Wiki walks are always dangerous, though Trope Trips are the real legendarily bad idea :)

[Private to Nym: Yup, sneak it in whenever is convenient. I wonder if Meri's release was co-incidental, or happened when a way to detect the evil guy was suggested?]

Both Goodwin and Celindara shook their heads. Goodwin's face was torn between relief and guilt, Celindara's allowed for relief, but seemed to be mostly suspicious. She was the one to answer. "Neither of you disappeared, but both of you fell down at the same time. You were barely out for a minute, if that. But it was...very strange."

"Yeah, yeah, like, haha, like puppets with your strings cut, or something..." said Goodwin, with some nervous. "You're not really puppets of some red faced evil, are you?" he asked quietly, laughing before and after then looking worried.

"Meeeeeeeriiiii!" said the little beholder when Meri woke up, but then he turned when Nym also spoke up again. "Yay!" he said between sniffles. He looked around to Meri, but seemed as if he was reluctant to let go of Nym in case the sorcerer disappeared ina puff of smoke or stopped speaking again. With desperately waving eyestalks, Many gestured for Meri to come across and get hugged by free eyestalks.

You both scared poor Many. Yes, nothing else that could ahve scared Many, no joint mind linked experiences or anything :p

"So, why did the.... Real Teacher, or whoever this being is release Nym and not you?" Celindara asked Meri. She was clearly unhappy that something was messing with them all, when victory had been so certain just a moment before.

Meri raised a hand, rubbing at her head as if to check it was still attached properly.
She merely shrugged at Nym's apology then looked up at Celindara.
"He's not really the Teacher, I think he was just gloating more than anything else.  What we just fought, the Thrak'i, were apparently the shattered remnants of a race that once fought against something else called the Nothics.  I don't fully understand everything he said, but it seems what was left of them called on the Chained God and were pulled into the Abyss, becoming..."

She waved her hand in the direction of the place they had fought against the Teachers in.
"He referred to them as the Students, and himself as the Teacher, though I suspect that was just the way he was thinking of them.  Anyway, he sent me to the Shadow's domain, but not Nym.  I've no idea why.  Though I can't help but think of the last thing the Chained God said to me, that he would see one of us again very soon, and probably both of us again later.  It could have been a hint that himself and the Shadow are one and the same, or maybe he just wanted me to think that.  Hard to tell right now."

She looked towards the clear stone again.
"The Shadow claimed he wanted to hide from the gods, but by sending me to his domain where the gods would be immediately aware of my presence, a mortal soul in a place it shouldn't possibly be able to get to on its own, he said that the Chained God wanted to draw the attention of the gods to him to force a confrontation, and that he would now have to negotiate with the gods and try to warn them of the Chained God's manipulations.  And it also seems, that much against my will, I've now been dragged into this too by being sent there."

She laughed at that, although it was a rather bitter humourless sound.
"Well, I suppose it was asking too much for fate to just leave me in peace to fade away."

Looking towards Many, she moved closer and cupped an affectionate hand around him.
"I doubt you'll get that wish now either" she said to Nym, "he did say he most likely wouldn't be able to grant it.  Though maybe that's for the best, at least until we know whether he can really be trusted.  After all, if it's true that the Thrak'i wished for salvation, then their wish clearly had a lot of twisted strings attached.  I almost feel sorry for them, maybe destroying them was more of a merciful act than we realised at the time."

She seemed to study Nym for a moment, as if thinking something over, or about to say something else, but then looked back to Celindara.
"Can you tell if Blace is still in your forest?"


OOC: Not sure if Meri actually knew that those mind-twistery things were called Nothics, or even if they were the same ones referred to.  Or, as Meri thinks, possibly it was all a lie anyway, not sure if there's a way to confirm the story one way or another now.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:17, Wed 02 Nov 2016.

Well, IC we weren't told they were nothics, as far as I'm aware - that was just the name they were given in the narrative.

Nym looks a little confused at some of what Meri is saying.

"Well, I don't know...maybe they are the same person? The Shadow said they weren't. But maybe, if he isn't really the Shadow...or if he is but he's not really very nice...maybe that wasn't really the case...or, um...oh, I don't know..."

She looks confused for a moment more, then apparently shrugs it off and turns her head to look at the brightly-coloured falcon on her shoulder.

"Did you want to get back to flying, now?" she asks. "Come on, you can go back to your swooping around. That was very strange, what just happened, wasn't it?"

