It's been about a week and we have retired to Theringrad to rest, play, and look for our new work.  We spent some time teaching Ildan math so he understood just how much beer he was drinking in a week...it might not have worked as Ildan is now convinced that buying a diamond mine is a good idea somehow.  We have had some concerns of the destructive wizards that have been steadily moving into the area. Vani and Bird Girl (now calling herself Carnation) have been performing in the street for small coin, but mostly fun. Don't worry, J is always there to make sure they aren't taken advantage of, and play the sham.  Dorian believes that we should be working closer with the wizards, or rather those that would pay us well.  The group has been wary of this but we agree that perhaps collecting materials would be lucrative rather than working for them directly.  Ildan has been boasting, drunkenly, about Donghenge at the pub.  We should have asked for royalties apparently.  Ren has been backing up Dorian when visiting some less reputable neighbourhoods.  The farmers have been becoming more and more agitated.  Ren has never been inland before so she's fascinated by how things work.  The city climate is cold, very distinct lines have been drawn... there are farmer pubs and wizard pubs.  Narcel'Uss is upset because she can't afford the materials she wants.

 

Our performers make six gold pieces busking for the day.  As usual J is worried about Bird Girl having money for thing and tried to convince her to keep some gold.  Bird Girl argues that she has all the gold and pouts when she's confused.  J face palms a lot during these conversations.

 

Dorian has encountered a strange man who is looking for an escort through some "not safe" lands.  Negations were ... complex as Keith (the strange man) seems a bit slow.  The man servant was able to step in and complete the negotiations.  One gold per person per day, eight silver if we find loot, plus expenses such as food and lodging.  Keith seems to be a bit lost as to what he wants to do, when to leave.  His man servant seems to be much more knowledgeable of this trip.  We could complete our other engagement first.

 

Narcel'Uss has also been approached by an interesting man...er Minotaur, an illusionist who is performing locally, asking us to collect some valuables.  We have been invited to his performance tonight at the Fox and Crane.  It is the most popular Inn in the area.  We arrive as the illusionist is setting up - we get looks from the bar tender as this is a Wizards bar.  Iskandar (the Minotaur) works surprisingly delicately worth the silk scarfs, the setup is as much a performance as anything we've seen before.  He is clearly a great story teller. Vani is particularly enthralled with the stories.  Tell us a story of treasure and glory... once there were five knights, now Templars, who drew the line against the dark when the world was about to split.  After the show, Iskandar approaches us with a proposal.  In the northwest, there is an ancient mine field covered in power stones and carved artifacts.  Presumably there is no more magic in these stones but there is value to the right buyer.  He would like to hire us to to retrieve as many as we can.  He offers us one thousand gold.  A few of us choke on our beer but Narcel'Uss says "that's a little lower, possibly beneath us".  Dorian steps in and arranges the time we could spend, and he too suggests that perhaps we could be payed more.  "Once you're there, the wealth is on the ground.  You just pick it up.  But I'm not going."  The artifacts are apparently not buried, not dangerous, but the wilds leading to the field are.  There is a local taboo about people going there.  The artifacts are not shiny, Vani is disappointed.  These are stone cages.  Bird Girl remembers a braggart from the brothel who went on about bound spirits and heavy fire explosions.  "Icky beard talked about them!"  We agree to take the job, but Ren needs a bit of convincing as the job doesn't seem dangerous enough.  We hear Arron mutter to Narcel'Uss "you're not going anywhere near those damn stones, you got that?".  J takes point to draw the map as it is projected over top of the paper.  "We should depart as soon as Ildan is sober."  So in the morning.

