[RP] Crag's Secrets: Chapter 1 - Arrival

Perfect Sadur raised his hands, showing he does not mean to insist on executing the plan. Turnning his attention his dog instead.

Kimbek nods. "Just be careful. If the bird is more intelligent than we think, it might not care to be tricked."

Indeed. Which is why I will be carrying my staff, Bartholomew answers with a smile.

Bartholomew accepted the intricate contraption from Sadur and Shallan. If I do not return, your highness, it has been a privilege serving your family. Be sharp, be vigilant, rely on those you trust and none other. As for now, follow closely what happens and take advantage when the bird loses focus.

Turning to Belladona, watch over her closely, and give Pepper a kiss on the snout from me., he says with a smile.

Bartholomew approaches the bridge, cautiously but confidently. My job is to wrest the condor's attention from the princess and her party, by any means necessary, keeps running through his mind. As he nears the far side, he stops before—but in reach of—his staff.

Using exaggerated motions to underscore his words, Bartholomew addresses the guardian of the far side: Noble bird, mere morsels of rotting carrion, while tasty, would be a poor offering to one such as magnificent as yourself. BEHOLD! We bring you the gift of entertainment, of attention, of exercise, and most of all, of the hunt! While aware that condors are carrion-eaters, Bartholomew is banking on somehow stroking the bird's ego. Here is one truly worthy of your attention. Catch it, and it is yours! With that, Bartholomew launches the sparkling glider into the wind, away from the far side, hopefully drawing the guardian's attention away from both the party and their intended destination.

As Bartholomew approached the great condor, the creature carefully observed his every step. It became clear that the closer Bartholomew got to the bird, the more the guardian's attention began to focus on the glowing trinket, the extraordinary offering prepared by the group of adventurers.

The tension in the condor’s posture became increasingly apparent as it watched. At first, it tilted its head from side to side, as if trying to get a better look at what was being offered, but soon its body clearly shifted into a stance of readiness, poised to leap at any moment.

The closer Bartholomew got to the bird, the more he felt his confidence slipping away. "Maybe carrion would have been a better choice?" he thought. But he knew he had to follow through with his decision. For himself. For the princess. For the kingdom.

As Bartholomew released the brightly glowing little bird, crafted from leaves and various decorations, he exhaled heavily, convinced the condor would fly off after the trinket. But things didn’t go as expected. The condor let out an enraged screech, like a child of monstrous size who had just had candy snatched away at the last moment. With fierce passion, it lunged at Bartholomew, who—at the last second—used a deft kick to flip his staff into his hands and block the creature's attacking talons, larger than a grown man’s fist. He knelt under the weight of the beast's assault, hearing, almost feeling in his bones, the tension of the ropes holding the bridge beneath him.

Bartholomew lifted his head, his eyes meeting the bird's gaze. With the last effort to fend off the attacker, he made a a loud cry, not shy of looking death straight into the eyes!

Just as unexpectedly, the condor pulled its head back—not delivering the final blow the monk had anticipated. Instead, the great bird took flight, so swiftly and suddenly that Bartholomew’s tense hands, gripping the staff, didn’t release in time. Before he realized it, his feet had left the bridge, and he felt the growing rush of air around him. Instinctively, he turned to see where they were going, doing so just in time to watch the condor snatch the toy bird in its beak. With a sharp turn to the right, the condor soared upward with powerful wingbeats, flying above the tree tops faintly outlined in the mist, heading toward the direction set by far end of the rope bridge.

His companions, who had been watching the entire scene with bated breath, were once again enveloped by a sense of helplessness, the mist, and the strange silence that shrouded their surroundings. It was only occasionally interrupted by the cry of some unknown creature, completely unfamiliar to them.

The path across the bridge was finally clear. Although it still swayed slightly, emitting sounds reminiscent of an exhausted old man who had just chased some youngsters off his yard. Only one question remained: Was the price they had to pay for the freedom to cross the bridge too high?

What do you do?

Even if anyone hear Sadur talking to his dog: I'm so sorry about Bart. Mo more smart ideas from me ever! you certainly don't hear the rest of what he whisper to his dog.

In a moment Dwarf rise and announce aloud that he is going the long way down and up, avoiding the bridge because his dog will not be willing to travel the bridge. Sadur suggest he could take Pepper with him as dinosaur is probably too heavy to cross the bridge, but it is in either case not for Sadur to decide. I'm fast and durable, so are the animals, we will catch you eventually.

