The Banished One IC

[Breitheamh]

The busy marketplace hums with life in the midday sun. The merchants hawk their wares, the beggars garner sympathy, the street rats pick pockets, and the buyers haggle the prices down. All is right in the world, except for that one feeling. You know the one; it feels like a hole being burned into your mind. The hairs on your neck stand on end, crying desperately for you to turn around and see.....

her.

She's not quite like anything you've ever seen, towering at least three heads above the tallest man, and she's staring at you. She does not blink, does not speak, only turns and begins walking away. Something compels you, and you find yourself following her against your will, shuffling and stumbling as if in chains.

She is not whole. Her back is crusted with dark blood, caked over layers of blackened flesh and open, festering wounds. A word comes to your mind, "Torture" in a halting, hissing voice. But the compulsion will not let go, and you continue to follow the woman.

Out of the city, up the road, continuing even as the sun begins to set upon the golden plains. But in the waning light, the woman's steps falter. She stumbles as darkness overtakes the day, and soon it becomes clear that her feet are crumbling to dust. Every step that she takes leaves her legs shorter as dust and ash pour off of them. Finally she falls, unable to take another step, and begins dragging herself on her hands, even as the crumbling spreads up her body. Still you follow, thoughts of helping or turning back far from your mind.

When the woman has finally completely disintegrated, you are suddenly snapped out of your reverie. Able to take stock of your surroundings for the first time, you find yourself on a small hillock, under a fig tree, looking out over endless fields of tall grass. But in the distance there is something, like a small point of light. No, you realize as your vision comes into full focus, it is several points of light. A camp? Maybe a village perhaps? You cannot see the road anywhere around you, but it is dark after all.

While you think, a strong wind sends ripples through the grass, but slows to a gentle breeze as it nears the fig tree. It blows the dust of the strange woman across your sight, and a whisper desperately calls to you on the wind, "Save him...."

Suddenly your mind is wracked with splitting pain. You fall to your knees in agony, screaming, and the last thing you remember before passing out is a terrifying vision. A vaguely humanoid face is shrouded in shadow, save a tiny dot of light where an eye might be. Lightning cracks the sky, revealing a gruesome scar across the face, and as darkness overtakes your mind, all that is left is a single red eye, slitted like a snake, seeming almost to smile maniacally as you fall into unconsciousness.

Morning rays shining through the fig leaves finally wake you. But as you groggily come to, you realize that you are not alone. Others are under the fig tree with you, seeming to have just woken up, like you. Who are these people? What is happening?

Under the Fig Tree

This was not how you expected this day to begin. Most people have jobs and lives they would need to get back to. This would be, at least, an annoying interruption of their lives.

But none of you are most people. As the light from the rising sun rouses you from your unconsciousness, you can feel the gravity of what has happened. There is something to be done, but what?

A ripe fig falls from a lower branch, sounding a soft "thud" as it lands. You can hear the call of a hawk far away, and the gentle summer breeze sends waves through the golden grass all around you. Strange, that a place so peaceful could be a place of such confusion.

Spoiler: Ashlynn

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Tykus is nowhere to be seen.

[ArtichokeDip]

Egan's breath catches as he awakens. That frozen moment of time when everything is drowned out panicked thumping of his heart.

Focus inwards. It's too dangerous to let yourself fall prey to panic or fear. A loss of control is a loss of self.

Slowly the sensations of the world begin to filter back in. The warmth of the sun. The gentle breeze. The cooling shade. The... people?

With slow movements he turns his head slightly from one side to the other. Sleeping, all of them. Who are they?

The mystery of the woman he saw, the vision of her turned to ash before his eyes, somehow these are more than the usual hallucinations, the usual predations on his mind.

Something bigger is happening here. Not from the inside, but from without.

Slowly he rises to his feet, while the others still wallow sleepily. He lets the light of the sunrise wash over him, calming his mind and centering his thoughts. What can't be avoided, must be gone through. Let's see what we have here, then.

Putting on his most disarming grin he turns to the others. "So, who do we have to save?"

[Yabex]

Ashlynn rubbed her eyes for a moment before opening them, then sat up and looked around. She was surprised to find herself under the fig tree, and even more surprised to see other people with her.

So it wasn't a dream. I'm really here.

Confused, Ash stood and began to brush the dirt off her clothes. After checking that all of her belongings were still with her, she began to look around. That's when one of the others spoke.

"So, who do we have to save?"

Ash let out a small laugh and smiled back at the man who spoke. "You saw it too then? I have no idea, but I'd love to find out."

