Vyn shook himself as he forced his way out of his mind palace and the many possibilities that this event held. "Ah, it...Uh, sorry, I got carried away with the mental note taking for a moment and paused when I should elaborated. As I was saying, what we witnessed here is called 'benign transposition', it is a milestone of those who seek mastery of Conjuration. I have seen it performed numerous times, as my father is a master of the school himself. The transportation itself will cause no harm to either party, as we witnessed here. I must say, in all the times that I have seen it performed, even had it done to me a few times, it was only ever over short distances. For it to be done over a larger scale, such as this, there must have been an amplifying reagent or perhaps an item of wonderous magical power to perform."

"With benign transposition, all parties involved must be willing to let the spell take effect, or it will not happen. As much as we may fear what happens to Lerissa on the other side of...where ever she is now, she would not have gone at all if she had not been willing to go in the first place. If a 'portal machine' were used, as our metallic friend calls it, it is entirely possible that multiple locations are linked together in the transportation chain, and she ended up at an entirely different location that the one which Bear left. It should also give some reassurance, Bear, that unless one of us is similarly desiring to go, and open to to the same form of teleportation, this friend of yours will be unable to follow."
This message was last edited by the player at 16:34, Fri 10 June 2022.

Rorek's eyes narrowed as Vyn'al spoke. Although he understood very little of the arcane jargon, the jist of it seemed clear enough. Looking back to B.E.A.R., he lowered his bow and put the arrow back into the quiver, "Fair enough". He kept an eye on the metallic creature, trying to glean what he could from the others' questions.

"We have a lot of ground to cover, and lives potentially on the line. We must wish Lerissa luck wherever she is, there's no more that we can do for her. The paladin and the local youth we know need our help, though." Vyn gathered his things and made ready to depart.

“And Karakas…”, Rorek reminded the mage. “I’ll go up ahead, scout out the path”. Before he left he looked over at Keely, and then glanced back at their new travel companion, “Best to keep an eye out, avoid any surprises that might appear”.

The dwarf sighed at Rorek's assumption of death - even though he was sure he had seen it, Brankx's life had been surrounded by it....that is why he was who he was. "Yes it could kill us, bu most think th' same of me just because i have grey dwarf blood in me. Sure, i'm not a full deurgar, but ye look at be and ye see a dark dwarf." he crosses his arms. "I've learnt to look beyond th' physical lad....as i wish others did more often."

He looked at B.E.A.R. "I pray this thing is what i think it is and what it seems, but judging something on what we seein th' first seconds is foolish."

He looked him in the eye. "...an if ye have seen as much death as i have, then i pity ye lad." there was a softness, almost haunted tone in his comment.

He let him go scouting, chuckling at his comment. "Eye out fer surprises....between this thing an' the living firewood, what else could there be?"

B.E.A.R. relaxes a bit as it seems they are not being blamed for anything in this very moment.

“Can I help in any way? I would like to assist in saving lives,” the warforged earnestly offers.

“I am skilled at not being seen and acquiring things.”

Keely gave Rorek a barely perceptible nod  and took up a position at the front of the group.

"A problem for another day, I promise.  Are we ready to move?"

The dwarf nodded in acknowledgement at B.E.A.R. "Perhaps fer now ye can guard our backs an' keep an eye out fer dangers. Th' big guy is either th' sneakiest damn giant around, or scares people off enough ter not bother us....either way i'm happy."

B.E.A.R. gets up quietly & takes their position at the rear of the group.

This is the most positive interaction with the most people I have had ever. I am very excited for this fresh start. Already, I have found some good to do.

B.E.A.R. will take on this new task of watching the backs of these new companions with fervor.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:43, Mon 13 June 2022.

With Rorek scouting, there are no other distractions to the trek north, except for a bout of heavier rain lasting half an hour, that the group passed at the base of a small hill with a depression on the side deep enough to shelter them. It was near the end of the afternoon that the ranger spotted columns in the distance and led the group to them, as the rain finally stopped, leaving everyone wet and miserable.

Rorek looked up at the sky from beneath the hood of his cloak, muttering to himself in Gol-Kaa, “Manethak, the hunter, grant me some of your patience”. He wiped some of the water from his face, and looked around at the columns as he waited for the others. A sunken castle? Though the rains would likely have washed subtle signs of Karakas and the others whereabouts, he could at least see if he could find Any Tracks to suggest they had indeed passed this way.

OOC:
23:53, Today: Rorek Stormcrow rolled 8 using 1d20+3.  Survival (wis).

"I have always loved the rain. It's a shame I cannot say the same about wearing soaked clothes." His cloak gave him some protection from the elements, but not enough for the amount of rain that had fallen and the length of time they had traveled through it. "This is the place, is it?"

Vyn took a look at their surroundings, to glean whatever information he could from the surroundings.

17:29, Today: Vyn'al Ethinos rolled 11 using 1d20+4.  Perception. – [roll=1655332188.28568.366396]

Keely huddled beneath the cloak she had pulled out the moment it started raining.  Oiled leather, it served decently to keep the rain off of her (so long as the wind wasn't blowing), but it did little for the chill.

