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

[Legendary Sidekick]

Sapphire gives Kell a sheepish smile.

"Honestly, I was afraid to go in the shack. I tried to peek inside, but the windows are boarded up. Oh, but the wood near the ground is rotten. There's a hole along the corner nearest us. I can fit in there."

As the fairy speaks, a squirrel skitters by. Startled by the women's voices, it quickly spirals up a tree.

 

[Ireth]

Sigrlinn

Sigrlinn listens to Sapphire and nods slowly. "While you do that, I can sneak around outside and see what there is to find."

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

"Okay," the fairy agrees with a shudder. "I think I can slip in there unnoticed... and I'll feel safer knowing you're outside."

((Will move to a second phase of testing. No big deal if you roll now or wait for me to explain whats and whys of phase two.))

 

[tbgg]

Kelleia

Glancing at the other nymphs, Kell says, "The nymphs and I will cover you guys from the outside and watch for anyone or anything you might flush out."

And she shoulders her bow and readies her staff for action, unsure whether she'll need the silver arrows here.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

((Okay, rolling #2d6 without the +. See how it goes...))

Sapphire sneaks into the hole in the wall...

Sigrlinn hears a female voice mumble through the outer wall of the shack. Likely, she's trying to speak while gagged. Aside from that one sound, all is silent inside the shack.

 

[Ireth]

Sigrlinn

Sigrlinn takes note of the muffled voice inside the shack, and continues her search for anything of note -- another way in, or evidence of who else might have been here, or whatever else there is to see.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Sigrlinn manages to get close to the shack, and as far as she can tell, there are no signs of hostility inside. Only the muffled female voice.

Kell notices moonlight reflecting off of water, likely from a lake or pond beyond the trees, maybe a hundred yards east. She hears a rustling sound. Amber, Dawn and Eve turn their heads toward the water. The rustling sound is slow and rhythmic, as if someone is taking a casual stroll through piles of freshly-raked leaves.

((seasonal metaphor))

 

[tbgg]

Kelleia

Kell tells the nymphs, "We should check that rustling sound out. I think two of you should stay here. Who feels up to helping me?"

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Dawn holds up her silver knife and points her thumb at herself. Amber and Eve nod and point fingers at Dawn.

Dawn steps closer to Kell, trying not to make any rustling sounds of her own.

 

[tbgg]

Kelleia

Kell starts sneaking back toward the rustling sound, tilting her head to Dawn to indicate that she should do likewise. She knows she's not all that sneaky, but feels obliged to try.

Kelleia:2D6 → 6(2 +4)#DEX - sneak back toward sound

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

As Kell starts to move toward the water, she notices Dawn make a V of her fingers. She follows that hand signal with two other quick motions. Amber and Eve nod, and Dawn proceeds to follow Kell.

The nymphs are relatively quiet, and as they get closer to the water, they eventually see two figures. The legs seem to bend the wrong way, but Kell gets a good look at the silhouetted figure. He is cloven-hoofed--a satyr, perhaps? Only satyrs are normally thin. The two that Kell can see are rather top-heavy, particularly around the stomach. She can't see the faces of the satyrs, but she can tell that one is carrying a fish, which appears to be more than a foot long. The other is carrying a spear.

Maybe both have a spear in one hand and a fish in the other. It's too dark to tell, and as the satyrs walk on, they are obscured by thick, leafy plants. But now that they've moved, Kelleia can see more satyrs (?) wading in shallow water. They are also heavyset, and again, the nymphs only see dark shapes backlit by the shimmering water. The satyrs seem to have poofy hairstyles and are probably bearded. That or the heads are not human, and are covered in fur.

Dawn lightly taps Kell on the shoulder. She makes a V of her fingers, then points in the direction of the satyrs with fish, then toward the shack. By the sound of it, the two satyrs are walking toward the shack, or possibly the campfire near the shack.

 

[tbgg]

Kelleia

Kell points at the cloven-hoofed creatures still wading in the water, then points at Dawn and herself and mouths the word 'enemies', then draws a question mark with her hand to show that the word is meant to be a question. She doesn't know if Dawn knows the answer, but she figures a resident of Sardis stands a better chance of knowing the answer than she does.

Off the top of my head, I think I remember being taught at the Villa that satyrs were companions to both Dionysius and Pan. And Dionysius is allied with Zeus. They tend to be sex-obsessed and are obsessed with nymphs. But they're also cowardly, so if it comes down to it, I might be able to intimidate them into leaving. That is, if these really are satyrs and I haven't confused them with some other creature. These could be the ones the werewolves were planning to deliver the nymphs to, or they could be here by coincidence.

She withdraws about 30 feet back toward the other nymphs, deciding to wait for Dawn's answer before acting any further.

Kelleia:2D6 → 2(1 +1)#DEX - sneak back a little ways

((Not sure if I needed that roll or not. I kinda hope not, given that it's snake eyes!!))

