The Game

For now, this will be the game thread. I may segment it by parts as we go further but for now this is the active thread.

Please be advised to check the rules for how to post, it makes it easier to follow if its kept consistent

And away we go! Have fun guys!

It's a somewhat dreary gray skied day in Feldoor. The past 4 days came with it's fair share of chilly weather with plenty of rain to follow. The dirt paved streets of Feldoor are now muddled, with puddles forming out of the various footsteps of the many patrons of the town.

The town itself is round, with the merchants in towards the center of town and regular townsfolk douting the outer parts of it. Some of the bigger buildings in the middle of town are homes to those practicing faith in various gods, though none of the congregations are big enough to gather a dominant hold of town. Some of the bigger buildings in the middle and outer parts are home to guilds, with the most lavish building being a merchants guild in the center of town.

The buildings are made out of thick wood, thanks to the many trees nearby in the various forests. The insides of these buildings offer a nice, but sometimes leaky retreat from the windy rains of Arathus in the month of Tarsakh. For a right price, a travelling adventurer can find a nice shelter or much needed rest from the woes of travel.

The town also features a couple taverns, but the main one used by the travelling folk and thus the most popular is known as The Aincent Spade. It is in this tavern most of the news of south western Arathus meets the Ear. Outside of the bar lays the town hall. Featured on the front of the creaky wooden building is a board, with those looking for help for various means. On one particular morning 5 days ago, a message was left on the board, with no one knowing where it came from. It read:

The outpost of Isaac's Retreat is in great need for adventurers. Those brave and willing enough to find the establishment should do so at haste, as we have little time

During your stay at Feldoor you have realized from recent taverns visits on Town Gossip that most believe the posting to be a prank in bad taste, as the story of Isaac Heuster is mostly used nowadays to keep children from running amok.

Some others have decided that it would be wise to make some money off of the event, and guided tours of the area have been picking up, some by lowly lords who seek to find another place to stake their claim.

Some more bold adventurers have gone off into the wild in the west. Whether or not they have found the retreat is unknown to anybody.

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The Dark grey skies of the first of Tarsakh dont appear to be letting up. You may be by yourself at the moment in town, but something struck you when you read that sign. Something that struck down deep to your core. Could it have reminded you of a prior experience in life? Could the travels of a whispered land be the next heroic tale for you? Is the promise of coin too much for you to not try? In either case, you feel a beckoning to go investigate west towards the Caverns of Windfell, named after the howling winds that are produced from the caverns that moan almost like a collective groan of the dead.

In either case, this is where destiny begins.

You begin in town early morning. A couple of options have been laid out on the table, though theres always space on that table for more. You do know that others are looking into venturing towards this place, but have not formally met them.
You do know that its 3 days travel west to reach the Caverns, assuming you know where you're going. For those unaware of there whereabouts, a guide can almost always be found at a price

The Tavern

"You two had better be careful" yells out a dwarf, who appears to have been disturbed of his dozing off at a table. Its normal to see a couple of folk in the tavern at early morning, but this one seems to have been there since the tavern had closed for the night. He junches over the tabble staggerdly, attempting to regain his senses as well as the knowledge of how much he drank the night prior.

"Theres danger out in the west dont you know? Aye I been out that way before and look at me now" and gives out a belch that was loud, yet signalizing his pitiful state.


"Theres not much use going out and getting yourself killed over a fairy tale, especially if you dont know what you are doing"

"Well" the dwarf says as he takes Skyros goin coin and pockets it. His eyes lit up slightly as he received payment.

"I don't know about Isaac's Retreat, but I do know about the Caverns, and how to get there.

"the path there is decently straightforward. Continue west of town and keep out of the forests. If you stay out of the forests you'll come across an opening of two mountains that allow passage through to get you near the caverns. It's there though that danger begins. I've seen my fair share of highwayman attempting to plunder gold off the foolish. he laughs a bit and adjusts himself on the seat. You notice that despite seeming like the town drunk that the dwarf is well armored, and appears to know a lot about the area.

