Mendi had materialized the dimension door once again and the heroes quickly stepped through. Ayrus went towards Chit-Zik who weakly twitched his antenna. The windmage raised his palms into the air and breathed in the wet earth smell brought to him by the wind; his healing spell mended cracked chitin and stopped the black ichor oozing from the kreen's now shinning clean body. Chit-Zik once again opens his bulbous eyes in wonder. Ptellac is surprised as his burden stirs and weakly struggles to regain his footing. Koreth would have slumped down again if not for the pterran's shoulder under him but the warrior recovered his senses once again. His body was slowly but surely fighting away the kreen's poison; it was a painful process but the noble warrior smiled as his strength and mobility slowly returned to his limbs.

Elric steps around the group checking on everyone. His left arm is limp against his side. His left hand is secured by his belt in a make shift sling. "What a shame, all that water and I didn't even get a chance to fill my skins. Tis a good thing I spent the extra ceramics for water proofing on my scroll case. It would be a challenge to rewrite the map from memory. I could probably do it if I 'had' to though I wouldn't want to put it to the test."

Coming to stand by Mendi, Elric nods his approval "Well done. Your quick wits and use of the Way has saved a good portion of our group this day. It is a good thing you caught up to us when you did. More so now with Koreth and Chit down and me with only the use of one arm, we will need the strength of an extra blade if trouble find us yet again."

"I have you to thank for my life elf, it's a debt that I cannot forget." Koreth says weakly, the poison still keeping him from his full strength "Your quick thinking saved many of us and for that I am grateful. Perhaps on this treacherous journey I shall return the favor."

As Elric and Koreth praise him, Mendi's relief is replaced by a much sober expression. "No, I'm not to praise, my experience as a caravan guard should have told me to scout the road in front of the group. From now on, I'll take the spearpoint and reconnoiter in front of the party. We should have avoided this encounter or at least tried to maneuver around those beasts."

Tak' looks at Mendi and shrugs his shoulders indicating his solemn acceptance of fate, "this encounter was unavoidable, the insectmen looked more than half dead, and were hidden in the rocks. Placing an
advance scout has merit, although the scout needs to know the terrain well, or such a placement merely splits our numbers."

Tak' thinks the route ahead the party will take, trying to imagine which landforms the companions would traverse in the coming weeks, "When in the forests I will be able to find us a trail and lead to keep us safe
from what danger I may." Continuing Tak' sagely adds, "although experience is a poor match for good fortune or the blessings of Gaea."

"Perhaps next time we shall show more wisdom," Koreth adds, "but take the compliment as I intended it. I take debts very seriously, especially when it is my life that I owe to another." He looks appraisingly at the elf, his expression flickering with some inner turmoil. Koreth holds out his hand to the elf, a weak smile on his face. 'I still don't trust you elf, but you have shown promise.' he thinks to himself 'I shall still watch you. After all, I've dealt with your kind before. A honey covered tongue to hide a poisonous heart.'

"Thank thou, o graceful leader, to praise and yet to gibe at me in the same sentence. That will remind me not to be a show-off in the future, and to keep my vanity on close rein! I see you have heard of that horrible reputation some grouchy customers give us... those grumpy people are of no importance, believe me..." The elf's eyes are glistering with mischief and dishonesty as he closes on Koreth and pats him on the shoulder...

"Perhaps you do not deserve your race's reputation elf, but I well know why they have it." Koreth replies, a bit of anger beginning to show in his eyes "The dealings I've had in the past with elves were.... Let's just say I have reason to distrust you."

Mendi discreetly picks Koreth purse, then he has it appear "magically" in his hands and, as the elf gently swings it in front of the warrior's eyes: "See how I am honest? While my nimble fingers could easily have relieved you of the heavy burden of a fat purse, considering the present weakness of yours, I didn't even try to pilfer you! How come you are so cautious about so gracious a race as mine? Everybody knows you cannot find somebody as honest and fair as an elf trader; Mendi mocks outraged dignity while he puts the purse back in the warrior's hand. Here, here. you should secure that better. Who knows? I might decide that I'll had a better use of it..."

