From Across the Multiverse to Barovia: Expedition to Castle Ravenloft (IC)

[TheFallenOne]

"South, likely back towards the village", Aswin answered after silently commuting with Drifa. His look hardened after contemplating the information. "The village holds the weapon, one of the few items of power not already in the confines of Strahd's castle. If it is indeed her who is his thrall... I think we should make haste and reach the church before she does."

[Sallera]

"Well, we must collect it at any rate; there is certainly no harm in doing so with haste. Komori was not riding, so we should have little difficulty catching up." August kicks Artax forward, his usual optimism already returning.

[Jeff the Green]

You continue south down the road, encountering no one. Soon enough darkness begins to fall, still with no sign of Komori.

Aswin

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Drifa confirms that you're still on Komori's trail.

[al'Lan Mandrag]

Arya hissed angrily: "So she will relay to Strahd all that we have learnt from Eva. Even if Eva was telling the truth and giving us a way to battle Strahd, that opening will be lost!" And Arya hadn't even had much hope to begin with that Eva spoke the truth, not if she was this child eating monster as the others said. Lashing out, Arya's sinks her claws into a tree, crying out in frustration as she smashes her hands repeatedly into the bark.
"Aaarrrgggghhhhh!" Her eyes glitter wildly as she slashes and pummels the resisting wood until her hands bleed.
Finally, she drops to her knees, her anger having run its course and leaving her feeling empty and cold.

[Fireheart]

T'riss raises her eyebrows in surprise at Arya's sudden display of temper.

"Easy, Lady Arya. I do not believe Komori hides in the tree."


She glances around the area and frowns. "Do we press on? Or do we make camp and continue toward the village in the morning?"

[TheFallenOne]

"I don't think we will catch up to her if we press on through the night. Also, don't forget I can't maintain Drifa's summoning through the entire day, I will reach my limit soon enough. We best make camp at the next suitable location we find." He spared a glance at Arya, waiting a moment to let her frustration run its course. "Stand, warrior. I have seen you in battle, you are not one to give in to despair. Others believe in you, so in turn believe in your own strength. We will not be overcome by this trickery."

[Mahrke]

Isaac remains silent at the outburst. The old professor might've echoed Arya's frustration, if he didn't already believe that Strahd already knew everything Eva had told them. Even if Eva wasn't in line with the vampire, by all accounts it appeared that Strahd ruled this place with an iron fist. How long could one keep a secrets from such a presence?

[Sallera]

"Are you certain she is so far ahead?" August asks curiously. "It is strange already that we have not caught her, and she should be tired herself from walking through half the night and all the day as well. Unless she has had help from the creatures of the forest, another few hours should suffice. How much longer can you keep Drifa here?"

Dismounting, August moves over to Arya, shaking his head. Tugging at an incongruous scarlet thread on his worn belt, he places a hand on Arya's paw, the minor cuts and scratches vanishing. An elder, she called him? Well, he could be that as well. "Sheathe your claws, foolish girl, and look back at what we have accomplished. Can you not see how new paths open ever before us when we find ourselves lost? We have tricks of our own, and we will not fail so easily. And I do not think Komori is even now speaking with Strahd. I see three possible paths she follows - one, she is under Strahd's control, and seeks the sword to deliver it to him. Two, she mistrusts us, and seeks the sword to keep it out of our hands. Three, she has abandoned the quest entirely, and travels to the village to seek her own goals. In all of these we know her destination. We must simply reach it before her."

August turns away, climbing back into the saddle. "And to that end I say we press on as far as we are able. The moon rises as the sun sets, and the fall of night reveals new roads to take."

[TheFallenOne]

"I can keep going three or four more hours. She has a decent lead, but I'm not sure how much. Anything between one and six hours."

[Fireheart]

T'riss nods, drawing an arrow, she places it into her crossbow. "Then let us continue. Do we need light or can all of us see in the dark?"

[Lateral]

"I need no light. However, if it is required, I can provide." She produces a small vial of golden liquid that glows with a brilliant light from her satchel. "I obtained this from a certain dullahan I slew many years ago. Its light never fades."

[Sallera]

August nods, unwrapping his own sphere of glowing glass. "Likewise, I do not need this to see, but the horses will appreciate the light."

