Death House

[ewancummins]

"Point taken," Vorj says in response to the comment about magic.

He strides over to Gnorric. "Are you injured? I can offer some healing. We may need to travel far, and none of us will be helped if you're limping." The tone is brusque, but Gnorric can tell that the human's offer is sincere.

"Keep you hands to yourself unless you want to lose some fingers, royalist."
Gnorric snarls, the sort of noise an angry badger makes.

[alhoon]

Burbur seems disoriented as well. He looks at Kimber and as she talks he frowns deeper. None of them have ever seen him confused and unsure of himself.
"We really have to get out of this place. It's not magic that brought us here. I think.
I can feel my God... distant. I still have the powers he trusts me with, but ... they come through a cacophony instead of a ... I can't explain it. I'm no elf.
This place is bad. We should go. "

He doesn't take part in the brewing hostility between royalists and rebels except to huff in annoyance. That is something all of them remember him doing often; even the captives that met him briefly when he checked for diseases before the transfer.

"Can't we just agree to a truce while in this cursed place?" He growls to the gnomes. To Van he replies. "I'm a dwarf priest of Moradin, that has been alive before the king's great-grandfather took the throne and started the dynasty you want to overthrow and I'll be alive after your grandkids die. That is, if I don't die in this hell because you and the royalists refuse to work together."

He scans the area for soldiers, wild animals, or other predators.

In the dark, he can't see far. The dark shapes of the trees, like the slender legs of a huge centipede, stand foreboding but don't seem to hide any danger.
His sense though, the sense of a blessed warrior against evil seems to be picking up corruption everywhere. It seems as if the land itself is a carpet submerged in evil.

[VAN]

Van just narrows his eyes at the dwarf but says nothing. Getting beside the gnomes he says:

"Gnorric, let me carry you pal. We indeed have to walk for who knows how long before finding a shelter."

[ewancummins]

Gnorric climbs up onto Van.
"Thanks."

[VAN]

"Welcome."

Turning to Vorj he says:

"Vorj, take the lead, I will go last to make sure nobody surpises us from behind."

[steveflam]

"Thank you Van for carrying Gnorric," he tells Van. He sticks to Van and his brother like glue.

[Ken of Ghastria]

"Keep you hands to yourself unless you want to lose some fingers, royalist."
Gnorric snarls, the sort of noise an angry badger makes.

Gnorric gets a good look at Vorj's face. He can tell by looking in the paladin's eyes that the human has seen horrible things -- things far worse than anything Gnorric can threaten him with.

Vorj shrugs. "Your life, your death."

He nods at Van. "I'll scout ahead."

After about 10 or 15 minutes, he finds a fairly secure spot, flanked by several gnarled trees. He can hear a stream not to far away. He walks in that direction and soon finds a tree filled with berries -- blackberries, if he's not mistaken. He samples one to confirm his guess, and then takes out a knife and cuts off as many of the berries as he can.

He returns to the group. "There's a river over there, and I found these as well... blackberries." He eats a few. "This is as good a spot as any to rest up."

He turns to the cleric. "So... what did you mean back there? What do you suspect has happened to us?"

[VAN]

"Let's go and have a look then. We are all injured and we will benefit from some sleep. I will take the first watch."

Van tries reluctantly a blackeberry and since the taste isn't weird gets couple more.

"They seem fine, we have our dinner! Good job Vorj."

[ewancummins]

When Vorj has moved further away, out of hearing, Gnorric whispers in Van's ear,
"That one has got crazy eyes. Be careful of him, Van, please. He looks like he'd murder us all in our sleep."

[kintire]

Kimber looks around and begins to get a feel for the landscape and what it might offer. She relaxes a bit in the wild setting and begins idly cutting some herbs.

As Vorj returns she nods in approval. Although his question is not directed to her she replies anyway.

"We have been moved... elsewhere. This is a cursed place. The land is... different. We are not just in a different place. We are in a different..." She gropes for a word "Sort of place. A different Land."

She looks thoughtfully at the berries and grins.

"Very nice. But we will need something more solid than that. I'll see what I can turn up."

[VAN]

Van frowns at Gnorric's words and whispers so only the gnomes can hear.

"I trust your instict my friend, once Vorj was a cool guy, he was the one that saved me from that goblins attack few years ago. But many things change in few years so yes I will keep an eye on him, afterall he is a royalist...I don't expect much from him anyway but now we are here together and he is a good fighter and can indeed heal. He might be useful. But I repeat, you know where I stand and who my real friends are."

[steveflam]

Van frowns at Gnorric's words and whispers so only the gnomes can hear.

"I trust your instict my friend, once Vorj was a cool guy, he was the one that saved me from that goblins attack few years ago. But many things change in few years so yes I will keep an eye on him, afterall he is a royalist...I don't expect much from him anyway but now we are here together and he is a good fighter and can indeed heal. He might be useful. But I repeat, you know where I stand and who my real friends are."

"Good whispers Bhunder. "He better leave us alone bacause I'll burn his ass with a firetoy."

[kintire]

Kimber settles into Vorj's camp spot. Spying a warren upslope from the spot, she heads in that direction, hefting her captured sling. Soon, she has a nice fire going, lit by waving casually at it, and is sprinkling the herbs she found onto a brace of rabbits, turning them on sticks over the fire, humming cheerfully to herself.

She still casts around the occasional uneasy glance, however, and seems to be focusing on the fire to avoid gazing into the shadows beyond. Finally, having poked a rabbit she nods in satisfaction and leans back.

"Its ready!" she glances at the rebel. "Joining us?"

[VAN]

Van glances the gnomes, if they were at their homeland he would refuse to have dinner with royalists, but now in this new sinister place he should learn to live, trust and cooperate with them. So forcing a smile he says:

"Sure thing, thank you. The rabbit seems delicious."

[Ken of Ghastria]

Vorj thanks Kimber for the rabbit and spends a minute in silent prayer before eating.

"We have been moved... elsewhere. This is a cursed place. The land is... different. We are not just in a different place. We are in a different..." She gropes for a word "Sort of place. A different Land."

"If that's the case," he says, "and my own eyes tell me we're not where we should be, then we need to find someone who can wield magic powerful enough to send us home. That should be our main goal once the sun rises."