The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers

[Jack Simth]

A yawn is heard in the fog, and then the voice of a young man can be heard
"Good morning Master Yargoth."
"Master Yargoth?
"Is this fog your doing, Master Yargoth?"
"Ah well, I need to practice my spells anyway - now's as good a time as any."
"Brouillard Aller"
The fog recedes away from the source of the voice, stopping about a dozen paces away, revealing a young man in Apprentice's robes sitting up on a cot.
"This doesn't seem to be my master's tower. Where am I?"
"Où suis-je?"
The young man listens briefly to apparently nothing, then says
"Another plane? That's not good. I haven't gotten to my Master's books on planar travel yet."
Apparently noticing D and Narp for the first time, they young man says
"I don't suppose either of you know where I can find a good book on planar travel, do you?"

[narf poit chez BOOM]

"no. this region is still forming and truthfully, we don't know where anything is except the forest and a mountain that i'm pretty sure is moving, although fortunatly, not towards us. do either of you know any levitation and or detection spells? because, whoever you are (pointing at the newcomer with his thumb, magic-Users can get nervious if you point at them with a finger, despite the fact that you could probably cast with a thumb to.) we've got a choice of sitting here, in danger of wolves or worse or getting killed by an emerging terrain feature, or moving and be in the same danger. personally, i think movings worse, but with a detection spell, it might be better." he adds "i was pretty sure this dwarvenfog was bad, but i didn't know it was that bad."

[ June 05, 2003, 21:35: Message edited by: narf poit chez BOOM ]

[Jack Simth]

"Levitation is simple enough, although we don't need to worry about the land beneath our feet changing. Life energy, especially the dense variety found in sentient beings, has a stabalizing effect on an area; while the ground three or four feet in front of you can change (but at that range it won't change much, distance is a significant factor), the ground under our feet will remain as solid as it is now until you leave; you could get by without magic by the simple expediant of tapping a branch on the ground in front of you as you walk. However, normal physics still apply; if the land a mile away shifts in such a way that a river is blocked, the water will continue to flow and may flood the area. I would suggest moving to higher ground."

"The fog clearing spell I cast will follow me and persist until it is dispelled or the fog clears. However, if it is dwarvenfog, it is just a symptom, not the cause. Dwarvenfog is perfectly normal fog; it is just attracted to the changes, and so it is a useful indicator of a changing area. While I haven't been aroud very long to observe, the normal pattern is for the fog to form about a day after a region first forms and fade a day or two after the area stabalizes due to a sufficient quantity of imported life energy by way of plants and animals."

"Of further note is that the wolves, trees, and any grass also has life-energy, although not as dense, and so a wooded area inhabited by wolves will be more stable than an empty forest, while an empty forest will be more stable than a grassy area, and a grassy area will be more stable than bare rock. I'll leave it up to you two to decide which situation is preferable; I can deal with any of them."

"Unfortunately, these changes are random, and don't give off much of anything in the way of warning signs, other than a bit of a rumble for large changes. However, the stabalizing effect of life-energy is cumulative, although not persistent, so with the three of us traveling together the entire area cleared of the fog by my spell will remain stable, giving us ample warning of any changes we need to deal with."

"As to the wolves, my Master hasn't let me into the books with the offensive spells yet, something about me needing to invest in a good gag first. I think he means the spells are more complicated, and I would be asking too many questions at this point, but I can't be entierly certain of that, as I didn't inquire. Anyway, guild rules (of Master Yargoth's school, at any rate) prohibit offensive spells until one reaches journyman status. I'm only three centuries into my apprenticeship; I have at least another four until I'm eligable to take the journyman tests, and most apprentices don't succeed at them until after nearly seven millenia of training. However, Master Yargoth assures me that I am more advanced already than many journymen he has set travelling, and wouldn't have any difficulty with the tests even now. I plan to take them as soon as possible, as then I will be permitted to read the books on shaping terrain, time bending, orgainic conjourations, destructive spells, and several others."

"However, I do have a few spells that might help. I have a few healing spells, some curative spells, conjourings of simple objects (knives, swords, shields and the like, although they only Last an hour or so, and I can't conjour anything that would normally have once been alive - you will have to either deal with a steel grip or make your own if you want me to give you a sword), I can increase a person's strength and speed (but it only Lasts as long as an adreniline rush does; after combat, you will have one doozy of a hangover). I also have a barrier spell that will stop just about anything, but it isn't selective. We can hide behind it to outwait a threat, but we can't attack the threat from within."

"Likewise, I have several spells that are often handy when roaming about, but aren't necessarily useful in a fight; levitation, wheather control (but only for about a dozen pace radius - that's how I got rid of the fog), some illusion, a little teleporting, and food creation (it is nutritious and won't cause any nasty side effects down the road, although it is utterly bland; after several meals, you would kill from some fresh vegtebles or a rabbit), some information spells, a few others."

