Lokilia backs away a bit, trying to appear non-threatening. She quickly casts Speak with Animals. The druid then speaks calmly to the bear mother. "Sorry to intrude. I will not harm you nor your cubs. Nor will the others. We are crossing the river and will move on, to go far away."
The mature sow lowered her head and lifted her nose noting Dev in the river and the two men on the far side, " Lies? Smells of.....falseness.....trick me? Take away Cubs? Last mate say same......man-things not harm cubs....man-things raise his father......but man-things come in snow......smoke while sleeping......I not wake in time....my Cubs not wake....I come from den.....man-things are meat, I tear and rip and eat......but Cubs not wake.....I sleep again......warm come again....my cubs beside me were bone and skin..."
She did not rear, she had no intention of frightening Lokilia away....her haunches tensed for the charge.....
" My Cubs of last year will not die like those of the year before! I chose a better mate last year.....I will kill him if he comes near my Cubs, I will kill all who do!"
..............................
To Dev, Quinn and Normont the bear is simply growling in a low threatening manner and looks ready to charge Lokilia......the two Cubs have retreated to the tree line they are about a third the size of the mother......
( Lokilia has a turn before the sow makes her final decision.)
Dev has frozen in the middle of the river, holding onto the rope to keep from losing his footing.
Holding with one hand, he takes hold of his pan pipes on their loop around his neck with the other hand and plays a series of notes, readying a spell.
If the brown bear charges or otherwise behaves aggressively, a booming alpine horn sound suddenly begins to trumpet atonal fanfares continuously from Lokilia, hopefully frightening the creature away.
Dev continues to hold or recast and re-hold, this action during the stand off. His feet are growing numb, and he clamps his jaw shut to keep his teeth from chattering.
'Truly, I understand your sorrow over those cubs of the year before,' Lokilia continues, speaking in the language of the bear. 'Do not let these cubs of last year be left alone. For my companions can deal death if provoked. But if left in peace they will not pursue you.' She never gives a glance to the cubs, wanting her to know she will only focus on her. 'Or if you prefer, I can offer you my aid, if there is something you would wish of me.'
"Truly, I understand your sorrow over those cubs of the year before," Lokilia continues, speaking in the language of the bear. "Do not let these cubs of last year be left alone. For my companions can deal death if provoked. But if left in peace they will not pursue you." She never gives a glance to the cubs, wanting her to know she will only focus on her. "Or if you prefer, I can offer you my aid, if there is something you would wish of me."
(Persuasion: 22 + 3 = 25)
The sow harrumphed in surprise and shook herself vigorously, " You are fierce......you are a good mother to your cubs......companions....."......the she bear drank in the scents of the shivering Dev and tense Normont and Quinn....," ....Cubs."
" I need nothing of man-things but their absence.......but now I know there are some to be respected......"
" My territory extends as far upstream as the bone tree......past there is One-Eyes territory.....she is old and insane and her cubs are her own curdled dreams of youth.....best move quietly and quickly through....beyond there on the other side of the river are dens of man-things but they are abandoned in the cold times."
" Girls! We are leaving! Show respect to this sow.....if she enters your own territories one day."
......................
The huge bear shook the tension out of her body then grunted and huffed at Lokilia a few times before her two Cubs joined her in crossing the stream....coming very close indeed to Dev.....they hauled themselves out on the bank a little upstream from Normont and Quinn gave them both a quizzical sniff then headed south down river......
.............
The other three were able to cross without incident.
Lokilia is overjoyed with the bear's response. 'You are wise. May you find your path easy.' She then turns to the others of her group. "The bear mother will let us pass in peace. She wants nothing of us other than to be gone from her territory. Make no move towards her cubs. I'll tell you more of the path ahead too, once we're moving. Heh, and she believes you to be my cubs!"
Once they are all safely across, she relays what was said of One-Eye, her territory, and her 'cubs'. "We'll want to avoid whatever those things are." And then of the dens of man-things abandoned in the winter.
