Venture to the Messenger

[Quila Oris (John M.)]

Quila will ride her war crodlu with weapon my bow at the ready the minute we start nearing or if there's any signal of trouble. There's now lots of Sacred Guardians so well that ought to give it away. And I trust the tohr-kreen to know their lands by heart.

My position in marching order is behind or next to HurK, depending on the inix / crodlu behaviors, and in front of Eslyk and the Earth shama, Lik-Vyr.

[Deleted]

Chat'cho eyes the party wizard up and down quietly, humming.

[Thri'Kreen] "I am not sure the Tohr'Kreen will even know what a Defiler is. There are no wizards among Kreen, and these may have never encountered your like before. They may not have the fear of Defilers that permeates your kind."

[DM Bob]

Know Customs will help with that concern as well. Most kreen here have experience with clerical magic and psionics. They might react if there's a result they haven't seen, but won't assume otherwise.

And this same boon allows Ande to navigate her concerns and the scout agrees to her help. There seems to be an air of competition to it scout-vs-scout - like clutch vs. clutch. But not in a negative way. You think. You can cast your blessing without any great reaction.

They also don't frequent the same areas as halflings. Since the lil guys might be the only race that'd eat a tohr-kreen, there is some innate sense to be on guard with them. However, since this has been an amicable meeting, you will likely bond over your love of hunting. The tohr looks at her without comprehending. Apparently Lik-Vyr doesn't speak the common tongue.

You head out. The winds build and swirl, making flight slightly troublesome (if you are indeed flying). The solid clouds are about 50-60% of the sky and not as thin as yesterday. Still effing hot. It takes a little over three hours of solid walking to reach sight of your destination through the swaying grass. You stand a mile away from the large brown and green almond shaped nut The Messenger; the large rut seen cutting a swath in the earth from the right. Tell me how you wish to approach said situation.

[Deleted]

Chat'cho goes ahead bravely, eager to see what new information can be gleaned from the fall of the ancient comet.

[AthasianLaborer]

Ande will cast Sacred Guardian on Kakyl and then whistle playfully before taking flight, zipping through the air as fast as she can with Unfailing Endurance.  She will not be unsocial but will keep occasionally ascending to an altitude of 1500'-2000' just to widen her view briefly checking on what's ahead and the flanks (to ensure that things aren't changing, no evidence of parallel/perpendicular movement in the tall grasses).  The very first time she sees The Messenger, she'll fly past Kakyl and exclaim <Thri-Kreen> "I see it, I see it, I will race you to it!" without waiting for a response, she'd take off like a bolt and circle The Messenger at ~500' until she knows the party is a mile away.

Ping Quila "Come, come"

She will attempt Identity Penetration (rolled a 1 needing under 17; Not imagining that she keeps it up more than 1 round unless theres something wonky; if it even works) on The Messenger before landing atop it as the party approaches.

[Niachi]

Niachi strides in the front with his 2 quivers of arrows on each long shin. Hands empty except for a flat stone cradled in his gloved hand. He will take flank position to allow J'lact and Chat enough room for them to move. He will scan the skies every few steps, both admiring their avian's playful swoops, and checking all compass points as they reach the Messenger.

When we get there, he silently alerts the others to pause until the scouts have finished checking for tracks, listening, etc. Then eyes up to the skies.

[Attilius]

Aug 24, 2023 16:47:56 GMT -12 Niachi said:

Niachi strides in the front with his 2 quivers of arrows on each long shin. Hands empty except for a flat stone cradled in his gloved hand. He will take flank position to allow J'lact and Chat enough room for them to move. He will scan the skies every few steps, both admiring their avian's playful swoops, and checking all compass points as they reach the Messenger.

When we get there, he silently alerts the others to pause until the scouts have finished checking for tracks, listening, etc. Then eyes up to the skies.

HurK follows these directives, staying with the 2 starboard Tohr warriors as they continue forward.

[Quila Oris (John M.)]

Quila follows Niachi's instructions and HurK's movements. She does take her bow and knock an arrow in the last mile to go. If we can safely get within 500 feet from that point forward she initiates Danger Sense (rolling a 13 on a 20, success).

