Porthca Landing II: Lost & Found

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Rowanne didn't talk much during their day's travel, but that wasn't unusual for her, she could go a whole day without talking. She spent the time enjoying the view, enjoying being away from work, sorta, and looking for flowers she had yet to add to her collection. As the sun neared the horizon it was decided they should make camp. When they stopped, Rowanne watched Niradnam as she gathered her things from the wagon. She raised a brow as she watched him start a fire by merely snapping his fingers, normally she wouldn't think anything of someone casting a spell, but because it was Niradnam it peaked her interest. With her bag in tow she approached Niradnam by the fire. It's warmth felt nice on her wind chilled skin. She wondered if she should change into her uniform, since it was much warmer. Rowanne scanned the area to find a place suitable to change, she was accustomed to changing in front of others but she didn't know if these others would be so comfortable.

Rowanne untied her bedroll from her bag and began laying it out as she asked with genuine curiosity, "How did you do that? I haven't seen the somatic component of a spell done quite like that." she let out a quiet laugh and snapped her fingers. She noticed the others setting up tents, she probably seemed unprepared in their eyes and perhaps she was but she wasn't picky about where she slept. Though with the wind it did make her wish she'd at least brought a blanket.
 
As the wagon stops for the day, Magnolia bolt upright from sleep. "I'm awake! Where are we? Oh camp time? Good I'm starved from that journey."
She had spent the day curled up with her pack asleep. It was nice to not walk everywhere for once.

She unpacks her brand new tent, and starts unpacking her pilfered snacks. Taking a small knife from her mess kit she slices the bread almost in half, stuffing some cheese inside. Then she poked a stick through it and proceeded to heat it up over the fire. "You guys want some cheese bread?"
 
North East of Wyford | Camp:

Niradnam first replied mentally to Virra, "Yes -- quite a few elements are on offer for me --" the connection broke as Virra seemed to start another conversation and Rowanne begin one with him. He hesitated in answering at first, finishing his ritual as an outline of silver flared around the camp then faded. Setting his book aside he smiled to Rowanne, "A trick I learned in my travels -- I've read some casters can do much stronger spells without moving at all." He chuckled, "Unfortunately I'm not to that level yet, so I still have to do something to channel it."

Banrigg plopped himself down at the fire, rubbing his hands at the offer of bread, "Oh if yer offerin', I'll take some fer sure."
 
Rowanne felt silly asking a question that yielded such a simple answer. "I could barely cast when I started out, it took-" she paused for a moment debating if she should continue. She took a deep breath and continued, "It took a visiting student from Azarad to help me cast my first spell." She smiled but her eyes were downcast. "Now I know how to cast while holding my weapon, I've come a long way. I'm sure you'll get to the level you want too." She lifted her eyes to meet his, a smile still present on her lips.

At the smell of melting cheese, Rowanne redirected her attention to Magnolia,"I'd like to give it a try." She licked her lips as the smell continued to fill her nostrils.
 
Valerie spent her ride mostly concerned with attempting to nap and spending time with her new avian companion. Seeing him return with prey, Valerie laughed and rubbed his head. "Well done, Wayne Jr... please do not eat it in front of Faust." She directed him back into his cage and draped a cover over it, trying to ignore the sounds she heard coming from it as she closed her eyes.

Speech and motion woke Valerie from her slumber, and she opened her eyes, rubbing out salt as she glanced around the forming camp. "Oh, are we stopping for the night already?" Thankfully, her headache had finally passed, and she dragged off her possessions and began to set up her bedroll, frowning slightly. I suppose it is back to the life on the road... honestly, I am not certain that it is unpreferable to last night's antics. Finishing up her meager encampment, Valerie grabbed a loaf of bread and some salted pork, supplemented by one of the few remaining cookies, and took a seat at the fire.

Hearing Virra speak to her, Valerie turned and smiled. "Yes?" Her expression fell slightly at the mention of her grandfather, but Virra's question made her laugh. "Grandfather, a wizard? I must apologize, but if you had met him, you would likely laugh as well. He had a great deal of respect for those that could master the arcane, and would never shy from enlisting the aid of the local mages if required, but he did not have the patience for any study of the sort. Grandfather always said that the best divination is to understand one's motives and the best form of charm magic is to make them believe you possess that which will help accomplish them."

She chuckled a little embarrassedly. "I am afraid that I am far better at the later than the former. Regardless, I am afraid that I do not have many answers for you on the history of the ring. Grandfather was a very private man. Whenever I had asked of it, he had merely referred to it as 'a gift'. I truly do wish I knew more..." Valerie glanced down at the salted band before making a sprinkling motion over her bread, small white flakes falling down to flavor it. "It can do that, at least."
 
