

Looking around, there seems to be nothing in the environment that matches either the sound or the sight she noticed.

Actions?

Alister summons his faithful mount and rides a little ahead of Lysande.

Aelynia didn't understand, so she went back until Alister caught up with her.  She explained what she had seen and asked him if he, Joseph, and Lysande had seen it as well.

Lysande blinked at the mention of a sudden flash of light. Worrying about her elven kin, the mage sent Aluvendar into the air to give her a better overview of what was lying ahead. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the emotional bond they both shared.

Aluvendar flies into the air for an aerial view of the surrounding area. Lysande, through their emotional bond, feels the bird's sense of initial fear and startlement give way to anticipation and hunger...and that the bird's emotion switches to a patient waiting nature. Knowing birds are scavengers as well as hunters and the fact that Aluvendar didn't take off to stoop on prey, Lysande has the impression his nature right now is to scavenge.

"If I interpret Aluvendar's reaction correctly, something died. But since he did not land, something else must be present too. Guessing from the light, perhaps a creature that hunts with something that causes a flash of light. Lightning perhaps. A behir maybe, or a blue dragon if we are unlucky." Lysande mused almost casually. "We need to approach carefully." she added, even though she was sure her friends had realized how dangerous the situation was.

Sending Aluvendar a feeling of longing, the agreed sign he was to return to his mistress, she waited patiently for her feathered friend to return.

The familiar returns to Lysande obediently and sits on her shoulder to preen her ear gently and nibble at various tendrils of hair.

(OCC: Actions? Going forward, regrouping, using skills? etc etc)

Alister returns to his usual position upon hearing the word 'blue dragon'.

"Aldreth gangragar?" Lysande asked Aluvendar and provided him a bit of dried apple that she had stored in her bag. "Sangan le careth en videlan!" The mage asked him, wondering what sight would have scared him first, then had his scavenging instincts awoken.

Despite a similiar enunciation to common, though the familiar speaks with Lysande, the words are not recognizable to others.

With a feeling of trepidation, Aelynia decided to stay with the others for now instead of scouting ahead.  Clearly the bird had seen something, and the elf hoped that it would be able to accurately communicate anything dangerous to Lysande.  Aelynia went over to Joseph and using her incredibly athletic prowess and strength and his considerable strength as well, she took his arm and jumped up and onto the back of his camel while waiting for the news from Lys.

"Le hanon!" Lysande thanked the bird and gently stroked its sweet spot behind his neck. "It seems you will get your chance at a blue dragon, Alister. It is not fully grown but currently distracted, eating a horse. The rider lies unmoving, but it is not clear if he is dead yet." She looked at her friends and the bard "Should we confront the beast or make a wide circle around it?" she asked, holding her own opinion back for the moment.

"Best be avoiding it, but still it might harass us later.  But it is not my place to risk the party.  Perhaps a show of force?"  Alister seems to ponder a little before answering.

"Aelynia, Joseph? What do you think of this matter?" Lysande said and looked at her friends.

"A dragon?  Mielikki save us..." Joseph whispered as Lysande explained what her familiar had said.  He'd heard rumors of dragons not too far from where he used to live - white ones, that was.  He had no idea what to expect from a blue dragon, other than the fight of a lifetime, if they were anything like the white ones he'd heard tales about.

"If there is a chance the rider might still be alive, we should try to save him," the ranger offered as his opinion when asked, though he couldn't quite hide the fact that he was a bit nervous about moving to attack a dragon. . .

Aelynia, no stranger to and indeed not the least bit afraid of pain, was not afraid of fighting the dragon for herself, but her loving eyes landed on each of her friends, lingering long on Joseph as she struggled to form an answer.  "I...I do not know.  Joseph is right, we should try to save the rider if he is still alive.  But Alister is also right, we should avoid the dragon if possible.  I do not know much about dragons, especially not blue ones, but somehow I doubt that we can provide a show of force strong enough to deter a dragon, even a small one.  They are extremely arrogant from what I understand," she finally whispered, not really coming to a decision.

Lysande shook her head slowly "Perhaps we should consider how much suffering the blue could bring upon the innocent if he is allowed to grow. He will become an even more dangerous beast in a short time, a beast that we might not be able to kill then." She looked over her shoulder in the direction where they expected the dragon and thought for a while.

"My suggestion is to eliminate the threat to future travellers and inhabitants of this wasteland."

Idly she cursed herself for not learning spells that allowed her to protect others from the lightning breath of the dragon. The sun elf wondered about the tactic they should use, obviously some decisive strikes from a distance seemed sensible, weakening the beast before it would close in and tried to kill them. If that happened they ought to scatter so no more than one of them could become a target of its breath. More dangerous on the young ones were probably claws and teeth, so she should do her best to stay out of their reach.