 

We set off in the morning... the entire party are surprisingly all aggressively positive morning people.  Bird Girl flies up and ahead to keep an eye on things and act as lookout.  We pass through a lot farm land, mostly wheat.  We come across the Archenbow forest and make our way through.  Vani keeps running across the path finding stones and coming back asking "is this is? is this it?" no Vani it's not.  She pockets a few smaller ones.  Ren gets uneasy in the forest, she tenses up when the canopy becomes thick and she loses track of Bird Girl in the sky.  This is the furthest inland she has ever been.  Dorian keeps pressuring her about her past.  Bird Girl keeps dropping feathers so that Ren knows here she is.  Vani finds the feathers and braids them into Ren's hair.  Narcel'Uss keeps kicking them "damn bird is molting". J has taken point and guides us expertly through the woods.  Bird Girl darts in and out of the canopy and continues to signal the all clear ... until she spots a pair of people walking towards towards the group.  She lands in front of J and informs her of the strange figures up ahead.

 

Bird Girl lands in front of J and cocks her head "still small". "Yes. What is it?" asks J.  "People.  There are people up ahead." "What kind of people?"  Bird Girl pauses and says nothing then lifts off in a flurry of feathers only to stop mid way and gently land back down. "Do you want to see?" "Can we do that quietly?" Bird Girl smiles and lifts J into the air, humming the quiet song.  We glide overhead in perfect silence.  The group appears to be warriors, an older lady and a young man.   While we were up in the are we could see the field, these people don't appear to be coming from there.  There is also now smoke in the distance behind us.  Bird Girl and J land as the two come into view on the path. They are both heavily armed.  Dorrian offers a friendly greeting.  When they ask where we're going Narcel'Uss grumbles "what business is that of yours?", the rest of the group groans.  The two warriors are rangers out on a training patrol, they've come from monster slaying.  Ren perks up at the sound of this.  "We are heading south to stop my brother from burning down the village."  J mentions that perhaps they should pick up the pace a bit.  We let them be on their way.

 

We decide to camp in the woods, off the trail.  J is an excellent cook and forages for our dinner.  We take watches in pairs so that we all get six hours of sleep.  Ildan and Bird Girl take first watch.  Out of boredom they create fun power pose for Team Bird!  They really should have been paying attention.  Second watch J and Dorian.  Third watch is Ren and fourth watch is Vani.  Narcel'Uss doesn't really take watch, and she makes that point very very clear.  Ren is always uneasy during watch as she can't see the stars as well as she wishes she could.  Off in the distance she hears the sound of thunder.  Narcel'Uss Ret'Urns from her trance at some point in the night and finds Vani playing in the leaves and dancing.

 

In the morning Ren asks if anyone else heard the thunder last night.  It came very very close but seems to have stopped now.  J remarks that it may have been a strange magical disturbance of the area.  The thunder seemed to be in the direction of where are heading.  We decide to carry on cautiously. Dorrian puts on his anti magic underpants and musters us to sally forth.

 

We reach the mine filed about mid day.  We realize that once in this desolate plain there used to be a village.  There are bits of building in rubble, burnt and scattered.  There are scrap of life that have stood the test of time, old pots, shattered tin plates.  Clearly nothing has been disturbed in many years.  In the ground, from the edge of the field, half buried, are the oblong stones we're looking for.  They appear unearthed naturally.  Vani in particular is very curious and can't help herself, drawn to one of the objects.  She senses its warmth and ties to pull it out of the ground.  Illden looks up and sees Vani most of the way to the stone, he's torn between running out and catching Vani and throwing Narcel'Uss out of the way.  Illden moves quickly to stop Vani, he's too late.  The stone pops out of the ground.  Ildan stops and ducks out of the way, protecting his face and crotch.  There's no boom.

 

Vani is very pleased with herself "look what I found".  There is a collective sigh of relief.  There is some minor discussion about what we should pick.  We decide on different colours and shapes so that the value is not diminished.  Vani starts to collect them.  (blue, green)

As Dorian stands there with a weapon of moderate destruction in a burlap sack he looks up to Narcel'Uss and remarks "you know it occurs to me that we should have asked for some money up front".Bird Girl suggests that we collect more than we need, and keep them safe in a box.  So the next time we can "just go on vacation instead of coming back here".  Dorian and Narcel'Uss debate while Bird Girl listens intensely.

