Nobody likes the fog, and Amy is in agreement that it is a horrible terrible no good mean nasty thing. It exhausts one to go through it, to get anywhere, and yet ... and yet ... There are reasons to brave the fog. Definite reasons that have Amy at least determined enough. So, she heads into the fog with determination. Though perhaps after what feels like hours or is it days? she is losing some of that oomph. It's not a good thing when someone loses their oomph in the fog, and it seems to take hours more to slog through and find a way out. But eventually there is a sign of green, then the sound of water, and finally, Amy and company stagger out into a clearing.

Lucafrase, damp and frustrated, as tired as anyone. "Hnh," she pronounces. "... is this Shadow, then?" She looks up, around, squinting. Trying to confirm. Meanwhile on autopilot, she begins gathering twigs and brush for a fire...

Kyrie has been distracted by other things. Even aside from the obvious, it's an entirely new place for her. There were things to learn. But, she does turn up periodically. And this time, got caught up in a trip through the fog with Amy. Like the others, she's really worn down by the time they reach the other side, and takes a few to catch her breath. Shaking her head slightly, and bent a little to rest her hands just above her knees, she says "Let's not do that again right away."

Amy chuckles wryly at the comment, and nods her head. "I think - maybe?" that's to Luca, though she then turns to Kyrie and says, "Definitely not right away, but we do need to go back eventually." She looks around though, and shrugs. "I don't know where here is, but so far, it seems nice and warm at least?" She finds a rock or something to sit on, resting for a moment.

Lucafrase begins a small blaze, should the party wish to cook? I suppose? Boiling water doesn't seem strictly necessary. "If I keep looking at that lean-to I'll have decided it was meant to be a cathedral-- might not be able to stop myself from--" she grunts. "... I'm gonna gather reeds. I'll shout if anything comes up."

Kyrie takes her time getting ready to do other things, and like Amy first finds a place to sit and rest. And take in some of where they are. "Very different. Is this that forest some of you were talking about, that was near the city?" she asks then. "The one we could see through the telescope? Certainly no chance of starving here."

Amy grins at Luca, shrugging a bit. "You seem to be more at home here than in the city," she observes. A glance at Kyrie and Amy shrugs. "I have no clue," is her answer. "Maybe?" She actually is not all that familiar with Amber either, so for her, it's all new. "Uhm, I think I am going to gather herbs and such, for medicinal uses." There's a nod then, with that. "At least I assume there should be some here that will be of use."

Maggie stumbles out of the fog on the heels of the others. She catches herself before falling, one hand lifting as though in search of a tree trunk, or someone's arm. Finding neither, she frowns for a moment, then sighs resignedly and looks around. Wet. Vines. Fire? Cool. Angling toward the fire, she hears the others' plans and speaks up, "It would be better not to get seperated. Sound will be muffled here so if people need help, we might not hear them. Or, if you don't want to linger here, we should go in pairs."

Lucafrase returns to the campsite with a fat bundle of stiff grasses, and squats to sort them into usable piles. Without pausing or dithering, before long she's weaving intently. To Amethyst, she calls: "I'm a born maker-- wood, grass, metal, I want it all. If we stumbled on a quarry you'd only see me once a week. We haven't though, so." She barely looks up as she explains.

Kyrie purses her lips, as Amy mentions medicinals. She looks around them at the clearing, and says "I'm sure there are useful plants here. I'm not sure how well they'd survive that long a trip back through the fog, though. We need to experiment with different kinds of casings. See what protects things inside them best. Maybe metal, or bone. Glass might do alright." she muses as she watches Lucafrase.

Amy grinsa s Luca so quickly ias at work making things better.

Amy grinsa s Luca so quickly ias at work making things better. "I will try to keep that in mind," she says. "Find Luca a quarry. I don't know - heck, I don't know if we can find this place again, honesetly. Or whose lean to this is." She nods to Maggie's caution, sobering a bit. "Good advice," she agrees. "but still, we do have to look around a bit, or else we might as well not have come. So long as we're careful and prudent about it, right?" And then to Kyrie, Amy adds, "I can find the herbs, if you can figure out how to carry them."

Lucafrase chuckles, wry. "I can't make glass unless one of you can call down lightning-- please don't."

