73: Henrietta is taken by a fey mood

[Ebiris]

[12:20] <@Ebiris> Although Hortia doesn't talk any further, she and the other two remain under careful guard at the manor as the group rests up and then departs on their journey to the 'buried temple' in search of further answers to the mysteries that plague Lessmus. Setting a confident stride out of the depopulated village and away from any roads or paths to speak of, they strike East into the foothills of the Pinnacle Mountains, scraping the sky far above. Hugging lake Nathavanaasu makes for an easy enough to follow trip, if not a short one... still, it's barely an hour out of town before an oddity presents itself in the form of a very old and lone yew tree, set quite apart from the surrounding sparse and infrequent trees by its size and vaguely sinister presence felt even at a distance where the trailing adornment of noosed ropes lie still beneath its boughs despite the gentle breeze blowing North...
[12:21] <@Lucie> "The local hanging tree?" Lucie assumes.
[12:22] <@Rudy> "Yeah, I've seen friendly-looking execution sites," remarks Rudy, giving the tree a wide berth.
[12:22] <@Rudy> *friendlier
[12:22] <@Ebiris> "Looks like it. Feels creepy," Liamae opines, her pace quickening as she matches Rudy in veering a wide path around the tree.
[12:22] <@Henrietta> "Do you think it would be haunted?" Henrietta asks warily, casting False Life.
[12:22] <@Lucie> "Walk up and find out?" Lucie suggests.
[12:23] <@Henrietta> "I think not."
[12:24] <@Rudy> "Ropes might come alive and get you! I'd never have believed that a couple months ago..." Rudy snorts. "Now it seems one of the more likely things to happen."
[12:25] <@Lucie> "Oh, but think, if there are ghosts here too, we could be such a help to the locals by getting rid of them," Lucie continues to goad, not at all thinking about the last time someone dragged her into a bout of ghostbusting.
[12:25] <@Rudy> "Shut up, Lucie," replies Rudy, under his breath.
[12:26] <@Ebiris> "Maybe if it's still there after we deal with demon wolves and all the rest," Liamae suggests as the tree draws closer from her quick pace, though veering a respectful distance around it to continue onwards.
[12:26] <@Henrietta> "A good point, Lucie," Henrietta admits. "Rudy, might I ask that Myra goes to investigate?"
[12:26] <@Lucie> "It's a tree, I don't imagine it'll be going anywhere," Lucie says. "Hopefully."
[12:26] <@Rudy> "Think of Myra's feelings!"
[12:27] <@Henrietta> "That thing has feelings?!"
[12:29] <@Rudy> "I think so?" replies Rudy, uncertainly. "She sounds annoyed when I talk to her. Usually. That's a feeling, right?" He sighs. "I guess we better get this over with. Go on, dear." Myra stares at Rudy for a long moment, before trudging towards the tree and raising her arms in frustration.
[12:30] * @Henrietta draws her spear as she looks on....
[12:31] <@Ebiris> As soon as she falls under the tree's branches, Myrea stops. Briefly patting the stump atop her torso where a neck and head would exist on anything else, she turns back to Rudy and shakes while making that strange and distorted laugh she has. A feeling of smugness radiates from her.
[12:33] <@Rudy> "Yes, see? She has a sense of humour!"
[12:34] <@Lucie> "She seems unharmed," Lucie comments, strolling up to take a closer look herself since Rudy's abomination wasn't strung up by ghosts or anything.
[12:34] <@Ebiris> "She sure seems happy about something," Liamae agrees, perplexed.
[12:34] <@Ebiris> OOC: will save, Lucie
[12:35] <@Lucie> roll 1d20+12
[12:35] * +Hatbot --> "Lucie rolls 1d20+12 and gets 15." [1d20=3]
[12:36] <@Ebiris> For a second Lucie swears she can see one of the ropes moving towards her, but she blinks and it's as still as all the rest.
[12:37] * @Lucie shrugs, walks away. "Just a tree."
[12:37] <@Henrietta> "Oh, how delightful! The locals can rest easily about this, at least!"
[12:38] <@Ebiris> "I guess I won't set fire to it, then," Liamae shrugs, still seeming much happier when she turns her back to it and starts walking. A little faster than normal.
[12:38] <@Lucie> "Nope, save the fire for living people," Lucie agrees as they continue on.
[12:39] <@Henrietta> "And for flora that has shown itself to be evil," Henrietta adds. "There is no need to burn it merely on a suspicion!"
[12:44] <@Ebiris> Pressing onwards the next few hours pass peacefully enough, clouds clearing overhead to reveal a striking blue sky lit by a bright but chilly sun. Walking close to the lakeshore through long grass that could be concealing any number of threats, a high pitched voice is momentarily heard from the water, "Hey, you- eeeeek!" it cuts off with a panicked cry and a splash of water, the ripples across the lake's surface seen a couple of dozen feet out or so, but no sign of who made the noise.
[12:44] <@Henrietta> "Someone... is living in the lake?" Henrietta voices, looking about. "Hello?"
[12:45] <@Lucie> "Not living for long, in that case," Lucie says, eyeing the source of the ripples/.
[12:45] <@Ebiris> There's no immediate reply to that...
[12:45] <@Ebiris> OOC: spot checks if you care
[12:46] <@Henrietta> roll 1d20+2 I care! But I'm so bad at this....
