SHADOW of the DEMONWEB

The Hollow sounding voice behind the mask still retains it's almost metalic sharpness of anger.


[1. [Support @Odilyn | Dissonant Chord] Then let us sing anti magic melody and return to Enia at once.]

Now Jennifer calmed down and checked if Odilyn was alright first. Then She asks him if he could sing a Anti magic melody on this cursed object and then return to Enia to see if she was allright.

@Vesz'yraen 's eyes narrow at the pair. He sheathes his blade back into it's scabbard as his left hand moves casually towards his belt. He turns to @ShadowKyss with a scathing remark provoked by her perceived lack of sight. "I see... as much as Shadow requires your moral guidance, you seem to require his cunning and intelligence. Think Pupeteer. What would he do in this situation?"

Hoping the provocation gives the pair just enough pause so he can offer one last argument, he draws attention to the device's design and craftsmanship. "That device is not of dark elven design.  There is a third party in all of this."

He turns on his side as he looks between them and the device. "Are you trully certain this is over? That you've learned who's involved, or what is their ultimate goal? You learned nothing! The memories absorbed from the root will be lost forever, and you are nowhere closer to understand why. What will you return to your precious Enia with? A momentary success? Perhaps only to find that even if her state is not worse, it is not better either? The answers you seek are contained with this device. I am certain of it."

He fidgets with something on his belt, hoping his reasoning will be enough to convince the pair this time.

"Perhaps.. further investigation may be more prudent then. There is more to this than just this device. We must find this.. third party then."


And with these words Jennifer Motions a White gloved hand to @Vesz'yraen Asking advice how to further proceed. She does remark that perhaps "Shadow" may know more of this device.

"To seek out more wisdom is a first step in finding out. Shall we try and find Shadow?"

@Vesz'yraen 's hand's move to hang to his side as his posture relaxes along with his voice. He nods towards @ShadowKyss. "I am pleased we could reach an understanding. Make no mistake, I would happilly destroy this thing this very instant. I believe the extra effort will suit both our goals better, I am sure of it."

He considers her proposal to find Shadow. The thought of meeting the arrogant wizard is not something he finds pleasing. But necessity rarely is. He nods once more, with a slight reluctance and offering an alternative. "About Shadow... if not him, perhaps his assistant will suffice. I will follow your lead."

He then moves to stand with @ShadowKyss .

ShadowKyss seems absent of mind, staring into the thick darkness of the forest. She was clearly occupied trying to find something, but then looks over her shoulder to @Odilyn and @Vesz'yraen.

[2. [Support @Vesz'yraen | ShadowDancer] I shall conceal the object from the senses of others. I know a mage or two in Moon's Glade that can provide answers.]

"There are ways to conceil this thing from the prying eyes of all that observes us all around. In the Glade of the Moon we shall seek out greater wisdom on these things than our own. After our Journey, and I know of a Shortcut." With these words Jennifer sends out a Shadow puppet to envelop the device in A cloud of shadow. Her white gloves pick it up and hold it close, motioning @Odilyn and @Vesz'yraen to follow her. Somewhere out there, somewhere deep down in the thick of the forest lies a waterstream that shall become a river. That is the river she was seeking as they started the journey.

Through snapping branches beneath their feet, and climbing over fallen logs was the forest investigated for that uncharted waterstream, or tiny lake even. That is what ShadowKyss asked to look for. It did not need to be a river that was known. but one surrounded by mist and fog. Obscured from sight from the traveller not looking for it.


ShadowKyss tilts her head, hearing this particulair voice coming from a place in the darkness amongst the many pillars of wood, and Labyrinths of Thorn and leaf all around her. But here a mist was growing. Almost, as if the mist itself was the voice and speaking directly to her, or her company.


A glance fell upon the stones, who were marking the trail, and if it wasn't for these stones, the Mists that were getting more thick as the trail went on, made sure ShadowKyss and her company stayed on the trail. But surely on a normal day they would indeed not have been noticed. The Moss had made them the color of the forest. After a journey of following the Mossy stones the trail ended in a small valley in the forest where a small dock was found. So small, it was surely nothing more than a place for a fisherman to sit on. But the voice in the fog started talking again.


There was silence. Jennifer stood on the small dock and prayed to the moon goddess for a moment.


