Astrid is staying on horsey ~10ft from the body

(that augury spell is lingering in Ink's mind apparently)

You also notice bootprints that seemed to have lingered by the body for a very long time, then head off into the woods.

Lae kneels in front of the corpse, silent.

He sheds a single tear, before getting back up

"Lae... ?"

"We... should bury this body. Let it not be disturbed."

Ink sighs softly and murmurs to himself, "She could have at least buried him... and not on the path..." He shakes his head and looks up at Lae, saying louder "Do you wish us to, friend Lae?"

Lae nods. "Perhaps a simple shallow grave will do. We do not want to spend too much time."

(does Lae have a shovel anywhere?)

Ink is apparently unmoved by the dragonborn's re-death, but is willing to help his friend.

(meh, maybe he just move enough dirt out of the way to cover the body)

I think Lae has an adventurer's pack, so that could conceivably include a small shovel.

(yeah)

Astrid doesn't want to go near the dead undead body and is looking at it funny.

(Ink and Astrid could also assist with a blanket of leaves...)

After the shallow grave is made, Lae, without flinching, carefully removes the ax from the heart. He lays the body in the grave, with the ax onto of the body.

He resumes burying the body, assuming Ink and Astrid are helping as well

Ink will assist, taking turns shovelling and helping Lae move the body.

Astrid will help with shovelling but not with body-moving

After the burial is finished, Lae gives a quick prayer to Mishakal before placing the rose ontop of the grave.

"Let us resume our journey, yes?"

Ink will also ask if Astrid would say a word or two if they know any kind of death rite type thing?

(I don't know if there is one? ^^;

There are some small death-rites of Pan, that perhaps Efren may have taught Astrid. They mostly concern the body returning to the earth to nourish its creatures, and laying the spirit at peace.

(Astrid can totally make something up) "Pan reclaims this body, for it shall feed the wild. Rest more peacefully than an undead unnatural life"

The leaves seem to shift a little in reply, or perhaps it's just your imagination.

You feel you have done a good deed.

Astrid considers leaving a candle but concludes that it wouldn't be good for any animal who tried to eat it, so goes back to the horseys

Lae is already travelling ahead

Ink looks to Astrid and tries to focus on the rose that was left, trying to make it root into a living bush.

(Or at least the beginning of one)

"Ink? You want help with Druidcraft?"

The rose blossoms a little as you focus on it, and puts some roots down. It's not much, but you feel that if you ever returned to this spot, there would be a small rosebush growing there.

(DM can we combine spells to make it grow more ^^)

(sure!)

Ink nods a little, "I... I think it may grow... I feel Lae would want this..."

Astrid hurries over to Ink. "If we both concentrate on it, it may grow a little more"

Ink is still trying to make sure it will live and he tries to let Astrid's wildly different (or differently wild?) magic merge to help the rose grow.

With your combined magic, the blossoming rose spreads its roots and a few more roses start to bud beside it. It slowly but surely grows into a small, but lovely bush blooming with red roses, and shimmering gently with magic. You feel you’ve imparted a bit of Pan himself.

The birds in the trees overhead, who have been deathly quiet ever since the dragon’s death, start to chirp again.

Astrid sighs and smiles. "Back to the horses, then"

Lae is now much ahead :P

Ink murmurs softly, in Draconic, "Mᴀʏ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴀɴᴄᴇsᴛᴏʀs ғɪɴᴅ ᴍᴇʀᴄʏ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ʜᴇᴀʀᴛs." and then helps Astrid back onto their horse.

(Back to trip?)

(back to trip)

(no trip, dex save)

(Spongebob Transition Card)

As you continue on northwards through the woods, the weather lightens gently into a mild cloudy day, and you pass without incident through rolling trees and undergrowth. The trees move gently in the breeze, and the air seems calmer.

You ride on north past some gently sloping hills, with the elevation getting more noticeable as you go on.

(when must the DM leave?)

(DM is good, dinner tonight was canceled.)

