Castaways of Fate: The Second Day, Exploration

(OOC: All those riding ponies and exploring the island say "aye" Small group, I know, but we're way the heck over here, you're all way the heck over there, if we run into one another it'll be a miracle Plus, this way you don't have to wade through the various unrelated posts Elshana and I'll be going through.)



Brynn guides Lance down the beach. She lets him walk for a few minutes, giving Elshana a little time to get used to riding even though Elshana had assured her it wasn't necessary. She'd rather not take any chances. When she nudges Lance into a trot she is pleased with the smoothness of his gait, but still finds it most comfortable to post just a little bit every now and again, letting the natural bounce in his stride push her upward so that it's not so much effort to lift herself off of his back. It's been a while since she's ridden and her ability to grip with her knees and simply rise up as easily as she could when she was on horseback more regularly.

Lance is so large and his back so broad that she feels almost like she's doing the splits. Given her own legs not being long enough to guide him the way he's used to and Elshana holding on behind her, adding another set of possibly conflicting cues to the mix, she wonders that he can even sort out what she wants him to do with out her using vocal directions almost constantly. Once again she blesses the supernatural intellect of a paladin's mount. At least he can understand what she's asking of him when she speaks to him even if her other guides aren't working that well.

As they ride she asks Elshana, "Is there any particular reason you became a mage? Was it just growing up in Candlekeep, or was there something in it that particularly drew you? Did Gorion teach you or did someone else?" She slows Lance to a walk, letting him and Elshana both take a bit of a break, and listens to the horse's breathing to gauge his stamina while she waits for Elshana's answer.

As they ride she asks Elshana, "Is there any particular reason you became a mage? Was it just growing up in Candlekeep, or was there something in it that particularly drew you? Did Gorion teach you or did someone else?" She slows Lance to a walk, letting him and Elshana both take a bit of a break, and listens to the horse's breathing to gauge his stamina while she waits for Elshana's answer.

"Gorion wanted me to train as a mage. He taught me, mostly, though some of the other mages who came through weren't above answering the questions of a young one." Elshana sighed. "I think it was in part just growing up in Candlekeep . . . a lot of people there were mages, priests . . . I had never really given much thought as to what I was supposed to do. Magic was appropriate because almost everyone used magic somewhat." She shifted position on the horse. "It was only later, when I realized how defenceless mages are without their magic, that I trained on the blade and bow. I also began to see how dependent some mages got on their powers, and decided I didn't want that to happen to me."

"Gorion wanted me to train as a mage. He taught me, mostly, though some of the other mages who came through weren't above answering the questions of a young one." Elshana sighed. "I think it was in part just growing up in Candlekeep . . . a lot of people there were mages, priests . . . I had never really given much thought as to what I was supposed to do. Magic was appropriate because almost everyone used magic somewhat." She shifted position on the horse. "It was only later, when I realized how defenceless mages are without their magic, that I trained on the blade and bow. I also began to see how dependent some mages got on their powers, and decided I didn't want that to happen to me."

"Either I just don't have the aptitude for magic or Gorion knew the idea of training me as a mage was impractical," Brynn says, "Probably the latter, since I knew what I wanted very early on. And after Touga-sensei started training me there wasn't any time anyway. Magic interests me though, in an academic way."

She urges Lance into a trot again. "We'll be coming up to that stream we found before soon," she says, "Do you want to have Numel scout ahead of that and see what's coming up beyond?"

Probably the latter, since I knew what I wanted very early on. And after Touga-sensei started training me there wasn't any time anyway. Magic interests me though, in an academic way."

"Touga-sensei?" Elshana tried to pronounce as her compaion did, and came close. "Who is that?"

She urges Lance into a trot again. "We'll be coming up to that stream we found before soon," she says, "Do you want to have Numel scout ahead of that and see what's coming up beyond?"

"Sure. I'll let him know."

*Numel?*

There was a mumbled mutter of a mental response.

*Numel?*

*Ah. Yes? I happened to be sleeping, mistress, was there something you needed?*

Elshana grinned. It was nice to get payback for all the times he had woken her. She could tell through the link that he wasn't tired at all. . . more then likely he had found a spot to nap.

*I did happen to hear that . . .*

*I know. We need you to take a look ahead.*

The equivalent of a sarcastic, long-suffering sigh came across her mental link. *Very well. I shall find you.*

Elshana shook her head as she grinned at her familiar's antics.

