(Heart of the Dragon) The Spire

[Cayce]

There were stories, stories best told in the dark, of places that shifted inside the bounds of the world. Stories of places that were there one moment, and gone the next. Stories of places that defied the borders of countries, and places that faded like a mirage born from desert sun. All of those stories, though, were but a pale reflection of the reality of the Hedge. Though there were maps made of the Hedge, each line, each notation was nothing more than a metaphor, a concept that was created because comprehension would otherwise be impossible. The Hedge was not a place supported by the bones of the earth. It was not even a place ruled by tide or current. It was a place that might as well have been ruled by the fickle imaginations of the young, for distance hewed and hawed as if on the whim of the Hedge itself, and even Trods shrunk and grew, even more mercurial than the phases of the moon.

And yet, that very same ineffable landscape, that same indefinable nature, became it's own form of logic, and that was how the Lost of Sacramento could understand the Spire. It was a formation of rock that seemed to shrink and grow, and to shift across the horizon. At times, it was only visible out of the corner of the eye, and at others it was like an incision in the sky itself, dominating the center of the horizon, stretching unending into the heavens. At other times, it wasn't even visible.

As with all things in the Hedge, however, the idea of the Spire called it into being, like it was a melody summoned by a bow upon a violin's strings. No sooner did they walk into the Hedge, having taken the Capitol Park Gate, than they saw the Spire, looming up out of the forest of thorns like the altar of a dark god. The sky itself seemed as though it was set aflame, a perpetual sunset having eclipsed the vault of the heavens, and the Spire rose as a glistening tower of obsidian, the fire of the sky glinting off of the volcanic glass like fire trapped in amber. A path led towards the Spire, the trail having been burned into existence, though new growth had begun to reclaim what once belonged to the wilderness of the Hedge.

Don't forget to Post equipment!

[Mhairi Ankaa]

The Autumn Wisp, the Dread Queen of the Fear Swept Season...was unusually somber.

The day had finally dawned, they were to scout the Dragon's lair...but Mhairi knew that anything was possible. Even an unplanned confrontation with the Cultists....or the Dragon himself.

Mhairi tries to center herself, or at least distance herself from the Fear, anticipation and worse coiled and twisted within as she and the others gathered, and passed through the Capitol Park Gate. Meeting the flame scorched earth below them and bloody sky above them, a loud beacon that even the Hedge knew just what they'd ventured forth to do.

Fell-flames tried to scan the area around them, but they were always drawn the black, glinting blade sharp Spire that was their destination.

Equipment

HS Warfans, HS Choker, Bronze Leaf Keychain, Bottles of water, trail mix, First Aid kit, Leather Jacket, running shoes,

[Changeling ST]

Malcolm Green Orianna Seraphina Swami M Yumyumcrow

[Seraphina]

Agreeing to go into the Hedge wasn't an easy one for Sera. While her endurance hadn't been terriable, it still wasn't pleasent. But she goes anyways, knowing they had to do this, this was an important step.

A deep breath was taken as she follows behind Mhairi. Shaking hands shoved into her jeans and clenched into fists.

Wide sapphire eyes look up at the sphire, a chill running down her back. Rocking back on her sneakered feet, she sighs heavily. They were going to do this, really do this, no turning back now.

Well...she doesn't have much, jeans, leather coat and sneakers:/

[Malcolm Green]

Green appears.

This time, the towering Elemental is prepared is his hedge journey. His shaggy head is swathed in a green bandana; a scarred and patch greatcoat adds to his impressive frame; strange boots that seem ill-fitting, even for his great size, adorn his feet. A hempen bag bounces at his hip, hung from his shoulder by a strap.

His eyes are fixed upon the Spire. When at last he is forced to break his stare, he notices the great burn scarring the landscape of the Hedge. Green grimaces and absently rubs his side. Sometimes he can remember the wall of flame from the great dragon's passing. He had been this close when fire burned and whirlwind road as the Elder Wyrm had burst forth from the Hedge to challenge Spartan, the old King of Summer in deadly combat.

He looked at the others and simply nodded.

"Who leads?" The mountain asked simply.

Green wares one of his greatcoats (counting as 0/1 armor) and his Dead Man's Boots. Currently he does not have the Boots activated.

He has a bag. In it he has his small axe, a bottle of water, ration bars, gloves, and a rolled blanket.

He will already of activated his Seeming blessing, fortifying himself further against the dangers of the Hedge.

[Swami M]

Once again, Alex finds himself at the border of dreams and reality. This could easily be a scene from Lord of the Rings. All that is lacking is the giant glowing Eye at the top of the tower...