[12:46] * +Hatbot --> "Henrietta rolls 1d20+2 I care! But I'm so bad at this.... and gets 11." [1d20=9]
[12:46] <@Lucie> roll 1d20+15
[12:46] * +Hatbot --> "Lucie rolls 1d20+15 and gets 35." [1d20=20]
[12:46] <@Rudy> roll 1d20+1 me
[12:46] * +Hatbot --> "Rudy rolls 1d20+1 me and gets 14." [1d20=13]
[12:46] <@Rudy> roll 1d20+8 m
[12:46] * +Hatbot --> "Rudy rolls 1d20+8 m and gets 18." [1d20=10]
[12:48] <@Ebiris> The glare of the sun on the shimmering water makes it too hard to see much for anyone except for Lucie's keenly trained eyes. She can just make out a childish looking figure swimming away under water at a rapid clip, with... frogs legs?
[12:49] <@Lucie> "Something underwater," Lucie says uncertainly. "Giant frog, kid with frog legs, I dunno."
[12:50] <@Ebiris> "Another mutant?" Liamae wonders, "Or... it could be a nixie."
[12:50] <@Lucie> "A what?"
[12:52] <@Ebiris> "A fey creature of lakes and ponds," Liamae explains. "They can grant wishes to those who please them, but not very powerful ones. They can also charm people into following them underwater... it might have been here for either, but Myra must have frightened it," she adds with a look at Rudy's own mutant.
[12:52] <@Henrietta> "Can you summon them, Rudy?" Henrietta asks. "Or something that can speak with them? Perhaps we could learn something about our enemies by talking to this one!"
[12:53] <@Rudy> "I could just swim down there?" suggests Rudy, awkwardly. "I've got a spell that's useful for this sort of thing."
[12:53] <@Lucie> "Swimming away, so you better talk fast," Lucie says, "and do it underwater."
[12:54] <@Ebiris> As the group talks, Lucie can see the creature is coming back towards the shore again.
[12:55] <@Rudy> Rudy throws off his jacket, and claspes his hands together as he incants a spell! He legs suddenly merge into a tail, and he collapses helplessly on the ground. "Fuck! Fucking... fuck!"
[12:55] * @Lucie blinks, more taken aback by this development than anything else that's happened recently. "...Rudy?"
[12:55] <@Henrietta> "Do you... need a push?" Henrietta asks hesitantly.
[12:56] <@Lucie> "Look, I think it's coming back anyway," Lucie adds helpfully.
[12:56] <@Rudy> "No, no, I've got this," he says, before blinking. "Oh what really? Hey, Myra, go away a sec," he voices, and with a momentary effort, he has his legs back again!
[12:57] <@Ebiris> Liamae gasps at Rudy's misfortune, but as that happens the creature emerges from the water, a cute girlish face with wide green eyes and a pert button nose all surrounded by messy pink hair decorated with shells. In her hands she holds what looks like a pike or some other long predatory freshwater fish. "Go my fishy minion!" she cries, chucking the fish like a javelin straight at Myra... only for her to disappear and the unfortunate piscine to land gulping on the grass. "Wow, that fish was powerful! Throw him back, please!"
[12:58] <@Henrietta> "Ah, certainly!" Henrietta responds, once she gets over her surprise.
[12:58] * @Lucie can't help but snort in amusement.
[12:58] * @Henrietta picks the fish and approaches the water to return it.
[13:00] <@Ebiris> Out of its element, the fish is easy to handle and toss back into the water, swimming away quickly only for the nixie to move faster and catch it, cradling it lovingly to her flat chest with webbed greenish hands. "There, I saved you from the monster, you should praise me!" she extolls towards the group, a wide triumphant grin on her face.
[13:00] <@Henrietta> "It was very brave!"
[13:01] <@Ebiris> "Bravo," Liamae seconds lamely, clapping slowly. It seems lost on the aquatic fey, though, who soaks it all up as her due.
[13:01] <@Lucie> "Sure, wild Myras are on the rise in these parts, folks gotta look out for each other," Lucie says, without much conviction.
[13:02] <@Rudy> "Congratuations. You've joined the ranks of the Myraslayers," states Rudy, flatly.
[13:02] <@Henrietta> "Were you just coming to say hello earlier?" Henrietta asks the nixie.
[13:04] <@Ebiris> "Well, not just that," she shakes her head, "I don't see many landfolk around here, I wanted to ask if you knew why the pretty lights over that way have stopped," she points vaguely Southwest in the direction of the old lighthouse just barely visible far in the distance thanks to its elevation.
[13:05] <@Rudy> "Bad people lived there, but they're gone now."
[13:06] <@Henrietta> "It is a good thing, too!" Henrietta insists. "Because... because people would follow the pretty lights, and then the people there would turn them into zombies and skeletons!"
[13:08] <@Ebiris> "Oh," she pouts sadly, the fish managing to wriggle out of her more slack grasp and whizz away into the depths. "Landfolk are pretty stupid. Can't they just enjoy the lights without having to go right up to them and... well, bleah," she gives up and shakes her head. "I saw a few zombies walking around on the bottom a few days ago, too, but that was after the lights stopped."
[13:09] <@Henrietta> "Are they gone, now?" Henrietta asks in concern.
[13:11] <@Ebiris> "Yes, I had some of my friends kill them again and chuck them up on land so they don't mess up the lake," she nods, sighing. "Oh well, I guess no more lights. You can considering telling me that to have repaid the debt of me saving you!"
[13:12] <@Lucie> "'Friends?'" Lucie asks. "There are more of you living in the lake?"
[13:13] <@Henrietta> "Do you think we could maybe cast something for her?" Henrietta asks Liamae quietly, as Lucie takes over.
[13:16] <@Ebiris> "Well, I'm the only one like me. But the fish are my friends! And there's Hypathiae, but she's useless ever since her human lover died all she does is mope mope mope..." the nixie groans at that. "I guess Illie's nice, but she doesn't live under water so she doesn't really count."
