Chaos In Amber IC

[Daimbert]

Ganelon shrugs, "A quick look would be about a half-day's ride there and back. If you want to do more than take a quick look, however, I'd recommend camping there.

"Of course, since we have no idea where the investigations will lead, we might want to get prepared for anything. But that's up to you, since I don't know how good you are at finding things you need on the road."

[Ninjaman]

"A quick look would probably be preferred." Markus says. "But you are correct that we probably can't count on it. Let's go there expecting to take a quick peek, but be ready to camp if need be."

[Kyrinthic]

"If you keep that card around, we can come back here easily enough, and returning should not be a problem either, there is little need for camping supplies, we can get them if we need them later. It is early still, there is plenty of time to take a look today by the sounds of it." Syresia comments, eager to be off and seeing this oddity.

[Daimbert]

Seeing no objections, Ganelon turns back to Lance. "Prepare mounts for all of us, and pack enough supplies for at least a day. Have it ready within the hour."

He then turns back to you. "If any of you want to make any other preparations, I suggest that you do so now.'

[Ninjaman]

"I do not have any errands I need to run no." Markus replies. "I was under the impression that you would have us ready to leave, yet here we stand, waiting."

[Daimbert]

Ganelon shrugs apologetically, "I'm not as good at communicating through Shadow as you are, and it'd be hard for me to determine exactly what you wanted anyway. It will only take a short while."

[Kyrinthic]

Syresia rolls her eyes at Marcus' comment before turning to Ganalon, "It is no bother". sliding a few supplies from her pack, she finds a comfortable space to sit near the wall and starts drawing a sketch of the castle courtyard while she waits.

(If it isnt obvious, its a trump sketch, in case I need to get back here when Ganalon isnt around)

[Daimbert]

Soon, the horses and supplies are ready, and you all head out. As you travel, Ganelon fills you in on more of the details: "It started as a strange ring of mushrooms, with the grass inside of it black. A child wandered into it, and was found dead. Her father went in to retrieve her body, and later became sick and died. The circle began to expand, and then strange creatures came out of it to attack us. Eventually, we put together a wart party, and managed to kill the leader. But everyone who went into the ring fell ill, and most of them died. Myself and Lance back there are two of the few who managed to survive."

OOC: There's some room in here for questions, but since I think Ganelon already outlined most of it I'm moving on.

Eventually, you arrive at the site. At first glance, it looks like an ordinary clearing or meadow in a forest, with nothing to mark the ring that Ganelon claimed recently was here.

[Ninjaman]

Markus looks around the clearing. "Seems pretty normal to me" He says and squats down to get a better look at the ground, perhaps something would reveal itself then.

[Thokk_Smash]

Hector dismounts and looks at the area idly. "When were you last here, Ganelon?" he asks. "I shudder to agree with Markus, but nothing appears amiss here."

[Daimbert]

Ganelon replies, "Well, I'm quite sure that I said that after we defeated the leader, everything went back to normal. At least to the naked eye. I was hoping, though, that an actual site might leave some traces that those who can see with more than the naked eye might be able to catch. Or that experience might lead you to think of some other line of investigation starting from this source."

[Kyrinthic]

Syresia climbs off her horse as well, looking around the area carefully for any signs of anything unusual, walking a circle around the area.
Once satisfied that there is nothing visible to normal investigation, she finds a good area and starts setting up, commenting, "It is clear that whoever set this up didn't want it to be easily studied, we will have to look a little deeper."

She reaches into her belt pouch and pulls out an easel stand, she then take a set of brushes and begins painting the area in front of the easel, a canvas slowly materializing under her brush while she works.

Spoiler: Mechanics

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She activates a trump to her house to pull the easel and brushes through, there is nothing special about it, it just fits her theme.
She is then using Conjure shadow shape to create a conjured item (in this case a picture, again for theme) with Extraordinary Psychic Sense and the ability to speak (kind of, the words will appear in the picture).
This should take about an hour.

[Thokk_Smash]

Hector nods regally at Ganelon's response. He begins to circle the area, to see if he can discern where the original circle had stood. He opens up his mind's eye as far as he can; his mental strength is not stupendous, but he's got the tenacity to keep at it until he finds something.

[Daimbert]

Hector

Spoiler

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As you circle out in wider and wider circles and leave the rest behind -- and more or less out of sight -- a bird suddenly alights near you. It is a crow, blood red in colour and with eyes like black holes.

"Follow the road to the fortress, " it whispers. "Another shall be found there."

Syresia

Spoiler

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As you paint in the picture, you quickly notice a faint black ring in the picture, roughly where Ganelon said it would be. You also seem to see some kind of additional line in the background that seems to lead to the ring itself.

