Enter Freely and Share the Warmth That You Bring: Expedition to Castle Ravenloft

[Shadow of the Sun]

Samuel looks at Zane, and doesn't seem to have any issues with him, even though he's drunk.

"I'm sure you have skills that will come in useful. Although I do not know what those skills are. But, well... He chuckles softly. It could be considered somewhat chilling, but then again, perhaps not. "...well, I haven't gotten to show mine yet.

He's still holding his rapier, although in an at ease position. He is not threatening, but he is wary.

[TwoBitWriter]

"Amateur..." The Half-Orc mutters, seeing Samuel still holding the rapier in his hands. It was the first rule of fighting, discipline. You didn't simply draw your weapon unless you intended to use it on someone or something. This man was obviously all bravado with little real training to back it up.

"Call me Sheriff." Sheriff says to the assembled adventurers. "I suppose we should get to it."

Without another word Sheriff strides toward the door. He waves the others to follow, and exits.

[Shadow of the Sun]

Samuel hears Sheriff's quip, but he doesn't respond. His facial expression doesn't even change. In his experience, the truest sign of an amateur is someone who can't keep their head or their focus in the face of small things.

He's keeping the weapon at the ready not because he's undisciplined, but because he's perhaps a little bit jumpy or even paranoid. He was expecting the need to use it as soon as he heard the sound of something odd from the outside. Best to be prepared - and have your weapon at hand- than not.

"After you... 'Sheriff'."

He sheaths his weapon. It's an odd movement- the blade seems to spin over his knuckles, back into its scabbard, but it's not something that just anyone could do. He's practised being able to draw and replace his weapon within moments if needed.

He'd have preferred to keep his rapier in hand as he left the tavern, but walking with a rapier in hand is not particularly easy.

[Shadowcaller]

The sudden appearance of these new characters seem to make Tyri slightly uncomfortable and for a moment she shrinks back from her usual open self and just nods slightly at the decision being taken. She will follow along the group for now.

[Artemis97]

Outside the tavern, the air is cold. To the north, dark clouds can be seen rolling in, covering up the star speckled sky like a blanket. A lone horse, still barded and saddled, wanders the yard. White mist billows up from its nostrils. A weathered sign at the crossroads creaks in the wind. One of its placards points to the long road that leads accross the plains, north to distant line of trees. In faded letters it reads: Barovia.

[TwoBitWriter]

Sheriff tightens his cloak about him and instinctively flexes his fingers against the hilt of the knife at his belt.

"I guess there's only one way to go. Fortunate that our trail is so clearly marked." He says, taking the lead down the road.

[Shadow of the Sun]

Samuel nods, although he looks distinctly uncomfortable.

"I'd rather take the plains than the road. You're less likely to be seen, and I'm still suspecting an ambush. Oh, and one other thing that's important."

He immediately begins removing his clothing, tossing it on the ground, and pulling more worn and travel ready clothing. Once he's completely changed, which his mail vest on top of his shirt instead of underneath it, he stomps on his old clothing.

He no longer looks like a noble. He looks like a reasonably seasoned adventurer; the clothes he's changed into has bloodstains, which seem to be reasonably fresh.

"Been years since I had to wear drek such as that. Glad to be out of it. A shame that I don't have the time to bury or burn them, but that can't be mended."

[Sophistemon]

Zane leaves the tavern behind the others, his heart leaping joyously behind his ribs. He was going somewhere, he was doing something. Granted, he didn't know where he was going, or what he was doing, or even who he was going with, as he'd been too busy drinking to hear that part of their conversation. Not to mention, he reminded himself, that the road to Barovia was likely to be a long one, and fraught with terrible dangers the likes of which he'd been trying to avoid these last several years. He's in the process of turning around to go back inside to his nice, comfortable stool when he sees Samuel strip his clothes off and stomp them into the ground. Zane himself had done something similar on several occasions, although of course he had lacked the foresight to have with him another outfit to change into. But what else was someone supposed to do when he had spiders crawling all over him? Especially when they're spiders that nobody else can see... He shudders, remembering the legs.

He raises his right hand to catch Samuel's attention. "W-why are you afraid of an ambush?" he asks, the words so slurred as to be nearly indistinct. "Do you think that there's danger ahead?" His head swivels as he searches for invisible opponents.

[TwoBitWriter]

Sheriff chuckles at Zane. "There is always danger on the road, my friend. You simply have to be prepared for it.

He looks around at the group. "Most of you I can identify what you are best at..." his gaze lingers on Katla a moment. "But for others it's harder to tell. What are you best at?"

[Gullara]

Katla watches as Samuel changes, eyeing him up like some piece of meat. Apparently she finds something funny about the display, as she chuckles quietly before turning her attention to Sheriff.

