It's a cool, rainy day in the forest. As people walk, the fog recedes from them. As they walk, it closes in behind. Tanya has walked back and forth several times and pronounced that nothing stays the same, and she is tired of walking.

Danielle walks for a bit,at easy pace, looking around watching the behavior of the fog. at tanya's pronouncement, she easily sets herself upon the ground to rest

Amy pauses, takes a sip of water from her flask, and does offer it to Dani and Tanya if either wants some. Yeah, it's water, not alcohol. This time. At the pronunciation, Amy arches a brow, and then she sighs. "I think we're being played with. We may have to be - I don't know, more focused in where we want to go?"

Tanya does drink water, it seems. She accepts the gift. Her own hip flask is full of brandy, but she does have an issued water bottle as well, and has been sipping from that. To Amethyst she says, "I can't do that. I understand some people can."

"it's the only way we've been able to get anywhere. Sometimes," Amy says a little dryly. "But - what do you mean you can't? I didn't think there was anything specific about it."

The Colonel goes silent, and stares for a moment. "Ah. I thought you were talking about something else." When she looks away she is nervous.

Danielle nods and rises to her feet again pausing to get a good mental image of the forest edge and attempting progress before

Amy looks at Dani, and then back over at Tanya. "There aren't a lot of us who aren't somehow related to the Royals, as I understand it," she puts in softly. "But I am fairly sure this is more a matter of willpower than anything more esoteric? We have had folks with us who so far as we know aren't Amber royals or related to them - but I don't know for sure how much oomph they managed to add in to the process."

Amy gets to her feet, looking over at Dani. "Alright, let's give it a shot. Everyone stay close. When we're walking through the fog, fogwalking? - we usually hold onto each other so as not to get separated."

Tanya replies, "Back where I'm from, what we're talking about is a grand secret of State. I'm only alive knowing it because I got lucky." She takes a deep breath. "This fog is all I'm not."

Danielle blinks "What do you mean all you are not. Your an equal to most pathian mages i'm certain. no one can be master of all types of magic though i can understand wanting to keep secrets for power's sake"

"I mean, just that. Although now you mention it, yes that's egotistical. But I think it's an unmaking. It's all you're not as well, even if we're different. Am I making sense?" Tanya jumps on the change of subject.

\

Gavin emergest from the fog a bit confused as how he got there but that is nothing new for him. Then knight peering around for a moment as he gets his bearings.

Danielle hms "meaning we are all products of creation and the fog is it's antithesis...yet it seems to create as well" She jumps as Gavin emerges "Unicon's blood, sir gavin you scared me

Colonel Tanya, Danielle, and Amethyst are all on a well-trodden forest path. Danielle is at the edge of the fog, concentrating on going forwards along that path, apparently, or was, until Gavin emerged from very nearby.

Filinia flips a coin. The result is: Tails

Amethyst rolls with advantage -1 at difficulty 15, using no talents or gifts.
The result is a success.

Danielle rolls with advantage -1 at difficulty 15, using no talents or gifts.
The result is a success.

Gavin rolls with advantage 0 at difficulty 15, using notice.
The result is a success.

The weather sends what seems to be snow, although that is barely possible. To those who care to look at such things, it is not snow but white ash. To Gavin, it is obvious how it got there - he can faintly smell smoke on the wind, despite the fact that the wind emerges from the fog, and should smell of nothing.

Amy looks thoughtful, and she shrugs. "It's certainly something," the petite blonde says. "I - " she's distracted by Gavin's arrival. "Well, hello there," she greets. "Fancy meeting you here." She then turns back to Tanya. "I didn't live in Amber, but I know that's where my father is from," she puts in. "So whatever there used to be - we don't really care, at least not until we can get things back to normal." A pause. "And I don't know if that's possible."

The Colonel shrugs. "I haven't seen the Duke, or King Bleys, or any of the people who used to send me to do their grunt-work. But there's probably a cloud to that silver lining." She does not investigate the snow.

\ "Please forgive me, I did not mean to cause a fright. Though I had found myself lost in the fog while on a walk and emerged here." The knight looks up at Danielle, "Is the Fog the Black Road or a form of it?" This causes Gavin some concern as he had spent many of years and campagins against the road. He reaches up the brush Amethyst's hand, "Well hello there." There's a wink. Then he shakes his head at the word King Bleys. "Then trouble for sure. It's also bringing us Ash and smoke on the breeze but from where I do not know."

More 'snow' drifts down. The path has darkened just a little, as if a cloud drifts in front of the sun, somewhere up above the fog.

Danielle hms" Tanya calls it an unmaking. What little I know of the black road. It certainly destroys. also creates though...So Great uncle bleys is king. I don't know much about him"

The colonel licks a finger, holds it up to the breeze, points the way it is from. "We should go away from there. And at an angle."

Amy looks over at Gavin, not sure what a black road is. or has to do with things really. She also looks at Danielle. "I don't - know who is king," she says. "But maybe going away from the fire is a good idea?" A nod to Tanya, and then she moves to take Gavin's hand, if he'll let her. "Preferably before it gets to us?"

Yes, yes they should certainly go away from whatever is burning yet danielle doesn't seem set on that and physically pushes at the fog with impatience. L"Let me see"

"Other way," says Tanya to Danielle, just as the fog parts in front of Danielle's efforts to reveal not a forest fire, but a fire made manifest. A thing of cinders and flame in the shape of a bear roars at her. White ash flies from it, blocking out the sun. It is nine or ten feet tall, burned down to bone in places, reinforced with wood in others.

