Somewhere else...

One figure remains...the red-cloaked, still-masked figure who blood-let the children. He still possesses his wickedly curved blade. Quickly using it he chops the bonds of the nearest child, hauls him roughly to his feet, puts the child between the direction of where the arrow was fired and himself, and begins a lurching, dragging effort to get out of the clearing and into the cover of the trees.

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A dozen options that might have splintered my decisiveness in my youthful life narrow into one. I set my posture. I lean into my front leg. As the wind might catch a leaf and carry it aloft, so do my fingers, delicately but swiftly, retrieve an arrow from my quiver and draw it back. I take aim at the cultist's deranged wolf-masked face. He's dead...he just doesn't know it yet.

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[sblock]
1st attempt. I rolled an 8. 8 + 11 = 19. Surely a miss.

Elven Accuracy for a reroll.

2nd attempt. I rolled a 2. 2 + 11 = 13. Another miss.
[/sblock]

Given that the dead-man is probably still walking, I launch myself through the trees in pursuit. I'll await your response.

Binks said:

Given that the dead-man is probably still walking, I launch myself through the trees in pursuit. I'll await your response.

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As the red-cloaked figure attempts to disappear into the foliage, your arrow tears into the bark of the redwood right next to his head. The shrapnel or the resounding thud startles him greatly. He cries out and your elven eyes can see that he loses his feet in the soaked mud. It appears that there is something of a gradient there as he almost goes tumbling down the precarious hill. With the child tucked under his arm which grasps the hooked blade, he instinctively reaches out with the other and claws at some exposed roots before going head over heels.

A thunderous roar, not from the sky but from the earth. The mud underneath their feet gives away in a massive slide, carrying the figure, and his cries, with it. As you begin your scamper through the trees, you can see the boy and hear his whimpers. He is barely hanging onto an exposed root as the entirety of the hill-face that was once beneath his feet is gone. His rain-slicked hands are sliding along the slippery root as he desperately tries to cling to his life.

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Not just damage, but death on a miss! Shrodinger's death!

1st failure so the game is actually afoot now. You lose a Healing Surge. Perhaps its the disorientation of being suddenly shunted into another world...fear...fatigue. You can describe it how you wish in your coming post. The boy's life is still at stake. If you have any questions about the scene elements, let me know.

Manbearcat said:

The mud underneath their feet gives away in a massive slide, carrying the figure, and his cries, with it. As you begin your scamper through the trees, you can see the boy and hear his whimpers. He is barely hanging onto an exposed root as the entirety of the hill-face that was once beneath his feet is gone. His rain-slicked hands are sliding along the slippery root as he desperately tries to cling to his life.

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My scampering heightens into swift flight through the maze of complicated tree limbs. Intuition and experience guide my feet as I reach back into my pack and pull out a coil of rope that is tied off into a loop at one end to make it a lasso. My eyes never leave the child's face. I hope the child can feel my presence and through it foster the strength to hold on until I am in position to act.

In short order, I find a sturdy tree limb that grants me the angle and clearance I desire. I whirl the rope in a wide circle to gain momentum and let it loose towards the boys dangling feet to slip the loop under him and pull tight under his armpits.

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I am trying to lasso the boy's body with my rope, using my surefootedness to augment my lasso effort.

[sblock]
Acrobatics secondary skill to augment Thievery primary skill. I rolled a 17. 17 + 10 = 27. Success.

Thievery primary skill. I rolled a 19. 19 + 11 = 30. Success.
[/sblock]

I'm pretty sure that's all successful. Assuming it is, once the boy is lassoed I am going to jump backwards and use myself as a counterweight and the limb as a fulcrum to pull him to safety. When I hit the ground, I am going to get underneath him and ease him down into my arms.

Manbearcat said:

@Binks , so you're trying to perform a successful reconnaissance of the situation to (potentially) rescue what appears to be at-risk youth. The stakes here will be your successful reconnaissance and any fallout (possibly the compromising of those you believe you are trying to rescue).

