[ic] nameless III: lost and found

[doghead]

D+2, on the move.

The party grabs some breakfast and packs up camp without further interruption.

You set off in the same direction as you traveled the day before. Once or twice in the hour that follows, you spot the dogs. But they keep their distance, and show no sign of wishing to establish contact. After the third sighting, you see them no more.

The rest of the morning passes uneventfully. The weather is unsettled but remains dry. The winter's chill is on the air, but the steady pace Garival sets keeps you warm enough.

A little after lunch, Garival comes to a halt at the top of a ridge. Catching up, you find him looking over a broad shallow valley, the floor of which is covered with dense forest. In the distance you can see the other side of the valley about 5-6 miles away.

Garival: [sblock]This is the Tancho Forest - a dire place which ever story you listen to. 12 years ago, one of the merchants in Trolluc put together a well armed and equipped group to investigate the forest for cutting and other commercial activities. Of the 12 who set out, only 3 returned. Two left Killingtom immediately after recovering, the last stayed in the village for the 8 remaining years of his life. But he was never really right again. None of the survivours would speak of their time in the forest except in the most general terms. But what they did say only confirmed what the people of Killingtom already knew. It was a dark place full of creatures that would hunt men for sport, or steal their minds and souls.

You had hoped to pass south of it, but it extends further south than you realised. Its about 3-4 hours travel from one side to the other, and about 6-8 hours if you go around. No one in Killigtom would dream of going through the forest.[/sblock]

 

[Seonaid]

Garival keeps an eye out for the dogs, a bit disappointed they never approached the group again. He was quite hoping for a chance to learn more about and from them. Maybe they were just watching over their land, scouting, he muses.

At the valley, he waits for the others to catch up and then heads south along the ridge. "We won't quite make it around by nightfall unless we push, but we'll be on the other side early tomorrow," he calls over his shoulder in encouragement. As he moves, he watches the land around the group, trying to spot any danger before it arrives. His glance casts over the forest as many times as it does the other directions combined.

 

[Maerdwyn]

Fredar looks down over the valley. "What do you mean? Around the valley? Shouldn't we just go down and through the forest?"


(ooc: we have been travelling through forested terrain so far, haven't we?

 

[Seonaid]

Garival tosses a startled look over his shoulder at Fredar. "Of course not." His brow creases and then he laughs a little. "I guess you wouldn't know. That is the Tancho Forest. No one in his right mind would travel there willingly. Those who do, almost invariably die. Those who survive are never the same when they come out. Whatever it is, it must be horrible, because they refuse to talk about it," he finishes darkly.

 

[DrZombie]

"I've seen enough darkness for a lifetime. Let's go aroond." Nate says.
There you have it, Nate. The dark forests you dreamed about as a child. And now you won't even think of entering....

 

[Maerdwyn]

Fredar listens to Garival and considers for a scant second. "Well. All right, then. Around it is." Later, as they walk at their closest point to the forest, he starts humming to himself, and the others, if they happen to hear him, recognize the tune from their childhoods.*



ooc:*This world's version of "Who's Afraid of the Big, Bad Wolf?" or some similar song from a story about characters scoffing at danger and then getting eaten by it.

 

[doghead]

ooc: Will give khavren a chance to post up. He was here recently.

the area you have been passing through is technically plains, but there are trees, even small copses here and there that can restrict visibilty or provide hiding places.

 

[DrZombie]

Nate keeps a nervous eye on the woods as they skirt past it, trying to see, well, whatever it is that hides in the woods.
After his left arm got tired he saw the wisdom of keeping his new, shiny shield on his back, hoping to have some time to strap it on before hostilities begin.

 

[khavren]

Hmmm, wonder what kind of useful plants grow in those depths... Fenix eyes the woods frequently as they walk alongside "How much is skirting around these woods adding to our time? And have you considered that the best place to hide a villan is in the middle of the woods everyone fears?"

 

[Seonaid]

Garival casts a glance at the forest and then Fenix. "It'll take twice the time to go around, but it's worth it. Any 'villains' who might think to hide out there are certainly long dead or crazy." Or too powerful for us to handle, he thinks grimly.