scotland ♔ yet how the wind revives us here

[untethered]

♬ Presentiment - Manami Kiyota

WHO || Belle, Gold, Emma, Hook, Lila [closed]
WHAT || Several Knights take a secret journey to try to help Amara...
WHERE || Oakhurst, Scotland
WHEN || January 15th, 2014 [forward dated]
HOW || Actionspam

It's probably a very good thing that Gold sweet-talked them a car in the nearby tiny Scottish village of Oakhurst, because it is freezing cold out and snow blankets almost everything around. Walking the seven miles up the Old Road to the ruins would be a bitch and a half.

Instead, they comfortably drove past rocky downs, near stands of old-growth oak covered in snow, and past two farms that looked abandoned. No other travelers were visible on the lonely road, which finally curves, passing east of a narrow ravine. Belle signals for them to pull over here, where, at the road's closest approach to the cleft, several broken pillars jut from the earth where the ravine widens and opens into something akin to more of a deep, but narrow, cavern. Two of the pillars stand straight, but most of them lean against the sloped earth. Others are broken and several have apparently fallen into the darkness-shrouded depths. A few similar pillars are visible on the opposite side of the ravine.

Comments

[bittersweeter]

[ wow don't touch lila's new gnome friend. her next shot hits (atk 18, dmg 13) and she decides that's enough violence for her until belle can give her a potion, so she's just gonna move over to erky and be in pain, 'kay? 'kay. four against one on the other tree, if they can't handle it... ]

[sternshield]

[ erky will clap her on the shoulder lightly and heal her for 3 dmg in gratitude ] Thank you, friend. ... For not discharging your weapon into me instead of him, for one.

[uncurse]

[ with an attack of 25, this time she shoots effectively into the tree beside hook instead of into her boyfriend for 10 dmg. watching the tree crippled by the gunshot, she hurries to approach hook afterward, lowering her weapon. ]

You okay? [ she doesn't touch him as she approaches, and in fact she looks uncomfortable even asking or drawing near, but guilt wins out and she feels obligated to ask where she'd otherwise just glance over worriedly. ]

[bittersweeter]

[ lila gives erky a weak smile and fishes out her bag o'drugs to pop some pain killers. though she does add, dismissively, because it's no big deal but he healed her a little so she's not going to absolutely dismiss it, a tired de nada. ] Je t'en prie.

[untethered]

[ belle breaks open her bag of potions, to dole out to anyone who would like one. she casts a look up at the looming top of that tree beyond the stone wall to the south. ] I think we might have found our grove. If there are going to be answers anywhere...

[undealt]

[Gold slides his weapon back into his jacket.] Then perhaps this journey can finally reach a conclusion- if not a pleasant one.

[Just gonna head that way nbd.]

[uncurse]

Yeah, I'm sure this'll be fun.

[ her quip is wryly delivered, coming out as she begins to trek after gold. ]

[unhand]

[Hook gives Emma a bit of a nod when she asks, but he waits to down his potion before fully responding to her question. He catches up to her and shrugs, a hint of a smile on his face.]

No harm done. But I do appreciate the worry.

[bittersweeter]

[ lila grabs a potion from belle, with thanks, and downs it for +9 hp so yay, she is back to her max hp. which isn't saying much, tbh. she trails behind the rest of them, changing out the clip on her gun so she's not stuck doing it in the middle of shooting the shit out of a druid, whatever the hell that is. ]

[uncurse]

[ emma will note lila's plan and duplicate it, taking out the empty magazine of her gun and handing it over to hook, since he's fallen in step beside her. it becomes clear at this point in time that no, she wasn't wooing him with shiny gems, she was using him as a packmule. he has all of those pockets to store items in, he can hold onto her empty clip for when she gets a chance to reload it. seems like a good way to shut him up about the worry.

and then she's reloading a new magazine into her gun and carrying on with her life. :) ]

[unhand]

[Hook takes it like a good husband, slipping it into a pocket. He'll just take the opportunity to reload his as well, though he's more likely to go for his sword than the gun. He could always get disarmed.]

[untethered]

[ belle keeps her gun out, sticking close to gold's side as erky tries in vain to see over the courtyard wall of heavy stones, but as it stands about 20' high, that's a little silly. moving towards the opening, they see that it creates a half-walled clearing beyond, among the briars. several varieties of plants grow around the perimeter, including a few suspicious-looking saplings, but their importance pales before that which stands at the courtyard's center. beneath the venomous fungal light grows a singular tree of evil. its blackened, twisted limbs reach upward towards the stalactite-dotted ceiling high above, like a skeletal hand clawing its way from the earth. human figures stand near the tree: a woman and two men. a three foot long tree frog squats next to one of the men.

a spot check of 10+ can notice that one of the men is wearing scale mail and carries an impressive looking longsword, while the woman wears leggings and a half-robe, wielding a staff and shortbow. a spot check of 13+ reveals something wrong with their skin: it seems rough, and barklike, an unnatural shade, their expressions strangely blank. the remaining man wears a simple brown cassock, a sickle in hand, and remains positioned slightly behind all the others. three more of those strange tree creatures stand between the party and the human figures.



the man in the cassock raises his hands immediately as they enter: "Wait a moment before you take action! You know not what you do, treading this hallowed ground." ]

[uncurse]

What I know is that this hallowed ground has some magic we need. So, unless you wanna hand it over the threshold, we're coming in.

