May Event Log B: Return to Einjar

[usirmods]

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🜙 Mod Note
	Return to Einjar's resolution is dependent on the choices the involved players make and will affect the resolution of Song of Suffering. It is not too late to sign up There will be a comment below for plot-specific questions and exploration we encourage everyone to use to help drive the resolutions/plot of the event. After you have read through this post please respond to This Poll as soon as you feel comfortable making the choices in it. Please respond even if your character is not participating in either event as the choice made effects the game world/all players.
🜙 Trouble in Preciposte April 26th
	The first stop on the excursion is Preciposte. Arrival to the Northern Outpost is greeted by near silence. Only a handful of people remain in the deserted outpost and all of them are waiting for the excursion team within the town's tavern. Stew and Hot Mead are available to anyone who needs or wants it and the outpost's designated healer has one of the larger rooms set up with beds for rest and recovery if anyone is injured during the side mission. The mountain goat satyr and her assistants, a very short kobold and a cheerful blue orc, are around to offer their help where needed but they won't leave the tavern. Once everyone is off the airships and crammed into the building, Ser Medraut has a few of his men hand out supplies and split the group into teams with different dedicated tasks. He explains the dangers of the mountain cliffs and the creatures that live at this altitude, including the cliff hawks that do not often differentiate between an easy animal meal or a person. He says that reports from Preciposte citizens that have been relocated to Krimnos claim a large flying beast with scales has been picking people off, and that at dusk its roars and screeches can be heard throughout the outpost. As he finishes and the teams are formed up the kobold in the tavern gets up on the bar to speak to the group. He explains that the little outpost might not look like much but for a lot of folks it's home and they'll do what they can to help the team while they search for the cause of the attacks. Whatever is hunting the mountains is big enough to take on the cliff hawks and it has already carried off a few of the Krimnos mountain horses (Clydesdales). The excursion company is split up into three teams with the Defensive team being made up of people on both teams to allow them to rotate. Team Task: Team Members ⤛ Search Track down, identify, and capture or kill the creature terrorizing Preciposte. Daenerys Targaryen Nike Lemercier Lauralae Robb Stark Poe Dameron Sypha Belnades ⤛ Rescue: Find any evidence of the missing Preciposte travelers and residents and return them or their bodies to the outpost if possible Alucard Jon Snow Trevor Kylo Ren Sansa Stark ⤛ Defense Protect Preciposte and the airships/supplies from attack, provide backup for the other teams where needed. Nike Lemercier Jon Snow Robb Stark Trevor Kylo Ren Sansa Stark Poe Dameron Search team is tasked with tracking down the beast, identifying it, and making the decision to kill or capture it and put an end to the terrorizing it has been doing to the outpost. The paths through and around the mountain Preciposte rests on the precipice of and its immediate surrounding mountains are their search area. While seeking out the creature the usual mountain threats (Cliff hawks, cave spindles, frost manticores, mountain trolls, dire bears, dire wolves, dire snow leopards, avalanches, rockslides, and crumbling cliff ledges). Scorch marks cover swathes of mountain sides and deep claw marks are scored into areas of stone. Scattered weaponry, destroyed and burnt carts, and an odd assortment of crumbled stone piles line the small ravines and sloped sides of the mountains, and a series of caves to explore dot the paths and dangerous off-path areas. A portion of the team is made of trackers and beastfolk to help track down and understand how to contain or kill the creature Rescue team's job is a grim one. Recover the bodies and any evidence of lives lost from the ravines and paths. Collect any obvious personal belongings and remains and send them back to Preciposte for the loved ones of those lost or for proper burials. The same risks exist for both Search and Rescue team, but Rescue team's instructions are to get to cover and hide immediately if the threat is spotted. A portion of the team is dedicated to stealth and illusion to help the team get through their tasks without having to directly confront the creature causing the disappearances. A tracker is on the team to help locate signs of life in the mountains and avoid following beast tracks rather than people ones. The Defense team is made up of members of both teams and their job is to protect the ships and Preciposte from cliff hawk/creature attacks or thieves. A company of around 12 knights goes with Search team, 3 with Rescue team, and the other 15 knights and Ser Medraut remain in Preciposte to help with Defense team. All three teams can encounter the creature, though only search team should directly try to contain or kill it. Being bitten by the creature or looking into its gaze will cause the characters to begin slowly turning to stone from their extremities or the point of the bite. The injury starts with a slow, creeping discoloration of the skin to gray and a stiffness of the limbs. It progresses to a hardening of digits and then lower extremities followed by upper extremities and eventually the entire body will turn to stone. The whole process takes about 1-2 weeks depending on the size and health of the individual. The creature is small, only around nine feet tall with an eighteen foot wingspan. It breathes fire and unusual metal fixtures on its chest, wings, legs, and tail appear to be armor and spikes made of a golden alloy of some kind. It is highly aggressive but will attempt to flee back to the caves if wounded. When the creature is killed, or contained in the airship hold if captured, the excursion company boards the airships once more, sends word to Krimnos of their progress, and continues on to Einjar.