She turns away from the rest of the group, muttering to herself (or perhaps to her familiar) as she holds out an arm for the falcon to walk down and then take off from, returning to the air to continue enjoying the freedom of flight.

[Private to GM: As she turns away from the group, Nym mutters quietly...

"Okay Mr Shadow...I hope that's really you and you're really not actually the Big-Red-Face-Chained-Up thingy...so, I'm going to use my Wish now. So...I Wish that Meri won't ever be able to be affected by the Big Red...Other one, even if he's really you, and he won't be able to hurt her, or trick her, or make her believe anything that's not true, or otherwise have any kind of effect that might cause her to get hurt physically or any other way at all. Hmm, I hope that's alright..."]

"I'm not completely sure they are the same" replied Meri, eyeing Nym curiously again.  "But the one I saw in a dream after we returned to Stonebridge, and the one who spoke to me through the stone, I'm fairly sure both of them were the Chained God masquerading as the Shadow.  Whether he was simply twisting facts to make us act in a certain way or not, I don't know."

She shook her head, eyeing the clear stone for a moment.
"I'm almost tempted to call him by his name actually.  Reminds me of a customer I had once, wanted a new wand carved.  This batty old wizard who said something about fear of a name increasing the fear of the thing itself..."

Sighing, she thrust the stone back into her pack and stood up, looking over the view below...


OOC: Nym is all "that was weird, oh well, back to normal now!" :)  hehe

To start with I only referred to them OOC as Nothics. However, The Other actually indicated that the creatures with the one eye were called Nothics when he first started talking to you, so it's ok to know the name now :)


Celindara's expression darkened. "If this 'chained god' has anything to do with the Abyss, then he is not a true god, but a demon then. There are said to be six hundred and sixty six layers, each darker than the last, but I have not heard of anything chained there that was not the plaything of a demon, rather than a demon itself."

It was Goodwin that caught the next part of Meri's story. "Wait, so you were with The Shadow then? After? Well then, and there we were trying to use the stone to get his help you you. Well, I mean, no wonder things didn't work. I mean, they didn't, did they?" Goodwin looked to Nym. "I mean., Many seems worried about you for a moment, and you stopped talking, but, I mean, hah, you didn't see anything, did you? No... flames or red faced things saying 'fooled you' or... anything?"

Many meanwhile managed two way hug, eyestalks going both ways and head bobbing back and forth between the two magic users. He seemed happy once more, and all sniffles were forgotten. When Nym goes to move away, Many dismounts with an 'awwww' but happily goes back to buzzing around, apparently looking forward to seeing the falcon soar again.

[Private to Nym: As Nym says the words, there is an odd warmth for a moment. There seems to be just a reassuring sense, somehow, that everything is fine. Nym's fur for a brief moment prickles, as if some static - or low level magic - had just washed through the air.

OOC: Yay, so maybe the wish is granted. At the very least, if you distrust the wish giver, it's still a good meta move because you've effectively locked down the bad guy. He can't not grant the wish - or pretend to abide by it - without giving away who he is. So Meri is most likely safe from sneaky stuff one way or another. And hey, it could very well be The Shadow, cool ally, and so you've managed to get some actual cool protection for Meri. And hence,in a round about way, yourself.

Anyway, for a selfless action, and also for your diving in to Nym's origins, I think you deserve an Inspiration. And better yet, I will also give you one too! Cause it would be mean if I just sat here thinking you deserved one then was all 'anyway, what can I do... :)]

[Private to Meri: For a split second, there was an odd sensation in Meri's head. Like a tiny itch actually just at the front of her brain. Luckily, the sensation passed. It had been odd and disquietening.

Oh, oops, I accidentally used the word 'itch', and there's a cast member called The Itch. That was unfortunately worded, I mean you might start to suspect the two are linked. Wow, I mean I should go and correct that, but I mean I'm not sure how. I guess I'll just have to leave that where it is, and hope you don't get the wrong idea...]

Celindara broke any odd tension by speaking up to Meri's later question. "Blace and her 'friend' has ways to avoid my detection, it seemed. But now I know both their natures, they will not fool me like that again."

Celindara moved to put a hand on one of the branches that was cradling them all, and closed her eyes for a moment. She frowned, and then she took a step back, shocked.

"We didn't just lose a few hours!" she said, looking to the sky then touching the tree limb once more. "We lost an entire day. This is the second morning after the battle, not the first. Blace has had two days head start on us!"

