Ayrron shrugged and looked at her. "A fair point indeed....but the issue was not if someone was deserving of healing.....the issue was were they actually injured or just looking for the staff." He tossed a stone up, then put it in his pouch.

"Perhaps they did need help, and they could have used it. But let me tell you this - what would happen if they were bandits, or orcs, or serpent people. We go to help them, they attack and hurt or kill you and take the staff."

He sighed. "I know ths is a lot, but there are a lot of people who want that power for themselves. I feel it found you and should stay with you - many will not like that view, but it is what it is." He walks up to her.

"If we find a person in need of help, truely i will help as much as you - but we need to be careful who even see's the staff, or else there will be an army of men and monsters on our asses......excuse the language."

"And the rest of you?  Do you feel this way also?"  Goldmoon looked around at Aelina, Valik, and Vailin, each in turn.

Aelina had left her little friend deal with the half truth he told to those strange monks with the sibbiling voices, feeling she would only complicate matters. When Goldmoon presented her misgivings about not giving healing, she shook her head. "I have to agree with Ayrron. From my reading of the staff, and it resisting my probe, this thing is very powerful. And I think it chose you as a bearer until it reaches its destination, east of here. With the staff's appearance possibly the precurser to the return of the Gods, we cannot treat this lightly. This can shape the world for the next hundred years." She did her customary pause, always the show woman. "I trust we can find help in the tower, but we'll still need to be careful, even in my home."

Vailin stood uncomfortably, his morals battling with his sensibilities.

"We don't know the power of the staff.  This is why we seek guidance.  Using such a powerful item without knowing what it can do could be disastrous.  I would love nothing more than to cure the ails of all we meet, but not without knowing the repurcussions."

"Repercussions?  What sort of repercussions?  The staff healed the man lats night, after he fell into the fire, and I saw no repercussions.  Aelina did her... magic thing.  Wouldn't you know about any repercussions?"  Goldmoon sighed, her shoulders slumped as tears began coursing down her cheeks.

"Riverwind brought the staff back to me," she said after a moment.  "To keep it hidden, its purpose unfulfilled....  It seems wrong, somehow."

"I am no practitioner of magic but even I have heard of powerful items having unforseen side effects.  Where is the staff drawing its power?  You suggested it has a degree of sentience, how do you know it's designs?  What if it's healing is temporary, or draws on the life energy of the person it 'helps', or bends their will somehow?  Wiedling this item without understanding is like giving a loaded crossbow to a young child, only many times worse."

"I am no authority on such things, nor do I claim to be.  We must seek wiser minds who can inform us.  If it is safe then I would see you heal all you can with the staff."

Ayrron looked at Vailin and nodded at his wisdom, then looked at Goldmoon. "Don't get me wrong Goldmoon,  i am not stopping you from healing people - far from it. I encourage it. This staff, and you with it may be what this world has been looking for for a long time."

He sighed, hoping his view was clear. "...and the staff may take it's toll on youo, no one knows. It may be worth it. My point isn't that people suldbn't be healed.....mine is that people may offer the ruse of healing only to attack us and get what they want."

He placed a hand on hers. "I want to help as many as we can, but if some bandits, or cut-throats or monsters - like the ones we found chasing you get it, then the magic will be used in the wrong hands. in your hands it can do good, but to do that we need to keep you safe."

He pointed towards the monks. "...and i'm not saying they weren't safe - they were just hiding something from us."

Goldmoon sighed.  "Let's just move on," she said quietly.  Her face fell into carefully constructed pleasant neutrality, and she set about to walking once more.

OOC: Assuming you're heading further along the road in the same marching order.  I'll need new perception checks from everyone.

"It is a good question. One that we all can weigh in on, but none can answer. If you feel it is wrong, it is your heart and mind that you must follow. I do not trust these men, but if you have been called to use the staff, no matter who stands in need of it..."

"I spent my life following orders blindly, and it lead to nothing but pain, death, sorrow, and...emptiness. When I found I had a heart, and followed it, that is when life gained meaning and purpose. There is risk, but you can face it with knowledge of the risk."

DM EDIT: ROLL: Valik rolled 6 using 1d20+2 ((4)).  Perception.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:43, Tue 06 June 2023.

After several hours, the road turned west, skirting the north of the Sentinel Peak mountains.  The sun was high in the sky when the companions entered the woods which extended out from the base of the mountain range.