"of course you could also avoid that and sneak in around the mountains, but the forests hold much worse than petty thieves in my opinion" Just then his eyes light up as a plan appears in his head.

I could get you guys to the mountain if you wanted. Say a gold coin each. You'll have to protect yourselves though should trouble happen. If you need protection, ask around the guilds instead. I won't go any further than the mountains though. I get a bad feeling about that place in general" he says followed by a long chug of ale that has been sitting out on his table overnight.

Professor Vortrin you know some things outside of the usual tale (which you can recite if you want). You first know that some people knew of Isaac Heuster and its believed by some that his origins came from New Fundy. You also know that Isaac was known for searching into the origins of creatures from shadow. You know also that the West, as well as the oceans south of the continent have had a history of shadow creature sightings. While the exact type of creature changes depending on the source asked you know from the extensive studying you've done on the topic that the sightings have increased in the past 3 decadesAs you look upon both the dwarf and gnome you dont feel like anything is too out of the ordinairy. The dwarf comes off to you as someone whose been around the lands and is experiences while the gnome looks as though hes spent more than his fair share of time with his face infront of a book.

The dwarf picks at his scarred nose a little "The name is Nuragot Opalchin" claims the dwarf calmly.

"And thats fine if you dont believe me Gnome, but I dont recall seeing you around here at all until now. I, on the other hand, have been living in this town for a good amount of ten years and know my place around while you spent time brushing up on history of the lands" he says skeptically of the Gnome.

A couple others start to come into the tavern now to get some morning grub. One of the patrons sets down a bowl of hot soup in front of Deruvid. It lets off a bit of a aromatic hearty scent that is pleasant enough that a few of the individuals that enter the bar start asking for the same thing.

Skyro gains inspiration, so may Vortrin

The Dwarf is pretty angry at having his dagger thrown and pants soiled. Cursing under his breath at the gnome he saunters over to the other end of the tavern away from the lot to retrieve his dagger and take a seat at another table amidst some laughter by some of the patrons at the tavern. He turns his back so that it faces towards the group, and orders a strong ale, and pays for it using the gold coin given to him earlier.


---------------


Outside of the tavern the smell of grass and wet mud mix together to give a pleasant reprieve from the odor of the dwarf's soiled pants. Exiting to the left would lead to the western part of town where as going towards the right you see some of the wooden buildings getting bigger, letting you know that you're on your way to the center of town.

A hunting guild is housed across the street from the tavern. The building is modestly decorated. It almost gives you off the impression that their hunting is meant more as a source of food than for trophies. Mixed in on the other side of the street are some homes meant for some townsfolk and some places for travelers to sleep for the night. The various floral decorations are just starting to sprout out of the various gardens and pots, with their growth being thwarted seemingly by the endless rain.

West Town: Awaenasa & Leif

You two approach the Western part of town. The wooden houses begin to look more older and more spaced the farther you go out, giving more land to some makeshift crops. Its late enough the outside some children are playing in the yards. You hear the ringing of a blacksmith working on tempering some steel from his workshop that lays west of you. A small pond rests behind the houses to your left which you can see some wildlife getting a morning drink from the pong carefully before heading back off to shelter.

You reach towards the limits of town and notice a couple of people coming and going from town. Some are alone, some are in pairs. One adventurer smiles and nods to you guys as he passes by and goes into town.

Town Center: Cato and Asterion

As you reach towards the center of town the buildings get larger and the noise gets louder. You see many merchant stands open with quite a few people still coming out even in the rain to do their shopping. The local bread stand is offering bread at a discount that has been dampened a little by the rain and the flaps in their canopy provide little support to keep things dry, possibly damaged by the winds.

The smell is a bit sweet from the food that is prepared, but theres also a smoky scent as well coming from some metalworkers as well from the various fires being kept to keep things a bit warmer.

