Always Ascending

[Dichotomy]

I hang back a bit- every text on anthropology I have ever read has agreed that the appropriate course of action when among an unknown culture or people is to assume the role of silent observer, and that most of your questions will be answered in short order with a little patience... still, as they speak among themselves I can't help but to bend over and scoop up a fist-sized stone from the ground and rub it between my hands. After a few moments of concentration it seems to peel away from itself, unfurling into a simple but effective- somewhat scanty perhaps but better than what's currently on offer, and certainly plenty roomy- woman's halter top, which I hold out to the... well, the woman needing it obviously. "That should serve you in the short term." I offer "Though it will revert in an hour or so."

(minor alchemy)

[Roselli]

"Oh, thanks!" Gwyn takes the halter top from the tree wizard, "My arms were getting a bit tired. This is really nice, mate."

"um....what happens if I'm still wearing this when it reverts?" She asks as she's putting it on.

[Nihtgenga]

Hearing voices and the sounds of armoured movement, Retiaria turned to face the direction it was coming from, shield covering her body and trident poised to strike. She didn't relax until they spoke, proving themselves to be friendly.

"Holy heck! Did someone run the howler off?"

"You mean that dog woman? Yeah, we dealt with her."

"Lets get you folks under a roof before another forest creature jumps out at us. I'm Moira and we're the road patrol from the village ahead."

"Sounds great to me! Name's Retiaria."

"We don't actually get out of the village much past here, The forest is a bit much for a simple patrol really. Still, glad to have found you in one piece."

"Heh, glad to be found in one, too. Lead on, Moira."

As they walked, Retiaria found it hard to keep her eyes from Gwen's enhanced and exposed figure.

"I'm afraid I've never heard of that place. We call our little village Hope's Hospice. We know we basically live as we are on the whim of the Lady, but we most get by."

"I keep hearing about this Lady. Who is she? What can you tell us about her?"

"The Lady is the power that has sway here. Each of us were kidnapped from our homes and we made it here and decided we were not gonna get much further so here we stayed. So when I say we live by the whim of the Lady, I mean if she wanted to crush us she would, but she seems content to let us live as we have. We do end up paying tributes to the Gnoll queen though. At least this place seems.. Well.. Like home should feel.. most of the time.. You can drink from a stream in the woods and not become some kind of chaos warped monster."

"Damn, that sucks. Gotta make the most of what you got though, right?"

"We should set a trap, She'll likely send some goblins here to look for us and exact tribute?  If you have any idea where they come from, we could set up an ambush.  Reduce her available forces, hopefully keep her in the dark, but us all some time to take our next steps."

"That sounds like a solid plan though. Only one flaw- what's in it for us?"

[Ryuforce]

Duran smiled upon hearing her talk of the shrines and something about brewing dreams. "Oh well I certainly will love to see it, along with every other part of your town." The dragonborn says with at ad look of wonder. Still she frowns a bit when she hears of the Gnoll Queen and how she bullies this town whenever she wants. Luckily Naethra clearly wanted to put a stop to this mad woman as much as Duran does. Maybe a bit more eagerly so as she is already thinking of traps. "Trap? Sounds a bit dirty Naethra... but well.. there's six of us and probably whole lot of her. I doubt she'll fight honorable herself."

All the more, when they point out that the Gnoll Queen is highly likely to have their missing princess it provides all the motivation Duran needs to go in. Blatantly ignoring the fact that every other adventurer who has may not of succeeded i since a lot of them go after her.

"That sounds like a solid plan though. Only one flaw- what's in it for us?"

Duran stopped upon hearing that from Red, looking over to her. "Why, to make sure she can't harm anyone else of course. Is there no better reason then that?"

[Dichotomy]

I blink... honestly that hadn't occurred to me but "well, given the third law of formic constancy, it should revert from the outer edges first, so the straps will come undone by themselves, it'll fall off, and turn back into a rock." I shrug. "

[darlingng01]

I listen quietly as they speak, eyeing everyone with suspicion as I'm want to do. I'm relieved someone else mentions the goblins we fought as it means I can remain silent, but not for much longer as our services are offered. I clear my throat and focus on speaking without letting my arousal impede me "While taking care of the gnoll queen sounds like a great idea, I can't imagine we're the most capable people to have ever come across her. I have some experience in combat from before coming here, but my capability is limited to short bursts. I'm not capable of dealing with a drawn out battle against a large number of goblins. I imagine a gladiator also has little experience with those kinds of drawn out combats, and our paladin has little experience with combat in general. I could go on, but the point stands our best bet is to avoid the situation all together. Running into a fight we can't win doesn't help anyone." I've been called cowardly plenty of times because of how often I encourage the groups I'm with to avoid combat, but I'm still alive, and the people who refused to listen generally aren't. Even if the gnoll queen has our princess, it's likely far to late for us to do anything, and it's not like we knew her well enough to warrant going for revenge.

[Ordos]

Naethra listened to Oric and Red.  She was surprised the cleric didn't jump at the prospect of fighting the gnoll queen.  Evidently, she had at least one sensible team-mate after all. 

