Gar listened to Infused speak of the void, his eyebrow ridges raising despite his eyes remaining closed. "Sounds an impressive sight. Lyn....would you be so kind?" The own digintantly hooted on his shell and ruffled her feathers and the tortle snorted. "What do you mean, tired? You've been on my shell the whole trip?" The own pawed at the shell and Gar sighed. "Please? Your my eyes now, even if temprorarily."

The own fluffed itself and took off, and gar channeled his vision through his familiar, commanding her down to look closer at the cavern below (At a safe distance.)

After hours of being somewhat restrained in his flying in the forest, the mischievous Scamp took flight when the forest opened up to reveal the sinkhole. Sand stopped his constant spellcasting to look at the ravaged landscape and got his new goggles out to examine the precipice, trying to figure out what was at the bottom of it. Could this place have had some sentient presence before? It was worth checking it out.

Action : Use eagle eye goggles to examine the sink hole,  21 for the perception roll
Today: Sand rolled 21 using 1d20+7.  sand perception.

Sand peered down into the sinkhole, giving the newly found magical goggles time to adjust and focus, before scanning its depths.  At first it was hard to see anything, the overwhelming darkness within lent little to no light for the eyes, but then he caught something.  Deep within the sinkhole, just on the edge of his vision and at almost an impossible angle where the sinkhole's walls opened up thirty feet below, Sand crouched down and saw a source of warm, golden light.  The golden glow gave off just enough light to show that the depths were covered in what looked like a jungle like environment, but the most interesting feature was the ziggurat that just barely peeked its head out of the jungle's dense trees.

The heroes, continuing to follow the directions given by Thorin, stayed to the left of the sinkhole and continued on, eventually findng their way free of the forest.  They headed due West for a good half a day, though their legs grew weary after the rough terrain of the forest, constantly climbing over the exposed roots of the trees; the journey was slowed down considerably with Gar's lack of eyesight.  While his familiar aided him with his sight for the time being, it didn't always look where it was supposed to and Gar found himself stumbling along and falling on numerous occasions.

The heroes finally came across the large statue of a knight half buried in the ground, a welcome sight to all, as at least it meant they were going in the right direction.  Before heading due North for another half a day, the heroes got their bearings and allowed Gar a moment to rub the soreness in his limbs from the constant trips and falls encountered during the forest trek.



Once ready to continue, the heroes set out, though due to the slower pace, the day started to get away from them and they had yet to get to their destination.  Darkness crept in sooner than expected, and the low hanging clouds stole any light the night might offer; it became harder and harder to determine if they were still headed in the right direction....
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:52, Wed 08 Dec 2021.

As night started falling, it was clear that Gar was getting frustrated with himself. His constant falls, not to mention the old saying 'a turtle on its back' was true, as the darkness closed in he sighed, rubbing his arms. "I am sorry....my injuries have slowed you down."

As the dark ess fell, he felt pretty much the same - since he lost his eyes he was in perpetual darkness, and though positive, even his thoughts crept to darkness. The fact his new friends kept him going gave him hope.

"Maybe we camp here for the night. With Lyns help, I can watch - her eyes are suited to darkness as much as light." The owl swooped in and landed on his shell, little hoots escaping her. Gar smiled. "Yes, I am volunteering you, but only so much as to help me. We don't want anyone sneaking up on us, do we?"

The owl ruffled its feathers as it sat there. If an owl could pout, this one would.

Despite being intrigued by the pyramid in the chasm, Sand knew the group was still tired of the battle, himself feeling it in his mechanical limbs so he contented himself to say what he had see and pressed on, to put as much distance between them and the cursed forest. Finally a rest was called for and Sand sent Scamp to explore half a mile around their resting place, for any possible troubles.

Sand is inquiring, how is everyone? Sand still has some magical energy and can heal injured friends.

Waiting for the answer, he helped set up the camp until Gar told them he could take a watch.

