Summary:An intel gathering mission discovers Orcs and some interesting information about the lay of the land inside the barrier. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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Staten Island is a total no-go zone. The NYPD and what's left of the SIPD are keeping people away. There's a picture being formed of what's happening inside the barrier and none of it good.
The Island has become little districts - villages, if you like. Some are bustling towns with all the associated problems. Others remote farms or communities, and still others something more fantastical - faerie mounds or communities that have taken to underground.
It's almost like someone has opened a series of fantasy books and remade Staten Island in those images.
Volunteer heroes have been working with the PD and SHIELD to get inside the barrier and find out more.
Magical amulets provided to at least protect the memories of those going in. They won't negate the effects of change or the fact that technology just doesn't seem to work there.
The group went in about a half hour ago, were changed and have been working through the area. Just up ahead is a small village, smoke curling from chimneys and huts scattered about. It would be a fairly normal scene, except for the horde of Orcs descending from the hills and on the village.
People are scattering, children being dragged into huts. Men and Women taking up scythes, shovels and axes - and whatever else they can find, trying to mount a defence.
Since entering the dome, Gwen looks more or less like she did before; except that now, instead of wearing her supremely heroic onesy, she's wearing a a medieval gown. The skirt is black, with a white belt around her hips, along with long sleeves and a plunging neckline and that important amulet. Around her shoulders she wears a long, dark pink cloak, with the hood drawn low to hide her face at least partially.
Walking, though, is definitely not her style. More than once she's muttered something about wishing she could have brought her webshooters. What's a spider supposed to do with no webbing?
But then there's orcs, and they're attacking villages. "Uhhh… everyone's seen Lord of the Rings, right?" She grabs the front of her skirt with one hand, lifting it up enough so she can run without tripping over it, and breaks into a forward dash. "Come on! We gotta go fight some orcs. …Never… never thought I'd say that."
Since they entered, Shayera has been acting as advance scout, as she can check their surroundings from the air and the locals are most often unaccustomed to watching for strangers in the skies. She'd reported back about the small village, and had seen indications of a rapidly approaching force.
For all of her experience at combat with her mace, she's still far more of a modern tactics combatant. The whole invading horde is just bizarre to her. Regardless, she rushes toward the village and promptly starts looking for someone who might appear to be more organized and trying to help the scattering locals get to (relative) safety quickly. If she can offer help, she most certainly will.
If nothing else, her current appearance of a winged warrior in a proper steel breastplate and her accustomed vambraces and greaves over pale leathers marks her as very much NOT one of the orcs.
Leading from a good distance ahead, the figure known as Hunter has, outwardly, changed little. Her clothing and gear are still threadbare and worn, but now show the signs and sigils of some fantasy army long past. Lightweight leather armor girds her form, and weapons festoon. The Hunter has become some fantasy analog, perhaps one of the mythic 'rangers.' But her power - her magical power - remains. She is still the host of the tigress within.
Seeing trouble, Hunter is concerned; are these orcs magical creations? Or are they people, changed by the spell? Nevertheless, she has to do something to stop this before innocent lives are lost.
In any world, Hunter is a guardian. A protector.
Hunter sprints out well ahead, her pace incredulous as she speeds along at near-blurring speeds, as fast as cars should be traveling these city streets. "No kill!" she shouts. "Could be changed!"
And then Hunter launches herself into the horde, fists, feet, knees and elbows flying.
The process of getting involved hadn't been much to Skye's liking but she's much too persistant to give up on an opportunity to not only try to uncover secrets but to see more powered sorts in action. It's practically a win-win! Eeexcept..that all of her fancy tech is no more.
Her earthen-tone attire carried over only in colors. Her fancy tablet and phone seem to have been turned into a crystal ball and a handful of small charms. Her nanodrone wound up becoming a pet hummingbird of all things, black, blue and grey with a single round red speck upon his forehead. She's unimaginatively taken to calling him Nano, it rolled off of the tongue better than 'MDL-135.'
