Ruin Delvers [IC]

[PersonMan]

OOC threat.

You are once again in the office. The place where you recently received the pay for the last job you had - the reason why you now have a bit of a reputation in the middle districts of the city. With you are the others, who worked with you during the last job Jen had for you, but also someone else.

A glance at the ornate grandfather clock (made, you can tell, from twisted wood) tells that the old man is, as usual, late. Ever since your first meeting, he has had a habit of arriving only after you've spent some time waiting for him. Once he was only a few minutes late, but normally it takes anywhere between 15 and 20 for him to arrive. Jen insists that it is due to his age and a completely natural lack of a sense of time. This is, he once said, the reason for his placing of a clock in every room of his residence. Of course, this did nothing to keep him on time.

The stranger in the room is wearing a full set of armor, minus the helmet, and seems to be specifically avoiding looking at any of you, examining her gauntlets closely. Her hair is pure white, a common feature of the people born near the Twisted Forest, and cut fairly short. Her eyes are, as far as you can tell, a dark brown, although getting a good look is difficult without making it obvious due to the way she looks directly down at her armor. Her posture makes it fairly clear to most of you that she is nervous. Ive and Katoerian can tell that it's them and the others who are the source of her discomfort.

Without warning, Jen strides into the room from the door leading into his library. As usual, he is dressed in brown and green robes with only sandals covering his feet. However, rather than sitting down at the desk at the other end of the room as he normally does, the man grins and rushes forwards to meet the stranger who, the moment the man entered the room, stood up. The two embrace and Jen steps back, turning towards you all.

"I hope you all haven't been waiting too long! This here is my cousin, once removed, Clemence Meins. She will be joining you on the expedition," as Jen mentiones her, the girl nods at you all. The presence of Jen is clearly making her more confident, but not much more. "You see, recently I learned from a former classmate of mine that, on the day of the Cataclysm, a great number of magical devices were gathered by a merchant guild hoping to sell the otherwise too expensive pieces while the city even more heavily visited with mages than it normally was. I have reason to believe that several of these devices may have survived. Now, there's another expedition that will be going to the city fairly soon and, seeing as one of the merchants in the guild was the head of the Witherson family, I feel that I have a rightful claim to at least some of the devices - after all, my family barely survived his death. It's only fair that his descendants at least get something of his life's work," Jen turns to Avril for a moment before continuing. What he could be meaning with the look isn't immediately clear.

"Essentially, I'd like for you all to journey to the ruins of Grutheim and find the location of the devices - I have a map, although it is quite possibly obsolete due to the destruction wrought by the Cataclysm. In addition to payment, I will allow you to have a portion of the devices, as well as the unique opportunity to be ahead of even the archaeologists in uncovering what still lays in the ruins of Grutheim," with this, it's clear that Jen's explanation is finished, and that he is waiting for your input on the matter.

[Sallera]

Stepping forward, Avril offers a hand to the girl. "Pleased to meet you, Clemence; I'm Avril Weatherlight." She wasn't sure whether Jen had mentioned their names earlier, or simply forgotten the other half of the introductions - with the old man, it was hard to tell - but better to err on the side of courtesy.

"And it's good to see you as well, Jen. This sounds like a wonderful opportunity." Indeed, journeying so far through the Forest, and getting to explore Grutheim, would have been enough enticement even without the chance of finding evidence of her family's past. She was fairly sure Jen knew about her recent interest in history; her troubles with the main family were not common knowledge, but they hadn't exactly been quiet, either, and she hadn't taken any trouble to keep them that way, even at the worst of it. Something of their life's work... There would be power in such a token, symbol and sympathy well beyond its natural investment.

Avril looks once more to the others in the room - anchored Ive, curious Morgan, and the eternally exasperating Katoerian - before turning back to Jen and Clemence. They were all dependable allies, despite their oddities, and she doubted they'd have too much trouble with this expedition. "It may take some time to find, but I have nothing pressing to take care of. I'll be glad to work with you once more."

[Thundercracker]

Katoerian

"I'm in," Katoerian says, unable to fully conceal a smile, "But I have a few questions."

The teenager turns to Jen's cousin.