Eliza unlady-like snort at Niradnam’s tales caught her off guard. She tried to mask it by clearing her throat and getting back to her ‘borrowed’ book. She hadn’t had the opportunity to finish it back in the Silverbanes manor but she was sure they wouldn’t mind. Probably.
 
North East of Wyford | Camp:

Smiling back at Rowanne, Niradnam didn't manage to ignore the snort from the half-orc sitting across the camp. "As it is, I can't cast very much myself, and definitely not anything more impressive than starting campfires."

Speaking to Valerie, "Your grandfather sounds like he was an interesting person, at the very least he sounds like he understood people far better than I do." Chuckling, "Just last night I think I lowered Lady Virra's expectations of me when I couldn't even remember simple sayings."

As the others seemed interested in the bread, Niradnam glanced towards Eliza, "I take it you still have comments, hm?"
 
At the smell of toasting cheese, Virra's already weak resistance fails. "Oh, heck, some for me too, Mags," she called, runconsciously ubbing her stomach. Her attention was soon taken off the food as she overheard Rowanne quizzing Niradnam about his unconventional magic, and she couldn't stop herself from giving the Foxe Hunter a hard stare. Thankfully Niradnam seemed to defuse the situation quite well, freeing her up to focus on what Valerie was saying.

Seeing the ring put to use as a salt shaker made her clap her hands with delight. "Oh, that's fantastic," she giggled. "Wish I... had soomething like that." She'd been preparing to say "Wish I could make salt with my mind", but remembered the company she was in at the last moment. The pit of resentment in her stomach kept growing deeper.

To take her mind off it, she finished off her half-sandwich and shuffled closer to Valerie once she'd licked the cheese from her fingers. "Did you say he used to call on mages, Val? Sounds like a pretty well-to-do guy," she mused. "Y'know, you said you weren't a noble lady, but I'd say you do a pretty good impression of one. You've got the posture, I guess. And apparently the money too." Her tone was light and teasing, though there was a real curiosity laid over it. Niradnam's comment provoked her into turning around to smirk at him. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll start to get it again after a few library-free days. You'll have no choice but to learn how people talk when they're not in books! Yeah, we'll make a worldly man out of you."

Poking fun at Niradnam almost distracted her from the topic at hand, but she quickly turned back to Valerie again. "So go on, Val, what's the secret? Are you a merchant princess or something? Or an actual princess raised by fishermen and stuff, like you get in stories?" she smiled, resting her chin on the backs of her hands as she waited for an answer.
 
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Hearing stories of Legends, and fish princesses reminded Magnolia of a story from her home. "Oh was your grandmother Wen Shi? Did she perhaps show great kindness to an infant Couatl; nurse it back to health and become rewarded for her selflessness?"

Feeling quite silly at the words as they left her mouth, she sheepishly handed out melted cheese bread. It was just an old legend afterall, not a true story...

Yet there was always some truth to legends... Her hand falling to her necklace, tracing the symbol with her thumb as she stared into the fire. Her though thousands of miles away...
 
Seeing Virra's reaction, Valerie grinned. "Oh, you think that is impressive? Watch this." She waved a hand through the air and a stark white copy of Virra's face appeared in the air in front of her. "It is only an illusion, but I find it to be rather amusing at times." Hearing Niradnam start talking about her grandfather again, she smiled to him. "Thank you Mr. Niradnam, he was. Unfortunately, I did not happen his sense of judgement... as you had likely noticed last night." Valerie blushed, still embarrassed by the entire situation. "Sorry again for that."

Seeing Virra moving closer, Valerie smiled to her, curious what the smaller woman had wanted. At her questions, she laughed lightly. "Honestly, I am astonished you have not asked any sooner. I made little secret of my name, after all, and many of you come from as close as Azarad." She shrugged, her armor clanking slightly, reminding her of how much everything had changed since she had last spoken of her family. She then smiled to Magnolia. "And no, Magnolia, there are woefully few koalas in my story. My grandfather was Wayne Rhitegast, the late patriarch of the Rhitegasts of Emberhallow. We were never nobles, but honestly, one would be hard pressed to tell the difference between ours and the noble houses, in terms of wealth, influence, and far back our lineage goes in the city. Grandfather took me in when I was orphaned at a young age, and raised me as his own ever since... at least, as long as he could." Valerie's gaze shifted downwards as she finished, going quiet for a moment. She then gave Virra a smile. "Still, it has hardly been all bad since. After all, I have made such good friends here!"
 