[al'Lan Mandrag]

Arya had sat silently after her outburst, but upon hearing their discussion, volunteered some of her own thoughts: "The horses would likely hamr themselves travelling in the dark, and we cannot afford to lose a mount. Not at this time."

[Jeff the Green]

The horses move steadily through the dim illumination provided by August and Annan.

Aswin

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An hour later, Drifa informs you that the scent trail ends abruptly.

T'riss

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Despite the low light, you spot some tracks that are fresh enough and the right size to be Komori's. An hour later, though, they abruptly stop.

[Fireheart]

T'riss holds up her hand. "Wait." She says. She kneels down in the road and looks around for several minutes. She then moves across the road and looks along the side.

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(1d20+6)[10] survival/track

"I believe Komori's tracks seem to stop here suddenly. Aswin, would your Drifa agree?"

[TheFallenOne]

"Yes, her scent just stops. She might have backtracked, or used some less mundane trick to get rid of her trail."

[Sallera]

"Curious. It seems she may indeed have had the aid of the forest's denizens." August looks up at the moon, raising the sunlight orb high as if in contrast. "I can think of no better course to pursue this night. Let us rest nearby, and in the morning I shall ask the trees what happened here."

[TheFallenOne]

"That sounds reasonable. Let's make camp, and if what the tree tells us won't solve the mystery we ride for the church without delay."

[Lateral]

"Well, we could do that. But! If she ran off into the forest, then countless creatures could have seen her. I could ask about before we make camp."

[al'Lan Mandrag]

Arya remained sullen and detached. There was something wrong with her she knew, she constantly felt a simmering anger that boiled beneath the surface, something she had experienced in her youth, but tenfold stronger now. She felt as though she had a splinter just below the skin and no matter what she did, she couldn't dislodge it.

"Find her, if you can," Arya answered Anaan. Perhaps this one would have useful talents. All Komori had brought their group was a talent for wasting their time.

[Jeff the Green]

Anann

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You're able to find a rabbit warren nearby and wake them up. After they finish chewing you out for disturbing their rest, they inform you that a thoroughly disheveled looking human passed by recently. He or she (they don't see that human men and women are all that different) said something to him- or herself and headed into the woods. They imply that he or she was incredibly stupid for doing so, and ask that you leave so they can get their kits to sleep. Oh, and by the way, do you have any carrots? This fall has been a rubbish season for root vegetables and they're tired of herbs.

[Lateral]

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Anann gives them some pieces of carrot from her trail rations. <Thank you for your aid, and I am happy to help. If you could, though, point me in the direction to which she ran, I would be most grateful.>

[Jeff the Green]

Annan

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The rabbit takes the carrot appreciatively and points her ears at to the woods in the west.

[Lateral]

Anann heads back to the camp.

"All right, so some rabbits saw her heading west, into the woods." She points in that direction. "Do we keep going, or pitch camp and move tomorrow?"

[Sallera]

August shakes his head, already dismounting to look for a suitable campsite. "If there is no trail, I do not think we will be able to find her. Perhaps she somehow realized we were following and concealed her passage through her arts, but she does not seem to be heading directly for the village. Let us continue along our course tomorrow, find the sleeping sunblade, and from there resume our search for the symbol stolen by the witches of Lysaga. We can spend no more time worrying fruitlessly about Komori; if our paths are meant to cross once more, we will deal with her then."

[Fireheart]

T'riss nodded. "Agreed. Does everyone have enough rations or shall I try to hunt us up some food?"

[Lateral]

"I have rations enough, but I can hunt my own game and I'd prefer to save them. I can probably provide enough food for some of you, if you'd like."

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Survival is 16 on taking 10, so she can provide for three other people.

[Sallera]

August plucks some berries from a nearby bush, transmuting them into the curiously sustaining fruits he has been providing. "I am sure we need not ask that of you after today's ride, Lady T'rissaste. We have already journeyed farther than usual."

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(2d4)[5] goodberries.

[Fireheart]

T'riss nodded. "I would not object to a night staying by the camp. It has been a bit strange..."

[Jeff the Green]

The night is an uneventful one, unless you count the abnormally large bats that circle overhead every so often.

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I'll let August talk to the trees if he wants and then move along to the village.