We'll handle this as a Complexity 2 Skill Challenge to determine the outcome of this conflict.

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Binks said:

When I hit the ground, I am going to get underneath him and ease him down into my arms.

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The terrified, bloodied, naked child holds onto you tightly and nestles his head into your chest as he sobs silently. Although no words have been communicated, he clearly senses you are their rescuer.

The other children are still bound and staked to the ground with ropes, the heavy rain pelting them, the fire dancing wildly in the clearing. The area is littered with the abandoned wolf-masks, shrouds for the children's heads, and the neatly placed rocks for the large (and clearly well-used) firepit that contains the conflagration. Each of the children have a bloodied beast claw tattooed on their chests. This is the sign of The Beastlord. You know it well.

The werewolf headed off in one direction and the circle of human ritualists ran off in every direction. The rain soaks the ground and pelts you with unchecked ferocity. It isn't likely to let up anytime soon. The fire and moon light the clearing. The giant trees loom like guardians.

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Skill Challenge successful. You've learned some information with your successful reconnaissance and rescued the children. Beyond what knowledge you've learned, you may ask a singular question of the children that they are surely to know. Beyond that question, who knows?

What are you planning to do?

Manbearcat said:

The terrified, bloodied, naked child holds onto you tightly and nestles his head into your chest as he sobs silently. The other children are still bound and staked to the ground with ropes, the heavy rain pelting them, the fire dancing wildly in the clearing. The werewolf headed off in one direction and the circle of human ritualists ran off in every direction. The rain soaks the ground and pelts you with unchecked ferocity. It isn't likely to let up anytime soon. The fire and moon light the clearing. The giant trees loom like guardians.

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The rain washes away all traces of the child's tears, but it cannot hide the tremors that resonate from his tiny body into mine as he cries in my arms. Holding him tight, I wrap my cloak around his small frame and together we enter the clearing.

At the realization that immediate danger has passed, the other children begin to weep in uncomprehending misery. They must be freed. I try to sit down the one that is in my arms, but his body instantly tenses up and his small fists cling to my clothing and hair. Patting and rubbing the child's back, I shift his weight to my left arm and hip, freeing my right arm to withdraw a dagger that is sheathed on my belt.

Together, we approach the first bound child, a female of about 10 with small blue eyes and long brown hair. I murmur comforting words while the dagger frees her from her bonds. In such fashion, each child is freed.

The children cannot stay here like this, in the cold rain, unprotected. I remove my cloak and wrap it around the bundle of children with my free arm.

I crouch down before them with the young boy still in my arms, now shifting his weight to my leg.

"I'm going to get you home, but I need your help."

Blank stares, some signs of acknowledgement. The blue eyed girl yields a small nod.

"Where did you come from? Do you know who these people are who took you?"

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The question I want a guaranteed answer on is the latter of the two.

Once they tell me where they think they are from, I am going to try to take them home. I'll gather cloaks and shrouds that are large enough to cover the children to give them protection from the elements.

Binks said:

I crouch down before them with the young boy still in my arms, now shifting his weight to my leg.

"I'm going to get you home, but I need your help."

Blank stares, some signs of acknowledgement. The blue eyed girl yields a small nod.

"Where did you come from? Do you know who these people are who took you?"

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The question I want a guaranteed answer on is the latter of the two.

Once they tell me where they think they are from, I am going to try to take them home. I'll gather cloaks and shrouds that are large enough to cover the children to give them protection from the elements.

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The young boy in your arms tugs at the sleeve of your forest-hued doublet. He whispers into your ear "...we are from the bad place in the smokey mountains with the burning tree."

The blue-eyed girl speaks up through quivering voice; "They take all the children there...they say that when we ripen, 'he who hunts' will eat us or make us his own...we will be a part of him." She looks down and she says "...those are our parents..."