You see numerous tall buildings designed for various purposes. The wood on these buildings looks well kept, and in some cases, like with the adventurers guild, its even well decorated. Shops for many needs are housed under canopies while some of the more expertise based services and shops are housed inside buildings. Another tavern lies here, but its usually meant for nobles that pass through town and is kept under guard by paid protection to keep commoners out.

A few small temples and areas for prayer are also around. You notice that like most of the area, kelemvor has a decent following but even here its mixed in with a hodgepodge of other deities being worshiped.

The town hall is ther, along with the posting board that still houses the note you first saw, along with some other postings

Asterion Spends 1 Gold for the MapLief & Awaenasa Travelling
Cato & Asterion Travelling

The Dwarf nods towards Deruvid and speaks

"Eh it happens all the time. New people come into town, especially mages, and try this sort of nonsense. That gnome over there has got a big head for his small frame. Though I guess a shouldnt speak so much for myself huh" he laughs a hearty laugh and drinks the ale that was given to him.

"So you want to go to The Caverns huh? Say what is it anyway that you all want to go there anyway? Sure that posting was listed but I thought that stuff was usually just a joke that someones pulling"

You reach the cartographers shop on the inside of town. He shares his building with a silk weaver with his lot of the shop being in the upstairs portion. As you make your way up there you notice an old human man, with grey hair and facial hair that grew a little long and wirey drawing a map carefully. Behind him lay a plethora of scrolls and parchments filled with maps of various areas from what you would guess.

He takes a moment but finally notices you and says "Oh, sorry didn't quite see you there. What can I help you with?"

You look around the shop and notice various maps from all over the region. It also seems as though he has set forth to make a map of the whole region from the looks of his work station.

As you discuss cartography and the art of it the old man furnishes a rather bored smile and nods. A lot of the stuff you were saying was pretty basic information about cartography and you may not have noticed it due to your excitement.

After you finish your spiel he begins to speak.

"I think I may have a slighty more detailed map than the one I sold earlier. Let me check around" he begins to scavenge through his collection of scrolls and parchments. The paper gives an old crinkly sound as he moves it, which lends you to believe this has been his lifes work.

"Ah yes here we are" he states as he pulls out a scroll from the shelving on the wall.

"Ive been able to map out some of the forest paths with this one. Not that I recommend going in there, but should you get lost or have to venture in there it wouldn't be the worst tool to have on you" he admirably stares at his work, possibly recalling past times and adventures when he was much younger.

"Unfortunately though I still have to charge you but you're getting your moneys worth. One gold for this map"


-----------------------------

Nuragot kind of glances at you for a moment. His beady brown eyes glimmer a bit from the candle lighting in the tavern. He then looks ahead towards the front of the tavern as he pauses to think.

"I guess we all have our calling to some place sooner or later. The whole trick to getting to the Caverns is getting through the mountain opening. The forest is too dangerous right now to risk using it to go around. Scout ahead before going through. There are lots of spots bandits can hide out to ambush you at a moments notice." he states.

As he finishes this Skyro sits down and begins apologizing and wishing to talk business.

"What kind of business are you talking?" claims the Dwarf skeptically. He's a bit more cautious now than he was before due to the last mistreatment of him at the hands of Professor Vortrin.

The Dwarf pauses and thinks about it for a moment. He leans in and takes the gold.

"Alright, you got it, but mind this" he begins to search for a quill and some ink and begins to jot down his knowledge of the area.

"Your friend would do better to not go around and abusing his magic like that around here. There are some that wouldnt hold their temper to that sort of thing."

After awhile he places it on the table for Deruvid and Skyro. If you open it it reads:

Stick alongside the western forest until the lands go from plains to hills. Once the land features hills you'll begin to notice a small forest coming east of you. Cross over quickly and dont stay on the road. Youll be surprised to know how quickly it takes to have a tail on you. DONT GO IN THE FORESTS. At the end of the smaller forest you'll notice the mountain range coming up. There are a couple of high raising hills near the mountains. Take awhile and watch the mountains from one of them. Make sure there isnt a trap waiting for you once you get there.