Sand thinks that Gar should rest. Sand does not sleep and will stay aware of surroundings during his rest. Clacker and Scamp do not sleep either. Friend Gar does not need to take watch.

Gar smiled at the protective nature of sand. "Thank you Sand for your concern...and while the rest will help heal up some of my wounds, my magical energy is at it's peak. Besides, Lyn is an owl, her eyesight is best at night." The tortle sighed as he sat down. "Most of my magic relies on sight, and where Lyn may help with that, only time will test that theory. And Sand, even you need time to recperate some of your energy - do not fret about this foolish old turtle...i still have a few tricks up my sleve"

He looked up as he rummaged in his pack, retrieving a globe holding it out to sand. "This is little use to me at the moment but may help you all - it is called a driftglobe - a portable light that will follow you. the command mitne will light the globe, and whedab will extinguish it. Utter tiecelle and light as bright as the sun will erupt from it for a time, but only for a limited time."

Infused was still a bit confused as to what the large chasm had been. It seemed to somewhat match the description they'd given him of where they were headed, but apparently it was not the place. ~A location to explore another day, perhaps.~

As they traveled onward, Infused offered Gar his assistance as often as it was needed. Trips and falls were unavoidable, but he did his best to help the large-shelled fellow stay on course. The question of whether or not to camp was of little concern to him. He was in need of repairs, certainly, and being inert would make that process faster and easier, but he could walk on for some time yet, if necessary. "I do not possess the means to see through darkness, but sleep itself I have no need for, so my hearing and limited vision will be in use throughout the night when we do decide to set up camp."

To Sand he replied, "I do need repairs, but see to those with flesh first. I can repair some of this myself while we camp."

Relief filled Thorn when they finally called a halt; much longer and she would have been forced to admit her own weakness. And if she did not collapse or sink to the ground, her utter exhaustion did force her to move with slightly more care than usual. Which might as well be a beacon to any predator in the vicinity.

Perhaps she had grown soft over a century of easier living. A troubling thought. Or the faux-beholder had sapped more of her energy than she supposed. But her fuzzy brain proved quite incapable of considering the matter further.

As the others began to make camp, Thorn pulled the mushrooms she had conjured last night from a pouch and held them out to her companions. "Here. Mushrooms - like Erik's berries. Eat them. Or not."

Fortunately, she had only cast one spell during combat so she could create more to heal herself and Sel'zir. The spider's wounds and exhaustion weighed heavily on Thorn through their bond. And she needed to cast Alarm before trancing. And repair Aisling. But if she stopped now, her body would demand rest and allow her to do neither.

She nibbled on a mushroom. Energy first. Then perhaps her fingers wouldn't fumble the delicate repairs and her sluggish mind could function just well enough for her spells to shape Nature's power. It would be sufficient. Because it had to be.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:39, Sun 09 Jan 2022.

The steady pounding of my heart in my head had joined with the ache in my joints to send a steady throb of pain running through my top to bottom. A steady symphony of protestation rebuking me for my poor choices while my heavy breathing and the stumble of my unsteady feet added an odd counterpoint that felt strangely appropriate. I know better than to push this hard, if you are going to help others first you have to take care of yourself. How many times did he have to tell me that before it stuck, I do not know if I can count that high, and yet here I am making the same mistake again. What a wretched student I turned out to be.

Well what is done is done and cannot be changed; I will just have to deal with the consequences and remember this moment when next I am tempted to keep pressing forward passed my limits. Look at us, even though they are not complaining they are all as weary as I. Even Harmony is dragging her feet despite the slow pace and the light load. A fantastic horse she may be but she was not intended for this twisted jungle.

As the party comes to a halt, I carefully move around Harmony to remove the saddle and tack and set it aside on a raised dry bit of ground before giving her a quick brush and checking her feet. If we need to move fast I am going to need her as close to her best as she can be. Satisfied that she had not picked up a stone I finished tending to her before moving back to my own gear and carefully arranging it, if I stop now I might not be able to get moving again, so even though I removed my armour I do not sit down, in stead I gather a few supplies and smart a small fire while slowly chewing one of the mushrooms Thorn had offered, attempting to savour the small morsel for as long as possible. Once the fire was going I put what remained of my water supply into a small kettle and set it over the fire to boil. A small nip of tea and then I can prepare for tomorrow.

