Story : Into Thin Air

Back to Under a perfect blue sky.
:April 19 1220
Where the greenway had previously been a broad path of well trodden grass, and then a narrow path winding between heather as it ascended the hill, it was now a steep mountain trail. To either side, the rocky slopes of the mountain plummeted down toward a thick layer of cloud far below, that shone bright and white in the middday sun.
Below, in the distance, a white goat stood upon a tall rock, and watched him imperiously. Near the goat, he could see a stone cairn that looked very much like the round mound through which they had first entered, except that it was built from dry rock without a covering of earth and grass.
Above, the path continued to pick its way between large rocks, and was quickly lost from view where it crested a nearby ridge line.
Ambrosius looked around in amazement, taking in the sights. After a moment, he realized that his spell to see the regio boundary was still active, yet he saw none. He looked back the way he came and saw that there was no boundary there either. "I feel like a mouse being drawn further into a trap," he said to no one in particular. On the off chance that he simply could not see the regio barrier he'd just walked through, he took a few steps down the trail, back towards the barrow...or rather, this incarnation of the barrow. As he expected, he passed the point where he entered this level of the regio, and did not find himself back in the previous level. He looked around from his new location and took in the sights again, focusing on the changes. He could tell that the air was thinner from the way he was winded so easily in just the few steps he took down the trail. Everything was brighter as well, thought Ambrosius thought it was a result of his spell. On a hunch, he spoke a few words of magic and pushed the air into his face. He kept his eyes closed for a few moments, his face once of contemplation. A grin spread across his face and he said, "Well, at least there is that."
Ambrosius cast about for a stone large enough to act as a seat, found one, and took it while he waited for the Maga Mnemosyne, Geraldous and Blathmac to appear out of unusually thin air.
It took a little longer than he thought it would, but Mnemosyne and the others appeared in the center of the path just has he had a few minutes before. "Welcome to you all!" He waved towards the trio and stood. "As you have probably guessed, Sodale, this boundary also appears to be a one way barrier. We appear to be burrowing deeper and deeper into the this regio. It appears there is not going to be an easy way out.
"Obviously, we are seeing changes each... um... time we enter a deeper level of the regio. You'd mentioned before that the previous regio level was possessed of a, ah, second level magical aura. Shortly after arriving here, I tested for the same, and found it to be roughly a, ah, fourth level of magical aura. I may be mistaken, but I believe that there is a correlation between the depth of the level in the regio and the relative age of our surroundings." He pointed down the hill, past the goat to the barrow. "What I mean to say is that the deeper we go, the... um... younger our surroundings appear to be." Ambrosius motioned for the others to follow as he began to pick his way down the perilous mountainside.
"I think, sodale, that we should follow your plan from before. It seems that the barrow is a, ah, constant in each of these levels, so let's start by returning to that."
Mnemosyne nodded in agreement with Ambrosius. "I'm not sure if we can really say that the structures are younger, per se. Rather, regiones often have the effect of duplicating notable features - which are often the main focal points of the regio. A small spring outside of the regio, could be a fountain inside. Presumably, the more one penetrates the layers of a regio, the more the changes are obvious. I have heard that there is some further link between the layers of regiones, such as destruction on a massive scale could theoretically result in some affect on the other layers."
It took much longer to get down the mountian side than it did to walk up the hill in the previous level of the regio. Where the grade on the way up had been moderate, the slope down was nothing short of dangerous. The group carefully picked their way along the path back down towards the drystone cairn that stood in place of the barrow through which they had entered. As they decended the mountain path, they could see the second mound - the one that Geraldous had first visited. In the mundane world, it was simply a ring shaped mound of earth, but in this level of the regio, the mound of earth was an embankment, supporting a solid, sturdy looking stone wall. In the center of the ring stood a small square pavilion, perhaps a stride or two on a side and capped with a shallow dome. The dome was help up by four pillars, perhaps a four or five feet tall. They couldn't tell from where they were descending, but the base of the pavilion might have been sunken slightly into the ground. Ambrosius' eyes squinted and he called Mnemosyne closer. "Maga, I can see, within that pavilion, there is a regio doorway. Centered within the pavilion - it must be an intentional door."
In the process of pick his way down the hill Ambrosius cast about for the ruined cottage of the other levels of the regio, but realized to his dismay, that it would lay above them, along the path and over the ridge line. If the situation permitted, he would come back and look at it later.
