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Post by Aspyria Overlord on Jul 21, 2014 22:02:34 GMT -5
As the next morning dawned and the group got underway, they would meet a group of the loggers about to return to their camp. They would offer to take the group along, so as to get them there in the most efficient way possible. Not to mention, the heroes of Barrickton would provide a good bit of company in these worrisome times.
Getting underway, the group would find themselves walking a hilly path, well worn from the transit of heavy timber to the village and the kingdom beyond. The loggers were happy, if nervous company; the mysterious sickness was robbing many of their ability to work, and the families that found themselves in that situation were having to leave to find work they could perform, which was admittedly scarce.
The trip was two days; they'd have to camp under the stars one night, and by the second evening they arrived at the logging camp. Aside from clearing away enough space to have room to grow, the camp was surrounded by thick woods; wide trails cut into the woods in all directions, but apparently conservation was a goal of the loggers. A simple wooden barricade surrounded the camp, with rancher-style gates at the entrances. Inside, there was a single saw mill to cut down the logs into manageable sizes, a communal dining hall, and multiple tents set up, with a area for more to be set up inside the compound.
((People can inquire and get more information as they wish; the loggers advise waiting until morning to go to the White Woods, as the woods are dangerous at night. You may post as detailed or bare-minimum as you wish in regards to what your character does, the focus will be on getting to the White Wood and looking for clues))
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Post by Thaludaerev on Jul 21, 2014 22:15:51 GMT -5
Thalu lived up to his reputation by barking at everyone's doors to rouse them, even though they didn't particularly need―or want, for that matter―it to start their day. He was back in his dragon form, waiting for everyone outside in the middle of the road, tail thumping and kicking up dirt and dust, while his wings unfolded to their full, impressive lengths. Once they were all ready to go, and Sarah was settled between the spines on his back, he happily trotted along at the marching pace, even if he would've liked to have flown ahead or travel at his quicker, yet still comfortable pace. Bulky as he was, he was still a quick dragon.
By the time the trip was finished, two days dedicated to the travel, Thalu stood somewhere in the middle of the group, wide eyes taking in every detail and doing their best to remember all the faces around him. "I think it's vampires," he said nonchalantly. "Vampire trees," he clarified, theorizing just what was going on in the white wood.
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Post by Sarah Summerset on Jul 21, 2014 23:54:19 GMT -5
Despite Thalu sleeping at the foot of her bed, Sarah wasn't actually exempt from his barking at the door. After he roused her from the night's sleep he barked at the inside of her door until she let him out to wake the others. It was unsurprising that she was a morning person, and while she didn't take much time on her appearance the number of clothing articles she had to keep track of and put on in the morning did keep her in her room for a fair bit.
When she came out, she was adjusting the hat with one hand, wrapping the scarf around her neck with the other, holding her glove between her teeth and her left boot was still untied-- but she didn't want to be late for the adventure! Once she joined everyone outside, and settled onto Thalu's back she was ready to go. The doldrums of travel seemed to have no effect on her spirits, and she continuously tried to initiate conversation with even the most reticent members of the group.
By the time the group arrived it was likely at least one member was wondering how someone so small seemed to have so much energy, and she seemed curious to explore the rather basic camp and find out whatever she could about the sickness that had been striking the loggers. Thalu's comment on Vampire trees drew her curiosity as she regarded the gold.
"What would vampire trees drink? Sap? And if you kill a vampire with wood stakes what kills a wood vampire? Saria! You're some sorta expert on dead things! How do you deal with vampire trees?"
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Post by Saria Ghostweaver on Jul 22, 2014 2:53:28 GMT -5
The barking may have been almost as early as the sun, but the inquisitor proved to be up before Thalu got started. Dawn found Saria finishing being suited in her armor, the neck and sleeves of her breastplate gleaming off reflected light through the window. The dark blue tabard covered the rest of the metal before she belted it down. She sheathed the wicked-curved blade on her right hip before preparing her backpack. The last part was sliding her quarterstaff into place against her backpack, making sure everything was packed as he exited the room.
"You're going to wake the entire village if you keep that up," she told Thalu, offering the dog a thin smile. "We're just as excited as you are." Her expression didn't show her excitement, but surely it was there with Thalu to goad it out. She made her way down and out of the inn, waiting for the others to catch up. Even with the loggers escorting them to the camp, she scouted ahead of the procession, keeping watch on the upcoming paths. She returned every so often to the rest of the group, keeping them abreast of what lay ahead. She eased into conversation with the others though gave the loggers a wide berth.