Normont is relieved when Lokilia tells them all is well, and follows her instructions regarding not taking a step closer to the cubs. He is as ever a little in awe of her druidic abilities.
He chuckles a little at the news he was Lokilia's cub in the mind of the mother bear. It was an easy conclusion to jump to about him, given his size, but Quinn!
"Hammer and tongs that was amazing, I really thought she was getting ready to charge you", he says when he reaches the other side.
After Lokilia explains the report of what is ahead, he nods understanding.
"I will send Amber to keep an eye out for One-Eye, once we reach the bone tree. Depending how long it takes to get there, we might be best off camping in this territory rather than risking a night with one-Eye?".
Dev follows Lokilia’s instructions exactly, teeth chattering, eyes almost glancing at the cubs as they swim across, out of pure delight and curiosity. He finally makes it the rest of the way across the stream and tries to dry off.
When Lokilia tells the group that the mother bear had called him one of Lokilia’s cubs, he colors slightly. Not because of hurt pride, but because in the absence throughout his life of his real parents — he had the Hornd’s of course, the old human couple who found him and raised him as one of their own (Dev feels ashamed to differentiate) whom he loves with his whole heart, but — Lokilia had started to feel, almost, like a parent. The wise, kind hearted, incredibly talented Druid fit the mold of the heroic parents Dev imagined for himself. The imagined parents who had been delayed collecting him from Mooren Lake due to an important need to save Tal Dorei, as his imaginings surmised.
With these thoughts swirling through his mind, he follows the others, barely paying attention to the details of their journey.
The companions continue north along the river bank, the ground is thick with brush and often hemmed in on the right with steep slopes or rock faces, but at imes it opens out to more gentle slopes and forested hills to the east as they advance.
As afternoon comes about Amber spots a massive mountain ash tree soaring some forty metres over its nearest neighbour to almost 300' in height, at some point in the past something large had died atop it and the tree had grown up through the body carrying parts of the carcase aloft over the years so that now the tall straight trunk of the tree was dotted in parts with ribs, ulnas and other bones projecting from the bark...
It is just after midday and a relatively comfortable campsite with the possibility of fresh fish could be made....
Normont stares up at the gargantuan tree with the odd protrusions for a minute before turning to the others.
"Ah, the bone tree. It is a bit early to make camp though, right?", he says at the prospect of making camp. "Although we have made good time. Perhaps we do rest here, and try and catch some fish. Might that placate this One-Eye, an offering of fish? Or I could get Amber to take some fish and drop them away from our path, if the smell might lure One-Eye to it and away from us?".
Dev’s eyes follow the length of the enormous ash tree from its lowest visible length of trunk, up, up, past the macabre imbedded bones, skyward, craning his neck and squinting to try to make details in its crown, high above. His voice floats eerily to the others, filled with wonderment and intensity.
“There’s a story I heard… tribal peoples – or maybe elves? – before the Scattered War believed that an incredibly tall tree connected the underworld, Exandria, and the heavens.” Imagining the breathtaking view of his current surroundings from the top of the so-called Bone Tree, Dev wonders if indeed it connects to some heavenly realm.
The teen tiefling knows how to fish, and how to fashion a hook and lure, although his fingers aren’t always that deft in their making. He answers Normont.
“I mean…, we could fish and have a nice meal here. Maybe that would be best since, like…, maybe we don’t want to spend the night in territory controlled by One-Eye, whoever that is? And, we don’t know how big their lands are. But if we camp here then maybe we’ll have the whole day tomorrow to try to make it past their lands to the cabins or whatever?”
"I would rather we get past One-Eye's territory before we rest, based on what the bear-mother told me," Lokilia tells the others as she examines the very tall tree. "The idea of leaving fish somewhere off our path though does have merit. I wasn't sure what exactly this One-Eye was, but the bear was very wary. We'd be best to try to sneak past than face it."