[13:16] <@Ebiris> "Like what?" Liamae asks back matching Henrietta's volume, "I doubt she'd have much use for being stronger for a few minutes."
[13:16] <@Henrietta> "I have ghost sound," Henrietta muses. "And prestidigitation, of course. Maybe you could use your servant and I could add some sound to it?"
[13:17] <@Lucie> "So these other two, if they're not fish and they're not just like you, what are they?" Lucie wonders.
[13:19] <@Ebiris> "Why?" Liamae asks Henrietta, her face registering incomprehension.
[13:19] <@Ebiris> "Hypathiae's a nymph. Kinda looks a bit like you actually, but with better skin," the little fey tells Lucie innocently, "Illie's a dryad, she's got worse skin since it's all bark. Skinnier, too."
[13:20] <@Henrietta> "I just thought it would be nice. But we do not have to, I suppose...."
[13:21] <@Ebiris> "I just don't get what use she'd have for it," the other sorceress responds, gesturing at the lake.
[13:21] <@Rudy> "Think you guys want anything? From the village?" asks Rudy, curiously. "Like, I don't know. Tools? Jewelry?"
[13:22] <@Lucie> "Huh," Lucie says, concealing some minor irritation at that comment.
[13:24] <@Ebiris> "No, human stuff isn't much good for us. It all rusts, anyway," the nixie replies bluntly. "Anyway, it was nice talking to you," she volunteers before dipping back underwater and starting to swim away.
[13:25] <@Lucie> "Flighty little thing," Lucie says with a shrug.
[13:25] <@Henrietta> "Does anyone, well, want to try and find the dryad?" Henrietta asks uncertainly.
[13:26] <@Lucie> "We don't know where she is, do we?" Lucie asks. "I mean, if we run into her well, okay, but otherwise I dunno. What'd we do, poke around the forest looking at trees 'til we find the one with teats?"
[13:26] <@Rudy> "Should ask her if you really want to. Quick, before she leaves?" asks Rudy, pointing at the river.
[13:27] <@Ebiris> "Hey, wait!" Liamae calls loudly, prompting a pink-maned head to pop out of the water a bit further out, looking back curiously.
[13:27] <@Henrietta> "How can we, umm, where does Illie live? That is, if we wanted to visit her?"
[13:28] <@Lucie> "Or Hypathiae, for that matter," Lucie adds, because they might as well cover all the bases.
[13:31] <@Ebiris> "Oh. I've never actually visited Illie," the nixie admits, "But when she comes to water herself it's always over there," she raises a webbed hand to point at the distant shore to the Southeast, "See where the forest gets much thicker in that part? It must be in there. Hypathiae lives in a cave under the cliffs a bit further South from where the coloured lights were. I know what you probably think about nymphs, but don't expect a fun romp if you visit her while she's moping."
[13:32] <@Henrietta> "That is not it at all!" Henrietta exclaims.
[13:33] <@Ebiris> "Good, well be nice if you see either of them. Tell them Silke says hello!" she waves before diving under once more.
[13:33] <@Rudy> "Is that it at all?" whispers Rudy, leaning in to Lucie.
[13:33] <@Lucie> "Maybe it is now," Lucie admits.
[13:35] <@Henrietta> "I would appreciate it if we could stop by Illie's tree later, on our way back," Henrietta voices, turning towards the others. "Do you think it would be possible?"
[13:35] <@Ebiris> "We've got time to kill," Liamae says agreeably.
[13:35] <@Lucie> "Well," Lucie says out loud, "they're not exactly on our way. Maybe we can stop by on the return trip, sure, circling round the south side and make a full circuit of the lake. Could be nice to just talk and relax after what we're out here for."
[13:35] <@Rudy> "Hey, they know the area," points out Rudy. "Can't hurt to have a chat before we head down there, you know?"
[13:37] <@Henrietta> "That... is also true," Henrietta admits. "I was only thinking of visiting, well, a sort of distant family? But this is a good reason to consider doing it first."
[13:39] <@Lucie> "'Distant family,'" Lucie echoes. "How's that work, exactly?"
[13:39] <@Rudy> "Don't wanna know don't wanna know hey Liamae so what's it feel like when you throw fire at stuff?" asks Rudy, rapidly walking away.
[13:41] <@Henrietta> "Well then! If you are going to be like that, I will not talk about it," Henrietta says in a huff.
[13:42] * @Lucie shrugs, not sure who exactly Henri's mad at it, and figures they may as well continue on now.
[13:46] <@Ebiris> "Oh, it's great," Liamae grins. "I mean, the screams can be pretty unsettling if it's a human, but if it's something really horrid then watching it char and melt away's a really satisfying feeling."
[13:46] <@Lucie> "This is less disturbing, Rudy?"
[13:48] <@Rudy> "I'm kinda inured to that shit," replies Rudy, picking at his ear.
[13:49] <@Ebiris> "But Henrietta having a literal family tree is too far?" Liamae asks with a giggle.
[13:50] * @Henrietta sulks.
[13:50] <@Rudy> "I just don't understand the mechanics of it all, you know?" replies Rudy, shaking his head.
[13:52] <@Ebiris> "Maybe when we meet Hypathiae you can learn? Assuming you're able to get her out of her current funk," the dark-skinned sorceress suggests lightly, stretching in the sun as she walks.
[13:54] <@Rudy> "Eh. She sounds clingy."
