After dropping to 17F overnight the temperature climbs rapidly, as a dry wind blows up out of the south.
"Where's my snow?" Furgh gripes to no one in particular. "Ya'd think if ya had ta deal with this godawful weather, they'd at least give ya some a the white stuff ta play with."
"As Rage was so nice to be so far, I would be lost without her companionship," Logan says, rather sarcastically, "So count me in on the search for her," he says with a smile, "Unless you have a better idea on how to occupy my time, Beauty?"
Kadlian grimaces and looks around. "Okay, I hate to do this, but the rest of you just stay here. Agulhas, teleport us back to our camp when we were last with Rage, Sian and Zanax. From there, we can fly to the tower and try to find them."
Kadlian approaches Fleetwing and feeds him a piece of apple. "Will you carry Agulhas as well, my friend?"
"I can reduce the two a ya," Furgh offers. "So Aggy can have a full compliment of other useful magics." He grins. "Will wear off sooner too."
Kadlian nods. "Good idea."
"Thanks, pal." Agulhas grins warmly to Furgh. "I fear I may need a full complement of offensive spells at my disposal. Although, Fleetwing will have to be reduced as well."
Furgh nods.
"Best explain it to him first, Boss," he says to Kadlian with a grin.
"Good idea, Furgh."
Kadlian keeps petting Fleetwing's nose and using that ranger charm. "Fleetwing, Furgh is going to shrink the both of us a bit so that Agulhas can teleport us to somewhere where we can find Sian and his mount. They are missing and we need to find them. When we get there, we will grow back to normal size. Are you ready?"
"Furgh, I am leaving you in charge."
Furgh looks up startled. "Me?" he says uncertainly. He seems somewhat unsure on how to deal with that bit of information.
"Yes, you. I do not know Logan or Beauty well enough. If you feel more comfortable, I can put Windul and Vastelle in charge, but I did not want to slight you."
"Careful Kadlian," jokes Agulhas. "Once they get a taste of Furgh's leadership, they may not want you back!"
He chuckles and slaps Furgh on the back.
"Let us proceed, then."
Furgh makes a face, then grins. "Well, hopefully, the sum total of my leadership decisions will amount to whether ta play five card draw or stud."
"Just keep a good watch."
"Eyeball the area good, Aggy. For the trip back." He hesitates a moment. "Or are ya gonna head straight ta Sandas from there? Guess ya probably don't have too many teleports ta work with."
"At this point, I have a feeling we will not be going to Sandas. I will have to make my apologies to the Baron at a later time."
Kadlian looks at the treants. "Please guard everyone here from harm. Hopefully, Agulhas and I will return shortly with the others. But, there must be something wrong for them not to be here by now."
The reductions are done, and Kadlian and Agulhas prepare to teleport.
However, when the mage casts the spell...nothing happens.
Furgh chuckles slightly.
"Maybe the terrain changed? A bit of snow or somethin', and it wouldn't look nothin' like when Aggy was there last."
He shrugs slightly. "Dunno if that'd normally make 'er fail or just get you guys squished or somethin', though."
A much smaller than normal Kadlian glares at Agulhas. "Ummm... Did you forget something, Agulhas?"
Startled at the sound of his chipmunk-like voice at his present height, Agulhas replies, "I don't think so. Unless we still weigh more than 250 pounds all together. But I would think if that were the case, at least one or two of us would have been teleported. Hmmm."
The mage scratches the unseen stubble on his chin.
"This mean I ain't in charge no more?" Furgh asks after a moment.
"Not unless Agulhas can teleport us there. Well, what are your suggestions? Do we try it again or do we wait here. And if we do wait, Fleetwing and I wish to be restored to our normal size."
"Well, I have one more teleport left which means I wouldn't be able to get us back until tomorrow," explains Agulhas. "I really think there is some other reason why the spell failed. Assuming no outside interference, I do not believe that the spell would just refuse to function. Unless I misspoke the words of power, which I am certain I did not. And even if snow had fallen in the area I wished to teleport to, that would not prevent the spell from functioning either. It may make the chances of rematerializing in the correct spot less likely, but it should not prevent the spell from functioning."
The young spellcaster shakes his head. "I am at a loss to explain this."