Celindara sighed, but seemed to realise that after the miracle of both their success, and the tree, and the new hope for the forest, losing a day to catching up with Blace was perhaps a small price to pay. She still seemed put out though and took an extra moment to compose herself.

Then she took a step back once more, cursing this time. "No! I cannot sense the bard, but her 'friend' is still here. Not just here in the forest... he's at my tree!"


Dun dun dun!

Farren is back where Alynn was captured, at Celindara's home tree! That's... probably not good!

And yes, the trouble with facing off against a liar, and having multiples of the same person saying contradictory things, sort of does make it harder to know what to believe. I say believe everything! :D

"I'm no expert in religion" said Meri, "and I've certainly never heard of any god chained in the Abyss.  The Shadow also referred to him as The Eye in the Elemental Chaos.  Or at least what I thought was the Shadow at the time.  See, this is why I can't be sure!  If we ever find a place with a temple or a library, maybe I can search for any mention of either of them there."

She looked up at the tree for a moment.
"If it's true that the gods sealed both of them away, then Melora may know.  A pity I can't speak with her..."

Goodwin's comment earned a slightly puzzled look from her, but she simply shrugged it off, idly raising a hand to scratch her head.
"As far as I know I was with the Shadow.  I don't think I've ever spoken with the real one through the stone anyway.  The stone was part of the ritual that opened and closed the portal, and it seemed the makers of that place designed it specifically to act as a key of sorts to secure it against tampering by others.  Though its connection to the portal may make it vulnerable to being used as a conduit of sorts.  I don't know for sure.  Might try examining it later when we have more time."

She glanced towards Celindara as she spoke up, pausing to pick up her backpack and staff and scratching her head again.
Though her expression turned to shock at the news of where Farren was.
"We need to get back there now.  Is there a way to contact him through your tree?"
She quickly looked around for a way down to the ground again...

"Nym is all "that was weird, oh well, back to normal now!" :)  hehe" - And this surprises you? :)

Nym has been watching her ludicrously-coloured falcon-like friend swooparond in the air, but turns quickly when Celindara announces Farren's current position.

"Your tree?" she asks, looking somewhat concerned. "Oh, but...what if he tries to hurt it? Won't he get stuck like Alynn did? Is she still stuck? Oh, I suppose she'll be quite hungry by now. Maybe we should bring her some food, even if she wasn't very nice. Because it's not very fun to be hungry, so letting someone stay hungry would be a very mean thing to do..."

She peers carelessly over the edge of the branch she's standing on.

"Can we ask the nice tree to put us on the ground?" she asks. "Or should we just jump?"

She pauses.

"Oh, wait, you're not all wearing magic shoes, are you?" she says. "Well...I can jump. Um...is there some nice Hammy-drydadad magic that can save you all having to climb or figure out a way to fly?"

[Private to GM: Cool, I'd forgotten about Inspiration :D. And yes, I figured that wording the Wish in such a way that it ruled out any kind of deception should hopefully prevent Meri from every being fooled by, say, being approached by the Shadow going "Hey, look, I'm totally the Shadow, I'm not the other guy. Really. Honest." because now she'll just know, somehow, that that would be a lie. Even though she won't know how. At least, at first. If the Other Guy ever tries to do somehing to her and it doesn't work and she queries it when Nym is around, she will just off-handedly say that that was what she Wished for (though probably not if the Other Guy is still present). It also means Nym can just ask Meri if the Shadow is being legit (whenever they next meet him), provided the Other Guy hasn't managed to place a fake Meri there for Nym to talk to. Because I know you could totally be that sneaky and trick poor Nym like that :O.]

"The Elemental Chaos?" says Celindara, not quite sure what the name means.

"Umm...that's... that's the name of the place where everything came from. Everything. It's... a plane...of soup... but.... elemental soup. What, I've read!"

"Oh. The Elsewhere," said Celindara, nodding. "Not like soup. More like a maelstrom where the Elements themselves were born and came from, the Great Spirits. The gods put the firmament in place above it to keep it from destroying the Feywild and this world."

"That would be the astral sea," said Goodwin quietly.

Celindara continued. The Elsewhere is endless, and contains the strangest and hardiest of races only. And the Abyss. There is no centre to it.

"The City of Brass might be said to be a shelter in it. An eye, maybe?" asked Goodwin. "What, I read. I am a reader."

The discussion seemed trivial to Celindara, especially given the threat to her home. "Whatever this demon is, first we must deal with more of his minions!" She then looked to Meri. "After that, perhaps there are ways to contact Melora. After all, we have struck a blow in her name and freed a place she once consecrated."