(Ink will offer to let Lae ride sometimes, he has walked long ways before, though he is not as fast as the horses... they can just amble some times that Lae needs to rest. Also - Ink now has the ability to ritual cast a campsite :D )

@Sciborg (when must bobble leave?)

(if bobble must leave, we can pick up later <3)

(5:15 my time, but if I leave now then I can bike before Dinner)

(do whatever you want <3)

(we always tend to meet here later anyway, so we can leave off here, bookmark, and do more later)

(will be biking!)

(<3)

(all good either way :)

Hehe that was unexpected from Lae

It just... didn't feel okay leaving a dead body in the middle of the road

Agreed - that it mostly what Ink didn't like ^^;

That was very sweet, didn't know if you would stop or not

I think Lae just liked the fact that the sister listened to him

Sometimes being in denial takes an outsider shaking you out of it.

Ink was mainly thinking of Lae being upset rather than the siblings originally, but decided that it is better to leave the dead with a positive emotion rather than a negative one.

Also, not sure that Ink intended to flirt with acolyte - lol

it was pretty funny though :p

ink is a cute fluffer

He's already massively embarrassed when anyone talks to him about anything that is about him ^^:

:P

That was really cute :P

Also - the compliment was (from his perspective) because he could see the aura... and because it was a useful and timely piece of information... the fact that it could be construed differently is not Ink's fault... right? >.>;

right, of course. lmao

(mind you, floof has also gotten in awkward situations this way so... maybe I am projecting

Projecting? Who's projecting? Definitely not me, i say as i make a character that can adopt everyone because i can't do that in real life and it makes me sad

apparently being nice to people is seen as flirting .-.

hey, maybe she just thinks tabaxi are adorbs :p

well that goes without saying :P

bobble!

:D

bobble is returned

;-; 'borg is not returned

appears

the floof is returned!

hugs nomcat's tail

tail hugs a bobble

it s 'borg's birfdy so... if they are busy, then that' s okay ^^:

noms a tail

:D 'borg is returned!

slides into chat

avast ye landlubbers! i am back

ooooh

summons a North?

holds out south pole of magnet

ooooOoooOOoOOooo magnetism

the powerrrr

curls in a floofball

'borg, I invite you to make a floof pile with me on top of the nomcat

borg is very sleepy but will join the floof pile <3

cuddles a bobble and an olllllld oooooooooooollllllllllld borg

:P

how dare :P

'borg the geezer??? D:

yes i'm a whole 22 years old now, i'm practically ancient

an old relic :p

shhhh my fur is greyer

when it isn't GREEN <3

<3

(Sorry - I have been listening to a game design podcast all day)

(I am a little hyper)

i am very very drowsy, you're good

this happens to the aged

<nods sagely>

>:/

<patpats a borg>

gives floof a lil pet <3

better placed to adopt alla peeps

i must adopt all of you or die trying

this is Rio's only character goal

hehe

aha!!! the magnet worked

I am currently tri-tasking

DM is sleepy sleepy but can DM some more if you'd like

why is it that sometimes someone posts a message and the whole set of messages scrolls way up my page?

@Sciborg Maybe for a little bit :P

I am currently composing, so I might not respond like right right away

No worries

If you are super tired I can put in a little bit of intro depending.

Or we can do CAMPSITE CHAT on the road with the trio

We left off riding north, like North

My voice leading is not sounding very smooth and I don't know how to fix it ;-;

(Interesting - I wonder if Grammarly causes it... though I am on Firefox / Win10)

Astrid is hoping to bring up stonework while on the road ^^

Lae, you notice as you ride that Astrid keeps wanting to start conversations about stonework :P

Lae rolls his eyes at the DM

Ink is going to deal with the campsites because Lae will be exhausted every time from doing the walking.

Lae turns to Astrid. "Rocks. Go."

"ooh!"

