Door to Nowhere

[MacConnell]

Spoiler: Wariness

Astarte: 51(perception) + 44(hearing) + 50(d100) = 145
Plumeir: 61(observation + 51(smell) + 58 = 170
Taylar: 46(perception) + 37(hearing) + 65 = 148

Not only do the rains of the Drenching Season make travel unpleasant, they make tracking impossible. Trusting to instinct and logic, the Investigators continue following the game trail along the river, upstream. With the deduced skill of the kidnappers, it stands to reason that they deliberately chose to operate during the Drenching Season, just because of the impediment to being followed. The next two days of travel are a drudgery, but the rain lets up on the third day, and the Daylight even warms the air a bit.

On that third day of walking, the game trail takes the party out of sight of the river. The path did not change direction. It has been relatively straight. The river must have meandered farther to the West. About midday, a discovered, divergent path leads westward and probably back toward the water’s edge. To be thorough, the party quickly checks the other path, suspecting that if it leads to nothing important, they can quickly return to the path they were already following.

The particularly large bend in the river flows around a similar yet larger rise of land that harbors an even larger cherry orchard, cherries being a common fruit found in the region. As the party begins to move from the conifer forest onto the rise that holds the orchard, Plumeir makes a quick clicking noise to get the attention of the other two. He indicates that he can smell a wet animal. Spreading out, a bit, for caution, Astarte and Taylar both hear unidentifiable, frolicking noises of youngling animals.

Still in sight of one another, the three investigators ease forward, careful not to make noise, but wanting to know the source of the sounds. Two bear cubs are wrestling within the grove of smaller trees. While it is a pleasant sight to see, the fact remains that even though Plumeir has enhanced his own sense of smell and the bears are upwind, the mother of those two cubs is likely close at hand and may still be able to smell the party, especially if the breeze shifts.

Spoiler: Character Data

Taylar: full wellness
Astarte: full wellness
Plumeir: full wellness

OOC: Each character receives 5 DP. State nominal actions and provide a random roll.

 

[Kwargrow]

Taylar uses hand motions to indicate to his companions that they should leave without an altercation. When they have regrouped he says, "Fighting a bear could leave us with wounds that would slow down our search, and we are hunting different prey anyway. Let us return to the main path."

Spoiler: Rolls

80

 

[astarte]

Let us return to the main path.

Astarte calmly and quietly walks back to the main path. If the mom-bear notices the party anyway, the woman will use husbandry on her to let her know the people ain't intending to harm her children, but only to peacefully pass through.

---

roll: 93

 

[Eric Zephlaer]

Plumeir could not agree more, with the logic conveyed in the gesture. He has no desire nor can he see any reason to bother the bears. Later, he responds to Taylar, "Our kidnappers seem to have more knowledge of the area than any of our communities. I think they stuck with the main path, anyway. Especially since we have discovered so little, I do not think that we are dealing with opportunists."

OOC: 87

 

[Kwargrow]

I do not think that we are dealing with opportunists.

Taylar nods in agreement. "I came to that conclusion as soon as we discovered they had struck more than one community. The positive side is, no matter what we do to these fiends, we won't feel bad about it."

 

[MacConnell]

Spoiler: Rolls

Not used:
Astarte: 93
Plumeir: 87
Taylar: 80

Leaving the bear cubs to continue their playfulness undisturbed, the Investigators continue northward along the most prominent game trail that loosely follows the river. It had been nine days since the search for the missing children had begun. Of those nine, four more days northward since the cherry orchard with the bear cubs brings an unexpected encounter.

An adolescent Rheini, standing alone, on the path some 20 strides ahead, deliberately waves to garner the party’s attention. He separates his hands, holding his arms wide from his body, his bow in one hand and an arrow in the other. He repeats the gesture for the party then beckons them to follow. All Rheini are known to be sociable and often charitable. It is obvious to the party that the boy is indicating that they should hold their weapons away from their body, as a gesture of peace, and follow.

Spoiler: Character Data

Taylar: full wellness
Astarte: full wellness
Plumeir: full wellness

OOC: Bonus DP for not engaging the bears.

OOC: Each character receives 10 DP. State nominal actions and intentions.

 

[Kwargrow]

Taylar says to the Investigators in Maldrog, "Spread out so that if this is a trap, they will not strike all of us with one attack. I will volunteer to walk in the front."
Taylar smiles and follows the Rheini from a respectable distance. He keeps his hands off his bludgeons and he manipulates waylines to increase his senses. Looking around, he tries to determine if there are anymore strangers around.

Spoiler: Rolls

80

 

[Eric Zephlaer]

Plumeir nods his head to himself and then says to Taylar in Maldrog, "Er wirkt wirklich freundlich, aber keine Notwendigkeit, Risiken einzugehen. Ich werde mich nach rechts bewegen," which is to say, "He seems genuinely friendly but no need to take chances. I will move right." Plumeir follows, holding his hands away from his body. He drifts to the right as he walks forward, intently scanning the area.

OOC: 87

 

[astarte]

Astarte does what Taylar asked and in the meanwhile tries to recognize if Rheini lad's intentions are as friendly as his behavior. She'll then inform in Maldrog her comrades what she sensed about the boy.

---

roll: 93

 

[MacConnell]

Taylar...

Plumeir...

Astarte...

Spoiler: Active Search

Astarte: 47(observation) + 32(tuning) + 93(d100) = 172
Plumeir: 61 + 41(smell) + 87 = 189
Taylar: 46 + 37(hearing) + 80 = 163

Nothing about the young man gives Astarte any reason to doubt his demeanor is genuine. Not realizing that he can be understood, the Rheini youth turns his head back in a gesture of courtesy, as he is walking, and says to Taylar, “Fique à vontade. Se você não pretende prejudicar, ninguém virá a você. Eu me chamo Pardal. Como você é chamado?” Taylar understands, “… If you… no punish, nothing… to you. I am called Pardal. How are you called?”

There are other scouts in the forest. Taylar notes someone quietly following along at about medium bow range to the left. Plumeir sees similar action off to the right. Stationary sentries are noted ahead about the same time that living structures of a small community can be recognized. For Taylar, knowing something of the Rheini people due to his former friendship, as a boy, with one his own age and because a clan once served as roving scouts for Outpost during his youth.

Like some invisible line of demarcation, as the party is a few steps from entering, what could be called, the village proper, other Rheini of various ages, from elderly to children, can be seen going about their normal activity. Several children come running toward the party, as is typical for the curiosity of such age, to see the strangers for themselves. These children do not demonstrate a fear of the unknown and several adults call and motion them away from the arrival group.

An elderly man, who seems familiar to Taylar, comes up to greet the party. He waves and looks directly at each party member, holding up his left hand in a gesture that is probably done, unconsciously, when the man is thinking. Upon seeing Plumeir he begins to speak in, fairly good, Markidian, politely looking at each of the three as he speaks some regular courtesies that one might expect when traveling to any civilized community, but he suddenly stops as he looks at Taylar for the second time.

“The boy has grown into a man, a very big man. I did not recognize you, at first. I do not recall your name but you were once friends with my grandson. You grew up in Outpost. We were there as roving scouts to provide meat and extra protection for the community. When that craziness of ethnic cleansing started in the Religion of Light, we all left, to return here to our own village, as it was unknown to the Kingdom seat.”

“You and your friends are welcome here. What brings you this far north?”

Spoiler: Character Data

Taylar: full wellness
Astarte: full wellness
Plumeir: full wellness

OOC: Each character receives 5 DP. State nominal actions and intentions.