"I can scout ahead a bit if you'd like."

Equipment

Leather jacket, hiking boots, Summer pocketknife, hiking stick, day pack, rain poncho, work gloves, 2 water bottles, whistle, small metal mirror, small flashlight, matches, 2 disposable cigarette lighters, reporter's notebook and pencils, first aid kit, extra pairs of socks, power bars and beef jerky.

[Mhairi Ankaa]

"Alex can take point, but we still need to wait for Morgan to catch up." says Mhairi in a quiet voice before she follows after Green and gathers Glamour around herself to bring to bare the blessing of her elemental nature.

-Mhairi's also Activating her Seeming Blessing increasing her health by her wyrd for the scene.

Origins

[Morgan Bellanar]

Morgan had skulked in the shadows until they were ready to venture forth. It may have slowed her down but in her mind it was needed. The Paladin didn't see a way to explain her attire to any normans that they met. That she came prepared for stealth was very obvious. She'd acquired a new jacket, black and non-reflective to ensure it didn't give her away. Same went for the rest of her attire: a ninja Halloween costume. Not those brightly colored ninjas that are popular now, but the old school black as midnight ninjas. She'd been tempted to bring along a fire extinguisher too. Yet with everything else in her backpack she couldn't figure out how to make it fit. The Beast was at least paranoid enough to enter well armed.

She'd even taken the time to black out parts of her skin that might be exposed with shoe polish. Yes, Morgan was being as crazy prepared as she could manage.

As they entered, the Steepcrambler hunched down low upon seeing the spire. Her eyes darted across the thorns, a blade already being removed from the belt holster. Less fighting would be the best option, but she new the Hedge doesn't take well with plans.

"Heh, apologies that I taried. Twas heh hard to finish preparations. I've more boot polish if other folks heh want to use it."

Gear

Black leather jacket, running shoes, and a Halloween ninja costume are worn. Two throwing knives up each sleeve. Belt with a sheathed dagger and a carry case for 4 throwing knives. Jacket pockets contain a small LED flashlight, a cheap lighter, 1 6-inch glow sticks, and a road flare. Morgan is carrying a pair of binoculars. Backpack contains: 1-Roll of Duct tape, 10 6-inch yellow glow sticks, 2 regular flashlights, 28-ft of twine, 2 throwing knives, a half dozen Granola bars, 1 Bottle of Water, 1 bottle of glamour spring water, 1 small First Aid kit, 1 road flare, non-toxic black shoe polish, a change of clothes, and a Small tuperware holding 4 ziplock snacks bags of salt, garlic powder, white sage powder, and pepper.

[Cayce]

The journey towards the Spire was long, the Changelings marching under a burning sky towards the tower of obsidian, their feet crunching through the charred remains of the thorns and trampling the few sprouts of new growth brave enough to push up through the remains of devastation. The Hedge itself was mostly silent, with only the sound of wind through the branches of trees keeping them company as they trudged onwards.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, the path began to broaden, signs of recent burning carving a broad trail through the hedge. Trees had blackened and toppled, vines had disintegrated, and the blackened bones of hedgebeasts protruded upwards through the ash. This macabre scenery continued for minutes on end, until, finally, they came to a bend in the path. An outcropping of spiked rock forced the path to jog, and it was around the other side of that rock that the Changelings finally saw the base of the Spire.

A great clearing had burned into the Hedge, the flames having been so intense that the ground itself had been burned into glass. Crude barricades and a rough trench had somehow been carved in place, though there was no sign of life anywhere in the clearing. A few scraps of cloth, and even a few used wrappers and other miscellaneous pieces of trash could been seen drifting across the scorched earth, from one barricade to the next, but most shocking was what drew the eye back out toward the edge of the clearing. Five tremendous thorns punched upwards through the earth, five thorns decorated with five charred corpses, their skeletal faces and limbs twisted in preserved agony.

From what little was left of the them, Green could be fairly sure, from both what he'd heard and what he'd seen, that these were the leaders of the Dragon's Cult. The symbols carved into the thorns seemed to confirm this.

[Seraphina]

She never thought she would be happy to see the base of the Spire. It wasn't that she wasn't in shape, it was just where they were. In the Hedge, gathering intel on the Dragon. It just felt wrong and like anything could go wrong at any moment.

The bodies caused her to pause. Her heart breaking for whatever they may have experienced. Cause you know it wasn't any easy death, the agony on their faces clear.

Eyes shift to the others in the party, wondering what they were thinking. Was she the only one who felt bad for the bodies? Would they encounter more?