The Fae with the nice tunic with white sleeves nods and gets up to leave. The Fae in blue hair responds, "Prattle you, nooo. Telling other Fae that you are in business with Mordriac will likely get you killed, better would be an agreement or contract. I can train you in woodcraft but it would likely take more time to learn before the hunt happens."
Orik offers little to answer, "I can take you South but these lands are unfamiliar to me. I will join in to protect any of you from harm, according to our contract."
To Garret, Aien, Miss Darkling, and Sir Orik We could gain citizenship to the Winter Court if we catch a prey. We will probably be targeted through the event. I am all in for the hunt. Anyone want to train in woodcraft with the Blue Hair Fae for a day before the event with me?... Has anyone been contacted by the awesome witch? How are we on timeline? two days til the hunt, same time to place the spikes in the bag? How long to return to Sanctuary if the witch doesn't contact us?
To White Sleeves, a polite, respectful nod in return. Once talking to Fae Blue Hair. "Thank you. I am not familiar with the Winter Court. So I am going with audacious maneuvering - the part of bold risk taking. I wasn't telling other Fae I am in business with Mordriac, I was speaking with you, one of the Adepts, to reinforce what you have seen. Could you spare a moment to explain the nuance between being in business, an agreement, and contract. Does Mordriac have many enemies?
Flynn's blue eyes light up. Thank you for agreeing to train me in woodcraft. Let me introduce you to the others in case they would like to benefit from your wisdom and experience too..
Mordriac looks at Jeffery quizzically then over at the blue haired Fae obviously leaving the nonstop questions to her. He walks off to begin some training with his massive two bladed weapons.
"We adepts follow Mordriac, none of us are nobles or position holders in the Winter Court. Our collective hunts and protects our lands. As a non-Fae adept you can take lodging in any of our holdings, gain protection of the collective, and weapons as needed. If you walked it would take about 5 days to get to Sanctuary from here. As Master Hunter he hunts everything. Enemy? Business would mean he would see you as an equal, under the Fey Laws he can have an agreement or contract with you. Presently it is a simple agreement, no more serious contract has been written. We all do as Mordriac asks. I am Thelrilla." She relays in response to Jeffery.
Garret stops working, removes his hat, wipes his brow with his coat sleeve, "Hmm...good question, Aien. Been thinkin' 'bout it since it was mentioned. I've no idea how the Winter Court works here but if it's anythin' like the lore from our world, they're generally harsh and cruel like the season they're named after. But, it may be worthwhile to recieve a blessin' from 'em. Every drop of power we can gather will help our survival, of course."
He puts his hat back on and looks toward Jellena, "Only if I am? Uhhh, hmmm. Yeah, let's join the hunt. As hunters, of course. Doubt we'd survive as the hunted with our current power."
|
She nods in agreement. Continuing to spool spider silk as she hums a ditty. She also answers some of the previous asked questions, "I believe we have another day of collecting, or we could send them back early just to be on the safe side. Learning about the woods is a good idea. No message from the witch yet."
The last day of collecting spider silk goes by rather quickly. Only a few spiders needed to be killed for they wandered too close. The bodies were left where they were killed, four in total. The deer is finished at night for dinner with some fruit and a wine from one of the Fae. The next day Thelrilla offers to train any and all in woodscraft.
Flynn watches as they were killed. He wants to get an idea of the etiquette that the Adepts have in killing / collecting gems.
This food is like how my uncle cooks steak... You ask for medium rare and get medium well... Dry and...well not as horrible as I expected.
Flynn watches how the Adepts deal with the extra food. If they use a bear bag method or if they divide it up to carry (potentially into extra dimensional bags) on themselves.
Advantages to the Winter Court... Home field, with potential traps and caltrops ; hunting animals to track the pool-scented prey ; more experienced at the hunt ; my training isn't good in woodcraft... but advantage prey: this is the first time since the World Awakens, that this hunt occurs. Like the first time you have that fire drill at work, no one knows where to go. Another advantage, their pre-program Hunt patterns are no longer valid. Another advantage, the King and Nobility Factor - Mordriac said they are acting weird after the awakening. Garret is right - The Winter Court are harsh and cruel in our folklore.