"What I'm best at is sticking this into people until they don't move anymore." She reaches up to touch the blade of her ritiik poking up from over her shoulder. A toothy grin accompanies the action.

[TwoBitWriter]

There is the barest hint of a smile as Sheriff nods toward Katla.

[Shadow of the Sun]

Samuel shrugs. "No real need to hide it from you if we're going to be on the road together. I'm an assassin."

He's very light and easy about it. It's almost as if he's saying he was a carpenter. Be he certainly moves gracefully, and the bloodstains on his shirt rather indicate that yes, he is telling the truth.

He looks at Zane, his eyes narrowing for a moment as he works out what the fellow said. "I'm not expecting an ambush, per say, but I am open to the possibility of one. If I was doing something like this, I'd have set it up so that as soon as you walked out of the tavern you were attacked."

He shrugs.

"I know how killers think. I've got a tendency towards introspection."

[Sophistemon]

While the others are discussing the potential for danger and their own aptitude for violence (Samuel's statement especially has Zane taking a cautionary step to the side), the drunkard slides a set of thin fingers into one of the smaller pouches on his belt, the one containing several tablespoons of ground mica. He's lost a lot in the intervening years, more than he'd care to admit, but should it become necessary, he will be prepared to defend himself from, no matter where it comes from. He steels whatever nerve he has left before taking a purposeful step towards Barovia. "Enough talk," he snaps, his feigned bravado cutting through the drink-induced mush in his voice. "Let's get a m-move on before we're too late to d-do anything."

[Shadowcaller]

While she did agree it might be best to delay if there was such an hurry, they hardly knew these people and they hardly knew them.
From the sound of it though, Katla wouldn't be the only bothersome person she would have to deal with on this journey. But here they were to learn the ways of these people, to keep an open mind, they were an envoy after all. Sort of.

So far they hadn't seen any real leadership among these people but this village might change all that once they dealt with whatever danger they were in. In the meantime they should try to study them.
Though not the way she's studying them Tyri mentally adds with a glance at Katla, she really wasn't the best example of one of their kind, but sadly she might be a better representative of their ways then her.

Ah well, better get the introduction over with at least. "We're." She says as she stand a bit closer to Katla. "Envoys of the gwaith, we're a people that live far north of here to learn more of your ways." She explains once they are outside the inn, never having to have bothered with taking off her outside clothes, they had only planned for a short stop anyway. "It will be an honor to travel with such experienced people to our destination."

[UncleWolf]

Outside the tavern, Jean takes a moment to kneel down in pray, speaking quietly to his god, Helm. His whispers are low enough that only those who specifically listen to them will hear it, and if they do, they'll find that it's a prayer for Helm's protection over the group and for their journey to be fortuitous.

Once finished, he takes a slow walk back to the rest of the party, following along behind. "I am Jean Valjean, Repentant Priest-Warden of Helm. Helm and I will serve as your saviors through this journey."

[Artemis97]

With haste, our adventurers set off on the road to Barovia. The night is cold and dark, and grows even more so as the clouds roll in. The road crosses the open plains and soon passes the treeline. Those with some local knowledge will know these are the Svalich Woods, rumored to be full of dangerous beasts. A cold mist gathers at the base of the trees. The canopy towers overhead, filtering out the light of the moon and stars. In the shadows of the undergrowth, one swears they can see and hear things moving, but it is likely only the wind stirred up by the oncoming storm.

[TwoBitWriter]

Sheriff's slightly-pointed ears twitch, listening for danger. He walks down the road, sullen. He says little, and replies to attempts at small talk with annoyed grunts.

This place was dangerous, and there was no need to distract themselves from it.

[Sophistemon]

Zane is a distracting person to travel with, as he's not content to just stay in one position as he walks. The man seems compelled to double-back, his head twisting like a swivel to catch hidden pursuers in his ratlike gaze. He's also full of questions - inexhaustibly so, it would seem. He pesters each and every one of them with the same list, sometimes multiple times, as though trying to catch them in a lie. He's much like a beaten dog - desperate for interaction, but equally paranoid, with a hint of savage violence underneath. "Where are you from?" he asks. "What do you do?" he inquires. "Why are you here?" he interrogates. And then, when he's done with you, he moves on to the next. And always, always, he's watching for something to come charging over the horizon.

---

* post roll count doesn't match database

[Gullara]

Katla seems entirely unconcerned with potential dangers lurking in the woods. It's your guess whether she just doesn't realize the danger or doesn't care. She'll talk casually with Tyri as they walk, and anyone else that's interested in chatting with the blunt woman.

Well, except Zane. The man gets on her nerves. After the second or third question from him, the only response he gets is a snarl and bared, sharp teeth. On the bright side, he probably learns that she's from the North.

She barely pays attention to the surrounding woods at all, aside from the occasional glance.