Looking to Nym, Celindara looked to her shoes. "I have no magic that would protect from that drop. If the forest was healthier, I could ask for its aid, but this tree is not of the forest, and the rest of the forest will take time to come back to itself. But now I know it will."

Celindara looked down, and saw that deer headed titan was now coming towards them, climbing up the great height. Whether they were the next logical, or the titan had somehow sensed the dryad's distress, it easily reached in and offered the group an arm to climb upon it.

While the titan was not as massive as the skeletal construct had been, and while dwarved by the tree, up close it with nothing but each other to compare against, it was easy to be reminded of the large size of the thing. Up close, its stone-like face was impassive, but impatience could be read in to it. And its stone and mossy body may be more skin like or bark like or perhaps something else, but what is was unlikely to be was comfortable.

Still, it was their only way down.


I was going to jump further ahead, but I think it might be nice to give you both a moment to react - and even say goodbye to the tree :)

[Private to Nym: Who knows what sneaky tricks I might have up my sleeve. Ok, the answer is me, and ok, I was actually laughing at something I can do regarding Meri's new power. Hehe. Darn, that might actually take a while to pay off. Oh well :(]

[Private to Meri: Despite looking closely at Nym, Nym's antics and distractions seem pretty much standard Nym. If she was hiding something, she is very likely hiding something from herself as much as Meri.

OOC: I mean clearly I just delayed in order to stir up tension and suspicion between the pair of you, and Nym was hiding nothing at all. Honest. I'm just an evil DM turning you both against each other. I menn, you against her, as she'd never to anything to you. And I'd never suggest it.

Glad we sorted that out.... *runs*]

Meri grabbed up her staff and Timur and moved towards the titan, clambering onto the offered arm.

"I don't think Farren is a minion of the Chained God.  He seems to have his own purpose.  As far as I know, his kind usually serve the Raven Queen" said Meri, looking to the others while waiting for the titan to move them to the ground.

"We can only hope he's just waiting there for us to return.  Besides, if he really does serve the Raven Queen, he may know more of this demon than he let on before when Blace was around.  After all, the gods know of this now, only reasonable to suspect their servants may be made aware of the situation.  Particularly for the purposes of searching for the ones who released the Shadow."

She looked towards Celindara then.
"That said though, if he does try to harm your tree, you can count on my help in ending his threat."


OOC: So possibly he may be after Meri this time, which suits her fine as she'd like a chat with him.  But if he is there to try and destroy the tree, then we blast him out of his socks anyway.

Also, yay, titan rides! :D

Yeah, anyone wants to mess with the forest is gonna end up messing with us. And they'll get wrecked :D.

Nym waves at the titan as it approaches and hurries to pick up her things, shoving the various religious components and the holy symbol into the pockets of her new cloak. She then eagerly steps forward to accept a ride, but pauses, remembering something, and reaches to touch the nearest bit of tree branch she can reach.

"Bye, great big wonderful tree." she says. "Maybe I'll come back and see you again some day. That might be fun! Maybe one day I'll be able to fly aaaaall the way up, and see what's at the top! Lots of birds and things by then, I hope!"

She then turns away and steps onto the proffered arm of the titan, her staff clutched as precariously as ever in one hand while she holds on with the other. The falcon-like shape of her familiar can be seen in the sky overhead, still swooping around.

Incidentally, the familiar's name has now been mentioned once. Not in this post, but in an earlier one. I snuck it in as an off-hand mention and it appears I was so sneaky no-one noticed :D.

Well neither Melora nor the Raven Queen are talking to you, so clearly you've scared the crap out of two gods, and your big bad enemy is only able to talk to you in dreams when he's pretending to be someone else!

Lol, since you never look at the cast page then I guess you never noticed I might have renamed your familiar - I presume it's correct? :)

[Private to Nym: I did ask co-incidentally just before you name dropped your familiar if the names at the bottom of your character sheet were familiar names, then you went and answered the question by name dropping. I guess you missed my question though?]

And awww, bye bye tree! I daresay the plan is for you lot to one day come back here, but who knows how things will work out!

Celindara just sniffed regarding Farren, though nodded at Meri's offer of support. "If he has not harmed the forest, then I will do you courtesy of bringing no harm to him. And if he has tried to harm my home, he will be the one requiring your aid. But Blace is another matter. She betrayed us all, and she will never step foot in the forest again and live long enough to regret the mistake. And no one will be able to save her."

