Always Ascending

[Ordos]

Ah, a humie wizard.  Perhaps a tad scattered and disoriented, mentally and geographically, but still sane... ish.  By the standards of humans who are also wizards, at any rate. 

"A week ago, I was in Ymirhiem.  It's one of the cities of old Seinhelm.  Near as I can tell, we're all from different places, so far apart we haven't heard of half of them.  We woke up in a dungeon, or some type of underground compound or dungeon after... a night of intensely visceral dreams.  Intense, visceral, and profoundly erotic.  You'll... probably notice that theme, around here."

Had that really only been two days ago?  Or was it just one day and some change?  Naethra had the nagging suspicion that time wasn't really 100% objective around here. 

"I don't know where we are, but I kind of doubt this is near Gren'egal.  Please let me know if anything seems familiar, though.  I would dearly love to be proven wrong about that assumption.  We woke up maybe two days ago, and ever since we've been fighting strings of depraved, corrupted, hyper-sexual monsters and beings.  Kobolds and goblins with breasts as big as your head, and asses to match, to name some recent ones." 

She lifted her spear, bringing its pearl-inlaid head up to where Lucius could easily see it, taking pains to avoid making the action look overtly hostile or threatening.  "Do you see this pearly stuff?  It was on all of our weapons, arcane and otherwise, when we arrived.  Anything struck by them gets... aroused.  Submissively and debilitatingly so.  Our magic is subtly different too.  Nothing gets hurt around here, just... insensate and cripplingly aroused.  And things keep changing us.  Retaria here is the least changed in the group, and the circlet between her horns doesn't come off."

It all sounded so strange when she said it aloud.  How had all this happened?  What the hell was actually happening here?  How had she managed to do anything but just scream for the last two days? 

"Does... does any of that sound familiar?  We have no idea where we're going, only vague instructions from some type of creepy lascivious voice... from something that may or may not be a goddess, daemon, archfey, or collective hallucination... I have a theory, but I really don't like it."

She could go on, but she felt like she rambling.  Maybe the human would know what was going on.  Stranger things have happened, she presumed. 

[Dichotomy]

I look at the... plant, having heard... well, most of what it said certainly. I may have been distracted trying to place it's exact genus via careful examination of it's... torso region, but I caught most of it "Well, I heard a voice in my dreams, it helped me master the teleportation spell.... did you say-" I blink, leaning back to get a look at the spear in my face. "...huh. That's... there's similar markings all over my spellbook... you say it fundamentally alters the effects of trauma?" I ask, adjusting my glasses "Would that be... some sort of transmutation, I wonder?" muttering mostly to myself "altering the properties of the phenomenon... it's a bit abstract, but I'm unsure... I suppose it could be an evocation based enchantment..."

[Alice]

The woods are earily quite in the aftermath of the battle. Till perfectly mortal noises start to disturb the woods. The sounds of boots, and mail and the snapping of twigs. A female voice is heard, "I think the howling came from over here."

Another voice, "Don't be daft.. if they ran into here they won't be good for much other than being cute and maybe fetching your slippers."

The first voice, "Oh.. is that why you adopted the last victim?"

Around the bend in the road comes four humans carrying spears. They don't look very imposing and one of them in fact looks like they have little know idea how to even use that spear past 'point the sharp side at the thing you don't want in your personal space.'

"Holy heck! Did someone run the howler off?" They smile broadly, "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." She well built, strong but not overly muscley. Her hands are callused. "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."

[Dichotomy]

I smile, stepping forward and extending a hand in greeting "Ah, salutations.... we- that is, I and my companions, seem to have misplaced ourselves. Pray, tell us, how far is it to Gren'egal"

[Ryuforce]

Duran found herself lost at a lot of the words the mage said. But least he could understand the part about teleportation. "I.. hate to e a bummer, but... I think she didn't help you learn how to teleport but rather tricked you into getting teleported. Still.. least you didn't wake up in her dungeon like we did." However as she says that, she starts to hear noises from the quiet woods. Something marching this way and a feminine voice gives it all away. Duran step towards the direction,  of the sound, wanting to stand in front of all the spell casters as the threats approach.

And yet, threats they did not look like they were much anything, just four humans with spears. A rather mundane thing at this point but Duran didn't at first lower her weapon. she focused on one girl, the one who called herself Moira eyes locked to her face as she didn't really think to look for anything else, or notice anything about the group. Just listening. "Um..yeah." she sighed in relief, hearing they are from a town finally got Duran to lower her weapon. "Whew, sorry, just was getting nervous after our last few attacks. Glad to hear there's a village nearby." Duran then watches as the newly met mage walks over to them for a handshake.

