"We'll be happy to help," says Vothos with his gaze turning soft once again. "We were told you offer some sleeping accommodations since the inn is shut down. Could we stay the night and you could point us toward the nearest logging camp in the morning?"
"O-o-one hundred each?" Piemin ventures, knowing that he's probably wrong. He had kept silent for a while, sticking by the gentle goliath and gnome. He looked a lot calmer in the speaker's house as the children bounced around and he sat in a properly sized chair for the first time in a while.
"Is there any other information about the moose? Where it roams, or what it eats maybe?"
The talk of coin reminds Svfra of her most splendid purchase since reaching open sky. The shopkeeper had first tried selling it to her as a defensive tool, but when that tack didn’t work, it was cleverly refluffed as a personal downhill conveyance: a sled.
”Wi’ yer permission, I could take th’ wee ones to th’ hill for a bit?”
The gnome pats the small steel round shield on her back in explanation.
To Piemin, the speaker says with a bit of a self-deprecating laugh, "one hundred total, I'm afraid. We're not a particularly prosperous community here." She hesitates, then says, "I s'pose it is within m'power to offer you the Ramshackle to do with as y'will. Currently it's storing lumber. Of course," she adds with a smile, "if another hunter gets the moose first, the reward will be theirs."
To Svfra, she shrugs and says, not quite seriously, "If you can stand to babysit these monsters," she says with a nod at her children, two of whom with wooden swords are chasing a third who is wearing a large fur hat pulled down almost over their head and making growling noises, "then you're braver than most."
Finally, to Haribo, as though just recognizing the Harpell crest on his traveling gear. "Are you a Harpell, sir? Are you related to Vellynne Harpell, of the Arcane Brotherhood? She was just here about two weeks ago. Wouldn't tell anyone her business, but she had a few kobolds with her who she'd hired. And she at least treated people like people, unlike most of those Arcane Brotherhood types. Are you with them?" She asks, trying, unsuccessfully, to mask her distaste for the idea.
"many questions, yes, I am Haribo Harpell, Yes Vellyne is my cousin, No I am not part of the brotherhood, I represent the interests of my family in an independent contract. Tell me, does she still have that sled pulled by the undead dogs? Necromancers, they sure can be some, mhmp, curious individuals"
“Well come on then, ye lot o’monsters! Ye too, lil bear! An’ Cherry! Come ‘long, if ye will?”
Once outside, Svfra does a quick head-count, and feints at them with the blunt end of her yklwa. The children know the best hill and are eager to lead her there, though she fears the first run they show her might not be mother-approved. ”Na, let’s try this line o’er ‘ere. Which o’ ye brave younglings is first?!”
The hill is steep, and after a few runs each, the climb back up has quite tuckered them out and assured a good night’s rest ahead. Svfra starts at a shrieking sound off in the woods. Just a bird, the kids explain, but it is time to head back regardless.
The gnome tries to impart some martial wisdom to the young halflings, as they make their way home. “Na remember, run if ye can, or hide. But there’re things ye can’t outrun, can’t hide from. If ye mus’ use yer sword, thrust, jab. I’ takes a strong arm, ay an’ a sharp blade, to cut through thick winter garb or fur. If ye can reach the eyes or throat, go fer ‘em. If it’s a taller creature, go for th’ knees, th’ groin. If ye can get away, do it. Don’ stick ‘round.”
The children find the groin bit amusing, but even if it’s the only thing they remember, it might serve them someday.
"Time for my hiamoe," Vothos says with a big yawn and an even bigger stretch. Vothos enters the Ramshackle and finds a suitable place to set his large bedroll. Despite the cold air temperature in the attic, Vothos is snoring soundly within a few minutes.
The next morning found the heroes tromping through the snow in the perpetual darkness towards the loggers' camp about an hour into the woods where last the moose was seen. The cold is numbing, but the wind is somewhat dulled by passing through the evergreen trees of the forest, but still manages to find any cracks or exposed skin.