She clearly listens as Dev talks about the story of a tall tree connecting heavens to underworld. "Trees are the strong sentinels of nature. Long-lived and often sturdy with deep roots. It is not hard to imagine a great tree binding all of existence together," she comments. "This one is certainly a tale of perseverance. Whatever this creature was, it almost seems that it could have crushed this tree. But instead, it adapted, grew around, and now stands tallest of the trees around. It is quite a wonder." Her eyes stay fixed on the tree a bit longer, taking in the shape and the ways it has grown.
"I will follow whatever path we wish to take. But my preference is to get past this territory of One-Eye."
(OOC - Out of curiosity she tries to determine what sort of creature the skeletal remains might have been. Nature Check: 4; she probably has no idea!)
Normont also ponders as Dev mentions the story about the tree which was thought to connect the underworld, Exandria and the heavens.
"We have a special tree in Whitestone. The Sun Tree", he says affirming how trees can be important.
"I might be wrong, but I got the impression that until we pass the bone tree, we are safe. Is that not the case, Lokilia? Have we already entered the territory of One-Eye?", he then says to Lokilia.
As they speak, Dev, who learned to fish on the banks of Mooren Lake so young that he does not even remember not knowing how to fish, tries to assess the river's conditions. Fishing is a waiting game, and catching something edible with limited time is not always a realistic expectation. Unless you really know the area, which in this case, he doesn't. Moreover, he has no net or a real pole, although he could make one. But perhaps, he thinks, he can assess the likelihood of quickly catching river fish -- enough to support Normont's plan of using them as bait -- despite these handicaps.
"Well, the territory of the bear we met extends to the bone tree," Lokilia explains. "She'd really rather us not be around. I mean, I suppose she's not likely to come right here specifically today. But she had a lot of misgivings about humanoid folk. I'd just feel better to move on."
Normont stares up at the gargantuan tree with the odd protrusions for a minute before turning to the others.
"Ah, the bone tree. It is a bit early to make camp though, right?", he says at the prospect of making camp. "Although we have made good time. Perhaps we do rest here, and try and catch some fish. Might that placate this One-Eye, an offering of fish? Or I could get Amber to take some fish and drop them away from our path, if the smell might lure One-Eye to it and away from us?".
Dev’s eyes follow the length of the enormous ash tree from its lowest visible length of trunk, up, up, past the macabre imbedded bones, skyward, craning his neck and squinting to try to make details in its crown, high above. His voice floats eerily to the others, filled with wonderment and intensity.
“There’s a story I heard… tribal peoples – or maybe elves? – before the Scattered War believed that an incredibly tall tree connected the underworld, Exandria, and the heavens.” Imagining the breathtaking view of his current surroundings from the top of the so-called Bone Tree, Dev wonders if indeed it connects to some heavenly realm.
The teen tiefling knows how to fish, and how to fashion a hook and lure, although his fingers aren’t always that deft in their making. He answers Normont.
“I mean…, we could fish and have a nice meal here. Maybe that would be best since, like…, maybe we don’t want to spend the night in territory controlled by One-Eye, whoever that is? And, we don’t know how big their lands are. But if we camp here then maybe we’ll have the whole day tomorrow to try to make it past their lands to the cabins or whatever?”
As he's speaking Dev does note deep scratch marks on the southern side of the massive tree , there are no similar marks on the north or other sides...
"I would rather we get past One-Eye's territory before we rest, based on what the bear-mother told me," Lokilia tells the others as she examines the very tall tree. "The idea of leaving fish somewhere off our path though does have merit. I wasn't sure what exactly this One-Eye was, but the bear was very wary. We'd be best to try to sneak past than face it."
She clearly listens as Dev talks about the story of a tall tree connecting heavens to underworld. "Trees are the strong sentinels of nature. Long-lived and often sturdy with deep roots. It is not hard to imagine a great tree binding all of existence together," she comments. "This one is certainly a tale of perseverance. Whatever this creature was, it almost seems that it could have crushed this tree. But instead, it adapted, grew around, and now stands tallest of the trees around. It is quite a wonder." Her eyes stay fixed on the tree a bit longer, taking in the shape and the ways it has grown.
"I will follow whatever path we wish to take. But my preference is to get past this territory of One-Eye."
