Herald the New Day! Hope. It feels odd.

[DM Bob]

Enemy's Slumber, 4th of Dominary - Sunrise

Current Locations: Kreen Empire & New Kurn

The Crimson Sun illuminated New Kurn first, to the trills & coos a hundred aarakocra. A gentle breeze blew in from the east today and with it carried an impressive sight. A gigantic gossamer winged figure, bathed in gentle golden light floated in wide, low circles into the city and down into the yellowed stone piazza of the New Utopia. An ancient, yet miraculously still functioning marble fountain lazily spewed water into the air, flanked by your new mounts and requisitioned goods.

These had all been assembled for you in the evening, at your request, by the House Azeth. There was no need to bother clerks in the still closed offices to beg and plead for supplies. A large saddled inix lizard and a trio of heavily armed & armored war crodlu are neatly packed to the gills with gear. Each warbird sported a long light black lance, in which the square-cut pennon of House Azeth hung. These small, flag-type pennants are bicolored lengthwise, with a black bar over a dark brown bar, with a single gold star that bisects the fields equally. The inix's saddle sported twin flags of Azeth's Rest, an inix lizard itself. The pear tree is bundled in hempen cloth and tied to the rear of the saddle, upright, as if a third flag.



Scroll cases are bundled and neatly tied to the four mounts. No additional spells were found to add to the purchase... and your coin had been taken the night prior. The Tribunals stand to the side to see you off.

The strange peaceful figure changes before your eyes, to a handsome older man with sad eyes. He wears worn finery. Worn was a good word for him. He was much like looking at a spent worry stone, the stress and hurt of hundreds of years wearing heavily upon his angelic frame. It was a miracle he could fly, with the weight behind his visage. Oronis' musical voice, while but a whisper, seemed to carry deep into the fiber of your very being.

"I thank you for gathering before me and Kurn. There is much to learn, and many eyes watching to the west. You shall be mine own eyes, ears and voice."

He sighs.

"Do not fail us in that."

A gigantic golden wormhole manifests before you and his raised palms.

***

As the first light of day shines above the east, Ande sees a separate round disk of golden light to the east. From here it looks to be the size of a grape; set low to the earth, flanked by the tall, dry grasses of the plain. She still feels watched.

[Skrye [AC3; 48/48HP]]

- Eslyk looks at the figure in front of her, of them, nodding - "Thank you, I'm not very keen in many aspects but I'll do my best, as it might be important for you, for Kurn, for my tribe and for us" - as she scratches her head, looks at her clothing and uses her hands to undust it right there, before looking back at Oronis and smile

[Attilius]

After witnessing the strange and wonderous transformation, the half giant psion bows his head reverently to the older man “My Lord, if you could recreate this portal in the future to 300 feet a-round, I may be able to drag the Messenger’s almond-shaped ship through to New Kurn?” he asks humbly

[Quila Oris (John M.)]

Patting her crodlu on the neck and checking for the tenth time to see the scroll cases are fastened tight, Quila wiles away the time, that is, until she sees the Sorcerer-King of Kurn and New Kurn in his true form descend upon the piazza. Whatever might have been in the far past, at least for a long time and hopefully a long long time coming, the world is allowed to have hope. At least she feels that way, bathing in the golden iridescent sheen of Oronis.

She bows her head to her King and liege, if not in power, then at the very least in shared worldview. "My King," she says as she looks upon Oronis and nods. She leads her war crodlu forward into the golden wormhole together with the rest of the group when they are all ready to leave.

[Niachi]

Niachi bows deep to the elder king. (Such fine shadows cast from all that wondrous light!)

As Quilla walks into the portal he asks the group:

“Who is better with pack animals than I?”

He will wait until the unmounted erdlu are in good hands, then loosens a quiver strapped to one thigh, to ready an arrow. With hands free, follows Quilla.

[AthasianLaborer]

Ande would seek to time her circles so that she would be in the area of the wormhole (if that is a predetermined spot that Ande is aware of) at the predetermined time of opening.  This way she isn't telegraphing anything to those eyes on her.  When she has eyes on the wormhole, she will make a corkscrew descent as rapidly as is safe; landing where she can greet her compatriots.

"Welcome comrades! A new day dawns and hope rises with the sun! Welcome to western grasslands!"

[Skrye [AC3; 48/48HP]]

- Been aware now of who he is, after the comments given - 'Oronis himself, the Sorcerer-King..' - Eslyk thinks and bows in front of him - "It's an honour.." - at the same distance from him as others did - "I never imagined to be able to see someone so great as you in my life.." - as she rubs her eyes, trying to dispel a mirage in front of her that doesn't not exist, but reality

[Deleted]

Never having been one to stand on ceremony, and feeling that what little equipment she currently holds is sufficient for the task at hand, Chat'cho promptly advances through the portal and waves at Ande. She hopes her supreme confidence is infectious as she trots through the plains, casting her gaze here and there as she takes in her surroundings.

