Virtual Shadows (Ocfos)

[Zankio]

You see the uncertainty in his emerald eyes weighing whether he can believe you or not. The other elves are all stirred awake. One of the older rises to her feet, moving towards you as she grabs her sword from the ground. The hooded man waves her down, looking at her sharply. "She's a friend, says she can help us." The standing dark elf scoffs, lowering the arm holding the sword. "What can this little thing do? Even Kisandre was no match them, heavens I hope she's alright." The youngest elf looks at you, almost with pity, though its hard to tell if its aimed at you or just herself.

[Ocfos]

"What's that supposed to mean?" She grunts, seeming a little upset at that comment. "If you're talking about my hair, that's normal." She says, waving it around a little.

[Zankio]

The older elf looks at you skeptically, "What if she's one of them? Renarin made all kinds of monstrosities, you saw them Roland. " she says interrogating the hooded man further. But the one that speaks up come from behind the tall older elf.
"Are we in really a position we can turn away help? Even from a stranger in the night?" The youngest one asks, seeming a lot less rash than the rest. The hooded man clears his throat, making a chance for him to speak. "As I was saying, she wants to help. Besides she's heading to the city too, it wouldn't be a bad idea to have more people to cover more ground, I still don't think Lord Moash will even listen to us. He's to busy playing merchant with the other lords, finding ways to prosper from the people under his protection."

The standing older elf groans in frustration, strapping her sword back to her belt as she storms out, "I'm going to find some firewood!" She calls back.
The younger elf watches her go with a sorrowful expression before turning back to you. "I'm sorry for my sisters behavior, she isn't used to feeling so powerless. I'm Jasnah, and this is my sister Shallan, and the one who just left is Lyra." She introduces them. The man looks back to you. "And I'm Roland, they hired me to guide them to Ain Vere, though we lost our supplies as well as our sense of direction when we were ambushed while traveling this forest. I haven't seen your kind before, your not from around here either are you?" He asks giving you a chance to introduce yourself.

[Ocfos]

"I'm Nellie, I woke up on a nearby mountain earlier today." She says, seeming dead serious.

[Zankio]

This gets a smile out of Roland as he seems unable to doubt you, "Well you seem to be taking it pretty well, if that's true"
Offering his hand to you he accepts your offer. "I think your just what we've been missing. We'll be counting on that kind of spirit."

[Ocfos]

"What invaded your village, anywho?" She asks, returning the shake with a tentacle out of habit from her sibling.

[Zankio]

He looks at your tentacle curiously, but accepts it with a gentle shake.
You hear Jasnah answer your question, inviting you to sit down with them. "A local alchemist of our village fell under the influence of a dark wizard. He experimented on several travelers before setting them loose on the town. It would have been dealt with quickly but we didn't expect a dark wizard to show up at the time. They also took hostages, both the village chiefs daughter as well as our best friend."

[Ocfos]

"Ominous. I'll help how I can." Nellie says, looking over at the others.

[Zankio]

They acknowledge your willingness with half smiles all around, but the moment is broken as Lyra storms back in through the surrounding bushes, promptly dropping the firewood on the ground between them all. She seems out of breath, but at least calmed down from earlier.
Shallan explains the situation to her and she seems to offer little protest for now other than a shrug as she fetches something out of her pocket and begins to go about starting the fire.
Roland leans back against the free, folding his arms back under the cloak. "First thing is finding our way to the city, but we'll have to get some rest while we wait for some daylight to aid us."

[Ocfos]

Nellie nods, trying to access her inventory again to see if there is anything special she can use for this.

[Zankio]

Looking through the list of items, you don't seem to have any particular camping gear, not that there was much of a use for it the way the game was before. You seem to have a decent amount of food and water, in forms of various items used for recovery. You also have a teleportation stone, though at this point its more likely to send you back to where you awoke than anything else, at least until you attune it to a recall stone in a city, and it takes at least a minute to activate.

A spark followed by a burst of flame illuminates the compact clearing in an orange light as the elves scoot up to it for added warmth. Though Roland remains against the tree.

[Ocfos]

Nellie scoots over towards the campfire as well, still trying to grasp that this is a dream, since everything looks so real to her...

[Zankio]

You see Jasnah smile at you gently, though the other two elves don't seem to share her sentiments. The fire feels nice and comforting. Your thoughts begin to drift as you listen to its crackling and rumbling. Just how long could s dream like this last, it certainly feels weird to be this tired in a dream. Sleepiness begins to slowly overtake you.

[Ocfos]

"How long has it been since you left your home for here?" She asks, yawning lightly as she looks between the three.

[Zankio]

"We've been traveling for several days, our village is between a few mountains. It's remote location usually keeps it out of much trouble." Jasnah speaks distantly, her thoughts seeming to worry her.

The fire spreads warmth across you like a blanket. You feel your eyes getting heavy, but when you glance over to Jasnah you notice her blush slightly and look away. "E-excuse me, I'll be back." she says hurriedly and walks into the forest.

[Ocfos]

"Something wrong?" She asks, shaking her head lightly as she looks to the sister running off.

[Zankio]

Shallan watches her go with a worried expression. "This whole journey has taken her further than she's ever gone from home. I'm sure she's just feeling a little homesick. But it could also be something else.." She trails off thoughtfully.

[Ocfos]

Nellie tries to follow, wanting to help comfort her if something is wrong.

[Zankio]

You follow the direction she left, making your way through the moonlit forest. You walk awhile to the sounds of various nighttime creatures and wonder how far had she gone, or if this was even the right way. But you come to a stop as you hear a soft whine coming from a short distance away.

[Ocfos]

Raising an eyebrow, Nellie walks towards the whine, thinking she might be hurt or something.