You are a member of the Wolf people, a small
tribe of 40 men and women and their young. Like many of
the people in the area, the Wolf tribe are nomadic hunter and
gatherers. Trained in the ways of the warrior and the hunter,
you are apt for life in the outdoors. This year’s annual autumn
hunt has not faired well; there is an alarming lack of elk for
the Wolf people to hunt and preserve for the coming winter
as they have done in years past. Forced by necessity, the Wolf
people have moved to different hunting ground, approaching
dangerously close to the Bear tribe’s territory. Much to their
dismay, they find no elk there either. The Wolf elders are in
counsel, and this is where the adventure begins.
Kalenth is tall lean and muscular. His dark hair is long and is mostly unkept except for two thin braids that fall from his temples. His nose has been broken more than once maybe suggesting that he knows how to pick a fight but his face is calm as he stares into the flames of his small cook fire. He pokes at some root vegetables roasting in the flames as the wolf next to him whimpers.
" Ah don't worry Hrothgar. The elders will work out what to do and soon we'll have meat again. "
Hrothgar lifts his head from his paws. His tongue lolls from the side of its mouth and you know he is excited. From this, you know that your younger brother Krollenth is coming.
”Ya orr-right?” he slurs as he limps over to ruffle Hrothgar behind the ears. The wolf raises his ear to your brother’s malformed hand.
”Ch, ch, chief wan’ ya, orr-right? N, n, now, ay, now. Kroll come for Kalenth. Good Kroll, orr-right?”
" Alright Kroll, " I say getting up and resting a hand on his shoulder. " Look after Hrothgar and don't let the food burn. "
Slinging my long sword over my shoulder on a baldric and buckling on my shortsword, I head to the chiefs tent.
The acrid smoke of the fire and pipes burn your nostrils as you enter the dim light of the counsel’s tent. The five elders sit around the sombre fire, and conspicuously there is a spot open among the ring.
Chief Krellath is lean, you notice, too lean. Krellath has taken the lack of elk as his own personal famine, as though he is the one responsible. He looks far older than he did last winter. His dark hair is greying into the two thin braids that fall from his temples. He has the look of your brother you think, though everyone says that you look like the younger version of him.
Your father motions you to join the circle around the crackling embers, “The council has chosen you for a mission of great importance. It is your task to find out where the elk have gone and bring back food for the winter. There is another place where there may be elk, but it is too far and too dangerous to relocate the entire tribe. In the northern stretches lie the forbidden hills. There may be some elk that roam there still. In your hunt, you may encounter the Bear tribe. We have not spoken with the Bear tribe in many years, but if you should encounter them, you will carry our tribe’s emblem of peace.”
The pipe reaches you, and you inhale its sweet, moist smoke, ”You take that pipe with you in case you meet with the Bear Tribe. With some luck, they will grant you peace in their lands.” The pipe is nearly a foot long. Carved from the thigh-bone of a large beast it is almost perfectly straight with a shallow cup. It is decorated with
" You honour me with this hunt, thank you father. I will take care to keep the peace with the bear tribe and hopefully return with elk for the winter. May the great spirit bless my path and watch over our tribe till my return. "
You prepare for your journey. You realise that the hunters have already travelled as far as three days from camp with no sign of elk. What do you pack? You may spend the gold that you have. It is mid autumn.
Staring out at the horizon I try to predict the weather...
I don't mind that you read these.
As the sun sets you climb a nearby peak to survey the horizons more clearly. Knowing that your father was always better at this than you are, your realise the desperation of your tribe's situation. Snow is coming early this year. It is building in the north in thick, heavy, low, dark, grey clouds almost from horizon to horizon. The first snow of the season will be on the ground within 24 hours, and will continue to fall for some time.
Heading back to my tent I gather up as much food as I can, fur lined clothes and some f$*#&%s of wood. Then I check over the rest of my gear. My bow carefully wrapped, The amulet and ring passed down to me by my father. The weird horn of fog I found in the forest two summers ago. Then I head to the shamans tent taking some potions and oils from him, some arrows that have been blessed by the Great Spirit and a stone that the shaman says will summon a giant man of stone when broken.
Returning to the fire I spread a blanket over my sleeping brother and take on of the cooked roots he's set aside.
"Well Hrothgar, looks like it's going to be a cold few days for us..."
Kalenth will try to push on for as long as he can through the snow storm but if there is a good cave or shelter he knows of where he can weather it he'll consider it if the storm is looking too dangerous.
You set off early, , wrapped in furs, hoping to make good ground before the snow storm hits. The sky is blue, the air is crisp and clean. You predict that the this snow storm will have arrived here from its northern home in the late afternoon, .
There are two shelters you could choose from.
The first is barely four hours walk away, and you're optimistic that you could gather some food along the way by taking twice as long. In fact, the rabbits haven't developed their winter coat yet and will be easy targets. You wouldn't use up any rations. In fact, as this is part of your ancestral hunting grounds you could easily gather five days food.
[]
The second option is a solid 11 hour walk. You would get there just on nightfall and would have no time to gather food along the way. You would be walking through an hour or two of snowstorm, which would double the time taken for that part. And you might get lost.
