With the hunters not only free of the Satyr, but of the curse that afflicted them, the rescue was finally complete.

It has been a long journey for our heroes thus far, who have found themselves battling shadows and a banshee at the church ruins, their discovery of a Fey circle and the mutated Elkthrawn with the power to best a owlbear with ease, the harrowing and unforgettable encounter with Magorian the Satyr where Althaea paid a heavy price, their run in with the bloodthirsty and starving gnolls that were so famished, were trying to eat the flesh right off the heroes' bones, and last but not least, the plague brought on by magically infused and engineered necromantic and toxic mushrooms, nearly crippling the town of Vertigo and all those within.

Things were starting to move in the right direction, with the mushroom plague coming to the end and the hunter's finally being free of the Fey's curse, though it came with a great cost...the death of Aleena.

What the heroes didn't know, was that a new story was unfolding and important pieces to that story were headed their way....

~Nine thousand, eight hundred twenty-six. Nine thousand, eight hundred twenty-seven. Nine thousand, eight hundred twenty-six.~ Infused casually walked alongside his shelled companion, with wooden feet crunching along through rocks, twigs, leaves, and whatever else happened to be under foot. ~Nine thousand, eight hundred thirty-one. Nine thousand, eight hundred thirty-two. I guess you never know, these days. World being what it is. Nine thousand, eight hundred thirty-five.~

Working with a non-human was still a change he was getting adjusted to, though it honestly had little to do with the physical appearance, and more to do with the speed at which they moved. It had been nearly a week since their last clash with the undead, so there was no particular need to hurry in reaching Anomaly Mountain. Finding food for Gar to eat had been less challenging than expected, but Infused was thankful that he did not have such needs of his own.

Infused reached his inorganic arm up to adjust the tied off pants leg and leather strap that he was using as a quiver for the javelin on his back, cursing the impracticality of the thing. "Gar? I am fighting a losing battle with gravity. I grow bored of carrying it in my hand, but frustrated with the constant adjustments. What solution would you suggest?" Infused had spent all of his life following instructions and recipes, and was still getting used to the concept of having to come up with the ideas and instructions on his own. Building the javelin quiver from the empty leg of a pair of pants had seemed a remarkable idea, given the absolute lack of supply that the world now faced. But how was he supposed to keep the weight of the javelin from dragging it down to be parallel with the ground and then gravity tipping it over? Within a few seconds of readjusting, every step was a challenge.

He knew it would be a few moments, at least, before Gar said anything. The tortle wizard had been his companion now for nearly eleven days, but it had taken him less than one of those days to realize that Gar always took his time, with virtually everything. The presence of danger was the one exception that Infused had found so far. ~Ten thousand, four. Ten thousand, five. Ten thousand, six.~

The large sword he carried over his right shoulder was able to rest easily with its hilt providing stability while the pommel counterbalanced the blade itself perfectly. ~Ten thousand, nine. Hmm, now that's a thought. How do I counterbalance a javelin?~ He pondered the question for a long moment, but there was only one other item he carried that wasn't worn, besides the greatsword, and that tiny bottle would not suffice.

Infused stopped for a brief moment. If his face had been capable of showing forgetfulness, it would, but instead it seemed like he had simply frozen in place for a second, ~Failure.~ Somehow he'd lost count of his steps. Not one to take a false count, he started over. ~One. Two. Three.~ Thankfully, the number of steps he traveled in a given day was merely a tool for keeping his mind occupied rather than obsessing over Gar's ridiculously slower pace. The number itself, thankfully, did not matter.

As infused plodded along, at his side another figure walked, less focused and more intent on the world around him, the sight of this person was more unusual than his companion. While warforged weren't common, Tortle's were rare, and this far inland even moreso, but even then he was unique.



Standing a little under 6 feet tall, his skin was a leathery green, with dark green patches , his shell a dark brown with sharp ridges on the edges. On his shell, several symbols were painted or etched in vibrant Blue, white or purple, giving them an almost glowing quality. His head was almost square like, with darker green on the top.

His clothing was simple and more for simplicity than any function, dark linen breeches that were a mixture of shorts and pants simple brown and orange robe-like vest that was sleeveless and leather bracers. On his belt were several pouches, as well as a simple dagger, while in his hand, he held a dark oak staff that had many small symbols on it.


Gar had never spent so much time with a warforged, and his time was well worth it. Infused, though smart and logical, also held qualities of other races...curiosity, impatience and a sense of duty, though his lack of self motivation made him more curious.

As they walked, the tortle smiled, treating this as more a stroll than a purposeful walk. He never understood people's rush with time, and so when he set out with Infused, the usual week long journey had now gone into 10 days.

He heard his friend speak and looked at him, a pause before he spoke as he thought. Much like his life, his way of thinking was slower and more measured than most.  "Gravity is something you will always lose, my friend....it is a constant, like time. But as for your problem, we can adjust the tying so it sits deeper, or wait until we find something more suitable Perhaps if we seperate it and tie a stick or branch to each part, seperating them, then it will be like a quiver but higher up a balancing brace."

The tortle smiled, shrugging as he plodded along at his place. "...or you can wait until we reach where we are going and we can buy one. I'm sure at this pace it couldn't be more than, what - five more days?" The tortle smiled at himself, knowing full well at this pace they would be a day or two

.....but he wouldn't deny himself some fun.

He looked at the warforged as he paused for a second, something he had seen, and again mused at the slight reaction. Looking at him, he smiled. "Come, my friend....it isn't far now."

~Forty-seven. Forty-eight.~ Infushed took note of Gar's suggestions, visualizing each of the options to consider their likelihood of success. Some sounded better than others, but each was worth consideration if the search for a true solution needed to continue. Then there was the thought of buying one, "You seem sure that we are going to find people at Anomaly Mountain, and that those people will have things in abundance-enough to sell them."

