Jordle offers Alexander his hand, his eyes crinkled warmly.
"Well met, my new human friend. Once again, your directness serves you well. I have the highest confidence that our mutual cooperation shall prove beneficial. And I can quite assure you that you will appreciate my 'distractions' by this tale's end."
The sparrow nestled in the collar of his robes titters to itself.
~The poorest shred of narrative cannot compare to the grand and eternal realm of possibility, Master.
For the record, I despise player-versus-player situations. It's one reason I usually request players be good or neutral aligned.
I'm not against characters messing with each other, playing pranks, and having fun, but if it devolves into an actual fight I'll use my mighty DM powers to break it up. With explosions.
The Baron smiles sadly at Ursinus. "Ah, those rumors again. Between the four of us, I'm no wizard. I sent fifteen mages into the forest to kill that dragon. Nothing in a half-mile radius survived the battle. But, as Saros correctly counciled me, the rumors of a powerful, dragon-slaying Baron would do more to discourage potential threats than the truth. So I took credit for personally killing the dragon, and encouraged the spread of those rumors."
Saros looks at the three adventurers. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't spread that around too much. I'm certain that the rumors of the Baron's magical prowess have deterred more threats than I'm already aware of. It might seem heartless to you, but to protect our town, it is worth it."
To Jordle, the Baron says "As far as I'm aware, I have no enemies in the area, political or otherwise. Not to brag too much, but my policies have brought prosperity and security to my town. They are, as far as I can tell, overwhelmingly supported within the community."
Everything scares me... kitties scare me... squirrels scare me... corpses....corpses bring forth a pletora of confusing feeling which i prefer not to dwell on...:p
Alexander took Jordle's hand and shook it firmly. Standing up after he had heard enough he approached the bar. Getting the bartender's attention, he gave a friendly smile while tapping his finger lightly on the wood.
"Excuse me, but I never got my drink and all I asked for was a simple ale."
It's just a prank At some point in the near future, Ursinus is going to tell Alexander to look in his front pocket if he wants a distraction.
Just a little snubbed elf pride is all. Ursinus is really harmless... well, no, he can do a lot of harm but not to players, you have my word.
Ursinus tries to hide his smile, the pieces of the puzzle were already falling into place. He'd share his thoughts with the others later, for now there would be no need to alarm the baron with the gravity of the situation he was glimpsing. If even part of his hypothesis was correct, he had little time and could use all the help he could get.
Ursinus's curiosity pressed him to ask about the fate of the wizards who had battled the dragon but he forced the urge back. Instead he rose from the tabe, saying Thank you for your help, Baron. Do not fear for your secrets, they shall not pass from my lips. A lie that saves lives is preferable to a truth that ends them. The information has been very useful and I would like to act upon it as soon as possible.
If you will have someone meet us and take us to the last known location of your son, I would like a moment to discuss matters with my companions. Gentlemen, if you would come outside at your nearest convenience.
He turns to leave, then hesitates and turns back. To help you sleep, he says to the mayor, placing three potions of Polypurpose Panacea (slumber) on the table with a sad smile, I find I often need it myself. With that Ursinus leaves the Inn.
EDIT:
If you wanna make a perception check against that madness, be my guest, lol. As I said above, nothing harmful will come of it. He's just playin' witcha.
You have to drink the potion for it to work, lol. I wish it was a contact poison. That would make things very interesting for anyone trying to walk barefoot when Ursinus is on guard duty.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
A silent evil where there shouldn't be another.
This awesome signature is tbe work of DNC at Heroes of the Plane Studio!
You have to drink the potion for it to work, lol. I wish it was a contact poison. That would make things very interesting for anyone trying to walk barefoot when Ursinus is on guard duty.
"I thank you both for your invaluable assistance," Jordle says, making a small bow to both Saros and the Baron. "You have my assurance that the nature of the dragon's death shall remain a secret. And I retain some hope that we may yet recover your son alive, my Baron. Stranger things have often happened in my travels."
He begins to rummage around in the pockets of his robes.
"Should you come upon any further information, please use this trinket to contact me."
He extracts a thin wooden card, painted solid white. On the front, painted in looping purple letters, it reads Jordle Glimmercoin, master illusionist, and underneath that, Break me! When the card is held at an angle, the letters appear to turn shining gold and the words "Break me!" become a still image of a roaring dragon.
