The Sea of Starry Night II [IC]

[bhdrake]

Lumpy

The sun.. I'd almost forgotten.

Lumpy growls softly at the appearance of what seems to be the sun, real and true. It had been weeks now, since he'd seen it, and now the white-bright rays struck him in the face. Unbidden, water swiftly wells up in his eyes, pooling in the corners and streaking down his face. Almost immediately, he turns his head down, out of sight.

[Dr._Bob]

The air remains chilly even as the sun rises. The trees are barren, and the leaves on the ground are brown and dry. Winter is here.

You eventually encounter a path leading southwest, out of the woods. Following the path, the forest gives way to rolling hills. In the distance, there is the glint of the sea off to the west.

A dog barks in the distance. A boy herding a flock of sheep spies your party as it exits the forest. He takes off running away from you toward a small village visible in the distance to the south.

[Phasm]

Lissa

Predictably enough, the high-strung Lissa starts crying once they reach the light. From her expression, it's a mixture of grief at having lost her comrades again and joy at having reached the relative safety of the Material surface world. The sun! Oh gods, it's been so long since I've seen the sun! Sedryn, Thokk, Djital... they should've been here to see this... She kneels and starts praying in Gnomish through her tears, a prayer of thanks for the living and grief for the dead.

Once the party gets going again, Lissa dries her eyes and resumes her usual watchfulness. "I wonder where we are? Somewhere near Telflamm, presumably, but that doesn't really help with navigation." When they spot the shepherd boy, Lissa points toward him. "Why don't we ask a local for directions?"

[bhdrake]

Lumpy, Half-Orc Warrior

WHen Lumpy looks up once more, his countenance as been altered. It isn't a matter of expression- in fact, his fatalistic scowl is present and unchanged. His eyes account for the discrepency, still a watery red that couldn't possibly be sadness or relief, if the rest of his visage is any indicator. Whereas they appeared a mundane brown in the near-total murk of the underdark, his irides no longer account for the entirety of his eyes's color, now offset against jaundiced schlera and increasingly visible blood vessels.

He flicks his head irritably in response to Lissa, rather like a mule trying to dislodge a bothersome fly,

"Something tells me he ain't in the mood ta talk. Running away is generally a sign'a things like that."

[The_King_of_Durf]

Darius

"Well, let's head to the town anyways, I'm sure it won't be as dangerous as the past few weeks."

Darius sighs happily, staring up at the winter sky. For the first time in a long, long while, his mind is fully calm.

"I wonder what they have in town... I could use a pipe..."

[sacreddeamon]

Thokk

*Thokk merely looks around, not concentrating on other people or any particular object, simply soaking in the beauty around him*

Sunlight, the last we have seen since we went into the damned castle...

"Lads, where ever we may be, the Light of Moradin shines down upon us"

[Callos_DeTerran]

Callos

"Ya know what, for how badly I wanted to see the sun again...I'm almost vomitting at the brightness and feel oddly...hateful towards it. Crazy huh?"

A look and air of melachony had settled over the necromancer as the sun rose and he stared out around him. When the sheperd boy ran, well he would too if a bunch of armed people came out of the woods looking extremely battered. It would almost stand to reason they would be in a foul mood and more importantly might be dragging trouble after them.

[Dr._Bob]

You follow the narrow trail down the hills toward the small village.

As you approach, you can see that your appearance seems to have caused quite a stir.

The shepherd boy has alerted the villagers, and a hastily assembled band of farmers and villagers is gathering at the edge of the village. They are generally armed with pitchforks and other improvised weapons. None are armored.

As you get within earshot, the villagers' "leader" whose apron and hammer mark him as the blacksmith calls out, "That's close enough! Who are you and what do you want!"

A faint strain in his voice betrays his fear, though he tries to be as intimidating as he can.

[The_King_of_Durf]

Darius

Darius waves a hand lazily at the blacksmith, walking up to him.

"Food, drink, a place to stay, and a horse if you've got one. And a few gallons of ale if you've got that too."

[Phasm]

Lissa

"We plan to buy all of that, of course!", Lissa hastily adds, jogging alongside the tall archer. She puts her crossbow away as she jogs, trying to look as non-threatening as possible. "Directions to Telflamm would be nice too; we're kind of lost. Um, Telflamm is somewhere around here, right?" Be just our luck if we landed in Thay or something...