[jscape2000]

G'ngadin snaps awake with a start. He rolls to his feet, whistling for Mikhail and reaching for his greatsword. He keeps one hand on Eclipse but does not draw, while he tries to take stock of this tall grinning man talking with the half-elf.

G'ngadin spins in a slow circle trying to get his bearings. He takes in the position of the sun, the texture of the grass, landmarks on the horizon. How far did I travel? Knowledge Geography (1d20+6)[20].

"Why are you smiling? Anything powerful enough to grab us is not to be trifled with."

[Sønderjye]

Spoiler: Snipped

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"Save him...", the words reminds Firan of something. He had to save someone, right? But from what? What, did he now already save someone? His stream of thoughts is abruptly interupted by the searing pain and he passes out.

Spoiler: If he knows someone

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He is woken up by a familiar voice. Where do I know that voice from? He thinks to himself and he moves his face from being planted in the grass to an upheld position.

His jaw drops a notch. "[Insert name] what are you doing here? What's going on?" He says looking confused.

Spoiler: If he doesn't know anyone

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The aggresive voices wake Firan from his unvulentary slumber. He listens for a second before it becomes clear that they aren't directed at him. Maybe they haven't noticed the his dry, pale skin yet. He slowly gets to his feet and back to the tree his hand touches his waist, searching for something. "Cursed" he thinks, "I must have left my mask back at the vilage". With nothing to conseal his red eyes and obvious dry, pale and dead skin he watches the others and prepares himself for the worst.

Readying an action to cast Silent image to summon a portal to the 6th hell if anyone makes an aggresive move.

[Yabex]

Ash turns to face the half orc, still smiling. "Maybe your right, but this could be fun. Wait. Do I know you?" Ashlynn brings her hand up to her chin and squints her eyes at the half orc as she leans forward slightly. "G'nar...G'nu....G'ngadin?"

Ashlynn had always been bad with names, but she was sure she recognized him from a job a while back. What is he doing here? She immediately realized the pointlessness of the question. What was she doing here, or any of them for that matter. No one else seemed familiar, so it was probably a coincidence meeting up with G'ngadin again. Still, he had shown himself to be a skilled tracker and Ash was happy to have him around in this situation.

[TheDragonmaster]

Stirring in the warm sunlight, Ynja suddenly comes to as the scenes of the vision comes rushing back to her. Her eyes burning as tears begin welling up, she sits up but curls together, head nodding down to almost touch the knees drawn up towards her chest. She grits her teeth, almost oblivious to her surroundings as waves of grief, anger and guilt wash over her.

Who was the woman, the spectre from the dream? If it was even a dream... it felt so real... and who is he? The one she cared so much about? What of the face, that disembodied eye in the darkness?

A minute or two passes before the paladin manages to collect herself long enough to start piecing her situation together. She was not alone, she could hear others talking; seemingly just as confused and lost as she was judging by their voices.

How long have I been here, and for that matter, where is 'here'?

Opening her reddened eyes and taking a moment to adjust herself to the light, Ynja looks around at the others but stays silent for the time being, not intent on calling their attention to herself.

Spoiler: OoC

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To get the obvious out of the way first (before the need for Knowledge Checks even), are our surroundings consistent with the details of the dream/vision/episode/hallucination as far as we can tell, or is the likeness only cursory?

As this is my first post and I have yet to decide, Ynja prepares spells at early dawn, while the sky is still dark. Also, here are her Spell Preparations for the day (and for subsequent days, until further notice):

Orisons: Guidance, Light, Mending
Level 1: Endure Elements, Expeditious Retreat (D), Resurgence

Endure Elements is already expended, as she casts it on herself at the beginning of the day.

[Sønderjye]

"Save him...", the words reminds Firan of something. There was someone he needed to save, right? But from what? Wait, did he not already save that person? His stream of thoughts is abruptly interupted by the searing pain and he passes out.

He is woken by a familiar voice but still not quite awake he is unable to put a face on it. He places his hands on the golden grass and uses them to get to his knees as his hand brushes his waist and he realizes that he's missing something. Cursed! he thinks realizing that he does not wear his usual mask, I must have left it at the village. Unconciously he draws his clothing closer around his body in an attempt to hide his pale and dry skin. Finally looking at the speakers, his jaw drops a notch: "Ash? G'ngadin?" he says in suprise over the unexpected sight, unable to phrase an actual question.

His eyes goes to the other people around hoping to also recognize those. When he fails doing so he his eyes narrows in suspeciousness and he gestures as if casting a spell although it doesn't appear to do anything. After the casting he seems significantly more relaxed. He then moves his eyes to look around, very much on guard.

Spoiler

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The spell is detect evil.