She was about to ask the same question Vyn'al, but he beat her to the punch.  "Let's look around for a way in.  Get out of the rain at least."

Suiting actions to words, Keely started walking a grid, looking for any concealed or obscured entrances.

---

12:16, Today: Keely Navila rolled 8 using 1d20-1 ((9)).  Perception.

B.E.A.R. vibrates with a soft hum to shake the rain away from their body & out of all their joints. They vigilantly watch and listen  behind the party to make sure nothing is creeping up on them from behind.

Brankx, what little humor he had, looked up to the sky with a snort at the weather. Being a dwarf, he spent much time underground, and deurgar rarely ventured outside. Brankx, more accustomed to such, still didn't like it. he wiped his face with a grunt. "Dumathoin, give me strength." he muttered as he caught up.

He listened to the elf and shook his head. "Typical elf - rain is so nice. Bah." he shifted his belt with the hand axe on it, looking at the columns. "...anyplace dry would be a blessin' now."

The party quickly found the remains of a campsite, but with the rain it was hard to estimate how long ago it had been used. Examining the site, the elven wizard noticed a rope attached to one of the columns, dropping in the chasm beside the columns, the fog from the rain and the low visibility of late afternoon making it impossible to see in it.

The rope is knotted every feet and lead ten feet down, to a kind of platform jutting from the wall of the chasm.

---

OOC, those that want more information, do a investigation check
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:10, Fri 17 June 2022.

The surly dwarf walked around the campsite, noting the chasm with the rope, and made his steps slow and even as he took it all in.

<EDIT>

The dwarf crouched at the firepit, holding a rock. "This camp hasn't been used in a while - three or foor weeks at least." He tossed the rock back in and looked at the others. "...seeems th' right amount of time from what she said by me guess."

---

<OOC: Brankx rolled 18 using 1d20+3.  investigation check.>
This message was last edited by the player at 03:33, Thu 16 June 2022.

Vang carefully checks the rope. If, as the dwarf believed, the camp had been abandoned for almost a month, there was no telling what the weather may have done to the rope's integrity.

---

00:38, Today: Vang rolled 20 using 1d20.  Investigation Check.

Keely poked around the campsite itself, looking for clue to its last users.  If it had been used last almost a month ago, most of the natural traces would have been washed away by even the most recent rain, let alone any others.  But there might be other traces left behind.  Cookpots, mess kits -- anything whoever last used the rope might have decided not to take with them.  Maybe there was a chest hidden nearby with some bulkier items?  The rope's presence alone was a sign that they had intended to come back this way...

14:48, Today: Keely Navila rolled 11 using 1d20 ((11)).  Investigation.

"How far down does the rope go?" she called out, knowing others were looking at the hole.

Vyn recalled his familiar once more from the pocket dimension that she called home, and sent her to gather information from above. Meanwhile, he joined the others is having a look through what remained of the camp.

Investigation: 5 (18 if I can use my familiar for Help)

00:18, Today: Vyn'al Ethinos rolled 5,18 using d20+4,d20+4.  Investigation. – [roll=1655443134.87293.366396]

Rorek kept an eye on the surroundings as the others talked, his bow at the ready. He hadn't found any tracks, so it was very likely that the group they were after were down the hole.

It had been too long and no tracks were visible, apart from the camp remains and the rope, positioned to reach a small platform ten feet down. From there, the familiar could see what looked like stairs, crudely carved in the rock, going down from the platform.

Another look showed scratches on the pillars, forming letters, but none in the group could read it.

---

Do an athletic check with advantage if you want to go down the rope

Having searched the camp without much success, Keely eyed the rope, then looked at the sky.  "I'm going to take a peek down there," she said, slinging her staff into its sheath across her back.  "See what's what.  If I get to where I can't see, I'll come back and we can go as a group with torches."

She bent down and grabbed the rope, moving with speed to loop it around her waist and hold one both sides before walking backwards over the edge.  "Ten minutes, no more."

---

15:00, Today: Keely Navila rolled 16 using 2d20+3, dropping the lowest dice only ((13,5)). Athletics with Advantage.

Brankx holds his hand up before Keely drops down. "Wait a second....Rorek, come here as well." as they staand, he places a hand on each one, speaking in dwarvish

As he looks up, smiling, you notice a shift in your vision.

---

<OOC: Casts 'Eyes of night' On Keely and Rorek. Now have dark vision>

Once he is sure the rope is safe, Vang turns to his companions. The rope goes down about 10 feet to a platform. I've checked and it appears the weather has not affected it. Be right back.

Vang was ready to start climbing down when Keely grabbed the rope out of his hands and began to climb down first.

As Vang made his way down the rope, he hit a particularly wet spot and the rope slipped from his grip. Quicker than the eye could follow, he reached out a claw and latched onto the wall to keep from falling. Not trusting the rope any longer, he finished the descent to the platform by climbing down the wall.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:32, Wed 22 June 2022.