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The team have crossed the bridge across the mingled rivers that meet here at the settlement site. The blasted wasteland is behind them, and ahead of them lies the dusty high plains. Here, at least, there is vegetation and the promise of food. The land seems more welcoming, even if that's only by appearances. Certainly it doesn't feel like a blasted post nuclear hellscape any longer. So that's nice.
Staying close to the river and working downwards doesn't leave them much opportunity to scout the terrain. The river valley cuts deep into the terrain, and unless they opt to take the time to ascend to the bluffs above, the view of the rest of the fields will be obscured. Will they choose to simply keep following the river, or ascend to command a better view of matters?
Rīpeka glances between the others. "Unless any of you have a better idea, I'm going to become a bird for a bit, see what's up ahead."
Diamond walks through the valley and looks around, curious and wondering. "You could do that if you think that'll be fine. Will you be fine on Potentia?" She asks with a little smile. "I did figure out a way to tap the local surroundings with Death too, so, let me know how large the area is." she said using the mental connection that Aletheia had given them earlier.
"I think that might be a good idea. I'm thinking of doing a little Fate divination myself to get us a little bit of direction." Alexis looks around, "But I think I want to wait until I know that doing so won't screw us over, again. I'm sorry about what happened."
Aletheia had totally cast telepathy on all of them
"It's fine, Alexis. None of us realised that was going to happen," Rīpeka says, before chanting aloud in High Speech, her body flowing and reshaping into what looks like a pigeon's, if not a variety any of the other mages present are likely to recognise. Someone toss me into the air, please? It's easier if I don't have to start from the ground.
Kay grabs the pigeon with both hands and kiss it on it's head and throw it up in the air. Fly! then her attention to Alexis. a little bit of it is on me too. don't worry about it too much
"I'm just feeling a little bit like a liability at the moment. Perils of being an apprentice, I suppose." She sighs, then pulls out a little pocket notepad and her pen, to get ready to cast
Flapping into the sky can be hard for chubby pigeons. They're not the most aerodynamic of creatures, sadly. But once she's caught the updraft at the base of the cliffs, gliding upwards becomes a simple matter. Wings dip and bob on the eddies, but it carries her higher and higher until she crests the ridge line and can see the whole of the high plain stretch out across the underworld.
The river continues to cut its winding course downward through the canyon, making sighting anything in the canyon itself difficult even from altitude. Eventually the plain gives way to another domain a good distance ahead, looking more forested and verdant, still, than even this place.
From this altitude, she can also make out the smudge on the horizon deeper into the high plains that is undoubtedly another settlement, built onto a rise on the mesa, commanding the terrain quite purposefully. No one sneaks up on that place without the use of powers, to be certain.
Rīpeka reports all of this back to the group via their telepathic bond. Where do we want to head to?
Down river toward the more verdant area. But first I'd like to get closer to the settlement to try and glean some information with a spell Kay gives Alexis a hug and start moving toward there. let's get moving.
Think we could risk another approach at a settlement? She asks the rest of the group I could help us climb the cliff like I did when we entered the place
We need to figure out the rules of this land to make sure we don't make any further faux Pas . Once we do that I'm hopeful the rest of this will be much easier
Let me try a little divination first, I think. Alexis asks, If it isn't nessecary, it'd be better to avoid it
Alexis spends a few moments chanting in high speech, gathering the strands of fate on the tip of her pen and then pulling them together, letting the pen spin across the notepad as the strands tug it back and forth, before waiting, senses opened for an omen of how to proceed
Alexis receives a brief vision of following the river, eschewing the plains settlement, and indeed avoiding more or less all of the settlements, keeping the forest on your right, and descending deeper and deeper until you would need to cross overland through the forest, across another river, into a primordial forest. Cascadian rainforest style, really. The vision doesn't contain the location of the tree itself, save to direct them there. A second attempt once they're closer to the goal may be more revelatory.
Ok, that matches what I was beginning to suspect. The safest path to take is to avoid the local settlements entirely and keep going deeper and towards the living forests. Alexis relays to the others, brushing herself off as she stands, I didn't get a precise location, but once we get closer we can do some more divination
Okay good, let's hope the path goes well. Kay closes her eyes as she continues moving. Kotahitanga, if you want to rest your wings, you can perch on me. she calls out in the mental link toward the pigeon shaped mage.