🜙 Eroding Memories April 28th
	The flight from Preciposte to Einjar is tense. The ship crews have to call out to one another as the airships drift through dense, freezing cloud cover. Silence hangs heavy over the whole excursion team other than the echoed call outs for jutting rocks or turns. Progress is a slow drift in the blinding white and gray, and freezing condensation clings and freezes to the ships and everything on board. The air clears as they approach Einjar without hindrance, and the ships grind to a rest on stone dwarf reliefs carved out of the cliff edges. Before the excursion company, in the clearing air, is an unsettling sight. The doors to Einjar lay in crumbled ruins at their base, blocking up the rivers that flowed down Einjar's steep staircases. An overflow tunnel beneath the great landing pours forth torrents of clear water and at the base of the waterfall the lake that rests in the valley before Einjar and the river that flows from it are now visible below the clouds. The lake is a deep blackish-red, and the river sluggishly flowing from it runs red like blood. Ser Medraut calls his knights and volunteers together, the company of knights and a few hands worth of volunteers is small, but the vast landing and doors of Einjar make the team feel impossibly small. Scorch marks in arcing lightning bolt patterns and hardened ice cover the open entrance and crumbled doors to Einjar, the 3 foot deep stone doors have been smashed like clay and lie in a rubble heap blocking the lower half of the entrance in. Ser Medraut gathers Alucard, Trevor, Lauralae and two of his knights and asks them to go over the rubble and quietly, carefully, check ahead into the entrance. They will be the first group back inside of Einjar. He sends Daenerys, Sansa, Poe and Robb to seek out the kobolds the last excursion team met in the hopes of getting information from them. Medraut says Daenerys should be able to lead the group back to the kobold's home a little ways back along the mountain. Nike, Jon, Kylo, and Sypha are tasked with guard duty while the rest of the knights work to clear the rubble, and will quickly have their work cut out for them, as large dire wolves begin to appear on the cliffs to the left and right of the landing, their lips curled back in threatening snarls.
🜙 The Enemy Within April 28th-May ??
	Once the team enters Einjar they find the city bathed in an eerie reddish-purple light. The dome above the city's mountain spring fed lake is cracked and stained red, a slow and steady drip sounding from the back of the city. Many of the buildings inside Einjar have been damaged, some cracked and others now housing crumbling holes where something caved part of them in. The waterfalls barely trickle down into the river, the water pinkish-red. The river, partially drained, is at half its level leaving the heads and helms of stone kobolds and dwarves visible in the canals. Deep claw marks scour the stone floors and some of the buildings and bridges are coated in a thick, beautiful white-blue ice. Each time a drop falls from the dome and hits the lake a ripple of ringing sound echoes through the city, sending a shiver of Paranoia Reflection through anyone who hears it. Touching the water or disturbing it in any way causes the Song of Suffering to ring out, while direct contact and prolonged contact cause the excursion team members who touch or drink the water to be overtaken by Fury or Desperation. Reflection Cause & Symptoms ⤛ Paranoia Caused by exposure to the ringing song of suffering. The sound of the ringing roots out and pulls to the surface every negative, lingering, violent, uncertain, or angry thought the person has had toward or about others and amplifies it, transforming emotions over a simple comment or fleeting thought into defined certainty and righteous fury. Twisting even the clear-minded or pacifistic until they are willing to kill others to protect themselves or those they are defending. While under Paranoia's influence they are beset by an unquenchable thirst and hunger, but no other physical symptoms. The only way to 'cure' someone affected is to disable their hearing or relocate them far enough from the river that the ringing can no longer be heard. ⤛ Fury Caused by any physical exposure to the water itself. Contact with the liquid causes a surge of wild, furious power that infects those it overtakes with a fury that is not their own. This fury is undirected and will cause the affected to lash out at anything near them, living or non-living. Once a target has been found they will not stop until that target is dead or completely destroyed. While under Fury's influence their skin begins to harden and grey starting at the hands and their strength, physically and magically, doubles. Fury can only be cleansed by fresh water or light magic. ⤛ Desperation Caused by ingesting the water or prolonged exposure to the water. If submerged, the person will find their vision quickly adjusting to the water and if they open their eyes they will feel as if something is looking back at them from the depths, reaching out to them. Once they emerge from the water or cease drinking the water they will either see or feel the thick coating of red liquid that does not drip or move, clinging heavily to their skin or muscles. The liquid seeps into their skin or muscles and their eyes turn bloodshot and then solid red. While under Desperation's influence their eyes remain solid red and their movements become sluggish with erratic bursts of speed and wild strength. Until they are doused with fresh water or light magic they will be consumed by desperation and singularly focused on their last goal or thought as if letting go of it would kill them. Without direction or a goal to latch onto the desperation becomes a consuming need to stop the noise and fighting around them through any means possible.