Flynn will take Thelrilla up on the training offer.
The adepts merely killed the spiders and left them to rot. No crystals were collected. The adepts kill the spiders with range mostly then finish them once close.
If asked why they are not collecting meat from the spiders they let you know that there are extra toxins in this area and the spider's poison is in the blood as well.
If I get a chance, I'll collect the spider corpses to use to cover my tracks. Just need a safe means to transport the bodies and bloody soil. Any fey hounds following my scent would come across a bloody toxic area...
Well, I'm not going. If i'm the hunter, i'll get spooked and shoot the other hunters on accident. If i'm the hunted, i'd eat an arrow in the first 6 seconds.
Flynn takes part in the training that is offered on Woodcraft. During the training, he places markers on his HUD map that would prevent easy tracking, such as rocky terrain and streams.
If I participate as Prey, it is a win / win situation for Mordriac. If am caught he has supplied a twist to the hunt, thus improving his standing. If I survive, I can provide the group, with better access to the Court, which would be an ally for Mordriac. He probably doesn't have many allies in the Winter Court.
When Aien and Flynn are away from the Fey. Aien, can you add me to your friends list? Does the messaging system still work, displaying messages on the HUD? If you are not going to participate in the Hunt, could you provide the timing of what happens at the safe point during the Hunt?
The day wears down to a close from your long training most of the day. The adepts finish off the deer with your group. The next day will be interesting for the hunt starts at midnight.
Just as your group is getting ready for bed a sparrow flies in and lands on Jellena's shoulder. It turns to dust as a little piece of paper rolls into her lap.
I see that your fellows were writing. You can leave the bag with the Fae that you trust. Though should it not work out I would request you to retrieve the bag for me.
"I leave you with Thelrilla, certain preparations must be made. Do any of you wish to be Prey for the hunt, if so you will go with me. Good luck and I will see you soon." He states waits for any to go with him then heads off at a quick pace with all of his adepts but Thelrilla.
Aien quickly adds Jeffery to his friends list on the HUD.
I could send a signal, like a flare of some sort.
Flynn will go will Mordriac. I will be Prey. Flynn walks in silence with Mordriac.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Farewell Jeffery. May the odds be ever in your favor
Aien does a mock salute, then waves.
Well $#!+. He's actually going. I hope he survives.
Glancing back, Flynn nods his head in acknowledge of the mock salute. A smile forms at the wave, before walking onward to his doom. Willingly.
|
|
"To each their own... perhaps Mordriac will keep an eye on him." she says after Jeffery states he will be prey. She opens up her HUD and checks out the options... she adds Jeffery, Aien, Garret, and tries to add Mordriac and Orik. She sighs with a bit of frustration, mumbling to herself, "perhaps I need their full name and title to add them, or we still only have players as friends."
Thelrilla offers up some suggestions for the day but lets you make the final decision, "Well the first question is which of you will be participating in the hunt and which want to hide out. Then once we deposit those who want to hide, do you want to do some more training, prepare some traps, visit one of the locals, or see what loot you can find?"
He nods his head at the options and waits for you to make a choice or to engage him, otherwise he works on writing in his journal.
If I fail and if your King does nothing to enhance the military, you should seek to parley with the ones guarding the lumberjacks. Yea, I know. Goes against everything the Winter Court believes in. In my world the Winter Court is a legend, known for evil and cruelty. But you can negotiate with them.
Here, I believe your self interest outweighs your the desire to do cruel evil deeds. What I have seen, I could share a couple beers with you talking very little about the latest Ballad.
Besides, the Programmer didn't name the Winter Court the Northern Army ready to attack Sanctuary. So that leads me to believe that negotiations would work in this reality. That and the look you gave me when I was talking to Thelrilla. You are considering something.