The Mysterious boat appeared at the small dock as if it was made specially for it. Thick mist surrounds it yet the boat itself was empty. This caused some disbelief by the company perhaps but not with ShadowKyss. No, her hollow voice behind the porchelain mask she wore seemed to be calming. asking everyone to step aboard. Not a boatman, or the winds would carry them. The mists, the mists were their guide upon this difficult journey.

The moon symbol at the back of the boat was glowing. The mists that surrounded the boat were now so thick, they obscured the forest around the passengers of the boat. Where were they? Who or what was driving them hence forth? Did jennifer know, or did she merely hope for this Mystical ferryboat to be their way out of the cursed woods? The Shadow Puppeteer stared onward, to where the sky would be. Now just as obscured by the fog as the surroundings were.

Was it Hours? A long time had passed in silence. The company did not share a word, merely waited for the fog to lift. The Journey to end. The Silence was the loudest sound during that time. What was Jennifer waiting for? Or was she merely waiting, like the others, not sure heself of the things to come. No-one, but the voice of the Mists had even mentioned the Boat of the Moon.


Until suddenly; Jennifer Streched out her arms and made a waving movement with her hands. It was a slow gesture, yet with the direction of her arms the Mists lowered and become nothing but a Shallow fog, just floating above the calm waters of what seemed.. no it could not be! Lake Sember? Did they travel without moving? did the boat of the moon disapear from the small dock and just appear somewhere else? From a place where there is water, to another location where there is water? Could it be a portal then? Perhaps, but one Rarely seen, and even fewer that know of it's existence.


From lake sember the Boat of the Moon now did move like a normal boat would; yet still doing so without a boatman. The Shallow fog started to rise slightly again, and obscured the Boat from anything, or anyone near. The Company was carried from Lake Sember to Semberflow and evetually near Edgeland where they crossed through a grey curtain of Mist and Shadow to dock at the Glade of the Moon. It was there where the Fog that Carried them hence, faded with Shadows of the forest. And the company stepped upon the holy grounds of the Glade. ShadowKyss Pointed out where they had gone, and where they were now.

@Vesz'yraen followed behind @ShadowKyss and @Odilyn in complete silence as they made their way across the Darkwoods. Each step they took seemed to lead them further into a strange mist that beset them from all sides. As the thick fog obscured the woods around him, @Vesz'yraen felt a growing uneasiness stirring within him. It was a familiar feeling, yet one he could never quite place. He did his best to conceal it, but unlike how he felt within, @ShadowKyss seemed calm and confident in her step. Was it because she was comfortable in this eerie mist, or because no emotion could escape her porcelain mask? He shook off the incomprehensibly distorted faint murmurs in the fog, dismissing them as figments of his imagination.

As the group came to a stop, suddenly and as if out of thin air, a boat appeared before them. Confused, @Vesz'yraen finally noticed @Odilyn starring at him inquisitively, but he had no answers he could offer to the younger drow. He noded at @ShadowKyss and approached as she invited them into the small boat. He paused, one foot in as the glowing symbol caught his attention. He found himself running his fingers through it, then holding it in his fingertips as he turned it to face him directly. Mere curiosity perhaps, but as if prompted by the symbol he looked upwards at the sky, where he found the moon shinning brightly through the dense foliage, but unimpeded by the fog. With a quick shake of his head he set his other foot inside the boat, slowly lowering to a seat, leaning forward with his arms over his knees.

As the mists themselves seemed to carry the boat, lost in thought, reality and dream blended as he eventually faded into reverie.


Hours had passed and @Vesz'yraen stirred awake just as the mists cleared. He was surprised again as he recognized the landmarks in the distance. How long had he slept? They were farther away than they could be in mere hours and approaching for the opposite direction. He has seen many strange things, both arcane and divine, but somehow, sometimes one can't help but be filled with wonder. It would be impossible to find answers, and with nothing left to do, he leaned back against the boat, looking off to the side as they made the rest of the way towards their destination.

It was not often that she ended up in the Glade of the Moon. Her mentor did not trust her there alone, and probably for good reason, but she didn't mind that. It was stifling, to be there, where there was so many who would tell him if she got up to anything the least bit suspicious. He would not even allow her alone in his library to peruse his books. But she had been seeking him to gain access to his library, and thus perhaps a piece of information that she needed, and so she had found her way to the Glade once again, despite her dislike of the constraints placed upon her for being within it.

