Ch.4: "The Endless Hunt" / Sardis Forest

[Legendary Sidekick]

After the moon boat lands, the nymphs, the fairies and our heroines disembark. The sun is already setting. Sigrlynn has about twelve hours of peace.

"So," Sapphire asks, "what's to eat?"

"I'm famished," says Phœbe.

Rose replies, "Then it's a good thing you brought a Huntress along."

The fairies glare at the nymphs.

"What do you expect?" Lily asks. "This is Artemis' land, a place where Huntresses and nymphs are free to live off the land without guys hitting on us… but you are expected to make use of your skills out here."

Susan is brewing some herbal tea. "You can relax a bit. We need to freshen up before we go and row the moon again. But after tea, you're on your own."

"You'll be fine," Ivy assures our heroines.

"Yeah, you're in good hands," Violet assures the fairies.

Heather just snores.

 

[Ireth]

((psst -- it's Sigrlinn with two i's, not a y.))

Sigrlinn

Sigrlinn smiles and settles down near Susan and the tea. "What sort of prey can I expect to find here?"

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Susan pours Sigrlinn some tea and replies, "Stags are Artemis' favorite, and we have wild boars."

"More like mild boars," Lily says. "Booooorinnnnnng!"

"Well what should they hunt? The red-maned liger?"

"No! Don't shoot my kitty!"

Susan smiles and turns toward our heroines. "If you happen to see a black and white wildcat with a red mane, kindly spare him. But he might not spare you, so if you have ways of dealing with beasts without killing them..."

Lily crosses her arms. "Of course they do. Anyway, the liger's the only prize beast I prefer we keep alive. You see anything else try to make you its prey, go ahead and shoot it."

Rose says, "That's enough, you two." To our heroines, she says, "Sorry. We really shouldn't be giving you any direction. I think Artemis wants to see how you do without our help."

Violet moans, "Is THAT why we're working a double shift?"

Ivy explains, "Normally, there's another group of nymphs waiting to take the boat. We never row two nights in a row."

Violet complains, "There's no place to pee when we're up there."

Lily tells the fairies, "Now you know where rain comes from."

Sapphire looks at Phoebe, then back at Lily. "Clouds?"

"Never mind," Lily replies. She walks away to somewhere behind a bush.

Sapphire tells Phoebe, "I already knew where rain came from when I came in here."

Heather wakes up and asks, "Where's Amber and her crew? Aren't they rowing tonight?"

 

[Ireth]

Sigrlinn

Sigrlinn blows on her tea and sips it thoughtfully while the others speak. "If you're not supposed to give us directions, I guess we should just head out and see what we can find. Stag or boar, doesn't matter much to me. I like venison as much as pork." And with luck she can make something from the bones and antlers (or tusks) -- maybe a weapon of some kind -- as well as an outfit from the hide.

Once her tea is done, she strings her bow and counts her arrows, and makes sure her hand cannon is loaded, just in case.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

((Solo mission for Sigrlinn for the time being.
If tbgg jumps in, she'll be with Helix and the fairies. If any new player joins, I'll work that in.
I'll also work in a really lame semi-explanation for the rules change, because why not?))


Sigrlinn sets off on her own, leaving no trail behind. Sapphire scouts from a safe distance, ready to call for back-up or lend her own tiny arrows if need be.

The trees seem to be planted in fog. As the moon rises over the canopy, Sigrlinn wonders how that thing can possibly be a boat and not a round, impossibly large stone sphere. The forest is lit with a silver blue hue by the moonlight, which some say is reflected off the sun—the deadly, accursed sun!

Should Sigrlinn peer over her shoulder, she may see a blue spark in the air. She'll recognize the hue as Sapphire's, lit dimly enough that she won't call too much attention, just bright enough so Sigrlinn knows she's not alone if she doesn't want to be.

After an hour or so of solitude (sort of), Sigrlinn can't help but feel if the universe around her is changing. Maybe it's just the oddly quiet forest, or maybe it has something to do with the battle being waged by powerful entities. Heph may have seemed strangely human for one known as a god. In contrast, this forest appears normal, but feels… different. Sigrlinn feels different too.

