Act 2 - The Journey to Bells of Soft Sorrow [The End of the River]

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You Charm tells you the Wyld is nearest due East, strongest to the Southeast and most dangerous in no direction in particular.
 
Douser, all business


Douser lifts off her branch, heading toward the canopy above. Reaching the leafy branches, she carefully bites off a few large, flat leaves and cradles them gently in her jaws.


The gentle whoosh of air accompanies her as she alights on the root next to Wolf, dropping from her bird-guise back into the mein of a Forest Dweller. She runs her fingers through Wolf's matted coat, looking for the extent of the damage. Her fingers are more efficient than gentle, and Wolf whines as she probes the ragged edges of his wounds.


Nothing that will kill him, but I need to get these bound. She carefully presses the leaves over the worst of the bleeding to help it stop.


---


I've been marking off motes as I'm using them on the sheet. Question -- The amulet should be getting me one mote per hour back -- any idea how I can start counting toward these?


Also, stopping the bleeding is another way to say... what can I do to heal him? Or does that have to be time?
 
---------


Douser rolled the following in his 9 dice:


3, 4, 9, 8, 8, 2, 2, 1, 8



Using 7 as the target number, the roll resulted in 4 successes.



NO HELP FOR WOLF.
:D


I was just curious about the mote thing. ^_~ Chewing through a couple snake faces couldn't be all that long in any realistic format. <3
 
Douser, accepting


Douser sighs quietly, taking one last look over Wolf's wounds. Not much help after all. She glances back and forth between her companions quickly and, seeing no wounds on either of them, brushes past them and along the root-floor, continuing their original trajectory.


----


Yessir, please.
 
Miep, getting moving


Lowering herself to the underside of the branch, Miep drops the short distance to the "ground" before standing up and dusting herself off. Taking a moment to refasten her armor to her body she begins moving on foot, once again to the East.


----


Yay moving again.
 
The Loom


As the party continues East they hike for two hours through the forest. The branch-like roots become more sparce and trunklike until the party can't see where the roots end and the trees begin when looking up from the ground. The floor is so tangled and dense it resembles a woven wooden floor rather than a mass of roots; it is so dense and far from the ground one has no mundane way of knowing how high up they are from the soil. The trees themselves diversify from hardwood pines to all types of pines and deciduous trees as well. The party can tell this from the different bark coverings they see on the 'roots' as well as droppings that seem out of season. In fact, the trees don't seem to agree which season it is. A few flights upward reveal some are budding, some in full bloom, others changing color and dropping their leaves and yet more barren but alive as if it were Descending Air. None of the flights reveal the top of the canopy.


Despite the late hour, below the canopy has actually gotten brighter. Sunlight seems to be coming from everywhere, at a comfortable intensity. A small stream runs over the roots across the party's path running north/south, breaking on rock-like root bulbs and singing like any other normal brook. No roots seem to intrude into the stream like one would expect, they simply shape its path.


The party stops at the brook and takes a rest for an hour to eat and drink from their packs.


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


So my little sister showed up yesterday and my CoCD II was not lovingly re-read. Here's me winging it.


You spend an hour resting, you may all regain 4 motes in addition to 3 hours times whatever hourly mote regain bonuses you have (hearthstone amulets, hearthstones). You may rest for the night here (to recover further motes, Willpower and Virtue Channels) or you may continue on.
 
Arnuk


The stream interests Arnuk, and he spends his rest on its bank.


With so many roots present, how could this much water not be slurped up?


I hope it isn't drool of some kind. Wait, can that happen in the Wyld?



Tenatively he sticks one hand into the shallow, trickling water.


****


Hooray resting stunts! =P Current mote pool as below.


Essence



Personal _14_|_14_



Peripheral _29_|_36_



Committed __8_____
 
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Arnuk, roll Intelligence+Survival with a 2 die stunt. The drool comments was win ^^.
 
Arnuk


***


I hate to mention some things in case I give you some (potentially catastrophic) ideas. =P


Int (4) + Survival (2) + Stunt (2) + Armored Hide (4) = 3 successes



CoCD II = ?? I'm not up on your book acronyms. O = of, I'm sure. Compendium of Council Delegates Vol. II perhaps?
 
Douser, resting


Douser sits at the edge of the clearing, away from the others, contemplating the changing landscape. We don't even know where to start looking... She peers out of the glade, looking for a likely direction for finding talkative flowers and Compassion-stuffed pillows.


Wolf wanders over to her side and lies down in the shade to rest.


-----


Current mote pools:


Personal: 9/17 (14/22, if in contact with Wolf)



Peripheral: 38/38



Committed: None
 
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Arnuk, it is indeed water. With a small taste you do not detect any impurities.