Trouble, Shaecayrn, Shimmer, Jewel, Trala. Her list of names had only grown as she had traveled through the world, just as her skills had grown more and more powerful. Her knowledge had grown, diving into the depths of the magical realm with a fervor that she hadn't realized she could have pursued until months after she had met Shadow. His own names far outstripped hers, the mystery of the drow mage built over centuries versus her own few decades. But despite that, her senses prickled with the feeling of magic as Mist rose over the river that ran through the Glade.

The forest around the Glade stilled with it, and she narrowed her eyes even as she pulled the shadows around her like the old, familiar cloak that they were. She slid toward the river suspiciously, but the Mist faded swiftly, revealing the Boat, glimmering softly in her magical sight, with @ShadowKyss at it's prow, and two figures behind her. One was far more familiar to her, with his hag's eye gleaming from the shadows of his hood. She smiled in her shadows, tucked against a tree by the bank, and debated whether any would find a prank funny. One look at the Puppeteer made the urge fade. She always told her mentor when she did anything that seemed murderous.

Instead, she waited for the boat to drift silently to the dock in the river, and there, as it always did with @ShadowKyss at the prow, it stopped. @Shimmer waited until they had stepped onto solid land and passed by her, sending only a ripple of shadow to @Vesz'yraen to warn him of her presence before she let the shadows around her fade. To most eyes it would appear as though she had melted out of the tree itself, her steps as light as any elf's. Her voice is easily heard. "Puppeteer. I'm not surprised to see you, but... Vash. You're not someone I expected to find here." She wrinkles her nose slightly, eyeing @Odilyn as well, but not addressing him directly.

"What brings you to the Glade in this particular company?" Her hand sweeps to encompass the green fields and the trees around the edges, some still carrying the scars of flames from the year before.

@Vesz'yraen recognized the shadow ripples @Shimmer always used to announce her presence to him. Perhaps as much a small courtesy between them, as a safeguard against her being mistakenly perceived as a threat in a moment of surprise.

@Shimmer was right. @Vesz'yraen had always avoided the Glade. While the corner of his mouth curled slightly into a smile at her presence, the anxiety he felt from the haunting gloom was stronger here and kept the dim ember-like glow in his hag's eye.

"Necessity." He muttered the vague word softly as he stood aside, gesturing towards @ShadowKyss. While he mentally prepared to meet the despised Shadow, he would sooner be damned than be the one asking for assistance.

"The necessity to seek wise counsil," was the hollow sounding answer behind the mask of the Shadow Puppeteer, "For late is the hour and the winds that crack the leafs announce dark powers at work this night."


For a moment, ShadowKyss raises her gaze upwards to where the treetops were seen swinging in a rising windforce. It howled like wolfs can do, almost unnaturally stronger than normal. Over the treetops leafs were hurled into the sky where grey-to pale white clouds passed before the moon and then floated away just to make room for another group of clouds to appear again. Strong were the winds that made the leaves crack.

"Enshrouded by a shadowcloak I bring a dark device that should not have been seen by any prying eyes. For this, I called the aid of the Boat of the Moon, to get us all here at the greatest of haste without ever been seen. Please Call for Shadow, for his counsil on this thing would be greatly appreciated."  Words spoken as ShadowKyss still was looking upward to the sky up high, clearly distracted by the passing of the leafs by the restless winds this night.

As ever, @ShadowKyss responded in a cryptic manner, and @Shimmer waited patiently for her to finish. She glanced upward at the windy sky and wrinkled her nose. There did not seem anything magical about it to her, but she knew that the Puppeteer often considering things of the forest magical even if there was naught arcane about it. The tiny woman shook her pale-haired head slowly.

"You have more luck finding Shadow than I ever do, Puppeteer. I have been here for more than a full day, but he has not yet returned." A mushroom popped from pouch into her hand, and then into her mouth before she continued, mouth half full. "I'll offer you my services, if I can help. Sometimes you don't need the most powerful wizard around, but just a good one." Muddy orange eyes landed upon Ody for a moment before looking to @ShadowKyss, and then to @Vezs'yraen, wondering how he was involved.