The Northern Army will not be subject to the Awakening, so they will follow their programming.
I will use the confusion of this first hunt since the Awakening to get a good enough head start. If I interact with any of the Nobility that will hunt, I hope to stir up their rivalries so they cause each other accidents during the Hunt. I doubt that I have time to cook something heavy and delicious for a feast, so the hunters become slow with being full.
I have to get far enough lead to be able to hide in a place that the Nagakin and Fey will pass me by. I have such a place in mind.
The bathing pool mentioned earlier means that I am scented. This will attract Hunters and other Prey to where I am, so obviously I will have to travel at first downwind so the scent doesn't betray where I am at. How closely does someone monitor the bathing in the pool? Could I simply carry a goblet around as a decoy, until the start of the Hunt - I would just need to slip in the pool at morning to be scented when I go in front of the King... If not, I may roll around in the mud to contain the scent.
You have hounds, so I will lead them to the toxic area of the spiders. I also have spices from cooking that I will spread on the ground.
Need to lead the hunters over rocks, streams to throw off the hounds. Need to cover my tracks when I go for misdirection.
The Nagakin, this is my weakest point in my plan. I didn't want to have to use Stealth so early in the Hunt.
"I will be joining the hunt.", Garret says grimly.
"With Mordriac bein' the Master of the Hunt, I highly doubt he'll show any leniency to any Prey he finds."
Should I join? I mean, I could be an extra person that looks after Jeffery. But doing that would probably get us kicked out, or something.
"First off, you will be getting the blessing from the King, not a boon at least not one that would associate us with those mortal loving gods. From what I know the King would bless you give you a boon to sate your needs and if you affront him, stab you in the heart."
"I understand your words and let us talk about what will serve us best. To become the prey for the hunt you will need to bathe in the portal waters. Now it is unstated when and how long you must do so, though you must be present when the portal opens. I would suggest that you wait until all the nagakin come through. It will be most unsafe in the wild outside of the portal area, there is a hunting lodge there that should work best in these efforts. The boon you should ask the King is to let you or another of your choice join the Winter Court as a full fledged Fae. If you could get Orik or Ilnarissa to take that place it might be best so that you are not tied down to the court. Yes you would be stuck in the fortress for at least a month. Then one of them could start swaying opinion to make a treaty with Sanctuary, if only you had brought a god with you that could take your place in the Winter Court."
"I will send my adepts to hunt and start cooking to feed the slothful nobles. Go quickly now!" He sends off his adepts with a wave of his hand as he continues to walk besides you scheming.
"I see you have already been planning this and that should work after you bathe in the portal waters. The waters will crystalize once again as the sun touches them slowly from the other side to where we start. Once bathed you will need to use those tactics to avoid any hunting Fae in the area, at that point I will be still hunting, though I could have several of my adepts stay with you to 'make sure you follow protocol'. After the pool crystalizes over you will have to survive until the hunting horn is blown by me after all the nagakin are dead or driven out of the Heartwood."
"I will protect my charges but if you wish I can join in the hunt as well." Orik says flippantly.
She happily starts up again with those decisions in hand, "With that decided do you want to do some more training, prepare some traps, visit one of the locals, see what loot you can find or something else?"
Flynn walks in the forest, contemplating Mordriac's words. Is the Hunting Lodge within the Portal Pool area's Safe Zone? If not, how far away from it? Could you mark it on my map?... Even if I ask for another to have the benefit of the King's Boon, would I still be required to stay in the Fortress a month?... Why would a god be a good choice for becoming part of the Winter Court? Baris, the Halfling, who guards some lumberjacks on the other side of the tunnel we appeared out of with the Ilnarissa, Maid in Black, is the God of Monkery. Does the Hunt extend that far? Are they in any danger?
Flynn offers the adepts quick instructions for the prep for the feast, making a few suggestions on the methods, before they run off.