Yeah, Celindara is not best pleased with the betrayal, really. Even though Blace's comment regarding the cult still being around was correct.

The titan was easily able to navigate the tree. It was only once it settled down on to the lush, green canopy that was now the lake bed that it could be realised how precarious the leaves might have been. However, it appeared to be able to support the various animals and titans without any issues.

Celindara seemed surprised to be let down, and turned back around as if to speak with the titan.

The stone creature was already walking away.

"No, wait, my home. It is half a day from here at least! I need your aid, still!"

The titan did not turn around, and Celindara moved surprisingly fast to go in front of it. The titan barely stopped, and with the barest defference to the dryad's presence, moved a fraction sideway and step over her before moving onwards.

Celindara blinked, and looked back to the group. "I suppose the titans have been here since the beginning, and will be here until the end. The home of one dryad perhaps matters not to them." She seemed only angry for a moment, before her expression became rueful, and finally pensive.

It seemed that many of the other animals were also taking their leave. At least they paused for a moment before walking away, the fey panther - whole once more - and the three bears both gave a small dip of their head before going away. The birds actually stayed, flying overhead and playing with Ryn, dancing around the falcon yet not able to match the familiar's abilities.

Half of the wolves had already vanished in twos and threes, but some came over to Nym to lick her hand once or twice - it seemed they remembered her efforts to keep them safe in the previous battles.

The female alpha and her two strongest fighters came to stand before Celindara. One seemed perhaps more skittish than before, but that could have been the result of the strange resurrection. It took a moment, and more than one head bob, before the meaning became clear. They were not just offering their thanks or respect, they appeared to be offering their services as swift mounts.

"My thanks," said Celindara, looking to the companions and the wolves, and judging that the sizes and weights would not be a problem. "Oh, but only three? Perhaps-"

"No need to find travel for me," said Goodwin, looking sheepish. "I... I'm not coming along."

He looked to the group, and waved a set of defensive hands. "I mean, I would... I want to, gods know... but... well, I promised to speak to the fey. And I am, haha, a man of my word. Wait, that shouldn't be funny." Goodwin took a deep breath. "We lost a day after the fight with the phystal - and his grandmother, if I understood things correctly - and another getting here, and now another. And this tree has appeared. I think that one way or another the fey will be coming, and probably in this direction and... well, I came to help here rather than go there and... well, I think if I come along with you again then I might not go to the fey lands afterwards and I do want to be a man of my word. I didn't really have a purpose in life before. I'd like to see what it's like."

Aww, that's right, this should be the temporary departure of Goodwin to go see what the fey are doing, and go seed some future plots for you all :) Of course, what actually happens is up to you lot. Other than not splitting up, you're free to do what you want of course!

This message was last updated by the player at 15:22, Fri 04 Nov 2016.

Oh...wow, yes, yes that's correct :O.
[Private to GM: Ahh, I totally forgot I shoved the list of potential familiar names at the bottom of my sheet. D'oh! :D]

Nym crouches down offer a quick pat or stroke to the various creatures as they take their leaves, giving the more friendly wolves a quick scratch behind the ears but apparently aware that caution and respect should still be maintained with wild predators and not spending more than a moment touching each. To those that don't come over to her, she gives a little wave, bidding each farewell.

"Bye!" she says. "Bye bye! And you, yes, goodbye! It was lovely to meet you! You're all lovly! Thank you for your help follwing us into the strange Blighty place. I'm glad it's all gone now, and you have a nice new enormous tree in your forest. Yay!"

She looks up at Goodwin's mention of his own departure, rising out of her crouch as she does so.

"Ohh, you're leaving too? Is everyone leaving?"

She looks over at Meri and seems slightly uncertain.

"You're not leaving too, are you?" she asks.

OOC: I did actually notice you called him Ryn.  Was wondering at the time what that was short for (recalling Nym's habit of telling everyone a different increasingly unpronouncable version of her full name, hehe).


"Not yet" she replied to Nym with a hint of a smile.

Then she looked towards Goodwin, her expression unreadable.
"Well, be careful there.  Hard to tell how that lot will be thinking."

She turned to move towards the wolves, while from her backpack, Timur gave a sad little wave to Goodwin.
"Thanks for your help back there too.  Have to think of a way to repay you for that someday" she added, turning to look back at him.  "So maybe see you again, Woody!"
She grinned slightly at that last word, raising a hand in farewell.


