The Darkening

[whalejudge]

My understanding: you summoned these horses in the tower, rode to your cart, switched mounts to the normal ones you brought with you, and are now trying to send the summoned horses off as decoys. It's the sending them off as decoys I consider way beyond the purpose of the spell. That's not having them serve as riding mounts.

[John Merino]

So do they disappear after we dismount? What happens if we summon them, ride them, and then stop riding them? Do they act as normal horses, i.e. fleeing when spooked?

[whalejudge]

It summons 1 horse (or pony) to serve "you", the caster, as a steed. The horse is essentially normal, but is there to serve you as a mount, not a decoy (or meal, etc.). But you do get to dismount and have it stay the duration of the spell, unless you dismiss it. I presume you cast it once for each of you, and as I didn't say anything you each have one.

I'm willing to let you have a handle animal check to get it to run a different way while you guys flee a different way. But it's not a "summon horse" spell which would then let you have the horse do whatever you wanted.

[John Merino]

To clarify: the intent wasn't to make the horse do something a horse wouldn't do. The goal is actually to spook the horses (loud noises, attacking it, whatever) to convince it to run off in a direction, and then head off in a different direction. If that requires a handle animal check, then ok.

[whalejudge]

To convince a typical horse, no handle animal check is needed. To convince one summoned by a mount spell, yes, a handle animal check is needed.

[John Merino]

Do I need to roll to control them in combat? Because it sounds like they can't be spooked by combat.

[Emma]

Emma keeps her attention directed forward and lifts a hand to pull her hood up over her head. She remains silent to John's attempts to open her up. Pushing back all of her thoughts about Usurian and the others was all that was keeping her sane at the moment. As the howls continue behind them, Emma speaks lightly for John to hear, "Shouldn't we have lost them by now...?" At the mentioning of Zoltan, Emma feels her blood boil and her hair stand on end.

As the group approaches their cart and actual horses, Emma listens carefully to John's plan and then nods. "Perhaps instead of sending them all in one direction we should have them scatter? The more we break up our persuers, the better.... right?"

[John Merino]

They know that a group of three horses left. I would prefer to give them a trail of three horses to follow, personally. At least for a little while, then I could dismiss the spell and the horses would return from whence they came. If they see our horses scatter and pick up the trail of new horses... then I fear they'll see through the ruse. Besides, it's easier to get horses to follow each other.

[whalejudge]

To your left, you see a fog bank rolling in, perhaps a mile or two away.

[John Merino]

John knocks sofly on Emma's cabin door, and without waiting for her to grant permission to enter, he walks in and sits down on her bed, next to her if possible. Usurian chose to come with us. He chose to seek you out, to help me find Indis, to break into the tower, and to step outside. John sighs, This is something that is ridiculously hard to say to anyone in your situation, but nothing that happened is on your shoulders. You may as well blame his mother for carrying him to term, or his father for conceiving him. Besides, it dishonours his memory; we carry the burdens of our choices from the moment we make them.

Taking another rather large breath, he adds, I know I have made choices that I am not proud of, decisions that shouldn't have been made. I have hurt... well I have hurt a lot of people. A lot of people you don't even know, not to mention everything else. Hell, and I can't believe I'm saying this, but the original intent was to find your mother to blackmail my father. I recognize that this will piss you off and make you hate me, and I understand that I should leave now, but I want to finish.

At this he starts to the door and leans on it, facing the door so Emma can't see the tears in his eyes. I... I didn't intend on getting close to you. I didn't intend on caring about you. You were a means to an end, and that was stupid and wrong, but it's a choice I'm glad I made. If I hadn't made the choice to come find you, I never would have met you. If I never met you, I would never have you as a sister. People talk about consequences to your actions, they talk about how even good plans can blow up in your face. After all, the path to hell is paved with good intentions. They never talk about how the wrong choice made for all the wrong reasons will sometimes accidentally end up in a storybook ending... but in this case a storybook ending for all but the one making the choice.

Barely keeping himself together, he added, After all this time, I had hoped you would live with me and Indis. I had hoped you would find someone special who would be close to where Indis and I lived, that you would be the aunt to my children. I had hoped you would be there when I wed her, that you would give us your blessing, maybe even preside over the ceremony. Because no matter how this started, no matter why I sought you out, I love you now.

Taking a second to compose himself, John turns around. The streaks down his face are very plain to see, and his eyes are very red and puffy. I don't ask for forgiveness. I don't ask for understanding. I don't even ask for you to listen or care. This is; in and of itself, all I really had to say. And in the end, I had to say it.

With that, John will depart for his own quarters and resume work on stealing the spellbook.

[whalejudge]

Speaking Hazlani, “So you’re the little bastage who attacked my tower. Before I turn you into cheese for your rat, why did you? What did you want?”

[John Merino]

I want my wife.

[whalejudge]

Wife? What wife? No one here is married. I'm not even married, nor is the one who warms my bed. What are you talking about?

[John Merino]

You took Indis, and then you lied about it. I sought information, you refused to give it, I elected to take it, and your servants elected to resist.

[whalejudge]

You're supposed to be a wizard, boy. Twenty five words or less.