[HempRope]

Achkby, Halfling Sorcerer

Oh, come on, the important part was obviously the 'who,' and not the 'what'...

"We're lost, you see... we're traveling mercenaries, and we're supposed to be heading to Telflamm, but the guides who were with us turned on our group in the night. We had quite a scuffle, and managed to dispatch most of the traitors, though some got away, but now we're lost. They were taking us on a shortcut through the woods, they said, but now I don't know where they leading us..."

[Dr._Bob]

The blacksmith's eyes narrow suspiciously. "A shortcut from where?"

The other villagers murmur to themselves.

"They're lying, Brandt! Don't listen to them!"
"They came OUT of the forest. You know what that means!"
"Gods preserve us!"

[Callos_DeTerran]

Callos

Note to self: Don't let Ackby lie for the group ever again!


"You know, I can hear what your talking about over there and let me just say that it hurts. Deep down where theres supposed to be a heart. But no really think logically good village people. If we wanted to harm you, we would have done it. If we were lying for some odd reason we would have never even approached your town to increase the chances of not being caught in said lie. And if we were dangerous then how did the sheperd boy make it back? Granted I don't think we look all that great but evil or dangerous we are not. Not only that we have recently lost some very dear friends and I for one am not in a good mood for arguing with people. So how about a compromise, you get one of us as insurance during the duration of our stay here. If we misbehave do what you want to the captive. If we don't, then we happily leave the next morning with the insurance no harm done and your little village a little bit richer. Granted no mistreating the one we use for insurance. Hell, I'll even volunteer for it myself. And to prove we're trustworthy for this ordeal, since I volunteer, I'll openly tell you to take my spell book, being a wizard, and to watch me for any signs of mystic talking. Either way can we wrap this up? I've been underground for a very very long time and I would like to enjoy the sunlight. Deal?"

[Erikkin]

Fizahn:

Fizahn seems generally confused about what's going on. He looks at the villagers; his confused expression hides his grin at their bad weapons. What an odd little village. Usually villages are happy to have traveling adventurers to boost their economy. "I for one don't know what it means if someone comes OUT of the forest. I think you should start by explaining that." Fizahn sheathes his weapon during his speech.

[Dr._Bob]

The villagers seems perplexed by Callos' speech. You can see several slowly repeating some of his words to themselves, as if trying to figure out whether he is threatening them, bargaining with them, or just plain making fun of them ...

Fizahn's request at least is easier to understand. Brandt, the blacksmith, speaks up:

"We have always been told that the forest is filled with shadow creatures and demons. No one who has ever entered those woods has ever left them, alive or otherwise.

"Since my grandfather's grandfather's time we've taught all of our children never to stray into the woods, lest the darkness take them. And now here you come strolling out of the Forest of Shadows armed for war, with lies on your lips.

"So what are you then - demons or dark elves? We've already heard about the fall of Myth Drannor, but if you think your Army of Darkness can take the East so easily, you are sadly mistaken! The free peoples will never willingly submit to the Baneson or his minions!!!"

The villagers cheer and wave their pitchforks and scythes menacingly. The fact that your bedraggled party in no way resembles an army of drow or demons seems completely lost on them ...

[sacreddeamon]

Thokk

"Lad, never make the mistake of calling me a Drow or a demon. Ive lost too many family and clansmen to both. I be a member of the Mitheral Guard of the Temple of Moradin, and by the gods above he does not simle upon the denizens of the neither realms nor the dark elves. I be in the need of food, strong ale, a temple, and an anvil and hammer to remake my armor. If ye be willin to give us rest and respite, I can lend ye my arm at blacksmithing."

Ahh, to work the hammer again

[Phasm]

Lissa

Lissa sighs and rolls her eyes theatrically. "Great Baravar, these people have rocks for brains!" Switching back to Common, she addresses the blacksmith leader with rather strained patience. "We're 'armed for war', as you put it, because we had no choice but to go through the Shadow. We lost four good friends and allies in that place. As for us being demons or drow- by all the Golden Lords, I have never heard anything so ridiculous in my life! Do we look like demons to you?" She spits on the ground. "And that's what I think of the Baneson."

[Frojoe21]

Aeroz

"Gods help us. We get out of the lousy caves, get through the forest of dead people and now we are called drow and demonkin."