OOC: Can't have anyone thinking Meri is softening up here, can we? ;)
[Private to The Altweaver: Though I suspect anyone with an Insight score anywhere above a negative value would realise that was meant as a sort of affectionate joke, rather than actually mocking him :)
In truth she is wondering how much the two of them might have in common, and is hoping they meet again someday so she gets a chance to ask him.  Good luck getting her to openly admit that though!]
This message was last edited by the player at 13:04, Sat 05 Nov 2016.

So we're going to have Ryn short for lots of funny names now? :)

[Private to Nym: Ah, they were potential names? I thought each time your familiar changed they had a different name :)]

Goodwin gives a small worried nod but a brave smile at Meri's first comments regarding the fey. "Well, haha, I mean I have a way with people, don't worry," he said with a reassuring smile and bow, sounding anything but certain.

He gives a small surprised wave when Timur appears to wave goodbye. His hand is still raised when Many comes up to try and give him a hug or handshake. Goodwin's fingers keep tangling with the little beholder's eyestalks. Goodwin eventually gets his hand free enough to give an apparently acceptable pat on Many's head. The little beholder then smiles and waves and says 'buh-bye!' then hovers back over to the group, but backwards to keep waving.

While Meri is walking off, Celindara gives a respectful nod. "Many the blessings of the forest go with you," she said.

"Umm, yes, I mean... I'd be happier with a stone golem thing, but... yes, any blessings would be welcome. Yes, blessings will be nice."

Celindara gives a small smile. "You won't be alone," she said, pointing upwards.

"Yes, praise be to Melora..."

Celindara points more insistently upwards. When Goodwin looks up, he sees that the black birds that were playing with Ryn were now flying over his head. Celindara continues on. "The forest will give you eyes, and if you need us they can fly back. And to those who know to look for such things, they will obviously be from this forest. They should prove your words and wuthority more than anything else."

"Oh, that's good!" said Goodwin, clearly having not thought that far through. Or perhaps having never needed to bother with proving his words in the past. "Well, I guess I should be going. Long road to walk, I guess. Unless, haha, they can carry me with theirs wings. I mean, they can't, can they?"

Celindara shakes her head. "That I cannot help you with," she says, and then looks confused over Goodwin's shoulder.

Behind the half elf, a giant, white stag is walking forwards. It stands a respectful distance away, but seems to have an expectant air to it. It does not look entirely natural, for its coat shimmers when the light hits it perfectly, and its legs and back seem far stronger than any other stag. This animal did not look as if it had to run from anything. [Private to Meri: It would remind Meri of the little statue she possesses.]

"Another blessing of the forest?" asked Goodwin, approaching it reluctantly. It bobbed its head and lowered its posture, in a way similar to the wolves before.

Goodwin paused longer when Celindara shook her head. "Not of this forest," she said. However, Celindara did not seem anything more than curious, and the birds above did not appear to change their behaviour either. And so Goodwin finally got on the stag's back.

At Meri's final words, he tried to wave away her talk of thanks, and so was completely caught off guard by the name. He looked between Meri and Nym as if the two might have swapped bodies during their recent divine encounters. Many gave a little giggle, and Goodwin then made a sound that the group had not heard before. It was a genuine chuckle.


Any unless Nym has any words for Goodwin, or there's any further reactions, that will be the hopefully only temporary departure of Goodwin. [Private to Meri: I wonder how difficult it would be to get Goodwin's backstory out of him. Probably about the same difficulty as getting Meri's out of her, I'm guessing half elves have complicated lives :D]

Lol, you'd think...
[Private to GM: Nah, they were a list of possibilities I'd come up with, all of them anagrams of various words that were related to the purpose/nature of said familiar :D.]

Nym seems incredibly relieved to hear that Meri, at least, isn't going anywhere, and looks over at Goodwin.

"Well, yes, if you have lots of important stuff to do, then you'd better go and do it." she says. "Otherwise I suppose it won't get done, and if it needs to get done, then it's probably best if you're there to do it."

She nods, apparently having decided that she agrees with her own logic, and raises a hand to wave goodbye to Goodwin (naturally said hand is the one holding her staff, so she nearly clobbers whomever is nearest in the process).

"Well, goodbye, then." she says. "Maybe we can met again some time, and then we can tell each other what kind of things happened to us while we weren't there to see them. I mean, what kind of things happened to each other while we weren't there to see them. I think? Yes. That. Probably."

From somewhere high above the group, a small shape swoops down and then hovers several metres above the departing half-elf, letting out a long, single note vaguely similar to the call of a falcon and yet unmistakeably not.

