session 26

[Bynw]

19:59 <~bynw> ***************************************
19:59 <~bynw> ******         Previously        ******
19:59 <~bynw> ***************************************
19:59 <~bynw> The trio float away on the downstream
19:59 <~bynw> currents of the river at it leaves the
19:59 <~bynw> city. Virtually unnoticed by the watch
19:59 <~bynw> and the Emir's guards who hunt for the
19:59 <~bynw> witches within the city. They will most
19:59 <~bynw> likely discover the merchant caravan
19:59 <~bynw> and connect the dots between the escaped
19:59 <~bynw> witch and the trio of foreign merchants
19:59 <~bynw> gone missing. This will not be good for
19:59 <~bynw> the rest of the caravan that was left
19:59 <~bynw> behind in the city.
19:59 <~bynw> .
19:59 <~bynw> Travelling down the river is not an
19:59 <~bynw> easy task. There are limited provisions
19:59 <~bynw> as the trio did  not come to the river
19:59 <~bynw> to make a hasty escape on it. Limited
19:59 <~bynw> food and only the clothes worn and the
19:59 <~bynw> items you have carried with you. To make
19:59 <~bynw> matters worse, the current picks up as
19:59 <~bynw> the river widens a few miles downstream.
19:59 <~bynw> Making any attempt at shore landing
19:59 <~bynw> dangerous during the night and even
19:59 <~bynw> during the next morning as the white
19:59 <~bynw> water increases.
19:59 <~bynw> .
19:59 <~bynw> By the 3rd or 4th day, it is hard to tell
19:59 <~bynw> due to a thunderstorm that darkened the
19:59 <~bynw> skies and made the trip even less inviting,
19:59 <~bynw> the food supplies are exhausted and
19:59 <~bynw> many miles have been traveled over the
19:59 <~bynw> rushing river that now has finally slowed
19:59 <~bynw> enough to attempt a shore landing.
19:59 <~bynw> Instead of just fighting to stay afloat.
19:59 <~bynw> The shores of both banks are lined with
19:59 <~bynw> trees much like the forests of home.
19:59 <~bynw> There is no sign of anyone.
19:59 <~bynw> ***************************************
19:59 <~bynw> ***************************************
20:03 < Riam> ::Steers the boat to the shore:: "How is our prisoner?"
20:04 < Luc> "Stiff and stone." *holds up the miniature stone man*
20:05 < Riam> "You are eventually going to be able to turn him back right?"
20:06 <~bynw> !! general map of the area: http://fudge.teara-adan.com/rivercamp.jpg
20:06 < Luc> "I dunno, he may end up as a mantle ornament, if it entertains me enough."
20:12 < Riam> ::As the boat grounds, he jumps out and pulls it up on shore::
20:14 < Riam> "I hope he was worth it."
20:14 < Luc> "So do I."
20:15  * Mirina shrugs.  "If I can't heal him, it may not matter."
20:16 < Riam> "Can you bend your world changing powers, all mighty powers, and make us a fire mage? I'm frozen to the bone."
20:17 < Luc> "I can. And tomorrow, I can take us anywhere on this god forsaken continent that you want to go."
20:21 < Riam> "A place with mulled wine, a warm and willing woman that's easy on the eyes, and a room of my own with a soft bed and fire in the hearth."
20:21  * Luc looks at Riam. "Find us some wood, and I'll get the fire going."
20:23 < Riam> ::Walks off to find dry wood::
20:26 < Riam> ??what time of day is it??
20:26 <~bynw> !! mid-morning
20:29 < Riam> ::Returns with an armload of firewood::
20:31 < Riam> ::Drops it at Luc's feet:: "anyway to magic us something to fill our bellies?"
20:32 <~bynw> ::the forest is quiet save for the sound of the river and a few birds in the distance. a very peaceful campsite::
20:33 < Luc> "Very little, I'm afraid. Unless you like rats."
20:33 < Mirina> "Well, seeing as we've got plenty of daylight, I'll see what I can find in the way of edible plants."
20:33 < Mirina> "Can either of you improvise a way to fish in the river?"
20:34 < Mirina> "With a nice fat fish and some greens, we could eat reasonably well, and god knows we could use some decent food."
20:37 < Mirina> ?? Do I find any edible plants anywhere in line of sight? ??
20:37 < Riam> ::Sighs:: "Seriously."
20:38 <~bynw> ::very little in the way of edible plans are along the riverbank. with a bit of foragding in the forest something is bound to turn up::
20:38 < Luc> "Yes, mister melodrama. Do I have to do everything for you?"