 

[Ireth]

Sigrlinn

Sigrlinn continues to look around the shack, for both a way in to free the nymph and for approaching enemies.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

As Kell moves back, she nearly stumbles over a twig. She is unable to keep her footing but, thanks to years of training at the villa, she gracefully folds her legs (as a reflex action) and finds herself seated in a way that make her appear gentle and demure. Dawn gives her an inquisitive look as she bears her knife, expecting to be pounced upon by fat satyrs... but she manages a smile as she realizes Kell managed to fall without making a sound.

Nymphs at the villa would have offered Kell a hand (other than a few exceptionally mean girls), but it seems the nymphs here support each other in a different way. Dawn keeps herself between Kell and the sounds of the satyrs' steps. Her stance reminds Kell of Akantha...



Sigrlinn has no trouble finding the door. If she were to try the door, she would find that it is locked... but that isn't really a problem since the moonlight is reflecting on a tiny metal object above the door, which is probably a spare key. The shack is in a place where one should not expect to get robbed. If anything, the threat against these male creatures is Artemis herself. Somehow, they are here taking her nymphs without her knowing.

Sigrlinn hears two of the male creatures approaching. Each is carrying a spear in one hand and a fish or two in the other. A fish is also skewered on each spear for a total of seven fish, all about 10 to 20 inches long. The creatures themselves stand like men, but are not human at all. Their bodies are like a donkey's rear end from the waist down, and a grizzly from the waist up...



Kell and Dawn get a glimpse of the bear-shaped heads as the two creatures pass by...

 

[Ireth]

Sigrlinn

Sigrlinn spots the door, and what must be a spare key. Before she can open the door, another sound catches her attention. Two creatures, half bear and half donkey, carrying fish on spears.

Sigrlinn grips her bow tighter, and looks around for a place to hide. Best if she can pick these two off before they come close to her, or the nymph in the shack.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

It seems the bear-asses are not aware of Sigrlinn's presence. She can probably pick one off, though he won't fall easy. She might also have time to slip inside the shack unnoticed.

One choice guarantees the element of surprise, but also practically guarantees being rushed by two strange creatures.

The other choice means she will likely remain unnoticed, but that is not guaranteed...

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Dawn remains in her protective stance a moment longer. Finally she turns to face Kell. She pricks her finger with her silver blade, then shows Kell her fingertip with a single bead of blood on it. She puts her finger to Kell's lip (slowly, so Kell can back away easily if she's repulsed by this)...

 

[Ireth]

Sigrlinn

Sigrlinn decides getting into the shack is her best bet. Surely she can find a chink in the wall or something to loose arrows through after she helps the gagged (and most likely bound) nymph inside.

 

[tbgg]

Kelleia

Kell's not repulsed by a single drop of blood, but she IS unsure what the nymph is trying to tell her. She decides to assume the creatures want her blood and that silence is therefore called for. If Dawn won't tell her more clearly, maybe one of the more talkative nymphs will explain later.

Moving back toward the shack, Kell decides to summon an animal, reaching out to see if there is a larger animal that would serve to distract the satyrs and the bear-headed donkey things away from the shack.

Kelleia:2D6 → 5(3 +2)#Stealth - move back to shack

Kelleia:2D6 → 7(2 +5)#Summon a bear or cougar

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Kell heads toward the shack, but not without drawing attention. Now that the two bear-asses are looking around, Dawn sees no point in maintaining silence. She whispers, "If I put my blood to your lips, you can whisper and I hear you clearly. You must put your blood to mine to hear me whisper back. It works from a mile away, but to answer your question, yes."

She doesn't elaborate, but braces herself for the attack... only there isn't one.

"Just a bear," says one bear-ass to the other. He then makes a low growl. The bear which Kell summoned growls back. The bear-ass gives him a fish, which Kell senses the bear is enjoying. She and Dawn can continue toward the shack. As long as they move to the side where there is no campfire, they might remain unnoticed. The bear moves when Kell moves, keeping herself between Kell and the bear-asses. She apparently won't attack them, at least not without an order to.


When Sigrlinn enters the shack, she sees a nymph bound and gagged. She moves forward to cut the ropes, but as she does, she sees a pair of hooves and bare feet with the ankles ties together. Sapphire is looking up, wielding an absurdly long flame like a sword. The flame must be more than five times her height, the size of a normal sword!

A male voice says, "Easy little girl. I don't wanna slit this nymph's throat, but if I'm going to die anyway, I'm taking her with me."

Sigrlinn has no reason to believe the fairy would defeat this half-bear-half-jackass in a straight one-on-one fight. Yet, the creature seems threatened enough to try to plea bargain rather than attack. He apparently has a knife at the nymph's throat. Sigrlinn can't see his head, and he can't see Sigrlinn. He isn't facing Sigrlinn, and Sapphire is almost on the opposite side. If Sigrlinn is quiet enough, she may have the bear-ass' back...