"I am also good at untangling enchantments. My Master routinely tests me by throwing up barriers to motion and then throwing nasty spells at me. I can teleport out through a teleport scramble in a no-magic zone while bleeding and unconcious now. For that matter, I've done it a time or two. The best anyone can tell, I naturally enhance the mana around me, so that I always have a supply handy. While many people believe my Master is out to kill me, I know better. He just wants to be certain I have all my spells down pat, despite his claims to the contrary."

"I also have several spells that are useful for long-term residence of an area, but we shouldn't be needing those."

"Master Yargoth emphasises knowing a spell completely before moving onto the next, so I can cast any of these instantly in a pinch, even more than one at a time. The words are only mnemonic devices, and can be done without very easily for castings."

"Given a bit of time, I can also enchant any spell I know into inanimate objects, or make a permanent item, but that takes a short while."

"Energy use isn't a problem; I still have an active connection to one of my Master's Harnessed Uncertainty Jewels, and I have a few small ones on me if that fails." Briefly points out a few rings with clear mounted gems on his right hand. "These ones are tagged for teleport, so even if I lose them, I can have them back in an instant, despite teleport blocks or planal barriers. Unfortunately, I can't use tags to go back home, as they only work for bringing something to me, not sending things away. If my smaller Harnessed Uncertainty Jewels are destroyed, I can make more, given time."

"Also, my magic will be free from side effects, as most side effects are the result of energy rushing in to fill the void left by what was expended in making the spell. Harnesed Uncertainty Jewels produce their own in virtually limitless supply (although the rate is limited based on the quality and size of the gem)."

"The name I go by (not my true name, of course) is Jack. What should I call you two?"

[ June 05, 2003, 22:48: Message edited by: Jack Simth ]

[narf poit chez BOOM]

"call me narp. he's G. and based on what you told me, we should be looking for a big tree. it'll be stable and we can climb it in case of floods or to many wolves."
"and before i forget, thanks for the boots, G." wiggle his toes in them.
narf picks up his pack, stomps out the fire and says "i'm packed, lets go." grins.

[of course, i will help pack]

[Jack Simth]

"Nice to meet you both, but are you sure he is called 'G'? He looks much more like a 'D'. Ah well, no matter. Nice to meet you, Narp and G. As for packing, I don't seem to have brought anything I wasn't wearing, except for my cot. Although, thinking about it, I will need my boots. Fortunately, I got a lot of practice in with that tag spell..."
"bottes viennent ici"
A pair of boots appear in Jack's hands, and he quickly puts them on, then rolls up his cot (funny - it doesn't seem to have been tied to anything)
"Well, I'm ready to go. G - do you need a hand packing up?"

[ June 06, 2003, 01:10: Message edited by: Jack Simth ]

[David E. Gervais]

ooc: I'm all ready and have a good post to make tomorrow morning, but I just wanted to clear up my character's name it's 'D as in (Dee) not G

no reply needed to this one, jus setting things straight.

Cheers!

[Jack Simth]

ooc: Yes, I know; that's why I mentioned it - but your character was introduced to mine as 'G' so my character can't call yours 'D' and still be in character until he is corrected by someone. Do you understand the dilemma?

[ June 06, 2003, 02:57: Message edited by: Jack Simth ]

[narf poit chez BOOM]

ooc:[for some reason i keep thinking your middle initial's g. for some reason, i also thought you where going by your middle initial. for some reason, i posted half-asleep.]
"woops, my memory's not so good in the morning. he's a D."

[Jack Simth]

"Sorry about the name confusion, D. Well, at least the cave is uphill from here. The riverbed dried up; it didn't dissapear, which means there is a good chance it was blocked upstream."
Taking the point, Jack heads towards the cave. True to his word, the clearing in the fog stays centered on Jack.
As the group approaches the cave enterance, a heavy wooden door covering can be seen, with a large silver knocker in the shape of a lion's head in the center.
"That's odd. Normally forming regions only produce natural formations. This door was fashioned."
"Détectez la magie"
As Jack's spell takes effect, very fine glowing red tendrils can be seen covering the door and especially the knocker, as well as blue tendrils on D's staff (and any other magic items D has exposed (other colors if D didn't make them, none if they have enchantment-hiding enchantments)), and green tendrils on Jack's rings and Jack's cot. After a brief moment, the glowing tendrils fade.
"Well, someone has definitely been by this area. Should we knock, or figure out what that enchantment does first?"

[Katchoo]

As the trio of humans approach the cave entrance, a lone wolf watches on from behind some tall grass.

Despite the changing of the world around, the scent of man remains. The wolf, with it's soft grey coat and odd ocean blue eyes, had watched the group come together at the patch of land near the water.

At first the wolf was going to sneak in and snatch a piece of meat from Narp's pack, but the arrival of the other 2 humans had forced a change of thought. The wolf was fully aware of the opinon of man towards animals and did not want to provoke a confrontation. Stealth was an animals greatest ally and key to endurance out among the trees.

So now the wolf lay still, watching these 3 and listening to their words. Quite often the wolf would wonder how the human world would react if they realized many of the animals out among the trees could comprehend their language. Fear would be the likely response, and the reason almost all of the animals capable of comprehending the complex human language kept this ability to themselves.

Silent. The wolf would remain silent. And watch. And understand.