A Collection of Strangers on Walkabout

The wilds have proved a challenge to Khaguran's wits' wisdom, skills, and body. While out on one of his frequent treks exploring lands beyond the civilized domains he cam across a trail that though new had been used multiple times. A new road meant new places and repeated use indicated that someone thought there was something werth all the effort there.

Intrigued Khaguran stopped by a local farmhouse and stocked up as well he could for an extendedn journey. The farmer seemed obivious to the new road, indicating it had be laid in such a way as to not catch the eye of the locals it bypassed. Thanking the farmer and his extended family that housed him and sold him the goods he would need he set out.

The trail followed the terrain and the ruts in the dirt indicated to Khaguran that the wagons were heavily laden. unfortunatly the raod did not seek out fresh water as often ans the meager waterskin Khaguran had required from him. This forced his to divert off the road to quench his thirst and fill the water skin. However this also exposed that the wagon often had to divert around terrain that Khaguran could easiy cross. Soon it was a challange. Could he catch up to the last set of wagons that he estimated were less than a tenday week ahead of him before they reached their destination? The hunt was on.

Now over a day outfrom the nearest setlement the road seems to only wander to avoid rough terrain that the wagons might not be able to handle. While close to the setlements it simpe swing wid eso that normal activity would not nead someone to cross it.

Khaguran looks around the rolling hills partially covered by thick trees with the ocasional rocky outcropping. Typical for this region ht must have made creating the initial road difficult. Khaguran picks a taller than average hill with a rocky peak not too far off from the wagon track and set off to survey the area.The beasts of the woods have been showing signs of a lack of contact with civlization. Less afraid though no less cautions Khaguran has had to avoid a few of the more dangerous animals. The brown bear was easy enough but the wolf pack that haunted his camp last night made his rest a bit less than relaxing. He has also spotted signs of mor monstrous creatures but luckily has avoided and close encounters with these.

As Khaguran climbs the chosen hill he begins to suspect that he is not the first to recognize it potential. As he nears the rocky peak there are definite signs of inhabitation by some form of monster or beast of size and power.

Khaguran looks around but does not find anything distinct to identify what might be lairing here.Moving a bit higher as he looks for clues Khaguran gets a better view of the area but at his heigh can not see the wagon trail. He will have to go higher for a better vantage. That means deeper into the creatures teritory.

As you climb up the rocky formation atop the hill you take care to minimize your pressence and maintain a watchful attitude. This however does not prove to be enough.

Raising his head over the lip of a ledge he was pulling himself up onto he finds himself face to face with a griffin. the eale head atop the lion body seems unafraid and stares intelligently at the tile humanoind who has traipsed to casually into its home. A soft squak is followed by a low rumbling chuff of warning as the two massive wings half open as it rolls to its feet to stare down at you The griffin has to be as large as a horse but with a large and obviously sharp beak, not to mention the sharp claws that are slowly extending from its paws as it half croutches to leap or take flight.

Blinking Khaguran pulls him from his daze realizing he has been staring into the eyes of a monster that would barely concider him a snack. Khaguran knows all to well that most beast, and moster for that matter, consider direct eye contact a challange. In essence Khaguran came into the griffins home and proceded to challenge it!

Khaguran quickly drops down from the ledge, glad he had not gotten an arm or leg up, and began scrambling down the rocks as quickly as he could a squawk and the sound of wing above him alerted him to pursuit. turning to look back he saw the griffin's talons heading strait for his face. Then he tripped.
The tallong sailed directly over his face as he fell backwards and the feeling of relieve and the joy of life quickly vanished as the back of his head slammed into a rock. Turning ovr quickly Khaguran focussed his attention on getting to the tree cover as quickly as possible. Learning from his previous incident he started dodging around and under larger roks, using his smaller size to his advantage. Finally down from the rocky peak of the hill he only had to cross a small clearing before he could make the treeline. Trying to time it he makes a dash for the trees but the griffins's dive was quicker than he expected and he heard the thunderous sound as the wings snap open and the foreleg talons grabbed at his back.
An impact followed by a tug towards the sky fills him with dread. But he sound of something tearing let him know he only needs to worry about patching up his sleeping rolls. Under the trees and further into the woods in a flash Khaguran finally takes a moment to look around. Yes it is as he assumed.. He has no idea where he is not with relation to the wagon trail or where he ascended the hill.