She can't quite place it but—



____________________
Roll a Reflex Save!

Your DEX is 2, so you would roll 2 dice.
Like THIS: #repeat 2 round=2 d6-2

Optionally, you can roll: #repeat 2 d6-2
The "round=2" just changes -1s into 0s.

 

[Ireth]

Sigrlinn

Sigrlinn isn't sure what's going on, or whether it's good or bad, but she tries to brace herself for it...

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

((Oh... the round=2 needs to have no spaces or it doesn't round. I didn't know that. You rolled a 4, so success anyway.

Tutorial Bit: 4 always succeeds in a save. 3, 2 or 1 might succeed depending on difficulty. Highest die counts, multiple dice just means you're more likely to roll the number you need.))

Sigrlinn sees a snare at her feet, and stops in her tracks with her foot over the looped rope. It's probably meant for an animal, not for her. She can either leave it, or cut it so her friends don't get hung by an ankle (or hoof in Helix's case). The trap seems sloppy, and leaving a trap unattended and still live is bad form. It's certainly not set by Artemis and hopefully not the work of one of her nymphs or favored Huntresses. That would be disappointing.

 

[Ireth]

((Yeah, I realized my goof as soon as I posted the image. Whoops!))

Sigrlinn

Sigrlinn notices the trap just in time to avoid being snared. She eyes the trap for a moment, then decides to cut it so no other innocent person stumbles into it. Drawing her Principle Skinner, she crouches carefully down to see the wire and cut it.

((Not sure if I needed to roll for that, but I figured I'd err on the side of caution.))

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

((I wouldn't have made you roll for that, but good to know you know how a knife roll works.))

Sigrlinn slashes the rope. There's a whipping sound as the rope shooting into the night sky and the tree straightens.

And it turns out the trap is not unattended. There is a rustling to the west. Another to the south. More sounds to the north. A quick glance behind (east) reveals a very distant blue light. Sigrlinn can count on Sapphire if she needs her.

A thought creeps into Sigrlinn's head: <You can handle this.>

The voice is familiar, as is the language and accent. It's a northerner's voice, a man's…

<They're just dumb animals.>

There's a howl to the west, answered by howls to the north and south. The rustling on the north side is quick. The steps to the south are heavy. There is no sound from the north…

The next northern voice is a woman's: <Show 'em who's predator and who's prey.>

 

[Ireth]

Sigrlinn

Sigrlinn stills as voices whisper in her head: first a man and then a woman, both with northern accents. Howls and movement from three directions reach her ears in between. She grips her bow tighter, wondering which way to go. North, west or south...

The rapid rustling from the north sustains her attention, and she creeps along in that direction. Best for her to meet it on her own terms, before it comes to meet her in an ambush.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

((Opposed rolls are Perception vs. Stealth. Highest die wins. In a tie, I pair up the second best dice. The wolves rolled 3 (which loses to the 4) and 4, 1 (which loses to the 4, 2).))

The steps from the north continue their rapid approach. At first the Huntress sees the shape of a hairy naked man--very hairy. But the light of the moon reveals a silver coat and a face that is more beast than man. He continues to move, but Sigrlinn has wisely hidden herself downwind. Even after sniffing around, the wolf finds nothing. He moves further south and falls on his ass after bumping into another of his kind. The second werewolf is larger, possibly seven or eight feet tall, with large tusks and an underbite. The orcish features are somewhat amusing on a canine face.

There was a third from the west side, but this one has yet to reveal himself. Sigrlinn can act or wait...

 

[Ireth]

Sigrlinn

Sigrlinn watches from her hiding spot as two werewolves come into sight. One bumps into the second and falls on his rump; Sigrlinn looses her first arrow toward the fallen one. Best to be rid of these two before the third one stacks the odds even more against her.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

"Yeeowmmmph!"

The arrow penetrates the snout of the toppled wolf. It stays in, clamping the mouth shut, until something odd happens: the arrow snaps in two. Both ends pop out of the snout and the wounds seal up.

"Well, that was most unpleasant," says the thin wolf-man.

The orcish wolf looks around. "Good thing dat pointy stick ain't made outta sulfur."

