<OOC Can Maia distinguish anything in the luminescence. Is anything else approaching? OOC>
[tab][/tab] Pavo very slowly makes his way towards the tomb-hill, putting the small camp fire behind him. His night sight will need several minutes to return, but he can see the kind of blurry phenomenon, visibly quite a ways on the other side of that hill. It is obviously moving this way and that that along the ground and through the brush. To him, it looks vaguely human in shape, like a short man dressed in rags or a white sheet, having the moonlight only shine on one side of him. However, the moon has yet to rise and the direction of the gleaming is wrong (the moon will rise in the east, this is 'illuminated' on the western side).
[tab][/tab] Maia on the other hand sees more clearly that this is a woman. Concentrating her sight on the apparition, she can make out a woman around middle age, cast in blue pallor. What hair escapes her shawl looks lanky or wet, her shabby clothes indistinct, her body fades away the lower it goes until no shins or feet can be seen. She is clearly transparent. Maia shudders in the knowledge that this is a ghost, one of the risen dead. What horror did this to the woman and more importantly what horrors can this ghost inflict on your party. Few ghosts are friendly...
[Nothing else is approaching. The ghostly woman is on the other side of the hill (north side, the side that weird tree is). Pavo cannot clearly see what it is, but Maia is sure its a ghost]
Pavo quietly stalks up the hill towards the person in the white sheet, and looks at the tree. Lacking a knowledge of Intellego, he will not bother casting any spells yet.
Pavo! Maia hisses; she then drops down quickly from the tree and strides purposefully towards the Magus. Listen, that's a ghost, ya! To the grogs Ain't no weapon but the faith in the Lord that'll avail you! Best keep yer mouths shut and let the Scholar, err, use his charm and schoolin'. If y'all can't help but running, keep an ear out for me voice or Pavo's, uhh, signal. I'll find ya!
Although she should be petrified, and there's a cold sweat forming, Maia is terribly excited to see this thing, and keep her cool in front of Pavo. Maybe he'll do something magical! She stifles an impulse to take his hand into hers.
[tab][/tab] Maia joins Pavo slowly climbing the small hill, while the rest of your people stay by the camp-site fire alert and ready to provide assistance. Magus and Companion cautiously make their way to the top of the tomb and peer on the other side where the weird dead tree is. The chill is noticeably stronger here (for Maia), slowly seeping into bone and marrow despite there being no wind or even a breeze. Left-over straw and dry sticks snap and crunch underneath, while treading on the packed ground gives a shiver to the woman's spine, like someone walking on her grave (which is what she is currently doing to someone else's grave). Pavo seems almost foolhardily unconcerned, more preoccupied with the apparition wandering in the low forest.
[tab][/tab] The ghostly woman wanders between the trees in a random pattern, as if searching something around her, flickering in intensity as she does. Covered by the autumn foliage, she appears and disappears frequently, never hurrying and never coming closer to the tomb itself. There is no sound of her passage, indeed she seems to be incorporeal from mid thigh down, easily navigating the bramble and chattel; yet her arms are extended in front of her, as if brushing off the vegetation or spider webs. In the silence of the forest, a barely heard sound of heavy breathing is heard and the smell of stale water mingles with the dusty fragrance of the place and the mustiness of autumn foliage rotting. She does not seem to have detected neither you nor your camp-fire, instead she travels a bit near the border of the hill (never closer than three or four trees deep), then turns towards the river and starts her way. The chill remains....
"Maia, are you all right?" Pavo asks. "I can help you keep warm if you need."
He looks at the apparition heading away again. "I wonder why she's not getting too close to the hill? I'll go and take a look."
Pavo moves through the trees a little, trying to see if anything is happening with the tomb hill.
At Pavo's offer I don't doubt ya can, Pavo! It's chilly, but it ain't the night air that's making me teeth chatter. It's this place, don't ya feel it? It's that! she points in the direction of the apparition. Looks a bit like your Lady in the Water, don't she. I wonder what her story is, shut out of the promised eternal reward. Something that'll give me hair a streak of white, yah?
Stares at Pavo's beautiful, unconcerned visage. Look at ya, ya ain't even worried. You are a cool one, ain't ya, Pavo? If nuthin' else, remember the rest of us, flesh and blood; we all gotta return to our home and families as well. She reaches out and touches the Magus's arm. Sound good?