[DM Bob]

Oronis looks up to the goliath, Hurk, dead in the eye.

"Why would you wish to bring all of the might of the City-States upon my beloved treasure?"

He waves slowly about.

"To bring the Messenger here? It would doom us all."

He then turns to Eslyk.

"Be careful whom you idolize, wee one. For my past is full of regret, thousands upon thousands of regrets. Would the aprig bow before the butcher before the merciful blow? Especially when the blood is still staining the hand and block?"

***

Chat'cho intends on walking through only to feel as if she'd done this once before. Deja vu? Her carapace throbs behind her two primary arms. It *feels* as if she should be flying, perhaps looking down at this very scene. The druidess recovers quickly and finds herself standing with the others that walked through the portal. Tall, kreen chest high grasses, sharply jut from the earth. It is darker here, not by much, as if in the shade of the morning. The air is not quite as dry as back through the gate, but not unpleasant. The buzz of other insect life cries mercy to the morning, the drink before the Hunt is sang.

[Deleted]

Chat'cho feels more alive than ever on the other side of the portal. The prospect of coming face-to-face with Imperial Kreen energizes her, and she paces eagerly forward through the tall grasses. [Thri-Kreen] "Buildings...they speak of structures we are to find."

She casts her eyes to the horizon, looking for any sign of this village.

[Attilius]

Aug 15, 2023 23:03:33 GMT DM Bob said:

Oronis looks the goliath, Hurk, in the eye.
"Why would you wish to bring all of the might of the City-States upon my beloved treasure?"

He waves slowly about.
"To bring the Messenger here? It would doom us all."

The half giant nods his understanding “Understood sir…” and bows

HurK then walks over to Syndic and gives him a warriors handshake and hug “Don’t get killed while I’m gone Cap. It’s no fun and you start to stink!” he says alluding to his yesteryear necro-adventures he’s told the black lances about during their recent battles.

The half giant finally moves to the Inix, sees the pear tree strapped in, rolls his eyes, then scratches the inix behind the ears (or wherever they normally enjoy being scratched.) “You, my friend, will be called ‘fruit cart’ from now on...” HurK straps his massive supply pack and 2 large bone great scimitars to the outside of the rear mount. He then pulls out a piece of Jerky, rips it in half, feeds one piece to ‘fruit cart’ and puts the other half in-between his teeth. The large psion climbs up into the saddle and lets the reptile get accustomed to his weight. He pats it on the rear haunch a few times assuredly then reaches around and feeds it the other half of the jerky. “That’s a good boy… Let’s go meet some big bugs, shall we?” he says as he grabs the reins and follows the team into the golden portal. Once through he immediately stands up in the stirrup’s to get maximum height and does a 360 scan of the area then sky…

[Skrye [AC3; 48/48HP]]

- Nodding at Oronis solemnly and then looking at Quila - "Mmm... Do we have something to extract a chip from the rock?" - asking curiously

[DM Bob]

As the last of you enter the portal *(Assuming Coden/Jesse has no objections, retcons/flashbacks permitted), the flying figure of Ande is seen approaching. The wormhole had entered facing west... and the sun finally begins to crest a horizon well above where you expect it behind you.

As the bird templaress can easily explain, the odd buildings are due west from here, the Messenger to the north/north-east and New Kurn some 750 to 800 miles due east from where you stand.

There was a bit of darker colored land due north, but probably 50 or more miles distant. Ande has not had a good look that far due to the light.

The tall grasses are sharp to touch. Anyone here have AC 7 or worse (not using dex modifiers) will take some damage any round walking through without protection. The grasses are also taller than a halfling or a medium sized human. This makes seeing an issue for some. Anyone riding the crodlu are immune to both issues.

The wind blows faster, harder here. There are also some streaky clouds. The air quickly begins to warm. A light humidity of morning dew disappearing is further highlighted by the insane noise of varied insect life. A few large, bloated bugs, Jalath’gak if you fathomed correctly, head north... seemingly ignoring the rest of you.

The ground here is also softer. Noticeably.

[Niachi]

Niachi rises to his full 7' 3" height, seeing Hurk scan, and if he has line of sight above the grass, notes the position of the sun in the sky to avoid blinding himself as he follows Ande's path to them.  At her touchdown, he gives her a welcome nod, motioning for silence. When the Crodlu are in his sight lines, he watches them carefully for any reactions they might have. He has zero knowledge of these beasts but knows we are now a nice platter of ground targets for them Airhunters.

If all is well, he will calmly, easy peasy unpack a saddlebag and transfer some of the requested bug bite salves and remedies to his pouches and pockets. When that's done, a bone arrow is notched in his plain wooden bow, halfway drawn.

He remains silent, trying to get a sense of the 'normal' sound level: bugs buzzing, breeze blowing...

[Attilius]

After scanning 360°, HurK sits back down in his saddle. "Everyone good? Let's go see about this giant almond ship wreck..."