Fantasy World Creations

With the orders given out, the first well-adorned Lamia went back into the tunnels below. The guard she had spoken to give out orders to the rest, she sent one of the guards to the mates' home, which was apparently the bunch of houses and homes to the east that you were able to see. Next she sent two more guards, one going westwards, while the other eastwards, on a pair of dark horses. You noted that the horses didn't seem to match the Lamia at all, and going through your memories, you easily recognized them to be the types of horses the dullahan used.

With that done, she simply turned towards the rest of the gathered crew.

"You heard mistress Misophe, everyone else start looking for the hero in the woods."

"Should we get the other guards in the tunnels?" One of the Lamia asked.

In response, the Lamia looked at her other companion who had just spoken and sighed.


The other Lamia guards hesitantly nodded, and then began to move off.

QuoteColor change and picture for the guard.

You are 60 ft. away, another Stealth check would let you come by unnoticed. The rest of the few guards 'searching the woods', had already passed you.

As Carrie observes a pair of lamia rides heading off in either direction atop dullahan steeds, she can't help but wonder at the means by which the lamia riders managed to maintain their position on horses no doubt trained to carry humanoid riders. She looks as closely as she can, not quite believing her eyes, hoping to discern either the means by which the riders managed the feat or some sign of an illusion. Carrie couldn't help thinking that the mismatched riders and horses were a message of some kind, given how out of place it seemed.

Carrie also observed further evidence that the guard who had stood aside to let her pass wasn't exactly on board with whatever Misophe was up to. The fact that she was delaying an actual search for Carrie was a very pointed act of cooperation, so Carrie decided that she was going to go out on a limb and trust this individual. Moving quietly, Carrie continues to approach, senses still primed to take in any useful information from the environment around her, until she reaches a proximity at which she chooses to break cover and approach this individual calmly and openly, hopefully appearing as if from out of nowhere like a ghost.

"Well, it's pretty clear who wields the real power in this group.", Carrie addresses the ranking guard with a sly grin which quickly fades before she states simply, "I need to know what you know, and I don't think we have much time to spare. Specifically, Where has Synithise been taken, and if known, why?"

Stealth: (http://forums.fantasyworldcreations.com/Themes/envision2013_smf20_rev3/images/dice_warn.gif) This dice roll has been tampered with!
Rolled 1d20+8 : 4 + 8, total 12

Perception: (http://forums.fantasyworldcreations.com/Themes/envision2013_smf20_rev3/images/dice_warn.gif) This dice roll has been tampered with!
Rolled 1d20+8 : 3 + 8, total 11

[info]Perception (lamia on horseback): Passive
The lamia seemed to wrap their long lower end around the horse's torso. It didn't look very comfortable at all for the dark horses, yet, the horses didn't seem to mind. Judging from the speed at which the horses traveled, and from what you remember in the tunnels, the lamia themselves move faster than the horses, so it didn't make much sense for them to use the horses unless there was another reason to.[/info]"Carrie..." The lamia said finally sighing when you appeared. "Just an old feud between the rightful sister, and the jealous one. That said, still technically our superior too. Not all the guards up here are those loyal to Synithise, well... better to say they follow their orders as soldiers should. I'll make this quick, since you might still have some time. There was a coup from Misophe, she had come in the night through the exit tunnels with a troop of her own, and rounded up Synithise and those who wouldn't get in line. She brought one particular nasty human who did most of the work. Anyways, I'm not entirely sure of all the details myself, but the lamia priestess guards were to drop off Synithise on the northern edge of the forest. Misophe wouldn't give too much away, but the mistress has decided to use her right given to her by the crown, of being the martial head of the Lamia Priestess, to seize control of the site away from our matriarch in 'dire' times." The lamia smiled wryly.

"The dullahan's horses... They're to serve as a message to both the dullahan tribe and the batfolk tribe that we need their assistance, even if the Lamia on them say nothing about needing aid... I'm hoping mistress Jasna and Eveleen are able to pick up that hint. Those two lamia I sent I'm sure are loyal, as they did not question the black steeds they were loaned... Truthfully, the horses would have been reserved for you to use, a gift from mistress Eveleen. Though 'riding lessons' was fairly far down the list of priorities."

"Now... Go... Before you get me in trouble too." She said dryly.

With that instruction, Carrie was off, making her best effort to vanish into the forest. She headed north at a brisk jogging pace, following whatever game trails and natural features such as streams would enable the swiftest traversal of the terrain ahead. As she proceeds, Carrie keeps an eye out for any tracks, human footprints, in particular, reasoning that any intelligent outdoorsman would likely have followed a similar route to the destination. She also knows that there will likely be another party headed back toward her from the dropoff point that she wants to avoid meeting, so Carrie also keeps her head on a swivel looking for them after an appropriate length of time traveling. Carrie was glad that her suspicion about the horses being a message had been confirmed. She could think of no more helpful reinforcements in this situation than Dullahan cavalry coupled with Batfolk reconnaissance. With a bit of luck, they would arrive somewhere in Carrie's vicinity before she made contact with whoever was likely waiting at the northern edge of the forest.

The thought that Misophe had enlisted the help of an outsider in her plans, and a human no less, left Carrie filled with a sense of absolute disgust and loathing. The young hero could think of only two plausible angles such an individual might have, and it was likely to be either Felencorp, or Slavery. Whichever it turned out to be, Misophe had clearly sold out her own sister. The prospect of selling someone out was abhorrent to Carrie. She may have been an only child, but the close relationship she had developed with the marines she had served alongside was close enough that the mere thought of betraying a blood relative turned her stomach. When Carrie returned, she was going to have some choice words for Misophe and then some.

For the moment, however, Carrie's mind was awash with a great sea of different emotions as she made her way toward Synithise. Foremost was an absolute fury that Synithise was being made to suffer over base envy and greed. Carrie mentally promised herself that those responsible would pay the price for their grave miscalculation. At the same time, Carrie felt a great deal of apprehension. She had only just begun to return to an even keel after suffering the loss of her entire unit of recruits at Paris Island, and now she was once more facing the prospect of potentially losing those whose future had been entrusted to her. To say that the sudden thrust back into the fray had left Carrie unsettled was an understatement. Thankfully, the anxiety she was feeling was being masked by the fury at the forefront. For the moment.

Beneath the upper layers, however, was the sheer abject terror she felt at the thought of the first friend she had made in this new world potentially coming to harm. It was a terror that was impossible to overcome, though could currently be directed. The fear she felt for Synithise' safety lent a lightness to her load and a fleetness to her feet. It had also planted an ember, a tiny burning seed of absolute madness. Synithise was to Carrie's mental state a life raft in a storm, meaning that this situation had suddenly left the traumatized young hero treading water. What it would take for the storm to drown her would be anyone's guess.

Carrie found herself feeling particularly murderous as a result, and wondered for a moment as she ran just what her aura might look like to the Dullahan when they arrived. Carrie involuntarily grinned at the thought.

Stealth: [blockquote]Rolled 1d20+8 : 8 + 8, total 16[/blockquote]

Perception: [blockquote]Rolled 1d20+8 : 15 + 8, total 23[/blockquote]

Survival: [blockquote]Rolled 1d20+8 : 12 + 8, total 20[/blockquote]

Making your way towards the north, you kept your eyes alert for any returning caravan. As you continued onwards through the dark forest and thick fog you were not able to see anything out of the ordinary. However, you did continue to make good pace towards the north. You didn't run into any freshly made trails heading northwards either, even though the ground was soft enough to make such things easier to notice.

Up ahead you notice what looked to be a giant horse-sized boar. Its tiny red eyes are crusted with filth and its bristly flank crawls with flies. It hadn't seemed to notice you. Perhaps due to the thickness of the fog, and the density of all the trees.

QuoteBoar is 60 ft. ahead.

Roll Stealth if you want to get away without it noticing you.

As Carrie moves northward, the fact that she had yet to spot even one track along her path left her beginning to doubt herself. Much like she had failed to keep her recruits alive, she now wondered if she was letting Synithise down by taking a wrong path. She knew that a group as large as the one that had been escorted away from the tunnels would leave a nearly impossible to miss trail. Even if it had rained the entire night, Carrie would expect to have found at least some sign of their passage by now. This thought process led Carrie to two possible conclusions. Either the group she was seeking to follow hadn't used this route, or else somehow, incredibly, they weren't leaving a trail. At that thought, Carrie takes a moment to confirm the most basic of information and looks back to determine whether or not she is able to see her own trail through the forest.

As she looks back from doing so, she finds herself first hearing the sounds of, then seeing only twenty yards off, a massive boar that looked to be the size of a horse. The animal's side appeared to be covered in flies, and Carrie knew that could mean only one thing; Necrotic flesh. The massive boar was wounded and likely had been for quite some time. Carrie knew how poor a normal-sized boar's temperament could be, having seen them charge hunters first hand, so she had no interest in such a massive hog knowing about her presence, especially if it was wounded.

Carrie makes a concerted effort to get or stay downwind of the massive creature as she seeks to quietly pass it by. The absolute last thing she needed at the moment was to get tangled up with this hogzilla trying to trample and gore her to death. Even if Carrie were to come out on top of the struggle, it would cost her time, ammunition, and most importantly, the element of surprise. Carrie could feel her pulse in her ears, knowing that a single misstep could snap a twig and bring the animal charging at her, initiating a life or death struggle that could easily jeopardize her current mission.

Stealth: [blockquote]Rolled 1d20+8 : 9 + 8, total 17[/blockquote]

A thought then occurs to Carrie that sends chills down her spine. Boars are usually a prey item in an ecosystem, at least when they're not feral. Something had wounded this massive boar far enough into the past that the wound was now attracting flies. The possibility occurred to Carrie that whatever made that wound on such a massive creature could very well still be stalking it, and that any opportunistic predators or scavengers could likely smell the creature's festering wound.

"If the prey animals are this big, Carrie thought to herself, "I don't even want to know how big the predators are."

Perception: [blockquote]Rolled 1d20+8 : 16 + 8, total 24[/blockquote]

[info]Perception: 24
Apart from the giant boar, there were no other creatures in sight. You did hear the sounds of birds, the rustle of leaves as wind blew through them, but nothing else of immediate concern apart from the boar.[/info]The moment you stepped away, that was when the boar managed to turn in your direction, alerted immediately as it started to huff and snort. Because of the denseness of the trees, you had hoped it didn't see you.

QuoteSecond chance, roll another Stealth check.

Stealth: [blockquote]Rolled 1d20+8 : 1 + 8, total 9[/blockquote]

The boar, moving a bit, finally caught sight and scent of you.

QuoteRoll initiative! If above 16, take your turn too. Distance is per the screenshot sent to you.

Due to being a Dense Forest, you may attempt Stealth checks whenever, though I'll enforce the half movement rules for that. Also keep in mind the boar will attempt to use Perception for intentionally searching for a stimulus as a move action if you do succeed checks.

Initiative: [blockquote]Rolled 1d20+5 : 12 + 5, total 17[/blockquote]

As Carrie tried to sneak away from the large boar, the combination of hearing her own pulse in her ears combined with the inward direction that her mind had taken, she completely overlooked the ground on which she was placing her feet. With an unexpected squeak, Carrie's vision immediately turns toward her footing, oddly squishy, to see a chipmunk beneath her boot. Carrie's heart immediately sinks into her stomach as she hears the telltale snorting of a wild hog that had just found an unwelcome presence in its vicinity. The volume and pitch of the beast's vocalizations, however, were greater and deeper than any porker Carrie had ever encountered. Carrie knew in that instant that there was no way the animal was going to flee. With a wound like the one it bore, and the sudden start Carrie had given it, the animal's temper was clear for any observer to see.

Carrie swore loudly as she lurched toward the nearest large deciduous tree trunk, colliding with it roughly before raising her rifle and steadying it against the tree. In a flash, she lines up the center of her ACOG scope with the center of the boar's silhouette, releases the safety, and squeezes the trigger, sending a three-round burst downrange. Carrie hoped that the animal would go down before charging, but given the small caliber of her rifle, she wasn't particularly confident in that outcome. The large tree would serve as her best defense, should the giant pig reach her.

Attack: [blockquote]Rolled 1d20+6 : 16 + 6, total 22[/blockquote]

Damage upon a hit: [blockquote]Rolled 4d8 : 5, 1, 8, 6, total 20[/blockquote]

Even with all the cover the boar was getting due to the denseness of the forest, your aim was true and you managed to fire off your weapon straight into the creature.

The creature started to make it way towards you, but due to the uneven ground, and the plenty of logs, rocks, and trees in its way, it wasn't able to close the distance.

Quote-3 Ammo on M4 Carbine

Carrie sees red mist spray from three distinct points on the boar's body as it charges her position, confirming much to her displeasure that her rifle lacks the stopping power to put it down with one trigger pull. Carrie hadn't ever wished she was holding an AK before, but with an animal the size of a buffalo charging straight at her, the desire for a larger caliber round had become strong. Carrie took careful note of the fact that the animal had taken an inordinate amount of time to cover the distance that it had and realized that the animal was having significant difficulty moving through underbrush due to its large size.

Carrie immediately decides to take advantage of the environmental advantage her small size affords her, squeezing the trigger a second time, then diving into the underbrush to her right like a linebacker trying to punch through a gap in the offensive line, moving at an angle that would force the boar to change direction in order to follow. It wasn't much, but Carrie reasoned that it would help to slow the beast down and prevent it from building up more momentum in a straight line charge. Carrie doesn't bother sticking around to observe the fall of shot. She figures that the sound of the creature's movements, or lack thereof, would tell her if the porker had been downed.

