Session 15: Rell's Log

General Summary

Liv began to tend to everyone’s remaining wounds, carefully running a trained hand over my own bruised side, causing me to admit an odd mix of painful hisses and chocked laughter. She always knew how to make me feel better after a fight. Once she let me be, Elirith moved close and asked if she might inspect the necklace I’d found. Not one to say no to a request from her, I drew the chain from my backpack, testing the weight a little before handing it over.   The smile she threw me was worth it as she settled down to methodically inspect not only the uncut gemstone but the casing and chain also. With nothing better to do, I plonked myself down cross-legged to watch her, simply enjoying her shifting expressions and muttered words. Now and then, a trace of magic would emanate from her fingertips, assumedly part of the examination, but fascinating to me none the less.
She finally met my eye and confirmed that it held no magical properties and though my heart sank a little, perhaps it was for the best. Robyn, who was pacing nearby, asked if she could study it also and I nodded while trying my very best not to pout as my treasure was passed about the group. Turning it around less delicately than Elirith she evaluated it at perhaps worth 400 gold coins.
Offering it back to me, I shifted the stone around in my palm again before glancing up towards Elirith. Cocking her head to the side, she mirrored me, a true reflection other than the necklace was hanging around my neck. Knowing she was trying to induce humour, I stuck my tongue out at her before slipping the valuable piece safely away.
Sweeping my gaze around the open space, I realised Penitence was sitting quite a distance away, head hanging dejectedly as though he was studying the ground. He looked utterly miserable. The battle had been ferocious, and I guessed it was a lot to process; maybe I could cheer him up.
A few long strides and I was beside him, Elirth at my heels and he glared up with that same distrustful expression as when we’d first met. Undeterred by the disdain, nor the flicking of his tail, I lowered myself down beside him against the wall. Elirth followed my lead so that we were both flanking the hapless individual. She immediately tried to make him feel better, explaining that she hadn’t been in many battles herself, but Penitence was lukewarm and revealed almost nothing. Undeterred, I nudged him a little with my elbow, asking if he’d at least had fun. His eyebrows met as he turned to me, and I saw the confusion map its way over his features. He seemed overwhelmed, unsure after all that had happened to him, and my heart went out to the turmoil he must be feeling.
Elirith likely sensed his troubled state too, as she spoke a little about gaining her own power, that it also manifested one day and that over the last few weeks has been increasing even more. She conjured a few wisps of snow between her hands, and I watched in fascination as to how awe-inspiring her spells were up close.
Suddenly wanting to see the fire Penitence had cast earlier, I urged him to attempt the magic once more. He was a little reluctant, but I detected he was also keen to explore his few found powers, so it only took a little encouragement for him to find his feet. Bracing himself and taking in a few long breaths, he raised his arm menacingly, jaw tense and eyes bright, but there was no explosion of twisting fire this time. A grumbling huff left his mouth as he shrugged, saying that he’d try again tomorrow.
Having followed suit and were now standing beside our new-found group member, Elirith offered him a drink of water. Although he was still wary of her, he gulped down the liquid in evident gratitude. Sheepishly he then asked for her name again, and I realised our hurried introductions must have been a lot to absorb. I began to introduce myself again before he snapped that he remembered my name. A slither of hurt span through me that he was so hostile, but I tried to hide my reaction, confirmed that we’d helped him kill those pursuing him and that he no longer had to run.
We decided to rest fully for the night, and I felt my nails dig into my palms slightly when Saman asked to be on watch with Liv. It wasn’t that I thought he’d do anything to harm her, more that I wanted to make sure he wasn’t cornering her for difficult questioning. The Warforged undoubtedly had some ability to sense the true self and if so, could he tell Liv wasn’t human?
As I lay down, ears pricked with every intention to spy on their conversation, my eyes began to lull, and before I knew it, I was being shaken awake by Robyn. Cursing at succumbing to exhaustion, I took in the now prone form of Liv, chest gently rising and falling. My jaw clenched as I pondered precisely what they might have talked about. At least she was ok. Robyn woke Elirith also and urged us to keep an eye on Penitence, that he’d been restless and full of fevered dreams. He seemed to be sleeping soundly now at least but we vowed to be vigilant.
It seemed like a long while since I’d been alone with Elirith, but there was the usual ease between us. Smiling, I thanked her for saving me from the fiends during the fight, and the returning trace of an upturned lip caused a warmth to settle inside me. Gesturing to her hands, I asked if she could show me the snow flurries again and she kindly agreed, whispering a few words under her breath. As she did so, a burst of magic materialised in her palm, pure, crisp white cold span there for a moment before fading away into nothing. It was as extraordinary as always.
Thanking her, I indicated that we should patrol around, and we made our way up the misshapen staircase once more to gain some height advantage. Thoughtlessly I forgot Elirith wasn’t an actual elf and couldn’t see in the dark, so after she stumbled and struck her knee, I wrapped my arm around her waist to guide her the rest of the way.
Stopping a wary distance from the edge, we could see no immediate threats and so lapsed into easy conversation. Elirth brought up that she’d never been outside the city for so long, and it made me realise that what was quite the norm for me was unfamiliar for others. I was used to being out here for weeks, even months at a time, though of course, with quite different companionship to what I had now. I quickly pushed away the sombre thought.
I asked Elirth a little about her life before coming to Bastion, knowing that she must have lived out here in the Wastelands prior to being in the city. Though she was a little vague on dates and timings, she had come into Bastion quite young, though potentially I had already been within Haven at that point. How odd that we had brushed paths so early in life, only to cross again far later.