Meip, are you doing anything?



Party - are you staying or moving on?
 
The Wyld, happy to play with the children of Luna


The party quenches their thirst with the stream then refill their canteens from it. After an uneventful rest at the stream and some travel rations for breakfast the party again heads what they believe to be East. At first the party seems to take days to pass one enormous trunk but after this initial time dilation the travel out of the forest becomes a blur. The next memory Arnuk, Meip, Douser and Wolf have is standing upon a floor of polar bears. The bears do not seem to mind this intrusion and shoulder your weight easily, though the footing is unstable. Across the horizon the party can see several bear heads looking at them, but most seem to have their heads down looking at something you cannot see below the fur you stand on. All of the bears whose heads are up are looking directly at the party and their heads move in an uncanny unison as you travel. Which heads are up and which down seem to change whenever you take your eyes off of them, though you do not see them move. Though the bears appear to be separate beings you can perceive no gap in the fur floor below you or guess at what is underneath them.


The weather is cold with sheets of snow and ice falling out of the sky to land on the party. However, the precipitation does not smell like snow nor ice, but like blood. The metallic taste of blood accompanies it as well, but to all visual, audio and tactile inspection what is falling out of the sky appears to be snow and ice. It does not accumulate on the bears.


No landmarks are visible. For as far as the best of any of your Shapeshifted eyes can see this waypoint consists entirely of polar bears, snow and ice.


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


Everyone gain up to (8 motes/hour X 8 hours = 64 motes) 64 motes before bonuses from hearthstones and hearthstone amulets, keeping in mind mote commitments. Roll your highest Virtue to regain Willpower equal to the number of successes on that roll. Roll each Virtue to regain Virtue Channels equal to the number of successes on the Virtue roll.


Everyone make me a Stamina+Resistance roll, with Fur/Feathers/Leaves/Fish Scales adding one die and Armored hide adding 4 dice.



Also make me a Perception+Awareness roll with any relevant Wyld bonuses applying.



I will allow you to be in any form you think your characters would currently assume and have been in that form long enough to have regenerated any non-committed motes spent on such a transformation if you have any non-rest mote regeneration capabilities. Please state that form now.
 
Arnuk


"Its like home, but oddly so." Arnuk mutters to no one in particular. He snorts sending a few globs of snot onto polar bears beneath him. "Never have I seen so many Polar Bears together. Could they be all one beast like the snakes?"


Arnuk grunts and stretches with pleasure. The cool, dry breeze is refreshing after a year in the humid sticky jungles. He eagerly digs through his fur with his Moonclaws.


****


If this is natural cold, I'm immune per Elemental Adaptation: Air. If not, Stamina (5) + Resistance (4) + Armored Hide (4) = 5 successes


Perception (4) + Awareness (3) = 3 successes



I'm staying in Warform. (Why change, eh?)
 
Douser (on ice)


Douser casts an annoyed glance at the furred warrior, noting his native ease with the environment. A shiver runs through her golden coat, and she tosses her head to rid herself of the unpleasant sensation.


The peeking heads draw her attention, though, and she saunters toward the nearest one. I bet they know which way to go.


------


Stam(3) + Resistance(1) + Fur(1) = 5 dice = 3 successes


Perception(5) + Awareness(2) = 7 dice = 4 successes



I suppose I can join the crowd in the less lengthy listing of things.
 
Miep, not digging the snow


First giant mutant snakes and now polar bears. Stupid Wyld. Miep sulks to herself, shivering against the cold. When she'd first become aware of the snow, she'd thrown her head back like a child to catch a snowflake on her tongue. She wrinkled her nose at the thought again. Stupid freaky snow.


"So, who wants to play with some polar bears? Maybe we'll be really lucky and they'll be hiding some weird, multi-winged penguin thing under all that fur," Miep snickers at her own sarcasm.


----


Sorry for the absence, while up north I was checking the forums on occasion, and while I noticed updates in OOC I somehow completely missed stuff going on in here. Fail. ><


Still in my human form.



Stamina(3)+Resistance(2) = botch ... shit...



Perception(5)+Awareness(4) = 5 successes



Compassion(3) for willpower = 0 successes
 
The Wyld, not playing by the rules


The waypoint you're at begins to exibit a new behavior right before your eyes. You all see 5 colored spheres escape from your head, heart, groin, legs and feet. They are black, green, red, white, and blue respectivly. The begin to change volume till they are exactly proportional to your Temperence, Compassion, Valor, Willpower and Conviction. Then they morph into shapes unique to their progenerator.


At least now you have something to break up the monotony of snow and watchful bears.