Looking around the surroundings: Spot (1d20-1)[17]
Kno geography(1d20+2)[11]

[jscape2000]

Ash? Firan? G'ngadin relaxes visibly.

Spoiler: If he knows where we are

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Based on what I'm seeing, I think we've been dropped off in -location-. I started out in Canarth. You? There was a vision. What're we dealing with here?

Spoiler: If he doesn't know where we are

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I'm not sure where we are. I started out in Canarth. You? There was a vision. What're we dealing with here?

[ArtichokeDip]

Responding to the half-orc Egan say, "When dealing with something powerful enough to bring us here, powerful enough to show us visions of the past or future, what else can one do but smile? Certainly we're powerless to resist it."

Looking around, he continues, "Really all we can do is figure out where we are, and where it wants us to go. Otherwise... we'd probably end up right back here again."

He turns and surveys the surroundings, seeing if any of it is familiar from his wanderings.

Spoiler: Skill Checks

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Perception Check: (1d20+13)[21]
Knowledge (Geography) Check: (1d20+7)[15]

That's it, keep them looking forward, not back. They seem strange and powerful. Best not to have people like that look to closely at why you would be here among them.

Inside of him he feels the first twinges, a bit of pressure being placed on the things he keeps sealed inside. Damn it, not now!

The grimace that crosses his face is once again quickly replaced by his smile, perhaps a little more forced than before.

"It seems some of us know others in our little gathering. I am Egan, a traveling scholar. I can't say for certain what threw us together, but the sooner we set out to do whatever she wants us to do, the better it will be for all of us."

[Yabex]

Firan? Is he here too? Ash turned to face the familiar voice. She hadn't recognized him without his mask. "Good to see you again." Ashlynn then turned toward Egan. "I agree with you Egan. I think we'll have to figure this out whether we want to or not."

[Breitheamh]

Just for a moment, the gentle breeze turns icy, and the sky seems to darken every so lightly, each of you can hear the same voice as before, in your minds. It says, "Save him, please."

Spoiler: Knowledge Geography or Survival DC 10

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You can tell that you are a considerable distance south of the River of Qertan. Considering the lack of visible road, you're probably also at least a day's travel from the road.

Spoiler: DC 15

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You can also guess you're north of the Echo River, considering the relative dryness of your surroundings, probably by maybe 200 miles. You're also probably west of the road.

Spoiler: DC 20

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You're about five days of well prepared and solid travel north of the Echo River (about 150 miles). There is supposed to be a village nearby this location.

Spoiler: DC 25

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Based on your location, you are about 5 miles from the village of Bern.

Spoiler: Perception DC 12

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You can see that the pinpoints of light from the vision must have been the lights of a village.

Spoiler: DC 17

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You can see a few tiny people starting their days in the village

[jscape2000]

Anyone else hear that?

Spoiler: Rolls

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Using my 14+12 (survival) from above
(1d20+9)[23]

G'ngadin inhales sharply. Hmph. If I'm right, we're about halfway between the River of Qertan and the Echo River. Whoever dragged us here carried me many hundreds of miles. There's a village nearby called Bern. Which I believe I can make out in the distance there. He points. We should head there and see if the locals have noticed anything amiss.

G'ngadin turns to Egan. Egan, is it? I am G'ngadin of the Blood Moon Tribe. G'ngadin smiles slightly. We may have been powerless to resist whatever brought us here, but we are not powerless to learn more. When we know our enemy, then we will have the upper hand.

[ArtichokeDip]

"I think I can see it from here as well, G'ngadin. Well met."

At first Egan wondered if the voice he heard was one more trick being played on him, but G'ngadin's words confirmed that it was no mere illusion. A bit of the tension left his shoulders.

"Shall we be on our way then? Unless our companions by necessity have other plans, of course."

[TheDragonmaster]

What manner of apparitions are these?

The dark omen evoking yet again the words of the vision does little to calm Ynja's nerves, seeing the frightening group of creatures surrounding her. Her pulse racing, she stands to a low crouch with slow, deliberate movements, her hand reaching for the voulge on her back.

Their words seem friendly enough, and they seem not to take any notice of me... is this still just a dream?

Eyes narrowing in concentration for a brief moment, the paladin searches the area around her for the invisible tell-tale signs of sorcery, and while she finds no clear traces of dark or deceptive powers, the sheer amount of magical energies coursing through the others concerns her greatly.

[Yabex]

Ashlynn looked in the direction of the village G'ngadin pointed out. Wasn't that where the lights were in the dream?