QuoteCarrie is moving as far as she can on a 270 heading.

Attack: [blockquote]Rolled 1d20+6 : 18 + 6, total 24[/blockquote]

Damage upon a hit: [blockquote]Rolled 4d8 : 7, 4, 5, 2, total 18[/blockquote]

Due to the light undergrowth movement was difficult even for you, though you increased the distance between you and the giant boar. You fired off another three rounds, hitting the target. The boar looked like it was near death.

The boar continued to move straight in. Once it got closer enough, it attempted to gore you with its tusks. Managing to hit, you were now injured.

As Carrie made her own way through the underbrush, she realized instantly that she had screwed up. She found herself being tangled up in the vegetation just as much as the boar, a critical miscalculation. Then, the boar was upon her, digging its tusks into her arm, causing another fit of profanity, this time directed at the boar in particular as she wrestled with it in a futile attempt to keep it at bay. Suddenly, the world had become a blur of coarse hair, leaves, small branches, and dirt, mixed with a splash of red and the warm, wet breath of the beast that was trying to kill her.

Carrie quickly regains her wits though and angrily draws her Beretta, knowing that the chances of landing an accurate shot with her rifle at such close range were almost nil. Carrie falls back on the training she had received in using handguns in such close quarters situations and held the weapon close, looking for an opening. She spots one as the creature lowers its head for another attempt at goring her, aiming directly at the creature's braincase before squeezing the trigger.

Attack: [blockquote]Rolled 1d20+10 : 7 + 10, total 17[/blockquote]

Damage upon a hit: [blockquote]Rolled 2d6 : 3, 5, total 8[/blockquote]

You shot again, putting another bullet into the giant boar. With multiple bleeding wounds that would have already felled a normal boar, the boar continued to ferociously attack you. Landing a hit and causing you to be badly wounded. The boar was dying, but through its sheer ferocity, continued to remain conscious. Just the act of attacking you, seemed to cause the boar pain. Judging from its movements, you knew you probably could outrun it.

QuoteM4 Ammo: -6
Beretta: -1

As the boar continued to tear into Carrie's arm and side with its tusks, Carrie has finally had enough. Pissed off, frustrated, in considerable pain and pressed for time, Carrie decides in a flash of inspiration to treat the boar to the business end of high-pressure water, much like a CnC machine produces. Carrie quickly opens the channels directing mana to her hands and draws out a large portion as she steps away from the wounded creature.

"Water, condense and pressurize, aqua slicer!"

The young hero then casts her hand across her body in an arc, sending a similar arc of high-velocity water racing through the air at the boar, likely shaving its way through any flimsy brush along its path.

QuoteOvercharging this spell to the max.

Attack: [blockquote]Rolled 1d20+10 : 14 + 10, total 24[/blockquote]

Damage upon a hit: [blockquote]Rolled 4d10 : 5, 5, 1, 8, total 19[/blockquote]

Your spell triggered as water sliced into the boar. The water sliced in deeply, both splattering blood in the air and finally killing the boar as it crashed down with a loud thump. A set of notifications appeared as well.

[okay]You have gained a new title『Animal Slayer』
You have gained +4 HP.
You leveled up.
You leveled up.
You are now level 28.[/okay]

As the boar collapsed in front of her, Carrie likewise collapsed, breathing heavily from the exertion and mental strain the encounter with the giant hog had caused. For a few minutes, Carrie lay there, bringing her breathing back to a somewhat steady rhythm. Unfortunately, as the adrenaline wore off, the pain began to make its presence known along the length of her arm and her left side.

Carrie rises to a kneeling position and retrieves her first aid kit from its pocket on her pack and pops it open. She proceeds to rinse her wounds of debris as best she can, then wraps them in gauze before once more donning her now bloodied uniform overshirt and gear. The gauze felt rather bulky beneath the sleeve of her uniform and moving her left arm hurt like hell, but Carrie had fought through worse. The thought brought to mind the most recent example, Paris Island, and Carrie had to shake her head to dispel the image.

Carrie found herself with a new train of thought in her head, however, Caused by the sudden appearance of a new window in her field of vision stating that she had gained a new title, 4HP, and had leveled up twice. This prompted an obvious next move as she returned to her feet and collected her M-4.

Carrie utters the word "Status.", wondering if she would be able to see just what this new notification window meant for her.

QuoteWe can begin Treat Deadly Wounds, the time it takes is 1 hour and will use up 2 uses of your healer's kit (first aid kit), go ahead and roll a Heal check.

[okay]Carrie T. Cook
Animal Slayer
Level 28

Condition: Badly Wounded, Drowsy

HP: 33/66
MP: 20/56
STR: 21 +
DEX: 21 +
CON: 23 +
INT: 28 +
WIS: 8 +
CHA: 13 +
MAG: 21 +

Blessings: Quick Learner, Mana Sensitivity, Translate Languages, Personal Status, Magic Reflect, Programmer

You have 5 unspent ability points.[/okay]Since the last time you had used the status window, a couple of your statistics went up.

Heal: [blockquote]Rolled 1d20+2 : 19 + 2, total 21[/blockquote]

As the status window appeared once more, Carrie noticed several changes. Changes that clearly correlated both with the notification window that had just appeared and with the reality she was experiencing firsthand. It reminded Carrie of video games that her friends often played. Though she never really took much interest in them herself, Carrie realized that the statistics in the windows that were appearing in her field of vision had a direct impact on how she interacted with the world around her. In particular, she took notice of the fact that the manner in which she interacted with the world was likewise having an impact on the contents of these windows. She noticed that she had leveled up after slaying the boar, and had gained a title from it. Carrie quickly reaches the obvious conclusion that this new world she occupies appears to reward the act of slaying things. This revelation unnerves Carrie for a minute before realizing that if such rewards were overzealously sought, the world she was currently a part of would have torn itself apart already. Whether through lack of knowledge, social control, or....

It is it this moment that Carrie's train of thought bringing her to the subject of divine intervention in this world causes her to remember what she had told herself earlier about thanking whatever deity had lent her aid earlier, and now wonders if encountering this boar, coupled with so thoroughly screwing up her escape from it may be related. Knowing full well that higher powers do in fact exist now, Carrie makes a point of addressing the possible issue before going any further.

"If this mess happened because I should have thanked you sooner. I apologize.", Carrie says aloud, feeling rather foolish as she does so despite her newfound knowledge, but continues none the less, "Whoever it was that decided to pitch in when I needed it most, I owe you one. Hopefully, I can repay you at some point."

Carrie's attention then turns back to the window in front of her, but with an ear out for any disembodied voices that might reply. She didn't actually know what form a reply might take, and as much as hearing a disembodied voice might cause her to question her sanity Carrie knew that in this new world anything was potentially possible. If the reply did take the form of a disembodied voice, Carrie would deal with the question of sanity by crossing that bridge when she came to it.

In the meantime, Carrie focused her attention on the seven entries that she conjectured were the abilities for which she had unspent points. She started with the uppermost entry and began trying to think of ways to interact with it. She started with the most intuitive first as she thought though and reached out to see if this object in her field of vision was something physical that she could touch. Now that Carrie knew that the contents of these windows had a bearing on what she was capable of, she realized very quickly that she couldn't afford to ignore them or to put off interaction with them any further. Her ability to complete her mission and rescue Synithise might very well depend on it. In fact, Carrie realized, she may have suffered less harm by this point had she made a point of understanding these windows earlier.

Carrie stewed on that thought as she tried to grasp what was clearly some manner of interface in front of her. This world was still very new and strange to her, and she was slowly beginning to understand just how clueless she really was. Though Carrie knew that she was currently in the best position to rescue Synithise, the more she learned the more her confidence in herself began to ebb. She had rushed off into a forest where the boars were giants, completely unaware of the danger.

"What else is there I don't know about?" Carrie wondered, "And will I realize the danger before it's too late next time?"

[info]Hero point earned.[/info]After your thanks, there wasn't really anything new or different. You still heard the chirping of birds somewhere in the forest, the sound of rustling leaves as wind blew through them.

Attempting to interact with the status window brought up a couple of descriptions of them.

[okay]Focus on 『STR』
Represents muscle and physical power.
『Increase』

Focus on 『DEX』
Represents agility, reflexes, and balance.
『Increase』

Focus on 『CON』
Represents health and stamina.
『Increase』

Focus on 『INT』
Represents learning and reasoning capabilities.
『Increase』

Focus on 『WIS』
Represents willpower, common sense, awareness, and intuition.
『Increase』

Focus on 『CHA』
Represents personality, personal magnetism, ability to lead, and appearance.
『Increase』

Focus on 『MAG』
Represents the users mana capacity, as well as the user's innate control of magic.
『Increase』[/okay]You noted that with each description, an option to 'increase' it was available.

As Carrie reached out toward the status window, it changed to show her further information about the ability she had chosen to focus on. As she reads the description of each ability in turn, Carrie begins to understand how the interface works. She is still left with one question though. "Was it the physical interaction, or was it mental?", She wondered as she read through the list, then also wondered while looking at the list again. "Last I knew, I was stronger and tougher than I was quick or accurate, not to mention being nowhere near a brainiac. How could that possibly have been changed? My strong suit is my mind now?"

Now understanding what the numbers in front of her meant, Carrie's confusion began to build steadily. She wondered if the cosmic being that had sent her here had shaped her abilities to suit its own whims before recalling that if it was being truthful, this second life had been given for her own benefit. Perhaps the changes were a boon?

Regardless of the reason for the discrepancies between Carrie's memories and the numbers in front of her, Carrie knew that she needed to deal with spending whatever unallocated points she had before she proceeded, and that time was of the essence. She thought briefly about the role that she was seeking to fulfill and made her choices. This time, without raising her arm to reach for the status window, Carrie focuses her attention first on the increase option beneath the WIS entry, then INT, followed by DEX three times over. If the intent to increase an ability didn't work by itself, Carrie would physically reach out for the option instead.

All the while, Carrie couldn't help but notice the clear, crisp sounds of the forest around her. Despite the report of gunfire, Carrie's continued presence, and the bloodied boar corpse resting on the forest floor, the forest wasn't silent. Carrie found this rather strange and wondered if it might actually be some form of subtle reply from whatever being she had thankes for its aid. Whatever the case, Carrie at least knew that there wasn't anything or anyone else in the immediate vicinity that the local wildlife was concerned about. If there were, the forest would no doubt have gone silent by now.

Since you had been summoned as a hero, there were certain things that you had found easier to absorb and remember. One such example had been when Synithise was teaching you magic, along with going over the various runes and magicka circles.

Once you focused on each of the options, the entries went up by the expected amount.

"So it actually is just intent that operates this.", Carrie mentally confirms as she spends the points she had up until now neglected to allocate, "That's unusually convenient."

With the upgrading of her abilities complete, Carrie then returns to task. Once more, she treads lightly as she moves through the forest looking for any sign of the party that had escorted Synithise and the rest of the lamia priestesses to the northern edge. Up to this point, Carrie hadn't found a trail so she knew that the group hadn't come this way. That said, Carrie wasn't necessarily concerned with following them exactly so much as she was with making the best possible time to the point where the group had been left. She only hoped that she wouldn't be too late to make a difference.

Carrie was also concerned that the cavalry, both figurative and literal, might not arrive quickly enough to provide Carrie with any aid in dealing with whatever situation she might find at the end of her trek. It further concerned Carrie that the sound of gunfire, almost certainly unknown to the people inhabiting this world, might spook any hostile elements into leaving early. If horses were involved, Carrie knew that she'd never catch up should an enemy decide to abscond with Synithise and her cohort. Her only hope was to arrive as quickly as possible.

With that thought in mind, Carrie's feet once more propelled her through the forest, anxiety building all the while.

Perception to spot anything out of the ordinary: [blockquote]Rolled 1d20+7 : 16 + 7, total 23[/blockquote]

Stealth: [blockquote]Rolled 1d20+10 : 8 + 10, total 18[/blockquote]

Survival looking for tracks: [blockquote]Rolled 1d20+7 : 3 + 7, total 10[/blockquote]

QuoteKnowledge geography roll, as requested. [blockquote]Rolled 1d20+13 : 16 + 13, total 29[/blockquote]

Location: New World - Lamia Priestess Tunnels - Dining Room
Date: Day 3 - 6 AM - 9 AM

The trees became sparser as the distance you could see increased as well. Up ahead was a break in the forest altogether, and the moment you reached it, you realized you were at the northern edge of the forest. Beyond that was rolling plains, and clear skies. By your estimation, it was around a 3-hour journey. It was still relatively early in the morning. Your injuries, though still pretty bad, seemed to have healed up from your treatment. That said, the gore wounds themselves probably could have done with proper modern day treatment, it wasn't everyday a near 10-foot long boar attacks after all.

You recognized what looked to be a large rock perhaps a couple hundred feet to your west, and it was then that a memory triggered as well. It was an early memory from Eveleen, back when the dullahan matriarch was being first introduced to the lamia priestesses who share the forest.

---

"Eveleen, as the elite guards of our nation, one of our jobs too is to protect the lamia priestesses as you know. We'll show you the other exit tunnels later... But if trouble ever arises, look for these outcroppings." Eva said. There was a richly adorned lamia next to her. She vaguely resembled Synithise, but wasn't quite the same either. The lamia's clothing looked similar to the rest of the priestesses that you had seen.