A sharp twinge shoots parallel to my spine as I twisted slightly to put down the kettle. I will be days recovering from today. If we have that long.

During the several hours the group had been walking, Althaea was mostly silent. She was too weary to hold up much of a conversation, even with Alaric latched to her side. She leaned on him more to maintain pace than she would admit to the others. When the others called a halt for the day, she was relieved to no longer have to walk. Setting down her pack, she began to set up where she would sleep, laying out her bedroll and blanket. She removed her armor and weapons and set about the arduous task of cleaning them. Once that task was done, she ate the mushroom offered by Thorn and set about making her nightly cup of tea.

Alaric had also finished maintaining his gear and he looked to Althaea, busy making tea, and sighed contentedly. "Is there enough for two cups, my love?" Alaric started walking to the small campfire Althaea was perched over, she stood up straight as he drew near, nestling herself into his chest.

"But of course. I had already planned on making you a cup anytime I made myself one unless you told me otherwise." Taking one final breath of Alaric's calming scent, Althaea moved back to check that the tea was ready and poured the two cups.

After finishing the tea, Althaea washed out the kettle and the cups before placing them back in her pack. Before she could stifle it, Althaea yawned. "Come to bed, my love. We can keep watch after you've got a couple of hours of sleep."

Needing no more persuasion, Althaea nestled up under her blanket, Alaric at her back with his arm draped around her waist. She was asleep within minutes.

---

OOC: Althaea and Alaric will take watch together. Be it 2nd, 3rd, or 4th watch doesn't matter.

As the weary heroes continued to head North, the overgrown forest gave way to mountains that looked more like cragged teeth of a large monster than the wider mountains they were used to seeing.  Travel became a bit more difficult, as the softer forest floor was replaced with the harder stone of the mountains, as well as a steep incline that left heroes legs pulsating and sore.

It was underneath one of the tooth-like mountains, that the heroes found refuge beneath an overhang just deep enough to keep them dry should the weather turn sour.

The toll of the enervating spell that afflicted them and the precipitous incline was showing on each of the heroes faces and in their slowed movements as they set up camp beneath the mountain; their bodies were exhausted and weak, finding it hard to complete even the simplest of tasks.  It wasn't long before each of them fell into a deep slumber or trance as they let their bodies succumb to the darkness that came with the night.

The evening passed quietly; the heroes getting the sleep that they so desperately needed.  The next morning, the sun tried to peek its head through the morning haze of gray, but the thick haze prevented most of the muted sun's rays from piercing through.  The morning air had a chill to it, partially due to the higher elevation in the mountains, but also seemingly out of the ordinary for this time of year.

Sand took his watch, tinkering with Clacker to repair the damage the construct had sustained, but he was glad when he could start his rest period, his limbs heavy. Warforged don't dream, always aware of their surrounding, but he couldn't avoid revisiting what had happened in that clearing, and how close they had been to a complete disaster. Gar had lost his eyes and Andraste had been nearly killed. Never had this group faced so much adversity, but the priced payed to win this fight had been very heavy.

And what had been that necromantic blast? In his limited experience, he had never encountered anything like that. What had caused it? To whom did this booming voice belong? The forest was big, they would have to cross it again on the way back to Vertigo. Incapable of physically shiver, he nonetheless felt a tightening of his wooden muscles when that idea crossed his brilliant mind.

The night did not bring any answers and the chilly morning arrived. As the camp started to stir and the biological needs of his companions took precedence, Sand examined his cart and the way ahead, much more rocky.

Sand thinks the cart will need to stay here. Sand's magic does not affect rocks, there is not enough soil to make a passable path for wheels of cart.