She turned back to the group. "Yes, I'm ready to travel. Lets hope we find the answers we're looking for in the village." Ashlynn noticed one of their number had not spoke. In fact she looked a little on edge. Ash walked toward the crouched girl, stopping a few paces away. She extended her hand, as if to help the woman to her feet or to greet her.

"Hello, my name is Ash." She said smiling. "I bet your just as confused as we all are about how we ended up here. Are you alright?"

[TheDragonmaster]

"I..."

Seeing the other woman approach her with a smile, Ynja is nonetheless dumbstruck by the friendly greeting. Having paid more attention to the imposing orc-blood and the sickly-looking old man, she had not taken a closer look on the woman before this moment.

She... Ash? ...she is an elf!

A hint of scepticism in her expression and clearly hesitant to accept the outstretched hand, the knight rises to her full height, towering over the half-elf, and backs away half a step in the motion. Still numb from the uncomfortable sleep, she stretches her back and shoulders, showing off her impressive physique; skin and cloth alike covered in dust and the dark hair in a tangled mess.

"There is nothing wrong with me. I am Ynja."

Spoiler: OoC

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I am fully aware this could be interpreted as my character being prejudiced against the pointy-eared savages and their ilk .

[Sønderjye]

"Greetings Egan", Firan says with neutral politeness, "My name is Firan and I too am a traveler." he answers, purposefully vague on the details. He doesn't trust this strange man, seemingly so eager to do something for someone who just brought him forcefully here. "You seem very eager, Egan." he says, airing his suspecion.

"Good to see you too, Ash" Firan responds, smiling.

His front head-muscles tenses and conjures a frown. "Yes, I hear it too. " again he has a unease feeling as if he forgot something important. He turns to look at G'nadin: "You are speaking as if we have an enemy present? Is that a mere guess or do you know something?"

He shakes his head ever so slightly at Ash's friendly gesture. Would that girl never learn. His eyes narrows at the defensive gesture but he shakes it off. He tended to react similar when around unfamiliar individuals.

He sighs, "I guess it wouldn't hurt to see if the locals now anything." And then a bit later more to himself than anyone else: "I don't like this, not one tiny bit."

Spoiler: OOC

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In case I wasn't clear: Firan is very obviously not alive.
I'm making the assumption that Ash often is very friendly to strangers. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

[Breitheamh]

The hairs on the backs of your necks stand on end, and you all hear the voice again, chilling and soft as a whisper, "Please, you must trust each other. You have each been chosen for a reason. You will see soon enough."

The chill fades and you are snapped back to the moment once again.

Spoiler: Knowledge (Local) or (Nobility) DC 22

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Bern is the home of Amera Berrin, a master blacksmith. Her work is probably the best in Qertania, rivaling even the jealously guarded Dwarven works in skill and craftsmanship. She's not a fan of visitors, though.

[ArtichokeDip]

Shivering from the voice that spoke to him, Egan opines to the group, "Not much doubt about hearing it now, I think. And if I seem overly eager, it's because voices in my head have never been a good sign in the past."

Grudgingly, he admits, "Of course, we have no idea what its goal is or if it's good or evil, but we won't find that out staying still either. I'm heading to Bern."

Dusting off his clothes, he turns towards the distant village and begins to walk. Now let's find the truth of this.

Spoiler: Skill Check

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Knowledge (Local) Check: (1d20+7)[21]

[jscape2000]

G'ngadin whispers a few words to Mikhail and points, and the sleek gray wolf bounds towards the village in a zig zag a couple hundred yards wide.

He'll bay if he comes across any people between us and the village so that we'll know to be on our guard.

Spoiler: Rolls

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Handle Animals (I assume I can just take 10, so 15, but I'll throw a (1d20+5)[19] just in case Breitheamh needs it)

Stealth for Mikhail (1d20+7)[11]
Perception for Mikhail (1d20+1)[14]

G'ngadin eyes his companions, taking in bows, Guisarme, daggers. Ynja, you and I shall take point. Left and right. He grins broadly, showing the large canine tusks that are part of his heritage. The rest of you, if a fight breaks out, try not to shoot me in the back by mistake while I slaughter our enemies.


Of course, if we meet someone who wants to talk... he shrugs... I'll let you figure that out.

(OOC G'ngadin is ready to go)

[Sønderjye]

Finally becomming sure that the voice is not from a memory or dream or whatnot and someone is actually speaking in his head, an anger rises within Firan as a responds to the unreasonable request. "And how do you expect me to trust you?" He speaks out loud, only half-heartedly hoping for an answer.

He turns his head towards the village, seemingly ready to go.

