Arc 1: Dreams of Heroism

[Rezantis]

Nathan, with Brian's help, eventually manages to get his feet mobile again.

"We gotta move, yeah.  Anyone know where they're going, though?"

[Bjorn]

To refresh memory on what's been previously established: Brian's supaa-hearing established that the city you're on is on some sort of island.  You originally headed to the east side of the island; the water flow is narrowest and slowest on the west side.  The acquired memories of the humans tell them that they are in Primhaem, and that the humans of this world live to the north of Primhaem in the Hold.

[Brian]

Having no non-Brian memories to access at the moment, Brian turns towards Tim, who's seemed leadery at times, and also doesn't lose the ability to talk when he hulks out.  "So, where do you think we should go next?"  While working on helping Nathan out of the ground, he also realizes to ask, "Say, we were all sent here by that redhead, right?  What exactly did she want us to do?"

[Halbarad]

"If these memories are right, there's some human settlements to the north of here - the Hold, I think. First step is getting out of this city, though - not particularly crazy about it to begin with and that dog didn't help a bit."

He shakes his head. "And I wish I knew why we were here - all she ended up asking me was what I thought was 'heroic'. Maybe we're supposed to be some kind of heroes here, I dunno."

[Rezantis]

"She either intends for us to be heroes of some sort, or she has a sick sense of humour.  Take your pick, It's going to be interesting times whichever way we look at it."

Nathan shrugs.

"Let's just get off this island before something else bad happens."

[Brian]

"Your statement is rife with plannitude," Brian agrees, before pausing.  "I wish I had my cigarettes on me."  Another pause, during which he glances at the two who seem to know what's going on here.  "Do these people have cigarettes?  Ah, I bet they don't."  With a sigh, he starts following Tim, eager to be out of the city and towards whatever passes for civilization around here.

[Halbarad]

Tim makes a beeline for the way off the island/peninsula thingy, from Brian's earlier directions, quite prepared to get out of the silent city himself. Assuming, of course, that they don't run into any more fiery dogs of doom(tm) on the way out, of course.

Once off the island, he turns his steps northward, searching his memories for the best way to the Hold.

As well as whether or not Brian's Quest for Smokes will prove fruitless or not.

[Bjorn]

Your fight with the hellhound left a massive swathe of devastation about you.  As you make your way clear of the mess, and head west towards the edge of Primhaem, you realize that the same sort of devastation exists everywhere in the ruined city, but weather, plant life, and time has smoothed over the edges.

It doesn't take you long to reach the edge of the island-city, and you're there before noon.  On the western bank, the river runs over a shallow ford, gravel-bottomed and quite wide.  Spread out before you is a massive forest, which can only be described as primeval.  The trees tower above you, massive oaks and hickories reaching a hundred feet into the air.  Not a trace of smoke can be seen in the gunmetal-grey sky over the endless sea of green.

Fording the river is no simple matter.  At its deepest, you find, the water reaches no more than to your knees, but the water flows quickly, and the footing is slippery.  With his new found dexterity, Tim faces little problems, but in the end, Nathan is forced to switch into his golem form and carry Brian across, with the river tugging at his ponderous steps the whole way.

Once on the other side, you turn northward.  The river is your best guide back to the Hold, your memories tell you, though they as they also provide, it soon proves difficult to keep it in sight.  The banks are as steep as they were on the far side of Primhaem, and thick thornbushes wall the river.  Within an hour's hike, Tim finds himself forced to climb trees periodically to confirm your course.

It is not easy to judge time, as the sky is blocked by the canopy of leaves, letting only the dimmest of green-filtered light down to guide your steps.  The oaks are spaced far apart, and there is no undergrowth, or indeed even grass, that can survive under the light- and rain-blocking arboreal roof.  Feeling like children, you make your way over a thick carpet of dried leaves, dwarfed on all sides by treetrunks the girth of a modest house.

Despite the lack of plant-life, the going is not easy at first, as the footing is uneven.  It isn't until much later, when Brian sweeps leaves aside to find a comfortable place to sit on your first rest break, that you realize that you have been trudging over a garden of bones.  As you continue your journey, sick to the heart, you have no choice but to disturb the remains of a thousand fallen soldiers, forgotten in these timeless woods.

You have no choice but to make camp early, as nightfall is abrupt as the sun sinks below the treeline.  Surrounded by dry leaves, fire is not an option, and you spend a restless night after sparingly eating from your cold rations.

The next day's travel is more pleasant, however.  As you get further north, the bones thin and then disappear, giving you easier and far less morbid progress.  It is not long after that Brian's ears pick up the first sound of (natural) life since arriving in this world, as a squirrel, taken by surprise at your arrival, dashes out from the leaves and up a tree.  With every step you take away from Primhaem, more and more life becomes obvious, and by the time noon comes about (an assessment you were able to make when hauling yourselves over the charred remnants of an oak shattered and fallen by a bolt of lightning, leaving the first clearing you've seen), it doesn't take magical winds whispering in your ears to listen to a continuous cacophony of squirrels chattering, bird calls, and the rustles of small animals.

It does, however, takes elvish magic to hear a distant crash and cries.

[Brian]

Brian perks up and points in the direction of the noise.  "I heard something," he says quickly, trying to listen more closely.  "Someone, I think."

Brian tries to get more information on what he's hearing, going so far as to throw his senses out across the wind before they close in with people who may or may not slaughter people who use Fae magic on sight.  Or heck, people who hate trekkies, since he's still wearing that shirt.

[Halbarad]

Tim frowns a bit at that. "Any idea how far away? I can't hear anything but the forest." He keeps his voice low, since Brian appears to be concentrating.

[Bjorn]

Brian can make out very little; the sounds are at the limit of his hearing range.  It sounds like people are being hurt badly, though, and whatever is doing the hurting must be doing a fair bit of collateral damage.  The sounds are also coming from the north, though a bit farther to the west -- if you keep on your current path, you'll be skirting close to the source of the noise.

[Brian]

"It's a fight," Brian says slowly, squinting in that direction before admitting to himself that his hearing surpasses his eyesight in this regard.  "I'm not sure what it is; people are getting hurt, though.  It's at the edge of my hearing -- do we want to get involved?"

[Halbarad]

"Guess that depends on whether we want to be heroes or not, right?" Tim smiles wanly. "I'd say it's worth at least getting a closer look at - if nothing else it's other people to deal with, and we can decide what to do better if we get more info about what's going on."

[Brian]

"Okay," Brian agrees, guiding Tim and Nathan into the forest towards the sounds.  As he walks, he taked the bow from his shoulder, not nocking an arrow yet.  "But if it's humans, I'm not using any Fae magic around them.  I get the idea that'd be bad."

[Rezantis]

"How far?" Nathan asks, somewhat antsy at the slow pace.