When they arrived at the bottom of the slope to the shelve upon which the cairn sat, the instinctively moved around to where the doors where in previously been. The rough mound of dirt was no more, and this could no long be mistaken for a simple king's burial grounds. In place of the barrow was a clearly crafted, expertly laid drystone structure, round, mound-shaped oratory . Where the point would normally have been, this structure had a dome, though Ambrosius could not see how it was being held up. Where an open door to an normal oratory should have been, and indeed, the door to the barrow was, there now lay a large slab of stone. Ambrosius and Mnemosyne both noticed the writing etched in the surface at the same time.
"I cannot make and sense of this writing," Ambrosius said. "Can you?"
"No, I'm afraid not," Mnemosyne replied. "Mentem will not reveal the meaning behind this sort of thing. At least, not without someone to filter the thoughts through."
She studied the stone with professional interest. "However, the thing which concerns me most at this point is that the we are finding increasing signs of habitation, but as of yet no inhabitants. I suggest we continue our investigations into finding a way back. We appear to be encountering successive layers of the regio as we climb higher. Perhaps if we reverse the procedure and travel down the mountain, we will encounter a way out. I presume you still have your Intellego spell active?" She cocked an eyebrow at Ambrosius in an interrogatory manner.
"I do indeed maga. I, ahhh, was thinking about the habitation as well. It seems to me that the trail we cam down should lead towards that little... um... cottage that was in ruins before. If it is whole now, perhaps that is the home of the caretaker of this place?" Ambrosius shook his head. "But you are right. We should focus on getting out. I think there is a good chance that the exit lay in the pavilion in that ring over yonder. At worst, it, ah, takes up deeper, and we are no worse off than we are now."
"Well, at the moment, we have two exits to find," Mnemosyne mused. "Going deeper would make it three. I'm suspicious about the... ah... pavilion. It could take us deeper into a pocket layer, separate from the main one."
Ambrosius nodded. "There are, um, many choices maga. What would you like to do?"
Peri - feel free to modify dialogue as you see fit.
"As you have said, Ambrosius, our first goal should be to get out of the regio. Since there appears to be a relationship between the height of the regio boundary and the direction it takes us, I believe we should continue downward on this path. I think we shall find the regio boundary in the cloud bank."
Shrugging his shoulders, Ambrosius agreed, "It certainly makes as much sense as anything else this day. If not more."
With that, the quartet set of down the path, following it as it descended the face of the mountain. Before long, they found themselves abreast of the clearly defined cloud layer.
"Ah, maga...I can clearly see the regio boundary just within the clouds. It seems that, um, you were correct." Ambrosius cast a glance at Geraldous and Blathmac. "Shall we go about it the same as last time? I go in first, with you following if I cannot return?"
"I think not, Sodale." Mnemosyne shook her head, a thoughtful expression worrying her face. "I think that it is fair to assume that you will not be able to step back. We should all cross though together."
Ambrosius eyed her carefully, as it looked as if she might have something more on her mind, but when she remained silent, he simply nodded and said. "Well then, off we...ah...go!" He waved for Blathmac to follow him and stepped down the path, into the regio boundary. Mnemosyne and Geraldous were nary a second behind.
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:April 19 1220
The four emerged upon a well worn trail upon a steady hill. Mnemosyne spoke first, "We are back up the hill in the first level." She pointed towards the dirt covered barrow and the much buried and ruined ring fort.
"Finally we see some progress!" Ambrosius said with some satisfaction. "It seems your instinct was, ah, right on, sodale. What do you suggest our next move to be?"
Mnemosyne looked abashedly at Ambrosius. "Magus, logic tells me that it is likely the boundry of the regio will act on this level, much as it did on the upper one. It would seem reasonable that if we once more proceed down the hill and investigate the clouds, you may be able to discern the path back. However, it is possible that my second sight may have failed us at the very beginning - perhaps I saw the way in, but not the way out. I think it wise that you look in the tunnel once more, with the aid of your much more reliable spell. If there is nothing there, then we can proceed further down the hill and investigate the clouds. But if I missed it..." She let the thought finish itself.
"Ah. I understand."
Once again, the party set down the hill, following the path to one of the three versions of the barrow. Upon reaching the entrance, Ambrosius immediately took to creating the elements necessary to open the doors. He was becoming old hand at it now, and the doors parted as expected.