"First, pleasure to meet you Clemence, I'm Katoerian. I'm very much looking forward to getting to know you," he says, then turns back to Jen, "will she speak with your voice while we're the job, as in, will we be taking orders from her?"

Katoerian waits patiently through Jen's answer, nodding at the appropriate times, then speaks again.

""Okay, just wanted to be clear," Katoerian says, nodding again.

""Second question, do we know anything of the other group?" he asks.

[PersonMan]

Clemence accepts Avril's hand, shaking it with a bit more confidence than she displayed before. She nods in response to Katoerian's greeting.

Jen considers Katoerian's question for a moment before replying. "No, I don't think so. It won't be necessary to send someone along to order you around - it might even have a negative impact on your group's coordination. As for the other group, well, they'll be leaving in about a week and a half. It's primarily archaeologists and historians, although a fair number of guards are coming with them. You should easily outpace them, they need to bring supply wagons along with them. I don't know more," the man explains, waving as if to brush away the issue of the other group as he mentions them.

[Reikenbach]

The hunched little figure known as Morgan watches the proceedings in silence, occasionally fidgeting under the shapeless mass of his cloak. As the other members of the company speak with their employer and new associate, he keeps focus on Clemence, shiny black goggles staring at her under the lip of his hood.

"I come," he croaks, the words almost closer to sound than language. The undeniably-fake beard tilts slightly to one side as Morgan talks; he raises a hand to pull it back into place, quickly withdrawing the arm to his robe once finished.

[Thundercracker]

Katoerian
"I've never actually been to the twisted forest, but I hear the trees try to eat you when you're sleeping, and bleed when you cut them, is any of that true?" he asks.

"Avril, you've been there before, right?" he asks.

The boy's gaze alternates between Jen and Avril.

[garter_snake]

Ive, standing by the window and staring out at the Twisted Forest, turned to Clemence and nodded. "It vill be goot to haff you." He said, and then turned to address Jen. "Herr Jen, I am curiahs. Vhat is ze nature of zese 'devises' zat ve are to be retrieving? Are zey vepons, toys, someting else?"

[Sallera]

"Yes, I've been there; it's not really like what you're thinking. The Twisted Forest is a place of Life. Growth. Nature and all its adaptiveness, forced to every extreme it possesses. There may well be trees in there that would try to consume you, but you're more likely to run into an area of growth so thick it would take you a day to travel a mile." Avril shakes her head, glancing down at her hands. "It's not the trees you worry about so much as the animals that live among them. They were not spared the effects of the Cataclysm."

[PersonMan]

Clemence wilts under Morgan's gaze, seemingly quite intimidated by the strange man's goggled stare. Or perhaps it's the beard and the hood. Maybe it's just his posture - no matter what exactly it is, she flinches back as he rights his bright red beard.

In response to the thickly-accented question of Ive, Jen shrugs. "All manner of things were brought there. It could be that you find a hoard of weapons, or a pile of useless gadgets, or a mix of both. I imagine that at least a few weapons and armor will have survived, as they are quite durable, but apart from that," the merchant spreads his hands and lifts his shoulders. "I have no idea."

[Reikenbach]

After leering at Clemence for some time, Morgan pushes himself off the seat, an act which only serves to make him shorter; at full height, the little robed man barely reaches more than five feet. He walks around the room as the others talk, inspecting or fidgeting with various little articles Jen happens to have collected.

"Good, yes. When go?"

[Sallera]

"Well, a weapon's as good as the hand that wields it, but they can make more potent symbols. I'm looking forward to seeing what we can find." Smiling reassuringly at Clemence, Avril decides to finish the introductions, if only so she'd not be wondering whether they'd been done. "Clemence, this is Morgan. Don't mind his appearance, he's alright. And Father Ive Ingall, by the window."

"I should let Naiya know I'll be out on another expedition, but I don't have too much to pack. We could leave this afternoon if we want to get an early start, or first thing tomorrow morning."

[Thundercracker]

Katoerian

Katoerian nods.

"Let's see the map first," he says, standing up and approaching the desk.

If the map appears brittle or original: "Hmm... perhaps we should make a copy or two with us, in case this one gets damaged," he says.

[Reikenbach]

"No mind," drones Morgan, apparently repeating Avril's comment, as he lazily continues to fiddle with the room's numerous decorative knickknacks. "No mind. No mind. No mind."

