The Mistway

[The Forgotten God]

He crossed the stream silently and crept to the field. In the waist-high grasses he sees about fifty Dead Sea goblins and thrice that in the red boglops Dominius uses. The corpses have wounds from each other, but about two thirds of the dead have wounds matching swords and bows more than teeth claws and the tridents the goblins use.

[Geoffrey Ravenhurst]

Herneiros silently cursed to himself before attempting to trek back to Palerose and find the others.

[Demetrius]

Demetrius, who seemed uncharacteristically comfortable in the setting, reach out into the coldness of the mist, searching for any signs of life or lurking mist creatures.

[The Forgotten God]

Demetrius feels the Kraken just a dozen or so miles away, the Mistlord holed up in his aquatic kingdom. There’s some of his lieutenants somewhere to the northeast and a very odd feeling due East of the village. He’s too far away to sense Dominius’s forces as he tends to not notice the least of the creatures. Sensing all of them would drive him quite mad.

[Demetrius]

He stared off for a time, in the direction of the anomaly, but said nothing of it. Instead he searched through his pack for something small to satiate his appetite.

When Herneiros returned, he approached the pack leader immediately to ask, “What lies to the east of us?”

[Geoffrey Ravenhurst]

Herneiros absentmindedly answered, "A few mountains and Lake Erabeth. There's an old fortress there called the Delve we might visit. Possibly the Maentwrog too, but it's hard to say. I'll know if I get within a mile of it, but until then we'll have to track it the old fashioned way. Unfortunately, we have more immediate issues. I just found the aftermath of a battle between the Kraken and Dominius's forces. The survivors might still be nearby, but the tracks are three days old. We need to be cautious of ambushes... and whatever the Kraken sends to refortify his territory."

[Demetrius]

Demetrius shrugged, “The Kraken is leagues from here, in that direction.”. He pointed off into the distance. “I don’t think we’ll be ambushed. However, that way...” he said, nodding East, “There’s something strange not too far off. Something we might want too look into.”

[The Forgotten God]

As they talk the rain begins in earnest, as cold water blends with a chill ocean breeze to make a miserable wet experience. Fortunately they have wood and fire to keep warm inside as the buildings by and large don’t let any moisture in.

[Geoffrey Ravenhurst]

Oct 11, 2020 6:21:54 GMT Demetrius said:

Demetrius shrugged, “The Kraken is leagues from here, in that direction.”. He pointed off into the distance. “I don’t think we’ll be ambushed. However, that way...” he said, nodding East, “There’s something strange not too far off. Something we might want too look into.”

Herneiros shook his head. "The Kraken's reach far exceeds his tentacles. He employs auxiliaries to maintain his fief where he cannot travel. This valley is called the Kraken's Ring because his lieutenants often wander in his stead. They are hardly the challenge of an actual Mister Lord, but still quite dangerous if we're caught unprepared."

He frowned. "How are you so confident where the Kraken is? And about what might lay east?"

[Demetrius]

“You worry too much,” replied Demetrius. “The Mistlord’s Underlings are patrolling a good distance from us, to the northeast, while he slumbers beneath the sea. I know because I can feel them, like little strings pulling on the inside of my mind.” He put a finger to his head and aggressively mimed drilling it into his skull. “And whatever it is to the East, I can feel it too. But it’s not like most things found in the mist, this one is different. It’s not so much gnawing at my brain as it is turning my stomach.”

[Geoffrey Ravenhurst]

His frown didn't vanish. If only, it seemed to expand like this mystery.

"Demetrius... Lake Arawn is to the northeast. That means we will indeed be interacting with the Kraken's minions if we want to get to uncover the mystery of what makes you you."

He looked at the rain a moment before declaring, "I can see you haven't spent a great deal in the Mist... but you clearly have an affinity like myself. I was taught by Leuwinmorgh and his hunters. Some of what I can do, I discovered on my own, but most of my knowledge comes from training and experience. When did you discover these... talents?"

[Demetrius]

Demetrius pulled the hood on his jacket up over his head to protect him from the rain. “I’m not worried about underlings, or even mistlords,” he said, dismissing the threat. “All you have to do is get me to Lake Arawn like we discussed, I can get past whatever forces stand between me and the answers I seek.”

When asked about the origin of his powers, Demetrius tilted his head to the side in a display of confusion. “There was no training, I’ve just always been me.” He said it so matter of factly, dismissing the years of effort and work Herneiros had likely put into his own development as nothing more than child’s play. Whatever powers the hunter had, they weren’t nearly as broad as his own.

[Dr. Archimedes Steller]

Before being content that this place was safe, Wrugar had one last test to do. He grabbed a piece of wood, or any other kind of stick-shaped rubbish, and with sharp rock, he inscribed the rune for "Magic" on it. This was an old trick his father had thought him and was quite useful to identify if you were dealing with Magic-infused material in the workplace. Usually, a traditional giant forge would have an iron bar, shaped like a cow prod, with this very same rune carved on its tip. The tip would then glow red hot when coming near anything with a magical nature. This was nothing like that, but it should work well enough.

(Enchanting: 50)
(Cantrip: Detect Magic)

[The Forgotten God]

The giant can’t detect anything nearby; whatever haunts this place may be more psychological than truly ‘real’. Even the horses sense the despair that hangs over the dead hamlet like a blanket.

[Dr. Archimedes Steller]

"This is no good." The giant said to himself in a grave, worried, tone. said in his grave voice. He prefered when things were more straightforward. Were they facing an evil wizard, he could ahve just smashed the bastard into a pulp. But this place appeared to be disturbing for reasons outside his comprehension.

"Snowfall, that brown one, the spotted one..." He took a sit in a corner he had cleared the rubbish from and started counting the horses, just in case. His giant stomach started rumbling. "You know, I could eat one of you. Been a while since I had horse. Not the best, but better than anything in the Pit. But I guess the rest wouldn't take very kindly to it... And they told me to take care of you, so that's what I'm going to do... Maybe the kid with the serpent could go grab me a bit of something."

Turns out, there was a reason armies didn't often field many giants.