Fresh meat was of course very welcomed too (as much as Alyna wanted to be just like her flying dream-friends, living on morning dew, she was sadly material and needed to eat), still the question of the next move remained. "Seen anything promising while hunting? I assumed we continue to move west."
"Nothing that gives any clues. I was hoping your little friends may have given an indication." Cleaning the rabbit pelt, more from habit than anything, he does not look up at Alyna as he replies to her. "I guess one of the trails we haven't followed, and hope for the best." To himself he mutters "This is no way to track." His shoulders drop just a little in defeat.
"One can no more track tracks that don't exist than one can sing songs that have not been written... Though both can be made," Shayne says, as if just coming to the realization. "But anyway, point is that we are all doing the best we can in an impossible situation. If there's no tracks to follow then let us make out own so as to mark the trails well enough that we don't search them over again..."
Alyna swallowed a piece of one of her friend she was chewing on, and made an honest attempt to understand Shayne's words. After a while she gave up on the song metaphor but nodded to the part about the path -- sure, just choose and follow, marking it so to not run in circles. "I'll try to ask someone" finally said she, getting her willow hoop out and concentrating once again on the the animal speech (she pushed back (for now) distracting thoughts about eating those you just talked to and asked for help -- Eric probably did not mean it, but his words were too painfully true to ignore)).
Once Alyna felt ready, she looked around for some friendly animal to ask (this time) about fairy queen -- where did she go or can be found now.
Those who have carefully observed what Eric has been doing will realize that he, in fact, has made trail marks during the last couple of days of exploration. Of course, a 'city boy' like Shayne may have missed this. Eric has walked lightly in these woods, avoiding any needless destruction of living things, including the trees.
(Eric's player mentioned trailblazing in response to a PM.)
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Eric heads west out of the glade. Keeping mainly to the game trail he does stride ahead at times, making sure the trail was undisturbed by the heavy footed townsfolk.
Survival 8
If they travel for at least an hour he will stop them to take water as needed. During the break he strikes up a jilted conversation with Alyna. His conversational skills worse than Shayne's nature sense. "Do you always talk to animals?" his tone very accusational, without meaning to. He corrects his frasing. He is genuinely interested. "I mean, have you always been able to or is it a skill you've been taught?"
Alyna frowned a bit -- both questions were difficult to answer in any believable way (she tried it before). "No, not always," finally said the girl. "This was... I was taught... I learned how to do it. Recently. That thing"--she showed her strange hoop with hag stones and feathers--"helps. Some say it's magic, but truly, you just have to listen hard enough, that's it."She walked in silence for a while but then added: "What you said is true -- talking does make animals more friends, not food". She sighed. "I need to think about it."
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Silence greets him from the group as he indicated towards both paths. Seems they had no inkling as to which was the correct path. He studies the trail heads with intent, and when neither offer any clue as to which they should follow, he draws a silver piece from his coin pouch.
((Heads/NW 1, tails/SW 2))
2
Reluctantly, he heads towards the NW trail. This is no way to track - he thinks to himself once more.
The party hikes for well over an hour, following the trail north-by-northwest.
The forest seems quieter today than the last couple of days, the birdsong subdued and the low buzz of insects muted.
Gradually, the earth rises, mounting toward hills covered in greenery. Sunlight entering the vertical spaces opened by this change in topography nourishes thick, tangled briars, but in the flatter spaces under the high timber the ground remains as sparely covered as elsewhere in the Darkling Wood.
Eric spots it first through a screen of foliage; a high, wide hill looming over the trail ahead on the left side. Getting closer, he sees that this hill differs from the smaller hills beyond it in both its greater size--big enough that most of Rillford could be buried under it-- and its domed shape, too perfectly round to fit the irregularities of the natural terrain. Not a single tree grows on any visible part of the great mound. Not even a large bush.
Squinting in the sunlight, Eric glimpses red spots amid the green of grass on the crown of the hill.
The deer path runs on past the edge of the hill, northward, but it would be easy to reach the hill, just a matter of walking through the trees a short distance.
"Fairy hill!" gasped Alyna, but immediately corrected herself: "May be not, of course. It could be all that talks about the fairy queen and our meeting with the fairies, but... this is how the stories go - a perfect round hill where the fairies dwell. If you go there, you dance and laugh and have a feast, but one day there is like years here!" She made a few steps toward the hill and touched the soft grass. "Though, in stories you always get under hill by an accident. I mean, I would not know how to open it."
“Perhaps we need dance? Shall we?” Shayne holds out his hand in invitation. It’s part jest, part dare... but mostly to prove to himself he’s not unnerved by the entire thing.
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Fresh meat was of course very welcomed too (as much as Alyna wanted to be just like her flying dream-friends, living on morning dew, she was sadly material and needed to eat), still the question of the next move remained. "Seen anything promising while hunting? I assumed we continue to move west."
Meili Liang Lvl 5 Monk
Dice
"Nothing that gives any clues. I was hoping your little friends may have given an indication." Cleaning the rabbit pelt, more from habit than anything, he does not look up at Alyna as he replies to her. "I guess one of the trails we haven't followed, and hope for the best." To himself he mutters "This is no way to track." His shoulders drop just a little in defeat.
