As dawn begins to break across the sky, a large village comes into view as the Lucky Dice approaches the shore line. The water at the edge of the coast here is murky; erodinng back away from the gates of the town before you. The Lucky Dice pulls in to port and the ropes are secured with ease.
As you step from the ship, a delapitaed village lays before you. Guards are posted seemingly at every turn while people of varied races mill about their daily chores. There is a gate just across the beach at the end of the Docks.
"It is a forsaken place, Pelle," Thalenir says, appearing from below deck. "For some reason, the Shattering struck harder here than elsewhere."
Thalenir trudges slowly across the gangplank and joins Pelle. "Much of the water and wildlife are poisoned by the Scorn, where there is any to be found at all. Very little of the land will bear crops. Even travel is difficult, what with the cursed White Woods and the soulshorn of the northern wastes. These folk are desperate, and with good reason."
Thalenir continues toward the gate. "Just the same, Haven left Jastrey because she thought she could do more good here. Perhaps she was right."
After a painful minute, Thalenir arrives before the gate. He calls up to the guards stationed there. "Good morrow. We are a crew from Jastrey and other parts. We come here by way of Daralon, Sendai, Taekron, and Quito. May we enter your city to rest and trade?"
To Blisdon It had felt like days since the shamans granite flesh had felt the comforting blanket of bright daylight when he wearily trodded from a nearby shack in extreme disrepair- His earthen form still glowing faintly with the primal power indicative of a theurge. Blisdon let a satisfied grunt escape his lips as he wiped the remnants of infected blood and putrid filth from his hands onto a tattered apron of sorts- In truth the Oread looked more like a Butcher than the proud Shaman of the Wild Hunt that he believed himself to be.
His eyes would have resembled that of brilliant gemstones, had his face not been painted with all the telltale signs of weariness and Fatigue.
"Spirits help these poor folks" He grumbled idly to himself "Bring 'em some good fortune on the winds, I can't be doin' the good work alone."
With that he crashed his stone ass on what once remained of a decorative cobblestone wall and removed his filthy apron, revealing the still-vibrant mantle of the Groveskeeper underneath as he took inventory of his sparse herbs and medicines.
"Thank the ancestors that ol' Finian came through with those squires of his a few weeks back or It'd be just me an my totems out here in the trenches..."
Thalenir awaits the guards' response patiently. He casts a sideward glance to the oread local, dismisses him, then blinks and looks back, focusing on the man's vestments. "Blisdon...?" the elf says, bewildered. He steps closer, scrutinizing the man's face. "Blisdon? Is that you? It is, isn't it. Stars above, how long has it been? What brings you to a place like this?"
Blisdon's granite eyebrows furrow in the midst of his count and the glacial waters that run through his veins feel as if they've stopped entirely, The shaman's neck grinds out small pebbles as it cranes upward to address the visitor.
"Thalenir...? So you got kicked from Jastrey too? What happened to your hair? What happened in the void? Who else is with you?" His eyes shined with perplexity and the once-dwarfs Jaw hung open, revealing shimmering mineral veins within. "I-I..uh...I was in the grove, but then I felt a strangeness like never before. The sacred trees of the grove were shaking in fear, The wind screamed in horror." The Shamans face seemed distant, as if he was reliving the moment in vivid detail.
"I left yaknow...to make things right...But I found neither Town nor the grove again when I tried to return...Been following misery and sickness ever since, Doing what I can with what I've got." The shaman made a gesture to his two hands
"Good thing the Spirits blessed me with plenty."
Thalenir shakes his head. "It's a long story. Suffice to say that Secronus drove everyone from Jastrey by force. Most of those who escaped the encroaching Void are aboard the ship. Taklinn and Glimmer, Binx and Barbaal, Cail, Gaius, Leofrick, Tashika, Thimble, Truff... a few others. Solas left before the end; I believe he's alive, though I couldn't say where he went. Rasiri died but... well, he didn't stay dead. Corvax rejoined us somewhere along the way. Huel Vor, I think."