(Perception: 1 )

[Roselli]

"Finally, a village!" Gwyn looked pleased, then felt some needed modsty and used her arms to cover her exposed breasts., "uh, hi, the 'howler' shouldnt bother you all again. She's gone. Would there be clothes, I could acquire in this village? I'm, Gwyn."

[Ordos]

"Oh!  Good day," Naethra said, looking over the group.  Were their weapons pearled? Did they carry or arrange themselves in a military format?  Did it look like they were hiding anything?  By her estimation, no one in the party had much more than cantrips left.  Another fight right now would be tough, but if the were as poorly equipped as the seemed, they could probably manage it... provided the didn't blunder into a trap, of course.

(perception 13)

"Pray, do you know where we are? I'm afraid to say it, but you're the first people we've met who haven't tried to assault or rape is." 

[Alice]

Moira crinkles her brow in thought, "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." They seem to be some place between the level of first year village Militia, and complete rookie village militia. They move like they've practiced together, but you are pretty sure even weakened you could bowl them over unless they got very lucky. Their weapons also have that now common seeming pearl tracing.

"I'm not surprised, the woods are wild in just about every regard. It's sin gone mad out here. But for now we can use the village as a way point for travelers from the depths." She looks over the where Gwyn is trying not terribly successfully to hide her assets. "We do have clothing there. Pretty simple stuff, but we can't cheat it into exsistace. That said lets get into the village before the gnoll queen or her goblin flunkies find you. You need to rest up at least."

[Roselli]

"I'll take what I can get. Thank you very much." Gwyn says gratefully as she follows them back to the village thinking she is doing a great job of covering herself although odd to walk with her hands in this position. "What do you know about The Lady? What's this gnoll queen?"

[Ryuforce]

"Duran was ready to go with the rest of the group when they are. Still these explanations were quite intriguing. "Hope's Hospice? Sounds like a glorious name... but you say you go by the whims of this Lady? How so?" Duran asks, a bit curious before nodding, also pointing to Gwyn's question on this so called Gnoll Queen. "Gwyn, if they don't have anything to fit you, I do have some normal cloths myself. I don't think you expanded too much pass my old frame of body." She suggested before looking back to Moira, another question popping up in her head. "Oh! And do you guys have a temple to Aircame?" So many questions, and likely more to come as the dragonborn is quite curious to see what a town will look like. Considering she lived inside a temple her whole life.

[Alice]

As you start to walk Moira is happy to talk, "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."

To the dragon born she smiles, "We have small shrines to all the gods there. We've managed to clear a few fields so we have agriculture, a few years back we got a bit of brewing up and running and let me tell you.. That was a day to remember."

"The Gnoll queen has goblin lackeys and they all seem to have it in for questing hero types. They are a bunch of bandits in the end and they have a strong hold deep in the forest. Still we don't have a hope  resisting them and when the queen marches with her army we stay the hell out of her way, and pay her what she wants. Still we do hide the adventures that make it to us, help them with provisions and if they want to keep going, give them a place to rest before starting out.. Almost always after the gnoll queens fort."

[Ordos]

"Thank you, so much!" Naethra said.  "We'll be happy to repay your hospitality..." she was going to continue: ' by any way we can',  but thought better of it at the last second.  What did she say about cheating clothes into existence?

"Although... I should probably mention, we ran into a scantily clad goblin dancer and wolf-rider not too long ago.  We defeated the wolf rider, but the dancer escaped.  Should we expect retaliation?"

Should they expect the villagers to kick them out, turn them over, or conscript them to their defense?  It was a tad risky to bring up, but it would be best resolved now, out here, while the advantage was firmly with the party.  Naethra maintained her pleasant smile, carefully observing how these humans reacted.

[Roselli]

Gwyn gets a look in her eyes.
"So they seem like the type that could kidnap a elf princess?" She asks ignoring that she herself is wearing a tiara. Not waiting for any input from anyone else she offers, "We'll can have a word with the Gnoll Queen. Make sure she leaves you alone. Did you say brewing?"

[Alice]

She sighs, "There may be some retribution coming. Hopefully she doesn't come after us. We don't have any forces that can stand up to her.. If she does come the best bet is to hide till she disperses her forces. We'll pony up a few Kegs and pretend we never saw you."

"An actual princess, There is no way she wouldn't be into that."

[Ordos]

Naethra very much doubted these people would turn on them... At least not immediately. 

She grimaced as Gwyn volunteered the group to charge into the gnoll's lair.  Duran would leap at the idea.  Probably Oric, too.  Red would probably like the rash heroism of it all, and if that wasn't enough she'd be easily persuaded by Geun and her recent endowments.  There really were no two ways about this; they were headed after the gnoll queen.

It was a bad idea, of course, but she recalled the Lady's words... "Be interesting."

"We should set a trap," Naethra declared.  "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."