(Astral Dive II) Saurian Dream

[Phoenyx]

As she rose through the air, Phoenyx revelled on the space where paradox had no meaning. She would do this every day if she could. Her own experiments within the Circle were nothing like this. It was so... free.

Still, she had a job to do. She took a lay of the land from above looking to the mountains, and began to glide gently back down. The Arrow dropped to the ground as light as a feather.

"We appear to be in a valley, surrounded by mountains on all sides. One half of the valley is this forest - the other is a plain. There is a lake in the center." She pauses, thinking. "We should head for the lake. Make for the treeline, stay in the edge so we have space to hide. It's the only key feature - it must represent something."

[Puck]

So Crystal has no problem asking other people's input but decides to give the cold shoulder to a simple question? Cool beans.

Puck listens to Phoenyx as she descends to give her synopsis. He couldn't lie to himself, part of him was a bit jealous. The way she says fuck off to gravity? Pretty cool. Also unfortunately a set of skills Puck would never naturally have. His enlightenment lead him down another path, and that path wasn't quite so flashy as the Mighty's. Still cool though.

"Lead the way." A hand gestures off into the distance, though without Fate to guide it the correct direction. Still, he follows the First Talon to her mark wherever it maybe.

[Crystal]

"Sounds like a decent plan - or, like the only plan that makes any sense for now." Phoenyx could lead the way - if they took their time and didn't announce their present to everything treading this forest they could get to their destination without any further hiccups.

Still, if they had to fight a dinosaur.. the Arrows abilities when it came to aerial movement were impressive. Hopefully those abilities translated as well into combat proficiency. Crystal followed the Obrimos through the forest.

Active spells: -/-

Willpower: 2/6

Mana: 5/10

[Yumyumcrow]

The group heads off, following Phoenyx as she forged ahead. The forest remained quiet apart from the occasional bellow and screech; the air remained heavy and thick. Occasionally a winged reptile flashed through the gloom. Off to their right they could hear the sound of something big crashing through the trees - most likely the behemoth that they had fled.

Fortunately, the giant did not come any closer and remained a distant shadow through the ranks of trees.

Eventually, the forest began to thin and the ground began to dip down toward the north. As the forest began to fade, they could see a dusty plain to their left and the shoreline of a pristine lake directly in front and curving away to their right. A warm wind began to cut through the thinning trees, offering some relief from the oppressive humidity.

Through the haze of dust, vapour and giant ferns, they could make out a pod - or herd - of herbivorous dinosaurs foraging at the forest's edge.

And something else...

Phoenyx and Puck have their Sight up. Xander and Xadun can you give me a Wits + Composure roll please?

Plus, can I get one of the followings rolls, please? (Dexterity + Stealth) or (Dexterity + Survival) . The forest is thinning out and becoming much more open. And there are skittish herbivore's getting precariously close.

[Phoenyx]

As she lead the way through, Phoenyx tried to keep her eyes peeled for any more dangers. She was the tip of the Spear in this place, and had to be ready. Her training had prepared her for.... well, not quite this, but the applications of alertness were transferrable.

She was even trying to move subtly, blending with the Life all around her. There was something primal about this place, that spoke to her understanding of Life. It had always been a practical tool for her, but here.... it felt so much more.

2 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-04-30 05:54:52	Phoenyx rolls 5 to Spot things: Wits + Comp (10 Again)	2, 9, 3, 10, 7, 3	2 successes

2 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-04-30 05:56:52	Phoenyx rolls 3 to Obrimos Sneak? : Dex -1 (untrained) (10 Again)	8, 9, 2	2 successes

[Puck]

Puck continued to watch his surroundings as they made their way towards the lake. Ever watchful yet never careful would be the best way to describe his approach. Somehow he still manages to be completely unaware of how to move silently between places. He manages not to draw any direct attention this time, though whether he was really doing any better then before was a legitimate question before his peers.