"One can no more track tracks that don't exist than one can sing songs that have not been written... Though both can be made," Shayne says, as if just coming to the realization. "But anyway, point is that we are all doing the best we can in an impossible situation. If there's no tracks to follow then let us make out own so as to mark the trails well enough that we don't search them over again..."
Alyna swallowed a piece of one of her friend she was chewing on, and made an honest attempt to understand Shayne's words. After a while she gave up on the song metaphor but nodded to the part about the path -- sure, just choose and follow, marking it so to not run in circles. "I'll try to ask someone" finally said she, getting her willow hoop out and concentrating once again on the the animal speech (she pushed back (for now) distracting thoughts about eating those you just talked to and asked for help -- Eric probably did not mean it, but his words were too painfully true to ignore)).
Once Alyna felt ready, she looked around for some friendly animal to ask (this time) about fairy queen -- where did she go or can be found now.
Perception: 6
Meili Liang Lvl 5 Monk
Dice
Alyna has no luck finding any animals that are close at hand, not skittish, and know anything at all about Werthan or a fairy procession.
After a while (a short while) Alyna had to give up. "Guess it is up to us. Shall we just walk into the woods then?"
Meili Liang Lvl 5 Monk
Dice
((Yeah, that whole segment just got convoluted and wrapped around itself... I told ya Shayne's not a morning person!))
"Eric can lead the way and we three can burn the woods behind us... Or just maybe carve a mark into the tree trunks or something.."
Those who have carefully observed what Eric has been doing will realize that he, in fact, has made trail marks during the last couple of days of exploration. Of course, a 'city boy' like Shayne may have missed this. Eric has walked lightly in these woods, avoiding any needless destruction of living things, including the trees.
(Eric's player mentioned trailblazing in response to a PM.)
Eric heads west out of the glade. Keeping mainly to the game trail he does stride ahead at times, making sure the trail was undisturbed by the heavy footed townsfolk.
Survival 8
If they travel for at least an hour he will stop them to take water as needed. During the break he strikes up a jilted conversation with Alyna. His conversational skills worse than Shayne's nature sense. "Do you always talk to animals?" his tone very accusational, without meaning to. He corrects his frasing. He is genuinely interested. "I mean, have you always been able to or is it a skill you've been taught?"
4
Alyna frowned a bit -- both questions were difficult to answer in any believable way (she tried it before). "No, not always," finally said the girl. "This was... I was taught... I learned how to do it. Recently. That thing"--she showed her strange hoop with hag stones and feathers--"helps. Some say it's magic, but truly, you just have to listen hard enough, that's it." She walked in silence for a while but then added: "What you said is true -- talking does make animals more friends, not food". She sighed. "I need to think about it."
Meili Liang Lvl 5 Monk
Dice
The party arrives, after less than an hour's walk, at a fork in the game trail. One branch runs off to the northwest and the other heads southwest.
Silence greets him from the group as he indicated towards both paths. Seems they had no inkling as to which was the correct path. He studies the trail heads with intent, and when neither offer any clue as to which they should follow, he draws a silver piece from his coin pouch.
((Heads/NW 1, tails/SW 2))
2
Reluctantly, he heads towards the NW trail. This is no way to track - he thinks to himself once more.
9
6
6
The party hikes for well over an hour, following the trail north-by-northwest.
The forest seems quieter today than the last couple of days, the birdsong subdued and the low buzz of insects muted.
Gradually, the earth rises, mounting toward hills covered in greenery. Sunlight entering the vertical spaces opened by this change in topography nourishes thick, tangled briars, but in the flatter spaces under the high timber the ground remains as sparely covered as elsewhere in the Darkling Wood.
Eric spots it first through a screen of foliage; a high, wide hill looming over the trail ahead on the left side. Getting closer, he sees that this hill differs from the smaller hills beyond it in both its greater size--big enough that most of Rillford could be buried under it-- and its domed shape, too perfectly round to fit the irregularities of the natural terrain. Not a single tree grows on any visible part of the great mound. Not even a large bush.
Squinting in the sunlight, Eric glimpses red spots amid the green of grass on the crown of the hill.
The deer path runs on past the edge of the hill, northward, but it would be easy to reach the hill, just a matter of walking through the trees a short distance.
"Fairy hill!" gasped Alyna, but immediately corrected herself: "May be not, of course. It could be all that talks about the fairy queen and our meeting with the fairies, but... this is how the stories go - a perfect round hill where the fairies dwell. If you go there, you dance and laugh and have a feast, but one day there is like years here!" She made a few steps toward the hill and touched the soft grass. "Though, in stories you always get under hill by an accident. I mean, I would not know how to open it."
Meili Liang Lvl 5 Monk
Dice
“Perhaps we need dance? Shall we?” Shayne holds out his hand in invitation. It’s part jest, part dare... but mostly to prove to himself he’s not unnerved by the entire thing.