"Yes... They serve as markers really. You'll find a few of them through the forest, and some at the edges of Thura forest. They connect our tunnels together." The lamia then pressed her hand on the cool surface of the rock. "They're enchanted with earth magic, simply state 'for the Darmona people, tunnels open'." As she finished her sentence, sections of the rock outcropping gave way as it seemed to fold in on itself, and shortly after that a tunnel entrance was visible.

---

In your memories, you remember Eveleen being shown to a couple more of sites like these as well, and you instantly recognized this one as such.

As Carrie approaches the edge of the forest, she slows her pace to pay closer attention to her surroundings. The fact that she had managed to arrive at the edge of the forest without catching sight of any evidence of the Lamia Priestess's passage was extremely concerning to her. She could say with certainty that the group hadn't followed the path she took, despite it being the fastest route she could find. Having arrived at her destination and found no evidence of Synithise was setting Carrie on edge more than she would like to admit. As fatigued and injured as she was, the worry was truly beginning to wear at her nerves.

As Carrie paced the area searching for any sign at all of the presence or passage of a large group, she caught sight of a large rock that seemed somewhat out of place, yet also seemed strangely familiar. With a great sense of Deja-vous, Carrie recalled being in this place before. She also recalled being told the nature and purpose of the rock in question. She also recalled being given this information by a lamia who vaguely looked like Synithise.

"I'm not sure I'm ever going to get used to that.", Carrie muttered to herself, immediately realizing that the memory was Eveleen's, knowing that she had never received any such information from Synithise, or anyone who resembled her. Carrie quickly put two and two together, remembering that the dullahan are essentially immortal, and surmised that the individual in question was likely Synithise' mother. Regardless, now that Carrie knew of the existence of an underground route to this location, the lack of any tracks to follow or get ahead of through the forest made a great deal more sense. It also told Carrie that the tunnel network within Thura Forest was significantly more developed than she had at first suspected or realized.

With at least one of her concerns now seemingly addressed, Carrie settled down somewhat and began searching the immediate vicinity of the tunnel exit for any signs that a group had recently used the tunnel attached thereto. She also retrieved her binoculars from her pack and made pointed use of them to search for any signs of an encampment or Caravan in the immediate vicinity. All the while, Carrie did her best to keep a low profile so that she would hopefully detect any potential hostile elements before they detected her.

Meanwhile, Carrie began doing a bit of mental math in her head. She had taken roughly three hours to reach the northern edge of the forest on foot at a jog. Carrie reasoned that the riders that had been sent to each of the other two tribes likely moved at twice the pace, so assuming that their homes were the same distance or less from the Lamia Priestess' tunnels Carrie could likely expect that if Jasna and Eveleen had understood the message they would likely be arriving at the tunnels right about now. In fact, it was probable that they had been present for some dozen or two minutes already giving Misophe all manner of headaches. Carrie, therefore, reasoned that the earliest she could expect any search parties to appear in her vicinity would be roughly ninety minutes out.

A thought then occurred to Carrie while she searched and did the mental math on the logistics of any possible aid.

"Well, shit. If I ran that fast for that long, I've probably run nearly a full marathon at this point."

Stealth: [blockquote]Rolled 1d20+10 : 10 + 10, total 20[/blockquote]

Perception: [blockquote]Rolled 1d20+7 : 8 + 7, total 15[/blockquote]

Survival: [blockquote]Rolled 1d20+7 : 10 + 7, total 17[/blockquote]

Looking around, you managed to catch sight of a few things in particular. First, near the rock outcropping was indeed evidence of fresh trails. There were many tracks coming forth from the rock outcropping. Primarily there were long snake-like track patterns reminiscent of the lamia, along with what looked to be at least two wagons pulled by some sort of beast of burden. The tracks went northwards, and it was here that it seemed a bit more interesting. There seemed to be a flurry of activity, with various marks on the ground telling you of rough movement of people hustling quick. You found one splotch of blood that had already been drying.

Whatever the altercation was however, those first set of tracks eventually merged with those from another farther out, it seemed as if there had been another group waiting for the first group. This second group included at least one wagon, with tracks in the dirt that you recognized as hoofprints. The first tracks from the outcropping merged with those here. Then judging by the tracks, they headed northwards. It looks like all the wagons were included as well. The tracks of the lamia on the other hand, went back towards the outcropping. Pulling out your binoculars you looked northwards but found no sight of anything out of the ordinary.

As Carrie read the tracks she could see on the ground before her, she could feel her skin beginning to crawl. While she had up to this point suspected Misophe of selling her sister into slavery, having such clear, vivid confirmation right in front of her was gut-wrenching. Carrie's mind went through additional math, noting that the caravan could have up to a four-hour head start on her. Depending on the speed at which the caravan was traveling, Carrie might be able to either pace it or catch it if the occupants weren't too spooked. If they were, however, pacing the wagons would be a best-case scenario, with an outright escape from her being the worst. Regardless of what the case would be, Carrie didn't anticipate encountering the wagon train for at least eight hours worth of travel time.

Carrie then realized that she had a few decisions to make that could very well determine the outcome of her mission. First and foremost, Carrie was about to leave the forest. If Eveleen and Jasna weren't able to receive the same information Carrie had, they likely wouldn't realize what Carrie was doing until significantly later on. This raised the possibility of the trail being obscured or destroyed by the time they arrived, so Carrie concluded that the two would likely need some indication of where Carrie had gone from the edge of the forest, as well as a way to recognize that she had been present here. To this end, Carrie collects a nearby tree branch and carves a universally recognized map compass into it with her Ka-Bar. She then omits every cardinal direction but North.

"For the Darmona people, tunnels open.", Carrie states plainly to the rock outcropping and places the branch inside once it had opened. Carrie doesn't enter, simply leaving the outcropping open. Compromised as it is, little new harm could come of it. Carrie wondered for a moment if the opening might have some sort of magical alarm if left open for too long before recalling that the Lamia practiced elemental magic. It was Carrie's hope that the discovery of an open tunnel with a directional marker would lead anyone following her to conclude that this was the direction she had gone from this location and that the tunnels had been used by outside elements to engage in foul play.

Carrie then mentally acknowledged that this situation wasn't going to resolve itself any time soon. If eight hours of pursuit was the soonest she could expect to catch up with the caravan, she was going to need to have the energy to keep her pace up. To that end, Carrie collects a bit of firewood from the nearby tree line, assembles it and some tinder, and reaches for her pack of waterproof matches before coming up with an idea. Facing the fuel she had gathered to create a small campfire, Carrie points her index finger at the tinder and incants,

"Fire, spark and ignite, Firestarter."

As the tinder quickly catches and burns, spreading to the more substantial wood, Carrie retrieves her mess kit from her pack as well as an MRE and sets about cooking up a small meal to sustain the hours of pursuit that would no doubt come after. She wasn't concerned that the meal would cost her time. At some point during the following eight hours, the quarry would no doubt also be stopping to cook a meal. In fact, having a large group to feed would almost certainly result in the quarry taking more time to dine than Carrie would. The downside to taking the time to eat however was that now Carrie had a chance to sit and stew in the building anxiety and self-doubt that had been dogging her ever since she had arrived in this new world. To combat this, Carrie decides to further explore the status menu as she cooks and eats.

"Status", She utters, followed by focusing her attention in on each listed blessing in turn.

Knowledge(Local) to try to use Eveleen's knowledge of the area to narrow down the possible routes and destinations of the Caravan and perhaps take a shortcut.

[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+13 : 17 + 13, total 30[/blockquote]

As requested,  Survival.
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+7 : 20 + 7, total 27[/blockquote]
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+7 : 3 + 7, total 10[/blockquote]
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+7 : 19 + 7, total 26[/blockquote]
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+7 : 13 + 7, total 20[/blockquote]
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+7 : 3 + 7, total 10[/blockquote]
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+7 : 14 + 7, total 21[/blockquote]
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+7 : 6 + 7, total 13[/blockquote]
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+7 : 4 + 7, total 11[/blockquote]
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+7 : 9 + 7, total 16[/blockquote]
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+7 : 5 + 7, total 12[/blockquote]
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+7 : 8 + 7, total 15[/blockquote]
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+7 : 13 + 7, total 20[/blockquote]
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+7 : 20 + 7, total 27[/blockquote]
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+7 : 6 + 7, total 13[/blockquote]
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+7 : 12 + 7, total 19[/blockquote]
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+7 : 10 + 7, total 17[/blockquote]
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+7 : 20 + 7, total 27[/blockquote]
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+7 : 8 + 7, total 15[/blockquote]
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+7 : 17 + 7, total 24[/blockquote]
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+7 : 5 + 7, total 12[/blockquote]

Carrie will hustle for two hours and march straight through the next eight.

Con Checks.

[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+6 : 17 + 6, total 23[/blockquote]
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+6 : 3 + 6, total 9[/blockquote]
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+6 : 14 + 6, total 20[/blockquote]
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+6 : 9 + 6, total 15[/blockquote]
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+6 : 18 + 6, total 24[/blockquote]
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+6 : 1 + 6, total 7[/blockquote]
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+6 : 9 + 6, total 15[/blockquote]
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+6 : 17 + 6, total 23[/blockquote]

Throughout the journey, Carrie will be keeping an eye out for unfriendly wildlife. The last thing she's interested in is another boar attack.

Perception: [blockquote]Rolled 1d20+7 : 20 + 7, total 27[/blockquote]

[okay]Carrie T. Cook
The Chosen of a God
Level 28

Condition: Injured, Drowsy

HP: 38/66
MP: 22/56
STR: 21
DEX: 24
CON: 23
INT: 29
WIS: 9
CHA: 13
MAG: 21

Blessings: Quick Learner, Mana Sensitivity, Translate All, Personal Status, Magic Reflect, Program
[/okay]
[okay]Focus on Quick Learner
Gain 5 times more Experience than normal.

Focus on Mana Sensitivity
Ability to see magical glows, runes, and movement of mana.

Focus on Translate Languages
Ability to understand all spoken languages.

Focus on Personal Status
Ability to pull up the Status screen.

Focus on Magic Reflect
???

Focus on Program
Be able to program objects.
[/okay]
Focusing on the titles, brought up a list of titles you had earned. You began going through them.

[okay]
Focus on Summoned Hero
You are a summoned hero.

Focus on From Another World
You are from another world.

Focus on Sergeant
You are a sergeant.

Focus on Metallum Slayer
You slayed a metallum.

Focus on Magicless
You have the Magic Reflect blessing.

Focus on Programmer
You have the Programmer blessing.

Focus on One Who Knows Status
You have used Status.

Focus on Chef
You can cook well.

Focus on Appreciated
You are appreciated by someone.

Focus on Spellcaster
You can cast spells.

Focus on Divine Elementalist
You are adept at divine elemental magicka.

Focus on Able to be Healed
???

Focus on Delayed Reflector
???

Focus on Touched Reflector
???

Focus on Efficient Programmer
Using Program uses up half the mana.

Focus on Efficient Reflector
???

Focus on Memory Shared
You shared memories with someone.

Focus on Adopted Family
You have an adopted family.

Focus on The Chosen of a God
You are chosen by a god.

Focus on Survivalist
You can survive well.
[/okay]
[info]Knowledge (geography)
To your direct north, from Eveleen's memories, you know there to be a larger forest called the Kelso forest, once home to Lizardfolk and centaur. When the shifting had happened, most of the forest was left behind. However, there weren't direct roads heading into the forest, and move of them would split either to the northwest or the northeast. Towards the east was the Lochnager swamps, while towards the west were the Wolfen plains, home primarily to the wolfmen tribes but also other beastfolk tribes. The fact that the tunnels to the north were the ones that were used, also told you that it had to either be Kelso forest, or a path northwards, through the town of Melrose. Using this knowledge you were more able to easily predict the direction of the tracks.[/info]

QuoteOODM: You have 8 hours of travel per day, before needing to do Forced March checks. Things are slightly tweaked, but I'm using your rolls above. Here's the info.

4 hour headstart for target(s). Assuming they are on horses at 50 ft. base move. 8 hours of travel = 40 miles (or 3 hexes).

Walking: 3 miles per hour on normal terrain
Walking with Tracking: 1.5 miles per hour on normal terrain
Hustle: 6 miles per hour on normal terrain
Hustle with Tracking: 3 miles per hour on normal terrain

Travel Log
Starting at 6 AM...
3 hours: Lamia Tunnels to northern edge of Thura Forest.
1 hour: Hustle with Tracking (Rolls: 27, 27, 10), 1 nonlethal damage taken. +3 miles. Total miles: 3.
1 hour: Hustle with Tracking (Rolls: 26, 20, 10), 2 nonlethal damage taken. Total nonlethal: 3. +3 miles. Total miles: 6.
1 hour: Walking with tracking (Rolls: 21). +1.5 miles. Total miles 6.5.
1 hour: Walking with tracking (Rolls: 13, 11). +1.5 miles. Total miles 8.
1 hour: Walking with tracking (Rolls: 16). +1.5 miles. Total miles 9.5.