The wagon trail was heading east and tending a bit to the south. You are currently north of the track so heading south should let you cross it at some point unless it has turned southe sharper than it has before. There has been a large stream or small river wandering the land south of the trail. The stream meanders arosss the land and the wagon trail cuts a more direct path, for the most part. You cossed to the north due to this nice looking hill but failed to get a good enough look at the surrounding horizon to save your legs from unneeded walking.
Getting your bearing Khaguran sighs and sets of heading south. As he moves in and out of the trees he spots a few landmaarks that might be sightings he set befor ascending the hill. A couple of hours bring ou to the trail which has turned south to cut through some low hills. With night coming on you start looking for a place to rest for the night.

Khaguran moves to intercept the road as well as stays on the lookout for water. It takes longer than expected to find both the road and water forcing Khaguran to make do with a thicket with decent foliage to cut the wind and other weather as his bower for the night. Digging a small hole he sets a small fire to heat some water into a nice tea to add some flavor to his routine.

I the morning with a full water skin and jar he set out staying between the wagon trail and growing stream. The stream has merged with a coupe tributaries by mid day and is getting decent sized. Climbing sparsely wooded hill gives him a decent vantage of the way to the south, where the trail and stream are heading No too far away the stream joins up with an even larger flow coming from the west. By late afternoon he has repeatedly bumped into the wagon trail, even following it for much of the time and he begins to suspect something. An hour before nightfall his suspicions are confirmed. The wagon trail cuts directly across the now wide, though not too deep stream.

Khaguran decides to wade across as the flow is not too fast and there are not enough rocks anywhere he has passed to allow him to cross without getting wet. Soaked and slightly chilled he scampers up the far bank and looks out over an increasingly wooded and stream ridden area. Setting about looking for decent quart3er where he can dry out his clothes he is pleasantly suppressed when he spots the ruins of a small tower.

The tower is a bit out of the way from the wagon track but the 1st floor looks intact with a portion of the 2nd as well. Collecting some kindling and any dry wood he can find he set off for the tower after noting where he can rejoin the wagon trail in the morning. By time he gets to the clearing the tower stands it the sun is low making the interior of the building dark and slightly less welcoming than it appeared when first sighted.

Aproaching cautiously you can tell by the fading light of sunset that the tower is quite old and obviously part of the Dawn Age and likely used during the Dawn War. Toweres like thiw were established to look out over rural areas or around larger cities. The landscape was severly altered during the shattering so the tower may have movd at that time or the lands simply altreed and the people fled.

Aproaching the door you seee a few light booted foot prints, a couple of days old. These were perhaps from wagon train outriders though you can not be sure. At the doorway you survey the inside which is fovered in dust thick enough to indicate that whomever was walking around before you did not enter. The interior is dim but look solid and dry. There are signs that there was once furniture but the remnants are so rotten they have colapsed to litle more than mounds under the dust.

Steping forward to clear the dust before setling down for the night you are suddenly hit with a wave of nausea. Roll a save test please (2d6) The scene before you twists as you pass the doorway and the interior is neat, clean, and furnished. The previously broken stairs now are whole and continue up to the higher floors of the tower. Whirling you now see the slight shimmer in the air that denotes a border.

Borders are the result of the Shattering. The world was broken and rearanged. The Border are the boundaries between the broken pieces of the Mortal Realm. Many of the borders have healed while other are still easily notice and strong enough to make those who cross them ill and confused. As the strength of the Bordrs fade they become static and easily crossed. However in the years following the Shattering all Borders changed randomly or periodically so that crossing one would lead to different landds. Khaguran has passed throu a couple of weaker Borders that were explored and has had to cross two while following the wagon trail. Bothe were easily spotted and very stable. This one is much stronger in its affect and much harder to see. The view beyond the border that fills the doorway is not the landscape that Khaguran just came from.