The way to the logging camp itself is relatively straightforward, as a semi-permanent trail exists between Lonelywood and the camp. As the adventurers arrive in a wide clearing, the wind picks back up without the trees to block it. The camp itself consists of a small cabin--barely large enough to sleep two humans at a time, but it represents a place to get out of the wind and warm up--and a large pavilion with a pair of huge circular saws powered by horses or pack animals--none of which are present at the moment. At the back of the cabin, three-sided lean-to provides a meager stable for the pack animals, but it too is currently empty. A number of abandoned tools and half finished logs and downed trees lie around the clearing.
Svfra is out of her element, and has a mild agoraphobic reaction to the clearing. She feels exposed, like something is watching her. Whether or no her feeling has merit, she clutches her yklwa a little tighter and scans the perimeter, while the others inspect the site.
Haribo plugs one nostril a blows a snort like he's clearing a clogged sinus, as he does there is a puff of rainbow dust and an arctic fox tumbles out onto the ground with a yalp and a snarl before perking up at the sight of Haribo.
"Gentry, meet our new associates. We're looking for a moose, we could use your nose and ears."
Piemin looks around the campsite for anything of value not nailed down, but tries to hide his doing so.
"I- I'm not much of an outdoorsman, so I'll leave you to it... j- just leave the cabin to me." He says with a thumbs up and wanders over to the cabin to look for clues and/or treasure.
Vothos while only somewhat confident in his ability to track walks back to the group and confidently states, "No moose here. No sign of it either. I'm afraid we've met a dead end."
There are no clear signs of where a moose might have left, but there are signs of activity in the snow, including some blood, where one of the hunters was hurt. But Vothos is unable to track it given the recent snows.
Inside the cabin, Piemin finds a long-cold pot-bellied stove with a small pile of wood next to it. There's two bunk beds with woolen blankets, making the interior feel crammed. There are pegs on the walls, from which hangs a worn wool cloak. Tucked in the corner is a snow shovel, a couple pair of snow shoes, and a wood axe. A cursory search finds a pair of wooden footlockers, inside which are some personal effects, including a copper-bound pocket portrait of an alluring human woman, a simple pen knife with a scrimshaw handle, and a simple wooden pendant roughly carved in the shape of a sun rise. There's also a pouch with 85 silver pieces and a note threatening foreclosure if the debt of 10 gold pieces isn't paid within the next tenday. It's dated over two weeks ago, and signed simply, "Max."
Piemin jumps as the human enters, immediately unsettled and nervous. He attempts to tuck the silver away without Haribo noticing and face the picture down. The halfling goes to touch the pendant but pulls away suddenly.
"A-ah, I found some things." He says, holding up some snowshoes and a shovel. "Maybe we could use them?"
Haribo looks down at Piemin "Observe, I have no qualms with your pilfering and purloining things you find of great monetary significance. I have no vested interest in your legerdenamic eccentricities. All I need to know is what clues have you found to what may have angered this artiodactyla."
He is clearly trying to sound smart as a bit of a way to diffuse the situation and is also obviously not interested in anything that's not marked, branded or written on.
Svfra ventures to the trees at the edge of the clearing. It is so unlike the underdark, where the paths one could travel are finite, however seemingly endless. Here on the surface, their quarry could have taken any direction.
Still, the gnome is much closer to the ground than her Goliath companion. Perhaps she might spy a clue, some sign of passage that Vothos somehow missed. There is less obscuring snow beneath the trees, so she makes her way around, circumnavigating the clearing just inside the treeline, searching for any signs of passage.
As Svfra paced the perimeter, she saw the tree trunk of one of the trees with evidence of moose rubbing that would've been almost impossible to see by someone taller. Finding that makes it easier to find the moose tracks almost hidden in the snow leading away from the tree, further into the forest.
Haribo raises his eyebrows at "m'cookies" but nods at the payment agreeably
"We'll be happy to help," says Vothos with his gaze turning soft once again. "We were told you offer some sleeping accommodations since the inn is shut down. Could we stay the night and you could point us toward the nearest logging camp in the morning?"
"O-o-one hundred each?" Piemin ventures, knowing that he's probably wrong. He had kept silent for a while, sticking by the gentle goliath and gnome. He looked a lot calmer in the speaker's house as the children bounced around and he sat in a properly sized chair for the first time in a while.