Aeroz sighs and begins to explain why he and his companions are not demons, drow or any other nasty like thing.

"Please people, we are not drow, or demons, or anything else like that. We are just people in need of a place to stay and some food to eat. I mean, what makes you think that we are evil anyways? The dwarf here is a Temple Guard, Lissa is a priestess of Baravar. You think demons would be consorting with those types of people?

[OOC: Diplomacy - 12+1=13...Probably not enough]

[bhdrake]

Lumpy

Lumpy snorts belligerantly at the blacksmith's bravado, his patience slipping. He'd been trying his best to keep out of things - he wasn't in much of a mood to negotiate, nor any condition to, considering the sun. But reason was lost on these people.

The burly orc fixes his red-eyed gaze upon what he thought was the ringleader, buried amidst the brightness of the sun's rays. Stepping forward a few paces, he crosses his armored arms casually, everything abut his expression and stance comveying the general disdain for the people in front of him.

"Fer crying out loud, think about it. There's only a couple'a ways this can go. Ya can be all peaceful-like about things, like decent folk are s'posed ta be with tired travellers.." He lets his speech hang for a moment, "Or ya can get warlike about it. And some'a us are dressed fer a fight, as ya so astutely pointed out. I ain't in no rush ta kill no one over something so stupid, but I'm tired, and the sun hurts my eyes, so I wouldn't push it on me too hard."

His watery gaze sharpens to match his resolve,

"Best case, ya point us in the direction of Telflamm, we work out a deal on some supplies, and we keep right on walking."

[Phasm]

Lissa

Upon hearing Aeroz name her as a priestess of Baravar, she scowls and elbows him in the ribs. "Don't do that! I'm not supposed to let people know who I serve unless it's a matter of life or death. Back there, it was life or death, so I told you." Don't tallfolk know ANYTHING about gods other than their own? Apparently not... I'll have to sit down and explain the whole 'secrecy' part of the church dogma to them. And hide my holy symbol, I can't believe I forgot to do that earlier! I've been away from civilization too long.


OOC: While I know that practically nobody aside from another gnome is going to know about the gnomish deities, Lissa suffers from a touch of cultural blindness.

[HempRope]

Achkby, Halfling Sorcerer

Damn you, Lumpy, they're not apt to give us a good price on anything if you're threatenin' 'em with death.

Achkby stays stoically silent, but shift uneasily as Lumpy offers his... 'diplomacy.'

[Dr._Bob]

The sun rises into a cloudless sky, but the air remains cold and you can see your breath condense in the air. To your amazement, you realize that it must be winter now even though it was only late fall when you entered the Underdark. You shiver, unaccustomed to the freezing temperatures after the uniform coolness of the Underdark and the shadow plane ...

[hr]
As the posturing escalates on both sides, it looks like a violent confrontation is going to be inevitable. In the end, however, it is Sheyra, the young monk, who defuses the situation by bursting into tears.

Although she's fought side by side with you and has borne the rigors of the Underdark passage stoically, she is still just barely a teenager, and this impasse with the villagers is the last straw. Tears well up in her eyes, her knees shake as she begins to sob uncontrollably.

Her raw emotion moves the villagers and the blacksmith. They lower their weapons shamefacedly, and soon you are all welcomed into the village with apologies and rueful grins. "Sorry about that! We just don't get that many visitors that's all ..."

[hr]
Nyth is a small, lonely village at the edge of the Forest of Lethyr, a few days journey north of Telflamm.

Brandt, the blacksmith, explains that the entire region has been shaken by the news of the fall of Myth Drannor, which was carried by word of mouth from refugees fleeing the combined drow and demonic armies of the Baneson who threaten to sweep unchecked through all of the civilized lands of the West. Everyone is on edge, and your unexpected arrival caught the villagers off balance.

To the South, too, there is unrest as Mulhorand continues its expansion northward, threatening Thesk and even Rashemen. Even as Mulhorand grows, the wayward province of Thay threatens to break away from Mulhorand and declare itself a sovereign nation, ruled by the Red Wizards. Although some hope that if this happens, Mulhorand might be too distracted to continue its aggressions, no one is happy about the idea of the Red Wizards gaining their independence.

At the mention of the Mulhorandi, Sheyra seems even more distressed, and so the topic quickly turns to other things. "Bah! That's enough about politics! Tell us about yourselves ..."

