Melo pads forward ahead of the group, keeping them on their path and watching out for any surprises.
scent.
The tracks on the ground are almost instantly lost, the scent dissipating almost immediately. Flynn struggles to keep the women in sight despite the height advantage, and near dark, he realises he has lost them. Returning to the others, you realise that at some point in the last couple of hours, you have veered off course and not ended up intersecting with the path of the women.
You find yourself in scrubland, with weedy little bushes dotted around the tough and stringy grass still underfoot.
It is dark, and you have no shelter.
Damn it. Flynn curses from atop Skyfall's back as he swoops in to land. I lost them. Don't ask me how. Either they have magic on their side or they know some secrets of this land but either way they are gone for now.
He looks around at the barren hillside.
There's nothing around here for shelter. he mutters grimly. I think we are in for a cold night. We might get some of this brush to burn but I wouldn't count on it too much s we definitely need a watch tonight, we're badly exposed here.
Melo, Lillith - can you do anything here? Like, make the grass grow for us to burn it or something, conjure a tree for us to camp beneath? he asks, fearing he already knows the answer.
|
A tree I could do, and a grand tree it would be, but only once. And I mean once in my life. she touches the Tree Feather Token in her pouch. The need is not great enough here I think. Lets see what we can do with the brush nature affords.
There is just not enough material here to do much with. Lilith says sadly.
Feldus nods grimly but his reply is cheerful. "That is OK, we will make do. We just need to huddle together for body warmth." He smiles weakly as he adds, "It's a lot easier for someone who can grow fur upon their body if necessary."
"We should have extra watch on tonight, if we can't get any good shelter maybe I can work asawind breaker for some."
Melo and Flynn hit on the idea of stacking your gear, meagre as it is, on one side as a windbreak, with those sleeping just the other side to lessen the windchill.
The night passes uncomfortably, but in eerie silence, you have the uncomfortable feeling there are more than a few pairs of eyes on you.
As dawn arrives, you realise you have no idea which direction the women went, only that you are inside the circle of wooden markers. The desert lies East.
Feldus yawns and stretches his arms out, feeling his joints popping noisily. That went rougher than I expected...maybe I am getting soft? The blessing he received from Kurzog seems far away now.
"I don't think we will be able to find them. More likely they will find us. Best to get moving and get out of their territory." He adds as he also secures his valuable gear. "How are we on food and water?"
Awaking in the morning, he returned to his human form some time in the night. Moving away from the group but staying within eye sight he starts to pray to the earth for new powers.
"You're right Lilith, but I still don't feel good about our current supplies." He sits at the fire drinking a large cup of water and eating a small breakfast.
Whisper gestures at everyone to get up.
Aura stands and glumly points Eastwards
So just heading to the desert then or trying to go via this outpost you think must be around here?
Feldus strokes his whiskers as he considers Lilith's words. "While I agree with you we are not equipped for a desert journey, I also know they did make their intentions clear. 'Do not approach their settlement else risk attack'." He sighs, "I have no problems in trying to find their settlement but we cannot afford to waste our own provisions in searching for them."
We aren't going to make it and we can just change it and hope to find anything in the desert. Its the reason I ran after them, I didnt want to loose them in all that brush." He lingers on the thought of a fight. "I don't want to fight them, we're no raiders I just want them to understand we try our best to let them know we want to help them in exchange for supplies."
Whisper stands still, arms crossed with a frown upon her face.
Aura stares at Lenneth, then glances around at the others.
Well, we either risk it or we don't. Either we ignore their warning and plead trade, or we strike out now...
She shrugs
Water we have as long as we have Melo, food I'm not so sure of...
"I am afraid of further delay, and worries that, once again, some conflict or awful surprise awaits us at a new settlement...but I'm willing to wait a short while to see if they can be found."
Feldus shrugs, "We can only afford to wait so long. I say one day. No more."
If they aren't hiding themselves with magic, me and Sky will find them.