20:38 < Riam> "I'll be back by tonight. Try to do something useful mage..." ::starts walking off into the woods::
20:39  * Mirina wanders into the forest a short way, looking for food.
20:40  * Luc kneels and concentrates spreading two books before him, meditating on spells for the day, and writing them into his spellbooks.
20:44  * Mirina returns to camp with the front of her shirt full of various edible plants.  "Nobody's fishing or trying to improvise something besides plants to eat?"
20:46 < Luc> "If you want to get some place warm, and safe, I need concentration, instead of food. And a little fasting sharpens the mind."
20:47 < Riam> ::Over an hour later he returns from the forest, dragging a dead dog behind him:: "....Good then you wont need any of this."
20:47  * Mirina shrugs again and spreads out the gleanings of an hour or so in the forest, then looks around for some plant matter that can be twined into cord.
20:50 < Mirina> ??  Do I find anything like flax or similar plants? ??
20:51  * Mirina looks at Ri'am in the meantime, and smiles oddly.  "I've never tried to cook dog before."
20:52 < Riam> ::Drops the carcass at Luc's feet:: "We provide..." ::indicates himself and Mirina:: "You cook." ::Hands him a small sharp knife to skin the dog::
20:52  * Luc ignores Riam, concentrating still, eyes unfocused.
20:54 < Riam> ::Smiles at Mirina:: "Me either, I'm simply horrible at hunting I'm afraid."
20:54  * Mirina pulls a small dagger from her belt and begins stripping nearby trees of long strips of bark.  She then takes the strips of bark, twines them into long cords, and in an hour or so, has a rough net made.
20:55  * Luc stands, stretching, closing his books.
20:57 < Luc> "Wow magic takes time. How long was I down there?"
21:00  * Mirina smiles at Luc. "I'm not actually sure; I was busy making a net to see if I can manage to catch a fish."
21:00 < Luc> *looks at sun* "Couple hours?" *sighs* "Guess it's food time."
21:03 < Riam> ::Looks at him with a sneer and a shiver, his arms wrapped around himself:: "Make the fire you addle-brained berk!"
21:04  * Luc walks over to a thick branch, picks it up, holds it out, and concentrates briefly, casting a quick cantrip at the branch to turn it into a torch. *uses burning hands*
21:05  * Luc holds his hand out, fire bursting from the extended one, the fire extending to the burn pile, the torch angled towards it
21:06  * Luc turns his head to Riam. "You were saying, my abusive friend? Fire? I can make you colder as well. *grins evilly*"
21:08 < Riam> ::Rushes over to stand next to the fire and warm himself:: "And I can make you hover over the toliet for three days not knowing whether to squat or vomit and too afraid to walk more then ten paces from it. Clean the game."
21:10  * Mirina pulls her trousers up to her knees and wades carefully into the shallows at the riverbank with her net in hand.
21:10 <~bynw> :;as the midafternoon sun rises, the day does warm up, although there is a breeze off the water ... it feels similar to the area of Southern Adan near South Wind, not at all unpleasant::
21:11 < Mirina> !! Oops.  And removes boots before wading. !!
21:12 < Luc> "You do know that I can kill you with a thought, should I wish it, Riam? Just a finger. That's all it'd take. Just thought I'd mention that before you go thinking of torture." *goes and starts cleaning the wild dog*
21:13  * Mirina smiles as she comes back up the riverbank, with the net shivering with a fish that appears to be some sort of bass.
21:13  * Mirina sits by the fire, cleaning the fish with her dagger.
21:14  * Mirina replaces her boots and lowers her trouser legs to protect her skin from fish scales.
21:17 < Riam> ::Sits and warms himself by the fire::
21:18 < Riam> ::Begins whittling a make-shift spit for the dog::
21:19  * Mirina finishes cleaning the fish and cuts it into three pieces for easier, quicker cooking, then sets the pieces of fish onto clean leaves of dandelion green while she looks for a large-ish rock to put near the fire.
21:21 < Riam> ::To Mirina, from across the fire:: "Do you think you can heal this man?"
21:22 < Mirina> "I don't know."  She returns to the fireside with a rock, which she puts right up next to the fire so it will get nice and hot for baking the fish.
21:22 < Mirina> "He's really in bad shape, and he had all that damn merasha in his system, which meant that I couldn't touch him without putting myself out of commission."
21:23 < Riam> "Do you think he was under a charm the way he kept trying to end himself?"
21:24 < Mirina> "I don't know.   That's certainly a possibility."
21:24 < Riam> "Can you do something about it if he is?"