[Ninjaman]

Markus had always been behind when it came to magic so he simply learned up against a tree as he let the others do their thing.

[Kyrinthic]

Syresia looks carefully at the picture once it is complete, "There is clearly still a trace of the ring" But she adds as she lifts the picture off the stand and slides the stand back into her pouch, "but more importantly, there is a line leading away from this ring to somewhere. If we follow that line, it should lead us to something anyhow. But these sort of paths can be tricky, I've lost them before when I tried to follow them." as she holds the picture and walks towards the line leading away, careful to step around the original circle.

Spoiler: Mechanics

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The picture should update as we follow the path, but if its a shadow path as I suspect, the picture will quickly stop working, but hopefully one of the pattern users will have more success in following it once we start along it. If not, I can make an item that will follow shadow paths, but that will take a lot longer to conjure.

[Daimbert]

The link disappears almost immediately as soon as you stop focusing on the area and start to walk towards it. It's almost as if it is really an afterimage, and not something that's actually there.

The ring also disappears from the picture at the same time. It seems that only intense concentration can keep the image of the ring in the picture.

[Thokk_Smash]

Spoiler: Daimbert

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Hector looks at the blood-red bird askance. "A pleasure to see you again as well," he says, seemingly unaffected by the bird's appearance. "And where, praytell, is the road?"

[Daimbert]

Hector

Spoiler

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The bird simply looks at you and then flies away. Almost immediately afterwards, Syresia makes her comment about the line she found in her picture.

[Thokk_Smash]

Hector shakes his head and returns to the group. "Well, I couldn't find anything on my end. Sounds like we ought to follow that trail. Perhaps two of us ought to stay here--Syresia to concentrate on the picture, and Markus in case something can feel her work and decides to investigate. Ganelon and I can investigate the trail and report back what we find. Sound agreeable?"

[Kyrinthic]

Syresia shrugs as she replies, "I am not sure splitting up makes much sense in this instance. There is little here to guard, and we can return here easily enough. The picture is merely showing what is there but hidden to the eyes, not creating the trail. I think we should all follow this lead, as I suspect there will be danger at the other end of this path, and our combined strengths may be needed."

She turns contemplatively to the path, "I am not even sure I can follow this path, it is well hidden. But you seem to have better methods than I".

[Thokk_Smash]

Ah, so Hector had misunderstood the situation. Not that his siblings need to know that. "An excellent rebuttal, my sister," he says with a grin, as if his previous suggestion had been a test of some sort. "Perhaps you could bring up the path in your painting again, so we all may examine it? And then we shall all be prepared to follow it, despite its reclusive nature."

[Ninjaman]

Markus leans back up from the tree. "Walking? I'm in, beats standing around here."

[Kyrinthic]

Syresia takes a step back towards the ring, holding up the painting so the ring once again slides into focus on the canvas, leaning it on the ground face up, propped up by a rock. "The picture does the work, but only if it is very close. The only magics I can think of that might track it back would take quite some time, but considering your ability to move about, I thought maybe you could follow it better."

She then looks in the direction of the invisible path, "Either way, I am ready to go as well."

[Thokk_Smash]

Hector studies the picture intently, memorizing the curve of the path. "Well, then, let us be off," he says with a confident smile. He sets off down the path, working his will to mold the Shadow in the proper direction as he goes.

[Daimbert]

Almost immediately after you shift Shadows, you see a long, black road stretching towards the horizon and even back the way you came. You cannot see either an end or a beginning to the road.

[Ninjaman]

"Split?" Markus says as he raises his shoulders. "I say Syresia and I go one way, Ganelon can follow Hector down the other way."

[Kyrinthic]

Syresia looks back down the road, "Well that is interesting". Turning back towards Marcus and Hector, "Have either of you ever seen anything like it? I know I have not."

She then shrugs at Markus' suggestion, "I personally am wary of splitting up, but not so much that it isnt an option if thats what everyone else prefers."

[Thokk_Smash]

Hector shrugs. "There is many a mystery out in Shadow. You must expect the unexpected." One might note he does not outwardly admit to being surprised. "Syresia, have you been able to make a Trump of any of us here? With one we could keep in communication even while we split up."

[Kyrinthic]

Syresia glances away sheepishly, "Well, not yet, they take some time to get right..." She says soundly slightly disappointed that she hadn't managed to do so yet. After a moment, she quickly adds "I think I have some early ones of myself I used for practice, that might help some." as she rummages in her pouch and eventually pulls out two moderately sized paintings of herself, a fair bit larger than the normal trump cards but clearly feeling of the coolness of a trump when handed away.

She then looks back towards the trail, "Shall we be off then?"