Flynn is able to *just* make out where he thinks a settlement might be. They have evidently thought about aerial reconnaisance, as the ground around their encampment is camouflaged to some extent, but the eagle eyes of Skyfall are not fooled, there are crops being grown at the edge of the cliffs, and caves dotting the cliff-face itself alongside lots of movement. There is definitely significant humanoid presence to the south-east, no matter how hard they try to hide it...
"Good luck Flyn, It will be the fastest way of finding them." As he flies off Melo turns back to the group. "One day, I'm with you on that Feldus. I don't want to force them into anything, but the long we hold out and wait we're only hurting ourselves."
By midday Skyfall has taken Flynn in a wide arc Eastwards, and as he is about to turn around for another pass back the back they have come, he spies the edge of a clifftop, the valley past it the beginning of the desert proper.
His eyes pick out, despite the attempt to disguise them, a few fields that have been tilled, though there are no crops as yet. As he circles high in the sky, he can just make out figures around the top of the cliff and some also ranging around the area as a whole, perhaps patrols.
Flynn does some quick guesswork and realises he's about half an hour's flight from his group, and they could make it to this place in half a day's walk, so if he returned now they could all be back here by dusk.
*
Lilith's eyes are keen and her mind sharp as she searches around the area for edibles, yet the area is sparse to begin with, and with the knowledge that others have been around foraging it is no surprise that she is unable to find any sustenance.
GIven the distance, FLynn decides that he should return with the group. He has no gift for diplomacy but even so there is a nagging doubt in his mind that if they don't get any joy with this village, or worse that they decide to drive them off, they will be spending another night in the cold with nothing to show for it.
He returns to find the group foraging and lands to tell them.
I found it. And it's a pretty big place. They have patrols of armed guards, fields being tilled for crops and even managed to disguise parts of the village to make it difficult to see from the air. They are definitely well organised and established.
I figure we could get there by dusk if we left in the next hour. What do you think?
Trying his best to forage he finds nothing edible spotting Flyn in the air he run back to the group in time to hear his report. "Good work Flyn. We should atleast try maybe we should put our best foot forward Lenneth, Lilith maybe you two should represent us when we meet them. I'm no good with words."
"Agree with Melo here. You two should speak for us. Just emphasize to them we are passing through and seek information on the desert that lays beyond." Feldus warns. "If they believe that is all we desire they may not decide to attack us."
The sun is low in the sky as the edge of the cliff top comes in to sight. They've evidently been aware of your approach, as a hundred feet or so from the fields stand a ragged line of people armed with spears, though one cradles an antique-looking crossbow.
In between them and you stands the woman from yesterday, a nasty looking cutlass hanging loosely from one hand
Wassya problem eh? Hearin' not no good? Ya no see em signs we got up?
She spits on the ground as she paces
Yas gotten um deathwish eh?
She points her blade at you
Yas taken um troubles, riskes yas lifen, mus importan be... speak peace o rest innit den...
She seems to be waiting on your response.
Melo stands there looming over the others watching the woman and the people behind her, waiting for the others to talk our way onto their good side.
Feldus glances nervously around him, seeing the group surrounded by the ragged locals. At least they have not attacked us openly yet...most settlers would not waste their breath on warnings.
He stays silent, hands away from his belt, and awaits for the diplomacy to begin.
The group behind paces and fidgets, uneasy with the waiting.
The woman in front is a contrast, cool and collected, meeting your gaze unflinchingly, her ease with the blade in her hand evident.
Flynn lands Skyfall toward the front of his group, keeping himself and his companion between the woman and his friends.
The others look nervous, probably farmers or labourers suddenly having been forced to learn how to use their tools and implements to defend themselves. But she looked different, and the way she held that blade made him think she was neither afraid nor unable to use it.
He hoped that someone who had probably fought to survive out there would have some empathy with another group who were doing the same. But as he waited for Valex to address her, he eyed her suspiciously, keeping Skyfall on alert and ready to charge at the merest encouragement if needbe.