(I feel like this happens a second after Lae sees a weirdly coloured rock on the path and has tossed it up to Astrid, or something - like one that is unusual from the places we have been previously)

"There's a better way to build stone walls than humans do it, with that sticky stuff between the rocks and all. Really, they're lazy."

"The true art lies in picking the correct stones. If you choose well, then the rocks will fit together, no sticky stuff needed. And stay well, too"

@Graylocke (Here's a rock. Go. :P)

"Isn't that cool? :D"

Lae shakes his head, but his smile betrays him

Ink looks confused, "I... don't know anything about rocks... but why is no mortar better than mortar..?"

You are passing by some lovely rolling green hills as you ride, with some colorful green-and-yellow trees.

"Because it's an art. And the sticky stuff wears away over time, you know"

"But rock shapes... they are much more reliable. They stay as you want them to"

(oh, my voice leading was sounding bad because I forgot to put a crash cymbol. Smh)

"To be honest, friend Astrid, rocks were not a good building material in a tree..."

(this is all definitely real science sourced straight from a Pern book)

"So when do the stone turn into golem?"

slightly confused look "Were we not speaking of rock walls?"

"I heard that it happens when you put words in their heads... but I am not too sure..."

@bobble Gives confused look back Weren't the walls supposed to be sleeping rock golems?

You pass by a small campsite off on the far side of the road, with a knot of four travelers sitting around a little campfire with a cooking pot boiling. They seem to be having a vigorous argument about whether their rogue companion cheated at whist.

"No, no the walls are walls. Regular walls. Make of rocks. No golems! If they turned into golems then the artwork is ruined!"

"But Ink said..."

Ink shakes his head, "I said that there was a story of a village where the houses were made of stone and they were actually sleeping golems which awoke one day..."

Astrid gets more agitated. "Rock walls! Regular rock walls! No magic! No words! Just rocks, and rocks make sense and they do what you tell them to and they stay!"

Lae glares at Ink. "You deceived me, friend."

Ink blinks, "I deceived you by telling you a story from my homeland..?"

Lae throws his hands in the air. "You never told me it was a story!"

He crosses his arms

Up ahead in the distance you happen to notice a large oak tree, where a small hooded figure is curled up, apparently sleeping by the side of the road. Tied up beside her is a very tired-looking pony. You notice she is wearing very, very nice boots, which clash horribly with her ratty clothes.

She looks familiar.

(Oh dear... time to talk to a pony! <3

Lae stops. "Wait... that girl looks familiar."

Astrid is still worked up about rocks and not paying much attention to anything else

(liberate all the equines!

"Wasn't that... wasn't that the girl that was talking to the man who called me 'pointy ears?'"

Ink pulls Clubs..? up behind Lae. "It... could be? The one we fought outside the village?"

Astrid has gone a little too far and has Fleet turn around

"Yeah, him." Lae looks at her suspiciously. "Those boots look way too nice for her clothes."

Ink cocks an eyebrow, "... well that particular woman didn't have any boots at all, last we saw her... assuming it was she"

The girl shifts in her sleep and yawns. The pony nestles up closer to her and licks the top of her head.

(Lae has an odd feeling about her. He's rolling insight)

13+3=16

You look at her, and she's definitely the same girl that had the missing boots. You have no idea where she got the new ones from, but you can probably take a mild guess.

The pony seems fairly happy, if weary.

(she can't be all bad, the pony likes her...)

You notice the pony has little bows braided into its hair.

(that and we can't hate her, in all our battles we end by making friends with our opponents ^^;

Lae decides to approach the girl and talk to her about racist dude

Ink says to Lae, "So... Given we think that the dragonborn are working for him... and she is too...?"

"Perhaps. No other way to find out." Lae whips out his lyre. "You might want to close your ears."

Astrid is sitting in place with eyes closed, thinking of stonework

(you see, if I try to play bad, it doesn't matter what I roll, it'll be bad)

Ink dismounts and holds Clubs and strokes his nose, getting some kind of apple or carrot ration out of his pack, he has no real way of not listening and curiosity wouldn't let him anyway.

