"... I agree with the goatherd on this one. The townsfolk doesn't have the skills or training to be in a plane of existence like this one. We don't have a deal until you can send them back." Morrigan says, though she knows that it's possibly a futile attempt. If that is so, she has fund a way back before. And she'll do so again, especially now that her town and her people are in the thick of things. Jaeger, sensing her friends anxiousness nudge his head on her leg. Morrigan calms down and pets her dog.

Vella's eyes shone with a glint of excitement as the mystic spoke, but faded slightly at the words of those whose fate she shared. She looked to the faces of the common folk who had been taken along with her. The drones, as their host had put it. Vella knew she should have been all the more upset that innocents had been taken from their homes, but the intrigue of the situation piqued her curiosity -- and that of her patron. She felt that influence like a mental tug, a slight headache behind her eyes that would only get worse if she didn't investigate.

"I will help you," Vella said to the mystic. It was a foregone conclusion -- there was no way she would pass up the opportunity to explore the Shadowfell. Still, she felt the pang of guilt for the common folk with her. "But you must help the ones you call Drones to get back to their homes, please."

Colwyn pointed at the mystic with his sword, "And if we say no? We stay here?". Colwyn shook his head with a smile, "That's a nice piece of blackmail. Let's kidnap a bunch of people and force them to do our bidding, and involve them in our mess, or we won't let them go". His smile faded a bit, his eyes going cold, "I don't respond well to bullies".

Kesslyn slowly nodded her head at the...machine man's words...

"I too agree with the shepherd. These people seem unlikely to be able to help you. I would ask why you need such help if you have magic strong enough to reach across the planes and snatch so many, but I assume there is a logical reason," the beautiful young half-elf said as she moved cautiously over to where the gnome threatened. "I feel as you do sir, but I fear for the moment, we are at the mercy of these...people...Perhaps we should hear them out before we resort to any unpleasantness."

The last was said with a shrug and a soft smile. She did not approach the man any closer and tried to put on as pleasant an expression as she could. In truth, she agreed with him wholeheartedly. To steal people, especially unskilled folk such as most of these, was an affront to her moral sensibilities. For now, however, she would watch and listen. Hopefully, the others who had spoken up would prove to be allies should things go south.

The speaker didn't seem put off in the least at the indignation of those that responded. He received all opinions with a calm, retrospective face. When Colwyn drew his sword, a score of the warriors stepped forward with their hands on their weapons, but the mystic sent them back with a simple gesture of his hand. It wasn't a request, he commanded them to stand down.

"You are here. I am convinced you can go back, at least most of the six of you, in time. You seem capable of that. Your villagers and townsfolk are our ... currency now. We don't wish them harm, and they will be provided food and drink. The ritual is not a trivial undertaking, and it won't be conducted until we have the orbs again. Your folks stay here until then. If you leave, you leave them behind. In that case, they cease to be our currency and we'll dispose of them."

He uttered villagers and townsfolk in a way that showed the words were alien to him, he copied using them.

With each acknowledgement of agreement from the others, Beast turned slightly and nodded to them, assessing those who spoke for the villagers return.

Something inside Beast bristled at the thought of people as currency. He'd tried what he could though to get them out of here sooner rather than later. At least they would not die of starvation... Their care for the people was now being leveraged against them. He looked to the others that had spoken up as the commoners had fallen back. They seemed a strange compliment to each other but several among them if not all of them could be solid allies. Perhaps.

"So it is orbs we seek from those who camp not far from here? Speaker for Dratreme, you play with lives and waste time couching terms instead of laying out clearly what you would force our hands in participating in."

Beast looked again to the others nearby. "For the sake of my friends and for those who cannot fight for themselves I will take on this task if only to get my people home. My people and yours. Come with me or remain here. It does not matter. I will be a part of it."

He turned back to the mystic. "If anyone chooses not to be a part of this I will take on their responsibility. Their people will be under my protection and you will not dispose of them."

Through it all the calm never left Beast's voice but the last sentence he spoke was levied as much as a statement as it's own threat.

Vella nodded to the mystic, accepting the terms. She could not quite bring herself to look back at the common folk whose lives were now in her hands... Not so long ago even the thought of such a situation would have horrified her. Now, it felt far too easy to compartmentalize her thoughts and focus on the task and the surroundings, while her curiosity welled up inside.

"Understood," she told the mystic with a subtle bow and a faint smile. The smile wasn't forced, if anything, she fought to hold back her excitement! There was a dark beauty to the Shadowfell and its people, and she yearned to see everything.

"I am Vella Engval, at your service."