The construct shook its head, thinking. How could he ameliorate his design to make an all-terrain cart? With the smells of the cooking breakfast permeating the frigid air, the artificer was deep in thought. Finally the group was ready to move on and its with a little sadness that the cart was left behind, with some tree branches and whatever soil he could gather covering it.

With his obligation of creating a path removed, Sand took his turn guiding the blind wizard, while sending Scamp to scout ahead of the group.

Gar sat down slowly with a thud, his exhaustion of the necrotic spell and lips of eyes had taken its toll on the tortle

....not that he voiced it.

At the camp, he ate what was offered, and at times seemed in a trance as the hoot of Lyndra flew overhead.

In truth, he was thankful he could see through his familiars eyes. Though stubborn and flighty at times, the little own seemed yo take pity on gar and wasn't as obnoxious as usual.

He sat there testing his magic with the owl. He managed to conjure light with it, as well as move a rock with a magic hand, bur even that he found taxing.

The night came and when others slept, he kept trying, pushing his limits with the patient owl.

Before long, the yortle fell asleep, the owl watching over its master.

---

With the morning, Gar felt a level of renewed energy and hope, and when they were ready, he stood, staff in hand and owl on the edge of his shell.

"That gives me an idea Sand....what if you could make a cart without wheels - perhaps a version of tensers magic spell that creates floating discs."

He was guppy his mind was sharp as normal.

The warforged looked towards the wizard and nodded, not that the tortle could see him do so.

Friend Gar has a good idea. Sand can create floating disk, but it is a long process that does not last very long.

He tapped the butt of his spear on the ground, thinking.

Sand needs to find a way of having that disk under cart for a long time. Sand will ponder on the puzzle. Sand likes to build.

With this, he was ready to move on further towards the keep.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:23, Tue 18 Jan 2022.

Scamp returned, hooting and hollering as it hovered right in front of Sand, flapping its wings while telling his master that he was sure he found the keep!  It was only one mountain over, way up on top of it.

Scamp seemed extremely pleased with himself; Sand finding it harder than usual to calm the enthusiastic bird.

Upon waking, Althaea brewed another cup of tea for both her and Alaric to enjoy, helping them both wake up and fight the chill that had gathered in the air. Once the kettle and cups were cleaned, she once again packed them away along with her bedroll and blanket. The pair once again donned their armor and their weapons were strapped in place.

She could hear Sand and Gar having a conversation, and made a mental note about the location of the cart that was being left behind. I hope it is not needed to carry everything back from the keep.

Once she could see that most of her companions were awake and seemingly ready to embark, Althaea spoke up, "Shall we be off? The chill in the air does not entice me to linger here for long."

Sand nodded to the Eladrin, and would have smiled if his fixed faceplate gave him that capacity.

Scamp says the keep is over the next mountain, on the very top. Sand has a rope that makes climbing easier, it will be useful.

Thorn examined Aisling with a critical eye; she recognized the flaws in design and construction, but hadn’t quite determined how to correct them. Still, he was restored to his original state and that was sufficient at present.

As she began to pack up her tools, Thorn caught sight of Infused. He had claimed to be able to repair himself, but if he had taken any steps to do so, they were extraordinarily subtle. And not terribly effective judging by the gashes in the rigid metal and the shriveled, broken wood. She wondered for a moment if he regenerated slowly over time, but that is not what he had said and – while the two could admittedly be crafted differently – Sand’s use of healing spells also implied otherwise.

Hands stilling, she reflected for a moment. Infused had caused considerable carnage during the skirmish. More than anyone, with the possible exception of herself. Which made him very useful indeed. All the more so since he was a melee combatant and a very dramatic one at that. The chaos he unleashed could only draw their foes’ attention, allowing her to hide more effectively. Restoring him to full functionality would directly benefit Thorn.