"NO!" Shallan shouts, stepping forward a few steps onto the Bridge, before realising she's too slow to do anything, she briefly considers shooting the damned bird but at this point the fall would be definitely fatal... the bird, he might survive?

Straightening up a little, she addressed the group "This is unfortunate, but I won't believe he's dead until I see a body. We'll leave markings as we travel, if he can find his way back to the bridge he can catch us up. Now the bridge could obviously hold his wait, so we'll cross one at a time. If anyone would prefer the trek with Sardur then feel free to join him."

"You may be right Mr. Sadur that it would be safer for Pepper to go with you, but I worry about you going on your own without a way to contact us if there is trouble or you are hurt. You wouldn't happen to have a mirror or a whistle to signal us?"

She looks at the bridge and the direction Bartholomew has disappeared with the bird.

"That is a sound plan, my lady, to make sure Brother Bartholomew can follow us if we do not find him first. We need to get to where they are going on the other side of this bridge. Let us hurry and use this bridge so we do not waste his efforts."

She organizes the group so they hold their inventory in a balanced manner and lines them up so they can go one at a time as recommended by the princess.

Kimbek is torn when he sees what is happening. The loss of Bartholomew; the sudden divergence and splitting of the group. But he too, felt some responsibility for everything that was happening. After all, it was his vision that had inspired everyone that going across the bridge was safe.

"I will accompany Sadur and his dog. But let us do what we can to meet at the other end of the bridge at some predetermined time. Perhaps this evening at sunset? That way, we will still be acting in one accord."

"All right Mr. Kimbek. We will see you all on the other side at sunset. If not, we will certainly camp and search for you in the morning."

Belladonna kisses Pepper on the nose with Brother Bartholomew's blessing and directs her to follow Sadur, Silver, and Kimbek as she watches the rest of the group cross the bridge before attempting to do the same.

After warm farewells and promises of quickly reuniting, the group experienced yet another split. The main force of the King's Remnants, led by Shallan and Belladonna, began crossing the rope bridge, which had finally calmed its earlier agitated swaying. Meanwhile, Sadur and Kimbek—friends since their shared struggles on the warrior's arena—decided once again to trust more in the strength of their muscles and the agility of their minds, as well as each other, rather than the worn ropes and planks of the bridge that had so far proven unlucky. They chose the path down the ravine, leading their animal companions with them.

Belladonna, undoubtedly one of the lightest in the group, decided to let the others go ahead.
‘When it comes to saving someone hanging by a breaking plank with their last bit of strength... you'll want someone who makes things worse as little as possible,’ she quipped with a disarming smile.

Some of the Rest tried to dissuade Princess Shallan from her course, but she refused to consider any other option than taking on the responsibility of leadership. Especially when the sacrifice of Brother Bartholomew still weighed heavily on her heart, burning with each step. With firm determination, she stepped onto the bridge as first after brave monk, resolute in leading her small company toward a new world, ensuring their safety first. Safety that could later be built upon. Built upon to restore the Proper Order of Things.

Though she tried to maintain a proud and upright posture, she didn’t forget the markings Bartholomew had prepared for them. She pointed out and warned those following her every time her keen eyes spotted one. Finally—when everyone had crossed to the other side—Belladonna practically ran onto the bridge, and without slowing her pace, crossed it with the confidence of someone strolling through royal gardens rather than a treacherous bridge lined with cracked planks.

On the other side of the bridge, a worn (or perhaps artificially maintained) path through the jungle clearly began to lead upwards, apparently heading toward the summit of a small hill ahead of them. To their surprise, stone steps soon appeared along the path, undeniably placed there by intelligent beings. At first, they were roughly flat stones, but they quickly transformed into precisely crafted—though still stone—stairs. The steps steadily led them to the top of the hill they were arduously climbing. After what felt like countless steps, the surrounding vegetation grew denser and darker, and the stairs themselves began to sink into the hillside. Out of the mist, a stone portal emerged before them—doors... or more so like the ruins of the front of a temple.

Shallan is plagued by doubt, they'd already lost Bart, now they'd separated again... Maybe she should have ordered they all went with Sardur?

"Bella, does this seem like a place to rest, wait for the others to catch up?"