[Game Thread] Prologue - A Brave New World

[Hanz]

Entering the Forest, you find yourselves have traveled into quite the beautiful place. You thought forests were only beautiful in fairy tales, but they're actually quite serene. The river flows through this clearing you reached, giving life to several plants, including three blueberry bushes. Butterflies flock around, and flowers are in abundance.

You're all quite hungry. Especially after your weary travel from Death's grasp. Perhaps finding food or shelter is a good idea. If you have the knack for it, you can also deploy your survival/craftsmanship skills.

You must hurry though, time is not at your side, soon it would become dark.

Items Required	Survival DC	Crafting DC	Result
Wooden Log	10 DC	10 DC	Shafts x10
Shafts x10, Pebbles x6	15 DC	N/A	Campfire
Campfire, Flint	20 DC	N/A	Cooking Station/Campfire
Shafts x3	5 DC	15 DC	Drying Stand
Wooden Log x10, Shafts x10, Leaves x20	20 DC	20 DC	Basic Wooden Rain Shelter (Not recommended)
Shaft x1	N/a	DC 5	Straws x5
Straws x20	N/a	DC 15	Bucket
Straws x10	N/a	DC 10	Wooden Basket

[QuilledNinja]

Quinn finally caught up with the other two and silently matched her step to theirs, following a couple steps behind to make it easier to avoid trees and shrubs as they worked their way into the forest. Being raised and living exclusively in a city with only school parks to play in while growing up made any large grouping of trees imposing and the forest they entered downright foreboding. She found the forest a wonder of shadows and colours and for a little bit lost herself in just listening to the sounds and watching the small animals and birds. Wide eyed she felt small and despite the nearness of the others quite alone.

Walking proved to be a strange feeling in itself and Quinn kept getting surprised by how her body wanted to move compared to how she knew to move. This resulted in more than a few stumbled steps and the occasional support from nearby trees. Her balance was off and her hips wanted to move a lot more than she felt they should. Worst of all was she kept getting surprised by the way her chest stayed at the lower edge of her vision.

Quinn glanced at the two in front of her and blinked in surprise. The forest made her feel small but she realized that she was taller than either of the people she was travelling with by more than a few inches. Despite all the strangeness she found this to be the funniest thing yet, or maybe it was everything beginning to catch up to her but Quinn laughed.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized, “It’s just that, of all the crazy and strange things to happen to me in the past day, I never thought I would wind up being the tallest person around. Not that I imagined being here or… looking like this. ” She motioned at herself in a general fashion. “I started the day bussing tables at a Denny’s in St Louis and now I’m here walking through the forest with two strangers; a dignitary and a young girl. A strange group don’t you think so?”

She found herself feeling the first real pangs of hunger and though her mind supplied her with the information that her pack contained some travel rations but it also told her they would not taste all that good. Quinn didn’t know how long she had been asleep or dead but her hunger was not going away and the sky was darkening. “Anyone else getting hungry?”

[Kellos]

Although Aeternus could only barely comprehend what was going on, he couldn't help but marvel and the beauty of the forest around him. Although Aeternus did travel quite a bit, he always kept close to the city. Never before did he ever get to see the beauty of nature up close. The sight that he behld nearly wiped away all worry. However, Aeternus knew that he was going to have to survive, if he wanted his answers.

Aeternus was bought back to reality, to whatever extent it applied currently, by Quinn's commentary. Aeternus found it fit to reply. "First of all, if you think I'm a dignitary because of these clothes, I'm not. In fact, I don't even know where I got these clothes. Last I checked, I was wearing jeans and a T-shirt." Faryl lifted up one of his arms to examine his robes and put it down as he continued. "Secondly and thirdly, this may be a strange group, but this strange group needs to work together to survive." Aeternus hear his stomach growl as he finished this statement. "And yes, I am pretty hungry."

Aeternus looked through Although the backpack is listed under Lumina's entry, I'm assuming that Aeternus is carrying it for now.the backpack he had with him when he woke up. Inside, he had a waterskin, a bedroll, and enough rations to last a day. Curiously enough, he also had an quillpen and parchment, yet he had no ink to write with. He could stave off hunger for the night, and most probably the river would supply fresh water. However, although he never camped a day in his life, he knew that the group needed a campfire. "I don't suppose either of you would know how to make a campfire, would you?"

An idea then came over Aeternus: a possible way to improve their chances of survival. He began channeling power into his hand again. This time however, you could here him chanting something in a bizarre language that not even he ever heard before. He power condensed into a sphere glowing of a faint blue light, which he promptly crushed in his hand. "I have no idea what this is going to do, but here goes." He then extended a finger to touch Quinn, feeling the power he focused earlier flow out of his finger and into her. The regular flow of power within Aeternus returned to normal as he lowered his finger. "Do you feel anything?"

OOC Casting Guidance on Quinn. One-off +1 competence bonus on any attack roll, saving throw or skill check for one minute.

