TUW: The Steel Trade [IC]

[Kwargrow]

Bolo uses Way to send peaceful vibes to the lions, and after a moment's thought, to the vultures, letting them know the people will not harm them unless attacked. Since Merin, Tor, and Saemund are together, San-Bolo will stay close to Sheldon and Indigo to make two groups.

Sannit calls out to the other Seekers, "Check for secret tunnels also. If there is a valuable vein here, they might have hidden it." Sannit will use Way to attempt to detect any voids or blank spaces in the rocks they cannot otherwise see.

If Sannit does not need Bolo's help to search for voids, she will tell Turtle to keep watch and search around for useable vulture feathers. She is not as fascinated with the caves as the others.

Turtle turns to keep watch, knowing that his people are going to be here longer than he first thought. He's still thinking about those olives and the lion cubs. They're sure to be good and tender, but fighting off the mother to take one might be too much trouble.

 

[MacConnell]

Day 92: Investigating the Cairn, Part 7

Bolo uses Way to send peaceful vibes to the lions, and after a moment's thought, to the vultures, letting them know the people will not harm them unless attacked.

GM: OOC: Charm:Affect / Range: Cohesion + Evocation + Persona + Psyche Effectiveness: Essence + Cohesion + Evocation + Mind + Knowledge + Persona + Wisdom + Psyche + Collegiate + Academic This causes the loss of Will in the intended target. The target must be an animal, though not a coatl or a dragon. A charmed animal can be given simple commands in the manner of a trained animal, but the extent of those commands depends upon the understanding by that animal. Resist Charm: Skepticism (Commercial Task) Bolo: 19 paces, 61% Bolo is able to pacify the lioness. The kittens and vultures are even easier.

Since Merin, Tor, and Saemund are together, San-Bolo will stay close to Sheldon and Indigo to make two groups.

GM: There are 3 mines on the second level, one housing the lioness, which is ignored. The other 2 are each marked with a differing symbol. Though they extend beyond easy view, there is nothing of significance to be found.

Sannit calls out to the other Seekers,

"Check for secret tunnels also. If there is a valuable vein here, they might have hidden it."

Sannit will use Way to attempt to detect any voids or blank spaces in the rocks they cannot otherwise see.

GM: OOC: Observation: Empathy (Collegiate Task) + Mind + Knowledge + Wisdom + Commercial + Mercantile Time: 1 day * complexity / (Effectiveness + d100) This active task represents watching and listening to the immediate area to determine patterns, anomalies, or dangers. It can also be used to determine a person's intentions or motivation. Sannit: 43 + 31 = 74% Time: 1 day / (74 + 97) = 8 minutes

In just over 8 minutes time, Sannit is sure that nothing remains concealed. From the cumulative observation, it appears that this rock formation was long ago mined for the ores it contained and nothing more. There are 4 different symbols in total, probably corresponding to each of the 4 ores previously detected in faint amounts.

If Sannit does not need Bolo's help to search for voids, she will tell Turtle to keep watch and search around for useable vulture feathers. She is not as fascinated with the caves as the others.

GM: Bolo is able to discover 7 significant vulture feathers.

Turtle turns to keep watch, knowing that his people are going to be here longer than he first thought. He's still thinking about those olives and the lion cubs. They're sure to be good and tender, but fighting off the mother to take one might be too much trouble.

Based on the height of the corn stalks and the early blooms of the olive trees, it appears that the both will be ready to harvest in between 60 and 90 days. Though Southroad Fair sends harvesters for corn, they are very likely unaware of this olive grove.

 

[MacConnell]

Day 92: Returning to the River

Due to the inordinate lack of conversation from the other Seekers, Sheldon tries to offer some levity.

"It is not as if our side trip was a total loss. We found a few stones, though I think Indigo is the only one interested in those, and Bolo found some usable feathers. We also learned some things. This rock formation supports a well established olive grove, and more importantly, whoever mined it for the ore so long ago is much more advanced in making metal tools than could be found even in Asylim. It stands to reason, that they will be more advanced in armor and weapons as well."

OOC: I have uploaded the map of the untamed wilds. It was 24 years old March of this year and shows some aging. The file is much too large. It will take some time for me to manipulate it to be more usable. The Untamed Wilds Topographical Map

 

[Tellerian Hawke]

Merin takes his time, making a detailed map of the rock formation's location. He is careful to describe the Olive Grove in detail. It is his hope that The Seekers will get a finder's fee.

Tor says, "It is likely that the Maldrog we encountered are responsible for the mining activity here. That's encouraging; perhaps we can convince them to share their techniques with us, or at least convince them to accept commissions from us for various armor pieces."

 

[MacConnell]

Day 92 - 93: Continuing Upstream

Tor says,

"It is likely that the Maldrog we encountered are responsible for the mining activity here. That's encouraging; perhaps we can convince them to share their techniques with us, or at least convince them to accept commissions from us for various armor pieces."

Sheldon add,
"That makes good sense. When we first encountered that party of Maldrog, it was over that way. Their base of operation is likely within a day or two of here."

Sheldon points in the general direction he thinks is correct. Indigo looks at the sky then adjusts Sheldon's arm slightly.
"That way," she laughs.

Continuing to follow the river becomes slower and more laborious with each passing hour, as the elevation has begun to change dramatically. The pack animals are having no difficulty with the slope but moving slower is still a necessity. The remainder of the same day is uneventful. Mid morning of the following day, however, brings distinct sounds to the party's attention that could only be made by other people. The sound is coming from farther ahead and across the stream back into the pine forest.

 

[Sylvar B.]

Saemund looks at the others.
"I don't imagine whoever that is is threatening, they aren't very concerned with staying quiet. Perhaps three of us should go investigate, all of us walking up armed as we are might cause them some alarm."

 

[Kwargrow]

Sannit strokes his beard and says,
"I don't think it will hurt to see all of us at once. If it is the Maldrog, we will have problems communicating anyway, but they never seemed too hostile. I do think we should cross the stream here before we make contact."

 

[Tellerian Hawke]

Tor says, "I agree, we should cross the river now, and approach all together. We shouldn't try to be quiet, either, as a courtesy, to let them know we are coming and that we're not trying to ambush anyone."

Merin nods in agreement.

 

[Sylvar B.]

"Very well, we should all go together," Saemund says as he lowers his axe into the loop on his belt.

He winces in pain and brings his index finger up to his mouth, having cut himself on the wicked half-moon blade.

 

[MacConnell]

Day 93: The Sounds South of the Stream

The three heavy fighters move toward the stream. Having not paid that much attention to its transmutation through the elevation change, a quick examination is thought wise before simply trudging in.

The stream is about 3 paces wide at this point and moving somewhat swiftly. It is too wide to jump and looks more difficult to cross than it first appeared. Sannit sticks in the but end of his spear to gage the depth and swiftness. The bank is undercut and the water would be about waist deep even at its immediate edge. The strength of the current can also be noted.

Crossing the stream at this point would be slow and difficult, even dangerous for the pack animals. It is also estimated that Saemund, Tor, and Sannit would only be about half way across when whoever is coming this way would reach the stream from the other side.

A new plan will need to be formulated. The trees on the far bank provide good cover for whoever is approaching. The waist high, young corn stalks on the Seekers' side provide little.