"Now then, let's see if I can get some light." Ambrosius tapped the end of his walking stick on the now flat bottom door slab and the tip of his staff lit, sputtered and died. Frustrated, the magus declared, "VAE! What is it about light that does not like me?!" Angrily, he practically shouted the words of power, bringing the tip of his walking staff so sharply upon the stone that Mnemosyne winced for fear of either the stone or the staff breaking. The top of the staff flared to life again, but held. Ambrosius grunted his frustrated approval. "That should hold us until sunset, I think. But let us move...um...with haste regardless." Ambrosius stepped back into the gloom of the passageway, followed closely by Blathmac, all the while, depending on his ensorcelled sight to show him the regio's exit.
Mnemosyne saw no particular need to enter the tunnel, which had trapped her once already, a second time. Ambrosius' vision had proved reliable and if the way back was to be found in the same place as the location which they arrived in - which would be a first for this regio - then he did not need to be crowded. She waited patiently in the sunlight for Ambrosius to pronounce his findings.
Ambrosius paused for a few seconds, just inside the barrows door and cast a glance back at Mnemosyne and Geraldous, standing firm outside of the barrow. He could understand her reticence to enter the barrow once again, and suspect that she, like he himself, felt that the exit from the regio would present itself in short order. With a smile and a nod towards his sodale and her shield grog, Ambrosius stepped carefully down the passage way, searching for the seam in space that would announce the exit.
I'm going to be writing up those events over the next day or three, but I wanted to 
make sure we didn't neglect anything you guys wanted to do with Geraldous, Blathmac 
or Alicia. I plan on actually taking the narrative from the top of the mynd to the ruined 
cottage that the mages agreed to meet at, and then work through Ambrosius' repair of 
said cottage (in some patently Verditius fashion, I'm sure). As with anything I write, 
please feel free to interject at any time, and we'll deal with anything that needs to change 
as necessary. 
If you have any concerns from this large a jump, or would like to work something 
specifically in, please let me know and I'll hold up there.
As his magically enhanced eyes adjusted to the sudden change in lighting, he moved with more certainty. He could hear Blathmac’s footfalls behind him and the sound of dripping water somewhere far down the passageway in front of him. He allowed the fingertips of his free hand to drag along the side of the passageway, feeling for changes in temperature and texture. Ambrosius was already prepared for disappointment. Since his eyes had adjusted enough, it was clear to him that there was no region exit in the passage way near where they had entered. Perhaps the portal they passed through was initially set up as an easy, one-way entrance by whoever made this structure? He didn’t know, and it was not his task at this time to find out. Right now, the priority was to find the way out of the region and work their way back to Alicia and Llewys. A few steps in, he passes under the miniature murder hole from which the passage way’s only light emanates, when the door is closed. The opening was much smaller than he’d supposed from his previously distant inspection – about 12 inches in length, it was only two inches wide. From the ceiling, he could see that the hole slanted back towards the door at a rather steep angle. He wondered as to the purpose of the hole, and decided that it could bear some further investigation in the future. If this barrows entrance was built to keep something in rather than to keep something, or someone, out, it was just as possible that the hole was some sort of magical eye or trap. Ambrosius motioned to Blatchmac to steer clear of the hole and not touch it.
He turned his attention to the stairs. He stood now at the top of the stairs, which preceded down into the mynd at an angle remarkably similar to that of the murder hole’s retreat, and the way they lined up was not lost on the mage. It served to further reinforce his believe that the hole requires further investigation. The stairs themselves were about a metre and a wide, and stretched a good three stories down into the mynd from where Ambrosius stood. The view did not reveal a great deal to the Verditus magus, but it did tell him what he needed to know. He turned and looked Blathmac in the eyes, indicating that they were not going down the stairs, and motioning for him to go back. 
Mnemosyne saw the pair around and head back towards the door. “No regio boundary?” she checked.
“None that I could see, sodale.” He shook his head, “The stairs could lead to great arcane knowledge, or they could lead to, ah, certain death – I have no idea. What I can say is that there was nothing besides the way that the hole and the stairs lined up that I thought was of interest.” Ambrosius stroked his chin. “If this barrow was a haven for the Diedne at one time, then perhaps the hole has some astrological significance? That house did have some type acclimation to the way of stars and such, did it not?” Ambrosius looked to the Guernicus maga. “One or two times a year, the sun should line up perfectly to shine a light down…” he let his voice trail off, “But, this is not the time for such a discussion, even if it is the place.”