"Is there any other information about the moose? Where it roams, or what it eats maybe?"
The talk of coin reminds Svfra of her most splendid purchase since reaching open sky. The shopkeeper had first tried selling it to her as a defensive tool, but when that tack didn’t work, it was cleverly refluffed as a personal downhill conveyance: a sled.
”Wi’ yer permission, I could take th’ wee ones to th’ hill for a bit?”
The gnome pats the small steel round shield on her back in explanation.
To Piemin, the speaker says with a bit of a self-deprecating laugh, "one hundred total, I'm afraid. We're not a particularly prosperous community here." She hesitates, then says, "I s'pose it is within m'power to offer you the Ramshackle to do with as y'will. Currently it's storing lumber. Of course," she adds with a smile, "if another hunter gets the moose first, the reward will be theirs."
To Svfra, she shrugs and says, not quite seriously, "If you can stand to babysit these monsters," she says with a nod at her children, two of whom with wooden swords are chasing a third who is wearing a large fur hat pulled down almost over their head and making growling noises, "then you're braver than most."
Finally, to Haribo, as though just recognizing the Harpell crest on his traveling gear. "Are you a Harpell, sir? Are you related to Vellynne Harpell, of the Arcane Brotherhood? She was just here about two weeks ago. Wouldn't tell anyone her business, but she had a few kobolds with her who she'd hired. And she at least treated people like people, unlike most of those Arcane Brotherhood types. Are you with them?" She asks, trying, unsuccessfully, to mask her distaste for the idea.
**By the Light of the Sun, you will burn!**
Previously BENEFICENCE
DM: Storm Lord's Wrath || Syr Valor Dayne: Sleeping Gods || tooltips | guides | dice |
"many questions, yes, I am Haribo Harpell, Yes Vellyne is my cousin, No I am not part of the brotherhood, I represent the interests of my family in an independent contract. Tell me, does she still have that sled pulled by the undead dogs? Necromancers, they sure can be some, mhmp, curious individuals"
“Well come on then, ye lot o’monsters! Ye too, lil bear! An’ Cherry! Come ‘long, if ye will?”
Once outside, Svfra does a quick head-count, and feints at them with the blunt end of her yklwa. The children know the best hill and are eager to lead her there, though she fears the first run they show her might not be mother-approved. ”Na, let’s try this line o’er ‘ere. Which o’ ye brave younglings is first?!”
The hill is steep, and after a few runs each, the climb back up has quite tuckered them out and assured a good night’s rest ahead. Svfra starts at a shrieking sound off in the woods. Just a bird, the kids explain, but it is time to head back regardless.
The gnome tries to impart some martial wisdom to the young halflings, as they make their way home. “Na remember, run if ye can, or hide. But there’re things ye can’t outrun, can’t hide from. If ye mus’ use yer sword, thrust, jab. I’ takes a strong arm, ay an’ a sharp blade, to cut through thick winter garb or fur. If ye can reach the eyes or throat, go fer ‘em. If it’s a taller creature, go for th’ knees, th’ groin. If ye can get away, do it. Don’ stick ‘round.”
The children find the groin bit amusing, but even if it’s the only thing they remember, it might serve them someday.
"Time for my hiamoe," Vothos says with a big yawn and an even bigger stretch. Vothos enters the Ramshackle and finds a suitable place to set his large bedroll. Despite the cold air temperature in the attic, Vothos is snoring soundly within a few minutes.
The next morning found the heroes tromping through the snow in the perpetual darkness towards the loggers' camp about an hour into the woods where last the moose was seen. The cold is numbing, but the wind is somewhat dulled by passing through the evergreen trees of the forest, but still manages to find any cracks or exposed skin.
The way to the logging camp itself is relatively straightforward, as a semi-permanent trail exists between Lonelywood and the camp. As the adventurers arrive in a wide clearing, the wind picks back up without the trees to block it. The camp itself consists of a small cabin--barely large enough to sleep two humans at a time, but it represents a place to get out of the wind and warm up--and a large pavilion with a pair of huge circular saws powered by horses or pack animals--none of which are present at the moment. At the back of the cabin, three-sided lean-to provides a meager stable for the pack animals, but it too is currently empty. A number of abandoned tools and half finished logs and downed trees lie around the clearing.