Forced Marching starts at 2 PM.
1 hour: Forced March (Roll: 23, DC 12). Walking with tracking (Rolls: 12, 15). +1.5 miles. Total miles: 11.
1 hour: Forced March (Roll: 9, DC 14). Walking with tracking (Rolls: 20). +1.5 miles. Total miles: 12.5. 5 nonlethal damage taken. Total nonlethal: 8
1 hour: Forced March (Roll: 20, DC 16). Walking with tracking (Rolls: 27, 13). +1.5 miles. Total miles: 14.
1 hour: Forced March (Roll: 15, DC 18). Walking with tracking (Rolls: 19). +1.5 miles. Total miles: 15.5. 3 nonlethal damage taken. Total nonlethal: 11
1 hour: Forced March (Roll: 24, DC 20). Walking with tracking (Rolls: 17, 27). +1.5 miles. Total miles: 17.
1 hour: Forced March (Roll: 7, DC 22). Walking with tracking (Rolls: 15). +1.5 miles. Total miles: 18.5. 6 nonlethal damage taken. Total nonlethal: 17
1 hour: Forced March (Roll: 15, DC 24). Walking with tracking (Rolls: 24, 12). +1.5 miles. Total miles: 20. 2 nonlethal damage taken. Total nonlethal: 19

---

---

During your tracking, you randomly gained a new title.

[okay]You have gained a new title [Survivalist]
You have gained +1 skill points[/okay]
The plains northwards was primarily tall grasses ranging from 1 foot in height all the way to around 3 or 4 ft. The were breaks every once in awhile, spanning into longer fields of brown colored shrubbery. That said, it reminded you of a Savannah, though, the temperature was much colder, and the grasses themselves were larger than those in your own world's Savannah. There was a general lifelessness, much of the grasses looked dead, or at least, weren't quite healthy. Five hours into the journey, you started to feel tired, but you forced yourself to continue marching.

You kept your eyes alert, and it was then that you spotted a crouching large cat creature, reminiscent of a cheetah, lying in wait about 20 ft in front of you. It had a golden coat spotted with black and it blended with its surrounding quite well. Though some of its facial markings were different, it looked very much like a cheetah of your own world. From the way it crouched low and kept quiet, you realized it had been planning to surprise you, another few more feet, it probably would have. Luckily, you managed to see it in time.

QuoteInitiative requested. Also feel free to roll Knowledge (nature). State what blocks of information you'd want, but I'll default to Defense info usually.

Knowledge(Nature): [blockquote]Rolled 1d20+13 : 1 + 13, total 14[/blockquote]
Prioritizing offense, defense, special in that order.

Initiative: [blockquote]Rolled 1d20+7 : 4 + 7, total 11[/blockquote]

[info]Knowledge (nature): 14
Even though it looked slightly different from a cheetah with the different markings. You definitely knew that this was perhaps this world's version of a cheetah. With the weather being relatively chilly however, it was indeed strange seeing it in a place with weather like this. That said, the surrounding environment was just as out of place in terms of the weather.

This is a CR 2 Cheetah.[/info]

The cheetah was still crouched down, eyeing you as it's muscles tensed to spring.

QuoteCarrie to take turn.

QuoteInitiative: Carrie, Cheetah

As Carrie plods on wearily, her foot freezes in midair for the second time in one day. Suddenly alert once more, her eyes catch a twitching shape in the tall grass, preparing to pounce. It was as if Carrie had stepped straight from the familiar forest and into the tale of the man-eaters of Tsavo. The only difference being that the danger present wasn't a lion, but a cheetah. Carrie knew that if it came right down to it, it was possible, though unlikely that a person could outrun a lion. Carrie knew that there was simply no way in hell a cheetah could be outrun on foot, so she doesn't bother considering flight. Instead, Carrie retrieves a flare from a vest pocket and ignites it. She presents the bright, intense flame toward the big cat, seeking to ward it off with the one thing every animal fears: Fire.

Carrie makes a point of staring the big cat in the eyes as she backs away slowly and presents the flare, while she also pulls out an old favorite exercise from boot camp. While its primary purpose is to mentally prepare recruits, Carrie realizes that it also has an application here. With a deep breath, Carrie demonstrates to the cheetah the war face, bellowing at the big cat as loud as she can and contorting her own face into an expression that conveys universally a single message.

'I'll kill you before you can kill me'

Carrie was simultaneously attempting to end this encounter without harm to herself, but also without making any noise that could be heard any real distance away. She had already had to fire off her rifle once today. She really didn't want to have to do so a second time. Hopefully, the combination of flare, eye contact, and loud vocalization would be sufficient to convince the creature that Carrie was a much more dangerous target than it had initially thought, perhaps even a predator herself that wouldn't go down easily if attacked.

Intimidate: [blockquote]Rolled 1d20+6 : 11 + 6, total 17[/blockquote]

The cheetah jumped back and let out a growl as the flare brightened up. Its ears were turned back, then flattened them as it cautiously kept it's distance from you. It's eyes staring almost hesitantly and fearfully at the flare. It wasn't outright going to attack, but it wasn't fleeing either. It had taken a few steps back. However, it continued to growl low and maintain distance.

[spoiler=Combat Log]Round 1
Carrie move action flare, attempts to intimidate as a standard action
Cheetah move action 10 ft. away.
Round 2
Carrie to take turn.[/spoiler]

Carrie immediately became concerned when the cheetah didn't withdraw despite being presented with the flare. Clearly, the predator was determined, and Carrie surmised that the creature was likely starving, given the obvious climactic mismatch between the weather and the terrain. It impressed Carrie that a cheetah had somehow managed to survive this long in a temperate zone, but it was clearly struggling if it thought hunting people was a good idea.

Another thought then occurred to Carrie as she and the cheetah stared each other down. Hunting people wasn't normal for animals. It was a learned behavior. Instantly, Carrie began to wonder where this cheetah had learned that human beings were easy prey. She also realized in that same instant that conventional big cat defense wasn't going to work against an animal that actually saw her as potential prey. The flare, she realized, was the only thing that had stopped this creature from pouncing on her, and the only thing keeping it at bay. Carrie decided to change tactics.

"Program, condition: now, statement: drop elevation forty feet, save.", was the immediate utterance from Carrie while selecting the ground beneath the cheetah. Carrie's intent was to suddenly entrap the big cat within a space low enough that it couldn't leap out, with completely vertical walls that it couldn't climb. Hopefully, the creature would learn an important lesson about messing around with people: High risk, low reward. Carrie would stick around briefly, pistol in hand now, to be sure that the impromptu trap was effective. If it was, she would extinguish the flare in the dirt and replace the cap, saving the rest of its burn time, and moving on. If not, Carrie would be waiting at the top of the pit to shoot at the creature should it make a successful escape.

The moment you used your ability, you felt yourself get sleepy, but at that same instant, the cheetah fell straight into the hole after a surprised yelp.

[spoiler=OODM]If you have other plans for the cheetah feel free to state it, but moving the scene on for brevity.[/spoiler]

---

---

Following the tracks, you continued to push yourself onwards. All in all, you traveled 15 hours just this day. Your MP had recovered a bit more as well through the journey, though your wounds from the giant boar earlier that day still continued to be sore.

Up ahead, you see the sight of civilization once again. There was a small quaint village, and though the tracks merged with others on the highway, you were still able to follow them. After all, with three wagons one after the other, along with 12 horses, the evidence of the tracks was hard to miss.

QuoteState any potential preparations before heading to the village.

As Carrie approached civilization at the end of a very long day's march, she comes to a disheartening realization. The group that she was pursuing were all mounted, and making a great deal more forward progress than she was. Carrie had hoped to catch up to her quarry by now, but they were clearly still far ahead. It became obvious to Carrie that she wasn't going to be able to catch Synithise' captors without assistance

Carrie stops before entering the village and takes a good look around to ensure that nobody is present before speaking while selecting the atmosphere. "Program, condition: Now, Statement: Convey my words to Eveleen Dunn."

Carrie then creates an additional line of code reversing the targets, then saves the program. She begins speaking regardless of whether or not Eveleen can reply. If the Dullahan and bat folk haven't found her by now, they clearly haven't found the trail that Carrie had left behind her and were in dire need of operational intelligence.

"Eveleen, this is Carrie. If you're able, please reply as soon as possible.", begins the young hero, "Synithise's sister sold her out to take over the priestesses. She had a group escort her and about half the inhabitants of the tunnels to the northern edge of the forest via the exit tunnels where the tracks left behind tell me they were loaded into two out of three wagons. The wagons are drawn by twelve horses total and are traveling at a pace that indicates that nobody is dismounted. I can't catch up on foot and I'm barely able to keep pace while tracking them. I've been able to track the Caravan to Melrose, but I've exhausted myself doing so. Unless there's someone in town who will put me up for the night, I'm going to camp a short distance off in the plains. Either that or try to sneak into someone's barn..."

Carrie then makes a point of simply waiting for a reply for several minutes, hoping that Eveleen is in a position to answer.

---

"Carrie?" It was Eveleen's voice. But she spoke again before confirming. "Look for a dullahan, by name of Donovan. He resides in the eastern outskirts of Melrose. Misophe has claimed an old right of our kingdom where the military head assumes control of any kingdom institution, including that of the Lamia Priestesses. Misuse is punishable by the crown, but we have no crown to speak of. Find mistress Synthise, and bring her back."

Eveleen's voice cut off

As Eveleen's voice was heard, Carrie was relieved to be able to make contact with someone that could potentially vector aid in her direction. What followed instead left Carrie with the understanding that Eveleen wasn't in a position to speak freely, much less render much assistance. She took her cue from Eveleen's sudden silence and whispers, "Understood. Program, modify, Condition 1:As mutually desired. Condition 2: As mutually desired Condition 3: Immediately prior to program expiration Statement: Duplicate Program. Save."

Carrie then focuses her attention on the task at hand, no longer speaking to Eveleen, and mutters to herself, "Well, so much for staying away from the flashy stuff."

Carrie then creates another program from scratch, selecting the ground itself as the object to be programmed. "Program: Condition:Now Statement: Bog down the caravan bearing the lamia priestesses in exile. Condition: The above caravan is bogged down. Statement: Bind the above caravan in rock. Condition: Any individual disembarks the above caravan. Statement: Bind the individual in rock. Condition: Has bound the caravan or a disembarked individual. Statement: Drag all bound objects and persons to me Condition: Immediately prior to program expiration Statement: Duplicate program. Condition: When desired Statement: Delete program. Save

Carrie then heads off toward the eastern outskirts of Melrose to look for the Dullahan specified, keeping away from any lights that could reveal her presence, as well as make clear to observers that she's not from this world. She attempts to sense mana as she does so, much like Synithise had taught her to within herself but trying to apply the method externally now. Carrie's reasoning is that a Dullahan probably has a larger reserve of mana than most.

Stealth: [blockquote]Rolled 1d20+10 : 12 + 10, total 22[/blockquote]

Perception: [blockquote]Rolled 1d20+7 : 1 + 7, total 8[/blockquote]

Using your ability, you felt a lot more drained. You are now sleepy.

[info]Stealth: 22
You manage to go about the village without alarming anyone. No one noticed your passing at all.

Perception: 8
Although you were able to sense mana, it took you quite awhile until you finally found a source of mana that seemed to be fairly strong at the outskirts of the village.[/info]

---

Location: New World - Melrose Village
Date: Day 3 - 11 PM

---

There was a lone shack, with an attached covered stable. But it was inside the home that you felt the amount of mana, much more, than the other villagers. That shack was about 120 ft. away.

As Carrie searched through the outskirts of Melrose, walking the border between consciousness and unconsciousness, a serene sense of comfort began to set in as if she were in some way one with the shadows that surrounded her. The trip to her destination felt a great deal like gliding through the environment as if on a cushion of air.

Both mental and physical exhaustion had finally set in fully, leaving the pain in her left arm and side the only thing keeping Carrie awake. It had been some time since she had felt such exhaustion, the last instance having occurred somewhere in a middle eastern desert. Carrie knew that if she was to remain undetected, she would need to find her way into shelter quickly. Thankfully, her destination was now near. The injured hero approached cautiously, keeping an eye out for any unwelcome attention, and proceeded to knock on the door.

"Hopefully this Donovan isn't too irritated....", Carrie mutters to herself, now leaning against the small building for support.

---

Walking up to the home, you noticed that surprisingly it was well-kept. Though it was far from the village, even in just the moonlight you were able to see that the lawn was neatly trimmed, the pathway to the house was well-maintained, and the shack itself looked fairly decent. It wasn't at all what the stories of earth could have described what a dullahan's home was like. The covered stable was an attachment to the shack, almost doubling the size of the building with just it alone. There was a huff, reminiscent of a sound coming from a horse from somewhere in there.

When you finished knocking on the door, there was a shuffle inside, along with a booming voice from deep within.

"Who's there?"

"A friend in need.", came the calm, even reply from Carrie, "My name is Carrie. Eveleen tells me you can be counted on in a pinch."

The booming voice told Carrie that the individual within wasn't asleep when she had knocked despite the late hour. Normally someone who had been woken up would sound groggy. Carrie wondered then if Dullahan even needed to sleep, but had her train of thought cut short by the sudden sensation of nearly nodding off herself before she willed her eyes back open.

Carrie was eager to get some rest, but there was no telling what it was going to take to convince the individual within that she wasn't hostile.

---

The door opened revealing a body who seemed to be wearing a simple pair of breeches and a plain shirt. There was a head cradled in his arms which grinned.

"Carrie? Hmm... Strange clothes you're wearing Carrie." The head let out a deep and bellowing laugh "Haha, but I'm not teasing or anything! You look like you can handle yourself, and I'm sure there'll be grave consequences. But to willingly visit the home of a dullahan? Now that's some dead-ication."

He stepped back, widening the door, then proceeded to sit down on one of three chairs inside the small room. It was fairly neat, though nothing spectacular. It contained only a single table at the center, with what looked to be a sink and a few cabinets against the wall. There was also what looked to be an old-style stove. You noted that it was fairly simple, and there were no beds either. Another door from that room lead directly into the stable next door.