(OOC - Out of curiosity she tries to determine what sort of creature the skeletal remains might have been. Nature Check: 4; she probably has no idea!)
Normont also ponders as Dev mentions the story about the tree which was thought to connect the underworld, Exandria and the heavens.
"We have a special tree in Whitestone. The Sun Tree", he says affirming how trees can be important.
"I might be wrong, but I got the impression that until we pass the bone tree, we are safe. Is that not the case, Lokilia? Have we already entered the territory of One-Eye?", he then says to Lokilia.
"Well, the territory of the bear we met extends to the bone tree," Lokilia explains. "She'd really rather us not be around. I mean, I suppose she's not likely to come right here specifically today. But she had a lot of misgivings about humanoid folk. I'd just feel better to move on."
(Does she get adv somehow)
( From?)
The mature sow lowered her head and lifted her nose noting Dev in the river and the two men on the far side, " Lies? Smells of.....falseness.....trick me? Take away Cubs? Last mate say same......man-things not harm cubs....man-things raise his father......but man-things come in snow......smoke while sleeping......I not wake in time....my Cubs not wake....I come from den.....man-things are meat, I tear and rip and eat......but Cubs not wake.....I sleep again......warm come again....my cubs beside me were bone and skin..."
She did not rear, she had no intention of frightening Lokilia away....her haunches tensed for the charge.....
" My Cubs of last year will not die like those of the year before! I chose a better mate last year.....I will kill him if he comes near my Cubs, I will kill all who do!"
..............................
To Dev, Quinn and Normont the bear is simply growling in a low threatening manner and looks ready to charge Lokilia......the two Cubs have retreated to the tree line they are about a third the size of the mother......
( Lokilia has a turn before the sow makes her final decision.)
Normont watches the stand off and the tense stance of the bear, and decides to try and help Lokilia.
He directs Amber to land on her shoulder, and help him deliver some aid.
Normont
Action: Ready Guidance
Bonus Action: Command Amber to land on Lokilia and deliver the spell
Reaction: Release guidance when Amber lands on Lokilia’s shoulder
Amber
Movement: Land on Lokilia’s Shoulder
Reaction: Deliver Guidance
Dev continues to hold or recast and re-hold, this action during the stand off. His feet are growing numb, and he clamps his jaw shut to keep his teeth from chattering.
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
'Truly, I understand your sorrow over those cubs of the year before,' Lokilia continues, speaking in the language of the bear. 'Do not let these cubs of last year be left alone. For my companions can deal death if provoked. But if left in peace they will not pursue you.' She never gives a glance to the cubs, wanting her to know she will only focus on her. 'Or if you prefer, I can offer you my aid, if there is something you would wish of me.'
(Persuasion: 22 + 3 = 25)
Rabbit Sebrica, Sorcerer || Skarai, Monk || Lokilia Vaelphin, Druid || Liivi Orav, Barbarian || Vanizi, Warlock || Britari / Halila Talgeta / Jesa Gumovi || Neital Rhessil, Wizard
Iromae Quinaea, Cleric || Roxana Raincrest, Rogue || Meira Dheran, Rogue || Qirynna Thadri, Wizard || Crisaryn Melkial, Sorcerer
(Niiiice roooolllll!)
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
The sow harrumphed in surprise and shook herself vigorously, " You are fierce......you are a good mother to your cubs......companions....."......the she bear drank in the scents of the shivering Dev and tense Normont and Quinn....," ....Cubs."
" I need nothing of man-things but their absence.......but now I know there are some to be respected......"
" My territory extends as far upstream as the bone tree......past there is One-Eyes territory.....she is old and insane and her cubs are her own curdled dreams of youth.....best move quietly and quickly through....beyond there on the other side of the river are dens of man-things but they are abandoned in the cold times."
" Girls! We are leaving! Show respect to this sow.....if she enters your own territories one day."
......................
