Sólmyrkvi you offer your explanation and Merros is silent for a long moment, he looks toward you Leif and then back again, "Very well." he nods and gestures toward the tent, "The girl is within and she is safe enough for now. Some of our countrymen sought to get to her, whether to aid or harm I know not, but that is dealt with now. I bid you both good night, you will no doubt be called upon soon enough to relay the happenings of this day and for the time being you have beds calling and work awaiting on the morrow."
The dismissal is friendly but firm and (unless you choose to ignore it) as you depart he calls after you, "Let it be know that this is the kings business and any meddling for good or ill will not be tolerated."
***
Halp (with and 84) you sleep well and deeply
Kora (with a 22) The world is a blur of silver and shadow. You are low to the ground, your paws hitting the loam in a rhythmic, heavy thrum. To your flanks, the pack moves as a single, silent shadow. The air is thick with the scent of pine and damp earth until it's punctured by the sharp, metallic tang of fresh blood. You race headlong into a clearing. In the centre stands a monolith of obsidian glass, a jagged sliver of night cutting through the mist. At its base, a white sheep lies sacrificed, its wool stained a jarring, vivid crimson.
The other wolves skirt the edge of the clearing, whining in fear, but you are drawn to the glass. You lean in, expecting to see a snout and amber eyes. Instead, the obsidian ripples. Looking back at you is your own human face, pale and startled. Your reflection reaches out a hand to touch your fur—and the cold of the glass is so biting it jolts you awake.
Kora you lie there in the darkness listening to the distant howling of wolves.
OOC: As the day draws to a close post any last actions etc and I will move us on.
"Very well." he nods and gestures toward the tent, "The girl is within and she is safe enough for now.
[[ @Dreamhobbit - OOC: Is the tent open? That is, when Merros gestures to the tent, if we look over, do we see Griss inside? I wasn't sure whether the gesture was a "see for yourself" or a "trust me, she's in there." ]]
Although Leif might have questioned the jurisprudence acted out, he still respected and submitted to the authority of those in the king’s inner circle. He slips his cudgel back into its loop and the magic dissipates from its surface once he lets go. IfSólmyrkvi hesitates or turns back, Leif will reach out to touch his elbow, “Let’s be done tonight.”He smiles with a hint of weariness. “I would like to eat a little something and maybeexaminethese before sleeping.” He pulls out the silver coin and tuft of fur from his pocket.
And so the day ends and the party find their beds.
Leif you perform your ritual before the firelight and find neither the coin nor the fur to be overtly magical. The coin is valuable yet mundane, but there is something about the fur. It glistens with a trace of natural magic, a subtle signature you well recognise as druidic.
Sleep finds you all and both Eldon and Kora are relieved of their exhaustion. Everyone take a long rest.
***
As the first rays of sun begin to peak over the far horizon you all wake to find the mists lifted and air a fraction warmer. The distant sound of waves crashing is the only sound in these moments of dawning light.
Well rested, Halplies on his back, hands clasped over his belly, eyes closed, waiting to see if he can pinpoint the actual moment he senses sunlight reaching his closed eyelids. This morn he's content to let someone else stir everyone for the day.
Eventually he untangles his fingers from each other and flexes them until they don't ache quite so much. Without lifting his head he looks from side to side to get a sense of what's what.
Then he gets up, dusting sand from himself as best he can manage. He has found that he has feelings about sand. Strong feelings. It gets everywhere...
He'll greet others simply. If he sees any of the cohort he's most been involved with, Kora, Leif, Sol and even that artisan fellow or the skald, he'll make a bit of extra effort to see how they're doing.
And he'll suggest, "P'raps, we head to the King to see what's needed of the day?"
Well rested, Halplies on his back, hands clasped over his belly, eyes closed, waiting to see if he can pinpoint the actual moment he senses sunlight reaching his closed eyelids. This morn he's content to let someone else stir everyone for the day.
Eventually he untangles his fingers from each other and flexes them until they don't ache quite so much. Without lifting his head he looks from side to side to get a sense of what's what.
Then he gets up, dusting sand from himself as best he can manage. He has found that he has feelings about sand. Strong feelings. It gets everywhere...
He'll greet others simply. If he sees any of the cohort he's most been involved with, Kora, Leif, Sol and even that artisan fellow or the skald, he'll make a bit of extra effort to see how they're doing.