The woods were still -- almost unnaturally so.  A heaviness sat in the air, and even the insects were quiet.  Aelina and Ayrron were the ones to notice, but the packed earth of the road here had been disturbed by many wrapped feet.

The bard had restrained herself from making too much noise during the dangerous walk, her fingers itching to play her lute during the travel. She kept an eye on the sulking Goldmoon, sympathizing with the woman's dilemma, but she hadn't felt the true power of the staff like the half-elf. She was a little afraid of the staff, even if it was what she had been looking for all those months on the road.

Her mussing ceased when she noticed something weird on the road's dirt. "Hold, there are a lot of footsteps here, humanoid, not made with boots, probably wrapped. They are going in all direction and are a few hours old. We should be careful."

Today: Secret Roll: Aelina rolled 17 using 1d20+2 with rolls of 15.  survival.

This message was last edited by the player at 01:13, Fri 09 June 2023.

Ayrron saw what the half elf did and nodded. "Quicte a few too. Strange that the feet are wrapped and not booted. Their is no rime nor reason for it either - like a grou seperated and went seperate ways, or something."

He looked at the group. "Keep a sharp eye out." He muttered

Vailin who had been continuing his rear guard, gripped his sword pommel tightly.  He had not spotted the tracks but such things were not his specialty.  He kepy his vision focused on the flanks and rear, his assigned area.

Perception: 18

"Wrapped feet? In this terrain? A group of refuges, or travelers robbed of their boots, maybe?"

Having no real idea what the tracks might mean, Valik remained vigilant against any threats in the area.

22:38, Today: Valik rolled 21 using 1d20+2.  Perception. – [roll=1686281927.99189.373889]
22:36, Today: Valik rolled 4 using 1d20-1.  Int check. – [roll=1686281811.95597.373889]

Keeping a watch as they continued along the road, the companions pressed on ahead.  The day passed without much incident, the hours crawling by, kept company by the sounds of birds chirping in the trees, and the wind that swept down over the mountains.  Goldmoon kept her silence as they walked, clearly discomforted by the weight on her shoulders.

It was late afternoon, approaching evening when the companions entered the Sentinel Gap, a narrow pass between the northern-most reaches of the Sentinel Peaks and the main body of the mountain range.  The forest cover was thick, and high granite walls rose to the north and south.  It would take several hours to pass through the gap between Tasin and Fasin, the two landmark mountains to either side, after which they would be in the Shadow Vale, on on the road south toward Haven -- then beyond, to the elven lands of Qualinesti and the Wayreth Forest, where they hoped to find entrance to the Tower.

OOC: It's getting late in the day.  What would you like to do?

Ayrron walked on as he did, again tinkering and muttering as he did last time, though he had lost the bounce in his step a little - and from the occasional glances towards Goldmoon, it was easy to figure out why.

It was his voice of reason that cautioned them against showing themselves to the 'monks', who said they needed help. By Ayrron's own words, he erred caution telling them they may be hiding something.

....and that upset the woman.

He knew she wanted to do good with the staff, and Ayrron was all for that, but his view wasn't entirely seen by the woman. She heard that someone needed help and wanted to. Ayrron heard the plea and saw possible danger for them all, and his words made them move on.

They may have been bandits, or monsters - but they may have also been what they said, and his own words may have caused them to suffer more than they needed to.

The kender, for this reason, was unusually quiet and less 'kender-like' than normal. He seemed focused on his tinkering as he walked, and the few rests he had, he offered people dry rations and water, and when it came to goldmoon his voice was almost timid.

The end of the day, he looked around with a sigh. "We need to find a safe place to camp." he said
This message was last edited by the player at 12:05, Sun 11 June 2023.

Vailin looked around.  "I don't like the idea of camping in a narrow pass.  Too easy to be surrounded.  We should make camp outside the pass.  We can traverse it tomorrow."

Aelina nodded at the wisdom of Valin's words. "I agree with Valin, this place is perfect for an ambush."

"It is a good plan." Valik looked for a suitable place for the group to make camp without entering the pass.

Finding a place to set up camp was not difficult.  Trees were thick in this part of the mountains,, giving a fair amount of cover away from the road.  Valik picked a spot he through was likely to avoid notice even with a cookfire, and the companions set up for the night.

OOC: Is there anything you would like to do before turning in for the night?  At this point in the year, there's about 12 hour of nightfall, so there's plenty of time to do your things (whatever they may be) and still get the requisite 8 hours for a long rest.

At the end of your post, please give me a perception roll for your turn at watch.