"When you break that card, I will be semi-instantaneously informed of your general location, and shall endeavor to contact you posthaste. Now, with your permission, I will take my leave to confer with the other fellows."
Card subject to DM's rules, of course. I had been thinking this would be a neat magical trinket to have, operating on a modified version of message, and worth approximately 100 gp each. The card does not allow the sending of a message; it only informs the target that the card has been broken.
Also, the use of the tilde "~" at the beginning of some sentences will indicate that they are not understandable by your characters, but I wanted to throw them in anyway. As with most of what Quurthx will say, which is in the master-familiar language.
Also, the little card is clever, and while I normally don't allow custom items I'll allow this one because it's mostly insignificant in terms of power.
Unfortunately, Alexander only knows the same things as Jordle when it comes to history of the forest.
He has heard rumors that it actually was haunted at some unspecified time in the past, and that the issue was solved somehow, but he doesn't know the details.
The Baron excuses the three adventurers with a nod of his head and a thankful smile to them for the kind words.
The bartender slides Alexander an ale without so much as looking at him. From the corner, Saros tosses a gold coin to the barman with a nod at Alexander. He speaks to the Baron for a moment, then nods and stands up.
"I'll be escorting you a few miles into the forest personally," he says to Alexander, Jordle, and Ursinus. "We'll be going by carriage. There is a road into the forest that leads to my lord's favorite hunting grounds. That's where his son disappeared, I'm sure of it. I'll be just outside the city gates making preparations. Come find me when you're ready to go."
Everything scares me... kitties scare me... squirrels scare me... corpses....corpses bring forth a pletora of confusing feeling which i prefer not to dwell on...:p
Awesome, glad you're cool with the card. I'll update my charsheet to reflect having spent some money on procuring some of them.
EDIT: I don't actually think I expect it will come into play in this situation anyway, but I thought it was a cool idea and wanted to make it a part of this character concept.
Alexander downed his ale and nodded in thanks to both the barman and Saros. After he had done so and listened to what Saros had to say, he walked outside where Ursinus was waiting for him and Jordle. He approached the elf alchemist and nodded before he spoke.
"Alright, as you heard, Saros is on his way to take us to the forest. I'm guessing you're wanting to share something important?"
Inside, Ursinus begin the mayor was very helpful. I sincerely believe he told us all that he knows in regards to the situation. And why would he not? The life of his flesh and blood is at stake. However, though I believe he shared with us all he knows, he does not know the full history of these woods.
Long, long ago this forest was haunted, in a way. I am old, Alexander, yet hundreds of my life-times could have come and gone between those days of darkness and now. In those time, the forest was the locus of a conjunction to the Plane of Negative energy, a wellspring of unholy power that poisoned the wood for miles around. Geists, haunts and spirits of all descriptions flocked to it and threatened to choke out all life for miles around.
Eventually, a group of druids and other mages came together and closed the conjunction. It has been quiet ever since. I believe this is no longer the case. In my opinion, there are three possible explanations.
First, the dragon that was recently slain here did not truly come for tribute as it is generally supposed. It is possible that it came to the woods for the express purpose of reactivating the conjunction. It may have succeeded in opening the conjunction or it may not have before it was slain. To what end it acted, I know not nor care to guess for this does not seem a likely explanation of the phenomenon. In this case, the disappearances will have been caused by spirits either released by or drawn to the conjunction.
Second, a mage or apostle is attempting to reactivate the conjunction. This seems more likely than the actions of a dragon. This caster will probably be abducting travellers within the wood to use as sacrifices in his or her rituals to open the conjunction. Be warned, an apostle or mage with enough power to dare to open a conjunction to the fundamental plane of unlife may also be capable of reanimating the corpse of a dragon.
Thirdly, when the mages sent by the Mayor destroyed the dragon, by his report, they left nothing within miles alive. It is entirely possible that such a conflux of destructive energies combined with the magnitude of death visited upon an area already close to the other planes may have caused the conjunction to reopen or, at least, to crack. In this case, the dissapearances may also have been caused by geists but it is entirely possible that, having felt the disturbance in the fabric of the planes, some powerful caster has come to exploit the conjunction, if it is opened, or open it, if it is merely cracked. In this case, the disappearances may be linked to sacrifice as well and would indicate why none of the bodies have been found. I consider this to be the most likely scenario.