And he'll suggest, "P'raps, we head to the King to see what's needed of the day?"
Merros....gestures toward the tent, "The girl is within and she is safe enough for now.... The dismissal is friendly but firm and (unless you choose to ignore it) as you depart he calls after you, "Let it be know that this is the kings business and any meddling for good or ill will not be tolerated."
Sólmyrkvi glances at the tent and then back to Merros, still unsure whether they can trust him. Fortunately, Sólmyrkvi has a pretty good poker-face. He didn't want to press his luck or try Merros's patience any more this night, and he pleasantly says that he's glad that there wasn't a bigger problem and that everyone seems safe. He expresses his hope that "the night passes peacefully and without further trouble!", and he heads back to the camp with Leif.
Sólmyrkvi suspects that Merros's final remark was actually directed at him and Leif, but he pretends to take it at face-value. He calls back, "Yes, sir. We shall! Good-night." He still thinks that the way Merros took Griss away was suspicious, but he himself is in no position to challenge Merros's authority. He'll just have to wait to see what King Alaric and Merros do with the girl in the morning. It's clear to him now that Merros has some arcane power of his own, so he can hopefully handle Griss on his own.
Since Sólmyrkvi and Leif are sharing a tent, he shares his suspicions with the young druid before he lies down. He also tells Leif what really happened out there with Veldir's men, his own bonfire, and the man whom Merros knocked down with some sort of arcane blast.
When Leif performs his ritual magic, Sólmyrkvi watches with interest. Seeing the orange fur, he takes a look before turning out his lantern for the night, mostly just to show Leif that he hadn't forgotten his earlier request. Unfortunately, Sólmyrkvi cannot offer any insight into it: "Sorry. It doesn't look like the fur of any animal from my family's farm, and I never really studied the beasts of the wilderness." Nature: 3 (in game log, the re-roll from his Heroic Inspiration was actually worse than the original 7!)
Sólmyrkvi breaks fast with some cold rations. He doesn't want to use Create Bonfire this morning to restart the campfire: he doesn't want to remind Merros or Veldir's gang of the sudden fire that they saw just the previous night. He's mostly just waiting to see whether someone fetches him to testify about Griss...not that he knows that much. Veldir's gang were the ones who saw her on the Firewing. And Kora and Halp were the ones who were closest to Griss yesterday.
Once he sees Halpand Kora are awake and out of their tents, Sólmyrkvi will share with them the story of what happened last night when he tried to get closer to Merros's tent (seeing Veldir's gang, Merros blasting one of them men, and what Merros told Leif and him).
After they had to fight off the animated corpses yesterday, Sólmyrkvi asks Halp about exercises or drills that the soldiers practice to get better at fighting. He also has questions about various kinds of armor and how to fight while wielding a shield.
If Kora offers to take them to her morning meeting, he will go with her. Merros had said that he would be "called upon" to relate events, but Merros didn't say that they had to wait around until they were called.
Leif has no qualms about stoking a new fire with his Prestidigitation. He had awoken chilled and stiff and so while the fire was growing and others began throwing new logs on, he warmed his waterskin using the same magic. And he also flavored the water to his best recollection of his mother’s berry tea. He greets those nearby and wonders if everyone else is as hungry as he is. He regrets not casting Goodberry the night before.
Kora lies there in the dark, looking at the stars as she tries to calm her breathing. She raises a hand to verify it is still human and chuckles to herself that of course she is - it was just a nightmare. She listens to the wolves in the distance for a bit, turns over and after a while falls back asleep.
The next morning she stretches and lays there for a few moments, relishing in a full nights rest even with the nightmare that is slowly fading. What was with that glass monolith? She shakes her head and gets up. She stands next to the fire that Leif conjures and rubs her hands together as her body warms up.
As she hears the story of what happened with Griss, she frowns, how common was that Mark? Must be pretty well known as everyone who has seen it knows what it is. Hopefully she isn't powerful enough to escape a flimsy tent, she sure showed a lot of magic last night.
Realizing dawn is come and well gone, she needs to head towards the edge of the woods. Looking to Leif, Halp and Sol as she has had the most interactions with them, but loud enough the rest could hear if interested, "I found a message at the edge of camp from the locals here. It was a welcome and that they were watching. I told them I would meet them at the edge of those woods this morning. You're welcome to join if you want."