[Yabex]

Seemingly unphased by Ynja's weariness, Ash lowers her hand. "Well, hello Ynja. Nice to meet you." She then turns in the direction of the village and begins to follow behind Egan and G'ngadin. As she began to walk along the trail, her mind pondered what the voice could have meant.You have each been chosen for a reason. You will see soon enough..... What does it mean?

[Breitheamh]

As most of you shoulder your possessions and prepare yourselves mentally for everything that will come, you hear a birdsong in the distance, between you and the village, followed several seconds later by the baying of a wolf from the same direction.

Spoiler: Perception DC 18 (G'ngadin receives a +2 circumstance due to his familiarity with Mikhail's sounds)

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The sounds are coming from a third of a mile away.

Spoiler: DC 22 (G'ngadin still gets a +2)

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A third of a mile toward the village, and a quarter mile off that line to the right.

Spoiler: Perception DC 20 or Survival DC 17 (this is kind of a weird one. If you pass either DC, no need to read the rest. If you get a 15 perception AND a 12 Survival, you may read this spoiler.)

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That is not a normal bird call.

[ArtichokeDip]

The birdcall and the baying of the wolf cause Egan to pause a moment and listen more closely. They sound natural... but I need to be sure that's all it is.

Spoiler: Skill Checks

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Perception Check: (1d20+13)[14]
Survival Check: (1d20+3)[16]

Satisfied, Egan continues on.

[Yabex]

Spoiler: Skill checks

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Perception (1d20+2)[3] Survival (1d20)[13]

Ashlynn hears the wolf in the distance, but she has no idea how far away it might be. Rather than make any guesses, she looks to G'ngnadin for answers. I'm already glad to have him around!

[TheDragonmaster]

Despite the calming words, the voice only serves to stress the knight further, and while she feels conflicted about the woman who introduced herself as Ash, she remains suspicious of the motives of the rest of the little group, in particular the orc-blood warrior after hearing of his apparent craving for carnage and seeing him send out that monstrous pet wolf of his, clearly armoured for combat, to do who knows what.

Let us hope we do not encounter anyone he considers an enemy, or I might have to stop him from attacking innocent villagers myself.

Seeing no reason to stay behind alone, and beginning to feel a plight to keep an eye on this "G'ngadin of the Blood Moon Tribe", Ynja concedes that her best chance to find out why she is here and who might be behind it is probably to follow along with the others, be it to the village or beyond. She gives them a wide berth however, taking a little extra time correcting her clothing and gear to fall slightly behind the group rather than taking point as instructed.

Spoiler: OoC

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1st Perception Check - (1d20+8)[20]

2nd Perception Check - (1d20+8)[22]
Survival Check - (1d20+4)[14]

Hearing the animal calls in the distance, a feeling of unease washes over her, but she remains silent.

That was clearly a signal call, probably someone from the village warning others of the wolf... and who could blame them, that thing is almost the size of a horse... let us just hope the orc meant his warg is only scouting ahead; we will have enough problems with the villagers barricading themselves against a monster without it attacking them before we get there!

[Sønderjye]

Firan slows down, hand on his spellpouch.

Spoiler

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Perception 1: (1d20-5)[10]

Perception 2: (1d20-5)[8]

Readies an action to cast Silent Image for a juvenile red dragon if wolves are approching them.

[Breitheamh]

Spoiler: If you stop as a group

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As each of you stops at the animal sounds, wondering about what could be happening, and whether or not it will create more problems than you already have, an eerie quiet settles upon you. It is as if the world holds its breath, waiting for the first move to be made.

Spoiler: If you keep moving toward Bern

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As you continue walking, letting the sounds of the plains settle themselves, you notice the grass slowly becoming shorter, more tame. Eventually you come across cropland. Here is corn, here potatoes, here wheat, and the small blocks are separated by worn paths.

Spoiler: OOC note

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I forgot to put Knowledge Nature as one of the options on the second spoiler in my last post. DC 15 Knowledge Nature.

[ArtichokeDip]

Spoiler: Skill Check

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Adding the Knowledge (Nature) check. That means any 2 of Perception, Survival, and Knowledge (Nature) getting within 5 of the DC counts as success, right?

Knowledge (Nature) Check: (1d20+9)[16]

Which I guess doesn't matter. :P

Frowning, Egan's pace slows and eventually stops. Something isn't right here.

Slowing his breathing and giving his full attention to the world around him, he tries to perceive what would have made that sound, or what it was in response to.

Spoiler: Skill Check

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If possible, he'd take his time (meaning take 20 if allowed, or take 10 if not) for a Perception check to see if anything is out there. That would give a result of 33 (or 23).

At the very least, I don't want to be the one in front.