Thalenir gives a wistful sigh. "We've lost some on our journey, and managed to attract a fair share of strays, as well. It has been an... interesting voyage."
Arys walks up the stairs to the main deck, she looks around and noticed the small group. She walks past them and makes her way for the gang plank, just before stepping off she speaks "This place looks terrible." she shakes her head and pulls her hood up, after a beat she steps onto the docks of Nastal.
Rune appears on the decks of the Lucky Dice in a flash of blue light. His runes continue to glow after the spell, slowly dimming as hot steel would. The golem once again had a head, and the blue cross on it's face glowed bright and slowly focused into two two pinpoints of light where eyes should be. The golem's stone feet thunder as he walk across the deck of the ship, standing on the edge to survey where they had arrived.
The docent at the center of the golem's chest flashes twice, and Rune begins to spout its thoughts about Nastral; "Nastal. Heavily affected by the Shattering. Self should seek the City of Ogmash. Ascertain nature of golems there. Use gathered information to find Self." The golem appears unaware that he emitted his thoughts. Rune -teleports- across the gangplank, still not trusting of the thin wood to hold his stone body, appearing on the docks.
Rune notices Thalenir talking to a creature of stone. He walks over to the pair, and picks up the end of the conversation. "Is this one also a golem?" The golem's lights observe the stone being, and the analytical thoughts of the golem issue forth once more: "No, not golem. Appears to be one piece. Features are to natural to have be made. Stone to fluid to be construct. Sprite perhaps?"
Blisdon sighed deeply at Thalenirs disheartening news "At least theres familiar faces again- It wears on ya, being away from home. You couldn't imagine the sleepless nights, longing for an ale and a toasty fire in the Shady Corner. "
"You remember those days? Uordeqs and their buddy clubs perched in the rafters? Angoris slingin' around rocks as big as a dwarf?" The oreads skin cracks at the corners of his mouth as he breaks into a weary, whimsical grin.
"Ah...oh well. Nastal has it's charms. If you like unspeakable horrors and the look of hopelessness in a small childs eyes."
Blisdons nostalgic rant trailed off as he turned to look at the towering and imposing golem in front of him
"Well, you sure weren't lying about picking up strays, Thalenir. What's your name, big guy?"
Up in the crows nest, just finishing up his meditation due to the sounds of conversation outside the perimeter of the ship and the feeling of no longer being in a moving vessel. His eyes, though already open and unblinking, adjust and focus as he stands up from his cross legged sitting position. He does some minor stretching for his arms, legs and torso as he takes in the surroundings. On one end he sees the dawn sky, beautiful with vivid colors, and the ocean on the horizon. Then as he twists his torso around stretch to aid in his dexterity he takes in the overwhelmingly underwhelming sight of where they have landed. New surroundings, even upon his traveling he has never come upon Nastal, and he feels grateful so far that he hasn't.
Upon finishing up the stretching, he spots his elven brother in light, his former paladin brother the golem, his most loosely trusted long term ally, and their unlively guildmate talking to someone he does not recognize, and then several guards as well. After one more stretch bending backwards and yawning. He decides to start rappeling down to join them to see what the fuss is about.
Blaise swiftly and easily descends from his usual post on the mizzen mast, and disembarks the ship to find the motley assortment of adventurers conversing before him. The fire sprite catches a glance of the of the Oread and stands stunned for a moment before speaking, "W...why, a fellow sprite of the Maelstrom! Quite a stocky fellow, aren't you? 'Sprite' doesn't quite seem fitting." The Ifrit regains his perfect posture and continues, "I am Blaise, an embodiment of fire." Blaise then takes a small bow with a flourishing gesture.
Somewhere between her name being mentioned and Blisdon talking about unspeakable horrors, Binx made her way onto the decks of the Lucky Dice. Normally the Uordeq would be settling in to rest around dawn, but she was curious about Nastal. The wilds weren't exactly ideal for a scout, but her clan had never taken interest in the area and she hadn't seen it. She rested her elbows on the railing next to the gangplank, looking out over the docks. The breeze gently tugged at her sanguine hair as her yellow eyes fell on Thalenir speaking to a familiar face. She frowned behind the mask that covered the lower half of her face, unsure of this particular reunion.