Keeping to himself for most of the journey, Tyrius was content to take in the sights of the passing countryside and keep an eye out for any more bandits that might try to attack the wagon. He hoped it'd be a simple few days. Find the thieves' hoard, find The Sea's item, leave. Handing out the writing sets along the way, Tyrius smiled to Rowanne and Magnolia, "Sorry, I didn't realise our party would grow when I was buying these - when I can afford more I'll buy you a set as well." Tyrius said, "Figured we could keep diaries or something. Something for us to keep track of things we find."

That night at the campfire, Tyrius made a start writing his diary - making slow, careful printing on the title page, trying to make it look fancy as he carefully made a large printing of the year, then started filling in the printed numbers with swirl patterns in an attempt to make it decorative. As he worked, he listened to the topics his new friends had started to discuss.

"Very true," commented Tyrius as Valerie mentioned making good friends. "So, anyone got any plans for what we do once we find a way to stop The Sea murdering nobles?" asked Tyrius, letting his curiousity get the better of him once more.
 
Seeing Valerie's salt-double of her face made Virra shriek with laughter. "Illusion, whatever. I'll never get tired of that," she giggles, "Thanks for getting my good side." She didn't read much into Valerie's downcast expression when her grandfather's death came up, figuring it was still raw for her. The comment about friends, however, gets an enthusiastic nod from her. "Exactly! You see what you find when you go out and experience the world?" she enthused.

Between Valerie and the arrival of cheesy bread, Tyrius's question almost didn't land. When it finally registered, Virra began to frown. "Huh." She stared thoughtfully into the fire as she chewed. "Well, we'll use that way to stop The Sea murdering nobles. And then if she's still around, we'll make sure that those nobles don't let their kids forget what a cow she is. Then..." She swallowed, and tossed the crust of her bread into the firepit. "I'll be happy. And we all keep doing what we were doing before," she said brightly. "I'll go somewhere new. Eliza will go find her parents. Ander will keep putting down slavers. You'll..." She raised one eyebrow. "Keep studying? Hey, have you graduated? I forget."
 
Rowanne listened to the conversation as she helped herself to some of the cheese bread which she combine with some of her jerky. Delicious. She didn't have much to add so she stayed silent, just wanting to get to know the group. Talk of Valerie's grandfather made Rowanne think of her's, she wished she had known them and wondered if somehow they were still alive. From what her parents told her they were both good men who stood up for what they believed in and did whatever they could to protect their families. They were among Rowanne's heroes, along with her parents.

She was puzzled by Tyrius' question and then she realized she had no idea what they were doing on this Journey, all she knew is that it had something to do with why Niradnam was out here in the first place. "I'm sorry but The Sea what? I'm afraid I have no idea what this mission is about, I only came along to keep and eye out for Niradnam." 'She looked to Niradnam, 'What has he gotten me into?'
 
North East of Wyford | Camp:

Banrigg eagerly took a chunk of bread, not seeming to care for the heat of it as he bit in, enjoying the flavors. Starting to speak with bread in his mouth, "Mah fam'ly, weh fished." Swallowing he continued after a pause, "Used to go out on our boats and that was our day ... then return to shore and look for clams. Simple, but kept us busy an' fed. Dunno what a quattle is though."

Niradnam offered some jerky to Egnaro, "A 'couatl' is a celestial serpent ... often tasked with protecting something by whatever it is that made them. I've seen a few sketches of them, they're very interesting looking creatures, but I think most of the time they hide looking like something else." Batting the jerky out of his hand the cat started chewing on the dried meat while he looked up. "The Rhitegast family though? Wow -- that's a very old family of Emberhallow ... could literally call them oldblood and be right, pretty sure they were some of the original founders, right? Don't tend to hear about them much, I almost thought perhaps the lines had died out." Returning to his meal as the conversation continued he choked somewhat on his dinner, glancing over to Rowanne. "I ... only knew you all sought a Pearl, I didn't know there were dead nobles at the root of this?" Coughing once more he added, "I figured with all the Azarad students it was like some ... project or something, a treasure hunt? On a grant like me?"

