The next day, the group collects their things and heads in the direction of the necropolis of Nogortha, leaving behind a city struggling to piece itself together again. The riots have mostly stopped, but the damage to both the city's infrastructure and the orderly transfer of power has been severe.

Nogortha is a few days' travel northwest of the city. You see signs of a few creatures as you travel - everything from bears to what you could swear are the tracks of a young basilisk - but everything appears to have the good sense not to bother you, and you encounter nothing out of the ordinary on your way out. Firea continues to keep you from needing to sleep with her magic, and while so long spent without the restful embrace of oblivion is beginning to wear on you, you retain full function.

Finally, after four days of travel, you come around a hill and see the plain of Nogortha stretched out in front of you. It's a huge expanse, and they haven't understated just how many burial mounds there are - the ground is so covered in them that it's hard to imagine counting. There must be thousands, ranging in size from a simple burial plot all the way to mounds of dirt the size of hills. There are no structures within the field, no signs of habitation at all.

Bristle had been pleased with how her Charm-sight Spectacles had turned out. She showed Caleb how to properly use the crystalline glasses after it became clear that he would be the one wearing them. They would certainly prove useful in detecting puppets of Whisper, but they were not fool-proof. Whatever magic she was using was not 100% detectable all of the time.

As the group traveled toward Norgortha, Bristle was happy to have dredged up her bear from the bottom of the pond where she had left it. Its muddy old bones were a happy sight for the cleric of Death. She tried to keep it in less visible areas as they traveled though, since it could still attract unwanted attention.

Among the burial mounds though, it didn't seem quite so out of place. So it wasn't too far off when their group rounded a hill only for Bristle to lay her eyes upon an unwelcome sight. She stopped in her tracks and held out a clawed hand to slow her friends beside her. Then, pointing toward a figure leaning against a rock ahead of them, she said, "That's... Whisper." Not a person puppeted by Whisper, but the dream-sorceress in the flesh.

Bristle had been so caught off-guard in the moment that she was at a loss for what type of action to take. Was the woman really here to confront them? Or was this merely a vivid hallucination caused by the extended time period spent with zero sleep?

---

For Caleb:
Charm-sight Spectacles - Their wearer is under the constant effects of the Detect Charm spell.
https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic...ells/d/detect-charm/

"Wait...what? Where?" She asked, looking at where Bristle had indicated to make sure the girl wasn't losing her marbles or that she herself hadn't missed something.

Voh'ren is visibly more relaxed outside of the city. Back in nature, the Half-Orc ranger is in his element. He moves across the terrain with ease, with the same natural dexterity and grace as his animal companion. His eyes catch sight of the different animal tracks and trace where they lead.

When Bristle mentions Whisper, Voh'ren draws his bow in the blink of an eye. He nocks an arrow on the string.

"Where is she?" he growls.

OOC:

20:36, Today: Voh'ren Wildheart rolled 12 using 1d20+11.  Perception-Spotting Whisper. *sighs*

Caleb had accepted the spectacles politely, and only fiddled with them a bit before growing accustomed to them.

He grew slightly more irritable and more twitchy the longer he stayed awake, but accepted Firea's spell nonetheless, saying it was better than the alternative. He moved towards the front throughout the journey, machete at hand to clear away brush. He lacked Voh'ren's grace, but his movements made it clear he knew his way around outside cities as well.

As they beheld Nogortha, he took in the surroundings carefully before Bristle announced Whisper's presence, at which point he hurriedly drew his crossbow and began searching for the witch. "Where?!"

ooc: 23:49, Today: Caleb Miller rolled 17 using 1d20+14.  Perception.
 

There is no sign of Whisper.

Caleb slowly lowered his weapon and waited for his heart rate to drop back down from the sudden adrenaline spike, eye beginning to twitch ever so slightly as he looked to Bristle. Bristle, you sure you aren't just seeing things, because I sure as hell don't see that LEECH!" he said, turning to shout the last word across the necropolis, on the off chance Whisper actually was there and just invisible or some other magical nonsense.

Hester frowns.  "Well I can see her and Bristle can see her. Hello mother, what are you doing in the physical world?" She looks around at the others unsure of what her presence means.

Bristle was about to question her own sanity when Hester confirmed that she could also see Whisper. The cleric's worry soon turned into determination. She pointed toward a specific location ahead of the group. "She is there, leaning against that rock. She said she is "probably just a stress induced vision." Yeah, right."

Bristle whistled loudly. "Skele-bear, come! Go poke around over there for us." She directed it toward where Whisper was standing. Bristle wanted to know if she had a physical form. The cleric also cast Detect Magic upon herself to give herself a new way to view Whisper besides her Deathwatch glasses. "Hester, you can go ahead and do the talking. I will translate for everyone."

---

Bristle will say and describe what Whisper does for everyone who can't see her.

Does Bristle detect anything with her Deathwatch vision or her Detect magic? Does anything happen when Bristle's skeleton bear moves into Whisper's space?

Before Whisper spoke, if she ever spoke, Hester said, "Problem stroke question, why do Bristle and I see Whisper but the rest of us don't? Hypothesis, I can see her because I have aberrant blood.  Bristle can see her because she is a Cleric of Death.  Observation, does she talk or simply stand their smirking? If the latter then new hypothesis, this is a message specifically for us from the lych in charge."

For those who can see, the bear moves to stand inside of the apparition of Whisper, which remains invisible to the others. She overlaps with the undead creature as though she has no substance. Bristle detects no magic, nor any trace of death about the space (aside from the bear, of course).

Bristle also relays what Whisper says, which is: "Oh, darlings, quite a way to greet an old friend, don't you think? Why, I'd almost think you didn't want to see me! Hardly courteous of you. Now tell me, what are you doing in this old dump, hm? Trust me, the barrows here really don't have anything worth your time. Bunch of old dears, but I assure you the funeral goods really aren't worth much - craftsmanship aside, materials have come a long way since then."

"Oh, so it's over there, is it?" Caleb said, tracking the bear's movement before taking a hand off his crossbow to raise his middle finger in that general direction for a few moments. "Just ignore it, we've got work to do," he said to Bristle and Hester before moving to take point in preparation of them entering the necropolis proper, already casting his gaze around, looking for movement among the tombs.

Dropping her translations for a moment, Bristle added some comments of her own while pointedly ignoring Whisper's presence. "Yeah, I don't know why she feels compelled to go to the effort to tell us we are wasting our time here. What would she rather us be doing, eh? As if we came all this way just to dig up some old rotten trinkets."

Turning back toward Whisper, she added, "What we decide to do with our time is really none of your business, is it? You have not been invited, nor asked permission to come along." The cleric then moved past Whisper's location and had her bear follow along toward the necropolis with Caleb and the others.

Voh'ren puts away the arrow and shoulders his bow with a frown. He looks in the direction where Bristle and Hester indicate Whisper is loitering. He then turns back to scan the rest of the necropolis.

"It didn't occur to me before," he says softly to the others, "but after seeing this place, I think I've heard of it. I've crossed paths with a druid or two in my wanderings, and we've exchanged tales while sharing a campsite. One mentioned a funeral city where a siabrae still wandered the lands. Most are violent against the living---even members of their former circle---but this one... This one was different. It supposedly was not so hostile to druids who came across it.

"I don't know if this is that same siabrae," he finishes with a shrug, "but perhaps it can be reasoned with. And if the Green is with us, perhaps it is not one of Whisper's minions."