The huge bear shook the tension out of her body then grunted and huffed at Lokilia a few times before her two Cubs joined her in crossing the stream....coming very close indeed to Dev.....they hauled themselves out on the bank a little upstream from Normont and Quinn gave them both a quizzical sniff then headed south down river......
.............
The other three were able to cross without incident.
Lokilia is overjoyed with the bear's response. 'You are wise. May you find your path easy.' She then turns to the others of her group. "The bear mother will let us pass in peace. She wants nothing of us other than to be gone from her territory. Make no move towards her cubs. I'll tell you more of the path ahead too, once we're moving. Heh, and she believes you to be my cubs!"
Once they are all safely across, she relays what was said of One-Eye, her territory, and her 'cubs'. "We'll want to avoid whatever those things are." And then of the dens of man-things abandoned in the winter.
Rabbit Sebrica, Sorcerer || Skarai, Monk || Lokilia Vaelphin, Druid || Liivi Orav, Barbarian || Vanizi, Warlock || Britari / Halila Talgeta / Jesa Gumovi || Neital Rhessil, Wizard
Iromae Quinaea, Cleric || Roxana Raincrest, Rogue || Meira Dheran, Rogue || Qirynna Thadri, Wizard || Crisaryn Melkial, Sorcerer
Normont is relieved when Lokilia tells them all is well, and follows her instructions regarding not taking a step closer to the cubs. He is as ever a little in awe of her druidic abilities.
He chuckles a little at the news he was Lokilia's cub in the mind of the mother bear. It was an easy conclusion to jump to about him, given his size, but Quinn!
"Hammer and tongs that was amazing, I really thought she was getting ready to charge you", he says when he reaches the other side.
After Lokilia explains the report of what is ahead, he nods understanding.
"I will send Amber to keep an eye out for One-Eye, once we reach the bone tree. Depending how long it takes to get there, we might be best off camping in this territory rather than risking a night with one-Eye?".
Dev follows Lokilia’s instructions exactly, teeth chattering, eyes almost glancing at the cubs as they swim across, out of pure delight and curiosity. He finally makes it the rest of the way across the stream and tries to dry off.
When Lokilia tells the group that the mother bear had called him one of Lokilia’s cubs, he colors slightly. Not because of hurt pride, but because in the absence throughout his life of his real parents — he had the Hornd’s of course, the old human couple who found him and raised him as one of their own (Dev feels ashamed to differentiate) whom he loves with his whole heart, but — Lokilia had started to feel, almost, like a parent. The wise, kind hearted, incredibly talented Druid fit the mold of the heroic parents Dev imagined for himself. The imagined parents who had been delayed collecting him from Mooren Lake due to an important need to save Tal Dorei, as his imaginings surmised.
With these thoughts swirling through his mind, he follows the others, barely paying attention to the details of their journey.
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
Quinn shakes off his nerves and continues to move forward with the group.
The companions continue north along the river bank, the ground is thick with brush and often hemmed in on the right with steep slopes or rock faces, but at imes it opens out to more gentle slopes and forested hills to the east as they advance.
As afternoon comes about Amber spots a massive mountain ash tree soaring some forty metres over its nearest neighbour to almost 300' in height, at some point in the past something large had died atop it and the tree had grown up through the body carrying parts of the carcase aloft over the years so that now the tall straight trunk of the tree was dotted in parts with ribs, ulnas and other bones projecting from the bark...
It is just after midday and a relatively comfortable campsite with the possibility of fresh fish could be made....
Normont stares up at the gargantuan tree with the odd protrusions for a minute before turning to the others.
"Ah, the bone tree. It is a bit early to make camp though, right?", he says at the prospect of making camp. "Although we have made good time. Perhaps we do rest here, and try and catch some fish. Might that placate this One-Eye, an offering of fish? Or I could get Amber to take some fish and drop them away from our path, if the smell might lure One-Eye to it and away from us?".
Dev’s eyes follow the length of the enormous ash tree from its lowest visible length of trunk, up, up, past the macabre imbedded bones, skyward, craning his neck and squinting to try to make details in its crown, high above. His voice floats eerily to the others, filled with wonderment and intensity.