Before long two days had passed, and Saria was in the middle of the vampire tree debate. "Well, you can't really stake a tree since it has no head to cut off. You could try watering it with holy water. Noooormally sunlight destroys vampires, but trees feed off sunlight, so I don't think that would work." She used her quarterstaff as a walking stick, leaning against it for a moment while paused in thought. "Best advice, Sarah? Grow some garlic around the tree or put mirrors around it." She offered a shrug, adding almost casually, "Or burn the trees down."
Skill Check Knowledge (Religion) - Undead/vampire weaknesses
13 (nat.) + 9 = 22
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Post by Ivo Lak on Jul 22, 2014 3:24:51 GMT -5
A shout of "I'm awake!" followed Thalu's early morning wakeup call. Within five minutes Ivo was exiting his room and shutting the door behind himself. Was the bedding piled up or was there still someone in there? Anyway.. For having just got out of bed he was remarkably well put together. A night of drinking didn't seem to have a damper on his morning. Not a hair was out of place and he looked as fresh as if he had been groomed by royal servants.
The journey was pleasant enough. He spent the time conversing with his travelling companions and making sure Thalu got plenty of attention. While he kept an eye out for trouble he didn't expect much on this well travelled road.
"Vampire trees? Sounds easy to get away from. From the way they're talking I'm pretty sure it could be a ghast. That's what they do, isn't it?"
Skill Check Knowledge (Religion) - Identify Undead
Untrained - Fail
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Post by Tiaera Theralon on Jul 22, 2014 4:09:35 GMT -5
The bard was already up when Thalu came barking at her door. Finishing smuging some rouge into her cheeks, and dabbing some stain her lips. She let the dogragon. Drogon in for free roam of her room if he wished as she ran her fingers over her curls to smooth them down and tucked her mirror and beauty products away in her haversack. If she had been with someone the night before, like one of her comrades, there would be no sign of it. She didn't keep the group waiting, however, planning plenty of time to ready herself before they left for the road. The Half-elf's adventuring clothes were still trimmed and adorn to show the status of those she is known to accompany, and though it may not be practical, it didn't hurt. And it was a habit that would likely not break.
Tiaera was thankful that she had a tent among her gear, and though as a one person tent it wasn't big, there would be room for a certain halfling and dog to join her if they wanted the cover from night. Not that she expected anyone else to be as delicate as she was, it would take some time for her to be comfortable enough to sleep out in the bare of night. Though unfortunately their first night didn't allow for room to set it up, so she sucked it up and made the most of it, though she slept horribly as she normally did in similar situations from the group's past adventures. But with the unknown company, she settled in between Saria and Thalu for a little extra sense of security.
To pass the time, she likely would have played a game or two with Thalu, playfully flirted with Ivo, shared stories with Sarah and Saria, and coyly enjoyed any affection she received form the loggers. As they arrived at the logging camp. Scoping out a good place for the lot of them to set up their own supplies, she entertained Thalu's hypothesis. “Wouldn't those who have been afflicted turn into vampire trees themselves. Perhaps trees grow from them after their dead and buried.”
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Post by Thaludaerev on Jul 22, 2014 14:59:31 GMT -5
Thalu thumped his tail as he walked, feeling proud that everyone was running with his idea. It was complete nonsense, but if everyone else was going with it, perhaps it had to be true? "What about invisible vampires? If people are getting sick but not noticing anything . . ."
Ability Check Intelligence
18 (nat.) + -2 (ability) = 16.
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Post by Saria Ghostweaver on Jul 22, 2014 15:55:43 GMT -5
"I got that one covered too." Saria continued forward, using one end of her quarterstaff to point to the large fiery ball in the sky, peeking through the overhanging branches. "They might be invisible, but sunlight stills crispifries them. They ain't going anywhere out in the daylight. Now, some undead like ghouls do pack nasty diseases and can still daywalk, but I think we would've heard of anything like that before coming." She reached into a side pocket of her backpack, pulling out a pair of dried jerky to offer one to Thalu. "I doubt it's vampires or vampire trees, but it's always nice to be prepared just in case."