Koreth glares at Mendi, "You would do well to refrain from handling my possessions in the future." he says and grips the purse tightly, the coins within digging into his palms "You might be just trying to prove a point elf, but you'll find that I have a nasty temper." He just stands and holds the purse in his hand, not making any motion to put it away.

Tak', viewing Mendi from a short distance, inclines his head slightly, "You show proficiency with the Way, but more importantly you also have the instinct of how to apply it. Perhaps with study and talk we can share our knowledge, for your talents are of a realm I know little of."

Looking quite proud of himself after the purse's mock theft, the elf answers the diminutive halfling. "We certainly can fin some discussions on our respective talents beneficial. But perhaps that should wait until we are in the safety of the village. Tak' shrugs, the elf speaks wisdom.

The elf then looks at Ptellac and addresses him: "What can you tell us about the region, Ptellac? Are those tremors and floods commonplace? What kind of danger shall I be looking for while scouting in front of the party? You told me earlier it would be difficult to reach your village, but why is it so? Are there predators, apart from the natural dangers of those mountains? How can we establish a trading route if caravans are likely to be swept by a flood or a landslide?"

Tak' look of acceptance turns to one of amusement at Mendi's torrent of questions, "surely such minor queries of coin and commerce are best left 'until we are in the safety of the village'? The mountains harbor predators, as all the land of Athas do. The best way to avoid contact with them is to travel in the heat of day, and apply common sense."

The pterran thinks a bit and chooses his words carefully. "First off, these are not my lands. I am familiar with the scrubplains on the other side of the ridge. I don't know that anyone knows this place. My only advantage is that I have crossed it once just like Tak. I don't know about those flashfloods but I can tell you that the tremors will continue until the people of Athas mends their way. it is Mother Earth that is showing her discontent and I fear these tremors are only the beginning of something worse." He opens up his eyes wide and adds in a warning tone, "Our druids are doing their best but I fear it is not enough."

The saurian's gold eye widens as he continues, "As for my village, there are guards that patrol the outskirts against predators. Those same figurines that I treasure so much are but two examples." Ptellac pulls them forth once again and shows them to Tak and Mendi. "See, this fellow is a pterrax rider. He is part of an elite group of warriors who patrol the skies. This fellow here is Ptop rider. The large snake forms a bond with its rider and shares many of its highly developed senses. The rider can actually hear through the snake's ears. The snakes are short tempered however and not as useful as the pterraxes. Their soft underbelly prohibits them from travelling across hard surfaces but they fare well in the scrubplains and the desert wastes. If you were to approach the village without a guide you would surely have to answer to our patrols."

Tak' walks among the debris left behind after the flood, walking between uprooted trees and boulders the size of small erdlu. "We are indeed fortunate," Tak' says, "Gaea's rumblings do not usually show mercy or favor - yet we all still breathe her air."

The elf looks the halfling with obvious curiosity. "Who is this Gaea you keep speaking of? I've never heard that name before I met you!"

Tak' utters a prayer to the mountains and environment around him before directly answering Mendi. "You may only have heard the name Gaea recently, but you have known of her all your life. Gaea is the wind,
the sun, the earth and the trees." Tak' starts getting worked up, waving his arms around in exultation, "you and I are parts of Gaea, parts of a whole which is balanced and vital."

Tak' turns to Ptellac, "You have some inkling of Gaea, you refer to an 'Earth Mother', who surely must play a similar role among the Pterrans as Gaea does for the halflings..."

Ptellac answer in a lively tone, "When I heard you speak, I could have sworn that you were talking about Mother Earth, That is how we describe her and try to explain her to stranger. I tried speaking about her to House Vordon's agent but was disappointed since no one seemed to understand me. They will have to learn to love her and honor her as we do for she is everything there is. If you are interested in the Earth Mother then perhaps you can join us in our rituals to honor her." The pterran addresses Tak directly, "Maybe you can tell me later on how your people honor Gaea."

Walking to the still-weak form of Chit-Zik, Tak' presents the thri-kreen with the chatkcha he only moments ago had taken as a funeral momento, "I feared the end of the hunt had come for you my friend, and wished for you to be remembered in more than memory. Your chatkcha flies straight and true, is inherently sturdy, and would have reminded us well of you," Tak' smiles a wry grin, "although you remaining with us in the flesh is an infinitely better reminder."