The last shocker had come from herself, brown hair and dark eyes both replaced with a brilliant mix of white and sky blue hues. A hacker no more, Skye's become a scryer. That oughta work great against an orc attack, right?
"Are..are those -orcs?-" she voices aloud in complete disbelief. "Yah, hey, I don't think punching them is the best option…"
She starts digging into her satchel, brushing a few pieces of copper and silver aside while wondering "What the heck am I supposed to do with this stuff?" The crystal ball is what she settles on, turning it around in her hand with SUCH a look of confusion. "Okay, so..where's the power button on this gizmo?" -Can- it even do anything?
The first time Zeal was under such an effect she reverted to her former VR persona, but since then she's been dealing with some pretty serious reveals about her past and after introspection her self image has shifted quite a bit. As Zeal crosses the boundary, her form changed - and she became…a golem, a living golem, but a construct that looks much like her, though rougher, more unfinished. Thanks to the amulet she is still herself mentally, but…yeah, this is different, and more than a tad disconcerting.
Self image issue? You betcha!
Still, she's here to a do a job, and so she soldiers on. It /is/ weird to have her sense of touch vastly reduced, off putting, but still.
Eyes of peridot study the terrain, and then they come to the town under attack. THAT is something she knows how to deal with. She looks to her team, and grins. "Methinks battle needs must be joined, who wants a lift?" Any who answer in the affirmative will be skipped through a space of infinite light and cold and boundless infinity - the Space Between Breaths, and then they're in front of the largest concentration of Orcs as Zeal readies a pair of batons - Eskrima Sticks, and prepares to engage. "Remember - yes, these may not be monsters, but people…"
Skyes question is answered when the crystal ball flickers to life. It shows the field with the Orcs and their charge. It shows the hacker come scryer an opening. All she has to do is get some people in there and they can take the left flank by surprise.
Hunters charge takes the Orcs by surprise from the front. She gets the drop on them and knocks six of the brutes flying. That's good for a moment before she's set on by six more. These things are big and strong, but rather dumb.
Shayera, Gwen and Avery - if they don't get Skye's information will find themselves beset by Orcs with clubs.
In the background, they can hear the sound of horns and … hoofbeats …. something *else* draws near.
Skye just about falls over when the crystal does indeed 'power up.' "Whoa, that's..that's super weird! Ah..okay! I can totally figure this out." Thus begins her crash course on a three dimensional touchpad operation. Good thing she's pretty smart! But what to do with the information? Everyone else already ran ahead.
Then she looks to 'Nano' with an arched brow. "Think you can handle this?"
The hummingbird familiar is off like a shot chasing down the others whom have rushed into the fray. Shayera's a little more difficult to catch while airborne but Gwen and Avery are easier. The only question is whether they will 'listen' to a tiny bird darting about their faces trying to get their attention toward the weak spot within the orc's advances!
Beset by orcs? Well, whatever, I mean it can't be worse than dealing with heavily armed gangsters or werewolves or that extra-dimensional vampire or *WHUMP*
"Woah! Easy!" Gwen jumps back as a large orcish club almost hits her, digging into the ground as the young blond jumps back, and almost stumbles on the back of her dress. Seriously, a dress? Why a dress?! "That's enough of that!" She jumps forwards again, aiming a sharp uppercut for the offending orc's chin; and then runs past him, using him as cover from some of the other orcs as she goes all elbows and fists and stuff on the rest of 'em, or at least all the ones in reach.
She hasn't gotten any info from Skye, yet, so she just does what she's doing. That sound of horns and hoofbeats, though… Well, you don't need danger sense to know that that's bad. "We need to finish this up quick!" she shouts. "I—"
And then, there's a little birdy, and it seems to be trying to get her attention? A bird in the middle of orc-battle is a pretty weird detail, afterall. "So… trying to tell me something, birdy?" she asks, before punching another orc. "Don't happen to speak English, do you?"