Ursinus sighs fiddles with the sleeve of his robe then continues in a far less serious tone, Dire matters aside, it is good to be doing something worthwhile again. Let me say with complete honesty, that I look forward to confronting whatever may come our way with the two of you.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
A silent evil where there shouldn't be another.
This awesome signature is tbe work of DNC at Heroes of the Plane Studio!
Alexander leaned against the wall as he listened to the elf's speech. He stayed silent the whole time, processing what he had heard and nodded when the elf had finished.
"What you say is definitely logical, however in my experience it's not uncommon for a dragon to make certain preparations to come back from the dead if it valued gaining whatever power was worth dying for in the first place. In fact I would hazard a guess that whatever is happening here could be a combination of the three.
For instance, say a disciple of the dragon is attempting to raise it's master with the specific instructions to use the conjunction as a conduit to empower a spell that will both raise the dragon and give it access to the plane. The only problem is that they made a small crack which isn't enough for what their trying to do and are just using the victims as a way to open it even further.
Again this is my own personal guess and I hope it isn't true. However I agree, whatever is there, odds are it might have brought the dragon back and is using it. It's too tempting to not let something as big and powerful as that still rest in peace."
Brushing himself off he unsheathed his blade and swung it around a few times in a rhythmic pattern before sheathing it again.
"Alright then, as soon as our guide comes we should be off."
Jordle, having joined the pair outside, splits his time between following the conversation, nodding approvingly at choice moments, and muttering to the sparrow at his collar, which twitters back with glee.
~Do not fall into the trap of confusing appearance for substance, Quurthx.
~Appearance is all that ever was or will be, Master.
~But appearance too can be forced by a hand of sufficient strength, Quurthx. Your reality can be reshaped as another desires.
~And such would be equally salient and true, Master. The illusion is not unreal in the mind of the dreamer.
Jordle grumpily pokes at the sparrow, and it falls silent. As Alexander trails off, he wonders aloud:
"Ought I make preparations for the forest now? I could call upon the assistance of a pair of allies, who would do exceptional work in the shadowy woods."
I can use greater shadow conjuration to mimic planar binding, and summon a pair of Shadow Mastiffs to my service. Up to Caex if this is allowable at this time, really. Otherwise, I can summon them in combat as well, or can probably perform the planar binding later, once we get to the woods.
"If you have anything to take care of in this town or have something you want to look for than by all means please take care of it now while there is time before our departure. If you have allies you want to call on then save them for later unless they can pick up the scent of the baron's son."
Alexander turned his attention to the sparrow and pondered a few minutes.
"Is it possible your...friend here can do some scouting ahead in cases we need a more aerial view of our surroundings?"
Yes, let us depart. I am anxious to depart from this place. Cities make me uncomfortable. Jordle, any assistance that your familiar could provide would be invaluable and I am certain that whatever allies you have hidden away will be similarly useful.
Ursinus runs one long fingered hand through his hair and gazes up into the sky, already anticipating the feeling of soil under his feet rather than cobblestone and the smell of pine needles instead of hundreds of bodies crammed haphazardly together. Hopefully the forest won't be so haunted that I will not be able to enjoy it...
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
A silent evil where there shouldn't be another.
This awesome signature is tbe work of DNC at Heroes of the Plane Studio!
Also, using Greater Shadow Conjuration to mimic Planar Binding still requires the ritual described in the spell to bind the mastiffs. You'd need a Magic Circle spell, which you don't appear to have.
P.S. "The Infinite Multiverse" by Caex Kothar in Jordle's inventory is particularly fitting. My D&D character Caex Kothar (where my username came from, obviously) did a lot of plane-hopping in the game he was a part of. Visited the Negative Energy Plane, the Abyss, Sigil, and the Plane of Shadow. Possibly another one I can't remember right now. Best D&D campaign I ever played in.
The air is chilly and windy. In the distance, dark clouds loom on the horizon, while lighter ones precede the oncoming storm. If the wind continues in the direction it's currently blowing, the storm could hit before nightfall. Whether rain or snow, it's difficult to tell from this distance.
The city gates stand a few hundred yards away from the Laughing Giant. A small group of guards are gathered just beyond the heavy wooden doors. The streets are nearly deserted, with the few people outside hurrying about their business dressed in heavy winter clothing, despite the temperature not being of actual winter-quality yet.
