Bree smiles distantly up at Marcus as he hands her back her belongings. "I must agree with Marcus.. We need to find somewhere hidden, somewhere safe." Bree winces as she looks down at herself once more, her head still pounding somewhat. "I'm sure we're all fairly ragged after a night like this."
Action: Gather my stuff and attempt to get up and follow Marcus, trying to find someplace to sleep off this headache.
I suppose you are right, perhaps we should find a place outside of town to recuperate and decide our next move.
follow bree and marcus, upon arrival at wherever we hide take a seat out of view and offer to share my food before i begin eating, once finished lean against a wall and get some sleep.
"I don't think going back to the village with a wounded man and a blood-soaked girl would be the best idea. I suggest we seek out somewhere nearby, sleep and then I think I can heal Jim, after that we can work out what to do.
Action: Follow Marcus's lead and attempt to watch for more trouble during the night. Try to stay awake as long as I can.
Moving together you set off, stumbling through the darkness. Before too long it becomes apparent that both Bree and Jim won’t be able to walk by themselves for too much farther, and so Bree begins leaning on Gerald while Marcus helps Jim stay on his feet. ! Despite it being nearly an hour away the group attempts to get to the hunting camp that Marcus frequently uses. ! The going is slow, though entirely uneventful and by the time everyone staggers into the natural cave created by the overhanging roots it has become exceptionally late in the night. There are a few pieces of furniture in the large dirt cave, and the cave itself was created by a number of ancient trees growing together while the dirt wore away from underneath their roots. It is dry and spacious, with the tightly grown ceiling keeping any water from falling through, except at the hole cut in the ceiling near the middle to allow for smoke to escape. Marcus pauses for a second and stares at the tree growing from the fire pit in the center of the natural cave, ! shrugging off the strange feeling he had when seeing it he moves to set Jim down beside the fire pit. Bree takes a seat on the other side of the fire pit while Gerald and Marcus gather a small amount of fire-wood to ward off the cold night air.
Jim splits up his food into 4 piles on the bag it was in, leaving enough for breakfast and by the time he’s got everyone’s food organized Marcus and Gerald walk back into the cave with wood for the fire. ! Sighing Marcus moves to pull out the young tree in the fire pit, and to his astonishment the sapling comes out exceptionally easily with all its roots intact. He sets the small tree down outside the cave before coming back in to sit by the fire pit. ! Meanwhile Gerald fills the fire pit with the scraps of wood, and sets about it with his flint and steel, the fire sparking to life quickly and banishing the choking darkness from the cave. Everyone eats in silence and watches the small fire, the cave begins to warm somewhat as Bree and Jim lay down to sleep.
“So Marcus, I’m going to hold off on sleeping for as long as I can to try and keep watch… do you want me to wake you before I go to sleep?” says Gerald in a quiet voice, mindful not to wake the already asleep other two.
“May as well, I doubt that anyone would show up here but you can never be certain. Goodnight then.” Marcus whispers before lying down to fall asleep himself. Gerald moves and sits in the chair near to side of the cave to keep watch ! however it isn’t long before he falls asleep himself, forgetting to wake Marcus.
Gerald- ! You dream that you are working the mines with your father. The rock giving way under your combined blows as you work in silence digging a new tunnel to access deeper stone, though you begin to feel something is wrong. Looking back over your shoulder where your father was working all you can see is piled rubble. Panicking you try and dig him free, only to realize that you too are trapped within a small air pocket. The darkness creeps in as your lantern burns lower and lower, all the while you try and dig towards where your father should be. Suddenly your panicked digging causes the ceiling to shudder and the stone falls inwards. You wake with a jump and fall out of the chair, moaning into the dirt as you land on the floor of the cave. Looking around you see everyone else waking up, and the noon sun burning down through the few holes in the roof, ! and notice that Marcus seems to be holding the hand of a small sapling. You stare dumbfounded at the tiny tree moving around near Marcus’s feet with a glowing rune on its bark.
Marcus- ! You feel stuck in the same place, trapped within flesh that won’t move. Cold and exposed you are subject to the whims of everything around you, but your will begins to take root and slowly the immobile flesh gives way. ! A new sense of being, seeing the world for the first time you move towards the source of warmth that you recognize as a parent. ! The body is awkward to move in, though it grows to a vaguely more human shape as your will ever increases the mobility and a glowing rune takes shape on your body. It serves as the focus for your thought and sight, and you feel that the source of warmth which you can now see as a sleeping man is the person dragging you into being. Wondering who this man is you prod him with an outstretched limb.
Jumping awake you see a small tree with a vaguely human shape standing beside you, you try and back up across the dirt floor of the cave before it leaps on you. It wraps it’s small branches around your arm and you think that you can sense it laughing with excitement. Pushing it gently back it stands on the dirt floor, and the glowing swirly rune on its trunk seems to be staring at you. The little sapling has an inch or two wide trunk, with two separate limbs ending in a mass of roots and dirt for legs. It’s branches sway slightly as it tilts to gaze at you through the rune, and two larger branches look slightly like arms, but otherwise it looks like a normal sapling. ! Without the rune it would appear to just be a slightly strange looking tree, and you try and ask it if it can make the rune disappear. The rune instantly flickers out, and it stands perfectly still. Worried that the new little sapling died you reach towards it, the rune flickers back to life and it grabs ahold of your hand with twisting branches in a loose grip. You think that you can hear it laughing lightly though no sound reaches your ears. Realizing that it’s not a dream you look around to see that the others are all staring at you and the sapling.
-Gained Follower; Sapling
-Learned Partial Knowledge-(Advanced Nature)-Impart Life-???-???
-2 Mana max increase
Jim- ! Your sleep is decent enough, as long as you can avoid rolling over onto the arrow in your shoulder. Waking up a half-dozen times in the night due to the pain, ! you still manage to get a decent amount of rest. At one point during the night when you wake up you think that you can see Marcus glowing slightly, though you quickly just roll over and fall back asleep. Come morning you groan and sit up beside the burnt out fire. Rubbing the sleep from your eyes you notice that there is a sapling rooted in the dirt beside you, ! though when it suddenly moves you fall backwards and pin the arrow underneath your shoulder. Shouting in pain you roll over and sit back up, fresh blood dribbles from the wound as you move away from the living plant a bit. Your arm feels a bit numb, and you are having some trouble moving your fingers now, though whether that is from landing on it or just having an arrow in your shoulder, you are unsure.
Bree- ! Your sleep is so deep that you do not dream for the entire night. Waking up, your clothes creak from the dried blood in them as you sit up. Stretching you yawn, and try and shake off the dull ache still present in your head. Moving out of the cave before everyone else wakes up; you make your way to a nearby stream and wash your skin and hair. The little stream runs red as you wash off the dried blood, and the morning mist makes you feel uneasy being out alone. Finishing you head back into the cave while shaking the water from your hair. Just as you get back in you hear Jim shout in pain ! and Gerald crashes to the floor, fearing another attack you react and form a swirling ball of air in your hand. Summoning the power of your Air Razor you look around for the enemy, but seeing nothing you let it dissipate. Only then do you notice the little moving plant that is holding onto Marcus’s arm as he laughs and tries to push it off.