Immersive Ink

Dieter watches the activities of the scavengers for a while longer in the hot, blustering wind. They don't appear to be acting in any coordinated fashion, nor moving particularly toward you or in any specific direction. One seems to have located something worth rooting after and has become preoccupied with digging whatever it is up. Meanwhile, the other one saunters listlessly on, moving from one clump or rock to another prodding idly here and there with its spear, before wandering on. The pair are about 80 yards apart now...

Meanwhile Olaf, Highbough, Wen, and Torben are discussing the best course of action at the Ring; some 60 yards down slope from Dieter.

This is exploration turn three.

What are your orders for turn four?

"Stay together, well there is a novel concept, Master Olaf. As it stands, I have one spell yet uncast," says Highbough. (And it seems a shame to waste it, he thinks to himself.) "I can inflict... respiratory distress... on an individual, from a range of about 60 of your human 'yards.' Perhaps if I were to so afflict one of the were-creatures, its parter would come to investigate, and we can capture or kill them both?

Choke, warlock 1, range 6". Should the warlock so wish it a normal subject--or a heroic subject who fails a second save versus petrification--can be completely choked and slain after three turns.

mushgnome wrote:I have one spell yet uncast," says Highbough. (And it seems a shame to waste it, he thinks to himself.)

This spell still counts toward Highbough's daily quota; it's just that he already has it memorised without studying it this day. Casting it now won't mean he can memorise it (or an alternate spell) a second time today.

Dieter will keep his eyes on the scavengers, occasionally looking around for any others. And he'll glance back at the party once in a while, too, in case they signal him.

Olaf ask Highbough, because he assumes the old elf is the wisest one here, "What do you think we should do now?"

Once Highbough says what to do, Olaf nods and agrees, "Then let's do that, but let's do it quickly."

Highbough ponders for a moment. "The wisest course of action would be to avoid raising the alarm at all costs and find a way to rejoin the others. I am willing to sacrifice my silver dagger, if necessary, to get home."

Sorry to make my character appear indecisive. Based on meta-game knowledge of what the other players have decided, I think we need to abort. If we even can. For all we know, the journey was one-way, as Highbough originally assumed.

Everybody check your equipment lists for shiny things like: helms, shields, blades, coins, mirrors (!), bowls/plates, jewelry, etc.

Also... do we know Gustave is here, or are we just assuming?

We don't know Gustave is here, but it seems to fit the available facts. When scryed, he seemed a lot older. Time seems to pass at a different rate here. So that fits. Also, we don't have a lot of Abbey left to look for him in, and we haven't found him there yet.

We should come back with more party members and some better means for scrying. For example Highbough will memorise Sixth Sense. Also I wonder if our crystal ball will give a more useful answer if used on this side of the portal? Until we know otherwise, we should assume it is a portal in both space AND time, and that is why Gustave appeared older in the image... You bring up a good point about the different rates of time, in which case we should definitely go back to the Abbey before weeks/months/years elapse! One potential benefit of this is that we might be able to use it to slow Dorgan's death by poison... (hope that wasn't a spoiler for anyone?)

As he watches the scavengers, Dieter will also examine the battlefield as best he can.

Can he work out what happened out there?

Are there two obvious sides among the dead, or was it a one-sided slaughter?

Do the dead look human or otherwise?

Is there anything shiny out there among the carnage?

That sort of thing.

At the lop-sided Ring much muttering is hidden beneath the blustery wind, and barked out words are shared over it.

Meanwhile, up on the ridge, Dieter continues his surveillance. Squinting into the hot, dry wind he has to shield his eyes from the prickling sand pitched at him in gusts as he looks about.

The battle must have been on a grandiose scale never before witnessed. Carcasses lie buried--and half-buried--in haphazard clusters for as far as he can see across the deadpan. The spear hafts, poles, and shafts that protrude above the sand are buried to depths from inches to almost the full length of a spear. It's impossible to identify the bodies without inspecting the first-hand for they are uniformly sun-bleached and sand-blasted.

Whatever happened here, it must have been titanic.

Everyone has been standing in the heat for a good half-hour now... you could do with a sip of water...

So ends exploration turn four.

What are your orders for turn five?