If you choose to go around and in the forests you must be ready for whatever strikes. Some shadow mages are knwon to practice their perverted magic in there on some innocent wildlife but there are creatures in there that would slay those mages rather easily.
Trek carefully and bring necessary provisions of survival in with you. If you must camp out make sure you are in a well placed area.


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Vortrin you begin to adventure back from the center of town to the western end when you see the familiar sight of the tavern, with your sign still present there. Or atleast you noticed it. Across from the tavern you are intrigued by the hunting lodge and step in.

Immediately as you step in you are greeted with a citrus like scent that reaches your nose. It's clean, but the smell kind of gives you a headache after awhile as it is pretty strong. A fire sits in the center of the lodge that is well kept and a couple of folks are sitting at tables that are talking about a recent expedition. Some of the talking dies down a little as they notice you but the talking quickly resumes. A blue dragonborn stands behind a countered area, housed with a couple well binded books. There dont seem to be many trophies of hunted game here but it is evident that it is there specialty.

Elon Travelling, Tailing Awanesa and Leif, Using Their Roll
Skyro spends 2 gp on dwarf (incase you didnt edit already on your character sheet)

The dragonborn looks towards the Gnome. His yellow eyes sort of pop out, in a way that reminds you of Skyro's eyes, though your memory of that belongs to when he nearly burned your head off.

"The hunting guild does not go out on jobs for common folk. We seek out only dangerous game in the forests around us and don't use our time providing guide services for adventurers. Under my supervision, you may browse our books to read up on the recorded game in the forests but that is unfortunately the only assistance we can provide. Seek the adventurers guild if you need a guide to the west."

------------------------------

As you approach the door a man walks in with armor that looks just a tad bit too big on him. His curly black hair looks rather greased and he sports a simple mustache on his middle aged face. He walks in rather confidently and notices you and deruvid look new to him. He quickly steps in front of Skyros path and introduces himself.

"You look like your on a mission. And not just any mission!" he speaks rather quickly.

"Yes I know what kind of job your on. I saw a lot of you checking that town posting for the caverns out west. You sure do look like someone that would take up on that offer" he looks you up and down "Yes a calling that fits best for someone like you. I know your probably wondering, WHO would indeed have the honor to guide worthy adventurers to those caverns? Well look no further than me! Elijiah Wolfern at your service. I merely ask for a small token of coin for my services and I can get you to those pesky caverns safe and sound! Armed protection? Expert navigation? These services all come in my price of one gold per person! You do have friends to take along on this journey other than yourself right?" he looks at you rather winded from his sales pitch.

Cato is walking along and listening, but when he hears Asterion's last proclamation, he comes to a dead stop.

Crossbow falling to a one hand grip, he glares at his friend. Speechless for several seconds, Cato regathers himself, but still stumbles over the words, "What...this time and....WHAT?"

Cato is at a loss and shakes his head at Asterion as he turns around.

"Fox?!", he asks, incredulously.

Skyro you notice something is off about this guy. Outside of a phony sales pitch he has going on the suit of armor he adorns is obviously way to big to fit him. You get the impression that his intentions are anything but of being nice or running a business. No. You instead get the feeling that his intentions are much more sinister.


"Well of course. With the Dwarf there, and this gnome whose behind me it seems you may very well have a worthy group of adventurers. Please do send friends of yours though that need a bit more help getting to the caverns my way if you come across them! I just recently got back from my latest guiding excursion out west and it was met with great success!" He smiles at you and begins to cheerily look for a table.

The man looks around and noticed it's you whose called him. His look is a bit perplexed, and he seems confused. He shuffles a little bit at his table

"That's awful odd of you to change your mind so quickly. You had just said you have firm instructions!

Roll deception if you will Skyro

The man seems to calm his senses at the intonation of your voice. His grip on his fresh ale loosens up and although possibly a bead of sweat could have dropped from his head he now seems to be back in control of his senses.