Everything scares me... kitties scare me... squirrels scare me... corpses....corpses bring forth a pletora of confusing feeling which i prefer not to dwell on...:p
Ursinus waits for the others backs to be turned before he takes another small swig from his wakefulness panacea, the potion is mostly empty but, as the foul taste fills his mouth, Ursinus decides not to finish off the dregs.
Him taking sips from the panacea has no in-game effects besides a little roleplay, in fact, it's really just wasting a potion because he's mildly addicted to it...
A slight spring in his long strides, Ursinus follows the others towards the gate.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
A silent evil where there shouldn't be another.
This awesome signature is tbe work of DNC at Heroes of the Plane Studio!
As they approach, they hear Saros talking to the guards. "I'll be gone for most of the day. This is a perfect opportunity for assassins. The city is close to panic, the Baron is distracted and tired, and now the Baron's personal bodyguard will be leaving the city. Keep our lord safe, gentlemen, or I'll personally gut each and every one of you."
The guards exchange nervous glances. Apparently they believe Saros might follow through with his threat.
Saros hears Alexander speak, and waves over the group. "Glad to see you wasted no time. We got none to waste anyway."
The wooden carriage is fairly large and well-made, but not particularly fancy. Two grey horses stand placidly while the carriage driver (another guard) tightens and checks their reigns and harnesses.
The cobbled road heads south for several hundred yards into the distance then forks. One path leads to the southeast, toward the ancient forest. One heads southwest for a time, then straightens out directly west to the larger western kingdoms.
The storm clouds are coming in from the west, and faster than first anticipated. Instead of sundown, the storm could be here within four or five hours.
Saros has noticed this as well. "Best to hurry. We don't want to get caught in the open in a blizzard. It's a two hour ride to the Baron's hunting grounds. I'd prefer to get back to the city before we have to huddle down and wait it out. It'll be a miserable night for you three. Maybe more than just the night, depending on the weather. Shall we?"
Saros gestures for the group to enter the carriage, then jumps in himself and closes the door. A half-minute later, the carriage lurches forward and begins to move, and the view through the windows shows the carriage making a good pace toward the forest.
Everything scares me... kitties scare me... squirrels scare me... corpses....corpses bring forth a pletora of confusing feeling which i prefer not to dwell on...:p
As they sat in the moving carriage, Alexander decided to take out his furs and started covering himself up, using a simple Presdigitation cantrip to seemingly graft them to his clothing as a way to not lose his stlye but still have the comfort. Watching the clouds as they weremoving, he remembered how he hated the cold, especially during and after a blizzard. He wished Saros would at least leave the carriage behind as it would make a decent shelter. However he understood that the man had a duty and could not be delayed.
"I would like to know if there is a shack or special shelter that is used during long winter hunting trips? In case the storm gets bad it'll be best to wait it out. No point in our tracker having an unnecesarry obstacle of trying to find whatever trail while having to wrestle with seeing past a blizzard."
"Unfortunately not," Saros says with a shrug. "The Baron very much believes in self-sufficiency. If you can't survive going into the forest to hunt you shouldn't be going into the forest at all, according to him. It's one reason our town is so prosperous. We don't need much support from the western kingdoms."
Everything scares me... kitties scare me... squirrels scare me... corpses....corpses bring forth a pletora of confusing feeling which i prefer not to dwell on...:p
Alexander sighed when he heard the answer. Another reason why he wasn't a fan of settling down in defined kingdoms and baronies, sometimes being prosperous came from stupidity. Still there could be a way to salvage this so that the group doesn't freeze to death in the middle of the night.
"Fine, but do you know where a great place to camp then? I appreciate being able to be self-sufficient but still I'm not a fan of having to sit around in a storm freezing my ass off."
Jordle keeps his attention out the carriage window, absentmindedly scratching the top of his familiar's head. Quurthx coos with pleasure. As the road grows bumpy and the sky darkens, some small aspect of apprehension creeps into his facial expression.
~This could be a terribly long night, Quurthx.
~Long or short relative to whose stature, Master? Yours or mine?
Jordle flicks the sparrow with irritation, but it dodges nimbly and flutters up to the roof of the carriage.
"Well met, my new human friend. Once again, your directness serves you well. I have the highest confidence that our mutual cooperation shall prove beneficial. And I can quite assure you that you will appreciate my 'distractions' by this tale's end."
The sparrow nestled in the collar of his robes titters to itself.
~The poorest shred of narrative cannot compare to the grand and eternal realm of possibility, Master.