Maggie looks thoughtful, her gaze sliding from Luca to Kyrie, then to Amy. Finally, she looks up into the sky, "I could back... before. Call down lightning, I mean. But I have not tried here. Fire was my best element once upon a time. Now?" She shrugs, "I'm getting better at it. I'll try lightning next." Maybe. Turning back, she smiles a bit, "I am not really versed in outdoor living anymore. I'm willing to pitch in. To help. But someone will have to point me at something useful to do. If you all are okay with that."

Kyrie's mind seems to be on something. Probably the question of transporting things on a long trip through the fog. She does say, though, "I don't think we'll be making any containers before we head back, but we might be able to roll some things up in leaves enough that the fog doesn't eat through it all before we get out. And if there's pine here maybe treat them with some tar for a layer of protection." She finally gets up again, and agrees "Probably best not to split up entirely. Pairs. at least."

Lucafrase wrestles leaves, sometimes using her teeth for leverage! It's taking shape, though, whether as a hat or a basket is yet undefined. "'Kyrie,' was it? Everyone tells me you're the one to ask about tools. I'm-- well, in the city I'm a carpenter. Maggie has me working on building a boat, for one? Can a sister get a lathe? A plane?"

Amy gets to her feet, and moves a step away from Maggie. "Please don't," she adds, quite in agreement with Luca on that one. "I'm not so sure any of us are ued to living in the wilderness; I certainly am not." She wrinkles her nose, and then she says, "You know, we just came through the fog, and we're all in one piece, I think?" There's a thoughtful look on her face. "I mean, I know sometimes it does, but sometimes it seems more like we just get horribly tired and in pain, but we make it through? I wonder what happens to herbs if they get horribly tired and in pain?"

Maggie notices Amy moving away from her. She frowns slowly, "Of course not now. I'll try it when I am alone. Probably on the beach." Turning, she looks around a bit, tilting her head this way and that, listening. "I will stick with one of you. I'm looking for pollinators. Or fruit bearing plants. Small ones." Noting Amy's comments, she looks down at her clothing, then lifts her hands to her hair, "Hmm. We did seem to get through without losing anything."

Amy's question causes Kyrie to eye the woman. "Do plants feel pain? I don't think they're really aware enough to get tired. Not that kind of tired, anyway. I don't think they have souls to wear down." Tools. She purses her lips again, at the request from Luca. "I am? I mean, I'm the kind of person who knows how to get stuff, sure. And I've made a few tools in my time, when I've needed them. I'll see what I can find for you, that someone might be willing to part with. Or, let you use their workshop for a while, if you have something they want in return." She hmms then, and looks at their clothes as Maggie draws attention to them. "We'll try just wrapping things tightly, and then see what happens on the other side."

Amy watches Luca work for a moment, fascinated, and then she turns to Kyrie. "Sometimes they do," she says. "It depends on the plant." That said, she moves to the edge of the clearing, still within sight. After a moment, there's a loud "OW," and a SLAP sound. "Dang, these bugs are huge," she calls across the clearing.

Lucafrase straps her hat on, sliding a bit of cordage through to secure it to her chin. "... anyone think to bring an axe? I don't like to carry one in the city. Although..."

Maggie starts to fade toward the edge of the clearing, angling toward Amy. Turning to look over her shoulder at Luca, she shakes her head, "We might be able to make one with a sharpened stone, a sturdy stick and some vines." Turning back, she waves a hand in front of her face to send some bug or other carreening awy. It spins end over end before righthing itself again. "What was that, do you suppose? I hope it wasn't a mosquito."

Kyrie hms. "First, we scout some. This might be someone's land, and they'd probably not appreciate us taking things or felling any trees without offering payment of some kind. Need to know what we're dealing with, or who." She doesn't look delighted by the bugs either, and swats at those coming too close.

Amy pauses a bit, where she is. She reaches out to move a branch out of the way, and then lets it snap back. "There's fog, just the other side of this," she calls. "I don't think it's as big as it seems." She does collect some small plants, pulling them out roots and all. These she brings back to Maggie. "If these can be brought back and survive, we can either dry them or plant them," she offers. "Dried they'll be good for poultices and in teas. Alive, they'll give us more to harvest, of course."

Lucafrase frowns. "Scout? Beyond the fog? We could end up-- almost anywhere."