"Sorry if I came off as suspicious friend. I can most definitely show you the way! Infact, as a token of my good faith, I won't require payment until after we reach the caverns!" he says rather cheerfully. Before getting up he begins to gulp down much of the amber colored ale in his glass, with some of it messily spilling over the sides of his tan skinned mouth. He places the now half empty mug onto the table and wipes off his face before getting up and heading towards the door.

"You said you are ready to go? Well then off we go!" and he begins to lead you guys west towards the caverns.

Im going to allow travel dialogue to continue for the next few hours but will time jump to the end of the first nights worth of travel by the end of the day, if not sooner

We now timehop to the evening. feel free to continue on dialogue but for sake of events that days travel has concluded

The night sky is beginning to creep its way onto the plains of Arathus. Slowly but surely, the rain concluded for the day, leaving the ground covered in pools of mud and puddles. The air feels good on your skin, perhaps due to the respite it gives from the dampness of the rain.

Elijiah expertly keeps pace towards the west, with Deruvid Professor Vortrin, and Skyro following behind. It is not before long into the dusk that they see two familiar figures infront of them by a bit of a distance, Cato and Asterion. To the left of you 5 is the a forest. The opening of the forest is somewhat welcoming in that small critters every now and again pop their way out into the plains before going back in, but the mere quietness of it at night gives you a chill that travels its way down your spine.

The ground is starting to become pretty hill like, and in the distance you see the outline of another forest beginning to emerge to your right. The tall pine and oak like trees stand high to greet the evening sky as the clouds clear away to behold a sky lit full of stars overhead, some seeming to twinkle just a bit more than others.


For Awanesa, Elon, and Leif, things look a little different. At one point the forest was to the left of you, at another point it seemed to be behind you, and now as night begins to enter you realize what you believe is the same forest on your left. The adverse weather may have clouded your sense of direction Awanesa as you begin to realize that you may have gotten lost at one point.

The animals you can see include some various small critters coming in an out of the forest. Same rabbits and animals of like size. You could make the assumption that larger game presides in the forest somewhere, but none have felt the need to venture to the treeline

Deruvid, Skyro, and Vortrin need strength saves. 20 Foot Radius would include you guys. With the sword being drawn on Elijiah it will affect his ability to make a successful save

The rabbit pauses for a second but hops a little closer to Awanesa. Its brown spotted fur fluffs up in the slight wind.

"Yes! Yes! You talked to me?"

Now she talks to animals, lovely.

I wonder what those other groups ended up deciding to do? Other than getting a bit lost here in the woods, uh no offense Awenasa I give her a smile, Just saying, we’ve basically had a a fairly pleasent nature walk otherwise.

I get wood together to start a fire, once that is done I lay my bedroll down, pull out some rations and have a snack. Im good with taking first watch if you guys would like to get a little shut eye.

@Vortrin the saving throw was vs Deruvids Spell Save DC since the spell was coming from him

The rabbit tries to remember and suddenly goes off about what types of grass it had eaten today. Along the dull story the rabbit does mention seeing some people walk by earlier, and that one looked scaly like an animal its seen in the forest but that it rana way because it thought the creature might eat it. It isnt able to give much motr information past the wild ramblings about its meals.

"Other Animals? There's some in the forest. Some bigger than I am. I stay away so I dont get eaten"

The grasping vines immediately begin to converge on the ground, wrapping their way around the group's legs and arms. Triumphantly Skyro is able to break free without much difficulty and seemingly in one swift motion has managed to draw his sword on Elijah. The others are not so lucky and are held back by the tough thick vines.

"What is this about?! Why do you have a sword drawn on me!" he shouts, exasperated and surprised by the sudden turn of events.

The tip of the blade pierces the first layer of skin on Elijah's neck, and a little blood runs down his neck to underneath his armor. His green eyes are wide and fixate on the blade that lays at his neck and his fearful look from the tavern begins to show again. If listened to quietly enough one could swear thy could hear his heart beating through his armor.