I see Sol is coming and whoever else and she heads off towards the clump of timber to see what may come of her message.
Leaving the group to tend the King's needs, Halp stops. This Kora. She has met outsiders? No. A message of some sort.
Well, that... that’s something new.
He looks across the scattered tents and the folks rousing themselves. The King will do fine with all his experts and footmen and lackeys and court and all. Probably doesn't need one more grunt.
Just for a short while.
He nods to Kora, "Aye. Lead the way. When you're ready."
As they walk, if Sol comes with them, he talk to the lad about shields and how the whole thing about a shield is... well, using it. It's not pyrotechnics-science. "Your shield arm is the hero that takes the sling bullet for you. Let it." He nods, like that should be enough, then turns his attention back to where Kora is leading them.
Kora The embers of your campfire hiss and die as you lead the party to the western edge of camp before turning toward the southwest, wading through matted, knee-high grasses that are heavy with a dew so cold it burns. The land is caught in the grim, skeletal grip of early thaw, where the scent of melting frost mixes with the cloying rot of things that died in the winter and are only now softening in the mud. As you approach the treeline, the "signs of spring" offer no comfort: the first buds are swollen, scab-red nodules that look more like blisters than blooms, and the silver birches weep a thick, cloudy sap that stains their pale bark like open sores. The forest stands gaunt and reaching against a bruised sky.
All of you stand there staring into the hollow shadows of this woodland world, not knowing if someone or something is staring back...
Sólmyrkvi eagerly accepts Kora's invitation. He's instantly curious about who left the message! He his backpack and other gear, and throws on his fine, dark cloak. He uses a quarterstaff of dark wood as a sort of walking stick. It's longer than he is tall, and it's shod on both ends with a bright, silvery metal.
It's not pyrotechnics-science. "Your shield arm is the hero that takes the sling bullet for you. Let it." He nods, like that should be enough
Sólmyrkvi thanks Halp, but the corners of his mouth turn up in a slight smile at the response. The answer wasn't much help to him, but he realizes that the question must seem silly to an old soldier who has been fighting since before Sólmyrkvi was born. He's not even sure whether he can clarify what his question is. He decides to ask Halp again some other day, maybe waiting until they have more spare time and hopefully some equipment and enough space to permit more practical demonstrations.
All of you stand there staring into the hollow shadows of this woodland world, not knowing if someone or something is staring back...
Once they're in the woods, Sólmyrkvi leans on his staff, looking around anxiously. Maybe it's just the terror and destruction of the last few years, but this wilderness feels ominous and hostile to him. While they wait, he casts Armor of Agathys, which gives his cloak and dark hair a frosted look, like something in the shadow of the woods that stubbornly resists the thaw. He says, "I wonder what sort of people left you this message. Do you think that they've always lived here? Or do you think that they're refugees from the Old World, just like us. Kora, could you tell us again? This message. What exactly did it say?"
Leif smiles into the stand of trees. Though their form was not lovely, it surely beat the scorched toothpicks and uprooted smoldering stumps left in Midgard. No, even as life is extinguished for some, it is borne, thrives, or lingers elsewhere. He wonders how many generations it took to produce this grove and if it were gods or primordials that raised them from seed. His eyes flit between the trunks looking for incongruent shadows or movement. He quiets his own breathing and listens attentively for clacking branches or footfalls emanating from the woods.
Kora breathes in the scent of the woods. It is different than what she knows but not concerning by any means, almost peaceful to her. Admittedly, it isn't the most beautiful of woods.. has an almost haunted way of it, but she appreciates a personality.
The druid smiles a bit as she notices Drekise cast a spell but decides now is not the time to chastise him about it. "The message? Well it wasn't much. It said Welcome and We watch from the trees. I wrote back that we would meet them here at dawn."
She takes a moment to listen Perception: 7
But not hearing anything, she takes a seat and leans up against a tree. Figured taking a relaxed approach was less intimidating than a standing wall of people.
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Halp - d100 - 84
Leif nods along silently, helping sell the explanation for their rushing forward.