But that doesn't seem to be all that's new to the scene...


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


Arnuk, you're fine in this weather - your Air adaption beats it. The cold is 'natural'. You happen to notice 20 hobgoblins advancing from your right in the snowstorm, they are roughly 100 yards away.


Douser, you're also fine in this weather, but you will have to roll again in a few hours should you stay here. You happen to notice 20 hobgoblins advancing from your right in the snowstorm, they are roughly 100 yards away. You can hear sorrowful bells straight ahead, but have no gague of the distance involved.



Meip, you take 2 damage from the cold and suffer a -2 internal penalty for the rest of the scene. You happen to notice 20 hobgoblins advancing from your right in the snowstorm, they are roughly 100 yards away. You also notice 3 Fair Folk Cataphractoi coming in on your left, they are roughly 150 yards away and seem to have gleaming armor and weapons of a type you can't make out from this distance. You can hear sorrowful bells straight ahead, but have no gague of the distance involved.



All of the beings you notice are surrounded by five ever-changing Virtue chakra. Your and Wolf's virutes seem stable.



Everyone roll Join Debate. You may instead explicitly tell me you're rolling Join Battle if you mean to attack or agressively advance.
 
Miep, really really not digging the snow


"Damn snow and it's damn cold," Miep mutters under her breath, shivering violently against the sudden cold. "Not made for this sort of thing." The floating shapes of her virtues surround her, but she attempts not to acknowledge the lot of them. One thing at a time, she paces herself.


Miep stops her advance, hoping to let the menagerie of new arrivals come to them instead. She shifts her weight slightly to check the ease of getting to her bow should things go downhill, but stands with her palms facing out, hoping the subtle gesture will be recognized. So help me if my valor thinks we stand a chance with these odds. We couldn't even kill a damn snake.


---


Join Debate(7) -Penalty(3) = 2 succesess


Also, rolling a Perception+Awareness for my charm to try and figure out exactly which of these things is the most dangerous (by direction).



Perception(5)+Awareness(4) - Penalty(3) = 2 successes



(Had to re-roll both, forgot the wound penalty the first time around)
 
Douser


Douser watches her floating virtues with a detached eye. I suppose we at least had a warning about this sort of thing.


She backs up toward her companions. "Can you hear that? I do believe that it's found us."


---------


Douser rolled the following in his 6 dice:


1, 4, 9, 4, 2, 8



Using 7 as the target number, the roll resulted in 2 successes.
 
Arnuk, Discussing with himself


"Twenty of the buggers, eh? Think we can take them?" Arnuk addresses his Valor. The huge, bloody paws swipe the air and half-lunge in the direction of the hobgblins. Arnuk takes a step toward the hobgoblins. His Compassion, clinging to his chest like a newborn, starts to cry. Arnuk stumbles and stops moving.


As if sensing Arnuk's confusion, soild blue arms of his willpower reach out to restrain Valor and comfort Compassion.


Temperance shapes itself into a mask before Arnuk bats it away while Conviction tugs at his fur momentarily before appearing to get bored and fall asleep on his shoulder.


****


Its not every day one meets one's virtues.


Per (4) + Aware (3) = 4 successes
 
The Wyld, favoring the Fae


Over the whistle of the snowstorm you hear a strong, resonant trio of voices malevolently in sync say "I suggest you listen to what Bells of Soft Sorrow has to say if you don't want to see your Compassion weep over your own grave."


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


Arnuk, Join Debate is Wits+Awareness, but luckily you have the same as Perception, so I'll keep the roll.


Meip, in front of you (the bell sound) is the most dangerous at the moment.



Combat order!



[Now] - Tick 0 -- Cataphractoi



- Tick 1 -- Arnuk



- Tick 2 --



- Tick 3 -- Douser, Meip, Bells, Hobgoblins



- Tick 4 --



- Tick 5 --



- Tick 6 --



- Tick 7 --



- Tick 8 --



- Tick 9 --



- Tick 10 --



Step 1: Manipulation+Performance Temperence attack "Do not use MDDV vs. Bells of Soft Sorrow". Everyone declare your Step 2's.



Wolf didn't seem to Join Debate so I left him out. He can take a Join Battle or Join Debate action at any time.
 
Arnuk


"I suggest you keep you mouth closed unless you want me to rip off your arms and shove them up whichever hole you shit out of." Arnuk roars into the wind.


***


Um....Mental dogde?
 
Miep, entertained by her comrade


Mip snickers slightly at Arnuk's outburst. And to think, I'm supposed to be the one flying off the handle. "Perhaps if Bells wishes us to listen to his words, he should talk to us himself".


---


Using MDDV of 6
 

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