IC: The Sun Never Sets, IC thread for The Sun Never Sets Options

[phlapjack77]

Smohalla pokes the campfire with a stick, bringing the flames to life again.

I did not see any immediate sign of how they travelled.

My guess is they have some means available beyond just their feet, either magical or mechanical.

Ellesar, you seem to have made friends with brother Wolf.

Do you think we should enlist his aid in this?

[pbangarth]

"Yeah," pipes in Stogie. "We won't have any better scouts than them."

[phlapjack77]

Let us decide how to deal with these newcomers, when they draw near.

For I fear the question is when, not if.

Do we strike them from ambush, without warning?

This is the way Eagle deals with intruders.

Yet if we had been treated thusly by Wolf and the Sisters, our story currently would be much different.

Do these others deserve the same consideration we were given?

We lose the element of surprise, yet possibly gain allies in our cause.

[pbangarth]

"You make a good point, Smohalla. We certainly were given the benefit of a doubt by the Sisters. But we also know of at least one other group that was not. It's possible the Sisters checked us out, I dunno, astrally? To find out our intentions. I don't know if you can do that sort of thing, Smohalla, as an astral scout. I would have to get close to them to have even a chance to do that myself.

"Ambush is certainly a useful tool. And maybe whittling them down a bit before they get here. Any thoughts on how we might do that?" Stogie gets a big grin on his face. "Maybe we could direct that friendly troll in the woods their way. From what you say about them, Smohalla, I don't think any of them can regrow a chest the way you did!""

[AtroposReborn]

"It could work, but there are a few problems. First of all we don't have any knowledgeable connection to the monstrosity that came after us and even if we did how would we communicate with it? It wasn't very open to chatting. Secondly, if we setup some sort of trap for these people we won't be seeing any sleep tonight. Do you plan on waking up the sisters or hunting down K'wa'iti? If not we have no backup in case something goes wrong and they may even think we've turned on them with this new group. Will they stop and make camp for the night or do they have the energy to persist?" Ellesar continues listing off the numerous problems the group now faces, his eyes towards the sky as if expecting the drone to make another appearance. "This situation is far from idea."

[pbangarth]

"Uh, I was actually trying to make a joke about the troll thing. Didn't work, huh?" Stogie shrugs.

"Well, if they are far away, you're right, we should get our sleep. Either they will rest tonight anyway, or we will be rested and they won't be when they get here. I'm OK for now. You guys turn in and I'll keep watch. If I get tired near morning I'll wake one of you and catch another hour's sleep myself."

[phlapjack77]

I agree - we should rest now.

I will summon some spirits to help keep us safe while we sleep.

In the morning we can work more on our plan to deal with these men.

[Tecumseh]

Smohalla turns his attention to summoning some watchers. Humming lowly to center himself, he reaches up to pull three small spirits out of the thick mana. The first two go well but he completely whiffs on the third, his mind still distracted by the dream he had not long ago. His centering allows him to soak the drain like a champ, although part of him wonders if it might have been better to let the drain put him back to sleep. His mind is racing so much that it might be the only way to get some rest. Could a shaman stunbolt himself? A philosophical question for now as that is not a spell Smohalla knows.

Smohalla opens his hands to see what he's managed to conjure. Somewhat to his surprise, the two watchers appear as colorful butterflies. They sit in the palms of his hands, their wings beating lightly as their antennae vibrate, waiting for instructions. He whispers his will to them, and they lift off when he blows a puff of air underneath them. They flutter off to the north, leaving a trail of sparkling dust behind them on the astral. Their spirit-summoner connection established, they relay what they see back to him. Smohalla reclines, closing his eyes as his mind darts back and forth between his dream and the updates he receives. All quiet on the northern front.

[pbangarth]

Stogie pokes at the fire, puts on another log, and pulls his jacket tighter around himself as he sits with his back to the fire. Jake looks longingly at the tent, and then curls up beside Stogie, his back to the fire too.

[Tecumseh]

Smohalla sets the watchers to watch. And so they do, reporting back on the comings and goings of the forest's nocturnal creatures. Smohalla feels the natural rhythms, nothing seemingly out of place for the moment. The men, unless they fly, will take hours to arrive. That is, if they even come. Perhaps a man sleeping with a dog next to a campfire is not what they were looking for. Or perhaps, given the limited number of campers in the mountains in November, it was precisely what they were looking for. It remains to be seen. In either case, the Sisters' camp has now been noted by someone, somewhere, as a campsite.

Stogie cannot sleep but that won't stop Jake. He opportunistically finds a warm patch and burrows into Stogie, still wondering what that brain-melting dream was all about. And what's with this new sense that Stogie seems to have developed in the last fifteen minutes? That wasn't always there, was it? It's like hearing, but not for sound, or smell but not for scents. It's some sixth sense that warps Jake's poor doggie mind. The academics and philosophers and religious men can hardly explain it, so it's little wonder that the border collie finds it all baffling.