[13:57] <@Ebiris> "Wise man," Liamae agrees, the walk continuing on, veering a bit away from shore the terrain there grows too uneven or overgrown, the sun passing by overhead and then too soon beginning its journy down in the West. It'll soon be time to camp if you want usable light while setting it up...
[13:57] <@Ebiris> OOC: spot checks?
[13:57] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+7 L
[13:57] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 1d20+7 L and gets 14." [1d20=7]
[13:57] <@Rudy> roll 1d20+8 m
[13:57] * +Hatbot --> "Rudy rolls 1d20+8 m and gets 17." [1d20=9]
[13:57] <@Rudy> OOC: Oh, she's not there right now, nm
[13:58] <@Rudy> roll 1d20+1
[13:58] * +Hatbot --> "Rudy rolls 1d20+1 and gets 8." [1d20=7]
[13:58] <@Henrietta> roll 1d20+2
[13:58] * +Hatbot --> "Henrietta rolls 1d20+2 and gets 13." [1d20=11]
[13:58] <@Lucie> roll 1d20+15
[13:58] * +Hatbot --> "Lucie rolls 1d20+15 and gets 35." [1d20=20]
[13:59] -> *Lucie* Further to the East and high above you can see several creatures flying in the sky. To be seen at such distance they have to be impressively big, with long comparatively slender bodies and particularly wide wings presented when they show their profile.
[14:00] * @Lucie squints into the distance, peering above the treeline at something. "Anybody else seeing that? Those? Big flying things way up there?"
[14:01] <@Rudy> "Nah. Where?" asks Rudy, glancing up.
[14:01] * @Lucie points in the general direction, though she can barely make them out herself. "Long skinny things, big wings," she says vaguely.
[14:02] <@Ebiris> With Lucie's guidance the others can see *something* flying high in the sky to the East, though particularly what is hard to gauge.
[14:02] <@Rudy> "Dragons?" asks Rudy, uncertainly.
[14:02] <@Lucie> "Let's hope not."
[14:03] <@Rudy> "Well, they'd be from the military if they are," replies Rudy. "Wouldn't bother us."
[14:05] <@Henrietta> "Would you like to send Myra over?" Henrietta suggests. "I could help her fly there swiftly, and I believe you mentioned being able to look through her eyes?"
[14:05] <@Ebiris> "I don't know... if they're out here they're probably wild," Liamae points out. "The Pinnacle Mountains are supposedly full of wild dragons that've never taken a trainer."
[14:06] * @Lucie shrugs. "Just the same, let's find someplace to set up camp that's nicely hidden under the treeline?" she suggests.
[14:06] <@Rudy> "Oh. Yeah, let's hope they're not dragons, then," replies Rudy. "Sure. Hope it's not too cold tonight. Better not start a fire if we don't need to."
[14:06] <@Ebiris> OOC: someone roll survival?
[14:07] <@Henrietta> roll 1d20+3
[14:07] * +Hatbot --> "Henrietta rolls 1d20+3 and gets 10." [1d20=7]
[14:08] <@Lucie> roll 1d20+4 WIS!
[14:08] * +Hatbot --> "Lucie rolls 1d20+4 WIS! and gets 7." [1d20=3]
[14:10] <@Ebiris> With her keen affinity for the natural world, Henrietta ignores Lucie's suggestions to camp in what's obviously a sinkhole, picking a nice spot under the shade of a mighty oak tree! This being winter of course it's branches are free of leaves, but it's still the best hiding place she can come up with. Thus camp is assembled while there's still daylight to work with, and everyone has time for a fine meal of whatever they can prepare before bedding down...
[14:11] <@Rudy> No master chef, Rudy settles down for having jerky and a few boiled potatoes. Hardly the fare he has at home, but you can't be choosy out here. And who can be bothered hunting if they don't need to?
[14:12] * @Henrietta doesn't need to eat, having absorbed plenty of sunshine during the day. Thus, she volunteers to take the last shift and makes herself comfortable for the rest.
[14:12] <@Ebiris> roll 1d100
[14:13] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 1d100 and gets 16." [1d100=16]
[14:16] <@Ebiris> The night passes in relative peace, until with dawn's breaking light, the camp is similarly broken after a hearty breakfast to sustain everyone through the day. There's no sign of any large airborne creatures this morning in the still clear sky, though a vast and dark cloud is looming on the Southern horizon, creeping slowly closer. Still, the nice weather should endure a time longer, and today the party quickly rounds the Northeastern corner of the lake, starting to head South to find either the buried temple or a dryad...
[14:17] <@Rudy> "So we'll find Henri's relative first?" suggests Rudy, not bothering to summon Myra if they're to visit respectable folks.
[14:17] <@Lucie> "Rain," Lucie grumbles. "Nobody brought an umbrella, did theye? If they did, hand it over before that clouds finds us."
[14:19] <@Ebiris> "I figure we'll want to give the temple a wide berth if we're going past it to see this dryad, so we don't tip off anyone set to defend the place," Liamae opines, consulting the maps as she stops briefly. "Want to edge inland or hug the shoreline?"
[14:19] <@Rudy> "I brought a coat. Travel light, move fast!" suggets Rudy, nodding at Liamae. "Let's hug the shore? Easier to not get lost."
[14:19] <@Lucie> "Stick to the lakeshore," Lucie suggests. "Been peaceful so far."
[14:21] <@Henrietta> "It sounds like a good idea," Henrietta concurs. "And I have my hat!"
[14:21] <@Ebiris> With agreement struck, the group continue hugging the lakeshore, around lunchtime Liame points over the rise to the East, "The temple's probably right over there if the maps are right. Bit longer till we hit the place Silke talked about."