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Off in the distance you hear a howl. That howl is returned by another...and that one another still. The howls continue for a few moments and abruptly cut off.

What are you planning to do? The rain is pounding and the mountain air is cold.

Manbearcat said:

The young boy in your arms tugs at the sleeve of your forest-hued doublet. He whispers into your ear "...we are from the bad place in the smokey mountains with the burning tree."

The blue-eyed girl speaks up through quivering voice; "They take all the children there...they say that when we ripen, 'he who hunts' will eat us or make us his own...we will be a part of him." She looks down and she says "...those are our parents..."

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Off in the distance you hear a howl. That howl is returned by another...and that one another still. The howls continue for a few moments and abruptly cut off.

What are you planning to do? The rain is pounding and the mountain air is cold.

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Well, I can't do anything until the children are somewhere secret...somewhere safe

Perhaps the children know of a nearby village that isn't associated with this cult (or whatever I've uncovered here). If so, I can speak to the elders and see if they can take in these children while I investigate "the bad place in the smokey mountains with the burning tree."

Regardless of their answer to the above, I'm going to draw from the rain-soaked soil and invoke the primal spirits of Always Falling. As the rivers and rains of the world wash away all trace of what came before, I will draw a muddy line across each of the children's foreheads, and my own, and invoke the Ritual Pass Without Trace.

After the children answer my question, I'm going to head toward the village if they can provide guidance, placing 2 of the smaller children on the back of my trusted bear companion. Hopefully, his soft fur, warmth, and mighty countenance will provide them comfort.

If the children cannot provide guidance, I will find a shelter for them here, where they are secure from the elements and invulnerable to predators, and then find my own way. I will leave my bear companion with them to protect them. I believe I heard the sound of running water when I first came to my senses in this place. It may have just been the heavy rains, but I'll go back that way first. We're clearly in the mountains, so the runoff must collect somewhere. Given the geography, I know there must be a cave systems. I will seek one out near water.

[sblock]

Pass Without Trace requires no roll, just 10 GP in component expenditure which I will spend.

My Nature skill modifier is 13. I rolled an 8. 13 + 8 = 21.

[/sblock]

Binks said:

Perhaps the children know of a nearby village that isn't associated with this cult (or whatever I've uncovered here). If so, I can speak to the elders and see if they can take in these children while I investigate "the bad place in the smokey mountains with the burning tree."

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The young, blue-eyed girl appears to the least shaken of the lot here. As you mark her forehead and invoke the primal spirits of your ritual, she says "We lived in another place in the mountains...along the fastwaters...we lived there until we ripened. The oracle says all the children must then go to the place with the burning tree to get us ready for 'he who hunts'..."

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Binks said:

If the children cannot provide guidance, I will find a shelter for them here, where they are secure from the elements and invulnerable to predators, and then find my own way. I will leave my bear companion with them to protect them. I believe I heard the sound of running water when I first came to my senses in this place. It may have just been the heavy rains, but I'll go back that way first. We're clearly in the mountains, so the runoff must collect somewhere. Given the geography, I know there must be a cave systems. I will seek one out near water.

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We will handle the bolded conflict as a Complexity 1 Skill Challenge. You gain a success with your use of Pass Without Trace and your Nature check passes the medium DC.

The children follow you in a neat line, the two smallest mounted upon your bear. He is careful to assure their awkward balance and he patiently ignores the harsh tugging as they latch onto his thick fur.

Your understanding of such terrain is as acute as ever. You follow the runoff as it meanders with the terrain, aggregates in a small collecting pool, and rushes over a 30 foot precipice in a gentle fall. At the bottom is a much larger drainage basin where many large rocks, possibly left over from the last time the winter spirits brought encroaching glaciers, separate the natural reservoir from a running river. You imagine that this area likely floods during the wet season.