As he regains consciousness, Chit-Zik looks around in shock. "W-where am I?" He looks up at Tak. "Am I dead?" He then tries to get up, but almost immediately stops and lies back down in pain. "It was horrible... I was. Not active. I'm sorry I failed the pack."

Once finished ensuring that everyone is out of immediate danger Tak' scans the canyon, "we should not be complacent after surviving one such floods. The monsoon season can make these canyons a death trap, for one flood is often followed by another. I will scout ahead to find a point where we can exit the canyon, and also look out for a campsite and a meal. We have endured much hardship and should at least spend the remainder of the day tending our wounds."

Mendi steps in once again , "You can concentrate yourself on hunting, I will look for a shelter. Do you know any safe place, Ptellac?"

The saurian looks about as if remembering, "I believe our best bet is to camp out in a place like we were when you met us. A large shallow cave would be best but we must make sure it is uninhabited lest a wild animal tries to make dinner out of us." The pterran chuckles at his own joke showing his sharp teeth but no one else seems to share his sense of humor.

Mendi quickly moves along the trail, and the companions quickly lose him among the rocks and boulders, while the elf sneaks ahead.

The elven trader scouts out ahead as the evening draws near. The setting sun in the mountains plays tricks on the rocks showing beautiful hues of gray and blue. Tak has left off by himself to try and bring back dinner and everyone huddles together as the chilling winds descend upon the party. The elf comes back after a few minutes and leads everyone to a small grotto closed off on three sides. The opening faced away from the howling winds and was thus better suited to keep the group warm. A small fire was started as everyone looked towards the halfling hunter had gone and waited...

HUNTING

The mountains were rocky, but not as bereft of prey as the rocky badlands. There were small four-footed hooved mammals that negotiated the rocky cliffs with uncanny precision, and many birds - both harmless and of prey. But Tak' had discovered a meal which, while his companions would find exotic, was much easy to find - but certainly more dangerous.

The web of the giant spider was difficult to spot, even in broad daylight, and its inhabitant even more difficult. Pulling 4 metal-tipped arrows out of his quiver and placing them point first into the earth in front of him, Tak' waited with his bow across his knees.

Time passed, and the sun slowly made its way across the sky. Still Tak' waited. Then a bird, leaving early to find berries in the scrub flew across Tak's vision, into the web, getting stuck and struggling furiously to escape its sticky grasp. Pulling an arrow out of the earth and notching it to his bow, Tak' waited. But not for long.

The web, vibrating with the struggles of the bird started to quiver with the movement of something else - a spider at least 4 foot wide, its mass at least that of the halfling hunter, stalked across its web to the bird. Then Tak' fired his arrow.

The large spider squealed its pain as the shaft pierced its shell. The second shaft sunk with meaty thud on its underside as the spider finally found the small hunter who was responsible for its suffering. The arachnoid forgot its small bird that now fluttered about madly with renewed effort to try and free itself. The spider wanted nothing more than to leave its trap and come back later, it had come to hunt and feed and was being hunted itself. The spider backtracked in the confusion and one of shafts became entangled in its own web no more than a few feet from the ground. The small hunter did not waste his opportunity, as his prey lay defenseless with its soft underside exposed. The spider realized its position and clicked its mandibles in pain, excitement and anger. It had two large pincers and Tak knew them to be poisonous, the halfling was tempted to fire more arrows and finish it off but picked up his spear instead. Being careful not to come near those pincers, Tak penetrated the soft underbelly time and time again until his prey moved no more. He then proceeded to cut the spider loose; he was about to leave when he remembered the bird that had began its squeaking anew when the hunter approached. The halfling cut him loose and released him with a smile and a prayer thanking Gaea for such luscious bounty.

Panting from the short but arduous journey Tak' drags his prey into the campsite. The spider is a compact mass of folded legs and tough hair, beaming in pride Tak' proclaims, "We have been blessed - the flesh of the mountain spider is sweet when eaten fresh." The mixture of surprised, horrified and fascinated looks on the faces of his companions indicated that this was one meal that would not be forgotten soon.