21:25 < Mirina> "Maybe, assuming I can heal him at all.  I'm not that familiar with the effects of Spectral magic, and I don't know if he's still going to be full of merasha, if he even lives through the whole process of being turned to stone and back again."
21:26 < Mirina> !! scratch that last !!
21:27 < Mirina> "Maybe, assuming I can do anything with him.  He's still full of merasha, which means that I can't do a lot without incapacitating myself."
21:28  * Mirina turns to Luc.  "Do you think you would be able to keep him alive but unconscious long enough for the merasha to work its way out of his system?"
21:37 < Luc> "Maybe. I honestly don't know. I'm familiar with Merasha, moderately at least, but the best thing would be to get him to an outpost, any outpost, of the Order."
21:38  * Luc cuts up the Dog, sticking sharp sticks through the pieces to cook it over the fire.
21:38 < Mirina> "Yeah, but how do we do that?  We're out here on the ass end of nowhere, having just royally pissed off the government we were supposed to be trying to subvert."
21:39  * Mirina places the pieces of fish on the now-hot rock to bake by the fire.
21:40 < Luc> "Well, that's where I make with the magic, milady. Pardon the alliteration. I can magically move us, tomorrow morning, or late this evening, anywhere we want to go within the continent. Anywhere. Distance is not a problem."
21:42 < Mirina> "Within the continent is still in the reach of the Mohadine, unless there's something you're not telling us about Spectral magic."
21:44 < Riam> "Neither of you have ever been criminals have you?"
21:44  * Mirina gives Ri'am a wry look.  "Afraid not."
21:44 < Luc> *sighs heavily*
21:45 < Luc> "Well, technically speaking Mirina, within the limits of the spell, I can take us back to Adan."
21:45 < Riam> "I don't like the idea of leaving the continent. We can hide with the other criminals."
21:45 < Luc> "And back, the next day."
21:45 < Luc> "Or even later, if needed."
21:46 < Luc> "I've just never used this PARTICULAR spell to move that far before."
21:46 < Riam> "Are you sure? This place is warded. Hidden. As the prince of Mariabronn said."
21:47 < Luc> "This spell....it's strong. One of the strongest I know. And can cast. I could move us to the surface of the Sun, theoretically."
21:48  * Mirina turns the wry look on Luc.  "That would be...a bit warm."
21:49 < Riam> "And thoretically we could travel back to Adan and find our return blocked by the wards."
21:51 < Mirina> "Well, even if we can't get back, we may have completely hosed up our effectiveness here with this rescue anyway."
21:51 < Luc> "Theoretically, yes. However, there are ways. Many, many ways. We could even travel to a different plane of existence, before moving onward."
21:53 < Riam> "Why not find harbor with criminals."
21:55 < Mirina> "Why should they want to help us?"
21:56 < Luc> "Well, there is a plane of gold......."
21:57 < Mirina> "Gold doesn't do us any good right now."
21:57 < Riam> ::snorts:: "Let me take care of that."
21:57  * Mirina turns her attention to the fish, turning the three pieces over with a stick.
21:59 < Luc> "However, while doing all of that, it'd only delay what we need to do.
21:59 < Luc> "
22:00 < Luc> "We should attempt the return to Adan. It is the best bet we have. And the quickest. This spell.....it'd take a lot....more than we've ever seen.....to stop it."
22:01  * Mirina rummages in her healer's satchel and produces some ground herbs, sprinkling them on the fish.
22:04 < Riam> "No it is a gamble. A gamble with everything we have come to do here. For one man, that we can only hope might help. I say it's time you let go of your lordly courts and stop trying to seek help with others. Do for yourself, by yourself. It was only a matter of time before we became criminals. It was inevitable. Stay and seek refuge with those who hate this empire as much as us."
22:05 < Riam> "We came to do a job, incite trouble. Not look to the order for help. We came to work on our own."
22:06 < Mirina> "But can we still do the job, having stirred up the hornet's nest as we have by rescuing the stone figurine?"
22:06 < Riam> "Could we have done this job without stirring up a hornets nest?"
22:07 < Riam> "I mean the trouble, not the man."
22:07 < Riam> "Stirring things up, WAS the job."
22:07 < Mirina> "Probably not, but this specific hornet's nest may have ruined our chances of accomplishing our original purpose."
22:07 < Riam> ::Smiles:: "No. it's helped us."
22:08 < Mirina> "How do you figure that?"
22:08 < Riam> "We want criminals and rebels, then they have to trust us. We've just firmly put ourselves in with them."