When she sees the playful behavior of Ande she can't help but smile a little. The minute she sees Ande descend toward the Messenger however, her breathing stops for a second, just waiting for the worst to happen and her Sacred Guardian spell to give her a headache. She hopes that won't happen and she is again overly cautious.

[Skrye [AC3; 48/48HP]]

- Eslyk approaches the stony target, getting careful in her movement, taking a position a bit separated from the group, listening for any unwelcoming sounds, keeping an eye on the ground for possible tracks.

Although when she's able to focus and listening to the sounds that the wind brings in her direction, '- crap! -' thinks in her mother tongue, as the though of been attempting to communicate with Lik-Vyr distracted her in her movement through, been unable to find any tracks due this

[OOC: Failed Move in Shadows (rolled a 100%!) Successful Detect Noise, and failed Tracking]

[DM Bob]

Ande tries to contact The Messenger. It does seem to have a mind, yet alien to her. Luckily, there is no immediate or apparent defense or attack attempted on it's part. Yet.

Danger Sense does trigger. The threat comes from the same direction as the odd space nut... but there are also eight giant tohr-kreen in two groups of four in front of the alien thing, with black carapaces. They are larger than the J'ez you accompany. Heavily armed, they have harnesses with multiple chatkcha in same style as J'lact's as well as large double handed swords of some sort of odd material and a few smaller blades, much the same construction. A reminder that those chatkcha have a longer curve - more similar to a boomerang.

They are still at a distance and both parties feel observed - Ande and Quila's psionic senses are triggered.

The wind picks up... and a light rain begins. Lightning flashes from the north-west. The grasses whip about... perhaps this is why tracking is so difficult.

[Skrye [AC3; 48/48HP]]

- Eslyk gets ready, blade and dagger in hand, awaiting the surely inevitable..

Kneeling in the wet soil, she stains her fingers in the dirt, the same couple of fingers that will cross her face from the top right down its bottom left, leaving a brownish mark in it - 'It is time to battle, it will be time to feast' - thinks with a sharp look and smirky smile, awaiting any kind of signal for the party to act

[AthasianLaborer]

Ande will attempt Identity Penetration a second time (Contact rolled an 8 needing under a 9 if the -8 is still applied; ID Penetration rolled a 5 needing under a 17).

Would Know Customs have revealed to Ande how best to engage the (fairly obvious) Guards?  She won't provoke them, but will stay circling aloft (@250'-500') until she notices any change in stance on the parties approach.

If it becomes apparent that they intend us (J'lect and Kakyl included) harm, she'll look for targets to rain arrows or darts on.

Ande is more interested in The Messenger than dealing with the Tohr just doing their jobs.

[Deleted]

Chat'cho, knowing nothing of the apparently sentient comet, believes it her duty to approach the Tohr'Kreen arranged at the crash site. She sashays closer, moving her antennae this way and that as she attempts to establish contact with these sentries.

[Tohr'Kreen] "Humblest greetings, Imperials. This one is in the company of J'lact of Nirik-Tohr. She is Chat'cho, shaman, healer, and warden of Once-Desert to the south and west. If your food or water stores run low, this one would be privileged to restore them."

She shows utmost deference to those present, hoping against hope that they are as forward-thinking as J'lact has been.

[Quila Oris (John M.)]

With the best of her fresh grasp of some basic tohr-kreen Quila blurts out some pops, wheezes, shrills and throaty buzzes, “J’lact, what that them there” and points to the large kreen. To Chat’cho she adds “What are those? Are they put here by the Emperor? Sorry for butchering my words there.”

(OOC: Bob how far out are we now, ie what’s the distance between us and those boomerang equipped kreen?)

[Niachi]

Niachi gauges the distance to the Messenger and its company. He gets J'lact's attention, points to the 8, does the best body language he knows in kreen to signal
'friend or foe?'

He walks tall with the wind whipping his long black hair, as the angry skies announce his arrival. He passes his thumb in zigzagging pattern against the stone in hand, readying a defense, or with other motions, something stronger. Sword, bow, club or dragonpaw all at the ready.