[14:22] <@Rudy> "Hmm. Others from town probably took the same route as us," muses Rudy. "Still, can't hurt to go ask if the dryad's seen anything odd lately."
[14:23] <@Henrietta> "Or even years before," Henrietta voices. "After all, she has been here the last time adventurers came through! And she might know about the Lady's missing brother, if lycanthropic wolves are living here."
[14:24] <@Lucie> "How long do they live, anyway?" Lucie wonders. "Coulda been here before the town."
[14:24] <@Ebiris> OOC: can roll knowledge nature if curious
[14:24] <@Henrietta> roll 1d20+6
[14:24] * +Hatbot --> "Henrietta rolls 1d20+6 and gets 23." [1d20=17]
[14:26] <@Henrietta> "Depends on their tree, of course, and if they can keep it alive beyond its normal lifetime. But even then, certainly longer than elves!"
[14:27] <@Lucie> "Must have all sorts of stories, then," Lucie says with a nod. "Though I'd guess most of the time nothing much happens out in the forest."
[14:28] <@Rudy> "Yeah, that must kind of suck. I mean, you get to have a conversation like once a year, right?"
[14:28] <@Henrietta> "Oh, I am quite certain she talks to the trees and animals all the time!"
[14:28] <@Ebiris> "Oh, this could get real boring," Liamae groans good-naturedly as the group continues onwards, another two hours pass before nearing a thick copse of trees, these ones noticably thicker and more vibrant than their brethren glimpsed thus far.
[14:29] <@Rudy> "But what would trees and animals even have to say?" wonders Rudy. "Wouldn't it get awkward if, say, a deer talked to a tree, and then a wolf showed up and talked about eating the deer?"
[14:29] <@Henrietta> "Why would it be awkward?"
[14:30] <@Rudy> "Well, think about how the tree would feel!"
[14:30] <@Lucie> "Mabye they take a whole, natural cycle kind of look at that sort of thing."
[14:30] * @Henrietta nods at Lucie. "The tree would certainly think like this, not to mention be happy that it is not food for the wolf!"
[14:30] * @Lucie idly glances around the trees, looking for...one that looks more like a person, presumably?
[14:31] <@Ebiris> "What about if a goat comes along and starts eating the trees roots?" Liamae wonders.
[14:31] <@Ebiris> OOC: spot, Lucie
[14:31] <@Lucie> roll 1d20+15
[14:31] * +Hatbot --> "Lucie rolls 1d20+15 and gets 20." [1d20=5]
[14:31] <@Rudy> "You think it'd yell out for the wolf to come help?"
[14:31] <@Henrietta> "I cannot imagine the tree would be happy at that."
[14:31] -> *Lucie* none appear particularly humanoid
[14:32] <@Henrietta> "I do wonder if she ever talked to that really creepy tree near the village," Henrietta muses then.
[14:33] <@Lucie> "Ask her," Lucie suggests. "That one's got to have plenty of stories, all of them with bad endings."
[14:33] <@Rudy> "But hey, at least it has a job."
[14:33] * @Lucie snorts. "It's not like anybody pays it!"
[14:33] <@Rudy> "It can take satisfaction in a job well done!"
[14:34] <@Ebiris> "I saw lots of nice people coming, it looked like they were here for a party!" Liamae pronounces in a high pitched innocent tone, "Oh, they all looked so excited, except for one nice man. He didn't look pleased at all... and then *sob* then they tied a rope to me and hung him off my branches, he kicked and thrashed and gurgled and I couldn't do anything to help him, oh woe is me!" she ends with a distraught hand to her brow.
[14:34] <@Lucie> "So you'd be alright if we came back home and her Ladyship said, well, I'm not gonna pay you, Rudy, you did a good enough job alone."
[14:35] <@Rudy> "I need to eat. The tree doesn't."
[14:35] <@Henrietta> "I do not think it is a good disctinction," Henrietta tells Rudy, frowning. "I do not need to eat either, but I still need money for other things!"
[14:35] <@Lucie> "I figure if a hanging tree had a voice, it'd sound a lot meaner than that," Lucie says.
[14:36] <@Rudy> "Yeah, so what does a tree need money for?" asks Rudy. "Anyway, there's plenty of stuff I'd do for free!"
[14:36] <@Henrietta> "And, ah, yes. Liamae, you are right. I will not ask about that tree...."
[14:36] <@Lucie> "Oh yeah, Rudy?"
[14:36] <@Ebiris> "We can ask the dryad then," Liamae retorts, stepping towards the wooded little copse, picking her way between the trees within.
[14:37] <@Rudy> "Y'huh. I actually like designing and building things," replies Rudy. "I mean, I've got this for coin, so I was thinking it wouldn't be bad to find a project to work on."
[14:38] <@Henrietta> "Is there anything you would like to ask her?" Henrietta asks Liamae curiously as she follows along.
[14:39] <@Ebiris> "Well, she might know about that tainted valley place?" Liamae suggests with a shrug. "This is your diversion, though, really."
[14:39] <@Lucie> "Right, we still don't have any idea where that is," Lucie says. "Couldn't hurt to ask."
[14:41] <@Henrietta> "Since we want to help the locals, and she is a local too, maybe she would have something troubling her that we would be able to solve for her!"
[14:41] <@Rudy> "That's a bad thing, right? If there's something troubling with her."
[14:42] <@Lucie> "Sure, right," Lucie says without any enthusiasm. "I guess it is...sort of...our job to get things in order around here."
