As the group seems to one by one start looking at Ori for whatever gibberish he felt he could add, Ori slumps back in his chair. "Well, we could push on as you say, throw caution to the wind and March unil we get there. But after already doing that the prior day and night, we'll it's going to take its toll and take extra time to recuperate. By the time we are all back to tip top shape, it woukd have probably been quicker to march and rest in our normal pace. We won't be showing a very strong front by getting there fast just to need a day to rest. We would be more effective and be ready to help or defend or whatever it will be that is needed from us the moment we get there if we show up already to perform. If the dangers come out at night, then perhaps night travel is the best plan. Rest while it's safest, be on the lookout and on our feet while it's most dangerous. Any dangers we eliminate is a danger so other soul doesn't need to." He gets to his feet, "but if we are to be off, let's get to it then."

Famh looks intrigued as Cainneach speaks of the eldritch lights on the moors.  She is just turning to ask him more about it when something in Vardi's final words catches her attention.  She taps her cheek with one finger as she says slowly, "Och, aye ...   I'd almost forgotten the bull was hurt!  The lads we spoke to may have lusted after Morag ... or whate'er moved them ... but I dinna see them as having nerve enough to fight a bull.  The twa cases might have some connection, then, are ye thinking?" 

Her thoughts flicker, skip like a flat stone across water back to the other topic.  "And Cainneach, I wonder if these lights the watchman told ye of are wrapped up in it all too?  Perhaps a sign that the bogle-beast's about, perhaps ... "  She falls silent again; but her mind is clearly busy untangling the threads of story she recently mentioned in hopes of finding one that fit the present case.

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Arcana 15

History 5

The Lords Road north of Marrowglen soon becomes a rather rough affair, more often than not the piles of waystones are the only indication they are still on it.

Famh is lost in thought as they walk under dark scudding clouds and I'll tempered gusts down off the slopes, lights over moors or mires have long been said to be the souls of the dead but part of her....perhaps an older part...dwells on them as perhaps deathly dweomers....or some sort of fae trickery or trap for the unwary...whatever the case she thinks to follow them would be foolishness of the highest order....there were stories of those who followed such lights among her own people....some drowned in bogs...others lost to the underworld or beneath the hills....

As the elevation increases so does the snow cover and soon everyone is glad of their warmer clothing..

Dark clouds cover the sky but breaks in the banks reveal weak moonlight of a gibbous moon above....no sound breaks the night except the howl of the winds....

Around midnight they crested a rise and saw in the lantern light a large bundle of wood lying by the side of the path...

( You can have resupplied as you wish at Marrowglen.  Currently one lantern is lit and shuttered on all sides except forward so as not to curtail anyone's night vision.)

“That’s odd.” Thatch catches sight of the bundle of wood, seemingly left unattended by the side of the road and steps forward cautiously to investigate.  Circling the bundle he looks for any tracks or signs of who placed it here and how it is stacked.  “Why would someone leave this? Was it placed here to pre-stock a future campsite, or dropped by someone gathering fuel, or something else?”

Perception: 23.

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Quote from LAXGunner >>

“That’s odd.” Thatch catches sight of the bundle of wood, seemingly left unattended by the side of the road and steps forward cautiously to investigate.  Circling the bundle he looks for any tracks or signs of who placed it here and how it is stacked.  “Why would someone leave this? Was it placed here to pre-stock a future campsite, or dropped by someone gathering fuel, or something else?”

Perception: 12.

Thatch is able to determine that the pile has lain here for months at least.

Almeric has the Dayne gift of Darksight and is leading the march through the night. Although his can see clearly, he is not stealthy while wearing his maille harness. Unwilling to doff his heavy armour, Almeric rattles along in the dark. Notwithstanding this, the Capellar leads the night march. Almeric allows the Retinue to form their own battle order, working under their own recognisance as they see fit.

STEALTH (Dis) = 13

Perception = 10

Peering curiously through the mirk of night, Famh follows the retinue's Huntsman to help examine the woodpile by the road.  And for the second night in a row she is startled to find how well she herself is able to see in the gloom.  Seeing Thatch circling the pile and checking the ground all about it, she focuses her efforts on the wood itself, listening and looking: has any of it been moved or touched since it was first piled? are there any signs of creatures lurking or lairing within? and finally, is it piled neatly enough that it might have been intended for a bonfire or beacon, or is it just a random jumble? (Investigation 16)

As she looks at the wood, she says, "I seem to have better night vision than I ever knew befpre.  That means I'll be best in the rearguard, I think, keeping watch for pursuers while Sir Almeric's night sight scans the road ahead."  Absent any counterargument or orders, she will fall in accordingly when the retinue resumes its march.

Almeric is unable to pick out much in the gloom other than the road ahead, Famh does however note a large clump of scarlet elfcup growing on the wood.

Sucking thoughtfully at the side of her cheek, Famh points out the tiny scarlet mushrooms to Thatch and (if present) Tana.  "That's reassuring in one sense, I suppose.  They would have been crushed and broken if anyone human had disturbed this woodpile since they first sprouted ... if I had to guess I'd say --- " (Nature 8 to estimate time).  "But they're also a sign that the fae are about --- I think.  The memories are fuzzy, or else my mind is," (Arcana roll in log 8) "but I think the most wee of elvish folk use these to drink frae and that's how they got their name."  She turns to see where Cainneach is, and asks, "Do you remember aught more about them, leannan?  I dinna ken how far south they grow. or if ye would have run across them in Fenring Forest."

=========

(OOC: wasn't sure if Sir Almeric including Tana in the ones he addressed by title means that she's caught up with us?

( Tana is back in Beltayne doing her own investigations.)