"E-Easy now with that blade. I'm working to bring people out to the caverns to get robbed. I owe a debt to them and if I didn't pay back by leading people to them they would kill my family" he says, stuttering some some of the words along the way as sweat begins to beat down his head

"And that may be the case! I had figured these three he says motioning his eyes at the dwarf, gnome, and dragonborn would be strong enough to defeat them. That's why I didn't press once they had originally told me no. I figured if they were dispatched, that my debt to them would be gone and I can go back to my family without worrying about whether or not they would be harmed."

He looks into the dragonborns eyes.

"Please lower your weapon"


OOC:
@Jabberwocky. The leather on your spellbook works. For future reference just make a note on your character sheet which spells you have prepared. If you want you can do so now, and Ill just assume that you had those prepared since the start of the adventure. MAke sure to include the spells you've already casted/primed

"The ones that bite we stay away from most. Big and white, large teeth. They run very fast!"

"You would turn on your friends too if you had a blade pointed at your throat with no way to defend yourself" claimed the man, who doesnt seem too phased by the snake illusion. He visibly demonstrates trying to pull himself free to no avail to make his point.

"Before all this happened I had come across a small fortune thanks to a discovery of heirlooms in a cave I explored. Well, wanting to take that fortune and make it bigger I wagered some of it off to play some games of chance." his sentences sort of pause. He seems to gain a little composure as time passes on.

"When I started losing, I told myself one more time. Well I told myself that a couple more times than I should have. Next thing you know, Ive lost my whole fortune. I did not want to go back to my family with nothing, so I struck out a loan to try to get my fortune back. Within hours I had lost everything again, and now they wanted the debt paid back immediately. Since I couldn't make the payment they have me working this job of leading stragglers out to the caverns so they can be robbed, and they said I would do this until they said my debt was cleared or they would kill my wife and kids" tears begin to well up in his eyes a little.


Across the plains you dont see too much action Cato. The orange gue in the sky is turning purple on the edges as night time approaches.

The Professor's eyes drift to Cato's.

"Perhaps you are right, friend," he says finally, an expaserated sigh punctuating the resignation. "But mark my words stranger. If you emdanger this expedition in any way, you will be vanquished by blade or the arcane."

With a wave of his hand the gnome dismissed the illusion and instead cast Mage Hand to begin collecting dry sticks and kindling to start a small fire about thirty feet from the road side.

The Professor head snaps back to the stranger as the flat of Skyro's blade strikes home. Shrugging impassively he returns to his preparations for camp his mind already returning to Chapter 5 of his academic paper.

Elijah cries out as the pommel of the sword smashes into his face, breaking his nose and sending blood down his face to drip on the vines.

"I plead you to let me go. I've got a family to go back to. Striking a defenseless man serves no one here any good" he says with blood spitting out as he speaks, unable to wipe it away as his hands remain restrained.

Within time you guys are able to break free some of the vines before Deruvid dismisses the spell. The vines twirl and rot away before disappearing in nearly thin air.

The fire begins to cackle with life as it provides a warm, soothing sensation over the group. Nothing quite like the protecting aura of a flame at night to soothe weary eyes and bones alike.

At the offer Elijah takes a seat at one of the stumps. Hes quick to pull out a handkerchief that he had stored away on his person and is attempting to staunch the bloodflow on his nose which has quickly bruised up. He grimaces as he touches his now tender face. Every so often he looks around nervously at the group, not knowing what to make of the peculiar situation he is in.

--------------
For Leif

As Elon takes rest and Awanesa speaks to the local wildlife, you start to watch along the horizons and your surrounds, making sure that you are not being crept up on. At one particular moment or another your gaze catches the ground around you. Its faint, but surely enough, you can surmise a couple pairs of footprints are on the ground near you. The rain has started to erode the tracks a little so its hard to distinguish how long ago they were made.

You begin to surmise the tracks aren't yours by simply taking note of the fact that some of the prints are somewhat tiny, like that of a gnome would make. They seem to be going to the left of you, along the forest line. It seems that although you guys were lost throughout the day that by sheer luck or coincidence you have managed to stumble yourself on to the right path.