Ellesar is the only one who can get some rest. He might be sleeping with one eye open, wary of man-eating trolls and drones and troll drones (trones, or drolls), but there's been a hell of a lot of walking recently and he's only too happy to get some shuteye. At least one member of the team will need to be alert tomorrow, although Jake should help balance the scales.

The night slowly passes. Stogie, needing little sleep, is accustomed to watching the stars roll slowly by. Smohalla is less experienced with extended periods of wakefulness in the middle of the night but at least he has something to occupy his thoughts. The magic is so strong in this place, Smohalla can feel himself progressing by leaps and bounds. What he's learned in the last few days almost equals all the years prior. It's a heady experience. Can it continue this way? Is it like this for everyone? If so, what must the Sisters be capable of by now? Not just magically, but morally? Smohalla would go to great lengths to protect a place like this. But how far is that, exactly?

Hours pass. Thoughts circle. Finally, as their brains start to ache from the constant buzz of thoughts and the pressing chill of the nighttime air, a sliver of dawn breaks over the mountains to the east.

[phlapjack77]

Smohalla rises from the ground and stretches.

Seeing his teammate(s) awake, he looks to the glow on the horizon with a smile.

A beautiful sight.

I wonder what today brings.

My little ones have not reported any sight of the others travelling towards us.

[pbangarth]

Stogie stands up, reaches for the sky with both arms, and then leans forward into the yoga 'downward dog' pose. Jake leaps up and does the original pose for which it was named right beside him, tail wagging. It's kinda cute. Stogie looks at the fire. "I'll get this moving again, and see what I can scare up for breakfast."

[phlapjack77]

Some breakfast would be much appreciated my friend.

Perhaps while we eat we can discuss our next move.

I would like to scout again before the sun is too high in the sky.

[AtroposReborn]

The sunlight creeping across Ellesar's eyes awakens the slumbering elf. He comes to his haunches and looks at the others with heavy eyes. "Morning already? And here I was hoping for a few more..." A loud yawn blurs his last thoughts. Collecting his pack and rifle he makes his way to his usual log that he might inspect his gear.

[phlapjack77]

After breakfast Smohalla turns to his companions.

Now I will go and scout for our intruders to see if they yet travel towards us.

He considers scouting astrally for a moment, but rejects that and shifts into eagle form.

The longing for the feeling of wind rippling over feathers is too great an urge to resist.

As Smohalla takes to the air headed north, he mentally calls out to Father Thunderbird to ask that the totem join him.

[pbangarth]

Stogie wipes away a few crumbs as he watche Smohalla fly away, and is brought alert by the spirit Smohalla summons. Oh yeah. I meant to do a little science in the home and test out the ley line's effect on my mojo. Let's see.... yeah, how gymkata can I get?

he draws mana to enhance his flexibility and motor control.

[Tecumseh]

Smohalla takes the sky to perform his summoning. He feels the mana of the area charging his power; when he makes the call, the spirit that arrives looks rather like Father Thunderbird himself. The spirit is enormous, far larger than Smohalla - or is Smohalla larger here than he knows? The spirit, despite its overbearing power, is subservient to Smohalla's command. Through his link with the spirit, Smohalla knows that he may ask for three services. And, to top it all off, there's no drain. Smohalla is again filled with the rush of power this place provides.

He sets off to the north, the spirit in tow, to patrol the skies and scout the land below. The early morning air is clear and frozen, maybe -4 degrees Celsius. Visibility is good for the moment, and Smohalla's sharp vision can survey the mountains and valleys within 15 kilometers. It should be an easy patrol.

Smohalla has only flown a kilometer when the spirit jerks back, like a dog on a leash. Smohalla can feel it wince, its discomfort pouring through the spirit-summoner link. It fights on, dutifully intending to follow its master. Smohalla turns back and sees the spirit visibly shrinking as it continues north. It fades rapidly, its size diminishing with every beat of its wings. Within moments it's a fraction of its former self, a mere canary or songbird compared to the potent thunderbird it resembled shortly before, and then all of a sudden it fizzles in a whimper of exhausted magic. It vanishes, the link falling silent.

Smohalla curves back sharply to assess the situation. If he were not dual-natured, the answer would not be so obvious, but to Smohalla the explanation is plain as day: the spirit and Smohalla have left the Sisters' aspected site. To Smohalla, the change between the two environments is the difference between supercharged powers and his normal magical self. But to the spirit, summoned within a highly aspected terrain, the rest of the world must resemble an impure, unholy place, even in the mountains. From the spirit's perspective, the rest of the world is a giant mana void, with a background count like a black hole. Once past the event horizon, it can never return.

[phlapjack77]

What an interesting development.