Probably the latter, since I knew what I wanted very early on. And after Touga-sensei started training me there wasn't any time anyway. Magic interests me though, in an academic way."

"Touga-sensei?" Elshana tried to pronounce as her compaion did, and came close. "Who is that?"

"My sword master," Brynn says. "The kensai who trained me. He left Candlekeep the winter of my twenty third year, just a few months before I ended up leaving. Sometimes I wonder how things might have been different if he'd stayed just a few more months so that he would have been there when... well, when Gorion died. I don't think Sarevok could have stood against him, not with Gorion there too. I couldn't have asked him to stay though, he had already taken ten years of his life, time away from his own quest, from his home anf from his family, to train me. He left a wife and a young son in Wa when he came to Faerun, chasing a criminal he said. He could have stayed a month, learned what he needed from the scholars and left, found the man he was chasing and gone home, probably all within a year, but he stayed... he never told me why, though I never really asked either."

"My sword master," Brynn says. "The kensai who trained me. He left Candlekeep the winter of my twenty third year, just a few months before I ended up leaving. Sometimes I wonder how things might have been different if he'd stayed just a few more months so that he would have been there when... well, when Gorion died.

Elshana nodded, the smile fading rom her features.

I don't think Sarevok could have stood against him, not with Gorion there too. I couldn't have asked him to stay though, he had already taken ten years of his life, time away from his own quest, from his home anf from his family, to train me. He left a wife and a young son in Wa when he came to Faerun, chasing a criminal he said. He could have stayed a month, learned what he needed from the scholars and left, found the man he was chasing and gone home, probably all within a year, but he stayed... he never told me why, though I never really asked either.

Intrigued, Elshana asked. "There were never any Kensai in Candlekeep that I knew about . . . then again I wasn't really looking for them," she admits with a shrug. "So you're trained to fight without armour? How -- what was the training like?" She stops suddenly. "I've probably asked too many questions of you, huh. Sorry."

Intrigued, Elshana asked. "There were never any Kensai in Candlekeep that I knew about . . . then again I wasn't really looking for them," she admits with a shrug. "So you're trained to fight without armour? How -- what was the training like?" She stops suddenly. "I've probably asked too many questions of you, huh. Sorry."

Brynn chuckles and casually dismisses Elshana's concerns with the wave of a hand. "No problem," she says. "Training is something I'm always willing to chatter on about. Problem is getting me to stop more often than not. Training was hard, to be honest with you. Touga-sensei was hard on me. He expeected me to do what he told me, when he told me and without complaint. There was a lot of seated meditation, so I could learn how be patient and aware of what was going on around me, aware of my body too. That was the most important part, really. You slip into a state where you know what's going on intimately, and that's what helps you keep from getting hit in a fight. It's almost like a sixth sense, but it's really just all of your normal senses telling you what one or two alone couldn't so you can react in time. The quicker you can react, the less likely you will be injured, because you can either dodge a blow or block it, or drop your opponent before he hits you. I did a lot of drills too, so that I could move from one position to another fluidly, without thinking really. It all had to become instinct. Instinctive reading of an opponent's body language, instinctive knowledge of the tactics he might use and the way I might counteract them. Touga-sensei always said a kensai's best asset aside from rigorous training is his or her intuition."

They reach the same stream they'd stopped at the night before and Brynn slows Lance to a halt and slips off off of his back. "I just want to get the salt off of me," she says. "Maybe get a quick drink of water too. You should probably do the same."

Brynn chuckles and casually dismisses Elshana's concerns with the wave of a hand. "No problem," she says. "Training is something I'm always willing to chatter on about. Problem is getting me to stop more often than not. Training was hard, to be honest with you. Touga-sensei was hard on me. He expeected me to do what he told me, when he told me and without complaint. There was a lot of seated meditation, so I could learn how be patient and aware of what was going on around me, aware of my body too. That was the most important part, really. You slip into a state where you know what's going on intimately, and that's what helps you keep from getting hit in a fight. It's almost like a sixth sense, but it's really just all of your normal senses telling you what one or two alone couldn't so you can react in time. The quicker you can react, the less likely you will be injured, because you can either dodge a blow or block it, or drop your opponent before he hits you. I did a lot of drills too, so that I could move from one position to another fluidly, without thinking really. It all had to become instinct. Instinctive reading of an opponent's body language, instinctive knowledge of the tactics he might use and the way I might counteract them. Touga-sensei always said a kensai's best asset aside from rigorous training is his or her intuition."