The cliff face beneath you is pocked with caves and you're quite certain that there is a thriving ecosystem here...surely with an apex predator. As you survey the scene below you, your eyes are drawn to multiple yellow dots as a pack of hyenas, slick fur as black as the dead of night, chase a mountain lion off of her hard-earned kill...emitting their disturbing laugh as they claim the kill. The desperate mountain lion is surely starved for a meal and she probably has cubs. She is chased off in your direction and begins bounding up the face...even with your keen eyesight, she sees better than you in the moonlight.

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Manbearcat said:

The cliff face beneath you is pocked with caves and you're quite certain that there is a thriving ecosystem here...surely with an apex predator. As you survey the scene below you, your eyes are drawn to multiple yellow dots as a pack of hyenas, slick fur as black as the dead of night, chase a mountain lion off of her hard-earned kill...emitting their disturbing laugh as they claim the kill. The desperate mountain lion is surely starved for a meal and she probably has cubs. She is chased off in your direction and begins bounding up the face...even with your keen eyesight, she sees better than you in the moonlight.

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Scavengers. While I fully understand their place in nature, I have never been able to respect a creature who lives off another's hard work. To my left, the mountain lion is slowly meandering. It will soon pick up a scent, perhaps mine or that of the younglings. Silently, I remove the younglings from the back of my bear. They huddle in a small group, soothing each other with their close presence. My bear looks at me inquisitively and I respond by simply pointing down at the hyenas. His eyes narrow and his feet immediately start leading him down a path to the right that will allow him to sneak up behind the hyenas as they munch on their stolen meet.

He disappears off into the brush and I wait.

I hear him again before I can see him-- snapping twigs, whipping branches, and heavy patter converge upon the startled hyenas. He nears them, rears upon his hind legs and roars.

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I am trying to startle the hyenas away from the stolen kill and make them retreat into the forest.

[sblock]
My intimidate modifier is +5. I rolled a 14. 14 + 5 = 19.
[/sblock]

I think this will pass. If it does, my bear will back off into the brush and return. Hopefully the mountain lion will be lured back to investigate the loud noises and find her kill available again. I will stand guard to protect the children should she advance on our location. After it is secure, we will go down to the creek (away from the mountain lion) and take shelter in a defensible cave.

If this fails and the hyenas attack my bear, we return in kind.

Binks said:

My bear looks at me inquisitively and I respond by simply pointing down at the hyenas. His eyes narrow and his feet immediately start leading him down a path to the right that will allow him to sneak up behind the hyenas as they munch on their stolen meet.

He disappears off into the brush and I wait.

I hear him again before I can see him-- snapping twigs, whipping branches, and heavy patter converge upon the startled hyenas. He nears them, rears upon his hind legs and roars.

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I am trying to startle the hyenas away from the stolen kill and make them retreat into the forest.

<snip>

I think this will pass. If it does, my bear will back off into the brush and return. Hopefully the mountain lion will be lured back to investigate the loud noises and find her kill available again.

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Precisely that happens.

The hyenas' collective cackling yelps grow more distant as the imposing bear runs them off of their stolen kill. They may feel confident against a lone mountain lion, but clearly they want no part of a the the bear's promise of primal fury. They cowardly slink away. When he feels confident that he has run them off, he turns back.

The mountain lion's attention is caught immediately on the ruckus. When she notes that the bear isn't interested in claiming her kill, she gracefully saunters over to it and begins feasting. No doubt her cubs are nearby, waiting for the "all clear" signal.

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The U-shaped cliff face abuts the large drainage basin with approximately 40 - 60 feet of shoreline clearance. Several cave openings pock the cliff face. Two in particular catch your eye. The first appears halfway down the face and would require either a climb down from the top or lowing the children onto a shallow balcony. It may have been, or be, a den of large avian predators. The second is at ground level, so accessible by earthbound creatures, but heavily, and artificially, obscured by manipulated, dense foliage. Your certain that this is, or was, occupied by creatures possessed of the cognitive capacity to expertly camouflage a den...possibly an ancient, makeshift lodge for big-game hunters.