Valik passed his time before sleep gathering materials that would serve well enough as replacements for the bolts that he had lost in the previous days' encounter when they had first met Goldmoon. The world had gone strange again, much as it had done when he had first left behind a life of raiding in search of a new home. Only this time he was running away from people who wanted to take the staff and Goldmoon with it, rather than people chasing him away for fear of their own lives.

Killing men for the sake of killing men was not something Valik wanted any more part of. Killing men in defense of others was acceptable. With how many people wanted the staff, it was unlikely that they would be able to give up their flight any time soon. Where this flight would ultimately take them, not even the gods could say. If they ever chose to speak again at all, of course.

He had hoped that he would spend his days using the bolts to provide meat for tables in town, and nothing more. It had only been a couple of days worth of crazy, but already it seemed like that was nothing more than a dream, from which he was doomed to wake, as the world grew determined to remind him of the harshness of reality.

16:07, Today: Valik rolled 6 using 1d20+2.  Perception.

The half-elf bard sighed internally at not having the minimal outdoor equipment and prepared herself to endure another night wrapped in her cloak as sole protection against the cold. She did not complain and instead sang a soothing restful song, accompanied by her lute, the magic of her words increasing the rest regenerative moment.

Using song of rest, everyone should be at full HP anyway, but its for the rp value.

ROLL: Aelina rolled 23 using 1d20+3 ((20)).  Perception: 3rd watch.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:40, Tue 13 June 2023.

It was noticeable that Ayrron was quiet - for a kender he was practically mute. The small form spent time setting up a small fire, cooking a warm, simple meal of sausages with bread and cheese. There was ample servings for every person, and he passed it around.

Once done, he cleaned quickly, then spent time by teh fire, working on teh copper and silver ball as Aelina sung her song. The kender smiled as they done their own thing. "Reminds me of our first campout. I was working on the goggles and you sang that night - was the first night i had heard you sing.

He looked at her, relaxing. "we were with that serious half orc who was hell bent on becoming the first paladin in a age" He chuckled. "What was his name again?"

DM ROLL: Ayrron rolled 20 using 1d20+3 ((17)).  Perception: 2nd Watch.
This message was last edited by the GM at 08:36, Tue 13 June 2023.

As always Vailin found himself an optimal place to watch the camp from, outside the firelight.  Once his watch was done (if uneventful) he cleaned his weapons and armour before hitting his bedroll.

Perception: 10

Goldmoon ate in silence as the evening meal was prepared.  Aelina played her song, which filled the little campsite with soothing sounds that encouraged worries to be set aside for the nonc; they could be picked up and carried later.  Ayrron continued to tinker with his little contraption, which right now resembled nothing so much as a tightly compressed ball of bent metal and and springs surrounding an empty compartment of sorts -- something was clearly missing.

In the process of finding wood for the fire, Valik found several pieces of wood which, with some small effort, would make serviceable shafts for his crossbow.  He wasn't lacking in ammunition for the moment, but he knew that could change in barely an instant.  Vailin set about his nightly ritual, cleaning and maintaining his arms and armour until they would pass even the most rigorous inspection.

The meal passed with only the barest amount of small talk, the kender relaying yet another of his stories that no one believed, but he insisted were true nonetheless, and one by one, the companions turned in, leaving Vailin to take the first watch.

Vailin's watch passed without note, and the knight woke the kender for his turn before taking to his bedroll.  Ayrron had a similarly uneventful night, which he spent with his hands busy, tinkering with his little ball once more.

Aelina took the next watch, in the deepest part of night, listening to the sounds of the forest around her.  The call of night-frogs and insects sounded loudly, along with the cry of the occasional fox.  There was a whirring of leaves as something flew overhead through the trees, and a small object fell on her head before thumping into the dirt at her feet.  Rubbing at the spot that had been hit, she bent down to see what it was, and discovered a pair of lodestones, stuck together.  When she tried to pull them apart, they resisted, trying to reattached themselves whenever they were close.

OOC: Aelina, I've added two lodestones to your component pouch.  You now have the material components for the Mending spell.

When Aelina's watch ended, she work the goliath for his turn.  Valik had been sleeping deeply, and while he was prepared to march back and forth to keep himself awake during his watch, he found his eyelids heavy.  Completing another circuit of the camp, he leaned his back against an old oak tree and closed his eyes, just for a moment...

DM ROLL: Valik rolled 14 using 1d20 ((14)).  Wisdom Save.

...And when the companions woke, everything had changed.

To be continued...