I'm not against characters messing with each other, playing pranks, and having fun, but if it devolves into an actual fight I'll use my mighty DM powers to break it up. With explosions.
The Baron smiles sadly at Ursinus. "Ah, those rumors again. Between the four of us, I'm no wizard. I sent fifteen mages into the forest to kill that dragon. Nothing in a half-mile radius survived the battle. But, as Saros correctly counciled me, the rumors of a powerful, dragon-slaying Baron would do more to discourage potential threats than the truth. So I took credit for personally killing the dragon, and encouraged the spread of those rumors."
Saros looks at the three adventurers. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't spread that around too much. I'm certain that the rumors of the Baron's magical prowess have deterred more threats than I'm already aware of. It might seem heartless to you, but to protect our town, it is worth it."
To Jordle, the Baron says "As far as I'm aware, I have no enemies in the area, political or otherwise. Not to brag too much, but my policies have brought prosperity and security to my town. They are, as far as I can tell, overwhelmingly supported within the community."
{Magic: The RPG}
Alexander took Jordle's hand and shook it firmly. Standing up after he had heard enough he approached the bar. Getting the bartender's attention, he gave a friendly smile while tapping his finger lightly on the wood.
"Excuse me, but I never got my drink and all I asked for was a simple ale."
There was once [The Pack], but no more.
Just a little snubbed elf pride is all. Ursinus is really harmless... well, no, he can do a lot of harm but not to players, you have my word.
Ursinus tries to hide his smile, the pieces of the puzzle were already falling into place. He'd share his thoughts with the others later, for now there would be no need to alarm the baron with the gravity of the situation he was glimpsing. If even part of his hypothesis was correct, he had little time and could use all the help he could get.
Ursinus's curiosity pressed him to ask about the fate of the wizards who had battled the dragon but he forced the urge back. Instead he rose from the tabe, saying Thank you for your help, Baron. Do not fear for your secrets, they shall not pass from my lips. A lie that saves lives is preferable to a truth that ends them. The information has been very useful and I would like to act upon it as soon as possible.
If you will have someone meet us and take us to the last known location of your son, I would like a moment to discuss matters with my companions. Gentlemen, if you would come outside at your nearest convenience.
He turns to leave, then hesitates and turns back. To help you sleep, he says to the mayor, placing three potions of Polypurpose Panacea (slumber) on the table with a sad smile, I find I often need it myself. With that Ursinus leaves the Inn.
EDIT:
This awesome signature is tbe work of DNC at Heroes of the Plane Studio!
Magic Wars: DaesseclusMagic Wars Reboot Race:Emesmaa
Orammis Bhasir
Asirri Rokhane
Ursinus Koliel
Perception roll to see if I notice it:
Alexander turned his head and nodded towards his new companion.
"Sure enough, I'll get one drink in and I'll be outside right afterwards."
There was once [The Pack], but no more.
This awesome signature is tbe work of DNC at Heroes of the Plane Studio!
Magic Wars: DaesseclusMagic Wars Reboot Race:Emesmaa
Orammis Bhasir
Asirri Rokhane
Ursinus Koliel
There was once [The Pack], but no more.
He begins to rummage around in the pockets of his robes.
"Should you come upon any further information, please use this trinket to contact me."
He extracts a thin wooden card, painted solid white. On the front, painted in looping purple letters, it reads Jordle Glimmercoin, master illusionist, and underneath that, Break me! When the card is held at an angle, the letters appear to turn shining gold and the words "Break me!" become a still image of a roaring dragon.
"When you break that card, I will be semi-instantaneously informed of your general location, and shall endeavor to contact you posthaste. Now, with your permission, I will take my leave to confer with the other fellows."
Also, the use of the tilde "~" at the beginning of some sentences will indicate that they are not understandable by your characters, but I wanted to throw them in anyway. As with most of what Quurthx will say, which is in the master-familiar language.
Also, the little card is clever, and while I normally don't allow custom items I'll allow this one because it's mostly insignificant in terms of power.
He has heard rumors that it actually was haunted at some unspecified time in the past, and that the issue was solved somehow, but he doesn't know the details.
The Baron excuses the three adventurers with a nod of his head and a thankful smile to them for the kind words.
The bartender slides Alexander an ale without so much as looking at him. From the corner, Saros tosses a gold coin to the barman with a nod at Alexander. He speaks to the Baron for a moment, then nods and stands up.