“There’s a story I heard… tribal peoples – or maybe elves? – before the Scattered War believed that an incredibly tall tree connected the underworld, Exandria, and the heavens.” Imagining the breathtaking view of his current surroundings from the top of the so-called Bone Tree, Dev wonders if indeed it connects to some heavenly realm.
The teen tiefling knows how to fish, and how to fashion a hook and lure, although his fingers aren’t always that deft in their making. He answers Normont.
“I mean…, we could fish and have a nice meal here. Maybe that would be best since, like…, maybe we don’t want to spend the night in territory controlled by One-Eye, whoever that is? And, we don’t know how big their lands are. But if we camp here then maybe we’ll have the whole day tomorrow to try to make it past their lands to the cabins or whatever?”
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
"I would rather we get past One-Eye's territory before we rest, based on what the bear-mother told me," Lokilia tells the others as she examines the very tall tree. "The idea of leaving fish somewhere off our path though does have merit. I wasn't sure what exactly this One-Eye was, but the bear was very wary. We'd be best to try to sneak past than face it."
She clearly listens as Dev talks about the story of a tall tree connecting heavens to underworld. "Trees are the strong sentinels of nature. Long-lived and often sturdy with deep roots. It is not hard to imagine a great tree binding all of existence together," she comments. "This one is certainly a tale of perseverance. Whatever this creature was, it almost seems that it could have crushed this tree. But instead, it adapted, grew around, and now stands tallest of the trees around. It is quite a wonder." Her eyes stay fixed on the tree a bit longer, taking in the shape and the ways it has grown.
"I will follow whatever path we wish to take. But my preference is to get past this territory of One-Eye."
(OOC - Out of curiosity she tries to determine what sort of creature the skeletal remains might have been. Nature Check: 4; she probably has no idea!)
Rabbit Sebrica, Sorcerer || Skarai, Monk || Lokilia Vaelphin, Druid || Liivi Orav, Barbarian || Vanizi, Warlock || Britari / Halila Talgeta / Jesa Gumovi || Neital Rhessil, Wizard
Iromae Quinaea, Cleric || Roxana Raincrest, Rogue || Meira Dheran, Rogue || Qirynna Thadri, Wizard || Crisaryn Melkial, Sorcerer
Normont also ponders as Dev mentions the story about the tree which was thought to connect the underworld, Exandria and the heavens.
"We have a special tree in Whitestone. The Sun Tree", he says affirming how trees can be important.
"I might be wrong, but I got the impression that until we pass the bone tree, we are safe. Is that not the case, Lokilia? Have we already entered the territory of One-Eye?", he then says to Lokilia.
As they speak, Dev, who learned to fish on the banks of Mooren Lake so young that he does not even remember not knowing how to fish, tries to assess the river's conditions. Fishing is a waiting game, and catching something edible with limited time is not always a realistic expectation. Unless you really know the area, which in this case, he doesn't. Moreover, he has no net or a real pole, although he could make one. But perhaps, he thinks, he can assess the likelihood of quickly catching river fish -- enough to support Normont's plan of using them as bait -- despite these handicaps.
(Survival: 14+2=16)
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
"Well, the territory of the bear we met extends to the bone tree," Lokilia explains. "She'd really rather us not be around. I mean, I suppose she's not likely to come right here specifically today. But she had a lot of misgivings about humanoid folk. I'd just feel better to move on."
Rabbit Sebrica, Sorcerer || Skarai, Monk || Lokilia Vaelphin, Druid || Liivi Orav, Barbarian || Vanizi, Warlock || Britari / Halila Talgeta / Jesa Gumovi || Neital Rhessil, Wizard
Iromae Quinaea, Cleric || Roxana Raincrest, Rogue || Meira Dheran, Rogue || Qirynna Thadri, Wizard || Crisaryn Melkial, Sorcerer
As he's speaking Dev does note deep scratch marks on the southern side of the massive tree , there are no similar marks on the north or other sides...
( No idea......probably not humanoid...)