[]
There is about 7 hours walk between the two. The Bear Tribe's land begin about four full days walk away.
I've got a long trek ahead, I should pace myself. Setting out in the early dawn light with Hrothgar slinking along beside him, Kalenth heads for the nearby cave he knows gathering as much food as he can along the way.
There was nothing he could do about the snow storm coming in except weather it. He just had to hope the tribe could hold out even with this delay.
You spend the morning gathering supplies, including the last of the season's berries, a brace of conies and some firewood. The cave is 85' deep, around 15' high and the same across at the front, narrowing down to 6' where it abruptly ends in a rock fall. You know this cave well enough, you've camped here a couple of times in your younger days. You have enough time to gather more firewood.
The storm settles in and the entire world turns white. All you can see outside the cave is white.
White, white, white, white, white, white, white, white, white, white, white, white, white.
The hours pass. Dusk is masked by the white-ness of everything and suddenly all you see is tainted orange by the firelight.
The next morning dawns as suddenly as the last departed and the snow is still falling. Vision is limited quite severely by this snowstorm. Nothing else moves, till suddenly a branch shrugs off its burden of snow settled on it's leaves. There is no almost no noise as the snow muffles all, and nothing is moving to promote sound.
Through boredom you keep looking at your rations. You try to look at the weather but everything is simply... white.
You unpack and repack more effectively. You check your pbp's and no one has posted. Tuesday passes with only the rumbling of your stomach, the heaviness of your eyelids to pass the time.
Wednesday breaks impossibly bright. Where everything was all white, it was a muted white. Today is clear and blue and warm. The heat from the sunlight brightens you immediately. As soon as the sun is clear of the horizon the trees shake off their snow-coverings. The ground turns to sludge as the snow melts.
You set off. By lunch there is no snow left and it is hot, the last heat of the Autumn has been bundled together and thrown at you all at once.
" Come Hrothgar "
I'll cover as much ground as I can gathering as much food as I can along the way.
You spend the day gathering nuts and berries and hunting rabbit as you walk along. Progress is slow but the food is bountiful. Hrothgar helps by sniffing out and flushing out some of the rabbits. He also sniffs out a fresh set of prints, bear prints.
A black bear, over 6’ tall when standing and at least twice your weight. He is walking along in no great hurry, probably on the hunt for more nuts of any sort. He is heading towards the Bear Tribe’s lands, and about 12 hours ahead of you.
These tracks are well within the borders of the Wolf Tribe. The Bear Tribe’s lands begin about two days full walk from these tracks.
As the sun begins to set you realise you are near the second cave.
I push on to the second cave making my camp there. (unless the bear tracks lead there... In which case I'll move off a ways and make camp under the stars.)
Setting a small fire I smoke most of the rabbit meat.
Interestingly, the bear tracks head towards the cave. However the bear's tracks are around 12 hours old. It is common that the bears will have wandered well outside their usual territory as they prepare for hibernation. They spend all their waking hours eating as much as possible.
You set up camp several hundred yards from the cave, almost a mile. Hrothgar and you take turns in keeping watch (Six levels of Ranger has to be good for something). The overnight temperatures drop dramatically, as you would expect, which makes for an easy night’s sleep, though keeping watch gets a little uncomfortable.
The morning breaks quickly and warm. A quick breakfast and you’re off to the cave. Carefully following the bear prints you see that it is now about 20 hours since the bear passed. Cautiously you hide about 300’ from the cave, watching carefully for some time. There is no movement. You sneakily move in to about 100’ away, and all is as still as it was. After an hour of observation, concluding that the bear is either asleep or no longer in the cave, you approach.
The bear prints meander through the cave. It seems the bear was checking out the new scents of the cave, new since he was here last at least, and slept a few hours. Careful inspection reveals that at least one humanoid was in here around a month ago. You manage to see some barely visible prints, merely indentations in the dirt floor with the spacing of a humanoid about 6’ tall, and a couple of hairs from a fur caught in one of the wooden chairs that your tribe has left here (along with a table and bench). The fur is not instantly recognisable, perhaps dog, and probably from a coat or clothing.
Your heart sinks a little when you see that the bear has found the cache the tribe keeps hidden. It has dug out the pottery container, smashed through the lid and taken nuts and dried meats kept there for emergencies. Your tribe would want this cache to be replenished as soon as possible.
The morning is warming quickly, the weather is beautiful. Maybe Autumn is your favourite time of year, especially on days like this. The bear prints are still relatively clear as they head towards the Bear Tribe’s lands. Rabbits can still be seen in the distance, and the birds’ chatter fills the air. Hrothgar seems restless with energy, as though the perfect weather has over-charged him.
You have made one full days travel towards the Bear Tribe’s lands. You have two full day’s travel ahead of you before you enter them.
Normal for the season: mild days, cold nights. Frost overnight, possible fog in the morning.
Some snowfall expected.
Normal for the season: mild days, cold nights. Frost overnight, possible fog in the morning.
Normal for the season: mild days, cold nights. Frost overnight, possible fog in the morning.