The orcs want a fight? So be it! Hunter is incredibly strong, as well as incredibly fast, and she has all of the martial skill of a trained special operator. It is an incredibly dangerous combination. And the more of these brutes she takes on and beats, the bigger an impact she will have, drawing in more and more as the legends say they are compelled to test their mettle against the strongest warriors they can find! Hunter is OK with that. Maybe a nice bellowing roar to get their attention?
Wait, what? These could be Grounder locals changed by the…? FINE. Shayera huffs at the multiple admonitions to not hurt the attacking hordes too much (pfft), but she tries to not swat them around too decisively. It doesn't help that they're dumb as rocks.
Using her mace more to block attacks and sweep feet out from under the various Orcs, she opts for punching and kicking the invaders into submission. There's by no means any particular grace to her moves, it's all pretty much brute force and economy of motion. Whatever works, right?
"Hey," she calls across to Klavdiya in between kicking one orc and swatting another with the handle of her mace, "Do you hear something?" She has not yet encountered a horse, so it's not a sound she would be able to identify.
Zeal doesn't hesitate for a moment, and she learns that being a construct does have one big advantage - she doesn't feel pain like she used to, she can function pretty well when the inevitable blow or two hits. The girl flickers into the fray once she's dropped off any passengers, never ceasing motion, striking with batons at fragile joints, at hands, at elbows, she never meets strength with strength, she /counters/ strength with quickness.
She does notice the little hummingbird, and if there's a lull she'll try to figure out what is up with it. "Oh, the left flank?" She nods. "I thank thee, bird." A pause. "Canst thou see what doth approach and report back to your mistress?"
The pounding of hoofs grows louder. The ground shaking from the impact as well as the fight. At least the heroe's have drawn the attackers from the village. The heroes might notice the 'patches' on the crude jerkins the Orcs wear.
Gang symbols perhaps?
As Hunter renews her attack, she manages to throw one of her attackers off. The Orc lands with a 'oof' and skids along the ground … it doesn't stop him though, he gets up, shakes himself … and turns towards the rear of the group, starting to run. Is he … running away?
The bellow startles three more Orcs, giving Klavdiya and the others an opening. Shayera finds her wings a target, one of the Orcs actually trying to bite them, man that one *smells*, as another tries to swing her around.
Avery and Gwen gets hits on the Orcs. At the very least, their training and powers a match for the brutes. There are a lot of them though and only a few of the heroes - can they last?
That's when the scene in Skyes crystal ball changes. There's a group of armoured knights on … horses? … charging the rear.
Skye's airborne support network gives Zeal a couple of quick squeaky chirps before darting away. That's one message given!
Is it possible for a tiny bird to glare? Because Nano's soon making a good run at it! He flits about in the air then turns to face the weak spot of the orc's attack then turns back to STARE at Gwen with its quick, scolding-like barrage of chirps. Then he stares back to the weak spot. Then back to Gwen. Then takes off toward the weak spot and stops, turning once again back to Gwen. It's as good as she's going to get to 'follow me!'
Meanwhile Skye the Scry is still working out the peculiarities of her new device. Horns and hoofbeats means something more is on approach and she wants to know more about them. No stranger to multitasking, working the crystal while reaching further out with Nano somehow feels..kind of natural to her. Being several places at once while standing still is practically her resting state!
What she sees next looks promising. Allies? They've gotta be allies. Fire support is on the way. A quick look away from the crystal is all it takes to make up her mind, carefully placing the ball back into her satchel before hurrying after the others. For coordination purposes, of course. She's not about to pick a fight with a freaking ORC. Or anything else, for that matter.
"Cavalry!" Hunter shouts, when she hears the winged woman's question, offering her best understanding. She herself has never had much use for knights and ladies and all of that foppishness, but she is well read enough and knows enough history to know what this is. She knows what horses smell like, and sweating men, and metal armor.