"It's in our best interests, Red.  The dancer escaped, so she knows about us.  If she sent out a party to attack or abduct us just because we were here, I think it's pretty likely she'll send out more now that we've cost her a soldier.  It may not be tactically sound to hound us, but... well, how many people and monsters have we me who were absolutely obsessed with defeating and claiming us?  It seems to be a running theme around here.  Do either of you honestly think she'll just let us pass now?"

"And if this is the only friendly place in the area, it makes sense for her to look for us here.  So we know a detachment is coming.  Coming after us.  It isn't something we can avoid, not reliably.  They know the land, after all, and we're stumbling about effectively blind.  So it makes sense to stage an ambush.  At the very least, it'll give us a better chance of surviving that party, and it'll deny her forces to use against us in the coming days.  If we can get even a decent idea of where they're coming from, what approach they'll take to this... Hospice, then we can get the jump on them.  I think you're right about our odds in a direct fight, Oric, but I also think that fight is coming to us one way or another,  and we'd be foolish to discard a chance to turn the odds in our favor." 

She hadn't realized it until she said it aloud, but a hospice wasn't exactly a hospital or haven... it was a place where people went to die in comfort.   That... was a decidedly morbid name for a village.  She couldn't tell if these humans were more likely to know dwarfish or elvish, but...

"Hey, Red?" she added in infernal, her accent a tad guttural form ill-use.  "Maybe... let's keep an eye on our hosts.  I'm not so sure this place is as safe as we're assuming..." 

[Ryuforce]

Duran was surprised to hear Oric too was disagreeing on the idea of dealing with this Gnoll Queen. "But.. surely something has to be done? We can't just let her go around bossing the entire forest around!?" The dragonborn asked, a bit shocked to hear Oric just not want to deal with such evil. Then she blinked and growled lightly. "Wait little combat experience!? Did you not see that I held my own pretty well?" She said a bit frustrated but mostly just thinking in the back of her head.

"Crap, how in the abyss does she know?"

[darlingng01]

I let out a weary sight "If we have to set up a trap, there's one I saw years ago during my travels with a dwarvish inventor. He created an airtight box out of stones he melted together with fire and ran a metal into it. He then used lightning magic on the metal and the box exploded, sending the stones flying in all directions. He told me it would work with things other than stones."

Glaring at Duran I speak slowly and clearly "That's how kingdoms work. One person goes around bossing other people around until someone manages to take them out and replace them. If anything she sounds better than the random people we met on our way here. Can you imagine if those goblins had been in charge of the forest? There's no way there'd still be a town here. We know next to nothing about her and you've already decided she needs to be deposed. Then what? We take over? Or a random goblin takes her place once we're gone? Dealing with nobility is a lot more complex than just punching them until they agree with you."

 I realize I'm letting my elitism show again and try to real myself back in "Your movements aren't those of a seasoned fighter, and you show hesitation in combat. You aren't bad, but you're movements are rehearsed. You've been taught how to move and fight but haven't had the chance to develop your dynamic battle sense. You just make use of what you were taught without modifying it to the specific circumstances. At least that's how I see it."

[Roselli]

Gwyn looked to reply to Red as she says she didn't want to take on the Gnoll Queen, "Retiaria, we have to do it. It's important to help these people." Gwyn,then slid her finger along Red's horn, "also it would mean a lot to me. I don't know what I'd do if we didn't try to stop them and save the princess."

[Nihtgenga]

"Why, to make sure she can't harm anyone else of course. Is there no better reason then that?"

"Yes. That's the dumbest reason I've ever heard."

"It's in our best interests, Red.  The dancer escaped, so she knows about us.  If she sent out a party to attack or abduct us just because we were here, I think it's pretty likely she'll send out more now that we've cost her a soldier.  It may not be tactically sound to hound us, but... well, how many people and monsters have we me who were absolutely obsessed with defeating and claiming us?  It seems to be a running theme around here.  Do either of you honestly think she'll just let us pass now?"

"Or we can just keep moving so they can't find us, and kick the shit outta them if they do. We dealt with that dog bitch just fine, and the goblins."

<"Hey, Red? Maybe... let's keep an eye on our hosts.  I'm not so sure this place is as safe as we're assuming...">

Red nodded, and replied, also in Infernal, <"Gotcha. Best to assume nowhere's safe until we're out of the Lady's domain.">

"If we have to set up a trap, there's one I saw years ago during my travels with a dwarvish inventor. He created an airtight box out of stones he melted together with fire and ran a metal into it. He then used lightning magic on the metal and the box exploded, sending the stones flying in all directions. He told me it would work with things other than stones."

"Ooh, that sounds pretty nasty! I like it. How would we make one, though?"

"Your movements aren't those of a seasoned fighter, and you show hesitation in combat. You aren't bad, but you're movements are rehearsed. You've been taught how to move and fight but haven't had the chance to develop your dynamic battle sense. You just make use of what you were taught without modifying it to the specific circumstances. At least that's how I see it."