I carefully wrap some of my smoked rabbit in their skins (scrapped clean) and place them in the pot along with whatever berries nuts or seeds I've managed to find. Replacing the lid with more rabbit skin I put the pot back in its hole and cover it over again.
Standing at the cave mouth I look out at the horizon but for whatever reason I can't make head or tail of the patterns.
" Come Hrothgar, it's time to hunt again "
I set out semi following the bear. better to follow incase it's caused any more havoc.
The bear’s tracks are easy to follow and not difficult to predict. It wanders from nut tree to berry bush, creek ford to nut tree. It sat here and uprooted a blueberry bush and picked it clean. It climbed this tree and eat through a squirrels supply.
The prints lead you to small clearing in the forest not long after lunch. The clearing looks like a good place to set up camp, as someone else clearly thought – there is clear evidence of a small party having camped here recently, fresh coals in the fire, bushes piled up for some beds. Hrothgar circles about again and again to confirm this for you.
The bear is heading north, and is about 14 hours ahead of you, having spent some hours sleeping in the cave,
Goblins are common in the forest. The local Birdcruncher Tribe are harmless enough. Their known presence was certainly no deterrent in the decision of the elders to bring the tribe here (they were concerned about the proximity to the Bear Tribe though)
They are heading east by North East.
I'll continue on north until almost nightfall before making camp.
You set up camp in a sheltered overhang that looks north into a shallow valley with a small creek running through the centre. You take turns with Hrothgar on watch overnight, and both sleep well.
************* Friday *************
The morning dawns quite foggy, and there is little of the valley that you can see. The bear passed by about 100’ to the west, and was heading towards the creek.
1d100 ⇒ 23 Normal for the season: mild days, cold nights. Frost overnight, possible fog in the morning.
1d100 ⇒ 82 Some snowfall expected.
1d100 ⇒ 63 Normal for the season: mild days, cold nights. Frost overnight, possible fog in the morning.
1d100 ⇒ 33 Normal for the season: mild days, cold nights. Frost overnight, possible fog in the morning.
I will move with as much speed as possible heading north into the bear tribes lands. No gathering food for the next two days.
Ok for Friday I'll hustle for the first hour and then walk for 9 more hour.
You push yourself hard through the last of your tribe’s land. You break a very simple camp after dark within sight of the boundary between your land and the Bear Tribe’s, the Parigo River.
**********Saturday**********
You wake feeling refreshed - Oh the Resilience of Youth -
Easily fording the river at first light, it is shallow and wide this close to its source, you soon find yourself following the bear’s prints again (Survival DC 10). You a fairly certain you are within an hour of the bear, perhaps as little as 20 minutes.
In fact, you can see the bear ahead. It is a (Medium sized) black bear eating gorging black-berries in the late morning sun. It’s back is to you, about 60’ ahead, and it hasn’t reacted to your presence yet.
I watch the bear for a minute or so before deciding I'd better try and circle around it. " Come Hrothgar, we must be silent... " I say in a hushed voice. I'll set out to circle about the bear trying to stay in cover and downwind.
" Stay here Hrothgar. " I say motioning for the wolf to sit. I head back towards the bear, using my body language and bear grunts to show I'm not a threat I approach slowly. Taking my time and trying to gauge the bears response to my advances.
The bear looks up at you, still feeding berries to its mouth. He pauses a moment, head tilted to the side as he regards you and your attitude. After a few long seconds, he casually he wipes his massive bare paw across his mouth, then stretches his other arm towards you, as though offering you a share of the berries he is holding.
Moving forward still cautiously I'll take some berries as I cast my spell.
" Travelling north friend? "
Speak with Animals
School divination; Level bard 3, druid 1, ranger 1
CASTING
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
EFFECT
Range personal
Target you
Duration 1 min./level
DESCRIPTION
You can ask questions of and receive answers from animals, but the spell doesn't make them any more friendly than normal. Wary and cunning animals are likely to be terse and evasive, while the more stupid ones make inane comments. If an animal is friendly toward you, it may do some favor or service for you.
"Yes, brother," he rumbles in a deep, deep voice. He munches some more berries and looks at you thoughtfully.
"The dog-heads have hunted every elk from here to Kkrasker's cave, and probably further. I don't want to know what is next on their menu, so I'm not hanging around to find out."
" Not bear surely... Do you know much about the area north of here? "
"Yes, I like to winter in the north, less two-legs around. No offence, Brother, not all two-legs are the same but enough of them need to be avoided that I'll travel many walks North yet.
"There's a two-leg prayer-place north of here. I was going to West around it in case the dog-heads are there. Looking at the number of elk killed I suggest you avoid it too; there must be a lot of dog-heads there."
Gnolls? Not good... I wonder what's become of the Bear tribe...
" Maybe I will go and check the prayer place for dog-heads. It's not good if they are killing too many elk. Do you know anything about the two leg tribe that walks these lands? Where do they usually winter? "
"There are many two-leg tribes that pass through here, but I think you mean those like you, those that respect the bears. The winter by the lake to the East.
"As for the elk, I fear it is already too late. I haven't seen a live elk for many days."
" Thanks for the berries. Safe travels friend. "
I head back to Hrothgar. " Can you smell Gnolls Hrothgar? "