Elshana nodded. "I got taught something similar. Intuition is the abilitity to have a hundred different things, and know one of them is out of place. But you don't know which, so follow your instinct . . and most of the time you'll be right." She gave a wry grin. "And then you learn what to do for those times when your not."

They reach the same stream they'd stopped at the night before and Brynn slows Lance to a halt and slips off off of his back. "I just want to get the salt off of me," she says. "Maybe get a quick drink of water too. You should probably do the same."

"Good idea." Elshana says, slipping to the ground.

Brynn walks up along the stream little way and then strips her clothes off and begins splashing water over herself and scrubbing her hands over her skin and hairto rinse away the film of salt. She moves quickly and is back into her clothes again in just a few minutes. She kneels by the bank and gets a sip of water. She spots Lance getting his own drink off water just a little upstream of her, and smiles when he goes and rolls in the sand, his hooves pedaling in the air for a moment. He gets up and shakes and reaches his head down to scracth an itchy spot on his left foreleg.

She braids her wet hair and hops back up on Lance's back. While she waits for Elshana she turns around backward and lies down, resting her cheek on Lance's rump. "What's Numel have to report?" she asks, giving Lance a scratch at the top of his tail.

Elshana strips out of her own clothing, grateful for the chance to wash the salt and accumulated grime off of herself. Running her hands through her short hair, Elshana couldn't help but laugh as she watches Lance roll on his back. After taking a drink, she splashes some water onto her face.

"What's Numel have to report?" she asks, giving Lance a scratch at the top of his tail.

"Good question." Elshana replied. *Numel?*

*Yes?*

*What do you see?*

*There is the jutting formation of rock we found earlier. Where the shark was.*

*Beyond that?*

*The ground becomes quite rocky. Past a rather large formation, I can observe what appears to be a small volcano.*

"A what?" Elshana says aloud, quite surprised.

*A volcano. I assume you are familiar with the term?*

*Yes. Quite familiar.* Elshana broke the connection, as her familiar smirked at her through the link. "Numel says that after where we found the shark it gets a lot more rocky. He thinks there might be a volcano up that way."

OOC: If I've really screwed up my directions here, tell me, I got a litttle confused. I'm also building on one of the early posts that suggest volcanos and lava flows. It that's a problem, let me know too.

*Yes. Quite familiar.* Elshana broke the connection, as her familiar smirked at her through the link. "Numel says that after where we found the shark it gets a lot more rocky. He thinks there might be a volcano up that way."

Brynn nods and moves around to sit properly on Lance's back. She guides the horse over to Elshana and helps the younger half-elf remount. "We'll have to be careful through that area then. Volcanic rocks can be sharp and I don't want Lance cutting his hooves up. I could heal soft tissue damage, if there was any, but I don't think I could as easily repair a cracked hoof, and if that were to happen he'd probably be lame for a good long time."

She directs Lance down the beach. They pass the place where they hunted the shark and soon they can see the rocky stretch of beach Numel had warned them of. A mile or so further along the curve of the beach Brynn sees the crest of a rock formation above the line of the trees, and beyond that a telltale conical peak stetching into the sky a short distance into the jungle.

OOC: Sorry for the delay. Had to move out of dorms. And sorry for the short post . . .

Elshana nods. "It might be more defensible then what we have now, though -- could be worth a closer look. Especially if it's inactive."

Brynn nods. "Could be true," she agrees. "If it's not active I wonder why there wouldn't be plants growing over the rocks and such now, or why they haven't been broken down into sand yet." She scans the coast. "Maybe there's a reef a little farther out that we just can't see from here that keeps the waves from hitting the beach too hard, and there may be something poisonous in the soil that keeps the plants from gowing up." She shrugs. "Or it could just be active, and currently taking a little rest before it blows again. I wish I'd studied more geology when I was young. I'm afraid I was as disinterested in the study of natural science as I was in the Art. Something about memorizing the names of hundreds of different types of rocks and their various qualities just never appealed to me. Not that the line of succession of Ancient Mulhorand isn't dry as dust too though. There was a lot of begatting that went on, and if you want to know an interesting little tidbit, a lot of it went on between brothers and sisters and other close family memebers. I wouldn't be shocked if the the whole Pharonic line was reduced to a collection of drooling mouth-breathers."

She pauses, aware that she's run off on a tangent. She decides to stop herself before she can really get going. Who knows when she would stop rambling?