[Muggins]

Linet felt at home within the forest. Growing up in the countryside, regardless of how long she'd spent in the city since her childhood, had that kind of result. They always said that you couldn't take the country out of someone, and she considered herself to be living proof of that. She felt closer to nature now than she'd ever felt in the city, but maybe that was just because she'd taken a form similar to her teenage self. It wasn't identical, no - she was somewhat more developed than this, by memory - but it was close.

"I am not a young girl," Linet growled, pulled from her thinking by the comments of the woman behind her. "I'll have you know that I'm just stuck like this," she continued, "for better or worse, just like either of you." She turned to mumbling and shuffled forward as Quinn and Aeternus began to meddle amongst themselves, much to her disgust. Just because there was no civilisation in sight didn't mean that was any excuse to touch her - wait, what was that blue glow?

"What was that?" she asked, "how did you do that? Do you have a flashlight or something?" She skittered back to the group's side, turning to Quinn. She had no idea what was going on, but it certainly wasn't normal. The guy didn't seem like he had a light, either - but it wasn't a reflection, because there wasn't any real light around to be reflected. Making a fire could wait until this was settled.

[QuilledNinja]

Originally Posted by Kellos

"First of all, if you think I'm a dignitary because of these clothes, I'm not. In fact, I don't even know where I got these clothes. Last I checked, I was wearing jeans and a T-shirt." Faryl lifted up one of his arms to examine his robes and put it down as he continued. "Secondly and thirdly, this may be a strange group, but this strange group needs to work together to survive."

Originally Posted by Muggins

"I am not a young girl," Linet growled, pulled from her thinking by the comments of the woman behind her. "I'll have you know that I'm just stuck like this," she continued, "for better or worse, just like either of you."

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean…” Quinn sighed and looked down at her hands. She had a feeling she would be saying sorry a lot. She wiggled the slender fingers. “You’re right of course. It just seems easier to accept that you are who you appear to be here rather than where we were because I didn’t know the other you. So all I have is what I see even if it is wrong.”

“What?” Quinn blinked as Aeternus cast his spell, her mind confirming what it was he cast as she felt it was something she too could do. She felt the spell take effect and let it knowing that it would help even a little. “Tingly and charged with purpose.” Quinn answered the question and knowing it would not last long tried to

Dice Survival Check:

1d20+3

(5)+3

Total = 8

channel it into helping them.

The girl was more than a little surprised and questioned what Aeternus had just done. Quinn replied for the both of them. “It’s a spell, one that I have access to as well it seems. This one is designed to help a person succeed at a task.”

They had stopped in a small clearing near a small river to talk and Quinn agreed to the unspoken consensus that this was far enough for today when it came to travel. Unfortunately none of them really seemed to know what to do next. Quinn slipped her pack off her shoulders and knelt beside it to dig through. She found a Does this give Quinn a bonus to starting the fire at all?flint and steel and pulled those out. She noticed other things like a small mirror but held off on that for the moment as they needed a fire first.

“These are used to start a fire. But first we need to collect some wood, clear a small area and maybe even circle it with rocks.” Quinn was working off of some outdoor movies she’d seen growing up not knowing exactly what she was doing. To one side she noticed a bunch of bushes with berries on them and pointed. “Those look like something to eat. Do we want to chance them?”

“I’m Quinn Embers by the way,” She spoke to the girl. Quinn finally remembered that she and Aeternus had spoken but not to the girl about names. She motioned to Aeternus, “And this is Aeternus. I meant to tell you sooner.”

Warning: rolls have been deleted from this post.

[Kellos]

Aeternus was somewhat startled by the young girl next to him speaking up. "I don't know." Aeternus replied. "When I woke up, I felt this sort of, power, coursing through me, as if it were like my blood. Or something." Aeternus visibly was having trouble trying to explain what he did. After all, he didn't even know what he was doing.

"It's as if there's...I don't know, this huge power plant. Yeah, let's try to go with that analogy. Now this power plant only works for me, I think, but it can be used to power anything. Well, almost anything." Aeternus paused to scratch his head, trying to think of what to say next. "It's like I could do whatever I want. Obviously though, I don't think that's the case. I guess you could say it's...magic?" Aeternus lingered on that last word. "Maybe it is magic. Who knows what's going on anyway?"

"Anyway," Aeternus said, "it seems that I can only hold it for a few seconds before I have to use it for something, so no, it's not a flashlight." Aeternus then stared down at this hand, wondering what he could use his "magic" for to help them.

He then noticed Quinn trying to rally the group together to set up a campsite. "I don't know. They could be poisonous. Let's see what else we can find before we take our chances." Seeing that his magic had a positive effect, Aeternus used his magic again. This time, he used it on himself and the other girl who had yet to be introduced. He then sought to try

Dice Survival:

1d20+1

(16)+1

Total = 17

finding what else was in the forest around them that could help them survive.

OOC Guidance on myself and Linet.