She follows Pavo's lead, but with cannier steps, stealthily, she can see perfectly well in the dark, and points out difficult places before the Bjornaer breaks a leg. She also keeps a steady lookout for the ghost, she's reluctant to confront it.
[tab][/tab] Pavo and Maia discuss things on the side while trying to see what the 'ghost' is doing. It is clear that her movements are random, as if she was searching for something, but now she is heading away from the hill and towards the river. Soon disappearing among the trees. And yet the chill is still present and the sound of night birds far away. Could it be possible that she dares not approach the tomb-hill? Or is the presence of that weird charm tree the reason for her departure?
[tab][/tab] The two cross over to the other side of the hill, trying to get a better look at the apparition and find anything that can help them solve this mystery. The hill though stays still and silent, nothing happens to it or around it. After a few minutes, it seems that this was a freak occurrence, one of the chance encounters of the many different arcane phenomena out there. Will they follow the ghost (a perilous proposition), stay and search around the hill or return to the warmth of the fire and wait for morning? Night slowly waxes...
"These woods look a little too thick to travel through. I think we should take a look at the hill, and maybe see if there's anything about that tree that repelled her." Pavo says.
Pavo eyes up the undergrowth to see if a peacock could squeeze through, but then realises that trying to track a ghost while huddling close to the ground in dense undergrowth will be very difficult.
[tab][/tab] Pavo considers the undergrowth; a peacock can move through the undergrowth better than a man can, though there might be some wear and tear to the tail feathers. Seeing in the night might be more of a problem though. The hill is the same as hours before, sinister and foreboding, but nothing else is happening. The dead tree with the charms shows no action either. Neither the tree nor the charms are magical. The hill however seems to have a magic aura emanating in a radius just shy of the tree, now that its night [Aura 1, magic]...
Pavo decides trying to follow a ghost from ankle-height as a bird is too tricky, and decides to look around the hill more. He wonder to himself, why is the aura not reaching the tree?
"Maia, let's take a look around the hill and this tree. I don't think we can catch up with that ghost, the ground is too difficult and there are too many bushes." he says.
Maia is fine with not following the ghost. We findin' out anything? she says to Pavo after a while I mean with your Gifts in a lower voice. Myself, I can't make head nor tails of whatever's going on. This place's a tomb, right? So who's buried inside? That lady? And she wanders every night addled and lost? Yah, so the charms are for the lady..or something else?
[tab][/tab] Your nightly investigation around and on the hill reveals nothing more. The (supernatural) chill seems to emanate from the hill itself, Maya attests, and the magic aura extends in a circle around it, until the mid between the hill incline and the trees around it (and just shy of the dead tree with the charms). It is quite possible that the aura waned because of the night hours; the magus conferred with Maya and the aura is smaller in dimensions than area where the chill is felt. The dead tree with the charms looks creepy and sinister, yet there is no sense of magic from it or its accoutrements. Several rounds around the hill and you can comfortably say that it is roughly the shape of a circular dome and clearly constructed, though the shrubs and grass are the result of years of time passing. There are no entrances or exits, nor any sign of disturbance.
[tab][/tab] After some time in the dark, you can hear a pair of your guards calling, worried if you were lost or disappeared. They do not leave the edge of the firelight but look worriedly into the darkness for any sign of you...
Pavo tells Maya"I don't think there's anything more we can do tonight. There's no obvious way into the hill, even though it looks constructed. Let's go get some sleep, and then we can examine in daylight and see if there's any obvious point to dig down from." .
He calls down to the guards with a fire, and starts making his way back to the camp.
[Ignes has not posted for Maya, but I'll plod on :S ]
[tab][/tab] Pavo and Maia return to the camp-fire, having the guards take turns guarding during the night for anything (else) unusual. Its a tough job and the men do not seem that eager to spend another night like this, so close to a tomb and ghosts, but thank fully nothing happened. Dawn finds you tired and a bit sore from sleeping on the ground, the sun not yet rising over the eastern mountains to directly illuminate the river valley, yet powerful enough to make the tops of Tymfi glow with brilliance. While some of your party start gathering your camp, you make a morning inspection of the hill and its surroundings. Morning light shows nothing different; the hill is just as solid as the night before (though Maia no longer senses any chill) and a thorough inspection around and over it reveal no entrance, hole or other way to get in. It is clear that to breach the tomb you will need several days of digging and a whole lot of men, or magic. Moreover without knowing if and where an entrance is, it will be most difficult to pin-point any grave-sites. Pavo sends some of your people versed in scouting to check the northern part of the scrub forest around the tomb for tracks, but after an hour they report little; there is no sign of human passage, no sign of a ghostly apparition. This proved quite a fruitless expedition.