Khaguran reals under the sudden wave of nausea as the magical energies of the Border play havoc with his thoughts and senses. He collapses to the ground trying valiantly not to end up in a puddle of any sort of body fluids. As the pain subsides and he becomes increasingly aware of his surroundings again he takes stoke of things.

Other than the doorway and stairs there is a simple chest, table and two chairs. Outside the door is no longer the wooded hills he just came from but a distorted image of grey misty covered hills barely discernable through the now obvious and clearly dangerous Border. According to what Khaguran knows Border that are this strong can be dangerous but there are methods to cross them safely with careful observation and timing. Now is not a good time. He can try and leave now or watch and wait for a better time to leave. One other thing known about Borders is that repeated crossings will make individuals more resistant to their adverse affects but doing so while still suffering only compounds the suffering so he decides he had better wait at least until the headache dissipates.

Since he has time Khaguran heads to the stairs as he hears a sound coming from behind himself. Turning around he sees a human step, grimacing from the affects of the Border . . .Skeve had been watching the Duede (halfling/hobbit/goblin) for a few minutes before the figure entered the tower ruins. Skeve had come across the wagon trail earlier that day and though it was obviously not used often it had been used recently. Having wandered the Shattered lands for a while Skeve had lost track of the closest settlements due some unfortunate shifts in the Borders. As Skeve watched the Duende approach and enter the tower obviously preparing to settle down for the night he decides this looks to be a good opportunity to introduce himself.

As Skeve approaches the tower his magical senses give warning that the tower is within an oddly small border. Having watched the Duende enter the tower only a minute ago but not seeing him withing Skeve is certain this Border is not only odd in its size but nature as well. Taking a breath his steps through the doorway.

To Kharguran the newcomer seems to not suffer nearly as bad as he had.
To Skeeve this crossing seems worse, and affects him more that one has in quite some time.

As Skeeve stumbles and falls to his knees he look up at Kharguran with a faint smile and hold a hand out to wait a moment and allow him to collect himself.

Other than the chairs and basic table the first floor holds little of interest except the chest. The stone stairs now lead up to the 2nd floor. Cautiously opening the chest shows it to contain a small writing kit with paper, ink, and a pen, along with a jug, a couple of cups, flint and steel,, tinder for a fire, and a set of keys. A small stone fireplace sits empty under the stairs and though backend from previous fires is clean of any debris at this time.

As you ascend the stairs you note that there appears to be daylight coming from somewhere above. The bright yellow light of daylight fills the second story forcing you to blink as your head pass the 2nd story floor. Three window open and one of them is letting in the morning light. Another shows full day while the last has the dull reds of a setting sun. The stairs continue up on the far side of the room which has a simple table with 3 stools. Atop the table rest a spyglass, paper, and more writing implements. However the ink has been knocked over and has soaked into the pages. On the section of the tower without the stairs up or down is a cabinet Several doors to the cabinet are open and other shelves are open, all of which are empty. There is however a lock securing a larger door on the cabinet.

The key ring has four very distinct keys and you easily identify the key and unlock the cabinet. Inside you see 4 crossbows and a dirty dagger. One of the crossbows has no bow string and is set by itself to one side with the dagger.

Looking out the windows you see that the scene out the window at dusk appears to be where you came from with low rolling hills covered by heavily wooded forests. The other two windows show similar settings but the hills in the dawn scene are larger with smaller trees while the window showing mid day has hills about in between the dawn and dusk scenes and the trees are starting to fill in.

The dagger sheath is covered in oil and the handle is slightly tacky. Taking it out the bladed drops oil. Continuously. It seems to be generating it slowly.
The paper had long since absorbed the ink which had dried and there are no traces of writing to be found.
The spyglass is of good quality and made of brass. The view with the spyglass reveals details that you missed before. The scenes seem to flicker. What you took for wind moving the trees turns to be the trees growing and withering in an oddly disappointed and possibly cyclical manner. Watching to closely behind to give you a headache.

With the dagger, spyglass, and keys in hand you hear upstairs again. The third floor has 3 old and crumbling beds with small open top boxes underneath, small windows between them, and a ladder to a trap door on the ceiling. The storage under each bed holds a mismatch of ruined articles. The only thinks identifiable are a set of gaming bones (think very rough dice) and a few small and rusted metal items. Candle holder, Flint and steel, needles, a couple of tins that holds some sort of salve or powder.