This was an occurrence that Smohalla had never heard of before.

So much was there to learn there at that mountain of power.

So much.

The eagle shaman's resolve strengthens to stay and study with the Sisters.

But to do that he must help protect them from those who might do them harm.

He returned to his task and continued flying along the route that would lead him to where he saw the intruders the previous night.

[pbangarth]

Stogie feels the mana flow into his musculature, stretching and loosening his body. For a moment, just a moment, it feels as if his whole body starts vibrating and humming, like a taut rubber band, drawing Jake's curious attention, "Wuf?"

But a hasty dose of concentration on Stogie's part settles his muscles. In the end, for the half a minute or so that the power lasts, he cavorts and flips with Jake in total abandon. He files the magnitude of the transformation and the near side effect away for future reference.

[AtroposReborn]

The exodus of Smohalla does little to catch the elf's attention. The rampant frolicking of Stogie and Jake, on the other hand, catches him quite off guard. Hoping this isn't some sort of crazed blood magic spell Ellesar acts as if he isn't watching the two, his gun never leaving his grasp. As the couple begins to calm down he comes to his feet. "Everything all right with you two?"

[pbangarth]

Stogie catches his breath a moment before answering. "Yeah, I was just testing the effects of the mana concentration here on some of my magic. The abilities that actually require pulling the mana in. I wanted to see how much I could boost some of my physical traits. I thought playing with Jake would be a fun way to do it!

I figure this place makes my adept magic have almost twice the effect. Pretty cool, huh?"

[Tecumseh]

Stogie's heart skips a beat after the boost fades. There's a hard stop, then it restarts as strong as ever, accompanied by a strange tingling in his extremities. The feeling passes and he returns to reveling in the feeling of power here.

Ellesar considers Stogie carefully. On the one hand, the magic here seems to be making Stogie a bit nuts. Are the Sisters crazy too? Probably. But on the other hand, the magic is so close at hand that it seems like Ellesar could reach out and touch it. He feels an odd stirring deep within his chest, the memory of suppressed talent that he buried long ago. It had never been more of a wisp of potential but the Ghosts had ripped it away all the same. Every time Ellesar tried to tap it after leaving the Ghosts he would find himself with a bloody nose, or an inexplicable black eye, or worse. He soon learned to let the forbidden fruit wither on the vine. But here it feels like it once did long ago, before the Ghosts, like the beginning of a great journey. Does he want to revisit it and risk heartbreak, maybe literally? Or should that sleeping dog lie?

Up above, Smohalla ventures north, swinging east and west to survey the terrain. The conditions are good and he's extremely confident that he would have spotted anything that there was to find, but there's nothing. He pushes far enough to see Greenwater, but the town is empty at this early hour. The men, if they have decided to pay a visit, have either not begun their journey or have chosen a different route. This morning all is calm and quiet.

[AtroposReborn]

The elf's hand grips his rifle harder as he feels the temptation wash over him, almost to the point of drawing blood. He forces the thoughts from his head as the rifle finds its way onto his back. Perhaps he would revisit the forbidden feeling, but for now he needed to focus. The news of the travelers headed towards them flashes anew in his memory.

Ellesar looks to the sky, half expecting to see the eagle soaring overhead. He addresses Stogie after gathering his thoughts. "Cool, right. I'm sure the Sisters would agree with you on that one." He lets out a slight chuckle at his hidden jest. "Well, there isn't terribly much we can do until Smohalla gets back from his recon. If you don't have any better ideas I'm going to head out a few yards and post up behind some foliage. If someone else shows up just send me a whistle." Ellesar begins making his way into the forest, keeping an ear open for Stogie.

[Tecumseh]

Smohalla ventures further, moving north through the cold autumn air. He won't be back until lunch.

Meanwhile, back at camp, Jake cleans the dishes from breakfast while Stogie mans the fire and Ellesar climbs a tree. Stogie has very little work to do with the fire, given that it seems magically sustained. Throwing an extra log on helps it burn a bit brighter and adds some woodsmoke to the air, but otherwise the fire seems to persist without any outside intervention.

The Sisters wander into camp to say hello. Ellie tut tuts, looking at their dwindling supplies, and announces her intention to restock the camp that day, following their morning rituals. Does that mean the Sisters will go into town? Or do they have some other method to resupply themselves?

[pbangarth]

Stogie smiles at the Sisters. "Good morning, ladies." Deciding to toss a surprise out at them, he repeats the greeting in Or'Zet.

"It seems we may have some visitors sometime soon. Smohalla found a group of people north of here, some sixty kilometers. Up near North Bend. Four of them. Two who are probably good with guns. One who has magic and one who controls machines. Flying drones. That's how we noticed them last night. These ones look a little more competent than those we've met so far. More dangerous. Smohalla is up scouting out where they are now.

"It may not be a good idea to go shopping this morning."