-------------------------

Elijah's glance suddenly looks very cold into Asterions eyes as the stare is matched with a ferocity that rivals skyros.

"Look around" he suddenly claims. "He's threatened to cut me down if I cross you, he's threatened to turn me into ash if I cross you, and I'm sure these two would find it just as easy to kill me should I cross you. he visibly points at each person as he makes reference to them.

"I may be a man that has made poor decisions at points but I am still a man and still have my honor. I get what happens if I lie to you." his anger subsides a little. The look he gives is less ferocious as he begins to recall information on the highwaymen.

"There's about 10 of them, give or take depending on if some of them are back in town at the taverns. They have a good assortment of weapons from what they've taken off of adventurers. Some blade and some bow. None of them practice in the arcane though. Their specialty is to ambush you once you've reached inside the mountain pass. There's a couple of flat rocky overhangs for the archers to set up"

He leans back and his stare relaxes a little as he looks into the sky, in a seemingly accepting way.

" I may be alone half-elf but do not try to get me to act by putting my family on your tongue. I have more respect for the dragonborn by offering the dignity of ending merely my life for crossing him. If you have a problem with me, take it up with me. Or simply just ask since at this point if you guys don't kill them, they will kill me and my family simple is that once they see I'm with you and unlike your threat they actually know where my family is at. " his tone is one of anger and exhaustion.

Elijah wearily finds a way to rest, having had quite the day himself.

The next time skip will be to the point of reaching near the mountains for the party of 5. Should the party of 3 follow the trails being left behind they can attempt to make up lost ground by travelling at forced march which will require a con save.
Thats up to you three to make and by no means is it necessary

The Professor eyes brightened at the thought of a student, even if for rudimentary lessons, whilst on the road.

"Well, of course," Vortrin said sympathetically. "It would do me well to continue the art of teaching during my travels away from the Academy."

Secretely, he relished the opportunity to impart knowledge on anyone who would receive it and he particularly was fond of those who accepted it willingly and with keen interest.

"We shall have you reading by the time we return to the Ancient Spade." The Professor continued encouragingly. "It will however, require patience and discipline so be ready to give me at least those."

The Professor continued taling to Cato into the evening on the importance of reading and writing to civilisations of past and present and of the intricacies of the Arathusian written language and spent much time discussing the well known artisans of recent and ancient history who used it as tool including poets, bards, scholars and lords.

Eventually, The Professor grew weary even of his own voice and decided to turn in for the evening. Before doing so, and expecting potentially combative action and hostile conditions in the morrow, he memorised a number of spells from his spell book, practicing the machinations of intricate hand movements and sounding around the arcane words. On the conclusion of his study, he had memorised his Find Familiar, Mage Armour and Magic Missiles Spells and then turned in for the evening, his squat form tucked into his bedroll with his spellbook clutched to his chest.

The night rolls past Arathus without much of a quiver through the night. As sleep shifts rotate some loneliness may kick in on whoevers keeping watch but faced with getting ambushed its less of a bad thing. The stars above cast a distant bright light onto the earth and throughout the night the weather stays calm, offering to dry up some of the past days' rain.

This time skip will take us through next days travels. It will be assumed travel rolls will pass thanks to due diligence and tracking. Group 2 of Elon Awanesa and Leif must now make the choice as a group to attempt to catch up with the tracks which will require a con roll or merely keep the course, which won't require a roll but would have you behind some travels. You guys can discuss your choice in here as characters or in OOC whichever makes most sense for you. Once this choice has been made we will move forward

The day drags on quite uneventfully as the two groups continue their journey towards the Caverns. Along the way a couple droves of Deer can be seen grazing on the plains of the hilly lands. The grass at this time of year is still matted down from the rain and snow, and in the lowest parts in between hills, a characteristic slush noise is heard as you take each step, with little amounts of water creeping its way into your boots at places where its the worst.