Herald the New Day! Hope. It feels odd.

[Deleted]

Chat'cho immediately sets off towards the Messenger, finding her chitinous exoskeleton more than enough protection from the grasses. [Thri-Kreen] "I wish to meet the Tohr-Kreen, but with any luck there will be some at the crater. We alone certainly did not see it crash."

[Attilius]

Aug 15, 2023 15:06:52 GMT -12 @arkinneas said:

Chat'cho immediately sets off towards the Messenger...
"chick click tik chik. Crick tick chi'clk rict'tik qrik."

"What'd she say?" Asks HurK to the remaining group

[Niachi]

Niachi translates and tests the soft earth with his boot:

"Off to meet this Empire at the crater, we are not the only ones seeking it."

He calls to Chat: 

"Tch Khkktc'ht' ckt khhk!"

("Please pause! We  should move as a team for best hunting!")

[Quila Oris (John M.)]

This morning Quila had dressed not in the loose fitting clothes she normally wore in Kurn. No, indeed, she had seen fit to wear her own Black Lances red/black armor, which she felt she lately had only used ceremonially. What better way than this official mission from the City-State of Kurn, in name of the Tribunal, to again don her hard-earned Black Lances gear. If things did go wrong, then at least she felt secure in the knowledge it was in her battle-dress. Her armor also kept the sharp grasses at bay.

The rest might or might not have noticed a more serious look on the pretty templaress' face accompanying the Black Lances armor she is wearing, right before entering the wormhole. 

Said seriousness is demonstrated immediately once some members of this group of new ones set off not in pursuit of the main goal of the missive we have been given.

Quila huh-hums and says in a clear voice "Stop right there. Our primary mission from the Tribunal is to seek diplomacy from the Kreen Empire. Before we set off in pursuit of what we personally might feel very strongly about, I do suggest in respect of our mission, we first do that. Then we can see what else we do." She looks around at everyone, making direct eye contact with Niachi, Chat'co, Hurk, Eslyk, the Balican man Coden and last with her fellow templar Ande. "Are we agreed?"

[Attilius]

“Well…” HurK shifts in his saddle, the leather creaking with the massive weight redistribution “Seeing as there ARE a bunch of kreen at the Almond, most likely from THAT kreen mound town 20 miles west of 'ere, [he throws a thumb over his shoulder westward] we can literally kill two bugs [he holds up 2 fingers] with one stone by heading to the downed ship that looks a third of the distance away: Talk to the Kreen AND inspect the ship.”

[Quila Oris (John M.)]

"Pragmatically that would surely work. Diplomatically not so much I fear," Quila responds, "the Messenger is not something predictable it has seemed. And to make first contact on such shaky grounds would certainly not be in our best interests. Too many possible unknowns, the least of which are the Messenger and the tohr-kreen. What about all other interested parties from the Tablelands who will surely by now have figured out where the downed Messenger landed and are using the Sight, magical or psionically, to scour the land. Or worse, be there in person. What if Nibenay, Hamanu, Kalak or the others catch a whiff of what else is going on? We won't be the Forgotten North for very long, now won't we?"

She scratches the restless crodlu mount she is sitting on for a second, then looks at Hurk again, "I agree with your assessment that the Messenger, that which you call 'downed ship' for some reason I am not aware of, is a tantalizing riddle and prospect. And so close we can almost feel it. But it is not our primary goal, and going after it first will endanger or greatly complicate that diplomatic goal of our Tribunal. The second that is taken care off, we do the other things we all need or want to do."

[Deleted]

"Bexhore we lexht, I cast a Consequence s*ell that asserted that the comment is greatly im*ortant to our mmission. We should inxhestigate."

[Attilius]

The half giant squints off to the north, surveying the horizon “Coden and I have experience with silt… AND sky ships. If THAT’S NOT some kind of sky vessel [he points northward], I’m buying the first round in the next bar we step into.” He says confidently.

[Coden Rokos (Jesse H.)]

"The kreen should probably be expecting other people to investigate the Messenger. We can open with a very truthful assessment that we wanted to talk to them and given the enormity of this event, it seemed obvious that some of them would come to investigate, so it was an excellent way to guarantee a meeting, hopefully a peaceful one," says Coden. Thanks to his armor, he's protected from the sharp grasses, though he still navigates with care, using his spear and shield to push large fronds out of the way.

"But we must clearly establish our peaceful intent at the outset, so it doesn't seem like an ambush. We especially do not want to trigger any instinctive defensive behaviors."

[Quila Oris (John M.)]

Aug 16, 2023 7:56:45 GMT -12 @arkinneas said:

"Bexhore we lexht, I cast a Consequence s*ell that asserted that the comment is greatly im*ortant to our mmission. We should inxhestigate."

"Remember, I was there when Presider Ulali backed your Consequence up with the required materials to find out what the impact of it all was. But the confirmation that its appearance is relevant to the restoration and/or future of Kurn or our journey to the Kreen Empire, in it self says nothing about the outcome. Whether positive or negative. That's the nice thing about signals and portents. It still leaves for agency and intelligence being used, or wisdom and temperance." Quila feels herself drive into a corner by now and looks around for support, most specifically at Ande.

"The risk of encountering other agents than tohr-kreen is too big and jeopardizes the primary mission of diplomacy to no end."

[Quila Oris (John M.)]

"For that matter, let me sense whether there is danger nearby." She adds while the standstill is ongoing.

(OOC: Bob, Quila activates Danger Sense. In the power it says you should roll for me. My Power Score is a 20. My own roll was a 17, but that was before I read you should roll instead)

[Deleted]

"It mmakes no *ixherence to mme, dra. Ixh you wish, we mmay *roceed to the xhillage itselxh, instead."

[AthasianLaborer]

Ande lands on the back of the inix, behind the pear tree.  "Welcome to the western grasslands comrades!  Do be aware, I was watching and watched throughout the night, we are likely still viewed.  To address the immediate concerns of the assembly, I wouldn't be too hasty in either direction, there's sense in both."

She looks Quila in the eye reassuringly "I shall ask!" She says just prior to casting her last available 2nd level spell on Augury asking <Aarakocra> "Is our diplomatic mission better served if we proceed to the kreen community prior to seeing the messenger?"

And the stars say...

(OOC: @bob, do I roll the percentile or do you?)

[Attilius]

Aug 16, 2023 9:02:39 GMT -12 Quila Oris (John M.) said:

"For that matter, let me sense whether there is danger nearby..."

The half giant chuckles "We're surrounded by it." He points to the endless blade grass. "The second I get off 'ol 'fruit cart' here, I'm in trouble." he laughs

Aug 16, 2023 9:37:44 GMT -12 AthasianLaborer said:

Ande lands on the back of the inix, behind the pear tree.  "Welcome to the western grasslands comrades!  Do be aware, I was watching and watched throughout the night, we are likely still viewed.  To address the immediate concerns of the assembly, I wouldn't be too hasty in either direction, there's sense in both."

"Welcome back! Glad you weren't giant insect breakfast."

[DM Bob]

Danger Sense doesn't register anything odd right now.

Ande begins to feel watched.

And the augury gives the answer, "Greet the neighbor's home before perusing the Message."

The dry grasses rustle as the wind kicks up a tad, coming from the north west. A few more fluffy white clouds are seen against the olive green sky.