"Yeah, no offense Duran- you've got the basics down well, but it's obvious you're greener than Naethra's tits."

"Retiaria, we have to do it. It's important to help these people. Gwyn,then slid her finger along Red's horn, "also it would mean a lot to me. I don't know what I'd do if we didn't try to stop them and save the princess."

"Why? Their business ain't our problem. I don't- ahh!" She moaned as Gwyn rubbed her horn, closing her eyes and leaning into the elf's grasp."Ooh... well, I...mmm... I don't want to upset you of course... but I still think it's not worth the trouble..."

[Roselli]

Gwyn makes a face with her attempt failing. " I just thought it would make a good story. As I try to make my own story. Think of it, we venture in, take down an evil queen, rescue a princess, and save a village. It's a classic story. A story that I get to take back on our adventures and share endlessly spreading your name, mine, all of ours name as heroes."

Gwyn then looks away from Red, "but, if you'd rather stay here and settle as some anonymous net fisherwoman,  that's your call."

[Alice]

Walking a brisk pace the group makes it to a significant clearing. In fact it's massive.. You see broad fields of corn and rice..wheat and grapes and many many vegetables. An orchard of fruit trees.. only about half of which seem to have a feminine appearance.

in town you can see large swaths of dormitory style housing, a black smiths shop, a general store, a brewery and a large Inn with a massive overhanging awning creating an open air space full of tables. It is to this inn that Moira leads you. Through the town you see the people, mostly women, but some few men, all of whom seem to be.. well simple peasants. You realize that Moira's patrol may be the most martially skilled among the town folk. One of the buildings you pass by is little more than a roof on pillars with small stone shrines each adorned with a crude representation of one of the nine gods, a tenth shrine with many small stone figures in a circle, and one golden shrine that simply has an extended hand open as if waiting for something to be placed inside.

A big woman, almost as if a dwarven woman, only nearly six feet tall meets you at the open air table, "Hello there! Good to see you survived the woods. Welcome. I'm Gavin innkeeper and mayor of this little town. You are welcome  here as long as you choose to stay. I'll be honest, if you stay.. You'll likely be joining us dirt grubbers.. Although, no one who left to seek adventure has ever returned. We like to think that they move on deeper into the Lady's domain.. Maybe they even reach the end of it."

A table nearby with three significantly rougher figures erupts, one of them A huge man stands up, "Enough of your fear mongering woman!"

One of his companions a figure in a large cloak puts a hand on his arm and speaks in a breathy extremely feminine voice, "You don't have much room to talk. Still we agreed we go deeper after a nights rest."

Gavin shakes her head, "I just tell it like it is. You lot are welcome to a meal and a drink, we've beds for you too. You can think about it and let us know how you feel later." Moira whispers something in her ear, "Oh hell.. Get out a keg of the good red, tell the baker to start some of those fruit tarts. They'll be on the warpath but if they can't find them they'll move on like always."

[Dichotomy]

I look around as we go, eyes always scanning. "Interesting arboreal notions." I mutter as we pass the trees "Is it meant to be art? A commentary on the nourishing nature of the female form?" This said, however, seemingly only to myself and not actually a question.

When we arrive I give a formal bow to Gavin, and introduce myself, then frown at the group the next table over "...somewhat unsociable aren't they? Regardless, have you a library, by any chance? I need to determine jsut how far off target I was if I'm to correct my spell sufficiently to reverse it."

[Ryuforce]

Duran shook her head, not quite wanting to believe in what Oric was saying about the situation. "But how do we know she even reels them in at all? how do we know she's a real queen and not just wanting to be called that? She certainly doesn't seem trustworthy either if her minions attack on sight." Still as she tries to argue further over why they should consider dealing with this Gnoll and not let her go by doing what she does, Oric started to point out just how inexperience she really is in combat And though Retaria's words were harsher, even with a 'no offense', it seems the dragonborn's sudden annoyance was more aimed at the cleric. "I.. I can handle myself just fine as a paladin. Including in battles." the dragon's cheeks were a slight redder then it's pink coloring before she gave a huff and turned away from the two. Well the group in general, focusing more on just moving on towards the village.

~~~

And well, if she was still in a bad mood by the time she reached the village, it melted away at the sight of it all. The town was something rather breathtaking. Form fields full of crop, to trees full of fruit all leading up to the many buildings that seem to shock and wonder the dragonborn. As the group walked though, she couldn't help but twirl and look around, trying to take in the sight despite how mundane or basic it is to everyone else. She stared over at the housing, the black smith, the brewery, and even looked in wonder over the sets of shrines for the gods. Though she found it odd to see a golden shrine that sticks out making her wonder just who that one is for. Maybe the god or goddess this town directly worships? Either way they soon get into the Inn and make their introduction with the innkeeper. The dragonborn again looking all around at the tables and booths, though more surprised to hear the voices of other figures. Perhaps adventurers like them?

Still despite their talk, the dragonborn seems rather distracted. Loosely looking around and failing to hide to the rest of the group how little she's seen of any village or town before in her life.