"I'll be escorting you a few miles into the forest personally," he says to Alexander, Jordle, and Ursinus. "We'll be going by carriage. There is a road into the forest that leads to my lord's favorite hunting grounds. That's where his son disappeared, I'm sure of it. I'll be just outside the city gates making preparations. Come find me when you're ready to go."
{Magic: The RPG}
Awesome, glad you're cool with the card. I'll update my charsheet to reflect having spent some money on procuring some of them.
EDIT: I don't actually think I expect it will come into play in this situation anyway, but I thought it was a cool idea and wanted to make it a part of this character concept.
"Alright, as you heard, Saros is on his way to take us to the forest. I'm guessing you're wanting to share something important?"
There was once [The Pack], but no more.
Long, long ago this forest was haunted, in a way. I am old, Alexander, yet hundreds of my life-times could have come and gone between those days of darkness and now. In those time, the forest was the locus of a conjunction to the Plane of Negative energy, a wellspring of unholy power that poisoned the wood for miles around. Geists, haunts and spirits of all descriptions flocked to it and threatened to choke out all life for miles around.
Eventually, a group of druids and other mages came together and closed the conjunction. It has been quiet ever since. I believe this is no longer the case. In my opinion, there are three possible explanations.
First, the dragon that was recently slain here did not truly come for tribute as it is generally supposed. It is possible that it came to the woods for the express purpose of reactivating the conjunction. It may have succeeded in opening the conjunction or it may not have before it was slain. To what end it acted, I know not nor care to guess for this does not seem a likely explanation of the phenomenon. In this case, the disappearances will have been caused by spirits either released by or drawn to the conjunction.
Second, a mage or apostle is attempting to reactivate the conjunction. This seems more likely than the actions of a dragon. This caster will probably be abducting travellers within the wood to use as sacrifices in his or her rituals to open the conjunction. Be warned, an apostle or mage with enough power to dare to open a conjunction to the fundamental plane of unlife may also be capable of reanimating the corpse of a dragon.
Thirdly, when the mages sent by the Mayor destroyed the dragon, by his report, they left nothing within miles alive. It is entirely possible that such a conflux of destructive energies combined with the magnitude of death visited upon an area already close to the other planes may have caused the conjunction to reopen or, at least, to crack. In this case, the dissapearances may also have been caused by geists but it is entirely possible that, having felt the disturbance in the fabric of the planes, some powerful caster has come to exploit the conjunction, if it is opened, or open it, if it is merely cracked. In this case, the disappearances may be linked to sacrifice as well and would indicate why none of the bodies have been found. I consider this to be the most likely scenario.
Ursinus sighs fiddles with the sleeve of his robe then continues in a far less serious tone, Dire matters aside, it is good to be doing something worthwhile again. Let me say with complete honesty, that I look forward to confronting whatever may come our way with the two of you.
This awesome signature is tbe work of DNC at Heroes of the Plane Studio!
Magic Wars: DaesseclusMagic Wars Reboot Race:Emesmaa
Orammis Bhasir
Asirri Rokhane
Ursinus Koliel
"What you say is definitely logical, however in my experience it's not uncommon for a dragon to make certain preparations to come back from the dead if it valued gaining whatever power was worth dying for in the first place. In fact I would hazard a guess that whatever is happening here could be a combination of the three.
For instance, say a disciple of the dragon is attempting to raise it's master with the specific instructions to use the conjunction as a conduit to empower a spell that will both raise the dragon and give it access to the plane. The only problem is that they made a small crack which isn't enough for what their trying to do and are just using the victims as a way to open it even further.
Again this is my own personal guess and I hope it isn't true. However I agree, whatever is there, odds are it might have brought the dragon back and is using it. It's too tempting to not let something as big and powerful as that still rest in peace."
Brushing himself off he unsheathed his blade and swung it around a few times in a rhythmic pattern before sheathing it again.
"Alright then, as soon as our guide comes we should be off."
There was once [The Pack], but no more.
~Do not fall into the trap of confusing appearance for substance, Quurthx.
~Appearance is all that ever was or will be, Master.
~But appearance too can be forced by a hand of sufficient strength, Quurthx. Your reality can be reshaped as another desires.
~And such would be equally salient and true, Master. The illusion is not unreal in the mind of the dreamer.