🜙 Einjar's End
	As the last member of the team enters Einjar a thunderous roar sounds from outside the city, and the screech of a dragon sounds, deafeningly loud through the cavern. A blast of blue and white light blinds anyone who looks back at the entrance, the sound of crystals shattering and bumping against one another accompanying it. With the muffled sound of wing beats the excursion team looks up to see the entrance barricaded by a thick wall of blue-white ice at least ten feet thick. The team is temporarily trapped within Einjar and the heavy beat of wings and further screeches and shattering sounds can just barely be heard outside the thick stone and ice walls. With the effects of Paranoia gradually increasing, affecting more and more of the excursion team more strongly with the passage of time and the trapped waters of the Einjar river gradually rising the clock is ticking. Behind the team comes the sound of cracking stone and shifting earth. From out of the broken ravine a creature crawls, leather skin pulled tight over dense bones, ancient armor hanging loosely off its thin form. It slams its axe into the stone and pulls itself up out of the ravine, glowing blue eyes fixating on the nearest knight. It pulls itself up and charges with its axe raised, taking four arrows to the head and chest without slowing before bursting into flames with a horrifying shriek. Behind the draug the familiar tall form of Monty stands, his hands glowing with yellowish-orange light. "Come on, quickly." Monty forms a ball of light in his hand, throwing it down into the ravine to the shrieks of the draugs below and waves his other hand with urgency, breaking into a sprint for one of the towers that had previously appeared to be made of solid stone in an earlier visit. He leads the excursion team along and over the river, the sounds of the emerging draugs echoing behind them until they reach the building. Monty shoves his shoulder into a large circular stone slab covered in runes at the entrance, encouraging others to help him push it. It takes the force of four of them to roll it over in time and they just barely make it, the stone slab dropping down slightly and sliding forward with a thin flash of light until it forms what looks like a solid wall between them and the draugs. A pack of frightened young kobolds are huddled in the back of the main tower room and a large table rests at its center, a single dwarf sitting at its head. Closer inspection reveals the dwarf to be entirely made of stone, a grim expression on her face, her eyes locked on the now solid former doorway and her hand clasped tight around something. Monty pulls off his hood and warily greets the knights before going to check on his siblings, looking them over for injuries and asking them questions with reassuring head pats or back rubs as he goes. A series of five doors cover one circular back wall of the cavern room and stacks of papers and books cover the table, covering dwarf history, dragons, draugs, curses, the long night, and various other events. Ser Medraut sets the volunteers to work on the documents and the kobolds to try and find some answers about what is going on. The knights and their leader climb up the tower to the upper levels, watching the draugs through the barely visible arrow slits, keeping an eye out for trouble, ready for another fight. Ser Medraut descends to give the team the good and the bad news not long after. They can't count how many draugs are out there, but the draugs don't seem to know where they are. The bad news? The river is starting to flood the city, and the ringing sound from everything the water hits is gradually growing louder.
🜙 Escape From Einjar
	After the fifth of May the dragon's roars can no longer be heard outside the city. The water's levels have risen, covering the ground in four inches of red water. The draug's numbers have been considerably cut down, and the creatures themselves seem to mill about, sloshing through water and adding to the constant ringing echoing throughout the cavern. Their weapons drag in the water and the blue glow to their eyes has lessened. They appear to have grown sluggish, but their speed will return if they realize there are still living among them. With the dragon gone, at least one way out is available to the excursion team: Through the ice wall at the city's entrance. Once out of Einjar the team will discover the wreckage of two smoldering airships, covered in ashes and ice and shattered against the stones far below the cliff. The ship whose hold contained the creature from Preciposte remains intact, listing slightly where it is anchored to the cliff. The knights immediately go to check on the ship and grow concerned when there is no sign of the creature that was captured in the ship's hold. They begin to open up the side of the vessel to search for damage and fire blasts outward from the hold, catching several of the knights in its path. The basilisk emerges from the hold, its scales shimmering back into their normal coloration. Its tail slams into part of the team, trying to sweep them off the cliff, and it makes a horrible crowing hiss as it charges out of the ship. Free of the ship the feathers around its head extend out like a mane and shake threateningly. After that display it ignores the team, running straight for Einjar's entrance and launches an attack on the stone statues that stand guard outside the city. Any dragonets present when the basilisk crows will become temporarily paralysed by fear.