And . . . she was curious. She had never encountered anything quite like the constructs. Even spying Sand entering Vertigo had caused her hands to twitch toward her tools. If for no other reason than to scrub away the rust corroding parts of his form. But Sand watched her too closely already. With his expressionless face and stilted speech masking his obvious intelligence, she couldn’t ascertain how much he may have deduced. Best not to give him the opportunity to ask questions. But in the case of Infused, perhaps she could justify the risk.

She waited until he moved somewhat away from the others before approaching, her small bundle of tools held casually at her side. “I can attempt to assist with your repairs, if you wish. Aisling’s are finished,” she said, extending her left arm where the stimfay had perched on her bracer so Infused could judge her skill.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:28, Tue 18 Jan 2022.

Infused glanced up at the elven woman he'd barely met. His eyes were nothing more than solid blue lights behind a curved glass pane, making it impossible to tell what he was looking at beyond the general direction, but they were pointed up toward her at least.

He looked from her to the Aisling, toward the other party members, and then back to her, his metal head making no movement to indicate his gaze had shifted at all, and then he nodded. He felt he was far more complex a creature than the simple stimfay, but he had little to lose by accepting her offer. "I suspect you will find things more complex than you anticipate. My repair process is slow, somewhat lengthy, but effective." He lowered his head slowly, indicating she was welcome to join him and have a look.

He was suspicious of what she intended to do, but he had survived far worse than an elven woman with a bundle of tools. Suspicious...it was both the right word and the wrong one at the same time. Perhaps "curious" was a better word. Perhaps.

Thorn began by studying him for a moment. Even a cursory examination revealed that full repairs were beyond her meager skills and limited tools. True restoration would require - at the very least – a lumber mill, a smithy, a master artisan and probably an archmage as well. But she thought there was a little she could do.

She had not worked with his exact materials, but they seemed at least somewhat familiar. She leaned forward, brushing elegant blue-tinted fingers, rough with callouses of work and war, over the metal and wood. Feeling a sense of exhilaration different from the start of a hunt, but no less intense, Thorn selected the most appropriate tool from her leather case.

She began by making the smallest possible alteration; she would not risk causing damage through misjudgment, but quickly gained confidence as she worked. Thorn fell into a smooth rhythm: sanding sharp edges, patching small holes, shifting misaligned plates and tightening the joints between wood and steel.

With the alarm spell in place and Aisling and Sel’zir keeping watch, she could risk diverting much of her attention to the process. Infused’s craftsmanship was truly magnificent, so much so that she began to reconsider her original assessment – surely a construct expertly designed for battle would not require such extensive resources to repair. Perhaps merely activating the latent runes fused into his form would suffice. And – given the crafting components – she suspected her own Nature magic might prove at least as effective as arcane or divine spells.

She had no real notion of how to shape the power, but if Infused’s creator was half as skilled as she suspected, that might not actually be necessary. So she allowed its soft glow to cover her hands as she continued her labor. The effect was instantaneous and intense enough to be mildly alarming: like parched earth during a storm Infused's body drank the magic she offered and pulled at her for more. Thorn drew back and watched as the warped wood straightened and the metal flowed, filling the gashes in his torso before hardening again into protective armor.

Thorn considered for a moment. She was nearly certain the construct's magic couldn't drain her against her will. That would be a potentially dangerous design flaw, even for someone as powerful as his creator. Still, she doubted her energy reserves were equal to the task. So she completed whatever minor mending she could manually and focused her magic in small controlled bursts on the most damaged areas, providing the power his form needed to restore itself.

The end result was frustratingly unbalanced as the perfection of the areas repaired with magic made her own efforts appear painfully amateurish. Still, he looked better; more so than she ever could have anticipated. She settled back and glanced up at Infused, attempting to gauge his reaction.

Infused had sat, quiet and still, throughout the entire process. If the parts she touched, sanded, patched, or adjusted had caused him any pain at all, he had shown no outward sign of it whatsoever.