And now it has seen them.

\

Gavin does indeed take Amy's hand when she reaches for his giving it a squeeze. He also follows the advice of moving away at an angle. "Do one of you know some ice magic, water magic, something of that kind? We might be needing that now." He says then dropping his hand from Amy's and reaching for his blade.

Amy turns to see what is keeping Dani, and her eyes widen as she sees the firebear. "Uhm,Gavin... " she starts, and then she just freezes. no not literally. She comes to a standstill and stares. "Hoboy," she manages to say. "Where did you come from? That dryad is not going to be happy with you burning her forest."

Filinia flips a coin. The result is: Tails

The firebear goes straight for Tanya, of all people - she curses as she brings her staff around towards it. "No such thing as ice-" is all she has time to say before she has to dive aside. The bear overshoots a little, and Tanya runs for the cover of a nearby tree.

Amethyst rolls with advantage 1 at difficulty 20, using athletics, sorcery.
The result is a success.

Danielle grits her teeth "My elemental mmagic hasn't worked since i arrived here" She answers in utter frustration as she instinctively scrampbles backward, hands in front of her as if she intends to cast something born of years of instinct versus a little over a year of magic on the fritz and ultimately just punches forward

Danielle rolls with advantage 1 at difficulty 20, using occult,sorcery.
The result is a success.

Amy doesn't know anything about magic, so she doesn't have anything to unlearn. That's about the only benefit she has in this scenario. She steps back as well, away from Gavin to give him room. As the bear starts off chasing Tanya, it gives Amy a moment of breathing space, and she races in behind the bear, reaching a hand out to - no not touch it, but what looks like ice might just fly off her hand towards the bear's rump. And then Amy dodges backwards again.

Gavin rolls with advantage 1 at difficulty 20, using combat,combat trained.
The result is a success.

\

Gaving shakes his head, "If there isn't then why have I been to realms full of magic ice?" He goes charging forward with his sword with what looks like reckless abandon. Though the more careful eye might notice he's picking and choosing where her attacks so that he doesn't end up cripsy and toast.

The bear is capable of dishing out a huge amount of damage, but it can't take it. Danielle's punch creates a shockwave before her, which hits it in the side and blows out old, blackened ribs. Amethyst's not-quite-touch freezes a chunk of it, which cracks. Then it swipes at the tree that Tanya is behind, and breaks through the trunk. It can dish it out VERY well. But that's left it open to Gavin and his careful attacks - there is a choice of armoured neck, or unarmoured claw, and he can take either.

Danielle is a bit surprissed that the punch generates the force it does but follows up with another and can hear the audible cracking of bone in the beat's chest as it reels, illogical but welcome

The bear is still concentrating on that tree and Tanya! Apparently it doesn't like her. "Be careful," she warns. needlessly, no doubt. "don't let the tree fall on us!" And then she darts in again, sending another bundle of ice to try to freeze dry more of the bear, hopefully slowing it down and cooling it off.

The bear is still concentrating on that tree and Tanya! Apparently it doesn't like her. "Be careful," AMY warns. needlessly, no doubt. "don't let the tree fall on us!" And then she darts in again, sending another bundle of ice to try to freeze dry more of the bear, hopefully slowing it down and cooling it off.

The Colonel yells, "I CAN'T EXACTLY HELP IT!" and backs away.

Gavin brings the blade down on the neck of the bear striking the armor. He's making progress but it will take take before dancing out of a way of a claw strike aimed aint him before it returns to the colonel. Then he moves in with another strike, "I'm trying to kill it as quickly as I can."

The bear tries to move around the stump, and finds that its left side, exposed to Danielle and Amythyst, will barely support it. Hopes that ice will cool its temper are misplaced. However, on its right is Gavin, his sword cleaving through desicated wood and bone spurs that do not belong on any regular animal. Just as the thing limps its way free, just as Tanya gets to the next tree, Gavin's sword hits something vital, and the bear collapses in a gout of flame.

A lump of wood hits Tanya, knocking her down, and possibly out.

Danielle sighs first in relief as the bear goes down then in frustration as tanya falls. she may not be of amber blood but that's one tough mage for the abuse she takes. dani scrambles back from the still encroaching flames

Amy darts forward, as the bear finally falls. The fire that's still there gets a scowl from her. "Fire needs to be out," she says. She concentrates, and this time some water spurts out, though not a lot. Probably not enough to put out the fire.

Gavin looks around at the dead bear and just a bit out of breath. Then at the flames, "I have no idea how to do that? Could we think Rain?" He says asking a bit reaching. He had walked the pattern and know how to shift shadows but not sure if he was in a shadow or not.

Danielle shrugs "We can give it a try, makes about as much sense as fighting a bear of fire with my fis. so she gestures at the sky for good measure and prays for rain

The little bit of water that Amy is able to generate puts out a tiny fire that sparked. There are a couple other small ones, but the ash is still falling, even though the bear has keeled over. Amy frowns and shakes her head. She gives up on that, as it's not working and goes to check on Tanya. "Maybe we should just get out of here?" she calls. "Though rain would be lovely - if there's any to be found." The last called out loudly, as she checks to make sure that Tanya is alive, breathing and not on fire.

Danielle nods and seems to be just fine with a swift exit, not knowing how long the fire will persist

Gavin sheathes his blade and moves to gather up Tanya. She ges thrown over his shoulder and looks to the other two, "Perhaps it indeed time for us to be somewhere else. Lets hope for rain." Then making sure Amy isn't staying behind goes to make an exit.