The Restoration of Erihal [GAME START]

Jow leaned over, almost bumping into Duril, passively bumping into him to look at the map. He shoved an arm between them, a finger dragging across the map following the river Lutis. "The water will ease us worrying about supplies too much. And where there's water, there's life to eat. I say we follow the river for now til we can make Lutishal, or the other one, wereever. Could help us make some trade links there or summin'." He said loudly, giving Duril a friendly pat on the shoulder as an apology for moving him, and as far as he was concerned, that was his decision made now.

With that started, he decided to splurge on some of his pocket change to make sure he could stock up on some stronger drink whilst here, and buying some drinks for the crew, keep their spirits up for the wild beginning. A strong and hopeful foot forward could set the tone afterall.

The mysterious lizard friend - Xanthi, as a few folks might have learned by now - was also leaning over the map. Of course, being seven feet tall, she didn't really get in anyone's way, towering over the map to observe it. She'd lugged quite a bit of luggage out here, all sorts of books and instruments and such for whatever it was she actually did. That might not have been particularly clear.

"Hm. Highway... probably not in a state to be especially useful. Maybe a few interesting finds along the way? Obvious enough to have been picked clean of anything significant, though.

The river..." Xanthi leaned a bit to look around Duril's arm slapping all over the map, squinting her eyes in mild irritation. She waited for him to finish. "Easy survival, bridge being out would be a major challenge. Maybe we can follow the river on the side where we won't need to cross it?

And crossing the plains... Hm. Maybe. Challenging start, but if the road still exists, easier second leg? Lake should support enough of an ecosystem to restock by hunting, if needed. Better than the highway, probably. I like that option."

Xanthi had still not really explained who she was, but she was getting right in on all of this.

"Ah...well, I want to go along the river," Leah said, giving out a big toothy grin. "I think you know why."

She gestures to her feline self.

"On the other side, the highway probably is a lot safer. But it could be quite dull."

It is very clear she is biased.

"Hmm... if there is still Mau in that old town, we could hire them to set up the supply chain. Ah hah. I have to agree with the riverside. Maybe we will even see a boat!"

"Oh, uh," said Duril, having been shoved away from the map a little. "I think the river is the best choice? Fresh water all the way there, marking out a good route to move supplies back and forth once we're set up, and if we follow the west bank we won't even need to cross it."

"Hrmm..." Kamille rubs her chin.
"Personally, my Merchant's Senses are guiding me toward Lake Ka. It'd be a good place to resupply, and if we can keep our wits about us, we'll be home-free in no time at all. The water the river provides is good and all, but it also means we put our supplies at risk if there's any flooding, and we're totally dependent on old infrastructure to still be there. This'll be a bit harder on our navigators, but I've got a good sense of direction! Besides, the river'll be there one way or another - if we reforge some of these old trails, we might be able to connect our little settlement to some other towns and breathe life into things. Out with the old bridges, in with the new trails! That's my vote, anyways."

She grins. "If everyone else wants to follow the river, that's fine by me - but I think the lake gives us the best chances for this journey, and gives us a chance at starting up future journeys."

The inkeep brings Jow a bottle of brandy as the group discusses their plans. The river seemed to be winning out, with four voicing their support for that path... but Kamille and Xanthi had voiced some good points about going overland to Lake Ka instead. Hypatia and Jack still hadn't said anything, and the rest saw good points on both sides of the argument and weren't ready to vote quite yet.

Jow started tearing off some pieces of paper, writing R and L on the bottom of each strip. Seemed like 2 Ls and 4 Rs so far. He looked around, picking out Malik. "Hey, future seer, come over here, you're going to be our lucky charm if we don't resolve this." He said, shaking the blank tops of the strips in his hand.

"Sooner we get going, the better. Iron, hot, after all. Anyone wanna change or shall we wing it?"

As the group continues to discuss, a pair of burly-looking soldiers burst into the inn. They look around and then point to Jack.

"There he is! The spy! Get him!"

They drag Jack off before anyone can protest. At the same time, Hypatia is approached by a farmer and they seem to have come to a deal. She excuses herself from the caravan, as she's been offered quite a well-paying position at a farming settlement not too far into Erihal. That leaves the nine of them alone. Jani speaks up to break the tie.

"I'd rather go by river than the plains. Wouldn't want to run out of fresh water before reaching the lake."

"Then that decides things!" says Lucas. "Very well! Let's be off."

The group packs up and heads out the next morning...

DAY 1

The first day of travel is sunny and pleasant. The journey is uneventful, and you cross the border just before sundown. The guards briefly review your settlement papers before waving you on, wishing you luck. You set up camp for the night and let the animals graze.

DAY 2

The next day, it begins to lightly rain. Fortunately, your wagon keeps the worst of the weather off of you. Lucas offers to sing a song to keep up your spirits. On the road, you run into a family traveling to a settlement near the ruins of a town called Elu. You part ways in the afternoon, and set up camp.

DAY 3

Thankfully, the weather's cleared up, and the road is empty and clear. Jani remarks that you're making good time towards the River Lutis; they say that you should arrive early tomorrow morning at the latest. With the weather so pleasant and the going light, you have some free time if you wish.