"So! Friend of Eveleen and the dullahan what can Donovan do for you?"

QuoteColor change for Donovan to separate easier from yours.

As the door opened to reveal a headless body, Carrie was once again reminded of Paris Island, where one of her fellow marines had been decapitated right next to her. Despite everything, the sight momentarily jolted Carrie back to full mental acuity and she sighed audibly.

"I don't know if I'm ever going to get used to that...", she admitted to herself aloud, then grinning slightly at the puns being directed at her as she accepted Donovan's wordless invitation to enter.

Carrie then staggers in the door and makes her way roughly to the chair opposite Donovan, closing the door behind her and removing her helmet. As she takes a seat, she fills Donovan in on what brought her to his doorstep.

"The circumstances that bring me here are far from ideal.", Carrie begins, "The matriarch of the Lamia Priestesses, Synithise, as well as a little more than half of their number, were recently betrayed by the head of their martial arm, Synithise' sister Misophe. They were escorted out of Thura forest and were taken captive by an unknown group, known to be lead by a"Nasty looking human", as one still loyal to Synithise put it. They've been carted a ways off by caravan, and I've been tracking them all day. Immediately before coming here, I made us of a rather taxing magical ability to entrap that caravan at a distance and begin dragging it back toward my position, but now I find myself both torn up and worn out without any real safe haven. This is, hopefully, where you come in. The one thing that I need most at the moment is a safe place to rest for the evening, with the second being someone more skilled at treating the injuries from a giant boar attack than I."

The last sentence left Carrie mildly embarrassed to admit to, though it was hardly her choice anyway. This Donovan was native to Darmona, and likely could tell at a glance exactly what had wounded her.

"With this sort of wound, I thought it unwise to camp outside town where cheetahs, and who knows what else, apparently roam. Spotting one in time to avoid its ambush in the daytime is one thing. Trying to keep them at bay while sleeping through the night is another matter entirely."

---

"Troublesome news... Misophe went and riled up the dullahan? What a poorly executed plan on her part." Donovan shook his head. "You would think that being a leader of a single group would be enough to keep someone content, but for Misophe to betray her sister? Oh if their mother were still around, she'd have a word to say to them. Oh Misophe... that's not how you stay ahead of the game."

He paused for a second.

"Forgive me for horsing around, especially when you have that wound too. We dullahan are well-versed in a type of magic that could help the wounds close up. I'm not as skilled as the earliest of dullahan, so it won't be instant... Would you let me try?"

"Anything you can do that might help would be most appreciated.", Carrie accepts immediately, thinking about the wide-reaching effect the existence of such would have on a world's cultural and technological development despite her exhaustion, "Healing magic is a real game-changer."

Unfortunately, Carrie's mind didn't elucidate the specifics of the thought, only that having a solution to the problem other than technology would likely leave the task of healing the sick and injured in the hands of magic users. The thought then vaguely occurred to Carrie that having some degree of magic at one's disposal might not be enough to evidence the fact that Carrie wasn't from this world. That knowing of and using magic might actually make her stand out less.

Well, it might if Carrie were to dress the part. Carrie realized that she was soon going to need to find a way to appear normal relative to those around her, and to blend in. USMC kit was something that would clearly give her away as being from another world, if not that she's a summoned hero outright.

"Soon,", Carrie thought to herself, "As soon as this clusterfuck gets resolved, I'll need to learn as much about the local cultures as possible."

---

"Name magic is what it's called... It's different from the kind of magic most humans in this world use, and the magic that our neighbors employ. Anyways, let old Donovan take a look." His face grinned, but he eventually placed the detached head back to its attached position above his torso. For a moment it seemed to hang funny, but a few more quick taps and a slight screwing motion, he eventually managed to get it in place. Now that he had his head on however, he looked extremely tall. It wasn't as noticeable due to the fact he had his head in his hands through most of the conversation, but he was definitely a rather tall and heavily built man. Pleased with himself after getting his head attached correctly, he continued.

"It works by speaking the name of an object or thing, or even a person. At the same time, you encapsulate the target with your own mana, and will what is to happen. There's more to it of course, pronounciation, careful control of your mana, too, along with clearing your mind. By doing that, the magic takes hold. Many times too, the effects aren't as noticeable." Donovan explained. "The dullahan of old had this mastered, but these days usage of it had been much more limited. But, most of my past lives learned by doing! So let me show you."

A moment after that he stared at your wound. His eyes began to glow, and likewise an area around your wound started to glow as well. "Heal, Carrie." He said solemnly. There wasn't anything else that was outwardly visible, but the glowing soon faded. The wound was still there however.

"That's that! Not an instant effect, but hey, wait til the morning! A night's rest should leave you completely healed. Anyways, if Synithise really is in danger right now... Well, I wouldn't be a good dullahan if I didn't do something about it... right?"

He smiled and grinned at you.

"Unlike mortal men, I have no need of sleep. None of us do. Before we let them leave, I say we bring old Donovan to them... For hundreds of years now, we dullahan have worked to change our image towards the rest of the populace... Being accepted as members of this country, even. But if there's a nasty looking human, well... I still remember the old tales of the dullahan. Headless horsemen roaming the haunted hills and forests, reaping souls..." He paused.

"Well, just the souls of 'nasty looking humans'"

As Donovan looked over her injuries, with his head now properly attached, Carrie suddenly realized upon seeing his actual full height that Donovan towered over her by at least seven or eight inches, possibly even a foot! In the blink of an eye, a minor detail overlooked due to her fatigue had caused Carrie to completely misjudge the build of the individual before her and left the young hero momentarily slightly startled when it finally clicked in her mind that this dullahan was, in fact, built like a typical lumberjack. There was just something about the incomplete human shape and the lack of rest that had left Carrie's mind at a bit of a loss for how to judge his physique. Never the less, Carrie paid close attention to Donovan's technique as he made use of the unique magic practiced by the dullahan. She made a mental note of the criteria that must be met in order to successfully cast a spell of its type. She also made particular note of the fact that Donovan's past lives as he called them had all learned the use of this magic essentially through the process of trial and error. The thought that the dullahan's unique magic might be so easily wielded left Carrie wondering why it seemed that the only barrier to entry appeared to be the knowledge that the magic type existed if there were so few who could use it. The contradiction stood out to Carrie like a sore thumb, but she decided to set that idea aside for the time being as Donovan made known his intention to go after the lamia Priestesses' captors immediately.

"Right, you're going to want a full briefing then.", Carrie immediately responds, "What's currently known about the target is that there are three wagons being pulled by four horses each. The rate of travel these wagons have been maintaining tells me that there are no dismounted elements. If there were any individuals on foot, the whole caravan would have been moving much slower than it has been. This does mean, however, that if this caravan is guarded it's being guarded by cavalry. In such a scenario, you likely won't enjoy a significant mobility advantage. You will benefit from the knowledge that those cavalry are unlikely to leave the caravan's vicinity to chase you, so hit and run attacks would enable you to essentially dictate the terms of any engagement you choose to press. Of course, if they do give chase and leave the caravan unguarded that too would present you with an opportunity. Not only could you use your knowledge of the terrain to simply shake your pursuers, but you could also potentially ambush and eliminate them in circumstances most favorable to you while anyone left at the caravan is too far away to render any support or aid. It's also known that the caravan, if my magic works as I expect, is likely headed back in our direction despite the best efforts of those trying to get away from us. You're likely to find both the wagons and anyone who dismounted from them bound fast by the earth beneath them, moving slowly this way. It's also possible that you may encounter individuals following the caravan as it moves along who were disembarked prior to my magic taking effect. If you do, they'll no doubt be fatigued from the long night march that followed a full day of ordinary travel."

Carrie pauses to make sure that Donovan is still following Carrie's train of thought before continuing, moving on to the potential complications that her new friend might face.

"What we don't know is exactly how many hostiles will be present when you arrive, or how well they're armed. We also don't know how many additional captives may be present in the two wagons that the lamia priestesses weren't loaded into. While it's possible that they're empty, this seems unlikely to me. Not only are the the wagons being pulled along by the full team of horses, where horses not needed to move a load would generally be led along by a lead, but those two wagons were kept a significant distance away from the location where the third wagon containing our missing friends was loaded. If the wagons didn't contain 'valuable cargo', there would be no reason to protect them in such a manner."

Carrie uttered the words 'valuable cargo' with a tone of utter contempt. She hated that getting into her enemy's head was requiring her to think like them. The concept of people being considered nothing more than wares to be bought and sold made Carrie's blood boil. The thought that Misophe had tried to do that to her own sister left Carrie once more seeing red, which made the next thing Carrie uttered far more difficult than it should have been.

"If you're going to try to take down the entire caravan yourself, bear in mind that you'll need to either capture or kill all hostile elements. It's possible that those involved know the location of at least one of the many exit tunnels, if not the location of the tunnel complex proper. We also need at least one of them alive to answer questions as to where they came from, who they're working for, and where they were going to deliver their captives. We can't afford to allow anyone who can compromise the tunnels to escape, so if you're not sure you can meet this objective when you lay eyes on the target it would be best to simply observe them and wait for me to catch up with you. We'll have a much better effect on target working together than either of us will alone. Oh, and this goes without saying, but I'm going to say it anyway. Whatever you do, don't get yourself killed. If things start to look ugly, remember that as long as the captives are alive we can always make another attempt later on when we're both able to engage them simultaneously."

Carrie now waits expectantly for Donovan to confirm that he understood the information he had been given, a focused and determined gaze with a hint of concern managing to cut through her otherwise exhausted demeanor.

---

Donovan considered your words carefully, nodding to himself as you spoke about exactly what you knew, their numbers, and their predicament.

"I will seek them out... But if there are as many as you say, I'll only stalk from a distance. I'd very much like to keep my head on after all." He laughed again, it was a surprisingly warm laugh, seemingly free from worry. "If I remember the little Synithise during her matriarch ceremony, she was one who had a bit of a flare to her. With us here, we'll get her back for sure."

"I'll need a couple of minutes to prepare my armor, I assume you'll be staying here until dawn? If they're here at Melrose... the only likely destination they have is towards the Northern Felencorp... Hopefully... we'll meet them on the road."

[info]After the conversation, Donovan would change into his gear[/info].

"Correct.", Carrie replies, "I'll join you as soon as I'm able once I wake. That said, the ground these wagons likely covered would put them roughly four hours down the road from here at the time I used my magic to attempt to snare them and drag them toward us. If you can plot where they're likely to have been at that point in time on a map, following a straight line between here and that point will almost certainly bring you quickly into contact with them. I'm not sure at exactly what speed they're likely to be dragged back in this direction, but the last time I used this ability in a lesser but similar fashion it wasn't very rapid at all. I'm not expecting them to be in this area before dawn, but if you find that I've miscalculated, do try to return and wake me before their arrival."

Carrie pauses a moment before realizing that with a Dullahan involved in the hunt, there was a very real possibility that the enemy wouldn't survive long enough for her to ever see them.

"Assuming you leave any of them for me, anyway.", Carrie adds with a weak smile and a small chuckle as she retrieves her bedroll from her pack and unrolls it in an open space on the floor. By the time Donovan has changed into his armor, Carrie has already racked out for the evening, resting her head against the softest parts of her pack as a pillow with her helmet and rifle close at hand next to her.

---

The dullahan disappeared into the stable, and soon enough Donovan was done. When he appeared again, he was sporting a set of full heavy armor. It was dark, and in some ways almost ornamental. It wasn't quite like the actual medieval armor you would have found back on earth, what Donovan wore was much more stylized. There were sharp edges on the armor, along with designs of skulls on it. On his back was a large scythe that looked just as decorated as his armor, and on his side was a whip-like weapon, that resembled links of bones, though the weapon itself was made out of metal.

"Presumably they would be on the road." Donovan said. "Seek us out." With that, Donovan left to mount his own steed. His horse neighed, and shortly after that, the sounds of the galloping horse started to fade.

---

---

[info]8 hour rest due to D&D mechanics of 'fullnight rest'[/info]

Morning soon arrived. Just as Donovan had promised, your wounds were gone. Not only that, you felt a lot more refreshed as well, more than likely, your mana had regenerated back to full. With the light of the morning sun lighting up Donovan's shack, the fact that it was a well-kept up, and relatively tidy home was even more apparent. There were some decoration, paintings of landscapes, along with some potted plants. Though Donovan did indeed look the part of a dullahan the night before, his home was a lot more normal.

As Carrie awoke, it became clear that the time was just a bit past dawn. She had wanted to get underway while it was still dark out if possible but would have to make do with the dim light that was now shining upon the world. She quickly dons her helmet and pack, then retrieves her M-4 before quietly heading out via the side door through the stable. She makes her way toward the road she knew the caravan had to have taken and begins to follow it from off to one side, making a point of concealing herself from any passers-by that she might encounter along the way.

Carrie knew that after a full night of her program blessing dragging the caravan, it was likely to be relatively close. She didn't know what condition it would be in when she found it, nor what sort of resistance she would find guarding it. All she could hope for was to spot the enemy before they were able to spot her. Finding Donovan somewhere along the way would be helpful too. Regardless, Carrie was in perfect shape once again and was itching for a chance to get at whoever had Synithise and the rest of the priestesses held captive. Carrie was no longer searching or tracking. No, Carrie was now hunting. Knowing that her enemy would be coming toward her, Carrie was simply adding her own movement to the closing speed. Carrie had always felt a certain excited, anxious anticipation whenever going into combat, but for the first time, she was feeling nothing aside from an earnest desire to end those who had done her friend harm.