Colwyn's smile turned into a snarl as the strange warriors gave sign to attack, "C'mon then, you finger painted sons of...". Gripping the sword on both hands, he was about attack when the mystic raised his hand. Seeing the strangers back down, his smile returned and he snorted. Looking around at the warriors, he gave a trill of sharp whistles and clapped his leg, "Yeah, better run along now... good boys... yes you are... Such good boys". Laying the blade of the sword on his shoulder, he looked over at the others, "Fine, I'll play along". He kept an eye on the surroundings, but it was clear he was ready to listen to what the mystic was suggesting.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:13, Fri 30 Sept 2022.

Morrigan wanted to facepalm at the appearance of a fool waving his sword like a loon,"Damn twit!" she says as Jaeger growls at the army, ready to pounce. While she already has her bow and arrow drawn, aiming between the eyes of the mystic before the army massacred them. Though she stayed her hand as soon as said mystic gave his orders and made his demands clear,"Dispose of them? I'm surprised, I didn't take the denizen's of the Shadowfell for telling jokes." she says with sarcasm,"... Your terms are agreeable, I'll do what you shall have me do, so long as you keep to your word." she says, then looks to Colwyn,"If what you did was considered playing along, then I appreciate it if you stayed at the inn, arse... My name's Morrigan Tearfall." she says to the others, barring Colwyn,"I'm a town guard, and this lazy butt here is Jaeger, my companion." she says to her dog who decided to go back and laze on the grass.

Kesslyn seemed on the verge of an angry retort at the callousness of these people, but at the outburst of several of the others she remained silent. Instead, she looked over each of those whom she was apparently destined to assist in this endeavor. She was unfamiliar with the race of the one she had mentally nicknamed "Shephard", but his words were calm and his actions admirable. The gnome was quite feisty and seemed to share her own anger, but his emotions were worn on his sleeve for all to see. He seemed quite sure of himself and his sword, so perhaps he would be a stalwart companion.

Vella was a bit too eager for Kesslyn's tastes and seemed less interested in the commoners, but that could simply be indicative of an inquisitive nature. Morrigan was a bit stern, taking the gnome to task for his recklessness. Inwardly, the blonde-haired woman smiled. They all seemed a bit mismatched, but by Tymora, it was the hand they had been dealt. With a slight inclination of her head, she addressed the green-robed mystic.

"My name is Kesslyn Starblade. I will assist the others in this task, if only for the sake of those who can not protect themselves. I'm appalled by your behavior sir, but is seems I have no choice."

Colwyn looked over at Morrigan with a frown, “And who were you again, and why exactly should I care what you want?”. He shook his head, and returned his sword to the sheath, “Arrogant battleaxe”. Strapping his shield to his arm, he looked over at the mystic, “You said orbs. Ok, how many? Where? Guarded by who? Gonna need more to go on, than the ask”.

The mystic regarded all the back-and-forth between the speaking newcomers with a cold and an unnerving stare, as if he was from a completely different, alien race, not a humanoid. The warriors didn't react to Colwyn's taunting, but probably couldn't understand him at all.

"I am glad you all agree to help, we have a better chance of getting the Lady's belongings back this way. And your folks shall return home sooner."

"Yes, I said orbs," he nodded to Colwyn, "they can be held by two hands comfortably and have a dark, milky look. When they were taken from us, they were each wrapped in a gray-black cloth with silver stars for patterns. The Hoebasi have them in their settlement, we believe."

Morrigan crosses her arms and looked at Colwyn with disdain,"I'm someone that's been in this kind of situation before. And managed to get out of it unscathed, if a bit different. So maybe you should care a little to what I say, no?" she says, then she turned toward the mystic,"Can we have a guide to lead us to this settlement."

Beast for his part listened patiently. They would have their direction soon surely. When Morrigan spoke about her experience he turned to her. "You have been in situation like this?" With one hand raised to about his waist height and extended he turned his body gesturing to everything surrounding them and tilted his head in question on the word this. "This is new to me... Though powerful people subjugating those less powerful is not..." He turned back to stare at the mystic. He was a part of this but he didn't have to like it.

Colwyn cocked an eyebrow at Morrigan, and smiled, “So this the second time you’ve been kidnapped? Wow… What’s the saying again? Fool me once shame on you…”. Shaking his head slightly, he turned back to the mystic, “Ok, so these ‘Hoebasi’, they like you? How many?”.

Vella visibly relaxed as everyone agreed to help. There was still some tensions, but she made an effort to ignore it. "Anything else we should know about the orbs?" She asked the mystic. "Proper handling, or the like?"

Morrigan glared at Colwyn, but chooses to ignore him. Instead she turned to the shepherd,"No, I've never been to this plane before. Though I have been in its counterpart where I survived a whole year, within that time I made it out but my body changed." she says, pointing to her one elf ear to indicate that she didn't have one before she left.