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Comments

Plot-Relevant Questions

[usirmods]

Exploration, Questions, NPCs conversations.

[drizzle]

1 Will Nike be able to sense any sprites of spiritual activity while she is on the airship or upon entering the doors to Einjar, or will it feel like in the last trip?

2 Are the dire wolves linked to the feral spirits she spoke to back at the temple?

3 How large are the dire wolves? How many will appear?

4 Will Monty know any information about the runes at the entrance of the circular stone slab?

5 What information can Nike find out about the draugs, curses, and long night? Those would be the information she'd be most keen on.

6. What would happen if Nike uses precipitation from changing snow into mist and surrounding herself with it? Can it be used as a barrier against the fury and desperation effects? What about her own singing (with charm/mind control)? Can she use it to lower the effect of the ringing for the paranoia effects if she attempts to sing with it?

[fuga]

1. Is there any way Lauralae can communicate with the Direwolves/become part of their pack in any way (in her wolf form) or. Adopt one. Asking for a friend.

2. Would Monty be willing to answer any questions about what he knows about dragons / dragon children? Hers is currently in disguise, but she'd ask him very quietly if she could get him alone.

3. Would Lauralae be able to heal any of the kobolds?

4. Can she read the documents? She'd mostly look for anything on the dragons, curses and the long night.

[miraclewhip]

When someone is submerged in the water, they see/feel the red water sinking into their skin. Do other characters see this as well, or is it something that only they notice?

EDIT: another question: do similar effects occur if a character's animas contacts/consumes the water?

[dorzalta]

1a) During the search: any teeth, claws, scales, (fur??), or some other evidence aside from scorch marks and claw marks that might be discovered?
1b) Would there be any close encounters with the dragon/not-dragon, or is everything pretty quiet and uneventful?
1c) The scorch marks and claws: how large would you say they are? They know they're looking for a fairly big creature, but would those two things give any hints to just how large?

2) He sends Daenerys, Sansa, Poe and Robb to seek out the kobolds the last excursion team met in the hopes of getting information from them. Medraut says Daenerys should be able to lead the group back to the kobold's home a little ways back along the mountain. Will there be any kobolds around, or are the remnants of their group in the tower everyone hides in? Anything specific the group would find while looking for the kobolds re: their surroundings?

3a) If Dany brings Balerion on this excursion, he would be under the illusion Poe created. Would he sense anything being off before the entrance to Einjar is barricaded?
3b) How would he react to the status effects, like the paranoia?
3c) Would he have any reaction to Monty or vice versa?

4) Are the kobolds in the tower ones who would recognize Dany/would she recognize them? She'd want to go over and try to comfort them and try to get a firsthand account of what happened since they left Einjar the first time.

5) Dia brought up a good point about the ice door: Dany can use fire, and she also once summoned that uncontrollable fire in her old life to make herself Unburnt. Would her magic have any effect on the walled icy door? (EDIT: would the fire "desTROY ICE DOOR" - Dia)

Re: Plot-Relevant Questions

[kingnamedstark]

In inspecting the Kobolds at Monty's home, would they see any wounds on the statues or should we assume they looked into the creature's eyes?

[northerndragon]

Much of what I might have asked has been covered, but:

Any indication of what the stone dwarf at the table is clasping in her hands?

On another note, Jon found those little glass orbs hidden in the mines on the previous visit and has probably examined them and showed them to a few people. Are they just glass marbles, or do they do something, have any interesting properties, etc?

(Not a real question: why is it always wights?)

[apilot]

Can the draugs swim?
Do the doors have any kind of markings on them?
Will fire arrows kill draugs or do their bodies need to be fully burned?

cw: dead bodies; vampirism

[cryptsleeper]

TEAM RESCUE, cw: dead bodies
There's another down here.

[Alucard's call to alert his fellows that there is another set of remains along the mountain range is not shouted. It is only projected just enough to catch the ears of other's, and to ensure that they can figure out where it is that he is calling from.

Now he crouches besides the remains of a tiefling, the horns as clear as day, a great gash ripped through the body. It reeks of rotted entrails - all too pungent, all too fresh. This is recent. Horribly so.]

If anyone has a spare bag, I think it will be easiest to collection only their things.

First Within [Limited to Lauralae and Trevor]
[Alucard understands traveling through the shadows now. He does not like to do it in front of others, but if there was ever a time to throw aside that rule, it is now. So at the smashed doors, there is a moment where Alucard's shadow detaches from himself, and moves beyond. Beyond into the doors of Einjar, and then he himself is gone with it.

Purple. Purple and red, and the whole of the city is not what they left it a month or so ago. It is in ruins now, proper ruins, the kind of thing that would take a century to have happen, if not more. Yet things have sped up between the last expedition and this, and Alucard chokes when he sees it all.

There has been talk of a creature. Perhaps this is now it's home.

Alucard forces himself back out to the exterior of the doors. His scouting has been minimal, but it's enough to go on.]

There's extensive damage within. Where we go, we need to mark what's unsafe and what isn't, at least for the first few hundred yards.

Paranoia
[In the end, it's the ringing that gets to the vampire. The water is disturbed again and again, the song of it sounds again and again, and the horrible things that the vampire has kept at bay since being Awakened manage to flood over every gate he has built for them.