The stocky cloth pile shuffles back to the rest of the ground, looking once more at Clemence. "No mind Morgan, yes? Is alright guy."

[PersonMan]

Jen's desk is, as usual, cluttered around the edges with various inkpots and similar things. The map on it seems to be fairly new - although multiple tear or stain-shaped blank areas are visible, although most are in areas far from the lightly marked southwestern part of the city - presumably, where the cache of artifacts is believed to be. Interestingly enough, these are all fairly small, showing that the map must have been in fairly good condition despite its age.

"Yes, as you can see I've already had a copy made for the expedition. The original was surprisingly well preserved, which made getting one fairly easy. I've seen some maps where you could barely make out anything - it's all but impossible to find a way to make a halfway accurate copy of those," Jen says as Katoerian examines the map.

Clemence returns Avril's smile but seems to not have an immediate response to Morgan's drone. After a moment, she recovers from whatever confusion she had and slowly nods in response to his question before speaking - interestingly enough, she seems to have gotten this far without saying a word to any of you. "A-alright, Morgan. Sorry if I'm being rude, it's just...I have a difficult time with strangers even in the best circumstances," she explains, voice soft and quiet.

[garter_snake]

Ive walks over to the map and studies it. "Ve should leave early in ze mornink. It ist dangerous to travel zrough ze forest at night."

[Thundercracker]

Katoerian

"I'm fine with leaving in the morning. Should we bring a wagon with us to carry more things back, or simply buy horses for speed?" he asks.

"I'm thinking the latter... I don't think there will be any magical devices that are too large for a saddlebag, and small enough for a wagon," he says.

[Sallera]

"Hmm... I'm not sure horses would get us there much faster, to be honest." Avril walks over to inspect the map, gauging the distance to Grutheim. "It's the terrain, mostly; the Twisted Forest gets pretty dense, and it might end up being too much for the horses. We could have difficulty keeping them alive, as well. I think nondimensional storage space might suffice for retrieving the items."

[Thundercracker]

Katoerian

Katoerian nods.

"I haven't actually been there myself, but that makes sense," he says, ""I've got some limited extra storage space, hopefully between the two of us we'll have enough."

Katoerian glances around the room, giving time for someone else to make a suggestion or voice a concern.

[garter_snake]

"I heef nothing to add. Ve meet 6:00 am, by ze town exit, ja? Zat vay ve vill be back before sunset."

Ive will leave the room upon positive confirmation.

[Sallera]

"I don't think we'll be back by sunset," Avril replies with a shake of her head. "Prepare yourself for a few days, at the least, and more would probably be better. The meeting time is fine, though."

[Reikenbach]

At her comment, Morgan takes Clemence's hand, patting it in what is likely an attempt at a comforting gesture, though the sharp tips at the end of his gloves are prickly at best. "Is alright. Is good, yes?"

Releasing her palm without even waiting for an answer, Morgan shuffles over to examine the map, lapsing back into silence as he looks it over.

[PersonMan]

Jen nods at Avril's explanation of the time needed. "She's right. Before the Cataclysm it would take about four days to get to Grutheim on foot. Now you'll be lucky to get there in eight," the man adds. As Ive leaves, he smiles and nods to the elf - his typical goodbye for anyone leaving alone while there are other guests around.

As Morgan takes Clemence's hand, she's quite surprised, but manages a weak smile after recovering. She doesn't seem to notice the strange texture of the man's gloves - the metal of her gauntlets are probably the reason for that.

"Well, then, it seems like we've dealt with all potential issues," Jen says, clapping his hands together. "I'll eagerly await your return. I'd remind you to be careful in the forest, but you all doubtlessly know more than I do the necessity of being on guard. As one last thing, I'd like to give you this," Reaching into one of the desk drawers, the old man retrieves a small cylinder, pure black in color. "I don't know exactly how it works, but it absorbs the effects of being in an overly positive environment. This should be enough for 18 days - enough to go there, stay for two days, and come back. This piece should be enough for all of you, as long as you stay within about fifty feet of each other. If you separate, you should be fine as long as you come back together within an hour."