22:09 < Riam> "We just have to find his friends..." ::indicates the little stone man:: "..and we've found our help."
22:09 < Luc> "True, but we NEED  to help this man. He knows us. All of us. And we have no idea who he is."
22:10 < Riam> "No, but we don't need to ask him to find that out, do we?"
22:11 < Riam> "We just have to find the kind of people willing to talk, my kind of people."
22:11 < Luc> "Even they can't take much from a dead man."
22:12 < Riam> "He looks fit to travel to me."
22:12 < Mirina> "How long can he live suspended as a figurine?"
22:12 < Riam> ::looks to Luc::
22:13 < Luc> "Almost indefinitely. His body is stone, inside and out. He is not, technically, alive, or even human, right now."
22:13 < Luc> "Given I recast the spell on him every week or so."
22:14 < Luc> "The shrinking one, I mean."
22:14 < Luc> "The stone spell is permanent, until removed."
22:14 < Mirina> ::sotto voce:: "Holy shit."
22:14  * Mirina takes her dagger and checks the fish for doneness.  "Looks like we're ready to eat, at least fish and greens."
22:15 < Luc> "The dog is done, too." *pokes the pooch*
22:19 <~bynw> ::the meal of dog, fish and greens is welcome. especially after several days on the raging river with nothing but what little rations each of you had and maybe a raw fish that found its way into the boat during the storm::
22:22 < Riam> ::Sits back picking his teeth after the meal, now finally warm at the edge of the fire:: "If you can move us as you say my lord, then let's return to the city and find help and answers in the dark corners of it."
22:23 < Riam> "Find who has a grudge against this empire and go there."
22:23 < Mirina> "If we're going back to the city, we'll need disguises, quick."
22:24 < Riam> "those who have reason to hate the empire will never find us then."
22:25 < Mirina> "And those who love the empire will, if we go back as we are now."
22:27 < Mirina> "Some of those guards survived.  You think they don't know by now approximately who they're looking for?"
22:27 < Luc> "Enough."
22:28 < Luc> "We need to return to Adan, not the city. At least not for a while. They'll be looking for enough people similar to us, and might be able to even track latent magical energy back to me."
22:29 < Luc> "We are returning, for advise, and......because I honestly need to request council of my Order. They need an input, and an update."
22:30 < Luc> "And supplies. Holy shit do we need supplies."
22:31 < Riam> ::His voice light like a small childs, mocking:: "Run to the order, run to the order. I need orders, I need to be told what to do."
22:31 < Riam> "Bah!"
22:32 < Luc> "You can't tell me that you're not running low on supplies, Riam. I know I am. Components for my spells, and I know Mirina is running low on healing supplies as well."
22:33 < Riam> "And you can't tell me you can't move us to supplies. So stop hiding behind an excuse."
22:33 < Riam> "You want to run back to the order, it's as simple as that."
22:33 < Riam> "Go curry favor and answers from old men like my cousin."
22:34 < Riam> "You think they will ever respect you like that Luc?"
22:34 < Mirina> "Well, you" she indicates Luc "want to go back to Adan, and you" she indicates Ri'am "want to go to the underbelly of the city."
22:35 < Luc> "I want.....well, honestly, Riam. I want new spells. Ones that can cause massive amounts of destruction. I want to rain enough fire, and hell, on this hell of a city we left to make them think that the end of the world is near. There are spells that can do this. And I want to learn them. From the only people that can teach them to me."
22:35 < Mirina> "And what are we going to do about our stone figure of a man?  Eventually we have to revive him."
22:36 < Luc> "True. There are masters of magic back in Adan. They should, but may not, be able to help."
22:38 < Riam> ::Waves off Luc dismissively:: "power, always more power with you. Use what you have to effect. Use your brain, your cunning, not your magic. But it doesn't matter. We disagree and need a tie breaker, or another plan." ::looks pointedly to Mirina::
22:39 < Mirina> "I don't know what to do at this point.  We've got a badly injured, merasha-filled man turned to stone, a city that would see us all hang given half a chance, and we're on the ass end of nowhere."
22:40 < Luc> "And despite you saying that, you had to use arrows to kill multiple guards. My WILL killed two, in under a second. Do not think to underestimate power in general, Riam. It is a very, very difficult goal, and one I've dedicated my life to mastering."
22:43 < Riam> ::Waves off Luc again, looking irritated at the circular form the argument has taken. His attention remains on Mirina, patient:: "Sleep on it if you must, but you'll have to do better then that my lady. I'm afraid you'll have to act or sit and watch us tear apart to our own whims."
22:44  * Mirina nods gravely.