After a short discussion, Thane, Ryon, and Growl split off from the main group and range ahead, scouting for signs of trouble and for potential meals. Artemisia leads the remainder steadily northwesterly through the ever-darkening forest, down a game trail. As you become gradually accustomed to your surroundings, you realize that the forest still sounds fairly lively. Insects chirp and buzz, birds call in the distance, and the wind causes branches to creak and leaves to rustle. The going is slow but steady, with much pushing between saplings and stumbling over massive tree roots. As the sun begins to fall, swarms of insects take to the air, buzzing in your ears and biting exposed flesh.
[sblock=Ryon]OOC: I'm going to go ahead and roll survival rolls for you just so I can keep the game moving.
You happen to recall a game trail that leads northwest into the forest, and after marking it for the party, you proceed down the trail, keeping alert for deer or hogs. Your memory and vigilance pay off around sundown, as you spot a young doe about 50 meters off the trail. Carefully and quietly knocking an arrow to your bow, you aim and then loose, killing her in one merciful strike. You quickly propitiate the doe's spirit with a hunter's prayer, then dress the kill. By the time you're finished, the sun has gone down and you can hear the group catching up with you down the trail.[/sblock][sblock=Thane]It's hard to predict the weather while fully under the forest's canopy, especially with all the ash in the air, but what glimpses you get at the sky make you fairly certain that there won't be any storms in the next few days.
As you scout ahead, You keep an eye peeled for edible plants and animals, guided by your enchantment. You don't manage to locate any big game, but you bag several squirrels, a brace of fat forest birds, and a sackful of edible roots, leaves, and berries. As the last daylight fades from overhead, you decide to head back to the main group to help set up camp for the night.[/sblock][sblock=Enko]With the guidance of the Blackfrond spirit, you manage to locate a young Blackfrond plant and harvest a single useable frond from it.[/sblock][sblock=Main Group] Artemisia, leading the group, swats at a particularly bothersome bug, then suddenly freezes and motions for the group to stop. She stares off into the shade-drenched undergrowth and slowly and carefully backs up to the rest of the group.
"Erin, Alistia, Enko, did any of you see anyone up ahead? By that huge oak tree?" she whispers very quietly. "It looked like a woman, but I only saw her for a bare moment before she ducked out of sight."
None of you saw anything up ahead, and Cleyra was paying too much attention to the sides and rear to have seen anything.[/sblock]