Everyone but Morgan:

Spoiler

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You know that the typical problems associated with a highly positive environment (that is, a place where a large amount of positive energy is floating around or otherwise present) are increased sickness, mood swings, hallucinations, slight 'de-aging' (the loss, often temporary, of age-based physical defects) and potentially body alterations. The upside is that wounds heal more quickly, although that won't be the case if you take the cylinder.

Avril and Ive:

Spoiler

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During your studies, both of you became acquainted with the substance this cylinder is probably made from. It's known colloquially as Voidstone, but it is actually a mixture of true Voidstone with crystal. As it absorbs positive energy it slowly turns white before crumbling to dust.

[Sallera]

"Ah, Voidstone." Avril wrinkles her nose, but takes the cylinder anyway; she didn't like the stuff, but on a trip this long, the practical concerns of going without it couldn't be ignored. Still, after a moment, she shakes her head and hands it to Katoerian. "Better for you to carry it. Keep it in a pocket or something, not in nondimensional storage."

"I guess if that's all, I should go prepare. I'll take the map; I'd like to examine our route in more detail."

[Thundercracker]

Katoerian

The boy takes the cylinder and drops it into a pocket in his breeches.

"I'm sure there's some kind of comment about voidstone in my pocket I could make right about now, but I'll behave," he says with a smirk.

"Anyone want to come with to purchase supplies?" he asks.

[Sallera]

Avril shakes her head, rolling up the map. "I usually have all I need for a trip to the Forest, although this one will be a lot longer than usual. Make sure any food you buy is well dried, though, and don't get anything made with a lot of seeds. The environment could have unpredictable effects on those should our Voidstone run out."

With a wave to everyone still remaining, she heads for the door. "I'll see you tomorrow morning, then."

Spoiler

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Avril will make a couple Knowledge checks tonight for our route, trying to judge whether there are any areas along the planned path that are likely to have become impassable.
Knowledge: (Arcana or Planes, whichever's more applicable to the effects): (1d20+8)[21]
Knowledge: Nature (untrained): (1d20+2)[16]

[PersonMan]

Avril:

Spoiler

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Due in part to extensive logging paths in the outskirts, it isn't all that difficult to find a fairly clear path. For unknown reasons, some parts of the forest are less prone to surges of growth than others and therefore make great paths (well, relatively speaking, it's still forest).

Katoerian:

Spoiler

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You have no trouble buying what you need. A short time after beginning your search, you come across an angry merchant who tells you how, due to a miscalculation on the part of the 'empty headed buffoons who organized the expedition', ordered far more food than the expedition needed and is now 'stuck sitting on stuff that will go bad in a month, with no buyers'.

The man will happily give you enough for your group for a sum that's next to nothing. (If you're wearing your medal, he first goes on and on about how the thieves were harassing his daughter, or something like that, and practically forces you to take gratuitous amounts of food.)

The next morning is crisp, a bit colder than the past few days have been, the last bits of winter still clinging to the spring weather. The guards have just opened the Forest Gate and, with seemingly little else to do, attempt to strike up conversation with Katoerian or Avril. One of them mentions that the loggers will be getting up later due to some scheduling change that neither seems to fully understand, leaving the two without their normal conversation until later in the morning.

Clemence arrives slightly late, wearing the same armor as yesterday and giving a murmured greeting, seemingly slightly out of breath. It doesn't take a genius to realize that she had probably run or jogged part of the way there due to her tardiness. At her side is a sword and on her back the girl has a half-empty pack.

[Thundercracker]

Katoerian

"Supplies are taken care of," he says, doling out food and water amongst all the travelers, "anyone who doesn't want to carry food or water can leave it with me... but I figure it's better to spread it around just in case a pack or two gets burnt to a crsip."

Leaving the last share of supplies for himself, the teenager stops and glances around at the group.

"Right, everyone here? Any last minute cautions or preparations? Otherwise we should be off; no sense standing and talking when we could be walking and talking," he says, moving to stand next to Avril and waiting for her to take the lead.

[Reikenbach]

The cloaked little figure shuffled through the dawn-lit streets, alone save for the odd lamplighter snuffing out any lingering cinders. He offered them a little wave, and they did so in return, many of them familiar with the peculiar fellow from his unusual hours of activity. A few of them noticed that the man seemed to have a spring in his step, head bobbing and swaying with each stride, and suspected that his past night must have been a good one.