**By the Light of the Sun, you will burn!**
Previously BENEFICENCE
DM: Storm Lord's Wrath || Syr Valor Dayne: Sleeping Gods || tooltips | guides | dice |
Vothos inspects the ground for footprints, nearby trees for antler rubs, and sniffs the air hoping to catch a scent of the beast.
Svfra is out of her element, and has a mild agoraphobic reaction to the clearing. She feels exposed, like something is watching her. Whether or no her feeling has merit, she clutches her yklwa a little tighter and scans the perimeter, while the others inspect the site.
Haribo plugs one nostril a blows a snort like he's clearing a clogged sinus, as he does there is a puff of rainbow dust and an arctic fox tumbles out onto the ground with a yalp and a snarl before perking up at the sight of Haribo.
"Gentry, meet our new associates. We're looking for a moose, we could use your nose and ears."
Piemin looks around the campsite for anything of value not nailed down, but tries to hide his doing so.
"I- I'm not much of an outdoorsman, so I'll leave you to it... j- just leave the cabin to me." He says with a thumbs up and wanders over to the cabin to look for clues and/or treasure.
Vothos while only somewhat confident in his ability to track walks back to the group and confidently states, "No moose here. No sign of it either. I'm afraid we've met a dead end."
There are no clear signs of where a moose might have left, but there are signs of activity in the snow, including some blood, where one of the hunters was hurt. But Vothos is unable to track it given the recent snows.
Inside the cabin, Piemin finds a long-cold pot-bellied stove with a small pile of wood next to it. There's two bunk beds with woolen blankets, making the interior feel crammed. There are pegs on the walls, from which hangs a worn wool cloak. Tucked in the corner is a snow shovel, a couple pair of snow shoes, and a wood axe. A cursory search finds a pair of wooden footlockers, inside which are some personal effects, including a copper-bound pocket portrait of an alluring human woman, a simple pen knife with a scrimshaw handle, and a simple wooden pendant roughly carved in the shape of a sun rise. There's also a pouch with 85 silver pieces and a note threatening foreclosure if the debt of 10 gold pieces isn't paid within the next tenday. It's dated over two weeks ago, and signed simply, "Max."
**By the Light of the Sun, you will burn!**
Previously BENEFICENCE
DM: Storm Lord's Wrath || Syr Valor Dayne: Sleeping Gods || tooltips | guides | dice |
Haribo walks in to check on Piemin while he sets gentry off to the perimeter
Piemin jumps as the human enters, immediately unsettled and nervous. He attempts to tuck the silver away without Haribo noticing and face the picture down. The halfling goes to touch the pendant but pulls away suddenly.
"A-ah, I found some things." He says, holding up some snowshoes and a shovel. "Maybe we could use them?"
Haribo looks down at Piemin "Observe, I have no qualms with your pilfering and purloining things you find of great monetary significance. I have no vested interest in your legerdenamic eccentricities. All I need to know is what clues have you found to what may have angered this artiodactyla."
He is clearly trying to sound smart as a bit of a way to diffuse the situation and is also obviously not interested in anything that's not marked, branded or written on.
Svfra ventures to the trees at the edge of the clearing. It is so unlike the underdark, where the paths one could travel are finite, however seemingly endless. Here on the surface, their quarry could have taken any direction.
Still, the gnome is much closer to the ground than her Goliath companion. Perhaps she might spy a clue, some sign of passage that Vothos somehow missed. There is less obscuring snow beneath the trees, so she makes her way around, circumnavigating the clearing just inside the treeline, searching for any signs of passage.
As Svfra paced the perimeter, she saw the tree trunk of one of the trees with evidence of moose rubbing that would've been almost impossible to see by someone taller. Finding that makes it easier to find the moose tracks almost hidden in the snow leading away from the tree, further into the forest.
**By the Light of the Sun, you will burn!**
Previously BENEFICENCE
DM: Storm Lord's Wrath || Syr Valor Dayne: Sleeping Gods || tooltips | guides | dice |