She glances towards Kay Is there anyway you can figure out what local laws are with death? I'm not a practitioner so I don't know the full extent of its abilities.
Heading downriver? That seems like a good plan to me, Rīpeka sends back. And thank you, Sister. I think I will. The pigeon descends back towards the group, then.
I'd need to also have fate. I can learn a few facts about the local stuff, the name of the kerberoi and location of a gate and other things. But pushing the spell to learn the magical laws that binds a domain, requires fate. She brings out her tools as they walk, starting to cast something
This domain is called the 'High and Dry Plains' aptly named. Its Kerebos is 'The Sheriff'. Expect a western theme, apparently. You're above the nearest river, and the nearest ghosts are in the direction of the nearest settlement. Which is in the plains, as you can clearly see. The nearest gate is back the way you'd come, up the river that met the one you started following originally.
Well, if we ever want to tap the market for zombie cowboy b-movies. I know the place Kay reports her findings and says in her mind with a smile. She says, heading forward, following the river, occasionally petting the pidgeon shaped Ripeka on her shoulder
The journey downriver is a winding one. As the bird flies would be considerably faster, but not necessarily safer. Down here, at least, they escape the prying eyes of those in the plains. It makes the going slow, but generally safe. Whenever a specter flies overhead, cover is easy to find, and by and by they leave the plains behind them and the river pours into the forestlands.
There's still a river valley, but far less steep and rugged. It's more of a proper valley, with flood plains and horsehoe lakes formed from the river righting its course to be more straight, rather than winding. The trees here have the idea of being pines, poplars, and birches. Wet trees for shallow ground. Wide root beds. Following this river is much easier, but also a bit more risky. There's fewer places to hide and but for the trees, they're rather exposed.
Eventually they come upon a river crossing. Not a bridge this time, but a literal ferry man. Because of course. The ferry is on their side of the bank at present, and the robed figure manning it sits on a tree stump with a line in the water at the end of a long stick. Not quite a fishing pole, but close enough, perhaps, to function as one.
Which way should we be going for the Tree at this junction? Kay asks to the intent of Alexis. Or was that too far for your spell?
Should one of us talk to him? Bird!Rīpeka asks, still perched on Kay's shoulder and enjoying the ride.
I could try and talk to them, but perhaps a Kay doing it would be better? The underworld is after all, her domain.
I'm honestly not sure. At some point we needed to cross overland between rivers to get to the right area of forest, which was far more...ancient than this. And very Pacific Northwest.
Kay approaches the robed figure first and introduce herself. "Greetings, I am known as Diamond. Do you know where these river leads? We're looking to go to the domain of the Martyr's tree."
The ferryman glances up from the water and peers at Diamond for a long moment before stating with a mixture of mistrust and genuine surprise, "You're among the quick. You've come a long way down, too." He looks back to the water and states, "All rivers lead to the sea. Deep down to where the old ones dwell. Something tells me you mean in a less metaphysical sense, however."
"Correct. We would like to know which way to go to reach the Martyr's Tree's domain, if you could help with that. Which means we may need your..." a look to the nearby ferry boat, assuming there is one. "services to reach it." A pause. "Is there a way you preferred to be adressed? A Name you want us to use for you?"
"Very kind of you," the ferryman comments when asked for its name. "Call me Shepherd, Diamond. The Martyr's Tree? I've heard of it. Downriver from here a spell. I've never been there, myself, but it's said to be in the rainforest. Pretty down deep, too. For the right price we can take the raft downriver. As far as is sensible. And you can continue from there. I should be able to get you to the shore safely, if you're willing to pay." He explains the matter with a conspiratorial, "I'm supposed to be manning the crossing, you see. The usual two coins isn't going to cut it, I'm afraid. The Sheriff likes to be obeyed."
Diamond gives a look over her non-pidgeoned shoulders toward the others, as if to ask for their insights. Anyone got coins, just in case then turn to Shepherd. "What would be your price?"