Maggie is looking after the bug to see if she can figure out what it is. A bee? Turning, she is caught almost unaware by Amy's offering her plants. "Oh." Accepting them reflexively, she nods, "Okay." Stepping a bit past Amy, she sinks to the ground. Moving with care, she packs the roots in soil, "Hey, Lucafrase? Did you finish making that basket or whatever? I think that we can wrap these in leaves and use that to carry them back. They might do better that way." Looking up, she adds, "Well. We can do have in soil and half out to test, if you want to Amy?" Her gaze follows an insect from one plant to the next, "There. That looks like a bee. And, Lucafrase? I do not think that Kyrie meant to scout out in the fog. Just this area. So we don't irritate whomever owns it. Or has staked a claim."

Lucafrase ducks out of her hat, offering it as a basket. "Here, go on."

Kyrie considers, then says "Well, let's see the limits of the place first, so we know what we have to work with. If it's a tiny patch of reality with no people, we don't have to worry so much about ownership and can what we take." She nods then to Maggie's comment. "Just scout this patch. Not back into the fog. Note interesting things as we go, so we pull up as little as possible before we're actually ready to wrap it all up." she suggests then.

Oh sure now she says that. Amy looks a bit chagrined, as she hears Kyrie's good advice. "Oops, sorry," she says. But she stops collecting now, as she glances over at the others. "So shall we see what else is here? Maybe follow along the river?"

Maggie rises from where she kneels, having finished wrapping all of the roots of Amy's plants in soil and leaves. Moving to Luca, she places the plants carefully into the hat, "Thanks." Dusting earth from her hands, then wiping them onto her jeans, she nods, "That's a good idea." She hesitates for just a moment, then motions to the others, "I'll bring up the rear." Guard their flank she means, but keeps the phrasing non-military.

Lucafrase shrugs? "Hat, basket, it's both." She nods.

Kyrie smiles at Amy. "It's okay." she assures her. "And sure, let's start by following the river. If there are people, we'll see at least tracks. And, we should see how the water is. I'm curious about running water that intersects the fog."

Lucafrase, lips pursed in thought for some time as they walk, finally asks: "What's the smart gamble? Do I lay a protective enchantment on the produce, or on the basket to shield whatever's inside?"

Amy shrugs at that, not at all sure. "It's not my strong suit," she says, simply. She does keep alert, pointing out a bird with blue feathers and a green crest. Then a bug goes flying by, nearly as big as her hand. "There are definitely big bugs here," she says, recoiling.

Maggie falls in behind the others, her gaze shifting from one side of their track to the other, keeping eye out for pollinators and preditors. Listening to the others, she nods to Kyrie's curiosity, then to Lucas' question, "I'd say the basket. If it falls apart, we lose the plants to the fog. If it doesn't, it may shield the contents. Though maybe we could make a lid for it? Show me how you weave it?" When Amy draws back, Maggie looks forward and spots the bug, "Oh, that is... really big, yeah. Should we take Kerf a specimen?" A pet!

Lucafrase *telegraphs her feelings on that with a horrified face.*

Kyrie leaves the matter of enchantments to the others. "We could take some bugs back, to see if anyone recognizes the species which might tell us where we are, but they should probably be dead." Meanwhile, she walks with the others, studying everything they pass as well as watching for tracks.

Lucafrase rolls with advantage 1 at difficulty 15, using Repair, Enchanting.
The result is a success.

Lucafrase gets Maggie to lay the basket in the dirt for a few minutes while she walks a circle around it muttering arcane and/or archaic language-- she attempts to lay a spell on her handicraft, protecting whatever resides within from the ravages of the fog...

Amy looks at Maggie and then she shakes her head. "Maybe we see if we can bring stuff back before we try to bring back a pet?" she offers. Maybe she can delay the inevitable. The group pauses as Luca does her ritual. Amy watches, a bit wide eyed. And then she says, "well, it'll either work or not, but meanwhile, let's see what is here."

It's not the biggest of spaces, but it's not tiny. It's certainly big enough to provide a lot of resources, though it will need to be managed, as it's not infinite. The size of a large farm, it is, more or less.

Amy looks at Maggie and then she shakes her head. "Maybe we see if we can bring stuff back before we try to bring back anything alive?" she offers. Maybe she can delay the inevitable. The group pauses as Luca does her ritual. Amy watches, a bit wide eyed. And then she says, "well, it'll either work or not, but meanwhile, let's see what is here."