Gesturing with his hands, Flynn quickly outlines methods for meat preparation. Cutting the meat into filets means you have less meat to surface area, that cooks the meat evenly. Having the whole carcass on the spit means the heat of the fire doesn't reach the middle and the outer area absorbs too much heat, making it dried out... It goes against common sense, but the smaller animals provide better meat. It's more tender... The stronger the animal means their muscles and tendons are stronger, making it tougher to eat. You may want to serve the King the youngest kill, as the youth of an animal is very tasty. Add the seasoning during the cooking as the essence of the seasoning interacts with the meat... A splash of beer or ale on bird towards the ending of the cooking enhances the flavor.
Training. More training. Definitely training.
"If you took the boon for you to be apart of the Winter Court you would have to stay for the month, if you chose another to take your place then they would have to stay for the month not you. A god would show the ignorant Fae that the gods are more like us than we wish to know. I am not sure where they are but if they are near the lumberyard at least a few hours travel they should be safe. You know this Baris, if he truely is a god and you know him, wish for him to be here and he will appear shortly. Some nagakin might get that far but unlikely. Most will try to get to the Heartwood."
He nods at your suggestions and replies, "That does sound delightful."
With Aien's prompt she suggests in her happy tone, "Training is simple, come I will give you some more pointers. It would take you several days to learn another rank in survival, should we take the day and focus on Knowledge Geography, Healing, Knowlege Nature, or crafting wood work?"
Healing, then? That would be very important.
At an occasional beautiful view, Flynn pauses to enjoy it, turning slowly in place, subtly placing his full weight down on one foot as he faces away from the Hunting Lodge and sometimes towards an excellent hiding place, before turning around. He moves carefully to catch up to Mordriac.
Once Mordriac and Flynn arrive at the Hunting Lodge. Baris, if you hear me, please come to this Hunting Lodge. Baris, while you are not my god, we're friends. I have an opportunity to expand your sphere of influence just by being who you are...First thing I do in this Hunting Lodge is check out the kitchen.
The day quickly goes by as Thallina teaches your group about how certain fauna can be helpful in healing. Each of you gain a healer's kit as she took time to collect samples as you learned.
As the sun goes down, she instructs you to get some sleep and she will wake you before midnight. Howls wake you up, Thallina and Orik stand guard over you she kneels down and says, "the animals can feel the change of atmosphere, wake yourselves fully and prepare for the hunt."
With your false trails in place you wait at the lodge. Your first attempt to call Baris failed. Mordriac sticks around for another 10 minutes making sure you can get into the lodge and you think he wants to meet your god.
Flynn marvels at the woodwork, how the wooden walls are set within the cave. I wonder what is in between the cave walls and these wooden walls.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Aien keeps his healing kit close to hand, as well as his bombs. He loads his musket, and breathes a prayer. I'm not ready for this...
Orik puts on black gloves with metallic chunks embedded in them, he taps the bottom of what likely is his weapon case and chain begins to fall out. He grabs it and works it into a spin, a blade about a foot long is attached to the end of his chain. He continues to spin it around and snapping it to attack the ground leaving deep gashes in the ground. He asks, "Is there a place where we should be hunting or just keep our ground?"
Thallina smiles at Orik and kindly replies, "Do you see that canyon to the East? There some of the stronger fey wait to protect the Heartwood. Many Nagakin will come this way but most will simply circumvent us. We will kill those that are hungry and perhaps instigate a few more. We hold this ground, between these three oaks." She points out the triangle of space with nearly 80 feet for each side.
Another hour passes before the lithe Nagakin break over the nearby ridge, in small packs of at most 6 charge in your general direction. Many of them circumvent your area as was predicted. Thallia shoots at a middle group of three, which turn towards your group into your clearing.
Round 1
The Nagakin get 10 feet into the clearing with no clear target. They appear almost fish and snakelike. Their whole body is a slimey snake about the length of any of you, two arms stick out with a large claw at the end. Finally the head has several large needle sharp teeth. They smell horrible and appear to have no eyes.
Aien backs away and fires.