[Language unknown: "Ro hat ave isit tanosi, llasin!"]

As the stag approaches, Nym looks at him with a sort of awed respect.

"Oooh, that's a lovely big stag." she says. "Look, it's like he's all...glowy. That must be fun. I hope he never falls over with those big antlers. I mean, what if he was running along and there was a tree branch sticking out, and...well, no, I'm sure he's far too clever for that...hello, Mr Stag!"

She gives a little wave to the stag (with the same hand as before) and watches as Goodwin mounts and departs, giggling at Meri's use of her former nickname for him. After he has gone from sight, she stays with her hand raised from waving.

"Yes...bye bye, Woody..." she says, seeming a little sad.

The sad realisation that the reason Nym is describing so oddly catching up is because she's probably never got to speak to a 'friend' again once they've parted company :(

[Private to Nym: Ah, I read them backwards when they looked odd, to see if there was a word there. Never thought about anagrams - now I'll have to check them again!]

No, probably not...

[Private to GM: Lol yeah, anagrams or foreign words are something I sometimes resort to when coming up with a name, though not always...but if so, then the word that's been jumbled up/translated will always be something that relates to whomever is being named :D. For example, I backed Path of Exile when it had its not-a-Kickstarter thing back in Beta (as in, it wasn't an actual Kickstarter as it was being run by the actual company, Grinding Gear Games, but they had tiered rewards based on pledges) and got a cosmetic kiwi pet as a reward. All pets do in that game is follow you around and make little noises (it's impossible to get any kind of mechanical advantage through any of the paid-for rewards, it's all cosmetic apart from the one that gives you extra stash space) so you can't officially name them or anything, but I gave mine a name anyway (I do that a lot). So after mooching through various words in an online Maori dictionary (GGG are a new Zealand company, hence the kiwi) I came up with "Peki", which means something like "cheep/chirp" :D.]

OOC: I'm not sure Meri has really figured that out about Nym yet.  Having gotten the impression that nothing ever really seems to bother her much.
(Also Meri's own naturally shaky self-esteem makes her think that no-one would really miss her anyway.  Except perhaps Many) :)

You happy to move on, Meri?

OOC: Yep :)

Cool :)

Goodwin nods to Nym. "Yes, we'll have to find a tavern somewhere, and I can hear all your tales, and I can tell you all about...no, wait, I really can tell you all about what I did. I mean... I always do... I mean... bye!" [Private to Nym: Nym's Passive Insight should be good enough for her to know he genuinely means he looks forwards to speaking with you again. Whether you think Nym actually has enough experience with people in this situation to know that is up to you :D]

And with that, Goodwin turns as if to indicate the stag should turn and move off. The stag, for its part, is not a horse nor has the temperament of one. It stands for a fraction longer while being admired, and a fraction longer still to let the half elf on its back understand who is in charge. Then just when Goodwin is uncomfortable and smiling nervously, it turns and leaves.

"Heh, Goodie-woodie!" says Many, singing the same to himself but making time to hug Many to prove he won't be leaving her either.

Celindara watches the half-elf go with an odd expression in her face, but is distracted by the restless movement of the female alpha beneath her. It seemd to be the stag, not the journey that is making the wolf restless though.

"I would not regret seeking to hunt that one, if I were you," she says to the wolf with a pplayful tone, "for many reasons."

With reluctance, the female alpha turns, and so to do the other two wolves. They get used to moving quickly with a rider above them, and soon are making good time through the forest.

The dead lands seem less dead, somehow, even though the colour has yet to return. There is something about the air that is less cold, or the light that is less harsh. Even the blacks of twisted trees seems simply a deeper brown. Twice Celindara stops the group, dismounting and walking to something off to one side. The first time she bows down to the ground, and cups a tiny green shoot. She laughs, and it seems far healthier than anything that has been in this place before. The second time she stops at what looks to be a dead tree. It blackened bark is peeling, but when she gently strips it off with a soothing touch and word to the tree, there seems to be a healthy wood and the glistening of sap beneath. She sings a gentle song and places the bark back like a bandage she had been checking on. That second time she practically skipped back to the wolf.

The group seems to make good time. There is the occasional animal that appears healthy and friendly, many walking in the opposite direction, as if coming from the part of the forest that the Celindara dwelt. These she greeted warmly. There were other animals, dark looking and more skittish. These the wolves growled at, and Celindara had a look of sad trepidation. However, they seemed confused rather than hostile, and most disappeared back in to the depths of the dark forest they had emerged from.