  3 suxx percepion, failure to stealth

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2021-05-02 14:01:41		Puck rolls 1 to sneak (Dex-untrained) (10 Again, Chance)		6		failure
2021-05-02 14:01:25		Puck rolls 8 to Perception (Wits+Comp) (10 Again)		2, 6, 6, 8, 9, 7, 9, 2		3 successes

[Crystal]

Yes, he probably should have used his Sight, he probably should be more actively on the lookout for anything noteworthy - but Crystal was already over this humidity and this overabundance of shit. If this is anything like the Primal Wilds some Thyrsus couldn't shut up about, he was taking Demons and Pandemonium all day.

failure

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-05-03 00:14:21	Crystal rolls 3 to move silently (Dex 2 + Stealth 1) (10 Again)	6, 2, 7	failure

At some point he started pretty much relying on Phoenyx to be on the lookout for danger and to get them through the woods. Those stupid woods: it's not like he wasn't trying to be quiet, it was just pretty much impossible not to break a branch or ruffle some leaves. Ugh.
Crystal may not be doing a lot of things he should be doing, but at least he focuses on putting on an indifferent air - the last thing he needed right now was to have a petty discussion about attitude.

Active spells: -/-
Willpower: 2/6

Mana: 5/10

[Yumyumcrow]

The group blunder onward with the Arrow quietly leading, with the Libertine and the Mystogogue expertly tripping over things, tearing through the dense foliage, and discovering every twig and snapping branch that they can find.

Then there is a flash that only Puck and Phoenyx can see: a snarl or knot of Arcane lines and tracings that are as thin and delicate as gossamer which covers a large area in front of them. At the heart of this strange web - hidden in the broken stump of a tree - is a complicated Atlantean Glyph; a spell laying in wait.

Phoenyx sees with Prime: when the pieces fall in place she spies the delicate web of power and the almost invisible tracery of nodes reaching out from its heart. Definitely of Atlantean origin and with a core strong enough to be self sustaining; the filigree lattice work is made up of Blue and Cyan with some strands flashing with Crimson highlights where they strike the slanting rays of sunlight that penetrate through the fading canopy above. The weave is intricate and elegant, with a whole series of triggers and conditions built into its matrix.

Puck sees with Fate: when the pieces fall in place and his awareness flares, he spies the delicate work of Fate. The spell is definitely well structured, buttressed by at least one other Arcanum, and either very powerful or very complex with a series of conditions and triggers woven into its fabric. Thanks to his Path associations, he can catch the tell-tale flash of Cyan (Time) in the gloom of the undergrowth.

And the spell is now powering up.

[Phoenyx]

Crack! Wince.

Snap! Wince.

CRUNCH! Wince.

She knew she was not the most stealthy of people but at least she was making an effort. It was impossible not to react to the thundering footfalls of her companions, who seemed to find every dry branch to set their feet on.

Then she saw it, the delicate weave of magic. Time. Fate. Mind. All linked together in a highly complex way reaching out like a web.

She stops, holding a fist up. "Huh. Well, that is our clue we're heading the right way. Can either of you identify the glyph?" It never even crosses her mind that they wouldn't be using some form of mystical sight. She never went anywhere without hers.

[Puck]

Puck wasn't a sneaky person. This is what happens when you take someone without a subtle or shifty bone in his body and tell him to sneak around the dinosaurs. All those sounds? It's the sound of failure. You know what failure is? When you make an honest attempt to do something but can't. This is an honest attempt, that's why it's a failure.

When the glyph comes into sight Puck perks up. Phoenyx doesn't even finish speaking though before his attention clearly shifts into panic.

"It activated." Puck's starting to step back before he stops. "Get back!"

He watches the glyph as it dances in front of him. Sight peals back the layers of resonance for information on what manner of blessing or curse maybe befalling them. Was this stump meant to be a Doom? Had they stumbled upon some hidden blessing made to guide the seers to their astral sancta? Was Puck's imagination way more active then it needed to be? At least one of those questions is a definitive yes.

  7 suxx to scrutinize the glyph

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2021-05-06 16:48:36		[04] Puck rolls 4 to Scrutinize (Int+Occ) (10 Again)		1, 2, 4, 7		failure
2021-05-06 16:48:36		[03] Puck rolls 4 to Scrutinize (Int+Occ) (10 Again)		4, 8, 3, 9		2 successes
2021-05-06 16:48:36		[02] Puck rolls 4 to Scrutinize (Int+Occ) (10 Again)		8, 10, 2, 7, 8		3 successes
2021-05-06 16:48:36		[01] Puck rolls 4 to Scrutinize (Int+Occ) (10 Again)		9, 6, 4, 9		2 successes