Managing to get her age at around late twenties, something shifted in her expression, and she turned the conversation back to me, asking once again where Haven was. Shrugging I gave the answer I knew, that it was within the vicinity of Bastion, probably underneath it. I’d never really considered it before and wondered why she cared so much.
We moved on to the topic most prevalent; Penitence. Smirking I asked if she could change into him already and she nodded eagerly, immediately altering her form into our new companion. She was almost as good as Daq with her abilities as I once again took in the dark skin, glowing eyes and curved horns. He was strangely alluring, far more handsome now that he wasn’t throwing his resentments around like spears. I followed Elirith’s uncomfortable shuffling to see that the tail had got caught within her trousers and I stifled a laugh behind my palm as she fumbled a bit more before giving up and changing back to her usual elven form.
My gaze moved back out into the open air ahead of us, and I voiced my thoughts that Penitence seemed ultimately like a good person. He was just lost, scared most likely and that made people defensive. We spoke again about the title of “false prophet”, but both agreed that he didn’t seem to know what he’d done to earn it. Feeling my jaw tighten, I commented that he’d probably done something stupid. I certainly had experience of that.
As the sun revealed the first colours of dawn, we gently rose all but Penitence from their rest. In hushed whispered we once again discussed whether we were in agreement to take this stranger with us and although we all knew we couldn’t one hundred percent trust him yet, we wouldn’t abandon him.
Before heading west we offered Penitence some food and water, he once again scoffed it down, showing far less gratitude than perhaps he should. I wasn’t sure what to make of him, didn’t understand why he didn’t like me. Hopefully, he’d warm to me in time.
It threw me part way into a foul mood, stalking off after Robyn as she led our small party towards the distant treeline. Periodically, I glanced back over my shoulder to Penitence, one time noticing that he paused as though focusing intently before a shimmer or flicker of light swam down him. It was obviously a spell of sorts, though I had little interest in engaging with someone so negative to discover its importance. Liv, on the other hand, had no qualms and I narrowed my eyes as the two engaged, even giggling slightly. He would certainly know a swift end if he dared to harm her.
After a few hours that dragged on almost unbearably, we finally reached the edge of what we assumed to be the Petrified Forest. It was like nothing I’d seen before, varying hues of grey spanning off in either direction to create a formidable and foreboding boundary. As I edged closer, roots and leaves cracked and crumbled under my boots and upon touching one of the trees, the smooth cold confirmed that they were indeed made entirely of stone. Everything was brittle, rigid and almost seemed frozen in time.
Echoing Robyn, I confirmed that I also knew that this was a place to be avoided, that anyone that entered simply vanished. Swallowing a dry lump that had formed in my throat, I felt a spiral of fear for the first time. What would Mesh do, if she were here? Should we even be here at all?
As I was pondering, Elirth took off without warning, scurrying up the nearest tree and attempting to latch and haul herself up to the lowest branch. Her legs battled against open air for a moment before she lost her grip, falling unceremoniously onto her backside. I couldn’t help another burst of laughter at her disgruntled expression as she quickly found her feet, brushing off the cloud of dust that had settled upon her.
Robyn instead agreed to scale the tree to see if there is any indication of where we should go or any landmarks. Saman reminded her again of searching for the oldest tree, though I doubted it would be as easy as it being the largest or tallest. The Skirmisher retrieved coils of rope and began her ascent as we milled around underneath. Occasionally small rocks and stone tumbled down towards us, and although they weren’t large enough to cause damage, the resulting cascading dust made us all cough and splutter.
When she finally returned, no worse for wear, she regrettably mentioned that there was no clear path and that we’d have to enter and hope for some guidance while within. We made a few attempts on how we could mark a trial, but with nothing quick or lasting to hand, we concluded we’d simply have to do our best to head in one direction.
Leading the way alongside Robyn, the sky was soon lost, and we might as well have been within a cave or inside one of the many tunnels underneath Bastion. I didn’t like the prospect of this at all. It was too dark, too quiet, an air of stillness that made everything we did seem a thousand times louder. Even with torches and Liv’s magic, it was hard to see ahead or be alert to any danger.
Our vulnerable state was made apparent when Elirth tripped on a large chunk of stone, and we all halted for a moment as she lugged it up and turned it around. As we peered closer, there was almost a collective intake of breath as we realised we were looking at an eye and part of a face. A hobgoblin I realised quickly, how was that possible?
It didn’t look as old or weathered as the trees; it certainly wasn’t a statue and eyes went wide, surely no spell or creature could do such a thing. I couldn’t recall ever being informed of such a hazard, but then, I barely studied reports from other Diplomats. Gritting my teeth, I tried not to let the rampant fear take hold. We would not be lost to these woods like so many others.
Though as if to answer my worst fears, the rock clattered to the ground between us as Penitence let out a horrifying scream.

Previous: Session 14: Rell's Log  Next: Session 16: Rell's Log

4th Conditori

• While resting; Peni was having fevered dreams.
• Few more hours travel and reach the Petrified forest.
• Try to find a path to the oldest tree per Thaddius' instructions - none clear from the canopy.
• Find victims of petrification.
• Peni nearly petrified by a basilisk, shakes it off.

Report Date

30 May 2019

Original Disclaimer: Written from Rell’s PoV and any opinions on character’s or npcs are her own and may not be a true reflection of a character’s intended actions or intentions. Any missing content is due to Rell’s selective hearing or poor memory. Although I have attempted to keep information on Rell to a minimum, please note that you may read some content/opinions that aren’t common knowledge to your own characters and therefore it should not influence your interactions with her.

Additional Disclaimer: This article is ported frpm old blogspot articles for reference, and pertinent bullets and dates added to timelines.