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Blue suede shoes [03]

Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2017 8:58 pm
by The Undying
Original post: http://www.fasagames.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=197
Previous post: http://www.fasagames.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=198
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Eristed led the way back into the hall, carefully replacing the frightful book within his backpack before hefting the bag onto his shoulders.

Shale stood beside his companions and addressed the frightened traveler. "Do you know the way to the Beastmaster's home?"

"Not really - he comes and goes as his needs fit. We've little need to search him out."

"Come with us." Not so much an order or a suggestion of concern, Minuial's spoke flatly not so much to the man but rather as she scanned the dancers, watching for more danger.

"She's right," Eristed agreed. "Even if you can't show us the way, we've no idea what these things might do given time to grow. You could be in danger."

"But, my wife ..."

"She's gone, friend. I'm sorry. But, you do her memory no good staying here, watching your friends die and risking your own life in the process. Come with us - there may yet be some way you can help."

The man hung his head for a moment before nodding silently in agreement.

Ready to travel once more, Eristed looked out over the mass of revelers, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes. Even in the brief moment it takes to engage the talent, Eristed could feel the magical energies drawing into his Pattern and taking shape. It was as if a warm breeze drew in through his back below the shoulders, spiraled up along his spine, and then coalesced within his eyes. Within the blackness behind his eye lids, he could already see the minute differences as the talent took hold.

He opened his eyes and looked over his surroundings in Astral space. The flickering amber light from the large fire in the hearth and the small wall sconces was gone. In it's place was the honey-yellow glow emanating from the Patterns of the dozens of Namegivers before him. The colors of the festive outfits, the rich varieties of different wood stains on the walls and tables, the enticing harvest tones of vegetables and roasted meat had all been lost as well. Instead, there was only muted grey upon grey upon grey. Indeed, only texture served to defined the inanimate objects and indicated where one ended and another began.

Much of the Patterns for the gathered Humans looked as Eristed expected for non-Adepts. Filling the Astral imprint of their mortal bodies, each Namegiver's Pattern was a glowing yellow-orange with wisps of twinkling soft white Astral energies slowly drifting around and entwining them. However, around each Namegiver's throat, a purple-blue tendril entwined them. Wickedly barbed hooks dug into their Pattern with spider webs of black-red reaching out into the yellow-orange. The image of small grubs in varying states of growth nestled in the center of each coil and stirred gently like a fetus in a womb. Each of the odd collars were attached with a leash that fell away towards the floor and gathered together into a single tether that disappeared through the grey form of the wall.

"Quickly, this way," Eristed spoke as he rushed towards the door. The power of his talent would only last so long, and he wanted a good sense of the tether's direction before it expired. He thrust wide the door and ran outside, his companions and the traveler close behind.

Where the space inside the hall appeared more dull in Astral space, the forest outside seemed all the more vibrant. Even with the aid of his low light vision, Eristed knew that the light of the moon and stars would only barely help to distinguish the browns of the bark and greens of the leaves within the driving rain. However, in Astral space, each towering tree was a soft beacon of light, each branch and leaf visible as it reached into the heavens.

Eristed rounded the corner of the grey-walled hall quickly. He spied the tether further ahead and rushed towards it. Sadly, in his haste, his footing failed him, his traction lost on the slick bed of loose leaves, and he tumbled to the ground. He shook his head, regaining his sense of direction, and looked forward once more. The tether was gone from sight, his talent expired.

Shale all but lifted Eristed to his feet like a child, and Eristed knocked away the detritus still clinging to his chest and legs.

"There's some form of energy projection ahead leading off into the forest. I lost it when I fell, though."

Minuial moved ahead of the group, closely examining the ground and the trees in the indicated direction. She was thorough as always, looking for the least hint of passage. After a few moments, she called out of the rain.

"Nothing."

The discovery - or lack thereof - was not overly surprising to Eristed. Even if some thing had indeed travelled here physically to weave this effect, it need not have passed along the same path the energy now took. At this point, however, the Astral tether was the best lead to find the source. Minuial might be able to find a physical trail that was out of place among the expected woodland creatures, but that would require time that the adventurers could not spare.

Once more, Eristed opened his perceptions to the Astral realm, and once more, he discovered the tether. Taking more care this time with his footing, he led the group onwards into the forest, following the energy trail.

The journey was a miserable ordeal. Even in the first few minutes after leaving the hall, their clothes were soaked through by the heavy rain. Uneven passage over fallen limbs and slippery discarded foliage hounded them and prevented hasty passage. Shale and the traveler were most affected without the blessings of low-light vision, but even Eristed stumbled occasionally. Only Minuial with her unsurpassed affinity for the wilderness seemed untroubled by the rough terrain.

More daunting was the back-tracking required by the use of Astral Sight for the search. Eristed could only keep the sensing up for brief periods lest he succumb to the strain of prolonged use. As such, he had to get his best bearing on the tether, correct their orientation, and begin their new course within the limited time provided. Some bearings were better than others, and on one occasion, he discovered that they had veered wildly off course, the tether barely visible in the distance.

The perhaps inevitable moment finally came, and Eristed let out a frustrated growl.

"I've lost it."

Even with repeated attempts to scan his surroundings with Astral Sight, Eristed could not find the tether. Whether they had gone too far off course, the tether effect had ended, or something had changed to prevent its discovery, he could not say. All that was certain was that the four were now deep within the woods, far from the hall where the victims danced oblivious to their impending death, and with no sense of where they should proceed to next.

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Next: http://www.fasagames.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=205

Re: Blue suede shoes [03]

Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2017 9:14 pm
by The Undying
Probably one of the more ED-feeling entries given the view of Astral Space and associated description. I toyed with the idea of adding more fluff to the Astral Space description and journey through the forest, but it just detracted from the actual mission.

This is where things went a bit cock-eyed for our GM. Things were really set up here for Minuial to have a central role tracking through the forest. Then, physics and the laws of statistics broke, and Eristed's Step 11 in Astral Sight roll out 25+ half a dozen times. The dice gods finally forsook him, which is why we found ourselves in the middle of nowhere.

Re: Blue suede shoes [03]

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2017 11:58 am
by Tattered Rags
I guess "middle of nowhere" gives the scout a chance to lead you to the beastmaster?

Re: Blue suede shoes [03]

Posted: Wed Mar 08, 2017 12:31 am
by The Undying
Yep! Next part will be the last leg of the forest trek and our interaction with the Beastmaster.

Next entry is gonna be a bit dicey, though. Memory is what it is - neat things stick out, everything else gets replaced with the taste of this morning's coffee. This particular adventure took place more than a year ago, and we definitely don't keep a blow-by-blow account of things ("Minuial rolled Test X, success by Xty points"). So, I remember the visual elements of the Beastmaster quite vividly, our GM did a great job on that, but none of the finer points of the interaction come to mind. I'll have to take a bunch of liberties, but it won't really change anything.