Chuckling as he'd moved onto his own rations for the night, Banrigg replied, "Nah lad, 'least not all of us. I got hired ta guard these folks as they went after this thing, dunno much of't myself either."
 
wait the sea is killing people? Careful Magnolia, I'm sure most people know about this and you don't want to seem foolish right now. Why on earth would the sea want to kill nobles? They must have done something to wrong such a powerful spirit...
Wait Ander hunts slavers? I think I just found my new best friend, I've got an empire of them back home...
you realise you're not talking right and this is all just your thoughts spilling out at random? See this is why we should have bought a journal...
No, a journal could potentially tell bounty hunters who we are, and get us killed. The reach of the Empire is long and their coffers deep...
Hey mags, I know we are use to being on our own and this internal monologue is a normal part of our every day; people are going to think your crazy if you keep staring into the fire not moving much.

Returning from her inner one woman play, Magnolia had nagging questions that needed to be answered, "Excuse me gang but, what did these nobles do to anger the sea itself? Surely some great wrong has been committed to bring such violence."

As an afterthought she turned to Ander and spoke to his mind. "Hi! Don't be freaked out it's just Magnolia again. Listen I can tell you things privately like this but I think later on you and I need to have a talk. You are a good man, and I believe Yondalla led me to you for a reason, can talk later?"
 
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Ander sat quietly as he ate. He was feeling better after a few days and performing the funeral rituals. He was not fully paying attention as the piglet ran around his legs when he heard a voice inside his head. His first instinct had him immediately turn to Virra and raise his eyebrow, but as Magnolia identified herself, he turned to her and smiled. He nodded, a hint of confusion coming across his face. If she had asked earlier he would've invited her to join him for evening prayers, but he had completed those just before sundown.

He picked up the tail end of the conversation about what they were questing for and he cleared his throat. "It wasn't just that the nobles was gettin' killed, it's that their innocent children got attacked that made it somethin' I needed ta help with. When we fought that undead beast," he nearly spat at the thought of it, "it was tryin' ta drown a little boy."
 
Tyrius tapped his finger to his forehead, trying to remember everything that had happened. So much at occurred in such a short time that Tyrius had started to get the order confused in his mind. 'Guess it's a good job I brought a book to keep a diary,' Tyrius thought to himself.

"The Sea was targetting nobles, with the length of time between attacks getting shorter and shorter." Tyrius explained, "Lestone is some sort of servant of The Sea and is the one who was trying to drown Benito's brother and gatecrashed a funeral. We're getting the pearl as a means to bargain with her."

In answer to Virra's question, Tyrius smiled, "I graduated, though I might try and go back to Azarad for a bit - maybe do some more research in their library." He fidgeted awkwardly with his hands, "I don't think I'd be able to settle down after all this and go back to a desk job."
 
Valerie looked over to Niradnam as he recognized the name and nodded with a slightly embarrassed smile. "Yes, we do have a rather extensive history... so much so that much of it has been lost to time." Her smile then dimmed at his final comments before laughing. "Well... I suppose you had thought wrong then, yes? Although, I should warn you all not to expect much of me. I only have a few gold to my name, after all."

As the conversation turned to their quest, Valerie sat back and listened, still hoping to hear more about their adventure. As she did, however, she began to feel a tight pain from her finger. She glanced down at the ring before slipping her hand behind her back, trying to remove the ring. It took more than a little effort, and the ring gripped painfully onto her skin, but she managed to remove it, tucking it instead into a closed fist. Trying to keep the conversation moving, she asked. "So do we have any clue what to expect from this place? Any traps, guardians, or curses to be aware of?"
 
Eliza rolled her eyes, nibbling at her sandwich, “I don’t have anything to say that wasn’t said before. Just waiting to see when you will tire of this silly charade.”

She passed a few crumbs to Faust and listened to the group’s conversation, feeling the warm glow from the campfire and hearing the crickets in the dark.

She felt...content?

She knew that she was camping out in the dirty outdoors in a completely new place away from everything she had found familiar once but she was surprised she wan’t feeling terrified. As the half-orc looked at her friends she felt peace.

Even Niradnam didn’t seem that bad. Rowanne, on the other hand, was completely new. She didn’t know what to make of her yet. She hadn’t worn her pin ever since she left Azarad and decided not to start anytime soon. She didn’t think it necessary to advertise her status to them, especially not to the guard.

She started worrying in earnest as she looked at each of the magical members of the group in turn. None of them fit the bill of the perfect mage. Would they fall in trouble because they were traveling with a Foxe guard?

She looked sourly at Niradnam, “Quite genius of you to know not to tell the magic cop about your weird magic but still decide to invite her on along on this hazardous trip with the rest of us folk with weird magic.”
 
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Virra caught Ander's glance and tilted her head, then saw him turn to Magnolia. Oh, so that was what was going on. It occurred to her that the party now had three telepathic members, and that there was probably something neat she could do with that.

