Monday, November 28, 2011
While Alton mentally readies himself for combat, Kaellanna looks around trying to determine anything she can about her present situation.
Not knowing this particular jungle from personal experience she is able to determine some key aspects of its particular anatomy. Specific is the mix of characteristics usually identified as jungle, forest and marsh. In addition is the extreme heat, humidity, altitude, and size of individual flora. By the sounds of them the fauna are both large and prolific. Even the undergrowth is much larger than anyone has experienced previously. By the looks of the few paths winding through the undergrowth, there are some creatures of medium size living here, though none have shown themselves yet. And by the limited, dappled and dim light finding its way to the groups location they can see a tree canopy above beginning about 100' up.
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OOC: "marsh" is not a characteristic associated with jungles. Marshes are a category of wetland, jungles are not. Jungles aren't even considered wetlands, since their soils aren't saturated or covered by water year round.
ReplyDeletesorry, biologist... :)
The constant outpouring sweat has already soaked Avegnum's clothes and armor, making them uncomfortably heavy. Grimacing, and attempting to shift the weight around on his shoulders, he calls back to Vel, "Figure out what's going on with the bracelet?"
ReplyDeleteLooking uncertain, Vel turns the teleporter over in his hands but his eyes tell his companions everything they need to know. Worried about never being able to see his mother and father again, he takes a deep breath and tries to speak calmly, "I'm sorry, guys, but I never could figure out how these things worked and since they've never malfunctioned before... I think the only thing to do is try and reactivate its returning properties."
Activating the bracelet, he whispers under his breath, "Hopefully this works."
While Kaellanna is perplexed by the exact nature of this place for reasons of conflicting characteristics, Vel attempts to activate the teleport device after checking it's magical aura. While he feels he activated the device correctly the return trip is not accomplished. However, while investigating the magic item, he is able to determine that everything all around the group is faintly magical, though he is unable to determine the school of magic.
ReplyDelete"I don't understand. I did everything correctly," Vel cries out in consternation. Brushing back orange hair from his sweaty forehead, he feels his pulse start to race as the idea of just how lost they are starts to sink in. Vel wants to pace around to burn off some of his nervous energy but the thin air is already causing him issues.
ReplyDeleteCursing under his breath, Avegnum moves back towards Kaellanna and Vel, attempting to convey confidence. "Alright, that's enough Vel. It looks like we're stuck here for now and if we're going to get through this, it'll be with everyone watching each other's backs, and that goes for you too Tara," Avegnum says as he ruffles the heavily panting snow leopard's ears. "We don't know where we are, how we got here, or if there's anywhere to go, not to mention what.. things.. might be living out there. But none of those matter in the long run; only our drive to live does. You would be surprised at what you'll find yourself capable of when it comes down to it."
Looking to Kaellanna, Avegnum says, "Do you have any suggestions about which way to go? If so, lead on and we'll follow or let me take the lead, it's up to you."
Well, I think we should explore, look around, maybe we'll see something that will point us to civilization. If nothing else let's try to head downhill, if we can even determine that, and hopefully we will come across a stream or something we can follow.
ReplyDelete(Survival roll= 21)
Looking for civilization, and to go downhill toward a riverbed, Kaellanna realizes the entire area is relatively flat, except for the pools of standing water that add to the marsh characteristics of this high altitude jungle. Fundamentally choosing at random she leads the group at a drastically slowed pace, (made slower by the terrain), after getting everyone perfectly situated for a high altitude, extreme hot and humid trek through massive sized undergrowth (+2 to fortitude checks against the heat and altitude).
ReplyDeleteShortly after starting to struggle between the massive vines, over oddly armored roots, under expansive leaves, and beneath the dimmed and dappled lighting that manages to filter through the expansive leaves and branches, Kaellanna notices large webs, some of a spidery nature, tangled between the trees, above the undergrowth and both below and entangled with the canopy above.
Meanwhile, Vel finds his wings to be of little help in the hellish undergrowth. Only able to maintain the same speed as the rest of the group, while constrained by the expanse of the three to four meter tall undergrowth, and the instructions of Kaellanna to reduce his expenditure of energy to reduce his exhaustion. Though he is aided by the fact that his wings only require mental effort, he is still reduced in progress as long as he remains within arm's reach of the group and under the top-most expanse of the undergrowth, except where the occasional clearing exists.