[14:42] <@Ebiris> Picking through the woods, they're really not that expansive once within, and there's one tree in the centre with ample space around for it to spread its branches up, visibly older and larger than all the others. "Well she's a lot closer to where the meteor's gonna hit, so that's sure a problem," Liamae notes.
[14:42] <@Rudy> "Oh yeah? That's around here, then?" asks Rudy. "How bad'll the damage be?"
[14:43] * @Henrietta winces.
[14:43] <@Lucie> "Maybe she should move," Lucie suggests.
[14:43] <@Rudy> "Don't think trees move," points out Rudy.
[14:43] * Ko-Ritaponiscoolerthanaiel is now known as Ko-Pyrosynthesis
[14:43] <@Henrietta> "Well, she cannot just move. But I am certain we can protect her!" Henrietta asserts, before voicing, "Illie? Are you here?"
[14:44] <@Lucie> "Yeah, but--correct me if I'm wrong, dryads, sometimes they're trees, sometimes people, right?"
[14:44] <@Ebiris> "Depends where it hits," Liamae stops and fishes out her map, spreading it out. "See, it really could land anywhere in here," she draws a big circle encompassing Lessmus at its outer edge with her finger, the centre some ways East of the lake. "Closer to the centre is more likely, but anything's possible until I can refine my calculations."
[14:44] <@Henrietta> "Oh, you are certainly wrong," Henrietta is happy to correct Lucie.
[14:44] <@Lucie> "Yeah?"
[14:45] <@Rudy> "From a falling rock from the sky?" wonders Rudy. "Well, we kinda just have to wait, right? Anything around here stands the risk of getting trashed. I figure we should tell 'em?"
[14:45] <@Ebiris> "You could say ignorance is bliss. Mind you, she might be listening in on us right now anyway."
[14:45] * @Lucie glances around for surreptitious listeners!
[14:46] <@Henrietta> "A dryad is a person, but she has a bond to a special tree. She is not really that tree!" Henrietta then tries again. "Illie, Silke told us you would be here. Can you come out, if you are listening?"
[14:47] <@Ebiris> OOC: spot, Lucie
[14:47] <@Lucie> roll 1d20+15
[14:47] * +Hatbot --> "Lucie rolls 1d20+15 and gets 18." [1d20=3]
[14:48] <@Ebiris> Lucie's eyes fail her! Right at the most pivotal moment when they're needed the most! Perilously ignorant and unaware of what might happen, all is silent after Henrietta's call.
[14:49] <@Rudy> "Maybe your relatives don't like guests?"
[14:49] <@Lucie> "Well, this is basically her house here, right?" Lucie says, gesturing around. "Guess I wouldn't be real happy to talk to folks barging through my door either."
[14:49] * @Henrietta sighs. "This really should be the tree, since it is older and the other trees give it space in respect. But maybe I am being disliked, as you said."
[14:49] * Joins: Merc (~k@c-98-194-92-5.hsd1.tx.comcast.net)
[14:49] * ChanServ sets mode: +o Merc
[14:49] <@Rudy> "Well, there's no doorbell. Is there some protocol to follow, here?"
[14:49] * @Lucie looks to Henri for this vital information!
[14:50] <@Henrietta> "There really should not be. We only came to talk and see if we could help, and since it would be painful for a dryad to go too far from her tree, we could hardly have asked her to meet us elsewhere."
[14:50] <@Ebiris> "And so she can't be far from here either, can she?" Liamae asks. "Maybe something happened to her?"
[14:51] <@Henrietta> "Not without, well, suffering horribly and then dying," Henrietta admits with a grimace. "Do you think we were too late, and this tainted valley did something to her? Or the demon wolves?"
[14:51] * @Lucie examines the tree for signs of personhood, or that might be paying attention to them somehow, or...anything unusual, really, given Henri's comment.
[14:52] <@Ebiris> OOC: spot again?
[14:52] <@Lucie> roll 1d20+15
[14:52] * +Hatbot --> "Lucie rolls 1d20+15 and gets 22." [1d20=7]
[14:52] <@Rudy> "Should we spread out and look around, then? No, wait, forget it, someone will get lost." Rudy frowns. "Beats me. Maybe we could leave her a note?"
[14:52] <@Lucie> "Do they read?" Lucie wonders aloud.
[14:53] -> *Lucie* Up high in the tree's branches you can see a humanoid looking figure cradled amidst the wood, its own colouration making it blend in so naturally it would have been quite hard to notice without looking properly. It's notably not paying attention, though. Looks asleep.
[14:54] <@Henrietta> "If someone taught her...."
[14:54] <@Rudy> "Well, they speak? Who teaches them Isernian?"
[14:54] <@Lucie> "Oh, wait a moment," Lucie says, peering up through the branches at a barely-visible figure up above. "Think we caught her during naptime."
[14:54] <@Henrietta> "Silke talked to us just fine, and she said she talked to Illie, so...."
[14:55] <@Rudy> "Oh." Rudy is suddenly jealous. "Sleeping during the day is enviable."
[14:56] <@Ebiris> "Should we wake her?" Liamae wonders, walking closer to the tree and looking up.
[14:56] <@Lucie> "Wrong line of work if that's your lifestyle, Rudy."
[14:56] * @Henrietta decides to fly up and take a closer look!
[14:56] <@Rudy> "I know, right? I must be nuts."
[14:56] <@Ebiris> OOC: dex check, Henri?
[14:57] <@Lucie> "Yeah, well, if it's true for you, must be true for all of us, given the kind of things we've done for pay the past months."
[14:57] <@Ebiris> OOC: fly check, then
[14:57] <@Henrietta> roll 1d20+7 I can fly!