Stealth: [blockquote]Rolled 1d20+10 : 3 + 10, total 13[/blockquote]
Perception: [blockquote]Rolled 1d20+8 : 5 + 8, total 13[/blockquote]

---

You headed out then, making your way to the likeliest destination of where you would find them. Since they were headed through Melrose, more than likely, they were on a northern route. After around two hours of journeying, it was then that you saw a familiar sight, it was Donovan on a dark horse. He had his head on the normal position, perhaps in an attempt not to scare off any random travellers. The moment you had seen him though, he had noticed your presence as well and only waved towards you. Beyond him, a distance away, looked to be three wagons, along with a variety of people, both humans, lamia, and beastfolk seemingly fighting with the ground. Man of them were cursing loudly. Donovan quickly rode his horse over to you, a huge grin on his face.

"It didn't take much to find them at all. They seemed to be headed towards you..." He said. "And they are indeed slavers... I was talking with one of them as he tried to get up only to be held again by the jutting earthen spears. Some travellers were attempting to free them, though, taking off my head had them running." Donovan laughed.

You noticed that Donovan and his horse suffered some wounds. More specifically his horse had some gashes, while Donovan's armor had some blood on it.

"One of them managed to put up a fight... But with the earth grabbing him like so, I managed to knock him out. He's still alive, mostly." Donovan said as he pointed to a specific form of an unconscious man wrapped up in earth, and slowly making its way towards you and Donovan.

As Carrie spotted Donovan, she couldn't help but grin, responding in kind to his pun, "Looks like they're at the end of the line."

Carrie notes the individual Donovan had knocked out, Surmising that the individual in question was most likely the leader if they had it in their head that they could contend with a dullahan. She takes a moment to search the individuals for keys that would unlock any restraints or confinement facilities left unopened before moving on to attempt to locate Synithise.

Apprehension now worked its way across Carrie's features as she searched the faces of those around her for one more familiar, knowing that when she found the one she was looking for, it was bound to bear evidence of rough treatment. She hoped that Synithise was still in relatively good health, but couldn't get the 'what if' scenario out of her head that left Carrie fearing the worst regardless of what was actually likely.

"Synithise?!", Carrie called out, listening for a response as she moved among the dismounted, struggling individuals and wagons looking for her friend, every instant without a response, causing Carrie mounting anxiety and dread.

Perception to find keys:[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+8 : 8 + 8, total 16[/blockquote]

---

When you neared them, the mounds moved towards you as well. Though, something interesting did happen, as the mounds simply came closer and closer to you, without really attempting to stop. The earth itself seemed to be pushing the unconscious and conscious bodies towards you, along with the caravans and cages themselves. If you stayed in one place, the objects might have had a chance to simply crush you, along with whoever was unlucky enough to be bound by the earth.

Altogether, there were a couple of cages that were being slowly moved towards you, the three wagons, and lastly were the humans who where either unconscious or not. The man that Donovan had pointed out to had a hood on themselves, and doing a quick search on his body, you managed to find a set of keys. He had other items as well on him, including a finely made shortsword of some sort with what looked to be a red-hand used for the grip, his cloak, along with armor, daggers, and vials.

"C-Carrie!" Synthise called out. A moment later her eyes began to water as she started crying. The earth had bound her cage too, but she didn't seem to fight with it, only letting the earth guide her towards you.

Donovan followed behind as well, keeping a close eye on both the humans and staring at the gathered Lamia.

In the space of an instant, all of Carrie's mounting fears, anxiety and dread were dispelled as if a cloud of wispy smoke scattered by a strong wind upon hearing the sound of Synithise' voice. Immediately, Carrie runs over to where her friend was being held to confirm with her eyes what her ears had told her was true. She had succeeded in recovering those captured.

With a smile plastered across her face, Carrie reaches through the bars of the cage to make contact with her friend.

"Damn, it's good to see you again!", she exclaims, while trying each key on the ring until one unlocks the cage, "I was afraid I wasn't going to find you here with everyone else. Hang tight just a little longer! We'll get you and everyone else free of this earth bind as soon as we've made sure these shitheads can't try anything."

With that, Carrie asks the obvious question of Donovan while changing position so that the moving earthen restraints don't crush anybody.

"I don't suppose we've got enough rope for all these prisoners, do we? I've got a bit of metal wire I could use, but I doubt it'd be enough for all of them."

Carrie's tone is even as she begins unlocking the restraints of any Lamia priestesses not contained in a cage. She also makes a point of handing those so freed any nearby weapons that the slavers may have been carrying. While Carrie might prefer to take prisoners in this scenario, given the large number of personnel that would be available to manage them once freed, if restraints were lacking, she wasn't going to take any chances that the slavers present might get away.

---

It took a bit of time, but you eventually managed to get the small cage opened that contained Carrie. She immediately reached over to you. She tried to hug you, though, like the rest of the Lamia, they each had manacles on them. More than likely, one of the keys on the key ring you had taken would be used.

"Enough rope for all the prisoners... Well, there might still be somethings on those wagons." Donovan said. At that moment, you noticed a movement from your side.

[info]Initiative and Perception requested[/info]

Perception: [blockquote]Rolled 1d20+8 : 13 + 8, total 21[/blockquote]

Initiative: [blockquote]Rolled 1d20+7 : 1 + 7, total 8[/blockquote]

[info]Carrie's Perception: 21
You manage to catch sight of a thrown dagger towards you. It had come from the unconscious man you had searched before. You see him managing to slip away gracefully from the earth that had been holding him.[/info]
Even though you had seen the dagger come flinging towards you, the dagger still managed to hit. You felt a slight weakening of your body.

[info]Physical Resist save requested.[/info]

"Nasty little..." Donovan said, quickly drawing his primary weapon, which was the scythe on his back as he charged towards the assailant. He managed to make a swing, but the man was able to dodge.

[info]Carrie to take turn.[/info]

[spoiler=Combat]Initiative: Assailant, Donovan: 17, Carrie: 8, Synthise: 7
Log
Round 1
Assailant attacks Carrie, and moves up from prone, succeeds grapple from earth
Donovan charges Assailant, and misses.
Carrie to take turn.[/spoiler]

Physical Resist: [blockquote]Rolled 1d20+11 : 13 + 11, total 24[/blockquote]

As Carrie feels the thrown blade connect, she reacts instantly to the fleeing opponent. Raising her rifle and tilting it slightly to the left in order to expose the iron sights mounted on the side rail, she squeezes off a burst aimed at the center of the man's back. Realizing that all the man had for protection was likely some manner of medieval leather or mail, Carrie couldn't help be pity the poor fool that had thought it a good idea to pick a fight with her. It's at this moment that the sudden event truly sinks in. "This motherfucker just pucked a fight with me!", Carrie thought with building fury, "After kidnapping Synithise, this is what passes for a good idea?!"

Carrie's entire demeanor shifts from upbeat and happy about having found Synithise straight into a cold, calm, dead-eyed stare that belied the young hero's growing rage. For the moment, Carrie's fury is a quiet one serving to focus her senses.

Burst Fire: [blockquote]Rolled 1d20+9 : 12 + 9, total 21[/blockquote] If a hit: [blockquote]Rolled 4d8 : 6, 7, 8, 6, total 27[/blockquote]

---

[info]Physical Resist: 24
Whatever the weakening was, you managed to resist it. However, the dagger had still left a wound on you. The throw was surprisingly painful, there was a lot more force into it than you would have normally expected. You were injured.[/info]

You unleashed a burst of bullets towards the foe, and though the man tried to dodge out of the way, the bullets still hit. His eyes widened in shock, looking slightly injured,though he kept his ground even though the burst of bullets had penetrated.

Synithise began to chant a spell next. "Air! Slicing storm: Gale cutter!" He spell manifested as winds began to blow towards the assailant. Unfortunately, the fact both he and Donovan were fighting in melee, it was a bit more difficult for Synithise to aim, and she ended up missing.

At that moment, a sudden heavy pressure filled the immediate area. Both Synithise and Donovan reacted to it, and it gave you the impression that the pressure was coming from the assailant himself who continued to move fluidly. Then, all of a sudden he vanished. It took you a moment to realize he was right behind you.

"Carrie!" Synithise called out in warning. You barely had time to dodge, towards that attack, you were flat-footed. You felt the assailant's dagger hit.

[info]Physical Resist requested[/info]

The earth then attempted to grapple the man again, but like before he skillfully was able to get out of the way.

"That man had been hiding his true skills." Donovan called out. The dullahan focused his eyes on you next, and they began to glow, it was similar to how it was the night before when Donovan had used his magic to accelerate your healing. "Agility, Carrie." He said. You managed to see the flow of mana, due to your greater mana sensitivity, suddenly encapsulate you, however a strange thing happened then.

That glow surrounding you suddenly sped back towards Donovan, encapsulating him instead. Donovan had a perplexed look on his face, as if not understanding what had just happened.

"My spell didn't work." The dullahan said thoughtfully. He shook his head a moment later, and instead started to close the gap between him and the assailant.

[info]Carrie to take turn[/info]

[spoiler=Combat]Initiative: Assailant, Donovan: 17, Carrie: 8, Synthise: 7
Log
Round 1
Assailant attacks Carrie, hits, and moves up from prone, succeeds grapple from earth
Donovan charges Assailant, and misses.
Carrie attacks assailant, hits.
Synithise casts a spell, misses.
Round 2
Assailant attacks Carrie, hits. Physical resist requested.
Donovan casts Agility on CArrie.
Carrie to take turn.
[/spoiler]

Physical resist: [blockquote]Rolled 1d20+11 : 3 + 11, total 14[/blockquote]

As Carrie felt the bite of her opponent's dagger once again, she immediately recoiled. Realizing that her opponent had an ability to quite literally teleport around the battlefield, Carrie back up, placing her back against one of the wagons in order to prevent the opponent from repeating the performance. Donovan was right. Carrie had laid into the man with a solid burst of gunfire and he hadn't gone down. Clearly something more would be required. She then found herself surprised by the fact that Donovan's attempt to aid her with a spell had been turned aside, leading her to conclude that magic reflect did in fact function as expected, however unfortunate the method of discovery may have been. Carrie then
came up with an impromptu solution to the problem on the spot, engaging her program ability with her M-4 as the subject.

"Program, condition now statement multiply projectile mass 1000 at muzzle exit, condition now statement multiply projectile volume 1000 at muzzle exit. Save."

Carrie then levels her weapon at the hostile individual again, ensuring that her line of fire is clear before firing off another burst. The burst in question would be very different this time. This time instead of 5.56x45mm, the projectile would suddenly exit the muzzle with the same velocity but would instead enlarge nearly instantaneously to 55.6x450mm. Effectively, Carrie had programmed her M-4 to fire rounds the size of a world war two era tank shell.

Attack:[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+9 : 11 + 9, total 20[/blockquote]

---

You began to go through the programming, but you realized you weren't going to be able to finish it in time before the assailant attacked again. At that moment a notification appeared.

[okay]Your wish is granted.[/okay]
A moment later, time seemed to slow as you very quickly went about finished the program.

[info]// Object: Bullet
// Cost: 50 MP, with Efficient Programmer: 25 MP
// File saved as: Weapon.M4Carbine.Bullet.ipl

If (Bullet.FiredFromGun()) // 2 MP per block
{
    Bullet.IncreaseSize(1000) // 48 MP, through AddPiercingDamage, for 24d6 piercing damage
}

// Object: Gun
// Cost: 54 MP, with Efficient Programmer: 27 MP
// File saved as: Weapon.M4Carbine.ipl

If (Gun.TriggerPulled()) // 2 MP per block
{
    Gun.Projectile.ApplyProgramming("Weapon.M4Carbine.Bullet.ipl") // 52 MP, as cost of saved programming, and cost of ApplyProgramming
}[/info]
The program was applied to the weapon, and just when the assailant was preparing for another strike, you pulled back on the trigger of your weapon.

[info]Roll damage through Burst Fire, 28d6.[/info]

As requested, Damage: [blockquote]Rolled 20d6 : 3, 3, 5, 6, 2, 3, 5, 1, 5, 2, 1, 5, 6, 4, 5, 6, 2, 6, 2, 2, total 74[/blockquote]

Another roll due to dice limit. Adding the 74 from the previous roll to make this roll show total damage dealt. [blockquote]Rolled 8d6+74 : 4, 4, 4, 6, 4, 6, 3, 5 + 74, total 110[/blockquote]

---

You took a quick step back, then released another burst of 3 shots. Just as you had planned with your programming, when the bullets exited the weapon, the programming was applied, increasing the size of each of the projectiles to the size of tank shells. The man's eyes widened in shock as he attempted to get out of the way, but it was too late. The speed of the bullet was much to fast for him to avoid it.

A split second later, his body burst in a spray of blood as the large bullets pierced into his body and out the other side. The look on the man's face was one of pure horror. He was dead on the spot.

[okay]You leveled up.
You leveled up.
You have gained a new title 『Permanent Programmer』
You have gained +2 CON
You leveled up.
You leveled up.
You leveled up.
You leveled up.
You leveled up.
You have gained a new title 『Double Statement Programmer』
You have gained +2 DEX
You leveled up.
You leveled up.
You leveled up.
You leveled up.
You are now level 39. Spend your unallocated points.[/okay]

Donovan who had just arrived with his weapon, and had been planning to attack the man as well eventually slowed.