[UncleWolf]

Jean doesn't speak to his new companions as they travel, instead choosing to speak his passages as he walks. "Though we travel upon the road to enlightenment and redemption, the faithful are beset upon by distractions of the Vices and the Unholy. The path of the Repentant is coated in the glass of our past misdeeds..."

Even though he mutters to himself, he keeps an eye out on his surroundings, knowing that they could be ambushed upon on any moment.

[Shadow of the Sun]

Samuel's demeanour has changed significantly. He's being overall generally silent- he'll make a soft grunt every now and then, but other than that, he has kept his voice down as low as he can.

He is still sending numerous scanning looks from side to side, and even behind. The possibility that they are being followed is there and, overall, he'd rather know that sooner than later.

His hand rests lightly - although not relaxedly - on the hilt of his rapier. He is a man who sees trouble in every shadow, and he wants to be prepared.

[Shadowcaller]

Well, this was certainly a colorful group but having recovered from her initial nervousness Tyri have no problem being social, not even with Zane.

"We're from gwait as I explained before, it's our people, our tribe as your people would call it. Among my people I'm known as a druid, we have been blessed by mother earth and father sky to uphold the peace between civilization and nature. We are here to hone relationships between our tribe and your people while learning as much about your ways as possible." She explains to him as he asks, wherever he actually wanted to know all that or not.

A while later however a wolverine emerges from the woods as they walk, stinking of blood and intestine. It ignores the other party members and walks straight up to Tyri who smiles at it. "There you are Skrack, I almost thought you weren't coming." Bending down quickly she kisses the wolverine on the nose and ruffles it's fur a bit. "Looks like you got something to eat at least." She grins as the animal seem to nod it's head to her voice.

"Come on, we got some place to be." Tyri says before continuing walking along with the wolverine not far behind.

[Sophistemon]

Zane leaps backwards, away from Katla, and one hand dips instinctively towards one of the smaller pouches on his belt. He stops himself at the last second and cackles wildly. "Almost made me waste it on you, yes you did." He exaggerates a frown. "That would have been very bad, yes; I'd have had to buy more, and it doesn't come cheaply." He finds better company in Tyri, and seems excited to learn that she's a druid. "A magician!" he squeals. "I've not talked shop with another magician in ages! Not since..." he trails off and looks confused. "I can't remember. A long, long time." He lapses, then, into silence.

[Artemis97]

The shadows of the forest coalesce into distinct shapes, which our adventurers will see before they are ever heard. Creatures with smokey fur of black and grey and eyes that glow like coals. One would identify them as wolves if it were not for their size. Each stands as tall as a man at the shoulder. A trio of these beasts walk beside the road, staying back from it a good distance, but definately keeping pace with the party.

[TwoBitWriter]

Sheriff's greatsword is in his hands in the blink of an eye. He doesn't adopt any combat stances at this time, but makes sure to alert his companions to this new development. "We got company..." he says.

[Gullara]

Katla's eyes light up at the sight of the shadowy wolves. Yes. This is why she's here. Not for a diplomatic mission, Tyri be damned, but the thrill of combat. She unslings her ritiik from her back and readies herself to attack. Her muscles tense, she locks her weapon into her gauntlet. Any moment now...

[Sophistemon]

Zane sees the creatures, their inky fur and burning eyes, and his stomach tightens into a knot of apprehension. His feet itch with the urge to run, and the instinct is so strong that he almost does so, and would have if not for his panicking brain suddenly screaming If you run, they will chase you! And so he stands his ground. Better to face them together, he tells himself, than to run and risk being caught. He glances over, sees the tooth-bearing Elf ready a strange-looking polearm, and reaches his own hands to the pouches suspended from his belt. He opens several and quickly rifles through them, searching for the proper components. He hums a strange little tune to himself, a wordless mnemonic to help him remember what goes with what to produce the wanted effect.

[Shadow of the Sun]

Samuel, who tends to be ever preparing for these situations, grunts as he draws his rapier. He immediately drops into a trained fighting stance- one set perfectly for mobility, and the ability to lunge if he needs to. He holds the stance, waiting, for something to happen, for an opening, for an attack.

[Shadowcaller]

Tyri notices both the creatures and the fact that the others seem to be intending to fight them. She of course have a more diplomatic approach. "Just be calm, don't do anything too hasty." She warns the others. Hostile or not, it might be better to wait to see what they were going to do.

[Artemis97]

Jean and Tyri will recognize these creatures at Worgs: magical beasts in the shape of massive wolves. They are stronger and more cunning than their smaller cousins. These creatures have their own languages, and a rare few can communicate in Goblin and the Common tongue.

Seeing a few of you draw weapons, the Worg in the lead, a large black beast, lets out a low growl in warning.