[tab][/tab] There are a lot of things left to do and a lot of unanswered questions:
-[tab][/tab] The site of the tomb has been found. It is clear something supernatural is going on at this site, though what is not apparent. The night chill alone indicates a site of importance. A more thorough investigation would be needed, with men, tools and/or proper magic.
-[tab][/tab] There was the sighting of a strange apparition. Whether its a ghost, fae or something else is not apparent, nor its purpose or intent. Neither its link to the tomb.
-[tab][/tab] You have yet to meet with the noble responsible for these lands, nor visit his castle. This would probably take a separate visit.
-[tab][/tab] You have found out a curious waterfall lake, filled with bizarre creatures. Its a dangerous site that you will need to properly research.
-[tab][/tab] You have also been alerted to several children missing in this are of the east forest. Moreover you found the remains of someone crushed by a giant or ogre. These forests are indeed dangerous...
[I assume your party returns to the Covenant empty handed. Unless you want to do something else that is. Shall I start tallying up this adventure and wrapping up?]
[OOC: I am entirely happy to return to the covenant, as this adventure is taking a while and it's becoming clear we need a different approach. Originally, Pavo had planned to meet the noble responsible for these lands after we'd visited this site, but we can leave it for the following year.]
Pavo ponders the situation and says to Maia "It's a shame there's no obvious clues above ground. We will either need a magus strong in magical detection to find a clue as to the best place to dig, or an earth mage with digging spells who can excavate without wasting days of labour. Still, you've seen the creatures in the waterfall lake, we can now try researching them before anyone visits again.
Let's head back to Meru Mudi and see what the others think."
Maia is kind of disappointed, but agrees. Yah, missing my ale! To the grogs Ya hear that, boys? Back to the comforts of your home and hearth!
To Pavo So maybe I'm missing sumthin', but we return with empty hands, and lotsa rumors. Unless ya got some me-estic insight from this whole mess?
Don't relish the idea of coming back with Aris-to-cle-es to start digging clay and such. I pull me own weight, yah, but my area of expertise is blazin' trails, walking over mountains...not digging under them!
[tab][/tab] The way back is arduous. Late morning brings clouds and a light shower, water droplets draping the autumn forest trees and making mud out of the path at places. Your party climbs up the gentle slope and finds the main path going south, bypassing the village you had passed the night two days before. While you fail to see travelers on the forest path, you can still hear the distinct sounds of lumberjacks in the distance. Covering ground as swift as you can it still takes you much time to clear the eastern part of Tymfi and round the corner of the mountain range. Dusk finds you near Tsepelovo, on the south-eastern cliffs of Tymfi, just above the eastern, smaller gorge. To reach the covenant you would have to cross the whole Vikos gorge in the dark, something foolish and extremely dangerous even in daylight. Instead your party takes shelter in a small inn near the center of the large village, paying a steep price for a nights berth. Still it is better than passing the night outside. Pavo and Maya get a peasant's bed to sleep in, while the rest make do with pallets on the main hall.
[tab][/tab] Early morning your party starts its trek just as the local church tolls its bells. The well traveled cliff path goes on for some leagues then dips down to the river and splits. Your party heads west towards the small bridge and the round-about road through the western part of the mountains. Once more you pass small settlements and fertile valleys (including the one you found the first tomb-hill). It is early afternoon when exhausted you reach the former imperial post of Aristi and wearily start the familiar ascend into the mountain gorge. Three hours later, just as the sun is setting somewhere and the light rapidly dims, you finally reach the ascend to the Covenant's ravine and your home...
Gains
[b]XP[b]
Aristocles and Raven 5 xp. Pavo and Maia 6 (+3 from independent study makes it 9)
Confidence
Just 1 point gained. Anyone spent any confidence points? Please check
Material Gains
One Ancient Comb