Someone has dragged my dead from the ground. I died. I died and Trevor dragged my dead corpse around and felt he failed me. Whoever has done this means me ill will, means the world ill will. There are people in this cavern who willingly protect dragons, when they know dragons will be the end of us all. My life is not my own. My father will return from the dead as well, and for that I shall be thrice destroyed. My life is not my own and I will be used and then I will be dust.

But so much else is undone with that, king among them is the dhampir's own nature. The part of him that mastered the horrible fascination with blood, because in the hunger of paranoia, the basest part of Alucard's nature emerges.

Hunger. A vampire's hunger. All blood and teeth and want.

A tiny portion of Alucard knows this is happening. Manages to get a single command, all ice.]

Stay away.

Einjar's End
Can anyone melt ice that thick?

[It's worth asking. It's worth asking as Alucard sits besides one of the stacks of papers, flipping through them as calmly as he can to try and make sense of the terrible statues that have been seen here. It's worth talking over the sound of the ringing to block it out, and to distract himself that he's probably going to die. In a shitty underground place surrounded by water. Again.]

Or create something that can blast through it on such short notice? Anything.

Wild card
You know the deal

first within

[miraclewhip]

Stay close. [ He keeps his voice low as he steps out, climbing up onto the pile of rubble and offering hands to any of his companions who find themselves needing the aid. ] Worst comes to worst-

[ -in the case of a cave-in, which doesn't seem out of the question, it's best that they're close. He makes a half-decent makeshift shelter. But he cuts himself off. It probably doesn't need to be stated in so many words anyway. ]

u rdy

[dorzalta]

[ Bad enough to be trapped in this place. Even worse to see the kobolds so frightened. The little sweetlings had been trusting, following her around during their first trip to Einjar. Now, they remain huddled in a corner, and there's little to be done to help ease them.

Until Alucard questions whether the ice can be melted. She's just finished speaking with Monty, and Balerion sits upon her shoulder again, disguised as a winged cat. Nearby, Jon, Robb, and Sansa are busy with trying to think of ways to escape, most likely. They've fallen to her periphery in lieu of Monty and Alucard. ]

I can try, [ she answers, stepping away from the nearby vicinity of the kobolds and toward Alucard. ] I summoned a wild flame, once. The khalasar called me Unburnt because of it.

[ But I'm not a dragon, and this is far different, she almost says, catches herself, then lifts her chin. Balerion's tail is curled around her neck. Though he doesn't speak, perhaps he understands--and if he understands, he should learn of bravery. ]

Do you know of a way to get us past those creatures?

Paranoia

[kingnamedstark]

[The cold fingers of paranoia had wrapped themselves around him as well, though there was enough room that reason could still wiggle through. He wasn't severely gone, not yet, as others seemed to be. It was bad luck that in this moment, he recognized Alucard. Theirs had been a chance encounter, but he had never forgotten it.

He almost didn't know how to respond, understanding the ice in his tone shouldn't be ignored, but seeing some level of distress on the man's face. He had no idea how to abate his own paranoid thoughts, let alone the ones anyone else was suffering. He could only watch and scramble for something to say, some sort of help he could give.]

Hold on, we're almost through.

[miraclewhip]

[ Something is here.

Alucard isn't the first to be taken by the paranoia. That had been one of the guards that came with them, who had noticed Trevor's bag making angry hissing noises and immediately tossed it into the water for fear that it might have been something that meant their party harm.

Something is here and it means the dhampir harm. He has to survive. Has to.

Being half-drowned and stuck in a bag of now-ruined supplies seems to have improved Dog's mood, though. At the very least the bag has ceased making anxious hissing noises, and it isn't because the possum is dead. Even if it does smell exceptionally dead. ]

Something wrong, vampire?

[ Nothing should be wrong. He has to survive, no matter what. ]

rescue

[northerndragon]

[Finding a body in this state is never really pleasant, but Jon is used to it enough that he isn't perceptively surprised or more than mildly disgusted. Rather than hand over the bag, he leans in near Alucard, keeps his voice low.]

A tiefling. [Like many of the others, he means. There won't be much to identify this one for anyone who's missing him, and the clothes are too bloody and wrecked to take any of them back, so it's going through his pockets and, if he has one, taking his pack.] How many others have you found so far?

Monty

[usirnpcs]

Near the back of the tower, Monty crouches near his smaller siblings, reassuring the young kobolds with soft words. Evidence of several fresh scars shows over his scaled arms. He uses a soft glow of light magic to partially heal some of the kobolds' wounds. One of the kobolds moves sluggishly, his left arm and the left side of his face a silvery-gray that contrasts the rest of his reddish-copper scales.

Monty unclips a canteen from his belt and tells them to pass it around sparingly. When they have all had a drink he heads for the table near the center of the room.

"Drink." He holds out the canteen, casting the knights accompanying the excursion team a wary glance before turning his attention to the volunteer closest to him. "It's melted snow from North of here."