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Post by Sarah Summerset on Jul 22, 2014 17:30:56 GMT -5
"Invisible vampires or ghost vampires?" Sarah prompted of Thalu, moving on from vampire trees as well in the interest of considering all possibilities. In her case, that meant a focus on the impossible options. "Are they invisible ghouls then?" She asked Saria, "People are just getting sick. No one mentioned any sort of attacks or anything. Maybe the woods are cursed! Or plagued! Or plague-cursed! What if being at the camp gets one of us sick? I don't want to lie in bed while everyone else has the adventure!"
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Post by Tiaera Theralon on Jul 22, 2014 22:10:36 GMT -5
"If we don't manage to say safe, I am sure one of us can manage to cleanse of the disease." She wasn't actually sure, but group moral was important in this sort of situation.
"Where should we set up camp? Perhaps somewhere close to others, for easier means of information gathering?" She was mostly hoping to set up now, to get a nap in after such a horrible night of questionable rest. Though, from what she could tell, she was the only one with some fatigue. Taking a moment, she would look around the camp from where she stood, searching for any visual signs of coffee.
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Skill Check: Perception
18 (nat) + 8 = 26
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Post by Ivo Lak on Jul 23, 2014 1:27:39 GMT -5
Ivo stretched out and looked around as they stood around debating the various forms of the undead that he could probably slay pretty easily. He knew he looked resplendent with his chain shirt glittering in the sun and his long hair lightly blowing in the breeze. He zoned out briefly while they kept jabbering on, snapping out of it when Tiaera asked a question. He looked over to where she was pointing and waved a hand that way dismissively. "I'm sure that's a wonderful spot." He then looked up into the treeline and away from everyone. There were important things on his mind.
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Post by Thaludaerev on Jul 24, 2014 2:04:31 GMT -5
"Camp?" asked Thalu, tilting his head as he regarded Tiaera curiously. "We should be continuing the adventure . . . we stopped last night!" he whined. As they all might recall, Thalu did not want to end their trek last night, full of energy and demanding that they all press on to their destination. If it wasn't for Tia and Sarah to convince him otherwise, they might have had the gold dragon marching on ahead all by himself.
"Excuse me!" he barked, trotting up to the nearest logger in sight. "Where can we find the vampire trees? We're here to make everyone better!" He flashed a wide, sharp toothed smile, his green eyes practically glowing and highlighting the narrow, predatory pupil slit.
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Post by Saria Ghostweaver on Jul 24, 2014 22:07:08 GMT -5
Saria half-paid attention as Tiaera picked out the camping spot for the small band. "Just remember a water source, we don't want to have to walk far at night for things like that." Trusting the entertainer to handle that, she set about to preparing her tent and supplies. "Thalu, part of adventure is camping. And that can be a small adventure of its own." She shook her head ruefully as he headed for the loggers, busying herself with the tent.
"There's no plague-curse, or the locals would've been up in arms before now about it," Saria reassured the halfling, driving the tent stake into the ground. "Invisible vampires exist if they're arcanists, but there's still the sunlight thing that'd give them a bad case of explosion. Vampire ghosts don't exist because they're already dead and can't make a ghost... and ghosts can't drink blood." She looked over to Sarah while tying down the support rope. "If a ghoul is an arcanist, they could be invisible, but they're pretty rare like that. I don't think we have to worry." She gave the halfling a reassuring smile. "You're perfectly healthy, Sarah. You won't miss out on any of the adventures, I promise."
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Post by Aspyria Overlord on Jul 24, 2014 22:37:36 GMT -5
The approach of the dragon, even one talked about as a local hero, was still more than enough to unnerve the logger he approached. The talk of vampire tree's did little to help either, and the man stumbled back a bit, lifting the logs he carried defensively. "Wh-What? What are you talking about?" he asked nervously, shuffling back and leaning away, with his eyes locked onto those dangerously sharp teeth.
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Post by Thaludaerev on Jul 24, 2014 22:45:46 GMT -5
"We heard people were getting sick in the forest near here, the one with all the white trees?" He tilted his head as he spoke, as if this was supposed to be perfectly obvious. "My friends and I are the Champions of Barrickton and we're here to fight whatever it is that's making people sick! What do you think it is? I once ate some mushrooms that Sarah showed me and it gave me a tummy ache but it sounds like this is much worse than that . . ."
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