She would shake her head "I use plastic for most things, that way I can always dispute it if i need to." A lightly chuckle "What kind of coin do you normally take?"
I think it might be best just to walk, especially since we'll probably have to come back through here. Don't want to piss off the Kerebos Alexis warns cautiously
"Nope." The Ferryman offers that simple answer without rancor. "Nobody makes it this deep with a pulse without having a bounty of tricks up their sleeves and resources aplenty. Ones I can't even begin to fathom, having been dead this long. So go ahead and tell me what it's worth to get a safe, effort free conveyance to the destination that brought you this far, and I'll tell you if it's worth it possibly being banished when I go back to the High and Dry."
"Would we be breaking a law ourselves if we made this deal?" Diamond asks curiously as she sends a message telepathically I can empower him with my magic or make a copy of him if he'd like
"You? No. Not unless he gave you an order. Did he give you an order to follow? If not, you're safe." Shepherd glances between the group, more curious now than cautious. He doesn't seem particularly jealous of their living forms. He's been down here a good long while, at his own admission. What he does seem to feel is stuck. Be it here in specific or in the underworld in general.
Perhaps we should offer him his freedom? Either from being bound to this place or from the Underworld as a whole?
He feels stuck here, though I'm not sure if its just in the underworld or in general. We might be able to work with that in some way? Maybe work out him coming out for a time or something?
Alternately, at least part of it could be that you could make a copy of him and his boat, so that he can stay here and not break the law while also giving us a lift downriver?
"There's several things we could offer you, I believe." Diamond offers with a smile. "I could raise your rank and empower you so you could maybe be able to do more on your own. I could probably make a copy of you, though I suspect it might be less powerful, to do your work while you take a vacation somewhere?" she ponders for a moment, as if considering something else.
"Look around," Shepherd replies with a gesture of his knobby hand, "it's all just this. More and more of this. Esoteric rules upheld by ghostly despots. Rot. Ruin. Ash. Gray. I've seen it. More or less all of it that's safe for something like me to haunt. We don't really belong here, you know. This place is a mistake. A never should have been. Nobody wants to be here. Not really. Some just make the most of it. I'm here to tell you? The most you can make of it is awful." He gestures at the water, "There aren't even fish in there. That's how boring it is here."
Ask if he wants to no longer be able to haunt anything? Rīpeka suggests.
"Would you prefer not being able to haunt?" Diamond asks curiously, tilting her head. "We could also take you with us to the domain of the Martyr's Tree? It's a grassy place with a Tree that serves as it's Kerberos. The rules are mostly about not consuming or harming ghost and not changing the nature of the domain. It'd be different than this place at least?"
"Would I prefer not existing? No. I'd like to move on, but I lost my fetters. Everyone that knew me in life is dead. I can barely remember why I'm still here. And I don't know if it's possible for me to move on or not any longer. Some that get like me they just go deeper and deeper and dive in the sea. Who knows what happens to them after that, but they never come back. Not risking it. Being more powerful isn't going to make me able to stand up to a kerebos even if I wanted to. The tree sounds nice, but it'll get boring after a while, too. It's better than nothing, though." He throws his stick into the river and hefts up his rafting pole, rising up to his full and considerable height. Made to loom, this spectre.
"Well if things go well, and if certain people agree, we might be able to procure a little more on the side of sight seeing. It could be something to work towards so you wouldn't always be cooped up at the tree." She offers with a slight smile
That seems like a good plan to me, Rīpeka agrees, her bird form nodding it's head once. Which people are you referring to, precisely?
We would have to get some council approval to allow him to go out a bit more. Most likely supervised visits to various places but still more freedom she responds through the telepathy
Oh yeah, they'll never approve of something like that. Diamond says with a shrug. But if we find a good resonance spot for it, I don't see why I would need a permission to invite Shepherd over for tea "Are we good to go, Shepherd? Do you require anything else?"
"Just you all on board, please." Shepherd steps onto the raft, himself, heading down to the keel. Or what passes for the keel, anyway, on a raft. "Next stop, Pangea."
"Pangea? Really? Curious."