Kadlian swears for a few moments, even making up a few words. "All right, then there is no help for it. Bring us back to our proper size and break camp. We continue on our journey and hope the others come back. We will have to miss the celebration. I only hope we have not made an enemy of the Baron. And remind me that if Zanax, Rage and Sian do ever come back, they are grounded for a month."
Furgh snickers, though his apparent amusement does not completly hide his own concern.
"Maybe ya should still go to yer party, Boss," Furgh says finally. "Aggy can take the two a ya there, still, and back in the 'morn." He shrugs. "Will keep the Baron appeased, I reckon, and will also allow Aggy ta tell if its the spot he can't port to, or if his spell just ain't workin' at all."
He frowns slightly. "I'd imagine that second would be a bit of a concern for us right here and now, if it's true."
Kadlian frowns. "Are you sure, Furgh? I know you were not happy about staying behind and being in charge, but the matter was serious. This is not as much so. If you are convinced you can keep things safe here, then we will go sans Fleetwing. No sense bringing him only to have him put in the stables."
The elf shrugs, and grins slightly. "What's ta worry 'bout?" he says, indicating the empty forests all around. "Sure, I might have ta resist the urge ta go frolickin' and the like, as we elves is want ta do when unsupervised." He grins. "But we need ta figure out if Aggy's 'portin' woes is local or remote. So if its ta be done anyway. Ya might as well go party."
He smiles. "Just bring us some cake...Oh, and maybe some a those little rolled seafood things... And maybe a pastry or two... Oh... and some punch, definitely some punch..."
He continues to happily list all sorts of tastey sounding hors d'oeuvres.
Kadlian laughs although half-heartedly, the concern for the missing party members evident in his eyes. "Very well, then. Take care of the party. Agulhas and I will return tomorrow morning. And we will bring a few things that will not spoil."
"Agulhas, please bring your spellbook so that you can re-memorize the spell."
"Off to Sandas."
When Agulhas casts his spell, though, again nothing happens.
"That's not good." Furgh muses unneccesarily. He looks around at the surrounding woods with an odd frown.
"Agulhas, it is possible that the location you wish to arrive in is beset by a dead magic zone. On my world, the gods were thrown down and due to this event, areas of unpredictable magic as well as null magic sprung up. So, it may be on this world as well," Logan suggests.
"No, Sandas is not a dead magic zone, but maybe here is. Agulhas, try casting a magic missile spell at the ground."
"Uh...." Furgh says, then holds his fingers apart at about roughly the current height of Kadlian.
Kadlian looks down at himself. "Oh... Good point. Well, what is your explanation then, oh expert prestidigitator?"
Furgh gives his best wise professor look. "Hmmmm..."
"Well," he continues in a voice, strangely older, and sounding infinitely wise and learned. "Given the great spatial distances between the prior two target sites, it seems unlikely that the same anomoly would affect both locales at congruent temporal instances. So one could probably rule a remote problem as the least likely of possible sources, and focus on localized events."
"Then it becomes a problem of an individualy localized event."
He nods his head towards Agulhas. "Or an event localized on our current location." He spreads his hands to cover the forest around them.
"Even within the limited scope of those parameters, the options are countless."
"Given the afore witnessed failure of our esteemed arboreal colleague." He nods towards Birch. "To achieve our first objective in his aqueous scrying device, combined with the apparent and visually verified success of this august personages spell of size reduction, it is possible that some force in the area prevents any sort of eldritch force from extending beyond its confines... But I have not the insight on the surrounding environs to be able to surmise if this might be possible in this area or not. Though perhaps further tests would verify or disprove this hypothoses."
"As to individually locallized. I know that my napless associate there," he indicates Agulhas. "Is far more skilled in the delicate eldritch sciences then myself, so would quickly rule out an erroneous sampling method as unlikely especially given the lack of materials required to perform the experiment and complicate the sample through contamination or poor quality. Though I suppose one can not rule out external forces."
He frowns wisely, then shrugs, and grins.
"Or somethin' like that," he adds, in his usual cheerful voice.
"Um... Okay, so maybe that means that the others are not here because they cannot get here. In which case, we need to ride beyond the area that prevents them from returning."