It's not the biggest of spaces, but it's not tiny. It's certainly big enough to provide a lot of resources, though it will need to be managed, as it's not infinite. The size of a large farm, it is, more or less.

Maggie nods to Luca and kneels to place the hatsket down. Standing, she backs out of the way and watches the ritual. Her gaze is focused, narrowing slightly as though she is trying to memorize what is happening or hoping that it will spark some memory or other. When Amy speaks, she blinks and turns to her with a smile, "Oh. Yeah, that's probably wise." Looking around again, she takes note of where they are, then looks back to be sure that she has a landmark for where they came from. Looking back again, she bends to pick up the hatsket when Luca has finished. "Shall we?" Then, after a faint pause, she adds, "I wonder if being an Amberite makes a difference to the fog. I've been trying to determine that."

Kyrie looks passingly interested in the magic, but very much like someone with no connection herself to such things. "Is there a reason being one might matter to the fog?" she asks. As they more or less map their current bubble, so makes mental notes as to where useful things are. "I think we should stay a few days here, to get everything done that we need to do before heading back. It'll give me time to make the biers. We should see if there's fish of some sort in the river."

Lucafrase nods. "I'm anxious to know if the spell did anything, but I could stay comfortably for a while? I might like to do some tests, see if I can whip up an insect repellent-- those things aren't getting a piece of me!"

Amy shrugs, not sure about the answer to Kyrie's question herself. "I don't know," she admits. "But have you come up with any thoughts on it, Maggie? Anything to give you an idea?" There's a thoughtful look as she tries to figure out if that might make a difference. "And those bugs are more than a little bit frightening. I - " she has to duck one, as it divebombs accidentally. "Yikes!"

Maggie nods to Luca, "I hear you. I would like to know as well. But staying for a few days will let us know if your protective spell keeps the plants fresh over time. We might have to replant these and get others for the trip back. You did enchant the basket, right? Or, the hat?" Turning to Kyrie and Amy she considers, "Well, my theory has too many variables to be easily tested, but here's how it goes." Her gaze flashes to the bug divebombing Amy and she darts to one side as it whizzes overhead and away. "Uh. Oh, right. Back in my Shadow, it was thought that this kind of fragmenting might happen if teh primary Pattern in Amber failed or was broken. But it was also thought that a powerful Amberite could hold some cohesive pockets of reality together even if everything unraveled. We have not yet found any powerful Amberites and have not found the Pattern room. If it exists. So, there is no way to ask anyone what happened or verify the existence of a pattern." She steps back, ducking a bit to avoid another large insect. "Ugh. So, anyway. Without a primary source of information, I thought that if the fog is the result of a failure of an Amberite, it might want to steal away those of that blood. I've been making myself available for swipage. I am still here. So... A different possibility is that the fog is ambivallent about people. But it isn't. If it is in a swiping mood, it is more likely to swipe a person than a thing. So, maybe it is helpful? Maybe. I have noted that the fog does give things. Or, things come out of the fog. And, more often than not the things that come out are somehow related to recent events. So, it is just possible that, while it is ominous and difficult to traverse, it isn't antagonistic. Exactly. Though I am not sure that it is sentient, really. I do think that it is aware." Which does not give her any sort of comfort. Glancing at Luca again, she adds, "I'll help you with bug repellent. I'm not sure what my magic would be called. It isn't enchantment, but it is... sorcery, I guess?"

Lucafrase blinks. "That's-- a lot to digest, Maggie. You can explain it while I grind ingredients."

Kyrie listens to the wall of text from Maggie much as she watched the enchanting. Still not her field. All she manages in the subject is "Huh." as though she understood any of it. Which she probably didn't. Meanwhile, she also occasionally has to swat at a huge bug. "I need to pack a net next time."

"I think we should wear nets next time, never mind bring them," Amy says. "So we can hide in them from these crazy bugs." She pauses and then says, "Well, for sure, we know that the fog does try to snatch things sometimes, because we've been snatched or nearly snatched. And there was the coin rain and the shield that was found - so it gives stuff too, right?" She pauses to think for a moment. "So I can see that much. I'm not sure about the rest of that."

Lucafrase nods. "Beekeeping gear, maybe. I can kludge that up."