Mana - Verdan Bard - Dragon Heist
Leif Pedersen - Human Druid - Beyond the Ragnarök
”I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.” - Douglas Adams
”I’ve suffered a great many catastrophes in my life. Most of them never happened.” - Mark Twain
”I am not young enough to know everything.” - Oscar Wilde
Sólmyrkvi you offer your explanation and Merros is silent for a long moment, he looks toward you Leif and then back again, "Very well." he nods and gestures toward the tent, "The girl is within and she is safe enough for now. Some of our countrymen sought to get to her, whether to aid or harm I know not, but that is dealt with now. I bid you both good night, you will no doubt be called upon soon enough to relay the happenings of this day and for the time being you have beds calling and work awaiting on the morrow."
The dismissal is friendly but firm and (unless you choose to ignore it) as you depart he calls after you, "Let it be know that this is the kings business and any meddling for good or ill will not be tolerated."
***
Halp (with and 84) you sleep well and deeply
Kora (with a 22) The world is a blur of silver and shadow. You are low to the ground, your paws hitting the loam in a rhythmic, heavy thrum. To your flanks, the pack moves as a single, silent shadow. The air is thick with the scent of pine and damp earth until it's punctured by the sharp, metallic tang of fresh blood. You race headlong into a clearing. In the centre stands a monolith of obsidian glass, a jagged sliver of night cutting through the mist. At its base, a white sheep lies sacrificed, its wool stained a jarring, vivid crimson.
The other wolves skirt the edge of the clearing, whining in fear, but you are drawn to the glass. You lean in, expecting to see a snout and amber eyes. Instead, the obsidian ripples. Looking back at you is your own human face, pale and startled. Your reflection reaches out a hand to touch your fur—and the cold of the glass is so biting it jolts you awake.
Kora you lie there in the darkness listening to the distant howling of wolves.
OOC: As the day draws to a close post any last actions etc and I will move us on.
DM - Caves of the Kobold Slave Masters
[[ @Dreamhobbit - OOC: Is the tent open? That is, when Merros gestures to the tent, if we look over, do we see Griss inside? I wasn't sure whether the gesture was a "see for yourself" or a "trust me, she's in there." ]]
Although Leif might have questioned the jurisprudence acted out, he still respected and submitted to the authority of those in the king’s inner circle. He slips his cudgel back into its loop and the magic dissipates from its surface once he lets go. IfSólmyrkvi hesitates or turns back, Leif will reach out to touch his elbow, “Let’s be done tonight.” He smiles with a hint of weariness. “I would like to eat a little something and maybe examine these before sleeping.” He pulls out the silver coin and tuft of fur from his pocket.
Mana - Verdan Bard - Dragon Heist
Leif Pedersen - Human Druid - Beyond the Ragnarök
”I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.” - Douglas Adams
”I’ve suffered a great many catastrophes in my life. Most of them never happened.” - Mark Twain
”I am not young enough to know everything.” - Oscar Wilde
And so the day ends and the party find their beds.
Leif you perform your ritual before the firelight and find neither the coin nor the fur to be overtly magical. The coin is valuable yet mundane, but there is something about the fur. It glistens with a trace of natural magic, a subtle signature you well recognise as druidic.
Sleep finds you all and both Eldon and Kora are relieved of their exhaustion. Everyone take a long rest.
***
As the first rays of sun begin to peak over the far horizon you all wake to find the mists lifted and air a fraction warmer. The distant sound of waves crashing is the only sound in these moments of dawning light.
How do you wish to start your day?
DM - Caves of the Kobold Slave Masters
Well rested, Halp lies on his back, hands clasped over his belly, eyes closed, waiting to see if he can pinpoint the actual moment he senses sunlight reaching his closed eyelids. This morn he's content to let someone else stir everyone for the day.
Eventually he untangles his fingers from each other and flexes them until they don't ache quite so much. Without lifting his head he looks from side to side to get a sense of what's what.
Then he gets up, dusting sand from himself as best he can manage. He has found that he has feelings about sand. Strong feelings. It gets everywhere...
He'll greet others simply. If he sees any of the cohort he's most been involved with, Kora, Leif, Sol and even that artisan fellow or the skald, he'll make a bit of extra effort to see how they're doing.
And he'll suggest, "P'raps, we head to the King to see what's needed of the day?"
Assent or no, that's his intent.