The group's passage appeared to be following a similar route to the one they had taken to get to the cult, which made sense. Therefore, the trees thinned and an area that should have been leading to the Great Tree should have been visible. It took some time to spot that while it was the same area, the Great Tree's twisted and reduced form was no longer easily visible.

Celindara lead them back up the hill they had come down, and the reason for the lack of sillouette became clear. The Great Tree had finally toppled, what had been left of it, uprooting the top of the hill. Only the roots were visible to start with.

Celindara seemed sad, but not surprised. Once more she stopped the group before they got to the top of the hill, and the area where the Spirit of Winter had resided.

She walked on alone, clearly something in her hand. [Private to Meri: It looked to be some small round item, like an acorn or other seed.] She walked until she disappeared, but soon came back again.

"The Spirit of Winter and his kin are all gone. For now, the centre of the forest is hollow. But the old must make way for the new. That is the way of nature." With that, she remounted.

The day was getting to well in to the afternoon before Celindara finally commented again. "We're getting close, now," she said quietly, looking around. The wolves slowed. "I have felt no movement. This Farren waits for us still. And Alynn has not moved, though she is still alive. And my tree gives no me no melody of distress, there is only peace and the song of daily living." Celindara looks around to Meri. "Perhaps you were right about him wishing to talk. And yet what would he want to say to us?"


Ok, I'll give you all a beat to react to the previous stuff, but more importantly decide on a plan of action here. Will you just simply all carry on forwards, do you want someone to scout first, do you want to make any preparations? Let me know! 

Meri peered ahead in the direction they had been going.  her expression was back to the neutral mask she tended to wear when keeping her innermost thoughts hidden.

"Depends on what his purpose is I suppose" she replied quietly.  "If he really is a servant of the Raven Queen, or if he's still aiding Blace for what I suspect are reasons of his own.  If he is still aiding Blace, then where is she?  Perhaps the destruction of the Thrak'i and maybe also the revelation of the Shadow's release have changed things."

She glanced to the left and right, as if checking for any other hidden watchers or signs of an ambush.
"Only one way to find out I suppose" she murmured quietly.


[Private to The Altweaver: OOC: Out of curiosity, trying to see if Meri can recall any information about the Raven Queen that might suggest why she'd be interested in this place.
Religion roll: 22 (16 + 6) - Might end up wishing I'd saved that roll for later if this turns into a fight!

Also rolling Perception to see if Meri can spot any signs that this might be an ambush (especially if Blace is actually there but just hiding herself from Celindara in some way).
19 (6 + 13) - Definitely going downhill fast now!]

As they pass through the healing forest, Nym occasionally reaches out to touch a leaf or tree trunk, whenever doing so won't unbalance her from the wolf who is so kindly bearing her weight. She makes quiet comments when she does this, usually words to the effect of "Yay, Mr Tree, you're getting better" or "Ahh, it's all going green again" and other such positive comments.

When they come to the toppled former Great Tree, Nym looks up at it, glancing over at Celindara when the hamadryad dismounts to walk toward it.

"Well," she murmurs quietly, "at least no more bad things can happen to it..."

Throughout the journey Ryn continues to flutter high overhead, tracking the party as they travel and occasionally swooping down to alight on Nym's shoulder or arm for a moment before taking off again, as though to remind the changeling that she's still there and/or hasn't forgotten her. Nym, for her part, tends to give a happy giggle when her familiar comes down to see her, and seems generally to be enjoying the fact that Ryn can currently fly about as much as Ryn herself.

As they draw nearer to Celindara's tree and the hamadryad comments on the locations of Farren and Alynn, Nym seems to be fairly happy at the news.

"Oh, so your tree is alright, then? That's good!"

Will wait to see if Meri's rolls affect her choice to just go onwards (I presume that's what 'one way to find out' means :)  ) Also last chance Nym for any preparations before going onwards if so!

Meri stopped looking around her then glanced back at Celindara.
"I don't think there's any ambush waiting here anyway.  Unless Alynn is free now and Blace is here and able to hide her presence from you.  Certainly I can't see any signs of others waiting nearby" she said in a low voice.

"Be ready just in case they are here to cause trouble for us" she said, glancing towards Nym and Many, and taking up her staff, holding it at the ready...


OOC: Happy to move on.  If we don't immediately come under attack, maybe we can all have a nice little chat :)

If they do attack though, we shoot first and ask questions to their smouldering remains later! ;)
This message was last edited by the player at 20:15, Mon 07 Nov 2016.