[14:57] * +Hatbot --> "Henrietta rolls 1d20+7 I can fly! and gets 17." [1d20=10]
[15:00] <@Ebiris> Flying up, the thick branches prevent easy scrutiny and Henrietta has to maneuver between them to get close enough. As she brushes past one of the skeletal winter branches she gets a better look at Illie, a slim and elfin looking woman with skin of cream coloured wood adorned with darker brown and more knobbly bark around her shoulders, hips, calves and feet. Her head is crowned by numerous slim and flexible branches, barren of any leaves. But as Henrietta moves against the branches, the dryad jolts up as if someone hit her with a hot poker! With an alarmed shriek, she tumbles from her perch, but saves herself by grabbing onto a lower branch and balancing her feet on the one below that, directly above the rest of the party. "Eeeeek, don't look, I'm bald!" she cries, cringing and covering her head, precious little concern paid towards her otherwise nude form.
[15:02] <@Rudy> "Henri! Do you have an emergency hat?"
[15:02] <@Lucie> "Seasonal baldness<" Lucie remarks with some horror. "You have my sincere sympathies."
[15:02] <@Ebiris> "That's gotta be rought," Liamae agrees, touching some of her own dark brown hair protectively.
[15:02] <@Ebiris> *rough
[15:03] <@Henrietta> "You look lovely, Illie," Henrietta assures her, before listening to Rudy and taking her hat off. "But if you would like to wear this, I can give it to you! This hat went through a lot of things with me!"
[15:06] <@Ebiris> The dryad eagerly grabs the hat and jams it over her head, looking relaxed for all of a second before her hands fly to her mouth and she wobbles precariously on her perch. "Oh, no! I took your gift! That means I have to give something back!" she looks around and pats herself down, clearly coming up empty. "This is why people should come in Summer, then I have all kinds of nice stuff!" she mutters hotly under her breath before biting her lip and looking at Henrietta with wide deep brown eyes glistening, "Is... is my body okay?"
[15:07] <@Henrietta> "It looks just fine?"
[15:07] <@Rudy> Rudy chokes, and tries to cover his mouth before his grin splits his face in two.
[15:07] * @Lucie simply has no comment.
[15:09] <@Ebiris> "Then... please be gentle," Illie bids Henrietta, deep sincerity in her words.
[15:09] <@Ebiris> "Do you want us to go away for a few?" Liamae calls up idly, a saucy grin on her face.
[15:10] <@Henrietta> "Umm."
[15:10] <@Rudy> "Henri! Keep it platonic! Kiss on the cheek!"
[15:11] <@Henrietta> "Oh! How silly of me!" Flashing a smile at Rudy, Henrietta leans over to kiss Illie. "There. Is this alright?"
[15:12] <@Lucie> "Y'know, Henri, if you're not happy with this--" Lucie's jealousy is ill-concealed here, "--you could just ask for informatio."
[15:12] <@Lucie> *information
[15:12] <@Rudy> "Don't be a spoilsport. This is the most fun I've had in weeks," hisses Rudy.
[15:13] <@Lucie> "She's not going for it anyway," Lucie mumbles bitterly.
[15:14] <@Ebiris> Despite being wooden, Illie's cheek is warm and smooth against Henrietta's lips, nary a splinter felt. "Ahh, good, that's us even," the dryad declares with open relief, dropping down to the ground now and securing the hat with a hand as she falls, landing easily. "What are people doing wandering around here in Wintertime anyway?"
[15:14] <@Rudy> "We're adventurers! We're adventuring!"
[15:15] * @Henrietta touches down a moment afterwards. "And we are trying to stop all the zombies and skeletons and the people who are commanding them!"
[15:15] <@Lucie> "Just about," Lucie agrees. "Thought maybe we'd scout out a bit before moving on, see what locals like yourself might know about what's going on hereabouts."
[15:16] <@Henrietta> "And, of course," Henrietta adds, "if you need anything, we would help you!"
[15:16] <@Lucie> "Of course," Lucie echoes.
[15:16] <@Rudy> "Always with the helping."
[15:18] <@Ebiris> "Z-zombies? Skeletons?" Illie repeats, freezing up. "Wh-where?" she looks around, shivering, "I haven't s-seen anything scary or unnatural like that!"
[15:19] <@Henrietta> "Do you know about that old lighthouse? The one with all the colorful lights until a few nigths ago?"
[15:19] <@Lucie> "Easy, we smashed 'em all up. But the people made them might still be around.
[15:19] <@Lucie> "
[15:21] <@Ebiris> "The one Silke liked? It never impressed me," the be-hatted dryad admits with a shrug, "But if you've killed all the gh-ghosts, that's fine! Haha," she claps Lucie's back heartily, her laughter strained, "Good job humans! I knew you had a good reason to be around!"
[15:21] <@Henrietta> "We also make the best of hats! And clothing, too. I have a spare outfit just like mine, if you would like it?"
[15:22] <@Rudy> "Yeah, we're... good... at killing dead things... do you not learn at all Henri?"
[15:22] <@Ebiris> "Why would I want to cover up my body?" she asks, blinking innocently at Henrietta.
[15:22] <@Lucie> "Actually," Lucie continues, maybe possibly shooting Henri a disapproving look, "we're on our way to a temple near here."
[15:22] <@Henrietta> "Is it not, well, cold?"
[15:22] <@Rudy> "Because people might want to look at it," replies Rudy.
[15:23] <@Ebiris> "Not really. I mean, it's not snowing at least," she replies, then looking at Rudy in apparent confusion. "I'm not ashamed of it, though. Are you ashamed of yours?"
[15:24] <@Ebiris> Liamae snorts.