"So, let us break camp and continue to ride south."
"Was just one theory," Furgh offers somewhat self-consciously seeming somewhat uncomfortable with being listened to quite so readily.
"And the best one I have heard. And it also explains why the others have not returned."
Furgh frowns.
"Assumin' they tried ta keep the schedule, we'd have to a been in such an area for days," he says. "Would seem more likely, assumin' it is some kinda freaky dampenin' field or somethin', that it was an item or person what's movin' along with us."
He shrugs, and grins slightly, obviously more then happy to debunk his own theories, if no one else does.
"Though we ain't picked up nothin' or no one since we last did the deed."
He raises an eyebrow and looks around a bit.
"Have we?" he adds.
"Are there any clergy with true sight or mages, like myself, with detect magic ? if so, cast and check the area for any anomalies!" Logan suggests, liking Furgh's ideas. He takes a step back and mutters the words of magic to the detect magic spell. Once it takes effect, he will look all around, on people and the general area.
Everything seems normal.
Kadlian shrugs and looks at Sian's group of clerics. "Any of you powerful enough to cast a true sight?"
They shake their heads as one.
So, you set off again through the thinning forest. The temperature climbs rapidly...until by afternoon it is over 100F. You travel south for much of the morning, then, once you round one last rocky ridge, strike out southeast. The land is increasingly arid.
At midafternoon you hear a loud buzzing overhead. Looking up, you see what appears to be an enormous wasp or hornet descending towards you. It is easily as big as a man, and looks like it would be able to carry off one of you with ease.
"Uh..." Furgh says intelligently.
"Agulhas, Elsura and Miss Wizbang, fire magic missiles at it. Everyone else, hide near the treants. It will not be able to get to you that way. Kadlian urges Fleetwing to face towards the wasp. He then prepares to shoot arrows at it.
"I don't have that spell," says Wizbang, "And who's Elsura?"
Logan intones the words to the Magic Missile spell and fires as many as he can at the creature.
"Maybe it's friendly..." the elf starts to say.
"I sure hope not. But, you are right, we should not take the chance. Logan, can you give it a warning shot? Do not hit it with the magic missile, but make our intentions known. Perhaps it is Kailar..."
Kadlian waits for a reply from Logan.
"Yes, boss," he grins as he places the shot a foot or so by its head.
Kadlian mutters, "Another one."
In his normal, order-carrying voice he says, "Thank you."
"As you command," Logan says with a wide smirk as he chants again, and fires one off to the left of the creature.
"Just gimme a sec, Boss." Furgh mumbles distractedly as he mumbles his spells.
"That is all you have a not a second more." Kadlian smiles grimly.
You hesitate while Furgh casts his spell. During that time the wasp drops...onto Edelle. She shrieks as its stinger plunges deep into her side, then goes rigid as the poison is injected into her.
Furgh completes his spell, as the giant hornet clutches Edelle and begins to rise back up into the air with her.
"No!" says Vastelle, as she releases an arrow at the hornet, striking it and slightly injuring it.
"Oh cripes." Furgh mutters. Then he launches himself into the air, after the wasp, muttering a spell as he goes.
Kadlian yells, "Hit it with everything you have Logan!"
Suddenly the wasp seems to accelerate, while at the same time its flight becomes more erratic.
Furgh turns invisible.
Kadlian prepares to fire a number of arrows at the wasp. "Vastelle and Windul, fire your arrows!"
Agulhas, recovering form the flu, fires off as many magic missile spells as it takes to obliterate the wasp.
In a blaze of glory, the mage lights up. Five missiles pour into the wasp, blowing it to pieces. The pieces waft slowly downwards, feather-like...as does Edelle. Suddenly her descent pauses, as Furgh catches her. He brings her quickly back to earth. She is near death.
"Let me at her," says Birch, pushing his way through and taking her from Furgh. Laying her on the ground, he takes out a sprig of mistletoe and presses it over the wound from the sting, while chanting strange words.
The wound closes, a healthy pallour comes over her features, and the elf maid awakens.
"I was dreaming..." she murmurs, then says no more.
But she is too weak to continue, so you make camp here, and spend the next day while she regains her strength.