Tara, with her limited vocabulary, and extreme heat exhaustion due to being a semi-arctic creature is only able to follow along behind the rest of the group, panting, drenched, and groaning in exhausted expression that she smells something 'odd' all around everyone, everywhere.
Alton finds himself unable to notice anything about him except for the heat, lack of breathable air, and extreme humidity resulting in a complete lubrication of his self and everything he wears.
And in this state the group progresses in what they hope is a relatively straight line, looking for some respite from the exhaustion of multiple sorts, and the monotony of this extreme and contradictory wilderness. Becoming more and more fatigued as they progress, they do so for little more than an hour, covering perhaps a single mile before greater sounds of beasts are heard above them, and behind from the trail they have made simply by their passing.The sounds above are of a small number of larger creatures, while the sounds behind sound like small things, though many upon many of them.
Stumbling to a halt and bracing his arm against the trunk of one of the massive trees that surround the group, Vel manages to gasp out a brief plea, "Can we stop.. for a bit?"
ReplyDeleteThough his over exerted lungs burn with a fiery pain, he tries to distract his mind by attempting to reexamine the strangely magical plants around him.
(Uses Detect Magic, K.Arcana 24, Spellcraft 17)
Avegnum comes to a halt and inwardly sighs in relief that someone called for a rest break. Attempting to regulate his heartbeat and breathing, he tries to relax as he assumes Stonefoot Stance once more. Looking around at the ever present jungle, he takes note of the webs that Kaellanna pointed out and the ruckus generated by the creatures that are apparently all around the group. Gripping the hilt of his sword tightly, he mutters, "My spidey sense is tingling.."
Both Vel and Tara are so greatly affected by the heat that they both are suffering from heatstroke. They both take 3 points of non-lethal damage and are fatigued (can't run or charge, take -2 penalty to strength and dexterity).
ReplyDeleteWhen Vel reexamines the environment he rediscovers the same as before, initially. The magic is of a faint power, and an unknown school. With a little more investigation, brought about as a result of him not wanting to walk any more, and thinking by looking intensely at something he might cool down a bit, he begins to think he may be realizing something he has never noticed before. By spending longer concentrating on a bog-like area he stands near, as long as a full minute just staring at a single point, he begins to see a depth to the magic. And then the depth is gone. Or perhaps it's only Vel's ability to see the depth that has vanished. What he did see seemed to indicate layers in the magical aura - but not layers like multiple magical auras hiding each other - layers of the same magic monotonous magical aura.
ReplyDelete"Dren! I can't tell what this magic is, but it's everywhere!", Vel exclaims. Standing up, his fatigue momentarily forgotten, he waves a hand at the vegetation and the swampy pools that seem to litter the party's humid dungeon, "The only place I can see something different is in the water but I can't fathom as to why and I don't know how it will help us."
ReplyDeleteWanting to vent some frustration, Vel starts loosing eldritch blasts into the marsh and only after the third blast does he consider observing how his magical energy is interacting with the apparently ever present aura.
Hearing Vel's outburst and witnessing the display, Avegnum smiles slightly, thinking, 'at least he isn't curled up and crying; he's still got fight left'. Pondering how they're going to get out of this mess, Avegnum thinks back on what Vel said and tries to remember if he's ever heard tales of a magically inundated jungle/swamp. (K.History:16)
Vel stops his displays of frustration as a new thought nearly bowls him over. Looking back at the swampy water he uses Detect Magic once more, looking specifically for the 'depth' he had sensed earlier in the aura. He then repeats this process in silent concentration on a number of pools in a circle(if possible) around the group's position, attempting to determine if there is a particular direction in which the aura appears 'deeper' than the others; hoping that this would lead to the source of the magical energies.
ReplyDelete"Hey Alton, Kaellanna, follow me for a few moments, I think I might be on to something. If I can determine the source of the magic, we might be able to find out what interfered with our teleporter and see if we can find a way to work around it," Vel says excitedly.
"Alright, but if we don't find something soon I say to frell with this magical jungle! This isn't natural, the magic taints this place. I say burn it all down!!! We'll be able to see better without so much magic poop vegetation in our faces and maybe the smoke will attract some attention."
ReplyDelete