After you, Rīpeka sends, shrugging her wings slightly, careful not to actually hit Kay with them.
"I didn't name it," Shepherd observes wryly of the name, "it was that way when I got here. So called because it's the forest primeval. A very... raw place. But since you can never harm the ghosts there, you can't really eat there, either. It's a place out of time, and it likes it that way. Don't meddle too much in what's there. Keep your hands to yourself. Conversation is fine, and all that, but rumors all say the tree keeps order in there." Once everyone is loaded up, Shepherd pushes the raft away from the small dock and casts off the rope tethering it to shore. It begins coursing downriver at a pace a bit faster than the flow itself, what with Shepherd pushing off the bottom with his stick. "Anyone asks me to sing O Solo Mio, and I will hit you with this stick."
Alexis makes her way onto the raft, "It seems fitting. I feel like, and this is just a theory, there's something very primal about this reflection of the tree? Something that ties into ancient forests that were tamed long before any of the European idiots showed up."
Damnit I was going to do exactly that Diamond exclaim in their mind. Snaps her fingers mentally when the opportunity is missed to hear Shepherd's singing voice. "Do you know any song that you like to sing?" Diamond asks.
"As a Euorpean idiot, myself, that hurts," Shepherd remarks dryly. But mostly for the joke. He gives Diamond a long stare at the request to sing, but sighs and eventually begins singing in quite a resonant tenor. The Parting Glass, in point of fact.
Rīpeka chirps along to the song, not doing all that bad a job of it.
Maybe the tree is really Yggdrasil.
I don't know, honestly, it's something different and new. Also, isn't that an emanation somewhere? Diamond says, vaguely remembering something she saw while looking into the underworld. She sways from side to side as she sings.
Probably somewhere in the Underworld version of Scandinavia.
Alexis chips in with an acapella rendition of Suddenly I See once Shepherd is done singing himself.
To be fair, don't all legends hold a kernel of truth within them? I mean I've seen a lot of strange things, and the Astral brings all sorts of human creations to life. I'm pretty sure Slenderman is there.
In due course, and after a few more Irish folk songs-- Oh, Danny Boy, the pipes the pipes are calling... --and following Alexis's own stirring rendition of the standards, the raft weaves its way downstream without so much as a hiccup.
It's not the fastest form of travel, but it proves deceptively safe and simple. Perhaps because they're being guided by someone with a good deal of experience in doing just that. The forest eventually gives way to the forest. Trees tower overhead like skyscrapers, giant ferns sprout from the loamy earth, and vines and mosses climb and drape like ropes and stage curtains. Shepherd pushes off from the starboard side of the raft and gets them out of the central current, aiming towards shore. "You'll all want to get low. Preferably on all fours. The living don't want to fall into these waters. We'll be making landfall shortly."
Diamond looks around the water and the land where Shepherd is taking them she begin, just in case it happens. Hmm, for the moment, avoid using any magic that changes the environment in anyway. I don't know what counts as changing the nature of the domain, but I don't want to risk this one
Understood. Do we know where we need to go from here? Rīpeka will move where she's perching on Kay as and when it becomes necessary.
lowers herself enough as suggested
Diamond does lower herself as suggested too. If we're in the domain of the tree, we go to the tree, I should be able to find it, or Alexis could too
Alexis crouches carefully Let's start with you, I think you're more likely to get a clear sense
With everyone on their hands and knees, the raft hitting the bank jostles them all, but it doesn't send them tumbling into the drink. Shepherd is used to it, and rocks a bit on his feet but keeps his footing. He is the first to leap to shore, so that the others can remain stable, and quickly lashes the rope to a tree trunk near to shore, pulling it taut and knotting it sharply. He then returns to stand on the side of the raft nearest shore, keeping it pinned into the shoreline to offer more stability. "Off you go. Step carefully, now."
- She motions for Kay to lead onward:
Diamond goes first out of the raft and makes her best attempt at not jumping into the water and instead aim for the land. Hopefully, that's enough.
Once the others are back on dry land, Rīpeka returns to perching on Kay's shoulder. Onward, noble steed, she sends, amusement clear in her voice.
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