"Both threatening and, if not helpful, at least indifferent. I wish I had studied more of such things," Hoa Sen says. "The world is an impossibly deep catalog of strangenesses, and I've never been able to hold more than a page or two of it in my mind."

Once everyone has returned to the vehicle, Radwa begins the slow drive, keeping the rock formation about 5 feet or so to the left.  It begins to curve slightly northward, and the largely flat hardpan continues to provide a suitable surface for driving.

After nearly a mile of slow progress northward in which the wall slowly becomes lower, the Veil brightens a bit.  Soon, the cart has pierced the far side.  After nearly an hour of obscured, diffuse light, the bright sun forces the explorers to squint a bit as their eyes adjust.

Before them lies the fading remains of the ridge they've been following, narrowing down to the surface a few hundred yards further on.  To the east northeast, grasslands are visible a few miles away.  To the north, the land is level for a many miles before slowly rising to what might be a plateau.  The air inside the Veil is a bit heavier, more humid than the desert you've come from.

The Shimmering Veil itself stretches east and west, eventually bending northward on each side.  Beyond the rise to the north, more of the Veil can be seen through the humidity, but just barely above the top of the rise.  It's likely a hundred miles or more to the northern border, and more than that west to east.

OOC: Everyone please make a Might defense check, DC 3(9).  You can't apply effort because you don't know anything might be happening.  Just PM the results in your next post.

The older man prays quietly as they emerge from the Veil, and smiles.

"Thank you, Sovereign One."

He looks around, and considers.

"We have been told of the Aix, a people having few quarrels, with few to quarrel with.  And we have been told that friendship is earned."

"I suspect it would be best if we seek them out directly, openly and peacefully, and share our purpose here honestly, and seek their counsel.  Newcomers will not thrive here without their benevolence."

"If there is a suitable place where they would peacefully allow newcomers to settle, our search could be over quickly.  If not, then we will know that we must seek a place far enough removed from them, and can begin such a search all the sooner."

"What do you all think?"

Nodding, Artor had but a few words to add as he rested his weight upon the shaft of his glaive, "Let us seek them out, for sure, but let us veer towards the plateau if we have any choice in the matter. It seems defensible, which access to the grasslands should they prove fertile"

As the vehicle emerges from the Veil, Derrick turns to look back at it. "We should place the spikes, right? This is the way through, we should mark it before we move on."

Surveying the land ahead of them, he nods in agreement with Artor. "At the very least, we will be able to see much of the surrounding land from the top."

As Derrick passes out of the Veil, his eyes begin itching and become watery for a few minutes.  After blinking away the tears, his vision remains as acute as it had been and there is no lingering pain or discomfort.

The other members of the party would notice that Derrick's irises have become pure white.  His pupils are now the only "color" left in his eyes.

"You have been marked, friend", offered the void-touched and swaddled leper, "By the Veil. Your eyes-" and he gestured unnecessarily "- have lost their light"

As he finishes rubbing his eyes, Derrick raises an eyebrow at Artor. "I assumed there was just something in the air. I can see as clearly as ever. What exactly do you mean?"

The older man regards him gently.

"Friend Derrick, other than your black pupils, your eyes are now completely white."

"We can but hope that is the least troubling of our transformations," Hoa Sen says. "We should lay the spikes, I think. Canthus has no time for us to dally looking for more efficient routes."
This message was last edited by the player at 01:06, Tue 05 Nov 2019.

Derrick doesn't seem too upset by the news. His expression would best be described as nonplussed. After a moment of thinking it over he shrugs. "What is it you always say Agatho? May I be granted the grace to accept the things I cannot change."

He climbs out of the vehicle and takes one of the spikes with him. He carefully watches the ebs and flows of the Veil on this side and places the spike ten yards past the furthest border reached by the strange shimmering wall. He then takes the cable from the back of the cart and ties it around the spike. "There, now the refugees will have a way through at least."

Derrick finds the cable completely unspooled in the back, although still anchored to the wagon.  It has been dragging behind the cart for some time, it seems.  The metal is light enough that Derrick can drag it to his target site with difficult, but manageable effort.

OOC: The cable is only a mile long and you had to traverse more than that eastward around the rock formation.  You'll need another trip through the Veil to secure it on the other side.

"You have been caught by the Veil already, Derrick", observed Artor, "Let me take it back and site the anchor"

Derrick nods and, after tying the near end of the cable to a spike, holds the slack out Artor. "I do not think going alone is a good idea, but I think we should leave a trail behind us. Perhaps try going due south? I will hold this end of the cable, and we will come looking if you pull it or drop it." The large man seems uncomfortable with his own proposal.

"It is a good plan", nodded Artor, seemingly unconcerned, "I will wrap it around my arm so you can pull me back if something untoward happens"

Moving in a path roughly perpendicular to the line of the Veil, Artor is able to pass through it fairly cleanly.  The terrain at this point has no obstructions.  Hefting the line along, it takes about 20 minutes to make it all the way through.  Out into the bright light of day once again, Artor finds himself a few hundred yards north of a cliff face.  To the west, he can make out the low point that Radwa's vehicle came through.

Blinking in the sunlight, Artor activated the cypher that was the Reality Spike

The spike becomes fixed where Artor placed it, hovering about 2 feet off the ground, 50 feet from the apparent limits of the Veil.  The azure steel cable is securely attached and trails back into the sparkling, violet gloom.

Satisfied, Artor retraced the cable to where the others waited

Perhaps 45 minutes after he disappeared into the Veil, Artor re-emerges, following the footsteps he made earlier.  Coiling up the remaining cable, it would appear that the Veil is roughly half a mile thick, at least in this area.  If the cable can be cut after another reality spike is deployed, you would have approximately 0.4 miles of cable left to use as you see fit.

"Well done, Artor!" Hoa Sen looked around at the others. "Do we have means to cut the cable here? And perhaps to leave a message? Clearing the Veil is only the first step, but if we can grant some idea of where we are bound to those who follow, they are more likely to arrive intact."

Derrick offers his opinion on Hoa's thoughts. "We could use slack from the cable and the third reality spike to point the way we intend to go, but without knowing what we will find there, we cannot say that we want to point those who follow after us."

“Let us anchor it and trim it and keep it unused for now”, suggested Artor, “We might need it for the plateau but that remains unknown”

Among Radwa's tools, they have a small torch capable of cutting the azure steel.  After the second Reality Spike is secured like the outer one, and the cable is attached to it as tightly as possible, they are able to sever the excess, which is stored back on the trailer.

OOC: until Radwa reappears, I'm just going to run them like an NPC.

Also, I imagine Derrick's eyes go a bit wide when he sees the spike floating in the air.

Derrick is briefly very interested in the spike, he had thought that they were meant to be driven into the ground. He tries several times to move the object after it is set with no success. He doesn't distract himself for too long, before climbing back into the cart. "I suppose we should head for the plateau."