The four windows show similar scenes though slightly different than the second floor. Finding nothing of interest you climb the ladder and carefully open the trap door by releasing the latch and shoving it up.

The area above the tower forms an odd done as the space just beyond is trusted and warped. With a pandemic view you more see the surrounding in a click like fashion. Standing in the middle and slowly turning your can chicken through a day outside the tower, dawn, morning, noon, afternoon, evening, sunset, and night before returning to dawn.

The dagger barely fits inside the earthen jar.
Dagger detai for refference so I dont forget to tell you later. You will have full use of it after leaving the tower. For now it jsut makes thing oily and dirtyThe view up here is as below only you now have the full effect. One day of light is one full rotation as you pann around the tower. As you look more closely with and without the spyglass you realize that the view around you in each direction seems to be a set time of day a fixed period in time. The closer the daylight is to what you entered the closer the scenery looks to be like what you saw when you enterd. As a rough outlike if you entered at 7PM then 7AM seems the least like the view when you entered with the angles in between shifting in both daytime and history. As you look more closely you note that there is an extreeme distortion at one particular spot near the dawn light (7AM) where the flickering distortions are greatest. The spyglass is revealed to be nothing special other than being able to reveal details from a great distance. (telescope) and the odd visual effects are likely an effect of the the Border the tower is surronded by.

As you examine the scenery you both hear a sound from below of someone closing the cabinet door.

Looking down the iron ladder into the next level you hear a few footsteps and muttering and then s figure walls into view shifting a stack of papers. Odd thing is, he and the papers are translucent.

The trap door is on the middle of the tower and a couple of iron poles with rungs between them grant access to the top through the door which is still open

Khaguran positions himself so that he'd be behind anyone coming up the ladder into the observatory dome.

"Seems like someone's home," He whispers to Skeeve.

He then moves back against the wall and crouches to listen for a moment, to see if any of the specter's words are intelligible.

Having experienced ...
... I am not inclined to jump to my death.

Khaguran and Skeeve relax in the tower until the time approaches to rescue the girl. Let me know what the plan is.

Rikia has "just" jumped off the tower, a frightening experience, and been stuck at the base of the tower unable to leave. She can tell her warding spell is failing and the area she can wander had been reduced to a small area as the warding spell fails and is almost completely gone.

The problem is the temporal differential. You will only have a few rounds or about 15 seconds to act topside but whoever is at grind level only has 1 round, 2 actions, before they are out of sync again for another day
Rikia essentially had had 6 seconds of time for each day of time for the last 50 years so had been trapped for about a day her time

I can just walk though the rescue in story mode
or
You guys can act it out.

I do want each of you to roll at least one test related to the rescue to determine how smoothly it goes. You can pick something interesting, hard, or your character is good at. I leave it to you

Khaguran will have sat down and planted his feet against the parapet to haul on the rope effectively, given his small stature. He uses a rowing motion to pull over and over, hand over hand.

Knowing you have several hours yet till your 24 hour incarceration is up you move get comfortable and swap stories.
Rikia recouns how she fled to the tower in the midst of a massive arcande assault. Her description reminds the others of tales of the Shattering. She recounts how she was trapped for several days with only a lone guard, whos description matchs the phantom the others met. Indesperation as the food was exhausted she used one of her masters scrolls and his talisman in an attempt to escape the tower and it field. At that time the tower was entirely cut off

Skeve and Khaguran in turn explain what the surmise happened after Rikia tried to flee the tower. Explaining about the Shattering and the end of the Dawn War. As you char you scour the tower and find nothing else of interest and settle to wait in front of the door.

Time passes and the distortions that fill the doorway become gradually clearer to all but Rikia who continues to only see the chaos that trapped her initially. As the view clear you begin to see the light of sunset and wooded hills you left yesterday. Gathering yourselves you wait for the best time and rush out the door. Rikia stifles a groan as she passes through the Barrier. The other two having done so the day before are better prepared for the experience and pull her along and then away from the tower. Stopping well clear of the tower the coolness of night begins sinking into you as the tension of being trapped begins to fade.