Well rested, Halp lies on his back, hands clasped over his belly, eyes closed, waiting to see if he can pinpoint the actual moment he senses sunlight reaching his closed eyelids. This morn he's content to let someone else stir everyone for the day.
Eventually he untangles his fingers from each other and flexes them until they don't ache quite so much. Without lifting his head he looks from side to side to get a sense of what's what.
Then he gets up, dusting sand from himself as best he can manage. He has found that he has feelings about sand. Strong feelings. It gets everywhere...
He'll greet others simply. If he sees any of the cohort he's most been involved with, Kora, Leif, Sol and even that artisan fellow or the skald, he'll make a bit of extra effort to see how they're doing.
And he'll suggest, "P'raps, we head to the King to see what's needed of the day?"
Assent or no, that's his intent.
Sólmyrkvi glances at the tent and then back to Merros, still unsure whether they can trust him. Fortunately, Sólmyrkvi has a pretty good poker-face. He didn't want to press his luck or try Merros's patience any more this night, and he pleasantly says that he's glad that there wasn't a bigger problem and that everyone seems safe. He expresses his hope that "the night passes peacefully and without further trouble!", and he heads back to the camp with Leif.
Sólmyrkvi suspects that Merros's final remark was actually directed at him and Leif, but he pretends to take it at face-value. He calls back, "Yes, sir. We shall! Good-night." He still thinks that the way Merros took Griss away was suspicious, but he himself is in no position to challenge Merros's authority. He'll just have to wait to see what King Alaric and Merros do with the girl in the morning. It's clear to him now that Merros has some arcane power of his own, so he can hopefully handle Griss on his own.
Since Sólmyrkvi and Leif are sharing a tent, he shares his suspicions with the young druid before he lies down. He also tells Leif what really happened out there with Veldir's men, his own bonfire, and the man whom Merros knocked down with some sort of arcane blast.
When Leif performs his ritual magic, Sólmyrkvi watches with interest. Seeing the orange fur, he takes a look before turning out his lantern for the night, mostly just to show Leif that he hadn't forgotten his earlier request. Unfortunately, Sólmyrkvi cannot offer any insight into it: "Sorry. It doesn't look like the fur of any animal from my family's farm, and I never really studied the beasts of the wilderness."
Nature: 3 (in game log, the re-roll from his Heroic Inspiration was actually worse than the original 7!)
Sólmyrkvi breaks fast with some cold rations. He doesn't want to use Create Bonfire this morning to restart the campfire: he doesn't want to remind Merros or Veldir's gang of the sudden fire that they saw just the previous night. He's mostly just waiting to see whether someone fetches him to testify about Griss...not that he knows that much. Veldir's gang were the ones who saw her on the Firewing. And Kora and Halp were the ones who were closest to Griss yesterday.
Leif has no qualms about stoking a new fire with his Prestidigitation. He had awoken chilled and stiff and so while the fire was growing and others began throwing new logs on, he warmed his waterskin using the same magic. And he also flavored the water to his best recollection of his mother’s berry tea. He greets those nearby and wonders if everyone else is as hungry as he is. He regrets not casting Goodberry the night before.
Mana - Verdan Bard - Dragon Heist
Leif Pedersen - Human Druid - Beyond the Ragnarök
”I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.” - Douglas Adams
”I’ve suffered a great many catastrophes in my life. Most of them never happened.” - Mark Twain
”I am not young enough to know everything.” - Oscar Wilde
Kora lies there in the dark, looking at the stars as she tries to calm her breathing. She raises a hand to verify it is still human and chuckles to herself that of course she is - it was just a nightmare. She listens to the wolves in the distance for a bit, turns over and after a while falls back asleep.
The next morning she stretches and lays there for a few moments, relishing in a full nights rest even with the nightmare that is slowly fading. What was with that glass monolith? She shakes her head and gets up. She stands next to the fire that Leif conjures and rubs her hands together as her body warms up.
As she hears the story of what happened with Griss, she frowns, how common was that Mark? Must be pretty well known as everyone who has seen it knows what it is. Hopefully she isn't powerful enough to escape a flimsy tent, she sure showed a lot of magic last night.