Lae plays a horrid sounding tune, imitating the sound of a dying goat except it caught the flu and so can't bleet properly

(5+1=6. Pretty bad!)

Would you like to deliberately fail your Performance check?

Yes

The girl immediately slams her hands over her ears. "OW!" she says, loudly. "What the hell?"

She looks wildly around.

Ink winces and tries to keep both horses calm.

Lae stops his playing. "Hello. Sorry for waking you up, but I thought I'd ask you a couple of questions."

The girl winces, rubbing her ears. "Well, that's a nice way to welcome someone, isn't it, bloke."

Astrid glares "Do you want me to skunk your lyre again?"

The pony hops around agitatedly, clearly not liking the sounds. The girl hastily touches her mane. "Easy, Blossom."

Lae rolls his eyes at Astrid. "I've seen you before. Are you familiar with a man who talks badly of elves and is about yay-tall?"

Lae uses his hands, deliberately keeping racist guy just a tad shorter than him

Ink murmurs in Sylvan to Clubs and Fleet, hushing them and keeping them occupied with a carrot.

Clubs and Fleet whuffle and stamp their feet around angrily.

The girl squints at Lae. "What's it to ya, punk?"

(12 animal handling but I don't think that is very important)

"Just wondering. He seems to be... well-connected. And he may be related to some recent dragon killings around here." Lae glares directly at the girl

"I would advise you to start answering truthfully, or I will torture you with this lyre."

Lae softens. "Okay, I won't actually torture you."

"I'm just worried about this man, that's all."

Ink only hears the tone of Lae and leaving off from the horses, reaches into his Book of Shadows and pulls out the dragon scale and shows it to the girl. Not really having any idea of the conversation content.

The girl looks at the scale, then gives Lae a suspicious look. "I don't have many morals, but I won't sell out who pays me. First rule of outlawing. Who are you punks, anyway?"

Astrid has dismounted and is trying to hide behind Fleet

@Sciborg "That's a very good question. I'm not sure." Lae begins to strum a few notes on his lyre, semi-menacingly. "This man may be very dangerously. We need more information about him, and your cooperation may be very necessary."

She squints again, and looks between you. "He's a bit of an ass, I'll give you that. But it'll take a lot of... persuasion to make me talk."

She rubs her fingers together meaningfully.

Ink knows that gesture, it was the one he was expecting from the guards of that small village. Possibly the only thing he has understood so far.

"You feel me? You feel me?" She gestures to her new boots. "These new shoes need some polish."

Lae puts his lyre down and glares angrily.

"I will not bribe you to the right thing, thief."

(Can Ink sleight of hand some silver coins out of his pouch to make it look like that is all that is in there?)

(Sure)

She shrugs. "I've never done the right thing in my life. Why start now?"

I gotta go

o\

(g'night <3)

(eep - I rolled an 8 so uh... 11? :(

You attempt to kind of sleight your pouch a bit, but she gives you side-eye to indicate she's not fooled.

Ink sighs and shakes out a couple of gold with the silver as if she caught him and he gives in and empties it.

How much are you offering?

(I rerolled slight of hand at 21, but the idea is to give in and "empty" his pouch to 4gp, 6sp in his paw)

@PrinceNorthLæraðr o/ night North

(ahh, i gotcha)

She hums for a moment, then shrugs and holds out a hand. "Yeah, that'll buy me lunch tomorrow. Give it."

Ink doesn't understand her, but does understand the gesture, he says directly to her in Draconic, "Wʜᴇʀᴇ ɪs ʏᴏᴜʀ ғʀɪᴇɴᴅ? Tʜᴇ ᴋɴɪɢʜᴛ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇ sᴘᴇʟʟ ʙᴏᴏᴋ??"

(Actually draconic is more demand-y

She stares at you blankly, clearly not understanding. "Is that the funky dragon-talk Varlan does sometimes?"