"What device are you speaking of?

The sounds of a bubble in the river was the first inclination something was not right, it seemed to stick to midstream fora time but slowly deep jade eyes surfaced as the creature hauled herself to land like a crocodile, mud splattered and weed coated she looked more like a swamp-creature...not too far from the truth of her being.

*grumbles and huffs emanated from her before her usual sniffing...it would seem like she followed something...or someone here as the filthy creature soon lumbered slowly towards the tiny woman before making soft pleasant grunts and chuffs*

how the thing tracked @shimmer through the mists and winding waters was beyond imagining but she was here now and on cue the odd woman slammed to all fours and nuzzled the little woman mercilessly like she had not seen her in years let alone the few days since their last meeting.

The sudden bubbling caught @Vesz'yraen's attention. He tensed up as his hand moved to the hilt of his blade, relaxing only as he recognized it to be @Uragu. His gaze followed the large creature as it approached @Shimmer in her odd, but usual manner.

"Perhaps one of Abyssal origin, much like the creature that guarded it. Like a parasite, it leeches something from the roots of a... Dnylis Tree. The creature is no more, but if we are to learn more of this threat, proper removal of the device requires knowledge and magics we do not possess." He was quick to explain to @Shimmer the short of it. The would be time for details on the trip back.

He would much rather work with Trala than Mith, and if he could speed up their departure, all the better. He added one lat detail hoping to draw her curiosity more. It would be more than enough for her to understand his own involvement in this. "The Dhuurniv, Trala. They are involved."

The tiny, dark woman looked from face to face in her wait for answers for a moment. The bubbling from the stream pulled her wary gaze, but this Glade was one of the safest places in the forest she knew. Shadows crept up her boots, but she made no threatening move at first. As the dark, swampy head emerged, she narrowed her gaze and started to fade into the shadows until she recognized the enormous form.

Her nose wrinkled at the dank swampy smell of Uragu's approach, and braced herself as the swamp-monster thudded hard to the ground and slammed her head into Shimmer's chest. The forceful nuzzling forced the halfling to take a single step back and she groaned. "Uragu... what've you been swimming through?" She didn't expect an answer, and was unfortunately already slimed across the front of her tunic. Even so, she patted the creature awkwardly, and offered her a plain, brown mushroom, even as she looked to Vesz. His short version of events was listened to with a curious expression in her eyes.

Dull, sunset ridden orbs lingered upon Vesz, then Ody, and then Jenn. She stared at them thoughtfully, how understanding why the man was invested in finding out about this obeject enough to come to the Glade, to possibly seek help from Shadow. Ody, she didn't understand, but she didnxt understand the young drow to begin with. She mereky understood that he was terrified of her, and that was fun. Her voice was quiet as she spoke with concern. "The Dnylis Tree... isn't that... ? she looked to Jenn in silent question, already fingering the leaf under her own cloak in recognition of the name. She pulled it out and looked at it before tucking it away. "Not good at all... especially with the Dhuurniv involved. The drow are cunning... I will go with you in place of Shadow, Puppeteer. It is better to investigate this as soon as possible."

The beast plucks the offered treat from the tiny woman's hand chuffing and grunting softly to her still applying her particular type of affection.

nuzzling @Shimmer for a moment more she finally returns to her feat with a deep groan and creak of her joints and armour before sniffing at the others curiously and snorting her aknowledgement of the gathered group.

Looming over the little woman like a sentinel she keeps as close as possible without knocking @shimmer over with her bulk.

[Choice] Jennifer ShadowKyss chooses to take
@Vesz'yraen
@Shimmer
@Uragu

"Do understand, should you come and help, we are on a journey unknown. Even the puppeteer of shadows cannot see through the veil of mysteries that lies before us, nor warn you of any danger that may come in our quest to unravel that what lies obscured before our very eyes.

You may all choose to remain.
And I shall not look down upon this choice."

Silence followed. Jennifer had quietly chosen who to ask to aid her, and who to leave behind in the savety of the Glade. But they who she had chosen were free to accept her call to aid, or remain.

Jennifer waited. Hopefull of having allies at her side for this difficult quest.

"Let us make haste then." @Vesz'yraen nodded as he started moving towards the boat, content in leaving and not having to deal with Shadow or this place.