 

J notices from the spot where Vani has been picking up the stones there is a cold mist crossing the ground.  Bird Girl has unconsciously started to hover as her feet are getting cold.  This whole area is full of magic.  Even after this much time, J can see shadows of death.  The mist is coalescing.   Bird Girl beats her wings to dispel the mist but it doesn't move much.  The mist appears to be coming together and after a minute it seeps back into the ground.

 

Vani tosses a pebble into the ground, when it reaches the middle of town it sinks into the ground and out of sight.  We decide Bird Girl should pluck a few stones.  Ren wants to tie us together and Bird Girl freaks out at the sign of rope.  Very carefully she heads to the silver one, hovers gently above it.  The stone comes free easily but the water around it seems to come alive, rears back and forms a mouth to bite Bird Girl. The water takes form of a vicious spirit, dripping.

 

Narcel'Uss runs forward at the sound of Bird Girl's cry of pain, she sees the water creatures and fires out sacred flame towards it.  The beam passes through the water creature and refracts.

Ren watched in horror as Bird Girl gets bit.  She rages and charges forward with Vani on her shoulder, flanking the creature.  The creature snaps at Bird Girl but misses as it's distracted by Ren's charge.  Vani makes a quick sneak attack on the water creature, she desperately stabs at it from Ren's shoulder.  The creature recoils in pain but doesn't not falter.

 

In the background, a mist creature coalesces from the first hole that we plucked a stone from.  It wafts forward towards Narcel'Uss aggressively, striking her.  She reacts quickly with a minor counter-spell, a sharp lighting strike.  The mist surrounds her and pins her to the ground.  Ildan rushes forth in frustration of Narcel'Usss impulsiveness.  He breaches the fog with his blade and disperses it.  Narcel'Uss rises to her feet "took you long enough".

 

The close sound of thunder shakes the strangely still air around us.  From the earth, the dirt swirls and gathers around itself into a creature.  Dorian heroically steps forward, making a grand gesture, draws his bow striking the rock creature directly in its head.  The arrow sinks, the creature grabs its head but seems to rage in its pain.

Bird Girl attempts to fly up but the creature reforms into a giant claw and smacks her to the ground, unconscious, bleeding, dripping wet.

J is rather alarmed at the sudden appearance of creatures and the dispersal of her comrades.  She moves forward and reaches for Bird Girl but she is just out of reach. She lashes out her vine whip toward the water creature.  The frustrated fury of her spell tears the water creature apart splashing Ren and Vani.  Narcel'Uss rushes past the rock creature and kneels beside Bird Girl and casts a healing spell.  Ren feels her heart lift a Narcel'Uss puts hands on Bird Girl but her rage is still burning.  From the corner of her eye she acquires the rock creature as her target, she rushes over and cleaves the creature with her anchor.

 

The creature however does not crumble but fly apart.  The three elements swirl and combine into an omnimental creature directly in front of Narcel'Uss.  It hulks over top Narcel'Uss and it pummels her into the ground.  There is a divot in the ground and Narcel'Uss is at the bottom of it.  Ildan's rage is building as he sprints towards the creature.  It swings its massive fist but Ildan throws it off with his shield.  Vani fires her arrow while the creature is tracking Aarron.  The creature rears back and projects a fountain of flame across the battle field.  The lava land with a sploosh in puddles on the ground.  Dorain fires an arrow straight into its heart.  The creature folds and cools, crumbling to dust that lays across the fallen bodies of Bird Girl and Narcel'Uss.

 

There is a collective breath back on the battlefield, J resurrects Narcel'Uss with a healing spell.  Bird Girl wakes up slowly but doesn't want to get up, doesn't want to move.  She sits and pouts, while we gather ourselves.

We quickly grab three more stones and run.