Having managed to break the charge of the orc horde and protected the town, Hunter does not fight to hold onto her opponents, but lets the orcs flee when they choose to do so. But she hunkers down as the knights charge closer, prepared for the possibility this encounter will not go smoothly; she has too much experience to ever expect things to go well.
Besides … this seems entirely too much like modern police. And Hunter and cops do not go well together.
There's knights charging? There's knights charging. "Knock as many of them out as you can!" Gwen shouts, making good on that as she punches another orc right in the chin. "Just in case they're people!! Who konws? Does anyone know? I don't know!"
The de-webbed spider dodges a club, and lifts one leg to kick it out of the orc's hands, before hiking up her skirt and booting him straight in the chin.
She's about to continue, when there's a hummingbird right in her face, again. She watches it for a moment, and oooooohhhhs softly. "Okay bird, I get it," she decides, and shifts to run in the direction of the vulnerable part of the orcs' advance. "Let's go punch some faces!" she confirms, before casting a quick glance at the bird. "Well, I'll punch, you… fly, or whatever it is that you do."
Avery is pretty alert, and thanks to her senses she can see things a lot of people miss - most people see about sixty-frames per second - Zeal? Hundreds of frames per second, that makes a pretty huge difference. Eyes of literal peridot track the bird's flight, and then she inhales and vanishes, reappearing on the exhale at that flank just as the route starts, she studies the oncoming cavalry, letting the orcs run, seeing if there's any identifying patches or heraldry she can make out, and comparing it to that of the orcs.
She ducks under a wild swing as an orc charges past, then spins low to kick the bottom of his retreating foot. "I cannot say, friend from the park." Avery's voice is distinctive - though without vocal chords, it is also a bit flat and metallic sounding. Still, hopefully she'll preserve Gwen's ID and let her know she knows her.
She nods to the Hunter, not that it is likely it will be noted. "Left flank, Hunter." She shouts.
Just knocking the orcs about is annoying, Shayera decides. And then one of them is trying to BITE HER WINGS. "GRAH! Back off!" she beats her wings a few times to get the orcs to back off a bit — and maybe swat the one trying to do the biting — but if one of them actually manages to mess with her wings, it's going to get ugly. Fast. She will stop being so polite, the orcs actually being changed innocent Grounders or not.
"Damnit!" She's had enough. As the horsemen charge into the village, Shayera tries to take to the air to get clear of the orcs, and then maybe she can divebomb and swat at them a bit more safely.
It certainly is the cavalry but as they draw near, it becomes clear they aren't an 'organised' group. One seems to have horse armour that might be more 'police' like. The others appear to be … well, not that.
The Orcs are now caught between the heroes and the 'calvary'. Though the calvary doesn't seem to be trying to kill them either. Two of the four knights cut through the horde and send some of the running. The other two turn towards the other flank that's being dealt with.
The remaining Orcs on this flank are still fighting. One lurches at Skye as she moves towards the others. "Pretty girl…." it grunts. Hunter, Zeal, Shayera and Gwen are thinning the crowd. There's knocked out Orcs littering the ground and others trying to flee - even as they still throw punches and swing clubs.
It isn't long before Skye encounters the same trouble as Gwen in trying to run with a dress. "Probably for the best I never went to the prom…" she grumbles as Nano returns to her immediate orbit.
Bigger problems soon take over as one of the smelly nasties rushes at -her.- This results in an "Aah!" and a stumble backward to the dirt, the scryer's motions becoming frantic in trying to push herself away on palms and heels. In an instant the situation went from 'I've got this' to 'oh crap!'
Suddenly Nano becomes her best line of defense, the pesky and crazy territorial hummer darting around the orc's face and becoming a serious nuisance in short order.
"Leave the messenger alone you big..dumb..freak!"
While blindly searching for something that might help in her satchel she winds up bringing out a palm sized black crystal, rough in formation. What it was or what it might do she honestly doesn't know, though in the real world it could have been her phone which has the ability to take over someone else's phone. Their 'other brain' as some people refer to having their entire lives stored on the small pieces of tech.