"Anyway, regardless of whether the volcano is currently active or not I'd suggest we climb it as far as we can and see if we can get a better look at the terrain. Sound good to you?"

OOC -- Sorry for the delay again. RL is keeping me quite busy.

Elshana laughed. "Not my area of expertise, I'm afraid. I was more into mythology -- the epic ballads and tales. As for the natural sciences, well, randomly reading books in the library of Candlekeep teaches you smatterings of information . . . but not much beyond that. I do want to get a better look though."

Elshana laughed. "Not my area of expertise, I'm afraid. I was more into mythology -- the epic ballads and tales. As for the natural sciences, well, randomly reading books in the library of Candlekeep teaches you smatterings of information . . . but not much beyond that. I do want to get a better look though."

Brynn chuckles. "Well, it wasn't my thing either, to tell you the truth, but Gorion insisted that I get a 'varied' education. What little I know is because of that. You're right though, we ought to get a closer look."

They pick their way across the rocky beach and turn inland toward the rising cone of the volcano. It's an hour before they reach the slope and have made their way around so that they're on the inland side. Brynn instructs Lance to stay while she and Elshana climb up to get a better look around.

Brynn takes a moment and picks out a path upward. The slope isn't that steep, but it will require some actual climbing in places. She turns to Elshana and mimes a toast, "Well, looks it's time for the inagural climb of Mount Exploding-Fiery-Doom, you want to go first or shall I?"

Elshana nods. "I'll go first. Climbing is something I can do." She took a few steps forward along the path. It wasn't that hot through the soles of her boots, the volcano likely hadn't erupted recently, or the path would be buried in volcanic rock. She picked her way along the narrow path, and then glanced behind her to see if Brynn was coming.

Elshana nods. "I'll go first. Climbing is something I can do." She took a few steps forward along the path. It wasn't that hot through the soles of her boots, the volcano likely hadn't erupted recently, or the path would be buried in volcanic rock. She picked her way along the narrow path, and then glanced behind her to see if Brynn was coming.

Brynn follows after her, scrambling up the side of the volcano. "Whenever I wasn'tr training or something when I was growing up, I was climbing the walls, the trees, the buildings... have you ever looked at the grounds from the roof of the library? It's a spectacular view, and if you go around to the west side you can get a flawless look at the ocean. Gorion nearly soiled his robes when he found out I went up there. Touga-sensei wasn't that happy either, come to think of it. Most of the time Imoen and I just sat up on the courtyard walls, not that they thought that was any better. I never fell though, at least not off of anything tall enough that I was anymore than bruised. You ever get into any accidents as a kid?"

Feeling chipper thanks to his nice treatment, Lance pecked at the sparser grass a bit, then mutely stood vigil in the customary manner of any creature evolved to fear predators. He did think the smell of the air was beginning to chance, slightly.

The wind grows faster with the ladies' ascending vantage, easily enough to make Numel take heed for course-correction in any flying. Low heavy clouds grow visible coming from the other side of the island. They come swiftly, staying together like a gray flock five or six miles wide.

The wind grows faster with the ladies' ascending vantage, easily enough to make Numel take heed for course-correction in any flying. Low heavy clouds grow visible coming from the other side of the island. They come swiftly, staying together like a gray flock five or six miles wide.

Brynn stops and points. "Ummm?" she says, catching Elshana's attention by touching her shoulder. "That looks... bad. Bad bad. We'd better get down and somewhere sheltered before it hits." She starts heading back down the side of the volcano, loose stones cascading from beneath her feet.

Elshana eyed the storm. "Yeah, that doesn't look good." She slides down the scree to where they had left Lance. "And in answer to your other question . . ." She was wearing a wry grin. "I climbed the outer wall of the tower . . . just to prove Ulrant wrong after he claimed it couldn't be done. And you're right . . . the view is incredible from the top of the library, but even more so from the tower." Her grin fades a little. "When I was on the library roof, Gorion was furious, and so I refused to come down until a storm came off the ocean that night. That part was not fun." She frowned. "I finally relented, and really heard it from him the next morning."

She slid down the remaining rocks. "I stopped when Imoen kept trying to follow me up there. She's a good climber, but at that time she wouldn't have made it. Once I got older, I started climbing everything. I think Gorion eventually gave up and accepted it." She gives a slight chuckle.

Once she gets to near Lance, she stops, cocks her head. "Numel's coming back too, and we'd better get into shelter."