If there were going to be people gathered anywhere, somewhere near the Anomaly seemed a likely place, even to Infused himself, but he had not been out of the ground for long and had seen no sign of current humanoid habitation since. There were undead in droves, but very few of the living. ~Fifty-eight. Fifty-nine. Sixty.~

"Five more days? I am eternal, Gar. Five days, five years, or five human lifetimes is all the same to me." Infused never had cared much about time. He had no need of food or drink, and no need to relieve himself of the waste thereof. He did not age or wear down the elements that made up his body, despite seemingly being made of things that should break or at least deteriorate over time. Still, there was a fundamental difference between time and speed, and no matter how many years Infused could expect to still be alive, he still disliked wasted time when he could be spending it or investing it.

One of the best ways to invest time though, was in other people. Gar liked moving slow, so Infused invested his time in Gar. A wizard seemed like an intelligent investment, after all.

Gar chuckled as he moved slowly. “Ah, you see the trees, but not the forest my friend. For you, your lifespan is not like ours, so your grasp on time may be different, but dime does still happen none the less, and takes us all. All living things succumb to it, even plant life. All has a cycle.”

The tortle holds a finger up, ready for one of his speeches of life and time. “People fear death, but death is but another path, another state of being. It is time people should fear. People rush around like ants, saying the don’t have enough, or they want more. Even wood, metal, stone bows to time, turning to dust. No…your life is linger than most, but not eternal. You also will face time’s end, as will us all”

As they made their way over a crest, the view of the upside mountain came into view, and whatever gar was going to continue with, he stopped, both in speech and movement. He leaned on his staff. “Hhmmmm. Never in my days shall I see a sight like that, so rare it is.” He sighs and starts walking. “Come…people aren’t as isolated as you remember or believe. We will find a town and a case for your javelins. Perhaps, even someone else to talk to - I’m sure you’ve heard some of my view so often, you could repeat them word for word.”

"Mmm. Time will tell. You seem to know much about the warforged. I have never met one of my brethren. Master Kraelix told me the others had all been lost or destroyed. I know what I have been told, and what I...know. However it was that I came to know such things." Infused stopped when he saw Gar doing so, and had a look at Anomaly Mountain.

"I do think that this is a sight that was ever meant to be seen. It should be rare, but as it is, it is instead the most common sight anywhere within viewing distance. How could you miss it? How could your gaze not fall upon such a thing each day? I make few assumptions. Many hypotheses, however. 'There are many processes that must be followed before we can know a thing.'" If he were capable of smiling, the quote from Master Kraelix would have brought one to his face. But he was not.

Infused thought over the last tenday with Gar. There were pieces he could probably quote verbatim, but despite the slowness of his speech, he did not actually repeat himself all that often. Given enough time, the repetitions would certain come around, but it would take more than a couple of weeks for the tortle's words to leave such lasting impressions.

"It does make me wonder how many times one must gaze upon that mountain before it becomes so ordinary that you no longer notice it at all."

Gar chuckled at his friends musings. "I wonder the same about us, my friend.  in this land we are rare beings - you a warforged, myself a tortle. Warforged are rare these days, many destroyed or lost. My race, though more common on certain islands far away, few are here, but rarely far from the oceans. We, my friend, are as an unusual sight as this mountain. Will we ever be considered ordinary, i doubt it, but people will accept us as part of this world, like the mountain."

The tortle began walking. "Despite your limitations you claim, you hold some wisdom in your logic Infuse. You may have 'holes' in your certain aspects, but that's what makes us all worth living. My brethren are usually strong of arm or wise...many are warriors or healers. There are few that claim the arcane arts. Even i can say that my knowledge is lacking in areas, but what i do know, i know well." He held up a finger. "That is why you have lacked progress in your isolation m- it is the mixture of people with their skills and knowledge that pushes us to learn."

the tortle plods on towards the mountain and the hopes of civ ilisation.

Infused and Gar continued their trek toward Anomaly Mountain, and whatever form of civilization Gar was convinced they would find nearby. ~Seven thousand, four hundred twenty-six. Seven thousand, four hundred twenty-seven.~ Infused mentally sighed, and paused to have a look around. ~So much green. Dark and comforting, but empowering and...wholesome.~

"I have made a decision, Gar." He saw his tortle companion stop and turn toward him, but Infused continued to look out at the greens and browns of nature for a moment more before he turned to meet his companion's eyes and speak, "Green is my favorite color." The lushness of the various plants was both a source of comfort and uncertainty, as there were innumerable places that danger could be hiding here. Yet it offered that same protection to him, and added a bit of wonder to the mix as well.

---

On and on they walked, Gar setting the pace and Infused counting his steps when not engaged in active discussion. Eventually, they caught sight of wooden fence up ahead, and people moving about. Repairs were being made to the fence, east of the main gate, seemingly crushed by a falling tree, roots and all.  There were more guards than he had expected to see, but then again...what did he expect, at all, honestly? Nothing.

"Gar, this place looks well defended, and not particularly welcoming. Those walls are at least thirty feet tall, maybe more. What threats does this ravaged world now hold, that such walls are necessary?" He and Gar had fought several undead in the early days of their meeting, but the rest of the trip they had seen almost no creatures at all, living or otherwise.

Just as he finished his question, a face appeared at the top of the wall, looking down on them and demanding to know their business, "We have traveled far, in search of survivors and safety. This is Master Gar, a mage of some skill. I am Infused, a guardian and traveling companion. I was skeptical, until we saw your walls, that civilization still existed in this world. If people are gathered and rebuilding together, we wish to be a part of it."