[ emma will take a beat and pause at least to humor him. ]

[undealt]

[Why does anyone let you be diplomatic, Swan?

Gold reaches over and puts a hand on her shoulder to shut her up.]

What my squire means is we've come a long way to get here. I think it would be a shame to turn back empty handed. [(Diplomacy 21)]

[untethered]

[

understanding wends its way across his face, and he leans on his staff with both hands.

"Ahhh, so you've come for the fruit of the Gulthias Tree." the druid spreads his hands open. "I'm afraid there is regrettably little I could do to fill your hands today. The Tree ripens but two fruits every year, when properly nurtured, and it is not yet the summer solstice. Although, it is perhaps timely, that you should arrive as you have." he scrutinizes their faces. "You seek the midsummer fruit, then? The apple that heals any ail? It is the next fruit this Tree will bear, and I can assure you - its power is as great as any stories may tell." his eyes glitter darkly as he gestures to the tree. "None of you appear to carry any illness. You seek this fruit to heal some friend or loved one?" ]

[unhand]

[Hook watches him suspiciously (sense motive 17), arms crossed over his body.]

Aye. One who couldn't come with. [He doesn't deem it necessary to explain the exact nature of Amara's illness or why she couldn't come with. It's irrelevant.]

[uncurse]

[ she shoots a look at gold like DIDN'T I FUCKING TELL YOU. WHY ARE WE DOING THIS MIDWINTER. but she surges on pushing the druid. ]

There's a curse; we need to break it. I'm not leaving here without a way to do that.

[untethered]

[ idk hook, he sounds remarkably on the level, actually.



"I admire your dedication." he raises one finger to point at the tree. "I think we can come to some sort of ... arrangement. In order for the Gulthias Tree to bear fruit, certain conditions must be fulfilled - and fulfilled very soon." he turns to move closer to the ominous looking landmark, placing one hand on the side of it. "It's beautiful, no? In an age long past, someone staked a vampire to the earth on this very spot. The wooden stake was yet green and took root. And so grew the Gulthias Tree, reverberating with dark primal power to those who can tap it."

belle speaks up, glancing at the others warily: ] Dark power? What... what does that mean?

[ his fingers rake across the bark and a spot check of 15+ would notice strange depressions in the tree. a spot check of 20+ would notice that they appear to be distinctly human shaped.

"The tree remains tied to the vampiric nature of the one who gave birth to it. Just as the vampire, its power comes from the life of others, but also - just as the vampire - it does more than simply drain that life for its own purposes. It offers a... transformation." it's hard to miss the note of awe in his voice as he turns towards them. "But unlike its dark originator, the transformation is pure in nature. A gift, not a curse." ]

[bittersweeter]

[ quiet until now, lila pipes up from the back. ] I'll do it.

[undealt]

[Gold makes both spot checks because he rolls like a pimp, but that's less important when it comes down to it, because LILA. REALLY.]

Do you even understand what it is he's asking?

[bittersweeter]

Does it matter? [ aka, no, she really doesn't. but. ] It's the only way to get the apple and save Amara.

[uncurse]

Damn right it matters! That's not a way. [ she looks from lila to the druid, offended and angry and. you know. emma swan. ] "A gift." Let me guess: in the form of protecting this place. [ she spies those human-shaped dips in the tree (spot 25) and is wondering what the chances are that they just murdered a bunch of people sacrificed for magic fruit. o o p s. two bark-like cronies do not a long line of magic apple auctions make. ] I don't call that much of a gift.

[unhand]

[Hook touches Lila's shoulder.] Easy, love. We all want to save her, but don't go making any deals without reading the fine print. We don't even know they'd give us the fruit. [And even if they would, he'll damn well stop her. But at least he can keep her from throwing herself on the pyre for absolutely no reason. If it turns out there is a reason..... they can deal with that later.]

[untethered]

[

"Supplicants that are accepted by the Gulthias Tree retain their life, which becomes bound to this grove, yes." his eyes glitter as he meets lila's gaze, obviously pleased by her quick volunteering. "You will lose all desire for anything beyond preserving the sanctity of this place, so you will not suffer, or regret." he looks to the two bark-skinned humans in front of him. "Braford and Sharwyn have found true peace through their service and obedience. The same can be yours." erky's expression darkens at that, as belle casts a worried glance at gold, clearly wondering what he thinks of all this, since he seems to grasp what's going on pretty solidly. it's clear that she is not on board with any of this.

"The midsummer apple would, of course, be yours, should you provide me with two supplicants. I give the fruit to the goblins with orders to disperse the seeds on the surface. Deceitful, greedy beings that they are, the goblins barter the fruit for coin, but the seeds are dispersed all the same, and my plan for colonizing the surface with the Children of Gulthias continues." the druid gestures at the strange tree-like creatures they'd killed so many of already, and then cants his head at hook. "My ends would be served just as well if you took the seeds. I care not for the payment." ]

[unhand]

[Colonizing the surface? That doesn't sound any better than the idea of sacrificing any of their number to become tree zombies. Or anyone at all. He'd like to cure Amara as well, but not at this cost. Without further warning, he draws his gun and shoots at the druid (atk 16, dmg 4 if it hits).

#goodlifechoices.]