Rikia is oddly familiar and lost at the same time. Having visited the villages of the region several times over the last couple of years, or rather the last year she had with her master, she points out where the road used to cut through the countryside. Khaguran is barely able to make it out now that is has been pointed out and chuckles as the wagon train has ended up recreating the ancient roadway. Moving further off from the tower, just in case, you find a good place for a campsite in some trees with a few boulders making a nice sheltered location. Building a fire and clearing the ground you set out your bedrolls and lay back to rest.

Let me know of any nighttime arrangements and you can role play a bit more during this night.
I will move you along the wagon trail tomorrow or later this weekend.

Rikia gazes up at the stars and recognizes a few constellations while others have changed. Using the peace of the night she sorts out her thoughts. There are things to consider but little she can do for now. Her shift passes peacefully and she wakes Skeeve before falling into an exhausted sleep troubled with dreams.

Skeeve and Khaguran take their turns but noting of note happens in the dim of the night. With the morning you share your provisions as Rikia had exhausted hers in the tower before attempting to escape. Luckily her master had been a practical scholar and had pointed out edible plants and how to find them. Bothe Skeeve and Khaguran are familiar as well with living off the land and between three of you a couple of snacks are rounded up to supplement the bland trail rations that was your breakfast as you move to find the wagon trail.

Refreshing your water supplies when you have the chance you find the wagon trail and Rikia explains the route and where villages had been along its way before the Shattering. The wagon trail veers more to the south than Rikia was expecting. If the wagons are truly heading to Paphos then their course to the south will take them to a river that must be crossed before reaching the southern half of the city. The are enough traces that Khaguran is able to make out the old road now which Rikia says leads to the northern quarter of Paphos and will be much shorter.

Do you follow the wagons to south Paphos or the old road to north Paphos?

After a stuttering overly polite and considerate conversation (lacking type A has a draw back, not being type A I am familiar with this) you take the southern track, following the wagon trail. Half a day later you come to a large swift river. Khaguran estimates the wagons had large and strong draft animals pulling them and so had little trouble fording the river. You however may have trouble. The river is forded at is widest lowest point from what you can see up and down river.

How will you cross the river?

The river is at least 60 feet wide where the wagons cross. Upstream it narrows to 40 feet and has rocks and rapids you might be able to cross but would suffer more if you slipped off of the rocks. Downstream the rapids are even worse.

There are some trees in the area but they have been getting thinner the further west you have traveled. Rikia tells how the area around the city was primarily farmland with some orchards and strips of wilderness. The northern passage would not cross the river, unless it moved. From lore and records you know the Shattering altered many natural features.

The magic crossbow will only fire rope. Essentially it enchants 5 feet of rope into a magical grappling hook that automatically secures itself if it is possible to the target selected. Noting can be done to the end being fired to make it work better. The other end of the rope can be anchored or tied to another rope to lengthen it.

Searching up stream you look for a pair of trees, one on each side, to anchor the rope to. moving up stream several hundred feet you find a pair of good candidates. The trees both are healthy and tall enough to string the rope well above the river but they are more than 50 feet apart. All the other trees by the river are too small or look like they might break under you weight. Securing two ropes you can anchor the far side with the Rope Caster and tie off the near side. But how will you get the rope back?

The trees are about 3 feet above the river and set back from it about 10 feet each and thick enough to support a couple of you at a time as long as they are tied to below 15 feet off the ground.

Any special instructions on setting up the rope or on crossing?
Roll a strength, acrobatics, climbing test when you are ready to to cross to see if you have any trouble

After much planning and deliberation, by Skeeve, to Skeeve, for Skeeve, against Skeeve . . . . Skeeve picks a plan that the others shrug to. Seems reasonable enough
If your are ready to go give me a test to cross and indicate any reason you might have advantage

The three of you make it across with the knot in the midle being one of the more "exciting" moments as you are forces to pull your safety harnes up and over its bump before proceeding.