MORNING PRAYER

Aryus rises from his deep sleep when the world was still dark. There was but a narrow streak of crimson along the eastern horizon indicating the coming of Athasian dawn a few hours later. The blazing fire of last night's camp was but a few glowing embers now. All around him there was silence, the mountain air was freezing cold and the breeze was gentle.

Moving past Koreth who took the last watch, Aryus informs his companion that he will return for breakfast in a couple of hours. With that, the Windmage sets off for a narrow trail that leads up to the summit of the nearest mountain. After an hour of hard hiking, Aryus finally reaches the mountain's top where a strong cold breeze catches his heavy cloak. There with his arms spread wide open and his cloak flapping madly, Aryus embraces the wind, the cool pristine wind of the mountains.

The windmage scanned the scenery around him, absolutely breathtaking and majestic. For miles upon miles in all directions, tall peaks raised into the air. Across the eastern sky was a long gash of crimson light, like a sword wound on a warrior's body. The wind howled loud and without fear. Unlike the deserts of the distant Tablelands, the winds in the Western Ringing Mountains were fearless. They did not succumb to the curse of Athas, a curse that have silenced the once raging winds.

Raising both arms high into the air and lifting his head to the sky, Aryus opens his mouth and takes a mouthful of the mountain wind. He then whispers a prayer to the lords of the wind, an oath to forever serve his element, an oath to forever fight for the restoration of Athas.

"It feels just like home." Aryus thought referring to his childhood home in the northern Silt Sea. "Except the winds there were scorching hot, the winds here were cold and refreshing like the way the wind should be." For the next hour Aryus stood at the peak's summit thinking of many things, his past, his future, and anything else his mind could ponder. In the face of such a powerful wind, Aryus felt a tingle of power inside him (Note: In conjunction with element) and felt his soul liberated once more.

After the hour on the peak, Aryus looks down at the valley below, deep and far away. The crimson sun had already broken the eastern horizon, in another hour the mountain wind will die once more. But before that… In a fit of playfulness, Aryus leaps from the summit and plunges down to the valley below. He screams in delight as the wind joins his liberated body in a dance across the air. After a few seconds which felt more like minutes of this liberating experience, Aryus casts feather fall before he hits the ground. Unfortunately he has not gained the ability to fly yet, but is confident that one day he will be granted the dream of his life, to truly fly.

After reaching the ground, Aryus hikes back to camp and prepares for the continuing journey.

WELCOME TO THE GREEN

Expedition Day 5 - Year of the Desert's Fury of the 190th King's Age (Free Year 11)

Forest Trail - Somewhere on the western Side of the Forest Ridge

The mountains, on a downward slope, made a jagged horizon behind the heroes. Peaks so vast and imposing they looked like the bottom, toothy jaw of The All-Devourer, the omnipotent beast of halfling folklore.

The sun was up, but so far there were only shards of light breaking through the Ringing Mountains this morning, the rays creating a patchwork of shadow and intense green. The Forest Ridge! The change from mountains to verdant jungle is not incremental – the rockface of the mountains dropping away with a short cliff into the greenery.

The mass of tree and plantlife stretches as far as the eye can see; the air above the greenery giving off a perceptible haze of moisture. Tak’ jubilant at the sight of his homeland had some trouble keeping pace with the rest of the party, eager to once more walk the paths his fathers and forefathers have done.

The cliff, from afar, was only a few dozen feet high, but now, as the heroes viewed the majestic greenery from the edge, it is obvious that it is far further – the greenery the heroes first saw was only the tops of the tallest trees. The cliff is not sheer however, and with the use of rope and good sense the descent is smooth, and soon the unlikely band of eight stand on the forest floor.

Those not native to the forest experience sensory overload. There is color everywhere, bold shades of green, also bright slashes of red, yellow, blue and other as plants flower. The wind whistling through the tallest trees creates an eerie ringing, from which the mountain range just crossed gets its name. This ringing is supplemented by the gentle rustling of leaves, and the treading of unseen feet on the thick carpet of plants and fallen leaves.

The steaming moisture that was seen from the top of the cliff is more than apparent now, as it condensed and sticks to flesh and clothing alike, coating the party in moisture. Such delight! It feels as through merely opening your mouth and running would provide a drink. Tak knows, however, that over the coming hours and days however, the novelty of the extreme humidity will wear off. The sticky dampness of the forest will sap strength as fast as the hot sun does in the rocky badlands.