"Nice job Carrie." The dullahan said, sheathing his weapon back in place. "I'm sure he's in heaven. After all, he looks pretty holey."

As the dullahan spoke, you noticed a strange almost red-glow coming from your hands. Though it felt very much like seeing the glow of mana, but this one was different. You noticed that there was no glow on Donovan at all, though, there was a bit of it in Synithise.

[info]Post two 1d100s on your character thread. Mark one as level 30, and the other as level 35. Also choose a core blessing extension.[/info]

As Carrie watched her assailant quite literally explode in a red shower of blood, bone, and everything in between, she is immediately relieved that such a dangerous individual had been stopped cold. The sudden shower of red, however, brings her back to Paris Island. Looking down, she sees the face of one of her recruits staring back at her and the sight of her uniform once more blood-soaked causes Carrie to begin feeling a rising panic at what she's about to see when she looks back up. When she does, what she sees shocks her. Amidst the chaos and carnage, a horseman approaches and utters the one pun Carrie doubts she'll ever forget. The sight of Donovan clashes harshly with the environment Carrie sees around her, causing considerable confusion, but the pun suddenly and abruptly yanks Carrie back to reality.

Carrie begins laughing, but her laughter is exceptionally odd. On the one hand, the pun is genuinely so horrible it's good. On the other hand, Carrie's laughter also conveys the distress she feels upon realizing that she had found herself full-on hallucinating an entirely different scenario over the top of the world around her. Carrie truly feels for the first time that her grip on reality is beginning to slip, and the experience terrifies her, her laughter serving to mask the emotion she truly finds herself experiencing. Her 'mirth' lasts somewhat longer than it ought to.

"Oh, you are incorrigible!", Carrie replies to Donovan, then adds to the comedy by referencing the newly deceased's current state, "It's almost like these guys can't catch a break! Now if you could lend me a hand getting them in their former captives' restraints so I can dismiss this...... unexpectedly irritating trap they're caught in, we'll be in good shape."


Carrie then resumes unlocking the restraints of the priestesses and applies the restraints she has removed to any nearby slavers, taking care to avoid staying in any one place for too long. She even makes a point of avoiding any of the slavers being crushed, despite her obvious disgust. Carrie hasn't by any means forgiven them. No, now that they've seen what she's capable of, Carrie fully intends to kill all of them. First, though, she needs them for intelligence gathering purposes. Slavers, Carrie reasons, likely get around quite a bit and likely have a solid understanding of the state of affairs within Felencorp territory. Such information would be highly useful to any insurgency. She also makes a point of addressing any captives who weren't priestesses in the hopes of offering hospitality to anyone who doesn't have somewhere to go back to.

"Do we have the space to take in refugees?", Carrie asks Synithise, "The last thing I want to do is leave someone out on the streets somewhere. If we can help some of our people rebuild their lives after nearly being taken as slaves, then perhaps this whole shit show will turn out to have a silver lining. We do also need to speak privately at some point soon. I have questions that need answers."

Carrie's tone with Synithise while uttering the last sentence is at once simultaneously sympathetic, yet conveys irritation. Unless Synithise was totally oblivious, the topic of the conversation would be obvious: Misophe.

Finally, the moment Carrie gets the opportunity she will make a point of searching through the remains of her assailant, looking for anything that might be useful. Identification perhaps? Coin? The menace's weapon would be something to take possession of before any of the other slavers demonstrates contortionist acuity. As she searches, Carrie can't help but play Donovan's game to take her mind off her rising anxiety over the recent hallucination.

"Hey, Donovan? What happens when a Felencorp agent stops moving?"

Investigate: [blockquote]Rolled 1d20+14 : 19 + 14, total 33[/blockquote]

---

Donovan's eyes stared at you keenly the moment you started to think back on your platoon. He had piercing eyes that only seemed to be drawn in more when you had started to forcefully laugh. It was reminiscent of Eveleen's gaze. Donovan eventually tore his eyes away though and only shrugged to himself. The three of you, including Synithise, had begun systematically releasing the rest of the slaves. Many of the slaves were simply crammed into each of the portable prison cells, but all locks and manacles were eventually accounted for. A couple of the slavers had already died, as most of them were not protected by cells which protected the slaves. Their mangled remains were still being slowly moved towards you, and as you proceeded with the work, there were times where you had to leave it to either Synithise or Donovan as the mash of moving rocks, bodies, and cells, became too crowded. All the slavers were crushed, but there were a few who still lived, even if they had plenty of broken bones.

The other captives on the cart were primarily the monster races of the fragment of Darmona Kingdom. You weren't completely sure what exactly each of them were, but using your own experiences of folklore and tales, there was a harpy, three minotaur-like people, a couple wolfmen, two mermaids, a lionfolk, among the many other Lamia priestesses.

"We have space for them!" Synithise said determinedly. The Lamia matriarch did seem to catch your tone however. "Well... at least after we put back the other priestesses, and myself, in our proper place..."

When you began going through the assailant's possessions, you found a couple of items. Now that you had a chance to look at them, you did notice a faint glow of mana coming from them. More than likely, no one else but you could have seen the glow due to your heroic blessings.

[info]Shortsword (unidentified, 1001), A grip and hilt of a red-colored hand grasping the blade
Cloak (unidentified, 1002), Dark colored
Leather Armor (unidentified, 1003), Dark colored
Dagger (unidentified, 1004) x5, Finely crafted looking daggers
Dagger (unidentified, 1005) x1, A grip and hilt of a red-colored hand grasping the blade
Vials (unidentified, 1006) x10, has a purple liquid inside, does not glow with mana.[/info]

"When a Felencorp Agent stops moving..." The dullahan repeated, he looked thoughtful for a moment, but eventually grinned. "A fallen corpse agent."

The moment that all of the prisoners were freed, Carrie dismisses the program compelling the earth to restrain those present and addresses those present who weren't Lamia.

"Those of you who have somewhere to go back to, feel free to grab whatever supplies you need from these slavers' caravan before heading out. I only ask one thing of you; Forget that you saw me.", Carrie pauses a moment before continuing, "Those of you who've nowhere to go are free to join us in returning to the home of the Lamia Priestesses. We've got a troublesome situation to resolve once we arrive, but we're more than happy to offer a place to stay regardless."

Carrie then turns specifically to the minotaur-looking folk before speaking again, speaking specifically to any of them who appear to be intending to avail themself of the offer of shelter if there are any, "I don't suppose I could ask you to pull one of these wagons for us, could I? With injured prisoners to transport a wagon would be our best option but would be problematic to manage otherwise."

Regardless of the answer, Carrie would respond to Donovan's answer to her comedic question with a chuckle, "I was going to say he remains, but that's a good one too!"

Meanwhile, having seen the glow of mana on the near entirety of the cloaked Felencorp agent's equipment, Carrie gathers the lot of it up and either stores it in her pack or secures it to the external webbing. Weapons, in particular, are secured externally.

"It looks like we're going to be in need of someone to identify this gear.", Carrie informs Synithise, "I'm hesitant to use captured enemy kit without knowing what I'm getting into."

Carrie also takes pointed note of the unique design to the sword and dagger and racks her brain to see if perhaps Eveleen's memories might not hold some information of relevance.

Knowledge: Arcana, History, Local, or Religion as may be appropriate.: [blockquote]Rolled 1d20+14 : 5 + 14, total 19[/blockquote]

---

[info]Identification for mechanical stats are done through Spellcraft. This same skill is used for identification of cast spells, etc. A hero's mana sensitivity will take the place of an 'identification' spell, like Detect Magic or Identity, though the check is still needed. DCs are normal, at 15 + Item's Caster Level, per item. Successful Knowledge checks related to items, will give backstory of the item.

Roll Spellcraft per item to identify them (in terms of mechanics). You can roll knowledge per item if you want each item's backstories.[/info]
[info]Knowledge (local, on design of pommel and hilt): 19
Even with Eveleen's memories, you were not able to recognize the design of the sword or dagger. It wasn't something that Eveleen had ran into before at least.[/info]
Dismissing the program was simple, as you already created a condition on casting it to disable it whenever you willed. In this way, you didn't have to go through the longer process of removing each entry manually. Soon enough, the earth stopped their relentless movement and dragging.

"Oye, I kin do dat." The minotaur said, moving himself to one of the turned wagons. The large bull-like creature placed his hands on the wagon, lifting it up fairly easily until it was right-side up. Donovan gave a slight whistle.

"Gut no-where else to be." The minotaur replied as he glanced at you, and Donovan, understanding that it was the two of you who had freed them. "I follow, ke?" He said again.

When you finished your joke, Donovan grinned.

When it came to the other two minotaur, they wanted to make their own ways back home. Soon enough the supplies on the wagons were split. Two of the minotaur, all the wolfmen, as well as the lionfolk wanted to head home. The minotaur who had spoken to you and was willing to pull the wagon, a harpy, the two mermaid, and the rest of the Lamia decided to head back with you to Thura forest.

It didn't take you long to realize that the two mermaid, one who looked more like a shark-type mermaid, and the other dressed in some frilly clothes, had trouble moving about on land.

"I'd like to get back home, too... Though the journey is far, and walking isn't something I'm very accustomed to." The shark-type mermaid said as she lifted her large fin slightly and waived it around. A moment later, those fins transformed into a pair of legs. The mermaid smiled then, an array of sharp teeth filling that grin.

"Oh, uhh... yes. Merfolk don't usually walk up here unless it's for meeting with the surface races..." The other mermaid said. This one didn't look quite as threatening at all. She wore some clothing on her, they had a particular shine to them, but they were styled in something similar to what you would have expected French maids from earth to wear.

"I find the surface world just a bit too limiting... That said, with the oceans disappearing, our own homes aren't so free either."

"You are a criminal. So it wouldn't be so free anyways." The second one blurted, only to receive a glare from the first.


It was then that Synithise decided to speak up.

"Good! Well, then let's head home! I'm really really hungry." Synithise said. "I could eat a man!" She licking her lips as a slight grumble came from her stomach.





The last one who decided to stay, the harpy, didn't say anything, though you notice that she kept looking towards you and Synithise. Her feathers were an icy blue, and from a short distance, they almost looked like slabs of ice rather than feathers. She had piercing red eyes that continued to scan both you and the Lamia, and eventually she spoke.

"You are Synthise." The harpy said as she stared at your companion. "Matriarch of the Lamia Priestess clan, of Thura Forest which we all had just passed by." She stated matter-of-factly. Next she turned her eyes towards you.

Spellcraft to see if Carrie can figure out what each item does as she stows them: Shortsword (unidentified, 1001):[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+7 : 15 + 7, total 22[/blockquote] Cloak (unidentified, 1002): [blockquote]Rolled 1d20+7 : 9 + 7, total 16[/blockquote] Leather Armor (unidentified, 1003):[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+7 : 3 + 7, total 10[/blockquote] 5 Daggers (unidentified, 1004):[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+7 : 1 + 7, total 8[/blockquote] Dagger (unidentified, 1005):[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+7 : 4 + 7, total 11[/blockquote]

As Carrie draws a blank on the symbology present on the short sword and dagger, she takes a moment to silently thank whatever deity had once more come to her aid while doing battle with the previous owner of the weapons she was contemplating, she also responds to the minotaur as well.

"Thanks, big guy. I owe you one."

As the two mermaids make it known that they're unaccustomed to walking, Carrie quickly glances over and notes the obvious. The two were definitely going to need some manner of footwear for the journey ahead. Carrie then turns to the canvas covering one of the soon to be abandoned wagons and creates a new program.

"Program, condition now, statement, become boots, statement, match size to wearer, Condition, prior to expiration, statement refresh program, save."

Carrie then retrieves two pairs of boots from the many that the canvas had suddenly become and hands them to the two mermaids.

"You're going to be wanting these if you're coming with us. Walking around barefoot is no fun, nor are the blisters that would result from it.", Carrie advises them as they finish bickering, then comments, "It sounds like you two have some history. Why don't you tell me about it while we walk?"

It's at that moment that Carrie hears the harpy put two and two together while thinking aloud. She sighs audibly, hearing the title again.

"Calling me a hero is a bit much.", Carrie replies, "I was brought here from another world, yes, but I'm just a soldier like any other. I've got some unusual tools, sure, but when all's said and done I'm just doing my job."

Carrie shoots Synithise a glance and a warm smile before continuing, "Of course, some missions are more personal than others. In any case, I have a report to make."

Carrie then turns to look away from the group and avails herself of an earlier program she had created to make contact with Eveleen.

"Eveleen, Donovan and I have secured the missing priestesses plus four and are returning with prisoners. Where should we rendezvous?"

---

Whoever this assailant was, they were packing a lot of magical equipment. More than you've seen back in the tunnels. Not even the priestesses or guards had anything of this amount of magic. As you began to use your heroic blessings to see how the flow of mana worked in the items, the reason why they were so bright in the glow of mana was because most of them were indeed enchanted. Some of them, a bit too complex for even you to make out without further analysis.

[info]As per PF, you can make Spellcraft checks once per day per item, so even you don't know what they are now, you might be able to in the future. You may not be able to get all properties of an item until you hit the DC for that property, but I'll note if an item can still be furthered analyzed.

Spellcraft (Shortsword (unidentified, 1001)): 22
This was definitely magical. You immediately got the sense of a particular aura of the mana surrounding it. Though, there were still aspects that you couldn't figure out.