Coming in at the end of Ander and Ty's explanations, she added, "And the adults didn't really do anything either. We think it was something about land, like they were building warehouses outside of the territory that the Sea gave to them in the early days of Porthca... or something. Guess we'll find out for sure when we have the Pearl."

Then Val's question got her perked up. "Ooh, yes, that. I didn't read anything about traps in those books at Ty's place." She'd barely read much of anything, to be honest. "What about you guys?" she asked Niradnam and Tyrius.
 
Rowanne still struggled to follow the conversation and wondered if it best she stay out of the loop, since none of the others felt obliged to fill her in. She had her reasons for being there and that was enough and if the time came where she must fight to protect the others then she will. She vowed to help those in need and she'd keep to that, no matter who she was representing. She thought perhaps she needed to make her intentions know as many of them seemed uneasy around her.

The unease was infectious, so Rowanne finally chimed into the conversation, "I have no idea what any of you are talking about, and I understand if you don't trust me enough to tell me since we barely know each other. I think it's importent that you all know my intentions here, I'm here to protect Niradnam, but I will do the same for you all. I was taught to protect those in need and have vowed to do so since I was a young girl and I don't plan to go back on my word anytime soon." she paused a moment, debating her next words, "But it's also important that you know I will not stand by in the face of wrongful use of power, I protect the innocent, and this is why Athena has given me the abilities I have." Rowanne looked down at her hands which gripped the ends of her scarf. Her heart was racing. She was worried that in her slight emotional outburst, her words might be misinterpreted. "I'm not saying that I'm expecting you all to murder innocent people," she paused again closing her eyes as images of those she lost flashed into her mind, "I'm just saying I will not tolerate it and will do what I must for justice." Rowanne stood and said quietly. "Uhm, I'm going to take a walk around the perimeter, I volunteer for a shift in tonight's watch, just let me know when you need me." Rowanne grabbed her book from her bag and walked away from the fire.
 
Wrongful use of power. Now that was a coded message if Virra ever heard one. Maybe she'd cottoned on to what Niradnam was doing... maybe she'd known for a while. That or she was accusing the group of some other crime altogether.

Then she stood up to start patrolling. Virra watched her go. "So yeah, I hope none of you were counting on me using any of my powers on this trip," she muttered, drawing her knees up against her chest. "Gosh, what a mood killer. Rowanne, slayer of moods."
 
Against her better judgement, Magnolia tossed a bit of bread at Viera.

"Cheer up, I've got your back and we've got checkers." she gives her that crooked smile of hers.

Finishing up her evening meal, she excuses herself and walked a short ways away from the camp starting her evening prayers.
 
North East of Wyford | Camp:

At Valerie's question of traps, guardians and curses, Niradnam reached into his pack, pulling out a journal, the pages covered with notes. Even with the dim lighting of the campfire he didn't seem to struggle to read the scrawled handwriting, "From what we read and managed to find out, a large part of it is just finding the entrance. Looking into the legends of the thief and the items they had taken, it's a possibility some of the magical objects have warped the trove and begun to protect it themselves. Sentient magic items do exist -- rare as they are." He flipped a few more pages back and forth, tapping his chin, "Uhm ... I figure traps are a given just because it's better to expect them and not find any. The rest we'll have to figure out upon arrival sadly." He rolled his off-color eyes at Eliza's remarks in his mind, glancing towards the half-orc, "I didn't invite her -- if she was going to follow me to keep an eye on me, she'd do it one way or the other."

Turning back to the conversation about the Sea he nodded, "That sounds ... complicated. Hopefully our trek out here will help somehow in all of that."

His words faded as Rowanne spoke up, eventually leaving the fire for the moment, and Niradnam rubbed his brow, snapping the book shut, and looking frustrated especially after Virra's comments. "If you had listened to what she said, maybe you'd realize she was saying she's not here in that regard. Unless you intend to start casually murdering random people, I don't think you need to worry so much. Any of you," he looked between Virra and Eliza as Egnaro climbed into his lap.
 
“Are we expected to trust her wholly because you say she is trustworthy?” Eliza says completely unconvinced at risking her life and the others on someone’s whims.

There was no point complaining though. At least she had had some training at Azarad. There was something that could help though she thought as she looked at Virra.

She held out the newly carved wand from the lightening tree to the gnome, “It isn’t much but I think you still use some of your magic if you use this wand. I can also help you in matching what your abilities can do with spells that you can act with.” She muttered quietly to the young mystic while keeping an eye out for Rowanne. “I think it will help if you learned the basics behind the spell so you could answer any questions. I know it sucks to have to hide who you really are.”
 
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