"Yes, we can provide you with a scout, but he'll be able to go only as close as the wards let him. The Hoebasi are not like us, not at all." This is the first time some emotion shows on his face, his concealed anger is slightly but definitely visible. "Those are like mantis, in your tongue. They built a hive and they herd slaves. Slaves from all the worlds. They are dangerous alone, but when they congregate, they gain an ... intellect. They become smart. Beware their slaves, they might be just as dangerous, until they are transformed into Lost Ones. Dead ones who have lost their direction. The Lost Ones are usually less dangerous, unless their keepers command them to hurt someone."

He starts drawing in the dust with the end of his staff.

"This is our home. The Plateau of Remnants is an unearthly place, it contains many ancient ruins that we haven't yet explored, only a little. The spirits of old remember many secrets, but can be strange and even hostile. The Still Gorge is home to spiders, very hungry spiders, which are cunning and very wary. Most of the time hungrier than wary. It is a slow and terrifying death to be caught by them. The Lake of Seal is a shallow water, but it is guarded by automatons, which never tire or get bored. And, of all the places near and far, the Mire of Dreams is the most hazardous, because it assails the mind. If you get lost in its labyrinthine phantasms, you will never return."

"The orbs are not dangerous to touch. Take care not to break them, although they do not break easily. You can use them, but I advise you against it. Our Lady does not like intruders in her chambers."

After acknowledging Morrigan's statement of experience once more with another nod he turned back to the speaker.

Finally something actionable. Beast knelt on one knee to bring his head closer to the map being drawn up as he listened to what was being said. The Hoebasi mantis-folk were worrisome but so were the dangers that lay between this town and that place they were to go to. After the regions were described Beast used one finger to point to the intersection of The Still Gorge and The Mire of Dreams. "Does the Gorge go under the Mire there or is this section doubly worse for travelling?"

After he asked, his hand drifted and for just a moment his mind turned to the automatons mentioned at the Lake of Seal. He hadn't seen any of his kind since his last reset though had heard some stories. The question he wanted to ask remained unasked though.

Vella knelt near the map to get a good look, her eyes and her smile perhaps a little too eager to learn more. Her expression brightened even more at the mention of unexplored ruins -- it was early in their adventure, but Vella was nearly certain she'd choose to stay once their task was finished.

She nodded along with the explanation of the Hoebasi, wrapping her mind around the idea of mantis-folk slavers with a hive-mind... She smirked at the mention of cunning spiders, as well. "Do the spiders communicate?" She asked, bristling with curiosity and eager to find way she might be useful on the journey. "If they have anything approaching a language, I might be able to communicate with them telepathically."

Morrigan looked at the human with multicolored eyes,"... It seems someone has a strange interests with spiders. To answer your question, the fact that a bunch of mantis are causing this much trouble speaks volumes to the intelligence of the creature that inhabits this land." she says, though the only intelligent spider she ever encountered was a giant spider with a love for telling stories, she believes she's right in her assessment that this land has one of those intelligent creatures crawling about,"... Then again, we might encounter a feral variant considering the fact that they might be starving. It might prove difficult to communicate with them, I recommend to leave those types of creatures to me."

Colwyn's frown deepened with every new obastcle between the group and their intended target, "Riight...". Reconsidering his promise to never touch his favorite alcoholic drink again, the gnome looked over at each of the other three in turn as they seemingly were completely on board with all of this. Shrugging with a smile, and a slight laugh, the fighter looked back at Morrigan, "Sure, when we attacked by giant, seemingly hive minded bug people, they're all yours". He didn't offer much more, pathfinding on another plane was bit out of his wheelhouse, but instead kept a watch on the painted warriors around them, looking for any sign of... anything, really.

"According to our scouts, the mire intrudes into the gorge. None of us have been down there, though, I cannot tell you if it's worse with both dangers, or they are some way diluted."

The mystic pondered for a while before addressing Vella's question. "Based on the little we know, or assume, about them, they must have some kind of communication. They act in accord, too much for just chance."

He nods at Morrigan's remark. "Very few things in our lands can survive just by instinct. It is an unforgiving land."

The warriors around gradually retreated during all the talk so far, and only a handful remained, seemingly indifferent to the whole discussion.

Looking all over the four, he continued. "Dratreme's purpose does not include exploring the region north of us. We have scouted the area, and when a warrior reported the orbs taken from our envoy by the Hoebasi, we followed their tracks and saw their hive from a distance. There is much to be discovered in that region, and the scout going with you shall not have much lore about it. Since the Hoebasi have their settlement there, they won't be going away soon. It would be wise if you took some time to understand the land. Just walking up to the hive and trying to take the orbs back by force is probably wasted effort."

"And what of the camp. You said there was a camp of these individuals nearby. Perhaps some sort of scout force that has watched your movements since they took your orbs. I think this would be a good first stop. Fewer of them than at the hive and a chance to learn more of what we might face down the line."

Morrigan stared at Colwyn, then shrugs,"Hmm, the shepherd poses an interesting tactic. I'm all for such a move, the more information we have of the enemy, the more will have an even footing on a strange land."