"I'm going to," Rosa said, waving off the invitation into the church for now. "Going to go wait for Kethryl and Ixion.  Let them know where we are."

She looked down at her feet, breathing raggedly, and turned to head back to where the road first entered Dolmor.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:21, Fri 25 Mar 2022.

Kethryl breathed an audible sigh of relief, when the village came into sight. His hand move to the hilt of his sword when he spotted, someone standing at the side of road, as if watching.

A second sigh escaped, when he realised it was Risa.

"You near spooked me Risa! Where are the others?"

As they got closer he saw the look on her face, a look he had seen many times in the past (or the future) it was one he did not like. "What happened? What's wrong?"
This message was last edited by the player at 04:02, Tue 01 Feb 2022.

Risa thought she had let it all out and mostly pulled herself together in the minutes she'd been out at the edge of the village alone.  Maybe her eyes were still red or maybe Kethryl just knew her too well.

"It's a disaster," she blurted out to Kethryl and Ixion.  "We didn't go back fifteen years.  We went back fifteen CENTURIES!  Nevermind that we missed Teegate by a few weeks distance.  It's a miracle that Teegate is even still there this far back in time.  Everything and everyone we knew is gone.  All our powers, possessions, and abilities are lost.  And for what?!?  None of us is going to live long enough to thwart the four fiends or save the heavens.  We went back SO FAR.  I don't know how...  I don't...."

She took a deep breath.

"We're screwed, and it's my fault.  So sure of myself.  Overconfident.  I thought we could do anything.  Well, here we are.  I don't think I could fix it even if I hadn't been stripped of my powers."

Risa looked Kethryl in the eyes, regaining some of her composure.

"So yeah, that's what's wrong."

She turned to gesture towards the church, the most prominent building in the village.

"The others are in the church.  Dolmor's healer, Father Lehar, is looking after the badly injured man, Eugene.  I don't think I could've held it together, so I came out here.  Didn't want to break down in front of everyone.  Some of them know what happened, but it hasn't really sunk in yet.  If it has, they're handling it better than I am."

"Did you catch the wolf?"
This message was last edited by the player at 19:45, Mon 31 Jan 2022.

Ixion pats Risa on the shoulder.  "Nah, it felt like something else was setting up a trap, so we are back.  I'm thinking this is an angered druid, or a wearwolf, or somesuch.  Someting that can control the wolves.  We should come back in force if we are to address the scourge..."

He hesitates, with a far off gaze. "Didn't someone say start from the beginning?  Maybe this isn't our beginning, but the fiends?  Food for thought.  How long is fifteen sentries?"

Dag starts marking a pile of rocks by the side of the road.

"Fifteen centuries is one thousand, five hundred years.  Sixty generations."

Risa nodded.

"That's a good thought.  The fiends had to come from somewhere.  Elemental gates.  If the gates are still around, maybe we can seal them, or destroy them over a thousand years before the fiends ever show up."

"Fifteen CENTURIES!" Kethryl blurts out, as he tries to comprehend what Risa is saying. "By the gods...assuming they exist."

Kethryl looks at the spellcaster, and then steps closer and takes her hand. "Not your fault, Risa. I don't remember the details but I know that we would have agreed and that makes it all our decision.

Don't feel you need to take all the blame...because if it had worked as expected we would not let you take all the credit!" he adds with a smile, before releasing her hand.

The elf nods, "There might be something in that. Who knows, maybe these odd wolves are the first manifestations of the fiends and that is why your magic brought us here?

One thing is for sure, I could use a drink!"

Ixion's eyes narrow, and his face takes on a look of displeasure.  "If you weren't so smart, I'd say ya was makin' this up.  Are the 'mental gates close by?  If we are to take this as it is and we have come to where it began, then Kethryl is right, these wolves may be key."

He points toward the town "Check with the church and see whats they know about mini-mental fiends, omens, and what the story is with the wolves?"

Dag meanders over the Ixion.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:40, Tue 01 Feb 2022.

The group outside were conversing about their situation, when from the village proper, they could hear a woman's voice crying, clearly distressed, for information about her husband, and from the sound of things, she was approaching the church's main entrance, while they stood near the rear entrance.  It appeared that, in the manner of small towns, the bad news had spread quickly, despite efforts at keeping it quiet.

---

Time is now matched up with the group who went into the church; continue posting in the main thread.

Risa smiled.

"The Seven.  That's something we can be sure still exists this far back in time.  In fact, we might be able to enlist their help further down the line.  The Seven will be keen to keep the Axis Mundi intact."




She gave Ixion a doubtful look.

"One of them could be near, by coincidence, but the gates will be scattered to the four winds, literally.  Think of four separate epic quests far-far apart."

"I wouldn't count on this wolf thing having anything to do with the fiends or the gates.  Arcane magic isn't guided by purpose the way divine magic is.    That said, I think we should look into it and take care of the villagers' problem for exactly that reason.  We're in no shape to be doing anything epic right now.  We need to start small and work our way back to greatness.  I don't know if we can handle werwolves, but we can smack down a grumpy druid."

Risa hears the ruckus near the church, and sighs.

"Would either of you like to guess where our friends are?  Come along, let's go check up on them."