Skye has no faith in the object yet but what else is there beyond screaming and trying to run? Those other bits of rock must be useful for -something-… Maybe? Otherwise she's down to her micro attack bird and a mad wish.
Gwen ducks one club and sidesteps another; he nearly stumbles over the skirt, but keeps her balance and punches one of the orcs right in the solar plexus. "I am so over this dress!" she declares; as she wades right into the next orc's face and promptly punches it. "How many orcs are there, anyway?" She decks another one, and then takes a step back to see if she can re-arrange things to be more convenient to fight in. Somehow. Maybe?
No.
"I want my onesie back," she complains, as she steps back into it. "So what's with the — wait, friend from the park?" She looks up, holding an orc's club with one hand and looking at Avery. "Oh… wait," she mumbles. "She recognizes me, oh… dangit." She punches the orc, and gives the hood of her cloak a little tug downwards.
"Don't panic!" she shouts towards Skye. "I'm coming!" And with skirt hiked up, she's on the run again; this time to go back up one of her fellow heroes.
Zeal does admit that not feeling pain - at least not as keenly - is a good thing, mostly. She's a little daunted when a glancing blow to her metal and wood form /bends/ one of her fingers at almost 90 degrees, it hurts enough that she notices but not even close to what that would feel like if she was flesh and blood, and that's for sure.
THAT orc gets a double tap to the kisser, before she blinks across the battle field towards the police like mounted knight. "Warden - there are heroes here to assist, tell me your needs, once the fray is done we shall see about seeking out the source of this maleficence and see if it be possible to root it out."
And then she notes Skye-fall, and preps to intervene.
Hunter gives another roar and leaps incredulously away, landing near the rest of the group who seem to be having some problems. She then immediately launches herself into the local fray, seizing orcs and hurling them away by dozens of feet. Her blows, when delivered, are swift and brutal but remain non-lethal; that doesn't mean they aren't painful and disabling in the extreme.
Now over the combat, Shayera can see the entire skirmish much better. The cavalry have indeed broken the orcs' attack, but … Skye is being attacked.
Swooping down, she uses her wings to sweep a few of the orcs away from Skye while landing to defend the young woman. It's risky, as she's putting wings at risk of injury, but she's not about to let that stop her from defending one of the team she's here with.
"Are you /really/ expecting your little flying friend to defend you?" she asks of Skye in a rather obviously incredulous and disgruntled tone. Why the hell is this kid in here if she can't fight? Well, there are clearly reasons, but she doesn't see them right now.
The orc who tries to grab Skye finds his eyes attacked by a hummingbird. It makes him swat and flail and let Skye go. Strangely, the black crystal that Skye takes out, emits a subsonic sound and the Orcs one remaining eye, goes blank. It turns to leave, just as Shayera takes it out with her attack and one of the Knights arrives to help as well.
The second Knight, the one that isn't a Warden as Avery called them, rides in to help Gwen and Hunter finish their batch off. Soon, there are Orcs littering the ground or running away…
The Knights raise their visors. Shayera will recognise the one near her as a police man who'd been into the precinct when she was there. Jerome, was the name she can remember.
"Who are you that ventures in this land?" The Knight near Hunter asks her. "You fight well."
"You have fought off the hordes of Skullcrusher, who sees themselves as lords of these lands." Jerome tells the others. "Who are you?" he echoes.
… Huh. That black chunk of mineral in Skye's hand -did- do something. It's difficult to tell what extent it might have had as the affected orc is now taking a timely siesta thanks to getting knocked the hell out but she's going to call it a win.
Shayera's arrival, and remark to Skye, is grounds for one of the tiniest and most adorable retaliations in the history of skirmishes. From one winged creature to another Nano starts darting about Shayera's head while squeaking his chirpy scolds at her. Just imagine something weighing all of four grams saying 'come at me, bro!'