Jordle grumpily pokes at the sparrow, and it falls silent. As Alexander trails off, he wonders aloud:
"Ought I make preparations for the forest now? I could call upon the assistance of a pair of allies, who would do exceptional work in the shadowy woods."
EDIT: Also, what time of day is it?
Alexander turned his attention to the sparrow and pondered a few minutes.
"Is it possible your...friend here can do some scouting ahead in cases we need a more aerial view of our surroundings?"
There was once [The Pack], but no more.
Ursinus runs one long fingered hand through his hair and gazes up into the sky, already anticipating the feeling of soil under his feet rather than cobblestone and the smell of pine needles instead of hundreds of bodies crammed haphazardly together. Hopefully the forest won't be so haunted that I will not be able to enjoy it...
This awesome signature is tbe work of DNC at Heroes of the Plane Studio!
Magic Wars: DaesseclusMagic Wars Reboot Race:Emesmaa
Orammis Bhasir
Asirri Rokhane
Ursinus Koliel
Also, using Greater Shadow Conjuration to mimic Planar Binding still requires the ritual described in the spell to bind the mastiffs. You'd need a Magic Circle spell, which you don't appear to have.
P.S. "The Infinite Multiverse" by Caex Kothar in Jordle's inventory is particularly fitting. My D&D character Caex Kothar (where my username came from, obviously) did a lot of plane-hopping in the game he was a part of. Visited the Negative Energy Plane, the Abyss, Sigil, and the Plane of Shadow. Possibly another one I can't remember right now. Best D&D campaign I ever played in.
The air is chilly and windy. In the distance, dark clouds loom on the horizon, while lighter ones precede the oncoming storm. If the wind continues in the direction it's currently blowing, the storm could hit before nightfall. Whether rain or snow, it's difficult to tell from this distance.
The city gates stand a few hundred yards away from the Laughing Giant. A small group of guards are gathered just beyond the heavy wooden doors. The streets are nearly deserted, with the few people outside hurrying about their business dressed in heavy winter clothing, despite the temperature not being of actual winter-quality yet.
{Magic: The RPG}
"We're here on orders from the Baron, I believe our guide to the forest is here waiting for us?"
There was once [The Pack], but no more.
"Yes, my familiar can provide us some scouting, should we require that of him."
Jordle looks at the sparrow with a mixture of irritation and affection.
"We may disagree on any number of points, but this little bird has certainly saved me from an unhappy fate or two."
Jordle follows Alexander towards the city gate.
A slight spring in his long strides, Ursinus follows the others towards the gate.
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Orammis Bhasir
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Ursinus Koliel
The guards exchange nervous glances. Apparently they believe Saros might follow through with his threat.
Saros hears Alexander speak, and waves over the group. "Glad to see you wasted no time. We got none to waste anyway."
The wooden carriage is fairly large and well-made, but not particularly fancy. Two grey horses stand placidly while the carriage driver (another guard) tightens and checks their reigns and harnesses.
The cobbled road heads south for several hundred yards into the distance then forks. One path leads to the southeast, toward the ancient forest. One heads southwest for a time, then straightens out directly west to the larger western kingdoms.
The storm clouds are coming in from the west, and faster than first anticipated. Instead of sundown, the storm could be here within four or five hours.
Saros has noticed this as well. "Best to hurry. We don't want to get caught in the open in a blizzard. It's a two hour ride to the Baron's hunting grounds. I'd prefer to get back to the city before we have to huddle down and wait it out. It'll be a miserable night for you three. Maybe more than just the night, depending on the weather. Shall we?"
Saros gestures for the group to enter the carriage, then jumps in himself and closes the door. A half-minute later, the carriage lurches forward and begins to move, and the view through the windows shows the carriage making a good pace toward the forest.
{Magic: The RPG}
"I would like to know if there is a shack or special shelter that is used during long winter hunting trips? In case the storm gets bad it'll be best to wait it out. No point in our tracker having an unnecesarry obstacle of trying to find whatever trail while having to wrestle with seeing past a blizzard."
There was once [The Pack], but no more.
{Magic: The RPG}
"Fine, but do you know where a great place to camp then? I appreciate being able to be self-sufficient but still I'm not a fan of having to sit around in a storm freezing my ass off."
There was once [The Pack], but no more.
~This could be a terribly long night, Quurthx.
~Long or short relative to whose stature, Master? Yours or mine?
Jordle flicks the sparrow with irritation, but it dodges nimbly and flutters up to the roof of the carriage.