(I think Lae would probably ask for the Sylvan translation and then convert to Common, not Astrid)

"𝔈𝔩𝔳𝔢𝔫?" Ink asks, eyebrow raised.

(If this fails too, Ink will just ask Lae to translate. ^^;

The girl blinks and nods, then speaks in very broken Elvish. "Natty taught me some Elvish. I understand."

(... who else talked about Natty... dammit 'borg... my memory is short...

(you have met a Natasha, i think... but maybe you didn't know her name)

(I thought someone else mentioned a Natty in their conversation with us anyway

Ink nods, "Do you know where your knight friend with the spellbook is? Is he trying to stop these dragon attacks..?"

not according to search

(I might be dreaming nvm me

"His name is Varlan Holdfast," she says, greedily counting Ink's coins as though they are the most precious things in the world. "He hired me to track the guy with the limp, but I lost track of him and I'm supposed to meet him in Hearth now. Not sure what his deal is, but he speaks dragon-tongue and he's a bit of a jerk. He pays nice, though."

She shrugs. "I guess we're looking for a priest now? He doesn't keep me posted very much."

"And he went off towards Giant's Reach."

Astrid looks up "Efren?"

(still behind horse)

"Sure, I think that was the old guy's name. I'm supposed to..." She clams up and squints. "That's none of your business."

(also maybe we should stop for North?)

(fair point

(we can stop and bookmark here and borg can zzzz <3)

(tailhugs frens

(<3)

flomps

> road trip

\o morning

o/ evening

Mith!

o/

did you note my slightly biased session title

:P sightly biased.

definitely objective

Though Ink will maintain that unless the dwarves want to haul the rocks, building a treehouse out of stone is ... less than ideal.

Dwarves do not live in treehouses

... ... but tree houses ... ...

short and stocky != treehouses

... shrubbery houses..? >.> <.< >.>

hill dwarfs live in hills

hobbit-holes?

... is it so wrong if that's what I imagined

it's very right if that's what you imagined

<.<

so Astrid is from New Zealand? >.>

borg tiptoes away to zzzz

bye birdy!

@bobble I would've gone with Bury your (un)dead

I liked the contrast between undead followed by dead

Whatever you decided to do

It was still good

Also Astrid('s) Rocks?

-_-

Darn Ink for giving into the bribery. I was going to threaten the girl with horrible music

Ooooh I decided to add more flare to Lynn's clothing

So Lynn's favored color is white, and most of his clothing have (real) silver trimming

However, this means that his clothing is very easily dirtied

So all of his clothing have a special dye which kind of acts as an "anti-stain" property, so to speak

Basically, it can't be made to lose its color, and it can't get dirty or stained

magical or otherwise?

Slightly magical dye, but readily accessible to those who can afford it

It's common enough that some people don't even really call it magic

Usually worn by rich merchants, diplomats, and other wealthy individuals who have to make long distance travels frequently

*frequently

The fabric he wears also can mend small to medium damages, but can't repair itself if major pieces of the clothing is lost

Things like acid, fire, or ripping the clothing

Again, it's more for wealthy travelers who might every once in a while damage their clothing and don't want to repair it

It has another unique property of fitting to the wearer's size/preference, which means that the clothing rarely need be replaced

Lynn's parents bought it for him after he ruined so many of his old clothing from falling off the horse

And staining his white clothing with ink

The dye is pretty expensive, the fabric is sort-of expensive but not the most expensive fabric out there

How many different outfits does he have?

The dye and the fabric also don't allow for much room for customization like adding fancy jewelry (either the fabric eats over it or the dye rejects it as a "foreign substance")

@bobble Not many. He really has about four that he wheres frequently. He has what he calls his "sneak suit", which is black clothing that's designed for slightly more mobility, what he typically wears when he wants to sneak out, his typical white clothing with silver trim (strands of silver are literally woven in with the fabric, a rather arduous and costly process). And then he has his fancy suit (which he hates wearing), which is your standard tux. And then a fancy traditional garment

*wears