Getting back to her feet with or without assistance she mutters an embarrassed "Thanks…" to everyone who jumped to her aid before turning to look at the Knights. She doesn't recognize any of them and that's really for the best given her own distrust for any established forces.
Taking a lead straight from any number of her medieval fantasy games Skye makes an attempt at appearing to be someone of royalty when saying "We are but weary travelers who have become caught within this unpleasant foray." She's even mimicking olde English!
Someone should probably stop her.
Once the orcs are driven away or beaten down, Hunter does not pursue those in flight but lets them run away. Instead, she turns and offers her hand to Skye to help her up to her feet. As for Sir Jerome's question? She turns, looking at him, sniffing the air. Then just shrugs and touches her chest. "Hunter." Yep. That's it. That's all she has to say. Someone else better be doing the diplomancy around here.
With the scattering of the Skullcrusher Orcs, Zeal smiles up to the man she addressed. "Excuse me." She then inhales - not that this body really needs to breathe of course, vanishing and reappearing upon exhale with the others. "I am Zeal." She says in that pseudo mechanical voice. "We be travelers, aye, as the Lady Skye has stated, but we are also adventurers seeking the source of a powerful curse that doth afflict the land, good sir, pray tell us, know you the source? We will see it out, and excise it root and branch if you but point us in the right direction."
Having never seen Hunter in action, she's impressed, and the lack of verbiage is about as surprising to Avery as having water be wet, or fire burning something. That GWEN is as strong and as fast she is /did/ surprise her, but she makes no mention and simply waits to hear the answers she gets if any.
"I'm Gwwwww—-Wanda," Gwen introduces herself, as she turns back to the knights who are busy asking that particular question. "Sorry. Frog stuck in my throat. My name is Wanda." It really was so much easier when she could just introduce herself as Spider-Woman. "Skullcrusher Orc Hordes, hunh? Looks to me like they got crushed." She folds her arms across her chest, after finally letting the hem of her skirt drop back down to the ground.
"So, the Skullcrusher Orcs think they run this town, hunh? Do we need to go to some spooky fortress they've got somewhere and beat them all into an understanding that they're not in charge, then?" Gwen pauses, and scratches the back of her head, keeping her face concealed by the cloak as best she can manage. "Other question; seen any intensely cool magical gizmos lately?"
Luck was on her side this time. Shayera lands after knocking the orc flat, flaring her wings in a threatening manner. And then … there's a humming bird getting in her face. She watches the little creature scolding her for a moment before her hand snaps up to catch Nano out of the air. She doesn't squeeze the tiny creature, but she holds it securely while flaring at it.
"Back. Off." Then she lets Nano free again.
Turning to the knight who has approached them, she's briefly surprised when she recognizes the man. She's also trying to place where she's heard the name 'Skullcrusher' before, but it's not coming to her right away. That's annoying. "Thank you for helping defend this village, sir." And she hopes that he's able to answer Gwen's oddly worded question, because it's one of the main reasons they're here.
Skye fits in perfectly with Zeal with that language. If Batgirl had been with that group she might rub her temples. "And who are you, Fair Maiden?" The not-Warden asks Skye "My name is Sir Viktor. And indeed, Lady Gwanda, the Orcs were indeed crushed. Thanks to your timely intervention."
Jerome chuckles at the question that Gwen asks "No, lady fair, I know of none. But if you travel several days yonder in that direction…" he waves "… you come upon the Spire of Circe. It is there you may find magical trinkets but beware, the Lady Witch protects her desmense with dark magiks. And will not take kindly to those who wish to … aquire it."
Viktor turns Avery and looks puzzled "A powerful curse you say? We have not heard of one, where are ye getting your information from, Zeal?" The Knight looks to the village "Perhaps though, you could speak to the Headman, Antonio Delgado, he may be able to assist you further with that." That's a name that Hunter will recognise for certain.
Jerome turns to look at Shayera and nods. "You … seem familiar to me …" he murmurs but shakes his head. "Perhaps it is because of the similarities of the Harpies that control area several days west of here…." he shakes his head.