SUPPLIES:

SpoilerShow

Food: 11 days' regular rations for 9 people
Water: Full and plentiful
Gun condition: Good
Powder & shot: Plentiful
Tool Condition: Good
Animal feed: 7 days dry feed for 9 animals
Farming seeds: Plenty, good condition.
Wagon condition: Good

ANIMALS:
1 Draft Horse: Healthy, fed.
4 goats: Healthy, fed.
4 sheep: Healthy, fed

SPECIAL:
Leah's Lab Equipment and Seeds: Good.
Duril and Xanthi's magic gear: Good.

Leah paces around. While she was incredibly passionate going to the river, she seemed to be growing more and more anxious with each day closer to the destination. What's eating at her?

Leah decided she should quell her anxieties and talk to Xanthi, to see what's she is up to.

Jow decides he's gonna take a dander about, see if he can find any flowers or plants or anything, collecting a few samples in little leather bags, whilst wearing gloves, things he doesn't know about that look interesting, or could give signs of other life and passings around the place, trekking about the area. He's a fairly jovial chap but every now and again, it's nice to walk out and about either by himself or with just a small few others, in more silent, less deliberate walkings.

[[Others can come with if they want.]]

Xanthi's hunched over a heavy tome, perched on a big rock near the riverbank and half-mumbling, half-rambling about some esoterica or another.

"...doubt the ritual Yordanov describes would actually be worth a damn in the face of an actual manifestation on that scale. But good luck finding this kind of thing described in a book that doesn't have her name plastered on it. Wonder if she ever tested any of-"

Xanthi suddenly stops, eyes quickly darting up at Leah's approach. "Oh. Uh. Hi... uh, you."

"Oh hello, Xanthi!" Leah realized she wasn't the only person who is collecting at the nerd squad. "And oh! Hello Duril!"

"Not surprised you two are colluding - at least from my perspective," The naturalist flashes a toothy grin. "After all, you two are scholars of a mystical bent! What are you two lot up to?"

"Oh. Uh. Tearing into the works of Andrea Yordanov. An 'esteemed' daemonologist, if that's even possible." Xanthi shrugs. "About what you get in my field. Lots of wading through... dubious knowledge to get at a shred of truth."

After a moment of consideration, Xanthi snaps the book shut. She's done with that page. "And you're... a naturalist? Of some kind? Didn't think to ask before now."

Duril had been standing nearby, testing his new lens. Not that there was much to see out here, but he was experimenting to see if it could pick up old ambient magical auras. Erihal was probably full of them.

When Leah called his name, he lowered the lens, waving and walking over.

Leah is ecstatic that Duril is coming over!

“‘Daemons, huh?” Leah gave a toothy grin, oblivious to the potentially terrifying nature of such entities. “So are you going to summon them to help us with the resettlement? Maybe put them into one of them little doohickeys Duril is creating? Like some sort of automaton? Oh that would be neat!”

Klyalson decides to hang out with Jow. "Ahha! Do you think this flowers could be used as spices? Would be nice to have new Local Flavours invented for my noodles, ha ha."

Jow inspected the flowers, rubbing the petals between gloved fingers and smelling it, then giving the stained leather tip a light lick, before following it with some water. "Maybe, yes? Not very strong, but the scent maybe? Or the colour. Ah guess the smell um, addles the taste too tho." He said, picking a few of them. He took out a small journal and pressed a few more between the pages, squeezing them tight and then rewrapping the book in twine.

"Ahah! I would say, the colour is as important as the taste, when it comes to noodles" said Klyalson, nodding sagely.

Jow looked up at that, surprised. He thought about that, tearing off a flower stalk and chewing it thoughtfully. "Reahly? Huh. I've eaten plahnty of thangs tat looked awhful bafore buwt tasted fine. What's yuh rea-sonin' then?"

Xanthi gives Leah a questioning look. "...Seems reckless. But maybe possible. I've done plenty of reading on the topic, but attempting to summon a demon for... say, construction work? Probably a bad idea. Maybe with more experimentation. Maybe focus on less implicitly dangerous entities. Maybe focus on something that isn't summoning at all. The most foolhardy and least-confirmed-to-work-as-expected branch of the occult sciences."

Klyalson knowingly waves a finger. "Ah-a! The taste and nutrition are for the body. But the look of the food? Its for the soul..."

"Is there any other sort of otherworldly entities?" Leah asked Xanthi. The engaging nature of the conversation distracted her from her own personal internal woes. "Maybe ghosts? Maybe...fairies? I hope fairies exist in this world! Frolicking among flowers and languishing beside rivers!"

Jow nodded slowly at that. "Guess it is naice teh hav food all pretty and taidy." He admitted, before spitting out the stalk. "Keep an aeye out then. Maybe weh'll see some pink coats about. They got these thin lil leaves, smell nice, stain yuh clothes tho'."

Xanthi gives Leah a rather intensely serious look. "Ghosts, certainly. Or something like them. That much I've seen myself."

After a few seconds of silence, she breaks off the stare. "Now the fae, that's an interesting topic. All unsubstantiated, of course, but either nice or terrifying to think about. Depends who you ask. Better to be safe and be courteous when something that might be one comes along, of course. But to answer your question, no, I've never seen a fairy, frolicking or otherwise."