This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Eric creeps down the trail, eyes out for a garulf or other dread beastie...
Alyna smells something faintly unpleasant. Not the stink of rotted meat, as in the glade, but something musky.
Then she spies what it is Eric is sneaking up on. A black furry creature with white spots, no bigger than Fammy--a skunk! Eric surprises the small animal as it sniffs about the forest floor.
The skunk takes one squinty look at your party and sets to hissing and hopping, stamping its wee feet.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
"No, wait!" Alyna was not a faint of heart or vegetarian (not that she even knew what it is) but attacking an animal you can not eat or do not need to fight was absolutely unnecessary. Especially in that woods. Actually, nobody needed a reminder of it - Eric said as much and they all agreed upon restrain from killing before they even started. The words came out automatically.
"Let's just back off, slowly. May be we can instead talk with the nice skunk?" She sighed "If he stays long enough."
Initiative: 12 but Alyna is not going to fight, only retreat, slowly and in the most non-aggressive manner.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Shayne initiative: 22 (do you want a separate Fammy initiative? I don’t plan on them ever attacking, really...)
“What is th...” Shayne shut up when he saw what it was. Fammy hissed but Shayne immediately dismissed his familiar into her pocket dimension so that she couldn’t start any trouble here. Otherwise Shayne just sidled away from the creature... having to intention to do anything but hopefully not get sprayed.
Shayne initiative: 22 (do you want a separate Fammy initiative? I don’t plan on them ever attacking, really...)
“What is th...” Shayne shut up when he saw what it was. Fammy hissed but Shayne immediately dismissed his familiar into her pocket dimension so that she couldn’t start any trouble here. Otherwise Shayne just sidled away from the creature... having to intention to do anything but hopefully not get sprayed.
((Yes, roll a separate initiative for your PC's familiar, please. But it is not necessary for this encounter.))
Eric, Alyna, and Shayne slowly, carefully move away from the odorous animal. Xylys, standing at the rear of the group, reacts slowly, having been distracted by the stone he'd found.
The skunk spins around and lifts its tail....
But it doesn't squirt. Instead, it looks back at the party retreating, sniffs the air, and then trundles off across the game trail and into the trees.
You've been walking perhaps half an hour since leaving the small clearing with the oxcart and carcasses. Should be at least four hours of daylight left. It's hard to be sure about the time under the shadows of the tall trees, as you cannot see the sun.
Will the party:
1 return to the road by backtracking through the small clearing
Xylys is not one to miss an opportunity. Looking at the others, "What say we check down each of the two forks for, say half an hour, see what there is to see and, if we find something or no thing, head to one of the spots Eric knows about for the night. We can come back in the morning then and continue our explorations until we find answers or become satisfied that there are no answers to be found here."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Panic is a mechanism that strengthens the gene pool.
"Agree, let's check both and retire to the safe house."
(Alyna recalls that her friends often dance in circles or spirals. She also recalls that local people have occasionally found similar spiral patterns painted on rocks and trees. Some say the Dockalfar do it. Some say the Liosalfar. Or witches. Some say it's that crazy old Charcoal Burner or a mischievous gang of kids.)
When accident with skunk was over, Alyna returned to the rock and picked it up. "Your widow in the city sounds nice, Shayne. I mean, not your widow, just that one you talked about?" She made a frustrating gesture and continued "Around here those rocks... Some say fey left them. Yet some blame kids, but I never knew a kid that would really do it. If that rock is from fey"(she was talking about magical folk as if there existence is a hard proven fact) "then the south path should lead toward them? Shall we look?" She put the rock back on place and was the first one to step on the deer path south.
"If the rock is an indicator to those in the know, fey, kids, bandits, whatever... It could mean which path to take, or which to avoid. Still and all, we have to take one or the other so may as well go south?" Shayne says, trying to sound wise while actually not saying much of anything.
"Though kids spending time to paint patterns as a lark? Seems most kids would be far more likely to just chuck the rocks than decorate them, no? Or maybe kids are kinder and more gentle in these parts?"
"Half the hour each trail and no more if you intend on exiting the woods before nightfall"he grumbles. Unbeknownst to the others, Eric is enjoying this trip through the Darkling Woods. Never has he stayed so long, nor ventured so deep. If it weren't for Gareth's teachings nagging at the back of his mind, he would not be so insistent that they leave. He walks to the southern trail and stands next to Alyna. Looking at the young woman he smiles reassuringly. Well at least his gruff face tries to muster a smile.
The party goes about half an hour down the south trail, but finds no end to the trail. The ancient trees loom up on all sides, their green boughs cutting the light so that keeping track of the passage of time becomes more difficult after the first hundred paces or so. Once, Eric spots a rabbit hopping across the trail, but the animal passes out of sight before he comes close.
Eric creeps down the trail, eyes out for a garulf or other dread beastie...
Alyna smells something faintly unpleasant. Not the stink of rotted meat, as in the glade, but something musky.
Then she spies what it is Eric is sneaking up on. A black furry creature with white spots, no bigger than Fammy--a skunk! Eric surprises the small animal as it sniffs about the forest floor.