There is movement all around, most of it caused by the wind, but in your peripheral vision things flash by, and before you can turn your head and focus, they are gone. Chit-Zik most of all is somewhat confused, his large head bobbing left and right with uncanny speed, his eyes trying to take in all around him. Where he usually walked and stalked on the barren wastelands, having to seek out prey where prey was scarce, here there was movement, and prey and predator alike all around.

"Bloody Crodlu Piss," Gaigin exclaims, pointing to the seemingly impenetrable wall of trees and undergrowth ahead of them, "I’ve got an axe, but we don’t have time to cut ourselves a path." "And," Mendi adds, his sharp elven eyes scanning around apprehensively, "there are … things … moving all around us."

Tak’, stretching his arms and taking in the experience, letting memories and lessons flood through him, laughs shrilly and skips back to the party, his mood considerable lighter now than when immediately after being encased in a landslide. "There are creatures in the forest far larger than myself or even you Gaigin. And yet they do not need to cut a path. I will guide, and find a path for you all to follow."

Tak’ turns to Mendi, to deal with his concerns, "the forest is filled with life, but what you can see are not those that hunt. ‘The beast you fear is the one you do not see or hear,’ most of the forest creatures are shy and reclusive – if you leave them alone, they will do likewise with you."

"I would also suggest that all of you who are able protect your exposed legs. There are many snakes and spider which bite at ankles in the forest, and many plants which entangle the feet." With that, Tak’ takes the lead, working a way through the undergrowth slowly and steadily. The taller members of the party need to stoop and brush away hanging vines and branches, but otherwise the party makes good progress.

The hours which pass are relatively uneventful. Tak’ was true to his word, the animals of the forest avoid the relatively noisy party, preferring to remain out of sight. It is midmorning when the party starts to travel through an area strangely quiet. The plantlife is still abundant, but the lack of sight, sound or tracks of other animals causes Tak’ to be on guard.

Progressing round a particularly large tree, the halfling ranger notes some a strange patch of grass. The crimson roots are noticed by the halfling hunter (DM note: Only Tak notices anything funny and he does not say anything at this moment.) who is careful to avoid it, stepping well wide. This, however with hindsight, was a bad move.

The rest of the party hear a muffled whoosh, and simultaneous a sharp cry of surprise from their halfling guide, quickly followed by a loud crash. Rushing around the corner, they see Tak’ trapped in a crude trap, two four-foot long logs bracing a strange sticky net. Tak’, knocked flat by the impact, is motionless.

Your actions…

OUT OF CHARACTER

HEALTH STATUS

Remember the scale:

Healthy (H) 100% hitpoints remaining

Slightly Wounded (SiW) 75% to 100% hitpoints remaining

Wounded (W) 50% to 75% hitpoints remaining

Seriously Wounded (SeW) 25% to 50% hitpoints remaining

Mortally Wounded (MW) 0% to 25% hitpoints remaining

Ptellac (SiW)

Koreth (W)

Elric (SiW)

left arm out of action

Ayrus (H)

Gaigin (SiW)

Mendi (H)

Chit (MW)

Tak (W)

The turn "Welcome to the Green" was written by Matt (Tak). In the past, we had other player write turns (Trevor, Larry, Matt, and John). I like this system and, as long as I have people interested doing that, then I will continue. The turns written are non-essential turns and have be "checked" by me. I do this only so as to not jeopardize the overall campaign. These turns are mainly to give each player a chance to roleplay an event that may be important to them. I don't have anyone else lined up at the moment so if someone wants to volunteer, then please get back to me. The turns do not have (they may) to be that long, just a couple of paragraphs to set the mood and the rest of us will take it from there. They are not mandatory either so if you do not want to do them, you do not have to. They are just like everything in this game, just for fun and to be entertained.

As far as Gaigin is concerned, I am afraid that if I do not hear from him in this following turn, he will be written out of the story. I will get another player to fill in the "warrior" spot. Gaigin filled the role of leader of the group so I hope that we take advantage of the situation and use it accordingly with some good roleplaying here; someone else will have to fill in that role. Start thinking about that.

Questions, comments, and suggestions please.

L8r,

Fabian