[dorzalta]

Gaze on the younger kobolds, Dany's brows are slightly pinched together. Of all the thoughts that crossed her mind when her group discovered the kobolds' home, not once had she imagined they would find one another like this. Surely they'd escaped, seeing as the cave had been abandoned... mostly.

The younger kobolds look tired; one in particular with his silvery skin, holds her attention for a beat too long. None of them looked that way when last they met.

"A group of us tried to find you earlier. I'm glad you're safe." If a little worse for wear. Balerion sits on her shoulder, not as a dragon, but a winged cat. Once Monty approaches, he sits up, sudden in his attentiveness. When she reaches for the canteen, he goes to move with her, leaning closer, trying to--she's not sure. Taste the air? There's a light snuffing sound coming from him. "What attacked you?"

[kingnamedstark]

Robb murmured his thanks but shook his head. "You should save it for them," he nodded at the young kobolds. They seemed a bit worse for wear while Robb had only been shaken up by the ringing before. With the rising threat, they would all need their strength, and if it meant giving the kobolds more of their resources to steady them, so be it.

"How is he?" He knelt by the one with the gray scales. His affliction was strange, something Robb had never really seen before. Whatever happened, it seemed to indicate that it would take strong magic to fix. "It's good you're safe now." He smiled at the young ones. "We'll find a way out soon, you just need to keep up your strength."

He glanced towards Monty, concern lacing his expression. "What is this? The gray on his skin? It's not an ailment I recognize."

[fuga]

Lauralae had avoided him the last time they had come here - she had been nervous, shy, uncomfortable, protecting the egg she had kept buried in her bag, wrapped against her stomach. Now, knowing his connection with Dany, she feels more settled, easy, able to move. It means she can go to the kobold near him and lean down, summoning her flames to her hands.

She can hurt or heal, break or repair. Today she is going to repair, and she will seek something for it. Kindness for kindness - equal trade. That is what she has always sought.

His offer makes her pause, lips pursing for a moment before she takes it.

"Are you still hurt?"

[northerndragon]

"No." After a beat, he adds, "I have no need. Not yet."

His gaze slides to the younger kobolds, then back to Monty, and he frowns.

"What happened to you? You shouldn't be in Einjar."

If he had to guess, he'd say that they came here to be safe from the creature terrorizing Preciposte and its environs, and then, the dragon. Whatever magic Monty can do, both of them clearly must have been too powerful for him.

[dorzalta]

I. Team Search (Nike, Lauralae, Robb, Poe)
Her gaze lingers on Jon a touch too long when they're grouped before she turns her attention to those she's working with. It doesn't seem right to have her on a team meant to track and possibly kill the creature which sounds suspiciously like a dragon. The only positive is that she either knows or recognizes most of those she's been paired with.

"Feathers?" she voices to no one in particular, lifting one of the red feathers to twist it between her gloved fingers. "And scales as well. They kept saying this was a dragon."

The dragonet on her shoulder is disguised as a winged cat, and Balerion chooses to curl close to her neck, his tail wrapped around her throat as he watches their surroundings. If you step closer, he'll lift his head and watch you through the unblinking eyes of a cat illusion.

"Have you found something else?"

( ooc: Let me know if you want to write anything out for catching and/or killing the creature, search party! C: )

II. Team Track the Kobolds (Sansa, Poe and Robb)
( a. ) "Try not to act surprised when you see Monty," she says by way of warning, as they make their way along the mountain. Her steps are sure, and her bow is nocked with an arrow. She'd warned the others to remain on guard in case direwolves appeared. "He's a sweet thing, and that's far more important. He and his family saved us the first time we came here."

( b. ) When they reach the kobold's home, she stops short on a sharp inhale. At the back of the cave are a number of unmoving silhouettes, something that wasn't there before. Her footsteps echo as she rushes inside, hooking her bow around a shoulder. "Do you see any of the children?"

Upon venturing further inside, it's not silhouettes but statues. Kobold statues, their arms raised. There are scorch marks, charred things on the ground.

She's standing by one of the statues, staring at it when she says to you, "It can't have been the same creature we'd seen out there."

III. Paranoia
I could have protected the kobolds. She glances at a nearby bridge coated in ice. If I'd convinced them to return with us, they'd be safe.

She knows well enough to stay away from the lake. Any body of water, really, is regarded with wariness since the Pit and her second death. What she doesn't know is to stay out of earshot of the lake. So when the ringing begins, her features twist.

It's just like my people. I could have protected them.

Someone makes a comment near her and she twists to look at you. Fire blooms to life in her palm. The air snaps near you, like it's suddenly alive.

"This isn't a game. They're dead."

And she won't allow those she has left to face the same fate.

IV. Einjar's End
Draugs. Whatever those creatures are, they're called draugs, and they swarm like some mindless army. She'd seen far more than she ever wished to when she and Alucard attempted to break free from Einjar earlier.