Realizing dawn is come and well gone, she needs to head towards the edge of the woods. Looking to Leif, Halp and Sol as she has had the most interactions with them, but loud enough the rest could hear if interested, "I found a message at the edge of camp from the locals here. It was a welcome and that they were watching. I told them I would meet them at the edge of those woods this morning. You're welcome to join if you want."
I see Sol is coming and whoever else and she heads off towards the clump of timber to see what may come of her message.
Leaving the group to tend the King's needs, Halp stops. This Kora. She has met outsiders? No. A message of some sort.
Well, that... that’s something new.
He looks across the scattered tents and the folks rousing themselves. The King will do fine with all his experts and footmen and lackeys and court and all. Probably doesn't need one more grunt.
Just for a short while.
He nods to Kora, "Aye. Lead the way. When you're ready."
As they walk, if Sol comes with them, he talk to the lad about shields and how the whole thing about a shield is... well, using it. It's not pyrotechnics-science. "Your shield arm is the hero that takes the sling bullet for you. Let it." He nods, like that should be enough, then turns his attention back to where Kora is leading them.
Kora The embers of your campfire hiss and die as you lead the party to the western edge of camp before turning toward the southwest, wading through matted, knee-high grasses that are heavy with a dew so cold it burns. The land is caught in the grim, skeletal grip of early thaw, where the scent of melting frost mixes with the cloying rot of things that died in the winter and are only now softening in the mud. As you approach the treeline, the "signs of spring" offer no comfort: the first buds are swollen, scab-red nodules that look more like blisters than blooms, and the silver birches weep a thick, cloudy sap that stains their pale bark like open sores. The forest stands gaunt and reaching against a bruised sky.
All of you stand there staring into the hollow shadows of this woodland world, not knowing if someone or something is staring back...
DM - Caves of the Kobold Slave Masters
Sólmyrkvi eagerly accepts Kora's invitation. He's instantly curious about who left the message! He his backpack and other gear, and throws on his fine, dark cloak. He uses a quarterstaff of dark wood as a sort of walking stick. It's longer than he is tall, and it's shod on both ends with a bright, silvery metal.
Sólmyrkvi thanks Halp, but the corners of his mouth turn up in a slight smile at the response. The answer wasn't much help to him, but he realizes that the question must seem silly to an old soldier who has been fighting since before Sólmyrkvi was born. He's not even sure whether he can clarify what his question is. He decides to ask Halp again some other day, maybe waiting until they have more spare time and hopefully some equipment and enough space to permit more practical demonstrations.
Once they're in the woods, Sólmyrkvi leans on his staff, looking around anxiously. Maybe it's just the terror and destruction of the last few years, but this wilderness feels ominous and hostile to him. While they wait, he casts Armor of Agathys, which gives his cloak and dark hair a frosted look, like something in the shadow of the woods that stubbornly resists the thaw. He says, "I wonder what sort of people left you this message. Do you think that they've always lived here? Or do you think that they're refugees from the Old World, just like us. Kora, could you tell us again? This message. What exactly did it say?"
Leif smiles into the stand of trees. Though their form was not lovely, it surely beat the scorched toothpicks and uprooted smoldering stumps left in Midgard. No, even as life is extinguished for some, it is borne, thrives, or lingers elsewhere. He wonders how many generations it took to produce this grove and if it were gods or primordials that raised them from seed. His eyes flit between the trunks looking for incongruent shadows or movement. He quiets his own breathing and listens attentively for clacking branches or footfalls emanating from the woods.
Perception: 16
Mana - Verdan Bard - Dragon Heist
Leif Pedersen - Human Druid - Beyond the Ragnarök
”I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.” - Douglas Adams
”I’ve suffered a great many catastrophes in my life. Most of them never happened.” - Mark Twain
”I am not young enough to know everything.” - Oscar Wilde
Kora breathes in the scent of the woods. It is different than what she knows but not concerning by any means, almost peaceful to her. Admittedly, it isn't the most beautiful of woods.. has an almost haunted way of it, but she appreciates a personality.
The druid smiles a bit as she notices Drekise cast a spell but decides now is not the time to chastise him about it. "The message? Well it wasn't much. It said Welcome and We watch from the trees. I wrote back that we would meet them here at dawn."
She takes a moment to listen
Perception: 7
But not hearing anything, she takes a seat and leans up against a tree. Figured taking a relaxed approach was less intimidating than a standing wall of people.