Ambrosius stretched his arms out over his head. “Let us proceed down the greenway into the fog. It has worked before – perhaps that path will bear some fruit.”
Mnemosyne nodded, “Agreed. Let us proceed.”
The party set off down the greenway towards where vale would be in the mundane world. Within 30 minutes of mostly quiet but easy walking, they were well into the heavy fog, the regio boundary eluding them still. On they continued, following the broad greenway down the hill until it seemed to level out. As they continued, the substance of the fog seemed to change, though no one was able to put their finger on just how. Out of the fog, there came an odd, intermittent sound. At first, it sounded in the distance, then close at hand. Blathmac looked about nervously and Geraldous rested his hand on his weapon. Again, the sound could be heard, but again, it was off at a distance. Mnemosyne muttered under her breath, “This is ridiculous!”
Within steps of where they heard the last of the mysterious sound, they came to something that could only be described as a fork in the path way, though the dense fog kept them from seeing it until they were nearly on top of it. “Not quite a fork,” Ambrosius thought. It seemed that the fork was not all the way there – when he turned his head to the right or left, the fork became a single path in his peripheral vision. Both paths ascended back up the Mynd. The first path was a little broader, and earthen, with a smattering of trodden, hardy looking grass, while the second was much narrower, rockier, and steeper.
He related this to Mnemosyne. “What’s more,” he concluded, “is that I see the energy of a regio boundary, but it is all around us, as if we are already within the boundary.”
Ambrosius looked down the path, towards the not-quite-fork. “Mnemosyne, I am at a loss as to, um, where to go from here.” He looked about them, “Do you think we can clear away some of this fog, perhaps get a better view of what lays ahead?”
“I am not certain that we can,” Mnemosyne said. “I know that I cannot, but you are welcome to try.”
Ambrosius nodded. Creation was his specialty, and creating a wind of sufficient strength to dissipate a fog like this should be a relatively simple matter. He lifted his staff up, the light still shining from the top, and called upon the words of power. The wind did not come slowly, and did not start in fits, but rather, it came down the mountain towards the fork with the strength and certainty of an oncoming rain storm. The clothes of the party ruffled and flapped in the stiff wind, but the fog did not dissipate – in fact, the fog was unaffected entirely. Unsurprised, he dropped his staff, and the wind died down.
"Well, Maga," Ambrosius turned to Mnemosyne, "...it appears that the fog is, um, a trick of our minds...We have three choices, as I ...um, see it." He paused. "Back the way we came, forward on the wider path, and forward on the narrow path. In all cases," he shrugged, "the path takes us back up."
Mnemosyne appeared thoughtful, “Hmm...we may as well pick one of the other routes back up... It could be informative - I doubt it, but it could be.” She frowned and sighed, “Or... we could wander around blindly in the fog and get lost.” 
Ambrosius motioned to the right, instinctively. "Let us stay on the path that matches the one most like the lower level of the regio - the broader, earthen path with the rough looking grass."
"Agreed... It is as good as a way as any, and easier to walk on."
The four set off up the broad greenway as it lead straight up the hill. Despite the unerring direction of the path, the scenery around them that they could make out appeared to rotate and shift, turning this way, tilting that way, as if reality were bending to the will of the road, rather than the other way around. Despite the sense of staying true to this straight road, the travelers were certain they had taken numerous turns and dips. Yet, nothing besides that appeared to be out of place. A one point, a common butterfly floated through, appearing out of the fog to the left and disappearing into the fog to the right. 
“Flambeau…” Mnemosyne mumbled
“What was that, sodale?” Ambrosius queried
Mnemosyne looked slightly abashed and replied, “Nothing…I was just thinking of opportunities lost…”
Ambrosius nodded knowingly.
Just as they were becoming used to traveling through the warm breeze of the magical fog, it lifted without warning. 
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==Continued==
Next page: Once Again, Atop the Long Mynd
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Category:1220
1220Q2
12200419
Category:Ambrosius
Category:Mnemosyne
Category:Geraldous
Category:Alicia
Category:Llewys
Category:Blathmac