Now, she has both hands pressed flat to the circular table, staring down at a book. Her hair, though braided and pulled back, is disheveled, and there's a marked unhappiness to her that has less to do with their current situation and more to do with--

"The dragon from the pit. That's what's keeping us trapped here." There's a slight tremor to her hand as she flips to the next page in the book. Too near a miss with that second sheet of ice. "The man did something to it with that ritual. It must have been a curse."

II. B.

[kingnamedstark]

His sword had been drawn, ready for whatever threat might be inside, but it seemed that the silence was only there to greet them. Silence and shadows. He watched as Daenerys rushed to the statues, the significance of their presence meaning little to Robb. He had never been here before, it was hard to say what belonged and what didn't.

"No sign of the children," he answered, searching the rooms carefully for any place they might be hiding. Growing up with Arya, he knew how easily a nook or cupboard could become a hiding place. But there was nothing, only a musty scent that seemed to indicate 'beast'. He would know it better were he changed, but he had no intention of doing that now and not with those he barely knew around him.

Instead, Robb sheathed his sword and moved to Dany's side, glancing at the statues curiously. "You think a creature did this? They're statues."

I.

[fuga]

There's a cat around Lauralae's own neck as well, settled against her skin and hiding in the depths of her hood. She doesn't say much as they move, fingers brushing against the fur of her companion - or, at least, what seems to be fur. Urmyria has not made much noise since they had begun their trek, knowing enough to keep quiet, and she respects that, voice calm and careful when she's forced to speak.

So far, the only person she has spoken to has been Dany herself.

"Nothing yet," she admits, voice quiet. "But I could attempt to use scents. The wolves have warned me fo the dangers of this place already - it may prove useful."

It's not as if she cares much for sharing that particular talent with strangers. Transformation magic is not forbidden.

Robb Stark

[kingnamedstark]

I. The Enemy Within

Whatever beauty the city underground had, it was offset by the maddening ring that seemed to echo off the walls, rippling like the pool around them. The rocks were slick and it seemed so many little things lead to the water being disturbed. Soon the shivers seemed to emanate in his mind, letting the soft whispers that he had been ignoring since his first life rise to the surface in a cacophonous yell, made only worse now with the knowledge of how he died.

They know what you are, they see that beast in you. Do you see the way they look at you? They know it's only a matter of time before you're put down like a wild dog.

He did his best to ignore it, but each drop of water only made the paranoia grow in volume. He fell back a bit behind the group, keeping his head down and his new sword at his side, hand gripping the pommel, as though that would reassure him. But each time someone came close, he put himself in a defensive position, staring at them with almost panicked eyes.

"Just say what you're thinking! Stop looking at me like that!"

II. Einjar's End

Draugs. He had heard of them, but never had the chance to see one. They were nothing more than stories, the sort that Old Nan would tell him when he was a boy and there was a fierce storm outside. Something he teased his sister with in the crypts, acting as though it were their icy hand on his shoulder when it was his own. They slipped his mind when he grew older, but coming face to face with your childhood nightmare was a surreal thing.

While the others researched downstairs, he remained in the upper levels, using the bow that he had been lent every time a Draug came into range. The supply would only last so long and it seemed the numbers were increasing. Worse than that, the ringing seemed to threaten to grow louder and consume everyone living and dead in this place. He hadn't been brought back just to die again. He'd be damned before he let that happen.

"Any word if they've found something down there?" He asked, firing another shot and knocking a draug off his feet.

III. Wildcard

Choose your own adventure!

[apilot]

The red crossbow in Poe's hands was new to him, though he had had a few practice days with it. He was used to his longbow but the crossbow was proving more efficient for him in the close quarters of the tower. Now more than ever he wished he had spent more time in the academies, learning magic to replace or supplement his weapons when their supply of bolts and arrows ran out. The wall in Krimnos had always been well stocked, but their supplies for the trip to Einjar were far less than those meant to defend an entire city from attack.

"Nothing yet. It looks like a lot of those books are in the dwarves' language." A language Poe, unfortunately, wasn't much help with. He aimed down the crossbow and lifted the end, hitting one of the draugs in the eye. With their limited supply he was making every shot count, only taking the ones he knew would hit their mark.

"We might want to consider setting our arrows alight. Fire helped with the dead soldiers that attacked Krimnos earlier this year. I don't know for sure if it will help here, but if their bodies burn they will at least have a more difficult time getting back up." He offered grimly, the beagle at his feet ran a few paces away to grab a mouthful of crossbow bolts off the nearby floor and brought them back to Poe.

Jon Snow ✥ mostly OTA ✥ will match format!

[northerndragon]

1. Preciposte: Tavern (the Getting To Know You option)

[northerndragon]

It hasn't even been two moons since his last visit to Preciposte, but the little town is different now -- near-empty, like Einjar had been. That Jon is disquieted by its state is visible on his face, even as he takes a cup of mead and a bowl of stew and sits by the fire.

