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..."
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.
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.
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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.
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