Red-Hand Gripped Shortsword +1, cunning (partly identified, 1001)
https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items/magic-weapons/magic-weapon-special-abilities/cunning

Spellcraft (Cloak(unidentified, 1002)): 16
This was magical, but the way the mana was weaved into the item was too difficult to follow.

Spellcraft (Leather armor (unidentified, 1003)): 10
This was magical, but the way the mana was weaved into the item was too difficult to follow.

Spellcraft (5 Daggers (unidentified, 1004)): 8
This was magical, but the way the mana was weaved into the item was too difficult to follow.

Spellcraft (Red-Hand Gripped Dagger (unidentified, 1005)): 10
This was magical, but the way the mana was weaved into the item was too difficult to follow.[/info]

"Minotaur pay debts. Right now, I have a life debt, ke?" The large bull-creature said.

You created the program for one of the boots, and when you saved it, it immediately triggered and you felt the pull of mana leaving your body. You were already drowsy, but making boots wasn't nearly as taxing as your earlier uses. You've felt as if you had gotten much stronger than before, or at least, a larger pool of mana, likely due to the level up messages that had been occurring.

A single boot was created from the canvas, and it looked surprisingly good. Since you had the program saved, focusing on other sections of the canvas applied the same menus, and you were able to create a total of two pairs of boots.

"Thank you, dear." The shark-like mermaid flashed a toothy grin, which was of course full of sharp teeth.

"Y-yes... Thank you." The other mermaid said as she placed the boots on. "I really don't like how these feel on me... I feel really sorry for your land-people. And yes! I can tell you all about the criminal over here."

The shark-mermaid only rolled her eyes though said nothing.

"Carrie, it's good to hear from you again. It's been a hectic last day. I'm still not entirely sure how you're doing this... Voice magic? Anyways, my other riders are looking at my weirdly, one second..."

After a few moments, you heard Eveleen's voice again.

"It's fairly tense. Sorry I had to drop off yesterday night, some blood has been drawn, though enough restraint on both sides have been given to not incur an fatalities. Well... not that it would mean much to the dullahan." There was a slight chuckle from Eveleen.

"Misophe claims that she is following her legal right, and the crown would back them up. Truthfully... if the crown were here, they very well might. The royal family were quite strict with their rules. I admit, all the lives of the dullahan and voices in my head say that laws are one to be followed... The dullahan had spent lifetimes following these same laws to become part of the Darmona Kingdom. But... It's not as if we can simply go to the royal court and have this dispute settled. I and a few of our riders have the primary tunnel entrance surrounded, and a couple of others at the various exit tunnels."

As you talked to Eveleen, and listening to Eveleen's response, the rest of those with you waited patiently. The programming you applied to the atmosphere itself only whispered words directly into your ear, so you doubted any of the others could hear, unless they had an amazing skill for listening. However, they didn't seem to question the fact that you had talked to someone that wasn't physically there. The minotaur seemed confused, but the others seemed to accept it.

As Carrie listens to Eveleen describe the situation in Thura Forest, her mood darkens and her anger begins simmering once more. She speaks very directly and unambiguously.

"Misophe tried to sell her sister into slavery to Felencorp. She's asserting the right to take over leadership of the lamia priestesses in bad faith as a cover for the outright coup de'etat she just attempted. Last I checked, rendering material aid or comfort to an enemy of the state is treason.", Carrie pauses, allowing Eveleen to process the information she had just provided, then continues, "Misophe's plan was clearly to come into power with a summoned hero backing her up in order to give her move an air of legitimacy, as well as a means to enforce her will. Without that element of her plan, all she has managed to achieve is to trap herself like a rat inside her own tunnel network. Accordingly, exercise an abundance of caution. Whenever someone is backed into a corner, they become wild and desperate. The longer she's trapped, the more likely it becomes that restraint will be thrown to the wayside. At this point, the scenario has essentially devolved into a simple standoff with possible hostage involvement. Those within the tunnels who are still loyal to Synithise may have been discovered. If they have, it's possible that Misophe may use them as hostages to try to escape your cordon. Regardless, we'll be on our way to your position shortly. We're likely a bit more than a day out at this point."

Carrie then turns to the Minotaur and offers a brief explanation, "I'm using magic to speak with a friend back in Thura Forest."

She then addresses the entire group of newcomers.

"So, I'm Carrie. As at least one of you has already guessed, I was summoned from another world by Synithise here. Those of us in Thura Forest are currently planning to do whatever we can to oust Felencorp from this land. That said, we first have a bit of infighting to deal with when we return to the home of the lamia priestesses. The head of their martial arm thought it was a good idea to try to take power the day after I was summoned and, well, you can all tell just how well that's going to end for her.", Carrie then turns the conversation over to her new traveling companions, "Now that everyone knows who I am and what I'm about, who wants to introduce themself next?"

Carrie then takes a moment to whistle loudly in order to get the entire company-sized group's attention and inform all those present both verbally and via hand signals that the group was to now begin moving out as she leads the way back to Thura Forest.

"Me name Grus. Minotaur clan of south. Captured by dem bad ones. They no good, ke?" When the minotaur spoke, the others in attendance furrowed their eyebrows.

"I'll just say it, it's hard to even understand what you're saying, deary... I know the minotaur use their own language mixed with Darmonian, but..." The shark-mermaid said hesitantly.

"Carrie can understand him!" Synithise chirped in, at the same time the ice-like harpy nodded her head sagely as well in agreement.

The shark-mermaid simply shook her head, but she introduced herself shortly after.

"I'm Apulia... A mershark. And I happen to be the leader of a small group back home." She said.

"They're more like robbers! We actually managed to capture her, so she was thrown in prison." The other mermaid continued, a hint of pride in her voice.

"Not due to the mermaids of course. It was those Felencorp that did the capturing." Apulia said rolling her eyes. "And dear, before you go about accusing me, don't forget you're also a criminal."

At this the mermaid puffed her cheek. "Not really." But she turned towards you in her attempt to clear the misunderstanding. "I am Viviana, a maid in service to the mermaid princess. The Felencorp have already occupied our underwater castle you see... And I well..." She shifted slightly on her feet as if unsure to continue.

"Well do say dear." The mershark prodded.

"I kinda poisoned the food all the humans ate..." She finally said.

"Yes. And when they were throwing her in the cell with me, she was calling all humans... what was it... disgusting land slugs?" Apulia's grin widened in a smile showcasing her sharp teeth. This only brought her a glare from Viviana though.

It was then that the ice-like harpy spoke.

"You're a servant of Princess Amatheia? How has she been?" The harpy asked. "Anyways, where are my manners... My name is... Aliana. I'm from the harpy clan of the mountains in the west. Perhaps all of you already know... But we harpies are being hunted by the Felencorp. Likely due to the fact that the royal family are harpies... And therefore might see us a threat to their rule..."

The icy harpy's red eyes then locked with yours.

"But if the Thura Priestesses managed to finally summon a hero..." She left her statement hanging, the implication of her words were obvious to everyone.

"Carrie is hero? No tricked, ke?" Almost everyone.

[info]Requesting a sense motive roll for each new NPC. I'll give bits more of slight information depending on the result.[/info]

[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+7 : 5 + 7, total 12[/blockquote] Sense Motive for Grus

[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+7 : 6 + 7, total 13[/blockquote] Sense Motive for Apulia

[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+7 : 8 + 7, total 15[/blockquote] Sense Motive for Viviana

[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+7 : 18 + 7, total 25[/blockquote] Sense Motive for Aliana

[info]Sense Motive (Grus): 12
Grus seemed a bit too simple to be deceitful. When he spoke about 'dem bad ones', he probably meant the Felencorp.

Sense Motive (Apulia): 13
Apulia seemed to always be smiling with her teeth displayed out, even as she spoke. She didn't come off as being deceitful.

Sense Motive (Viviana): 15
You caught a hint of satisfaction as she finally admitted to poisoning the food of the Felencorp occupation. You didn't get any sort of remorse from her either for her actions. You noted that even though she bickered a lot of Apulia, it was harmless enough.

Sense Motive (Aliana): 25
When she said her name, she paused for just a bit too long. She momentarily avoided seeing you eye to eye as well, but continued to lock eyes afterwards when she mentioned her homeland, along with being hunted by the Felencorp, and their reasons. You had a suspicion that Aliana wasn't being completely honest.[/info]

"Yes, I can understand Grus.", Carrie responded immediately, "In fact, I can understand everyone regardless of language. If it weren't for this world's magic, I wouldn't be able to understand any of you right now. The language spoken where I come from is completely different."

Carrie then found herself more than a little amused by the banter between Apulia and Viviana. The mermaid seemed sheltered, or at least naive by comparison to her mershark counterpart, but the fact that both of them had reasons to oppose Felencorp was promising. When Apulia prodded Viviana to share how she had wound up in the slave caravan in the first place, Carrie couldn't help but burst into laughter upon hearing the admission.

"Oh, you are just precious!", Carrie says while simultaneously laughing and wincing as the sudden change in her breathing aggravates the wounds she had recently received, "The way you were talking, nobody would have guessed you had tried to kill anyone!" While Carrie had noticed Viviana declined to deny the bit about calling humans disgusting land slugs despite her presence, she likewise declined to take offense. She knew she had no idea just how ugly Felencorp could get, but if slavery was any indication the mermaid likely had plenty of reason to have a dim view of humanity. Perhaps she could change Viviana's outlook by example later on.

Carrie's laughter tapered off quickly as the harpy spoke, however. She had noticed that the second question she had asked was precisely the sort one would ask when concerned about someone they know personally. She also noticed that "Aliana" had paused just slightly before giving her name. Between the two notable behaviors, Carrie surmised that the harpy hadn't shared her real name. She had a solid hunch as to just who this individual actually was, but decided not to press the issue. She didn't doubt that Felencorp was hunting the individual with whom she was speaking in the slightest, nor would she doubt that all harpies were being hunted. Synithise had told her as much shortly after she had arrived. After all, the best way to earn trust was often to extend it and Carrie intended to foster it as much as she could between all present.

It is at this moment that Carrie realizes that not quite everyone had realized she was the "Hero".

"Yes, Grus.", Carrie replies with a smile, "I just prefer that people use my name rather than the title. I'm sorry if I didn't make that clear."

Carrie then shoots a knowing wink toward "Aliana", seeking to wordlessly convey the message, "You didn't quite fool me, but I'll keep your secret.", before turning to Synithise.

"I've got a request you're probably not going to like very much.", Carrie informs the matriarch, "I'd like you to look after our prisoners' condition so that we don't lose any on our way back. All else aside, our goal is to get Felencorp to leave Darmona and her people alone, not to kill them all. The greater the impact we can have without having to fight, the better."

---

"We can take them all to Thura forest to have their wounds healed... They're all knocked out. Oh! But we really should use those manacles on them." Synthise said, mentioning the manacles and keys that were once on the slaves.

"Let me do it!" Viviana announced, starry-eyed, and brimming with determination. "I'm a maid, so it's only natural, plus...!" She glanced towards the slavers, still unconscious. "It'll be payback!" With that, Viviana began taking sets of manacles, ensuring she knew what keys went with what, and began to systematically start manacling each one and letting out an almost mean-spirited "Hehehe" every time she locked a manacle.

With the other group of slaves having left, taking one of the wagons, there were two wagons left for the group. Once the slavers were manacled, the rest of the group began to collect what supplies were still in the area, and situated themselves in the last wagon.

As for Grus, he grabbed each manacled slaver, and simply tossed them like bags into the other wagon. Each landing thud was enough to make Synithise and Aliana wince, though Apulia seemed to enjoy the spectacle.

"Throw them higher." The mershark said, to which Grus only grunted and began to throw them in higher arc, resulting in a slightly louder thud.

Donovan, who had been fairly quiet since the introductions finally laughed heartily.

"A lively group you've found Carrie." He said, then he grinned a moment later. "Except me of course." The others looked towards him, not quite understanding his comment. Realizing this, Donovan continued to grin as he simply popped his head right off his torso.

"Y-your head!"

"Wot?"

"My, oh my."

"Oh... You're not alive. I get it."

"They're all yours then.", Carrie replies to Viviana as she moves to carry out Synithise' suggestion, though when she hears the first thud in the back of the wagon, Carrie turns around to see what made the noise and immediately face-palms. Clearly, the treatment that her new traveling companions had experienced left them with less consideration for their former captors than was ideal. As Apulia chimes in and gets Grus to throw the prisoners in an even higher arc, Carrie simply rolls her eyes as she turns to face away from the spectacle and scans her surroundings while the wagon is loaded with prisoners.

Carrie can't help but laugh again as Donovan continues with his puns, and once more chooses to respond in kind despite once more wincing in pain as the laughter irritates the knife wounds she had received from the Felencorp agent she had fought not long ago.

"That comedy really is one way to get a head.", Carrie replies, unintentionally ending the sentence with a pained, "Ow.", As she reflexively reaches to her side and back.

"Man, this is going to be an uncomfortable hike.", Carrie says under her breath as she recovers from the painful laughter, "At least It'll be easy to keep my eyes open."

As useful as magic was, Carrie was quickly becoming irritated with the degree to which it left her mentally exhausted. Magic was, she was learning, a tool to be used judiciously and only when needed.

[info]Hero point earned. Moved to chapter 6 shortly.[/info]

When you laughed, everyone else couldn't help but share in the mirth of the atmosphere. And with those lingering tones as everyone finally settled the wagon, with Grus pulling the entire thing himself, the group moved back towards the south; their destination: Thura forest.