A voice that's wolfish and bossy yet kind of squeaky calls out, "Silver, ya dummies. Sulfur just makes ya stink, it's silver that can kill ya." The third werewolf is about a foot or so taller than Nissa. A dwarf, or some kind of gnome or halfling?! "Why we talkin' about silver anysway?"

"Lanky got shot in da face by a nymph with her liddle bow an arrow."

"Lift!"

The wolf-orc lifts the wolf-halfling. Once both are at eye level, the wolf-halfling slaps the wolf-orc. His claws rake red lines across the big guy's face, but they heal instantly.

"Why?" says the wolf-orc.

"We're bein' watched, turd-brain."

"Then let's make like a tree and get outta here."

The two run off. Lanky calls out in a nasally voice, "Please jog at a moderate pace. I think my snout has healed improperly. I cannot smell anything."

"Ya runnin' behind Franky," the wolf-halfling calls out. "Consider yaself blessed in disguise."

Franky looks back at Lanky and mumbles, "He still looks da same to me, Boss!"

"Soon as we stop runnin', remind me to tell ya to 'lift.'"

Franky moans something about hating lifting, but at this point the werewolves are too far to hear. Sigrlinn can't smell them either, which may be a good thing based on what she heard. Following the tracks should be child's play to a skilled Huntress, however. Following them as they move should be easy for anyone, seeing how they keep talking and the big one runs noisily.

Sigrlinn can chase them down now, or she can search the area and take her time, knowing her tracking skills will make these wolves easy to follow if she thinks it's a good idea…

 

[Ireth]

Sigrlinn

Sigrlinn watches in bewilderment as the werewolf's snout heals in an instant, and tilts her head as she listens to their talk. The thin one's oddly formal manner of speech, especially compared to the other two, makes her bite her tongue to keep from laughing. It's a good thing none of them think to look in her direction before running off.

Once she's sure the trio are gone, Sigrlinn moves out of her hiding place and looks around the area; she can follow the werewolves' prints anytime she feels like, later.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Sigrlinn searches the area. Unsurprisingly, she finds other animal tracks. She could just forget about the wolves and catch a meal.

Looking up, she sees something up in a tree. The tree is just west of the smaller tree that held the snare trap. Whatever is up in that tree looks shiny. Or... looked shiny. As Sigrlinn steps forward, she can no longer see the shiny object. When she backs away a few inches, she sees the glean again. Whatever it is, it's forty feet up and reflects light from the moon.

Sapphire is not in sight at the moment. Sigrlinn could call to her, but climbing a tree takes little effort. It's actually faster for her to just climb the tree.

 

[Ireth]

Sigrlinn

Sigrlinn tilts her head as she looks up at the shiny thing in the tree, and decides to climb for it herself rather than asking Sapphire for help. What could it be, though?

There's only one way to find out...

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

When Sigrlinn climbs to the top of the tree, she finds a quiver with a dozen arrows. These are silver arrows, just like the one Artemis attached her note to. The Huntress now has 13 silver arrows.

She also has a new quiver, if she wants. The leatherwork is impressive. There are some gemstones worked into the quiver, though in the silvery moonlight it's difficult to tell what kind of gem.

Amber, Sigrlinn thinks. The thought pops into her head before she realizes what made her think amber.​ She read it. The name "Amber" is branded on the strap.

 

[tbgg]

Kelleia

Feeling a little uncertain, Kell peers around then asks her nymph companions, "So what next? Are we waiting for the other nymphs to show up?"

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

"I'd rather not wait," says Rose. "It seems clear that Amber has the night off."

* * *

Once the moon has risen, Helix suggests staying behind Sigrlinn as she hunts. His hooves make a lot of noise, and he'd hate to scare dinner away. But as Kell follows Sapphire (who is watching the Huntress from above), she hears a muffled whimper about a few hundred feet to the south...


((Will bring both players together eventually. For now, you're finding different pieces of info.))

 

[Ireth]

Sigrlinn

Sigrlinn lets out a low whistle at the sight of the quiver and arrows in the tree. She takes the silver arrow from her own quiver and adds it to the new one.

When the name Amber appears on the new quiver, she blinks in confusion. Does that mean the gems are amber, or that the quiver belongs to someone named Amber? She'll have to ask about it later; now is a good time to get out of the tree. And maybe hunt down a few werewolves.