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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Carlo-One" data-source="post: 8014907" data-attributes="member: 7015827">Moving north from Traders Road, the group came to a forested area that Pincer said contained the lair.  However, he was unsure exactly where it lay; during his previous trip there, he had been with a guide who had deliberately led him in circles to confuse the location. Dermot took the lead, concentrating his senses around him to reveal any hidden secrets or dangers. Some stray large spiders were destroyed easily, but the party had a real fight against several huge wolves, one of whom managed to lacerate Darrow’s shoulder. Shanni returned the dwarf’s earlier favor and bandaged him up afterwards.Advancing ahead of the others, Dermot came upon a camouflaged snare and then waited for Shanni to come up and disarm it. In response to a question from Dermot, Pincer said he had been told to step only where his guide did, during his previous visit. Dermot took out a knife and made a mark in a nearby tree, for Rahnee to see later; the others noted that the dead spiders should also serve as a trail for her to follow. The group continued their careful progress through the forest, finding and disarming another snare. Monstrous spiders continued to plague them and in one instance Pincer had to kill one with a punch.Emerging into a clearing, the group paused and drew their breaths as they saw a magnificent white stag on the other side. It looked directly at Dermot and slowly approached the fascinated ranger. Darrow was less impressed by it, however, declaring that he smelled a trap. As the stag approached even closer, Dermot reached out a hand, making an effort to keep it from shaking, and placed it on the animal’s snout. It paused for a brief moment, allowing the touch, then quickly turned away and ran to the north.Shanni was nearly as fascinated by the stag as Dermot and mentioned to the others that the ranger had dreamed of one. He expressed his desire to follow the rare beast, but said it would be up to the rest of the company. Shanni wistfully supported the idea, while Darrow thought it would be best to press on to the lair in order to rescue Janatha sooner. The dwarf relented somewhat as Dermot discussed his dream, however, and he agreed with the others that they could follow the stag, as long as Dermot did not lose the trail back. (These types of decisions are difficult to make, balancing individual desires against one's mission. It would be easy to criticize such diversions, yet failing to pursue personal quests in one's life would leave it at least partly devoid of meaning, to my mind. --C)The ranger tracked the stag’s hoofprints in a northerly direction, traveling for an hour. The forest had noticeably thinned and Dermot observed that they must be approaching the coast. Dermot cast around for the trail and found it leading west, towards a pool of water, where the group decided to rest. He estimated that the stag was outpacing them and was at least an hour ahead. They took the opportunity to refill their waterskins and marked the pool’s location, before Dermot urged them forward again. Despite the ranger’s best efforts over the next hour, however, the stag’s trail became no fresher, leading south and west into a thicket of dense wood.As they debated what to do, Dermot heard some movement in the underbrush. He went forward and confronted a large grizzly bear, who evidently was hungry, as it quickly went for the group. It was dispatched before it could do any serious harm, although Darrow received another gash to add to his collection; despite its hostility, Dermot was disappointed in having to kill the bear.At this point, Dermot reluctantly admitted defeat in his attempt to catch the stag and agreed to go back to the water hole and make camp. Aerikoth welcomed the chance to make additional preparations before entering the lair, in terms of the spells he would have at his command and in order to ameliorate Shanni’s poisoned condition. The wizard also observed it would be necessary for Rahnee to catch up with them first. As soon as they reached the pool, Shanni curled up on a nearby rock and started dozing, while Dermot quietly described his dream of the white stag in more detail to the others, still regretful.Aerikoth conjured a hut by the pool as shelter and spent most of the afternoon inside, studying his spells, while Shanni slept to recover her health. Dermot kept watch outside, partly in hopes of once again seeing the white stag. Darrow inspected and repaired some of his equipment and as evening fell, joined Dermot outside to have an ale and look at the stars come out.</blockquote>

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