The skunk takes one squinty look at your party and sets to hissing and hopping, stamping its wee feet.
initiative
12
"No, wait!" Alyna was not a faint of heart or vegetarian (not that she even knew what it is) but attacking an animal you can not eat or do not need to fight was absolutely unnecessary. Especially in that woods. Actually, nobody needed a reminder of it - Eric said as much and they all agreed upon restrain from killing before they even started. The words came out automatically.
"Let's just back off, slowly. May be we can instead talk with the nice skunk?" She sighed "If he stays long enough."
Initiative: 12 but Alyna is not going to fight, only retreat, slowly and in the most non-aggressive manner.
Meili Liang Lvl 5 Monk
Dice
Shayne initiative: 22
(do you want a separate Fammy initiative? I don’t plan on them ever attacking, really...)
“What is th...” Shayne shut up when he saw what it was. Fammy hissed but Shayne immediately dismissed his familiar into her pocket dimension so that she couldn’t start any trouble here. Otherwise Shayne just sidled away from the creature... having to intention to do anything but hopefully not get sprayed.
((Yes, roll a separate initiative for your PC's familiar, please. But it is not necessary for this encounter.))
Initiative 23
Recognising the skunk for what it was, and having dealt with the musky smell before, Eric backs away slowly from the smelly beast.
((To keep things moving, I will roll initiative for Xylys. I assume this PC won't go up and kick the skunk or something like that.))
16
Eric, Alyna, and Shayne slowly, carefully move away from the odorous animal. Xylys, standing at the rear of the group, reacts slowly, having been distracted by the stone he'd found.
The skunk spins around and lifts its tail....
But it doesn't squirt. Instead, it looks back at the party retreating, sniffs the air, and then trundles off across the game trail and into the trees.
You've been walking perhaps half an hour since leaving the small clearing with the oxcart and carcasses. Should be at least four hours of daylight left. It's hard to be sure about the time under the shadows of the tall trees, as you cannot see the sun.
Will the party:
1 return to the road by backtracking through the small clearing
2 explore the west fork
3 explore the south fork
4 do something else
(Any information on that painted rock?)
Meili Liang Lvl 5 Monk
Dice
Xylys is not one to miss an opportunity. Looking at the others, "What say we check down each of the two forks for, say half an hour, see what there is to see and, if we find something or no thing, head to one of the spots Eric knows about for the night. We can come back in the morning then and continue our explorations until we find answers or become satisfied that there are no answers to be found here."
Panic is a mechanism that strengthens the gene pool.
((You may roll Arcana and/or History if you like.))
OCC If Xylys gets a roll Arcana 19
Panic is a mechanism that strengthens the gene pool.
(Arcana 12 History 12 )
"Agree, let's check both and retire to the safe house."
Meili Liang Lvl 5 Monk
Dice
West or South? Which one first?
(Let's continue south for now?)
Meili Liang Lvl 5 Monk
Dice
(Alyna recalls that her friends often dance in circles or spirals. She also recalls that local people have occasionally found similar spiral patterns painted on rocks and trees. Some say the Dockalfar do it. Some say the Liosalfar. Or witches. Some say it's that crazy old Charcoal Burner or a mischievous gang of kids.)
When accident with skunk was over, Alyna returned to the rock and picked it up. "Your widow in the city sounds nice, Shayne. I mean, not your widow, just that one you talked about?" She made a frustrating gesture and continued "Around here those rocks... Some say fey left them. Yet some blame kids, but I never knew a kid that would really do it. If that rock is from fey" (she was talking about magical folk as if there existence is a hard proven fact) "then the south path should lead toward them? Shall we look?" She put the rock back on place and was the first one to step on the deer path south.
Meili Liang Lvl 5 Monk
Dice
"If the rock is an indicator to those in the know, fey, kids, bandits, whatever... It could mean which path to take, or which to avoid. Still and all, we have to take one or the other so may as well go south?" Shayne says, trying to sound wise while actually not saying much of anything.
"Though kids spending time to paint patterns as a lark? Seems most kids would be far more likely to just chuck the rocks than decorate them, no? Or maybe kids are kinder and more gentle in these parts?"
"Half the hour each trail and no more if you intend on exiting the woods before nightfall" he grumbles. Unbeknownst to the others, Eric is enjoying this trip through the Darkling Woods. Never has he stayed so long, nor ventured so deep. If it weren't for Gareth's teachings nagging at the back of his mind, he would not be so insistent that they leave. He walks to the southern trail and stands next to Alyna. Looking at the young woman he smiles reassuringly. Well at least his gruff face tries to muster a smile.
The party goes about half an hour down the south trail, but finds no end to the trail. The ancient trees loom up on all sides, their green boughs cutting the light so that keeping track of the passage of time becomes more difficult after the first hundred paces or so. Once, Eric spots a rabbit hopping across the trail, but the animal passes out of sight before he comes close.
10
After returning to the fork, Eric takes the party up the western trail.
4