On the journey here, it wouldn't have been hard to see that he's on close terms with at least three people in the party. There's a brother and sister who both have auburn hair; the sister is tall and slim, and the brother and Jon share a degree of facial resemblance. Then, there's the small blonde elf-woman, and their terms seem to be closer than familial. A few others, he knows at least well enough to nod to.

He doesn't know the person who sits near him now, or he doesn't know them well. And instead of getting up to find his family, he says to this new person, "So what made you decide to come?"

No surprise if some people regret their decision.

[drizzle]

☙ Trouble in Preciposte

[The silence of the area was very unsettling. It was enough to remind her of the same silence being met in her last visit to Einjar. Somehow the heavy atmosphere has now reached the bottom of the mountain. Nike could sense the local spirits of the area, but none were willing to appear before her. Even if she sang and asked for their guidance, they will not appear.

All Nike could do in such a situation was to observe everyone around her. Overhear whatever bits of conversation anyone was willing to offer in public. And most of all, ask questions. There wasn't much to go by, she found.

So after everyone was paired up into a specific group, in her case she was in two, and were given the necessary equipment to make the next voyage, Nike and her wolf pup will be easily found eating their very warm meal over at the tavern. It was clear by the large amount of food that was currently filling the entire table she was in that Nike was stocking up. Her powers took a lot out of her and with the intense atmosphere she just knew her powers may be needed more than ever. If anyone comes close to her cluttered table filled with dishes, she will offer them a sheepish smile.]

Oh, sorry, do you wanna sit here? Just give me a few more minutes and we'll be done with everything!

☙ The Enemy Within

[The city had seen better days, was all Nike could think to herself as she notices the overall differences between the two visits. It would seem the city had fallen to a great decay of chaos. Now if it was caused by those that shouldn't be in the city or by the spirit world, it was difficult to tell. There are many of both within the mountains, she found. If the spirits from the giant temple were anything to go by, then she knew there was more than meets the eye.

As she explores the city, noticing the strange but very familiar lights surrounding the city along with the tainted water, Nike will hold onto her weapon tightly as she informs those surrounding her about the dangers in touching the water or light because they may as well be connected; however upon noticing the ringing sounds making their appearance she could feel a slight familiar feeling overtaking her senses: intense fear. Anxiety, and maybe a deeper chill that was enough to raise the hair over her hooves and arms. Her green gaze will be on those surrounding her, noticing they were beginning to fell the effects of the water's ringing. Their fearful expressions were slowly beginning to add some sobriety. After all, this wasn't the time for her to be under the water's spell once more, she needed to do something!

And something she shall do in way of singing a heartfelt song that was very familiar to her village and family. Nike was doing everything in her power to invoke as much of her own emotions into the song which may begin to block out the current ringing sound in their surroundings. Whoever was under the influence of the spell, the more they notice her singing the more the effects will begin to dissipate.]

☙ Einjar's End

[Her singing ability had a limit to them under normal circumstances. One hour was all she is usually given. An hour to sing, an hour to rest, or a few days to rest if she does something beyond her powers. Like right now, in fact. She has been singing for over an hour and was beginning to feel the effects of lethargy taking over, and yet she could not stop from singing. The ringing effects of the water were still in effect while those from the dead were taking control of their now crumpling bodies. Too many things were happening at once and all Nike could do was sing to keep the ringing sounds from overtaking the group while allowing the wind to push the now decease dwarfs from overwhelming them.

It was at the moment that Monty makes his appearance that Nike stops to sing. He came just at the nick of time! It was all she could scream out in her mind! But unfortunately she couldn't move as the last of her energy was used to protect everyone. She had lost consciousness.

But it won't be long until she regains it and realizes she was somewhere else entirely! Getting up without a second though, Nike will look in her surroundings to find mini versions of Monty surrounding her and everyone else. Relief will begin to appear on her expression. Just as she was about to express it, nothing was coming out of her voice except a heavy cough. Ah, it would seem her voice needed time to recover. Caelum will begin to search for the nearest person to help his master because she clearly needed help. Expect a wolf pup begin to pull on someone's pant legs as a way to gain their attention.]

(OOC: The last option will be used to discover the reading material! If anyone wants to learn more about the mountain curse and having a way to restore it, then that will be the option for it while the second option to help an affected character of the paranoia regain their senses if anyone needs it.)

Einjar's End

[apilot]

[Initially Poe thinks the tug at his leg is Bey, until he sees the dutiful beagle fetching another small container of arrows to bound up the tower steps with further across the small tower room. When he looks down he's greeted with the familiar sight of Caelum, and he crouches down by the wolf pup with a grin despite the circumstances.]

Hey, buddy. Where's your person? [His voice is warm and friendly for the little wolf just as it would be if he was talking to one of the young kobolds or a frightened child. When he stands he follows Caelum to Nike, one arm stiffly at his side, his injury hidden by his coat, and the other going to her shoulder to check on her when he finds her.]

I saw you drop out there. You've been pushing yourself pretty hard, haven't you?