Rumbling can be heard as the dwarf begins to walk toward the gangplank. He stops and mumbles "Aint fer goin in the drink this time." and he walks over to a rope attached to the mizzenmast. With a quick tug to ensure the strength of the knots above ,he attempts to swing on the rope to the dock. Halfway there, a sudden wave lifts the ship up, ,and his rope runs out short of the dock. Hanging on he tries to swing the rope to no avail until finally he is suspended above the water. Looking down at the brackish water he begins an angry tirade before calming down.
"Time ta' see if one of yer tricks will work elf" he yells out, winking to Thalenir before letting go of the rope and falling for the water. A few feet from enttering the water he disappears in a flash of light (teleport). He reappears on the dock a bit woozy but dry. "Finallly found me a way ta keep me boots dry!" he yells loudly to the group. He reaches for his drinking horn, and takes a long pull to celebrate before belching loudly and smiling to any who are still paying attention.
Matilda comes out of the depths of the ship and follows where everyone else seems to be headed, but stopped in her tracks and hung back a bit. This place was too familiar to her, a place that she had just ran from. She frowned with distaste as she looked around for the guards while she covered her head with a hood and her nose and mouth with a light fabric. If caught by any authority who recognized her, it would be a quick end to her short time of being.
Blisdon nodded warmly at the newcomers introductions "It's a pleasure to meet you both, Rune and Blaise. I am Blisdon, Shaman of the Wild Hunt and one of two keepers to a Sacred Grove for those connected to the natural world back home in Jastrey. You two have the look of Jastreyans about you, It's in the way you move."
The Oread slowly rocked an outstretched stone finger in the air at tail end of his sentence to emphasize his point. Slowly his gaze turned to the distance just past them to the uordeq assassin in the distance and with a weary grin he quickly fired off a subtle, cocked earthen eyebrow at her like a rangers bow
"Maybe you'll see it someday you two, if the fates are kind"
Seconds later, The stone shamans attention is quickly turned to the familiar looking dwarf that has magically burst into the physical plane from seemingly nowhere "Speaking of Jastreyans, I never thought I'd see the day when Taklinn starts using magic himself!" Cried out Blisdon, his eyes glowing with his first taste of amusement in many long months.
After the dark elf took his time descending from his watchful perch up high, he adjusts his equipment and makes sure everything is on his person. Then turns toward the edge of the ship. With elbows on the guardrail and his hands gripping one another, he leans over to oversee the congregation of familiars and unfamiliars. His position just a few feet from the gangplank, opposite the resident uordeq. His right thumb polishes over the skull ring on his left thumb as he ponders all that is going on.
As the sudden wave tilts the ship a bit and some rambling dwarven nonesense in his ear from the background, he suddenly sees out of his periphery, Taklinn, swinging from the rope and about to take a dip in the murk before *POOF.* The dark elves' eyes widen with slight astonishment as he can't help to bring his ringed hand up to his chin to almost cover his mouth as the dwarven warrior reappears on the dock without a splash. As he lowers his hand back again on the guardrail, he can't help but let a chuckle escape. Despite the amusement, he's still not forgot about the words the stout soldier spoke before as he dismissed himself from the presence of "Fiendfrayer." His eyes narrow again towards indifference and he diverts his gaze elsewhere. This time towards Binx for a brief moment, then towards the... Oread? Who he does not recognize but still somehow speaks familiarly of the dwarf. Apparently this group has friends from all over the shards. He continues to fiddle with his ring some more while attempting to get a read on the earth sprite. Recognizing his voice moments ago from the background noise he wasn't focusing much on, he mouths the name boasted by the voice's owner, Blesden.
After enough pause and contemplation, the dark elf sidesteps the guardrail and starts making his steps down the gangplank, both thumbs resting on his belt.