Skeve hase the mose difficulty as you learn that 70 feet of rope can stretch quite a bit when attached horizontally with weight in the middle. Though he gets a bit wet and has a bit of difficulty pulling himself to shore you all manage to cross sofely.

It takes Skeeve a minute to focus his magic ans work on the rope across the way till Khaguran hands him the spy glass which allows him to see what he is doing. At the edge of his magical range he finally manages to work the slip knot free and you recover your rope.

Skeve dries his cloths wit a touch of magic and you continue following the wagon trail . .

The horn calls sound vaguely familiar to Rikia. Unfortunatlely they seem to have changes a bint from the little she knows, mostly simple ones she heard in parades like CHARGE, RALLY, and HOLD

After several minutes another guard is seen crossing the bridge with an older man. They talk with the tower guards and then approach.
Welcome strangers. I hear your liking for a town? he chuckles at this.
Come along then. I introduce your to the local Mayor and he laughs again.
Your are excited by the man, who introduced himself as Danoll as you walk, and the guards that came with him. The bridge cruises a short down on water and the road continues east. You soon leave the swamp and see a wall in the distance. It is of stone and had more guards that post you though but a couple more fall in behind you.

The large office your enter leads to a smaller but better furnished room with a week dressed man sitting behind the desk. You all file in including Danoll and the 3 guards.

Looking you over here grey's you politely. Welcome travelers. I must admit to being a bit surprised at your arrival
May I ask where you came from?

With a raised eyebrow, he does that really well and you think he might practice or just be an expressively gifted individual, he asks You lost your master, a wizard, and decided wandering the Shattered Lands looking for him was a good idea? He stares at Skeve and Rikia in turn.

The building, as well as the others you saw coming into the walled enclosure, is a mix of old stonework and what appears to be magically shaped stone. The interior is simply furnished and all except the chair and desk the man is using are plain and simple. The chair has extra padding and the table is polished and has panels so that you can not see his legs and from its size assume it has shelves or drawers on his side. The desk and shelves along the wall behind him are filled with papers, scrolls, maps, lists, and ledgers neatly written but the contents are too small to read at this range. The map vaguely reminds Rikia of the Paphos region but where the city should clearly be has only a few symbols an notations.

Sitting back the man looks at all three of you for a while before sighing. Very well. It was bound to happen at some point. Turning to the guard who accompanied Danoll he says Lock them up for the day captain. Have the priest and wizard notified so they can perform some divinations on them. I will decide what to do about them tomorrow after that is done. Do not treat them harshly. They just might be as they say.

Looking at you doubtfully he replies Aye sir. We'll do as you say.
Turning to you he continues Come along peacefully and you wont be mistreated. Cause any trouble and . . . he trails off meaningfully as he rests his hand on his sword.

The captain and guards expert you out

The wall and gate has several guards but inside are streets, shops, workers, and people wandering around. It isn't busy but there are people about. Looking around you might be able to escape but where would you go? The impression you got was that there are several forces in the area that do not get along.

After about an hour a noble looking older yet well build man comes in to talk with you. After a short prayer, that Skeve and Rikia feel a touch of magic in, he begins asking your names and where you come from. Though friendly and polite he casts a stern glance at Skeeve, or the others, when any falsehood is uttered. Though he does not correct you he can obviously tell when he is being lied to.
He explains to you briefly that you are welcome to stay after certain facts have been verified and will answer some general questions about him and his faith but evades revealing any details about the group that has you held captive.

Post any question, revisions, or additions you want to make to your story and statements.

About half an hour after the priest another old, scholarly looking, man walks in and after a short whispered conversation with the priest he nods to you and performs a ritual casting that takes several minutes. As the ritual proceeds the confines of your cells are lines with arcane energies that soon form solid surfaces around you. At the completion of the spell the arcane barriers collapse into, through, and end up surrounding you in a field of energy. Each of you is now outlined in a visible aura. The wizard studies you for several minutes, thanks you for your time, wishes you well, and leaves.

The spell reveals your auras. Your aura is determined by your race, personality, and history. Please give a description of your aura color, intensity, appearance (fire, a glow, crystalline, elemental, metallic, etc). Feel free to be as descriptive or simple as you like but include at least a couple points that reflect something about your character