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

[Legendary Sidekick]

Following the tracks should be easy enough, though Sigrlinn won't move as fast as the werewolves now that she's tracking instead of chasing. But then, she may have enough silver arrows to actually defeat the wolves thanks to her discovery.

Once down from the tree, Sigrlinn notices that Franky left a trail of large paw prints and broken twigs when he came from the south. She knows the wolves went west, so Sigrlinn can find their destination. But she can also take the time to find out where the orcish wolf came from before he answered to the howl of his "Boss."

 

[Ireth]

Sigrlinn

Sigrlinn ponders the tracks for a while, then decides to follow the orcish wolf's trail backward, to find out where he came from.

 

[tbgg]

Kelleia

Kell decides to go check out whatever is making the whimpering sound to the south. For good measure, she decides to try to sneak up on whatever is making the sound.

Kelleia: round=2 1D6-2 → 4(6 - 2)#Stealth (DEX) Sneak up on whatever is making that sound

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

((A 4,0,0 and a 4 tie! Both characters are headed the same way. Sigrlinn will not actually notice Kell until she makes her presence known. Um... act surprised?))



Kell realizes that the sound is a woman bound and gagged. When she is close enough to see her, it turns out to be a dark haired nymph. Her furs are more rugged than the chiton's worn by those in Nyse. The nymph doesn't notice Kell. She's staring off into the distance. Tears are welling in her eyes.

...

As Sigrlinn follows the tracks, she hears a muffled cry. It's coming from directly ahead of her...

 

[tbgg]

Kelleia

Kell looks around to see if she can see the creature that bound the nymph.

If she sees anything, she withdraws to look for her friends.

If she doesn't see anything, she picks up a pebble and tosses it at the nymph's feet, hoping to quietly attract her attention.

If she succeeds, she silently mouths "I will help you - I'm here with friends", hoping the nymph
can read her lips.

If she doesn't, she withdraws and calls softly for Sapphire, trusting the fairy's perceptive
abilities more than her own.

 

[Ireth]

Sigrlinn

At the sound of a whimper from dead ahead, Sigrlinn stays to her course, though she quickens her pace. No doubt the orc-wolf left someone injured when he answered the call from his "Boss".

((Not sure if I need to roll again or not...))

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Neither of our heroines notice any threats (or each other), and Sapphire lets Kell know that she saw some werewolves earlier, but Sigrlinn scared them off. "But I lost track of her now. Maybe you should help out the nymph. I'll fly up and warn you if there's any trouble."

Kell could probably call upon some animals to search the area for her, but she feels an odd disconnection from nature. It's as if the gods changed the way the universe works... or maybe it's this scuffle among the Olympians. The nymph struggling with her ropes seems more important to Kell at the moment. The pebble catches her attention.

The nymph relaxes slightly, then turns her back to Kell, revealing her hands and the silver blade gripped in them. Her attempts to free herself have resulted in slightly frayed rope and scratches on her forearms. She lets the blade slip from her hands.

...

Sigrlinn sees the bound nymph from a hilltop. She sees the knife reflecting moonlight as the silver arrows did (though she can't tell she's looking at a knife).

If she runs down the hill as Kell comes to the nymph's aid, both heroines should arrive within seconds of each other, though neither knows the other is there...

 

[tbgg]

Kelleia

Kell reaches down to grab the knife, then quickly cuts the nymph's bindings. Helping the nymph to her feet, she then motions with her head to indicate that the nymph should follow her.

If the nymph does so, she leads her back to the other nymphs. There is safety in numbers, after all.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

((The other nymphs took off on the moon. I did a bit of a time-skip so Rose would respond to Kell before she's positioned not far from Sigrlinn. Sorry for not clarifying that. Since Sigrlinn's heading in the same direction, I'll give her a chance to arrive before having too much movement.

You can still get Helix, Phœbe and Sapphire if you want a larger group.))

The nymph thanks Kell. "My name is Dawn. I'm supposed to help Amber and Eve row the moon boat tonight, but Eve was taken by those hairy weirdos. When Amber and I tried to go after them, we got separated and… I just hope her arrows were more effective than mine."

As Kell beckons her back, Dawn says, "Oh, wait! My bow is still here." She picks up her bow, which was carelessly left on a tree stump along with a quiver with eight silver arrows. As Dawn gathers her things, a rustling from the hill startles her. She aims up the hill, but is quick to point her arrow at the ground when she sees it's a huntress running toward her, not a werewolf. She keeps her eyes on Sigrlinn as she asks Kell, "She a friend of yours?"