Matilda knew that staying on the ship wasn't an option. She saw the towering dark elf leaving the ship and knew he was her best shot at not being seen. Bringing her goggles over her eyes, she started after him in a brisk walk until she was one step behind him. Whenever she saw a guard, she would move to the opposite side of the dark elf.
As Thalenir speaks to the guard, then turns to Blisdon, the guard watches the exchange. As more people begin to descend the ship onto the pier, the Human simply shakes his head.
With a well placed back kick, the guard sends the gate swinging open; shards of wood splinterring as he shakes his head at the group again. He looks them over, spits on the ground at Thalenir's feet, and holds out his hands in a manner to say they may pass.
"Large crew. You must be at the end of your wits if you've come here to die!" The guard chuckles to himself, before doubling over in a heavy coughing spasm. A small trickle of blood falling to the ground as he does so.
Seeing the gates finally been opened, the riven looked to the rest of the group. "Ah, thats the kind of greeting I like. Warnings of doom and gloom. Makes my hobbies so much easier," he said with a devilish smirk. "If you will all pardon me, but I think it's time I went, eh, window shopping? Yes." He offered a slight bow of his head to the rest of the group as he began on his way into town.
"Perhaps you're right," Thalenir says to the guard. He walks up to the man, heedless of his apparent illness, and rests a hand on the guard's shoulder. His other hand rests on the pommel of Fiendfrayer as he mutters a series of quick incantations (Dispel, Purge, Cure, Share 12, Heal 12, Renew Body). "If you would be so kind, can you tell me where the ill and dying are kept?" He then reaches over to the splintered gate and mutters another incantation (Repair).
As Thalenir casts his spells, the guard notices the hand on his shoulder. Standing upright, he quickly wipes his nose and mouth on the back of the Elf's hand. "Much obliged to you. My wife says I gotta quit the smokes. As for the sick and dying', we don't keep em'. The sick go on about their daily lives here in town, and the dead are just as dead. We burn em once a week when we can. The ash piles are in back of town, just past the market."
As the man slows his speech, the gate quickly repairs itself, still standing open.
The golem observes the ill man, and Thalenir's barrage of healing magics. "Seems wasteful. Condition is self-inflicted. Shameful on his part, considering family? Children will hopefully do better." The golem walks towards the city gates, exposing the ifrit to the guard. "Convict considers Self Friend? Interesting turn. Should endeavor to earn title at a later date." Rune walks into the gates and surveys the state of the town.
Binx's gaze did not falter as Blisdon noticed her, and the eye contact was more than likely all the greeting he would get from her. The lack of concern for the travelers from the guard was enough of an invitation for her to step off the ship, raising an eyebrow at Taklinn's antics. Bow on her back, she navigated through group to pass through the gates, sparing a glance at the guard that had been healed as she went.
"Blison ye change form more'n an elf pitches his nose in the air! At least it seems ye got the hoot out of ye it seems. As fer magic I'm only usin' a bit of enchanting is all. Sometimes magic can keep me axe arm strong, and me head attached." As Binx walks past he adds "An' sometimes its all fer naught and I pick up a new scar or two fer me efforts." "So whats the lay of the land around this place? Seems its seen better days, and that Hursisa has taken a likin' to it ,curse her name."
By this point the dark elf has caught up to the rest of the gathered group. He notices the presence behind him but sensing a tad bit of fear, he just smirks and continues walking. She's not a threat, at least not to him. He stands within the group as Thalenir looses a plethora of arcana. As said by Rune, the dark elf agrees, this does seem to have been done in excess. But that's just Thalenir being Thalenir. Rather than speak up, the dark elf just blends in and looks around the perimeter inquisitively. There seems to be an odor in the air.
A hand to his mouth. *cough*
The dark elf looks at his hand in disgust despite the cough being dry before wiping it on his pant leg.
Pelle looked about his surroundings as he crossed the gangplank, obviously not impressed by the town before him. "Well this is surely no Rica," the riven said aloud. "Not at all."