[Hanz]

(Map Updated)

Muggins: Even though you say that, you feel a new instinct taking over your brain, the cowardice of a young one trying to creep up on your courage and sack it with a Sap, but you scatter the thoughts and move on as normal.

Quinn: Nothing too important can be done by you, apart from magical invigoration, however, the berries are still there, and they look quite delicious.

Kellos: You study a nearby tree, Perfect! Apples are growing on this tree, it looks pretty frail too, maybe you can hack it down with something sharp, but maybe it'd be wiser to chop down one of the thinner trees. If you ever needed leaves, these tall bushes would more than suffice. But then your survival instincts drop in and say hello, you're sure it'd be somewhat difficult, but you can probably make shafts out of the branches of trees.

New Crafting! Required Items Survival DC Craft DC Result Branch x3 10 DC 15 DC Shaft x1

[Kellos]

Seeing that his "magic", or so it was called, allowed him to give others a sort of "direction" on what to do, Aeternus decided to test out the other functions of his powers. He again channeled his powers, this time creating and crushing a translucent orb, then pointed to young girl. A faint glow surrounded her as he pointed before quickly dissipating along with the power channeled in his hand. He then whispered a message to her.

"Hey, it's Aeternus," he began. "I'm testing out some of my magic. If you can hear me, whisper a reply." He then turned to the tree before recalling that he had yet to learn of the girl's name. He quickly whispered, "by the way, what's your name?" Then he set about Guidance bonus on Survival

Dice Survival:

1d20+1

(6)+1

Total = 7

Dice Craft:

1d20+1

(8)+1

Total = 9

picking branches off the tree to turn into shafts, using his magic to support him.

OOC To save on time, I'm going to say now that I will cast Guidance whenever possible, until I otherwise can't or I'm in battle.

[Muggins]

"Magic, hey?" Linet asked skeptically, "yeah, sure. It's whatever you want it to be, right?" Suffice to say, she didn't buy this load of hogwash about spells and magic. In the real world, there was no such thing as magic. Sure, there were parlor tricks and people dubbed magicians, but they were just acts - they couldn't do real magic, could they? They couldn't throw a fireball bare-handed, nor could they create something from nothing. Until she saw evidence to the contrary - evidence beyond someone having a glowing, possibly radiation-tipped finger - she'd continue to believe that.

The man pointed at her and whispered, although the words she heard didn't quite match the ones his mouth had formed - but that was just ventriloquism, right? "My name is Linet," she replied, idly rubbing her fingers together after Aeternus had poked her earlier. "And I know it's you," she continued, "because you're right there, and you're talking to me. Duh." After a moment of thought she added, "if you're going to go collecting twigs, I'll go gather a couple of stones to mount a fire on. We don't want to get colds, do we?" Unfortunately, it seemed that she didn't have a blanket - or anything, for that matter, beyond what she was wearing. On the upside, her jacket kept her surprisingly warm. Or was it a jumper?

Linet turned to gathering supplies for their short-term survival, trudging off to gather some berries and while she plucked pebbles from the ground. She returned with her bounty, however small, and joins Aeternus in his work.

Information FYI, Linet's physical form is 16. That's still nearly half her old age, though, and certainly a child in her eyes. Also, Linet gathers some stones and berries, then helps Aeternus in making some shafts. She leaves the fire up to Quinn. Dice Craft: Branch. Survival, Craft.: 1d20+1 (20)+1 Total = 21 1d20+1 (15)+1 Total = 16 Edit: That should be Craft: Shaft.

[QuilledNinja]

Linet’s dismissal of magic would have been the same response Quinn gave in her place, but from where she stood and what she now understood about it she could not deny that magic was real. Not only that but given their new forms, strange location and possible deaths Quinn was ready to believe a lot of different things. And thinking of such things, Quinn turned inwards for a moment to think about what she could actually do with the magic she felt just below the surface. Like an ethereal lake she could syphon from to empower what she wanted but only in certain patterns. It wasn’t a large list and for the most part was very situational.

“I don’t know what else to call it and I cannot show you what it does, not right now. The magic I can cast is beneficial to be sure but it would mean we are in trouble and something bad has happened if I need to use it.” Quinn explained to Linet. She felt it wasn’t the best explanation but it was all she had at the moment. More time to think might make it clearer.

Quinn had spent too much time thinking about magic and where they were to get things right for a fire and sighed. It looked so easy on TV. Reality was like a computer game with awesome graphics but not manual for how to go about playing it. With her first attempt foiled, Quinn moved over to the berries and began to pick them. She decided to eat one first and then wait to see if anything happened to her while she picked more and before she offered them to the others. Quinn

Dice Heal Check if needed:

1d20+8

(4)+8

Total = 12

monitors her condition while working in case the berries are actually poisonous.

Once that is finished she draws on her own magic to cast the guidance spell on herself and takes another shot at getting a

Dice Survival Check:

1d20+3

(8)+3

Total = 11

fire together and lit.