 

[tbgg]

Kelleia

Kell nods to Dawn. "Yes, the Huntress, Sigrlinn, is part of my party. I'm Kelleia, but my friends all call me Kell, and there are a couple of fairies with us, too, Phoebe and Sapphire. We came here with the other group of nymphs who row the moon. They were actually wondering where you guys are, as they don't normally work two nights in a row. Is your friend Eve still alive, as far as you know? And you say that Amber is around here somewhere, too?"

 

[Ireth]

Sigrlinn

Sigrlinn waves as she recognizes Kell, and slows to avoid running the two women down. She perks up slightly at the name Amber, and takes the quiver of silver arrows from her shoulder.

"I guess this belongs to your friend, then. I found it stuck high in a tree." She hands the quiver over to the dark-haired nymph with a smile. Only then does it occur to her that Amber may well have been harmed by the werewolves, and her expression turns grim.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Dawn seems relieved to have so many allies, but she's also shaken by the thought of her friends' fates.

"You keep it," she tells Sigrlinn, "at least until we find Amber. And Eve." She offers her own bow and quiver to Kell. "I'm not so sure I can shoot straight right now, so maybe it's best if both of you have the silver arrows. You'll need them to hurt the werewolves. The others... I'm not sure about them."

A tear falls from her cheek, but the nymph grits her teeth and goes on, "If we can find the wolves we'll find them. I don't know what they want, but Eve was alive when they took her, and... I guess I'm fine." She looks at the scratches on her forearms, all self-inflicted, none deep enough to have drawn more than a drop of blood.

 

[tbgg]

Kelleia

Kell gives Dawn a reassuring pat on the shoulder, then tells her, "Well, I'm not actually that good with ranged weapons, though I do have a boomerang for crowd control. And I have a chiton that zaps those who give unwanted touches. Most of my weapons are wood and stone, though I use both charm and water magic. Tell me, how do these werewolves respond to a nymph's natural charms? Does it give them any pause at all, or should I expect a straight up fight? There's no point in me trying something that you've already learned doesn't work."

While she waits for Dawn to reply, she uses her staff to put up a bush for privacy, then starts changing into her Chiton of Enlightenment. "I don't know how vulnerable these werewolves are to electricity, but hopefully it will at least slow them down a bit even if it doesn't stop them as fully as we might like. Maybe it could slow them down enough for Sigrlinn to shoot them with a silver arrow."

With me doing water magic now, I may just need to sacrifice this chiton in a big pool of water one of these days. Water and electricity make for a potent and deadly combination, assuming the stories I've heard are true. I don't want to get stuck not being able to cast a water spell because I'm wearing this chiton.





Then she ponders a moment. I wonder if I should change into my zapping chiton.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Eve shrugs. "I don't know what to make of the wolves. Only silver weapons harm them, so once the big guy was on top of me, he could've torn me apart. But he didn't." She shakes her head. "I don't know what he wanted from me, but I wasn't… charming him. Or trying to."

 

[Ireth]

Sigrlinn

Sigrlinn tilts her head in confusion. "Well, either way I'm glad you're not hurt. Maybe once we find the wolves again we can question them. That's assuming they don't attack us first."

Then again, maybe Artemis herself will know more. If they can find her.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Dawn agrees the wolves should be taken alive. "In which case..." She hands Kell her bow and arrows. "Better you two do the shooting. If I have the upper hand, I may not show as much restraint as the wolf did."


((Kell can use WIS to shoot. With the stats, her fighting and shooting are both just as good. I still need to work out some kinks with magic. Assume there's a disturbance in the force, no magic for now, blame the gods' spat. But don't worry too much... you'll have water magic and the possibility of mermaid form no matter what changes are made.))

 

[tbgg]

Kelleia

Kell reluctantly accepts Dawn's bow and silver arrows.

I'm not sure how I feel about having to go straight into combat the first time I ever pick up a bow and arrows.

Shouldering the bow for now and wearing the quiver of arrows, she looks to Sigrlinn. "I think you will be better at tracking these things than I am, you being a Huntress and all."

 

[Ireth]

Sigrlinn

Sigrlinn nods, turning to head back the way she came and beckoning the others to follow. "They left pretty clear tracks heading west. I'll take you to where I saw them last."

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Sigrlinn leads the way. It takes some time, but the Huntress has no trouble following the tracks. Soon, she and the nymphs draw near. Up ahead is a clearing. The three werewolves are standing near a horse hitched to a cart.

They seem to be chatting about something…

 

[Ireth]

Sigrlinn

Sigrlinn hangs back for a moment, watching the werewolves, then whispers to her friends. "I'll go see if I can find out what they're up to."

She creeps forward as stealthily as she can...