The villagers are very curious to know how exactly you came to be walking out of the Forest of Lethyr, and soon a massive crowd fills the village tavern (The Plow and Sickle) to overflowing as they listen enthralled to your stories ...



OOC: The village is not very wealthy (treat as a hamlet) but you can restock your rations and supplies here before heading on to Telflamm.

[The_King_of_Durf]

Darius

"Maybe a drink or two on the house could buy a good story from me..."

Darius licks his lips.

Been a while since I've had ale.

[Zeal]

Hajih, Human Ranger

Hajih flags down someone working in the tavern and orders whatever they have in terms of food.

[sacreddeamon]

Thokk

*To the blacksmith*

"Lad, if possible, I would like to lend my hand in the smithery. I need a new set of steel, and I would gladly help out to remake my own suit"

[Callos_DeTerran]

Callos

"Whats the rush Thokk? That bathrobe looks good on you, highlights your cheekbones."

Grinning mischeviously to the dwarf,even as he began to prowl around for a good place to get supplies. After all he needed a far more steady supply of food from now on and this was the best place to get. Might as well inquire about the specifics of the global news as well.

[Erikkin]

Fizahn:

Fizahn wanders around the town for a while. He spends time looking everywhere but decides he doesn't need anything. What I really need right now is a backpack infinitely full of food that doesn't weigh anything. I don't want to run out of food adventuring any more. That was torture.

[Dr._Bob]

Brandt appreciates the offer, but he suggests that Thokk would be better off waiting until he gets to Telflamm where he can undoubtedly buy or barter for a much finer set of armor than he could produce her in Nyth with only tool-grade steel.

A long day passes as you replenish your supplies and arrange for some horses to carry you to Telflamm in the morning.

You are given plenty of food and ale at dinner for just a few silvers. The villagers seem to want to make up for their initial hostility. Spare but clean rooms are offered for an economical price as well.

[hr]
After Sheyra turns in early, conversation by the fireside returns to the Mulhorandi. Unther itself has been completely annexed by Mulhorand, and all Untherite nobles have been declared enemies of the Empire. Apparently their black corsairs continue to sail the Sea of Fallen Stars, harassing passing ships and demanding that any Untherite refugees be turned over.

[hr]
The tale of the fall of Myth Drannor is a tragic one. Despite a heroic last stand, the allied armies of man, elf and dwarf eventually fell to the Army of Darkness after the new year began, leaving only a handful of survivors to tell the tale. With demon and drow allied in the West, refugees are flooding into the East.

[hr]
The Vilhon Reach is also absorbing many refugees from the Weeping War. Aeroz listens with interest to reports that the Serpent Queen of Hlondeth herself is girding for war. Whether she will take the side of the free peoples or whether she will ally herself with the Baneson is not yet known ...

"I wonder if Prozen even knows that I'm still alive," Aeroz mutters to no one in particular.

[hr]
Sated by a good meal and some fine ale, you are all ready to turn in for the first real night's rest you have had in months.



OOC: Please post here or PM me any supplies you'd like to buy.

[Phasm]

Lissa

A hearty meal does wonders for Lissa's disposition, and she happily joins in tale-telling with the others about some of the highlights of their journey through the Underdark. When the talk turns to politics, though, her mood turns more somber.

"Myth Drannor, fallen... it's hard to believe." Lissa shakes her head. "A more beautiful city you've never seen, and probably never will again from what I'm hearing." She sighs, gazing into her half-full mug of ale. "I hope my family is safe. High Dale is a fair ways from Myth Drannor, but it's also right on the southern pass into Cormyr." Probably be a lot of refugees going through the pass, and adversity can turn even the most ordinary folk violent. Baravar, I hope your illusionists' work holds to protect the clan home!

Having eaten her fill, Lissa barters for trail rations before going to bed- lots of rations. Thirty days' worth. "We nearly starved down in those accursed caves!", she explains to the rather astonished shopkeeper. "I am NEVER going through that again if I can possibly avoid it. Fighting is bad enough, but fighting on a stomach that's been empty for two days..." Lissa shudders at the memory.

[The_King_of_Durf]

Darius

Darius will buy two weeks worth of food rations, as well as two new waterskins (he'll fill the two new ones with water, and his old one with ale from the tavern).

After dinner, he goes upstairs without a word and collapses on the bed in his room.