[15:24] <@Henrietta> "Are you, Rudy?" Henrietta asks as well, turning to look at him.
[15:24] <@Rudy> "That's not what I mean! It is a very lovely body," replies Rudy. "But that's why you should conceal it! If you hide it, then next time people give you a gift, simply showing it to them will easily pay the debt. You shouldn't give away things freely when you can charge!"
[15:25] <@Henrietta> "That... does not really sound the way gifts should be...."
[15:25] <@Ebiris> "Oh!" she brightens, nodding enthusiastically. "You're really clever! Yes, that's definitely a good idea!" she beams, leaning forward and hugging Rudy gratefully.
[15:25] <@Lucie> "Yeah, really. You know, out of curiosity...what would've been the difference if we'd come here in summer, anyway? You said you'd have more to give then, or something?"
[15:27] <@Rudy> Rudy pats the girl on the back. "It's fine, it's fine! I imagine dryads don't get many opportunities, so they need to maximize their earning potential, right?"
[15:28] <@Lucie> "You sure those are the kind of lessons you should be teaching girls, Rudy?"
[15:29] <@Ebiris> Pulling back from Rudy to give Lucie her attention, Lucie holds up a hand to tick off her fingers. "I can grow really tasty fruits that make you especially healthy, and there's my magic berries, seeds are always good, and sometimes I make useful things out of wood but the last thing I made I gave to Hypathiae in Autumn time... you should have come then, I look really good with red leaves, too."
[15:29] <@Ebiris> *Illie holds up a hand
[15:29] <@Lucie> "I'm sure you do," Lucie says.
[15:30] <@Rudy> "Hey, what sort of gifts do you like?" asks Rudy, curiously.
[15:31] <@Henrietta> "Can we come again, then?" Henrietta asks, for her part. "And maybe in the summer as well? I would really like us to be friends!"
[15:32] <@Ebiris> "Seeds! Especially for flowers I don't know," Illie replies eagerly. "And you can come again in better weather, sure. You all seem nice!" she smiles widely.
[15:33] * @Henrietta smiles back at her! "So are you! You are just like I imagined!"
[15:34] <@Ebiris> "Thank you!" she replies brightly. "You must know a lot about nature to imagine so correctly!"
[15:34] <@Lucie> "I was actually wondering," Lucie says, trying to focus on business, really, "if you could tell us a little about places around here? We're sort of looking for something."
[15:35] <@Ebiris> "Well, I don't travel much, but I sometimes hear things. What places do you want to know about?" the dryad asks Lucie.
[15:35] <@Rudy> "There's meant to be a temple to Hera around here?" asks Rudy, curiously.
[15:36] <@Lucie> "Well, we're on our way to a temple. Supposed to be buried or somewhat. Some other adventurers came through for it a few years past, maybe you met them? Also some sort of valley we need to find, something must be wrong with it because someone called it 'tainted.'"
[15:40] <@Ebiris> "Ummm... no?" she taps her chin and looks askance at Rudy. "There's a little shrine to Hepheastus up in the hills that the miners used to use. They weren't nice, always wanting to chop my wood. And there used to be a temple to Artemis up that way," she gestures North, "But a landslide knocked it down hundreds of years ago. I think Hypathiae has a little shrine to Aphrodite as well." Taking the time to listen to the next question she nods, "Oh, yes! I know what you mean, my friend Tarlari lives in a valley way down that way," she points Northeast, "She's a bit like me but she can go wherever she wants and she loves poisonous flowers. I mean *really* poisonous. And, um, carnivorous. She's nice, though, she doesn't spread things any further than her home and she's friendly when she visits."
[15:41] <@Lucie> "Well, thank you for that much, it's all new to us," Lucie says.
[15:42] <@Henrietta> "And what about, umm, demon wolves? Lycanthropes, I suppose? Did you ever hear about them in these parts, Illie?"
[15:43] <@Rudy> Rudy never liked the stories of Artemis. They were so unfair...
[15:44] <@Ebiris> "Oh, I hear wolves all the time!" she replies, smiling. "You can hear them howling miles away. I haven't seen any lycanthropes for hundreds of years, though. And I've never heard of demon wolves."
[15:45] <@Henrietta> "So they were here hundreds of years before?" Henrietta wondres. "Do you know what happened to them? Did they go live at the town, or just leave?"
[15:47] <@Ebiris> "A lot were hunted to death, I guess any that survived went somewhere safer? I remember a bunch of adventurers just like you coming by, saying those wolves had killed a friend of theirs and swearing vengeance, they must have done pretty well."
[15:48] <@Rudy> "Huh. How long ago was that?"
[15:50] <@Ebiris> "Mmmm..." she crosses her arms under her breasts and scrunches up her face in thought for a long, long moment. "I think just under five hundred years ago?"
[15:50] <@Rudy> "That's... a long time."
[15:50] <@Henrietta> "It really is!"
[15:50] <@Lucie> "How...how old are you?" Lucie asks, quickly amending, "If you don't mind my asking."
[15:52] <@Ebiris> She nods agreeably to that. "It's hard to remember really well that far back. I'm about five hundred and... eighty-ish?" Turning to look fondly up at her tree, she pats its trunk lovingly. "Grown big and strong in that time, too!"
[15:52] <@Henrietta> "It is the loveliest tree I have ever seen," Henrietta assures her.
[15:58] * @Lucie idly tallies up the portraits she saw in the gallery to approximate the age of the town, wonder who was here first between the Van Gaunt family and the dryad.
[16:01] <@Ebiris> The dryad has them beat by nearly four hundred years.