Of course it had been a good one. He'd found an entire pack of feral cats, all of them rooting through the refuse bins behind his home.

Morgan rented a little loft above an antiquities shop, situated just shy of the border between two neighboring communities in town. On one side of the line were streets that the city watch never bothered to set foot in: the slums, the ethnic districts, the public mortuary. The area was full of youth gangs, peddlers for every kind of good you could desire (and some you'd hope you never would), and the ubiquitous alleyway mugger. They were all on this side of the line because on the other side, grabbing a random passerby by the neck and demanding he hand over his money was a poor way to get a head; those who tried generally found themselves with one less than they started.

Unfortunately for Morgan's elderly landlord and his daughter, their shop happened to be on the wrong side of that line. They'd long ago replaced the glass in their windows with wooden boards, reasoning that it was easier to nail down new planks every morning rather than sweep up all the shards. And as with all old men, the owner was attached to history; in his youth, he'd scrimped and saved to afford the little store and wouldn't hear of leaving it despite the protests of his daughter. Apparently, the street had been a nice one back then, where a man could stroll about in daytime without needing an armed escort.

They'd been amazed when they finally found someone to rent the room, their reserve fund having been whittled away to nothing. And on Morgan's part, he was a perfect tenant. He didn't complain about the rent, even though they would have been hard-pressed to find someone who'd live there for wages. He didn't damage the room, didn't bring girls in at odd hours, didn't cause disturbingly familiar fluid to drip through the ceiling. And even though they knew he often went out, the two of them hardly ever saw or heard their guest leave, and joked that he probably came in and out through the second-story window.

Morgan didn't mind. Feral animals ran rampant in the area, and even his presence didn't seem to do much toward culling their numbers. He liked the old man, who was nice to him, didn't ask too many questions, and had a lot of shiny things in his store of all different shapes and sizes and colors. Morgan spent a lot of his free time just looking through the stock, which was extensive, as the man had done a lot of collecting in his younger days. When the store was broken into a few weeks back, the his hosts were dismayed, but Morgan had been furious. A day later, the stolen goods were back in place, lined up exactly as they had been, and a few stained sacks full of copper and silver coins sat on the counter, much to their surprised joy. The shop hadn't seen much trouble since then, oddly enough, though the old man's daughter was acting funny recently. She smiled at him a lot, and occasionally left one of the sugary, crusty things that humans made in fire on the table outside his door. She was a puzzle.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Morgan turned the final corner that led to the Forest Gate, arriving only a minute or two before Clemence and giving each of his companions a nod hello. Wordlessly, he stows a share of water and a fair bit more than a share of food in his satchel, following after the others when they make their way out the gate.

[Sallera]

It's a longer expedition than usual, but I think it should be profitable - and good for the family, if I'm lucky. Standing at the door of the respectable house - one of the few luxuries the branch family has managed to hang on to - Avril twines a finger in her little sister's hair, pulling her close with the other hand.

Avril? Are you really going to... try again? Naiya's brow knits slightly in worry, and if her return of the embrace contains as much rote as affection, well, no one thinks any less of her for it.

I have to. Avril's reply is simple and heartfelt, and she smiles warmly. We all have to move forward, don't we? Even me, eventually. And I hope this will be a good start. Be well, Naiya.

The long-haired young woman nods, taking a step back. You too. Don't... take things too far.

Sweeping a heavy cloak about her against the morning chill, Avril shoulders her pack and steps out into the city with a last smile to her sister that, from anyone else, would probably have been reassuring. Since they were children, however, Naiya has been unable to see that particular expression as anything but 'best intentions.'

~*~

Avril arrives early, chatting casually with the guards while she waits for the others, although she remains vague about their destination.

"Good morning to all of you. I don't need any of the food myself, but carrying extra for yourselves will be a good idea." The map remains fresh in her mind, and she briefly recalls the details of the first part of the journey. "It should be fairly easy walking for the first little while; after that, it will depend on the Forest's whims, but we should be able to stick to the low-growth areas if we're careful. Clemence, Ive, anything to add?"

[garter_snake]

Ive stood a bit further down the road from the others, sipping from a mug of coffee. "No, nothing. I am ready when all of you are."