As he sat through the process, he took note of the things he felt. Pressure and vibrations, pieces being cut away or shifted from one location to another. A broken connection being mended, another being reconnected but to the wrong part, causing internal sensations of movement, but in the wrong direction. Within moments, his internal workings adjusted and compensated, rerouting internally to accept the change. Prior to this, every repair that had ever been made to his body had been done with magic, and things had mended precisely as they were supposed to. This seemed to be working fine as well, but it was certainly different.

When Thorn had set the tools aside and the glow of magic shone from her hands, he felt a sense of...yearning. As she cast her spell, releasing the magic, he felt it being drawn inside of him, down into his core and the maelstrom that warred within, waiting to be released. As he drew it in, he felt a swelling in the dried and shriveled bits of his torso, the moisture allowing dried woods to swell with life once more, the metals to regain their unnaturally pliable consistencies, and he felt more whole than he had been previously.

The ever-swirling magic that filled his core called out for more of the magic, but was powerless to force the issue. It gave him a sense of longing and a desire to do...something, to get more. The urge came from inside him, but not from him, so he simply sat there as he had from the time the elf had asked to aid him. Each time she repeated the magic, the effect on him and the prompting for more were the same. This interaction with magic, how his body seemed to pull it in rather than waiting to be acted upon by it, was relatively "new" in that it had only happened since the event that had broken the world. It had happened every time since, but before, not even once. It was a familiar foreign feeling, and he had no better way of describing it now than he did the first time it had happened.

He did notice, with the repeated small bursts of magic, that for the first time that energy stayed in a state of yearning, rather than trying to burst free. That, was certainly new.

When Thorn settled back and looked at him, he took it as a sign that she was finished with her work. He looked down at himself, noting things were mostly back in the condition they were supposed to be, and knew that the rest would take care of itself in the hours to come. "Thank you." As he said the words, the maelstrom churned once more, its yearning for more changing once more to a push for freedom. Infused wrestled the urge as he always did, keeping it contained within him. His respite from that fight had short lived, it seemed, but he began to wonder in what ways he might be able to feed that storm to keep it resting for longer than just a few short moments.

The next morning, Infused brought his thoughts and feelings back together more, ending the inert state of Sentry and regaining the use of his body. He felt more whole this morning, as if perhaps Thorn's tinkering had done better work than anticipated. He felt whole again, but he also felt... Ready? Rested? He wasn't quite sure what the right word for it was. Whatever humans felt when they made comments like "it's going to be a good day, I can feel it!" That's what he was feeling.

At least, he thought that's what the feeling was supposed to be. Optimistic? ~Bah! Feelings!~

Infused looked toward the mountain as Sand pointed it out. Climbing out of a sunken and crumbling tower, for a period so long he had no means of calculating it, was not an experience he wished to repeat any time soon. Climbing a mountain in the open world, however, felt like an achievement worth seeking in its own right. Infushed had been designed with strength and endurance in mind, but the intended purpose from his Master was quite the opposite. Infused had moved many supplies, lifted or opened uncountable numbers of crates, and the like, but the only climbing he had ever done before escaping that sunken tower was going up and down the ladders of his master's tower. "Can your rope climb itself up there, or do we need one to go up and then lower it down to help the others?"

Gar listened to Sand and Infused and sighed....he knew without seeing the trip would be hard and slow - for him normally it would be, but now would be harder. "I fear my presence slows you my friends....and i apologize greatly for that." He moved his hand to the cloth over where his eyes were, sighing. Even as a magic user, he wasn't the fastest (Ironic for a wizard dedicated to time), but now it seemed he was a weight on his friends more than ever.

"If you wanted to leave me behind, i would not blame you in my state" He bowed his head with a sigh.

As the heroes got ready to leave, Thorn sends Aisling to scan the surrounding area as some of the others looked around for the best path forward; it wasn't long before Althaea and the mechanical bird came back with some useful information.

There was a semblance of a path leading up the mountain in front of them;  it was slightly more treacherous, but looks like it could save them a good full day or more of travel by not having to go around the whole mountain to get to the one behind it, where the keep stood.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:51, Mon 24 Jan 2022.