There's a tiny but somewhat more shrill cheep when Nano is caught out of the air, the teeny bird's tongue flicking out once at Shayera before he can retreat back to Skye's shoulder. "Yah, that's real mature" she monotones while giving the winged lady a look.
As Zeal picks up where Skye's doofy speech left off her jaw gapes open slightly and a brow arches upward, staring at the other lady as she so -effortlessly- plays into the role. Soon enough the scrier is mouthing a silent 'wow' at the performance.
Gwanda's Skullcrusher pun has Skye quietly teasing "Good one" on the side. At the Spider-Gal's question about 'cool magical gizmos' she just about pulls the crystal orb out before the one Knight asks for her name and it's right back to playing the part she goes.
"Oh—forgive me sir, my manners seem to have escaped me in the scuffle! I am the Lady Skye. Your timely arrival has been most fortuitous."
Hopefully she can step back for a moment here as she quietly sides to Gwen "God I hope this isn't permanent…"
Hunter's eyes sharpen at the mention of the Headman of the village. She says nothing, but if anyone is paying close enough attention they may notice the change; she is silent, but she is not exactly keeping her face from reacting. She may do stoic well, but perhaps she ought not play poker for high stakes.
Zeal's response is absolutely deadpan. "An Oracle, good sir." And then she goes still at the mention of Delgado. "I have heard of him, his ability to take the measure of things is uncanny, or so it has been said. His father a baker, is he not?"
She does definitely follow up on the doofy speech patterns with uncanny acuity, her semi-British accent adding to it - she must do a LOT of cosplay at the Ren Faire or something!
Still, good intel there. "The Tower of Circe, and enchantress with dark powers and darker aspect." She looks off in the direction he indicates, seeking any landmarks.
And no, Hunter should NOT play poker, not even for low stakes.
"Yeah, me too," Gwen murmurs back to Zeal. "I mean, the dress is pretty awesome actually, but I'd still like to have my onesie back. …And my webshooters…" She looks down at her bare wrists, and sighs. "Oh well."
The young spider looks upwards at the knight, and humms softly. "A witch, hunh? Spire of Circe, you say? Dark magics, no less? Sounds like that's where we've got to go. I think we've got some acquiring to do." She clasps her hands behind her back, as she turns to look to the rest of the heroes. "What do you all think? Might be the plan?"
Gwen pauses, pursing her lips, before looking back up at the knight. "Don't suppose you've got any spare horses? Sounds like a pretty long way to be walking."
Shayera glares after Nano for a second then turns her attention back to the conversation at hand, particularly when Jerome says she seems familiar. "We might have fought as allies in a previous battle," she tells him, then offers a polite nod "I am Shayera Hol of Akah Ma'at." Entirely true, and possibly enough for the man to recognize past the spell area's effects.
The lead about the tower and the enchantress is one that's too good to ingore, so she pulls the paper map she bought along out from under her leather jerkin…. which now appears to be vellum. Okay then. "Could you perhaps show us about where the tower is on this map?" She opens it and … what the heck are all these squiggles?
"You are familiar with the headman, My Lady?" Viktor asks Hunter. He's observant that's for sure. There's a nod to Zeal "His mother, is actually. Makes the best bread with what's left for the village after tithes."
"Extra horses?" The Knight looks to Gwen curiously. "You are going to visit to the spire of Circe?" Viktor looks to Jerome who frowns. "We will return in three days with mounts for you and your companions. If you are willing to help us keep the Lady Amara's minions at bay, it's the least we can do to repay you."
"Where is … Akah Mat?" Jerome doesn't recognise the name but nods "Well met then, Lady Shayera." He looks at the map as it appears. The squiggles appear to be … linear B, not that anyone is likely to know that. "The tower would be in this area …" he points to the map.
"Come now, we will take you to the village where you can refresh yourselves and speak to the Headman if you wish."
The knights move their horse around and wait for the others to follow them. The village isn't far after all.