As the companions paused a fox screamed somewhere over the hills and a tawny owl winged noiselessly overhead.......Salt suddenly span in place ears pricked staring out into the dark, those who could see well looked out in that direction but saw nothing.  After a moment the young hound shook themselves and relaxed once more....

Quote from OisinmacCameron >>

Sucking thoughtfully at the side of her cheek, Famh points out the tiny scarlet mushrooms to Thatch and (if present) Tana.  "That's reassuring in one sense, I suppose.  They would have been crushed and broken if anyone human had disturbed this woodpile since they first sprouted ... if I had to guess I'd say --- " (Nature 8 to estimate time).  "But they're also a sign that the fae are about --- I think.  The memories are fuzzy, or else my mind is," (Arcana roll in log 8) "but I think the most wee of elvish folk use these to drink frae and that's how they got their name."  She turns to see where Cainneach is, and asks, "Do you remember aught more about them, leannan?  I dinna ken how far south they grow. or if ye would have run across them in Fenring Forest."

Cainneach takes a careful look at the fungus, though he requires the illumination of the lantern to make any reasonable assessment.  As he contemplates what he knows or can deduce about it, he asks Famh, "You said you can see in the dark?  What exactly do you mean by that?  How do you see?  What do you see?"

Nature 18  (Any chance Cainneach knows about scarlet elfcups?)

Quote from Damian_May >>

As the companions paused a fox screamed somewhere over the hills and a tawny owl winged noiselessly overhead.......Salt suddenly span in place ears pricked staring out into the dark, those who could see well looked out in that direction but saw nothing.  After a moment the young hound shook themselves and relaxed once more....

"What is it boy?  Don't worry, we heard it, too ..."

Perception 12  (Won't roll for Salt, given he already heard it.)

Thatch looks over the scarlet mushrooms Famh points out, trying to recall if he had seen or heard of them before, maybe from his mum as they foraged in the woods.  Nature. 14.

“The woodpile has been here for some time, and no signs of tracks.  Maybe it was left to be picked up later.”  He looks up at the sound of the fox screaming and shivers slightly as Famh mentions stories of fairy and fae.  He had roamed too close to those in recent memory. “I don’t see well at night at all, so I will stay a little closer to the party than usual if it is all the same to you, Ser”

Both Cainneach and Thatch know that the fungus, if cooked, is edible though not overly tasteful....Cainneach is also aware that Dru had said that a poultice of the raw fruiting body was officious against bleeding and for healing wounds.....though with many more stronger and more effective options available she'd never had call to use it.  They are both aware, of course, of the folklore about imps and sprites drinking from both this fungus and its relative the ruby cup.

Cainneach strains but can hear nothing.

The companions kept on through the night finding no danger, though there was snow on the ground now as they continued to climb, finding signs of a roadside camp as the sun began to peak over the mountains ahead.  If the Sheriffs guidance was correct they had a few more hours to go before they reached the holding of Tomintoul.

Salt alerted again as they passed a tannin dark tarn to their right, looking ahead an odd shape sat on the road a creamy grey colour at the base, with what must be long fur rippling in the wind, at the top much darker moving about in a jerking manner.......

After a few more steps the shape resolved itself into the corpse of a long haired wiry goat being fed up on by a large dog sized rodent with black fur and a somewhat flattened tail. 

( All- DC 14 Wisdom Save or take 2 Poison damage and have the Poisoned condition. )

GM: Vardi can recall little but some vague recollections of tales of corpse-lights and St Elmos fire but is unsure whether they are the same thing or even relevant to Cainneachs tale.  Looking to the sky and its skudding clouds earlier in the day she thinks it unlikely there will be much moonlight tonight.

The big lass comes to the conclusion she'd be better off asking the bustling woman from the kitchens about a hooded lantern and spare oil for it than trying to make sense of tales of strange lights in the night and does so. It seems unlikely to her that any valkyr are riding over the ridges hereabouts either if there have been no battles or raiders of late, only the banners of the raven that sometimes herald it, and those were seen far from here.

Famh:  "Och, aye ...   I'd almost forgotten the bull was hurt!  The lads we spoke to may have lusted after Morag ... or whate'er moved them ... but I dinna see them as having nerve enough to fight a bull.  The twa cases might have some connection, then, are ye thinking?" 

"I am nay sure, but maybe so." Vardi answers "As yet, I have nothing to say tha' they are, but there's more ta this than just lads in lust."

Later, at the woodpile...

"Well, if it were stacked fra a fire, tha' wood will nay burn now. Uness tha' be a different sort of fungus than ye say it be?" the warrior woman opines "Then nay good fer burning if it be tha' damp."

Skoggi grows from the top of the basket on her shoulders, but at what, Vardi does not know, and the cat seems unlikely to explain further even if they were in a better mood to begin with. She swings the lantern's light into the darkness, just in case, but finds only more darkness, shrubbery and mud. The Lyften lass sighs quietly and keeps moving through the dark, careful where she puts her feet on the increasingly treacherous road.

"Oh Skoggi, tha's why you were growling?!" she mutters in belated realization, and is in the process of reaching for her bow when she feels oddly unwell.

OOC: Vardi rolls 1, adjusted to 2, and takes 2 HP damage and is Poisoned, getting disadvantage on all her saves and checks while in that state if I have read the rules correctly. Does that apply to initative as well?

EDIT: (Thank you for the clarification.)

Vardi throws up her breakfast, greatly regretting regaining her appetite earlier.

( OOC: Yes. it does.)

Cainneach:  Saving Throw WIS 23

(Ori failed his ST)

Thatch saving throw Wisdom 13.

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Wisdom = 18

Longsword = 14, Slash = 5

Full post to follow.